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　Section II Resdiong Comprehension

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. answer the question after each text by choosing A,B,C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(40 points)

　　Text 1

　　Homework has never been terribly popular with students and even many parents, but in recent years it has been particularly scorned. School districts across the country, most recently Los Angeles Unified, are revising their thinking on his educational ritual. Unfortunately, L.A. Unified has produced an inflexible policy which mandates that with the exception of some advanced courses, homework may no longer count for more than 10% of a student’s academic grade.

　　This rule is meant to address the difficulty that students from impoverished or chaotic homes might have in completing their homework. But the policy is unclear and contradictory. Certainly, no homework should be assigned that students cannot do without expensive equipment. But if the district is essentially giving a pass to students who do not do their homework because of complicated family lives, it is going riskily close to the implication that standards need to be lowered for poor children.

　　District administrators say that homework will still be a pat of schooling: teachers are allowed to assign as much of it as they want. But with homework counting for no more than 10% of their grades, students can easily skip half their homework and see vey little difference on their report cards. Some students might do well on state tests without completing their homework, but what about the students who performed well on the tests and did their homework? It is quite possible that the homework helped. Yet rather than empowering teachers to find what works best for their students, the policy imposes a flat, across-the-board rule.

　　At the same time, the policy addresses none of the truly thorny questions about homework. If the district finds homework to be unimportant to its students’ academic achievement, it should move to reduce or eliminate the assignments, not make them count for almost nothing. Conversely, if homework does nothing to ensure that the homework students are not assigning more than they are willing to review and correct.

　　The homework rules should be put on hold while the school board, which is responsible for setting educational policy, looks into the matter and conducts public hearings. It is not too late for L.A. Unified to do homework right.

　　21.It is implied in paragraph 1 that nowadays homework_____.

　　[A] is receiving more criticism

　　[B]is no longer an educational ritual

　　[C]is not required for advanced courses

　　[D]is gaining more preferences

　　22.L.A.Unified has made the rule about homework mainly because poor students_____.

　　[A]tend to have moderate expectations for their education

　　[B]have asked for a different educational standard

　　[C]may have problems finishing their homework

　　[D]have voiced their complaints about homework

　　23.According to Paragraph 3,one problem with the policy is that it may____.

　　[A]discourage students from doing homework

　　[B]result in students' indifference to their report cards

　　[C]undermine the authority of state tests

　　[D]restrict teachers' power in education

　　24. As mentioned in Paragraph 4, a key question unanswered about homework is whether______. [A] it should be eliminated

　　[B]it counts much in schooling

　　[C]it places extra burdens on teachers

　　[D]it is important for grades

　　25.A suitable title for this text could be______.

　　[A]Wrong Interpretation of an Educational Policy

　　[B]A Welcomed Policy for Poor Students

　　[C]Thorny Questions about Homework

　　[D]A Faulty Approach to Homework

　　Text2

　　Pretty in pink: adult women do not rememer being so obsessed with the colour, yet it is pervasive in our young girls’ lives. Tt is not that pink is intrinsically bad, but it is such a tiny slice of the rainbow and, though it may celebrate girlhood in one way, it also repeatedly and firmly fuses girls’ identity to appearance. Then it presents that connection, even among two-year-olds, between girls as not only innocent but as evidence of innocence. Looking around, I despaired at the singular lack of imagination about girls’ lives and interests.

　　Girls’ attraction to pink may seem unavoidable, somehow encoded in their DNA, but according to Jo Paoletti, an associate professor of American Studies, it is not. Children were not colour-coded at all until the early 20th century: in the era before domestic washing machines all babies wore white as a practical matter, since the only way of getting clothes clean was to boil them. What’s more, both boys and girls wore what were thought of as gender-neutral dresses.When nursery colours were introduced, pink was actually considered the more masculine colour, a pastel version of red, which was associated with strength. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, symbolised femininity. It was not until the mid-1980s, when amplifying age and sex differences became a dominant children’s marketing strategy, that pink fully came into its own, when it began to seem inherently attractive to girls, part of what defined them as female, at least for the first few critical years.

　　I had not realised how profoundly marketing trends dictated our perception of what is natural to kins, including our core beliefs about their psychological development. Take the toddler. I assumed that phase was something experts developed after years of research into children’s behaviour: wrong. Turns out, acdording to Daniel Cook, a historian of childhood consumerism, it was popularised as a marketing trick by clothing manufacrurers in the 1930s.

　　Trade publications counselled department stores that, in order to increase sales, they should create a “third stepping stone” between infant wear and older kids’ clothes. Tt was only after “toddler”became a common shoppers’ term that it evolved into a broadly accepted developmental stage. Splitting kids, or adults,into ever-tinier categories has proved a sure-fire way to boost profits. And one of the easiest ways to segment a market is to magnify gender differences - or invent them where they did not previously exist.

　　26.By saying "it is...the rainbow"(Line 3, Para.1),the author means pink______.

　　[A]should not be the sole representation of girlhood

　　[B]should not be associated with girls' innocence

　　[C]cannot explain girls' lack of imagination

　　[D]cannot influence girls' lives and interests

　　27.According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is true of colours?

　　[A]Colours are encoded in girls' DNA.

　　[B]Blue used to be regarded as the colour for girls.

　　[C]Pink used to be a neutral colour in symbolising genders.

　　[D]White is prefered by babies.

　　28.The author suggests that our perception of children's psychological development was much influenced by_____.

　　[A]the marketing of products for children

　　[B]the observation of children's nature

　　[C]researches into children's behavior

　　[D]studies of childhood consumption

　　29.We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to_____.

　　[A]focus on infant wear and older kids' clothes

　　[B]attach equal importance to different genders

　　[C]classify consumers into smaller groups

　　[D]create some common shoppers' terms

　　30.It can be concluded that girls' attraction to pink seems to be____.

　　[A] clearly explained by their inborn tendency

　　[B]fully understood by clothing manufacturers

　　[C] mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmen

　　[D]well interpreted by psychological experts

　　Text 3

　　In 2010. a federal judge shook America's biotech industry to its core. Companies had won patents for isolated DNA for decades-by 2005 some 20% of human genes were parented. But in March 2010 a judge ruled that genes were unpatentable. Executives were violently agitated. The Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO), a trade group, assured members that this was just a “preliminary step” in a longer battle.

　　On July 29th they were relieved, at least temporarily. A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Myriad Genetics could indeed holb patents to two genss that help forecast a woman's risk of breast cancer. The chief executive of Myriad, a company in Utah,said the ruling was a blessing to firms and patients alike.

　　But as companies continue their attempts at personalised medicine, the courts will remain rather busy. The Myriad case itself is probably not over Critics make three main arguments against gene patents: a gene is a product of nature, so it may not be patented; gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it; and patents' monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriad's. A growing number seem to agree.Last year a federal task-force urged reform for patents related to genetic tests. In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case, arguing that an isolated DNA molecule “is no less a product of nature... than are cotton fibres that have been separated from cotton seeds. ”

　　Despite the appeals court's decision, big questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear whether the sequencing of a whole genome violates the patents of indivi dual genes within it. The case may yet reach the Supreme Court.

　　AS the industry advances ,however,other suits may have an even greater impact.companies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules-most are already patented or in the public domain .firms are now studying how genes intcract,looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug’s efficacy,companies are eager to win patents for ‘connecting the dits’,expaains hans sauer,alawyer for the BIO.

　　Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue, brought by the Mayo Clinic, which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term. The BIO rtcently held a convention which included seddions to coach lawyers on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed.

　　31.it canbe learned from paragraph I that the biotech companies would like-----

　　A.their executives to be active

　　B.judges to rule out gene patenting

　　C.genes to be patcntablc

　　D.the BIO to issue a warning

　　32.those who are against gene patents believe that----

　　A.genetic tests are not reliable

　　B.only man-made products are patentable

　　C.patents on genes depend much on innovatiaon

　　D.courts should restrict access to gene tic tests

　　33.according to hans sauer ,companies are eager to win patents for----

　　A.establishing disease comelations

　　B.discovering gene interactions

　　C.drawing pictures of genes

　　D.identifying human DNA

　　34.By saying “each meeting was packed”(line4,para6)the author means that -----

　　A.the supreme court was authoritative

　　B.the BIO was a powerful organization

　　C.gene patenting was a great concern

　　D.lawyers were keen to attend conventiongs

　　35.generally speaking ,the author’s attitude toward gene patenting is----

　　A.critical

　　B.supportive

　　C.scornful

　　D.objectiv

　　Text 4

　　The great recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning. Before it ends,

　　it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. And ultimately, it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture, and the character of our society for years.

　　No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster. Many said that unemployment, while extremely painful, had improved them in some ways; they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent; they were more aware of the struggles of others. In limited respects, perhaps the recession will leave society better off. At the very least, it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses, and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.

　　But for the most part, these benefits seem thin, uncertain, and far off. In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S. ,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive, and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms. Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases, as does conflict between races and classes.

　　Income inequality usually falls during a recession, but it has not shrunk in this one,. Indeed, this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides, and decrease opportunities to cross them--- especially for young people. The research of Till Von Wachter, the economist in Columbia University, suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed: those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times; it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.

　　In the internet age, it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden winthin American society. More difficult, in the moment , is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society’s character. In many respects, the U.S. was more socially tolerant entering this resession than at any time in its history, and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results. We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric. But they certainly it, and all the more so the longer they extend.

　　36.By saying “to find silver linings”(Line 1,Para.2)the author suggest that the jobless try to___.

　　[A]seek subsidies from the govemment

　　[B]explore reasons for the unermployment

　　[C]make profits from the troubled economy

　　[D]look on the bright side of the recession

　　37.According to Paragraph 2,the recession has made people_____.

　　[A]realize the national dream

　　[B]struggle against each other

　　[C]challenge their lifestyle

　　[D]reconsider their lifestyle

　　38.Benjamin Friedman believe that economic recessions may_____.

　　[A]impose a heavier burden on immigrants

　　[B]bring out more evils of human nature

　　[C]Promote the advance of rights and freedoms

　　[D]ease conflicts between races and classes

　　39.The research of Till Von Wachther suggests that in recession graduates from elite universities tend to _____.

　　[A]lag behind the others due to decreased opportunities

　　[B]catch up quickly with experienced employees

　　[C]see their life chances as dimmed as the others’

　　[D]recover more quickly than the others

　　40.The author thinks that the influence of hard times on society is____.

　　[A]certain

　　[B]positive

　　[C]trivial

　　[D]destructive

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　Read the following text and answer the questions by finding information from the left column that corresponds to each of the marked details given in the right column. There are two extra choices in the right column. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEERT 1.(10 points)

　　“Universal history, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here,” wrote the Victorian sage Thomas Carlyle. Well, not any more it is not.

　　Suddenly, Britain looks to have fallen out with its favourite historical form. This could be no more than a passing literary craze, but it also points to a broader truth about how we now approach the past: less concerned with learning from forefathers and more interested in feeling their pain. Today, we want empathy, not inspiration.

　　From the earliest days of the Renaissance, the writing of history meant recounting the exemplary lives of great men. In 1337, Petrarch began work on his rambling writing De Viris Illustribus - On Famous Men, highlighting the virtus (or virtue) of classical heroes. Petrarch celebrated their greatness in conquering fortune and rising to the top. This was the biographical tradition which Niccolo Machiavelli turned on its head. In The Prince, the championed cunning, ruthlessness, and boldness, rather than virtue, mercy and justice, as the skills of successful leaders.

　　Over time, the attributes of greatness shifted. The Romantics commemorated the leading painters and authors of their day, stressing the uniqueness of the artist's personal experience rather than public glory. By contrast, the Victorian author Samual Smiles wrote Self-Help as a catalogue of the worthy lives of engineers , industrialists and explores . "The valuable examples which they furnish of the power of self-help, if patient purpose, resolute working and steadfast integrity, issuing in the formulation of truly noble and many character, exhibit,"wrote Smiles."what it is in the power of each to accomplish for himself"His biographies of James Walt, Richard Arkwright and Josiah Wedgwood were held up as beacons to guide the working man through his difficult life.

　　This was all a bit bourgeois for Thomas Carlyle, who focused his biographies on the truly heroic lives of Martin Luther, Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon Bonaparte. These epochal figures represented lives hard to imitate, but to be acknowledged as possessing higher authority than mere mortals.

　　Communist Manifesto. For them, history did nothing, it possessed no immense wealth nor waged battles:“It is man, real, living man who does all that.” And history should be the story of the masses and their record of struggle. As such, it needed to appreciate the economic realities, the social contexts and power relations in which each epoch stood. For:“Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past.”

　　This was the tradition which revolutionized our appreciation of the past. In place of Thomas Carlyle, Britain nurtured Christopher Hill, EP Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm. History from below stood alongside biographies of great men. Whole new realms of understanding - from gender to race to cultural studies - were opened up as scholars unpicked the multiplicity of lost societies. And it transformed public history too: downstairs became just as fascinating as upstairs.

　　[A] emphasized the virtue of classical heroes.

　　41. Petrarch highlighted the public glory of the leading artists.

　　42. Niccolo Machiavellli [C] focused on epochal figures whose lives were hard to imitate.

　　43. Samuel Smiles [D] opened up new realms of understanding the great men in history.

　　44. Thomas Carlyle [E] held that history should be the story of the masses and their record of struggle.

　　45. Marx and Engels [F] dismissed virtue as unnecessary for successful leaders.

　　[G] depicted the worthy lives of engineer industrialists and explorers.