2007年到2012年专八阅读真题及答案

第二部分

2007

年

----2012

年英语专业八级阅读真题

2007

年

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. Governments 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 symbol 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. separatist.

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 favor 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 such 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 democratically 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 to

day, 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 boast 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, some 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 looked every inch the modern

suffragett e

—

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.‖ Men 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.

B. Liberals 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

paid a lasting compliment to the king of beasts. Little 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 journey 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 reconciled 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 another 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 provide.

The 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 Two)

implies that it was to some extent.

A .spent chiefly at war.

B impressive and admirable.

C lived too pompously

D. an empty show.

22. Richard‘s behaviour as death approached sh

owed.

A. bravery and self-control.

B. Wisdom and correctness

C. Devotion and romance

D. Chivalry and charity

23. The point of the last short paragraph is that Richard was

A. cheated by his own successors

B. determined to take revenge on his enemies.

C. more generous to his enemies than his seccesors.

D unable to influence the behavior of his successors.

24. Which of the following phrase best describes Richard as seen by the

author?

A. An aggressive king, too fond of war.

B. A brave king with minor faults.

C A competent but cunning soldier.

D A kind with great political skills.

25. The relationship between the first and second paragraphs is that

A. each presents one side of the picture.

B. the first generalizes the second gives examples.

C. the second is the logical result of the first.

D. both present Richard‘s virtues and faults.

TEXT D

The miserable fate of Enron's employees will be a landmark in business

history, one of those awful events that everyone agrees must never be

allowed to happen again. This urge is understandable and noble: thousands

have lost virtually all their retirement savings with the demise of Enron

stock. But making sure it never happens again may not be possible, because

the sudden impoverishment of those Enron workers represents something

even larger than it seems. It's the latest turn in the unwinding of one of the

most audacious promise of the 20th century.

The promise was assured economic security-even comfort- for essentially

everyone in the developed world. With the explosion of wealth, that began

in the 19th century it became possible to think about a possibility no one had

dared to dream before. The fear at the center of daily living since caveman

days- lack of food warmth, shelter- would at last lose its power to terrify.

That remarkable promise became reality in many ways. Governments

created welfare systems for anyone in need and separate programmes for the

elderly (Social Security in the U.S.). Labour unions promised not only better

pay for workers but also pensions for retirees. Giant corporations came into

being and offered the possibility- in some cases the promise- of lifetime

employment plus guaranteed pensions. The cumulative effect was a

fundamental change in how millions of people approached life itself, a

reversal of attitude that most rank as one of the largest in human history. For

millennia the average person‘s stance toward providing for himself had been.

Ultimately I‘m on my own. Now it became, ultimately I‘ll be taken care of.

The early hints that this promise might be broken on a large scale came in

the 1980s. U.S. business had become uncompetitive globally and began

restructuring massively, with huge Layoffs. The trend accelerated in the

1990s as the bastions of corporate welfare faced reality. IBM ended it‘s

no-layoff policy. AT&T fired thousands, many of whom found such a thing

simply incomprehensible, and a few of whom killed themselves. The other

supposed guarantors of our economic security were also in decline.

Labour- union membership and power fell to their lowest levels in decades.

President Clinton signed a historic bill scaling back welfare. Americans

realized that Social Security won‘t provide social security for any of us.

A less visible but equally significant trend a affected pensions. To make

costs easier to control, companies moved away from defined benefit pension

plans, which obligate them to pay out specified amounts years in the future,

to define contribution plans, which specify only how much goes into the

play today. The most common type of defined-contribution plan is the

401(k). the significance of the 401(k) is that it puts most of the responsibility

for a person's economic fate back on the employee. Within limits the

employee must decide how much goes into the plan each year and how it

gets invested-

the two factors that will determine how much it‘s worth when

the employee retires. Which brings us back to Enron? Those billions of

dollars in vaporized retirement savings went in employees' 401(k) accounts.

That is, the employees chose how much money to put into those accounts

and then chose how to invest it. Enron matched a certain proportion of each

employee's 401(k) contribution with company stock, so everyone was going

to end up with some Enron in his or her portfolio; but that could be regarded

as a freebie, since nothing compels a company to match employee

contributions at all. At least two special features complicate the Enron case.

First, some shareholders charge top management with illegally covering up

the company's problems, prompting investors to hang on when they should

have sold. Second, Enron's 401(k) accounts were locked while the company

changed plan administrators in October, when the stock was falling, so

employees could not have closed their accounts if they wanted to.

But by far the largest cause of this human tragedy is that thousands of

employees were heavily overweighed in Enron stock. Many had placed

100% of their 401(k) assets in the stock rather than in the 18 other

investment options they were offered. Of course that wasn't prudent, but it's

what some of them did.

The Enron employees' retirement disaster is part of the larger trend away

from guaranteed economic security. That's why preventing such a thing from

ever happening again may be impossible. The huge attitudinal shift to

I‘ll

-be-taken-care-of took at least a generation. The shift back may take just

as long. It won't be complete until a new generation of employees see

assured economic comfort as a 20th- century quirk, and understand not just

intellectually but in their bones that, like most people in most times and

places, they're on their own

26. Why does the author say at the beginning ―The miserable fate of Enron's

employees will be a landmark in business history...‖?

A. Because the company has gone bankrupt.

B. Because such events would never happen again.

C. Because many Enron workers lost their retirement savings.

D. Because it signifies a turning point in economic security.

27. According to the passage, the combined efforts by governments, layout

unions and big corporations to guarantee economic comfort have led to a

significant change in

A. people's outlook on life.B. people's life styles.C. people's living

standardD. people's social values.

28. Changes in pension schemes were also part of

A. the corporate lay-offs.

B.

the government cuts in welfare spending.

C. the economic restructuring.

D. the warning power of labors unions.

29. Thousands of employees chose Enron as their sole investment option

mainly because

A. The 401(k) made them responsible for their own future.

B. Enron offered to add company stock to their investment.

C. their employers intended to cut back on pension spending.

D. Enron's offer was similar to a defined-benefit plan.

30. Which is NOT seen as a lesson drawn from the Enron disaster?

A. 401(k) assets should be placed in more than one investment option.

B. Employees have to take up responsibilities for themselves.

C. Such events could happen again as it is not easy to change people's mind.

D. Economic security won't be taken for granted by future young workers.

阅读理解答案：

11-15

CADBA 16-20

BACCD

21-25 DDDBA 26-30 DABBD

2008

年

TEXT A

At the age of 16, Lee Hyuk Joons life is a living hell. The South Korean 10th

grader gets up at 6 in the morning to go to school, and studies most of the day

until returning home at 6 p.m. After dinner, its time to hit the books again

—

at one

of Seouls many so-called cram schools. Lee gets back home at 1 in the morning,

sleeps

less

than

five

hours,

then

repeats

the

routine

—

five

days

a

week.

Its

a

grueling schedule, but Lee worries that it may not be good enough to get him into

a top university. Some of his classmates study even harder.

South Koreas education system has long been highly competitive. But for Lee

and

the

other

700,000

high-school

sophomores

in

the

country,

high-school

studies

have

gotten

even

more

intense.

Thats

because

South

Korea

has

conceived

a

new

college-entrance

system,

which

will

be

implemented

in

2008.

This years 10th graders will be the first group evaluated by the new admissions

standard,

which

places

more

emphasis

on

grades

in

the

three

years

of

high

school

and

less

on

nationwide

SAT-style

and

other

selection

tests,

which

have

traditionally determined which students go to the elite colleges.

The

change

was

made

mostly

to

reduce

what

the

government

says

is

a

growing

education

gap

in

the

country:

wealthy

students

go

to

the best

colleges

and

get

the

best

jobs,

keeping

the

children

of

poorer

families

on

the

social

margins. The aim is to reduce the importance of costly tutors and cram schools,

partly to help students enjoy a more normal high-school life. But the new system

has

had

the

opposite

effect.

Before,

students

didnt

worry

too

much

about

their

grade-point

averages;

the

big

challenge

was

beating

he

standardized

tests

as

high-school

seniors.

Now

students

are

competing

against

one

another

over

a

three-year period, and every midterm and final test is crucial. Fretful parents are

relying

even

more

heavily

on

tutors

and

cram

schools

to

help

their

children

succeed.

Parents and kids have sent thousands of angry online letters to the Education

Ministry complaining that the new admissions standard is setting students against

each other.

Education experts say that South Koreas public secondary-school system is

foundering, while private education is thriving. According to critics, the countrys

high

schools

are

almost

uniformly

mediocre

—

the

result

of

an

egalitarian

government education policy. With the number of elite schools strictly controlled

by the government, even the brightest students typically have to settle for ordinary

schools

in

their

neighbourhoods,

where

the

curriculum

is

centred

on

average

students. To

make up for the mediocrity,

zealous parents

send their kids

to

the

expensive

cram

schools.

Students

in

affluent

southern

Seoul

neighbourhoods

complain that the new system will hurt them the most.

Nearly

all

Korean high

schools will be

weighted equally

in

the

college-entrance

process, and relatively weak students in provincial schools, who may not score

well on standardized tests, often compile good grade-point averages.

Some

universities,

particularly

prestigious

ones,

openly

complain

that

they

cannot

select

the

best

students

under

the

new

system

because

it

eliminates

differences

among

high

schools.

Theyve

asked

for

more

discretion

in

picking

students

by

giving

more

weight

to

such

screening

tools

as

essay

writing

or

interviews.

President

Roh

Moo

Hyun

doesnt

like

how

some

colleges

are

trying

to

circumvent the new system. He recently criticized

more on finding the best students than faying to

the crossfire between the government and universities, the countrys 10th graders

are

feeling

the

stress.

On

online

protest

sites,

some

are

calling

themselves

a

“cursed

generation”

and

“mice

in

a

lab

experiment”.

It

all

seems

a

touch

melodramatic, but thats the South Korean school system.

11. According to the passage, the new college-entrance system is designed to

A. require students to sit for more college-entrance tests.

B. reduce the weight of college-entrance tests.

C. select students on their high school grades only.

D. reduce the number of prospective college applicants.

12. What seems to be the effect of introducing the new system?

A. The system has given equal opportunities to students.

B. The system has reduced the number of cram schools.

C. The system has intensified competition among schools.

D. The system has increased students study load.

13. According to critics, the popularity of private education is mainly the result of

A. the governments egalitarian policy.

B. insufficient number of schools:

C. curriculums of average quality.

D. low cost of private education.

14. According to the passage, there seems to be disagreement over the adoption

of the new system between the following groups EXCEPT

A. between universities and the government.

B. between school experts and the government.

C. between parents and schools.

D. between parents and the government.

15. Which of the following adjectives best describes the authors treatment of the

topic?

A. Objective.

B. Positive.

C. Negative.

D. B

Wilfred Emmanuel- Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his

first

field.

Born

in

Jamaica,

the

47-year-old

grew

up

in

inner-city

Birmingham

before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing

agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishmans dream of a

rustic

life,

a

dream

that

his

entrepreneurial

wealth

has

allowed

him

to

satisfy.

These days hes the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with

cattle,

sheep

and

pigs.

His

latest

business

venture:

pushing

his brand

of Black

Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very

urban,” says Emmanuel

-Jones.

“But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”

And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from

city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britains

burgeoning farmers markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five

years

—

swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders

who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city.

rural community has to

come to terms with the fact that things have changed.

you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on.

The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If

the

British

were

the first

nation

to

industrialize,

they

were

also

the

first

to

head

back

to

the

land.

is

this

romantic

image

of

the

countryside

that

is

particularly English,

the population

of

rural

England has been

rising

since

1911.

Migration

into

rural

areas is now running at about 100,000

a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant

even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold

to

buyers

rather

than

the

dwindling

number

of

traditional

farmers,

according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Whats

new

about

the

latest

returnees

is

their

affluence

and

zeal

for

the

business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy

and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be

rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent

years, the

Cottage

farm. Naturally, the newcomers cant hope to match their City salaries, but many

are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if

theres

no

six- figure

annual

bonus

when

the

land

offers

other

incalculable

compensations?

Besides,

the

specialist

producers

can

at

least

depend

on

a

burgeoning

market

for

their

products.

Todays

eco-aware

generation

loves

to

seek

out

authentic ingredients.

Jan

McCourt,

a

onetime

investment

banker

now

running

his

own

40-hectare

spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare sts see signs of

far-reaching change: Britain isnt catching up with mainland Europe; its leading the

way.

“Unlike

most

other

countries,

where

artisanal

food

production

i

s

being

eroded, here it is being recovered,

mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a

peasant.” And not an investment banker.

16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT?

A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.

B. He used to work in the television industry.

C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.

D. He is now selling his own quality foods.

17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditional British farming

A. knowledge of farming.

B. knowledge of brand names.

C. knowledge of lifestyle.

D. knowledge of marketing,

18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence of a new class

of farmers?

A. Strong desire for country life.

B. Longing for greater wealth,

C. Influence of TV productions.

D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.

19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?

A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.

B. Increase in the value of land property.

C. Raising and selling rare live stock. V

D. Publicity as a result of media coverage.

20. The sentence in the last paragraph “...Britain isnt catching up with mainland

Europe; its leading the way

A. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.

B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.

C. the British are heading back to the countryside.

D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.

TEXT C

In Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these arent stereotypical

castles

in

Spain.

These

castles

are

made

up

of

human

beings,

not

stone.

The

people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see

their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.

First

the

castellers

form

what

looks

like

a

gigantic

rugby

scrummage. They

are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together,

forming

outward-radiating

ramparts

of

inward-pushing

muscle:

flying

buttresses

for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those

at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders

—

then still others, each time

adding a higher

These

human

towers

can

rise

higher

than

small

apartment

buildings:

nine

“stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity cant

defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up

to the top.

Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below.

Dressed

in

their

traditional

costumes,

the

castellers

seem

to

epitomize

an

easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterraneans

most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at

practice, you see theres nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they

are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.

None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing

this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English:

it because its beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan.

Barcelona’s

mother

tongue

is

Catalan,

and

to

understand

Barcelona,

you

must

understand

two

words

of

Catalan:

seny

and

rauxa.

Seny

pretty

much

translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and

get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and “ruckus”.

What

makes

the

castellers

revealing

of

the

city

is

that

they

embody

rauxa

and

seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa

—

it defies common sense

—

but to watch

one

going

up

is

to

see

seny

in

action.

Success

is

based

on

everyone

working

together to achieve a shared goal.

The

success

of

Carlos

Tusquets

bank,

Fibanc,

shows

seny

at

work

in

everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds.

Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona is different.

Entrepreneurial

seny

demonstrates

why

Barcelona

and

Catalonia

—

the

ancient

region

of

which

Barcelona

is

the

capital

—

are

distinct

from

the

rest

of

Spain

yet

essential

to

Spains

emergence,

after

centuries

of

repression,

as

a

prosperous, democratic European

country.

Catalonia,

with

Barcelona

as

its dynamo,

has

turned

into

an

economic

powerhouse. Mak

ing up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it

accounts

for

nearly

a

quarter

of

Spains

product ion

—

everything

from

textiles

to

computers

—

even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic

miracle.

Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and theres no better place to see rauxa

in

action

than

on

the

Ramblas,

the

venerable,

tree-shaded

boulevard

that,

in

gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are

two

narrow

lanes

each

way

for

cars

and

motorbikes,

but

it’s

the

wide

centre

walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelonas longest running

theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them,

and

an

attendant

will

come

and

charge

you

a

small

fee.

Performance

artists

throng

the

Ramblas

—

stilt

walkers,

witches

caked

in

charcoal

dust,

Elvis

impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children,

millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and

women who, upon closer inspection, prove not to be.

Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to compare notes: “Last night there was

a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,” Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian

photographer, told me.

he was talking

into a cell phone.

There you have it, Barcelonas essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is

talking into a cell phone (seny).

21. From the description in the passage, we learn that

A. all Catalonians can perform castells.

B. castells require performers to stand on each other.

C. people perform castells in different formations.

D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.

22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is that

A. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.

B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.

C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.

D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.

23.

The

passage

cites

the

following

examples

EXCEPT

__________

to

show

seny at work.

A. development of a bank

B. dynamic role in economy

C. contribution to national economy

D. comparison with other regions

24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front

-row seat

for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. What does it mean?

A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.

B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.

C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.

D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.

25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?

A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.

B. It is of average quality.

C. It is conventional and quiet.

D. It is of professional standard.

TEXT D

The law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection

a year after his funeral. After his death, the firms letterhead properly included him:

Patrick

S.

Lanigan,

1954-1992.

He

was

listed

up

in

the

right-hand

corner,

just

above the paralegals. Then the rumors got started and wouldnt stop. Before long,

everyone believed he had taken the money and disappeared. After three months,

no

one

on

the

Gulf

Coast

believed

that

he

was

dead.

His

name

came

off

the

letterhead

as the debts piled up.

The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly

at the hip by the bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were

rolling

and

on

the

verge

of

serious

wealth.

They

had

been

joint

defendants

in

several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since Patricks departure, they

had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would work. Two

were

raging

alcoholics

who

drank

at

the

office

behind

locked

doors,

but

nevertogether.

The

other

two

were

in

recovery,

still

teetering

on

the

brink

of

sobriety.

He

took

their

money.

Their

millions.

Money

they

had

already

spent

long

before it arrived, as only lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office

building

in

downtown

Biloxi.

Money

for

new

homes,

yachts,

condos

in

the

Caribbean.

The

money

was

on

the

way,

approved,

the

papers

signed,

orders

entered;

they

could

see

it,

almost

touch

it

when

their

dead

partner

—