英语专八2008年考试真题2

>>英语专八真题：英语专八2008年考试真题2

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TEXT B

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones was a teenager before he saw his first cow in his first field. Born in Jamaica, the 47-year-old grew up in inner-city Birmingham before making a career as a television producer and launching his own marketing agency. But deep down he always nurtured every true Englishmans dream of a rustic life, a dream that his entrepreneurial wealth has allowed him to satisfy. These days hes the owner of a thriving 12-hectare farm in deepest Devon with cattle, sheep and pigs. His latest business venture: pushing his brand of Black Fanner gourmet sausages and barbecue sauces. “My background may be very urban,” says Emmanuel-Jones.

“But it has given me a good idea of what other urbanites want.”

And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britains burgeoning farmers markets -numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to

come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you dont know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on."

The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins of the University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000

a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Whats new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River

Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm. Naturally, the newcomers cant hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if theres no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations?

Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Todays eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isnt catching up with mainland Europe; its leading the way. “Unlike most other countries, where artisanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. “It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a peasant.” And not an investment banker.

16. Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT?

A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.

B. He used to work in the television industry.

C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.

D. He is now selling his own quality foods.

17. Most importantly, people like Wilfred have brought to traditional British farming

A. knowledge of farming.

B. knowledge of brand names.

C. knowledge of lifestyle.

D. knowledge of marketing,

18. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the emergence of a new class of farmers?

A. Strong desire for country life.

B. Longing for greater wealth,

C. Influence of TV productions.

D. Enthusiasm for quality food business.

19. What is seen as their additional source of new income?

A. Modern tendency to buy natural foods.

B. Increase in the value of land property.

C. Raising and selling rare live stock. V

D. Publicity as a result of media coverage.

20. The sentence in the last paragraph“...Britain isnt catching up with mainland Europe; its leading the way" implies that

A. Britain has taken a different path to boost economy.

B. more authentic foods are being produced in Britain.

C. the British are heading back to the countryside.

D. the Europeans are showing great interest in country life.

TEXT C

In Barcelona the Catalonians call them castells, but these arent stereotypical castles in Spain. These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human cooperation.

First the castellers form what looks like a gigantic rugby scrummage. They are the foundation blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts of inward-pushing muscle: flying buttresses for the castle. Then sturdy but lighter castellers scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders—then still others, each time adding a higher "story".

These human towers can rise higher than small apartment buildings: nine“stories”, 35 feet into the air. Then, just When it seems this tower of humanity cant defy gravity any longer, a little kid emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top.

Arms extended, the child grins while waving to the cheering crowd far below.

Dressed in their traditional costumes, the castellers seem to epitomize an easier time, before Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterraneans most dynamic city. But when you observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see theres nothing easy about what the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.

None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna, 16, touches me on the shoulder and says in English: "We do it because its beautiful. We do it because we are Catalan."

Barcelona’s mother tongue is Catalan, and to understand Barcelona, you must understand two words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous” and “ruckus”.

What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a human castle is rauxa—it defies common sense—but to watch one going up is to see seny in action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.

The success of Carlos Tusquets bank, Fibanc, shows seny at work in everyday life. The bank started as a family concern and now employs hundreds. Tusquets said it exemplifies how the economy in Barcelona is different.

Entrepreneurial seny demonstrates why Barcelona and Catalonia—the ancient region of which Barcelona is the capital—are distinct from the rest of Spain yet essential to Spains emergence, after centuries of repression, as a prosperous, democratic European

country. Catalonia, with Barcelona as its dynamo, has turned into an economic powerhouse. Making up 6 percent of Spain’s territory, with a sixth of its people, it accounts for nearly a quarter of Spains production—everything from textiles to computers—even though the rest of Spain has been enjoying its own economic miracle.

Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and theres no better place to see rauxa in action than on the Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes, but it’s the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelonas longest running theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant will come and charge you a small fee. Performance artists throng the Ramblas—stilt walkers, witches caked in charcoal dust, Elvis impersonators. But the real stars are the old women and happily playing children, millionaires on motorbikes, and pimps and

women who, upon closer inspection, prove not to be.

Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to compare notes:“Last night there was a man standing on the balcony of his hotel room,”Mariana Bertagnolli, an Italian photographer, told me. "The balcony was on the second floor. He was naked, and he was talking

into a cell phone."

There you have it, Barcelonas essence. The man is naked (rauxa), but he is talking into a cell phone (seny).

21. From the description in the passage, we learn that

A. all Catalonians can perform castells.

B. castells require performers to stand on each other.

C. people perform castells in different formations.

D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.

22. According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is that

A. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.

B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.

C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.

D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.

23. The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ to show seny at work.

A. development of a bank B. dynamic role in economy

C. contribution to national economy D. comparison with other regions

24. In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as“a front-row seat for Barcelona’s longest running theatrical event”. What does it mean?

A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.

B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.

C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.

D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.

25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?

A. It is bizarre and Outlandish. B. It is of average quality.

C. It is conventional and quiet. D. It is of professional standard.

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