2008年英语专业八级考试真题及解析

实用文档2000 年-2015 年专八短文改错试题2015年3月21日专业八级考试改错When I was in my early teens, I was taken to a spectacular showon ice by the mother of a friend. Looked round a the luxury of the 1.______ rink, my friend’s mother remarked on the “plush” seats we had beengiven. I did not know what she meant, and being proud of my 2. ______ vocabulary, I tried to infer its meaning from the context. “Plush”was clearly intended as a complimentary, a positive evaluation; that 3.______ much I could tell it from the tone of voice and the context. So I 4.______ started to use the word. Yes, I replied, they certainly are plush, andso are the ice rink and the costumes of the skaters, aren’t they? Myfriend’s mother was very polite to correct me, but I could tell from her 5.______ expression that I had not got the word quite right.Often we can indeed infer from the context what a word roughlymeans, and that is in fact the way which we usually acquire both 6.______ new words and new meanings for familiar words, specially in our 7. ______ own first language. But sometimes we need to ask, as I should haveasked for Plush, and this is particularly true in the 8.______ aspect of a foreign language. If you are continually surrounded by 9.______ speakers of the language you are learning, you can ask them directly,but often this opportunity does not exist for the learner of English.So dictionaries have been developed to mend the gap. 10. ______2014改错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 (1) ______ have possessed the most attention of researchers in this area: (2) ______ l Is it possible to acquire an additional language in thesame sense one acquires a first language? (3) ______l What is the explanation for the fact adults have (4) ______more difficulty in acquiring additional languages than children have?l What motivates people to acquire additional language?l What is the role of the language teaching in the (5) ______acquisition of additional languages?l What social-cultural factors, if any, are relevant in studying thelearning of additional languages?From a check of the literature of the field it is clear that all (6) ______ the approaches adopted to study the phenomena of SLA so far haveone thing in common: The perspective adopted to view the acquiringof an additional language is that of an individual attempts to do (7) ______ so. Whether one labels it “learning” or “acquiring” an additionallanguage, it is an individual accomplishment or what is under (8) ______ focus is the cognitive, psychological, and institutional status of anindividual. That is, the spotlight is on what mental capabilities areinvolving, what psychological factors play a role in the learning (9) ______ or acquisition, and whether the target language is learnt in theclassroom or acquired through social touch with native speakers. (10) ______2013 专八短文改错试题．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 exceptionalcircumstances we might become aware of the complexity (5) ______involved: if we are searching for a word but cannot remember it;if a relative or colleague has had a stroke which has influenced (6) ______their language; if we observe a child acquire language; if (7) ______we try to learn a second language ourselves as an adult; orif we are visually impaired or hearing-impaired or if we meetanyone else who is. As we shall see, all these examples (8) ______of what might be called “language in exceptional circumstances”reveal a great deal about the processes evolved in speaking, (9) ______ listening, writing and reading. But given that language processeswere normally so automatic, we also need to carry out careful (10) ______ experiments to get at what is happening.2012年The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or freely. The argument has been going since at least the first (1) ______century B.C. Up to the beginning of the 19th century, many writersfavoured certain kind of “free” translation: the spirit, not the letter; the (2) _______ sense not the word; the message rather the form; the matter not (3) _______the manner. This is the often revolutionary slogan of writers who (4) _______ wanted the truth to be read and understood. Then in the turn of 19th (5) _______ century, when the study of cultural anthropology suggested thatthe linguistic barriers were insuperable and that the language (6) _______ was entirely the product of culture, the view translation was impossible (7) _______ gained some currency, and with it that, if was attempted at all, it must be as (8) _______ literal as possible. This view culminated the statement of the (9) _______ extreme “literalists” Walter Benjamin and Vladimir Nobokov.The argument was theoretical: the purpose of the translation, thenature of the readership, the type of the text, was not discussed. Toooften, writer, translator and reader were implicitly identified witheach other. Now, the context has changed, and the basic problem remains. (10) _____2011年专八真题改错部分From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knewthat when I grew I should be a writer. Between the ages of about 1__________ seventeen and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea, but I did sowith the conscience that I was outraging my true nature and that 2___________soon or later I should have to settle down and write books. 3___________I was the child of three, but there was a gap of five years 4__________ on either side, and I barely saw my father before I was eight. Forthis and other reasons I was somewhat lonely, and I soon developeddisagreeing mannerisms which made me unpopular throughout my 5_____________ schooldays. I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories andholding conversations with imaginative persons, and I think from 6_________ the very start my literal ambitions were mixed up with the feeling of 7________being isolated and undervalued. I knew that I had a facility with wordsand a power of facing in unpleasant facts, and I felt that this created 8________a sort of private world which I could get my own back for my failure 9________in everyday life. Therefore, the volume of serious — i.e. seriously 10________ intended — writing which I produced all through my childhood andboyhood would not amount to half a dozen pages. I wrote my firstpoem at the age of four or five, my mother taking it down to dictation.2010年专八真题改错部分So far as we can tell, all human languages are equallycomplete and perfect as instruments of communication: that is,every language appears to be well equipped as any other to say 1________________the things their speakers want to say.2________________There may or may not be appropriate to talk about primitive 3________________peoples or cultures, but that is another matter. Certainly, not allgroups of people are equally competent in nuclear physics orpsychology or the cultivation of rice . Whereas this is not the 4_____________fault of their language. The Eskimos , it is said, can speak aboutsnow with further more precision and subtlety than we can in 5______________English, but this is not because the Eskimo language (one of thosesometimes miscalled 'primitive') is inherently more precise andsubtle than English. This example does not come to light a defect 6______________ in English, a show of unexpected 'primitiveness'. The position issimply and obviously that the Eskimos and the English live in similar 7____________environments. The English language will be just as rich in terms 8____________ for different kinds of snow, presumably, if the environments in whichEnglishwas habitually used made such distinction as important. 9_____________Similarly, we have no reason to doubt that the Eskimo languagecould be as precise and subtle on the subject of motor manufactureor cricket if these topics formed the part of the Eskimos' life. 10____________2009The previous section has shown how quickly a rhyme passesfrom one school child 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 (2)___________little listener has grown up, and has children of their own, or even (3)____________grandchildren. The period between learning a nursery rhyme andtransmitting it may be something from twenty to seventy years. With (4)_____________the playground lore, therefore, a rhyme may be excitedly passed (5)___________on within the very hour it is learnt; and in the general, it passes (6)_____________between children of the same age, or nearly so, since it is uncommonfor the difference in age between playmates to be more than fiveyears. If ,therefore, a playground rhyme can be shown to have beencurrently for a hundred years, or even just for fifty, it follows that it (7)__________has been retransmitted over and over; very possibly it has passed (8)___________along a chain of two or three hundred young hearers and tellers, andthe wonder is that it remains live after so much handling, (9)____________to let alone that it bears resemblance to the (10 )____________2008年专八真题短文改错The desire to use language as a sign of national identity is avery natural one, and in result language has played a prominent ____1____ part in national moves. Men have often felt the need to cultivate ____2____ a given language to show that they are distinctive from another ____3____ race whose hegemony they resent. At the time the United States ____4____split off from Britain, for example, there were proposals thatindependence should be linguistically accepted by the use of a ____5____ different language from those of Britain. There was even one ____6____ proposal that Americans should adopt Hebrew. Others favouredthe adoption of Greek, though, as one man put it, things wouldcertainly be simpler for Americans if they stuck on to English ____7____ and made the British learn Greek. At the end, as everyone ____8____ knows, the two countries adopted the practical and satisfactorysolution of carrying with the same language as before. ____9____Since nearly two hundred years now, they have shown the world ____10____that political independence and national identity can be completewithout sacrificing the enormous mutual advantages of a commonlanguage.customer.20151.looked改成looking2.she后面加had3.去掉第二个a4.去掉it5.polite改成politely6.which改成that7.specially改成especially8.this改成it9.continually改成often10.mend改成narrow20141. 把of去掉。

专八口试2008年英译汉答案第一篇：专八口试2008年英译汉答案2008年12月英译汉一位美籍教授在欢送外籍教师宴会上的祝酒词女士们，先生们，晚上好！我知道在这个热闹非凡的场合中很难吸引大家的注意，因此我的祝酒词尽量简短些。

我想借此机会，代表所有的外籍教师感谢南平大学的全体教职员工，特别是外事办的工作人员和不同系的同事们，感谢你们2007-2008学年在各方面对我们的帮助，使我们感到家的温暖。

我知道接待外籍教师并不容易，因为我们对于中国很陌生，所以不免为你们增添了许多麻烦。

不像中国的教师一样，刚来时我们需要定位，需要帮助。

于是你们为我们做着一切，从领着我们到小超市到帮我们调试电脑。

学期开始时，又会回答我们无数有关课程的问题以及我们对于这里的教育体制的适应情况。

而这些中国教师都不需要问。

当然，最重要的是，我们呆在中国时，你们还为我们做了许多其他的事情。

比如说和我们一起过假期，带我们去有趣的旅游景点以及向我们介绍中国的传统美食。

然而，到了学期末，我们中的许多人就会离开，你们不得不为接待下一轮的外籍教师重复同样的过程。

年复一年，你们不次劳苦周到地做着这些。

因此今晚，我们想对你们为我们所做的一切事情表示感谢，就比如说今晚这个美好的宴会。

同时还要感谢你们今年投资十万元升级我们的网络服务。

然而，我们还要特别感谢你们每天为我们的生活所做的大事小事，点点滴滴。

请允许我举杯，为南平大学及所有使这个地方工作和生活变得美好的人们，干杯！第二篇：2014年专八翻译及答案2014年英语专八考试汉译英部分真题（网友回忆版）当我在小学毕了业的时候，亲友一致的愿意我去学手艺，好帮助母亲。

我晓得我应当去找饭吃，以减轻母亲的勤劳困苦。

可是，我也愿意升学。

我偷偷的考入了师范学校——制服，饭食，书籍，宿处，都由学校供给。

只有这样，我才敢对母亲说升学的话。

入学，要交十圆的保证金。

这是一笔巨款！母亲作了半个月的难，把这巨款筹到，而后含泪把我送出门去。

英语专业专八口语考试2008年真题2008年12月考题Task One: Interpreting from English into ChineseDirections: Please do not do interpreting when you listen to the speech this time.A Toast by an American Professor at a Farewell Banquet for Foreign TeachersGood evening, ladies and gentlemen:I know that it will be hard to keep everyone’s attention while such a fine buffet awaits us, so I’ll attempt to be very brief.On behalf of the foreign teachers at Nanping University, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff of Nanping University, especially the Foreign Affairs Office staff and our colleagues in our various departments, for all the ways you’ve assisted us during the 2007-2008 academic year and made us feel at home.I know that it’s not always easy to host foreign teachers. Because we’re strangers in China, we inevitably wind up creating a lot of extra work for all of you. Unlike Chinese teachers, we require a lot of orientation and assistance when we first arrive, and you’re called on to do everything from guiding us to the local department store to helping us get our computers set up. Then, as the semester starts, you have to answer endless questions about our courses and how we fit into the educational program here—questions that Chinese teachers wouldn’t need to ask. Of course, on top of all this are all the extra things you do to host us while we’re in China—celebrating Chinese holidays with us, taking us to visit interesting scenic sites, and introducing us to China’s find food tradition. Then at the end of theacademic year, many of us leave, and you have to get through the whole process again with the next new group of foreign teachers. Yet, year after year, you do all of this with diligence and grace.So tonight we wish to thank you for all the wonderful ways you host us—such as providing this fine banquet tonight. We also want to express our gratitude for the 100,000 yuan upgrade of our internet services that you paid for this year. However, we especially want to thank you for the many little things—and not so little things—that you do every day to help us in our lives here.May I propose a toast to Nanping University and to all of the people who make this a great place to live and work.When you listen this time, begin interpreting when you heara beep.1.On behalf of the foreign teachers at Nanping University, I want to take this opportunity to thankall of the staff of Nanping University, especially the Foreign Affairs Office staff and our colleagues in our various departments, for all the ways you’ve assisted us during the 2007-2008 academic year and made us feel at home.2.Unlike Chinese teachers, we require a lot of orientation and assistance when we first arrive, andyou’re call ed on to do everything from guiding us to the local department store to helping us get our computers set up.3.Of course, on top of all this are all the extra things you do to host us while we’re inChina—celebrating Chinese holidays with us, taking us to visit interesting scenic sites, and introducing us to China’s find food tradition.4.Then at the end of the academic year, many of us leave, andyou have to get through the wholeprocess again with the next new group of foreign teachers. Yet, year after year, you do all of this with diligence and grace.5.So tonight we wish to thank you for all the wonderful ways you host us—such as providing thisfine banquet tonight. We also want to express our gratitude for the 100,000 yuan upgrade of our internet services that you paid for this year.Task Two: Interpreting from Chinese into EnglishDirections: Please do not do interpreting when you listen to the speech this time.北京奥运经济研究会会长谈“北京奥运与北京经济”各位媒体记者朋友，大家上午好！非常高兴有这个机会和大家做个交流，谈谈奥运对北京经济的作用。

201231. The Maori people are natives ofA. Australia.B. Canada.C. Ireland.D. New Zealand.32. The British monarch is the Head ofA. Parliament.B. State.C. Government.D. Cabinet.33. Americans celebrate Independence Day onA. July 4th.B. October 11th.C. May 31st.D. September 6th.34. Canada is bounded on the north byA. the Pacific Ocean.B. the Atlantic Ocean.C. the Arctic Ocean.D. the Great Lakes.35. Who is the author of The Waste Lana?A. George Bernard Shaw.B. W.B. Yeats.C. Dylan Thomas.D. T.S. Eliot.36. Which of the following novelists wrote The Sound and the Fury?A. William Faulkner.B. Ernest Hemingway.C. Scott Fitzgerald.D. John Steinbeck.37. "The lettuce was lonely without tomatoes and cucumbers for company" is an example ofA. exaggeration.B. understatement.C. personification.D. synecdoche.38. In English ifa word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel. This is a (n)A. assimilation rule.B. sequential rule.C.deletion rule.D. grammar rule.39. Which of the following is an example of clipping?A.APEC.B.Motel.C.Xerox.D.Disco.40. The type of language which is selected as appropriate to a particular type of" situation is calledA. register.B. dialect.C. slang.D. variety.31: new Zealand 32: state 33: July 4th 34: the Arctic Ocean 35: T.S.Eliot 36: William Faulkner 37: personification 38: sequential rule 39: Disco 40: register201131. The northernmost part of Great Britain is _______.A. Northern IrelandB. WalesC. EnglandD. Scotland参考答案：DTIP：选D。

2008年英语试题及答案TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS(2008)-GRADE EIGHTTIMELIMIT:195MINPARTI LISTENING COMPREHENSION(35 MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear amini-lecture.You will hear the lectureONCE ONLY.While listening,take notes on the important points.Your notes will not be marked,but you will need them to complete agap-filling task after themini-lecture.When the lecture is over,youwill be given two minutes to check your notes,and another ten minutesto complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET e the blank sheet for note-taking.SECTION B CONVERSATIONIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.Listen carefullyand then answer the questions that follow.Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Questions1to5are based on a conversation.At the end of the conversation you will be given10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.Now listen to the conversation.1.Mary doesn't seem to favour the idea of a new airport becauseA.the existing airports are to beC.more oil will be consumed.D.more airplanes will be purchased.2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potential disadvantage?A.More people in the area.B.Noise and motorways.C.Waste of land.D.Unnecessary travel.3.Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airport EXCEPTA.more job opportunities.B.vitality to the local economy.C.road construction,D.presence of aircrew in the area.4.Mary thinks that people don't need to do much travel nowadaysas a result ofA.less emphasis on personal contact.B.advances in modern telecommunications.C.recent changes in people's concepts.D.more potential damage to the area5.We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Mary's ideas,383A.strongly in favour ofdly in favour ofC.strongly againstdly againstSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.Listen carefullyand then answer the questions that follow.Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Now listen to the news.6.What is the main idea of the news item?A.A new government was formed after Sunday's elections.B.The new government intends to change the welfare system.C.The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.D.The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment. Questions7and8are based on the following news.At the end of the news item,you will be given20seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.7.The tapes of the Apollo-11mission were first stored inA.a ernment archives warehouse.B.a NASA ground tracking station. 384C.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.Questions9and10are based on the following news.At the end of the news item,you will be given20seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.9.The example in the news item ishave to pay huge compensations.C.that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment.D.that language barriers can result in fatal consequences.10.According to Dr.Flores, hospitals and clinicsA.have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters.B.have realized the problems of language barriers.C.have begun training their staff to be bilinguals.D.have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis.385PART II READING COMPREHENSION(30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a totalof20multiple-choice questions.Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet TEXT AAt the age of16,Lee Hyuk Joon's life is a living hell.The South Korean 10th grader gets up at6in the morning to go to school,and studiesmost of the day until returning home at6p.m.After dinner,it's timeto hit the books again—at one of Seoul's many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at1in the morning, sleeps less than five hours,then repeats the routine—five days a week.It's a grueling schedule,but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into a top university.Some of his classmates study even harder.country,high-school studies have gotten even more intense.That's because South Korea has conceived a newcollege-entrance system,which will beimplemented in2008.This year's10th 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 nationwideSAT-style and other selection tests, which have traditionallydetermined 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 familieson the social margins.The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools,partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life.But the new system has had the opposite effect.Before, students didn't worry too much about their grade-point averages;thebig challenge was beating the standardized tests as high-school seniors.Now students are competing against one another over a three-year period, 386and every midterm and final test is crucial.Fretful parents are relying even more heavily on tutors and cramEducation Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against each other. "One can succeed only when others fail,”as one parent said.Education experts say that South Korea's public secondary-school system is foundering,while private education is thriving.Accordingto critics,the country's high schools are almost uniformly mediocre—the result of an egalitarian government education policy.With the number of elite schools strictly controlled by the government,even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinaryschools 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 thecollege-entrance process,and relativelyweak 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 thatthey cannot select the best students under the new system because ittools as essay writing or interviews. President Roh Moo Hyun doesn't like how some colleges are trying to circumvent the new system.He recently criticized"greedy" universities that focus more on finding the best students than faying to"nurture good students".But amid the crossfire between the government and universities,the country's10th graders are feeling the stress.On online protest sites, some are calling themselves a “cursed generation”and“mice in a lab experiment”.It all seemsa touch melodramatic,but that's the South Korean school system.38711.According to the passage,the new college-entrance system isdesigned toA.require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.B.reduce the weight ofcollege-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,theB.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 overthe adoption of the new system between the following groups EXCEPTA.between universities and the government.388B.between school experts and the government.C.between parents and schools.D.between parents and the government.15.Which of the following adjectives best describes the author'streatment of the topic?A.Objective.B.Positive.C.Negative.D.Biased.TEXT BWilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow inhis first field.Born in Jamaica,the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer andlaunching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishman's dream of a rustic life,a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy.These days he's the owner of a thriving12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle,sheepand pigs.His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces.And of how to sell it.Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming.Britain's burgeoning farmers'markets-numbers have doubledto at least500in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers,beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeployingthe business skills they learned in the city."Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed."389Says Emmanuel-Jones."You can produce the best food in the world,butif you don't know how to market it,you are wasting your time.We are helping the traditionalists to move on."The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings.If the British were the first nation to industrialize,they were also the first to head back to the land."There is this romanticimage 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 since1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about100,000a year,and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About40percent of all farmland is now sold to"lifestyle buyers"What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal forthe business of producing quality foods,if only at a micro-level.A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to easethe escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy.One of the big TV hits of recent years,the"River Cottage" series,chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.Naturally,the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries,but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction.Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations? Besides,the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products.Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients."People like me may be making a difference in a small way,"Jan McCourt,a onetime investment banker now runninghis own40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change:Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe;it's leading the way.“Unlike most other countries,where artisanal food production is being eroded,here it 390is being recovered,"says food writernot 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 totraditional British farmingA.knowledge of farming.B.knowledge of brand names.C.knowledge of lifestyle.D.knowledge of marketing,18.Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence ofa new class of farmers?A.Strong desire for country life.B.Longing for greater wealth,C.Influence of TV productions.D.Enthusiasm for quality food business.19.What is seen as their additional source of new income?391A.Modern tendency to buy natural foods.B.Increase in the value of land property.C.Raising and selling rare live stock. VD.Publicity as a result of media coverage.20.The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isn't catchingB.more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.C.the British are heading back to the countryside.D.the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells,but these aren't stereotypical castles in Spain.These castles are made up of human beings,not stone.The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers,and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle.Behind them,other people press together,formingoutward-radiating ramparts ofinward-pushingmuscle: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”,35feet into the air.Then, just When it seems this towerof humanity can't defy gravity any longer,a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top.Arms extended,the child392grins while waving to the cheeringbecame a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes,at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what the castellers do-and that they are not merely reenacting anancient ritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this.But Victor Luna,16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English:"We do it because it's beautiful.We do it because we are Catalan."Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona,you must understand two words of Catalan:seny and rauxa.Seny pretty much translates as common sense,or the ability to make money,arrange things,and get things done.Rauxa is reminiscent of our words“raucous”and“ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny.The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense—but to watch one going up is to see seny in action.Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets'bank, Fibanc,shows seny at work in everyday life.The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds.Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelonais different.the rest of Spain yet essential to Spain's emergence,after centuries of repression,as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia,with Barcelona as its dynamo,has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up6percent of Spain’s territory,with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spain's production—everything from textiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoyingits own economic miracle.393Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa,and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable,tree-shadedboulevard 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 Ramblasa front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk.Sit in one of them,and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee.Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators.But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children,millionaires on motorbikes,and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection,prove not to be.Aficionados(Fans)of Barcelona lovetold me."The balcony was on the second floor.He was naked,and he was talking into a cell phone."There you have it,Barcelona's essence.The man is naked(rauxa),but he is talking into a cell phone(seny).21.From the description in the passage,we learn thatA.all Catalonians can perform castells.B.castells require performers to stand on each other.C.people perform castells in different formations.D.in castells people have to push and pull each other.22.According to the passage,the4mplication of the performance is thatA.the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B.the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.394C.the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D.the Catalonians think highly of team work.23.The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT__________toshow seny at work.A.development of a bankB.dynamic role in economyC.contribution to national economyparison with other regions24.In the last but two paragraph,the Ramblas is described as“afront-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. What does it mean?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 D395The law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death,the firm'sletterhead properly included him: Patrick nigan,1954-1992.He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals.Thenthe rumors got started and wouldn't stop.Before long,everyonebelieved he had taken the money and disappeared.After three months,no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead.His name came offthe 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.Theyhad been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits;thus the bankruptcy.Since Patrick's departure,they had tried every possibleway to divorce one another,but nothing would work.Two were ragingbrink 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 richlyrenovated 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 possiblesecond.He was dead.They buried him on February11,1992.They had consoled the widow and put his rotten name on their handsome letterhead.Yetsix weeks later,he somehow stole their money.They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan,the firm's senior partner and its iron hand,had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made sense after some discussion.It was ninety million bucks,a third of which the firm would keep,and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand.Someone at the bank would talk.Sooneveryone would know.All four vowed secrecy,even as they made plansto display as much of their new wealth as possible.There had even been 396talk of a firm jet,a six-seater. So Bogan took his share of the blame.and for this he had receivedno 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 raisedby 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 ina dark office in the attic.26.What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick's disappearance?A.They all wanted to divorce their wives.B.They were all heavily involved in debts.C.They were all recovering from drinking.D.They had bought new homes,yachts, etc.B.…they could see it,almost touch it when their dead partner...397C.…,attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages...D.…,and for this he had received no small amount of grief.28.According to the passage,what is the main cause of Patrickstealing the money?A.Patrick was made a partner of the firm.B.The partners agreed to have the money transferred.C.Patrick had access to all the files in the firm.D.Bogan decided to hire Patrick nine years earlier.29.The lawyers were described as being all the following EXCEPTA.greedy.B.extravagantC.quarrelsome.D.bad-tempered.30.Which of the following implies a contrast?A.…,and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand.B.They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits;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.398PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE(10MIN) There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section.Choose theA.Vancouver.B.Montreal.C.TorontoD.Ottawa.32.According to the United States Constitution,the legislativepower is invested inA.the Federal Government.B.the Supreme Court.C.the Cabinet.D.the Congress.33.Which of the following is the oldest sport in the United States?A.Baseball.B.Tennis.C.Basketball.D.American football.34.The head of the executive branch in New Zealand is399A.the President.B.the Governor-General.C.the British monarch,D.the Prime Minister.35.The Canterbury Tales,acollection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, is an important poetic workbyA.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 arewell-known female writers in20th400D.Muriel Spark.38.Which of the following is NOT a design feature of human language?A.Arbitrariness.B.Displacement.C.Duality.D.Diachronicity.39.What type of sentence is“Mark likes fiction,but Tim isinterested in poetry.”?A.A simple sentence.B.A coordinate sentence.C.A complex sentence.D.None of the above.40.The phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form is calledA.hyponymy.B.synonymy.C.polysemy.D.homonymy.PART IV PROOFREADING&ERROR CORRECTION(15MIN)401Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.PART V TRANSLATION(60MIN) 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。

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.。

2008英语专业八级真题及答案TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2008)-GRADE EIGHT-TIME LIMIT: 195 MIN PARTI LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.SECTION B CONVERSATIONIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Questions 1 to 5 are based on a conversation. At the end of the conversation you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the followingfive questions.Now listen to the conversation.1. Mary doesn't seem to favour the idea of a new airport becauseA. the existing airports are to be wastedB. more people will be encouraged to travel.C. more oil will be consumed.D. more airplanes will be purchased.2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potentialdisadvantage?A. More people in the area.B. Noise and motorways.C. Waste of land.D. Unnecessary travel.3. Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airportEXCEPTA. more job opportunities.B. vitality to the local economy.C. road construction,D. presence of aircrew in the area.4. Mary thinks that people don't need to do much travel nowadaysas a result ofA. less emphasis on personal contact.B. advances in modern telecommunications.C. recent changes in people's concepts.D. more potential damage to the area5. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Mary's ideas,A. strongly in favour ofB. mildly in favour ofC. strongly againstD. mildly againstSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Question 6 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.Now listen to the news.6. What is the main idea of the news item?A. A new government was formed after Sunday's elections.B. The new government intends to change the welfare system.C. The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.D. The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment. Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.7. The tapes of the Apollo-11 mission were first stored inA. a U.S. government archives warehouse.B. a NASA ground tracking station.C. the Goddard Space Flight Centre.D. none of the above places.8. What does the news item say about Richard Nafzger?A. He is assigned the task to look for the tapes.B. He believes that the tapes are probably lost.C. He works in a NASA ground receiving site.D. He had asked for the tapes in the 1970s.Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.9. The example in the news item is cited mainly to showA. that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetentB. that in cases like that hospitals have to pay huge compensations.C. that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment.D. that language barriers can result in fatal consequences.10. According to Dr. Flores, hospitals and clinicsA. have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters.B. have realized the problems of language barriers.C. have begun training their staff to be bilinguals.D. have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis.PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark youranswers on your coloured answer sheetTEXT AAt the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joon's life is a living hell. The South Korean 10th grader gets up at 6 in the morning to go to school, and studies most of the day until returning home at 6 p.m. After dinner, it's time to hit the books again—at one of Seoul's many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at 1 in the morning, sleeps less than five hours, then repeats the routine—five days a week. It's a grueling schedule, but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into a top university. Some ofhis classmates study even harder.South Korea's education system has long been highly competitive. But for Lee and the other 700,000 high-school sophomores in the country, high-school studies have gotten even more intense. That's because South Korea has conceived a new college-entrance system, which will be implemented in 2008. This year's 10th graders will be the first group evaluated by the new admissions standard, which places more emphasis on grades in the three years of high school and less on nationwide SAT-styleand other selection tests, which have traditionally determined whichstudents go to the elite colleges.The change was made mostly to reduce what the government says is a growing education gap in the country: wealthy students go to the best colleges and get the best jobs, keeping the children of poorer families on the social margins. The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools, partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life. But the new system has had the opposite effect. Before, students didn't worry too much about their grade-point averages; the big challenge was beating the standardized tests as high-school seniors. Now students are competing against one another over a three-year period, and every midterm and final test is crucial. Fretful parents are relying even more heavily on tutors and cram schools to help their children succeed.Parents and kids have sent thousands of angry online letters to the Education Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against each other. "One can succeed only when othersfail,” as one parent said.Education experts say that South Korea's public secondary-school system is foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the country's high schools are almost uniformly mediocre—the result of an egalitarian government education policy. With the number of elite schools strictly controlled by the government, even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinary schools in their neighbourhoods, where the curriculum is centred on average students. To make up for the mediocrity, zealous parents send their kids to theexpensive cram schools.Students in affluent southern Seoul neighbourhoods complain that the new system will hurt them the most. Nearly all Korean high schools will be weighted equally in the college-entrance process, and relatively weak students in provincial schools, who may not score well on standardized tests, often compile good grade-point averages.Some universities, particularly prestigious ones, openly complain that they cannot select the best students under the new system because it eliminates differences among high schools. They've asked for more discretion in picking students by giving more weight to such screening tools as essay writing or interviews.President Roh Moo Hyun doesn't like how some colleges are trying to circumvent the new system. He recently criticized "greedy" universitiesthat focus more on finding the best students than faying to "nurture good students". But amid the crossfire between the government and universities, the country's 10th graders are feeling the stress. On online protest sites, some are calling themselves a “cursed generation” and “mice in a lab experiment”. It all seems a touch melodramatic, but that's the SouthKorean school system.11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system isdesigned toA. require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.B. reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.C. select students on their high school grades only.D. reduce the number of prospective college applicants.12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?A. The system has given equal opportunities to students.B. The system has reduced the number of cram schools.C. The system has intensified competition among schools.D. The system has increased students' study load.13. According to critics, the popularity of private education ismainly the result ofA. the government's egalitarian policy.B. insufficient number of schools:C. curriculums of average quality.D. low cost of private education.14. According to the passage, there seems to be disagreement over theadoption of the new system between the following groups EXCEPTA. between universities and the government.B. between school experts and the government.C. between parents and schools.D. between parents and the government.15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the author'streatment of the topic?A. Objective.B. Positive.C. Negative.D. Biased.TEXT BWilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishman's dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days he's the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones.“But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britain's burgeoning farmers' markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you don't know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionaliststo move on."The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins ofthe University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors.What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.Naturally, the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers otherincalculable compensations?Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way. “Unlike most other countries, where artisanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. “It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of beinga peasant.” And not an investment banker.16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones isINCORRECT?A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.B. He used to work in the television industry.C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.D. He is now selling his own quality foods.17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditionalBritish farmingA. knowledge of farming.B. knowledge of brand names.C. knowledge of lifestyle.D. knowledge of marketing,18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence ofa new class of farmers?A. Strong desire for country life.B. Longing for greater wealth,C. Influence of TV productions.D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.B. Increase in the value of land property.C. Raising and selling rare live stock. VD. Publicity as a result of media coverage.20. The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isn't catchingup with mainland Europe; it's leading the way" implies thatA. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.C. the British are heading back to the countryside.D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these aren't stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel ofhuman cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher "story".These human towers can rise higher than small apartment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity can't defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top. Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below.Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancientritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: "We do it because it's beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan."Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and“ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense —but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets' bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona isdifferent.Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from the rest of Spain yet essential to Spain's emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spain's production—everything from textiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its owneconomic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running theatrical event.Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection, prove notto be.Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to compare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. "The balcony was on the second floor.He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone."There you have it, Barcelona's essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is talking into a cell phone (seny).21. From the description in the passage, we learn thatA. all Catalonians can perform castells.B. castells require performers to stand on each other.C. people perform castells in different formations.D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance isthatA. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ toshow seny at work.A. development of a bankB. dynamic role in economyC. contribution to national economyD. comparison with other regions24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. Whatdoes it mean?A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.B. It is of average quality.C. It is conventional and quiet.D. It is of professional standard.TEXT DThe law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death, the firm's letterhead properly included him: Patrick S. Lanigan, 1954-1992. He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals. Then the rumors got started and wouldn't stop. Before long, everyone believed hehad taken the money and disappeared. After three months, no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead. His name came off the letterheadas the debts piled up.The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were rolling and on the verge of serious wealth. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since Patrick's departure, they had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would work. Two were raging alcoholics who drank at the office behind locked doors, but nevertogether. The other two were in recovery, still teetering on the brink of sobriety.He took their money. Their millions. Money they had already spent long before it arrived, as only lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office building in downtown Biloxi. Money for new homes, yachts, condos in the Caribbean. The money was on the way, approved, the papers signed, orders entered; they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner —Patrick—snatched it at the last possible second.He was dead. They buried him on February 11, 1992. They had consoled the widow and put his rotten name on their handsome letterhead. Yet six weeks later, he somehow stole their money.They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan, the firm's senior partner and its iron hand, had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made sense after some discussion. It was ninety million bucks, a third of which the firm would keep, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand. Someone at the bank would talk. Soon everyone would know. All four vowed secrecy, even as they made plans to display as much of their new wealth as possible. There had even been talk of a firm jet, asix-seater.So Bogan took his share of the blame. At forty-nine, he was the oldest of the four, and, at the moment, the most stable. He was also responsible for hiring Patrick nine years earlier, and for this he had received nosmall amount of grief.Doug Vitrano, the litigator, had made the fateful decision to recommend Patrick as the fifth partner. The other three had agreed, and when Patrick Lanigan was added to the firm name, he had access to virtually every file in the office. Bogan, Rapley, Vitrano, Havarac, and Lanigan, Attorneys and Counselors-at-Law. A large ad in the yellow pages claimed "Specialistsin Offshore Injuries." Specialists or not, like most firms they would take almost anything if the fees were lucrative. Lots of secretaries and paralegals. Big overhead, and the strongest political connections on theCoast.They were all in their mid- to late forties. Havarac had been raised by his father on a shrimp boat. His hands were still proudly calloused, and he dreamed of choking Patrick until his neck snapped. Rapley was severely depressed and seldom left his home, where he wrote briefs in a dark officein the attic.26. What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick'sdisappearance?A. They all wanted to divorce their wives.B. They were all heavily involved in debts.C. They were all recovering from drinking.D. They had bought new homes, yachts, etc.27. Which of the following statements contains a metaphor?A. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.B. …they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner...C. …, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages...D. …, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.28. According to the passage, what is the main cause of Patrickstealing the money?A. Patrick was made a partner of the firm.B. The partners agreed to have the money transferred.C. Patrick had access to all the files in the firm.D. Bogan decided to hire Patrick nine years earlier.29. The lawyers were described as being all the following EXCEPTA. greedy.B. extravagantC. quarrelsome.D. bad-tempered.30. Which of the following implies a contrast?A. …, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi,population fifty thousand.B. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thusthe bankruptcy.C. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.D. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.PART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question. Mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet31. The largest city in Canada isA. Vancouver.B. Montreal.C. TorontoD. Ottawa.32. According to the United States Constitution, the legislativepower is invested inA. the Federal Government.B. the Supreme Court.C. the Cabinet.D. the Congress.33. Which of the following is the oldest sport in the United States?A. Baseball.B. Tennis.C. Basketball.D. American football.34. The head of the executive branch in New Zealand isA. the President.B. the Governor-General.C. the British monarch,D. the Prime Minister.35. The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, is an important poetic work byA. William Langland.B. Geoffrey Chaucer.C. William Shakespeare.D. Alfred Tennyson.36. Who wrote The American?A. Herman Melville.B. Nathaniel Hawthorne.C. Henry James.D. Theodore Dreiser.37. All of the following are well-known female writers in 20th-centuryBritain EXCEPTA. George Eliot.B. Iris Jean Murdoch.C. Doris Lessing.D. Muriel Spark.38. Which of the following is NOT a design feature of human language?A. Arbitrariness.B. Displacement.C. Duality.D. Diachronicity.39. What type of sentence is “Mark likes fiction, but Tim isinterested in poetry.”?A. A simple sentence.B. A coordinate sentence.C. A complex sentence.D. None of the above.40. The phenomenon that words having different meanings have the sameform is calledA. hyponymy.B. synonymy.C. polysemy.D. homonymy.PART IV PROOFREADING & ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN) Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISHTranslate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.都市寸土千金，地价炒得越来越高，今后将更高。

08年口译试题Task 1联想集团总裁关于更换品牌标识的讲话The speech of the president of Lenovo Group on the Change of Brand Logo1.今天是一个值得联想人永远铭记的日子。

•Today will always be remembered by all the staff of Lenovo.•Today will be engraved on the heart and memory of every member of Lenovo.•Today is a day that every Lenovo member will bear in mind forever.•此事值得铭记。

It is worthy to be remembered.•20世纪的历史教训值得铭记,维护和发展和平友好的国际环境是人类共同的责任。

•Historical lessons of the 20th century should never be forgotten. To maintain and develop an international surrounding with peace and friendship is the responsibility of all the human beings.•铭记在心。

Bear this in mind.•那个事件铭记在我的记忆里。

The event was imprinted on my memory.•他的忠言被铭记在我的心头。

His advice was graven on my mind.•她父亲的话铭记在她记忆中。

Her father's words were inscribed in her memory•她对自己所负的责任铭记在心。

She is mindful of her responsibilities.2.我非常高兴和大家一起见证联想品牌新标识的诞生。

2008年英语专业八级改错练习题及答案解析(1) About half of the infant and maternal deaths in developing countries couldbe avoided if women had used family planning methods to prevent high risk _ ___1____pregnancies, according to a report publishing recently by the Johns Hopking _ ___2____University.The report indicates that 5.6 million infant deaths and 2,000,000 maternal Deaths could be prevented this year if women chose to have theirs children _ ___3____within the safest years with adequate intervals among births and limited their ____4____families to moderate size.This amounts to about half of the 9.8 million infant and 370.000 maternal deaths in developing countries, excluded China, estimated for this year by ___ _5____ters for Disease Control the United Nation’s Children’s Fund and the US CenCentersrespectably. China was excluded because very few births occur in the high __ __6____risk categories.The report says that evidences from around the world shows the risk of ____ 7____maternal or infant ill and death is the highest in four specific types of ____8_ ____pregnancy; pregnancies before the mother is 18 year old; those after the ___ _9____mother is 35 years old; pregnancies after four births; and those lesser than ____10____ two years apart.参考答案及解析:1 将had used 改为改为used 。

2008英语专业八级真题及答案PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheetTEXT AAt the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joon's life is a living hell. The South Korean 10th grader gets up at 6 in the morning to go to school, and studies most of the day until returning home at 6 p.m. After dinner, it's time to hit the books again—at one of Seoul's many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at 1 in the morning, sleeps less than five hours, then repeats the routine—five days a week. It's a grueling schedule, but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into a top university. Some of his classmates study even harder.South Korea's education system has long been highly competitive. But for Lee and the other 700,000 high-school sophomores in the country, high-school studies have gotten even more intense. That's because South Korea has conceived a new college-entrance system, which will be implemented in 2008. This year's 10th graders will be the first group evaluated by the new admissions standard, which places more emphasis on grades in the three years of high school and less on nationwide SAT-style and other selection tests, which have traditionally determined which students go to the elite colleges.The change was made mostly to reduce what the government says is a growing education gap in the country: wealthy students go to the best colleges and get the best jobs, keeping the children of poorer families on the social margins. The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools, partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life. But the new system has had the opposite effect. Before, students didn't worry too much about their grade-point averages; the big challenge was beating the standardized tests as high-school seniors. Now students are competing against one another over a three-year period, and every midterm and final test is crucial. Fretful parents are relying even more heavily on tutors and cram schools to help their children succeed.Parents and kids have sent thousands of angry online letters to the Education Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against each other. "One can succeed only when others fail,” as one parent said.Education experts say that South Korea's public secondary-school system is foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the country's high schools are almost uniformly mediocre—the result of an egalitarian government education policy. With the number of elite schools strictly controlled by the government, even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinary schools in their neighbourhoods, where the curriculum is centred on average students. To make up for the mediocrity, zealous parents send their kids to the expensive cram schools.Students in affluent southern Seoul neighbourhoods complain that the new system will hurt them the most. Nearly all Korean high schools will be weighted equally in the college-entrance process, and relatively weak students in provincial schools, who may not score well on standardized tests, often compile good grade-point averages. Some universities, particularly prestigious ones, openly complain that they cannot select the best students under the new system because it eliminates differences among high schools. They've asked for more discretion in picking students by giving more weight to such screening tools as essay writing or interviews.President Roh Moo Hyun doesn't like how some colleges are trying to circumvent the new system. He recently criticized "greedy" universities that focus more on finding the best students than faying to "nurture good students". But amid the crossfire between the government and universities, the country's 10th graders are feeling the stress. On online protest sites, some are calling themselves a “cursed generation” and “mice in a lab experiment”. It all seems a touch me lodramatic, but that's the South Korean school system.11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system is designed toA. require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.B. reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.C. select students on their high school grades only.D. reduce the number of prospective college applicants.12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?A. The system has given equal opportunities to students.B. The system has reduced the number of cram schools.C. The system has intensified competition among schools.D. The system has increased students' study load.13. According to critics, the popularity of private education is mainly the result ofA. the government's egalitarian policy.B. insufficient number of schools:C. curriculums of average quality.D. low cost of private education.14. According to the passage, there seems to be disagreement over the adoption of the new system between the following groups EXCEPTA. between universities and the government.B. between school experts and the government.C. between parents and schools.D. between parents and the government.15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the author's treatment of the topic?A. Objective.B. Positive.C. Negative.D. Biased.TEXT BWilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishman's dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days he's the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones. “But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britain's burgeoning farmers' markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you don't know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on."The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins of the University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.Naturally, the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations?Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way. “Unlike most other countries, where art isanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. “It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a peasant.” And not an investment banker.16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT?A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.B. He used to work in the television industry.C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.D. He is now selling his own quality foods.17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditional British farmingA. knowledge of farming.B. knowledge of brand names.C. knowledge of lifestyle.D. knowledge of marketing,18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence of a new class of farmers?A. Strong desire for country life.B. Longing for greater wealth,C. Influence of TV productions.D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.B. Increase in the value of land property.C. Raising and selling rare live stock. VD. Publicity as a result of media coverage.20. The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way" implies thatA. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.C. the British are heading back to the countryside.D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT CIn Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these aren't stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher "story".These human towers can rise higher than small apar tment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity can't defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top. Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below. Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: "We do it because it's beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan."Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and “ruckus”.What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense—but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.The success of Carlos Tusquets' bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona is different.Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from the rest of Spain yet essential to Spain's emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spain's production—everything fromtextiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and women who, upon closer inspection, prove not to be.Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to co mpare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. "The balcony was on the second floor. He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone."There you have it, Barcelona's essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is talking into a cell phone (seny).21. From the description in the passage, we learn thatA. all Catalonians can perform castells.B. castells require performers to stand on each other.C. people perform castells in different formations.D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is thatA. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ to show seny at work.A. development of a bankB. dynamic role in economyC. contribution to national economyD. comparison with other regions24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. What does it mean?A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.B. It is of average quality.C. It is conventional and quiet.D. It is of professional standard.TEXT DThe law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a year after his funeral. After his death, the firm's letterhead properly included him: Patrick S. Lanigan, 1954-1992. He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals. Then the rumors got started and wouldn't stop. Before long, everyone believed he had taken the money and disappeared. After three months, no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were rolling and on the verge of serious wealth. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since Patrick's departure, they had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would work. Two were raging alcoholics who drank at the office behind locked doors, but nevertogether. The other two were in recovery, still teetering on the brink of sobriety.He took their money. Their millions. Money they had already spent long before it arrived, as only lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office building in downtown Biloxi. Money for new homes, yachts, condos in the Caribbean. The money was on the way, approved, the papers signed, orders entered; they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner—Patrick—snatched it at the last possible second.He was dead. They buried him on February 11, 1992. They had consoled the widow and put his rotten name on their handsome letterhead. Yet six weeks later, he somehow stole their money.They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan, the firm's senior partner and its iron hand, had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made sense after some discussion. It was ninety million bucks, a third of which the firm would keep, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand. Someone at the bank would talk. Soon everyone would know. All four vowed secrecy, even as they made plans to display as much of their new wealth as possible. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.So Bogan took his share of the blame. At forty-nine, he was the oldest of the four, and, at the moment, the most stable. He was also responsible for hiring Patrick nine years earlier, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.Doug Vitrano, the litigator, had made the fateful decision to recommend Patrick as the fifth partner. The other three had agreed, and when Patrick Lanigan was added to the firm name, he had access to virtually every file in the office. Bogan, Rapley, Vitrano, Havarac, and Lanigan, Attorneys and Counselors-at-Law. A large ad in the yellow pages claimed "Specialists in Offshore Injuries." Specialists or not, like most firms they would take almost anything if the fees were lucrative. Lots of secretaries and paralegals. Big overhead, and the strongest political connections on the Coast.They were all in their mid- to late forties. Havarac had been raised by his father on a shrimp boat. His hands were still proudly calloused, and he dreamed of choking Patrick until his neck snapped. Rapley was severely depressed and seldom left his home, where he wrote briefs in a dark office in the attic.26. What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick's disappearance?A. They all wanted to divorce their wives.B. They were all heavily involved in debts.C. They were all recovering from drinking.D. They had bought new homes, yachts, etc.27. Which of the following statements contains a metaphor?A. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.B. …they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner...C. …, attached unwillingly at the hip by the bondage of mortgages...D. …, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.28. According to the passage, what is the main cause of Patrick stealing the money?A. Patrick was made a partner of the firm.B. The partners agreed to have the money transferred.C. Patrick had access to all the files in the firm.D. Bogan decided to hire Patrick nine years earlier.29. The lawyers were described as being all the following EXCEPTA. greedy.B. extravagantC. quarrelsome.D. bad-tempered.30. Which of the following implies a contrast?A. …, and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand.B. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy.C. There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.D. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.2008年英语专业八级Mini-lecture：(沪友今心提供)1. native language2. 3503. Historical4. India5. commerce6. Boom7. sea travel communication8. conference9. many radios 10. split阅读：(沪友落落提供)阅读一共四篇：韩国的新教育制度引起多方不满；第二篇是讲西班牙人的一些性格；第三篇是英国人热衷自己饲养出售畜牧产品；最后一篇是一个小说节选，四个律师被死去的合伙人骗得破产。