最新华中科技大学学博士英语真题.docx

1、最新华中科技大学学博士英语真题 Passage 4 (4/63)The fossil remains of the first flying vertebrates, the pterosaurs, have intrigued paleontologists for more than two centuries. How such large creatures, which weighed in some cases as much as a piloted hang-glider and had wingspans from 8 to 12 meters, solved the pro

2、blems of powered flight, and exactly what these creatures werereptiles or birdsare among the questions scientists have puzzled over.Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the pterosaurs is that they were reptiles. Their skulls, pelvises, and hind feet are reptilian. The anatomy of their win

3、gs suggests that they did not evolve into the class of birds. In pterosaurs a greatly elongated fourth finger of each forelimb supported a wing-like membrane. The other fingers were short and reptilian, with sharp claws. In birds the second finger is the principal strut of the wing, which consists p

4、rimarily of feathers. If the pterosaurs walked on all fours, the three short fingers may have been employed for grasping. When a pterosaur walked or remained stationary, the fourth finger, and with it the wing, could only turn upward in an extended inverted V-shape along each side of the animals bod

5、y.The pterosaurs resembled both birds and bats in their overall structure and proportions. This is not surprising because the design of any flying vertebrate is subject to aerodynamic constraints. Both the pterosaurs and the birds have hollow bones, a feature that represents a savings in weight. In

6、the birds, however, these bones are reinforced more massively by internal struts.Although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs probably had hairy coats. T. H. Huxley reasoned that flying vertebrates must have been warm-blooded because flying implies a high rate of metabolism, which in tur

7、n implies a high internal temperature. Huxley speculated that a coat of hair would insulate against loss of body heat and might streamline the body to reduce drag in flight. The recent discovery of a pterosaur specimen covered in long, dense, and relatively thick hairlike fossil material was the fir

8、st clear evidence that his reasoning was correct.Efforts to explain how the pterosaurs became airborne have led to suggestions that they launched themselves by jumping from cliffs, by dropping from trees, or even by rising into light winds from the crests of waves. Each hypothesis has its difficulti

9、es. The first wrongly assumes that the pterosaurs hind feet resembled a bats and could serve as hooks by which the animal could hang in preparation for flight. The second hypothesis seems unlikely because large pterosaurs could not have landed in trees without damaging their wings. The third calls f

10、or high waves to channel updrafts. The wind that made such waves however, might have been too strong for the pterosaurs to control their flight once airborne.It can be inferred from the passage that scientists now generally agree that the(A) enormous wingspan of the pterosaurs enabled them to fly gr

11、eat distances(B) structure of the skeleton of the pterosaurs suggests a close evolutionary relationship to bats(C) fossil remains of the pterosaurs reveal how they solved the problem of powered flight(D) pterosaurs were reptiles(E) pterosaurs walked on all fours2. The author views the idea that the

12、pterosaurs became airborne by rising into light winds created by waves as(A) revolutionary(B) unlikely(C) unassailable(D) probable(E) outdated3. According to the passage, the skeleton of a pterosaur can be distinguished from that of a bird by the(A) size of its wingspan(B) presence of hollow spaces

13、in its bones(C) anatomic origin of its wing strut(D) presence of hooklike projections on its hind feet(E) location of the shoulder joint joining the wing to its body4. The ideas attributed to T. H. Huxley in the passage suggest that he would most likely agree with which of the following statements?(

14、A) An animals brain size has little bearing on its ability to master complex behaviors.(B) An animals appearance is often influenced by environmental requirements and physical capabilities.(C) Animals within a given family group are unlikely to change their appearance dramatically over a period of t

15、ime.(D) The origin of flight in vertebrates was an accidental development rather than the outcome of specialization or adaptation.(E) The pterosaurs should be classified as birds, not reptiles.Which of the following best describes the organization of the last paragraph of the passage?(A) New evidenc

16、e is introduced to support a traditional point of view.(B) Three explanations for a phenomenon are presented, and each is disputed by means of specific information.(C) Three hypotheses are outlined, and evidence supporting each is given.(D) Recent discoveries are described, and their implications fo

17、r future study are projected.LSAT第27套 SECTION IMost office workers assume that the messages they send to each other via electronic mail are as private as a telephone call or a face-to-face meeting. That assumption is wrong. Although it is illegal in many areas for an employer to eavesdrop on private

18、 conversations or telephone callseven if they take place on a company-owned telephonethere are no clear rules governing electronic mail. In fact, the question of how private electronic mail transmissions should be has emerged as one of the more complicated legal issues of the electronic age.Peoples

19、opinions about the degree of privacy that electronic mail should have vary depending on whose electronic mail system is being used and who is reading the messages. Does a government office, for example, have the right to destroy electronic messages created in the course of running the government, th

20、ereby denying public access to such documents? Some hold that government offices should issue guidelines that allow their staff to delete such electronic records, and defend this practice by claiming that the messages thus deleted already exist in paper versions whose destruction is forbidden. Oppon

21、ents of such practices argue that the paper versions often omit such information as who received the messages and when they received them, information commonly carried on electronic mail systems. Government officials, opponents maintain, are civil servants; the public should thus have the right to r

22、eview any documents created during the conducting of government business.Questions about electronic mail privacy have also arisen in the private sector. Recently, two employees of an automotive company were discovered to have been communicating disparaging information about their supervisor via elec

23、tronic mail. The supervisor, who had been monitoring the communication, threatened to fire the employees. When the employees filed a grievance complaining that their privacy had been violated, they were let go. Later, their court case for unlawful termination was dismissed; the companys lawyers succ

24、essfully argued that because the company owned the computer system, its supervisors had the right to read anything created on it.In some areas, laws prohibit outside interception of electronic mail by a third party without proper authorization such as a search warrant. However, these laws do not cov

25、er “inside” interception such as occurred at the automotive company. In the past, courts have ruled that interoffice communications may be considered private only if employees have a “reasonable expectation” of privacy when they send the messages. The fact is that no absolute guarantee of privacy ex

26、ists in any computer system. The only solution may be for users to scramble their own messages with encryption codes; unfortunately, such complex codes are likely to undermine the principal virtue of electronic mail: its convenience.1. Which one of the following statements most accurately summarizes

27、 the main point of the passage?(A) Until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in both the public and private sectors have been resolved, office workers will need to scramble their electronic mail messages with encryption codes.(B) The legal questions surrounding the privacy

28、 of electronic mail in the work place can best be resolved by treating such communications as if they were as private as telephone conversations or face-to-face meetings.(C) Any attempt to resolve the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace must take into account

29、the essential difference between public-sector and private sector business.(D) At present, in both the public and private sectors, there seem to be no clear general answers to the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace.(E) The legal questions surrounding the priv

30、acy of electronic mail in the workplace of electronic mail in the workplace can best be resolved by allowing supervisors in public-sector but not private-sector offices to monitor their employees communications.2. According to the passage, which one of the following best expresses the reason some pe

31、ople use to oppose the deletion of electronic mail records at government offices?(A) Such deletion reveals the extent of governments unhealthy obsession with secrecy.(B) Such deletion runs counter to the notion of governments accountability to its constituency.(C) Such deletion clearly violates the

32、legal requirement that government offices keep duplicate copies of all their transactions.(D) Such deletion violates the governments own guidelines against destruction of electronic records.(E) Such deletion harms relations between government employees and their supervisors.3. Which one of the following most accurately states the organization of the passage?(A) A problem is introduced, followed by specific examples illustrating the problem: a possible solution is suggested, followed by an acknowledgment of its shortcomings.(B) A problem is introduced, followed by expli