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PART II Reading Comprehension (40 points )
Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passages is followed by 5 questions or
unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.
Passage one
Just as Mrs. Waldman hands out the spelling test, you see Jeff pull out a small piece of paper with a lot of words on it. Jeff hides the note into his closed fist but soon takes it out again. While he’s taking the test, you see him looking back and forth between the teacher and his paper. There’s no mistaking it---he’s cheating.
Cheating is when a person misleads, deceives, or acts dishonestly on purpose. For kids, cheating may happen at school, at home, or while playing a sport. If a baseball team is for kids who are 8 or younger, it’s cheating for a 9-year-old to play on the team.
At school, in addition to cheating on a test, a kid might cheat by stealing someone else’s idea for a science project or by copying a book report off the internet and turning it in as if it’s his or her original work.
One is inclined to cheat because it makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won’t help on the next test---unless the person cheats again.
Sometimes it may seem like cheaters have it all figured out. They can watch TV instead of studying for the spelling test. But other people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And, if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they’re busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating, cheating isn’t a good idea.
16. Why did Jeff look at the teacher from time to time while taking the test?
A. He was afraid that the teacher might find out what he was doing.
B. He had a question for the teacher but was afraid to ask.
C. He wanted to get the teacher’s attention.
D. He wanted to hand in his paper as he was done with it.
17. According to the author, cheating__________ .
A. occurs mainly in test-related settings
B. can take on various forms and happen anywhere
C. usually happens when one is doing a science project
D. happens when we don’t know the answer to a question
18. What can’t cheating help to do?
A. To pass examinations.
B. To get a satisfactory score.
C. To make difficult things easy.
D. To really get the knowledge.
19. Which of the following statements is closest in meaning to “cheaters have it all figured out” (Para.5)?
A. Cheaters know they won’t be caught.
B. Cheaters make a plan in advance.
C. Cheaters can reach a balance between work and play.
D. Cheaters clearly know the consequences of cheating.
20. The main purpose of the passage is to__________ .
A. inform readers why people cheat
B. predict possible consequences of cheating
C. persuade students to quit cheating
D. discuss different occasions when people cheat
Passage Two
Experts say over half of the world’s seven thousand languages are in danger of disappearing. Every two weeks one language disappears.
Sometimes a language disappears immediately when the last person speaking it dies. Or, a local language might disappear more slowly. This happens when an official language is used more often and children stop learning the local language of their parents. Official languages often represent a form of control over a group of people.
Throughout history, the language spoken by a powerful group spreads across a civilization. The more powerful culture rarely respects the language and culture of smaller groups. Smaller cultures lose their local language as the language of the culture in power has a stronger influence.
Experts say protecting languages is very important for many reasons. Languages contain the histories, ideas and knowledge of a culture. Languages also contain valuable information about local medicines, plants and animals.
Many endangered languages are spoken by native cultures in close contact with the natural world. Their ancient languages contain a great deal of information about environmental systems and species of plants and animals that are unknown to scientists. As the last speakers of a language die off, the valuable information carried within a language also disappears. Language is, in many ways, a window to the mind and the world.
Any hope for protecting languages can be found in children and their willingness to learn. It is these young people who can keep this form of culture alive for future generations.
21. Which of the following is true?
A. No one can prevent languages from disappearing.
B. There will not be any local languages left some day.
C. There have existed 7,000 languages in history.
D. Half of the world’s languages will possibly disappear.
22. An official language is a language that__________ .
A. is highly advanced
B. has a stronger influence
C. competes with a local language
D. has a longer history
23. Language is a window to the mind and the world because__________ .
A. it contains information about both culture and nature.
B. it represents the working of the human minds
C. local languages are more closely related to culture
D. ancient languages can reveal ancient people’s thoughts
24. According to the passage, a language will be better protected when__________ .
A. it is linked to a powerful culture
B. people are forced to speak it
C. it keeps pace with the times
D. children are interested in learning it
25. The passage mainly discusses__________ .
A. language and culture
B. the power of language
C. language protection
D. local languages
Passage Three
There’s a professor at the University of Toronto in Canada who has come up with a term to describe the way a lot of us North Americans interact these years. And now a big research study confirms it.
Barry Wellman’s term is “networked individualism.” It’s not the easiest concept to grasp. In fact, the words seem to contradict each other. How can we be individualistic and networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.
Here’s what he means. Until the Internet and e-mail came along, our social networks involved flesh-and-blood relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues at work. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time.
But the latest study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project confirms that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced a great deal of social interchange. A lot of folks Pew talked with say that’s a good thing, because of concerns that the Internet was turning us into hermits(隐居者) who shut out other people in favor of a make-believe world on computer screens.
To the contrary, the Pew study discovered. The Internet has put us in touch with many MORE real people than we’d have ever imagined. Helpful people, too. We’re turning to an ever-growing list of cyber friends for advice on careers, medical crises, child-rearing, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important or crucial role in helping them deal with major life decisions.
So we networked individuals are pretty tricky: we’re keeping more to ourselves, while at the same time reaching out to more people, all with just the click of a computer mouse!
26. The Pew study was conducted in__________ .
A. Latin America
B. Canada
C. the United States
D. Europe
27. In this passage, the network refers to a lot of connected__________ .
A. friends
B. people
C. computers
D. roads
28. Before the invention of the Internet, our connections with people took place mainly__________ .
A. in person
B. by phone
C. by letter
D. by e-mail
29. Which of the following has happened since the invention of the Internet?
A. People talk on the phone more than ever.
B. Much personal interaction has given way to computer interaction.
C. Americans are getting more isolated.
D. Americans have become more dependent on computers.
30. According to the Pew study, the role played by the Internet in human interaction is__________.
A. neutral
B. negative
C. unclear
D. positive
Passage Four
President Obama has signed legislation to make the biggest changes in the health care system in forty-five years. Many parts of the plan will fully take effect in four years. But some take effect quickly. For example, in six months the new law will ban insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing health conditions. Adults with pre-existing conditions will be added in four years.
The government will help millions of people pay for insurance. It will also permit millions more to receive free coverage through the Medicaid program for the poor. In all, the plan aims to make health insurance available to 32 million people now without it. Illegal immigrants will not be able to take part.
An estimated 83% of people under 65 who are in the US legally now have insurance coverage. The plan is expected to raise that to 95% within several years. People over 65 are covered by the Medicaid insurance program which the government created in 1965.
For the first time, Americans will be required to have health insurance or face a yearly fine starting in four years. The law will also require companies with more than 50 employees to offer coverage. If not, they could face a fine of $2,000 a year for every worker.
Also, this year the law will start closing what is known as “the doughnut hole”. That is a lack of Medicaid coverage for some drug costs for older Americans. President Obama promised senior citizens that the reforms will not cut their guaranteed benefits.
The changes are expected to cost about $940 billion over ten years, but also help reduce the federal budget deficit.
31. According to the new health care plan, which of the following will be added first into insurance programs?
A. Employees of small companies.
B. Adults with pre-existing health conditions.
C. Poor people now without health insurance.
D. Children with pre-existing health conditions.
32. It can be inferred from the passage that the new Medicaid program for the poor will__________ .
A. provide free health insurance for 32 million people
B. provide free health insurance for all poor people
C. be also applied to legal immigrants
D. cover 83% of the people under 65
33. It seems that at present, large companies that do not offer health insurance coverage to their employees__________ .
A. face heavy fines
B. do not receive punishments
C. are required to do so
D. do not benefit from doing so
34. The “doughnut hole” implies that__________ are not covered by the existing Medicaid program.
A. some drug costs for older Americans
B. senior citizens over 65
C. illegal immigrants
D. expensed for hospital stay
35. Generally speaking, President Obama’s health insurance reform will .
A. bring heavy financial burdens to the country
B. pose heavy financial burdens to the poor
C. benefit both the people and the country
D. be welcomed by the poor but opposed by companies.
