1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 238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 There are two common set images of the Australian male: a)the【 1】 and Neanderthal male - great for a bill
3、 and a laugh. b)【 2】 - a businessman who conceals the dorsal fin of a shark under a grey suit. Characters of Australians: . Not【 3】 by nature, refer to each other on【 4】 , and speak their minds. . Men tend to get together to relax -【 5】 and going to the footy. . A typical Australian party【 6】 men an
4、d women. . Greeting. In【 7】 , men shake hands with others but women usually do not shake hands with other women. With good friends, males【 8】 each other on the shoulder, women kiss one another. . Being invited to a party: The host or the hostess introduces you to others; it is【 9】to bring gifts at t
5、he first meeting. . Being modest about【 10】 your own horn and achievements. 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. Question
6、s 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 What will Peter focus on when he takes over his fathers business? （ A） Technical research （ B） Investing more money in new mach
7、inery. （ C） Finding out what customers want. （ D） Exporting more manufactured goods. 12 According to Peter, how can they increase the competitive power in business? （ A） Increase more goods per worker. （ B） Decrease the consumption of raw materials. （ C） Get rid of strikes by increasing wages and de
8、creasing working hours. （ D） Make the factory work more interesting. 13 Which is NOT the reason leading to the poor growth of economy, according to Peter? （ A） Machinery in factories is too old. （ B） Management in some industries appears out-of-date. （ C） Trade unions disagree with each other and th
9、ey are incompetent in controlling their own members. （ D） Manufacturing industries are awkward in finding out effective ways of exporting goods. 14 Why is Peter optimistic about the future of the British business when facing fierce competition nowadays? （ A） The British boast of reputation for hones
10、ty and fair dealing in business. （ B） The British are inventive and there are many skilled workers in the industries. （ C） Economic globalization promotes the development off economy in almost all countries, and of course Britain is one of them. （ D） Both A and B 15 Which can be inferred from the co
11、nversation? （ A） The foreign exchange earned from tourism and banking industry is one of British most important exports. （ B） Not bad! in English often means “Just so so, thank you!“ （ C） Though fewer strikes have ever taken place in Britain than many other countries, there is not a way out of the a
12、wkward situation between workers, trade unions and management. （ D） Coal-mining and cotton textile industry were and are still the pride and strength of the British. SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the question
13、s that follow. At the end of each news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 The blast brought about heavy casualty_. （ A） because some houses are near the gas station （ B） because the gas station is located in a provincial capital （ C） because the gas station is near a mosq
14、ue （ D） because the gas station runs small businesses 17 The police searched _homes in attempt to find attack-related explosives and computer files. （ A） three （ B） four （ C） five （ D） six 18 The London blasts began at _. （ A） 8:20 a.m. （ B） 8:30 a.m （ C） 8:40 a.m. （ D） 8:50 a.m. 19 The reason why S
15、andra Day OConnor resigned from the Supreme Court was （ A） that she failed to please either party in the Congress （ B） that she had served too long a time in the Court （ C） that she was 80 years old and ailing with thyroid cancer （ D） not mentioned 20 All of the following qualities EXCEPT _have been
16、 mentioned by President Bush as qualities that a nominee should possess. （ A） a good character to please both Democrats and Republicans （ B） being intellectual and competent for the job （ C） sense of justice and faithful interpreter of the Constitution （ D） standing for the American mainstream and i
17、ts values 20 Bermard Bailyn has recently reinterpreted the early history of the United States by applying new social research findings on the experiences of European migrants. In his reinterpretation, migration becomes the organizing principle for rewriting the history of preindustrial North America
18、. His approach rests on four separate propositions. The first of these asserts that residents of early modern England moved regularly about their countryside; migrating to the New World was simply a “natural spillover“. Although at first the colonise held little positive attraction for the English -
19、 they would rather have stayed home - by the eighteenth century people increasingly migrated to America because they regarded it as the land of opportunity. Secondly, Bailyn holds that, contrary to the notion that used to flourish in America history textbooks, there was never a typical New World com
20、munity. For example, the economic and demographic character of early New England towns varied considerably. Bailyns third preposition suggests two general patterns prevailing among the many thousands migrants: one group came as indentured servants, another came to acquire land. Surprisingly, Bailyn
21、suggests that those who recruited indentured servants were the driving forces of transatlantic migration. These colonial entrepreneurs helped determine the social character of people who came to preindustrial North America. At tint, thousands of unskilled laborers were recruited; by the 1730s, howev
22、er, American employers demanded skilled artisans. Finally, Bailyn argues that the colonies were a half-civilized hinterland of the European culture system. He is undoubtedly correct to insist that the colonies were part of an Anglo-American empire. But to divide the empire into English core and colo
23、nial periphery, as Bailyn does, devalues the achievements of colonial culture, as Bailyn claims, that high culture in the colonies never matched that in England. But what of seventeenth-century New England, where the settlers created effective laws, built a distinguished university, and published bo
24、oks? Bailyn might respond that New England was exceptional. However, the ideas and institutions developed by New England Puritans had powerful effects on North American culture. Although Bailyn goes on to apply his approach to some thousands of indentured servants who migrated just prior to the revo
25、lution, he fails to link their experience with the political development of the United States. Evidence presented in his work suggests how we might make such a connection. These indentured servants were treated as slaves for the period during which they had sold their time to American employers. It
26、is not surprising that as soon as they served their time they passed up good wages in the cities and headed west to ensure their personal independence by acquiring land. Thus, it is in the west that a peculiarly American political culture began, among colonists who were suspicious of authority and i
27、ntensely antiaristocratic. 21 The author of the passage states that Bailyn failed to _. （ A） give sufficient emphasis to the cultural and political interdependence of the colonies and England （ B） take advantage of social research on the experiences of colonists who migrated to colonial North Americ
28、a specifically to acquire land （ C） relate the experience of the migrants to the political values that eventually shaped the character of the United States （ D） investigate the lives of Europeans before they came to colonial North America to determine more adequately their motivations for migrating
29、22 According to the passage; Bailyn and the author agree on which of the following statements about the culture of colonial New England? （ A） High culture of New England never equaled the high culture of England. （ B） The colonists imitated the high culture of England, and did not develop a culture
30、that was uniquely their own. （ C） The Southern colonies were greatly influenced by the high culture of New England. （ D） New England communities were able to create laws and build a university, but unable to create anything innovative in the arts. 23 The author of the passage is primarily concerned
31、with _. （ A） comparing several current interpretations of early American history （ B） suggesting that new social research on migration should lead to revisions in current interpretations of early American history （ C） refuting an argument about early American history that has been proposed by social
32、 historians （ D） discussing a reinterpretation of early American history that is based on new social research on migration 24 The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about Bailyns work? （ A） Bailyn underestimates the effects of Puritan thought o
33、n North American culture. （ B） Bailyns description of the colonies as part of an Anglo-American empire is misleading and incorrect. （ C） Bailyn failed to test his propositions on a specific group of migrants to colonial North America. （ D） Bailyn overemphasizes the experiences of migrants to the New
34、 England colonies, and neglects the southern and the western parts of the New England. 24 There is a great concern in Europe and North America about declining standards of literacy in schools. In Britain, the fact that 30 percent of 16 year old have a reading age of 14 or less has helped to prompt m
35、assive educational changes. The development of literacy has far-reaching effects on general intellectual development and thus anything which impedes the development of literacy is a serious matter for us all. So the hunt is on for the cause of the decline in literacy. The search so far has forced on
36、 socioeconomic factors, or the effectiveness of “traditional“ versus “modem“ teaching techniques. The fruitless search for the cause of the increase in illiteracy is a tragic example of the saying “They cant see the wood for the trees“. When teachers use picture books, they are simply continuing a l
37、ong-establisbed tradition that is accepted without question. And for the past two decades, illustrations in reading primers have become increasingly detailed and obtrusive, while language has become impoverished - sometimes to the point of extinction. Amazingly, there is virtually no empirical evide
38、nce to support the use of illustrations in teaching reading. On the contrary, a great deal of empirical evidence shows that pictures interfere in a damaging way with all aspects of learning to read. Despite this, from North America to the Antipodes, the first books that many school children receive
39、are totally without text. A teachers main concern is to help young beginning readers to develop not only the ability to recognize words, but the skills necessary to understand what these words mean. Even if a child is able to read aloud fluently, he or: she may not be able to understand much of it:
40、this is called “barking at text“. The teachers task of improving comprehension is made harder by influences outside the classroom. But the adverse effects of such things as television, video games, or limited language experiences at home, can be offset by experiencing “rich“ language at school. Inst
41、ead, it is not unusual for a book of 30 or more pages to have only one sentence full of repetitive phrases. The artwork is often marvellous, but the pictures make the language redundant, and the children have no need to imagine anything when they read such books. Looking at a picture actively preven
42、ts children younger than nine from creating a mental image, and can make it difficult for older children. In order to learn how to comprehend, they need to practise making their own meaning in response to text. They need to have their innate powers of imagination trained. As they grow older, many ch
43、ildren turn aside from books without pictures, and it is a situation made more serious as our culture becomes more visual. It is hard to wean children off picture books when pictures have played a major part throughout their formative reading experiences, and when there is competition for their atte
44、ntion from so many other sources of entertainment. The least intelligent are most vulnerable, but tests show that even intelligent children are being affected. The response of educators has been to extend use of pictures in books and to simplify the language, even at senior levels. The Universities
45、of Oxford and Cambridge recently held joint conferences to discuss the noticeably rapid decline in literacy among their undergraduates. Pictures are also used to help motivate children to read because they are beautiful and eye-catching. But motivation to read should be provided by listening to stor
46、ies well read, where children imagine in response to the story. Then, as they start to read, they have this experience to help them understand the language. If we present pictures to save children the trouble of developing these creative skills, then I think we are making a great mistake. Academic j
47、ournals ranging from educational research, psychology, language learning, psycholinguistics, and so on cite experiments which demonstrate how detrimental pictures are for beginner readers. Here is a brief selection: The research results of the Canadian educationalist Dalt Willows were clear and cons
48、istent pictures affected speed and accuracy and the closer the pictures were to the words, the slower and more inaccurate the childs reading became. She claims that when children come to a word they already know, then the pictures are unnecessary and distracting. If they do now know a word and look
49、to the pictures which are not closely related to the meaning of the word they are trying to understand. Jay Samuels, an American psychologist, found that poor readers given no pictures learnt significanfly more words than those learning to read with books with pictures. He examined the work of other researchers who reported problems with the use of pictures and who had found that a word without a picture was superior to a word plus a picture. When children were given words and pictures, those who seemed to ignore the pictures
