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19 Paper One Part I Reading Comprehension Directions: There are several passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them 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 centre. Passage One Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage: British students are more pessimistic about their job prospects than at any time in the past decade, according to the 2003 UK Graduate Careers Survey. The annual survey of career prospects, released recently, showed that the number of students expecting to get a job right after graduation had dropped from 39 to 37 percent－the fifth fall in a row. The survey was based on interviews with 15,474 final-year students. “These results suggest that there are nearly a quarter fewer graduates expecting to find employment than in 1998,” the survey said. It added that only 10 percent of the graduates thought there would be enough jobs. In addition, the number aiming for postgraduate studies is at its highest level－24 percent. “This is the first time that more people expect to undertake further study than those who want a job after graduation,” it said. The survey also provides a list of top ten career options. Teaching is one of the three most popular choices for British graduates, up from fifth place last year. Investment banking slid from fourth to seventh. Media and marketing jobs remained the two favorite career options. Graduate salary expectations this year were lower too. The average annual figure dropped from 18,700 pounds to 18,500 pounds. The survey also shows that British students have almost doubled their debt in the past two years. It is an average of 10,100 pounds this year compared with 5,700 pounds (US$9,462) in 2001. Despite their debt, nearly one in five students take time off or go traveling after graduation. Eight percent are expected to take a temporary job or opt for voluntary work. 1. Which of the following is NOT covered in the survey? A) Career options. B) Graduate salary expectations. C) Debt of the British students. D) Overseas studies. 2. What can we learn about the career prospects for British students? A) There are 50 percent fewer graduates expecting to find employment than in 1998. B) 20 percent of the graduates thought there would be enough jobs. C) It’s the fifth year that the number of students expecting to get a job right after graduation has dropped. D) The number of British students aiming for postgraduate studies has dropped. 3. Which of the following is true about the career options in Britain? A) Last year the most favorite job option was investment banking. B) Media is the fourth most popular choice, up from seventh last year. C) Marketing is the fifth of the top ten career options. D) Teaching has become one of the top three options. 4. With their debt doubled, many British students ______________. A) ask their parents or friends for help B) do a lot of part-time jobs to earn money C) still take time off or go traveling D) stay at home after graduation without wanting to find a job 5. Overall British students are _________ about their job prospects. A) less confident B) very hopeful C) indifferent D) more optimistic Passage Two Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage: Personality is, to a large extent, inherited -- A-type parents usually bring about A-type offspring. But the environment must also have a profound effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children. One place where children soak up A characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution. Too many schools adopt the “win at all costs” moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements. The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the clock produces a two-layer system, in which competitive A types seem in some way better than their B-type fellows. Being too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer!” By far the worst form of competition in schools is the disproportionate emphasis on examinations. It is a rare school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well. The merits of competition by examination are somewhat questionable. Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A youngsters change into B’s. The world needs types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. It is top management. 6. According to the author, what factors contribute to the building of personality? A) Inheritance. B) Competition. C) Environment. D) All of the above. 7. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A) Schools usually adopt severe competitive policies. B) The stronger desire for winning, the better. C) Students are often divided by competition results. D) School is a place where children cultivate their characteristics. 8. The phrase “soak up” ( Line 1, Paragraph 2 ) is closest in meaning to ______. A) take in B) pull up C) take up D) pull in 9. What attitude does the author hold toward examinations in schools? A) Positive. B) Negative. C) Sceptic. D) Neutral. 10. What suggestion does the author make concerning the management of schools? A) All students be made into competitive A types. B) All students be changed into B characteristics. C) A child’s personality be considered for his possible future job. D) Schools abolish all forms of examinations. Passage Three Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage: Gulliver’s Travels is the most famous work of the Irish priest Jonathan Swift, and the first part of it, Gulliver in Liliput (小人国), has now been made into a BBC television series. It is often regarded as an adventure story or even a children’s book. In fact Swift wrote it, in 1726, as a savage satire on the politics and customs of the day, and children’s editions are usually adapted. Many of the Liliputian celebrities are recognizable as powerful figures in the England of Swift’s time; Treasurer Flimnap, for example, is Swift’s old enemy, the politician Sir Robert Walpole. The satirist cuts them right down to size. Swift wrote ironically, pouring forth poetry, letters and political pamphlets as well as satire. His rich sense of humor and sharply perceptive mind were affected by his early struggles in life and a chronic kidney complaint. The contradictions in his character resolved themselves in a love of irony, jokes, and humor; through his own weaknesses and struggles he had a profound understanding of human natures and recorded them as they were. His acid eye and sharp pen made him popular with the wits of the day. His first satire, “A Tale of a Tub”, attacking the church, was well received. The society enthusiastically embraced the quiet Irish priest. In 1745 Jonathan Swift died after five years of agony (痛苦) and madness. 11. Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels ____. A) for the children B) to criticize the politicians of his time C) for the politicians D) to express his ambition in politics 12. It can be inferred from the passage that ____. A) the Gulliver’s Travels that children read is different from the original B) Swift was a narrow-minded person C) Many adults don’t like Gulliver’s Travels D) Swift wrote two versions of Gulliver’s Travels 13. Swift’s writing style was formed as a result from ____. A) ambition in politics B) having many enemies in his life C) severer training in the school D) not that smooth life when he was young 14. Which of the following statements about Swift is NOT true? A) He had a deep understanding of human nature. B) He died in pain and madness. C) He always had a sense of well-being. D) He was famous for his ironical and humorous writings. 15. Swift can be best described as a ____. A) satirist B) priest C) politician D) mad man Passage Four Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage: The making of glass is a very old industry -- at least 4,500 years old. Glass has many extraordinary qualities and it is frequently being used in new ways. One of the most interesting new uses for glass is in telephone communication. Scientists have developed glass fibres as thin as human hair which are designed to carry light signals. When the light reaches the other end, it is first changed into electrical signals, which are in turn converted into sound messages. Called light-wave communication, the new system was used successfully in an experiment in Chicago in 1977. During the experiment, two glass fibres were able to carry 672 conversations at the same time. The light-wave cable, containing 144 glass fibres, has the capacity to carry 50,000 conversations at the same time. The light-wave communication system has two important advantages. First, the glass fibre cables are smaller and weigh less than copper cables. Second, they cost less. Perhaps it can be said that telephone communication has entered the age of light! 16. One of the extraordinary qualities of glass is that it can carry ______. A) sound signals B) light signals C) electrical signals D) any signal 17. Before you can hear a message on the telephone using the new system, _________. A) electrical signals must first be changed into light signals and then into sound B) the light signals have to be changed directly into sound messages C) light must first be changed into electrical signals and then into sound D) either the light or the electrical signals have to be changed into sound message 18. According to the passage the new telephone communication system ________. A) had been used within limited scope before 1977 B) was first put into actual use in 1977 C) had been repeatedly experimented on before 1977 D) was put on experiment in 1977 19. From the passage, you can tell that people prefer glass fibre cables to copper cables because ________. A) glass fibres are less expensive B) glass fibres deliver messages directly C) glass fibres are more up to date D) glass fibres are easier to make 20. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage? A) Glass is very useful because it has many unusual qualities. B) Light signals have changed the use of glass in industry. C) Glass fibres have reduced the cost of telephone communication. D) The use of glass fibres to carry telephone messages is an interesting new development. Passage Five Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage: Through a series of experiments an American scientist has obtained an understanding of the social structure of the most complex of ant societies. The ants examined are the only creatures other than man to have given up hunting and collecting for a completely agricultural way of life. In their underground nests they cultivate gardens on soil made from finely chopped leaves. This is a complex operation requiring considerable division of labor. The workers of this type of ant can be divided into four groups according to size. Each of the groups performs a particular set of jobs. The making and care of the gardens and the nursing of the young ants are done by the smallest workers. Slightly larger workers are responsible for chopping up leaves to make them suitable for use in the gardens and for cleaning the nest. A third group of still larger ants do the construction work and collect fresh leaves from outside the nest. The largest are the soldier ants, responsible for defending the nest. To find out how good the various-sized groups are at different tasks, the scientist measured the amount of work done by the ants against the amount of energy they used. He examined first the gathering and carrying of leaves. He selected one of the size groups, and then measured how efficiently these ants could find leaves and run back to the nest. Then he repeated the experiment for each of the other size groups. In this way he could see whether any group could do the job more efficiently than the group normally undertaking it. The intermediate-sized ants that normally perform this task proved to be the most efficient for their energy costs, but when the scientist examined the whole set of jobs performed by each group of ants it appeared that some sizes of worker ants were not ideally suited to the particular jobs they performed. 21. In what way are the ants different from other non-human societies? A) They do not need to search for food. B) They do not need to look for shelter. C) Individuals vary in social status. D) Individuals perform different functions. 22. It seems that smaller ants perform more of the _____________. A) construction tasks B) defensive work C) domestic tasks D) heavy work 23. “Good” (Sentence 1, Paragraph 3) refers to ants’ __________. A) co-operation in working B) sense of responsibility C) efficiency in working D) willingness to work hard 24. The scientist’s work was based on __________. A) occasional observations B) systematic observations C) observations of several nests D) observations of undisturbed nest 25. The organization of the ants has the effect of _____________. A) getting the most work done B) dividing the work up systematically C) each ant helping with all the tasks D) each ant doing what it can do best Name:_____________ Class:_____________ Student No.:_____________ Score:_____________ Answer Sheet Part I Reading Comprehension 1._____ 6._____ 11._____ 16._____ 21._____ 2._____ 7._____ 12._____ 17._____ 22._____ 3._____ 8._____ 13._____ 18._____ 23._____ 4._____ 9._____ 14._____ 19._____ 24._____ 5._____ 10._____ 15._____ 20._____ 25._____ 19 ( 参考答案 ) Key Paper One Part I Reading Comprehension 1.D 6.D 11.B 16.B 21.A 2.C 7.B 12.A 17.C 22.C 3.D 8.A 13.D 18.D 23.C 4.C 9.B 14.C 19.A 24.B 5.A 10.C 15.A 20.D 25.D