专业英语八级-阅读理解(十二)

1、专业英语八级-阅读理解（十二）（ 总分： 98.98 ，做题时间： 90 分钟 ）一、 BREADING COMPREHENSION/B（ 总题数： 0，分数： 0.00）二、 BTEXT A/B（ 总题数： 1，分数： 29.00）The economy stopped shrinking a year ago, but Americas unemployment problem isas big as ever. The official jobless rate was 9.5% in July, and would be higher still hadmanypeople not g

2、iven up searching for work. Some45%of the unemployed have beenout of a job for more than six monthsthe highest proportion since the 1930s. Andjudging by the recent rise in applications for unemployment benefits, the situation maysoon get worse rather than better.Whyis joblessness still so high? The

3、prevailing view amongpolicymakers is thatunemployment is a painful reflection of the economys weakness.Americans are out of work because the slump was deep and the recovery has beenlackluster. Stronger demand will eventually solve the problem.The main point of contention is whether policymakers shou

4、ld try to speed up thatprocess with yet more fiscal or monetary stimulus. On the congressional campaigntrail Republicans tout high unemployment as proof that stimulus has failed, whileDemocrats, though they dare not use the S word, argue that more must be done toprop up growth. At their annual gathe

5、ring in Jackson Hole this week, Federal Reserveofficials are chewing over when and how the Fed might try to boost the feeble jobsmarket by printing more money to buy government bonds.This focus on stimulus is understandable. Americas economy is still operating wellbelow its potential and there is li

6、ttle doubt that most of the rise in unemployment is thedirect result of this. But unemployment is high for other reasons tooones largelyneglected in the currentdebate. Thanks to the scale and nature of the housing and financial bust, the labourmarket has almost certainly becomeless efficient at matc

7、hing the supply of jobseekerswith the demand for workers.People saddled with mortgages worth more than their homes are less able to move inpursuit of new jobs. The skills of those out of workdisproportionately low- and medium-skilled men in construction and manufacturingmay not be those that employe

8、rs now need. Extensions of unemployment insuranceby Congress have been necessary but have also reduced incentives to seek workquickly. And long periods of joblessnessA. many unemployed people gave up finding jobs.in themselves makepeople less employable. All this erodes Americas famedflexibility.If

9、Americas labour market is less efficient,the countrys structuralor natural rate of un employme ntwill be higher. The IMF now reck ons itmay have risen from 5% before the crisis to 6-6.75%. If so, around one-third of the risein Americas joblessness is impervious to the bus in ess cycle and cannot be

10、solved byboosti ng dema nd. That possibility suggests that the debate over more stimulus isimportant, but insufficient. America n eeds a more comprehe nsive strategy to combatjobless ness. But what exactly should it in clude? Much of what econo mists knowabout structural un employme nt has bee n gle

11、a ned from the sorry history of con ti nental Europe, where fat ben efits and rigid firing rules dulled labour-market efficiency.That experienee mostly offers pointers to what not to do, from adding to employersregulatory burdens to letting the Ion g-term jobless shift to the disability rolls.Gettin

12、g the to-do list right is trickier, not least because misguided meddli ng couldmake un employme nt worse. But two ave nues seem worth pursuing. The first is amore determined effort to help those trapped in negative equity to restructure themortgages on their homesan area where the Obama administrati

13、on has beennotably timid. The dire figures for house sales duri ng July, released this week, showhow urge nt this is. Legal cha nges, such as a revisi on to the ban kruptcy code thatallowed .judges to reduce mortgage debt, could help. The sec ond line of attack is tooverhaul schemesthat help workers

14、 retrain and encourage them to search for work.That need not meanmore spending (though America does spend a lot less than otherrich countries on such active labour-market policies). The bigger problem is thatexisting schemesare fragmented and ofte n in effective.The speed of the recovery will still

15、be the main in flue nee on the jobless rate. But if achunk of Americas unemployment is structural, its policymakers n eed urge ntly to think bey ond stimulus measures, and also to adopt more targeted policies to help themillio ns stuck in the wrong place with the wrong skills. Otherwise, eve n a ret

16、urn tobrisk econo mic growth (somethi ng that scarcely looks likely right now) will not be enough to rescue them from the breadline.(分数：28.98 )(l).According to paragraph 1, the following statements are true EXCEPTB. many people have been out of work for more than six months.C. more people are applyi

17、ng for unemployment insurance.D. the official jobless rate has been at its lowest since last year.（分数:4.83 ）A.B.C.D.V解析：解析事实细节题。文章第一句话提到虽然美国的经济一年前开始复苏，但美国的失业问题却和以 前一样严峻，所以不能判断美国现在的失业率是一年以来的最低水平，所以选D。根据第一段第二句，七月份时，美国官方统计的失业率是9.5%，而且如果不是有很多人放弃寻找工作，这个数字可能会更高，言外之意就是因为很多美国人不再继续寻找工作，美国失业率才能维持在9.5%，选项 A 符合

18、原文，不是答案。第一段第三句提到美国持续六个月以上的失业人口占全部失业人口的45%达到自 20 世纪 30 年代以来的最高水平，所以 B 符合原文，不是答案。第一段第四句的大意是，根据最近申请失业救济金的人数增加来 判断，美国失业问题还将进一步恶化，C 也符合原文所述，排除。（2） .We can conclude from paragraph 3 that Republicans and Democrats*A. disagree on what to do next if stimulus plan fails.B. reach consensus on the inefficiency

19、of the present stimulus plan.*C. decide to speed up the recovery with more stimulus plan. D. discuss the details of stimulus plan to enhance its function.（分数:4.83 ）A.B.VC.D.解析：解析推理判断题。文章第三段前两句的意思是，争论的焦点在于决策者是否应该通过更多的刺激 计划加快经济复苏。共和党人认为失业率居高不下证明了刺激方案的失败，而民主党人则认为需要更多的 刺激方案促进复苏，由此可以推断无论是民主党还是共和党，都觉得现有的刺

20、激方案不够高效，即B 是答案。共和党人认为刺激方案是失败的，民主党人似乎并不这么认为，所以也就谈不上两党对刺激方案失败 后应如何解决高失业率问题存在异议，排除A。选项 C 的内容只是民主党单方面的决定，不是共和党的决策，排除。选项 D “讨论刺激方案细节，使其发挥更大作用”在原文没有提及。（3） .Which of the following is NOTa reason for the low efficiency of the labour market at matching supply ofjobseekers with the demand for workers?*A. Skil

21、ls of jobseekers do not match demands of employers.*B. People with unemployment insurance are not eager to find jobs.*C. People become less movable burdened with home loans.*D. People out of work for long do not want to go back to work.（分数:4.83 ）A.B.C.D.V解析：解析事实细节题。第四段最后一句提到，由于房市和金融市场疲软的规模和特点，劳动力市场无

22、 法高效地配置供求双方资源。第五段具体阐明了劳动力市场低效的原因，第五段第一句说人们买房负债，无法到别处去寻找工作，即选项C。第二句谈到失业人员掌握的技术也与目前市场的要求不符，即选项Ao第三句说国会延长失业保险的期限，失业者并不急于找工作，即选项Bo所以 A、B、C 都是劳动力市场效率低下的原因，排除。第五段倒数第二句提到长期处于失业状态会让求职者更难胜任工作，意思是客观上 失业时间越久，就业技能越生疏，就越难找到工作，而不是D 所说的因为失业时间长，主观上就不想再找工作了，所以 D 是本题答案。(4) .Which of the following is closest in meanin

23、g to impervious? (Line 4, Para.6)C.A. Unaffected (by).B. Caused (by). C. Stimulated (by). D. Explained (by).(分数:4.83 )A.VB.C.D.解析：解析语义理解题。根据第六段前两句话，美国劳动力市场的低效直接导致其结构或自然失业率。 国际货币基金组织目前估计，美国失业率在经济危机之前就已经由5%上升至 6%-6.75%。紧接着第三句说，如果是这样，美国部分的失业增长和商业周期(即经济危机)没有关系，因此无法通过刺激需求来解决。所以 A “不受影响”是正确答案。(5) .To help

24、 people trapped in negative equity, it is advisable A. they be allowed to sell their homes to the banks.B. they be guaranteed work opportunities to pay their debtsC. they be encouraged to move to places where they can find jobs.D. they be permitted to pay less to the bank.(分数:4.83 )A.B.C.D.V解析：解析推理判

25、断题。根据第七段第三句，政府要帮助那些身陷“负产权”的人重构他们的住房贷款； 然后第五句举例说明，修改法律也许会有用，比如修订破产法让法官有权缩减债务人的抵押债务，换言之 就是减少他们的债务，使他们不必要还银行那么多钱，即D,而不是把他们的房卖给银行，排除A。虽然第五段在讲到美国劳动力市场低效的原因时谈到这些购房者没法到外地找工怍，但在提到解决方式时，并没 有说要鼓励他们到外地去找工作，排除Co选项 B 在文中没有提到。(6) .Which category of writing does the review belong to?*A. Narration.*B. Description.*

26、C. Persuasion.*D. Exposition.（分数：4.83 ）A.B.D.V解析： 解析 文章体裁题。本文围绕美国的高失业率问题，分析了其根源是美国劳动力市场资源配置效率 低下，而不是完全由经济危机造成的，有两种途径解决这一问题，一是减轻因为购房而深陷负资产的美国 人的负担；二是对失业者进行再培训性高其就业率。所以本文可看作问题解决型说明文，选D。三、 BTEXT B/B（ 总题数： 1，分数： 20.00）Whenyou carry a cell phone, it is constantly sending signals about where you are. Itpi

27、ngs nearby cellphone towers about every seven seconds so it can be ready tomakeand receive calls. Whenit does, the phone is also telling the company that ownsthe towers where you are at that momentdata the company then stores awayindefinitely. There is also a second kind of locational data that phon

28、e companies have,thanks to a GPS chip that is embedded in most smart phones now. This is even moreaccurateunlike the towers, which can only pinpoint a general area where you maybe. GPScan often reveal exactly where you are at any given momentwithin a matter ofmeters.There are some good reasons for t

29、his, which is why the government is actually forcingthe phone companies to do a better job of knowing where you are. In the name ofimproving emergency services, the Federal Communications Commission will requirephone companies to meet benchmarks for how closely they can pinpoint a callerslocation.No

30、t surprisingly, law enforcement has found this sort of data extremely bandy.Prosecutors are increasingly using cellphone records to show that a suspect was nearthe scene of a crimeor not where he claimed to be. The federal governmentsposition is that it should be able to get most of this data if it

31、decides it is relevant to aninvestigation, with no need for a search warrant. If the government needs a warrant, itwould have to show a judge evidence that there was probable cause to believe that thecellphone user committed a crimean important level of protection. Without thisrequirement, the gover

32、nment can get locational data pretty much anytime it wants.It is not hard to imagine that the government could also one day use cell-phone data tostifle dissent. Cellphone records could tell them who attended an antigovernment rally.It could also tell them who is going into the opposition partys hea

33、dquarters or into thehomeof someonethey have questions about. Cellphone data may be the most efficientway ever invented for a government to spy on its peoplesince people are plantingthe devices on themselves and even paying the monthly bills. The KGBnever hadanything like it.And, in deed, the U.S. g

34、over nment already appears to be sweep ing up a lot of datafrom completely innocent people. The ACLUTecently told Congress of a case in which,while looking for data on a suspect, the FBI apparently used a drag net approach andtook data on ano ther 180 people. The FBI has said that if it does happen

35、to gather dataon innocent people in the course of con duct ing an inv estigatio n, it keeps that informatio nfor as long as20 years.(分数：20.00)(1) .According to paragraph 1, the phone companies can A. know your position by sending signals to your phones.*B. tell the general area you are in but not th

36、e specific place. C. track your whereabouts by detecting the signals of your phones. D. store your locational information to sell for money.(分数：5.00 )A.B.C.VD.解析：解析推理判断题。文章第一段大意是，手机需要每隔7 秒向发射塔发射脉冲信号，这样才能正常接打电话。在手机发射信号的同时，电话公司可以判断出机主的位置。而且现在大多数智能手机都装有GPS芯片，因此电话公司还能知道机主所在的精确位置。综上所述，也就是说电话公司可以根据手机信号跟踪

37、机主的下落，所以 C 是答案。用户的手机向发射塔发射信号，而不是电话公司发射信号，所以A 错误。第一段后半部分提到因为 GPS 存在，电话公司可以知道手机用户所在的精确位置，所以排除B 第一段第三句破折号后虽然提到电话公司会将机主的位置信息、永久保存，但没有提到要把这些信息拿去卖钱，所以 选项 D 的错误在于 to sell for money 。(2) .The government believes using data gained from cell-phone records is A. convenient to locate the suspect when the crime

38、happens.*B. illegal without applying for a warrant. C. justified when involving a serious crime.*D. efficient to find out peoples political opinions.(分数：5.00 )A.VB.C.D.解析：解析推理判断题。根据第三段第二句可知，公诉人正在越来越多地利用这些定位数据来调查嫌疑 人是否在案发时岀现在案发现场附近。根据第四段第一句，联邦政府的立场是：如果确认这些数据有助于 案件的调查，那么他们就应该有权充分利用这些数据，综合来看，政府的态度是，这些数

39、据为调查嫌疑人 在案发时是否岀现在案发现场附近提供证据，所以A 正确。第四段第一句最后提到，政府觉得没必要非得申请搜查证，排除 B。根据第四段第一句，只要和调查有关就可以随意使用这些定位数据，而不是C 所说的有严重犯罪时，故排除。文章第五段提到这些数据的另外一个可能的用途就是监视民众行踪，消灭政治 异己，但这段是作者根据政府的逻辑进行的推测，是一种讥讽，并不是事实，所以排除Do(3) .Which of the following statements conveys the authors irony? A. It pings nearby cell-phone towers about e

40、very seven seconds. (Para.1) B. .will require phone companies to meet benchmarks for how closely they can pinpointa callers location. (Para.2) C. Without this requirement, the government can get locational data pretty much anytimeit wants. (Para.4) D. .since people are planting the devices on themse

41、lves and even paying the monthlybills. (Para.5)(分数：5.00 )A.B.C.D.V解析：解析修辞格题。第五段最后一句意思是，手机记录可能是有史以来政府监视民众最有效的方法了因为民众自愿把这玩意儿带在身上，而且还每月都缴费。可以明显感觉到作者的讥讽，所以 D 为答案。(4).FBI is mentioned as an example to A. illustrate the process of FBI to investigate into a case.B. prove how the people are spied on by thei

42、r government. C. rationalize FBIs access to the locational data from cellphones. D. show how the locational data from cellphones are abused.(分数：5.00)A.B.C.D.V解析：解析推理判断题。文章第四段谈到政府不顾民众隐私，随意调取手机用户的定位数据。第五段用 讥讽的口气继续预测，这样下去，政府下一步就是利用这些数据监视民众，消除异己了。文章最后一段第 一句承上启下，indeed 表明和上段差不多的事情已经发生了，那就是说FBI 为了寻找一名嫌犯的数

43、据，不惜撒网筛选了 180 位民众的数据。不难推断，最后一段作者是在批评FBI 对这些数据的滥用，所以 D 是答案,同时可以排除 Co阐明 FBI 调查案件的过程并非提到FBI 的目的，排除 Ao选项 B 说的是第五段的内容，这段并没有证据证明其已经发生，而只是作者的预测。四、BTEXT C/B(总题数：1,分数：25.00)Last mon th, AmericasNati onal Law Journal told its readers thatemployment lawyers are warning lovestruck co-workers to take precautions

44、 in theoffice before lockinglips outside. The advice came too late forHarry Ston ecipher. The boss of Boe ing was forced to resig n last weeke nd for reasons that will strike many outsiders as absurdafter his board were told of an affairthat the 68-year-old married manhad bee n con duct ing with a f

45、emale employee whodid not report directly to him.Inevitably, asthe week rolled on, details of the affair rolled out. Theother party was reported to be Debra Peabody, who is unm arried and has worked forBoeing for 25 years. The couple were said to have first got together at Boeings annualretreat at P

46、alm Desert, California in January.After that much of the affair must have been conducted from a distance:Mr Stoneciphers office is at Boeings headquarters in Chicago; MsPeabody runs thefirms government-relations office in Washington, DC. They exchanged e-mails, itseems, as office lovers tend to do t

47、hesedays, andtherein probably lay Mr Stoneciphers downfall.Lewis Platt, Boeings chairman, said that Mr Stonecipher broke a company rule thatsays: Employees will not engage in conduct or activity that mayraise questions as tothe companys honesty, impartiality, reputation or otherwise cause embarrassm

48、ent tothe company. Having an affair with a fellow employee is not, of itself, against companyrules; causing embarrassment to Boeing is. It seems that the board judged that thecontents of the lovers e-mails would have been bad for Boeing had they been madepublic. Gone are the days when a board consid

49、ered such matters none of its business,as Citibanks did in 1991 when its boss, John Reed, became the talk of Wall Street forhaving an affair with a stewardess on Citis corporate jet.At Boeing, a whistleblower is said to have forwarded the messages to Mr Platt. Ingeneral, e-mails are encrypted and no

50、t accessible to anyone who does not know thesenders password. But many firms install software designed to search electroniccommunications for key words such as sex and CEO. A study last year of 840American firms by the American Management Association found that 60% of themcheck external e-mails (inc

51、oming and outgoing), while 27% scrutinize internalmessages between employees. Sweet nothings whispered by the water cooler maytravel less far these days than electronic billets doux.Boeing is particularly sensitive to embarrassment at the moment. Mr Stonecipher wasrecalled from retirement only 15 mo

52、nths ago, after the companys previous boss, PhilCondit, and its chief financial officer, Michael Sears, had left in the wake of a scandalinvolving an illegal job offer to a Pentagon official.Mr Stonecipher, a crusty former number two at Boeing, was brought back specificallyto raise the companys ethi

53、cal standards and to help it be seen in its main (andaffectedly puritanical) market, in Washington, DC, as squeaky clean. Verbally explicitextra-marital affairs are inconsistent with such a strategy, it seems, though they are notyet enough to bring down future kings of England.In corporate life, suc

54、h affairs are hardly unusual. Onesurvey found thaton e-quarter of all Io ng-tern relati on ships start at work; ano ther foundthat over 40%of executives say they have been invoIved in an affair with a colleague,and that in half of these cases one or other party was married at the time. Many a bossha

55、s married his assistantand lived happily everafter.Boeing apparently used to accept this: Mr Condits fourth wife wasa colleague before they married.(分数：25.00)(1) .Mr Stonecipher had to leave his job becauseA. the strike that happened in his company was absurd to outsiders.B. he shouldnt be involved

56、in an affair after he got married. C. his behaviour has caused big economic loss to the Boeing company. D. the board found his affair leading to embarrassment to Boeing.(分数：5.00 )A.B.C.D.V解析：解析事实细节题。文章前两段是对Harry Stonecipher 事件的描述，并未说明其不得不辞职的原因。答案可以从第三段第三句找出，第二个 that 引导的宾语从句表明了Harry Stonecipher 不得不辞职

57、的原因，答案为 D。文中并未提到有关罢工的问题，A 错误；B 没有说明原因；C 中 has caused big economicloss 属于推断过度，原文提到波音公司认为可能会产生不好的影响。(2) .The author seems to believe thatA. Mr Stoneciphers downfall had to do with the exchange of love e-mails.*B. Mr Stoneciphers affair has become the public laughing stock.C. Mr Stouecipher should have

58、 paid more attention to the lawyers advice.*D. Mr Stonecipher had an affair because he did not have a happy marriage.(分数：5.00 )A.VB.C.D.解析：解析事实细节题。A 是对第二段最后一句的同义转述，故为答案。Harry Stonecipher 事件只是引起了公众的关注，并非 laughing stock ，B 错误；C 是对首段笫二句的错误理解；D 原文未提及。(3) .The word whistleblower (Line 1, Para.4) most pro

59、bably refers to a person who*A. likes finding secret affairs.*B. discloses secrets to others.*C. blows the whistle as a job.*D. forwards messages to people.(分数：5.00 )A.B.VC.D.解析：解析语义理解题。从原文第四段第一句have forwarded the messages to 找同义选项，只有 B最符合题意。A “喜欢探寻秘密的事情”不太确切；C “以揭发作为本职工作”夸大其辞；D “传递信息”只是单纯的借用，并未能精确传

60、达whistleblower的意义。（4） .Which of the following is true according to the passage? A. Mr Stonecipher had worked for Boeing for only 15 months when he resigned. B. The previous boss of Boeing also had an office affair before he was fired. C. Boeing company makes great efforts to maintain its ethical sta