A) The EEC spends one billion pounds on imported energy each year.
B) At the present level of research spending, it is difficult to make any significant
progress in the provision of energy from the sun.
C) The desired breakthrough could be obtained by the end of the next decade if
investment were increased.
D) The total yearly spending of the EEC on solar energy research amounted to
almost 6 million.
30. The application of advanced technology to research in solar energy ________.
A) would lead to a big increase in research funding
B) would make it unnecessary to import oil
C) would make it possible to meet the future energy needs of the EEC
D) would provide a much greater proportion of the Community’s future energy
needs
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Just seven years ago, the Jarvik-7 artificial heart was being cheered as the model of
human creativeness. The sight of Barney Clark-alive and conscious after trading his
diseased heart for a metal-and-plastic pump-convinced the press, the public and many
doctors that the future had arrived. It hadn’t. After monitoring production of the Jarvik-7,
and reviewing its effects on the 150 or so patients (most of whom got the device as a
temporary measure) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that the machine
was doing more to endanger lives than to save them. Last week the agency cancelled its
earlier approval, effectively banning (禁止) the device.
The recall may hurt Symbion Inc., maker of the Jarvik-7, but it won’t end the
request for an artificial heart. One problem with the banned model is that the tubes
connecting it to an external power source created a passage for infection. Inventors are
now working on new devices that would be fully placed, along with a tiny power pack,
in the patient’s chest. The first sample products aren’t expected for another 10 or 20 years:
But some people are already worrying that they’ll work-and that America’s overextended
health-care programs will lose a precious $2.5 billion to $5 billion a year providing them
for a relatively few dying patients. If such expenditures (开支) cut into funding for more
basic care, the net effect could actually be a decline in the nation’s health.
31. According to the passage the Jarvik-7 artificial heart proved to be ________.
A) a technical failure
B) a technical wonder
C) a good life-saver
D) an effective means to treat heart disease
32. From the passage we know that Symbion Inc ________.
A) has been banned by the government from producing artificial hearts
B) will review the effects of artificial hearts before designing new models
C) may continue to work on new models of reliable artificial hearts
D) can make new models of artificial hearts available on the market in 10 to 20 years
33. The new models of artificial hearts are expected ________.
A) to have a working life of 10 or 20 years
B) to be set fully in the patient’s chest
C) to be equipped with an external power source
D) to create a new passage for infection
34. The word “them” in Line 7, Para. 2 refers to ________.
A) doctors who treat heart diseases
B) makers of artificial hearts
C) America’s health-care programs
D) new models of artificial hearts
35. Some people feel that ________.
A) artificial hearts are seldom effective
B) the country should not spend so much money on artificial hearts
C) the country is not spending enough money on artificial hearts
D) America’s health-care programs are not doing enough for the nation’s health
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
A raped means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United
States as settlement (新拓居地) spread ever farther westward. The early trains were
impractical curiosities, and for a long time the railroad companies met with troublesome
mechanical problems. The most serious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the
load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once these were solved,
the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation. By 1860 there were
thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching
westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines.
The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first
transcontinental system. In 1862 Congress authorized two western railroad companies to
build lines from Nebraska westward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so
as to complete a transcontinental crossing linking the Atlantic seaboard with the Pacific.
The Government helped the railroads generously with money and land. Actual work on
this project began four years later. The Central Pacific Company, starting from California,
used Chinese labor, while the Union Pacific employed crews of Irish laborers. The two
groups worked at remarkable speed, each trying to cover a greater distance than the other.
In 1869 they met at a place called Promontory in what is now the state of Utah. Many
visitors came there for the great occasion. There were joyous celebrations all over the
country, with parades and the ringing of church bells to honor the great achievement.
The railroad was very important in encouraging westward movement. It also helped
build up industry and farming by moving raw materials and by distributing products
rapidly to distant markets. In linking towns and people to one another it helped unify the
United States.
36. The major problems with America’s railroad system in the mid 19th century lay in
________.
A) poor quality rails and unreliable stopping systems
B) lack of financial support for development
C) limited railroad lines
D) lack of a transcontinental railroad
37. The building of the first transcontinental system ________.
A) brought about a rapid growth of industry and farming in the west
B) attracted many visitors to the construction sites
C) attracted laborers from Europe
D) encouraged people to travel all over the county
38. The best title for this passage would be ________.
A) Settlements Spread Westward
B) The Coast-to-Coast Railroad: A Vital Link
C) American Railroad History
D) The Importance of Trains in the American Economy
39. The construction of the transcontinental railroad took ________.
A) 9 years
B) 7 years
C) 4 years
D) 3 years
40. What most likely made people think’ about a transcontinental railroad?