III. Reading Comprehension

　　Section A

　　Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A,B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

　　The first attempt of even the most talented artists, musicians, and writers is seldom a masterpiece, If you consider your drafts as dress rehearsals (彩排), or tryouts, revising will seem a natural part of the writing ___50___ .

　　What is the purpose of the dress rehearsals and the out-of-town previews that many Broadway shows go through? The answer is adding, deleting, replacing, reordering, ___51___ revising. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Phantom of the Opera underwent such a process.

　　When Lloyd Webber began writing in 1984, he had in mind a funny, exciting production. However, when Phantom opened in London in 1986, the audience saw a moving psychological love story set to music. The musical had. ___52___ several revisions due, in part, to problems with costuming and makeup (戲服和化妝). For instance, Lloyd Webber ___53___ some of the music because the Phantom's makeup prevented the actor from singing certain sounds.

　　When you revise, you change aspects of your work in ___54___ to your evolving purpose, or to include ___55___ ideas or newly discovered information.

　　Revision is not just an afterthought that gets only as much time as you have at the end of an assignment. ___56___ , it is a major stage of the writing process, and writers revise every step of the way. Even your decision to ___57___ topics while prewriting is a type of revising. However. don't make the mistake of skipping the revision stage that follows ___58___ . Always make time to become your own ___59___ and view your dress rehearsal, so to speak. Reviewing your work in this way can give you ___60___ new ideas.

　　Revising involves ___61___ the effectiveness and appropriateness of all aspects of your writing, making your purpose more clearly, and refocusing or developing the facts and ideas you present. When you revise, ask yourself the following questions, keeping in mind the audience for whom you are writing: Is my main idea or purpose ___62___ throughout my draft? Do I ever lose sight of my purpose? Have I given my readers all of the ___63___ that is, facts, opinions, inferences -- that they need in order to understand my main idea? Finally, have I included too many ___64___ details that may confuse readers?

　　50. A. technique B. style C. process D. career
　　51. A. in particular B. as a result C. for example D. in other words
　　52. A. undergone B. skipped C. rejected D. replaced
　　53. A. rewrote B. released C. recorded D. reserved
　　54. A. addition B. response C. opposition D. contrast
　　55. A. fixed B. ambitious C. familiar D. fresh
　　56. A. However B. Moreover C. Instead D. Therefore
　　57. A. discuss B. switch C. exhaust D. cover
　　58. A. drafting B. rearranging C. performing D. training
　　59. A. director B. master C. audience D. visitor
　　60. A. personal B. valuable C. basic D. delicate
　　61. A. mixing B. weakening C. maintaining D. assessing
　　62. A. amazing B. bright C. unique D. clear
　　63. A. angles B. evidence C. information D. hints
　　64. A. unnecessary B. uninteresting C. concrete D. final

Section B

　　Directions: 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 elephant was lying heavily on its side, fast asleep. A few dogs started barking at it. The elephant woke up in a terrible anger: it chased the dogs into the village where they ran for safety. That didn't stop the elephant. It destroyed a dozen houses and injured several people. The villagers were scared and angry. Then someone suggested calling Parbati, the elephant princess.

　　Parbati Barua's father was a hunter of tigers and an elephant tamer. He taught Parbati to ride an elephant before she could even walk. He also taught her the dangerous art of the elephant round-up -- how to catch wild elephants.

　　Parbati hasn't always lived in the jungle. After a happy childhood hunting with her father, she was sent to boarding school in the city. But Parbati never got used to being there and many years later she went back to her old fife. "Life in the city is too dull. Catching elephants is an adventure and the excitement lasts for days after the chase," she says.

　　But Parbati doesn't catch elephants just for fun. "My work," she says, "is to rescue man from the elephants, and to keep the elephants safe from man." And this is exactly what Parbati has been doing for many years. Increasingly, the Indian elephant is angry: for many years, illegal hunters have attacked it and its home in the jungle has been reduced to small pieces of land. It is now fighting back. Whenever wild elephants enter a tea garden or a village, Parbati is called to guide the animals back to the jungle before they can kill.

　　The work of an elephant tamer also involves love and devotion. A good elephant tamer will spend hours a day singing love songs to a newly captured elephant. "Eventually they grow to love their tamers and never forget them. They are also more loyal than humans," she said, as she climbed up one of her elephants and sat on the giant, happy animal. An elephant princess indeed!

　　65. For Parbati, catching elephants is mainly to _________- .
　　A. get long lasting excitement B. keep both man and elephants safe
　　C. send them back to the jungle D. make the angry elephants tame

　　66. Before Parbati studied in a boarding school, _________.
　　A. she spent her time hunting with her father
　　B. she learned how to sing love songs
　　C. she had already been called an elephant princess
　　D. she was taught how to hunt tigers

　　67. Indian elephants are getting increasingly angry and they revenge because __________.
　　A. they are caught and sent for heavy work
　　B. illegal hunters capture them and kill them
　　C. they are attacked and their land gets limited
　　D. dogs often bark at them and chase them

　　68. The passage starts with an elephant story in order to explain that in India _________.
　　A. people easily fall victim to elephants' attacks
　　B. the man-elephant relationship is getting worse
　　C. elephant tamers are in short supply
　　D. dogs are as powerful as elephants

(B)

　　The following card includes a brief summary and a short assessment of a research paper. It can provide a guide for further reading on the topic.Trevor, C. O., Lansford, B. and Black, J. W., 2004, "Employee turnover (人事變更) and job performance: monitoring the influences of salary growth and promotion", Journal of Armchair Psychology, vol. 113, no.1, pp. 56-64.

In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunities in respect of job performance, turnover rates and employees' job attitude. The authors use data gained through organizational surveys of blue-chip companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main cause of employee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth. Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as pay for performance and organizational reward plans. The article is useful as Trevor et al. suggest that there are numerous reasons for employee turnover and a variety of differences in employees' job attitude and performance. The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted to mid-level management, thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive research needs to be undertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnover and job performance. As this article was published in a professional journal, the findings can be considered reliable. It will be useful additional information for the research on pay structures.

　　69. The research paper published is primarily concerned with
　　A. the way of preventing employee turnover
　　B. methods of improving employee performance
　　C. factors affecting employee turnover and performance
　　D. pay structures based on employee performance

　　70. As is mentioned in the card, the limitation of the research paper mainly lies in that ____ .
　　A. the data analysis is hardly reliable B. the research sample is not wide enough
　　C. the findings are of no practical value
　　D. the research method is out-of-date

　　71. Who might be most interested in this piece of information?
　　A. Job hunters.
　　B. Employees in blue-chip companies.
　　C. Mid-level managers.
　　D. Researchers on employee turnover.

(C)

　　The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about. But one more has just been added - a communications blackout caused by solar storms.

　　After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a flesh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.

　　Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications satellites and interact links sending five Olympic broadcast from London.

　　"The Sun's activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites," said Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

　　At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections (日冕物質(zhì)拋射) occur in the Sun's atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter. " A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million kilometres per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications," Professor Harrison added. The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots.

　　Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available.

　　The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares (太陽耀斑) and explosions as they occur.

　　Professor Richard Hold away, the lab's director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth "If we have advance warning, we'll be able to reduce the damage. What you don't want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what's caused the problem," he said.

　　72. The phrase "communications blackout" in paragraph 1 most probably refers to _____ during the 2012 Olympics.
　　A. the extinguishing of the Olympic torch
　　B. the collapse of broadcasting systems
　　C. the transportation breakdown in London
　　D. the destruction of weather satellites

　　73. What can be inferred about the solar activity described in the passage?
　　A. The most fatal matter from the corona falls onto Earth.
　　B. The solar storm peak occurs in the middle of each cycle.
　　C. It takes several seconds for the charged matter to reach Earth.
　　D. The number of sunspots declines after coronal mass ejections.

　　74. According to the passage, NASA will launch a satellite to _____ .
　　A. take images of the solar system B. provide early warning of thunderstorms
　　C. keep track of solar activities D. improve the communications on Earth

　　75. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
　　A. Solar Storms: An Invisible Killer
　　B. Solar Storms: Earth Environment in Danger
　　C. Solar Storms: Threatening the Human Race
　　D. Solar Storms: Human Activities to Be Troubled

Section C

　　Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A. Drug overuse and its consequence
B. The problem of drug overuse in America
C. Benefits of medicine and its wise use
D Female drug overuse with reference to that of males
E Misuse of medicine among the young generation
F. Improper use of medicine among senior citizens

　　76. ______________
　　Nowadays. millions of people misuse and even overuse pain medications and other drugs. Research by the American National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, 1999) shows that around 2% of the population over age 12 were using drugs non-medically.

　　77. ______________
　　NIDA views medications as a powerful force for good in the contemporary world. They reduce and remove pain for millions of people suffering from illness and disease. They make it possible for doctors to perform complicated surgery to save lives. Many people afflicted by serious medical conditions are able to control their symptoms and become active, contributing citizens. NIDA points out that most individuals who take these drags use them in a responsible.

　　78. ______________
　　Nevertheless. overuse of drugs such as opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants and stimulants does lead to harmful reliance in some people and is therefore becoming a serious public health concern. Although this abuse affects many people worldwide, particular trends of concern to the medical profession in the US appear among older adults, teenagers arid women.

　　79. ______________
　　Though it may be a surprise to many, the misuse of medications may be the most common form of drug abuse among the elderly. Dr Kenneth Schrader of Duke University, North Carolina states that although the elderly represent about 13% of the US population, those aged 65 and over account for the consumption of one third of all drugs. People in this age group use medications roughly three times more than the general population and have poorer compliance with instruction for use. In another study of elderly patients admitted to treatment programs, 70% were women who had overused medicines.

　　80. ______________
　　Unfortunately, this trend among women does not only affect those aged over 65. In general, among women and men who are using either an anti-anxiety drug or a sedative, women are twice as likely to become addicted. In addition, statistics compiled for 12-17 year olds show that teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to begin overusing psychotherapeutic medication such as painkillers, tranquillisers, stimulants and sedatives.

Section D

　　Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.

　　Phys ed (physical education) is making a comeback as a part of the school core curriculum(核心課程)， but with a difference. While group sports are still part of the curriculum, the new way is to teach skills that are useful beyond gym class. Instead of learning how to climb a rope, children are taught to lift weights, balance their diets and build physical endurance. In this way，kids are given the tools and skills and experiences so they can lead a physically active life the rest of their life.

　　Considering that 15 percent of American children 6 to 18 are overweight, supporters say more money and thought must be put into phys ed curriculum. In many cases, that may mean not just replacing the old gym-class model with fitness programs but also starting up phys ed programs because school boards often "put P.E. on the chopping block, cutting it entirely or decreasing its teachers or the days it is offered," says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, the executive director of Action for Health Kids. The difference in phys ed programs is partly due to the lack of a national standard. "Physical education needs to be part of the core curriculum," she added.

　　The wisdom of the new approach has some scientific support. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have demonstrated how effective the fit-for-life model of gym class can be. They observed how 50 overweight children lost more weight when they cycled and skied cross-country than when they played sports. The researchers also found that teaching sports like football resulted in less overall movement, partly because reluctant students were able to sit on the bench.

　　Another problem with simply teaching group sports in gym class is that only a tiny percentage of students continue playing them after graduating from high school. The new method teaches sells that translate to adulthood.

　　(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)

　　81. In the new P.E. program, children learn to lift weights, balance their diets and build physical endurance rather than _____________ .

　　82. As for P.E., some school boards either _____________ .

　　83. What are the two problems with simply teaching group sports?

　　84. What is the long-term benefit of the new P.E program?