高口真题1999.9

1999.9

上海市英语高级口译资格证书第一阶段考试

SECTION 1: LISTENING TEST (30 minutes) Part A: spot Direction

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the words you have heard on the tape. Write your answer in the corresponding space in you ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the passage only once.

Um ... if I could just take this opportunity to briefly summarize the company's attitude to the question of providing information for our employees. Well … er ... we know that ________(1) would like more opportunity to let the company know how they feel on things ___________(2). And certainly from the surveys that we've done, they seem to emphasize the value of _________(3) ... er ... especially at a time of change and uncertainty __________(4) and in the outside world. Anyway, action has been ___________(5) to increase face-to-face communication ____________(6) and to improve the flow of upward communication.

Um ... you also know how much we ____________(7) and so we continue to provide training facilities to enable employees who are elected to consultative committees ____________(8) in their new role.

Now, when it comes to informing the workforce. Um ... well, employees, we believe, have a right to (9) about the company, whether or not the information makes them ___________(10).

And ... um ... and “In formation Programme” makes this possible. Well, let me just ___________(11). Er ... supervisors, for instance, may need informing about ______________(12) before they go into production.

And supervisors should also be given _____________(13) and marketing objectives, and about its performance related to ____________(14). At the same time, of course, we are naturally aware of the problems of giving too much information on ____________(15). Well, er ... the competition may get to _____________(16) too soon!

But ... um ... but in the end we shouldn't ___________(17) that even if the management does not ____________(18), that they and even the workers themselves will know a great deal about _____________(19), even, you know, even if they haven't been ______________(20).

Part B: Listening Comprehension

Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken only once. Now listen care fully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER

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BOOKLET.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following conversation. 1. A. Faulty goods. B. Late deliveries.

C. Inadequate after-staffing. D. Over-pricing.

2. A. A union strike. B. Inconvenient transportation. C. Under-staffing. D. Excessive demand. 3. A. Toy cars. B. Cassette recorders. C. Radio sets. D. Sports bicycles.

4. A. Having a new factory equipped. B. Expanding the present factory. C. Making extra workers redundant. D. Adopting new technology. 5. A. The buyers were not informed about the problem.

B. The company can't solve the problem by getting extra workers. C. The company is offering a 10% discount on all future orders. D. The discount will mean a bigger profit for Mr. Olsen's retailers.

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.

6. A. The inflation rate has been rising in the past few months. B. The inflation rate is expected to drop in May. C. The inflation rate fell to 8.0% in April.

D. The inflation rate could rise to 8.7% in the next few months. 7. A. 3.9%. B. 4.2%. C. 4.3%. D. 4.5%. 8. A. Fewer than Five. B. Around fifty. C. At least 100. D. Over 1,000.

9. A. To prevent possible looting. B. To help the rescue work. C. To look for anything to salvage. D. To restrict electricity supply. 10. A. Taking bribes. B. Offering bribes. C. Providing secret documents. D. Resigning from his post.

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview. 11. A. Lack of a clear marketing strategy. B. Failure to maintain quality control. C. Loss of market share due to over-pricing. D. No new products being pushed onto the market. 12. A. Aiming solely at the middle range of the market. B. Competing with cheap foreign imports. C. Concentrating on lower-priced goods. D. Selling products to the Japanese.

13. A. To promote sales. B. To increase production. C. To save on materials. D. To improve quality.

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14. A. About two years ago.

B. Three years after he finished college. C. Last year.

D. Six months ago.

15. A. Heavy losses will be slightly reduced. B. Share prices will rise sharply.

C. A dividend will be paid to shareholders. D. Income from sales will equal costs.

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.

16. A. People in different parts of North America speak English differently.

B. Canadians and Americans are mutually intelligible despite differences in spoken English. C. Of all three types of differences in spoken English, differences in accent are the most

obvious.

D. Written English is the same everywhere in North America. 17. A. Bostonians. B. New Yorkers. C. The British. D. Canadians. 18. A. There is less variation in vocabulary than in grammar.

B. Differences in grammar are more obvious that those in pronunciation. C. People are more concerned with spoken grammar than with written grammar. D. Some variation in spoken grammar is more acceptable in certain areas. 19. A. Economic class. B. Social class. C. Geography. D. History. 20. A. Written English. B. Educated English.

C. English spoken by the social elite. D. English adopted by the Government.

SECTION 2: READING TEST (30 minutes)

Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Questions 1～5

The horror story closest to Alfred Hitchcock's heart was never told. A Hollywood studio brutally killed off the film the director had nurtured for years because it feared he was becoming too controversial.

Hitchcock planned the film, Provisionally entitled Kaleidoscope, as the most provocative and daring in his glittering career. If made, it would have featured a style, content and level of

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violence not attempted before in mainstream cinema.

It followed successes with films such as North by Northwest, made in 1959, which starred Cary Grant in a prototype 007 role, and Psycho, made the following year, which became famous for its spinechilling shower murder. Now notes and other documents left by “the master of suspense” have shown that Hitchcock was not content to rest on the reputation earned by such classics and was planning to reinvent himself at the age of 68.

Kaleidoscope would have featured a handsome psychopath and his female pursuer. The plot was based on the true-life story of Neville Heath, a sadistic 28-year-old RAF officer hanged in 1946 for the sexual assault and savage murder of two young women.

Film experts who have seen the detailed notes and preliminary footage say they show “Hitch” was thinking of ideas that were years ahead of their time, and anticipating the approach of movies made in the late 1960s and 1970s such as Easy Rider and Mean Streets.

Four reels of film were shot in a feasibility study but then the entire project was scuppered by executives as Universal Studios who said it was too drastic a change in direction.

The reels, along with Hitchcock's written descriptions of the film, were found by Dan Auiler, a film historian who was sifting through the huge collection of papers that Hitchcock's daughter Patricia donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angles. “If Kaleidoscope had been released it could have been one of Hitch's greatest movies,” He said.

The preliminary reels were shot in New York in 1967. After editing, there was about 10 minutes of screen time. The first scene shows a nude model in her apartment and the second, in an artist's studio, shows the young killer meeting the model. In a break with tradition, Hitchcock, who turned Cary Grant and Grace Kelly into screen heartthrobs, proposed using unknown actors.

Auiler has included a description of the film—and Hitchcock's hopes for its impact on his career—in his new book, Hitchcock's Secret Diaries. The film director died in 1980 at the age of 80.

“Hitchcock was enormously impressed by the new wave of European film-makers and wanted to reinvent the Hitchcock film at an age when most people are content to enjoy a quiet retirement,” said Auiler. “He never quite forgave Universal and when he was filming the Seventies film Frenzy he shot it entirely in London to lessen the studio's control.”

The discoveries are likely to generate more interest in Hitchcock at events planned to celebrate his birth in London a hundred years ago.

1. Which of the following best expresses the meaning of the beginning sentence “The horror story closest to Alfred Hitchcock's heart was never told”? A. Hitchcock did not succeed in telling his last and most daring horror story. B. Hitchcock's best horror film was never shown to the public. C. Hitchcock was not able to complete his last horror story. D. Hitchcock left his favorite pioneering horror film unfinished. 2. Which of the following is true about Kaleidoscope?

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A. It was based on a fiction by Neville Heath. B. It was produced in 1970s.

C. It was not accepted by the audience.

D. It was not approved by the film producer.

3. According to the passage, are all the films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A. Easy Rider, North by Northwest and Psycho B. North by northwest, Frenzy and Psycho C. Mean streets, Easy Rider and Frenzy

D. Kaleidoscope, Easy Rider and Mean Streets

4. The word “scuppered” in the clause “the entire project was scuppered by executives at

Universal Studios”(para. 6) can best be replaced by. A. recommended B. reviewed C. negated D. encouraged 5. It can be concluded from the passage that.

A. Hitchcock's daughter first discovered kaleidoscope with the help from film experts

B. Film experts and historians find great significance in Kaleidoscope in their research of

Hitchcock

C. Hitchcock won the title of “the master of suspense” because of Kaleidoscope D. Kaleidoscope will be shown to the public soon to celebrate Hitchcock's birthday

Questions 6～10

The Police Federation launched an aggressive antiracism poster campaign yesterday, saying it was determined to restore the reputation of the service in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. Fred Broughton, chairman, said it was time for the federation, which has been criticised for not addressing black issues, to “put up or shut up”.

But the Black Police Association boycotted the lunch and said the (30,000 campaign “lacked credibility”. A spokesman said: “It has never been supportive to black issues, never acted as a platform for black issues, it lacks credibility with black officers and it has a poor image in the black community. We would say get your own house in order before you embark on such a campaign.”“We don't have a problem with the message. We have a problem with the messenger.”

The federation, Which represents rank and file officers in England and Wales, has sent 20,000 posters and leaflets to the country's 43 police forces. The campaign, similar to a Commission for Racial Equality antiracism drive, is designed to tackle public perceptions about black people and the police. It aims to tackle passive racism in the service and promote black and Asian role models, Mr. Broughton said.

One poster says: “What do you call a black man in a BMW? —A police sergeant on patrol.” Another shows the face of a black man with the message: “Been mugged? Tell him—he's a police officer.”

Mr. Broughton said the posters would “encourage and stimulate debate about racism.”

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“The service must show itself to be antiracist and must actively campaign on that basis to restore the reputation of the service.”

Mr. Broughton said he was disappointed the BPA had boycotted the event. “We have had close contact with the BPA for over six months at every stage of this campaign.”

The campaign followed the damning Macpherson report on the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence and subsequent orders by the home secretary, Jack Straw, that forces should recruit 8,000 officers from ethnic minorities within 10 years.

About 7% of the population in England and Wales is black or Asian, but they form only 2% of police officers.

The BPA was set up in 1994, supported by Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Paul Condon, to represent black officers despite opposition from within the federation.

Bob Purkiss, of the Commission for Racial Equality, called on white police officers to back the federation's campaign against racism. but admitted the service had been badly damaged by the Lawrence report.

6. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage? A. The murder of Stephen Lawrence under inquiry B. Posters upset black police C. Anti-racism poster campaign

D. Police service damaged by Lawrence report

7. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the expression “put up or shut up” (para. 1)? A. defend oneself or admit errors

B. assume responsibility or show indifference

C. continue as before or take a new course D. take action or keep silence

8. The poster with the image of a black man and the message “Been mugged? Tell him—he's a police officer.” shows people. A. how to recognize black police

B. that they can trust black police when in danger C. how to behave when being attacked D. that only black police can beetsted

9. All of the following express the attitude of the BPA towards the anti-racism poster campaign

EXCEPT.

A. “... the (30.000 campaign ‘lacked credibility’” B. “We would say get your own house in order ...” C. “The service must show itself to be anti－racist.” D. “We have a problem with the messenger.”

10. It can be inferred from the passage that.

A. the major problem in the restoration of police image is racism within the police force B. the BPA is a sub-division under the Police Federation

C. the Commission for Racial Equality started the antiracism poster campaign

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D. the BPA opposes the poster campaign

Questions 11～15

If ever there was a mouse that roared, it's Mickey. Universal's Islands of Adventure may have stolen Walt Disney's thunder, But when it comes to theme parks, Mickey Mouse is sill king. Disney's Florida theme park at Orlando covers 32,000 acres—the size of Manchester—and attracted 40m visitors last year. The more sophisticated may feel its blend of wholesomeness and kitsch is outdated, but there is little arguing with the numbers.

In contrast, Rank and Seagram pulled 8m visitors into their Universal Studios park last year. But with the launch of Islands of Adventure they hope to give The Mouse—as insiders call Disney—a run for its money.

The 110-acre site at Orlando is based on five islands and aimed squarely at a more thrillseeking, slightly older market. Three of the rides are so fast they induce zero gravity—and vomiting. The Incredible Hulk rollercoaster—themed on Marvel Comics' superhero-accelerates from 0 to 42mph in two seconds, then reaches 60mph, before flipping through seven loops.

The cost of building the rides is just as eyepopping. The Hulk is said to have cost more than ま50m while The Amazing Adventures of SpiderMan, the park's sensational 3D ride, cost more. The exact figures are secret, but one thing is certain: when Disney hits back it will spend even more.

Rank and Seagram's decision to build three hotels on the site will be the key to taking the fight to Disney. Portofino Bay, a 750-room hotel based on the famous Italian fishing village, is almost complete. Work has begun on a 650-room Hard Rock hotel and the 1,000-room Royal Pacific is due to open in 2001.

The expanded complex has now been re-christened Universal Studios Escape and the partners have signed up a number of sponsors, including Coca-Cola and Daimler-Chrysler's Dodge division, to run joint marketing campaigns as well as launching a 31m advertising campaign.

Edgar Bronfman, the chief executive of Seagram, sees Universal's more sophisticated image as a key to its success: “This is a quantum leap away from Disney. The newness of the park means we can deliver an experience they cannot rival,” he says.

The competition will intensify as Universal Studios Escape Moves into Japan and eyes Europe. Bronfman compares the two companies to MCI and AT&T, but Bronfman believes there is room for both Universal and Disney and that one day they will compete on more level terms. Disney says it is not concerned—never one to sell itself short, the company says it considers New York and Europe as its rivals. But Disney has started building on its first true rollercoaster: the Rock and Roller Coaster. The ride will be outside and will not have its workings hidden, as all other Disney rides do.

Walt Disney was firmly against rollercoasters and this move is seen as showing just how seriously The Mouse is listening to its small but noisy neighbour.

11. The expression “to give The Mouse ... a run for its money”(para. 3) can be paraphrased

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as_____.

A. to give The Mouse a chance to gain more profits B. to provide The Mouse more advantages for competition C. to press The Mouse to spend more in its competition D. to help The Mouse with its financial planning

12. The fact that Disney has started to build its first rollercoaster shows that________. A. it is consistent with its policies

B. it is planning to merge with Universal Studios Escape C. it is pioneering in introducing new entertainments D. it is under the strong pressure from its competitors

13. Why does Bronfman compare Universal and Disney to the two telecoms companies MCI and

AT&T?

A. Because MCI and AT&T are competing on level terms. B. Because one is smaller than the other but dares to compete with its rival.

C. Because both are facing the opportunities for development. D. Because MCT has defeated AT&T and set an example for Universal.

14. All of the following contribute to the strengthening of Universal's competitiveness EXCEPT. A. the building of the Rock and Roller Coaster

B. the construction of Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific C. the completion of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man D. the launch of Islands of Adventure

15. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? A. Islands of Adventure is the key to success of Universal Studios Escape. B. Rank and Seagram is seeking development in Japan and Europe. C. Disney is responding quickly to Universal's challenge.

D. Universal's theme park is seriously rivalling Disney.

Questions 16～20

A radio ad for a bedding company makes an impressive offer. “Mattresses delivered in two hours!” the announcer crows, calling this nowaiting service “bedding for busy people.” Once upon a less-hurried time, mattresses, like other long-term purchases, arrived at a more deliberate pace. But that was before “wait” turned into a four-letter word, and before “Now!” became the imperial command of a nation of impatient consumers. Today waiting is increasingly viewed as an outmoded concept, an insult to a busy customer's time. Immediate service offers instant gratification—it's the new formula for business success.

Thanks to technology, faxes and e-mail make waiting for post-office “snail mail” unnecessary. Call-waiting spares a caller the indignity of hearing a busy signal and waiting to redial. And credit cards eliminate the need to postpone shopping until cash is available. Just say, “Charge it,” and spend freely. In a 24-hour society, eager shoppers, plastic in hand, can fulfill their consumer desires around the clock. No waiting required.

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Already the demand for immediacy has become so urgent that one express photo company in Boston offers a “panic rush service.”

Further evidence of an increasingly wait free society appears in two current books. In “Doing Business ＠ the Speed of Thought,” Bill Gates predicts that “velocity” will be the buzzword of the 2000s.

In “Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy,”authors Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer take a similar approach. “Make speed your mind-set,” they advise. “Your customer should not have to wait for service, your supplier for needed information, your partner for sing-offs, and so on.”

So much speed! It's enough to make a weary reader want to order a mattress and take a nap when it arrives in two hours.

The prospect of greater efficiency can be encouraging. But what happens when a whole generation grows up never having to wait for much of anything? When delayed gratification is perceived as a problem to be overcome? When children—all the rest of us—approach everything with finger tapping impatience?

In an age of increasing impatience, what happens even to the biblical injunction to “wait patiently on the Lord”? There's more that a little truth behind the joking prayer, “God grant me patience, and give it to me right now.”

Even pregnancy, once the ultimate test of patience as parents waited nine months to learn whether their child is a girl or boy, is no longer a sweet mystery. Diagnostic tests can reveal the sex of a fetus in the early months.

At its worst, waiting simply wastes time. A few years ago a lifestyle management expert, Michael Fortino, estimated that an average American will spend five years during a lifetime waiting in line and six months sitting at red lights. He didn't mention waiting on hold. As any frequent flier knows, airline reservation phone lines specialize in soothing recorded voices that urge callers—again and again, while long minutes tick byto “please hold for the next available agent.” Hold--what a clever euphemism for wait.

Yet at its best, waiting can serve as a period of quiet preparation and expectation. As the speed of the world increases, so will the need for people with the capacity to maintain an unhurried pace—who know how to wait, serenely and expectantly.

Certain things, of course, can never be rushed, among them paydays, holidays, and seasons. Still, given the advances of technology, even an otherwise patient waiter can be forgiven for wishing that scientists could shorten winter and speed the arrival of spring. In such a fantasy, the last snow would melt by late February. Tulips and daffodils would bloom on March 1, and trees would begin leafing out the same week. Temperatures would remain balmy all month. No more lions in March.

Scientists, are you listening? Some of us can't wait.

16. The tone of the passage can be described as one of_________. A. matter-of-factness B. despair and hopelessness C. reproach and criticism D. satire and irony

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17. Which of the following expresses the organization of the passage? A. generalization—illustration—conclusion

B. examples—comparative analysis—counterevidence C. questions—answers—conclusion

D. comments—comparison—generalization

18. In the passage the writer introduced two books__________. A. to establish the basis of argument

B. to illustrate the relationship between technology and human civilization C. to provide evidence for the theme of the passage

D. to show the prominence of these authors

19. The expression “waiting simply wastes time”(para. 12) implies that_______. A. waiting has more advantages than disadvantages B. waiting has more disadvantages than advantages C. waiting has only limited disadvantages

D. waiting has numerous disadvantages

20. According to the author, the advances of technology___________. A. will satisfy all of our wishes B. cannot change the law of nature C. will make no-waiting service possible D. should not be over-exaggerated

SECTION 3: TRANSLATION TEST (30 minutes)

Directions: Translate the following passage into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

Japan's once enviable jobless rate will soar to double-digit levels if—and the warning is a big one—firms opt for drastic Western-style layoffs to boost profits. While Japan's life-time employment system is visibly unravelling, many economists still doubt whether a scenario of soaring joblessness will occur, given that economic incentives to slash payrolls clash with social and political pressures to save jobs. A kinder, gentler approach to restructuring would soften the social instability many fear would result from doubling the jobless rate, already at a record high. Critics believe it would also cap gains in profit margins and stifle economic vitality, especially in the absence of bold steps to open the door to new growth industries. Some economists believe different methods of counting mean Japan's jobless rate is already close to 7 per cent by United States standards, not that far from the 7.8 per cent peak hit in the US in 1992 when it began to emerge from a two-year slump.

SECTION 4: LISTENING TEST (30 minutes) Part A: Note-taking and Gap-filling

Directions: In this part of the test you will hear a short talk. You will hear the talk only once. While listening to the talk, you may take notes on the important points so that you can have

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enough information to complete a gap-filling task on a separate ANSWER BOOKLET. You are required to write ONE word or figure only in each blank. You will not get your ANSWER BOOKLET until after you have listened to the talk.

Many changes are expected to take place in transportation ________(1) in the twenty-first century. The present forms of transportation will be very different in design, ________(2) and technology. The automobile will remain the most important method of travelling, but it will become totally _________(3) and have a telephone. It will be smaller and more _________(4). Gasoline mileage may rise to one hundred miles per gallon. Other methods of transportation in cities will include __________(5) and other rapid transit systems, buses and “people movers.”__________(6) will still be the cheapest way for long-distance travelling between cities, but they will be more ___________(7), with sleeper seats, video games, ___________(8) and even ___________(9) services. Trains will change even more: they will move ___________(10) the tracks and will probably at a speed of ___________(11) miles per hour. The airplanes of the future will be _____________(12), faster, _________(13) and more economical, because they will be made of _____________(14). They will carry as many as 1,000 passengers and have computers as __________(15). In the passenger area, ____________(16) arrangements will be more comfortable and each passenger will have a private ____________(17). So in the new century our world will become smaller, because people will travel more ___________(18) and ___________(19) than they do today. There will be much more contact between people from different __________(20).

Part B: Listening and Translation

Ⅰ. Sentence Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, your will hear 5 English sentences. You will hear the sentences only once. After you have heard each sentence, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

(1)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (3)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (4)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (5)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ⅱ. Passage Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages. You will hear the passages only once. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the

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corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take notes while you are listening. (1)______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SECTION 5: READING TEST (30 minutes)

Directions: Read the following passages and then answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES the questions which follow each passage. Use only information from the passage you have just read and write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

Questions 1～3

Centuries of baffling legal terminology will be laid to rest next week in one of the biggest shake ups in civil court history. From Monday, people bringing cases will be known as claimants not “plaintiffs” while a “writ” will become a claim form. Lay people will no longer have to struggle with baffling Latin words and phrases in an already confusing legal system. The changes, part of the “big bang” in civil legal procedure, are being driven by the Lord Chancellor's Department after recommendations from Lord Wolf, the Master of the Rolls.

A spokesman for the department said “This will make the law easier to follow ,taking out the more difficult language and replacing it with words and phrases which people can understand.” He likened the problem to receiving a quote from a plumber or builder where those inexperienced in such matters tended to go along with the technical detail without really understanding what is being proposed. As an illustration he added :“People don't like declaring that they don't understand something, so that when a lawyer says they have to sign an affidavit (a written statement in the new language) they agree without knowing what it is.”

Chrissie Maher, founder director of the Plain English Campaign, has been lobbying for 30 years to get the courts to simplify their language. Two thousand Plain English members will be in court on Monday to make sure that the lawyers sick to the new language. Ms Maher said many people who spent years involved in litigation could not understand the outcome of their

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case because it was told to them in legal jargon. She said: “It's humiliating for people who have to pay for the privilege of listening to lawyers.” And she added: “It cannot stop here, the criminal courts must change now.”

Monday's changeover includes new procedures which will allow court users a “fast-track” option for small cases and a more hands-on approach by the judges aimed at saving time and money. Ian Magee, chief executive of the Court Service, said: “We hope the civil justice reforms will make courts easier to use. The replacement of legal and Latin terms with plain English phrases is part and parcel of that process. Many current terms are confusing and difficult to understand for people who do not use courts regularly and we hope the new phrases will help people follow proceedings more easily.”

For the first time, all 226 county courts in England and Wales will be closed tomorrow to allow installation of software to accommodate the new vocabulary and the other changes.

Ian Walker, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said that while he welcomed the reforms he thought Monday would cause many problems for lawyers not fully acquainted with the new procedures. “It's all very well expecting us to be proactive and dynamic but if the technology can't deal with the changes then there will be problems.” Some lawyers have expressed sadness at the end of a language they have spent all their working lives getting to understand. But there will be a period of grace for those who find difficulty in breaking old habits and cannot adjust immediately to speaking in plain English. 1. Why does the spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's Department make the comparison between plumber / builder and lawyer?

2. Explain briefly the Plain English Campaign and the major procedures of the civil justice reforms.

3. What are the responses of lawyers to the language reform?

Questions 4～6

Legs are a funny business. Especially if you are trying to turn them on an expensive, computerised Italian wood-working machine but do not have the skills to program it properly—as one small Essex company found to its cost.

Until Dr. David Hall took over as director, the 20employee Thames Gateway Technology Centre—manufacturer of reproduction furniture in Loughton—was about to spend a fortune on diamond-tipped tools to keep the machines running.

Working the machines at the wrong speeds was destroying conventional tools and the company knew in ,but could not afford to send its staff to Italy for training.

Dr. Hall had the answer. The university of East London had technology students who were learning exactly the computeraided design skills the company needed.

Why not let them work for the company half a day a week? They would get exposure to employment skills, argued Dr. Hall, and at the same time solve the company's technical problems.

The scheme was so successful that the university is building it into a final-year project, and

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helped inspire a government-backed initiative in east London to encourage high-tech enterprise in the area through technology transfer.

It is hoped this move will lead to the regeneration of a region that has been badly hit by industrial decline, high unemployment and the lack of information technology skills to support new businesses.

The Thames Gateway Technology Centre was founded last summer with the help of a ま7.8m government grant from the Single Regeneration Challenge Fund. It will act as an agency to transfer technology and skills from higher education centres in London's East End to the local community.

The centre will make available the resources and expertise of three east London universities—the University of East London, Queen Mary & Westfield College and the London Guildhall University.

It is also working with other east London business agencies to provide start-up companies with access to business advice, training, technology support and financial backing.

Housed at the University of East London's campus in Stratford, the centre will move to the university's new ま40m Docklands campus opening in September, overlooking the runway of the London City Airport.

There, 1,00 square-metre site has been set aside for a technology park, consisting of 28incubator units to house new company start-ups.

As start-ups quickly outgrow the units Dr. Hall hopes they will move across to the Royal Business Park being developed next to the university campus.

“We want technology transfer to increase jobs locally, so we are looking at applied technology—applications which can make use of the area's large semi-skilled and unskilled workforce, rater than importing professional jobs, as happened in the development of Canary Wharf,” says Dr. Hall.

The truth about technology transfer, he says, is shat if you shut an academic and a business person in a room for an eternity, such a transfer does not take place naturally. “We need an intermediary that will act as a catalyst for that technology transfer. The technology centre will do that.”

Dr. Hall became the technology centre’s first director last year after 15 years working in and running small industrial firms. Typically, he says, many start-up companies do not have any technology capability. “They have a guy with a good idea who wants to get that idea to market. What they are not doing is looking round the corner at the next product to follow and the technology needed.”

In many areas of the country there is a pool of skilled labour they can call on later to do that. But east London does not have that technology platform, says Dr. Hall.

4. What does the initial sentence “Legs are a funny business.” mean? What is the role of the first paragraph in the passage?

5. Introduce briefly the Thames Gateway Technology Centre.

6. What do you know about the “technology transfer” discussed in the passage?

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Questions 7～10

The national outpouring after the Littleton shootings has forced us to confront something we have suspected for a long time: The American high school is obsolete and should be abolished.

In the last month, High school students present and past have come forward with stories about cliques and the artificial intensity of a world defined by insiders and outsiders, in which the insiders hold sway because of superficial definitions of attractiveness, popularity and sports prowess.

Indeed, a community's loyalty to the high school system is often based on the extent to which varsity teams succeed. High school administrators and faculty members are often former coaches, and the coaches them-selves are placed in a separate, untouchable category. The result is that the culture of the inside elite is not contested by the adults in the school. Individuality and dissent are discouraged.

But the rules of high school turn out not to be the rules of life. Often, the high school outsider becomes the more successful and admired adult. The definitions of masculinity and femininity go through sufficient transformation to make the game of popularity in high school an embarrassment.

Given the poor quality of recruitment and training for high school teachers, it is no wonder that the curriculum and the enterprise of learning hold so little sway over young people. When puberty meets education and learning in the modern United States, the victory of puberty masquerading as popular culture and the tyranny of peer groups based on ludicrous values meet little resistance.

By the time those who graduate from high school go on to college and realize what really is at stake in becoming an adult, too many opportunities have been lost and too much time has been wasted. Most thoughtful young people suffer the high school environment in silence and in their junior and senior years mark time waiting for college to begin.

But the primary reason high school doesn't work anymore, if it ever did, is that young people mature substantially earlier in the late 20th century than they did when the high school was invented. For example, the age of first menstruation has dropped at least two years since the beginning of this century and, not surprisingly, sexual activity has begun earlier in proportion. An institution intended for children in transition now holds back young adults well beyond the developmental point for which high school was originally designed.

Furthermore, whatever constraints on the presumption of adulthood existed decades ago have fallen away. Information and images, as well as the real and virtual freedom of movement we associate with adulthood, are now accessible to every 16-year-old.

Secondary education must be rethought. Elementary school should begin at age 4 to 5 end with the sixth grade. We Americans should entirely abandon the concept of the middle school and junior high school. Beginning with the seventh grade, there should be four years of secondary education that we may call high school. Young people should graduate at 16, not 18. They could then enter the real world of work or national service, in which they would take a

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place of responsibility alongside older adults. They could stay at home and attend junior college, or they could go away to college.

At 16, young Americans are prepared to be taken seriously and to develop the motivations and interests that will serve them well in adult life. They need to enter a world in which they are not in a lunchroom with only their peers. estranged from other age groups and cut off from the game of life as it is really played.

There is nothing utopian about this idea—it is immensely practical and efficient, and its implementation is long overdue. We need to face biological and cultural facts and not prolong the life of a flawed institution that is out of date.

7. Explain the statement “the curriculum and the enterprise of learning hold so little sway over young people.”(para. 5)

8. Why does the author suggest that American high school “Should be abolished”? Give some of the major reasons according to the passage.

9. Why does the author suggest that “Young people should graduate at16, not 18”?

10. Explain briefly the statement “the rules of high school turn out to be the rules of life.” (para. 4)

SECTION 6: TRANSLATION TEST (30 minutes)

Directions: Translate the following passage into English and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

黄浦江纵横南北，把上海分为两部分，浦东因位于黄浦江以东而得名。本世纪20～30年代，随着以外滩为核心的金融、商贸区的建立，外商和我国民族酱家开始把经济活动伸向浦东地区。但黄浦江的阻隔，极大地影响了浦东的经济发展。浦江两岸形成了一边是万商云集的十里洋场，一边是以自然农作物为主的大片农田的鲜明对照。

自1990年宣布开放浦东以来，浦东新区的建设日新月异，突飞猛进。高楼大厦如雨后春笋，拔地而地，田园风光和现代建筑交相辉映，浦东正以崭新的面貌跨入新世纪。

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