1、专业英语八级（阅读）-试卷141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._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
3、months earlier had shot him in St. Peters Square. He presented 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?
4、Persistent unforgiveness is part of human nature, but it 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 o
5、wn foundationA Campaign for Forgiveness Researchwhich 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
6、and vengeance. In a way, Ornish says, the most selfish 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, resen
7、tment and fear (of being hurt or humiliated again). These have specific physiologic consequencessuch as increased blood pressure and hormonal changeslinked to cardiovascular disease, immune suppression and, possibly, impaired neurological function and memory. One study examined 20 individuals in hap
8、py relationships, matched with 20 in troubled relationships. The latter had higher baseline levels of Cortisol, a hormone associated with impaired immune functionwhich shot up even further when they were asked to think about their relationships. It happens down the line, but every time you feel unfo
9、rgiveness, you are more likely to develop a 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 networksof friends, neighbors and familytend
10、 to be healthier than loners. Someone who 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 perso
11、nality, a way of life, not merely a response to specific insults. In fact, forgiveness turns out to be a surprisingly complex process, according to many researchers. Worthington distinguishes what he calls decisional forgivenessa commitment to reconcile with the perpetratorfrom the more significant
12、emotional forgiveness, an internal 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
13、go, not excusing the other person 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 cultiva
14、ted; it goes against a natural human tendency to seek revenge and the redress of injustice. For that reason, he recommends doing it with helpof 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
15、example for the rest of us. 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.（分数：10.00）(1).The word detriment in the second paragr
16、aph probably means_.（分数：2.00）A.determinationB.benefitC.damageD.adversity(2).According to researches in clinical psychology, unforgiveness will lead to all the physiologic consequences EXCEPT_.（分数：2.00）A.immune suppressionB.impaired memoryC.increased blood pressureD.lower baseline levels of Cortisol(
17、3).The fourth paragraph states all of the following EXCEPT that_.（分数：2.00）A.loners do not forgive othersB.to be sociable is better for peoples healthC.forgiveness is not just a reaction to some insultsD.forgiveness should become part of ones personality(4).According to Hallowell, which of the follow
18、ing is INCORRECT?（分数：2.00）A.It takes time to forgive.B.It is difficult for people to forgive.C.One will get hurt by ones revenge against others.D.John Paul II forgave Mehmet Agca in order to set an example for the others.(5).A suitable title for the passage would be_.（分数：2.00）A.Forgive or Not, It Is
19、 a QuestionB.Forgive and Let LiveC.John Paula Model for UsD.Forgiveness Is Not EasyCompared with the systems in other industrialized countries, the American unemployment-insurance (UI) scheme pays lower benefits for less time and to a smaller share of the unemployed. In expansions this encourages th
20、e jobless to return quickly to workand unemployed Americans do indeed work harder at finding jobs than their European counterparts (see chart). But in recessions, when there is less work to return to, it causes hardship. Like Americas training system, UI is ripe for attention from the incoming Obama
21、 administration. Like much of the social safety net, the current UI system was a product of Franklin Roosevelts New Deal. States were 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 wi
22、th changes in Americas labor force. States often require beneficiaries to have worked or earned an amount that disqualifies many part-time and low-wage workers. They also disqualify people seeking only part-time workeven though many people now work part-time for family reasons. Benefits typically la
23、st for only six months, more than enough time to find a new job in normal times but not in recessions. Extended benefits kick in automatically when unemployment reaches certain thresholds, but those thresholds are so high that they are almost never triggered. Congress therefore has to pass special l
24、egislation to extend benefits, as it did twice last year, but political wrangling often delays such action. In the week that ended 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,
25、 60% of unemployed people dont qualify for the benefits at all. Unemployment insurance is one of the economys most important automatic 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 le
26、vel. At just under $300, the average weekly benefit is less than half the average private-sector wage. Mississippis maximum benefit 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
27、 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 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
28、 Americas system is experience rating: employers that frequently lay workers off must pay higher payroll taxes, thereby discouraging 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 afo
29、ot to mend the flaws in the UI system. Under a bill put forward by Jim McDermott, a congressman from Seattle, the government would 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 eligibili
30、ty for the 46-year old Trade Adjustment Assistance programme, for example by including service-sector workers and providing more 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 re
31、ality.（分数：6.00）(1).Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the first paragraph?（分数：2.00）A.American workers can get equal amount 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
32、 benefits American unemployed get is in proportion to their working time.D.The time interval American unemployed get benefits is smaller compared to Europeans.(2).Which of the following has the highest threshold?（分数：2.00）A.Mississippis maximum benefit.B.The average weekly benefit.C.The federal pover
33、ty threshold.D.Half the average private-sector wage.(3).Which of the following has NOT been proposed to mend the UI system?（分数：2.00）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 t
34、hresholds by which part-time workers are included in the system.At the Hemingway Memorial, just past the 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 aro
35、und a corner, then look up at Hemingways image on the columnold, bearded and balding. My mind runs around 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 w
36、atched him grow up all over the world, but knew that his heart was always here, at home. As the afternoon 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
37、behind a hill. Next to the campground is Trail Creek, a stream filled with rocks that the water rushes over. 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. Bu
38、t on my way, I hear a rustle and shine my light where the sound came from. A fox runs past me and its eyes 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 arou
39、nd in three nervous circles. His fur looks gray and black. He is followed by a huge tail. The fox looks 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 go
40、ne badly for Ernest in his marriage, in his writing and in his mind. He had three big books unfinished, 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 w
41、as like working a crossword puzzle in three dimensions. All he needed was time, which, unfortunately, was 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
42、Hemingway remained unhappy with them. In his last two years at Ketchum, he worked intermittently on them, 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
43、the man who arrived at Sun Valley with Martha in 1939 to write For Whom the Bell Tolls and with Mary in 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
44、 clinic for his second course of electroshock. Two months later, he was released from the clinic and drove 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 t
45、hrough the valley. At Trail Creek Campground, I wake to the sound of water rushing over rocks. Its cold 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
46、at the Hemingway Memorial. On the ground I notice small, wet, paw prints. They had come out of the stream 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 b
47、ottom. In the distance is the rush of Trail Creek, and just above is the profile of Ernest Hemingway framed 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 friendtalks about how he loved the t
48、rees and hills and sky. It ends: Now he will be part of them forever. It is a beautiful place to die.（分数：6.00）(1).Which of the following adjectives can NOT describe Hemingway Memorial?（分数：2.00）A.Secluded.B.Scenic.C.Mysterious.D.Illuminating.(2).The writer did all of the following EXCEPT to_.（分数：2.00）A.meditate on Hemingways life storyB.erect a tent on the bank of a streamC.cook a meal in a campgroundD.have a cup of coffee on the cold day(3).It c
