Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension（40 minutes）

Section A

Directions：In this section，there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.Read the passage through carefully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter.Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.

An unidentified wit once said，“Laugh，and the world laughs with you.Snore，and you sleep alone.”Yet snoring is far from a laughing matter，as those unfortunates with good hearing，who are rightly 26 to the sounds of the snoring disorder，will testify.

It has been estimated that one of eight Americans snores；this means that there are approximately 21 million people—women as well as men—who render an 27 sound when they are asleep.And assuming that each snorer（打鼾者）disturbs the sleep of at least one other person，it 28 follows that there are 21 million unhappy listeners.

While a sleeping person breathes，either in or out，several structures in his nose and throat 29 the snoring.The sounds，coming from the soft palate（腭）and other soft structures of the throat，are caused by vibratory responses to inflowing and outflowing air.When the soft tissues of the mouth and throat come close to the lining of the throat，the vibrations（振动）that occur are caused by the position of the tongue.In short，the noise made by snoring can be 30 to the noise when breezes flutter a flag on a pole.The 31 of the vibrations depends on the size， 32 and elasticity of the affected tissues and on the 33 of the air flow.

Although it is usually the process of inhaling（吸气）or exhaling through the mouth that cause snoring，short snores come from the nose of an open-mouthed sleeper.In all fairness to snorers，however，it should be emphasised that snoring is an 34 act which stops as the offender is 35 .

A）awakened I）involuntary

B）compared J）necessarily

C）density K）sequence

D）force L）speed

E）frequency M）subjected

F）generally N）unexpected

G）generate O）unpleasant

H）incur

Section B

Directions：In this section，you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it.Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs.Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived.You may choose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter.Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.

Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century

A）There’s a dark little joke exchanged by educators with an opposing trace：Rip Van Winkle awakens in the 21st century after a hundred-year sleep and is，of course，utterly bewildered by what he sees.Men and women dash about，talking to small metal devices attached to their ears.Young people sit at home on sofas，moving miniature Athletes around on electronic screens.Older folk defy death and disability with devices in their chests and with hips made of metal and plastic.Airports，hospitals，shopping walls—every place Rip goes just baffles him.But when he finally walks into a schoolroom，the old man knows exactly where he is.“This is a school，”he declares.“We used to have these back in 1906.Only now the blackboards are green.”

B）American schools aren’t exactly frozen in time，but considering the pace of change in other areas of life，our public schools tend to feel like throwbacks（复旧）.Kids spend much of the day as their grandparents once did：sitting in rows，listening to teachers’lecture，scribbling（潦草地写）notes by hand，and reading from textbooks that are out of date by the time they are printed.A yawning gap separates the world inside the schoolhouse from the world outside.

C）For the past five years，the national conversation on education has focused on reading scores，maths tests and closing the“achievement gap”between social classes.This is not a story about that conversation.This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education，the one that will ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction of our children get“left behind”but also whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can’t think their way through abstract problems，work in teams，distinguish good information from bad or speak a language other than English.

D）Right now we’re aiming too low.Competence in reading and maths is just the minimum.Scientific and technical skills are，likewise，utterly necessary but insufficient.Today’s economy demands not only a high-level competence in the traditional academic disciplines but also what might be called 21st century skills.

E）Here’s what they are：knowing more about the world；thinking outside the box；becoming smarter about new sources of information；developing good people skills；real knowledge in the Google Era.

F）Learn the names of all the rivers in South America.That was the assignment given to Deborah Stipek’s daughter Meredith in school，and her mum who’s dean of the Stanford University School of Education，was not impressed.“That’s silly，”Stipek told her daughter.“Tell your teacher that if you need to know anything besides the Amazon，you can look it up on Google.”Any number of old-school assignments—memorising the battles of the Civil War or the periodic table of the elements—now seem faintly absurd.That kind of information，which is poorly retained unless you routinely use it，is available at a keystroke（按键）.

G）Still，few would argue that an American child shouldn’t learn the causes of the Civil War or understand how the periodic table reflects the atomic structure and properties of the elements.As school critic E.D.Hirsch Jr.points out in his book，The Knowledge Deficit，kids need a substantial fund of information just to make sense of reading materials beyond the grade-school level.Without mastering the fundamental building blocks of maths，science or history，complex concepts are impossible.

H）Many analysts believe that to achieve the right balance between such core knowledge and what educators call“portable skills”—critical thinking，making connections between ideas and knowing how to keep on learning—the US curriculum needs to become more like that of Singapore，Belgium and Sweden，whose students outperform（胜过）American students on maths and science tests.Classes in these countries dwell on key concepts that are taught in depth and in careful sequence，as opposed to a succession of forgettable details so often served in US classrooms.Textbooks and tests support this approach.“Countries from Germany to Singapore have extremely small textbooks that focus on the most powerful and generative ideas，”says Roy Pea，co-director of the Stanford Centre for Innovations in Learning.These might be the key rules in maths，the laws in science or the relationship between supply and demand in economics.America’s thick textbooks，by contrast，tend to go through a mind-numbing stream of topics and subtopics in an attempt to address a vast range of educational standards.

I）Depth over breadth and the ability to leap across disciplines are exactly what teachers aim for at the Henry Ford Academy，a public charter school in Dearborn，Michigan.Last fall，10th-graders in Charles Dershimer’s science class began a project that combines concepts from earth science，chemistry，business and design.After reading about Nike’s effort to develop a more environment-friendly sneakers，students had to choose a consumer product，analyse and explain its environmental impact and then develop a plan for reengineering it to reduce pollution costs without sacrificing its commercial appeal.Says Dershimer：“It’s a challenge for them and for me.”

J）The juniors in Bill Stroud’s class are attracted by a documentary called Loose Change playing on a small TV screen at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education，in urban Astoria，NY.The film uses 9/11 films and interviews with building engineers and Twin Towers survivors to make an oddly compelling case that interior explosions unrelated to the impact of the airplanes brought down the World Trade Centre on that fateful（重大的）day.Afterward，the student—an ethnic mix of New Yorkers with their own 9/11 memories—dive into a discussion about the nature of truth.

K）Throughout the year，the class will examine news reports，websites，history books，blogs，and even pop songs.The goal is to teach kids to be sharp consumers of information and to research，formulate and defend their own views，says Stroud，who is the founder and principal of the four-year-old public school.Classes like these，which teach key aspects of information literacy，remain rare in public education，but more and more universities and employers say they are needed as the world grows ever more flooded with information of variable quality.Last year，in response to demand from colleges，the Educational Testing Service unveiled a new，computer-based exam designed to measure information-and-communication-technology literacy.

L）A study of the test with 6，200 high school seniors and college freshmen found that only half could correctly judge the objectivity of a website.“Kids tend to go to Google and cut and paste a research report together，”says Terry Egan，who led the team that developed the new test.“We kind of assumed this generation was so comfortable with technology that they know how to use it for research and deeper thinking，”says Egan.“But if they’re not taught these skills，they don’t necessarily pick them up.”

M）Teachers need not fear that they will be made outdated.They will，however，feel increasing pressure to bring their methods—along with the curriculum—in line with the way the modern world works.That means putting a greater emphasis on teaching kids to collaborate（合作）and solve problems in small groups and apply what they’ve learned in the real world.Besides，research shows that kids learn better in that way than with the old chalk-and-talk approach.

N）At suburban Farmington High School in Michigan，the engineering-technology department functions like an engineering firm，with teachers as project managers，a Ford Motor Co.engineer as a consultant and students working in teams.The principles of physics，chemistry and engineering are taught through activities that fill the hallways with the noise of nailing，sawing and chattering（机器的颤动）.The result：the kids learn to apply academic principles to the real world，think strategically and solve problems.

O）Such lessons also teach students to show respect for others as well as to be punctual，responsible and work well in teams.Those skills were badly missing in recently hired high school graduates，according to a survey of over 400 human-resource professionals conducted by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.“Kids don’t know how to shake your hand at graduation，”says Rudolph Crew，superintendent of the Miami-Dade school system.Deportment（举止风度），he notes，used to be on the report card.Some of the nation’s more forward-thinking schools are bringing it back.It’s one part of 21st century education that sleepy old Rip would recognise.

36.In Deborah Stipek’s opinion，her daughter’s assignment of learning the names of all the rivers in South America doesn’t make any sense.

37.According to the author，the 21st century skills include learning more about the world.

38.Teachers of Henry Ford Academy emphasise students’intensive learning and thinking.

39.At Farmington High School in Michigan，teachers and students work out projects with the help of a Ford Motor Co.engineer.

40.Critical thinking，making connections between ideas and knowing how to keep on learning are what the educators call as portable skills.

41.The joke of Rip Van Winkle is mentioned to show the slow change of American schools.

42.Research shows that the new method of solving problems in groups and applying the knowledge in real world is better than the old chalk-and-talk approach.

43.According to Stroud，the ultimate goal of education in an age full of information of variable quality is to make students learn to think critically.

44.Only half of the 6，200 high school seniors and college freshmen tested can accurately determine the objectivity of a website.

45.Unlike classes in Singapore，Belgium and Sweden，US classes focus on a succession of details.

Section C

Directions：There are 2 passages in this section.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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

Amid weak job and housing markets，consumers are saving more and spending less than they have in decades，and industry professionals expect that trend to continue.Consumers saved 6.4 percent of their after-tax income in June.Before the recession，the rate was 1 to 2 percent for many years.In June，consumer spending and personal incomes were essentially flat compared with May，suggesting that the American economy，as dependent as it is on shoppers opening their wallets and purses，isn’t likely to rebound anytime soon.

On the bright side，the practices that consumers have adopted in response to the economic crisis ultimately could make them happier.New studies of consumption and happiness show，for instance，that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects，when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it，and when they stop trying to outdo（胜过）the Joneses.

If consumers end up sticking with their new-found spending habits，some tactics（策略）that retailers and marketers began using during the recession could become lasting business strategies.Among those strategies are offering goods that makes being at home more entertaining and trying to make consumers feel special by giving them access to exclusive events and more personal customer service.

While the current round of stinginess（匮乏）may simply be a response to the economic downturn，some analysts say consumers may also be permanently adjusting their spending based on what they’ve discovered about what truly makes them happy or fulfilled.

“This actually is a topic that hasn’t been researched very much until recently，”says Elizabeth W.Dunn，an associate professor in the psychology department at the University of British Columbia，who is at the forefront of research on consumption and happiness.“There’s massive literature on income and happiness.It’s amazing how little there is on how to spend your money.”

Studies over the last few decades have shown that money，up to a certain point，makes people happier because it lets them meet basic needs.The latest round of research is，for lack of a better term，all about emotional efficiency：How to reap the most happiness for your dollar.

So just where does happiness reside for consumers？Scholars and researchers haven’t determined whether Armani will put a bigger smile on your face than Dolce&Gabbana.But they have found that our types of purchases，their size and frequency，and even the timing of the spending all affect long-term happiness.

One major finding is that spending money for an experience—concert tickets，French lessons，sushi-rolling classes，a hotel room in Monaco—produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff.

“It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch is basically the idea，”says Professor Dunn.

Thomas DeLeire，an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin discovered that the only category to be positively related to happiness was leisure：vacations，entertainment，sports and equipment like golf clubs and fishing poles.

46.What’s the dark side of American consumers’saving more and spending less？

A）The job and housing markets will become even weaker.

B）There is little hope that the American economy will recover soon.

C）More and more retailers and marketers will have to go bankrupt.

D）It’s possible that the American economy will rebound sooner.

47.What makes consumers happier according to the new studies？

A）Overcoming the economic crisis. C）Spending money for an experience.

B）Affording anything at any time. D）Having as much money as other people.

48.What will happen if customers keep their spending habits formed in the economic downturn？

A）They will get goods and services much cheaper.

B）It’s likely that they will spend more time indoors.

C）Retailers will change their business strategies.

D）They will enjoy better services and experiences.

49.What surprises Elizabeth W.Dunn according to the passage？

A）There is little about how to spend money to make people happy.

B）Consumers unconsciously adjust their spending habits to be happy.

C）People started researches on consumption-happiness relationship so early.

D）Happiness is proved to have nothing to do with consumption.

50.Scholars such as Prof Dunn and Prof DeLeire agree that____.

A）richer people feel happier and more satisfied

B）most consumers prefer leading brands like Armani

C）spending on vacations brings long-term happiness

D）people should curb their spending on material things

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

Although adults often jump at the chance to catch up on their reading during vacations，many children and teenagers，particularly those from low-income families，read few，if any，books during the summer break from school.

But the price for keeping the books closed is a high one.Several studies have documented a“summer slide”in reading skills once school lets out each spring.The decline in reading and spelling skills are greatest among low-income students，who lose the equivalent of about two months of school each summer，according to the National Summer Learning Association，an education advocacy group（宣传团体）.And the loss compounds each year.

Now new research offers a surprisingly simple，and affordable，solution to the summer reading slide.In a three-year study，researchers at the University of Tennessee found that simply giving low-income children access to books at spring fairs—and allowing them to choose books that most interested them—had a significant effect on the summer reading gap.

The study，financed by the Department of Education，tracked the reading habits and test scores of more than 1，300 Florida children from 17 low-income schools.At the start of the study，852 randomly selected first-and second-graders attended a school book fair in the spring where they were allowed to browse from 600 book titles.A variety of books were offered.The children chose 12 books.

The researchers also selected at random a control group of 478 children who weren’t given reading books.Those children were offered free activity and puzzle books.

The book fairs and activity book giveaways（赠品）continued for three summers until the study participants reached the fourth and fifth grades.Then the researchers compared reading test scores for the two groups.

Children who had received free books posted significantly higher test scores than the children who received activity books.The difference in scores was twice as high among the poorest children in the study.

One of the most notable findings was that children improved their reading scores even though they typically weren’t selecting the curriculum books or classics that teachers normally assigned for summer reading.That conclusion confirms other studies suggesting that children learn best when they are allowed to select their own books.

But giving children a choice in the books they read is a message many parents resist.

At a bookstore recently，a study co-author，Anne McGill-Franzen，professor and director of the reading center at the University of Tennessee，said she witnessed an exchange between some mothers encouraging their fifth-and sixth-grade daughters to read biographies of historical figures，when the girls wanted to select books about Hannah Montana，a character played by the pop star Miley Cyrus.

“If those books get them into reading，that has great repercussions（影响）for making them smarter，”Dr McGill-Franzen said.“Teachers and middle-class parents undervalue kids’preferences，but I think we need to give up being so uptight about children’s choices in books.”

51.Several studies reveal that during summer vacations，____.

A）parents are eager to choose books for their children

B）parents stimulate their children to relax

C）many schools choose to close the library to save money

D）children’s reading skills decline without book reading

52.To solve the summer reading slide，researchers at the University of Tennessee suggest____.

A）schools provide free books to children

B）children read in company with their parents

C）children discuss with friends after reading

D）parents buy some classics for their children

53.In the study，children were divided into two groups according to whether____.

A）they came from low-income families

B）the books were offered to them for free

C）they were allowed to select their own books

D）they read much and performed well in tests

54.What conclusion of the study is worthy of notice according to the passage？

A）Children tend not to read the curriculum books in summer.

B）Poor students get the lowest scores in the reading test.

C）Children given choice in books improve their reading.

D）Teachers’summer reading assignment fails to work on children.

55.What does Anne McGill-Franzen’s experience in the bookstore illustrate？

A）Parents oppose giving children a choice in books.

B）Reading about fictional figures makes children smarter.

C）Many children books are undervalued in bookstores.

D）There exists generation gap in selecting reading material.