英语专八历年真题试卷汇总（精选7套）
在平平淡淡的日常中，我们最离不开的就是试卷了，作为学生，想要成绩提升得快，那么平时就一定要进行写练习，写试卷，什么样的试卷才是好试卷呢？下面是小编精心整理的英语专八历年真题试卷汇总（精选7套），欢迎阅读与收藏。
英语专八历年真题试卷1
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture,please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.
You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.
Now listen to the mini-lecture. When it is over, you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear ONE interview. The interview will be divided into TWO parts. At theendof each part, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the interview and the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause. During the pause, you should read the four choices of A, B, C and D, and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
You have THIRTY seconds to preview the questions.
Now, listen to the Part One of the interview. Questions 1 to 5 are based on Part One of the interview.
1.A. Maggie’s university life.
B. Her mom’s life at Harvard.
C. Maggie’s view on studying with Mom.
D. Maggie’s opinion on her mom’s major.
2.A. They take exams in the same weeks.
B. They have similar lecture notes.
C. They apply for the same internship.
D. They follow the same fashion.
3.A. Having roommates.
B. Practicing court trails.
C. Studying together.
D. Taking notes by hand.
4.A. Protection.
B. Imagination.
C. Excitement.
D. Encouragement.
5.A. Thinking of waysto comfort Mom.
B. Occasional interferencefromMom.
C. Ultimately calls when Maggie is busy.
D. Frequent check on Maggie’s grades.
Now, listen to the Part Two of the interview. Questions 6 to 10 are based on Part Two of the interview.
6.A. Because parents need to be ready for new jobs.
B. Because parents love to return to college.
C. Because kids require their parents to do so.
D. Because kids find it hard to adapt to college life.
7.A. Real estate agent.
B. Financier.
C. Lawyer.
D. Teacher.
8.A. Delighted.
B. Excited.
C. Bored.
D. Frustrated.
9.A. How to make a cake.
B. How to make omelets.
C. To accept what is taught.
D. To plan a future career.
10.A. Unsuccessful.
B. Gradual.
C. Frustrating.
D. Passionate.
SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
In this section there are three passages followed by fourteen multiple choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
PASSAGE ONE
(1)There was musicfrommy neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests divingfromthe tower of his raft or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes（滑水板）over cataracts of foam. On weekends Mr. Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to andfromthe city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with scrubbing-brushes and hammer and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.
(2)Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrivedfroma fruiterer in New York – every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves. There was a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour, if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler’s thumb.
(3)At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden. On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvre（冷盘）, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold. In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials（加香甜酒）so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know onefromanother.
(4)By seven o’clock the orchestra has arrived – no thin five-piece affair but a whole pitful of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols andcornets and piccolos and low and high drums. The last swimmershave come infromthe beach now and are dressing upstairs; the carsfromNew York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colors and hair shorn in strange new ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile. The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.
(5)The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches awayfromthe sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word.
(6)The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath – already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable,become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group and then excited with triumph glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.
(7)Suddenly one of these gypsies in trembling opal, seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage and moving her hands like Frisco dances out alone on the canvas platform. A momentary hush; the orchestra leader varies his rhythm obligingly for her and there is a burst of chatter as the erroneous news goes around that she is Gilda Gray’s understudyfromthe Folies. The party has begun.
(8)I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited – they went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island and somehow theyended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and after that they conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.
(9)I had been actually invited. A chauffeur in a uniform crossed my lawn early that Saturday morning with a surprisingly formal notefromhis employer – the honor would be entirely Gatsby’s, it said, if I would attendhis “little party” that night. He had seen me several times and had intended to call on me long before but apeculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it – signed Jay Gatsby in a majestic hand.
(10)Dressed up in white flannels I went over to his lawn a little after seven and wandered around rather ill-at-ease among swirls and eddies of people I didn’t know – though here and there was a face I had noticed onthe commuting train. I was immediately struck by the number of young Englishmen dotted about; all well dressed, all looking a little hungry and all talking in low earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans. I was sure that they were selling something: bonds or insurance or automobiles. They were, at least, agonizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key.
(11)As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host but the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts stared at me in such an amazed way and denied so vehemently any knowledge of his movements that I slunk off in the direction of the cocktail table – the only place in the garden where a single man could linger without looking purposeless and alone.
PART II READING COMPREHENSION
11.It can be inferred form Para. 1 that Mr. Gatsby ______ through the summer.
A.entertained guestsfromeverywhere every weekend
B.invited his guests to ride in his Rolls-Royce at weekends
C.liked to show off by letting guests ride in his vehicles
D.indulged himself in parties with peoplefromeverywhere
12.In Para.4, the word “permeate” probably means ______.
A.perish
B.push
C.penetrate
D.perpetrate
13.It can be inferred form Para. 8 that ______.
A.guests need to know Gatsby in order to attendhis parties
B.people somehowended up in Gatsby’s house as guests
C.Gatsby usually held garden parties for invited guests
D.guests behaved themselves in a rather formal manner
14.According to Para. 10, the author felt ______ at Gatsby’s party.
A.dizzy
B.dreadful
C.furious
D.awkward
15.What can be concludedfromPara.11 about Gatsby?
A.He was not expected to be present at the parties.
B.He was busy receiving and entertaining guests.
C.He was usually out of the house at the weekend.
D.He was unwilling to meet some of the guests.
PASSAGE TWO
(1)The Term “CYBERSPACE” was coined by William Gibson, a science-fiction writer. He first used it in a short story in 1982, and expanded on it a couple of years later in a novel, “Neuromancer”, whose main character, Henry Dorsett Case, is atroubled computer hacker and drug addict. In the book Mr Gibson describes cyberspace as “a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators” and “a graphic representation of data abstractedfromthe banks ofevery computer in the human system.”
(2)His literary creation turned out to be remarkably prescient（有先见之明的`）. Cyberspace hasbecome shorthand forthe computing devices, networks, fibre-optic cables, wireless links and other infrastructure that bring theinternetto billions of people around the world. The myriad connections forged by these technologies have brought tremendous benefits to everyone who uses the web to tap into humanity’s collective store of knowledge every day.
(3)But there is a darker side to this extraordinary invention. Data breaches arebecoming ever bigger andmore common. Last year over 800m records were lost, mainly through such attacks. Among the most prominent recent victims has been Target, whose chief executive, Gregg Steinhafel, stood downfromhis job in May, a few months after the giant American retailer revealedthat onlineintruders had stolen millions of digital records about its customers, including credit- and debit-card details. Other well-known firms such as Adobe, atech company, and eBay,an onlinemarketplace, have also been hit.
(4) The potential damage, though, extends well beyondsuch commercial incursions. Wider concerns have been raised by the revelations about the mass surveillance carried out by Western intelligence agencies made by Edward Snowden, a contractor to America’s National Security Agency (NSA), as well as by the growing numbers of cyber-warriors being recruited by countries that see cyberspace as a new domain of warfare. America’s president, Barack Obama, said in a White House press release earlier this year that cyber-threats “pose one of the gravest national-security dangers” the country is facing.
(5)Securing cyberspace is hard because the architecture of theinternetwas designed to promote connectivity, not security. Its founders focused on getting it to work and did not worry much about threats becausethe network was affiliated with America’s military. As hackers turned up, layers of security,fromantivirus programs to firewalls, were added to try to keep them at bay. Gartner, a research firm, reckons that lastyear organizations around the globe spent $67 billion on information security.
(6)On the whole, these defenses have worked reasonably well. For all the talk about the risk of a “cyber 9/11”, theinternethas proved remarkably resilient. Hundreds of millions of people turn ontheir computers every day andbank online, shop at virtual stores, swap gossip and photos with their friends onsocial networks and sendall kinds of sensitive data over the web without ill effect. Companies and governments are shifting ever moreservices online.
(7)But the task isbecoming harder. Cyber-security, which involves protecting both data and people, is facing multiple threats, notably cybercrimeand onlineindustrial espionage, both of which are growing rapidly. A recent estimate by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), puts the annual global cost of digital crime and intellectual-property theft at $445 billion – a sum roughly equivalent to the GDP of a smallish rich European country such as Austria.
(8)To add to the worries, there is also the risk of cyber-sabotage. Terrorists or agents of hostile powers could mount attackson companies and systems that control vital parts of an economy, including power stations, electrical gridsand communications networks. Such attacks are hard to pull off, but not impossible. One precedent is the destruction in2010of centrifuges（离心机）at a nuclear facility in Iran bya computer program known as Stuxnet.
(9)But such events are rare. The biggest day-to-day threats facedby companies and governmentagencies comefromcrooks and spooks hoping to steal financial data and trade secrets. For example, smarter,better-organized hackers are making life tougher for the cyber-defenders, but the report will argue that even so a number of things can be done to keep everyone safer than they are now.
(10)One is to ensurethat organizations get the basics of cyber-security right. All too often breaches are caused by simple blunders, such as failing to separate systems containing sensitive datafromthose that do not need access to them. Companies also need to get better at anticipating where attacks maybe comingfromand at adapting their defences swiftly in response to new threats. Technology can help, as can industry initiatives that allow firms to share intelligence about risks with each other.
(11)There is also a need to provide incentives to improve cyber-security, be they carrots or sticks. One idea is to encourageinternet-service providers, orthe companies that manageinternetconnections, to shoulder more responsibility for identifying and helping to cleanup computers infected with malicious software. Another is to find ways to ensure that software developers produce code with fewer flaws in it so that hackers have fewer security holes to exploit.
(12)An additional reason for gettingtech companies to give a higher priority to security is that cyberspace is about to undergo another massive change. Over the next few years billions of new devices,fromcars to household appliances and medical equipment, will be fitted withtiny computers that connect them to the web and make them more useful. Dubbed “theinternetof things”, this is already making it possible, for example, to control home appliances using smartphone apps and to monitor medical devices remotely.
(13)But unless these systems have adequate security protection, theinternetof things could easilybecome theinternetof new things to be hacked. Plenty of people are eager to take advantage of any weaknesses they may spot. Hacking used to be about geeky college kids tapping away in their bedrooms to annoy their elders. It has grown up with a vengeance.
16.Cyberspace is described by William Gibson as ______.
A.a function onlylegitimate computer operators have
B.a representation of datafromthe human system
C.an important element stored in the human system
D.an illusion held bythe common computer users
17.Which of the following statements BEST summarizes the meaning of the first four paragraphs?
A.Cyberspace has more benefits than defects.
B.Cyberspace is like a double-edged sword.
C.Cyberspace symbolizes technological advance.
D.Cyberspace still remains a sci-fi notion.
18.According to Para. 5, the designing principles of theinternetand cyberspace security are ______.
A.controversial
B.complimentary
C.contradictory
D.congruent
19.What could be the most appropriate title for the passage?
A.Cyber Crime and Its Prevention.
B.The Origin of Cyber Crime.
C.How to Deal with Cyber Crime.
D.The Definition of Cyber Crime.
PASSAGE THREE
(1)You should treat skeptically the loud criesnow comingfromcolleges and universities that the last bastion of excellence in American education is being gutted by state budget cuts and mounting costs. Whatever else it is,higher education is not a bastion of excellence. It is shot through with waste, lax academic standards and mediocre teaching and scholarship.
(2)True, the economic pressures –fromthe Ivy League to state systems – are intense. Last year, nearly two-thirds of schools had to make midyear spending cuts to stay within their budgets. It is also true (as university presidents and deans argue) that relieving those pressures merely by raising tuitions and cutting courses will make matters worse. Students will pay more and get less. The university presidents and deans want to be sparedfromfurther government budget cuts. Their case is weak.
(3)Higher education is a bloated enterprise. Too many professors do too little teaching to too many ill-prepared students. Costs can be cut and quality improved without reducing the number of graduates. Many colleges and universities should shrink. Some should go out of business. Consider:
Except for elite schools, admissions standards are low. About 70 percent of freshmen at four-year colleges and universities attendtheir first-choice schools. Roughly 20 percent go to their second choices. Most schools have eagerly boosted enrollments to maximize revenues (tuition and state subsidies).
Dropout rates are high. Half or more of freshmen don’t get degrees. A recent study of PhD programs at 10 major universities also found high dropout rates for doctoral candidates.
The attrition among undergraduates is particularly surprising because college standards have apparently fallen. One study of seven top schools found widespread grade inflation. In 1963, half of the students in introductory philosophy courses got a B – or worse. By 1986, only 21 percent did. If elite schools have relaxed standards, the practice is almost surely widespread.
Faculty teaching loads have fallen steadily since the 1960s. In major universities, senior faculty members often do less than two hours a day of teaching. Professors are “socialized to publish, teach graduate students and spendas little time teaching (undergraduates) as possible,” concludes James Fairweather of Penn State University in a new study. Faculty pay consistently rises as undergraduate teaching loads drop.
Universities have encouraged an almost mindless explosion of graduate degrees. Since 1960, the number of masters’ degrees awarded annually has risen more than fourfold to 337,000. Between 1965 and 1989, the annual number of MBAs (masters in business administration) jumpedfrom7,600 to 73,100.
(4)Even so, our system has strengths. It boasts many top-notch schools and allows almost anyone to go to college. But mediocrity is pervasive. We push as many freshmen as possible through the door, regardless of qualifications. Because bachelors’ degrees areso common, we create more graduate degrees of dubious worth. Does anyone believe the MBA explosion has improved management?
(5)You won’t hear much about thisfromcollege deans or university presidents. They created this mess and are its biggest beneficiaries. Large enrollments support large faculties. More graduate students liberate tenured facultyfromundergraduate teaching to concentrate on writing and research: the source of status. Richard Huber, a former college dean, writes knowingly in a new book (“How Professors Play the Cat Guarding the Cream: Why We’re Paying More and Getting Less in Higher Education”): Presidents, deans and trustees ... call for more recognition of good teaching with prizes and salary incentives.
(6)The reality is closer to the experience of Harvard University’s distinguished paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould: “To be perfectly honest, though lip service is given to teaching, I have never seriously heard teaching considered in any meeting for promotion... Writing is the currency of prestige and promotion.”
(7)About four-fifths of all students attendstate-subsidized systems,fromcommunity colleges to prestige universities. How governors and state legislatures deal with their budget pressures will be decisive. Private schools will, for better or worse, be influenced by state actions. The states need to do three things.
(8)First, create genuine entrance requirements. Today’s low standards tell high school students: You don’t have to work hard to go to college. States should change the message by raising tuitions sharply and coupling the increase with generous scholarships based on merit andincome. To get scholarships, students would have to pass meaningful entrance exams. Ideally, the scholarships should be available for use at in-state private schools. All schools wouldthen compete for students on the basis of academic quality and costs. Today’s system of general tuition subsidies provides aid to well-to-do families that don’t need it or to unqualified students who don’t deserve it.
(8)Next, states should raise faculty teaching loads, mainly at four-year schools. (Teaching loadsat community colleges are already high.) This would cut costs and reemphasize the primacy of teaching at most schools. What we need are teachers who know their fields andcan communicate enthusiasm to students. Not all professors can be path-breaking scholars. The excessive emphasis on scholarship generates many unread books and mediocre articles in academic journals. “You can’t do more of one (research) without less of the other (teaching),” says Fairweather. “People are working hard – it’s just where they’re working.”
(10)Finally, states should reduce or eliminate the least useful graduate programs. Journalism (now dubbed “communications”), businessand education are prime candidates. A lot of what they teach can – and should – be learned on the job. If colleges and universities did a better job of teaching undergraduates, there would be less need for graduate degrees.
(11)Our colleges and universities need to provide abetter education to deserving students. This may mean smaller enrollments, but given today’s attrition rates, the number of graduates need not drop. Higher education couldbecome a bastion of excellence, if we would only try.
20.It can be concludedfromPara.3 that the author was ______ towardsthe education.
A.indifferent
B.neutral
C.positive
D.negative
21.The following are current problems facing all American universities EXCEPT ______.
A.high dropout rates
B.low admission standards
C.low undergraduate teaching loads
D.explosion of graduate degrees
22.In order to ensure teaching quality, the author suggests that the states do all the following EXCEPT ______.
A.set entrance requirements
B.raise faculty teaching loads
C.increase undergraduate programs
D.reduce useless graduate programs
23.“Prime candidates” in Para. 10 is used as ________.
A.euphemism
B.metaphor
C.analogy
D.personification
24.What is the author’s main argument in the passage?
A.American education can remain excellent by ensuring state budget.
B.Professors should teach more undergraduates than postgraduates.
C.Academic standard are the main means toensure educational quality.
D.American education can remain excellent only by raising teaching quality.
SECTION B SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
In this section there are eight short answer questions based on the passages in Section A. Answer each question in NO more than 10 words in the space provided on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
PASSAGE ONE
25.From the description of the party preparation, what words can you see to depict Gatby’s party?
26.How do you summarize the party scene in Para. 6?
PASSAGE TWO
27.What do the cases of Target, Adobe and eBay in Para. 3 show?
28.Why does the author say the task isbecoming harder in Para. 7?
29.What is the conclusion of the whole passage?
PASSAGE THREE
30.What does the author mean by saying “Their case is weak” in Para. 2?
31.What does “grade inflation” in Para. 3 mean?
32.What does the author mean when he quotes Richard Huber in Para. 5?
PART III LANGUAGE USAGE
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way:
For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at theendof the line.
For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at theendof the line.
For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash “/” and put the word in the blank provided at theendof the line.
Example
When∧art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never
them on the wall. When a natural history museum
wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) exhibit
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET THREE as instructed.
PART IV TRANSLATION
Translate the underlined part of the following textfromChinese into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
流逝，表现了南国人对时间最早的感觉。“子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫。”他们发现无论是潺潺小溪，还是浩荡大河，都一去不复返，流逝之际青年变成了老翁而绿草转眼就枯黄，很自然有错阴的紧迫感。流逝也许是缓慢的，但无论如何缓慢，对流逝的恐惧使人们必须用“流逝”这个词来时时警戒后人，必须急匆匆地行动，给这个词灌注一种紧张感。
PART V WRITING
The following two excerpts are about Ice Bucket Challenge, an activity initiated to raise money and awareness for the disease ALS (渐冻症). From the excerpts, you can find that the activity seems to have achieved much success, but there have also been doubt and criticism.
Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should:
1.summarize the development of ice bucket challenge activity, and then
2.express your opinion towards the activity, especially whether the problem found with this kind of activity will finally undermine its original purpose.
Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality.
Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
Excerpt 1
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Takes U.S. by Storm
In the last two weeks, the Ice Bucket Challenge has quite literally “soaked” the nation. EveryonefromEthel Kennedy to Justin Timberlake has poured a bucket of ice water over his or her head and challenged others do the same or make a donation to fight ALS within twenty-four hours.
Between July 29 and today, August 12, The ALS Association and its 38 chapters have received an astonishing $4 million indonations compared with $1.12 million during the same time period last year. The ALS Association is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of supportfromthose people who have been doused, made a donation, or both.
“We have never seen anything like this in the history of the disease,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association.
With only about half of the general public knowledgeable about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the Ice Bucket Challenge is making a profound difference. Since July 29, The Association haswelcomed more than 70,000 new donors to the cause.
“While themonetary donations are absolutely incredible,” said Newhouse, “the visibility that this disease is getting as a result of the challenge is truly invaluable. People who have never before heard of ALS are now engaged in the fight to find treatments and a cure for ALS.”
Excerpt 2
Ice bucket challenge: who’s pouring cold water on the idea?
The ice bucket challenge has certainly raised awareness. Whether that’s primarily of the disease for which it is raising funds or the speed at which images of swimsuit-clad celebrities will go viral is a long-term question. More pertinent right now is whether or not the craze has reached a tipping point.
As it lived by social media, so the ice bucket challenge could die by it. The state of California is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. So gestures suchas companies dousing their staff en masse in hundreds of gallons of icy water, come across more as wasteful PR exercises than charitable gestures – and are being called out as such on Twitter.
There has been a similar reaction in China. Last week, protesters in drought-stricken Henan province raised empty red buckets over their heads,accompanied by the slogan “Henan, please say no to the ice bucket challenge”.
China’s ministry for civil affairs, while broadly supportive, has warned citizens against the practice’s “entertainmentand commercial tendencies”.
But the real dampener could be the risk of bodily harm. Doctors around the world have warned of risks to elderly people, expectant mothers and people with heart conditions.
PartⅠ LISTENING COMPREHENSION
1. the dialectical model
2. common and fixed
3. premises
4. opposition/arguing
5. arguments as performances/the rhetorical model
6. participating
7. convince
8. how we argue
9. tactics
10. negotiation and collaboration
11. they’re deadends
12. learning with losing
13. questions
14. achieve positive effects
15. be self-supported
SECTION B INTERVIEW
1.What is the topic of the interview?
答案：C. Maggie’s view on studying with Mom.
2.Which of the following indicates that they have the same studyschedule?
答案：A. They take exams in the same weeks.
3.What do the mother and daughter havein common as students?
答案：D. Taking notes by hand.
4. What is the biggest advantage of studying with Mom?
答案：D. Encouragement.
5. What is the biggest disadvantage of studying with Mom?
答案：A. Thinking of waysto comfort Mom.
6.Why is parent and kids studying togethera common case?
答案：A. Because parents need to be ready for new jobs.
7.What would Maggie’s Mom like to be after college?
答案：C. Lawyer.
8.How does Maggie’s Mom feel about sitting in class after thirty years?
答案：D. Frustrated.
9.What is most challenging for Maggie’s Mom?
答案：C. To accept what is taught.
10.How does Maggie describe the process of picking out ones career path?
答案：B. Gradual.
PartⅡ READING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
PASSAGE ONE
11. It can be learnedfromPara. 1 that Mr. Gatsby through the summer.
答案：[A] entertained guestsfromeverywhere every weekend
12. In Para. 4, the word “permeate” probably means .
答案：［C］penetrate
13. It can be inferredfromPara. 8 that .
答案：［B］people somehowended up in Gatsbys house as guests
14. According to Para. 10, the author felt at Gatsby’s party.
答案：［D］awkward
15. What can be concludedfromPara. 11 about Gatsby?
答案：［A］He was not expected to be present at the parties.
PASSAGE TWO
16. Cyberspace is described by William Gibson as .
答案：［B］a representation of datafromthe human system
17. Which of the following statements BEST summarizes the meaning of the first four paragraphs?
答案：［B］Cyberspace is like a double-edged sword.
18. According to Para. 5, the designing principles of theinternetand cyberspace security are .
答案：［C］contradictory
19. What could be the most appropriate title for the passage?
答案：［A］Cyber Crime and Its Prevention.
PASSAGE THREE
20. It can be concludedfromPara. 3 that the author was towardshigher education.
答案：［D］negative
21. The following are current problems facing all American universities EXCEPT .
答案：［C］low undergraduate teaching loads
22. In order to ensure teaching quality, the author suggests that the states do all the following EXCEPT .
答案：［C］increase undergraduate programs
23. “Prime candidates” in Para. 10 is used as .
答案：［D］personification
24. What is the authors main argument in the passage?
答案：［C］Academic standards are the main means toensure educational quality.
SECTION B SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
说明：这部分答案不是唯一，只要意思对了就可以。
PASSAGE ONE
25. From the description of the party preparation, what words can you use to depict Gatsby’s party?
答案：Gorgeous, luxurious and even extravagant.
26. How do you summarize the party scene described in Para. 6?
答案：Carnival crowds with changing groups and noisy jubilation.
PASSAGE TWO
27. What do the cases of Target, Adobe and eBay in Para. 3 show?
答案：The severe risksof commercial incursions in cyberspace.
28. Why does the author say that the task isbecoming harder in Para. 7?
答案：Because the multiple threats to cyber-security are growing.
29. What is the conclusion of the whole passage?
答案：As hacking grows, cyber-security is facing new threats.
PASSAGE THREE
30. What does the author mean by saying “Their case is weak.” in Para. 2?
答案：It’s hard for universities to be sparedfrombudget cuts.
30.31. What does “grade inflation” in Para. 3 mean?
答案：Grade represents a lower level of students’ performance.
32. What does the author mean when he quotes Richard Huber in Para. 5?
答案：Higher education fails in givingquality education to students.
Part IIILANGUAGE USAGE
1. in → over
2. ∧give→ that /which
3. differs→ differentiates或it→it
4. the→the
5.same→common
6. ∧intimate→and
7. it →which
8. than→than
9. base→preserve
10. furthermore→therefore
Part IV TRANSLATION
参考译文
They have found that the flowing water, either a murmuring stream or a mighty river, passes quickly and never returns. With the passage of time, the youngbecome the old and the green grass turns yellow. People naturally have a sense of urgency to value every bit of time. As time goes by, no matter how slowly it elapses, people always use the word “liushi” to warn the later generations for fear of time’s flowing away. They tell their descendants to treasure every single minute and make a hurried action, which adds a sense of tension to the word.
Part V WRITING
参考范文
Challenge or Not
Recently, the Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral all over the world, particularly in the United States, with people posting videos ofthemselves onlineand on TV participating in the event. Despite the increase of the donation to fight ALS and more public concern, some are worried about the problems found with this kind of activities. What I have seen is that they have been ed a sense of entertainment. Personally, I propose that charitable activities, if ed with too much entertaining elements, will probably departfromtheir original intentions.
This charitable blockbuster, luring hundreds of celebrities, politicians and athletes, has sparked millions of donations to ALS research and raised awareness of the disease. However, there are worries and different voices towards it. Environmentalists are concerned about the waste of water on the national level, while doctors warn people of the risks of being poured by icy waterfromthe perspective of health.
On the one hand, we have observed that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has rubbed some people the wrong way, especially as participants get caught up in the act of making videos rather than focusing on the essence of the charity itself. It is said that when Barack Hussein Obama took the challenge, the current American president chose to make a donation of 100 dollars rather than pouring the icy water over his head. On the other hand, the original purpose of this activity is to provide aid and support for patients sufferingfromthe disease. Accordingly, what we should focus on is whether the ALS association begins immediate funding for families in desperate need of home health care services and other care-related services.
As a matter of fact, after a month in the spotlight, the much-hyped ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is finally starting to show signs of cooling down. Most things in moderation are healthy and lasting, and charitable activities are no different. We should always bear the core of charity in mind: being a dutiful citizen.
英语专八历年真题试卷2
PART I LISTENING COMPREttENSION (35 MIN)
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need themto complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutesto complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE, using no more than three words in each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may refer to your noteswhile completing the task. Use the blank sheet for note-taking. Now, listen to the mini-lecture. Observation Behaviour
People do observation in daily life context for safety or for proper behaviour. However, there are differences in daily life observation and research observation.
A. Differences
---- daily life observation
--casual
--(1) ________
--defendence on memory
---- research observation
-- (2) _________
-- careful record keeping
B. Ways to select samples in research
---- time sampling
-- systematic: e.g. fixed intervals every hour
-- random: fixed intervals but (3) _______
Systematic sampling and random sampling are often usedin combination.
---- (4) _______
-- definition: selection of different locations
-- reason: humans’ or animals’ behaviour (5) ______ across circumstances
-- (6) ______: more objective observations
C. Ways to record behaviour (7) _______
---- observation with intervention
-- participant observation: researcher as observer and participant
-- field experiment: research (8) ______ over conditions
---- observation without intervention
-- purpose: describing behaviour (9) ______
-- (10) ______ : no intervention
-- researcher: a passive recorder
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At theendof the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the foliowing five questions. Now listen to the interview.
1. Which of the following statements about creativity is INCORRECT?
A. Creativity stemsfromhuman beings novel thinking.
B. The duration of the creative process variesfromperson to person.
C. Creative people focus on novel thinking rather than on solutions.
D. Theoutcome of humancreativity comes in varied forms.
2. The interviewee cites the Bach family to show that creativity
A. appears to be the result of the environment.
B. seems to be attributable togenetic makeup.
C. appears to be more associated with great people.
D. comesfromboth environment andgenetic makeup.
3. How many types of the creative process does the interviewee describe?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
4. Which of the following features of a creative personality is NOT mentioned in the interview?
A. Unconventional. B. Original.
C. Resolute. D. Critical.
5. The interviewees suggestion for a creativity workout supports the view that
A. brain exercising will not make people creative.
B. most people have diversified interests and hobbies.
C. the environment is significant in the creative process.
D. creativity can only be found in great people.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO. Question 6 is based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
6. What is the news item mainly about?
A. U.S. astronauts made three space walks.
B. An international space station was set up.
C. A problem in the cooling system was solved.
D. A 350-kilogram ammonia pump was removed.
Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.
7. In which country would parents often threaten to punish children by leaving them outside?
A. India. B. The Philippines.
C. Egypt. D. Not mentioned.
8. What is the main purpose of the study?
A. To reveal cultural differences and similarities.
B. To expose cases of child abuse and punishment.
C. To analyze child behaviour across countries.
D. To investigate ways of physical punishment.
Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.
9. According to the news item, Japans economic growth in the second quarter was ____ less than the first quarter.
A. 0.6 percent B. 3.4 percent
C. 4 percent D. 3 percent
10. How many reasons does the news item cite for Japans slow economic growth?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
TEXT A
I used to look at my closet and see clothes. These days, whenever I cast my eyes upon the stacks of shoes and hangers of shirts, sweaters and jackets, I see water.
It takes 569 gallons to manufacture a T-shirt,fromits start in the cotton fields to its appearance on store shelves. A pair of running shoes? 1,247 gallons.
Until last fall, Id been oblivious to my "water footprint", which is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce goods and services, according to the Water Footprint Network. The Dutch nonprofit has been working to raise awareness of freshwater scarcity since2008, but it was through the "Green Blue Book" by Thomas M. Kostigen that I was able to see how my own actions factored in.
Ive installed gray-water systems to reuse the wastewaterfrommy laundry, machine and bathtub and reroute it to my landscape - systems that save, on average, 50 gallons of water per day. Ive set up rain barrels and infiltration pits to collect thousands of gallons of storm water cascadingfrommy roof. Ive even entered the last bastion of greendom -installinga composting toilet.
Suffice to say, Ive been feeling pretty satisfied with myself for all the drinking water Ive saved with these big-ticket projects.
Now I realize that my daily consumption choices could have an even larger effect –not only on the local water supply but also globally: 1.1 billion people have no access to freshwater, and, in the future, those who do have access will have less of it.
To see how much virtual water 1 was using, I logged on to the "Green Blue Book"websiteand used its water footprint calculator, entering my daily consumption habits. Tallying up the water footprint of my breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, as well as my daily dose of over-the-counter uppers and downers - coffee, wine and beer- Im using 512 gallons of virtual water each day just to feed myself.
In a word: alarming.
Even more alarming was how much hidden water I was using to get dressed. Im hardly a clotheshorse, but the few new items I buy once again trumped the amount of water flowingfrommy faucets each day. If Im serious about saving water, I realized I could make some simple lifestyle shifts. Looking more closely at the areas in my life that use the most virtual water, it was food and clothes, specifically meat, coffee and, oddly, blue jeans and leather jackets.
Being a motorcyclist, I own an unusually large amount of leather - boots and jackets in particular. All of it is enormously water intensive. It takes 7,996 gallons to make a leather.jacket, leather being a byproduct of beef. It takes 2,866 gallons of water to make a single pair of blue jeans, because theyre madefromwater-hogging cotton.
Crunching the numbers for the amount of clothes I buy every year, it looks a lot like my friends swimming pool. My entire closet is borderline Olympic.Gulp.
My late resolution is to buy some items used. Underwear and socks are, of course, exemptfromthis strategy, but 1 have no problem shopping less and also shopping at Goodwill. In fact, Id been doing that for the past year to save money. My clothes outrageous water footprint just reintbrced it for me.
More conscious living and substitution, rather than sacrifice, are the prevailing ideas with the water footprint. Its one Im trying, and thats had an unusual upside. I had a hamburger recently, and I enjoyed it a lot more since it is now an occasional treat rather than a weekly habit.(One gallon =3.8 litres)
11. According to the passage, the Water Footprint Network
A. made the author aware of freshwater shortage.
B. helped the author get to know the Green Blue Book.
C. worked for freshwater conservation for nonprofit purposes.
D. collaborated with the Green Blue Book in freshwater conservation.
12. Which of the following reasons can best explain the authors feeling of self-satisfaction?
A. He made contribution to drinking water conservation in his own way.
B. Money spent on upgrading his household facilities was worthwhile.
C. His house was equipped with advanced water-saving facilities.
D. He could have made even greater contribution by changing his lifestyle.
13. According to the context, "...how mv own actions factored in" means
A. how I could contribute to water conservation.
B. what efforts I should make to save fresh water.
C. what behaviour could be counted as freshwater-saving.
D. how much of what I did contributed to freshwater shortage.
14. According to the passage, the author was more alarmed by the fact that
A. he was having more meat and coffee.
B. his clothes used even more virtual water.
C. globally there will be less fresh water.
D. his lifestyle was too extravagant.
15. "My entire closet is borderline Olympic" is an example of
A. exaggeration. B. analogy.
C. understatement. D. euphemism.
16. What is the tone of the author in the last paragraph?
A. Sarcastic. B. Ironic. C. Critical. D. Humorous.
TEXT B
In her novel of "Reunion, American Style", Rona Jaffe suggests that a class reunion "is more than a sentimental journey. It is also a way of answering the question that lies at the back of nearly all our minds. Did they do better than I?"
Jaffes observation may be misplaced butnot completely lost. According to a study conducted by social psychologist Jack Sparacino, the overwhelming majority who attendreunions arent there invidiouslyto compare their recentaccomplishments with those of their former classmates. Instead, they hope, primarily, to relive their earlier successes.
Certainly, a few return to show their former classmates how well they have done; others enjoy observing the changes that have occurred in their classmates (not always in themselves, of course). But the majority who attendtheir class reunions do so to relive the good times they remember having when they were younger. In his study, Sparacino found that, as high school students, attendees had been more popular, more often regarded as attractive, and more involved in extracurricular activities than those classmates who chose not to attend. For those who turned up at their reunions, then, the old times were also the good times!
It would appear that Americans have a special fondness for reunions, judging by their prevalence. Major league baseball players, fraternity members, veterans groups, high school and college graduates, and former Boy Scouts all hold reunions on a regular basis. In addition, family reunions frequently attract blood relativesfromfaraway places who spendconsiderable money and time to reunite.
Actually, in their affection for reuniting with friends, family or colleagues, Americans are probably no differentfromany other people, except that Americans have created a mind-boggling number and variety of institutionalized forms of gatherings to facilitate the satisfaction of this desire. Indeed, reunions have increasinglybecome formal events thatare organized on a regular basis and, in the process, they have alsobecome big business.
Shell Norris of Class Reunion, Inc., says that Chicago alone has 1,500 high school reunions each year. A conservative estimate on the national level would be 10,000 annually. At one time, all high school reunionswere organized by volunteers, usually female homemakers. In the last few years, however, as more and more women have entered the labour force, alumni reunions are increasingly being planned byspecialized companies rather than by part-time volunteers.
The first college reunion was held by the alumni of Yale University in 1792. Graduates of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, and Brown followed suit. And by theendof the 19th century,
most 4-year institutions were holding alumni reunions.
The variety of college reunions is impressive. At Princeton, alumni parade through the town wearing their class uniforms and singing their alma mater. At Marietta College, they gather for a dinner-dance on a steamship cruising the Ohio River.
Clearly, the thought of cruising on a steamship or marching through the streets is usually not, by itself, sufficient reason for large numbers of alumni to return to campus. Alumni who decide to attendtheir reunions sharea common identity based on the years they spent together as undergraduates. For this reason, universities that somehow establisha common bond – for example, because they are relatively small or especially prestigious - tendto draw substantial numbers of their alumni to reunions. In an effort to enhancethis common identity, larger colleges and universities frequently build their class reunions on participation in smaller units, such as departments or schools. Or they encourage "affinity reunions" for groups of former cheerleaders, editors, fraternity members, musicians, members ofmilitary organizations on campus, and the like.
Of course, not every alumnus is fond of his or her alma mater. Students who graduated during the late 1960s may be especially reluctant to get involved in alumni events. They were part of the generation that conducted sit-ins and teach-ins directed at university administrators, protested military recruitment on campus and marched against "establishment politics." If this generation hasa common identity, it may fall outside of their university ties - or even be hostile to them. Even as they enter their middle years, alumni who continue to hold unpleasant memories of college during this period may not wish to attendclass reunions.
17. According to the passage, Sparacinos study
A. provided strong evidence for Jaffes statement.
B. showed that attendees tended to excel in high school study.
C. found that interest in reunions was linked with school experience.
D. found evidence for attendees intense desire for showing off success.
18. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a distinct feature of U.S. class reunions?
A. U.S. class reunions are usually occasions to show off ones recent success.
B. Reunions are regular and formalevents organized by professional agencies.
C. Class reunions havebecome a profitable business.
D. Class reunions have brought about a variety of activities.
19. What mainly attracts many people to return to campus for reunion?
A. The variety of activities for class reunion.
B. The special status their university enjoys.
C. Shared experience beyond the campus.
D. Shared undergraduate experience on campus.
20. The rhetorical function of the first paragraph is to
A. introduce Rona Jeffes novel.
B. present the authors counterargument.
C. serve as prelude to the authors argument.
D. bring into focus contrasting opinions.
21. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Reasons for popularity and (non)attendance for alumni reunions.
B. A historical perspective for alumni reunions in the United States.
C. Alumni reunions and American university traditions.
D. Alumni reunion and its social and economic implications.
TEXT C
One time while on his walk George met Mr. Cattanzara coming home very latefromwork. He wondered if he was drunk but then could tell he wasnt. Mr. Cattanzara, a stocky, bald-headed man who worked in a change booth on an IRT station, lived on the next block after Georges, above a shoe repair store. Nights, during the hot weather, he sat on his stoop in an undershirt, reading the New York Times in the light of the shoemakers window. He read itfromthe first page to the last, then went up to sleep. And all the time he was reading the paper, his wife, a fat woman with a white face, leaned out of the window, gazing into the street, her thick white arms folded under her loose breast, on the window ledge.
Once in a while Mr. Cattanzara came home drunk, but it was a quiet drunk. He never made any trouble, only walked stiffly up the street and slowly climbed the stairs into the hall. Though drunk he looked the same as always, except for his tight walk, the quietness, and that his eyes were wet. George liked Mr. Cattanzara because he remembered him giving him nickels to buy lemon ice with when he was a squirt. Mr. Cattanzara was a different type than those in the neighbourhood. He asked different questions than the others when he met you, and he seemed to know what went on in all the newspapers. He read them, as his fat sick wife watchedfromthe window.
"What are you doing with yourself this summer, George?" Mr. Cattanzara asked. "l see you walkin around at night."
George felt embarrassed. "I like to walk."
"What are you doin in the day now?"
"Nothing much just now. Im waiting for a job." Since it shamed him to admit that he wasnt working, George said, "Im reading a lot to pick upmy education."
"What are you readin?"
George hesitated, then said, "I got a list of books in the library once and now Im gonna read them this summer." He felt strange and a little unhappy saying this, but he wanted Mr. Cattanzara to respect him.
"How many books are there on it?"
"I never counted them. Maybe around a hundred."
Mr. Cattanzara whistled through his teeth.
"I figure if l did that," George went on earnestly, "it would help me inmy education. 1 dont mean the kind they give you in high school. I want to know different things than they learn there, if you know what I mean."
The change maker nodded. "Still and all, one hundred books is a pretty big load for one
summer."
"It might take longer."
"After youre finished with some, maybe you and I can shoot the breeze about them?" said Mr. Cattanzara.
"When Im finished," George answered.
Mr. Cattanzara went home and George continued on his walk. After that, though he had the urge to, George did nothing differentfromusual. He still took his walks at night,ending up in the little park. But one evening the shoemaker on the next block stopped George to say he was a good boy, and George figured that Mr. Cattanzara had told him all about the books he was reading. From the shoemaker it must have gone down the street, because George saw a couple of people smiling kindly at him, though nobody spoke to him personally. He felt a little better around the neighbourhood and liked it more, though not so much he would want to live in it forever. He had never exactly disliked the people in it, yet he had never liked them very much either. It was the fault of the neighbourhood. To his surprise, George found out that his father and his sister Sophie knew about his reading too. His father was too shy to say anything about it - he was never much of a talker in his whole life -- but Sophie was softer to George, and she showed him in other ways she was proud of him.
22. In the excerpt, Mr. Cattanzara was described as a man who
A. was fond of drinking. B. showed a wide interest.
C. often worked overtime. D. liked to gossip after work.
23. It can be inferredfromthe passage that
A. Mr. Cattanzara was surprised at Georges reading plan.
B. Mr. Cannazara was doubtful about George throughout.
C. George was forced to tell a lie and then regretted.
D. George lied at the beginning and then became serious.
24. After the street conversation with Mr. Cattanzara, George
A. remained the same as usual.
B. became more friendly with Mr. Cattanzara.
C. began to like his neighbours more than ever.
D. continued to read the booksfromthe list.
25. We can tellfromthe excerpt that George
A. had a neither close nor distant relationship with his father.
B. was dissatisfied with his life and surroundings.
C. found that his sister remained skeptical about him.
D. found his neighbours liked to poke their nose into him.
TEXT D
Abraham Lincoln turns 200 this year, and hes beginning to show his age. When his birthday arrives, on February 12, Congress will hold a special joint session in the Capitols National Statuary Hall, a wreath will be laid at the great memorial in Washington, and a webcast will link school classrooms for a "teach-in" honouring his memory.
Admirable as they are, though, the events will strike many of us Lincoln fans as inadequate, even halfhearted -- and another sign that our appreciation for the 16th president and his towering achievements is slipping away. And you dont have to be a Lincoln enthusiast to believe that this is something we cant afford to lose.
Compare this years celebration with the Lincoln centennial, in 1909. That year, Lincolns likeness made its debut on the penny, thanks to approvalfromthe U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Communities and civic associations inevery comer of the country erupted in parades, concerts, balls, lectures, and military displays. We still feel the effects today: The momentum unloosed in 1909 led to the Lincoln Memorial, opened in 1922, and the Lincoln Highway, the first paved transcontinental thoroughfare.
The celebrants in 1909 had a few inspirations we lack today. Lincolns presidency was still a living memory for countless Americans. In2009we are farther in timefromtheendof the Second World War than they werefromthe Civil War; families still felt the loss of loved onesfromthat awful national trauma.
But Americans in 1909 had something more: an unembarrassed appreciation for heroes and an acute sense of the way that even long-dead historical figures press in on the present and make us who we are.
One story will illustrate what lm talking about.
In2003a group of local citizens arranged to place a statue of Lincoln in Richmond, Virginia, former capital of the Confederacy. The idea touched off a firestorm of controversy. The Sons of Confederate Veterans held a public conference of carefully selected scholars to "reassess" the legacy of Lincoln. The verdict - no surprise - was negative: Lincoln was labeled everythingfroma racist totalitarian to a teller of dirty jokes.
I covered the conference as a reporter, but what really unnerved me was a counter-conference of scholars to refute the earlier one. These scholars drew a picture of Lincoln that only our touchy-feely age could conjure up. The man who oversaw the most savage war in our history was described - by his admirers, remember - as "nonjudgmental," "unmoralistic," "comfortable with ambiguity."
I felt the way a friendof mine felt as we later watched the unveiling of the Richmond statue in a subdued ceremony: "But hes so small!"
The statue in Richmond was indeed small; like nearly every Lincoln statue put up in the past half century, it was life-size and was placed at ground level, a conscious rejection of the heroic - approachable and human, yes, but not something to look up to.
The Richmond episode taught me that Americans have lost the language to explain Lincolns greatness even to ourselves. Earlier generations said they wanted their children to be like Lincoln: principled, kind, compassionate, resolute. Today we want Lincoln to be like us.
This helps to explain the long string of recent books in which writers have presented a Lincoln made after their own image. Weve had Lincoln as humorist and Lincoln as manic-depressive, Lincoln the business sage, the conservative Lincoln and the liberal Lincoln, the emancipator and the racist, the stoic philosopher, the Christian, the atheist - Lincoln over easy and Lincoln scrambled.
Whats often missing,,though, i, s the timeless Lincoln, the Lincoln whom all generations, our own no less than that of 1909, can lay claim to. Lucky for us, those memorializersfroma century ago - and, through them, Lincoln himself- have left us a hin, t of where to find him. The Lincoln Memorial is the mos, , tvisited of our presidential monuments. Here is where we find the Lincoln whoendures: in the words he left us, defining the country weve inherited. Here is the Lincoln who can beendlessly renewed and who, 200 years after his birth, retains the power to renew us.
26. The author thinks that this years celebration is inadequate and even halfhearted because
A. no Lincoln statue will be unveiled.
B. no memorial coins will be issued.
C. no similar appreciation of Lincoln will be seen.
D. no activities canbe compared to those in 1909.
27. According to the passage, what really makes the 1909 celebrations differentfromthis years?
A. Respect for great people and their influence.
B. Variety and magnitude of celebration activities.
C. Structures constructed in memory of Lincoln.
D. Temporal proximity to Lincolns presidency.
28. In the authors opinion, the counter-conference
A. rectified the judgment by those carefully selected scholars.
B. offered a brand new reassessment perspective.
C. came up with somewhat favourable conclusions.
D. resulted in similar disparaging remarks on Lincoln.
29. According to the author, the image of Lincoln conceived by contemporary people
A. conforms to traditional images.
B. reflects the present-day tendency of worship.
C. shows the present-day desire to emulate Lincoln.
D. reveals the variety of current opinions on heroes.
30. Which of the following best explains the implication of the last paragraph?
A. Lincolns greatness remains despite the passage of time.
B. The memorial is symbolic of the great mans achievements.
C. Each generation has it own interpretation of Lincoln.
D. People get to know Lincoln through memorializers.
PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)
There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
31. The Maori people are natives of
A. Australia. B. Canada. C. Ireland. D. New Zealand.
32. The British monarch is the Head of
A. Parliament. B. State. C. Government. D. Cabinet.
33. Americans celebrate Independence Day on
A. July 4th. B. October 11th. C. May 31st. D. September 6th.
34. Canada is bounded on the north by
A. the Pacific Ocean. B. the Atlantic Ocean.
C. the Arctic Ocean. D. the Great Lakes.
35. Who is the author of The Waste Lana?
A. George Bernard Shaw. B. W.B. Yeats.
C. Dylan Thomas. D. T.S. Eliot.
36. Which of the following novelists wrote The Sound and the Fury?
A. William Faulkner. B. Ernest Hemingway.
C. Scott Fitzgerald. D. John Steinbeck.
37. "The lettuce was lonely without tomatoes and cucumbersfor company" is an example of
A. exaggeration. B. understatement.
C. personification. D. synecdoche.
38. In English ifa word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel. This is a (n)
A. assimilation rule. B. sequential rule. C.deletion rule. D. grammar rule.
39. Which of the following is an example of clipping?
A.APEC. B.Motel. C.Xerox. D.Disco.
40. The type of language which is selected as appropriate to a particular type of" situation is called
A. register. B. dialect. C. slang. D. variety
PART IV PROOFREADING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way:
For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank
provided at theendof the line.
For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a "L" sign and write the
word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at theendof the
line.
For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash "/" and put the word in the
blank provided at theendof the line.
EXAMPLE
When A art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never
them on the wall. When a natural history museum
wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) exhibit
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.
The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or freely. The argument has been going since at least the first (1) ______
century B.C. Up to the beginning of the 19th century, many writers
favoured certain kind of “free” translation: the spirit, not the letter; the (2) _______
sense not the word; the message rather the form; the matter not (3) _______
the manner. This is the often revolutionary slogan of writers who (4) _______
wanted the truth to be read and understood. Then in the turn of 19th (5) _______
century, when the study of cultural anthropology suggested that
the linguistic barriers were insuperable and that the language (6) _______
was entirely the product of culture, the view translation was impossible (7) _______
gained some currency, and with it that, if was attempted at all, it must be as (8) _______
literal as possible. This view culminated the statement of the (9) _______
extreme “literalists” Walter Benjamin and Vladimir Nobokov.
The argument was theoretical: the purpose of the translation, the
nature of the readership, the type of the text, was not discussed. Too
often, writer, translator and reader were implicitly identified with
each other. Now, the context has changed, and the basic problem remains. (10) _____
PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on
ANSWER SHEET THREE.
泊珍到偏远小镇的育幼院把生在那里养到1岁的孩子接回来。但泊珍看他第一眼，仿似一声雷劈头而来。令她晕头胀脑，这l岁的孩子脸型长得如此熟悉，她心里的第一道声音是，不能带回去!
痛苦纠聚心中，眉心发烫发热，胸口郁闷难展，胃里一股气冲喉而上。院长说这孩子发育迟缓时，她更是心头无绪。她在孩子所待的房里来回踱步，这房里还有其他小孩。整个房间只有一扇窗，窗外树影婆娑。就让孩子留下来吧，这里有善心的神父和修女，这里将来会扩充为有医疗作用的看护中心，这是留住孩子最好的地方。这孩子是她的秘密，她将秘密留在这树林掩映的建筑罩。
她将秘密留在心头。
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the underlined part of the following text into Chinese Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
In some cases, intelligent people implementing intelligent policies are responsible for producing a "boomerang effect"; they actually create more of whatever it is they seek to reduce in the first place.
The boomerang effect has been achieved many times in recent years by men and women of goodwill. State legislatures around the nation have recently raised the drinking age back to 21 in an effort to reduce the prevalence of violent deaths among our young people. But such policies seem instead to have created the conditions for even more campus violence. Some college students who previously drank in bars and lounges under the watchful supervision of bouncers (夜总会,酒吧等保安人员) (not to mention owners ea~er to keep their liquor licenses) now retreat to the sanctuary of their fraternity houses and apartments, where they no longer control their behaviour - or their drinking.
The boomerang effect has also played a role in attempts to reduce the availability of illicit drugs. During recent years, the federal government has been quite successful in reducing the supply of street drugs. As fields are burned and contraband (违禁品)confiscated, the price of street drugs has skyrocketed to a point where cheap altematives have begunto compete in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the cheap alternatives are even more harmful than the illicit drugs they replace.
boomerang: a curved flat piece of wood that can be thrown so as to retum to the thrower( 回飞镖)
PART VI WRITING (45 MIN)
A recent survey of 2,000 college students asked about their attitudes towards phone calls and text-messaging (also known as Short Message Service) and found the students main goal was to pass along information in as little time, with as little small talk, as possible. "What they like most about their mobile devices is that they can reach other people," says Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University in Washington, D.C., who conducted the survey. "What they like least is that other people can reach them." How far do you agree with Professor Baron?
In the first part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.
You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization, language and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your essay on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
听力部分
1. rarely formal records
2. systematic objective manner
3. variable
4. situation sampling
5. varies
6. advantage
7. as it occurs
8. has more control
9. in natural setting
10. method
阅读部分
TEXT A
11. C. worked for freshwater conservation for nonprofit purposes.
12. C. His house was equipped with advanced water-saving facilities.
13. A. how I could contribute to water conversation.
14. D. his lifestyle was too extravagant.
15. A. exaggeration.
16.D. Humorous.
TEXT B
17. C. found that interest in reunions was linked with school experience.
18. A. U.S. class reunions are usually occasions to show off ones recent success.
19. D. Shared undergraduate experience on campus.
20. D. bring into focus contrasting opinions.
21. A. Reasons for popularity and (non)attendance for alumni reunions.
TEXT C
22. B. showed a wide interest.
23. A. Mr. Cattanzara was surprised at Georges reading plan.
24. A. remained the same as usual.
25. B. was dissatisfied with his life and surroundings.
TEXT D
26. D. no activities canbe compared to those in 1909.
27. B. Variety and magnitude of celebration activities.
28. D. resulted in similar disparaging remarks on Lincoln.
29. D. reveals the variety of current opinions on heroes.
30. A. Lincolns greatness remains despite the passage of time.
人文知识
The indigenous people of New Zealand are the Maori.
31. D. N ew Zealand
32. B. state
33. A. July 4th
34. C. the Arctic Ocean
35. D. T.S.Eliot
36. A. William Faulkner
37. C. personification
38. B. sequential rule
39. D. Disco
40. A. register
改错部分
1. going 后加 on
2. cerain 改成 some
3. rather 后加 than
4. is 改为 was
5. in 改为 at
6. 去掉 the
7. view 后加 that
8. 删掉 was
9. statement 改为 statements
10.and 改为 but
翻译部分
汉译英
Tortured by the pains gathering in her heart, she felt something was burning between her eyebrows. Her chest was brimmed with depression which was likely to run out of her throat at any moment. She could not think clearly any longer when the headmaster told her that the child sufferedfromdevelopmental retardation. She strode up and down in the room where her child stayed with other pals. There was only one window in the room, out of which some shady trees were whispering. “Just leave it here”, she told herself, “This is the best choice by far, for there are kind priests and nuns in this place which may also be renovated into a Medicare center”. The child was her secret which would be kept in the buildings behind the woods.
英译汉
然而上述政策反而引发了更多的校园暴力。一些大学生先前在夜总会的酒吧买醉，处于保安人员严密的监控之下(酒吧老板们为了保住自己卖酒的牌照也不会允许过激的事情发生)。现在，大学生们躲到他们互助会会所和公寓中酗酒,对自己饮酒的数量或行为都不再控制。政府在打击非法毒品方面采取的措施同样适得其反。近年来,联邦政府已经有效地抑制了街头毒品买卖。警方捣毁了很多毒品种植地，没收了违禁品，导致毒品的'价格暴涨，那些便宜的替代品因此也有了竞争力。糟糕的是，那些便宜的替换品带来的危害甚至比他们所替代的毒品更大。
英语专八历年真题试卷3
PART ILISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)
SECTIONAMINI-LECTURE
In this section you willhear a mini-lecture .You willhear the lecture ONCE ONL Y. While
listening, take notes on the important points .Your notes will not be marked, but you will need themto complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture ．When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutesto complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE, using no more than three words in each gap ．Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are)both grammatically and semantically acceptable ． You may refer to your noteswhile completing the task ． Use the blank sheet for note-taking ．Now, listen to the mini-lecture ．
There are difference between active learning and passive learning.
Characteristics of active learners:
I. reading with purposes
A. before reading: setting goals
B. while reading: (1) ________
AI.(2) ______ and critical in thinking i.e. information processing, e.g.
-- connections between the known and the new information -- identification of (3) ______ concepts
-- judgment on the value of (4) _____.
III. active in listening
A.ways of note-taking: (5) _______.
B.before note-taking: listening and thinking IV. being able to get assistance
A.reason 1:knowing comprehension problems because of (6) ______.
B.Reason 2: being able to predict study difficulties
--active learners: accept
--passive learners: (8) _______
B. attitude toward (9) ______
--active learners: evaluate and change behaviour
--passive learners: no change in approach
Relationship between skill and will: will is more important in (10) ______.
Lack of will leads to difficulty in college learning.
SECTION B NTERVIEW
In this section
you willhear everything
ONCE
ONLY . Listen
carefully
and then answer the
questions that follow ．Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO ． Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview ． At theendof the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions ． Now listen to the interview ．
1． According to the interviewer, which of the following best indicates the relationship between choice and mobility?
A ． Better education→ greater mobility → more choices．
B ． Better education→ more choices → greater mobility ．
C． Greater mobility→better education → more choices．
D ．Greater mobility→ more choices →better education．
2．According to the interview ，which of the following details about the first poll is INCORRECT?
A ． Shorter work hours was least chosen for being most important ．
B ． Chances for advancement might have been favoured by young people ．
C． Highincome failedto come on top for being most important．
D ．Job security came second according to the poll results ．
3． According to the interviewee ， which is the main difference between the first and the second poll?
A ． The type of respondents who were invited ．
B ． The way in which the questions were designed ．
C． The content area of the questions．
D ． The number of poll questions ．
4． What can we learnfromthe respondents ’ answers to items 2， 4 and 7 in the second poll?
A ． Recognitionfromcolleagues should be given less importance ．
B ． Workers are always willing and ready to learn more new skills．
C．Psychological reward is more important than material one ．
D ． Work will have to be made interesting to raise efficiency．
5． Accordingto the interviewee ， which of the followingcan offer both psychologicaland
monetary benefits?
A ． Contact with many people ．B ． Chances for advancement．
C． Appreciationfromcoworkers ．D ． Chances to learn new skills
SECTION CNEWS BROADCAST
In this section you willhear everything ONCE ONLY ． Listen carefullyand then answer the
questions that follow ．Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO ． Questions 6 and 7 are based on the following news, At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions． Now listen to the news ．
6． According to the news item ，“ sleep boxes” are designed to solve the problems of
A ． airports ．B． passengers．C． architects．D ．companies．
7． Which of the following is NOT true with reference to the news?
A ． Sleep boxes can be rented for different lengths of time ．
B ． Renters of normal height can stand up inside ．
C． Bedding can be automatically changed ．
D ． Renters can take a shower inside the box．
Question 8 is based on the following news． At theendof the news item， you will be given 10
seconds to answer the question．Now listen to the news ．
8． What is the news item mainly about?
A ． London ’S preparations for the Notting Hill Carnival．
B ． Main features of the Notting Hill Carnival．
C．Polices preventive measures for the carnival ．
D ．Police participation in the carnival ．
Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news ． At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions．Now listen to the news ．
9． The news item reports on a research finding about
A ． the Dutch famine and the Dutch women ．
B ． early malnutrition and heart health ．
C． the causes of death during the famine．
D ． nutrition in childhood and adolescence ．
10． When did the research team carry out the study?
A ．At theendof World War II ．
B ． Between 1944 and 1945．
C． In the 1950s．
D ． In2007．
PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO ． TEXT A
Three hundred years ago news travelled by word of mouth or 1etter, and circulated in taverns and coffee houses in the form of pamphlets and newsletters．“ The coffee houses particularly are． very roomy for a free conversation ， and for reading at an easier rate all manner of printed news，”noted one observer．Everything changed in 1833 when the first mass-audience newspaper,
The New York Sun，pioneered the use of advertising to reduce the cost of news， thus giving
advertisers access to a wider audience．The penny press，followed by radio and television ，turned newsfroma two-way conversation into a one — way broadcast， with a relatively small number of
firms controlling the media ．
Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house．Theinternetis
making news more participatory ，social and diverse，reviving the discursive characteristics of" the
era before the mass media．That will have profound effects on society and politics．In much of the
world ．the mass media are flourishing ．Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6% between2005and2009． But those global figures mask a sharp decline in readership in rich countries．
Over the past decade，throughout the Western world ，people have been giving up newspapers and TV news and keeping up with events in profoundly different ways ． Most strikingly, ordinary people are increasingly involvedin compiling ， sharing，filtering ， discussing and distributing news． Twitterlets people anywhere report whatthey are seeing． Classifieddocuments are
published intheirthousands online．Mobile · phone footage of Arab uprisings andAmerican tornadoesisposted onsocial-networkingsitesandshownontelevision newscasts．Social-networking sites help people find， discuss and share news with their friends ．
And it is not just readers who are challenging the media elite． Technology firms including Google ， Facebook and Twitter havebecome important conduits of news． Celebrities and world leaders publish updates directly viasocial networks ；many countries now make raw data available through “ open government” initiatives ． Theinternetlets people read newspapers or watch television channelsfromaround the world． The web has allowed new providers of news ，fromindividual bloggersto sites ， to rise to prominence in a very short space of time． And it has made possible entirely new approaches to journalism ， such as that practiced by WikiLeaks ，which
provides an anonymous way forwhistleblowers to publishdocuments． The news agenda is no longer controlled by a few press barons and state outlets ．
In principle ， every liberalshouldcelebrate this． Amore participatory and social news environment ， with a remarkablediversity and range of news sources， is a good thing ．The transformation of the news business is unstoppable， and attempts to reverse it are doomed to failure ．As producers of new journalism ，individuals can be scrupulous with facts and transparent with their sources． As consumers， they can be general in their tastes and demanding in their standards．And although this transformation does raise concerns ，there is much to celebrate in the noisy, diverse， vociferous ， argumentative and stridently alive environment of the news business in the ages of theinternet． The coffee house is back． Enjoy it ．
11． Accordingto the passage， what initiatedthe transformationofcoffee-house news to
mass-media news?
A ． The emergence of big mass media firms ．
B ． The popularity of radio and television ．
C． The appearance of advertising in newspapers ．
D ． The increasing number of newspaper readers．
12． Which of the followingstatements best supports“ Now, the Hews industry is returning to
something closer to the coffee house”?
ANewspaper circulation rose globally by 6 ％ between2005and2009．
B ．People in the Western world are giving up newspapers and TV news ．
C． Classified documents are published in theirthousands online．
D ． More people are involved in finding， discussing and distributing news ．
13． According to the passage， which is NOT a role played by information technology?
A ． Challenging the traditional media ．
B ．Planning the return to coffee-house news ．
C．Providing people with access to classified files ．
D ．Giving ordinary people the chance to provide news ．
14． The author’ S tone in the last paragraph towards new journalism is
A ． optimistic and cautious ．B． supportive and skeptical ．
C． doubtful and reserved ．D． ambiguous and cautious．
15． In“ The coffee house is back”， coffee house best symbolizes A ． the changing characteristics of news audience ．
B ． the more diversified means of news distribution ．
C． the participatory nature of news ．
D. the more varied sources of news ．
TEXT B
Paris is like pornography ．You respond even if you don ’t want to ．You turn a corner and see a vista，and your imagination bolts away 。Suddenly you are thinking about what it would be like to live in Paris ，and then you think about all the lives you have not lived ．Sometimes，though, when you are lucky, you only think about how many pleasures the day ahead holds． Then, you feel privileged ．
The lobby of the hotel is decorated in red and gold． It gives off a whiff of 1 9m．century
decadence． Probably as much as any hotel in Paris ， this hotel is sexy ． 1 was standing facing the
revolving doors and the driveway beyond． A car with a woman in the back seat— a woman in a
short skirt and black — leather jacket— pulled up before the hotel door ．She swung off and she was
wearinghigh heels． Normally,my mind wouldhave leaped and imagined a story for this
woman ． Now it didnt I stood there and told myself．Cheer up． You’ re in Paris．
In many ways ，Paris is bestvisited in winter ．The tourist crowds are at a minimum ，and one
is not being jammed off the narrow sidewalks along the Rue Dauphine． More than this ． Paris is
like many other European cities in that the season of blockbuster cultural events tends to begin in mid-to late fall and so ， by the time of winter, most of the cultural treasures of the city are laid out to be admired．
The other great reason why Paris in winter is so much better than Paris in spring and fall is that after theendof the August holidays and the return of chic Parisian women to their city, the restaurant-opening season truly begins hopping ．By winter ， many of the new restaurants have worked out their kinks( 不足；困难 )and，once the hype has died down，it is possible to see which restaurants are actually good and which are merely noisy and crowded ．
Most people are about as happy as they set their mind to being， Lincoln said ． In Paris it
doesn’t take much to be happy ．Outside the hotel ，the sky was pale and felt very high up ．I walked
the few blocks to the Seine and began running along the blue-green river toward the Eiffel
Tower．The tower in the distance was black ，and felt strange and beautiful the way that many things built for the joy of building do ．As I ran toward it ，because of its lattice structure, the tower seemed obviously delicate ． Seeing it， I felt a sense of protectiveness．
I think it was this moment of protectiveness that marked the change in my mood and my slowlybecoming thrilled with being in Paris ．
During winter evenings ，Paris’s streetlamps have a halo and resemble dandelions．In winter,
when one leaves the Paris street and enters a caf6 or restaurant， the light and temperature change
suddenly and dramatically, there is the sense of having discovered something secret． In winter,
because the days are short， there is an urgency to the choices one makes ． There is the sense that
life is short and so let us decide on what matters ．
16. Accordingto the passage， once in Paris one might experience all the followingfeelings
EXCEPT
A ． regret．B． condescension．C． expectation．D ． impulse．
17． Winter is the best season to visit Paris． Which of the following does NOT support thisstatement?
A ． Fashionable Parisian women return to Paris ．
B ． More entertainment activities are staged ．
C． There are more good restaurants to choosefrom．
D ． There are fewer tourists in Paris ．
18． "Most people are about as happy as they set their mind to being ．” This statement means that most people
A ． expect to be happy．
B ． hope to be as happy as others．
C． would be happier if they wanted ．
D ． can be happy if they want ．
19． In the eyes of the author, winter in Paris is significant because of
A ． the atmosphere of its evenings．
B ． its implications for life．
C． the contrast it brings ．
D ． the discovery one makes．
20． At theendof the passage, the author found himself in a mood of
A ． excitement．B ．thoughtfulness．
C． loneliness．D． joyfulness ．
TEXT C
If you want to know why Denmark is the worlds leader in wind power, start with a
three-hour car tripfromthe capital Copenhagen --mind the bicyclists --to the small town of Lem
on the far west coast of Jutland ．Youll feel it as you cross the 6.8 km-long Great Belt Bridge：
Denmarks bountiful wind ， so fierce even on a calm summers day that it threatens to shove your car into the waves below ．But wind itself is only part of the reason ．In Lem ，workers in factories the size of aircraft hangars build the wind turbines sold by Vestas ， the Danish company that has emerged as the industrys top manufacturer around the globe ． The work is both gross and fine ；employees weld together massive curved sheets of steel to make central shafts as tall as a 14-story building ， and assemble engine housings( 机器外罩 )that hold some 18,000 separate parts ． Most impressive are the turbines blades, which scoop the wind with each sweeping revolution ．As smooth as an Olympic swimsuit and honed to aerodynamic perfection， each blade weighs in at 7,000 kg，and they’re what help make Vestas’turbines the best in the world ．“The blade is where the secret is，” says Erik Therkelsen ， a Vestas executive．“ If we can make a turbine ， its sold．”
But technology,like the wind itselK is just one more part of the reason for Denmarks dominance．In theend， it happened because Denmark had the political and public will to decide that it wanted to be a leader and to follow through ． Beginning in 1 979 ， the government began a determined programme of subsidies and loan guarantees to build up its wind industry ． Copenhagen covered 30% of investment costs ， and guaranteed loans for large turbine exporters such as Vestas．It also mandated that utilities purchase wind energy at a preferential price— thus guaranteeing investors a customer base ． Energy taxes were channeled into research centres， where engineers crafted designs that would eventually produce cutting-edge giants like Vestas?3-magawatt(MW)V90 turbine ．
As a result． wind turbines now dot Denmark ．The country gets more than 1 9％ of its electricityfromthe breeze(Spain and Portugal ， the next highest countries ，get about 1 0 ％ )and Danish companies control one — third of the global wind market ， earning billions in exports and creating a national championfromscratch ．“ They were out early in driving renewables ，and that gave them the chance to be a technology leader and a job — creation leader,” says Jake Schmidt， international climatepolicy director for the New York City — based Natural Resources Defense
Council ．“ They have always been one or two steps ahead of others."
The challenge now for Denmark is to help the rest of the world catch up． Beyond wind ， the
country(pop.5.5 million)is a world leader in energy efficiency， getting more GDP per watt than any other member ofthe E． U ．Carbon emissions are down 13.3％from1990 levels and total energy consumptionhas barely moved，even as Denmarkseconomy continued to grow at a healthy clip ．With Copenhagen set to host all-important U ．N ．climate change talks in December --where the world hopes for a successor to the expiring Kyoto Protocol -- and the global recession
beginning to hit environmental plans in capitals everywhere，Denmarks example couldnt be more timely ．“ Welltryto make Denmarka showroom. ” says Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen．“ You can reduce energy use and carbon emissions， and achieve economic growth." Its tempting to assume that Denmark is innately green ， with the kind of Scandinavian good conscience that has made it such a pleasant global citizen since，oh，the whole Viking thing ．But the country ’s policies were actually bornfroma different emotion ，one nowin common currency ：fear．When the 1973 oil crisis hit ，90％ of Denmarks energy camefrompetroleum ，almost all of it imported ．Buffeted by the same supply shocks that hit the rest of the developed world ，Denmark launched a rapid drive for energy conservation ，to the point of introducing car-free Sundays and asking businesses to switch off lights during closing hours． Eventually the Mideast oil started flowing again ，and the Danes themselves began enjoying the benefits of the petroleum and natural
gas in their slice of the North Sea． It was enough to make them more than self-sufficient． But unlike most other countries ，Denmark never forgot the lessons of l973 ，and kept driving for greater energy efficiency and a more diversified energy supply． The Danish parliament raised taxes on energy to encourage conservation and established subsidies and standards to support more efficient buildings ．“ It all started out without any regard for the climate or the environment，”says SvendAuken ，the former head of Denmark ?s opposition Social Democrat Party and the architect of the countrys environmental policies in the 1990s ．“ But today there?s a consensus that we need to build renewable power."
To the rest of the world ， Denmark has the power of its example ．showing that you can stay rich and grow green at the same time ．“ Denmark has proven that acting on climate can be a positive experience，not just painful, ”says NRDCs Schmidt ． The real paincould comefromfailing to follow in their footsteps ．
21．Which of the following is NOT cited as a main reason for Denmarks world leadership in wind power?
A ． Technology． B． Wind ． C．Government drive ． D． Geographical location ．22． The author has detailed some of the efforts of the Danish Government in promoting the wind industry in order to show
A ． the government ’ S determination ．
B ． the country ’S subsidy and loan policies ．
C． the importance of export to the country ．
D ． the role of taxation to the economy ．
23． What does the author mean by“ Denmarks example couldn ?t be more timely ” ?
A ．Denmarks energy-saving efforts cannot be followed by other countries．
B ． Denmark can manufacture more wind turbines for other countries．
C． Denmarks energy-saving Success offers the world a useful model ．
D ．Denmark aims to show the world that it can develop even faster ．
24． According to the passage， Denmarks energy-saving policies originatedfromA ． the countrys long tradition of environmental awareness ．
B ． the countrys previous experience of oil shortage ．
C． the countrys grave shortage of natural resources．
D ． the countrys abundant wind resources ．
25． Which of the following is NOT implied in the passage?
A ．Not to save energy could lead to serious consequences．
B ． Energy saving cannot go together with economic growth ．
C． Energy saving efforts can be painful but positive ．
D ．Denmark is a powerful leader in the global wind market．
TEXT D
The first clue came when I got my hair cut ．The stylist offered not just the usual coffee or tea buta complimentary nail — polish change while 1 waited for my hair to dry．Maybe she hoped this little amenity would slow the growing inclination of women to stretch each haircut to last four
months while nursing our hair back to whatever natural colour we long ago forgot．
Then there was the appliance salesman who offered to carry my bags as we toured the microwave aisle ．When I called my husband to ask him to check somespecs online，the salesman offered a pre-emptive discount， lest the surfing turn up the same model cheaper in another store．That night ，for the first time ，I saw the Hyundai ad promising shoppers that if they buy a car and then lose their job in the next year ， they can return it ．
Suddenly everything ’s on sale． The upside to the economic downturn is the immense
incentive it gives retailers to treat you like a queen for a day ．During the flush times ．Salespeople were surly ，waiters snobby ．But now the customer rules ，just for showing up ．There’s more room to stretch out on the flight ， even in a coach． The malls have that serene aura of undisturbed wilderness，with scarcely a shopper in sight ．Every conversation with anyone selling anything is a pantomime of pain and bluff ．Finger the scarf, then start to walk away, and its price floats silkily downward ． When the mechanic calls to tell you that brakes and a timing belt and other services will run close to $2,000 ，its time to break out the newly perfected art of the considered pause ．You really dont even have to say anything pitiful before hell offer to knock a few hundred dollars off ． Restaurants are also caught in a fit of ardent hospitality, especially around Wall Street：
Trinity Place offers $3 drinks at happy hour any day the market goes down． with the slogan “Market tanked? Get tanked! ”--which ensures a lively crowd for the closing bell ．The "21" Club has decided that men no longer need to wear ties，so long as they bring their wallets ．Food itself is friendlier ： you noticemore comfort food ， a truce between chef and patron that is easier to enjoy now that you can get a table practically anywhere ．New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni characterizes the new restaurant demeanor as "extreme solicitousness tinged with outright desperation． "“ You need to hug the customer,” one owner told him ．
Theres a chance that eventually well return a11 this kindness with the extravagant spending that was once decried but now everyone is hoping will restart the economy．But human nature is funny that way ．In dangerous times，we clench and squint at the deal that looks too good to miss ， suspecting that it must be too good to be true ． Is the store with the super cheap flat screens going to go bust and thus not be there to honour the "free" extended warranty? Is there something wrong with that free cheese? Store owners will tell you horror stories about shoppers with attitude ，whowalk in demanding discounts and flaunt their new power at every turn ． These store owners wince as they sense bad habit forming：Will people expect discounts forever? Will their hard ．won brand luster be forever cheapened， especially for items whose allure depends on their being ridiculously priced?
There willsurely come a day when things go back to “normal ”；retail sales even inched up in January after sinking for the previous six months ．But 1 wonder what it will take for US to see those $545 Sigerson Morrison studded toe-ring sandals as reasonable? Bargain-hunting can be addictive regardless of the state of the markets ， and haggling is a low-risk ， high-value contact sport． Trauma digs deep into habit ， like my 85-year — old mother still calling her canned-goodscabinet“ the bomb shelter." The children of the First Depression were saving string and preaching sacrifice long after the skies cleared ． They came to be called the “ greatest generation." As we learn to be decent stewards of our resources， who knows whatmight come of it? We have lived in an age of wanton waste，and there is value in practicing conservation that goes far beyond our own bottom line ．
26． According to the passage， what does“ the first clue" suggest?
A ． Shops try all kinds of means to please customers ．
B ． Shops， large or small ， are offering big discounts ．
C． Women tendto have their hair cut less frequently ．
D ． Customers refrainfrombuying things impulsively．
27． Which of the following best depicts the retailers now?
A ． Bad-tempered．B． Highly motivated ．
C． Over-friendly ．D ． Deeply frustrated ．
28． What does the author mean by“ the newly perfected art of the considered pause ” ?
A ． Customers now rush to buy things on sale ．
29． According to the passage，“ shoppers... flaunt their new power at every turn" means that shoppers would
30. What is the authors main message in the last two paragraphs?
B. Ones life experience would turn into lifelong habits．
C. Customers should expect discounts for luxury goods．
D. The practice of frugality is of great importance．
PART IIIGENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)
There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section ．Mark the best answer to each question on
ANSWER SHEET TWO ．
31． The fullofficial nameof Australia is
A ． The Republic of Australia ．B ．The Commonwealth of Australia ．
C． The Federation of Australia ．D． The Union of Australia ．
32. Canada is well known for all the following EXCEPT
A ． its mineral resources ．B ． its forest resources．
C． its fertile and arable land ．D． its heavy industries．
33． In the United States community colleges offer
A ． two-year programmes ．B ． four-year programmes ．
C． postgraduate studies．D． B． A ． or B ． S． degrees．
34.In ______， referenda in Scotland and Wales set up a Scottish parliament and a Wales assembly．
A ．2000B ． 1946C． 1997D. 1990
35． Which of the following clusters of words is an example of alliteration?
A ． A weak seat．B ． Safe and sound．
C． Knock and kick ．D． Coat and boat．
36． Who wrote Mrs ． Warrens Profession?
A ．John Galsworthy ．B ． William Butler Yeats ．
C． T． S． Eliot ．D． George Bernard Shaw ．
37． Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser is a(n)
A ． novel．B． short story ．
C． poem．D． autobiography ．
38． Which Of t11e following italicized parts is an inflectional morpheme?
A ．Unlock ．B ．Government．
C． Goes．D． Off-stage．
39． _____ is a language phenomenon in which words sound like what they refer to.
A ．OnomatopoeiaB． Collocation
C． DenotationD． Assimilation
40． The sentence "CIose your book and listen to me carefully!" performs a(n) ____ function．
A ． interrogativeB ． informative
C． performativeD ．directive
PART IVPROOF READING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
The passage contains TEN errors． Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved ． You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way ：
For a wrong word ，underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at theendof the line ．
For a missing word ．mark the position of the missing word with a "^" sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at theendof the line ．
For an unnecessary word， cross the unnecessary word with a slash”／”and put the word in the blank provided at theendof the line ．
EXAMPLE
When ^ art museum wants a new exhibit ，(1)an
it never buys things in finished form and hangs(2)never
them on the wall ． When a natural history museum
wants an exhibition, it must often build it ．(3)exhibit
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed ．
Psycho-linguistics isthe namegiven to the study of the psychological processes
involved in language. Psycholinguistics study understanding,
production and remembering language, and hence are concerned with
(1) _____
listening, reading, speaking, writing, and memory for language.
One reason why we take the language for granted is that it usually
happens so effortlessly, and most of time, so accurately.
Indeed, when you listen to someone to speaking, or looking at this page,
(2) ______
(3) ______
(4) ______
you normally cannot help but understand it. It is only in exceptional
circumstances we mightbecome aware ofthe complexity(5) ______
involved: if we are searching for a word but cannot remember it;
if a relative or colleague has had a stroke which has influenced(6) ______
their language; if we observe a child acquire language; if(7) ______
we try to learn a second language ourselves as an adu< or
if we are visually impaired or hearing-impaired or if we meet
anyone else who is. As we shall see, all these examples(8) ______
of what might be called “language in exceptional circumstances ”
reveal a great deal about the processes evolved in speaking,(9) ______
listening, writing and reading. But given that language processes
were normally so automatic, we also need to carry out careful(10) ______
experiments to get at what is happening.
PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)
SECTION ACHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the following text into English． Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE．
生活就像一杯红酒，热爱生活的人会从其中品出无穷无尽的美妙。将它握在手中仔细观
察，它的暗红色中有血的感觉， 那正是生命的痕迹。抿一口留在口中回味， 它的甘甜中有一丝苦涩，如人生一般复杂迷离。喝一口下肚，余香沁人心脾，让人终身受益。红酒越陈越美
味，生活越丰富越美好。当人生走向晚年，就如一瓶待开封的好酒，其色彩是沉静的，味道中充满慷慨与智慧。
SECTION BENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the following text into Chinese ． Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE．The UN General Assembly, the central political forum ，is composed of 193 members， including virtually all the worlds nation-states． Two-thirds of its members are developing countries， which account for about three-quarters of the worlds population．
Reaching decisions is difficult ，especially since all agreements by custom must be reached by consensus． As a result ，important agreements are often held hostage by narrow special interests ， and most agreements are reached only by reducing them to theirlowest common denominators． But the real question is whether the major countries of the world will allow democracy to function at the highest level ．
The Security Council ， which is responsible for peace and security ， deals with issues of the greatest political importance ．The Council has only 15 members so it can meet frequently and deal with crises． Once impotent due to Cold War rivalries ， it has regained much of the authority accorded by the UN charter ．
PARTVIWRITING (45 MIN)
Is our society hostile to good people? According to a recent survey by China Youth Daily，76.1 percent of the respondents say that our current society provides a “ bad environment"for good people doing good things ．On the other hand，the more optimistic would argue that each individual should try his or her best to do good things and be nice to others, instead of waiting for the "social environment ” to improve ． So， what do you think? Is a sound social environment necessary for people to have high moral standards and be good to others?
Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic：Is a sound social environment necessary for people to be good to others?
In the first part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details ． In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary ．
Marks will be awarded for content, organization ，language and appropriateness．Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks ． Write your essay on ANSWER SHEET FOUR ．
试听力部分
Section A
1.checking their understanding
2.reflective on information
3.incomprehensible
4.what you read
5.organized
6.monitoring their understanding
7.differentiate
8.blame
9.performance
10.active learning
Section B
1.better education— greater mobility — more choices
2.shorter work hours was least chosen for being most important
3.the way in which the questions were designed
4.psychological reward is more important than material one
5.chances for advancement
Section C
6.passengers
7.renters can take a shower inside the box
8.police preventive measures for the carnival
9.early malnutrition and heart health ．
10.in the 1950s
试阅读理解部分
The future of news Back to the coffee house
11.the appearance of advertisement in newspaper
12.more people are involved in finding, discussing and distributing news
13.planning the return to coffee-house news
14.optimistic and cautious
15.the participator nature of news
Paris in winter
16.regret
17.Fashionable Parisian women return to Paris
18.can be happy if they want
19.its implications for life
20.thoughtfulness
21.Geographic location
22.the government?s determination
23.denmark?s energy-saving success offers the world a useful model
24.the country?s previous experience of oil shortage
25.energy saving cannot go together with economic growth
26.shops try all kinds of means to please customers
27.Highly motivated
28.Customers have learned how to bargain
29.keep asking for more discounts
30.the practice of frugality is of great importance
人文知识
31.澳大利亚的全称是：the commonwealth of Austrilia
32.加拿大以什么著称， 除了什么以外 （矿产、森林、肥沃的土地） 。答案选 the heavy industries.
33.美国社区大学一般提供two-year 制课程
34.1997 年苏格兰、威尔斯全民公决各自有了自己的议会
35. 哪一个是头韵法，答案： safe and sound
36谁写的 Mrs. Warrens Profession ，答案是： George Bernard Shaw
37Sister Carrie 是神马东东，答案： novel
38下面哪一个斜体部分为曲折语素，答案goes 里面的 es
39听其音，知其意是神马东东，答案：拟音Onomatopoeia
40" 关上课本，认真听我讲“起的啥作用，答案：directive
翻译汉译英
生活像一杯红酒，热爱生活的人会从中品出无穷的美妙。将它握在手中观察，它的暗红
有血的感觉，那正是生命的痕迹。抿一口留在口中回味， 它的'甘甜有一丝苦涩，如人生一般复杂迷离。 喝一口下肚， 余香润人心肺， 让人终受益。 红酒越陈越美味， 生活越丰富越美好。当人生走向晚年，就如一瓶待开封的好酒，其色彩是沉静的，味道中充满慷慨于智慧。
Life is like a cup of wine; people who love it discover inexhaustible wondersfromit.
Hold in the hand and gaze at it, the dark red color is reminiscent of the blood, which is the impress of life.
Take a sip of it and appreciate the taste, the bittersweet flavor is exactly the same with life, whichis complicated and blurred.
Once the sip is swallowed, the lingering fragrance pleases the heart and refreshes the mind, leaving a person lifelong benefit.
There was a remarkable resemblance between life and wine: the tastebecomes more delicious as the wine mellows, just as life gets better as itbecomes more abundant.
Whenlife comes to twilight years, it looks calm and tastes full of wisdom and generosity, just like a bottle of wine to be savored.
翻译英译汉
联合国代表大会，中心政治论坛，由193 个成员国组成，几乎包括世界上所有国家，其中
三分之二的国家为发展中国家，占世界总人口的四分之三。通过决议非常困难，尤其是所有惯例决出的协议必须达成一致才能通过。结果就是重要的协议总是被狭隘的特殊利益所挟持，并且大部分协议都只是用来使自己的利益最大化。但真正的问题是世界上主要。是否愿意看到民主最大限度地开展。联合国安理会，负责和平和安全，处理最重要的政治问题。安理会只有15 个成员国，所以能经常性地应付危机。它曾一度由于冷战对立而停摆，但已经重新获得了联合国宪章给予的权利。
改错题
1.production 改成 producing
2.去掉 the
3.去掉 accurately 前面的 so
4.looking 改为 look
5.we 前面加 that
6.去掉 colleague 后面的 has
7.their 改成 his
8.anyone 改成 pure 老师 someone
9.evolved 改成 involved
10.were 改成 are
作文参考范文
Is a sound social environment necessary for people to be good to others Helping others has always been a virtue in traditional Chinese culture, but nowadays many people dare not offer help to those in need, for fear of getting into trouble. The issue has aroused public debate over the climate of morality and credibility, and many people sigh over the moral degeneration. In my opinion, while social environment is necessary for people to be good to others, each individual should try his or her best to do good deeds and be sympathetic with others, instead of waiting for the environment to improve.
There is no denying that some tragic events turn out to be traps by people with evil intentions, so people arebecoming more risk-conscious and are more wary of traps and deceits. some people even wonder, Is our society hostile to good people?? The question may sound ridiculous but ma ny people apparently think so. They believe that our current society provides a bad environment for good people doing good things, and good people pay a high price forbeing compassionate. In fact, such kind of things only accounts for a pretty small percentage, but massive media coverage makes the situation seem serious. Actually, most people around me are kind, warm-hearted and helpful, and I am quite delighted intheir company. So I believe media should pay more attention
to publicizing good people and exemplary deeds to enhance our confidence, rather than exposing disgusting behaviors.
At the same time, as John Donne puts it,“ No man is an island, entire of itselfman.Everyisa piece of the continent, a part of the main.” Since everyoneponentofusof isthea scociety,m it is each individual?s conducts that form social morality. Just imagine it is you who need help, what would you feel if everyone watches indifferently or suspiciously? So, put yourself in other?sposition and be sympathetic. If we do nothing but wait for the environment to improve, nothing will happen. Only by removing the fence aroundour kind consciousness can we reverse the regress of social ethics, and make our world full of warmth and happiness. Therefore, if help is needed, never hesitate to lenda helping hand. It will make you happy and feel better about life.
In sum, I contendthe idea that while social environment is necessary for people to be good to others, it is each individual?s responsibility to offer help to those in need, and together we build up a more harmonious society.
Writing:
Say No to Pirated Products
No one can have failed to notice the fact that piracy hasbecome a grave problem with which we are confronted. Taking a look around, we can find examples too numerous to list. In many places we see people peddling pirated books or disks. There is hardly anyone who has not been asked the question: “ Wannaa disk? ” Actually,piracy hasbecome so widespread that it has severely affected people?s life and hindered the development of the nation?s economy and culture. A number of factors could be responsible for this phenomenon, but the following are the most critical ones. First, pirated products are much cheaper than copyrighted ones, so they are very attractive to people, especially youngsters, who are not financially well-off. Secondly, with highly developed technology, it is not difficult to manufacture pirated products. An average person can produce thousands of copies of a film only if he hasa computer and a recorder, which won?t cost him much. Last but not least, relevant laws are not in existence or in effect.
Piracy is bound to generate severe consequences if we keep turning a blind eye to it. First, intellectual property rights are severely infringed upon and honest producers will lose the motivation to develop new products. As a result, the nation?s economy and culture will stay where they are and see no progress. Meanwhile, pirated products are often of low quality, thus damaging the interest of buyers, especially customers who wish to purchase copyrighted products. Finally, the destruction of pirated products means a grievous waste of the nation?s resources. It is really upsetting to see thousands of pirated books burnt or millions of pirated DVDs of films and music crushed.
In view of the seriousness of the problem, effective measures must be taken before things get worse. First, it is essential that pertinent laws and regulations be worked out and rigidly enforced to ban the manufacture and circulation of pirated products. Mean while, a deep-going, widespread and everlasting campaign should be launched to enhance people?s awareness of protecting intellectual property rights and saying no to pirated products. With proper laws and an alert public, it will be only a matter of time before piracybecomes a thing of the past. /With these measures taken, we have reasons to believe that the problem can be solved in the near future./Only with these measures taken can we expect a bright future.
英语专八历年真题试卷4
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture,please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure what you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.
You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.
Now, listen to the mini-lecture. When it is over, you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear TWO interviews. At theendof each interview, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the interviews and the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause During the pause, you should read the four choices of A, B, C and D, and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWERSHEET TWO.
You have THIRTY seconds to preview the choices.
Now, listen to the first interview. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the first interview.
1. A. Environmental issues.
B.Endangered species.
C.Global warming.
D.Conservation.
2. A. It is thoroughly proved.
B. it is definitely very serious.
C. It is just a temporary variation.
D. It is changing our ways of living.
3. A. Protection ofendangered animals*habitats.
B. Negative human impact on the environment.
C. Frequent abnormal phenomena on the earth.
D. The woman’s indifferent attitude to the earth.
4. A. Nature should take its course.
B. People take things for granted.
C. Humans are damaging the earth.
D. Animals should stay awayfromzoos.
5. A. Objective.
B. Pessimistic.
C. Skeptical.
D. Subjective.
Now, listen to the second interview. Questions 6 to 10 are based on the second interview.
6.A. Teachers’ resistance to change.
B. Students’ inadequate ability to read.
C. Teachers’ misunderstanding of such literacy.
D. Students ’ indifference to the new method.
7.A. Abilitiesto complete challenging tasks.
B.Abilities to learn subject matter knowledge.
C.Abilities to perform better in schoolwork.
D.Abilities to perform disciplinary work.
8.A. Recalling specific information.
B. Understanding particular details.
C. Examining sources of information.
D. Retelling a historical event.
9. A. Engaging literacy and disciplinary experts in the program.
B. Helping teachers understand what disciplinary literacy is.
C. Teaching disciplinary discourse practices by literacy teachers.
D. Designing learning strategies with expertsfromboth sides.
10. A. To argue for a case.
B. To discuss a dispute.
C. To explain a problem.
D. To present details.
PART II READING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
In this section there are three passages followed by fourteen multiple choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
PASSAGE ONE
(1)When it came to concealing his troubles, Tommy Wilhelm was not less capable than die next fellow. So at least he thought, and there was a certain amount of evidence to back him up. He had once been an actor^ no, not quite, an extra — and he knew what acting should be. Also, he was smoking a cigar, and when a man is smoking a cigar, wearing a hat, he has an advantage; it is harder to find out how he feels. He camefromthe twenty-third floor down to the lobby on the mezzanine to collect his mail before breakfast, and he believed^ he hoped — that he looked passably well: doing all right. It was a matter of sheer hope, because there was not much that he could add to his present effort. On the fourteenth floor he looked for his father to enter the elevator; they often met at this hour, on the way to breakfast. If he worried about his appearance it was mainly for his old father’s sake. But there was no stop on the fourteenth, and the elevator sank and sank. Then the smooth door opened and the great dark-red uneven carpet that covered the lobby billowed toward Wilhelm’s feet. In the foreground the lobby was dark, sleepy. French drapes like sails kept out the sun, but three high, narrow windows were open, and in the blue air Wilhelm saw a pigeon about to light on the great chain that supported the marquee of the movie house directly underneath the lobby. For one moment he heard the wings beating strongly.
(2)Most of the guests at the Hotel Gloriana were past the age of retirement. Along Broadway in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties, a great part of New York’s vast population of old men and women lives. Unless the weather is too cold or wet they fill the benches about the tiny railed parks and along the subway gratingsfromVerdi Square to Columbia University, they crowd the shops and cafeterias, the dime stores, the tearooms, the bakeries, the beauty parlors, the reading roomsand clubrooms. Among these old people at the Gloriana, Wilhelm felt out of
place. Hewas comparatively young, in his middle forties, large and blond, with big shoulders; his back was heavy and strong, if already a little stooped or thickened. After breakfast the old guests sat down on the green leather armchairs and sofas in the lobby and began to gossip and look into the.papers; they had nothing to do but wait out the day. But Wilhelm was used to an active life and liked to go out energetically in the morning. And for several months, because he had no position, he had kept up his morale by rising early; he was shaved and in the lobby by eight oclock. He bought the paper and some cigars and drank a Coca-Cola or two before he went in to
breakfast with his father. After breakfast 一 out, out, out to attendto business. The getting out had in itself
become the chief business. But he had realized that he could not keep this up much longer, and today he was afraid. He was aware that his routine was about to break up and he sensed that a huge trouble long presaged (预感)but till now formless was due. Before evening, hed know.
(3)Nevertheless he followed his daily course and crossed the lobby.
(4)Rubin, the man at the newsstand, had poor eyes. They may not have been actually weak but they were poor in expression, with lacy lids that furled down atthe comers. He dressed well. It didnt seem necessary 一 he was behind the counter most of the time — but he dressed very well. He had on a rich brown suit; the cuffs embarrassed the hairs on his small hands. He wore a Countess Mara painted necktie. As Wilhelm approached, Rubin did not see him; he was looking out dreamily at the Hotel Ansonia, which was visiblefromhis comer, several blocks away. The Ansonia, the neighborhood^ great landmark, was built by Stanford White. It looks like a baroque palacefromPrague or Munich enlarged a hundred times, with towers, domes, huge swells and bubbles of metal gone greenfromexposure, iron fretwork and festoons. Black television antennae are densely planted on its round summits. Under the changes of weather it may look like marble or like sea water, black as slate in the fog, white as tufa in sunlight. This morning it looked like the image of itself reflected in deep water, white and cumulous above, with cavernous distortions underneath. Together, the two men gazed at it.
(5)Then Rubin .said，“Your dad is in to breakfast already, the old gentleman.”
“Oh，yes? Ahead of me today?”
‘nat’s a real knocked-out shirt you got on，’’ said Rubin. “Where’s itfrom，Saks?” “No, it’s a Jack Fagman — Chicago.”
(6)Even when his spirits were low, Wilhelm could still wrinkle his forehead in a pleasing way. Some of the slow，silent movements of his face were very attractive. He went back a step, as if to stand awayfromhimself and get a better look at his shirt. His glancewas comic,a comment upon his untidiness. He liked to wear good clothes, but once he had put it on each article appeared to go its own way. Wilhelm, laughing，panted a little; his teeth were small; his cheeks when he laughed and puffed grew round, and he looked much younger than his years. In the old days when he was a college freshman and wore a beanie (无檐小帽）on his large blonde head his father used to say that，big as he was，he could charm a bird out of a tree. Wilhelm had great charm still.
(7)“I like this dove-gray color,” he said in his sociable，good-natured way. “It isn’t washable. You
have to sendit to the cleaner. It never smells as good as washed. But it，s a nice shirt. It cost sixteen, eighteen bucks.*
11.Wilhelm hoped he looked all right on his way to the lobby because he wanted to _ .
A.leave a good impression
B.give his father a surprise
C.show his acting potential
D.disguise his low spirit
12.Wilhelm had somethingin common with the old guests in that they all .
A.lived a luxurious life
B.liked to swap gossips
C.idled their time away
D.liked to get up early
13.How did Wilhelm feel when he was crossing the lobby (Para. 2)?
A.He felt something ominouswas coming.
B.He was worried that his father was late.
C.He was feeling at ease among the old.
D.He was excited about a possible job offer.
14.Which part of Rubin’s clothes made him look particularly awkward (Para. 4)?
A.The necktie.
B.The cuffs.
C.The suit.
D.The shirt.
15.What can we learnfromthe author’s description of Wilhelm’s clothes?
A.His shirt made him look better.
B.He cared much about his clothes.
C.He looked likea comedian in his shirt.
D.The clothes he wore never quite matched.
PASSAGE TWO
(1)By the 1840s New York was theleading commercial city of the United States. It had long since outpaced Philadelphia as the largest city in the country, and even though Boston continued to be venerated as the cultural capital of the nation, its image hadbecome somewhat languid; it had not kept up with the implications of the newly industrialized economy, of a diversified ethnic population, or of the rapidly rising middle class. New York was the place where the “new” Americawas coming into being, so it is hardly surprising that the modem newspaper had its birth there.
(2)The penny paper had found its first success in New York. By the mid-1830s Ben Day s Sun was drawing readersfromall walks of life. On the other hand, the Sun was a scanty sheet providing little more than minor diversions; few today would call it a newspaper at all. Day himself was an editor of limited vision, and he did not possess the ability or the imagination to climb the slopes to loftier heights. If real newspapers were to emergefromthe publics demand for more and better coverage, it would haveto comefroma youthful generation of editors for whom journalism was a totally absorbing profession, an exacting vocational ideal rather than a mere offshoot of job printing.
(3)By the 1840s two giants burst into the field, editors who would revolutionize journalism, would bring the newspaper into the modem age, and show how it could be influential in the national life. These two giants, neither of whom has been treated kindly by history, were James Gordon Bennett and Horace Greeley. Bennett founded his New York Herald in 1835, less than two years after the appearance of the Sun. Horace Greeley founded his Tribune in 1841. Bennett and Greeley were the most innovative editors in New York until after the Civil War. Their newspapers were the leading American papers of the day, althoughfor completely different reasons. The two men despised each other, although not in the ways that newspaper editors had despised one another a few years before. Neither was a political hack bonded to a political party. Greeley fancied himself a public intellectual. He had strong political views, and he wanted to run for office himself, but party factotum he could never be; he bristled with ideals and causes of his own devising. Officially he was a Whig (and later a Republican), but he seldomgave comfort to his chosen party. Bennett, on the other hand, had long since cut his political ties, and although his paper covered local and national politics fully and he went after politicians with hammer and tongs, Bennett was a cynic, a distruster of all settled values. He did not regard himself as an intellectual, although in fact he wasbetter educated than Greeley. He thought himself only a hard-boiled newspaperman. Greeley was interested in ideas and in what was happening to the country. Bennett was only interested in his newspaper. He wanted to find out what the news was, what people wanted to read. And when he found out he gave it to them.
(4)As different as Bennett and Greeley werefromeach other they were also curiously alike. Both stood outside the circle of polite society, even when they became prosperous, and in Bennett’s case, wealthy. Both were incurable eccentrics. Neither was a gentleman. Neither conjured up the picture of a successful editor. Greeley was unkempt, always looking like an unmade bed. Even when he was nationally famous in the 1850s he resembled a clerk in a third-rate brokerage house, with slips of paper — marked-up proofs perhaps — hanging out of his pockets or stuck in his hat. He became fat, was always nearsighted, always peering over spectacles. He spoke in a high-pitched whine Not a few people suggested that he looked exactly like the illustrations of Charles Dickens’s Mr. Pickwick. Greeley provided a humorous description of himself, written under the pretense that it had been the work of his long-time adversary James Fenimore Cooper. The editor was, according to the description, a half-bald, long-legged, slouching individual “so rocking in gait that he walks down both sides of the street at once.”
(5)The appearance of Bennett was somewhat different but hardly more reassuring. A shrewd, wiry Scotsman, who seemed to repel intimacy, Bennett looked around at the world with a squinty glare of suspicion. His eyes did not focus right. They seemed to fix themselves on nothing and everything at the same time. He was as solitary as an oyster, the classic loner. He seldom made close friendships and few people trusted him, although nobody who had dealings with him, however brief, doubted his abilities. He, too, couldhave come out of a book of Dickensian eccentrics, although perhaps Ebenezer Scrooge or Thomas Gradgrind comes to mind rather than the kindly old Mr. Pickwick. Greeley was laughed at but admired; Bennett was seldom laughed at but never admired; on the other hand, he had a hardprofessional competence and an encyclopedic knowledge of his adopted country, an in-depth learning uncorrupted by vague idealisms. All of this perfectly suited him for the journalism of this confusing age.
(6)Both Greeley and Bennett had served long, humiliating and disappointing apprenticeships in the newspaper business. They took a long time getting to the top, the only reward for the long years of waiting being that when they had their own newspapers, both knew what they wanted and firmly set about getting it. When Greeley founded the Tribune in 1841 he had the strong support of the Whig party and had already had a short period of modest success as an editor. Bennett, older by sixteen years, foundsolid commercial success first, but he had no one behind him except himself when he started up the Herald in 1835 in a dingy cellar room at 20 Wall Street. Fortunately this turned out to be quite enough.
16.Which of the following is NOT the author’s opinion on Ben Day and his Sun (Para. 2)7
A.Sun had once been a popular newspaper.
B.Sun failed to be a high-quality newspaper.
C.Ben Day lacked innovation and imagination.
D.Ben Day had striven for better coverage.
17.Which of the following statements is CORRECT about Greeley’s or Bennett’s political stance (Para. 3)7
A.Greeley and Bennett were both strong supporters of their party.
B.Greeley, as a Whig member, believed in his party’s ideals.
C.Bennett, as an independent, loathed established values.
D.Greeley and Bennett possessed different political values.
18.Which of the following figures of speech was used to describe Greeley’s manner of walking (Para. 4)?
A.Exaggeration.
B.Paradox.
C.Analogy.
D.Personification.
19.In Para. 5 Bennett was depicted as a man who
A.had stronger capabilities than Greeley
B.possessed a great aptitude for journalism
C.was in pursuit of idealism in journalism
D.was knowledgeable about his home country
20.How was Greeley differentfromBennett according to Para. 6?
A.He had achieved business success first.
B.He started his career earlier than Bennett.
C.He got initial supportfroma political party.
D.He had a more humiliating apprenticeship.
PASSAGE THREE
(1)Why make a film about Ned Kelly? More ingenious crimes thanthose committed by the reckless Australian bandit are reported every day. What is there in Ned Kelly to justify dragging the mesmeric Mick Jagger so far into the Australian bush and awayfromhis natural haunts? The answer is that the film makers know we always fall for a bandit, and Jagger is set to do for bold Ned Kelly what Brando once did for the arrogant Emiliano Zapata.
(2) A bandit inhabits a special realm of legendwhere his deeds are embroidered by others; where his death rather than his life is considered beyond belief; where the men who bring him to “justice” are afflicted with doubts about their role.
(3)The bandits had a role to play as definite as that of the authorities who condemned them. These were men in conflict with authority, and, in the absence of strong law or the idea of loyal opposition, they took to the hills. Even there, however, many of them obeyed certain unwritten rules
(4)These robbers, who claimed to be something more than mere thieves, hadin common, firstly, a sense of loyalty and identity with the peasants they camefrom. They didnt steal the peasant’s harvest; they did steal the lord’s.
(5)And certain characteristics seem to apply to “social bandits’’ whether they were in Sicily or Peru. They were generally young men under the age of marriage, predictably the best age for dissidence. Some were simply the surplus male population who had to look for another source ofincome; others were runaway serfs or ex-soldiers; a minority, though the most interesting, were outstanding men who were unwilling to accept the meek and passive role of peasant.
(6)They usually operated in bands between ten and twenty strong and relied for survival on difficult terrain and bad transport. And bandits prospered best where authority was merely local — over the next hill and they were free. Unlike the general run of peasantry they had a taste for flamboyant dress and gesture; but they usually shared the peasants’ religious beliefs and superstitions.
(7)The first sign of a man caught up in the Robin Hood syndrome was when he started out, forced into outlawry as a victim of injustice; and when he then set out to “right wrongs”, first his own and then other people’s. The classic bandit then “takesfromthe rich and gives to the poor” in conformity with his own sense of social injustice; he never kills except in self-defense or justifiable revenge; he stays withinhis community and even returns to it if he can to take up an honorable place; his people admire and help to protect him; he dies through the treason of one of them; he behaves as if invisible and invulnerable; he is a “loyalist”, never the enemy of the king but only of the local oppressors.
(8)None of die bandits lived up fully to this image of the “noble robber” and for many the claim of larger motives was often a delusion.
(9)Yet amazingly, many of these violent men did behave at least half the time in accordance with this idealist pattern. Pancho Villa in Mexico and Salvatore Giuliano in Italy began their careers harshly victimized. Many of their charitable acts later became legends.
(10)Farfrombeing defeated in death, bandits’ reputation for invincibility was often strengthened by the manner of their dying. The “dirty little coward” who shot Jesse James in the back is in every ballad about him, and the implication is that nothing else could have brought Jesse down. Even when the police claimed the credit, as they tried to do at first with Giuliano’s death, the local people refused to believe it. And not just the bandit’s vitality prompts the people to refuse to believe that their hero has died; his death would be in some way the death of hope.
(11)For the traditional ‘‘noble robber” represents an extremely primitive form of social protest, perhaps the most primitive there is. He is an Individual who refuses to bendhis back, that is all. Most protesters will eventually be bought over and persuadedto come to terms with the official power. That is why the few who do not, or who are believed to have remained uncontaminated, have so great and passionate a burden of admiration and longing laid upon them. They cannot abolish oppression. But they do prove that justice is possible, that poor men need not be humble, helpless and meek.
(12)The bandit in the real world is rooted in peasant society and when its simple agricultural system is left behind so is he. But the tales and legends, the books and films continue to appear for an audience that is neither peasant nor bandit. In some ways the characters and deeds of the great bandits could so readily be the stuff of grand opera - Don Jose in “Carmen” is based on the Andalusian bandit El Empranillo. But they are perhaps more at home in folk songs, in popular tales and the ritual dramas of films. When we sit in the darkness of the cinema to watch the bold deeds of Ned Kelly we are caught up in admiration for their strong individuality, their simple gesture of protest, their passion for justice and their confidence that they cannot be beaten. This sustains us nearly as much as it did the almost hopeless peoplefromwhom they sprang.
21.Which of the following words is NOT intended to suggest approval of bandits?
A.Bold (Para. 1).
B.Claimed (Para. 4).
C.Legend(Para. 2).
D.Loyalty (Para. 4).
22. Of the following reasons which is the LEAST likely one forbecoming bandits?
A.They liked theatrical clothes and behavior.
B.They wanted to help the poor country folk.
C.They were unwilling to accept injustice.
D.They had very few careers open to them.
23. ....began their careers harshly victimized” (Para. 9) means that they .
A.had received excessive ill-treatment
B.were severely punished for their crimes
C.took to violence through a sense of injustice
D.were misunderstood by their parents and friends
24. What has made bandits suitable as film heroes is that they .
A.are sure they are invincible
B.possess a theatrical quality
C.retain the virtues of a peasant society
D.protest against injustice and inequality
SECTION B SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
In this section there are eight short answer questions based on the passages in Section A. Answer each question in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS in the space provided on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
PASSAGE ONE
25.In and there was a certain amount of evidence to back him up (Para. 1)”, what does “evidence” refer to?
26.What is Wilhelm’s characteristic that has never changed all those years according to Para. 6?
PASSAGE TWO
27.Summarize in your own words the meaning of the italicized part in the last sentence of Para. 2.
28.What does but he seldomgave comfort to his chosen party” mean according to the context (Para. 3)?
29.What is the similarity between Bennett and Greeley according to Paras. 4 and 5?
PASSAGE THREE
30.Write down TWO features of the idealist pattern. (Para 9)
31.What does “hope” mean according to the context? (Para 10)
32.What does “He is an individual who refuses to bendhis back” mean? (Para 11)
PART III LANGUAGE USAGE
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way:
PART IV TRANSLATION
Translate the following textfromChinese into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
白洋淀曾有 " 北国江南 " 的说法，但村舍的.形制自具特色，与江南截然不同。南方多雨，屋顶是坡顶；这里的村舍则不同，屋顶是晒粮食的地方，而且历史上淀里每逢水大洪泛，村民就得把屋里的东西搬到屋顶上。房屋彼此挨得很近，有些屋顶几乎相连。（节选自 冯骥才《白洋淀之忧》）
PART V WRITING
Read carefully the following two excerpts on consumption, and the in NO LESS THAN300 WORDS, in which you should: to your response
1. Summarize the main message of the two excerpts, and then2. comment on the role of consumption in human society, especially on what consumption may lead to desirable or undesirable results.
You can support yourself with informationfromthe excerpts.
Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality.
Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your response on ANSWER SHEETFOUR.
Excerpt 1
Consequences of consumerism
In Human Development Report 1998 Overview by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), “World consumption has expanded at an unprecedented pace over the 20th century, with private and public consumption expenditures reaching $24 trillion in 1998, twice the level of 1975 and six times that of 1950. In 1900 real consumption expenditure was barely $1.5 trillion.”
In September2001, the BBC aired a documentary called “Shopology,” where psychologists looked into the psychology of shopping and consumerism in countries like Britain, USA and Japan and asked if it was healthy for consumers. Of the many points they raised, they observed that:
Consumption now helps to define who we are;
We essentially “buy” a lifestyle;
Consumerism can increase stress for various reasons;
To deal with social and consumerism pressures and their effects, people may on occasion consume even more to feel better;
Rising consumer debt puts pressure on families.
Two years later, the BBC aired another documentary called “Spend, Spend, Spend.” It looked at the issues of whether or not the increased wealth and consumerism had led to more content and satisfied individuals. The documentary observed that research evidence seemed to suggest that increased wealth did not necessarily lead to more satisfaction in Britain. When interviewed in the program, Professor Andrew Oswald of Warwick University said that the key reason for this was because as we get wealthier there is often a tendencyto compare more with others, which contributes to more anxiety. The “keeping up with the Joneses’ syndrome. The implications of this are profound. As Oswald suggested, it is “hard to make society happier as they get richer and richer because human beings look constantly over their shoulders. That s the curse of human beings;making comparisons.”
Excerpt 2
Consumption as a path to cultivation
Consumption, for George Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher, lies at the heart of the process through which peoplebecome cultivated, that is, grow tobecome participating, reflective members of society. This is because consumption provides anexcellent sitefor the interaction between subject and object, which Simmel believed to be the key to cultivation. Subjectivity, the uniquely human capacity for self-reflection, which allows for the self-conscious construction of action and identity, is not naturallyendowed; it only develops through the creative tension provided by interaction with objects (including people) existing in the world. For Simmel, consumption provides a vital forum for this subject-object interaction. Through consumption,people come to understand, instill meaning in, and act upon objects encountered in the world. Consumption provides people with the opportunity to refine themselves through interaction with objects in the world. In addition, by confronting, adapting, and integrating various world-views directly or indirectly demonstrated in consumption objects, people not only realize their potential as unique human beings, they alsobecome well-socialized members of a society.
英语专八历年真题试卷5
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need themto complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutesto complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.
Complete the gap-filling task. Some of the gaps below may require a maximum of THREE words. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically & semantically acceptable. You may refer to your notes.
Paralinguistic Features of Language
Inface-to-face communication speakers often alter their tomes of voice or change their physical postures in order to convey messages. These means are called paralinguistic features of language, which fall into two categories.
First category: vocal paralinguistic features
(1)__________: to express attitude or intention (1)__________
Examples
1. whispering: need for secrecy
2. breathiness: deep emotion
3. (2)_________: unimportance (2)__________
4. nasality: anxiety
5. extra lip-rounding: greater intimacy
Second category: physical paralinguistic features
facial expressions
(3)_______ (3)__________
----- smiling: signal of pleasure orwelcome
less common expressions
----- eye brow raising: surprise or interest
----- lip biting: (4)________ (4)_________
gesture
gestures are related to culture.
British culture
----- shrugging shoulders: (5) ________ (5)__________
----- scratching head: puzzlement
other cultures
----- placing hand upon heart:(6)_______ (6)__________
----- pointing at nose: secret
proximity, posture and echoing
proximity: physical distance between speakers
----- closeness: intimacy or threat
----- (7)_______: formality or absence of interest (7)_________
Proximity is person-, culture- and (8)________ -specific. (8)_________
posture
----- hunched shoulders or a hanging head: to indicate(9)_____ (9)________
----- direct level eye contact: to express an open or challenging attitude
echoing
----- definition: imitation of similar posture
----- (10)______: aidin communication (10)___________
----- conscious imitation: mockery
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At theendof the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.
Now listen to the interview.
1. According to Dr Johnson,diversitymeans
A. merging of different cultural identities.
B. more emphasis on homogeneity.
C. embracing of more ethnic differences.
D. acceptance of more branches of Christianity.
2. According to the interview, which of the following statements in CORRECT?
A. Some places are more diverse than others.
B. Towns are less diverse than large cities.
C. Diversity can be seen everywhere.
D. American is a truly diverse country.
3. According to Dr Johnson, which place will witness a radical change in its racial makeup by2025?
A. Maine
B. Selinsgrove
C. Philadelphia
D. California
4. During the interview Dr Johnson indicates that
A. greater racial diversity exists among younger populations.
B. both older and younger populations are racially diverse.
C. age diversity could lead to pension problems.
D. older populations are more racially diverse.
5. According to the interview, religious diversity
A. was most evident between 1990 and2000.
B. exists among Muslim immigrants.
C. is restricted to certain places in the US.
D. is spreading to more parts of the country.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.
Question 6 is based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.
Now listen to the news.
6. What is the main idea of the news item?
A. Sony developeda computer chip for cell phones.
B. Japan will market its wallet phone abroad.
C. The wallet phone is one of the wireless innovations.
D. Reader devices are available at stores and stations.
Question 7 and 8 is based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.
7. Which of the following is mentioned as the government’s measure to control inflation?
A. Foreign investment.
B. Donor support.
C. Price control.
D. Bank prediction.
8. According to Kingdom Bank, what is the current inflation rate in Zimbabwe?
A. 20 million percent.
B. 2.2 million percent.
C. 11.2 million percent.
D. Over 11.2 million percent.
Question 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the question.
Now listen to the news.
9. Which of the following is CORRECT?
A. A big fire erupted on the Nile River.
B. Helicopters were used to evacuate people.
C. Five people were taken to hospital for burns.
D. A big fire took place on two floors.
10. The likely cause of the big fire is
A. electrical short-cut.
B. lack of fire-satefy measures.
C. terrorism.
D. not known.
PART IIREADING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.
TEXT A
Still, the image of any city has a half-life of many years. (So doesits name, officially changed in2001fromCalcutta to Kolkata, which is closer to what the word sounds like in Bengali. Conversing in English, I never heard anyone call the city anything but Calcutta.) To Westerners, the conveyance most identified with Kolkata is not its modern subway—a facility whose spacious stations have art on the walls and cricket matches on television monitors—but the hand-pulled rickshaw. Stories and films celebrate a primitive-looking cart with high wooden wheels, pulled by someone who looks close to needing the succor of Mother Teresa. For years the government has been talking about eliminating hand-pulled rickshaws on what it calls humanitarian grounds—principally on the ground that, as the mayor of Kolkata has often said, it is offensive to see “one man sweating and straining to pull another man.” But these days politicians also lament the impact of 6,000 hand-pulled rickshaws on a modern city’s traffic and, particularly, on its image. “Westerners try to associate beggars and these rickshaws with the Calcutta landscape, but this is not what Calcutta stands for,” the chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, said in a press conference in2006. “Our city stands for prosperity and development.” The chief minister—the equivalent of a state governor—went on to announce that hand-pulled rickshaws soon would be bannedfromthe streets of Kolkata.
Rickshaws are not there to haul around tourists. (Actually, I saw almost no tourists in Kolkata, apartfromthe young backpackers on Sudder Street, in what used to be a red-light district and is now said to be the single place in the city where the services a rickshaw puller offers may include providingfemale company to a gentleman for the evening.) It’s the people in the lanes who most regularly use rickshaws—not the poor but people who are just a notch above the poor. They are people who tendto travel short distances, through lanes that are sometimes inaccessible to even the most daring taxi driver. An older woman with marketing to do, for instance, can arrive in a rickshaw, have the rickshaw puller wait untilshe comes backfromvarious stalls to load her purchases, and then be taken home. People in the lanes use rickshaws as a 24-hour ambulance service. Proprietors of cafés or corner stores sendrickshaws to collect their supplies. (One morning I saw a rickshaw puller take on a load of live chickens—tied in pairs by the feet so they could be draped over the shafts and the folded back canopy and even the axle. By the time he trotted off, he was carrying about a hundred upside-down chickens.) The rickshaw pullers told me their steadiest customers are schoolchildren. Middle-class families contract with a puller to take a child to school and pick him up; the puller essentiallybecomes a family retainer.
From June to September Kolkata can get torrential rains, and its drainage system doesn’t need torrential rain to begin backing up. Residents who favor a touch of hyperbole say that in Kolkata “if a stray cat pees, there’s a flood.” During my stay it once rained for about 48 hours. Entire neighborhoods couldn’t be reached by motorized vehicles, and the newspapers showed pictures of rickshaws being pulled through water that was up to the pullers’ waists. When it’s raining, the normal customer base for rickshaw pullers expands greatly, as does the price of a journey. A writer in Kolkata told me, “When it rains, even the governor takes rickshaws.”
While I was in Kolkata, a magazine called India Today published its annual ranking of Indian states, according to such measurements as prosperity and infrastructure. Among India’s 20 largest states, Bihar finished dead last, as it has for four of the past five years. Bihar, a couple hundred miles north of Kolkata, is where the vast majority of rickshawpullers comefrom. Once in Kolkata, they sleep on the street or in their rickshaws or in a dera—a combination garage and repair shop and dormitory managed by someone called a sardar. For sleeping privileges in a dera, pullers pay 100 rupees (about $2.50) a month, which sounds like a pretty good deal until you’vevisited a dera. They gross between 100 and 150 rupees a day, out of which they have to pay 20 rupees for the use of the rickshaw and an occasional 75 or more for a payoff if a policeman stops them for, say, crossing a street where rickshaws are prohibited. A2003study found that rickshaw pullers are near the bottom of Kolkata occupations inincome, doing better than only the ragpickers and the beggars. For someone without landor education, that still beats trying to make a living in Bihar.
There are people in Kolkata,particularly educated and politically aware people, who will not ride in a rickshaw, because they are offended by the idea of being pulled by another human being or because they consider it not the sort of thing people of their station do or because they regard the hand-pulled rickshaw as a relic of colonialism. Ironically, some of those people are not enthusiastic about banning rickshaws. The editor of the editorial pages of Kolkata’s Telegraph—Rudrangshu Mukherjee, a former academic who still writes history books—told me, for instance, that he sees humanitarian considerationsas coming down on the side of keeping hand-pulled rickshaws on the road. “I refuse to be carried by another human being myself,” he said, “but I question whether we have the right to take away their livelihood.” Rickshaw supporters point out that whenit comes to demeaning occupations, rickshaw pullers are hardly unique in Kolkata.
When I asked one rickshaw puller if he thought the government’s plan to rid the city of rickshaws was based on a genuine interest in his welfare, he smiled, with a quick shake of his head—a gesture I interpreted to mean, “If you are so naive as to ask such a question, I will answer it, but it is not worth wasting words on.” Some rickshaw pullers I met were resigned to the imminentendof their livelihood and pin their hopes on being offered something in its place. As migrant workers, they don’t have the political clout enjoyed by, say, Kolkata’s sidewalk hawkers, who, after supposedly being scaled back at the beginning of the modernization drive, still clog the sidewalks, selling absolutely everything—or, as I found during the 48 hours of rain, absolutely everything but umbrellas. “The government was the government of the poor people,” one sardar told me. “Now they shake hands with the capitalists and try to get rid of poor people.”
But others in Kolkata believe that rickshaws will simply be confined more strictly to certain neighborhoods, out of the view of World Bank traffic consultants and California investment delegations—or that they will be allowed to die out naturally as they’re supplanted by more modern conveyances. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, after all, is not the first high West Bengal official to say that rickshaws would be off the streets of Kolkata in a matter of months. Similar statements have been made as far back as 1976. The ban decreed by Bhattacharjee has been delayed by a court case and by a widely held belief that some retraining or social security settlement ought to be offered to rickshaw drivers. It may also have been delayed by a quiet reluctance to give up something that has been part of the fabric of the city for more than a century. Kolkata, a resident told me, “has difficulty letting go.” One day a city official handed me a reportfromthe municipal government laying out options for how rickshaw pullers might be rehabilitated.
“Which option has been chosen?” I asked, noting that the report was dated almost exactly a year before my visit.
“That hasn’t been decided,” he said.
“When will it be decided?”
“That hasn’t been decided,” he said.
11. According to the passage, rickshaws are used in Kolkata mainly for the following EXCEPT
A. taking foreign tourists around the city.
B. providing transport to school children.
C. carrying store supplies and purchases
D. carrying people over short distances.
12. Which of the following statements best describes the rickshaw pullersfromBihar?
A. They comefroma relatively poor area.
B. They are provided with decentaccommodation.
C. Their living standards are very low in Kolkata.
D. They are often caught by policemen in the streets.
13. That “For someone without landor education, that still beats trying to make a living in Bihar” (4 paragraph) means that even so,
A. the poor prefer to work and live in Bihar.
B. the poorfromBihar fare better than back home.
C. the poor never try to make a living in Bihar.
D. the poor never seem to resent their life in Kolkata.
14. We can inferfromthe passage thatsome educated and politically aware people
A. hold mixed feelings towards rickshaws.
B. strongly support the ban on rickshaws.
C. call for humanitarian actions fro rickshaw pullers.
D. keep quiet on the issue of banning rickshaws.
15. Which of the following statements conveys the author’s sense of humor?
A. “…not the poor but people who are just a notch above the poor.” (2 paragraph)
B. “…,.which sounds like a pretty good deal until you’vevisited a dera.” (4 paragraph)
C. Kolkata, a resident told me, “ has difficulty letting go.” (7 paragraph).
D.“…or, as I found during the 48 hours of rain, absolutely everything but umbrellas.” (6 paragraph)
16. The dialogue between the author and the city official at theendof the passage seems to suggest
A. the uncertainty of the court’s decision.
B. the inefficiency of the municipal government.
C. the difficulty of finding a good solution.
D. the slowness in processing options.
TEXT B
Depending on whom you believe, the average American will, over a lifetime, wait in lines for two years (says National Public Radio) or five years (according to customer-loyalty experts).
The crucial word is average, as wealthy Americans routinely avoid lines altogether. Once the most democratic of institutions, lines are rapidlybecoming the exclusive province of suckers(people who still believe in and practice waiting in lines). Poor suckers, mostly.
Airports resemble France before the Revolution: first-class passengers enjoy "élite" security lines and priority boarding, and disembark before the unwashed in coach, held at bay by a flight attendant, are allowed to foul the Jetway.
At amusement parks, too, you can now buy your way out of line. This summer I haplessly watched kids use a $52 Gold Flash Pass to jump the lines at Six Flags New England, and similar systems are in use in most major American theme parks,fromUniversal Orlando to Walt Disney World, where the haves get to watch the have-mores breeze past on their way to their seats.
Flash Pass teaches children a valuable lesson in real-world economics: that the rich are more important than you, especially whenit comes to waiting. An NBA player once said to me, with a bemused chuckle of disbelief, that when playing in Canada--get this--"we have to wait in the same customs line as everybody else."
Almost every line can be breached for a price. In several U.S. cities this summer, early arrivers among the early adopters waiting to buy iPhones offered to sell their spots in the lines. On Craigslist, prospective iPhone purchasers offered to pay "waiters" or "placeholders" to wait in line for them outside Apple stores.
Inevitably, some semi-populist politicians have seen the value of sort-of waiting in lines with the ordinary people. This summer Philadelphia mayor John Street waited outside an AT&T storefrom3:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before a stand-infromhis office literally stood in for the mayor while he conducted official business. And billionaire New York mayor Michael Bloomberg often waits for the subway with his fellow citizens, though hes first driven by motorcade past the stop nearest his house to a station 22 blocks away, where the wait, or at least the ride, is shorter.
As early as elementary school, were told that jumping the line is an unethical act, which is why so many U.S. lawmakers have framed the immigration debate as a kind of fundamental sin of the school lunch line. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, to cite just one legislator, said amnesty would allow illegal immigrants "to cut in line ahead of millions of people."
Nothing annoys a national lawmaker more than a person who will not wait in line, unless that line is in front of an elevator at the U.S. Capitol, where Senators and Representatives use private elevators, lest they have to queue with their constituents.
But compromising the integrity of the line is not just antidemocratic, its out-of-date. There was something about the orderly boarding of Noahs Ark, two by two, that seemed to restore not just civilization but civility during the Great Flood.
How civil was your last flight? Southwest Airlines hasfirst-come, first-served festival seating. But for $5 per flight, anunaffiliated company called BoardFirst.comwill secure you a coveted "A" boarding pass when that airline opensfor onlinecheck-in 24 hours before departure. Thus, the savvy traveler doesnt even wait in line when he or sheis online.
Some cultures are not renowned for lining up. Then again, some cultures are too adept at lining up: a citizen of the former Soviet Union would join a queue just so he could get to the head of that queue and see what everyone was queuing for.
And then there is the U.S., where society seems to be cleaving into two groups: Very Important Persons, who dont wait, and Very Impatient Persons, who do--unhappily.
For those of us in the latter group-- consigned to coach, bereft of Flash Pass, too poor or proper to pay a placeholder --what do we do? We do what Vladimir and Estragon did in Waiting for Godot: "We wait. We are bored."
17. What does the following sentence mean? “Once the most democratic of institutions, lines are rapidlybecoming the exclusive province of suckers…Poor suckers, mostly.” (2 paragraph)
A. Lines are symbolic of America’s democracy.
B. Lines still give Americans equal opportunities.
C. Lines are now for ordinary Americans only.
D. Lines are for people with democratic spirit only.
18. Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of breaching the line?
A. Going through the customs at a Canadian airport.
B. Using Gold Flash Passes in amusement parks.
C. First-class passenger status at airports.
D. Purchase of a place in a linefroma placeholder.
19. We can inferfromthe passage that politicians (including mayors and Congressmen)
A. prefer to stand in lines with ordinary people.
B. advocate the value of waiting in lines.
C. believe in and practice waiting in lines.
D. exploit waiting in lines for their own good.
20. What is the tone of the passage?
A. Instructive.
B. Humorous.
C. Serious.
D. Teasing.
TEXT C
A bus took him to the West End, where, among the crazy coloured fountains of illumination, shattering the blue dusk with green and crimson fire, he found the café of his choice, a tea-shop that had gone mad and turned. Bbylonian, a while palace with ten thousand lights. It towered above the other building like a citadel, which indeed it was, the outpost of a new age, perhaps a new civilization, perhaps a new barbarism; and behind the thin marble front were concrete and steel, just as behind the careless profusion of luxury were millions of pence, balanced to the last halfpenny. Somewhere in the background, hidden away, behind the ten thousand llights and acres of white napery and bewildering glittering rows of teapots, behind the thousand waitresses and cash-box girls and black-coated floor managers and temperamental long-haired violinists, behind the mounds of cauldrons of stewed steak, the vanloads of ices, were a few men who went to work juggling with fractions of a farming, who knew how many units of electricity it took to finish a steak-and-kidney pudding and how many minutes and seconds a waitress( five feet four in height and in average health) would need to carry a tray of given weightfromthe kitchen life to the table in the far corner. In short, there was a warm, sensuous, vulgar life flowering in the upper storeys, and a cold science working in the basement. Such as the gigantic tea-shop into which Turgis marched, in search not of mere refreshment but of all the enchantment of unfamiliar luxury. Perhaps he knew in his heart that men have conquered half the known world, looted whole kingdoms, and never arrived in such luxury. The place was built for him.
It was built for a great many other people too, and, as usual, they were al there. It seemed with humanity. The marble entrance hall, piled dizzily with bonbons and cakes, was as crowded and bustling as a railway station. The gloom and grime of the streets, the raw air, all November, were at once left behind, forgotten: the atmosphere inside was golden, tropical, belonging to some high mid-summer of confectionery. Disdaining the lifts, Turgis, once more excited by the sight, sound, and smell of it all, climbed the wide staircase until he reached his favourite floor, whre an orchestra, led by a young Jewish violinist with wandering lustrous eyes and a passion for tremolo effects, acted as amagnetto a thousand girls, scented air, the sensuous clamour of the strings; and, as he stood hesitating a moment, half dazed, there came, bowing, s sleek grave man, older than he was and far more distinguished than he could ever hope to be, who murmured deferentially: “ For one, sir? This way, please,” Shyly, yet proudly, Turgis followed him.
21. That “behind the thin marble front were concrete and steel” suggests that
A. modernrealistic commercialism existed behind the luxurious appearance.
B. there was a fundamental falseness in the style and the appeal of the café..
C. the architect had made a sensible blendof old and new building materials.
D. the café was based on physical foundations and real economic strength.
22. The following words or phrases are somewhat critical of the tea-shop EXCEPT
A. “…turned Babylonian”.
B. “perhaps a new barbarism’.
C. “acres of white napery”.
D. “balanced to the last halfpenny”.
23. In its context the statement that “ the place was built for him” means that the café was intended to
A. please simple people in a simple way.
B. exploit gullible people like him.
C. satisfy a demand that already existed.
D. provide relaxation for tired young men.
24. Which of the following statements about the second paragraph is NOT true?
A. The café appealed to most senses simultaneously.
B. The café was both full of people and full of warmth.
C. The inside of the café was contrasted with the weather outside.
D. It stressedthe commercial determination of the café owners.
25. The followingare comparisons made by the author in the second paragraph EXCEPT that
A. the entrance hallis compared to a railway station.
B. the orchestrais compared to amagnet.
C. Turgiswelcomed the lift like a conquering soldier.
D. the interior of the caféis compared to warm countries.
26. The author’s attitude to the café is
A. fundamentally critical.
B. slightly admiring.
C. quite undecided.
D. completely neutral.
TEXT D
I Now elsewhere in the world, Iceland may be spoken of, somewhat breathlessly, as western Europe’s last pristine wilderness. But the environmental awareness that is sweeping the world had bypassed the majority of Icelanders. Certainly they were connected to their land, the way oneis complicatedly connected to, or encumbered by, family one can’t do anything about. But the truth is, once you’re off the beat-en paths of the low-lying coastal areas where everyone lives, the roads are few, and they’re all bad, so Iceland’s natural wonders have been out of reach and unknown even to its own inhab-itants. For them the land has always just been there, something that had to be dealt with and, if possible, exploited—the mind-set being one of landas commodity rather than land as, well, priceless art on the scale of the “Mona Lisa.”
When the opportunity arose in2003for the nationalpower company to enter into a 40-year contract with the Americanaluminum company Alcoa to supply hydroelectric power for a new smelter, those who had been dreaming of some-thing like this for decades jumped at it and never looked back. Iceland may at the moment be one of the world’s richest countries, with a 99 percent literacy rate and long life expectancy. But the proj-ect’s advocates, some of them getting on in years, were more emotionally attuned to the country’s century upon century of want, hardship, and colonial servitude to Denmark, which officially hadended only in 1944 and whose psychological imprint remained relatively fresh. For the longest time, life here had meant little more than a sod hut, dark all winter, cold, no hope, children dying left and right, earthquakes, plagues, starvation, volcanoes erupting and destroying all vegeta-tion and livestock, all spirit—a world revolving almost entirely around the welfare of one’s sheep and, later, on how good the cod catch was. In the outlying regions, it still largely does.
Ostensibly, the Alcoa project was intended to save one of these dying regions—the remote and sparsely populated east—where the way of life had steadily declined to a point of desperation and gloom. After fishing quotas were imposed in the early 1980s to protect fish stocks, many indi-vidual boat owners sold their allotments or gave them away, fishing rightsended up mostly in the hands of afew companies, and small fishermen were virtually wiped out. Technological advances drained away even more jobs previously done by human hands, and the people were seeing every-thing they had worked for all their lives turn up worthless and their children move away. With the old way of life doomed, aluminum projects like this onehad come to be perceived, wisely or not, as a last chance. “Smelter or death.”
The contract with Alcoa would infuse the re-gion with foreign capital, an estimated 400 jobs, and spin-off service industries. It also was a way for Iceland to develop expertise that potentially could be sold to the rest of the world; diversify an economy historically dependent on fish; and, in an appealing display of Icelandic can-do verve, perhaps even protect all of Iceland, once and for all,fromthe unpredictability of life itself.
“We have to live,” Halldór sgrímsson said in his sad, sonorous voice. Halldór, a former prime minister and longtime member of parliamentfromthe region, was a driving force behind the project. “We have a right to live.”
27. According to the passage, most Icelanders view land as something of
A. environmental value.
B. commercial value.
C. potential value for tourism.
D. great value for livelihood.
28. What is Iceland’s old-aged advocates’ feeling towards the Alcoa project?
A. Iceland is wealthy enough to reject the project.
B. The project would lower life expectancy.
C. The project would cause environmental problems.
D. The project symbolizes andendto the colonial legacies.
29. The disappearance of the old way of life was due to all the following EXCEPT
A. fewerfishing companies.
B. fewer jobs available.
C. migration of young people.
D. impostion of fishing quotas.
30. The 4 paragraph in the passage
A. sums up the main points of the passage.
B. starts to discuss an entirely new point.
C. elaborates on the last part of the 3 paragraph.
D. continues to depict the bleak economic situation.
PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)
There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
31. Which of the following statements in INCORRECT?
A. The British constitution includes the Magna Carta of 1215.
B. The British constitution includes Parliamentary acts.
C. The British constitution includes decisions made by courts of law.
D. The British constitution includes one single written constitution.
32. The first city ever founded in Canada is
A. Quebec.
B. Vancouver.
C. Toronto.
D. Montreal.
33. When did the Australian Federationofficially come into being?
A. 1770.
B. 1788.
C. 1900.
D. 1901.
34. TheEmancipation Proclamationtoendthe slavery plantation system in the South of the U.S. was issued by
A. Abraham Lincoln.
B. Thomas Paine.
C. George Washington.
D. Thomas Jefferson.
35. ________ is best known for the technique ofdramatic monologuein his poems..
A. Will Blake
B. W.B. Yeats
C. Robert Browning
D. William Wordsworth
36.The Financieris written by
A. Mark Twain.
B. Henry James.
C. William Faulkner.
D. Theodore Dreiser.
37. In literature a story in verse or prose with a double meaning is defined as
A. allegory.
B.sonnet.
C. blank verse.
D. rhyme.
38. ________ refers to the learning and development of a language.
A. Language acquisition
B. Language comprehension
C. Language production
D. Language instruction
39. The word “ Motel” comesfrom“motor + hotel”. This is an example of ________ in morphology.
A. backformation
B. conversion
C. blending
D. acronym
40. Language is t toolof communication. The symbol “ Highway Closed” on a highway serves
A. an expressive function.
B. an informative function.
C. a performative function.
D. a persuasive function.
Part IV Proofreading & Error Correction (15 min)
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way:
For awrongword,underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at theendof the line.
For amissingword, mark the position of the missing word with a "∧" sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at theendof the line.
For aunnecessaryword,cross the unnecessary word with a slash "/" and put the word in the blank provided at theendof the line.
EXAMPLE
When ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit,
it buys things in finished form and hangs
them on the wall. When a natural history
museum wants anexhibition, it must often build it.
So far as we can tell, all human languages areequally complete and perfect as instrumentsof communication: that is, every language appears to be well equipped as any other to say the things their speakers want to say.
There may or may not be appropriate to talk about primitive peoples or cultures, but that is another matter. Certainly, not all groups of people areequally competent in nuclear physics or psychology or the cultivation of rice or the engraving of Benares brass. Whereas this is not the fault of their language. The Eskimos can speak about snow with a great deal more precision and subtlety than we can in English, but this is not because the Eskimo language (one of those sometimes miscalled primitive) is inherently more precise and subtle than English. This example doesnot come to light a defect in English, a show of unexpected primitiveness. The position is simply and obviously that the Eskimos and the English live in similar environments. The English language will be just as rich in terms for similar kinds of snow, presumably, if the environments in which English was habitually used made such distinction as important.
Similarly, we have no reason to doubt that the Eskimo language could be as precise and subtle on the subject of motor manufacture or cricket if these topics formed the part of the Eskimos life. For obvious historical reasons, Englishmen in thenineteenth century could not talk about motorcars with the minute discrimination which is possible today: cars were not a part of their culture. But they had a host of terms for horse-drawn vehicles which sendus, puzzled, to a historical dictionary when we are reading Scott or Dickens. How many of us could distinguish between a chaise, a landau, a victoria, a brougham, a coupe, a gig, a diligence, a whisky, a calash, a tilbury, a carriole, a phaeton, and a clarence ?
PART VTRANSLATION (60 MIN)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
朋友关系的存续是以相互尊重为前提的, 容不得半点强求、干涉和控制。朋友之间, 情趣相投、脾气对味则合、则交; 反之, 则离、则绝。朋友之间再熟悉,再亲密,也不能随便过头，不恭不敬。不然，默契和平衡将被打破,友好关系将不复存在。每个人都希望拥有自己的私密空间，朋友之间过于随便，就容易侵入这片禁区，从而引起冲突，造成隔阂。待友不敬，或许只是一件小事，却可能已埋下了破坏性的种子。维持朋友亲密关系的最好办法是往来有节，互不干涉。
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the following text into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
I thought that it was a Sunday morning in May; that it was Easter Sunday, and as yet very early in the morning. I was standing at the door of my own cottage. Right before me lay the very scene which could reallybe commandedfromthat situation, but exalted, as was usual, and solemnized by the power of dreams. There were the same mountains, and the same lovely valley at their feet; but the mountains were raised to more than Alpine height, and there was interspace far larger between them of meadows and forest lawns; the hedges were rich with white roses; and no living creature was to be seen except that in the green churchyard there were cattle tranquilly reposing upon the graves, and particularly round about the grave of a child whom I had once tenderly loved, just as I had really seen them, a little before sunrise in the same summer, when that child died. 我想那是五月的一个周日的早晨；那天是复活节，一个大清早上。我站在自家小屋的.门口。就在我的面前展现出了那么一番景色，从我那个位置其实能够尽收眼底，可是梦里的感觉往往如此，由于梦幻的力量，这番景象显得超凡出尘，一派肃穆气象。群山形状相同，其山脚下都有着同样可爱的山谷；不过群山挺然参天，高于阿尔卑斯峰，诸山相距空旷，丰草如茵，林地开阔，错落其间；树篱上的白玫瑰娟娟弥望；远近看不见任何生物，唯有苍翠的教堂庭院里，牛群静静地卧躺在那片郁郁葱葱的墓地歇息，好几头围绕着一个小孩的坟墓。我曾对她一腔柔情，那年夏天是在旭日东升的前一刻，那孩子死去了，我如同当年那样望着牛群。
PART VI WRITING (45 MIN)
Recently newspapers have reported that officials in a little-known mountainous area near Guiyang, Guizhou Province wanted to turn the area into a “central business district” for Guiyang and invited a foreigndesign company to give it a n entirely new look. Thedesign company came up with a blueprint for unconventional, super-futuristic buildings. Tis triggered off different responses. Some appreciated the bold innovation of the design, but others held that it failed to reflect regional characteristics or local cultural heritage. What is your view on this? Write an essay of about 400 words. You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.
In the first part of your writing you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your essay on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
参考答案
1 tones of voice 2 huskiness 3 universal signal; 4 thought or uncertainty 5 indifference 6 honesty 7 distance; 8 situation; 9 mood; 10 unconsciously same posture
SECTION B INTERVIEW
1. C2. A3. D4. A5. C
6. B7.C 8. D9. D 10. A
PART IIREADING COMPREHENSION
11.A 12.C 13.B 14.A 15.D
16.C 17.C18.A 19.D 20.B
21. A22.B23. B 24.B 25. C
26.A27.D 28.D 29.A30.C
31-35 DAAAC
36-40 DAACB
Part IV Proofreading & Error Correction
1 be后插入as; 2 their改为its; 3 There改为It; 4 Whereas改为But 5 further 改为much
6 come改为bring; 7 similar改为different; 8 will改为would; 9 as important去掉as; 10 the part去掉the
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Friends tendtobecome more intimated if they have the same interests and temper, they can get along well and keep contacting; otherwise they will separate andendthe relationship. Friends who are more familiar and closer can not be too casual and show no respect. Otherwise the harmony and balance will be broken, and the friendship will also be nonexistent any more. Everyone hopes to have his own private space, and if too casual among friends, it is easy to invade this piece of restricted areas, which will lead to the conflict, resulting in alienation. It may be a small matter to be rude to friends; however, it is likely to plant the devastating seeds. The best way to keep the close relationship between friends is to keep contacts with restraint, and do not bother each other.
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
我想那是五月的一个周日的早晨；那天是复活节，一个大清早上。我站在自家小屋的门口。就在我的面前展现出了那么一番景色，从我那个位置其实能够尽收眼底，可是梦里的感觉往往如此，由于梦幻的力量，这番景象显得超凡出尘，一派肃穆气象。群山形状相同，其山脚下都有着同样可爱的山谷；不过群山挺然参天，高于阿尔卑斯峰，诸山相距空旷，丰草如茵，林地开阔，错落其间；树篱上的白玫瑰娟娟弥望；远近看不见任何生物，唯有苍翠的教堂庭院里，牛群静静地卧躺在那片郁郁葱葱的墓地歇息，好几头围绕着一个小孩的坟墓。我曾对她一腔柔情，那年夏天是在旭日东升的前一刻，那孩子死去了，我如同当年那样望着牛群。
PART VI WRITING
The important role of a city’s local conditions in the urban design
Recently there is a hot debate on a report that a foreigndesign company invited by a little-known mountainous area in Guiyang provided a design without paying too much attention to the city’s unique characteristics. Some people appreciate the bold innovation of the design but others do not like it. In my opinion, any urban design should take the city’s original cultural heritage into account. The designers should suit their design to local conditions and try to take advantage of the local resources.
First, a city’s regional characteristics or local cultural heritage are its symbol, its identity. In a mountainous area, too many unconventional, super-futuristic buildings will notbe compatible with the city’s landscapes. Without these landscapes, it is just another so called moderncity composed of concrete and steel. Take Beijing for example. In the past few years, Beijing has been removing a large number of such alleys traditionally called hutong, in order to make itbecome a real international city. But without these hutongs can this city still be called Beijing, an ancient capital? The disappearance of hutongs means the disappearance of a period of history, a cordial lifestyle, and even the disappearance of Beijing itself. Then Beijing will lose its uniqueness.
Second, it can help a city save a lot of money by suiting the design to local conditions and try to take advantage of the local resources. This is especially important to small cities, like this one in a mountainous area near Guiyang. We all know Guiyang is a developing city, not very rich. Unconventional, super-futuristic buildings mean large need of money input. Then more burdens may be added to this city, which will run counter to the city’s original purpose of developing itself. Instead, if connections between a city’s culture and the various urban sectors, including housing, infrastructure and governance, are well made, the maximum economic benefits will be achieved.
Besides, the modernization should be a gradual process. More haste, less speed. Nonetheless, it should not be overlooked that theshortcomings of futuristic-style constructing outweigh its advantages brought.
In conclusion, any urban design should take the city’s original cultural heritage into account. The designers should suit their design to local conditions and try to take advantage of the local resources. A scientific city design should be dependent on the city’s regional characteristics, on a case-by-case basis.
英语专八历年真题试卷6
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need themto complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutesto complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE, using no more than three words in each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may refer to your noteswhile completing the task Use the blank sheet for note-taking.
Now, listen to the mini-lecture.
How to Reduce Stress
Life is full of things that cause us sress. Though we may not like
stress, we have to live with it.
I. Definition of stress
A. (1) reaction
i.e.force exerted between two touching bodies
B. human reaction
i.e. response to (2) on someone
e.g. increase in breathing, heart rate, (3) ,
or muscle tension
II. (4) ,
A. positive stress
where it occurs: Christmas, wedding, (5)
B. negative stress
where it occurs: test-taking situations, friend’s death
III. Ways to cope with stress
A. recoginition of stress signals
monitor for (6) of stress
find ways to protect oneself
B. attention to body demand
C. planning and acting appropriately
reason for planning
(8) of planning
e.g. dlay caused by traffic
E. pacing activities
manageable task
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At theendof the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.
Now listen to the interview.
1. According to the interviewer, which of the following best indicates the relationship between choice and mobility?
A. Better education→ greater mobility→more choices.
B. Better education→more choices→greater mobility.
C. Greater mobility→better education→more choices.
D. Greater mobility→more choices→better education.
2. According to the interview, which of the following details about the first poll is INCORRECT?
A. Shorter work hours was least chosen for being most important.
B. Chances for advancement might have been favoured by young people.
C. Highincome failedto come on top for being most important.
D. Job security came second according to the poll results.
3. According to the interviewee, which is the main difference between the first and the second poll?
A. The type of respondents who were invited.
B. The way in which the questions were designed.
C. The content area of the questions.
D. The number of poll questions.
4. What can we learnfromthe respondents answers to items 2, 4 and 7 in the second poll?
A. Recognitionfromcolleagues should be given less importance.
B. Workers are always willing and ready to learn more new skills.
C. Psychological reward is more important than material one.
D. Work will have to be made interesting to raise efficiency.
5. According to the interviewee, which of the following can offer both psychological andmonetary benefits?
A. Contact with many people.
B. Chances for advancement.
C. Appreciationfromcoworkers.
D. Chances to learn new skills.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
Questions 6 and 7 are based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.
6. According to the news item, "sleepboxes" are designed to solve the problems of
A. airports.
B. passengers.
C. architects.
D. companies.
7. Which of the following is NOT true with reference to the news?
A. Sleepboxes can be rented for different lengths of time.
B. Renters of normal height can stand up inside.
C. Bedding can be automatically changed.
D. Renters can take a shower inside the box.
Question 8 is based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.
Now listen to the news.
8. What is the news item mainly about?
A. Londons preparations for the Notting Hill Carnival.
B. Main features of the Notting Hill Carnival.
C. Polices preventive measures for the carnival.
D. Police participation in the carnival.
Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At theendof the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.
9. The news item reports on a research finding about
A. the Dutch famine and the Dutch women.
B. early malnutrition and heart health.
C. the causes of death during the famine.
D. nutrition in childhood and adolescence.
10. When did the research team carry out the study?
A. At theendof World War II.
B. Between 1944 and 1945.
C. In the 1950s.
D. In2007.
PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
TEXT A
My class at Harvard Business School helps students understand what good management theory is and how it is built. In each session, we look atone company through the lenses of different theories, using them to explain howthe company got into its situation and to examine what action will yield the needed results. On the last day of class, I asked my class to turn those theoretical lenses on themselves to find answers to two questions: First, How can I be sure Ill be happy in my career? Second, How can I be sure my relationships with my spouse and my family willbecome anenduring source of happiness? Here are some management tools that can be used to help you lead a purposeful life.
1. Use Your Resources Wisely. Your decisions about allocating your personal time, energy, and talent shape your lifes strategy. I have a bunch of businessesthat compete for these resources: Im trying to have a rewarding relationship with my wife, raise great kids, contribute tomy community, succeed in my career, and contribute to my church. And I have exactly the same problem that a corporation does. I have a limited amount of time, energy and talent. How much do I devote to each of these pursuits?
Allocation choices can make your life turn out to very differentfromwhat you intended. Sometimes thats good: opportunities that you have never planned for emerge. But if you dont invest your resources wisely, theoutcome can be bad. As I think about my former classmates who inadvertently invested in lives of hollow unhappiness, I cant help believing that their troubles related right back to a short-term perspective.
When people with a high need for achievement have an extra half hour of time or an extra ounce of energy, theyll unconsciously allocate it to activities that yield the most tangibleaccomplishments. Our careers provide the most concrete evidence that were moving forward. You ship a product, finish a design, complete a presentation, close a sale teach a class, publish a paper, get paid, get promoted. In contrast, investing time and energy in your relationships with your spouse and children typically doesnt offer the same immediate sense of achievement. Kids misbehave every day. Its really not until 20 years down the road that you can say, I raised a good son or a good daughter. You can neglect your relationship with your spouse and on a daily basis it doesnt seem as if thing are deteriorating. People who are driven to excel have this unconscious propensity to under invest in their families and overinvest in their careers, even though intimate and loving family relationships are the most powerful andenduring source of happiness.
If you study the root causes of business disasters, over and over youll find this predisposition towardendeavors that offer immediate gratification. If you look at personal lives through that lens, youll see that same stunning and sobering pattern: people allocating fewer and fewer resources to the things they would have once said mattered most.
2. Create A Family Culture. Its one thing to see into the foggy future with a acuity and chart the course correctionsa company must make. But its quite another to persuade employees to line up and work cooperatively to takethe company in that new direction.
When there is little agreement, you have to use power tools coercion, threats, punishments and so on, to secure cooperation. But if employees ways of working together succeed over and over, consensus begins to form. Ultimately, people dont even think about whether their way yields success. They embrace priorities and followprocedures by instinct and assumption rather than by explicit decision, which means that theyve created a culture. Culture,in compelling but unspoken ways, dictates the proven, acceptable methods by which member s of a group address recurrent problems. And culture defines the priority given to different types of problems. It can be a powerful management tool.
I use this model to address the question, How can I be my familybecomes anenduring source of happiness? My students quickly see that the simplest way parents can elicit cooperationfromchildren is to wield power tools. Butthere comes a point during the teen years when power tools no longer work. At that point, parents start wishing they had begun working with their children at a very young age to build a culture in which children instinctively behave respectfully toward one another, obey their parents, and choose the right thing to do. Families have cultures, justa companies do. Those cultures can be built consciously.
If you want your kids to have strong self-esteem and the confidence that they can solve hard problems, those qualities wont magically materialize in high school. You have to design them into familys culture and you have think about this very early on. Like employees, children build self-esteem by doing things that are hard and learning what works.
11. According to the author, the key to successful allocation of resources in your life depends on whether you
A. can manage your time well B. have long-term planning
C. are lucky enough to have new opportunities D. can solveboth company and family problems
12. What is the role of the statement Our careers provide the most concrete evidence that were moving forward with reference to the previous statement in the paragraph?
A. To offer further explanation B. To provide a definition
C. To present a contrast D. To illustrate career development
13. According to the author,a common cause of failure in business and family relationships is
A. lack of planning B. short-sightedness C. shortage of resources D. decision by instinct
14. According to the author, when does culture begin to emerge
A. When people decide what and how to do by instinct
B. When people realize the importance of consensus
C. When people as a group decide how to succeed
D. When people use power tools to reach agreement
15. One of the similaritiesbetween company culture and family culture is that
A. problem-solving ability is essential B. cooperation is the foundation
C. respect and obedience are key elements D. culture needs to be nurtured
Text B
It was nearly bed-time and when they awoke next morning land would be in sight. Dr. Macphail lit his pipe and, leaning over the rail, searched the heavens for the Southern Cross. After two years at the front and a wound that had taken longer to heal than it should, he was glad to settle down quietly at Apia (阿皮亚，西萨摩亚首都) for twelve months at least, and he felt already better for the journey. Since some of the passengers were leaving the ship next day at Pago-Pago they had had a little dance that evening and in his ears hammered still the harsh notes of the mechanical piano. But the deck was quiet at last. A little way off he saw his wife in a long chair talking with the Davidsons, and he strolled over to her. When he sat down under the light and took off his hat you saw that he had very red hair, with a bald patch on the crown, and the red, freckled skin whichaccompanies red hair; he was a man of forty, thin, with a pinched face, precise and rather pedantic; and he spoke with a Scots accent in a very low, quiet voice.
Between the Macphails and the Davidsons, who were missionaries, there had arisen the intimacy of shipboard, which is due to propinquity rather than toany community of taste. Their chief tie was the disapproval they shared of the men who spent their days and nights in the smoking-room playing poker or bridge and drinking. Mrs. Macphail was not a little flattered to think that she and her husband were the only people on board with whom the Davidsons were willing to associate, and even the doctor, shy but no fool, half unconsciously acknowledgedthe compliment. It was only because he was of an argumentative mind that in their cabin at night he permitted himself to carp (唠叨).
‘Mrs. Davidson was saying she didn’t know how they’d have got through the journey if it hadn’t been for us,’ said Mrs. Macphail, as she neatly brushed out her transformation (假发). ‘She said we were really the only people on the ship they cared to know.’
‘I shouldn’t have thought a missionary was such a big bug (要人、名士) that he could afford to put on frills (摆架子).’
‘It’s not frills. I quite understand what she means. It wouldn’t have been very nice for the Davidsons to have to mix with all that rough lot in the smoking-room.
The founder of their religion wasnt so exclusive, said Dr. Macphail with a chuckle.
Ive asked you over and over again not to joke about religion, answered his wife. I shouldnt like to have a nature like yours, Alec. You never look for the best in people.
He gave her a sidelong glance with his pale, blue eyes, but did not reply. After many years of married life he had learned that it was more conducive to peace to leave his wife with the last word. He was undressed before she was, and climbing into the upper bunk he settled down to read himself to sleep.
When he came on deck next morning they were close to land. He looked at it with greedy eyes. There was a thin strip of silver beach rising quickly to hills covered to the top with luxuriant vegetation. The coconut trees, thick and green, came nearly to the waters edge, and among them you saw the grass houses of the Samoaris (萨摩亚人); and here and there, gleaming white, a little church. Mrs. Davidson came and stood beside him. She was dressed in black, and wore round her neck a gold chain,fromwhich dangled a small cross. She was a little woman, with brown, dull hair very elaborately arranged, and she had prominent blue eyes behind invisible pince-nez (夹鼻眼镜). Her face was long, like a sheep’s, but she gave no impression of foolishness, rather of extreme alertness; she had the quick movements of a bird. The most remarkable thing about her was her voice, high, metallic, and without inflection; it fell on the ear with a hard monotony, irritating to the nerves like the pitiless clamour of the pneumatic drill.
This must seem like home to you, said Dr. Macphail, with his thin, difficult smile.
Ours are low islands, you know, not like these. Coral. These are volcanic. Weve got another ten days journey to reach them.
In these parts thats almost like being in the next street at home, said Dr. Macphail facetiously.
Well, thats rather an exaggerated way of putting it, but one does look at distances differently in the J South Seas. So far youre right.
Dr. Macphail sighed faintly.
16. It can be inferredfromthe first paragraph that Dr. Macphail
A. preferred quietness to noise B. enjoyed the sound of the mechanical piano
C. was going back to his hometown D. wanted to befriendthe Davidsons
17. The Macphails and the Davidsons were in eachothere company because they
A. had similar experience B. liked each other
C. shared dislike for some passengers D. had similar religious belief
18. Which of the following statements best DESCRIBES Mrs. Macphail?
A. She was good at making friends B. She was prone to quarrelling with her husband
C. She was skillful in dealing with strangers D. She was easy to get along with.
19. All the following adjectives can be used to depict Mrs. Davidson EXCEPT
A. arrogant B. unapproachable C. unpleasant D. irritable
20. Which of the following statements about Dr. Macphail is INCORRECT?
A. He was sociable. B. He was intelligent.
C. He was afraid of his wife. D. He was fun of the Davidsons.
Text C
Today we make room for a remarkably narrow range of personality styles. Were told that to be great is to be bold, to be happy is to be sociable. We see ourselves as a nation of extrovertswhich means that weve lost sight of who we really are. One-third to one-half of Americans are introvertsin the other words, one out of every two or three people you know. If youre not an introvert yourself, you are surely raising, managing, married to, or coupled with one.
If these statistics surprise you, thats probably because so many people pretendto be extroverts. Closet introverts pass undetected on playgrounds, in high school locker rooms, and in the corridors of corporate America. Some fool even themselves, until some life event---a layoff, an empty nest, an inheritance that frees them to spendtime as they like---jolts them into taking stock of their true natures. You have only to raise this subject with your friends and acquaintances to find that the most unlikely people consider themselves introverts.
It makes sense that so many introverts hide evenfromthemselves. We live with a value system that I call the Extrovert Ideal the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha,and comfortable in the spotlight. The archetypal extrovert prefers action to contemplation, risk-taking to heed-taking, certainty to doubt. He favors quick decisions, even at the risk of being wrong. She works well in teams and socializes in groups. We like to think that we value individuality, but all too often we admire one type of individual the kindwhos comfortable "putting himself out there." Sure, we allow technologically gifted loners wholaunch companies in garages to have any personality they please, but they are the exceptions, not the rule, and our tolerance extends mainly to those who get fabulously wealthy or hold the promise of doing so.
Introversion---along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness---is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology. Introverts living under the Extrovert Ideal are like women in a mans world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are. Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but weve turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.
The Extrovert Ideal has been documented in many studies, though this research has never been grouped under asingle name. Talkative people, for example, are rated as smarter, better-looking, more interesting, and more desirable as friends. Velocity of speech counts as well as volume: we rank fast talkers asmore competent and likable than slow ones. Even the word introvert is stigmatized---one informal study, by psychologist Laurie Helgoe, found that introverts described their own physical appearance in vivid language, but when asked to describe generic introverts they drew a bland and distasteful picture.
But we make a grave mistake to embrace the Extrovert Ideal so unthinkingly. Some of our greatest ideas, art, and inventions---fromthe theory of evolution to van Goghs sunflowers to thepersonal computer---camefromquiet and cerebral people who knew how to tune in to their inner worlds and the treasures to be found there.
21. According to the author, there exists, as far as personality styles are concerned, a discrepancy between
A. what people say they can do and what they actually can
B. what society values and what people pretendto be
C. what people profess and what statistics show
D. what people profess and what they hidefromothers
22. The ideal extrovert is described as being all the following EXCEPT
A. doubtful B. sociable C. determined D. bold
23. According to the author, our society only permits ___ to have whatever personality they like.
A. the young B. the ordinary C. the artistic D. the rich
24. According to the passage, which of the following statements BEST reflects the authors opinion?
A. Introversion is seen as an inferior trait because of its association with sensitivity.
B. Extroversion is arbitrary forced by society as a norm upon people.
C. Introverts are generally regarded as either unsuccessful or as deficient.
D. Extroversion and introversion have similar personality trait profiles.
25. The author winds up the passage with a____ note.
A. cautious B. warning C. positive D. humorous
Text D
Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.
This view of bilingualism is remarkably differentfromthe understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a childs academic and intellectual development.
They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilinguals brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isnt so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.
The collective evidencefroma number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brains so-called executive function ?a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfullyfromone thing to another and holding information in mind ? like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.
Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarilyfroman ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.
The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often ? you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language, says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain. It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving. In astudy comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it.
The bilingual experience appears to influence the brainfrominfancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life).
26. According to the passage, the more recent and old views of bilingualism differ mainly in
A. its practical advantages B. its role in cognition
C. perceived language fluency D. its role in medicine
27. The fact that interference is now seen as a blessing in disguise means that
A. it has led to unexpectedly favourable results B. its potential benefits have remained undiscovered
C. its effects on cognitive development have been minimal
D. only a few researchers have realized its advantages
28. What is the role of Paragraph Four in relation to Paragraph Three?
A. It provides counter evidence to Paragraph Three.
B. It offers another example of the role of interference.
C. It serves as a transitional paragraph in the passage.
D. It further illustrates the point in Paragraph Three.
29. Which of the following can account for better performance of bilinguals in doing non-inhibition tasks?
A. An ability to monitor surroundings. B. An ability to ignore distractions.
C. An ability to perform with less effort. D. An ability to exercise suppression.
30. What is the main theme of the passage?
A. Features of bilinguals and monolinguals. B. Interference and suppression.
C. Bilinguals and monitoring tasks. D. Reasons why bilinguals are smarter.
PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)
31. Which of the following is the French-speaking city in Canada?
A. Vancouver B. Ottawa C. Montreal D. Toronto
32. Which of the following are natives of New Zealand?
A. The Maoris B. The Aboriginals C. The Red Indians D. The Eskimos
33. The established or national church in England is
A. the Roman Catholic Church B. the United Reformed Church
C. the Anglican Church D. the Methodist Church
34. The 13 former British colonies in North America declared independencefromGreat Britain in
A. 1774 B. 1775 C. 1776 D. 1777
35. Grace under pressure is an outstanding virtue of ____ heroes.
A. Scott Fitzgeralds B. Ernest Hemingways C. Eugene ONeills D. William Faulkners
36. Widowers House was written by
A. William Butler Yeats B. George Bernard Shaw C. John Galsworthy D. T. S. Eliot
37. Who wrote The Canterbury Tales?
A. William Shakespeare B. William Blake C. Geoffrey Chaucer D. John Donne
38. Which of the following pairs of words are homophones?
A. wind (v.) / wind (n.) B. suspect suspect (n.)
C. convict (v.) / convict (n.) D. bare (adj.) (v.) / / bear (v.)
39. Which of the following sentences has the S+V+O structure?
A. He died a hero. B. I went to London. C. Mary enjoyed parties. D. She became angry.
40. Which of the following CAN NOT be used as an adverbial?
A. The lions share B. Heart and soul. C. Null and void. D. Hammer and tongs.
PART IV PROOFREADING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
The passage contains TEN errors．Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In
each case, only ONE word is involved．You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the
following way：
For a wrong word， underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank
provided at theendof the line．
For a missing word． mark the position of the missing word with a "^" sign and write the
word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at theendof
the line．
For an unnecessary word， cross the unnecessary word with a slash”／”and put the word in the
blank provided at theendof the line．
EXAMPLE
When ^ art museum wants a new exhibit， (1) an
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never
them on the wall．When a natural history museum
wants an exhibition, it must often build it． (3) exhibit
There is widespread consensus among scholars that second language acquisition (SLA) emerged as a distinct field of researchfromthe late 1950s to early 1960s.
There is a high level of agreement that the following questions (1) ______
have possessed the most attention of researchers in this area: (2) ______
Is it possible to acquire an additional language in the
same sense one acquires a first language? (3) ______
What is the explanation for the fact adults have (4) ______
more difficulty in acquiring additional languages than children have?
What motivates people to acquire additional language?
What is the role of the language teaching in the (5) ______
acquisition of additional languages?
What social-cultural factors, if any, are relevant in studying the
learning of additional languages?
From a check of the literature of the field it is clear that all (6) ______
the approaches adopted to study the phenomena of SLA so far have
one thingin common: The perspective adopted to view the acquiring
of an additional language is that of an individual attempts to do (7) ______
so. Whether one labels it learning or acquiring an additional
language, it is an individualaccomplishment or what is under (8) ______
focus is the cognitive, psychological, and institutional status of an
individual. That is, the spotlight is on what mental capabilities are
involving, what psychological factors play a role in the learning (9) ______
or acquisition, and whether the target language is learnt in the
classroom or acquired through social touch with native speakers. (10) ______
PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
当我在小学毕了业的时候，亲友一致的愿意我去学手艺，好帮助母亲。我晓得我应当去找饭吃，以减轻母亲的勤劳困苦。 可是，我也愿意升学。我偷偷地考入了师范学校---制服，饭食，书籍，宿处，都由学校供给。只有这样，我才敢对母亲提升学的话。入学，要交十元的保证金。这是一笔巨款！母亲作了半个月的难，把这巨款筹到，而后含泪把我送出门去。她不辞劳苦，只要儿子有出息。当我有师范毕业，而被派为小学校长，母亲与我都一夜不曾合眼。我只说了句：“以后，您可以歇一歇了！”她的回答只有一串串的眼泪。
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
The physical distance between speakers can indicate a number of things and can also be used to used to consciously sendmessages about intent. Closeness, for example, indicates intimacy or threat to many speakers whilst distance may denote formality or a lack of interest. Proximity is also both a matter of personal style and is often culture-bound so that what may seem normal to a speakerfromone culture may appear unnecessarily close or distant to a speakerfromanother. And standing close to someone may be quite appropriate in some situations such as an informal party,but completely out of place in others, such as meeting with a superior.
Posture can convey meaning too. Hunched shoulders and a hanging head give a powerful indication of mood. A lowered head when speaking to a superior (with or without eye contact) can convey the appropriate relationship in some cultures.
PART VI WRITING (45 MIN)
Nowadayssome companies have work-from-home or remote working policies, which means that their employees do not haveto commute to work every day. Some people think that this can save a lot of time travelling to andfromwork, thus raising employees productivity. However, others argue that in the workplace, peoplecan communicate face to face, which vastly increases the efficiency of coordination and cooperation. What is your opinion?
Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic: My Views on WorkingfromHome.
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
1.physical
2.a demand
3.bllod pressure
4.Categories
5.a job
6.signals
7.a stress-free environment
8.results
9.accept situations
10.a reasonable speed
SECTION B INTERVIEW
1-5 DDACC
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
6-10 CBDAC
PART II READING COMPREHENSION
11-15 ACBDA
16-20 BABAD
21-25 DADAD
26-30 CADBB
PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
31-35 CADCC
36-40 BACDB
PART IV PROOF READING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
1.is ∧→also
2.possessed→attracted
3.sense∧→as
4.fact∧→that
5.第二个the→t／he
6.check→review
7.attempts→attempting
8.or→and
9.involving→involved
10.touch→interaction
PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
After I graduatedfromprimary school, relatives and friends all suggested that I should drop out and learn a trade to help my mother. Although I knew that I ought to seek a livelihood to relieve mother of hard work and distress, I still aspired to go on with study. So I kept learning secretly. I had no courage to tell mother about the idea until admitted to a normal school which provided free uniforms, books, room and board. To enter the school, I had to pay ten Yuan as a deposit. This was a large sum of money for my family. However, after two weeks tough effort, mother managed to raise the money and sent me off to school in tears afterwards. She would spare no pains for her son to win a bright future. On the day when I was appointed the schoolmaster after graduation, mother and I spent a sleepless night. I said to her, "you can have a rest in the future." but she replied nothing, only with tears streaming down her face.
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
演说者与听众之间的实际距离通常来是用来传送演说内容的最佳途径但是同时可以表明很多问题。就拿距离的远近来说，近距离可以体现演说者和听众的一种亲密程度但同时对于演说者也是一种心灵上的震慑，相反，远距离会是一种较正式的提现但也可说是一种缺乏兴趣的表现。大致距离不仅仅是一种个人风格的提现同时也和个人的文化背景息息相关，因此在一种文化中所体现的'演说者与听众之间适宜的距离在另一种文化中可能会被界定成一种过分亲近亦或过分的疏远。再比如，如在非正规的宴会中，双方之间紧贴的距离是一种适宜的表现但是如若是和高层洽谈，这样的距离就显得适得其反了。不仅仅是距离，姿势也会透露很多细节。俯身前倾，头部前伸是一种正面情绪的提现。但当和尊者沟通还伴随着时不时的眼神交流时，谦卑的低头在一些文化背景中却也是一种合适的氛围。
PART VI WRITING
WorkingfromHome
Certain companies, especially some small-scale businesses, start to encourage their staff to workfromhome or use home as a working base for at least part of the week nowadays. Some offer some form of remote working support to their workforces, such as equipping them with laptops and installing broadband, and others pay for the telephone bills for these workers.
This work pattem is popular because its clear that there are a number of benefits forthese companies. First, it helps retain employees, especially highly- qualified working parents with childcare responsibilities. Second, it brings higher productivity because the employees have fewer interruptions andless commuting time. Last but not least, it offers savings on premises and other facilities.
However, there are some potential drawbacks. For one thing, there is difficulty of managing home workers and monitoring their performance, and difficulty of maintaining staff development and upgrading skills. For another, it may create a sense of isolation among home workers and it can be harder to maintain team spirit. Therefore, enterprises should weigh the pros and cons before permitting their employees to work at home.
英语专八历年真题试卷7
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSIONSECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture,please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.
You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.
Now listen to the mini-lecture. When it is over, you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear TWO interviews. At theendof each interview, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the interviews and the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause. During the pause, you should read the four choices of A, B, C and D, and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
You have THIRTY seconds to preview the choices.
Now, listen to the first interview. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the first interview.
1.A. Comprehensive. B. Disheartening. C. Encouraging. D. Optimistic.
2.A. 200. B. 70. C. 10. D. 500.
3.A. Lack of international funding.
B. Inadequate training of medical personnel.
C. Ineffectiveness of treatment efforts.
D. Insufficient operational efforts on the ground.
4.A. They canstart education programs for local people.
B. They can open up more treatment units.
C. They can provide proper treatment to patients.
D. They canbecome professional.
5.A. Provision of medical facilities.
B. Assessmentfrominternational agencies.
C. Ebola outpacing operational efforts.
D. Effective treatment of Ebola.
Now, listen to the second interview. Questions 6 to 10 are based on the second interview.
6.A. Interpreting the changesfromdifferent sources.
B. Analyzing changesfromthe Internetfor customers.
C. Using media information to inspire new ideas.
D. Creating thingsfromchanges in behavior, media, etc.
7.A. Knowing previous success stories.
B. Being brave and willing to take a risk.
C. Being sensitive to business data.
D. Being aware of what is interesting.
8.A. Having people take a risk.
B. Aiming at a consumer leek.
C. Using messages to do things.
D. Focusing on data-based ideas.
9.A. Looking for opportunities.
B. Considering a starting point.
C. Establishing the focal point.
D. Examining the future carefully.
10.A. A media agency.
B. An Internet company.
C. A venture capital firm.
D. A behavioral study center.
PART II READING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
In this section there are three passages followed by fourteen multiple choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
PASSAGE ONE
(1) It’s 7 pm on a balmy Saturday night in June, and I have just ordered my first beer in I Cervejaria, a restaurant in Zambujeira do Mar, one of the prettiest villages on Portugal’s south-west coast. The place is empty, but this doesn’t surprise me at all. I have spent two weeks in this area, driving along empty roads, playing with my son on empty beaches, and staying in B&Bs where we are the only guests.
(2) No doubt the restaurant, run by two brothers for the past 28 years, is buzzing in July and August, when Portuguese holidaymakers descendon the Alentejo coast. But for the other 10 months of the year, the trickle of dinerswho come to feast on fantastically fresh seafood reflects the general pace of life in the Alentejo: sleepy, borderingon comatose.
(3) One of the poorest, least-developed, least-populated regions in western Europe, the Alentejo has been dubbed both the Provence and the Tuscany of Portugal. Neither is accurate. Its scenery is not as pretty and, apartfromin the capital Evora, its food isn’t as sophisticated. The charms of this land of wheat fields, cork oak forests, wildflower meadows and tiny white-washed villages, are more subtle than in France or Italy’s poster regions.
(4) To travel here is to step back in time 40 or 50 years. Life rolls along at a treacly pace; there’s an unnerving stillness to the landscape. But that stillnessends abruptly at the Atlantic Ocean, where there is drama in spades. Protected by the South West Alentejo and Costa Vicentina national park, the 100 km of coastlinefromPorto Covo in the Alentejo to Burgau in the Algarve is the most stunning in Europe. And yet few people seem to know about it. Walkers come to admire the viewsfromthe Fisherman’s Way, surfers to ride the best waves in Europe, but day after day we had spectacular beaches to ourselves.
(5) The lack of awareness is partly a matter of accessibility (these beaches are a good two hours’ drivefromeither Faro or Lisbon airports) and partly to do with a lack of beachsideaccommodation. There are some gorgeous, independent guesthouses in this area, but they are hidden in valleys or at theendof dirt tracks.
(6) Our base was a beautiful 600-acre estate of uncultivated land covered in rock-rose, eucalyptus and wild flowers 13km inlandfromZambujeira. Our one-bedroom home, Azenha, was once home to the miller who tended the now-restored watermill next to it. A kilometre awayfromthe main house, pool and restaurant, it is gloriously isolated.
(7) Stepping out of the house in the morning to greet our neighbours – wild horses on one side, donkeys on the other – with nothing but birdsong filling the air, I felt a sense of adventure you normally only get with wild camping.
(8) “When people first arrive, they feel a little anxious wondering what they are going to do the whole time,” Sarah Gredley, the English owner of estate, told me. “But it doesn’t usually take them long to realise that the whole point of being here is to slow down, to enjoy nature.”
(9) We followed her advice, walking down to the stream in search of terrapins and otters, or through clusters of cork oak trees. On some days, we tramped uphill to the windmill, now a romantic house for two, for panoramic views across the estate and beyond.
(10) When we ventured out, we were always drawn back to the coast – the gentle sands and shallow bay of Farol beach. At theendof the day, we would head, sandy-footed, to the nearest restaurant, knowing that at every one there would be acabinetfull of fresh seafood to choosefrom– bass, salmon, lobster, prawns, crabs, goose barnacles, clams … We never ate the same thing twice.
(11) A kilometre or sofromI Cervejaria, on Zambujeira’s idyllic natural harbour is O Sacas, originally built to feed the fishermen but now popular with everyone. After scarfing platefuls of seafood on the terrace, we wandered down to the harbour where two fishermen, in wetsuits, were setting out by boat across the clear turquoise water to collect goose barnacles. Other than them, the place was deserted – just another empty beauty spot where I wondered for the hundredth time that week how this pristine stretch of coast has remained so undiscovered.
11.The first part of Para. 4 refers to the fact that ______.
A.life there is quiet and slow
B.the place is little known
C.the place is least populated
D.there are stunning views
12.“The lack of awareness” in Para. 5 refers to ______.
A.different holidaying preferences
B.difficulty of findingaccommodation
C.little knowledge of the beauty of the beach
D.long distancefromthe airports
13.The author uses “gloriously” in Para. 6 to ______.
A.describe the scenery outside the house
B.show appreciation of the surroundings
C.contrast greenery with isolation
D.praise the region’s unique feature
14.The sentence “We never ate the same thing twice” in Para. 10 reflects the ______ of the seafood there.
A.freshness
B.delicacy
C.taste
D.variety
15.Which of the following themes is repeated in both Paras. 1 and 11?
A.Publicity.
B.Landscape.
C.Seafood.
D.Accommodation.
PASSAGE TWO
(1) I can still remember the faces when I suggested a method of dealing with what most teachers of English considered one of their pet horrors, extended reading. The room was full of tired teachers, and many were quite cynical about the offer to work together to create a new and dynamic approach to the place of stories in the classroom.
(2) They had seenpromises come and go and mere words werent going to convince them, which was a shame as it was mere words that we were principally dealing with. Most teachers were unimpressed by the extended reading challengefromthe Ministry, and their lack of enthusiasm for the rather dry list of suggested tales was passed on to their students and everyone was pleased when that part of the syllabus was over. It was simply a box ticking exercise. We needed to do something more. We needed a very different approach.
(3) That was ten years ago. Now we have a different approach, and it works. Here’s how it happened (or, like most good stories, here are the main parts. You have to fill in some of yourself employing that underused classroom device, the imagination.) We started with three main precepts:
(4) First, it is important to realize that all of us are storytellers, tellers of tales. We all have our own narratives – the real stories such as what happened to us this morning or last night, and the ones we have been told by others and we haven’t experienced personally. We could say that our entire lives are constructed as narratives. As a result we all understand and instinctively feel narrative structure. Binaryopposites – for example, the tension created between good and bad together with the resolution of that tension through the intervention of time, resourcefulness and virtue – is a concept understood by even the youngest children. Professor Kieran Egan, in his seminal book ‘Teaching as Storytelling’ warns us not to ignore this innate skill, for it is a remarkable tool for learning.
(5) We need to understand that writing and reading are two sides of the same coin: an author hasnot completed the task if the book is not read: the creative circle isnot complete without the reader, who will supply their own creative input to the process. Samuel Johnson said: A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it. In teaching terms, we often forget that reading itself can be a creative process, just as writing is, and we too often relegate it to a means of data collection. We frequently forget to make that distinction when presenting narratives or poetry, and oftenask comprehension questions which relate to factual information – who said what and when, rather than speculating on ‘why’, for example, or examining the context of the action.
(6) The third part of the reasoning that we adopted relates to the need to engage the students as readers in their own right, not as simply as language learners; learning the language is part of the process, not the reason for reading. What they read mustbecome theirs and have its own special and secret life in their heads, a place where teachers can only go if invited.
(7) We quickly found that one of the most important ways of making all the foregoing happen was to engage the creative talents of the class before they read a word of the text. The pre-reading activitiesbecome the most important part of the teaching process; the actual reading part can almost be seen as the cream on the cake, and the principle aim of pre-reading activities is to get students to want to read the text. We developed a series of activities which uses clues or fragmentsfromthe text yet to be read, and which rely on the student’s innate knowledge of narrative, so that they can to build their own stories before they read the key text. They have enough information to generate ideas but not so much that itbecomes simply an exercise in guided writing; releasing a free imagination is the objective.
(8) Movingfrompre-reading to reading, we may introduce textual intervention activities. ‘Textual Intervention’ is a term used by Rob Pope to describe the process of questioning a text not simply as a guideto comprehension but as a way of exploring the context of the story at any one time, and examining points at which the narrative presents choices, points of divergence, or narrative crossroads. We don’t do this for all texts, however, as the shorter ones do not seem to gain muchfromthis process and it simply breaks up the reading pleasure.
(9) Follow-up activities are needed, at the least, to round off the activity, to bring some sense of closure but they also offer an opportunity to link the reading experience more directly to the requirements of the syllabus. Indeed, the story may have been chosen in the first place because the context supports one of the themes that teachers are required to examine as part of the syllabus – for example, ‘families’, ‘science and technology’, ‘communications’, ‘the environment’ and all the other familiar themes. There are very few stories that can’t be explored without some part of the syllabus being supported. For many teachers this is an essential requirement if they are to engage in such extensive reading at all.
(10) The whole process – pre-, while and post reading – could be just an hour’s activity, or it could last for more than one lesson. When we are designing the materials for exploring stories clearly it is isn’t possible for us to know how much time any teacher will have available, which is why we construct the activities into a series of independent units which we call kits. They are called kits because we expect teachers to build their own lessons out of the materials we provide, which implies that large amounts may be discarded. What we do ask, though, is that the pre-reading activities be included, if nothing else. That is essential for the process to engage the student as a creative reader..
(11) One of the purposes of encouraging a creative reading approach in the language classroom is to do with the dynamics we perceive in the classroom. Strategic theorists tell us of the social trinity, whereby three elements are required to achieve a dynamic in any social situation. In the language classroom these might be seen as consisting of the student, the teacher and the language. Certainlyfromthe perspective of the student – and usuallyfromthe perspective of the teacher – the relationship is an unequal one, with the language being perceived as placed closer to the teacher than the student. This will result in less dynamic between language and student than between language and teacher. However, if we replace ‘language’ with narrative and especially if that is approached as a creative process that draws the student in so that they feel they ‘own’ the relationship with the text, then this will shift the dynamic in the classroom so that the student, who has nowbecome a reader, is much closer to the language – or narrative – than previously. This creates a much more effective dynamic of learning. However, some teachers feel threatened by this apparent loss of overall control and mastery. Indeed, the whole business of openended creativity and a lack of boxes to tick for the correct answer is quite unsettling territory for some to find themselves in.
16.It can be inferredfromParas. 1 and 2 that teachers used to ______.
A.oppose strongly the teaching of extended reading
B.be confused over how to teach extended reading
C.be against adopting new methods of teaching
D.teach extended reading in a perfunctory way
17.The sentence “we all understand and instinctively feel narrative structure” in Para. 4 indicates that ______.
A.we are good at telling stories
B.we all like telling stories
C.we are born story-tellers
D.we all like listening to stories
18.Samuel Johnson regards the relationship between a writer and a reader as ______ (Para. 5).
A.independent
B.collaborative
C.contradictory
D.reciprocal
19.In Para. 7, the author sees “pre-reading” as the most important part of reading because _____.
A.it encourages students’ imagination
B.it lays a good foundation for reading
C.it can attract students’ attention
D.it provides clues to the text to be read
20.“Textual Intervention” suggested by Rob Pope (in Para. 8) is expected to fulfill all the following functions EXCEPT ______.
A.exploring the context
B.interpreting ambiguities
C.stretching the imagination
D.examining the structure
PASSAGE THREE
(1) Once again, seething, residual anger has burst forth in an American city. And the riots that overtook Los Angeles were a reminder of what knowledgeable observers have been saying for a quarter century: America will continue paying a high price in civil and ethnic unrest unless thenation commits itself to programs that help the urban poor lead productive and respectable lives.
(2) Once again, a proven program is worth pondering: national service.
(3) Somewhat akin to the military training that generations of American males received in the armed forces, a 1990s version would prepare thousands of unemployable andundereducated young adults for quality lives in our increasingly global and technology-driven economy. National service opportunities would be available to any who needed it and, make no mistake, the problems are now so structural, to intractable, that any solution will require massive federal intervention.
(4) In his much quoted book, “The Truly Disadvantaged,” sociologist William Julius Wilson wrote that “only a major program of economic reform” will prevent the riot-prone urban underclassfrombeing permanently locked out of American economic life. Today, we simply have no choice. The enemy within and among our separate ethnic selves is as daunting as any foreign foe.
(5) Families who are rent apart by welfare dependency, job discrimination and intense feelings of alienation have produces minority teenagers with very little self-discipline and little faith that good grades and the American work ethic will pay off. A military-like environment for them with practical domestic objectives could produce startling results.
(6) Military service has been the most successful career training program we’ve ever known, and American children born in the years since the all-volunteer Army was instituted make up a large proportion of this targeted group. But this opportunity may disappear forever if too many of our military bases are summarily closed and converted or sold to the private sector. The facilities, manpower, traditions, and capacity are already in place.
(7) Don’t dismantle it: rechannel it.
(8) Discipline is a cornerstone of any responsible citizen’s life. I was taught it by my father, who was a policeman. May of the rioters have never had any at all. As an athlete and former Army officer, I know that discipline can be learned. More importantly, it must be learned or it doesn’t take hold.
(9) A precedent for this approach was the Civilian Conservation Corps that worked so well during the Great Depression. My father enlisted in the CCC as a young man with an elementaryschool education and he learned invaluable skills that served him well throughout his life. The key was that a job was waiting for him when he finished. The certainty of that first entry-level position is essential if severely alienated young minority men and women are to keep the faith.
(10) We all know these are difficult times for the public sector, but here’s the chance to add energetic and able manpower to America’s workforce. They could be prepared for the world of work or college – an offer similar to that made to returning GI after Word War II. It would be a chance for 16- to 21-year-olds to live among other cultures, religions, races and in different geographical areas. And these young people could be taught to rallyaround common goals and friendships that evolve out of pride in one’s squad, platoon, company, battalion –or commander.
(11) We saw such images during the Persian Gulf War and during the NACC Final Four basketball games. In military lifeand competitive sports, this camaraderie doesn’t just happen; it is taught and learned in an atmosphere of discipline and earned mutual respect for each other’s capabilities.
(12) A national service program would also helpovercome two damaging perceptions held by America’s disaffected youth: the society just doesn’t care about minority youngsters and that one’s personal best efforts will not be rewarded in our discriminatory job market. Harvard professor Robert Reich’s research has shown that urban social ills are so pervasive that the upper 20 percent of Americans – the “fortunate fifth” as he calls them – have decided quietly to “secede”fromthe bottom four-fifths and the lowest fifth in particular. We cannot accept such estrangement on a permanent basis. And what better way to answer skepticsfromany group than by certifying the technical skills of graduatesfroma national service training program?
(13) Now, we must act decisively to forestall future urban unrest. Republicans must put aside their aversion to funding programs aimed at certain cultural groups. Democrats must forget labels and recognize that a geographically isolated subgroup of Americans – their children in particular – need systematic and substantive assistance for at least another 20 years.
(14) The ethnic taproots of minority Americans are deeply buried in a soil of faith and loyalty to traditional values. With its emphasis on discipline, teamwork, conflict resolution, personal responsibility and marketable skills development, national service can provide both the training and that vital first job that will reconnect these Americans to the rest of us. Let’s do it before the fire next time.
21.According to the author, “national service”is comparable to “military training” because they both cultivate youngsters’ ______.
A.good grades
B.self discipline
C.mutual trust
D.work ethic
22.The author cites the example of his father in order to show ______.
A.the importance of discipline
B.the importanceof education
C.the necessity of having strong faith
D.the effectiveness of the program
23.According to the author, a national service program can bring the following benefits to America’s youngsters EXCEPT ______.
A.increase inincome
B.a sense of responsibility
C.confidence and hope
D.practical work skills
24.According to the context, what does “the fire” refer to (Para. 14)?
A.Discrimination.
B.Anger.
C.Riots.
D.Aversion.
SECTION B SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
In this section there are eight short answer questions based on the passages in SECTION A. Answer each question in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS in the space provided on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
PASSAGE ONE
25.What does Para. 2 tell us about the restaurant business on the Alentejo coast throughout the year?
26.According to Para. 5, what are the two main reasons of the Alentejo’s inaccessibility?
PASSAGE TWO
27.What does “It was simply a box ticking exercise” mean in Para. 2?
28.Paras. 4-6 propose three main precepts for the now approach. Please use ONE phrase to summarize each of the three precepts.
29.What does the author suggest to shift the dynamic in the classroom (Para. 11)?
PASSAGE THREE
30.What is the purpose of the program proposed by the author (Paras. 1-3)?
31.What does the word “it” in “Don’t dismantle it: rechannel it.” refer to (Para. 7)?
32.What do Robert Reich’s findings imply (Para. 12)?
PART III LANGUAGE USAGE
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way:
For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at theendof the line.
For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at theendof the line.
For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash “/” and put the word in the blank provided at theendof the line.
Example
When∧art museum wants a new exhibit, (1)
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2)
them on the wall. When a natural history museum
wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3)
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET THREE as instructed.
PART IV TRANSLATION
Translate the underlined part of the following textfromChinese into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
我小的时候特别盼望过年，往往是一过了腊月，就开始掰着指头数日子。对于我们这种焦急的心态，大人们总是发出深沉的感叹，好像他们不但不喜欢过年，而且还惧怕过年。他们的态度令当时的我感到失望和困惑，现在我完全能够理解了。我想长辈们之所以对过年感慨良多，一是因为过年意味着一笔开支，二是飞速流逝的时间对他们构成巨大压力。小孩子可以兴奋地说：过了年，我又长大了一岁；而老人们则叹息：嗨，又老了一岁。过年意味着小孩子正在向自己生命过程中的.辉煌时期进步，而对于大人，则意味着正向衰朽的残年滑落。
PART V WRITING
The following are two excerpts about job hopping. Read the two excerpts carefully and write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should:
1.summarize the main arguments in the two excerpts, and then
2.express your opinion towards job hopping, especially on whether job hopping would benefit your career development.
You can support yourself with informationfromthe excerpts.
Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
Excerpt 1
The Pros of Job Hopping
Until recently, job hopping was considered career suicide. But things have changed. As job longevitybecomes a thing of the past, employers and recruiters are beginning to have a different outlook on job hopping.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average number of years that . workers have been with their current employer is . Tenure of young employees (ages 20 to 34) is only half that years).
As it turns out, job hopping can be extremely advantageous for certain types of people – if they do it for the right reasons, says Laurie Lopez, a partner and senior general manager in the IT Contracts division at WinterWyman. “For those in technology, for example, it allows them the opportunity to gain valuable technical knowledge in different environments and cultures. This can bemore common for those specializing in IT. In order to keep their skills fresh, it is necessary for technologists to remain current in ahighly competitive market. Job hopping ismore common with employees that are less tenured, and feel confident in their skills to be able to move on and can add value immediately in a new opportunity. With employers being more open to hiring job hoppers, we expect the trendto continue.”
Excerpt 2
Job hoppingbecomes more difficult as employers seek solid credentials
Amid a slowdown in the country’s economic growth, the good times for job hoppers mightbe coming to anend, said Angel Lam, associate directorof commerce and finance, human resources, supply chain and operation business of Robert Walters.
Job hoppers are those who frequently change jobs in a two-year span, according to global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.
Employers started to shun the job hoppers in2012, and the trendbecame more apparent in2013and this year.
“About 90 percent of our clients will simply reject the candidate if they find traces indicating job hopping in the resumes. They wouldn’t even give an interview,” she said.
The usual time span for candidates to change a job should be between four to six years, especially for middle to senior management candidates, as they have to demonstrate progress to their employers over this period of time, according to Lam.
Usually, the candidate will adapt to all the changes in the job in the first year, make some fine tuning in the second year, speed up his or her progress in the third year and start to seek more stable development in the ensuing years. Only in this way can the employee improve adaptability, gain persistence and grasp basic skill sets required for the job, Lam said.
PartⅠ LISTENING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
1. signing
2. primary
3. literacy
4. differentbut complementary
5. avoiding
6. many other contexts
7. characteristics/features
8. reaction
9. distance
10. emotion
11. deliberate
12. intimacy and immediacy
13. continuum
14. types of language
15. the usage
SECTION B INTERVIEW
1.What is international leaders’ assessment of the current battle against Ebola?
答案：B. Disheartening.
2.How many people are now working in the treatment unit in Liberia?
答案：A. 200.
3.According to Mary, what is the challenge in the battle against Ebola?
答案：Insufficient operational efforts on the ground.
4.Why do health workers need case management protocol training?
答案：They can open up more treatment units.
5.What does this interview mainly talk about?
答案：Ebola outpacing operational efforts.
6.What is Tom’s main role in his new position?
答案：C. Using media information to inspire new ideas.
7.According to Tom, what does innovation require of people?
答案：B. Being brave and willing to take a risk
8.What does Tom see as game-changing chances in the future?
答案：B. Aiming at a consumer level.
9.What does Tom do first to deal with the toughest part of his work?
答案：D. Examining the future carefully.
10.Which of the following might Tom work for?
答案：A. A media agency.
PartⅡ READING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
PASSAGE ONE
11. The first part of Para. 4 refers to the fact that .
答案：life there is quiet and slow
12. “The lack of awareness” in Para. 5 refers to .
答案：［C］little knowledge of the beauty of the beach
13. The author uses “gloriously” in Para. 6 to .
答案：［C］contrast greenery with isolation
14. The sentence “We never ate the same thing twice” in Para. 10 reflects the of the seafood there.
答案：［D］variety
15. Which of the following themes is repeated in both and 11?
答案：［A］Publicity.
PASSAGE TWO
16. It can be inferredfromand 2 that teachers used to .
答案：［D］teach extended reading in a perfunctory way
17. The sentence “we all understand and instinctively feel narrative structure” in indicates that .
答案：［C］we are born story-tellers
18. Samuel Johnson regards the relationship between a writer and a reader as .
答案：［B］collaborative
19. In , the author sees “pre-reading” as the most important part of reading because .
答案：［C］it can attract students’ attention
20. “Textual Intervention” suggested by Rob Pope (in Para. 8) is expected to fulfill all the following functions EXCEPT .
答案：［C］stretching the imagination
PASSAGE THREE
21. According to the author, “national service”is comparable to “military training” because they both cultivate youngsters’ .
答案：［B］self discipline
22. The author cites the example of his father in order to show .
答案：［A］the importance of discipline
23. According to the author, a national service program can bring the following benefits to America’s youngsters EXCEPT .
答案：［A］increase inincome
24. According to the context, what does “the fire” refer to (Para. 14)?
答案：［B］Anger.
SECTION B SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
说明：简答题答案不唯一，意思对即可。
PASSAGE ONE
25.What does Para. 2 tell us about the restaurant business on the Alentejo coast throughout the year?
答案：Busy in July and August only.
(或者Not busy all the year other than July and August.)
26. According to Para. 5, what are the main reasons of the Alentejo’s inaccessibility?
答案：Farfromairports, and without properaccommodation.
PASSAGE TWO
27. What does “It was simply a box ticking exercise” mean in Para. 2?
答案：Extended reading was taught superficially without creation or enthusiasm.
28. Paras. 4 - 6 propose three main precepts for the new approach. Please use ONE phrase to summarize each of the three precepts.
答案：Teaching as storytelling, reading as creative processes, students as readers.
29. What does the author suggest to shift the dynamic in the classroom (Para. 11)?
答案：Replacing “language” with narrative approached as an attractive creative process.
PASSAGE THREE
30. What is the purpose of the program proposed by the author (Paras. 1-3)?
答案：To help the urban poor lead quality lives.
31. What does the word “it” in “Don’t dismantle it: rechannel it” refer to (Para. 7) ?
答案：The resource of military bases suitable for national service.
32. What do Robert Reich’s findings imply (Para. 12)?
答案：There is alienation between the rich and the poor.
Part IIILANGUAGE USAGE
1. which→ that
2. thus→ as
3. how→ how
4. ∧the more→ and
5. specially→ especially/particularly
6. dominated→ dominating
7. make→ conduct/offer
8. ∧ability→ the
9. specialized→ specialize
10. manner→ way
Part IV TRANSLATION
参考译文
The reasons for the elders’ mixed feelings about the New Year, I think, come down to the following two ones. On the one hand, celebrating the New Year means a great expense to them. On the other hand, the fleeting time exerted considerable pressure on them. Kids may say excitedly that they begin another year in their life after the New Year; however, adults may sigh, "Well, Ivebecome one year older!" For the kids, the New Year means that they are making progress in the most brilliant part of their life. On the contrary, for adults, its an indication that they are sliding into their declining years.
Part V WRITING
参考范文
Job Hopping, Yes or No?
It seems that employers are nowadays more open to job hoppers as the former is increasingly aware that job hopping may be conducive to them in thatfresh organizational cultures and values, especially the updated knowledge, are a must for the employees. However, some employers are reluctant to hire those job hoppers on the grounds that the latter needs at least four to six years to demonstrate progress to their employers and therefore, job hoppers who served ina company for less than that duration will do no good to both the present and the next employers. For those who are struggling for something new, they should not feel guilty about job hopping, but the trendof selecting what kind of employees by different businesses has to be pondered before the final decision is made.
The commonly accepted wisdom is that flexibility means adapting well to various circumstances and should be highly valued. In particular, venturing in new settings is not detrimental to personal characters in one’s early life. Job hopping will broaden one’s experience, escalate one’s knowledge and enrich one’s life. Additionally, job hopping may inspire smart decisions in choosing ideal jobs in the future. Apartfroma few who are definite towards their career life at a younger age, most young adults, especially those who have just stepped out of the ivory tower, are still not quite clear about their future. Job hopping will without doubt help new graduates find their true self and the direction of their careers. Furthermore, those loyal employees do have strengths suchas commitment, devotion and credibility to the job, but a higher risk of job burnout, mid-career crisis sabotage or severe career bottleneck are widely observed in workplace which may render stagnancy or even loss tothe company.
There is no question that to switch jobs should be done on the basis that the employee has really acquired skills in his or her present post and needs to further his or her knowledge or values. For those who frequently change jobs within a short period of time because they feel insecure or are sunk in apathy about the job or even problematic with addressing relationships with colleagues, it deserves reflection and the human resources department will for sure spot that out.
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