专业八级-731-真题(含答案与解析)

专业八级-731

(总分100,做题时间90分钟)

PARTILISTENINGCOMPREHENSION

SECTIONA

Inthissectionyouwillhearamini-lecture.Youwillhearthe

lectureONCEONLY.Whilelistening,takenotesontheimportant

points.Yournoteswillnotbemarked,butyouwillneedthemto

completeagap-fillingtaskafterthemini-lecture.Whenthelecture

isover,youwillbegiventwominutestocheckyournotes,and

anothertenminutestocompletethegap-fillingtaskonANSWERSHEET

ONE.Usetheblanksheetfornote-taking.

Nowlistentothemini-lecture.

Completethegap-fillingtask.Someofthegapsbelowrequirea

maximumofTHREEwords.Makesuretheword(s)youfillinis(are)

bothgrammaticallyandsemanticallyacceptable.Youmayreferto

yournotes.

TheMarriageContract

Amarriageisacontract.Youcaneitherwritethatcontract

yourself

orchoosebetweentwoprefabricatedcontracts.Thefirstoptionis

similar

totheno-faultcontract.Thesecondistheso-called"covenant

marriage”.

Evenifyouneverdivorce,yourchoiceamongcontractscan

(1)theentirecourseofyourmarriage.That'sbecause

the1.

possibilityofdivorcealtersyourincentivestokeepyourspouse

happy.

Let，scomparethreekindsofmarriage:ano-faultcontractwhere

either

partycan(2)adivorceondemand,amutual-

consent2.______

contractwherebothpartiesmustagreetoadivorce,andacovenant

marriage

whereevenmutualconsentisnot⑶_Youmight

think3.______

thatofthesethreekinds,(4).marriageisalwaysthemost

likely4.

toendindivorce.Thatisn，ttrue.Thereasonisthatalotof

maritalissues

arenegotiable.Andthenegotiatingprocessitselfprovidesallthe

rightincentivesto(5)yourspouse's

needs.5.

Undereitherno-faultormutual-consentsystem,themarriage

(6)aslongasit'spossibletokeepbothpartners

happier6.

togetherthantheywouldbeapart.Therefore,thesetwosystems

produce

thesamenumberofdivorces.Ontheotherhand,ifyou'reina

covenant

marriage,divorcemightbe(7)evenwhenthemarriage

turns7.______

badforbothofyou.Ifweassumethatallmaritalconflictsare

(8),thecovenantmarriagehasnostrikingadvantages.

But8.______

sometimesthereareimportantdecisionsthatcan，tbenegotiated,

likethe

decisionwhethertobringhomeasurprisebouquetofflowers.It，s

theissues

youcan，tnegotiatethatmakesthecovenantmarriageworth

considering.

Butthesameinabilitycanmaketheno-faultmarriagesthe(9

______of

all.

9.______

Inconclusion,whenmaritalissuesarenegotiable,no-faultand

mutual

consentdoequallywellandcovenantmarriageisalwaysamistake,

Butwhenimportantissuescan，tbenegotiated,boththecovenant

marriage

andtheno-faultbecomemore

(10).

10.

|SSS_FILL

1.

JLJIF

分值：1

答案:affect/influence

［听力原文］ITO

TheMarriage

Contract

Goodmorning,everybody.Today'slectureisaboutmarriage

probleminmodernsociety.Amarriageisacontract.Youcanwrite

thatcontractyourself.Nowyoucanalsochoosebetweentwo

prefabricatedcontracts,eachwithverydifferentprovisionsfor

divorce.Thefirstoptionissimilartotheno-faultcontract.The

second--theso-called〃covenantmarriage〃-makesdivorcefarmore

difficult.

Evenifyouneverdivorce,yourchoiceamongcontractscanaffect

theentirecourseofyourmarriage.That'sbecausethepossibilityof

divorcealtersyourincentivestokeepyourspousehappy.Ofcourse,

youmightwanttokeepyourspousehappyforotherreasons,themost

notableofwhichislove.Sometimes,loveisallyouneed.But

becausewe'retalkingaboutdivorcelaw,Iwanttofocusoncases

whereloveisnotenough一andinthosecases,toaskwhich

contractprovidesthebestincentiveforgoodmaritalbehavior.The

answermaynotbewhatyouthink.

Whilewe'reatit,let'scomparethreekindsofmarriage:ano­

faultcontract(whereeitherpartycanobtainadivorceondemand),

amutual-consentcontract(wherebothpartiesmustagreetoa

divorce),andacovenantmarriage(whereevenmutualconsentisnot

enough).Youmightthinkthatno-faultmarriagesarealwaysthemost

likelytoendindivorce.Thatisn，ttrue,andhere，sonereasonwhy:

Alotofmaritalissuesarenegotiable一likewhoshoulddothe

dishes,whogetstooperatetheremotecontrol,whichonewearsthe

anti-snoredeviceandwhichonewearstheearplugs,andsoon.Here

thenegotiatingprocessitselfprovidesalltherightincentivesto

respectyourspouse，sneeds.Whatyouwon，tdoforlove,you，11still

doforabribe.Andthosethingsyouwon，tdoevenforabribeare,

presumably,sufficientlydistastefulthatyoushouldn'tdothem.

Briberyworksequallywellunderno-faultandmutualconsent.

Undereithersystem,themarriagesurvivesaslongasit'spossible

tokeepbothpartnershappiertogetherthantheywouldbeapart.

Therefore,thetwosystemsproducethesamenumberofdivorces.

Ontheotherhand,ifyou，reinacovenantmarriage一whereyou

can，tgetadivorceevenbymutualconsent--divorcemightbe

impossibleevenwhenthemarriageturnsbadforbothofyou.Ifwe

assumethatallmaritalconflictsarenegotiable,thecovenant

marriagehasnooffsettingadvantages:Itkeepscouplestogetheronly

inthosecaseswherethey"dbothbehappierapart.

Theanalysischangesifthereareimportantdecisionsthatcan，t

benegotiated,likethedecisionwhethertobringhomeasurprise

bouquetofflowers.Chronicthoughtlessnessonsuchmatterscancause

amarriagetodeteriorate.Theknowledgethatdivorceisimpossible

mightmakeyoustrivehardertoavoidsuchdeterioration一andit

mightdothesameforyourspouse.Inthatsense,acovenantmarriage

isliketheoldnuclear-warDoomsdayMachine:Youareeachonnotice

thatyou，dbetterworkhardtopreserveagoodmarriage,oryou，11

bothbeforcedtoliveyourlivesinabadone.DoomsdayMachinescan

beveryeffective.Butsometimestheyblowup.Sothecovenant

marriageisamixedblessing.

It'stheissuesyoucan'tnegotiatethatmakesthecovenant

marriageworthconsidering.Butthatsameinabilitycanmakeno-fault

marriagesthestrongestofall.Inano-faultmarriage,ahappy

spousewilltreatyouwelltopreventyourleaving.Thatgivesyouan

incentivetokeepyourspousehappy.Andthisprocessfeedson

itself:Yourspouseworkstomakeyouhappywhichmakesyouwantto

preservethemarriage,whichmakesyouworktomakeyourspouse

happy,whichmakesyourspousewanttopreservethemarriage,andso

on,inagreatvirtuouscircle.

Bycontrast,ifdivorcerequiredmutualconsent,yourspouse

couldacceptyoureffortstomakehimorherhappywithoutfeelinga

strongneedtoreciprocate.Notice,onceagain,thatthisanalysis

appliesonlytosurpriseefforts.Effortsthatarenegotiatedin

advancecanbenegotiatedequallywellunderanycontract.

Sohereisthebottomline:Whenmaritalissuesarenegotiable,

no-faultandmutualconsentdoequallywellandcovenantmarriageis

alwaysamistake.Butwhenimportantissuescan'tbenegotiated,both

thecovenantmarriageandtheno-faultcontractbecomemore

attractive,fordifferentreasons.

SSS_FILL

ill

分值：1

答案:obtain/get

SSS_FILL

分值：1

答案：enough

SSS.FILL

ill

分值：1

答案:no-fault

SSS_FTI.L

5.

1

分值：1

答案：respect/satisfy/consider

sssFILL

6.

分值：1

答案：survives/lasts/continues

SSSFILL

JdJJ

分值：1

答案：impossible/difficult

ISSSFILL

8.

IZJIF

分值：1

答案:negotiable

|SSS_FILL

9.

ZjI?

分值：1

答案：strongest

ISSS_FILL

10._____________________________________________________________

±1

IdIjJ

分值：1

答案：attractive

SECTIONB

InthissectionyouwillheareverythingONCEONLY.Listencarefully

andthenanswerthequestionsthatfollow.Markthecorrectanswer

toeachquestiononyourcolouredanswersheet.

Questions1to5arebasedonaninterviewwithMrs.Sutter.Atthe

endoftheinterviewyouwillbegiven10secondstoanswereachof

thefollowingfivequestions.

Nowlistentotheinterview.

|SSS_SINGLE_SEI.

1.

ATheneedtocontrolpopulationbothinthoseunderdeveloped

countriesandindevelopedcountries.

「BHowtocontrolipopulationinEurope.

CScarcityoffoodandotherresourcesintheworld.

DPopulationandenvironment.

分值：1

答案:A

［听力原文］1-5

INTERVIEWER:Mrs.Sutter,isthereaneedtocontrolpopulationonly

incountrieslikeIndia,Africa,Brazil,thosecountriesthatwecall

theunderdevelopedcountries,oristhereacaseforlimiting

populationinEurope,forinstance?

INTERVIEWEE:Thereasononewouldhavetolimitpopulationisbecause

you'rerunningoutoffoodandyou'rerunningoutofresources.The

peopleinEuropeandAmericasconsumeafargreaterproportionofthe

world，sresourcesandtheworld，sfoodthantheydoinIndia.So,

populationisdirectlyrelatedtoconsumptionandyourgeneralimpact

ontheenvironment.

INTERVIEWER:Doyoumeanthatifasanindividualyourimpactisfar

greaterthananybodyelse，s,thenthatisthefactorthat's

important,ratherthanhowmanypeoplethereare,orhowmanypeople

cantheworldsupport?

INTERVIEWEE:Exactly.Nowobviouslyinthatsense,it'spossibleto

increasepopulationifeverybodyiswillingtouselessmaterialor

eatlessfood,butthisdoesn，tseemtobetiletrendatthemoment.

INTERVIEWER:Buttheworldcanproducemoretomeettheneeds,

INTERVIEWEE:Theproblemisthattheunderdevelopedareastryand

developmorematerialbenefits,butassoonastheydothis,the

populationincreasehaswipedoutanybenefitstheymayhave

achieved.

INTERVIEWER:Butdoyoufeelthatthisbattlewitharapidly

expandingpopulationcanbewon?

INTERVIEWEE:Themostsensiblethingistorealizethatyoucan'tgo

onexpandinghumanpopulationsforeverandcountriesandindividuals

mustdecidetohaveapolicywhichwouldlimitpopulation.

INTERVIEWER:Whatsectionofthepopulationdoyouthinkfreebirth

controltechniquesshouldbeavailableto?

INTERVIEWEE:Theyshouldbeavailabletoallsectionsof**munity.

SincethingsaregettingtosuchapitchthatIpersonallythinkthat

notonlyshouldbirthcontrolmethodsbeavailabletoallsectionsof

**munity,butindeedshouldbecompulsory.Thereshouldbesomekind

oflawwhichsaysthatafamilyshouldnothavemorethanthree

children,acompletemaximumofthreechildren,iftheyhavethree

childrenthentheymustbeobligedbylawtousebirthcontrol.

INTERVIEWER:Butsurelythisisveryexplosiveinsocialterms?

INTERVIEWEE:It'saverytotalitariannotion.Butifwelookaround

usintheworldwecanseemillionsofpeoplearestarvingtodeath

inplaceslikeIndia,andpeoplesufferingfrommalnutritioninother

partsoftheunderdevelopedworldandindeedeveninpartsoftheso-

calleddevelopedworld.

ISSSSINGLESEL

2.

Atheworldhaslessspaceforpeopletolivein

Btheunderdevelopedcountrieshavegreatproblemsinincreasing

theirproductivitytoproducemorematerials

Cpopulationisdirectlyrelatedtoconsumingfoodandother

resources,whicharebeingrunout

Dpeopleare'alwaysdestroyingtheirlivingenvironment

分值：1

答案:C___________

ISSSSINGLESEL

3.

AEuropeanpeopleandAmericanpeopleshouldn'tshirkthe

responsibilityofthewholeglobe.

BThepeopleinEuropeandAmericasconsumeafargreater

proportionoftheworld，sresourcesandtheworld，sfood.

CThenumberofthepeopleinEuropeandAmericasisnoless

thanthatofinunderdevelopedworld.

DTheycansavemoretomeettileneedsoftheunderdeveloped

worl

分值：1

答案：B___________

ISSS_SINGLE_SEI.

4.

AWeraiseproductivityandproducemorefood.

BWearewillingtoeatlessfoodanduselessmaterial.

CWefindanotherplanettoliveon.

DThedevelopedworldiswillingtohelptheunderdevelopedworl

分值：1

答案:B

ISSSSINGLE.SE1

5.

AUpper-middleclasspeople.

'BHighIQintelligentsia.

CThosewhohavelessthanthreechildren.

DThosewhohavemorethanthreechildren.

分值：1

答案:C

SECTIONC

InthissectionyouwillheareverythingONCEONLY.Listencarefully

andthenanswerthequestionsthatfollow.Markthecorrectanswer

toeachquestiononyourcolouredanswersheet.

Question6isbasedonthefollowingnews.Attheendofthenews

item,youwillbegiven10secondstoanswerthequestion.

Nowlistentothenews.

L____________________

ISSS_SINGLE_SEI

Alowerprofits,butimprovedchemicaloperationsoffset

sluggishprofitsatpetroleumoperations

Bhigherprofits,butimprovedchemicaloperationsoffset

sluggishprofitsatpetroleumoperations

CearningstatementsofmajorU.S.cooperationscontinueto

showmixedresults

r

DTexacosolditschemicalbusinesslastyear

分值：1

答案:B

［听力原文］

EarlyStatementsofmajorU.S.cooperationscontinuetoshow

mixedresults.Amongmajorjor**panies,Exxon,MobilandShellall

reportedhigherprofits,butallthreesayimprovedchemical

operationsoffsetsluggishprofitsatpetroleumoperations.Another

U.S.company,Texaco,alsopostedbetterthirdquarterearnings

mostlyoncostcuttingmoves.Texacosolditschemicalbusinesslast

year.

Questions7to8arebasedonthefollowingnews.Attheendofthe

newsitem,youwillbegiven10secondstoanswereachofthetwo

questions.

Nowlistentothenews.

|SSS_SINGLE_SEI.

2.

「AIraq

BLebanon

CAfghanistan

'DSyria

分值：1

答案:A

［听力原文］7-8

TiesbetweentheUnitedStatesandFrancereachedalowpoint

duringlastyear'sU.S.-ledwarinIraq,whichParisstaunchly

opposed.Butinrecentmonths,therehavebeensignsofwarming

relations,notonlywithFrance,butwithotherEuropeanopponentsto

thewar.InaconcessiontotheUnitedStateslastmonth,Franceand

otherParisClubcreditorsagreedtocanceT80-percentofthedebt

Iraqowedthem.ParisandWashingtonhavealsocollaboratedinother

matters,likeajointUnitedNationsresolutiondemandingthe

withdrawalofSyrianforcesfromLebanon.Andofficialssaythat

bilateralcooperationinareassuchasNATOoperationsinAfghanistan

orthewaragainstterrorismhasalwaysbeengood,despitediplomatic

differencesonIraq.WithPresidentBush'sre-electionlastmonth,

someexpertssay,FranceandotherEuropeancountriesnowwantto

turnafreshpageintheirtransatlanticdialoguewiththeUnited

States.

|SSS_SINGLE_SEL

3.

Areachalowpoint

BdependonNATOoperations

Cdependonbilateraleconomiccooperations

Dgetwarmerandbetter.

分值：1

答案:D

Questions9and10arebasedonthefollowingnews.Attheendof

thenewsitem,youwillbegiven10secondstoanswereachofthe

twoquestions.

Nowlistentothenews.

ISSSSINGLESEL

4.

A2people.

3B30people.

「C28people.

3D1200peopl

分值：1

答案:B

［听力原文］9-10

AEuropeanUnionpeacemissionhasleftAlgeria.Thedeparture

cameasthreebombskilled2peopleandinjured28inAlgiers.There

wasnoclaimofresponsibilityforThursday，sbombings,butthe

policeblamedMuslimextremistrebels.TheEuropeanUnionenvoyspent

fivedaysinAlgeria,tryingtocomeupwithaplanforhelpingthat

countrytoendterroristattacksagainstcivilians.Therewasno

indicationofabreakthrough.Theworldhasbeenhorrifiedbyrecent

waveofcivilianmassacresinAlgeriathatclaimedmorethan1,200

lives.

ISSS_SINGLE_SEL

5.

ATerrorists.

「BCivilians.

CMuslimextremistrebels.

DTheEuropeanUnion.

分值：1

答案:C

PARTIIREADINGCOMPREHENSION

Inthissectiontherearesixreadingpassagesfollowedbyatotal

of20multiple-choicequestions.Readthepassagesandthenmark

youranswersonyourcolouredanswersheet

TEXTA

Angeredbyanexcisetaximposedonwhiskeyin1791bythe

federalgovernment,farmersinthewesterncountiesofPennsylvania

engagedinaseriesofattacksonexciseagents.Thetariff

effectivelyeliminatedanyprofitbythefarmersfromthesaleor

barterofanimportantcashcrop,Itbecamethelightningrodfora

widevarietyofgrievancesbythesettlersoftheregionagainstthe

federalgovernment.Whilecitizensintheeastdidnotfindit

difficulttoabidebytheconceptthatindividualstateswere

“subservienttothecountry,，zpeoplewestofthemountainswereless

acceptingofdecisionsmadebythecentralgovernment.Therebel

farmerscontinuedtheirattacks,riotinginrivertownsandroughing

uptaxcollectorsuntiltheso-called"insurrection"flaredintothe

openinJulyof1794,whenafederalmarshalwasattackedin

AlleghenyCounty,Pennsylvania.Almostatthesametimeseveral

hundredmenattackedtheresidenceoftheregionalinspector,burning

hishome,barnandseveraloutbuildings.Pittsburghwasalsoascene

ofdisorderbyenragedmobs.

OnAugust7,1794PresidentWashingtonissuedaproclamation,

callingoutthemilitiaandorderingthedisaffectedwesternersto

returntotheirhomes.Washington'sordermobilizedanarmyof

approximately13,000(aslargeastheonethathaddefeatedthe

British),under**wandofGeneralHarryLee,thethen-Governorof

VirginiaandfatherofRobertE.Lee.Washingtonhimself,inashow

ofpresidentialauthority,setoutattheheadofthetroopsto

suppresstheuprising.

ThiswasthefirstuseoftheMilitiaLawof1792,settinga

precedentfortheuseofthemilitiato"executethelawsofthe

union,(and)suppressinsurrections,z，assertingtherightofthe

nationalgovernmenttoenforceorderinonestatewithtroopsraised

inotherstates.Evenmoreimportantly,itwasthefirsttestof

powerofthenewfederalgovernment,establishingitsprimacyin

disputeswithindividualstates.Intheend,adozenorsomenwere

arrested,senttoPhiladelphiatotrialandreleasedafterpardonsby

Washington.

1.

Theauthordevelopsdiscussioninparagraph1bymeansof.

|SSS_SINGLE_SEL

Adescribingaprocess

Banhistoricalaccount

「...

Cstatinganissueandgivingexamples

Dexplainingaproblem

分值：1

答案:C

2.

HowdidWashingtondemonstratehispresidentialleadershipwhenan

armywasorganized?

ISSS_SINGLE_SEL

ABymakingitaslargeastheonethathaddefeatedthe

British.

BByputtingGeneralLeeincharge.

CByusingtheMilitiaLaw.

DBybeingatthefrontofthetroops.

分值：1

答案:D

3.

Accordingtothepassage,farmerswereangryaboutthetariffbecause

ISSS_SINGLE_SEl

Atheycouldnolongerbarter

Bexciseagentswereenforcingittoostrongly

Ctheydidn'tlikealotofthingsthegovernmentdid

Ditpreventedanyincomefromanimportantcrop

分值：1

答案:D

4.

Whatdoesthepassagemainlydiscuss?

ISSS_SINGLE_SEL

f-'

AFederalversusstatepowers.

'BTheeffectsoftariffs.

CThewhiskeyrebellion.

3DTheMilitiaLawof1792.

分值：1

答案:C

TEXTB

InearlyColonialAmericasettlersusedmakeshiftshelters,the

mostprimitiveofwhichwasthedugout,likeacavedugintotheside

ofahill,sometimesbuiltupwithsodandcoveredoverwithpoles

andbark.Somewhatmoreambitiouswasthepalisadehut,orcabin,

builtofuprightpolesdrivenintotheground,wovenwithwattles,

chinkedwithclay,androofedwithturforthatch.The"wigwam"may

bederivedfromthebuildingtraditionsoflocalIndians.Thesewere

constructedbybendingandtyingstrippedsaplingsintoavault,

interweavingthemwithtwigs,andcoveringthemwithbark.The

interiormightalsobeinsulatedwithstraw.Onlytheironcooking

potstheyhadbroughtwiththemgaveanyindicationoftheadvanced

technologyoutofwhichthesepeople**e.MostoftheNewEngland

settlerscamefromtheruralareasofEastAnglia,andtheGothic

buildingformsofthatregionweretransplanted,thoughmodifiedby

localconditionsandmaterials.Theframedhalf-timberedhousein

AmericacontinuedalongmedievalEuropeantraditionofcarpentry

construction.Tileheavytimberswereintricatelyjoinedandpegged

intoarigidtimberinterlockingframe.

Inthebeginning,mosthousesconsistedofoneroomandanattic,

withafireplaceonashortwall.Roofswereshingledorthatchedand

chimneysweremadeoflogsdaubedwithclay.Thistypewaslong

continuedinusebypoorerinhabitants,newarrivals,andthosewho

pushedonintothewilderness.Forthemoreaffluent,theearlier

formwassoonsupplantedbythesocalled"classic"type.Ithadtwo

storiesandanattic,tworoomstoafloor,oneoneithersideofa

centralchimneybuiltofbrick.Brickandstonebuildingswererare

atfirstinthecoloniesbecauseoftheshortageoflimeformortar.

Evenwhenmasonryhousesbegantosymbolizestatus,NewEngland

retainedthroughoutthecolonialperiodapreferenceforitsearlier

woodtradition.

ThemajorEnglishvariantfromtheNewEnglandcottagewasthe

plantationhouseofthesoutherncolonies.ThesameGothictraditions

prevailedthere,butbecauseofthedifferencesineconomicand

sociallifeandbackgroundofthesecolonists,theirarchitecture

tendedtoimitatetheEnglishmanorhouseratherthantheyeoman，s

cottage.Also,thesesettlerscronefromdifferentareasofEngland,

bringingwiththemagreatervarietyandpreferenceforbrick.

5.

The“wigwam"ismentionedinline5asanexampleofabuilding

form.

ISSSSINGLESEL

Amadeintoahillside

Bmoreambitiousthanadugout

Cwithoutinsidewallsthatmighthelptoinsulate

Dpossiblydevelopedfromthoseoftheearlierinhabitants

分值：1

答案:D

6.

Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatsoutherncolonists.

|SSS_SINGLE_SEL

Adevelopedtheirhousingstyletomeetbasicneedsratherthan

developa**munitywithitsowntraditions

BweremoreinfluencedbytheEnglishsystemofsocialclasses

thantheNewEnglandColonists

f-'

Chadapreferencefortimberbecauseithelpedtoclearthe

landforlargeplantations

DcamefromthepoorerareasofEngland

分值：1

答案:B

7.

WhichofthefollowingstatementsaboutearlycolonialhousingisNOT

mentionedinthepassage?

|SSS_SINGLE_SEL

ATheplantationhouseofthesoutherncolonieswasbasedonthe

wealthierhousesinEngland.

BNewEnglandcontinuedtoprefertimberratherthanbrick,even

whenmasonryhousebegantosymbolizestatus.

「.......

CTheEnglishGothicbuildingtraditionsinfluencedtheway

houseswerebuiltinbothNewEnglandandtheSouth.

DBrickandstonebuildingswere**monwheretheinfluenceof

Englishtraditionswasthestrongest.

分值：1

答案:D

TEXTC

Itis1a.m.andthe**petitorinthelastroundofthe

SantanderPianoCompetitionisstillonlyhalfwaythrough

Tchaikovsky，sBflatminorconcerto,thethirdaccountwehaveheard

intwodays.Threethousandpeople,shoe-hornedintoanauditorium

createdbythetransformationofahandsomeSpanishplazainto

somethinglikeSelfridge，sChristmasgrotto,fan

themselvesfranticallyunderthetelevisionlights,asheatand

tensionriseiiicorrespondingleaps.Itwillbealongnight,

stretchingonuntil5:30a.m.whenthejudgesgivetheirverdict.At

11:30a.m.thefinalistsareondutyagain,forcingsleep-starved

featuresintobravesmilesforthepresscall.

Itisatoughroutine一illustrative,youmightthink,ofthe

familiararguments^petitions:theblood-sportsmentality,the

arbitrarynatureofthefindings(competitionsfavor"competition-

winners'",not〃musicians")andtheeffectontheparticipantslives.

Recenthistorysuggestsyoumaybemorelikelytobuildanenduring

reputation(beyondtheroundofofficialengagementsthat**e

**petitionprizes)notbywinningbutbylosing一spectacularlyand

withmaximumdissenton