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.
Nothing can better illustrate the failure of education in this country than the contrast between millions of college graduates finding it hard to get a proper job every year and the lack of workers in the more industrialized regions.
According to news from Dongguan (东莞), one of the __50__ manufacturing centers in the Pearl River Delta (珠江三角洲) region in South China, “over 90 percent” factories have said they are finding __51__ difficult to employ people from the second half of 2009, when the __52__ began picking up and overseas orders restarted pouring in. Running to full capacity seems a dream that the factories had__53__.
An awkward reality is that only few, __54__, of the new college graduates could really fill the vacancies because the trainings they have received are entirely __55__ from the demands of the jobs. Nor will Chinese cities have enough workforce if they pursue a development model other than export-based manufacturing.
The __56__ for that is simple: The knowledge about management graduates gather is totally out of step with reality, __57__ of them can hardly express themselves in English or compose an email message properly, and __58__ handle even paper work in a law service with the legal knowledge they have.
I __59__ some college teachers, whom I went to college with, that the amount of time an average college student spends on studies today is less than half of what we __60__ in the late 1970s when proper college education was recovered after the “cultural revolution” (1966-76).
“They (the administrations) have enrolled so many students just to __61__ from their parents (tuition and other charges)”, one of the teachers said embarrassedly. “It's a nationwide phenomenon, you know.”
It is hard to believe that a country should not __62__ education so seriously when there are no longer as many young people as before and view its opportunities only in terms of immediate financial gains, which greatly affects the quality of education. __63__, vocational education faces a double threat: frequent ups and downs in the business cycle and that of a flooding of cheap college certificates.
It is __64__ in a country with rapid development in many fields to see little reform and progress in its education system. When colleges are reduced to money-making machines, they cannot help a society create enough workers, thinkers and leaders.
50. A. necessary B. key C. new D. remote
51. A. this B. that C. it D. as
52. A. economy B. country C. city D. industry
53. A. in the near future B. at present time C. from time to time D. in the long past
54. A. and some B. but none C. if any D. because such
55. A. different B. same C. opposite D. similar
56. A. result B. method C. reason D. expectation
57. A. some B. most C. few D. all
58. A. can B. must C. can’t D. mustn’t
59. A. took from B. picked out C. caught sight of D. learned from
60. A. spent B. cost C. wasted D. detected
61. A. cost money B. make money C. create money D. deal with
62. A. put B. set C. make D. take
63. A. Although B. Besides C. However D. Therefore
64. A. common B. likely C. worthwhile D. surprising
Ero Carrera is watching the computer screen in a lab in California as he tracks a new computer virus slowly circling the globe, targeting cell phones. Working from the US office of the Finnish computer 21firm, Carrera knows this virus could be the start of something big and 22 . He’s one of a couple of hundred “virus hunters” worldwide who guard computers and cell phones from 23. That’s the job for these unlikely action heroes of the Internet age, where quick and curious minds are more important than strong 24.
Carrera works with Tzvetan Chaliavski to form the two-man team in California. Like that of other employees in the anti-virus companies in the world, their work is at the battle front of providing 25from the damaging of computer virus, worms and Trojans. They break down software to discover a new virus and crack its code. Then they 26and ship out a software update to customers. Roughly 300 new samples of viruses await the pair on a(n) 27day.
Carrera has created a mathematical formula(公式), to 28easily the software structure of viruses. With it, he is better able to compare the many variants(变种) and families of malware(恶意软件). To his 29, Chaliavski, it doesn’t even matter why someone would create a virus. All that 30is the hunt.
21. A. advertising B. commercial C. printing D. security
22. A. admiring B. exciting C. inviting D. threatening
23. A. attack B. bombing C. competition D. struggle
24. A. heads B. feelings C. muscles D. spirits
25. A. access B. contact C. measures D. protection
26. A. copy B. create C. delete D. download
27. A. average B. original C. previous D. special
28. A. get off B. make out C. pick up D. take in
29. A. assistant B. manager C. partner D. secretary
30. A. ignores B. matters C. overlooks D. rejects
A seeker asks, “I want to make a difference in the world, but there are so many causes crying for attention that I feel deeply confused. I don't know where to put my energy to have the greatest 21. Where do I begin?”
Lynn Answers:
There is no one “ 22” place to begin. Each of us has a different 23place, and the place where we will be of greatest service has to do with where we most want to 24. If we want to have an effect on the world around us, it's important to 25what I think of as our "Area of Power." Our Area of Power is where we feel the most passion to act and have the most 26that results are 27.
If we pray for world peace, but have no vision of what this would look like and no faith that our 28will help, our effect is less than if we pray for peace and harmony in our own 29with a clear picture of what this means and excitement that healing is possible. Without faith that we can 30, our power to help is decreased.
21. A. power B. easeC. effect D. result
22. A. rightB. real C. similar D. exact
23. A. amusing B. endingC. starting D. finishing
24. A. giveB. liveC. act D. dream
25. A. work B. regardC. consider D. identify
26. A. power B. peaceC. faith D. energy
27. A. visibleB. possibleC. reasonable D. accessible
28. A. prayers B. playersC. seekers D. watchers
29. A. language B. way C. world D. family
30. A. make an effortB. make it
C. make a difference D. make ends meet
Adults are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practised in the meantime. A man who has not had an opportunity to go swimming for years can ___21___ swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after several decades and still 22away. A mother who has not 23the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" or recite the story of Cinderella or Snow White.
One explanation is the 24of over learning, which can be stated as following:Once we have learned something, additional learning increases the 25of time we will remember it.
In childhood, we usually continue to practise such skills as swimming, bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and 26ourselves of poems such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella or Snow White. We not only learn but __27.
The law of over learning explains why cramming (突击学习) for an examination,though it may result in a(an) 28grade, is not a 29way to learn a school course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little over learning, 30, is usually a good investment toward the future.
21. A. only B. hardly C. still D. even
22. A. move B. drive C. travel D. ride
23. A. thought about B. cared for C. showed upD. brought up
24. A. result B. lawC. rule D. cause
25. A. accuracy B. unit C. limit D. length
26. A. remind B. inform C. warm D. recall
27. A. recite B. overlearn C. researchD. improve
28. A. passing B. average C. excellentD. discouraging
29. A. convenient B. demanding C. satisfactory D. swift
30. A. at mostB. by the way C. on the other handD. in the end
“When a customer enters my store, forget me. He is King, ’’said John Wanamaker, who in l876 turned an abandoned railway station in Philadelphia into one of me world’s first department stores. This revolutionary concept __21__ the face of retailing (零售业) and led to the development of advertising and marketing as we know it today.
But convincing as that slogan was, __22__ the shopper was cheated out of the crown. Although manufacturing efficiency increased the variety of goods and lowered prices, people still relied on __23__ to get most information about products. Through much of the past century, ads spoke to an audience restricted to just a few radio or television channels or a __24__ number of publications. Now media choice, has __25__ too, and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources—especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse. _26__ the internet, the consumer is finally seizing power.
As our survey shows, __27__ has great implications for companies, because it is changing the way the world shops. Many firms already claim to be “customer-driven” or “consumer-centered”. Now their _28__ will be tested as never before. Taking advantage of shoppers’ __29__ will no longer be possible: people will know—and soon tell others, even those without the internet—that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior. The internet is working wonders in __30__ standards. Good and honest firms should benefit most.
21. A. changed B. maintained C. restored D. rescued
22. A. in time B. in truth C. in case D. in theory
23. A. radio B. TV C. firmsD. advertisements
24. A. 1imited B. minimum C. sufficient D. great
25. A. disappeared B. existed C. exploded D. survived
26. A. According to B. Thanks to C. But for D. Apart from
27. A. consumer power B. product quality
C. purchasing habit D. manufacturing efficiency
28. A. information B. investment C. claims D. shops
29. A. generosity B. knowledge C. curiosity D. ignorance
30. A. raising B. lowering C. abandoning D. carrying
Being alone in outer space can be frightening. That is one reason why astronauts on solo (单独的) space flights were given plenty of work to keep them 21. They were also constant communication with people on the earth. 22 , being with people from whom you cannot get away might be even harder than being alone. This is what happens on long submarine (潜水艇) voyages. It will also happen on 23 space flights in the future. Will there be special problem of adjustment under such conditions?
Scientists have studied the reactions of men to one another during long submarine voyages. They have found that the longer the voyage lasts, the more serious the problem of 24 is. When men are 25 together for a long period, they begin to feel uneasy. Everyone has little habits of speaking and behaving that are ordinarily acceptable. In the limited space over a long period of time, however, these little habits may become very 26 .
Apparently, although no one wants to be 27 all the time, everyone needs some degree of privacy. When people are enclosed together, they are in what is called a stress situation. That means that they are under an unusual amount of 28 or stress.
People who are well-adjusted are able to 29stress situations better than others. That is one reason why so much care is taken in 30 our astronauts. These men undergo a long period of testing and training. One of the things tested is their behavior under stress.
21. A. tired B. asleep C. conscious D. busy
22. A. So far B. After all C. However D. Therefore
23. A. long B. fast C. dangerous D. direct
24. A. fuel B. entertainment C. adjustment D. health
25. A. shut up B. held up C. brought up D. picked up
26. A. pleasing B. annoying C. common D. valuable
27. A. noisy B. alone C. personal D. sociable
28. A. emphasis B. conflict C. power D. pressure
29. A. handle B. create C. affect D. investigate
30. A. becoming B. choosing C. ordering D. promoting