1、专业英语八级（阅读）-试卷122及答案解析 (总分：44.00，做题时间：90分钟)一、READING COMPREHENSIO(总题数：11，分数：44.00)1.PART II READING COMPREHENSION_2.SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONSIn this section there are several passages followed by fourteen multiple-choice questions. For each multiple-choice question, there are four suggested
2、 answers marked A , B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer._When the Viaduct de Millau opened in the south of France in 2004, this tallest bridge in the world won worldwide compliments. German newspapers described how it floated above the clouds with elegance and lightness and
3、breathtaking beauty. In France, papers praised the immense concrete giant. Was it mere coincidence that the Germans saw beauty where the French saw heft and power? Lera Boroditsky thinks not. A psychologist at Stanford University, she has long been intrigued by an age-old question whose modern form
4、dates to 1956, when linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf asked whether the language we speak shapes the way we think and see the world. If so, then language is not merely a means of expressing thought, but a constraint on it, too. Although philosophers, anthropologists, and others have weighed in, with most
5、concluding that language does not shape thought in any significant way, the field has been notable for a distressing lack of empiricismas in testable hypotheses and actual data. Thats where Boroditsky comes in. In a series of clever experiments guided by pointed questions, she is amassing evidence t
6、hat, yes, language shapes thought. The effect is powerful enough, she says, that the private mental lives of speakers of different languages may differ dramatically, not only when they are thinking in order to speak, but in all manner of cognitive tasks, including basic sensory perception. Even a sm
7、all fluke of grammarthe gender of nounscan have an effect on how people think about things in the world, she says. As in that bridge, in German, the noun for bridge, Brucke, is feminine. In French, pont is masculine. German speakers saw female features; French speakers, masculine ones. Similarly, Ge
8、rmans describe keys (Schlussel) with words such as hard, heavy, jagged, and metal, while to Spaniards keys (Haves) are golden, intricate, little, and lovely. Guess which language interprets key as masculine and which as feminine? Language even shapes what we see. People have a better memory for colo
9、rs if different shades have distinct namesnot Englishs light blue and dark blue, for instance, but Russians goluboy and sinly. Skeptics of the language-shapes-thought claim have argued that thats a trivial finding, showing only that people remember what they saw in both a visual form and a verbal on
10、e, but not proving that they actually see the hues differently. In an ingenious experiment, however, Boroditsky and colleagues showed volunteers three color swatches and asked them which of the bottom two was the same as the top one. Native Russian speakers were faster than English speakers when the
11、 colors had distinct names, suggesting that having a name for something allows you to perceive it more sharply. Similarly, Korean uses one word for in when one object is in another snugly (a letter in an envelope), and a different one when an object is in something loosely (an apple in a bowl). Sure
12、 enough, Korean adults are better than English speakers at distinguishing tight fit from loose fit. In Australia, the Aboriginal Kuuk Thaayorre use compass directions for every spatial cue rather than right or left, leading to locutions such as there is an ant on your southeast leg. The Kuuk Thaayor
13、re are also much more skillful than English speakers at dead reckoning, even in unfamiliar surroundings or strange buildings. Their language equips them to perform navigational feats once thought beyond human capabilities, Boroditsky wrote on Edge.org. Science has only scratched the surface of how l
14、anguage affects thought. In Russian, verb forms indicate whether the action was completed or notas in she ate (and finished)the pizza. In Turkish, verbs indicate whether the action was observed or merely rumored. Boroditsky would love to run an experiment testing whether native Russian speakers are
15、better than others at noticing if an action is completed, and if Turks have a heightened sensitivity to fact versus hearsay. Similarly, while English says she broke the bowl, even if it smashed accidentally (she dropped something on it, say), Spanish and Japanese describe the same event more like th
16、e bowl broke itself. When we show people video of the same event, says Boroditsky, English speakers remember who was to blame even in an accident, but Spanish and Japanese speakers remember it less well than they do intentional actions. It raises questions about whether language affects even somethi
17、ng as basic as how we construct our ideas of causality. （分数：8.00）(1).In the first paragraph, the author introduces his topic by_.（分数：2.00）A.explaining a phenomenonB.justifying an assumptionC.posing a contrastD.making a comparison(2).Lera Boroditsky most probably holds the viewpoint that_.（分数：2.00）A.
18、language expresses thoughtB.language constrains thoughtC.language determines thoughtD.language and thought interact with each other(3).Which of the following statements is true about the languages mentioned in the passage?（分数：2.00）A.Both the nouns for bridge and key are feminine in German.B.The lang
19、uage of the Aboriginal Kuuk Thaayorre is really helpful for sailing.C.Korean has a larger vocabulary than English in describing colors.D.Whether an action is completed or not is best shown in Spanish.(4).The author uses the following ways to develop paragraphs EXCEPT_.（分数：2.00）A.cause and effectB.de
20、duction and inductionC.explanationD.definitionWhat would the holidays be without lots of tiny twinkling lights? Less colorful and festivebut also a lot safer. From living rooms to front porches across the country, homeowners are stringing millions of lights on Christmas trees or eaves and decorating
21、 their windowsills with electric, battery-operated or traditional candles. But according to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, too many are doing so with little regard to the hazards. Last holiday season there were about 200 Christmas tree fires in American homes, caused primarily by fa
22、ulty lights and resulting in 10 deaths and more than $10 million in property loss, the Commission says. Another 14,000 house fires are started yearly by misplaced or mishandled flame candles, causing 170 deaths and $350 million in property loss. And about 10,000 people are treated at emergency rooms
23、 for injuries from falls, cuts or shocks while hanging lights or decorations. The biggest causes of holiday fires are candles and live trees, said Kim Dulic, a Commission spokeswoman. The agency recommends battery-operated candles instead of real or electric, she said, along with fire-resistant arti
24、ficial treesor fresh well-watered trees. A cut tree is fresh, she said, if the bottom of its trunk is sticky with resin and its needles are hard to pull and dont break when bent. It is too dry if it sheds a shower of needles when bounced on the ground. A harvested tree should be cut about a half inc
25、h from the bottom and put in water within no more than three to six hours, said Rick Dungey, the public relations manager of the National Christmas Tree Association, in Chesterfield, Mo. If you wait any longer, air molecules get in the trunk and they prevent the tree from siphoning water, Mr. Dungey
26、 said, adding that people should water often and never let the water go below the cut end. Once a Christmas tree dries out, it is an accident waiting to happen, said Lorraine Carli, the communications vice president of the National Fire Protection Association, in Quincy, Mass. If ignited, it can be
27、engulfed in seconds. The most common cause is electricaleither an overused electrical system or faulty wiring. Brett Brenner, the president of the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), in Rosslyn, Va., said homeowners should make yearly inspections. Cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires
28、 and loose connections can cause a serious shock or start a fire, he said. Use no more than one extension cord per socket, and string no more than three sets of lights together. Wires should not run under carpets or through windows or doors. He said outdoor outlets should be protected by a ground fa
29、ult circuit interruptera breaker that trips with any interruption or problem with the ground wire. (An interrupter usually needs to be installed when an outlet is near or exposed to water; it generally costs less than $10.) John Drengenberg, the consumer affairs director of Underwriters Laboratories
30、, the testing group in Northbrook, III. , said that if lights are certified for indoors only, they must not be used outside; those certified for outdoors, however, can be used inside. No matter the kind, he said, if the bulbs are the screw-in type, there should be no more than 50 per outlet. Outdoor
31、 lights, he said, should be hung with plastic clip-on hangers, not metal nails or staples, which can pierce insulation and cause a short. And what about those who dont take down their outdoor lights until the wisteria is in bloom in May? You should never leave lights up all year round, Mr. Drengenbe
32、rg said. Theyre not designed for year-round use.（分数：8.00）(1).Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a cause of the holiday hazards?（分数：2.00）A.Accidents during decoration.B.Poor quality of bubbles.C.Careless handling of candles.D.Problematic management of lights.(2).According to th
33、e passage, what is the best choice of Christmas trees?（分数：2.00）A.A real tree that is soaked in water at the shop.B.A real tree whose needles dont break when bent.C.An artificial tree with delicate craftsmanship.D.An artificial tree that wont be engulfed immediately.(3).It can be inferred from Paragr
34、aph Five that_.（分数：2.00）A.the ESFI inspects household electrical system annuallyB.electrical devices for outdoor use are not expensiveC.homeowners do not have the particular electrical knowledgeD.an overloaded electrical system or faulty wiring may lead to disasters(4).Which of the following is NOT
35、in accordance with Mr. Drengenbergs suggestion?（分数：2.00）A.Never use outdoor lights that are certified for indoor use.B.Put exactly 50 screw-in type bulbs to each outlet.C.Take off the outdoor lights after the Christmas season is over.D.Avoid metal nails or staples when putting on the outdoor lights.
36、We all know that emotions originate in the brain. But we usually talk about our emotions coming from our hearts. If someone you know doesnt give up easily, you might say, Hes got a lot of heart. Not every culture would agreefor instance, when Italians want to say someone has heart, they say instead,
37、 Ha fegato :He has liver. But what about bad emotions? When you feel so sad or so angry that your heart aches, could it actually be true? Two new studies add support to the theory that, yes, what goes on in your mind can break your heart. In the first study, just published in the Journal of the Amer
38、ican College of Cardiology (JACC), a team of eight researchers looking at more than 63,000 women who were participants in the ongoing Nurses Health Study, found that those who reported basic symptoms of depression (like feeling down and incapable of happiness) had a higher-than-normal risk of corona
39、ry heart disease. And women who were clinically depressed were more than twice as likely as other women to suffer sudden cardiac death. None of the participants had heart problems at the studys outset, but nearly 8% had symptoms of depression. The researchers theorize that depression might have some
40、 direct physiological impact on the heartlike causing it to work harder in the face of stress. The study also found that the more depressed women were, the more likely they were to smoke cigarettes or have high blood pressure and diabetesnot exactly heart-healthy conditions. Or it may be that the an
41、tidepressants prescribed to treat those with mood problems were associated with heart ailments; in the study, sudden cardiac death was linked more strongly with antidepressant use than with womens symptoms of depression. The antidepressant theory is just thata theory. It could be that the antidepres
42、sant takers in the study were simply the most depressed. But if the theory is substantiated by further research, it would add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that antidepressants carry a high risk (particularly for teenagers) when weighed against the drugs still uncertain benefits. Scientis
43、ts have already shown that antidepressants are a bad idea for those about to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery. No one is sure exactly how depression hurts the heart, and one plausible explanation is that the train runs in the opposite directiona damaged heart and its consequent stress on the b
44、ody might activate, somehow, genes or other physiological changes that contribute to depression. But another new paper, also published in the JACC, lends credit to the idea that it is our moods that work on our hearts and not the other way around. In this paper, researchers from University College L
45、ondon reviewed the findings of 39 previously published articles and found that men who are angry and hostile are significantly more likely to have a cardiac event than those who arent. That may sound unsurprisingwe all know that anger can stress your heart. But its important to note the difference b
46、etween aggression and just being aggressive. Previous studies have found that so-called type Asthose who are driven, competitive and obsessed with deadlinesare not more likely to experience heart disease. In other words, your type A co-workers who are annoyingly ambitious and dutiful are no more lik
47、ely to have a heart attack than you are. Rather, its the seething, angry types with underlying hostility who are the ticking time bombs. Anger, it turns out, is physiologically toxic. The authors of the second paper offer the standard theories about how an angry emotion translates to a physical hear
48、t attack: angry people have a harder time sleeping; they take prescribed drugs less often; they eat worse, exercise less, smoke more and are fatter. These things add up: compared with the good-humored, those who were angry and hostilebut had no signs of heart problems at the outsetended up with a 19% higher risk of developing coronary heart disease, according to the University College London paper. The two studies reify gender stereotypes: women get their hea
