高级口译

nhsy2006

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. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.
Questions 1~5
The rise of tourist traffic has brought the relatively recent phenomenon of the tourist attraction pure and simple. It often has no purpose but to attract in the interest of the owner or of the nation. As we might expect, this use of the word "attraction" as "a thing or feature which 'draws' people, especially any interesting or amusing exhibition" dates only from about 1862. It is a new species: the most attenuated form of a nation's culture. All over the world now we find these "attractions"—of little significance for the inward life of a people, but wonderfully saleable as tourist commodities. Examples are Madame Tussaud's exhibition of wax figures in London (she first became known for her modelled heads of the leaders and victims of the French Revolution) and the Tiger Balm Gardens in Hong Kong; Disneyland in California—the American "attraction" which tourist Khrushchev most wanted to see—is the example to end all examples. Here indeed Nature imitates Art. The visitor to Disneyland encounters not the two-dimensional comic strip of movie originals, but only their three-dimensional facsimiles.
Tourist attractions serve their purpose best when they are pseudo-events. To be repeatable at will, they must be factitious. Emphasis on the artificial comes from the ruthless truthfulness of tourist agents. What they can really guarantee you are not spontaneous cultural products but only those made especially for tourist consumption, for foreign cash customers. Not only in Mexico City and Montreal, but also in the remote Guatemalan tourist Mecca of Chichecastenango and in far-off villages of Japan, earnest honest natives embellish their ancient rites, change, enlarge, and spectacularize their festivals, so that tourists will not be disappointed. In order to satisfy the exaggerated expectations of tour agents and tourists, people everywhere obligingly become dishonest mimics of themselves. To provide a full schedule of events at the best seasons and at convenient hours, they travesty their most solemn rituals, holidays, and folk celebrations—all for the benefit of the tourists.
In Berlin, in the days before the First World War, legend tells us that precisely at the stroke of noon, just as the imperial military band would begin its daily concert in front of the Imperial Palace, Kaiser Wilhelm used to interrupt whatever he was doing inside the palace. If he was in a council of state he would say: "With your kind forbearance, gentlemen, I must excuse myself now, to appear at the window. You see, it says in Baedeker that at this hour I always do. "
Modern tourist guide-books have helped to raise tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichecastenango —with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to-date scripts for actors on the tourists' stage.
1.  Which of the following can be concluded from the first paragraph?
  (A) These tourist attractions do not appeal to the local people spiritually.
  (B) Disneyland is no longer a typical example of tourist attractions.
  (C) Both tourists and local people are equally drawn by these tourist attractions.
  (D) Madam Tussaud's exhibition is not One of saleable tourist commodities.
2.  "Nature imitates Art" means that ______.
  (A) Art is two-dimensional and Nature is three-dimensional
  (B) Disney created a two-dimensional art form
  (C) the facsimiles are three-dimensional
  (D) Disneyland is a life-like copy of the original film cartoons
3.  To be repeatable at will, a tourist attraction must be ______.
  (A) artificial  (B) attractive
  (C) fictitious  (D) facetious
4.  The locals all over the world ______in order to satisfy the travelling agents and tourists.
  (A) make their festivals more material  
  (B) adorn and exaggerate their traditional ceremonies
  (C) change into dishonest tourist attractions
  (D) decorate their villages for the tourists
5.  According to the passage, modern tourist guide books______.
  (A) help make tourists excited
  (B) give VIPs like Kaiser Wilhelm instructions for him to appear
  (C) are also a source of information for the natives
  (D) can be used as scripts for acting on stage
Questions 6~10
New vocational qualifications to provide an alternative to GCSE and transform school life for 14- to 16-year-olds are expected to be announced on Thursday by the Government.
Ministers have decided to run a pilot next year in 90 of 4,000 secondary schools. Courses for under-16s could be available in all schools by 1997. Vocational courses for over-16s have proved extremely popular* and hundreds of schools are thought to have volunteered for next year's pilot.
The General National Vocational Qualification courses are not designed as training for a particular job. They are class-room-based, so a pupil taking, for instance, manufacturing, might do work experience in a local factory but would not have to make anything.
Last week Sir Ron Dearing, chairman of the Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority, said 40 per cent of the timetable for 14- to 16-year-olds would be freed so that some pupils could pursue vocational courses, while others do the more academic GCSEs. All will continue to do GCSEs in English, math and science, and short courses in modern languages and technology.
Critics say the arrangements will divide pupils into sheep and goats, and could lead to the creation of specialist academic and vocational schools. Supporters say the new courses will motivate non-academic pupils so that fewer leave school without qualifications.
The new courses in health and social care, business and manufacturing are being introduced despite fierce criticism of present vocational qualifications for over-16s in reports from school inspectors 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' 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 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 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 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.
Questions 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 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, 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 on repayments 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

水语清叶

恐怖啊。。。