2004年专业英语八级考试试题

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2008:05:28 10:54:33
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

2004年英语专业八级考试全真试卷
Part Ⅰ Listening Comprehension (40 min)
In Sections A,B and C you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.
SECTION A TALK
Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you will be given 75 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the talk.
1.
A) the coordination based on individual actions
B) the number of individual participants
C) the necessity of individual actions
D) the requirements for participants

2.
A) individual B) combined C) distinct D) social

3.
A) the manner of language use
B) the topic and content of speech
C) the interactions between speaker and audience
D) the relationship between speaker and audience

4.
A) hide their real intentions
B) voice others’ intentions
C) play double roles on and off stage
D) only imitate other people in life

5.
A) the absence of spontaneity
B) the presence of individual actions
C) the lack of real intentions
D) the absence of audience

SECTION B INTERVIEW
Questions 6 to 10 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 75 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the interview.
6.
A) Students worked very hard.
B) Students felt they needed a second degree.
C) Education was not careeroriented.
D) There were many specialized subjects.

7.
A) To turn out an adequate number of elite for the society.
B) To prepare students for their future career.
C) To offer practical and utilitarian courses in each programme.
D) To set up as many technical institutions as possible.

8.
A) require good education
B) are secondary to education
C) don’t call for good education
D) don’t conflict with education

9.
A) Shifting from one programme to another.
B) Working out ways to reduce student number.
C) Emphasizing better quality of education.
D) Setting up stricter examination standards.

10.
A) those who can adapt to different professions
B) those who have a high flexibility of mind
C) those who are thinkers, historians and philosophers
D) those who possess only highly specialized skills

SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 45 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the news.

11. Which of the following regions in the world will witness the sharpest
0drop in life expectancy?
A) Latin America.
B) SubSaharan Africa.
C) Asia.
D) The Caribbean.

12. According to the news, which country will experience small life expectancy 0drop?
A) Burma.
B) Botswana.
C) Cambodia.
D) Thailand.

13. The countries that are predicted to experience negative population growth are mainly in ____
A) Asia.
B) Africa.
C) Latin America.
D) The Caribbean.

14. The trade dispute between the European Union and the US was caused by ____.
A) US refusal to accept arbitration by WTO
B) US imposing tariffs on European steel
C) US refusal to pay compensation to EU
D) US refusal to lower import duties on EU products

15. Who will be consulted first before the EU list is submitted to WTO?
A) EU member states.
B) The United States.
C) WTO.
D) The steel corporations.

SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
In this section you will hear a minilecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the lecture, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a 15minute gapfilling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE after the mini lecture. Use the blank sheet for note taking.


Part Ⅱ Proofreading and Error Correction (15 min)
The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way:
For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.
For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.
For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash “/”and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.

Example
When ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an
it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never
them on the wall. When a natural history museum
wants an [ZZ(Z]exhibition[ZZ)], it must often build it. (3)exhibit
Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET TWO as instructed.

One of the most important non-legislative functions of the U.S Congress
is the power to investigate. This power is usually delegated to committees - either
standing committees, special committees set for a specific (1)____
purpose, or joint committees consisted of members of both houses. (2)____
Investigations are held to gather information on the need for
future legislation, to test the effectiveness of laws already passed,
to inquire into the qualifications and performance of members and
officials of the other branches, and in rare occasions, to lay the (3)____
groundwork for impeachment proceedings. Frequently, committees
rely outside experts to assist in conducting investigative hearings (4)____
and to make out detailed studies of issues. (5)____
There are important corollaries to the investigative power. One
is the power to publicize investigations and its results. Most (6)____
committee hearings are open to public and are reported (7)____
widely in the mass media. Congressional investigations
nevertheless represent one important tool available to lawmakers (8)____
to inform the citizenry and to arouse public interests in national issues.
(9)____
Congressional committees also have the power to compel
testimony from unwilling witnesses, and to cite for contempt
of Congress witnesses who refuse to testify and for perjury
these who give false testimony. (10)____

Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (30 min) (开始Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (30 min)计时)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of fifteen multiplechoice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.

TEXT A
Farmers in the developing world hate price fluctuations. It makes it hard to plan ahead. But most of them have little choice: they sell at the price the market sets. Farmers in Europe, the U.S. and Japan are luckier: they receive massive government subsidies in the form of guaranteed prices or direct handouts. Last month U.S. President Bush signed a new farm bill that gives American farmers $190 billion over the next 10 years, or $83 billion more than they had been scheduled to get, and pushes U.S. agricultural support close to crazy European levels. Bush said the step was necessary to “promote farmer independence and preserve the farm way of life for generations”. It is also designed to help the Republican Party win control of the Senate in November’s midterm elections.
Agricultural production in most poor countries accounts for up to 50% of GDP, compared to only 3% in rich countries. But most farmers in poor countries grow just enough for themselves and their families. Those who try exporting to the West find their goods whacked with huge tariffs or competing against cheaper subsidized goods. In 1999 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development concluded that for each dollar developing countries receive in aid they lose up to $14 just because of trade barriers imposed on the export of their manufactured goods. It’s not as if the developing world wants any favours, says Gerald Ssendwula, Uganda’s Minister of Finance. “What we want is for the rich countries to let us compete.”
Agriculture is one of the few areas in which the Third World can compete. Land and labour are cheap, and as farming methods develop, new technologies should improve output. This is no pieinthesky speculation. The biggest success in Kenya’s economy over the past decade has been the boom in exports of cut flowers and vegetables to Europe. But that may all change in 2008, when Kenya will be slightly too rich to qualify for the “leastdeveloped country” status that allows African producers to avoid paying stiff European import duties on 0selected agricultural products. With trade barriers in place, the horticulture industry in Kenya will shrivel as quickly as a discarded rose. And while agriculture exports remain the great hope for poor countries, reducing trade barriers in other sectors also works: Americas African Growth and Opportunity Act, which cuts duties on exports of everything from handicrafts to shoes, has proved a boon to Africa’s manufacturers. The lesson: the Third World can prosper if the rich world gives it a fair go.
This is what makes Bush’s decision to increase farm subsidies last month all the more depressing. Poor countries have long suspected that the rich world urges rade liberalization only so it can wangle its way into new markets. Such suspicions caused the Seattle trade talks to break down three years ago. But last November members of the World Trade Organization, meeting in Doha, Qatar, finally agreed to a new round of talks designed to open up global trade in agriculture and textiles. Rich countries assured poor countries, that their concerns were finally being addressed. Bush’s handout last month makes a lie of America’s commitment to those talks and his personal devotion to free trade.

16. By comparison, farmers ____ receive more government subsidies than others.
A) in the developing world
B) in Japan
C) in Europe
D) in America

17. In addition to the economic considerations, there is a ____ motive behind Bush’s signing of the new farm bill.
A) partisan
B) social
C) financial
D) cultural

18. The message the writer attempts to convey throughout the passage is that ____.
A) poor countries should be given equal opportunities in trade
B) “the leastdeveloped country” status benefits agricultural countries
C) poor countries should remove their suspicions about trade liberalization
D) farmers in poor countries should also receive the benefit of subsidies

19. The writer’s attitude towards new farm subsidies in the U.S. is ____.
A) favourable
B) ambiguous
C) critical
D) reserved

TEXT B
Oscar Wilde said that work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do. If so, Americans are now among the world’s saddest refugees. Factory workers in the United States are working longer hours than at any time in the past halfcentury. America once led the rich world in cutting the average working week—from 70 hours in 1850 to less than 40 hours by the 1950s. It seemed natural that as people grew richer they would trade extra earnings for more leisure. Since the 1970s, however, the hours clocked up by American workers have risen, to an average of 42 this year in manufacturing.
Several studies suggest that something similar is happening outside manufacturing: Americans are spending more time at work than they did 20 years ago. Executives and lawyers boast of 80 hour weeks. On holiday, they seek out fax machines and phones as eagerly as Germans bag the best sun loungers. Yet working time in Europe and Japan continues to fall. In Germany’s engineering industry the working week is to be trimmed from 36 to 35 hours next year. Most Germans get six weeks’ paid annual holiday. even the Japanese now take three weeks. Americans still make do with just two. Germany responds to this contrast with its usual concern about whether people’s aversion to work is damaging its competitiveness. Yet German workers, like the Japanese, seem to be acting sensibly: as their incomes rise, they can achieve a better standard of living with fewer hours of work. The puzzle is why America, the world’s richest country, sees things differently. It is a puzzle with sinistersocial implications. Parents spend less time with their children, who may be left alone at home for longer. Is it just a coincidence that juvenile crime is on the rise?
Some explanations for America’s time at work fail to stand up to scrutiny. One blames weak trade unions that leave workers open to exploitation. Are workers being forced by costcutting firms to toil harder just to keep their jobs? A recent study by two American economists, Richard Freeman and Linda Bell, suggests not: when asked, Americans actually want to work longer hours. Most German workers, in contrast, would rather work less. Then, why do Americans want to work harder? One reason may be that the real earnings of many Americans have been stagnant or falling during the past two decades. People work longer merely to maintain their living standards. Yet many higher skilled workers, who have enjoyed big increases in their real pay, have been working harder too. Also, one reason for the slow growth of wages has been the rapid growth in employment—which is more or less where the argument began. Taxes may have something to do with it. People who work an extra hour in America are allowed to keep more of their money than those who do the same in Germany. Falls in marginal tax rates in America since the 1970s have made it all the more profitable to work longer.
None of these answers really explains why the centurylong decline in working hours has gone into reverse in America but not elsewhere (though Britain shows signs of following America’s lead). Perhaps cultural differences—the last refuge of the defeated economist—are at play. Economists used to believe that once workers earned enough to provide for their basic needs and allow for a few luxuries, their incentive to work would be eroded, like lions relaxing after a kill. But humans are more susceptible to advertising than lions. Perhaps clever marketing has ensured that “basic needs”—for a shower with builtin TV, for a rocketpropelled car—expand continuously. Shopping is already one of America’s most popular pastimes. But it requires money—hence more work and less leisure.Or try this: the television is not very good, and baseball and hockey keep being wiped out by strikes. Perhaps Wilde was right. Maybe Americans have nothing better to do.

20. In the United States, working longer hours is ____.
A) confined to the manufacturing industry
B) a traditional practice in some sectors
C) prevalent in all sectors of society
D) favoured by the economists

21. According to the third paragraph, which might be one of the consequences of working longer hours?
A) Rise in employees’ working efficiency.
B) Rise in the number of young offenders.
C) Rise in people’s living standards.
D) Rise in competitiveness.

22. Which of the following is the cause of working longer hours stated by
the writer?
A) Expansion of basic needs.
B) Cultural differences.
C) Increase in real earnings.
D) Advertising.