1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 151及答案与解析 SECTION A MINI-LECTURE Directions: In this section you sill hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture.
2、 When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking. 0 Humanities Disciplines In many peoples eyes, the humanities disciplines seem to be dying out. However, ac
3、tually, students continue to enroll in humanities courses and lots of scholarship is still published. The humanities disciplines feel dislocated, because they appear to have lost their【 1】 _. 【 1】 _ And the most important one is exactly what those roots were. The history of higher education in the U
4、nited States since【 2】 _ can 【 2】_ be divided into 2 periods. . The first period (19451975): A period of【 3】 _ and known in the literature on American 【 3】_ education as the Golden Age, during which the composition of the higher education system changed not too much, but the size of the system 【 4】
5、_ dramatically. 【 4】 _ This expansion includes three factors: 1) The baby boom: a period of record【 5】 _ that followed a period of 【 5】_ record low birth ratesthe【 6】 _ and the Second World War; 【 6】_ 2) The relatively high domestic economic growth rate after【 7】 _; 【 7】_ 3) The Cold War: American u
6、niversity had been drawn into the business of government-related【 8】 _ research during the Second World War. 【 8】_ . The second period (1975present) A period of【 9】 _, during which the size of the system has grown at a much【 9】 _ more【 10】 _ pace, and the composition has changed dramatically. 【 10】_
7、 1 【 1】 2 【 2】 3 【 3】 4 【 4】 5 【 5】 6 【 6】 7 【 7】 8 【 8】 9 【 9】 10 【 10】 SECTION B INTERVIEW Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be
8、 given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview. 11 According to Nick, what is the most dangerous notion in the world? （ A） Predominance. （ B） Local characteristics and customs. （ C） Individual identity. （ D） Potential dividing forces. 12 Which descripti
9、on is not true about Nick Ularu? （ A） He has Romanian origin. （ B） He is a teacher and a set designer in the same time. （ C） He had a cultural resonance when he first came to the USA （ D） He couldnt understand why Americans invest so much on entertainment industry but not on art 13 What is Nick s op
10、inions about teaching? （ A） He thinks that teaching doesnt help the artistic side. （ B） He believes that teaching keeps him energetic. （ C） Teaching shouldnt be totally isolated from politics. （ D） Teaching frustrates him so many times. 14 What is Nick s philosophy of teaching? （ A） The students mus
11、t be the followers of their teacher. （ B） He should work hard to make students believe in their own abilities. （ C） Pleasing students is the most necessary factor. （ D） Teacher should have a decisive effect on the personalities of students. 15 Which one is Nick s idea about the leader? （ A） Everyone
12、 has the access to leadership. （ B） Leaders create the worst work situation. （ C） Books can help to improve people ability and make someone a leader. （ D） The real leaders are born. SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then ans
13、wer the questions that follow. At the end of each news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 However, they don t envision obtaining soil samples from Mars until _ to try to ascertain whether there is water on the most Earth-like planet in our solar system and, possibly, life
14、. （ A） 2001 （ B） 2007 （ C） 2011 （ D） 2017 17 According to the news, in 2007_. （ A） the first leg of the new programme is to come （ B） two robots will be sent to explore the surface of Earth s neighbour （ C） the Satellite Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will circle the Red Planet while outfitted with a s
15、upercamera, capable of photographing objects the size of a football （ D） SA plans to deploy a “Smart Lander“ 18 What is the feature of TATP? （ A） It is an simple explosive. （ B） It is a military explosive. （ C） It is made in U.S. factories. （ D） It can be easily made indoors. 19 Richard Reid tried t
16、o bomb a plane with the bomb _. （ A） provided by terrorists （ B） stolen from the military （ C） made according to the methods shown in Internet （ D） made in his lab 20 TATP can be detonated by _ （ A） clapping ones hand （ B） throwing it on the floor （ C） putting foot on it （ D） touching it 20 Almost a
17、 century after his death, the well-known French author Jules Verne has once again managed to fire the imagination of people around the world, this time with an unpublished novel, Paris in the 20th Century. The manuscript, completed in 1863 but long locked away in a safe, was uncovered only in 1989 b
18、y Vernes great-grandson, and it appeared in English translation just a few months ago. This 19th-century vision of the future describes life among skyscrapers of glass and steel, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, fax machines and a global communications network. The prescience
19、 of these forecasts matches what one would have expected from the author who introduced countless readers of his age to a host of technological marvels, from submarines to helicopters and spacecraft. But in fact, Paris in the 20th Century is a tragedy. It describes the life of an idealistic young ma
20、n who struggles to find happiness in the fiercely materialistic dystopia that Paris has become by 1920. Like George Orwells 1984, Vernes novel is a grim and troubling comment on the human costs of technological progress. That such a message should come from Jules Verne proves surprising to many. Mos
21、t people particularly in America - assume that Verne wrote about the wonders of technology because he was himself an optimistic scientist. Many also believe Verne wrote primarily for children, crafting novels that were invariably exciting but intellectually shallow. These misconceptions show how Ver
22、nes current status has completely shadowed the reality of his life and writings. They are part of the continuing misunderstanding of this author, a result of some severely abridged translations and simplified adaptations for Hollywood cinema. In troth, Verne was neither a scientist nor an engineer:
23、he was simply a writer - and a very prolific one. Over his lifetime, Verne produced more than 2 novels. Yet his works were carefully grounded in fact, and his books inspired many leading scientists, engineers, inventors and explorers, including William Beebe (the creator and pilot of the first bathy
24、sphere), Admiral Richard Byrd (a pioneer explorer of Antarctica), Yuri Gagarin (the first human to fly in space) and Neil Armstrong (the first astronaut to walk on the moon). Vernes novels were thus profoundly influential, and perhaps uniquely so. Although novels with scientific foundation had been
25、written before, Verne raised the technique of scientific description to a fine art. And this type of science fiction, based on accurate descriptions of science and technology, has tended to dominate the trend ever since. But Vernes devotion to technical detail does not reflect an confidence in the v
26、irtues of science. Indeed, his earliest writings - a mixture of plays, essays and short stories - were distinctly critical of science and technology. It was only the strict monitor of his publisher, Pierre-Jules Hetzel, that steered Verne toward what eventually made him famous: fast-paced adventure
27、tales heavily flavored with scientific lessons and an optimistic ideology. And although his own attitude was quite different, Verne offered little resistance to Hetzel. After the release of his initial book in 1863, the first in a series of novels published under the banner “Extraordinary Voyages: V
28、oyages in Known and Unknown Worlds“, Verne explained to his friends at the Paris stock market (where he had been working part-time to make ends meet) about his accomplishment. “My friends I ye just written a novel in a new style. If it succeeds, it will be a gold mine.“ He was right. Under Hetzel s
29、continual guidance, Verne created one novel after another, each fundamentally of this same type. But most of the works published after Hetzel s death in 1886 show Verne returning to his original themes - championing environmentalism, anticapitalism and social responsibility while questioning the ben
30、efits that science and technology could bring to an imperfect world. To understand how Vernes later writings could differ so completely from popular image of him requires a closer understanding of the man and his times. 21 How does the author think about “Paris in the 20th Century“? （ A） He thinks i
31、t is a comedy. （ B） This 19th-century vision of the future describes life among skyscrapers of glass and steel, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, fax machines and a global communications network. （ C） It describes the life of an unidealistic young man who struggles to find hap
32、piness in the fiercely materialistic dystopia that Paris has become by 1920. （ D） He thinks the Jules Verne has once again managed to fire the imagination of people around the world and it is a grim and troubling comment on the human costs of technological progress. 22 In the sentence “In math, Vern
33、e was neither a scientist nor an engineer: he was simply a writer and a very prolific one.“, the word “prolific“ probably means _ （ A） primitive （ B） diligent （ C） rich （ D） fruitful 23 Through what kind of novels, did Verne make himself success? （ A） Fast-paced adventure tales heavily flavored with
34、 scientific lessons and an optimistic ideology. （ B） To mix futuristic narratives with detailed, plausible descriptions of new technology. （ C） Through novels such as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864; translated 1874) and Around the World in 80Days (1873; translated 1874). （ D） Bright, enter
35、taining adventure stories that celebrated the possibilities of technology. 24 According to the passage, how does the author think about Jules Verne? （ A） A stranger. （ B） A scientist whose job was to discover the future and cast new technology in a darker light. （ C） From the start, the father of sc
36、ience fiction was gravely concerned with the dangers of technology. （ D） He was either a scientist or an engineer. 24 Kidnappings around the world have typically had one of two major goals: publicity for a local political cause or as a form of“ fund-raising“ for the kidnappers. Recently, kidnappings
37、 for political reasons have been on the decrease, whereas kidnapping for profit has seen a dramatic increase. A prime example of this trend is in Colombia. Colombia is considered to be the kidnapping capital of the world, with rival guerrilla and paramilitary groups consistently abducting civilians-
38、including businessmen, tourists and aid workers. The ransom money obtained from these activities is used primarily to finance a 37- year civil war in Colombia. The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 3,000 people are kidnapped in Colombia each year. Most kidnap victims are Colombians who
39、are either wealthy or who can at least come up with a few thousand dollars. Although the kidnappings are most often performed by political dissidents, the motivation for the kidnappings is usually money, not politics. Colombia is not the only country to be plagued with this increase in kidnappings f
40、or profit. Ransom kidnappings are becoming more common in Mexico, Central America, Brazil, Chechnya, the Philippines, Haiti, and many other developing countries throughout the world. Although many kidnappings are politically motivated, a growing number are simply fund-raising exercises by guerrillas
41、 or common criminals. For example, when a new rebel group, the Popular Revolutionary Army, surfaced in Mexico in 1996, experts concluded that the group financed itself through kidnappings carried out over the previous two years. One of the causes of the worldwide increase in kidnappings for profit i
42、s that billions of dollars in foreign investment has only marginally assisted the poor throughout the Third World. This has created a growing resentment of the elites who have hoarded much of the wealth. Therefore, often kidnappings for profit throughout the Third World are a backlash by the poor ag
43、ainst the elites, in an attempt to even the score by obtaining some of their money. Moreover, there is an increasing risk of kidnapping for tourists and expatriate executives throughout the world. This is particularly so for Americans, who are perceived as rich even when they are not. Their substant
44、ial numbers-3.2 million living overseas and 50 million traveling internationally each year-have left Americans more at risk than citizens of other countries. In many countries, the kidnapping of business people, especially American executives and mid-level managers, as well as tourists has become a
45、thriving business. For example, during the last several years, the FARC and ELN, two Colombian terrorist groups, have extorted more than $632 million from foreign companies and individuals. In fact, the problem of kidnapping has become so bad internationally that several insurance and security compa
46、nies are offering either international kidnapping insurance or, at least, detailed instructions on how to avoid a kidnapping. This too has become a thriving business. According to Fielding Worldwide, Inc., a typical KRE (Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion) insurance policy has a $1 million limit. An annua
47、l policy would cost between US$7,000 in Brazil or up to a maximum of US$26,000 in Colombia-this is an incredible cost. Corporations usually buy blanket policies that cover all employees, but often business is intertwined with extended family from grandparents down to grandchildren. Therefore, often
48、the entire family must be included in the policy to ensure maximum coverage. Since kidnappers are aware of these KRE policies, the insurance policies have inadvertently created a way for them to make even more money than if they were to kidnap a typical man off the street. So, is it necessary to obt
49、ain one of these policies? Seitlin he might hear different opinions now that a Shiite dominated government is more or less in place. Trofimovs episodic narrative creates a mosaic of the Muslim universe, which is less monolithic than generally pictured. Each tile is exquisitely wrought, but the overall pattern is not always clear. Trofimov
