Part III Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)

　　Section A

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 center. (答案填涂在答题卡上)

　　Passage One

　　Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

　　As regards social conventions, we must say a word about the well-known English class system. “This is an embarrassing subject for English people, and one they tend to be ashamed of, though during the present century class-consciousness has grown less and less, and the class system less rigid.” But it still exists below the surface. Broadly speaking, it means there are two classes, the “middle class” and the “working class”. (We shall ignore for a moment the old “upper class”,

　　including the hereditary aristocracy, since it is extremely small in numbers; but some of its members have the right to sit in the House of Lords, and some newspapers take a surprising interest in their private life.) The middle class consists chiefly of well-to-do businessmen and professional people of all kinds. The working class consists chiefly of manual and unskilled workers.

　　The most obvious difference between them is in their accent. Middle-class people use slightly varying kinds of “received pronunciation” which is the kind of English spoken by BBC announcers and taught to overseas pupils. Typical working-class people speak in many different local accents which are generally felt to be rather ugly and uneducated. One of the biggest barriers of social equality in England is the two-class education system. To have been to a so-called “public school” immediately marks you out as one of the middle class. The middle classes tend to live a more formal life than working-class people, and are usually more cultured. Their midday meal is “lunch” and they have a rather formal evening meal called “dinner”, whereas the working man’s dinner, if his working hours permit, is at midday, and his smaller, late-evening meal is called supper.

　　As we have said, however, the class system is much less rigid than it was, and for a long time it has been government policy to reduce class distinctions. “Working-class students very commonly receive a university education and enter the professions, and working-class incomes have grown so much recently that the distinctions between the two classes are becoming less and less clear.” However, regardless of one’s social status, certain standards of politeness are expected of everybody, and a well-bred person is polite to everyone he meets, and treats a labourer with the same respect he gives an important businessman. Servility(奴性、恭顺)inspires both embarrassment and dislike. Even the word “sir”, except in school and in certain occupations (e.g. commerce, the army etc.) sounds too servile(奴性的，逢迎的)to be commonly used.

　　47. The middle class mainly refers to people ___________.

　　A. who were born as aristocrat

　　B. who have the right to sit in the House of Lords

　　C. who speak in many different local accents

　　D. who are prosperous businessmen or who work in some professions

　　48. The most obvious difference between the working class and the middle class in English is their __________.

　　A. dress B. work 　 C. accent D. meal

　　49. Why isn’t the word “sir” commonly used in Britain?

　　A. Because it sounds too servile and is likely to cause embarrassment.

　　B. Because it can only be used in some certain occupations.

　　C. Because it is an impolite word.

　　D. Because it shows that the speaker is not a well-bred person.

　　50. The “upper class” in England today__________.

　　A. are extremely small in number so that media pays no attention to them

　　B. still uses old words like “Sir” in their everyday life

　　C. includes the hereditary aristocracy

　　D. refers only to the royal family

　　51. Which of the following is not true about the English class system?

　　A. It is an embarrassing subject for English people.

　　B. Working-class students cannot receive a university education.

　　C. The class system is much less rigid than it was.

　　D. The class system still exists below the surface.

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

　　Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate(注视). Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation ----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.

　　Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.

　　52. The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________ .

　　A. one’s familiarity with the text

　　B. one’s purpose in reading

　　C. the length of a group of words

　　D. lighting and tiredness

　　53. The author may believe that reading ______.

　　A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation

　　B. requires a reader to see words more quickly

　　C. demands an deeply-participating mind

　　D. demands more mind than eyes

　　54. What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second paragraph?

　　A. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.

　　B. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve both the ability to see and to comprehend words.

　　C. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve an efficient reading.

　　D. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve one’s ability to see words.

　　55. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.

　　B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.

　　C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.

　　D. The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.

　　56. The tune of the author in writing this article is ________

　　A critical

　　B neutral

　　C pessimistic

　　D optimistic

　　Section B

　　Directions: There are 15 blanks in the following passage, For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) following the passage. You should choose the one that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

　　Methods of studying vary; what works well for some students doesn’t work at all for others. The only thing you can do is experiment __57__ you find a system that does work for you. But two things are sure: __58__ else can do your studying for you, and unless you do find a system that works, you won' t get through college. Meantime, there are a few rules that__59__ for everybody. The hint is "don't get ___60___ ".

　　The problem of studying, __61__ enough to start with, becomes almost impossible when you are trying to do __62__ on one weekend. __63__ the fastest readers have trouble __64__ that. And if you are behind in written work that must be turned in, the teacher who accepts it that late will probably not give you good credit. Perhaps he may not accept it__65__ . Getting behind in one class because you are spending so much time on another is really no __66__. Feeling pretty virtuous(自以为了不起的)about the seven hours you spend on chemistry won' t __67__one bit if the history teacher pops a quiz. And many freshmen do get into trouble by spending too much time on one class at the expense of the others, either because they like one class much better or because they find it so much harder that they think they should __68__all their time to it. __69__the reason, doing the whole work for one class and neglecting the rest of them is a __70__. If you face this temptation, begin with the shortest and easiest __71__. Get them out of the way and then go to the more difficult, time consuming work.

　　57. A. until B. after C. while D. so

　　58. A. somebody B. nobody C. everybody D. anybody

　　59. A. follow B. go C. operate D. work

　　60. A. behind B. after C. slow D. later

　　61. A. hardly B. unpleasant C. hard D. heavy

　　62. A. three week's work B. three weeks' works

　　C. three weeks' work D. three week' s works

　　63. A. Even B. Almost C. If D. With

　　64. A. to do B. doing C. at doing D. with doing

　　65. A. anyway B. either C. at all D. too

　　66. A. solution B. method C. answer D. excuse

　　67. A. help B. encourage C. assist D. improve

　　68. A. devote B. put C. spend D. take

　　69. A. Whichever B. Whatever C. However D. Wherever

　　70. A. attraction B. decision C. mistake D. dilemma

　　71. A. arrangements B. way C. assignments D. class