[外语类试卷]专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷67及答案与解析.doc

1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 67及答案与解析 0 Of all the extraordinary events in the life of John Paul II, few can compare with the 21 minutes he spent in a cell in Romes Rebibia prison. Just after Christmas, 1983, the pope visited Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who 30 months earlier had shot him in St. Peters Square. He pre

2、sented Agca with a silver rosary, and something else as well; his forgiveness. It requires a Christ-like forbearance to pardon a would-be assassin, of course. But how many of us are ready to forgive an unfaithful lover or a scheming colleague? Persistent unforgiveness is part of human nature, but it

3、 appears to work to the detriment not just of our spiritual well-being but our physical health as well. The subject is one of the hottest fields of research in clinical psychology today, with more than 1,200 published studies. It even has its own foundation A Campaign for Forgiveness Research which

4、sponsored a conference last year with papers on topics like “Exploring Gender Differences in Forgiveness.“ Dr. Dean Ornish, Americas all-purpose lifestyle guru, regards forgiveness as the nutrition of the soul, a healthful alternative to the anger and vengeance. “In a way,“ Ornish says, “the most se

5、lfish thing you can do for yourself is to forgive other people. “ Research suggests that forgiveness works in at least two ways. One is by reducing the stress of the state of unforgiveness, a potent mixture of bitterness, anger, hostility, hatred, resentment and fear(of being hurt or humiliated agai

6、n). These have specific physiologic consequences such as increased blood pressure and hormonal changes linked to cardiovascular disease, immune suppression and, possibly, impaired neurological function and memory. One study examined 20 individuals in happy relationships, matched with 20 in troubled

7、relationships. The latter had higher baseline levels of Cortisol, a hormone associated with impaired immune function which shot up even further when they were asked to think about their relationships. “ It happens down the line, but every time you feel unforgiveness, you are more likely to develop a

8、 health problem,“ says Everett Worthington, executive director of A Campaign for Forgiveness Research. The other benefit of forgiveness is more subtle; it relates to research showing that people with strong social networks of friends, neighbors and family tend to be healthier than loners. Someone wh

9、o nurses grudges and keeps track of every slight is obviously going to shed some relationships over the course of a lifetime. Forgiveness, says Charlotte Van Oyen Witvliet, a researcher at Hope College in Holland, Mich. , should be incorporated into ones personality, a way of life, not merely a resp

10、onse to specific insults. In fact, forgiveness turns out to be a surprisingly complex process, according to many researchers. Worthington distinguishes what he calls “decisional forgiveness“ a commitment to reconcile with the perpetrator from the more significant “emotional forgiveness,“ an internal

11、 state of acceptance. Forgiveness does not require us to forgo justice, or to make up to people we have every right to despise. Anger has its place in the panoply of human emotions, but it shouldnt become a way of life. “When I talk about forgiveness, I mean letting go, not excusing the other person

12、 or reconciling with them or condoning the behavior,“ says Ornish. “Just letting go of your own suffering. “ “Its a process, not a moment,“ says Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a Harvard psychiatrist and the author of Dare to Forgive. Forgiveness, he emphasizes, has to be cultivated; it goes against a natu

13、ral human tendency to seek revenge and the redress of injustice. For that reason, he recommends doing it with help of friends, a therapist or through prayer. It was from his faith that John Paul drew the strength to forgive Mehmet Agca, setting(as he no doubt intended)an example for the rest of us.

14、The message is the same whether its couched in the language of Christian charity, clinical psychology or the wisdom of Confucius, as quoted by Hallowell: “If you devote your life to seeking revenge, first dig two graves. “ 1 The word “detriment“ in the second paragraph probably means_. （ A） determin

15、ation （ B） benefit （ C） damage （ D） adversity 2 According to researches in clinical psychology, unforgiveness will lead to all the physiologic consequences EXCEPT_. （ A） immune suppression （ B） impaired memory （ C） increased blood pressure （ D） lower baseline levels of Cortisol 3 The fourth paragrap

16、h states all of the following EXCEPT that_. （ A） loners do not forgive others （ B） to be sociable is better for peoples health （ C） forgiveness is not just a reaction to some insults （ D） forgiveness should become part of ones personality 4 According to Ornish, forgiveness means_. （ A） giving up jus

17、tice （ B） excusing the other person （ C） stopping thinking of anger （ D） reconciling with the other person 5 According to Hallowell, which of the following is INCORRECT? （ A） It takes time to forgive. （ B） It is difficult for people to forgive. （ C） One will get hurt by ones revenge against others.

18、 D） John Paul II forgave Mehmet Agca in order to set an example for the others. 6 A suitable title for the passage would be_. （ A） Forgive or Not, It Is a Question （ B） Forgive and Let Live （ C） John Paul a Model for Us （ D） Forgiveness Is Not Easy 6 Compared with the systems in other industrialize

19、d countries, the American unemployment-insurance(Ul)scheme pays lower benefits for less time and to a smaller share of the unemployed. In expansions this encourages the jobless to return quickly to work and unemployed Americans do indeed work harder at finding jobs than their European counterparts(s

20、ee chart). But in recessions, when there is less work to return to, it causes hardship. Like Americas training system, Ul is ripe for attention from the incoming Obama administration. Like much of the social safety net, the current Ul system was a product of Franklin Roosevelts New Deal. States were

21、 prodded to provide benefits in accordance with federal guidelines; in return the federal government paid their administrative costs. But the system has not kept up with changes in Americas labor force. States often require beneficiaries to have worked or earned an amount that disqualifies many part

22、time and low-wage workers. They also disqualify people seeking only part-time work even though many people now work part-time for family reasons. Benefits typically last for only six months, more than enough time to find a. new job in normal times but not in recessions. Extended benefits kick in au

23、tomatically when unemployment reaches certain thresholds, but those thresholds are so high that they are almost never triggered. Congress therefore has to pass special legislation to extend benefits, as it did twice last year, but political wrangling often delays such action. In the week that ended

24、on December 20th, 586,000 workers filed a first claim for unemployment benefits, the largest number for 26 years. Yet such claimants are, in one sense, lucky: typically, 60% of unemployed people dont qualify for the benefits at all. Unemployment insurance is one of the economys most important automa

25、tic stabilisers, helping to maintain household purchasing power when the economy weakens. But that role is impaired by the short duration of benefits and their skimpy level. At just under $300, the average weekly benefit is less than half the average private-sector wage. Mississippis maximum benefit

26、 of $230 is not much more than the federal poverty threshold of $200 for an individual. Benefits are low, in part, because they are financed by payroll taxes that states levy on their employers. States dont like to raise such taxes, even when times are good. But that means they lack the funds to pay

27、 benefits when times are bad, forcing them to raise other taxes or borrow from the federal government, as some 30 states are now considering. One of the best features of Americas system is “experience rating“ : employers that frequently lay workers off must pay higher payroll taxes, thereby discoura

28、ging such lay-offs. But according to Alan Krueger of Princeton, many states have neutered that feature by charging most employers the lowest tax rate. Several moves are afoot to mend the flaws in the Ul system. Under a bill put forward by Jim McDermott, a congressman from Seattle, the government wou

29、ld offer cash incentives to states to expand eligibility to part-time workers and make the benefit formula more generous. A second bill would significantly expand eligibility for the 46-year old Trade Adjustment Assistance programme, for example by including service-sector workers and providing more

30、 generous benefits. Both measures passed the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate. As a senator, Barack Obama backed both. As president, he might make them reality. 7 Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the first paragraph? （ A） American workers can get equal amou

31、nt of benefits in less working time compared to Europeans. （ B） American workers can get more benefits in less working time compared to Europeans. （ C） The amount of benefits American unemployed get is in proportion to their working time. （ D） The time interval American unemployed get benefits is sm

32、aller compared to Europeans. 8 Unemployment insurance serves as the economys automatic stabilizer in that it_. （ A） provides the unemployed with the necessities of life （ B） keeps the level of family consumption （ C） keeps the unemployed from causing riots to the society （ D） maintains the original

33、level of the nations purchasing power 9 Which of the following has the highest threshold? （ A） Mississippis maximum benefit. （ B） The average weekly benefit. （ C） The federal poverty threshold. （ D） Half the average private-sector wage. 10 Which of the following has NOT been proposed to mend the Ul

34、system? （ A） To encourage more jobless to return to work. （ B） To increase the amount of benefits in the system. （ C） To extend the range of beneficiaries to more sectors. （ D） To lower the thresholds by which part-time workers are included in the system. 10 At the Hemingway Memorial, just past the

35、Sun Valley Resort, it is quiet. In the background, mountains rise up. There is a curved stone bench, like a tiny amphitheater facing the memorial. I sit for a while and watch the stream swirl around a corner, then look up at Hemingways image on the column old, bearded and balding. My mind runs aroun

36、d this strange, complicated person who seemed in so many ways to embody the American Dream. He was a self-made man, a self-made writer, and a self-made celebrity. He was our prodigal son, and we watched him grow up all over the world, but knew that his heart was always here, at home. As the afternoo

37、n light fades, I move to a nearby campground and cook dinner. When night comes, the moon is bright and the Milky Way is a wide, pale stripe across the sky. In the north, the big dipper is sinking behind a hill. Next to the campground is Trail Creek, a stream filled with rocks that the water rushes o

38、ver. In the dark, I go down to the stream, sit next to it and let the bubbling stir my thoughts. Moonlight glints off the water. When it gets too cold, I go back to camp to sleep for the night. But on my way, I hear a rustle and shine my light where the sound came from. A fox runs past me and its ey

39、es shine in the light. He disappears into the bushes. I stand there. A few seconds later he comes back. The fox stops tentatively, then walks toward me, eyes glowing. He stops again and spins around in three nervous circles. His fur looks gray and black. He is followed by a huge tail. The fox looks

40、at me again and we both stand still for a minute, engaged in some kind of mutual regard. Then he turns into the bushes and disappears. It was his favorite shotgun, and his third try. Things had gone badly for Ernest in his marriage, in his writing and in his mind. He had three big books unfinished,

41、perhaps unfinishable: Islands in the Stream, The Garden of Eden, and True at First Light. Of these, biographer Michael Reynolds said,“They were to be his legacy, his most complex undertaking. It was like working a crossword puzzle in three dimensions. All he needed was time, which, unfortunately, wa

42、s no longer on his side.“ His account of the Bullfights in Spain, The Dangerous Summer, was more or less finished, as was his memoir of Paris, A Moveable Feast. But they were not published because Hemingway remained unhappy with them. In his last two years at Ketchum, he worked intermittently on the

43、m, sometimes making progress, sometimes not. But things werent right in Ernests head. Two decades after he first came to Ketchum, he looked like he had aged four decades. At 61, he was a shadow of the man who arrived at Sun Valley with Martha in 1939 to write For Whom the Bell Tolls and with Mary in

44、 1947 to work on Islands in the Stream. He threatened to kill himself, but Mary talked him out of it. A few days later, he tried again, but was stopped by a friend. The next day he flew to the Mayo clinic for his second course of electroshock. Two months later, he was released from the clinic and dr

45、ove back to Ketchum with Mary. They arrived on June 30th. Two days later, Ernest Hemingway walked downstairs, put his favorite gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The shot must have rung out through the valley. At Trail Creek Campground, I wake to the sound of water rushing over rocks. Its cold

46、 and my hands are stiff. But the sky is clear and I watch as the sun drips down the hills like honey. I eat some breakfast, make a cup of coffee, and pack up to leave. On the way out, I stop again at the Hemingway Memorial. On the ground I notice small, wet, paw prints. They had come out of the stre

47、am by the memorial, wind through the open area by the bench and go up the path from where I just came. I sit for a while and watch the water swirl in the stream. It is so clear you can see to the bottom. In the distance is the rush of Trail Creek, and just above is the profile of Ernest Hemingway fr

48、amed against,“the high blue windless sky. “His head is turned away from where I sit, towards the mountains. The inscription of eulogy Hemingway wrote for another friend talks about how he loved the trees and hills and sky. It ends:“Now he will be part of them forever. “It is a beautiful place to die

49、 11 Which of the following adjectives can NOT describe Hemingway Memorial? （ A） Secluded. （ B） Scenic. （ C） Mysterious. （ D） Illuminating. 12 When commenting on Ernest Hemingway, the author expresses his_. （ A） admiration （ B） awe （ C） respect （ D） regret 13 The writer did all of the following EXCEPT to_. （ A） meditate on Hemingways life story （ B） erect a tent on the bank of a stream （ C） cook a meal in a campground （ D） have a cup of coffee on the cold day 14 The sentence“he was a shadow of the man.“in th