III. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.AI’ve become increasingly concerned about the linguistic sloppiness of the average worker, and not those who have learned English as a second language but native English speakers, regardless of income level, schooling or other determining factors.The number of people who read seems to be decreasing. The digital world has become the preferred baby sitter for children and the most effective way for adults to comfort themselves after a day’s work. Teachers, overworked and underpaid, seem to be fighting a losing battle – or are some prolonging it?These days I see glaring grammatical errors on résumés and cover letters, websites, signs, emails regardless of management skills or income level. Job hunters write asking me for “advise”. People who are in the job market, hoping to be invited in for an interview, write some of these, and the paperwork is full of punctuation and grammatical mistakes. Were they careless? Or do they not know? Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe the hiring authority doesn’t know the difference either.The other day I saw the back of a company shirt that said: “providing quality service since 10 years.” A company shirt? How many were printed and are worn by employees who walk around advertising that their company has someone in an upper-level management position who didn’t catch the error or, worse yet, didn’t know the difference?Last week a senior level manager emailed me. He confused “its” and “it’s” in three different places. Here’s another example: I do product testing for a research panel. The product came with a slip of paper that said: “This commitment covers not discussing this product or it’s usage with others outside your home.”Here’s what really bugs me: a rule that seems to have come into effect – if in doubt, add an apostrophe. So what has happened is that people all over America have lost the understanding of the difference between plural and possessive.Your résumés and your cover letter are not just a summary of your background. They are not just an introduction of you when you hope to be considered for an interview. First and foremost, it is a brochure, and it is selling a product, and the product is you. If you wouldn’t go to an interview in blue jeans, don’t send your cover letter and résumés with mistakes to a prospective employer.Don’t rely on Microsoft Word’s ABC/grammar checker. It isn’t able to detect if a word is spelled correctly but used out of context. The grammar checker won’t help you unless you have a fundamental understanding of grammar to begin with. In fact, if you defer to the grammar checker’s advice, you’ll probably increase your number of mistakes.An excellent reference book to keep on hand is The Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer. In “Words Often Confused”, it clarifies the differences between pairs of words such as “well/good” and “less/fewer”.Don’t tell yourself it doesn’t matter. Above all, don’t tell yourself that everyone speaks poorly these days, and the hiring authority won’t know or care. The ability to communicate, written and spoken, is of utmost importance – certainly in business. And it only becomes more valuable as fewer people are able to demonstrate it.56.The examples cited in paragraphs 4 and 5 are intended to illustrate ______.A. the employees are proud of their companyB. to err is humanC. holding senior positions doesn’t guarantee correct usage of languageD. managers are so busy as to be careless with their language57.According to the author, when American people are not sure whether to use “it’s” or “its”, they are likely to ______.A. use the formerB. use the latterC. ask the author for adviceD. turn to Microsoft Word58.The underlined word “defer” can be best replaced by ______.A. consultB. followC. objectD. yield59.Which of the following statements will the author probably agree with?A. Going to a job interview in smart jeans is better than sending résumés with mistakes to a prospective employer.B. Microsoft Word’s spelling checker cannot always spot a mistake because it has a limitedvocabulary.C. Some teachers are themselves using language incorrectly.D. The hiring authorities care about linguistic correctness and act as role models.Keys: 56-59 CADCIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his ‘69 Chevy Malibu convertible(敞篷车)’. Beautifully repainted with V-8 engine—it was a gift wasted on me at that age. What did I know about classic cars? The important thing was that Hannah and I could drive around Tucson with the top down.Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much taller, almost five foot ten. “Hannah’s going to be something,” my mother always said. And sure enough, that summer she signed with a modeling agency. She was already doing catalog and runway work.A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald’s drive-through, putting the fries on the seat between us to share.“Let’s ride around awhile,” I said. It was a clear night, oven-warm, full moon cast low over the desert. Taking a curve too fast, I hit a patch of dirt and slid from side to side. I then cut through a neighbor’s landscape wall and drove into a full-grown palm. The front wheels came to rest halfway up the tree trunk.French fries on the floor, the dash, and my lap. An impossible amount of blood on Hannah’s face, pieces of skin hanging into her eyes. They took us in separate ambulances. In the emergency room, my parents spoke quietly: Best plastic surgeon in the city. End of her modeling career.We’d been wearing lap belts, but the car didn’t have shoulder bands. I’d damaged my cheekbone on the wheel; Hannah’s forehead had split wide open on the dash. What would I say to her?When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, bracing myself for her anger. She sat beside me and took my hand. “I hit my best friend’s car in the rear when I was your age,” she said. “I wrecked her car and mine.”“I’m so sorry,” I said.“You’re both alive,” she said. “The rest is window dressing.” I started to protest, and Sharon stopped me. “I forgive you. Hannah will too.”Sharon’s forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that summer, to stay friends throughout high school and college, to be in each other’s weddings, and to watch my four teenagers fawn over her three younger children. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I’m tempted to blame someone for something recognized as wrong. And whenever I see Hannah. The scars are so faded that no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still see the faint shimmer(微光) just below her hairline—for me, an sign of grace.56. Which of the following about Hannah is TRUE according to the passage?A. She was not as badly injured as the author.B. She never really forgave me though her mother did.C. She learned the gift of forgiveness through the accident.D. She could have been a model if she hadn’t experienced the accident.57. In paragraph 4, “window dressing” is closest in meaning to “_______”.A. insignificantB. colorfulC. undeterminedD. hopeful58. According to the passage, Sharon comforted the author by _______.A. showing her own scarB. mentioning her own storyC. visiting the author in personD. teaching the author a personal lesson59. Which of the following might be the best title of the article?A. A Graceful FriendB. A Lasting FriendshipC. A Lucky Car AccidentD. The Gift of ForgivenessKeys: 56-59 DABDIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.AMeasles (麻疹), which once killed 450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine (疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called “herd immunity”, which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn’t work.But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.That’s exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out (决定不参加) of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption（豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions? Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they’ll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.56. The first two paragraphs suggest that __________.A. a small number of measles cases can start a dangerous trendB. the outbreak of measles attracts the public attentionC. anti-vaccine movement has its medical reasonsD. information about measles spreads quickly57. Herd immunity works well when __________.A. exemptions are allowedB. several vaccines are used togetherC. the whole neighborhood is involved inD. new regulations are added to the state laws58. What is the main reason for the comeback of measles?A. The overuse of vaccine.B. The lack of medical care.C. The features of measles itself.D. The vaccine opt-outs of some people.59. What is the purpose of the passage?A. To introduce the idea of exemption.B. To discuss methods to cure measles.C. To stress the importance of vaccination.D. To appeal for equal rights in medical treatment.Keys: 56-59 ACDCIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)Sandra Boynton, a children’s author, has in more recent years branched out into kids music. Her most recent album Hog Wild!, for example, features Samuel L. Jackson as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. She talked in an interview about how to tap into kids' imaginations and how to make scary things less threatening for them.In your years of writing and illustrating children’s books, have you noticed anything that really sparks a child’s imagination?I think maybe there’s no basic difference between what fascinates a child and what fascinates the rest of us. We’re all drawn to things that wake us up, things that grab our attention through our hearing or our sight or our sense of touch. We’re curious about the world as it is, and we’re curious about what could be. Imagination follows curiosity pretty naturally.It doesn’t feel to me like it’s been a long time that I’ve been drawing and writing things. It doesn’t feel like a short time, either. It just feels like what I do. I make things. I’m a permanent Kindergartner, I guess.You often take a threatening figure like a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a monster and make him cute. Do you have any suggestions for how to make children less afraid of things?Actually, I think kids kind of like being afraid of things, as long as someone calm is right there with reassurance. Hugging helps.What have you learned about childhood from writing kids’ books?Accessing childhood has actually never been that hard. It’s adulthood that’s still perplexing.I would guess that most children’s book writers are that way. I’m really writing books and making music for my own child-self. But I’m certainly delighted and grateful that my books work for people other than just me. It keeps me from having to find an actual job.A lot of authors are worried that children spend too much time on digital devices rather than with books, but you seem to have embraced it. Why?When the interactive book app universe was new, I was, as a creator of things, curious. My background is theater, and I thought it could be interesting to try to figure out how to create content that’s both theater-like and book-like. I found a superb partner in this, the insanely ingenious Loud Crow Interactive in Vancouver. We worked intensively together for a couple of years and made five very cool apps. I’m proud of them. But now, having too often seen very young kids sitting idly, staring at screens, I have my doubts.81. What does Sandra Boynton think about imagination?A. It fascinates both adults and children.B. It can be waken up by attention to senses.C. It can be naturally aroused out of curiosity.D. It lasts for long in a permanent kindergartner.82. When writing children’s books, Sandra ______.A. finds herself confused about remembering childhoodB. agrees with other book writers that writing is hardC. puts herself in a child’s place and thinks like a childD. is delighted that she doesn’t need to find another job83. Sandra thinks the apps she made with her partner were cool because they were ______.A. new ways to increase interactions between usersB. interactive by combining theatre and bookC. beneficial with the content both theatre-like and book-likeD. created by an insanely ingenious expert and friend84. We can conclude from the interview that ______.A. Sandra is good at making a threatening figure cuteB. kids are always calm instead of being afraid of thingsC. digital devices have been embraced by most of the authorsD. there were no interactive book apps before Sandra’s appsKeys: 81-84CCBAIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken, mainly by banning tiger-shooting, to protect those animals which still survive.Some people say that Man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Surely our earliestforefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauties of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives. One of them wrote, “You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it cleanly and on the animal’s own territory. You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals, Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing – not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people. ”I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger-shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so-called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.56. There is no more hunting in India now partly because __________.A. it is dangerous to hunt thereB. hunting is already out of dateC. hunters want to protect animalsD. there are few animals left to hunt57. The author thinks modern hunters kill mainly __________.A. to make the countryside safeB. to earn people’s admirationC. to gain power and influenceD. to improve their health58. What do we learn about the big-game hunters?A. They hunt old animals.B. They mistreat animals.C. They hunt for food.D. They hunt for money.59. What is the author’s view on the tiger-shoots he has seen?A. Modern hunters lack the courage to hunt face-to-face.B. Modern hunters should use more advanced weapons.C. Modern hunters like to hunt rabbits instead of tigers.D. Modern hunters should put their safety first.Keys: 56-59DBCAIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.Over the past several decades, the U.S., Canada, and Europe have received a great deal of media and even research attention over unusual phenomena and unsolved mysteries. These include UFOs as well as sightings and enco unters with “nonhuman creatures” such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. Only recently has Latin America begun to receive some attention as well. Although the mysteries of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations have been known for centuries, now the public is also becoming aware of unusual, paranormal phenomena in countries such as Peru.The Nazca “lines” of Peru were discovered in the 1930s. These lines are deeply carved into a flat, stony plain, and form about 300 intricate(精美的) pictures of animals such as birds, a monkey, and a lizard. Seen at ground level, the designs are a jumbled senseless mess. The images are so large that they can only be viewed at a height of 1,000 feet —meaning from an aircraft. Yet there were no aircraft in 300 B.C., when it is judged the designs were made. Nor were there then, or are there now, any nearby mountain ranges from which to view them. So how and why did the native people of Nazca create these marvelous designs? One answer appeared in 1969, when the German researcher and writer Erich von Daniken proposed that the lines were drawn by extraterrestrials(外星人) as runways for their aircraft. The scientific community did not takelong to scoff at and abandon von Daniken’s theory. Over the years severa l other theories have been put forth, but none has been accepted by the scientific community.Today there is a new and heightened interest in the Nazca lines. It is a direct result of the creation of the Internet. Currently there are over 60 sites dedicated to this mystery from Latin America’s past, and even respected scientists have joined the discussion through e-mail and chat rooms. Will the Internet help explain these unsolved mysteries? Perhaps it is a step in the right direction.56. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?A. Latin America has long received attention for unusual phenomena.B. Public attention is now directed towards countries like Peru.C. Public interest usually focuses on North America and Europe.D. Some ancient civilizations have unsolved mysteries.57. We can infer from the passage that the higher the lines are seen, the _______ the images they present.A. smallerB. largerC. clearerD. brighter58. There has been increasing interest in the Nazca lines mainly because of ______.A. the participation of scientistsB. the emergence of the InternetC. the birth of new theoriesD. the interest in the Internet59. The author is _______ about the role of the Internet in solving mysteries.A. cautiousB. pessimisticC. uncertainD. optimisticKeys: 56-59 ACBDIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)A traffic jam when you’re already late.A free ride when you’ve already paid.The fact that the King James Bible is the most spotlighted book in the United States.One of these three things is an example of irony-the reversal of what is expected or intended. The other two are not. The difference between them may be one of the most curious linguistic(语言学的)misunderstanding you’re likely to encounter. “Ironic” does not, technically, mean “unfortunate”, “interesting” or “coincidental” despite these terms often being used interchangeably. And that frequent misuse has not escaped linguists(语言学家); according to the editors “We estimate that ironic might be the most abused word in the English language.”So what does irony really mean and where does the confusion come from? Part of the ambiguity probably originates from the fact that there are no fewer than three definitions of irony depending on which dictionary you use. There’s Socratic irony (an ancient dialogue move) , and dramatic irony(an ancient theatrical move), but the definition of irony we care about is situational irony. Situational irony occurs when, as the Oxford English Dictionary defines it, “a state of affairs or an event... seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often slightly amusing as a result.”The trick, is the deliberately contrary part-for a situation to be ironic, it must be the opposite of what is expected, not merely an amusing coincidence. A traffic jam when you’re already late may be an undesirable coincidence, but it is not the opposite outcome one would expect when leaving for work late. Instead, College Humor writer Patrick Cassels corrects the situation like this: “A traffic jam when you’re already late to receive an award from the Municipal Planning Board for changing the city’s automobile congestion by 80 percent.” Now that’s irony.56.The common misunderstanding of the word “ironic” is that_______.A. It describes something unlucky, amusing or coincidentalB. It shows something that is opposite to what is expected or intendedC. It means unfortunate, interesting and coincidental at the same timeD. It is not the abused word in the English language57. The underlined word “ambiguity” means_________.A. distinctionB. understandingC. uncertaintyD. issue58.Which following situation can be described as “ironic” according to the above passage?A. John was supposed to enjoy a free ride but actually he had paid for it before.B. Alexander Bell invented the telephone, but refused to keep one in his study for fear of distractionC.You had planned a perfect wedding and invited all the important people, when it started to rain.D. McDonalds’ employee warned against eating Kentucky Chicken burgers and fries.59. What will be the best title for the passage?A. An Unexpected Traffic JamB. The Most Misused Word in EnglishC. Why Is the Word Irony MisusedD. Curious Linguists Settled Another MisunderstandingKeys: 56-59 ACBBIII. Reading ComprehensionSection BDirections: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.(A)Everyone gathered around and Paddy read out loud, slowly, his tone growing sadder and sadder. The little headline said: BOXER RECEIVES LIFF SENTENCE.Frank Cleary, aged 26, professional boxer, was today found guilty of the murder of Albert Gumming, aged 32, laborer, last July. The jury(陪审团) reached its decision after only ten minutes, recommending the most severe punishment to the court. It was, said the Judge, a simple case. Cumming and Cleary had quarreled violently at the Harbour Hotel on July 23rd and police saw Cleary kicking at the head of the unconscious Gumming. When arrested, Cleary was drunk but clear-thinking.Cleary was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Asked if he had anything to say, Clear y answered, “Just don’t tell my mother.”“It happened over three years ago,” Paddy said helplessly. No one answered him or moved, for no one knew what to do. “Just don’t tell my mother,” said Fee numbly(麻木地). “And no one did! Oh, God! My poor, poor Frank!”Paddy wiped the tears from his face and said. “Fee, pack your things. We’ll go to see him.”She half-rose before sinking back, her eyes in her small white face stared as if dead. “I can’t go,” she said without a hint of pain, yet making everyone feel that the pain was there. “It would kill him to see me. I know him so well—his pride, his ambition. Let him bear the shame alone, it’s what he wants. We’ve got to help him keep his secret. What good will it do him to see us?”Paddy was still weeping, not for Fr ank, but for the life which had gone from Fee’s face, for the dying in her eyes. Frank had always brought bitterness and misfortune, always stood between Fee and himself. He was the cause of her withdrawal from his heart and the hearts of his children. Eve ry time it looked as if there might be happiness for Fee, Frank took it away. But Paddy’s love for her was as deep and impossible to wipe out as hers was for Frank.So he said, “Well, Fee, we won’t go. But we must make sure he is taken care of. How about i f I write to Father Jones and ask him to look out for Frank?”There was no excitement in the eyes, but a faint pink stole into her cheeks. “Yes, Paddy, do that. Only make sure he knows not to tell Frank we found out. Perhaps it would ease Frank to think fo r certain that we don’t know.”56.Paddy cried because he thought ___________.A. Frank did kill someone and deserved the punishmentB. Frank should have told Fee what had happenedC. what had happened to Frank was killing FeeD. Frank had always been a man of bad moral character57.The underlined sentence “She half-rose before sinking back…” in Paragraph 6 shows that___________.A. Fee was so heart-broken that she could hardly stand upB. Fee didn’t want to upset Paddy by visiting FrankC. Fee couldn’t l eave her family to go to see Frank。