Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
Cyberspace (网络空间)， data superhighways, mullet media-for those who have seen the future, the linking of computers, television and telephones will change our lives for ever, Yet for all the talk of a forthcoming technological utopia (乌托邦) little attention has been given to the implications of these developments for the poor. As with all new high technology, while the West concerns itself with the “how,” the question of “for whom” is put aside once again.
Economists are only now realizing the full extent to which the communications revolution has affected the world economy. Information technology allows the extension of trade across geographical and industrial boundaries, and transitional corporations take full advantage of it. Terms of trade, exchange and interest rates and money movements are more important than the production of goods. The electronic economy made possible by information technology allows the haves to increase their control on global markets-with destructive impact on the have-nots.
For them the result is instability. Developing countries which rely on the production of a small range of goods for export are made to feel like small parts in the international economic machine. As “futures”(期货) are traded on computer screens, developing countries simply have less and less control of their destinies.
So what are the options for regaining control? One alternative is for developing countries to buy in the latest computers and telecommunications themselves-so-called “development communications” modernization. Yet this leads to long-term dependency and perhaps permanent constraints on developing countries’ economies.
Communications technology is generally exported from the U.S., Europe or Japan; the patents, skills and ability to manufacture remain in the hands of a few industrialized countries, It is also expensive, and imported products and services must therefore be bought on credit-credit usually provided by the very countries whose companies stand to gain.
Furthermore, when new technology is introduced there is often too low a level of expertise to exploit it for native development. This means that while local elites, foreign communities and subsidiaries of transitional corporations may benefit, those lives depend on access to the information are denied it.
21. From the passage we know that the development of high technology is in the interests of ________.
A) the rich countries
B) scientific development
C) the elite
D) the world economy
22. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A) international trade should be expanded
B) the interests of the poor countries have not been given enough consideration
C) the exports of the poor countries should be increased
D) communications technology in the developing countries should be modernized
23. Why does the author say that the electronic economy may have a destructive impact on developing countries?
A) Because it enables the developed countries to control the international market.
B) Because it destroys the economic balance of the poor countries.
C) Because it violates the national boundaries of the poor countries.
D) Because it inhibits the industrial growth of developing countries.
24. The development of modern communications technology in developing countries may ________.
A) hinder their industrial production
B) cause them to lose control of their trade
C) force them to reduce their share of exports
D) cost them their economic independence
25. The author’s attitude toward the communications revolution is ________.
A) positive
B) critical
C) indifferent
D) tolerant
Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
The estimates of the numbers of home-schooled children vary widely. The U.S. Department of Education estimates there are 250,000 to 35,000 home-schooled children in the country. Hone-school advocates put the number much higher-at about a million.
Many public school advocates take a harsh attitude toward home schoolers, perceiving their actions as the ultimate slap in the face for public education and a damaging move for the children. Home schoolers harbor few kind words for public schools, charging shortcomings that range from lack of religious perspective in the curriculum to a herd-like approach to teaching children.
Yet, as public school officials realize they stand little to gain by remaining hostile to the home-school population, and as home schoolers realize they can reap benefits from public schools, these hard lines seem to be softening a bit. Public schoolers have moved closer to tolerance and, in some cases, even cooperation.
Says John Marshall, an education official, “We are becoming relatively tolerant of home schoolers. “The idea is, ‘Let’s give the kids access to public school so they’ll see it’s not as terrible as they’ve been told, and they’ll want to come back.
Perhaps, but don’t count on it, say home-school advocates. Home schoolers, oppose the system because they have strong convictions that their approach to education-whether fueled by religious enthusiasm or the individual child’s interests and natural pace-is best.
“The bulk of home schoolers just want to be left alone,” says Enge Cannon, associate director of the National Center For Home Education. She says home schoolers choose that path for a variety of reasons, but religion plays a role 85 percent of the time.
Professor Van Galen breaks home schoolers into two groups. Some home schoolers want their children to learn not only traditional subject matter but also “strict religious doctrine and a conservative political and social perspective. Not incidentally, they also want their children to learn-both intellectually and emotionally-that the family is the most important institution in society. “
Other home schoolers contend “not so much that the schools teach heresy (异端邪说), but that schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately,” Van Galen writes. “These parents are highly independent and strive to ‘take responsibility’ for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient.”
26. According to the passage, home schoolers are ________.
A) those who engage private teachers to provide additional education for their children
B) those who educate their children at home instead of sending them to school
C) those who advocate combining public education with home schooling
D) those who don’t go to school but are educated at home by their parents
27. Public schools are softening their position on home schooling because ________.
A) there isn’t much they can go to change the present situation
B) they want to show their tolerance for different situation
C) home schooling provides a new variety of education for children
D) public schools have so many problems that they cannot offer proper education for all children
28. Home-school advocates are of the opinion that ________.
A) things in public schools are not so bad as has often been said
B) their tolerance of public education will attract more kids to public schools
C) home schooling is superior and, therefore, they will not easily give in
D) their increased cooperation with public school will bring about the improvement of public education
29. Most home schoolers’ opposition to public education stems from their ________.
A) respect for the interest of individuals
B) worry about the inefficiency of public schools
C) concern with the cost involved
D) devotion to religion
30. According to Van Galen some home schoolers believe that ________.
A) public schools take up a herd-like approach to teaching children
B) teachers in public school are not as responsible as they should be
C) public schools cannot provide an education that is good enough for their children
D) public schools are the source of bureaucracy and inefficiency in modern society
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Every year television stations receive hundreds of complaints about the loudness of advertisements. However, federal rules forbid the practice of making ads louder than the programming. In addition, television stations always operate at the highest sound level allowed for reasons of efficiency. According to one NBC executive, no difference exists in the peak sound level of ads and programming. Given this information why do commercials sound so loud?
The sensation of sound involves a variety of factors in addition to its speak level. Advertisers are skilful at creating the impression of loudness through their expert use of such factors. One major contributor to the perceived loudness of commercials is that mush less variation in sound level occurs during a commercial. In regular programming the intensity of sound varies over a large range. However, sound levels in commercials tend to stay at or near peak levels.
Other “tricks of the trade” are also used. Because low-frequency sounds can mask higher frequency sounds, advertisers filter out any noises that may drown out the primary message. In addition, the human voice has more auditory (听觉的) impact in the middle frequency ranges. Advertisers electronically vary voice sounds so that they stay within such a frequency band. Another approach is to write the script so that lots of consonants (辅音) are used, because people are more aware of consonants than vowel (元音) sounds. Finally, advertisers try to begin commercials with sounds that are highly different from those of the programming within which the commercial is buried. Because people become adapted to the type of sounds coming from programming, a dramatic change in sound quality draws viewer a attention. For example, notice how many commercials begin with a cheerful song of some type.
The attention-getting property of commercials can be seen by observing one-to two-year-old children who happen to be playing around a television set. They may totally ignore the programming. However, when a commercial comes on, their attention is immediately drawn to it because of its dramatic sound quality.

31. According to the passage, the maximum intensity of sound coming from commercials ________.
A) does not exceed that of programs
B) is greater than that of programs
C) varies over a large range than that of programs
D) is less than that of programs
32. Commercials create the sensation of loudness because ________.
A) TV stations always operate at the highest sound levels
B) their sound levels are kept around peak levels
C) their sound levels are kept in the middle frequency ranges
D) unlike regular programs their intensity of sound varies over a wide range
33. Many commercials begin with a cheerful song of some kind because ________.
A) pop songs attract viewer attention
B) it can increase their loudness
C) advertisers want to make them sound different from regular programs
D) advertisers want to merge music with commercials
34. One of the reasons why commercials are able to attract viewer attention is that ________.
A) the human voices in commercials have more auditory impact
B) people like cheerful songs that change dramatically in sound quality
C) high-frequency sounds are used to mask sounds that drown out the primary message
D) they possess sound qualities that make the viewer feel that something unusual is happening
35. In the passage, the author is trying to tell us ________.
A) how TV ads vary vocal sounds to attract attention
B) how the loudness of TV ads is overcome
C) how advertisers control the sound properties of TV ads
D) how the attention-getting properties of sounds are made use of in TV ads
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species’ living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests compete with economic interests. In the 1990’s, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl (猫头鹰), whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters-and the owls-was still undecided in mid-1992.
Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished (使穷困), with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.
Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth’s ozone layer (臭氧层), for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth’s complex web life.

36. Why does the author say that the protection of endangered species is a highly controversial issue?
A) Because people can’t agree as to what species to protect.
B) Because it is difficult to find an effective way to protect such species.
C) Because it affects the interests of certain groups of people.
D) Because it is a major problem involving a series of legal procedures.
37. According to the passage, the preservation of rain forests ________.
A) may hamper a developing country in its fight against poverty
B) benefits developed countries rather than developing countries
C) should take priority over the control of human population
D) will help improve the living conditions in developing countries
38. According to the passage, cutting tress to grow more food ________.
A) will widen the gap between the developed and the developing countries
B) is but a short-term relief to the food problem
C) can hardly alleviate the shortage of food
D) proves to be an effective way out for impoverished nations
39. Among “humanity’s current problems” (Line 6, Para. 3), the chief concern of the scientists is ________.
A) the impoverishment of developing countries
B) the explosion of the human population
C) the reduction of biological diversity
D) the effect of global warming
40. The author’s purpose in writing this passage is ________.
A) to describe the difficulties in solving humanity’s current problems
B) to present the different views on humanity’s current problems
C) to analyze the contradiction between countries in dealing with humanity’s current problems
D) to point out that humanity’s current problems can only be solved through the cooperation of nations
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