Part ⅠListening Comprehension (40 min)
In Sections A, B and C you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully a nd then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct response to each ques tion on your Coloured Answer Sheet.
SECTION A TALK
Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you w ill be given 15 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now list en to the talk.
1. Changes in the size of the World Bank’s operations refer to ___.
A. the expansion of its loan programme
B. the inclusion of its hard loans
C. the inclusion of its soft loans
D. the previous lending policies
2. What actually made the Bank change its overall lending strategy?
A. Reluctance of people in poor countries to have small families.
B. Lack of basic health services and inequality in income distribution.
C. The discovery that a low fertility rate would lead to economic development.
D. Poor nutrition and low literacy in many poor countries of the world.
3. The change in emphasis of the Bank’s lending policies meant that the Bank would ___.
A. be more involved in big infrastructure projects
B. adopt similar investment strategies in poor and rich countries
C. embark upon a review of the investment in huge dams and steel mills
D.invest in projects that would benefit the low-income sector of society
4. Which of the following is NOT a criticism of the bank?
A. Colossal travel expenses of its staff.
B. Fixed annual loans to certain countries.
C. Limited impact of the Bank’s projects.
D. Role as a financial deal maker.
5. Throughout the talk, the speaker is ___ while introducing the Wor ld Bank.
A. biased
B. unfriendly
C. objective
D. sensational
SECTION B CONVERSATION
Questions 6 to 10 are based on a conversation. At the end of the conversation yo u will be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the conversatio n.
6. The man sounds surprised at the fact that ___.
A. many Australians are taking time off to travel
B. the woman worked for some time in New Zealand
C. the woman raised enough money for travel
D. Australians prefer to work in New Zealand
7. We learn that the woman liked Singapore mainly because of its ___.
A. cleanness
B. multi-ethnicity
C. modern characteristics
D. shopping opportunities
8. From the conversation we can infer that Kaifeng and Yinchuan impressed the woman with their ___.
A. respective locations
B. historic interests
C. ancient tombs
D. Jewish descendants
9. Which of the following words can best describe the woman’s feelings a bout Tibet?
A. Amusement.
B. Disbelief.
C. Ecstasy.
D. Delig ht
10. According to the conversation, it was that made the woman ready to stop traveling.
A. the unsettledness of travel
B. the difficulties of trekking
C. the loneliness of travel
D. the unfamiliar environment
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions 11 and 12 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item , you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.
11. Mike Tyson was put in prison last August because he ___.
A. violated the traffic law
B. illegally attacked a boxer
C. attacked sb. after a traffic accident
D. failed to finish his contract
12. The license granted to Tyson to fight will be terminated ___.
A. by the end of the year
B. in over a year
C. in August
D. in a few weeks
Question 13 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you wil l be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
13. The Russian documents are expected to draw great attention because ___.
A. they cover the whole story of the former US president
B. the assassin used to live in the former Soviet Union
C. they are the only official documents released about Kennedy
D. they solved the mystery surrounding Kennedy’s assassination
Question 14 and 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item,
you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions. New listen to the news.
14. In the recent three months, Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has ___.
A. increased slowly
B. decreased gradually
C. stayed steady
D. become unpredictable
15. According to the news, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Business conditions have worsened in the past three months.
B. The past three months have seen a declining trend in job offers.
C. The rise of unemployment rate in some sectors equals the fall in others.
D. The unemployment rate in all sectors of the economy remains unchanged.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
Fill each of gaps with ONE word. You may refer to your notes. Make sure the word you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
The Press Conference
The press conference has certain advantages. The first advantage lies with the
(1)___ nature of the event itself; public officials are supposed to 1.___
submit to scrutiny by responding to various questions at a press conference.
Secondly, statements previously made at a press conference can be used as a
(2)___ in judging following statements or policies. Moreover, in case 2.___
of important events, press conferences are an effective way to break the news
to groups of reporters.
However, from the point of view of (3)___, the press conference 3.___
possesses some disadvantages, mainly in its(4)___ and news source. 4.___
The provider virtually determines the manner in which a press conference
proceeds. This, sometimes, puts news reporters at a(n)(5)___ , as can 5.___
be seen on live broadcasts of news conferences.
Factors in getting valuable information preparation: a need to keep up to date on journalistic subject matter;
—(6)___ of the news source: 6.___
1 ) news source’s (7)___ to 7.___
provide information;
2)news-gathering methods.
Conditions under which news reporters cannot trust the information
provided by a news source
—not knowing the required information;
—knowing and willing to share the information, but without
(8)___ skills; 8.___
—knowing the information, but unwilling to share;
—willing to share, but unable to recall.
(9)___ of questions asked 9.___
Ways of improving the questions:
no words with double meanings;
no long questions;
—specific time, place, etc.;
—(10) questions; 10.___
—clear alternatives, or no alternatives in answers.
Part ⅡProofreading and Error Correction (15 min)
The following passage contains TEN errors. Each line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way. For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and wri te the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line. For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧”sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line. For an unnecessary word cross out the unnecessary word with a slash “/’ and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.
Example
When∧art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an it never／ buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never them on the wall. When a natural history museum wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) exhibit
During the early years of this century, wheat was seen as the
very lifeblood of Western Canada. People on city streets watched
the yields and the price of wheat in almost as much feeling as if 1.___
they were growers. The marketing of wheat became an increasing 2.___
favorite topic of conversation.
War set the stage for the most dramatic events in marketing
the western crop. For years, farmers mistrusted speculative grain
selling as carried on through the Winnipeg Grain Exchange.
Wheat prices were generally low in the autumn, so farmers could 3.___
not wait for markets to improve. It had happened too often that
they sold their wheat soon shortly after harvest when farm debts 4.___
were coming due, just to see prices rising and speculators getting rich. 5.___
On various occasions, producer groups, asked firmer control, 6.___
but the government had no wish to become involving, at 7.___
least not until wartime when wheat prices threatened to run
wild.
Anxious to check inflation and rising life costs, the federal 8.___
government appointed a board of grain supervisors to deal with
deliveries from the crops of 1917 and 1918. Grain Exchange
trading was suspended, and farmers sold at prices fixed by the
board. To handle with the crop of 1919, the government 9.___
appointed the first Canadian Wheat Board, with total authority to 10.___
buy, sell, and set prices.
Part ⅢReading Comprehension (40 min)
SECTION A READING COMPREHENSION (30 min)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of fifteen multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark answers on your Coloured Answer Sheet.
TEXT A
“Twenty years ago, Blackpool turned its back on the sea and tried to make i tself into an entertainment centre. ” say Robin Wood, a local official. “Now t he thinking is that we should try, to refocus on the sea and make Blackpool a fami ly destination again.” To say that Blackpool neglected the sea is to put it mil d ly. In 1976 the European Community, as it then was called, instructed member nati ons to make their beaches conform to certain minimum standards of cleanliness wi thin ten years. Britain, rather than complying, took the novel strategy of conte nding that many of its most popular beaches were not swimming beaches at all. Be cause of Britain’s climate the sea-bathing season is short, and most people don ’ t go in above their knees anyway-and hence can’t really be said to be swimming. By averaging out the number of people actually swimming across 365 days of the y ear, the government was able to persuade itself, if no one else, that Britain ha d hardly any real swimming beaches.
As one environmentalist put it to me: “You had the ludicrous situation in w hich Luxembourg had mere listed public bathing beaches than the whole of the Uni ted Kingdom. It was preposterous.”
Meanwhile, Blackpool continued to discharge raw sewage straight into the se a. Finally after much pressure from both environmental groups and the European U nion, the local water authority built a new waste-treatment facility for the who le of Blackpool and neighbouring communities. The facility came online in June 1 996. For the first time since the industrial revolution Blackpool’s waters are safe to swim in.
That done, the town is now turning its attention to making the sea-front me re visually attractive. The promenade, once a rather elegant place to stroll, ha d become increasingly tatty and neglected. “It was built in Victorian times and needed a thorough overhaul anyway, ”says Wood, “so we decided to make aestheti c improvements at the same time, to try to draw people back to it.” Blackpool rec e ntly spent about .4 million building new kiosks for vendors and improving seat ing around the Central Pier and plans to spend a further $ 15 million on various amenity projects.
The most striking thing about Blackpool these days compared with 20 years a go is how empty its beaches are. When the tide is out, Blackpool’s beaches are a vast plain of beckoning sand. They look spacious enough to accommodate comforta bly the entire populace of northern England. Ken Welsby remembers days when, as he puts it,“you couldn’t lay down a handkerchief on this beach, it was that c rowded.”
Welsby comes from Preston, 20 miles down the road, and has been visiting Bl ackpool all his life. Now retired, he had come for the day with his wife, Kitty, and their three young grandchildren who were gravely absorbed in building a san dcastle. “Two hundred thousand people they’d have on this beach sometimes.”W elsby said. “You can’t imagine it now, can you?”
Indeed I could not. Though it was a bright sunny day in the middle of summe r. I counted just 13 people scattered along a half mile or so of open sand. Exce pt for those rare times when hot weather and a public holiday coincide, it is li ke this nearly always now.
“You can’t imagine how exciting it was to come here for the day when we w er e young.” Kitty said. “Even from Preston, it was a big treat. Now children don ’t want the beach. They want arcade games and rides in helicopters and goodness kn ows what else.”She stared out over the glittery water. “We’ll never see thos e days again. It’s sad really.”
“But your grandchildren seem to be enjoying it,”I pointed out.
“For the moment, ”Ken said. “For the moment.”
Afterward I went for a long walk along the empty beach, then went back to th e town centre and treated myself to a large portion of fish-and-chips wrapped in paper. The way they cook it in Blackpool, it isn’t so much a meal as an invita t ion to a heart attack, but it was delicious. Far out over the sea the sun was se tting with such splendor that I would almost have sworn I could hear the water h iss where it touched.
Behind me the lights of Blackpool Tower were just twinkling on, and the str eets were beginning to fill with happy evening throngs. In the purply light of d usk the town looked peaceful and happy — enchanting even — and there was an engaging air of expectancy, of fun about to happen. Somewhat to my surprise, I r ealized that this place was beginning to grow on me.
16. At the beginning, the passage seems to suggest that Blackpool ___.
A. will continue to remain as an entertainment centre
B. complied with EC’s standards of clearliness
C. had no swimming beaches all along
D. is planning to revive its former attraction
17. We can learn from the passage that Blackpool used to ___.
A. have as many beaches as Luxumbourg
B. have seriously polluted drinking water
C. boast some imposing seafront sights
D. attract few domestic holiday makers
18. What Blackpool’s beaches strike visitors most is their ___.
A. emptiness
B. cleanliness
C. modernity
D. monotony
TEXT B
Pundits who want to sound judicious are fond of warning against generalizin g. Each country is different, they say, and no one story fits all of Asia. This is, of course, silly: all of these economies plunged into economic crisis within a few months of each other, so they must have had something in common.
In fact, the logic of catastrophe was pretty much the same in Thailand, Mal aysia, Indonesia and South Korea. (Japan is a very different story. ) In each ca se investors——mainly, but not entirely, foreign banks who had made short-term loans——all tried to pull their money out at the same time. The result was a co mbined banking and currency crisis: a banking crisis because no bank can convert all its assets into cash on short notice; a currency crisis because panicked in vestors were trying not only to convert long-term assets into cash, but to conve rt baht or rupiah into dollars. In the face of the stampede, governments had no good options. If they let their currencies plunge inflation would soar and compa nies that had borrowed in dollars would go bankrupt; if they tried to support th eir currencies by pushing up interest rates, the same firms would probably go bu st from the combination of debt burden and recession. In practice, countries’s plit the difference——and paid a heavy price regardless.
Was the crisis a punishment for bad economic management? Like most cliches, the catchphrase“ crony capitalism” has prospered because it gets at something r eal: excessively cozy relationships between government and business really did l ead to a lot of bad investments. The still primitive financial structure of Asia n business also made the economies peculiarly vulnerable to a loss of confidence . But the punishment was surely disproportionate to the crime, and many investme nts that look foolish in retrospect seemed sensible at the time.
Given that there were no good policy options, was the policy response mainl y on the fight track? There was frantic blame-shifting when everything in Asia s eemed to be going wrong: now there is a race to claim credit when some things ha ve started to go right. The international Monetary Fund points to Korea’s recov e ry—— and more generally to the fact that the sky didn’t fall after all —— a s proof that its policy recommendations were right. Never mind that other IMF cli ents have done far worse, and that the economy of Malaysia —— which refused IM F help, and horrified respectable opinion by imposing capital controls ——also seems to be on the mend. Malaysia’s prime Minister, by contrast, claims full cr e dit for any good news——even though neighbouring economies also seem to have bo ttomed out.
The truth is that an observer without any ax to grind would probably concl ude that none of the policies adopted either on or in defiance of the IMF’s adv i ce made much difference either way. Budget policies, interest rate policies, ban king reform ——whatever countries tried, just about all the capital that could flee, did. And when there was no mere money to run, the natural recuperative po wers of the economies finally began to prevail. At best, the money doctors who p urported to offer cures provided a helpful bedside manner; at worst, they were l ike medieval physicians who prescribed bleeding as a remedy for all ills.
Will the patients stage a full recovery? It depends on exactly what you me an by “full”. South Korea’s industrial production is already above its pre-cr isi s level; but in the spring of 1997 anyone who had predicted zero growth in Korea n industry over the next two years would have been regarded as a reckless doomsa yer. So if by recovery you mean not just a return to growth, but one that brings the region’s performance back to something like what people used to regard as the Asian norm, they have a long way to go.
19. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the writer’s opinion?
A. Countries paid a heavy price for whichever measure taken.
B. Countries all found themselves in an economic dilemma.
C. Withdrawal of foreign capital resulted in the crisis.
D. Most governments chose one of the two options.
20. The writer thinks that those Asian countries ___.
A. well deserved the punishment
B. invested in a senseless way at the time
C. were unduly punished in the crisis
D. had bad relationships between government and business
21. It can be inferred from the passage that IMF policy recommendations ___.
A. were far from a panacea in all cases
B. were feasible in their recipient countries
C. failed to work in their recipient countries
D. were rejected unanimously by Asian countries
22. At the end of the passage, the writer seems to think that a full reco very of the Asian economy is ___.
A. due
B. remote
C. imaginative
D. unpredictable
TEXT C
Human migration: the term is vague. What people usually think of is the per manent movement of people from one home to another. More broadly, though, migrat ion means all the ways——from the seasonal drift of agricultural workers within a country to the relocation of refugees from one country to another.
Migration is big, dangerous, compelling. It is 60 million Europeans leaving home from the 16th to the 20th centuries. It is some 15 million Hindus, Skihs, and Muslims swept up in a tumultuous shuffle of citizens between India and Pakis tan after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
Migration is the dynamic undertow of population change: everyone’s solutio n , everyone’s conflict. As the century turns, migration, with its inevitable eco n omic and political turmoil, has been called“ one of the greatest challenges of the coming century.”
But it is much more than that. It is, as has always been, the great adventu re of human life. Migration helped create humans, drove us to conquer the planet , shaped our societies, and promises to reshape them again.
“You have a history book written in your genes, ”said Spencer Wells. The bo ok he’s trying to read goes back to long before even the first word was written , and it is a story of migration.
Wells, a tall, blond geneticist at Stanford University, spent the summer of 1998 exploring remote parts of Transcaucasia and Central Asia with three collea gues in a Land Rover, looking for drops of blood. In the blood, donated by the p eople he met, he will search for the story that genetic markers can tell of the long paths human life has taken across the Earth.Genetic studies are the latest technique in a long effort of modern humans t o find out where they have come from. But however the paths are traced, the basi c story is simple: people have been moving since they were people. If early huma ns hadn’t moved and intermingled as much as they did, they probably would have c ontinued to evolve into different species. From beginnings in Africa, most resea rchers agree, groups of hunter-gatherers spread out, driven to the ends of the E arth.
To demographer Kingsley Davis, two things made migration happen. First, hum an beings, with their tools and language, could adapt to different conditions wi thout having to wait for evolution to make them suitable for a new niche. Second , as populations grew, cultures began to differ, and inequalities developed betw een groups. The first factor gave us the keys to the door of any room on the pla net; the other gave us reasons to use them.
Over the centuries, as agriculture spread across the planet, people moved t oward places where metal was found and worked and to centres of commerce that th en became cities. Those places were, in turn, invaded and overrun by people later generations called barbarians.
In between these storm surges were steadier but similarly profound fides in which people moved out to colonize or were captured and brought in as slaves. F or a while the population of Athens, that city of legendary enlightenment was as much as 35 percent slaves.
“What strikes me is how important migration is as a cause and effect in th e great world events. ”Mark Miller, co-author of The Age of Migration and a prof essor of political science at the University of Delaware, told me recently.
It is difficult to think of any great events that did not involve migration . Religions spawned pilgrims or settlers; wars drove refugees before them and ma de new land available for the conquerors; political upheavals displaced thousand s or millions; economic innovations drew workers and entrepreneurs like magnets; environmental disasters like famine or disease pushed their bedraggled survivor s anywhere they could replant hope. “It’s part of our nature, this movement,”Miller said, “It’s just a fact of the human condition.”
23. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. Migration exerts a great impact on population change.
B. Migration contributes to Mankind’s progress.
C. Migration brings about desirable and undesirable effects.
D. Migration may not be accompanied by human conflicts.
24. According to Kingsley Davis, migration occurs as a result of the foll owing reasons EXCEPF ___.
A. human adaptability
B. human evolution
C. cultural differences
D. inter-group inequalities
25. Which of the following groups is NOT mentioned as migrants in the pas sage?
A. Farmers.
B. Workers.
C. Settlers.
D. Colon izers.
26. There seems to be a(n) ___ relationship between great events an d migration.
A. loose
B. indefinite
C. causal
D. rem ote
TEXT D
How is communication actually achieved? It depends, of course, either on a common language or on known conventions, or at least on the beginnings of these. If the common language and the conventions exist, the contributor, for example, the creative artist, the performer, or the reporter, tries to use them as well as he can. But often, especially with original artists and thinkers, the problem is in one way that of creating a language, or creating a convention, or at leas t of developing the language and conventions to the point where they are capable of bearing his precise meaning. In literature, in music, in the visual arts, in the sciences, in social thinking, in philosophy, this kind of development has o ccurred again and again. It often takes a long time to get through, and for many people it will remain difficult. But we need never think that it is impossible; creative energy is much more powerful than we sometimes suppose. While a man is engaged in this struggle to say new things in new ways, he is usually more than ever concentrated on the actual work, and not on its possible audience. Many ar tists and scientists share this fundamental unconcern about the ways in which th eir work will be received. They may be glad if it is understood and appreciated, hurt if it is not, but while the work is being done there can be no argument. T he thing has to come out as the man himself sees it.
In this sense it is true that it is the duty of society to create condition s in which such men can live. For whatever the value of any individual contribut ion, the general body of work is of immense value to everyone. But of course thi ngs are not so formal, in reality. There is not society on the one hand and thes e individuals on the other. In ordinary living, and in his work, the contributor shares in the life of his society, which often affects him both in minor ways a nd in ways sometimes so deep that he is not even aware of them. His ability to m ake his work public depends on the actual communication system: the language its elf, or certain visual or musical or scientific conventions, and the institution s through which the communication will be passed. The effect of these on his act ual work can be almost infinitely variable. For it is not only a communication s ystem outside him; it is also, however original he may be, a communication syste m which is in fact part of himself. Many contributors make active use of this ki nd of internal communication system. It is to themselves, in a way, that they fi rst show their conceptions, play their music, present their arguments. Not only as a way of getting these clear, in the process of almost endless testing that a ctive composition involves. But also, whether consciously or not, as a way of pu tting the experience into a communicable form. If one mind has grasped it, then it may be open to other minds.
In this deep sense, the society is in some ways already present in the act of composition. This is always very difficult to understand, but often, when we have the advantage of looking back at a period, we can see, even if we cannot e xplain, how this was so. We can see how much even highly original individuals ha d in common, in their actual work, and in what is called their “structure of fe e ling”, with other individual workers of the time, and with the society of that t ime to which they belonged. The historian is also continually struck by the fact that men of this kind felt isolated at the very time when in reality they were beginning to get through. This can also be noticed in our own time, when some of the most deeply influential men feel isolated and even rejected. The society an d the communication are there, but it is difficult to recognize them, difficult to be sure.
27. Creative artists and thinkers achieve communication by ___.
A. depending on shared conventions
B. fashioning their own conventions
C. adjusting their personal feelings
D. elaborating a common language
28. A common characteristic of artists and scientists involved in creativ e work is that ___.
A. they cave about the possible reaction to their work
B. public response is one of the primary conceits
C. they are keenly aware of public interest in their work
D. they are indifferent toward response to their work
29. According to the passage, which of the following statements is INCORR ECT?
A. Individual contributions combined possess great significance to the publ ic.
B. Good contributors don’t neglect the use of internal communication syste m.
C. Everyone except those original people comes under the influence of socie ty.
D. Knowing how to communicate is universal among human beings.
30. It is implied at the end of the passage that highly original individu als feel isolated because they ___.
A. fail to acknowledge and use an acceptable form of communication
B. actually differ from other individuals in the same period
C. have little in common with the society of the time
D. refuse to admit parallels between themselves and the society
SECTION B
TEXT E
First read the question.
31. The purpose of the passage is to ___.
A. review some newly-published interior-design books
B. explore the potential market for interior-design books
C. persuade people to buy some good books
D. stress the importance of reading good books
Now go through TEXT E quickly to answer question 31.
Do your relationships keep failing? When you leave your home in the morning are you already feeling stressed? Is there no time in your life for fun any mor e? Cancel your appointment with the doctor. What you need is a good interior-des ign book. Publishers have created a new genre of books for the home, titles that go beyond paint charts and superficial style and instead show you how your home can be transformed and even heal your life.
Dawna Walter is one of the authors leading the way in Britain with her boo k Organized Living that attempts to show how even a tidy sock drawer can improve the quality of your life. Walter is the owner of the Holding Company, a shop on London’s Kings Road which sells hundreds of storage ideas for the home. It has been such a hit that Walter is planning to open four new outlets in the near fu ture. Born in America, Dawna Walter is a fast talker, a self-confessed perfectio nist, and a tidiness fundamentalist. “If it takes 10 minutes for you to find a matching pair of socks in the morning, then you are not in control and your outl ook just isn’t any good. Being organized saves you a couple of hours every week and gives you more time to do the things you enjoy, ”she explains.
Her book contains dozens of ideas for streamlining your life. In the kitch en she recommends filing magazine recipes immediately, and organizing them by ty pes-of dishes or particular cooks, and using ice-cube trays to freeze sauces in individual portions. Her ideas seem common sense but nevertheless require you to be at least slightly obsessive. CDs are a case in point: “How often do you wan t to find one particular CD and can’t? Now, how much easier it would be if you p l aced them in alphabetical order? That will only take an hour. Then divide out th e ones you listen to regularly into a separate section. ”
Another recent book in the British market was Sarah Shurety’s Chinese-ins p ired Feng Shui For Your Home. Within 14 days of publication every copy had been sold. Shurety’s room-by-room guide to creating a harmonious living space, based on the ancient Chinese tradition Feng Shui, contains rules for how to create the best atmosphere and promote health, wealth and happiness. Dinner party hosts ar e told to place quiet people at the head of the table and facing the door so tha t they will feel more garrulous; those looking for romance learn to place pink f lowers by their beds; and house-buyers are warned to beware of properties built on sloping foundations if they want stability in their lives.
The book Creating Space , by Elizabeth Wilhide, claims that readers followin g its advice will not just improve their homes but transform their lives. Wilhid e believes that as we increasingly work from home, we need to reassess the way o ur houses work(especially when there are children in the household) if we want t o avoid being overran by junk and that feeling of “being mentally weighed down. ” Unfortunately, she admits, she finds it difficult to follow her own advice. She sheepishly confesses to having “dumping zones” in her house, a handbag “that do esn’t bear looking into”, and a car “that’s a no-go zone” But she is undau nted by these small failures. In the future, she says she is determined to tidy up he r own life and follow the path to stress-free health , wealth and happiness.
TEXT F
First read the question.
32. The writer of the passage mainly intends to ___.
A. criticize Germany’s tax system
B. help companies ease their tax burden
C. examine the current corporate tax rates
D. propose ways to reform the tax system
Now go through TEXT F quickly to answer question 32.
One major reason for Germany’s high unemployment and the evident weakness o f business investment is the nature of the tax system, which tends to discourage both individual effort and investment. Nominal corporate tax rates are, in fact , very high and it is these rates that potential investors primarily look at. Ho wever, the actual burden borne by companies is not as great as it might seem, be cause the tax base is fairly narrow. This combination in itself tend to encourag e tax avoidance at both the personal and corporate levels. Moreover, by internat ional standards, firms in Germany are still taxed quite heavily.
A reform of corporate taxation, therefore, should start by, reducing tax r ates, cutting subsidies and broadening the taxable base. The resulting positive impact on growth would be reinforced if there were also a substantial easing of the net burden.
How do the current plans for a reform of corporate taxation measure up to these goals? The overall tax burden on companies is to be brought down significa ntly, with the ceiling of 35 % being set. To this end, a dramatic reduction in t he corporate tax on retained earnings is planned. The related drop in revenues i s to be offset by changes in the rules governing tax breaks.
An approach incorporating these basic features would be a welcome step. I f realized in its presents form, it should ensure that the objective of making t ax rates more attractive for businesses is achieved. At the same time, however, it would be unfortunate if an excessive broadening of the taxable base made it i mpossible to attain the equally important goal of providing relief.
Comprehensive tax reform is needed in Germany to spur investment and to cre ate new jobs, thus putting the economy on a higher growth path. The drop in reve nues caused by the tax relief granted to both companies and households would, in time, be at least partially offset by the larger volume of tax receipts produce d by economic growth. The gaps that remained should primarily be closed through spending cuts. If measure of this sort proved inadequate, then, as a last resort , an increase in indirect taxes could perhaps be considered.
TEXT G
First read the question.
33. The following passage emphasizes the role of ___ in health conservation.
A. advertising
B. research
C. governments
D. taxation
Now go through TEXT G quickly to answer question 33.
Most of the ill health we suffer could be prevented if people made more effo rt to change their life styles. Instead many people continue to smoke, to drink excessively and to eat unbalanced diets. How can governments help people conserv e their health and avoid premature death?
Well, many of the measures which need to be taken are primarily a matter of new legislation and need not be expensive. One of the first preventive health m easures should be an increase in taxes on tobacco to the point at which consumpt ion falls off. The aim should be to raise the same amount of revenue from a decr easing number of people. In the short term such a policy could even raise extra money which should then be spent on subsidizing sport so that advertising tobacc o through sports sponsorship could be banned.
Legislation is badly needed to ban all advertising of tobacco products as i t persuades people to smoke more and so is in a large part responsible for the i ll health and thousands of premature deaths caused by cancer of the lung. Other measures should be enforced, such as a much tougher health warning on cigarette packets, and tobacco companies should be made to contribute to research into a c ure for lung cancer.
Alcoholism could be prevented by making wines, spirits and strong beers mor e expensive and the revenue raised could be used to set up clinics to help the p eople who already have a drink problem and want to give up. Similarly all advert ising of alcohol should be banned and compensation paid to families of alcoholic s who die of cirrhosis of the liver.A country’s food and agricultural policy should also be based on a coheren t health policy. For political reasons it is considered important to have a relat ively cheap supply of eggs, cheese and milk, the very foods which are blamed as the cause of heart disease when eaten in excess. And even if it is disputed that excess animal fat is detrimental to health, foods could be labelled with the av erage percentage of different fats so that consumers who wanted to reduce their saturated fat intake would be able to do so easily.
Much more could be done to improve people’s diet in Britain and everyone s h ould be encouraged to eat the types of food which are good for health. Current r esearch on the nutritional value of foods should be freely available and the gov ernment should control the advertising of “rubbish”food. A programme of healt h education and lessons on sensible eating could be started in the schools with th e Government’s backing.
TEXT H
First read the question.
34. The passage is primarily ___ in the development of the thesis.
A. persuasive
B. descriptive
C. narrative
D. expository
Now go through TEXT H quickly to answer question 34.
The question remains: must we conform? Or can we, somehow, resist the power s that conspire to domesticate us? And if so, with what arms are we to redeem ou r almost-lost manhood? Where are we to find the weapons of resistance?
I believe that the question of conformity, in the long run, answers itself. I think that if there was a possibility, once, of a yes or no——if at one time humans could decide “we must conform” or “we must not” —— that possibilit y ha s been lost in the long reaches of evolution, far back along the corridors of Ti me. The simple truth is that we cannot conform.Built into man, is an instinct. I have chosen to call it the “instinct of rebellion”, since it reveals itself as a drive or urge toward mastery over ever y obstacle, natural or man-made, that stands as a barrier between man and his dis tant, perhaps never-to-be-achieved but always striven after goals. It is this in stinct that underwrites his survival, this instinct from which he derives his na ture: a great and powerful dynamic that makes him what he is——restless, seekin g, curious, forever unsatisfied, eternally straggling and eventually victorious. Because of the instinct of rebellion man has never been content with the limits of his body; it has led him to extend his senses almost infinitely, so that his fingers now probe space, his eyes magnify the nuclei of atoms, and his ears det ect whispers from the bottoms of seas. Because of the instinct of rebellion man has never been content with the limits of his mind; it has led him to inquire th e secrets of the universe, to gather and learn and manipulate the fabulous inven tory of the cosmos, to seek the very mysteries of creation.
Man is a rebel. He is committed by his biology not to conform, and herein lies the paramount reason for the awful tension he experiences today in relation to Society. Unlike other cream of earth, man cannot submit, cannot surrender hi s birthright of protest, for rebellion is one of his essential dimensions. He ca n not deny it and remain man. In order to live he must rebel. Only total annihila tion of humanity as a species can eliminate this in-built necessity. Only with t he death of the last man will the revolt that is the essence of his nature also die.
TEXT I
First read the questions.
35. According to the census prediction, the average male Americans will b e expected to live up to ___ years of age by 2050.
A.73.3
B.75.1
C.81.3
D. 83.6
36. Crime experts predict that in the near future crime rates will first decrease in ___.
A. South and Southwest
B. North and Northeast
C. Southwest and Midwest
D. Northeast and Midwest
Now go through TEXT I quickly to answer questions 35 & 36.
If past is prologue, then it ought to be possible to draw some modest concl usions about the future from the wealth of data about America’s present. Will t h e rate continue to fall? Will single-person households actually swamp the tradit ional family?
All projections, of course, must be viewed with a healthy dose of skeptici sm. Nonetheless, the urge to make sense of what lies ahead is inescapable. After the 1980 census, the Census Bureau decided for the first time to venture some f orecasts of its own for the decades to come. Working from what America already k nows about itself, the bureau’s experts and other demographers offer an irresis tible, if clouded, crystal ball among their visions.
According to the census projections, female life expectancy will increase from 78.3 years in 1981 to 81.3 in the year 2005. The life expectancy of America n men will grow from 70.7 for babies born in 1981 to 73.3 years in 2005.And by t he year 2050, women will have a life expectancy of 83.6 years and men of at leas t 75.1.
Annual population growth will slow to almost nothing by 2050. In fact, the Census Bureau predicts that the rate of natural increase will be negative after 2035; only continuing immigration will keep it growing after that. The total pop ulation will be 268 million in 2000 and 309 million—an all-time high—in 2050. After that, it will start to decline.
The American population will grow steadily older. From 11.4 percent in 198 1, the proportion of the population that is 65 and over will grow to 13.1 percen t in 2000 and 21.7 percent in 2050. The percentage of the population that lives beyond the age of 85 will mere than quintuple over the same period. Meanwhile th e median age—30.3 in 1981— will rise to 36.3 by 2000 and 41.6 50 years later.
When it comes to the quality of life, more prognosticators are fairly cauti ous. John Hopkins sociologist Andrew Cherlin observes that “as we enter the 198 0 s, the pace of change appears to have slowed.”For the next few decades, he pre d icts, there may be only modest swings in the marriage, birth and divorce rates—giving society time to adjust to the new patterns that have formed in recent y ears. “We are in a plateau in our family patterns that will likely last awhile, ”Cherlin maintains. Crime expert Alfred Blumstein, who foresees a drop in crime over the coming decade, predicts that the Northeast and Midwest, with stable but aging populations, will see the falloff first; for the South and Southwest, wit h their large proportions of younger people, the improvement will come less quic kly.
TEXT J
First read the questions.
37. The formal diplomatic relations between China and the United States w ere established on ___.
A. February 28,1972
B. January 28,1979
C. December 16,1978
D. January 1,1979
38. The Five Principles for the establishment of a new type of Sino -US r elationship were put forward by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in ___.
A. Seattle
B. Jakarta
C. Manila
D. New York
Now go through TEXT J quickly to answer questions 37 & 38.
The following is a list of some of the major events in Sino-US relations fr om February 1972 to May 1998.
February 21 —28, 1972 : The US President Richard Nixon paid an official vi sit to China, during which a Sino-US joint communique was issued in Shanghai.
May 1, 1973 : The liaison offices set up by China and the US in each other’s capital started functioning.
December 16, 1978 : China and the US issued a joint communique which called for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on Janua ry 1,1979.
January 1, 1979 : China and the US formally established diplomatic ties.
January 28—February 5,1979 : Then Chinese vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping paid a n official visit to the US, during which two agreements were signed on scientifi c , technological and cultural co-operation between the two countries.
August 17, 1982 : The Chinese and the US governments issued a joint communiq ue under which the US promised to gradually reduce its sales of weapons to Taiwa n until the complete settlement of the problem.
April 26—May 1, 1984 : Then US President Ronald Reagan visited China, durin g which the two countries signed four agreements on avoiding double-taxation and tax evasion and initiated an agreement on co-operation on the peaceful use of n uclear energy.
July 23 —31, 1985 :Then Chinese President Li Xiannian visited the US, the first visit by a Chinese head of state since the founding of the People’s Repub lic of China in 1949.
February 25 —6, 1989 : Then US President George Bush paid a working visit to China.November 19, 1993 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin held talks with US Preside nt Bill Clinton during the informal Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) le adership meeting in Seattle.
November 14, 1994 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin, on the sidelines of atten ding an informal APEC leadership meeting in Bogor, met US President Bill Clinton in Jakarta and put forward the Five Principles for the establishment of a new t ype of Sino-US relationship.October 24, 1995 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin met US President Bill Clin ton in New York while attending the special conference held for marking the 50a anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.
November 24, 1996 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin met US President Bill Cli nton at an informal APEC leadership meeting in Manila.
February 24, 1997 : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited China.
October 26—November 3, 1997 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state v isit to the US, the first by a Chinese president in 12 years. A joint communique , issued on October 29, called on the two countries to strengthen co-operation a nd strive for the establishment of a constructive strategic partnership oriented to the 21(th) century, in a bid to promote world peace and development.
March 14, 1998 : The US declared that the US-Chinese Agreement on Co-operat ion on the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, which had been dormant for 13 years, could now come into effect.
April 29—May 1, 1998 : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Ch ina. An agreement was signed between the two countries on the establishment of a direct secure telephone link.
TEXT K
First read the questions.
39. Whose works would you most probably choose to read if you were intere sted in satire?
A. Alexander Pope.
B. Oliver Goldsmith.
C. R. B. Sheridan.
D.W.M. Thackeray.
40. Which of the following writers was a Nobel-Prize winner?
A. Alexander Pope.
B. John Galsworthy.
C. Thomas Hardy.
D.W.M. Thackeray.
Now go through TEXT K quickly to answer questions 39 & 40.
JOHN GALSWORTHY ( 1867 — 1933) Although John Galsworthy wrote many good p lays, it is as a novelist and creator of the Forsyte family that he is best reme mbered. The whole progress and background of the Forsyte family over a period of forty years is told with great skill and charm in a series of novels. Galsworth y was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH ( 1728 — 1774) Born and educated in Ireland, Oliver Gold smith travelled widely in his earlier years and the knowledge and experience he accumulated were later put to good use. He arrived in London where he made the a cquaintance of Samuel Johnson, who helped him sell a short novel, The Vicar of W akerfield. His drama She Stoops to Conquer, produced in 1773, was a great succes s.
THOMAS HARDY ( 1840 — 1928) The wild heaths of mid-Dorset are Thomas Hardy country; he was born here, the Wessex of his novels. Hardy’s impressions of th e countryside and of nature were the staple of much of his writing. Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, The Return of the Native and Far from the Madding Crowd are his best-known books. Hardy is also remembered for his poetry and drama.
ALEXANDER POPE (1688- 1744) Alexander Pope, poet and satirist, was born in the City of London. He was largely self-educated and at an early age showed the satirical skill and metrical ingenuity on which much of the fame rests. The Rape of the Lock, published in 1712,established Pope’s reputation .He occupies a hi gh place among English poets.
R. B. SHERIDAN (1751 - 1816) Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist and poli tician, was born in Ireland but educated in England. Although at first unsuccess ful, when Sheridan came to London he made his name as the writer of such comedie s as The Rivals, The School for Scandal and The Critic, which brilliantly expose d the intellectual and social pretensions of the time. These place Sheridan in t he forefront of the great English dramatists. He also shone as an orator in Parl iament.
Part ⅣTranslation (60 min)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the following underlined part of the text into English. Write your t ranslation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
喬羽的歌大家都熟悉。但他另外兩大愛好卻鮮為人知，那就是釣魚和喝酒。晚年的喬羽喜愛垂釣，他說：“有水有魚的地方大都是有好環(huán)境的，好環(huán)境便會給人好心情。我認為最好的釣魚場所不是舒適的、給你準(zhǔn)備好餓魚的垂釣園，而是那極其有吸引力的大自然野外天成的場所?！贬烎~是一項能夠陶冶性情的運動，有益于身心健康。喬羽說：“釣魚可分三個階段：第一階段是吃魚；第二階段是吃魚和情趣兼而有之；第三階段主要是的趣，面對一池碧水，將憂心煩惱全都拋在一邊，使自己的身心得到充分休息?！?/p>
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the following underlined part of the text into Chinese. Writer your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
Possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighbo rhood would have been Thoreau’s idea of the low levels. The active discipline o f heightening one’s perception of what is enduring in nature would have been his idea of the high. What he saved from the low was time and effort he could spend on the high. Thoreau certainly disapproved of starvation, but he would put into feeding himself only as much effort as would keep him functioning for more impor tant efforts.
Effort is the gist of it. There is no happiness except as we take on life- engaging difficulties. Short of the impossible, as Yeats put it, the satisfactio n we get from a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties. Robert Frost was thinking in something like the same terms when he spoke of “The pleas u re of taking pains”. The mortal flaw in the advertised version of happiness is in the fact that it purports to be effortless.
We demand difficulty even in our games. We demand it because without diffi culty there can be no game. A game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it. The rules of the game are an arbitrary imposition of difficulty. When someone ruins the fun, he always does so by refusing to play by the roles. It is e asier to win at chess if you are free, at your pleasure, to change the wholly ar bitrary roles, but the fun is in winning within the rules. No difficulty, no fun.
Part ⅤWriting (60 min)
The Internet is about to take off in China. As many as 9 million people are online, a number that is estimated to hit 20 million by the end of 2000. It is predicted that this phenomenal growth will have great impact on our society and economy. Choose ONE aspect of our society or economy where you think the impact will be most strongly felt, and write an essay of about 300 words entitled.
THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON ...
In the first part of your writing you should present your thesis statement, and in the second part you should support the thesis statement with appropriate deta ils. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclu sion or a summary.Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriacy. Failur e to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Write your composition on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
參考答案
PART ⅠLISTENING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A TALK
In deciding the emphasis of its lending policy, the bank has had to take i nto account the population explosion which is occuring in many poor countries of the world. It is a fact that the fertility rate of the poor countries is often very high. This is one of the main reasons for these countries remaining poor. U nfortunately, wide-ranging country section programs do not usually reduce this r ate because this was a strong and deeply rooted tradition among people in these countries to have big families. What the bank discovered was that there was a li nk between economic and social development on the one hand, and reduction of fer tility rate on the other. Thus by improving basic health services, by introducin g better nutrition, by increasing literacy, and by promoting more even income di stribution in a poor country, a lower and more acceptable fertility rate will be achieved. This advanced thinking persuaded the bank to change its overall lend ing strategy, where previously it concentrated on the big infrastructure project s, such as dams, roads and bridges. It begun to switch to projects which directly i mprove the basic services of the country. There was a shift, if you like, from b uilding dams to digging water holes to provide clear water.
A second reason for the change of approach was that the bank has learned a big lesson from projects financed in the 1960s. Many of its major capital inv estment had scarcely touched the lives of urban and rural poor, nor have they cr eated much employment. The project did not have the trigger-down effect they hav e in industrialized countries. Instead the huge dams, steel-mills, and so on wer e left as monuments to themselves. This redirection of its lending has meant tha t the bank has tended to support labour intensive activities, rather than capita l intensive ones. Both rural and urban areas, there is a better chance in the fi rst case, that its funds will benefit the bottom 40% of the country’s populatio n.
The bank is also looking for ways of stimulating the growth of the small busine sses in many developing countries since this would create employment opportuniti es for people with lower incomes. Being such a big, obvious target, the bank has often come under fire. For example, its officials have been taken to task for u sing Concord supersonic aircraft so frequently, about 500 times in one year. Als o, the large growth of the organization’s personnel has not pleased some critic s . A more substantial criticism has concerned the bank’s policy of setting annua l target for lending to specified countries. This could lead to the deterioration in quality of loans, some say. One former bank official has said, rather than e ncourage growth for its own sake, the bank should begin to think of itself less as a foreign aid agency and more of a financial deal-maker, combining official wit h the private resources for specific purposes.
Finally, some people maintain that the impact of the projects funded by the bank has been modest. When one looks around the world at regions or countries that have successfully transformed to industrial status, it seems that one shoul d be aware of over-estimating the bank’s impact. Take Hong Kong for example. I ts changes have come about as a result of trade offensive. The purpose has been to flood western market with low price goods made by capitalist methods of produ ction. The example seems to indicate that some regions can prosper without the b ank’s aid as well.
SECTION B CONVERSATION
W: Well, it seems quite common actually. A lot of people in Australia no w are travelling and taking time off. And when I was actually travelling, I met so many people doing the same thing.
M: Yeah, yeah, so where did you start off?
W: Well, I went to New Zealand first. Eh, and got a job in a computer company as a secretary. And I worked there for 4 months.
M: Really? You can do that, can you? I mean it’s possible for anyone to get a j ob in New Zealand, without being a New Zealander?
W: No, not everybody, only Australians and New Zealanders can exchange either. Y ou know you can work in either country.’
M: Right, yeah.
W: So that was easy. So I worked there for 4 months and raised enough money for the rest of travels really. So from there I went to Indonesia, and travelled aro und the different islands around Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China , Nepal and India.
M: What about Indonesia? What did you do? Did you fly mostly between the Isla nds?
W: Eh, I did a bit of that, and boats, mainly local boats between the Islands.
M: What about Singapore? People said it’s very very modern. But because it is s o modern, it’s rather boring. Did you find that?
W: Well, it’s difficult to say really. It has different attractions. You know t h e Chinese, Malay, and Hindu communities are there. Each has his own culture and custom, very different from the others. And it’s a great big shopping center an d I really enjoy it from that point of view. And it was very clean.
M: And after, you said you went what, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and then Ch ina? That’s a great country to travel in, isn’t it?
W: Eh, it was. Yeah, it was fabulous. It really was. You have been there then?
M: No, I haven’t. No, I mean it’s very big. What did you do?
W: Yeah. Well, I had only one month to travel in China, and that was too short f or such a vast country as China. I felt I didn’t have enough time, so I sacrifc ed a lot of places and did the main tourist throughout really. I went to Beijing, the capital, Kaifeng, Yinchuan, and Tibet.
M: Well, how exciting! You said after Beijing, you went to?
W: That was Kaifeng in central China’s Henan province. It’s a charming city, a nd has got a lot to look around, like temples and pagodas, very traditional.
M: Eh, eh.
W: What fascinated me when I was there was that some Jews went to live in Kaifen g many years ago. As early as 16th century, there were Jewish families there. Th ey have their synagogue and five books of Masses. Even today several hundred des cendants of the original Jews still live in Kaifeng.
M: Really, I’ve never heard of that. And where did you go after Kaifeng?
W: I went to northwest to Yinchuan, the provincial city of Ningxia Hui autonomou s region.
M: Is this the place where there always is a shortage of water?
W: No, no, on the contrary, it has got abundant supply of water, because it is n ear the Yellow River. In this sense, Yinchuan has a favorable geographical posit on in otherwise harsh surroundings.
M: What did you see there then?
W: Ningxia was once the capital of Western Xia during the 11th century. So outsi de Yinchuan, you can still see the Western Xia mausoleum, where the Kings and t heir Kingdoms were buried. The tombs were scattered in a pretty big area at the foot of the Henan Mountain, and inside the city there are famous mosques in the architectural style of Middle East. It’s really a place worth visiting. You got to know something about Chinese Moslems.
M: And that sounds really interesting. Where did you travel after that?
W: I was lucky enough to get into Tibet, and that was brilliant.
M: Yeah. What was the most interesting place you visited, do you think?
W: Well, I think actually Tibet is the most fascinating and exciting. I’ve never been anywhere so different. The people there are wonderful, the clothes .they w ear, the food they eat.
M: And you said you went to Nepal as well?
W: Yeah, eh, that’s a sort of easier passion of Tibetans really and there are a lot of Tibetans---there as well as other tribes and Nepalese, so that was g ood because I went trekking in Nepal, you should do that.
M: How long did you trek for?
W: Oh, I only did a short one, only for a week. I was lazy.
M: Was it very tiring?
W: No, it wasn’t actually. I mean you just set your own pace, and don’t pace y ou rself too hard, that was a stupid thing to do. Eh, you don’t have to walk very far, so that was great.
M: So how did you feel after all this travelling? How did you feel to stop trav elling? I mean you were on the move alone for months and months ,and suddenly yo u’re here ,and not traveling any more. How does it feel?
W: I was ready to stop anyway. You get pretty sick, wearing the same clothes, a nd washing them in the different hotels. I never stay in the same place for long er than two days. And since I was ready to stop, I don’t think I could keep doi n g it. I mean I’ve met people who’ve been travelling for 2 or 3 years. I couldn' t do it.
M: Yeah, yeah. Maybe it’s something I should try after this.
W: I think you really should.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
News Item 1(For Questions 11-12)
Mike Tyson could sign a deal by Friday to face either Germany’s Axo Shos or Denmark’s Brian Nielsen here on August 21 in the heavy weight’s first fight s in ce his release from jail. The former World Heavy Weight champion was released on Monday after 4 months behind bars for an assault in the wake of a traffic accident last August. His deal with Showtime makes an August come back likely. “Augu s t 21st is certainly a day we’re looking at,” Showtime board director, James Lock en s said , “Hopefully in the next few days we’ll have something concrete”. Nevada boxing officials revoked Tyson’s license for more than a year after he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off in June 1997. But they plan no action on Tyson because the license they granted him to fight doesn’t expire until the end of the year. That came b efore the assault charge had been heard, and with the victim’s support.
News Item 2(For Question 13)
The United States has begun to review Russians documents about the life and death of former president John F. Kennedy, and is expected to release them once the review is complete, the White House said on Monday. The documents which the Russians gave the United States on Sunday would be of particular interest because Kennedy’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald lived in the former Soviet Union for seve r al years before he returned to the United States, and was arrested for killing t he former president on November 22, 1963. Russian President Boris Yeltsin surpri sed US president Bill Clinton on Sunday when he turned over what was described a s the result of exhaustive search of Russian government, military and private ar chives for papers about Kennedy and his assassination.
News Item 3(For Questions 14-15)
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has remained stable at 6.3% in the past 3 mo n ths, as business conditions have improved in the last month Figures indicate th at from March to May this year, the size of the labor force was provisionally at 3,469,000, while the number of the unemployed people stood at 216,000. The numb er of cases of insolvency, sensational businesses and retrenchment, and numbers of workers affected these cases as recorded by the Labor Department have shown a declining trend in recent months. From March to May 1999, 78 such cases involvi ng 3,882 workers were recorded as compared 93 cases affecting 5,220 workers for the 3 months from December 1998 to February 1999. Figures for the period from Ma rch to May 1999 when compared with those from February to April 1999 show an inc rease in the unemployment rate, mainly in renovation, maintenance, whole sale, a nd retail and transport sectors, which offset the decrease in construction, impo rt and export and financing sectors
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
The Press Conference
Press conferences are an all too familiar phenomena around us. However, wh en people start thinking about its advantages, it sometimes seems difficult to t hink of any that press conference provides for the competent news reporter. Use of the press conference by public officials and private entrepreneurs help give rise to the phrase “pseudo-event”, and the event contrived to create news cove rage, where none has considered wanted.
However, having said that, one value of news conference by a public official is the symbolic nature of the event. And perhaps this is reasoned enough to continu e the practice. At a press conference, a public official supposedly submits to e xamination by responding to unsolicited and perhaps hostile questions. A related advantage to the reporter is that press conference offers an opportunity to get the public official on the record, with regard to the government policies. Stat ements from the press conference can serve as criteria against subsequent statem ents and policies are measured. In that regard, press conference information may be used as reference point, more so than comments reported by single news mediu m. Also, when there is a single issue or topic to address, such as a new governm ent program, an earthquake, or the nomination of a new government minister, the press conference offers benefits of efficiency in that officials can speak to a number of reporters at once on the issue of public concern and interest. The pre ss conference may be at its best in this almost one-way format.
Now let’s move on to the disadvantages. And there are serious ones. Genera l ly speaking, the press conference format, as it stands, makes it difficult for t he reporters to get worthwhile information. At press conference, particularly a large one, the well-prepared reporter may never get asked question and certainly is unlikely to have chance to ask follow-up questions. Another disadvantage in the press conference comes from the news source, that is, the news provider. The news source generally decides who asks the questions, determines the length of the answers, and can avoid any follow-up question and rephrase tough questions t o his or her liking, and sets the time, place and duration of the interview. Pre ss conferences televise live for the news audience, sometimes only highlights th e disadvantages for the news reporters since there is little or no time to chall enge, clarify or place context materials provided by the news source. Despite these disadvantages and others inherent how reporters get information, t he dews reporter can help assure the worthwhile information from a news source i n share with the news audience. One way to reduce the likely heard of errors is to use multiple forms of interviewing by telephone, in person, and press confere nces as well as multiple sources, common to the success of these approaches, how ever, are such interrelated ingredient as the preparation of the news reporter, the component of the news source and nature of the questions asked.
Let’s look at the preparation first. The nature of much news coverage re q uires news reporters to be well-read on contemporary events. Like other professi onals and craftsmen, the reporter must keep up to date on journalistic subject m atter, that is the human condition. Although the subject is broad, it offers the advantages that there is a little a reporter can read or witness. That will not help in covering the news at one time or another. Next, being prepared for an interview includes giving some thought to the compet ence of the news source. The relationships between news reporters and news sourc es would benefit the news audience more, if reporters would frequently ask thems elves: What is this news resource competent to talk about? What can this person tell the news audience that few others can? Towards the caution regarding the issue of competence, first, the reporter shoul d not take for granted that, because of position or experience, the news source should know, does know, and can provide information. Second, the competence of t he news source needs to be linked with the news-gathering-methods. Let’s just spend a few minutes on the first point. There are generally 4 condit i ons under which the reporter should not give prints to the news source informati on. One, the source may not know the information the reporter wants. Two, the so urce may have the information and want to share it, but may lack the verbal skil ls or concepts to do so. Three, the source may have the desired information but not to want to share it, or worse, may lie to avoid sharing information. Last, t he source may be willing to share this information but unable to recall it.
Now in addition to preparation of the reporter and competence of the news source, there is one more important ingredient in successful news coverage, that is ,the nature of questions asked. It is generally agreed that the nature of th e question can shape the nature of the answer. General questions like “Are you for market economy” may lead to the respondent saying virtually anything, and s till being rather vague. On the other hand, a too narrow question may limit the respondent to one particular answer only. In order to gather information from news sources as accurately as possible, repo rters can improve the question in the following 5 ways. Firstly, avoid words wit h double meanings. Secondly, avoid long questions. Thirdly, specify the time, pl ace and context you want the respondent to assume, and number 4, it is often hel pful to ask questions in terms of the respondent’s own immediate and recent exp e rience rather than in generalities. Finally, either make explicit all the altern ative the respondent should have in mind when answering the question or make non e of them explicit. Do not leave the news resource by suggesting a desired answe r and not mentioning other alternatives.
OK, to sum up, today’s lecture has covered some of the advantages and dis a dvantages of the press conference, and three important factors and successful ne ws coverage. In our next lecture, we will continue to discuss how to become a co mpetent news reporter.
1-5 ACDDC
6-10 BDBCA
11-15 CABCC
Section d note-taking and gad-filling
1.答案：symbolic
2.答案：reference
3.答案：reporters
4.答案：format
5.答案：disadvantage
6.答案：component
7.答案：competence
8.答案：verbal
9.答案：nature
10.答案：asking
PART ⅡPROOFREADING AND ERROR CORRECTION
1.答案：as→so
2.答案：increasing→increasingly
3.答案：so→but
4.答案：soon或shortly
5.答案：rich→richer
6.答案：asked∧→for
7.答案：involving→involved
8.答案：1ife→living
9.答案：handle→deal或with
10.答案：total→full
READING
16-20 DBADC
21-25 ABDBA
26-30 CBDCA
31-35 ADCAB
36-40 DDBAB
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
參考譯文
Qiao Yu took to fishing in his old age. He said: “Where there is fish and w ater, there is good environment, and good environment fills one’s heart with joy (makes one feel delighted, delights everyone, gives delight to everyone). I thi nk the best place for fishing is not a comfortable man-made fish-pond where hung ry fish are ready (provided) for you, but an enchanting place in the wild where everything is natural. ”Fishing (Angling) is a game that can help improve one’s temperament (character). It is good for mental and bodily health. Qiao Yu said: “Fishing falls into three stages. The first stage is just for eating fish. The s econd stage is for eating fish and for enjoying the pleasure of fishing as well. (The second stage is for enjoying the pleasure of fishing as well as eating fis h. ) The third stage is mainly for the pleasure of fishing facing a pool of gree n water, one casts (throws) aside all anxieties and worries and enjoys (takes) a good rest, both mental and physical.”
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
參考譯文
梭羅所理解的“低層次”，即為了擁有而去擁有，或與所有的鄰居明爭暗斗而致?lián)碛小Ｋ哪恐械摹案邔哟巍?，則是這樣一種積極的人生戒律，即要使自己對自然界永恒之物的感悟臻于完美。對于他從低層次上節(jié)省下來的時間和精力，他可將其致力于對高層次的追求。勿庸置疑，梭羅不贊成忍饑挨餓，但他在膳食方面所投入的精力僅果腹而已，只要可確保他能去從事更為重要的事務(wù)，他便別無所求。
付出努力才是其本質(zhì)所在，除非我們終生與困難為伴，否則就無幸?？烧?。正如濟慈所言，除去不可能做的事，我們一生獲得的滿足有多大，取決于我們選擇的困難有多強。羅伯特•福劑羅斯特談到“苦中求樂”時，也有異曲同工之理。就通常宣傳的幸福而言，其致命弱點在于聲稱不用付出努力即可獲得幸福。
我們甚至在競賽中尋求困難。我們需要困難，因為沒有困難也就無所謂競賽，競賽是制造困難以求得樂趣之道。競賽規(guī)則就是任意強加的困難。違犯競賽規(guī)則就是破壞樂趣。下棋時，隨心所欲，肆意更改強制之規(guī)更易獲勝。然而樂趣源于獲勝而又遵守規(guī)則。沒有困難就沒有樂趣。
寫作
【參考范文】
The Impact of the Internet on Education
The Internet is making the world smaller and is changing every aspect of ou r life. There can be no doubt that the Internet will have greater impact on our society and economy. The impact, in my opinion, will be strongly felt in the asp ect of education.
First, the Internet provides equal opportunities for all students, as long as they can get access to the Internet. In the traditional form of education, st udents who get higher marks in examination may enter a better school, and those who do not have to enter a relatively less good one. With the Internet, every st udent is provided with the same sources of education, so they can get equal oppo rtunities to improve themselves. In that case, the general quality of education will be highly improved in our country.
Second, the Internet poses a challenge, not a danger really to teacher. Tra ditionally, teachers are the dominator of education, and students are fixed to t he instruction of several specific teachers. This, in fact, may result in the la ziness of teachers, since there is no competition. With the Internet, a student may choose any teacher’s instruction as far as he likes it, which is an incentiv e to the faculty of teachers. Faced with this, a teacher is likely to try his be st to improve his instruction and this will in turn improve the educational qual ity of our country.
Last but not least, the internet makes education more convenient for the st udents. A student can learn at any time he likes and, at the same time, save the money spent on tuition and board. All of these may head to a revolution of educ ation.
After ail, I am not exaggerating the influence of the Internet on education . It is true that the Internet may still remain out of the reach of some one and may be less amicable than human teachers. But the point is that, the Internet i s sure to accelerate the development of education.
With the Internet, let us make the education of our country into a better existence.
（責(zé)任編輯：liushengbao）
