What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined effort, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. Now, much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

21. The writer says that it is a good time to see Britain before the trees have leaves because

A. Britain looks perfect.

B. you can see Britain at its dirtiest. C. you can see how dirty Britain is now. D. the grass has thickened on the verges.

22. According to the writer, things used to be___________.

A. worse abroad. B. the same abroad. C. better abroad.

D. worse, but now things are better abroad.

23. To solve the problem of plastic bags, Michael Meacher__________

A. followed the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

B. tried to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

C. made no attempt to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags. D. had problems with the plastics industry who weren't bothered about the tax.

24. As to what can be done, the writer thinks __________

A. it is too late to do anything. B. we are at the tipping point.

C. there is more than one way to solve the problem. D. we need to work together to solve the problem.

25. The writer thinks that__________

A. people are squalid.

B. people behave according to what they see around them. C. people are clean and tidy.

D. people are like a vast municipal rubbish tip.

Passage Three

The men who planned and constructed the first American railroads were men of great vision. They predicted that their “iron horses” would open vast expanses of land to farming and industry. They knew that towns would spring up along the new railroads. Yet few of these pioneers could have guessed that American railroads would establish the system of time used throughout most of the world today.

Until the 1880s, all time in the United States was sun time. Farmers set their clocks to noon when the sun appeared to be overhead. In towns, people set their clocks by a courthouse clock or

factory whistles. One town’s time was often different from the time in a neighboring town.

As the new railroads expanded, large numbers of people began to travel. But the railroads were unable to print accurate timetables when most towns along their tracks have their clocks set differently. There was need for a change, and the railroads led in planning it.

In 1883, railroads in the United States and Canada adopted standard time, a system which divided the continent into four time zones. Within each zone, all railroad clocks were set to an identical time. When it was noon in the Eastern Zone, it was nine o’clock in the Pacific Zone. Railroad time signals were sent out by the newly-invented telegraph.

Standard time quickly spread. Traveling businessmen set their watches to correspond to the railroad clocks. Factories and schools followed the railroad’s lead. Soon, nearly everyone in the United States and Canada was using the four-zone time system – standard time.

Today, nearly all the world keeps standard time according to an international system of twenty-four time zones.

26. Implied but not directly stated: ___________.

A. Farmers set their clocks according to the factory whistles B. The correct time was not too important before the 1800s C. Only people who traveled on trains ever knew time D. A standard system was set up by the pioneers

27. On the whole, the article tells about __________.

A. pioneers who rode on “iron horses” B. large numbers of people who traveled C. the establishment of standard time

D. the accurate timetable in the United States

28. Which statement does this article lead you to believe?

A. Accurate timetelling is important in many industries. B. Accurate time is important only in the United States. C. Accurate time is owned by the men who built railroads. D. Accurate time is owned by pioneers.

29. Why weren’t railroads able to print accurate timetables?

A. Towns along the tracks set their clocks differently. B. No one was able to read timetables that were accurate. C. Farmers preferred to read the sun instead of timetables. D. Railroad workers had no watches.

30. What does the word “identical” mean?

A. different B. difficult C. similar

D. understandable

Passage Four

Until recently, women in advertisements were one of three things – an apron, a glamorous dress or a frown. Although that is now changing, many women still feel angry enough to deface offending advertisements with stickers protesting. “This ad degrades women.” Why does this sort of advertising exist? How can advertisers and ad agencies produce, sometimes, after months of research, advertisements that offend the consumer?

The advertising Standards Authority (the body which deals with complaint about print media) is carrying out research into how women feel about the way they are portrayed in advertisements. Its conclusions are likely to be what the advertising industry already knows; although women are often irritated by the way they are seen in ads, few feel strongly enough to complain.

Women are not only the victims of poor and boring stereotypes – in many TV commercials men are seen neither as useless, childish oafs who are unable to perform the simplest household tasks, or as in considerate boors, permanently on the lookout for an escape to the pub. But it is women who seem to bear the impact of the industry’s apparent inability to put people into an authentic present-day context. Yet according to Emma Bennett, executive creative director of a London advertising agency, women are not infuriated by stereotypes and sexist advertising. It tends to wash over them. They are not militant or angry – they just find it annoying or tiresome. They reluctantly accept outdated stereotypes, but heave a sigh of relief when an advertisement really gets it right. She says that it is not advertising’s use of the housewife role that bothers women, but the way in which it’s handled. “Researchers have often asked the wrong questions. The most important thing is the advertisement’s tone of voice. Women hate being patronized, flattered or given desperately down-to-earth commonsense advice.” In the end, the responsibility for good advertising must be shared between the advertiser, the advertising agency and the consumer. Advertising does not set trends but it reflects them. It is up to the consumers to tell advertisers where they fail, and until people on the receiving end take the business seriously and make their feelings known, the process of change will remain laboriously slow.

31. Despite recent changes in attitudes, some advertisements still fail to __________.

A. change women’s opinions of themselves B. show any understanding of people’s feelings C. persuade the public to buy certain products D. meet the needs of the advertising products

32. According to the writer, the commonest fault of present-day advertising is to __________.

A. condemn the role of the housewife B. ignore protests about advertisement C. present a misleading image of women D. meet the needs of the advertising industry

33. Research suggests that the reaction of women towards misrepresentation by advertisements is

__________. A. indifference B. hostility C. consent

D. unbelief

34. Emma Bennett suggests that advertisement ought to __________.

A. give further emphasis on practice

B. use male images instead of female ones C. change their style rather than their content D. pay more compliments to women than before

35. Ultimately the advertising industry should __________.

A. take its job more earnestly B. do more pioneering work

C. take notice of the public opinion

D. concentrate on the products advertised

Part III Vocabulary and Structure (20 points)

Directions: There are 40 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are 4 choices

marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that best completes the sentence. Mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.

36. Access __________ the paper is restricted to senior management.

A. to B. with C. for D. in

37. Employees can buy books __________ a discount.

A. for B. of C. at D. in

38. I was looking forward to working __________ her expert guidance.

A. in B. on C. under D. at

39. Canceling the conference will __________ a very bad impression .

A. get B. do C. make D. give

40. He looked shocked, then burst __________ laughter.

A. to B. in C. upon D. into

41. What __________ him most was that he had received no apology. A. worried B. annoyed C. challenged D. troubled

42. I don't __________ of cosmetic surgery.

A. contend B. improve C. approve D. consent

43. The firm will __________ workers for their loss of earnings. A. pay B. compensate C. comfort D. charge

44. A security officer at the factory, who __________ to give his name, said he had seen two men