Part ⅡReading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some　questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.?

Passage 1

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:?

In a sense, the new protectionism is not protectionism at all, at least not in the traditional sense of the term. The old protectionism referred only to trade restricting and trade expanding devices, such as the tariff or export subsidy. The new protectionism is much broader than this: it includes interventions into foreign trade but is not limited to them. The new protectionism, in fact, refers to how the whole of government intervention into the private economy affects international trade. The emphasis on trade is still there, thus came the term “protection.” But what is new is the realization that virtually all government activities can affect international economic relations.?

The emergence of the new protectionism in the Western world reflects the victory　of the interventionist, or welfare economy over the market economy. Jab Tumiler　writes, “The old protectionism…coexisted, without any apparent intellectual difficulty with the acceptance of the market as a national as well as an international economic distribution mechanism — indeed, protectionists as well as (if not more than) free traders stood for laissez faire(放任政策). Now, as in the 1930s, protectionism is an expression of a profound skepticism as to the ability of　the market to distribute resources and incomes to societies satisfaction.”?

It is precisely this profound skepticism of the market economy that is responsible for the protectionism. In a market economy, economic change of various colorsimplies redistribution of resources and incomes. The same opinion in many communities apparently is that such redistributions often are not proper. Therefore,　the government intervenes to bring about a more desired result.?

The victory of the welfare state is almost complete in northern Europe. In Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, government intervention in almost all aspects of economic and social life is considered normal. In Great Brita　in this is only somewhat less true. Government traditionally has played a very active role in economic life in France and continued to do so. Only West Germany　dares to go against the tide towards excessive interventionism in Western Europe. It also happens to be the most successful Western European economy.?

The welfare state has made significant progress in the United States as well　as in Western Europe. Social security, unemployment insurance, minimum wage laws, and rent control are by now traditional welfare state elements on the American scene. ?

11.This passage is primarily concerned with discussing ____.?

A) the definition of the new protectionism?

B) the difference between new and old protectionism?

C) the emergence of the new protectionism in the Western world?

D) the significance of the welfare state?

12.What does the phrase “stood for(Para.2)” mean??

A) represented. B) held out. ?C) tolerated. D) disapproved. ?

13.Which of the following statements is NOT a characteristic of a welfare　state mentioned in this passage??

A) Free education is available to a child.

B) Laws are made to fix the minimum wage.?

C) A jobless person can be insured.

D) There are regulations for rent.?

14.Which of the following inferences is true, according to this passage?

A) The economy developed faster in welfare states than in non-welfare states.?

B) In the 1930s, protectionism began to rise.?

C) The new protectionism is so called mainly because it is the latest.?

D) Government plays a more active role in economic life in Northern Europe than　in Great Britain.?

15.The passage supplies information for answering which of the following　questions??

A) When did the new protectionism arise??

B) Why is the new protectionism so popular in northern European countries??

C) Does the American government play a more active role in economic life than the British government??

D) Why does the government intervene in economic life???

Passage 2　?

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:?

When I was growing up, the whole world was Jewish. The heroes were Jewish and the villains were Jewish. The landlord, the doctor, the grocer, your best friend,　the village idiot, and the neighborhood bully: all Jewish. We were working class　and immigrants as well, but that just come with the territory. Essentially we were Jews on the streets of New York. We learned to be kind, cruel, and smart and　feeling in a mixture of language and gesture that was part street slang, part grade-school English, part kitchen Yiddish.?

One Sunday evening when I was eight years old my parents and I were riding in　the back seat of my rich uncle’s car. We had been out for a ride and now we were back in the Bronx, headed for home. Suddenly, another car sideswiped us. My mother and aunt shrieked. My uncle swore softly. My father, in whose lap I was sitting, said out the window at the speeding car, “That’s all right. Nothing but　a few Jews in here.” In an instant I knew everything. I knew there was a world　beyond our streets, and in that world my father was a humiliated man, without power or standing.?

When I was sixteen a girl in the next building had her nose straightened; we all went together to see Selma Shapiro lying in state, wrapped in bandages from which would emerge a person fit for life beyond the block. Three buildings away a　boy went downtown for a job, and on his application he wrote “Anold Brown” instead of “Anold Braunowiitz.” The news swept through the neighborhood like a wild fire. A name change? What was happening here? It was awful; it was wonderful. It was frightening; it was delicious. Whatever it was, it wasn’t standstill.

Thing felt lively and active. Self-confidence was on the rise, passivity on the　wane. We were going to experience challenges. That’s what it meant to be in the　new world. For the first time we could imagine ourselves out there.?But whom exactly do I mean when I say we? I mean Arinie, not Selma. I mean my　brother, not me. I mean the boys, not the girls. My mother stood behind me, pushing me forward. “The girls goes to college, too,” she said. And I did. But my　going to college would not mean the same thing as my brother’s going to college, and we all knew it. For my brother, college meant going from the Bronx to Manhattan. But for me? From the time I was fourteen I yearned to get out of the Bronx, but get out into what? I did not actually imagine myself a working person alone in Manhattan and nobody else did either. What I did imagine was that I would　marry, and that the man I married would get me downtown. He would break the perils of class and race, and some how I’d be there alongside him.?

16.In the passage, we can find the author was____.?

A) quite satisfied with her life?

B) a poor Jewish girl?

C) born in a middle-class family?

D) a resident in a rich area in New York?

17.Why did the author’s father say “Nothing but a few Jews in here”?

A) He was asking for help.?

B) He was complaining.?

C) He was reassuring.?

D) He wanted to know why their car was sideswiped.?

18.Selma Shapiro had her nose straightened because she wanted ____.?

A) to look her best?

B) to find a new job in the neighborhood?

C) to live a new life in other places?

D) to marry very soon?

19.Anold Brown changed his name because ____.?

A) there was racial discrimination in employment?

B) Brown was just the same as Braunowiitz?

C) it was easy to write?

D) Brown sounds better?

20.From the passage we can infer that ____.?

A) the Jews were satisfied with their life in the Bronx?

B) the Jewish immigrants could not be rich?

C) all the immigrants were very poor?

D) the young Jews didn’t accept the stern reality??

Passage 3

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:?

It is all very well to blame traffic congestion, the cost of petrol and the　hectic pace modern life, but manners on the roads are becoming deplorable. Everybody knows that the nicest men become monsters behind the wheel. It is all very　well, again to, to have a tiger in the tank, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another kettle of fish altogether. You might tolerate the odd road hog, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the　situation calls for a “Be Kind to Other Drivers” campaign, otherwise it may get completely out of hand.?

Road courtesy is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most levelheaded and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to retaliate when subjected to uncivilized behavior. On the other hand, a little courtesy goes along way towards relieving the tensions and frustrations of motoring. A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgement in response to an act of courtesy helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of courtesy are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize courtesy when they see it.?

Contrary to general opinion, young drivers (especially sports-car owners, who take pride in their driving) have better manners than their seniors. But this attitude is short-lived in the world of modern driving where many drivers neither expect nor give any quarter. This may be a commendable trait on the battlefield but is out of place on the roads.?

Lorry drivers say they have almost abandoned the practice of signal cars to over　take when the road is clear, because many of the cars took too long to pass. Their drivers couldn’t be bothered to select a lower gear. Others, after overtaking, slowed down again and hogged the road. Again, a motoring magazine has recently drawn attention to the increasing number of drivers who never wait for gaps.

“They manufacture them by force, using their direction indicators as a threat rather than a warning.” Slanting matches and even punch-ups are quite common. It　can’t be long before we hear of pistols and knives being used: we can then call our dual carriageways duel carriageways, and solve a spelling problem in the process.?

Driving is essentially a state of mind. However technically skilled a driver maybe, he can’t be an advanced motorist if he is always arrogant and aggressive.?

21.What does the author mean by “another kettle of fish altogether” (Para.1, sentence 3)??

A) completely another awkward and difficult situation?

B) another net of fish put together?

C) completely another kind of situation?

D) completely another kind of driver ?

22.The phrase “get completely out of hand” (Para. 1, last sentence) stands for ____.?

A) get without giving it much thought completely?

B) get out of order completely?

C) get out of control completely?

D) get ready completely?

23.Road courtesy is good sense because ____.?

A) it minimizes friction?

B) most drivers never make acknowledgements?

C) it cuts down the number of drivers?

D) most drivers will hit you if offended?

24.A common example of bad manners on the roads is ____.?

A) not signaling when overtaking?

B) that they couldn’t be bothered to select a lower gear ?

C) preventing other vehicles from overtaking?

D) making holes in the roads on purpose?

25.According to the author, discourtesy on the roads is caused primarily by ____.?

A) too many vehicles on the roads?

B) the way people have to rush around nowadays?

C) the aggressiveness of most drivers?

D) too many pedestrians walking about