Directions: I n this sect ion, there is a passage with ten bla nks. You are requested to select one word for each bla nk from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on An swer Sheet 2 with a sin gle line through the cen tre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more tha n on ce.Questio ns 47 to 56 are based on the follow ing passage.(1)Once the world embraced the automobile, the days of depending on horses, bicycles, ferries, and trains quickly slipped into the past. People were __47__ with the speed of the automobile but they were also enjoying the pers onal freedom that the automobile gave them. Owning a car gave people the freedom to go an yplace a road __48__. This allowed people to and at their own __49__. This in depe ndence gave the car a popular edge over buses and trains. The popularity of the automobile made it the __50__ of the transportation system. The automobile cha nged our lives whe n it created a gia nt in dustry that offered more and more jobs. The automobile made it possible for people to live in areas __51__ from their work place. This caused cities to grow and made suburban living more convenient. Of course, with more places to go, more __52__ roads had to be built. The automobile caused a __53__ effect. Jobs in creased, in dustries grew, new in dustries developed, and cities appeared. Today the automobile industry continues to offer many __54__. Jobs are plentiful in this industry and improveme nts con ti nue to be made to the automobile with new tech no logies.We have come a long way from that first __55__ carriage because of the cooperative efforts of many people in the last century. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the automobile. We have already seen sig ns of the use of solar en ergy in this area. As long as man has a brain, the future of the automobile is __56__.(2)A college education is an investment in the future. But it can be a 47 one. The College Board _48 that the costs at a four-year public college in the Un ited States in creased 10% this past school year. That was less than the 13% in crease the year before, but still much higher tha n the in flati on 49 Public colleges and universities still cost a lot less than private ones.Financial aid often helps. But financial experts —50—parents to start college savings plans when their child is Still very young.All fifty states and the District of Columbia 51 what are called 5-29 pla ns. These pla ns are n amed after the part of the federal tax law that created them in 1996. States use private in vestme nt compa nies to operate the 52_of the programs.Every state has its own rules __ 53—5-29 plans. Some of the plans are —54—of state taxes. And all arenot required to pay federal taxes. However, the government could start to tax withdrawals in 2011 if Congress does not cha nge the law.5-29 pla ns in clude in vestme nt acco unts that i ncrease or decrease in value with the in vestme nts they con tai n. Families must decide how 55 they want to put money into stocks, or other in vestme nts.Another kind of 5- 29 plan lets parents begin to pay for their child 56' sie d ucagdoefore their child starts college. This kind of savi ngs program is called a prepaid tuiti on pla n. The money goes into an acco untThere is progress toward a possible treatment for lung diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Researchers have learned more about how the SARS virus works: it 47 with a system in the body that uses enzymes (酶)to control blood pressure and fluid balanee. Scientists say the virus 48 to an enzyme known as ACE-two. The virus blocks the enzyme, permitting fluid to enter the lungs.A team from Europe and Asia reported the 49 in Nature Medicine. Doctor Josef Penninger of the In stitute of Molecular Biotech no logy in the Austria n Academy of Scien ces was the 50 writer of the report. The discovery could lead to a new 51 of treati ng not just SARS but also other diseases that can cause lung failure. These in clude avia n flu ( 禽流感)and in flue nza in huma ns.The first 52 of SARS were discovered in Guangdong prov in ce, in souther n China, in November of 2002. SARS was not 53 as a worldwide threat until March of 2003. The disease spread to 26 cou ntries, most of them in the Asia-Pacific area. An estimated 8, 000 people had SARS. More than 770 of them died, or about 10% , a 54 high rate.The World Health Organization warned people not to travel to 55 areas. The 56 hurt international travel and bus in ess. The WHO says the disease stopped spreadi ng by July of 2003. As a result of SARS, the health age ncy got new powers to act before a gover nment officially announ ces a crisis.(4)To call something marginal" means it is not very good. Farmers have their own way to 47 marginal land: It is the last to be pla nted un der good con diti ons, and has the 48_to be avoided un der poor con diti ons. Low 49 soil is not the only reas on land could be con sidered margin al. It might be in an area where rain fall is 50—or where a hillside might rise too steeply.There are uses for margin al la nd, however. Most often it is used as grassla nd. Grasses provide excelle nt 51一for grazing (吃草)animals like cattle, sheep and goats. Grass seed can be bought from a foreign supplier or52_grasses can be used. However, using marginal land for grazing is not a simple issue. There is a 53 of overgrazing. Cattle can damage the crops by eating down to the roots. Also, the weight of the animals crushes the soil and can make it too hard for grow ing. A( n) 54 way to reduce the harm is to move an imals from one field to another. This method is known as rotational grazing (循环放牧)which is extremely important for marginal Ian d.Ano ther use for margin al la nd is for tree crops. Studies have 55 that the white pine and loblolly pine (火炬松)are two kinds of trees that grow well on such land. They grow fast and provide good quality wood. Another tree is the poplar (白杨),found in many parts of the world.Failure to take the care needed to protect marginal lands can make a bad situation worse. But goodChina is casti ng such a huge shadow on the Un ited States that many America ns are trying hard to lear n the Chin ese Ian guage with an effort to keep their competitive edge."Interest in learning Chinese among American youth and their parents has grown 47 in the past five years," said Vivie n Stewart, vice preside nt at the Asia Society, a US group trying to bridge the 48 betwee n America ns and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific.China's rapid progress is driving the interest to 49 the Ianguage, experts say. "The Chinese rich cultural traditi ons and 50 ec onomy mean that it is now esse ntial for all of our stude nts to be better prepared to engage them and seize opportunities together," said Michael Levine, Asia Society' s executive director of educati on.A 2004 College Board survey found that 2,400 high schools--an 51 number--would be interested in 52_the Adva need Placeme nt (AP) courses in Chin ese Ian guage and culture whe n the courses become available in 2006.China, the world' s most populous ( 人口稠密的)nation, is 53 to the United States because it is a leadi ng trader, con sumer and in vestor. It has 54 the Un ited States as the world's largest con sumer and could become the sec ond largest economy in the world, in the n ext two to three decades.Even though the US State Departme nt has regarded the Chin ese Ian guage extremely importa nt to n ati onal prosperity , the" 55 c on diti ons to support recruitme nt of stude nts and teachers as well as the growth of high quality programs is 56 in adequate," an Asia Society study says.Can money buy happ in ess? Yes, 47 the authors of a new study---but only to a point.Psychology has show n that richer people gen erally rank the overall quality of their lives more 48 tha n poorer people do. At the same time, their actual happ in ess seems to be 49 less by their ability to buy more tha n by being able to keep up with those with comparable resources in their own age group."Our findings point to the possibility that, rather tha n promoti ng overall happ in ess, con ti nued in come growth could —50—an ongoing consumption race where people have to consume more and more, just to mai nta in a 51 level of happ in ess," writes Gle nn Firebaugh of Penn sylva nia State Un iversity.The study was 52 at the America n Sociological Associati on's 100th Annual Meeti ng. Whether the rich are happier as a whole tha n their less 53 fellows is beco ming an in creas in gly hot topic for debate. Rece nt years have 54 ma ny writi ngs on the "scie nee of happ in ess." Richer people are happier because money can help purchase goods and services and it is the —55—of these materials that in creases on e's enjoyme nt of life and on e's sense of well-bei ng. Firebaugh and his colleagues measured the age, total family in come, and generalhapp in ess of —56 _ aged 20 to 64, gen erally con sidered the work ing lifespa n ( 工作寿命)for most America ns.Regardless of such standards as physical health, education, and marital status (婚姻状况),people's happ in ess was affected by what others earn ed. The higher the in come of others in on e's age group, the lower on e's happ in ess.Kitche n duties may have traditi on ally bee n viewed as wome n rk, but no faSthe) White House. Un til now: Cristeta Comerford has been named executive chef (厨师).After an _ 47 six-m onth search, first lady Laura Bush announced Sun day that Comerford was chose n from hun dreds of 48 to head the executive kitche n. A n aturalized U.S. citize n from the Philipp in es, she will be the first woman and first 49 to hold the post. The 42-year-old Comerford has been an assistant chef at the White House for 10 years. She worked under former executive chef Walter Scheib Ill, who 50 in February.Scheib said Sun day that Comerford was 51 the best assista nt he had in his 30-year career and is a won derful choice to take over. He said she is a great cook with an artistic eye and a calm manner that can _52 the pressure cooker (高压锅)in the White House kitchen.Comerford has a bachelor ' s degree in Food Tech no logy from the Uni vensftyne Philipp in es. She has worked at Le Ciel in Vienna, Austria and at restaura nts in two Wash ington hotels.While being executive chef at the White House is hono rable, the job also can be 53 ______ Comerford will be in charge of everything from state dinners for world leaders to dessert for the commander in chief, his family and guests. The head chef is 54 for desig ning and executi ng menus for state dinn ers, social eve nts, holiday functions, recepti ons and official lun che ons (午宴) 55 by the preside nt and first lady. The job pays 56$ 80,000-- $ 100,000 a year.The more time children spend watching television the poorer they perform academically, according to three studies published on Mon day. 47 televisi on view ing has bee n blamed for in creas ing rates of childhood obesity (月肥月半)and for aggressive behavior, while its 48 on schooling have been inconclusive, researchers said.But studies published on the topic in this mon th' s Archives of Pediatrics ( 小儿科)& Adolesce nt Medici ne concluded television viewing 49 to have an adverse effect (副作用)on academic pursuits. For 50 , children who had televisions in their bedrooms--and 51 watched more TV--scored lower on standardizedtests tha n those who did not have sets in their rooms. In con trast, the study found havi ng a home computer with52_to the In temet resulted in comparatively higher test scores."Con siste ntly, those with a bedroom televisi on but no —53—home computer had, on average, the lowest scores and those with home computer but no bedroom televisi on had the highest scores," wrote study author Dina Borzekowski of Joh ns Hopk ins Un iversity. The America n Academy of Pediatrics has 54 pare nts to limit children ' s televisvswing to no more than one to two hours per day--and to try to keep younger children awayfrom TV altogether.In two other studies published in the same journ al, childre n who 55 watched televisi on before the ageof 3 en ded up with lower test scores later on, and childre n and adolesce nts who watched more televisi on were less 56_to go on to finish high school or earn a college degree.(1)47-56 N E O A M L J I G B (2)47-56 G B E I C L N K A M (3)47-56 M C J G A E L I O D (4)47-56 F B J E A K N D L H (5)47-56 C K G A I N D F M O (6)47-56 C N E H A J B K F M (7)47-56 D K B I F H L A O E (8)47-56 J G M K D E B I C F。
