Part I Writing
(30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic “To Live on Campus or Not?” You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:
1. 有的人赞同大学生在校外租房住;
2. 有的人认为大学生应该在校内住集体宿舍;
3. 作为大学生，请谈谈你的观点。
Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)
(15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
How the Young Scientist Challenge Works
Introduction to the Young Scientist Challenge
All of us have taken a science class at one time or another. Some recall science with feelings of excitement, wonder and awe. Some continue their studies in science throughout the rest of their education. And some even take their love of science and make a career out of it. But for most, science is not a happy subject. Do you think back to studying science and get a feeling of dread, anxiety or fear? When did you lose interest in science — sometime around middle school? Well, you’re not alone.
Studies have shown that an interest in science is either piqued or lost in middle school. Think back to that time in your life. It probably wasn’t the best time, was it? That time is full of awkwardness, pain and peer pressure. At that age, children begin to really grow and mature. And in doing that, they begin to find out what they’re really interested in. But children are also extremely impressionable, and their friends may not like the interests they’re developing. Let’s face it — science and math aren’t the most glamorous subjects around, and kids don’t want to seem uncool. So they give up science and move on to study other things.
But those kids who give up science and math miss so much that it’s nearly impossible for them to catch up with their peers. So educators are taking a proactive stance and doing everything they can to keep interests high — they want science and math to be cool again. But it’s not just teachers that are noticing the danger of losing students. Corporations are, too. After all, if no one is studying science, who’s going to come to work for them one day? Two companies are even partnering to promote science nationally. Discovery Education and 3M have come together to present a national science competition, Young Scientist Challenge. How does this challenge work? Who can participate, and how do students get started? Read on to find out how you can become a young scientist.
The Young Scientist Challenge from the Beginning
The challenge began in 1999 after Discovery Communications noticed the waning interest in science. After reading the studies about middle school children, it wanted to do something to make it exciting, so the company created a contest in the hope of making science fun. Since the competition began, countless students have competed for a nomination to participate in the challenge, with just 51 of those winning that nomination each year (one from each state and the District of Columbia). From there, only 10 students secure a place in the finals and win an all-expense paid trip to the competition.
If you want to be the 10th the Young Scientist, crack open your computer and bust out your video camera. If you’re in the fifth through the eighth grades, you can register at Discovery Education. Once registration has been completed and accepted, it’s time to get creative.
Each year the judges choose a theme for the challenge. They can be huge topics, but don’t let that scare you. Along with the theme, the judges also release topics for students to focus on. This helps to keep everything fair — and not overwhelming.
Once you pick your topic, it’s time to start writing, but you’ll need to write a script instead of an essay. Students are required to submit a video showing off their knowledge of their topic of choice. But think twice before you hire actors or a director. Videos will be accepted only if the student is the only one in the video and if the video is obviously done by the student. “Producing” isn’t allowed.
You’d better keep it short and sweet, too. Video submissions have to be longer than 60 seconds but can’t exceed 120 seconds. In those two minutes, the judges will be looking for creativity, relevance, persuasiveness, classroom suitability and overall presentation. Once your video is ready to go, upload it to the Web site and sit tight. Discovery will alert you of the winners sometime over the summer. But you’re not in the clear yet. Of the 51 winners (one from each state and the District of Columbia), only 10 will be officially invited to attend the challenge.
The Finals of the Young Scientist Challenge
Steven Jacobs is an accomplished scientist, teacher and author with more than two decades of experience and three advanced degrees. He’s also the head judge for the Discovery Education and 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Judge Jake, as the contestants refer to him, is accompanied on the judge’s panel by a mixture of historians, producers, physicians, marine biologists and other scientists. As we mentioned in the previous section, the judges determine the theme and the topics, as well as watch all of the video submissions and narrow the contestants down to 10.
Over the course of the final competition, the contestants will face a series of challenges laid out by the judges. What kind of challenges, you ask? No one will know until the competition begins. It’s top secret. Some past challenges have included building greenhouses to seal off CO2 and investigating serious health concerns. The only hint the contestants get is that all of the challenges will revolve around the theme.
The challenges are designed to highlight a student’s leadership, teamwork, problem-solving skills and communication. At the end of the competition one student will stand out amongst the finalists, and he or she will be named America’s Top Young Scientist of the Year. And while the title’s nice, let’s get to the prizes.
The winner is not the only one who gets awards. Each of the 51 semifinalists will get $250, along with a certificate and T-shirt. The 10 finalists will get these things, as well as a paid trip to the competition, $1,000 and a medal. But this is nothing compared to what the grand prize winner gets: all of the above items, plus $50,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds, a trophy and bragging rights for being the smartest kid on the block.
1. What do most students think of science?
A) They can learn science throughout their whole education.
B) They can make a career out of science.
C) Science can bring them happy feelings.
D) Science can bring them feelings of anxiety and fear.
2. Why do children lose their interest in science in middle school?
A) They begin to grow and mature.
B) They find middle school life painful.
C) They want to be cool but science is not a cool subject.
D) They want to be different from their friends.
3. The Young Scientist Challenge is ____________.
A) an international science competition
B) presented by the U.S. government
C) designed to encourage children to study science
D) an entertaining activity that began in 1999
4. After you pick your topic, you need to __________.
A) hire actors and directors
B) visit some Web sites and sit tight
C) present your essay in a video
D) write a script and produce a short video
5. What does the underlined sentence mean in the seventh paragraph?
A) Students should not produce the videos by themselves.
B) Students should ask for permission before producing videos.
C) Students should design the videos by themselves and can’t copy others’.
D) Students should produce what they know but not what they don’t know.
6. The challenges in the final competition that the contestants will face ___________________.
A) are about environmental problems
B) are closely related to the theme
C) have something to do with people’s health
D) are known at the beginning of the competition
7. What is unimportant for a student to face the challenges?
A) Communication skills.
B) The spirit of teamwork.
C) The art of leadership.
D) The feeling of competition.
8. Each year, only 10 students ___________________ and win an all-expense paid trip to the competition.
9. Along with the theme for the challenge, the judges also _________________________.
10. The judges determine the theme and the topics, as well as watch all of the video submissions and ___________.
Part III Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)
(25 minutes)
■ Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 11 to 20 are based on the following passage.
Landslides are a form of mass movement, a term used to describe any sort of gravity-induced movement of sediment down a slope. Mass movements can 11 slowly over a period of years, or they can happen in a matter of minutes. A mass movement can be as small as some rocks and debris you kick down a small 12 or as big as the 1980 landslide set off by the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
There are many different kinds of mass movements 13 by the type of material involved, the way it is moved and how fast it moves. However, with any mass movement, a soil layer is separated to some 14 from the underlying bedrock. Soil is the 15 loose mixture of worn-down rock, minerals, air, water and decayed organic matter that covers the ground. Bedrock is the more 16 , solid layer of rock underneath.
Although the word landslide is often used (incorrectly) to encompass many types of mass movements, a landslide is actually something more 17 . A slide refers to a mass movement where rocks and sediment are loosened from the stable, underlying bedrock along a distinct 18 of weakness. The rocks and sediment separate and move down the slope rapidly. You could think of it as a poster fastened to a wall with tape. The poster will remain on the wall without any outside force 19 on it. But if extra weight is attached to the poster, or if the tape is moistened, the 20 will be weakened and the poster will fall.
A) stable I) zone
B) occur J) degree
C) risky K) specific
D) backing L) categorized
E) relatively M) room
F) connection N) slope
G) positively O) acting
H) grouped
■ Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished sentences. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice.
Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
“My early physics education was very strange,” says theoretical physicist Lee Smolin. Strange, but effective. Now, Smolin worries that the best and brightest students are turning to other disciplines because basic physics courses are stodgy. “In every other area, students are being exposed to things that are intellectually challenging and exciting because they are new,” he says. “The fact that we teach 300-year-old physics as introductory physics is just shameful.”
In the late 1970s, the United States dominated both Europe and Asia in sheer numbers of science and engineering doctorates, but it has trailed both regions since the late 1990s. One positive trend: The number of women and minorities receiving Ph.D.’s in science and engineering is on the rise.
There is plenty of shame to go around in America’s science classrooms, and creative solutions are definitely in order. The number of science and engineering doctorates awarded at American universities has dropped since the late 1990s, while foreign schools have more than picked up the slack. “We need another Sputnik,” says Cindy Workosky, a science teacher. “There was so much enthusiasm and focus on science education during those days ...”
Association president Anne Tweed says there are hopeful trends. “We’re also starting to see much more innovative research questions being asked in the lower grades,” says Tweed. “Students are inserting genes into bacteria as part of a 9th- or 10th-grade biology curriculum. Students can clone plant materials. It’s really amazing.”
And someday, Smolin hopes, physics education, regarded by many as the foundation upon which all other science education should be laid, will reflect our latest concept of ultimate reality. Even high school students, he says, could grasp — and be excited by — the fundamentals of simple quantum (量子) mechanical systems such as qubits (量子位), the two-state units of quantum information that scientists hope will someday be manipulated (操作) by quantum computers. “In the 21st century, we regard quantum mechanics as the truest thing we have,” he says, so it is only sensible that the most fundamental system be taught first. “It does not require any more skill or intelligence to learn this way, and it’s the best way to get and keep the kids we really want, the ones who are real thinkers and who are creative.”
21. What does the underlined word in the first paragraph most probably mean?
A) Uninteresting and difficult.
B) Strange and effective.
C) Heavy and sticky.
D) Dull and useless.
22. What do we know about the United States’ science education?
A) It dominated the world for almost 20 years.
B) The number of science students was the smallest in the late 1970s.
C) The number of female doctors majoring in science is increasing.
D) It is not as advanced as it is in Europe and Asia.
23. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph can be completed by ____________.
A) and we just don’t have that now
B) though not so much
C) and we just cannot get enough enthusiasm
D) though we don’t have another Sputnik
24. What do Anne Tweed’s words mean in the fourth paragraph?
A) Physics education is the foundation of all science education.
B) Biology is far more interesting than other science subjects.
C) Students can carry out amazing research on their own.
D) Younger students are becoming interested in science.
25. According to Smolin, the most fundamental system should be taught first to ___________.
A) keep the students’ interest in science high
B) make the students interested and creative
C) improve the students’ skills and intelligence
D) give the students what they really want
Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Winter depression (or winter blues) is a common affliction (折磨) for those who live in our northern climate. Its clinical name is seasonal affective disorder (or SAD) and up to 5% of the population (especially in northern states) may suffer from it. Seasonal affective disorder is characterized by feelings of sadness and depression that occur in the winter months when the temperatures drop and the days grow short. The depression is often associated with excessive eating or sleeping and weight gain. Women are twice to three times more likely to suffer from the winter blues than men.
There are many effective treatments for winter depression, some of which you can do to help yourself. Increasing your daily exposure to as much natural light as possible can be helpful to many. Any time that you have the opportunity to gain access to more sunlight in the winter months, you should try to do so. Taking walks throughout the day (even if you don’t normally do so), sitting next to a south-facing window at your office, in a classroom, or at home will increase your sunlight exposure. Exercising next to a window or outdoors (when possible) is another activity that can help.
Although it may be difficult to do, maintaining your schedule and lifestyle will help to keep the depression at bay. A regular pattern of sleep is the most important thing to maintain. It may be helpful, for instance, to have your bedroom lights on a timer to turn on a half-hour before you wake. This may help in waking at a regular time every morning, when it is still dark outside in the winter months.
Light therapy has shown to be an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder. While you can purchase expensive, specialized light therapy lighting fixtures for your home or office, some inexpensive alternatives are also available. Another lighting technique to try is to replace commonly used light bulbs in your home with brighter full spectrum (also known as broad spectrum) light bulbs. While more expensive than regular light bulbs, these bulbs provide light that is similar to natural sunlight.
If none of these techniques seem to help your depressive symptoms, you should consider consulting your family physician or a mental health professional. The winter blues are a form of depression and can be readily treated with medications or psychotherapy when other self-help methods aren’t effective. Don’t be afraid to talk about this condition with a professional; it’s nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. With a little effort, the winter blues can be beaten.
26. What do we know about winter depression?
A) It is very common where the weather is cold.
B) It may lead to weight gain.
C) It occurs when the temperatures drop.
D) It seldom affects men.
27. What is the most important factor in the therapy introduced in the second paragraph?
A) Exposure to natural light.
B) Sports in winter months.
C) Outdoor activities.
D) Sunlight through the window.
28. What does “to keep the depression at bay” mean in the third paragraph?
A) To shorten the duration of the depression.
B) To use light to resist the depression.
C) To keep the depression manageable and minimal.
D) To delay the occurrence of the depression.
29. For winter depression, light therapy ___________.
A) is much more effective than other kinds of therapy
B) is so expensive that some may not be able to afford it
C) encourages people to do outdoor exercises
D) needs specialized bulbs to replace ordinary ones
30. We can infer from the passage that __________.
A) self-help methods do not work 100% of the time
B) medications or psychotherapy is much more effective
C) mental health professionals don’t recommend self- help methods
D) most people prefer self-help methods to medications
Part IV Translation
道教是中国土生土长长的宗教。创始人是春秋末期的哲学家、思想家老子。道教以老子所著的《道德经》为主要经典。道教主张“重人贵生”。崇尚清静无为，修身养性。“道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。无名天地之始;有名万物之母。故常无，欲以观其妙;常有，欲以观其徼”便是老子的至理名言。
参考答案
Part I Writing
One possible version:
To Live on Campus or Not?
Nowadays, some university students do not live on campus. Instead, they rent a room outside of the university. Some people think that renting a room is a good idea. It’s much more convenient than living in a dorm with other students. Living on one’s own gives students more freedom and saves them from disturbances.
On the other hand, some people believe that students should share a dorm with his / her fellow students. First of all, it costs less than renting a room. Second, living with others is a good experience that will teach students how to compromise and how to cooperate.
As far as I’m concerned, I would like to share a dorm with my classmates. Living together may lead to some troubles. But problems will be solved as long as everybody is sincere. Living together in a dorm is fun. We can get to know each other and learn from each other.
Part II Reading Comprehension
(Skimming and Scanning)
1. D)。根据第一段中“But for most, science is not a happy subject. Do you think back to studying science and get a feeling of dread, anxiety or fear?”可知，对大多数人来说，科学不是一个让人高兴的科目，很多人回想起幼年时学习科学的经历，可能都会感到害怕和忧虑。
2. C)。根据第二段中“Let’s face it — science and math aren’t the most glamorous subjects around, and kids don’t want to seem uncool.”一句可知，科学和数学不是很酷的科目，而孩子们不想看上去不酷，所以他们会很容易对科学和数学失去兴趣。
3. C)。根据第三段的相关内容可知，Young Scientist Challenge这个竞赛活动的设计目的是为了鼓励孩子们学习科学。
4. D)。根据第七段第一句“Once you pick your topic, it’s time to start writing, but you’ll need to write a script instead of an essay.”可知，一旦选定了题目，就要开始写作了，是写一个脚本，而不是写一篇论文。
5. C)。根据第七段“Videos will be accepted only if the student is the only one in the video and if the video is obviously done by the student.”一句可知，视频的录制必须由本人独自完成，而且视频中只能有本人，不能有其他人。据此可以推断画线这句话的意思是“你不能抄袭其他人的视频”。producing被加了引号，可见是反语用法。
6. B)。根据第十段最后一句“The only hint the contestants get is that all of the challenges will revolve around the theme.”可知，比赛中选手面对的挑战是围绕着某个主题的。
7. D)。根据倒数第二段第一句“The challenges are designed to highlight a student’s leadership, teamwork, problem-solving skills and communication.”可知，领导能力、团队精神、解决问题的能力和沟通技巧都很重要，但是D)“竞争意识”在文章中没有提到。
8. secure a place in the finals。根据第四段最后一句“From there, only 10 students secure a place in the finals and win an all-expense paid trip to the competition.”可知，最终只有10名选手能够获得决赛资格，可以全程免费参加比赛。
9. release topics for students to focus on。根据第六段倒数第二句“Along with the theme, the judges also release topics for students to focus on.”可知，除了给出竞赛的主题外，评委还会告诉学生准备哪些相关的话题。
10. narrow the contestants down to 10。根据第九段最后一句“As we mentioned in the previous section, the judges determine the theme and the topics, as well as watch all of the video submissions and narrow the contestants down to 10.”可知，评委还要审学生交上来的视频，最后从众多选手中选出10名佼佼者。
Part III Reading Comprehension
(Reading in Depth)
Section A
11. B)。 根据后面的“or they can happen in a matter of minutes”可知，此空的动词应该和happen并列，并且意义相近，都表示“发生”。
12. N)。根据此空前面的内容可知，这里说山体滑坡有时候规模小，就像你从斜坡上踢下块石头，slope：斜坡。
13. L)。根据“There are many different kinds of mass movements”可知这里说山体滑坡的种类，categorize：分类。
14. J)。根据上文，可知这里说尽管有很多种类，但是每种山体滑坡的原理都是土壤层和下面的岩石层之间在某种程度上的分离，to some 14 表示“在某种程度上”，degree：程度。
15. E)。根据 “loose mixture” 和“Bedrock is the more 16 , solid layer of rock underneath.”可知，此处说的是土壤层和岩石层的不同特质，有比较关系，土壤相对于岩石是比较松弛的，副词relatively：相对地。
16. A)。此空的形容词应该和空格前面的loose并列并且意思相对，loose：松弛;和空格后面的solid并列并且意思相近，stable：稳定，稳固。
17. K)。根据“Although the word landslide often is used (incorrectly) to encompass many types of mass movements”，可知，滑坡这个词常被用来指多种大型位移，但实际上并非如此，滑坡这个词指的是一种更具体、更确切的自然现象，specific：具体的，确切的。
18. I)。这句话是解释滑坡的原理，沿着某个不坚固地带，岩石或沉积物从坚固的基岩上松动脱落下来的现象被称作滑坡。zone：地带。
19. O)。此空说的是“起作用的外部力量”，acting在这里的意思是：作用于。
20. F)。根据“will be weakened and the poster will fall”可知，这个句子说的是如果有外力作用在海报上，或者粘贴海报的胶带湿了(没有粘性了)，海报就会从墙上掉下来，connection：连接，衔接。
Section B
Passage One
21. A)。根据第一段中“In every other area, students are being exposed to things that are intellectually challenging and exciting because they are new.”可知，其他的科目都比较新颖、富有挑战性而且让人感到兴奋，而物理与这些科目恰恰相反，所以可以推断出stodgy 在这里表示“难而无趣”。
22. C)。根据第二段中“The number of women and minorities receiving Ph.D.’s in science and engineering is on the rise.”可知，女性和少数民族获得科学和工程学博士学位的人数正在增加。
23. A)。根据第三段中画线一句话可知，这里是把过去和现在的情况做了对比，以前对科学教育非常重视，现在没有那股热情了。
24. D)。根据第四段前两句可知，Anne Tweed是说“一些低年级的学生能问出一些创新性的问题，从他们身上我们看到了希望”，可以推断低年级同学对科学的兴趣正与日俱增。
25. B)。根据最后一段最后一句“It does not require any more skill or intelligence to learn this way, and it’s the best way to get and keep the kids we really want, the ones who are real thinkers and who are creative.”教给孩子们最基本的物理知识，不需要任何技巧或高智商，这是获取知识的最好方法。通过这种方法，我们可以将孩子塑造成我们想要的样子，即富有创造力的、有思想的人。
Passage Two
26. B)。根据第一段中“The depression is often associated with excessive eating or sleeping and weight gain.”可知，冬季抑郁症可能会导致暴饮暴食，所以也有可能导致人超重。
27. A)。根据第二段第二句“Increasing your daily exposure to as much natural light as possible can be helpful to many.”即要增加每天晒太阳的时间，这样对治疗冬季抑郁症很有帮助，这一段都是在说怎样增加光照，所以第二段所说的这种疗法最重要的因素就是自然光照。
28. C)。根据第三段的内容，说的是每天早晨在一个固定的时间起床，那么遵守日程和有规律的生活方式可以避免冬季抑郁症的发生，所以C)正确，keep at bay表示“遏制，使……不能迫近”。
29. D)。根据第四段中“Another lighting technique to try is to replace commonly used light bulbs in your home with brighter full spectrum (also known as broad spectrum) light bulbs.”可知，灯光疗法需要使用特殊制作的灯泡，而不是普通的灯泡。
30. A)。根据最后一段第一句“If none of these techniques seem to help your depressive symptoms, you should consider consulting your family physician or a mental health professional.”可知自助疗法并不是100%有效的，有时候对缓解症状没有用，这时候就需要去咨询家庭医生或者心理健康专家了。
Part IV Translation
Taoism first originated in China. The founder of Taoism is Laozi, a philosopher and thinker who lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC). Tao Te Ching whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is considered to be the main Taoist classic. Taoism advocates the value of a human being’s life, recommends the discarding of all desires and worries from one’s mind, and encourages the cultivation of moral character and the nourishment of human nature. The following is an example of Laozi’s golden saying:
The way that can be told of is not an unvarying way;
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.
Truly, only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the secret essences;
He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the outcomes.