1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 240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 LAND USE A problem related to the competition for land use is whether crops should be used to produce foo
3、d or fuel.【 1】 _ areas will be examined in this re- 【 1】 _ sped. Firstly, the problem should be viewed in its 【 2】 _ perspective. When oil prices rose sharply 【 2】 _ in the 1970s, countries had to look for alternatives to solve the resulting crisis. In developing countries, one of the possible answe
4、rs to it is to produce alcohol from【 3】 _ material 【 3】 _ This has led to a lot of research in this area particularly in the use of【 4】 _. The use of this material 【 4】 _ resulted from two economic reasons: a【 5】 _ in its 【 5】 _ price and low【 6】 _ costs. 【 6】 _ There are other starchy plants that c
5、an be used to produce alcohol, like the sweet【 7】 _or the 【 7】 _ cassava plant in tropical regions, and【 8】 _ and 【 8】 _ sugar beet in non-tropical regions. The problem with these plants is that they are also the peoples staple food in many poor countries. Therefore, farmers there are faced with a c
6、hoice: crops for food or for fuel. And farmers naturally go for what is more【 9】 _. As a result, the 【 9】 _ problems involved are economic in nature, rather than technological. This is my second area under consideration. Finally, there have already been practical applications of using alcohol for fu
7、el. Basically, they come in two forms of use: pure alcohol as is the case in【 10】 _, and a combination of alcohol and 【 10】 _ gasoline known as gasohol in Germany. 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 ev
8、erything 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 Which of the following about BBC in NOT
9、 correct? （ A） The initials BBC stand for British Broadcasting Corporation. （ B） Its a public corporation. （ C） The government cant control it. （ D） There are some advertising on it. 12 ITV gets its money from _. （ A） investments （ B） the TV licenses （ C） advertisements （ D） the government 13 Accord
10、ing to the conversation, what does the Open University refer to? （ A） The university broadcasts on both BBC and ITV. （ B） The university for people who ye never been to university. （ C） The university for people who have got a chance to go to university. （ D） The university run in the open fields. 1
11、4 Which of the following is not a reason for the mans not going to the cinema? （ A） It costs money. （ B） He watches only news programmes. （ C） Its a lot more trouble going out than staying at home. （ D） He only likes old films. 15 According to the man if you watch football on TV rather than go to th
12、e match, _. （ A） you feel the importance of the occasion （ B） you dont lose any of the atmosphere （ C） you get a better view of the game （ D） you feel as good as in real life SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the
13、 questions that follow. At the end of each news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 A lowered time limit for abortion was preferred by some specialists_. （ A） because 98 % abortions were carried out before 20 weeks （ B） because pregnancy can be diagnosed earlier than befor
14、e （ C） because survival rates among premature babies have improved （ D） because the fetal abnormalities can be diagnosed earlier than be fore 17 A _rise of industrial output had been expected of the second quarter. （ A） 8% （ B） 9% （ C） 9.3% （ D） 9.5% 18 According to the news item, _was the main driv
15、ing force for the high rate of industrial output in the second quarter. （ A） robust investment （ B） rapid export increase （ C） the yuans peg of 8.28 to the dollar （ D） falling oil demand and lower steel and property prices 19 It was _that released news that Afghans at the U.S. detention facility in
16、Guantanamo Bay were on a hunger strike. （ A） a spokesman of US Defense Department （ B） Afghan interim government （ C） Amnesty International in London （ D） two released Afghan prisoners 20 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for hunger strike? （ A） Prisoner abuse and no freedom. （ B）
17、Wrong accusations and long detention. （ C） Lack of enough quality drinking water. （ D） Protest against US military permeation into Arab world. 20 People can be addicted to different thingse, g., alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. People who have such an addiction are compulsive, i.e.
18、, they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy. According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders: they feel they must spend money. This compulsion, like most others, is irrationalimpossible to explain reasonably. For compulsive spenders who buy on cred
19、it, charge accounts are even more exciting than money. In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure in spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy. There is a special psychology of bargain h
20、unting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things they dont need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they
21、can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for things that they do and the real reason. It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also
22、business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider peoples needs for love, power, or influence, their basic value, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods. Psychologists can often use a method called “behavior t
23、herapy“ to help individuals solve their personality problems, in the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money. 21 According to the psychologists, a compulsive spender is one who spends large amounts of money_. （ A） and takes great pleasure from what he or she buys （
24、 B） in order to satisfy his or her basic needs in life （ C） just to meet his or her strong psychological need （ D） entirely with an irrational eagerness 22 According to the author, compulsive bargain hunters are in constant search of the lowest possible price_. （ A） because they want to save money t
25、o help their budgets （ B） because they can openly boast of their triumph over others in getting things for less money （ C） and will not have money problems if they can keep to their bud gets （ D） but they seldom admit they feel satisfied if they can get things for less money than others 23 Which of
26、the following is TRUE? （ A） All people spend money for exactly the same reason that they need to buy things. （ B） Business people and advertisers use the psychology of spending habits to increase sales. （ C） Business people understand the psychology of compulsive buying better than scientists do. （
27、D） Compulsive bargain hunters do not have problems with money. 24 The article is mainly about_. （ A） the psychology of money-spending habits （ B） the purchasing habits of compulsive spenders （ C） a special psychology of bargain hunting （ D） the use of the psychology of spending habits in business 24
28、 Material culture refers to the touchable, material “things“physical objects that can be seen, held, fell, used that a culture produces. Examining a cultures tools and technology can tell us about the groups history and way of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music: can help us
29、 to understand the music culture. The most vivid body of “things“ in it, of course, are musical instruments. We cannot bear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when phonograph was invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music-culture
30、s in the remote past and their develop ment. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictured in art. Through the study of instruments, as well as paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Near East to China over a t
31、housand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near Eastern influence to Europe that resulted in the development of most of the instruments in the symphony orchestra. Sheet music or printed music, too, is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music-cultures as those in which people learn
32、and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research shows mutusl influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America. Printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and differ
33、ent songs. Besides, the ability to read music notation has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music cul Lure as a whole. One more important part of musics material culture should be singled out: the influence of the electronic mediaradio, record player, tape r
34、ecorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the “information revolution“, a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not jus
35、t limited to modern nations; the) have affected music cultures all over the globe. 25 Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance bucause _. （ A） it helps produce new cultural tools and technology （ B） it can reflect the development of the nation （ C） it helps understand th
36、e nations past and present （ D） it can demonstrate the nations civilization 26 It can be learned from this passage that_. （ A） the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music （ B） Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments i
37、n the symphony orchestra （ C） the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western music （ D） the musical instruments in the symphony orchestra were developed on the basis of Near Eastern music 27 According to the author, music notation is important because （ A） it has a
38、 great effect on the music-culture as more and more people are able to read it （ B） it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musi clans （ C） it is tile printed version of standardized folk music （ D） it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs 28 Which of tile foll
39、owing best summarizes the main idea of the passage? （ A） Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers. （ B） Music cannot be passed on to future generations unless it is recorded. （ C） Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sh
40、eets. （ D） The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect. 28 Automation refers to the introduction of electronic control and automatic operation of productive machinery. It reduces the human borers, mental and physical, in production, and is designed to make possible th
41、e manufacture of more goods with fewer workers. The development of auto mation in American industry has been called the “Second Industrial Revolution“. Labors concerti over automation arises from uncertainly about the effects on employment, and fears of major changes in jobs. In the main, labor has
42、taken the view that resistance to technical change is unfruitful Eventually, the result of automation may well be an increase in empioy ment, since it is expected that vast industries will grow up around manufacturing, maintaining, and repairing automation equipment. The interest of labor lies in br
43、inging about the transition with a minimum of inconvenience and distress to the workers involved. Also, union spokesmen emphasize that the benefit of the increased production and lower costs made possible by automation should be shared by workers in the form of higher wages, more leisure, and improv
44、ed living standards. To protect the interests of their members in the era of automation, unions have adopted a motion of new policies. One of these is the pro motion of supplementary unemployment benefit plans. It is emphasized that since the employer involved in such a plan has a direct financial i
45、nterest in preventing unemployment, he will have a strong drive for planning new installations so as to cause tire leas! possible problems in jobs and job assignments. Some unions are working for dismissal pay agreements, requiring that permanently dismissed workers be paid a sum of money based on l
46、ength of service. Another approach is the idea of the “improvement factor“, which calls for wage increases based on increases in productivity. It is possible, however, that labor will rely mainly on re duction in working hours in order to gain a full share in the fruits of auto mation. 29 Though lab
47、or worries about the effects of automation, it never doubts that_. （ A） automation will eventually prevent unemployment （ B） automation will help workers acquire new skills （ C） automation will eventually benefit the workers no less than the employers （ D） automation is a trend which cannot be stopp
48、ed 30 The idea of the “improvement factor“ (Para. 3) implies roughly （ A） wages should be paid on the basis of length of service （ B） the benefit of the increased production and lower costs should be shared by workers （ C） supplementary unemployment benefit plans should be promoted （ D） the transiti
49、on to automation should be brought about with tile minimum of inconvenience and distress to workers. 31 21 In order to get the fall benefits of automation, labor will depend mostly on （ A） additional payment to the permanently dismissed workers （ B） the increase of wages in proportion to the increase in productivity （ C） shorter working hour
