Part I Writing (30 minutes)

　　Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Competition. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:

　　1. 競爭使人們充滿創(chuàng)造力，使人們更有效率。

　　2. 競爭促使生產(chǎn)出更好的產(chǎn)品和提供更優(yōu)質(zhì)的服務(wù)。

　　3. 競爭促進(jìn)了社會的進(jìn)一步發(fā)展。

　　Key to Model Test Three

　　Part I Writing

　　【寫作思路】

　　要求寫一篇關(guān)于競爭的議論文。要求從以下幾個(gè)方面闡述：競爭使人們充滿創(chuàng)造力，使人們更有效率;競爭促使生產(chǎn)出更好的產(chǎn)品和提供更優(yōu)質(zhì)的服務(wù);競爭促進(jìn)了社會的進(jìn)一步發(fā)展。

　　【參考范文】

　　Competition

　　Competition makes people more creative and effective. It urges them to plan better, to try harder, and to achieve more. With a desire to excel in their work, people tend to perform more creatively and more efficiently。

　　Competition helps produce better products and provide better services. In the present world of intense competition, every manufacture tries his best to outmatch his competitor by producing goods of better quality at lower costs. As a result, consumers pay less and receive better service。

　　Competition promotes further development of society. If there were no competition, people would remain complacent and be unwilling to make any efforts or risk anything new. However, with fierce competition going on, they exert themselves to accomplish more. Their accomplishment will, in one way or another, contribute to the progress of society。

　　Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

　　Earthquake

　　Can Scientists Predict Killer Earthquakes?

　　The date was November 23, 1980. People near Naples, in southern Italy, felt the Earth roll and shake. Earthquake! Suddenly buildings came tumbling down. Cracks appeared in the earth. Within minutes, entire towns were destroyed. Thousands of people were dead. Thousands more were injured。

　　As rescuers searched through the rubble, many people must have wondered, of only the victims had known ahead of time, many lives could have been saved。

　　Actually, an Italian scientist did predict that such a quake would happen. In 1977 Dr. M. Caputo of the Universite Degiles Studi in Rome warned that a large quake would soon strike the east of Naples. Unfortunately, he couldn’t predict the exact time and date of the quake。

　　Dr. Caputo made his general prediction after talking with scientists at 54 earthquake monitoring stations throughout Italy. He learned that many earthquakes had recently rocked different areas around Naples. But none had occurred in one particular spot east of Naples for many years. Dr. Caputo felt that the area was long overdue for a large quake. And it was。

　　Earthquake Strikes in Gap

　　The quake occurred in a region that Dr. Caputo called a seismic gap. A seismic gap is an area in an active earthquake region where no earthquake or seismic activity has been recorded in a long time. Seismic gaps are located where two large plates in the Earth have become stuck。

　　When the plates slide past each other, they sometimes became locked in place. A similar thing happens when you make a running leap on a sidewalk while wearing sneakers. When you land on both feet, the sneakers grab onto rough surface. Friction tends to hold your feet back while the rest of your body goes forward. You may end up falling flat on your face。

　　In the case of plates, however, the uneven surfaces between the plates cause the plates to remain locked in place for years. Huge pressure builds up behind each plate. Periodically, a shudder, or tremor, is recorded as some of this energy is released。

　　Finally, after about 50 years, rock in the seismic gap either suddenly breaks or moves under the great stress. This sudden release of energy sends shock waves through the rock layers above. The ground shakes, sidewalks crack, and buildings tumble. A mighty quake has struck。

　　Gaps Used To Predict Quakes

　　Many geologists have used what is called the seismic gap technique to accurately predict earthquakes. The technique was first developed by Soviet earthquake expert Dr. V. Fodotov during his studies of ancient and recent Japanese earthquakes. Dr. Fodotov was marking the location, size, and date of all known quakes in Japan when he noticed a striking pattern。

　　All major earthquakes were found to occur in only a few isolated spots in Japan. Each of these spots, he noted, experienced a major quake only once every 50 to 60 years. Dr. Fodotov concluded that spots that hadn?t had a quake in more than 50 years were “ripe” for a quake. The Russian scientist named these locations seismic gaps。

　　In the past several years, geologists from other countries have found seismic gaps in other parts of the world. After making detailed studies of past quakes in these regions, the geologists were able to make an accurate prediction of when a quake would occur。

　　How Do Animals Know When an Earthquake Is Coming?

　　Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently—animals。

　　That’s right, animals. Scientists have begun to catch on to what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their coop. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, alerted Chinese scientists to the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives。

　　One task for scientists today is to learn exactly which types of animal behavior predict quakes. It’s not an easy job. First of all not every animal reacts to the danger of an earthquake. Just before a California quake in 1977, for example, an Arabian stallion became very nervous and tried to break out of his stall. The horse next to him, however, remained perfectly calm. It’s also difficult at times to tell the difference between normal animal restlessness and “earthquake nerves”. A zoo keeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely. It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach。

　　A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals? sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can detect tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes。

　　A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were penned up in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. (Several small quakes often come before or after a large one。) Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began to bark during a silent period. A scientist who was recording tile quakes looked at his machine. It was acting as though there were a loud noise too. The scientist realized that the dogs had reacted to a booming noise. They also sensed the tiny quake that followed it. The machine recorded both, though humans felt and heard nothing。

　　In this case there was a machine to monitor what the dogs were sensing. Many times, however, our machines record nothing out of the ordinary, even though animals know a quake is coming. The animals might be sensing something we so measure but do not recognize as a warning. Discovering what animals sense, and learning how they know it is a danger signal, is a job for future scientists。

　　1.Since no one had predicted the precise date of the earthquake striking east of Naples, people there suffered heavy loss in the destruction。

　　2.A seismic gap is located at the junction of two interlocking plates in the Earth, and where no seismic activity has been recorded for a long time。

　　3.From the passage we learn that a regular striking pattern can be found in an active earthquake region。

　　4.During an earthquake in China 1975, cows broke their halters and ran away from their sheds。

　　5.As it is used in Paragraph 13, the word “cat” refers to a typical domestic cat。

　　6.All animals but tiny changed in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth。

　　7.The dogs mentioned in Paragraph 15 had sensed both the low booms and the minor quakes following them。

　　1. [Y][N][NG]2.[Y][N][NG]3.[Y][N][NG]

　　4. [Y][N][NG]5.[Y][N][NG]6.[Y][N][NG]

　　7. [Y][N][NG]

　　8.Dr. Caputo based his prediction upon the fact that lots of earthquakes had recently occurred in all areas around Naples but its___________。

　　9.According to the author’s information, every 50 years or so, a mighty earthquake will be recorded at___________________。

　　10.Chinese scientists evacuated people from_____________after they had noticed the strange behavior of some animals as well as physical changes in the earth。

　　Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)

　　【全文翻譯】

　　地震科學(xué)家能預(yù)測危險(xiǎn)的地震嗎

　　1980年11月23日，意大利南部靠近那不勒斯的居民們感覺到大地晃動和顫抖。地震!建筑物在突然間倒塌了，大地出現(xiàn)了裂縫。幾分鐘內(nèi)，整個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)毀于一旦，成千上萬的人死了，幾千萬的人受傷了。

　　當(dāng)救援隊(duì)在瓦礫堆中搜人想知道，如果受害者事先知道要發(fā)生地震的話，許多生命是否可以得到挽救。

　　事 實(shí)上，意大利的一位科學(xué)家的確預(yù)測到了地震的發(fā)生。1977年，羅馬Degiles Studi大學(xué)的博士M. Caputo先生警告說，不久那不勒斯東部將會發(fā)生大地震。不幸的是，他不能準(zhǔn)確地預(yù)測地震發(fā)生的時(shí)間和日期。Caputo博士的預(yù)測是在與遍及意大利的 54所地震監(jiān)測站的科學(xué)家交談后作出的。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，最近那不勒斯附近地區(qū)發(fā)生了多次地震。但是，多年來，那不勒斯東部的有個(gè)地方一直沒有發(fā)生地震。是在醞釀一次大地震。情況的確如此。

　　地震發(fā)生在空白區(qū)

　　Caputo博士把地震發(fā)生的區(qū)域稱為地震空白區(qū)。地震空白區(qū)位于長期以來沒有地震或者地震活動發(fā)生的地震活躍區(qū)。地震空白區(qū)位于地球兩大板塊的連接處。

　　當(dāng)?shù)卣鸢鍓K彼此滑過對方時(shí)，它們有時(shí)會被鎖在一起。當(dāng)你穿著運(yùn)動鞋在人行道上跳躍時(shí)，也會發(fā)生類似的情況。當(dāng)你雙腳著地時(shí)，運(yùn)動鞋會與粗糙的地面粘在一起，摩擦力會使你的腳后傾，同時(shí)你的身體卻會前傾。你可能最終會跌得鼻青臉腫。

　　然而，地震板塊表面是不均勻的，這會使它們鎖在一起很多年。每個(gè)板塊后都積聚著巨大的壓力。當(dāng)其中的一些能量釋時(shí)，就會出現(xiàn)定期的震顫或者震動。

　　最后，在大約50年之后，巖石或者突然崩裂或者以巨大的壓力移動。這種突然釋放的能量會讓地震波穿過巖層直達(dá)地面，于是地面震動了，人行橫道斷裂了，建筑物倒塌了，強(qiáng)大的地震發(fā)生了。

　　利用地震空白區(qū)來預(yù)測地震

　　許多地質(zhì)學(xué)家們已經(jīng)使用地震空白區(qū)技術(shù)來準(zhǔn)確地預(yù)測地震。該項(xiàng)技術(shù)是由蘇聯(lián)地震專家V. Fodotov博士在研究日本古代和近代地震時(shí)首先使用的。在標(biāo)注日本已發(fā)生地震的地點(diǎn)規(guī)模和日期時(shí)，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)明顯的特點(diǎn)。

　　日本所有的大地震都發(fā)生在幾個(gè)孤立的地區(qū)。Fodotov博士指出，這些地方僅隔50到60年就會發(fā)生一次大地震;他還斷言說，50年以上沒有發(fā)生地震的區(qū)域是地震的“成熟”區(qū)。俄羅斯科學(xué)家將這些區(qū)域命名為地震空白區(qū)。

　　在過去的幾年中，其他國家的地質(zhì)學(xué)家在世界的其他地方也發(fā)現(xiàn)了地震空白區(qū)。經(jīng)過對這些地區(qū)以往地震的詳細(xì)研究，地質(zhì)學(xué)家能夠精確地預(yù)測地震發(fā)生的時(shí)間。

　　動物是如何知道地震即將來臨的

　　最近，試圖預(yù)測地震的科學(xué)家們找到了一些新的幫手——動物。

　　沒 錯，就是動物�？茖W(xué)家們開始了解到農(nóng)民已經(jīng)知道了數(shù)千年之久的情況。動物通常事先知道地震即將來臨，并以奇怪的方式表現(xiàn)出恐懼。在中1975年國發(fā)生地震 前，冬眠的蛇過早地醒來，結(jié)果凍死在寒冷的空氣中;奶牛掙斷韁繩，企圖逃跑;雞拒絕進(jìn)入雞舍。所有這些不尋常的行為以及地球自身的變化，使中國科學(xué)家充分 地認(rèn)識到地震即將來臨。他們讓地震危險(xiǎn)區(qū)的居民搬遷出來，從而挽救了成千上萬人的性命。

　　要準(zhǔn)確了解到底哪類動物的行為可以預(yù)測地震，這是 科學(xué)家目前的一個(gè)任務(wù)，但這不是一件容易的事情。首先不是每個(gè)動物都能對地震的危險(xiǎn)作出反應(yīng)。例如，在1977年加州地震之前，一匹阿拉伯種馬變得非常緊 張，試圖跑出馬廄;但是，他旁邊的那匹馬仍然非常安靜。有時(shí)侯，也很難分辨出正常動物的不安和“地震(造成)的緊張”。有位動物管理員曾經(jīng)對地震研究人員 說，他的美洲獅一直行為怪怪的，結(jié)果證明是其胃部不舒服。

　　弄清楚到底動物收到了什么樣的警告，這是科學(xué)家的另外一個(gè)任務(wù)。他們知道，動物的感覺比人的更敏感。許多動物能看到、聽到、聞到人察覺不到的東西。一些動物能夠感覺到氣壓、重力或者地球磁場的微小變化。這種特別的感覺可能有助于動物預(yù)測地震。

　　發(fā) 生在一群狗身上的事情是這方面的一個(gè)很好的例子。關(guān)這群狗的地方正在發(fā)生一系列的小地震。(大地震前后常會發(fā)生一些小地震。)每次地震前都能聽到一聲低沉 的爆炸聲，每次爆炸聲都會引起狗的瘋狂亂叫。后來，狗在沒有爆炸聲一段時(shí)期也開始叫喊。一位正在記錄瓦塊地震的科學(xué)家注意到他的機(jī)器也好像表現(xiàn)出有巨大聲 音的樣子。他意識到，狗對一次巨大的聲音作出了反應(yīng)，它們也感覺到了隨后發(fā)生的輕微地震。盡管人類什么都沒有感覺到、也沒有聽到，這臺機(jī)器卻記錄下了這一 切。

　　在這種情況下，有一個(gè)機(jī)器監(jiān)視著狗的感應(yīng)。然而，有許多次，盡管動物知道地震即將來臨，但我們的機(jī)器卻沒有記錄下任何異常的活動。動 物可能會感覺到我們所測量的情況，但沒有把它看作是一種警告。發(fā)現(xiàn)動物感應(yīng)到什么，并了解他們是如何知道這是一種危險(xiǎn)的信號，這是科學(xué)家今后的工作。