2011年专业英语八级考试真题及答案.doc

2011年专业英语八级考试真题及答案PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSIONSECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Some of the gaps may require a maximum of THREE words. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may refer to your notes while completing the task. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.Now, listen to the mini-lecture.Classifications of CulturesAccording to Edward Hall, different cultures result in different ideas about the world. Hall is an anthropologist. He is interested in relations between cultures.I. High-context cultureA. feature- context: more important than the message- meaning: (1)_i.e. more attention paid to (2) _ than to the message itselfB. examples- personal space- preference for (3)_- less respect for privacy / personal space- attention to (4)_- concept of time- belief in (5)_ interpretation of time- no concern for punctuality- no control over timeII. Low-context cultureA. feature- message: separate from context- meaning: (6)_B. examples- personal space- desire / respect for individuality / privacy- less attention to body language- more concern for (7)_- attitude toward time- concept of time: (8)_- dislike of (9)_- time seen as commodityIII. ConclusionAwareness of different cultural assumptions- relevance in work and lifee.g. business, negotiation, etc.- (10)_ in successful communication参考答案：(1) context of message(2) what's happening / the context(3) closeness to people(4) body language(5) poly-chronic(6) message itself(7) the message(8) mono-chronic(9) lateness(10) great influence / significanceTIPS：(1) 根据原文中一句“A high-context culture is a culture in which the context of the message, or the action, or an event carries a large part of its meaning and significance.”可知答案。(2) 根据原文“What this means is that in a high-context culture, more attention is paid to what's happening in and around the message than to the message itself.”可知答案。(3) 根据原文“Generally speaking, in a high-context culture, because this greater dependency on group thinking, people lean towards heavier sense of involvement or closeness to people.”可得出答案。(4) 根据原文“And also people from a high-context culture pay attention to body language.”可得出答案。(5) 根据原文“People in high-context cultures, are considered to have, what is called a poly-chronic attitude toward time.”可得出答案。(6) 根据原文“A low-context culture is one in which the message, the event or the action is a separate entity, having meaning onto itself, regardless of the surroundings or the context.”可得出答案。(7) 根据原文“And you'll also see that people might pay less attention to body language, because as I said, the message is, the message is everything.”可得出答案。(8) 原文提到在low-context culture中，人们对时间的态度可称为mono-chronic。(9) 根据原文“People in a low-context culture would be much more upset with lateness, because they feel that everyone should follow the same time.”可得出答案。(10) 根据文章末尾部分“If you're in business, negotiations, interpersonal relations, if you're dealing with people from different cultures in any way, it's going to affect every part of your life. In any multi-cultural situation, these assumptions need to be taken into account for successful interactions.”可知，在商务活动、谈判、人际交往中，与来自不同文化的人打交道时，这些想法对成功的交际起着非常重要的作用。script:Classifications of CulturesGood morning, everyone! Today, we'll look at culture or rather classifications of cultures. Usually, when we deal with different people, we deal with them as if we were all members of the same culture. However, it's possible that people from different cultures have different assumptions about the world. We got in such important and basic ideas as time, personal space. And this is the view of Edward Hall. And Edward Hall is an anthropologist who spent a large part of his life studying American Indians, their culture, their language. But he was different from a lot of other anthropologists who just study one culture. He was interested in the relations between cultures, how cultures interact. What Hall believes is that cultures can be classified by placing them on a continuum, ranging from what he called high-context to low-context.OK, what is a high-context culture? A high-context culture is a culture in which the context of the message, or the action, or an event carries a large part of its meaning and significance. What this means is that in a high-context culture, more attention is paid to what's happening in and around the message than to the message itself.Now, let me give you examples. First, in terms of personal space. Generally speaking, in a high-context culture, because this greater dependency on group thinking, people lean towards heavier sense of involvement or closeness to people. And they have less respect for privacy, for personal space. If you go into that culture, people might stand closer when they're talking to you. They might touch more. And if they're jostled in a crowd, they won't feel violated. And also people from a high-context culture pay attention to body language. Because remember what I said, the definition of a high-context culture is that more attention is paid to the context of the message than to the message itself. And part of the context is body language.Second, in terms of time. People in high-context cultures, are considered to have, what is called a poly-chronic attitude toward time. Here, "poly" means multiple and "chronic" means time. What this means is that they believe people, things, events have their own time. And there can't be a standard system of time for everything. What this leads them to believe is that you can't emphasize punctuality. Things happen when they are supposed to happen. So, there's a different attitude toward time; there's no set standard of time; you can't control time; everything has its own sense of time. So it's a culture that pays little attention to time, to clock time.Now, let's move on to low-context culture. A low-context culture is just the opposite. A low-context culture is one in which the message, the event or the action is a separate entity, having meaning onto itself, regardless of the surroundings or the context. That the message, the event, the action has meaning in itself. So what this means in a low-context culture, is that people pay more attention to the event itself rather than to the context which surrounds the event or the message. For example, in terms of personal space again, there's more emphasis on individuality. So the concept of privacy is very, very important. Whereas before, as I said, in a high-context culture, they might not even be concerned with privacy or personal space. But in a low-context culture, there's a feeling that we each have our own personal space. If you get too close, if you don't knock on doors before entering, that's an invasion of privacy. People feel violated. There's a respect and a desire for privacy. And you'll also see that people might pay less attention to body language, because as I said, the message is, the message is everything. They are not going to worry about all the details around it. What you say is the important thing, or what you do is the important thing.Another example of a low-context culture is people's attitude towards time. In terms of time, I said before, there was a poly-chronic sense of time in a high-context culture. What do you think there would be in a low-context culture? Mono-chronic? Right! A mono-chronic sense of time and by that we mean that there's one time. And that concept means that people in a low-context culture believe that there's one standard of time. And that should be for everything. And so I am not willing to hear "Oh, the traffic was heavy. That's why I'm late" or "Oh, I slept late". People in a low-context culture would be much more upset with lateness, because they feel that everyone should follow the same time. There shouldn't be all this flexibility with time and they expect punctuality. And they look at time as almost a commodity that they use expressions like "use time, to waste time, to spend time or time is money". All of these expressions reinforce the concept that time is actually something you can hold on to.So, what this is all about is that, Hall stresses that people need to be aware of these different assumptions or concepts about reality. And he thinks that this has all kinds of relevance no matter what you're doing. If you're in business, negotiations, interpersonal relations, if you're dealing with people from different cultures in any way, it's going to affect every part of your life. In any multi-cultural situation, these assumptions need to be taken into account for successful interactions.OK, today we've taken a brief look at Edward Hall's view of culture, mainly his classification of high- or low-context culture with some examples. Next week, we'll look at some more examples of cultures on a continuum between high-context and low-context cultures.SECTION B INTERVIEW/CONVERSATIONIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.Now, listen to the interview.1. According to Dr. Harley, what makes language learning more difficult after a certain age?A. Differences between two languages.B. Declining capacity to learn syntax.C. Lack of time available.D. Absence of motivation.参考答案： BTIP：答案选B。Harley博士提到有研究表明，语言特别是句法方面的学习在12岁以后更难。2. What does the example of Czech speakers show?A. It's natural for language learners to make errors.B. Differences between languages cause difficulty.C. There exist differences between English and Czech.D. Difficulty stems from either difference or similarity.参考答案： DTIP：答案选D。Harley博士提到有研究发现学习英语的捷克人会在相同的捷克语和英语句法上犯错，因此证明了语言学习者的困难也可能来自相似性。3. Which of the following methods does NOT advocate speaking?A. The traditional method.B. The audiolingual method.C. The immersion method.D. The direct method.参考答案： ATIP：答案选A。因为其他三种方法都要求或强调口语，而传统方法强调语法教学。4. Which hypothesis deals with the role of language knowledge in the learning process?A. The acquisition and learning distinction hypothesis.B. The comprehensible input hypothesis.C. The monitor hypothesis.D. The active filter hypothesis.参考答案： CTIP：答案选C。当Harley博士在解释monitor hypothesis时，他提到monitor会使用语法规则，电台主持人向他确认是否这意味着学习者运用语言知识确保所说和所写的正确无误，Harley博士的回答是肯定的。5. Which of the following topics is NOT discussed during the interview?A. Causes of language learning difficulties.B. Differences between mother tongue and a second language.C. Theoretical conceptualization of second language learning.D. Pedagogical implementation of second language teaching.参考答案： BTIP：答案选B。其他三项在对话中均有提及，D项没有提及。script:Woman: Good morning, Dr. Harley! Thank you very much for coming on our radio talk. We know that you're an applied linguist specializing in second language acquisition.Dr. Harley: Right!Woman: So, today, um, we'll look at this issue. Now, first, Dr. Harley, could you please tell us what is second language acquisition?Dr. Harley: Well, second language acquisition is . happens when a child or adult has already become competent at a language. And then, um, they attempt to learn another.Woman: OK, most people think, including me, it is difficult to learn another language. What are the reasons? Why is it so?Dr. Harley: Well, there are a number of reasons for this. Huh, first, there have been research studies. They have shown that some aspects of language learning especially syntax are more difficult beyond a certain age, say, after around 12 years of age.Woman: So, age plays an important role in language learning?Dr. Harley: Yes. But that's not the only reason.Woman: Oh, is that so?Dr. Harley: Yes, for example, huh, time and interest. All children and adults often have less time and motivation to learn a second language.Woman: Mm Dr. Harley: Another is related to the similarities and differences between one's mother tongue and a second language. We find the learners will experience difficulty when their mother tongue and the second language they're learning differ. In general, the more idiosyncratic a feature is in a particular language relative to other languages, the more difficult it will be to acquire.Woman: Perhaps this is the key issue. Differences between languages cause language learning problems.Dr. Harley: Well, this may be one of the issues here. But this cannot be the whole story, as not all differences between languages cause difficulty. Let me give you an example.Woman: OK.Dr. Harley: Research has found that many errors by Czech speakers learning English were made on syntactic constructions in which the two languages do not differ.Woman: Oh, really? The picture is more complicated than we've imagined.Dr. Harley: Definitely yes. Each language learning situation is different. So reasons vary a lot from case to case.Woman: Now, Dr. Harley, since learning a second language is a difficult process, you know, in one way or another, are there any methods so far, effective methods to teach a second language?Dr. Harley: There again, no method is absolutely effective in all situations. Some may prove effective, others may not. I mean all depending on specific conditions. But generally speaking, there are a number of methods that have been used to teach a second language.Woman: Could you mention a few?Dr. Harley: For instance, there's the traditional method. This method is based on translation from one language to another. And it emphasizes grammar teaching. And then you have direct methods which focuses on conversational skills and all teaching must be carried out in the second language.Woman: Oh, I see. Any other methods?Dr. Harley: Yes, for example, the audio-lingual method. This method emphasizes speaking and listening before reading and writing.Woman: How interesting!Dr. Harley: Then you have the immersion method. This method teaches learners exclusively through the medium of the second language.Woman: How?Dr. Harley: Well, it simply means that you cannot speak mother tongue. Everything must be done in the language you're learning. To me, the most natu