2005年英语专业八级考试试题原题及参考答案
TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2005) -GRADE EIGHT-
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
SECTION A MINI-LECTURE
In 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 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.
Writing a Research Paper
I. Research Papers and Ordinary Essay
A. Similarity in (1) __________:
e.g. —choosing a topic
—asking questions
—identifying the audience
B. Difference mainly in terms of (2) ___________
1. research papers: printed sources
2. ordinary essay: ideas in one's (3) ___________
II. Types and Characteristics of Research Papers
A. Number of basic types: two
B. Characteristics:
1. survey-type paper:
—to gather (4) ___________
—to quote
—to (5) _____________
The writer should be (6) ___________.
2. argumentative (research) paper:
a. The writer should do more, e.g.
—to interpret
—to question, etc.
b. (7) _________varies with the topic, e.g.
—to recommend an action, etc.
III. How to Choose a Topic for a Research Paper
In choosing a topic, it is important to (8) __________.
Question No. 1: your familiarity with the topic
Question No. 2: Availability of relevant information on the chosen topic
Question No. 3: Narrowing the topic down to (9) _________
Question No. 4: Asking questions about (10) ___________
The questions help us to work out way into the topic and discover its possibilities.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
In 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 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 five questions.Now listen to the interview.
1. What is the purpose of Professor McKay's report?
A. To look into the mental health of old people.
B. To explain why people have negative views on old age.
C. To help correct some false beliefs about old age.
D. To identify the various problems of old age
2. Which of the following is NOT Professor McKay's view?
A. People change in old age a lot more than at the age of 21.
B. There are as many sick people in old age as in middle age.
C. We should not expect more physical illness among old people.
D. We should not expect to find old people unattractive as a group.
3. According to Professor McKay's report,
A. family love is gradually disappearing.
B. it is hard to comment on family feeling.
C. more children are indifferent to their parents.
D. family love remains as strong as ever.
4. Professor McKay is ________ towards the tendency of more parents living apart from their children.
A. negative
B. positive
C. ambiguous
D. neutral
5. The only popular belief that Professor McKay is unable to provide evidence against is
A. old-age sickness.
B. loose family ties.
C. poor mental abilities.
D. difficulities in maths.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
In 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 answer sheet.
Question 6 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.
6. Scientists in Brazil have used frog skin to
A. eliminate bacteria.
B. treat burns.
C. Speed up recovery.
D. reduce treatment cost.
Question 7 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.
7. What is NOT a feature of the new karaoke machine?
A. It is featured by high technology.
B. It allows you to imitate famous singers.
C. It can automatically alter the tempo and tone of a song.
D. It can be placed in specially designed theme rooms.
Question 8 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.
8. China's Internet users had reached _________ by the end of June.
A. 68 million
B. 8.9 million
C. 10 million
D. 1.5 million
Question 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
9. According to the WTO, Chinese exports rose _________ last year.
A. 21%
B. 10%
C. 22%
D. 4.73
10. According to the news, which trading nation in the top 10 has reported a 5 per cent fall in exports?
A. The UK.
B. The US.
C. Japan.
D. Germany.
PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
TEXT A
I remember meeting him one evening with his pushcart. I had managed to sell all my papers and was coming home in the snow. It was that strange hour in downtown New York when the workers were pouring homeward in the twilight. I marched among thousands of tired men and women whom the factory whistles had unyoked. They flowed in rivers through the clothing factory districts, then down along the avenues to the East Side.
I met my father near Cooper Union. I recognized him, a hunched, frozen figure in an old overcoat standing by a banana cart. He looked so lonely, the tears came to my eyes. Then he saw me, and his face lit with his sad, beautiful smile -Charlie Chaplin's smile.
"Arch, it's Mikey," he said. "So you have sold your papers! Come and eat a banana."
He offered me one. I refused it. I felt it crucial that my father sell his bananas, not give them away. He thought I was shy, and coaxed and joked with me, and made me eat the banana. It smelled of wet straw and snow.
"You haven't sold many bananas today, pop," I said anxiously.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"What can I do? No one seems to want them."
It was true. The work crowds pushed home morosely over the pavements. The rusty sky darkened over New York building, the tall street lamps were lit, innumerable trucks, street cars and elevated trains clattered by. Nobody and nothing in the great city stopped for my father's bananas.
"I ought to yell," said my father dolefully. "I ought to make a big noise like other peddlers, but it makes my throat sore. Anyway, I'm ashamed of yelling, it makes me feel like a fool. "
I had eaten one of his bananas. My sick conscience told me that I ought to pay for it somehow. I must remain here and help my father.
"I'll yell for you, pop," I volunteered.
"Arch, no," he said, "go home; you have worked enough today. Just tell momma I'll be late."
But I yelled and yelled. My father, standing by, spoke occasional words of praise, and said I was a wonderful yeller. Nobody else paid attention. The workers drifted past us wearily, endlessly; a defeated army wrapped in dreams of home. Elevated trains crashed; the Cooper Union clock burned above us; the sky grew black, the wind poured, the slush burned through our shoes. There were thousands of strange, silent figures pouring over the sidewalks in snow. None of them stopped to buy bananas. I yelled and yelled, nobody listened.
My father tried to stop me at last. "Nu," he said smiling to console me, "that was wonderful yelling. Mikey. But it's plain we are unlucky today! Let's go home."
I was frantic, and almost in tears. I insisted on keeping up my desperate yells. But at last my father persuaded me to leave with him.
11. "unyoked" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to
A. sent out
B. released
C. dispatched
D. removed
12. Which of the following in the first paragraph does NOT indicated crowds of people?
A.Thousands of
B. Flowed
C. Pouring
D. Unyoked
13. Which of the following is intended to be a pair of contrast in the passage?
A. Huge crowds and lonely individuals.
B. Weather conditions and street lamps.
C. Clattering trains and peddlers' yells.
D. Moving crowds and street traffic.
14. Which of the following words is NOT suitable to describe the character of the son?
A. Compassionate
B. Responsible
C. Shy
D. Determined
15. What is the theme of the story?
A. The misery of the factory workers.
B. How to survive in a harsh environment.
C. Generation gap between the father and the son.
D. Love between the father and the son.
16. What is the author's attitude towards the father and the son?
A. Indifferent
B. Sympathetic
C. Appreciative
D. Difficult to tell
TEXT B