1、专业英语八级（阅读）模拟试卷 61及答案与解析 0 There are around 6,000 languages in the world today. At least there were until January of 2001. Then Carlos Westez died. Westez was the last speaker of the native American language Catawba. With him passed away the language itself. The death of Westez was mourned not just b
2、y professional linguists, but more generally by advocates of cultural diversity. Writing in The Independent of London, Peter Popham warned that “when a language dies“ we lose “the possibility of a unique way of perceiving and describing the world“. What particularly worries people like Popham is tha
3、t many other languages are likely to follow the fate of Catawba. Aore is a language native to one of the islands of the Pacific state of Vanuatu. When the islands single inhabitant dies, so will the language. Ironically, the status of Gafat, an Ethiopian language spoken by fewer than 30 people, has
4、been made more precarious thanks to the efforts of linguists attempting to preserve it. A language researcher took two speakers out of their native land, whereupon they caught cold and died. Of the 6,000 extant languages in the world, more than 3,000 will disappear over the next century. Linguist Je
5、an Aitcheson believes that “this massive disappearance of so many languages will be an irretrievable loss“. Popham compares this loss to the “death of untold species of plants and insects“ from rainforest destruction. Warning of the “impact of a homogenizing monoculture upon our way of life,“ he wor
6、ries about the “spread of English carried by American culture, delivered by Japanese technology“ and the “hegemony of a few great transnational languages: Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Hindi.“ Yet the whole point of a language is to enable communication. A language spoken by one person is not a languag
7、e at all. It is a private conceit, like a childs secret code. Carlos Westez might well have had “a unique way of perceiving the world,“but it was so unique that only he had access to it. However happy Westez might have been talking to himself, to everyone else in the world he may as well have been t
8、alking gibberish. It is, of course, enriching to learn other languages and delve into other cultures. But it is enriching not because different languages and cultures are unique, but because making contact across barriers of language and culture allows us to expand our own horizons and become more u
9、niversal in our outlook. Cultural homogenization is something to be welcomed, not feared. The more universally we can communicate, the more dynamic our culture will be. It is not being parochial to believe that the more people to speak English or Spanish, Chinese, or Hindi the better it would be. Th
10、e real chauvinists are surely those who worry about the spread of “American culture“ and “Japanese technology“. The idea that particular languages embody unique visions of the world derives from the romantic concept of cultural difference, a concept that underlies much of contemporary thinking about
11、 multiculturalism. “Each nation speaks in the manner it thinks,“Johann Gottfried von Herder argued in the 18th century,“and thinks in the manner it speaks. “For Herder the nature of a people was expressed through its Volksgeist the unchanging spirit of a people refined through history. Language was
12、particularly crucial to the delineation of a people, because “in it dwells its entire world of tradition, history, religion, principles of existence; its whole heart and soul. “ Herders Volksgeist became transformed into racial makeup, an unchanging substance, the foundation of all physical appearan
13、ce and mental potential, and the basis for division and difference within humankind. The contemporary argument for the preservation of linguistic diversity, liberally framed though it may be, draws on the same philosophy that gave rise to racial difference. “Nobody can suppose that it is not more be
14、neficial for a Breton or a Basque to be a member of the French nationality, admitted on equal terms to all the privileges of French citizenship.than to sulk on his own rocks, the half-savage relic of past times, revolving in his own little mental orbit, without participation or interest in the gener
15、al movement of the world. “So wrote John Stuart Mill, more than a century ago. “The same applies,“ he added, “to the Welshman or the Scottish Highlander as members of the British nation. “It would have astonished him that, as we approach a new era, there are those who think that sulking on your own
16、rock is a state worth preserving. 1 Peter Popham is afraid that_. （ A） some languages are in peril of extinction （ B） some languages are losing their own features （ C） some languages are replaced by their dialects （ D） some languages are facing great challenges 2 “ .hegemony of a few great transnati
17、onal languages.“ in the third paragraph probably means_. （ A） the exchange of features of some languages used in different countries （ B） the exchange of features of some languages used in allied countries （ C） the bad influence of some languages reaching beyond national boundaries （ D） the predomin
18、ant influence of some languages reaching beyond national boundaries 3 The mention of Westezs talking gibberish is to_. （ A） exemplify the point that communicative function is of great importance to languages （ B） support the fact that nobody else in the world can understand Catawba （ C） illustrate t
19、hat Westez indeed enjoyed talking to himself in Catawba （ D） argue that diverse languages cannot prevent cultural homogeneity 4 According to the author, those who are afraid of cultural homogenization are_. （ A） responsible citizens （ B） fanatic patriots （ C） real heroes （ D） supporters for diverse
20、cultures 5 Which of the following is INCORRECT of the philosophy of racial makeup? （ A） It originates from Volksgeist. （ B） It provides a basis for calling on language diversity. （ C） It is used as a basis to maintain racial difference. （ D） It has been challenged by many linguists. 5 Global warming
21、 could actually chill down North America within just a few decades, according to a new study that says a sudden cooling event gripped the region about 8,300 years ago. Analysis of ancient moss from Newfoundland, Canada, links an injection of freshwater from a burst glacial lake to a rapid drop in ai
22、r temperatures by a few degrees Celsius along North Americas East Coast. This event created a colder year-round climate with a much shorter growing season for about 150 years, from northern Canada to what is now Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The results suggest that North Americas climate is highly
23、 sensitive to meltwater flowing into the ocean, said lead study author Tim Daley of Swansea University in the U. K. The work also means that history could repeat itself: Currently Greenlands ice sheet is melting at a rapid clip, releasing freshwater into the North Atlantic. In a worst-case scenario,
24、 the authors say, a sudden melt could trigger another regional cooling event although other experts say todays extreme, human-driven warming might cancel out any strong cooling effect. Daley and colleagues studied mosses dating back more than 8,700 years that were preserved in a Newfoundland peat bo
25、g. The ratios of two different types of oxygen in the mosses allowed the team to trace changes in atmospheric temperature over time. When air temperatures are lower, the mosses contain less oxygen-18, a heavier version of the more common type, oxygen-16. About 8,350 years ago, the amount of oxygen-1
26、8 relative to oxygen-16 suddenly dropped, the team reports in the September issue of the journal Geology. Previous research had found that, around the same time, a northern ice dam burst, releasing the contents of a vast glacial lake into the Labrador Sea, between Canada and Denmark. Normally a warm
27、 ocean current called the Gulf Stream runs up the east coast of North America, helping to keep the region balmier than it should be, considering how far north it is. But the entire glacial lake drained within less than a year, injecting a huge pulse of freshwater into the North Atlantic Ocean. Daley
28、 and colleagues think the lake water diluted the salty ocean current and slowed the Gulf Stream, which in turn led to rapid cooling in North America. “As a result, Canadian summer temperatures would have been similar to those currently experienced in autumn or spring,“ said team member Neil Loader,
29、also of Swansea University. Climate records from Greenland and Europe also show a sudden cooling during the same time period, but this is the first clear evidence for a North American chill. The moss data show that current climate models “ significantly underestimate the impact and duration of the c
30、limate perturbation resulting from the megaflood,“ said Swansea team member Alayne Perrott. This means these same models might not be accurately predicting what might happen in the future if Greenlands ice sheet continues to melt. However, some scientists say that the data showing a prehistoric Nort
31、h American cool down may only indicate a coastal phenomenon. “The study site is very close to the North Atlantic Ocean, and it is very likely that the climate change is primarily an oceanic signal,“ said Hans Renssen, a climate researcher at Vrije University in Amsterdam, who was not involved in the
32、 study. As for whether todays melt in Greenland could trigger another round of cooling, Renssen thinks its possible, but he doesnt believe the change would be as dramatic as last time. In fact, he said, any future cooling is likely to be overwhelmed by human-caused warming, “resulting in no cooling
33、in North America at all, only less warming than without the event. “ 6 Which of the following words is used metaphorically, NOT literally? （ A） Gripped(Paragraph One). （ B） Melting(Paragraph Two). （ C） Trigger(Paragraph Two). （ D） Dropped(Paragraph Three). 7 Tim Daley based his findings on the study
34、 of_. （ A） ancient moss （ B） North Americans temperature （ C） Greenlands ice sheet （ D） human-driven warming 8 According to the passage, what might drive the global temperature lower? （ A） Human activities. （ B） More emission of oxygen-18. （ C） Slow flow of the Gulf Stream. （ D） Cooling of Greenland
35、 and Europe. 9 It can be learned from Paragraph Four and Paragraph Five that_. （ A） different studies may reveal different aspects of the issue （ B） its still hard to predict the future of earths climate change （ C） no matter getting warmer or cooler, the climate is changing for sure （ D） what might
36、 happen along the coast is not likely to happen in other areas 10 Which of the following best describes the authors development of argument? （ A） Introducing the issueciting ways to deal with the issuedescribing the actual status offering the reasons. （ B） Introducing the issue providing the evidenc
37、efurthering the researchlisting all the possible explanations. （ C） Introducing the issuebringing forward the cont rast ideascomparing the differences making the final conclusion. （ D） Introducing the issuefinding supportive examplesapplying the solution to the problem telling the final result. 10 I
38、n the competitive model the economy of many sellers each with a small share of the total market the restraint on the private exercise of economic power was provided by other firms on the same side of the market. It was the eagerness of competitors to sell, not the complaints of buyers, that saved th
39、e latter from spoliation. It was assumed, no doubt accurately, that the nineteenth-century textile manufacturer who overcharged for his product would promptly lose his market to another manufacturer who did not. If all manufacturers found themselves in a position where they could exploit a strong de
40、mand, and mark up their prices accordingly, there would soon be an inflow of new competitors. The resulting increase in supply would bring prices and profits back to normal. As with the seller who was tempted to use his economic power against the customer, so with the buyer who was tempted to use it
41、 against his labor or suppliers, the man who paid less than the prevailing wage would lose his labor force to those who paid the worker his full(marginal)contribution to the earnings of the firm. In all cases the incentive to socially desirable behavior was provided by the competitor. It was to the
42、same side of the market the restraint of sellers by other sellers and of buyers by other buyers, in other words to competition that economists came to look for the self-regulatory mechanisms of the economy. They also came to look to competition exclusively and in formal theory still do. The notion t
43、hat there might be another regulatory mechanism in the economy had been almost completely excluded from economic thought. Thus, with the widespread disappearance of competition in its classical form and its replacement by the small group of firms if not in overt, at least in conventional or tacit, c
44、ollusion, it was easy to suppose that since competition had disappeared, all effective restraint on private power had disappeared. Indeed, this conclusion was all but inevitable if no search was made for other restraints, and so complete was the preoccupation with competition that none was made. In
45、fact, new restraints on private power did appear to replace competition. They were nurtured by the same process of concentration which impaired or destroyed competition. But they appeared not on the same side of the market but on the opposite side, not with competitors but with customers or supplier
46、s. It will be convenient to have a name for this counterpart of competition and I shall call it countervailing power. To begin with a broad and somewhat too dogmatically stated proposition, private economic power is held in check by the countervailing power of those who are subject to it. The first
47、begets the second. The long trend toward concentration of industrial enterprise in the hands of a relatively few firms has brought into existence not only strong sellers, as economists have supposed, but also strong buyers, a fact they have failed to see. The two develop together, not in precise ste
48、p, but in such manner that there can be no doubt that the one is in response to the other. 11 The word “ spoliation“ in the first paragraph probably means_. （ A） spoil （ B） loot （ C） restraint （ D） agitation 12 How is economic power applied when a manufacturer wants to hire more workers? （ A） He off
49、ers them welfare funds. （ B） He pays them according to their work. （ C） He provides free board and lodging. （ D） He gives them chances of getting promoted. 13 Economists didnt search for other restraints other than competition because_. （ A） they solely focused on competition （ B） they had no idea of other restraints （ C） they had more interest in competition （ D） other restraints were of little importance 14 What does the author think of other economists prediction about the outcomes of concentration? （ A） Th
