The report’s writers state that America’s failure to invest in infrastructure impacts not only the health of the real-estate market, but also our ability to remain globally competitive.

Apart from the specific trends highlighted above, which cause some investors to worry, the report portrays an overall optimism borne by the recent healthy real-estate “upcycle” and improving economy. Seventy-four percent of the respondents surveyed report a “good to excellent” expectation of real-estate profitability in 2015. While excessive optimism can promote bad investment patterns, resulting in a real- estate “bubble,” the report’s writers downplay that potential outcome in that it has not yet occurred. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46. According to the new report, real estate development in 2015 will witness_______ . A) an accelerating speed

B) a shift to city centers C) a new focus on small cities D) an ever-increasing demand

47. What characterizes “24-hour cities” like New York? A) People can live without private cars. B) People are generally more competitive. C) People can enjoy services around the clock. D) People are in harmony with the environment.

48. Why are Millennials reluctant to buy a house? A) They can only afford small apartments. B) The house prices are currently too high. C) Their parents' bad experience still haunts them.

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D) They feel attached to the suburban environment.

49. What might hinder real estate development in the U.S.? A) The continuing economic recession in the country. B) The lack of confidence on the part of investors. C) The fierce global competition. D) The worsening infrastructure.

50. How do most of the respondents in the survey feel about the U.S. real-estate market in 2015? A) Pessimistic. C) Cautious.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

The brain is a seemingly endless library, whose shelves house our most precious memories as well as our lifetime’s knowledge. But is there a point where it reaches capacity?

The answer is no, because brains are more sophisticated than that. Instead of just crowding in, old information is sometimes pushed out of the brain for new memories to form.

Previous behavioural studies have shown that learning new information can lead to forgetting. But in a new study, researchers demonstrated for the first time how this effect occurs in the brain.

In daily life, forgetting actually has clear advantages. Imagine, for instance, that you lost your bank card. The new card you receive will come with a new personal identificatipn number (PIN). Each time you remember the new PIN, you gradually forget the old one. This process improves access to relevant information, without old memories interfering.

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B) Hopeful. D) Uncertain.

And most of us may sometimes feel the frustration of having old memories interfere with new, relevant memories. Consider trying to remember where you parked your car in the same car park you were at a week earlier. This type of memory (where you are trying to remember new, but similar information) is particularly vulnerable to interference.

When we acquire new information, the brain automatically tries to incorporate (合并)it within existing information by forming associations. And when we retrieve (检索) information, both the desired and associated but irrelevant information is recalled.,

The majority of previous research has focused on how we learn and remember new information. But current studies are beginning to place greater emphasis on the conditions under which we forget, as its importance begins to be more appreciated.

A very small number of people are able to remember almost every detail of their life. While it may sound like an advantage to many, people with this rare condition often find their unusual ability burdensome.

In a sense, forgetting is our brain’s way of sorting memories, so the most relevant memories are ready for retrieval. Normal forgetting may even be a safety mechanism to ensure our brain doesn’t become too full.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

51. What have past behavioural studies found about our brain? A) Its capacity actually knows no limits. B) It grows sophisticated with practice.

C) It keeps our most precious memories until life’s end.

D) New information learned pushes old information out.

52. What is the benefit of forgetting? A) It frees us from painful memories.

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B) It helps slow down our aging process. C) It facilitates our access to relevant information.

D) It prevents old information from forming associations.

53. What is the emphasis of current studies of memory? A) When people tend to forget. B) What contributes to forgetting.

C) How new technology hinders memory capacity.

D) Why learning and forgetting arc complementary.

54. What do people find about their rare ability to remember every detail of their life? A) It adds to the burden of their memory. B) It makes their life more complicated. C) It contributes to their success in life.

D) It constitutes a rare object of envy.

55. What does the passage say about forgetting? A) It can enlarge our brain capacity. B) It helps get rid of negative memories. C) It is a way of organising our memories. D) It should not cause any alarm in any way.

Part IV Translation (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. 编辑版word