2023年11月5日北京地区成人学位英语考试真题

1. Reading Comprehension

Passage 1

If Dakota Access Pipeline (输油管道) completed, it will carry nearly half a million barrels of oil across four states every day. Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), a Texas-based company behind the $3. 8 billion project hopes to finish construction this year. But the Standing Rock Sioux, an American Indian tribe (部落), is determined to stop the 1,172-mile pipeline from being built. (76) Both sides show no signs of backing down.

The Dakota Access Pipeline was announced in 2023. A section of it will run near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. A reservation is an area of land set aside for American Indians. The tribe says the construction threatens to destroy historical areas and ancient burial sites. They also say the pipeline could pollute their main water source, the Missouri River. In April, the Standing Rock Sioux began a protest against the project. They camped at the construction site. Since then, thousands of people, including people from other American Indian tribes, have traveled to the side to join the protest.

ETP says that the pipeline will have built-in measures to protect against oil leaks. Workers will also monitor it remotely, and will be able to close valves (阀) within three minutes if leaks are detected.

American Indians have been staging a nonviolent protest for months. The protest took a turn last week when police were called to keep the peace between protesters and armed security guards hired by the company.

(77) Twenty-eight people have been arrested since then and charged with interfering with the pipeline construction.

1. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

  A. The Dakota Access Pipeline will create more markets for oil and gas.

  B. The Dakota Access Pipeline will create many job opportunities.

  C. American Indians oppose the construction of an oil pipeline.

  D. American Indians fight for equal voting rights.

2. ETP hopes to finish this project in _____.

  A. 2023        B. 2023       C. 2023        D. 2023

3. Why do American Indians protect against the construction of this pipeline?

  A. Because it will cost up to $3.8 billion.

  B. Because it threatens the region’s water supply.

  C. Because it will make many people lose their jobs.

  D. Because it will force many people to leave their homes.

4. According to the passage, the workers can _____ in case of pipeline leaks.

  A. report to the local government            B. ask people to leave the leak affected areas

  C. call 911                              D. close valves

5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

  A. This pipeline will cross four states.

  B. This pipeline is 1,172 miles long.

  C. All the protesters are from the Standing Rock Sioux.

  D. Neither sides of the dispute is willing to compromise.

Passage 2

As the National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary(周年纪念), Preside Barack Obama has announced the establishment of one new national monument and the expansion(扩大)of another. In Maine, more than 87,500 acres of forest will become government-protected parkland for the first time. In Hawaii, a national monument created by President George W. Bush in 2006 expand to about 582,578 square miles, four times its current size.

Obama has now created or enlarged 25 national monuments during his presidency. As a result, his administration says, Obama has protected more of the nation’s land than any other president has. But some residents and officials, in both Maine and Hawaii object to the plans. (78) They say their local economies depend on the use of these areas.

In establishing this monument Obama took the side of conservationists (自然资源保护者) who want laws to protect wild lands. Creating a national park usually requires the approval of Congress. But a 1906 federal law allows the president to establish national monuments on his own.

The land’s new status as a monument means that mining and drilling operations are forbidden there. (79) It may also severely limit activities such as logging, road-building, and hunting. Some of Maine’s politicians who want to protect the state’s logging industries say Obama should not have acted alone. They say Washington should not tell the states how to use their land, especially when people’s jobs are at stake. Maine politicians Susan Collins say the president should have listened to Maine lawmakers and residents, as well as to the U.S Congress before making his decision.

However, those who support the president’s decision say the establishment of the new monument will lead to new jobs through tourism.

6. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

  A. Creating New Jobs                  B. Protecting Wild Animals

  C. Stimulating Local Economies          D. Creating New National Monuments

7. Obama has established or enlarged ____ national monuments during his two terms.      

  A. 19      B. 20       C. 26       D. 30

8. In national monuments, ____ is forbidden.

  A. logging       B. hunting       C. minding       D. road-building

9. The phrase at stake in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _____.

  A. in return     B. in danger      C. at present      D. by chance

10. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

  A. The national monument in Hawaii was created by President Bush.

  B. There is no objection to President Obama’s decision.

  C. President Obama made this decision on his own.

  D. The establishment of the new monument will lead to new jobs.

Passage 3

Toronto’s third City Hall, now known as Old City Hall, was designed by Edward James Lennox and declared open on Sept. 18, 1899.

Created to provide more space for city officials, it turned out to be the largest building in the city and the largest city building in North America at the time.

Lennox took three years to design the City Hall and it took 11 years to build it. Contemporaries believe that the odd carving (雕刻) above Queen Street entrance were actually caricatures(漫画) of councilors at the time.

Lennox even included himself in the caricatures, on the west side of the central arch〔拱门〕and left a strange signature in the