Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters.

When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one, however, he quickly takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts (停顿); the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once.

The teacher’s task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump’) and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time.

This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil’s eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.

21. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the first paragraph?
A) Pupils should be trained to reach quickly the stage of reading without having to concentrate on the separate symbols.
B) Pupils should look at each printed symbol for its meaning as well as for its shape.
C) Teachers should help their pupils avoid looking at the shape of the printed symbols.
D) Teachers should tell their pupils the different stages of their study.（B）

22. In a single moment, a good reader picks up ________.
A) several words
B) several phrases
C) several sentences
D) several lines（D）

23. Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ________.
A) students will be able to express their ideas more freely
B) teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes
C) students will have more confidence in writing
D) students will learn to be independent of teachers（A）

24. The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgement on that sensitive piece of writing is ________.
A) reasonable
B) unfair
C) foolish
D) careless（B）

25. The major point discussed in the passage is ________.
A) the importance of developing writing skills
B) the complexities of spelling
C) the correct way of marking compositions
D) the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition（D）


Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

A breakthrough (突破) in the provision of energy from the sun for the European Economic Community (EEC) could be brought forward by up to two decades, if a modest increase could be provided in the EEC’s research effort in this field, according to the senior EEC scientists engaged in experiments in solar energy at EEC’s scientific laboratories at Ispra, near Milan.

The senior West German scientist in charge of the Community’s solar energy programme, Mr. Joachim Gretz, told journalists that at present levels of research spending it was most unlikely that solar energy would provide as much as three per cent of the Community’s energy requirements even after the year 2000. But he said that with a modest increase in the present< sums, devoted by the EEC to this work it was possible that the breakthrough could be achieved by the end of the next decade.

Mr. Gretz calculates that if solar energy only provided three per cent of the EEC’s needs, this could still produce a saving of about a billion pounds in the present bill for imported energy each year. And he believes that with the possibility of utilizing more advanced technology in this field it might be possible to satisfy a much bigger share of the Community’s future energy needs.

At present the EEC spends about $2.6 millions a year on solar research at Ispra, one of the EEC’s official joint research centres, and another $3 millions a year in indirect research with universities and other independent bodies.

26. The phrase “be brought forward” (Line 2, Para. 1) most probably means ________.
A) be expected
B) be completed
C) be advanced
D) be introduced（C）

27. Some scientists believe that a breakthrough in the use of solar energy depends on ________.
A) sufficient funding
B) further experiments
C) advanced technology
D) well-equipped laboratories（A）

28. According to Mr. Gretz, the present sum of money will enable the scientists to provide ________.
A) more than 3 ~, 6 of the EEC’s needs after the year 2000
B) only 3% of the EEC’s needs before the year 2000
C) less than 3% of the EEC’s needs before the year 2000
D) 3% of the EEC’s needs after the year 2000（C）

29. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A) The EEC spends one billion pounds on imported energy each year.
B) At the present level of research spending, it is difficult to make any significant progress in the provision of energy from the sun.
C) The desired breakthrough could be obtained by the end of the next decade if investment were increased.
D) The total yearly spending of the EEC on solar energy research amounted to almost 6 million.（A）

30. The application of advanced technology to research in solar energy ________.
A) would lead to a big increase in research funding
B) would make it unnecessary to import oil
C) would make it possible to meet the future energy needs of the EEC
D) would provide a much greater proportion of the Community’s future energy needs（D）


Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

Just seven years ago, the Jarvik-7 artificial heart was being cheered as the model of human creativeness. The sight of Barney Clark-alive and conscious after trading his diseased heart for a metal-and-plastic pump-convinced the press, the public and many doctors that the future had arrived. It hadn’t. After monitoring production of the Jarvik-7, and reviewing its effects on the 150 or so patients (most of whom got the device as a temporary measure) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that the machine was doing more to endanger lives than to save them. Last week the agency cancelled its earlier approval, effectively banning (禁止) the device.

The recall may hurt Symbion Inc., maker of the Jarvik-7, but it won’t end the request for an artificial heart. One problem with the banned model is that the tubes connecting it to an external power source created a passage for infection. Inventors are now working on new devices that would be fully placed, along with a tiny power pack, in the patient’s chest. The first sample products aren’t expected for another 10 or 20 years: But some people are already worrying that they’ll work-and that America’s overextended health-care programs will lose a precious $2.5 billion to $5 billion a year providing them for a relatively few dying patients. If such expenditures (开支) cut into funding for more basic care, the net effect could actually be a decline in the nation’s health.

31. According to the passage the Jarvik-7 artificial heart proved to be ________.
A) a technical failure
B) a technical wonder
C) a good life-saver
D) an effective means to treat heart disease（A）

32. From the passage we know that Symbion Inc ________.
A) has been banned by the government from producing artificial hearts
B) will review the effects of artificial hearts before designing new models
C) may continue to work on new models of reliable artificial hearts
D) can make new models of artificial hearts available on the market in 10 to 20 years（C）

33. The new models of artificial hearts are expected ________.
A) to have a working life of 10 or 20 years
B) to be set fully in the patient’s chest
C) to be equipped with an external power source
D) to create a new passage for infection（B）

34. The word “them” in Line 7, Para. 2 refers to ________.
A) doctors who treat heart diseases
B) makers of artificial hearts
C) America’s health-care programs
D) new models of artificial hearts（D）

35. Some people feel that ________.
A) artificial hearts are seldom effective
B) the country should not spend so much money on artificial hearts
C) the country is not spending enough money on artificial hearts
D) America’s health-care programs are not doing enough for the nation’s health（B）



Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

A raped means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United States as settlement (新拓居地) spread ever farther westward. The early trains were impractical curiosities, and for a long time the railroad companies met with troublesome mechanical problems. The most serious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once these were solved, the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation. By 1860 there were thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines.

The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first transcontinental system. In 1862 Congress authorized two western railroad companies to build lines from Nebraska westward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so as to complete a transcontinental crossing linking the Atlantic seaboard with the Pacific. The Government helped the railroads generously with money and land. Actual work on this project began four years later. The Central Pacific Company, starting from California, used Chinese labor, while the Union Pacific employed crews of Irish laborers. The two groups worked at remarkable speed, each trying to cover a greater distance than the other. In 1869 they met at a place called Promontory in what is now the state of Utah. Many visitors came there for the great occasion. There were joyous celebrations all over the country, with parades and the ringing of church bells to honor the great achievement.

The railroad was very important in encouraging westward movement. It also helped build up industry and farming by moving raw materials and by distributing products rapidly to distant markets. In linking towns and people to one another it helped unify the United States.

36. The major problems with America’s railroad system in the mid 19th century lay in ________.
A) poor quality rails and unreliable stopping systems
B) lack of financial support for development
C) limited railroad lines
D) lack of a transcontinental railroad（A）

37. The building of the first transcontinental system ________.
A) brought about a rapid growth of industry and farming in the west
B) attracted many visitors to the construction sites
C) attracted laborers from Europe
D) encouraged people to travel all over the county（A）

38. The best title for this passage would be ________.
A) Settlements Spread Westward
B) The Coast-to-Coast Railroad: A Vital Link
C) American Railroad History
D) The Importance of Trains in the American Economy（B）

39. The construction of the transcontinental railroad took ________.
A) 9 years
B) 7 years
C) 4 years
D) 3 years（D）

40. What most likely made people think’ about a transcontinental railroad?
A) The possibility of government support for such a task.
B) The need to explore Utah.
C) The need to connect the east coast with the west.
D) The need to del, clop the railroad industry in the west.（C）