上海交通大学国际预科生项目英语寒假综合试卷一

I. Grammar and Vocabulary

Section A
Beneath the passage, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one answer that
best makes the passage coherent and grammatically correct.
Is Hothouse Earth Avoidable?
Nearly 50 years ago, the Club of Rome’s report “Limits to Growth” warned that if economic
growth continued fast without regard for the environment, the world could face ecological and
economic collapse in the twenty-first century. Yet that is essentially ___1___ has happened. As
new research for the Club of Rome shows --- and the latest report from the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel ___2___ Climate Change (IPCC) states --- the world ___3___ well be

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headed towards disaster.
Many wrongly ___4___ the “Limits to Growth” as an attack on uncontrolled economic

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expansion. In fact, the report argued that if the unlimited-growth pathway was chosen, it would

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require complementary policies (including funding) ___5___ the planet’s limited life-support
systems.

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This argument ___6___. Instead, the world has continued to pursue fast growth, ___7___
regard for the environmental consequences. This has enabled us to make enormous progress in
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reducing poverty, increasing longevity, and increasing wealth. ___8___ it has come at a high cost
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to the formation of the society and the restoration of the planet.
As scientists have conclusively shown, in the last decade, we have entered a new
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geological ear, the Anthropocene, in which human activity – in particular, economic activity ---
has been the dominant factor ___9___ Earth’s climate and environment. In the Anthropocene,
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our planet’s life-support system is changing faster than ever.

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Climate change now represents a clear and present danger. If our planet becomes just 2
Warner than pre-industrial temperatures, we may be placed irreversibly on the path toward
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“Hothouse Earth” --- a situation ___10___ temperatures are many degrees warmer than today,
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sea levels are considerably higher, and extreme weather events are more common --- and more
destructive --- than ever.
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1. A. that B. which C. what D. it

2. A. in B. for C. on D. about
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3. A. must B. may C. should D. would

4. A. interpret B. to interpret C. interpreting D. interpreted
5. A. preserve B. preserving C. to preserve D. preserved
6. A. ignored B. is ignored C. was ignored D. has been ignored
7. A. with B. without C. in D. on
8. A. Then B. But C. So D. Thus
9. A. influence B. to influence C. influencing D. influenced
10. A. when B. that C. which D. where
Section B
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be
used once. Note that there are five words more than you need.
A. apply B. supposed C. comparison D. dominates
E. existing F. maintain G. options H. nature
I. sensitive J. address K. willingness L. vary
M. consume N. separated O. accurate
A recent troubling study showed that fake news spread significantly faster, deeper and
more broadly than the truth, and the effect is even more remarkable when regarding news as
opposed to reporting on natural disasters, finance or science. So how can we encourage
individuals to seek ___ 11___ online content? Leading scholars are trying hard to deal with this
question.
Processing new information requires a considerable mental effort, especially when that
information seems to conflict with your ___ 12___ worldview. It takes the ___ 13___ to admit
you may be wrong. But with a great amount of conflicting information available, who's to say

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what's actually true and what's false? If you can’t tell, why not just make life easy and go with
what supports your current beliefs?

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So what ___ 14___ do we have? Many suggest that we can ___ 15___ the issue by

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reforming adult behavior, but this is aiming too far from source. An alternative solution is using
early education to help individuals recognize these problems and ___ 16___ critical thinking to

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the information they deal with. Currently, there is a push in the US to include Internet
information classes into primary and secondary school curriculums. The movement, which has
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received some support, aims to make fact-checking seem like second ___ 17___ to individuals at
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an early age.
Primary and secondary school are ___ 18___ to be supplying students with the skills they
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need to develop into productive and informed members of our society. As our society develops,
the curriculum we are teaching our students needs to develop as well.
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The Internet is an amazing tool, but to use it most effectively we have to accept its benefits
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while also understanding the ways in which it makes us dangerously ___ 19___. If students are
still learning the practices such as writing in school, shouldn't they be learning how to __ 20___
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the Internet responsibly as well?

Section C
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Directions: For each blank in the following passages there are four words or phrases marked A, B,
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C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Over the past few decades more and more countries have opened up their markets
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increasingly __21__ the world economy into one free-flowing global market. The question is: Is
economic globalization good for all?
According to the World Bank one of its chief supporters, economic globalization has helped
reduce __22__ in a large number of developing countries. It quotes one study that shows
increased wealth __23__ to improved education and longer life in twenty-four developing
countries as a result of integration of local economies into the world economy. Home to
some three billion people these twenty-four countries have seen incomes increase __24__ an
average rate of five percent- compared to two percent in developed countries.
Those who __25__ globalization claim that economies in developing countries will benefit
from new opportunities for small and home-based businesses. __26__, small farmers in Brazil
who produce nuts that would originally have sold only in local open-air markets can now
promote their goods worldwide by the Internet.
 __27__ take a different view believing that economic globalization is actually __28__ gap
between the rich and poor. A study carried out by the U.N.-sponsored World Commission on the
Social Dimension of Globalization shows that only a few developing countries have actually
__29__ from integration into the world economy and that the poor the uneducated unskilled
workers and native peoples have been left behind. __30__, they maintain that globalization may
eventually threaten emerging businesses. For example Indian craftsmen who currently seem to
benefit from globalization because they are able to __31__ their products may soon face fierce
competition that could put them out of business.
When large-scale manufacturers start to produce the same goods or when superstores like
Wal-Mart move in these small businesses will not be able to __32__ and will be crowded out.
One thing is certain about Globalization—there is no __33__. Advances in technology
combined with more open policies have already created an interconnected world. The __34__

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now is finding a way __35__ a kind of globalization that works for the benefit of all.
21. A. transform B. transformed C. transforming D. to transform

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22. A. crime B. poverty C. conflict D. population
23. A. contributing B. responding C. turning D. owing

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24. A. on B. in C. by D. at

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25. A. doubt B. define C. advocate D. ignore
26. A. In addition B. For instance C. In other words
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27. A. Critic B. Critics C. Criticism D. Criticize
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28. A. finding B. exploring C. bridging D. widening
29. A. suffered B. profited C. learned D. withdrawn
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30. A. Furthermore B. Therefore C. However D. Otherwise

31. A. consume B. deliver C. export D. advertise
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32. A. keep up B. come in C. go around D. help out

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33. A. taking off B. getting alone C. holding out D. turning back

34. A. agreement B. prediction C. outcome D. challenge
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35. A. create B. to create C. creating D. created

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II. Reading Comprehension

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Section A
Directions: Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by a few questions. For each of
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them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the
information given in the passages you have just read.
(A)
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called
the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator gets
close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a
broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub
jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays
seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it
again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How?
They don’t make nests. Instead, they get into other birds" nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs
and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its
hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again.
But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner’s hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as
bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever
chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don’t hear them, and
they don’t need to share their food.
As children, many of us learn the saying "You can’t fool Mother Nature." But maybe you
can’t trust her, either.
36. A plover protects its young from a predator by______.

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A. getting closer to its young
B. driving away the adult predator

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C. leaving its young in another nest
D. pretending to be injured

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37. By "Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky" (paragraph 5), the author means______.

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A. chimps are ready to attack others
B. chimps are sometimes dishonest 预
C. chimps are jealous of the winners
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D. chimps can be selfish too
38. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
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A. Some chimps lower their cry to keep food away from others.
B. The losing chimp won the fight by taking the winner’s hand.
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C. Cuckoos fool their adoptive parents by making no nests.

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D. Some clever scrub jays often steal their food back.

39. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
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A. Do animals lie?
B. Does Mother Nature fool animals?
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C. How do animals learn to lie?

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D. How does honesty help animals survive?

(B)
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In an industry with low margins where the traditional wisdom is led by Walmart, the key to
success is lowering operating costs. A big part of those costs are in labor, so it is no surprise that
the retail industry has been a leader in using more part-time workers to keep labor costs down,
holding the line on wages, not training, and with few exceptions, seeing employees as a cost to
be minimized. There is no doubt that these businesses fight for every dollar of margin. Unlike
trend-leading hi-tech companies which spend a lot of money on employees to get them
innovated, retail industry can spend very limited money on their employees.
What researchers found was that companies were often staffing their stores far too low, and
that many stores tended to perform better with higher staffing levels and were more profitable.
Let’s let that sink in for a minute. The stores were making more money (with all other things
being equal) when they spent more on employees.
They also found that retailers didn’t do a very good job when staffing levels are just the
actual demand in those stores. In fact, they set staffing levels identically across stores, even when
the needs of the stores varied considerably. The average store did not appear to be understaffed,
but there were enough that were understaffed and effect on overall company profitability was
substantial.
Interestingly, the same researchers persuaded the retail chain to run an experiment with
them and slightly raise staffing levels to the amount that their analysis of historical data suggests
would be ideal. Yes, labor costs obviously jumped when they did that, but so did profits. In retail,
labor is a small percentage of costs—the biggest part is the cost of the products they sell. So, the
net effect was an increase in profits of $7.4 million across 168 stores on an annual basis.
What can we learn from this? One question worth thinking of is: How can traditional retail
industry survive the increasingly severe market? Especially now with the growth of online retail,
the one thing stores still have going for them is one to one customer contact with salespeople. If

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retailers cut that down to almost nothing, then they have effectively eliminated their competitive
advantage against online stores.

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40. In the first paragraph, Walmart is mentioned to indicate that ______.
A. Walmart is suffering a low return on investments

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B. Walmart is followed by companies in controlling costs

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C. Walmart well balances investments and profits
D. Walmart should considerably cut costs on its employees预
41. According to the passage, which of the following is true about retail industry?
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A. It focuses on lowering costs of employees.
B. It intends to over staff employees in the stores.
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C. It attempts to maintain high income for the employees.

D. It invents a large sum of money on staff training.
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42. What can we learn from the researchers’ experiment?

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A. It’s acceptable to have equal staffing levels across stores.

B. Understaffing helps the stores to operate profitably.
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C. Profitability has nothing to do with staffing.

D. A little over the standard staffing proved to be profitable.
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43. Which of the following would the author probably agree with?
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A. For retail industry, cutting product costs is the priority.

B. Online retail industry should staff more precisely to be competitive.
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C. Investment on employees is potentially profitable for retail industry.

D. Staffing control is an effective way for retail industry to make profits.
Section B
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box.
Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
A. The format of magazines enables children to be exposed to a wide variety of subjects.
B. Magazines and newspapers provide adults with critical news.
C. Being exposed to magazines and newspapers benefits you a lot.
D. Keep interesting magazine pictures to give children story ideas.
E. Magazines are valuable assets for many people, but in particular to children.
F. Magazines and newspapers are expensive now but out of style.
Magazine Articles: More Valuable Than You May Think
 Parents are often surprised when teachers suggest their children read magazines. Read on
to learn about the benefits that reading magazines offers to young readers and how to introduce
your children to the medium.
Magazine Benefits
Magazine articles can provide reluctant readers with a lively, breezy writing style that can
inspire them to read more.
The articles in magazines are generally short, which allows a child to finish reading a feature
article without losing interest due to a short attention span. The writing in magazines also tends
to be easy to read, especially if it is a children's publication.
By allowing your child to read magazines at an early age, you are encouraging development
of a useful skill.___44___Getting into the habit of reading periodicals as a child will foster the
habit of reading news articles that may continue into adulthood.

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___45___ Magazine articles challenge students to think about issues they may have never
considered or cause them to rethink their world view. Information is available in a wide variety of

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reading levels because magazines are written for every audience imaginable. Many publications
cover the same material in different writing styles that might make it easier for your child to

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comprehend.

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Magazine Activities
Reading magazines as a family can be used to introduce each other to the various interests
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that each family member possesses. When your children are finished with their magazines,
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encourage them to pass their issue on to a sibling or other family member.
Once each family member has finished reading each magazine, you can use them for art and
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writing projects. These projects are for family members of all ages:
1. Cut out pictures to help your preschool and kindergarten children learn their alphabet,
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numbers, and colors.

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2.___46___ Paste the picture at the top of a page and have them write a story about what is
happening or what the picture represents.
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3. Clip pictures to create a collage. Many teenagers love using their artistic talents to collage.
___47___The skills that students utilize and strengthen when reading magazines can be
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applied to higher level reading and other academic subjects. Encouraging your child to read by
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giving them a magazine subscription could cause them to take the leap from being a reluctant
reader to a voracious page-turner.
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