上海新东方2010年春季高级口译模拟考试阅读部分详解
Section 2 选择题部分
Question 1-5
Gail Pasterczyk, the principal of Indian Pines Elementary in Palm Beach County, Fla., has added two or three new teaching positions each of the past three years. She's adding two more teachers next year as well as replacing those she'll lose to maternity leave, transfers, and retirement. She doesn't know where the new teachers will come from, if the new hires will be any good, and where she'll find room for all of them. Indian Pines already has 27 portable classrooms and is waiting to break ground on a two-story, 25-classroom addition. "When you start reducing class size, you've got to find more teachers, and you run out of space," she says. "That's the reality." Her school district, one of the nation's largest, has sent recruiters across the country, and even to Mexico and the Philippines, to fill an expected 1,700 teaching vacancies before the fall. "We are in a race to keep the schools staffed," says Robert Pinkos, a Palm Beach County recruiter who will travel to Baltimore and Madrid next month to troll for teachers.
Two and a half years after Florida voters adopted a constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes, Palm Beach County--and every other school district in the state--are tripping over a major stumbling block: There just aren't enough good teachers to go around. With classes in kindergarten through third grade capped at 18 students, fourth through eighth held at 22, and high school limited to 25, the state will need to hire an estimated 29,604 new teachers by 2009--a prospect that has many people worried. "I have every reason to expect that the quality of teachers will suffer," says John Winn, the state's education commissioner.
Nationwide, 33 states now have laws that restrict class size. And the politically popular educational reform has proved successful in some areas, particularly among the lowest-performing students. In Burke County, N.C., for example, discipline problems are down and test scores are up, even for the most disadvantaged students in the district. "On paper these kids should not be succeeding, but they are," says Susan Wilson, a former teacher and now director of elementary education in the rural county.
But this success comes at a price. It means hiring more teachers, building more classrooms, and retraining teachers to work with smaller groups of students. And it means, critics maintain, that states pit their own districts against one another in the race to hire. "When you mandate class-size reduction statewide, the suburban schools tend to draw the best new teachers, and the more urban schools, which already have trouble attracting teachers, can't attract the best candidates," says Steven Rivkin, an economics professor at Amherst College who has studied the effects of class-size reduction on teacher quality. Any gains from cutting class size could be undermined by hiring lower quality teachers.
Resources. Proponents contend that the reform would be relatively pain-less if existing resources were managed well. "Hiring more teachers is only part of the solution," says Charles Achilles, one of the first researchers to study the effects of reducing class sizes. "The best programs for class-size reduction not only hire more teachers but reassign existing specialty teachers to get them back in the classroom."
Florida policymakers are trying to find their own way out of the class-size quandary. This month, the Legislature is considering a proposal to roll back some of the size limits in exchange for an increase in teacher pay. Gov. Jeb Bush, who opposed the constitutional amendment in 2002, argues that the compromise will attract more top-quality teachers to the state while reining in costs. Voters could see the proposed change on the ballot as early as September. In the meantime, recruiter Pinkos continues his search for new teachers, sometimes working 10-hour days. His pitch? "Palm Beach is very beautiful, but the small classes are one of the most attractive things I can tell them."
试题详解
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->In describing the results of the new constitutional amendment to reduce class size, the author comments:" Palm Beach County--and every other school district in the state--are tripping over a major stumbling block…" to imply ___.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->the education authorities will trip to Mexico and the Philippines for new teachers
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->there will be problems of placing redundant teachers
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->quality of teachers will probably go down
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->students are likely get more sophisticated education in smaller class
本题为句子理解题。引文出自文章第一段。答案定位在冒号之后的部分。
Two and a half years after Florida voters adopted a constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes, Palm Beach County--and every other school district in the state--are tripping over a major stumbling block: There just aren't enough good teachers to go around. With classes in kindergarten through third grade capped at 18 students, fourth through eighth held at 22, and high school limited to 25, the state will need to hire an estimated 29,604 new teachers by 2009--a prospect that has many people worried. "I have every reason to expect that the quality of teachers will suffer," says John Winn, the state's education commissioner.
constitutional amendment: 宪法修正案
trip over: 摔倒，被绊倒
stumbling block: 障碍物，绊脚石
capped：被设定上限
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->"On paper these kids should not be succeeding, but they are" implies ___.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->reducing class sizes has more positive effects than negative ones.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->reducing class sizes does achieve satisfactory effects on disadvantageous students
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->smaller class prevent the children from failing in tests
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->smaller class works best for students with lacklustre performance
本题为句子理解题，出自第三段。定位为黑体字部分。
Low-performing students: 学习成绩较差的学生
Disadvantaged students: 学习成绩较差的学生； 贫穷学生
Nationwide, 33 states now have laws that restrict class size. And the politically popular educational reform has proved successful in some areas, particularly among the lowest-performing students. In Burke County, N.C., for example, discipline problems are down and test scores are up, even for the most disadvantaged students in the district. "On paper these kids should not be succeeding, but they are," says Susan Wilson, a former teacher and now director of elementary education in the rural county.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Class size reduction increases difficulty to hire teachers in affluent districts.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Cutting class sizes is no better than reassigning existing specialty teachers.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->If urban school cannot hire enough teachers, they can hire specialty teachers.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Generally speaking, vicious competing for teachers will counterbalance the positive effects of smaller classes.
本题为细节题。A选项中affluent一词错误。文中前三段指出，缩小班级规模需要更多的高质量教师，而这对于贫穷地区的学校来说成为困难。B选项说缩小班级规模不如重新分配现有的专业教师。这与第五段最后一句意思不符合。"The best programs for class-size reduction not only hire more teachers but reassign existing specialty teachers to get them back in the classroom." C选项说如果城市学校不能雇佣足够数量的教师，他们将会雇佣专业课教师（类似中国基础教育中的副科教师）。此处同样与第五段最后一句不符。
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->"Quandary" (para.6) is closest to ___.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->dilemma
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->polemic （论战）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->enigma
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->hoodwink （诈骗）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->What is the main idea of the passage?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Means to enhance comprehensive education in U.S.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Pros and cons of cutting class sizes in U.S.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->American students could receive better schooling.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Variants in rural education
Questions 6-10
It's been about an hour since Bloomberg employees were introduced to Andrew Lack, the former NBC News chief and Bloomberg's newly appointed CEO of multimedia. Lack and Chief Content Officer Norman Pearlstine and Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler are chummy and spirited during an interview at Bloomberg's imposing headquarters. But in keeping with the company's reputation for near-martial discipline, they do not reveal Bloomberg's master plan for expanding its media operations in fulsome detail; much of the plan, Pearlstine says, remains a work in progress. Still, multiple interviews nonetheless provided several crucial clues to what looms at one of the last news organizations with swelling ambition.
You can feel a little like a weatherman in Greenland if you track media today: Both jobs entail watching big icebergs melt, and quickly. Bloomberg stays sturdy because, at heart, it's not really a media business in any familiar sense. It gets the overwhelming majority of its revenues from its Bloomberg terminals, which subscribers now rent for $1,500 a month and up. A quick analysis of internal company data suggests that last year, Bloomberg's media segment accounted for significantly less than 10% of the company's estimated $5.4 billion in overall revenue. (Executives at the privately held company declined to comment on the media unit's revenues and profitability.)
But Bloomberg's media operations employ a lot of bodies, and they're spread far and wide. Bloomberg has 220 staffers in Japan. Its wire services employ 1,500 people worldwide, with an additional 800 working in the TV operations. The default setting for media companies today is "retreat" as revenues fall fast, but that's not Bloomberg's reality. Thus, its executives think big. "We see the potential for significant growth from where we are today—we're talking a several-times increase in revenues over the course of the next four to five years," says Bloomberg President Dan Doctoroff. "We have the pieces...to create something new and different."
Still, Bloomberg's initial moves are likely to shore up what's already in place. Lack was hired in no small part to revamp Bloomberg's TV operation, which, Doctoroff says, has "not been what it should be." Bloomberg's cable channel is sometimes forgotten in the new CNBC/Fox Business Network dichotomy, but it currently reaches about 58 million U.S. homes. Doctoroff says that could swell to 70 million in '09. CNBC, for which I am an on-air contributor, is in more than 90 million U.S. homes. Fox Business Network reaches around 43 million. (CNBC has a much bigger lead over Bloomberg in reaching non-U.S. households.)
Next year also will bring major changes to the exceedingly prosaic Bloomberg.com, to make it more friendly to those who don't spend their days intravenously connected to a Bloomberg terminal. Doctoroff says such changes will be visible in the first half of the year. He also suggests that attenuated staffing at newspapers could mean opportunity, though it's hard for me to imagine Bloomberg churning out stories about local businesses in second-tier U.S. markets.
And, interestingly, "we're looking at potential acquisitions," says Pearlstine. "We're just sort of saying: 'Hey, we're looking for good ideas.' "This is a new notion for Bloomberg, which to date has exclusively generated its own media properties. Doctoroff refused to comment on specific acquisitions, and outside executives familiar with the deal markets find it hard to believe Bloomberg would go into anything big. (Before this rumor gets resurrected again, let's knock it down: Michael Bloomberg has disavowed interest in a bid for The New York Times, which another mayoral campaign would complicate in any event.)
In truth, there's a complex calculus to any possible Bloomberg deals. The company is likely to want any media add-on to feed its massive terminal business as well. No matter what media moves Bloomberg makes in the next few years, that business will remain king. But maybe the changes will make Bloomberg's media operations its jack, if not exactly its queen.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->6. <!--[endif]-->What does the author mean by commenting "You can feel a little like a weatherman in Greenland if you track media today"?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg confronts the difficulty of being forced to slash its operation bodies all over the world.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg focuses on environmental reporting lately.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->The whole media industry is in danger of revenue meltdown.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg is an exception of traditional media and that's why it looks jubilant.
本题为句子理解题，来自第二段。在这里，大冰山的融化是一种比喻，用来描述整个行业岌岌可危。本题第四个选项比较具有迷惑力，它与本段后半段意思相符合。但本段主题意思是行业面临的困难而不是彭博公司为何一枝独秀。
You can feel a little like a weatherman in Greenland if you track media today: Both jobs entail watching big icebergs melt, and quickly. Bloomberg stays sturdy because, at heart, it's not really a media business in any familiar sense. It gets the overwhelming majority of its revenues from its Bloomberg terminals, which subscribers now rent for $1,500 a month and up. A quick analysis of internal company data suggests that last year, Bloomberg's media segment accounted for significantly less than 10% of the company's estimated $5.4 billion in overall revenue. (Executives at the privately held company declined to comment on the media unit's revenues and profitability.)
Sturdy: 结实的，强健的
overwhelming majority：压倒性多数派
terminal: 终端 （在此指彭博公司的用户）
overall revenue：总收入
<!--[if !supportLists]-->7. <!--[endif]-->"Shore up" (para.4) is most probably mean___
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Prop up
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Pent up
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->Pull off （偏离主线；胜利完成）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Shake up （动摇；使吃惊）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->8. <!--[endif]-->When Bloomberg President Dan Doctoroff says " (it has)… not been what it should be", he means___.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->he is not flattered by what Bloomberg had earned in cable channel in previous years
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg is breaking the monopoly of CNBC/Fox and promises bigger market share.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg is now working on new plans on TV operation.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg tries to expand their business to non-U.S. households.
本题考察第四段段意。
Still, Bloomberg's initial moves are likely to shore up what's already in place. Lack was hired in no small part to revamp Bloomberg's TV operation, which, Doctoroff says, has "not been what it should be." Bloomberg's cable channel is sometimes forgotten in the new CNBC/Fox Business Network dichotomy, but it currently reaches about 58 million U.S. homes. Doctoroff says that could swell to 70 million in '09. CNBC, for which I am an on-air contributor, is in more than 90 million U.S. homes. Fox Business Network reaches around 43 million. (CNBC has a much bigger lead over Bloomberg in reaching non-U.S. households.)
revamp: 翻新，整修
dichotomy：一分为二，两分天下
swell：膨胀
on-air contributor：现场直播撰稿员
<!--[if !supportLists]-->9. <!--[endif]-->Which of the following expression is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg policy makers displayed quite a few critical details about the company's near future plan.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Not everybody gives promise to Bloombergs positive anticipation.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->Although overall slump looms the media industry, Bloomberg remain confident and aggressive in its policies.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg is bettering its webiste in order to attract more users.
本题A选项定位自第六段，与其中Doctoroff refused to comment on specific acquisitions, and outside executives familiar with the deal markets find it hard to believe Bloomberg would go into anything big.句意不符。
<!--[if !supportLists]-->10. <!--[endif]-->What does the last sentence mean?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg is most likely to get its business boom in the next years.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg will possibly suffer a huge loss in its moves.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->Bloomberg will monopolize the whole industry.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->No one can be sure where Bloomberg is heading.
最后一句：But maybe the changes will make Bloomberg's media operations its jack, if not exactly its queen. 在这里jack 和queen均为比喻，原义为桥牌术语，引申为重要砝码。
（第三篇略去）
Question 16-20
UNDER a grey sky on October 27th, Larry Bowoto provided an improbable splash of colour in his Nigerian agbada gown before the federal courthouse in San Francisco. He is the lead plaintiff in a case against Chevron, an oil giant based in California, over something that happened in May 1998 on a platform operated by Chevron’s Nigerian subsidiary, nine miles off the Niger Delta. A group of more than 100 people, including Mr Bowoto, took over the platform for three days to protest against what Chevron was doing in the delta. The protest ended when Nigerian troops arrived and shot at the protesters, killing two. Mr Bowoto was injured and is now suing for damages.
Bowoto v Chevron is likely to test how the American legal system can be applied to human rights in other countries. The civil suit is being brought under the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act, one of America’s oldest laws (it was signed by George Washington). The act allows foreigners to bring civil cases before American courts arising from violations of law or treaty anywhere in the world. It was invoked just twice before 1980, when it was used by a victim of state repression in Paraguay. Since then the act has been invoked in around 100 cases. In 1993 a case against Radovan Karadzic for crimes against humanity in Bosnia broadened its applicability to non-state actors. In 1996 a group of Burmese villagers brought a suit against Unocal, another oil company (subsequently bought by Chevron), over the use of forced labour by Burmese soldiers guarding the route of a gas pipeline. The case was settled in 2004.
Opponents of the use of the Alien Tort Claims Act to sue companies for alleged human-rights violations associated with their operations include the Bush administration and many companies. They fear it could unleash a flood of suits and interfere with foreign policy. Proponents argue that international law has evolved since 1789, and now encompasses well-defined human rights that fall squarely within the act’s simple wording. In 2004 America’s Supreme Court affirmed that the act applied to violations of modern international laws as well as older ones, but its ruling left doubts about corporate cases. “It’s still a question of whether aiding and abetting is sufficient [to bring a case],” says William Dodge, a professor at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law.
Bowoto v Chevron will test just this point. The plaintiffs say the Nigerian troops were transported to the platform in helicopters provided by Chevron and its local partner. Chevron says the protesters were hostage-takers who initiated the violence on the platform and are now motivated by the possibility of winning damages. Bowoto v Chevron has been making its way through America’s courts for nearly a decade and has been refined to a narrow Alien Tort Claims suit, making it an ideal test case. Marco Simons, a lawyer with EarthRights International, one of the groups representing the plaintiffs, notes that the case has survived around a dozen motions for dismissal.
Nearly all Alien Tort Claims suits against companies have been settled on confidential terms. Only two have gone to trial. “Extractive industries especially need to go where the resources are—they have to do business with regimes with notorious records,” says Tyler Giannini, a specialist in human rights at Harvard Law School, who was one of the lawyers who argued the case against Unocal. “These cases are important because they are setting standards for what is acceptable and what isn’t.”
But those standards are now in flux. “Some day the Supreme Court will take this on,” says Mr Dodge. And if Bowoto v Chevron does not make it that far, other cases are in the pipeline: in February a case against Royal Dutch Shell, another oil giant, will get under way in New York on behalf of Ken Saro Wiwa, a hanged Nobel laureate, and other Nigerian plaintiffs.
16. Which of the following serves best as the title of the passage?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->How far can America’s legal system be applied to foreign human-rights cases?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->The 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->Bowoto v Chevron case
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Will the Nigerians win?
本题为主旨题。B选项仅为第二，第三两段落大意，未能覆盖全文。C选项仅为文章话题，不能被称为标题。D选项属于阐述过度型选项。
<!--[if !supportLists]-->17. <!--[endif]-->What does the word "unleash" mean?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->expedite （加速）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->relieve （缓和）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->impel （促进，推动）
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->give rise to
<!--[if !supportLists]-->18. <!--[endif]-->Which of the following is not TRUE about the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->It was one of America’s oldest laws and was signed by George Washington.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->It allows foreigners to bring criminal cases before American courts arising from violations of law or treaty anywhere in the world.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->It allows courts in U.S. to solve almost any cases when invoked.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Since it was invoked in from time to time, people around the United states have come to universal acceptance of the act.
本题定位为第二段。B选项中将原文civil cases 置换成criminal cases。
<!--[if !supportLists]-->19. <!--[endif]-->According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->Although Bush Administration worries about the compatibility with its foreign policy, the Supreme Court affirmed its application to the international laws.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->It has been well-accepted that international law has evolved since 1789, and now encompasses well-defined human rights that fall squarely within the act’s simple wording.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->Providing necessities can also bring a case to court.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->Rulings of these cases are important because they can be cited as test cases and set up as standards for ensuing lawsuits.
本题定位为第三段结尾句。原文说it is still a question of whether aiding and abetting is sufficient to bring a case…
<!--[if !supportLists]-->20. <!--[endif]-->What does the word "in flux" mean?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A. <!--[endif]-->in danger
<!--[if !supportLists]-->B. <!--[endif]-->in dispute
<!--[if !supportLists]-->C. <!--[endif]-->in tow
<!--[if !supportLists]-->D. <!--[endif]-->in chains
posted @ 2011-03-07 10:17
郭雯 阅读(348) |
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编辑 收藏因果关系：
1．…give rise to..
2. prompt
3. owe… to…
4. stem from…
5.… contribute to…
例证关系：
1. such…as… / such as
2. A good case in point is ...
3. As an illustration, we may take ...
4. Such examples might be given easily.
类推/比较关系：
1. Similarly…
2. … resemble(s) the following case as …
3. Like anything else, it has its faults.
4. A and B has several points in common.
5. A bears some resemblances to B.
6. However, the same is not applicable to B.
7. The same is true of B.
8. Wondering as A is ,it has its drawbacks.
9. It is true that A ... , but the chief faults (obvious defects )are ...
陈述观点：
1. When it comes to...，／claim that opposite ／reverse is true.
2. … as in…
3. It is safe to claim that…
posted @ 2011-03-07 10:16
郭雯 阅读(1170) |
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