has been to move open-plan areas to more desirable locations within the office and create fewer formal private offices. The need for increased flexibility has also been 44 by changes in workstation design. Offices and work spaces often are not 45 to a given person on a permanent basis. Because of changes to methods of working, new designs allow for expansion or movement of desks, storage, and equipment within the workstation. Another important design goal is communication, which designers have improved by lowering the walls that 46 workstations. Designers have also created informal gathering places, and upgraded employees’ 47 to heavily trafficked areas such as copy and coffee rooms.

Corporate and institutional office designers often struggle to resolve a number of competing and often 48 demands, including budgetary limits, employee hierarchies, and technological innovation（especially in relation to computerization）. These demands must also be balanced with the need to create interiors（内饰）that in some way enhance, establish, or promote a company’s image and will enable employees to 49 at their best.

All these 50 of office design are related. The most successful office designs are like a good marriage --- the well-designed office and the employees that occupy it are seemingly made for each other.

III. Reading Comprehension Section A

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

If you studied pictures that ancient people left on rock walls and you tried to determine their meaning, you would not detect a deep interest in romance among the artists. 51 , you would see plenty of animals with people running after them. Life for ancient people seemed to center on hunting and gathering wild foods for meals.

In modern times, when food is available in grocery stores, finding love is more 52 to people’s lives. The 53 is all around us. It is easy to prepare a list of modern stories having to do with love. An endless number of books and movies qualify as love stories in popular culture.

Researchers are studying whether love, a highly valued emotional state, can be 54 . They ask, what is love? Toothpaste companies want us to think attraction is all about clean teeth, but clean teeth go only so far. Scientists wonder how much the brain gets involved. You have probably heard that opposites attract but that 55 attract, too. One thing is certain: The truth about love is not yet set in stone. First Impression

To help determine the 56 of attraction, researchers paired 164 college classmates and had them talk for 3, 6 or 10 minutes so they could get a sense of each other’s individuality. Then students were asked to 57 what kind of relationship they were likely to build with their partners. After nine weeks, they reported what happened.

As it turned out, their 58 judgments often held true. Students seemed to 59 at an early stage who would best fit into their lives. The 60 Knows

Scientists have also turned to nonhumans to increase understanding of attraction. Many animals give off pheromones — natural chemicals that can be detected by, and then can produce a response in, other animals of the same species. Pheromones can signal that an animal is either ready to fight or is feeling 61 to partnerships. In contrast, humans do not seem to be as 62 as other animals at detecting such chemicals. Smell, however, does seem to play a part in human attraction. Although we may not be aware of chemicals like pheromones consciously, we give and receive loads of information through smell in every interaction with other people. Face Value

Being fond of someone seems to have a number of factors, including seeing something we find attractive. Researchers had people judge faces for 63 . The participants had 0.013 seconds to view each face, yet somehow they generally considered the images the same as people who had more time to study the same faces. The way we 64 attractiveness seems to be somewhat automatic.

When shown an attractive face and then words with good or bad associations, people responded to 65 words faster after viewing an attractive face. Seeing something attractive seems to cause happy thinking.

51. A. Instead 52. A. romantic 53. A. priority 54. A. tested 55. A. appearances 56. A. illustrations 57. A. predict 58. A. critical 59. A. memorize 60. A. Nose 61. A. open 62. A. disappointed 63. A. emotions 64. A. enhance 65. A. familiar

B. Therefore B. stressful B. proof B. imposed B. virtues B. implications B. investigate B. initial B. distinguish B. Eye B. alert B. amazed B. attractiveness B. possess B. plain

C. Moreover C. central C. possibility C. changed C. similarities C. ingredients C. diagnose C. random C. negotiate C. Heart C. resistant C. confused C. individuality C. maintain C. positive

D. Otherwise D. beneficial D. principle D. created D. passions D. intentions D. recall D. mature D. question D. Hand D. superior D. gifted D. signals D. asses D. irritating

Section B

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

(A)

Look to many of history’s cultural symbols, and there you’ll find an ancestor of Frosty, the snowman in the

movie Frozen. It appeared on some of the first postcards, starred in some of the earliest silent movies, and was the subject of a couple of the earliest photos, dating all the way back to the 1800s. I discovered even more about one of humanity’s earliest forms of folk art during several years of research around the world.

For example, snowmen were a phenomenon in the Middle Ages, built with great skill and thought. At a time

of limited means of expression, snow was like free art supplies dropped from the sky. It was a popular activity for couples to leisurely walk through town to view the temporary works of chilly art. Some were created by famous artists, including a 19-year-old Michelangelo, who in 1494 was appointed by the ruler of Florence, Italy, to build a snowman in his mansion’s courtyard.

The Miracle of 1511 took place during six freezing weeks called the Winter of Death. The city of Brussels was

covered in snowmen—an impressive scene that told stories on every street corner. Some were political in nature, criticizing the church and government. Some were a reflection of people’s imagination. For the people of Brussels, this was a defining moment of artistic freedom. At least until spring arrived, by which time they were dealing with damaging floods.

If you fear the heyday of the snowman has passed, don’t worry: I’ve learned that some explosive snowman

history is still being made today. Every year since 1818, the people of Zurich, Switzerland, celebrate the beginning of spring by blowing up a snowman. On the third Monday of April, the holiday Sechsel?uten is kicked off when a cotton snowman called the B??gg is stuffed with explosive and paraded through town by bakers and other tradesmen who throw bread to the crowds. The parade ends with the B??gg being placed on a 40-foot pile of firewood. After the bells of the Church of St. Peter have rung six times, representing the passing of winter, the pile is lit. When the snowman explodes, winter is considered officially over—the quicker it is burnt down, the longer summer is said to be.

66. According to the passage, why did snowmen become a phenomenon in the Middle Ages?

A. People thought of snow as holy art supplies. B. People longed to see masterpieces of snow.

C. Building snowmen was a way for people to express themselves. D. Building snowmen helped people develop their skill and thought.

67. “The heyday of the snowman” (paragraph 4) means the time when___________.

A. snowmen were made mainly by artists B. snowmen enjoyed great popularity C. snowmen were politically criticized D. snowmen caused damaging floods

68. In Zurich, the blowing up of the Boogg symbolizes__________________.

A. the start of the parade B. the coming of a longer summer C. the passing of the winter D. the success of tradesmen

69. What can be concluded about snowmen from the passage?

(B)

A. They were appreciated in history B. They have lost their value C. They were related to movies D. They vary in shape and size