2009年專八真題及答案

1、TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS(2009)-GRADE EIGHTTIME LIMIT: 195 MINPART 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 liste ning, take no tes on the importa nt poin ts. Your no tes will not be marked, but you

2、will n eed them to complete a gap-filli ng task after the min i-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be give n two mi nu tes to check your no tes, and ano ther ten minu tes to complete the gap-filli ng task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the bla nk sheet for no te-tak ing.Writ ing Experime ntal Rep

3、ortsI. C ontent of an experime ntal report, e.g.-study subject/ area-study purpose-1II. Prese ntatio n of an experime ntal report-provid ing details-regardi ng readers as2III. Structure of an experime ntal report-feature: highly structured and3-secti ons and their content:INTRODUCTION 4; why you did

4、 itMETHODhow you did itRESULTwhat you found out5 what you think it showsIV. Sense of readership-6: reader is the marker-7: reader is an idealized,hypothetical, i ntellige ntpers onwith little kno wledgeof yourstudy-tasks to fulfill in an experime ntal report:in troductio n to releva nt arean ecessar

5、y backgro und in formati ondevelopme nt of clear argume ntsdefi niti on of tech ni cal termsprecise descriptio n of data8V. Dema nds and expectati ons in report writ ing-early stage:un dersta nding of study subject/area and its implicati onsbasic grasp of the report' s format-later stage:9on res

6、earch sig nifica nee-thi ngs to avoid in writ ing INTRODUCTION:in adequate material10of research justificati on for the studySECTION B INTERVIEWIn this secti on you will hear everyth ing ONCE ONLY. Liste n carefully and the n an swer the questi ons that follow. Mark the correct an swer to each quest

7、io n on your coloured an swer sheet. Questi ons 1 to 5 are based on an in terview. At the end of the in terview you will be give n 10 sec onds to an swer each of the follow ing five questi ons.Now liste n to the in terview.1. Which of the followi ng stateme nts is CORRECT?A. Toastmasters was origi n

8、ally set up to train speak ing skills.B. Toastmasters only accepts prospective professi onal speakers.C. Toastmasters accepts members from the gen eral public.D. Toastmasters is an exclusive club for professi onal speakers.2. The followi ng are job ben efits by joining Toastmasters EXCEPTA. beco min

9、g familiar with various means of com muni cati on.B. learning how to deliver messages in an organized way.C. becoming aware of audience expectations.D. learning how to get along with friends.3. Toastmasters' general approach to training can be summarized asA. practice plus overall training.B. pr

10、actice plus lectures.C. practice plus voice training.D. practice plus speech writing.4. Toastmasters aims to train people to be all the following EXCEPTA. public speakers.B. grammar teachers.C. masters of ceremonies.D. evaluators.5. The interview mainly focuses onA. the background information.B. the

11、 description of training courses.C. the requirements of public speaking.D. the overall personal growth.SECTION CNEWS 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 answ

12、er sheet. Questions 6 and 7 are'based on the foUowing news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.6. Which of the following is the main cause of global warming?A. Fossil fuel.B. Greenhouse gases.C. Increased dryness.D. Violent st

13、orm patterns.7. The news item implies that in the last report.A. there were fewer studies doneB. there were fewer policy proposalsC. there was less agreementD. there were fewer objectivesQuestions 8 and 9 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to a

14、nswer the questions.Now listen to the news.8. The cause of the Indian train accident wasA. terrorist sabotage.B. yet to be determined.C. lack of communications.D. bad weather.9. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?A. The accident occurred on a bridge.B. The accident occurred in New Delhi.C.

15、 There were about 600 casualties.D. Victims were rescued immediately.Question 10 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.Now listen to the news.10. What is the main message of the news item?A. Young people should seek careers a

16、dvice.B. Careers service needs to be improved.C. Businesses are not getting talented people.D. Careers advice is not offered on the Intemet.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

17、then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.TEXT AWe had been wanting to expand our children's horizons by taking them to a place that was unlike anything we'd been exposed to during our travels in Europe and the United States. In thinking about what was possible from Geneva, where

18、we are based, we decided on a trip to Istanbul, a two-hour plane ride from Zurich.We envisioned the trip as a prelude to more exotic ones, perhaps to New Delhi or Bangkok later this year, but thought our 11- and 13-year-olds needed a first step away from manicured boulevards and pristine monuments.W

19、hat we didn't foresee was the reaction of friends, who warned that we were putting our children "in danger," referring vaguely, and most incorrectly, to disease, terrorism or just the unknown. To help us get acquainted with the peculiarities of Istanbul and to give our children a chanc

20、e to choose what they were particularly interested in seeing, we bought an excellent guidebook and read it thoroughly before leaving.Friendly warnings didn't change our planning, although we might have more prudently checked with the U.S. State Department's list of troublespots. We didn'

21、t see a lot of children among the foreign visitors during our six-day stay in Istanbul, but we found the tourist areas quite safe, very interesting and varied enough even to suit our son, whose oft-repeated request is that we not see "every single" church and museum in a given city.Vaccina

22、tions weren't needed for the city, but we were concemed about adapting to the water for a short stay. So we used bottled water for drinking and brushing our teeth, a precaution that may seem excessive, but we all stayed healthy.Taking the advice of a friend, we booked a hotel a 20-minute walk fr

23、om most of Istanbul's major tourist sites. This not only got us some morning exercise, strolling over the Karakoy Bridge, but took us past a colorful assortment of fishermen, vendors and shoe shiners.From a teenager and pre-teen's view, Istanbul street life is fascinating since almost everyt

24、hing can be bought outdoors. They were at a good age to spend time wandering the labyrinth of the Spice Bazaar, where shops display mounds of pungent herbs in sacks. Doing this with younger children would be harder simply because the streets are so packed with people; it would be easy to get lost.Fo

25、r our two, whose buying experience consisted of department stores and shopping mall boutiques, it was amazing to discover that you could bargain over price and perhaps end up with two of something for the price of one. They also learned to figure out the relative value of the Turkish lira, not a sma

26、ll matter with its many zeros.Being exposed to Islam was an important part of our trip. Visiting the mosques, especially the enormous Blue Mosque, was our first glimpse into how this major religion is practiced. Our children's curiosity already had been piqued by the five daily calls to prayer o

27、ver loudspeakers in every corner of the city, and the scarves covering the heads of many women.Navigating meals can be troublesome with children, but a kebab, bought on the street or in restaurants, was unfailingly popular. Since we had decided this trip was not for gourmets, kebabs spared us the ag

28、ony of trying to find a restaurant each day that would suit the adults' desire to try something new amid children's insistence that the food be served immediately. Gradually, we branched out to try some other Turkish specialties.Although our son had studied Islam briefly, it is impossible to

29、 be prepared for every awkward question that might come up, such as during our visits to the Topkapi Sarayi, the Ottoman Sultans' palace. No guides were available so it was do-it-yourself, using our guidebook, which cheated us of a lot of interesting history and anecdotes that a professional gui

30、de could provide. Next time, we resolved to make such arrangements in advance.On this trip, we wandered through the magnificent complex, with its imperial treasures, its courtyards and its harem. The last required a bit of explanation that we would have happily lef to a learned third party.11. The c

31、ouple chose Istanbul as their holiday destination mainly becauseA. the city is not too far away from where they lived.B. the city is not on the list of the U.S. State Department.C. the city is between the familiar and the exotic.D. the city is more familiar than exotic.12. Which of the following sta

32、tements is INCORRECT?A. The family found the city was exactly what they had expected.B. Their friends were opposed to their holiday plan.C. They could have been more cautious about bringing kids along.D. They were a bit cautious about the quality of water in the city.13. We learn from the couple'

33、;s shopping experience back home thatA. they were used to bargaining over price.B. they preferred to buy things outdoors.C. street markets were their favourite.D. they preferred fashion and brand names.14. The last two paragraphs suggest that to visit places of interest in IstanbulA. guidebooks are

34、very useful.B. a professional guide is a must.C. one has to be prepared for questions.D. one has to make arrangements in advance.15. The family have seen or visited all the following in Istanbul EXCEPTA. religious prayers.B. historical buildings.C. local-style markets.D. shopping mall boutiques.TEXT

35、 BLast month the first baby-boomers turned 60. The bulky generation born between 1946 and 1964 is heading towards retirement. The looming "demographic cliff" will see vast numbers of skilled workers dispatched from the labour force.The workforce is ageing across the rich world. Within the

36、EU the number of workers aged between 50 and 64 will increase by 25% over the next two decades, while those aged 20-29 will decrease by 20%. In Japan almost 20% of the population is already over 65, the highest share in the world. And in the United States the number of workers aged 55-64 will have i

37、ncreased by more than half in this decade, at the same time as the 35- to 44-year-olds decline by 10%.Given that most societies are geared to retirement at around 65, companies have a looming problem of knowledge management, of making sure that the boomers do not leave before they have handed over t

38、heir expertise along with the office keys and their e-mail address. A survey of human-resources directors by IBM last year concluded: "When the baby-boomer generation retires, many companies will find out too late that a career's worth of experience has walked out the door, leaving insuffic

39、ient talent to fill in the void."Some also face a shortage of expertise. In aerospace and defence, for example, as much as 40% of the workforce in some companies will be eligible to retire within the next five years. At the same time, the number of engineering graduates in developed countries i

40、s in steep decline.A few companies are so squeezed that they are already taking exceptional measures. Earlier this year the Los Angeles Times interviewed an enterprising Australian who was staying in Beverly Hills while he tried to persuade locals to emigrate to Toowoomba, Queensland, to work for hi

41、s engineering company there. Toowoomba today; the rest of the developed world tomorrow?If you look hard enough, you can find companies that have begun to adapt the workplace to older workers. The AARP, an American association for the over-50s, produces an annual list of the best employers of its mem

42、bers. Health-care firms invariably come near the top because they are one of the industries most in need of skilled labour. Other sectors similarly affected, says the Conference Board, include oil, gas, energy and government.Near the top of the AARP's latest list comes Deere & Company, a no-

43、nonsense industrial-equipment manufacturer based in Illinois; about 35% of Deere's 46,000 employees are over 50 and a number of them are in their 70s. The tools it uses to achieve that - flexible working, telecommuting, and so forth - also coincidentaUy help older workers to extend their working

44、 lives. The company spends "a lot of time" on the ergonomics of its factories, making jobs there less tiring, which enables older workers to stay at them for longer.Likewise, for more than a decade, Toyota, arguably the world's most advanced manufacturer, has adapted its workstations t

45、o older workers. The shortage of skilled labour available to the automotive industry has made it unusually keen to recruit older workers. BMW recently set up a factory in Leipzig that expressly set out to employ people over the age of 45. Needs must when the devil drives.Other firms are polishing th

46、eir alumni networks. IBM uses its network to recruit retired people for particular projects. Ernst & Young, a professional-services firm, has about 30,000 registered alumni, and about 25% of its "experienced" new recruits are former employees who return after an absence.But such exampl

47、es are unusual. A survey in America last month by Ernst & Young found that "although corporate America foresees a significant workforce shortage as boomers retire, it is not dealing with the issue." Almost three-quarters of the 1,400 global companies questioned by Deloitte last year sa

48、id they expected a shortage of salaried staff over the next three to five years. Yet few of them are looking to older workers to fill that shortage; and even fewer are looking to them to fill another gap that has already appeared. Many firms in Europe and America complain that they struggle to find

49、qualified directors for their boards - this when the pool of retired talent from those very same firms is growing by leaps and bounds.Why are firms not working harder to keep old employees? Part of the reason is that the crunch has been beyond the horizon of most managers. Nor is hanging on to older

50、 workers the only way to cope with a falling supply of labour. The participation of developing countries in the world economy has increased the overall supply - whatever the local effect of demographics in the rich countries. A vast amount of work is being sent offshore to such places as China and I

51、ndia and more will go in future. Some countries, such as Australia, are relaxing their immigration policies to allow much needed skills to come in from abroad. Others will avoid the need for workers by spending money on machinery and automation.16. According to the passage, the most serious conseque

52、nce of baby-boomers approaching retirement would beA. a loss of knowledge and experience to many companies.B. a decrease in the number of 35- to 44- year-olds.C. a continuous increase in the number of 50-to 64-year-olds.D. its impact on the developed world whose workforce is ageing.17. The following

53、 are all the measures that companies have adopted to cope with the ageing workforce EXCEPTA. making places of work accommodate the needs of older workers.B. using alumni networks to hire retired former employees.C. encouraging former employees to work overseas.D. granting more convenience in working

54、 hours to older workers.18. "The company spends 'a lot of time' on the ergonomics of its factories" (Paragraph Seven) means thatA. the company attaches great importance to the layout of its factories.B. the company improves the working conditions in its factories.C. the company att

55、empts to reduce production costs of its factories.D. the company intends to renovate its factories and update equipment.19. In the author's opinion American firms are not doing anything to deal with the issue of the ageing workforce mainly becauseA. they have not been aware of the problem.B. the

56、y are reluctant to hire older workers.C. they are not sure of what they should do.D. they have other options to consider.20. Which of the following best describes the author's development of argument?A. introducing the issue-citing ways to deal with the issue-describing the actual status-offerin

57、g reasons.B. describing the actual status- introducing the issue-citing ways to deal with the issue-offering reasons.C. citing ways to deal with the issue-introducing the issuedescribing the actualstatus-offering reasons.D. describing the actual status-offering reasons-introducing the issue-citing w

58、ays to deal with the issue.TEXT C(1) The other problem that arises from the employment of women is that of the working wife. It has two aspects: that of the wife who is more of a success than her husband and that of the wife who must rely heavily on her husband for help with domestic tasks. There ar

59、e various ways in which the impact of the first difficulty can be reduced. Provided that husband and wife are not in the same or directly comparable lines of work, the harsh fact of her greater success can be obscured by a genial conspiracy to reject a purely monetary measure of achievement as intolerably crude. Where there are ranks, it is best if the couple work in different fields so