2012年华中科技大学博士入学英语试题及参考答案

2012年华中科技大学博士入学英语试题及参考答案

完形填空（出题部分原文）

Cloud Storage Basics

­Comedian George Carlin has a routine in which he talks about how humans seem to spend their lives accumulating

For some computer owners, finding enough storage space to hold all the data they've acquired is a real challenge. Some people invest in larger hard drives. Others prefer external storage devices like thumb drives or compact discs. Desperate computer owners might delete entire folders worth of old files in order to make space for new information. But some are choosing to rely on a growing trend: cloud storage.

While cloud storage sounds like it has something to do with weather fronts and storm systems, it really refers to saving data to an off-site storage system maintained by a third party. Instead of storing information to your computer's hard drive or other local storage device, you save it to a remote database. The Internet provides the connection between your computer and the database.

On the surface, cloud storage has several advantages over traditional data storage. For example, if you store your data on a cloud storage system, you'll be able to get to that data from any location that has Internet access. You wouldn't need to carry around a physical storage device or use the same computer to save and retrieve your information. With the right storage system, you could even allow other people to access the data, turning a personal project into a collaborative effort.­

So cloud storage is convenient and offers more flexibility, but how does it work? Find out in the next section.

There are hundreds of different cloud storage systems. Some have a very specific focus, such as storing Web e-mail messages or digital pictures. Others are available to store all forms of digital data. Some cloud storage systems are small operations, while others are so large that the physical equipment can fill up an entire warehouse. The facilities that house cloud storage systems are called data centers.

At its most basic level, a cloud storage system needs just one data server connected to the Internet. A client (e.g., a computer user subscribing to a cloud storage service) sends copies of files over the Internet to the data server, which then records the information. When the client wishes to retrieve the information, he or she accesses the data server through a Web-based interface. The server then either sends the files back to the client or allows the client to access and manipulate the files on the server itself.

Cloud storage systems generally ­rely on hundreds of data servers. Because computers occasionally require maintenance or repair, it's important to store the same information on multiple machines. This is called redundancy. Without redundancy, a cloud storage system couldn't ensure clients that they could access their information at any given time. Most systems store the same data on servers that use different power supplies. That way, clients can access their data even if one power supply fails.

Not all cloud storage clients are worried about running out of storage space. They use cloud storage as a way to create backups of data. If something happens to the client's computer system, the data survives off-site. It's a digital-age variation of

Passage 1

Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities - as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises. Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade. Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.

A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as “fronts (a person, group, or thing used to mask the identity or true character or activity of the actual controlling agent)” with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.

Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming-and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success.

1. The primary purpose of the text is to

[A] present a commonplace idea and its inaccuracies.

[B] describe a situation and its potential drawbacks.

[C] propose a temporary solution to a problem.

[D] analyze a frequent source of disagreement.

2. The text suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in orders might causes it to

[A] experience frustration but not serious financial harm.

[B] face potentially crippling fixed expenses.

[C] have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government.

[D] increase its spending with minority subcontractors.

3.The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about corporate response to working with minority subcontractors?

[A] Annoyed by the proliferation of “front” organizations, corporations are likely to reduce their efforts to work with minority-owned subcontractors in the near future.

[B] Although corporations showed considerable interest in working with minority businesses in the 1970‟s, their aversion to government paperwork made them reluctant to pursue many government contracts.

[C] The significant response of corporations in the 1970‟s is likely to be sustained and conceivably be increased throughout the 1980‟s.

[D] Although corporations are eager to cooperate with minority-owned businesses, a shortage of capital in the 1970‟s made substantial response impossible

4 According to the text, civil rights activists maintain that one disadvantage under which minority-owned businesses have traditionally had to labor is that they have

[A] been especially vulnerable to government mismanagement of the economy.

[B] been denied bank loans at rates comparable to those afforded larger competitors.

[C] not had sufficient opportunity to secure business created by large corporations.

[D] not been able to advertise in those media that reach large numbers of potential customers.

5 The author implies that a minority-owned concern that does the greater part of its business with one large corporate customer should

[A] avoid competition with larger, more established concerns by not expanding.

【B】 concentrating on securing even more business from that corporation.

[C] use its influence with the corporation to promote subcontracting with other minority concerns.

[D] try to expand its customer bases to avoid becoming dependent on the corporation.

Passage 2

Years of research had educated me about how sugar, fat, and salt change the brain. I understood some of the parallels between hyperpalatable foods and drugs of abuse, and about the links among sensory stimulation, cues, and memory. I'd met enough people like Claudia and Maria to understand how even the thought of food could cause them to lose control.

But I wasn't fully prepared for the discoveries I made about irresistibility and whoosh, the Monster Thickburger and Baked! Cheetos Flamin' Hot, about indulgence and purple cows. Without necessarily understanding the underlying science, the food industry has discovered what sells.

I was sitting at Chili's Grill & Bar in Chicago's O'Hare Airport waiting for a late-night flight. At a nearby table a couple in their early forties was deep into a meal. The woman was overweight, with about 180 pounds on her five-foot-four-inch frame. The Southwestern Eggrolls she had ordered were listed as a starter course, but the enormous platter in front of her had been heaped with food. The dish was described on the menu as

I watched as the woman attacked her food with vigor and speed. She held the egg roll in one hand, dunked it into the sauce, and brought it to her mouth while using the fork in her other hand to scoop up more sauce. Occasionally she reached over and speared some of her companion's french fries. The woman ate steadily, working her way around the plate with scant pause for conversation or rest. When she finally paused, only a little lettuce was left.

Had she known someone was watching her, I'm sure she would have eaten differently. Had she been asked to describe what she had just eaten, she probably would have substantially underestimated her consumption. And she would probably have been surprised to learn what the ingredients in her meal really were.

The woman might have been interested in how my industry source, who had called sugar, fat, and salt the three points of the compass, described her entree. Deep-frying the tortilla drives down its water content from 40 percent to about 5 percent and replaces the rest with fat.

The food consultant read through other ingredients on the label, keeping up a running commentary as he did.

By eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow us to eat faster.

1. It can be inferred from the author's description of the woman eating in paragraph four that

(A) The woman prefers to eat at Chili's vs. other restaurants.

(B) The woman truly enjoys the foods that she chooses to eat.

(C) The woman's efficiency at cleaning her plate adds to her dining experience.

(D) The author is disgusted by the woman's consumption.

(E) The author believes the woman should take a course in healthy eating.

2. According to the passage, the main reason people overeat is

(A) because salt and sweeteners, like corn-syrup solids and brown sugar, are added to the food.

(B) because we don't have to chew our food very much

(C) because people like smoky flavor

(D) because sugar, fat and salt change the brain

(E) because we are used to eating quickly in this modern society

3. The following are all ingredients in the egg rolls, EXCEPT

(A) salt

(B) binders

(C) honey

(D) spinach

(E) dark meat chicken

4. Which of the following statements best describes the main idea of the passage?

(A) If you eat too much food too quickly, you'll gain weight and become unhealthy.

(B) Because refined food is irresistible and easy to eat, it masks how unhealthy it is, leaving people unaware of the poor food choices they're making.

(C) Chili's is one of the restaurants in the U.S. serving unhealthy food to consumers today.

(D) Food consultants and authors are making Americans aware of their unhealthy eating habits, thus,

creating healthier generations for years to come.

(E) Refined foods, with salt, sugar, and fat hidden inside, are less nutritious and more damaging than whole foods.

5. In the first sentence of paragraph four, the word

(A) pleasure

(B) flamboyance

(C) lethargy

(D) energy

(E) craftiness

Passage 3

No very satisfactory account of the mechanism that caused the formation of the ocean basins has yet been given.The traditional view supposes that the upper mantle of the earth behaves as a liquid when it is subjected to small forces for long periods and that differences in temperature under oceans and continents are sufficient to produce convection in the mantle of the earth with rising convection currents under the mid-ocean ridges and sinking currents under the continent. Theoretically， this convection would carry the continental plates along as though they were on a （conveyer belt） and would provide the forces needed to produce the split that occurs along the ridge.

This view may be correct： it has the advantage that the currents are driven by temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents.On the other hand， the theory is implausible because convection does not normally occur along lines， and it certainly does not occur long lines broken by frequent offsets or changes in direction， as the ridge is.

It has the advantage that the currents are driven by temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents. Such a bankrupting， in which the position of the moving plate has an impact on the forces that move it， could produce complicated and varying motions

Also it is difficult to see how the theory applies to the plate between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ridge in the Indian Ocean. This plate is growing on both sides， and since there is no intermediate trench， the two ridges must be moving apart. It would be odd if the rising convection currents kept exact pace with them.

An alternative theory is that the sinking part of the plate， which is denser than the hotter surrounding mantle， pulls the rest of the plate after it. Again it is difficult to see how this applies to the ridge in the South Atlantic， where neither the African nor the American plate has a sinking part.

Another possibility is that the sinking plate cools the neighboring mantle and produces convection currents that move the plates. This last theory is attractive because it gives some hope of explaining the enclosed seas， such as the Sea of apan. These seas have a typical oceanic floor， except that the floor is overlaid by several kilometers of sediment. Their floors have probably been sinking for long periods.

These seas have a typical oceanic floor， except that the floor is overlaid by several kilometers of sediment. Their floors have probably been sinking for long periods. It seems possible that a sinking

current of cooled mantle material on the upper side of the plate might be the cause of such deep basins.The enclosed seas are an important feature of the earth's surface and seriously require explanation because， in addition to the enclosed seas that are developing at present behind island arcs， there are a number of older ones of possibly similar origin， such as the Gulf of Mexico， the Black Sea， and perhaps the North Sea.

1. According to the traditional view of the origin of the ocean basins， which of the following is sufficient to move the continental plates？

（A） Increases in sedimentation on ocean floors

（B） Spreading of ocean trenches

（C） Movement of mid-ocean ridges

（D） Sinking of ocean basins

（E） Differences in temperature under oceans and continents

2. It can be inferred from the passage that， of the following， the deepest sediments would be found in the

（A） Indian Ocean

（B） Black Sea

（C） Mid-Atlantic

（D） South Atlantic

（E） Pacific

3. The author refers to a “conveyer belt ” in line 13 in order to

（A） illustrate the effects of convection in the mantle

（B） show how temperature differences depend on the positions of the continents

（C） demonstrate the linear nature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

（D） describe the complicated motions made possible by back-coupling

（E） account for the rising currents under certain mid-ocean ridges

4.According to the passage， which of the following are separated by a plate that is growing on both sides？

（A） The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan

（B） The South Atlantic Ridge and the North Sea Ridge

（C） The Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic Ridge

（D） The Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Indian Ocean Ridge

（E） The Black Sea and the Sea of Japan

5. Which of the following titles would best describe the content of the passage？

（A） A Description of the Oceans of the World

（B） Several Theories of Ocean Basin Formation

（C） The Traditional View of the Oceans

（D） Convection and Ocean Currents

（E） Temperature Differences Among the Oceans of the World

Passage 4

In the eighteenth century, Japan‟s feudal overlords, from the shogun (shogun: n.幕府时代的将军) to the humblest samurai (samurai: n.(封建时代的)日本武士,日本陆军军官), found themselves under financial stress. In part, this stress can be attributed to the overlords‟ failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy, but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords‟ control. Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers. Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time, it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive. Overlords‟ income, despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses. Although shortfalls in overlords‟ income resulted almost as much from laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office-holding) as from their higher standards of living, a misfortune like a fire or flood, bringing an increase in expenses or a drop in revenue, could put a domain in debt to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once in debt, neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recover.

It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited, and since the income of Japan‟s central government consisted in part of taxes collected by the shogun from his huge domain, the government too

was constrained. Therefore, the Tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue. Cash profits from government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted, although debasement of the coinage had compensated for the loss. Opening up new farmland was a possibility, but most of what was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically unfeasible. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous. This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.

Most of the country‟s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun‟s burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such revenue was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyo-kin; although these were not taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the Tokugawa shoguns‟ search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet.

1. The passage is most probably an excerpt from

(A) an economic history of Japan

(B) the memoirs of a samurai warrior

(C) a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan

(D) an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart

(E) an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales

2. Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial situation in which Japan‟s Tokugawa shoguns found themselves in the eighteenth century?

(A) A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract.

(B) Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding.

(C) A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners have no credit history.

(D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease.

(E) A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater commercial efficiency and thereby compensate for a loss of revenue.

3. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai discussed in lines 11-16?

(A) Warmly approving

(B) Mildly sympathetic

(C) Bitterly disappointed

(D) Harshly disdainful

(E) Profoundly shocked

4. The passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector

(A) was a source of personal profit to the officeholder

(B) was regarded with derision by many Japanese

(C) remained within families

(D) existed only in castle-towns

(E) took up most of the officeholder‟s time

5. The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned to city merchants for help in financing the state?

(A) A series of costly wars had depleted the national treasury.

(B) Most of the country‟s wealth appeared to be in city merchants‟ hands.

(C) Japan had suffered a series of economic reversals due to natural disasters such as floods.

(D) The merchants were already heavily indebted to the shoguns.

(E) Further reclamation of land would not have been economically advantageous.

汉译英

北京，7月11日-中国警方命令一个报道中国社会和经济发展超过10年的知名西方时事通刊物志停刊，该刊物的英国编辑如是说。

中国发展简报在北京有11位雇员，关注贫穷救助、环境保护、计划生育、国际扶助项目、中国民间团体等

新闻。该刊创立于1996年，发行中文和英文两种版本，并提供网上浏览。

Nick Young创立了该刊物，并编辑英文版本，他说，上周多位北京警方和地方统计局的官员告知他该刊物进行了“未经批准的调查”，因此被认为违反了有关收集统计数据的1983年法律。

杨先生说，在该刊物发行的十几年中，当局并未提供颁布此法令的明确原因。他说该刊物并未进行任何投票或调查，该法令非常含糊，因此可以禁止几乎任何需要与当地民众接触的信息收集。

关闭该刊物的决定可能反映了中国对近几年增加的地方和国外资助民众团体的关注持续增加。某些民众团体已经降低了中国百姓维护合法权利的门槛，某些中国官员认为这些团体会导致社会的不安定。如果这些团体受政府资助而且不从事公开的政治活动，那么中国中央政府通常能够忍受。官员说那些团体能够极大的帮助监测和抵制***、虐工和违法环境法律。

中国发展简报无权在中国出版，雇员也未注册为新闻记者，这就意味着该刊物未在更大出版社的允许下已经存在较长时间。但杨先生说，当局已经监视他的事务多年，他相信他们理解向国外扶助机构提供客观信息符合中国利益。

但***涛主席已经警告中国的安全部门必须要杜绝出现“颜***命”，也就是乔治亚、乌克兰、吉尔吉斯、黎巴嫩中西方支持的有助于政党更迭的社会活动。中国发展简报无权在中国出版，雇员也未注册为新闻记者，这就意味着该刊物未在更大出版社的允许下已经存在较长时间。但杨先生说，当局已经监视他的事务多年，他相信他们理解向国外扶助机构提供客观信息符合中国利益。他说该刊物经常为中国辩护，反抗美国政府和西方记者的陈词滥调。

“我在过去的十年中一直告诉外国人，中国并不像西方媒体通常描述的***专制和集权”，他说。“最后，我认为如果我们能有开放、明智的对话，那么我们就能被接受”

英译汉

OZARK, Ark. — Brenda Farmer and Willie Blanscet have sat across from each other on the Butterball bagging line for 17 years, 102 cold, raw turkeys sliding by in front of them every minute

“Me and Willie look at each other and say, „How in the world can anybody eat this much turkey?‟ ” Mrs. Farmer said.

For $11.40 an hour, the women, both in their 60s, cull the good from the bad.

The ones that are not bruised or missing a leg move down the line to be injected with brine, stuffed with a neck and a packet of giblets, then bagged and sent out into the world, where they land on holiday tables all over America.

The odds are good that yours may be one. The women, along with workers at another Butterball plant a 90-minute drive away, help produce about a third of the 43 million turkeys the nation will eat today, according to the National Turkey Federation.

This corner of northwest Arkansas is not the land of free-running heritage birds that command $16 a pound. A leisurely morning browsing the farmers‟ market is not how most people spend a Saturday.

In this community of 3,000 on the Arkansas River, where everyone is cheering on the Hillbillies, the high school football team that made it to the state playoffs, turkey is an industry. And a job at the Butterball plant is one of the most reliable in town.

The median income in Franklin County is just over $30,000 a year. Unemployment is at 7.3 percent. Every week, a dozen or so people show up at the plant looking for work. Maybe two get hired, plant managers said.

It is not easy work. Turkeys need to be stunned and dispatched and gutted. Someone has to cut the oil gland out of the tail. Necks and gizzards and livers have to be cleaned and stuffed into a cavity. During a six-week period that begins in October, the line runs seven days a week to process fresh turkey. It is a period people in town simply refer to as “fresh,” and it is grueling.

“It‟s a long battle when we‟re working fresh, but I at least got some bills paid and Christmas money,” Mrs. Farmer said. “I just sit there and hum and sing and talk to my friend Willie. We get through it together.”

Passage 1 baccd

Passage 2 dbebd

Passage 3 ebadb

Passage 4 adbcb

汉译英1 He said that the newsletter did not conduct polls or surveys and that the order was vague enough to prohibit almost any kind of information gathering that required interaction with local citizens.

2 Some civic groups have helped people on the lower rungs of Chinese society defend their legal rights, and some Chinese officials contend that the groups have contributed to a surge in social unrest.

3 China Development Brief had no license to publish in China, and its employees were not registered as news correspondents, meaning the newsletter had long operated without the permits required of larger publications.

英译汉

1. 一些妇女和工人们在距离这里90分钟车程的巴特堡养殖场工作，根据美国火鸡联盟提供的数字，今天全国火鸡的总消耗量将达4300万只，其中总量的三分之一的火鸡由巴特堡的这家养殖场提供。

2 阿肯色河沿岸有3000个群落。这里的每一个人都在为高中橄榄球队希尔比利斯能进入全国季后赛而欢呼雀跃。在这里，火鸡是一项产业

3. 在从十月份起长达六周的时间里，生产线整周整周地不停加工新鲜的火鸡。小镇里的人称这段时间为“新鲜期”，这段时间的工作十分折磨人。

作文

the bad aspect of Online shopping