Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.
Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage. Severe winter storms have worsened the nation’s usual post-holiday blood shortage, prompting an urgent call today for people to donate blood. Type O blood is the most urgently needed, because it is the universal blood type, meaning it can be safely transfused to most people in an emergency. “The severe winter weather has forced the cancellation of blood drives and limited our ability to collect blood,” American Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole said. The Red Cross reported having less than one day’s supply of Type O blood on hand in 18 of the organization’s 38 collection regions. The Red Cross provides about half of the nation’s blood supply. America’s Blood Centers, which supplies most of the rest, also has reported shortages.
Reacting to the shortage, a Pittsburgh blood bank asked 40 hospitals in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to postpone elective surgeries through Wednesday. At least 1,000 donors are needed each day for the next several days to stabilize the supply, said Mark Lynch, spokesman for the Central Blood Bank. “We’re talking about (postponing) hip replacement, for example, and orthopedic cases. These are sick people who need surgery, but it’s not life threatening,” he said. When its blood supply is stable, the blood bank needs about 700 donors each day to maintain normal inventory. The Pittsburgh blood bank last asked hospitals to postpone elective surgeries because of a blood shortage in October 1995. Such procedures were canceled for almost a week. Nationwide, donations typically fall off during the holidays, when donors become too busy to give blood regularly. Bad weather increases shortages both by blocking blood drives and by causing increased blood demand to treat accident victims.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。 47. The blood shortage urged people ___________. 48. The Red Cross is important in supplying blood because the organization has __________. 49. To ease the situation, what kind of surgeries had to be put off? 50. We can infer from the passage that blood shortage usually occur _______________. 51. Usually 700 donors are needed each day for the blood bank to remain stable in __________.
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Section B Passage One Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
All societies have distinct role expectations for men and for women. In the United States these expectations have been undergoing change for many decades. Today Americans live in a world of diverse family patterns and conflicting images of ideal life styles for men and women. The conventional norms of the first half century defined a successful woman as a wife and mother who stayed home to carry out a full array of household duties. The husband and father was expected to stay away from the home most of the day, earning enough money to pay the bills. Many adults still live by these expectations, but the traditional pattern is no longer held up as an ideal to be followed by everyone. Times have changed; there is no return to yesterday.
Although the women’s movement and political controversies about such issues and the Equal Rights Amendment and sexual harassment ( 骚扰) suggest that changing sex roles is a recent issue, this is far from the case. Broad trends can be identified over the past hundred years. Women have increased their participation in the labor force from 18% in 1900 to over 50% today, and they give children than women did in the past. In 1910 the birth rate was 30 per 1,000 population; by the 1900s it had declined to 16 per 1,000. These two trends – increasing participation in the labor force and decreasing family size – suggest that major long-term changes have restructured the role expectations of men and women. These changes are complex. The fact that more women are joining the labor force as full-time workers does not mean that a single sex role pattern is emerging.
On the contrary, we are living in a period of diverse family patterns. According to Kathleen Gerson, “the domestic woman who builds her life around children and homemaking persists, but she now coexists with a growing number of working mothers and permanently childless women.” Women today face hard choices as they make decisions about work, career, and motherhood. Despite women’s liberation, women still earn less than men in the work place and are still expected to do most of the work in the home. Women work substantially more hours each week in the home and at the workplace than men do. Women are working harder than ever, yet many do not enjoy the benefits of full equality.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。
52. The traditional roles for men and women ___. A) are diverse B) are conflicting C) have been changing D) are no longer followed
53. Changing sex roles is not a recent issue because ___. A) women have increased their participation in the labor force over the past hundred years B) more and more women are becoming working mothers or childless women C) the conventional image of women has changed beyond recognition D) people have changed their expectations of women in modern society
54. The fact that more women are joining the labor force as full time workers mean that ___. A) women are becoming more independent B) the family patterns are becoming diverse C) a single-role pattern is emerging D) women are eager to work
55. It’s stated in the last paragraph that ___. A) women today still suffer from inequality in work and life B) women’s liberation has promoted their social status C) the society expects more from women than from men D) women are more capable and diligent than men
56. According to this passage, the statement which is NOT true is ___. A) many people still follow the conventional norms of life style B) women today give children than women in the past C) more and more to work rather than to be housewives D) men do as much domestic work as women do at home
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children than women did in the past. In 1910 the birth rate was 30 per 1,000 population; by the 1900s it had declined to 16 per 1,000. These two trends – increasing participation in the labor force and decreasing family size – suggest that major long-term changes have restructured the role expectations of men and women. These changes are complex. The fact that more women are joining the labor force as full-time workers does not mean that a single sex role pattern is emerging.
to work rather than to be housewives
