1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 89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 In business, many places adopt a credit system, which dates back to ancient times. At present, purchases c
3、an be made by using credit cards. They fall into two categories: one has【 1】 _ , while the other is accepted 【 1】_ almost everywhere. The application for the use of the latter one must be made at a【 2】 _ 【 2】 _ Once the customer starts using the card, he will be provided with a monthly 【 3】 _ by the
4、 credit company. He is required to pay one 【 3】 _ quarter to half of his credit【 4】 _ every month. 【 4】 _ Advantages. 1. With a card, it is not【 5】 _ to save up money 【 5】_ before an actual purchase. 2. If the card is lost, its owner is protected. 3. A【 6】 _ and complete list of purchase received fr
5、om the 【 6】 _ credit company helps the owner to remember the time and【 7】 _ 【 7】_ of his purchase. 4. The cards are accepted in a(n)【 8】 _ 【 8】 _ by professional people like dentists, etc. Major disadvantage. The card owner is tempted to【 9】 _ 【 9】_ his money. If this is the case, it will become inc
6、reasingly difficult for the user to keep up with the required【 10】 _ , which will result in 【 10】_ the credit card being cancelled by the credit company. 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 O
7、NCE 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 What strikes the woman most about the male robber
8、 is his （ A） clothes. （ B） age. （ C） physique. （ D） appearance. 12 The most detailed information about the woman robber is her （ A） manners. （ B） talkativeness. （ C） height. （ D） jewelry. 13 The interviewee is believed to be a bank （ A） receptionist. （ B） manager. （ C） customer. （ D） cashier. 14 Whi
9、ch of the following about the two robbers is NOT true? （ A） Both were wearing dark sweaters. （ B） Neither was wearing glasses. （ C） Both were about the same age. （ D） One of them was marked by a scar. 15 After the incident the interviewee sounded （ A） calm and quiet. （ B） nervous and numb. （ C） timi
10、d and confused. （ D） shocked and angry. 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 Senator Bob Doles attitu
11、de towards Clintons anti-crime policy is that of （ A） opposition. （ B） support. （ C） ambiguity. （ D） indifference. 17 Japan and the United States are now （ A） negotiating about photographic material. （ B） negotiating an automobile agreement. （ C） facing serious problems in trade. （ D） on the verge o
12、f a large-scale trade war. 18 The news item seems to indicate that the agreement （ A） will end all other related trade conflicts. （ B） is unlikely to solve the dispute once and for all. （ C） is linked to other trade agreements. （ D） is the last of its kind to be reached. 19 According to the news, th
13、e ice from Greenland provides information about （ A） oxygen. （ B） ancient weather. （ C） carbon dioxide. （ D） temperature. 20 Which of the following statements is CORRECT? （ A） Drastic changes in the weather have been common since ancient times. （ B） The change in weather from very cold to very hot l
14、asted over a century. （ C） The scientists have been studying ice to forecast the weather in the future. （ D） The past 10,000 years have seen minor changes in the weather. 20 Cooperative competition. Competitive cooperation. Confused? Airline alliances have travellers scratching their heads over what
15、s going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a blessing to travellers, offering seamless travel, reduced fares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of big businesses, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices. Whatever your opinion, theres no
16、escaping airline alliances: the marketing hype is unrelenting, with each of the two mega- groupings, One world and Star Alliance, promoting itself as the best choice for all travellers And, even if you turn away from their ads, chances are they will figure in any of your travel plans. By the end of
17、the year, Oneworld and Star Alliance will between them control more than 40% of the traffic in the sky. Some pundits predict that figure will be more like 75% in 10 years. But why, after years of often ferocious competition, have airlines decided to band together? Lets just say the timing is mutuall
18、y convenient North American airlines, having exhausted all means of earning customer loyalty at home, have been looking for ways to reach out to foreign flyers. Asian carriers are still hurting from the region-wide economic downturn that began two years ago just when some of the airlines were taking
19、 delivery of new aircraft. Alliances also allow carriers to cut costs and increase profits by pooling manpower resources on the ground (rather than each airline maintaining its own ground crew) and code-sharing - the practice of two partners selling tickets and operating only one aircraft. So allian
20、ces are terrific for airlines but are they good for the passenger? Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP (frequent flyer programme) benefits, the round-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then theres the promise of “seamless“ travel: the ability to, say, tra
21、vel from Singapore to Rome to New York to Rio de Janiero, all on one ticket, without having to wait hours for connections or worry about your bags. Sounds utopian? Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacifics director of sales and marketing, thinks that seamless travel is still evolving. “Its fair to say that th
22、ese links are only in their infancy. The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure and information sharing. Were working on this.“ Henry Ma, spokesperson for Star Alliance in Hong Kong, lists some of the other benefits for consumers:“Global travellers have an easier time making connections and pla
23、nning their itineraries.“ Ma claims alliances also assure passengers consistent service standards. Critics of alliances say the much-touted benefits to the consumer are mostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for the airlines, rationalizing services and running joint marke
24、ting programmes. Jeff Blyskal, associate editor of Consumer Reports magazine, says the promotional ballyhoo over alliances is much ado about nothing. “I dont see much of a gain for consumers: alliances arc just a marketing gimmick. And as far as seamless travel goes, Ill believe it when I see it. Mo
25、st airlines cant even get their own connections under control, let alone coordinate with another airline.“ Blyskal believes alliances will ultimately result in decreased flight choices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competing and each operating a flight on the same route
26、at 70% capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will be available, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets. The truth about alliances and their merits probably lies somewhere between the travel utopia presented by the players and the evil e
27、mpires portrayed by their critics. And how much they affect you depends on what kind of traveller you are. Those whove already made the elite grade in the FFP of a major airline stand to benefit the most when it joins an alliance: then they enjoy the FFP perks and advantages on any and all of the me
28、mber carriers. For example, if youre a Marco Polo Club “gold“ member of Cathay Pacifics Asia Miles FFP, you will automatically be treated as a valuable customer by all members of One world, of which Cathay Pacific is a member - even if youve never flown with them before. For those who havent made th
29、e top grade in any FFP, alliances might be a way of simplifying the earning of frequent flyer miles. For example, 1 belong to United Airlines Mileage Plus and generally fly less than 25,000 miles a year. But I earn miles with every flight I take on Star Alliance member - All Nippon Airways and Thai
30、Airways. If you fly less than I do, you might be smarter to stay out of the FFP game altogether. Hunt for bargains when booking flights and you might be able to save enough to take that extra trip anyway. The only real benefit infrequent flyers can draw from an alliance is an inexpensive round-the-w
31、orld fare. The bottom line: for all the marketing hype, alliances arent all things to all people - but everybody can get some benefit out of them. 21 Which is the best word to describe air travellers reaction to airline alliances? （ A） Delight. （ B） Indifference. （ C） Objection. （ D） Puzzlement. 22
32、According to the passage, setting up airline alliances will chiefly benefit （ A） North American airlines and their domestic travellers. （ B） North American airlines and their foreign counterparts. （ C） Asian airlines and their foreign travellers. （ D） Asian airlines and their domestic travellers. 23
33、 Which of the following is NOT a perceived advantage of alliances? （ A） Baggage allowance. （ B） Passenger comfort. （ C） Convenience. （ D） Quality. 24 One disadvantage of alliances foreseen by the critics is that air travel may be moreexpensive as a result of （ A） less convenience. （ B） higher operat
34、ion costs. （ C） less competition. （ D） more joint marketing. 25 According to the passage, which of the following categories of travellers will gainmost from airline alliances? （ A） Travellers who fly frequently economy class. （ B） Travellers who fly frequently business class. （ C） Travellers who fly
35、 occasionally during holidays. （ D） Travellers who fly economy class once.in a while. 25 The National Marine Fisheries Service announced on March 16, 1999, that it was extending Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections to nine populations of wild salmon and steelhead in Washington and Oregon. The mo
36、ve is believed to be the broadest application of the law in its 26-year history and the first listing to affect urban regions. Wild salmon, once hugely abundant in the Pacific Northwest and still a recognized symbol of the region, have declined sharply in numbers in recent decades as development, lo
37、gging, and hydroelectric dams have degraded the fishs habitat. Wild salmon are salmon that were never bred in a hatchery. Most Pacific salmon and steelhead (a type of large, seagoing rainbow trout) need clear, gravel-bottomed streams and rivers when spawning and during the early stages of life. Acco
38、rding to the Fisheries Service, on the Columbia River, chum salmon runs are between 1,500 and 4,000 fish annually, compared to as many as 500,000 before 1944. On the Willamette River, steelhead runs are the lowest in 30 years. Eight of the nine groupings listed were identified as threatened (declini
39、ng and likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future). They are the Puget Sound chinook salmon, the lower Columbia River chinook salmon, the upper Willamette River chinook salmon, the Columbia River chum salmon, the Hood Canal summer-run chum salmon, the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon, the upper
40、 Willamette River steelhead, and the middle Columbia River steelhead. One population, the upper Columbia River spring-run chinook salmon, was designated as endangered, which the ESA defines as likely to become extinct within the foreseeable future if preventive action is not taken. The Fisheries Ser
41、vice said it would wait until September 1999 to decide on whether to extend ESA protection to salmon in southern Oregon and California. How the listings will affect urban areas such as Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon is uncertain, but new regulations are expected to be extensive and costly
42、. They could include restrictions on future development, limits on pesticide use and agricultural runoff, logging and fishing limits, dam redesign or removal, pollution controls, and sewage treatment upgrades. These regulations would affect the nearly 5.5 million people living in the Seattle and Por
43、tland metropolitan areas combined. Many observers said that the initial public response to the listing would be favorable The fish still holds great economic and cultural importance for Native Americans in the region and is widely viewed as an environmental icon. This contrasts with the bitter fight
44、 over the last major ESA listing in the region, the 1990 protection of the spotted owl, which hurt the logging industry and many timber communities. The listings were scheduled to go into effect in May 1999, but regulations would initially apply only on federal lands or on projects requiring a feder
45、al permit. Federal officials have pledged tO work with state, local, and private interests to formulate acceptable plans to protect and preserve the threatened fish. State and municipal legislation is already in the works in many cases, but these measures are highly controversial. Real estate and ot
46、her business interests have protested that they are too strict, and environmental groups have called them too weak. The regulations will likely end up being decided by the courts. 26 According to the introductions about the endangered fish, we can infer that mostPacific salmon and steelhead （ A） alw
47、ays live in rivers and streams without going to seas. （ B） always live in seas and oceans without going to rivers. （ C） live in rivers when young and live in seas when grown-up. （ D） live in seas when young and live in rivers when grown-up. 27 Which of the following statements about ESAs protection
48、efforts is NOT true? （ A） ESA plans to extend its protection to the endangered fish in other areas. （ B） It will be expensive to apply ESAs regulations for protecting the fish. （ C） The new listings will Somewhat affect the urban life of some regions. （ D） ESAs protection planshave always been suppo
49、rted by local people. 27 In Haverford on the Platte the townspeople still talk of Lucy Gayheart. They do not talk of her a great deal, to be sure; life goes on and we live in the present. But when they do mention her name it is with a gentle glow in the face or the voice, a confidential glance which says. “Yes, you, too, remember?“ They still see her as a sligh
