2004年英语专业八级真题

TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2004)

-GRADE EIGHT-

试卷一 (95 min)

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

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.

The parallel between waltzing and language use lies in ________.

A. the coordination based on individual actions

B. the number of individual participants

C. the necessity of individual actions

D. the requirements for participants

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TALK

2. In the talk the speaker thinks that language use is a (n) ________ process.

A. individual

B. combined

C. distinct D. social

3.

The main difference between personal and nonpersonal settings is in ________.

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.

In fictional settings, speakers ________.

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.

Compared with other types of settings, the main feature of private setting is ________.

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A. the absence of spontaneity

B. the presence of individual actions

C. the lack of real intentions

D. the absence of audience

SECTION B

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.

What was education like in Professor Wang's days?

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.

According to Professor Wang, what is the purpose of the present day education?

A. To turn out an adequate number of elite for the society.

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INTERVIEW

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.

In Professor Wang's opinion, technical skills ________.

A. require good education

B. are secondary to education

C. don't call for good education

D. don't conflict with education 9.

What does Professor Wang suggest to cope with the situation caused by increasing numbers of fee paying students?

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. Future education needs to produce graduates of all the following categories

EXCEPT ________.

A. those who can adapt to different professions

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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

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 drop 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

drop?

A. Burma.

B. Botswana.

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NEWS BROADCAST

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.

Questions 14 and 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions.

Now listen to the news.

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.

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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.

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, For a missing word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.

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.

cross the unnecessary word with a slash \\and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.

For a unnecessary word, EXAMPLE

When ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit, it never ╱buys things in finished form and hangs them on the wall. When a natural history

museum wants an exhibition, it must often build it.

One of the most important non-legislative functions of the U. S Congress

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(1)________an (2)________never

(3)________exhibit

is the power to investigate. This power is usually delegated to committees – either standing committees, special committees set for a specific purpose, or joint committees consisted of members of both houses. 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 groundwork for impeachment proceedings. Frequently, committees rely outside experts to assist in conducting investigative hearings and to make out detailed studies of issues.

There are important corollaries to the investigative power. One is the power to publicize investigations and its results. Most committee hearings are open to public and are reported widely in the mass media. Congressional investigations nevertheless represent one important tool available to lawmakers to inform the citizenry and to arouse public interests in national issues. 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.

PART III

Reading Comprehension (30 min)

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大1家 大2家 大3家 大4家 大5家 大6家 大7家 大8家 大9家 大10家

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 \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. \

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 \ developed country\status that allows African producers to avoid paying stiff European import duties on selected 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.

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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 trade 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

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________.

A. poor countries should be given equal opportunities in trade

B. \ developed country\

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

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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 sinister social 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 \– 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

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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.

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D. Advertising.

TEXT C

The fox really exasperated them both. As soon as they had let the fowls out, in the early summer mornings, they had to take their guns and keep guard; and then again as soon as evening began to mellow, they must go once more. And he was so sly. He slid along in the deep grass; he was difficult as a serpent to see. And he seemed to circumvent the girls deliberately. Once or twice March had caught sight of the white tip of his brush, or the ruddy shadow of him in the deep grass, and she had let fire at him. But he made no account of this.

The trees on the wood edge were a darkish, brownish green in the full light – for it was the end of August. Beyond, the naked, copper like shafts and limbs of the pine trees shone in the air. Nearer the rough grass, with its long, brownish stalks all agleam, was full of light. The fowls were round about – the ducks were still swimming on the pond under the pine trees. March looked at it all, saw it all, and did not see it. She heard Banford speaking to the fowls in the distance – and she did not hear. What was she thinking about? Heaven knows. Her consciousness was, as it were, held back.

She lowered her eyes, and suddenly saw the fox. He was looking up at her. His chin was pressed down, and his eyes were looking up. They met her eyes. And he knew her. She was spellbound – she knew he knew her. So he looked into her eyes, and her soul failed her. He knew her, he has not daunted.

She struggled, confusedly she came to herself, and saw him making off, with slow leaps over some fallen boughs, slow, impudent jumps. Then he glanced over his shoulder, and ran smoothly away. She saw his brush held smooth like a feather; she saw his white buttocks twinkle. And he was gone, softly, soft as the wind.

She put her gun to her shoulder, but even then pursed her mouth, knowing it was nonsense to pretend to fire. So she began to walk slowly after him, in the direction he had gone, slowly, pertinaciously. She expected to find him. In her heart she was determined to find him. What she would do when she saw him again she did not consider. But she was determined to find him. So she walked abstractedly about on the edge of the wood, with wide, vivid dark eyes, and a faint flush in her cheeks. She did not think. In strange mindlessness she walked hither and thither...

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As soon as supper was over, she rose again to go out, without saying why.

She took her gun again and went to look for the fox. For he had lifted his eyes upon her, and his knowing look seemed to have entered her brain. She did not so much think of him: she was possessed by him. She saw his dark, shrewd, unabashed eye looking into her, knowing her. She felt him invisibly master her spirit. She knew the way he lowered his chin as he looked up, she knew his muzzle, the golden brown, and the greyish white. And again she saw him glance over his shoulder at her, half inviting, half contemptuous and cunning. So she went, with her great startled eyes glowing, her gun under her arm, along the wood edge. Meanwhile the night fell, and a great moon rose above the pine trees.

23. At the beginning of the story, the fox seems to the all EXCEPT ________.

A. cunning B. fierce C. defiant

D. annoying

24. As the story proceeds, March begins to feel under the spell of ________.

A. the light

B. the trees

C. the night

D. the fox

25. Gradually March seems to be in a state of ________.

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A. blankness

B. imagination

C. sadness

D. excitement

26. At the end of the story, there seems to be a sense of ________ between March

and the fox.

A. detachment B. anger

C. intimacy

D. conflict

27. The passage creates an overall impression of ________.

A. mystery B. horror

C. liveliness

D. contempt

TEXT D

The banners are packed, the tickets booked. The glitter and white overalls have

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been bought, the gas masks just fit and the mobile phones are ready. All that remains is to get to the parties.

This week will see a feast of pan European protests. It started on Bastille Day, last Saturday, with the French unions and immigrants on the streets and the first demonstrations in Britain and Germany about climate change. It will continue tomorrow and Thursday with environmental and peace rallies against President Bush. But the big one is in Genoa, on Friday and Saturday, where the G8 leaders will meet behind the lines of 18,000 heavily armed police.

Unlike Prague, Gothenburg, Cologne or Nice, Genoa is expected to be Europe's Seattle, the coming together of the disparate strands of resistance to corporate globalisation.

Neither the protesters nor the authorities know what will happen, but some things are predictable. Yes, there will be violence and yes, the mass media will focus on it. What should seriously concern the G8 is not so much the violence, the numbers in the streets or even that they themselves look like idiots hiding behind the barricades, but that the deep roots of a genuine new version of internationalism are growing.

For the first time in a generation, the international political and economic condition is in the dock. Moreover, the protesters are unlikely to go away, their confidence is growing rather than waning, their agendas are merging, the protests are spreading and drawing in all ages and concerns.

No single analysis has drawn all the strands of the debate together. In the mean time, the global protest \is developing its own language, texts, agendas, myths, heroes and villains. Just as the G8 leaders, world bodies and businesses talk increasingly from the same script, so the protesters' once disparate political and social analyses are converging. The long term project of governments and world bodies to globalise capital and development is being mirrored by the globalisation of protest.

But what happens next? Governments and world bodies are unsure which way to turn. However well they are policed, major protests reinforce the impression of indifferent elites, repression of debate, overreaction to dissent, injustice and unaccountable power.

Their options – apart from actually embracing the broad agenda being put to them – are to retreat behind even higher barricades, repress dissent further, abandon global meetings altogether or, more likely, meet only in places able to physically resist the masses.

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Brussels is considering building a super fortress for international meetings. Genoa may be the last of the European super protests.

28. According to the context, the word \at the end of the first paragraph

refers to ________.

A. the meeting of the G8 leaders

B. the protests on Bastille Day

C. the coming pan European protests

D. the big protest to be held in Genoa

29. According to the passage, economic globalisation is paralleled by ________.

A. the emerging differences in the global protest movement

B. the disappearing differences in the global protest movement

C. the growing European concern about globalisation

D. the increase in the number of protesters

30. According to the last paragraph, what is Brussels considering doing?

A. Meeting in places difficult to reach.

B. Further repressing dissent.

C. Accepting the protesters' agenda.

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D. Abandoning global meetings.

试卷二(120 min)

PART IV

SECTION A

Translation (60 min)

CHINESE TO ENGLISH

Translate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

在人际关系问题上我们不要太浪漫主义。人是很有趣的, 往往在接触一个人时首先看到的都是他或她的优点。这一点颇像是在餐馆里用餐的经验。开始吃头盘或冷碟的时候, 印象很好。吃头两个主菜时, 也是赞不绝口。愈吃愈趋于冷静, 吃完了这顿宴席, 缺点就都找出来了。于是转喜为怒, 转赞美为责备挑剔, 转首肯为摇头。这是因为, 第一, 开始吃的时候你正处于饥饿状态, 而饿了吃糠甜如蜜, 饱了吃蜜也不甜。第二, 你初到一个餐馆, 开始举筷时有新鲜感, 新盖的茅房三天香, 这也可以叫做\陌生化效应\吧。 SECTION B

ENGLISH TO CHINESE

Translate the underlined part of the following text into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

For me the most interesting thing about a solitary life, and mine has been that for the last twenty years, is that it becomes increasingly rewarding. When I can wake up and watch the sun rise over the ocean, as I do most days, and know that I have an entire day ahead, uninterrupted, in which to write a few pages, take a walk with my dog, read and listen to music, I am flooded with happiness.

I'm lonely only when I am overtired, when I have worked too long without a break, when fro the time being I feel empty ad need filling up. And I am lonely sometimes when I come back home after a lecture trip, when I have seen a lot of

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people and talked a lot, and am full to the brim with experience that needs to be sorted out.

Then for a little while the house feels huge and empty, and I wonder where my self is hiding. It has to be recaptured slowly by watering the plants and perhaps, by looking again at each one as though it were a person.

It takes a while, as I watch the surf blowing up in fountains, but the moment comes when the worlds falls away, and the self emerges again from the deep unconscious, bringing back all I have recently experienced to be explored and slowly understood.

PART V

Writing (60 min)

It was reported in the press some time ago that a few second-and third-year students in a provincial university decided to try their hands at business in order to get prepared for the future. They opened six small shops near their university. Their teachers and classmates had different opinions about this phenomenon. Some thought that the students' business experience would help them adapt better to society after graduation, while others held a negative view, saying that running shops might occupy too much of the students' time and energy which should otherwise be devoted to their academic study. What do you think? Write a composition of about 300 words on the following topic:

Should University Students Go in for Business?

In the first part of your writing you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should brig what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary. Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.

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