| Directions : There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions. For each question there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
Passage 1
In 1957, a doctor in Singapore noticed that hospitals were treating an unusual number of influenza-like cases. Influenza is sometimes called ‘flu' or ‘a bad cold'. He took samples from the throats of patients and in his hospital was able to find the virus of this influenza.
There are three types of the influenza virus. The most important of these are type A and B, each of them having several subgroups. With the instruments at the hospital the doctor recognized that the outbreak was due to a virus in group A but he did not know the subgroup. Then he reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization in Geneva . W.H.O published the important news alongside reports of a similar outbreak in Hong Kong , where about 15%-20% of the population had become ill.
As soon as the London doctors received the package of throat samples, doctors began the standard tests. They found that by reproducing itself with very high speed, the virus had grown more than a million times within two days. Continuing their careful tests, the doctors checked the effect of drugs against all the known subgroups of virus type A. None of them gave any protection. This, then, was something new, a new influenza virus, against which the people of the world had not help whatever.
Having found the virus they were working with, the two doctors now dropped it into the noses of some specially selected animals, which get influenza as much as human beings do. In a short time the usual signs of the disease appeared. These experiments proved that the new virus was easy to catch, but that it was not a killer. Scientists, like the general public, call it simply Asian flu.
The first discovery of the virus, however, was made in China before the disease had appeared in other countries. Various reports showed that the influenza outbreak started in China , probably in February of 1957. By the middle of March it had spread all over China . The virus was found by Chinese doctors early in March. But China is not a member of the World Health organization and therefore does not report outbreaks of disease to it. Not until two months later, when travelers carried the virus into Hong Kong, from where it spread to Singapore , did the news of the outbreak reach the rest of the world. By this time it was well started on its way around the world.
Thereafter, W.H.O.'s Weekly Reports described the steady spread of this great virus outbreak, which within four months swept through every continent. 1)
Where did the influenza not occur?
(A)
In Singapore
(B)
In Hong Kong
(C)
In Beijing
(D)
In London
2)
The outbreak in Hong Kong was due to a virus in _____.
(A)
a new subgroup of Group A
(B)
an old subgroup of Group A
(C)
a new subgroup of Group B
(D)
an old subgroup of Group B
3)
Why did the two doctors drop the flu into the noses of animals?
(A)
To test the speed and effect of virus reproduction
(B)
To see how it can affect the animals
(C)
To find the channel of the virus spread
(D)
To decide on the virus name.
4)
Where was the flu first found?
(A)
In Hong Kong
(B)
In Singapore
(C)
In China
(D)
Not mentioned
5)
When did the virus reach the rest of the world?
(A)
In February
(B)
Before March
(C)
In April
(D)
After May.
Passage 2
Procrastinators are people who have a chronic( 惯常的 ) habit of putting things off, usually until the last minute and sometimes until it is too late altogether. The most common reason that procrastinators themselves give for their habit, which they are usually quite willing to talk about even if not willing to change , is that they are lazy. Other typical excuses are that they are undisciplined, brilliant but disorganized, or very poor at organizing their time.
Some procrastinators, however, almost against their very nature, actually get as far as trying to do something about their problem and seek help. Recent research with such people seems to suggest that their difficulties are much more complex than the procrastinators themselves think. The general conclusions are that such people have a vulnerable sense of self-worth, are particularly fearful of failure, and deliberately put things off precisely so that they never leave themselves time to produce their best work. The reason for their delaying tactics is that, since they do everything at the last moment and under pressure, the procrastinators can retain their illusion of brilliance without ever having to put it to the test.
6)
The main idea in the first paragraph is_______.
(A)
the nature of procrastination
(B)
the undisciplined character of procrastinators
(C)
that disorganization is the procrastinator's main problem
(D)
the reasons procrastinators give for their behavior
7)
The main idea in the second paragraph is______.
(A)
how procrastinators have an illusion of brilliance
(B)
how procrastinators seek help
(C)
research findings regarding procrastinators
(D)
that procrastinators always leave everything until the last moment
8)
A suitable title for this passage might be______.
(A)
The Chronic Habit of Procrastination
(B)
Procrastination: Excuse and Reality
(C)
Disorganization : A Bad Habit
(D)
Procrastination :A Terrible Thing
9)
With which of the following would the author be most likely to agree ?
(A)
Procrastinators are usually brilliant.
(B)
Laziness, lack of discipline, and poor organization of time are the major causes of procrastination.
(C)
One thing most procrastinators do is to seek help for their problems.
(D)
A procrastinators tends to avoid a real challenge.
10)
The word “procrastinator” most probably means_______.
(A)
a person who always delays doing something
(B)
a person who seldom forgets doing something
(C)
a person who always remembers to do something
(D)
a person who seldom delays doing something
Passage 3
Before Jack Tan and Mary Yuan finally decided to get married, they had a long discussion about how marriage might affect their future careers. “We had always believed in the equality of sexes,” Jack explained with a glance at his wife. “We couldn't see any important reason why either of us should give up a promising career.” Mrs. Tan nodded in agreement as her husband continued, “We assumed that there would be problems if both husband and wife had full-time job but we thought that we would be able to solve them.”
“At the time of out marriage,” Mary said, “I was a research analyst for a financial services company. My job was to research companies in Asia , so this involved a lot of traveling. Jack was an assistant professor at a local university, specializing in microbiology. His work involved trips overseas to attend conferences and meet colleagues working in the same field. Sometimes we didn't meet for a week or more. Life was tough at first.”
That was eight years ago. Jack and Mary have kept to their belief in equality. Jack is now a professor with a growing international reputation. Mary has moved on and is now the chief executive offers in a big firm with branches throughout Southeast Asia . Her sharp eye and (so she says) female insight have helped her company to spot new markets and make some highly profitable sales in them.
On the home front, the young couple have met most of the problems they expected to come up, and have been quite successful in dealing with them. Much of their success is personal to them: their joint income makes it possible for them to employ two maids. One maid doubles as a cook. The other takes their two children to school, brings them home and helps to bring them up with both discipline and real affection.
Jack and Mary are intelligent or lucky---or both. They have shown that it is possible for husband and wife to follow a career while raising a family at the same time. Some couples are not so fortunate, and the question of the role of women in the community is still being hotly discussed.
In the early part of the 20 th century, women were not allowed to vote in most Asian and Western countries. They were viewed largely as possessions of their husband or family. That attitude has almost disappeared but the change has created a number of problems, not all of which have been fully recognized or properly solved.
There are some jobs for which women are more suitable than men. Women tend to be more sympathetic and less aggressive than men. They are more affectionate and patient with children. Thus women are in the majority fields as nursing and teaching. They are more honest than men in jobs which involve handling money. Thus they are preferred to men in posts such as those of cashier, bank teller and check-out staff at supermarkets. In most other fields(including the police and fire service) women are gradually proving that they can do at least as good a job as man.
But has equality brought some unexpected problems with it—problems which affect the community and the women themselves? The number of single-parent families has risen greatly. In North America and Europe , as many as a third of all babies are born to unmarried women. The mother then has the extremely difficult job of earning a living while running a home and looking after her children by herself.
While equality of the sexes has been beneficial to women in many ways--- particularly in the job market---it has brought some unpleasant results. Apart from the increase in one-parent families ( in which the woman is the one who suffers), it has also led many men to abandon the normally polite treatment of women. At one time, men would give up their seat to a woman on a crowded bus but that politeness has all but disappeared. “If women are equal,” a typical male argues, “let them stand like we do.”
The concept of genuine equality of sexes is a comparatively new one---and one which has not yet been fully accepted in many parts of the world. In the U.S A., UK and several other countries, sexism (or unfair treatment of either sex) is not allowed by law but still occurs in various unnoticed ways. In many large businesses, fewer women are promoted to senior positions. If they are promoted, their salary may be less than that of a man doing the same job.
While it cannot be denied that the cause of equality of sexes has come a long way in a comparatively short period of time, the victory is not yet complete.
11)
It appears from the passage that Mrs. Mary Tan__________.
(A)
does not agree with the idea of the equality of sexes
(B)
has doubts about the equality of sexes
(C)
cannot make up her mind about the equality of sexes
(D)
supports the idea of equality of the sexes
12)
Life was tough for the Tans in the first years of their marriage because____________.
(A)
their income was low
(B)
they did not have much time together
(C)
Jack had become a famous professor
(D)
Mary was too busy at her job
13)
In jobs which involve handling money, women are preferred because they are more _____.
(A)
careful
(B)
honest
(C)
sympathetic
(D)
patient
14)
An unexpected result of the equality of sexes is that____.
(A)
the number of single-parent families has greatly increased
(B)
women are still being treated unfairly in the job market
(C)
most men tend to treat women impolitely
(D)
women now have to stand in crowded buses
15)
It can be said that the idea of equality of the sexes has not been fully accepted because__.
(A)
it is fairly new
(B)
women can't get certain jobs
(C)
women are sometimes treated unfairly by their employers
(D)
it is impossible for women to become senior managers
|
