英语专八真题.docx

1、英语专八真题TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2009)GRADE EIGHTTIME LIMIT: 195 MINPART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION 35 MINSECTION 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

2、will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note- taking.SECTION B INTERVIEWIn this section you

3、 will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following fiv

4、e questions.Now listen to the interview.1. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?A Toastmasters was originally set up to train speaking skillsB Toastmasters only accepts prospective professional speakersC Toastmasters accepts members from the general publicD Toastmasters is an exclusive club

5、for professional speakers2. The following are job benefits by joining Toastmasters EXCEPT .A becoming familiar with various means of communicationB learning how to deliver messages in an organized wayC becoming aware of audience expectationsD learning how to get along with friends3. Toastmasters gen

6、eral approach to training can be summarized as .A practice plus overall training B practice plus lecturesC practice plus voice training D practice plus speech writing4. Toastmasters aims to train people to be all the following EXCEPT .A public speakers B grammar teachers C masters of ceremonies D ev

7、aluators5. The interview mainly focuses on .A the background information B the description of training coursesC the requirements of public speaking D the overall personal growthSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions

8、thatTEM-8-09-1follow. Mark the correct answer to each question on your coloured answer sheet.Questions 6 and 7 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.6. Which of the following is the main cause of glob

9、al warming?A Fossil fuel. B Greenhouse gases. C Increased dryness. D Violent storm patterns.7. The news item implies that in the last report.A there were fewer studies done B there were fewer policy proposalsC there was less agreement D there were fewer objectivesQuestions 8 and 9 are based on the f

10、ollowing news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.8. The cause of the Indian train accident was .A terrorist sabotage B yet to be determined C lack of communications D bad weather9. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?A T

11、he accident occurred on a bridge. B The accident occurred in New Delhi.C 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 toanswer the question. Now listen to the news.10. What is

12、 the main message of the news item?A Young people should seek careers advice. B Careers service needs to be improved.C Businesses are not getting talented people. D Careers advice is not offered on the Internet.PART II READING COMPREHENSION 30 MINIn this section there are four reading passages follo

13、wed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read thepassages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.TEXT AWe had been wanting to expand our childrens horizons by taking them to a place that was unlike anything wed been exposed to during our travels in Europe and the United Stat

14、es. In thinking about what was possible from Geneva, where 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 st

15、ep away from manicured boulevards and pristine monuments.What we didnt 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

16、Istanbul and to give our children a chance to choose what they were particularly interested in seeing, we bought an excellent guidebook and read it thoroughly before leaving.Friendly warnings didnt change our planning, although we might have more prudently checked with the U.S. State Departments lis

17、t of troublespots. We didnt 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 giv

18、en city.Vaccinations werent needed for the city, but we were concerned 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, butwe all stayed healthy.TEM-8-09-2Taking the advice of a friend, we booked a hotel

19、 a 20-minute walk from most of Istanbuls 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-teens view, Istanbul street life is fascinating since alm

20、ost everything 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 g

21、et lost.For 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,

22、 not a small 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 childrens curiosity already had been piqued by the five daily calls to pra

23、yer over 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 t

24、he agony of trying to find a restaurant each day that would suit the adults desire to try something new amid childrens 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 be p

25、repared 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 guide could p

26、rovide. 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 left to a learned third party.11. The couple cho

27、se Istanbul as their holiday destination mainly because .A the city is not too far away from where they livedB the city is not on the list of the U.S. State DepartmentC the city is between the familiar and the exoticD the city is more familiar than exotic12. Which of the following statements is INCO

28、RRECT?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 couples shopping experience b

29、ack home that .A they were used to bargaining over priceB they preferred to buy things outdoorsC street markets were their favouriteD they preferred fashion and brand names14. The last two paragraphs suggest that to visit places of interest in Istanbul .A guidebooks are very useful B a professional

30、guide is a mustC one has to be prepared for questions D one has to make arrangements in advance15. The family have seen or visited all the following in Istanbul EXCEPT .A religious prayers B historical buildingsTEM-8-09-3 C local-style markets D shopping mall boutiquesTEXT BLast month the first baby

31、-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 EU the number of workers aged between 50 and64 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 increased by mo