SECTION A TALK
One of the largest mental health problems in the US is that of compulsive gambling. Although there are no scientific studies that have discovered the exact number, experts estimate that between 5 and 10 million persons are compulsive gamblers.
Like addiction to alcohol, compulsive gambling crosses all social and economic lines. Compulsive gamblers can be found in any profession and at any level of society. And the addiction affects both men and women.
The gambling compulsion usually starts in the early teens. The more often the young gambler indulges in the compulsion, the more obsessive it becomes. By his early twenties, the average compulsive gambler has moved from small bets on such things as football games, horse races and card games to more adult, more expensive gambling forms.
For the compulsive gambler, life becomes one continuous gambling binge. The compulsion consumes the gambling addict to such a point that nothing else matters, not even health, children or family. Studies by psychiatrists seem to show that compulsive gamblers bet to lose. Compulsive gamblers never stop when they are ahead. Instead, they try to win more. One important characteristic of the compulsive gambler is his optimism. Like most human beings, he does not like to admit defeat. Consequently, he hides his real motivations for gambling with large amounts of enthusiastic optimism. The more deeply he is committed to betting — and losing — the more fanatical his conviction that the next bet will make him wealthy.
Compulsive gamblers will use almost any means to get money to "feed their addiction". Borrowing or stealing from friends or family is the first method gamblers usually employ to get cash. Other common ways to get money are embezzlement, robbery or writing false checks.
In recent years, psychiatrists discovered some of the basic reasons for compulsive gambling. First, compulsive gamblers almost always come from homes lacking in love. As a result, the child grows up still looking for the warmth of family love and parental approval. Another aspect of the nature of the gambling addict is that unconsciously he wants to lose. Psychiatrists believe that compulsive gamblers consciously may expect to win; however, there is a strong element of self-destruction in their inclination to continue betting until all is lost.
One New York psychiatrist believes that basically the compulsive gambler is seeking an answer to the question. "Do you love me?" By winning, he receives a "yes" answer. However, the gamblers cannot accept the "yes" he sometimes receives because it is contrary to the reality of his (or her) unhappy childhood — one lacking in family love. The gambler is compelled to continue betting, thus expressing again and again his need for love and acceptance. When gambling addicts do win some money, they rarely spend any of it on their families. Money is like a sacred thing to the addicts. It is reserved for one thing: placing a bet.
Fortunately, there is hope and help today for gambling addicts. Psychiatric treatment is one possibility. Group therapy seems to help in some cases. The most readily available and the least expensive help comes from an organization called "Gamblers Anonymous" (G. A.). Patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous — G. A. has more than ninety chapters in the US with about 3 000 gamblers seeking a cure. One basic rule of G. A. is the gamblers must pay back all their debts, even if it takes many years to do so. Thousands of members credit G. A. with saving them from their addiction and helping them to build new lives free from the gambling sickness.
Happily, today with more public interest in helping the gambling addicts overcome his problem and with such organizations as the G. A. , the gambler who wants help to break his addiction now has some place or someone to turn to.
SECTION B INTERVIEW
M: Mrs Harrison, thanks very much for coming down here to the station. I, I know you've been through a terrible situation here today. I'd just like to go over some of the things you told Sergeant Clark at the bank.
W: All right.
M: Ah, ah. Would you like a cup of tea?
W: No, no. I'm fine.
M: All right.
W: Thanks.
M: Well, could you describe the two people who robbed the bank for this report we're filling out here? Now, anything at all you could remember would be extremely helpful to us.
W: Well, just, I can only remember basically what I said before.
M: That's all right.
W: The man was tall, about six feet, and he had dark hair.
M: Dark hair.
W: And he had moustache.
M: Very good. All right. Did he have any other distinguishing marks, I mean, scars, for example, anything like that?
W: Scars, no, none of that I can remember.
M: Do you remember how old he was, by any chance?
W: Eh, well, I guess around thirty. M: Around thirty.
W: Maybe younger, plus or minus a few years.
M: Mmm ... All right. Do you remember anything about what he might have been wearing?
W; Yes, he, he had on a dark sweater, a, a solid color. You know, the kind of color young people fancy nowadays.
M: Anything else that strikes you at the moment?
W: I, I remember he was wearing a light shirt under the sweater, a cotton one with dark, I think, dark stripes. It looks like a good brand.
M: Ah, very good.
W; Yes, yes.
M: Mm, all right, now. Can you tell us anything about the woman robber, Mrs Harrison?
W: Well, I remember that she did most of the talking. She had the gun pointed at us and she told us to lie down on the floor and not to move if we knew what was good for us. I remember I've just felt like she was pointing the gun at me and my little daughter was right next to me and she, she was just so frightened.
M: Um, Mrs Harrison, Could you describe her for us?
W: She was wearing a wool sweater.
M: Ah, very good.
W: I remember it was a dark color, navy blue or ... or dark gray.
M: Dark gray?
W: And I guess she was in her late twenties. Her hair was short, very short and a bit curly.
M: Do you remember how tall she was?
W: Ah, about the same as myself, around five four.
M: Five four. All right, do you remember anything else about this woman?
W: Yes, I remember the woman was wearing a pendant around her neck.
M: Oh.
W: I remember it specifically because I was then near the counter, next to the bank manager and my little daughter started to cry.
M: Ah.
W: And this woman came up to me and was very rude to me and said "Shut your damned kid, lady!" So I got a good look at her and she was sort of, uh, pulling on the chain and playing with the pendant.
M: Oh?
W: It was gold, well, anyway, look like gold. And it had a strange shape.
M: Ah, now did either of them have any other noticeable characteristics, Mrs Harrison? Now, just take a minute ...
W: Er, no, I don't.
M: ... to think about this.
W: No, no, this is really all I can remember.
M: Well, did either of them wear glasses?
W: No, no, I'm sure of that.
M: All right, Mrs Harrison. I really appreciate what you've been through today. I'm just going to ask you to look at some photographs before you leave, if you don't mind. It won't take very long. Can you do that for me?
W: Ah, all right.
M: Would you like to step this way with me, please?
W: OK, sure.
M: Thank you.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
News Item One (For Questions 11—12)
The UN Agency, the World Food Program, says Iraq is facing a food crisis, which is causing enormous damage to its population, especially its children. The agency said more and more Iraqis were spending their whole day struggling to find food for survival and the social fabric of the nation was disintegrating. It said that an entire generation of children was being harmed irreparably and the country was at a point of no return.
WFP says that 60% of Iraq's population, that's 12 million people, are struggling to survive because of food shortages. Food for the average family cost the equivalent of $26 a month. The devaluation of the Iraqi dinar means that few can afford this. Levels of severe malnutrition among children under five now can compare with the Sub-Sahara in Africa. The infant mortality rate has risen by more than 700% compared with before the Gulf War. Many donor states say the Baghdad government should take the blame for this because it refuses to raise money for food by selling oil through the UN as the sanction rules allow. WFP is asking for $122 million dollars to help feed 2 million people, mostly those under five or over seventy. That's double the size of last year's program, although the agency says it's still a fraction of the real need. WFP also acknowledges that it's unlikely that governments around the world will respond fully to this appeal.
News Item Two (For Question 13)
France and US have signed an accord to share sensitive information on nuclear weapons. US and French officials say the agreement is aimed at maintaining the reliability and safety of the two countries' nuclear stockpiles. As part of the accord, the US will share with France its computer data on simulated nuclear explosions. Until now, the US data was shared only with Britain. Officials say the agreement will help the two countries maintain their arsenals after they sign a global treaty expected later this year that bans all nuclear testing.
News Item Three (For Questions 14—15)
The University of Michigan carries out a survey of the drug habits among young people every year. And this year it's concluded that the teenage drug use is rapidly getting worse. 25% of the teenagers surveyed said they'd used an illegal drug at sometime in their lives, an increased of 3% from the figures for 1993. Marijuana use is climbing back towards levels not seen since the late 197O's. And today's Marijuana is up to ten times more potent than in the past. Cocaine use, which leveled off in the early 1990's, is also making a comeback among 13 to 15-year-olds. And LSD, which had dropped considerably in the 1980's, is also on the rise. Officials involved in the survey say the results indicate that young people no longer see drugs as dangerous; instead, the researchers say, they are viewed as glamorous or trendy. The health secretary said it was time to sound the alarm and the secretary calls for a powerful anti-drug message to be sent to children, with parents leading the way.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
People in Britain speak English with different accents according to where they come from and what kind of social status they have or what kind of education they've received, etc. Among the various accents, there is one that has achieved a certain eminence. It's called Received Pronunciation (RP). And this accent is also generally preferred for teaching English as a foreign language and for reading BBC news bulletins. Why is it so? Let's take a look at how it evolved over the years, its features, its present status and so forth.
Received pronunciation (RP) had its historical origins in a dialect of English spoken particularly in the region stretching southeast from the Midlands, which is in the central part of England, down towards London, the capital city. The two historical university cities of Cambridge and Oxford, though outside this region, are also considered as the place of origin for the dialect. The dialect survived because of its association with centers of power and influence. It was spoken by the merchant classes of London in the 14th century, for example, and would had been familiar to students attending the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the Middle Ages. Its status as an important dialect was enhanced by its use in government and official documents from about 1430 onwards. More recently, its association since the 19th century with public schools helped to achieve special pre-eminence for its distinctive patterns of pronunciation. So we can see, in the United Kingdom, at least, this accent is usually associated with a higher social or educational background, with the BBC and certain professions and it's most commonly taught to students learning English as a foreign language. For many such students, it is the only accent they are prepared to learn and a teacher who does not use it may have difficulty in finding a position as a teacher of English in certain non-English speaking countries. Other names for this accent are the Queen's English, Oxford English and BBC English. As the accent has lost its former regional affiliations, it is now the most widely understood and spoken of all the accents within the British Isles.
So what are the most interesting characteristics of RP? Firstly, a relatively very small number of speakers who use it do not identify themselves as coming from any particular geographical region; secondly, RP is largely confined to England and there it is a non-localized accent; thirdly, RP is a class accent. In England, the higher the social class of the speaker, the less the regional accent, and also the use of local words and grammatical forms.
As we have seen, RP, a non-regional accent based on the speech of the great pubic schools, has been accepted as a standard inside England for well over a century. Increasingly, however, there has been a tendency for the accent of educated people in South-Eastern England to replace strict RP as the standard. RP has lost some of its prestige, as people educated at public schools have lost their monopoly of power in education. A considerable part has been played by the great post-war expansion of higher education. Today, the majority of university students are not speakers of RP. Most schoolteachers too, do not use RP, but an educated regional accent.
This is not to say that RP has lost all its magic. It still has a prestige, for example, in the financial and banking sectors, among senior government officials and officers of the armed forces. Moreover, since it has been so fully described, it is the accent usually taught to foreigners learning British English. But the public schools are no longer felt to have a monopoly of "correct speech", and the prestige of educated regional speech has risen enormously during the past half-century. Since an educated South-Eastern accent is fairly similar to RP, there is a tendency nowadays for this to be regarded as a standard. It is the accent used, for example, by many radio and television announcers and presenters. On the other hand, there has been a rise in the prestige of all regional accents in Britain. And it is probable that we are moving towards the American position, in which it is normal and acceptable for a speaker to use an educated accent, and there is no supra-regional class accent.
TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (1998)GRADE EIGHT
PAPER ONE
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (40 MIN)
In sections A , B and C, you will hear everything ONCE ONLY, listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct response for each question on your Colored Answer Sheet.
SECTION A TALK
Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you will be given 15 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the talk.
1. According to the talk, compulsive gambling and alcoholic addiction share similarities because .
A. no actual figure of addicts has been reported
B. no scientific studies have yielded effective solutions
C. both affect all sectors of society
D. both cause serious mental health problems
2. The development of the gambling compulsion can be described as being .
A. gradual B. slow C. periodic D. radical
3. G. A. mentioned in the talk is believed to be a(n) .
A. anonymous group B. charity organization
C. gamblers' club D. treatment center
4. At the end of the talk, the speaker's attitude towards the cure of gambling addiction is
A. unclear B. uncertain C. optimistic D. pessimistic
5. Throughout the talk, the speaker examines the issue of gambling in a
way.
A. balanced B. biased C. detached . D. lengthy
-
SECTION B INTERVIEW
Questions 6 to 10 are based on an interview with an architect. At the end of the interview you will be given 13 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview.
6. What strikes the woman most about the male robber is his .
A. clothes B. age C. physique D. appearance
7. The most detailed information about the woman robber is her .
A. manners B. talkativeness C. height D. jewelry
8. The interview is believed to be a bank .
A. receptionist B. manager C. customer D. cashier
9. Which of the following about the two robbers is NOT true?
A. Both were wearing dark sweaters. B. Neither was wearing glasses.
C. Both were about the same age. D. One of them was marked by a scar.
10. After the incident the interviewee sounded .
A. calm and quiet B. nervous and numb
C. timid and confused D. shocked and angry
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions 11 to 12 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 30 seconds to answer the two questions. Now listen to the news.
11. According to the news, the enormous food shortage in Iraq has the most damaging effect on its ____ .
A. national economy B. adult population
C. young children D. national currency
12. The WFP is appealing to donor nations to .
A. double last year's food-aid
B. raise $122 million for Iraqi people
C. provide each Iraqi family with $26 a month
D. help Iraq's 12 million population
Question 13 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
13. As s result of the agreement, the two countries' arsenals are to be ____ .
A. upgraded in reliability and safety
B. reduced in size and number
C. dismantled partly later this year
D. maintained in their present conditions
Questions 14 to 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 30 seconds to answer the two questions. Now listen to the news.
14. We can infer from the news that of teenagers under survey in 1993 were drug users.
A. 28% B. 22% C. 25% D. 21%
15. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. Parents are asked to join in the anti-drug efforts.
B. The use of both cocaine and LSD are on the increase.
C. Teenagers hold a different view of drugs today.
D. Marijuana is as powerful as it used to be.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the lecture, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a 15-minute gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE after the mini-lecture. Use the blank paper for note-taking. Fill in each of the gaps with one word. You may refer to your notes. Make sure the word you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
The Rise of RP
Historical reasons
Received Pronunciation (RP) was originally associated with a (1)
spoken in the region between central England and London, including Oxford and Cambridge.
Its survival was due to its use by the (2) in the 14th century and by
university students in the (3) Ages.
Its rise in importance resulted from its application in government and official documents.
The prestige of its (4) pattern of pronunciation came about with its
use in (5)_____ schools in the 19th century.
As a result, its ( 6 ) is accepted by television and the radio, the
professions and teaching English as a foreign language.
Three characteristics of RP
1) its speakers don't regard themselves as connected with any geographical region;
RP is largely used in England;
RP is a "class" accent, associated with (7) social classes.
Its present status
Decline in the prestige of RP is the result of a) loss of monopoly of education by the privileged; b) (8) of high education in the post-war period.
However, it still retains its eminence among certain professional people.
There is a rise in the status of all (9) accents.
We are moving towards the (10) position: general acceptance of
all regional accents and absence of a class accent that transcends all regions.
(1) ______ (2) ______ (3) ______ (4) ______ ( 5 ) ______
(6) ______ (7) ______ (8) ______ (9) ______ (10) ______
PART II PROOFREADING AND ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
The following passage contains TEN errors. Each line contains a maximum of one error and three are free from error. In each case, only one word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way.
For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.
For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.
For an unnecessary word, cross out the unnecessary word with a slash “／” and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.
If the line is correct, place a V in the blank provided at the end of the line
PART II PROOFREADING AND ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)
The following passage contains TEN errors. Each line contains a maximum of one error and three are free from error. In each case, only one word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way.
For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.
For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.
For an unnecessary word, cross out the unnecessary word with a slash “／” and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.
If the line is correct, place a V in the blank provided at the end of the line.
Example
When ^ art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an
It never buys things in finished form and bangs (2) never
them on the wall. When a natural history museum (3) ∕
wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (4) exhibit
When a human infant is born into any community in any part
of the world it has two things in common with any infant, provided (1)_____
neither of them have been damaged in any way either before (2)_____
or during birth. Firstly, and most obviously, new born children
are completely helpless. Apart from a powerful capacity to
pay attention to their helplessness lay using sound, there is nothing (3)_____
the new born child can do to ensure his own survival. Without
care from some other human being or beings, be it mother,
grandmother, or human group, a child is very unlikely to survive.
This helplessness of human infants is in marked contrast
with the capacity of many new born animals to get on their feet (4)______
within minutes of birth and run with the herd within a few
hours. Although young animals are certainly in risk, sometimes (5)______
for weeks or even months after birth, compared with the human
infant they very quickly develop the capacity to fend for them. (6)______
It is during this very long period in which the human infant
is totally dependent on the others that it reveals the second feature (7) ______
which it shares with all other undamaged human infants, a
capacity to learn language. For this reason, biologists now suggest
that language be "species specific" to the human race, that is (8) ______
to say, they consider the human infant to be genetic programmed (9) ______
in such way that it can acquire language. This suggestion implies (10) ______
that just as human beings are designed to see three-dimensionally and in colour, and just as they are designed to stand upright rather than to move on all fours, so they are designed to learn and use language as part of their normal developments as well-formed human beings.
PART III READING COMPREHENSION (40 MIN)
SECTION A READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of fifteen multiple-choice questions. Read the passages carefully and then mark your answers on your Colored Answer Sheet.
TEXT A
On Society
Low self-esteem pops up regularly in academic reports as an explanation for all sorts of violence, from hate crimes and street crimes to terrorism. But despite the popularity of the explanation, not much evidence backs it up. In a recent issue of Psychological Review, three researchers examine this literature at length and conclude that a much stronger link connects high self-esteem to violence. "It is difficult to maintain belief in the low self-esteem view after seeing that the more violent groups are generally the ones with higher self-esteem," write Roy Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University and Laura Smart and Joseph Boden of the University of Virginia.
The conventional view is that people without self-esteem try to gain it by hurting others. The researchers find that violence is much more often the work of people with unrealistically high self-esteem attacking others who challenge their self-image. Under this umbrella come bullies, rapists, psychopaths and members of street gangs and organized crime.
The study concludes: "Certain forms of high self-esteem seem to increase one's proneness to violence. An uncritical endorsement of the cultural value of self-esteem may therefore be counterproductive and even dangerous. ... The societal pursuit of high self-esteem for everyone may literally end up doing considerable harm. "
As for prison programs intended to make violent convicts feel better about themselves, "perhaps it would be better to try instilling modesty and humility," the researchers write.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Baumeister said he believes the "self-promoting establishment is starting to crumble. "What would work better for the country is to forget about self-esteem and concentrate on self-control," he said.
In the schools, this would mean turning away from psychic boosterism and emphasizing self-esteem as a by-product of real achievement, not as an end in itself. The self-esteem movement, still entrenched in schools of education, is deeply implicated in the dumbing down of our schools, and in the spurious equality behind the idea that it is a terrible psychic blow if one student does any better or any worse than another. Let's hope it is indeed crumbling.
16. The researchers find that there are stronger connections between .
A. low self-esteem and violence B. low self-control and violence
C. high self-image and violence D. high self-control and violence
17. The researchers would most probably agree with the following EXCEPT .
A. self-esteem should be promoted and encouraged
B. schools should change their concept of self-esteem
C. the traditional view is beginning to lose ground
D. prisons should change their present practice
TEXT B
Social change is more likely to occur in heterogeneous societies than in homogeneous ones, simply because there are more diverse points of view available in the formers. There are more ideas, more conflicts of interest, and more groups and organizations of different persuasions. In addition, there is usually a greater worldly interest and tolerance in heterogeneous societies. All these factors tend to promote social change by opening more areas of life to decision rather than subjecting them to authority. In a quite homogeneous society- there are fewer occasions for people to perceive the need or the opportunity for change, because everything seems to be the same and. if not satisfactory, at least customary and undisputed.
Within a society, social change is also likely to occur more frequently and more readily (1) in the material aspects of the culture than in the non-material. for example, in technology rather than in values; (2) in what has been learned later in life rather than what was learned early: (3) in the less basic, less emotional, or less sacred aspects of society than in their opposites. like religion or a system of prestige: (4) in the simple elements rather than in the complex ones; (5) in form rather than in substance: and (6) in elements congenial to the culture rather than in strange elements.
Furthermore, social change is easier if it is gradual. For example, it comes more readily in human relations on a continuous scale rather than one with sharp dichotomies. This is one reason why change has not come more quickly to Black Americans as compared to other American minorities, because of the sharp difference in appearance between them and their white counterparts.
18. According to the passage, the main difference between a homogeneous society and a heterogeneous one lies in .
A. the number of opportunities offered
B. the nature of conflicts of interest
C. the awareness of the need for change
D. the role of social organizations
19. The author would most probably agree that changes are more likely to be successful in .
A. production methods B. ideological concepts
C. religious beliefs D. social behavior
TEXT C
One argument used to support the idea that employment will continue to be the dominant form of work, and that employment will eventually become available for all who want it. is that working time will continue to fall. People in jobs will work fewer hours in the day. fewer days in the week, fewer weeks in the year, and fewer years in a lifetime, than they do now. This will mean that more jobs will be available for more people. This, it is said, is the way we should set about restoring full employment.
There is no doubt that something of this kind will happen. The shorter working week, longer holidays, earlier retirement, job-sharing -- these and other ways of reducing the amount of time people spend on their jobs +- are certainly likely to spread. A mix of part-time paid work and part-time unpaid work is likely to become a much more common work pattern than today, and a flexi-life pattern of work -involving paid employment at certain stages of life, but not at others — will become widespread. But it is surely unrealistic to assume that this make it possible to restore full employment as the dominant form of work.
In the first place, so long as employment remains the overwhelming important form of work source of income for most people that it is today, it is very difficult to see how reductions in employees' working time can take place on a scale sufficiently large and at a pace sufficiently fast to make it possible to share out the available paid employment to everyone who wants it. Such negotiations as there have recently been, for example in Britain and Germany, about the possibility of introducing a 35-hour working week, have highlighted some of the difficulties. But, secondly, if changes of this kind were to take place at a pace and on a scale sufficient to make it possible to share employment among all who wanted it. the resulting situation — in which most people would not be working in their jobs for more than two or three short days a week - could hardly continue to be one in which employment was still regarded as the only truly valid form of work. There would be so many people spending so much of their time on other activities, including other forms of useful work, that the primacy of employment would be bound to be called into question, at least to some extent.
20. The author uses the negotiations in Britain and Germany as an example to _____
A. support reductions in employees' working time
B. indicate employees are unwilling to share jobs
C. prove the possibility of sharing paid employment
D. how that employment will lose its dominance
21. At the end of the passage the author seems to imply that as a result of shorter working time _____.
A. employment may not retain its usual importance
B. employment may not be regarded as valid work
C. people can be engaged in far less unpaid work
D. people can be engaged in far more unpaid work
22. The author's attitude towards future full employment is generally .
A. supportive B. wavering C. skeptical D. unclear
TEXT D
During the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, advertising was a relatively straightforward means of announcement and communication and was used mainly to promote novelties and fringe products. But when factory productions got into full swing and new products, e. g. processed foods, came onto the market, national advertising campaigns and brand-naming of products became necessary. Before large-scale factory production, the typical manufacturing unit had been small and adaptable and the task of distributing and selling goods had largely been undertaken by wholesalers. The small non-specialized factory which did not rely on massive investment in machinery had been flexible enough to adapt its production according to changes in public demands.
But the economic depression which lasted from 1873 to 1894 marked a turning point between the old method of industrial organization and distribution and the new. From the beginning of the nineteenth century until the 1870s. production had steadily expanded and there had been a corresponding growth in retail outlets. But the depression brought on a crisis of over-production and under-consumption — manufactured goods piled up unsold and prices and profits fell. Towards the end of the century many of the small industrial firms realized that they would be in a better position to weather economic depressions and slumps if they combined with other small businesses and widened the range of goods they produced so that all their eggs were not in one basket. They also realized that they would have to take steps to ensure that once their goods had been produced there was a market for them. This period ushered in the first phase of what economists now call "monopoly capitalism", which, roughly speaking, refers to the control of the market by a small number of giant, conglomerate enterprises. Whereas previously competitive trading had been conducted by small rival firms, after the depression the larger manufacturing units and combines relied more and more on mass advertising to promote their new range of products.
A good example of the changes that occurred in manufacture and distribution at the turn of the century can be found in the soap trade. From about the 1850s the market had been flooded with anonymous bars of soap, produced by hundreds of small manufacturers and distributed by wholesalers and door-to-door sellers. Competition grew steadily throughout the latter half of the century and eventually the leading companies embarked on more aggressive selling methods in order to take customers away from their rivals. For instance, the future Lord Leverhulme decided to "brand" his soap by selling it in distinctive packages in order to facilitate recognition and encourage customer loyalty.
Lord Leverhulme was one of the first industrialists to realize that advertisements should contain "logical and considered" arguments as well as eye-catching and witty slogans. Many advertisers followed his lead and started to include "reason-why" copy in their ads. For example, one contemporary Pears soap ad went into great detail about how the product could enhance martial bliss by cutting down the time the wife had to spend with her arms in a bowl of frothy suds. And an ad for Cadbury's cocoa not only proclaimed its purity but also detailed other benefits-, 'for the infant it is a delight and a support; for the young girl, a source of healthy vigour; for the young miss in her teens a valuable aid to development... ' and so on. As the writer E. S. Turner rightly points out, the advertising of this period had reached the "stage of persuasion as distinct from proclamation or iteration". Indeed advertise or bust seemed to be the rule of the day as bigger and more expensive campaigns were mounted and smaller firms who did not, or could not, advertise, were squeezed or bought out by the larger companies.
23. An example of a product which might well have been advertised during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution is ____ .
A. a cooking utensil B. new child's toy
C. tinned fruit D. household soap
24. One of the more aggressive selling methods in the soap trade by the leading companies was to _____ .
A. buy out small firms B. take over distribution
C. resort to product designing D. keep contact with their customers
25. In addition to distinctive packaging, contemporary products should also _____ .
A. draw customers' attention to their benefits
B. make customers aware of their attractiveness
C. display details of the main ingredients
D. focus on proclamation and promotion
TEXT E
Pardon me: how are your manners?
The decline of civility and good manners may be worrying people more than crime, according to Gentility Recalled, edited by Digby Anderson, which laments the breakdown of traditional codes that once regulated social conduct. It criticizes the fact that "manners" are scorned as repressive and outdated.
The result, according to Mr. Anderson — director of the Social Affairs Unit, an independent think-tank — is a society characterized by rudeness: loutish behavior on the streets, jostling in crowds, impolite shop assistants and bad-tempered drivers.
Mr. Anderson says the cumulative effect of these — apparently trivial, but often offensive — is to make everyday life uneasy, uNPRedictable and unpleasant. As they are encountered far more often than crime, they can cause more anxiety than crime.
When people lament the disintegration of law and order, he argues, what they generally means is order, as manifested by courteous forms of social contact. Meanwhile, attempts to reestablish restraint and self-control through "politically correct" rules are artificial.
The book has contributions from 12 academics in disciplines ranging from medicine to sociology and charts what it calls the "coarsening" of Britain. Old-fashioned terms such as "gentleman" and "lady" have-lost all meaningful resonance and need to be re-evaluated, it says, Rachel Trickett, honorary fellow and former principal of St Hugh's College. Oxford, says that the notion of a "lady" protects women rather than demeaning them.
Feminism and demands for equality have blurred the distinctions between the sexes, creating situations where men are able to dominate women because of their more aggressive and forceful natures, she says: "Women, without some code of deference or respect, become increasingly victims. "
Caroline Moore, the first woman fellow of Peterhouse. Cambridge, points out that "gentleman" is now used only with irony or derision.
"The popular view of a gentleman is poised somewhere between the imbecile parasite and the villainous one: between Woosteresque chinless wonders, and those heartless capitalist toffs who are... the stock-in-trade of television. "
She argues that the concept is neither class-bound nor rigid; conventions of gentlemanly behavior enable a man to act naturally as an individual within shared assumptions while taking his place in society.
"Politeness is no constraint, precisely because the manners... are no 'code' but a language, rich flexible, restrained and infinitely subtle. "
For Anthony O'Hear. professor of philosophy at the University of Bradford, manners are closely associated with the different forms of behavior appropriate to age and status. They curb both the impetuosity of the youth and the bitterness of old age. Egalitarianism, he says, has led to people failing to act their age. "We have vice-chancellors with earrings, aristocrats as hippies. . . , the trendy vicar on his motorbike." Dr Athena Leoussi, sociology lecturer at Reading University, bemoans the deliberate neglect by people of their sartorial appearance.
Dress, she says, is the outward expression of attitudes and aspirations. The ubiquitousness of jeans "displays a utilitarian attitude" that has "'led to the cultural impoverishment of everyday life. "
Dr Leoussi says that while clothes used to be seen as a means of concealing taboo forces of sexuality and violence, certain fashions -*- such as leather jackets have the opposite effect.
Dr Bruce Charlton, a lecturer in public health medicine in Newcastle upon Tyne, takes issue with the excessive informality of relations between professionals such as doctors and bank managers, and their clients. He says this has eroded the distance and respect necessary in such relationships. For Tristam Engelhardt, professor of medicine in Houston. Texas, says manners are bound to morals.
"Manners express a particular set of values." he says. "Good manners interpret and transform social reality. They provide social orientation. "
26. According to the passage, the decline of good manners is more worrying because ____ .
A. it leads to more crime in society
B. people view manners as old-fashioned
C. rudeness on the street cannot be stemmed out
D. it can seriously affect our daily life
27. Rachel Trickett seems to indicate the term "lady" .
A. has acquired a different meaning
B. is too old-fashioned to use
C. is preferred by feminists
D. victimizes women in society
28. According to Caroline Moore, the media has projected a image of the gentleman.
A. humorous B. favorable C. negative D. traditional
29. In Anthony O'Hear's view, a well mannered person .
A. acts rashly when he is young
B. tends to be bad-tempered in old age
C. behaves with a sense of appropriacy
D. attaches importance to his status
30. Dr Bruce Charlton would probably prefer to see a more formal relationship ____ .
A. among doctors
B. among managers
C. between doctors and managers
D. between doctors and patients
SECTION B SKIMMING AND SCANNING (10 MIN)
In this section there are seven passages followed by ten multiple-choice questions. Skim or scan them as required and then mark your answers on your Colored Answer Sheet.
TEXT F
First read the following question.
31. The President of Association of American Railroads wrote the letter to ____ .
A. complain about public ignorance of its efforts to improve the service
B. criticize US News for not reporting its efforts to improve the safety record
C. inform the public of what it has achieved over the past decade
D. thank US News for informing the public of its efforts to reduce accident
Now go through TEXT F quickly and answer question 31.
December 20th 199
Dear Editor.
The American railroad industry's commitment to safety is demonstrated by a steadily declining accident rate over the past decade. The accident rate per million train miles has been reduced by 55 percent since 1981 and 21 percent since 1990. In 11 of the past 16 years, the rail passenger fatality rate was lower than or the same as the airline rate. In addition, rail employees had half the number of lost workday injuries per 100 full-time employees as did airline workers.
Nowhere does US News mention that America's railroads have spent more than US $90 billion just since 1990 to maintain and improve tracks and equipment. Nowhere do you mention that railroads — on their own initiative and at their own expense developed and installed a new type of wheel that is much less likely to fracture and cause accidents. Nowhere do you mention how railroads are now testing a new type of electronically assisted brake that can reduce stopping distance by 40 percent. Nowhere do you explain that more than 90 percent of rail-related fatalities involve highway-rail grade crossing accidents or trespassers — accidents over which railroads have almost no control. "Facts are stubborn things", wrote John Adams more than 200 years ago. Stubborn, that is, unless you choose to ignore them. That is what US News has chosen to do.
Edwin L. Harper
President and Chief Executive Officer Association of American Railroads
TEXTG
First read the following question.
32. The author of the passage is Johannesburg.
A. concerned about B. critical of
C. nostalgic about D. hopeful about
Now go through TEXT G quickly and answer question 32.
For a city purported to be dying. Johannesburg looks pretty lively on a Saturday morning. Fleets of minivans deliver black shoppers from Sweto to the teeming sidewalks downtown, where Zairian hawkers peddle everything from kiwis to toaster-ovens. Mozambican barbers shear locks under colored plastic tents. The Carlton Center mall buzzes with chatter in English, French. Zulu and Tswana. At the fast-food Africa Hut, weary shoppers fortify themselves with oxtail stew and pap. a maize-based starch. There are few white faces. But the Africans are too busy making and spending money to fret about white flight. "I'm targeting African customers more than whites." says Jabi. who recently opened a jeweler's. "Look around, they're everywhere."
White South Africans used to boast that Johannesburg was Continental in flavor, It still is, only now the continent is Africa. With apartheid ended and laws forbidding black Africans to live in town repeated. "Joburg" has become blacker, poorer and more dangerous. It is also more vibrant than ever. "The city is not declining, it's changing." says Lindsay Bruner, a white member of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council. "There are real problems, but perception is our biggest. "
Plenty of Africans - white and black - are willing to invest in the new Johannesburg. Large retailers like Woolworth's are pumping millions of brands into new flagship stores. Black and Asian shopkeepers, doctors and lawyers have moved in to replace the whites who have left. City planners hope this blend of wealth and Africanization will make Johannesburg the continent's economic and cultural capital.
TEXT H
First read the following question.
33. The primary purpose of the article is to ____.
A. introduce Domingo to opera people
B. show Domingo's concern for opera goers
C. comment on Domingo's versatility
D. advertise a new model of Rolex watch
Now go through TEXT H quickly and answer question 33.
Every half century or so. a leader emerges in his field of such substance and force that he stands out head and shoulder above the rest and the best.
Even to people who have never graced the great houses of the world, the name and the voice of Placido Domingo are justifiably hailed. But for those who will queue all night to share the sheer color of this man's singing, he is a legend.
A legend which can be heard from Hamburg to Paris, from Milan to New
York.
But Placido is not simply the world's greatest tenor; rather a complete musician who also possesses a marvelous voice.
At rehearsals, his mastery of the piano enables him to sit and play through the score: thinking of the emotions that words and music are attempting to communicate.
His experience as a conductor gives him objectivity, not only about his own interpretation of the part, but also on the total performance.
"To understand the part," he says, "one must first musically and dramatically understand the whole. I was lucky to have been given the talents to do this. "
Placido Domingo also has an extremely good understanding of the watch he chooses to wear.
A Rolex Oyster GMT-Master in 18ct. gold.
"This watch is perfect for me," he says, "because it simultaneously tells me the time in two different countries which is extremely useful considering the amount of traveling I have to do. And opera people all over the world are pleased too, because now I don't get them out of bed when I ring them. And, unlike me. this watch never needs a rest. You could say it's my favorite instrument. "
For the complete musician. The complete watch. Buy Rolex of Geneva.
TEXT I
First read the following question.
34. The theme of the book by Marie Winn is presumably .
A. child abuse B. family relationship
C. loss of childhood innocence D. teen-age rebellion
Now go through TEXT I quickly and answer question 34.
Each new crop of adolescents always seems unfathomable to its predecessors. But when journalist Marie Winn began to study today's youngsters, she discovered something far more fundamental and disturbing than just another teen-age rebellion. In the short space of the past decade, she comments in her recent book Children without Childhood. that many middle-class American children not high-schoolers, but kids between the ages of 6 and 12 have been robbed of their most precious birthright — childhood itself. Willy-nilly, the typical fifth grader, once blissfully ignorant of adult matters, is now aware not just of sex and violence, but also of injustice, fear of death, adult frailty and cruelty, political corruption and economic instability.
What explains this sudden loss of innocence? One potent influence was the sexual revolution of the '60s. The new sexual awareness of that decade exposed adults and children alike to an endless parade of erotic possibilities. Another factor is the spiraling American divorce rate of the last two decades, which has brought so many children into intimate contact with their parents' self-absorption, vulnerability and quite often, new sexual liaisons.
Perhaps the most interesting explanation here for the altered nature of childhood is the sweeping change that occurred during the 1970s in the economic and social status of women. As hordes of them left home for the workplace and shed their own protected position as child-wives, according to Winn. the effect of child rearing was cataclysmic. In practical terms, kids were left with far less supervision. But something much more basic happened as well. Newly emancipated women began to feel that it was no longer fair to demand submission and deference from their offspring — or to deny them full access to information about life's confusing realities.
Such treatment was well intentioned. But, as Winn documents, "new-era child rearing" in which the child is enlisted as an equal partner in his own upbringing — has turned out to be a disaster. Children do not prosper when treated as adults. Instead, what they require to accomplish their important tasks of learning and exploration and play is the security of dependency, of their inherent inequality.
While the social forces that have transformed family life are probably irreversible, some measures. Winn suggests, can be taken to keep children from learning too much too soon. Couples who are bent primarily on self-fulfillment or high-powered careers would do well to think twice about producing offspring at all. Those who do become parents should be willing to take an authoritative position in the family and to sacrifice their own time for supervision of the kids.
Youngsters between the ages of 6 and 12, Winn emphasizes, require just as much time and attention as toddlers. She also urges parents to repress, gently, their children's sexuality by withholding information and maintaining discipline - not out of prudery, but because young people whose innocence is prolonged will devote more energy to learning and play, skills that ultimately lead to creativity and achievement. And in the meantime, they can enjoy the blessing of a real childhood.
TEXT J
First read the following questions.
35. The uncultivated part of the arable land in Saudi Arabia is________.
A. 9 000 sq. km B. 15 000sq. km
C. 6 000 sq. km D. 242 000 sq. km
36. Saudi farmer's success in agriculture can be attributed to all the following factors EXCEPT________.
A. abundant ground-water reserves
B. government's heavy subsidization
C. interest-free loans from the bank
D. Government's investment in agriculture
Now go through TEXT J quickly and answer questions 35 and 36.
Agriculture
Few people think of Saudi Arabia as a farm country, but agricultural production reached 1.5 billion last year and is on the rise. Tomatoes, potatoes and lettuce are grown in the desert, and there are large fields of wheat. In many cases the fields are watered by long irrigation arms that revolve on huge electrically-driven wheels.
Water comes from rainfall, ground-water or wells. There are 15 000 sq. km of arable land in the kingdom, only 6 000 sq. km of which are under cultivation.
Recent investigations have confirmed sufficient underground water reserves to support a century of sustained withdrawal, irrigating an additional 600 000 acres (242 000 hectares).
Between 1975 and 1980. 12 commercial dairy farms were established, making fresh milk available in commercial quantities for the first time. An additional 16 dairy farms will be in operation by 1985, producing 500000 tons of milk a year, and making the kingdom almost self-sufficient in this important commodity.
Due to heavy subsidization. Saudi Arabia may also achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production by the end of this year. Domestic yield reached 400 000 tons in 1982 with 600 000 tons expected this year. By 1985. an additional 144000acres will be placed in cereal production.
The 1982 harvest yielded 10 000 tons of potatoes and 77 000 tons of dates, of which 500 tons were exported.
Saudi farmers are having considerable success raising cucumbers and tomatoes in enclosed humidity-controlled conditions. Using these hydroponic techniques, they arc able to harvest such produce in five to eight weeks after transplanting.
Experiments are also under way growing vegetables in sterilized sand, irrigated with nutrient pack drips.
Poultry operations provided the domestic market with 80 million chickens last year, 29% of national consumption, and 1.1 billion eggs. 90% of local requirements.
The Saudi government's incentives to invest in the agricultural sector are unusually attractive: the Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank offers interest-free loans on 80% of the cost of a project up to 15 million. Fertilizers and animal feed are eligible for 50% of cost subsidies, and selected farm equipment, subsidies of 30 to 50% of the cost.
The airfreight for flying cattle into the country is paid for by the government, as is water for irrigation.
As of October 1982 the Agricultural Bank had made loans amounting to US $1. 75 billion.
During the current five-year plan the government is investing US $2. 4 billion in the agricultural sector.
TEXT K
First read the following questions.
37. When can the drought be expected to end?
A. In no time. B. In the summer.
C. In the fall. D. Beyond prediction.
38. The drought is predicted to cause to Texas agribusiness.
A. a US $2.4 billion loss B. a US $5 billion loss
C. a US $6. 5 billion loss D. an inestimable loss
Now go through TEXT K quickly and answer questions 37 and 38.
Drought
From its headwaters at San Ygnacio, Texas, to its giant hydroelectric dam 50 miles downstream. Falcon Lake covers some 87 000 acres along the Rio Grande and the US Mexican border. Created in the 1950's to improve flood control and irrigation, the lake is a water monument to the era of gigantic public works. But the worse drought since the Eisenhower years has lowered the water level by nearly 50 feet and bit by bit. Falcon Lake is revealing the secrets of its long-submerged past. On the Texas side of the lake, drowned border towns like Zapata and Lopeno, relocated when the dam was built, are reemerging from the flood. On the Mexican side, near the town of Benevidcs stone crosses in a once submerged old cemetery rise like eerie sentinels to the drought. The last time anybody saw these graves, segregation was the law of the land, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn and Bill Clinton was in second grade.
The two-year drawdown of Falcon Lake is only one symptom of the Drought of '96 — a slowly gathering crisis that is putting a huge strain on the water supplies of the fast-growing cities of the Southwest and on the farm-and-cattle regions of the southern Plains as well. From Los Angeles to Corpus Christi. from Brownsville to Nebraska, the drought pits state against state, city dwellers against farmers and farmers against a global weather system that has turned suddenly hostile toward man. Severe to extreme drought conditions now prevail across the whole southwestern part of the United States, a region that includes southern California, southern Nevada, all of Arizona. New Mexico and Texas and most of Utah, Colorado and Oklahoma. The drought has afflicted some parts of the region for up to five years and other areas for as little as 10 months. But whatever its duration, climatologists agree there is no end in sight. "The expectation is that this thing is going to continue through the summer and into the fall," says Dr Don Wilhite of the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb. "Beyond that, it's anybody's guess. "
What's going on here experts like Whilhite say, is a reverse El Nino effect. El Nino ("the Christ Child") is a huge weather system in the western Pacific that, in a good year spawns welcome winter rains in the southwestern states and the Plains. When El. Nino does not appear — and last year he didn't - the result is even less rainfall in a region that is naturally among the fries in the world. From August 1995 to May of this year, much of the Southwest and the southern Plains region recorded virtually no rainfall or snow. That dried out the soil and set the stage for a deepening drought.
