2001年专业英语八级考试真题（2）
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLINGFill each of gaps with ONE word. You may refer to your notes. Make sure the word you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
The Press Conference
The press conference has certain advantages. The first advantage lies with the
(1)___ nature of the event itself; public officials are supposed to1.___
submit to scrutiny by responding to various questions at a press conference.
Secondly, statements previously made at a press conference can be used as a
(2)___ in judging following statements or policies. Moreover, in case2.___
of important events, press conferences are an effective way to break the news to groups of reporters.
However, from the point of view of (3)___, the press conference3.___
possesses some disadvantages, mainly in its(4)___ and news source.4.___
The provider virtually determines the manner in which a press conference proceeds. This, sometimes, puts news reporters at a(n)(5)___ , as can5.___
be seen on live broadcasts of news conferences.
Factors in getting valuable information preparation: a need to keep up to date on journalistic subject matter;
—(6)___ of the news source:6.___
1 ) news source’ s (7)___ to7.___
provide information;
2)news-gathering methods.
Conditions under which news reporters cannot trust the information
provided by a news source
— not knowing the required information;
— knowing and willing to share the information, but without(8)___ skills;8.___
— knowing the information, but unwilling to share;
— willing to share, but unable to recall.
(9)___ of questions asked9.___
Ways of improving the questions:
no words with double meanings;
no long questions;
— specific time, place, etc.;
— (10)___ questions;10.___
— clear alternatives, or no alternatives in answers.
改错
Part Ⅱ Proofreading and Error Correction(15min)
The following passage contains TEN errors. Each 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, underline the wrong word and wri te the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line. For a missing word, 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. For an unnecessary word cross out the unnecessary word with a slash “/’ and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.
Example
When∧art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an it never／buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never them on the wall. When a natural history museum wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) exhibit
During the early years of this century, wheat was seen as the
very lifeblood of Western Canada. People on city streets watched
the yields and the price of wheat in almost as much feeling as if1.___
they were growers. The marketing of wheat became an increasing2.___
favorite topic of conversation.
War set the stage for the most dramatic events in marketing
the western crop. For years, farmers mistrusted speculative grain
selling as carried on through the Winnipeg Grain Exchange.
Wheat prices were generally low in the autumn, so farmers could3.___
not wait for markets to improve. It had happened too often that
they sold their wheat soon shortly after harvest when farm debts4.___
were coming due, just to see prices rising and speculators getting rich.5.___
On various occasions, producer groups, asked firmer control,6.___
but the government had no wish to become involving, at7.___
least not until wartime when wheat prices threatened to run
wild.
Anxious to check inflation and rising life costs, the federal8.___
government appointed a board of grain supervisors to deal with
deliveries from the crops of 1917 and 1918. Grain Exchange
trading was suspended, and farmers sold at prices fixed by the
board. To handle with the crop of 1919, the government9.___
appointed the first Canadian Wheat Board, with total authority to10.___
buy, sell, and set prices.
阅读理解 A
Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension(40min)
SECTION A READING COMPREHENSION (30min)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of fifteen multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark answers on your Coloured Answer Sheet.
2001年专业英语八级考试真题（2）
</p> TEXT A“Twenty years ago, Blackpool turned its back on the sea and tried to make i tself into an entertainment centre. ” say Robin Wood, a local official. “Now t he thinking is that we should try, to refocus on the sea and make Blackpool a fami ly destination again.” To say that Blackpool neglected the sea is to put it mil d ly. In 1976 the European Community, as it then was called, instructed member nati ons to make their beaches conform to certain minimum standards of cleanliness wi thin ten years. Britain, rather than complying, took the novel strategy of conte nding that many of its most popular beaches were not swimming beaches at all. Be cause of Britain’s climate the sea-bathing season is short, and most people don ’ t go in above their knees anyway-and hence can’t really be said to be swimming. By averaging out the number of people actually swimming across 365 days of the y ear, the government was able to persuade itself, if no one else, that Britain ha d hardly any real swimming beaches.
As one environmentalist put it to me: “You had the ludicrous situation in w hich Luxembourg had mere listed public bathing beaches than the whole of the Uni ted Kingdom. It was preposterous.”
Meanwhile, Blackpool continued to discharge raw sewage straight into the se a. Finally after much pressure from both environmental groups and the European U nion, the local water authority built a new waste-treatment facility for the who le of Blackpool and neighbouring communities. The facility came online in June 1 996. For the first time since the industrial revolution Blackpool’s waters are safe to swim in.
That done, the town is now turning its attention to making the sea-front me re visually attractive. The promenade, once a rather elegant place to stroll, ha d become increasingly tatty and neglected. “It was built in Victorian times and needed a thorough overhaul anyway, ”says Wood, “so we decided to make aestheti c improvements at the same time, to try to draw people back to it.” Blackpool rec e ntly spent about .4 million building new kiosks for vendors and improving seat ing around the Central Pier and plans to spend a further $ 15 million on various amenity projects.
The most striking thing about Blackpool these days compared with 20 years a go is how empty its beaches are. When the tide is out, Blackpool’s beaches are avast plain of beckoning sand. They look spacious enough to accommodate comforta bly the entire populace of northern England. Ken Welsby remembers days when, as he puts it,“ you couldn’t lay down a handkerchief on this beach, it was that c rowded.”
Welsby comes from Preston, 20 miles down the road, and has been visiting Bl ackpool all his life. Now retired, he had come for the day with his wife, Kitty, and their three young grandchildren who were gravely absorbed in building a san dcastle. “Two hundred thousand people they’d have on this beach sometimes.” W elsby said. “You can’t imagine it now, can you?”
Indeed I could not. Though it was a bright sunny day in the middle of summe r. I counted just 13 people scattered along a half mile or so of open sand. Exce pt for those rare times when hot weather and a public holiday coincide, it is li ke this nearly always now.
“You can’t imagine how exciting it was to come here for the day when we w er e young.” Kitty said. “Even from Preston, it was a big treat. Now children don ’twant the beach. They want arcade games and rides in helicopters and goodness kn ows what else.” She stared out over the glittery water. “We’ll never see thos e days again. It’s sad really.”
“But your grandchildren seem to be enjoying it,” I pointed out.
“For the moment, ”Ken said. “For the moment.”
Afterward I went for a long walk along the empty beach, then went back to th e town centre and treated myself to a large portion of fish-and-chips wrapped in paper. The way they cook it in Blackpool, it isn’t so much a meal as an invita t ion to a heart attack, but it was delicious. Far out over the sea the sun was se tting with such splendor that I would almost have sworn I could hear the water h iss where it touched.
Behind me the lights of Blackpool Tower were just twinkling on, and the str eets were beginning to fill with happy evening throngs. In the purply light of d usk the town looked peaceful and happy — enchanting even — and there was an engaging air of expectancy, of fun about to happen. Somewhat to my surprise, I r ealized that this place was beginning to grow on me.
16. At the beginning, the passage seems to suggest that Blackpool ___.
A. will continue to remain as an entertainment centre
B. complied with EC’s standards of clearliness
C. had no swimming beaches all along
D. is planning to revive its former attraction
17. We can learn from the passage that Blackpool used to ___.
A. have as many beaches as Luxumbourg
B. have seriously polluted drinking water
C. boast some imposing seafront sights
D. attract few domestic holiday makers
18. What Blackpool’s beaches strike visitors most is their ___.
A. emptiness
B. cleanliness
C. modernity
D. monotony
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