97.3a上海英语高级口译资格证书第一阶段考试

SECTION 1： LISTENING TEST (30 minutes)
Part A: Spot Dictation
Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with
blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the words you have heard on the tape. Write your
answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the
passage only once.
News can be something the authorities want you to know, or something they would rather
keep secret. An announcement of a ___________(1), a denial of a failure, or, a secret scandal
that nobody really wants you to ____________(2). If the authorities want to tell the world some
good news, they issue statements, communiques, and call _____________(3). Or politicians
make speeches. Local newspapers, radio and television help to ___________(4) to what is going
on. And by making contacts with ________(5), journalists can ask for more information or
explanations to help them _________(6).
Unless the correspondent is an ________(7), it is rare to trust any single source. Officials
have a policy to defend, and __________(8) want to attack it. Rumour 1 and gossip can also
confuse the situation. So, you have to __________(9) as much as possible, using common sense
and experience as final checks to help establish just what's likely to be the truth, or
____________(10).
Just getting the news is only half the job. A correspondent may be well-informed, but his
job is to ______________(11), the public. So, once the information is available it has to be
written _______________(12) which is also easily understood. Particularly for radio, since,
while a newspaper reader can turn back and re-read a sentence or two, the radio listener has
_______(13). This also means that only a limited number of facts can be contained in a sentence.
That there should be an __________(14). And vital information necessary to understand the
latest development should be presented ___________(15) in case the producer of a news
programme decides to ____________(16) an item, by cutting for example the last sentence or
tow.
Finally, the style of presentation must ____________(17). A cheerful voice might be perfect
for a _____________(18). But it would be sadly out of place for a report of a ____________(19).
And this would also confuse and distract the listener, probably ______________(20) just what
had happened and to whom.
Part B: Listening Comprehension
Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each
one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken
only once. Now listen care fully 2 and choose the right answer to each question you have heard
and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER
BOOKLET.
Question 1 to 5 are based on the following conversation.
1. (A) A compact car. (B) A wrist watch.
(C) A walkman. (D) A small television.
2. (A) Eight year ago. (B) In the spring of 1982.
(C) At the end of 1982. (D) In 1983.
3. (A) Sinclair. (B) Casio.
(C) Hattori. (D) Sony.
4. (A) People who show great interest in novelty items.
(B) People who work at railway or bus stations.
(C) People who travel on trains and buses regularly.
(D) People who have monotonous 3 work.
5. (A) It's getting smaller every year.
(B) It's increasing rapidly.
(C) It's expanding only in Japan.
(D) It started in the 70's.
Question 6 to 10 are based on the following conversations.
6. (A) About fourteen. (B) Twenty-eight.
(C) Around forty. (D) Over fifty.
7. (A) The west coast of Canada.
(B) A British seaside resort.
(C) The Rocky Mountains.
(D) A quiet, unspoilt place in Asia.
8. (A) She travels only to safe places.
(B) She usually hitchhikes during the journey.
(C) She very often travels by day.
(D) She avoids travelling alone as much as possible.
9. (A) She stayed in a prison in Norway.
(B) She was robbed on a train in Hungary.
(C) She was once arrested in Germany.
(D) She chose to go to the Middle East to cover the war.
10. (A) She wants to enjoy mild climates and hectic 4 life.
(B) She feels completely alive while she's travelling.
(C) She can have a lot of experience with others.
(D) Both (B) and (C).
Question 11 to 15 are based on the following news.
11. (A) She's considering holding a general election.
(B) No general election is to be held very soon.
(C) A quick election is in the best interests of the nation.
(D) There might be a general election in the near future.
12. (A) A strong earthquake hit this area one might.
(B) Hundreds of people were killed in the earthquake.
(C) Many families have been made homeless by the avalanches 5.
(D) Five people were missing in the earthquake.
13. (A) In north London. (B) In south London.
(C) In central London. (D) In west London.
14. (A) 250,000 pounds. (B) 500,000 pounds.
(C) 750,000 pounds (D) 1,000,000 pounds.
15. (A) The hospitals are obviously overstaffed.
(B) More people are waiting to be hospitalized.
(C) There is a sharp shortage of qualified 6 nurses.
(D) The hospitals are charging too much from the patients.
Question 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
16. (A) Well over 50,0000. (B) Approximately 50,000.
(C) Less than 400,000. (D) More than 400,000.
17. (A) Some insurance companies are refusing to provide cover for burglaries in high-risk
areas.
(B) Insurance agents are selling more and more burglary policies.
(C) Insurance premiums 7 rose considerably 8 last year.
(D) Insurance companies are planning to offer more insurance products.
18. (A) To fit a burglar alarm.
(B) To fix good locks and bolts on doors and windows.
(C) To leave milk bottles on the doorstep.
(D) To check callers' credentials 9.
19. (A) Burglaries always happen while you're out.
(B) A burglary may take only a little time to finish.
(C) You should keep your curtains drawn 10 in the day to avoid a burglary.
(D) Milk bottles left on the doorstep are a warning to burglars.
20. (A) A Rising Number of Burglaries.
(B) How to Prevent Household Burglaries.
(C) Crime and Punishment.
(D) Police--an Effective Force to Cut Burglaries.
SECTION 2: READING TEST (30 minutes)
Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several
questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question.
(B) No general election is to be held very soon.
(C) A quick election is in the best interests of the nation.
(D) There might be a general election in the near future.
12. (A) A strong earthquake hit this area one might.
(B) Hundreds of people were killed in the earthquake.
(C) Many families have been made homeless by the avalanches.
(D) Five people were missing in the earthquake.
13. (A) In north London. (B) In south London.
(C) In central London. (D) In west London.
14. (A) 250,000 pounds. (B) 500,000 pounds.
(C) 750,000 pounds (D) 1,000,000 pounds.
15. (A) The hospitals are obviously overstaffed.
(B) More people are waiting to be hospitalized.
(C) There is a sharp shortage of qualified nurses.
(D) The hospitals are charging too much from the patients.
Question 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
16. (A) Well over 50,0000. (B) Approximately 50,000.
(C) Less than 400,000. (D) More than 400,000.
17. (A) Some insurance companies are refusing to provide cover for burglaries in high-risk
areas.
(B) Insurance agents are selling more and more burglary policies.
(C) Insurance premiums rose considerably last year.
(D) Insurance companies are planning to offer more insurance products.
18. (A) To fit a burglar alarm.
(B) To fix good locks and bolts on doors and windows.
(C) To leave milk bottles on the doorstep.
(D) To check callers' credentials.
19. (A) Burglaries always happen while you're out.
(B) A burglary may take only a little time to finish.
(C) You should keep your curtains drawn in the day to avoid a burglary.
(D) Milk bottles left on the doorstep are a warning to burglars.
20. (A) A Rising Number of Burglaries.
(B) How to Prevent Household Burglaries.
(C) Crime and Punishment.
(D) Police--an Effective Force to Cut Burglaries.
SECTION 2: READING TEST (30 minutes)
Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several
questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question.
(B) No general election is to be held very soon.
(C) A quick election is in the best interests of the nation.
(D) There might be a general election in the near future.
12. (A) A strong earthquake hit this area one might.
(B) Hundreds of people were killed in the earthquake.
(C) Many families have been made homeless by the avalanches.
(D) Five people were missing in the earthquake.
13. (A) In north London. (B) In south London.
(C) In central London. (D) In west London.
14. (A) 250,000 pounds. (B) 500,000 pounds.
(C) 750,000 pounds (D) 1,000,000 pounds.
15. (A) The hospitals are obviously overstaffed.
(B) More people are waiting to be hospitalized.
(C) There is a sharp shortage of qualified nurses.
(D) The hospitals are charging too much from the patients.
Question 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
16. (A) Well over 50,0000. (B) Approximately 50,000.
(C) Less than 400,000. (D) More than 400,000.
17. (A) Some insurance companies are refusing to provide cover for burglaries in high-risk
areas.
(B) Insurance agents are selling more and more burglary policies.
(C) Insurance premiums rose considerably last year.
(D) Insurance companies are planning to offer more insurance products.
18. (A) To fit a burglar alarm.
(B) To fix good locks and bolts on doors and windows.
(C) To leave milk bottles on the doorstep.
(D) To check callers' credentials.
19. (A) Burglaries always happen while you're out.
(B) A burglary may take only a little time to finish.
(C) You should keep your curtains drawn in the day to avoid a burglary.
(D) Milk bottles left on the doorstep are a warning to burglars.
20. (A) A Rising Number of Burglaries.
(B) How to Prevent Household Burglaries.
(C) Crime and Punishment.
(D) Police--an Effective Force to Cut Burglaries.
SECTION 2: READING TEST (30 minutes)
Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several
questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question.
inspectors 11 and academics. The inspectors said the course content was too vague and that
assessments, done mainly by teachers, were unreliable.
However, the GNVQs will be modelled closely on those for over-16s, which have six units.
Pupils will study three of the six, and will also have to reach agreed standards in three "core
skills" of literacy, numeracy and information technology, which will account for 40 per cent of
the marks.
David Blunkett, Labour's education spokesman, said it was vital that the new qualifications
were seen as high-quality.
Don Foster, the Liberal Democrats 12' education spokesman, said: "There must be some
concern that the recent criticism of the new GNVQs appears not to have been taken on board. It
is vital that they are got right first time, given the crucial role they will play in achieving parity
of esteem 13 between academic and vocational qualifications."
6. According to the passage, the vocational qualifications ____.
(A) constitute part of the GCSEs
(B) serve as a supplement to GCSEs
(C) are mainly for over-16s
(D) are designed as training for a particular job
7. The phrase "to run a pilot" (para. 2) can best be paraphrased 14 as which of the following?
(A) to set up a vocational school
(B) to continue a training course
(C) to operate an experimental course
(D) to begin a driving class
8. The critic's view that "the arrangements will divide pupils into sheep and goats" means that
pupils ____.
(A) will be fairly separated and treated
(B) will be grouped based on their vocational abilities.
(C) will be placed either in more academic or non academic groups
(D) will be treated either cruelly or indiscrimitively
9. The last two paragraphs of the passage ____.
(A) summarize the main idea of the article
(B) convey the general plan for vocational qualifications
(C) show the opposition 15 against vocational qualifications
(D) introduce responses from other parties
10. Which of the following can NOT be found in the passage?
(A) Courses for vocational qualifications will be modelled on those for over -16s.
(B) Vocational courses will not be offered in most schools before 1997.
(C) Courses in health and social care, business and manufacturing meet fierce criticisms
from school inspectors.
(D) Courses in English, math and science are required of all the pupils.
Question 11~15
One in eight students with a government loan is unlikely ever to repay the debt, a report
published today says. The figure is likely to be a further blow to government plans to privatise
the loan scheme, announced in the Queen's Speech last week.
The Student Loans Company has told the National Audit 16 Office that 142 million of
outstanding debt is unlikely to be recovered. The loans company admitted recently that
outstanding loans totalled more than 1 billion.
The report also highlights questions about the loans company's competence 17, and records the
collapse of its telephone system. Out of 1.1 million attempted calls by students in November
1994 only 41,000 were answered.
Sir Eric Ash, head of the Student Loans Company, has already told ministers that the banks
are unlikely to want to take over the scheme. The audit office report is likely to reinforce their
reluctance.
The audit office, the public spending watchdog, found that almost half of all students who
had received loans had been granted a deferment 18 on repayments 20 because their income fell
beneath the statutory threshold. Students are not required to repay a loan until a year after
completing their course and then only if their income reaches 85 per cent of national average
earnings.
The audit office found that of 269,000 students who should be repaying loans, 122,000 had
been granted deferment. The loans company told the audit office that it recognised "it may be
difficult to maintain contact with the large number of repayers in deferment".
The company admitted that ￡142 million, about 12 per cent of the outstanding loan
portfolio of ￡1.178 billion, might not be recovered due to long-term deferment, death and
default.
The audit office report says that the loans company's financial statements do not include
any record of nonrecoverable sums "because they are liable to remit 21 to the Education
Department only those monies they actually succeed in recovering". As a result of the audit
office's objections, the annual accounts will in future include provision for irrecoverable loan
debt.
The report found that the loans company had improved its efficiency in the light of previous
criticism and processed 517,000 applications for loans in the last academic year. However,
35,000 students experienced significant delay in getting grants.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee will question officials on the report next month,
when the proposed privatisation is expected to come under attack as unrealistic.
Bryan Davies, Labour's education spokesman, said: "The report shows there is considerable
uncertainty in detailed 22 business planning for student loans. The Government has not answered
why banks and building societies should want to handle such unpredictable loans, yet it is
rushing privatisation through Parliament." The Student Loans Bill will be debated in Parliament
on Monday.
11. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The privatisation of the student loan project.
(B) The debate on the student loan scheme.
(C) The issue of nonrecoverable student loan debt.
(D) The development of the Student Loans Company.
12. Which of the following can be concluded from the passage?
(A) One in eight students receives government loans.
(B) Fifty percent of students repay government loans.
(C) Most students apply for government loans.
(D) Over twelve percent of loan receivers may not repay their loan debts.
13. Which of the following is NOT true about the Student Loans Company?
(A) Its telephone system is simply not adequate enough.
(B) The company improved its efficiency greatly.
(C) It is a privatised company.
(D) The company has difficulty in keeping contact with loan repayers.
14. All of the following are causes of difficulty in the repayment 19 of student loans EXCEPT that
____.
(A) the Student Loans Company loses contact with repayers
(B) some students' income falls beneath 85% of national average earnings
(C) some students are granted long-term deferment
(D) banks are not directly involved in student loans
15. Which of the following is not directly stated, but implied in the passage?
(A) Students should start to repay a loan a year after graduation.
(B) The Student Loans Company expects banks' involvement in the loan scheme.
(C) The privatisation of student loans project does not receive much support.
(D) The Labour Party holds critical view towards the privatisation of the loan scheme.
Question 16~20
THE Government yesterday unveiled a "new realist" strategy against drugs and
acknowledged the failings of previous attempts to stop growing abuse. Four Cabinet ministers
announced proposals emphasizing the need to educate and inform young people of the facts and
risks, abandoning earlier shock tactics.
Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, said there was "no magic wand" that would wish
away the problem once and for all. Instead, ministers sought to co-ordinate and build on the
successes of local initiatives, while targeting suppliers. They pledged to train more teachers to
take the anti-drugs message into classrooms, including primary schools, issue guidance to head
teachers and launch a national helpline for parents.
The Home Office estimates that heroin 23 users financing their habit were responsible for
thefts and robberies worth up to ￡864 million in 1992. In any one year, some three million
people take an illegal drug. Most police forces only caution people caught using soft drugs for
the first time.
Tony Newton, the chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee on the misuse 25 of drugs,
highlighted the shift in strategy and publicly recognised the "intractable" nature of the problem.
"We always want to learn from experience. I think some of the shock tactics that have been used
in one or two earlier campaigns have not proved as effective as we would have liked."
The 114-page Green Paper, Tackling Drugs Together, has jettisoned 26 earlier language about
"drug abusers" and the "war on drugs", talking instead of "drug users" while putting a premium
on pragmatic, community-led initiatives.
It concedes that contact with drugs is now part of growing up. The paper says: "As part of
adolescence and maturing, young people experiment with different values and behaviours. While
this strategy proposes a strong emphasis on preventing young people from misusing 27 drugs in the
first place there will still be some who choose to experiment even if they have both the
knowledge and the skills to resist peer pressure."
Eric Forth 24, the education minister, said that some schools had been inclined to ignore the
drugs problem, because even talking about it risked giving them a bad name. He said: "We hope
that by acknowledging the need to deal with this problem, saying it's something that all schools
should be doing, we will give action against drugs the seal of approval."
16. Which of the following summarizes the main idea of the passage?
(A) The government admits its failure in fighting against drugs.
(B) The Home Office will continue its policy to reduce drug-related crime.
(C) The government plans to change its strategy against drugs.
(D) Police forces fully support government's policy against drugs.
17. It can be inferred from the passage that shock tactics against drugs ________.
(A) have never received full support from all parties
(B) have laid stress on prohibition 28 of drug use and punishment
(C) have often proved as effective as expected
(D) have concentrated on preventing people from misusing drugs
18. Which of the following can best replace the word "jettisoned" used in paragraph 5?
(A) Adopted. (B) Supported.
(C) Criticized. (D) Discarded.
19. The statement that "contact with drugs is now part of growing up" can be paraphrased as
_____.
(A) drug use is a kind of learning process necessary for young people
(B) most young people have contact with drugs
(C) young people try to learn certain social values through drugs
(D) drug abuse is mainly related to the teenagers
20. According to the passage, some schools were inclined to ignore the drugs problem because
_____.
(A) there was no drugs problem in those schools
(B) the schools fear that their reputation would be damaged
(C) they felt it should be the government's responsibility to fight drug abuse
(D) drug abuse is mainly a social problem
SECTION 3: TRANSLATION TEST (30 minutes)
Directions: Translate the following passage into Chinese and write your version in the
corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.
Since Darwin, biologists have been firmly convinced that nature works without plan or
meaning, pursuing no aim by the direct road of design. But today we see that this conviction is a
fatal error. Why should evolution, exactly as Darwin knew it and described it, be planless and
irrational 29? Do not aircraft design engineers work, at precisely 30 that point where specific
calculations and plans give out, according to the same principle of evolution, when they test the
serviceability of a great number of statistically 31 determined 32 forms in the wind tunnel, in order to
choose the one that functions best? Can we say that there is no process of natural selection when
nuclear physicists 33, through thousands of computer operations, try to find out which materials, in
which combinations and with what structural 34 form, are best suited to the building of an atomic
reactor? They also practise no designed adaptation, but work by the principle of selection. But it
would never occur to anyone to call their method planless and irrational.