大学英语考试题库

9、Prices determine how resources are to be used.They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited supply are rationed(定量配给)among buyers.The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a variety of services， including labor， professional， transportation， and public services.The interrelationships(相互关系)of all these prices make up the “system” of prices.The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad， complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else.

8、I have always wondered at the passion many people have to meet the celebrated(名人).The “advantage” you acquire by being able to tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that your are yourself of small account.The celebrated develop a technique(技艺，技能)to deal with the persons they come across.They show the world a mask， often an impressive one， but take care to conceal(隐藏)their real selves.They play the part that is expected from them， and with practice learn to play it very well， but you are stupid if you think that this public performance of theirs corresponds(符合)with the man within.

7、Contracts， in law， is an agreement that creates an obligation binding upon the parties thereto.The essentials of a contract are as follows: (1)mutual assents; (2)a legal consideration(法律:约因、对价)， which in most instances need not pecuniary(与金钱有关的); (3)parties who have legal capacity to make a contract; (4)absence of fraud(欺诈，诈骗)or duress(胁迫); and (5)a subject matter that is not illegal or against public policy.In general， contracts may be either oral or written.Certain classes of contracts， however， in order to be enforceable， must be written and signed.These include contracts involving the sale and transfer of real estate(不动产); contracts to guarantee or to answer for(对…承担责任)the miscarriage(不履行合同)， debt， or default(拖欠)of another person， etc.

6、The pollution of groundwater by nitrates(硝酸盐)is of concern to public health authorities and environmental organizations because high nitrate concentration(高硝酸含量)s in drinking water can cause methaemoglobinaemia(高铁血红蛋白血)in infants.Another environmental problem associated with high nitrate concentration in groundwater is eutrophication(富营养化)of receiving waters(供水).Virtually all decisions about the control of nitrate pollution of ground water are made in the face of uncertainties that frustrate(阻止，挫败)efforts to guarantee the desired results.The decisions also have to be made in an adversarial(意见相左，敌对不可调和的)environment in which the goals of society and those of the agricultural sector(农业部门)are often different.

5、Next morning， four words from the book--- “take the long view” --- were still in my mind.At my desk， I had a long-view look at my problems.Once more， super-slow reading had given me not only pleasure but perspective， and helped me in my everyday affairs.I discovered its worth years ago … Previously， if I had not been really interested in a book， I would race from page to page， eager to know what came next.Now， I decided， I had to become a miser(吝啬鬼，守财奴)with words and stretch(拉伸，拖延)every sentence like a poor man spending his last dollar.I had started with the practical object of making my book last.But by the end of the second week I began to realize how much I was getting from super-slow-reading itself.Sometimes just a particular phrase caught my attention， sometimes a sentence.I would read it slowly， analyze it， read it again --- perhaps changing down into an even lower gear(速度，变速)--- and then sit for 20 minutes thinking about it before moving on.I was like a pianist studying a piece of music， phrase by phrase， rehearsing(演练，彩排)it， trying to discover and recreate exactly what the composer (作曲家)was trying to convey(表达).

4、If the earth were spinning just like a rubber ball， there would only be day and night on earth， but no seasons， and days would always be the same length as nights --- 12 hours each.But this is not how the earth spins.It spins with its axis tilted(倾斜).Its axis is always at the angle(角度)to the plane of its orbit(地球的轨道平面)--- an angle of about 231/2 degrees.It is this tilting that accounts for(说明，解释清楚)our four seasons and the lengthening and shortening of days and nights.For this reason also， the Equator(赤道)(an imaginary line (一条想象出来的线)drawn around the earth at equal distance from the two poles)is not always directly under the sun’s rays.For six months the earth is tilted towards the sun， and the Northern Hemisphere(北半球)gets more than its share(份量)of sunlight every day.Days are longer than nights， and what is more， the sun’s rays come down more perpendicularly(垂直地，直射地)instead of slanting down(斜射).

3、Now we know that all this is caused by the movement of the earth around the sun.As the earth journeys around the sun， it spins on its own axis.This can be illustrated (解释，说明)by a simple experiment.If you push a sharp stick(尖头棒)through a rubber ball and twirl(使旋转)it with two fingers， the ball spins around in much the same way the earth is spinning at this moment.The points where the stick comes through the ball correspond to(等同于)the North and South Poles.If you twirl this ball at night directly in front of a bright light， you will notice that half of the ball is lighted up while the other half is in the shade(阴暗处).That is just like our night and day.If you keep the stick strictly vertical(垂直的)to the light and twirl it at an even speed， any spot on the ball’s surface will be in the light and in the shade the same length of time.

2、The first calendar to fix these two days on definite dates of the year was the solar calendar(阳历)， which had 365 days in a year and --- every four years --- a “leap-year(闰年)” with one extra day. To an observer on earth， the sun seems to move farther and farther away from the equator(赤道)to the north until on June 21st it seems to reach its furthest point north.Then it seems to “pause” for one day before it turns around and goes back.Then it goes further and further south until on December 22nd it appears to “pause” again for one day before swerving(改变方向)back north again.These two days are called the Summer Solstice(夏至)and the Winter Solstice(冬至)respectively.

1、Next morning， four words from the book--- “take the long view” --- were still in my mind.At my desk， I had a long-view look at my problems.Once more， super-slow reading had given me not only pleasure but perspective， and helped me in my everyday affairs.I discovered its worth years ago … Previously， if I had not been really interested in a book， I would race from page to page， eager to know what came next.Now， I decided， I had to become a miser(吝啬鬼，守财奴)with words and stretch(拉伸，拖延)every sentence like a poor man spending his last dollar.I had started with the practical object of making my book last.But by the end of the second week I began to realize how much I was getting from super-slow-reading itself.Sometimes just a particular phrase caught my attention， sometimes a sentence.I would read it slowly， analyze it， read it again --- perhaps changing down into an even lower gear(速度，变速)--- and then sit for 20 minutes thinking about it before moving on.I was like a pianist studying a piece of music， phrase by phrase， rehearsing(演练，彩排)it， trying to discover and recreate exactly what the composer (作曲家)was trying to convey(表达).

5. Passage Thirty-SixTraditionally， universities have carried out two main activities: research and teaching.Many experts would argue that both these activities play a critical role in serving the community.The fundamental question， however， is how does the community want or need to be served? In recent years universities have been coming under increasing pressure from both the governments and the public to ensure that they do not remain “ivory towers (象牙塔)” of study separated from the realities of everyday life.University teachers have been encouraged， and in some cases constrained (强迫)， to provide more courses which produce graduates with the technical skills required for the commercial use.If Aristotle wanted to work in a university in the UK today， he would have a good chance of teaching computer science but would not be so readily employable as a philosopher.A post-industrial society requires large numbers of computer programmers， engineers， managers and technicians to maintain and develop its economic growth but “man”， as the Bible says， “does not live by bread alone.” Apart from requiring medical and social services， which do not directly contribute to economic growth， the society should also value and enjoy literature， music and the arts.Because they can also promote economic growth.A successful musical play， for instance， can contribute as much to the Gross National Product through tourist dollars as any other things.The author believes that ().