1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 359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 Segregation in Education Until the 1950s, the equal【 1】 provided by the 14th Americans of different origi
3、ns.【 1】 _ In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that “segregation by race did not necessarily imply racial【 2】 thus resulting the continuation of segregated schooling. 【 2】_ I. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled: States had to provide equal educational opportunities to all students and viewed segregated sc
4、hooling as “【 3】 unequal“ 【 3】_ II. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States started to eliminate segregated schools. 1) Desegregation processes instituted through【 4】 busing. 【 4】_ 2) Many white parents choosing to flee the inner city or enrolled their children in【 5】 schools. 【 5】 _ 3)
5、 Some African -Americans leaving their【 6】 【 6】 _ III. In recent years,【 7】 plans have been made to deal with the situation. 【 7】_ 1) Many plans focused on【 8】 improvement and teacher training. 【 8】_ 2) Parents gain the right to choose their childrens school, public or private. (the “【 9】 schools“ t
6、o draw white students back into inner city schools) 【 9】_ Generally, the school does seem to be the most appropriate place to ensure that all people have equal opportunity in the country. So far, it has been the most appropriate place to begin the process of【 10】 【 10】_ The best method for realizing
7、 this goal, however, remains unclear. 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
8、 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 From which place did they start their sightseeing? （ A） Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. （ B） The south bank of the Thames. （ C） Lambeth Bridge. （ D） Westminster Ab
9、bey. 12 Where does the Horatio Nelson the naval captain who defeated Napoleon at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and so stopped him from invading England stand? （ A） St. Jamess Park. （ B） Whitehall. （ C） Downing Street. （ D） Trafalgar Square. 13 According to the conversation when are all the big sh
10、ops closed? （ A） On weekend. （ B） On Sunday. （ C） On workday. （ D） On Saturday. 14 From the conversation we can know where is the Chinese Embassy? （ A） At Marble Arch. （ B） Near Hyde Park. （ C） In Portland place. （ D） At Mayfair. 15 From the conversation what can we deduce? （ A） Robinson is an Engli
11、sh. （ B） Li is very familiar with London. （ C） It is the Lis first look at London. （ D） It is the Robinsons first look at London. SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. At the end of each ne
12、ws item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 Where did the explosion take place? （ A） At a wedding hall. （ B） At a petrol station. （ C） In a downtown shopping center. （ D） Near the Turkish Health Ministry. 17 What happened shortly after the explosion? （ A） Shops on the street cl
13、osed down. （ B） People were fleeing the city. （ C） Shooting broke out. （ D） Assembly meeting was immediately held. 18 People protested against （ A） the detention of Mr. Wudato Santallo. （ B） the fraud elections. （ C） the rising of taxes. （ D） the police brutality. 19 What is the aim of the meeting h
14、eld by EU foreign ministers in Brussels? （ A） To urge Serbia to continue its European course. （ B） To discuss the upcoming elections in Serbia. （ C） To discuss the issue of Kosovo. （ D） To determine the border between Serbia and Kosovo. 20 How many parachutists were killed in the crash? （ A） 5. （ B）
15、 44. （ C） 39. （ D） 49. 20 The music industry, hurt by a decline in CD sales and the continued free swapping of files on the Internet, took the drastic action last week filing more than 250 lawsuits against consumers. But whatever catharsis record executives and their lawyers may feel, the courts can
16、not solve the music industrys fundamental problem. Nor does the answer lie in getting people to pay for each music file they download from the Internet. Instead of clinging to late-20th-century distribution technologies, like the digital disk and the downloaded file, the music business should move i
17、nto the 21st century with a revamped business model using innovative technology, several industrys experts say. They want the music industry to do unto the file-swapping services what the services did Unto the music companies-eclipse them with better technology and superior customer convenience. The
18、ir vision might be called “everywhere Internet audio“. Music fans instead of downloading files on KaZaA-whether they were using computers, home stereos, radios or handheld devices-would have access to all music the record companies hold in their vaults. Listeners could request that any song be immed
19、iately streamed to them via the Internet. If consumers could do this, the argument goes, they would have no interest in amassing thousands of songs on their hard drives. There would be no “theft“ of music, because no one would bother to take possession of the song. To clinch music fans loyalty to th
20、e new system, and make them willing to pay for it, the music companies and the supporting industry would need to provide attractively priced, easy-to-use services to give consumers full access to the hundreds of thousands of songs available to them. Consumers could still ask for song titles or artis
21、ts, as they do now on KaZaA. But they could also, for example request rock “n“ roll tunes like Hat that appeared for more than three weeks in Billboards Top 10 during the 1960s. Or they could ask for early 1990s guitarists that sound like Eric Clapton, or new artists similar in style to Alanis Moris
22、sette. Requests could be intricate, like asking for music subsequently recorded by the original members of the Lovins Spoonful. Or they could be simple, like requesting light jazz for dinner-party background music. The system would be interactive and could learn each users tastes. As listeners voted
23、 thumbs up or down to tunes (should they choose to), the service would amend their personal libraries accordingly. If it worked, it would be as if we each had our own private satellite radio channels-customizable collection of tunes for hundreds of millions of audiences of one. It is a compelling bu
24、siness model, and the current music companies, as the owners of the content, could be at the fore of the system. A tiny taste of such an approach is available on Internet radio networks like . On such services, listeners can essentially customize a radio station to their individual tastes. But cruci
25、al to the future of everywhere Internet audio, many believe, lies in widespread wireless Internet access, because wireless means portability. “Wireless gives the record companies a chance to do it all over again, and this time get it right,“ said Jim Griffin, the former head Of technology at Geffen
26、Records and now the chief executive of the music publisher Cherry Lane Digital. Mr. Griffin is also a founder of pholist.org, home of an active online discussion of musics future on the Internet. Many of the brightest industry insiders, academies, lawyers, musicians, industry critics, broadcasters a
27、nd venture capitalists assemble at pholist.org daily to debate the music business beyond downloading. Many say wireless holds the key. Myriad portable devices already offer Internet access. Some, like the BlackBerry, maintain an always-on wireless Internet connection. Some business-oriented devices,
28、 like the Palm Tungsten, now play high-fidelity music in the MP3 format. Newer cellphones also offer MP3 functions, and include extra features like digital cameras and FM radios. The seers once thought portable devices would connect to the Internet via cellphone technology. But it now appears that H
29、i-Fi hotspots-wireless Internet access hubs-may eventually provide blanket coverage in urban areas and became the dominant means of connection. But there are big obstacles to overcome. To make “everywhere Internet audio“ profitable, the music industry must develop a system to collect money from user
30、s and divide it fairly among performers, song-writers and others involved in creating music. How this would work is already causing hot debate. Mr. Griffin and many others in the pholist.org discussion advocate an Internet fee that would create a revenue pool to be distributed according to song popu
31、larity. Current recording industry sales in the United States work out to about $2.50 a month per person. As CDs sales declined, a digital musical surcharge, or something similar, could be assessed by Internet providers. At regular intervals, the industry could sample what music is being streamed to
32、 users, to determine the distribution of money to the responsible parties. By using sampling, as opposed to detailed census techniques, listeners would not have to worry about invasions of their privacy. This idea would turn the recording industrys business model upside down. Institutions are geneti
33、cally averse to massive change. But the payoff could be huge. Right now, for example, the industry incurs large costs from its CD distribution model. The industry also has many intermediaries, including distributors and promoters. To take a band from obscurity to popularity is expensive, but that is
34、 what music labels must do if they want shelf space at the record store. Recording companies are in constant quest of superstars, because fewer than 10 percent of CDs released make a profit. Revenues generated by the best sellers must try to cover the losses incurred by less popular releases. In thi
35、s context, the Internet could be a godsend to musicians as well. It can distribute a digital copy of a song to a few or to millions of listeners with virtually no cost difference. Music companies would have more incentive to nurture minor artists. As a society and culture, many argue, we would be mu
36、ch better served by such an approach. Market forces alone would not produce such a system. It would take enormous industry cooperation, which could only occur with government approval, lest it be deemed a violation of antitrust laws. The need for cooperation and leadership is clear. Children should
37、not wind up in court because they are fanatical about their favorite pop stars. If the music industry devised an affordable, equitable, and convenient alternative to file sharing, the fans would come, money in hand. 21 According to the passage, music industry should _. （ A） continue free swapping of
38、 files on the Internet （ B） continue to use late-20th-century distribution technologies （ C） use more advanced technology and provide convenience to customers （ D） bring lawsuits against consumers for the music files they download from the Internet 22 It is suggested that to make fans willing to pay
39、 for the music they get from the internet, the music companies and the related industry should do the following EXCEPT _. （ A） give them full access to the music they like （ B） provide acceptable prices （ C） satisfy their needs immediately （ D） permit them to possess the music in their own way 23 _
40、has tried such an approach as “everywhere Internet audio“. （ A） KaZaA （ B） （ C） pholist.org （ D） BlackBerry 24 Which of the following statements best explains “wireless holds the key“? （ A） Wireless Internet access is crucial to the development of music industry. （ B） Wireless telephone should be u
41、sed universally. （ C） Wireless Internet connection is applicable without question. （ D） Wireless Internet connection will be the most profitable means of connection. 25 It can be inferred from the passage that _. （ A） CD sales are on the increase （ B） for big profits music companies would not employ
42、 minor artists if they use “everywhere Internet audio“ system （ C） many people assemble at pholist.org daily only to discuss downloading music on Internet （ D） the new system is applicable with government approval and industry cooperation 25 If there was one thing Americans had a right to expect fro
43、m Congress, it was a federal plan to help the elderly pay for prescription drugs. It is a promise that has been made again and again-in particularly high decibels during the last presidential election. The House and Senate have passed bills, and although both are flawed, this page has urged Congress
44、 to finish work on them as a first step toward fulfilling this longstanding commitment. Unfortunately, things have changed. The government cannot afford the program now. That is the fault of President Bush and the Republican majorities in the House and Senate. They broke the bank with their enormous
45、 tax cuts. The country is facing the largest budget deficit in history, and there is no realistic plan for getting it under control. The limited version of a prescription drug benefit now being considered in Congress would cost about $400 billion over 10 years. Older Americans had a right to expect
46、that help, but they do not have a right to demand it, not when it would be financed by borrowing, with the bills to be paid by their grandchildren. Mr. Bush, a specialist in pain avoidance, told people that they could have the programs they wanted prescription drugs for the elderly, better schools f
47、or children along with modest tax cuts for the middle class and whoppers for the wealthy. When 9/11 occurred, the president simply added the war on terror, and then the war on Saddam Hussein, to the list. For all his talk about fiscal conservatism, Mr. Bush has never vetoed a spending bill, even the
48、 obscene $ 180 billion farm subsidy program. To pay for it all, he simply increased the deficit. Deficits in and of themselves are not necessarily a problem, but the current one is frightening for two reasons. One is its size: projected at well above $500 billion for next year, and approaching 5 per
49、cent of the gross domestic product. The Other is its permanence. Cutting taxes temporarily to fight the recession made sense, but the Bush tax cuts are meant to be permanent even though Congress gave most of them a phony 10- year expiration date in an attempt to mask their effect. Dropping the proposal is, of course, just what a lar
