英语六级模拟及答案详解9套汇总

2011年12月预测模拟题

第一套

Part ⅡReading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Will Electronic Medical Records Improve Health Care?

Electronic health records (EHRs) have received a lot of attention since the Obama administration committed $19 billion in stimulus funds earlier this year to encourage hospitals and health care facilities to digitize patient data and make better use of information technology. The healthcare industry as a whole, however, has been slow to adopt information technology and integrate computer systems, raising the question of whether the push to digitize will result in information that empowers doctors to make better-informed decisions or a morass of disconnected data.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) knows firsthand how difficult it is to achieve the former, and how easily an EHR plan can fall into the latter. UPMC has spent five years and more than $1 billion on information technology systems to get ahead of the EHR issue. While that is more than five times as much as recent estimates say it should cost a hospital system, UPMC is a mammoth network consisting of 20 hospitals as well as 400 doctors' offices, outpatient sites and long-term care facilities employing about 50,000 people.

UPMC's early attempts to create a universal EHR system, such as its ambulatory electronic medical records rolled out between 2000 and 2005, were met with resistance as doctors, staff and other users either avoided using the new technology altogether or clung to individual, disconnected software and systems that UPMC's IT department had implemented over the years.

On the mend

Although UPMC began digitizing some of its records in 1996, the turning point in its efforts came in 2004 with the rollout of its eRecord system across the entire health care network. eRecord now contains more than 3.6 million electronic patient records, including images and CT scans, clinical laboratory information, radiology data, and a picture archival and communication system that digitizes images and makes them available on PCs. The EHR system has 29,000 users, including more than 5,000 physicians employed by or affiliated with UPMC.

If UPMC makes EHR systems look easy, don't be fooled, cautions UPMC chief medical information officer Dan Martich, who says the health care network's IT systems require a "huge, ongoing effort" to ensure that those systems can communicate with one another. One of the main reasons is that UPMC, like many other health care organizations, uses a number of different vendors for its medical and IT systems, leaving the integration largely up to the IT staff.

Since doctors typically do not want to change the way they work for the sake of a computer system, the success of an EHR program is dictated not only by the presence of the technology but also by how well the doctors are trained on, and use, the technology. Physicians need to see the benefits of using EHR systems both persistently and consistently, says Louis Baverso, chief information officer at UPMC's Magee-Women's Hospital. But these benefits might not be obvious at first, he says, adding, "What doctors see in the beginning is that they're losing their ability to work with paper documents, which has been so valuable to them up until now."

Opportunities and costs

Given the lack of EHR adoption throughout the health care world, there are a lot of opportunities to get this right (or wrong). Less than 10 percent of U.S. hospitals have adopted electronic medical records even in the most basic way, according to a study authored by Ashish Jha, associate professor of health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health. Only 1.5 percent have adopted a comprehensive system of electronic records that includes physicians' notes and orders and decision support systems that alert doctors of potential drug interactions

or other problems that might result from their intended orders.

Cost is the primary factor stalling EHR systems, followed by resistance from physicians unwilling to adopt new technologies and a lack of staff with adequate IT expertise, according to Jha. He indicated that a hospital could spend from $20 million to $200 million to implement an electronic record system over several years, depending on the size of the hospital. A typical doctor's office would cost an estimated $50,000 to outfit with an EHR system.

The upside of EHR systems is more difficult to quantify. Although some estimates say that hospitals and doctor's offices could save as much as $100 million annually by moving to EHRs, the mere act of implementing the technology guarantees neither cost savings nor improvements in care, Jha said during a Harvard School of Public Health community forum on September 17. Another Harvard study of hospital computerization likewise determined that cutting costs and improving care through health IT as it exists today is "wishful thinking". This study was led by David Himmelstein, associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

The cost of getting it wrong

The difference between the projected cost savings and the reality of the situation stems from the fact that the EHR technologies implemented to date have not been designed to save money or improve patient care, says Leonard D'Avolio, associate center director of Biomedical Informatics at the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MA VERIC). Instead, EHRs are used to document individual patients' conditions, pass this information among clinicians treating those patients, justify financial reimbursement and serve as the legal records of events.

This is because, if a health care facility has $1 million to spend, its managers are more likely to spend it on an expensive piece of lab equipment than on information technology, D'Avolio says, adding that the investment on lab equipment can be made up by charging patients access to it as a billable service. This is not the case for IT. Also, computers and networks used throughout hospitals and health care facilities are disconnected and often manufactured by different vendors without a standardized way of communicating. "Medical data is difficult to standardize because caring for patients is a complex process," he says. "We need to find some way of reaching across not just departments but entire hospitals. If you can't measure something, you can't improve it, and without access to this data, you can't measure it."

To qualify for a piece of the $19 billion being offered through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), healthcare facilities will have to justify the significance of their IT investments to ensure they are "meaningful users" of EHRs. The Department of Health and Human Services has yet to define what it considers meaningful use

Aggregating info to create knowledge

Ideally, in addition to providing doctors with basic information about their patients, databases of vital signs, images, laboratory values, medications, diseases, interventions, and patient demographic information could be mined for new knowledge, D'Avolio says. "With just a few of these databases networked together, the power to improve health care increases exponentially," D'Avolio suggested. "All that is missing is the collective realization that better health care requires access to better information—not automation of the status quo." Down the road, the addition of genomic information, environmental factors and family history to these databases will enable clinicians to begin to realize the potential of personalized medicine, he added.

1. In America, it is slow to adopt information technology because —————.

A) the funds invested by the government is not enough in the past

B) EHRs have received less attention of the public in the past

C) whether it will be useful to doctors or not is doubtful

D) UPMC knows how difficult it is to digitize the hospital

2. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) —————.

A) is the first medical center to adopt information technology

B) satisfy the requirement of the government on information technology

C) spent less money on information technology than it was estimated

D) attempted to created a universal EHR system, but met some difficulties

3. The health care network?s IT systems require a lot of effort to ensure it can communicate with one another mainly because —————..

A) the integration among different system is largely up to the IT staff

B) UPMC is like many other health care organizations in the United States

C) UPMC makes EHR systems look easy

D) UMPC began digitizing some of its records in 1996

4. The success of the EHR program is decided by —————..

A) the fact whether the information technology is available or not

B) the fact how well the doctors are trained to use the information technology

C) not only the presence of the technology but the doctor?s training on technolog y

D) the fact whether physicians can see the benefits of using EHR systems

5. The most important reason of most hospitals being reluctant to adopt EHR system is that —————.

A) the cost is too high for the hospital to afford

B) physicians are unwilling to adopt it

C) there is a lack of staff with adequate IT expertise

D) doctor worry about its negative influence on patients

6. According to the study led by David Himmelstein through health IT —————.

A) it is possible to cut the costs of the hospital

B) it is possible to improve the health care

C) it ensure neither cost saving nor improvement in care

D) it could save as much as $100 million annually

7. The hospital?s managers prefer to —————.

A) spend money on an expensive piece of equipment than on information technology

B) charge patients access to the information technology as a billable service

C) purchase the information technology to improve the health care of the hospital

D) invest more money on the training of the physicians to charge patients more money

8. Jha said the mere act of implementing the technology guarantees ______________________.

9. D'Avolio says the investment on lab equipment can be made up by_____________________.

10. Databases of vital signs, images, laboratory values, medications, diseases, interventions, and patient demographic information could be ____________________.

Passage One

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events on the advertising calendar, as companies vie to produce the most memorable and innovative ads. The battle for the National Football League's ultimate prize attracts more viewers than anything else on American television and provides a "symbolic pulsetaking" for the advertising industry every February, says John Frelinghuysen, an analyst at Bain and Company, a consultancy. But this year the patient is in poor health. All the advertising slots(广告摊位) for the 2008 Super Bowl had been sold by the end of November 2007, despite the $ 2.6 million price of each. For 2009 the price has risen to $ 3 million, but at least,

ten slots (out of 67) are still looking for a buyer.

General Motors, which ran 11 ads on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2008, has already said that it will not run any in 2009. America's two other big carmakers, Ford and Chrysler, are likely to follow suit. Tellingly, Monster com, an online job-search company, said recently that it was buying a slot. Instead of the usual parade of expensive ads paying tribute to American consumerism, 2009's Super Bowl will reflect a country in recession and indicate a hard year for the advertising industry.

Most forecasts for next year say that ad spending in America will decline by 5% or more. Much depends on the fate of the automotive industry: carmakers and dealers normally spend around $ 20 billion a year on advertising, but Chrysler and Ford scaled back their expenditure by more than 30% in the first nine months of 2008, and are expected to make further cuts in 2009 as they struggle for survival.

The car industry's situation will hurt all media, but especially television. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets predict that total spending on television ads will fall by almost 9% next year. Only newspapers, where a decline of 12% is expected, are forecast to fare worse. Carmakers have already shifted some of their advertising spending to the Internet, and are likely to go further in 2009. Car ads make up 25% of advertising revenues for local television channels, and carmakers have been among the most consistent buyers of high-priced ads on national television.

So far local stations have been most affected by falling spending on advertising. National stations have been safer, because they operate on longer-term contracts with advertisers. But in the New Year they will also feel the chill, as companies fail to renew their contracts. Television, which has remained strong as print media have lost advertising dollars and readers to the Internet, could enter a decline of its own. "Next on the list is TV stations," says Anthony Diclemente, a media analyst at Barclays Capital.

52. Why does the author give the example of Super Bowl?

A) Because it is the most popular football games in America.

B) Because it shows advertisers' enthusiasm in running slots has dropped.

C) Because it is an event that attracts the attention of advertisers.

D) Because it will be right on in America in 2009.

53. Why can't at least ten slots find a buyer (Last sentence, Para. 1 ) according to the passage?

A) The price for running the advertising slots has risen to $ 3 million.

B) It is not attractive any more for the advertising industry.

C) The advertising industry is suffering a hard year.

D) The advertising slots have been on the rise since 2007.

54. What may the carmakers resort to for promoting their automobiles and cutting down expenditure?

A) Buying low-priced ads on national television.

B) Renewing new contracts with national stations.

C) Shifting their advertising spending to the Internet.

D) Relying on such print media as newspaper.

55. What does the sentence "Next on the list is TV stations" ( last paragraph) said by Anthony Diclemente mean?

A) What he is going to analyze next is TV stations.

B) What advertisers prefer to use is TV stations.

C) TV station is the next to be defeated by Internet.

D) He would choose TV station as a second choice.

56. We can learn from the passage that ______.

A) Ford and Chrysler will run the advertising slots in 2009

B) 2009's Super Bowl will still be an expensive ads parade

C) America's ad spending this year will decline by 5% or more

D) Carmakers' fate determines to certain extent the ad spending in America

Passage Two

According to some individuals, if your house is built in the right position, this may affect your success in life, which seems strange to many people. However, to believers in Feng-Shui, or the art of geomancy, not only the position but also the choice of decorations and even the color of your home can mean the difference between good fortune and disaster. This art has been practiced for centuries in China and is still used all over South East Asia. Even the huge Hong Kong banks call in a geomant if they are planning to build new offices. They have such faith in his knowledge that if he advises them to move, they will alter their plans for even their biggest buildings.

Like many Oriental beliefs the geomant's skill depends on the idea of harmony in nature. If there is no imbalance between the opposing forces of Yin and Yang, the building will bring luck to its inhabitants. This means that the house must be built on the right spot as well as facing the right direction, and also be painted an auspicious color. For instance, if there are mountains to the north, this will protect them from evil influences. If the house is painted red, this will bring happiness to the occupants while green symbolizes youth and will bring long life. Other factors, such as the owner's time and date of birth, are taken into account, too. The geomant believes that unless all these are considered when choosing a site for construction, the fortune of the people using it will be at risk.

Indeed, to ignore the geomant's advice can have fatal results. The death of the internationally famous Kung-Fu star, Brucee Lee, has been used as an example. It is said that when Lee found out that the house he was living in was an unlucky one, he followed a geomant's advice and installed an eight-sided mirror outside his front door to bring him luck. Unfortunately, a storm damaged the mirror and the house was left unprotected from harmful influences. Soon afterwards Lee died in mysterious circumstances.

Not only is Feng-Shui still used in South East Asia, but it has also spread right across the world. Even in modern New York a successful commercial artist called Milton Glaser has found it useful. He was so desperate after his office was broken into six times that he consulted a geomant. He was told to install a fish tank with six black fish and fix a red clock to the ceiling. Since then he has not been burglarized once. It may seem an incredible story, but no other suitable explanation has been offered.

57. From the passage we can infer that Feng-Shui is NOT used in ______.

A) Hong Kong B) the United States C) Japan D) Thailand

58. Geomants believe that ______.

A) houses must only be painted red B) houses must face mountains

C) nature and life should be in harmony D) green is an unlucky color

59. Geomants think that the reason for Bruce Lee's death is that ______.

A) he didn't follow the geomants' advice B) he installed an eight-sided mirror

C) he misunderstood the geomant's advice D) a storm damaged the protection for his house

60. The story of Milton Glaser shows that ______.

A) colors are not important in geomancy B) geomancy is used by artists

C) geomancy is used in the West D) the fight against crime is being won

61. Which of the following best describes geomancy?

A) It is a style of Oriental decoration.

B) It is a type of painting.

C) it is an ancient Chinese belief called Feng-Shui.

D) It is an architectural design.

第二套

Part ⅡReading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Will Electronic Medical Records Improve Health Care?

Electronic health records (EHRs) have received a lot of attention since the Obama administration committed $19 billion in stimulus funds earlier this year to encourage hospitals and health care facilities to digitize patient data and make better use of information technology. The healthcare industry as a whole, however, has been slow to adopt information technology and integrate computer systems, raising the question of whether the push to digitize will result in information that empowers doctors to make better-informed decisions or a morass of disconnected data.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) knows firsthand how difficult it is to achieve the former, and how easily an EHR plan can fall into the latter. UPMC has spent five years and more than $1 billion on information technology systems to get ahead of the EHR issue. While that is more than five times as much as recent estimates say it should cost a hospital system, UPMC is a mammoth network consisting of 20 hospitals as well as 400 doctors? offices, outpatient sites and long-term care facilities employing about 50,000 people.

UPMC?s early attempts to create a universal EHR system, such as its ambulatory electronic medical records rolled out between 2000 and 2005, were met with resistance as doctors, staff and other users either avoided using the new technology altog ether or clung to individual, disconnected software and systems that UPMC?s IT department had implemented over the years.

On the mend

Although UPMC began digitizing some of its records in 1996, the turning point in its efforts came in 2004 with the rollout of its eRecord system across the entire health care network. eRecord now contains more than 3.6 million electronic patient records, including images and CT scans, clinical laboratory information, radiology data, and a picture archival and communication system that digitizes images and makes them available on PCs. The EHR system has 29,000 users, including more than 5,000 physicians employed by or affiliated with UPMC.

If UPMC makes EHR systems look easy, don?t be fooled, cautions UPMC chief medical information officer Dan Martich, who says the health care network?s IT systems require a "huge, ongoing effort" to ensure that those systems can communicate with one another. One of the main reasons is that UPMC, like many other health care organizations, uses a number of different vendors for its medical and IT systems, leaving the integration largely up to the IT staff.

Since doctors typically do not want to change the way they work for the sake of a computer system, the success of an EHR program is dictated not only by the presence of the technology but also by how well the doctors are trained on, and use, the technology. Physicians need to see the benefits of using EHR systems both persistently and consistently, says Louis Baverso, chief information of ficer at UPMC?s Magee-Women?s Hospital. But these benefits might not be obvious at first, he says, adding, "What doctors see in the beginning is that they?re losing their ability to work with paper documents, which has been so valuable to them up until now."

Opportunities and costs

Given the lack of EHR adoption throughout the health care world, there are a lot of opportunities to get this right (or wrong). Less than 10 percent of U.S. hospitals have adopted electronic medical records even in the most basic way, according to a study authored by Ashish Jha, associate professor of health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health. Only 1.5 percent have adopted a comprehensive system of electronic records that includes physicians? notes and o rders and decision support systems that alert doctors of potential drug interactions or other problems that might result from their intended orders.

Cost is the primary factor stalling EHR systems, followed by resistance from physicians unwilling to adopt new technologies and a lack of staff with adequate IT expertise, according to Jha. He indicated that a hospital

could spend from $20 million to $200 million to implement an electronic record system over several years, depending on the size of the hospita l. A typical doctor?s office would cost an estimated $50,000 to outfit with an EHR system.

The upside of EHR systems is more difficult to quantify. Although some estimates say that hospitals and doctor?s offices could save as much as $100 million annuall y by moving to EHRs, the mere act of implementing the technology guarantees neither cost savings nor improvements in care, Jha said during a Harvard School of Public Health community forum on September 17. Another Harvard study of hospital computerization likewise determined that cutting costs and improving care through health IT as it exists today is "wishful thinking". This study was led by David Himmelstein, associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

The cost of getting it wrong

The difference between the projected cost savings and the reality of the situation stems from the fact that the EHR technologies implemented to date have not been designed to save money or improve patient care, says Leonard D?Avolio, associate center director of Biomedica l Informatics at the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MA VERIC). Instead, EHRs are used to document individual patients? conditions, pass this information among clinicians treating those patients, justify financial reimbu rsement and serve as the legal records of events.

This is because, if a health care facility has $1 million to spend, its managers are more likely to spend it on an expensive piece of lab equipment than on information technology, D?Avolio says, adding th at the investment on lab equipment can be made up by charging patients access to it as a billable service. This is not the case for IT. Also, computers and networks used throughout hospitals and health care facilities are disconnected and often manufactured by different vendors without a standardized way of communicating. "Medical data is difficult to standardize because caring for patients is a complex process," he says. "We need to find some way of reaching across not just departments but entire hospitals. If you can?t measure something, you can?t improve it, and without access to this data, you can?t measure it."

To qualify for a piece of the $19 billion being offered through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), healthcare facilities will have to justify the significance of their IT investments to ensure they are "meaningful users" of EHRs. The Department of Health and Human Services has yet to define what it considers meaningful use

Aggregating info to create knowledge

Ideally, in addition to providing doctors with basic information about their patients, databases of vital signs, images, laboratory values, medications, diseases, interventions, and patient demographic information could be mined for new knowledge, D?Avolio says. "With ju st a few of these databases networked together, the power to improve health care increases exponentially," D?Avolio suggested. "All that is missing is the collective realization that better health care requires access to better information—not automation of the status quo." Down the road, the addition of genomic information, environmental factors and family history to these databases will enable clinicians to begin to realize the potential of personalized medicine, he added.

1. In America, it is slow to adopt information technology because .

A) the funds invested by the government is not enough in the past

B) EHRs have received less attention of the public in the past

C) whether it will be useful to doctors or not is doubtful

D) UPMC knows how difficult it is to digitize the hospital

2. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) .

A) is the first medical center to adopt information technology

B) satisfy the requirement of the government on information technology

C) spent less money on information technology than it was estimated

D) attempted to created a universal EHR system, but met some difficulties

3. The health care network?s IT systems require a lot of effort to ensure it can communicate with one another mainly because .

A) the integration among different system is largely up to the IT staff

B) UPMC is like many other health care organizations in the United States

C) UPMC makes EHR systems look easy

D) UMPC began digitizing some of its records in 1996

4. The success of the EHR program is decided by .

A) the fact whether the information technology is available or not

B) the fact how well the doctors are trained to use the information technology

C) not only the presence of the technology but the doctor?s training on technology

D) the fact whether physicians can see the benefits of using EHR systems

5. The most important reason of most hospitals being reluctant to adopt EHR system is that .

A) the cost is too high for the hospital to afford

B) physicians are unwilling to adopt it

C) there is a lack of staff with adequate IT expertise

D) doctor worry about its negative influence on patients

6. According to the study led by David Himmelstein through health IT .

A) it is possible to cut the costs of the hospital

B) it is possible to improve the health care

C) it ensure neither cost saving nor improvement in care

D) it could save as much as $100 million annually

7. The hospital?s managers prefer to .

A) spend money on an expensive piece of equipment than on information technology

B) charge patients access to the information technology as a billable service

C) purchase the information technology to improve the health care of the hospital

D) invest more money on the training of the physicians to charge patients more money

8. Jha said the mere act of implementing the technology guarantees ______________________.

9. D?Avolio says the investment on lab equipment can be made up by_____________________.

10. Databases of vital signs, images, laboratory values, medications, diseases, interventions, and patient demographic information could be ____________________.

Passage One

Computers are now employed in an increasing number of fields in our daily life. Computers have been taught to play not only checkers, but also championship chess, which is a fairly accurate yardstick for measuring the computer?s progress in the ability to learn from experience.

Because the game requires logical reasoning, chess would seem to be perfectly suited to the computer. All a programmer has to do is to give the computer a program evaluating the consequences of every possible response to every possible move, and the computer will win every time. In theory this is a sensible approach; in practice it is impossible. Today, a powerful computer can analyze 40,000 moves a second. That is an impressive speed. But there are an astronomical number of possible moves in chess—literally trillions. Even if such a program were written (and in theory it could be, given enough people and enough time), there is no computer capable of holding

that much data.

Therefore, if the computer is to compete at championship levels, it must be programmed to function with less than complete data. It must be able to learn from experience, to modify its own program, to deal with a relatively unstructured situation—in a word, to "think" for itself. In fact, this can be done. Chess-playing computers have yet to defeat world champion chess players, but several have beaten human players of only slightly lower ranks. The computers have had programs to carry them through the early, mechanical stages of their chess games. But they have gone on from there to reason and learn, and sometimes to win the game.

There are other proofs that computers can be programmed to learn, but this example is sufficient to demonstrate the point. Granted, winning a game of chess is not an earthshaking event even when a computer does it. But there are many serious human problems, which can be fruitfully approached as games. The Defense Department uses computers to play war games and work out strategies for dealing with international tensions. Other problems—international and interpersonal relations, ecology and economics, and the ever-increasing threat of world famine can perhaps be solved by the joint efforts of human beings and truly intelligent computers.

52. According to the passage, computers can not be used to ______.

A) solve the threat of world famine B) ease international tension

C) defeat world champion chess player D) work out solutions to the industrial problems

53. In the author?s opinion, ______.

A) playing chess shows computer?s program has been developed into a new stage

B) it is practically possible now that computer can win every chess game now

C) computers even with less than complete data can be programmed to defeat the world champion chess player

D) computers can be programmed to play and reason but not learn

54. The author?s attitude toward the future use of computer is ______.

A) negative B) positive C) indifferent D) critical

55. In order to "think", computer should ______.

A) be programmed to have more than enough data B) learn from the experience and to reason

C) deal with all the unstructured situation D) predicate every move in the chess

56. Today, the chess-playing computer can be programmed to ______.

A) have trillions of responses in a second to each possible move and win the game

B) store complete data and beat the best players

C) learn from chess-playing in the early stage and go on to win the game

D) predicate every possible move but may fail to give the right response each time

Passage Two

Large animals that inhabit the desert have evolved a number of adaptations for reducing the effects of extreme heat. One adaptation is to be light in color, and to reflect rather than absorb the sun?s rays. Desert mammals also depart from the normal mammalian practice of maintaining a constant body temperature. Instead of trying to keep down the body temperature deep inside the body, which would involve the expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their temperatures to rise to what would normally be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius have been measured in Grant?s gazel les. The overheated body then cools down during the cold desert night, and indeed the temperature may fall unusually low by dawn, as low as 34 degrees Celsius in the camel. This is an advantage since the heat of the first few hours of daylight is absorbed in warming up the body, and an excessive buildup of heat does not begin until well into the day.

Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a point that would be fatal for

non-adapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight as water without harm to itself, whereas human beings die after losing only 12 to 13 percent of their body weight. An equally important adaptation is the ability to replenish this water loss at one drink. Desert animals can drink huge volumes in a short time, and camels have been known to imbibe (吸收) over 100 liters in a few minutes. A very dehydrated person, on the other hand, cannot drink enough water to rehydrate at one session, because the human stomach is not sufficiently big and because a too rapid dilution of the body fluids causes death from water intoxication. The tolerance of water loss is of obvious advantage in the desert, as animals do not have to remain near a water hole but can obtain food from grazing sparse pastures. Desert-adapted mammals have the further ability to feed normally when extremely dehydrated. It is a common experience in people that appetite is lost even under conditions of moderate thirst.

57. What is the passage mainly about?

A) Animals developed different strategies to survive.

B) Large animals can take strategies to reduce the effect of extreme heat.

C) Animals can tolerate the loss of body water.

D) A very dehydrated person can drink enough water to rehydrate.

58. Why light in color is important to large animals in deserts?

A) It helped them maintain a constant normal body temperature.

B) It reflects rather than absorbs the sun-light.

C) It helps them see their peers at night.

D) It helps them keep cool during the night.

59. What will be fatal to non-adapted animals?

A) Keeping a normal body temperature.B) Drinking polluted water.

C) Drinking huge volumes of water in a short time.D) Feeding when dehydrated.

60. What does the author imply about desert-adapted mammals?

A) They do not need to eat much food.B) They can eat large quantities quickly.

C) They easily lose their appetites.D) They can travel long distances looking for food.

61. What is the following strategy not mentioned by the author?

A) The body temperature can be extremely high and cold.

B) Tolerate the loss of body water and replenish it immediately.

C) Lost appetite under the condition of moderate thirsty.

D) To be light in color.

2010年12月全真预测

第三套

Part ⅡReading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Entertainment in London

Buying Books

Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and even of books especially paperbacks, which are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy "proper" books, too, printed on good paper and bound between hard covers.

There are many streets in London containing shops which specialize in book-selling. Perhaps the best known of these is Charing Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the celebrated one which boasts of being "the biggest bookshop in the world" to the tiny, dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens' time. Many of them specialize in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books of philosophy, politics or any other of the various subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes solely in books about ballet!

Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charing Cross Road is not the cheapest. For the really cheap second-hand volumes, the collector must venture off the busy and crowded roads, to Farringdon Road in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so grand as bookshops. Instead, the booksellers come along each morning and tip out their sacks of books on to barrows(推车) which line the gutters(贫民区). And the collectors, some professional and some amateur, who have been waiting for them, pounce towards the sellers. In places like this one can still, occasionally, pick up for a few pence an old volume that may be worth many pounds.

Both Charing Cross Road and Farringdon Road are well-known places of the book buyer. Yet all over London there are bookshops, in places not so well known, where the books are equally varied and exciting. It is in the sympathetic atmosphere of such shops that the loyal book buyer feels most at home. In these shops, even the life-long book-browser is frequently rewarded by the accidental discovery of previously unknown delights. One could, in fact, easily spend a lifetime exploring London's bookshops. There are many less pleasant ways of spending time!

Going to the Theatre

London is very rich in theatres: there are over forty in the West End alone--more than enough to ensure that there will always be at least two or three shows running to suit every kind taste, whether serious or lighthearted.

Some of them are specialist theatres. The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where the great opera singers of the world can be heard, is the home of opera and the Royal Ballet. The London Coliseum now houses the English National Opera Company, which encourages English singers in particular and performs most operas in English at popular prices.

Some theatres concentrate on the classics and serious drama, some on light comedy, some on musicals. Most theatres have a personality of their own, from the old, such as the Theatre Royal (also called the "Haymarket") in the Haymarket, to the more modern such as the recently opened Baibican centre in the city. The National Theatre has three separate theatres in its new building by Waterloo Bridge. At the new Barbican centre the Royal Shakespeare Company has their London home—their other centre is at Stratford-on-Avon.

Most of the old London theatres are concentrated in a very small area, within a stone's throw of the Piccadilly and Leicester Square tube stations. As the evening performances normally begin either at seven-thirty or eight p. m., there is a kind of minor rush-hour between seven-fifteen and eight o'clock in this district. People stream out of the nearby tube stations, the pavements are crowded, and taxis and private cars maneuver into position as they drop theatre-goers outside the entrance to each theatre. There is another minor rush-hour when the performance finishes. The theatre in London is very popular and it is not always easy to get in to see a successful play.

Before World War Ⅱ, theatre performances began later and a visit to the theatre was a more formal occasion. Nowadays very few people "dress" for the theatre (that is, wear formal evening dress) except for first nights or an important performance. The times of performance were put forward during the war and have not been put back. The existing times make the question of eating a rather tricky problem: one has to have either early dinner or late supper. Many restaurants in "theatreland" ease the situation by catering specially for early or late dinners.

Television and the difficulty of financing plays have helped to close many theatres. But it seems that the worst of the situation is now over and that the theatre, after a period of decline, is about to pick up again. Although some quite large provincial towns do not have a professional theatre, there are others, such as Nottingham, Hull, Coventry or Newcastle, which have excellent companies and where a series of plays are performed during one season by a resident group of actors. Some towns such as Chichester or Edinburgh have theatres which give summer seasons. Even in small towns a number of theatres have been built in the last few years to cater for the local population.

Music in Britain

It is debatable whether the tastes of kings reflect those of their subjects. However, three English monarchs certainly shared their people's linking for music. Richard Ⅰ(1157-1199), the "Lionheart", composed songs that he sang with his musician, Blondel. It is said that when the king was a prisoner in Austria, Blondel found him by singing a song known only to him and the king, who took up the tune in the tower of the castle in which he was secretly imprisoned. Henry VⅢ (1491-1547), notorious for his six wives, was a skilled musician and some of his songs are still known and sung. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and her husband, Prince Albert, delighted in singing ballads. The great composer and pianist Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was a welcome guest at their court, where he would accompany the Queen and the Prince when they sang.

The British love of music is often unfamiliar to foreigners, probably because there are few renowned British composers. The most famous is Henry Purcell (1658-1695), whose opera "Dido and Aeneas" is a classic. The rousing marching song "Lillibulero" attributed to Purcell, now used by BBC as an identification signal preceding Overseas Service news bulletins, was said to have "sung James Ⅱout of three kingdoms" when he fled from Britain in 1688. Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is known for his choral and orchestral works, some of which have been made more widely known by the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), a composer with a very personal style, has become world-famous for such operatic works as "Peter Grimes" and "Billy Budd". Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was deeply influenced by English folk music, as is shown by his variations on the old tune "Green-sleeves" (which most people consider a folk song). In recent years there has been a great revival of folk music, and groups specializing in its performance have sprung up all over Britain. This phenomenon has its roots in the work of Cecil Sharp (1859-1924), who collected folk songs and dances.

Present-day concern with music is shown by the existence of something like a hundred summer schools in music, which cater for all grades of musicians, from the mere beginner to the skilled performer. These schools, where a friendly atmosphere reigns, provide courses lasting from a weekend to three or four weeks, and cover a wide range, from medieval and classical music to rock-and-roll and pop. There are also important musical festivals in towns such as Aldeburgh, Bath, and Cheltenham. Pop-music festivals draw thousands of people, especially young people. In the great cities there are resident world-famous orchestras and from all over the world great performers come to play or sing in Britain. In many towns there are brass bands, and the players are often such people as miners or members of the local fire brigade, for music in Britain is not just an elegant interest, it is above all democratic.

1. Which of the following do the great readers in London probably buy the least?

A) Newspaper B) Magazine C) Paperback D) Hardback

2. Chafing Cross Road is very famous because______.

A) all kinds of bookstores are along the streets B) it lies right in the center of London

C) they have the cheapest books in London D) the biggest bookstore in the world is there

3. What can you learn about Farringdon Road?

A) It's to the east of London.B) It's a street of bookstores.

C) It's a center for second-hand books.D) It's where worthless books are sold.

4. What does the author mean by saying "some of them are specialist theatres"?

A) Those theatres only have operas show B) The theatres are especially good for their ballet show

C) These theatres offer really affordable ticket D) They each hold a special type of play or show

5. Because of the theatre performances, the area around Piccadilly and Leicester Square tube stations gets crowded______.

A) before seven-thirty B) between seven and eight

C) at about eight o'clock D) from seven-fifteen to eight

6. What kind of change did World War I1 bring to the theatres?

A) The putting forward of dinner B) The costume of the performance

C) The time of the performance D) The restaurants nearly offer different food

7. What, according to the author, caused the decline of theatre business?

A) There are not professional theatres in large provincial towns.

B) During World War Ⅱ, a lot of theatres were destroyed.

C) Some people begin to choose stay at home and watch TV.

D) The performance of the plays is becoming worse and worse.

8. According to the author, three music lovers of the royal family members are ________________________

9. The British love of music is not known to foreigners for__________________.

10. The courses offered by summer school in music where a friendly atmosphere reigns last ________________________

Passage One

There he was America's first President with a MBA, the man who loves to boast about his business background, whose presidential campaign raised unprecedented sums from corporate wallets and whose cabinet is stuffed with chief executives. Faith in the integrity of American business leaders was being undermined(破坏), George Bush said fiercely, by executives "breaching trust and abusing power". It was time for "a new ethic of personal responsibility in the business community". He was going to "end the days of cooking the books, shading the truth and breaking our laws".

Only months ago, the idea that George W Bush would publicly lambaste America's cooperate bosses was laughable. As a candidate, born on the wave of a decade-long economic boom and an unprecedented 18-year bull market, he cashed in on American's love affair with corporate success. But things are different now. The stock market bubble has burst and, despite signs of economic recovery. Wall Street seems to be sunk in gloom. A string of scandals at some of America's most high-flying firms--including Enron, Xerox. Tyco, Global Crossing and most recently, World Com--has radically changed the public mood.

As political pressure for reform increases, so too does the heat on Mr Bush. Is the businessman's president really prepared to take business on and push hard for reform? Despite the set jaw and aggrieved tone in New York. Probably not. Mr. Bush thinks the current crisis stems from a few bad-apple chief executives rather than the system as a whole. Hence he focus on tough penalties for corrupt businessmen and his plea for higher ethical standards. The president announced the creation of a financial-crimes SWAT team, at the Justice Department to root out corporate fraud, and wants to double the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud from five to ten years. But he offered few concrete suggestions for systemic reform: little mention of changes to strengthen shareholders' rights, not even an endorsement of the Senate corporate-reform bill.

There are few signs yet that cleaning up corporate America is an issue that animates the voters. Polls show that Americans have little faith in their business leaders, but politicians do not seem to be suffering as a result. Mr. Bush's approval ratings have fallen from their sky-highs, but they are still very strong.

The president, therefore, need do no more than talk tough. This alone will convince ordinary Americans that he is on top of the issue. As the economy rebounds and public outage subsides, the clamor for change will be quieter. Democratic attacks will fizzle, and far-reaching reform bills will be watered down before they become law. Politically, the gamble makes sense. Unfortunately for American capitalism, a great opportunity will be missed.

52. We can infer from the third paragraph that Mr. Bush______.

A) didn't intend to take business on and push hard for reform

B) did not do anything at all for the presence of the current situation

C) took shareholders' right into account, but he didn't approve reform bill

D) took some measures to pave the way for the reform

53. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Bush had to offer concrete suggestions for reform as political pressure increase

B) At present, the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud is five year

C) It is laughable that M Bush publicly attacked America's corporate bosses

D) Americans have little faith in their business as well as political leaders

54. Which of the following statements about Mr. Bush is mentioned in this passage?

A) M Bush is the second President with an MBA in American history

B) M Bush contributes a lot to decade-long economic boom

C) M Bush's approval ratings are still high

D) M Bush didn't get support in his presidential campaign

55. The author's attitude towards the reform is______.

A) indifferent B) optimistic C) skeptical D) favorable

56. The phrase "a great opportunity" mentioned in the last paragraph refers to an opportunity to______.

A) carry out reform B) boom economy C) animate the voters D) attack chief executive Passage Two

In recent decades, there is a phenomenon which makes us give some attention; the so-called Southeast Asian "tigers" have rivaled the western "lions" for stock cliches that make economic headlines. The myth of American economic hegemony(霸权) over Asia in the imposing and patriarchal figure of Uncle Sam has provided frequent political grist (有利) for Southeast Asian political leaders, particularly Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir. He has attempted to forge an international reputation as a snarling tiger, but lately sounds more like a barnyard dog groaning at shadows. Without demeaning in any way the remarkable achievements of the newly developing economies of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, these nations at times appear to be their own worst enemies. This is often exemplified by Dr. Mahathir, who rails at Western evil whenever an international or domestic crisis provides an opportunity.

To be more specific, the recent devaluation of the Philippine and Thai currencies, and the subsequent pressure on the Malaysian currency has inspired Dr. Mahathir to launch an all-out attack on the West as the source of the problem. He even alleges that the United States has deli-berately destabilized Southeast Asian economies in revenge for these nations, supporting the brutal military rule in Mahathir, an action which the United States seems to want inspected rather than rewarded. But by resorting to such scapegoat (替罪羊), instead of accepting even a bit responsibility, the Prime Minister may undermine the future success of the region and Malaysia in particular.

Upon further questioning, Dr. Mahathir narrowed his attack to one wealthy individual, the well-known philanthropist (慈善家), Mr. George Soros, whose opposition to Myanmar's admission to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Mahathir found particularity, irritating. The logical mistakes that underlie such conspiracy theories do not help Malaysia address the serious issues of economic overheating that experts have been warning about for all these difficult periods, which include large deficits and low savings to debt ratios. In fact, the recent dramatic drop in Malaysia's stock market and currency has led Dr. Mahathir to reverse his initial approach to the crisis. He even announces measures that at least imply he is quite aware of excesses in his own administration's spending policies that have contributed to this crisis of confidence. In the end, this kind of reaction undermines the esteem that Dr. Mahathir's enlightened leadership has justly earned.

57. It is implied in the first paragraph that Dr. Mahathir______.

A) has correctly identified the financial problem in Asia

B) tries to manipulate anti-Western actions for political gains

C) detests the USA's controlling over the regional economies

D) believes in the effect of the ghostly influence from the west

58. The author of this essay seems to suggest that______.

A) the devaluation of Malaysia's currency is due to the American plot

B) the Asian Crisis is the result of ASEAN pandering to terrorist governments

C) there is not a serious economic problems in Southeast Asia at all

D) the economic problems in some Asian countries is partly the result of their overheating economy

59. The author suggests the Dr. Mahathir's comments on the currency problems______.

A) prove that he has been a poor leader in general B) are poor because they weaken his own credibility

C) are sharp in identifying the cause of the problem D) reveal his keen insight into the complex issue

60. Which of the following is the tone of this essay?

A) Sarcastic and prejudice B) Objective and detached

C) Piercing and indifferent D) Impassive and hostile

61. The relative pronoun "which" in the last paragraph (Line 5) refers to______.

A) theories B) experts C) periods D) issues

第四套

Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)

Freud?s Study on “Human Mind”

Most people often dream at nig ht. When they wake in the morning they say to themselves, “What a strange dream I had! I wonder what made me dream that.”Sometimes dreams are frightening. Sometimes, in dreams, wishes come true. At other times we are troubled by strange dreams in which the world seems to have been turned upside-down and nothing makes sense.

In dreams we do things which we would never do when we're awake. We think and say things we would never think and say. Why are dreams so strange and unfamiliar? Where do dreams come from?

No one has produced a more satisfying answer than a man called Sigmund Freud. He said that dreams come from a part of one's mind which one can neither recognize nor control. He named this the “unconscious mind” .

Sigmund Freud was born about a hundred years ago. He lived most of his life in Vienna, Austria, but ended his days in London, soon after the beginning of the Second World War.The new worlds Freud explored were inside man himself. For the unconscious mind is like a deep well, full of memories and feelings. These memories and feelings have been stored there from the moment of our birth. Our conscious mind has forgotten them. We do not suspect that they are there until some unhappy or unusual experience causes us to remember, or to dream dreams. Then suddenly we see the same thing and feel the same way we felt when we were little children.

This discovery of Freud's is very important if we wish to understand why people act as they do. For the unconscious forces inside us are at least as powerful as the conscious forces we know about. Sometimes we do things without knowing why. If we don't, the reasons may lie deep in our unconscious minds.

When Freud was a child he cared about the sufferings of others, so it isn't surprising that he became a doctor when he grew up. He learned all about the way in which the human body works. But he became more and more curious about the human mind. He went to Paris to study with a famous French doctor, Charcot. At that time it seemed that no one knew very much a bout the mind. If a person went mad, or “out of his mind”, there was not much that could be done about it. People didn't understand at all what was happening to the madman. Had he been possessed by a devil or evil spirit? Was God punishing him for wrong-doing? Often such people were shut away from the ordinary people as if they had done some terrible crime.

This is still true today in many places. Doctors prefer to experiment on those parts of a man which they can see and examine. If you cut a man's head open you can see his brain. But you can't see his thoughts or ideas or dreams.

In Freud's day few doctors were interested in these subjects. Freud wanted to know how our minds work. He learned a lot from Charcot. He returned to Vienna in 1886 and began work as a doctor in nerve diseases. He got married and began to receive more and more patients at home. Most of the patients who came to see him were women. They were over-excited and anxious, sick in mind rather than in body. Medicine did not help them. Freud was full of sympathy but he could do little to make them better.

Then one day a friend, Dr Josef Breuer, came to see him. He told Freud about a girl he was looking after. The girl seemed to get better when she was allowed to talk about herself. She told Dr Breuer everything that came into her mind. And each time she talked to him she remembered more about her life as a little child. Freud was excited when he heard this. He began to try to cure his patients in the same way. He asked about the events of their early childhood. He urged them to talk about their own experiences and relationships. He himself said very little. Often, as he listened, his patients relived moments from their past life. They trembled with anger and fear, hate and love. They acted as though Freud was their father or mother or lover.The doctor did not make any attempt to stop them. He quietly accepted whatever they told him, the good things and the bad. Also one young woman who came to him couldn't drink anything, although she was very thirsty. Something prevented her from drinking.Freud discovered the reason for this. One day, as they were talking, the girl remembered having seen a dog drink from her nurse's glass. She hadn't told the nurse, whom she disliked. She had forgotten the whole experience. But suddenly this childhood memory returned to mind. When she had told it all to Dr Freud—the nurse, the dog, the glass of water —the girl was able to drink again.

Freud called this treatment the …talking cure?. Later it was called psyc hoanalysis. When patients talked freely about the things that were troubling them they often felt better.

The things that patients told him sometimes gave Freud a shock. He discovered that the feelings of very young children are not so different from those of their parents. A small boy may love his mother so much that he wants to kill his father. At the same time he loves his father and is deeply ashamed of this wish. It is difficult to live with such mixed feelings, so they fade away into the unconscious mind and only return in troubled dreams.It was hard to believe that people could become blind, or lose the power of speech, because of what had happened to them when they were children.

Freud was attacked from all sides for what he discovered. But he also found firm friends. Many people believed that he had at last found a way to unlock the secrets of the human mind, and to help people who were very miserable. He had found the answer to many of life's great questions.He became famous all over the world and taught others to use the talking cure. His influence on modern art, literature and science cannot be measured. People who wrote books and plays, people who painted pictures and people who worked in schools, hospitals and prisons all learned something from the great man who discovered a way into the unconscious mind.Not all of Freud's ideas are accepted today. But others have followed where he led and have helped us to understand ourselves better. Because of him, and them, there is more hope today than there has ever been before for people who were once just called “crazy”.

1. So far, Freud is the only one who can ______________.

A) study human?s thoughts, ideas and dreams

B) provide us the most satisfying reply to where dreams come from

C) tell us the reason why we will dream at night

D) offer us some help in mental problems

2. Freud _____________________.

A) spent most of his life in Vienna as well as London B) ended his life after World War II

C) spend most of his life in Vienna, Austria D) passed away in Austria before the World War Ⅱ

3. When Freud was a grown-up, ___________________.

A) he was more interested in human mind than the way the human body works

B) he focused his study on the human mind instead of human body

C) he shifted his attention to the study of psychology

D) he was most interested in the study of how human body works

4. In Freud?s day, _________________.

A) a number of doctors concentrated on the human?s dreams

B) a lot of students admired Freud?s stud y very much

C) no doctor would like to work with Freud together

D) no doctors were interested in human?s ideas, thoughts or dreams

5. According to the passage, Dr Josef Breuer ________________.

A) gave Freud some help in Freud?s study

B) was one of the workmates of Freud

C) was a doctor who specialized in the study of human body

D) offtered some advice in Freud?s study

6. According to the passage, psychoanalysis was a process ________________.

A) in which patients would not participate

B) in which patients must say something great they encountered before

C) in which patients could do what they like to do

D) in which patients could speak out his bad fortune freely in order to make themselves reassured

7. Freud found with a shock that ________________.

A) young children and their parents couldn?t stay together for a long time

B) yong children were always obedient to their parents

C) young children were not so different from their parents in feelings

D) young children and his parents differed largely in feelings

8. Although much attack pointed to Freud, it was also thought by many people that Freud had a way to uncover the secrets of __________and to help miserable people.

9. According to the passage, it is hardly to measure Freud?s influence on modern art, ___ __ _______.

10. According to the passage, at present Freud?s study brings a lot of hope to people once called “______.”Passage One

Acting is such an over-crowded profession that the only advice that should be given to a young person thinking of going on the stage is "Don't!". But it is useless to try to discourage someone who feels that he must act, though the chances of his becoming famous are slim. The normal way to begin is to go to a drama school. Usually only students who show promise and talent are accepted, and the course lasts two years. Then the young actor or actress takes up work with a repertory company, usually as an assistant stage manager. This means doing everything that there is to do in the theatre: painting scenery, looking after the furniture, taking care of the costumes, and even acting in very small parts. It is very hard work indeed. The hours are long and the salary is tiny. But young actors with the stage in their blood are happy, waiting for the chances of working with a better company, or perhaps in films or television.

Of course, some people have unusual chances which lead to fame and success without this long and dull training. Connie Pratt, for example, was just an ordinary girl working in a bicycle factory. A film producer happened to catch sight of her one morning waiting at a bus stop, as he drove past in his big car. He told the driver to stop, and he got out to speak to the girl. He asked her if she would like to go to the film studio to do a test, and at first she thought he was joking. Then she got angry and said she would call the police. It took the producer

twenty minutes to tell Connie that he was serious. Then an appointment was made for her to go to the studio the next day. The test was successful. They gave her some necessary lessons and within a few weeks she was playing the leading part opposite one of the most famous actors of the day. Of Course, she was given a more dramatic name, which is now world-famous. But chances like this happen once in a blue moon!

52. According to the passage, the main reason why young people should be discouraged from becoming actors is ______.

A) actors are very unusual people B) the course at the drama school lasts two years

C) acting is really a hard job D) there are already too many actors

53. An assistant stage manager's job is difficult because he has to ______.

A) do all kinds of stage work B) work for long hours

C) wait for a better company D) act well

54. According to the context, the sentence "But young actors with the stage in their blood are happy" at the end of the first paragraph means ______.

A) they don't care if their job is hard B) they like the stage naturally

C) they are born happy D) they are easily satisfied

55. Conie Pratt soon became a famous actress after ______.

A) learning some lessons about the art of speaking B) playing her part in the "Blue Colored Moon"

C) successfully matching the most famous actors D) acting a leading part with a most famous actor at that time

56. The phrase "once in a blue moon" in last line refers to ______.

A) all at once B) once for a long time C) once in a while D) once and for all

Passage Two

The home service industry in Beijing is expected to become more attractive both as a job and as an industry.

Sources at the Beijing People's Political Consultative Conference said resistance to home service work is melting away from minds of the city's laid-off workers. The Conference suggested the establishment of municipal centers which supervise property management, household mending and installation, and house keeping services. Modern city life is creating a need for industrialization home services. This will create job opportunities for laid-off workers, said Vice director of the Social Judicial Committee of the Conference.

Beijing residents have long desired a home service industry. The demand is expected to drive new economic growth. There are few high quality home help services in Beijing and customers are always complaining.

In the past, few laid-off workers in Beijing desired to work as home helpers, jobs largely taken by young women from the countryside. At the same time, some city residents have not felt safe trusting rural girls with modern household machines or with their small children. Many people would pay more for reliable house keepers who are more familiar with city life, but they have had no way of getting one, even though the city is home to thousands of laid-off workers.

By the end of June this year, there were 30,600 jobless workers in the city. Most of them are women in their 40's, who are not blessed with particular skills and who have had their work ethics shaped by the planned economy. Many of them were at a loss when they first realized they had lost their jobs and a way of life they had got used to for decades.

They never imagined being laid-off by state-owned enterprises; they never considered other kinds of employment. For them, the private sector meant taking risks; housekeeping implied lower social status. Gao yunfang, 44, is a pioneer who is breaking the ice. She sells the Beijing Morning Post in the morning, and works at two households in the afternoon. She earns 1,000 yuan per month. So she no longer worries about her daughter's tuition at a university in Shanghai.

57. What is talked about in the passage?

A) Home service.B) Modern city life.C) Laid-off worker. D) Social status.

58. What does the word "laid-off' in the passage mean?

A) Heavily-burdened.B) Old.C) Inexperienced.D) Jobless.

59. Why were many laid-off workers at a loss?

A) Because they didn't get used to the new way of life.B) Because they are too old to find a new job.

C) Because they dislike being laid off. D) Because they think they lost their social status.

60. Why didn't the laid-off workers like to do home services in the past?

A) Low salary.B) Lower social status.C) Dirty working condition.D) Too much extra work.

61. In which ways is home service industry good for our society?

A) It meets the needs of modern life.B) It provides work opportunities for the laid-off worker.

C) It is a new industry. D) A and B.

第五套

Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-4, mark

Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;

N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;

NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.

For questions 5-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

Is College Really Worth the Money?

The Real World

Este Griffith had it all figured out. When she graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in April 2001, she had her sights set on one thing: working for a labor union.

The real world had other ideas. Griffith left school with not only a degree, but a boatload of debt. She owed $15,000 in student loans and had racked up $4,000 in credit card debt for books, groceries and other expenses. No labor union job could pay enough to bail her out.

So Griffith went to work instead for a Washington, D.C. firm that specializes in economic development. Problem solved? Nope. At age 24, she takes home about $1,800 a month, $1,200 of which disappears to pay her rent. Add another $180 a month to retire her student loans and $300 a month to whittle down her credit card balance. "You do the math," she says.

Griffith has practically no money to live on. She brown-bags(自带午餐)her lunch and bikes to work. Above all, she fears she'll never own a house or be able to retire. It's not that she regrets getting her degree. "But they don't tell you that the trade-off is the next ten years of your income," she says.

That's precisely the deal being made by more and more college students. They're mortgaging their futures to meet soaring tuition costs and other college expenses. Like Griffith, they're facing a one-two punch at graduation: hefty(深重的)student loans and smothering credit card debt—not to mention a job market that, for now anyway, is dismal.

"We are forcing our children to make a choice between two evils," says Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law professor and expert on bankruptcy. "Skip college and face a life of diminished opportunity. or go to college and face a life shackled(束缚)by debt."

Tuition Hikes

For some time, colleges have insisted their steep tuition hikes are needed to pay for cutting-edge technologies, faculty and administration salaries, and rising health care costs. Now there's a new culprit(犯人): shrinking state support. Caught in a severe budget crunch, many states have sharply scaled back their funding for higher education.

Someone had to make up for those lost dollars. And you can guess who—especially if you live in Massachusetts, which last year hiked its tuition and fees by 24 percent, after funding dropped by 3 percent, or in Missouri, where appropriations(拨款)fell by 10 percent, but tuition rose at double that rate. About one-third of the states, in fact, have increased tuition and fees by more than 10 percent.

One of those states is California, and Janet Burrell's family is feeling the pain. A bookkeeper in Torrance, Burrell has a daughter at the University of California at Davis Meanwhile, her sons attend two-year colleges because Burrell can't afford to have all of them in four-year schools at once.

Meanwhile, even with tuition hikes, California's community colleges are so strapped for cash they dropped thousands of classes last spring. The result: 54,000 fewer students.

Collapsing Investments

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