1998年英语专业八级考试真题（附听力mp3及答案）

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　　SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST

　　News Item One (For Questions 11—12)

　　The UN Agency, the World Food Program, says Iraqis facing a food crisis, which is causing enormousdamage to its population, especially its children. Theagency said more and more Iraqis were spendingtheir whole day struggling to find food for survivaland the social fabric of the nation wasdisintegrating. It said that an entire generation ofchildren was being harmed irreparably and thecountry was at a point of no return.

　　WFP says that 60% of Iraq's population, that's 12 million people, are struggling to survivebecause of food shortages. Food for the average family cost the equivalent of $26 a month.The devaluation of the Iraqi dinar means that few can afford this. Levels of severemalnutrition among children under five now can compare with the Sub-Sahara in Africa. Theinfant mortality rate has risen by more than 700% compared with before the Gulf War. Manydonor states say the Baghdad government should take the blame for this because it refusesto raise money for food by selling oil through the UN as the sanction rules allow. WFP is askingfor $122 million dollars to help feed 2 million people, mostly those under five or over seventy.That's double the size of last year's program, although the agency says it's still a fraction ofthe real need. WFP also acknowledges that it's unlikely that governments around the world willrespond fully to this appeal.

　　News Item Two (For Question 13)

　　France and US have signed an accord to share sensitive information on nuclear weapons. USand French officials say the agreement is aimed at maintaining the reliability and safety of thetwo countries' nuclear stockpiles. As part of the accord, the US will share with France itscomputer data on simulated nuclear explosions. Until now, the US data was shared only withBritain. Officials say the agreement will help the two countries maintain their arsenals after theysign a global treaty expected later this year that bans all nuclear testing.

　　News Item Three (For Questions 14—15)

　　The University of Michigan carries out a survey of the drug habits among young people everyyear. And this year it's concluded that the teenage drug use is rapidly getting worse. 25% ofthe teenagers surveyed said they'd used an illegal drug at sometime in their lives, an increasedof 3% from the figures for 1993. Marijuana use is climbing back towards levels not seen sincethe late 197O's. And today's Marijuana is up to ten times more potent than in the past. Cocaineuse, which leveled off in the early 1990's, is also making a comeback among 13 to 15-year-olds.And LSD, which had dropped considerably in the 1980's, is also on the rise. Officials involved inthe survey say the results indicate that young people no longer see drugs as dangerous;instead, the researchers say, they are viewed as glamorous or trendy. The health secretary saidit was time to sound the alarm and the secretary calls for a powerful anti-drug message to besent to children, with parents leading the way.

　　SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING

　　People in Britain speak English with different accents according to where they come from andwhat kind of social status they have or what kind of education they've received, etc. Amongthe various accents, there is one that has achieved a certain eminence. It's called ReceivedPronunciation (RP). And this accent is also generally preferred for teaching English as a foreignlanguage and for reading BBC news bulletins. Why is it so? Let's take a look at how it evolvedover the years, its features, its present status and so forth.

　　Received pronunciation (RP) had its historical origins in a dialect of English spoken particularlyin the region stretching southeast from the Midlands, which is in the central part of England,down towards London, the capital city. The two historical university cities of Cambridge andOxford, though outside this region, are also considered as the place of origin for the dialect.The dialect survived because of its association with centers of power and influence. It wasspoken by the merchant classes of London in the 14th century, for example, and would hadbeen familiar to students attending the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the MiddleAges. Its status as an important dialect was enhanced by its use in government and officialdocuments from about 1430 onwards. More recently, its association since the 19th centurywith public schools helped to achieve special pre-eminence for its distinctive patterns ofpronunciation. So we can see, in the United Kingdom, at least, this accent is usuallyassociated with a higher social or educational background, with the BBC and certainprofessions and it's most commonly taught to students learning English as a foreign language.For many such students, it is the only accent they are prepared to learn and a teacher whodoes not use it may have difficulty in finding a position as a teacher of English in certain non-English speaking countries. Other names for this accent are the Queen's English, Oxford Englishand BBC English. As the accent has lost its former regional affiliations, it is now the most widelyunderstood and spoken of all the accents within the British Isles.

　　So what are the most interesting characteristics of RP? Firstly, a relatively very small numberof speakers who use it do not identify themselves as coming from any particular geographicalregion; secondly, RP is largely confined to England and there it is a non-localized accent;thirdly, RP is a class accent. In England, the higher the social class of the speaker, the less theregional accent, and also the use of local words and grammatical forms.

　　As we have seen, RP, a non-regional accent based on the speech of the great pubic schools,has been accepted as a standard inside England for well over a century. Increasingly, however,there has been a tendency for the accent of educated people in South-Eastern England toreplace strict RP as the standard. RP has lost some of its prestige, as people educated atpublic schools have lost their monopoly of power in education. A considerable part has beenplayed by the great post-war expansion of higher education. Today, the majority of universitystudents are not speakers of RP. Most schoolteachers too, do not use RP, but an educatedregional accent.

　　This is not to say that RP has lost all its magic. It still has a prestige, for example, in thefinancial and banking sectors, among senior government officials and officers of the armedforces. Moreover, since it has been so fully described, it is the accent usually taught toforeigners learning British English. But the public schools are no longer felt to have a monopolyof "correct speech", and the prestige of educated regional speech has risen enormouslyduring the past half-century. Since an educated South-Eastern accent is fairly similar to RP,there is a tendency nowadays for this to be regarded as a standard. It is the accent used, forexample, by many radio and television announcers and presenters. On the other hand, therehas been a rise in the prestige of all regional accents in Britain. And it is probable that we aremoving towards the American position, in which it is normal and acceptable for a speaker touse an educated accent, and there is no supra-regional class accent.

　　TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (1998)GRADE EIGHT

　　PAPER ONE

　　PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (40 MIN)

　　In sections A , B and C, you will hear everything ONCE ONLY, listen carefully and then answerthe questions that follow. Mark the correct response for each question on your Colored AnswerSheet.

　　SECTION A TALK

　　Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you will be given 15seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the talk.

　　1. According to the talk, compulsive gambling and alcoholic addiction share similarities because.

　　A. no actual figure of addicts has been reported

　　B. no scientific studies have yielded effective solutions

　　C. both affect all sectors of society

　　D. both cause serious mental health problems

　　2. The development of the gambling compulsion can be described as being .

　　A. gradual B. slow C. periodic D. radical

　　3. G. A. mentioned in the talk is believed to be a(n) .

　　A. anonymous group B. charity organization

　　C. gamblers' club D. treatment center

　　4. At the end of the talk, the speaker's attitude towards the cure of gambling addiction is

　　A. unclear B. uncertain C. optimistic D. pessimistic

　　5. Throughout the talk, the speaker examines the issue of gambling in a

　　way.

　　A. balanced B. biased C. detached . D. lengthy

　　SECTION B INTERVIEW

　　Questions 6 to 10 are based on an interview with an architect. At the end of the interviewyou will be given 13 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to theinterview.

　　6. What strikes the woman most about the male robber is his .

　　A. clothes B. age C. physique D. appearance

　　7. The most detailed information about the woman robber is her .

　　A. manners B. talkativeness C. height D. jewelry

　　8. The interview is believed to be a bank .

　　A. receptionist B. manager C. customer D. cashier

　　9. Which of the following about the two robbers is NOT true?

　　A. Both were wearing dark sweaters. B. Neither was wearing glasses.

　　C. Both were about the same age. D. One of them was marked by a scar.

　　10. After the incident the interviewee sounded .

　　A. calm and quiet B. nervous and numb

　　C. timid and confused D. shocked and angry

　　SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST

　　Questions 11 to 12 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will begiven 30 seconds to answer the two questions. Now listen to the news.

　　11. According to the news, the enormous food shortage in Iraq has the most damaging effecton its ____ .

　　A. national economy B. adult population

　　C. young children D. national currency

　　12. The WFP is appealing to donor nations to .

　　A. double last year's food-aid

　　B. raise $122 million for Iraqi people

　　C. provide each Iraqi family with $26 a month

　　D. help Iraq's 12 million population

　　Question 13 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 15seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.

　　13. As s result of the agreement, the two countries' arsenals are to be ____ .

　　A. upgraded in reliability and safety

　　B. reduced in size and number

　　C. dismantled partly later this year

　　D. maintained in their present conditions

　　Questions 14 to 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will begiven 30 seconds to answer the two questions. Now listen to the news.

　　14. We can infer from the news that of teenagers under survey in 1993 were drug users.

　　A. 28% B. 22% C. 25% D. 21%

　　15. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

　　A. Parents are asked to join in the anti-drug efforts.

　　B. The use of both cocaine and LSD are on the increase.

　　C. Teenagers hold a different view of drugs today.

　　D. Marijuana is as powerful as it used to be.

　　SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING

　　In this section you will hear a mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the lecture, take noteson the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a15-minute gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE after the mini-lecture. Use the blank paperfor note-taking. Fill in each of the gaps with one word. You may refer to your notes. Make surethe word you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable.

　　The Rise of RP

　　Historical reasons

　　Received Pronunciation (RP) was originally associated with a (1)

　　spoken in the region between central England and London, including Oxford and Cambridge.

　　Its survival was due to its use by the (2) in the 14th century and by

　　university students in the (3) Ages.

　　Its rise in importance resulted from its application in government and official documents.

　　The prestige of its (4) pattern of pronunciation came about with its

　　use in (5)_____ schools in the 19th century.

　　As a result, its ( 6 ) is accepted by television and the radio, the

　　professions and teaching English as a foreign language.

　　Three characteristics of RP