1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 123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 The U
2、nited States produced more crude oil in October than it imported for the first time since early 1995, as domestic shale oil output continued to surge and U. S. consumption of petroleum products remained relatively flat, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. The figures mark a mile
3、stone in the rebound of U.S. oil production since drillers started using a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to unlock oil previously trapped in layers of shale rock in states such as North Dakota and Texas. At the same time, gains in automobile fuel efficiency and other ar
4、eas have been curbing U. S. oil consumption. The trend is expected to continue for another decade as U. S. domestic oil supplies grow and reliance on imports shrinks, easing one of the main sources of pressure on global oil markets. For now, however, the United States remains the worlds biggest oil-
5、consuming nation and the largest importer of crude oil. Moreover, global crude oil prices remain high by historic measures. U.S. crude oil production reached 7. 74 million barrels a day in October, down slightly from September because of disruptions from Tropical Storm Karen, but up 17 percent from
6、the year before. Aside from September, U. S. production in October was the highest level of any month since May 1989. Net crude oil imports in October fell to 7.57 million barrels a day, down from 7.92 million barrels in September and down 8 percent from the year before. The White House sought to ta
7、ke credit for the figures. It issued a statement calling them “ a result of both increased production and administration policies like increased fuel economy standards that cut oil consumption, cut carbon pollution, and cut consumer bills. “ Economists welcomed the figures. “It highlights the revers
8、al of fortune in our energy sector, that we are increasingly energy independent and prospects are good that well be more energy independent going forward“, said Mark M. Zandi, chief economist of Moodys Analytics. “Its one of the reasons to be optimistic about our growth prospects.“ Zandi added that
9、rising domestic oil production “means a smaller trade and current account deficit, which is a big plus for the economy. Well be less sensitive to increases in global oil prices“. According to figures compiled by Zandi, the oil import bill as a percentage of the gross domestic product in the third qu
10、arter of this year was lower than any quarter since 1986. The firm estimates that shale oil output will result in an $80 billion reduction in imports this year. Frank Verrastro, senior vice president and energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the milestone was impo
11、rtant, although he warned that higher costs, geological variations and constrained exploration budgets at many independent drillers could make it a “challenge“ to meet expectations for future crude oil output growth. The turnaround in U.S. oil fortunes has been rapid. Five years ago, U. S. oil produ
12、ction hit a 62-year low. Since then, domestic production has increased by more than 50 percent. Prices remain high. This is the third consecutive year in which the price has hovered above $105 a barrel for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The U. S. benchma
13、rk for crude oil, West Texas Intermediate, has tumbled to about $95 a barrel, down from $110 a barrel in September, but that is still high by historic standards. Some oil analysts note that prices would be even higher without the increase in U. S. production, which has helped offset oil disruptions
14、in Libya, Iraq and Nigeria and sanctions on Iran. 1 Which of the following factors leads to U.S. oil production milestone? （ A） Improvement on automobile fuel efficiency. （ B） Federal policies on oil consumption. （ C） New technology of extracting oil. （ D） Gains on energy independence. 2 Which of th
15、e following statements contains a metaphor? （ A） .U.S. consumption of petroleum products remained relatively flat. （ B） .to unlock oil previously trapped in layers of shale rock in states. （ C） The White House sought to take credit for the figures. （ D） The turnaround in U. S. oil fortunes has been
16、rapid. 3 What is the role of the 4th and 5th paragraphs in the development of the topic? （ A） To further illustrate the trend of oil production in the U. S. （ B） To provide supportive evidence for the trend of oil production. （ C） To explain how the present condition come into being. （ D） To give pr
17、ofessional viewpoint on the present condition. 4 What is the main idea of the passage? （ A） The White House improves U.S. oil production. （ B） U. S. oil production changes global oil prices. （ C） U.S. oil production reaches milestone. （ D） The rapid change in U. S. shale oil production. 4 Imagine ta
18、king a university exam in your own home, under the watchful eye of a webcam or with software profiling your keystrokes or your syntax to see whether it really is you answering the questions. Online university courses have become the Next Big Thing for higher education, particularly in the United Sta
19、tes, where millions of students have signed up for courses from some of the most upmarket universities. With spiralling costs and student loan debts crossing the trillion dollar barrier this year, the online university has been seen as a way of reaching many more people for much less money. But a ma
20、jor stumbling block has been how such digital courses are assessed. When students are at home how do you know whether they are cheating? How do you know the identity of the person answering the questions? For the online courses to gain value, they need a credible way of assessing students and an imp
21、ortant part of that is preventing fraud. The Open University in the U. K. has been a pioneer of distance learning. “Its a common problem across the sector how do you know that the individual taking the exam is the right person?“ says Peter Taylor, chair of the Open Universitys academic conduct group
22、. “The students computer would be locked down so that it cant use other materials. If youve got an appropriate webcam that can provide you with effective invigilation. “ says Prof. Taylor. This still raises the question about how you know who is sitting the exam. “There are various ways you can iden
23、tify a person,“ says Prof. Taylor. “One system we looked at meant that you had to type in a particular phrase and the rate and the particular way you type is effectively a signature of the individual. “ These are not distant-horizon ideas Prof. Taylor says he would expect such technology to be in pl
24、ace within the next five years. He also says that there is no reason to think more people would necessarily cheat online. EdX, an online university project set up earlier this year by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, wants to make more use of the exam hall rather than less. Stu
25、dents taking edX online courses will be able to sit their final exams in an international network of test centres, run by Pearson Vue. These will be formally supervised on-screen exams, using the edX website, and those who pass will receive a “proctored certificate“, showing it has been achieved in
26、an invigilated setting. Such online testing techniques are going to have an impact on the traditional university course too, he says. But this volume of testing depends on automated marking and will mean a limit on the range of subjects and type of questions that can be examined. A computer is going
27、 to struggle to mark an essay on irony. Thats the challenge for another of the most significant online course providers, Coursera, set up by Stanford academics and backed by Silicon Valley investors. It has attracted students remarkably quickly 1.6 million have signed up in the first year, taking co
28、urses from more than 30 top universities. When the University of Londons international section joined last month, 9,000 students signed up in the first 24 hours. But how can such large numbers of candidates be reliably marked? Courseras co-founder Daphne Koller says trying to find a way to assess so
29、 many students is “part of the learning process“. She says automatic marking can generate a score or a grade, but students want human feedback. And there isnt any technology that can judge whether an essay has really connected with a question. The Open Universitys Prof. Taylor says their own experim
30、ents have shown that any software for assessing free-text answers requires a large amount of human intervention. Coursera has been experimenting with peer assessment, where students grade each others work, following guidelines set by the teacher. This allows for the marking capacity to grow with the
31、 class size but it also depends on the reliability of fellow students. These online courses are also being discussed online and blogs from students refer to disagreements over marking. Martin Bean, vice chancellor of the Open University, said: “There is no doubt that this is the web moment for highe
32、r education and a battle is shaping up for growing student numbers on global courses online. However this is a battle which will be about brands and the market ability of the providers but also, crucially, about quality of teaching and credibility.“ 5 What can be inferred from the 2nd and 3rd paragr
33、aphs? （ A） Online course providers have tried to ensure the credibility of the exams. （ B） The certificates of edX seem to be more credible than those of Open University. （ C） Exam halls will gain popularity with the development of online courses. （ D） Online courses are seeking ways to make use of
34、traditional testing measures. 6 Which of the following statements about Coursera is CORRECT? （ A） Courseras Stanford background makes it develop so quickly. （ B） Coursera is the first online project that makes use of peer assessment. （ C） Coursera has noticed that human feedback is crucial in online
35、 teaching. （ D） Coursera courses are provided by top universities in the U. S. and U. K. 7 According to Martin Bean,_. （ A） college student numbers will soar in the near future （ B） quality of teaching is essential in both online and offline education （ C） higher education will be more global with t
36、he help of Internet （ D） there will be fierce future online competition of higher education 8 Which of the following best describes the authors development of the passage? （ A） Introducing the issuelisting possible solutionsmaking the closing statement. （ B） Raising the topicgiving supportive detail
37、sdrawing up the conclusion. （ C） Introducing the issueproviding controversial opinionsmaking the closing statement. （ D） Describing the actual statusputting forward the questiongiving practical answers. 8 Sixty-three years old and retired from a career as a welder, Jim Crawford doesnt have much use
38、for the Internet. The only time he goes online is to read through the automotive listings in the office of a local online auction company. If he sees something he likes, he says, he asks his mechanic to bid on it for him. Crawford is far from alone: About 15 percent of Americans older than 18 dont u
39、se the Internet, according to a study released in September by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. An additional 9 percent use it only outside the home. They make up a shrinking, but not insignificant, segment of the population. And the gap between them and our increasingly digitized society i
40、s growing wider every day. “There is a group of Americans being left behind as technology advances without them,“ Lawrence E. Strickling, head of the Commerce Departments National Telecommunications and Information Administration, told an audience at the Brookings Institution recently. These people
41、are being left out even as access to broadband Internet service provided by cable, fiber, DSL and other high-speed networks, as opposed to the older, slower dial-up service has expanded dramatically in the past 20 years. Because of a national infrastructure upgrade that Strickling compares to the ru
42、ral electrification effort of the 1930s, well over 90 percent of U. S. households are either wired for high-speed broadband or can get high-speed wireless access. But actual adoption of that service lags behind availability: As of October 2012, the NTIA found that 72.9 percent of homes used broadban
43、d Internet service. Thats remarkable growth from 2000, when only 4 percent of homes used broadband, but it still indicates a significant gap. So who are these Americans who remain disconnected from the online world? “They are disproportionately older,“ says Kathryn Zickuhr, who wrote the Pew study.
44、According to the survey, which was done in May, 49 percent of non-Internet users are older than 65. They also are, in general, less educated. Although nearly everyone in the United States with a college degree is online, 41 percent of adults without a high school diploma are offline. The Pew survey
45、asked these people why they dont go online. Perhaps surprisingly, cost wasnt the most common answer. The most prevalent reason, given by 34 percent of offline respondents, was that the Internet is not relevant to them. A slightly smaller group, 32 percent, cited problems with using the technology: T
46、hey said that getting online was difficult or frustrating, or that they were worried about issues such as privacy or hackers. Nineteen percent of non-users cited concerns about the expense of owning a computer or paying for an Internet connection. Most policymakers would disagree with that sense of
47、irrelevance. They point out that people who arent online have a harder time accessing vital services such as Medicare and Medicaid or the new health-care exchanges created under President Obamas health-care law. They cant perform useful daily functions that most Americans take for granted, such as l
48、ooking up directions when traveling, using e-mail for speedy written correspondence, or being able to see and talk with faraway friends or relatives via Skype or FaceTime. They cant easily search for competitive prices for housing, cars, appliances or other goods. Perhaps most importantly, they are
49、at a major disadvantage when looking for a job: NTIA statistics show that 73 percent of unemployed Internet users reported going online to look for work. The Pew study found that only 14 percent of offline adults were previous Internet users. Theres good reason to believe if the rest of them tried it, they would find the service rewarding rather than irrelevant. Seeta Pena Gangadharan, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundations Open Technology Institute, described “ intergenerational interactions between senior
