翻译硕士英语学位MTI考试四川外国语大学2013年真题_真题-无答案

翻译硕士英语学位MTI考试四川外国语大学2013年真题

(总分100,考试时间90分钟)

Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the appropriate words derived from the words given in parentheses at the end of the sentences.

1. The government fretted that the ______ had illegally got the technology for making nuclear weapons. (terror)

2. A recent study says women easily form negative attitude to other women, while on the other hand men are more ______ of their peers. (tolerate)

3. A man of learning, if he does not wish to ______ himself, must never cease to participate in public affairs. (grade)

4. Wastes only become pollutants when their levels rise to the point at which nature\"s ______ systems are overwhelmed and can no longer cope. (pure)

5. The child let out a scream and then shrieked ______. \"Stop it! Stop it! You\"re killing me!\" (hysteria)

6. Apart from adding to the economic ______ of society, unemployment results in dissatisfied and frustrated individuals who are forced by circumstances to remain unproductive. (balance)

7. What he wants to spell out in his book is the corruption of the rich and their ______ desire for more money and power. (satiate)

8. The one industry ______ by the general depression of trade is the beauty industry because American women continue to spend on their faces and bodies. (affect)

9. The most ______ and largest German liner to be built since the war was launched at Hamburg. (luxury)

10. Women predominate in the lower-paying, menial, unrewarding, dead-end jobs, and when they do reach better positions, they are ______ paid less than a man for the same job. (vary)

Ⅱ. For each sentence below there are four choices A, B, C, and D. Choose the answer that **pletes the sentence. Then write the correct letter on the Answer Sheet.

1. The storm sweeping over this area now is sure to cause ______ of vegetables in **ing year. A. scarcity B. variety C. rarity D. invalidity

2. The connoisseurs\" opinions differed greatly as to the question whether the picture on show was a (n) ______ Picasso painting. A. explicit B. reliable C. stringent D. authentic

3. Today surgery is more concerned with repairing and ______ functions than with the removal of

organs.

A. redesigning B. reviewing C. restoring D. reserving

4. The effect is ______, he said, because sleep-restricted people report not feeling sleepy, even though their performance on tasks declines markedly. A. pennissive B. permissible C. permutable D. pernicious

5. All **munication experts agree that we use both verbal and nonverbal methods to ______ message to each other. A. transfer B. convert C. modify D. convey

6. With its power of displaying a reality that has no ______ existence, the mirror could symbolize the mystery of the universe. A. unreal B. surreal C. tangible D. pragmatic

7. Job fairs are usually very lively and informal, and you can roam ______, surveying what is on offer and gathering literature on jobs you might not have considered in the everyday run of things. A. at rest B. at peace C. at leisure D. at speed

8. In children\"s story books, a policeman is sometimes depicted as a ______ figure but, as a matter of fact, he is very helpful in enforcing law and order. A. pompous B. courageous C. gallant D. staunch

9. The motion picture is only a series of still photographs which are ______ and viewed in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement and continuity. A. sliced B. spliced C. split D. spilt

10. There are certain pairs of words which illustrate the way in which sexual connotations are given to feminine words while the masculine words retain a serious businesslike ______. A. look B. aura C. sensation D. facade

11. In their productions, choreographers of modern dance have introduced humor, protested social injustice, and ______ psychological problems. A. solved B. exacerbated C. probed D. interfered

12. Right up until the 19th century, physicians and philosophers regarded sleep as a state of near ______ in which there was no mental activity, a kind of halfway stage between wakefulness and death.

A. oblivion B. fantasy C. allusion D. illusion

13. Associated with the issue of enabling older people to be active participants in a country\"s development is the need for lifelong learning programs to ______ members of the ageing population to find employment. A. empower B. entrust

C. embed D. entice

14. The parents are ______ towards the issue as to whether their child should walk to school or the father should drive him to school. A. ambivalent B. ambiguous C. arbitrary D. approximate

15. However, there is some evidence that culturally ______ management result in higher and better business performance as well as **petitiveness. A. congenital B. coincident C. contingent D. congruent

16. All the people in the stadium cheered up when they saw hundreds of colorful balloons ______ slowly into the sky. A. ascending B. elevating C. escalating D. increasing

17. His office is ______ to the President\"s; it usually takes him about three minutes to get there. A. related B. adhesive C. adherent D. adjacent

18. These melodious folk songs are generally ______ to Smith, a very important musician of the century.

A. committed B. contributed C. ascribed D. composed

19. As a gifted writer, an ______ politician, a penetrating thinker, he stood far above the intellectual movement of which he become the leader. A. inherent B. ingenious C. indigenous D. indulgent

20. At the inaugural address yesterday the President got his most enthusiastic ______ applause when he talked about tax cuts which would help revive the economy. A. simultaneous B. spontaneous C. homogenous D. heterogeneous

Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension

A One of the most pivotal moments in American literature occurred near the end of the nineteenth century as authors such as a young man named Stephen Crane began to embrace a literary style forged in Europe a bit earlier and which **e to be known as naturalism. Crane was born to parents in the ministry and grew up in a household grounded in religious beliefs and context. Yet, before long, Crane had, for the most part, rejected religion and the idea of divine intervention in favor of a more hands-on approach to the world. As he began to develop as a writer, naturalist themes of man versus nature, the unrelenting power of nature, and an objective view of the world began to dominate his writing. Naturalists attempted to depict the most accurate view of life unadulterated and unobstructed by **mentary or spiritual intervention. Ultimately, Crane\"s masterful short storyThe Open Boatstands as one of the **plete and developed works of the naturalist genre.

B The first apparent element of naturalism inThe Open Boatis its subject matter—a shipwreck. Being as true to life as possible is one of the **mon goals of a naturalistic writer, and, in this short

story, Crane is no exception. It did **e from Crane\"s imagination. Rather, it stemmed from his personal experience. As a young war reporter, Crane was on his way from Florida to Cuba when his vessel, the Commodore, encountered a violent tempest. Within hours, the ship had sunk, leaving a few lucky survivors on a tiny lifeboat to be subjected to the fury of nature. Throughout the story, Crane depicts scene after scene as if they were snapshots or a short film of what the men in the boat were up against. Through his prose, Crane is able to reveal the unadulterated, brutal realism manifest in nature itself.

C At the end of the story, the men\"s realization of the strength of nature helps them to **e their fear of drowning and accept the death of the oiler. The men are afraid of drowning, which is evident when they recite, \"If I am going to be drowned—.\" This is recited at three different times, before and during their long night out on the boat, thus suggesting that the men are afraid of drowning. During the long night, \"A high cold star on a winter\"s night is the word he feels that she says to him. Thereafter he knows the pathos of his situation.\" Each man realizes that nature is greater than him; therefore, each man understands that he must endure whatever nature throws at him. Also, during this night on the boat, each **es to the conclusion that his fate is in the hands of nature, in the morning, the men see that they will not be rescued by anyone. As a result of their understanding of their situation that is acquired during the night about the might of nature, they are able to **e their fear of drowning, and thus death.

D Prior to the time when the men jump out of the boat, \"the correspondent, observing the others, knew that they were not afraid.\" The men, because they understand the strength of nature, are able to conquer their fear of death. The men accept their fate; whatever it may be. \"There were no hurried words, no pallor, no plain agitation. The men simply looked at the shore.\"

The correspondent, in the face of mortal peril before leaving the boat, is also not afraid of dying, \"it merely occurred to him that if he should drown it would be a shame.\" When the men swim onto shore, they know that they may die or just as easily live; the outcome is out of their control. Thus, it comes as no surprise to the men when they see one of **rades, the oiler, dead. The fact that he is the strongest of the men when he \"was swimming strongly and rapidly,\" further shows the power of nature that the men **e to realize. The men\"s understanding of nature allows them to **e their fear of death by drowning and make a run at the shore without trepidation.

E As Crane continues with the theme of man versus nature inThe Open Boat, the element of pessimism, crucial to any naturalistic work, becomes quite apparent. The men are at the mercy of the storms and the seas and cannot do much to save themselves. In this sense, Crane reveals the indifference of nature and the universe in relation to the life or plight of human beings in general. It is obvious to him that angels will not swoop down and save the unfortunate men. The situation of the shipwreck is ideal because ordinary, everyday people must face an extreme situation from which it is more than likely that they will perish. Crane continually creates a mood of impending doom and the punishing nature of the universe throughout the story. Along the way, he provides **mentary on the situation, forcing readers to place themselves immediately in the boat with the men while enforcing the dark tone of the story. But, even to Crane and most naturalist writers, all is not lost. Though the outcome is bleak, Crane does add a glimmer of hope to the story. While in general the individual may seem insignificant in the grand scheme or the universe or to nature itself; Crane instills the importance or camaraderie in the story. For instance, all the sailors cast their ranks aside and help each other swim to shore for safety. In order to survive, the individuals in the boat must cooperate and help each other against the forces of nature. Together they have

some dominion of control over their fate, but less so individually. Though they are isolated out among the waves in sight of shore, they remain unified in their struggle for survival, which undermines the predominant pessimistic outlook or the story as a whole.

F While Crane\"s workThe Open Boatis a dark account of a chance situation that turns fatal for many, but not all, of the crew of the Commodore, it also sets forth the main elements of a naturalistic literary work at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite the fact that nature can be unrelenting **passionless towards humans at any given moment, Crane ultimately shows how individuals still always have the capacity to strive together to **e hardships and disasters. Furthermore, the accuracy and detail by Crone shun any possibility of a sugarcoated reality and reveal the true ferocity of nature as it is.

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1? On your Answer Sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVERN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this. 1. In Crane\"s view, nature is merciless to human sufferings. 2. Naturalists\" view of life was often obstructed by spirituality.

3. A negative outlook on life and events is a major theme of The Open Boat. 4. Naturalists placed more emphasis on representing life as it appeared to them.

5. In The Open Boat, Crane attempts to address his own spiritual beliefs to his readers.

6. For each question below, choose the answer that **pletes the sentence. Then write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Which of the following can be inferred from this passage about Stephen Crane? A. He enjoyed the ministry and listening to preachers B. He did not enjoy writing when he was young C. He was rivaled by no other author of his time D. He was not in tune with the beliefs of his parents

7. According to this passage, The Open Boat is important as a naturalist work because ______. A. it is a true account based on Crane\"s own personal experience B. it is based on a series of events in a shipwreck that Crane heard of C. it reveals that the isolation of an individual is a dangerous tactic D. it does not attempt to glorify Crane\"s heroism against nature 8. The author discusses nature in paragraph C in order to ______. A. show that nature is always a strong support for people in plight B. prove that it is a futile effort to fight against the forces of nature C. highlight the importance of mutual efforts in surviving a disaster D. reveal Crane\"s belief that only divine intervention can save humanity

9. Besides shipwreck, another naturalistic element of The Open Boat is manifest in ______. A. placing the reader in the midst of the plight of the characters B. depicting a bleak scene in a more or less light tone C. keeping the reader far removed from the actual plotline

D. providing the reader with an open ending with different possibilities

10. The underlined phrase \"sugarcoated reality\" in paragraph F most probably means ______. A. reality which is depicted in an obscure manner

B. reality which is made to appear ideal C. reality which is bitter and cruel

D. reality which is promising and meaningful

A The pressure to transform our institutions of learning continues. Virtually every enterprise and institution is grappling with the disruptions and opportunities caused by Web-enabled infrastructures and practices. New best practices, business models, innovations, and strategies are emerging, including new ways to acquire, assimilate, and share knowledge. Using technologies that are already developed or that will be deployed in the future, best practices in knowledge sharing not only are diffusing rapidly but will be substantially reinvented in all settings: educational institutions, corporations, government organizations, associations, and nonprofits. But institutions of learning are in a unique position to benefit from an added opportunity: providing leadership in e-knowledge.

B E-knowledge finds expression in many shapes and forms in a profoundly net-worked world. It is not just a digitized collection of knowledge. E-knowledge consists of knowledge objects and knowledge flows **bine content, context, and insights on application. E-knowledge also emerges from interactivity within and **munities of practice and from the reservoir of tacit knowledge and tradecraft that can be understood only through conversations with knowledgeable practitioners. E-knowing is the act of achieving understanding by interacting with individuals, communities of practice, and knowledge in a networked world. E-**merce consists of the transactions based on the sharing of knowledge. These transactions can involve the exchange of digital content/context and/or tacit knowledge through interactivity. Translatable e-knowledge can be exchanged for free or for fee. E-knowledge is enabling not only the emergence of new best practices but also the reinvention of the fundamental business models and strategies that exist for e-learning and knowledge management.

C E-knowledge is technologically realized by the fusion of e-learning and knowledge management and through the networking of knowledge workers. Translatable e-knowledge and knowledge networking will become the lifeblood of knowledge sharing. They will create a vibrant market for **merce and will stimulate dramatic changes in the knowledge ecologies of enterprises of all kinds. They will support a \"Knowledge Economy\" based on creating, distributing, and adding value to knowledge, the very activities in which colleges and universities are engaged. Yet few colleges and universities have taken sufficient account of the need to use their knowledge assets, i.e. the valuable resources in their possession, to achieve strategic differentiation.

D In \"IT Doesn\"t Matter,\" a recent article inHarvard Business Review, Nicholas G. Cart supported corporate leaders\" growing view that information technology offers only limited potential for strategic differentiation. Similar points are starting to be made about e-learning, and knowledge management has been under fire as ineffectual for some time. The truth is that IT, e-learning and knowledge management can provide strategic differentiation only if they drive genuine innovation and business practice changes that yield greater value for learners. Carr\"s article provoked a host of contrary responses, including a letter from John Seely Brown and John Hagel. Brown is well-known for his insights into the ways in which knowledge sharing can provide organization with a solid basis for strategic differentiation. In this article, we argue that knowledge sharing—if it sparks innovation, changes in organizational dynamic, and new sources of value-can also make the difference in academia and e-learning.

E It is remarkable how unreflective many academies and educators are about the nature of

knowledge outside of their immediate domains of interest. To be sure, they hold some types of knowledge in high regard, and they respect the highly personalized knowledge that academics and practicing professionals have accumulate. But academic knowledge substantially remains a \"cottage industry,\" with both tacit and explicit knowledge being the privilege of isolated craft people and professional associations. True, there has always been academic collaboration, but there is little systematic sharing of learning content, context, and supporting materials. When asked about it, many faculty members respond, \"Why would I want to share course materials and content with any one?\" Similarly, knowledge generated by research activities often stays within a laboratory or research team and rarely crosses disciplinary boundaries. In most academic settings, knowledge resides in archipelagos of individual knowledge clusters, unavailable for systematic sharing. Yet such defiance of the networked world will soon be unsustainable.

F It is the challenge of institutional leadership to get faculty and staff to reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how knowledge can be understood and shared in different ways. Knowledge can be modeled as a \"thing\" and a \"flow\" at the same time. It is a static resource a snapshot, if you will—and a dynamic flow between the various states of the known and the unknown. Knowledge flows between tacit (subjective) and explicit (objective) states; it often exists in transition between the two; and it also exists in symbiosis, combining these two dimensions. However, much of the classic knowledge management literature, in identifying these two dimensions, still tends to treat knowledge more as a thing (knowledge-as-resource). Current thinking places greater emphasis on the emergent quality of knowledge, as it is realized through practice and knowledge networking. Brown and many before him have argued that knowledge is a social construct. People can understand information individually and in isolation. However, knowledge—even the abstractions of mathematics—can be understood only in context, which means through interactivity **munication with others. Interactivity and knowledge sharing not only arc integral to \"knowing\" but are essential for continually evolving knowledge to new plateaus of meaning. As Alfred Beerli asserts, \"Knowledge can be regarded as the only unique resource that grows when shared, transferred, and managed skillfully.\"

G People experience and act on knowledge in a host of different ways. When preparing our bookTransforming e-Knowledge, we referred to the \"acquisition, assimilation, and sharing of knowledge.\" This was a code for the range of knowledge skills that are needed to succeed in the Knowledge Economy. But in practice, knowledge use is much **plicated than that and includes interpreting, reflecting, creating, applying, realizing, understanding, associating, recognizing, repurposing, and enhancing knowledge. In a pervasively networked world, individuals are part of intersecting networks of interest **munities of practice. Knowledge becomes tangible as digitized content, as context that can be digitally shared, and through direct and indirect interactions. Knowledge can be created by asking a question and watching the responses provoke numerous conversations, responses, and interactions among network participants. The networked world continuously refines, reinvents, and reinterprets knowledge, often in an autonomic manner.

H In summary, leading-edge individuals and institutions are on the threshold of major advances in their capacity to acquire, assimilate, utilize, reflect on, and share knowledge. Between now and 2014, the elements of e-knowledge, e-knowing, and e-**merce will mature, using technologies that are largely developed and that await utilization and widespread use. Academia will need to become far more reflective about knowledge—the forms, uses, and sharing—if it is to be a vanguard participant. The knowledge ecology of colleges and universities will need to change if

they are to move from a culture of knowledge hoarding to one of knowledge sharing. In institutions where this happens, learners, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders will derive greater value from a set of genuinely new experiences.

The reading passage has eight paragraphs A-H. Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-F from the list of headings below.List of Headingsi Introduction ii Realization of E-Knowledge Networks iii The Wide Range of Knowledge Use iv Significance of Knowledge Sharing

v Overlooking the Potentials of Knowledge Assets vi Defining Knowledge from a New Perspective vii Technological Advances in E-Knowing viii Evolution of Knowledge Networking ix Negative Views on Knowledge Sharing x Formation of E-Knowledge and Its Function xi The Role of Translatable E-Knowledge xii How to Create Knowledge 11. Paragraph B____ 12. Paragraph C____ 13. Paragraph D____ 14. Paragraph E____ 15. Paragraph F____ 16. Paragraph G____

17. Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2? On your Answer Sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVERN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this. E-knowledge is primarily based on practices used in business.

18. The key to the success of knowledge management and e-learning is offering strategic differentiation.

19. Knowledge sharing makes sense only if knowledge is available in academia and e-learning. 20. Communities of practice are one source of E-knowledge.

21. Knowledge use does not only refer to the acquisition, assimilation, and sharing of knowledge. 22. Complete the following paragraph. For each blank use ONE OR TWO WORDS from the passage.

Thanks to the advent of **puter, learning institutions today are provided with new ways of acquiring knowledge, through tools that are ______ fast and which are already being ______ in all fields and settings, despite the ______ the process may entail, which all institutions are now ______.

A Today, like most other kinds of theater and music, the musical drama of opera enjoys a myriad of different forms and interpretations. Operas can exhibit **ical moods as well as the most tragic ones while the actors may be of the highest caliber of simply part-time novices. But it has not always been this way. Since its beginning in Italy around the year 1600, the opera has experienced a number of shifts and trends. In the beginning, it was heavily influenced by classical Greek drama

and attempted to adhere to its heroic subject matter and theme. Yet, by the eighteenth century, two distinct forms were beginning to branch out from the original operatic base in Italy. Italian audiences were able to witness two fundamental styles: one was the serious, tragedy-like type known as opera seria, while the other, a lighter, often more earthy **ic style, was called opera buffa. Their distinct styles reflected the social mentality of the era and its ability to change and grow in a new direction, which later influenced further alterations in modem opera.

B The first half of the eighteenth century was dominated by the opera seria, which most closely resembled the earliest form of the opera. The opera seria, which first arose in the cities of Naples and Venice, had taken on a clear, practically inflexible form by around 1720. In its very essence, as both the libretti and the **position demonstrate, the opera seria was a product of the philosophical movement that arose in the late 1600\"s, the famous Enlightenment, that seized all of Europe and affected so many different aspects of life. The philosophers of the Enlightenment, when they turned their ideas to opera, maintained that this musical-dramatic form should reflect the new ideals of clarity and unity, which were based primarily off of ancient Greek philosophical treatises. Therefore, its characteristics were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment which put human reason at the forefront of thought. In turn, clarity and structure became the foundation of the opera seria. In many ways, simplicity and rational thought, which were further major characteristics of the opera seria, go hand in hand. It scorned imagination and improvisation in favor of familiar storylines, most often Greek, which was easier on the audience and did not tax their mental capacities too much. Thus, write Grout and Palisca, Italian opera seria \"aimed to be clear, simple, rational, faithful to nature, of universal appeal, and capable of giving pleasure to its audiences without causing them unnecessary mental fatigue.\" However, some operagoers felt slighted by the fact that the operas failed to challenge them, and though it remained a popular form of entertainment, it displayed a number of other limitations.

C One of the early forms of impetus for these changes in opera came from the scholars at the Arcadian Academy in Rome, led primarily by Gian Vincenza Gravina. These reformers wanted above all to subject the Italian opera to the guidelines of Greek tragedy; in other words, they aimed to purge the older Baroque operas of their extravagant characterization **plex plots, as well as to take away **ic elements and to regulate the opera\"s composition, both musically and structurally. In so doing, these reforms led in essence to \"the restriction of the music\"s role in dramatic developments,\" claims Sadie, and left the part of explaining occurrences and events in the story to the rather dry and **panied recitatives.

D Some members of the audience found further difficulties with the opera seria. First, the organization of the opera never deviated from the usual norm. It was **posed of three acts, and, within each act were its **ponents: the recitatives and the arias. Recitatives are the singing of the cast, which pushes the action of the opera forward. Arias usually followed as a climax and revealed the emotion or internal conflict of the actors. The main issue was that such a rigid structure made the opera monotonous and at times predictable. If there had been more flexibility, the operas would have been more vivid and alive, yet **posers were bound by the predominant philosophical constraints of the early 1700s. A frequent problem **posers of opera stria was that, due to the rather structured forms of almost all ingredients of the music, it was difficult to achieve much contrast, in either action or music. In essence, then, the opera stria, in the hands of **posers, was little more than a mere stringing together of many different arias and recitatives. For the more daring, and in many ways more **posers, however, there were ways to avoid this strict rigidity.

The ritornello, or the instrumental interlude, of the da capo aria, for instance, could be dropped, as was noted before, or could be changed just enough to give variation. Also, although often criticized, each singer\"s ornamental improvisation and final cadenza (i. e. the elaborate, ornamental melodic flourish interpolated into an aria) did provide another means of contrast, as did, somewhat later in the century, the emergence of more variation in the orchestral parts and in dynamic contrasts, as well as the increasing use of ensembles and other pieces; eventually even dance numbers and ballets came to be included in opera seria. Even the meter and keys, which for the most part were standardized, could be varied ever so slightly, and gained more freedom as time went on.

E After around 1770, the arias had also achieved some flexibility, due to the possibility of using forms other than the da capo, even, under French influence, the use of the rondo aria. These newer arias, as stated, had become much longer, but had retained their simple melodic lines, as well as \"a certain blandness of rhythm and harmony.\" On the whole, in the period after 1770, the increasing diffusion and freedom in opera seria can be seen, and this phenomenon eventually led to its abandonment as a pure and strict dramatic form.

F The stage, then, was ripe for change in the form of the opera buffa, which was beginning to manifest itself within the opera seria itself through the intermezzo. The intermezzo was already an integral part of the opera seria in that it was a short performance break between acts and was less predictable than the major production. Later, toward the turn of the century, these performances grew to be of a larger size and greater importance, and they were eventually performed as opera in their own right, no longer intermixed with the serious opera. The later intermezzi typically had two or three short acts, each consisting of one or two arias for each main role, and usually ending in a duet. Over time, the style of the intermezzo caught on and was eventually put on separately, eventually being dubbed the opera buffa. This type of opera was characterized by a light, **ic, motif. More importantly, it was less constrained and displayed elements of free emotion and subject matter that mirrored everyday life, not, for example, heroes from Greek tragedies. Further, music began to play a greater role in the opera, was spontaneous, and often mirrored the emotions of the characters. Because the themes were more true to life, the audience could relate more closely with the opera buffa. As it developed, the opera buffa also began to take on more serious subject matter yet retained its free flowing manner.

G By the late 1700s, the influence of the Enlightenment was beginning to lose its luster, and the two predominant forms of opera began to merge into one. The opera seria started to display more elasticity in its form and structure and even included some dancing in its performances. Likewise, the opera buffa began to engage in more sophisticated themes. By the end of the century, even the most sensitive opera enthusiast could hardly distinguish between the two.More importantly, as each form changed, they were able to provide the audience with the best of both

worlds and a **plete opera experience, as they **posed with intellectual integrity, stimulation sprinkled with lightheartedness, and humor.From this, the modern form of opera was born.

Summarize the information about operas as discussed in the passage. Match the appropriate statements to the type of opera with which they are associated. You are required to select three statements for the opera seria and two for the opera buffa. A. Its main structure was **posed around three acts.

B. It allowed emotions to be expressed more freely by the actors. C. It developed out of a short intermission type of production.

D. It was the predominant form of opera in Italy during the early 1700s. E. It contained climactic arias, which helped move the plot forward. F. It was constructed around rational thought and simplicity.

G. It was popular because of its light subject matter in the seventeenth century. Opera seria 23. ____ 24. ____ 25. ____

26. Opera buffa ____ 27. ____

28. Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? On your Answer Sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVERN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this. **posers of opera seria were, for the most part, bound by social obligation. 29. The action and imagination of the opera seria confused the audience.

30. The style and delivery of the opera buffa became even more restrained than the opera seria. 31. By the late eighteenth century, the opera buffa had taken on a slightly different character from **ic opera.

32. The opera buffa was born from the intermezzo, which was a part of the opera seria.

33. For each question below, choose the answer that **pletes the sentence. Then write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

According to the passage, two forms in eighteenth-century Italian opera arose because ______. A. most opera enthusiasts were demanding a more flexible, exciting style B. it was heavily grounded and influenced by classical domestic drama C. traditional themes of heroism were enjoyed by the regular audience D. the way people thought was beginning both to develop and change

34. The author discusses the Enlightenment in paragraph B in order to ______. A. discuss how it was the pinnacle of intellectual thought in Europe B. indicate what was most responsible for the traits of the opera seria C. contrast the structure of the opera seria with that of the opera buffa

D. note that though it was a major social influence, it affected the opera little

35. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph B about the opera seria? A. it was created by people who were influenced by the Enlightenment B. it had little connection with the plots or themes of classical Greek drama C. It failed to reveal a story ambitious enough to make the audience think D. It was **plicated for the average Italian to **pletely

36. Which of the following can be inferred about the audience\"s response to the opera seria? A. The majority of the audience frowned upon the content of the opera seria B. The audiences were most attracted by the recitative singing in the opera seria C. A large number of audience members found the opera seria to be quite enjoyable D. The fact that the opera seria focused on themes from everyday life was respected

37. According to paragraph G, which of the following statements best expresses the essential information of the underlined sentence?

A. The changes in both forms of opera **plementary and eventually allowed the audience to fully enjoy the musical genre

B. The intellectual integrity, lightheartedness, and humor that the operas were filled with made them the most satisfying form of entertainment

C. Operas changed in order to **plete because they no longer satisfied the intellectual **edic needs of their audiences

D. Both forms of opera came to resemble each other in **position

Part Ⅲ Writing

1. Directions: You are to write an essay according to the following situation:

Undoubtedly, news is hot today. Many people suck up a network newscast with their morning coffee, keep an car to all-news radio on the way to work, catch an hour of local TV news and a halfhour network report when they get home, then get a final fix of late-evening news before calling it a day. The preoccupation with \"What\"s up?\" even makes people worried about missing any news. What is your view on people\"s indulgence in news?

Requirements: Write an essay of about 400 words to expound clearly your viewpoint on this topic. You need to supply a title for your essay.

In the first part of your writing you should present your viewpoint in a well-formulated thesis statement; in the second part, you should support the thesis statement with appropriate details; in the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion with a comment.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, syntactic variety, proper length, and appropriate word choice. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in the loss of marks. Remember to produce a clean fair copy.