1、专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 115及答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 In the Information Age, the mass media have been playing an ever more important role in shaping our society. In the following excerpt, the author lists the benefits as well as the drawbacks brought about by the mass media. Read the excerpt carefully and w
2、rite your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the authors opinion about the mass media: 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in
3、 a loss of marks. We are told the mass media are the greatest organs for enlightenment that the world has yet seen: that in Britain, for instance, several million people see each issue of the current affairs programme, Panorama. It is true that never in human history were so many people so often and
4、 so much exposed to so many intimations about societies, forms of life attitudes other than those which obtain in their local societies. This kind of exposure may well be a point of departure for acquiring certain important intellectual and imaginative qualities, width of judgment, and a sense of th
5、e variety of possible attitudes. Yet in itself such exposure does not bring intellectual or imaginative development. It is no more than the masses of stone which he around in a quarry and which may, conceivably, go to the making of a cathedral. The mass media cannot build the cathedral, and their wa
6、y of showing the stones does not always prompt others to build. For the stones are presented within a self-contained and self-sufficient world in which, it is implied, simply to look at them, to observe fleetingly individually interesting points of difference between them, is sufficient in itself. L
7、ife is indeed full of problems on which we have to or feel we should try to make decisions, as citizens or as private individuals. But neither the real difficulty of these decisions, nor their true and disturbing challenge to each individual, can often be communicated through the mass media. The dis
8、inclination to suggest real choice, individual decision, which is to be found in the mass media, is not simply the product of a commercial desire to keep the customers happy. It is within the grain of mass communication. The organs of the Establishment, however well-intentioned they may be and whate
9、ver their form(the State, the Church, voluntary societies, political parties), have a vested interest in ensuring that the public boat is not violently rocked, and will so affect those who work within the mass media that they will be led insensibly towards forms of production which, though they go t
10、hrough the dispute and enquiry, do not break through the skin to where such enquiries might really hurt. They will tend to move, when exposing problems, well within the accepted cliche assumptions of the society and will tend neither radically to question these cliches nor to make a disturbing appli
11、cation of them to features of contemporary life. They will stress the “ stimulation“ the programs give, but this soon becomes an agitation of problems for the sake of the interest of that agitation itself: they will therefore, again, assist a form of acceptance of the status quo. There are exception
12、s to this tendency, but they are uncharacteristic. The result can be seen in a hundred radio and television programs as plainly as in the normal treatment of public issues in the popular press. Different levels of background in the readers or viewers may be assumed, but what usually takes place is a
13、 substitute for the process of arriving at judgment. Programs such as this are noteworthy less for the “stimulation“ they offer than for the fact that that stimulation(repeated at regular intervals)may become a substitute for, and so a hindrance to, judgments arrived at and tested in the mind and on
14、 the pulses. Mass communications, then, do not ignore intellectual matters: they tend to castrate them, to allow them to sit on the side of the fireplace, sleek and useless, a family plaything. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. 2 Smoking bans in public places are becoming more and more commo
15、n in many countries. Whether the rights of the non-smokers to breathe in fresh air outweigh those of the smokers to smoke freely is a matter of opinion, manifesting itself in a heated smoking ban debate. In the following excerpt, the author states the effect of the smoking ban. Read the excerpt care
16、fully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the authors opinion: 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of
17、 marks. The English smoking ban came into force on July 1, 2007. Smoking is banned in almost all enclosed public spaces, including pubs, restaurants and on public transport. Only places that are “like homes“ or are specifically excluded by the health secretary are exempt from the ban. In essence, sm
18、oking is only allowed outdoors and in private homes. Posters must be displayed in all workplaces reminding people that smoking is illegal. Individuals who defy the ban face a 50 on-the-spot fine: businesses can be fined 200 for allowing smoking or not displaying the signs. There are many shocking th
19、ings about the smoking ban or, at least, they would be shocking if we were not inured to them. First, theres the fact that the flimsy evidence that passive smoking causes any significant harm is taken seriously. According to figures from Action on Smoking and Health(ASH) Britains fundamentalist anti
20、-smoking lobby group the incidence of lung cancer for non-smokers is about 10 cases per 100,000 people. Regular passive smoking(that is, living with a smoking partner, not just encountering one in bars or restaurants)increases that by about 25 percent 12.5 cases per 100,000. So, even if these figure
21、s are correct, passive smoking causes 2.5 cases of lung cancer per 100,000 of the population: to put it another way, these are odds of 40,000-to-one of potentially getting lung cancer from passive smoking. On the basis of these remote risks, a war against smokers has been built. The second shocking
22、thing is that governments now believe it is their right even duty to decide what vices we engage in. In this, the UK is not alone. From Argentina to Zambia, governments and local authorities have been queuing up to make it extremely difficult for people to indulge in filthy habits. Only this week, t
23、he Dutch joined the smoking ban club, exactly a year after Englands pubs and restaurants went smoke-free(or “smokefree“ to use the single-word, Orwellian Newspeak preferred by the New Labour government). On the same day, patients in Englands mental institutions received the “protection“ of the law,
24、too that is, they will from now on be “protected“ from smoke by a super-killjoy ban on smoking even in hospitals for the mentally ill. Another shocking thing is the way in which the people have been browbeaten into accepting this kind of state intervention. A quarter of the population is actively en
25、gaged, at some time or other, in the pastime of smoking: and most of the rest of the population was once happy to tolerate that pastime. Yet a noisy minority, joining forces with governments that are increasingly keen to micromanage our most personal affairs and behaviour, has managed to criminalize
26、 a perfectly normal activity. This state of affairs has been accepted with barely a murmur of protest. The consequences for our everyday life have been profound. Smokers are now marked out as “undesirables“ , shunted on to the street or to some other open area to partake in their evil habit. The sim
27、ple business of socializing has been imdermined: alcohol-fueled chatter is persistently interrupted by the disappearance of smokers to the nearest open space. Many people, particularly the elderly, for whom getting up and walking outside every time they want a cigarette is something of an ordeal, ar
28、e visiting pubs less and less. There is something rather inhumane in the zealous anti-smoking crusade, where the health authorities and their cheerleaders seem happy to make our life worse in the name of “protecting us“ from harm. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. 3 Debate about the policy t
29、o raise the retirement age of Chinese workers has been raging in China for the past few years. The compulsory retirement age in China is now 60 for male, 55 for female white-collar workers and 50 for female manual laborers. The following excerpts offer opinions from different channels about this iss
30、ue. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the opinions from every side: 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above i
31、nstructions may result in a loss of marks. The media Beijing Times-. Even if authorities bind older people to their positions by raising the retirement age, these workers might not contribute much to the overall productivity: worse still, there might not be sufficient jobs for young people to enter
32、the job market because older people are still working. Thats a possible negative result of delaying the retirement age, and policymakers need to be alert to it. Beijing Youth Daily: The ministry said Chinese workers retire at a quite early age. What they havent told us is Chinese peoples average lif
33、e expectancy is low compared with people in developed countries. Japanese males retire five years later than Chinese males but they live about eight years longer. Therefore it is not fair for Chinese workers to retire at the same age as their counterparts in developed economies. The general public S
34、atsu from Japan: In Japan people who officially retire at the age of 60 can still work for several years(until 65)for half or less of their last salary because the retirement allowance is not enough for a decent life after work. The official state pension sets in at the age of 65(probably soon 67)on
35、ly. Eudaimonia from Greece: I think that it should be relevant to the type of work that the person is doing and the average life expectancy in the country. What this means? This means that, for example: If somebody works in very poor working conditions, he should get early retirement. Theres absolut
36、ely no reason for women to retire earlier than men: if anything, it should be the other way around since women live longer. Tigerfish from the UK: Weve done it in the UK too, but the problem is that we still have a huge youth unemployment problem. Employers are not taking on the new graduates and sc
37、hool leavers, so they just hang around on the streets and cause problems and manual workers are just not fit enough to keep going, and end up needing more medical help. Vivian from China: The retirement age should be left as it is. If people want to retire earlier they should be encouraged to do so.
38、 The whole idea is to give young people a chance to fill these positions and get a start in life. Icwu from France: Delaying the retirement age to 65 for men and 60 for women makes sense. However, its even better if its coupled with delaying job entry for youths by 1 - 2 years by introducing militar
39、y training or community service(like the peace corps practice in the US in the past)or non-paid apprentice training(like that practiced in Germany)for our youths. These options will not only benefit our youths but also solve many employment problems as a result of delayed retirement. Laowai2 from th
40、e US: The same thing is happening in most countries with a welfare system. People are living longer, so they require pensions for more years. In Chinas case, women are probably receiving pensions for over 20 years. Although people pay into a pension fund, this does not cover their future pensions. P
41、ensions are financed out of current taxation, so it is our children who will actually fund our pensions. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. 4 If you saw someone lying on the ground in pain or bleeding, would you stop to help him? Or would you just walk by for fear of being scammed? The follow
42、ing are opinions from different sides. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the opinions from different sides: 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and languag
43、e quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Yes, but with caution Casseopeia(Thailand): I think you should trust your intuition. Different situations will call for different reactions. Maybe if you are afraid of being scammed, you can bring a few witnesses with
44、 you get about four or five people together around you and go to help the person together. DSseeing(the US): If the situation is physically violent or it seems that it might become so, be cautious when you are involved. If you dont feel safe to lend a hand, even standing nearby and making it clear t
45、hat you are watching and are a witness to what is happening can help. If youre concerned for the victims immediate safety, stay back and call 911. Gabrielleleilei(India): Helping others may sometimes bring us trouble or even put us in danger. So when we are helping others, we should also protect our
46、selves and offer our help in an appropriate way. For example, to help someone who was robbed of, calling the police is a much wiser way than chasing after the robber alone. Yes, certainly BlondeAmber(Canada): My instinct is to go and help: I am first aid trained. At home I have done this and there h
47、ave been no problems. In China I would think twice unless I was with a friend who filmed everything should I be accused of causing the accident, I would certainly call an ambulance, although I would probably be charged for it. Jarek(Belgium): In Belgium by law you are obliged to help people in distr
48、ess. The only time you are free from helping is in case you will put your own life at risk by helping someone else, otherwise you can get fined for not helping. Anboyce88(the UK): I have seen an old fellow fall down in the cold winter in Harbin. I couldnt get him up on my own(he was a big guy)and I
49、screamed at the passers-by who took out their phones to take videos of “a white boy helping an old Chinese man“. First time I swore at the Chinese. After a good bit of abuse from me, I persuaded them into helping me. Afterwards they all started telling me I shouldnt be helping random strangers as he could be a con artist, then I replied: He could just be an old man who fell down in the winter, couldnt get up on his own and died. I will take the risk. Foreignchinese(Malaysia): It happens but not all the time. I once helped a guy groaning in pain
