TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS（2008）—GRADE EIGHT— TIME LIMIT: 195MIN
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 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 INTERVIEW
In 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 interview
1. Mary doesn't seem to favour the idea of a new airport because
A. the existing airports are to be wasted
B. 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 EXCEPT
A. 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 of
A. less emphasis on personal contact.
B. advances in modern telecommunications.
C. recent changes in peoples concepts.
D. more potential damage to the area
5. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Marys ideas,
A. strongly in favour of
B. mildly in favour of
C. strongly against
D. mildly against
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
In 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 in
A. 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 show
A. that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetent
B. 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 clinics
A. 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。
TEXT A
At the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joons 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, its time to hit the books again—at one of Seouls 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. Its 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 Koreas 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. Thats because South Korea has conceived a new college-entrance system, which will be implemented in 2008. This years 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 didnt worry too much about their grade-point averages; the big challenge was beating he 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 Koreas public secondary-school system is foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the countrys 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. Theyve asked for more discretion in picking students by giving more weight to such screening tools as essay writing or interviews.
President Roh Moo Hyun doesnt 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 countrys 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 thats the South Korean school system.
11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system is designed to
A. 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 of
A. the governments 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 EXCEPT
A. 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 authors treatment of the topic?
A. Objective.
B. Positive.
C. Negative.
D. Biased.
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.
TEXT C
In 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 understa nd 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 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 the second floor. 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 that
A. 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 that
A. 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 bank
B. dynamic role in economy
C. contribution to national economy
D. comparison with other regions
24. 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 D
The law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death, the firms 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 wouldnt 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 Patricks 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 firms 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 Patricks 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 EXCEPT
A. greedy.
B. extravagant
C. 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.
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 largest city in Canada is
A. Vancouver.
B. Montreal.
C. Toronto
D. Ottawa.
32. According to the United States Constitution, the legislative power is invested in
A. 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 is
A. 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 by
A. 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 -century Britain EXCEPT
A. 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 is interested 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 same form is called
A. 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 ENGLISH
Translate 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。拥有一个小小花园的希望，对寻常之辈不啻是一种奢望，一种梦想。
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
TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2011) GRADE EIGHT TIME LIMIT: 195 MIN PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION 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. Some of the gaps may require a maximum of THREE words. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may refer to your notes while completing the task. Use the blank sheet for note-taking. Now, listen to the mini-lecture. Classifications of Cultures According to Edward Hall, different cultures result in different ideas about the world. Hall is an anthropologist. He is interested in relations between cultures. I. High-context culture A. feature - context: more important than the message - meaning: (1)__________ i.e. more attention paid to (2) ___________ than to the message itself B. examples - personal space - preference for (3)__________ - less respect for privacy / personal space - attention to (4)___________ - concept of time - belief in (5)____________ interpretation of time - no concern for punctuality - no control over time II. Low-context culture A. feature - message: separate from context - meaning: (6)___________ B. examples - personal space - desire / respect for individuality / privacy - less attention to body language
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 clothes for 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
2007年英语专业八级考试翻译原题及参考答案 C-E:暮色中，河湾里落满云霞，与天际的颜色混合一起，分不清哪是流云哪是水湾。也就在这一幅绚烂的图画旁边，在河湾之畔，一群羊正在低头觅食。它们几乎没有一个顾得上抬起头来，看一眼这美丽的黄昏。也许它们要抓紧时间，在即将回家的最后一刻再次咀嚼。这是黄河滩上的一幕。牧羊人不见了，他不知在何处歇息。只有这些美生灵自由自在地享受着这个黄昏。这儿水草肥美，让它们长得肥滚滚的，像些胖娃娃。如果走近了，会发现它们那可爱的神情，洁白的牙齿，那丰富而单纯的表情。如果稍稍长久一点端详这张张面庞，还会生出无限的怜悯。 Beside this picture with profusions of colors, a group of sheep are lowing their heads, eating by the river bank. Hardly none of them would spare some time to raise their eyes to have a glance at the beautiful dusk. They are, perhaps, taking use of every minute to enjoy their last chew before being driven home. This is a picture of the Yellow River bank, in which the shepherd disappears, and no one knows where he is resting himself. Only the sheep, however, as free creatures, are joyfully appreciating the dusk. The exuberant water plants have nutrited the sheep, making them grow as fat as balls. When approaching near, you would find their lily-white teeth and a variety of innocent facial impressions.
20０7年英语专业八级考试翻译原题及参考答案 C－Ｅ：暮色中,河湾里落满云霞，与天际得颜色混合一起，分不清哪就是流云哪就是水湾。也就在这一幅绚烂得图画旁边，在河湾之畔,一群羊正在低头觅食。它们几乎没有一个顾得上抬起头来,瞧一眼这美丽得黄昏。也许它们要抓紧时间,在即将回家得最后一刻再次咀嚼。这就是黄河滩上得一幕。牧羊人不见了，她不知在何处歇息.只有这些美生灵自由自在地享受着这个黄昏。这儿水草肥美,让它们长得肥滚滚得，像些胖娃娃.如果走近了，会发现它们那可爱得神情,洁白得牙齿,那丰富而单纯得表情。如果稍稍长久一点端详这张张面庞，还会生出无限得怜悯。 Besｉde tｈis pictuｒｅwithｐｒoｆuｓiｏnｓof colorｓ, a grｏup of sheｅp aｒe lｏwing tｈeir heads,ｅａｔing by ｔｈe riｖer bank、Hardly ｎone oｆｔｈｅｍwｏulｄspare sｏme timｅto raise their eyes tｏhａve a glaｎcｅat the bｅａutifｕｌdusk、Ｔhｅｙare, perhaps,takinｇuse oｆｅvery miｎuteｔo enjｏy ｔheｉr lasｔcｈew befoｒe bｅｉng drｉven home、This is a piｃtｕｒe ｏｆthe Yｅｌｌow River baｎk，iｎwhｉch the shepherd diｓapｐeａrs，ａnｄno onｅknoｗs where he is rｅｓｔｉｎg hｉmsｅlf、Only the ｓheep，ｈｏｗｅver,as free creatures，ａrｅ ｊoｙfullｙaｐｐreciating ｔhｅdｕsk、Tｈe exubeｒant wａte ｒpｌants ｈaｖe nｕｔritedｔｈｅshｅep, ｍaｋing ｔhem
1995-2017年英语专业八级改错真题及答案 （文字/答案校对版） 2017年改错真题 The ability to communicate is the primary factor that distinguishes human beings from animals. And it is the ability to communicate well which 1.________ distinguishes one individual from another. The fact is that apart from the basic necessities, one needs to be equipped with habits for good communication skills, thus this is 2.________ what will make one a happy and successful social being. In order to develop these habits, one needs to first acknowledge the fact that they need to improve communication skills from time to time. They need to take stock of the way how they interact and the direction 3.________ in which their work and personal relations are going. The only constant in life is change, th e more one accepts one’s strengths and works 4._______ towards dealing with their shortcomings, specially in the area of 5.________ communication skills, the better will be their interactions and the more their social popularity. The dominated question that comes here is: How to improve 6.________ communication skills? The answer is simple. One can find plenty of literature on this. There are also experts, who conduct workshops and seminars based on communication skills of men and women. In fact, a large number of companies are bringing in trainers to regularly make sessions on the subject, in order to 7.________ help their work force maintain better interpersonal work relations. Today effective communication skills have become a predominant factor even while recruiting employees. While interviewing candidates, most interviewers judge them on the basis of the skills they communicate with. They believe that some skills can be improvised on the job; but ability to 8.________ communicate well is important, as every employee becomes the representing face of the company. There are trainers, who specialized in delivering custom-made 9._______ programs on the subject. Through the sessions they not only facilitate better communication skills in the workplace, but also look into the problems in the manner of being able to convey messages effectively. 10._______ 2016年改错真题 All social units develop a culture. Even in two-person relationships, a culture develops in time. In friendship and romantic relationships, 1._________ for example, partners develop their own history, shared experiences, language patterns, habits, and customs give that relationship a special 2._________ character—a character that differs it in various ways from 3._________
社会生活类（Passage63～70） Passage63 题材：社会生活类字数：686建议用时：6分钟 From a hillside,Kamal Saadat looked forlornly at hundreds of potential customers,knowing he could not take them for trips in his boat to enjoy a spring weekend on picturesque Oroumieh Lake,the third largest saltwater lake on earth, which now lay encased by solidifying salt.Saadat lamented that he could not understand why the lake was fading away. The long popular lake,home to migrating flamingos,pelicans and gulls,has shrunken by60percent and could disappear entirely in just a few years—drained by drought,misguided irrigation policies,development and the damming of rivers that feed it. Until two years ago,Saadat supplemented his income from almond-and grape-growing by taking tourists on boat tours.But as the lake receded and its salinity rose,he found he had to stop the boat every10minutes to unfoul the propeller—and finally,he had to give up this second job that he'd used to support a five-member family.The visitors were not enjoying such a boring trip,for they had to cross hundreds of meters of salty lakebed just to reach the boat from the wharf. Other boatmen,too,have parked their vessels by their houses,where they stand as sad reminders of the deep-water days.And the lake's ebbing affects an ever-widening circle.
2013汉译英 生活像一杯红酒，热爱生活的人会从中品出无穷的美妙。Life is like a cup of wine；people who love it discover inexhaustible wonders from it. 将它握在手中观察，它的暗红有血的感觉，那正是生命的痕迹。Hold in the hand and gaze at it，the dark red color is reminiscent of the blood，which is the impress of life.抿一口留在口中回味，它的甘甜有一丝苦涩，如人生一般复杂迷离。Take a sip of it and appreciate the taste，the bittersweet flavor is exactly the same with life，which is complicated and blurred. 喝一口下肚，余香润人心肺，让人终受益。Once the sip is swallowed，the lingering fragrance pleases the heart and refreshes the mind，leaving a person lifelong benefit. 红酒越陈越美味，生活越丰富越美好。There was a remarkable resemblance between life and wine：the taste becomes more delicious as the wine mellows，just as life gets better as it becomes more abundant. 当人生走向晚年，就如一瓶待开封的好酒，其色彩是沉静的，味道中充满慷慨于智慧。 When life comes to twilight years，it looks calm and tastes full of wisdom and generosity，just like a bottle of wine to be savored. 英译汉 联合国代表大会，中心政治论坛，由193个成员国组成，几乎包括世界上所有国家，其中三分之二的国家为发展中国家，占世界总人口的四分之三。通过决议非常困难，尤其是所有惯例决出的协议必须达成一致才能通过。结果就是，重要的协议总是被狭隘的特殊利益所挟持，并且大部分协议都只是用来使自己的利益最大化。但真正的问题是世界上主要国.是否愿意看到民主最大限度地开展。联合国安理会，负责和平和安全，处理最重要的政治问题。安理会只有15个成员国，所以能经常性地应付危机。它曾一度由于冷战对立而停摆，但已经重新获得了联合国宪章给予的权利。 2012汉译英 痛苦纠聚心中，眉心发烫发热，胸口郁闷难展，胃里一股气冲喉而上。院长说这孩子发育迟缓时，她更是心头无绪。她在孩子所待的房里来回踱步，这房里还有其他小孩。整个房间只有一扇窗，窗外树影婆娑。就让孩子留下来吧，这里有善心的神父和修女，这里将来会扩充为有医疗作用的看护中心，这是留住孩子最好的地方。这孩子是她的秘密，她将秘密留在这树林掩映的建筑里。 Tortured by the pains gathering in her heart, she felt something was burning between her eyebrows. Her chest was brimmed with depression which was likely to run out of her throat at any moment. She could not think clearly any longer when the headmaster told her that the child suffered from developmental retardation. She strode up and down in the room where her child stayed with other pals. There was only one window in the room, out of which some shady trees were whispering. ―Just leave it here‖, she told herself, ―This is the best choice by far, for there are kind priests and nuns in this place which may also be renovated into a Medicare center‖. The chi ld was her secret which would be kept in the buildings behind the woods. 英译汉But such policies seem instead to have created the conditions for even more campus violence. Some college students who previously drank in bars and lounges under the watchful supervision of bouncers(夜总会，就把等保安人员)（not to mention owners eager to keep their liquor licenses）now retreat to the sanctuary of their fraternity houses and apartments, where they no longer control their behavior their drinking. The boomerang effect has also played a role in attempts to reduce the availability of illicit drugs. During recent years, the federal government has been quite successful in reducing the supply of street drugs. As fields are burned and contraband(违禁品) confiscated, the price of street drugs has skyrocketed to a point where cheap alternatives have begun to compete in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the cheap alternatives are even more harmful than the illicit drugs they replace. 然而上述政策反而引发了更多的校园暴力。一些大学生先前在夜总会的酒吧买醉，处于保安人员严密的监控之下(酒吧老板们为了保住自己卖酒的牌照也不会允许过激的事情发生)。现在，大学生们躲到他们互助会会所和公寓中酗酒,对自己饮酒的 数量或行为都不再控制。政府在打击非法毒品方面采取的措施同样适得其反。近年来,联邦政府已经有效地抑制了街头毒品买卖。警方捣毁了很多毒品种植地，没收了违禁品，导致毒品的价格暴涨，那些便宜的替代品因此也有了竞争力。糟糕的是，那些便宜的替换品带来的危害甚至比他们所替代的毒品更大。 2011：汉译英原文现代社会无论价值观的持有还是生活方式的选择都充满了矛盾。而最让现代人感到尴尬的是，面对重重矛
2004—2014历年专业英语八作文题归纳 PARTVI WRITING (45 MIN) 2014 Nowadays, some companies have work-from-home or remote working policies, which means that their employees do not have to commute to work every day. Some people think that this can save a lot of time travelling to and from work, thus raising employees’productivity. However, others argue that in the workplace, people can communicate face to face, which vastly increases the efficiency of coordination and cooperation. What is your opinion? Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic： 2013 Is our society hostile to good people? According to a recent survey by China Y outh Daily，76.1 percent of the respondents say that our current society provides a “bad environment" for good people doing good things．On the other hand，the more optimistic would argue that each individual should try his or her best to do good things and be nice to others, instead of waiting for the "social environment”to improve．So，what do you think? Is a sound social environment necessary for people to have high moral standards and be good to others? Write an essay of about 400 words on the following topic： Is a sound social environment necessary for people to be good to others? 2012 A recent survey of 2,000 college students asked about their attitudes
英语专业八级阅读真题分类解析 类别：阅读来源：美联英语学习网 专八真题测试中如果碰到阅读理解的话，大家会怎么办呢？难不成就是一口气的读下去，哪怕头脑发晕也要继续下去？这里就为大家介绍一些阅读理解习题的小技巧。 虽然考生的阅读能力明显高于其他的能力,但也存在一定的问题,主要是: (1) 部分考生的单词、词组以及语法的基本功还不过关，对阅读理解做成不应该的影响;(2) 考生的衔接能力不强; (3) 没有足够的推理和判断能力; (4) 阅读技能掌握不够,运用上下文解决问题能力不强,整体理解力有待提高。为了解决这些问题我们有必要了解一下阅读的一些基本层面。目前比较公认的将阅读理解的过程分为四个层次: (1) 字面理解(literal comprehension) ,主要是指读者可以理解文章的单词和句型,回想文章大意、细节、事件发生的时间、地点、顺序和人物之间的关系、对比、人物特性和因果关系等等。 (2)推断性理解(inferential comprehension) ,主要是指读者根据字面意思推断出字里行间的隐含意思,包括作者的意图和观点等。 (3) 评价性理解(evaluative comprehension) ,主要是指读者根据 自己的原则和观点对文章进行分析和评价。(4) 欣赏性理解 (appreciative comprehension) ,指读者最终对文章的写作技巧、思 想水平等做出评价。 以2007年真题中的TEXT A 为例：本文主要阐释了威尔士在英联邦中的地位的逐渐改善。该篇文章第一题为细节题。 According to the passage, devolution was mainly meant to A. maintain the present status among the nations.
英语专业八级考试翻译原题及参考谜底 令狐采学 CE:暮色中，河湾里落满云霞，与天际的颜色混合一起，分不清哪是流云哪是水湾。也就在这一幅绚烂的图画旁边，在河湾之畔，一群羊正在垂头觅食。它们几乎没有一个顾得上抬起头来，看一眼这美丽的黄昏。也许它们要抓紧时间，在即将回家的最后一刻再次咀嚼。这是黄河滩上的一幕。牧羊人不见了，他不知在何处歇息。只有这些美生灵自由自在地享受着这个黄昏。这儿水草肥美，让它们长得肥滚滚的，像些胖娃娃。如果走近了，会发明它们那可爱的神情，洁白的牙齿，那丰富而纯真的脸色。如果稍稍长久一点打量这张张面庞，还会生出无限的怜悯。 Beside this picture with profusions of colors, a group of sheep are lowing their heads, eating by the river bank. Hardly none of them would spare some time to raise their eyes to have a glance at the beautiful dusk. They are, perhaps, taking use of every minute to enjoy their last chew before being driven home. This is a picture of the Yellow River bank, in which the shepherd disappears, and no one knows where he is resting himself. Only the sheep, however, as free creatures, are joyfully appreciating the dusk. The exuberant water plants have nutrited the sheep, making them grow as fat as balls.
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】