U3 reading comprehension

Part 1 Reading comprehension (Each item: 1 point(s))

Directions: Read the following passages carefully. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished sentences. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the best answer to each question. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the same passage or dialog.

An additional life phase between adolescence and adulthood has been added. Too often, when young adults have not yet accomplished many of the tasks and challenges commonly expected of them after they leave college, they are characterized as \

Many parents continue to hope, and perhaps expect, that their children will know clearly about their career aspirations and be actively on the path toward a professional life by graduation day. Often, they get their wish. Many graduates, however, complete college with considerable career uncertainty. They may need a period of post-graduate exploration and experimentation before coming close to a career choice that feels right to them. In my psychotherapy (心理治疗) practice, I have seen many youngsters who either referred themselves for help or were referred by concerned others, typically their parents. The anxiety or depression they reported is often related to phase-of-life. Some young adults feel unprepared when they leave home or college and try to establish a separate and independent life. Others, however, similarly depressed or anxious, simply may not have yet figured out the terms and conditions of their adulthood, including career choice.

Some universities are working to create a program to send their newly admitted students for a year of social service work in a foreign country before they set foot on campus as freshmen. Such a program would give students a more international perspective, which will add to their maturity and give them a break from academic pressures. Similarly, growing numbers of high school students have chosen to take a \

Some parents may worry, however, that once their children get away from the traditional pattern of high school-college they may lose interest in attending university. In fact, the \year\makes \odyssey years\more meaningful as these young adults try to figure out how to establish their future career. 1. Why are young adults sometimes characterized as \ A. They don't really accomplish much after graduation. B. They lost their energy in searching for jobs. C. They face many challenges in their career. D. They simply couldn't do anything.

2. What should graduates with career uncertainty do?

A. They should know clearly about their career aspirations. B. They should be actively on the path toward their career. C. They need to consult with people who're experienced. D. They need a period of post-graduate exploration.

3. What's the purpose for some young people to go to psychotherapy? A. They are unable to be independent. B. They want to make their parents happy. C. They want to know how to handle their life. D. They are unprepared for their career choice.

4. Why do universities want to send students to a foreign country? A. It is to enable students to burn out stress. B. It is to broaden students' horizons.

C. It is to let students become more mature. D. It is to make sure students won't be lost.

5. What message does the author want to send out?

A. Parents should stop worrying about their children's career. B. Young people are following a different pattern of life.

C. It's necessary for young adults to take a year off to explore their life. D. Young adults should figure out how to establish their future career. Questions 6 to 10 are based on the same passage or dialog.

As the first generations to grow up in a wired world, teenagers hardly know a time when computers weren't around, and they leap at the chance to spend hours online, chatting with friends and searching the web for their interested topics. So what?

But researchers nationwide are increasingly concerned that teenagers are becoming more isolated, less skillful at interpersonal relationships, and perhaps numb to the small-or-big cheating that is so much a part of the e-mail world. Researchers are asking just how the futures of teenagers are changed when so many of them are spending hours on the Internet each day, replacing face-to-face contact with computer contact.

Teens, who used computers even just a few hours a week, showed increased signs of loneliness and social isolation. These teens have fewer friends to hang around with, possibly because their computer time has replaced the hours they would have spent with others. They don't see anything strange in the fact that the computer screen occupies a central place in their social lives. They think school is stressful and busy. There's almost no time to just hang out. Talking online is just catch-up time.

Many teens acknowledge there's an unreal quality to their cyberspace communication, including their odd shorthand terms, such as POS (parent over shoulder) or LOL (laughing out loud). This code is considered as part of the exclusive shared language that teenagers love. When it comes to e-mail exchanges, teens also show a remarkable

tolerance for each other's excuses or tricks. Nor are they surprised when a mere acquaintance unloads a personal secret through e-mail. Nobody seems to expect the online world to be the same as the real world.

Teens say they also appreciate the ability to edit what they say online, or take the time to think about a response. As cowardly as it may seem, some teens admit that asking someone for a date, or breaking up, can be easier in message form. But they insist there's no harm intended, and cyberspace has become just another medium, like the telephone, in the world of teenagers.

6. Why are researchers asking how the futures of teenagers are changed? A. Teens don't know about a life without computers around. B. Teens are becoming more isolated and less skillful. C. Teens can easily get trapped into the e-mail world.

D. Teens are spending too much time on the Internet each day. 7. Why do teens spend much time on the Internet? A. They have fewer friends to hang out with. B. They don't see their social life strange. C. They think school is too stressful and busy. D. They think talking online can catch up time.

8. Which statement illustrates how teens think about the Internet? A. Cyberspace communication is not the real world.

B. The Internet enables them to share their odd shorthand terms. C. They enjoy uploading their own information through email. D. Excuses and tricks in emails are normal and tolerable. 9. Why has cyberspace become another medium for teens? A. Breaking up with girlfriends or boyfriends is easier. B. Using cyberspace brings them a lot of convenience. C. They can easily edit what they want to say online.

D. They feel more comfortable when express ideas by messages. 10. What is the major negative effect on teenagers using cyberspace? A. They don't spend time doing homework. B. They don't hand out with their friends.

C. They become more isolated and socially awkward. D. They become more cowered in communication. Questions 11 to 15 are based on the same passage or dialog.

When important events are happening around the world, most people turn to traditional media sources, such as CNN and BBC, for their news. However, now people can write diaries and post them on a web site, known as a \for \are online diaries, usually kept by individuals, but sometimes by companies and other groups of people. They are the fastest growing type of web site on the Internet.

A blog differs from a traditional web site in several ways. Most importantly, it is

updated much more regularly. Many blogs are updated every day, and some are updated several times a day. Also, most blogs use special software or web sites which are specifically aimed at bloggers, so you don't need to be a computer expert to create your own blog. This means that ordinary people who may find computers difficult to use can easily set up and start writing their own blog.

There are many different kinds of blogs. The most popular type is an online diary of links, where the blog writer surfs the Internet and then posts links to sites or new articles that they find interesting, with a few comments about each one. Other types are personal diaries, where the writers talk about their life and feelings. Sometimes these blogs can be very personal.

There is another kind of blogging, called \Mobloggers use mobile phones with cameras to take photos, which are posted instantly to the Internet. The use of mobile phones in this way made the headlines in Singapore when a high school student posted on the Internet a movie he had taken of a teacher shouting at another student and tearing up the student's homework. Many people were shocked by the student posting a video of the incident on the Internet.

As blogs become more common, news reporting will rely less on big media companies and more on ordinary people posting news to the Internet. Possibly, the news will be less like a lecture and more like a conversation, where anyone can join in. 11. What is the main idea of this passage? A. The history of the Internet.

B. The introduction of new types of media. C. The increase in popularity of computers. D. growing number of people writing diaries. 12. To start your own blog, what do you need most? A. Special software. B. An Internet account.

C. An interesting point of view. D. Access to the Internet. 13. What is the most significant difference between blogs and traditional web sites?

A. Blogs are updated much more often. B. Blogs use special software.

C. Blogs contain links to other web sites. D. Blogs contain personal information. 14. What is \

A. Mobile phones that made the headlines in Singapore. B. Use phones to take photos and then post them online. C. Negative news posted on the Internet. D. Pictures posted instantly to the Internet.

15. According to the passage, which one is most likely to happen in the future? A. Everyone will have a blog.

B. Large media companies will be unnecessary.

C. People will learn the news from different points of view. D. Blogging technology will be banned.

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Have you ever flown? Did you fly to another country to study English? How do you feel about flying? People who have to fly all the time for business usually find it boring. People who fly only once in a while are excited. However, some people feel only terror when they board an airplane. They suffer from a phobia, an illogical fear.

If you are afraid of poisonous spiders (有毒蜘蛛), this is logical. If you are afraid of all spiders, even harmless ones, this is a phobia because it is illogical. Some people have phobias about heights being shut up in a small or large open area. It's not logical to be afraid of these things when there is no danger, but a phobia is not logical.

Fear of flying is another phobia. We always hear about a plane crash, but we don't hear about the millions of flights every year that are safe. Riding in a car is thirty times more dangerous than flying, but most of us are not afraid every time we get into a car. It is not logical to be afraid of flying, but research shows that about 12 percent of people have this fear.

People with a phobia about flying are afraid for one or more reasons. They are afraid of heights. They avoid high places, and if they are in a high-rise building, they don't look out the windows.

They might be afraid of being in an enclosed place like an elevator or a tunnel on a highway. When they get on an airplane, they can't get out until the end of the flight, and the flight might last several hours or even more. Maybe they are afraid of the crowds and all the noise and people rushing around at an airport. This especially bothers older people.

Some people are afraid of the unknown. They don't understand the technology of flying and can't believe that a huge airplane can stay up in the air. Though some people are afraid of flying, for many people it's not important because they don't really need to fly. 16. ________ usually think flying is boring. A. People who fly once in a while

B. People who fly often on business trips C. People who have a phobia about flying

D. People who feel terror once they board a plane 17. According to the passage, a phobia refers to ________. A. a chemical that causes terror

B. an illogical way of reaction

C. a reliable way of predicting danger D. a harmful way of thinking 18. A person with a fear of enclosed places doesn't like ________. A. walking on a path B. staying in high places C. being in a tunnel

D. driving a car by himself 19. ________ especially bother old people. A. Crowds at airports B. High-rise buildings C. Dangerous spiders D. An enclosed place 20. What does the author want to say through this passage? A. Riding on a car is much safer than riding on a plane. B. car, though smaller, is more reliable than a plane. C. Travelling by an airplane is not suitable to everyone. D. It is illogical to be afraid of taking airplanes.

Part 2 Vocabulary and Structure (Each item: 1 point(s))

Directions: For each of the following sentences there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one to complete each sentence.

1. The winter was very severe, especially at night, so the mom had to put an extra blanket over the baby for fear that __________. A. he catches a cold B. he be catching a cold C. he caught a cold

D. he would catch a cold

2. He might have been killed __________ the timely arrival of the ambulance and immediate operation in the hospital. A. besides B. except for C. but for D. except

3. Mr. Forbes is getting more irresponsible. __________ will he be able to regain the trust and confidence of the company. A. With hard work

B. Only if he works hardly C. Only with hard work D. In spite of his hard work

4. Since our research so far has not produced any answers to the problem, we need to adopt a different __________ to it.

A. approach B. manner C. style D. method

5. He wanted to become a writer, but his father didn't think it was a __________ profession, so he had to give it a second thought. A. respectful B. respective C. respectable D. respecting