南京农业大学2004年英语二外考研试题
66. This passage is primarily concerned with ____________.
A . a new language
B. technical terminology
C. occupations and professions
E. popular science
67. Special words used in technical discussion ____________.
A. never last long
B. should resemble mathematical formulae
C. should be confined to scientific fields
D. may become part of common speech
68. Recently there has been a marked increase in number of technical terms in the system of ____________.
A. farming
B. fishing
C. government
D. sports
69. The writer of this article was, no doubt ____________.
A. a linguist
B. a scientist
C. a physician
D. a sportsman
70. The author’s main purpose in the passage is ____________.
A. to describe a phenomenon
B. to propose a solution
C. to be entertaining
D. to argue a belief
Passage 3
Carnegie Hall, the famous concert hall in New York City, has again undergone a restoration. While this is not the first, it is certainly the most extensive in the building’s history. As a result of this restoration, Carnegie Hall once again has the quality of sound that it had when it was first built.
Carnegie Hall owes its existence to Andrew Carnegie, the wealthy owner of a steel company in the late 1800s. The hall was finished in 1891 and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent performing arts hall where accomplished musicians gained fame. Despite its reputation, however, the concert hall suffered from several detrimental renovations over the years. During the Great Depression, when fewer people could afford to attend performances, the directors sold part of the building to commercial businesses. As a result, a coffer shop was opened in one corner of the building, for which the builders replaced the brick and terra cotta walls with windowpanes. A renovation in 1946 seriously damaged the acoustical quality of the hall when the makers of the film Carnegie Hall cut a gaping hole in the dome of the ceiling to allow for lights and air vents. The hole was later covered with short curtains and a fake ceiling, but the hall never sounded the same afterwards.
In 1960, the violinist Isaac Stern became involved in restoring the hall after a group of real estate developers unveiled plans to demolish Carnegie Hall and build a high-rise office building on the site. This threat spurred Stern to rally public support for Carnegie Hall and encourage the City of New York to buy the property. The movement was successful, and the concert hall is now owned by the city. In the current restoration, builders tested each new material for its sound qualities, and they replaced the hole in the ceiling with a dome. The builders also restored the outer walls to their original appearance and closed the coffee shop. Carnegie has never sounded better, and its prospects for the future have never looked more promising.
71. the passage is mainly about ____________.
A. changes to Carnegie Hall.
B. the appearance of Carnegie Hall.
C. Carnegie Hall’s history during the Great Depression.
D. Damage to the ceiling in Carnegie Hall.
72. What major change happened to the hall in 1946?
A. The acoustic dome was damaged.
B. Space in the building was sold to commercial businesses.
C. The walls were damaged in an earthquake.
D. The stage was renovated.
73. What was Isaac Stern’s relationship to Carnegie Hall?
A. He made the movie Carnegie Hall in 1946.
B. He performed on opening night in 1891.
C. He tried to save the hall, beginning in 1960.
D. He opened a coffee shop in Carnegie Hall during the Depression.
74. What was probably the most important aspect of the recent renovation?
A. Restoring the outer wall.
B. Expanding the lobby.
C. Restoring the plaster trim.
D. Repairing the ceiling.
75. Which of the following would most likely be the topic of the next paragraph?
A. A scientific explanation of acoustics and the nature of sound.
B. A description of people’s reactions to the newly renovated hall.
C. A discussion of the coffee shop that once was located in the building.
D. Further discussion about the activities of Isaac Stern in 1960.
Passage 4
The first coins to appear in the Western world were issued by the Indians and the Greeks in the eighth century B. C. These coins, which were made of electrum, a natural combination of gold and silver, were irregular in weight and quality. The pure gold and silver coins with related values which appeared during the reign of Croesus (560—546 B. C.) provide the first undoubted evidence of standard coinage by state authority. The coins were not perfectly shaped, however, for they were struck with a hand wielded hammer. The trend toward complete mathematical symmetry did not, in fact, begin until the coining press, invented by Leonardo de Vinci in the sixteenth century, was generally used in the middle of the seventeenth century.
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