北京大学北京大学 2013 年考博英语年考博英语试题试题 Part I: Listening Comprehension Part II: Structure and Written Expression (15%) Directions: For each question decide which of the four of given will most suitably complete the sentence if inserted at the place marked. Mark your choices on the ANSWER SHEET. 11. Prince Charles, the longest-waiting _ to the throne in British history, has spoken of his “impatience” to get things done. A heir B heirship C heritage D Heiress 12. Love was in the air in a Tokyo park as normally staid Japanese husbands gathered to scream out their feelings for their wives, promising _ and extra tight hugs. A attitude B multitude C gratitude D latitude 13. The number of stay-at-home fathers reached a record high last year, new figures show, as families saw a (an) _ in female breadwinners. A raise B rise C arise D increase 14. The market for dust masks and air purifier is _ in Beijing because the capital has been shrouded for several days in thick fog and haze. A booming B looming C dooming D zooming 15. Traditional fairytales are being ditched by parents because they are too _ for their young children, a study found. A scarce B scary C scared D scarred 16. It has been revealed that nearly one in five degree courses has been _ since the tripling of tuition fees to 9,000 a year. A scratched B scraped C scrabbled D scrapped 17. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has _ about being a parent, stating that 13 is an appropriate age for a childs first cell phone. A opened up B taken up C put up D held up 18. Sales of mushrooms have hit an all-time high as Britons increasingly turn to the cheap and _ foodstuff for their cooking. A versatile B multiple C manifold D diverse 19. “Gangnam Style”, the _ popular song from South Korean recording artist PSY, has just become the most watched video on YouTube ever. A sanely B insanely C rationally D insatiably 20. The _ British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking once said in an interview that heaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark. A imposing B lofty C prominent D eminent 21. Some might consider it an ugly truth that attractive people are often more successful than those _ blessed with looks. A less B more C most D least 22. _ they think it will come to an end through the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event, whatever the reason, nearly 15 percent of people worldwide think the end of the world is coming, according to a new poll. A Either B Whether C Neither D If 23. The European Parliament has banned the terms “Miss.” and “Mrs.” _ they offend female members. A as long as B the moment C so that D in case 24. Packed like sardines into sweaty, claustrophobic subway carriages, passengers can barely breathe, _ move about freely. A as well as B disregarded for C let alone D not mentioning 25. Japan is one of only three counties that now hunt whales and _ the government says it is an important cultural tradition. A that B which C whose D where Part III: Clone Test (15%) Directions: Read the following passage carefully and decide the best choice for each numbered blank Mark your choices on the ANSWER SHEET. Ironically, the intellectual tools currently being used by the political right to such harmful effect originated on the academic left. In the 1960s and 1970s a philosophical movement called postmodernism developed among humanities professors, 26 _ being deposed by science, which they regarded as right-leaning. Postmodernism 27 _ ideas from cultural anthropology and relativity theory to argue that truth is 28 _ and subject to the assumptions and prejudices of the observer. Science is just one of many ways of knowing, they argued, neither more nor less 29 _ than others, like those of Aborigines, Native Americans or women. 30 _, they defined science as the way of knowing among Western white men and a tool of cultural 31 _. This argument 32 _ with many feminists and civil-rights activists and became widely adopted, leading to the “political correctness” justifiably 33 _ by Rush Limbaugh and the “Mental Masturbation” lampooned by Woody Allen. Acceptance of this relativistic worldview 34 _ democracy and leads not to tolerance but to authoritarianism. John Locke, one of Jeffersons “trinity of three greatest men”, showed 35 _ almost three centuries ago. Locke watched the arguing factions of Protestantism, each claiming to be the one true religion, and asked: How do we know something to be true? What is the basis of knowledge? In 1689 he 36 _ what knowledge is and how it is grounded in observations of the physical world in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Any claim that fails this test is “but faith, or opinion, but not knowledge”. It was this idea that the world is knowable and that objective, empirical knowledge is the most 37 _ basis for public policy that stood as Jeffersons foundational argument for democracy. By falsely 38 _