1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 164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) O
2、n any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy. It is this largess that accounts for the presence within the citys walls of a considerable section of the population; for the residents of Manhattan are to a large extent strangers who ha
3、ve pulled up stakes somewhere and come to town, seeking sanctuary or fulfillment or some greater or lesser grail. The capacity to make such dubious gifts is a mysterious quality of New York. It can destroy an individual, or it can fulfill him, depending a good deal on luck. No one should come to New
4、 York to live unless he is willing to be lucky. (2) New York is the concentrate of art and commerce and sport and religion and entertainment and finance, bringing to a single compact arena the gladiator, the evangelist, the promoter, the actor, the trader, and the merchant. It carries on its lapel t
5、he unexpungeable odor of the long past, so that no matter where you sit in New York you feel the vibrations of great times and tall deeds, of queer people and events and undertakings. I am sitting at the moment in a stifling hotel room in 90-degree heat, halfway down an air shaft, in midtown. No air
6、 moves in or out of the room, yet I am curiously affected by emanations from the immediate surroundings. I am twenty-two blocks from where Rudolph Valentino lay in state, eight blocks from where Nathan Hale was executed, five blocks from the publishers office where Ernest Hemingway hit Max Eastman o
7、n the nose, four miles from where Walt Whitman sat sweating out editorials for the Brooklyn Eagle, thirty-four blocks from the street Willa Cather lived in when she came to New York to write books about Nebraska, one block from where Marceline used to clown on the boards of the Hippodrome, thirty-si
8、x blocks from the spot where the historian Joe Gould kicked a radio to pieces in full view of me public, thirteen blocks from where Harry Thaw shot Stanford White, five blocks from where I used to usher at me Metropolitan Opera and only 112 blocks from me spot where Clarence Day me elder was washed
9、of his sins in me Church of me Epiphany (I could continue this list indefinitely). And for mat matter I am probably occupying me very room that any number of exalted and somewise memorable characters sat in, some of mem on hot, breamless afternoons, lonely and private and full of their own sense of
10、emanations from without. (3) New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating me individual (if he wants it, and almost everybody wants or needs it) against all enormous and violent and wonderful events mat are
11、 taking place every minute. Since I have been sitting in this miasmic air shaft, a good many rather splashy events have occurred in town. A man shot and killed his wife in a fit of jealousy. It caused no stir outside his block and got only small mention in the papers. I did not attend. Since my arri
12、val, the greatest air show ever staged in all me world took place in town. I didnt attend and neither did most of the eight million other inhabitants, although they say there was quite a crowd. I didnt even hear any planes except a couple of westbound commercial airliners that habitually use this ai
13、r shaft to fly over.The biggest oceangoing ships on the North Atlantic arrived and departed. I didnt notice them and neither did most other New Yorkers. I am told this is the greatest seaport in the world, with 650 miles of waterfront, and ships calling here from many exotic lands, but the only boat
14、 Ive happened to notice since my arrival was a small sloop tacking out of the East River night before last on the ebb tide when I was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. I heard the Queen Mary blow one midnight, though, and the sound carried the whole history of departure and longing and loss. (4) I
15、 mention these events merely to show that New York is peculiarly constructed to absorb almost anything that comes along (whether a thousand-foot liner out of the East or a twenty-thousand-man convention out of the West) without inflicting the event on its inhabitants; so that every event is, in a se
16、nse, optional, and the inhabitant is in the happy position of being able to choose his spectacle and so conserve his soul. In most metropolises, small and large, the choice is often not with the individual at all. He is thrown to the Lions. The Lions are overwhelming; the event is unavoidable. (5) A
17、lthough New York often imparts a feeling of great forlornness or forsakenness, it seldom seems dead or unresourceful; and you always feel that either by shifting your location ten blocks or by reducing your fortune by five dollars you can experience rejuvenation. Many people who have no real indepen
18、dence of spirit depend on the citys tremendous variety and sources of excitement for spiritual sustenance and maintenance of morale. In the country there are a few chances of sudden rejuvenation a shift in weather, perhaps, or something arriving in the mail. But in New York the chances are endless.
19、I think that although many persons are here from some excess of spirit (which caused them to break away from their small town), some, too, are here from a deficiency of spirit, who find in New York a protection, or an easy substitution. 1 According to Para. 1, the author seems to believe that_. （ A）
20、 New York is not suitable for people to live in （ B） whether an individual enjoys living in New York depends on luck （ C） most residents of New York lead an isolated life （ D） New York is a city full of bizarreness and mystery 2 What type of rhetorical device is used in the fifth sentence in Para. 2
21、? （ A） Analogy. （ B） Allusion. （ C） Contrast. （ D） Parallelism. 3 Which of the following can BEST describe the main idea of Para. 4? （ A） The difference between New York and other metropolises. （ B） New Yorkers can choose to attend the grand events. （ C） The advantages of living in New York. （ D） Ho
22、w to lead an independent life in New York. 4 What can be inferred from Para. 5? （ A） New Yorkers often move their homes to get the fresh experience. （ B） Living in New York can enrich peoples life and cheer them up. （ C） Many people come to New York for its comfort. （ D） New York residents often fee
23、l isolated from the exciting events outside. 5 Which of the following sentences can summarize the authors main opinion? （ A） New York is the concentrate of art and commerce and entertainment. （ B） New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and privacy on people. （ C） New York blends the gift of pri
24、vacy with the excitement of participation. （ D） New York is peculiarly constructed to absorb almost anything that comes along. 5 (1) Procrastination comes in many disguises. We might resolve to tackle a task, but find endless reasons to defer it. We might prioritize things we can readily tick off ou
25、r to-do list answering emails, say while leaving the big, complex stuff untouched for another day. We can look and feel busy, while artfully avoiding the tasks that really matter. And when we look at those rolling, long-untouched items at the bottom of our to-do list, we cant help but feel a little
26、disappointed in ourselves. (2) The problem is our brains are programmed to procrastinate. In general, we all tend to struggle with tasks that promise future upside in return for efforts we take now. Thats because its easier for our brains to process concrete rather than abstract things, and the imme
27、diate hassle is very tangible compared with those unknowable, uncertain future benefits. So the short-term effort easily dominates the long-term upside in our minds an example of something mat behavioral scientists call present bias. (3) How can you become less myopic about your elusive tasks? Its a
28、ll about rebalancing the cost-benefit analysis: make the benefits of action feel bigger, and the costs of action feel smaller. The reward for doing a pestering task needs to feel larger than the immediate pain of tackling it. (4) To make the benefits of action feel bigger and more real: (5) Visualiz
29、e how great it will be to get it done. Researchers have discovered that people are more likely to save for their future retirement if theyre shown digitally aged photographs of themselves. Why? Because it makes their future self feel more realmaking the future benefits of saving also feel more weigh
30、ty. When we apply a lo-fi version of this technique to any task weve been avoiding, by taking a moment to paint ourselves a vivid mental picture of the benefits of getting it done, it can sometimes be just enough to get us unstuck. So if theres a call youre avoiding or an email youre putting off, gi
31、ve your brain a helping hand by imagining the virtuous sense of satisfaction youll have once its done and perhaps also the look of relief on someones face as they get from you what they needed. (6) Pre-commit, publicly. Telling people that were going to get something done can powerfully amplify the
32、appeal of actually taking action, because our brains reward system is so highly responsive to our social standing. Research has found that it matters greatly to us whether were respected by others even by strangers. Most of us dont want to look foolish or lazy to other people. So by daring to say “I
33、ll send you the report by the end of the day“ we add social benefits to following through on our promise which can be just enough to nudge us to bite the bullet. (7) Confront the downside of inaction. Research has found that were strangely averse to properly evaluating the status quo. While we might
34、 weigh the pros and cons of doing something new, we far less often consider the pros and cons of not doing that thing. Known as omission bias, this often leads us to ignore some obvious benefits of getting stuff done. Suppose youre repeatedly putting off the preparation you need to do for an upcomin
35、g meeting. Youre tempted by more exciting tasks, so you tell yourself you can do it tomorrow (or the day after). But force yourself to think about the downside of putting it off, and you realize that tomorrow will be too late to get hold of the input you really need from colleagues. If you get movin
36、g now, you have half a chance of reaching them in time so finally, your gears creak into action. (8) To make the costs of action feel smaller; (9) Identify the first step. Sometimes were just daunted by the task were avoiding. We might have “learn French“ on our to-do list, but who can slot that int
37、o the average afternoon? The trick here is to break down big, amorphous tasks into baby steps that you dont feel as effortful. Even better; identify the very smallest first step, something thats so easy that even your present-biased brain can see that the benefits outweigh the costs of effort. So in
38、stead of “learn French“ you might decide to “email Nicole to ask advice on learning French. “ Achieve that small goal, and youll feel more motivated to take the next small step than if youd continued to beat yourself up about your lack of language skills. (10) Tie the first step to a treat. We can m
39、ake the cost of effort feel even smaller if we link that small step to something were actually looking forward to doing. In other words, tie the task that were avoiding to something that were not avoiding. For example, you might allow yourself to read lowbrow magazines or books when youre at the gym
40、, because the guilty pleasure helps dilute your brains perception of the short-term “cost“ of exercising. Likewise, you might muster the self-discipline to complete a slippery task if you promise yourself youll do it in a nice cafe with a favorite drink in hand. (11) Remove the hidden blockage. Some
41、times we find ourselves returning to a task repeatedly, still unwilling to take the first step. We hear a little voice in our head saying, “Yeah, good idea, but.no. “ At this point, we need to ask that voice some questions, to figure out whats really making it unappealing to take action. This doesnt
42、 necessarily require psychotherapy. Patiently ask yourself a few “why“ questions “why does it feel tough to do this?“ and “whys that?“ and the blockage can surface quite quickly. Often, the issue is that a perfectly noble competing commitment is undermining your motivation. For example, suppose you
43、were finding it hard to stick to an early morning goal-setting routine. A few “whys“ might highlight that the challenge stems from your equally strong desire to eat breakfast with your family. Once youve made that conflict more explicit, its far more likely youll find a way to overcome it perhaps by
44、 setting your daily goals the night before, or on your commute into work. (12) So the next time you find yourself mystified by your inability to get important tasks done, be kind to yourself. Recognize that your brain needs help if its going to be less short-sighted. Try taking at least one step to
45、make the benefits of action loom larger, and one to make the costs of action feel smaller. Your languishing to-do list will thank you. 6 According to Para. 1, which of the following behavior belongs to procrastination? （ A） Finding excuses for our own laziness. （ B） Prioritizing things on to-do list
46、. （ C） Deferring the thorny tasks. （ D） Pretending to be busy while doing nothing. 7 What does the word “upside“ mean in Para.2? （ A） Upward tendency. （ B） Pros and cons. （ C） Advantage. （ D） Development. 8 It can NOT be inferred from the passage that_. （ A） our brains tend to respond to concrete th
47、ings （ B） we are unwilling to consider the consequence of putting things off （ C） finishing small tasks can make people feel the cost of efforts reduced （ D） making commitment to ourselves can help stimulate brains reward system 9 Which rhetorical device is used in “ .nudge us to bite the bullet“ in
48、 Para. 6? （ A） Personification. （ B） Metaphor. （ C） Hyperbole. （ D） Contrast. 9 (1) You do not need to play in a band to be part of the burgeoning “gig economy“. Nearly everyone has skills or assets they can exploit in their spare time to boost their income or save money by using one of a new wave o
49、f technology-driven services. (2) The market for everything from renting out a spare room or parking space for cash to selling hobby crafts or skills over the internet is expanding rapidly. Now worth 500 million a year, it is expected to grow to 9 billion by 2025. Here is how you can participate. PROFIT FROM PROPERTY (3) If you have a spare room in your home, a drive that sits empty or even a garden shed with space not crammed with debris, then there are opportunities to make these dead spaces earn money
