国家开放大学：2015年秋季学期“开放专科”英语专业英语阅读（3）期末试题（1月）.pdf_大学文库

Part I Read Passage 1 and decide the meaning of the following words with the help of the context.The paragraph in which the word appears is indicated in brackets.Write A,B,or C on your answer sheet.(30 points,3 points each) Passage 1 Aging Crisis in China 1 "Aging,says Alex Kalche,Head of the Programme on Aging at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,"is the number one problem in the world.And if it is not addressed now,there will be serious consequences.It is the "number one problem"because the numbers of people over 60-and particularly those over 80-are growing fast.The rapid aging trend in China's population also poses immediate challenges to Chinese society. How can China face this challenge?As the social structure changes in terms of demographics,so will tradition. 2 In 1959 there were 200 million people over 60 in the world,accounting for 8 percent of the total population.It is predicted that in China,by 2000,the number of retired people will be several times that of the mid-90's.In 2020 they will have increased by several times again.The problem is that as more and more people live longer and their numbers increase both in actual numbers and relative to the general population,there will be fewer people to care for them.The dependency ratio,as it is called,is also affected by the fact that women, who have been the traditional caretakers of the elderly,are becoming more career-oriented and are not at home to care for their parents. 3 One solution is senior homes.Traditionally,it is considered a Chinese virtue for children to take care of their parents.But if people are working long hours,older parents feel lonely at home.At senior citizen centres,they can get good care from the nurses,who are also willing to listen to their stories."When I first came here,I complained about my daughter's decision.But gradually,I began to like this place,"Wei Wenkuei,86,said. "The nurses are more attentive than a house maid,and the food is good."Wei is staying at the Peixin Senior Citizens Centre in Nanshi District.There are only three senior centres in 543

Part 1 Read Passage 1 and decide the meaning of the following words with the help of the context. The paragraph in which the word appears is indicated in brackets. Write A , B, or C on your answer sheet. (30 points, 3 points each) Passage 1 Aging Crisis in China "Aging ," says Alex Kalche , Head of the Programme on Aging at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , "is the number one problem in the world. And if it is not addressed now. there wi11 be serious consequences. " It is the "number one problem" because the numbers of people over 60 - and particularly those over 80 - are growing fast. The rapid aging trend in China' s population also poses immediate challenges to Chinese society. How can China face this challenge? As the social structure changes in terms of demographics, so will tradition. 2 In 1959 there were 200 million people over 60 in the world , accounting for 8 percent of the total population. lt is predicted that in China , by 2000 , the number of retired people will be several times that of the mid-90' s. ln 2020 they will have increased by several times again. The problem is that as more and more people live longer and their numbers increase both in actual numbers and relative to the general populatio口， there will be fewer people to care for them. The dependency ratio , as it is called , is also aHected by the fact that women , who have been the traditional caretakers of the elderly , are becoming more career-oriented and are not at home to care for their parents. 3 One solution is senior homes. Traditionally , it is considered a Chinese virtue for children to take care of their parents. But if people are working long hours, older parents feel lonely at home. At senior citizen centres, they can get good care from the nurses , who are also willing to listen to their stories. "When 1 first came he町， 1 complained about my daughter' s decision. But gradually , J began to like this place ," W ei W enkuei ，邸， said. "The nurses are more attentive than a house maid , and the food is good. " Wei is staying at the Peixin Senior Citizens Centre in Nanshi District. There are only three senior centres in 543

They are wiring the world to meet the explosive and seemingly limitless demand for Internet,voice and video services,projected to be a $1 trillion-a-year global market by 2000.The two ships,C.S.Global Link and its companion the C.S.Global Mariner,are among the most technologically advanced vessels in the business of laying undersea fiber-optic communications cables.They are part of a worldwide fleet,owned by Tyco International Ltd.,that has installed more transoceanic fiber than any other company. 2 Most of the world's telephone and Internet traffic courses through these hair-thin capillaries of glass,which stretch from one continent to another along the ocean floor.In constant pulses of light,coded in the computer language of ones and zeros,they flash millions of phone calls,electronic mail messages,video clips and World Wide Web pages at light speed. 3 Undersea fiber-optic cables have become one of the most crucial components of today's communications-based global economy,despite mid-1960s predictions that satellites would make earthbound long-distance communications obsolete. 4 "Most people really do not realize the amount of telephone cables that are undersea, and that their calls actually go through them,"said Rob Jones,captain of the C.S.Global Link.There are 228,958 miles (368,472 kilometers)of fiber-optic cable on the floors of the world's sea,enough to encircle Earth almost 10 times,according to KMI Corp.of Rhode Island.Another 177,717 miles of cable are planned for installation worldwide by 2000,KMI estimates. 5 That figure does not count the most ambitious program,Project Oxygen,which backers describe as a $14 billion "Super Internet"that would pay out 198,844 miles of mainly undersea fiber-optic cable touching 175 countries.Oxygen already has the backing of 30 international tele-communications providers and is scheduled for completion in 2003. Project Oxygen is"the most ambitious project of communications in the 20th century,said President John Kestrel of KMI.The internet is a major driver of the expansion.The second driver is the need for video transmissions. 6 Global deregulation of telecommunications markets is also playing a key role in the subsea fiber boom.Phone companies around the world are rapidly going private and governments are opening their markets to competition.Chinese officials,for example, cleverly played 14 competitors off each other in bids to build the first link between China and 546

They are wìrìng the world to meet the explosìve and seemìngly lìmitless demand for Internet , voìce and vìdeo servìces, projected to be a $ 1 trìllìon-a-year global market by 2000. The two shìps, C. S. Global Lìnk and its companion the C. S. Global Mariner, are among the most technologically advanced vessels in the business of layìng undersea fiber-optìc communications cables. They are part of a worldwide fleet , owned by Tyco Internatìonal Ltd. , that has installed more transoceanic fìber than any other company. 2 Most of the world' s telephone and Internet traffic courses through these haìr-thìn capillaries of glass, which stretch from one continent to another along the ocean floor. In constant pulses of light , coded in the computer language of ones and zeros, they flash millions of phone calls, electronic mail messages, video clips and World Wide Web pages at light speed. 3 Undersea fiber-optic cables have become one of the most crucial components of today' s communìcations-based global economy , despite mìd-1960s predictions that satellites would make earthbound long-distance communications obsolete. 4 "Most people really do not realize the amount of telephone cables that are undersea , and that their calls actually go through them," said Rob ] ones, captain of the C. S. Global Link. There are 228 , 958 miles (368 , 472 kilometers) of fiber-optìc cable on the floors of the world's sea , enough to encircle Earth almost 10 times, according to KMI Corp. of Rhode Island. Another 177 , 717 mìles of cable are planned for installatìon worldwide by 2000 , KMI estl lates. 5 That figure does not count the most ambitious program , Project Oxygen , which backers describe as a $ 11 billion "Super Internet" that would pay out 198 , 841 miles of mainly undersea fiber-optic cable touching 175 countries. Oxygen already has the backing of 30 international tele-communications providers and is scheduled for completion in 2003. Project Oxygen is "the most ambitious project of communications in the 20th century ," said President ] ohn Kestrel of KMl. The internet is a major driver of the expansion. The second driver is the need for video transmissions. 6 Global deregulation of telecommunications markets is also playing a key role in th subsea fiber boom. Phone companies around the world are rapidly going private and governments are openìng their markets to competitìon. Chinese officials , for example , cleverly played 14 competitors off each other in bids to build the first link between China and 546

the United States-and then ultimately told them all to share the $1 billion contract. 7 Phrases such as“quantum leap”and“orders of magnitude'”frequently come up in discussions about advances in undersea fiber optics.In 1998,when glass fibers began to replace copper in telecommunications,people stopped talking in terms of hundreds of simultaneous phone calls per cable and started talking about tens of thousands.Scientists at companies such as Ciena Corp.of Maryland have more than quadrupled fiber-cable capacity by using lasers to split light into colors,sending data through each path in a process called "wave division multiplexing.The newest trans-Atlantic cable can handle 2.4 million voice conversations at one time-or hundreds of thousands of compressed video images.The China-U.S.project will handle 4 million calls at once. 8 Lucent Technology Inc.,one of the leading fiber optic companies,unveiled the latest breakthrough.The ability to transmit as many as 10 million calls over a single fiber by dividing the strand into 80 separate wavelengths of light instead of 16.Lucent says the cable's 400-gigabit (billions of computer instructions per second)speed is enough to carry the world's Internet traffic at any given time on one fiber.One voice phone call requires 64,000 bits.Is there any limit to the capacity increase?"Absolutely not,"said Neil Tagare, Project Oxygen's founder and an undersea fiber veteran,"There is in sight. 9 And as the boom in fiber-optics continues,the cost of fiber decreases.Each voice circuit in a pre-fiber trans-Atlantic cable in 1987 cost about $40,00 annually to build and maintain,Mr.Kessler said.Today,the cost has dropped to roughly to $100 to 200 per circuit,he said.The plunging costs,combined with deregulation and competition in phone markets,have made distance meaningless in communications-and the price of calls. 10 Aboard the C.S.Global Link,Captain Jones remains very busy.The ship returned to Blatimore from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean,after dropping 2,000 miles of cable from Bombay to Malaysia as part of another major project,called Fiber Link Around the Globe.Before Bombay,it helped to lay Atlantic Crossing,covering 3,557 miles of fiber-optic cables at an average speed of 6 knots over 21 days.It takes less than two months to install a trans-Atlantic cable.Ships use computers that are programmed to follow a specific route using global positioning satellite navigation systems.The routes are chosen after careful undersea topographical surveys that consider such factors as underwater earthquake faults,canyons and shipping and fishing routes."If global links continue to grow as they have in the last decade,it's going to get kind of crowded down there,says Jones. 547

the United States- and then ultimately told them all to share the $ 1 billion contract. 7 Phrases such as "quantum leap" and "orders of magnitude" frequently come up in discussions about advances in undersea fiber optics. In 1998 , when glass fibers began to replace copper in telecommunications, people stopped talking in terms of hundreds of simultaneous phone calls per cable and started talking about tens of thousands. Scientists at companies such as Ciena Corp. of Maryland have more than quadrupled fiber-cable capacity by using lasers to split light into colors, sending data through each path in a process called "wave division multiplexing. " The newest trans-Atlantic cable can handle 2.4 million voice conversations at one time - or hundreds of thousands of compress video images. The China-U. S. project will handle 4 million calls at once. 8 Lucent Technology lnc. , one of the leading fiber optic companies, unveiled the latest breakthrough. The ability to transmit as many as 10 million calls over a single fiber by dividing the strand into 80 separate wavelengths of light instead of 16. Lucent says the cable' s 400-gigabit (billions of computer instructions per second) speed is enough to carry the world' s Internet traffic at any given time on one fiber. One voice phone cal1 requires 64 ,000 bits. Is there any limit to the capacity increase? "Absolutely not ," said Neil Tagare , Project Oxygen's founder and an undersea fiber veteran , "There is in sight." 9 And as the boom in fiber-optics continues, the cost of fiber decreases. Each voice circuit in a pre-fiber trans-At1antic cable in 1987 cost about $ 40 , 00 annually to build and maintain , Mr. Kessler said. Today , the cost has dropped to roughly to $ 100 to $ 200 per cìrcuit , he saìd. The plungìng costs, combìned wìth deregulation and competition in phone markets, have made distance meanìngless in communicatìons - and the price of calls. 10 Aboard the C. S. Global Link , Captaìn Jones remaìns very busy. The ship returned to Blatìmore from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean , after dropping 2 , 000 miles of cable from Bombay to Malaysia as part of another major project , called Fìber Link Around the Globe. Before Bombay , it helped to lay Atlantic Crossing , covering 3 , 557 miles of fìber-optìc cables at an average speed of 6 knots over 21 days. It takes less than two months to ìnstall a trans-Atlantìc cable. Ships use computers that are programmed to follow a specific route using global posìtìonìng satellìte navìgation systems. The routes are chosen a

19. Which of, the following is NOT true? 一一-一一 A. Captain Jones, has nothing to do after boarding the C. S. Global Link. B. The C. S. Global Link returned to Baltimore from the Arabian Sea and 1ndian Ocean. C. The C. S. Global Link dropped 2 ,000 miles of cable from Bombay to Malaysia. 20. 1t takes to install a trans-Atlantic cable. A. less than 21 days B. less than 2 months C. more 2 months Part m Read Passage 3 and decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write T for true and F for false on your answer sheet. (20 points, 2 points eacb) Passage 3 1ario a lucky dog? 1 On his fifty-fifth birthday the President decided to release some prisoners of the same age as a gesture of goodwill. Not too many , but one , say from each of the twenty or thirty overcrowded prisons ín the smal1 state. They would have to be carefully selected so as not to give trouble once they were out , men perhaps who had been so long in prison that they had ceased to have any real contact with the outside world. None of them was to be told in advance of his liberty. 1ario was therefore astonished whcn he was called to the Governor' s office one mornìng and told he was to be set free next day. He had spent almost three quarters of hìs life in gaol , working out a life sentence for stabling a policeman to death. He was a dull-witted man with no relations living and no friends except his prison mates. 3 The followìng morning was clear and bright. Mario was given no opportunity to say goodbye to anyone , but a guard escorted him to the prison gates and wished him good luck. Ione he set off up the Iong white road Ieading to the town. The traffic , the noise , the absence of the secure prison waIls terrified him. Presently he sat down by the side of the road to think a Iittle. After he had thought for a Iong time , for his braìn worked slowly , he came to a decisìon. He remained where he was , waiting patiently until at last he saw a police car approaching. When it was near enough , he darted out into the road , obliging it to stop 549

2 Early peoples who lived in hot regions could depend on the heat of the sun to cook their food.For example,in the desert areas of the southwestern United States,the Indians cooked their food by placing it on a flat stone in the hot sun.They cooked pieces of meat and thin cakes of corn meal in this fashion. 3 We can imagine that the earliest kitchen utensil was a stick to which a piece of meat could be attached and held over a fire.Later this stick was replaced by an iron rod or spit which could be turned frequently to cook the meat on all sides. 4 Cooking food in water was impossible before man learned to make water containers that could not be destroyed by fire.The first cooking pots were reed or grass baskets in which soups and stews could be cooked.As early as 1600 B.C.,the Egyptians had learned to make more permanent cooking pots out of sandstone.Many years later,the Eskimos learned to make similar pans. 5 The North American Indians adopted a different method of cooking their food.They placed their food in skin bags or birch bark kettles,then dropped hot stones in with the food.When the stones cooled off,the Indians replaced them with hot stones.The Indians continued to add fresh hot stones to the containers until the food was cooked. 6 Records left by the ancient Egyptians show that they knew how to cook food in many ways.Their frescoes (wall-paintings)portray people baking,boiling,roasting,frying and stewing food.The Egyptians also knew how to preserve meat by smoking and salting it. 7 The Bible tells us that the Jews were skilled cooks.The Book of Genesis,for instance,relates the story of Rebecca,who put food in a pan and placed it over burning charcoal.The Jews also knew the art of.baking at an early point in their history.Carvings left by the ancient Jews show dough being put into a small round oven to be baked. Questions 31-35 are based on Passage 4. 31.How was food eaten thousands of years ago? 32.How did early peoples living in hot regions cook their food? 33.What were used as the first cooking pots? 34.What did the Egyptians use to make cooking pots? 35.What were frescoes? 551

2 Early peoples who lived in hot regions could depend on the heat of the sun to cook their food. For example , in the desert areas of the southwestern United States, the lndians cooked their food by placing it on a flat stone În the hot sun. They cooked pieces of meat and thin cakes of corn meal in this fashion. 3 We can imagine that the earliest kitchen utensil was a stick to which a piece of meat could be attached and held over a fire. Later this stick was replaced by an iron rod or spit which could be turned frequently to cook the meat on a11 sides. 4 Cooking food in water was impossible before man learned to make water containers that could not be destroyed by fire. The first cooking pots were reed or grass baskets in which soups and stews could be cooked. As early as 1600 B. C. , the Egyptians had learned to make more permanent cooking pots out of sandstone. Many years later , the Eskimos learned to make simi1ar pans. 5 The North American Indians adopted a different method of cooking their food. They p1aced their food in skin bags or birch bark kettles , then dropped hot stones in with the food. When the stones cooled 日， the lndians replaced them with hot stones. The Indians continued to add fresh hot stones to the containers until the food was cooked. 6 Records le[t by the ancient Egyptians show that they knew how to cook food in many ways. Their frescoes (wall-paìntings) portray peop1e bakìng , boì1ìng , roasting , frying and stewing food. The Egyptians a1so knew how to preserve meat by smoking and salting it. 7 The Bib1e tells us that the J ews were skilled cooks. The Book o[ Genesis, for instance , relates the story of Rebecca , who put food in a pan and placed it over burning charcoal. The J ews also knew the art 0[. baking at an early point in their history. Carvings lef t by the ancient J ews show dough being put into a small round oven to be baked. Questions 31-35 are based on Passage 1. 31. How was food eaten thousands of years ago? 32. How did early peoples living in hot regions cook their food? 33. What were used as the first cooking pots? 31. What did the Egyptians use to make cooking pots? 35. What were frescoes? 551