1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 850及答案与解析 SECTION A MINI-LECTURE In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture, please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s) you
2、 fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking. You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task. 0 The Delivery of Humor I. Understanding delivery A. definition: the ability of the speaker to present the humorous material in the_
3、way【 T1】 _ B. characteristics(drawn from the definition of a joke) -_【 T2】 _ The setup should be direct and_.【 T3】 _ Otherwise, the humor will be_.【 T4】 _ a climactic twist being neat, absolutely clear and_【 T5】 _ II. _delivery【 T6】 _ A. control over_【 T7】 _ definition: _between the end of the setup
4、 and the【 T8】 _ delivery of a punchline learning from_and noticing how to vary the delay【 T9】 _ to achieve the most effective results B. _the material【 T10】 _ working on it in ones mind seeking to make it appear_【 T11】 _ connecting it to the important points of ones message weaving it in as a/an_par
5、t of the speech【 T12】 _ III. Suggested practice material: “The Bird“ story The idea that anyone can tell a joke is_.【 T13】 _ Suggested steps for practice learning it_and practicing it【 T14】 _ working on details telling it as often as possible observing_【 T15】 _ 1 【 T1】 2 【 T2】 3 【 T3】 4 【 T4】 5 【 T5
6、】 6 【 T6】 7 【 T7】 8 【 T8】 9 【 T9】 10 【 T10】 11 【 T11】 12 【 T12】 13 【 T13】 14 【 T14】 15 【 T15】 SECTION B INTERVIEW In this section you will hear ONE interview. The interview will be divided into TWO parts. At the end of each part, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the interview a
7、nd the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause. During the pause, you should read the four choices of A , B , C and D , and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO. You have THIRTY seconds to preview the questions. （ A） Because it is
8、 a household name in Hong Kong. （ B） Because some big names are included in its list of artists. （ C） Because it has 800,000 artist members worldwide. （ D） Because it covers many art forms. （ A） A website. （ B） A team of volunteers. （ C） A band. （ D） A neighborhood. （ A） Artists publicize their phot
9、o albums. （ B） Artists communicate with other artists. （ C） Fans find out where the artists are. （ D） Fans help increase the popularity of certain artists. （ A） They were inspired by the movie The Heavenly Kings. （ B） They were touched by the experience of a boyband in Hong Kong. （ C） They realized
10、the common straits for most artists in Hong Kong. （ D） They decided to address the issues facing artists everywhere. （ A） In January 2006. （ B） In January 2007. （ C） In April 2006. （ D） In April 2007. （ A） Painting. （ B） Movies. （ C） Music. （ D） Visual art. （ A） The general public shows less interes
11、t in it. （ B） Artists have higher demands for operating speed. （ C） AnD is struggling for more constant sponsorship. （ D） Artists need both communication and security. （ A） Committed. （ B） Reserved. （ C） Dismissive. （ D） Respectful of that of famous ones. （ A） About once every month. （ B） Every othe
12、r month. （ C） Every third day. （ D） Unknown. （ A） Shared media playlists for fans. （ B） Better promoting artists in the community. （ C） Achieving 250% growth in registered user and traffic statistics. （ D） Looking for more partners to work with both online and offline. SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUES
13、TIONS In this section there are several passages followed by fourteen multiple-choice questions. For each multiple-choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A , B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. 25 Historians tend to date the birth of modern capitalism to t
14、he late sixteenth and early seventeen centuries, but to understand what actually occurred an important distinction must be made. Here are basically two types of capitalism: commercial and industrial. In commercial capitalism the capitalist is usually a merchant who invests money both in buying the r
15、aw material and in marketing the finished product one produced. In the case of wool cloth, for example, the merchant buys the raw wool: then either the merchant or the agent carries the wool to the artisans who spin, weave, and dye it in their shops or homes. They usually work by the piece and own o
16、r rent their equipment. When the cloth is finished, the merchant then sells the product: the merchants profit lies in the difference between what the cloth cost to produce and the purchase price of the finished goods. This form of capitalism, with the merchant as capitalist, began in the Middle Ages
17、 and remained the dominant form for the production of industrial goods down to the eighteenth century. The economic boom of the sixteenth century did not significantly affect the way the goods were produced: what did change was the number of people engaged in producing. The production of industrial
18、goods significantly increased in the sixteenth century because so many more independent producers were working for the merchant. Industrial capitalism, on the other hand, refers to investment in the modes or means of production. In this case the capitalist is not the merchant but the factory or mine
19、 owner. Investment in machines means more productivity per worker and more variety in products. In the sixteenth century a rapid surge in the amount of investment in machinery occurred in such areas as metalworking, glass making, paper production, coal mining and firearms manufacture. Although the o
20、utput of goods provided by industrial capitalism climbed significantly after 1550, until the end of the eighteenth century commercial capitalism was responsible for most of the industrial production of Europe. 26 The phrase “work by the piece“ in the first paragraph means_. （ A） mass production （ B）
21、 efficient production （ C） small-scale production （ D） full production 27 The first paragraph of this passage is mostly about_. （ A） products produced under industrial capitalism （ B） how commercial capitalism operates （ C） how industrial capitalism operates （ D） the economic boom of the sixteenth c
22、entury 28 According to the passage, commercial capitalism dominated the European economy until the_. （ A） Middle Ages （ B） sixteenth century （ C） beginning of the eighteenth century （ D） end of the eighteenth century 28 From a hillside, Kamal Saadat looked forlornly at hundreds of potential customer
23、s, knowing he could not take them for trips in his boat to enjoy a spring weekend on picturesque Oroumieh Lake, the third largest saltwater lake on earth, which now lay encased by solidifying salt. Saadat lamented that he could not understand why the lake was fading away. The long popular lake, home
24、 to migrating flamingos, pelicans and gulls, has shrunken by 60 percent and could disappear entirely in just a few years drained by drought, misguided irrigation policies, development and the damming of rivers that feed it. Until two years ago, Saadat supplemented his income from almond- and grape-g
25、rowing by taking tourists on boat tours. But as the lake receded and its salinity rose, he found he had to stop the boat every 10 minutes to unfoul the propeller and finally, he had to give up this second job that hed used to support a five-member family. The visitors were not enjoying such a boring
26、 trip, for they had to cross hundreds of meters of salty lakebed just to reach the boat from the wharf. Other boatmen, too, have parked their vessels by their houses, where they stand as sad reminders of the deep-water days. And the lakes ebbing affects an ever-widening circle. The receding water ha
27、s also weakened hotel business and tourism activities in the area, and planned hotel projects remain idle since investors are reluctant to continue. Beyond tourism, the salt-saturated lake threatens agriculture nearby in northwest Iran, as storms sometimes carry the salt far afield. Many farmers wor
28、ry about the future of their lands, which for centuries have been famous for apples, grapes, walnuts, almonds, onions, potatoes, as well as aromatic herbal drinks, candies and tasty sweet pastes. Official reports blame the drying mainly on a decade-long drought, and peripherally on consumption of wa
29、ter of the feeding rivers for farming. They put 5 percent of the blame on construction of dams and 3 percent on other factors. The first alarm over the lakes shrinking came in late 1990s amid a nagging drought. Nonetheless, the government continued construction of 35 dams on the rivers which feed th
30、e lake: 10 more dams are on the drawing boards for the next few years. Also completed was a lake-crossing roadway. No environmental feasibility study was done in the planning for the road, and environmentalists believe the project worsened the lakes health by acting as a barrier to water circulation
31、. In April, the Iranian government announced a three-prong effort to save the lake: a cloud-seeding program to increase rainfall in the area, a lowering of water consumption by irrigation systems, and supplying the lake with remote sources of water. Some experts termed the weather control portion of
32、 the program as only a “ symbolic action“ by government, saying the best answer would be to release more water currently being held back by dams. The evaporation rate has been three times the rainfall rate, making the rivers historic role vital to sustaining the lake. In the green and beautiful city
33、 of Oroumieh, famous for peaceful coexistence between Azeri people, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians as well as Muslims and Christians, talk about the fate of the lake is common among ordinary people in teahouses and on the streets. Some express happiness with the government decision to manipulate clouds
34、 in hopes of increasing rainfall. However, many locals called the cloud-seeding plan “a show“ , and the water held back by those dams was the solution. Beyond the debates by national and local authorities some folks here suggest another way Oroumieh could be saved. A local legend says wild purple gl
35、adiolas have had a miraculous role in doing just that. The flowers have grown every year for a thousand years in the spot where a princess of Oroumieh was killed as she warned the people of the city about an invading enemy. As a recent sunset turned the lake golden, Kamal the boatman tried to find s
36、ome hope in the returning blossoms. “ You see, still wild purple gladiolas are appearing in the spring,“ he said. “ The city and its lake can eventually survive.“ 29 The ebbing of the Oroumieh Lake does NOT affect_. （ A） the locals second job （ B） agriculture （ C） the salt production （ D） hotel busi
37、ness and tourism activities 30 The authors attitude towards the three-prong effort announced by the Iranian government is_. （ A） favorable （ B） ambiguous （ C） critical （ D） reserved 31 Kamals words at the end of the passage imply that_. （ A） purple gladiolas were found around the lake （ B） purple gl
38、adiolas could save the lake （ C） the locals hoped the lake would not diminish （ D） the locals were sure of the lakes survival 32 The message the author attempts to convey throughout the passage is that_. （ A） the Oroumieh Lake is in danger （ B） the home to migrating animals is vanishing （ C） humans
39、behavior is harmful to nature （ D） local tourism business has been hurt 32 Every silver lining has its cloud. At the moment, the worlds oceans absorb a million tonnes of carbon dioxide an hour. Admittedly that is only a third of the rate at which humanity dumps the stuff into the atmosphere by burni
40、ng fossil fuels, but it certainly helps to slow down global wanning. However, what is a blessing for the atmosphere turns out to be a curse for the oceans. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water it forms carbonic acid. At the moment, sea water is naturally alkaline but it is becoming less so all the
41、 time. The biological significance of this acidification was a topic of debate among scientists. Many species of invertebrate have shells or skeletons made of calcium carbonate. It is these, fossilized, that form rocks such as chalk and limestone. And, as anyone who has studied chemistry at school k
42、nows, if you drop chalk into acid it fizzes away to nothing. Many marine biologists therefore worry that some species will soon be unable to make their protective homes. Many of the species most at risk are corals. The end of the Permian period, 252m years ago, was marked by the biggest extinction o
43、f life known to have happened on Earth. At least part of the cause of this extinction seems to have been huge volcanic eruptions that poured carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But some groups of animals became more extinct than others. Sponges, corals and brachiopods were particularly badly hit. Ra
44、ther than counting individual species of fossils, which vary over time, paleontologists who study extinction usually count entire groups of related species, called genera. More than 90% of Permian genera of sponges, corals and brachiopods vanished in the extinction. By contrast, only half of the gen
45、era of mollusks and arthropods disappeared. This is because mollusks and arthropods are able to buffer the chemistry of the internal fluids from which they create their shells. This keeps the acidity of those fluids constant. Sponges, corals and brachiopods, however, cannot do this. The situation at
46、 the moment is not as bad as it was at the end of the Permian. Nevertheless, calculations suggest that if todays trends continue, the alkalinity of the ocean will have fallen by half a pH unit by 2100. That would make some places, such as the Southern Ocean, uninhabitable for corals. Since corals pr
47、ovide habitat and food sources for many other denizens of the deep, this could have a profound effect on the marine food web. No corals, no sea urchins and no who-knows-what-else would be bad news indeed for the sea. Those who blithely factor oceanic uptake into the equations of what people can get
48、away with when it comes to greenhouse-gas pollution should, perhaps, have second thoughts. 33 The sentence “Every silver lining has its cloud“ in the first paragraph probably means_. （ A） there is always a difficult side to a hopeful situation （ B） there is always a comforting side to a sad situatio
49、n （ C） there is always a chink of light before the sun comes pouring in （ D） visible water vapor floating in the sky can join up to make a silver line 34 The word “brachiopod“ in the third paragraph means_. （ A） a kind of invertebrates （ B） a kind of marine mammals （ C） a kind of colonial plants （ D） a kind of aquatic vertebra
