1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 5及答案与解析 0 We live in southern California growing grapes, a first generation of vintners, our home adjacent to the vineyards and the winery. Its a very pretty place, and in order to earn the money to realize our dream of making wine, we worked for many years in a business that demanded
2、 several household moves, an incredible amount of risk-taking and long absences from my husband. When it was time, we traded in our old life, cinched up our belts and began the creation of the winery. We make small amounts of premium wine, and our lives are dictated by the rhythm of nature and file
3、demands of the loving vines. The vines start sprouting tiny green tendrils in March and April, and the baby grapes begin to form in miniature, so perfect that they can be dipped in gold to form jewelry. The grapes swell and ripen in early fall, and when their sugar content is at the right level, the
4、y are harvested carefully by hand and crushed in small lots. The wine is fermented and tended until it is ready to be bottled. The vines shed their leaves and are pruned and made ready for the dormant months and the next vintage. It sounds nice, doesnt it? Living in the country, our days spent in th
5、e ancient routine of the vineyard, knowing that the course of our lives as vintners was choreographed long age and that if we practiced diligently, our wine would be good and we would be successful. From the start we knew there was a price for the privilege of becoming a wine-aking family, connected
6、 to the land and the caprices of nature. We work hard at something we love, we are slow to panic over the daily emergencies. We are nimble at solving problems as they arise. Some hazards to completing a successful vintage are expected: rain just before harvesting can cause mold; electricity unexpect
7、edly interrupted during the cold fermentation of white wine can damage it; a delayed payment from a major client when the money is needed. There are outside influences that disrupt production and take patience, good will and perseverance. For example, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regu
8、lates every facet of the wine business. A winerys records are audited as often as two or three times a year and every label newly written for each years vintage must be approved. But the greatest threat to the winery, and one that almost made us lose heart, came out of a lawyers imagination. Our lit
9、tle winery was served notice that we were named in a lawsuit accusing us of endangering the public health by using lead foils on our bottles (it was the only material used until recently) “without warning consumers of a possible risk. “ There it was, out“ winerys name listed with the industrys giant
10、s. I must have asked a hundred times: “Who gets the money if the lawsuit is successful?“ The answer was, and I never was able to assimilate it, the plaintiffs and their lawyers who filed the suit! Since the lawsuit was brought on behalf of consumers, it seemed to me that consumers must get something
11、 if it was proved that a lead foil was dangerous to them. We were told one of the two consumer claimants was an employee of the firm filing the suit! There are attorneys who focus their careers on lawsuits like this. It is an immense danger to the small businessman. Cash reserves can be used up in t
12、he blink of an eye when in the company of lawyers. As long as its possible for anyone to sue anybody for anything, we are all in danger. As long as the legal profession allows members to practice law dishonorably and lawyers are congratulated for winning big money in this way, well all be plagued wi
13、th a corruptible justice system. 1 The grapes are harvested on a date that （ A） may vary. （ B） is traditionally set. （ C） depends on the approval of the regulatory bureau. （ D） is determined by the availability of the pickers. 2 According to the author, the life of vintners is most controlled by （ A
14、） the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. （ B） unexpected changes in temperature. （ C） the sugar content of the grapes. （ D） the tempo of the seasons. 3 What dose the word “dormant“ in Paragraph 2 mean? （ A） Long lasting. （ B） Active. （ C） Latent. （ D） Temporary. 4 The writer complains that whe
15、n she questioned the lawyers, she （ A） never got an answer. （ B） never got a simple answer. （ C） makes no sense of the answer she got. （ D） misunderstands the answer she got. 5 The writer thinks that the legal profession （ A） strives to protect consumers. （ B） connives at the dishonorable practice.
16、（ C） does a good job of policing its members. （ D） is part of an incorruptible system. 5 For about three centuries we have been doing science, trying science out, using science for the construction of what we call modern civilization. Every dispensable item of contemporary technology, from canal loc
17、ks to dial telephones to penicillin, was pieced together from the analysis of data provided by one or another series of scientific experiments. Three hundred years seems a long time for testing a new approach to human development long enough to settle back for critical appraisal of the scientific me
18、thod, maybe even long enough to vote on whether to go on with it or not. There is an argument. Voices have been raised in protest since the beginning, rising in pitch and violence in the nineteenth century during the early stages of the industrial revolution, summoning urgent crowds into the streets
19、 any day these days on the issue of nuclear energy. Give it back, say some of the voices, it doesnt really work, wed tried it and it doesnt work, go back three hundred years and start again on something else less chancy for the race of man. The principal discoveries in this century, taking all in al
20、l, are the glimpses of the depth of our ignorance about nature. Things that used to seem clear and rational, matters of absolute certainty Newtonian mechanics, for example have slipped through our fingers, and we are left with a new set of gigantic puzzles, cosmic uncertainties, ambiguities; some of
21、 the laws of physics are amended every few years, some are canceled outright, some undergo revised versions of legislative intent as if they were acts of Congress. Just thirty years ago we call it a biological revolution when the fantastic geometry of the DNA molecule was exposed to public view and
22、the linear language of genetics was decoded. For a while, things seemed simple and clear, the cell was a neat little machine, a mechanical device ready for taking to pieces and reassembling, like a tiny watch. But just in the last few years it has become almost unbelievably complex, filled with stra
23、nge parts whose functions are beyond todays imagination. It is not just that there is more to do, there is everything to do. What lies ahead, or what can lie ahead if the efforts in basic research are continued, is much more than the conquest of human disease or the improvement of agricultural techn
24、ology or the cultivation of nutrients in the sea. As we learn more about fundamental processes of living things in general we will learn more about ourselves. 6 What cant be inferred from the first paragraph? （ A） Many valuable items were produced in the past. （ B） Man supports scientific progress u
25、nanimously. （ C） Some held hostile attitude toward science in the past. （ D） Three hundred years is not long enough in science. 7 The principal discovery in this century shows （ A） man has overthrown Newtons laws of physics. （ B） man has solved a new set of gigantic puzzles. （ C） man has lost many s
26、cientific discoveries. （ D） man has given up some of the once accepted theories. 8 In the past few years, scientists have found （ A） man has much to learn about DNA （ B） the exposure of DNA to the public is unnecessary. （ C） the tiny cell in DNA is a neat little machine. （ D） man knows nothing about
27、 DNA 9 The writers main purpose in writing this passage is to tell that science （ A） has greatly improved mans life （ B） is just at its beginning （ C） has made profound progress （ D） has done too little to human beings 10 The writers attitude towards science is probably （ A） indifferent. （ B） critic
28、al. （ C） approving. （ D） neutral. 专业 英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 5答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 推断题。根据第二段第三句 “when their sugar content is at the right level， they are harvested carefully by hand and crushed in small lots.”可知收获的日期依赖葡萄的含糖量，所以选 A“不确定 ”。而 B传统上固定的 ”； C“依赖审查局的批准 ”； D“由采摘葡萄的人决定 ”，都不符合文意。 【知识模块】 阅读 2
29、【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。第二段提到 “our lives are dictated by the rhythm of nature”(大自然的节奏 (变动决定我们的生活 )， D“大自然的节奏 ”其实就是 “自然规律 ”，符合题意。 A是外界干扰因素； B“意外的天气变化 ”不起决定性作用；C“葡萄的含糖量 ”决定葡萄是否成熟。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 推断题。第二段最后一句介绍了葡萄从落叶、停止生长到下一 年收获的自然过程，依照逻辑推断 dormant month是指葡萄的生长休眠期，因此C“休眠的 ”符合题意。 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确
30、答案】 C 【试题解析】 推断题。根据题干定位于第七段，根据第二句 “The answer was，and I never was able to assimilate it”( 这个回答是 ，但我从没有弄明白过 )，故 C“不明白她得到的答案的意思 ”符合题意。而 A“从没得到答案 ”， B“从没得到明确的答案 ”和 D“误解她所得到的答案 ”都不符 合 assimilate的意思。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 细节题。最后一段指出，只要法律允许律师的不诚实行为，助长只为赚钱不顾正义的腐败风气，我们都会是这种腐败法律体系的受害者。可知，现在的法律纵容了不诚实行为，
31、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】 细节题。第一段谈的是在过去的 300年里，人们不断地研发、尝试和利用科学，以此建立起了现代文明， A符合文意；每一项的发明都需要一系列科学实验，每一种促进人类进步的新途径都需要长时间的验证讨论后方可达成一致，也就是说，人类在支持科学进步上并不是统一的， B与文意不符，故为答案；根据文中 “critical appraisal of the scientific method ， ”可柞出 C；根据第三句和第四句可推出 D。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 D 【 试题解析】 细节题。从第二段后半部
32、分推断， A“人类已推翻了牛顿物理理论 ”不符合文意，文中没用 overthrow一词； B“人类已解决一组重大难题 ”文中未提； C“人类已失去了很多科学发现 ”文中也没表述； D“人类已经放弃了一些以前接受的理论 ”符合文中的 “some are canceled outright”，故为答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 推断题。第三段是关于 DNA的发现，人们以为已经认识了这种细胞，但在最近几年发现这种细胞复杂得难以想象，也就是 说，人们还需要对 DNA加深了解，故选 A。 B“对公众展示 DNA没有必要 ”显然不正确，且文中未提及； C是旧有的、不完全的认识； D过于绝对。 【知识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 推断题。根据最后一段作者的结论推断，人类在科学发展方面还需要做大量的研究，这只是一个开始，故选 B。而 A“大大改善了人类的生活 ”；C“已经取得长足的进步 ”和 D “对人类贡献太少 ”都不是作者要论述的内容。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 C 【 试题解析】 态度题。从全文来看，作者论述了科学的发展和认识是无止境的，人类需要不断地探索，所以作者的态度是 “支持的 ”，应选 C。 A“漠不关心的 ”；B“批判的 ”和 D“中立的 ”都不合文意。 【知识模块】 阅读
