2004 年专业英语八级考试真题及答案
Part Ⅰ Listening Comprehension (40 min)
In Sections A,B and C 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.
SECTION A TALK
Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you will
be given 75 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the talk.
1.The parallel between waltzing and language use lies in ____.
A.the coordination based on individual actions
B.the number of individual participants
C.the necessity of individual actions
D.the requirements for participants
2.In the talk the speaker thinks that language use is a(n) ____ process.
A.individual
B.combined
C.distinct
D.social
3.The main difference between personal and nonpersonal settings is in ____.
A.the manner of language use
B.the topic and content of speech
C.the interactions between speaker and audience
D.the relationship between speaker and audience
4.In fictional settings, speakers ____.
A.hide their real intentions
B.voice others’ intentions
C.play double roles on and off stage
D.only imitate other people in life
5.Compared with other types of settings, the main feature of private setting is ____.
A.the absence of spontaneity
B.the presence of individual actions
C.the lack of real intentions
D.the absence of audience
SECTION B INTERVIEW
Questions 6 to 10 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will
be given 75 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the interview.
6.What was education like in Professor Wang’s days?
A.Students worked very hard.
B.Students felt they needed a second degree.
C.Education was not career
oriented.
D.There were many specialized subjects.
7.According to Professor Wang, what is the purpose of the present
day education?
A.To turn out an adequate number of elite for the society.
B.To prepare students for their future career.
C.To offer practical and utilitarian courses in each programme.
D.To set up as many technical institutions as possible.
8.In Professor Wang’s opinion, technical skills ____.
A.require good education
B.are secondary to education
C.don’t call for good education
D.don’t conflict with education
9.What does Professor Wang suggest to cope with the situation caused by increasing
numbers of fee
A.Shifting from one programme to another.
B.Working out ways to reduce student number.
C.Emphasizing better quality of education.
D.Setting up stricter examination standards.
10.Future education needs to produce graduates of all the following categories
EXCEPT ____.
A.those who can adapt to different professions
B.those who have a high flexibility of mind
C.those who are thinkers, historians and philosophers
D.those who possess only highly specialized skills
paying students?
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item,
you will be given 45 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.
11.Which of the following regions in the world will witness the sharpest drop in
life expectancy?
A.Latin America.
B.Sub
C.Asia.
D.The Caribbean.
12.According to the news, which country will experience small life expectancy drop?
Saharan Africa.
A.Burma.
B.Botswana.
C.Cambodia.
D.Thailand.
13.The countries that are predicted to experience negative population growth are
mainly in ____
A.Asia.
B.Africa.
C.Latin America.
D.The Caribbean.
Questions 14 and 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item,
you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.
14.The trade dispute between the European Union and the US was caused by ____.
A.US refusal to accept arbitration by WTO
B.US imposing tariffs on European steel
C.US refusal to pay compensation to EU
D.US refusal to lower import duties on EU products
15.Who will be consulted first before the EU list is submitted to WTO?
A.EU member states.
B.The United States.
C.WTO.
D.The steel corporations.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
In this section you will hear a mini
lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY.
While listening to the lecture, take notes on the important points. Your notes will
not be marked, but you will need them to complete a 15 minute gap
filling task on
ANSWER SHEET ONE after the mini lecture. Use the blank sheet for note taking.
Conversation Skills
People who usually make us feel comfortable in conversations are good talkers. And
they have something in common, i.e. skills to put people at ease.
1. Skill to ask question
1) be aware of the human nature: readiness to answer other’s questions regardless
of (1)____
2) start a conversation with some personal but unharmfull
questions about one’s
questions about one’s activities in the (3)____
(2)____ job
3) be able to spot signals for further talk
2. Skill to (4)____for answers
1) don’t shift from subject to subject
— sticking to the same subject: signs of (5)____in
conversation
2) listen to (6)____of voice
— If people sound unenthusiastic, then change subject.
3) use eyes and ears
— steady your gaze while listening
3. Skill to laugh
Effects of laughter:
— ease people’s (7)____
— help start (8)____
4. Skill to part
1) importance: open up possibilities for future friendship or
contact
2) ways:
— men: a smile, a (9)____
— women: same as (10)____now
— how to express pleasure in meeting someone.
(15 min)
Part Ⅱ Proofreading and Error Correction
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated 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 “∧” 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 the unnecessary word with a slash “/”and put the
word in the blank provided at the end of the line.
Example
When ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never
them on the wall. When a natural history museum
wants an [ZZ(Z]exhibition[ZZ)], it must often build it. (3)exhibit
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.
One of the most important non-legislative functions of the U.S Congress
is the power to investigate. This power is usually delegated to committees - either
standing committees, special committees set for a specific
(1)____
purpose, or joint committees consisted of members of both houses.
(2)____
Investigations are held to gather information on the need for
future legislation, to test the effectiveness of laws already passed,
to inquire into the qualifications and performance of members and
officials of the other branches, and in rare occasions, to lay the
groundwork for impeachment proceedings. Frequently, committees
rely outside experts to assist in conducting investigative hearings
and to make out detailed studies of issues.
(3)____
(4)____
(5)____
There are important corollaries to the investigative power. One
is the power to publicize investigations and its results. Most
(6)____
committee hearings are open to public and are reported
(7)____
widely in the mass media. Congressional investigations
nevertheless represent one important tool available to lawmakers
(8)____
to inform the citizenry and to arouse public interests in national issues.
(9)____
Congressional committees also have the power to compel
testimony from unwilling witnesses, and to cite for contempt
of Congress witnesses who refuse to testify and for perjury
these who give false testimony.
(10)____
Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (30 min)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of fifteen
multiple choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your
coloured answer sheet.
TEXT A
Farmers in the developing world hate price fluctuations. It makes it hard to plan
ahead. But most of them have little choice: they sell at the price the market sets.
Farmers in Europe, the U.S. and Japan are luckier: they receive massive government
subsidies in the form of guaranteed prices or direct handouts. Last month U.S.
President Bush signed a new farm bill that gives American farmers $190 billion over
the next 10 years, or $83 billion more than they had been scheduled to get, and pushes
U.S. agricultural support close to crazy European levels. Bush said the step was
necessary to “promote farmer independence and preserve the farm way of life for
generations”. It is also designed to help the Republican Party win control of the
Senate in November’s mid
Agricultural production in most poor countries accounts for up to 50% of GDP,
compared to only 3% in rich countries. But most farmers in poor countries grow just
enough for themselves and their families. Those who try exporting to the West find
their goods whacked with huge tariffs or competing against cheaper subsidized goods.
In 1999 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development concluded that for
each dollar developing countries receive in aid they lose up to $14 just because
of trade barriers imposed on the export of their manufactured goods. It’s not as
if the developing world wants any favours, says Gerald Ssendwula, Uganda’s Minister
of Finance. “What we want is for the rich countries to let us compete.”
Agriculture is one of the few areas in which the Third World can compete. Land and
labour are cheap, and as farming methods develop, new technologies should improve
output. This is no pie
sky speculation. The biggest success in Kenya’
s economy over the past decade has been the boom in exports of cut flowers and
vegetables to Europe. But that may all change in 2008, when Kenya will be slightly
too rich to qualify for the “least
developed country” status that allows African
producers to avoid paying stiff European import duties on selected agricultural
products. With trade barriers in place, the horticulture industry in Kenya will
term elections.
in
the
shrivel as quickly as a discarded rose. And while agriculture exports remain the
great hope for poor countries, reducing trade barriers in other sectors also works:
Americas African Growth and Opportunity Act, which cuts duties on exports of
everything from handicrafts to shoes, has proved a boon to Africa’s manufacturers.
The lesson: the Third World can prosper if the rich world gives it a fair go.
This is what makes Bush’s decision to increase farm subsidies last month all the
more depressing. Poor countries have long suspected that the rich world urges rade
liberalization only so it can wangle its way into new markets. Such suspicions caused
the Seattle trade talks to break down three years ago. But last November members
of the World Trade Organization, meeting in Doha, Qatar, finally agreed to a new
round of talks designed to open up global trade in agriculture and textiles. Rich
countries assured poor countries, that their concerns were finally being addressed.
Bush’s handout last month makes a lie of America’s commitment to those talks and
his personal devotion to free trade.
16.By comparison, farmers ____ receive more government subsidies than others.
A.in the developing world
B.in Japan
C.in Europe
D.in America
17.In addition to the economic considerations, there is a ____ motive behind Bush’
s signing of the new farm bill.
A.partisan
B.social
C.financial
D.cultural
18.The message the writer attempts to convey throughout the passage is that ____.
A.poor countries should be given equal opportunities in trade
B.“the least
C.poor countries should remove their suspicions about trade liberalization
D.farmers in poor countries should also receive the benefit of subsidies
developed country” status benefits agricultural countries
19.The writer’s attitude towards new farm subsidies in the U.S. is ____.
A.favourable
B.ambiguous
C.critical
D.reserved
TEXT B
Oscar Wilde said that work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do.
If so, Americans are now among the world’s saddest refugees. Factory workers in
the United States are working longer hours than at any time in the past half century.
America once led the rich world in cutting the average working week—from 70 hours
in 1850 to less than 40 hours by the 1950s. It seemed natural that as people grew
richer they would trade extra earnings for more leisure. Since the 1970s, however,
the hours clocked up by American workers have risen, to an average of 42 this year
in manufacturing.
Several studies suggest that something similar is happening outside manufacturing:
Americans are spending more time at work than they did 20 years ago. Executives and
hour weeks. On holiday, they seek out fax machines and phones
lawyers boast of 80
as eagerly as Germans bag the best sun
loungers. Yet working time in Europe and
Japan continues to fall. In Germany’s engineering industry the working week is to
be trimmed from 36 to 35 hours next year. Most Germans get six weeks’ paid annual
holiday; even the Japanese now take three weeks. Americans still make do with just
two.
Germany responds to this contrast with its usual concern about whether people’s
aversion to work is damaging its competitiveness. Yet German workers, like the
Japanese, seem to be acting sensibly: as their incomes rise, they can achieve a better
standard of living with fewer hours of work. The puzzle is why America, the world’
s richest country, sees things differently. It is a puzzle with sinister social
implications. Parents spend less time with their children, who may be left alone
at home for longer. Is it just a coincidence that juvenile crime is on the rise?
Some explanations for America’s time at work fail to stand up to scrutiny. One
blames weak trade unions that leave workers open to exploitation. Are workers being
forced by cost
cutting firms to toil harder just to keep their jobs? A recent study
by two American economists, Richard Freeman and Linda Bell, suggests not: when asked,
Americans actually want to work longer hours. Most German workers, in contrast, would
rather work less.
Then, why do Americans want to work harder? One reason may be that the real earnings
of many Americans have been stagnant or falling during the past two decades. People
work longer merely to maintain their living standards. Yet many higher skilled
workers, who have enjoyed big increases in their real pay, have been working harder
too. Also, one reason for the slow growth of wages has been the rapid growth in
employment—which is more or less where the argument began. Taxes may have something
to do with it. People who work an extra hour in America are allowed to keep more
of their money than those who do the same in Germany. Falls in marginal tax rates
in America since the 1970s have made it all the more profitable to work longer.
long decline in working
hours has gone into reverse in America but not elsewhere (though Britain shows signs
of following America’s lead). Perhaps cultural differences—the last refuge of the
defeated economist—are at play. Economists used to believe that once workers earned
enough to provide for their basic needs and allow for a few luxuries, their incentive
to work would be eroded, like lions relaxing after a kill. But humans are more
susceptible to advertising than lions. Perhaps clever marketing has ensured that
“basic needs”—for a shower with built
propelled car—expand
continuously. Shopping is already one of America’s most popular pastimes. But it
requires money—hence more work and less leisure.
Or try this: the television is
not very good, and baseball and hockey keep being wiped out by strikes. Perhaps Wilde
was right. Maybe Americans have nothing better to do.
None of these answers really explains why the century
in TV, for a rocket
20.In the United States, working longer hours is ____.
A.confined to the manufacturing industry
B.a traditional practice in some sectors
C.prevalent in all sectors of society
D.favoured by the economists
21.According to the third paragraph, which might be one of the consequences of
working longer hours?
A.Rise in employees’ working efficiency.
B.Rise in the number of young offenders.
C.Rise in people’s living standards.
D.Rise in competitiveness.
22.Which of the following is the cause of working longer hours stated by
the writer?
A.Expansion of basic needs.
B.Cultural differences.
C.Increase in real earnings.
D.Advertising.
TEXT C
The fox really exasperated them both. As soon as they had let the fowls out, in the
early summer mornings, they had to take their guns and keep guard; and then again
as soon as evening began to mellow, they must go once more. And he was so sly. He
slid along in the deep grass; he was difficult as a serpent to see. And he seemed
to circumvent the girls deliberately. Once or twice March had caught sight of the
white tip of his brush, or the ruddy shadow of him in the deep grass, and she had
let fire at him. But he made no account of this.
The trees on the wood edge were
a darkish, brownish green in the full light—for it was the end of August. Beyond,
the naked, copper
like shafts and limbs of the pine trees shone in the air. Nearer
the rough grass, with its long, brownish stalks all agleam, was full of light. The
fowls were round about—the ducks were still swimming on the pond under the pine
trees. March looked at it all, saw it all, and did not see it. She heard Banford
speaking to the fowls in the distance—and she did not hear. What was she thinking
about? Heaven knows. Her consciousness was, as it were, held back.
She lowered her
eyes, and suddenly saw the fox. He was looking up at her. His chin was pressed down,
and his eyes were looking up. They met her eyes. And he knew her. She was spellbound
—she knew he knew her. So he looked into her eyes, and her soul failed her. He knew
her, he has not daunted.
She struggled, confusedly she came to herself, and saw
him making off, with slow leaps over some fallen boughs, slow, impudent jumps. Then
he glanced over his shoulder, and ran smoothly away. She saw his brush held smooth
like a feather, she saw his white buttocks twinkle. And he was gone, softly, soft
as the wind.
She put her gun to her shoulder, but even then pursed her mouth, knowing it was
nonsense to pretend to fire. So she began to walk slowly after him, in the direction
he had gone, slowly, pertinaciously. She expected to find him. In her heart she was
determined to find him. What she would do when she saw him again she did not consider.