1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 50及答案与解析 0 The U. S. economy has been dragging along lately, but heres a small shot in the arm. Gasoline prices have fallen to their lowest level in 33 months. The average price of gasoline nationwide has dropped from $3. 74 per gallon in February to $3. 19 today. In states like Misso
2、uri and Texas, gasoline has sunk below $3 per gallon at the pump, a price not seen in years. Economists tend to think a fall in gasoline prices can help stimulate the economy by giving people more money to spend on other goods. Think of it like a tax cut. Earlier this month, the forecasting firm Mac
3、roeconomic Advisers estimated that falling gas prices could add 0. 3 percentage points to third-quarter GDP growth. But why is this happening? The reasons for the recent fall in gasoline prices are varied, but here are some of the big ones. Gasoline prices typically rise in the summer and go down in
4、 the winter. Thats because people take more vacations when the weathers nice, and refiners have to put out a pricier “summer blend“ of gasoline thats mixed with butane and other ingredients to prevent evaporation in the heat. Once the summers over, gas prices typically fall again. So thats worth men
5、tioning. But this isnt the only factor here. The supply of gasoline is up for odd reasons. U. S. stockpiles of gasoline were at 210 million barrels in the first week of November, up about 4 percent from the same period last year. Normally, refineries cut back when stockpiles are high. But there are
6、other forces at play here. Many Gulf Coast refiners are taking advantage of the boom in shale-oil drilling in the Midwest and producing ever more diesel for export to Europe and Asia. Thats a lucrative business. And that refining process also produces more gasoline for domestic consumption. So, as T
7、he Wall Street Journal reports, refiners can still make a profit from exporting diesel abroad even if theyre creating a glut of gasoline here at home. Fewer refinery disruptions. Its been a fairly quiet hurricane season in the Atlantic this year with not a single hurricane making landfall. That mean
8、s U. S. refineries have seen relatively few disruptions of late, apart from Tropical Storm Karen in October and scheduled shutdowns for maintenance. Oil prices have declined moderately. The price of oil typically makes up about 70 percent of the cost of gasoline. And a barrel of West Texas Intermedi
9、ate crude cost just $93.60 on Tuesday, down from around $ 110 in September. Oft-cited factors for the drop include growing U.S. crude supplies and an easing of tensions between the United States and Iran. This also isnt the whole story, but its a factor. Gasoline demand has been fairly restrained. I
10、n recent years, Americans have been buying more efficient cars and light trucks, in part due to new fuel-economy standards by the Obama administration. Thats helped keep a lid on prices. But this trend may not last for long if driving demand picks back up. A bet on weakened ethanol rules. Earlier th
11、is year, many refineries were buying up renewable credits, known as “RINs,“ in anticipation that the Environmental Protection Agency would tighten its rule on how much ethanol needs to be mixed in with gasoline in 2014. The price of RINs soared, which, in turn, may have driven up gasoline prices. Th
12、e opposite is happening now as many observers think the EPA could weaken its ethanol targets for 2014(a leaked draft suggested as much). Partly as a result, the price of RINs has fallen sharply since July and with it, some analysts think, the price of gasoline. The big question is whether prices wil
13、l keep dropping or whether theyll eventually rebound sharply the way they did in 2011 and 2012 after temporary lulls. The winter drop in gasoline demand is obviously seasonal and temporary. And theres always the possibility that geopolitical unrest could send oil prices soaring. For now, however, th
14、e U. S. Energy Information Administration is predicting that U. S. gasoline prices will stay restrained in the year ahead falling from an average of $3. 50 per gallon in 2013 to $3. 39 per gallon in 2014. Thats still much higher than they were a decade ago. But it would count as a small bit of relie
15、f for the broader economy. 1 In which way do lower gasoline prices affect U. S. economy? （ A） It will lead to a little decrease of GDP growth in the third quarter. （ B） It will reduce the cost of transportation of products. （ C） It will raise the sale of gasoline and cars. （ D） It will promote the e
16、conomy as a whole. 2 Which of the following is NOT a cause of the fall of gasoline price? （ A） Less people take vacations in winter. （ B） The cost for producing gasoline is lowered. （ C） The stock of gasoline is a little higher. （ D） There are few natural disruptions. 3 What does the word “glut“ in
17、Paragraph Four mean? （ A） Excess. （ B） Portion. （ C） Range. （ D） Type. 4 Which of the following words is used metaphorically, not literally? （ A） Vacations(Paragraph Three). （ B） Boom(Paragraph Four). （ C） Lid(Paragraph Five). （ D） Opposite(Paragraph Six). 5 It can be learned from Paragraph Six that
18、_. （ A） the mixture of ethanol into gasoline damages the environment （ B） the ethanol rules have an indirect impact on the price of the gasoline （ C） the administration policies on gasoline are out of refineries expectation （ D） the Environment Protection Agency should improve its security measures
19、5 Digital wallets and mobile payment solutions are now a dime a dozen, but hardly anyone uses them in place of credit cards or old-fashioned cash. That could soon change with a little help from of an old, familiar technology: Bluetooth. The latest iteration, Bluetooth 4.0, comes with a low power var
20、iant called Bluetooth LE, which allows two nearby devices like a cash register and smartphone to connect when theyre in range of one another. Its so low-powered, in fact, that a Bluetooth LE device could potentially last years on a single cell battery. Like the geofencing technology that Square uses
21、, you dont even need to take your phone out of your pocket to make a purchase. But unlike Square, Bluetooth LE promises to be much easier on your smartphone battery. Now that Bluetooth LE has finally made it into a critical mass of smartphones, computers, and other devices, it could dethrone the onc
22、e-promising Near Field Communication(NFC)as the standard for mobile payments. The problem with NFC is that wireless carriers wont support any solution other than their own, and a single standard hasnt risen to prominence. So digital wallet companies werent able to persuade consumers that taking your
23、 phone out of your front pocket to make a payment was more convenient than taking your wallet out of your back pocket. With its ultra-low power and convenience, Bluetooth LE might actually be something consumers want to use. One of the first big backers to use the technology for mobile payments will
24、 be eBays PayPal. Its “Beacon“ service will let retailers set up a low power Bluetooth module in their shop. This module initiates and facilitates communication with a customers smartphone the moment its within range, and should said customer accept the connection, it can be set up to automatically
25、connect in the future. Apple is also working on building similar software support for Bluetooth LE transmitters into iOS 7. Called iBeacon, the utility allows any iOS app and any iBeacon-compatible sensor to seamlessly talk to one another. Apple has been a longstanding NFC holdout many smartphones p
26、owered by Googles Android have had NFC capabilities for years. And one of the most talked about startups, Coin, is using Bluetooth LE to power the communications between its digital credit card and users smartphones. The company estimates the card will last two years before the battery runs out. It
27、would even be possible to store your payment information on a wearable device, such as a bracelet. Because Bluetooth LE sensors can last so long on a single charge, the fears people have of their smartphone dying and not having access to their credit cards would be a virtual non-issue. And you would
28、nt have to worry about getting accidentally charged by walking past a storefront. Bluetooth 4.0 is extremely accurate at tracking distance between devices, so a cash register could be set to ignore all customers except the one standing right in front of counter. Bluetooth LE also offers more than ju
29、st payment possibilities. A Bluetooth LE transmitter can beam deals and digital coupons to shoppers or pedestrians. It can even navigate people to specific items in a store. But getting there wont be without its challenges. Retailers will need to update their point-of-sale systems with Bluetooth LE
30、capable devices. And the convenience factor of Bluetooth still doesnt solve the problem of banks, carriers, credit card companies and retailers all picking and choosing which apps theyre compatible with. A mobile payments standard needs to emerge. Bluetooth 4.0 has everything working in its favor to
31、 become the new mobile payments standard. It enables a frictionless experience, it is power efficient, it already exists in millions of devices, and its relatively secure. 6 Which of the following statements does NOT contain a personification? （ A） .Bluetooth LE, which allows two nearby devices.to c
32、onnect. （ B） .and any iBeacon-compatible sensor to seamlessly talk to one another. （ C） .the fears people have of their smartphone dying. （ D） .so a cash register could be set to ignore all customers. 7 What is the role of the 3rd paragraph in the development of the topic? （ A） Giving supportive det
33、ails on Bluetooth LEs strengths. （ B） Showing examples of how well Bluetooth LE is accepted. （ C） Illustrating the bright future of Bluetooth LE. （ D） Explaining how Bluetooth makes its way into big companies. 8 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of Bluetooth LE? （ A） Power effi
34、ciency. （ B） Accurate positioning. （ C） Good compatibility. （ D） Customer familiarity. 9 How does the author feel about the future of Bluetooth technology in mobile payment? （ A） Acceptable. （ B） Profitable. （ C） Ordinary. （ D） Promising. 10 What category of writing does the passage belong to? （ A）
35、Narration. （ B） Description. （ C） Exposition. （ D） Argumentation. 10 Are comfort shoes always more healthful? Not necessarily, according to some foot doctors. Buying shoes from a store specializing in comfort shoes doesnt guarantee that they will be comfortable or good for you. What makes a shoe a “
36、comfort shoe“? Generally speaking, it means cushioning under the foot and supportive features such as arch support. Birkenstock sandals, another comfort line, have a molded foot bed with an indented heel cup and a bump under the forefoot the metatarsal pad, which deflects pressure away from the ball
37、 of the foot. “Theyre a really comfortable choice for many people,“ says Erika Schwartz, a foot specialist with DC Foot and Ankle. But for others, not so much. You know what they say about if the shoe fits well, not all comfort shoes are comfortable or healthy for every foot. A small study of people
38、 with knee problems found that walking in clogs and so-called stability shoes was harder on the knees than walking barefoot or in flip-flops. This suggests that certain supportive shoes can alter your manner of walking in a way thats unhealthy for joints above the ankle, at least temporarily and in
39、people with arthritis. “What are the best shoes to wear? I hear this question 20 times a day,“ says Selene Parekh, a surgeon at Duke University Health System. Parekh says to look for a shoe thats supportive and comfortable for you. That may not mean spending nearly $200 on a pair of loafers marketed
40、 to fit what one shoemaker calls the “anatomical footbed. “ If you are having foot problems, the best thing to do is figure out the type of foot you have and how you walk. Do you pronate rotate your foot so that the inner edge of the sole bears the bulk of your weight? How high or how flat are your
41、arches? When a patient comes in with foot pain, Parekh looks at the wear pattern on her shoes. If the inner part of the sole is worn, hell look for flat feet overloading that area. Outer-sole wear may indicate high arches. More wear on the heel or under the ball of the foot can show whether a person
42、 is a heel-striker or a forefoot-striker when he walks. These wear patterns are not problems in and of themselves. “If you dont have pain, your walking pattern is fine,“ Parekh says. If you do have pain, a foot expert either a foot and ankle orthopedic surgeon or a foot expert can help you understan
43、d shoe features to look for and to avoid. For example, if you have painful swellings, you want to look for a more box-shaped toe, Parekh says, “to not compress that part of the foot.“ What about minimalist shoes, designed to honor the form and function of the foot? They are the contrary of the comfo
44、rt shoe: Advocates say that cushioned supportive shoes encourage runners to land on their heels, which can lead to bad form and chronic injury. However, minimalist shoes are not right for everyone. “Weve seen enough patients with Achilles tendon issues and stress fractures from running in these,“ Sc
45、hwartz says. And whether the purported benefits hold true for walking and standing has not been nearly as well studied. People with high arches are more likely than flat-foot types to roll an ankle in clogs, Schwartz says. Thats because arch height can affect which part of your foot bears the most w
46、eight as you walk. Properly aligned ankles sit directly over the heels. Feet are pronated when the heels tilt out from the body and the ankles roll in picture young children on ice skates a characteristic that is often linked to flat feet. When heels tilt in and the ankles roll out, the feet are sup
47、inated; this often occurs with very high arches. An orthotic insert that raise the outer edge of the foot can help stabilize a supinated foot within the clog, Schwartz says. Orthotic inserts, whether purchased at the drugstore or custom-made, are designed to correct the alignment of the foot and ank
48、le, which helps maintain proper positioning of the knees and hips and even the lower back. Clinical studies of orthotics demonstrate their usefulness in many serious foot problems, such as diabetic neuropathy. For the rest of us, with more everyday aches and pains of life on our feet, theres less ap
49、plicable research. A 2008 review of research on easing foot pain found one small study in which custom orthotics helped people with high-arch, supinated feet. For other conditions, such as swellings, the evidence was equivocal. Foot experts recommend shopping at shoe stores with experienced staff who take the time to do a good fitting. Schwartz sends her patients to high-end running shoe stores with a description of what to look for and what to avoid. 11 It can be inferred from the passage that_. （ A） comfort shouldnt
