1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 5及答案与解析 0 In some ways, China is an unlikely hotbed for e-commerce. Only 38 percent of online buyers pay with credit or debit cards, using instead an army of bicycle messengers delivering cash. There are no reliable credit ratings, or postal services, so some online auction customers
2、still want to meet the seller in person. Yet none of this deters Americas e-commerce giants Yahoo, Amazon and eBay. All are moving rapidly into China and the rest of Asia, driven by a rather startling fact of the digital age: the survivors of the Internet bubble in America are already mature busines
3、ses at home. Consider: eBay is posting record profits, and Amazon is in the black for the first time in its eight -year history. Yet U. S. growth rates are starting to slow. This year eBay expects to post more sales outside the United States than within. The e-commerce market in Europe is starting t
4、o take off, but Asia has the biggest potential. Researchers at IDC forecast that annual Asian sales outside Japan will rise at 38 percent a year through 2007, topping 61 percent in China. William Cobb, head of eBays international business, expects China to overtake Germany and the United Kingdom as
5、eBAys biggest overseas market “sooner rather than later“. The population of Internet users in China is now 87 million, and growing fast. That explains the bidding: last spring, Yahoo teamed up with S, Chinas largest Internet portal, to break into the online auction business. In August A paid $72 mil
6、lion for J, one of Chinas top online retailers. And last month, eBay fully plugged EachNet the online auction site it bought last year for $180 million into its global network. To maneuver in Asia, American giants are seeking out local partners. Microsoft has had a hard time cracking Chinese e-comme
7、rce on its own, and AOL had an ill-fated venture with computer-maker Legend. But now local entrepreneurs have built customer bases strong enough to entice global acquirers. E-Ready in Asia As more Asian consumers go online, Asian firms are leading the world in investing to build up their e-commerce
8、capabilities. Share of IT budgets spent on e-commerce Many of them, like Harvard-educated EachNet founder Bo Shao, copied the American e-commerce giants, meticulously setting out to be the eBay or Amazon of China. “E-commerce in Asia could develop along European lines,“ says Forrester Research analy
9、st Hellen Omwando. In Europe, established retailers were hesitant, leaving the market to start-ups, which were bought up by U.S. giants. That forced traditional retailers to respond. One big difference: eBay came to dominate auctions in Europe, and Amazon rules retail. But China has even more niche
10、markets, leaving room for three to five major players. Thats encouraging for the contenders, since there are at least that many from the United States alone. 1 Which of the following is not true about e-commerce in China according to the passage? （ A） A large number of online buyers do not pay with
11、credit cards. （ B） Online auction customers do their business without seeing each other. （ C） China is not fully prepared for e-commerce. （ D） Credit ratings are not reliable. 2 Which of the following is the cause for Americas e-commerce giants moving into China and the rest of Asia? （ A） eBay is po
12、sting record profits. （ B） Amazon is in the black for the first time in its eight-year history. （ C） U.S. growth rates are starting to slow. （ D） European e-commerce is too mature. 3 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? （ A） E-commerce in China is developing very fast. （ B） A
13、mericas e-commerce giants are moving into China. （ C） American e-commerce businesses have a hard time doing business on their own in China. （ D） Chinas e-commerce businesses do not like to cooperate with foreign companies. 4 Which of the following is NOT true about European e-commerce markets? （ A）
14、European e-commerce is mainly dominated by American giants. （ B） Established European retailers were hesitant to leave the market to U.S. businesses. （ C） American giants are quite successful in European markets. （ D） Both auctions and retail markets are controlled by U. S. giants. 5 What can be inf
15、erred from the passage? （ A） China will become the major market for American e-commerce businesses. （ B） Chinas e-commerce businesses would do business on their own. （ C） American businesses entry into Chinese market is a threat to Chinas e-commerce. （ D） American giants will move out from European
16、markets. 5 Its easy to see why the price of gasoline is so upsetting to so many people. Gas prices are the one economic indicator you see all the time, prominently posted on big signs and the prices are at record levels, seemingly rising by the hour. Thats created a new pastime: driving around until
17、 you hit the big score, saving a nickel a gallon. Is this a good use of your time? Not really, once you calculate how long it takes to drive around looking for a bargain and how much gas you burn doing it. If youre already at the financial brink, higher gas prices might push you over but for most pe
18、ople, they ought not to be that big a deal. Dont believe me? Here are the numbers. During its first five years, the average vehicle costs its owner around $725 a month, according to E, an automotive Web site. That includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance and such, but not gas. That averaged $1.
19、94 a gallon last week, up 45 cents from a year ago. The average vehicle uses 550 gallons of gas annually. Do the math, and at todays price, it costs around $1,070 a year to fuel an average vehicle, up from $820. The difference: less than $25 a month. Forego the Big Gulp, hot dog and chips that you g
20、et along with your fill-up, and youll be ahead of the game. If you must worry, at least worry about the right thing: the way energy prices will slow down the economy if they stay at current levels. “Higher energy costs flow into every nook and cranny of the economy,“ says Daniel Yergin, chairman of
21、Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Each dollar-a-barrel price hike acts like a $20 million-a-day tax$7.3 billion a year on the rest of the economy, with another $13 million a day for natural gas, also in short supply. Oils up $12 a barrel in the past year, a levy that runs more than $100 billion
22、annually. Even in an $11 trillion economy, that stings. Unlike previous price spikes, caused by supply shortages, the current jump is caused largely by higher demand as the U.S. economy recovers, Chinas surges and the rest of the worlds fortunes improve. Thats the bad news part of the good economic
23、news. But while supply and demand drive prices in the long term, in the short term theyre heavily influenced by financial players, such as traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yergin estimates that the combination of anxiety about the Middle East and financial players have added $6 to $8 a b
24、arrel to oil prices, which closed at $41.38 a barrel Friday. This means that even though world supplies are tight, oil could be knocked down to about $30. Maybe we need some out-of-the-box thinking to dull this price spike. Sure, theres a long-term problem, requiring less demand or more supply. But
25、for now, perhaps the Bush administration could use the 660-billion-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve to push prices down. One approach, suggested by Loews CEO Jim Tisch, whose company has extensive energy holdings, is to trade some reserve oil for oil to be delivered in a year. Based on Fridays pri
26、ces, we could swap six barrels today for seven wed get in 2005. That seems smarter than what were doing: filling the reserve at todays prices. Think of it. Wed both save money and reduce current demand. The White House isnt going for that, however. “The president believes that the Strategic Petroleu
27、m Reserve should be used only in the event of an emergency, not to manipulate prices,“ said White House spokesman Trent Duffy. It should be noted that Bush excoriated Bill Clinton for using the reserve to drive down heating-oil prices to help Al Gore. Sure, that was political but not necessarily uns
28、ound economically. OK, even if you insist on thinking inside the box, just remember that although the big picture is well worth your worry, your gas bills not worth obsessing over. After all, at the current prices, conservings important even mental energy. 6 According to the passage, the average own
29、er spends $725 a month on the following with the exception of_. （ A） depreciation （ B） insurance （ C） maintenance （ D） gas 7 According to the author, what is the most serious consequence of the current higher oil price? （ A） The economy will slow down. （ B） Fewer people can afford to drive. （ C） Peo
30、ple try to save pennies a gallon. （ D） People are wasting time looking for cheap oil. 8 Which of the following is NOT the cause for the current jump of oil prices according to the passage? （ A） U.S. economy recovers. （ B） Chinas economy is developing fast. （ C） The rest of the world is becoming rich
31、. （ D） The supply of oil is becoming less and less. 9 “Excoriated“ in the sixth paragraph is closest in meaning to_. （ A） exasperated （ B） censured （ C） praised （ D） prevented 10 The author thinks the White House should_. （ A） limit the oil prices （ B） manipulate prices by using the reserve （ C） sav
32、e money （ D） reduce demand 10 Of all the extraordinary events in the life of John Paul II, few can compare with the 21 minutes he spent in a white-walled cell in Romes Rebibia prison. Just after Christmas, 1983, the pope visited Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who 30 months earlier had shot him in St. Pete
33、rs Square. He presented Agca with a silver rosary, and something else as well: his forgiveness. It requires a Christ-like forbearance to pardon a would-be assassin, of course. But how many of us are ready to forgive an unfaithful lover, a scheming colleague or even the jerk who cut into the line at
34、Krispy Kreme? Persistent unforgiveness is part of human nature, but it appears to work to the detriment not just of our spiritual well-being but our physical health as well. The subject is one of the hottest field of research in clinical psychology today, with more than 1,200 published studies, up f
35、rom just 58 as recently as 1997. It even has its own foundation A Campaign for Forgiveness Research which sponsored a conference last year with papers on topics like “Exploring Gender Differences in Forgiveness.“ (The largest number of papers dealt with forgiveness in marital and romantic relationsh
36、ips, which seem to generate an inordinate amount of interpersonal resentment.) Dr. Dean Ornish, Americas all-purpose lifestyle guru, regards forgiveness as the tofu of the soul, a healthful alternative to the red meat of anger and vengeance. “In a way,“ Ornish says, “the most selfish thing you can d
37、o for yourself is to forgive other people.“ Research suggests that forgiveness works in at least two ways. One is by reducing the stress of the state of unforgiveness, a potent mixture of bitterness, anger, hostility, hatred, resentment and fear (of being hurt or humiliated again). These have specif
38、ic physiologic consequences such as increased blood pressure and hormonal changes linked to cardiovascular disease, immune suppression and, possibly, impaired neurological function and memory. One study examined 20 individuals in happy relationships, matched with 20 in troubled relationships. The la
39、tter had higher baseline levels of Cortisol, a hormone associated with impaired immune function which shot up even further when they were asked to think about their relationships. “It happens down the line, but every time you feel unforgiveness, you are more likely to develop a health problem,“ says
40、 Everett Worthington, executive director of A Campaign for Forgiveness Research. The other benefit of forgiveness is more subtle; it relates research showing that people with strong social networks of friends, neighbors and family tend to be healthier than loners. Someone who nurses grudges and keep
41、s track of every slight is obviously going to shed some relationships over the course of a lifetime. Forgiveness, says Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, a researcher at Hope College in Holland, Mich., should be incorporated into ones personality, a way of life, not merely a response to specific insults. I
42、n fact, forgiveness turns out to be a surprisingly complex process, according to many researchers. Worthington distinguishes what he calls “decisional forgiveness“ a commitment to reconciling with the perpetrator from the more significant “emotional forgiveness,“ an internal state of acceptance. For
43、giveness does not require us to forgo justice, or to make up to people we have every right to despise. Anger has its place in the panoply of human emotions, but it shouldnt become a way of life. “When I talk about forgiveness, I mean letting go, not excusing the other person or reconciling with them
44、 or condoning the behavior,“ says Ornish. “Just letting go of your own suffering.“ “Its a process, not a moment,“ says Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a Harvard psychiatrist and the author of “Dare to Forgive.“ Forgiveness, he emphasizes, has to be cultivated; it goes against a natural human tendency to se
45、ek revenge and the redress of injustice. For that reason, he recommends doing it with help of friends, a therapist or through prayer. It was from his faith that John Paul drew the strength to forgive Mehmet Agca setting (as he no doubt intended) an example for the rest of us. The message is the same
46、 whether its couched in the language of Christian charity, clinical psychology or the wisdom of Confucius, as quoted by Hallowell: “If you devote your life to seeking revenge, first dig two graves.“ 11 According to the passage, forgiveness will lead to_. （ A） immune suppression （ B） impaired memory
47、（ C） increased blood pressure （ D） lower baseline levels of Cortisol 12 Which of the following concerning unforgiveness is NOT true according to the second paragraph? （ A） Everyone is inclined not to forgive. （ B） Unforgiveness is harmful to peoples physical health. （ C） Unforgiveness is only harmfu
48、l to peoples spiritual health. （ D） The figures indicate researchers have realized the importance of forgiveness. 13 The fourth paragraph states the following except_. （ A） Loners do not forgive others. （ B） To be sociable is better for peoples health. （ C） Forgiveness can help you make more friends
49、. （ D） Forgiveness should become part of ones personality. 14 According to the passage, forgiveness means_. （ A） giving up justice （ B） excusing the other person （ C） stopping thinking of anger （ D） reconciling with the other person 15 According to Hallowell, which of the following is NOT true? （ A） It takes time to forgive. （ B） It is difficult for people to forgive. （ C） One will get hurt by ones revenge against others. （ D） John Paul forgave Mehmet Agca just in or
