07年专八真题及答案

2007

年英语专八试卷真题及答案

Part2 Reading Comprehension (30min)

Text A

The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity, but a generation ago

it looked as if Welsh would go the way of Manx. once widely spoken on the isle of Man but now

extinct. Government financing and central planning, however, have helped reverse the decline of

Welsh. Road signs and official public documents are written in both Welsh and English, and

schoolchildren are required to learn both languages. Welsh is now one of the most successful of

Europe’s regional languages, spoken by more than a half

-

million of the country’s three million

people.

The revival of the language, particularly among young people, is part of a resurgence of national

identity sweeping through this small, proud nation. Last month Wales marked the second

anniversary of the opening of the National Assembly, the first parliament to be convened here

since 1404. The idea behind devolution was to restore the balance within the union of nations

making up the United Kingdom. With most of the people and wealth, England has always had

bragging rights. The partial transfer of legislative powers from Westminster, implemented by

Tony Blair, was designed to give the other members of the club- Scotland, Northern Ireland, and

Wales-a bigger say and to counter centrifugal forces that seemed to threaten the very idea of the

union.

The Welsh showed little enthusiasm for devolution. Whereas the Scots voted overwhelmingly for

a parliament, the vote for a Welsh assembly scraped through by less than one percent on a turnout

of less than 25 percent. Its powers were proportionately limited. The Assembly can decide how

money from Westminster or the European Union is spent. It cannot, unlike its counterpart in

Edinburgh, enact laws. But now that it is here, the Welsh are growing to like their Assembly.

Many people would like it to have more powers. Its importance as figurehead will grow with the

opening in 2003, of a new debating chamber, one of many new buildings that are transforming

Cardiff from a decaying seaport into a Baltimore-style waterfront city. Meanwhile a grant of

nearly two million dollars from the European Union will tackle poverty. Wales is one of the

poorest regions in Western Europe- only Spain, Portugal, and Greece have a lower standard of

living.

Newspapers and magazines are filled with stories about great Welsh men and women, boosting

self-esteem. To familiar faces such as Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton have been added new

icons such as Catherine Zeta- Jones, the movie star, and Bryn Terfel, the opera singer. Indigenous

foods like salt marsh lamb are in vogue. And Wales now boasts a national airline. Awyr Cymru.

Cymru, which means “land of compatriots,” is the Welsh name for Wales. The red dragon, the

nation’s symb

ol since the time of King Arthur, is everywhere- on T-shirts, rugby jerseys and even

cell phone covers.

“Until very recent times most Welsh people had this feeling of being second

-

class citizens,” said

Dyfan Jones, an 18-year-old student. It was a warm summer night, and I was sitting on the grass

with a group of young people in Llanelli, an industrial town in the south, outside the rock music

venue of the National Eisteddfod, Wales’s annual cultural festival. The disused factory in front of

us echoed to the sounds of new Welsh bands.

“There was almost a genetic tendency for lack of confidence,” Dyfan continued. Equally

comfortable in his Welshness as in his membership in the English-speaking, global youth culture

and the new federal Europe, Dyfan, like the rest of his generation, is growing up with a sense of

possibility unimaginable ten years ago. “We used to think. We can’t do anything, we’re only

Welsh. Now I think that’s changing.”

11. According to the passage, devolution was mainly meant to

A. maintain the present status among the nations.

B. reduce legislative powers of England.

C. create a better state of equality among the nations. √

D. grant more say to all the nations in the union.

12. The word “centrifugal” in the second paragraph means

A. separat

ist.√

B. Conventional. C. feudal.D. political

13. Wales is different from Scotland in all the following aspects EXCEPT

A. people’s desire for devolution.B. locals’ turnout for the voting.

C. powers of the legislative body.D. status of the national language

.√

14. Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the resurgence of Welsh national

identity

A. Welsh has witnessed a revival as a national language.

B. Poverty-

relief funds have come from the European Union.√

C. A Welsh national airline is currently in operation.

D. The national symbol has become a familiar sight.

15. According to Dyfan Jones what has changed is

A. people’s mentality. √B. pop culture.

C. town’s appearance.

D. possibilities for the people.

Text B

Getting to the heart of Kuwaiti

democracy seems hilariously easy. Armed only with a dog-eared

NEWSWEEK

ID,

I

ambled

through

the

gates

of

the

National

Assembly

last

week.

Unscanned,

unsearched,

my satchel could

easily

have

held

the

odd

grenade

or

an

anthrax- stuffed

lunchbox.

The

only

person who

stopped

me was

a

guard who

grinned

and

invited

me

to

take

a

swig

of

orange juice from his plastic bottle.

Were I a Kuwaiti woman wielding a ballot, I would have been a clearer and more present danger.

That very day Parliament blocked a bill giving women the vote; 29 M.P.s voted in favour and 29

against, with two abstentions. Unable to decide whether the bill had passed or not, the government

scheduled another vote in two weeks-

too late for women to register for June’s municipal elections.

The next s

uch elections aren’t until 2009. Inside the elegant, marbled Parliament

itself, a sea of

mustachioed men in white robes sat in green seats, debating furiously. The ruling emir has pushed

for

women’s

political

rights

for

years.

Ironically,

the

democraticall

y

elected

legislature

has

thwarted him. Traditionalists and tribal

leaders are opposed. Liberals fret, too, that Islamists will

let

their

multiple

wives

vote,

swelling

conservative

ranks.

“When

I came

to

Parliament

today,

people

who

voted

yes

didn’t

even shake

hands with

me,” said

one

Shia

clerc.

“Why can’t we

respect each other and work together?”

Why

not

indeed?

By

Gulf

standards,

Kuwait

is

a

democratic

superstar.

Its

citizens

enjoy

free

speech (as long as they don’t insult their emir, naturally) and boas

t a Parliament that can actually

pass

laws.

Unlike

their

Saudi

sisters,

Kuwaiti

women

drive,

work

and

travel

freely.

They

run

multibillion-dollar

businesses

and

serve

as

ambassadors.

Their

academic

success

is

such

that

colleges

have

actually

lowered

the

grades

required

for

make

students

to

get

into

medical

and

engineering courses. Even then, 70 percent of university students are females.

In

Kuwait,

the

Western

obsession

with

the

higab

finds

its

equivalent.

At

a

fancy

party

for

NEWSWEEK’s Arabic edition, som

e Kuwaiti women wore them. Others opted for tight, spangled,

sheer little numbers in peacock blue or parrot orange. For the party’s entertainment, Nancy Ajram,

the Arab world’s answer to Britney Spears, sang passionate songs of love in a white mini

-dress.

She couldn’t dance for us, alas, since shaking one’s body onstage is illegal in Kuwait. That didn’t

stop

whole

tables

of

men

from

raising

their

camera-enabled

mobile

phones

and

clicking

her

picture.

You’d

think

not

being

able

to

vote

or

dance

in

public

would

anger

Kuwait’s

younger

generation of women. To find out, I headed to the malls-

Kuwait’s archipelago of civic freedom.

Eager to duck

Strict

parents

and

the

social

taboos

of

dating

in

public.

young

Kuwaitis

have

taken

to

cafes,

beaming

flirtatious

infrared

e-mails

to

one

another

on

their

cell

photos.

At

Starbucks

in

the

glittering

Al Sharq Mall, I found only tables of men, puffing cigarettes and grumbling about the

service .At Pizza Hut, I thought I’d got an answer after encountering a young woman who loo

ked

every inch the modern suffragette

—

drainpipe jeans,strappy sliver high-heeled sandals and a higab

studded with purple rhinestones. But, no, Miriam Al-Enizi, 20,studying business administration at

Kuwait

University,

doesn’t

think

women

need

the

vote.”

Me

n

are

better

at

politics

than

women,”she

explained,

adding

that

women

in

Kuwait

already

have

everything

they

need.

Welcome to democracy, Kuwait style.

16. According to the passage, which of the following groups of people might be viewed as being

dangerous by the guards?

A. Foreign tourists.

B. Women protestors.√

C. Foreign journalists. D. Members of the National Assembly.

17. The bill giving women the vote did not manage to pass because

A. Different interest groups held different concerns.√

ls did not reach consensus among themselves.

C. Parliament was controlled by traditionalists.

ment members were all conservatives.

18. What is the role of the 4th and 5th paragraphs in the development of the topic?

A. To show how Kuwaiti women enjoy themselves.

B. To describe how women work and study in Kuwait.

C. To provide a contrast to the preceding paragraphs.√

D. To provide a contrast to the preceding paragraphs.

19. Which of the following is NOT true about young Kuwaiti women?

A. They seem to be quite contented.B. They go in for Western fashions.

C. They desire more than modern necessities.√D. They favour the use of hi

-tech products.

Text C

Richard, King of England from 1189 to 1199, with all his characteristic virtues and faults cast in a

heroic

mould,

is

one

of

the

most

fascinating

medieval

figures.

He

has

been

described

as

the

creature

and embodiment of the age of chivalry, In those days the lion was much admired in heraldry, and

more than one king sought to link himself with its repute. When Richard's contemporaries called

him

did the English people owe him for his services, and heavily did they pay for his adventures. He

was

in

England

only

twice

for

a

few short

months

in

his

ten

years' reign;

yet

his

memory

has

always

English

hearts,

and

seems to

present

throughout

the centuries the

pattern

of

the fighting

man. In all deeds of prowess as well as in large schemes of war Richard shone. He was tall and

delicately shaped strong in nerve and sinew, and most dexterous in arms. He reioiced in personal

combat, and regarded his opponents without malice as necessary agents in his fame He loved war,

not so much for the sake of glory or political ends, but as other men love science or poetry, for the

excitement of the struggle and the glow of victory. By this his whole temperament was toned; and

united with the highest qualities of the military commander, love of war called forth all the powers

of his mind and body.

Although

a

man

of

blood

and

violence,

Richard was too

impetuous

to

be

either

treacherous

on

habitually cruel. He was as ready to forgive as he was hasty to offend; he was open-handed and

munificent to profusion; in war circumspect in design and skilful in execution; in political a child,

lacking in subtlety and experience. His political alliances were formed upon his likes and dislikes;

his political schemes had neither unity nor clearness of purpose. The advantages gained for him by

military geoids were flung away through diplomatic ineptitude. When, on the jouthey to the East,

Messina

in

Sicily

was

won

by

his

arms

he

was

easily

persuaded

to

share

with

his

polished,

faithless ally, Philip

Augustus, fruits of a victory which more wisely used might have foiled the

French

King's

artful

schemes.

The rich

and

tenable

acquisition

of

Cyprus was cast

away

even

more easily than it was won. His life was one magnificent parade, which, when ended, left only an

empty plain.

In

1199, when

the

difficulties

of

raising

revenue

for

the

endless

war were

at

their

height,

good

news was brought to King Richard. It was said there had been dug up near the castle of Chaluz, on

the lands of one of his French vassals, a treasure of wonderful quality; a group of golden images

of an emperor, his wife, sons and daughters, seated round a table, also of gold, had been unearthed.

The King claimed this treasure as lord paramount. The lord of Chaluz resisted the demand, and the

King

laid

siege

to

his small,

weak castle.

On

the

third

day,

as

he rode

daringly,

near

the

wall.

confident in his hard-tried luck, a bolt from a crossbow struck him in the left shoulder by the neck.

The

wound,

already

deep,

was

aggravated

by

the

necessary

cutting

out

of

the

arrow

-head.

Gangrene set in, and Coeur de Lion

knew that he must pay a soldier’s debt. He prepared for death

with fortitude and calm, and in accordance with the principles he had followed. He arranged his

affairs, he divided his personal belongings among his friends or bequeathed them to charity. He

declared John to be his heir, and made all present swear fealty to him. He ordered the archer who

had shot the fatal bolt, and who was now a prisoner, to be brought before him. He pardoned him,

and made him a gift of money. For seven years he had not confessed for fear of being compelled

to

be

reconiled

to

Philip,

but

now

he

received

the

offices

of

the

Church

with

sincere

and

exemplary

piety,

and

died

in

the

forty-second

year

of

his

age

on

April

6,

1199, worthy,

by

the

consent

of

all

men,

to

sit with

King

Arthur

and

Roland

andother

heroes

of

martial

romance

at

some Eternal round Table, which we trust the Creator of the Universe in His comprehension will

not have forgotten to archer was flayed alive.

20 “ little did the English people own him for his service” (paragraph one) means that the English

A. paid few taxes to him.B. gave him little respect.

C. received little protection from him.

D. had no real cause to feel grateful to him.√

21. To say that his wife was a “ magnificent parade’( paragraph Tw

o) implies that it was to some

extent.

A . spent chiefly at war. B. impressive and admirable.