Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (30 marks)
Directions： Read the following three passages. Each passages is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked with A， B， C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
As we all know， the Dragon Boat Festival is our country’s traditional festival， but do you know there is also a Dragon Boat Festival in South Korea， which also falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar(阴历)？ It has been reported that South Korea will apply to United Nations Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 联合国教科文组织) to make the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival its own intangible cultural heritage (非物质的文化遗产). If successful， people from other countries may see the Dragon Festival as a Korean creation.
As the birthplace of the yearly event more than 2,000 years ago， China is not happy with the situation. “It would be a shame if another country successfully made a traditional Chinese festival part of its own cultural heritage ahead of China，” said Zhou Heping， deputy(副) culture minister. The Chinese Ministry of Culture is even thinking of making its own application(申请) to UNESCO， covering all traditional Chinese festivals， including the Dragon Boat event. It is thought that the festival is held in memory of the great poet Qu Yuan (340－278 BC)， who lived in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period. Qu was known to be a patriot (爱国者) and admired by ordinary people.
He is said to have jumped into Miluo River， because he had lost hope in his country’s future. When people heard about Qu’s death， they sailed up and down the river searching for his body. They also beat the drums to frighten away the fish and threw Zongzi into the water to stop the fish touching Qu. Dragon boat racing is said to come from this search for the poet’s body.
Over the years， the Dragon Boat Festival has spread throughout the world. In Japan and Vietnam， as well as South Korea， the festival has mixed with and become part of the local culture.
The Dragon Boat Festival .
| A．is also kept by South Korea |
| B．comes from South Korea |
| C．was created by South Korea |
| D．is South Korea’s cultural heritage |
What is the reaction(反应) of the Chinese Ministry of Culture to South Korea’s planning to make the Dragon Boat Festival its own cultural heritage？
| A．Fighting against South Korea. |
| B．Telling South Korea it’s not right to do so. |
| C．Considering to do the similar thing. |
| D．Asking South Korea not to do so. |
What is the purpose of holding the Dragon Boat Festival？
| A．In memory of Qu Yuan. |
| B．In memory of all the patriots of China. |
| C．To frighten away the fish. |
| D．In honor of QuYuan’s birthday. |
After Qu Yuan’s death， Zongzi was thrown into the water to .
| A．feed him |
| B．protect his body from going bad |
| C．prevent the fish biting his body |
| D．attract his soul |
Now， the Dragon Boat Festival has become activity.
| A．a nationwide | B．a worldwide |
| C．an Asian | D．a foreign |
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69. Other than the four DJs, how many people will be going to explore the surprising side of Australia?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 6 D. 10
70. Timmy has just got married. Which one of the adventure packages might he choose for his honeymoon?
A. Sydney B. Melbourne C. Queensland D. Tasmania
71. In which way are the winners expected by the organizer to tell about their adventures in Australia?
A. Contact the organizer through email.
B. Post a homemade video on YouTube.
C. Login to www.asiaone.com
D. Report your adventures on “live” radio.
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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.
At the beginning of every school year, I feared coming home with the heavy homework of the first day after a summer of fun. And I feared getting another teacher who had a long list of rules and a stare that could kill a cat.
But there was always one part of beginning a new school year that I enjoyed. I always liked going to the store to arm myself with new school supplies-even if I didn’t need them.
Sure, my pencils, erasers and notebooks from the previous school year may have had some life left in them. But this didn’t matter. Every year, Dad would pile us into the car, take us to Wal-Mart and let us buy the newest and coolest pencils, rainbow-colored erasers and spiral notebooks.
Besides school supplies, many parents also take their kids on annual shopping spree for new clothes and book bags just in time for school. During the whole process, children are in high spirits, buying a lot of stuff and are back home exhausted.
Every year, most of my classmates and I show up to school on the first day with something smelling like a new car. We’d put our new stationery on top of the desks, just to make sure others see them.
Leftover supplies from past years were always stuffed into the living room desk. Used clothes that had lost their appeal were sent to second-hand shops, where they would be sold for 50 cents a piece.
However, all of the new stuff could only make us excited about going to school for one week, after which the usual boredom and fear come back.
65. What is NOT TRUE about the author at the beginning of a new school year in the passage?
A. He often has to face a new teacher.
B. He doesn’t enjoy the load of work from school.
C. He doesn’t appreciate strict teachers
D. He obtains new school supplies from the school.
66. Why do the students look forward to getting new pencils every year?
A. Because the old ones are used up.
B. Because new pencils help them to study better.
C. Because they want to show their new stuff off.
D. Because it’s required by the school.
67. The underlined word “spree” in the passage probably means ______.
A. competition B. considerable embarrassment
C. wild celebration D. emotional pain
68. How are the old supplies dealt with?
A. They are put aside and forgotten. B. They are given to poorer children.
C. They are sold online. D. They are treasured by the students.
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Labor force is defined as being the total number of people who are available to work and earn income．This definition includes everyone who is employed or seeking paid employment，so it includes employers and the self-employed．Labor is one of the country's resources which can be combined with other resources to produce the goods and services wanted by the community．
Although the size of the workforce depends a great deal on the size of the total population，there are several other influences which also affect it．The age distribution (分布) of the total population has a very marked effect on the available workforce. If the population has a high proportion of very young people or of those too old to work，then the available workforce would be lower than if there were an balanced spread age distribution．If the population naturally grows rapidly, the number of births greatly exceeds (超出) the number of deaths then as a total population increases proportion of the workforce declines．
Sometimes a population is described as aging which means that the birth rate is either falling or growing very slowly，and as people retire from the workforce there are insufficient numbers of young people entering it to replace those who are leaving it．In that situation the population is top-heavy with older people．So the percentage of the population in the workforce declines when there is either a rapid increase in births or a falling birth rate．
The age distribution of the population has several important effects on the economy．If the population is aging and there is an increase in the number of people retiring without a corresponding increase in the number entering the workforce，this raises the problem of the ability of the economy to provide a reasonable level of social services to the retired group．If the aged are to be cared for in special homes，finance must be available for that purpose．If the size of the workforce is small relative to the total population，then the government tax revenue(税收) is relatively low and either the government has less money available to it or the workforce members have to be taxed more heavily．
72．In the passage “labor force” is defined as ___________.
A．people who are available to work and earn income
B．self-employed people only
C．people who are looking for an employment
D．employers who create job opportunities
73．The conclusion which can be drawn from the second paragraph is that___________.
A．a natural growth of population leads to a balanced workforce
B．a large population does not necessarily mean a higher proportion of workforce
C．the larger the population，the higher the proportion of the workforce
D．the workforce will be lower, if the population has a balanced age distribution，
74．When a population is said to be aging，___________.
A．there are more people retiring than those entering the workforce
B．the birth rate must be growing
C．there should be an oversupply of workforce
D．There are more people entering the workforce than those retiring
75．The population which is top-heavy with older people ___________ of a country.
A．leads to the high rate of unemployment
B．results in low tax on the workforce members
C．affects employees’ incomes
D．places pressure on the economy
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Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about thinking is the key to critical thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes. Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.
The word “critical” here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen — beyond the picture on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning.
Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker. If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.
Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful thinking. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world: fast food, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence, you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein, he was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, “Please go slowly, I don't understand things quickly.”
69. According to the passage, if we don’t think critically, we ___________.
A. may not be able think naturally
B. will be controlled by ideas of other people
C. can control the ideas of others
D. might be fooled by other people
70. A critical thinker will ___________.
A. think deeply about different ideas B. trust the reports in the newspapers
C. take one view against another view D. criticize other people for their mistakes
71. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The heart of educationB. Understanding critical thinking
C. Thinking fast D. Thinking and intelligence
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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.
“My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy,” says a second-grade teacher in Saugus, California. “Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course.” These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program (CBEP), a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading, writing and math skills, and more.
The children don't just plan any city. They map and analyze the housing, energy, and transportation requirements of their own district and predict its needs in 100 years. With the aid of an architect who visits the classroom once a week, they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations. “Designing buildings of the future gives children a lot of freedom,” says the teacher who developed this program. “They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame, because there are no wrong answers in a future context. In fact, as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program, an elected “official” and “planning group” makes all the design decisions for the model city, and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser.”
CBEP is a set of activities, games and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving: observing, analyzing, working out possible answers, and judging them based on the children's own standards.
65. The Program is designed to __________.
A. direct kids to build solar collectors
B. train young scientists for city planning
C. develop children's problem-solving abilities
D. train kids to be future architects
66. An architect pays a weekly visit to the classroom to ___________.
A. find out kids' creative ideas B. discuss with the teacher
C. give children lectures D. help kids with their program
67. Who is the designer of the program?
A. An official. B. An architect. C. A teacher. D. A scientist.
68. The children feel free in the program because they _____________.
A. can design future buildings themselves B. have new ideas and rich imagination
C. are given enough time to design models D. need not worry about making mistakes
