1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 142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 Lake
2、Trummen in southern Sweden used to be a polluted, weed-choked mess. Now, after a $14 million cleanup, bathers crowd its clear blue water in summer. Vaxjo, a city of 80,000 that sits on its shores, is vying to be the most environmentally pristine place in Sweden. The towns car fleet is being converte
3、d to biogas, a clean fuel based on methane, and a new biofuel factory has created 320 jobs. Vaxjo has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by a third over the past 15 years, and the town even channels leftover heat from the local crematorium into homes. Swedish business and political leaders think place
4、s like Vaxjo are on to something. A few decades ago the country led the world in developing mobile technology through companies such as Ericsson. Now, with telecom sales flattening, business and political leaders think green technology could spark a new export boom crucial to Sweden, where exports a
5、ccount for more than half of gross domestic product. “There is huge demand around the world for this technology,“ says Anders Brannstrom, president of Volvo Technology Transfer, a subsidiary of truck and bus maker Volvo that has invested about $20 million in clean tech companies. While Denmark has w
6、ind power giant Vestas and Germany has a host of big outfits such as Q-Cells that make solar cells and panels, Swedens clean tech sector is made up mostly of smaller companies. In Vaxjo, for instance, IV Produkt makes energy-efficient ventilation systems it exports to 15 countries, from Belgium to U
7、kraine. The company says the systems mean energy savings of 80%, paying for themselves in about two years. Some 30% of IVs $38.6 million in revenues came from exports last year, a number that is likely to hit 50% by 2012, says sales manager Bjorn Fredriksson. In a Bauhaus-like suburban research park
8、 outside Stockholm, a startup called TranSIC is designing computer chips for the power systems of hybrid vehicles. And deep in the pine forests of Boden near the Arctic Circle, Swebo Bioenergy makes systems to burn manure and wood chips for heat. The company, with close to $8 million in annual sales
9、, says it is deluged with orders from the U. S. and Europe. “ This is going like a steamroller,“ says export manager Mattias Lindgren. Sweden boasts some 3,500 clean tech companies that together book roughly $14 billion in revenues. Exports, which make up about a quarter of their overall sales, have
10、 grown 75% over the last four years. To further boost the industry, the government is earmarking $590 million for environmental projects over the next two years, including $180 million to commercialize green tech. None other than King Carl XVI Gustav has become the green industrys biggest promoter a
11、nd fan: He heats his suburban Drottningholm Palace with wood pellets and drives himself to and from Stockholm in a dark blue Volvo C30 station wagon that runs on biofuel. Where possible, light bulbs in the royal residences are being replaced with the energy-saving variety. He also has a prototype ca
12、r that runs on hydrogen. The 62-year-old king, whose environmental activism goes back to his Boy Scout days, is also taking to the road to pitch Swedish green business. He recently broke ground on a plant that Swedish Biogas International is building in Flint, Mich. “Mother Earth is not feeling well
13、,“ the king says, “and shes reacting. “ Green projects such as the biogas plant are one way to help repair the damage. The king also sees Swedish exports and the environment as natural partners. “Were a small country, so were dependent on exports. And weve always lived in a clean environment, close
14、to nature. “ He admits change isnt easy but says, “We have to think in the long term, not short term as we have before, but still make this happen quickly. I try to change my own thinking. We have to make this happen and not just discuss it. I dont like discussions. “ And in an interview with Busine
15、ss Week, he gently chides one reporter for flying to Stockholm to talk instead of picking up the phone. 1 According to the passage, the development of green technology has resulted in the following changes in Vaxjo EXCEPT_. （ A） creation of additional jobs （ B） improvement of environmental profile （
16、 C） growth of energy demand （ D） better energy efficiency 2 Which of the following does NOT provide incentive for the growth of clean tech industry in Sweden? （ A） Funding from government. （ B） Tremendous customer demand. （ C） Successful examples of giant companies. （ D） Shift in the telecom industr
17、y. 3 From the description in the passage, we can learn that_. （ A） the Swedish king felt offended by the reporters questions （ B） the Swedish king used to work for a green tech company （ C） the Swedish kings duties are mainly of a representative and ceremonial nature （ D） the Swedish king is known f
18、or a long-time interest in environmental issues 4 A suitable title for the passage would be_. （ A） Swedens Green Role Model City （ B） Sweden Puts Its Bets on Green Tech （ C） The Application of Green Tech in Sweden （ D） The King of Sweden An Environmental Activist 4 They helped fleeing Romans evade A
19、ttila the Hun and held a glittering city aloft for more than 1,500 years. But the wooden pilings rising out of the Grand Canal in Venice are so decayed that as we clung to them one afternoon it wasnt at all clear whether they would be sturdy enough to prevent us from capsizing into its murky waters.
20、 It was rush hour in Venice, so the canals usual tumult of crosscurrents and tides was churning with the wake of water taxis, ferries and delivery boats. Each volley of waves slapped against the side of the inflatable kayak we were using to cross Italys most storied waterway; the pilings were our be
21、st chance to avoid being immersed in it. This probably wasnt quite what my girlfriend had in mind when we first started thinking about a trip to Venice. After scouring guidebooks, we found that the logical thing seemed to be to move about the city like other tourists-, by foot, water bus and the occ
22、asional overpriced gondola ride. But as novice canoers, we were intrigued by the thought of exploring the waterways ourselves. We spent hours researching where and how to rent a small craft in Venice but found that the combination of Italian bureaucracy and the mighty gondolier lobby has made it vir
23、tually impossible. Our solution? An inflatable kayak thats portable enough to check as luggage yet sturdy enough to hold 500 pounds and withstand the rigors of Class II rapids. Getting it there was easy because it weighs just32 pounds and tucks into a suitcase-sized tote bag (along with a foot pump)
24、. And it was surprisingly affordable: our two-person kayak, by West Marine, retails for $699, but we found one brand-new on eBay for $163.44, about the price of a 45-minute gondola ride. Paddling the canals offers a visceral way to appreciate Venices mythic waters. On a purely practical level, its a
25、 lot easier to get lost walking Venice, with its twisting passageways and thousands of alleys, than to maneuver through its 200 easily navigable canals. The water also offers easier access to some of the citys overlooked neighborhoods, like the Jewish ghetto in Cannaregio. Of course, any attempt to
26、explore Venices canals involves a confrontation with the reality of water itself. Lord Byron and Casanova may have swum the canals in centuries past, but today swimming is banned for public health reasons. The canals are a drainage basin for 1.4 million people in the area around Venice, and a sewer
27、system for the 60,000 residents of the historic center and the 20 million tourists who visit it each year. Dr. Edward S. Van Vleet, a University of South Florida Marine biochemist, has been studying the canals since 1985, and says the combination of chemical pollution and household waste make for a
28、particularly noxious mix. The most surprising sensory revelation of traveling the canals is the sound or, more precisely, the glorious absence of noise. Because Venice has no cars or traffic noise, todays city is true to its centuries-old nickname, La Serenissima, and that tranquility is amplified o
29、n the water. A five-minute paddle from the tourist bedlam of the Rialto are aquatic side streets where even at midday, the hush was interrupted only by droplets from our paddles. And nearly everywhere you paddle are sumptuous ruins, signs of a sinking city. Peer behind the rusty wrought-iron gates o
30、f many homes that abut the canal and you might see partly submerged first-floor porches, foyers or sitting rooms that were abandoned long ago, as rising waters forced the residents to flee upstairs. While many gondoliers seem none too pleased at the prospect of sharing their waterways with nonpaying
31、 travelers, most boaters were polite. Many pedestrians appeared bemused by the novelty of a kayak, snapping photographs, waving and shouting the occasional “Buona idea!“ Out on the bustling Grand Canal, however, the pace is too fast and the water too treacherous for such niceties. It took us three d
32、ays of maneuvering the side canals to work up the courage to try to make it across the 60-yard width of the Grand Canal, a feat that at first glance appears as wise as crossing an Interstate on a tricycle. As we paddled from the Rio Di S. Zan Degola onto the Grand Canal, we hugged the shoreline, the
33、n sprinted into a cove of half-rotted pilings, buffering ourselves from the waves. Vaporetti powered past us from both directions, water taxis darted by, and delivery boats loaded with appliances. After two false starts, we spotted a crease in traffic and made a dash for it. Water splayed from our p
34、addles as we sprinted out into the open water, swiveling our heads left and right to make sure we werent about to be rammed by a turnip boat. After a minute of heavy paddling, we had reached the middle of the canal, where water was calmer and the citys sounds again seemed muted. Then we scurried acr
35、oss the other busy lanes. When we reached the bank, mercifully, there was a wine bar waiting to commemorate the achievement. 5 Which of the following is CORRECT about the authors kayak? （ A） Second-hand. （ B） Heavy. （ C） Costly. （ D） Stout. 6 According to the author, paddling a kayak across the Gran
36、d Canal is_. （ A） an impressive and distinctive achievement （ B） an act involving risk and danger （ C） an act which is prohibited by law （ D） the most sensible solution in the particular situation 7 According to the passage, we can infer all of the following EXCEPT that_. （ A） Venices buildings are
37、supported by ancient wooden pilings （ B） Venice has less noise than most cities （ C） the kayak avoided overturning with the help of the pilings （ D） The Grand Canal is seldom busy with boat traffic 8 Paddling on the canals of Venice presents a(n)_view of the city. （ A） imaginative （ B） panoramic （ C
38、） in-depth （ D） superficial 8 High in the mountains of southern France, the sleepy town of Aurillac has few obvious charms to attract the outsider. If the setting is scenic, its claims to fame are slender: a thriving umbrella industry and a reputation as the coldest place in the country. Understanda
39、bly, the tourists stay away. Except, that is, for one hectic week each summer, when the community plays host to the International Festival of Street Theater, an extravaganza that now attracts 100,000 visitors keen to watch performers from as far away as Poland and Chile. The bars fill; the shops pro
40、sper. “Its put Aurillac on the map,“ says festival director Jean-Marie Songy. “Were a place that people visit as opposed to simply passing by. “ And as countless festival organizers and chambers of commerce have realized, the longer visitors stay, the more they spend. As the summer season draws to a
41、 close, communities across the world from outsize cities to modest villages are counting the rewards of tapping into this booming cultural economy. This year Europe alone will stage some 400 arts festivals, ranging from the Reykjavik Jazz Festival to the Edinburgh International Festival of music, op
42、era and theater, which last month celebrated its 60th anniversary. All the world loves a party, it seems especially one that pays its own way. “More and more places are recognizing the massive economic, cultural and social benefits of a festival,“ says Joanna Baker, the Edinburgh festivals marketing
43、 director. To be sure, a successful arts festival represents a happy union of commercial self-interest and public entertainment. Though many of even the best-known festivals need public subsidies to survive, they still provide an opportunity to lift a communitys profile or pack its restaurants and h
44、otels. Festivalgoers face an increasingly eclectic array of subjects and venues. Barcelona, for one, boasts 26 major arts festivals a year only one more than Melbourne, Australia. Film buffs can now choose between showings in cities from Aarhus in Denmark to Zagreb, not to mention the Pan-African Fe
45、stival of Film and Television in Burkina Faso. Ambitious promoters are now looking across borders to push successful formulas. In recent years, the Hay-on-Wye literary festival in Britain has established similar events in Segovia, Spain, and the Colombian city of Cartagena. Even newcomers to the mar
46、ket have little problem filling seats; Manchester reports packed houses and reckons its on target to attract 300,000 visitors within a few years. To the optimists, those surging numbers suggest a welcome change in public tastes. The new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoken of the prolifera
47、ting literary festivals Britain now has more than 300, compared with just three back in 1983 as evidence of a new cultural “seriousness.“ Others believe the communal experience of festivalgoing provides a useful antidote to the solitary pastimes many of them electronic of 21st-century life. But fest
48、ival frenzy can be too much of a good thing. A report published last year for the Edinburgh International Festival warned that the rising tally of festivals would rapidly increase the competition for audiences. The workaday port of Rotterdam is now home to a year-round series of festivals in part to
49、 keep up with its classier neighbor, Amsterdam. In an age of cheap air travel, the opera lover with a free weekend can head for Riga as easily as Salzburg. And theres a finite supply of sponsors and public money, not to mention performers. Already theres grumbling over rising fees for the biggest names. Critics argue that the whole purpose of the festival is changing. “Festivals used to belong to the public,“ says Getz. “Now they are almost always created for strategic reasons.“ Inevitably, tha
