1、专业英语八级（阅读）-试卷127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._If Shakira, a Colombian pop star, marries her boyfriend, the Spanish national footballer Gerard Pique, the only unusual things about it would be that she is even more famous than he is and ten years older. Otherwise, t
3、heirs would be just a celebrity example of one of the worlds biggest social trends: the rise of international marriagesthat is, involving couples of different nationalities. A hundred years ago, such alliances were confined to the elite of the elite. When Randolph Churchill married Jennie Jerome of
4、New York, it seemed as if they had stepped from the pages of a Henry James novel; brash, spirited American heiress peps up the declining fortunes of Britains aristocracy. Now, such alliances have become almost commonplace. To confine examples to politicians only: the French President Nicolas Sarkozy
5、 is married to the Italian-born Carla Bruni and his Prime Minister Francois Fillon has a Welsh wife, Penelope Clarke. Nelson Mandela is married to Graga Machel (from Mozambique). Denmarks new Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt is married to a Briton, Stephen Kinnock. And two leading female politi
6、cians of Asian countries, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar and Indias Sonia Gandhi, are both widows from international marriages. In rich countries alone such unions number at least 10 million. International marriages matter partly because they reflectand result fromglobalisation. As people holiday or st
7、udy abroad, or migrate to live and work, the visitors meet and marry locals. Their unions are symbols of cultural integration, and battlefields for conflicts over integration. Few things help immigrants come to terms with their new country more than becoming part of a local family. Though the offspr
8、ing of such unions may struggle with the barriers of prejudice, at their best international marriages reduce intolerance directly themselves, and indirectly through their offspring. Defining what counts as international is tricky too. A wedding of a local man and a foreign-born bride is easy. But th
9、e marriage of two foreigners in a third country sometimes counts and sometimes doesnt. Trickiest of all is how to treat the marriage of a second-generation immigrant who has citizenship of a host country (say, the child of a Moroccan in France or a Mexican in America). If such a person marries a nat
10、ive Frenchwoman or an American, that usually does not count as international, even though it is an alliance across ethnic lines. Conversely, if he marries a girl from his parents country of origin, that does count as internationalbut this is not a marriage across an ethnic divide and may indicate is
11、olation not assimilation. Belatedly, answers to these questions of scale and definition are coming, chiefly thanks to the efforts of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), a professional association of demographers, and, especially, of Doo-Sub Kim, a professor at Han
12、yang University in Seoul who chairs its panel on cross-border marriages. Global figures remain sketchy, but marriage patterns in Asia and Europe, at least, are becoming clearer. Some tentative, often surprising, conclusions are emerging. Asia is the part of the world where cross-border marriages hav
13、e been rising most consistently. According to Gavin Jones of the National University of Singapore, 5% of marriages in Japan in 2008-2009 included a foreign spouse (with four times as many foreign wives as husbands). Before 1980, the share had been below 1%. In South Korea, over 10% of marriages incl
14、uded a foreigner in 2010, up from 3.5% in 2000. In both countries, the share of cross-border marriages seems to have stabilised lately, perhaps as a result of the global economic slowdown. International marriages have played a significant role in modifying the ethnic homogeneity of East Asian countr
15、ies. International marriages are common in much of Europe, too. Calculations by Giampaolo Lanzieri, an Italian demographer, show that in France the proportion of international marriage rose from about 10% in 1996 to 16% in 2009. In Germany, the rise is a little lower, from 11.3% in 1990 to 13.7% in
16、2010. Some smaller countries have much higher levels. Nearly half the marriages in Switzerland are international ones, up from a third in 1990. Around one in five marriages in Sweden, Belgium and Austria involves a foreign partner.（分数：8.00）(1).The author gives examples of international marriages in
17、politicians to_.（分数：2.00）A.illustrate that marriages across ethnic lines are usual for celebritiesB.prove that cross-border marriages are rising in both Asian and European countriesC.indicate that international marriages have spread from the elite to ordinary peopleD.imply that politicians are more
18、likely to marry foreigners(2).According to the passage, which of the following marriages is usually counted as an international one?（分数：2.00）A.A Canadian man marries a Canadian woman in New Zealand.B.A daughter of Japanese immigrants in the U. S. marries a Japanese citizen.C.A second-generation Turk
19、ish German marries a native German.D.A son of Indian immigrants in Britain marries an English woman.(3).Which of the following conclusions can NOT be drawn from the passage?（分数：2.00）A.There are still many unanswered questions regarding the scale and definition of international marriages.B.Rich count
20、ries show faster growth of international marriages.C.International marriages can effectively help immigrants integrate into the local community.D.The growth rates of cross-border marriages in some countries vary dramatically over time.(4).The author would NOT agree that_.（分数：2.00）A.international mar
21、riages have been an important social trend for a centuryB.the study of international marriages has not been given enough attentionC.not all international marriages are helpful for integration of different culturesD.there may be a correlation between the rise of international marriages and global eco
22、nomic growthIn June of 1836, Nathan Rothschild left London for Frankfurt to attend the wedding of his son Lionel to his niece (Lionels cousin Charlotte), and to discuss with his brothers the entry of Nathans children into the family business. Nathan was probably the richest man in the world, at leas
23、t in liquid assets. He could, needless to say, afford whatever he pleased. Then 59 years old, Nathan was in good health if somewhat portly, a bundle of energy, untiring in his devotion to work and indomitable of temperament. When he left London, however, he was suffering from an inflammation on his
24、lower back, toward the base of his spine. (A German physician diagnosed it as a boil, but it may have been an abscess.) In spite of medical treatment, this festered and grew painful. No matter: Nathan got up from his sickbed and attended the wedding. Had he been bedridden, the wedding would have bee
25、n celebrated in the hotel. For all his suffering, Nathan continued to deal with business matters, with his wife taking dictation. Meanwhile the great Dr. Travers was summoned from London, and when he could not cure the problem, a leading German surgeon was called in, presumably to open and clean the
26、 wound. Nothing availed; the poison spread; and on 28 July 1836, Nathan died. We are told that the Rothschild pigeon post took the message back to London: He is dead. Nathan Rothschild died probably of staphylococcus or streptococcus septicemiawhat used to be called blood poisoning. In the absence o
27、f more detailed information, it is hard to say whether the boil (abscess) killed him or secondary contamination from the surgeons knives. This was before the germ theory existed, hence before any notion of the importance of cleanliness. No bactericides then, much less antibiotics. And so the man who
28、 could buy anything died, of a routine infection easily cured today for anyone who could find his way to a doctor or a hospital, even a pharmacy. Medicine has made enormous strides since Nathan Rothschilds time. But better, more efficacious medicinethe treatment of illness and repair of injuryis onl
29、y part of the story. Much of the increased life expectancy of these years has come from gains in prevention, cleaner living rather than better medicine. Clean water and expeditious waste removal, plus improvements in personal cleanliness, have made all the difference. For a long time the great kille
30、r was gastrointestinal infection, transmitted from waste to hands to food to digestive tract; and this unseen but deadly enemy, ever present, was reinforced from time to time by epidemic microbes such as the vibrio of cholera. The best avenue of transmission was the common privy, where contact with
31、wastes was fostered by want of paper for cleaning and lack of washable underclothing. Who lives in unwashed woolensand woolens do not wash wellwill itch and scratch. So hands were dirty, and the great mistake was failure to wash before eating. This was why those religious groups that prescribed wash
32、ingthe Jews, the Muslimshad lower disease and death rates-, which did not always count to their advantage. People were easily persuaded that if fewer Jews died, it was because they had poisoned Christian wells. The answer was found, not in changed religious belief or doctrine, but in industrial inno
33、vation. The principal product of the new technology that we know as the Industrial Revolution was cheap, washable cotton; and along with it mass-produced soap made of vegetable oils. For the first time, the common man could afford underwear, once known as body linen because that was the washable fab
34、ric that the well-to-do wore next to their skin. He (or she) could wash with soap and even bathe, although too much bathing was seen as a sign of dirtiness. Why would clean people have to wash so often? No matter. Personal hygiene changed drastically, so that commoners of the late 19th and early 20t
35、h century often lived cleaner than the kings and queens of a century earlier. The third element in the decline of disease and death was better nutrition. This owed much to increases in food supply, even more to better, faster transport. Famines, often the product of local shortages, became rarer; di
36、et grew more varied and richer in animal protein. These changes translated among other things into taller, stronger physiques. This was a much slower process than those medical and hygienic gains that could be instituted from above, in large part because it depended on habit and taste as well as inc
37、ome. As late as World War , the Turks who fought the British expeditionary force at Gallipoli were struck by the difference in height between the steak- and mutton- fed troops from Australia and New Zealand and the stunted youth of British mill towns. And anyone who follows immigrant populations fro
38、m poor countries into rich will note that the children are taller and better knit than their parents.（分数：8.00）(1).Which of the following expressiones is used literally, NOT metaphorically?（分数：2.00）A.A bundle of energy. (Paragraph Two)B.Enormous strides. (Paragraph Four)C.This unseen but deadly enemy
39、. (Paragraph Four)D.The kings and queens. (Paragraph Five)(2).Which of the following factors may NOT be the cause of Nathan Rothschilds death?（分数：2.00）A.Failure to get timely treatment.B.A fatal wound on his back.C.Bacterial infection.D.Lack of good medicine and operation technique.(3).Which of the
40、following statements is most consistent with the authors attitude?（分数：2.00）A.Improvement in nutrition was easier to achieve than provision of better medicine and washable underclothing.B.No doctor at that time could have saved the life of Nathan after the boil was found.C.Effective medicine played a
41、 more important role in reducing disease and death than better hygiene and nutrition.D.The industrial revolution has not improved the health of ordinary people as much as the rich.(4).What is the main idea of this passage?（分数：2.00）A.The progress of medicine has improved the health of ordinary people
42、 to the level of the rich in the 19th century.B.The industrial revolution reduced disease and death by providing better medicine, washable fabric and richer nutrition.C.Improvements in medicine, personal hygiene and nutrition together greatly improved peoples health and life expectancy.D.Our knowled
43、ge about diseases and nutrition has greatly improved since the 19th century.The Japanese say they suffer from an economic disease called structural pessimism. Overseas too, there is a tendency to see Japan as a harbinger of all that is doomed in the economies of the euro zone and Americaeven though
44、figures released on November 14th show its economy grew by an annualised 6% in the third quarter, rebounding quickly from the March tsunami and nuclear disaster. Look dispassionately at Japans economic performance over the past ten years, though, and the second lost decade , if not the first, is a m
45、isnomer. Much of what tarnishes Japans image is the result of demographymore than half its population is over 45as well as its poor policy in dealing with it. Even so, most Japanese have grown richer over the decade. In aggregate, Japans economy grew at half the pace of Americas between 2001 and 201
46、0. Yet if judged by growth in GDP per person over the same period, then Japan has outperformed America and the euro zone. In part this is because its population has shrunk whereas Americas population has increased. Though growth in labour productivity fell slightly short of Americas from 2000 to 200
47、8, total factor productivity, a measure of how a country uses capital and labour, grew faster, according to the Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organisation. Japans unemployment rate is higher than in2000, yet it remains about half the level of America and Europe. Besides supposed stagnation, the two
48、 other curses of the Japanese economy are debt and deflation. Yet these also partly reflect demography and can be overstated. People often think of Japan as an indebted country. In fact, it is the worlds biggest creditor nation, boasting ￥253 trillion ( $3.3 trillion) in net foreign assets. To be sure, its government is a large debtor; its net debt as a share of GDP is one of the highest in the OECD. However, the public debt has been accrued not primarily through wasteful spending or bridges to nowhere, but because of agei
