Ⅱ. Reading Comprehension (50%)

　　Questions 41 to 45 are based on the following passage:

　　Passage One

　　Population tends to grow at an exponential(指数的)rate. This means that they progressively double. As an example of this type of growth rate take one penny and double every day for one month. After the first week, you would have only 64 cent, but after the fourth week you would have over a million dollars.

　　This helps explain why the population has come on“all of a sudden” took from he beginning of human 1ife to the year 1830 for the population of the earth to reach one billion. That repents(缓慢进行) a time span of at least two million years. Then it took from 1830 to 1930 for world population to reach 2 billion. The next billion was added by 1960 only thirty years and in 1975 world population reached 4 billion which is another billion people in only fifteen years.

　　World population is increasing at a rate of 9, 000per hour, 220,000 per day and 80 million per year.

　　This is not only due to higher birth rate, but to lower death rate as well. The number of births has not declined at the same rate as the number of deaths.

　　Some countries such as Columbia, Thailand, Morocco, Costa Rica and the Philippines are doubling their population about every twenty-one years with a growth rate of 3.3 percent a year or more. The United States is doubling its population about very eighty-seven years, with a rate of 0.8 percent per year. (81)Every time a population doubles, the country involved needs twice as much of everything, including hospitals, schools, resources, food and medicines to care for its people. It is easy to see that this is very difficult to achieve for the more rapidly growing countries.

　　41. This passage chiefly discusses A. the growth of world population.

　　B. one type of the exponential rate. C. the population problem of more rapidly growing countries. D. the possible ways of dealing with the rapid population growth.

　　42. According to the passage what helps to explain why the population problem has come on “all of a sudden”?

　　A. The penny that doubles itself every day for one month.

　　B. The time span of at 1east two million years in human history.

　　C. An illustration of the exponent growth rate given by the author.

　　D. The large amount of money you would luckily make after the fourth week.

　　43. It took for the world to increase its population from 1 billion to 4 billion.

　　A. 100 years B. 175 years C. 1975 years D. over two million years

　　44. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A. World population is increasing at a rate of 150 per minute.

　　B. Lower death rate also contributes to world population growth.

　　C. The population of Columbia has been doubling every year for 21 years.

　　D. The United States is usually doubling its population on about every 87 years.

　　45. When a population doubles, the country involved needs twice as much of everything including __.

　　A. hospitals and medicines B. schools and students

　　C. food and manpower resources D. all of the above

　　Questions 46 to 50 based on the following passage:

　　Passage Two

　　Women are on the whole more verbal than men. They are good at 1anguage and verbal reasoning. while men tend to be skilled at tasks demanding visual-spatial(视空)abilities. In fact, along with aggression these are the most commonly accepted difference between these sexes.

　　Words are tools for communicating with other people especially information about people. They are mainly social tools. Visual and spatial abilities are good for imagining and manipulating objects and for communicating information about them. Are these talents programmed into the brain? In some of the newest and most controversial research in neurophysiology(神经生理学), it has been suggested that when it comes to the brain males are specialists while women are generalists.

　　But one knows that, if anything this means in terms of the abilities of the two sexes. Engineering is both Visual and spatial and it’s true that there are relatively few women engineers. But women become just as skilled as men at shooting a rifle or driving a car task that involve visual-spatial skills. They also do equally well at programming a computer, which is neither visual nor spatial. Women do, however, seem less likely to fall in love with the objects themselves. We all know men for whom machines seem to be extensions of their identity. (82)A woman is more likely to see her car, rifle or computer as a useful tool but not in itself fascinating.

　　46. According to the passage, women are usually good at_____.

　　A. body language B. logical reasoning

　　C. tasks demanding for the use of words D. both A and B

　　47. The word "accepted” in the last sentence of the first paragraph, roughly means_____.

　　A. believed B. assumed C. received D. reconciled

　　48. In the author’s opinion, visual and spatial abilities are good for______.

　　A. achieving one’s objects. B. mind and body.

　　C. programming talents into the brain. D. imagination and communication.

　　49. All the following tasks involve visual-spatial abilities EXCEPT____.

　　A. imagining and handling objects.

　　B. providing a computer with a set of instructions

　　C. shooting a gun and driving an automobile

　　D. planning and making things as an engineer does

　　50. Why do women seem less likely to fall in love with the objects themselves?

　　A. Because they have no visual-spatial skills.

　　B. Because they are only good at 1anguage and verbal reasoning.

　　C. Because they are less likely to see their charming or interesting aspects.

　　D. Because they rarely use machines such as cars, rifles, computers, etc.

　　Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage: