Part III Reading comprehension ( 40 points)

　　Passage 1

　　What makes money valuable? Why is a piece of paper marked $ 10 worth more than one marked $1? You could say there is no reason. It’s true that a special kind of paper is used to make dollar bills, and they are pretty, but that’s not what makes them valuable. The real reason money is valuable is that everyone believes it is.

　　Ancient economies had no paper money or coins. Some used barter---- trading one thing for another. Others used all kinds of objects as money. Any object would do, as long as there was not an unlimited amount of it. Animals or metals were popular, and so were manufactured products like jewelry or weapons. Wealth in ancient Greece was measured in tools or cattle. This kind of money had two purposes. First, it was useful in itself. Tools and cattle can be used for farming. And second, it was a way to symbolize and measure value. A house, for example, would be valued at a certain number of tools or cattle. This greatly simplified trade. Other societies used money that was totally symbolic. For instance, American Indians used wampum, which is made from seashells. And until recently on the pacific island of Yap, people use large stone discs as money.

　　In most places these types of money died out because more practical forms of money were invented. People started using precious metals, such as gold and silver, that were easier to carry around than tools or stones. And in the eighteenth century, paper money was introduced. At first people were suspicious of new currency, but they came to accept it because the government or bank issuing it would exchange an equal amount of gold for the paper. A $ 10 bill really was worth $ 10 for gold. But now, people are used to the idea that the government doesn’t have to back its money with gold. Everyone believes that a $ 10 bill is worth $10 and that is good enough. But if, for some reason, people ever lost faith in paper money, ten dollars wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s printed on.

　　Questions 31-35 are based on passage 1

　　31. According to the writer the real reason money is valuable is that everyone believes .

　　a. money is valuable b. gold is valuable

　　c. money is gold

　　32. The writer of this selection mentioned animals, metals and manufactured products like jewelry or weapons because .

　　a. they were valuable

　　b. they were used as money in ancient times

　　c. people liked them

　　33. Paper money was invented .

　　a. to take the place of other types of money

　　b. to be replaced by other types of money

　　c. in the nineteenth century

　　34. At first people did not have trust in paper money because .

　　a. it was not worth much

　　b. the paper was not of good quality

　　c. it looked like an ordinary piece of paper

　　35. People came to accept paper money when .

　　a. the government began to issue it

　　b. the bank began to issue it

　　c. they could exchange it for the same amount of gold

　　Passage 2

　　Many private institutions of higher education around the country are in danger. Not all will be saved, and perhaps not all deserve to be saved. There are low-quality schools just as there are low-quality businesses. We have no obligation to save them simply because they exist. But many thriving institutions that deserve to continue are threatened. They are doing a fine job educationally, but they are caught in a financial difficulty, with no way to reduce rising costs or increase revenues significantly. Raising tuition doesn’t bring in more revenue, for each time tuition goes up, the enrollment goes down, or the amount that must be given away in student aid goes up. Schools are bad businesses, whether public or private, not usually because of bad management but because of the nature of the enterprise. They lose money on every customer, and they can go bankrupt either from too few students or too many students. Even a very good college is a very bad business.

　　It is such colleges, thriving but threatened, that I worry about. Low enrollment is not their chief problem. Even with full enrollments, they may go under. Efforts to save them, and preferably to keep them private, are a national necessity. There is no basis for arguing that private schools are bound to be better than public schools. There are abundant examples to the contrary. Anyone can name state universities and colleges that rank as the finest in the nation and the world. It is now inevitable that public institutions will be dominant, and therefore diversity is a national necessity. Diversity in the way we support schools tends to give us a healthy diversity in the forms of education. In an imperfect society such as ours, uniformity of education throughout the nation could be dangerous. In an imperfect society, diversity is a positive good. Eager supporters of public higher education know the importance of sustaining private higher education.

　　Questions 36-40 are based on passage 2

　　36. In the passage, the author appeals to the public to support .

　　a. private higher education in general

　　b. public higher education in general

　　c. high-quality private universities and colleges

　　37. According to the passage, schools are bad businesses because of .

　　a. the nature of school

　　b. poor teachers

　　c. bad management

　　38. What does the phrase “go under” (Par. 2, sentence 3) probably mean?

　　a. have low tuition

　　b. get into difficulties

　　c. do a bad job educationally

　　39. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　a. There are many cases to indicate that private schools are superior to public schools.

　　b. The author thinks diversity of education is preferable to uniformity of education.

　　c. Each time tuition is raised, the enrollment goes up.

　　40. In the author’s opinion, the way that can save private schools lies in .

　　a. full enrollment

　　b. raising tuition

　　c. national support

　　Passage 3

　　A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension, will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principles apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook—but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned with.

　　The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at, say, four hundred words per minute, you might skim through a newspaper at perhaps 650—700, while with a difficult textbook you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

　　Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, U.S.A., for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy’s War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim that after twelve half-hour lessons, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.

　　Questions 41-45 are based on passage 3

　　41. According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you

　　a. only in your reading of a physics textbook.

　　b. improve your understanding of an economics textbook.

　　c. not only in your language study but also in other subjects.

　　42. Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph ?

　　a. Those beyond one’s reading comprehension.

　　b. Those concerning with common knowledge.

　　c. Those without the demand for specialized knowledge.

　　43. The average untrained native speaker at the University of Minnesota reads at

　　a. about three hundred words per minute.

　　b. about two hundred and forty-five words per minute.

　　c. about sixty words per minute.

　　44. According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

　　a. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

　　b. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

　　c. You can double your reading speed.

　　45. Where do you think the passage is taken from?

　　a. The introduction to a book on fast reading.

　　b. A local newspaper for young people.

　　c. A school newspaper run by students.

　　Passage 4

　　Cultural Wars

　　Films made in th United Stated have continued to sweep the globe. According to the list of 1998’s most successful movies put together by Variety magazine, U.S. films took the top 39 places; Britain’s The Full Monty came in at number 40. As a consequence, British movie’s market share fell to 14 percent of the home market, while the respective figures for French filsm were 27 percent in France and 10 percent for German films in Germany. The European Union’s trade deficit with the United States in films and television is annually between $ 5 and $ 6 billion.

　　Several of Hollywood’s most successful movies have drawn from international resources. There men and a Baby was a remake of French comedy. Total Recall was made partly by French money, was directed by a Dutch man and starred an Austrian. The English Patient was directed by a Briton, shot in Italy, and starred French and British talent. The quest for new ideas and fresh talent has lead studios to develop subsidiaries in Europe: SONY’s bridge in London, Miramax in Berlin, and Warner Brothers both in Berlin and Paris.

　　Questions 46-50 are based on passage 4

　　46. American films have continued to the world.

　　a. influence b. win c. challenge

　　47. British films share the 14 percent in its in 1998.

　　a. home market b. American market c. European market

　　48. German films have a ten percent share in .

　　a. France b. British c. German

　　49. Three Men and a Baby was a remake of French comedy. A “remake” means .

　　a. a copy b. a reprint c. reproduction

　　50. The English Patient was directed by a Briton, shot in Italy, and starred French and British talent. A Briton means .

　　a. a British b. an Italian c. a German