| 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
A Merry Christmas…
Another Serving?
A Merry Christmas to you all …
“ Merry,” as you may know, has two meanings: a) happy, and b) drunk. If you're like a large number of British people, then your Christmas will be an alcoholic, rather than a religious, occasion.
If you walk down Piccadilly or Oxford Street just before Christmas, you will see an incredible amount of money being spent on electronic games, bottles of wine, expensive clothes, CDs, cassettes, cameras, and a large number of luxury items. If you walk down the main street of several towns in the Third World just before Christmas, you won't see a large amount of money being spent on presents: in fact, you won't see a large amount of money being spent on anything.
80% of all disease in the world is caused by bad water supply: for millions of people, the perfect Christmas present would be a tap in the village square which would give pure, clean, water.
Do we think of these people when we sit down to our Christmas dinner? Of course not—we're too busy thinking about the turkey, the roast potatoes, and the presents sitting under the Christmas tree. The whole idea of Christmas now is completely unchristian--- I'm sure that Christ would be furious if he could see what sort of celebrations are being carried out in his name.
So I'm against Christmas---I agree with Scrooge: “It's all humbug.” If we're going to continue with this wasteful, thoughtless ceremony, then let's be trustful about it, and call it “ Stuff-Our-Faces Week” or “Stomach Week”--- but let's get rid of the insincere pretence that Christmas is “ the season of good will.”
Not only for Children?
Recently, a rather sophisticated woman told me shyly that she saves up all her presents until Christmas morning and then sits up in bed and opens them, just like a child. She thought I would laugh at her and say how silly she was. But in fact I was absolutely delighted to meet someone who treats Christmas as I do.
Many people today have a very different attitude to Christmas. They think it's just a time when shopkeepers make a lot of money and everyone rushes round buying presents they don't want to give and food they don't want to eat. But have they grown so far away from their own childhood that they can't remember all the good things?
First of all, Christmas takes you out of the ordinary humdrum routines of life. For children, the fun begins weeks before when the decorations are put up, and excitement gradually mounts as December the 25th approaches.
Everyone seems much friendlier to each other than usual at Christmas-time. You can lean out of a car window when you're stopped at the traffic lights and say “ Merry Christmas,” and people will smile and respond. You probably wouldn't think of doing that at any other time of the year. Perhaps it's because most people are on holiday or because everyone knows that they are sharing a similar experience. Giving presents can be very satisfying, too, if you plan far enough in advance and really think of the right present for the right person.
Indeed, whatever shopkeepers gain out of Christmas, it is still a “holy day”, the words from which “holiday” is derived, and it gives people time to pause and concentrate fro a moment on non-commercial values.
1)
For most Britons, Christmas is a time when they ______________.
(A)
play a lot
(B)
pray a lot
(C)
rest a lot
(D)
drink a lot
2)
The author believes that Christmas is unchristian because people____________.
(A)
in the Third World don't celebrate it
(B)
seldom think of the unfortunate at this time of the year.
(C)
Only think of enjoying themselves
(D)
Don't celebrate it in a Christian manner.
3)
According to the second paragraph, the author enjoys Christmas because it___.
(A)
brings back childhood memories
(B)
is a time when grown-ups can behave like children
(C)
is holiday time
(D)
is a time when everybody can enjoy themselves
4)
Why do many people have a negative attitude to Christmas?
(A)
Because shop people make too much money at this time of the year
(B)
People usually buy things they don't need
(C)
Everyone has to eat food they don't want to eat
(D)
They have forgotten the good things of their childhood.
5)
Why does the author think that Christmas is still a “holy day”?
(A)
Because people are much friendlier to each other during Christmas.
(B)
Because people have the opportunity to think about spiritual values on this day
(C)
Because people are polite to each other during this time of the year
(D)
Because people can get satisfaction from giving presents to relatives and friends
Passage 2
The Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control. A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers. But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long. As one Norwegian politician said last week: “We will soon be changed beyond all recognition.”
Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a program of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle . During the past few years this program has had a great deal of success: Tromso has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and healthy industry. But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins.
The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad.
The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers and fishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian. And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea.
6)
The Norwegian Government would prefer the oil industry to __________
(A)
provide more jobs for foreign workers
(B)
slow down the rate of its development
(C)
sell the oil it is producing abroad
(D)
develop more quickly than at present
7)
The Norwegian Government has tried to______
(A)
encourage the oil companies to discover new oil sources
(B)
prevent oil companies employing people from northern Norway
(C)
help the oil companies solve many of their problem
(D)
keep the oil industry to something near its present size.
8)
According to the passage, the oil industry might lead in northern Norway to___________
(A)
the development of industry
(B)
a growth in population
(C)
the failure of the development program
(D)
the development of new towns
9)
In the south, one effect of the development of the oil industry might be____
(A)
a large reduction in unemployment
(B)
a growth in the tourist industry
(C)
a reduction in the number of existing industries
(D)
the development of a number of service industries
10)
Norwegian farmers and fishermen have an important influence because _______.
(A)
they form such a large part of Norwegian society
(B)
their lives and values represent the Norwegian ideal
(C)
their work is so useful to the rest of Norwegian society
(D)
they regard oil as a threat to the Norwegian way of life
Passage 3
Some people call it a snow scooter( 滑行器 ). Some people call it a snow boat. And some people call it sit-down skis. But most people call it a snowmobile.
Today people in a snow country don't need to stay home all winter. They just jump into their snowmobiles. And soon they are off over the snow.
Snowmobiles help people do their work. Eskimos use them to hunt and fish. Policemen make their rounds in them. When people are lost, snowmobiles are used to find them.
But best of all, snowmobiles are fun. They are fun for all the family. Some people think they are more fun than sleds( 雪撬 ) or skis or skates. Snowmobiles can climb hills and race down them. Snowmobiles have made a new winter sport.
11)
All the following names are fit for the snowmobiles except_______
(A)
snow boat
(B)
water skis
(C)
snow skis
(D)
snow scooter
12)
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true.
(A)
People in a snow country used to go out in winter.
(B)
People in a snow country used to go out all the year round.
(C)
People in a snow country can go out in winter today.
(D)
People in a snow country have to stay at home in winter today.
13)
Eskimos use snowmobiles_______________
(A)
to hunt and fish
(B)
to find lost people
(C)
to make their rounds
(D)
to carry goods.
14)
People like snowmobiles best of all because_____________
(A)
it is a very enjoyable sport
(B)
it is a means of transportation
(C)
it can be used for hunting and fishing
(D)
it can be used to find lost people.
15)
Besides driving snowmobiles, the people in a snow country_____.
(A)
use sleds
(B)
go skiing
(C)
go skating
(D)
all of the above
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