part ii reading comprehension (35 minutes)
directions:there are four reading passages in this part. each passage is followed by some questions. for each question there are four suggested answers marked a,b,c and d, you should choose the one best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a pencil.
passage 1
legal and accounting firms throughout australia could streamline their advice to clients seeking a divorce with a new expert program that “thinks" like family court judges.
the software package, appropriately called “split up" was developed by dr. john zeleznikow and a team of researchers in la trobe university's department of computer science.
it is the first in the world designed to weigh up court judgments in previous cases to predict the way property would be divided for a particular divorce if proceeded to court.
while anyone can get a divorce, the rules on the division of property are up to the judge. deciding who gets what is a complex procedure based on future needs and past contributions.
split up, which can be installed on any pc, asks a sequence of relevant questions about the health, work history, children, property and future needs of the partners in a divorce. it then decides what percentage allocation to each partner would be in court and provides a series of arguments in favour of the decision.
its major advantage, says dr. zeleznikow, is that people are less likely to litigate once they know the likely court outcome. “let's say the program predicts that each partner will get $250 000 from a property settlement. if they go to court the cost to each could be $ 50 000 to litigate. this is a powerful incentive to negotiate instead."
the la trobe research team has attracted international attention for its devleopment of systems which can reason with both statutes (rules) and precedents (cases). the systems are being used in fields which include legal aid and credit law.
1. in the passage means “previous cases”.
a. statutes
b. precedents
c. clients
d. incentives
2. what is not taken into consideration during a divorce case?
a. the family house.
b. the bank deposit.
c. the time duration of the marriage.
d. children's education.
3. split up can do all but .
a. to persuade the judge that its decision is the right one
b. to recall past divorce cases when necessary
c. to seek and then process the information it need
d. to do complex calculation and reasoning
4. the second “it" in para. 3 refers to .
a. the software
b. a previous case
c. the way the property would be divided
d. a particular divorce
5. what is not implied in the passage?
a. family law court judges judge according to both rules and precedents.
b. if the parties in a divorce know they will not profit from a lawsuit, they would settle outside the court.
c. there is clear-cut law on how to divide property between parties in a divorce.
d. split up will help reduce the number of divorce cases presented in court.
passage 2
the producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted in the market places despite their product's obvious advantages. furthermore, the advertising expenditure for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee. efforts were made to find the cause of the consumers seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product. the reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. the producer suspected that there might be deeper reasons, however. this was confirmed by one of motivation research's classic studies, one often cited in the trade.
mason haire, of the university of california, constructed two shopping lists that were identical except for one item. there were six items common to both lists: hamburger, carrots, bread, baking powder, canned peaches, and potatoes, with the brands or amounts specified. the seventh item, in fifth place on both lists, read “one pound maxwell house coffee" on the list and “nescafe instant coffee" on the other. one list was given to each one in a group of fifty women, and the other list to those in the other group of the same size. the women were asked to study their list and then to describe, as far as they could, the kind of woman (“personality and character")who would draw up that shopping list. nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. on the other hand, only one woman in the other group described the housewife, who had included regular coffee on her list, as lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was probably not a good wife. no one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the housewife who intended to buy regular coffee.
6. in the opinion of instant coffee producers, .
a. people should buy regular coffee
b. regular coffee is superior to instant coffee
c. instant coffee should have a good market because of its obvious advantages
d. the advertising expenditure for regular coffee is very great
7. in this instance, the purpose of motivation study was to discover .
a. why there were deeper reasons
b. why instant coffee did not taste good
c. why regular coffee was successful
d. the reason why people resisted instant coffee
8. the list on which “nescafe instant coffee" was written as an item was given to a group consisting of .
a. 7 people
b. 7 women
c. 14 people
d. 50 women "
9. on the result of this test, the producers of instant coffee probably would advertise on tv to show a .
a. lazy wife drinking instant coffee
b. stupid wife using instant coffee
c. hard-working woman drinking instant coffee
d. good wife using regular coffee
10. which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
a. it is reasonable for people to resist instant coffee.
b. advertising does not always assure favorable sales results.
c. people pay little attention to advertising.
d. regular coffee has better taste than instant coffee.
passage 3
it is a curious fact that as we leave the most impoverished peoples of the world, where the human being with his too few calories of energy scratches out for himself a bare subsistence, we find the economic insecurity of the individual many times multiplied. the solitary eskimo, bushman, indonesian, nigerian, left to his own devices, will survive a considerable time. living close to the soil or to their animal prey, the peoples with the lowest standard of living in the world can sustain their own lives, at least for a while, almost single-handed. with a community numbering only a few hundred, they can live indefinitely. indeed, a very large percentage of the human race today lives in precisely such fashion - in small, virtually self-contained peasant communities which provide for their own survival with a minimum of contact with the outside world. this large majority of mankind suffers great poverty, but it also knows a certain economic independence.
when we turn to the new yorker or the chicagoan, on the other hand, we are struck by exactly the opposite condition, by a prevailing ease of material life, coupled at the same time by an extreme dependence of the individual in his search for the means of existence. in the great metropolitan areas where most americans live, we can no longer imagine the solitary individual or the small community surviving, short of robbing for food and necessities. the majority of americans have never grown food, caught game, raised meat, ground grain into flour. faced with the challenge of clothing themselves or building their own homes, they would be hopelessly untrained and unprepared. even to make minor repairs in the machines which surround them, they must call on other members of the community whose business it is to fix cars, or to repair plumbing, or whatever. perhaps, the richer the nation, the more apparent is this inability of its average inhabitant to survive unaided and alone.
11. which is the best title for this passage?
a. the poor and the rich.
b. the individual and the society.
c. the division of labor.
d. the making of a society.
12. “left to his own devices" in line 4, para. 1 most probably means .
a. to be left alone
b. to be left to make plans
c. to be left to invent new devices
d. to be left to devil
13. it is most likely to find people like robinson crusoe
a. in great metropolitan area
b. in a large community
c. in modern america
d. near the north pole
14. which of the following is indicated in the passage?
a. modern american society is a self-contained society.
b. division of labor improves efficiency.
c. the survival ability of a man is decided by the degree of his dependence on others.
d. a man living alone will survive longer than a man living in a small community.
15. one can not make a living in modern america by .
a. buying things one need from stores
b. hiring the services of others
c. robbing others of food and necessities
d. learning to do things all by oneself
passage 4
if women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame. because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. when you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
no one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability. they are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. there can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
when comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualites of inconstancy and instability? men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? that is for you to decide.
16. designers and big stores always make money .
a. by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry
b. because they are capable of predicting new fashions
c. by constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing
d. because they attach great importance to quality in women's clothing
17. to the writer, the fact that women alter their old -fashioned dresses is seen as .
a. a waste of money
b. a waste of time
c. an expression of taste
d. an expression of creativity
18. the writer would be less critical if fashion designers placed more stress on the of clothing.
a. cost
b. appearance
c. comfort
d. suitability
19. according to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
a. new fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.
b. the constant changes in women's clothing reflect their strength of character.
c. the fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.
d. fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.
20. by saying “the conclusions to be drawn are obvious"(paragraph 4), the writer means that .
a. women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing if often laughed at
b. women are better able to put up with discomfort
c. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers
d. men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion
part iii vocabulary and structure (20 minutes)
directions: there are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. for each sentence there are four choices marked a., b., c. and d.. choose the one answer that best completes the sentence. then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the centre.
21. enquires the condition of patients may be made personally or by telephone.
a. revealing
b. concerning
c. affecting
d. containing
22. the king's order has been very well .
a. put to rights
b. put through
c. put into effect
d. put forth
23. the child disturbed the class.
a. continuously
b. continually
c. considerably
d. contrarily
24. something that is is not relevant to the subject that you are considering or discussing.
a. out of place
b. in no case
c. to the point
d. beside the point
25. some days go by much more quickly than others. some hours seem as if they .
a. would never end
b. will never end
c. might never end
d. should never end
26. his ignorance of the best ways of investing in the stock market brought him on the of ruin.
a. bank
b. peak
c. edge
d. break
27. as more and more facts were revealed, the conclusion became .
a. apparent
b. visible
c. logical
d. reasonable
28. he declined the invitation partly because he was busy and .
a. for lack of money
b. partly because his lack of money
c. partly because he lacked money
d. partly his lack of money
29. there was a good of the countryside from the front of the bus.
a. sight
b. view
c. look
d. scenery
30. the smiths have bought a vase in the department store.
a. beautiful large green chinese
b. green large beautiful chinese
b. beautiful green large chinese
d. chinese large green beautiful
31. money, he is quite rich, but this does not mean he is happy.
a. as to
b. in terms of
c. concerning
d. in the light of
32. we must that the telegram arrives in time.
a. assure
b. endure
c. ensure
d. secure
33. let me take this to thank you publicly for all you have done for our company.
a. occasion
b. chance
c. opportunity
d. occurrence
34. when jane fell off the bike, the other children .
a. were not able to help laughing
b. could not help but laughing
c. could not help laughing
d. could not help laugh
35. in order to be issued a passport, one must either present legal documents or call a witness to give concerning one's identity.
a. reference
b. evidence
c. indication
d. confidence
36. peter will what his parents expect of him.
a. watch out for
b. live up to
c. stand up to
d. get along with
37. there are many on the scene of the accident.
a. lookers-on
b. lookers-ons
c. looker-ons
d. looker-on
38. i don't care we are invited to the dinner.
a. if or not
b. whether or not
c. what
d. that
39. the country has a system of , most of which date from 19th century.
a. channels
b. rivers
c. streams
d. canals
40. the experience might be very to her.
a. thankful
b. thoughtful
c. helpful
d. successful
41. watt carefully what was happening at the time.
a. objected
b. attempted
c. delivered
d. observed
42. that famous actor seems content to play a minor in the play.
a. part
b. act
c. character
d. player
43. recently there has been a great for small cars that use little petrol.
a. claim
b. application
c. request
d. demand
44. the school authority doesn't permit on campus.
a. demonstrate
b. to demonstrate
c. to hold a demonstration
d. demonstrating
45. the class had a short break, then the teacher his lecture.
a. proceeded
b. proceeded to
c. proceeded from
d. proceeded with
46. to take no notice of something is to it.
a. forget
b. ignore
c. refuse
d. lose sight of
47. the reason she failed in the exam was .
a. that she hadn't worked hard
b. because she hadn't worked hard
c. why she hadn't worked hard
d. because she was too careless
48. next time i catch you , i'll turn you in to the police.
a. stealing from others' pockets
b. steal from other's pockets
c. stealing other's pockets
d. to steal from other's pockets
49. external appearances are concerned, radioactive materials do not look different from other substances.
a. as far as
b. as good as
c. as soon as
d. as well as
50. the children are opposed to without their uncle.
a. have a party
b. have held a party
c. take part in a party
d. having a party
