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2009 年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语试题
Section IUse of English
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D
on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
① Research on animal intelligence always makes us wonder just how smart humans
are. ② 1 the fruit-fly experiments described by Carl Zimmer in the Science Times.
③ Fruit flies who were taught to be smarter than the average fruit fly 2to live shorter
lives. ④This suggests that 3bulbs burn longer, that there is a(n) 4in not being too bright.
①Intelligence, it 5, is a high-priced option. ②It takes more upkeep, burns more fuel
and is slow 6the starting line because it depends on learning—a(n) 7process—instead of
instinct. ③ Plenty of other species are able to learn, and one of the things they’ve
apparently learned is when to 8.
①Is there an adaptive value to 9intelligence? ②That’s the question behind this new
research. ③Instead of casting a wistful glance 10at all the species we’ve left in the dust
I.Q.-wise, it implicitly asks what the real 11of our own intelligence might be. ④This is
12the mind of every animal we’ve ever met.
① Research on animal intelligence also makes us wonder what experiments animals
would 13on humans if they had the chance. ②Every cat with an owner, 14, is running a
small-scale study in operant conditioning. ③We believe that 15animals ran the labs, they
would test us to 16the limits of our patience, our faithfulness, our memory for locations.
④ They would try to decide what intelligence in humans is really 17, not merely how
much of it there is. ⑤18, they would hope to study a(n) 19question: Are humans actually
aware of the world they live in? ⑥20the results are inconclusive.(278 words)
1. [A] Suppose[B] Consider[C] Observe[D] Imagine
2. [A] tended [B] feared [C] happened [D] threatened
3. [A] thinner [B] stabler [C] lighter [D] dimmer
4. [A] tendency [B] advantage [C] inclination [D] priority
5. [A] insists on [B] sums up [C] turns out [D] puts forward
6. [A] off [B] behind [C] over [D] along
7. [A] incredible [B] spontaneous [C]inevitable [D] gradual
8. [A] fight [B] doubt [C] stop [D] think
9. [A] invisible [B] limited [C] indefinite [D] different
10. [A] upward [B] forward [C] afterward [D] backward
11. [A] features [B] influences [C] results [D] costs
1 / 1112. [A] outside [B] on [C] by [D] across
13. [A] deliver [B] carry [C] perform [D] apply
14. [A] by chance [B] in contrast [C] as usual [D] for instance
15. [A] if [B] unless [C] as [D] lest
16. [A] moderate [B] overcome [C] determine [D] reach
17. [A] at [B] for [C] after [D] with
18. [A] Above all [B] After all [C] However [D] Otherwise
19. [A] fundamental [B] comprehensive [C] equivalent [D] hostile
20. [A] By accident [B] In time [C] So far [D] Better still
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.
Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
①Habits are a funny thing.②We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot
and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine.③“Not choice, but habit rules the
unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century.④ In the ever-changing 21st
century, even the word “habit” carries a negative implication.
①So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and
innovation.② But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new
habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of
thought onto new, innovative tracks.
①Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct
our own change by consciously developing new habits.②In fact, the more new things we try—the
more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become, both in the
workplace and in our personal lives.
①But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the
brain, they’re there to stay.② Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create
parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.
①“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna
Markova, author of The Open Mind.②“But we are taught instead to ‘decide,’ just as our
president calls himself ‘the Decider.’” ③ She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all
possibilities but one. ④ A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other
possibilities.”
①All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware, she says.②Researchers in
the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four
2 / 11primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally (or collaboratively) and innovatively.③ At
the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preserving only those
modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.
①The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that
few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought.②“This breaks the
major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M.J. Ryan,
author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner. ③“That’s a lie
that we have perpetuated, and it fosters commonness. ④Knowing what you’re good at and doing
even more of it creates excellence.”⑤This is where developing new habits comes in. (417
words)
21. In Wordsworth’s view, “habits” is characterized by being__________.
[A] casual [B] familiar
[C] mechanical [D] changeable
22. Brain researchers have discovered that the formation of new habits can be__________.
[A] predicted [B] regulated
[C] traced [D] guided
23. The word“ruts”(Line 1, Paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to__________.
[A] tracks. [B] series
[C] characteristics [D] connections
24. Dawna Markova would most probably agree that__________.
[A] ideas are born of a relaxing mind
[B] innovativeness could be taught
[C] decisiveness derives from fantastic ideas
[D] curiosity activates creative minds
25. Ryan’s comments suggest that the practice of standard testing__________.
[A] prevents new habits form being formed
[B] no longer emphasizes commonness
[C] maintains the inherent American thinking mode
[D] complies with the American belief system
Text 2
①It is a wise father that knows his own child, but today a man can boost his paternal
(fatherly) wisdom—or at least confirm that he’s the kid’s dad. ②All he needs to do is shell out
$30 for a paternity testing kit(PTK) at his local drugstore—and another $120 to get the results.
①More than 60,000 people have purchased the PTKs since they first become available without
prescriptions last year, according to Doug Fogg, chief operating officer of Identigene, which
makes the over-the-counter kits. ②More than two dozen companies sell DNA tests directly to the
public, ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to more than $2,500.
①Among the most popular: paternity and kinship testing, which adopted children can use to find
their biological relatives and families can use to track down kids put up for adoption. ② DNA
testing is also the latest rage among passionate genealogists—and supports businesses that offer to
search for a family’s geographic roots.
①Most tests require collecting cells by swabbing saliva in the mouth and sending it to the
company for testing. ②All tests require a potential candidate with whom to compare DNA.
3 / 11①But some observers are skeptical.②“There is a kind of false precision being hawked by
people claiming they are doing ancestry testing,” says Troy Duster, a New York University
sociologist. ③He notes that each individual has many ancestors—numbering in the hundreds just
a few centuries back. ④ Yet most ancestry testing only considers a single lineage, either the Y
chromosome inherited through men in a father’s line or mitochondrial DNA, which is passed
down only from mothers. ⑤This DNA can reveal genetic information about only one or two
ancestors, even though, for example, just three generations back people also have six other great-
grandparents or, four generations back, 14 other great-great-grandparents.
①Critics also argue that commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections to
which a sample is compared. ②Databases used by some companies don’t rely on data collected
systematically but rather lump together information from different research projects. ③ This
means that a DNA database may have a lot of data from some regions and not others, so a
person’s test results may differ depending on the company that processes the results. ④ In
addition, the computer programs a company uses to estimate relationships may be patented and
not subject to peer review or outside evaluation. (401 words)
26. In paragraphs 1 and 2, the text shows PTK’s___________.
[A] easy availability
[B] flexibility in pricing
[C] successful promotion
[D] popularity with households
27. PTK is used to___________.
[A] locate one’s birth place
[B] promote genetic research
[C] identify parent-child kinship
[D] choose children for adoption
28. Skeptical observers believe that ancestry testing fails to___________.
[A] trace distant ancestors
[B] rebuild reliable bloodlines
[C] fully use genetic information
[D] achieve the claimed accuracy
29. In the last paragraph, a problem commercial genetic testing faces is___________.
[A] disorganized data collection
[B] overlapping database building
[C] excessive sample comparison
[D] lack of patent evaluation
30. An appropriate title for the text is most likely to be___________.
[A] Fors and Againsts of DNA Testing
[B] DNA Testing and It’s Problems
[C] DNA Testing Outside the Lab
[D] Lies behind DNA Testing
Text 3
①The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely
4 / 11misunderstood by economists and politicians alike.②Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary
for the social, political, and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the
conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid
economic development in poor countries is wrong. ③We are fortunate that it is, because building new
educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance
would require two or three generations.④ The findings of a research institution have consistently
shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radically higher productivity
and, as a result, radically higher standards of living.
①Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. ②Not long ago, with the
country entering a recession and Japan at its pre-bubble peak, the U.S. workforce was derided as poorly
educated and one of the primary causes of the poor U.S. economic performance. ③ Japan was, and
remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity.④ Yet the research revealed that the
U.S. factories of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their
Japanese counterparts—a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job.
More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-
English-speaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity
standards despite the complexity of the building industry’s work.
①What is the real relationship between education and economic development? ②We have to suspect
that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments
don’t force it. ③After all, that’s how education got started.④When our ancestors were hunters and
gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn’t have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food.
⑤Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things.
①As education improved, humanity’s productivity potential increased as well. ② When the
competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more
education. ③ This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient,
condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance.④Thus poor
countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible
only with broader formal education.⑤ A lack of formal education, however, doesn’t constrain the
ability of the developing world’s workforce to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable
future.⑥On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn’t
developing more quickly there than it is. (443words)
31.The author holds in Paragraph 1 that the importance of education in poor countries__________.
[A] is subject to groundless doubts
[B] has fallen victim of bias
[C] is conventionally downgraded
[D] has been overestimated
32. It is stated in Paragraph 1 that the construction of a new educational system__________.
[A] challenges economists and politicians
[B] takes efforts of generations
[C] demands priority from the government
[D] requires sufficient labor force
33. A major difference between the Japanese and U.S. workforces is that__________.
[A] the Japanese workforce is better disciplined
5 / 11[B] the Japanese workforce is more productive
[C] the U.S. workforce has a better education
[D] the U.S. workforce is more organized
34.The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that education emerged__________.
[A] when people had enough time
[B] prior to better ways of finding food
[C] when people no longer went hungry
[D] as a result of pressure on government
35.According to the last paragraph, development of education__________.
[A] results directly from competitive environments
[B] does not depend on economic performance
[C] follows improved productivity
[D] cannot afford political changes
Text 4
①The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the history of the New World are the ministers
and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. ②According to the standard history
of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was “so much importance attached to
intellectual pursuits.”③ According to many other books and articles, New England’s leaders
established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in
American intellectual life.
①To take this approach to the New Englanders normally means to start with the Puritans’
theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the church—important subjects that we
may not neglect. ② But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may
consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture, adjusting to New World
circumstances.③The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit
of widely understood ideals of civility and virtuosity.
①The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in
England. ② Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts churches in
the decade after 1629, there were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman,
lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston.③ These men wrote and
published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New
England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness.
①We should not forget, however, that most New Englanders were less well educated.② While
few craftsmen or farmers, let alone dependents and servants, left literary compositions to be
analyzed, it is obvious that their views were less fully intellectualized.③Their thinking often had
a traditional superstitious quality.④A tailor named John Dane, who emigrated in the late 1630s,
left an account of his reasons for leaving England that is filled with signs.⑤Sexual confusion,
economic frustrations, and religious hope—all came together in a decisive moment when he
opened the Bible, told his father that the first line he saw would settle his fate, and read the
magical words:“Come out from among them, touch no unclean thing, and I will be your God and
you shall be my people.”⑥One wonders what Dane thought of the careful sermons explaining the
Bible that he heard in puritan churches.
①Meanwhile, many settlers had slighter religious commitments than Dane’s, as one clergyman
learned in confronting folk along the coast who mocked that they had not come to the New World
6 / 11for religion. ②“Our main end was to catch fish.” (410 words)
36.The author holds that in the seventeenth-century New England__________.
[A] Puritan tradition dominated political life
[B] intellectual interests were encouraged
[C] Politics benefited much from intellectual endeavors
[D] intellectual pursuits enjoyed a liberal environment
37.It is suggested in Paragraph 2 that New Englanders__________.
[A] experienced a comparatively peaceful early history
[B] brought with them the culture of the Old World
[C] paid little attention to southern intellectual life
[D] were obsessed with religious innovations
38. The early ministers and political leaders in Massachusetts Bay__________.
[A] were famous in the New World for their writings
[B] gained increasing importance in religious affairs
[C] abandoned high positions before coming to the New World
[D] created a new intellectual atmosphere in New England
39.The story of John Dane shows that less well-educated New Englanders were often__________.
[A] influenced by superstitions
[B] troubled with religious beliefs
[C] puzzled by church sermons
[D] frustrated with family earnings
40. The text suggests that early settlers in New England__________.
[A] were mostly engaged in political activities
[B] were motivated by an illusory prospect
[C] came from different intellectual backgrounds
[D] left few formal records for later reference
Part B
Directions:
In the following text, some segments have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most
suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices,
which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
Coinciding with the groundbreaking theory of biological evolution proposed by British
naturalist Charles Darwin in the 1860s, British social philosopher Herbert Spencer put forward his
own theory of biological and cultural evolution. Spencer argued that all worldly phenomena,
including human societies, changed over time, advancing toward perfection. (41)
____________
American social scientist Lewis Henry Morgan introduced another theory of cultural
evolution in the late 1800s. Morgan helped found modern anthropology—the scientific study of
human societies, customs and beliefs—thus becoming one of the earliest anthropologists. In his
work, he attempted to show how all aspects of culture changed together in the evolution of
7 / 11societies. (42) ____________
In the early 1900s in North America, German-born American anthropologist Franz Boas
developed a new theory of culture known as historicalparticularism. Historical particularism,
which emphasized the uniqueness of all cultures, gave new direction to anthropology. (43)
____________
Boas felt that the culture of any society must be understood as the result of a unique history
and not as one of many cultures belonging to a broader evolutionary stage or type of culture. (44)
____________
Historical particularism became a dominant approach to the study of culture in American
anthropology, largely through the influence of many students of Boas. But a number of
anthropologists in the early 1900s also rejected the particularist theory of culture in favor of
diffusionism. Some attributed virtually every important cultural achievement to the inventions of a
few, especially gifted peoples that, according to diffusionists, then spread to other cultures. (45)
____________
Also in the early 1900s, French sociologist Emile Durkheim developed a theory of culture
that would greatly influence anthropology. Durkheim proposed that religious beliefs functioned to
reinforce social solidarity. An interest in the relationship between the function of society and
culture—known as functionalism—became a major theme in European, and especially British,
anthropology.
[A]Other anthropologists believed that cultural innovations, such as inventions, had a single origin
and passed from society to society. This theory was known as diffusionism.
[B]In order to study particular cultures as completely as possible, he became skilled in linguistics,
the study of languages, and in physical anthropology, the study of human biology and
anatomy.
[C] He argued that human evolution was characterized by a struggle he called the “survival of the
fittest,” in which weaker races and societies must eventually be replaced by stronger, more
advanced races and societies.
[D] They also focused on important rituals that appeared to preserve a people's social structure,
such as initiation ceremonies that formally signify children's entrance into adulthood.
[E] Thus, in his view, diverse aspects of culture, such as the structure of families, forms of
marriage, categories of kinship, ownership of property, forms of government, technology, and
systems of food production, all changed as societies evolved.
[F] Supporters of the theory viewed cultureas a collection of integrated parts that work together
to keep a society functioning.
[G]For example, British anthropologists Grafton Elliot Smith and W.J. Perry incorrectly
suggested, on the basis of inadequate information, that farming, pottery making, and
metallurgy all originated in ancient Egypt and diffused throughout the world. In fact, all of
these cultural developments occurred separately at different times in many parts of the world.
Part C
Directions:
8 / 11Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your
translation should be written carefully on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)
There is a marked difference between the education which every one gets from living with
othersand the deliberate educating of the young. In the former case the education is incidental; it is
natural and important, but it is not the express reason of the association. (46) It may be said that
the measure of the worth of any social institution is its effect in enlarging and improving
experience; but this effect is not a part of its original motive. Religious associations began, for
example, in the desire to secure the favor of overruling powers and to ward off evil influences;
family life in the desire to gratify appetites and secure family perpetuity; systematic labor, for the
most part, because of enslavement to others, etc. (47) Only gradually was the by-product of the
institution noted, and only more gradually still was this effect considered as a directive factor in
the conduct of the institution. Even today, in our industrial life, apart from certain values of
industriousness and thrift, the intellectual and emotional reaction of the forms of human
association under which the world’s work is carried on receives little attention as compared with
physical output.
But in dealing with the young, the fact of association itself as an immediate human fact, gains in
importance. (48) While it is easy to ignore in our contact with them the effect of our acts upon
their disposition, it is not so easy as in dealing with adults.The need of training is too evident and
the pressure to accomplish a change in their attitude and habits is too urgent to leave these
consequences wholly out of account. (49) Since our chief business with them is to enable them to
share in a common life we cannot help considering whether or not we are forming the powers
which will secure this ability. If humanity has made some headway in realizing that the ultimate
value of every institution is its distinctively human effect we may well believe that this lesson has
been learned largely through dealings with the young.
(50) We are thus led to distinguish, within the broad educational process which we have been
so far considering, a more formal kind of education—that of direct tuition or schooling. In
undeveloped social groups, we find very little formal teaching and training. These groups mainly
rely for instilling needed dispositions into the young upon the same sort of association which
keeps adults loyal to their group.
Section ⅢWriting
Part A
51. Directions:
Restrictions on the use of plastic bags have not been so successful in some regions. “White
pollution”is still going on. Write a letter to the editor(s) of your local newspaper to
1) give your opinions briefly, and
2) make two or three suggestions
You should write about 100 wordsANSWER SHEET 2.
Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead.
Do not need to write the address. (10 points)
Part B
9 / 1152. Directions:
Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay, you should
1) describe the drawing briefly,
2) explain its intended meaning, and then
3) give your comments.
You should write neatly on ANSHWER SHEET 2. (20 points)
10 / 11答答案案速速查查表表
Section Ⅰ Use of English (10 points)
1. B2. A3. D4. B 5. C 6. A7. D 8. C9. B10. D
11. D12. B13. C14. D 15. A16. C17. B18. A19. A20. C
Section ⅡReading Comprehension (60 points)
Part A(40 points)
21. C22. D 23. A 24. D 25. A 26. A 27. C 28. D 29. A 30.
B
31.D32.B 33.B 34.C 35.C 36.B 37.B 38.D 39.A 40. C
Part B (10 points)
41.C42. E 43.A 44. B 45. G
Part C (10 points)
46. 虽然我们可以说衡量任何社会组织价值的标准是其在丰富和完善人生经验方面所起
的作用，但这种作用并不是其最初动机的组成部分。
47.人们只是逐渐才注意到社会机构的这一副产品， 而把这种作用视为机构运作的指导
性因素的过程则更为缓慢。
48.虽然与年轻人接触时我们会轻易地忽视自己的行为对他们的性情所产生的影响， 却
无法像与成年人打交道时那样容易忽视这些影响。
49.由于我们对年轻人的主要职责是使他们能够融入共同的生活， 因此我们不禁要考虑
自己是否在形成让他们获得这种本领的能力。
50.这就引导我们在一直思考的广义的教育过程中区分出一种更为正规的教育形式， 即
直接指导或学校教育。
11 / 11
