1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 102及答案与解析 SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS 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. 0 (1)It
2、 snowed furiously the night before I stepped over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was mid-May, so the snow was wet and not dry enough to stick. But the moisture stained the soft soil at the trailhead a dove gray and spiced the air with the scent of ponderosa pine. The trail I was following, me
3、 New Hance, didnt dawdle but marched directly to the canyons edge, took a sharp turn, men plunged straight downhill, a no-nonsense approach to reaching its destination: the bottom of the canyon and the banks of die Colorado River nearly a vertical mile below. (2)Someone in a hurry had made this trai
4、l, I thought, as I braced each jarring step with my trekking poles; someone eager to get past me red-orange terraces rising in tiers above the river, to get down to me sandy beaches at me waters edge. Someone eager to reach home. (3)Home. It may seem implausible to the more man four million of us wh
5、o come each year to marvel at the Grand Canyon, but this magnificent and seemingly uninhabitable geology, exalted since 1919 as a national park, was indeed once a home. For at least 10,000 years people lived, loved, traded, even farmed in the canyons depths. They marked it with names, wove its templ
6、e-like peaks and bluffs into their lore, and breathed their spirits into every spring, every marbled cliff and large rocks. And then, a mere century ago, newcomers to me canyon, overcome by its beauty, decided that no human habitation was ever again to mar the canyon park. Landforms mat carried a na
7、me, a spirit of me past, were named anew. (4)“That New Hance Trail virtually all me trails in me Grand Canyon were made by our ancestors, the Hisatsinom,“ a Hopi named Leigh Kuwanwisiwma told me as we sat at the South Rim before my descent. “Archaeologists call our ancestors the Anasazi, but mats a
8、Navajo term that means old enemy.“ As approaching 100F, the little streamlet wed been following shrank to a trickle and men dwindled into separate pools, where tadpoles swam uncertainly in circles. And mere ahead of us, drawing us on, rushed me Colorado a heaving tongue of jade green that lashed at
9、the hard shale on the far shore and lapped more gently against our sandy beach. To me Hopi this canyon was their ancestral home; to the Southern Paiute it was me holy land; to me Western Apache it was simply the edge of me big cliff. And for meI only knew mat I now stood in a place of nearly two-bil
10、lion-year-old rocks. Such numbers are as humbling as me number of stars in me sky and as hard to comprehend. But that I could reach down and touch a part of Earth that existed when life itself was a mere billion-plus years old made this big cliff land seem very holy indeed. (5)Above us castle-like b
11、luffs and terraces of rainbow-hued soils rose to me sky like a geological cathedral. We were dwarfs on a desert beach but dwarfs with a princely flood of water at our feet. So we flung off our packs, dropped our trekking poles, and, surely like those first people to reach the rivers edge, plunged in
12、to me cool waters that had carved tins canyon, me grandest canyon on Earth. (6)Native people are, in fact, still farming in the Grand Canyon, if not in me park itself. In Havasu Canyon, a narrow side spur, the Havasupai, or Havasu Baaja “people of me blue-green water“ end fields where theyve lived f
13、or at least 700 years. About 450 of the tribes 650 members live here in the village of Supai. There are no roads or cars, so almost everyone takes the eight-mile trail in by foot, horse, or mule. (7)The trail switch backed down the rim in long, steep turns, then merged gently into Havasu Canyon. Wat
14、ahomigie, a slim-faced local fellow, pulled up his horse and pointed far up the canyon, among the pihon pines. “See that bunch of wild horses? Im planning to catch that palomino.“ The horses stood in a small knot near canyon walls of beige and gold, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to see Wat
15、ahomigie catch that palomino. His desire, the wild horses, the freedom to round them up, to gallop where ones heart called seemed as rare a thing as this canyon home. (8)Once, until the early 1900s, the Havasupai had also lived in the main Grand Canyon, farming an oasis on Bright Angel Trail now cal
16、led generically Indian Garden. Then they were evicted; their wickiups, gardens, and peach orchards destroyed. All they had left were the 518 acres of Havasu Canyon with its greenish-blue streams and waterfalls. (9)So when someone like me, a paleface like those who did the evicting, rides into dusty,
17、 people tend to look away or right through you. You are as invisible as they believe your ancestors hoped they would become. (10)Most of the tribes farmland is rich bottomland that borders Havasu Creek and is fenced to keep out tourists and horses. Behind the fences are the houses and peach orchards
18、, the freshly plowed fields ready for planting, and other fields where the corn was up a good ten inches. Every house had a corral full of horses. (11)“Oh, yes, were a horsey people,“ vice president of the Havasupai tribal council Uqualla said, when I commented on their numbers. Just then her son ca
19、me trotting by on a white horse, Spirit, her two-year-old grandson balanced in front. “That horse just loves my grandson,“ she laughed. The honeyed fragrance of cottonwood blossoms hung in the air, and Uqualla inhaled deeply. Shed returned that day from a trip. (12)“My heart just cries for this plac
20、e when Im gone,“ she said, surveying the soaring red walls that held the village and its green gardens in a close embrace. “I came around that last bend this morning and all the good scents hit me. I knew then that I was home.“ (13)Home. The Anasazi must have felt this too, when climbing down their
21、trails to the bottom of the canyon. There were their farms, their homes, the people and places that held their hearts. It was good to know some of them felt it still this grand feeling of being at home in the Grand Canyon. 1 Which of the following is NOT one of the features about the Grand Canyon? （
22、 A） Enchanting scenery. （ B） Large population. （ C） Steep cliff. （ D） Fertile soils. 2 The saying “We were dwarfs on a desert beach“ in Para. 5 highlights that _. （ A） the bluffs and terraces are very lofty （ B） the locals living in Grand Canyon are very tall （ C） these people are physically small （
23、 D） the beach is boundless 3 Which of the following about Havasu Canyon is INCORRECT? （ A） The transportation there is very inconvenient. （ B） It is the only place that the Havasupai lived after the early 1900s. （ C） Half of the Havasupai settled here in the village of Supai. （ D） Tourists are prohi
24、bited from entering into the farmlands here. 4 The sentence “people tend to look away or right through you.“ in Para. 9 implies that _. （ A） the native people in Supai are barbaric and rude （ B） the Havasupai are immersed in their own business （ C） the inhabitants in Supai are wary of the outsiders
25、（ D） the Havasupai hate the people that chased them away 4 (1)Forced to pay for once-free sandwich toppings and twice as much for some steak cuts, shoppers are wondering whether higher grocery bills and restaurant tabs truly reflect the trickle down of a global rise in food prices. (2)Veronica Banks
26、, who lives outside St. Louis, said she suspects that neighborhood comer stores are charging more for many items under the assumption that customers wont pay the bus fare to go bargain hunting. Tom Seluzicki, a certified public accountant in Washington, said he assumes some food prices are artificia
27、lly inflated to “compensate for lost margins on other products.“ (3)Without a doubt, basic economic principles account for most of the increase in the wholesale cost of food worldwide. Bad weather has hurt crops. Economic prosperity has driven up demand in developing countries. And soaring fuel pric
28、es have raised transportation costs. Mix in investors betting on continued food-price inflation, and you have a recipe for a run-up. (4)Foodstuffs from rice to steak cost more than a year ago so much, in fact, that some consumers dont quite believe it all adds up. But food retailers say that consume
29、rs suspicions of gouging are unjustified and that, if anything, they have refrained from passing along their extra costs. (5)“People have told me I nickel-and-dime them,“ said Kate Oncel, director of operations at the Brown Bag, a deli in Washington. “They dont understand the position were in“ of pa
30、ying dramatically more for meat, produce, bread, packaging and deliveries. (6)Retailers raising prices and shoppers, in turn, raising eyebrows are reasonable and established responses, say economists and historians. While competitive pressures keep most businesses from taking advantage of their cust
31、omers, some see an opportunity to push prices beyond justified levels. “I like the beef rib-eye steaks,“ said Elbert Harris, a high school gym coach in St. Louis, who watched their price more than double to $12.99 a pound in the last 18 months. (7)Forgoing pricier items are adjustments many American
32、s can afford and stomach, especially relative to the crises in the more than 30 countries where food protests have raged. (8)But in the U.S., customers notice when the grocery bill stays the same but the take-home haul lightens. Conversely, most remain quiet when prices stay the same or drop. “I get
33、 upset thinking about how much we have to pay for things, but then I feel guilty when I see other nations that are dealing with horrible poverty,“ Helen Strouss of La Mirada, California, said last week at an Albertsons grocery store. (9)Consumers forking over more to fill their gas tanks and stomach
34、s may feel like theyve been hit with an unprecedented one-two punch. But the food-fuel wallop has landed before, said David Hackett Fischer, a professor of history at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. In the 13th century, demand for firewood and grain led to broader price hikes. And sel
35、lers have taken advantage of the system throughout the 20th century as free market ideas removed many price controls, he said. (10)The nations 945,000 restaurants expect to set a sales record of $558 billion this year, said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research at the National Restaurant
36、Association. Restaurants probably will make some changes on the plate, rejiggering portions, and on the restaurant floor, using more technology to gain efficiency and training programs to bolster sales, Riehle said. (11)At the Brown Bag, where cucumber toppings now cost 50 cents, Oncel has not raise
37、d the overall price of sandwiches and salads but said she will if food commodities and gas prices dont fall. (12)At nearby TJs Gourmet Deli, owner Terry Chung said customers can expect to pay 30 cents more per sandwich and up to 40 cents more per pound on the salad bar if economic conditions dont ch
38、ange. His profits are down about 25 percent in recent months, with the biggest cost increase coming in delivery fuel surcharges, which have roughly doubled to $4.50 per order. (13)The hesitancy to raise prices unnecessarily is rooted in competition, said Ann Owen, an economics professor at Hamilton
39、College in Clinton, New York, and a former economist at the Federal Reserve. But if the cost increases are more permanent, retailers can confidently raise prices, she added. But that cant insulate them from skeptical shoppers who see overblown hikes and a panic-hungry media. (14)“Its a little bit in
40、flammatory. people stocking up on things they dont need to just yet“ said Amanda Wolfe, membership director for a nonprofit in Washington, where signs at one local market alerted her to a coming bread-prices hike due to the jump in wheat costs. Wolfes own diet hasnt changed, “but Im single.“ (15)Mar
41、ia Lopez, a mother of two in La Mirada, has had to cut back on eggs and meat since her weekly grocery bill doubled to $200. She isnt sure grocers are gouging consumers, but sees some correlation between rising gas and food prices. “It probably costs more to deliver goods so I guess thats passed alon
42、g to us,“ she said. “I dont see any solution at this point.“ 5 Which of the following is NOT the factor that accounts for the rise of the food price? （ A） Disadvantageous cultivating environment. （ B） Large food demand in developing countries. （ C） The operation of basic economic principles. （ D） Th
43、e increasing price of fuel and transportation. 6 The phrase “nickel-and-dime“ in Para. 5 means _. （ A） to take advantage of someone little by little （ B） to spend ones money frugally （ C） to spend as little money as possible （ D） to accumulate treasure little by little 7 Facing the suspicion from cu
44、stomers, the retailers _. （ A） complain of being misunderstood but will still pass the extra cost to customers （ B） feel rather uncomfortable to customers suspicion but they wont raise the price （ C） complain of being misjudged but they actually take advantage of the customers （ D） are not concerned
45、 with customers suspicion and still raise the price as planned 8 What is the relationship among the last three paragraphs? （ A） Para. 11 and Para. 12 provide supporting evidences for Para. 13. （ B） Para. 13 concludes and provides further explanation for Para.s 11 and 12. （ C） The last three paragrap
46、hs conclude the whole passage from three perspectives. （ D） Para. 12 and Para. 13 provide supporting evidences for Para. 11. 9 The main idea of the passage is that _. （ A） increasing food costs cause business adjustment （ B） higher food costs cause customers suspicion （ C） a number of factors lead t
47、o the rise of food costs （ D） higher food prices lead to social crisis 9 (1)Since World War II the French have been variously surprised, dismayed, irritated and outraged by the power of American culture and its effect on France and the world. Their only consolation has been the conviction that Frenc
48、h culture is superior to anything that Walt Disney or Hollywood can offer. (2)What Frances cultural elites have rarely done, however, is examine how both serious and pop culture actually work in the United States. Rather, in the view of Fr6deric Martel, a Frenchman and author of a recently released
49、book on the topic, they have preferred to hide behind “a certain ideological anti-Americanism.“ (3)Now Mr. Martel, 39, a former French cultural attache in Boston, has set out to change this. In Culture in America, a 622-page tome weighty with information, he challenges the conventional view here that(French)culture financed and organized by the government is entirely good and that(American)culture shaped by market forces is necessarily bad. (4)“My first idea was to compare France and the United States,“
