1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 145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 As I
2、ponder whom it might be that I would consider a role model, I realized that there are a lot of people I know personally that I could look to for inspiration. But I am sharing these thoughts with others who most likely do not know my friend or my sister-in-law or the gal I work with. Therefore I thin
3、k I should write about someone famous. But, it seems that these days there are not a lot of good role models to choose from, at least not from the “typical “choices that we usually think of as role models. I realize celebrities private lives should be just that; but when a person is in the limelight
4、 perhaps they should use that notoriety for some sort of good. There are some criteria that my role model must possess. First, she must be close to my age. She has to have overcome some obstacle, or maybe better said, did not have her “celebrity“ status handed to her. Finally, she must be helping ot
5、hers. Sharing the blessings she has received with others. I believe that someone who fits those criteria quite well is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfreys life has had a very difficult and tumultuous beginning. She was born in 1954 to a poor, unmarried black girl living in the very racially segregated sta
6、te of Mississippi. For a while, Oprah was raised by her grandmother, after her mother moved north. She eventually went to live with her father in Nashville, after having survived body abuse and the birth and death of baby of her own. Oprahs rise to fame began in Baltimore, then Chicago, with her hos
7、ting morning talk shows, such as “A. M. Chicago“. She became so popular that in 1986, she launched “The Oprah Winfrey Show“. Oprah began her own production company, Harpo, and obtained control of “The Oprah Winfrey Show“, which was now in syndication. In 1994, Oprah did something that caught my atte
8、ntion and with which she gained my respect. She decided to break away from the mold of other daytime talk shows and pledged that her show would be free from “tabloid topics“. Her viewers responded slowly, but very positively, and her popularity surged. “The Oprah Winfrey Show“ was now centered on up
9、lifting, meaningful subjects, many of which are aimed towards women. Oprah has used her gaining popularity, in my opinion, to launch many meaningful projects. She launched Oprahs Book Club in 1996. The Book Club is an on-air reading club intended to get the country excited about literature again. To
10、 date, all the book club selections have become instant bestsellers. Oprahs Angel Network was started in 1997,encouraging people to open their hearts to those in need. This includes a project to collect small change to send students to college and to sponsor Habitat for Humanity programs. Oprah has
11、been able to share her blessings with others while keeping her pledge to focus “The Oprah Winfrey Show“ on subjects that will encourage her viewers. Each week her shows cover such topics as spirituality, wellness, fitness, relationships, steps towards financial freedom and more. Winfreys talent for
12、public performance and spontaneity in answering questions helped her win fame. Winfrey talk show has an estimated audience of 14 million daily in the US and millions more in 132 other countries predominantly women. She is also an accomplished actress and won an Academy Award nomination for her role
13、in The Color Purple. Another reason that I admire Oprah is because she genuinely seems to be “just a regular gal“. Her book, Make the Connection shows how Oprah is like any other woman. The painful revelations she shares about her struggle with weight loss really touched me. Even as she was given an
14、 Emmy Award, her thoughts were on how heavy she must look in the dress she was wearing. Once, I went to a lecture given by one of Oprahs favorite authors. As we were sitting before the lecture began, a couple of black women walked in. My friend said, “Oh look, theres Oprah,“ I said, “no its not“, sh
15、e said, “yes it is“ and back and forth we went. Well, as it turns out, it was Oprah. She looked just like the rest of us? she did not come in amongst media frenzy as might be expected. When the speaker introduced her, she was almost embarrassed to stand. I feel Oprah is a genuinely nice person, some
16、one who would be a great girl friend. She has a head on her shoulders and knows where she is going. She has made a name for herself and is not embarrassed by her wealth and knows the importance of sharing the blessings that have been bestowed upon her. 1 All of the following are the reasons why the
17、author chose Oprah Winfrey as her role model EXCEPT that she_. （ A） is about of an age with the author （ B） is glad to share everything she has with others （ C） is ready to give a hand to others （ D） has surmounted many difficulties 2 Oprahs talk show can NOT be described as_. （ A） soul-stirring （ B
18、） significant （ C） popular （ D） terse 3 The reasons why Oprah became famous include all of the following EXCEPT that she_. （ A） focuses on thought-provoking topics （ B） is gifted at public performance （ C） has started several programs （ D） is able to respond to the audiences questions promptly 4 A s
19、uitable title for the passage would be_. （ A） Whose Lead Should I Follow? （ B） Oprah A Talk Show Hostess （ C） Why Do I Admire Oprah? （ D） Oprah A Regular Gal 4 Its disturbing to picture your kindergartner in a casino, but maybe you ought to try. American kids are born into a culture that loves its g
20、ambling, and the passion is only growing, as financial hardships sweeten the ever alluring prospect of a lucky break. The danger, of course, is that gambling can lead to compulsive gambling and compulsive gambling can be a life wrecker. Now, a new study in the Archives of Pediatrics buying lottery t
21、ickets? or placing bets on professional sports. “The majority of kids were not engaging in any of these activities,“ says Pagani, “but the fact that any of them were was unexpected. “ What struck Pagani most was how predictable the identities of the gamblers were. When she referred back to the ratin
22、gs from kindergarten, she found that every one-unit increase on the impulsivity scale correlated with a 25% jump in the likelihood a child would be gambling by sixth grade. “The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual already refers to gambling specifically as an impulse-control disorder,“ she says, citin
23、g the official text that outlines diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. “And then there were our findings showing that “. Knowing early on which children are headed for trouble can pay off in a number of ways. For one thing, it can help families wise up. Some of the parents of the kids in the st
24、udy saw a little gambling as a minor thing, and a number of them even bought lottery tickets for their kids as a reward for good behavior. That, clearly, sends the wrong message. “Scratch-and-win games are for adults,“ Pagani says flatly. Whats more, not only can kids behavior benefit when impulse i
25、ssues are spotted early on, so can their brains. Preschool is a time when the prefrontal lobes, which are the center of executive functions and what Pagani and others call “effortful control“ are just developing. The better the brain can be trained at this stage, the better it performs later in life
26、. Pagani cites a 2007 study published in the journal Science that showed that simple attention-boosting training taught in kindergarten improved focus and concentration in later years. “You can introduce a cost-effective program and reap enormous benefits,“ she says. Pagani plans to check in with th
27、e kids in her survey again in another six years, when theyre finishing high school and preparing to enter the larger world-with its larger temptations. Even if they were born too late to benefit from her findings, she thinks other kids can. “We need to think of impulse-control training as a long-ter
28、m investment plan,“ she says, “one that can lead to less addiction, less gambling, a lower dropout rate and lower unemployment.“ Thats a far bigger payoff than youll ever get playing blackjack or craps. 5 The phrase “tucked. away“ in the second paragraph-means_. （ A） put away （ B） gave away （ C） cle
29、ared away （ D） worked away 6 Which may NOT be one of the benefits of impulse-control training? （ A） Encouraging more children to stay away from drugs and gambling. （ B） Facilitating the development of prefrontal lobes. （ C） Improving kids performance in tests. （ D） Reducing the number of dropout stu
30、dents. 7 All of the following are CORRECT EXCEPT that_. （ A） financial pressure attracts more Americans to try their luck in gambling （ B） kindergarten is the best place to know about peoples impulsivity （ C） parents often unconsciously encourage kids to gamble （ D） attention-boosting training can i
31、mprove focus and concentration at once 8 A suitable title for the passage would be_. （ A） Paganis Study on Children Gambling （ B） The Need of Impulse-Control Training （ C） Spotting Future Gamblers in Kindergarten （ D） Saving Our Children from Gambling 8 When the creators of a new sitcom called The L
32、oop pitched their show to executives at the Fox television network, the broadcast moneymen liked the idea of a sitcom about young guys living in Chicago. But what they loved was the fact that products on the set wouldnt be an afterthought brought in by a prop master. Instead, viewers would see the s
33、ame products every week, cleverly woven into the plot throughout the season, and characters would discuss the brands a bit like a 13-week ad campaign. Sure enough, the network picked up the show. Co-creator Will Gluck says he wanted to capture the way guys really talk, discussing cool gadgets and br
34、ands in everyday life. Glucks product-infused formula is rapidly becoming a model for network TVs survival. Thanks in part to technologies like TiVo which growing numbers of folks are using to blitz past commercials and watch TV on their own schedule the ad-driven prime time business model that has
35、existed for decades is under assault as never before. In New York City last week, broadcast execs showcased their best hopes for luring viewers back this fall, unveiling dozens of new dramas, sitcoms and reality shows. If history is any guide, most of them will flop, with shows aimed at young guys f
36、acing tough competition from video games, and cable channels eroding ever more of the networks share. As advertisers increasingly chase audience through nontraditional outlets as well, the major networks may be in for a lousy year. While the gloomy financial picture may have something to do with a l
37、ack of must-see TV, its hard to overestimate the challenges posed by ad skipping. At least 6.4 million households now have digital video recorders (DVRS) like TiVo. Cable and satellite providers are pushing the technology hard 40% of households are expected to have DVRS by 2009 while the cable guys
38、are also pitching video on demand (VOD), another technology consumers use to watch content on their own schedule. No wonder some advertisers are turning off the tube. American express has slashed the TV share of its ad budget from 80% a decade ago to less than 35% .replacing commercials, in part, wi
39、th online mini-films. Pepsi recently relaunched Pepsi One without any TV advertising, which execs at the firm say wouldnt have been the case five years ago. All the more reason advertisers want to TiVo-proof their message. Since 1999, television product-placement deals have surged in value from $709
40、 million to $1.9 billion, according to the research firm PQ Media. Already, marketers have burrowed into reality shows like SurwVorand The Apprentice. This season also brought us a Desperate Housewife fawning over a Buick. Bernie Mac popping Rolaids, a character in According to Jim declares she only
41、 wants “the shrimp at Red Lobster“ and an episode of Arrested Development set in a Burger King. “We needed as much support for the show as we could get,“ says Steven Melnick, a senior marketing executive at 20th Century Fox Television, which produces Arrested Development, defending Burger Kings star
42、ring role. (Typically, media buyers negotiate product placement as part of a package deal with regular ads.) If muscling in on the development of scripted shows sounds scary, get ready for the next wave. While the networks were presenting their fall lineups last week, media buyers for Sears, for ins
43、tance, were working up product-integration deals as part of their traditional ad buys. Already a big presence in ABCs Extreme Makeover： Home Edition, Sears was eyeing new sitcoms like the WBs Supernatural, and the company isnt interested in providing an appliance as a background prop. “Thats not eno
44、ugh to make people shop at Sears,“ says Perianne Grignon, vice president of media services for Sears. “Its easy to use merchandise as a prop, but we have higher standards.“ But how much product integration will audiences tolerate before turning off, rea-lizing theyre essentially watching an advertor
45、ial? No one can say for sure, though ratings for one of the heaviest product-placement vehicles, The Apprentice, fell 20% this season. Mazza claims that as long as products appear “organically“ in TV shows, audiences wont mind. Under pressure from advertisers and facing rising costs for scripted sho
46、ws, network execs say they have scant choice but to develop new revenue streams. No one is predicting the demise of network television, which brought in an estimated $16. 5 billion in advertising last season. As ABC demonstrated, it takes only a few hits like Desperate Housewives to orchestrate a re
47、bound. But network execs are already dreaming up ways to resell content on platforms like video on demand, cell phones and the Internet. “You gotta figure out a way to make money,“ says Alan Wurtzel, president of media development for NBC Universal. “We know the consumer is changing and expectations
48、 are changing.“ Question is, will the networks change fast enough too? 9 According to the passage, all of the following may lead to ad skipping EXCEPT_. （ A） cable channels （ B） new technologies （ C） new sitcoms （ D） video games 10 The passage aims to_. （ A） introduce the product-infused ad model （
49、B） explain differences between the old model and the new one （ C） question the ad-driven prime-time business （ D） discuss the possibility of ad skipping 10 Its hard to miss them: the epitome of casual “geek chic“ and organized within the warranty of their Palm Pilots, they sip labor-intensive cafelattes, chat on sleek cellphones and ponder the road to enlightenment. In the U. S. they worry about the environment as they drive their gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles to
