Ⅱ. Reading Comprehension ( 80')

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by 5 questions. 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.

　　Passage 1

　　The key to any successful garage sale (家庭旧物出售) is to get the word out. The best means of advertising your sale is to place an ad in the local newspaper. If you have a city and neighborhood paper, make sure you advertise in both. The ad should be large enough that it stands out. It should also include information on where the sale is located with directions, the “hot” items you’re selling and the time the sale will start and end. An ad should be placed at least two days before the sale and run until the day of your event. That way people can plan their route(路线) to the sale in advance.

　　Signs are another great way to inform your community. Post them in places where people gather, such as stores and community centers. Some businesses have a central bulletin board (布告栏), which is the best place to advertise. Other places to post are at the local college or university campus. This is especially helpful if your sale is happening in August or early September when students have returned to school and are looking for cheap finds.

　　Post signs around your neighborhood. You should also place both ads and direction signs, especially if you’re located on a side street without a major presence. Signs will attract and direct people. Just make sure you print in bold letters and use large direction signs so people can read the information from the front seat of their car.

　　1. The best way of getting out the news of your garage sale is to ______.

　　A. publish the news online B. visit people door-to-door

　　C. advertise in the local newspaper D. make phone calls to your neighbors

　　2. You should place an ad at least two days before the sale so that people can ______.

　　A. get enough cash for the sale B. compare prices of the items

　　C. select the items they will buy D. decide on their route in advance

　　3. Why should signs be posted in a community center?

　　A. Schools are nearby. B. There are many stores.

　　C. Students often meet there. D. More people gather there.

　　4. What advice is given for printing the signs according to the last paragraph?

　　A. Colored signs are preferred. B. Bold letters should be used.

　　C. Large pictures should be included. D. Phone numbers should be provided.

　　5. The best title for the passage might be ______.

　　A. Advertising Garage Sales B. Advantages of Garage Sales

　　C. Importance of Garage Sales D. Printing Ads for Garage Sales

　　Passage 2

　　In the eighteenth—century one of the first modern economists, Adam Smith, thought that the “whole annual produce of the land and labor of every country” provided revenue to “three different orders of people: those who live by rent, those who live by wages, and those who live by profit”. Each successive stage of the industrial revolution, however, made the social structure more complicated.

　　Many intermediate groups grew up during the nineteenth century between the upper middle class and the working class. There were small—scale industrialists as well as large ones, small shopkeepers and tradesmen, officials and salaried employees, skilled and unskilled workers, and professional men such as doctors and teachers. Farmers and peasants continued in all countries as independent groups.

　　During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the possession of wealth inevitably affected a person’s social position. Intelligent industrialists with initiative made fortunes by their wits which lifted them into an economic group far higher than that of their working—class parents. But they lacked social training of the upper class, who despised them as the “new rich.”

　　They often sent their sons and daughters to special school to acquire social training. Here their children, mixed with the children of the upper classes, were accepted by them, and very often found marriage partners from among them. In the same way, a thrifty, hardworking laborer, though not clever himself, might save for his son enough to pay for an extended secondary school education in the hope that he would move in a “white-collar” occupation, carrying with it a higher salary and a move up in the social scale.

　　In the twentieth century the increased taxation of higher incomes, the growth of the social services, and the wider development of educational opportunity have considerably altered the social outlook. The upper classes no longer are the sole, or even the main possessors of wealth, power and education, though inherited social position still carries considerable prestige.

　　6. What criterion did Adam Smith seem to go by in his classification of social groups?

　　A. The amount of wealth B. The amount of money

　　C. The social status D. The way of getting money

　　7. If you compare the first and second paragraph, what groups of people did Adam Smith leave out in his classification?

　　A. Officials and employees’ B. Peasants and farmers.

　　C Doctors and teachers’ D. Tradesmen and landlords.

　　8. Who were the ‘new rich’ during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

　　A. They were still the upper class people. B. They were owners of large factories.

　　C They were intelligent industrialists. D They were skilled workers who made their fortune.

　　9. According to the passage, what did those people do who intended to make their children move up in the social ladder?

　　A. They saved a lot of money for their children to receive higher education.

　　B. They tried to find marriage partners from the children of the upper class.

　　C. They made greater fortunes by their wits.

　　D. They worked even harder to acquire social training.

　　10. In the twentieth century class differences have been partly smoothed out by ____.

　　A. Increased income and decreased taxation

　　B. Taxation, social services and educational opportunities

　　C. Education, the increase of income and industrial development

　　D. The decrease of the upper class population

　　Directions: There are 10 incomplete statements in this section. You are required to complete each statement by choosing the appropriate answer from the four choices A, B, C and D.

　　11. She didn’t know to express her ideas clearly when she was invited to speak at a meeting.

　　A. where B. why C. what D. how

　　12. The representative of the company demanded that part of the agreement revised.

　　A. will be B. is C. to be D. be

　　13. his surprise, the manager found nobody in the meeting room..

　　A. At B. To C. For D. With

　　14. I was almost asleep last night when I suddenly heard someone at the door.

　　A. be knocking B. knocking C. to knock D. having knocked

　　15. She didn’t go to the party last night, she had to finish her term paper.

　　A. if B. though C. till D. because

　　16. They regard as their duty to provide the best service for their customers.

　　A. this B. what C. it D. that

　　17. up at the clock on the wall, the secretary found it was already midnight.

　　A. Looking B. Look C. To look D. Looked

　　18. I tried to get out of the business I found impossible to carry on.

　　A. why B. which C. what D. where

　　19. The scientists wanted to keep people about the breakthrough in his experiment.

　　A. in form B. informed C. informing D. to inform

　　20. The advertising company recently hired a designer had once won a prize in a national contest.

　　A. whose B. which C. whom D. who