Part IV Reading 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.

Every year in the first week of my English class, some students inform me that writing is too hard. They never write, unless assignments  47  it. They find the writing process  48  and difficult.

How awful to be able to speak in a language but not to write in it— 49  English, with its rich vocabulary. Being able to speak but not write is like living in an  50  mansion (豪宅) and never leaving one small room. When I meet students who think they can’t write, I know as a teacher my  51  is to show  them the rest of the rooms. My task is to build fluency while providing the opportunity inherent in any writing activity to  52  the moral and emotional development of my students. One great way to do this is by having students write in a journal in class every day.

Writing ability is like strength training. Writing needs to be done  53 , just like exercise; just as muscles grow stronger with exercise, writing skills improve quickly with writing practice. I often see a rise in student confidence and  54  after only a few weeks of journal writing.

Expressing oneself in writing is one of the most important skills I teach to strengthen the whole students. When my students practice journal writing, they are practicing for their future academic, political, and  55  lives. They build skills so that some day they might write a great novel, a piece of sorely needed legislation, or the perfect love letter. Every day that they write in their journals puts them a step  56  to fluency, eloquence (雄辩), and command of language.

 

[A] closer                      [F] especially                   [K] professional [B] daily                       [G] hinder                     [L] remarkably [C] emotional                   [H] mission                    [M] require [D] enhance                  [I] painful                      [N] sensitive [E] enormous                  [J] performance                 [O] urge

 

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.

The January fashion show, called FutureFashion, exemplified how far green design has come. Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge, the show inspired many top designers to work with sustainable fabrics for the first time. Several have since made pledges to include organic fabrics in their lines.

The designers who undertake green fashion still face many challenges. Scott Hahn, cofounder with Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate, which uses all-organic cotton, says high-quality sustainable materials can still be tough to find. “Most designers with existing labels are finding there aren’t comparable fabrics that can just replace what you’re doing and what your customers are used to,” he says. For example, organic cotton and non-organic cotton are virtually indistinguishable once woven into a dress. But some popular synthetics, like stretch nylon, still have few eco-friendly equivalents.

Those who do make the switch are finding they have more support. Last year the influential trade show Designers & Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green entrepreneurs (企业家) who attend its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designers whose collections are at least 25% sustainable. It now counts more than 50 green designers, up from fewer than a dozen two years ago. This week Wal-Mart is set to announce a major initiative aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic: it will buy transitional (过渡型的) cotton at higher prices, thus helping to expand the supply of a key sustainable material. “Mainstream is about to occur,” says Hahn.

Some analysts (分析师) are less sure. Among consumers, only 18% are even aware that ecofashion exists, up from 6% four years ago. Natalie Hormilla, a fashion writer, is an example of the unconverted consumer. When asked if she owned any sustainable clothes, she replied: “Not that I’m aware of.” Like most consumers, she finds little time to shop, and when she does, she’s on the hunt for “cute stuff that isn’t too expensive.” By her own admission, green just isn’t yet on her mind. But—thanks to the combined efforts of designers, retailers and suppliers—one day it will be.

 

57. What is said about FutureFashion?

 [A] It inspired many leading designers to start going green.

   [B] It showed that designers using organic fabrics would go far.

   [C] It served as an example of how fashion shows should be organized.

   [D] It convinced the public that fashionable clothes should be made durable.

58. According to Scott Hahn, one big challenge to designers who will go organic is that        .

   [A] much more time is needed to finish a dress using sustainable materials

   [B] they have to create new brands for clothes made of organic materials

   [C] customers have difficulty telling organic from non-organic materials

   [D] quality organic replacements for synthetics are not readily available

59. We learn from Paragraph 3 that designers who undertake green fashion        .

   [A] can attend various trade shows free

   [B] are readily recognized by the fashion world

   [C] can buy organic cotton at favorable prices

   [D] are gaining more and more support

60. What is Natalie Hormilla’s attitude toward ecofashion?

   [A] She doesn’t seem to care about it.   

   [B] She doesn’t think it is sustainable.

   [C] She is doubtful of its practical value.   

   [D] She is very much opposed to the idea.

61. What does the author think of green fashion?

   [A] Green products will soon go mainstream.   

   [B] It has a very promising future.

   [C] Consumers have the final say.   

[D] It will appeal more to young people.

 

Passage Two

Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.

Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand (缕) of hair, a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims.

The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in people’s hair.

“You’re what you eat and drink, and that’s recorded in your hair,” said Thure Cerling, a geologist at the University of Utah.

While U.S. diet is relatively identical, water supplies vary. The differences result from weather patterns. The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as rain clouds move.

Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable, but traces of both elements are also present as heavier isotopes (同位素). The heaviest rain falls first. As a result, storms that form over the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than to Utah.

Similar patterns exist throughout the U.S. By measuring the proportion of heavier hydrogen and oxygen isotopes along a strand of hair, scientists can construct a geographic timeline. Each inch of hair corresponds to about two months.

Cerling’s team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed a map of the regional differences. They checked the accuracy of the map by testing 200 hair samples collected from 65 barber shops.

They were able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly corresponding to the movement of rain systems.

“It’s not good for pinpointing (精确定位),” Cerling said. “It’s good for eliminating many possibilities.”

Todd Park, a local detective, said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.

The woman was 5 feet tall. Police recovered 26 bones, a T-shirt and several strands of hair.

When Park heard about the research, he gave the hair samples to the researchers. Chemical testing showed that over the two years before her death, she moved about every two months.

She stayed in the Northwest, although the test could not be more specific than somewhere between eastern Oregon and western Wyoming.

“It’s still a substantial area,” Park said. “But it narrows it way down for me.”

 

62. What is the scientists’ new discovery?

   [A] One’s hair growth has to do with the amount of water they drink.

   [B] A person’s hair may reveal where they have lived.

   [C] Hair analysis accurately identifies criminal suspects.

   [D] The chemical composition of hair varies from person to person.

63. What does the author mean by “You’re what you eat and drink” (Line 1, Para. 3)?

   [A] Food and drink affect one’s personality development.

   [B] Food and drink preferences vary with individuals.

   [C] Food and drink leave traces in one’s body tissues.

   [D] Food and drink are indispensable to one’s existence.

64. What is said about the rainfall in America’s West?

   [A] There is much more rainfall in California than in Utah.

   [B] The water it delivers becomes lighter when it moves inland.

   [C] Its chemical composition is less stable than in other areas.

   [D] It gathers more light isotopes as it moves eastward.

65. What did Cerling’s team produce in their research?

   [A] A map showing the regional differences of tap water.

   [B] A collection of hair samples from various barber shops.

   [C] A method to measure the amount of water in human hair.

   [D] A chart illustrating the movement of the rain system.

66. What is the practical value of Cerling’s research?

   [A] It helps analyze the quality of water in different regions.

   [B] It helps the police determine where a crime is committed.

   [C] It helps the police narrow down possibilities in detective work.

   [D] It helps identify the drinking habits of the person under investigation.

Part V                                       Cloze                                   (15 minutes)

Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D] on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Kimiyuki Suda should be a perfect customer for Japan’s car-makers. He’s a young, successful executive at an Internet-services company in Tokyo and has plenty of disposable  67 . He used to own Toyota’s Hilux Surf, a sport utility vehicle. But now he uses  68  subways and trains. “It’s not inconvenient at all,” he says.  69 , “having a car is so 20th century.” Suda reflects a worrisome  70  in Japan; the automobile is losing its emotional appeal,   71  among the young, who prefer to spend their money on the latest electronic devices.  72  mini-cars and luxury foreign brands are still popular, everything in between is  73 . Last year sales fell 6.7 percent, 7.6 percent  74  you don’t count the mini-car market. There have been  75  one-year drops in other nations: sales in Germany fell 9 percent in 2007  76  a tax increase. But experts say Japan is  77  in that sales have been decreasing steadily  78  time. Since 1990, yearly new-car sales have fallen from 7.8 million to 5.4 million units in 2007. Alarmed by this state of  79 , the Japan Automobile Manufactures Association (JAMA)  80  a comprehensive study of the market in 2006. It found that a  81  wealth gap, demographic(人口结构的) changes and  82  lack of interest in cars led Japanese to hold their  83  longer, replace their cars with smaller ones  84  give up car ownership altogether. JAMA  85  a further sales decline of 1.2 percent this year. Some experts believe that if the trend continues for much longer, further consolidation(合并) in the automotive sector is  86 .

67. [A] profit          [B] payment       [C] income         [D] budget 68. [A] mostly         [B] partially       [C] occasionally  [D] rarely 69. [A] Therefore    [B] Besides       [C] Otherwise     [D] Consequently 70. [A] drift            [B] tide       [C] current         [D] trend 71. [A] remarkably [B] essentially       [C] specially      [D] particularly 72. [A] While          [B] Because       [C] When           [D] Since 73. [A] surging        [B] stretching       [C] slipping        [D] shaking 74. [A] unless         [B] if       [C] as                   [D] after 75. [A] lower          [B] slighter       [C] broader        [D] larger 76. [A] liable to       [B] in terms of       [C] thanks to     [D] in view of 77. [A] unique         [B] similar       [C] mysterious   [D] strange 78. [A] over            [B] against       [C] on             [D] behind 79. [A] mess          [B] boom       [C] growth               [D] decay 80. [A] proceed      [B] relieved       [C] launched       [D] revised 81. [A] quickening   [B] widening       [C]strengthening [D] lengthening 82. [A] average       [B] massive       [C] abundant      [D] general 83. [A] labels          [B] cycles       [C] vehicles        [D] devices 84. [A] or              [B] until       [C] but            [D] then 85. [A] concludes    [B] predicts       [C] reckons       [D] prescribes 86. [A] distant          [B] likely       [C] temporary    [D] immediate

Part VI                        Translation                       (5 minutes)

Directions: Complete the sentences on Answer Sheet 2 by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets.

87. Soon after he transferred to the new school, Ali found that he had __________________________ (很难跟上班里的同学) in math and English.

88. If she had returned an hour earlier, Mary __________________________ (就不会被大雨淋了).

89. It is said that those who are stressed or working overtime are  __________________________ (更有可能增加体重).

90. __________________________ (很多人没有意识到的) is that Simon is a lover of sports, and football in particular.

91. The study shows that the poor functioning of the human body is __________________________ (与缺乏锻炼密切相关).