Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: There are four passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. 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 on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
There are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force; the first　method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often　insufficient, one must have recourse to the second. It is, therefore, necessary　for a prince to know well how to use both the beast and the man. This was covertly taught to rulers by ancient writers, who related how Achilles and many others　of those ancient princes were given to Chiron the centaur to be brought up and educated under his discipline. The parable of this semi animal, semi human teacher is meant to indicate that a prince must know how to use both natures, and that the one without the other is not durable. A prince, being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast, must imitate the fox, and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox annot defend himself from wolves. Those that wish to be only lions do not understand this. Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by doing so　it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which made him bind himself no longer exist. If men were all good, this precept would not be good ; but　as they are bad, and would not observe their faith with you, so you are not bound to keep faith with them. Nor have legitimate grounds ever failed a prince who　wished to show colorable excuse for the nonfulfilment of his promise. Of this one could furnish an infinite number of examples, and show how many times peace has been broken, and how many promises rendered worthless, by the faithlessness of princes, and those that have best been able to imitate the fox have succeeded best. But it is necessary to be able to disguise this character well, and to be a great feigner and dissembler, and men are so simple and so ready to obey present necessities, that the one who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.

21.The author of the passage does not believe that ____.
A) people can protect themselves
B) the truth makes men free
C) leaders have to be consistent
D) princes are human

22.The lion represents those who are ____.
A) too trusting B) strong and careful
C) reliant on force D) lacking in intelligence

23.The fox, in this passage, is ____.
A) admired for his trickery B) no match for the lion
C) pitied for his trick D) considered worthless

24.The writer suggests that a successful leader must ____.
A) be prudent and faithful
B) cheat and lie
C) have principle to guide his actions
D) tell the people the truth about his opponent

25.The writer would approve an unsuccessful political candidate ____.
A) gave up all his opportunities
B) promised to try again next time
C) overthrew the government by force
D) told the people the truth about his opponent

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
The forest from which Man takes his timber is the tallest and most impressive plant community on Earth. In terms of Man's brief life it appears permanent and unchanging, save for the seasonal growth and fall of the leaves, but to forester it represents the climax of a long succession of events. No wooded landscape we see today has been forest for all time. Plants have minimum requirements of temperature and moisture and, in ages past, virtually every part of Earth's surface has at some time been either too dry or too cold for plants to survive. However, as soon as climatic conditions change in favour of plant life, a fascinating sequence of changes occurs, called a primary succession.

First to colonize the barren land are the lowly lichens, surviving on bare rock.

Slowly, the acids produced by these organisms crack the rock surface, plant debris accumulates, and mosses establish a shallow root?hold. Ferns may follow and, with short grasses and shrubs, gradually form a covering of plant life. Roots probe even deeper into the developing soil and eventually large shrubs give way to the first trees. These grow rapidly, cutting off sunlight from the smaller plants, and soon establish complete domination—closing their ranks and forming a climax community which may endure for thousands of years.

Yet even this community is not everlasting. Fire may destroy it outright and settlers may cut it down to gain land for pasture or cultivation. If the land is then abandoned, a secondary succession will take over, developing much faster on the more hospitable soil. Shrubs and trees are among the early invaders, their seeds carried by the wind, by birds and lodged in the coats of mammals.For as long as it stands and thrives, the forest is a vast machine, storing energy and many elements essential for life.

26.What does the forest strike mankind as permanent?
A) The trees are in community.
B) The forest is renewed each season.
C) Man's life is short in comparison.
D) It is an essential part our lives.

27.What has sometimes caused plants to die out of the past?
A) Interference from foresters.
B) Variations in climate.
C) The absence of wooded land.
D) The introduction of new type of plants.

28.In a “primary succession', what makes it possible for mosses to take root?
A) The type of rock.
B) The amount of sunlight.
C) The amount of moisture.
D) The effect of lichens.

29.What conditions are needed for shrubs to become established?
A) Ferns must take root.
B) The ground must be covered with grass.
C) More soil must accumulate.
D) Smaller plants must die out.

30.Why is a “secondary succession” quicker?
A) The ground is more suitable.
B) There is more space for new plants.
B) Birds and animals bring new seeds.
D) It is supported by the forest.

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
Grandma Moses is among the most celebrated twentieth century painters of the United States, yet she had barely started painting before she was in her late seventies. As she once said of herself: “I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me.” No one could have had a more productive age.

She was born Anna Mary Robertson on a farm in New York State, one of five boys and five girls.(“We came in bunches, like radishes.”) At twelve she left home and was in domestic service until, at twenty seven, she married Thomas Moses, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives, first in Virginia and then in New York State, at Eagle Bridge. She had ten children, of whom five survived; her husband died in 1927. Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery pictures as a hobby, but only switched to oils in old age because her hands had become too stiff to sew and she wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at the local drugstore and at a fair, and were soon spotted by a dealer who bought everything she painted. Three of the pictures were exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930's and her death she produced some 2,000 pictures: detailed and lively portrayals of the rural life she had known for so long, with a marvelous sense of color and form. “I think really hard till I think of something really pretty, and then I paint it.”she said.

1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A) Grandma Moses: A Biographical Sketch
B) The Children of Grandma Moses
C) Grandma Moses: Her Best Exhibition
D) Grandma Moses and Other Older Artists

32.According to the passage, Grandma Moses began to paint because she wanted to ____.
A) decorate her home
B) keep active
C) improve her salary
D) gain an international reputation

33.From Grandma Moses' description of herself in the first paragraph, it can be inferred that she was ____.
A) independent B) pretty
C) wealthy D) timid

34.Grandma Moses spent most of her life ____.
A) nursing B) painting
C) embroidering D) farming

35.In line 14, the word “spotted” could best be replaced by ____.
A) speckled B) featured
C) noticed D) damaged

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