1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 58及答案与解析 0 A recent article indicated that business schools were going to encourage the study of ethics as part of the curriculum. If graduate schools have to discover ethics, then we are truly in serious trouble. I no more believe that ethics can be taught past the age of 10 than I b
2、elieve in the teaching of so-called creative writing. There are some things that you are born with, or they are taught by your parents, your priest or your grade-school teacher, but not in college or in graduate school. I believe that businesses should go back to basics in recruiting, should forget
3、about the business schools and recruit the best young liberal arts students we can find. The issue of ethics, both in business and in politics, takes on a sharper focus in the money culture of a service economy than in our earlier industrial days. For the businessmen and the politicians, virtually t
4、he only discipline that can be applied is ethical. Financial scandals are not new, nor is political corruption. However, the potential profit, and the ease with which they can be made from insider trading, market manipulation, conflict-of-interest transactions and many other illegal or unethical act
5、ivities are too great and too pervasive to be ignored. At the same time, those institutions that historically provided the ethical basis to the society the family, the church and the primary schoolare getting weaker and weaker. Hence, our dilemma. The application of ethics, as well as overall judgme
6、nt, is made even more difficult by the increasing application of rapidly changing technology to major problems in our society. How does a layman deal with the questions raised by “Star Wars“, genetic engineering, AIDS and the myriad issues relating to the availability and affordability of life-savin
7、g drugs and other medical technology? It is clear that one cannot abdicate to the technocrats the responsibility of making judgment on these issues. Two important risks accompany the discarding of our value system when dealing with a money culture and high technology. The first risk is that more peo
8、ple will turn to radical religion and politics. People always search for frameworks that provide a certain amount of support. If they do not find it in their family, in their school, in their traditional church or in themselves, they will turn to more absolute solutions. The second risk is the polar
9、ization of society. We have created hundreds of paper millionaires and quite a few billionaires. But alongside the wealth and glamour of Manhattan and Beverly Hills, we have seen the growth of a semipermanent or permanent underclass. The most important function of higher education is to equip the in
10、dividual with the capacity to compete and to fulfill his or her destiny. A critically important part of this capacity is the ability to critically evaluate a political process that is badly in need of greater public participation. This raises the issue of teaching ethics in graduate schools. Ethics
11、is a moral compass. Ideally, it should coincide with enlightened self-interest, not only to avoid jail in the short run but to avoid social upheaval in the long run. It must be embedded early, at home, in grade school, in church. It is highly personal. I doubt it can be taught in college. Yet what i
12、s desperately needed in an increasingly complex world dominated by technicians is the skepticism and the sense of history that a liberal arts education provides. History, philosophy, logic, English, and literature are more important to deal with todays problems than great technical competence. These
13、 skills must combine with an ethical sense acquired early in life to provide the framework needed to make difficult judgments. We most certainly need the creativity of great scientific minds. But all of us cannot be technical experts, nor do we need to be. In the last analysis, only judgment, temper
14、ed by a sense of history and a healthy skepticism of cant and ideology will give us the wherewithal to make difficult choices. 1 What are the two alternatives of the dilemma the author is referring to? （ A） Growing immoral activities and weakening moral basis. （ B） Financial scandals and political c
15、orruption. （ C） Potential profits and the ease with which they can be made from insider trading, etc. （ D） Ethical discipline and illegal trading. 2 Why are ethical rules more difficult to apply today? （ A） Because business is no longer a matter of interpersonal act. （ B） Because the movement of cap
16、ital has become the result of all activities. （ C） Because people are not knowledgeable enough to make sensible judgment. （ D） Because making profits has become dominant in doing all businesses. 3 When people fail to get guidance from traditional ethical basis,_. （ A） they will denounce the old valu
17、e system （ B） they may turn to politicians or religious leaders （ C） they will find support from schools or themselves （ D） they may become religious or political extremists 4 The author considers the polarization of society as_. （ A） a further advancement toward a democratic state （ B） a factor tha
18、t helps reduce unemployment among the needy （ C） a consequence resulting from ignoring moral disciplines in business （ D） an aggravation of the disadvantaged status of certain groups of people 5 Which of the following does the author think is less important in dealing with todays problem? （ A） Skept
19、icism. （ B） Technical competence. （ C） Logical thinking. （ D） A sense of history. 5 One of the obvious problems with predicting the future effects of climate change is that they havent happened. This makes climate studies highly dependent on models, which invariably and unavoidably make simplifying
20、assumptions. This means that using their results to say anything of practical import needs care and caveats, both of which can often be in short supply, or stripped out to make a point. However, it is now ever more possible for studies of climate change to look at the past, not the future. The 20th
21、century saw a fair amount of warming, and it is sometimes possible to compare what this warming did and didnt do with what future warming might or might not do. This is what a paper published in Nature this week does in an attempt to re-examine, and perhaps close down, long-running debates about mal
22、aria and climate change. Both the malaria parasite and the mosquitoes which spread it respond to temperature and moisture. Understanding those responses makes it possible to model what changes in climate might mean to the incidence of the disease. Such models have suggested that in a warmer world th
23、e area subject to endemic malaria would increase, perhaps quite a lot, though some places would see a reduction due to increased aridity. The caveats here include noting that the climate models can make no great claims to accuracy at the regional level and that such an approach does almost nothing t
24、o deal with changes in land use, wealth and public health programs. One of the main thrusts of the new Nature paper is to see how much of what happened to the spread of malaria in the 20th century can be explained by what happened to the climate. The answer, according to Peter Gething of Oxford Univ
25、ersity and his colleagues, is not much. They conclude that claims that a warming climate has led to more widespread disease and death due to malaria are largely at odds with the evidence, which shows the areas effected shrinking, and the size of the effect shrinking too. Increases in the spread and
26、severity of the disease burden foreseen over the next 40 years by the biological models are far smaller than the decreases in comparable measures seen over the past century. The second tack of their argument is to compare the sort of effect seen in biology-based models of where malaria might spread
27、with both models of and data on the effects direct intervention against the disease can have. Again the effects due to climate are small, even negligible, compared with the effects that interventions have achieved already and might achieve in decades to come. The marginal areas where climate might e
28、nlarge the area at risk are also, the article argues, the areas where the greatest declines in transmission have recently been seen thanks to increased intervention. The conclusion is clear. People who are thinking about what to do about malaria should bear in mind that the biological basis of its d
29、istribution may change in a warmer world. Those thinking about the overall danger that climate change represents should not spend their time worrying about its impact on malaria. Is there a wider conclusion to draw about computer models such as those that underlay frightening statements about malari
30、a in a climate-changed world? Perhaps; but like the models themselves, it comes with caveats. Scientists tend to model what can be modeled, and natural scientists, in particular, tend to prefer models that incorporate at least some aspects of the underlying processes which they are interested in, ra
31、ther than working purely on empirical correlations. This means that if you search the scientific literature for approaches to the future, you will tend to find answers based on natural processes. If other knowledge suggests that natural processes arent the most important aspect of the problem at han
32、d, then its a good idea to look at the models with that provision in the forefront of your mind. The other vital lesson is that the caveats matter. Pretty much every paper presenting a biology-based model of malarias dependence on climate contains a warning that changes in economy, technology and so
33、ciety matter too, and arent in the model. To transmit the models results without important caveats is reckless. If one is going to be optimistic about the future of malaria, one might also, with caution, be optimistic about the future of assessments of climate change. Things can, over time, get bett
34、er, especially when the record of what has happened to date gets taken seriously. They will do so quicker if people accept both the usefulness and limits of models of the future, as well as the appeal of models of the past. 6 The major defect of the current climate-study models lies in their_. （ A）
35、simplifying assumptions （ B） comparative methodology （ C） arbitrary assertions （ D） heavy dependence on future 7 What conclusion might be drawn about current models on malaria and climate change from the third paragraph? （ A） They do not take other factors like human interventions into consideration
36、. （ B） They compare the effect predicted in the future with that of the past. （ C） They predict the result precisely even at regional level but do not claim it. （ D） They believe that malaria increases in case of drought. 8 The Nature paper suggests_may be an influential factor affecting malaria. （
37、A） warmer climate （ B） human involvement （ C） drought （ D） biology diversity 9 Which of the following statements is CORRECT as for the new Nature paper? （ A） The paper found that the warming climate had led to more malaria. （ B） The paper aroused disputes about malaria and climate change after publi
38、cation. （ C） The paper concluded that the spread of malaria could be explained by climate changes. （ D） The paper tried to study the effect of climate changes on malaria during the past 20th century. 10 Which of the following does the author most probably agree with? （ A） Climate changes have nothin
39、g to do with the malaria. （ B） There are scientists who do not treat the data record in an exact way. （ C） Future-oriented climate studies have more advantages than the past-oriented ones. （ D） Important warnings can be saved in conclusions if considered in models. 10 Not even the combined powers of
40、 Spiderman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America and the X-Men could keep The Mouse at bay. On August 31st Walt Disney announced it was buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, just days after the comic-book publisher had celebrated 70 glorious years of independence, during which it had
41、 created many of the most famous cartoon characters not invented by Disney itself. In fact, Marvel did not put up much of a fight, accepting what most analysts think was a generous price. Disney will get access both to Marvels creative minds and potentially far more valuable in an age when familiar
42、stories rule the box office an archive containing around 5,000 established characters, only a fraction of which have yet made the move from paper to the silver screen. Marrying Marvels characters with Disneys talent for making money from successful franchises is a good idea. In recent years Disney h
43、as proved the undisputed master at exploiting the same basic content through multiple channels, including films, websites, video games, merchandising, live shows and theme parks. The edgier, darker Marvel characters should fill a hole in Disneys much cuddlier portfolio. This currently covers most pe
44、ople from newborn babies, through the addictive “Baby Einstein“ DVDs, to adults, through its Touchstone label. Disneys own cartoons, and the newer ones created by Pixar, an animation studio it bought in 2006 for $7 billion, appeal to children. “Hannah Montana“, a hit television show, caters to pre-t
45、een girls. The Marvel characters should be just the thing for boys of the same age, whom Disney has found especially hard to attract of late. However, many of Marvels best-known characters already have contractual obligations to various rival media conglomerates that will not be easily or quickly un
46、done. Sony has an indefinite hold on Spider-Man; News Corporation exerts similar control over the X-Men. Universal owns distribution rights to the Hulk and long-term theme-park rights in Florida to several characters. This is a pity, because Disneys theme parks are a part of its business where teena
47、ge boys would particularly welcome the contrast that Marvels superheroes would provide to the Magic Kingdoms oppressive wholesomeness. Another risk is one that often presents itself in mergers, especially those involving creative types: a clash of cultures. Happily for Marvel, Disney is no longer th
48、e corporate control-freak it was under its former boss, Michael Eisner. His successor, Bob Iger, has turned out to be a relatively hands-off boss, with the Pixar acquisition a model of the sort of treatment Marvel can expect. Indeed, John Lasseter, the chief creative force behind Pixar, reportedly p
49、layed an important role in reassuring Marvels talent that their culture would be safe in Disneys hands. Also fully behind the deal is Stan “the Man“ Lee, a living legend of the cartoon world who helped create many of Marvels best-known characters during the 1960s. Mr Lee, who recently launched his first digital comic as part of a partnership between his new firm and Disney, has predicted that the Disney-Marvel merger will prove “a terrific deal which will be extremely beneficial to both companies. The synergy between them is perfect. “ Ironica
