1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 45及答案与解析 0 Education Standards Are Not the Answer Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Vernon Ehlers have recently proposed a bill to create a national curriculum in reading and math. The bills supporters rightly tell us that by the end of high school, American students have fallen behind t
2、heir international peers. Dodd and Ehlers use that observation to conclude that we need such a curriculum “to compete in the global economy.“ But how exactly would homogenizing our curriculum and testing make us more competitive? “National standards would help propel U.S. economic competitiveness, b
3、ecause they would allow the country to set expectations higher than those of our international competitors,“ write Rudy Crew and Paul Vallas, the superintendents of the Miami and Philadelphia school districts, in a recent Education Week commentary. This idea of higher standards has a certain appeal.
4、 In many other areas of life, higher standards are associated with better performance. Its much harder to qualify for a U. S. Olympic team than for a typical high school sports team and Olympic teams are demonstrably better. Japanese automakers generally set higher reliability standards in the 1970s
5、 than did American automakers, and they produced more reliable vehicles. But sports and manufacturing are competitive fields, while public schooling currently is not. Standards advocates mistakenly assume that high external standards produce excellence, but in fact it is the competitive pursuit of e
6、xcellence that produces high standards. Michael Petrilli, a scholar at the Ford-ham Foundation, recognizes the role of competition in education, but contends that national standards are necessary to facilitate it. In order for any market to work effectively, Petrilli claims, “consumers need good inf
7、ormation,“ and in his view, that information can only be delivered by a national system of standards and tests. Yet around the world, free education markets are already thriving with no such standards in place. One such market exists in the United States: after-school tutoring. By contrast, there is
8、 no evidence that imposing government standards improves the performance of true education markets. On the contrary, by placing all intellectual eggs in the same basket, a single national curriculum would hamper competition and magnify the damage done by every bad decision. As Jared Diamond so compe
9、llingly argued in his Pulitzer Prize winning Guns, Germs , and Steel, diversity is as important to the health of human societies as it is to the survival of ecosystems. We need education diversity as much as we need biodiversity. A dynamic, competitive system is better able to survive mishaps than a
10、 monolithic, centralized one. It is ironic that standards advocates urge us to improve our schools in response to competitive pressures from abroad, but then discount the ability of the same competition and consumer choice to drive improvement at home. It is the competitive pursuit of excellence spu
11、rred by market forces that drives up standards, not the other way around. The sooner we realize that, the better off our children will be. 1 The national curriculum in America was proposed to_ . （ A） increase the academic competence of students （ B） narrow the achievement gap among schools （ C） impr
12、ove the current educational system （ D） improve high-school level education 2 Paragraph 2 is written to show the proposal of the national education standards_. （ A） fails to reflect the uniqueness of education field （ B） has a weak theoretical grounding （ C） is doomed to receive a disagreement （ D）
13、discounts the benefit of the internal competition 3 According to Michael Petrilli, national education standards can_. （ A） make the negative competition avoided （ B） make schools more competitive （ C） make education market more competitive （ D） make sure consumers have a wide range of choices 4 Whic
14、h of the following reflects the authors opinion? （ A） Standards are impossible to be set in education field. （ B） A diverse educational system can help avoid some bad decisions. （ C） All schools should be set free to face competition. （ D） High standards dont necessarily produce excellence. 5 Which
15、of the following is most likely to be the title of this article? （ A） Education Field Should Be Turned into a Free Market. （ B） The Link between Competition and Education Standards. （ C） National Education Standards Are Not the Answer. （ D） How to Improve American Education. 5 Handle With Care When
16、Thomas Butler stepped off a plane in April 2002 on his return to the United States from a trip to Tanzania, he set in motion a chain of events that now threatens to destroy his life. A microbiologist at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Butler was bringing back samples of the plague bacterium Yersin
17、ia pestis for his research. Yet on reentering the country, he is alleged to have passed right by US customs inspectors without notifying them that he was carrying this potentially deadly cargo. That move and its consequences have led the federal government to prosecute Butler for a range of offences
18、. If convicted on all counts, he could be fined millions of dollars and spend the rest of his life in jail. The US scientific community has leapt to butlers defence, arguing that his prosecution is overzealous, alarming and unnecessary. The presidents of the National Academy of Sciences and the Inst
19、itute of Medicine have written to Attorney General John Ashcroft, claiming that the case could endanger research into countering the threat of bioterrorism. And the academys human-rights committee has asked its members to write letters on Butlers behalf and to donate funds for his defense. Those who
20、 defend Butler argue that the rules governing the import of pathogens are so restrictive that bending them is the only option for researchers who are working to provide protection from deadly diseases that affect the developing world. Why, they ask, prosecute Butler for breaking the rules that made
21、his work more difficult without serving a useful purpose? The supporters consider that the charge laid against Butler merely reflects the determination of federal prosecutors to throw the book at Butler to make an example of him to others. Many researchers now fear falling victim to an overzealous p
22、rosecution if they fail to dot all the is and cross all the is on their paperwork. Some US microbiologists are so frightened of being hauled off in handcuffs for a minor administrative error that they have decided to avoid biodefense research entirely despite the current funding boom in the field. W
23、hether Butler is a villain or a scapegoat is now for a jury to decide. But whatever verdict is eventually reached, scientists who are lobbying on Butlers behalf would do well to consider public perceptions. If the rules governing the import of pathogenic bacteria make no sense, then microbiologists
24、must make that case clearly, and lobby for the regulations to be changed. Researchers are also justified in making statements to help ensure that any punishment that Butler might receive is proportionate. But researchers risk a damaging public protest if the main message that emerges is that his pee
25、rs think he was justified in carrying samples of the plague bacterium onto a commercial flight. Appearing to deny the importance of rules designed to protect the public from deadly pathogens however unwieldy those rules may be in practice will not generate trust. It will not foster a culture of resp
26、onsibility. And it would show disregard for the publics faith that scientific research will be conducted as safely and as competently as possible. 6 Thomas Butler was charged with_. （ A） carrying prohibited research materials （ B） handling a potentially deadly substance illegally （ C） posing the bio
27、terrorism threat （ D） shipping plague samples back to Tanzania 7 According to Butlers defenders, the prosecution of Butler will_. （ A） discourage the biological research （ B） loosen the import controls of pathogens （ C） punish one to warn a hundred （ D） cause new panic in the United States 8 The exp
28、ression “throw the book at“ (Line 3, Para. 4) most probably means_. （ A） to make someone famous overnight （ B） to frighten someone very much （ C） to make someone a scapegoat （ D） to punish or criticize someone severely 9 The author believes that scientists should_. （ A） advocate for the abolition of
29、 import rules （ B） speak in defense of Butlers behavior （ C） give careful attention to public health （ D） learn a lesson from Butlers case 10 Who is likely to be least critical of Butler? （ A） the federal government. （ B） the US scientific community. （ C） the American public. （ D） US Customs Service
30、. 10 The Exaggerated Reports of the Death of the Newspaper Few trends have been as enthusiastically charted by the press as the two-decade decline of print circulations and advertising revenues in developed markets. Their headlines about the death of newspapers have been accompanied by breathless en
31、thusiasm for blogging, and user-generated news. Newspapers have not just been slow to grasp the opportunities that new technologies provide, but have helped their new rivals gain credibility with audiences. Yet, according to the Zogby poll of 435 editors and news executives, 85 percent now feel opti
32、mistic about their titles future and twice as many think the quality of journalism will improve in the next decade as fear it will deteriorate. Almost half think that most news will be free to the consumer in future, but are quite relaxed about that. Is the industry as wrong now as in the past? Ther
33、e is still plenty to concern investors. This week, figures showed online advertising had overtaken the newspaper category in the UK. In recent months, such investment authorities as Warren Buffett and Steve Rattner have been worried about the business model. Mr Buffett said the days of rich profits
34、from his Buffalo News title were over, while Mr Rattner wondered whether the duty of keeping the world informed should be handed to not-for-profit trusts. Mr Buffett was right to say that such titles have lost the luxury of being unchallenged local monopolies, but that is no bad thing. Competition,
35、wherever it comes from, tends to result in better products. Global newspaper circulation has increased by 10 percent over the past five years. The freesheets phenomenon deserves much of the credit and has shown that even in printinnovation is alive. But freesheets are only one of the new models demo
36、nstrating that there are other ways to make money than the traditional mix of circulation and advertising. Titles from Die Welt to the St Petersburg Times are showing that the print title can be the hub of a rich array of news outlets, attracting younger readers. The combination of free and paid tit
37、les is helping publishers reach audiences outside traditional markets. Others have found that the healthy online advertising market is making their experiments in audio and video formats profitable revenue-generators. In a world where “community“ is the Web 2. 0 buzzword, few other businesses have s
38、uch experience of serving several interest groups from football fans to theatre enthusiastsat once. The industry has only just begun to exploit the potential the internet provides for bringing those communities closer together. The fear is that Google will get there first, but Googles Sergey Brin sa
39、id he thought the newspaper had “a good future“. “I get The New York Times on a Sunday and its nice,“ he said, before offering the advice that, to be essential rather than just “ nice“, papers would have to focus more on creating genuinely unique content. As circulation has fallen, many have been te
40、mpted to go downmarket making themselves indistinguishable from magazines or television shows. Readers will not pay for something worthless or replicated a hundred times on Google News. If newspapers want a future, they must provide something original. In short, professional journalism is more impor
41、tant than ever. 11 The author tiles the Zogby pull as evidence that_. （ A） the outlook for the newspaper industry isnt as bad as people think （ B） journalists are over-optimistic about journalism （ C） new growth is occurring in the newspaper industry （ D） there is another untrue report of the newspa
42、per industry 12 The word “title“ in the passage probably means_. （ A） industry （ B） source （ C） newspaper （ D） version 13 Which of the following is true according to the text? （ A） Steve Rattner wanted to change the newspapers into not-for-profit industry. （ B） Die Welt and the St Petersburg Times j
43、oin the free-content crowd. （ C） Newspapers are trying to attract readers by developing the right mix of services. （ D） Google news are posing a growing threat to newspapers. 14 What does the author think of newspapers? （ A） They have missed the opportunities that technologies provide. （ B） They sho
44、uld increase the quality by breaking monopoly. （ C） They should cut the expenses of publishing and circulation. （ D） Their future lies in reflecting the true value of information. 15 Which of the following is the hest title for this text? （ A） The Exaggerated Reports of the Death of the Newspaper. （
45、 B） The New Opportunities Offered by Internet for the Newspaper. （ C） What Could Be the Future of the Newspaper? （ D） The Newspaper Is Disappearing: A Cause for Concern, But Not for Panic. 15 Thumbs Up The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is riding high in the bestselling film charts and is also bein
46、g repeated as a series on the radio. But what about the hitchhikers guide to Earth? When did you last give a lift to a hitchhiker or see one? Or when, even, did you last set out on the open road, stick out your thumb and wonder how far you would get that night? When I was in my teens and 20s, hitchh
47、iking was a main form of long-distance transport. The kindness or curiosity of strangers took me all over Europe, North America, Asia and southern Africa. Some of the lift-givers became friends, many provided hospitality en route. Not only did you find out much more about a country than when travell
48、ing by train or plane, but there was that element of excitement about where you would finish up that night. Im sure Ive blotted out the long, depressing waits in the rain, but I can still recall a couple of dozen particularly spectacular rides and drivers. Hitchhiking featured in great books and gre
49、at songs. So what has happened to it? While hitchhiking was clearly still alive and well in some parts of the world, the general feeling was that throughout much of the west it was doomed. Americans had various explanations as to why it was largely a thing of the past. But most blamed a fearful nation. Fed on a diet of crime news, people assumed that anyone on the open road without the money for even a bus ticket must present a danger. Is the same now true in Britain? Certai
