专业英语八级-阅读理解(四)-真题-无答案

专业英语八级-阅读理解（四）

（总分20,考试时间90分钟）

TextA

MakeThataDouble

Afewyearsago,itdawnedonZachThomasthatcoffeedidn'thaveenoughcaffeine.Atthe

time,hewaspullingall-nightersasastudentattheUnitedStatesMilitaryAcademyatWestPoint.

BythetimehebecameaninstructorattheU.S.ArmyRangerSchoolinFortBenning,Ga.,he

livedbyacommonsayingathisschool:"Sleepisacrutch.""Iusedtojustdrinkapotofcoffee,

butthenyouhavetogotothebathroom100timesduringtheday.Ifyoucouldjustgetmore

caffeineinonecup,thenthatwouldbethebestofbothworlds,"hesays.In2005Thomas,now30,

foundedRangerCoffee,witha"hypercaffeinated"blendthatcontainsdoublethecaffeineof

regularcoffee,orabout300milligramsper12-ounceserving-theequivalentofsixDietCokes.

Thesmall,Rockmart,Ga.-**panysells1,700bagsofcoffeeayear,nearlyhalfofthemtotroops

stationedinIraq.

Thesedaysyoudon'thavetobeawarherotobeacaffeineaddict.Everywhereyoulook,

peoplearewiredoncaffeineortoutingitsbenefits-orboth.Tabloidsrunimagesofcelebrities

sippingRedBullortotingStarbucksventilattes;Dunkin'Donutsadsfeatureacoffee-swilling

RachaelRay,whomovessofastthatsheleavestreadmarksonthefloor.There'snoshortageof

waystogetyourcaffeinefix.SalesofenergydrinkslikeRedBullandFullThrottlehavegrown

tenfoldsince2001,andnewonesenterthemarketweekly.Productsthatalreadyhavecaffeineare

addingmore-inthepastfewmonthsDietPepsi,JoltandMountainDewhaveallrolledout

extra-caffeinatedversions.Noveltyitems,likecaffeinatedlipbalm,caffeinatedsunflowerseeds,

caffeinatedbeerandevencaffeinatedsoap（"Tiredofwakingupandhavingtowaitfbryour

morningjavatobrew?1'）arealsopoppingupinretailstoresandnightclubs.Inaspoofonthis

caffeinearmsrace,thesitelauncheda"deathbycaffeinecalculator"thatshowsa180-pound

adultwouldhavetodown44tallcupsofStarbuckscoffeebeforecheckingintothebigjavahouse

inthesky.

Whydoweneed-orwant—somuchenergy?Conventionalwisdomsaysit'sbecausewe're

sleepinglessandworkingmore.Butgovernmentfiguresshowthatadultshaveaveragedeight

hoursofsleeppernightsincethe1960s.Workinghours,atleastfbrmen,havealsoremained

constant:menwithchildrenhaveaveragedabout43hoursofpaidworkperweekforthepasthalf

century.Ofcourse,thatdoesn'tmeanwedon'tfeelmorestressed.UniversityofMaryland

sociologistSuzanneBianchisaysworkingmothers'entryintothelaborforcemeansthere'sless

downtimeforfamiliesasawhole,witherrands,houseworkandoutingspackedintoatight

two-dayweekend.Asfortheyoungandunattached,theymaybegettingplentyofsleep,butat

irregularhours.Theyhavemoreoptionsthaneverfor24/7entertainment,fromTVtotheInternet

(ovideo-games.Infact,manyofthenoveltycaffeineproductsareaimedaccomputergameswho

stageweekend-long"LANparties"wherenoonesleeps.

Butforthegeneralpublic,thetrendismoreaboutgettingalegalhigh."Caffeineistheworld's

mostpopularmood-alteringdrug,"saysDavidSchardl,seniornutritionistaltheCenterfbrscience

inthePublicInterest.**panieshavebeenbankingonitsaddictivepropertiestobringrepeat

business.Caffeinecanliftyourmood,improveconcentration,boostphysicalstaminaand,asan

activeingredientinExcedrin,helpcureheadaches.Morethan50percentofcaffeinedrinkers

experiencewithdrawalsymptomswhentheystop.

Bymostaccounts,though,thestimulantisfairlysafe."There'snothinginherentlywrongwith

beingdependentoncaffeine/'saysRolandGriffiths,aneuroscientistattheJohnsHopkins

UniversitySchoolofMedicine,aslongasyoudon'toverdose.Forthoseaccustomedtocaffeine,a

moderateintakeis2(X)to300milligramsperday—theequivalentoftwotothreecupsofbrewed

coffee,oneStarbuckstallcoffeeor3.5RedBulls.Exceed500to600milligrams,andanxiety,

nauseaandheartpalpitationscansetin.Griffithsdoesworryaboutteenagers,whoaredrinking

morecaffeinatedbeverages;"I'mconcernedthatimpressionableadolescentsareexposedto

marketingmessagesthatpromotecaffeineasaperformanceenhancerwilllaterturntostronger

drugs,likesteroidsorRitalinorcocaine."Moreworrisomestillistheglamorizationofthe24/7

caffeinehigh.EvenRachaelRayoccasionallyneedsherrest.

1.Accordingtothepassage,thefollowingaretheeffectsofcaffeinewiththeEXCEPTIONof

A.Itcancurediseases.

B.Itcanchangepcoplc'smood.

C.Itcanincreasephysicalstrength.

D.Itcanmakepeoplemoreconcentrate

2.Accordingtothepassage,thefollowingaretheadverseeffectsofoverdoseofcaffeinewiththe

EXCEPTIONof.

A.anxietyB.sickness

C.heartbeatingD.obesity

3.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrueaboutcaffeine?

A.Itmakespeopleawake.

B.Ithelpsalterpeople'smood.

C.Drinkingdrinkswithcaffeineislegal.

D.Drinkswithcaffeinearedangeroustopeople'shealt

4.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrue?

A.Peoplearenotsupposedtobedependentoncaifeine.

B.Peopleneedmoreenergybecausetheyfeelmorestressed.

C.People'sdesireforcaffeinated'energy'productsissoaring.

D.Peopletendtodrinkthehighestamountofcaffeinethatislegal.

5.Whichofthefollowingsuggeststherealcausefbrthehighneedofcaffeine?

A.Itisharmless.

B.Itcanenhanceperformance.

C.Ithelpswithpeople'swayoffeeling.

D.Peoplearcsleepinglessandworkingmor

TextB

TheWorldBank'sRealProblem

TheWorldBankisundeniablyincrisis.Butnotbecauseitspresident,PaulWolfowitz,gothis

girlfriendaraise.

ItistheWolfowitzsagathathasbeengrabbingalltheheadlines,ofcourse.TheIraq-war

architectwaspluckedfromtheDefenseDepartmentanddepositedbyPresidentGeorgeW.Bush

attheWorldBankin2005(bytradition,theU.S.Presidentpicksthebank'schief).Atthetime,

Wolfowitzinformedthebank's**mitteethathewasseeingShahaRiza,acommunicationadviser

atthebank,andthein-houseethiciststoldhimsheshouldbemovedtoanotheragencyandgivena

raiseforhertroubles.Butthesizeofthepayhike(from$133,000to$180,000,taxfree)andother

detailsaboutRiza'stransferraisedhacklesamongbankstaffandsparkedaninvestigation.The

bank'sboardwilldecideanydaynowwhetherWolfowitzstaysorgoes.

Thisdragged-outmess,though,isadistraction.ThebiggerissueisthattheWashington-based

bankanditssisterorganization,theInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF),arestrugglingtojustify

theircontinuedexistence.

ThesituationismostpressingforthesmallerIMEwhichpaysitsbillswiththeprofitsit

makesbylendingmoneytomiddle-incomecountriesinfinancialtrouble.Withhardlyanysuch

countriesintroublethesedays,theorganizationisprojectinga$224milliondeficitfbrthisfiscal

yearandaskingitsmembernationsiftheycanstartsellingoffsomeofthegoldtheydeposited

withitafterWorldWarII(theanswersofar:no).

TheWorldBankisn'tthatdesperate,butitfacessimilarpressure.Bothorganizationswere

createdin1944bythesoon-to-be-victoriousAlliedpowers.Atthetime,saysHarvardprofessor

andformerIMFchiefeconomistKennethRogoff,"globalfinancialmarketsbarelyexisted,and

domesticfinancialmarketsbarelyexistedinEurope."

TheWorldBank'sinitialjobwastofinancereconstructioninEurope.TheMarshallPlan

renderedthattasksuperfluous,sothebank—inthefirstofseveralreinventions—movedonto

bankrolldevelopmentinothercountries.Theideawastolendtogovernmentsthatwere

creditworthybuthadnoaccesstorich-countrycapitalmarkets."Nowweliveinaworldwhere

therearehugeglobalcapitalmarkets,where,ifanything,investorsaretoowillingtoinvestin

developingcountries,"saysAdamLerrick,aformerinvestmentbankerwhoteacheseconomicsat

CarnegieMellonUniversity.TheWorldBank'snetlendinghasplummetedoverthepastfewyears,

evenasitkeepsshoppingIoanstothelikesofBrazil,Turkey,RussiaandChina,sometimeson

hugelygenerousterms.

ThisistheworkofthebiggestpartoftheWorldBank,theInternationalBankfor

ReconstructionandDevelopment.Membercountriesmakedeposits(theU.S.shareis$2billion

downand$30billionpledged);thebanksellsbondsbackedbythosedepositsandpledges,then

lendsthemoneyoutatasmallprofit.TheothermainarmoftheWorldBank,theInternational

DevelopmentAssociation,getsregularinfusionsofcashfromrichcountriesandlendsfundson

neargiveawaytermstotrulypoorcountries,mostlyinAfrica(theU.S.contributionisjustunder

$1billionayear,or0.04%offederalspending).

LerrickwantstheWorldBanktostoplendingtomiddle-incomecountriesandrestructureits

loanstothepoorestnationsasoutrightgrants.NancyBirdsall,aformerWorldBankerwhoruna

WashingtonthinktankcalledtheCenterforGlobalDevelopment,arguesthatthebankcouldhave

moreimpactonpovertybymakingbetteruseofitsbestassets:theexpertiseofitsstaffandits

abilitytocoordinateglobalaction."Lendingandgrantmakingatthecountrylevelshouldnotbe

theend-allandbe-all,"shesays."Itshouldbethevehicleforadviceandconstantrebuildingof

thebank'sknowledge."BirdsallisaWorldBankfanbutagreeswithcriticslikeLcrrickthatit

mustbecomesmaller(ithasastaffof10,000)andlessbankliketoremainrelevant.

Wolfowitz'salliessayheisthevictimofbacklashfromentrenchedbankstaffupsetthatheis

turninguptheheatonananticomiptioncampaignbegunbyhispredecessor,JamesWolfensohn.

That'sprobablyoverstatingthings.Butthepotentialbacklashagainstslashingthebank'sstaffand

gettingitoutoflendingwouldsurelybeepic.WhichmayexplainwhynoWorldBankpresident,

Wolfowitzincluded,hasattemptedit.

6.Accordingtotheauthor,theWorldBank'srealproblemis.

A.itscorruption

B.itspolicyonlending

C.itscontinuedexistence

D.Wolfowitz'sromanticrelationship

7.WhichofthefollowingcanbeinferredfromthepassageabouttheWorldBank?

A.Itsanticorruptioncampaignisstillgoingon.

B.Itshouldreadjustitsroleincombatingpoverty.

C.IthassatisfieditsinitialjobtofinancereconstructioninEurope.

D.Itisplayingamoreandmoreimportantroleinlendingtodevelopingcountries.

8.Accordingtothepassage,theWorldBankshoulddothefollowingEXCEPT.

A.reducingstaff

B.coordinatingglobalaction

C.increasingtheprofititmakes

D.offeringadvicetopoorcountries

9.WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrueaccordingtoNancyBirdsall?

A.TheWorldBankshouldreduceitsstaff.

B.TheWorldBankshouldcoordinateglobalaction.

C.TheWorldBankshouldofferadvicetopoorcountries.

D.TheWorldBankshouldlimititsworktolendingandgrantmakin

10.WecaninferfromthelastparagraphthattheauthorwasthecapabilityoftheWorld

Banktosolveitsproblems.

A.confidentinB.indifferentto

C.optimisticaboutD.pessimisticabout

TextC

ToGetontheSamePage

SamiAdwanistheverymodelofasoft-spokenprofessor.Hemeasureshiswords,andlistens

carefullytowhatothershavesaid.YetwhilepursuingaPh.D.attheUniversityofSanFrancisco

inthe1980s,AdwannotonlyrefusedtolistentoJewishstudents,hesaysbuthedroppedoutof

classesifheknewtheyincludedJews.APalestinianborninthevillageofSurif,nearHebron,

AdwanhadgrownupundertheshadowoftheIsraelioccupation,hearingtalesfromhisfatherand

grandfatherofhowJewshadseizedthefamily'sorangegrovesandwheatfieldsin1948.

Returningtohishomelandwithhisdegree,AdwanjoinedthethenoutlawedFatahParlyandwas

thrownintoanIsraelijailin1993.

Thatwashisrealeducation.Whileawaitingcharges,AdwanoverheardtwoIsraelisoldiers

arguingoverwhetherheshouldbemadetosignadocumentinHebrev/thathecouldn'tread.

Shockedtohearoneofhisenemiesdefendinghisrights,Adwandecidedthathehadsomethings

tolearnabouttheJewishnation.

SomuchofthegulfinunderstandingthatplaguestheMiddleEasthastodowiththewillful

disregardfortheother'spointofview.Israelisrefertothe1948conflictthatgavebirthtotheir

nationastheWarofIndependence;PalestiniansknowitastheNakba,orCatastrophe.What

Israeliscall"theriotsof1920"—whenPalestiniansattackedJewishneighborhoodsaround

JerusalemandJaffa—aretermed"thepopularuprisings"bytheotherside.Adwan,alecturerat

BethlehemUniversity,hasspentmuchofhisprofessionalcareertryingtobridgethisgap.

TogetherwithDanBar-On,asocialpsychologistatBenGurionUniversityinsouthernIsrael,

henowco-directsthePeaceResearchInstituteintheMiddleEast(PRIME).Since2002thegroup

hasproducedthreebookletstouseinPalestinianandIsraelihighschoolsthatforceeachsideto

confrontacontradictoryvisionofhistory.Eachpageisdividedintothree:thePalestinianand

Israelinarrativesandathirdsectionleftblankforthepupiltofillin."Theideaisnottolegitimize

oraccepttheothefsnarrativebuttorecognizeit,"Adwansays."The[historical]datesmaybethe

same,buttheinterpretationofeachsideisverydifferent."

Sidebyside,thedivergentworldviewsarestriking.ZionismisdescribedintheIsraelicolumn

as"aresultof...thecontinuationofanti-Semitism[inEurope],theinspirationofothernational

movements,andthecontinualconnectionofthepeopleofIsraeltothelandofIsrael."Itbears

littleresemblancetothe"imperialistpoliticalmovementthatbestowedanationalistcharacteristic

totheJews"knowntoPalestinians.

Educatorsinotherconflict-riddensocietiesaretakingnotice.LastyeartheCenterforHuman

RightsandConflictResolutionatSkopjeUniversityinMacedoniapublishedtheirownparallel

Macedonian-AlbaniannarrativesbasedonPRIME'Smodel."IftheIsraeliandPalestinianteachers

managedto**etheincrediblegapbetweenthemselves,wecandoithere,"saysSkopjeUniversity

professorVioletaPetroska-Beska.InFrance,Whichsuffersfromitsowntensionsbetween

Muslimsandnon-Muslims,thePRIMEbooklet"LearningtheOther'sNarrative'*hassoldmore

than23,000copies.It'salsobeentranslatedintoEnglish,Spanish,Italian,CatalanandBasque,

andlaterthisyearwillbeproducedinGerman.AmericaneducatorsinVirginiaandPhiladelphia

haveexpressedinterestinintroducingthenarrativesintoclassesonconflictresolution.

Closertohome,however,thetexthashadahardertime."WhenweestablishedPRIMEin

1998,wethoughtpeacewasaroundthecorner,"saysAdwan."TodaybothDanandIknowitwas

awishfulthinking."ShortlyafterthebeginningofthesecondPalestinianintifadain2000,Bar-On

andAdwanfoundthemselvesstandondiffercmsidesofanIsraelicheckpointnearBethlehem,

beggingsoldierstoletthemshiftacoupleofyardsclosertoeachothersotheycoulddiscussthe

project.In2004,right-wingIsraeliEducationMinisterLimorLivnatthreatenedteacherswith

disciplinaryactioniftheyusedthebooklet.OneWestBankteacherhasgivenlessonsinherhouse

forfearofreprisalandanother,fromarefugeecampnearJerusalem,wasthreatenedbycolleagues

andparentsforteachingwhattheycalled"normalizationunderoccupation."

Askedwhetherthebookletswilleverbeapartofthelocalschoolcurriculum,Adwanshakes

hisheadslowly,shrugsandlooksouthisofficewindow.Fromtherehehasafineviewofthewall

thatsnakesbetweenJerusalemandBethlehem,dividingIsraelfromtheWestBank.

11.Accordingtothepassage,Adwan'srealeducationtookplace.

A.inanIsraelijail

B.inthevillageofSurif

C.atBethlehemUniversity

D.attheUniversityofSanFrancisco

12.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingistherealcauseofthegapinunderstanding

intheMiddleEast?

A.Differentreligionsthattheyhave.

B.Indifferencetoeachother'spointofview.

C.WarfarethattookplacebetweenIsraelandPalestine.

D.EconomicdifferencesthatseparateIsraelandPalestin

13.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingisthepurposeofthebookletsbyPRIME?

A.Toforcehighschoolstudentstoknowbetterabouttheircountry'shistory.

B.lblegitimizetheinterpretationsofhistorybyIsraelandPalestine.

C.Tomakeknowntoeachothertheirinteq)retationsofhistory.

D.lbhelpeachotheraccepttheother'sinterpretationofhistory.

14.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingisNOTtrueaboutthePRIMEmodel?

A.Itiswellreceivedbymanycountries.

B.Someconflict-riddensocietiesarefollowingi(.

C.ItworksquitewellinIsraelandtheWestBank.

D.Ilcanbeusedinclassesonhowtosolveconflict.

15.ItcanbeinferredfromthelastparagraphthatAdwanwasabouttherelationsbetween

IsraelandPalestine.

A.confidentB.indifferent

C.optimisticD.pessimistic

TextD

Let'sNotHideHealthCosts

Weareawashinhealth-careproposals.PresidentBushhasone.SodoesCaliforniaGov.

ArnoldSchwarzenegger.DemocraticSen.RonWydenhasaplan,asdoesacoalitionledby

FamiliesUSA(aliberaladvocacygroup)andAmerica'sHealthInsurancePlans(atradegroup).To

someextent,alltheseplansandothersaimtoprovideinsurancetotheestimated47million

Americanswholackit—asituationwidelydeploredasanationaldisgrace.Butthereal

significanceofalltheseproposals,Isubmit,lieselsewhere.Fordecades,Americanshavetreated

healthcareasifitexistsinaseparateeconomicandpoliticalworld:whenpeopleneedcare,they

shouldgetit;costsshouldremainoutofsight.About60percentofAmericansreceiveinsurance

throughtheiremployers;tomostworkers,thefullcostsareunknown.The65-and-older

populationandmanypoorpeoplereceivegovernmentinsurance.ExceptformodestMedicare

premiumsandpayrolltaxes,costsarelargelyburiedinfederalandstatebudgets.

Itisthissegregationofhealthcarefromeverythingelsethatisnewcrumbling—andthe

varioushealthproposalsarejustonesign.Weseeothersallthetime.Forexample,evenwith

employer-providedinsurance,workers'monthlypremiums(whichcoveronlypartofthecosts)

haveskyrocketed.From1999to2006,theydoubledfrom$129to$248.

LookatMassachusetts.LastyearthethenGov.MittRomneymadeheadlinesbysigning

legislationtocoverallthestate'suninsured.Thelawrequiredthateveryonewithincomesthree

timesthefederalpovertylinebuy"affordable'1insurance(peoplewithincomesbelowthat

thresholdwouldbesubsidizedonaslidingscale).Romneysuggestedannualpremiumsfora

singleworkermighttotal$2,400.Butwhen**paniesrecentlyprovidedrealestimates,thecost

wasmuchhigher:$4,560.IsitasensiblepolicytoforceworkerswithaS30,000income—about

triplethepovertyline-tospendnearlyasixthoftheirbudgetonhealthinsurance,asopposedto

food,rentortransportation?Goodquestion.

Thehardquestionswon'tsitstill,becausehealthcare(nowasixthoftheeconomy,upfroman

11thin1980)istoobigtobehidden.Mythsabound.Contrarytoconventionalwisdom,the

doublingofpremiumsforemployer-providedcoveragedoesn't**paniesshiftedagreatershareof

coststoworkers.Inboth1999and2006,premiumscovered27percentofcosts,saysPaul

FronstinoftheEmployeeBenefitResearchInstitute.It'ssimplytherapidriseintotalhealth

spendingthat'sdepressedworkers'take-homepay.

Onemythabouttheuninsuredisthat,becausethey'reheavyusersofemergency-roomservices,

providingthemwithinsurance(ancregularcare)wouldactuallylowertheircosts.Thismaybe

trueforsome-butnotmost.Thetroubleisthattheuninsureddon'treallyuseemergencyrooms

heavily.AstudyonthejournalHealthAffairsfindsthattheiruseissimilartothatofpeoplewith

privateinsurance-andhalfthatofpeoplewithMedicaid.Theupshotisthatextendinginsurance

toalltheuninsuredwouldbecostly,becausetheywouldgetmoreand(presumably)bettercare.

JohnSheilsoftheLewinGroupestimatestheannualcostoftheircarewouldrise75percentto

$145billion.

Ourhealth-caresystemwill**binegovernmentregulationandprivateenterprise.Butwhat

shouldthemixbe?Whichpatients,providersandtechnologiesshouldbesubsidizedandwhy?

Howimportantishealth**paredwithotherpublicandprivategoals?Willanexpanding

health-caresectorspurtheeconomy-or,throughhightaxesandinsurancepremiums,retardit?

Wehaverefusedtohavethisdebatefbrobviousreasons.Afriendofminerecentlyhada

near-dealhexperience;hesurvivedonlybecausehehadsuperbmedicalcare.Debatinghealthcare

makesusqueasy,becauseitpitsmoralimper