Section II Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　TEXT 1

　　It was a little weird at first, Erin Tobin said, seeing Harry Potter right there on the stage without his pants, or indeed any of his clothes.

　　Not actually Harry Potter, of course, since his is fictional, but the next best thing: Daniel Radcliffe, who plays him in the movies. Now 17, Mr. Radcliffe has cast off his wand, his broomstick and everything else to appear in the West End revival of Peter Shaffer's "Equus." He stars as Alan Strang, a disturbed young man who, in a distinctly un-Harry-Potterish moment of frenzied psychosexual madness, blinds six horses with a hoof pick.

　　To make it clear what audiences are in for, at least in part, photographs of Mr. Radcliffe's buff torso, stripped almost to the groin, have been used to advertise the production. It is as jarring as if, say, Anne Hathaway suddenly announced that instead of playing sweet-natured princesses and fashion-world ingénues, she wanted to appear onstage as a nude, murderous prostitute.

　　To explain how is surprising the change of Radcliffe to the audience, the author mentions Anne "Equus" opened last week, and the consensus so far is that Mr. Radcliffe has successfully extricated himself from his cinematic alter ego. Considering that playing Harry Potter is practically all he has done in his career, this is no small achievement.

　　"I think he's a really good actor, and I sort of forgot about Harry Potter," said Ophelia Oates, 14, who saw the play over the weekend." Anyway, you can't be Harry Potter forever."

　　In The Daily Telegraph, Charles Spencer said that "Daniel Radcliffe brilliantly succeeds in throwing off the mantle of Harry Potter, announcing himself as a thrilling stage actor of unexpected depth and range."

　　Mr. Radcliffe told The Daily Telegraph that "I thought it would be a bad idea to wait till the Potter films were all finished to do something else." There are still a few to go. The fifth, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," is scheduled for release on July 13, and Mr. Radcliffe has signed on for the final two installments as well. (Meanwhile, the seventh and last book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will hit stores on July 21.)

　　Harry and Alan could not be more dissimilar as characters, even if both "come from quite weird backgrounds," as 13-year-old Ella Pitt, another recent theatergoer, put it. (And no, she declared, she was not too young for all the nakedness, swearing and sexuality.) Both characters have unresolved issues relating to their parents: Harry, because his are dead, and Alan, because his have driven him insane.

　　But when it comes to romance, for instance, the celluloid Harry has yet to kiss a girl: the big moment comes in the forthcoming film. Meanwhile, Alan in "Equus" not only engages in some serious equi-erotic nuzzling with an actor playing a horse, but is also onstage, fully nude, for 10 minutes, during which he nearly has sex with an equally naked young woman.

　　21.The author's mentioning of Hathaway is a ________.

　　A. simile B. comparison C. hyperbole D. analogy

　　22. The word "extricated" (Line 2, Para. 4) implies ________.

　　A. rescued B. freed C. cleared D. extracted

　　23. The audience's response to the new image of "Harry Potter" is ________.

　　A. negative B. positive C. indifferent D. none of the above

　　24. The two dissimilar characters, i.e. Harry and Alan are common in that ________.

　　A. they are both weird B. their parents are weird

　　C. they have unresolved issues D. they have weird families

　　25. The best title for this passage is ________.

　　A. "Harry Porter" Is Disappearing B. The Naked "Harry Porter"

　　C. The Successful Change of "Harry Porter" D. "Harry Porter" in "Enquus"

　　TEXT 2

　　Uruguay has been a proud exception to the privatizing wave that swept through South America in the 1990s. Its state-owned firms are more efficient that many of their counterparts in Argentina and Brazil ever were. In 1992, Uruguayans voted in a referendum against privatizing telecoms. They rightly observe that some of Argentina's sales were smashed, creating inefficient private monopolies. And with unemployment at 15%, nobody is enthusiastic about the job cuts privatization would involve.

　　That leaves President Jorge Batlle with a problem. Uruguay has been in recession for the past two years, mainly because of low prices for its agricultural exports, and because of Argentina's woes. But public debt is at 45% of GDP, and rising. Some economists argue that privatization would give a boost to the economy, by attracting foreign investment, and by lowering costs. CERES, a think-tank, having compared tariffs for public services in Uruguay and its neighbors, believes liberalization could save businesses and households the equivalent of 4% GDP annually, raise growth and produce a net 45,000 jobs.

　　The polls that show continuing support for public ownership also show growing opposition to monopolies. So Mr. Batlle plans to keep the state firms, but let private ones either compete with them or bid to operate their services under contract.

　　The opposition Broad Front and the trade unions are resisting. They have gathered enough signatures to demand a "public consultation" next month on a new law to allow private operators in the ports and railway—a referendum on whether to hold a referendum on the issue. Alberto Bension, the finance minister, admits the vote will be a crucial indicator of how far the government can push. But he notes that, since 1992, attempts to overturn laws by calling referendums have flopped.

　　The liberalization of telecoms has already begun. Bell South, an American firm, is the first private cell-phone operator. There are plans to license others, and talk of allowing competition for fixed-line telephones. A new law allows private companies to import gas from Argentina to generate electricity in competition with the state utility. Another play would strip Another plan would strip Ancap, the state oil firm, of its monopoly of imports. It has already been allowed to seek a private partner to modernize its refinery.

　　Harder tasks lie ahead. The state-owned banks are burdened with problem loans to farmers and home owners. And Mr. Batlle shows no appetite for cutting the bureaucracy.

　　After a year in office, the president is popular. He has created a cross-party commission to investigate

　　"disappearances" during Uruguay's military dictatorship of 1976-85. The unions are weakened by unemployment. At CERES, Ernesto Talvi argues that Mr. Batlle should note his own strength, and push ahead more boldly. But that is not the Uruguayan way.

　　26.Uruguay in the 1990s ________.

　　A. moved in the privatizing wave

　　C. sticked to its old economic mode

　　B. adopted the same measure as that of Argentina

　　D. developed very slowly

　　27.What can we infer from the first four paragraphs?

　　A.Uruguay has been always trying to join in the privatizing wave.

　　B.Economists argue that privatization is an efficient way to boost Uruguay's GDP.

　　C.Mr. Battle plans to privatize the country's economy completely.

　　D.The opposition Broad Front is in favor of privatization.

　　28.The fifth paragraph suggests that ________.

　　A.Bell South is built up in 1982

　　B.There has been no law to regulate the electricity

　　C.Ancap may modernize its refinery with the help of a private partner

　　D.Liberalization makes the economy slack

　　29.What does the author mean by "flopped" (last line, Para. 4)?

　　A. succeeded

　　B. failed

　　C. followed

　　D. provoked

　　30.Which one is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A.Privatization is thriving in Uruguay.

　　B.Now, referenda have less strength to change some laws.

　　C.Uruguayan people are satisfied with the government's actions with regard to the economy.

　　D. The President is managing to keep the state companies efficient.