1、专业英语八级（阅读）-试卷142及答案解析 (总分：44.00，做题时间：90分钟)一、READING COMPREHENSIO(总题数：11，分数：44.00)1.PART II READING COMPREHENSION_2.SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONSIn this section there are several passages followed by fourteen multiple-choice questions. For each multiple-choice question, there are four suggested
2、 answers marked A , B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer._Lake Trummen in southern Sweden used to be a polluted, weed-choked mess. Now, after a $14 million cleanup, bathers crowd its clear blue water in summer. Vaxjo, a city of 80,000 that sits on its shores, is vying to be t
3、he most environmentally pristine place in Sweden. The towns car fleet is being converted to biogas, a clean fuel based on methane, and a new biofuel factory has created 320 jobs. Vaxjo has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by a third over the past 15 years, and the town even channels leftover heat fr
4、om the local crematorium into homes. Swedish business and political leaders think places like Vaxjo are on to something. A few decades ago the country led the world in developing mobile technology through companies such as Ericsson. Now, with telecom sales flattening, business and political leaders
5、think green technology could spark a new export boomcrucial to Sweden, where exports account for more than half of gross domestic product. There is huge demand around the world for this technology, says Anders Brannstrom, president of Volvo Technology Transfer, a subsidiary of truck and bus maker Vo
6、lvo that has invested about $20 million in clean tech companies. While Denmark has wind power giant Vestas and Germany has a host of big outfits such as Q-Cells that make solar cells and panels, Swedens clean tech sector is made up mostly of smaller companies. In Vaxjo, for instance, IV Produkt make
7、s energy-efficient ventilation systems it exports to 15 countries, from Belgium to Ukraine. The company says the systems mean energy savings of 80%, paying for themselves in about two years. Some 30% of IVs $38.6 million in revenues came from exports last year, a number that is likely to hit 50% by
8、2012, says sales manager Bjorn Fredriksson. In a Bauhaus-like suburban research park outside Stockholm, a startup called TranSIC is designing computer chips for the power systems of hybrid vehicles. And deep in the pine forests of Boden near the Arctic Circle, Swebo Bioenergy makes systems to burn m
9、anure and wood chips for heat. The company, with close to $8 million in annual sales, says it is deluged with orders from the U. S. and Europe. This is going like a steamroller, says export manager Mattias Lindgren. Sweden boasts some 3,500 clean tech companies that together book roughly $14 billion
10、 in revenues. Exports, which make up about a quarter of their overall sales, have grown 75% over the last four years. To further boost the industry, the government is earmarking $590 million for environmental projects over the next two years, including $180 million to commercialize green tech. None
11、other than King Carl XVI Gustav has become the green industrys biggest promoter and fan: He heats his suburban Drottningholm Palace with wood pellets and drives himself to and from Stockholm in a dark blue Volvo C30 station wagon that runs on biofuel. Where possible, light bulbs in the royal residen
12、ces are being replaced with the energy-saving variety. He also has a prototype car that runs on hydrogen. The 62-year-old king, whose environmental activism goes back to his Boy Scout days, is also taking to the road to pitch Swedish green business. He recently broke ground on a plant that Swedish B
13、iogas International is building in Flint, Mich. Mother Earth is not feeling well, the king says, and shes reacting. Green projects such as the biogas plant are one way to help repair the damage. The king also sees Swedish exports and the environment as natural partners. Were a small country, so were
14、 dependent on exports. And weve always lived in a clean environment, close to nature. He admits change isnt easy but says, We have to think in the long term, not short term as we have before, but still make this happen quickly. I try to change my own thinking. We have to make this happen and not jus
15、t discuss it. I dont like discussions. And in an interview with Business Week, he gently chides one reporter for flying to Stockholm to talk instead of picking up the phone.（分数：8.00）(1).According to the passage, the development of green technology has resulted in the following changes in Vaxjo EXCEP
16、T_.（分数：2.00）A.creation of additional jobsB.improvement of environmental profileC.growth of energy demandD.better energy efficiency(2).Which of the following does NOT provide incentive for the growth of clean tech industry in Sweden?（分数：2.00）A.Funding from government.B.Tremendous customer demand.C.Su
17、ccessful examples of giant companies.D.Shift in the telecom industry.(3).From the description in the passage, we can learn that_.（分数：2.00）A.the Swedish king felt offended by the reporters questionsB.the Swedish king used to work for a green tech companyC.the Swedish kings duties are mainly of a repr
18、esentative and ceremonial natureD.the Swedish king is known for a long-time interest in environmental issues(4).A suitable title for the passage would be_.（分数：2.00）A.Swedens Green Role Model CityB.Sweden Puts Its Bets on Green TechC.The Application of Green Tech in SwedenD.The King of SwedenAn Envir
19、onmental ActivistThey helped fleeing Romans evade Attila the Hun and held a glittering city aloft for more than 1,500 years. But the wooden pilings rising out of the Grand Canal in Venice are so decayed that as we clung to them one afternoon it wasnt at all clear whether they would be sturdy enough
20、to prevent us from capsizing into its murky waters. It was rush hour in Venice, so the canals usual tumult of crosscurrents and tides was churning with the wake of water taxis, ferries and delivery boats. Each volley of waves slapped against the side of the inflatable kayak we were using to cross It
21、alys most storied waterway; the pilings were our best chance to avoid being immersed in it. This probably wasnt quite what my girlfriend had in mind when we first started thinking about a trip to Venice. After scouring guidebooks, we found that the logical thing seemed to be to move about the city l
22、ike other tourists-, by foot, water bus and the occasional overpriced gondola ride. But as novice canoers, we were intrigued by the thought of exploring the waterways ourselves. We spent hours researching where and how to rent a small craft in Venice but found that the combination of Italian bureauc
23、racy and the mighty gondolier lobby has made it virtually impossible. Our solution? An inflatable kayak thats portable enough to check as luggage yet sturdy enough to hold 500 pounds and withstand the rigors of Class II rapids. Getting it there was easy because it weighs just32 pounds and tucks into
24、 a suitcase-sized tote bag (along with a foot pump). And it was surprisingly affordable: our two-person kayak, by West Marine, retails for $699, but we found one brand-new on eBay for $163.44, about the price of a 45-minute gondola ride. Paddling the canals offers a visceral way to appreciate Venice
25、s mythic waters. On a purely practical level, its a lot easier to get lost walking Venice, with its twisting passageways and thousands of alleys, than to maneuver through its 200 easily navigable canals. The water also offers easier access to some of the citys overlooked neighborhoods, like the Jewi
26、sh ghetto in Cannaregio. Of course, any attempt to explore Venices canals involves a confrontation with the reality of water itself. Lord Byron and Casanova may have swum the canals in centuries past, but today swimming is banned for public health reasons. The canals are a drainage basin for 1.4 mil
27、lion people in the area around Venice, and a sewer system for the 60,000 residents of the historic center and the 20 million tourists who visit it each year. Dr. Edward S. Van Vleet, a University of South Florida Marine biochemist, has been studying the canals since 1985, and says the combination of
28、 chemical pollution and household waste make for a particularly noxious mix. The most surprising sensory revelation of traveling the canals is the sound or, more precisely, the glorious absence of noise. Because Venice has no cars or traffic noise, todays city is true to its centuries-old nickname,
29、La Serenissima, and that tranquility is amplified on the water. A five-minute paddle from the tourist bedlam of the Rialto are aquatic side streets where even at midday, the hush was interrupted only by droplets from our paddles. And nearly everywhere you paddle are sumptuous ruins, signs of a sinki
30、ng city. Peer behind the rusty wrought-iron gates of many homes that abut the canal and you might see partly submerged first-floor porches, foyers or sitting rooms that were abandoned long ago, as rising waters forced the residents to flee upstairs. While many gondoliers seem none too pleased at the
31、 prospect of sharing their waterways with nonpaying travelers, most boaters were polite. Many pedestrians appeared bemused by the novelty of a kayak, snapping photographs, waving and shouting the occasional Buona idea! Out on the bustling Grand Canal, however, the pace is too fast and the water too
32、treacherous for such niceties. It took us three days of maneuvering the side canals to work up the courage to try to make it across the 60-yard width of the Grand Canal, a feat that at first glance appears as wise as crossing an Interstate on a tricycle. As we paddled from the Rio Di S. Zan Degola o
33、nto the Grand Canal, we hugged the shoreline, then sprinted into a cove of half-rotted pilings, buffering ourselves from the waves. Vaporetti powered past us from both directions, water taxis darted by, and delivery boats loaded with appliances. After two false starts, we spotted a crease in traffic
34、 and made a dash for it. Water splayed from our paddles as we sprinted out into the open water, swiveling our heads left and right to make sure we werent about to be rammed by a turnip boat. After a minute of heavy paddling, we had reached the middle of the canal, where water was calmer and the city
35、s sounds again seemed muted. Then we scurried across the other busy lanes. When we reached the bank, mercifully, there was a wine bar waiting to commemorate the achievement.（分数：8.00）(1).Which of the following is CORRECT about the authors kayak?（分数：2.00）A.Second-hand.B.Heavy.C.Costly.D.Stout.(2).Acco
36、rding to the author, paddling a kayak across the Grand Canal is_.（分数：2.00）A.an impressive and distinctive achievementB.an act involving risk and dangerC.an act which is prohibited by lawD.the most sensible solution in the particular situation(3).According to the passage, we can infer all of the foll
37、owing EXCEPT that_.（分数：2.00）A.Venices buildings are supported by ancient wooden pilingsB.Venice has less noise than most citiesC.the kayak avoided overturning with the help of the pilingsD.The Grand Canal is seldom busy with boat traffic(4).Paddling on the canals of Venice presents a(n)_view of the
38、city.（分数：2.00）A.imaginativeB.panoramicC.in-depthD.superficialHigh in the mountains of southern France, the sleepy town of Aurillac has few obvious charms to attract the outsider. If the setting is scenic, its claims to fame are slender: a thriving umbrella industry and a reputation as the coldest pl
39、ace in the country. Understandably, the tourists stay away. Except, that is, for one hectic week each summer, when the community plays host to the International Festival of Street Theater, an extravaganza that now attracts 100,000 visitors keen to watch performers from as far away as Poland and Chil
40、e. The bars fill; the shops prosper. Its put Aurillac on the map, says festival director Jean-Marie Songy. Were a place that people visit as opposed to simply passing by. And as countless festival organizers and chambers of commerce have realized, the longer visitors stay, the more they spend. As th
41、e summer season draws to a close, communities across the worldfrom outsize cities to modest villagesare counting the rewards of tapping into this booming cultural economy. This year Europe alone will stage some 400 arts festivals, ranging from the Reykjavik Jazz Festival to the Edinburgh Internation
42、al Festival of music, opera and theater, which last month celebrated its 60th anniversary. All the world loves a party, it seemsespecially one that pays its own way. More and more places are recognizing the massive economic, cultural and social benefits of a festival, says Joanna Baker, the Edinburg
43、h festivals marketing director. To be sure, a successful arts festival represents a happy union of commercial self-interest and public entertainment. Though many of even the best-known festivals need public subsidies to survive, they still provide an opportunity to lift a communitys profile or pack
44、its restaurants and hotels. Festivalgoers face an increasingly eclectic array of subjectsand venues. Barcelona, for one, boasts 26 major arts festivals a yearonly one more than Melbourne, Australia. Film buffs can now choose between showings in cities from Aarhus in Denmark to Zagreb, not to mention
45、 the Pan-African Festival of Film and Television in Burkina Faso. Ambitious promoters are now looking across borders to push successful formulas. In recentyears, the Hay-on-Wye literary festival in Britain has established similar events in Segovia, Spain, and the Colombian city of Cartagena. Even ne
46、wcomers to the market have little problem filling seats; Manchester reports packed houses and reckons its on target to attract 300,000 visitors within a few years. To the optimists, those surging numbers suggest a welcome change in public tastes. The new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoke
47、n of the proliferating literary festivalsBritain now has more than 300, compared with just three back in 1983as evidence of a new cultural seriousness. Others believe the communal experience of festivalgoing provides a useful antidote to the solitary pastimesmany of them electronicof 21st-century li
48、fe. But festival frenzy can be too much of a good thing. A report published last year for the Edinburgh International Festival warned that the rising tally of festivals would rapidly increase the competition for audiences. The workaday port of Rotterdam is now home to a year-round series of festivals in part to keep up with its classier neighbor, Amsterdam. In an age of cheap air travel, the opera lover with a free weekend can head for Riga as easily as Salzburg. And
