1、专业英语八级-阅读理解(二十七)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)Dr.Rablen and Dr.Oswald have just published a study which concludes that Nobel science laureates live significantly longer than those of their colleagues who were nominated for a prize, but failed
2、to receive one. They work with data from 1901 to 1950, and the search is restricted to men (to avoid differences in life span between the sexes), and those killed prematurely are eliminated. That gave them 135 prize winners and 389 also-rans.The theory they were testing was that status itself, rathe
3、r than the trappings of status, such as wealth, act to prolong life. This idea was first declared by Sir Michael Marmot, of University College, London. Sir Michael studied the health of British civil servants and discovered, contrary to his and everyone elses expectations, that those at the top of t
4、he hierarchy whom the stress of the job was expected to have affected adversely were actually far healthier than the supposedly unstressed functionaries at the bottom of the heap. Subsequent research has confirmed this result, and suggested it is nothing to do with the larger salaries of those at th
5、e top. But Dr.Rablen and Dr.Oswald thought it would be interesting to reline the observation still further, by studying individuals who were all, in a sense, at the top. By comparing people good enough to be considered for a Nobel, they could measure what the status of having one was worth.Comparing
6、 winners and also-rans from within the same countries, to avoid yet another source of bias, Dr.Rablen and Dr.Oswald found that the winners lived, on average, two years longer than those who had merely been nominated. Exactly what causes this increased longevity is unclear. It is not the cash, though
7、. The inflation-adjusted value of the prize has fluctuated over the years, so the two researchers were able to see if the purchasing power of the money was correlated with longevity. It was not.With the hierarchically ordered individuals studied by Sir Michael and his successors, both medical record
8、s and experiments on animals suggest stress hormones are involved. It is, indeed, more stressful to be at the bottom than the top, even if being at the top involves making decisions on the fate of nations. The result Dr.Rablen and Dr.Oswald have come up with, though, suggests a positive effect assoc
9、iated with high status, rather than the absence of a negative effect, since unsuccessful nominees never know that they have been nominated.A similar effect has been noted once before, in a different held. Research published a few years ago by Donald Redelmeier and Sheldon Singh showed that Oscar win
10、ning actors and actresses live 3.6 years longer than those who are nominated, but do not win. However, in that case the failed nominees do know that they have failed. And, curiously, Oscar winning scriptwriters live 3.6 years less than do nominees. Perhaps writers, unlike actors and scientists, live
11、 in a world of inverted snobbery.（分数：25.00）(1).What has been done to avoid sources of bias in Dr.Rablen and Dr.Oswalds study? A. Excluding the abnormal deaths. B. Selecting more prize nominees than winners. C. Having all subjects from the same country. D. Assuming inflation as an irrelevant factor.（
12、分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Whats the difference between the two doctors study and that of Sir Michaels? A. They demonstrate opposite findings. B. They have different theoretical foundations. C. They use different methods of selecting subjects. D. They have different degrees of influence.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(3
13、).What is the two doctors possible explanation for their findings? A. People at the top dont need to worry about money. B. People who suffer greater stress pay more attention to health. C. It is in fact less stressful to be at the top than the bottom. D. High status has a positive effect on people.（
14、分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(4).According to the passage, Redelmeier and Singhs study A. has been refined further by the two doctors. B. has disproved the conclusions of the two doctors. C. considered both positive and negative factors. D. considered the positive effects of several factors.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(5).
15、We can conclude from the passage that A. health is better than wealth. B. great hopes make great man. C. prizes affect peoples life expectancy. D. success in career brings health benefit.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.三、BTEXT B/B(总题数：1，分数：25.00)Whats the difference between God and Larry Ellison? asks an old softw
16、are industry joke. Answer: God doesnt think hes Larry Ellison. The boss of Oracle is hardly alone among corporate chiefs in having a reputation liar being rather keen on himself. Indeed, until the bubble burst and the public turned nasty at the start of the decade, the cult of the celebrity chief ex
17、ecutive seemed to demand bossily narcissism, as evidence that a firm was being led by an all-conquering hero.Narcissus met a nasty end, of course. And in recent years, boss-worship has come to be seen as bad for business. In his management bestseller, Good to Great, Jim Collins argued that the truly
18、 successful bosses were not the sell-proclaimed stars who adorn the covers of Forbes and Fortune, but instead self-effacing, thoughtful, monkish sorts who lead by inspiring example.A statistical answer may be at hand. For the first time. a new study, Its All About Me, to be presented next week at th
19、e annual gathering of the American Academy of Management, offers a systematic, empirical analysis of what effect narcissistic bosses have on the firms they run. The authors, Artijit Chatterjee and Donald Hambrick, of Pennsylvania State University, examined narcissism in the upper levels of 105 firms
20、 in the computer and software industries.To do this, they had to solve a practical problem: studies of narcissism have hitherto relied on surveying individuals personally, something for which few chief executives are likely to have time or inclination. So the authors devised an index of narcissism u
21、sing six publicly available indicators obtainable without the co-operation of the boss. These are: the prominence of the bosss photo in the annual report; his prominence in company press releases: the length of his Whos Who entry: the frequency of his use of the first person singular in interviews;
22、and the ratios of his cash and non-cash compensation to those of the firms second-highest paid executive.Narcissism naturally drives people to seek positions of power and influence, and because great self-esteem helps your professional advance, say the authors, chief executives will tend on average
23、to be more narcissistic than the general population. How does that affect a firm? Messrs Chatterjee and Hambrick found that highly narcissistic bosses tended to make bigger changes in the use of important resources, such as research and development, or in spending and leverage; they carried out more
24、 and bigger mergers and acquisitions; and their results were both more extreme (more big wins or big losses) and more transient than those of firms run by their humbler peers. For shareholders that could be good or bad.Although (oddly) the authors are keeping their narcissism ranking secret, they ha
25、ve revealed that Mr.Ellison did not come top. Alas for him, that may be because the study limited itself to people who became the boss after 1991 well after he took the helm. In every respect Mr.Ellison seems to be the classic narcissistic boss, claims Mr.Chatterjee. There is life in the old joke ye
26、t.（分数：25.00）(1).The old software industry joke is used in the passage to A. show the difference between God and Larry Ellison. B. emphasize the success of the boss of Oracle. C. illustrate how chief executives manage their companies. D. introduce the topic of narcissism on top managerial level.（分数：5
27、.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Jim Collins seems to believe that truly successful managers A. should encourage the staff by setting up examples. B. should not be regarded as stars by their employees. C. should ban boss-worship in the companies they lead. D. should be as humble as possible in their company.（分数：5.00
28、）A.B.C.D.(3).A practical problem of the Its all about me study is that A. the survey takes too much time to be completed. B. the subjects for the survey may not be very cooperative. C. the bosses who are narcissistic are likely to tell lies to the surveyors. D. the six available indicators require t
29、he co-operation of the bosses.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(4).According to the researchers, compared with humbler managers, narcissistic bosses are more likely to A. have faster professional advances. B. draw attention from the general population. C. dramatize the changes in their companies. D. use resources o
30、f the company in extreme ways.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(5).According to the last paragraph, which of following is CORRECT? A. The results of the new study have already been publicized. B. The researchers think Mr.Ellison is more classic than narcissistic. C. The joke about Mr.Ellison is actually adapted fro
31、m real life. D. The ranking might be different if the survey focused on an earlier period.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.四、BTEXT C/B(总题数：1，分数：25.00)Hemingway once wrote that courage is grace under pressure. But I would rather think with the 18th-century Italian dramatist, Vittorio Alfieri, that often the test of
32、courage is not to die but to live. For living with cancer engenders more than pressure; it begets terror. To live with it, to face up to it thats courage.Hope is our most effective drug in treating cancer. There is almost no cancer (at any stage) that cannot be treated. By instilling hope in a patie
33、nt, we can help develop a positive, combative attitude to his disease. Illogical, unproven? Perhaps. But many doctors believe that this must become a part of cancer therapy if the therapy is to be effective.I have had the joy of two beautiful and wonderful wives, the happiness of parenthood and the
34、love of eight children. My work was constantly challenging and fulfilling. I have always loved music and books, ballet and the theater. I was addicted to fitness, tennis, golf, curling, hunting and fishing. Good food and wine graced my table. My home was a warm and happy place.But when I became awar
35、e of my imminent mortality, my attitudes changed. There was real meaning to the words, This is the first day of the rest of your life. There was a heightened awareness of each sunny day, the beauty of flowers, the song of a bird. How often do we reflect on the joy of breathing easily, of swallowing
36、without effort and discomfort, of walking without pain, of a complete and peaceful nights sleep?After I became ill, I embarked upon many things I had been putting off before. I read the books I had set aside for retirement and wrote one myself, entitled The Art of Surgery. My wife Madeleine and 1 to
37、ok more holidays. We played tennis regularly and curled avidly; we took the boys fishing. When I review these past few years, it seems in many ways that I have lived a lifetime since 1 acquired cancer. On my last holiday in the Bahamas, as I walked along the beach feeling the gentle waves wash over
38、my feet, I felt a part of the universe, even if only a minuscule one, like a grain of sand on the beach.Although I had to restrict to the size of my practice, I felt closer empathy with my patients. When I walked into the Intensive Care Unit there was an awesome feeling knowing I, too, had been a pa
39、tient there. It was a special satisfaction to comfort my patients with cancer, knowing that it is possible to enjoy life after the anguish of that diagnosis. It gave me a warm feeling to see the sparkle in one patients eyes a man with a total laryngectomy when I asked if fie would enjoy a cold beer
40、and went to get him one.If one realized that our time on this earth is but a tiny fraction of that within the cosmos, then life calculated in years may not be as important as we think. Why measure life in heartbeats? When life is so dependent on such an unreliable function as the beating of the hear
41、t, then it is fragile indeed. The only thing that one can depend upon with absolute certainty is death.I believe that death may be the most important part of life. I believe that life is infinitesimally brief in relation to the immensity of eternity. I believe, because of my religious faith, that I
42、shall return to the Father in an afterlife that is beyond description. I believe that though my life was short in years, it was full in experience, joy, love and accomplishment; that my own immortality will reside in the memories of my loved ones left behind, mother, brother, wife, children, dear fr
43、iends. I believe that I will die with loved ones close by and, one hopes, achieve that great gift of God death in peace, and with dignity.（分数：25.00）(1).According to the second paragraph, which of the following is true? A. Doctors should help patients develop optimistic attitude to fight cancer. B. I
44、ts important that doctors should be optimistic enough in curing cancer patients. C. The author believes that there is no cancer which cant be cured by medicine. D. Whether the therapy is effective depends on the patients attitude.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the details of the authors life before c
45、ontracting cancer is INCORRECT? A. Possessing a wide range of hobbies. B. Being loved by his wife and children. C. Doing a job challengeable but offering satisfaction. D. Having achieved great success in work.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The sentence I have lived a lifetime since I acquired cancer in Paragr
46、aph Five means that A. he neednt to work after acquiring cancer, which means he has plenty of time to enjoy life. B. during the days after he acquired cancer, he has done all the things he planed to do in his life. C. life is so boring and upset in the cancer days that he found it too difficult to e
47、ndure any longer. D. he enjoyed the rest o1 his life attentively and finished a good life supposed to experience.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Which of the following contains a metaphor? A. .courage is grace under pressure. (Para.1) B. Hope is our most effective drug in treating cancer. (Para.2) C. There was a heightened awareness of each sunny day. (Para.4) D. I felt a part of the universe, .like a grain of sand on the beach. (Para.5)（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(5).Which of the following adjectives can best describe the author? A. Pessimistic. B. Objective. C. Positive. D. Passive.（分数：5.00）A.B
