Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in you own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
This (36) ’s Day, many young women were sitting at home waiting for their boyfriends to bring them flowers. Not Linda, though.
For the past three weekends, Linda has been on the road. The 32yearold national sales director of a (37) company does not have an adventurous heart: All her weekend (38) were jammed with business meetings. She usually started out on Friday night, met her business (39) on Saturday and Sunday and got back to her (40) office in Beijing early Monday morning.
“Do not take me for a workaholic,” smiled Linda, (41) on a comfortable sofa (42) coffee in her nicely decorated apartment. “After a whole week of excitement at work, I just can’t stand a lonely weekend. So recently I have tried to meet my (43) on the weekends to help me knock loneliness out of my mind.”
The strategy is a temporary one, she added. “Periodically, I have a burst of fear of being alone. (44) .” Still, Linda said she could not imagine rushing into marriage just because she lacks a weekend companion. “(45). At present I feel I am too occupied with work to cater to a husband.”
(46). Well educated, with successful careers and making good money, marriage as a way to financial security is no longer their first choice.
Part ⅣReading Comprehension（Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）
Section A
Directions:In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
If our society ever needed a reading renaissance（復興）, it’s now. The National Endowment for the Arts released “Reading at Risk” last year, a study showing that adult reading 47 have dropped 10 percentage points in the past decade, with the steepest drop among those 18 to 24. “Only one half of young people read a book of any kind in 2002. We set the bar almost on the ground. If you read one short story in a teenager magazine, that would have 48,” laments a director of research and analysis. He 49 the loss of readers to the booming world of technology, which attracts wouldbe leisure readers to Email, IM chats, and video games and leaves them with no time to cope with a novel.
“These new forms of media undoubtedly have some benefits,” says Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You. Video games 50 problemsolving skills; TV shows promote mental gymnastics by 51 viewers to follow complex story lines. But books offer experience that can’t be gained from these other sources, from 52 vocabulary to stretching the imagination. “If they’re not reading at all,” says Johnson, “that’s a huge problem.”
In fact, fewer kids are reading for pleasure. According to data 53 last week from the National Center for Educational Statistic’s longterm trend assessment, the number of 17yearolds who reported never or hardly ever reading for fun 54 from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. At the same time, the 55 of 17yearolds who read daily dropped from 31 to 22.
This slow but steady retreat from books has not yet taken a toll on reading ability. Scores for the nation’s youth have 56 constant over the past two decades（with an encouraging upswing among 9yearolds）. But given the strong apparent correlation between pleasure reading and reading skills, this means poorly for the future.
［A］ percent［F］ counted［K］forcing
［B］ remained［G］ relieved［L］improve
［C］ rose［H］ present［M］ Styles
［D］ rates［I］ Believing［N］ building
［E］ percentage［J］ released［O］ attributes
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”
Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity(實物) that could be carried, or stolen.
Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable, the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol dwelt in the prevailing attitude toward money.
But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit(赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavywalled bank.
Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion(人們的說法) begins.
57.The main idea of this passage is that.
［A］money is not as valuable as it was in the past
［B］changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks
［C］the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank
［D］prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable
58.How do the older generation and the younger one think about money?
［A］The former thinks more of money than the latter.
［B］The younger generation values money more than the older generation.
［C］Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money.
［D］To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter the means of producing more money.
59.The word “tangible” (Line 2, Para. 4) refers to something .
［A］that is precious
［B］that is usable
［C］that can be touched
［D］that can be reproduced
60.According to this passage, a modern banker should be.
［A］ambitious and friendly
［B］reliable and powerful
［C］sensible and impenetrable
［D］imaginative and creative
61.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards the new trend in banking is.
［A］cautious
［B］regretful
［C］positive
［D］hostile
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today—that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions posses this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（壟斷）of power. In contrast to one, allpowerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, that democracy in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（貴族的）idea of inherited privilege.
62.The statement “The business of America is business” probably means “”.
［A］The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
［B］Business problems are of great importance to the American government
［C］Business is of primary concern to Americans
［D］America is a great power in world business
63.Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only .
［A］when given equality of opportunity
［B］through doing business
［C］by protecting their individual freedom
［D］by way of competition
64.Who can benefit from business competition?
［A］Honest businessmen.
［B］Both businessmen and their customers.
［C］People with ideals of equality and freedom.
［D］Both business institutions and government.
65.Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by .
［A］its absolute control of power
［B］its function in preserving personal freedom
［C］its role in protecting basic American values
［D］its democratic way of exercising leadership
66.It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes .
［A］ Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
［B］ in many countries success often depends on one’s social status
［C］ American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
［D］ businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America
Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in you own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
This (36) ’s Day, many young women were sitting at home waiting for their boyfriends to bring them flowers. Not Linda, though.
For the past three weekends, Linda has been on the road. The 32yearold national sales director of a (37) company does not have an adventurous heart: All her weekend (38) were jammed with business meetings. She usually started out on Friday night, met her business (39) on Saturday and Sunday and got back to her (40) office in Beijing early Monday morning.
“Do not take me for a workaholic,” smiled Linda, (41) on a comfortable sofa (42) coffee in her nicely decorated apartment. “After a whole week of excitement at work, I just can’t stand a lonely weekend. So recently I have tried to meet my (43) on the weekends to help me knock loneliness out of my mind.”
The strategy is a temporary one, she added. “Periodically, I have a burst of fear of being alone. (44) .” Still, Linda said she could not imagine rushing into marriage just because she lacks a weekend companion. “(45). At present I feel I am too occupied with work to cater to a husband.”
(46). Well educated, with successful careers and making good money, marriage as a way to financial security is no longer their first choice.
Part ⅣReading Comprehension（Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）
Section A
Directions:In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
If our society ever needed a reading renaissance（復興）, it’s now. The National Endowment for the Arts released “Reading at Risk” last year, a study showing that adult reading 47 have dropped 10 percentage points in the past decade, with the steepest drop among those 18 to 24. “Only one half of young people read a book of any kind in 2002. We set the bar almost on the ground. If you read one short story in a teenager magazine, that would have 48,” laments a director of research and analysis. He 49 the loss of readers to the booming world of technology, which attracts wouldbe leisure readers to Email, IM chats, and video games and leaves them with no time to cope with a novel.
“These new forms of media undoubtedly have some benefits,” says Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You. Video games 50 problemsolving skills; TV shows promote mental gymnastics by 51 viewers to follow complex story lines. But books offer experience that can’t be gained from these other sources, from 52 vocabulary to stretching the imagination. “If they’re not reading at all,” says Johnson, “that’s a huge problem.”
In fact, fewer kids are reading for pleasure. According to data 53 last week from the National Center for Educational Statistic’s longterm trend assessment, the number of 17yearolds who reported never or hardly ever reading for fun 54 from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. At the same time, the 55 of 17yearolds who read daily dropped from 31 to 22.
This slow but steady retreat from books has not yet taken a toll on reading ability. Scores for the nation’s youth have 56 constant over the past two decades（with an encouraging upswing among 9yearolds）. But given the strong apparent correlation between pleasure reading and reading skills, this means poorly for the future.
［A］ percent［F］ counted［K］forcing
［B］ remained［G］ relieved［L］improve
［C］ rose［H］ present［M］ Styles
［D］ rates［I］ Believing［N］ building
［E］ percentage［J］ released［O］ attributes
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”
Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity(實物) that could be carried, or stolen.
Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable, the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol dwelt in the prevailing attitude toward money.
But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit(赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavywalled bank.
Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion(人們的說法) begins.
57.The main idea of this passage is that.
［A］money is not as valuable as it was in the past
［B］changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks
［C］the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank
［D］prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable
58.How do the older generation and the younger one think about money?
［A］The former thinks more of money than the latter.
［B］The younger generation values money more than the older generation.
［C］Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money.
［D］To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter the means of producing more money.
59.The word “tangible” (Line 2, Para. 4) refers to something .
［A］that is precious
［B］that is usable
［C］that can be touched
［D］that can be reproduced
60.According to this passage, a modern banker should be.
［A］ambitious and friendly
［B］reliable and powerful
［C］sensible and impenetrable
［D］imaginative and creative
61.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards the new trend in banking is.
［A］cautious
［B］regretful
［C］positive
［D］hostile
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today—that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions posses this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（壟斷）of power. In contrast to one, allpowerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, that democracy in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（貴族的）idea of inherited privilege.
62.The statement “The business of America is business” probably means “”.
［A］The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
［B］Business problems are of great importance to the American government
［C］Business is of primary concern to Americans
［D］America is a great power in world business
63.Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only .
［A］when given equality of opportunity
［B］through doing business
［C］by protecting their individual freedom
［D］by way of competition
64.Who can benefit from business competition?
［A］Honest businessmen.
［B］Both businessmen and their customers.
［C］People with ideals of equality and freedom.
［D］Both business institutions and government.
65.Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by .
［A］its absolute control of power
［B］its function in preserving personal freedom
［C］its role in protecting basic American values
［D］its democratic way of exercising leadership
66.It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes .
［A］ Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
［B］ in many countries success often depends on one’s social status
［C］ American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
［D］ businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America