In Sections A, B and C you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully a nd then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct response to each ques tion on your Coloured Answer Sheet.
SECTION A TALK
Questions refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you w ill be given 15 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now list en to the talk.
1. Changes in the size of the World Bank’ s operations refer to ___.
A. the expansion of its loan programme
B. the inclusion of its hard loans
C. the inclusion of its soft loans
D. the previous lending policies
2. What actually made the Bank change its overall lending strategy?
A. Reluctance of people in poor countries to have small families.
B. Lack of basic health services and inequality in income distribution.
C. The discovery that a low fertility rate would lead to economic development.
D. Poor nutrition and low literacy in many poor countries of the world.
3. The change in emphasis of the Bank’s lending policies meant that the Bank would ___.
A. be more involved in big infrastructure projects
B. adopt similar investment strategies in poor and rich countries
C. embark upon a review of the investment in huge dams and steel mills
D. invest in projects that would benefit the low-income sector of society
4. Which of the following is NOT a criticism of the bank?
A. Colossal travel expenses of its staff.
B. Fixed annual loans to certain countries.
C. Limited impact of the Bank’s projects.
D. Role as a financial deal maker.
5. Throughout the talk, the speaker is ___ while introducing the World Bank.
A. biased
B. unfriendly
C. objective
D. sensational
SECTION B CONVERSATION
Questions are based on a conversation. At the end of the conversation you will be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the conversation.
6. The man sounds surprised at the fact that ___.
A. many Australians are taking time off to travel
B. the woman worked for some time in New Zealand
C. the woman raised enough money for travel
D. Australians prefer to work in New Zealand
7. We learn that the woman liked Singapore mainly because of its ___.
A. cleanness
B. multi-ethnicity
C. modern characteristics
D. shopping opportunities
8. From the conversation we can infer that Kaifeng and Yinchuan impressed the woman with their ___
A. respective locations
B. historic interests
C. ancient tombs
D. Jewish descendants
9. Which of the following words can best describe the woman’s feelings a bout Tibet?
A. Amusement.
B. Disbelief.
C. Ecstasy.
D. Delig ht
10. According to the conversation, it was___that made the woman ready to stop traveling.
A. the unsettledness of travel
B. the difficulties of trekking
C. the loneliness of travel
D. the unfamiliar environment
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions are based on the following news. At the end of the news item , you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news.
11. Mike Tyson was put in prison last August because he ___.
A. violated the traffic law
B. illegally attacked a boxer
C. attacked sb. after a traffic accident
D. failed to finish his contract
12. The license granted to Tyson to fight will be terminated ___.
A. by the end of the year
B. in over a year
C. in August
D. in a few weeks
Question is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you wil l be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
13. The Russian documents are expected to draw great attention because ___.
A. they cover the whole story of the former US president
B. the assassin used to live in the former Soviet Union
C. they are the only official documents released about Kennedy
D. they solved the mystery surrounding Kennedy’s assassination
Question are based on the following news. At the end of the news item,
you will be given 30 seconds to answer the questions. New listen to the news.
14. In the recent three months, Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has ___.
A. increased slowly
B. decreased gradually
C. stayed steady
D. become unpredictable
15. According to the news, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Business conditions have worsened in the past three months.
B. The past three months have seen a declining trend in job offers.
C. The rise of unemployment rate in some sectors equals the fall in others.
D. The unemployment rate in all sectors of the economy remains unchanged.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
Fill each of gaps with ONE word. You may refer to your notes. Make sure the word you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
The Press Conference
The press conference has certain advantages. The first advantage lies with the
(1)___ nature of the event itself; public officials are supposed to submit to scrutiny by responding to various questions at a press conference.
Secondly, statements previously made at a press conference can be used as a (2)___ in judging following statements or policies. Moreover, in case of important events, press conferences are an effective way to break the news to groups of reporters.
However, from the point of view of (3)___, the press conference possesses some disadvantages, mainly in its(4)___ and news source.
The provider virtually determines the manner in which a press conference proceeds. This, sometimes, puts news reporters at a(n)(5)___ , as can be seen on live broadcasts of news conferences.
Factors in getting valuable information preparation: a need to keep up to date on journalistic subject matter;
—(6)___ of the news source:
1 ) news source’ s (7)___ to
provide information;
2)news-gathering methods.
Conditions under which news reporters cannot trust the information
provided by a news source
— not knowing the required information;
— knowing and willing to share the information, but without(8)___ skills;
— knowing the information, but unwilling to share;
— willing to share, but unable to recall.
(9)___ of questions asked
Ways of improving the questions:
no words with double meanings;
no long questions;
— specific time, place, etc.;
— (10)___ questions;
— clear alternatives, or no alternatives in answers.
Part Ⅰ Proofreading and Error Correction (15 min)
The following passage contains TEN errors. Each line contains a maximum of ONE 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.
Example
When∧art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an it never／ buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never them on the wall. When a natural history museum wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) exhibit
During the early years of this century, wheat was seen as the
very lifeblood of Western Canada. People on city streets watched
the yields and the price of wheat in almost as much feeling as if 1.___
they were growers. The marketing of wheat became an increasing 2.___
favorite topic of conversation.
War set the stage for the most dramatic events in marketing
the western crop. For years, farmers mistrusted speculative grain
selling as carried on through the Winnipeg Grain Exchange.
Wheat prices were generally low in the autumn, so farmers could 3.___
not wait for markets to improve. It had happened too often that
they sold their wheat soon shortly after harvest when farm debts 4.___
were coming due, just to see prices rising and speculators getting rich. 5.___
On various occasions, producer groups, asked firmer control, 6.___
but the government had no wish to become involving, at 7.___
least not until wartime when wheat prices threatened to run
wild.
Anxious to check inflation and rising life costs, the federal 8.___
government appointed a board of grain supervisors to deal with
deliveries from the crops of 1917 and 1918. Grain Exchange
trading was suspended, and farmers sold at prices fixed by the
board. To handle with the crop of 1919, the government 9.___
appointed the first Canadian Wheat Board, with total authority to 10.___
buy, sell, and set prices.
Part Ⅱ 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 and then mark answers on your Coloured Answer Sheet.
TEXT A
“Twenty years ago, Blackpool turned its back on the sea and tried to make itself into an entertainment centre. ” say Robin Wood, a local official. “Now t he thinking is that we should try, to refocus on the sea and make Blackpool a family destination again.” To say that Blackpool neglected the sea is to put it mildly. In 1976 the European Community, as it then was called, instructed member nations to make their beaches conform to certain minimum standards of cleanliness within ten years. Britain, rather than complying, took the novel strategy of contending that many of its most popular beaches were not swimming beaches at all. Be cause of Britain’s climate the sea-bathing season is short, and most people don ’ t go in above their knees anyway-and hence can’t really be said to be swimming. By averaging out the number of people actually swimming across 365 days of the y ear, the government was able to persuade itself, if no one else, that Britain ha d hardly any real swimming beaches.
As one environmentalist put it to me: “You had the ludicrous situation in which Luxembourg had mere listed public bathing beaches than the whole of the United Kingdom. It was preposterous.”
Meanwhile, Blackpool continued to discharge raw sewage straight into the sea. Finally after much pressure from both environmental groups and the European Union, the local water authority built a new waste-treatment facility for the who le of Blackpool and neighbouring communities. The facility came online in June 1 996. For the first time since the industrial revolution Blackpool’s waters are safe to swim in.
That done, the town is now turning its attention to making the sea-front me re visually attractive. The promenade, once a rather elegant place to stroll, ha d become increasingly tatty and neglected. “It was built in Victorian times and needed a thorough overhaul anyway, ”says Wood, “so we decided to make aesthetic improvements at the same time, to try to draw people back to it.” Blackpool recently spent about .4 million building new kiosks for vendors and improving seating around the Central Pier and plans to spend a further $ 15 million on various amenity projects.
The most striking thing about Blackpool these days compared with 20 years a go is how empty its beaches are. When the tide is out, Blackpool’s beaches are a vast plain of beckoning sand. They look spacious enough to accommodate comfortably the entire populace of northern England. Ken Welsby remembers days when, as he puts it,“ you couldn’t lay down a handkerchief on this beach, it was that crowded.”
Welsby comes from Preston, 20 miles down the road, and has been visiting Bl ackpool all his life. Now retired, he had come for the day with his wife, Kitty, and their three young grandchildren who were gravely absorbed in building a sandcastle. “Two hundred thousand people they’d have on this beach sometimes.” Welsby said. “You can’t imagine it now, can you?”
Indeed I could not. Though it was a bright sunny day in the middle of summer. I counted just 13 people scattered along a half mile or so of open sand. Except for those rare times when hot weather and a public holiday coincide, it is like this nearly always now.
“You can’t imagine how exciting it was to come here for the day when we were young.” Kitty said. “Even from Preston, it was a big treat. Now children don ’t want the beach. They want arcade games and rides in helicopters and goodness knows what else.” She stared out over the glittery water. “We’ll never see those days again. It’s sad really.”
“But your grandchildren seem to be enjoying it,” I pointed out.
“For the moment, ”Ken said. “For the moment.”
Afterward I went for a long walk along the empty beach, then went back to the town centre and treated myself to a large portion of fish-and-chips wrapped in paper. The way they cook it in Blackpool, it isn’t so much a meal as an invitation to a heart attack, but it was delicious. Far out over the sea the sun was setting with such splendor that I would almost have sworn I could hear the water hiss where it touched.
Behind me the lights of Blackpool Tower were just twinkling on, and the streets were beginning to fill with happy evening throngs. In the purply light of dusk the town looked peaceful and happy — enchanting even — and there was an engaging air of expectancy, of fun about to happen. Somewhat to my surprise, I realized that this place was beginning to grow on me.
16. At the beginning, the passage seems to suggest that Blackpool ___.
A. will continue to remain as an entertainment centre
B. complied with EC’s standards of clearliness
C. had no swimming beaches all along
D. is planning to revive its former attraction
17. We can learn from the passage that Blackpool used to ___.
A. have as many beaches as Luxumbourg
B. have seriously polluted drinking water
C. boast some imposing seafront sights
D. attract few domestic holiday makers
18. What Blackpool’s beaches strike visitors most is their ___.
A. emptiness
B. cleanliness
C. modernity
D. monotony
TEXT B
Pundits who want to sound judicious are fond of warning against generalizing. Each country is different, they say, and no one story fits all of Asia. This is, of course, silly: all of these economies plunged into economic crisis within a few months of each other, so they must have had something in common.
In fact, the logic of catastrophe was pretty much the same in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea. (Japan is a very different story. ) In each ca se investors——mainly, but not entirely, foreign banks who had made short-term loans——all tried to pull their money out at the same time. The result was a co mbined banking and currency crisis: a banking crisis because no bank can convert all its assets into cash on short notice; a currency crisis because panicked investors were trying not only to convert long-term assets into cash, but to convert baht or rupiah into dollars. In the face of the stampede, governments had no good options. If they let their currencies plunge inflation would soar and companies that had borrowed in dollars would go bankrupt; if they tried to support their currencies by pushing up interest rates, the same firms would probably go bust from the combination of debt burden and recession. In practice, countries’ split the difference—— and paid a heavy price regardless.
Was the crisis a punishment for bad economic management? Like most cliches, the catchphrase“ crony capitalism” has prospered because it gets at something real: excessively cozy relationships between government and business really did lead to a lot of bad investments. The still primitive financial structure of Asia n business also made the economies peculiarly vulnerable to a loss of confidence . But the punishment was surely disproportionate to the crime, and many investments that look foolish in retrospect seemed sensible at the time.
Given that there were no good policy options, was the policy response mainly on the fight track? There was frantic blame-shifting when everything in Asia seemed to be going wrong: now there is a race to claim credit when some things have started to go right. The international Monetary Fund points to Korea’s recovery—— and more generally to the fact that the sky didn’t fall after all —— a s proof that its policy recommendations were right. Never mind that other IMF clients have done far worse, and that the economy of Malaysia —— which refused IM F help, and horrified respectable opinion by imposing capital controls ——also seems to be on the mend. Malaysia’s prime Minister, by contrast, claims full credit for any good news——even though neighbouring economies also seem to have bottomed out.
The truth is that an observer without any ax to grind would probably conclude that none of the policies adopted either on or in defiance of the IMF’s adv ice made much difference either way. Budget policies, interest rate policies, ban king reform —— whatever countries tried, just about all the capital that could flee, did. And when there was no mere money to run, the natural recuperative powers of the economies finally began to prevail. At best, the money doctors who purported to offer cures provided a helpful bedside manner; at worst, they were like medieval physicians who prescribed bleeding as a remedy for all ills.
Will the patients stage a full recovery? It depends on exactly what you me an by “full”. South Korea’s industrial production is already above its pre-crisis level; but in the spring of 1997 anyone who had predicted zero growth in Korea n industry over the next two years would have been regarded as a reckless doomsayer. So if by recovery you mean not just a return to growth, but one that brings the region’s performance back to something like what people used to regard as the Asian norm, they have a long way to go.
19. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the writer’s opinion?
A. Countries paid a heavy price for whichever measure taken.
B. Countries all found themselves in an economic dilemma.
C. Withdrawal of foreign capital resulted in the crisis.
D. Most governments chose one of the two options.
20. The writer thinks that those Asian countries ___.
A. well deserved the punishment
B. invested in a senseless way at the time
C. were unduly punished in the crisis
D. had bad relationships between government and business
21. It can be inferred from the passage that IMF policy recommendations ___.
A. were far from a panacea in all cases
B. were feasible in their recipient countries
C. failed to work in their recipient countries
D. were rejected unanimously by Asian countries
22. At the end of the passage, the writer seems to think that a full reco very of the Asian economy is ___.
A. due
B. remote
C. imaginative
D. unpredictable
TEXT C
Human migration: the term is vague. What people usually think of is the permanent movement of people from one home to another. More broadly, though, migration means all the ways——from the seasonal drift of agricultural workers within a country to the relocation of refugees from one country to another.
Migration is big, dangerous, compelling. It is 60 million Europeans leaving home from the 16th to the 20th centuries. It is some 15 million Hindus, Skihs, and Muslims swept up in a tumultuous shuffle of citizens between India and Pakis tan after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
Migration is the dynamic undertow of population change: everyone’s solution, everyone’s conflict. As the century turns, migration, with its inevitable economic and political turmoil, has been called“ one of the greatest challenges of the coming century.”
But it is much more than that. It is, as has always been, the great adventure of human life. Migration helped create humans, drove us to conquer the planet , shaped our societies, and promises to reshape them again.
“You have a history book written in your genes, ”said Spencer Wells. The book he’s trying to
read goes back to long before even the first word was written , and it is a story of migration.
Wells, a tall, blond geneticist at Stanford University, spent the summer of 1998 exploring remote parts of Transcaucasia and Central Asia with three colleagues in a Land Rover, looking for drops of blood. In the blood, donated by the people he met, he will search for the story that genetic markers can tell of the long paths human life has taken across the Earth. Genetic studies are the latest technique in a long effort of modern humans t o find out where they have come from. But however the paths are traced, the basic story is simple: people have been moving since they were people. If early humans hadn’t moved and intermingled as much as they did, they probably would have continued to evolve into different species. From beginnings in Africa, most researchers agree, groups of hunter-gatherers spread out, driven to the ends of the Earth.
To demographer Kingsley Davis, two things made migration happen. First, hum an beings, with their tools and language, could adapt to different conditions without having to wait for evolution to make them suitable for a new niche. Second , as populations grew, cultures began to differ, and inequalities developed between groups. The first factor gave us the keys to the door of any room on the planet; the other gave us reasons to use them.
Over the centuries, as agriculture spread across the planet, people moved toward places where metal was found and worked and to centres of commerce that then became cities. Those places were, in turn, invaded and overrun by people later generations called barbarians.
In between these storm surges were steadier but similarly profound fides in which people moved out to colonize or were captured and brought in as slaves. F or a while the population of Athens, that city of legendary enlightenment was as much as 35 percent slaves.
“What strikes me is how important migration is as a cause and effect in the great world events. ”Mark Miller, co-author of The Age of Migration and a professor of political science at the University of Delaware, told me recently.
It is difficult to think of any great events that did not involve migration . Religions spawned pilgrims or settlers; wars drove refugees before them and ma de new land available for the conquerors; political upheavals displaced thousand s or millions; economic innovations drew workers and entrepreneurs like magnets; environmental disasters like famine or disease pushed their bedraggled survivor s anywhere they could replant hope. “It’s part of our nature, this movement,” Miller said, “It’s just a fact of the human condition.”
23. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. Migration exerts a great impact on population change.
B. Migration contributes to Mankind’s progress.
C. Migration brings about desirable and undesirable effects.
D. Migration may not be accompanied by human conflicts.
24. According to Kingsley Davis, migration occurs as a result of the foll owing reasons EXCEPF ___.
A. human adaptability
B. human evolution
C. cultural differences
D. inter-group inequalities
25. Which of the following groups is NOT mentioned as migrants in the pas sage?
A. Farmers. B. Workers. C. Settlers. D. Colonizers.
26. There seems to be a(n) ___ relationship between great events an d migration.
A. loose B. indefinite C. causal D. remote
TEXT D
How is communication actually achieved? It depends, of course, either on a common language or on known conventions, or at least on the beginnings of these. If the common language and the conventions exist, the contributor, for example, the creative artist, the performer, or the reporter, tries to
use them as well as he can. But often, especially with original artists and thinkers, the problem is in one way that of creating a language, or creating a convention, or at leas t of developing the language and conventions to the point where they are capable of bearing his precise meaning. In literature, in music, in the visual arts, in the sciences, in social thinking, in philosophy, this kind of development has occurred again and again. It often takes a long time to get through, and for many people it will remain difficult. But we need never think that it is impossible; creative energy is much more powerful than we sometimes suppose. While a man is engaged in this struggle to say new things in new ways, he is usually more than ever concentrated on the actual work, and not on its possible audience. Many artists and scientists share this fundamental unconcern about the ways in which their work will be received. They may be glad if it is understood and appreciated, hurt if it is not, but while the work is being done there can be no argument. T he thing has to come out as the man himself sees it.
In this sense it is true that it is the duty of society to create condition s in which such men can live. For whatever the value of any individual contribution, the general body of work is of immense value to everyone. But of course things are not so formal, in reality. There is not society on the one hand and these individuals on the other. In ordinary living, and in his work, the contributor shares in the life of his society, which often affects him both in minor ways and in ways sometimes so deep that he is not even aware of them. His ability to make his work public depends on the actual communication system: the language its elf, or certain visual or musical or scientific conventions, and the institution s through which the communication will be passed. The effect of these on his actual work can be almost infinitely variable. For it is not only a communication system outside him; it is also, however original he may be, a communication system which is in fact part of himself. Many contributors make active use of this kind of internal communication system. It is to themselves, in a way, that they first show their conceptions, play their music, present their arguments. Not only as a way of getting these clear, in the process of almost endless testing that active composition involves. But also, whether consciously or not, as a way of putting the experience into a communicable form. If one mind has grasped it, then it may be open to other minds.
In this deep sense, the society is in some ways already present in the act of composition. This is always very difficult to understand, but often, when we have the advantage of looking back at a period, we can see, even if we cannot explain, how this was so. We can see how much even highly original individuals ha d in common, in their actual work, and in what is called their “structure of feeling”, with other individual workers of the time, and with the society of that time to which they belonged. The historian is also continually struck by the fact that men of this kind felt isolated at the very time when in reality they were beginning to get through. This can also be noticed in our own time, when some of the most deeply influential men feel isolated and even rejected. The society an d the communication are there, but it is difficult to recognize them, difficult to be sure.
27. Creative artists and thinkers achieve communication by ___.
A. depending on shared conventions
B. fashioning their own conventions
C. adjusting their personal feelings
D. elaborating a common language
28. A common characteristic of artists and scientists involved in creative work is that ___.
A. they cave about the possible reaction to their work
B. public response is one of the primary conceits
C. they are keenly aware of public interest in their work
D. they are indifferent toward response to their work
29. According to the passage, which of the following statements is INCORR ECT?
A. Individual contributions combined possess great significance to the public.
B. Good contributors don’t neglect the use of internal communication system.
C. Everyone except those original people comes under the influence of society.
D. Knowing how to communicate is universal among human beings.
30. It is implied at the end of the passage that highly original individuals feel isolated because they ___.
A. fail to acknowledge and use an acceptable form of communication
B. actually differ from other individuals in the same period
C. have little in common with the society of the time
D. refuse to admit parallels between themselves and the society
SECTION B
TEXT E
First read the question.
31. The purpose of the passage is to ___.
A. review some newly-published interior-design books
B. explore the potential market for interior-design books
C. persuade people to buy some good books
D. stress the importance of reading good books
Now go through TEXT E quickly to answer question.
Do your relationships keep failing? When you leave your home in the morning are you already feeling stressed? Is there no time in your life for fun any more? Cancel your appointment with the doctor. What you need is a good interior-design book. Publishers have created a new genre of books for the home, titles that go beyond paint charts and superficial style and instead show you how your home can be transformed and even heal your life.
Dawna Walter is one of the authors leading the way in Britain with her boo k Organized Living that attempts to show how even a tidy sock drawer can improve the quality of your life. Walter is the owner of the Holding Company, a shop on London’s Kings Road which sells hundreds of storage ideas for the home. It has been such a hit that Walter is planning to open four new outlets in the near future. Born in America, Dawna Walter is a fast talker, a self-confessed perfectionist, and a tidiness fundamentalist. “If it takes 10 minutes for you to find a matching pair of socks in the morning, then you are not in control and your outlook just isn’t any good. Being organized saves you a couple of hours every week and gives you more time to do the things you enjoy, ” she explains.
Her book contains dozens of ideas for streamlining your life. In the kitchen she recommends filing magazine recipes immediately, and organizing them by types-of dishes or particular cooks, and using ice-cube trays to freeze sauces in individual portions. Her ideas seem common sense but nevertheless require you to be at least slightly obsessive. CDs are a case in point: “How often do you wan t to find one particular CD and can’t? Now, how much easier it would be if you p l aced them in alphabetical order? That will only take an hour. Then divide out the ones you listen to regularly into a separate section. ”
Another recent book in the British market was Sarah Shurety’s Chinese-inspired Feng Shui For Your Home. Within 14 days of publication every copy had been sold. Shurety’s room-by-room guide to creating a harmonious living space, based on the ancient Chinese tradition Feng Shui, contains rules for how to create the best atmosphere and promote health, wealth and happiness. Dinner party hosts are told to place quiet people at the head of the table and facing the door so that they will feel more garrulous; those looking for romance learn to place pink f lowers by their beds; and house-buyers are warned to beware of properties built on sloping foundations if they want stability in their lives.
The book Creating Space , by Elizabeth Wilhide, claims that readers following its advice will not just improve their homes but transform their lives. Wilhide believes that as we increasingly work from home, we need to reassess the way our houses work(especially when there are children in the household) if we want t o avoid being overran by junk and that feeling of “being mentally weighed down. ” Unfortunately, she admits, she finds it difficult to follow her own advice. She sheepishly confesses to having “dumping zones” in her house, a handbag “that doesn’t bear looking into”, and a car “that’s a no-go zone” But she is undaunted by these small failures. In the future, she says she is determined to tidy up he r own life and follow the path to stress-free health , wealth and happiness.
TEXT F
First read the question.
32. The writer of the passage mainly intends to ___.
A. criticize Germany’s tax system
B. help companies ease their tax burden
C. examine the current corporate tax rates
D. propose ways to reform the tax system
Now go through TEXT F quickly to answer question.
One major reason for Germany’s high unemployment and the evident weakness o f business investment is the nature of the tax system, which tends to discourage both individual effort and investment. Nominal corporate tax rates are, in fact , very high and it is these rates that potential investors primarily look at. However, the actual burden borne by companies is not as great as it might seem, be cause the tax base is fairly narrow. This combination in itself tend to encourage tax avoidance at both the personal and corporate levels. Moreover, by international standards, firms in Germany are still taxed quite heavily.
A reform of corporate taxation, therefore, should start by, reducing tax rates, cutting subsidies and broadening the taxable base. The resulting positive impact on growth would be reinforced if there were also a substantial easing of the net burden.
How do the current plans for a reform of corporate taxation measure up to these goals? The overall tax burden on companies is to be brought down significantly, with the ceiling of 35 % being set. To this end, a dramatic reduction in t he corporate tax on retained earnings is planned. The related drop in revenues i s to be offset by changes in the rules governing tax breaks.
An approach incorporating these basic features would be a welcome step. I f realized in its presents form, it should ensure that the objective of making t ax rates more attractive for businesses is achieved. At the same time, however, it would be unfortunate if an excessive broadening of the taxable base made it impossible to attain the equally important goal of providing relief.
Comprehensive tax reform is needed in Germany to spur investment and to create new jobs, thus putting the economy on a higher growth path. The drop in revenues caused by the tax relief granted to both companies and households would, in time, be at least partially offset by the larger volume of tax receipts produce d by economic growth. The gaps that remained should primarily be closed through spending cuts. If measure of this sort proved inadequate, then, as a last resort , an increase in indirect taxes could perhaps be considered.
TEXT G
First read the question.
33. The following passage emphasizes the role of ___ in health conservation.
A. advertising B. research C. governments D. taxation
Now go through TEXT G quickly to answer question.
Most of the ill health we suffer could be prevented if people made more effort to change their life styles. Instead many people continue to smoke, to drink excessively and to eat unbalanced diets. How can governments help people conserve their health and avoid premature death?
Well, many of the measures which need to be taken are primarily a matter of new legislation and need not be expensive. One of the first preventive health measures should be an increase in taxes on tobacco to the point at which consumption falls off. The aim should be to raise the same amount of revenue from a decreasing number of people. In the short term such a policy could even raise extra money which should then be spent on subsidizing sport so that advertising tobacco through sports sponsorship could be banned.
Legislation is badly needed to ban all advertising of tobacco products as it persuades people to smoke more and so is in a large part responsible for the ill health and thousands of premature deaths caused by cancer of the lung. Other measures should be enforced, such as a much tougher health warning on cigarette packets, and tobacco companies should be made to contribute to research into a cure for lung cancer.
Alcoholism could be prevented by making wines, spirits and strong beers more expensive and the revenue raised could be used to set up clinics to help the people who already have a drink problem and want to give up. Similarly all advertising of alcohol should be banned and compensation paid to families of alcoholic s who die of cirrhosis of the liver. A country’s food and agricultural policy should also be based on a coherent health policy. For political reasons it is considered important to have a relatively cheap supply of eggs, cheese and milk, the very foods which are blamed as the cause of heart disease when eaten in excess. And even if it is disputed that excess animal fat is detrimental to health, foods could be labelled with the average percentage of different fats so that consumers who wanted to reduce their saturated fat intake would be able to do so easily.
Much more could be done to improve people’s diet in Britain and everyone should be encouraged to eat the types of food which are good for health. Current research on the nutritional value of foods should be freely available and the gov ernment should control the advertising of “rubbish” food. A programme of health education and lessons on sensible eating could be started in the schools with the Government’s backing.
TEXT H
First read the question.
34. The passage is primarily ___ in the development of the thesis.
A. persuasive B. descriptive C. narrative D. expository
Now go through TEXT H quickly to answer question.
The question remains: must we conform? Or can we, somehow, resist the power s that conspire to domesticate us? And if so, with what arms are we to redeem our almost-lost manhood? Where are we to find the weapons of resistance?
I believe that the question of conformity, in the long run, answers itself. I think that if there was a possibility, once, of a yes or no——if at one time humans could decide “we must conform” or “we must not” —— that possibility ha s been lost in the long reaches of evolution, far back along the corridors of Ti me. The simple truth is that we cannot conform. Built into man, is an instinct. I have chosen to call it the “instinct of rebellion”, since it reveals itself as a drive or urge toward mastery over ever y obstacle, natural or man-made, that stands as a barrier between man and his distant, perhaps never-to-be-achieved but always striven after goals. It is this instinct that underwrites his survival, this instinct from which he derives his nature: a great and powerful dynamic that makes him what he is——restless, seeking, curious, forever unsatisfied, eternally straggling and eventually victorious. Because of the instinct of rebellion man has never been content with the limits of his body; it has led him to extend his senses almost infinitely, so that his fingers now probe space, his eyes magnify the nuclei of atoms, and his ears detect whispers from the bottoms of seas. Because of the instinct of rebellion man has never been content with the limits of his mind; it has led him to inquire the secrets of the universe, to gather and learn and manipulate the fabulous inventory of the cosmos, to seek the very mysteries of creation.
Man is a rebel. He is committed by his biology not to conform, and herein lies the paramount reason for the awful tension he experiences today in relation to Society. Unlike other cream of earth, man cannot submit, cannot surrender hi s birthright of protest, for rebellion is one of his essential dimensions. He ca n not deny it and remain man. In order to live he must rebel. Only total annihilation of humanity as a species can eliminate this in-built necessity. Only with t he death of the last man will the revolt that is the essence of his nature also die.
TEXT I
First read the questions.
35. According to the census prediction, the average male Americans will b e expected to live up to ___ years of age by 2050.
A.73.3 B.75.1 C.81.3 D. 83.6
36. Crime experts predict that in the near future crime rates will first decrease in ___.
A. South and Southwest
B. North and Northeast
C. Southwest and Midwest
D. Northeast and Midwest
Now go through TEXT I quickly to answer questions.
If past is prologue, then it ought to be possible to draw some modest conclusions about the future from the wealth of data about America’s present. Will t h e rate continue to fall? Will single-person households actually swamp the traditional family?
All projections, of course, must be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. Nonetheless, the urge to make sense of what lies ahead is inescapable. After the 1980 census, the Census Bureau decided for the first time to venture some forecasts of its own for the decades to come. Working from what America already knows about itself, the bureau’s experts and other demographers offer an irresistible, if clouded, crystal ball among their visions.
According to the census projections, female life expectancy will increase from 78.3 years in 1981 to 81.3 in the year 2005. The life expectancy of America n men will grow from 70.7 for babies born in 1981 to 73.3 years in 2005.And by t he year 2050, women will have a life expectancy of 83.6 years and men of at leas t 75.1.
Annual population growth will slow to almost nothing by 2050. In fact, the Census Bureau predicts that the rate of natural increase will be negative after 2035; only continuing immigration will keep it growing after that. The total population will be 268 million in 2000 and 309 million—an all-time high—in 2050. After that, it will start to decline.
The American population will grow steadily older. From 11.4 percent in 198 1, the proportion of the population that is 65 and over will grow to 13.1 percent in 2000 and 21.7 percent in 2050. The percentage of the population that lives beyond the age of 85 will mere than quintuple over the same period. Meanwhile the median age—30.3 in 1981— will rise to 36.3 by 2000 and 41.6 50 years later.
When it comes to the quality of life, more prognosticators are fairly cautious. John Hopkins sociologist Andrew Cherlin observes that “as we enter the 198 0 s, the pace of change appears to have slowed.” For the next few decades, he predicts, there may be only modest swings in the marriage, birth and divorce rates—giving society time to adjust to the new patterns that have formed in recent y ears. “We
are in a plateau in our family patterns that will likely last awhile, ” Cherlin maintains. Crime expert Alfred Blumstein, who foresees a drop in crime over the coming decade, predicts that the Northeast and Midwest, with stable but aging populations, will see the falloff first; for the South and Southwest, wit h their large proportions of younger people, the improvement will come less quickly.
TEXT J
First read the questions.
37. The formal diplomatic relations between China and the United States w ere established on ___.
A. February 28,1972
B. January 28,1979
C. December 16,1978
D. January 1,1979
38. The Five Principles for the establishment of a new type of Sino -US relationship were put forward by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in ___.
A. Seattle B. Jakarta C. Manila D. New York
Now go through TEXT J quickly to answer questions.
The following is a list of some of the major events in Sino-US relations from February 1972 to May 1998.
February 21 — 28, 1972 : The US President Richard Nixon paid an official vi sit to China, during which a Sino-US joint communique was issued in Shanghai.
May 1, 1973 : The liaison offices set up by China and the US in each other’ s capital started functioning.
December 16, 1978 : China and the US issued a joint communique which called for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on January 1,1979.
January 1, 1979 : China and the US formally established diplomatic ties.
January 28—February 5,1979 : Then Chinese vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping paid a n official visit to the US, during which two agreements were signed on scientific , technological and cultural co-operation between the two countries.
August 17, 1982 : The Chinese and the US governments issued a joint communiq ue under which the US promised to gradually reduce its sales of weapons to Taiwan until the complete settlement of the problem.
April 26—May 1, 1984 : Then US President Ronald Reagan visited China, during which the two countries signed four agreements on avoiding double-taxation and tax evasion and initiated an agreement on co-operation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
July 23 —31, 1985 :Then Chinese President Li Xiannian visited the US, the first visit by a Chinese head of state since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
February 25 — 6, 19 : Then US President George Bush paid a working visit to China. November 19, 1993 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin held talks with US President Bill Clinton during the informal Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) leadership meeting in Seattle.
November 14, 1994 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin, on the sidelines of attending an informal APEC leadership meeting in Bogor, met US President Bill Clinton in Jakarta and put forward the Five Principles for the establishment of a new type of Sino-US relationship. October 24, 1995 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin met US President Bill Clin ton in New York while attending the special conference held for marking the 50a anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.
November 24, 1996 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin met US President Bill Clinton at an informal APEC leadership meeting in Manila.
February 24, 1997 : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited China.
October 26—November 3, 1997 : Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to the US, the first by a Chinese president in 12 years. A joint communique , issued on October 29, called on the two
countries to strengthen co-operation and strive for the establishment of a constructive strategic partnership oriented to the 21(th) century, in a bid to promote world peace and development.
March 14, 1998 : The US declared that the US-Chinese Agreement on Co-operation on the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, which had been dormant for 13 years, could now come into effect.
April 29—May 1, 1998 : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited China. An agreement was signed between the two countries on the establishment of a direct secure telephone link.
TEXT K
First read the questions.
39. Whose works would you most probably choose to read if you were interested in satire?
A. Alexander Pope.
B. Oliver Goldsmith.
C. R. B. Sheridan.
D.W.M. Thackeray.
40. Which of the following writers was a Nobel-Prize winner?
A. Alexander Pope.
B. John Galsworthy.
C. Thomas Hardy.
D.W.M. Thackeray.
Now go through TEXT K quickly to answer questions.
JOHN GALSWORTHY ( 1867 — 1933) Although John Galsworthy wrote many good p lays, it is as a novelist and creator of the Forsyte family that he is best remembered. The whole progress and background of the Forsyte family over a period of forty years is told with great skill and charm in a series of novels. Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH ( 1728 — 1774) Born and educated in Ireland, Oliver Gold smith travelled widely in his earlier years and the knowledge and experience he accumulated were later put to good use. He arrived in London where he made the acquaintance of Samuel Johnson, who helped him sell a short novel, The Vicar of Wakefield. His drama She Stoops to Conquer, produced in 1773, was a great success.
THOMAS HARDY ( 1840 — 1928) The wild heaths of mid-Dorset are Thomas Hardy country; he was born here, the Wessex of his novels. Hardy’s impressions of the countryside and of nature were the staple of much of his writing. Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, The Return of the Native and Far from the Madding Crowd are his best-known books. Hardy is also remembered for his poetry and drama.
ALEXANDER POPE (1688- 1744) Alexander Pope, poet and satirist, was born in the City of London. He was largely self-educated and at an early age showed the satirical skill and metrical ingenuity on which much of the fame rests. The Rape of the Lock, published in 1712,established Pope’s reputation .He occupies a hi gh place among English poets.
R. B. SHERIDAN (1751 - 1816) Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist and politician, was born in Ireland but educated in England. Although at first unsuccessful, when Sheridan came to London he made his name as the writer of such comedies as The Rivals, The School for Scandal and The Critic, which brilliantly expose d the intellectual and social pretensions of the time. These place Sheridan in t he forefront of the great English dramatists. He also shone as an orator in Parliament.
Part Ⅲ Translation (60 min)
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the following underlined part of the text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
乔羽的歌大家都熟悉。但他另外两大爱好却鲜为人知，那就是钓鱼和喝酒。晚年的乔羽喜爱垂钓，他说：“有水有鱼的地方大都是有好环境的，好环境便会给人好 心情。我认为最好的钓鱼场所不是舒适的、给你准备好饿鱼的垂钓园，而是那极其有吸引力 的大自然野外天成的场所。”钓鱼是一项能够陶冶性情的运动，有益于身心健康。乔羽说： “钓鱼可分三个阶段：第一阶段是吃鱼；第二阶段是吃鱼和情趣兼而有之；第三阶段主要是 的趣，面对一池碧水，将忧心烦恼全都抛在一边，使自己的身心得到充分休息。”
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the following underlined part of the text into Chinese. Writer your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
Possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood would have been Thoreau’s idea of the low levels. The active discipline of heightening one’s perception of what is enduring in nature would have been his idea of the high. What he saved from the low was time and effort he could spend on the high. Thoreau certainly disapproved of starvation, but he would put into feeding himself only as much effort as would keep him functioning for more important efforts.
Effort is the gist of it. There is no happiness except as we take on life- engaging difficulties. Short of the impossible, as Yeats put it, the satisfaction we get from a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties. Robert Frost was thinking in something like the same terms when he spoke of “The pleas u re of taking pains”. The mortal flaw in the advertised version of happiness is in the fact that it purports to be effortless.
We demand difficulty even in our games. We demand it because without difficulty there can be no game. A game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it. The rules of the game are an arbitrary imposition of difficulty. When someone ruins the fun, he always does so by refusing to play by the roles. It is easier to win at chess if you are free, at your pleasure, to change the wholly arbitrary roles, but the fun is in winning within the rules. No difficulty, no fun.
Part Ⅳ Writing (60 min)
The Internet is about to take off in China. As many as 9 million people are online, a number that is estimated to hit 20 million by the end of 2000. It is predicted that this phenomenal growth will have great impact on our society and economy. Choose ONE aspect of our society or economy where you think the impact will be most strongly felt, and write an essay of about 300 words entitled.
THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON ...
In the first part of your writing you should present your thesis statement, and in the second part you should support the thesis statement with appropriate deta ils. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclu sion or a summary. Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriacy. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
PART Ⅰ LISTENING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A TALK
1.答案：A 2.答案：C 3.答案：Ｄ 4.答案：D 5.答案：C
SECTION B INTERVIEW
6.答案：B
7.答案：D
8.答案：B
9.答案：C
10.答案：A
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
News Item 1
11.答案：C 12.答案：A
News Item 2
13.答案：B
News Item 3
14.答案：C 15.答案：C
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
1.答案：symbolic 2.答案：reference 3.答案：reporters 4.答案：format 5.答案：disadvantage 6.答案：component 7.答案：competence 8.答案：verbal 9.答案：nature 10.答案：asking
改错
PART Ⅱ PROOFREADING AND ERROR CORRECTION
1.答案： as→so 2.答案：increasing→increasingly 3.答案：so→but 4.答案：soon或shortly 5.答案：rich→richer 6.答案：asked∧→for 7.答案：involving→involved 8.答案：1ife→living 9.答案：handle→deal或with 10.答案：total→full
阅读理解 A
SECTION A
TEXT A
16.答案：D 17.答案：B 18.答案：A
TEXT B
19.答案：D 20.答案：C 21.答案：A 22.答案：B
TEXT C
23.答案：D 24.答案：B 25.答案：A 26.答案：C
TEXT D
27.答案：B 28.答案：D 29.答案：C 30.答案：A
阅读理解 B
TEXT E
31.答案：A
TEXT F
32.答案：D
TEXT G
33.答案：C
TEXT H
34.答案：A
TEXT I
35.答案：B
36.答案：D
TEXT J
37.答案：D
38.答案：B
TEXT K
39.答案：A
40.答案：B
翻译
SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
参考译文
Qiao Yu took to fishing in his old age. He said: “Where there is fish and water, there is good environment, and good environment fills one’s heart with joy (makes one feel delighted, delights everyone, gives delight to everyone). I think the best place for fishing is not a comfortable man-made fish-pond where hungry fish are ready (provided) for you, but an enchanting place in the wild where everything is natural. ”Fishing (Angling) is a game that can help improve one’s temperament (character). It is good for mental and bodily health. Qiao Yu said: “Fishing falls into three stages. The first stage is just for eating fish. The second stage is for eating fish and for enjoying the pleasure of fishing as well. (The second stage is for enjoying the pleasure of fishing as well as eating fish. The third stage is mainly for the pleasure of fishing facing a pool of green water, one casts (throws) aside all anxieties and worries and enjoys (takes) a good rest, both mental and physical.”
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
参考译文
梭罗所理解的“低层次”，即为了拥有而去拥有，或与所有的邻居明争暗斗而致拥有。他心目中的“高层次”，则是这样一种积极的人生戒律，即要使自己对自然界永恒之物的感悟臻于完美。对于他从低层次上节省下来的时间和精力，他可将其致力于对高层次的追求。勿庸置疑，梭罗不赞成忍饥挨饿，但他在膳食方面所投入的精力仅果腹而已，只要可确保他能去从事更为重要的事务，他便别无所求。
付出努力才是其本质所在，除非我们终生与困难为伴，否则就无幸福可谈。正如济慈所 言，除去不可能做的事，我们一生获得的满足有多大，取决于我们选择的困难有多强。罗伯 特·福剂罗斯特谈到“苦中求乐”时，也有异曲同工之理。就通常宣传的幸福而言，其致命弱 点在于声称不用付出努力即可获得幸福。
我们甚至在竞赛中寻求困难。我们需要困难，因为没有困难也就无所谓竞赛，竞赛是制 造困难以求得乐趣之道。竞赛规则就是任意强加的困难。违犯竞赛规则就是破坏乐趣。下棋 时，随心所欲，肆意更改强制之规更易获胜。然而乐趣源于获胜而又遵守规则。没有困难就没有乐趣。
写作
【参考范文】
The Impact of the Internet on Education
The Internet is making the world smaller and is changing every aspect of ou r life. There can be no doubt that the Internet will have greater impact on our society and economy. The impact, in my opinion, will be strongly felt in the aspect of education.
First, the Internet provides equal opportunities for all students, as long as they can get access to the Internet. In the traditional form of education, students who get higher marks in examination may enter a better school, and those who do not have to enter a relatively less good one. With the Internet, every student is provided with the same sources of education, so they can get equal opportunities to improve themselves. In that case, the general quality of education will be highly improved in our country.
Second, the Internet poses a challenge, not a danger really to teacher. Traditionally, teachers are the dominator of education, and students are fixed to t he instruction of several specific teachers. This, in fact, may result in the laziness of teachers, since there is no competition. With the Internet, a student may choose any teacher’s instruction as far as he likes it, which is an incentive to the faculty of teachers. Faced with this, a teacher is likely to try his be st to improve his instruction and this will in turn improve the educational quality of our country.
Last but not least, the internet makes education more convenient for the students. A student can learn at any time he likes and, at the same time, save the money spent on tuition and board. All of these may head to a revolution of education.
After ail, I am not exaggerating the influence of the Internet on education . It is true that the Internet may still remain out of the reach of some one and may be less amicable than human teachers. But the point is that, the Internet is sure to accelerate the development of education.
With the Internet, let us make the education of our country into a better existence!下载本文
