You cannot buy class, as the old sayinggoes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige ofthe Nobels, The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behindthem, say scientists. They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research. They could cement the status quo ofpeer-reviewed research. They do not fund peer-reviewed research. Theyperpetuate the myth of the lone genius.
The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism.Some want to shock, others to draw people into science, or to better rewardthose who have made their careers in research. As Nature has pointed out before, there are some legitimateconcerns about how science
prizes—both new and old—are distributed. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, launchedthis year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the life sciences include.But the Nobel Foundation’s limit of three recipients per prize, each of whommust still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature ofmodern research—as will bedemonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes toacknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson. The Nobels were, of course,themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted todo with his own money. Time, rather than intention, has given them legitimacy.
As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards, twothings seem clear. First, most researchers would accept such a prize if theywere offered one. Second, it is surely a good thing that the money andattention come to science rather than go elsewhere, It is fair to criticize
andquestion the mechanism—that is the culture of research, after all—but it is the prize-givers’ moneyto do with as they please. It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude andgrace. 31. The Fundamental Physics Prize is seenas [A]a symbol of the entrepreneurs’ wealth.
[B]a possible replacement of the NobelPrizes. [C]an example of bankers’ investments. [D]a handsome reward for researchers.
32. The critics think that the new awardswill most benefit [A]the profit-oriented scientists. [B]the founders of the new awards. [C]the achievement-based system. [D]peer-review-led research.
33. The discovery of the Higgs boson is atypical case which involves [A]controversies over the recipients’status. [B]the joint effort of modern researchers. [C]legitimate concerns over the new prizes. [D]the demonstration of research findings.
34. According to Paragraph 4,which of thefollowing is true of the Nobels? [A]Their endurance has done justice tothem. [B]Their legitimacy has long been indispute. [C]They are the most representative honor. [D]History has never cast doubt on them.
35.The author believes that the now awardsare [A]acceptable despite the criticism. [B]harmful to the culture of research. [C]subject to undesirable changes.
[D]unworthy of public attention.
Text 4
“The Heart of the Matter,” the just-released report by the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importanceof the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberaldemocracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report’s failure to address thetrue nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm thangood. In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sentletters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by“federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators,individual benefactors and others” to “maintain national excellence
inhumanities and social scientific scholarship and education.” In response, theAmerican Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Amongthe commission’s 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers,judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy,filmmaking, music and journalism.
The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Becauserepresentative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the reportsupports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government,particularly American history and American government; and encourages the useof new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, thereport calls for
increased investment in research, the crafting of coherentcurricula that improve students’ ability to solve problems and communicateeffectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and theencouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the greatchallenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreignlanguages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.
Unfortunately, despite 2? years in the making, \the matter: the illiberal nature ofliberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commissionignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities haveproduced graduates who don’t know the content and character of liberaleducation and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiryonce at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities andsocial sciences as vehicles for publicizing “progressive,” or left-liberalpropaganda. Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation ofhistory and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study whileportraying conservative or classical liberal ideas—such as free markets andself-reliance—as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimeslegitimate, intellectual investigation.
The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet itsreport may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of thechallenge that Congress asked it to illuminate. 36. According to Paragraph 1, what is theauthor’s attitude toward the AAAS’s report? [A] Critical
[B] Appreciative [C] Contemptuous [D] Tolerant
37. Influential figures in the Congressrequired that the AAAS report on how to [A] retain people’s interest in liberaleducation [B] define the government’s rolein education [C] keep a leading position in liberaleducation
[D] safeguard individuals’ rights toeducation 38. According to Paragraph 3, the reportsuggests [A] an exclusive study of American history [B] a greater emphasis on theoreticalsubjects [C] the application of emergingtechnologies [D] funding for the study of foreignlanguages
39. The author implies in Paragraph 5 thatprofessors are [A] supportive of free markets
[B] cautious about intellectual investigation [C] conservative about public policy [D] biased against classical liberal ideas
40. Which of the following would be thebest title for the text? [A] Ways to Grasp “The Heart of the Matter”
[B] Illiberal Education and “The Heart ofthe Matter” [C] The AAAS’s Contribution to LiberalEducation [D] Progressive Policy vs. LiberalEducation PartB
Directions:
The following paragraphs are given in awrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize theseparagraphs into a coherent text by choosing from the list A-G and filling theminto the numbered boxes. Paragraphs Aand E have been correctly placed Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET (10points)
[A] Some archaeological sites have alwaysbeen easily observable—for example, the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, the pyramids of Gizain Egypt; and the megaliths of Stonehenge in southern England. But these sitesare exceptions to the norm. Most archaeological sites have been located bymeans of careful searching, while many others have been discovered by accident.Olduvai Gorge, an early hominid site in Tanzania, was found by a butterflyhunter who literally fell into its deep valley in 1911. Thousands of Aztecartifacts came to light during the digging of the Mexico City subway in the1970s.
[B]In another case, American archaeologistsRene Million and George Cowgill spent years systematically mapping the entirecity of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico near what is now Mexico City. Atits peak around AD 600, this city was one of the largest human settlements inthe world. The researchers mapped not only the city’s vast and ornateceremonial areas, but also hundreds of simpler apartment complexes where commonpeople lived.
[C] How do archaeologists know where tofind what they are looking for when there is nothing visible on the surface ofthe ground? Typically, they survey and sample (make test excavations on) largeareas of terrain to determine where excavation will yield useful information.Surveys and test samples have also become important for understanding thelarger landscapes that contain archaeological sites.
[D] Surveys can cover a single largesettlement or entire landscapes. In one case, many
researchers working aroundthe ancient Maya city of Copan, Honduras, have located hundreds of small ruralvillages and individual dwellings by using aerial photographs and by makingsurveys on foot. The resulting settlement maps show how the distribution anddensity of the rural population around the city changed dramatically between AD500 and 850, when Copan collapsed.
[E] To find their sites, archaeologiststoday rely heavily on systematic survey methods and a variety ofhigh-technology tools and techniques. Airborne technologies, such as differenttypes of radar and photographic equipment carried by airplanes or spacecraft, allowarchaeologists to learn about what lies beneath the ground without digging. Aerialsurveys locate general areas of interest or larger buried features, such asancient buildings or fields.
[F] Most archaeological sites, however, arediscovered by archaeologists who have set out to look for them. Such searchescan take years. British archaeologist Howard Carter knew that the tomb of theEgyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun existed from information found in other sites.Carter sifted through rubble in the Valley of the Kings for seven years before helocated the tomb in 1922. In the late 1800s British archaeologist Sir ArthurEvan combed antique dealers’ stores in Athens, Greece. He was searching fortiny engraved seals attributed to the ancient Mycenaean culture that dominatedGreece from the 1400s to 1200s BC. Evans’s interpretations of these engravingseventually led him to find the Minoan palace at Knossos (Knossós) on the island of Crete, in 1900.
[G] Ground surveys allow archaeologists topinpoint the places where digs will be successful. Most ground surveys involvea lot of walking, looking for surface clues such as small fragments of pottery.They often include a certain amount of digging to test for buried materials atselected points across a landscape. Archaeologists also may locate buriedremains by using such technologies as ground radar, magnetic-field recording,and metal detectors. Archaeologists
commonly use computers to map sites and thelandscapes around sites. Two and three-dimensional maps are helpful tools inplanning excavations, illustrating how sites look, and presenting the resultsof archaeological research.
41. → A →42. → E →43. → 44. →45.
PartC
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and thentranslate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should bewritten neatly on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
Musicmeans different things to different people and sometimes even different thingsto the same person at different moments of his life. It might be poetic,philosophical, sensual, or mathematical, but in any case it must, in my view,have something to do with the soul of the human being. Hence it ismetaphysical; but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical: sound.I believe it is precisely this permanent coexistence of metaphysical
messagethrough physical means that is the strength of music. (46)It is also thereason why when we try to describe music with words, all we can do isarticulate our reactions to it, and not grasp music itself.
Beethoven’simportance in music has been principally defined by the revolutionary nature ofhis compositions. He freed music from hitherto prevailing conventions ofharmony and structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break allsigns of continuity. The music is abrupt and seemingly disconnected, as in thelast piano sonata. In musical expression, he did not feel
restrained by theweight of convention. (47)By all accounts he was a freethinking person, anda courageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for theunderstanding, let alone the performance, of his works.
