2021年暨南大学招收攻读硕士学位研究生入学考试试题(A卷)
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招生专业与代码：050205日语语言文学、050203法语语言文学
考试科目名称及代码：241 基础英语

考生注意：所有答案必须写在答题纸（卷）上，写在本试题上一律不给分。
Part I  Cloze (10 points)
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. Fo r each blank there are four choices marked A, B, C a n d D. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage a n d write the co rresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
    From childhood to old age, we all use language as a means of broadening our knowledge of ourselves a n d the wo rld about us. When humans first __1__, they were like newbo rn children, unable to use this __2__ tool. Yet once language developed, the possibilities fo r humankind’s future __3__ a n d cultural growth increased.
　 Many linguists believe that evolution is __4__ fo r our ability to produce a n d use language. They __5__ that our highly evolved brain provides us __6__ an innate language ability not found in lower __7__. Proponents of this innateness theo ry say that our __8__ fo r language is inbo rn, but that language itself develops gradually, __9__ a function of the growth of the brain during childhood. Therefo re there are critical __10__ times fo r language development.
Current __11__ of innateness theo ry are mixed, however, evidence suppo rting the existence of some innate abilities is undeniable. __12__, mo re a n d mo re schools are discovering that fo reign languages are best taught in __13__ grades. Young children often can learn several languages by being __14__ to them, while adults have a much harder time learning another language once the __15__ of their first language have become firmly fixed.
     __16__ some aspects of language are undeniably innate, language does not develop automatically in a vacuum. Children who have been __17__ from other human beings do not possess language. This demonstrates that __18__ with other human beings is necessary fo r proper language development. Some linguists believe that this is even mo re basic to human language __19__ than any innate capacities. These theo rists view language as imitative, learned behavio r. __20__, children learn language from their parents by imitating them. Parents gradually shape their child’s language skills by positively reinfo rcing precise imitations a n d negatively reinfo rcing imprecise ones.

1. A.generated   B.evolved   C.bo rn   D.o riginated
2. A.valuable B.appropriate C.convenient   D.favo rite
3. A.attainments B.feasibility C.entertainments D.evolution
4. A.essential B.available C.reliable      D.responsible
5. A.confirm B.info rm C.claim     D.convince
6. A.fo r B.from C.of     D.with
7. A.o rganizations B.o rganisms C.humans D.children
8. A.potential B.perfo rmance   C.preference D.passion
9. A.as   B.just as     C.like D.unlike
10. A.ideological B.biological C.social    D.psychological
11. A.reviews B.reference C.reaction D.recommendation
12. A.In a wo rd   B.In a sense C.Indeed       D.In other wo rds
13. A.various B.different    C.the higher D.the lower
14. A.revealed B.exposed C.engaged. D.involved
15. A.regulations B.fo rmations      C.rules   D.constitutions
16. A.Although B.Whether C.Since D.When
17. A.distinguished. B.different C.protected   D.isolated
18. A.exposition B.comparison C.contrast   D.interaction
19. A.acquisition B.appreciation C.requirement D.alternative
20. A.As a result B.After all C.In other wo rds D.Above all

Part II  Reading Comprehension
Section A (40 points)
Directions: There are 4 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions o r unfinished statements. Fo r each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C a n d D. You should decide on the best choice a n d write the co rresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
I’ve been attempting to learn French fo r a while now, a n d it’s a slow process. It’s all much harder this time around than it was to learn English, my first language. All this effo rt made me wonder if there were some tricks to learning a fo reign language that I’d been missing. It turns out that it’s just a tricky thing to do once you’re an adult.
Learning language is something we’re bo rn to do. It’s an instinct we have, which is proven, as one research paper says. To believe that special biological adaptations are a requirement, it is enough to notice that all the children but none of the dogs a n d cats in the house acquire language. As children, we learn to think, learn to communicate a n d intuitively pick up an understa n ding of grammar rules in our mother tongue, o r native language. From then on, we learn all new languages in relation to the one we first knew — the one that we used to understa n d the wo rld around us fo r the first time ever.
When it comes to learning a second language, adults are at a disadvantage. One theo ry of why learning a fo reign language is so hard fo r adults focuses on the process we go through to do so. Robert Bley-Vroman explains in Linguistic Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition that adults approach learning a new language with an adult problem-solving process, rather than in the same way a child develops language fo r the first time.
Although this means adults generally progress through the early stages of learning a language faster than children, people who are exposed to a fo reign language first during childhood usually achieve a higher proficiency than those who start out as adults.
There’s still hope, though. A study of secondary language pronunciation found that some learners who started as adults sco red as well as native speakers. It’s also been shown that motivation to learn can improve proficiency, so if you really want to learn a language, it’s not necessarily too late.

21. What did the autho r realize from his experience of learning French?
A. Learning French is difficult fo r an adult.
B. French is as difficult as English fo r him.
C. He has missed the tips on learning French.
D. It dema n ds great effo rts to learn a language.

22. How are we influenced by the way we learned our mother tongue?
A. We prefer to learn by understa n ding the grammar rules first.
B. We tend to attach mo re impo rtance to listening a n d speaking.
C. We are inclined to learn all other new languages in relation to it.
D. We may unconsciously think it is the best way to learn languages.

23. Acco rding to Robert Bley-Vroman, how do adults approach a new language?
A. They tend to choose a problem-solving process.
B. They try to be exposed to a fo reign environment.
C. They follow the way a child learns a language.
D. They start by taking language proficiency practices.

24. Acco rding to the passage, what is the good news fo r adult learners?
A. They can achieve a higher proficiency than most children.
B. They can speak the language as good as the native speakers.
C. They can master a fo reign language once they are motivated.
D. They can improve proficiency by imitating the way kids learn.

25. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The differences between child learners a n d adult learners.
B. The possible difficulties language learners may come across.
C. The common ways people choose to learn a fo reign language.
D. The disadvantages of a n d hopes fo r an adult language learner.

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Some pessimistic experts feel that the automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all autos will be aba n doned a n d allowed to rust. Other autho rities, however, think the auto is here to stay. They hold that the car will remain a leading means of urban travel in the fo reseeable future.
The moto rcar will undoubtedly change significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, a n d mo re economical, a n d should not be powered by the gasoline engine. The car of the future should be far mo re pollution-free than present types.
Regardless of its power source, the auto in the future will still be the main problem in urban traffic congestion. One proposed solution to this problem is the automated highway system.
When the auto enters the highway system, a retractable (可伸缩的) arm will drop from the auto a n d make contact with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically. Once attached to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, a n d control of the vehicle will pass to a central computer. The computer will then monito r all of the car’s movements.
The driver will use a telephone to dial instructions about his destination into the system. The computer will calculate the best route, a n d reserve space fo r the car all the way to the co rrect exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to relax a n d wait fo r the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of his coming exit. It is estimated that an automated highway will be able to ha n dle 10,000 vehicles per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that can be carried by a present-day highway.

26. One significant improvement in the future car will probably be ________.
A. its driving system
B. its power source
C. its monito ring system
D. its seating capacity

27. What is the autho r’s main concern?
A. How to render automobiles pollution-free.
B. How to make smaller a n d safer automobiles.
C. How to develop an automated subway system.
D. How to solve the problem of traffic jams.

28. What provides autos with electric power in an automated highway system?
A. A rail.
B. An engine.
C. A retractable arm.
D. A computer controller.

29. In an automated highway system, all the driver needs to do is ________.
A. keep in the right lane
B. wait to arrive at his destination
C. keep in constant touch with the computer center
D. info rm the system of his destination by phone

30. What is the autho r’s attitude toward the future of autos?
A. Enthusiastic.
B. Optimistic.
C. Pessimistic.
D. Cautious.

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
We all know that DNA has the ability to identify individuals but, because it is inherited, there are also regions of the DNA stra n d which can relate an individual to his o r her family (immediate a n d extended), tribal group a n d even an entire population. Molecular Genealogy (宗谱学) can use this unique identification provided by the genetic markers to link people together into family trees.
    Pedigrees(家谱) based on such genetic markers can mean a breakthrough fo r family trees where info rmation is incomplete o r missing due to adoption, illegitimacy o r lack of reco rds. There are many communities a n d populations which have lost precious reco rds due to tragic events such as the fire in the Irish courts during Civil War in 1921 o r American slaves fo r whom many reco rds were never kept in the first place.
    The main objective of the Molecular Genealogy Research Group is to build a database containing over 100,000 DNA samples from individuals all over the wo rd. These individuals will have provided a pedigree chart of at least four generations a n d a small blood sample. Once the database has enough samples to represent the wo rld genetic make-up, it will eventually help in solving may issues regarding genealogies that could not be done by relying only on traditional written reco rds.
    Theo retically, any individual will someday be able to trace his o r her family o rigins through this database.
In the meantime, as the database is being created, molecular genealogy can already verify possible o r suspected relationships between individuals. “Fo r example, if two men sharing the same last name believe that they are related, but no written reco rd proves this relationship, we can verify this possibility by collecting a sample of DNA from both a n d looking fo r common markers( in this case we can look primarily at the Y chromosome(染色体) ,” explains Ugo Perego, a member of the BYU Molecular Genealogy research team.

31. If two men suspected fo r some reason they have a common ancesto r,__________.
A. we can decide acco rding to their family tree
B. we can find the truth from their genetic markers
C. we can compare the differences in their Y chromosome
D. we can look fo r written reco rds to prove their relationship

32. People in a large area may possess the same DNA thread because__________.
A. DNA is characteristic of a region
B. they are beyond doubt of common ancestry
C. DNA stra n d has the ability to identify individuals
D. their unique identification can be provided via DNA

33. Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the passage?
A. We are a walking, living, breathing reco rd of our ancesto rs.
B. Many American slaves did not know who their ancesto rs were.
C. An adopted child generally lacks enough info rmation to prove his identity.
D. Molecular Genealogy can be used to prove a relationship between individuals.

34. The Molecular Genealogy Research Group is building a database fo r the purpose of__________.
A. offering assistance in wo rking out genealogy-related problems
B. solving many issues without relying on traditional written reco rds
C. providing a pedigree chart of at least four generations in the wo rld
D. confirming the assumption that all individuals are of the same o rigin

35. The possible research of family trees is based on the fact that__________.
A. genetics has achieved a breakthrough
B. genetic info rmation contained in DNA can be revealed now
C. each individual carries a unique reco rd of who he is a n d how he is related to others
D. we can use DNA to prove how distant an individual is to a family, a group o r a population

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
    Stone tools, animal bones a n d an incised mammoth tusk found in Russia’s frigid far no rth have provided what archaeologists say is the first evidence that modern humans o r Nea n derthals lived in the Arctic mo re than 30,000 years ago, at least 15,000 years earlier than previously thought.
　　A team of Russian a n d No rwegian archaeologists, describing the discovery in today’s issue of the journal Nature, said the campsite, at Mamontovaya Kurya, on the Ura River at the Arctic Circle, was the “oldest documented evidence fo r human resence at this high latitude.” Digging in the bed of an old river channel close to the Ural Mountains, the team uncovered 123 mammal bones, including ho rse, reindeer a n d wolf. “The most impo rtant find,” they said, was a four-foot mammoth tusk with grooves made by chopping with a sharp stone edge, “unequivocally the wo rk of humans.” The tusk was carbon-dated at about 36,600 years old. Plant remains found among the artifacts were dated at 30,000 to 31,000 years.
　　Other archaeologists said the analysis appeared to be sound. But they cautioned that it was difficult, when dealing with riverbed deposits, to be sure that artifacts had not become jumbled out of their true place, a n d thus time, in the geologic layers. They questioned whether the discoverers could reliably conclude that the stone tools were in fact contempo rary with the bones. But in a commentary accompanying the article, Dr. John A. J. Gowlett of the University of Liverpool in Engla n d wrote, “Although there are questions to be answered, the artifacts illustrate both the capacity of early humans to do the unexpected, a n d the value of archaeologists’ researching in unlikely areas.”
　　The discoverers said they could not determine from the few stone artifacts whether the site was occupied by Nea n derthals, hominids who by then had a long histo ry as hunters in Europe a n d western Asia, o r some of the first anatomically modern humans to reach Europe. In any case, other archaeologists said, the findings could be significant. If these toolmakers were Nea n derthals, the findings suggested that these human relatives, who became extinct after 30,000 years ago, were mo re capable a n d adaptable than they are generally given credit fo r. Living in the Arctic climate presumably required higher levels of technology a n d social o rganization.
If they were modern humans, then the surprise is that they had penetrated so far no rth in such a sho rt time. There has been no firm evidence fo r modern humans in Europe befo re about 35,000 years ago. It had generally been thought that the no rthernmost part of Eurasia was not occupied by humans until the final stage of the last ice age, some 13,000 to 14,000 years ago, when the wo rld’s climate began to moderate. Dr. Gowlett said the new findings indicated that the Arctic region of European Russia was extremely cold but relatively dry a n d ice-free mo re than 30,000 years ago.

36. What is the significance of the discovery?
A. It shows that modern humans lived in the Arctic mo re than 3,000 years ago.
B. It shows that Nea n derthals lived in the Arctic mo re than 3,000 years ago.
C. It shows the oldest documented evidence fo r human presence at such high latitude.
D. It shows human could use tools 30,000 years ago.

37. Why the team believed that the four-foot mammoth tusk was the most impo rtant find?
A. Because it was the longest tusk ever found.
B. Because there were signs left by human’s tools on it.
C. Because there were grooves on it.
D. Because there are not any mammoth tusk all over the wo rld.

38. When did the Nea n derthals extinct?
A. Mo re than 30,000 years ago.
B. After 30,000 years ago.
C. Befo re about 35,000 years ago.
D. Some 13,000 to 14,000 years ago.

39. Who were those toolmakers
A. Nea n derthals.
B. Modern humans.
C. Archaeologists.
D. Not determined.

40. What’s the weather like in the Arctic region of European Russia mo re than 30,000 years ago?
A. Moderate temperature, relatively dry a n d ice-free.
B. Extremely cold, relatively dry a n d ice-free.
C. Extremely cold, plenty of raining a n d ice-free.
D. Extremely cold, relatively dry a n d ice frosted.

Section B (20 points)
Directions: Read the following passage carefully a n d then translate the underlined segments into Chinese.
   Whether you live in Cambodia o r Scotla n d, Lithuania o r America, you have probably heard of dragons. The Eastern dragon, called long in China, may seem like a completely different creature from the Western dragon. Their behavio r, their symbolism, a n d what they mean to society are quite different. (41) The East seems to value dragons fo r their magic a n d beauty a n d holds them in high respect. However, it is a quite different case in the West where dragons are histo rically viewed as monsters.
In Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol of virtue. (42) Unlike Western dragons, o riental dragons are usually seen as kind a n d benevolent. Dragons have long been a symbol in Chinese folklo re a n d art. Temples a n d shrines have been built to hono r them. In fact, the Chinese are sometimes referred to as “the descendants of the dragon”.
Through the symbol of the dragon, many Chinese see qualities which they desire a n d value such as heroism, wisdom a n d power. The dragon is a protecto r. Legend has it that the dragon controls the rain, rivers, lakes a n d the seas; they can protect the innocent a n d give them safety. In real life, the Chinese have the Year of the Dragon. It is said that anyone bo rn in this year will be healthy, wealthy a n d wise. (43) Histo rically, the dragon was associated with the empero r of China a n d used as a symbol to represent imperial power. In o rder to emphasize the association, empero rs wo re robes with a dragon design, sat on a throne with carved dragons, a n d had his palace deco rated with dragon of various patterns.
Dragon idioms are common in China. Chinese idioms are usually made up of four Chinese characters, called chengyu. (44) Many Westerners are familiar with the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but do not know that this movie title is an idiom meaning “talents in hiding”.
Likewise, the Chinese may include the character fo r dragon (“龙”) when naming a child. The character appears in the names of two famous movie stars that all Westerners know, Jackie Chan (Chenglong, meaning “becoming a dragon”) a n d Bruce Lee (Li Xiaolong, implying a “small dragon”).
(45) At special festivals, especially the Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival, dragon boat races play an impo rtant part. Typically, these are boats paddled by a team of up to 20 paddlers with a drummer a n d a steersman. The boats are generally with deco rative dragon heads a n d tails. Dragon boat racing is also an impo rtant part of celebrations by ethnic Chinese outside China. Fo r example, the dragon boat races held annually at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, Califo rnia, are very popular.

Part III  Writing
Section A (10 points)
Directions:
Fo r this part, you will write a letter to your friend giving your views on whether he/she needs to pursue a graduate degree abroad. Write an email fo r about 100 wo rds to your friend to explain your opinion.

Section B (20 points)
Directions: Write an essay of 160 to 200 wo rds about the title “The Two-day Weekend”. You should base your composition on the outline given below:
1. The benefits of “The Two-day Weekend”.
2. The drawbacks of “The Two-day Weekend”.
3. How should we spend our weekends?