38. A. broken out B. exploded C. recorded D. brought about 39. A. hindered B. imposed C. happened D. hit 40. A. participated B. invested C. followed D. pursued 41. A. a large sum of B. a great deal of C. a large number of D. a large amount of
42. A. damaged B. injured C. harmed D. wrecked 43. A. not only the acts of nature B. not only the nature of acts C. not only acts of the nature D. not the only acts of nature 44. A. feared B. surprised C. confused D. afraid 45. A. the bad storm did B. do the bad storms C. the storms did badly D. the bad storms do Ⅲ. Reading Comprehension (50 points)
Task l (2 points each, 10 points in all)
Directions: After reading the following passage, you will find 5 questions or unfinished statements (No.46 through No. 50). For each question or statement there are 4 choices. You should make the correct choice and put the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today? The fact is that family members provide over 80% of the care that elderly people need. In most cases the elderly live in their own homes: A very small percentage of America‘s elderly live in nursing homes.
Samuel Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches about 40 years of age, their parents are usually still alive. The statistics show the change in lifestyles and responsibilities of aging (老龄化) Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents sometime after their own children have grown up. Moreover, because people today live longer after an illness than people did years ago, family members must provide long-term care. These facts also mean that after caregivers provide for their elderly parents, who will eventually die, they will be old and may require care too. When they do, their spouses(配偶) will probably take care of them because they have had fewer children than their parents did. Because Americans are living longer than ever, more social workers have begun to study ways of care-giving to improve the care of the elderly. They have found that all care-givers share a
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common characteristic: They believe that they are the best people for the job. The social workers have also discovered three basic reasons why the caregivers take on the responsibility of caring for an elderly, dependent relative. Many caregivers believe they had an obligation (职责) to help their relatives.
Some think that helping others makes them feel more useful. Others hope that by helping someone now, they will deserve care when they become old and dependent. 46. Samuel Preston's study shows that
A. lifestyles and responsibilities of the elderly are not changing B. most American couples over 40 have no living parents
C. middle-aged Americans have to take care of their children and parents at the same time D. elderly people may need care for a long time because they live longer after an illness 47. Who will most probably take care of the middle-aged Americans when they need care themselves?
A. They themselves. B. Their close friends. C. Their children. D. Their husbands or wives 48. All caregivers believe that they can
A. care for their elderly parents better than any other people B. keeps closer to their old parents by this means C. does much better if they have a job as social workers
D. improve the care of the elderly with the help of the social workers 49. Which of the following is NOT a reason why people look after their relatives? A. They feel they are of use to other people. B. They want to set an example to their children. C. They think it is their duty to help their relatives. D. They hope they deserve care when they need it. 50. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Most old people live longer today after an illness than people did years ago.
B. Many old people are put into nursing homes by their families, who do not visit them regularly.
C. Most elderly people are taken care of by their families, who assume the responsibility for
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different reasons.
D. Most elderly people are satisfied with the better ways of care-giving that social workers have come up with.
Task 2(2 points each, 10 points in all)
Directions: This task is the same as Task l( No.51 through No.55).
I once knew a young man, nineteen years of age, who lived with absolute outward(外表的)confidence and self-possession for a number of years before I discovered that he could not read or write. His various methods of trick, which were also skills of self-protection, were so skillful and so desperate(绝望)that neither I nor any of his other adult friends were aware of his entire helplessness in face of written words until we went to dinner one night at a local restaurant-and suddenly discovered that he could not read.
Even here, it was not the first time we went out to eat, but something like the second or third, that Peter's desperation shocked me. The first time, he was clever enough to cover the truth. He studied the menu for a moment, then looked up to the waitress and asked her if he could have \a coke and a hamburger\He told me later that he had done the same thing many times before and that he had learned to act as if he were examining the menu:\a hamburger
...Sometimes they give me a hamburger on a plate with salad and potatoes...Then I ask them for a roll and make my own hamburger. \
As we began to go out to eat more frequently, Peter would ask to go to Howard Johnson‘s. I soon discovered the reason for his choice: The photographs, attached in cellophane (玻璃纸)containers to each of the standard items on the menu, could help him not to struggle with the shape of words at all. Howard Johnson‘s, whether intentionally or not, had provided the perfect escape for the endangered pride of an adult who was illiterate(文盲). 51. When he went to a restaurant, Peter would . A. pretend that he could not read or write B. pretend to be studying the menu C. be desperate for help from other people D. protect himself by playing a musical instrument 52. The young man was not found to be illiterate until .
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A. he dined out with his adult friends at Howard Johnson's B. he could no longer come up with various ways of deception
C. he had dinner with his friends at a certain local restaurant for the second or third time D. he was not careful enough to be aware of his entire helplessness in face of written words 53. What did the young man usually have at a restaurant?
A. Standard items on the menu. B. A hamburger made by himself. C. Foods that other people ordered. D. A coke and a hamburger. 54. The word\ A. self-confidence B. self-consciousness C. self-discipline D. self-devotion
55. Why did the young man like to go to Howard Johnson's? :
A. Howard Johnson's provided a perfect escape when anything dangerous should happen B. The menu at Howard Johnson's gave a clear introduction of the food it served. C. The photographs attached to the main items on the menu helped conceal his illiteracy D. He would feel at ease because eaters at Howard Johnson's were all adult non-readers
Task 3(3 points each, 15 points in all)
Directions: This task is the same as Task l (No.56 through No. 60).
After practicing as a surgeon for several years, Dr. Giroux decided to apply for membership in the American College of Surgeons(美国外科医生学会),a highly selective and distinguished(著名的) professional organization. As part of the application procedure(手续) ,Dr. Ginoux was asked to prepare a list of all the operations performed in the previous seven years. Slowly, as she worked on the long list, she began to feel uncertain. She began to question some of her decisions. Had she used the best technique in that case? Maybe, in this case, she should have given one more test before operating? On the other hand, maybe she should have...Would the doctors on the selection committee understand that, as the only trained surgeon in the area, she usually could not get advice from others and therefore, had to rely completely on her own judgment? For the first time, Dr. Cinoux felt lonely and isolated.
The longer Dr. Ginoux worked on the application forms,the more depressed she became. As hope faded, she wondered if a \American College of Surgeons.
56. Dr. Ginoux was working in . A. a large city B. the American College of Surgeons C. an area far from any big city D. a selective organization
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