2010年会计硕士(MPAcc)联考英语试题

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　　Many Americans regard the jury system as a concrete expression of crucial democratic values, including the principles that all citizens who meet minimal qualifications of age and literacy are equally competent to serve on juries; that jurors should be selected randomly from a representative cross section of the community; that no citizen should be denied the right to serve on a jury on account of race, religion, sex, or national origin; that defendants are entitled to trial by their peers; and that verdicts should represent the conscience of the community and not just the letter of the law. The jury is also said to be the best surviving example of direct rather than representative democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens take turns governing themselves, rather than electing representatives to govern for them.

　　But as recently as in 1986, jury selection procedures conflicted with these democratic ideals. In some states, for example, jury duty was limited to persons of supposedly superior intelligence, education, and moral character. Although the Supreme Court of the United States had prohibited intentional racial discrimination in jury selection as early as the 1880 case of Strauder v. West Virginia, the practice of selecting so-called elite or blue-ribbon juries provided a convenient way around this and other antidiscrimination laws.

　　The system also failed to regularly include women on juries until the mid-20th century. Although women first served on state juries in Utah in 1898, it was not until the 1940s that a majority of states made women eligible for jury duty. Even then several states automatically exempted women from jury duty unless they personally asked to have their names included on the jury list. This practice was justified by the claim that women were needed at home, and it kept juries unrepresentative of women through the 1960s.

　　In 1968, the Congress of the United States passed the Jury Selection and Service Act, ushering in a new era of democratic reforms for the jury. This law abolished special educational requirements for federal jurors and required them to be selected at random from a cross section of the entire community. In the landmark 1975 decision Taylor v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court extended the requirement that juries be representative of all parts of the community to the state level. The Taylor decision also declared sex discrimination in jury selection to be unconstitutional and ordered states to use the same procedures for selecting male and female jurors.

　　36.  From the principles of the US jury system, we learn that ______.

　　[ A ] both literate and illiterate people can serve on juries

　　[ B ] defendants are immune from trial by their peers

　　[ C ] no age limit should be imposed for jury service

　　[ D ] judgment should consider the opinion of the public

　　37.  The practice of selecting so-called elite jurors prior to 1968 showed_____.

　　[ A ] the inadequacy of antidiscrimination laws

　　[ B ] the prevalent discrimination against certain races

　　[ C ] the conflicting ideals in jury selection procedures

　　[ D ] the arrogance common among the Supreme Court judges

　　38.  Even in the 1960s, women were seldom on the jury list in some states because_____.

　　[ A ] they were automatically banned by state laws

　　[ B ] they fell far short of the required qualifications

　　[ C ] they were supposed to perform domestic duties

　　[ D ] they tended to evade public engagement

　　39.  After the Jury Selection and Service Act was passed, _        .

　　[ A ] sex discrimination in jury selection was unconstitutional and had to be abolished

　　[ B ] educational requirements became less rigid in the selection of federal jurors

　　[ C ] jurors at the state level ought to be representative of the entire community

　　[ D ] states ought to conform to the federal court in reforming the jury system

　　40.  In discussing the US jury system, the text centers on_______.

　　[ A ] its nature and problems

　　[ B ] its characteristics and tradition

　　[ C ] its problems and their solutions

　　[ D ] its tradition and development

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　Read the following text and decide whether each of the statement is true or false. Choose T if the statement is true or F if the statement is not true. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)

　　Copying Birds May Save Aircraft Fuel

　　Both Boeing and Airbus have trumpeted the efficiency of their newest aircraft, the 787 and  A350 respectively. Their clever designs and lightweight composites certainly make a difference. But a group of researchers at Stanford University, led by Ilan Kroo, has suggested that airlines could take a more naturalistic approach to cutting jet-fuel use, and it would not require them to buy new aircraft.

　　The answer, says Dr Kroo, lies with birds. Since 1914, scientists have known that birds flying in formation—a V-shape—expend less energy. The air flowing over a bird’s wings curls upwards behind the wingtips, a phenomenon known as upwash. Other birds flying in the upwash experience reduced drag, and spend less energy propelling themselves. Peter Lissaman, an aeronautics expert who was formerly at Caltech and the University of Southern California, has suggested that a formation of 25 birds might enjoy a range increase of 71%.

　　When applied to aircraft, the principles are not substantially different. Dr Kroo and his team modelled what would happen if three passenger jets departing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas were to assemble over Utah, assume an inverted V-formation, occasionally change places so all could have a turn in the most favourable positions, and proceed to London. They found that the aircraft consumed as much as 15% less fuel (coupled with a reduction in carbon-dioxide output). Nitrogen-oxide emissions during the cruising portions of the flight fell by around a quarter.

　　There are, of course, knots to be worked out. One consideration is safety, or at least the perception of it. Would passengers feel comfortable travelling in companion? Dr Kroo points out that the aircraft could be separated by several nautical miles, and would not be in the intimate groupings favoured by display teams like the Red Arrows. A passenger peering out of the window might not even see the other planes. Whether the separation distances involved would satisfy air-traffic-control regulations is another matter, although a working group at the International Civil Aviation Organisation has included the possibility of formation flying in a blueprint for new operational guidelines.

　　It remains to be seen how weather conditions affect the air flows that make formation flight more efficient. In zones of increased turbulence, the planes’ wakes will decay more quickly and the effect will diminish. Dr Kroo says this is one of the areas his team will investigate further. It might also be hard for airlines to co-ordinate the departure times and destinations of passenger aircraft in a way that would allow them to gain from formation flight. Cargo aircraft, in contrast, might be easier to reschedule, as might routine military flights.

　　As it happens, America’s armed forces are on the case already. Earlier this year the country’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency announced plans to pay Boeing to investigate formation flight, though the programme has yet to begin. There are reports that some military aircraft flew in formation when they were low on fuel during the Second World War, but Dr Lissaman says they are unsubstantiated.  “My father was an RAF pilot and my cousin the skipper of a Lancaster lost over Berlin,” he adds. So he should know.

　　41. Findings of the Stanford University researchers will promote the sales of new Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

　　42. The upwash experience may save propelling energy as well as reducing resistance.

　　43. Formation flight is more comfortable because passengers can not see the other planes.

　　44. The role that weather plays in formation flight has not yet been clearly defined.

　　45. It has been documented that during World War II, America’s armed forces once tried formation flight to save fuel.

　　Section Ⅲ   Translation

　　46.  Directions:

　　In this section there is a text in English .Translate it into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET 2. (15points)

　　"Sustainability" has become a popular word these days, but to Ted Ning, the concept will always have personal meaning. Having endured a painful period of unsustainability in his own life made it clear to him that sustainability-oriented values must be expressed though everyday action and choice.

　　Ning recalls spending a confusing year in the late 1990s selling insurance. He'd been though the dot-com boom and burst and, desperate for a job, signed on with a Boulder agency.

　　It didn’t go well. "It was a really had move because that's not my passion," says Ning, whose dilemma about the job translated, predictably, into a lack of sales. "I was miserable. I had so much anxiety that I would wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the ceiling. I had no money and needed the job. Everyone said, 'Just wait, you'll turn the corner, give it some time.'"

 

Section Ⅳ   Writing

　　Part A

　　47. Directions:

　　You have just come back from the U.S. as a member of a Sino-American cultural exchange program. Write a letter to your American colleague to

　　1) express your thanks for his/her warm reception;

　　2) welcome him/her to visit China in due course.

　　You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET 2.

　　Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use "Zhang Wei" instead.

　　Do not write your address. (10 points)

　　Part B

　　48. Directions:

　　In this section, you are asked to write an essay based on the following chart. In your writing, you should

　　1) interpret the chart and

　　2) give your comments.

　　You should write at least 150 words.

　　Write your essay on ANSWER SHEET 2. (15 points)