A) A huge financial problem has arisen.
B) Many schools there are mismanaged.
C) Lots of teachers in the district are planning to quit.
D) Many administrative personnel have been laid off.
27. How did the residents in the Vrain School District respond to the budget shortage?
A) They felt somewhat helpless about it.
B) They accused those responsible for it.
C) They pooled their efforts to help solve it.
D) They demanded a through investigation.
28. In the view of State Treasurer Mike Coffman, the educational budget shortage is
________.
A) unavoidable
B) unthinkable
C) insolvable
D) irreversible
29. Why did Coffman request an investigation?
A) To see if there was a deliberate cover-up of the problem.
B) To find out the extent of the consequences of the case.
C) To make sure that the school principals were innocent.
D) To stop the voters approving the $212 million bong issue.
30. Three high school students started a website in order to ________.
A) attract greater public attention to their needs
B) appeal to the public for contributions and donations
C) expose officials who neglected their duties
D) keep people properly informed of the crisis
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
“Humans should not try to avoid stress any more than they would shun food, love
or exercise.” Said Dr. Hans Selye, the first physician to document the effects of stress on
the body. While here’s on question that continuous stress is harmful, several studies
suggest that challenging situations in which you’re able to rise to the occasion can be
good for you.
In a 2001 study of 158 hospital nurses, those who faced considerable work demands
but coped with the challenge were more likely to say they were in good health than those
who felt they stress that you can manage also boost immune (免疫的) function. In a
study at the Academic Center for Dentistry in Amsterdam, researchers put volunteers
through two stressful experiences. In the first, a timed task that required memorizing a
list followed by a short test, subjects through a gory (血淋淋的) video on surgical
procedures. Those who did well on the memory test had an increase in levels of
immunoglobulin A, an antibody that’s the body’s first line of defense against germs. The
video-watchers experienced a downturn in the antibody.
Stress prompts the body to produce certain stress hormones. In short bursts these
hormones have a positive effect, including improved memory function. “They can help
nerve cells handle information and put it into storage,” says Dr. Bruce McEwen of
Rockefeller University in New York. But in the long run these hormones can have a
harmful effect on the body and brain.
“Sustained stress is not good for you,” says Richard Morimoto, a researcher at
Northwestern University in Illinois studying the effects of stress on longevity, “It’s the
occasional burst of stress or brief exposure to stress that could be protective.”
31. The passage is mainly about ________.
A) the benefits of manageable stress
B) stay away from
C) run out of
D) put up with
32. The word “shun” (Line 1, Para. 1) most probably means ________.
A) cut down on
B) stay away from
C) run out of
D) put up with
33. We can conclude from the study of the 158 nurses in 2001 that ________.
A) people under stress tend to have a poor memory
B) people who can’t get their job done experience more stress
C) doing challenging work may be good for one’s health
D) stress will weaken the body’s defense against germs
34. In the experiment described in Paragraph 3, the video-watchers experienced a
downturn in the antibody because ________.
A) the video was not enjoyable at all
B) the outcome was beyond their control
C) they knew little about surgical procedures
D) they felt no pressure while watching the video
35. Dr. Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University believes that ________.
A) a person’s memory is determined by the level of hormones in his body
B) stress hormones have lasting positive effects on the brain
C) short bursts of stress hormones enhance memory function
D) a person’s memory improves with continued experience of stress
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
If you want to teach your children how to say sorry, you must be good at saying it
yourself, especially to your own children. But how you say it can be quite tricky.
If you say to your children “I’m sorry I got angry with you, but ...” what follows
that “but” can render the apology ineffective: “I had a bad day” or “your noise was
giving me a headache” leaves the person who has been injured feeling that he should be
apologizing for his bad behavior in expecting an apology.
Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to
say “I’m sorry you’re upset”; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing
yourself to get upset by what the other person has done.
Then there is the general, all covering apology, which avoids the necessity of
identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person
who is apologizing should promise never to do again. Saying “I’m useless as a parent”
does not commit a person to any specific improvement.
These pseudo-apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows
weakness, Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of
strength, and therefore not resort to these pseudo-apologies.
But even when presented with examples of genuine contrition, children still need
help to become a ware of the complexities of saying sorry. A three-year-old might need
help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a
playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old might need
reminding that spoiling other children’s expectations can require an apology. A
12-year-old might need to be shown that raiding the biscuit tin without asking permission
is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent’s clothes without permission is not.
36. If a mother adds “but” to an apology, ________.
A) she doesn’t feel that she should have apologized
B) she does not realize that the child has been hurt
C) the child may find the apology easier to accept
D) the child may feel that he owes her an apology
37. According to the author, saying “I’m sorry you’re upset” most probably means
“________”.
A) You have good reason to get upset
B) I’m aware you’re upset, but I’m not to blame
C) I apologize for hurting your feelings
D) I’m at fault for making you upset
38. It is not advisable to use the general, all-covering apology because ________.
A) it gets one into the habit of making empty promises
B) it may make the other person feel guilty
C) it is vague and ineffective
D) it is hurtful and insulting
39. We learn from the last paragraph that in teaching children to say sorry ________.
A) the complexities involved should be ignored
B) their ages should be taken into account
C) parents need to set them a good example
D) parents should be patient and tolerant
40. It can be inferred from the passage that apologizing properly is ________.
A) a social issue calling for immediate attention
B) not necessary among family members
C) a sign of social progress
D) not as simple as it seems
Part III Vocabulary (20 minutes)
41. Some people believe that since oil is scarce, the ________ of the motor industry is
uncertain.
A) terminal
B) benefit
C) fate
D) estimate
42. To speed up the ________ of letters, the Post Office introduced automatic sorting.
A) treatment
B) delivery
C) transmission
D) departure
43. These overseas students show great ________ for learning a new language.
A) enthusiasm
B) authority
C) convention
D) faith
44. The defense lawyer was questioning the old man who was one of the ________ of
the murder committed last month.
A) observers
B) witnesses
C) audiences
D) viewers
45. Politically these nations tend to be ________, with very high birth rates but poor
education and very low levels of literacy.
A) unstable
B) reluctant
C) rational
D) unsteady
46. The chairman was blamed for letting his secretary ________ too much work last
week.
A) take to
B) take out
C) take away
D) take on
47. “You try to get some sleep. I’ll ________ the patient’s breakfast, “said the nurse.
A) see to
B) stick to
C) get to
D) lead to
48. The London Marathon is a difficult race.________, thousands of runners participate
every year.
A) Therefore
B) Furthermore
C) Accordingly
D) Nevertheless
49. The bank refused to ________ him any money, so he had to postpone buying a
house.
A) credit
B) borrow
C) loan
D) lease
50. The more a nation’s companies ________ factories abroad, the smaller that country’s
recorded exports will be.
A) lie
B) spot
C) stand
D) locate
51. Being ignorant of the law is not accepted as an ________ for breaking the law.
A) excuse
B) intention
C) option
D) approval
52. Within two days, the army fired more than two hundred rockets and missiles at
military ________ in the coastal city.
A) goals
B) aims
C) targets
D) destinations
53. It is said in some parts of the world, goats, rather than cows, serve as a vital
________ of milk.
A) storage
B) source
C) reserve
D) resource
54. “This light is too ________ for me to read by. Don’t we have a brighter bulb some
where”; said the elderly man.
A) mild
B) dim
C) minute
D) slight
55. We have arranged to go to the cinema on Friday, but we can be ________ and go
another day.
A) reliable
B) probable
C) feasible
D) flexible
56. We are quite sure that we can ________ our present difficulties and finish the task
according to schedule.
A) get across
B) get over
C) get away
D) get off
57. ________ recent developments we do not think your scheme is practical.
A) In view of
B) In favor of
C) In case of
D) In memory of
58. Jessica was ________ from the warehouse to the accounting office, which was
considered a promotion.
A) delivered
B) exchanged
C) transferred
D) transformed
59. Mr. Smith asked his secretary to ________ a new paragraph in the annual report she
was typing.
A) inject
B) install
C) invade
D) insert
60. There’s the living room still to be ________, so that’s my next project.
A) abandoned
B) decorated
C) dissolved
D) assessed
61. The old paper mill has been ________ to make way for a new shopping centre.
A) held down
B) kept down
C) cut down
D) turn down
62. It may be necessary to stop ________ in the learning process and go back to the
difficult points in the lessons.
A) at a distance
B) at intervals
C) at case
D) at length
63. You can hire a bicycle in many places. Usually you’ll have to pay a ________.
A) deposit
B) deal
C) fare
D) fond
64. My grandfather had always taken a ________ interest in my work, and I had an
equal admiration for the stories of his time.
A) splendid
B) weighty
C) vague
D) keen
65. ________ quantities of water are being used nowadays with the rapid development
of industry and agriculture.
A) Excessive
B) Extensive
C) Extreme
D) Exclusive
66. John cannot afford to go to university, ________ going abroad.
A) nothing but
B) anything but
C) not to speak of
D) nothing to speak of
67. Most laboratory and field studies of human behavior ________ taking a situational
photograph at a given time and in a given place.
A) involve
B) compose
C) enclose
D) attach
68. If you don’t like to swim, you ________ as well stay at home.
A) should
B) may
C) can
D) would
69. Dr. Smith was always ________ the poor and the sick, often providing them with
free medical care.
A) reminded of
B) absorbed in
C) tended by
D) concerned about
70. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth ________ of
American Independence.
A) ceremony
B) occasion
C) occurrence
D) anniversary
Part IV Cloze (15 minutes)
As a physician who travels quite a lot, I spend a lot of time on planes listening for
that dreaded “Is there a doctor on board?”