2019年大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）C类初赛真题试卷

1. W：Scientists say rest is one of the most important things a human brain needs. Do you know you will have more creative ideas if you are well-rested? M：To be honest I hardly have any good ideas. I drink a lot of coffee and can manage to finish my work, but I don’t have any creative ideas. W：Maybe that’s because your brain is overloaded. Q: What do scientists say about rest? 2. M：I’ve had it with Tim! I think I’m going to quit! He’s all nice and friendly to my face. But the second I turn around he stabs me in the back! W：You know I had a worker like that once. She was always taking credit for my ideas. After a while I learned to document my work very clearly so the boss knew 100% that this was my work. M：Yeah! That’s a good idea. I should keep a better record of my correspondence with the clients, so if necessary I can prove it was my effort. Q: How did the woman cope with the problem she met? 3. M：Well, I started learning Chinese a long time ago. First I learned a little bit when I was in college. But I probably picked up most of it when I was overseas in Beijing. W: Did you meet any difficulties in your learning? M：Two of the most challenging things when you study Chinese are the tones and the characters. I think that’s just extremely difficult. And it was frustrating to be teaching... teaching kindergarten students and realizing that their reading was much better than mine. Q: What are the most challenging things for the man in learning Chinese? 4.W: Hey, do a lot of people in America know about The Art of War? M: Not many. They say the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers has a copy of The Art of War and he teaches his players some of its strategies. Miss Yang, you know who the Lakers are, right? W: Of course, I know the Lakers, it’s a great team. Q: How does the head coach of Lakers use The Art of War according to the man? 5.W: Traffic in New York can be a nightmare during rush hours. It’s bumper-to-bumper everywhere in the city. M: Doesn’t the subway service get really backed up too? I’ve heard there’re lots of delays. W: Yeah, the subway can run late sometimes too, but it’s still more dependable than the bus. M: Yeah, the subway is probably a good idea, but I hate being squeezed into those smelly coaches with all those strangers. Q: How is the subway service in New York according to the man? The more one rests, the better one performs duties. A good rest makes one’ s brain more creative. Drinking a cup of coffee is also a good way to rest. Working without rest is harmful to health.

The woman wanted to know why Robert was applying for a year off during his university life.Listen to the conversation, and mark each statement as either true（T） or false（F） according to what you hear. W: Robert. I notice from your application form that you took a year off between high school and university. What did you do during this year? M: Well, I’d say I got plenty of work experience, but what I did was mostly travel. I went over to Australia for the year and spent the time travelling and working all around the country. At the end I went to New Zealand and travelled around there for a couple of months. W: What kind of work did you do out there? M: It was fairly menial stuff. I delivered furniture, helped in a pub, served in a hotel and worked on a building site, and things like that. W: Working on a building site must be some good experience for engineering? M: I suppose so. I mean it was interesting to see the brass tacks side of things, and a good engineer has to get his hands dirty, my father says. W: He’s absolutely right. Now, why did you choose Westley University to study Civil Engineering? M: Well, first of all I know the department has a very good reputation in this field and, before applying, I checked out the statistics and saw that the percentage of graduates going straight into industry was very good. W: Yes, we’re very proud of that. M: I’m also very interested in mountaineering and your campus here in the Midlands is within reasonable distance of Snowdonia so I’ll be able to go hiking at weekends when work allows it. W: That’s good. It’s very important for students to have interests outside of their studies. It helps deal with the stress. M: I also play football a lot, and the University runs quite a few teams in the local leagues, so I’d like to get into that. W: Is there anything you’d like to ask me about the course, Robert? TRUE FALSE

How many scientists did the man cite as examples to illustrate his point?Listen to the conversation. Then read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer according to what you hear. W: Can you tell us about what happens when geniuses relax? M: Without doubt, great scientists don’t always make their discoveries in the lab. Archimedes’s famous ‘Eureka’ moment came while he was having a bath. Physicist Richard Feynman saw a plate flying through the air in a college cafeteria, and was inspired to calculate electron orbits. He later won the Nobel Prize. And Alexander Fleming was making mould for his hobby, microbe painting, when he accidentally developed penicillin. W: So what does this tell us? M: Well, we’re looking into the psychology of high achievers. A recent study by Robert Root Bernstein compared the hobbies of 134 Nobel Prize winning chemists with those of other scientists. He found that most Nobel Prize winners acquired their accomplishments outside the lab. Over half were artistic and almost all had a long-lasting hobby: chess or insect collecting. Twenty-five percent of the Nobel Prize winners played a musical instrument and 18 percent drew or painted regularly. Of the common scientists, under one percent had a hobby. W: Fascinating. So should we conclude then, that only a creative person can be a genius? M: Well, I think that’s debatable. Perhaps it’s true up to a point, but I don’t think it’s as clear-cut as that. What we do know is that to a certain extent, creative thinking can help people to solve problems, even scientific ones. If you’re thinking about a problem all the time, often the answer eludes you. But it may come in an inspiration when you’re least expecting it— perhaps when you’re asleep, or thinking about other things, doing a hobby, for example. It’s not 100 percent certain, but it seems that the mind has the ability to make connections from one part of your life to another, so that actually stepping back from a problem can often provide the answer. And people who’re good at making these connections, people who pursue creative hobbies and interests, often excel in their particular fields. 3. 4. 134. 135.

What is the aim of Theresa May’ s plan?In this section, you will hear five short news items. Each item will be read only once. After each item, there will be a fifteen-second pause. During the pause, read the question and the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the centre. 16.The British Parliament has rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for Britain to leave the European Union. The House of Commons voted 432 to 202 against the plan negotiated by members of May’s government. The prime minister said she is trying to carry out the “democratic decision” voters made 18 months ago to leave the EU. The vote against May’s plan was widely expected, but it is not clear what comes next for the withdrawal, known as Brexit. Before the vote, May warned members of Parliament that the EU would not offer an “alternative deal.” 17.It is often difficult for farmers to identify diseases quickly enough to protect their crops and those on neighboring farms. Now, some farmers are using a simple device directly in the field to find viruses before they spread. In Tanzania, several viruses are a threat to cassava crops. Farmers struggle to identify the diseases in an urgent effort to avoid severe crop damage. The disease identification process is often difficult when farmers are acting on their own. If they do not know what is attacking their crops, they cannot decide the best way to fight the disease. 18.Scientists have long known that pain’s intensity is difficult to measure because people experience pain differently. In the case of 17-year-old Sarah Taylor, doctors struggled to understand her levels of pain from childhood. “It’s really hard when people can’t see how much pain you’re in, because they have to take your word on it and sometimes, they don’t quite believe you,” she said. Some scientists working with Taylor are now trying to develop an objective way to measure pain. 19.The New York City train system has a new unofficial stop— for people who love grammar...or even just have questions about it. English language expert Ellen Jovin has put together an unusual “classroom.” There is a foldable table, books, a smile and a deep knowledge of grammar. She calls it Grammar Table. Jovin sits at the table in the subway and on city streets. She smiles and waits for people to come by with grammar questions. 20.After falling for three years, carbon emissions in the United States rose in 2018. That information is based on early estimates from an independent research group. The Rhodium Group studies U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to rising temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere. Its new report estimates that the country’s carbon emissions increased 3.4 percent last year. This would be the largest yearly increase since 2010. To negotiate with the EU for an alternative Brexit deal. To win the House of Commons’ support for her reelection. To reject the British Parliament’ s proposal on Brexit. To seek Parliament’ s approval of Britain’ s withdrawal from the EU.

Dictation Listen to the passage. For questions 21 ~ 25, fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. Tomatoes originally come from South America and have been eaten by people there for thousands of years. Today, tomatoes are popular 【D1】________. However, when they were first introduced, there was quite a bit of【D2】________surrounding them. Ancient Aztec writings mention recipes for dishes of tomatoes, pepper, and salt— probably the first salsa recipe! Spanish soldiers conquered the Aztecs and brought tomato seeds back with them to Europe. In Europe, these yellowish tomatoes were first called 【D3】“________.“ People were afraid to eat tomatoes because the plant looked similar to the nightshade plant, a deadly poison. German people even thought that if someone ate tomatoes, they would【D4】________a werewolf. However, by the mid-1800s, people all over the world had accepted tomatoes as a good food to eat. Nevertheless, tomatoes were due for more problems. Do you think tomatoes are a fruit or vegetable. Actually they are a fruit. However, in America, they are a vegetable by law. Why are tomatoes legally vegetable in America? In the 1800s, there was no import tax on fruit from other countries, but there was an import tax on vegetables. At that time, many tomatoes were coming from other countries into America, and American tomato farmers became worried about【D5】________. The government made tomatoes a vegetable by law so that non-American tomatoes would be taxed.In this section, you will hear two short passages. The passages will be read twice. After each passage, there will be a thirty-second pause. During the pause, write the answers on the answer sheet. Dictation Listen to the passage. For questions 21~25, fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. Tomatoes originally come from South America and have been eaten by people there for thousands of years. Today, tomatoes are popular the world over. However, when they were first introduced, there was quite a bit of controversy and worry surrounding them. Ancient Aztec writings mention recipes for dishes of tomatoes, peppers, and salt—probably the first salsa recipe! Spanish soldiers conquered the Aztecs and brought tomato seeds back with them to Europe. In Europe, these yellowish tomatoes were first called “apples of gold.” People were afraid to eat tomatoes because the plant looked similar to the nightshade plant, a deadly poison. German people even thought that if someone ate tomatoes, they would change into a werewolf. However, by the mid-1800s, people all over the world had accepted the tomato as a good food to eat. Nevertheless, tomatoes were due for more problems. Do you think tomatoes are a fruit or vegetable? Actually they are a fruit. However, in America, they are a vegetable by law. Why are tomatoes legally a vegetable in America? In the 1800s, there was no import tax on fruit from other countries, but there was an import tax on vegetables. At that time, many tomatoes were coming from other countries into America, and American tomato farmers became worried about making a living. The government made tomatoes a vegetable by law so that non-American tomatoes would be taxed.

Summary Listen to the passage. For questions 26 ~ 30, complete the notes using no more than three words for each blank. The list of changes that might occur in the future came from【D6】________of various fields in Europe and the United States. They were trying to【D7】________about how life will be different in the year 2025. The group says that【D8】________will be used for more than just keeping people healthy. People in advanced countries will use less energy than before whereas people in countries without【D9】________ will use more energy than before. Detailed personal information will be included in special identification cards. Moreover, international travel will become easier in the future because【D10】________will be used by most travelers.Summary Listen to the passage. For questions 26~30, complete the notes using no more than three words for each blank. Many businesses and governments try to plan for the future. But to make a good plan, these people must take into account how the world will change in the future. The best predictions about the future come from experts in the fields related to where the changes might occur. Therefore, eighteen large organizations in Europe and the United States worked together to make some realistic predictions about how our world will be different in the year 2025. Some of the predictions this group made are described as the following. First, the study of genetics will make it possible for doctors to make people smarter and stronger. Genetics will be used for more than just keeping people healthy. Second, countries with advanced technology will only use 66% of the energy they used in 2010. This energy includes energy used for production and energy used for services in the country. However, each person in countries that do not have advanced technology will use 160% of the energy they used in 2010. Third, one kind of currency will be used for international business. This worldwide currency will be used mostly by business people and travelers. Special identification cards will be used worldwide to show a person’s home country, medical history, education and work history, religion, and bank accounts. This is only part of the list of predictions that the group made. It can be seen from this list that even though some things in the future will be very different and people in advanced countries may be better off generally, some problems in the world today will still occur even in the year 2025.

The police accused him ________ setting fire to the building but he firmly denied ________in the area on the night of the fire. from; being in; being of; having been on; to be on; to have been

You should try to make some________of your differences so that you can work together without quarrels. adjustment arrangement development improvement movement

The United Nations is trying to________the serious problems created by the energy crisis. comply with cope with come up with put up with submit to

The company’ s profits last year were worse than expected so they are certainly going to________some workers. care for help out lay off put down strike on

When Catherine told me that she was going to ride the horse herself in the race I was ________and for a while couldn’ t think of anything to say. caught up driven away wiped out pulled off taken aback

I can’ t give you an answer yet. I need________more time to consider my decision. ever fairly quite rather some

—Simon still hasn’ t returned from the meeting. —Really? I’ m sure he expected to be back________. before long now long before now now before long now long before long now before

To our surprise,________lessons were not so difficult as we thought. the first few English to few first English The English few first the first English few the English first few

Every citizen in this country has the right and freedom to live where they want to ________the colour of their skin. by way of in the light of owing to regardless of with regard to

________as much as one-fourth of all timber harvested is not used. Being estimated that It estimates that It is estimated that That is estimated There is estimated

—Have you heard an English expression about dogs and tricks? —Yeah, it is “You can’t teach an________dog________tricks.“ old; new idle; any old; difficult idle; such old; odd

The painter Jacob Lawrence frequently incorporated patterns into his compositions, making them more striking than they would________have been. therefore still otherwise rather better

In 1908, the first international rugby match was________in Paris between France and England. Henri Rousseau painted the happy scene and The Football Players ________a landscape with rich colours in the trees and background. held; arouses made; flows operated; owns played; features designed; aims

—Come on! I forgot how to play this computer game. —It’ s easy. Just follow the instructions. —______ I’ m sorry to hear that. Oh, now I see. You’ re welcome. Please try again. Are you kidding?