Section Ⅰ Use of English
Directions:
Read the following text.Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.( 10 points )
One reason human beings can thrive in all kinds of climates is that they can control the qualities of the air in the enclosed spaces in which they live. Air conditioning is the use of mechanical systems to 1 that control in such places 2 homes, offices, theaters, institutions, factories, airplanes, and automobiles. The most familiar type of air conditioning is summertime cooling. Although important, this is 3 one of several aspects of air conditioning. Other applications 4 the control of the humidity (or air moisture), cleanliness, circulation of the air, and heating.
Tests have 5 that people generally feel best 6 certain temperature, humidity, and air velocity conditions. Temperatures can 7 from 21.5° C with 70 percent relative humidity to 28° C with 30 percent relative humidity. Relative humidity is the 8 of moisture in the air 9 a specific temperature compared 10 the amount it could hold at that temperature. 11 air velocities range from 4.5 to 10.5 meters per minute. It is also desirable that an air conditioner 12 dust, pollen, smoke, and odors from the air.
In many industrial environments, air conditioning is essential. Most print shops, for example, 13 constant humidity in order to control paper shrinkage and 14 the 15 operation in some processes. Libraries, especially ones with rare books, require air control to 16 the physical quality of their collections. Bakeries and the tobacco and cotton industries require high humidity 17 their products, and perishables such as fruits must be stored in cool, dry rooms. Some electronic components, drugs, and chemicals must be manufactured 18 the air is as free as possible 19 dust and other particles. Air conditioning is 20 in hospitals, especially in operating rooms.
1. A. achieve B. avail C. amount to D. assign
2. A. like B. as C. for D. to
3. A. but B. like C. as to D. mere
4. A. include B. contain C. consist D. comprise
5. A. determined B. caused C. maintained D. achieved
6. A. at B. around C. within D. under
7. A. alter B. range C. differ D. move
8. A. qualityB. sum C. amount D. number
9. A. under B. inside C. on D. at
10. A. to B. with C. against D. at
11. A. Agreeable B. Appreciable C. Amenable D. Available
12. A. remove B. to remove C. removes D. removing
13. A. ask B. demand C. request D. require
14. A. ensures B. ensure C. ensuringD. to ensure
15. A. unique B. uniform C. universal D. united
16. A. preserve B. conserve C. reserve D. retain
17. A. about B. as C. for D. to
18. A. what B. where C. that D. which
19. A. of B. against C. at D. without
20. A. virtual B. viable C. vibrant D. vital
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1(40 points)
Text 1
Film has properties that set it apart from painting,sculpture,novels,and plays.It is also,in its most popular and powerful form,a storytelling medium that shares many elements with the short story and the novel.And since film presents its stories in dramatic form,it has even more in common with the stage play:Both plays and movies act out or dramatize,show rather than tell,what happens.
Unlike the novel,short story,or play,however,film is not handy to study;it cannot be effectively frozen on the printed page.The novel and short story are relatively easy to study because they are written to be read.The stage play is slightly more difficult to study because it is written to be performed.But plays are printed,and because they rely heavily on the spoken word,imaginative readers can conjure up at least a pale imitation of the experience they might have been watching a performance on stage. This cannot be said of the screenplay,for a film depends greatly on visual and other nonvisual elements that are not easily expressed in writing.The screenplay requires so much“filling in”by our imagination that we cannot really approximate the experience of a film by reading a screenplay,and reading a screenplay is worthwhile only if we have already seen the film.Thus,most screenplays are published not to read but rather to be remembered.
Still,film should not be ignored because studying it requires extra effort.And the fact that we do not generally “read”films does not mean we should ignore the principles of literary or dramatic analysis when we see a film.Literature and films do share many elements and communicate many things in similar ways.Perceptive film analysis rests on the principles used in literary analysis, and if we apply what we have learned in the study of literature to our analysis of films,we will be far ahead of those who do not. Therefore,before we turn to the unique elements of film,we need to look into the elements that film shares with any good story.
Dividing film into its various elements for analysis is a somewhat artificial process,for the elements of any art form never exist in isolation,It is impossible,for example,to isolate plot from character:Events influence people,and people influence events;the two are always closely interwoven in any fictional,dramatic,or cinematic work.Nevertheless,the analytical method uses such a fragmenting technique for ease and convenience.But it does so with the assumption that we can study these elements in isolation without losing sight of their interdependence or their relationship to the whole.
21What is mainly discussed in the text?
AThe uniqueness of film.
BThe importance of film analysis.
CHow to identify the techniques a film uses.
DThe relationship between film analysis and literary analysis.
22Why is it not handy to study film?
ABecause screenplay is not as well written as literary works.
BBecause a film cannot be effectively represented by a printed screenplay.
CBecause a film is too complicated.
DBecause publishers prefer to publish literary works.
23From the third paragraph we learn that.
Athe means by which we analyze a literary work cannot be applied to the analysis of the film
Ba good film and a good story have many elements in common
Cwe should not pay extra effort to study films
Dusing the principles of literary analysis makes no difference in film analysis
24Why can’t we divide film into various elements for analysis?
ABecause these elements are interwoven with each other and cannot keep be separated without failing to appreciate a film as a whole.
BBecause films cannot be written down and it is inconvenient to analyse them.
CBecause films elements are too complicated.
DBecause films need not to be analysed in detail.
25What does the word “it” refer to in the last sentence of the passage?
AThe analytical method.BThe fragmenting technique.
CEase.DConvenience.
Text 2
Highspeed Internet provider At Home Corp. is buying Excite Inc. , one of the leading destinations on the World Wide Web, for about $ 6.7 billion in stock in one of the largest Internet company deals. The deal announced today would surpass America Online Inc.’s $ 4.2 billion acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. last year. Based on closing stock prices Friday, Excite is worth about $ 3.4 billion, which would mean that At Home would be paying a huge premium. The deal could eventually give telecommunications giant AT&T Corp. control of one of the highly soughtafter portals that serve as entry points onto the Internet.
At Home is owned by TeleCommunications Inc., Cox Communications and several other investors. TCI is in the process of merging with AT&T Corp. in a $ 39 billion deal that is expected to be completed by spring. AT&T Corp. chief executive Michael Armstrong has stated he wants to use At Home as a conduit for delivering a wide range of communications services, including electronic commerce. Control over Excite, which has a search engine and links to several online shopping sites, would certainly enhance that goal. Excite, which has lagged behind other Website companies, such as Yahoo!, has been looking for a larger partner in the rapidly consolidating Internet portal market, especially in wake of the AOLNetscape deal. Several other companies had been rumored to be interested in Excite, including Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Negotiations between Yahoo! and Excite broke off this weekend, according to published reports.
Excite, eager to extend its reach and market power, was attracted by an alliance with AT&T and TCI. Excite’s shareholders are expected to own about 30 percent of the combined company, which would be known as At Home Networks. Excite chief executive George Bell would take a position on the new company’s executive board, reporting to At Home chief executive Tom Jermoluk. At Home, which delivers highspeed Internet service over cable TV lines, has more than 330 000 customers. The deal would give it access to Excite’s more than 20 million registered users and to the company’s contentdevelopment capabilities. Both companies are located in Redwood City, Calif. At Home, whose stock has risen nearly 300 percent over the past year, has the money to make a deal, Michael Harris, president of Kinetic Strategies Inc. told MSNBC. “With At Home’s existing stock valuation (of about $11.7 billion), it’s been surprising they haven’t done more deals. They’ve certainly got a huge war chest built up.”
Neither company has yet made a profit. In the three months ended Sep. 30, Excite lost $ 6.8 million on revenue of $ 44 million, including acquisition and amortization expenses. In the same period, At Home lost $ 9.7 million.
26.Why does At Home want to buy Excite?
A.Because Tom Jermoluk wants to control his strongest competitor.
B.Because it wants to expand its business through Excite’s present resources.
C.Because both companies are based in Redwood city, California.
D.Because it has lost $ 9.7 million in the last three months.
27.Before the At HomeExcite deal, Excite had attempted a deal with .
A.TCI B.AT&T
C.AOL D.Yahoo!
28.How does AT&T fit into the picture of the At HomeExcite deal?
A.Excite has been dealing with AT&T for some time.
B.AT&T and At Home has been running At Home Networks jointly.
C.AT&T is about to ally with TCI, the owner of At Home.
D.AT&T runs Internet, of which Excite is an important user.
29.Excite is eager to join such powerful companies as AT&T and TCI because .
A.it is at a competitive disadvantage in the Internet market
B.it expects to expand its shareholding over AT&T and TCI
C.it wishes to expand its coverage of online shopping sites
D.it is about to go bankrupt and has to sell itself
30.From what he said at the end of the third paragraph, we can conclude that Michael Harris .
A.was surprised at the At HomeExcite deal
B.was not satisfied with the At HomeExcite deal
C.accused At Home of accumulating its wealth from wars
D.considered the At HomeExcite deal desirable to At Home
Text 3
The film is not without its drawbacks. Disappointment, failure, selfdoubt, regrets over opportunities, missed or misusedthese are always the lot of the person in motion, which is why we must never forget the natural human bond that holds us all together and puts each grief into a common store of experience. For those in motion, these grieves are the inevitable consequence of ambition, particularly in a competitive society such as ours.
Many of us today are rather ambivalent about the virtues of a competitive society, particularly one that celebrates material success and celebrity status. In view of these questionable virtues, we have tried to substitute security and reassurance for the loss of selfesteem that comes from not getting an A, not getting a promotion, not getting a Mercedes or a Porsche, not getting an appearance on the Johnny Carson show. As a result I am tempted to assuage your disappointment by changing your grade, thereby brightening your lifeat least temporarily.
Such a change, I’m afraid, might do far more harm than good in the long run. In my experience, unmerited approval carries with it the risk of seriously distorting a young person’s perception of reality: seeing the world as a far more benign place than it actually is, and seeing the self as more able, more competent, than is truly the case. This kind of distortion can be very crippling for the person in motion, giving a false picture of accomplishment that makes the inevitable jolts later on bruising and injurious.
I know your B comes as a jolt. Not enough to make you break your stride, I hope. I also hope our perceptions of the course mesh well enough so that the grade seems fair to you. Most of all, I hope that what I’ve said helps you to understand the limitations of any grade as a measure of who you are and what you can do. It’s a symbol, a mark on a piece of paper. Nothing more.
Years ago, our high school principal wrote, as was customary then, a short message to the graduating class for the school yearbook. She was a formidable woman: whitehaired, gimleteyed, quiet and precise in her manner. Her message to us was: I believe the class of 1994 will go forward, and as they go forward, achieve.
Not a bad message, I’ve always felt. Hopeful, encouraging; but qualified just enough to let us know we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously (the “I believe” is certainly less fulsome than “I am sure”). A good way of wishing us all luck in the years to come. May you have your fair share of it as you move along. And may you find strength somewhere to endure whatever disappointments come your waysymbolic and actual.
31. “The natural human bond” in (Para. 1) refers to .
A.drawbacksB. lot
C.grievesD. ambition
32.According to the author, which of the following is not the virtues of the current seciety?
A.Material suess.B.Celebrity status.
C.Security and reassurance.D.Academic success.
33.According to the author, changing a student’s grade from B to A ultimately .
A.brighten his life
B.assuages his disappointment
C.attains academic success
D.distorts his outlook
34.The high school principle’s message to the 1994 graduating class is .
A.like the principle herself, formidable
B.complimentary
C.appropriate and encouraging
D.symbolic
35.The word“ambivalent”(Para. 2) is closest in meaning to .
A.ambitiousB.at a loss
C.criticalD.mad
Text 4
It is because of his plays that Shakespeare is now considered the greatest English writer in history.The era in which he lived,Elizabethan England,was a time in which broad interests and creativity could flourish.Elizabeth, the queen, was beloved by her subjects and proved to be a powerful and able ruler.Under the reign of Elizabeth,England changed from an island kingdom to an expanding empire.England grew rich through trade.Sixteenthcentury Englishmen traveled to the New World and to Africa.Music,dance,poetry,painting,and architecture flourished; but the art form in which Elizabethan England distingusihed the rest of Europe was the theater.
The theater,which had practically disappeared from Europe was,at this time,received as a part of the church service.Later,no longer as a part of the service,the“mystery plays”responded to popular taste by adding more and more comic elements.In England,they were sponsored by various trade guilds and presented on stage wagons that went from place to place.When the mystery plays began to lose their appeal,they were replaced by“morality”plays which always taught a moral.
In Renaissance England,writers were particularly interested in classical texts such as Latin and Greek plays.Schools and universities began to produce comedies and tragedies by Platus,Terence,and Seneca.Shakespeare was well acquainted with classical humanities and classical tragedies and comedies often served as models in his own drama.A Renaissance man,Shakespeares interest went beyond book learning to practical knowledge of military strategy,seafaring,business affairs,and the new geographical discoveries,all evident in his plays.
Companies of“strolling plays”which had specialized in morality plays responded to the change by staging new plays.Professional actors,who had been viewed by English society as little better than vagrants or criminals,gradually came under the protection of the nobility.Licensed theater companies were formed;Shakespeare belonged to one of those,where in addition to his writing,he acquired a wide experience in acting and theater management.
The theater grew in popularity and public theaters were built,not inside the city limits but just outside,along with other places of entertainment.Theaters in Elizabethan England were patronized by all social classes.The Globe Theater,built in 1599,where many of Shakespeares plays were performed,had a platform stage jutting out into a central courtyard.The audience stay around three sides of this platform—the lowerclass who each paid a penny in the pit and the wealthier spectators in the galleries above.The orchestra was on stage,as music was usually a significant part of the production.Indeed,the costumes,scenery,singing,playing,and dancing,as well as acting was essential to the total show.There was no lighting,however,plays were performed in the afternoon.Shakespeare knew his audience:his theater is addressed not just to the educated but to all classes of society.
36Which of the following is not true about the Elizabethan England?
ABroad interests and creativity flourished.
BEnglish people began to travel to the Continent.
CThe theater was the most prominent art form.
DEngland was no longer an island kingdom.
37According to the passage,the theater .
Afirst appeared in EnglandBhad various types
Cwere only sponsored by the nobilityDfollows two classical rules
38Which of the following statements may not be the reason for Shakespeares success?
AHe lived in the Elizabethan Age.
BHe was quite wealthy.
CHe had broad interest.
DHe was experienced in acting and theater management.
39“Theaters in Elizabethan England were patronized by all social classes.”“patronized”means .
AenjoyedBsponsored
CencouragedDpromoted
40Shakespeares plays .
Awere enjoyable to all the classes of societyBwere performed all day long
Cwere presented on stage wagonsDcopied the Latin and Greek plays
Directions:
Read the following text.Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.( 10 points )
One reason human beings can thrive in all kinds of climates is that they can control the qualities of the air in the enclosed spaces in which they live. Air conditioning is the use of mechanical systems to 1 that control in such places 2 homes, offices, theaters, institutions, factories, airplanes, and automobiles. The most familiar type of air conditioning is summertime cooling. Although important, this is 3 one of several aspects of air conditioning. Other applications 4 the control of the humidity (or air moisture), cleanliness, circulation of the air, and heating.
Tests have 5 that people generally feel best 6 certain temperature, humidity, and air velocity conditions. Temperatures can 7 from 21.5° C with 70 percent relative humidity to 28° C with 30 percent relative humidity. Relative humidity is the 8 of moisture in the air 9 a specific temperature compared 10 the amount it could hold at that temperature. 11 air velocities range from 4.5 to 10.5 meters per minute. It is also desirable that an air conditioner 12 dust, pollen, smoke, and odors from the air.
In many industrial environments, air conditioning is essential. Most print shops, for example, 13 constant humidity in order to control paper shrinkage and 14 the 15 operation in some processes. Libraries, especially ones with rare books, require air control to 16 the physical quality of their collections. Bakeries and the tobacco and cotton industries require high humidity 17 their products, and perishables such as fruits must be stored in cool, dry rooms. Some electronic components, drugs, and chemicals must be manufactured 18 the air is as free as possible 19 dust and other particles. Air conditioning is 20 in hospitals, especially in operating rooms.
1. A. achieve B. avail C. amount to D. assign
2. A. like B. as C. for D. to
3. A. but B. like C. as to D. mere
4. A. include B. contain C. consist D. comprise
5. A. determined B. caused C. maintained D. achieved
6. A. at B. around C. within D. under
7. A. alter B. range C. differ D. move
8. A. qualityB. sum C. amount D. number
9. A. under B. inside C. on D. at
10. A. to B. with C. against D. at
11. A. Agreeable B. Appreciable C. Amenable D. Available
12. A. remove B. to remove C. removes D. removing
13. A. ask B. demand C. request D. require
14. A. ensures B. ensure C. ensuringD. to ensure
15. A. unique B. uniform C. universal D. united
16. A. preserve B. conserve C. reserve D. retain
17. A. about B. as C. for D. to
18. A. what B. where C. that D. which
19. A. of B. against C. at D. without
20. A. virtual B. viable C. vibrant D. vital
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1(40 points)
Text 1
Film has properties that set it apart from painting,sculpture,novels,and plays.It is also,in its most popular and powerful form,a storytelling medium that shares many elements with the short story and the novel.And since film presents its stories in dramatic form,it has even more in common with the stage play:Both plays and movies act out or dramatize,show rather than tell,what happens.
Unlike the novel,short story,or play,however,film is not handy to study;it cannot be effectively frozen on the printed page.The novel and short story are relatively easy to study because they are written to be read.The stage play is slightly more difficult to study because it is written to be performed.But plays are printed,and because they rely heavily on the spoken word,imaginative readers can conjure up at least a pale imitation of the experience they might have been watching a performance on stage. This cannot be said of the screenplay,for a film depends greatly on visual and other nonvisual elements that are not easily expressed in writing.The screenplay requires so much“filling in”by our imagination that we cannot really approximate the experience of a film by reading a screenplay,and reading a screenplay is worthwhile only if we have already seen the film.Thus,most screenplays are published not to read but rather to be remembered.
Still,film should not be ignored because studying it requires extra effort.And the fact that we do not generally “read”films does not mean we should ignore the principles of literary or dramatic analysis when we see a film.Literature and films do share many elements and communicate many things in similar ways.Perceptive film analysis rests on the principles used in literary analysis, and if we apply what we have learned in the study of literature to our analysis of films,we will be far ahead of those who do not. Therefore,before we turn to the unique elements of film,we need to look into the elements that film shares with any good story.
Dividing film into its various elements for analysis is a somewhat artificial process,for the elements of any art form never exist in isolation,It is impossible,for example,to isolate plot from character:Events influence people,and people influence events;the two are always closely interwoven in any fictional,dramatic,or cinematic work.Nevertheless,the analytical method uses such a fragmenting technique for ease and convenience.But it does so with the assumption that we can study these elements in isolation without losing sight of their interdependence or their relationship to the whole.
21What is mainly discussed in the text?
AThe uniqueness of film.
BThe importance of film analysis.
CHow to identify the techniques a film uses.
DThe relationship between film analysis and literary analysis.
22Why is it not handy to study film?
ABecause screenplay is not as well written as literary works.
BBecause a film cannot be effectively represented by a printed screenplay.
CBecause a film is too complicated.
DBecause publishers prefer to publish literary works.
23From the third paragraph we learn that.
Athe means by which we analyze a literary work cannot be applied to the analysis of the film
Ba good film and a good story have many elements in common
Cwe should not pay extra effort to study films
Dusing the principles of literary analysis makes no difference in film analysis
24Why can’t we divide film into various elements for analysis?
ABecause these elements are interwoven with each other and cannot keep be separated without failing to appreciate a film as a whole.
BBecause films cannot be written down and it is inconvenient to analyse them.
CBecause films elements are too complicated.
DBecause films need not to be analysed in detail.
25What does the word “it” refer to in the last sentence of the passage?
AThe analytical method.BThe fragmenting technique.
CEase.DConvenience.
Text 2
Highspeed Internet provider At Home Corp. is buying Excite Inc. , one of the leading destinations on the World Wide Web, for about $ 6.7 billion in stock in one of the largest Internet company deals. The deal announced today would surpass America Online Inc.’s $ 4.2 billion acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. last year. Based on closing stock prices Friday, Excite is worth about $ 3.4 billion, which would mean that At Home would be paying a huge premium. The deal could eventually give telecommunications giant AT&T Corp. control of one of the highly soughtafter portals that serve as entry points onto the Internet.
At Home is owned by TeleCommunications Inc., Cox Communications and several other investors. TCI is in the process of merging with AT&T Corp. in a $ 39 billion deal that is expected to be completed by spring. AT&T Corp. chief executive Michael Armstrong has stated he wants to use At Home as a conduit for delivering a wide range of communications services, including electronic commerce. Control over Excite, which has a search engine and links to several online shopping sites, would certainly enhance that goal. Excite, which has lagged behind other Website companies, such as Yahoo!, has been looking for a larger partner in the rapidly consolidating Internet portal market, especially in wake of the AOLNetscape deal. Several other companies had been rumored to be interested in Excite, including Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Negotiations between Yahoo! and Excite broke off this weekend, according to published reports.
Excite, eager to extend its reach and market power, was attracted by an alliance with AT&T and TCI. Excite’s shareholders are expected to own about 30 percent of the combined company, which would be known as At Home Networks. Excite chief executive George Bell would take a position on the new company’s executive board, reporting to At Home chief executive Tom Jermoluk. At Home, which delivers highspeed Internet service over cable TV lines, has more than 330 000 customers. The deal would give it access to Excite’s more than 20 million registered users and to the company’s contentdevelopment capabilities. Both companies are located in Redwood City, Calif. At Home, whose stock has risen nearly 300 percent over the past year, has the money to make a deal, Michael Harris, president of Kinetic Strategies Inc. told MSNBC. “With At Home’s existing stock valuation (of about $11.7 billion), it’s been surprising they haven’t done more deals. They’ve certainly got a huge war chest built up.”
Neither company has yet made a profit. In the three months ended Sep. 30, Excite lost $ 6.8 million on revenue of $ 44 million, including acquisition and amortization expenses. In the same period, At Home lost $ 9.7 million.
26.Why does At Home want to buy Excite?
A.Because Tom Jermoluk wants to control his strongest competitor.
B.Because it wants to expand its business through Excite’s present resources.
C.Because both companies are based in Redwood city, California.
D.Because it has lost $ 9.7 million in the last three months.
27.Before the At HomeExcite deal, Excite had attempted a deal with .
A.TCI B.AT&T
C.AOL D.Yahoo!
28.How does AT&T fit into the picture of the At HomeExcite deal?
A.Excite has been dealing with AT&T for some time.
B.AT&T and At Home has been running At Home Networks jointly.
C.AT&T is about to ally with TCI, the owner of At Home.
D.AT&T runs Internet, of which Excite is an important user.
29.Excite is eager to join such powerful companies as AT&T and TCI because .
A.it is at a competitive disadvantage in the Internet market
B.it expects to expand its shareholding over AT&T and TCI
C.it wishes to expand its coverage of online shopping sites
D.it is about to go bankrupt and has to sell itself
30.From what he said at the end of the third paragraph, we can conclude that Michael Harris .
A.was surprised at the At HomeExcite deal
B.was not satisfied with the At HomeExcite deal
C.accused At Home of accumulating its wealth from wars
D.considered the At HomeExcite deal desirable to At Home
Text 3
The film is not without its drawbacks. Disappointment, failure, selfdoubt, regrets over opportunities, missed or misusedthese are always the lot of the person in motion, which is why we must never forget the natural human bond that holds us all together and puts each grief into a common store of experience. For those in motion, these grieves are the inevitable consequence of ambition, particularly in a competitive society such as ours.
Many of us today are rather ambivalent about the virtues of a competitive society, particularly one that celebrates material success and celebrity status. In view of these questionable virtues, we have tried to substitute security and reassurance for the loss of selfesteem that comes from not getting an A, not getting a promotion, not getting a Mercedes or a Porsche, not getting an appearance on the Johnny Carson show. As a result I am tempted to assuage your disappointment by changing your grade, thereby brightening your lifeat least temporarily.
Such a change, I’m afraid, might do far more harm than good in the long run. In my experience, unmerited approval carries with it the risk of seriously distorting a young person’s perception of reality: seeing the world as a far more benign place than it actually is, and seeing the self as more able, more competent, than is truly the case. This kind of distortion can be very crippling for the person in motion, giving a false picture of accomplishment that makes the inevitable jolts later on bruising and injurious.
I know your B comes as a jolt. Not enough to make you break your stride, I hope. I also hope our perceptions of the course mesh well enough so that the grade seems fair to you. Most of all, I hope that what I’ve said helps you to understand the limitations of any grade as a measure of who you are and what you can do. It’s a symbol, a mark on a piece of paper. Nothing more.
Years ago, our high school principal wrote, as was customary then, a short message to the graduating class for the school yearbook. She was a formidable woman: whitehaired, gimleteyed, quiet and precise in her manner. Her message to us was: I believe the class of 1994 will go forward, and as they go forward, achieve.
Not a bad message, I’ve always felt. Hopeful, encouraging; but qualified just enough to let us know we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously (the “I believe” is certainly less fulsome than “I am sure”). A good way of wishing us all luck in the years to come. May you have your fair share of it as you move along. And may you find strength somewhere to endure whatever disappointments come your waysymbolic and actual.
31. “The natural human bond” in (Para. 1) refers to .
A.drawbacksB. lot
C.grievesD. ambition
32.According to the author, which of the following is not the virtues of the current seciety?
A.Material suess.B.Celebrity status.
C.Security and reassurance.D.Academic success.
33.According to the author, changing a student’s grade from B to A ultimately .
A.brighten his life
B.assuages his disappointment
C.attains academic success
D.distorts his outlook
34.The high school principle’s message to the 1994 graduating class is .
A.like the principle herself, formidable
B.complimentary
C.appropriate and encouraging
D.symbolic
35.The word“ambivalent”(Para. 2) is closest in meaning to .
A.ambitiousB.at a loss
C.criticalD.mad
Text 4
It is because of his plays that Shakespeare is now considered the greatest English writer in history.The era in which he lived,Elizabethan England,was a time in which broad interests and creativity could flourish.Elizabeth, the queen, was beloved by her subjects and proved to be a powerful and able ruler.Under the reign of Elizabeth,England changed from an island kingdom to an expanding empire.England grew rich through trade.Sixteenthcentury Englishmen traveled to the New World and to Africa.Music,dance,poetry,painting,and architecture flourished; but the art form in which Elizabethan England distingusihed the rest of Europe was the theater.
The theater,which had practically disappeared from Europe was,at this time,received as a part of the church service.Later,no longer as a part of the service,the“mystery plays”responded to popular taste by adding more and more comic elements.In England,they were sponsored by various trade guilds and presented on stage wagons that went from place to place.When the mystery plays began to lose their appeal,they were replaced by“morality”plays which always taught a moral.
In Renaissance England,writers were particularly interested in classical texts such as Latin and Greek plays.Schools and universities began to produce comedies and tragedies by Platus,Terence,and Seneca.Shakespeare was well acquainted with classical humanities and classical tragedies and comedies often served as models in his own drama.A Renaissance man,Shakespeares interest went beyond book learning to practical knowledge of military strategy,seafaring,business affairs,and the new geographical discoveries,all evident in his plays.
Companies of“strolling plays”which had specialized in morality plays responded to the change by staging new plays.Professional actors,who had been viewed by English society as little better than vagrants or criminals,gradually came under the protection of the nobility.Licensed theater companies were formed;Shakespeare belonged to one of those,where in addition to his writing,he acquired a wide experience in acting and theater management.
The theater grew in popularity and public theaters were built,not inside the city limits but just outside,along with other places of entertainment.Theaters in Elizabethan England were patronized by all social classes.The Globe Theater,built in 1599,where many of Shakespeares plays were performed,had a platform stage jutting out into a central courtyard.The audience stay around three sides of this platform—the lowerclass who each paid a penny in the pit and the wealthier spectators in the galleries above.The orchestra was on stage,as music was usually a significant part of the production.Indeed,the costumes,scenery,singing,playing,and dancing,as well as acting was essential to the total show.There was no lighting,however,plays were performed in the afternoon.Shakespeare knew his audience:his theater is addressed not just to the educated but to all classes of society.
36Which of the following is not true about the Elizabethan England?
ABroad interests and creativity flourished.
BEnglish people began to travel to the Continent.
CThe theater was the most prominent art form.
DEngland was no longer an island kingdom.
37According to the passage,the theater .
Afirst appeared in EnglandBhad various types
Cwere only sponsored by the nobilityDfollows two classical rules
38Which of the following statements may not be the reason for Shakespeares success?
AHe lived in the Elizabethan Age.
BHe was quite wealthy.
CHe had broad interest.
DHe was experienced in acting and theater management.
39“Theaters in Elizabethan England were patronized by all social classes.”“patronized”means .
AenjoyedBsponsored
CencouragedDpromoted
40Shakespeares plays .
Awere enjoyable to all the classes of societyBwere performed all day long
Cwere presented on stage wagonsDcopied the Latin and Greek plays