2008下学期专业英语阅读

2008年高考英语阅读理解精选5篇（附详解）NO.01Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life. These people have somethi ng in common. And once we know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves.How is it done? Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skil ls, they‟ll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.First of all, good talkers ask questions. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, wil l answer a question. One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It‟s a common question, but it will get thi ngs go ing.” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questio ns. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers. This poin t seems clear, but it isn‟t. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sortof person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and atte ntively.Real listening at least means some things. First it means not to change the subject of conversation. If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he‟s really in terested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it‟s time for you to change the sub ject.Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you‟re s aying good-bye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I‟ve really enjoyed meetin g you.” If you want to see that person again, don‟t keep it a secret. Let peopl e know wh at you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they‟ve known you half their life.1.Asking questions might be a quite good and suitable way _______.A.for you to make more and more new friendsB.to begin your business talksC.to get the conversation going smoothlyD.for you to make a deep and lasting impression on others2.After having asked somebody a question, it‟ll be polite of you to _______.A.make clear what kind of person he isB.listen to his reply attentivelyC.wait quietly and patiently for his answerD.go on asking him more questions3.Generally speaking, good talkers are persons who _______.A.are good at making any topic interestingB.never talk too much or too littleC.always speak in a gentle wayD.know how and when they should change the topic of the talk4.If you really take delight in meeting someone again, _______.A.you may take him as your lifelong trustworthy friendB.it seems necessary for you to let him know itC.it‟s proper for you to give him a second handshakeD.it‟ll be helpful for you to have further understanding of him【答案与解析】文章主要教我们一些说话的技巧。

CONTENTS2008 Text 1While still catching-up to men in some spheres of modern life, women appear to be way ahead in at least one undesirable category. “Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men,” according to Dr. Yehuda, chief psychiatrist at New York’s Veteran’s Administration Hospital.在现代生活中女性就算是在某些领域可以追赶上男性，但至少在一个方面是领先的，尽管是她们不太想要的。

纽约的退伍军管理医院精神科首席医生Yehuda博士说道，和男性相比，女性面对压力时，更容易受到影响，导致抑郁和紧张。

sphere [sfiə] n. 球,球面,球体,天体,地球仪,范围vt. 包围,使成球体,放入球内【例】Many countries have difficulties in the economic sphere. 许多国家在经济方面遇到了困难。

category['kætigəri] n. 种类,类项;【例】These Categories recognize different levels of competition. 这些类别可被用来分辨出比赛里不同的等级。

susceptible[sə'septəbl] a. 易受影响的,易感动的,容许…的【例】This agreement is not susceptible to alteration. 这一协议不容更改。

TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2008)--GRADE EIGHT--PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. 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.Complete the gap-filling task. Some of the gaps below may require a maximum of THREE words. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically & semantically acceptable. You may refer to your notes.The Popularity of EnglishⅠ. Present status of EnglishA. English as a native/first languageB. English as a lingua franca: a language for communicationamong people whose (1) are different (1) ______C. Number of people speaking English as a first or a second language:— 320—380 million native speakers— 250—(2) million speakers of English as a second (2) ______LanguageⅡ. Reasons for the popular use of EnglishA. (3) reasons (3) ______— the Pilgrim Fathers brought the language to America;— British settlers brought the language to Australia;— English was used as a means of control in (4) (4) ______B. Economic reasons— spread of (5) (5) ______— language of communication in the international business communityC. (6) in international travel (6) ______— use of English in travel and tourism— signs in airports— language of announcement— language of (7) (7) ______D. Information exchange— use of English in the academic world— language of (8) or journal articles (8) ______E. Popular culture— pop music on (9) (9) ______— films from the USAⅢ. Questions to think aboutA. Status of English in the futureB. (10) of distinct varieties of English (10) ______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 bused on a conversation. At the end of the conversation you will be given 10 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 because[A] the existing airports are to be wasted. [B] more people will be encouraged to travel.[C] more oil will be consumed. [D] more airplanes will be purchased.2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potential disadvantage?[A] More people in the area. [B] Noise and motorways.[C] Waste of land. [D] Unnecessary travel.3. Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airport EXCEPT[A] more job opportunities. [B] vitality to the local economy.[C] road construction. [D] presence of aircrew in the area.4. Mary thinks that people don't need to do much travel nowadays as a result of[A] less emphasis on personal contact. [B] advances in modern telecommunications.[C] recent changes in people's concepts. [D] more potential damage to the area.5. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is ______ Mary's ideas.[A] strongly in favour of [B] mildly in favour of[C] strongly against [D] 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 bused 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 10 seconds to answer each of the two questions. Now listen to the news.7. The tapes of the Apollo 11 mission were first stored in[A] a U. S. government archives warehouse.[B] a NASA ground tracking station.[C] the Goddard Space Flight Centre.[D] none of the above places.8. What does the news item say about Richard Nafzger?[A] He is assigned the task to look for the tapes.[B] He believes that the tapes are probably lost.[C] He works in a NASA ground receiving site.[D] He had asked for the tapes in the 1970s.Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the two questions. Now listen to the news.9. The example in the news item is cited mainly to show[A] that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetent.[B] that in cases like that hospitals have to pay huge compensations.[C] that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment.[D] that language barriers can result in fatal consequences.10. According to Dr. Flores, hospitals and clinics[A] have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters.[B] have realized the problems of language barriers.[C] have begun training their staff to be bilinguals.[D] have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis.PART ⅡREADING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.TEXT 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 SA T-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 trying 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 South Korean school system.11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system is designed to[A] require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.[B] reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.[C] select students on their high school grades only.[D] reduce the number of prospective college applicants.12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?[A] The system has given equal opportunities to students.[B] The system has reduced the number of cram schools.[C] The system has intensified competition among schools.[D] The system has increased students' study load.13. According to critics, the popularity of private education is mainly the result of[A] the 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 EXCEPT[A] between universities and the government.[B] between school experts and the government.[C] between parents and schools.[D] between parents and the government.15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the 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 Farmer 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. "Y ou 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 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. [D] 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 that[A] Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.[B] more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.[C] the British are heading back to the countryside.[D] the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.TEXT 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 castetlers 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 and the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you observe them up 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 from textiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic miracle.Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and 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 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 that[A] all Catalonians can perform castells.[B] castells require performers to stand on each other.[C] people perform castells in different formations,[D] in castells people have to push and pull each other.22. According to the passage, the implication of the performance is that[A] the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.[B] the Catalonians Show more sense than is expected.[C] the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.[D] the Catalonians think highly of team work.23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT ______ to show seny at work.[A] development of a bank [B] dynamic role in economy[C] contribution to national economy [D] comparison with other 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 never together. 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. Y et 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 V itrano, 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, V itrano, 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 EXCEPT[A] greedy. [B] extravagant. [C] quarrelsome. [D] bad-tempered.30. Which of the following implies a contrast?[A] ..., and it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand.[B] They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy.[C] There had even been talk of a firm jet, a six-seater.[D] His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.PART ⅢGENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question. Mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.31. The largest city in Canada is[A] V ancouver. [B] Montreal. [C] Toronto. [D] Ottawa.32. According to the United States Constitution, the legislative power is invested in[A] the Federal Government. [B] the Supreme Court,[C] the Cabinet. [D] the Congress.33. Which of the following is the oldest sport in the United States?[A] Baseball. [B] Tennis. [C] Basketball. [D] American football,34. The head of the executive branch in New Zealand is[A] the President. [B] the Governor-General.[C] the British monarch. [D] the Prime Minister.35. The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, is an important poetic work by[A] William Langland. [B] Geoffrey Chaucer.[C] William Shakespeare. [D] Alfred Tennyson.36. Who wrote The American?[A] Herman Melville. [B] Nathaniel Hawthorne.[C] Henry James. [D] Theodore Dreiser.37. All of the following are well-known female writers in 20th-century Britain EXCEPT[A] George Eliot. [B] Iris Jean Murdoch.[C] Doris Lessing. [D] Muriel Spark.38. Which of the following is NOT a design feature of human language?[A] Arbitrariness. [B] Displacement.[C] Duality. [D] Diachronicity.39. What type of sentence is "Mark likes fiction, but Tim is interested in poetry."?[A] A simple sentence. [B] A coordinate sentence.[C] A complex sentence. [D] None of the above.40. The phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form is called[A] hyponymy. [B] synonymy.。

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。

Part one:1）This is too large a signal for the transistor to handle.2）Used properly, this book is of great help to readers.3) They are not clear how it is that the formula can be used.4) The definition of an electric current as a flow of charge(s) is familiar to us all.5) This book discusses both practical design method and theoretical problems withemphasis on the basic concept.6) This done, electrons possess more energy, thus/thereby increasing the brightness ofthe light spot.7) What are called the three elements of a force play an important role in our study ofmechanics.8) This device has the advantages over those available of small size, light weight andsimple structure.9) A comparison between magnetic tapes and discs has been made.10) One of the most noteworthy achievements at that time was the realization thatlight consists of electromagnetic waves.11) All that one needs to solve the equation for the unknown is a computer.12) These equations are called differential equations, and their study forms one of themost challenging braches in mathematics.13) For a transistor to function normally, it is necessary to apply proper voltages to itselectrodes.14) It makes no difference which letter we use to represent the independent variable.15) The hotter the body (is), the more energy it will radiate, a fact that is of great importance in engineering.Part two:1．A detailed analysis of the ability of the components to carry loads is made.2. This material is very difficult to machine.3. After being processed, these data are sent to the database server immediately.4. This is the largest aircraft which has ever been manufactured in China.5. This professor plays an active role in research on and the application of theObject/Relation Mapping Framework.6. Tin does not have as high a melting point as lead does.7. The conductivity of copper is higher than that of iron.8. By observing the effect of a new drug on patients, we can see its curative effect.9. Only when these signal are sent to the same layer, can the process mentioned aboveoccur.10. This is due to the existence of a capacitance across the PN junction.(This is due to the fact that there exists a capacitance across the PN junction.)11. Sound travels less fast than light does.12. Direct current flows always in one direction.13. People will get used to this color as time goes on.(People will get used to this color with time going on.)14. Usually we can not see earth’s shadow, because there is nothing for it to fall on.15. Work equals force multiplied by distance.(Work is equal to force multiplied by distance.)Part three:Translation:1）地球物理学家Raymond说到，新兴卫星技术的应用能够推动地震科学，使其具有更好的预测力。

Text 1While still catching-up to men in some spheres of modern life, women appear to be way ahead in at least one undesirable category. Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men, according to Dr. Yehuda, chief psychiatrist at New York's Veteran's Administration Hospital.Studies of both animals and humans have shown that sex hormones somehow affects the stress response, causing females under stress to produce more of the trigger chemicals than do males under the same conditions. In several of the studies, when stressed-out female rats had their ovaries （the female reproductive organs）removed, their chemical responses became equal to those of the males.Adding to a woman's increased dose of stress chemicals, are her increased opportunities for stress. It's not necessarily that women don't cope as well. It's just that they have so much more to cope with, says Dr. Yehuda. Their capacity for tolerating stress may even be greater than men's, she observes, It's just that they're dealing with so many more things that they become worn out from it more visibly and sooner.Dr. Yehuda notes another difference between the sexes. I think that the kinds of things that women are exposed to tend to be in more of a chronic or repeated nature. Men go to war and are exposed to combat stress. Men are exposed to more acts of random physical violence. The kinds of interpersonal violence that women are exposed to tend to be in domestic situations, by, unfortunately, parents or other family numbers, and they tend not to be one-shot deals. The wear-and-tear that comes from these longer relationships can be quite devastating.Adeline Alvarez married at 18 and gave birth to a son, but wad determined to finish college. I struggled a lot to get the college degree. I was living in so much frustration that that was my escape, to go to school, and get ahead and do better. Later her marriage ended and she became a single mother. It's the hardest thing to take care of a teenager, have a job, pay the rent, pay the car payment, and pay the debt. I lived from paycheck to paycheck.Not everyone experiences the kinds of severe chronic stresses Alvarez describes. But most women today are coping with a lot of obligations, with few breaks, and feeling the strain. Alvarez's experience demonstrates the importance of finding ways to diffuse stress before it threatens your health and your ability to function.Text 2It used to be so straightforward. A team of researchers working together in the laboratory would submit the results of their research to a journal. A journal editor would then remove the authors names and affiliations from the paper and send it to their peers for review. Depending on the comments received, the editor would accept the paper for publication or decline it. Copyright rested with the journal publisher, and researchers seeking knowledge of the results would have to subscribe to the journal.No longer. The Internet and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it- is making access to scientific results a reality. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development （OECD）has just issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this. The report, by John Houghton of Victoria University in Australia and Graham Vickery of the OECD, makes heavy reading for publishers who have, so far, made handsome profits. But it goes further than that. It signals a change in what has, until now, been a key element of scientificendeavor.The value of knowledge and the return on the public investment in research depends, in part, upon wide distribution and ready access. It is big business. In America, the core scientific publishing market is estimated at between $7 billion and $11 billion. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers says that there are more than 2,000 publishers worldwide specializing in these subjects. They publish more than 1.2 million articles each year in some 16,000 journals.This is now changing. According to the OECD report, some 75% of scholarly journals are now online. Entirely new business models are emerging; three main institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements. There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author （or his employer）to pay for the paper to be published. Finally, there are open-access archives, where organizations such as universities or international laboratories support institutional repositories. Other models exist that are hybrids of these three, such as delayed open-access, where journals allow only subscribers to read a paper for the first six months, before making it freely available to everyone who wishes to see it. All this could change the traditional form of the peer-review process, at least for the publication of papers.Text 3In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National Basketball Association （NBA）listed at over seven feet. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames.The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, today's people- especially those born to families who have lived in the U.S. for many generations- apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s. And they aren’t likely t o get any taller. In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we've pretty much gone as far as we can go, says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears to result from the increasingly common practice of recruiting players from all over the world.Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients–notably, protein–to feed expanding tissues. At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way. But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the secular trend in height. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average height- 5′9〞for men, 5′4〞for women- hasn't really changed since 1960.Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by oversize limbs. There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architecture of the individual organism, says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.Genetic maximums can change, but don't expect this to happen soon. Claire C. Gordon, senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick, Mass, ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration. She says that, unlike those for basketball, the length of military uniforms has not changed for some time. And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment, Gordon says that by and large, you could use today’s data and feel fairly confident.Text 4In 1784, five years before he became president of the United States, George Washington, 52, was nearly toothless. So he hired a dentist to transplant nine teeth into his jaw –having extracted them from the mouths of his slaves.That’s a far different image from the cherry-tree-chopping George most people remember from their history books. But recently, many historians have begun to focus on the roles slavery played in the lives of the founding generation. They have been spurred in part by DNA evidence made available in 1998, which almost certainly proved Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings. And only over the past 30 years have scholars examined history from the bottom up. Works of several historians reveal the moral compromises made by the nation’s early leaders and the fragile nature of the country’s infancy. More significantly, they argue that many of the Founding Fathers knew slavery was wrong – and yet most did little to fight it.More than anything, the historians say, the founders were hampered by the culture of their time. While Washington and Jefferson privately expressed distaste for slavery, they also understood that it was part of the political and economic bedrock of the country they helped to create.For one thing, the South could not afford to part with its slaves. Ownin g slaves was “like having a large bank account,” says Wiencek, author of An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. The southern states would not have signed the Constitution without protections for the “peculiar institution,” including a clause that counted a slave as three fifths of a man for purposes of congressional representation.And the statesmen’s political lives depended on slavery. The three-fifths formula handed Jefferson his narrow victory in the presidential election of 1800 by inflating the votes of the southern states in the Electoral College. Once in office, Jefferson extended slavery with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states.Still, Jefferson freed Hemings’s children – though not Hemings herself or his approximately 150 other slaves. Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were created equal after observing the bravery of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will. Only a decade earlier, such an act would have required legislative approval in Virginia.。

英语专业2007-2008学年第二学期普通语言学考试试卷1. Choose ALL the correct ones from A, B, C, or D. There may be as many as three correct choices. (30 points, 2 points each)1) “It is wrong to split an infinitive.” This is an example of _____ rules.A. prescriptiveB. descriptiveC. transformationalD. functional2) The distinction between competence and performance was put forward by _____.A. Leonard BloomfieldB. Ferdinand de SaussureC. Noam ChomskyD. M. A. K. Halliday3) Which of the following is the correct description of [t]?A. Voiceless alveolar stop.B. Voiceless alveolar fricative.C. Voiced alveolar stop.D. Voiced alveolar fricative.4) Which of the following is a voiced labiodental fricative?A. [s]B. [z]C. [v]D. [f]5) Which of the following are “derivational suffixes”?A. -sB. -ionC. -ingD. -ify6) Which of the following are “content words”?A. Nouns.B. Verbs.C. Determiners.D. Prepositions.7) Which of the following is the correct bracketing of the phrase structure in the sentence “The boy is crying”?A. [[The] [boy] [is] [crying]]B. [[The] [boy]] [[is] [crying]]C. [[The boy] is [crying]]D. [[The] [boy] [is]] [crying]8) Which of the following sentences contain a participial phrase?A. The best thing would be to leave early.B. Having finished their work, they came to our aid.C. It’s great for a man to be free.D. To my surprise, she started looking for jobs.9) Which of the following terms are related to Cognitive Linguistics?A. Word recognition.B. Language acquisition.C. Construal operations.D. Categorization.10) Which of the following are NOT true of the “women register”?A. Women use more “fancy” color terms.B. Women use stronger swearing words.C. Women use more intensifiers.D. Women use more direct expressions.11) Which of the following forms of writing are more likely to use foregrounding?A.Diary.Poetry. B.Novels.Papers. D.C.Research12) Which of the following include a metaphor?A. His eyes came out of his head like a prawn’s.B. The hallway was zebra-striped with darkness and moonlight.C. The thought was a fire in him.D. The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.13) Which of the following are writings of stream of consciousness?A. Pride and PrejudiceB. To the Lighthouse.C. As I Lay Dying.D. Jane Eyre.14) Which of the following book titles contain “alliteration”?A. Vowels and Consonants.B. Gone with the Wind.C. Sex and the City.D. The Wonder of Words.15) “_____” is often understood as a language system between the target languageand the learner’s native language.A. Input HypothesisB. Sapir-Whorf HypothesisAnalysisContrastiveC.Interlanguage D.2. Decide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F). (10 points,1 point each)1) Duality refers to the property of having two levels of structures，such that units ofthe primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.2) Articulatory Phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds.3) The adjective is an open class of words.4) The “parts of speech” in traditional grammar is often referred to as “word class”today.5) “Hot” and “cold” are converse antonyms.6) The holophrastic stage is the mature phase of language acquisition.7) Men use stronger curse words than women.8) The Relevance Theory was suggested by H. P. Grice.9) Stream of consciousness was used in the writings of William Faulkner.10) Machine translation can be used for restricted technical purposes, such as theweather report.3. Briefly explain the following terms. (20 points, 5 points each)1) lateral2) back-formation3) cognition4) foregrounding4. Answer TWO of the following questions. (40 points, 20 points each)1) Use examples to illustrate the concept of “recursiveness”.2) Describe the three categories of conceptual metaphors.3) In recent years, numerous new words have entered the daily life of Chinese people,e.g. 上网，海选. Give a list of (about 10) such words, discuss the context of theirusage, and provide a feasible explanation of their booming.2007-08学年第二学期普通语言学试卷参考答案和评分标准I. 多选题。

2008 Text 2（英语⼆）⽆纸化图书馆It used to be so straightforward.A team of researchers working together in the laboratory would submit the results of their research to a journal.A would then remove the authors' names and affiliations from the paper and send it to their peers for review.Depending on the comments received, the editor would accept the paper for publication or decline it.Copyright rested with the journal publisher, and researchers seeking knowledge of the results would have to subscribe to the journal.No longer.The Internet — and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it — is making free access to scientific results a reality.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development () has just issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this.The report, by John Houghton of in Australia and Graham Vickery of the OECD, makes heavy reading for publishers who have, so far, made 原本⼀切都很简单。

PART III CLOZE [15 MIN]Decide which of the choices given below would best complete the passage if inserted in theeorresponding blanks. Mark the best choice for each blank on your answer sheet.Salt, shells or metals are still used as money in out-of-the-way parts of the world today.Salt may seem rather a strange (31)____ to use as money, (32)_____ in countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an (33)_____ necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their (34)____, were used as money in some countries until recent (35)_____, and cakes of salt (36)____ buy goods in Borneo and parts of Africa.Sea shells (37)_____ as money at some time(38)____ another over the greater part of the Old World. These were (39)___ mainly from the beaches of the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean, and were traded to India and China. In Africa, shells were traded right across the (40)___ from East to West.Metal, valued by weight, (41)____ coins in many parts of the world. Iron, in lumps, bars or rings, is still used in many countries(42)_____ paper money. It can either be exchanged(43)____ goods, or made into tools, weapons, or ornaments. The early money of China, apart from shells, was of bronze, (44)_____ in flat, round pieces with a hole in the middle, called "cash". The (45)_____ of these are between three thousand and four thousand years old - older than the earliest coins of the eastern Mediterranean.Nowadays, coins and notes have (46)____ nearly all the more picturesque (47)____ of money, and (48)____ in one or two of the more remote countries people still keep it for future use on ceremonial (49)____ such as weddings and funerals, examples of (50)____ money will soon be found only in museums.(31) A. object B. article C. substance D. category(32) A. but B. and C. so D. even(33) A. abstract B. advantageous C. abundant D. absolute(34) A. weight B. value C. role D. size(35) A. times B. events C. situations D. conditions(36) A. even B. also C. still D. never(37) A. had been used B. are used C. would be used D. would have been used(38) A. and B. but C. yet D. or(39) A. collected B. produced C. grown D. raised(40) A. city B. district C. communib D. continent(41) A. processed B. produced C. preceded D. proceeded(42) A. in spite of B. instead of C. along with D. in line with(43) A. against B. as C. in D. for(44) A. often B. seldom C. really D. much(45) A. earlier B.earliest C.better D.best(46) A. replaced B. reproduced C. reflected D. recovered(47) A. sizes B. shapes C. formats D. forms(48) A. while B. although C. because D. if(49) A. events B. gatherings C. occasions D. assemblies(50) A. original B. primitive C. historical D. crudePART IV GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY [15 MIN]There are thirty sentences in this section. Beneath each sentence there are four words or phrase marked A, B, C and D. Choose one word orphrasethat best completes the sentence. Mark your answers on your answer sheet.51. Our association, which has consistently pressed for greater employment opportunities for tN disabled, will publish ____ proposals in the near future.A. theirB. ourC. hisD. its52. Had Judy been more careful on the maths exam, she ____ much better results now.A. would be gettingB. could have gotC. must getD. would get53. Nine is to three _____ three is to one.A. whenB. thatC. whichD. what54. Men differ from animals ____ they can think and speak.A. for whichB. for thatC. in thatD. in which55. ____ he wanted to go out with his friends at the weekend, he had to stay behind to finish his assignment.A. Much thoughB. Much asC. As muchD. Though much56. I enjoyed myself so much ____ I visited my friends in Paris last year.A. whenB. whichC. thatD. where57. Which of the following is INCORRECT?A. All his lectures were boring. C. Her few friends are all fond of dancing.B. Half his money was gone. D. He invited many his friends to the party.58. When you have finished with that book, don't forget to put it back on my desk, _____?A. do youB. don't youC. will youD. won't you59. What does "He wisely refused to spend his money" mean?A. It was wise of him to refuse to spend his money.B. He refused to spend his money in a wise manner.C. He was short of money and didn't want to buy anything.D. He refused, in a wise manner, to spend his money.60. They stood chatting together as easily and naturally as ____.A. it could beB. could beC. it wasD. was61. The following are all correct responses to "Who told the news to the teacher?" EXCEPTA. Jim did this.B. Jim did so.C. Jim did that.D. Jim did.62. Quality is ____ counts most.A. whichB. thatC. whatD. where63. In his plays Shakespeare _____ his characters live through their language.A. would makeB. had madeC. madeD. makes64. The square itself is five hundred yards wide, five times ____ the size of St. Peter's in Rome.A. /B. that ofC. which isD. of65. Which of the following sentences expresses "probability"?A. You must leave immediately.B. You must be feeling rather tired.C. You must be here by eight o'clock.D. You must complete the reading assignment on time.66. When he first started in university, he really felt at _____ with his major --- economics.A. shoreB. bankC. oceanD. sea67. On the road motorists should be aware of cyclists and be ____ towards them.A. considerableB. consideringC. considerateD. considered68. Sally was a bit shy, but the teacher found her quite ____ discussing a recent film with others.A. at homeB. at mostC. at houseD. at bean69. The company has capitalized _____ the error of judgment made by its business competitor.A. inB. overC. withD. on70. Tim has failed three courses this semester, so he will have to _____ them next semester.A. remakeB. repeatC. reapplyD. revise71. Keep this reference book; it may come in _____ one day.A. handyB. usefulC. convenientD. helpful72. The questions that the speaker raised were well ____ the average adult.A. pastB. onC. beyondD. through73. Teachers in this school were encouraged to use drama as a(n) _____ of learning.A. designB. instrumentC. agencyD. tool74. First, we need to find out what his scheme is, and then act _____.A. sensitivelyB. imaginativelyC. efficientlyD. accordingly75. At first Jim was not quite clear what he was going to do after university, but now he seems _____ on becoming a computer programmer.A. fitB. setC. disposedD. decided76. When invited to talk about his achievements+ he refused to blow his own _____ anddeclined to speak at the meeting.A. trumpetB. whistleC. bugleD. flute77. In spite of the treatment, the pain in his leg grew inA. gravityB. extentC. intensityD. amount78. Bus services between Town Centre and Newton Housing Estate will be _____ until themotorway is repaired.A. discontinuedB. suspendedC. haltedD. ceased79. The moon, being much nearer to the Earth than the Sun, is the ____ cause of the tides.A. principalB. basicC. initialD. elementary80. Teddy came to my ____ with a cheque of $200 to pay my room rate, after I phoned himthat my wallet had been stolen.A. attendanceB. assistanceC. rescueD. safetyPART V READING COMPREHENSION [25 MIN]In this section there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. Mark your answers on your answer sheet.TEXT AWhen the sun is up in Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on theAmstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a watertaxi.But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in coffee shops,tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke.Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they're allwithin a short cab ride of each other.For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concertsand other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And there is theRoyal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall.But as evening descends on Dam Square so do the party-seekers. Hip pop or funk musicbegins blaring from Club Paradiso and Club Melkweg. These are two of the most popular clubs inEurope. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs don't shut down until 4 am.And while you are there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don'tworry about getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdamspeak English and are happy to help you with directions.And you'll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles. They rent for US$17 to $20 for a whole day.Amsterdam also has a good canal system. From anywhere between U852 and $9.50, you canuse the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise the "Venice of the North".You can take in the picturesque canal house architecture: The rows of neat, narrow four-story dwellings of brownstone with large windows are wellworth seeing. Many of them are severalcenturies old.You might also want to jump out of the canal bus at the Museum Quarter and start walking.Masterpieces by Dutch artists such as Rembrandt, Bruegel, Van Gogh and others are on display atthe Van Gogh Museum, Rembrandt House and others.The city has an appreciation of its historic past. One place to visit is the Anne Frank House in Nine Streets. It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II. Visitors can view Anne's original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.81. At the beginning of the passage, the author indicates thatA. Amsterdam is generally known as a quiet city.B. parties go on all day long in Amsterdam,C. Amsterdam presents two different pictures.D. Amsterdam attracts many daytime visitors.82. Which tourist attraction is cited for elaboration in Paragraphs Four and Five?A. Royal Palace.B. Dam Square.C. Club Paradiso.D. Magna Plaza.83. According to the passage, the local people have all the following characteristics EXCEPTA. they are party goers.B. they show hospitality.C. they can speak English.D. they are fond of cycling.84. Which of the following adjectives can best describe Amsterdam as a tourist city?A. Modern.B. Delightful.C. Quiet.D. Historic.TEXT BIn an article some Chinese scholars are described as being "tantalized by the mysteriousdragon bone hieroglyphics." Tantalized is one of many English words that have their origins inmyths and legends of the past (in this case, Greek and Roman ones). The meaning of the verbtantalize is a very particular one: "to promise or show something desirable to a person and thentake it away; to tease by arousing hope." Many (but not all) English dictionaries give you a brief indication of a word's origins in brackets before or after the explanation of the meaning. For tantalize the following explanation is given: [> Tantalus]. This means that you should look up the name Tantalus to find out the word's origins, and if you do, you will find out that in Greek mythology, Tantalus was a king who was punished in the lower world with eternal hunger andthirst; he was put up to his chin in water that always moved away when he tried to drink it andwith fruit on branches above him placed just a little bit out of his reach. Can you see why hisname was changed into a verb meaning "to tease or torment by arousing desire"?Another example is the word siren, familiar to us as the mechanical device that makes suchan alarming sound when police cars, ambulances, or fire engines approach. This word also has itsorigins in Greek mythology. The traveler Odysseus (Ulysses to the Romans) made his men plugtheir ears so that they wouldn't hear the dangerous voices of the sirens, creatures who were halfbird and half woman and who lured sailors to their deaths on sharp rocks. So the word came to beassociated both with a loud sound and with danger!When someone speaks of a "jovial mood" or a "herculean effort," he or she is using wordswith origins in mythology. Look these words up to find their meaning and relationship to myths.Many common words, such as the names for the days of the week and the months of the year,also come from mythology. Wednesday derives from the ancient Norse king of the gods, Woden,and Thursday was originally Thor's day, in honour of Thor, the god of thunder. As a matter of fact, all the planets, except the one we live on, bear names that come from Roman mythology,including the planet that is farthest away from the sun and for that reason was called after theRoman god of the dead. This god has also given his name to one of the chemical elements.Several other elements have names that come from mythology, too.It seems that myths and legends live on in the English language.85. The purpose of the first sentence in Paragraph One is ____.A. to describe the work of some Chinese scholars.B. to arouse readers' interest in hieroglyphics.C. to lead readers onto the main theme.D. to link the preceding part to the present one.86. We learn from the passage, all English dictionaries include _____.A. legends.B. mythology.C. word origins.D. word definitions.87. The example of tantalize is to show _____.A. how the word came into existence.B. how Tantalus was punished in the lower world.C. how all English dictionaries show word origins.D. how the meaning of the word changed over the years.88. According to the passage, which of the following does NOT have origins in myths orlegends?A. Jovial.B. Wednesday.C. Earth.D. March.89. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?A. Greek and Roman Mythology in Language.B. Mythological Origins of English Words.C. Historical Changes in Word Meanings.D. Mythology and Common Words.TEXT CMy heart sank when the man at the immigration counter gestured to the back room. l'm anAmerican born and raised, and this was Miami, where I live, but they weren't quite ready to letme in yet."Please wait in here, Ms Abujaber," the immigration officer said. My husband, with his veryAmerican last name, accompanied me. He was getting used to this. The same thing had happenedrecently in Canada when I'd flown to Montreal to speak at a book event. That time they held mefor 45 minutes. Today we were returning from a literary festival in Jamaica, and I was startled that I was being sent "in back" once again.The officer behind the counter called me up and said, "Miss, your name looks like the nameof someone who's on our wanted list. We're going to have to check you out with Washington.""How long will it take?""Hard to say ... a few minutes," he said. "We'll call you when we're ready for you."After an hour, Washington still hadn't decided anything about me. "Isn't this computerized?"I asked at the counter. "Can't you just look me up?"Just a few more minutes, they assured me.After an hour and a half, I pulled my cell phone out to call the friends I was supposed to meet that evening. An officer rushed over. "No phones!" he said. "For all we know you could be calling a terrorist cell and giving them information.""I'm just a university professor," I said. My voice came out in a squeak."Of course you are. And we take people like you out of here in leg irons every day."I put my phone away.My husband and 1 were getting hungry and tired. Whole families had been brought into thewaiting room, and the place was packed with excitable children, exhausted parents, even a flightattendant.I wanted to scream, to jump on a chair and shout: "I'm an American citizen; a novelist; lprobably teach English literature to your children." Or would that all be counted against me?After two hours in detention, I was approached by one of the officers. "You're free to go," he said. No explanation or apologies. For a moment, neither of us moved, we were still in shock.Then we leaped to our feet."Oh, one more thing." He handed me a tattered photocopy with an address on it. "If youweren't happy with your treatment, you can write to this agency.""Will they respond?" I asked."I don't know --- I don't know of anyone who's ever written to them before." Then he added,"By the way, this will probably keep happening each time you travel internationally.""What can I do to keep it from happening again?"He smiled the empty smile we'd seen all day. "Absolutely nothing."After telling several friends about our ordeal, probably the most frequent advice I've heard in response is to change my name. Twenty years ago, my own graduate school writing professor advised me to write under a pen name so that publishers wouldn't stick me in what he called "the ethnic ghetto" --- a separate, secondary shelf in the bookstore. But a name is an integral part of anyone's personal and professional identity -just like the town you're born in and the place where you're raised.Like my father, I'll keep the name, but my airport experience has given me a whole newperspective on what diversity and tolerance are supposed to mean. I had no idea that being anAmerican would ever be this hard.90. The author was held at the airport because _____.A. she and her husband returned from Jamaica.B. her name was similar to a terrorist's.C. she had been held in Montreal.D. she had spoken at a book event.91. She was not allowed to call her friends because _____.A. her identity hadn't been confirmed yet.B. she had been held for only one hour and a half.C. there were other families in the waiting room.D. she couldn't use her own cell phone.92. We learn from the passage that the author would _____ to prevent similar experiencefrom happening again.A. write to the agencyB. change her nameC. avoid traveling abroadD. do nothing93. Her experiences indicate that there still exists _____ in the US.A. hatredB. discriminationC. toleranceD. diversity94. The author sounds in the last paragraph.A. impatientB. bitterC. worriedD. ironicTEXT DPublic speaking fills most people with dread. Humiliation is the greatest fear; self-exposure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds.Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of falling in the most public of ways.While extroverts will feel less fear before the ordeal, it does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. When I met the British comedian Julian Clary, he was shy and cautious, yet his TV performances are perfect.In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself. Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written scripts to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.Likewise, the incredibly perfect speeches of many American academics are far from natural.You may end up buying their book on the way out, but soon afterwards, it is much like fast food,and you get a nameless sense that you've been cheated.Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana's funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally. A script rarely works and it is used to help most speakers.But, being yourself doesn't work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, itwould be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.I remember going to see British psychiatrist R. D. Laing speak in public. He behaved like aseriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness andhe wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness,providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of "flow", as psychologists call it, is very satisfying.95. Women hate public speaking most mainly because of _____.A. their upbringing very early on.B. their inability to appeal to the audience.C. their sense of greater public pressure.D. their sense of greater humiliation.96. "this" in Paragraph Two refers toA. insecurity.B. sense of failure.C. public speaking.D. pressure.97. Which of the following is NOT the author's viewpoint?A. Acting like performers spoils the message in a speech.B. Perfection of scripts is necessary in making good impressions.C. Acting naturally means less dependence on the prepared script.D. There should be a balance between actual acting and acting naturally.98. What is the author's view on personality?A. Personality is the key to success in public speaking.B. Extroverts are better public speakers.C. Introverts have to learn harder to be good speakers.D. Factors other than personality ensure better performance.99. The author implies that while speaking R. D. Laing _____.A. was both too casual and authentic.B. was acting like a performer.C. was keeping a good balance.D. was aware of his audience.100. In the last paragraph the author recommends that ____.A. you forget about your nervousness.B. you feel natural and speak naturally.C. you may feel nervous, but appear naturally.D. you may imagine yourself to be natural.答案：PART III CLOZE31-35 CADBA 36-40 CADAD 41-45 CBDAB 46-50 ADBCBPART IV GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY51-55 DBDCB 56-60 CDCDB 61-65 ACDAB 66-70 DCADBPassage A81. At the beginning of the passage, the author indicate thatA. Amsterdam is generally known as a quiet city.B. parties go on all day long in AmsterdamC. Amesterdam presents 2 different pictures.D. Amesterdam affects many daytime visitors.(网络常见的答案是C，解释也合情合理，"When the sun is up, the largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in coffee shops, tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke"，本人选了A，因为当时以为它的so-called "beginning" 只是第一段)82. Which tourist attraction is ?A. Royal PalaceB. Dam SquareC. Club ParaliseD. magna Plaza（这道题目应该争议不大，选B，谈Dam Square具有两重娱乐性）83. According to the passage, the local ppl have all the following characteristics EXCEPTA. they're party goersB. they show hospitalityC. they can speak EnglishD. they are fond of cycling(常见答案是A，本人也是选这个，但还是有些争议，Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions. And you'll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles，稍微理解一下，个人认为这道题目应该就是这个答案)84. Which of the following adjectives can best describe Amsterdam as a tourist city?A. modernB. delightfulC. quietD. historic(OK，the biggest problem comes!这道题争议最大，网络答案无非是两个，B和D，本人选的是D，但细想一下，D还是不够概括吧，并且某位大哥胸有成竹地说，这篇文章的原题目就是Delightful Amsterdam)Part B85. The purpose of the first sentence in P1 isA. to describe the work of some Chinese scholarsB. to arouse readers' interest in hieroghypicsC. to lead readers onto the main themeD. to link the preceding part to the present one(这道题目应该比较简单，本人选C，和群众大多相同，争议不大)86. We learn from the passage, all English dictionaries includeA. legendsB. mythologyC. word originD. word definitions（同样简单题，或者说常识题，选D）87. The example of is to showA. how the word came into existenceB. how Tantalus was punished in the lower worldC. how all English dictionaries show word originsD. how the meaning of the word changed over the years（我选了D，但应该是错了，答案应该是A，我忘了这个例子到底是怎样叙述的，不过细想一下，应该是自己错了，不大应该，属于简单题来的）88. According to the passage, which of the following dose NOT have origins in myths or legends?A. JovialB. WednesdayC. EarthD. March（选C，记得比较清楚，它谈来除了地球之外，其他星球和星期月份都有自己的神话起源）89. Which of the following best serve as the title of the passageA. Greek and Roman Mythology in LanguageB. Mythological Origins of English WordsC. Historical Chages in Word MeaningsD. Mythology and Common Words(选B，属于概括题，粗略读懂文章应该就是明白，争议不大)Part C90. The author was held in the airport becauseA. she and her husband returned for JamaicaB. her name was similar to a terrorist'sc. she had been held in MentrealD. she had spoke at a book event("Miss, your name looks like the name of someone who's on our wanted list."选B，争议不会很大吧)91. She was not allowed to call her friends becauseA. her identity hadn't been confirmed yetB. she had been held for only one hour and a halfC. there were other families in the waiting roomD. she couldn't use her own cell phone（选A，其实A也没有在文章正面说明，只是其他三个太假了点，"For all we know you could be calling a terrorist cell and giving them information."）92. We learn from the passage that the author would ___ to prevent similar experience from happening againA. write to the agencyB. change her nameC. avoid travelling abroadD. do nothing（简单题，选D。

2008英语专业八级考试完整答案听力部分1. native language2. 3503. Historical4. India5. commerce6. Boom7. sea travel communication8. conference9. many radios 10. splitSection B: 1-5 B C A C D Section C: 6-10 D A B C B阅读部分11-15. C B D A C 16-20. B D C D B21-25. C A D D B 26-30. C A D B C人文知识31 选C加拿大最大的城市是TORONTO32 选D立法权是国会THE33 选A 棒球一切都始于棒球美国的体育文化脱胎于棒球,一直以来,棒球就一直是文人们的最爱。

作为最古老的美式运动,棒球的形态一直保存完整,历史学家们视之为宝物34 新西兰的最高长官是B governor general 总督35选B THE CANTERBURY TALES 是GEORFFERY CHAUCER 写的36 选C THE AMERICAN 是谁写的Henrry James37 选A 不是20世纪英国女作家那题选A 其他都是20世纪著名的女性作家乔治.艾略特(George Eliot)原名玛丽·安·埃文斯Mary Ann Evans，1819年11月22日-1880年12月22日，英国小说家，与狄更斯和萨克雷齐名。

其主要作品有《弗洛斯河上的磨坊》The Mill on the Floss，《米德尔马契》等。

38 选D 历时性(diachronicity) 这个不是语言学的特性39选B 并列句but连接的两个分句40选D homonymy指的是语汇中一对对或是一组组的单词，虽然意思不同，但是发音相同，或拼写相同，又或者是发音和拼写都相同。

这些一对对一组组的单词我们称之为homonym(同形同音异义词、同形异义词、同音异义词)。