1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 386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 Pyramids Some of the most interesting buildings in the world are the pyramids. The pyramids stand hug
3、e and silent, and in modem days, people look at them and wonder, “Who built them? Why? When? What is inside? How did they do it? “ Thousands of years ago in Egypt, kings built the pyramids. They used to build them as【 1】 . The kings thought the pyramids would help them find life after【 2】 , and join
4、 Ra in his journeys【 3】 the sky. They also wanted the world to remember them as important people. Some pyramids were found by thieves who in fact found their way into the pyramids and into most of the pharaohs tombs. The tombs were still full of treasure. There are many pyramids along the【 4】 River.
5、 The【 5】 is the pyramid of Khufu. It is made of 2, 300, 000 huge【 6】 , most of them higher than a person. It is about 144 meters high. Inside the pyramid are the burial rooms for the king and queen and long passageways to these rooms. The rest of the pyramid is solid stone. Workers usually built the
6、 pyramids when the flood began in【 7】 and they could not work on their farms. To build the pyramid of Khufu, 100, 000 men worked for twenty years. We know there were wonderful treasures in the pyramids. Robbers went into the pyramids and took many of these treasures. Today some of the treasures are
7、in museums, though. How did the people of ancient days build the pyramids? How did they carry and lift the huge stones? Each stone fit so well and they didnt have our modem machines! The ancient【 8】 in Egyptian tombs give us some ideas. The workers used【 9】 , levers and rollers to move stones. Besid
8、es the Egyptian pyramids, there are also great pyramids in【 10】 which were used for human sacrifice and different from Egyptian tombs in shape and other aspects. SECTION B INTERVIEW Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that fo
9、llow. 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 Whether you keep all the receipts in a shoe box or use online banking, you should be clear about （ A） the safety
10、of the trading process. （ B） how to make the most money. （ C） each sum you have earned and spent. （ D） your ability to make major purchases. 12 Why do couples need a separate account? （ A） For small purchases. （ B） For major purchases. （ C） For household expenses. （ D） For mortgage payment. 13 Which
11、 of the following is NOT Sharons advice on checking your credit scores? （ A） Keep a copy of your credit report. （ B） Show your partner the credit report. （ C） Try to know your credit score. （ D） Lock your credit report away. 14 How does Sharon describe “money date“? （ A） Its relaxing. （ B） Its unrom
12、antic. （ C） Its painful. （ D） Its devastating. 15 To find a reliable financial adviser, you have to do all the following EXCEPT （ A） search his information on some websites. （ B） see how your friends comment on him. （ C） make sure hes always done a good job. （ D） tell him that you have high Credit r
13、ecord. 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 news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 Members of the international community urge the Sri Lanka
14、n government_. （ A） to realize national reconciliation （ B） to fight with Tamil Tiger rebels （ C） to develop national economy （ D） to enhance national security 17 What is the main purpose of the health care reform in the U. S.? （ A） To eliminate Americans medical cost. （ B） To offer a government opt
15、ion of health insurance. （ C） To reduce the profit gained by private insurers. （ D） To help Democrats win advantage over Republicans. 18 What can be inferred from what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said? （ A） The healthcare reform has realized the final accomplishments. （ B） President Obama praised pro
16、gress on the healthcare issue. （ C） All the Americans will be happy about the healthcare reform. （ D） Americans have been dominated by the health insurance industry. 19 The study in the journal Psychological Science suggests_. （ A） ones emotions can influence ones facial expressions （ B） the frown-f
17、ree people will never feel sad or angry （ C） ones facial expressions can influence ones emotions （ D） people can control emotions by frowning more often 20 In the experiment, the subjects were asked to read the following statements concerning all EXCEPT_. （ A） going to Disney （ B） losing a big fortu
18、ne （ C） enduring pushy telemarketers （ D） lacking birthday wishes 20 The taste of the English in the cultivation of land, and in what is called landscape gardening, is unrivalled. They have studied Nature intently, and discovered an exquisite sense of her beautiful forms and harmonious combinations.
19、 Those charms which, in other countries, she lavishes in wild solitudes, are here assembled round the haunts of domestic life. They seem to have caught her coy and furtive graces, and spread them, like witchery, about their rural abodes. Nothing can be more imposing than the magnificence of English
20、park scenery. Vast lawns that extend like sheets of vivid green, with here and there clumps of gigantic trees, heaping up rich piles of foliage. The solemn pomp of groves and woodland glades, with the deer trooping in silent herds across them; the hare, bounding away to the covert; or the pheasant,
21、suddenly bursting upon the wing. The brook, taught to wind in natural meanderings, or expand into a glassy lakethe sequestered pool, reflecting the quivering trees, with the yellow leaf sleeping on its bosom, and the trout roaming fearlessly about its limpid waters; while some rustic temple, or sylv
22、an statue, grown green and dank with age, gives an air of classic sanctity to the seclusion. These are but a few of the features of park scenery; but what most delights me, is the creative talent with which the English decorate the unostentatious abodes of middle life. The rudest habitation, the mos
23、t unpromising and scanty portion of land, in the hands of an Englishman of taste, becomes a little paradise. With a nicely discriminating eye, he seizes at once upon its capabilities, and pictures in his mind the future landscape. The sterile spot grows into loveliness under his hand; and yet the op
24、erations of art which pro- duce the effect are scarcely to be perceived. The cherishing and training of some trees; the cautions pruning of others; the nice distribution of flowers and plants of tender and graceful foliage; the introduction of a green slope of velvet tuff; the partial opening to a p
25、eep of blue distance, or silver gleam of water; all these are managed with a delicate tact, a pervading yet quiet assiduity, like the magic touchings with which a painter finishes up a favorite picture. The residence of people of fortune and refinement in the country has diffused a degree of taste a
26、nd elegance in rural economy that descends to the lowest class. The very laborer, with his thatched cottage and narrow slip of ground, attends to their embellishment. The trim hedge, the grass-plot before the door, the little flower-bed bordered with snug box, the woodbine trained up against the wal
27、l, and hanging its blossoms about the lattice; the pot of flowers in the window; the holly, providently planted about the house, to cheat winter of its dreariness, and to throw in a semblance of green summer to cheer the fire- side; all these bespeak the influence of taste, flowing down from high so
28、urces, and pervading the lowest levels of the public mind. If ever Love, as poets sing, delights to visit a cottage, it must be the cottage of an English peasant. 21 This passage is mainly about （ A） English park scenery. （ B） English cultivation of land. （ C） natural view of England. （ D） English f
29、arming culture. 22 According to the passage, _ endow the English park scenery with a sacred atmosphere. （ A） vast lawns （ B） enormous trees （ C） winding brooks （ D） rural temples 23 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? （ A） The English have studied Nature intently and know it
30、 very well. （ B） There is nothing that can be more impressive than the splendor of English park scenery. （ C） The English are good at decorating the unostentatious abodes of middle life. （ D） If Love came, it must prefer the residence of rich people to the cottage of an English peasant. 24 The word
31、diffuse in the fourth paragraph means （ A） spread. （ B） scatter. （ C） disperse. （ D） inject. 24 Perhaps its the weather, which sometimes seals London with a gray ceiling for weeks on end. Or maybe it is Britons penchant for understatement, their romantic association with the countryside or their lov
32、e of gardens. Whatever the reason, while other cities grew upward as they developed, London spread outward, keeping its vast parks, its rows of townhouses and its horizon lines intact. But as the citys population and its prominence as a global business capital continue to grow, it sometimes seems re
33、ady to burst at the seams. In response, developers are turning to a type of building that used to be deeply unfashionable here, even as it flourished in other capitals of commerce: the skyscraper. In recent years, a cluster of sizable office towers have sprouted on the periphery of London, in its re
34、developed Docklands at Canary wharf. But skyscrapers now are pushing into the heart of the City, Londons central financial district, and surrounding areas along the Thames. The mayor, Ken Livingstone, champions tall buildings as part of his controversial plans to remake central London as a denser, m
35、ore urban sort of place, with greater reliance on public transport. First he angered some drivers by charging them a toll to enter the city center on workdays, now he finds himself opposed by preservation groups, including English Heritage, that want to keep Londons character as a low-rise city. For
36、 now, the mayor seems to be getting his way. One prominent tower, a 40-story building designed by Norman Foster for the Swiss Re insurance company was completed this year. A handful of others have received planning permission and at least a dozen more have been proposed. By far the most prominent of
37、 these buildingsand one that finally looks like it will go ahead after a drawn-out approval processis the London Bridge Tower, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. The developer Irvine Sellar won government approval for the building late last year and says he is completing the financing an
38、d hopes to start work by early 2005. The 306-meter, or 1,016-foot, tower would be by far the tallest building in Britain, in all of Europe, in fact, surpassing the 264-meter Triumph Palace in Moscow, a residential building that was finished late last year. To be sure, even the London Bridge Tower wo
39、uld be modest by the standards of American or Asian skyscrapers, or some of the behemoths on the drawing boards for places like Dubai and Shanghai. The tallest building in the world at the moment is the 509-meter Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habita
40、t. But it will surely be surpassed soon amid a boom in construction that persists. In a city that has been reluctant to reach for the sky, perhaps it is appropriate that Piano is the architect for what probably will he Londons tallest building. He is ambivalent about skyscrapers, too, and has design
41、ed only a handful alongside such projects as the Pompidou Center in Paris, with Richard Rogers, and parts of the reconstructed Potsdamer Platz In Berlin. English Heritage has been far less enthusiastic, arguing that the building would obstruct views of a high-rise from a much earlier era, Christophe
42、r Wrens St. Pattis Cathedral. To overcome opposition, the building was designed with a mixed-use function. Much of the bottom half of the building will house offices, but above that there will be a “public piazza“ with restaurants, exhibition spaces and other entertainment areas. Further above, the
43、loftier, narrower floors will be taken up by a hotel and apartments. On the 65th floor there will be a viewing gallery. The upper 60 meters, exposed to the elements, will house an energy-saving cooling system in which pipes will be used to pump excess heat up from the offices below and dissipate it
44、into the winds. “We knew we had no chance of getting it approved unless we had a high-quality design from a top international name,“ Sellar said. The emphasis on quality is a reflection not only of an aversion to skyscrapers, but also of a desire not to repeat mistakes. London had one previous fling
45、 with tallor semi-tallbuildings, in the 1960s and 70s, but their blocky, concrete shapes did little to impress. 25 Developers are turning to the skyscraper In London because （ A） the weather there covers the city with a gray ceiling. （ B） British are inclined to understatement. （ C） British love the
46、 countryside and gardens. （ D） the citys population and its prominence grow increasingly. 26 Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the mayors support for tall buildings? （ A） Drivers were charged a toll to enter the city on weekdays. （ B） A 40-story tower was completed this year. （ C）
47、 A handful other tall buildings have received the planning permission. （ D） A dozen more tall buildings have been proposed. 27 According to the passage, London Bridge Tower （ A） is 264 meters tall. （ B） is designed by Norman Foster. （ C） would be by far the tallest building in Europe. （ D） would sur
48、pass American or Asian skyscrapers. 28 In the public square of London Bridge Tower you can NOT （ A） have dinners. （ B） have a birds eye view of London. （ C） visit art galleries. （ D） watch movies. 29 According to Sellar, London Bridge Tower won government approval mainly because of （ A） Britons incr
49、easing enthusiasm for tall buildings. （ B） the developers close association with the government. （ C） its high-quality design from a top world name. （ D） a desire not to repeat mistakes as before. 30 The last paragraph implies that （ A） peoples preference for skyscrapers is increasing rapidly. （ B） people made mistakes in constructing tall buildings in the past. （ C） tall buildings in the 1960s and 1970s were welcomed by Londoners. （ D） tall buildings in the 1960s and 1970s left people deep impression. 30 Stupendous prices were pai
