一、选择题30道

二、阅读4篇，其中10道选择题，5道需要自己组织句子回答的问题。

其中一篇阅读是专八真题:

Cooperativecompetition. Competitive cooperation. Confused? Airline alliances havetravelers scratching their heads over what s going on in the skies. Some folksview alliances as a blessing to travelers, offering seamless travel, reducedfares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of bigbusinesses, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices.Whatever your opinion, there's no escaping airline alliances: the marketinghype is unrelenting, with each of the two mega-groupings, One world and StarAlliance, promoting itself as the best choice for all travelers. And, even ifyou turn away from their ads, chances are they will figure in any of yourtravel plans. By the end of the year, One world and Star Alliance will betweenthem control more than 40% of the traffic in the sky. Some pundits predict thatfigure will be more like 75% in 10 years.

But why, after years of often ferocious competition, have airlines decidedto band together? Let's just say the timing is mutually convenient. NorthAmerican airlines, having exhausted all means of earning customer loyalty athome, have been looking for ways to reach out to foreign flyers. Asian carriersare still hurting from the region-wide economic downturn that began two yearsago-just when some of the airlines were taking delivery of new aircraft.Alliances also allow carriers to cut costs and increase profits by poolingmanpower resources on the ground （rather than each airline maintaining its own groundcrew）and code-sharing-the practice of two partners selling tickets and operatingonly one aircraft.

So alliances are terrific for airlines-but are they good for the passenger?Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP（frequent flyer program）benefits, theround-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then there's thepromise of "seamless" travel: the ability to, say, travel fromSingapore to Rome to New York to Rio de Janeiro, all on one ticket, withouthaving to wait hours for connections or worry about your bags. Sounds utopian?Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacific's director of sales and marketing, thinks thatseamless travel is still evolving. "It's fair to say that these links areonly in their infancy. The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure andinformation sharing. We're working on this." Henry Ma, spokesperson forStar Alliance in Hong Kong, lists some of the other benefits for consumers:"Global travelers have an easier time making connections and planningtheir itineraries." Ma claims alliances also assure passengers consistentservice standards.

Critics of alliances say the much-touted benefits to the consumer aremostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for theairlines, rationalizing services and running joint marketing programs. JeffBlyskal, associate editor of Consumer Reports magazine, says the promotionalballyhoo over alliances is much ado about nothing. "I don't see much of again for consumers: alliances are just a marketing gimmick. And as far asseamless travel goes, I'll believe it when I see it. Most airlines can't evenget their own connections under control, let alone coordinate with anotherairline."

Blyskal believes alliances will ultimately result in decreased flightchoices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competingand each operating a flight on the same route at 70% capacity, the allied pairwill share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will beavailable, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets.

The truth about alliances and their merits probably lies somewhere betweenthe travel utopia presented by the players and the evil empires portrayed bytheir critics. And how much they affect you depends on what kind of traveleryou are.

Those who've already made the elite grade in the FFP of a major airlinestand to benefit the most when it joins an alliance: then they enjoy the FFPperks and advantages on any and all of the member carriers. For example, if youre a Marco Polo Club "gold" member of Cathay Pacific s Asia MilesFFP, you will automatically be treated as a valuable customer by all members ofOne world, of which Cathay Pacific is a member-even if you've never flown withthem before.

For those who haven't made the top grade in any FFP, alliances might be away of simplifying the earning of frequent flyer miles. For example, I belongto United Airline's Mileage Plus and generally fly less than 25,000 miles ayear. But I earn miles with every flight I take on Star Alliance member-AllNippon Airways and Thai Airways. If you fly less than I do, you might be smarter to stay out of the FFP gamealtogether. Hunt for bargains when booking flights and you might be able tosave enough to take that extra trip anyway. The only real benefit infrequentflyers can draw from an alliance is an inexpensive round-the-world fare.

The bottom line: for all the marketing hype, alliances aren't all things toall people-but everybody can get some benefit out of them.

19. Which is the best wordto describe air travelers’ reaction to airline alliances?

A) Delight.

B) Indifference.

C) Objection.

D) Puzzlement.

20. According to the passage,setting up airline alliances will chiefly benefit ______.

A) North American airlines and their domestic travelers

B) North American airlines and their foreign counterparts

C) Asian airlines and their foreign travelers

D) Asian airlines and their domestic travelers

21. Which of the following is NOT a perceivedadvantage of alliances?

A) Baggage allowance.

B) Passenger comfort.

C) Convenience.

D) Quality

22. Onedisadvantage of alliances foreseen by the critics is that air travel may bemore expensive as a result of ______.

A) less convenience

B) higher operation costs

C) less competition

D) more joint marketing

23. According tothe passage, which of the following categories of travelers will gain most fromairline alliances?

A) Travelers who fly frequently economy class.

B) Travelers who fly frequently business class.

C) Travelers who fly occasionally during holidays.

D) Travelers who fly economy class once in a while.

答案

短文大意：本文主要论述的是航空公司联合的利与弊。

19. 答案：D

【参考译文】下面哪一项最能描述乘客对航空联合的看法？

【试题分析】本题为细节题。

【详细解答】短文第一段开头提到航空联合时说：“Confused?Airline alliances have travellers scratching their heads over what’s going on in the skies.”这表明乘客非常疑惑，因为他们不知道航空公司到底发生了什么事。由此可直接选D“迷惑的”。

20. 答案：B

【参考译文】根据文章内容，谁是联合同盟成立后的主要受益者？

【试题分析】本题为推理题。

【详细解答】文章第二段表明，北美航空公司和亚洲航空公司都想向海外发展，如果联合就可以达到资源共享，以降低成本，提高利润。故选项B为正确答案。

21. 答案：A

【参考译文】下列哪一项不是航空联合所带来的益处？

【试题分析】本题为细节题，可用排除法解答。

【详细解答】文中第三段讲到，航空公司认为联合对乘客绝对有好处。实现全球服务网络，乘客不用再等上几个小时或担心自己的行李，休息室增大，提高了质量。因此可排除选项B，C和D。这里只有选项A“行李的最高限额(将增大)”没有提到，故为正确答案。

22. 答案：C

【参考译文】反对者预见联合的不利处可能是航空旅行更加昂贵，原因是什么？

【试题分析】本题为细节题。

【详细解答】短文第五段第二句说“Instead oftwo airlines competing and each operating a flight on the same route at 70%capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight.”由此可见，联合将最终导致票价上涨，因为联合的两个公司将共享路线，载满乘客，而不是互相竞争，装载70％的乘客。故答案选C

23. 答案：B

【参考译文】根据文章内容，下列哪一类旅客将从航空联合中受益最多？

【试题分析】本题为细节题。

【详细解答】文章倒数第四段说，已在一个大航空公司获得FFP的顶级席位的人将受益最多。FFP指frequentflyer programme类的人。而能取得顶级席位的应该是坐商业舱的人，而不是坐经济舱的人。故选项B为正确答案。

有一篇是讲一个医生杀死妻子的案件，以下是阅读原文：

A jury convicted a doctor of murder earlySaturday in the death of his wife six years ago, bringing an end to a trialthat became the nation's latest true-crime cable TV obsession with its tales ofjailhouse snitches, forced plastic surgery, philandering and betrayal.

Martin MacNeill was accused of knockingout Michele MacNeill with drugs after cosmetic surgery, then leaving her to diein a tub like one that was displayed during the trial.

Prosecutors asserted that he may haveheld her underwater for good measure and that he did it to take up a new life with another woman.

Michele MacNeill's daughters and otherrelatives let out a loud yelp before dissolving in tears as the jury deliveredits verdict to the tense, packed courtroom.

"We're just so happy he can't hurtanyone else," said Alexis Somers, one of his older daughters. "Wemiss our mom; we'll never see her again. But that courtroom was full of so manypeople who loved her."

Martin MacNeill, 57, showed littleemotion when the verdict was read. He hugged his lawyer afterward and said,"It's OK."