1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 139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 a
2、verage U. S. household has to pay an exorbitant amount of money for an Internet connection that the rest of the industrial world would find mediocre. According to a recent report by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, broadband Internet service in the U. S. is not just
3、 slower and more expensive than it is in tech-sawy nations such as South Korea and Japan; the U. S. has fallen behind infrastructure-challenged countries such as Portugal and Italy as well. The consequences are far worse than having to wait a few extra seconds for a movie to load. Because broadband
4、connections are the railroads of the 21st century essential infrastructure required to transmit products (these days, in the form of information) from seller to buyer our creaky Internet makes it harder for U. S. entrepreneurs to compete in global markets. As evidence, consider that the U. S. came i
5、n dead last in another recent study that compared how quickly 40 countries and regions have been progressing toward a knowledge-based economy over the past 10 years. “We are at risk in the global race for leadership in innovation,“ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski
6、said recently. “Consumers in Japan and France are paying less for broadband and getting faster connections. Weve got work to do. “ It was not always like this. A decade ago the U. S. ranked at or near the top of most studies of broadband price and performance. But that was before the FCC made a terr
7、ible mistake. In 2002 it reclassified broadband Internet service as an “information service“ rather than a “telecommunications service.“ In theory, this step implied that broadband was equivalent to a content provider (such as AOL or Yahoo!) and was not a means to communicate, such as a telephone li
8、ne. In practice, it has stifled competition. Phone companies have to compete for your business. Even though there may be just one telephone jack in your home, you can purchase service from any one of a number of different long-distance providers. Not so for broadband Internet. Here consumers general
9、ly have just two choices: the cable company, which sends data through the same lines used to deliver television signals, and the phone company, which uses older telephone lines and hence can only offer slower service. The same is not true in Japan, Britain and the rest of the rich world. In such cou
10、ntries, the company that owns the physical infrastructure must sell access to independent providers on a wholesale market. Want high-speed Internet? You can choose from multiple companies, each of which has to compete on price and service. The only exceptions to this policy in the whole of the 32-na
11、tion Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are the U. S. , Mexico and the Slovak Republic, although the Slovaks have recently begun to open up their lines. A separate debate over net neutrality, the principle that Internet providers must treat all data equally regardless of their ori
12、gin or content has put the broadband crisis back in the spotlight. Earlier this year a federal appeals court struck down the FCCs plan to enforce net neutrality, saying that because the FCC classified the Internet as an information service, it does not have any more authority to ensure that Internet
13、 providers treat all content equally than it does to ensure that CNN treats all political arguments equally. In response, the FCC announced its intention to reclassify broadband Internet as a telecommunications service. The move would give the FCC power to enforce net neutrality as well as open broa
14、dband lines up to third-party competition, enabling free markets to deliver better service for less money. Yet, puzzlingly, the FCC wants to take only a half-step. Genachowski has said that although he regards the Internet as a telecommunications service, he does not want to bring in third-party com
15、petition. This move may have been intended to avoid criticism from policy makers, both Republican and Democrat, who have aligned themselves with large Internet providers such as AT&T and Comcast that stand to suffer when their local monopolies are broken. It is frustrating, however, to see Genachows
16、ki acknowledge that the U. S. has fallen behind so many other countries in its communications infrastructure and then rule out the most effective way to reverse the decline. We call on the FCC to take this important step and free the Internet. 1 Which of the following statements can best describe Am
17、erican Internet service? （ A） People have to pay more to get better Internet connections. （ B） It has always been ranked low with regard to its broadband performance. （ C） Internet used to be regarded as the tool of providing information in America. （ D） Slower speed and higher price will hinder the
18、 competitiveness of American Internet. 2 Paragraph Three and the first two paragraphs can form a_. （ A） chronological relationship （ B） parallel relationship （ C） sharp contrast （ D） causal relationship 3 What conclusion can be drawn from the last two paragraphs? （ A） The current action taken by FCC
19、 will be very effective in improving American communication infrastructure. （ B） Only through the third-party participation in the competition can American Internet experience advance. （ C） The author agrees with FCCs measures in dealing with American Internet. （ D） The policy makers stand by FCC si
20、nce their intentions are important for America. 4 Which of the following is the best title for the passage? （ A） American Broadband Internet Lags Behind Other Countries （ B） American Broadband Internet to Be Freed From Monopoly （ C） American Broadband Internet Important Information Provider （ D） Ame
21、rican Broadband Internet Vital Communication Infrastructure 4 Theres a brief scene in the back half of Pixars Up in which 8-year-old Russell recalls how, years before, his estranged father used to take him out for ice cream. Butter Brickie was Dads favorite flavor, Russells was chocolate, and the pa
22、ir would sit together, slurping their melting treats and counting passing red and blue cars. “That might sound boring,“ says Russell, pink-cheeked with embarrassment. “But I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember most.“ If anything sums Pixars modus operandi, its loving the boring stuff. Fin
23、ding salvation rather than the Devil in the details is one of the main reasons for the studios artistic (53 combined Oscar nominations and wins) and commercial (nearly $ 5 billion in worldwide box-office gross) successes. Up, the studios 10th full-length film, clocks in at a zippy 86 minutes and, li
24、ke the nine before it, will rise or fall on the strength of its smallest moments. Still, for a film of small, finely observed scenes, the hype surrounding Up is supersized. It was the first animated film ever to open the Cannes Film Festival, and dangles from its own balloon fleet of big ambitions,
25、a big budget and big expectations. Up also marks Pixars first foray in the currently hot market of 3-D films, and has the added pressure of following Oscar-winning Wall-E, which pulled in more than half a billion dollars worldwide. Is the answer Carl Frederickson, Ups old-timer hero and the Disney-f
26、amily antithesis of the studios current megaplex stable, the blow-dried Jonas Brothers and teen queen Miley Cyrus? Yes, in part because of the inspiration the film draws from The Wizard of Oz (obvious flying-house parallels) and, according to Pixar, 1941 “s Dumbo. Ups Technicolor purity and delibera
27、tely unrealistic animation is a throwback to those early Dumbo days, the studio says, when you could populate a simple adventure movie with caricatured heroes and have it be as powerful (and lucrative) as a realistic film. Joe Grant, the legendary Disney character designer who drew the classic eleph
28、ant and to whom Up is dedicated, was a posthumous influence on Carls character and environs: “We went to (Grants) house, and there were even trails where someone had walked the path for 40 years,“ remembers Jonas Rivera, an Up producer who started at the studio as an intern in its Toy Story phase. “
29、It was really inspiring to us, the patina and weight of age on that house.“ Remarkably, the expectations havent changed Pixars wonky, director-driven focus on the teeny-tiny. “(Id) walk into the story room and hear a half-hour argument about how Carl might sit down in a chair, or where his phone wou
30、ld go,“ Rivera says. “What were trying to do is not just argue about the details, but find ways to create a believable, implied history. “ Ups details have an incredible tactile quality, from the jiggle of golden retriever Dugs glossy coat to the sweet earnesty of Russells sewn-on scout badges. An e
31、arly sequence shows Carl aging not through conventional tropes like seasons changing, but through a montage of his neckties as his wife lovingly draws up their knots. The texture and style of his ties change to reflect the decades, and the tie fibers are so closely rendered that you can almost feel
32、their nubby weave. “We sent our shading art director.to the Fashion Institute to research fabric samples of different eras for the ties, even for Carls suits, like the houndstooth,“ says Rivera. The guiding principle is the same across all Pixar films: “Wonder and interest doesnt have to come out of
33、 pizzazz and spectacle and huge idea. .I always knew that the power came from the small, and not from the big,“ Wall-E director Andrew Stanton said earlier this year. “(Making Wall-E) got me thinking about, and this may sound commercial, but how good Spielberg was at making moments of the littlest t
34、hings.“ That minor details drive major plot points doesnt happen without meticulous curation, especially in the opening, silent montages of both Wall-E and Up.“ Its not letting any stone be unturned,“ Stanton said about Wall-E. “It wasnt a random choice to just pick this. Its a conversation, like, W
35、hy are we picking this, why are we using this object, why are we in this set? And frankly, I know these are questions I know youre supposed to ask yourself as a filmmaker with any film, but theres something interesting about doing a film whereand I never see it as silent dialogue is no longer one of
36、 the ingredients thats giving you information. All I could do is give you intention and emotion. “ As Up continues to remind us, sometimes thats all you need. 5 What is the role of Paragraph One in the development of the topic? （ A） To introduce a feature that the following paragraphs will deal with
37、 in detail. （ B） To describe the beginning of a story that the passage is going to reveal. （ C） To offer supporting evidence to the following paragraphs. （ D） To provide a contrast to the following paragraphs. 6 Which of the following descriptions of Up is CORRECT? （ A） It was nominated for Oscar. （
38、 B） It won nearly $5 billion box-office gross. （ C） It was accepted at Cannes Film Festival. （ D） It is a sequel of the film Wall-E. 7 Paragraph Six mainly tell us that_. （ A） Wall-E is a film as successful as Up （ B） good dialogues no longer make good films （ C） a combination of small decisions lea
39、d to a great film （ D） a guiding principle is the foundation of a good film 8 Which of the following is the best title for the passage? （ A） Boring Success （ B） Pixars New Wonder （ C） Artistic VS. Commercial （ D） Wall-E and Up 8 It is quite a feat to be invisible while occupying substantial building
40、s in central London flanking the Royal Academy of Arts. But thats just what the Linnean Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Geological Society of London, the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Astronomical Society managed to do for nearly a century. Then, in 2004, Her Majestys G
41、overnment not only noticed but also questioned their right to remain at Burlington House, as the complex is called. To the Learned Societies this may have seemed a bitter irony. In 1857,the government of a previous queen had built Burlington House expressly to house them all. Reverence for such inst
42、itutions, along with the value of real estate, was not what it had been in Victorias day. But their terms of occupancy remained unchanged. When they moved into Burlington House, only the Royal Academy, run by supposedly impractical artists, asked for a lease. It was given 999 years at a peppercorn r
43、ent. The Societies and their allegedly hard-headed scientist members, were leaseless and rent-free. As decades passed, keeping a low profile must have seemed a sensible idea. Indeed, by 1920,some fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL),thought it essential. When a 1919 Act of Parliamen
44、t made it illegal to bar women from such societies merely because of their gender, a committee of SAL fellows pressed for immediate action: women must be invited to become fellows at once. This was not in order to right previous wrongs. It was to avoid criticism and with it the risk that people migh
45、t notice that no rent was being paid. The danger averted, heads stayed below the parapet. But danger reappeared in 2004. With the reputed aim of clarifying SALs presence at Burlington House, the government brought a suit against it. Rumour swept through intellectual London that, in fact, the governm
46、ent wanted to turf the Societies out or to get a full market rent, which would have amounted to much the same thing. Alarmed feathers from five aviaries of rare birds went flying. Now, three years later, feathers are smooth. Indeed, cooing can be heard occasionally from Burlington House. Compromises
47、 reached with the government have given the Learned Societies security of tenure at affordable rents. In return, the Societies have begun introducing themselves to one another and to the public. They have created a “cultural campus“ in the courtyard to share scholarship and conviviality and reflect
48、their new appreciation that there is strength in numbers. Earlier this year, the Linnean Society announced it was producing a digital archive of its priceless collections of specimens, manuscripts and letters of the world famous Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus, on this the 300th anniversary of his
49、 birth. The SAL, also 300 this year, is celebrating with a nine-month series of lectures. On September 26th, David Starkey, one of the most high-profile of its 2,300 fellows, will talk aboufThe Antiquarian Endeavour“at St Jamess Church, Piccadilly. On November 8th at Harvard, home to many of SALs 100 American-based fellows, Felipe Fern ndez-Armesto tackles “ Don Franciscos nose-piece: forming new empires in Renaissance America“. The biggest birthday event is an exhibition of 150 of SALs treasures at the Royal
