2001年英语专八阅读真题

　　TEXT I

　　First read the questions.?

　　35. According to the census prediction, the average male Americans will b e expected to liveup to ___ years of age by 2050.?

　　A.73.3 B.75.1 C.81.3 D. 83.6?

　　36. Crime experts predict that in the near future crime rates will first decrease in ___.

　　A. South and Southwest B. North and Northeast? C. Southwest and Midwest D. Northeast andMidwest

　　Now go through TEXT I quickly to answer questions 35 & 36.?

　　If past is prologue, then it ought to be possible to draw some modest concl usions about thefuture from the wealth of data about America’s present. Will t h e rate continue to fall? Willsingle-person households actually swamp the tradit ional family??

　　All projections, of course, must be viewed with a healthy dose of skeptici sm. Nonetheless, theurge to make sense of what lies ahead is inescapable. After the 1980 census, the CensusBureau decided for the first time to venture some f orecasts of its own for the decades tocome. Working from what America already k nows about itself, the bureau’s experts and otherdemographers offer an irresis tible, if clouded, crystal ball among their visions.?

　　According to the census projections, female life expectancy will increase from 78.3 years in1981 to 81.3 in the year 2005. The life expectancy of America n men will grow from 70.7 forbabies born in 1981 to 73.3 years in 2005.And by t he year 2050, women will have a lifeexpectancy of 83.6 years and men of at leas t 75.1. ?

　　Annual population growth will slow to almost nothing by 2050. In fact, the Census Bureaupredicts that the rate of natural increase will be negative after 2035; only continuingimmigration will keep it growing after that. The total pop ulation will be 268 million in 2000 and309 million—an all-time high—in 2050. After that, it will start to decline.?

　　The American population will grow steadily older. From 11.4 percent in 198 1, the proportionof the population that is 65 and over will grow to 13.1 percen t in 2000 and 21.7 percent in2050. The percentage of the population that lives beyond the age of 85 will mere thanquintuple over the same period. Meanwhile th e median age—30.3 in 1981— will rise to 36.3 by2000 and 41.6 50 years later.

　　? When it comes to the quality of life, more prognosticators are fairly cauti ous. John Hopkinssociologist Andrew Cherlin observes that “as we enter the 198 0 s, the pace of change appearsto have slowed.” For the next few decades, he pre d icts, there may be only modest swings inthe marriage, birth and divorce rates—giving society time to adjust to the new patterns thathave formed in recent y ears. “We are in a plateau in our family patterns that will likely lastawhile, ”Cherlin maintains. Crime expert Alfred Blumstein, who foresees a drop in crime over thecoming decade, predicts that the Northeast and Midwest, with stable but aging populations,will see the falloff first; for the South and Southwest, wit h their large proportions of youngerpeople, the improvement will come less quic kly.?

　　TEXT J

　　First read the questions.?

　　37. The formal diplomatic relations between China and the United States w ere established on___.?

　　A. February 28,1972 B. January 28,1979? C. December 16,1978 D. January 1,1979

　　38. The Five Principles for the establishment of a new type of Sino -US r elationship were putforward by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in ___.?

　　A. Seattle B. Jakarta ?C. Manila D. New York

　　Now go through TEXT J quickly to answer questions 37 & 38.?

　　The following is a list of some of the major events in Sino-US relations fr om February 1972 toMay 1998.?

　　February 21 — 28, 1972 : The US President Richard Nixon paid an official vi sit to China, duringwhich a Sino-US joint communique was issued in Shanghai.?

　　May 1, 1973 : The liaison offices set up by China and the US in each other’ s capital startedfunctioning.?

　　December 16, 1978 : China and the US issued a joint communique which called for theestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on Janua ry 1,1979.?

　　January 1, 1979 : China and the US formally established diplomatic ties.?

　　January 28—February 5,1979 : Then Chinese vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping paid a n official visit tothe US, during which two agreements were signed on scientifi c , technological and cultural co-operation between the two countries.?

　　August 17, 1982 : The Chinese and the US governments issued a joint communiq ue underwhich the US promised to gradually reduce its sales of weapons to Taiwa n until the completesettlement of the problem.?

　　April 26—May 1, 1984 : Then US President Ronald Reagan visited China, durin g which the twocountries signed four agreements on avoiding double-taxation and tax evasion and initiatedan agreement on co-operation on the peaceful use of n uclear energy.?

　　July 23 —31, 1985 :Then Chinese President Li Xiannian visited the US, the first visit by aChinese head of state since the founding of the People’s Repub lic of China in 1949.?

　　February 25 — 6, 1989 : Then US President George Bush paid a working visit to China.?November 19, 1993 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin held talks with US Preside nt Bill Clintonduring the informal Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) le adership meeting in Seattle.?

　　November 14, 1994 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin, on the sidelines of atten ding an informalAPEC leadership meeting in Bogor, met US President Bill Clinton in Jakarta and put forward theFive Principles for the establishment of a new t ype of Sino-US relationship.? October 24, 1995 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin met US President Bill Clin ton in New York while attending thespecial conference held for marking the 50a anniversary of the founding of the UnitedNations.?

　　November 24, 1996 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin met US President Bill Cli nton at aninformal APEC leadership meeting in Manila.?

　　February 24, 1997 : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited China.

　　October 26—November 3, 1997 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state v isit to the US,the first by a Chinese president in 12 years. A joint communique , issued on October 29, calledon the two countries to strengthen co-operation a nd strive for the establishment of aconstructive strategic partnership oriented to the 21(th) century, in a bid to promote worldpeace and development.?

　　March 14, 1998 : The US declared that the US-Chinese Agreement on Co-operat ion on thePeaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, which had been dormant for 13 years, could now come intoeffect.?

　　April 29—May 1, 1998 : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Ch ina. An agreementwas signed between the two countries on the establishment of a direct secure telephone link.?

　　TEXT K

　　First read the questions.?

　　39. Whose works would you most probably choose to read if you were intere sted in satire?A.Alexander Pope. B. Oliver Goldsmith.? C. R. B. Sheridan. D.W.M. Thackeray.? 40. Which of thefollowing writers was a Nobel-Prize winner??

　　A. Alexander Pope. B. John Galsworthy.? C. Thomas Hardy. D.W.M. Thackeray.?

　　Now go through TEXT K quickly to answer questions 39 & 40.?

　　JOHN GALSWORTHY ( 1867 — 1933) Although John Galsworthy wrote many good p lays, it isas a novelist and creator of the Forsyte family that he is best reme mbered. The whole progressand background of the Forsyte family over a period of forty years is told with great skill andcharm in a series of novels. Galsworth y was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.?

　　OLIVER GOLDSMITH ( 1728 — 1774) Born and educated in Ireland, Oliver Gold smith travelledwidely in his earlier years and the knowledge and experience he accumulated were later put togood use. He arrived in London where he made the a cquaintance of Samuel Johnson, whohelped him sell a short novel, The Vicar of W akerfield. His drama She Stoops to Conquer,produced in 1773, was a great succes s.?

　　THOMAS HARDY ( 1840 — 1928) The wild heaths of mid-Dorset are Thomas Hardy country; hewas born here, the Wessex of his novels. Hardy’s impressions of th e countryside and of naturewere the staple of much of his writing. Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, The Return of the Native andFar from the Madding Crowd are his best-known books. Hardy is also remembered for hispoetry and drama.?

　　ALEXANDER POPE (1688- 1744) Alexander Pope, poet and satirist, was born in the City ofLondon. He was largely self-educated and at an early age showed the satirical skill and metricalingenuity on which much of the fame rests. The Rape of the Lock, published in1712,established Pope’s reputation .He occupies a hi gh place among English poets.?

　　R. B. SHERIDAN (1751 - 1816) Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist and poli tician, was born inIreland but educated in England. Although at first unsuccess ful, when Sheridan came toLondon he made his name as the writer of such comedie s as The Rivals, The School for Scandaland The Critic, which brilliantly expose d the intellectual and social pretensions of the time.These place Sheridan in t he forefront of the great English dramatists. He also shone as anorator in Parl iament.

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