2009年英语专八真题及解析
TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2009)
-GRADE EIGHT-
TIME LIMIT: 195 MIN PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONL Y 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.
Writing Experimental Reports
I.Content of an experimental report, e.g.
--- study subject/ area
--- study purpose
--- ____1____
II.Presentation of an experimental report
--- providing details
--- regarding readers as _____2_____
III.Structure of an experimental report
--- feature: highly structured and ____3____
--- sections and their content:
INTRODUCTION ____4____; why you did it
METHOD how you did it
RESULT what you found out
____5____ what you think it shows
IV. Sense of readership
--- ____6____: reader is the marker
--- ____7____: reader is an idealized, hypothetical, intelligent person with little knowledge of your study
--- tasks to fulfill in an experimental report:
?introduction to relevant area
?necessary background information
?development of clear arguments
?definition of technical terms
?precise description of data ____8____
V. Demands and expectations in report writing
--- early stage:
?understanding of study subject/area and its implications
?basic grasp of the report’s format
--- later stage:
?____9____ on research significance
--- things to avoid in writing INTRODUCTION:
?inadequate material
?____10____ of research justification for the study
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONL Y. 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 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 interview.
1. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
A. Toastmasters was originally set up to train speaking skills.
B. Toastmasters only accepts prospective professional speakers.
C. Toastmasters accepts members from the general public.
D. Toastmasters is an exclusive club for professional speakers.
2. The following are job benefits by joining Toastmasters EXCEPT
A. becoming familiar with various means of communication.
B. learning how to deliver messages in an organized way.
C. becoming aware of audience expectations.
D. learning how to get along with friends.
3. Toastmasters' general approach to training can be summarized as
A. practice plus overall training.
B. practice plus lectures.
C. practice plus voice training.
D. practice plus speech writing.
4. Toastmasters aims to train people to be all the following EXCEPT
A. public speakers.
B. grammar teachers.
C. masters of ceremonies.
D. evaluators.
5. The interview mainly focuses on
A. the background information.
B. the description of training courses.
C. the requirements of public speaking.
D. the overall personal growth.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONL Y. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet. Questions 6 and 7 are'based on the foUowing news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.
6. Which of the following is the main cause of global warming?
A. Fossil fuel.
B. Greenhouse gases.
C. Increased dryness.
D. Violent storm patterns.
7. The news item implies that ______ in the last report.
A. there were fewer studies done
B. there were fewer policy proposals
C. there was less agreement
D. there were fewer objectives
Questions 8 and 9 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.
8. The cause of the Indian train accident was
A. terrorist sabotage.
B. yet to be determined.
C. lack of communications.
D. bad weather.
9. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
A. The accident occurred on a bridge.
B. The accident occurred in New Delhi.
C. There were about 600 casualties.
D. Victims were rescued immediately.
Question 10 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.
10. What is the main message of the news item?
A. Young people should seek careers advice.
B. Careers service needs to be improved.
C. Businesses are not getting talented people.
D. Careers advice is not offered on the Intemet.
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.
TEXT A
We had been wanting to expand our children's horizons by taking them to a place that was unlike anything we'd been exposed to during our travels in Europe and the United States. In thinking about what was possible from Geneva, where we are based, we decided on a trip to Istanbul, a two-hour plane ride from Zurich.
We envisioned the trip as a prelude to more exotic ones, perhaps to New Delhi or Bangkok later this year, but thought our 11- and 13-year-olds needed a first step away from manicured boulevards and pristine monuments.
What we didn't foresee was the reaction of friends, who warned that we were putting our children "in danger," referring vaguely, and most incorrectly, to disease, terrorism or just the unknown. To help us get acquainted with the peculiarities of Istanbul and to give our children a chance to choose what they were particularly interested in seeing, we bought an excellent guidebook and read it thoroughly before leaving.
Friendly warnings didn't change our planning, although we might have more prudently checked with the U.S. State Department's list of troublespots. We didn't see a lot of children among the foreign visitors during our six-day stay in Istanbul, but we found the tourist areas quite safe, very interesting and varied enough even to suit our son, whose oft-repeated request is that we not see "every single" church and museum in a given city.
Vaccinations weren't needed for the city, but we were concemed about adapting to the
water for a short stay. So we used bottled water for drinking and brushing our teeth, a precaution that may seem excessive, but we all stayed healthy.
Taking the advice of a friend, we booked a hotel a 20-minute walk from most of Istanbul's major tourist sites. This not only got us some morning exercise, strolling over the Karakoy Bridge, but took us past a colorful assortment of fishermen, vendors and shoe shiners.
From a teenager and pre-teen's view, Istanbul street life is fascinating since almost everything can be bought outdoors. They were at a good age to spend time wandering the labyrinth of the Spice Bazaar, where shops display mounds of pungent herbs in sacks. Doing this with younger children would be harder simply because the streets are so packed with people; it would be easy to get lost.
For our two, whose buying experience consisted of department stores and shopping mall boutiques, it was amazing to discover that you could bargain over price and perhaps end up with two of something for the price of one. They also learned to figure out the relative value of the Turkish lira, not a small matter with its many zeros.
Being exposed to Islam was an important part of our trip. Visiting the mosques, especially the enormous Blue Mosque, was our first glimpse into how this major religion is practiced. Our children's curiosity already had been piqued by the five daily calls to prayer over loudspeakers
in every corner of the city, and the scarves covering the heads of many women.
Navigating meals can be troublesome with children, but a kebab, bought on the street or in restaurants, was unfailingly popular. Since we had decided this trip was not for gourmets, kebabs spared us the agony of trying to find a restaurant each day that would suit the adults' desire to try something new amid children's insistence that the food be served immediately. Gradually, we branched out to try some other Turkish specialties.
Although our son had studied Islam briefly, it is impossible to be prepared for every
awkward question that might come up, such as during our visits to the Topkapi Sarayi, the Ottoman Sultans' palace. No guides were available so it was do-it-yourself, using our guidebook, which cheated us of a lot of interesting history and anecdotes that a professional guide could provide. Next time, we resolved to make such arrangements in advance.
On this trip, we wandered through the magnificent complex, with its imperial treasures, its courtyards and its harem. The last required a bit of explanation that we would have happily lef~ to a learned third party.
11. The couple chose Istanbul as their holiday destination mainly because
A. the city is not too far away from where they lived.
B. the city is not on the list of the U.S. State Department.
C. the city is between the familiar and the exotic.
D. the city is more familiar than exotic.
12. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. The family found the city was exactly what they had expected.
B. Their friends were opposed to their holiday plan.
C. They could have been more cautious about bringing kids along.
D. They were a bit cautious about the quality of water in the city.
13. We learn from the couple's shopping experience back home that
A. they were used to bargaining over price.
B. they preferred to buy things outdoors.
C. street markets were their favourite.
D. they preferred fashion and brand names.
14. The last two paragraphs suggest that to visit places of interest in Istanbul
A. guidebooks are very useful.
B. a professional guide is a must.
C. one has to be prepared for questions.
D. one has to make arrangements in advance.
15. The family have seen or visited all the following in Istanbul EXCEPT
A. religious prayers.
B. historical buildings.
C. local-style markets.
D. shopping mall boutiques.
TEXT B
Last month the first baby-boomers turned 60. The bulky generation born between 1946 and 1964 is heading towards retirement. The looming "demographic cliff" will see vast numbers of skilled workers dispatched from the labour force.
The workforce is ageing across the rich world. Within the EU the number of workers aged between 50 and 64 will increase by 25% over the next two decades, while those aged 20-29 will decrease by 20%. In Japan almost 20% of the population is already over 65, the highest share in the world. And in the United States the number of workers aged 55-64 will have increased by more than half in this decade, at the same time as the 35- to 44-year-olds decline by 10%.
Given that most societies are geared to retirement at around 65, companies have a looming problem of knowledge management, of making sure that the boomers do not leave before they have handed over their expertise along with the office keys and their e-mail address. A survey of human-resources directors by IBM last year concluded: "When the baby-boomer generation retires, many companies will find out too late that a career's worth of experience has walked out the door, leaving insufficient talent to fill in the void."
Some also face a shortage of expertise. In aerospace and defence, for example, as much as 40% of the workforce in some companies will be eligible to retire within the next five years. At the same time, the number of engineering graduates in developed countries is in steep decline. A few companies are so squeezed that they are already taking exceptional measures. Earlier this year the Los Angeles Times interviewed an enterprising Australian who was staying in Beverly Hills while he tried to persuade locals to emigrate to Toowoomba, Queensland, to work
for his engineering company there. Toowoomba today; the rest of the developed world tomorrow?
If you look hard enough, you can find companies that have begun to adapt the workplace to older workers. The AARP, an American association for the over-50s, produces an annual list of the best employers of its members. Health-care firms invariably come near the top because they are one of the industries most in need of skilled labour. Other sectors similarly affected, says the Conference Board, include oil, gas, energy and government.
Near the top of the AARP's latest list comes Deere & Company, a no-nonsense
industrial-equipment manufacturer based in Illinois; about 35% of Deere's 46,000 employees are over 50 and a number of them are in their 70s. The tools it uses to achieve that - flexible working, telecommuting, and so forth - also coincidentaUy help older workers to extend their working lives. The company spends "a lot of time" on the ergonomics of its factories, making jobs there less tiring, which enables older workers to stay at them for longer.
Likewise, for more than a decade, Toyota, arguably the world's most advanced manufacturer, has adapted its workstations to older workers. The shortage of skilled labour available to the automotive industry has made it unusually keen to recruit older workers. BMW recently set up a factory in Leipzig that expressly set out to employ people over the age of 45. Needs must when the devil drives.
Other firms are polishing their alumni networks. IBM uses its network to recruit retired people for particular projects. Ernst & Young, a professional-services firm, has about 30,000 registered alumni, and about 25% of its "experienced" new recruits are former employees who return after an absence.
But such examples are unusual. A survey in America last month by Ernst & Young found that "although corporate America foresees a significant workforce shortage as boomers retire, it is not dealing with the issue." Almost three-quarters of the 1,400 global companies questioned by Deloitte last year said they expected a shortage of salaried staff over the next three to five years. Yet few of them are looking to older workers to fill that shortage; and even fewer are looking to them to fill another gap that has already appeared. Many firms in Europe and America complain that they struggle to find qualified directors for their boards - this when the pool of retired talent from those very same firms is growing by leaps and bounds.
Why are firms not working harder to keep old employees? Part of the reason is that the crunch has been beyond the horizon of most managers. Nor is hanging on to older workers the only way to cope with a falling supply of labour. The participation of developing countries in the world economy has increased the overall supply - whatever the local effect of demographics in the rich countries. A vast amount of work is being sent offshore to such places as China and India and more will go in future. Some countries, such as Australia, are relaxing their immigration policies to allow much needed skills to come in from abroad. Others will avoid the need for workers by spending money on machinery and automation.
16. According to the passage, the most serious consequence of baby-boomers approaching
retirement would be
A. a loss of knowledge and experience to many companies.
B. a decrease in the number of 35- to 44- year-olds.
C. a continuous increase in the number of 50-to 64-year-olds.
D. its impact on the developed world whose workforce is ageing.
17. The following are all the measures that companies have adopted to cope with the ageing
workforce EXCEPT
A. making places of work accommodate the needs of older workers.
B. using alumni networks to hire retired former employees.
C. encouraging former employees to work overseas.
D. granting more convenience in working hours to older workers.
18. "The company spends 'a lot of time' on the ergonomics of its factories" (Paragraph Seven)
means that
A. the company attaches great importance to the layout of its factories.
B. the company improves the working conditions in its factories.
C. the company attempts to reduce production costs of its factories.
D. the company intends to renovate its factories and update equipment.
19. In the author's opinion American firms are not doing anything to deal with the issue of the
ageing workforce mainly because
A. they have not been aware of the problem.
B. they are reluctant to hire older workers.
C. they are not sure of what they should do.
D. they have other options to consider.
20. Which of the following best describes the author's development of argument?
A. introducing the issue---citing ways to deal with the issue---~describing the actual
status---offering reasons.
B. describing the actual status--- introducing the issue---citing ways to deal with the
issue---offering reasons.
C. citing ways to deal with the issue---introducing the issue----describing the actual
status---offering reasons.
D. describing the actual status--offering reasons---introducing the issue---citing ways to
deal with the issue.
TEXT C
(1) The other problem that arises from the employment of women is that of the working wife.
It has two aspects: that of the wife who is more of a success than her husband and that of the wife who must rely heavily on her husband for help with domestic tasks. There are various ways in which the impact of the first difficulty can be reduced. Provided that husband and wife are not in the same or directly comparable lines of work, the harsh fact of her greater success can be obscured by a genial conspiracy to reject a purely monetary measure of achievement as intolerably crude. Where there are ranks, it is best if the couple work in different fields so that the husband can find some special reason for the superiority of the lowest figure in his to the most elevated in his wife's.
(2) A problem that affects a much larger number of working wives is the need to re-allocate domestic tasks if there are children. In The Road to Wigan Pier George Orwell wrote of the unemployed of the Lancashire coalfields: "Practically never ... in a working-class home, will you
see the man doing a stroke of the housework. Unemployment has not changed this convention,
which on the face of it seems a little unfair. The man is idle from morning to night but the woman is as busy as ever - more so, indeed, because she has to manage with less money. Yet so far as my experience goes the women do not protest. They feel that a man would lose his manhood if, merely because he was out of work, he developed in a 'Mary Ann'."
(3) It is over the care of young children that this re-allocation of duties becomes really significant. For this, unlike the cooking of fish fingers or the making of beds, is an inescapably
time-consuming occupation, and time is what the fully employed wife has no more to spare of than her husband.
(4) The male initiative in courtship is a pretty indiscriminate affair, something that is tried on with any remotely plausible woman who comes within range and, of course, with all degrees of tentativeness. What decides the issue of whether a genuine courtship is going to get under way is the woman's response. If she shows interest the engines of persuasion are set in movement. The truth is that in courtship society gives women the real power while pretending to give it to men.
(5) What does seem clear is that the more men and women are together, at work and away
from it, the more the comprehensive amorousness of men towards women will have to go, despite
all its past evolutionary services. For it is this that makes inferiority at work abrasive and, more indirectly, makes domestic work seem unmanly, if there is to be an equalizing redistribution of economic and domestic tasks between men and women there must be a compensating redistribution of the erotic initiative. If women will no longer let us beat them they must allow us to join them as the blushing recipients of flowers and chocolates.
21. Paragraph One advises the working wife who is more successful than her husband to
A. work in the same sort of job as her husband.
B. play down her success, making it sound unimportant.
C. stress how much the family gains from her high salary.
D. introduce more labour-saving machinery into the home.
22. Orwell's picture of relations between man and wife in Wigan Pier (Paragraph Two) describes a relationship which the author of the passage
A. thinks is the natural one.
B. wishes to see preserved.
C. believes is fair.
D. is sure must change.
23. Which of the following words is used literally, NOT metaphorically?
A. Abrasive (Paragraph Five).
B. Engines (Paragraph Four).
C. Convention (Paragraph Two).
D. Heavily (Paragraph One).
24. The last paragraph stresses that if women are to hold important jobs, then they must
A. sometimes make the first advances in love.
B. allow men to flirt with many women.
C. stop accepting presents of flowers and chocolates.
D. avoid making their husbands look like "Mary Anns".
25. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT about the present form of courtship?
A. Men are equally serious about courtship.
B. Each man "makes passes" at many women.
C. The woman's reaction decides the fate of courtship.
D. The man leaves himself the opportunity to give up the chase quickly.
TEXT D
From Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital at 12,000 feet, the long line threaded south, dropping 2,000 feet to the valley floor, then trudged down the huge Sola-Khumbu canyon until it opened out to the lush but still daunting foothills of Central Nepal.
It was here at Namche that one man broke rank and leaned north, slowly and arduously climbing the steep walls of the natural amphitheater behind the scatter of stone huts, then past Kunde and Khumjong.
Despite wearing a balaclava on his head, he had been frequently recognized by the Tibetans, and treated with the gravest deference and respect. Even among those who knew nothing about him, expressions of surprise lit up their dark, liquid eyes. He was a man not expected to be there. Not only was his stature substantially greater than that of the diminutive Tibetans, but it
was also obvious from his bearing - and his new broadcloak, which covered a much-too-tight army uniform - that he came from a markedly loftier station in life than did the average Tibetan. Among a people virtually bereft of possessions, he had fewer still, consisting solely of a rounded bundle about a foot in diameter slung securely by a cord over his shoulder. The material the bundle was wrapped in was of a rough Tibetan weave, which did not augur that the content was of any greater value - except for the importance he seemed to ascribe to it, never for a moment releasing his grip.
His objective was a tiny huddle of buildings perched halfway up an enormous valley wall across from him, atop a great wooded spur jutting out from the lower lap of the 22,493-foot Ama Dablum, one of the most majestic mountains on earth. There was situated Tengboche, the most famous Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas, its setting unsurpassed for magnificence anywhere on the planet.
From the top of the spur, one's eyes sweep 12 miles up the stupendous Dudh Kosi canyon
to the six-mile-long granite wall of cliff of Nuptse at its head. If Ama Dablum is the Gatekeeper, then the sheer cliff of Nuptse, never less than four miles high, is the Final Protector of the highest and mightiest of them all: Chomolongma, the Mother Goddess of the World, to the Tibetans; Sagarmatha, the Head of the Seas, to the Nepalese; and Everest to the rest of us. And over the great barrier of Nuptse She demurely peaks.
It was late in the afternoon - when the great shadows cast by the colossal mountains were descending into the deep valley floors - before he reached the crest of the spur and shuffled to a stop just past Tengboche's entrance gompa. His chest heaving in the rarefied air, he removed his hand from the bundle--the first time he had done so - and wiped grimy rivulets of sweat from around his eyes with the fingers of his mitted hand.
His narrowed eyes took in the open sweep of the quiet grounds, the pagoda-like monastery itself, and the stone buildings that tumbled down around it like a protective skirt. In the distance the magic light of the magic hour lit up the plume flying off Chomolongma's 29,029-foot-high crest like a bright, welcoming banner.
His breathing calmed, he slowly, stiffly struggled forward and up the rough stone steps to the monastery entrance. There he was greeted with a respectful nameste -"I recognize the divine in you" - from a tall, slim monk of about 35 years, who hastily set aside a twig broom he had been using to sweep the flagstones of the inner courtyard. While he did so, the visitor noticed that the monk was missing the small finger on his left hand. The stranger spoke a few formal words in Tibetan, and then the two disappeared inside.
Early the next morning the emissary - lightened of his load - appeared at the monastery entrance, accompanied by the same monk and the elderly abbot. After a bow of his head, which was returned much more deeply by the two ocher-robed residents, he took his leave. The two solemn monks watched, motionless, until he dipped over the ridge on which the monastery sat, and out of sight.
Then, without a word, they turned and went back inside the monastery.
26. Which of the following words in Paragraph One implies difficulty in walking?
A. "threaded".
B. "dropping".
C. "trudged".
D. "daunting".
27. In the passage the contrast between the Tibetans and the man is indicated in all the following aspects EXCEPT
A. clothing.
B. height.
C. social status.
D. personal belongings.
28. It can be inferred from the passage that one can get ______ of the region from the
monastery.
A. a narrow view
B. a hazy view
C. a distant view
D. a panoramic view
29. Which of the following details shows that the man became relaxed after he reached the
monastery?
A. "...he reached the crest of the spur and shuffled to a stop..."
B. "...he removed his hand from the bundle..."
C. "His narrowed eyes took in the open sweep of the quiet grounds..."
D. "...he slowly, stiffly struggled forward and up the rough stone steps..."
30. From how it is described in the passage the monastery seems to evoke
A. a sense of awe.
B. a sense of piety.
C. a sense of fear.
D. a sense of mystery.
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 sheet.
31. The Head of State of New Zealand is
A. the governor-general.
B. the Prime Minister.
C. the high commissioner.
D. the monarch of the United Kingdom.
32. The capital of Scotland is
A. Glasgow.
B. Edinburgh.
C. Manchester.
D. London.
33. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence and later became the U.S. President?
A. Thomas Jefferson.
B. George Washington.
C. Thomas Paine.
D. John Adams.
34. Which of the following cities is located on the eastern coast of Australia?
A. Perth.
B. Adelaide.
C. Sydney.
D. Melbourne.
35. Ode to the West Windwas written by
A. William Blake.
B. William Wordsworth.
C. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
D. Percy B. Shelley.
36. Who among the following is a poet of free verse?
A. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
B. Walt Whitman.
C. Herman Melville
D. Theodore Dreiser.
37. The novel Sons andLovers was written by
A. Thomas Hardy.
B. John Galsworthy.
C. D.H. Lawrence.
D. James Joyce.
38. The study of the mental processes of language comprehension and production is
A. corpus linguistics.
B. sociolinguistics.
C. theoretical linguistics.
D. psycholinguistics.
39. A special language variety that mixes languages and is used by speakers of different languages for purposes of trading is called
A. dialect.
B. idiolect.
C. pidgin.
D. register.
40. When a speaker expresses his intention of speaking, such as asking someone to open the
window, he is performing
A. an illocutionary act.
B. a perlocutionary act.
C. a locutionary act.
D. none of the above.
PART IV PROOFREADING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.
When ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit, (1)_______
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2)_______
them on the wall. When a natural history museum
wants an exhibition, it must often build i. (3)_______
The previous section has shown how quickly a rhyme passes
from one schoolchild to the next and illustrates the further difference ____1____
between school lore and nursery lore. In nursery lore a verse, learnt
in early childhood, is not usually passed on again when the little listener ____2____
has grown up, and has children of their own, or even grandchildren. ____3_____
The period between learning a nursery rhyme and transmitting
it may be something from 20 to 70 years. With the playground ____4____
lore, therefore, a rhyme may be excitedly passed on within the very hour ____5____
it is learnt; and, in the general, it passes between children of the ____6____
same age, or nearly so, since it is uncommon for the differnce in age
between playmates to be more than five years. If, therefore, a playground
rhyme can be shown to have been currently for a hundred years, or ____7____
even just for fifty, it follows that it has been retransmitted over
and over, very possibly it has passed along a chain of two or three ____8____
hundred young hearers and tellers, and the wonder is that it remains live ____9____
after so much handling, to let alone that it bears resemblance to the ____10____
original wording.
PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on
ANSWER SHEET THREE.
我想不起来哪一个熟人没有手机。今天没有手机的人是奇怪的，这种人才需要解释。我
们的所有社会关系都储存在手机的电话本里，可以随时调出使用。古代只有巫师才能拥有这
种法宝。
手机刷新了人与人的关系。会议室门口通常贴着一条通告：请与会者关闭手机。可是会
议室里的手机铃声仍然响成一片。我们都是普通人，并没有多少重要的事情。尽管如此，我
们也不会轻易关掉手机。打开手机象征我们与这个世界的联系。手机反映出我们的“社交饥
渴症”。最为常见的是，一个人走着走着突然停下来，眼睛盯着手机屏幕发短信。他不在乎停在马路中央还是厕所旁边。
为什么对于手机来电和短信这么在乎?因为我们迫切渴望与社会保持联系。
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the following text into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency - a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there
is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst - though not
all - of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.
However, too many of the world's leaders are still best described in the words of Winston
Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler's threat: "They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, all powerful to be impotent."
So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell
of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump
a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat
from the sun.
PART Vl WRITING (45 MIN)
Mandarin, or putonghua, is the standard service sector language in our country. But recently, employees at a big city's subway station have been busy learning dialects of other parts of the country. Proponents say that using dialects in the subway is a way to provide better service. But opponents
think that encouraging the use of dialects in public counters the national policy to promote putonghua. What is your opinion? Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic:
Are Dialects Just as Acceptable in Public Places?
In the first part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part
you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring
what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow
the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your essay on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
2015专八真题
TEM 8 阅读理解 A What we know of prenatal development makes all this attempt made by a mother to mold the character of her unborn child by studying poetry, art, or mathematics during pregnancy seem utterly impossible. How could such extremely complex influences pass from the mother to the child? There is no connection between their nervous systems. Even the blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly. An emotional shock to the mother will affect her child, because it changes the activity of her glands and so the chemistry her blood. Any chemical change in the mother’s blood will affect the child for better or worse. But we can not see how a looking for mathematics or poetic genius can be dissolved in blood and produce a similar liking or genius in the child. In our discussion of instincts we saw that there was reason to believe that whatever we inherit must be of some very simple sort rather than any complicated or very definite kind of behavior. It is certain that no one inherits a knowledge of mathematics. It may be, however, that children inherit more or less of a rather general ability that we may call intelligence. If very intelligent children become deeply interested in mathematics, they will probably make a success of that study. As for musical ability, it may be that what is inherited is an especially sensitive ear, a peculiar structure of the hands or the vocal organs connections between nerves and muscles that make it comparatively easy to learn the movements a musician must execute, and particularly vigorous emotions. If these factors are all organized around music, the child may become a musician. The same factors, in other circumstance might be organized about some other center of interest. The rich emotional equipment might find expression in poetry. The capable fingers might develop skill in surgery. It is not the knowledge of music that is inherited, then nor even the love of it, but a certain bodily structure that makes it comparatively easy to acquire musical knowledge and skill. Whether that ability shall be directed toward music or some other undertaking may be decided entirely by forces in the environment in which a child grows up. 1. Which of the following statements is not true? A. Some mothers try to influence their unborn children by studying art and other subjects during their pregnancy. B. It is utterly impossible for us to learn anything about prenatal development. C. The blood vessels of mother and child do not join directly. D. There are no connection between mother’s nervous systems and her unborn child’s. 2. A mother will affect her unborn baby on the condition that ____. A. she is emotionally shocked B. she has a good knowledge of inheritance C. she takes part in all kind of activities D. she sticks to studying 3. According to the passage, a child may inherit____.
专八阅读理解练习题
passage One (Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice) In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned．There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging．Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence – as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other．What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all．We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged．The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing．We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute．The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing．No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us． The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and herder to get a hearing．They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement．If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution．Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake．In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme．The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us．Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law． Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other’s problems．And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information．'Talk, talk, talk,’the advocates of violence say,‘all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser．’It’s rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge．After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser．‘Possible, my lord,’the barrister replied,‘none the wiser, but surely far better informed．’Knowledge
历年专业八级考试真题：翻译
历年专业八级考试真题：翻译 历年专业八级考试真题：翻译 Opera is expensive: that much is inevitable. But expensive things are inevitably the province（范围）of the rich unless we abdicate（退位、放弃）society’s power of choice. We can choose to make opera and other expensive forms of culture, accessible（易接近的，可达到的）to those who cannot individually pay for it. The question is: why should we? No body denies the imperatives（必要的）of food, shelter, defence, health and education. But even in a prehistoric cave, man-kind stretched out a hand of not just to eat, drink or fight, but also to draw. The impulse（冲动）towards culture, the desire to express and explore the world through imagination and representation（表述、陈述）is fundamental. In Europe, this desire has found fulfillment（完成、成就）in the masterpieces of our music, art, literature and theatre. These masterpieces are the touchstones （标准、试金石）for all our efforts; they are the touchstones for the possibilities to which human thought and imagination may aspire（立志、追求目标、渴望）; they carry the most profound （深厚的、深刻的）messages that can be sent from one human to another. 参考译文： 欣赏歌剧是一种奢侈：你必须为此支付昂贵的票价。然而，享用昂贵的东西并不完全是富人的特权，除非我们放弃社会选择的权利。我们有权利使歌剧和其他昂贵的文化形式面向大众，面向那些个人没有支
2005年-2016年考研英语一翻译真题汇总
05 It is not easy to talk about the role of the mass media in this overwhelmingly significant phase in European history. History and news become confused, and one's impressions tend to be a mixture of skepticism and optimism. (46)Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed-and perhaps never before has it served to much to connect different peoples and nations as is the recent events in Europe .The Europe that is now forming cannot be anything other than its peoples, their cultures and national identities. With this in mind we can begin to analyze the European television scene. (47) In Europe, as elsewhere multi-media groups have been increasingly successful groups which bring together television, radio newspapers, magazines and publishing houses that work in relation to one another. One Italian example would be the Berlusconi group while abroad Maxwell and Murdoch come to mind. Clearly, only the biggest and most flexible television companies are going to be able to compete complete in such a rich and hotly-contested market. (48) This alone demonstrates that the television business is not an easy world to survive in a fact underlined by statistics that show that out of eighty European television networks no less than 50% took a loss in 1989. Moreover, the integration of the European community will oblige television companies to cooperate more closely in terms of both production and distribution. (49) Creating a "European identity" that respects the different cultures and traditions which go to make up the connecting fabric of the Old continent is no easy task and demands a strategic choice - that of producing programs in Europe for Europe. This entails reducing our dependence on the North American market, whose programs relate to experiences and cultural traditions which are different from our own. In order to achieve these objectives, we must concentrate more on co-productions, the exchange of news, documentary services and training. This also involves the agreements between European countries for the creation of a European bank will handle the finances necessary for production costs. (50) In dealing with a challenge on such a scale, it is no exaggeration to say "Unity we stand, divided we fall" -and if I had to choose a slogan it would be "Unity in our diversity." A unity of objectives that nonetheless respect the varied peculiarities of each country.
2018英语专八阅读练习题及答案
2018 英语专八阅读练习题及答案 英语专业八级针对的对象是英语及相关专业大四学生。非英语及相 关专业与非在校生无法参加考试。英语专业八级考试(TEM-8),全称为 全国高校英语专业八级考试。应届毕业生网小编为大家整理了2018 英 语专八阅读练习题及答案汇总，供各位考生参考。 Exploration of the Titanic After resting on the ocean floor, split asunder and rusting, for nearly three-quarters of a century, a great ship seemed to cone alive again. The saga of the White Star liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, carrying more than 1,500 passengers to their death, has been celebrated in print and on film, in poetry and song. But last week what had been legendary suddenly became real. As they viewed videotapes and photographs of the sunken leviathan, millions of people around the world could sense her mass, her eerie quiet and the ruined splendor of a lost age. Watching on television, they vicariously joined the undersea craft Alvin and Jason Jr. (J.J.) as they toured the wreckage of the luxury liner, wandering across the decks past corroded bollards, peering into the officers quarters and through rust-curtained portholes. Views of the railings where doomed passengers and crewmembers stood evoked images of the moonless night 74years ago when the great ship slipped beneath the waves. The two-minute videotape and nine photographs, all in color and shot 12,500ft.under the North Atlantic, were a tiny sample of 60 hours of video and 60,000 stills garnered during the twelve-day exploration. They are released at a Washington press conference conducted by Marine Geologist Robert Ballard, 44, who led the teams from the Wood Hole Oceanographic
1996年高等院校英语专业八级考试翻译试题
1996年高等院校英语专业八级考试 https://www.sodocs.net/doc/ed10839849.html,/tem8/tem-8-96translation.htm C-E原文： 近读报纸，对国内名片和请柬的议论颇多，于是想起客居巴黎时经常见到的法国人手中的名片和请柬，随笔记下来，似乎不无借鉴之处。 在巴黎，名目繁多的酒会，冷餐会是广交朋友的好机会。在这种场合陌生人相识，如果是亚洲人，他们往往开口之前先毕恭毕敬地用双手把自己的名片呈递给对方，这好像是不可缺少的礼节。然而，法国人一般却都不大主动递送名片，双方见面寒暄几句，甚至海阔天空地聊一番也就各自走开，只有当双方谈话投机，希望继续交往时，才会主动掏出名片。二话不说先递名片反倒显得有些勉强。 法国人的名片讲究朴素大方，印制精美，但很少有镶金边儿的，闪光多彩的或带香味的，名片上的字体纤细秀丽，本人的名字也不过分突出，整张纸片上空白很大，毫无拥挤不堪的感觉。 参考译文： Version 1: In reading recent newspapers, I have come to find that people in China have become more and more interested in discussing name cards and invitation letters. This reminds me of the name cards and invitation
letters of the French people that I saw when I was sojourning in Paris. In writing down those random reminiscences, I believe that they might provide some useful information for us to learn. In Paris, cocktail parties and buffet receptions of different kinds offer great opportunities for making friends. On such occasions, strangers may get to know each other. If they are Asians, they will, very respectfully and with both hands, present their calling cards to their interlocutors before any conversation starts. This seems to be the required courtesy on their part. The French, however, usually are not so ready with such a formality. Both sides will greet each other, and even chat casually about any topic and then excuse themselves. Only when they find they like each other and hope to further the relationship will they exchange cards. It will seem very unnatural to do so before any real conversation gets under way. The French tend to take extraordinary precaution in making their name cards, simple yet elegant. Exquisitely designed and printed, their name cards are seldom golden-framed, or colorfully shiny, or tinted with fragrant smells. The letters which appearing on their name cards tend to be diminutive but beautiful, not allowing the name of the card-bearer t be overly prominent / salient. The entire card leaves much empty space, imparting no sense of over-crowdedness.
2015年考研英语一翻译真题解析
2015年考研英语一翻译真题解析 一、来源：今年的文章来源于An outline of American history(1954)(《美国历史纲要(1954年英文版)》)，是其中一章The Colonial Period(殖民时期)的节选。这个符合历年来翻译的考查规律，往往都是从书籍中节选段落进行翻译，内容相对于阅读而言，相对于2014年“贝多芬”而言，有些难懂。 二、难度：5句话共151词，相当平稳。其中48题最长，35词;50题最简单，24词。可以说，不同基础的同学都可以从中找到自己熟悉的部分，不至于在这个题上一分未得。 三、句型特点：今年的5句话中，有2句(46，48)是简单句，另外3句(47，49，50)是复合句。其中的复合句无一例外都考查的是定语从句的翻译，并没有涉及到其他从句类型。简单句中考查最多的也是后置定语的翻译。所以，中公考研考前为大家预测的难点中，定语的翻译是绝对考点和重点。 四、逐题详解： 46) This movement, driven by powerful and diverse motivations, built a nation out of a wilderness and, by its nature, shaped the character and destiny of an uncharted continent. 重点词组：out of a wilderness(摆脱荒凉)，by its nature(就其本质而言，从本质来说)，uncharted(未知的;图上未标明的)。 结构分析：整个句子是一个简单句，由and并列谓语动词built和shaped。driven by powerful and diverse motivations是后置定语，修饰movement;out of a wilderness是后置定语，修饰nation;of an uncharted continent是后置定语，修饰character and destiny。 参考译文：这项运动，由多种强大的动机驱动，建立了一个摆脱荒凉的国家，并且从本质上来讲，塑造了一块不为人熟悉的大陆的性格和命运。 47) The United States is the product of two principal forces—the immigration of European peoples with their varied ideas, customs, and national characteristics and the impact of a new country which modified these traits. 重点词组：product(产物)，principal(主要的;首要的)，peoples(民族)，impact(影响) 结构分析：句子的主干是The United States is the product of two principal forces，破折号解释说明forces。of European peoples with their varied ideas, customs, and national characteristics是后置定语，修饰immigration;of a new country which modified these traits是后置定语，修饰impact，其中包含一个定语从句which modified these traits，修饰country。 参考译文：美国是两股主要力量的产物——带有不同思想、风俗习惯和国家特征的欧洲民族的移民，和修改这些特征的新兴国家的影响。 48) But the force of geographic conditions peculiar to America, the interplay of the carried national groups upon one another, and the sheer difficulty of maintaining old-world ways in a raw, new continent caused significant changes. 重点词组：peculiar(特有的，独特的)，interplay(互相影响)，sheer(独特的) 结构分析：整个句子是简单句，主语由三个名词短语用and并列承担，谓宾部分比较短小caused significant changes。主语1中，of geographic conditions peculiar to America是后置
历年专八改错(2000年-2014年)真题及答案
历年专八短文改错试题 2014年英语专八改错真题答案 There is widespread consensus among scholars that second language acquisition (SLA) emerged as a distinct field of research from the late 1950s to early 1960s. There is a high level of agreement that the following questions ( a 前面加also) have possessed the most attention of researchers in this area: (possessed 改为captured) Is it possible to acquire an additional language in the same sense one acquires a first language? (one前面加as ) What is the explanation for the fact adults have (fact后面加that) more difficulty in acquiring additional languages than children have? What motivates people to acquire additional languages? What is the role of the language teaching in the (language前面去掉the) acquisition of an additional language? What socio-cultural factors, if any, are relevant in studying the learning of additional languages? From a check of the literature of the field it is clear that all (去掉the) the approaches adopted to study the phenomena of SLA so far have one thing in common: The perspective adopted to view the acquiring of an additional language is that of an individual attempts to do (attempts改为attempting) so. W hether one labels it “learning” or “acquiring” an additional language, it is an individual accomplishment or what is under (or 改为and) focus is the cognitive, psychological, and institutional status of an individual. That is, the spotlight is on what mental capabilities are involving, what psychological factors play a role in the learning (involving改为involved) or acquisition, and whether the target language is learnt in the classroom or acquired through social touch with native speakers. (touch改为contact) 2013英语专八改错真题答案 Psycho-linguistics is the name given to the study of the psychological processes involved in language. Psycholinguistics study understanding, production and remembering language, and hence are concerned with (1) _____ listening, reading, speaking, writing, and memory for language. One reason why we take the language for granted is that it usually (2) ______ happens so effortlessly, and most of time, so accurately. (3) ______ Indeed, when you listen to someone to speaking, or looking at this page, (4) ______ you normally cannot help but understand it. It is only in exceptional circumstances we might become aware of the complexity (5) ______
2016专八真题翻译题及答案详解
2016年专八翻译题及答案详解 “流逝”表现了南国人对时间最早的感觉。子在川上曰：“逝者如斯夫。”他们发现无论是潺潺小溪，还是浩荡大河，都一去不复返，流逝之际青年变成了老翁而绿草转眼就枯黄，很自然有错阴的紧迫感。流逝也许是缓慢的，但无论如何缓慢，对流逝的恐惧使人们必须用“流逝”这个词来时时警戒后人，必须急匆匆地行动，给这个词灌注一种紧张感。 【参考译文1】 They have found that the flowing water,either a murmuring stream or a mighty river, passes quickly and never returns. With the passage of time, the young become the old and the green grass turns yellow. People naturallyhave a sense of urgency to value every bit of time. As time goes by,no matter how slowly it elapses, people always use the word “liushi” to warn thelater generations for fear of time’s flowing away. They tell their descendants to treasure every single minute and make a hurried action, which adds a sense of tension to the word. 【参考译文2】 They find that either a murmuring stream or a mighty river has gone forever and that the passage of time turns a young man into an old one, and yellows of the grass, which sends a massage of how time flies. Maybe the passing of time is slow. But no matter how slow it is, it makes people so fearful that they use “passage” to warn the later generations to rush. And the use of “passage” also infuses a sense of tension into the word. 【参考译文3】