[外语类试卷]专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷131及答案与解析.doc

1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 131及答案与解析 SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS In this section there are several 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. 0 In la

2、st weeks Tribune, there was an interesting letter from Mr. J. Stewart Cook, in which he suggested that the best way of avoiding the danger of a “scientific hierarchy“ would be to see to it that every member of the general public was, as far as possible, scientifically educated. At the same time, sci

3、entists should be brought out of their isolation and encouraged to take a greater part in politics and administration. As a general statement, I think most of us would agree with this, but I notice that, as usual, Mr. Cook does not define science, and merely implies in passing that it means certain

4、exact sciences whose experiments can be made under laboratory conditions. Thus, adult education tends “to neglect scientific studies in favor of literary, economic and social subjects“, economics and sociology not being regarded as branches of science, apparently. This point is of great importance.

5、For the word science is at present used in at least two meanings, but the whole question of scientific education is obscured by the current tendency to dodge from one meaning to the other. Science is generally taken as meaning either (a) the exact sciences, such as chemistry, physics, etc., or (b) a

6、 method of thought which obtains verifiable results by reasoning logically from observed fact. If you ask any scientist, or indeed almost any educated person, “What is science?“ you are likely to get an answer approximating to (b). In everyday life, however, both in speaking and in writing, when peo

7、ple say “science“ they mean (a). Science means something that happens in a laboratory: test-tubes, balances, Bunsen burners, microscopes. A biologist, an astronomer, perhaps a psychologist or a mathematician, is described as a “man of science“: no one would think of applying this term to a statesman

8、, a poet, a journalist or even a philosopher. And those who tell us that the young must be scientifically educated mean, almost invariably, that they should be taught more about radioactivity, or the stars, or the physiology of their own bodies, rather than that they should be taught to think more e

9、xactly. This confusion of meaning, which is partly deliberate, has in it a great danger. Implied in the demand for more scientific education is the claim that if one has been scientifically trained ones approach to all subjects will be more intelligent than if one had had no such training. A scienti

10、sts political opinions, it is assumed, his opinions on sociological questions, on morals, on philosophy, perhaps even on the arts, will be more valuable than those of a layman. But a“ scientist“, as we have just seen, means in practice a specialist in one of the exact sciences. It follows that a che

11、mist or physicist, as such, is politically more intelligent than a poet or a lawyer. And, in fact, there are already millions of people who do believe this. But is it really true that a “scientist“, in this narrower sense, is any likelier than other people to approach non-scientific problems in an o

12、bjective way? There is not much reason for thinking so. Take one simple test the ability to withstand nationalism. It is often loosely said that “Science is international“, but in practice the scientific workers of all countries line up behind their own governments with fewer scruples than are felt

13、by the writers and the artists. The German scientific community, as a whole, made no resistance to Hitler. There were plenty of gifted men to do the necessary research on such things as synthetic oil, jet planes, rocket projectiles and the atomic bomb. On the other hand, what happened to German lite

14、rature when the Nazis came to power? I believe no exhaustive lists have been published, but I imagine that the number of German scientists Jew apart who voluntarily exiled themselves or were persecuted by the regime was much smaller than the number of writers and journalists. More sinister than this

15、, a number of German scientists swallowed the monstrosity of “racial science“. But does this mean that the general public should not be more scientifically educated? On the contrary! All it means is that scientific education for the masses will do little good, and probably a lot of harm, if it simpl

16、y boils down to more physics, more chemistry, more biology, etc. to the detriment of literature and history. Its probable effect on the average human being would be to narrow the range of his thoughts and make him more than ever contemptuous of such knowledge as he did not possess; and his political

17、 reactions would probably be somewhat less intelligent than those of an illiterate peasant who retained a few historical memories and a fairly sound aesthetic sense. Clearly, scientific education ought to mean the implanting of a rational, skeptical, experimental habit of mind. It ought to mean acqu

18、iring a method a method that can be used on any problem that one meets and not simply piling up a lot of facts. Put it in those words, and the apologist of scientific education will usually agree. Press him further, ask him to particularize, and somehow it always turns out that scientific education

19、means more attention to the exact sciences, in other words more facts. The idea that science means a way of looking at the world, and not simply a body of knowledge, is in practice strongly resisted. I think sheer professional jealousy is part of the reason for this. 1 We know from the second paragr

20、aph that the author considers the present definition of the word “science“_. （ A） ambiguous （ B） ambivalent （ C） questionable （ D） inappropriate 2 When people are talking about science, they may NOT refer to_. （ A） physics （ B） physiology （ C） philosophy （ D） psychology 3 Which of the following is I

21、NCORRECT as regards scientists? （ A） Many people assume that scientists can do well in handling political affairs. （ B） German scientists did research on atomic bombs. （ C） Generally people dont regard an economist as a scientist. （ D） Scientists prefer laboratory work to administration. 4 The autho

22、r contrasts German science with German literature to support his viewpoint that_. （ A） German literature has long been persecuted by the government （ B） writers are the most disruptive force of a government （ C） scientists are more inclined to support their governments than writers （ D） German scien

23、tists should not be on the side of the racists 5 The passage can be best summarized as_. （ A） contrasting science with literature （ B） explaining what science is （ C） giving a better definition of science （ D） pointing out peoples misunderstanding of science 5 As I write, a gentle, much needed rain

24、is falling this morning. It has been a dry spring here in Vermont. So dry in fact, that the Spring Peepers were late enough in coming that many thought that these amazing little frogs would fail to bless us with their song this year. But they came, and I cant fault them for being tardy. In almost an

25、y seasonal wetland in the state these frogs can be heard. They are a sign of spring, and of rebirth and renewal. It is late June and the mountain snow has left the higher slopes of the mountains. Folks have planted their gardens, even though there is still the threat of frost. Yes, it is almost July

26、, yet in the evenings here, the thermometer can still sometimes dip into the low-thirties this time of year. My family planted our garden during the last weekend of May, and frost came twice since then, luckily not a killing frost. But others were not so lucky. There is a very ambitious gardener in

27、the village that lost most of his non-hardy plants this year. There is a saw in this state: “if you dont like the weather, wait five minutes. “This spring has demonstrated the validity of this old saying. Twice this spring it has been warm enough in the day that my family went swimming, but there wa

28、s frost on the ground the next morning. I enjoy the juxtaposition of the vagaries of the climate and the steady rhythms of life here. Folks have been tending to the chores of spring for generations, knowing full well that they really cant depend upon the hand that nature will deal them. Planting a g

29、arden in Vermont amounts to an act of faith. Will our sweat and toil be rewarded by abundance enough to share with our friends and extended families, or will a killing frost render these efforts exercises in futility? And I have planted more than a garden this year. My family was recently faced with

30、 a tough decision, do we leave this place and the people whom we have come to know and love, or do we stay and make a commitment? Well, we have decided that this is where we will make our stand. Along with our little garden, this year we have planted ourselves. And this is no less an act of faith th

31、an the one mentioned above. Will my family be blessed with that which is needed to grow and flourish. We have no way of knowing this.but we do have faith. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. Strong winds have blown the cloud cover away. It is a beautiful day. Vermont gardening. There is ano

32、ther saying among farmers here: “there is no better fertilizer than a farmers footprints.“ To me this means that which is planted must be revisited often. The garden must be nurtured and tended. It must be cared for with love. It seems to me that this applies to our lives as well. Hopes and dreams a

33、nd aspirations must be revisited often lest we lose sight of the things that are really important to us. Commitments must be tended to as carefully as any garden plot. But as with gardening, there are no guarantees. But there is faith, and today is a beautiful day. 6 In the second paragraph, the aut

34、hor seems to indicate that_. （ A） people shouldnt have planted their gardens in June （ B） he was not lucky to have missed a killing frost （ C） the present temperature seems to be a little lower than usual （ D） he regrets that he didnt believe in the old saying 7 The authors attitude towards planting

35、 gardens is all of the following EXCEPT_. （ A） joyful （ B） hopeful （ C） realistic （ D） ecstatic 8 In the passage, _is likened to planting a garden. （ A） fulfilling ambition （ B） making a contribution （ C） having faith （ D） offering a guarantee 8 After thirty years of married happiness, he could stil

36、l remind himself that Victoria was endowed with every charm except the thrilling touch of human frailty. Though her perfection discouraged pleasures, especially the pleasures of love, he had learned in time to feel the pride of a husband in her natural frigidity. For he still clung, amid the decay o

37、f moral platitudes, to the discredited ideal of chivalry. In his youth the world was suffused with the after-glow of the long Victorian age, and a graceful feminine style had softened the manners, if not the natures, of men. At the end of that interesting epoch, when womanhood was exalted from a bio

38、logical fact into a miraculous power, Virginius Littlepage, the younger son of an old and affluent family, had married Victoria Brooke, the grand-daughter of a tobacco planter, who had made a satisfactory fortune by forsaking his plantation and converting tobacco into cigarettes. While Virginius had

39、 been trained by stern tradition to respect every woman who had not stooped to folly, the virtue peculiar to her sex was among the least of his reasons for admiring Victoria. She was not only modest, which was usual in the nineties, but she was beautiful, which is unusual in any decade. In the begin

40、ning of their acquaintance he had gone even further and ascribed intellect to her? but a few months of marriage had shown this to be merely one of the many delusions created by perfect features and noble expression. Everything about her had been smooth and definite, even the tones of her voice and t

41、he way her light brown hair, which she wore a Pompadour, was rolled stiffly back from her forehead and coiled in a burnished rope on the top of her head. A serious young man, ambitious to attain a place in the world more brilliant than the secluded seat of his ancestors, he had been impressed at the

42、ir first meeting by the compactness and precision of Victorias orderly mind. For in that earnest period the minds, as well as the emotions, of lovers were orderly. It was an age when eager young men flocked to church on Sunday morning, and eloquent divines discoursed upon the Victorian poets in the

43、middle of the week. He could afford to smile now when he recalled the solemn Browning class in which he had first lost his heart. How passionately he had admired Victorias virginal features! How fervently he had envied her competent but caressing way with the poet! Incredible as it seemed to him now

44、, he had fallen in love with her while she recited from the more ponderous passages in The Ring and the Book. He had fallen in love with her then, though he had never really enjoyed Browning, and it had been a relief to him when the Unseen, in company with its illustrious poet, had at last gone out

45、of fashion. Yet, since he was disposed to admire all the qualities he did not possess, he had never ceased to respect the firmness with which Victoria continued to deal in other forms with the Absolute. As the placid years passed, and she came to rely less upon her virginal features, it seemed to hi

46、m that the ripe opinions of her youth began to shrink and flatten as fruit does that has hung too long on the tree. She had never changed, he realized, since he had first known her; she had become merely riper, softer, and sweeter in nature. Her advantage rested where advantage never fails to rest,

47、in moral fervour. To be invariably right was her single wifely failing. For his wife, he sighed, with the vague unrest of a husband whose infidelities are imaginary, was a genuinely good woman. She was as far removed from pretence as she was from the posturing virtues that flourish in the credulous

48、world of the drama. The pity of it was that even the least exacting husband should so often desire something more piquant than goodness. 9 When Brownings poem became unpopular, Virginius felt_. （ A） sympathy for it （ B） pity for it （ C） free from it （ D） annoyed at it 10 Virginius would feel more or

49、 less guilty when he_. （ A） began to dislike Victorias features （ B） thought about Victorias perfection （ C） fancied being disloyal to Victoria （ D） tried to find fault with Victoria 11 The word “piquant“ in the last paragraph probably means_. （ A） interesting （ B） adventurous （ C） lofty （ D） unusual 11 Whom can you trust these days? It is a question posed by David Halpern of Cambridge University, and the researchers at the Downing Street Strategy Unit who take an interest in “social ca