2008英语专业八级阅读真题及答案
英语专业八级阅读及参考答案
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。
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。
英语专业八级阅读考试训练试题附答案
英语专业八级阅读考试训练试题附答案英语专业八级阅读考试训练试题附答案经常不断地学习，你就什么都知道。
你知道得越多，你就越有力量。
以下是店铺为大家搜索整理的英语专业八级阅读考试训练试题附答案，希望能给大家带来帮助!He was an old man with a white beard and huge nose and hands. Long before the time during which we will know him, he was a doctor and drove a jaded white horse from house to house through the streets of Winesburg. Later he married a girl who had money. She had been left a large fertile farm when her father died. The girl was quiet, tall, and dark, and to many people she seemed very beautiful. Everyone in Winesburg wondered why she married the doctor. Within a year after the marriage she died.The knuckles of the doctor's hands were extraordinarily large. When the hands were closed they looked like clusters of unpainted wooden balls as large as walnuts fastened together by steel rods. He smoked a cob pipe and after his wife's death sat all day in his empty office close by a window that was covered with cobwebs. He never opened the window. Once on a hot day in August he tried but found it stuck fast and after that he forgot all about it.Winesburg had forgotten the old man, but in Doctor Reefy there were the seeds of something very fine. Alone in his musty office in the Heffner Block above the Paris Dry Goods Company's store, he worked ceaselessly, building up something that he himself destroyed. Little pyramids of truth he erected and after erecting knocked them down again that he might have the truths to erect other pyramids.Doctor Reefy was a tall man who had worn one suit of clothesfor ten years. It was frayed at the sleeves and little holes had appeared at the knees and elbows. In the office he wore also a linen duster with huge pockets into which he continually stuffed scraps of paper. After some weeks the scraps of paper became little hard round balls, and when the pockets were filled he dumped them out upon the floor. For ten years he had but one friend, another old man named John Spaniard who owned a tree nursery. Sometimes, in a playful mood, old Doctor Reefy took from his pockets a handful of the paper balls and threw them at the nursery man. "'That is to confound you, you blithering old sentimentalist," he cried, shaking with laughter.The story of Doctor Reefy and his courtship of the tall dark girl who became his wife and left her money to him is a very curious story. It is delicious, like the twisted little apples that grow in the orchards of Winesburg. In the fall one walks in the orchards and the ground is hard with frost underfoot. The apples have been taken from the trees by the pickers. They have been put in barrels and shipped to the cities where they will be eaten in apartments that are filled with books, magazines, furniture, and people. On the trees are only a few gnarled apples that the pickers have rejected. They look like the knuckles of Doctor Reefy’ s hands. One nibbles at them and they are delicious. Into a little round place at the side of the apple has been gathered all of its sweetness. One runs from tree to tree over the frosted ground picking the gnarled, twisted apples and filling his pockets with them. Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples.The girl and Doctor Reefy began their courtship on a summer afternoon. He was forty-five then and already he had begun the practice of filling his pockets with the scraps of paper that became hard balls and were thrown away. The habit had beenformed as he sat in his buggy behind the jaded grey horse and went slowly along country roads. On the papers were written thoughts, ends of thoughts, beginnings of thoughts.One by one the mind of Doctor Reefy had made the thoughts. Out of many of them he formed a truth that arose gigantic in his mind. The truth clouded the world. It became terrible and then faded away and the little thoughts began again.The tall dark girl came to see Doctor Reefy because she was in the family way and had become frightened. She was in that condition because of a series of circumstances also curious.The death of her father and mother and the rich acres of land that had come down to her had set a train of suitors on her heels. For two years she saw suitors almost every evening. Except two they were all alike. They talked to her of passion and there was a strained eager quality in their voices and in their eyes when they looked at her. The two who were different were much unlike each other. One of them, a slender young man with white hands, the son of a jeweler in Winesburg, talked continually of virginity. When he was with her he was never off the subject. The other, a black-haired boy with large ears, said nothing at all but always managed to get her into the darkness, where he began to kiss her.For a time the tall dark girl thought she would marry the jeweler's son. For hours she sat in silence listening as he talked to her and then she began to be afraid of something. Beneath his talk of virginity she began to think there was a lust greater than in all the others. At times it seemed to her that as he talked he was holding her body in his hands. She imagined him turning it slowly about in the white hands and staring at it. At night she dreamed that he had bitten into her body and that his jaws weredripping. She had the dream three times, then she became in the family way to the one who said nothing at all but who in the moment of his passion actually did bite her shoulder so that for days the marks of his teeth showed...-..-.After the tall dark girl came to know Doctor Reefy it seemed to her that she never wanted to leave him again. She went into his office one morning and without her saying anything he seemed to know what had happened to her.In the office of the doctor there was a woman, the wife of the man who kept the bookstore in Winesburg. Like all old-fashioned country practitioners, Doctor Reefy pulled teeth, and the woman who waited held a handkerchief to her teeth and groaned. Her husband was with her and when the tooth was taken out they both screamed and blood ran down on the woman's white dress. The tall dark girl did not pay any attention. When the woman and the man had gone the doctor smiled. "I will take you driving into the country with me," he said.For several weeks the tall dark girl and the doctor were together almost every day. The condition that had brought her to him passed in an illness, but she was like one who has discovered the sweetness of the twisted apples, she could not get her mind fixed again upon the round perfect fruit that is eaten in the city apartments. In the fall after the beginning of her acquaintanceship with him she married Doctor Reefy and in the following spring she died. During the winter he read to her all of the odds and ends of thoughts he had scribbled on the bits of paper. After he had read them he laughed and stuffed them away in his pockets to become round hard balls.1.According to the story Doctor Reefy’s life seems very __________.A. eccentricB. normalC. enjoyableD. optimistic2.The story tells us that the tall dark girl was in the family way. The phrase “in the family way” means____________.A. troubledB. PregnantC. twistedD. cheated3.Doctor Reef lives a ___________ life.A. happyB. miserableC. easy-goingD. reckless4. The tall dark girl’s marriage to Doctor Reef proves to bea _____ one.A. transientB. understandableC. perfectD. funny5. Doctor Reef’s paper balls probably symbolize his ______.A eagerness to shut himself away from societyB suppressed desire to communicate with peopleC optimism about lifeD cynical attitude towards life参考答案：A B B A B。
2008-2012年英语专八人文部分真题及答案(部分有解析)
201231. The Maori people are natives ofA. Australia.B. Canada.C. Ireland.D. New Zealand.32. The British monarch is the Head ofA. Parliament.B. State.C. Government.D. Cabinet.33. Americans celebrate Independence Day onA. July 4th.B. October 11th.C. May 31st.D. September 6th.34. Canada is bounded on the north byA. the Pacific Ocean.B. the Atlantic Ocean.C. the Arctic Ocean.D. the Great Lakes.35. Who is the author of The Waste Lana?A. George Bernard Shaw.B. W.B. Yeats.C. Dylan Thomas.D. T.S. Eliot.36. Which of the following novelists wrote The Sound and the Fury?A. William Faulkner.B. Ernest Hemingway.C. Scott Fitzgerald.D. John Steinbeck.37. "The lettuce was lonely without tomatoes and cucumbers for company" is an example ofA. exaggeration.B. understatement.C. personification.D. synecdoche.38. In English ifa word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel. This is a (n)A. assimilation rule.B. sequential rule.C.deletion rule.D. grammar rule.39. Which of the following is an example of clipping?A.APEC.B.Motel.C.Xerox.D.Disco.40. The type of language which is selected as appropriate to a particular type of" situation is calledA. register.B. dialect.C. slang.D. variety.31: new Zealand 32: state 33: July 4th 34: the Arctic Ocean 35: T.S.Eliot 36: William Faulkner 37: personification 38: sequential rule 39: Disco 40: register201131. The northernmost part of Great Britain is _______.A. Northern IrelandB. WalesC. EnglandD. Scotland参考答案：DTIP：选D。
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。
08年英语专业八级全真试题（3）
TEXT B Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishmans dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days hes the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones. “But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.” And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britains burgeoning farmers markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years —swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you dont know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on." The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins of the University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Whats new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm. Naturally, the newcomers cant hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if theres no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations? Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Todays eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isnt catching up with mainland Europe; its leading the way.“Unlike most other countries, where artisanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. ”It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a peasant.“ And not an investment banker. 16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT? A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham. B. He used to work in the television industry. C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring. D. He is now selling his own quality foods. 17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditional British farming A. knowledge of farming. B. knowledge of brand names. C. knowledge of lifestyle. D. knowledge of marketing, 18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence of a new class of farmers? A. Strong desire for country life. B. Longing for greater wealth, C. Influence of TV productions. D. Enthusiasm for quality food business. 19. What is seen as their additional source of new income? A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods. B. Increase in the value of land property. C. Raising and selling rare live stock. V D. Publicity as a result of media coverage. 20. The sentence in the last paragraph “……Britain isnt catching up with mainland Europe; its leading the way" implies that A. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy. B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain. C. the British are heading back to the countryside. D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.。
专八英语考试阅读理解试题附答案
专八英语考试阅读理解试题附答案专八英语考试阅读理解试题附答案Often and violates, what the people.以下是我为大家搜寻整理的专八英语考试阅读理解试题附答案，期望能给大家带来帮忙!更多精彩内容请准时关注我们应届毕业生考试网!Can electricity cause cancer? In a society that literally runs on electric power, the very idea seems preposterous. But for more than a decade, a growing band of scientists and journalists has pointed to studies that seem to link exposure to electromagnetic fields with increased risk of leukemia and other malignancies. The implications are unsettling, to say the least, since everyone comes into contact with such fields, which are generated by everything electrical, from power lines and antennas to personal computers and micro-wave ovens. Because evidence on the subject is inconclusive and often contradictory, it has been hard to decide whether concern about the health effects of electricity is legitimateor the worst kind of paranoia.Now the alarmists have gained some qualified support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In the executive summary of a new scientific review, released in draft form late last week, the EPA has put forward what amounts to the most serious government warning to date. The agency tentatively concludes that scientific evidence "suggests a casual link' between extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fieldsthose having very longwave-lengthsand leukemia, lymphoma and braincancer, While the report falls short of classifying ELF fields as probable carcinogens, it does identify the common 60-hertz magnetic field as "a possible, but not proven, cause of cancer in humans.'The report is no reason to panicor even to lost sleep. If there is a cancer risk, it is a small one. The evidence is still so controversial that the draft stirred a great deal of debate within the Bush Administration, and the EPA released it over strong objections from the Pentagon and the Whit House. But now no one can deny that the issue must be taken seriously and that much more research is needed.At the heart of the debate is a simple and well-understood physical phenomenon: When an electric current passes through a wire, tit generates an electromagnetic field that exerts forces on surrounding objects, For many years, scientists dismissed any suggestion that such forces might be harmful, primarily because they are so extraordinarily weak. The ELF magnetic field generated by a video terminal measures only a few milligauss, or about one-hundredth the strength of the earths own magnetic field, The electric fields surrounding a power line can be as high as 10 kilovolts per meter, but the corresponding field induced in human cells will be only about 1 millivolt per meter. This is far less than the electric fields that the cells themselves generate.How could such minuscule forces pose a health danger? The consensus used to be that they could not, and for decades scientists concentrated on more powerful kinds of radiation, like X-rays, that pack sufficient wallop to knock electrons outof the molecules that make up the human body. Such "ionizing' radiations have been clearly linked to increased cancer risks and there are regulations to control emissions.But epidemiological studies, which find statistical associations between sets of data, do not prove cause and effect. Though there is a body of laboratory work showing that exposure to ELF fields can have biological effects on animal tissues, a mechanism by which those effects could lead to cancerous growths has never been found.The Pentagon is for from persuaded. In a blistering 33-page critique of the EPA report, Air Force scientists charge its authors with having "biased the entire document' toward proving a link. "Our reviewers are convinced that there is no suggestion that (electromagnetic fields) present in the environment induce or promote cancer,' the Air Force concludes. "It is astonishing that the EPA would lend its imprimatur on this report.' Then Pentagons concern is understandable. There is hardly a unit of the modern military that does not depend on the heavy use of some kind of electronic equipment, from huge ground-based radar towers to the defense systems built into every warship and plane.1. The main idea of this passage is ___________[A]. studies on the cause of cancer[B]. controversial view-points in the cause of cancer[C]. the relationship between electricity and cancer.[D]. different ideas about the effect of electricity on caner.2. The view-point of the EPA is ___________[A]. there is casual link between electricity and cancer.[B]. electricity really affects cancer.[C]. controversial.[D].low frequency electromagnetic field is a possible cause of cancer3. Why did the Pentagon and Whit House object to the release of the report? Because ___________[A]. it may stir a great deal of debate among the Bush Administration.[B]. every unit of the modern military has depended on the heavy use of some kind of electronic equipment.[C]. the Pentagons concern was understandable.[D]. they had different arguments.4. It can be inferred from physical phenomenon ___________[A]. the force of the electromagnetic field is too weak tobe harmful.[B]. the force of the electromagnetic field is weaker than the electric field that the cells generate.[C]. electromagnetic field may affect health.[D]. only more powerful radiation can knock electron out of human body.5. What do you think ordinary citizens may do after reading the different arguments?[A].They are indifferent. [B]. They are worried very much.[C]. The may exercise prudent avoidance. [C]. They are shocked.Vocabulary1. preposterous 反常的，非常荒谬的，乖戾的2. leukemia 白血病3. malignancy 恶性肿瘤4. legitimate 合法的`，合理的5. paranoia 偏执狂，妄想狂。
(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 n umber decreasesas the depth in creases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as hi gh as 100 in a mon th, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparis on 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 waIls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", becaus e theyreach 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. in effective in strume nts3. The United Nations' experts are supposed to _______A. con struct stro ng build ingsB. put forward proposalsC. detect disastrous earthquakesD. monitor earthquakes4. The significanee of the slow speed of tsunamis is that people may __________A. notice them out at seaB. find ways to stop themC. be warned early en oughD. develop warning systems参考答案：1〜4 C ABC 1〜5 ADBDC 6〜10 ADBCA。
专八试题及答案
2008英语专业八级真题及答案TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2008)-GRADE EIGHT-TIME LIMIT: 195 MIN PARTI LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.SECTION B CONVERSATIONIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Questions 1 to 5 are based on a conversation. At the end of the conversation you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the followingfive questions.Now listen to the conversation.1. Mary doesn't seem to favour the idea of a new airport becauseA. the existing airports are to be wastedB. more people will be encouraged to travel.C. more oil will be consumed.D. more airplanes will be purchased.2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potentialdisadvantage?A. More people in the area.B. Noise and motorways.C. Waste of land.D. Unnecessary travel.3. Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airportEXCEPTA. more job opportunities.B. vitality to the local economy.C. road construction,D. presence of aircrew in the area.4. Mary thinks that people don't need to do much travel nowadaysas a result ofA. less emphasis on personal contact.B. advances in modern telecommunications.C. recent changes in people's concepts.D. more potential damage to the area5. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Mary's ideas,A. strongly in favour ofB. mildly in favour ofC. strongly againstD. mildly againstSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Question 6 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.Now listen to the news.6. What is the main idea of the news item?A. A new government was formed after Sunday's elections.B. The new government intends to change the welfare system.C. The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.D. The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment. Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.7. The tapes of the Apollo-11 mission were first stored inA. a U.S. government archives warehouse.B. a NASA ground tracking station.C. the Goddard Space Flight Centre.D. none of the above places.8. What does the news item say about Richard Nafzger?A. He is assigned the task to look for the tapes.B. He believes that the tapes are probably lost.C. He works in a NASA ground receiving site.D. He had asked for the tapes in the 1970s.Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.9. The example in the news item is cited mainly to showA. that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetentB. that in cases like that hospitals have to pay huge compensations.C. that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment.D. that language barriers can result in fatal consequences.10. According to Dr. Flores, hospitals and clinicsA. have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters.B. have realized the problems of language barriers.C. have begun training their staff to be bilinguals.D. have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis.PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark youranswers on your coloured answer sheetTEXT AAt the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joon's life is a living hell. The South Korean 10th grader gets up at 6 in the morning to go to school, and studies most of the day until returning home at 6 p.m. After dinner, it's time to hit the books again—at one of Seoul's many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at 1 in the morning, sleeps less than five hours, then repeats the routine—five days a week. It's a grueling schedule, but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into a top university. Some ofhis classmates study even harder.South Korea's education system has long been highly competitive. But for Lee and the other 700,000 high-school sophomores in the country, high-school studies have gotten even more intense. That's because South Korea has conceived a new college-entrance system, which will be implemented in 2008. This year's 10th graders will be the first group evaluated by the new admissions standard, which places more emphasis on grades in the three years of high school and less on nationwide SAT-styleand other selection tests, which have traditionally determined whichstudents go to the elite colleges.The change was made mostly to reduce what the government says is a growing education gap in the country: wealthy students go to the best colleges and get the best jobs, keeping the children of poorer families on the social margins. The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools, partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life. But the new system has had the opposite effect. Before, students didn't worry too much about their grade-point averages; the big challenge was beating the standardized tests as high-school seniors. Now students are competing against one another over a three-year period, and every midterm and final test is crucial. Fretful parents are relying even more heavily on tutors and cram schools to help their children succeed.Parents and kids have sent thousands of angry online letters to the Education Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against each other. "One can succeed only when othersfail,” as one parent said.Education experts say that South Korea's public secondary-school system is foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the country's high schools are almost uniformly mediocre—the result of an egalitarian government education policy. With the number of elite schools strictly controlled by the government, even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinary schools in their neighbourhoods, where the curriculum is centred on average students. To make up for the mediocrity, zealous parents send their kids to theexpensive cram schools.Students in affluent southern Seoul neighbourhoods complain that the new system will hurt them the most. Nearly all Korean high schools will be weighted equally in the college-entrance process, and relatively weak students in provincial schools, who may not score well on standardized tests, often compile good grade-point averages.Some universities, particularly prestigious ones, openly complain that they cannot select the best students under the new system because it eliminates differences among high schools. They've asked for more discretion in picking students by giving more weight to such screening tools as essay writing or interviews.President Roh Moo Hyun doesn't like how some colleges are trying to circumvent the new system. He recently criticized "greedy" universitiesthat focus more on finding the best students than faying to "nurture good students". But amid the crossfire between the government and universities, the country's 10th graders are feeling the stress. On online protest sites, some are calling themselves a “cursed generation” and “mice in a lab experiment”. It all seems a touch melodramatic, but that's the SouthKorean school system.11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system isdesigned toA. require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.B. reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.C. select students on their high school grades only.D. reduce the number of prospective college applicants.12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?A. The system has given equal opportunities to students.B. The system has reduced the number of cram schools.C. The system has intensified competition among schools.D. The system has increased students' study load.13. According to critics, the popularity of private education ismainly the result ofA. the government's egalitarian policy.B. insufficient number of schools:C. curriculums of average quality.D. low cost of private education.14. According to the passage, there seems to be disagreement over theadoption of the new system between the following groups EXCEPTA. between universities and the government.B. between school experts and the government.C. between parents and schools.D. between parents and the government.15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the author'streatment of the topic?A. Objective.B. Positive.C. Negative.D. Biased.TEXT BWilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishman's dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days he's the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones.“But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britain's burgeoning farmers' markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you don't know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionaliststo move on."The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins ofthe University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors.What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.Naturally, the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers otherincalculable compensations?Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way. “Unlike most other countries, where artisanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. “It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of beinga peasant.” And not an investment banker.16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones isINCORRECT?A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.B. He used to work in the television industry.C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.D. He is now selling his own quality foods.17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditionalBritish farmingA. knowledge of farming.B. knowledge of brand names.C. knowledge of lifestyle.D. knowledge of marketing,18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence ofa new class of farmers?A. Strong desire for country life.B. Longing for greater wealth,C. Influence of TV productions.D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.B. Increase in the value of land property.C. Raising and selling rare live stock. VD. Publicity as a result of media coverage.20. The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isn't catchingup with mainland Europe; it's leading the way" implies thatA. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.C. the British are heading back to the countryside.D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these aren't stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel ofhuman cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher "story".These human towers can rise higher than small apartment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity can't defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top. Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below.Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancientritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: "We do it because it's beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan."Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and“ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense —but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets' bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona isdifferent.Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from the rest of Spain yet essential to Spain's emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spain's production—everything from textiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its owneconomic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running theatrical event.Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection, prove notto be.Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to compare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. "The balcony was on the second floor.He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone."There you have it, Barcelona's essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is talking into a cell phone (seny).21. From the description in the passage, we learn thatA. all Catalonians can perform castells.B. castells require performers to stand on each other.C. people perform castells in different formations.D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance isthatA. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ toshow seny at work.A. development of a bankB. dynamic role in economyC. contribution to national economyD. comparison with other regions24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. Whatdoes it mean?A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.B. It is of average quality.C. It is conventional and quiet.D. It is of professional standard.TEXT DThe law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death, the firm's letterhead properly included him: Patrick S. Lanigan, 1954-1992. He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals. Then the rumors got started and wouldn't stop. Before long, everyone believed hehad taken the money and disappeared. After three months, no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead. His name came off the letterheadas the debts piled up.The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were rolling and on the verge of serious wealth. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since Patrick's departure, they had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would work. Two were raging alcoholics who drank at the office behind locked doors, but nevertogether. The other two were in recovery, still teetering on the brink of sobriety.He took their money. Their millions. Money they had already spent long before it arrived, as only lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office building in downtown Biloxi. Money for new homes, yachts, condos in the Caribbean. The money was on the way, approved, the papers signed, orders entered; they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner —Patrick—snatched it at the last possible second.He was dead. They buried him on February 11, 1992. They had consoled the widow and put his rotten name on their handsome letterhead. Yet six weeks later, he somehow stole their money.They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan, the firm's senior partner and its iron hand, had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made sense after some discussion. It was ninety million bucks, a third of which the firm would keep, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand. Someone at the bank would talk. Soon everyone would know. All four vowed secrecy, even as they made plans to display as much of their new wealth as possible. There had even been talk of a firm jet, asix-seater.So Bogan took his share of the blame. At forty-nine, he was the oldest of the four, and, at the moment, the most stable. He was also responsible for hiring Patrick nine years earlier, and for this he had received nosmall amount of grief.Doug Vitrano, the litigator, had made the fateful decision to recommend Patrick as the fifth partner. The other three had agreed, and when Patrick Lanigan was added to the firm name, he had access to virtually every file in the office. Bogan, Rapley, Vitrano, Havarac, and Lanigan, Attorneys and Counselors-at-Law. A large ad in the yellow pages claimed "Specialistsin Offshore Injuries." Specialists or not, like most firms they would take almost anything if the fees were lucrative. Lots of secretaries and paralegals. Big overhead, and the strongest political connections on theCoast.They were all in their mid- to late forties. Havarac had been raised by his father on a shrimp boat. His hands were still proudly calloused, and he dreamed of choking Patrick until his neck snapped. Rapley was severely depressed and seldom left his home, where he wrote briefs in a dark officein the attic.26. What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick'sdisappearance?A. They all wanted to divorce their wives.B. They were all heavily involved in debts.C. They were all recovering from drinking.D. They had bought new homes, yachts, etc.27. Which of the following statements contains a metaphor?A. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.B. …they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner...C. …, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages...D. …, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.28. According to the passage, what is the main cause of Patrickstealing the money?A. Patrick was made a partner of the firm.B. The partners agreed to have the money transferred.C. Patrick had access to all the files in the firm.D. Bogan decided to hire Patrick nine years earlier.29. The lawyers were described as being all the following EXCEPTA. greedy.B. extravagantC. quarrelsome.D. bad-tempered.30. Which of the following implies a contrast?A. …, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi,population fifty thousand.B. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thusthe bankruptcy.C. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.D. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question. Mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet31. The largest city in Canada isA. Vancouver.B. Montreal.C. TorontoD. Ottawa.32. According to the United States Constitution, the legislativepower is invested inA. the Federal Government.B. the Supreme Court.C. the Cabinet.D. the Congress.33. Which of the following is the oldest sport in the United States?A. Baseball.B. Tennis.C. Basketball.D. American football.34. The head of the executive branch in New Zealand isA. the President.B. the Governor-General.C. the British monarch,D. the Prime Minister.35. The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, is an important poetic work byA. William Langland.B. Geoffrey Chaucer.C. William Shakespeare.D. Alfred Tennyson.36. Who wrote The American?A. Herman Melville.B. Nathaniel Hawthorne.C. Henry James.D. Theodore Dreiser.37. All of the following are well-known female writers in 20th-centuryBritain EXCEPTA. George Eliot.B. Iris Jean Murdoch.C. Doris Lessing.D. Muriel Spark.38. Which of the following is NOT a design feature of human language?A. Arbitrariness.B. Displacement.C. Duality.D. Diachronicity.39. What type of sentence is “Mark likes fiction, but Tim isinterested in poetry.”?A. A simple sentence.B. A coordinate sentence.C. A complex sentence.D. None of the above.40. The phenomenon that words having different meanings have the sameform is calledA. hyponymy.B. synonymy.C. polysemy.D. homonymy.PART IV PROOFREADING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN) Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISHTranslate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.都市寸土千金，地价炒得越来越高，今后将更高。
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。
08年英语专业八级全真试题
08年英语专业八级全真试题QUESTION BOOKLETTEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS（2008）—GRADE EIGHT—TIME LIMIT: 195MINPART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION （35 MIN）SECTION AMINI -LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. You notes will not be market, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task for after the mini- lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note- tanking.SECTION BINTERVIEWIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your colored answer sheet.Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.Now listen to the interview1. Mary doesn’t seem to favour the idea of a new airport becauseA. the existing airports are to be wastedB. more people will be encouraged to travel.C. more oil will be consumed.D. more airplanes will be purchased.2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potential disadvantage?A. More people in the area.B. Noise and motorways.C. Waste of land.D. Unnecessary travel.3. Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airport EXCEPTA. more job opportunities.B. vitality to the local economy.C. road construction,D. presence of aircrew in the area.4. Mary thinks that people dont need to do much travel nowadays asa result ofA. less emphasis on personal contact.B. advances in modern telecommunications.C. recent changes in peoples concepts.D. more potential damage to the area5. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Marys ideas,A. strongly in favour ofB. mildly in favour ofC. strongly againstD. mildly againstSECTION CNEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Question 6 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.Now listen to the news.6. What is the main idea of the news item?A. A new government was formed after Sundays elections.B. The new government intends to change the welfare system.C. The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.D. The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment.Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.7. The tapes of the Apollo-11 mission were first stored inA. a U.S. government archives warehouse.B. a NASA ground tracking station.C. the Goddard Space Flight Centre.D. none of the above places.8. What does the news item say about Richard Nafzger?A. He is assigned the task to look for the tapes.B. He believes that the tapes are probably lost.C. He works in a NASA ground receiving site.D. He had asked for the tapes in the 1970s.Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.9. The example in the news item is cited mainly to showA. that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetentB. that in cases like that hospitals have to pay huge compensations.C. that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment.D. that language barriers can result in fatal consequences.10. According to Dr. Flores, hospitals and clinicsA. have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters.B. have realized the problems of language barriers.C. have begun training their staff to be bilinguals.D. have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis.。
改错
一．题型介绍校对与改错是英语专业八级考试的第四部分。
(研究生入学考试试卷第三题 proof reading and error correction 15points)答题要求部分规定了修改短文的三种方法：改词、加词和删词。
要求修改的短文长度为250个单词左右。
体裁和题材不限。
短文内含10个错误，错误都出现在标有题号的行内。
每行只出现一个错误，错误一般涉及单个词。
要求修改的单词既有功能词（如介词、冠词等），也有实义词（动词、名词等）。
错误既涉及句内也涉及句间。
校对与改错部分的测试目的是检查学生在实际语境中灵活运用语言的能力以及语言文化科学等背景知识的积累。
该项目考查学生的语法和词汇知识,更侧重评估学生的综合语言能力。
校对改错部分要求学生在15分钟内找出10个错误，并根据要求用三种方法之中的一种改正错误。
此题包括"标错"和"改错"两部分。
如果考生不重视第一步，没有在文中作标记，只在答题线上作改动，会导致最后完全被扣分；如果标错位置，改正正确，不得分；如果考生只是正确标出，而没有改正出来或改正错误，只能得0.5分。
Direction:The following passage contains TEN errors. Each line contains a maximum of one error. In each case, only one word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way.For a wrong word，underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.For a missing word，mark the position of the missing word with a " A " sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.For an unnecessary word, cross out the unnecessary word with a slash "/" and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.注：沈阳师范大学研究生入学考试试卷中此题为15个空，共15分二、常见错误类型改错与校对题目中常见的错误类型有四大类：词汇错误、语法错误、篇章理解错误及其他错误(一)词汇问题：词汇误用（冠词、名词、动词、代词、形容词及副词、情态动词）搭配不当（与介、副词搭配居多，具有不可提高性）(二)语法知识1．从句（代词与先行词一致）2. 非谓语动词3. 时态、语态4. 主谓一致5. 形容词、副词的比较级和最高级6. 虚拟语气7. 倒装（很少出题）（三）篇章结构问题（四）其他：赘述缺词三、常见改错方法及详解(一）词汇问题1.词汇误用A名词误用（单、复数词义差异、相同词形词词义辨析）例1 :He holds his "readiness-to-rise" post and keeps on holding it. It is as if his body had frozen at the get-ready moment. ( 1997年真题)例2：The desire to use language as a sign of national identity is a very natural one，and in result language has played a prominent part in national moves. (2008年真题)例3：Congressional investigations therefore represent one important tool available to lawmakers to inform the citizenry and to arouse public interests in national issues.B.动词误用（主被动，及物非及物，时态《归类为语法》，搭配《归类为介、副词》）主、被动误用（高频）例1：On various occasions, producer groups, asked firmer control, but the government had no wish to become involving (involved), at least not until wartime when wheat prices threatened to run wild. 及物动词和不及物动词的误用（高频）例1：This is what his body wants to do, therefore (yet or but) his politeness glues his body to the chair and refuses to let him raise. (1997年真题)例2：Plant foods provide for 60 percent to 80 percent of the Kung diet, and no one goes hungry when the hunt fails. (1999年真题）例3 ：The fact that such noises are similar on the lips of Frenchmen and Malaysians whose languages are utterly different, serves to emphasize on the fundamental difference between these noises and language proper. (2007年真题)C. 形容词、副词误用（多为搭配错误，后面会讲）形容词词义本身误用1. Men have often felt the need to cultivate a given language to show that they are distinctive from another race whose hegemony they resent. (2008年真题）形容词比较级误用（高频）1.The marketing of wheat became an increasing favorite topic of conversation.2.His vocabulary, in particular, both that which he uses actively and that which he recognizes,increases in size as he grows old as a result of education and experience.3.From the 1940s through the early 1960s, Americans married at a high rate and at a younger agethan their Europe counterparts.冠词和不定冠词的误用（高频）例1 :If he were not hesitating, it would only last a fraction of the second. (1997年真题)例2：...if (while) no one is suggesting what we return to an aboriginal life style, we certainly could use their eating habits as a model for healthier diet. ( 1999年真题)例3：The grammatical words which play so large a part in English grammar are for the most part sharply and obviously different from the lexical words. A rough and ready difference which may seem the most obvious is that grammatical words have“less meaning”, and in fact some grammarians have called them“empty”words as opposed to the“full”words of vocabulary。
2008年英语专业八级真题及详解【圣才出品】
2008年英语专业八级真题及详解TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS(2008)-GRADE EIGHT-TIME LIMIT:150MIN PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION(25MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture.You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY.While listening to the mini-lecture,please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s)you fill in is(are)both grammatically and semantically acceptable.You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.Now,listen to the mini-lecture.When it is over,you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.The Popularity of English【答案与解析】(1)native/first languages细节题。
讲座主要是关于英语流行的主要原因，讲座一开始主要从三方面陈述了英语的使用现状，本题主要针对英语作为一种通用语(lingua franca）的使用情况设题。
讲座中第一段的最后一句提到通用语指的是一种广泛地应用于两个不同的本国语者之间的语言，说话者双方或其中一方把该语言作为第二语言来使用。
08年英语专业八级全真试题(4)
08年英语专业八级全真试题(4)TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these arent stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher “story”.These human towers can rise higher than small apartment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity cant defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top.Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below.Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterraneans most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close,in their street clothes, at practice, you see theres nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: “We do it because its beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan.”Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and “ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense—but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona is different.Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from therest of Spain yet essential to Spains emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spains production—everything from textiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and theres no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelonas longest running theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection, prove not to be.Aficionados （Fans）of Barcelona love to compare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. “The balcony was on thesecond floo r. He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone.”There you have it, Barcelonas essence. The man is naked （rauxa）, but he is talking into a cell phone （seny）.21. From the description in the passage, we learn thatA. all Catalonians can perform castells.B. castells require performers to stand on each other.C. people perform castells in different formations.D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is thatA. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ to show seny at work.A. development of a bankB. dynamic role in economyC. contribution to national economyD. comparison with other regions24. In the last but two paragraph, the Rambla s is described as “a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. Whatdoes it mean?A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.B. It is of average quality.C. It is conventional and quiet.D. It is of professional standard.。
2008英语专业八级阅读真题及答案
2008英语专业八级真题及答案PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheetTEXT AAt the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joon's life is a living hell. The South Korean 10th grader gets up at 6 in the morning to go to school, and studies most of the day until returning home at 6 p.m. After dinner, it's time to hit the books again—at one of Seoul's many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at 1 in the morning, sleeps less than five hours, then repeats the routine—five days a week. It's a grueling schedule, but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into a top university. Some of his classmates study even harder.South Korea's education system has long been highly competitive. But for Lee and the other 700,000 high-school sophomores in the country, high-school studies have gotten even more intense. That's because South Korea has conceived a new college-entrance system, which will be implemented in 2008. This year's 10th graders will be the first group evaluated by the new admissions standard, which places more emphasis on grades in the three years of high school and less on nationwide SAT-style and other selection tests, which have traditionally determined which students go to the elite colleges.The change was made mostly to reduce what the government says is a growing education gap in the country: wealthy students go to the best colleges and get the best jobs, keeping the children of poorer families on the social margins. The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools, partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life. But the new system has had the opposite effect. Before, students didn't worry too much about their grade-point averages; the big challenge was beating the standardized tests as high-school seniors. Now students are competing against one another over a three-year period, and every midterm and final test is crucial. Fretful parents are relying even more heavily on tutors and cram schools to help their children succeed.Parents and kids have sent thousands of angry online letters to the Education Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against each other. "One can succeed only when others fail,” as one parent said.Education experts say that South Korea's public secondary-school system is foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the country's high schools are almost uniformly mediocre—the result of an egalitarian government education policy. With the number of elite schools strictly controlled by the government, even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinary schools in their neighbourhoods, where the curriculum is centred on average students. To make up for the mediocrity, zealous parents send their kids to the expensive cram schools.Students in affluent southern Seoul neighbourhoods complain that the new system will hurt them the most. Nearly all Korean high schools will be weighted equally in the college-entrance process, and relatively weak students in provincial schools, who may not score well on standardized tests, often compile good grade-point averages. Some universities, particularly prestigious ones, openly complain that they cannot select the best students under the new system because it eliminates differences among high schools. They've asked for more discretion in picking students by giving more weight to such screening tools as essay writing or interviews.President Roh Moo Hyun doesn't like how some colleges are trying to circumvent the new system. He recently criticized "greedy" universities that focus more on finding the best students than faying to "nurture good students". But amid the crossfire between the government and universities, the country's 10th graders are feeling the stress. On online protest sites, some are calling themselves a “cursed generation” and “mice in a lab experiment”. It all seems a touch me lodramatic, but that's the South Korean school system.11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system is designed toA. require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.B. reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.C. select students on their high school grades only.D. reduce the number of prospective college applicants.12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?A. The system has given equal opportunities to students.B. The system has reduced the number of cram schools.C. The system has intensified competition among schools.D. The system has increased students' study load.13. According to critics, the popularity of private education is mainly the result ofA. the government's egalitarian policy.B. insufficient number of schools:C. curriculums of average quality.D. low cost of private education.14. According to the passage, there seems to be disagreement over the adoption of the new system between the following groups EXCEPTA. between universities and the government.B. between school experts and the government.C. between parents and schools.D. between parents and the government.15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the author's treatment of the topic?A. Objective.B. Positive.C. Negative.D. Biased.TEXT BWilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishman's dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days he's the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones. “But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britain's burgeoning farmers' markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you don't know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on."The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins of the University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.Naturally, the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations?Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way. “Unlike most other countries, where art isanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. “It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a peasant.” And not an investment banker.16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT?A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.B. He used to work in the television industry.C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.D. He is now selling his own quality foods.17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditional British farmingA. knowledge of farming.B. knowledge of brand names.C. knowledge of lifestyle.D. knowledge of marketing,18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence of a new class of farmers?A. Strong desire for country life.B. Longing for greater wealth,C. Influence of TV productions.D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.B. Increase in the value of land property.C. Raising and selling rare live stock. VD. Publicity as a result of media coverage.20. The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way" implies thatA. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.C. the British are heading back to the countryside.D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these aren't stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher "story".These human towers can rise higher than small apar tment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity can't defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top. Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below. Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: "We do it because it's beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan."Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and “ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense—but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets' bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona is different.Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from the rest of Spain yet essential to Spain's emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spain's production—everything fromtextiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection, prove not to be.Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to co mpare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. "The balcony was on the second floor. He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone."There you have it, Barcelona's essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is talking into a cell phone (seny).21. From the description in the passage, we learn thatA. all Catalonians can perform castells.B. castells require performers to stand on each other.C. people perform castells in different formations.D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is thatA. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ to show seny at work.A. development of a bankB. dynamic role in economyC. contribution to national economyD. comparison with other regions24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. What does it mean?A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.B. It is of average quality.C. It is conventional and quiet.D. It is of professional standard.TEXT DThe law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death, the firm's letterhead properly included him: Patrick S. Lanigan, 1954-1992. He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals. Then the rumors got started and wouldn't stop. Before long, everyone believed he had taken the money and disappeared. After three months, no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were rolling and on the verge of serious wealth. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since Patrick's departure, they had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would work. Two were raging alcoholics who drank at the office behind locked doors, but nevertogether. The other two were in recovery, still teetering on the brink of sobriety.He took their money. Their millions. Money they had already spent long before it arrived, as only lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office building in downtown Biloxi. Money for new homes, yachts, condos in the Caribbean. The money was on the way, approved, the papers signed, orders entered; they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner—Patrick—snatched it at the last possible second.He was dead. They buried him on February 11, 1992. They had consoled the widow and put his rotten name on their handsome letterhead. Yet six weeks later, he somehow stole their money.They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan, the firm's senior partner and its iron hand, had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made sense after some discussion. It was ninety million bucks, a third of which the firm would keep, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand. Someone at the bank would talk. Soon everyone would know. All four vowed secrecy, even as they made plans to display as much of their new wealth as possible. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.So Bogan took his share of the blame. At forty-nine, he was the oldest of the four, and, at the moment, the most stable. He was also responsible for hiring Patrick nine years earlier, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.Doug Vitrano, the litigator, had made the fateful decision to recommend Patrick as the fifth partner. The other three had agreed, and when Patrick Lanigan was added to the firm name, he had access to virtually every file in the office. Bogan, Rapley, Vitrano, Havarac, and Lanigan, Attorneys and Counselors-at-Law. A large ad in the yellow pages claimed "Specialists in Offshore Injuries." Specialists or not, like most firms they would take almost anything if the fees were lucrative. Lots of secretaries and paralegals. Big overhead, and the strongest political connections on the Coast.They were all in their mid- to late forties. Havarac had been raised by his father on a shrimp boat. His hands were still proudly calloused, and he dreamed of choking Patrick until his neck snapped. Rapley was severely depressed and seldom left his home, where he wrote briefs in a dark office in the attic.26. What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick's disappearance?A. They all wanted to divorce their wives.B. They were all heavily involved in debts.C. They were all recovering from drinking.D. They had bought new homes, yachts, etc.27. Which of the following statements contains a metaphor?A. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.B. …they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner...C. …, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages...D. …, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.28. According to the passage, what is the main cause of Patrick stealing the money?A. Patrick was made a partner of the firm.B. The partners agreed to have the money transferred.C. Patrick had access to all the files in the firm.D. Bogan decided to hire Patrick nine years earlier.29. The lawyers were described as being all the following EXCEPTA. greedy.B. extravagantC. quarrelsome.D. bad-tempered.30. Which of the following implies a contrast?A. …, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand.B. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy.C. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.D. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.2008年英语专业八级Mini-lecture：(沪友今心提供)1. native language2. 3503. Historical4. India5. commerce6. Boom7. sea travel communication8. conference9. many radios 10. split阅读：(沪友落落提供)阅读一共四篇：韩国的新教育制度引起多方不满；第二篇是讲西班牙人的一些性格；第三篇是英国人热衷自己饲养出售畜牧产品；最后一篇是一个小说节选，四个律师被死去的合伙人骗得破产。
2008英语专业八级考试完整答案
2008英语专业八级考试完整答案听力部分1. native language2. 3503. Historical4. India5. commerce6. Boom7. sea travel communication8. conference9. many radios 10. splitSection B: 1-5 B C A C D Section C: 6-10 D A B C B阅读部分11-15. C B D A C 16-20. B D C D B21-25. C A D D B 26-30. C A D B C人文知识31 选C加拿大最大的城市是TORONTO32 选D立法权是国会THE33 选A 棒球一切都始于棒球美国的体育文化脱胎于棒球,一直以来,棒球就一直是文人们的最爱。
作为最古老的美式运动,棒球的形态一直保存完整,历史学家们视之为宝物34 新西兰的最高长官是B governor general 总督35选B THE CANTERBURY TALES 是GEORFFERY CHAUCER 写的36 选C THE AMERICAN 是谁写的Henrry James37 选A 不是20世纪英国女作家那题选A 其他都是20世纪著名的女性作家乔治.艾略特(George Eliot)原名玛丽·安·埃文斯Mary Ann Evans，1819年11月22日-1880年12月22日，英国小说家，与狄更斯和萨克雷齐名。
其主要作品有《弗洛斯河上的磨坊》The Mill on the Floss，《米德尔马契》等。
38 选D 历时性(diachronicity) 这个不是语言学的特性39选B 并列句but连接的两个分句40选D homonymy指的是语汇中一对对或是一组组的单词，虽然意思不同，但是发音相同，或拼写相同，又或者是发音和拼写都相同。
这些一对对一组组的单词我们称之为homonym(同形同音异义词、同形异义词、同音异义词)。
2005 2008专八真题 翻译部分与答案
2005—2008年专八真题翻译部分原题及答案2005 年真题 Section A Chinese to English一个人的生命究竟有多大意义，这有什么标准可以衡量吗？提出一个绝对的标准当然很困难；但是，大体上看一个人对待生命的态度是否严肃认真，看他对待劳动、工作等等的态度如何，也就不难对这个人的存在意义做出适当的估计了。
古来一切有成就的人，都很严肃地对待自己的生命，当他活着一天，总要尽量多劳动、多工作、多学习，不肯虚度年华，不让时间白白地浪费掉。
我国历代的劳动人民及大政治家、大思想家等等都莫不如此。
参考译文：How significant is a person s life? Is there any standard to measure it? It will be verydifficult to put forward an absolute standard, but in general, the significance of one s existencecan be estimated by how he treats his life, by what attitude he takes to work and what ways hechooses to live.From ancient times up to now, all the accomplished people treat their lives very seriously.They work and, learn as much as possible. They hate to spend the best of their lives in vain,they do not want to let their time slip by. All the laboring people, great statesmen and thinkersof our country at all ages treasure their time in this way.Section B English to ChineseIt is simple enough to say that since books have classes fiction, biography, poetry—weshould separate them and take from each what it is right that each should give us. Yet few peopleask from books what books can give us. Most commonly we come to books with blurred anddivided minds, asking of fiction that it shall be true, of poetry that it shall be false, of biographythat it shall be flattering, of history that it shall enforce our own prejudices. If we could banish allsuch preconception when we read, that would be an admirable beginning. Do not dictate to yourauthor. try to become him. Be his fellow worker and accomplice. If you hang back, and reserveand criticize at first, you are preventing yourself from getting the fullest possible value fromwhat you read. But if you open your mind as widely as possible, then signs and hints of almostimperceptible finess, from the twist and turn of the first sentences, will bring you into thepresence of a human being unlike any other. Steep yourself in this, acquaint yourself with this,and soon you will find that your author is giving you, or attempting to give you, something farmore definite.参考译文：然而几乎没有什么人会从书中提问：书能给我们什么。
2008年英语专业八级考试试题原题及答案解析
答案在：第11页TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS（2008）—GRADE EIGHT—TIME LIMIT: 195MINPART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)SECTION A MINI -LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. You notes will not be market, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task for after the mini- lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE.Use the blank sheet for note- tanking.SECTION B INTERVIEWIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your colored answer sheet. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.Now listen to the interview1. Mary doesn't seem to favour the idea of a new airport becauseA. the existing airports are to be wastedB. more people will be encouraged to travel.C. more oil will be consumed.D. more airplanes will be purchased.2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potential disadvantage?A. More people in the area.B. Noise and motorways.C. Waste of land.D. Unnecessary travel.3. Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airport EXCEPTA. more job opportunities.B. vitality to the local economy.C. road construction,D. presence of aircrew in the area.4. Mary thinks that people dont need to do much travel nowadays as a result ofA. less emphasis on personal contact.B. advances in modern telecommunications.C. recent changes in peoples concepts.D. more potential damage to the area5. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Marys ideas,A. strongly in favour ofB. mildly in favour ofC. strongly againstD. mildly againstSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Question 6 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.6. What is the main idea of the news item?A. A new government was formed after Sundays elections.B. The new government intends to change the welfare system.C. The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.D. The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment.Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.7. The tapes of the Apollo-11 mission were first stored inA. a U.S. government archives warehouse.B. a NASA ground tracking station.C. the Goddard Space Flight Centre.D. none of the above places.8. What does the news item say about Richard Nafzger?A. He is assigned the task to look for the tapes.B. He believes that the tapes are probably lost.C. He works in a NASA ground receiving site.D. He had asked for the tapes in the 1970s.Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.9. The example in the news item is cited mainly to showA. that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetentB. that in cases like that hospitals have to pay huge compensations.C. that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment.D. that language barriers can result in fatal consequences.10. According to Dr. Flores, hospitals and clinicsA. have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters.B. have realized the problems of language barriers.C. have begun training their staff to be bilinguals.D. have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis.PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet。
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)。
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2008英语专业八级真题及答案PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheetTEXT AAt the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joon's life is a living hell. The South Korean 10th grader gets up at 6 in the morning to go to school, and studies most of the day until returning home at 6 p.m. After dinner, it's time to hit the books again—at one of Seoul's many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at 1 in the morning, sleeps less than five hours, then repeats the routine—five days a week. It's a grueling schedule, but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into a top university. Some of his classmates study even harder.South Korea's education system has long been highly competitive. But for Lee and the other 700,000 high-school sophomores in the country, high-school studies have gotten even more intense. That's because South Korea has conceived a new college-entrance system, which will be implemented in 2008. This year's 10th graders will be the first group evaluated by the new admissions standard, which places more emphasis on grades in the three years of high school and less on nationwide SAT-style and other selection tests, which have traditionally determined which students go to the elite colleges.The change was made mostly to reduce what the government says is a growing education gap in the country: wealthy students go to the best colleges and get the best jobs, keeping the children of poorer families on the social margins. The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools, partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life. But the new system has had the opposite effect. Before, students didn't worry too much about their grade-point averages; the big challenge was beating the standardized tests as high-school seniors. Now students are competing against one another over a three-year period, and every midterm and final test is crucial. Fretful parents are relying even more heavily on tutors and cram schools to help their children succeed.Parents and kids have sent thousands of angry online letters to the Education Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against each other. "One can succeed only when others fail,” as one parent said.Education experts say that South Korea's public secondary-school system is foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the country's high schools are almost uniformly mediocre—the result of an egalitarian government education policy. With the number of elite schools strictly controlled by the government, even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinary schools in their neighbourhoods, where the curriculum is centred on average students. To make up for the mediocrity, zealous parents send their kids to the expensive cram schools.Students in affluent southern Seoul neighbourhoods complain that the new system will hurt them the most. Nearly all Korean high schools will be weighted equally in the college-entrance process, and relatively weak students in provincial schools, who may not score well on standardized tests, often compile good grade-point averages. Some universities, particularly prestigious ones, openly complain that they cannot select the best students under the new system because it eliminates differences among high schools. They've asked for more discretion in picking students by giving more weight to such screening tools as essay writing or interviews.President Roh Moo Hyun doesn't like how some colleges are trying to circumvent the new system. He recently criticized "greedy" universities that focus more on finding the best students than faying to "nurture good students". But amid the crossfire between the government and universities, the country's 10th graders are feeling the stress. On online protest sites, some are calling themselves a “cursed generation” and “mice in a lab experiment”. It all seems a touch me lodramatic, but that's the South Korean school system.11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system is designed toA. require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.B. reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.C. select students on their high school grades only.D. reduce the number of prospective college applicants.12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?A. The system has given equal opportunities to students.B. The system has reduced the number of cram schools.C. The system has intensified competition among schools.D. The system has increased students' study load.13. According to critics, the popularity of private education is mainly the result ofA. the government's egalitarian policy.B. insufficient number of schools:C. curriculums of average quality.D. low cost of private education.14. According to the passage, there seems to be disagreement over the adoption of the new system between the following groups EXCEPTA. between universities and the government.B. between school experts and the government.C. between parents and schools.D. between parents and the government.15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the author's treatment of the topic?A. Objective.B. Positive.C. Negative.D. Biased.TEXT BWilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishman's dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days he's the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones. “But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britain's burgeoning farmers' markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you don't know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on."The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins of the University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.Naturally, the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations?Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way. “Unlike most other countries, where art isanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. “It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a peasant.” And not an investment banker.16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT?A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.B. He used to work in the television industry.C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.D. He is now selling his own quality foods.17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditional British farmingA. knowledge of farming.B. knowledge of brand names.C. knowledge of lifestyle.D. knowledge of marketing,18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence of a new class of farmers?A. Strong desire for country life.B. Longing for greater wealth,C. Influence of TV productions.D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.B. Increase in the value of land property.C. Raising and selling rare live stock. VD. Publicity as a result of media coverage.20. The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way" implies thatA. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.C. the British are heading back to the countryside.D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these aren't stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher "story".These human towers can rise higher than small apar tment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity can't defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top. Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below. Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: "We do it because it's beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan."Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and “ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense—but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets' bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona is different.Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from the rest of Spain yet essential to Spain's emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spain's production—everything fromtextiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection, prove not to be.Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to co mpare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. "The balcony was on the second floor. He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone."There you have it, Barcelona's essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is talking into a cell phone (seny).21. From the description in the passage, we learn thatA. all Catalonians can perform castells.B. castells require performers to stand on each other.C. people perform castells in different formations.D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is thatA. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ to show seny at work.A. development of a bankB. dynamic role in economyC. contribution to national economyD. comparison with other regions24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. What does it mean?A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.B. It is of average quality.C. It is conventional and quiet.D. It is of professional standard.TEXT DThe law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death, the firm's letterhead properly included him: Patrick S. Lanigan, 1954-1992. He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals. Then the rumors got started and wouldn't stop. Before long, everyone believed he had taken the money and disappeared. After three months, no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were rolling and on the verge of serious wealth. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since Patrick's departure, they had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would work. Two were raging alcoholics who drank at the office behind locked doors, but nevertogether. The other two were in recovery, still teetering on the brink of sobriety.He took their money. Their millions. Money they had already spent long before it arrived, as only lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office building in downtown Biloxi. Money for new homes, yachts, condos in the Caribbean. The money was on the way, approved, the papers signed, orders entered; they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner—Patrick—snatched it at the last possible second.He was dead. They buried him on February 11, 1992. They had consoled the widow and put his rotten name on their handsome letterhead. Yet six weeks later, he somehow stole their money.They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan, the firm's senior partner and its iron hand, had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made sense after some discussion. It was ninety million bucks, a third of which the firm would keep, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand. Someone at the bank would talk. Soon everyone would know. All four vowed secrecy, even as they made plans to display as much of their new wealth as possible. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.So Bogan took his share of the blame. At forty-nine, he was the oldest of the four, and, at the moment, the most stable. He was also responsible for hiring Patrick nine years earlier, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.Doug Vitrano, the litigator, had made the fateful decision to recommend Patrick as the fifth partner. The other three had agreed, and when Patrick Lanigan was added to the firm name, he had access to virtually every file in the office. Bogan, Rapley, Vitrano, Havarac, and Lanigan, Attorneys and Counselors-at-Law. A large ad in the yellow pages claimed "Specialists in Offshore Injuries." Specialists or not, like most firms they would take almost anything if the fees were lucrative. Lots of secretaries and paralegals. Big overhead, and the strongest political connections on the Coast.They were all in their mid- to late forties. Havarac had been raised by his father on a shrimp boat. His hands were still proudly calloused, and he dreamed of choking Patrick until his neck snapped. Rapley was severely depressed and seldom left his home, where he wrote briefs in a dark office in the attic.26. What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick's disappearance?A. They all wanted to divorce their wives.B. They were all heavily involved in debts.C. They were all recovering from drinking.D. They had bought new homes, yachts, etc.27. Which of the following statements contains a metaphor?A. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.B. …they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner...C. …, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages...D. …, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.28. According to the passage, what is the main cause of Patrick stealing the money?A. Patrick was made a partner of the firm.B. The partners agreed to have the money transferred.C. Patrick had access to all the files in the firm.D. Bogan decided to hire Patrick nine years earlier.29. The lawyers were described as being all the following EXCEPTA. greedy.B. extravagantC. quarrelsome.D. bad-tempered.30. Which of the following implies a contrast?A. …, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand.B. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy.C. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.D. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.2008年英语专业八级Mini-lecture：(沪友今心提供)1. native language2. 3503. Historical4. India5. commerce6. Boom7. sea travel communication8. conference9. many radios 10. split阅读：(沪友落落提供)阅读一共四篇：韩国的新教育制度引起多方不满；第二篇是讲西班牙人的一些性格；第三篇是英国人热衷自己饲养出售畜牧产品；最后一篇是一个小说节选，四个律师被死去的合伙人骗得破产。