Passage 3

　　I worked my way up the presidency of the Ford Motor Company. When I finally got there, I was on the top of the world. But then fate said to me: “Wait, we’re not finished with you. Now you’re going to find out what it feels like to get kicked off from the top.”

　　On July 13, 1978, I was fired. I had been president of Ford for eight years and a Ford employee for thirty two. I had never worked anywhere else. And now suddenly, I was out of a job.

　　As you go through life, there are thousands of little forks in the road, and there are a few really big forks those moments of thinking, moments of truth. This was mine as I wondered what to do. Should I pack it all in and retire? I was fifty-four years old. I had already accomplished a great deal. I was financially secure. But that just didn’t feel right. I knew I had to carry on.

　　A few months later, I became the president of Chrysler, a company which was almost bankrupt at that time. Fortunately, Chrysler recovered. Today I’m a hero. With strong will, with luck, and with help from lots of good people, I was able to rise up from the ashes.

　　51. When the author became the president of Chrysler, the company ________.

　　A. was having a hard time B. was very new

　　C. was bigger than Ford D. was in a good condition

　　52. From the passage, we may conclude that the author was a (an) ________ person.

　　A. weak-minded B. pessimistic C. ordinary D. strong–willed

　　53. By saying “I was able to rise up from the ashes”, the author means that ________.

　　A. he was able to stand still although the ground was soft

　　B. he was stronger after being burned to ashes

　　C. he was not afraid of failure

　　D. he became successful again after failure

　　54. The author became a member of Ford ________.

　　A. in 1978 B. in 1972

　　C. when he was 22 D. when he was 32

　　55. This article is most likely a part of ________.

　　A. a report to the government B. a formal speech

　　C. an autobiography D. a magazine article on social problems

　　Passage 4

　　According to a recent report from UN, the world’s population continues to grow. There are over 5 billion people now. It could reach 6.2 billion by the end of the century and 8.4 billion in the year of 2025.

　　But during the past 10 years or so, a large rapid drop in the world’s birth rate has taken place. Families generally are smaller now than they were a few years ago. It is happening in both developing and developed countries.

　　China is one such country that has already cut its rate of population growth by about one half since 1970. Each Chinese family has one child. And the hope is to reach a zero population growth rate by 2000.

　　Several countries in Europe already have a negative growth rate. Experts said that these countries would have not enough workers in the future. And the people who are working could face much higher taxes to help support the growing retirees.

　　56. How many people will have been increased by the 2000?

　　A. 3 400 million B. 1 200 million C. 2 200 million D. 6 200 million

　　57. In the past ten years, _______.

　　A. there are fewer and fewer people

　　B. the world’s population has not been growing as fast as it used to

　　C. the world’s birth rate has risen

　　D. the number of people has been cut

　　58. In China each family is allowed to have only one child, so that _______.

　　A. the birth rate can be cut

　　B. half of the number of people has been cut

　　C. the number of people has increased by 1/2

　　D. each family is smaller

　　59. In some European countries _______.

　　A. the birth rate is unknown B. the birth rate is too large

　　C. the death rate is larger than the birth rate D. the birth rate is larger than the death rate

　　60. In the European countries _______.

　　A. not many people would like working

　　B. supporting the retired would be a big problem

　　C. the people who are working would refuse to pay taxes

　　D. retirees live on taxes

　　V. Writing (20 points)

　　Directions: For this part, you are supposed to write an e-mail in about 80 words based on the following situation. Remember to write it clearly.

　　你(Li Yuan)的美國(guó)朋友Harry在最近的e-mail中提到要帶他的父母來(lái)華旅游，他們計(jì)劃去黃山。給他回一封e-mail，內(nèi)容包括：

　　1.歡迎他的父母來(lái)中國(guó);

　　2.建議可行路線及交通方式;

　　3.提醒一些必要的旅行準(zhǔn)備(如衣物、藥品……);

　　4.推薦1至2處其他景點(diǎn)。