Part II Reading Comprehension { 40 points)

　　Directions: in this part There are 4 passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one you think is the best answer.Then mark the corresponding letter in the Answer Sheet One with a single line through the center.

　　Passage 1

　　Questions 21to 25 are based on the following passage:

　　How men first learned to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery.All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other;and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down.Those sounds ,whether spoken, or written in letters we call words.

　　The power of words, then, lies in their combinations--the things they bring up before our minds.

　　Words become filled with meaning for us by experience;and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.

　　Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts, but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and feelings.This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary(文字的) style.Above all, the real poet is a master of words.He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they Wilt make our speech silly and rude.

　　21.The origin of language (　　).

　　A.is reflected in sounds and letters

　　B.is handed down from generation to generation

　　C.dates back to the prehistoric period

　　D.is a problem not yet solved

　　22.According to the passage, words are (　　)o

　　A.visual letters

　　B.represented by sounds

　　C.represented either by sounds or letters

　　D.signs called letters

　　23.The power of words lies in their (　　).

　　A. beauty

　　B. accuracy

　　C. combinations

　　D. charm

　　24.The secret of a writer's success is the use of words that (　　)o

　　A.recall to us the glad and sad events of our past

　　B.are arranged in a creative way

　　C.are as beautiful as music D.agree with certain literary style

　　25.The author of the passage advises us (　　).

　　A.to use words carefully and accurately

　　B.not to use silly and rude words

　　C.to become a slave of words

　　D.to use emotional words

　　Passage 2

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:

　　There was one thought that air pollution 'affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile traffic. At present, we realize that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide.On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the east of the United States and brought health warnings in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic.In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be infected by air pollution. Some scientists consider that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels ( coal and oil) is creating a "greenhouse effect"--conserving heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature.If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be in water.

　　Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particular matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature--a result that would be equally disastrous.A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to a new ice age, and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top fanning areas.Today we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report drafted by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very possible).Perhaps, if we are lucky enough, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now.

　　26.As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution (　　).

　　A.caused widespread damage in the countryside

　　B.affected the entire eastern half of theUnited States

　　C.had damaging effect on health D.existed merely in urban and industries areas

　　27.As to the greenhouse effect, the author (　　).

　　A.shares the same view with the scientists

　　B.is uncertain of its occurrence

　　C.rejects it as being ungrounded

　　D.thinks that it will destroy the world soon

　　28.The word"offset"in the second paragraph could be replaced by (　　).

　　A.slip into

　　B.make up for

　　C.set up

　　D.catch up with

　　29.It can be concluded that (　　).

　　A.raising the world's temperature only a few degrees would not do much harm to life on earth

　　B.lowering the world's temperature merely a few degrees would lead many major farming areas to disaster

　　C.almost no temperature variations have occurred over the past decade

　　D.the world's temperature will remain constant in the years to come

　　30.This passage is primarily about (　　).

　　A.the greenhouse effect

　　B.the burning of fossil fuels

　　C.the potential effect of air pollution

　　D.the likelihood of a new ice age