鎴愪汉鏈?/p>
绉戝
澹
浣嶈嫳
璇粺涓�
鑰冭瘯
锛?/p>
B
锛?
2009.11.21
Part I Reading Comprehension
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30%
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Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four
choices marked A, B, C and D. Y
ou should decide on the best choice and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Passage 1
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:
The fourth-graders at Chicago'
s
McCormick Elementary School don'
t
know Chinese is supposed to be hard to learn. For most, who speak Spanish at
home, it'
s
becoming their third language. They'
v
e been heating and using Chinese words since nursery
, and it'
s
n
atural to give a 鈥渘i hao鈥?/p>
when strangers enter
the classroom.鈥淚t'
s
really fun!鈥?nbsp;says Miranda Lucas, taking a break from a lesson that includes a Chinese interview with Jackie Chan. 鈥淚'
m
teaching my mom to
speak Chinese.鈥?/p>
The classroom scene at McCormick is unusual, but it may soon be a common phenomenon in American schools, where Chinese is rapidly becoming the
hot new language. Government officials have long wanted more focus on useful languages like Chinese, and pressure from them
鈥斺�?/p>
as well as from business
leaders, politicians, and parents
鈥斺�?/p>
has produced a quick growth in the number of programs.
Chicago city officials make their best effort to include Chinese in their public schools. Their program has grown to include 3,000 students in 20 schools,
with more schools on a waiting list. Programs have also spread to places like Los Angeles, New Y
ork City
, and North Carolina. Supporters see knowledge of
the Chinese language and culture as an advantagein a global economy where China is growing in importance. 鈥淭his is an interes
ting way to begin to engage
with the world'
s
next superpower,鈥?nbsp;says Michael Levine, direct
or of education at the Asia Society
, which has started five new public high schools that offer
Chinese. 鈥淕lobalization has already changed the arrangements in terms of how children today are going to think about their ca
reers, The question is when, not
whe
ther, the schools are going to adjust.鈥?/p>
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76
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The number of students leaming Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French. But one report shows that before-college
enrollment
锛堟姤
鍚嶄汉
鏁帮級
nearly quadrupled between 1992 and 2002, from 6,000 to 24,000. Despite the demand, though, developing programs isn'
t
easy
. And
the No. one difficulty
, everyone agrees, is having enough teachers. Finding teacher 鈥渋s the challenge,鈥?nbsp;says Scott McGinnis,
an academic adviser for a language
institute and a Chinese t
eacher for 15 years at the college level. 鈥淢aterials are easy comparison. Or getting schools funded.鈥?/p>
1. The best title for this passage might be_____.
A. Next Hot Language to Study: Chinese
B. Next Hot Language to Study: Spanish
C.Next Hot Language to Study: French
D. Chicago Is the Place to Learn Chinese
2. The most difficult thing to do is finding _____.
A. enough textbooks for the Chinese programs
B. enough money for the Chinese programs
C. enough teachers for the Chinese programs
D. enough students for the Chinese programs
3. W
e learn from the passage that_____.
A. Scott McGinnis has been a Chinese teacher for 15 years
B. Jackie Chan is a Chinese teacher at McCormick Elementary
School
C. Chicago officials ire required to learn Chinese
D. Scott McGinnis is good at giving his opinions on everything
4. According to the passage,
all the
following statements are true
EXCEPT_____.
A. the number of students learning Chinese is small
B. Chinese programs have found their way in several major Cities
in the U.S.
C.
government
officials
don'
t
like
the
pressure
from
business
leaders and parents to start Chinese programs
D. China is becoming more and more influential in the world
5 The word "quadrupled" in the last paragraph is close in meaning to
鈥?/p>
multiplied by_____
鈥?/p>
.
A. three times B. four times
C. five times D. six times
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
Many private institutions of higher education around the country are in danger. Not ail will be saved, and perhaps not all deserve to be saved. There are
low-quaiity schools just as there are low-quality businesses. W
e have no obligation to save them simply because .they exist. But many thriving institutions that
deserve to continue are threatened. They are doing a fine job educationally
, but they are caught in a financial difficulty
, with no way to reduce rising costs or
increase revenues
锛堟敹
鍏ワ級
significantly
. Raising fees doesn'
t
bring in more revenue, for each time fees go up, the, enrollment
锛堟敞
鍐屼汉
鏁?/p>
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goes down, or the
mount that must be given away in student aid goes up.
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77
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Schools are bad businesses, whether rmblic or orivate, not usually because of bad management but
because of the nature of the business. They lose money on every customer, and they can go bankrupt either from too few students or too many students. Even a
very good college is a very bad business.