1、专业英语八级模拟试卷 97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 Dangers can be caused by the use of such abstract words as “beauty“, “crime“ and“【 1】 _ “. The danger lies
3、 【 1】 _ in the fact that the word “beauty“ may mean different things for different people. When we use it, we may not be【 2】 _ 【 2】 _ what is in our mind to other people because they may have their idea about “beauty“ different from【 3】 _ 【 3】 _ 【 4】 _ sorts of danger arise with the word “crime“. 【
4、4】 _ It is generally used to refer to acts that are forbidden by law. Anyone who【 5】 _ such an act is, strictly speaking, a 【 5】 _ “criminal“. The word “crime“ is associated mainly with 【 6】 _ such as armed robbery and murder; and the 【 6】 _ common idea of the “criminal“ is of a dangerous kind of ma
5、n. However, a girl of seventeen who takes something off a shop shelf may be thought as a criminal by a【 7】 _ man. Here, once 【 7】 _ again, we see how an abstract word makes a misleading impression. If “beauty“ is an aesthetic abstraction, and “crime“ a legal abstraction, “average“ is a【 8】 _ . For i
6、nstance, to 【 8】 _ know the average height of all the people in a town is to know 【 9】 _ at all about any of the individuals living there. 【 9】 _ Therefore, abstract ideas and their expressions have to be watched with caution. We must【 10】 _ before 【 10】 _ deciding whether we know what one is really
7、 saying. 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 interview you
8、 will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview. 11 According to the secretary of the Department of Education, the general situation of American education is _. （ A） satisfactory （ B） encouraging （ C） hopeless （ D） imperfect 12 Which of the follo
9、wing groups of children are NOT mentioned as those underprivileged? （ A） Inner-city children. （ B） Minority children. （ C） Handicapped children. （ D） Rural children. 13 Some parents choose to home-school their children because _. （ A） public schools may fail to meet their expectations （ B） private s
10、chools are too religious （ C） they are teachers themselves （ D） they cannot afford their childrens education 14 The secretary regards _ as the biggest challenge facing the American education system. （ A） inadequate political support （ B） shortage of funds （ C） improper beliefs （ D） lack of security
11、15 The secretary is _ about Christian world view on education. （ A） reticent （ B） positive （ C） well-informed （ D） optimistic 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 i
12、tem, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. 16 Watts has been imprisoned for years on a charge of _. （ A） murder （ B） burglary with intent to murder （ C） slaying （ D） robbery 17 When did Watts commit the slaying? （ A） 1979 （ B） 1989 （ C） 1982 （ D） 1972 18 Which of the following is NOT
13、 true? （ A） Watts killed 13 women. （ B） Watts would receive a medical treatment before facing the new trial. （ C） Watts would be 60 on May 8,2006. （ D） The new trial would be held in Michigan. 19 The audio-tape was shown on TV on _. （ A） Tuesday （ B） Wednesday （ C） Thursday （ D） Friday 20 The purpos
14、e of the taped message was assumed to be any of the following EXCEPT _. （ A） offering a truce to European nations （ B） estranging the European nations from the US （ C） bolstering al-Qaeda supporters （ D） condemning the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin 20 1 We are heedless in the formation of our
15、 beliefs, but find ourselves filled with a fervent passion for them when anyone challenges or questions them obviously. It is not that the ideas themselves are dear to us, but rather that our self-esteem is threatened. We are by nature stubbornly pledged to defend our own from attack, whether it be
16、our person, our family, our property, or our opinion. A United States senator once remarked to a friend of mine that God Almighty could not make him change his mind on our Latin-American policy. We may surrender, but we rarely confess ourselves conquered. In the intellectual world, at least, peace i
17、s without victory. 2 Few of us take the pains to study the origins of our cherished beliefs; indeed, we have a natural dislike for so doing. We like to continue believing what we have been accustomed to accepting as true, and the resentment aroused when doubt is cast upon our assumptions leads us to
18、 seek every manner of excuse for clinging to them. The result is that most of our so called reasoning consists of finding arguments for continuing to believe as we already do. 3 This natural and loyal support of our beliefsthis process of finding “good reasons“ to justify our routine beliefsis known
19、 to modern psychologists as “rationalization, clearly a new name for a very ancient thing. Our good reasons ordinarily have no value in promoting enlightenment, because, no matter how solemnly they may be arranged, they are at bottom the result of personal preference or prejudice, and not of an hone
20、st desire to seek or accept new knowledge. 4 In our dreams, we are frequently engaged in self-justification, for we cannot bear to think ourselves wrong; yet we have constant illustrations of our weaknesses and mistakes. So we spend much time finding fault with circumstances and conduct of others, a
21、nd shifting onto them with great skill the burden of our own failures and disappointments. Rationalization is the self-exculpation which occurs when we feel ourselves, or our group, accused of error. 21 Our reactions to others challenge of our beliefs may cover all of the following EXCEPT _. （ A） re
22、sentment （ B） self-justification （ C） disappointment （ D） defense 22 By quoting a US senators remark, the author intends to show _. （ A） God Almightys limitation （ B） human resistance to conquest （ C） human dignity （ D） human pledge to their beliefs 23 In the eyes of the author, to defend our own be
23、liefs is _. （ A） mistaken （ B） natural （ C） rational （ D） necessary 24 The author argues that the practice of rationalization is _. （ A） misguided （ B） original （ C） reasonable （ D） well-grounded 24 1 Consider these results from a study released last week by the Manhattan Institute, a New York-based
24、 think tank: Two-thirds of suburban and urban 12th-graders have had sex; 43 percent of suburban 12th-graders and 39 percent of urban 12th-graders have had sex during “one-night stands.“ 74 percent of suburban 12th-graders and 71 percent of urban 12th-graders have tried alcohol more than two or three
25、 times. Just over 40 percent of 12th graders in urban and suburban schools have used illegal drugs. 20 percent of urban 12th grade girls have been pregnant; 14 percent of suburban 12th-grade girls have. 2 The study was conducted via student surveys, and the data were collected from the same group of
26、 adolescents in three waves from 1995 to 2002. The study, which surveyed an estimate of 20,000 students, was sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and other federal agencies. The studys authors, Jay Greene and Greg Forster, concluded that students in suburban high
27、 schools consume alcohol, smoke cigarettes and partake in as much illegal drug use as students in urban schools, and sometimes even more than their city counterparts. Students in suburban schools also had about the same levels of sexual behavior as their urban counterparts. The authors suggest that
28、folks who have been fleeing the city hoping to find a “wholesome“ life may just come up wanting. 3 Greene, a senior fellow at the institute, told me that he was surprised that the study showed there isnt too much of a difference between urban and suburban high schoolers. 4 Surprised? Thats because w
29、e continue to idealize the more affluent suburbs and demonize the poorer sections of the city. For decades, “city“ has been a euphemism for black and poor and decadent, and “suburbs“ synonymous with white and wealthy and puritanical. But, of course, neither has ever been totally true. Yet, were ofte
30、n still surprised when a group of well-to-do kids do something stupid and not so surprised when poor kids do. 5 Henry Binford, an associate professor of history at Northwestern University, said theres a long history of idealizing suburban life that goes back to the 19th century. “Part of the appeal
31、for people moving out was for them to get away from the dirt and crime, poor services and the hurly-burly of the downtown,“ he said. “Many imagined that the suburbs would be havens. They thought suburban life was healthier and more moral than city living. But the suburbs were never pure or safe or w
32、ithout difficulty as people thought they would be.“ Its fantasy duking it out with reality. 6 Why the similarities despite the differences in ZIP codes and, often, opportunities? For startersand this is a no-braineradolescents will be adolescents no matter where they live. They have to contend with
33、similar peer pressures regarding sex, drugs and alcohol. Other pervasive influences, including various media messages, transcend suburban-urban boundaries. 7 Young people tend to have a high propensity for doing stupid things and getting themselves into sticky situations. How ZIP codes play a role i
34、s that some wealthier kids parents can afford to get them unstuck far better than others. Most of us recognize that there is no hermetically sealed place to rear youngsters. But some people still think so, says Greene, a graduate of New Trier High School on the North Shore. “A lot of the flight to t
35、he suburbs is still related to the perception that certain social ills are so concentrated in the city,“ Greene said. That perception is reinforced by television shows and movies about city life; by the news. Its so ingrained that we tend not to question it. We take it for granted. 8 One of the thin
36、gs that attracted me to this study was not so much the similaritiesthe “findings“ that kids will be kids wherever they livebut the continued shock about them. The bottom line is that if parents and teens give up their responsibilities or are disengaged, no matter the reason, then these rates will co
37、ntinue to rise across the board. 9 There simply is no escape hatch. 25 Statistics used in the first paragraph are intended to _. （ A） compare the behavior of urban and suburban kids in terms of some social problems （ B） highlight the gravity of some social problems involving kids （ C） show the autho
38、rs well-informedness （ D） draw attention to the seriousness of problems with suburban kids 26 Which of the following is NOT true of the study as mentioned in Para. 2? （ A） The study is based on a small sampling. （ B） Some students participated in the study. （ C） The result of the study is somewhat s
39、urprising. （ D） The study is probably well funded. 27 According to the passage, people may idealize the suburban life for all the reasons below EXCEPT that _. （ A） it is safer （ B） it is cleaner （ C） it is cheaper （ D） it is purer 28 It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that _. （ A） the f
40、indings of the study did not appeal to the author （ B） the finds of the study continued to shock the author （ C） parents were responsible for the rise of the problems （ D） the problems with kids can never be reduced 28 1 A folk culture is a small isolated, cohesive, conservative, nearly self suffici
41、ent group that is homogeneous in custom and race with a strong family or clan structure and highly developed rituals. Order is maintained through sanctions based in the religion or family and interpersonal relationships are strong. Tradition is paramount, and change comes infrequently and slowly. Th
42、ere is relatively little division of labor into specialized duties. Rather, each person is expected to perform a great variety of tasks, though duties may differ between the sexes. Most goods are handmade and subsistence economy prevails. Individualism is weakly developed in folk cultures, as are so
43、cial classes. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrialized countries such as the United States and Canada. 2 Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent in America is the Amish, a German American farming sect that largely renounces the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age.
44、In Amish areas, horse drawn buggies still serve as a local transportation device and the faithful are not permitted to own automobiles. The Amishs central religious concept of Demut “humility“ clearly reflects the weakness of individualism and social class so typical of folk cultures and there is a
45、corresponding strength of Amish group identity. Rarely do the Amish marry outside their sect. The religion, a variety of the Mennonite faith, provides the principal mechanism for maintaining order. 3 By contrast a popular culture is a large heterogeneous group often highly individualistic and consta
46、ntly changing. Relationships tend to be impersonal and a pronounced division of labor exists, leading to the establishment of many specialized professions. Secular institutions of control such as the police and army take the place of religion and family in maintaining order, and a money based econom
47、y prevails. Because of these contrasts, “popular“ may be viewed as clearly different from “folk“. The popular is replacing the folk in industrialized countries and in many developing nations. Folk-made objects give way to their popular equivalent, usually because the popular item is more quickly or
48、cheaply produced, is easier or time saving to use or lends more prestige to the owner. 29 Which of the following statements is NOT true of a folk culture? （ A） Impersonal. （ B） Religious. （ C） Conservative. （ D） Collective. 30 This passage contrasts a folk culture and a popular along all the following lines EXCEPT _. （ A） transportation （ B） social relationship （ C） identity （ D） religion 31 It can be inferred from this passage that _. （ A） a popular culture is superior to a folk culture （ B） a folk culture allows alterations （ C） folk cultures will vanish soon under the influence of
