出自:河南城建学院-建筑工程技术（高起专）-BIM技术与应用
Read the following passage carefully and complete the succeeding three items
(1) Freedom’s challenge in the Atomic Age is a sobering topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it. What are we going to do with one of our most precious possessions, freedom? The world we know, our Western world, began with something as new as the conquest of space.
(2) Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt, Babylon, Nineveh, were all tyrannies, one immensely powerful man ruling over helpless masses. In Greece, in Athens, a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses, and a time came when the Athenians were led by a great man who did not want to be powerful. Absolute obedience to the ruler was what the leaders of the empires insisted on. Athens said no, there must never be absolute obedience to a man except in war. There must be willing obedience to what is good for all. Pericles, the great Athenian statesman, said: “We are a free government, but we obey the laws, more especially those which protect the oppressed, and the unwritten laws which, if broken, bring shame.”
(3) Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be intolerable except to a hermit in the desert. The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was imposed on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The creed of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state. This was the conception that underlay the lofty reach of Greek genius.
(4) But discovering freedom is not like discovering atomic bombs. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will depart. Eternal vigilance is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place unnoticed though it was of the utmost importance, a spiritual change which penetrated the whole state. It had been the Athenians’ pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to their state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the foremost object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were obscured to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
(5) She reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility, she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again.
(6) But, “the excellent becomes the permanent,” Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American statesman, James Madison, in or near the year 1776 A.D. referred to “the capacity of mankind for self-government”. No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once a great and good idea has dawned upon man, it is never completely lost. The Atomic Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action, only sure that it will do so sometime. In this section, there are ten incomplete statements followed by four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and write the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet. (20 points, 2 points for each) http://bbs.zikao5.com 自考资料,自考白皮书
1. “Sobering topic” in paragraph 1 is a topic that makes one feel very ______.
A. nervous B. excited
C. serious D. sad
2. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that ______.
A. Athenians would be willing to obey what would benefit them all
B. Egyptians insisted on absolute obedience to a powerful man
C. Athenians would be willing to obey a tyranny
D. Egyptians opposed any form of government
3. The word “underlay” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. was the consequence of B. was the cause of
C. was the key to D. was the basis of
4. In paragraph 4, “atomic bombs” is mentioned in order to ______.
A. emphasize that atomic bombs will threaten the survival of mankind
B. illustrate that freedom requires constant pursuit and dedication
C. stress that freedom is as influential as atomic bombs
D. point out that it took a long time to discover freedom
5. The word “obscured” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. made difficult to know or understand
B. made easy to know or understand
C. made hard to deal with
D. made clear to see
6. Paragraph 4 is mainly about ______.
A. the Athenians’s pride and joy to give to their city
B. the ideas of freedom and self-reliance
C. the spiritual change of the Athenians
D. a cooperative business
7. According to paragraph 5, the relationship between freedom and responsibility is that ______.
A. freedom is independent of responsibility
B. responsibility is the precondition of freedom
C. responsibility is the natural result of freedom
D. freedom is more important than responsibility
8. The author’s opinion about freedom in the future is that ______.
A. once lost, freedom will never be regained
B. people will never have freedom again
C. freedom will be challenged
D. freedom will last forever
9. “No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek” in paragraph 6 means ______.
A. he was thinking about the Greek freedom when he said this
B. he didn’t know he was speaking the language of Greek
C. Greek freedom was not on his mind when he said this
D. definitely he didn’t know what Greek freedom was
10. The best title for this passage is ______.
A. The Disappearance of Freedom B. The Development of Freedom
C. Importance of Freedom D. Roots of Freedom
Read the following passage carefully and complete the succeeding three items
A Wrong Man in Workers’ Paradise
(1) The man had never believed in mere utility.
(2) Having had no useful work, he indulged in mad whims. He made little pieces of sculpture—men, women and castle, quaint earthen things dotted over with sea-shells. He painted. Thus he wasted his time on all that was useless, needless. People laughed at him. At times he vowed to shake off his whims, but they lingered in his mind.
(3) Some boys seldom ply their books and yet pass their tests. A similar thing happened to this man. He spent his earth life in useless work and yet after his death the gates of Heaven opened wide for him.
(4) But mistakes are unavoidable even in Heaven. So it came to pass that the aerial messenger who took charge of the man made a mistake and found him a place in Workers’ Paradise.
(5) In this Paradise you find everything except leisure.
(6) Here men say: “God! We haven’t a moment to spare.” Women whisper: “Let’s move on, time’s a-flying.” All exclaim: “Time is precious.” “We have our hands full, we make use of every single minute,” they sigh complainingly, and yet those words make them happy and exalted.
(7) But this newcomer, who had passed all his life on Earth without doing a scrap of useful work, did not fit in with the scheme of things in Workers’ Paradise. He lounged in the streets absently and jostled the hurrying men. He lay down in green meadows, or close to the fast flowing streams, and was taken to task by busy farmers. He was always in the way of others.
(8) A hustling girl went every day to a silent torrent (silent, since in the Workers’ Paradise even a torrent would not waste its energy singing) to fill her pitcher.
(9) The girl’s movement on the road was like the rapid movement of a skilled hand on the strings of a guitar. Her hair was carelessly done; inquisitive wisps stooped often over her forehead to peer at the dark wonder of her eye.
(10) The idler was standing by the stream. As a princess sees a lonely beggar and is filled with pity, so the busy girl of Heaven saw this one and was filled with pity.
(11 ) “A—ha !” she cried with concern. “You have no work in hand, have you?”
(12) The man sighed, “Work! I have not a moment to spare for work.”
(13) The girl did not understand his words, and said: “I shall spare some work for you to do, if you like.”
(14) The man replied: “Girl of the silent torrent, all this time I have been waiting to take some work from your hands.”
(15) “What kind of work would you like?”
(16) “Will you give me one of your pitchers, one that you can spare?”
(17) She asked: “A pitcher? You want to draw water from the torrent?”
(18) “No, I shall draw pictures on your pitcher.”
(19) The girl was annoyed.
(20) “Pictures, indeed! I have no time to waste on such as you. I am going.” And she walked away.
(21) But how could a busy person get the better of one who had nothing to do? Every day they met, and every day he said to her: “Girl of the silent torrent, give me one of your clay pitchers. I shall draw pictures on it.”
(22) She yielded at last. She gave him one of her pitchers. The man started painting. He drew line after line; he put color after color.
(23) When he had completed his work, the girl held up the pitcher and stared at its sides, her eyes puzzled. Brows drawn, she asked: “What do they mean, all those lines and colors? What is their purpose?”
(24) The man laughed.
(25) “Nothing. A picture may have no meaning and may serve no purpose.”
(26) The girl went away with her pitcher. At home, away from prying eyes, she held it in the light, turned it round and round and scanned the painting from all angles. At night she moved out of bed, lighted a lamp and scanned it again in silence. For the first time in her life she had seen something that had no meaning and no purpose at all.
(27) When she set out for the torrent the next day, her hurrying feet were a little less hurried than before. For a new sense seemed to have wakened in her, a sense that seemed to have no meaning and no purpose at all.
(28) She saw the painter standing by the torrent and asked in confusion: “What do you want of me?”
(29) “Only some more work from your hands.”
(30) “What kind of work would you like?”
(31) “Let me make a colored ribbon for your hair,” he answered.
(32) “And what for?”
(33) “Nothing.”
(34) Ribbons were made, bright with colors. The busy girl of Workers’ Paradise had now to spend a lot of time every day tying the colored ribbon around her hair. The minutes slipped by, unutilized. Much work was left unfinished.
(35) In Workers’ Paradise work had of late begun to suffer. Many persons who had been active before were now idle, wasting their precious time on useless things such as painting and sculpture. The elders became anxious. A meeting was called. All agreed that such a state of affairs had so far been unknown in the history of Workers’ Paradise.
(36) The aerial messenger hurried in, bowing before the elders and made a confession.
(37) “I brought a wrong man into this Paradise,” he said. “It is all due to him.”
(38) The man was summoned. As he came the elders saw his fantastic dress, his quaint brushes, his paints, and they knew at once that he was not the right sort for Workers’ Paradise.
(39) Stiffly the President said: “This is no place for the like of you. You must leave.”
(40) The man sighed in relief and gathered up his brush and paint. But as he was about to go, the girl of the silent torrent came up tripping and cried: “Wait a moment. I shall go with you.”
(41) The elders gasped in surprise. Never before had a thing like this happened in Workers’ Paradise—a thing that had no meaning and no purpose at all.
In this section, there are ten incomplete statements or questions, followed by four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and write the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet. (20 points, 2 points for each).
1. What do you think is the main point of the story?
A. The love of a painter for a pretty girl.
B. The opposition between beauty and utility.
C. The change of heart in a girl who used to believe in mere utility.
D. The ideal society where no time is wasted and no idler is tolerated.
2. What is the author’s attitude in this story?
A. He is indifferent to the artist.
B. He is in sympathy with the artist.
C. He is absolutely objective in telling the story.
D. He makes fun of those who believe in Paradise.
3. In the sentence “...but they lingered in his mind” in Paragraph 2, “they” refers to ______.
A. his whims B. his vows
C. the things he made D. the people he met
4. What is the proper meaning of the phrase “a scrap of” in Paragraph 7?
A. a lot of B. a load of
C. a bit of D. a pile of
5. In Paragraph 8, with the sentence “...in the Workers’ Paradise even a torrent would not waste its energy singing”, the author intends to ______.
A. state a fact B. laugh at the man
C. praise the Workers’ Paradise D. scoff at the Workers’ Paradise
How America Lives
(1) Americans still follow many of the old ways. In a time of rapid changes it is essential that we remember how much of the old we cling to. Young people still get married. Of course, many do get divorced, but they remarry at astonishing rates. They have children, but fewer than before. They belong to churches, even though they attend somewhat less frequently, and they want their children to have religious instruction. They are willing to pay taxes for education, and they generously support institutions like hospitals, museums and libraries. In fact, when you compare the America of today with that of 1950, the similarities are far greater than the differences.
(2) Americans seem to be growing conservative. The 1980 election, especially for the Senate and House of Representatives, signaled a decided turn to the right insofar as political and social attitudes were concerned. It is as if our country spent the 1960s and 1970s jealously breaking out of old restraints and now wishes to put the brakes on. We should expect to see a reaffirmation of traditional family values, sharp restraints on pornography, a return to religion and a rejection of certain kinds of social legislation.
(3) Patterns of courtship and marriage have changed radically. Where sex was concerned, I was raised in an atmosphere of suspicion, repression and Puritanism, and although husky young kids can survive almost anything, many in my generation suffered grievously. Without reservation, I applaud the freer patterns of today, although I believe that it’s been difficult for some families to handle the changes.
(4) American women are changing the rules. Thirty years ago I could not have imagined a group of women employees suing a major corporation for millions of dollars of salary which, they alleged, had been denied them because they had been discriminated against. Nor could I imagine women in universities going up to the men who ran the athletic programs and demanding a just share of the physical education budget. At work, at play, at all levels of living women are suggesting new rules.
(5) America is worried about its schools. If I had a child today, I would send her or him to a private school for the sake of safety, for the discipline that would be enforced and for the rigorous academic requirements. But I would doubt that the child would get any better education than l did in my good public school. The problem is that good public schools are becoming pitifully rare, and I would not want to take the chance that the one I sent my children to was inadequate.
(6) Some Americans must live on welfare. Since it seems obvious that our nation can produce all its needs with only a part of the available work force, some kind of social welfare assistance must be doled out to those who cannot find jobs. When I think of a typical welfare recipient I think of a young neighbor woman whose husband was killed in a tragic accident, leaving her with three young children. In the bad old days she might have known destitution, but with family assistance she was able to hold her children together and produced three fine, tax-paying citizens. America is essentially a compassionate society.
(7) America cannot find housing for its young families. I consider this the most serious danger confronting family life in America, and I am appalled that the condition has been allowed to develop. For more than a decade, travelers like me have been aware that in countries like Sweden, Denmark, Russia and India young people have found it almost impossible to acquire homes. In Sweden the customary wait was 11 years of marriage, and we used to ask, “what went wrong?” It seemed to us that a major responsibility of any nation would be to provide homes for its young people starting their families. Well, this dreadful social sickness has now overtaken the United States, and for the same reasons. The builders in our society find it profitable to erect three-bathroom homes that sell for $220,000 with a mortgage at 19 percent but find it impossible to erect small homes for young marrieds. For a major nation to show itself impotent to house its young people is admitting a failure that must be corrected.
(8) Our prospects are still good. We have a physical setting of remarkable integrity, the world’s best agriculture, a splendid wealth of minerals, great rivers for irrigation and an unsurpassed system of roads for transportation. We also have a magnificent mixture of people from all the continents with varied traditions and strengths. But most of all, we have a unique and balanced system of government.
Bright Sparks
(1) By the time Laszlo Polagar’s first baby was born in 1969 he already had firm views on child-rearing. An eccentric citizen of communist Hungary, he had written a book called “Bring up Genius!” and one of his favorite sayings was “Geniuses are made, not born”.
(2) An expert on the theory of chess, he proceeded to teach little Zsuzsa at home, spending up to ten hours a day on the game. Two more daughters were similarly hot-housed. All three obliged their father by becoming world-class players. The youngest, Judit, is currently ranked 13th in the world, and is by far the best female chess player of all time.
(3) Would the experiment have succeeded with a different trio of children? If any child can be turned into a star, then a lot of time and money are being wasted worldwide on trying to pick winners.
(4) America has long held “talent searches”, using test results and teacher recommendations to select children for advanced school courses, summer schools and other extra tuition. This provision is set to grow. In his state-of-the-union address in 2006, President George Bush announced the “American Competitiveness Initiative”, which, among much else, would train 70,000 high-school teachers to lead advanced courses for selected pupils in mathematics and science. Just as the super powers’ space race made Congress put money into science education, the thought of China and India turning out hundreds of thousands of engineers and scientists is scaring America into stimulating its brightest to do their best.
(5) The philosophy behind this talent search is that ability is innate; that it can be diagnosed with considerable accuracy; and that it is worth cultivating.
(6) In America, bright children are ranked as “moderately”, “highly”, “exceptionally” and “profoundly” gifted. The only chance to influence innate ability is thought to be in the womb or the first couple of years of life. Hence the craze for “teaching aids” such as videos and flashcards for newborns, and “whale sounds” on tape which a pregnant mother can strap to her belly.
(7) In Britain, there is a broadly similar belief in the existence of innate talent, but also an egalitarian (平等主义的) sentiment which makes people queasy about the idea of investing resources in grooming intelligence.
(8) Teachers are often opposed to separate provision for the best-performing children, saying any extra help should go to stragglers. In 2002, in a bid to help the able while leaving intact the ban on most selection by ability in state schools, the government set up the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth. This outfit runs summer schools and master classes for children nominated by their schools. To date, though, only seven in ten secondary schools have nominated even a single child. Last year all schools were told they must supply the names of their top 10%.
(9) Picking winners is also the order of the day in excommunist states, a hangover from the times when talented individuals were plucked from their homes and ruthlessly trained for the glory of the nation. But in many other countries, opposition to the idea of singling out talent and grooming it runs deep. In Scandinavia, a belief in virtues like modesty and social solidarity makes people flinch from the idea of treating brainy children differently.
(10) And in Japan there is a widespread belief that all children are born with the same innate abilities - and should therefore be treated alike. All are taught together, covering the same syllabus at the same rate until they finish compulsory schooling. Those who learn quickest are expected then to teach their classmates.
(11) Statistics give little clue as to which system is best. The performance of the most able is heavily affected by factors other than state provision. Most state education in Britain is nominally non-selective, but middle-class parents try to live near the best schools. Ambitious Japanese parents have made private, out-of-school tuition a thriving business. And Scandinavia’s egalitarianism might work less well in places with more diverse populations and less competent teachers. For what it’s worth, the statistical data suggest that some countries, like Japan and Finland, can avoid selection and still thrive. But that does not mean that any country can ditch selection and do as well.
(12) Mr. Polgar thought any child could be a prodigy given the right teaching, an early start and enough practice. Some say the key to success is simply hard graft. Judit, the youngest of the Polgar sisters, was the most driven, and the most successful; Zsofia, the middle one, was regarded as the most talented, but she was the only one who did not achieve the status of grand master. “Everything came easiest to her,” said her older sister. “But she was lazy.”
In this section, there are ten incomplete statements followed by four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and write the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.
1. In their childhood, the three daughters of Polagar _____.
Why Go to Canada?
(1) Huge, scenic and sparsely populated, Canada was rated by the United Nations Human Development Index as the best country to live in. The land of new hopes and opportunities attracts people worldwide.
(2) Very few people really understand or know anything about the process of immigration application. First of all a potential immigrant needs to know something about the rules and regulations. The Canadian Government has designed a point system to assess potential independent immigrants. Emphasis is placed on education, practical training, experience and the likelihood of successful settlement in Canada. This means that people with a bachelor degree of some kind and advanced technical or other skills that are in demand in Canada are more likely to be accepted. The Government also adds weight to an application if the individual is fluent in Canada’s official languages, English and French. Therefore someone with a good command of either English or French will have a better chance. Another way to immigrate to Canada is via the immigrant investor program. This provides an opportunity for experienced business persons to immigrate to Canada after making a substantial investment in a provincial government-administered venture capital fund.
( 3 ) If you think you fulfill all the criteria you can easily apply for immigration by yourself. The Canadian Government clearly states: “Any one can apply without the help of a third party”. As often happens in these situations, unscrupulous agents can take advantage of people who think that the only way they can immigrate is by paying huge amounts of money. People who want to become immigrants should carefully investigate the reputation and qualifications of third parties who offer their services for a fee. So why bother to use an immigration agent if application is easy?
( 4 ) Actually there are many good reasons why so many intending migrants use such services. What the least competent and reliable professionals do is simply fill out forms and send them to the Canadian Embassy with the required fees and documents! Some individuals (who can be referred to as “unscrupulous agents”) may fail to send in the correct documents, delay the clients’ application delivery, talk an unqualified candidate into buying their services despite the high possibility that the visa application will be refused or even suggest their clients supply fraudulent documents that are often discovered by the Canadian Embassy. Conversely, a highly qualified and reliable professional service justifies its costs for the comprehensive services it provides. A professional and reliable immigration firm should provide these services for its clients:
(5) Firstly, an intending immigrant must first be well aware of his chances of success. A substantial amount of necessary payment and the potential impact on an applicant’s life can be avoided. A highly experienced immigration professional is capable of assessing a client’s chances of success with an extremely high degree of certainty. In the case of a most unfavorable application, he discourages the client’s application.
(6) Secondly, depending on an effective interpretation of the selection rules as well as accumulated experiences, an experienced immigration professional highlights the applicant’s qualities and helps persuade visa officials that the applicant is worthy of selection and meets all the selection criteria. If a person doesn’t seem qualified, the adviser tries to find out other alternatives that may exist to make him a successful applicant. Such instances where qualified persons were discouraged from making applications are numerous. For example, a computer programmer whose professional skills are highly sought after in the Canadian labor market may be considered unqualified by the variance of their job description to the specifications in the National Occupational Descriptions published by the Canadian Government. An experienced immigration professional avoids areas of potential misunderstanding and best ensures that all the documents submitted and answers given at an interview will support a successful application.
(7) Thirdly, the presentation or package of the application often makes a decisive impression on the visa officer. An experienced immigration professional identifies what type of information can be supplied that is most likely to favorably impress the visa officer considering the application.
( 8 ) Fourthly, in the case of a person who simply does not qualify, an immigration professional indicates the reasons that may lead to their visa application refusal and tries to find out ways to improve their circumstances so they become qualified.
( 9 ) Fifthly, sometimes even highly qualified candidates finally end up in dismay for want of knowledge on migration affairs or misinterpretation of Canadian migration rules. In many cases, due to unnecessary concealing of certain facts that often lead to discovery, a supposedly successful application will be rejected and the applicant’s personal credibility in future applications is ruined. A migration professional explains and convinces the visa officers that a person is highly qualified despite some minor factors that may be unfavorable to his application.
(10) Sixthly, a seasoned immigration professional helps identify potential problems and provides advice in advance. An immigration professional is expected to be familiar with immigration law, she/he advises the applicant whether or not to submit certain complimentary documents, what evidence needs to be acquired to help support the candidate, and what should be avoided that may cause a negative impact on the application.
In this section, there are ten incomplete statements, followed by four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and write the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet. (10 points, 1 point for each)
1. “People with a bachelor degree” in Paragraph 2 are ______.
A. holders of a first university degree
B. holders of a second university degree
C. people who have received the highest university degree
D. people who have never been married
2. Business people can immigrate to Canada after they have made a substantial investment ____.
A. in their own country
B. in both Canada and their own country
C. in Canada
D. in either Canada or their own country
3. The writer of this article ______.
A. suggests that an applicant use an immigrant agent even when an application is easy
B. disapproves of using an immigrant agent if application is easy
C. thinks that third parties should not charge a fee for their services
D. believes that all immigration agents are unscrupulous
4. Immigration professionals should ______.
A. suggest their clients supply fraudulent documents
B. delay the clients’ application delivery
C. talk an unqualified candidate into buying their services
D. send in the correct documents
5. In the case of a most unfavorable application, a highly experienced immigration professional
______.
A. encourages the client’s application
B. highlights the applicant’s qualities and helps persuade visa officers that the applicant is Worthy of selection and meets all the selection criteria
C. does not charge a fee for their service
D. discourages the client’s application