1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 70 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 Britains System of Education The British Commonwealth includes a quarter of the worlds population in one-
3、sixth of the worlds land area. All its 【 1】 _ member states have been formerly parts of the British Empire. In these countries English is either the first language or the most 【 2】_ means of communication except for small-scale business. Today the Commonwealth is a 【 3】 _ association of independent
4、【 4】 _ states. Hong Kong cannot become independent because its main land section is part of China, but had been by Britain on a 99 year lease which 【 5】 _ in1997 The transformation of the British Empire into a Commonwealth of independent nations began in 1867, when Canada became fully self-governed.
5、 The new Commonwealth took shape in1947, when India and Pakistan became fully independent. Within 20 years, all the major British territories, in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean had been independent, with the help and agreement of the British government. In many independent countries of the Commonwea
6、lth, the British cultural influence survives, as can be felt in their 【 6】_. systems and in 【 7】 _ and 【 8】 _ processes. But Britain has avoided any 【 9】 _ with their relations with other states, or with their internal politics. In the United Nations, members of the Commonwealth are quite often 【 10
7、】_ to each other. 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 the end of the inte
8、rview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview. 11 The Baltimore New Compact Schools differ from typical public schools in that _. （ A） their model permits school to cluster their resources, personnel and funds （ B） they charge lower tu
9、ition （ C） they are smaller （ D） they does a lot of fund-raising 12 In the summer program, the students attendance rate was _. （ A） ninety percent （ B） one hundred percent （ C） ninety-five percent （ D） eighty percent 13 The New Compact project is different from the Edison Project because in it _. （
10、A） teachers are discovering for themselves what children and parents need （ B） there is someone telling teachers how to teach and what to learn （ C） teachers are from better background （ D） students and parents go to school together 14 The Core knowledge Curriculum teaches all of the following excep
11、t _. （ A） world civilization （ B） language development （ C） physics and chemistry （ D） literature 15 Why does the interviewee think that teaching institutions should be community-based? （ A） Because it costs less. （ B） Because teachers will learn quickly. （ C） Because it is required by experts. （ D）
12、 Because the cultural patterns are diverse. 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 If Quebec was separa
13、ted from Canada, the two pacts with US _. （ A） should remain effective （ B） should be abolished （ C） should be discussed again （ D） should be supplemented 17 The US border with Canada is the _ in the world. （ A） longest defended border （ B） longest undefended border （ C） longest undefined border （ D
14、） longest coastal border 18 Which of the following is NOT true? （ A） In the days before the vote, the Clinton Administration had been careful to describe the referendum as an internal matter. （ B） It is critical for the United States to have a stable northern neighbor. （ C） Mr. Clinton discussed the
15、 outcome of the referendum Tuesday with Canadian Prime Minister. （ D） Both pacts will be discussed further with united Canada. 19 The news from China tells us that _. （ A） at least eighty-one people have been killed by flooding （ B） a dangerous goods warehouse has been damaged by fire （ C） many kill
16、ed were unable to leave the building （ D） the fire in a handicraft factory in southern China is striking 20 The recent fire-related accidents were caused by _. （ A） strong winds and lack of water （ B） rapid economic growth （ C） locked doors and windows （ D） overcrowded people 20 Bermard Bailyn has r
17、ecently 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. His approach rests on four sepa
18、rate 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 - they would rather have stayed ho
19、me - 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 community. For example, the economic
20、 and demographic character of early New England towns varied considerably. Bailyns third proposition suggests two general patterns prevailing among the many thousands migrants: one group came as indentured servants, another came to acquire land. Surprisingly, Bailyn suggests that those who recruited
21、 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 first, thousands of unskilled laborers were recruited; by the 1730s, however, American employers demanded
22、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 colonial periphery, as Bailyn does,
23、 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 books? Bailyn might respond that
24、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 revolution, he fails to link their
25、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 is not surprising that as soon
26、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 intensely anti- aristocratic. 21
27、 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 America specifically to acquire lan
28、d （ 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 22 According to the passage,
29、Bailyn and the author agree on which of the following statements about the cnhure 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 that was uniquely their own. （
30、 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 with _. （ A） comparing several
31、 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 historians （ D） discussing a
32、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 on North American culture. （ B）
33、 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 England colonies, and neglect
34、s the southern arm 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 massive educational changes. Th
35、e 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 socioeconomic factors, or the
36、 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 long-established tradition that
37、 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 evidence to support the use of illust
38、rations 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 are totally without text. A teac
39、hers 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: this is called “barking at text“.
40、 The teachers task of improving comprehension is made harder by influences outside the classroom. But the adverse effects ot suck, things as television, video games, or limited language experiences at home, can be offset by experiencing “rich“ language at school. Instead, it is not unusual for a boo
41、k 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 prevents children younger than nine fr
42、om 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 children turn aside from books wit
43、hout 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 attention from so many other sources
44、 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 of Oxford and Cambridge recently
45、 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 stories well read, where children im
46、agine 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 journals ranging from educational
47、 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 consistent pictures affected speed a
48、nd 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 to the pictures which are not cl
49、osely related to the meaning of the word they are trying to under- stand, Jay Samuels, an American psychologist, found that poor readers given no pictures learnt significantly mere 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, t
