1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 25及答案与解析 0 To Get on the Same Page Sami Adwan is the very model of a soft-spoken professor. He measures his words, and listens carefully to what others have said. Yet while pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of San Francisco in the 1980s, Adwan not only refused to listen to Jewish stu
2、dents, he says but he dropped out of classes if he knew they included Jews. A Palestinian born in the village of Surif, near Hebron, Adwan had grown up under the shadow of the Israeli occupation, hearing tales from his father and grandfather of how Jews had seized the familys orange groves and wheat
3、 fields in 1948. Returning to his homeland with his degree, Adwan joined the then outlawed Fatah Party and was thrown into an Israeli jail in 1993. That was his real education. While awaiting charges, Adwan overheard two Israeli soldiers arguing over whether he should be made to sign a document in H
4、ebrew that he couldnt read. Shocked to hear one of his enemies defending his rights, Adwan decided that he had some things to learn about the Jewish nation. So much of the gulf in understanding that plagues the Middle East has to do with the willful disregard for the others point of view. Israelis r
5、efer to the 1948 conflict that gave birth to their nation as the War of Independence; Palestinians know it as the Nakba, or Catastrophe. What Israelis call “the riots of 1920“ when Palestinians attacked Jewish neighborhoods around Jerusalem and Jaffa are termed “the popular uprisings“ by the other s
6、ide. Adwan, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, has spent much of his professional career trying to bridge this gap. Together with Dan Bar-On, a social psychologist at Ben Gurion University in southern Israel, he now co-directs the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME). Since 2002 the
7、group has produced three booklets to use in Palestinian and Israeli high schools that force each side to confront a contradictory vision of history. Each page is divided into three: the Palestinian and Israeli narratives and a third section left blank for the pupil to fill in. “The idea is not to le
8、gitimize or accept the others narrative but to recognize it,“ Adwan says. “The historical dates may be the same, but the interpretation of each side is very different.“ Side by side, the divergent world views are striking. Zionism is described in the Israeli column as “a result of. the continuation
9、of anti-Semitism in Europe, the inspiration of other national movements, and the continual connection of the people of Israel to the land of Israel.“ It bears little resemblance to the “imperialist political movement that bestowed a nationalist characteristic to the Jews“ known to Palestinians. Educ
10、ators in other conflict-ridden societies are taking notice. Last year the Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution at Skopje University in Macedonia published their own parallel Macedonian-Albanian narratives based on PRIMEs model. “If the Israeli and Palestinian teachers managed to overcome
11、the incredible gap between themselves, we can do it here,“ says Skopje University professor Violeta Petroska- Beska. In France, Which suffers from its own tensions between Muslims and non- Muslims, the PRIME booklet “Learning the Others Narrative“ has sold more than 23,000 copies. Its also been tran
12、slated into English, Spanish, Italian, Catalan and Basque, and later this year will be produced in German. American educators in Virginia and Philadelphia have expressed interest in introducing the narratives into classes on conflict resolution. Closer to home, however, the text has had a harder tim
13、e. “When we established PRIME in 1998, we thought peace was around the corner,“ says Adwan. “Today both Dan and I know it was a wishful thinking.“ Shortly after the beginning of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000, Bar-On and Adwan found themselves stand on different sides of an Israeli checkpoi
14、nt near Bethlehem, begging soldiers to let them shift a couple of yards closer to each other so they could discuss the project. In 2004, right- wing Israeli Education Minister Limor Livnat threatened teachers with disciplinary action if they used the booklet. One West Bank teacher has given lessons
15、in her house for fear of reprisal and another, from a refugee camp near Jerusalem, was threatened by colleagues and parents for teaching what they called “normalization under occupation.“ Asked whether the booklets will ever be a part of the local school curriculum, Adwan shakes his head slowly, shr
16、ugs and looks out his office window. From there he has a fine view of the wall that snakes between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, dividing Israel from the West Bank. 1 According to the passage, Adwans real education took place _. （ A） in an Israeli jail （ B） in the village of Surif （ C） at Bethlehem Unive
17、rsity （ D） at the University of San Francisco 2 According to the passage, which of the following is the real cause of the gap in understanding in the Middle East? （ A） Different religions that they have. （ B） Indifference to each others point of view. （ C） Warfare that took place between Israel and
18、Palestine. （ D） Economic differences that separate Israel and Palestin 3 According to the passage, which of the following is the purpose of the booklets by PRIME? （ A） To force high school students to know better about their countrys history. （ B） To legitimize the interpretations of history by Isra
19、el and Palestine. （ C） To make known to each other their interpretations of history. （ D） To help each other accept the others interpretation of history. 4 According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the PRIME model? （ A） It is well received by many countries. （ B） Some confli
20、ct-ridden societies are following it. （ C） It works quite well in Israel and the West Bank. （ D） It can be used in classes on how to solve conflict. 5 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Adwan was _ about the relations between Israel and Palestine. （ A） confident （ B） indifferent （ C） op
21、timistic （ D） pessimistic 5 Lets Not Hide Health Costs We are awash in health-care proposals. President Bush has one. So does California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has a plan, as does a coalition led by Families USA (a liberal advocacy group) and Americas Health Insurance
22、Plans (a trade group). To some extent, all these plans and others aim to provide insurance to the estimated 47 million Americans who lack it a situation widely deplored as a national disgrace. But the real significance of all these proposals, I submit, lies elsewhere. For decades, Americans have tre
23、ated health care as if it exists in a separate economic and political world: when people need care, they should get it; costs should remain out of sight. About 60 percent of Americans receive insurance through their employers; to most workers, the full costs are unknown. The 65-and-older population
24、and many poor people receive government insurance. Except for modest Medicare premiums and payroll taxes, costs are largely buried in federal and state budgets. It is this segregation of health care from everything else that is now crumbling and the various health proposals are just one sign. We see
25、 others all the time. For example, even with employer-provided insurance, workers monthly premiums (which cover only part of the costs) have skyrocketed. From 1999 to 2006, they doubled from $129 to $248. Look at Massachusetts. Last year the then Gov. Mitt Romney made headlines by signing legislatio
26、n to cover all the states uninsured. The law required that everyone with incomes three times the federal poverty line buy “affordable“ insurance (people with incomes below that threshold would be subsidized on a sliding scale). Romney suggested annual premiums for a single worker might total $2,400.
27、 But when insurance companies recently provided real estimates, the cost was much higher: $4,560. Is it a sensible policy to force workers with a $30,000 income about triple the poverty line to spend nearly a sixth of their budget on health insurance, as opposed to food, rent or transportation? Good
28、 question. The hard questions wont sit still, because health care (now a sixth of the economy, up from an 11th in 1980) is too big to be hidden. Myths abound. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the doubling of premiums for employer-provided coverage doesnt mean companies shifted a greater share of cos
29、ts to workers. In both 1999 and 2006, premiums covered 27 percent of costs, says Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Its simply the rapid rise in total health spending thats depressed workers take-home pay. One myth about the uninsured is that, because theyre heavy users of eme
30、rgency-room services, providing them with insurance (and regular care) would actually lower their costs. This may be true for some but not most. The trouble is that the uninsured dont really use emergency rooms heavily. A study on the journal Health Affairs finds that their use is similar to that of
31、 people with private insurance and half that of people with Medicaid. The upshot is that extending insurance to all the uninsured would be costly, because they would get more and (presumably) better care. John Sheils of the Lewin Group estimates the annual cost of their care would rise 75 percent to
32、 $145 billion. Our health-care system will inevitably combine government regulation and private enterprise. But what should the mix be? Which patients, providers and technologies should be subsidized and why? How important is health care compared with other public and private goals? Will an expandin
33、g health-care sector spur the economy or, through high taxes and insurance premiums, retard it? We have refused to have this debate for obvious reasons. A friend of mine recently had a near-death experience; he survived only because he had superb medical care. Debating health care makes us queasy, b
34、ecause it pits moral imperatives (including the right to live) against coldhearted economics. I dont intend to examine at least now all the new proposals. Some would do better at some goals (say, protecting the poor) than at others (say, controlling costs). But the Bush proposal does have one huge v
35、irtue: it exposes health-care costs to the broad public. By not taxing employer-paid insurance, the government now provides a huge invisible subsidy to workers. Bush wouldnt end the subsidy, but by modifying it with specific deductions for insurance ($15,000 for families, $7,500 for singles), he wou
36、ld force most workers to see the costs. By contrast, some other proposals disguise their costs. Schwarzeneggers plan shifts costs to the federal government, doctors and hospitals. Its clever, but it perpetuates the illusion that health care is cheap or even free. However our health system evolves wi
37、th more government control or more market influence Americans need to come to a more realistic understanding of its limits. Underestimating its costs and exaggerating its benefits guarantees disappointment. If the present outpouring of proposals signals a start of our needed debate, then it is long
38、overdue. 6 According to the author, the real significance of health proposals is _. （ A） to solve health problems （ B） to show that health care is cheap （ C） to provide insurance to the uninsured （ D） to treat health care in a realistic way 7 Which of the following is NOT a sign that shows the prese
39、nt situation of Americans health care? （ A） The various health proposals. （ B） The various benefits it provides. （ C） The Massachusetts law by Mitt Romney. （ D） The increase of workers monthly premiums. 8 The word “upshot“ in paragraph six means _. （ A） myth （ B） effect （ C） outcome （ D） misundersta
40、nding 9 According to the passage, a big difference between the Bush proposal and the Schwarzenegger proposal is that _. （ A） the latter hides the health-care costs （ B） the former hides the health-care costs （ C） the latter does better at controlling costs （ D） the former does better at controlling
41、costs 10 What can be inferred from the passage about health care in America? （ A） American health care is cheap. （ B） The government can afford to pay health cost. （ C） Health care has become a problem to be heeded. （ D） Health care is not so serious as to affect the economy. 专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 25答案与解析
42、【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 由第一和第二段可知，爱德万在以色列监狱时，偶尔听到了两名以色列士兵的对话，改变了他对以色列人的看法。因此，他认为他的真正教育是在监狱里完成的。故 A为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 由第二段的第一句可知， 造成中东地区在理解上的鸿沟的原因是对他人的观点不管不顾，故 B为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 由第四段可知，编写小册子的目的不是使巴以双方对历史的诠释合法化 (B)，不是让双方接受彼此对历史的诠释 (D)，也不是使中学生更好地了解他们自己国家的历史 (A)，而是让
43、双方了解对方对历史的诠释 (C)。故 C为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 由第六段可知， PRIME模式在很多国家都受到了欢迎 (A)，一些遭受冲突困扰的国家 纷纷仿效这一模式 (B)，这一模式的叙事方式还可以用于如何解决冲突的课堂教学之中 (D)，然而该模式在以色列和约旦河西岸却遭到了反对。故C为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 由最后一段可知，当谈到小册子的未来时，爱德万摇摇头，耸耸肩，说明他对巴以的关系很悲观。故 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 作者在第一段结
44、尾说，健康提议的真正意义在于别处，并不是给未投保的人提供保险 (B)。在最后一 段，作者指出，应对卫生体制有一个现实的认识(D)。故 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 由第三和第四段可知，各种各样的健康提议只是反映美国卫生体制的一个信号 (A)，工人的月保费增长也是一个信号 (D)，还有马萨诸塞州的情况 (C)等等。故 B为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 第六段讲人们对未投保人的误区，认为未投保人大量使用急诊室服务，那么该误区的结果是给未投保人保险的代价是昂贵的。故 C为正确答案。 【知 识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 由第八段可知，布什提议与施瓦辛格提议的一个重要区别是，前者向人们揭示了健康的费用，使人们对该费用有一个清楚的认识，而后者虽然将费用转给了联邦政府、医生或医院，但却使人们对卫生保健产生幻想，认为其费用是低廉的。故 A是正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 从全文的分析可以得出如下结论，美国的卫生保健体制应引起人们的足够重视，而不是像人们想象的那样，费用低廉甚至是免费的。故 C为正确答案。 【知识模块 】 阅读
