中国科学院研究生院英语B考试大纲及样题

Although we live in a world of unprecedented prosperity and technological development, 800—850 million people are malnourished. More than 200 million of these are children, many of whom will never reach their full intellectual and physical potential. Another 1—1.5 billion humans have only marginally better access to food and often do not consume balanced diets containing sufficient quantities of all required nutrients.

The majority of this nutritionally at-risk population lives in developing countries. Most, perhaps 75 percent, live in rural agricultural regions. Most are very poor. There is a well-recognized link between poverty and hunger. In fact, family income is probably the single most important determinant of adequacy of access to food. The World Food Summit in 2002 reaffirmed a commitment made by the international community five years earlier to halve the number of hungry people by the year 2015. That goal will not be met unless agricultural productivity and personal income can be improved in the world’s poorest regions.

It is argued by some that eliminating poverty is more important than producing more food since there is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone. Economists tell us that there is a surplus of food in the world, which could theoretically adequately feed the current global population. But the sad lesson of both recent and ancient history is that adequate food supplies do not reach everyone. The large number of hungry people proves that. It is pointless to argue whether poor agricultural productivity or extreme poverty is more to blame when people are starving. What is clear is that if the rural poor can produce a surplus of food in a more efficient and sustainable manner, there will be adequate food supplies, increasing income and the opportunity for supporting rural development.

While most experts would agree that the only long-term solution to hunger is economic development and the elimination of poverty, people who are food self-sufficient through local or regional agriculture will not go hungry. Unfortunately, neither the required increases in agricultural productivity nor the necessary rural development will happen overnight. The question then becomes “What do we do in the meanwhile?” The short-term solution for the hungry is food aid. But even food aid has become politicized as skeptics have charged that it is simply a way for rich over-producing nations to eliminate the surpluses produced by their heavily subsidized farmers. The skeptics also assert that food aid robs local farmers of markets and makes them hungrier. These arguments ignore the daily reality faced by hundreds of millions of hungry people for whom the immediate alternatives are simple: continued hunger and ultimate starvation or the acceptance of food aid.

Section B (15 points)

Direction: Write an essay of at least 200 words on the topic given below. Use the proper

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space on your Answer Sheet II.

Topic: List three important problems facing the world today. Discuss these problems

and offer your suggestions as to how to solve them.

Reference key to Sample Test

PAPER ONE

Part I

Section A

1—10 C D D A A B C C B D

Section B Mini-talk One

11: Ten million tons of grain each year.

12: Any place they can get into—homes, shops, farm buildings and farm and home

storage areas.

13: By carrying fleas, mites and other organisms that cause sickness. Mini-talk Two

14: Four years of high school or less.

15: Any special requirements will be stated on the announcement of examination. 16: Retirement support, life insurance and health insurance. Mini-talk Three

17: Many of them are hits for a few weeks then they disappear.

18: A professional tries to make a living by working in art, while an amateur does all

the artistic work just for pleasure.

19: Popular art usually makes a lot of money, while high art often lacks funds. 20: To give money to make future performances possible. Part II Section A

21. while 22. exceeded 23. ever 24. like 25. precede 26.once 27. separated 28. than 29. feasible 30. Fortunately 31.overcome 32.continuous 33.instantaneously 34.transforming 35. As

Section B

36. B. 37. D. 38. C. 39. A. 40. B. 41. B. 42. C. 43. D. 44. A. 45. B. 46. D. 47. A. 48. C. 49. B. 50. D 51. D 52. A 53. B 54. A 55. A

Section C

56—60. ADECB 61—65. BFACE

Summary Sample

In this prosperous and technologically advanced world there are still millions of people, mainly living in developing countries, suffering from malnutrition and hunger. This is believed to be the result of both extreme poverty and poor agriculture productivity. To

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solve the problem, actions should be taken for both improving personal income and increasing agricultural productivity, of which two aspects, it’s hard to say one outweighs the other. However, neither eliminating poverty nor increasing agricultural productivity in those poor rural areas can be accomplished overnight. With hundreds of millions of people are now starving, the immediate solution is obviously food aid. To condemn food aid as the leftovers by those rich-producing countries or the damage done to the local food market is really overlooking the stark reality of hunger.

Script For Listening Comprehension

PAPER ONE

Part I Listening Comprehension

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each

conversation, a question will be asked about what is said. Each conversation and the question will be spoken only once. When you hear the question, read the four choices of the answer given and choose the best one by marking the corresponding letter A, B, C or D on your Answer Sheet I.

1. W: Hey, don’t forget to mail the letter by air mail for me on your way home.

M: Sure, I’ll do that, but I’ll pick up some groceries first. Q: What will the man probably do first? (pause 00’15”)

2 W: Dennis called to say he’d come to the picnic.

M: Changed his mind after all, did he? Q: What does the man mean? (pause 00’15”)

3. M: Mom, I got to know a pretty girl last week. I’ve been taking her out. Will you

send me a thousand dollars right away?

W: You don’t have to pay all the time. Men and women are equal. Why don’t you go Dutch?

Q: What is the advice given by the woman? (pause 00’15”)

4. M: I just called the travel agency. It’s all set. On June the first, I’m heading for the

mountains and spend a week there.

W: You mean tomorrow? Have you checked the academic calendar? Our classes

aren’t over till the sixth.

Q: What does the woman imply? (pause 00’15”)

5. W: Did you send the letter for me this morning on your way to the office?

M: Sorry, it just slipped my mind. Q: What does the man mean? (pause 00’15”)

6. W: How was the party last night?

M: It was fantastic. But I seemed to have had one too many. That’s why I still have a

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hangover this morning.

W: Didn’t you say you would limit your drinking? Q: What was the man's problem? (pause 00’15”)

7. M: Can I help you?

W: Yes. I’ve got four shirts here and two pairs of pants and a jacket. I’m leaving town in a few days. So, can I pick them up tomorrow?

M: We can have the pants ready, but the shirts won’t be back until Wednesday morning.

W: Well, that’s Ok.

Q: Where did the conversation take place? (pause 00’15”)

8. W: I once got a ticket for running a stop sign, even though I definitely came to a

complete stop.

M: Did you pay the ticket? W: Yes.

M: If you thought you were innocent, why didn’t you contest it?

W: Your honor, there have been so many times I didn’t get a ticket for running a stop sign that I figured this evened things out a little. Q: What can we learn from the conversation? (pause 00’15”)

9. W: Hi, Jack. Heading for the library?

M: Not today. My cousin has just come from Nebraska. I’ll take him to the baseball

Game.

W: What about your essay for anthropology that is due tomorrow? Nobody expects

to get away with Professor David.

M: No worry. That’s why I stayed up last night until I wrapped it up. W: Lucky you. Enjoy your time then.

Q: What can we learn from the conversation? (pause 00’15”)

10. W: Guess what? We bumped into Beth at Woolworth. She just moved into the

neighborhood only three blocks away.

M: It’s a small world, isn’t it? Does she still look as young as she did twelve years

ago?

W: Sure. The amazing thing is that I can hardly find any changes in her. We’d better

throw a welcome party for her. What do you think?

M: Not a bad idea. But just don’t count on me for those party details. Q: What can we learn about the man? (pause 00’15”)

Section B

Directions: In this part, you will hear three mini-talks and each of them will be

spoken only once. While listening to them, read the questions that follow each talk. You will be asked to write down your answer on your Answer Sheet II, using one sentence only, either complete or incomplete. Your answer should be concise and to the point.

Questions 11 to 13 are based on Mini-talk One:

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