1、专业英语八级-阅读理解(二十一)及答案解析 (总分：100.00，做题时间：90分钟)一、BREADING COMPREH(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、BTEXT A/B(总题数：1，分数：25.00)The Vatican has launched a Youtube channel.The Roman Catholic Church was built on its capacity to communicate with a global audience, so it should come as no surprise that the televized papacy of J
2、ohn Paul should be followed by Benedict XVI proselytizing on the media platform once known as Web 2.0. The Vatican announced on Friday that the pontiff would have his own YouTube channel. He may not be nearly as charismatic a figure as his predecessor, but Benedicts every move during his travels abr
3、oad has received saturation coverage on cable TV, while an ever-multiplying number of homemade videos have been popping up on the Internet from those camcorder-wielding faithful who managed to get close enough to the traveling pope.Now, a new dedicated Vatican channel on the Google-owned website wil
4、l feature regular video and audio appearances from the Pope, with webnews coverage and commentary in Italian, English, Spanish and German. Google says it does not plan on turning a direct profit from the venture, which will be advertisement-free. It is an evolution that is only natural, which corres
5、ponds to the presence of the Church in the world, said Father Federico Lombardi, who serves as both papal spokesman and head of Vatican radio and television services. Many people want to be able to know better what the Pope thinks and what the Catholic Church proposes for the problems of today. From
6、 today it will be easier (to find out).Of course, each new media platform carries its own inherent risks in the eyes of the Church. The Pope warned in his message, Friday, which also marked the Churchs World Day of Communications, that the new technologies of Internet communication could reduce real
7、 human contact. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development, he said. Plainly, the pontiff is
8、 planning to avoid getting sucked into an addiction to Facebook.The unveiling of a special Vatican channel on YouTube is, in fact, just the latest iteration of the Churchs ancient tradition of adapting to those means of communication most effective at bringing its message to the faithful. The medium
9、 may change, say Church leaders, but the message remains the same from pre-Rennaisance paintings of the Madonna to the CNN and A1 Jazeera cameras perched above St.Peters piazza, from early use of the printing press to the worldwide reach today of Vatican radio and the website launched by the Holy Se
10、e in 1995.Though rarely ahead of the communication curve, the Vatican is usually not far behind. What is perhaps most baffling to observers, though, is that it can keep up with such trends and technology even while being run by 60- and 70-year-old men who tend to talk among themselves. Perhaps that
11、ability is a sign that the institution has a unique kind of historical intelligence otherwise, it may simply be one of those very modern miracles.（分数：25.00）(1).What can we learn about Benedict XVI from the second paragraph? A. He is no more charismatic than his former leader. B. He was the first pon
12、tiff appeared in TV. C. His travel has been reported on TV and the Internet. D. He made some videos while traveling abroad.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Federico Lombardi considered the launch of a Vatican channel as A. the appearance of Church in the world. B. a natural course meeting many peoples desire. C
13、. a result of the Popes thought. D. a solution for the Church to handle its problems.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The example of the Pope in the fourth paragraph tells us A. unavoidable disadvantages of Internet. B. real social contact is better than virtual. C. peoples easier addiction to the Internet. D.
14、the ways to avoid Internet addiction.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Whats the meaning of the word iteration in the fifth paragraph? A. Conference. B. Concurrence. C. Recurrence. D. Inference.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(5).Whats the authors attitude towards the Vaticans Youtube channel? A. Negative. B. Indifferent. C. O
15、bjective. D. Subjective.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.三、BTEXT B/B(总题数：1，分数：25.00)Doug Morrell had already installed solar panels on his house in Coopersville, Mich., but he was eager to get a little bit greener. So the 52-year-old Navy veteran bought something that might seem more at home in the Dutch countrysid
16、e than in a small town in western Michigan: a personal wind turbine. Turbines like Morrells convert the energy of the wind to electricity, while old windmills are geared for mechanical power, like pulling water from a well. On days with decent wind which occur frequently enough, since he can feel th
17、e breeze from Lake Michigan the $ 16,000 Swift wind turbine can generate 1.5 kilowatts (kW) an hour, i.e., enough to power the average lightbulb for 15 hours. Together with his solar array, thats enough to take care of much of his electricity bill. Its clean energy we dont have to dig for. It just c
18、omes right to us, says Morrell. And best of all, he says, its fun watching our meter run backward instead of forward.Thanks in part to a new tax credit put into place by Congress in October, owning your own wind turbine could be the next green trend. While its true that wind power has taken off in t
19、he U.S. adding more in new capacity to the electrical grid last year than any other power source most of that increase comes from utility wind farms, vast fields of turbines more than 300 ft. (90 m) tall. For homeowners seeking renewable-energy sources, however, better-known solar power has always d
20、ominated. Home solar power currently generates 12 times as much energy as small wind power, which is defined as turbines that have a capacity of I00 kW or less (though most household turbines will produce 10 kW at most). Thats partly because residential wind turbines require space and sky at least h
21、alf an acre of open land to get access to consistent winds. Still, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), some 15 million homes in the U.S. fit that definition, and small turbines, unlike large wind farms, can be productive in weaker breezes, which puts more of the country into pl
22、ay, though the best areas are still windy spots like the Midwest or West Texas.Whats really held back residential wind power has been the lack of federal subsidies, which have fed the growth of other renewables like solar and large-scale wind. Weve had zero federal assistance, says Ron Stimmel, AWEA
23、s small-wind expert.But when Congress passed the bailout bill this fall, it added a 30% tax credit for small-wind projects, which Stimmel believes will enable the industry to grow 40% next year, even in a down market.In other words, small wind may not be small potatoes for much longer. And that coul
24、d be a boost for domestic green businesses as well: U.S. firms control 98% of the small-wind market, in contrast to large-scale wind and solar, in which foreign manufacturers dominate. Since the tax credit, our phone has been ringing off the hook, says Andy Kruse, a co-founder of Southwest Windpower
25、, a major small-scale-turbine producer in Flagstaff, Ariz. Its really exciting to see the market coming to us.（分数：25.00）(1).We learn from Paragraph One that Morrells wind turbine A. mainly converts the energy of wind to mechanical power. B. has to work under the condition of wind weather. C. can gen
26、erate more electricity than his solar array does. D. makes Morrells meter run backward instead of forward.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following is true about Americas use of green powers? A. Wind power hasnt been widely used in households. B. Wind power hasnt been used to generate electricity
27、in U.S. C. Solar power will sooner or later be replaced by wind power. D. Other green powers havent been developed besides wind and solar.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The real factor that hindered the development of residential wind power has been that A. the residential wind turbines require space and sky.
28、 B. the residential wind power generates little electricity. C. the residential wind turbines are expensive to buy. D. the residential wind power lacks the federal assistance.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(4).What does the author think of the small wind? A. It has a very promising future. B. It will attract many
29、 foreign manufacturers. C. It will go mainstream in power generation. D. It may need a long time to form a big market.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(5).Whats Andy Kruses attitude towards the new tax credit? A. He doesnt seem to care about it. B. He doubts its effect on small wind. C. He is thankful to its announ
30、cement. D. He is pretty opposed to its content.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.四、BTEXT C/B(总题数：1，分数：25.00)Employers buffeted by talk of recession slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years and the third straight month of losses. At the same time, the national unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5.
31、1 percent, the clearest signal yet that the economy might already be shrinking. The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department Friday, underscored the damage that a trio of crises in the housing, credit and financial sectors has inflicted on companies, jobseekers and the econom
32、y as a whole. The labor market has indeed turned south, said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. That was the one last bastion of hope to stay out of a recession. Now the question is how deep and how long will it last?The unemployment rate was the highest since September 2005, when s
33、ignificant job losses followed the devastating blows of Gulf Coast hurricanes. Job losses were widespread in March. Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and various business services all racked up losses. That overwhelmed gains elsewhere, including in education and health care,
34、 leisure and hospitality as well as in government. On Wall Street, stocks fell, with the Dow Jones industrials down more than 80 points in morning trading.The new employment figures were much weaker than economists were expecting. They were anticipating a drop of 50,000 payroll jobs and the unemploy
35、ment rate to rise to 5 percent. The 5.1 percent rate, while relatively modest by historical standards, was the highest in 2 1/2 years. Job cuts in both January and February turned out to be even deeper. Employers got rid of 76,000 in each month. The elimination of 80,000 jobs in March was the most s
36、ince March 2003, when the labor market was still struggling to recover from the 2001 recession.The economy is suffering the effects of a housing collapse, a credit crunch and a financial system in turmoil. Thats causing people and businesses to hunker down, crimping spending, capital investment and
37、hiring. Those things in turn further weaken the economy in what has become a vicious cycle.For the first time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged Wednesday that the country could be heading toward a recession, saying federal policymakers are fighting against the wind in combating it.
38、 Many other economists and the public believe the recession already has arrived. Bemanke wouldnt tip his hand about the Feds next move. However, many economists believe the central bank will lower interest rates again when they meet later this month, and they said Fridays employment report would jus
39、tify another reduction perhaps by half a point.The Fed has taken a number of extraordinary actions recently slashing interest rates, providing financial backing to JP Morgans takeover of troubled Bear Steams and opening an emergency lending program for big investment houses. All the actions are ulti
40、mately aimed at limiting damage to the national economy.With a public on edge, Congress, the White House and presidential contenders are scrambling to come up with their own relief plans even as they engage in a political blame game.In March, construction companies cut 51,000 jobs, factories elimina
41、ted 48,000 positions, and retailers cut payrolls by more than 12,000. Professional and businesses services lost 35,000 jobs and temporary help firms cut nearly 22,000 jobs. Financial firms chopped 5,000 jobs. When government hiring was removed, the numbers looked even worse. Private employers shed 9
42、8,000 jobs in March.With the pace of hiring slowing down, the number of unemployed people increased to 7.8 million in March; workers with jobs saw only modest wage gains at the same time. Average hourly earnings for jobholders rose to $ 17.86 in March, a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month.
43、 That matched economists forecasts. Over the past 12 months, wages grew 3.6 percent. With lofty energy and food prices, workers may feel like their paychecks are shrinking.Many analysts believe the economy shrank in the first three months of this year and could still be ebbing now. The government wi
44、ll release its estimate of first-quarter economic growth later this month. Under one rough rule, if the economy contracts for six straight months it is considered in a recession.Bemanke, however, has said he is hopeful the economy will improve in the second half of this year, helped by the governmen
45、ts $ 168 billion stimulus package of tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses, as well as the Feds rate reductions. Still, even Bemanke predicted this week that the unemployment rate would rise in the months ahead. Some analysts say it could climb to 5.5 percent or higher by years end.（分
46、数：25.00）(1).The snapshot of the job market by the labor department Friday showed that A. the damage involved only three sectors: housing, credit and finance. B. it has caused great damage to companies, job hunters and U.S. economy. C. the significant job losses in September 2005 resulted from the hu
47、rricanes. D. people did not know how long the damage would last.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following implies a contrast? A. The new employment figures were much weaker than economists were expecting. (Para. Three) B. . workers with jobs saw only modest wage gains at the same time. (Para. Nine
48、) C. With lofty energy and food prices, workers may feel like their paychecks are shrinking. (Para. Nine) D. . it could climb to 5.5 percent or higher by years end. (Para. Eleven)（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(3).All of the following are the extraordinary measures taken by the Federal EXCEPT A. lowering interest rates to limit damage. B. offe
