1. Reading Comprehension

In this section there are two passages followed by questions or unfinished statements,each with four suggested answers marked A,B,C and D.Choose the one that you think is the best answer.

TEXT A

  California is a land of variety and contrast.Almost every type of physical land feature,sort of arctic ice field and tropical jungles can be found within its borders.Sharply contrasting types of land often lie very close to one another.

  People living in Bakersfield,for instance,can visit the Pacific Ocean and the coastal plain,the fertile San Joaquin Valley,the arid Mojave Desert,and the high Sierra Nevada,all within a radius of about 100 miles.In other areas it is possible to go snow skiing in the morning and surfing in the evening of the same day,without having to travel long distance.

  Contrast abounds in California.The highest point in the United States(outside Alaska) is in California,and so is the lowest point (including Alaska).Mount Whitney,14494 feet above sea level,is separated from Death Valley,282 feet below sea level,by a distance of only 100 miles.The two areas have a difference in altitude of almost three miles.

  California has deep,clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe,the deepest in the country,but it also has shallow, salty desert lakes. It has Lake Tulainyo ,12020 feet above sea level,and the lowest lake in the country,the Salton Sea,236 feet below sea level.Some of its lakes,like Owens Lake in Death Valley,are not lakes at all: they are dried up lake beds.

  In addition to mountains, lakes,valleys,deserts,and plateaus,California has its Pacific coastline,stretching longer than the coastlines of Oregon and Washington combined.

1. Which of the following is the lowest point in the United States?

A. Lake Tulainyo.   B. Mojave Desert.    C. Death Valley.    D. The Salton .Sea

2. Where is the highest point in the United States located?

A. Lake Tahoe.      B. Sierra Nevada     C. Mount Whitney   D. Alaska.

3. How far away is Death Valley from Mount Whitney?

A. About 3 miles.     B. Only 100 miles.     C. 282 feet.       D. 14494 feet.

4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being within radius of about 100 miles of Bakersfield?

A. The Pacific Ocean                    B. San Joaquin Valley

B. Mojave Desert                        D. Oregon and Washington

5. Which statement best demonstrates that California is a land of variety and contrast?

A. The highest lake in California is Lake Tulainyo.

B. It is possible to go surfing and snow skiing in some parts of California without having to travel long distance.

C. Sierra Nevada,San Joaquin Valley,Mojave Desert and the Pacific Ocean all lie within a radius of about 100miles.

D. Owens Lake,in Death Valley,is not really a lake at all.

 

TEXT B

  Reebok executives do not like to hear their stylish athletic shoes called footwear for yuppies.They contend that Reebok shoes appeal to diverse market segments,especially now that the company offers basketball and children’s shoes for the under-18 set and walking shoes for older customers not interested in aerobics or running.The executives also point out that through recent acquisitions they have added hiking boots,dress and casual shoes,and high-performance athletic footwear to their product lines,all of which should attract new and varied groups of customers.Still,despite its emphasis on new markets,Reebok plans few changes in the up market retailing network that helped push sales to 1 billion annually,ahead of all other sports shoe marketers.Reebok shoes,which are priced from $27 to $85,will continue to be sold only on better specialty,sporting goods,and department stores,in accordance with the company’s view that consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution.In the past few years,the Massachusetts-based company has imposed limits on the number of its distributors(and the number of shoes supplied to stores),partly out of necessity.At times the unexpected demand for Reebok’s exceeded supply, and the company could barely keep up with orders from the dealers it already had.These fulfillment problems seem to be under control now,but the company is still selective about its distributors.At present,Reebok shoes are available in about five thousand retail stores in the United States.Reebok has already anticipated that walking shoes will be the next fitness-related craze,replacing aerobics shoes the same way its brightly colored,soft leather exercise footwear replaced conventional running shoes.Through produce diversification and careful market research,Reebok hopes to avoid the distribution problems Nile came across several years ago,when Nike misjudged the strength of the aerobics shoe craze and was forced to unload huge inventories of running shoes through discount stores.

6. One reason why Reebok’s managerial personnel don’t like their shoes to be called”footwear for yuppies”is that _____.

A. they believe that their shoes are popular with people of different age groups

B. new production lines have been added to produce inexpensive shoes

C. “yuppies”usually evokes a negative imagine

D. the term makes people think of prohibitive prices

7. Reebok’s view that “consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution”implies that_____.

A. the quality of a brand is measured by the service quality of the store selling it

B. the quality of a produce determines the quality of its distributors

C. the popularity of a brand is determined by the stores that sell it

D. consumers believe that first-rate products are only sold by high-quality stores

8. Reebok once had to limit the number of its distributors because_____.

A. Its supply of products fell short of demand

B. Too many distributors would cut into its profits

C. The reduction of distributors could increase its share of the market

D. It wanted to enhance consumer confidence in its products

9. Although the Reebok Company has solved the problem of fulfilling its orders,it_____.

A. Does not want to further expand its retailing network

B. Still limits the number of shoes supplies to stores

C. Is still particular about who sells its products

D. Still carefully chooses the manufacturers of its products

10. What lesson has Reebok learned from Nike’s distribution problem?

A. A company should not sell its high quality shoes in discount stores.

B. A company should not limit its distribution network.

C. A company should not do follow-up surveys of its products.

D. A company should correctly evaluate the impact of a new craze on the market.

 

2. Extra Reading

  One day,while my wife and I were digging for traces of earlier people in south-central Afghanistan,the inhabitants of the village came to tell us that their grain was being stolen. We dis not want to get into their squabbles and we certainly could do nothing without evidence regarding the culprit.

  That the grain was being taken had been proved beyond a doubt by a unique”lock” used in these parts.When the farmers piles the grain in their storage places,they put fragile clay seals on the grain that intervals of from two to three feet.A design is imprinted on the clay while it is wet,and when the seals dry,they are so delicate that they will crumble at the slightest touch.Only one man in the village carves the wooden seals,so it would be practically impossible to replace a broken one.

  The telltales seals were now being broken every night.But the guards,insofar as they could stay awake,had seen nothing.

  Several days later,after returning from digging in a cave,the village council approached me and announced that they had discovered where the grain was going.A big, big bird was taking it,they said.

  “Our old guns cannot kill him,”they said.“You must kill him for us.”As I had a twelve-gauge,pump-operated shotgun,I agreed to undertake the task.So one night I got into my sleeping bag early and set the alarm clock for 4:30 a.m.

  In the morning I crawled out and dressed clumsily.Arriving at the grain storage area,I saw only the guards,sound asleep on a pile of straw.I dug a foxhole in the straw and sat watch.All I saw was the changing sky,incredibly brilliant,near the desert and streaked with an unusual number of falling stars.

  At dawn the village quickly awoke,and we prepared breakfast.While we were eating,the guards came in and reported three more broken clay seals.The “bird”had struck again.

  The next morning,as I approached at 2:30 am.,I saw a medium-sized animal running away from one of the piles of grain.I fried and missed.The shot wakened the guards,who berated me for firing at nothing and insisted that I watch the sky for the bird.When they settled down for a few more hours of sleep,I slumped in my drafty foxhole for another cold night.

  The moon was still fun.About 4:30 a.m.I spied the same animal,moving ponderously,like a small tank,across the grain storage area.I raised my gun and fired quickly--but missed.The creature began to move rapidly in the direction of the hills.I fired again and scored a hit.Running close,I fired one once,I looked in amazement at the thief.

  The shooting had aroused the village,and several bleary-eyed men came to see the excitement.I proudly showed them my trophy--an enormous porcupine!

  A few of the men grunted disgustedly.One said,”This is not a bird.It’s a sch goon.”  

  After sunrise the whole village inspected the kill and immediately divided into two camps,those who thought the porcupine was the culprit and those who thought I was crazy to kill the porcupine instead of waiting for the bird.Even after the porcupine’s stomach had been ripped open and found full of grain,many still defended the “bird”theory.

  After returned to the United States,I was surprised to find exactly what we were looking for in that cave where we were excavating,but we did discover a totally unexpected sch’ goon.

Do the following statements agree with the information given in this passage?

T(for TRUE) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;

F(for FALSE) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;

NM(for NOT MENTIONED) if the statement is not mentioned in the passage.

(  _____  )1. It can be inferred from the text that the sch’ goon means bird in the local language.

(   ___ )2. The farmers put clay seals on the grain at equal distances.

(  ____  )3. The clay seals were so fragile that it was doubtful whether they could serve as valid evidence of the theft.

(  ____  )4. Although the guards were on the alert all through the night,they had seen nothing,let alone catching the thief.

(  ___  )5. The narrator was asked to undertake the task of shooting the allegedly guilty bird because he was a good shot.

(  ____  )6. The guards seemed unhappy at the narrator’s first shooting.

(  ____  )7. A porcupine turned out to be the thief.

(  ____ )8. All the villagers were so stubborn that they wouldn’t accept the fact the porcupine was the culprit instead of a bird.

(  ____  )9. The unexpected discovery for the narrator was that once one formed an opinion,it was very difficult to bring one round, not even with facts!

(  ____ )10.The unexpected discovery for the archaeologists in the story was that there are porcupines in Afghanistan.