| 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
Cats have been on the official payroll of the British Post Office for more than a century. They are not hired to sort or deliver mail, of course but to keep letters from being eaten by mice.
The problems were very bad in London in the mid-1800s, when mice invaded the mail-sorting rooms. Traps and poisons proved ineffective, and in 1868 the Secretary of the Post Office approved the hiring of three female cats at a weekly allowance of two cents each. Within months the rodent population had shrunk dramatically, and the post offices received the go-ahead to hire. Many did and, as felines become more prominent in the work force, their pay improved. In 1953 the Assistant Postmaster General assured the House of Commons that female mouse-hunters received “very adequate” maternity benefits and enjoy the same wages and employment opportunities as male cats.
Today cats are on the payroll of at least three London postal sites, at an average wage of $ 1.60 a week.
1)
Cats are employed in the British Post office to ______.
(A)
sort mail
(B)
deliver mail
(C)
guard mail
(D)
catch mice
2)
The problems of the British Post Office in London were very bad______.
(A)
in the beginning of the 19 th century
(B)
in the end of the 19 th century
(C)
in the middle of the 19 th century
(D)
in the turn of the 18 th and 19 th centuries
3)
The Secretary of The Post Office officially agreed to hire cats because_________.
(A)
mice invaded the mail-sorting rooms
(B)
mice could sort an deliver mail
(C)
traps and poisons turned out ineffective
(D)
both A and C
4)
In the third paragraph, the word “ go-ahead” is closest to __________.
(A)
permission to act
(B)
active in using new methods
(C)
advance
(D)
beginning
5)
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
(A)
After cats were hired, the number of mice became smaller dramatically within months.
(B)
It has proved that cats can't keep letters from being eaten by mice.
(C)
Female cats received enough maternity benefits and enjoyed the same wages and employment chances as male cats.
(D)
Since 1868 an average wage of hired cats has improved.
Passage 2
Some scientists think that one of the causes of alcoholism is a poor diet. They found that mice craved alcohol when they were given foods low in vitamin B.
At first, all of the mice in the experiment were put on the same diet. This diet was neither high nor low in vitamin B. the mice were given a choice of four liquids to drink. One was water and the other three were alcohol solutions. The alcohol concentration in the liquids ranged from the level found in beer to the level found in whiskey. Despite the fact that all of the mice ate the same food, they chose different liquids to drink. Some of them became alcoholics and some did not.
The scientists then gave food that was lower in vitamins and minerals than their original diet. The first group of mice stopped drinking whiskey and began to drink water. The second group stopped drinking water and began to drink whiskey. When vitamin B was added to the second group's diet, they again chose water and seemed to have no need for alcohol.
6)
The scientists conducted this experiment sot show that______.
(A)
mice can become alcoholics
(B)
a lack of vitamin B might be one of the factors causing alcoholism in human beings
(C)
mice have the same diets as human beings
(D)
drunk mice are easier to catch
7)
It is fair to conclude from this experiment that _______.
(A)
a lack of vitamin B seems to cause alcoholism in some mice
(B)
mice who have a lot of vitamin B in their diets crave alcohol
(C)
mice will always choose different liquids to drink
(D)
all mice should be given the same diet
8)
Which of these is NOT an example of what happened to the mice in this experiment?
(A)
They were given a choice of liquids to drink.
(B)
The alcoholic mice were given diets high in vitamin B.
(C)
Some of the alcoholic mice later chose water without having vitamin B added to the diet.
(D)
The mice that at first chose water chose alcohol to drink later in the experiment.
9)
What is the purpose of this passage?
(A)
To describe an experiment.
(B)
To tell what the writer thinks causes alcoholism.
(C)
To persuade people to take vitamin B.
(D)
To describe what alcoholism is.
10)
How did the scientists find out that some mice would become alcoholic and some would not?
(A)
Some of the mice got sick.
(B)
Some of the mice didn't eat all the food but drink a lot of alcohol.
(C)
The mice chose different liquids to drink.
(D)
The mice all ate the same food and drank the same liquids.
Passage 3
The traditional American Thanksgiving Day celebration goes back to 1621, in that year a special feast was prepared in Plymouth , Massachusetts . The colonists who had settled there had left England because they felt denied of religious freedom. They came to the new land and faced difficulties in coming across the ocean. The ship which carried them was called the Mayflower, The North Atlantic was difficult to travel. There were bad storms. They were assisted in learning to live in the new land by the Indians who inhabited the region. The Puritans, as they were called, had much to be thankful for. Their religious practices were no longer a source of criticism by the government. They learned to adjust their farming habits to the climate and soil. When they selected the fourth Thursday of November for their Thanksgiving celebration, they invited their neighbors, the Indians, to join them in dinner and a prayer of gratitude for the new life. They recalled the group of 102 men, and children who left England . They remembered the dead who did not live to see the shores of Massachusetts . They reflected on the 65 days' journey, which tested their strength.
11)
The tradition of a day of Thanksgiving is almost ______ years old.
(A)
100
(B)
200
(C)
300
(D)
400
12)
They had left England because of _______.
(A)
political problems
(B)
religious problems
(C)
their business
(D)
their illness
13)
The Mayflower was _____.
(A)
the house they live in
(B)
a kind of beautiful flower
(C)
a kind of flower that blossoms in May
(D)
the ship they traveled in
14)
_______ had helped them to adjust.
(A)
The Indians
(B)
The government
(C)
Their neighbors
(D)
The Puritans
15)
The climate and soil in Massachusetts are ______ that of England .
(A)
different from
(B)
similar to
(C)
the same with
(D)
warmer than
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