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 the statements in the fewest possible words on Answer Sheet 2.
Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.
Many workers who worked in the World Trade Center after the September eleventh attacks became sick. They breathed a mix of dust, smoke and chemicals in the ruins of the Twin Towers and a third building that fell. Some went clays without good protection for their lungs. Five years later, many of the thousands who worked at Ground Zero in the early days after the attacks still have health problems.
Doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City have announced the results of the largest study of these workers. The study confirmed high rates of breathing problems in members of the building trades, firefighters, police officers and other workers. Almost seventy percent of the workers in the study had a new or worsened breathing problem. These problems developed during or after their time working in the mountain of wreckage. About sixty percent still had breathing problems at the time of their examination. The researchers say they decided to study the effects on breathing first because other disorders might be slower to appear. Mount Sinai says it tested almost twelve thousand people between two thousand two and two thousand four. Eight out of ten of them agreed to have their results used in the report. The new results added strength to a Mount Sinai study released in two thousand four. That study was based on only about one thousand workers.
Some lawmakers have sharply criticized city and state officials for letting workers labor at Ground Zero without satisfactory equipment. Officials have also been criticized for saying the air was relatively safe. State and federal officials have promised more than fifty million dollars to pay for treatment of the workers. Doctor Robin Herbert is one of the directors of the Mount Sinai testing program. She says people are still coming to the hospital for treatment of problems that were caused by the dust at Ground Zero. In her words:" My worry is that money will be gone in a year, and what happens then?"
47. What contributed to problems of the workers in World Trade Center after the attacks?
48. Who had the most serious breathing problems according to the latest study?
49. The researchers decided to carry on some study on the effects on breathing first because __________ might appear in a later period of time.
50. ______ are sharply criticized by some lawmakers because they let workers labor at Ground Zero with out satisfactory equipment.
51. What measures have the officials promised to take to deal with the health problem?
Section B
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 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Acting is such an over-crowded profession that the only advice that should be given to a young person thinking of going on the stage is "Don't!". But it is useless to try to discourage someone who feels that he must act, though the chances of his becoming famous are slim. The normal way to begin is to go to a drama school. Usually only students who show promise and talent are accepted, and the course lasts two years. Then the young actor or actress takes up work with a repertory company, usually as an assistant stage manager. This means doing everything that there is to do in the theatre: painting scenery, looking after the furniture, taking care of the costumes, and even acting in very small parts. It is very hard work indeed. The hours are long and the salary is tiny. But young actors with the stage in their blood are happy, waiting for the chances of working with a better company, or perhaps in films or television.
Of course, some people have unusual chances which lead to fame and success without this long and dull training. Connie Pratt, for example, was just an ordinary girl working in a bicycle factory. A film producer happened to catch sight of her one morning waiting at a bus stop, as he drove past in his big car. He told the driver to stop, and he got out to speak to the girl. He asked her if she would like to go to the film studio to do a test, and at first she thought he was joking. Then she got angry and said she would call the police. It took the producer twenty minutes to tell Connie that he was serious. Then an appointment was made for her to go to the studio the next day. The test was successful. They gave her some necessary lessons and within a few weeks she was playing the leading part opposite one of the most famous actors of the day. Of Course, she was given a more dramatic name, which is now world-famous. But chances like this happen once in a blue moon!
52. According to the passage, the main reason why young people should be discouraged from becoming actors is ______.
A) actors are very unusual people
B) the course at the drama school lasts two years
C) acting is really a hard job
D) there are already too many actors
53. An assistant stage manager's job is difficult because he has to ______.
A) do all kinds of stage work
B) work for long hours
C) wait for a better company
D) act well
54. According to the context, the sentence "But young actors with the stage in their blood are happy" at the end of the first paragraph means ______.
A) they don't care if their job is hard
B) they like the stage naturally
C) they are born happy
D) they are easily satisfied
55. Conie Pratt soon became a famous actress after ______.
A) learning some lessons about the art of speaking
B) playing her part in the "Blue Colored Moon"
C) successfully matching the most famous actors
D) acting a leading part with a most famous actor at that time
56. The phrase "once in a blue moon" in last line refers to ______.
A) all at once
B) once for a long time
C) once in a while
D) once and for all
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
The home service industry in Beijing is expected to become more attractive both as a job and as an industry.
Sources at the Beijing People's Political Consultative Conference said resistance to home service work is melting away from minds of the city's laid-off workers. The Conference suggested the establishment of municipal centers which supervise property management, household mending and installation, and house keeping services. Modern city life is creating a need for industrialization home services. This will create job opportunities for laid-off workers, said Vice director of the Social Judicial Committee of the Conference.
Beijing residents have long desired a home service industry. The demand is expected to drive new economic growth. There are few high quality home help services in Beijing and customers are always complaining.
In the past, few laid-off workers in Beijing desired to work as home helpers, jobs largely taken by young women from the countryside. At the same time, some city residents have not felt safe trusting rural girls with modern household machines or with their small children. Many people would pay more for reliable house keepers who are more familiar with city life, but they have had no way of getting one, even though the city is home to thousands of laid-off workers.
By the end of June this year, there were 30,600 jobless workers in the city. Most of them are women in their 40's, who are not blessed with particular skills and who have had their work ethics shaped by the planned economy. Many of them were at a loss when they first realized they had lost their jobs and a way of life they had got used to for decades.
They never imagined being laid-off by state-owned enterprises; they never considered other kinds of employment. For them, the private sector meant taking risks; housekeeping implied lower social status. Gao yunfang, 44, is a pioneer who is breaking the ice. She sells the Beijing Morning Post in the morning, and works at two households in the afternoon. She earns 1,000 yuan per month. So she no longer worries about her daughter's tuition at a university in Shanghai.
57. What is talked about in the passage?
A) Home service.
B) Modern city life.
C) Laid-off worker.
D) Social status.
58. What does the word "laid-off' in the passage mean?
A) Heavily-burdened.
B) Old.
C) Inexperienced.
D) Jobless.
59. Why were many laid-off workers at a loss?
A) Because they didn't get used to the new way of life.
B) Because they are too old to find a new job.
C) Because they dislike being laid off.
D) Because they think they lost their social status.
60. Why didn't the laid-off workers like to do home services in the past?
A) Low salary.
B) Lower social status.
C) Dirty working condition.
D) Too much extra work.
61. In which ways is home service industry good for our society?
A) It meets the needs of modern life.
B) It provides work opportunities for the laid-off worker.
