Federal regulators did ask for longer-term contracts between power producers and the utilities to stabilize prices. The federal commission, unavailable for comment on this story, released a recent statement defending its position not to re-regulate.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Dec. 15, 2000: “The commission’s intention is to enable the markets to catch up to current supply and demand problems and not to reintroduce command and control regulation that has helped to produce the current crisis.”
Some energy experts believe that, without temporary price caps, the crisis will continue.
Severin Borenstein of the U.C. Energy Institute says, “Some federal regulators have a blind commitment to making the market work and I think part of the problem is they really don’t understand what’s going on.”
Gary Ackerman of the Western Power Trading Forum says, “He’s dead wrong about that. The federal regulators understand far better than any individual state that, though it might be painful and it certainly is painful in California, price caps don’t work. They never work.”
16. The battle between Californians and federal regulators is about ________.
A. control over the price of power
B. necessity of removing price caps
C. hiking the energy prices in California
D. a regulation concerning power supply
17. Governor Gray Davis was dissatisfied with the Federal Regulatory Commission because ________.
A. they did not know what the real problem was
B. they were living an easy life in an ivory tower
C. they could not experience the life in San Diego
D. they turned a blind eye to the situation in California
18. The Federal Commission uncapped the energy price with the intention to ________.
A. help California’s economy booming steadily
B. prevent power price from going up any further
C. enable the market to deal with supply and demand problems
D. have contracts signed between power producers and the utilities
19. To help keep prices from going higher, people and groups in California ________.
A. imposed reasonable price caps
B. beat down the door of federal regulators
C. urged the federal authorities to take action
D. struggled against federal policy to hike prices
20. Energy experts against price caps believe that ________.
A. the present situation in California will continue unless there is price control
B. the current crisis is partly attributed to previous command and control policy
C. price caps can temporarily solve energy problems an individual state meets with
D. they do understand what is going on in California and will take proper measures
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
In Western countries people have been using the installment plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U.S., the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.
The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.
Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment. There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, it becomes more likely to have a depression. This is why, in some countries, the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.
31. Which of the following is NOT true about the installment plan?
A. A lot of British families use the installment plan.
B. More than 10 percent American families buy things on installments.
C. Americans depend more on installment than British people do.
D. Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.
32. Goods bought on installments are more expensive than goods bought by cash because ________.
A. the buyer has to pay extra money as interest
B. the delivery of the goods charges extra money
C. the buyer has to pay a down payment
D. the service offered by installment plan charged extra money
33. What will happen to a buyer if he fails to make the full payment for an item bought on installments?
A. He might lose his job.
B. He will stop owning the item he has bought.
C. He will have to sell what he has bought.
D. He will go into debt.
34. The advantage of installment buying might include all the following EXCEPT that ________.
A. purchasing power is strengthened
B. employment might be increased
C. people develop a good habit of saving money
D. young couples are able to furnish their homes
35. In some countries, the governments control the installment plan to ________.
A. increase employment
B. avoid depressions
C. ensure that businesses make good profits
D. ensure that people can pay for what hey buy
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
It’s very necessary for Canada to set up effective transportation system because of its enormous size with its sparsely populated distribution. It is also very difficult to make transportation construction on the surface of the country due to its harsh long winter and its mountainous terrain. It’s really amazing for this country to set up a transcontinental railroad since last century. Until 1990, the route length was more than 86,880 kilometers. Most of the country’s freight are transported by Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. But nowadays fewer and fewer people travel by train.
Water transportation was very important before railway construction. Although passenger travel by water is less important than before, waterways remain important for cargo transporting. Waterways include lakes, rivers and sea coastlines. One of the most significant water transportation system is St. Lawrence seaway from the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Lake Superior.
Because of the increasing number of automobiles, Canada’s road transportation develops very quickly. In 1991, road length has been more than 849,400 kilometers. Road system is becoming more and more important. Trucks carry nearly half of the total freight transported in Canada. Early in 1962, Canada had Trans-Canada Highway with the length of more than 7.7 kilometers, extending from St. Johns, New Brunswick to Victoria, British Columbia.
With the development of transportation, airplanes became another necessary vehicles since aeroplanes could be the only access to some areas of the far northern region. Canadian transportation system develops very quickly with the increasingly advanced science and technology. The aim of the transportation is to use substitute fuels and to produce more efficient transportation facilities.
36. Despite its _________, Canada now boasts a transcontinental railroad.
A. sparsely populated areas B. abundant natural resources
C. large acre of desert D. harsh long winter
37. Nowadays, the Canadian railway is mainly used to _________.
A. transport freight B. carry passengers
C. carry tourists D. transport soldiers
38. Nearly 50% of the total freight transported in Canada is accomplished by _________.
A. trains B. cars C. trucks D. ships
39. Airplanes are important in transportation in Canada _________.
A. because they can fly very high
B. because they can carry larger freight to the destination within shorter time
C. because they are the newest form of transport
D. because they can go to some areas that cannot be reached by other transports
40. The passage is mainly about _________.
A. the history of Canadian transportation
B. the different forms of transport in Canada
C. the condition of transportation in Canada
D. the advancement of Canadian transportation
Part III Vocabulary (20 minutes)
Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
41. Her anger could not be __________ when the conversation turned to the criticism of her own father.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Dec. 15, 2000: “The commission’s intention is to enable the markets to catch up to current supply and demand problems and not to reintroduce command and control regulation that has helped to produce the current crisis.”
Some energy experts believe that, without temporary price caps, the crisis will continue.
Severin Borenstein of the U.C. Energy Institute says, “Some federal regulators have a blind commitment to making the market work and I think part of the problem is they really don’t understand what’s going on.”
Gary Ackerman of the Western Power Trading Forum says, “He’s dead wrong about that. The federal regulators understand far better than any individual state that, though it might be painful and it certainly is painful in California, price caps don’t work. They never work.”
16. The battle between Californians and federal regulators is about ________.
A. control over the price of power
B. necessity of removing price caps
C. hiking the energy prices in California
D. a regulation concerning power supply
17. Governor Gray Davis was dissatisfied with the Federal Regulatory Commission because ________.
A. they did not know what the real problem was
B. they were living an easy life in an ivory tower
C. they could not experience the life in San Diego
D. they turned a blind eye to the situation in California
18. The Federal Commission uncapped the energy price with the intention to ________.
A. help California’s economy booming steadily
B. prevent power price from going up any further
C. enable the market to deal with supply and demand problems
D. have contracts signed between power producers and the utilities
19. To help keep prices from going higher, people and groups in California ________.
A. imposed reasonable price caps
B. beat down the door of federal regulators
C. urged the federal authorities to take action
D. struggled against federal policy to hike prices
20. Energy experts against price caps believe that ________.
A. the present situation in California will continue unless there is price control
B. the current crisis is partly attributed to previous command and control policy
C. price caps can temporarily solve energy problems an individual state meets with
D. they do understand what is going on in California and will take proper measures
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
In Western countries people have been using the installment plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U.S., the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.
The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.
Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment. There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, it becomes more likely to have a depression. This is why, in some countries, the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.
31. Which of the following is NOT true about the installment plan?
A. A lot of British families use the installment plan.
B. More than 10 percent American families buy things on installments.
C. Americans depend more on installment than British people do.
D. Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.
32. Goods bought on installments are more expensive than goods bought by cash because ________.
A. the buyer has to pay extra money as interest
B. the delivery of the goods charges extra money
C. the buyer has to pay a down payment
D. the service offered by installment plan charged extra money
33. What will happen to a buyer if he fails to make the full payment for an item bought on installments?
A. He might lose his job.
B. He will stop owning the item he has bought.
C. He will have to sell what he has bought.
D. He will go into debt.
34. The advantage of installment buying might include all the following EXCEPT that ________.
A. purchasing power is strengthened
B. employment might be increased
C. people develop a good habit of saving money
D. young couples are able to furnish their homes
35. In some countries, the governments control the installment plan to ________.
A. increase employment
B. avoid depressions
C. ensure that businesses make good profits
D. ensure that people can pay for what hey buy
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
It’s very necessary for Canada to set up effective transportation system because of its enormous size with its sparsely populated distribution. It is also very difficult to make transportation construction on the surface of the country due to its harsh long winter and its mountainous terrain. It’s really amazing for this country to set up a transcontinental railroad since last century. Until 1990, the route length was more than 86,880 kilometers. Most of the country’s freight are transported by Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. But nowadays fewer and fewer people travel by train.
Water transportation was very important before railway construction. Although passenger travel by water is less important than before, waterways remain important for cargo transporting. Waterways include lakes, rivers and sea coastlines. One of the most significant water transportation system is St. Lawrence seaway from the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Lake Superior.
Because of the increasing number of automobiles, Canada’s road transportation develops very quickly. In 1991, road length has been more than 849,400 kilometers. Road system is becoming more and more important. Trucks carry nearly half of the total freight transported in Canada. Early in 1962, Canada had Trans-Canada Highway with the length of more than 7.7 kilometers, extending from St. Johns, New Brunswick to Victoria, British Columbia.
With the development of transportation, airplanes became another necessary vehicles since aeroplanes could be the only access to some areas of the far northern region. Canadian transportation system develops very quickly with the increasingly advanced science and technology. The aim of the transportation is to use substitute fuels and to produce more efficient transportation facilities.
36. Despite its _________, Canada now boasts a transcontinental railroad.
A. sparsely populated areas B. abundant natural resources
C. large acre of desert D. harsh long winter
37. Nowadays, the Canadian railway is mainly used to _________.
A. transport freight B. carry passengers
C. carry tourists D. transport soldiers
38. Nearly 50% of the total freight transported in Canada is accomplished by _________.
A. trains B. cars C. trucks D. ships
39. Airplanes are important in transportation in Canada _________.
A. because they can fly very high
B. because they can carry larger freight to the destination within shorter time
C. because they are the newest form of transport
D. because they can go to some areas that cannot be reached by other transports
40. The passage is mainly about _________.
A. the history of Canadian transportation
B. the different forms of transport in Canada
C. the condition of transportation in Canada
D. the advancement of Canadian transportation
Part III Vocabulary (20 minutes)
Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
41. Her anger could not be __________ when the conversation turned to the criticism of her own father.