英语专业八级改错练习题及答案解析(八)

会计考友

　　Demographic indicators show that Americans in the post war period were more
. b' \, B; l; Z, I4 j6 ~" t' i' [, i8 q　　eager than ever to establish families. They quickly brought down the age at marriage
9 V# U. m9 j6 I0 Q* b/ Z. D　　for both men and women and brought the birth rate to a twentieth century height __1__
　　after more than a hundred years of a steady decline, producing the “baby boom.” __2__
/ z: f1 L5 s1 ~. W5 m% V7 R) b+ N  K　　These young adults established a trend of early marriage and relatively large
　　families that went for more than two decades and caused a major but temporary __3__
　　reversal of long-term demographic patterns. From the 1940s through the early
　　1960s, Americans married at a high rate and at a younger age than their __4__
1 ^; ^+ p! e5 B　　Europe counterparts. __5__
: ?8 R. x& e! ?+ T　　Less noted but equally more significant, the men and women who formed __6__
　　families between 1940 and 1960 nevertheless reduced the divorce rate after a __7__
　　postwar peak; their marriages remained intact to a greater extent than did that of __8__
　　couples who married in earlier as well as later decades. Since the United States __9__
; X+ u2 C- c" Q4 f9 p  Y- z* ]　　maintained its dubious distinction of having the highest divorce rate in the world,
  r, ^" E3 {- |% d4 [7 H; `　　the temporary decline in divorce did not occur in the same extent in Europe. __10__
　　Contrary to fears of the experts, the role of breadwinner and homemaker was not
9 S( p4 x, S3 v! D$ S. ]　　abandoned.
　　参考答案及解析:
: p8 E3 G) _; t  W. }& b　　1. 将height改为high/peak。
　　整句话的大意为他们把男女的婚龄降了下来，使出生率达到了20世纪的高峰。
/ ^1 `! ?& A5 U, p　　high可以用作名词，意为“高峰”，“高水准”，“最高纪录”。
　　height可以作“极点，顶点”解释。例如：The height of cleverness is to conceal one’s cleverness。
　　2. 将第二个不定冠词a 去掉。
　　steady decline 意为持续的下降，前面不用加冠词。又如：years of hard work。根据语感可以判断出来。
　　3. 在went后加on，或将went改为lasted。
- P/ ^) R. g; i& m5 t; U　　此处是“持续”的意思，所以可以用went on 或者last来表达。
　　4. 将high改为higher。
' v& T" S7 J# A( t# S  n　　此处意为美国人结婚率比以前提高了，有与战前相比的意思，因此应用比较级。
9 R: S9 k$ P, l. _　　5. 将Europe改为European。
　　6. 删掉more。此处的大意为战后离婚率也下降了，这个现象不大有人注意，但同样也很重要。另外，more与equally相矛盾。
* V, m; o* }5 t/ G; U  X　　7. 将nevertheless改为also或者删掉nevertheless。
, `$ F; N, T" J　　此处上下文之间不是转折关系，而是递进关系。
　　8. 将that 改为those。
　　此处的代词应指marriages这个复数名词，因此应用those。此处考察代词与先行词一致的问题。
( I; B) r0 F0 s. X　　9. 将Since改为Although/Though/While。此处是转折关系，不是因果关系。
  g7 j1 n/ Z9 j　　10. 将in改为to。短语to the extent是固定搭配。