英语专业八级考前拉力赛（5）_TEM8试题
proofread the given passage on answer sheet two as instructed.
part Ⅲ reading comprehension ［40 min.］
section a reading comprehension ［30 min.］
in this section there are six 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
black holes
the theory of stellar evolution predicts that when the core of a star has used up its nuclear fuel,the core will collapse.if the star is about the size of the sun,it will turn into a degenerate dwarf star.if it is somewhat larger,it may undergo a supernova explosion that leaves behind a neutron star.but if the stellar core has a mass greater than about three solar masses,gravitational forces overwhelm nuclear forces and the core collapses.since nuclear forces are the strongest repulsive forces known,nothing can stop the continued collapse of the star.a black hole in space is formed.
because of the intense gravitational forces near the black hole,nothing can escape from it,not even light.if we were to send a probe toward an isolated black hole,the probe would detect no radiation from the black hole.it would,however,sense a gravitational field like the one that would be produced by a normal star of the same mass.as the probe approached the black hole,the gravitational forces would increase inexorably.at a distance of a few thousand kilometers,the gravitational forces would literally be torn away from the side furthest away from the black hole.eventually,at a distance of a few kilometers from the black hole,the particles that made up the probe would pass the point of no return,and the particles would be lost forever down the black hole.this point of no return is called the gravitational radius of the black hole.
but how can we hope to observe such an object?nature,herself,could conceivably provide us with a “probe” of a black hole:a binary star system in which one of the stars has become a black hole and is absorbing the mass of its companion star.as the matter of the companion star fell into the black hole,it would accelerate.this increased energy of motion would be changed into heat energy.near the gravitational radius the matter would move at speeds close to the speed of light,and temperatures would range from tens of millions of degrees to perhaps as much as a billion degrees.at these temperatures,x and gamma radiation are produced.further,since the matter near the gravitational radius would be orbiting the black hole about once every millisecond,the x radiation should show erratic,short-term variability unlike the regular or periodic varability associated with neutron stars and degenerate dwarfs.
the x -ray source cygnus x-1 fulfills these “experi
mental” conditions.it is part of a binary star system in which a blue supergiant star is orbiting an invisible companion star.this invisible companion has a mass greater than about nine times the mass of the sun,and it is a strong x-ray source that shows rapid variations in the intensity of its x-ray flux.most astronomers believe that cygnus x-1 is a black hole but this belief is tempered with a dose of caution.the idea of a black hole is still difficult to swallow,but theorists can think of no other object that could explain the phenomenon of cygnus x-1.for this reason,in most scientific papers,cygnus x-1 is referred to simply as a black hole “candidate.”
16.according to the passage,a black hole would.
a.be observable through a powerful telescopeb.be invisible even at close range
c.be formed from a degenerate dwarf stard.be most likely to develop in a binary star system
17.the author regards the existence of black holes as ____.
a.experimentally confirmed b.a logical contradiction
c.theoretically possible d.in principle unprovable
text b
view of citizenship
the liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that of the classical greeks.the pursuit of private interest with as little interference as possible from government was seen as the road to human happiness and progress rather than the public obligations and involvement in the collective community that were emphasized by the greeks.freedom was to be realized by limiting the scope of governmental activity and political obligation and not through immersion in the collective life of the polis.the basic role of the citizen was to select governmental leaders and keep the powers and scope of public authority in check.on the liberal view,the rights of citizens against the state were the focus of special emphasis.
over time,the liberal democratic notion of citizenship developed in two directions.first,there was a movement to increase the proportion of members of society who were eligible to participate as citizens-especially through extending the right of suffrage——and to ensure the basic political equality of all.second,there was a broadening of the legitimate activities of government and a use of governmental power to redress imbalances in social and economic life.political citizenship became an instrument through which groups and classes with sufficient numbers of votes could use the state power to enhance their social and economic well-being.
within the general liberal view of democratic citizenship,tensions have developed over the degree to which government can and should be used as an instrument for promoting happiness and well-being.political philosopher martin diamond has categorized two views of democracy as follows.on one hand,there is the “libertarian” perspective that stresses the private pursuit of happiness and emphasizes the necessity for restraint on government and protection of individual liberties.on the other hand,there is the “majoritarian” view that emphasizes the “task of the government to uplift and aid the common man against the malefactors of great wealth.”the tensions between these two views are very evident today.taxpayer revolts and calls for smaller government and less government regulation clash with demands for greater government involvement in the economic marketplace and the social sphere.
18.the author's primary purpose is to____ .
a. contrast different notions of citizenship
b.introduce means of redressing an imbalance of power
c.study ancient concepts of citizenship
d.criticize modern libertarian democracy
19.it can be inferred from the passage that the greek word polis means.
a.private club b.political community
c.family life d.military service
text c
about the book black fiction
roger rosenblatt's book black fiction,in attempting to apply literary rather than sociopolitical criteria to its subject,successfully alters the approach taken by most previous studies.as rosenblatt notes,criticism of black writing has often served as a pretext for expounding on black history.addison gayle's recent
work,for example,judges the value of black fiction by overly political standards,rating each work according to the notions of black identity which it propounds.
although fiction assuredly springs from political circumstances,its authors react to those circumstances in ways other than ideological,and talking about novels and stories primarily as instruments of ideology circumvents much of the fictional enterprise.rosenblatt's literary analysis discloses affinities and connections among works of black fiction which solely political studies have overlooked or ignored.
writing acceptable criticism of black fiction,however,presupposes giving satisfactory answers to a number of questions.first of all,is there a sufficient reason,other than the racial identity of the authors,to group together works by black authors?second,how does black fiction make itself distinct from other modern fiction with which it is largely contemporaneous?rosenblatt shows that black fiction constitutes a distinct body of writing that has an identifiable,coherent literary tradition.looking at novels written by blacks over the last eight years,he discovers recurring concerns and designs independent of chronology.these structures are thematic,and they spring,not surprisingly,from the central fact that the black characters in these novels exist in a predominantly white culture,whether they try to conform to that culture or rebel against it.
black fiction does leave some aesthetic questions open.rosenblatt's thematic analysis permits considerable objectivity;he even explicitly states that it is not his intention to judge the merit of the various words——yet his reluctance seems misplaced,especially since an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results.for instance,some of the novels appear to be structurally diffuse.is this a defect,or are the authors working out of,or trying to forge,a different kind of aethetic?in addition,the style of some black novels,like jean toomer's cane,verges on expressionism or surrealism.does this technique provide a counterpoint to the prevalent theme that portrays the fate againt which black heroes are pitted,a theme usually conveyed by more naturalistic mades of expression?
in spite of such omissions,what rosenblatt does include in his discussion makes for an astute and worthwhile study.black fiction surveys a wide variety of novels,bringing to our attention in the process some fascinating and little known works like james weldon johnson's autobiography of an ex-colored man.its argument is tightly constructed,and is forthright.lucid style exemplifies level headed and penetrating criticism.
20.the author of the passage objects to criticism of black fiction like that by addison gayle because it ____.
a.substitutes political for literary criteria in evaluating such fiction
b.emphasizes purely literary aspects of such fiction
c.misinterprets the ideological content of such fiction
d.misunderstands the notions of black identity contained in such fiction
21.the author's discussion of black fiction can be best described as____ .
a.critical but admiring b.argumentative but unforced
c.ironic and deprecating d.pedantic and contentious
22.the author uses all of the following in the discussion of black fiction except____.
a.definition of terms b.rhetorical questions
c.specific examples d.comparison and contrast
text d
packaging
it is said that the public and congressional concern about deceptive packaging rumpus started because senator hart discovered that the boxes of cereals consumed by him,mrs.hart,and their children were becoming higher and narrower,with a decline of net weight from 12 to 10.5 ounces,without any reduction in price.there were still twelve biscuits,but they had been reduced in size.later,the senator rightly complained of a store-bought pie in a handsomely illustrated box that pictured,in a single slice,almost as many cherries as there were in the whole pie.
the manufacturer who increases the unit price of his product by changing his package size to lower the quantity delivered can,without undue hardship,put his product into boxes,bags,and tins that will contain even 4-ounce,8-ounce,one -pound,and two-pound quantities of breakfast foods,cake mixes,etc.a study of drugstore and supermarket shelves will convince any observer that all possible sizes and shapes of boxes,jars,bottles,and tins are in use at the same time and,as the package journals show,week by week,there is never any hesitation in introducing a new size and shape of box or bottle when it aids in product differentiation.the producers of packaged products argue strongly against changing sizes of packages to contain even weights and volumes,but no one in the trade comments unfavorably on the huge costs incurred by endless changes of package sizes,materials,shape,art work,and net weights that are used for improving a product's market position.
when a packaging
expert explained that he was able to multiply the price of hard sweets by 2.5,from 1 dollar to 2,50 dollars by changing to a fancy jar,or that he had made a 5-ounce bottle look as though it held 8 ounces,he was in effect telling the public that packaging can be a very expensive luxury.it evidently does come high,when an average family pays about 200 dollars a year for bottles,cans,boxes,jars,and other containers,most of which can't be used for anything but stuffing the garbage can.
23.consumers are concerned about the changes in the package size,mainly because____.
a.this entails an increase in the cost of packaging
b.they have to pay for the cost of changing package sizes
c.the unit price for a product often rises as a result
d.they hate to see any changes in things they are familiar with
24.the author is critical mainly of ___.
a.inferior packaging b.the changes in package size
c.exaggerated illustrations on packages d.dishonest packaging
text e
the economic situation of japan in the 18th century
in the eighteenth century,japan's feudal overlords,from the shogun to the humblest samurai,found themselves under finanical stress.in part,this stress can be attributed to the overlords' failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy,but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords' control.concentration of the samurai in castletowns had acted as a stimulus to trade.commercial efficiency,in turn,had put temptations in the way of buyers.since most samuri had been reduced to idleness by years of peace,encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time,it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive.overlords' income,despite the increase in rice production among their tenant famers,failed to keep pace with their expenses.although shortfalls in overlords' income resulted almost as much from laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly invitable outcome of hereditary officeholding)as from their higher standards of living,a misfortune like a fire or flood,bringing an increase in expenses or a drop in revenue, could put a domain in debt to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances.once in debt,neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recover.
it was difficult for individual samurai overloads to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited,and since the income of japan's central government consisted in part of taxes collected by the shogun from his huge domain,the government too was constrained.therefore,the tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue.cash profits from government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted,although debasement of the coinage had compensated for the loss.opening up new farmland was a possibility,but most of what was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically unfeasible.direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous.this left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.
most of the country's wealth,or so it seemed,was finding its way into the hands of city merchants.it appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun's burden of financing the state.a means of obtaining such revenue was soon found by levying forced loans,known as goyo-kin;although these were not taxes in the strict sense,since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount,they were high in yield.unfortunately,they pushed up prices.thus,regrettably,the tokugawa shoguns' search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult for individual japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet.
25.the passage is most probably taken from____
a.an introduction to a collection of japanese folktales.
b.the memoirs of a samurai warrior.
c.an economic history of japan.
d.a modern novel about eighteenth-century japan.
26.according to the passage,the major reason for the financial problems experienced by japan's feudal overloals in the eighteenth century was that____
a.trade had fallen off. b.the coinage had been sharply debased.
c.spending had outdistanced income. d.profits from mining had declined.
27.the passage suggests that,in eighteenth-century japan,the office of tax collector____
a. remained within families.
b. b.took up most of the officeholder's time.
c. was regarded with derision by many japanese.
d.was a source of personal profit to the officeholder.
text f
caffeine's effects
caffeine,the stimulant in coffee,has been called“the most widely used psychoactive substance on earth."synder,daly and burns have recently proposed that caffeine affects behavior by countering the activity in the human brai
n of a naturally occuring chemical called adenosine.adenosine normally depresses neuron firing in many areas of the brain.it apparently does this by inhibiting the release of neurontransmitters,chemicals that carry nerve impulses from one neuron to the next.like many other agents that affect neuron firing,adenosine must first bind to specific receptors on neuronal membranes.there are at least two classes of these receptors,which have been designated a1 and a2.snyder et al propose that caffeine,which is structurally similar to adenosine,is able to bind to both types of receptors,which prevents adenosine from attaching there and allows the neurons to fire more readly than they otherwise would.
for many years,caffeine's effects have been attributed to its inhibition of the production of phosphodi-esterase,an enzyme that breaks down the chemical called cyclic amp. a number of neurontransmitters exert their effects by first increasing cyclic amp concentrations in target neurons.therefore,prolonged periods at the elevated concentrations,as might be brought about by a phosphodiesterase inhibitor,could lead to a greater amount of neuron firing and,consequently,to behavioral stimulation.but synder et al point out that the caffeine concentrations needed to inhibit the production of phosphodiesterase in the brain are much higher than those that produce stimulation.moreover,other compounds that block phosphodiesterase's activity are not stimulants.
to buttress their case that caffeine acts instead by preventing adenosine binding,syder et al compared the stimulatory effects of a series of caffeine derivatives with their ability to dislodge adenosine from its receptors in the brains of mice“in general,"they reported,“the ability of the compounds to compete at the receptors correlates with their ability to stimulate locomotion in the mouse;i.e.,the higher their capacity to bind at the receptors,the higher their ability to stimulated locomotion."theophynine,a close structural relative of caffeine and the major stimulant in tea,was one of the most effective compounds in both regards.
there were some apparent exceptions to the general correlation observed between adenosine-receptor binding and stimulation.one of these was a compound called 3-isobuty 1-1-methylxanthine (ibmx),which bound very well but actually depressed mouse locomotion.synder et al suggest that this is not a major stumbling block to their hypothesis.the problem is that the compound has mixed effects in the brain,a not unusual occurrence with psychoactive drugs.even caffeine,which is generally known only for its stimulatory effects,displays this property,depressing mouse locomotion at very low concentrations and stimulating it at higher ones.
28.the primary purpose of the passage is to____
a.challenge the validity of a theory by exposing the inconsistencies and contradictions in it.
b.describe an alternative hypothesis and provide evidence and arguments that support it.
c.discuss a plan for investigation of a phenomenon that is not yet fully understood.
d.summarize two theories and suggest a third theory that overcomes the problems encountered in the first two.
29.according to snyder et al,caffeine differs from adenosine in that caffeine
a.increases cyclic amp concentrations in target nuerons,whereas adenosine decreases such concentrations.
b.has mixed effects in the brain,whereas adenosine has only a stimulatory effect.
c.stimulates behavior in the mouse and in humans,whereas adenosine stimulates behavior in humans only.
d.permits release of neurontransmitters when it is bound to adenosine receptors,whereas adenosine inhibits such release.
30.according to snyder et al,all of the following compounds can bind to specific receptors in the brain except____
a.phosphodiesterase. b.caffeine. c.ibmx. d.adenosine.
paper two
time limit:［120 min.］
part Ⅳ translation ［60 min.］
section a chinese to english
translate the following underlined part of the text into english.write your translation on answer sheet three.
在这一片宁静的大海上，就连另外一只船我们也难得看见。欢乐的海豹和那些喳喳的鸣叫、“与飞鸟有一点相似之处”的小飞鱼便是这一广阔天地的主人。当它们再也看不到载着我们出入它们视野的怪物时，它们肯定是多么高兴啊!我们船的尾波合拢了，消失了，似乎我们从来就没有在这里行驶过。偶然也会有一座小岛出现在地平线上，我们不知其名，但它却给人以神秘之感，那是海底峰峦的顶部，孤独、凄凉、无瑕、偏僻地矗立在海上。人们喜爱岛屿，是否因为在这难以驾驭的广大世界里有这样一小块易于管理的领地，人们就不知不觉地要据为己有?我想到那座岛屿一直就在那里(除非它只不过是耐心的珊瑚虫的作品)，并且倘若我返回发现它在等待着我时，这小岛还会仍然在原地不动。当我想到这些时，我就感受到一种奇特的情感。为什么会这样，我自己也说不清。
section b english to chinese
tranlate the following underlined part of the text into chinese.write your translation on answer sheet three.
the staff got right to business and conferred all day.victor henry worked with the planners,on the level below the chiefs of staff and their deputies where burne/|wilke opearted,and of course far below the summit of the president,the prime minister,and their advisers.familiar problems came up at once:excessive and contradictory requests from the british services,unreal plans,unfilled contracts,jumbled
priorities,fouled communications.one cardinal point the planners hammered out fast.building new ships to replace u/|boat sinkings came first.no war material could be used against hitler until it had crossed the ocean.this plain truth,so simple once agreed on,ran a red line across every request,every program,every projection.steel,aluminum,rubber,valves,motors,machine tools,copper wire,all the thousand things of war,would go first to ships.this simple yardstick rapidly disclosed the poverty of the “arsenal of democracy",and dictated-as a matter of frightening urgency-a gigantic job of building new steel mills,and plants to turn the steel into combat machines and tools.
part Ⅴ writing［60 min.］
there is a saying “we must live in the present.if we dwell on the past,we will lose the present."to what extent and in what ways do you agree or disagree with this statement?explain and illustrate your answer.
you are to write a composition in no less than 300 words,on the above topic.marks will be awarded for content,organization,grammar and appropriacy.write your response on answer sheet four.