英语专业八级考试阅读理解练习
专八英语阅读
专八英语阅读.英语专业八级考试TEM-8阅读理解练习册（1）(英语专业2012级)UNIT 1Text AEvery minute of every day, what ecologist生态学家James Carlton calls a global “conveyor belt”, redistributes ocean organisms生物.It’s planetwide biological disruption生物的破坏that scientists have barely begun to understand.Dr. Carlton —an oceanographer at Williams College in Williamstown,Mass.—explains that, at any given moment, “There are several thousand marine species traveling… i n the ballast water of ships.” These creatures move from coastal waters where they fit into the local web of life to places where some of them could tear that web apart. This is the larger dimension of the infamous 无耻的，邪恶的invasion of fish-destroying, pipe-clogging zebra mussels有斑马纹的贻贝.Such voracious贪婪的invaders at least make their presence known. What concerns Carlton and his fellow marine ecologists is the lack of knowledge about the hundreds of alien invaders that quietly enter coastal waters around the world every day. Many of them probably just die out. Some benignly亲切地，仁慈地—or even beneficially —join the local scene. But some will make trouble.In one sense, this is an old story. Organisms have ridden ships for centuries. They have clung to hulls and come along withcargo. What’s new is the scale and speed of the migrations made possible by the massive volume of ship-ballast water压载水—taken in to provide ship stability—continuously moving around the world…Ships load up with ballast water and its inhabitants in coastal waters of one port and dump the ballast in another port that may be thousands of kilometers away. A single load can run to hundreds of gallons. Some larger ships take on as much as 40 million gallons. The creatures that come along tend to be in their larva free-floating stage. When discharged排出in alien waters they can mature into crabs, jellyfish水母, slugs鼻涕虫，蛞蝓, and many other forms.Since the problem involves coastal species, simply banning ballast dumps in coastal waters would, in theory, solve it. Coastal organisms in ballast water that is flushed into midocean would not survive. Such a ban has worked for North American Inland Waterway. But it would be hard to enforce it worldwide. Heating ballast water or straining it should also halt the species spread. But before any such worldwide regulations were imposed, scientists would need a clearer view of what is going on.The continuous shuffling洗牌of marine organisms has changed the biology of the sea on a global scale. It can have devastating effects as in the case of the American comb jellyfish that recently invaded the Black Sea. It has destroyed that sea’s anchovy鳀鱼fishery by eating anchovy eggs. It may soon spread to western and northern European waters.The maritime nations that created the biological “conveyor belt” should support a coordinated international effort to find out what is going on and what should be done about it. (456 words)1.According to Dr. Carlton, ocean organism’s are_______.A.being moved to new environmentsB.destroying the planetC.succumbing to the zebra musselD.developing alien characteristics2.Oceanographers海洋学家are concerned because_________.A.their knowledge of this phenomenon is limitedB.they believe the oceans are dyingC.they fear an invasion from outer-spaceD.they have identified thousands of alien webs3.According to marine ecologists, transplanted marinespecies____________.A.may upset the ecosystems of coastal watersB.are all compatible with one anotherC.can only survive in their home watersD.sometimes disrupt shipping lanes4.The identified cause of the problem is_______.A.the rapidity with which larvae matureB. a common practice of the shipping industryC. a centuries old speciesD.the world wide movement of ocean currents5.The article suggests that a solution to the problem__________.A.is unlikely to be identifiedB.must precede further researchC.is hypothetically假设地，假想地easyD.will limit global shippingText BNew ‘Endangered’ List Targets Many US RiversIt is hard to think of a major natural resource or pollutionissue in North America today that does not affect rivers.Farm chemical runoff残渣, industrial waste, urban storm sewers, sewage treatment, mining, logging, grazing放牧,military bases, residential and business development, hydropower水力发电,loss of wetlands. The list goes on.Legislation like the Clean Water Act and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act have provided some protection, but threats continue.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported yesterday that an assessment of 642,000 miles of rivers and streams showed 34 percent in less than good condition. In a major study of the Clean Water Act, the Natural Resources Defense Council last fall reported that poison runoff impairs损害more than 125,000 miles of rivers.More recently, the NRDC and Izaak Walton League warned that pollution and loss of wetlands—made worse by last year’s flooding—is degrading恶化the Mississippi River ecosystem.On Tuesday, the conservation group保护组织American Rivers issued its annual list of 10 “endangered” and 20 “threatened” rivers in 32 states, the District of Colombia, and Canada.At the top of the list is the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, whereCanadian mining firms plan to build a 74-acre英亩reservoir 水库，蓄水池as part of a gold mine less than three miles from Yellowstone National Park. The reservoir would hold the runoff from the sulfuric acid 硫酸used to extract gold from crushed rock.“In the event this tailings pond failed, the impact to th e greater Yellowstone ecosystem would be cataclysmic大变动的，灾难性的and the damage irreversible不可逆转的.” Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Environment and PublicWorks Committee, wrote to Noranda Minerals Inc., an owner of the “ New World Mine”.Last fall, an EPA official expressed concern about the mine and its potential impact, especially the plastic-lined storage reservoir. “ I am unaware of any studies evaluating how a tailings pond尾矿池，残渣池could be maintained to ensure its structural integrity forev er,” said Stephen Hoffman, chief of the EPA’s Mining Waste Section. “It is my opinion that underwater disposal of tailings at New World may present a potentially significant threat to human health and the environment.”The results of an environmental-impact statement, now being drafted by the Forest Service and Montana Department of State Lands, could determine the mine’s future…In its recent proposal to reauthorize the Clean Water Act, the Clinton administration noted “dramatically improved water quality since 1972,” when the act was passed. Bu t it also reported that 30 percent of riverscontinue to be degraded, mainly by silt泥沙and nutrients from farm and urban runoff, combined sewer overflows, and municipal sewage城市污水. Bottom sediments沉积物are contaminated污染in more than 1,000 waterways, the administration reported in releasing its proposal in January. Between 60 and 80 percent of riparian corridors (riverbank lands) have been degraded.As with endangered species and their habitats in forests and deserts, the complexity of ecosystems is seen in rivers and the effects of development----beyond the obvious threats of industrial pollution, municipal waste, and in-stream diversions改道to slake消除the thirst of new communities in dry regions like the Southwes t…While there are many political hurdles障碍ahead, reauthorization of the Clean Water Act this year holds promise for US rivers. Rep. Norm Mineta of California, who chairs the House Committee overseeing the bill, calls it “probably the most important env ironmental legislation this Congress will enact.” (553 words)6.According to the passage, the Clean Water Act______.A.has been ineffectiveB.will definitely be renewedC.has never been evaluatedD.was enacted some 30 years ago7.“Endangered” rivers are _________.A.catalogued annuallyB.less polluted than “threatened rivers”C.caused by floodingD.adjacent to large cities8.The “cataclysmic” event referred to in paragraph eight would be__________.A. fortuitous偶然的，意外的B. adventitious外加的，偶然的C. catastrophicD. precarious不稳定的，危险的9. The owners of the New World Mine appear to be______.A. ecologically aware of the impact of miningB. determined to construct a safe tailings pondC. indifferent to the concerns voiced by the EPAD. willing to relocate operations10. The passage conveys the impression that_______.A. Canadians are disinterested in natural resourcesB. private and public environmental groups aboundC. river banks are erodingD. the majority of US rivers are in poor conditionText CA classic series of experiments to determine the effects ofoverpopulation on communities of rats was reported in February of 1962 in an article in Scientific American. The experiments were conducted by a psychologist, John B. Calhoun and his associates. In each of these experiments, an equal number of male and female adult rats were placed in an enclosure and given an adequate supply of food, water, and other necessities. The rat populations were allowed to increase. Calhoun knew from experience approximately how many rats could live in the enclosures without experiencing stress due to overcrowding. He allowed the population to increase to approximately twice this number. Then he stabilized the population by removing offspring that were not dependent on their mothers. He and his associates then carefully observed and recorded behavior in these overpopulated communities. At the end of their experiments, Calhoun and his associates were able to conclude that overcrowding causes a breakdown in the normal social relationships among rats, a kind of social disease. The rats in the experiments did not follow the same patterns of behavior as rats would in a community without overcrowding.The females in the rat population were the most seriously affected by the high population density: They showed deviant异常的maternal behavior; they did not behave as mother rats normally do. In fact, many of the pups幼兽，幼崽, as rat babies are called, died as a result of poor maternal care. For example,mothers sometimes abandoned their pups,and, without their mothers' care, the pups died. Under normal conditions, a mother rat would not leave her pups alone to die. However, the experiments verified that in overpopulated communities, mother rats do not behave normally. Their behavior may be considered pathologically 病理上，病理学地diseased.The dominant males in the rat population were the least affected by overpopulation. Each of these strong males claimed an area of the enclosure as his own. Therefore, these individuals did not experience the overcrowding in the same way as the other rats did. The fact that the dominant males had adequate space in which to live may explain why they were not as seriously affected by overpopulation as the other rats. However, dominant males did behave pathologically at times. Their antisocial behavior consisted of attacks on weaker male,female, and immature rats. This deviant behavior showed that even though the dominant males had enough living space, they too were affected by the general overcrowding in the enclosure.Non-dominant males in the experimental rat communities also exhibited deviant social behavior. Some withdrew completely; they moved very little and ate and drank at times when the other rats were sleeping in order to avoid contact with them. Other non-dominant males were hyperactive; they were much more active than is normal, chasing other rats and fighting each other. This segment of the rat population, likeall the other parts, was affected by the overpopulation.The behavior of the non-dominant males and of the other components of the rat population has parallels in humanbehavior. People in densely populated areas exhibit deviant behavior similar to that of the rats in Calhoun's experiments. In large urban areas such as New York City, London, Mexican City, and Cairo, there are abandoned children. There are cruel, powerful individuals, both men and women. There are also people who withdraw and people who become hyperactive. The quantity of other forms of social pathology such as murder, rape, and robbery also frequently occur in densely populated human communities. Is the principal cause of these disorders overpopulation? Calhoun’s experiments suggest that it might be. In any case, social scientists and city planners have been influenced by the results of this series of experiments.11. Paragraph l is organized according to__________.A. reasonsB. descriptionC. examplesD. definition12．Calhoun stabilized the rat population_________.A. when it was double the number that could live in the enclosure without stressB. by removing young ratsC. at a constant number of adult rats in the enclosureD. all of the above are correct13.W hich of the following inferences CANNOT be made from theinformation inPara. 1?A. Calhoun's experiment is still considered important today.B. Overpopulation causes pathological behavior in rat populations.C. Stress does not occur in rat communities unless there is overcrowding.D. Calhoun had experimented with rats before.14. Which of the following behavior didn’t happen in this experiment?A. All the male rats exhibited pathological behavior.B. Mother rats abandoned their pups.C. Female rats showed deviant maternal behavior.D. Mother rats left their rat babies alone.15. The main idea of the paragraph three is that __________.A. dominant males had adequate living spaceB. dominant males were not as seriously affected by overcrowding as the otherratsC. dominant males attacked weaker ratsD. the strongest males are always able to adapt to bad conditionsText DThe first mention of slavery in the statutes法令，法规of the English colonies of North America does not occur until after 1660—some forty years after the importation of the first Black people. Lest we think that existed in fact before it did in law, Oscar and Mary Handlin assure us, that the status of B lack people down to the 1660’s was that of servants. A critique批判of the Handlins’ interpretation of why legal slavery did not appear until the 1660’s suggests that assumptions about the relation between slavery and racial prejudice should be reexamined, and that explanation for the different treatment of Black slaves in North and South America should be expanded.The Handlins explain the appearance of legal slavery byarguing that, during the 1660’s, the position of white servants was improving relative to that of black servants. Thus, the Handlins contend, Black and White servants, heretofore treated alike, each attained a different status. There are, however, important objections to this argument. First, the Handlins cannot adequately demonstrate that t he Whit e servant’s position was improving, during and after the 1660’s; several acts of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures indicate otherwise. Another flaw in the Handlins’ interpretation is their assumption that prior to the establishment of legal slavery there was no discrimination against Black people. It is true that before the 1660’s Black people were rarely called slaves. But this should not overshadow evidence from the 1630’s on that points to racial discrimination without using the term slavery. Such discrimination sometimes stopped short of lifetime servitude or inherited status—the two attributes of true slavery—yet in other cases it included both. The Handlins’ argument excludes the real possibility that Black people in the English colonies were never treated as the equals of White people.The possibility has important ramifications后果，影响.If from the outset Black people were discriminated against, then legal slavery should be viewed as a reflection and an extension of racial prejudice rather than, as many historians including the Handlins have argued, the cause of prejudice. In addition, the existence of discrimination before the advent of legal slavery offers a further explanation for the harsher treatment of Black slaves in North than in South America. Freyre and Tannenbaum have rightly argued that the lack of certain traditions in North America—such as a Roman conception of slavery and a Roman Catholic emphasis on equality—explains why the treatment of Blackslaves was more severe there than in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of South America. But this cannot be the whole explanation since it is merely negative, based only on a lack of something. A more compelling令人信服的explanation is that the early and sometimes extreme racial discrimination in the English colonies helped determine the particular nature of the slavery that followed. (462 words)16. Which of the following is the most logical inference to be drawn from the passage about the effects of “several acts of the Maryland and Virginia legisla tures” (Para.2) passed during and after the 1660’s?A. The acts negatively affected the pre-1660’s position of Black as wellas of White servants.B. The acts had the effect of impairing rather than improving theposition of White servants relative to what it had been before the 1660’s.C. The acts had a different effect on the position of white servants thandid many of the acts passed during this time by the legislatures of other colonies.D. The acts, at the very least, caused the position of White servants toremain no better than it had been before the 1660’s.17. With which of the following statements regarding the status ofBlack people in the English colonies of North America before the 1660’s would the author be LEAST likely to agree?A. Although black people were not legally considered to beslaves,they were often called slaves.B. Although subject to some discrimination, black people had a higherlegal status than they did after the 1660’s.C. Although sometimes subject to lifetime servitude, black peoplewere not legally considered to be slaves.D. Although often not treated the same as White people, black people,like many white people, possessed the legal status of servants.18. According to the passage, the Handlins have argued which of thefollowing about the relationship between racial prejudice and the institution of legal slavery in the English colonies of North America?A. Racial prejudice and the institution of slavery arose simultaneously.B. Racial prejudice most often the form of the imposition of inheritedstatus, one of the attributes of slavery.C. The source of racial prejudice was the institution of slavery.D. Because of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, racialprejudice sometimes did not result in slavery.19. The passage suggests that the existence of a Roman conception ofslavery in Spanish and Portuguese colonies had the effect of _________.A. extending rather than causing racial prejudice in these coloniesB. hastening the legalization of slavery in these colonies.C. mitigating some of the conditions of slavery for black people in these coloniesD. delaying the introduction of slavery into the English colonies20. The author considers the explanation put forward by Freyre andTannenbaum for the treatment accorded B lack slaves in the English colonies of North America to be _____________.A. ambitious but misguidedB. valid有根据的but limitedC. popular but suspectD. anachronistic过时的，时代错误的and controversialUNIT 2Text AThe sea lay like an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr’s Island. Tall, kingly spruce s wore their regal 王室的crowns of cones high in air, sparkling with diamonds of clear exuded gum流出的树胶; vast old hemlocks铁杉of primeval 原始的growth stood darkling in their forest shadows, their branches hung with long hoary moss久远的青苔;while feathery larches羽毛般的落叶松,turned to brilliant gold by autumn frosts, lighted up the darker shadows of the evergreens. It was one of those hazy朦胧的, calm, dissolving days of Indian summer, when everything is so quiet that the fainest kiss of the wave on the beach can be heard, and white clouds seem to faint into the blue of the sky, and soft swathing一长条bands of violet vapor make all earth look dreamy,and give to the sharp, clear-cut outlines of the northern landscape all those mysteries of light and shade which impart such tenderness to Italian scenery.The funeral was over,--- the tread鞋底的花纹/ 踏of many feet, bearing the heavy burden of two broken lives, had been to the lonely graveyard, and had come back again,--- each footstep lighter and more unconstrained不受拘束的as each one went his way from the great old tragedy of Death to the common cheerful of Life.The solemn black clock stood swaying with its eternal “tick-tock, tick-tock,” in the kitchen of the brown house on Orr’s Island. There was there that sense of a stillness that can be felt,---such as settles down on a dwelling住处when any of its inmates have passed through its doors for the last time, to go whence they shall not return. The best room was shut up and darkened, with only so much light as could fall through a little heart-shaped hole in the window-shutter,---for except on solemn visits, or prayer-meetings or weddings, or funerals, that room formed no part of the daily family scenery.The kitchen was clean and ample, hearth灶台, and oven on one side, and rows of old-fashioned splint-bottomed chairs against the wall. A table scoured to snowy whiteness, and a little work-stand whereon lay the Bible, the Missionary Herald, and the Weekly Christian Mirror, before named, formed the principal furniture. One feature, however, must not be forgotten, ---a great sea-chest水手用的储物箱,which had been the companion of Zephaniah through all the countries of the earth. Old, and battered破旧的，磨损的, and unsightly难看的it looked, yet report said that there was good store within which men for the most part respect more than anything else; and, indeed it proved oftenwhen a deed of grace was to be done--- when a woman was suddenly made a widow in a coast gale大风，狂风, or a fishing-smack小渔船was run down in the fogs off the banks, leaving in some neighboring cottage a family of orphans,---in all such cases, the opening of this sea-chest was an event of good omen 预兆to the bereaved丧亲者;for Zephaniah had a large heart and a large hand, and was apt有…的倾向to take it out full of silver dollars when once it went in. So the ark of the covenant约柜could not have been looked on with more reverence崇敬than the neighbours usually showed to Captain Pennel’s sea-chest.。
2023专八英语中级阅读习题及解析
2023专八英语中级阅读习题及解析2023专八英语中级阅读习题及解析1. The best title for this passage is ___________[A]The Age of Reason[C]The Value of Reason[D]Stirring People’s Minds2. According to the author, it is always advisable to ___________[A]have opinions which cannot be refuted.[B]adopt the point of view to which one feels the most inclination.[C]be acquainted with the arguments favoring the point of view with which one disagrees,3. According to the author, in a great period such as the Renaissance we may expect to find ___________[A]acceptance of truth[B]controversy over principles[C]inordinate enthusiasm[D]a dread of heterodox speculation4. According to the author, the person who holds orthodox beliefs without examination may be described in all of the following ways EXCEPT as ___________[A]enslaved by tradition[B]less than fully rational[C]determinded on controversy[D]having a closed mind5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements ___________[A]A truly great thinker makes no mistakes.[B]Periods of intellectual achievement are periods of unorthodox reflection,[C]The refutation of accepted ideas can best be provided by one’s own teachers.[D]excessive controversy prevents clear thinking,Vocabulary1. stature 高度，境界，状况2. heterodox 不符合公认的标准的，异端的，异教的3. tacit 心照不宣4. refute 反驳5. adversary 对立面，对手，敌人6. plausible 擅长花言巧语的/辞令的，似乎有理的/有可能的7. doctrine 教义，学说8. profess 表示，明言，成认，自称，信奉难句译注1. True gains more even by the errors of one who with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, then by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.[参考译文] 真理甚至从一个经过恰当研究和准备进展独立考虑的人的错误中获得更多的东西，而从那些只是因为不予考虑却持有正确的观点中获得的少(一种经过恰当的研究和准备进展独立考虑的人犯的错误，另一种人是不予考虑的却持有正确的观点，真理从前者错误中获得的东西比从后者的正确观点中获得的要多)。
英语专八阅读理解练习附答案
英语专八阅读理解练习附答案英语专八阅读理解练习附答案篇一Racket, din clamor, noise, whatever you want to call it, unwanted sound is America’s most widespread nuisance. But noise is more than just a nuisance. It constitutes a real and present danger topeople’s health. Day and night, at home, at work, and at play, noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress. No one is immune to this stress. Though we seem to adjust to noise by ignoring it, the ear, in fact, never closes and the body still responds—sometimes with extreme tension, as to a strange sound in the night. The annoyance we feel when faced with noise is the most common outward symptom of the stress building up inside→← us. Indeed, because irritability is so apparent, legislators have made public annoyance the basis of many noise abatement programs. The more subtle and more serious health hazards associated with stress caused by noise traditionally have been given much less attention. Nevertheless, when we are annoyed or made irritable by noise, we should consider these symptoms fair warning that other thing may be happening to us, some of which may be damaging to our health.Of many health hazards to noise, hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by health professionals. The other hazards are harder to pin down. For many of us, there may be a risk that exposure to the stress of noise increases susceptibility to disease and infection. The more susceptible among us may experience noise as a complicating factor in heart problems and other diseases. Noisethat causes annoyance and irritability in health persons may have serious consequences for these already ill in mind or body.Noise affects us throughout our lives. For example, there areindications of effects on the unborn child when mothers are exposedto industrial and environmental noise. During infancy and childhood, youngsters exposed to high noise levels may have trouble falling asleep and obtaining necessary amounts of rest.Why, then, is there not greater alarm about these dangers? Perhaps it is because the link between noise and many disabilities or diseases has not yet been conclusively demonstrated. Perhaps it is because we tend to dismiss annoyance as a price to pay for living in the modern world. It may also be because we still think of hearing loss as only an occupational hazard.1.In Paragraph 1, the phrase immune to are used to mean ___.A.unaffected byB.hurt byC.unlikely to be seen byD.unknown by2.The author’s attitude toward noise would best be described as ___.A.unrealisticB.traditionalC.concernedD.hysterical3.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?A.Noise is a major problem; most people recognize its importance.B.Although noise can be annoying, it is not a major problem.C.Noise is a major problem and has not yet been recognized as such.D.Noise is a major problem about which nothing can be done.4.The author condemns noise essentially because it ___.A.is against the lawB.can make some people irritableC.is a nuisanceD.in a ganger to people’s health5.The author would probably consider research about the effects noise has on people to be ___.possible.C.a waste of moneyD.essential答案：ACCDD英语专八阅读理解练习附答案篇二Joy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the world, but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? It turns out that the expression of many emotions may be universal. Smiling is apparently a universal sign of friendliness and approval. Baring the teeth in a hostile way, asnoted by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century, may be a universe sign of anger. As the originator of the theory of evolution, Darwin believed that the universal recognition of facial expressions would have survival value. For example, facial expressions could signal the approach of enemies (or friends) in the absence of language.Most investigators concur that certain facial expressions suggest the same emotions in a people. Moreover, people in diverse cultures recognize the emotions manifested by the facial expressions. In classic research Paul Ekman took photographs of people exhibiting the emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness. He then asked people around the world to indicate what emotions were being depicted in them. Those queried ranged from European college studentsto members of the Fore, a tribe that dwells in the New Guinea highlands. All groups including the Fore, who had almost no contact with Western culture, agreed on the portrayed emotions. The Fore also displayed familiar facial expressions when asked how they would respond if they were the characters in stories that called for basic emotional responses. Ekman and his colleagues morerecently obtained similar results in a study of ten cultures in which participants were permitted to report that multiple emotions were shown by facial expressions. The participants generally agreed on which two emotions were being shown and which emotion was more intense.Psychological researchers generally recognize that facial expressions reflect emotional states. Infact, various emotional states give rise to certain patterns of electrical activity in the facial muscles and in the brain. The facial-feedback hypothesis argues, however, that the causal relationship between emotions and facial expressions can also work in the opposite direction. According to this hypothesis, signals from the facial muscles ("feedback") are sent back to emotion centers of the brain, and so a person's facial expression can influence that person's emotional state.ConsiderDarwin's words: "The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the otherhand, the repression, as far as possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions." Can smiling giverise to feelings of good will, for example, and frowning to anger?Psychological research has given rise to some interestingfindings concerning the facial-feedback hypothesis. Causing participants in experiments to smile, for example, leads them to report morepositive feelings and to rate cartoons (humorous drawingsof people or situations) as being morehumorous. When they are caused to frown, they rate cartoons as being more aggressive.What are the possible links between facial expressions and emotion? One link is arousal, which is the level of activity or preparedness for activity in an organism. Intense contraction of facial muscles,such as those used in signifying fear, heightens arousal. Self-perception of heightened arousal then leads to heightened emotional activity. Other links may involve changes in brain temperature and the release of neurotransmitters (substances that transmit nerve impulses.) The contraction of facial muscles both influences the internal emotional state and reflects it. Ekman has found that theso-called Duchenne smile, which is characterized by "crow's feet" wrinkles around the eyes and asubtle drop in the eye cover fold so that the skin above the eye moves down slightly toward theeyeball, can lead to pleasant feelings.Ekman's observation may be relevant to the British expression "keep a stiff upper lip" as are commendation for handling stress. It might be that a "stiff" lip suppresses emotional response-as long as the lip is not quivering with fear or tension. But when the emotion that leads to stiffening the lip is more intense, and involves strong muscle tension, facial feedback may heighten emotional response.1. The word despondent in the passage is closest in meaning toA curiousB unhappyC thoughtfulD uncertain2. The author mentions "Baring the teeth in a hostile way" in order toA differentiate one possible meaning of a particular facial expression from other meanings of itB upport Darwin's theory of evolutionC provide an example of a facial expression whose meaning is widely understoodD contrast a facial expression that is easily understood with other facial expressions3. The word concur in the passage is closest in meaning toA estimateB agreeC expectD understand4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following was true of the Fore people ofNew Guinea?A They did not want to be shown photographs.B They were famous for their story-telling skills.C They knew very little about Western culture.D They did not encourage the expression of emotions.5. According to the passage, what did Darwin believe would happen to human emotions that werenot expressed?A They would become less intense.B They would last longer than usual.C They would cause problems later.D They would become more negative.参考答案：B C B C A。
专业八级英语考试阅读理解练习题及答案
专业八级英语考试阅读理解练习题及答案专业八级英语考试阅读理解练习题及答案不吃饭则饥，不读书则愚。
以下是店铺为大家搜索整理专业八级英语考试阅读理解练习题及答案，希望对正在关注的您有所帮助!“I have great confidence that by the end of the decade we’ll know in vast detail how cancer cells arise,” says microbiologist Robert Weinberg, an expert on cancer. “But,” he cautions, “some people have the idea that once one understands the causes, the cure will rapidly follow. Consider Pasteur, he discovered the causes of many kinds of infections, but it was fifty or sixty years before cures were available.”This year, 50 percent of the 910,000 people who suffer from cancer will survive at least five years. In the year 2000, the National Cancer Institute estimates, that figure will be 75 percent. For some skin cancers, the five-year survival rate is as high as 90 percent. But other survival statistics are still discouraging -- 13 percent for lung cancer, and 2 percent for cancer of the pancreas.With as many as 120 varieties in existence, discovering how cancer works is not easy. The researchers made great progress in the early 1970s, when they discovered that oncogenes, which are cancer-causing genes, are inactive in normal cells. Anything from cosmic rays to radiation to diet may activate a dormant oncogene, but how remains unknown. If several oncogenes are driven into action, the cell, unable to turn them off, becomes cancerous.The exact mechanisms involved are still mysterious, but the likelihood that many cancers are initiated at the level of genes suggests that we will never prevent all cancers. “Changes are a normal part of the evolutionary process,” says oncologist William Hayward. Environmental factors can never be totallyeliminated; as Hayward points out, “We can’t prepare a medici ne against cosmic rays.”The prospects for cure, though still distant, are brighter.“First, we need to understand how the normal cell controls itself. Second, we have to determine whether there are a limited number of genes in cells which are always responsible for at least part of the trouble. If we can understand how cancer works, we can counteract its action.”习题1.The example of Pasteur in the passage is used to ________.[A] predict that the secret of cancer will be disclosed in a decade[B] indicate that the prospects for curing cancer are bright[C] prove that cancer will be cured in fifty to sixty years[D] warn that there is still a long way to go before cancer can be conquered2. The author implies that by the year 2000, ________.[A] there will be a drastic rise in the five-year survival rate of skin-cancer patients[B] 90 percent of the skin-cancer patients today will still be living[C] the survival statistics will be fairly even among patients with various cancers[D] there won’ t be a drastic increase of survival rate of all cancer patients3. Oncogenes are cancer-causing genes ________.[A] that are always in operation in a healthy person[B] which remain unharmful so long as they are not activated[C] that can be driven out of normal cells[D] which normal cells can’t turn off4. The word “dormant” in the third paragraph most probably means ________.[A] dead[B] ever-present[C] inactive[D] potential全文翻译“我有极大的信心相信到这个十年期结束时我们将会详尽地知晓癌细胞的生成原因，”一位癌症专家和微生物学家罗伯特•温伯格说道。
英语专业八级（阅读理解）练习试题及答案
英语专业八级（阅读理解）练习试题及答案一、问答题（共7题，共70分）1.As Gilbert White，Darwin ， and others observed long ago，all species appear to have theinnate capacity to increase their numbers from generation to generation. The task forecologistsis to untangle the environmentaand biologicalfactorsthat hold this intrinsiccapacity for poppation growth in check over the long run. The great variety of dynamicbehaviorsexhibitedby differentpoppationmakes thistaskmore difficpt：sompoppations remain roughly constant from year to year; others exhibit regpar cycles ofabundance and scarcity; still others vary wildly， with outbreaks and crashes that arein some cases plainly correlated with the weather， and in other cases not.To impose some order on this kaleidoscopeof patterns ， one school of thought proposespiding poppations into two groups. These ecologists posit that the relatively steadypoppations havedensity-dependent growth parameters; that is， rates ofbirth ， death ，and migrationwhich depend strongly on poppation density. The highly varying poppationshave density-independent growth parameters， with vital rates buffeted by environmentalevents ;these rates fluctuate in a way that is wholly independent of poppationdensity.This dichotomy has its uses， but it can cause problems if taken too literally. Forone thing ， no poppation can be driven entirely by density-independent factors all thetime. No matter how severely or unpredictably birth， death ， and migration rates may befluctuatingaroundtheirlong-termaverages ， ifthere were nodensity-dependenteffects ，the poppationwopd ， in the long run ， eitherincrease or decrease without bound (barringa miracle by which gains and losses canceled exactly)。
英语专业八级考试阅读试题及答案详解
英语专业八级考试阅读试题及答案详解英语专业八级考试阅读试题及答案详解The Result of the Falling US DollarLike a ticking time bomb, the falling dollar has grabbed the attention of Japan and West Germany, forcing them to consider adopting economic polices the United States advocates. The U.S. gover____ent wants the dollar to fall because as the dollar declines in value against the yen and Deutsche mark, U.S. good bees cheaper. U.S. panies then sell more at home and abroad, and U.S. trade deficit declines. Cries for trade protection abate, and the global free-trade system is preserved.Then, the cheaper dollar makes it cheaper for many foreign investors to snap up U.S. stocks. That prompts heavy buying from abroad—especially from Japan. Also, if the trade picture is improving, that means U.S. panies eventually will be more petitive. Consequently, many investors are buying shares of export-orientedU.S. panies in anticipation of better profits in the next year or so. But that is a rather faddish notion right now; if corporate earnings are disappointing in interest rates, the stock market rally could stall.Improving U.S. petitiveness means a decline in another’s petitiveness.Japan and West Germany are verging on recession. Their export-oriented economies are facing major problems. Japan is worried about the damage the strong yen will do to Japanese trade. West Germany is also worried. Share prices in Frankfurt plummeted this past week. Bonn is thought to be considering a cut in interest rates to boost its economy.1. What is the main idea of this passage?[A] The impression of the falling U.S. dollar.[B] The result of the U.S. falling dollar.[C] The side effect of U.S. falling dollar.[D] Japan and West Germany are worried about U.S. falling dollar.2. What does the word “rally” mean.[A] prosperity. [B] decline. [C] richness. [D] import.3. Why are Japan and West Germany worried aboutthe falling dollar?[A] Because the falling dollar may cause inflation in their countries.[B] Because it may force them to sell a lot of U.S, stocks.[C] Because it may do damage to their trade.[D] Because it may make Japanese pany lesspetitive.4. If dollar-falling got out of hand, and the U.S. Federal Reserve might step in , what would happen?[A] The prosperity of the U.S. economy would disappear.[B] The U.S. economy might face serious problems.[C] Investors might lose confidence in U.S. investments.[D] Inflation could flare up.答案详解：1. B.美元下跌的结果。
专八阅读训练10篇(含答案)
精读原文：Passage 1 The Law to Keep the Oil Industry under ControlThe Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control.A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers.But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long.As on Norwegian politician said last week: "We will soon be changed beyond all recognition."Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a programme of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle. During the past few years this programme has had a great deal of success: Tromso has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and a healthy industry.But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins.The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad.The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers andfishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it, because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian.And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea.【阅读练习题】1.The Norwegian Government would prefer the oil industry to[A] provide more jobs for foreign workers.[B]slow down the rate of its development.[C] sell the off it is producing abroad.[D] develop more quickly than at present.2.The Norwegian Government has tried to[A] encourage the off companies to discover new off sources.[B]prevent oil companies employing people from northern Norway.[C] help the oil companies solve many of their problems.[D] keep the off industry to something near its present size.3.According to the passage, the off industry might lead northern Norway to[A] the development of industry.[B]a growth in population.[C] the failure of the development programme.[D] the development of new towns.4.In the south, one effect to the development of the oil industry might be[A] a large reduction on unemployment.[B]a growth in the tourist industry.[C] a reduction in the number of existing industries.[D] the development of a number of service industries.5.Norwegian farmers and fishermen have an important influence because[A] they form such a large part of Norwegian ideal.[B]their lives and values represent the Norwegian ideal.[C] their work is so useful to the rest of Norwegian society.[D] they regard off as a threat to the Norwegian way of life.1-5BDCCBPassage 2 TV's HarmfulnessYes, but what did we use to do before there was television? How often we hear statements like this!Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never fond it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events.We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the goggle box. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme.We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do一anything, providing it down't interfere with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention.If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost.The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set.It doesn't matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectaclesof sadism and violence一so long as they are quiet.There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well.When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in preliterate communities. We become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world.We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be s splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other.We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.【阅读词汇学习】1.What is the biggest harm of TV?[A] It deprives people of communication with the real world.[B]People become lazy.[C] People become dependent on second-hand experience.[D] TV consumes a large part of one' s life.2.In what way can people forget TV?[A] Far away from civilization.[B]To a mountain.[C] By the sea.[D] In quiet natural surroundings.3.What does a mother usually do to keep her children quiet?[A] Let them watch the set.[B]Put them in the living room.[C]Let them watch the rubbish.[D]Let them alone.4.What does the first sentence in the first paragraph mean?[A] We found it difficult to occupy our spare time.[B]We become addicted to TV[C] What we used to do is different from now.[D] We used to enjoy civilized pleasures.1-4ADABPassage 3 Strictly Ban smokingIf you smoke and you still don't believe that there's a definite link between smoking and bronchial troubles, heart disease and lung cancer, then you are certainly deceiving yourself. No one will accuse you of hypocrisy. Let us just say that you are suffering from a bad case of wishful thinking.This needn't make you too uncomfortable because you are in good company. Whenever the subject of smoking and health is raised, the governments of most countries hear no evil, see no evil and smell no evil. Admittedly, a few governments have taken timid measures.In Britain for instance, cigarette advertising has been banned on television. The conscience of the nation is appeased, while the population continues to puff its way to smoky, cancerous death.You don' t have to look very far to find out why the official reactions to medical findings have been so lukewarm. The answer is simply money. Tobacco is a wonderful commodity to tax. It' s almost like a tax on our daily bread.In tax revenue alone, the government of Britain collects enough from smokers to pay for its entire educational facilities. So while the authorities point out ever so discreetly that smoking may, conceivable, be harmful, it down't do to shout too loudly about it.This is surely the most short-sighted policy you could imagine. While money is eagerly collected in vast sums with one hand, it is paid out in increasingly vaster sums with the other. Enormous amounts are spent on cancer research and on efforts to cure people suffering from the disease.Countless valuable lives are lost. In the long run, there is no doubt that everybodywould be much better-off if smoking were banned altogether.Of course, we are not ready for such a drastic action. But if the governments of the world were honestly concerned about the welfare of their peoples, you'd think they'd conduct aggressive anti-smoking campaigns. Far from it! The tobacco industry is allowed to spend staggering sums on advertising.Its advertising is as insidious as it is dishonest. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning. That would never do. The advertisement always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. They suggest it is manly to smoke, even positively healthy!Smoking is associated with the great open-air life, with beautiful girls, true love and togetherness. What utter nonsense!For a start, governments could begin by banning all cigarette and tobacco advertising and should then conduct anti-smoking advertising campaigns of their own. Smoking should be banned in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants. Great efforts should be made to inform young people especially of the dire consequences of taking up the habit. A horrific warning say, a picture of a death's head should be included in every packet of cigarettes that is sold. As individuals, we are、certainly weak, but if governments acted honestly and courageously, they could protect us from ourselves.【阅读练习题】1.Why do a few governments take timid measures toward smoking?[A] because they are afraid of people.[B]Because diseases cost a lot.[C] Because they are afraid of the cutting down of their revenue.[D] Because they are afraid of manufacturers.2.The tone of this passage is[A] critical.[B]ironical.[C]distaste.[D]amusm3.What does the sentence "because you are in good company" mean?[A] you are backed by the government.[B]You are not alone.[C] You have good colleagues.[D] Governments are blind to evils of smoking too.4.What is the best title of this passage?[A] World Governments should conduct serious campaigns against smoking.[B]World governments take timid measures against smoking.[C] smoking is the most important source of income to many countries.[D] tobacco industry spends a large sum of money on medical research. 1-4 CBDAPassage 4 On the President's ProgramPresident Arling has put his long awaited economic restructuring program before the Congress. It provides a coordinated program of investment credits, research grants, education reforms, and changes designed to make American industry more competitive. This is necessary to reverse economic slide into unemployment, lack of growth, and trade deficits that have plagued the economy for the past six years.The most liberal wing of the President' s party has called for stronger and more direct action.They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuild industry behind a wall of protective tariffs.The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in the President' s program.They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money has to be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending.Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It is not simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increased production for those able to master it.But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it with permanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself up to the leading stage of technological advances, then it will not be able to compete effectively. If it cannot do this, no amount of government protectionism or access to foreign markets can keep it profitable for long.Without the profits and experience of technological excellence to reinvest, that industry can only fall still further behind its foreign competitors.So the crux is the technology and that is where the President' s program focused. The danger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left will distort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economic restructuring plan should be passed intact.If we fail to restructure our economy now, we may not get a second chance.【阅读练习题】1.The focus of the President' s program is on[A]investment.[B]economy.[C] technology.}D} tax.2.What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party?[A] They want a more direct action.[B]They want an incomes policy to check inflation.[C]They want to rebuild industry.[D]They want a wall of protective tariffs.3.What is the editor' s attitude?[A] support.[B]distaste.[C] Disapproval.[D] Compromise.4.The danger to the plan lies in[A] the two parties'objection.[B]different idea of the two parties about the plan.[C] its passage.[D1 distortion.5.The passage is[A] a review.[B]a preface.[C] a advertisement.[D1 an editorial.1-5 CAADDPassage 5 MulesAlthough the top men in smuggling business must work together, most of a syndicate's small fry, especially the mules, know only their immediate contacts. If caught there is little they can give away.A mule probably will not even know the name of the person who gives him his instructions, nor how to get in touch with him. Usually he even does not know the person to whom he has to make delivery.He will be told just to sit tight in a certain hotel or bar until someone contacts him. In this way if he is blown, coming through airport customs he cannot unwittingly lead agents to the next link in the chain.All the persons at the receiving end do is to hang around the airport among the waiting crowd, and see that the mule comes through safely. If he does not, he is dimply written off as a loss.To make identification of mules easier, several syndicates have devised their own "club ties" so that a mule wearing one can immediately be picked out.Mules often receive careful training before embarking on their first journey. One Beirut organization, for example, uses a room with three airline seats in it. There the trainee mules sit for hours on end wearing weighted smuggling vests beneath their clothes, so that they become accustomed to standing up after a long flight in a natural way, and without revealing what they are carrying.An outfit in Brussels maintained a comfortable apartment where the mules could relax and get a firm grip on themselves on the night before their first journey; they were helped to dress before setting out for the airport in the morning. More often than not a courier will not know precisely where he is going or what flight number isuntil he is actually handed his tickets at the airport.This prevents the careless boast in some bar or to a girl friend the night before.Mules occasionally run off with the goods to keep the profit themselves. As insurance against this, a syndicate often sends a high-up on the same plane to keep a wary eye on couriers, particularly new ones. Even then things can go badly wrong. One international currency smuggler who was having trouble getting money out of Britain was offered help by a group of men who said they were in a position to "fix thing"一for a fee of course. Foolishly, the smuggler agreed to accept their help.When he got to London's Heathrow Airport, he handed over to one of the men a black suitcase containing nearly $90,000 in cash, destined for Frankfurt. Just to keep an eye on things, the smuggler went along on the same plane. When they landed at Frankfurt he was handed back his suitcase.He beat a straight path to the men's toilet, opened the case, and found only old clothes. The courier had switched suitcase en route, but the smuggler could hardly run to the police and complain that "the man who was smuggling money out of England for me has stolen it."【阅读练习题】1.What is a "mule"?[A] A person who sends smuggling goods for a syndicate is called mule.[B]A person in charge of smuggling goods is called mule.[C] A person who makes delivery for a syndicate is called mule.[D] A person who receives instructions from a smuggler is called mule.2.The sentence "if he is blown" in line (6) is closest in meaning to[A] if he is arrested.[B]if he is recognized, but not necessarily arrested.[C] if he is recognized and arrested.[D] if he runs away.3.Why does the author give an example in the last paragraph?[A] To show how a smuggler is caught.[B]To show a smuggler is afraid of the police.[C] To show to keep a wary eye on couriers is useless.[D] To show mules may keep the profit for themselves.4.how does a mule work?[A] Jointly.[B]Independently.[C] consciously.[D] Separately.1-4 CBDDPassage 6 Contribution of CoeducationImagining being asked to spend twelve or so years of your life in a society which consisted only of members of own sex. How would you react? Unless there was something definitely wrong with you, you wouldn't be too happy about it, to say the least. It is all the more surprising therefore that so many parents in the world choose to impose such abnormal conditions on their children conditions which they themselves wouldn't put up with for one minute!Any discussion of this topic is bound to question the aims of education. Stuffing children's heads full of knowledge is far from being foremost among them. One of the chief aims of educations is to equip future citizens with all they require to take their place in adult society.Now adult society is made up of men and women, so how can a segregated school possibly offer the right sort of preparation for it?Anyone entering adult society after years of segregation can only be in for a shock.A co-educational school offers children nothing less than a true version of society in miniature. Boys and girls are given the opportunity to get to know each other, to learn to live together from their earliest years.They are put in a position where they can compare themselves with each other in terms of academic ability, athletic achievement and many of the extra-curricular activities which are part of school life.What a practical advantage it is(to give just a small example)to be able to put on a school play in which the male parts will be taken by boys and the female parts by girls! What nonsense co-education makes of the argument that boys are cleverer than girl or vice-versa.When segregated, boys and girls are made to feel that they are a race apart. Rivalry between the sexes is fostered.In a coeducational school, everything falls into its proper place. But perhaps the greatest contribution of co-education is the healthy attitude to life it encourages.Boys don't grow up believing that women are mysterious creatures一airy goddesses, more like book-illustrations to a fairy-tale, than human beings. Girls don't grow up imagining that men are romantic heroes.Years of living together at school dispel illusions of this kind. There are no goddesses with freckles, pigtails, piercing voices and inky fingers. There are no romantic heroes with knobbly knees, dirty fingernails and unkempt hair. The awkward stage of adolescence brings into sharp focus some of the physical and emotional problems involved in growing up. These can better be overcome in a co-educational environment.Segregated schools sometimes provide the right conditions for sexual deviation. This is hardly possible under a co-educational system. When the time comes for the pupils to leave school, they are fully prepared to enter society as well-adjusted adults.They have already had years of experience in coping with many of the problems that face men and women.【阅读练习题】1.What is the best title for this passage?[A] only co-education can be in harmony with society.[B]people are in great need of co-education.[C] any form of education other than co-education is simply unthinkable.[D] co-education has many features.2.what does co-education offer to children?[A] A society.[B]A true small model of society.[C] A real life.[D] 1}ue version of social condition.3.According to the passage, what is one of the chief aims of education?[A] It is for students to acquire knowledge.[B]It is to equip future citizens with scientific technology.[C] It is to equip future citizens with what is required in getting a position in society.[D] It is for students to get academic achievements.4.Why do boys and girls in co-education have no illusion about each other?[A] They live together and know each other too well.[B]Years of living together at school dismiss such illusion.[C] co-education encourage them to have an healthy attitude toward life.[D] They are familiar with each other' s problems.CBCBPassage 7 Antarctica and EnvironmentAntarctica has actually become a kind of space station a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world' s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet 一a concern they believe the world at large should share.The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the "east" of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. "West" of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious "dry valley" of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea.Now the glaciers are gone,perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulderssculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry a message of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.【阅读练习题】1.What is the best title for this passage?[A] Antarctica and environmental Problems.[B]Antarctica: Earth' s Early-Warning station.[C] Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.[D] Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.2.What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?[A] The western part of the continent would be disappeared.[B]The western part of the continent would be reduced.[C] The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands.[D] The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands.3.Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?[A] Vicious wind blasts the snow away.[B]It rarely snows.[C] Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind.[D] Sand dunes.4.Which of the following is true?[A]The "Dry Valleys" have nothing left inside.[B]The "Dry Valleys" never held glaciers.[C]The "Dry Valleys"may carry a message of hope for the verdant.[D]The "Dry Valleys"are useless to scientists.ADCCPassage 8 The Neutrality of American in the Early World War IIThe establishment of the Third Reich influenced events in American history by starting a chain of events which culminated in war between Germany and the United States. The compete destruction of democracy, the persecution of Jews, the war on religion, the cruelty and barbarism of the Nazis, and especially the plans of Germany and her allies, Italy and Japan, for world conquest caused great indignation in this country and brought on fear of another world war.While speaking out against Hitler' s atrocities, the American people generally favored isolationist policies and neutrality.The Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1936 prohibited trade with any belligerents or loans to them. In 1937 the President was empowered to declare an arms embargo in wars between nations at his discretion.American opinion began to change somewhat after President Roosevelt' s "quarantine the aggressor" speech at Chicago (1937) in which he severely criticized Hitler' s policies. Germany's seizure of Austria and the Munich Pact for the partition of Czechoslovakia (1938) also aroused the American people.The conquest of Czechoslovakia in March, 1939 was another rude awakening to the menace of the Third Reich. In August,1939 came the shock of the Nazi-soviet Pact and in September the attack on Poland and the outbreak of European war.The United States attempted to maintain neutrality in spite of sympathy for the democracies arrayed against the Third Reich. The Neutrality Act of 1939 repealed the arms embargo and permitted "cash and carry" exports of arms to belligerent nations. A strong national defense program was begun.A draft act was passed (1940) to strengthen the military services. A Lend Act (1941)authorized the President to sell, exchange, or lend materials to any country deemed necessary by him for the defense of the United States. Help was given to Britain by exchanging certain overage destroyers for the right to establish American bases in British territory in the Western Hemisphere. In August, 1940 President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met and issued the Atlantic Charter which proclaimed the kind of a world which should be established after the war.In December, 1941, Japan launched the unprovoked attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor.Immediately thereafter, Germany declared war on the United States.【阅读练习题】l.One item occurring before 1937 that the author does not mention in his list of actions that alienatedthe American public was[A] the burning of the Reichstag.[B]German plans for conquest.[D] Nazi barbarism.[D] the persecution of religious groups.2.The Lend-Lease Act was designed to[A] help the British.[B]strengthen the national defense of the United States.[C] promote the Atlantic Charter.[D] avenge Pearl Harbor.。
专八阅读训练10篇(含答案)
精读原文：Passage 1 The Law to Keep the Oil Industry under ControlThe Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control. A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers.But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long.As on Norwegian politician said last week: "We will soon be changed beyond all recognition."Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a programme of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle. During the past few years this programme has had a great deal of success: Tromso has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and a healthy industry.But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins.The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad.The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers and fishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it, because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian.And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea.【阅读练习题】1.The Norwegian Government would prefer the oil industry to[A] provide more jobs for foreign workers.[B]slow down the rate of its development.[C] sell the off it is producing abroad.[D] develop more quickly than at present.2.The Norwegian Government has tried to[A] encourage the off companies to discover new off sources.[B]prevent oil companies employing people from northern Norway.[C] help the oil companies solve many of their problems.[D] keep the off industry to something near its present size.3.According to the passage, the off industry might lead northern Norway to[A] the development of industry.[B]a growth in population.[C] the failure of the development programme.[D] the development of new towns.4.In the south, one effect to the development of the oil industry might be[A] a large reduction on unemployment.[B]a growth in the tourist industry.[C] a reduction in the number of existing industries.[D] the development of a number of service industries.5.Norwegian farmers and fishermen have an important influence because[A] they form such a large part of Norwegian ideal.[B]their lives and values represent the Norwegian ideal.[C] their work is so useful to the rest of Norwegian society.[D] they regard off as a threat to the Norwegian way of life.1-5BDCCBPassage 2 TV's HarmfulnessYes, but what did we use to do before there was television? How often we hear statements like this!Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never fond it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events.We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the goggle box. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme.We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do一anything, providing it down't interfere with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention.If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost.The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set.It doesn't matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectacles of sadism and violence一so long as they are quiet.There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well.When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in preliterate communities. We become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world.We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be s splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other.We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.【阅读词汇学习】1.What is the biggest harm of TV?[A] It deprives people of communication with the real world.[B]People become lazy.[C] People become dependent on second-hand experience.[D] TV consumes a large part of one' s life.2.In what way can people forget TV?[A] Far away from civilization.[B]To a mountain.[C] By the sea.[D] In quiet natural surroundings.3.What does a mother usually do to keep her children quiet?[A] Let them watch the set.[B]Put them in the living room.[C]Let them watch the rubbish.[D]Let them alone.4.What does the first sentence in the first paragraph mean?[A] We found it difficult to occupy our spare time.[B]We become addicted to TV[C] What we used to do is different from now.[D] We used to enjoy civilized pleasures.1-4ADABPassage 3 Strictly Ban smokingIf you smoke and you still don't believe that there's a definite link between smoking and bronchial troubles, heart disease and lung cancer, then you are certainly deceiving yourself. No one will accuse you of hypocrisy. Let us just say that you are suffering from a bad case of wishful thinking.This needn't make you too uncomfortable because you are in good company. Whenever the subject of smoking and health is raised, the governments of most countries hear no evil, see no evil and smell no evil. Admittedly, a few governments have taken timid measures.In Britain for instance, cigarette advertising has been banned on television. The conscience of the nation is appeased, while the population continues to puff its way to smoky, cancerous death.You don' t have to look very far to find out why the official reactions to medical findings have been so lukewarm. The answer is simply money. Tobacco is a wonderful commodity to tax. It' s almost like a tax on our daily bread.In tax revenue alone, the government of Britain collects enough from smokers to pay for its entire educational facilities. So while the authorities point out ever so discreetly that smoking may, conceivable, be harmful, it down't do to shout too loudly about it.This is surely the most short-sighted policy you could imagine. While money is eagerly collected in vast sums with one hand, it is paid out in increasingly vaster sums with the other. Enormous amounts are spent on cancer research and on efforts to cure people suffering from the disease.Countless valuable lives are lost. In the long run, there is no doubt that everybody would be much better-off if smoking were banned altogether.Of course, we are not ready for such a drastic action. But if the governments of the world were honestly concerned about the welfare of their peoples, you'd think they'd conduct aggressive anti-smoking campaigns. Far from it! The tobacco industry is allowed to spend staggering sums on advertising.Its advertising is as insidious as it is dishonest. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning. That would never do. The advertisement always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. They suggest it is manly to smoke, even positively healthy!Smoking is associated with the great open-air life, with beautiful girls, true love and togetherness. What utter nonsense!For a start, governments could begin by banning all cigarette and tobacco advertising and should then conduct anti-smoking advertising campaigns of their own. Smoking should be banned in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants. Great efforts should be made to informyoung people especially of the dire consequences of taking up the habit. A horrific warning say, a picture of a death's head should be included in every packet of cigarettes that is sold. As individuals, we are、certainly weak, but if governments acted honestly and courageously, they could protect us from ourselves.【阅读练习题】1.Why do a few governments take timid measures toward smoking?[A] because they are afraid of people.[B]Because diseases cost a lot.[C] Because they are afraid of the cutting down of their revenue.[D] Because they are afraid of manufacturers.2.The tone of this passage is[A] critical.[B]ironical.[C]distaste.[D]amusm3.What does the sentence "because you are in good company" mean?[A] you are backed by the government.[B]You are not alone.[C] You have good colleagues.[D] Governments are blind to evils of smoking too.4.What is the best title of this passage?[A] World Governments should conduct serious campaigns against smoking.[B]World governments take timid measures against smoking.[C] smoking is the most important source of income to many countries.[D] tobacco industry spends a large sum of money on medical research.1-4 CBDAPassage 4 On the President's ProgramPresident Arling has put his long awaited economic restructuring program before the Congress. It provides a coordinated program of investment credits, research grants, education reforms, and changes designed to make American industry more competitive. This is necessary to reverse economic slide into unemployment, lack of growth, and trade deficits that have plagued the economy for the past six years.The most liberal wing of the President' s party has called for stronger and more direct action.They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuild industry behind a wall of protective tariffs.The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in the President' s program.They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money has to be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending.Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It is not simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increased production for those able to master it.But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it with permanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself up to the leading stage of technological advances, then it will not be able to compete effectively. If it cannot do this, no amount of government protectionism or access to foreign markets can keep it profitable for long.Without the profits and experience of technological excellence to reinvest, that industry can only fall still further behind its foreign competitors.So the crux is the technology and that is where the President' s program focused. The danger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left will distort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economic restructuring plan should be passed intact.If we fail to restructure our economy now, we may not get a second chance.【阅读练习题】1.The focus of the President' s program is on[A]investment.[B]economy.[C] technology.}D} tax.2.What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party?[A] They want a more direct action.[B]They want an incomes policy to check inflation.[C]They want to rebuild industry.[D]They want a wall of protective tariffs.3.What is the editor' s attitude?[A] support.[B]distaste.[C] Disapproval.[D] Compromise.4.The danger to the plan lies in[A] the two parties'objection.[B]different idea of the two parties about the plan.[C] its passage.[D1 distortion.5.The passage is[A] a review.[B]a preface.[C] a advertisement.[D1 an editorial.1-5 CAADDPassage 5 MulesAlthough the top men in smuggling business must work together, most of a syndicate's small fry, especially the mules, know only their immediate contacts. If caught there is little they can give away.A mule probably will not even know the name of the person who gives him his instructions, nor how to get in touch with him. Usually he even does not know the person to whom he has to make delivery.He will be told just to sit tight in a certain hotel or bar until someone contacts him. In this way if he is blown, coming through airport customs he cannot unwittingly lead agents to the next link in the chain.All the persons at the receiving end do is to hang around the airport among the waiting crowd, and see that the mule comes through safely. If he does not, he is dimply written off as a loss.To make identification of mules easier, several syndicates have devised their own "club ties" so that a mule wearing one can immediately be picked out.Mules often receive careful training before embarking on their first journey. One Beirut organization, for example, uses a room with three airline seats in it. There the trainee mules sit for hours on end wearing weighted smuggling vests beneath their clothes, so that they become accustomed to standing up after a long flight in a natural way, and without revealing what they are carrying.An outfit in Brussels maintained a comfortable apartment where the mules could relax and get a firm grip on themselves on the night before their first journey; they were helped to dress before setting out for the airport in the morning. More often than not a courier will not know precisely where he is going or what flight number is until he is actually handed his tickets at the airport.This prevents the careless boast in some bar or to a girl friend the night before.Mules occasionally run off with the goods to keep the profit themselves. As insurance against this, a syndicate often sends a high-up on the same plane to keep a wary eye on couriers, particularly new ones. Even then things can go badly wrong. One international currency smuggler who was having trouble getting money out of Britain was offered help by a group of men who said they were in a position to "fix thing"一for a fee of course. Foolishly, the smuggler agreed to accept their help.When he got to London's Heathrow Airport, he handed over to one of the men a black suitcase containing nearly $90,000 in cash, destined for Frankfurt. Just to keep an eye on things, the smuggler went along on the same plane. When they landed at Frankfurt he was handed back his suitcase.He beat a straight path to the men's toilet, opened the case, and found only old clothes. The courier had switched suitcase en route, but the smuggler could hardly run to the police and complain that "the man who was smuggling money out of England for me has stolen it."【阅读练习题】1.What is a "mule"?[A] A person who sends smuggling goods for a syndicate is called mule.[B]A person in charge of smuggling goods is called mule.[C] A person who makes delivery for a syndicate is called mule.[D] A person who receives instructions from a smuggler is called mule.2.The sentence "if he is blown" in line (6) is closest in meaning to[A] if he is arrested.[B]if he is recognized, but not necessarily arrested.[C] if he is recognized and arrested.[D] if he runs away.3.Why does the author give an example in the last paragraph?[A] To show how a smuggler is caught.[B]To show a smuggler is afraid of the police.[C] To show to keep a wary eye on couriers is useless.[D] To show mules may keep the profit for themselves.4.how does a mule work?[A] Jointly.[B]Independently.[C] consciously.[D] Separately.1-4 CBDDPassage 6 Contribution of CoeducationImagining being asked to spend twelve or so years of your life in a society which consisted only of members of own sex. How would you react? Unless there was something definitely wrong with you, you wouldn't be too happy about it, to say the least. It is all the more surprising therefore that so many parents in the world choose to impose such abnormal conditions on their children conditions which they themselves wouldn't put up with for one minute!Any discussion of this topic is bound to question the aims of education. Stuffing children's heads full of knowledge is far from being foremost among them. One of the chief aims of educations is to equip future citizens with all they require to take their place in adult society.Now adult society is made up of men and women, so how can a segregated school possibly offer the right sort of preparation for it?Anyone entering adult society after years of segregation can only be in for a shock.A co-educational school offers children nothing less than a true version of society in miniature. Boys and girls are given the opportunity to get to know each other, to learn to live together from their earliest years.They are put in a position where they can compare themselves with each other in terms of academic ability, athletic achievement and many of the extra-curricular activities which are part of school life.What a practical advantage it is(to give just a small example)to be able to put on a school play in which the male parts will be taken by boys and the female parts by girls! What nonsense co-education makes of the argument that boys are cleverer than girl or vice-versa.When segregated, boys and girls are made to feel that they are a race apart. Rivalry between the sexes is fostered.In a coeducational school, everything falls into its proper place. But perhaps the greatest contribution of co-education is the healthy attitude to life it encourages.Boys don't grow up believing that women are mysterious creatures一airy goddesses, more like book-illustrations to a fairy-tale, than human beings. Girls don't grow up imagining that men are romantic heroes.Years of living together at school dispel illusions of this kind. There are no goddesses with freckles, pigtails, piercing voices and inky fingers. There are no romantic heroes with knobbly knees, dirty fingernails and unkempt hair. The awkward stage of adolescence brings into sharp focus some of the physical and emotional problems involved in growing up. These can better be overcome in a co-educational environment.Segregated schools sometimes provide the right conditions for sexual deviation. This is hardly possible under a co-educational system. When the time comes for the pupils to leave school, they are fully prepared to enter society as well-adjusted adults.They have already had years of experience in coping with many of the problems that face men and women.【阅读练习题】1.What is the best title for this passage?[A] only co-education can be in harmony with society.[B]people are in great need of co-education.[C] any form of education other than co-education is simply unthinkable.[D] co-education has many features.2.what does co-education offer to children?[A] A society.[B]A true small model of society.[C] A real life.[D] 1}ue version of social condition.3.According to the passage, what is one of the chief aims of education?[A] It is for students to acquire knowledge.[B]It is to equip future citizens with scientific technology.[C] It is to equip future citizens with what is required in getting a position in society.[D] It is for students to get academic achievements.4.Why do boys and girls in co-education have no illusion about each other?[A] They live together and know each other too well.[B]Years of living together at school dismiss such illusion.[C] co-education encourage them to have an healthy attitude toward life.[D] They are familiar with each other' s problems.CBCBPassage 7 Antarctica and EnvironmentAntarctica has actually become a kind of space station a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world' s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet一a concern they believe the world at large should share.The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the "east" of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. "West" of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious "dry valley" of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea.Now the glaciers are gone,perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry a message of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.【阅读练习题】1.What is the best title for this passage?[A] Antarctica and environmental Problems.[B]Antarctica: Earth' s Early-Warning station.[C] Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.[D] Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.2.What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?[A] The western part of the continent would be disappeared.[B]The western part of the continent would be reduced.[C] The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands.[D] The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands.3.Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?[A] Vicious wind blasts the snow away.[B]It rarely snows.[C] Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind.[D] Sand dunes.4.Which of the following is true?[A]The "Dry Valleys" have nothing left inside.[B]The "Dry Valleys" never held glaciers.[C]The "Dry Valleys"may carry a message of hope for the verdant.[D]The "Dry Valleys"are useless to scientists.ADCCPassage 8 The Neutrality of American in the Early World War IIThe establishment of the Third Reich influenced events in American history by starting a chain of events which culminated in war between Germany and the United States. The compete destruction of democracy, the persecution of Jews, the war on religion, the cruelty and barbarism of the Nazis, and especially the plans of Germany and her allies, Italy and Japan, for world conquest caused great indignation in this country and brought on fear of another world war.While speaking out against Hitler' s atrocities, the American people generally favored isolationist policies and neutrality.The Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1936 prohibited trade with any belligerents or loans to them. In 1937 the President was empowered to declare an arms embargo in wars between nations at his discretion.American opinion began to change somewhat after President Roosevelt' s "quarantine the aggressor" speech at Chicago (1937) in which he severely criticized Hitler' s policies. Germany's seizure of Austria and the Munich Pact for the partition of Czechoslovakia (1938) also aroused the American people.The conquest of Czechoslovakia in March, 1939 was another rude awakening to the menace of the Third Reich. In August,1939 came the shock of the Nazi-soviet Pact and in September the attack on Poland and the outbreak of European war.The United States attempted to maintain neutrality in spite of sympathy for the democracies arrayed against the Third Reich. The Neutrality Act of 1939 repealed the arms embargo and permitted "cash and carry" exports of arms to belligerent nations. A strong national defense program was begun.A draft act was passed (1940) to strengthen the military services. A Lend Act (1941) authorized the President to sell, exchange, or lend materials to any country deemed necessary by him for the defense of the United States. Help was given to Britain by exchanging certain overage destroyers for the right to establish American bases in British territory in the Western Hemisphere. In August, 1940 President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met and issued the Atlantic Charter which proclaimed the kind of a world which should be established after the war.In December, 1941, Japan launched the unprovoked attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor.Immediately thereafter, Germany declared war on the United States.【阅读练习题】l.One item occurring before 1937 that the author does not mention in his list of actions that。
专八的阅读理解练习范文一份
专八的阅读理解练习范文一份专八的阅读理解练习 1Joy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the world, but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? It turns out that the expression of many emotions may be universal. Smiling is apparently a universal sign of friendliness and approval. Baring the teeth in a hostile way, asnoted by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century, may be a universe sign of anger. As the originator of the theory of evolution, Darwin believed that the universal recognition of facial expressions would have survival value. For example, facial expressions could signal the approach of enemies (or friends) in the absence of language.Most investigators concur that certain facial expressions suggest the same emotions in a people. Moreover, people in diverse cultures recognize the emotions manifested by the facial expressions. In classic research Paul Ekman took photographs of people exhibiting the emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness. He then asked people around the world to indicate what emotions were being depicted in them. Those queriedranged from European college students to members of the Fore, a tribe that dwells in the New Guinea highlands. All groups including the Fore, who had almost no contact with Western culture, agreed on the portrayed emotions. The Fore also displayed familiar facial expressions when asked how they would respond if they were the characters in stories that called for basic emotional responses. Ekman and his colleagues morerecently obtained similar results in a study of ten cultures in which participants were permitted to report that multiple emotions were shown by facial expressions. The participants generally agreed on which two emotions were being shown and which emotion was more intense.Psychological researchers generally recognize that facial expressions reflect emotional states. Infact, various emotional states give rise to certain patterns of electrical activity in the facial muscles and in the brain. The facial-feedback hypothesis argues, however, that the causal relationship between emotions and facial expressions can also work in the opposite direction. According to this hypothesis, signals from the facial muscles (“feedback") are sent back to emotion centers of the brain, and so a person's facial expression can influence that person'semotional state.ConsiderDarwin's words: "The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the otherhand, the repression, as far as possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions." Can smiling giverise to feelings of good will, for example, and frowning to anger?Psychological research has given rise to some interesting findings concerning the facial-feedback hypothesis. Causing participants in experiments to smile, for example, leads them to report morepositive feelings and to rate cartoons (humorous drawings of people or situations) as being morehumorous. When they are caused to frown, they rate cartoons as being more aggressive.What are the possible links between facial expressions and emotion? One link is arousal, which is the level of activity or preparedness for activity in an organism. Intense contraction of facial muscles,such as those used in signifying fear, heightens arousal. Self-perception of heightened arousal then leads to heightened emotional activity. Other links may involve changes in brain temperature and the release of neurotransmitters (substances that transmit nerve impulses.) The contraction offacial muscles both influences the internal emotional state and reflects it. Ekman has found that theso-called Duchenne smile, which is characterized by "crow's feet" wrinkles around the eyes and asubtle drop in the eye cover fold so that the skin above the eye moves down slightly toward theeyeball, can lead to pleasant feelings.Ekman's observation may be relevant to the British expression "keep a stiff upper lip" as are mendation for handling stress. It might be that a "stiff" lip suppresses emotional response-as long as the lip is not quivering with fear or tension. But when the emotion that leads to stiffening the lip is more intense, and involves strong muscle tension, facial feedback may heighten emotional response.。
专业英语八级(阅读)练习试卷1(题后含答案及解析)
专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷1(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1.44% required hospitalization. Based on that data, published in PLoS Medicine, Lipsitch anticipates far fewer deaths from 2009 H1N1than was initially believed. By the end of the flu season in the spring of 2010, Lipsitch predicts, anywhere from 6,000 to 45,000 people will have died from H1N1 in the U.S., with the number most likely to end up between 10,000 and 15,000. Those estimates are far below the death toll of the 1957 flu, which killed 69,800 people in the U.S., according to government figures, and smaller also than the early predictions for the2009 H1N1 flu deaths, which ranged from 30,000 to 90,000. It is not clear, however, that past pandemics are an appropriate gauge for evaluating the current flu or that the new projections are based on complete data. The eventual death toll of 2009 H1N1 may be less grim than the outcomes of previous pandemics, but it should be noted that 90 years ago, and even 40 years ago, health officials lacked the antiviral therapies and nationwide vaccination capabilities that are available today. That may have contributed to pandemics having a more devastating effect on the health of past populations. The new estimates are also less alarming than those provided—also by Lipsitch—to the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology last summer near the start of the pandemic. At the time, researchers had only patchy data on the number of people infected by, and seeking treatment for, the new flu. The initially bleak prediction of the impact of H1N1—with up to 50% of the U.S. population becoming infected in the fall and winter of 2009, resulting in as many as 90,000 deaths—was based on modeling of previous pandemics. Fortunately, the worst case scenario did not come to pass. “The worst case consistent with the data we have now is a lot milder than the worst case consistent with the data we had in the summer or spring,”Lipsitch says. Still, Lipsitch and other health officials acknowledge that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic is not over. What worries health officials most is that as both seasonal and H1N1 flu viruses circulate among the population, the two strains could recombine into a more virulent and aggressive version that could cause more widespread illness and even death. How viruses behave once they nestle into a host is completely unpredictable, but scientists know that in a lab dish, seasonal and H1N1 flu strains mix and match readily. “I’m thinking we may have dodged a bullet here if in fact we don’t get a more severe wave coming on the heels of the current wave,”says Redlener. “But we’ll see what happens.” A second wave could still prove more deadly than the seasonal flu, especially for young children. To date, 189 children have died of influenza in the U.S., the majority of them related to H1N1 infection, and that number is already higher than the total number of pediatric deaths attributed to flu in 2008. Lipsitch says that if current trends hold,H1N1 may end up causing as many influenza deaths, if not more, than the seasonal flu, which kills about 36,000 Americans each year. Instead of hitting the elderly the hardest, though, most of the deaths may be among young children and infants.6．What can be inferred from the passage?A．It is not as severe as experts expected.B．It is likely to have a second wave of H1N1.C．It is not likely to have a second wave of H1N1.D．No one knows for sure whether there will be a second wave of H1N1.正确答案：D解析：此题是推理判断题。
专业英语八级阅读理解训练题及解析
专业英语八级阅读理解训练题及解析专业英语八级阅读理解训练题及解析"Can not help but always sad, so slowly learned to hide."以下是店铺为大家搜索整理的专业英语八级阅读理解训练题及解析，希望能给大家带来帮助!As Michael Jackson made the unfortunate transition from pop-music icon to tabloid staple，one of the most common lines of attack was on his ever-changing appearance, the way his skin dramatically lightened in color, and his face altered in structure.What's most tragic about Jackson's death, aside from the fact that it comes as he was mounting a comeback to include a sold-out 50-show residence at London's 02 Arena，is that what people will remember about him is his changing face. What they should remember：The way he changed the face of pop music.Jackson first came to prominence as the pint-size nucleus of his family band, the Jackson 5. He quickly became the focal point of the group because of his popular cuteness and, of course, that voice. What was so remarkable about the young Michael was his ability to co mmunicate youthful innocence’ or premature wisdom, or sometimes both at the same time. It was no small feat for the same preteen to credibly deliver shrewd stories of love and loss like “I Want You Back" and "The Love You Save", as well as he carried off c utesy soul ditties like “ ABC" and "Rockin' Robin". He led the group to four No. 1 singles.But his watershed moments came after he came out of his awkward teenage years. At 20, Jackson starred in the film version of The Wiz, at which point he met Quincy Jones, who agreed to produce his fifth solo album, Off the Wall. The record was a mature, sexy blend of pop soul with a heavy, danceable discogroove. Having spent his earlier years trying to straddle vocal adolescence，he effortlessly became an adult. It certainly helped that Jackson was so adept at using that voice, and that he had a set of amazing songs to work with, among them "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" and “Rock With You", in which Jackson sings lyrics that perfectly describe his own gifted footwork："When you dance, there's a magic that must be love.“As stunning an artistic statement as Off the Wall was, it did little to prepare anyone for the cultural phenomenon that was his subsequent album, Thriller. Jackson’s goal was to create an album in which every song was a hit. He didn't quite accomplish that, but he did create a classic pop album that fans zealously snatched up (to the tune of an estimated 100 million copies worldwide to date) and that solidified his status as the King of Pop. Debate still rages about whether Off the Wall or Thriller is stronger as an album. But the sea change Jackson created with Thriller had less to do with the music than with the medium.At the height of MTV, Jackson became the first black artist to create a fan base using his image rather than in spite d it. His grasp of performance and presentation remains without parallel.Jackson's subsequent albums failed to reach the heights of Thriller. But Jackson retained his knack for spectacle. Every music video he released was a major event, which is why MTV's lifetime-achievement statue at its annual awards show still bears his name. As a singer, as a songwriter, as a performer, as a dancer, Jackson remains among the most gifted ’ imaginative ’ larger-than-life musician of any race that has ever come along. Whatever changed about him over the years, that certainly didn't.1. According to Paragraph Two, which of the following is NOT true aboul Jackson's tragic death?[A] He had been busy preparing for his comeback shows before he died. [B] The tickets to his comeback shows had been sold out before he died. [C] His ever-changing appearance had negative effects on him. [D] People don't remember the way he changed the face of pop music.2. Which of the following is true about Jackson's songs mentioned in this passage?[A] "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", "ABC" and "Rockin' Robin" were the four No. 1 singles of Jackson 5.[B] Jackson failed to convey the meaning trf love and loss in the songs "I Want You Back" and "The Love You Save".[C] "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" were from Off the Wall, which was his first solo album.[D] Jackson's wonderful dancing skills were vividly described in the lyrics of “ Rock With You".3. "Straddle" in Paragraph Four can be best replaced by[A] deal with. [B] get over. [C] avoid. [D] end.4. Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph Five?[A] Every song in Thriller was a success.[B] Thriller was more successful than Off the Wall.[C] Jackson had already been recognized as the King of Pop before Thriller. [D] Some of Jackson's fans still minded his image as a black person.5. The tone of the passage can be best described as[A] commendatory. [B] derogatory. [C] critical. [D] neutral.2009年6月25日.美国“流行天王”迈克尔杰克逊在洛杉矾突发心脏病离世,终年50岁。
专八阅读理解练习及答案
专八阅读理解练习及答案专八阅读理解练习及答案NCB in InterpolThe organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimesbeen described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crimefighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour. Lessflatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filingcabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics.As with most generalities, there is some truth in both statements. There are, certainly, some grimbattlers of crime to be found working with Interpol. There are, just as surely, those drones shufflingmountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life. Consider the charisma of the namealone: INTERPOL, the international police force. Continents leaped in a single bound, oceanscrossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep. Surprisingly, a lot of ithappens almost that way.Four groups coordinate and direct the activities of Interpol. One of them is the National CentralBureaus, or NCBs, bodies designated by the member nations to serve as their link with Interpol.These are the front-line troops, the action people. IN the United States, the Treasury Departmentis the National Central Bureau. In the United Kingdom, it is Scotland Yard; the Questura in Italy andthe Melbourne City Police in Australia. Because police organization varies from country, the NCBswere established to act as the one special group to handle Interpol chores and unsure maximumcooperation between nations. Each NCB is usually an official government body with police powers ifa country has only one central police authority, that body becomes the NationalCentre Bureau. Ofcourse, any service appointed as an NCB is bound to its nation’s law and authorit y and retains itsnational title.Each NCB is connected by radio to the regional station for its geographic zone. The regionalstations are connected to the Central Station in France. The radio network is versatile. Networkstations can monitor the Central station or any regional station. Because of this messages can bebroadcast to more than one station at a time. A coding system determines the urgency of eachmessage so that those with high priority can be given precedence. Besides, other communicationtools, such as radio-teleprinters and phototelegraphy equipment. Permit rapid transfers offingerprints and photographs. Sometimes ever more advanced technology is employed. When thepolice all over the world were looking for a Canadian named George Leray, they turned to the EarlyBird Satellite. Leray had led his gang on a daring holdup of a Montreal bank and gotten away with$4 million. Scotland Yard broadcast Leray’s photo to the world by satellite. An American who sawthe picture in Florida recognized Leray as a man who was living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdaleunder an assumed name. The police were alerted and arrested Leray.1. What is the best title for this passage?[A] The Function of the Interpol. [B] The Quality of the Interpol.[C] The Organization of the Interpol. [D] The Rapid Development of the Interpol.2. The organization of this passage is[A] general to specific. [B] cause and effect.[C] comparison and contrast. [D] development.3. The sentence “stuffed with clerks choking on their ownstatistics” in the first paragraph is closestin meaning to[A] a lot of employees busying in their work.[B] many office workers busying with various documents.[C] crowded with office workers busying with their own collected data.[D] workers busying in their own information.4. Which is the easiest tool to communicate?[A] Satellite. [B] Radio.[C] Teleprinter. [D] Phototelegraphy.答案详解：1. C. 国际刑警组织。
英语专业八级测验考试阅读理解练习
英语专业八级考试阅读理解练习In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence – as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us. The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and herder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law.Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other's problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information. "Talk, talk, talk," the advocates of violence say, "all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser." It's rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. "Possible, my lord," the barrister replied, "none the wiser, but surely far better informed." Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve.1. What is the best title for this passage?[A] Advocating Violence.[B] Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice.[C] Important People on Both Sides See Violence As a Legitimate Solution.[D] The Instincts of Human Race Are Thirsty for Violence.2. Recorded history has taught us[A] violence never solves anything. [B] nothing. [C] the bloodshed means nothing. [D] everything.3. It can be inferred that truly reasonable men[A] can't get a hearing. [B] are looked down upon. [C] are persecuted. [D] Have difficulty in advocating law enforcement.4. "He was none the wiser" means[A] he was not at all wise in listening.[B] He was not at all wiser than nothing before.[C] He gains nothing after listening.[D] He makes no sense of the argument.5. According the author the best way to solve race prejudice is[A] law enforcement. [B] knowledge. [C] nonviolence. [D] Mopping up the violent mess.难句译注：1.What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all.【结构简析】when it comes to the crunch = when / if the decisive moment comes.当关键时刻来到时。
专业英语八级(阅读)练习试卷20(题后含答案及解析)
专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷20(题后含答案及解析) 题型有： 2. READING COMPREHENSIONPART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)Directions: In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.Lately, everybody from industrial designers to city planners claims to be looking after our aesthetic interests, and there is ample anecdotal evidence that, on the margin, people do put a higher premium on the look and feel of things than they once did. That is to be expected as society grows richer. But aesthetics is not the only value -- trade-offs must be made -- and aesthetic value is hard to measure. What is “it,” after all? Aesthetics doesn’t come in neat units like microprocessor speed, calories, or tons of steel. Style is qualitative. The value of qualitative improvements poses tricky problems for economists. It is a major challenge to tease out how much consumers value each individual attribute that comes bundled in a given good or service. If you pay $2.99 for a toothbrush, how much of that is for the cleaning ability? How much for the feel of the handle? How much for the durability? How much for the packaging? How much for the convenient distribution to your comer drugstore? How much for the color? Economists use statistical techniques called “hedonic pricing” to try to separate the implicit prices of various characteristics. Essentially, they look at how prices go up or down as features are added or subtracted and try to figure out how consumers value the individual features. How much will consumers pay for an extra megahertz of computing speed, for instance? Not every characteristic is as easily measured as megahertz. The trickier the measurement, the more difficult the problem. For aesthetics, economists generally don’t even try. It’s just too hard. How do you account for the restaurant d écor or subtle enhancements in the taste of the food? How do you measure the increased value of a typeset resume, memo or client newsletter -- the result of ubiquitous word processors -- over an old-fashioned typed document? That sort of detail is simply lost in crude economic statistics. Many product characteristics -- from convenience to snob appeal to aesthetics -- are hard to quantify and so tend to be undercounted. The result is that the standard of living can change for the better without much notice. That is especially likely if products improve without becoming more expensive. Consumers are happier, but if they aren’t spending more money, no revenue increase shows up in the productivity statistics. This isn’t unusual in competitive markets. Shopping malls redecorate, and newspapers adopt color printing just to keep up with the competition. They aren’t able to charge more. They are just able to stay in business. When thinking about new products, producers face two challenges. First, they need to offer something whose value to the consumer is greater than its cost to produce and distribute. Increasing the surplus ofvalue minus cost is where both higher living standards and higher profits come from. It is the measure of real economic improvement. The second challenge is, of course, to price the offering to maximize profit. As a general matter, aesthetics sells. But “as a general matter” obscures all the specifics that make or break a product: What exact design will you use? How will you manufacture it? What will you charge? And, given those decisions, how will customers respond? The answers can’t be found through a blackboard exercise. Price theory is a useful tool, but we can’t know in advance how much people will value the characteristics of a product they haven’t yet seen or compared with real alternatives. Even market research, while helpful, cannot duplicate real-life choices. Although we all have fun predicting and second-guessing business ideas, the only way to find out is through trial and error. Market competition is a discovery process that subjects business hypotheses to unsentimental testing. Some managers are better than others at identifying promising new sources of value, and some companies are better than others at operations and pricing -- the skills that determine whether a product that consumers do value will in fact be profitable. Market competition tests these theories and skills. And, like all competitions, this one has its failures, some of them beautiful. Not every attempt at improvement works out. Sometimes value does not exceed cost. Sometimes it does, but managers fall in love with their product, price it too high and drive away potential customers. Sometimes the coolest of the cool just can’t survive the heat. With 20/20 hindsight, it is easy to see that the pricey Cube was doomed. But nobody knew that a year ago.1．The passage is mainly concerned with ______.A．adding aesthetics to productsB．increasing surplus of value minus costC．quantifying product characteristicsD．putting business ideas to market testing正确答案：C解析：本文主要讨论了如何对产品的抽象属性进行价格定位这一问题。
专八英语考试阅读试题及答案
专八英语考试阅读试题及答案On a nondescript block south of New York's Union Square’ up a dreary staircase and through a black-barred gate, there is a long, narrow room that might be mistaken for a very small museum of literary counterculture. On one wall hangs two rows of iconic posters：a print of Che Guevara's proud head; a photograph of the authors Jean Genet, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg marching at the 1968 Democratic National Convention ;a portrait of Bobby Kennedy. Ixiose-leaf binders of correspondence with groundbreaking authors line floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Beside the bookcases, Samuel Beckett peers out of a black-and-white photograph with a fierce crow's gaze. Next to him in the picture stands a shorter, milder-looking man named Barney Rosset.Rosset's publishing house, Grove Press, was a tiny pany operating out of the ground floor of Rosset's brownstone when it published an obscure play called Waiting for Godot in 1954. By the time Beckett had won the Nobel Prize in 1969 ’ Grove had e a force that cha llenged and changed literature and American culture in deep and lasting ways. Its impact is still evident——from the Che Guevara posters adorning college dorms to the canonical status of the house's once controversial authors. Rosset is less well known— but late in his life he is achieving some wider recognition.“Hie story of Rossel's life is essentially one of creative destruction. He found writers who wanted to break new paths, and then he picked up a sledge-hammer to help ihem whale away at the existing order.Rosset saw many crises. He or his pany was forever going broke, being attacked, breaking the law. In his legal battles, Rosset made his most enduring impact. Before Rosset challenged federal and slate obscenity laws, censorship was an accepted feature of publishing. His victories in high courts helped to change that. Rosset believed that it was impossible to represent life in the streets and in the dark recesses of the heart and mind honestly without using language that in ihe mid-20th century was considered “ obscene"— and therefore illegal to sell or mail. To a significant extent, the books he published convinced others that this was true.Rosset wasn't the only publisher who took risks, but he was one of the most visible and promising. Not everything he published was high-minded. Some of it aimed below the belt, and he was promising about that too. His stubbornness made his achievements possible, bul it also helped to undo him. At the end of the 60s, Grove moved into fancy offices, into film, and, to some extent, away from books. The repression of the 50s and freewheeling openness of the 60s were over, and other houses, now free from fear of censorship, took more chances. The left splintered. The feminist movemenl attacked him. Grove began to drift. But Rosset, asalways, kept doing what he wanted, everything else be damned.1.Which of the following statements contains a metaphor? [A]。
(完整版)英语专业八级阅读及参考答案
Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth's surface. But earthquakes can and d o occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as hi gh as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total nu mber of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a t oy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthqua ke in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it comple tely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a build ing is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earth quakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very seriou s factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.The United Nations has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of m ost practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous ear thquakes almost a thing of the past.There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caus ed by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. (These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrec t. They have nothing to do with tides.) In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. Th ese submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", becaus e they reach a sizable height only in harbors.Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to le ave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.1. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the passage?A. The number of earthquakes is closely related to depth.B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year.C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles.D. Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surfaces.2. The destruction of Agadir is an example of ______.A. faulty building constructionB. an earthquake's strengthC. widespread panic in earthquakesD. ineffective instruments3. The United Nations' experts are supposed to______.A. construct strong buildingsB. put forward proposalsC. detect disastrous earthquakesD. monitor earthquakes4. The significance of the slow speed of tsunamis is that people may______.A. notice them out at seaB. find ways to stop themC. be warned early enoughD. develop warning systems参考答案：1~4 C A B C 1~5 ADBDC 6~10 ADBCA。
英语专业八级考试阅读理解试题带答案
英语专业八级考试阅读理解试题带答案Cryptic ColoringCryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for attack and defense has beenwell explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations.Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as large, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form.Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth’s surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color, on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and “their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight.” Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is theform which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating massesof algae on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected.In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patchof lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object.seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. Thefirst seeks to explain the effect as a result of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (marck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result andafterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed in each generation.The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires thecooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus dependson the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory ofnatural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Abbot H.Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow.The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, while the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not appreciate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interfere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.1. The black and white stripes of the zebra are most useful form[A] hunters. [B] nocturnal predators[C] lions and tigers. [C] insectivorous Vertrbrata2. Aggressive resemblance occurs when[A] a predaceous attitude is assumed.[B] special resemblance is utilized.[C] an animal relies on speed.[D] an animal blends in with its background.3. Special resemblance differs from general resemblance in that the animal relies on[A] its ability to frighten its adversary. [B] speed.[C] its ability to assume an attitude. [D] mistaken identify4. The title below that best expresses the ides of this passage is[A] Cryptic coloration for Protection. [B] How Animals Survive.[C] The uses of Mimicry in Nature. [D] Resemblances of Animals.5. Of the following which is the least common?[A] protective resemblance. [B] General resemblance.[C] Aggressive resemblance. [D] Special resemblance.答案详解：1. B. 夜间活动的`食肉动物。
英语专业八级考试阅读理解练习
英语专业八级考试阅读理解练习Many tourist organizations are directly responsible for this state of affairs. They deliberately set out to protect their clients from too much contact with the local population. The modern tourist leads a cosseted，sheltered life. He lives at international hotels，where he eats his international food and sips his international drink while he gazes at the natives from a distance. Conducted tours to places of interest are carefully censored. The tourist is allowed to see only what the organizers want him to see and no more. A strict schedule makes it impossible for the tourist to wander off on his own；and anyway，language is always a barrier，so he is only too happy to be protected in this way. At its very worst，this leads to a new and hideous kind of colonization. The summer quarters of the inhabitants of the cite universitaire：are temporarily reestablished on the island of Corfu. Blackpool is recreated at Torremolinos where the traveler goes not to eat paella，but fish and chips.Carried to an extreme，stereotypes can be positively dangerous. Wild generalizations stir up racial hatred and blind us to the basic fact〞how trite it sounds！每That all people are human. We are all similar to each other and at the same time all unique.1. The best title for this passage is[A] Tourism contributes nothing to increasing understanding between nations.[B] Tourism is tiresome.[C] Conducted tour is dull.[D] Tourism really does something to one's country.2. What is the author's attitude toward tourism？[A] apprehensive. [B]negative. [C] critical. [D] appreciative.3. Which word in the following is the best to summarize Latin people shout a lot？[A] silent. [B] noisy. [C] lively. [D] active.4. The purpose of the author's criticism is to point out[A] conducted tour is disappointing.[B]the way of touring should be changed.[C] when traveling，you notice characteristics which confirm preconception.[D] national stereotypes should be changed.5. What is 'grand tour' now？[A] moderate cost.[B]local sight-seeing is investigated by the tourist organization.[D] everybody can enjoy the 'grand tour'。
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英语专业八级考试阅读理解练习In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence – as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us. The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and herder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law.Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other's problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information. "Talk, talk, talk," the advocates of violence say, "all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser." It's rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. "Possible, my lord," the barrister replied, "none the wiser, but surely far better informed." Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve.1. What is the best title for this passage?[A] Advocating Violence.[B] Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice.[C] Important People on Both Sides See Violence As a Legitimate Solution.[D] The Instincts of Human Race Are Thirsty for Violence.2. Recorded history has taught us[A] violence never solves anything. [B] nothing. [C] the bloodshed means nothing. [D] everything.3. It can be inferred that truly reasonable men[A] can't get a hearing. [B] are looked down upon. [C] are persecuted. [D] Have difficulty in advocating law enforcement.4. "He was none the wiser" means[A] he was not at all wise in listening.[B] He was not at all wiser than nothing before.[C] He gains nothing after listening.[D] He makes no sense of the argument.5. According the author the best way to solve race prejudice is[A] law enforcement. [B] knowledge. [C] nonviolence. [D] Mopping up the violent mess.难句译注：1.What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all.【结构简析】when it comes to the crunch = when / if the decisive moment comes.当关键时刻来到时。
【参考译文】真正令人可怖的，令人绝望的是，在关键时刻，人们意识到我们一点儿也没有进步/前进。
2.Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake.【结构简析】in the wake of 在…之后。
【参考译文】由于我们不得不清理掉暴力之后所留下的烂摊子，我们的力量因此削弱了。
3.After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser.【结构简析】none + the + 比较级。