1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 178 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 The American Tax System Governments raise revenues through taxation. A tax is a 【 1】 _ payment to govern
3、ment. In the Unites States, taxes【 1】 _ fall into three main categories: a. Taxes on personal or corporation income; b. Taxes on wealth, including ownership and【 2】 _; 【 2】 _ c. Taxes on activities, including consumption, production, employment, etc. Each year in April, taxpayers sort their previous
4、 years income and expense records to prepare their income tax【 3】 _. They are allowed to take specific types 【 3】 _ of deductions and【 4】 _. A deduction applies if 【 4】 _ they donate to the Red Cross, their【 5】 _ or other 【 5】 _ 【 6】 _ organizations. 【 6】 _ Property taxes are levied primarily on lan
5、d and【 7】 _. Death taxes are levied on 【 7】 _ 【 8】 _ by the federal government and on inheritances by 【 8】 _ some state governments. Besides, gift taxes are levied on the transfer of assets. Sales taxes are levied on the【 9】 _ prices of items. 【 9】 _ Sometimes, the federal government may impose a va
6、lue-added tax. Social security taxes, which are【 10】 _ taxes levied 【 10】 _ by the federal government, are collected to finance social insurance programs. 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
7、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 given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview. 11 Cattle raising is not necessarily a profitable b
8、usiness because （ A） the demand is too low （ B） the supply is too large （ C） the cost is too high （ D） the price is changeable 12 Despite insecure returns the ranchers raise cattle because （ A） they like investments （ B） they like challenges （ C） they like the job （ D） they like the rural area 13 Be
9、ck does not agree with the interviewer who thinks that the rural life suffers （ A） isolation （ B） insecurity （ C） poverty （ D） crowdedness 14 According to Beck, children on the farm have all the following advantages EXCEPT that （ A） they are more responsible （ B） they are more self-reliant （ C） they
10、 know how to work （ D） they are more sophisticated 15 Beck thinks it is _ for the government to set a base price. （ A） helpful （ B） reasonable （ C） wrong （ D） necessary SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the quest
11、ions that follow. At the end of each news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 The collapsed WTOs ministerial meeting was held in _ last year. （ A） Mexico （ B） Qatar （ C） Japan （ D） Switzerland 17 The document approved earlier Saturday will concern all the following EXCEPT
12、_ （ A） industrial goods （ B） agriculture （ C） service industries （ D） tourism 18 There is a general opposition to big cuts in import tariffs for some industries because （ A） they are sources of huge revenues （ B） they may fail to survive foreign competition （ C） they are new industries （ D） they are
13、 supported by the government 19 The vice-president candidate, John Edwards, comes form （ A） Massachusetts （ B） North Carolina （ C） Iowa （ D） South Dakota 20 One unfavorable point about Edwards as a vice-president candidate is his （ A） young age （ B） his attitude on Iraq war （ C） lack of experience i
14、n international affairs （ D） major disagreement with Kerry 20 A Marxist sociologist has argued that racism stems from the class struggle that is unique to the capitalist system m that racial prejudice is generated by capitalists as a means of controlling workers. His thesis works relatively well whe
15、n applied to discrimination against Blacks in the United States, but his definition of racial prejudice as racially-based negative prejudgments against a group generally accepted as a race in any given region of ethnic competition, can be interpreted as also including hostility toward such ethnic gr
16、oups as the Chinese in California and the Jews in medieval Europe. However, since prejudice against these latter people was not inspired by capitalists, he has to reason that such antagonisms were not really based on race. He disposes thusly (albeit unconvincingly) of both the intolerance faced by J
17、ews before the rise of capitalism and the early twentieth-century discrimination against Oriental people in California, which, inconveniently, was instigated by workers. 21 According to the Marxist sociologists thesis, hostility against the Chinese in California_. （ A） is caused by class struggle （
18、B） results from racial prejudice （ C） has nothing to do with racism （ D） is unique in its own way 22 The author considers the Marxist sociologist s thesis about the origins of racial prejudice to be_. （ A） unoriginal （ B） unpersuasive （ C） offensive （ D） obscure 22 Economic conditions have improved
19、during the past decade in many North American and European CBDs, primarily because of an unprecedented pace of office construction. Downtowns that were generally considered dead and beyond help as recently as the 1970s are now filled with both local residents and tourists, even during evenings and w
20、eekends when offices are closed. The new downtown offices, shops, and recreation facilities provide cities with additional tax revenues that can be used to maintain essential services. The underclass The atmosphere of animation and prosperity found in many CBDs does not extend to the surrounding res
21、idential areas. With the exception of a handful of renovated neighborhoods, the zone in transition is inhabited by large numbers of persons who are frequently referred to as a permanent underclass. These inner, city residents are increasingly trapped in unending cycle of economic and social problems
22、 and are not able to share in the revival of the CBDs. The underclass suffers from relatively high rates of unemployment, alcoholism, drug addiction, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, and crime. For them, schools have deteriorated, and affordable housing is increasingly difficult to find. Neighborho
23、ods lack adequate police protection, fire services, and shops, as well as hospitals, clinics, and other health-care facilities. Future prospects are especially bleak for the underclass because they are increasingly unable to compete for jobs, Inner-city residents lack the technical skills needed to
24、obtain most jobs, because fewer than half complete high school. The gap between the skills typically demanded by employers and the training of inner-city residents is getting much larger. In the past, people with limited education could become factory workers or filing clerks, but today these jobs r
25、equire knowledge of computing and handling electronics. Meanwhile, inner-city residents dont even have access to the remaining low-skilled jobs, such as janitors and fast-food servers, which are increasingly located in the suburbs. Fiscal problems. The concentration of low-income minority residents
26、in the central cities has produced financial problems. Despite higher taxes generated by new CBD projects, central cities face a growing gap between the cost of needed services and the availability of funds to pay for them. The percentage of people below the poverty level living in U.S. central citi
27、es increased during the 1980s and is more than twice as high as in the suburbs. Since 1950, overall population has declined by more than 40 percent in the central cities of Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis, and by more than one-fourth in a number of other cities. The number of tax-paying m
28、iddle-class families and industries has invariably declined by higher percentages in these cities. A city has two choices to close the gap between the cost of services and the amount of available taxes. One alternative is to raise taxes, a move that could drive remaining wealthier people and industr
29、ies from the city. The other alternative is to reduce services by closing libraries, eliminating some public-transit routes, collecting trash less frequently, and delaying replacement of outdated school equipment. Aside from the hardship imposed on those laid off from work, cutbacks in public servic
30、es could also encourage middle-class residents and industries to move from the city. To avoid this dilemma, cities have increasingly sought funds from the state and federal governments. The federal government increased its share of contribution to city budgets from 1 percent in the 1950s to 25 perce
31、nt in the early 1980s. Since the early 1980s, though, the federal government has substantially reduced its contributions to local governments. State governments and private corporations have increased financial assistance to cities to offset partially the loss of federal funds. The high level of out
32、side financial support has obscured the intensity of the fiscal crisis faced by cities as a result of shifting patterns of land use. 23 As is suggested in the passage, the most likely result of the two alternatives in solving the fiscal problem is _. （ A） a greater concentration of middle-class resi
33、dents in central cities （ B） a sharp decline of the life quality in central cities （ C） a boom in setting up factories and offices in central cities （ D） a rapid development of public transportation 24 This passage is concerned with_. （ A） the revival of some North American and European CBDs （ B） th
34、e problems facing the development of U.S. downtown areas （ C） the moving pattern of the U.S. middle class （ D） the possible solutions to the fiscal problems 25 The initials CBD are most likely to stand for _. （ A） Chief Board of Directors （ B） Central Bank of Development （ C） Central Business Distri
35、ct （ D） Chief Business Developers 25 There are two main methods of organizing governments the unitary system and the federal system. The unitary state places most power in the hands of central government officials, whereas the federal state allocates strong power to units of local government within
36、the country. A countrys cultural and physical characteristics influence the evolution of its governmental system. In principle, the unitary government system works best in countries that have both relatively few internal cultural differences and a strong sense of national unity. Therefore, states wh
37、ose boundaries coincide closely with the boundaries of nations are more likely to consider a unitary system of government. In addition, because the unitary system requires effective communications with all regions of the country, smaller states are more likely to adopt it. If the country is very lar
38、ge or has isolated regions, strong national control is difficult. In reality, multinational states often have unitary systems so that the values of one nationality can be imposed on others. In a number of African and Asian countries, for instance, the mechanism of a unitary state has enabled one eth
39、nic group to extend dominance over weaker groups. In some cases, a minority group is able to impose its values on the majority of the population. When communist parties controlled the government of Eastern European countries, for example, the unitary systems enabled the imposition of uniform cultura
40、l values on otherwise multinational societies In a federal state, local governments possess more authority to adopt their own laws. Multinational states usually adopt a federal system of government in order to give power to different nationalities, especially if they live in separate regions of the
41、country. Under a federal system, local government boundaries can be drawn that correspond to the regions inhabited by different nations. The federal system is also more suitable for very large states. The national capitals of very large states may be too remote to provide effective control over isol
42、ated regions. In the late twentieth century, a strong global trend occurred in favor of the federal system of government. Most of the worlds largest states were already federal, including the Soviet Union, Canada, the United States, Brazil, and India. During the late 1980s and 1990s, unitary systems
43、 have been sharply curtailed in a number of countries and scrapped altogether in others. 26 In the last paragraph, the word “scrapped“ can be best replaced by_. （ A） scratched （ B） reinforced （ C） reduced （ D） abandoned 27 According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE? （ A） Onl
44、y small countries adopt the unitary system. （ B） Unitary states all have uniform culture. （ C） Multinational states can be unitary states. （ D） The federal system is more suitable for communist states. 27 Anti-Burslar Guns This gun practice should please both pro- and anti- gun control parties. A ma
45、jor, and legitimate, defense of gun ownership is to protect against burglars. The best anti-burglar gun is a double barrelled shotgun loaded with medium size shot, not a hand gun. A shotgun is much easier to aim accurately than a hand gun. It is more intimidating than a hand gun because of its size.
46、 It is less likely to actually kill the burglar so there is less inhibition about actually firing it. It is less likely to be stolen by a burglar during your absence because it cannot easily be hidden by him and for the same reason it is not useful to a street robber. A long gun is much less likely
47、to be played with by children than a hand gun because of its size and weight. (To safety a hand gun by locking it up makes it slow to access if there is a real burglar, while a loaded shotgun can safely be kept by the head of your bed. )The mechanism is simpler so it is less likely than a hand gun,
48、particularly an automatic, to jam after a long period of storage. Its pellets will not punch through a wall and hit someone in the next room or the next house. A long gun is also less tempting than a concealed weapon to carry it into bars or elsewhere where a fight may develop and tempt you to use i
49、t. A concealed hand gun is of no help if you are confronted in the street by a robber pointing a gun at you; you have no time to get yours out and he will shoot you if he thinks you are trying. (If you are a policeman you may be in a position to draw first so hand guns are appropriate for police officers.) As a separate matter, I suggest the following pra
