1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 11及答案与解析 0 Except at night, they hardly ever have time together. He often sits alone in the house waiting for Julie tocome home. It would be nice to have kids to play with when one comes home from work. But, Oh, the houseis too small, Kappy-Pappy dear. We need to save and move to a bi
2、gger place before we can start a family. Kapsak never understands that. What does a big house have to do with having children? When he and Eka Udo had children, did they have a big house? But they died, didnt they? And the doctor later said something about cramped living conditions making it easy fo
3、r malaria to virtually wipe out his family. So maybe Julie has a point. All his children had died because of being cooped up in one room. All except Udo. Udo Kapsak would not ordinarily admit it but the truth is he misses the boy so much. Udos full-faced smile. His quirky-chirpy ways. His innocent p
4、robing manner. Oh Udo! Hell be approaching five now. Five! A big baby! Sighing noisily, Kapsak tries to put thoughts of his son out of his mind. He has not seen the boy for over three years. And maybe he has gone the way his brother and sisters went. No. Not likely. Awadamoto would have told him. Aw
5、adamoto. Its been a long time since Kapsak saw him. Throwing on a shirt, Kapsak hurries off to the taxi rank in the business district. “Kapsak, Kapsak!“ Awadamoto cheers as his childhood friend approaches. “Awadam0to! You have abandoned me! Use that word lightly, Kapsak. You know who has done the mo
6、st abandoning between me and you. “ But Awad, we live here in town together. “ “Blame that wife of yours. I did not go to school and I dont like going near peo- ple who make me remember that all the time. “Kapsak has it in mind to say something good about his wife, but something else jumps to his mo
7、uth. “Come Awad, what is Gestapo? Gestafo? No, Gestapo. “ Man, I dont know. Where did you hear it? Eh, I heard it somewhere. How is the village? Exactly as you left it. “ “And.“ “Eka Udo?“ “Yes. How is she? How does it concern you? Anyway, I heard some big chief from her mothers village has taken he
8、r for his third wife. “ “What about my son? Is it well with him? You would have known if you had bothered to go and check on him. Look, its my turn. “ Bawling out to passengers to climb into his ramshackle taxi, Awadamoto ambles off. It is pouring heavily when Julie returns. Outside, it is rain. Ins
9、ide, it is confusion. Kapsak is at first happy to see her back safely. Then his happiness turns to anger as she carries on about what an exciting time she had. Finally his anger succumbs to her gentle caresses and passion rules their world. Julie shoots out at first light. “Ive got to see someone ur
10、gently, Kappy-Pappy. “Kappy-Pappy, that is my name now, Kapsak laughs to himself as he shuffles off to the construction site where he manages to earn a few bucks. On his way into the main yard, he ducks out of the way of a fast-moving four-wheel drive vehicle driven by an expatriate. Cursing lightly
11、, he looks back to see the driver locked in a passionate kiss with a woman with luxuriant hair. “No wonder he nearly killed me!“Kapsak spits out. “Early morning and hes already.“ His mouth remains open but the words dry up like the water taps of the city. The woman with the expatriate turns momentar
12、ily, perhaps to pick up something from the backseat. In that instant. Kapsak sees clearly the woman for whom he had left his first wife and forsaken his family and people. But he does not see the earthmover in front of him. Neither does he hear its powerful horns. And the driver of the earthmover do
13、es not see Kapsak. By the time someone notices the crushed figure lying by the roadside, a blackening pool of blood has begun to seep into the earth. 1 According to the doctor, Kapsak and Eka Udos children （ A） died of a constant headache. （ B） died from a traffic accident. （ C） died of an infectiou
14、s malady. （ D） died from goods famine. 2 The phrase “cooped up“ in the second paragraph probably means （ A） mobilized. （ B） captivated. （ C） confined. （ D） shoved. 3 Which of the following statements is NOT true of Kapsaks life? （ A） Kapask came across Awadamoto. （ B） His friend, Awadamoto, doesnt l
15、ike Julie. （ C） Perhaps Julie is Kapsaks second wife. （ D） Kapask wasnt sure whether Udo is still alive. 4 All of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT that （ A） Kapask and Julie had extra marital affairs. （ B） Kapasks parents may not forgive him. （ C） Julie lied to Kapask about her
16、whereabouts. （ D） Julie and Kapask were blessed by his friends. 5 The best title for the passage would probably be （ A） Kapask and Julie. （ B） Death of Kapask. （ C） Love Affairs. （ D） Kapasks Children. 5 The romantic image of the trusty postman, delivering letters to the farthest-flung corners of th
17、e land, makes the reform of postal services a sensitive subject. This is especially true when the impetus for reform comes from the European Union. This month the European Parliament starts work on a directive, drawn up by the European Conmrission, to remove the last monopolies in postal markets by
18、2009 the final stage in a slow and laborious liberalisation that began in 1992. Directives in 1997 and 2002 chipped away at the centuries old monopolies enjoyed by national operators, and the proposed new law will open the whole market to competition by abolishing the“ reserved area“on mail weighing
19、 less than 50 grams. But although the legislative wheels are in motion, some countries are as skeptical as ever. The commission says it has deliberately pursued postal liberalisation at a slower pace than other market openings. This is partly due to its technical complexity. Unlike in telecoms, post
20、 has no physical network to share. Many countries had to create independent regulators from scratch in order to monitor market access and prices. The size of the heavily unionised postal industry also prompted caution. It employs some 5 million people directly and indirectly, and its turnover is rou
21、ghly 1% of Europes combined GDP. But arguably the biggest drag on liberalisation is old-fashioned resistance to open markets, plus a dash of reverence for letter writing. One opponent of the 2009 deadline talks of “a noble industry that we want to protect“ and lauds the virtues of pen and paper. All
22、 postal operators recognise, however, that the epistolary habit has taken a hit from the Internet. With deadening pragmatism, the commission says liberalisation will improve quality and choice and reduce state subsidies. Countries that have already opened their markets, such as Sweden and Britain, a
23、gree. Since Swedens Posten AB was privatised in 1993, prices for business customers have fallen by 30%, though they have risen for consumers. The postal network has been extended, with new outlets in supermarkets and longer opening hours. Proponents of reform argue that Sweden, which has one of the
24、lowest population densities in the EU, disproves the argument that rural countries cannot both have open markets and provide a standard service for everyone. But France, Spain, Italy and other countries worry that abolishing the “reserved area“ will damage this universal-service obligation. Last mon
25、th Franois Loos, Frances industry minister, said 2009 was “an indicative date“ for competition rather than a firm deadline. A spokesman for PostEurop, a lobby group representing European postal operators, says several countries would prefer a deadline of 2012 at the earliest, with the wholy implausi
26、ble argument that more time is needed to researeh the impact of liberalisation. The commission knows a delaying tactic when it sees one. Operators have had years to prepare for liber alisation. But some countries, such as Greece and Luxembourg, seem to want to protect their national monopolies at an
27、y eost. The attitudes of central European countries are more difficult to predict. Their governments supported the liberal services directive, which favoured their mobile, comparatively cheap workforces, but have expressed doubts about opening protected home markets to competition. Incumbents may ha
28、ve less to fear from competition than they think, however. In countries with open markets, the former monopolists have remained dominant. In Britain the Royal Mail has 96.5% of the mar ket; in Sweden Posten AB has 91.5%. Regulators do not expect big changes in either country. Indeed, some advocates
29、of liberalisation worry that open postal markets will fail to attraet new entrants and that elimi- nating the reserved area will not guarantee competition. The debate over market opening is an opportunity to find out what people really want from their postal services and a chance to rethink how they
30、 work, says Michael Critelli, the boss of Pitney Bowes, a company that makes postal equipment and software. Some people might, for example, choose to have domestic mail delivered to their offices on weekdays, he suggests. But such innovations will happen only if national governments can be discourag
31、ed from stamping the commissions proposals “return to sender“. 6 The phrase “chipped away at“ in the first paragraph probably means （ A） appealed. （ B） repealed. （ C） aggravated. （ D） consolidated. 7 All of the following are reasons of slow-paced reform of postal services EXCEPT （ A） preference to l
32、etter writing. （ B） disapproval of open markets. （ C） attachment to monopolies. （ D） technological problems of postal services. 8 Which of the following is NOT true of European countries attitude to the reform? （ A） Some countries welcome the reform. （ B） Some countries play the role of skeptics. （
33、C） Some countries are in a state of indecision. （ D） Some countries try to meet the deadline. 9 Innovations in postal services might appear when （ A） the countries lose their hearts. （ B） the eommission makes a compromise. （ C） the reform is carried out. （ D） the proposal is modified. 10 Which of th
34、e Mlowing can best summarize the passage? （ A） The reform of postal services is undergoing in Europe. （ B） Protectionism hampers the reform of Europes postal services. （ C） Monopolies of postal services are to be broken up. （ D） The European market of postal services is open to competition. 专业英语八级（阅
35、读）练习试卷 11答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 细节题。根据题干中的 doctor及 Kapsak mad Eka Udo定位至第二段，第五句指出： the doctor later said something about cramped living conditions making it easy for malaria to virtually wipe out his tamily. 这里明确提到他的孩子死亡的原因是 malaria(疟疾 )，故 C为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 语义题。由题干定位到第二段。第
36、二段第七句指出： All his children had died because of being cooped tlp in one room. 第五句提到 “拥挤的生活条件 ”。此外，首段末句中的 We need to save and move to a bigger place和本段第六句的 “也许 Julie有些道理 ”也表明 cooped up意思是 “被禁 锢 ”，故 C为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 细节题。 根据题目顺序定位至第三、四段。第四段倒数第二句提到： Blaine that wife of yours I dont like g
37、oing near people ， B符合文意。首段第二句提到 Kapask等着 Julie回家，而第 二段第三句指出： When he and Eka Udo had children ，这里使用的是过去时，可以判断 C符 合文意。第三段第二句指出：他已经三年多没见到 Udo了，也许他和哥哥姐姐命运一样。从 第二段可知 Kapask的其他孩子已经死了，故 D符合文意。第四段首 句提到： Kapsak hurries off to the taxi rank in the business district，显然他是去找 Awadamoto，而不是偶遇，故 A为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 4
38、 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 推断题。倒数第二段末句指出： Kapsak sees elearly the woman for whom he had left his first wife and forsaken his family and people，既然抛弃家庭和亲人，说明 A和 B符合文意。第六段第 八句提到 Julie说的话 “Ive got to see someone urgently”，可见 C符合文意。 D未提及，无 依据，故为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 主旨题。本文为记叙文，中间有很多描述内容，虽然文章多次提到Julie，但文章
39、重点是有关 Kapsak的内容，排除 A。本文并未记叙或描述两人的恋爱史，排除 C。孩子也不是文章 记叙的重点，排除 D。本文最后以 Kapask被车撞死结尾，前面 的记叙和描写内容都是为此 做铺垫，故 B为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 语义题。开篇首句提到文章主题 “邮政业改革 ”。第三句指出改革的具体内容：本月欧洲议会开始启动欧洲委员会起草的一项指令，期望到 2009年废除邮政市场的所有垄断。之后对改革做出具体阐释：这标志着始于 1992年、经年累月的自由化进程进入了尾声。由此可以判断，本题所在句子中提到的 1997年和2002年颁布的
40、指令应该是对 “国有运营商享有了数百 年之久的垄断权 ”不利，这 与后面的 “这次新发布的指令提出要立法取消重量在 50克以内邮件的专营领域(reserved area) 相呼应，符合逻辑关系。四个选项中只有 repeal意为 “废除 ”，与will open the whole market to eompetition by abolishing the“reserved area” 中的abolish为同义词，故为选项。 appeal意为 “上诉，求助，呼吁 ”，与上下文不相关，这里是利用与答案词形相近构成干扰，排除 A。 aggravate意为 “加重 ”，consolidate意为
41、“巩固 ”，这两个词与上下文语义矛盾，排除。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 细节题。由题干中的 slow-paced定位至第二段。首句指出：欧委会称其是有意放慢 (相比其他市场 )邮政市场自由化进程。之后说明第一个原因：technical complexity(邮政业在技术上的复杂性 )，故 D符合文意。该段倒数第二句提到第二个原因：邮政从业人员的超大规模也引起了有关方面对自由化的担心。接下来，第四段首句指出自由化进程缓慢的最主要原因：保守人士对市场开放的抵触以及一定程度上 对书信的看重。 A和 B符合文意，只有 C“对垄断的依恋 ”没有提及，为过度推断，故为答案。
42、【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。根据试题顺序及选项中提到的 some eountries定位至提及欧洲各国的第四、五段。第四段首句指出：瑞典、英国等已经开放邮政市场的国家同意这一看法。这一看法是指前文中提到的 “自由化将改进 (邮政 )服务质量，增加服务多样性，并能减少国家补贴 ”的观点，可见，它们是支持邮政业改革的， A符合文意。第五段首句指出：不过，法国、西班牙、意大 利和其他一些国家担心取消 “专营领域 ”会不利于履行这一 “普及服务 ”义务。由此可知，一些国家对邮政业改革持怀疑态度， B符合文意。第六段最后两句提到中欧国家的态度：他们 的政府拥护自由化指
43、令，可他们对开放受保护的国内市场却又迟疑不决。可见 C符合文意。第五段末句提到 “有好几个国家希望把最后期限最早定到 2012年，他们认为需要更多时间来调查自由化的影响 ”， D与此矛盾，故为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 细节题。根据题干中的： innovation定位至末段末句 。最后两旬指出：比如有些人可能会选择在工作日 (周一至周六 )时让寄往家里的信件直接送到办公室，不过只有欧委会的自由化提议在各国政府那里不会 “吃到闭门羹 ”，这种新业务才会出现。此处 return to sender意为 “不买谁的账 ”，该部分的意思是各国政府不买欧委会的账拒绝接
44、受改革建议的做法受到阻碍，即自由化提议获得通过，改革得以进行，故 C为答案。 A是对 diseouraged的曲解； B及 D未提及，排除。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 主旨题。文章开篇提及 “邮政业改革已成为一个敏感的话题 ”，之后对该项改革进行了简要介绍，末句指出：虽然立法已纳入议事日程，但有些国家仍然持怀疑态度。第二段及第三段 分析自由化进程进展缓慢的几个原因：技术问题、雇员人数问题、对市场开放的抵触和对书信的看重。第四、五、六段分别介绍了欧洲各国对改革持有的不同态度。最后两段试图打消 “邮政业在职人员担心竞争 ”的顾虑。可以看出本文的重点在于说明欧洲各国对于改革的担心，文章没有明确说明改革是否能够进行下去，而 C和 D则直接给出改革的结果，与文章不符，排除。 A是一个笼统概念，范围过大， 排除。 B“贸易保护主义阻碍欧洲邮政业改革 ”言简意赅，说明改革受阻的原因，符合全文主旨，故为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读
