专八模拟题（阅读及人文知识）

   In this section there are several reading passage followed by a total of twenty multiple-choice questions. Read the passage and then mark your answers on your answer sheet.

TEXT A
   In the eighteenth century, Japans feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial stress. In part, this stress can be attributed to the overlords’ failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy, but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords’ control. Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers. Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time, it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive. Overlords’ income, despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses.
   Although shortfalls in overloads’ income resulted almost as much from laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office-holding) as from their higher standards of living, a misfortune like a fire or flood, bringing an in crease in expenses or a drop in revenue, could put a domain in debt to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once in debt, neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recover.
   It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited, and since the income of Japan’s central government consisted in part of taxes collected by the shogun from his huge domain, the government too was constrained. Therefore, the Tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue. Cash profits from government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted, although debasement of the coinage had compensated for the loss. Opening up new farmland was a possibility, but most of what was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically unfeasible. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous. This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.
   Most of the country’s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun’s burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such revenue was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyo-kin; although these were not taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the Tokugawa shoguns’ search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet.

11. Which is the author’s attitude toward the samurai discussed in the first paragraph?
A. Warmly approving
B. Mildly sympathetic
C. Bitterly disappointed
D. Harshly disdainful
12. Which is the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords
A. Profits from mining had declined
B. Spending had outdistanced income
C. The samurai had concentrated in castle-towns
D. The coinage had been sharply debased
13. The reason that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover from debt is _____
A. taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount.
B. the Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing economy.
C. there was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.
D. the domains of samurai overlords were becoming smaller and poorer as government revenues increased.
14. Which could best be substituted for the word “THIS” in the last sentence of the second paragraph?
A. The search of Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns for solvency
B. The unfairness of the tax structure in eighteenth-century Japan
C. The difficulty experienced by both individual samurai and the shogun himself in extricating themselves from debt
D. The difficulty of increasing government income by other means
15. According to the passage, the actions of the Tokugawa shoguns in their search for solvency for the government were regrettable because those actions
A. resulted in the exhaustion of the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold
B. raised the cost of living by pushing up prices
C. were far lower in yield than had originally been anticipated
D. acted as deterrent to trade

TEXT B
   A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over:
“Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s all right! ” He could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, unless it was the mocking-bird that hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence.
   Mr. Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfort, arose with an expression and an exclamation of disgust. He walked down the gallery and across the narrow “bridges” which connected the Lebrun cottages one with the other. He had been seated before the door of the main house. The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished. Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining.
   He stopped before the door of his own cottage, which was the fourth one from the main building and next to the last. Seating himself in a wicker rocker which was there, he once more applied himself to the task of reading the newspaper. The day was Sunday; the paper was a day old. The Sunday papers had not yet reached Grand Isle. He was already acquainted with the market reports, and he glanced restlessly over the editorials and bits of news which he had not had time to read before quitting New Orleans the day before.
   Mr. Pontellier wore eye-glasses. He was a man of forty, of medium height and rather slender build; he stooped a little. His hair was brown and straight, parted on one side. His beard was neatly and closely trimmed.
   Once in a while he withdrew his glance from the newspaper and looked about him. There was more noise than ever over at the house. The main building was called “the house,” to distinguish it from the cottages. The chattering and whistling birds were still at it. Two young girls, the Farival twins, were playing a duet from “Zampa” upon the piano. Madame Lebrun was bustling in and out, giving orders in a high key to a yard-boy whenever she got inside the house, and directions in an equally high voice to a dining–room servant whenever she got outside. She was a fresh, pretty woman, clad always in white with elbow sleeves. Her starched skirts crinkled as she came and went. Farther down, before one of the cottages, a lady in black was walking demurely up and down, telling her beads. A good many persons of the pension had gone over to the Cheniere Caminada in Beaudelet’s lugger to hear mass. Some young people were out under the water-oaks playing croquet. Mr. Pontellier’s two children were there—sturdy little fellows of four and five. A quadroon nurse followed them about with a faraway, meditative air.
   Mr. Pontellier finally lit a cigar and began to smoke, letting the paper drag idly from his hand. He fixed his gaze upon a white sunshade that was advancing at snail’s pace from the beach. He could see it plainly between the gaunt trunks of the water-oaks and across the stretch of yellow chamomile. The gulf looked far away, melting hazily into the blue of the horizon. The sunshade continued to approach slowly. Beneath its pink-lined shelter were his wife, Mrs. Pontellier, and young Robert Lebrun. When they reached the cottage, the two seated themselves with some appearance of fatigue upon the upper step of the porch, facing each other, each leaning against a supporting post.
  “What folly! to bathe at such an hour in such heat!” exclaimed Mr. Pontellier. He himself had taken a plunge at daylight. That was why the morning seemed long to him.
  “You are burnt beyond recognition,” he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage. She held up her hands, strong, shapely hands, and surveyed them critically, drawing up her lawn sleeves above the wrists. Looking at them reminded her of her rings, which she had given to her husband before leaving for the beach. She silently reached out to him, and he, understanding, took the rings from his vest pocket and dropped them into her open palm. She slipped them upon her fingers; then clasping her knees, she looked across at Robert and began to laugh. The rings sparkled upon her fingers. He sent back an answering smile.
  “What is it?” asked Pontellier, looking lazily and amused from one to the other. It was some utter nonsense; some adventure out there in the water, and they both tried to relate it at once. It did not seem half so amusing when told. They realized this, and so did Mr. Pontellier. He yawned and stretched himself. Then he got up, saying he had half a mind to go over to Klein’s hotel and play a game of billiards.
  “Come go along, Lebrun,” he proposed to Robert. But Robert admitted quite frankly that he preferred to stay where he was and talk to Mrs. Pontellier.
  “Well, send him about his business when he bores you, Edna,” instructed her husband as he prepared to leave.
  “Here, take the umbrella,” she exclaimed, holding it out to him. He accepted the sunshade, and lifting it over his head descended the steps and walked away.
  “Coming back to dinner?” his wife called after him. He halted a moment and shrugged his shoulders. He felt in his vest pocket; there was a ten-dollar bill there. He did not know; perhaps he would return for the early dinner and perhaps he would not. It all depended upon the company which he found over at Klein’s and the size of “the game.” He did not say this, but she understood it, and laughed, nodding good-by to him.
   Both children wanted to follow their father when they saw him starting out. He kissed them and promised to bring them back bonbons and peanuts.

16. Which of the following adjectives best describe Mr. Pontellier?
A. Energetic
B. Robust
C. Good-humored
D. Inactive
17. In Mr. Pontellier’s mind’s eye, his wife is _____________________.
A. an independent person
B. an object of considerable value
C. an understanding woman
D. an unreliable woman
18. The image that the story evokes in reader’s mind in its very beginning is _______________.
A. sea image
B. animal image
C. bird image
D. umbrella image
19. From the story we know that Mrs. Pontellier is a/an____________ wife.
A. understanding
B. depressed
C. critical
D. listless
20. Mr. Pontellier enjoys ____________________.
A. having dinner with his wife
B gambling
C. playing with his children
D. swimming

TEXT C
   Tattoos didn’t spring up with the dawn of biker gangs and rock ‘n’ roll bands. They’ve been around for a long time and had many different meanings over the course of history.
   For years, scientists believed that Egyptians and Nubians were the first people to tattoo their bodies. Then, in 1991, a mummy was discovered, dating back to the Bronze Age of about 3,300 B.C. “The Iceman,” as the specimen was dubbed, had several markings on his body, including a cross on the inside of his knee and lines on his ankle and back. It is believed these tattoos were made in a curative effort.
   Being so advance, the Egyptians reportedly spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world. The pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of Egypt developed international nations with Crete, Greece, Persia and Arabia. The art tattooing stretched out all the way to Southeast Asia by 2,000 B.C.. Around the same time, the Japanese became interested in the art but only for its decorative attributes, as opposed to magical ones. The Japanese tattoo artists were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors, perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a whole new angle. During the first millennium A.D., Japan adopted Chinese culture in many aspects and confined tattooing to branding wrongdoers.
   In the Balkans, the Thracians had a different use for the craft. Aristocrats, according to Herodotus, used it to show the world their social status. Although early Europeans dabbled with tattooing, they truly rediscovered the art from when the world exploration of the post-Renaissance made them seek out new cultures. It was their meeting with Polynesian that introduced them to tattooing. The word, in fact is derived from the Polynesian word tattau, which means “to mark.”.
   Most of the early uses of tattoos were ornamental. However, a number of civilizations had practical applications for this craft. The Goths, a tribe of Germanic barbarians famous for pillaging Roman settlements, used tattoos to mark their slaves. Romans did the same with slaves and criminals.
   In Tahiti, tattoos were a rite of passage and told the history of the person’s life. Reaching adulthood, boys got one tattoo to commemorate the event. Men were marked with another style when they got married.
   Later, tattoos became the souvenir of choice for globetrotting sailors. Whenever they would reach an exotic locale, they would get a new tattoo to mark the occasion. A dragon was a famous style that meant the sailor had reached a “China station.” At first, sailors would spend their free time on the ship tattooing themselves and their mates. Soon after, tattoo parlors were set up in the area, surrounding ports worldwide.
   In the middle of the 19th century, police officials believed that half of the criminal underworld in New York City had tattoos. Port areas were renowned for being rough places full of sailors that were guilty of some crime or another. This is most likely how tattoos got such a bad reputation and became associated with rebels and delinquents.

21. According to the passage, tattoos were adopted for all of the following purposes EXCEPT_______
A. To treat the disease.
B. To challenge social mores.
C. To record the footprints of one’s life.
D. To adorn oneself.
22. Tattoo was believed to be created ___________.
A. together with biker gangs and rock ’n’ roll bands
B. in 1991 when a mummy was discovered
C. firstly in Southeast Asia by 2,000 B.C.
D. by Egyptians and Nubians
23. In Japan, tattoos were accepted as ___________.
A. a means of ornament
B. a symbol of magical power
C. a way of communication
D. a sign of success
24. Which of the following statement is true according to the passage?
A. Both China and Japan confined tattooing to marking criminals.
B. Romans used tattoos for decoration.
C. Sailors took tattoos as the gift for their friends and relatives.
D. Tattoo parlors were usually found in downtown areas.
25. Why did tattoos become associated with rebels and delinquents in New York?
A. Because in the middle of the 19th century, criminals were usually tattooed by the government.
B. Because sailors had tattoos and some of the sailors were guilty of some crime or another.
C. Because tattoos were the marks for the members of certain organizations.
D. Because Port authorities required the sailors to wear tattoos.

TEXT D
   Three weeks ago, a story we published put us in the middle of a controversy. It was hardly the first time that has happened, but this instance suggested an opportunity for more than usual colloquy in the letters pages. So for this occasion and others like it, we have revived a section of TIME called Forum, which begins on page 28, concerns our cover subject this week—the Nation of Islam and its leader, Louis Parrakhan.
   The decision to pursue an in-depth investigation of this subject was prompted by the anti-Semitic and otherwise racist speech that Farrakhan's aide, Khallid Muhammad, gave at Kean College in New Jersey. The story was newsworthy in large part because it came just as some mainstream black groups were attempting to form a constructive alliance with Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. News of the speech loosed a flash flood of reportage and commentary on the subject, and at that time we began the kind of weeks-long investigation a cover story like this one requires. At the same time, we published an article on one telling aspect of the larger story: the fact that some black leaders were offended when whites called on them to denounce racism in other black leaders while seeming to ignore offensive remarks by whites—as, for example, Senator Ernest Hoolings, who had some time before made a supposedly joking reference to an African delegation as cannibals. The larger issue was that blacks feel they should be presumed to abhor anti-Semitism and other forms of racism without having to say no, and that they resent the attempt by whites to script their views, behavior or alliances.
   The story raised interesting and important points, and it clearly struck a nerve. The reaction was instantaneous and strong, most of it coming from white and Jewish readers. Some argued that our story was opinion masquerading as fact. Some people, both white and black, said that crediting white pressure for the denunciations of Farrakhan was condescending, that it deprived black leaders of credit for what was simply principled behavior. Some readers also felt that to concentrate on this issue was to minimize or downplay the virulence of Muhammad's speech. And there was a general view among our critics that no amount of good works by the Nation of Islam could justify any black leader's toleration of, not to mention alliance with, such a racist organization.
   The issues raised by the story's critics are important. Still, this much must be said: Muhammad's speech was wholly disreputable and vile, and I believe our story made that clear. Our focus, however, was not on black racism but on the perception of a subtle form of white racism—the sense among some back leaders that, as the story put it, "some whites feel a need to make all black leaders speak out whenever one black says something stupid." That this feeling of grievance exists is not just TIMEs opinion. It is fact.

26. We can infer that the author of the article is_____________ .
A. a reader
B. a critic
C. a racist
D. editor of TIME
27. The purpose of TIME FORUM is_____________ _.
A. to present opinions on issues of importance
B. to carry views on present issues
C. to stir people
D. to cause a sensation
28. This article focuses on the problem of_____________ .
A. racism
B. whites
C. blacks
D. Jews
29. The author's opinion of Muhammad's speech is_____________ .
A. sympathetic
B. favourable
C. unfavourable
D. not known
30. It can be seen that the story published by the TIME aroused_________ reaction among the readers.
A. no
B. immediate and strong
C. slow but strong
D. everlasting and strong

   There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question. Mark your answers on your answer sheet.
31. __________________ does not belong to New England.
A. Maine
B. Vermont
C. New York
D. Rhode Island
32. ________________ is the key conception in Christianity in which the three aspects of the same God are united as one. A. Resurrection
B. Ascension
C. Trinity
D. Holy Spirit
33. The first president in U. S. history who resigned because of a scandal is _____________.
A. Wilson
B. Nixon
C. Jackson
D. Kennedy
34. A traditional food enjoyed by Americans during Thanksgiving Day is ______________________.
A. steam bun
B. roast turkey
C. roast duck
D. fried fish
35. Thoreau’s _______________ is full of eco-wisdom.
A. Nature
B. Self-Reliance
C. Walden
D. Moby Dick
36. __________________ takes London as the setting in most of his novels.
A. Dickens
B. Hardy
C. Thackeray
D. Defoe
37. __________________ is the penname of William Sidney Porter, a famous short-story writer.
A. Mark Twain
B. O. Henry
C. Henry James
D. Stephen Crane
38. __________________ is not a way of word-formation.
A. Derivation
B. Conversion
C. Blending
D. Imitation
39. The smallest linguistic unit that can be used independently is ______________.
A. morpheme
B. phoneme
C. minimal pair
D. word
40. “Daddy” and “Father” are ________________ synonyms.
A. dialectal
B. stylistic
C. emotive
D. semantically different

PART I READING COMPREHENSION
11. B 12. B 13. C 14. D 15. B
16. D 17. B 18. C 19. A 20. B
21. B 22. D 23. A 24. A 25. D
26. B 27. C 28. A 29. C 30. B

PART II GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
31. C 32. C 33. B 34. B 35. C
36. A 37. B 38. D 39.D 40. B