1、专业英语八级（阅读）-试卷125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._As you sat across the Thanksgiving table basking in the warmth of family and the aroma of chestnut stuffing, most likely you did not remember the vicious comment your Aunt Jennifer made about you a few years back. You
3、didnt dwell on Uncle Julios unkind reference to your drinking last Christmas or what cousin Duwan said about your girlfriend during that dreadful vacation at the shore. At family holidays, we tend to embrace our relatives even after months or years of not having seen one another, regardless of the q
4、uarrels we have had in the past. We may chalk up our generous forgiveness to the festive spirit of the holiday, but the real reason has nothing to do with Thanksgiving; it is because of how we humans rememberand forget. Cognitive experts tell us that forgetting is fundamental to how we make sense of
5、 the world. Forgetting helps us survive, by making sure we dont dwell in the past.In the digital age, that mechanism of our humanity is under threat. We all hate when we cant remember something. We think of it as a bug of the human mind. We dont realize that by discarding most of the avalanche of de
6、tails that our senses are bombarded with every day, as well as past wounds, our brain helps us focus on the important things; it lets us see the forest rather than just the trees. We may learn from our failures, but thankfully we also easily forget them. Human memories are not fixed; they are recons
7、tructed. We remember more easily what we remember often. More important, we tend to forget memories that dont fit into our current world vision; our brains discard them as no longer important. That way, we forgive one another (and ourselves) for past transgressions. Thus our memories of most past ex
8、periences wither. Forgetting misdeeds that we deem no longer relevant is a powerful mechanism; and the best part of it is that its built into us. But it also means that operation is thwarted in a world of comprehensive memory, a world in which we are constantly reminded of our past. Our ever-improvi
9、ng digital tools record billions of Facebook messages and more than 300 million tweets every daynot to mention our private e-mail accounts, with their photos and videos. Logging our lives is becoming the norm, and having a comprehensive digital memory at our disposal is the default. Many people are
10、concerned about what this does to privacy. I am worried about Thanksgivingthe warmth and joy that may be lost when we keep being reminded of every mistake, every quarrel, every disagreement. With comprehensive digital memories all around us, forgetting one anothers offenses becomes more difficult; t
11、hrough our digital tools well be alerted to all we thought we had forgotten. This will make it harder for us to forgive. In one of his short stories, author Jorge Luis Borges describes a young man who after an accident can no longer forget. He can remember perfectly all the books he has read, but he
12、 has been unable to learn anything from them, because learning involves the distilling of abstract thought from detailed memories, after which the latter fade away. Thus it, too, necessitates forgetting. In future Thanksgivings, our data glasses might identify family members through facial recogniti
13、on, and within a split second, display old e-mails and images, tweets and posts, reminding us in excruciating detail of their (and our) past shortcomings. Some say that well adapt by disregarding these digital memories. But it is naive to think that if so directly reminded of earlier quarrels, well
14、be able to put the revived memory aside. Our brain is trained to remember events we thought we had forgotten when given an external stimulus. Automatically disregarding revived memories is as hard as deliberately forgetting thingswe cant do it. We need to appreciate and preserve forgetting as a feat
15、ure of humanity. To do so may require us to adapt our digital tools. Unlike our brains, they can easily be rewired. With the help of the companies that design our online tools, we could let tweets and Facebook comments expire over time. We could choose the photos in our digital libraries we want to
16、remember, and the e-mails we hold dear, as we let the rest slowly disappear, giving us a renewed and much-needed chance to forget. This would preserve in the digital age our ability to grow, to learn and to forgive. And it would give us a better shot at having a rancor-free family holiday. That alon
17、e would be worth it.（分数：8.00）(1).We can learn from the first two paragraphs that_.（分数：2.00）A.holidays like Thanksgiving make people forgetfulB.family members always poke unkind comments toward each otherC.forgetting is important to human experiencesD.cognitive experts tell us the meaning of the worl
18、d(2).Which of the following words is used literally, NOT metaphorically?（分数：2.00）A.Dwell (Paragraph One).B.Festive (Paragraph Two).C.Avalanche (Paragraph Four).D.Forest (Paragraph Four).(3).Which of the following statements can NOT be inferred from the story written by Jorge Luis Borges?（分数：2.00）A.L
19、earning is a more complex process than reading.B.The young man cannot form detailed memories from the books hes read.C.Forgetting involves discarding most detailed memories.D.It would be a painful experience if we were unable to forget.(4).In the last two paragraphs of the passage, the author_.（分数：2
20、.00）A.concludes the problem and puts forward some suggestionsB.restates the topic and raises his/her doubtsC.summarizes the causes for the problem and its effectsD.summarizes his/her argument and invites further discussionAs a Floridian whos weathered his share of hurricanes, I can more than sympath
21、ize with my northeastern countrymen as they begin the lousy task of cleaning up after Sandy. But theres one commonality that stands out for me as a parent. Just as Frankenstorm struck days before Halloween, so did Hurricane Wilma wreck South Florida seven years ago this week. My kids were teens then
22、 (remember Harry Potter costumes?) and I have a piece of advice now for the parents of trick-or-treaters from Virginia to Maine: Dont cancel Halloween, as Im seeing so many towns up there announcing theyll do. Postpone it. Delay it. But as soon as you can, have it. That might sound like fairly trivi
23、al counsel given the deadly havoc the Northeast is dealing with at this moment. But that grim situationand the impact Ive personally seen it have on childrenis precisely the reason Im offering it. During times like this, one crucial thing kids need is a reassuring sign or two of normalcy. Whats more
24、, if youre going to have a hurricane hit you during a holiday, Halloween is the best when it comes to children; For all its lighthearted revelry of costumes and candy, this delightfully gothic autumn festival also manages to teach kids something about confronting lifes darker side. Wilma tore across
25、 Florida a week before Halloween in 2005, on Oct. 24, littering the peninsulas southern half with uprooted trees, exploded rooftops and glass shards from high-rise condominium windows. Almost 40 people were killed; more than 3 million of us were without power for weeks, and the damage topped $20 bil
26、lion. I remember interviewing a group of shell-shocked elementary school kids whod been having a hurricane sleepover in a Miami Beach high-rise when the Category 2 winds destroyed the apartment and almost blew them into Biscayne Bay. Many people considered shutting Halloween down amid that mess. Sti
27、ll, when I looked up long enough from my own aggravating cleanup work, or from my deadline stories about the disaster, I could see the dispiriting effect that the prospect of ditching Halloween was having on my children, then aged 10 and 8. It wasnt just that they were losing out on the fun. Hallowe
28、en by then had also become a comforting part of their childrens almanac. Not having it would have left a hole that only compounded the hurricane trauma they were trying to absorb all around them. I might not have been so tuned in to their funk had I not covered Miamis Elian Gonzdlez debacle five yea
29、rs earlier. The one thing the child psychiatrists I interviewed then kept telling me was that Elidn, like any kid that age, needed structure returned to his life, especially after the horrifying experience of watching his mother drown in the Atlantic Ocean. I remembered that wisdom after Wilma, and
30、it made me and a number of other parents in our community resolve to forge ahead with a proper Halloween. Not just the trick-or-treating but a party afterward with ghost stories, bobbing for apples and limbo dancing. Observing Oct. 31 , damn the mess, helped the kids forget Oct. 24 for a while, and
31、Id be willing to bet they remember it as one of their best Halloweens. And maybe, in retrospect, one of the more meaningful. Halloween doesnt just help kids forget their cares; it invites them to face their fears. Ive never understood parents who boycott Halloween because they believe it introduces
32、children to the occult or even Satan worship. As far as Im concerned, it does just the opposite. Halloween doesnt embrace deathit mocks it. (I would also remind conservative Christians that while its a secular holiday today, Halloween traditionally means All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints
33、Day on the Roman Catholic calendar.) In that sense its a lot like Mexicos Day of the Dead, which unfolds every Nov. 2 in all its skeletons-and-marigolds splendor. I call the Day of the Dead the Mexican Halloween because it serves much the same harvest-season purpose; to make us less scared of death
34、by letting us party with it for a moment. That kind of positive ritual comes in handy when children are trying to make sense of tragedy. When I look at the 2005 Halloween photos of our neighborhood kids today, I see more than youngsters laughing at their fantasy frights. I also sense children who mi
35、ght be coping a bit better with the real mayhem theyd just witnessed. So in spite of this weeks catastrophe, let the kids put on a Frankenstein costumebecause it might help them put away their nightmares of Frankenstorm.（分数：8.00）(1).We can infer from the second paragraph that_.（分数：2.00）A.to observe
36、Halloween is a suggestion not worth considering at a disaster timeB.children tend to suffer less during a hurricane than adultsC.some holidays help lessen the horrifying effects of a disasterD.having joyful festivals will brighten peoples life to a large extent(2).It can be learned from Elian Gonzal
37、ezs case in Paragraph Five that_.（分数：2.00）A.the author is not concerned about Elians emotional problemsB.Elians case is an extraordinary one and cannot represent the other childrenC.there is hardly any order in a kids everyday lifeD.the author took more focus on that Halloween in order to help child
38、ren reconstruct their life(3).Which of the following statements about Halloween is INCORRECT according to the passage?（分数：2.00）A.Its often connected with costumes and candy.B.Its role of leading people to ghost worship is being reexamined by the society.C.Its an autumn festival which has its origin
39、in western religions.D.It exposes people to lifes darker side by mocking death.(4).Which of the following best describes the authors development of writing?（分数：2.00）A.Relating a current event with an earlier one raising a suggestionswitching to the past eventrestating some reasons for the suggestion
40、.B.Posing a problemanalyzing the situationputting forward some solutions.C.Revealing a problem switching to similar ones in the pastanalyzing the similarities between past and present.D.Narrating a storycommenting on the storyinviting an open discussion.Frank Lloyd Wright is best known as a revoluti
41、onary American architect. A hallmark of his work is sensitivity to the natural environmentFallingwater, the house he built over a waterfall, is a prime example. But Mr. Wright had a second career as a collector of and dealer in Japanese block prints, continuing this business until his death in 1959
42、at the age of 91. At times, he made more money selling prints than he did from architecture. A small but insightful exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, comprising prints, architectural drawings from Mr. Wrights studio and archival objects, highlights the Japans deep influence on his work. Mr
43、. Wright was first captivated by Japanese art in 1893, when he saw Japans pavilions at the sprawling world fair in Chicago. His interest in Japans art and culture blossomed during several trips there starting in 1905. He opened an office in Japan in 1915 and lived there for a few years while buildin
44、g the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. At last I had found one country on earth where simplicity, as nature, is supreme, he wrote. He returned from his first trip to Japan with hundreds of ukiyoe prints, planning to sell them in America. Mr. Wright often sold his clients art to hang on the walls he had buil
45、t, explaining that they complemented his streamlined interiors. Japanese prints, especially traditional bird and flower images, had easily understandable motifs. The prints were a commercial hit but Mr. Wright was also personally enthralled by them. A Japanese artist grasps form always by reaching u
46、nderneath for its geometry, never losing sight of its spiritual efficacy, he wrote in The Japanese Print, a slim, 35-page book published in 1912. These simple coloured engravings are indeed a language whose purpose is absolute beauty. According to Janice Katz, associate curator of Japanese art at th
47、e Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. Wright favoured prints by Utagawa Hiroshige, a Japanese artist who emphasized environment over human structures. Prints such as Mr. Hiroshiges Goyu: Women Stopping Travellers show buildings from a wide perspective. The flattened space and naturalistic detail of prints
48、 influenced architectural drawings in Mr. Wrights studio. For instance, a vertical scroll-like drawing called Perspective of Frank Lloyd Wrights Thomas P. Hardy House, Racine, Wisconsin leaves most of the brown page blank except the top right corner where a house perches precariously. A flowering branch, like those in bird and flower prints, pokes into the blank space. The draft was made by Marion Mahony Griffin, who worked for Mr. Wright. An architect in her own
