Ⅱ. Reading Comprehension (50分)

　　Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. 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 write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

　　Questions 41 to 45 are based on the following passage:

　　Passage One

　　Learning how to write is like taking a course in public speaking. I’d ask whether anyone in class had ever taken such a course. Invariably a few hands would go up.

　　“What did you learn in that course?” I’d ask.

　　“Well, the main thing was learning how to face an audience… not to be inhibited (拘谨;抑

　　制) …not to be nervous…”

　　Exactly, when you take a course in public speaking nowadays, you don’t hear much about gr-

　　ammar and vocabulary. Instead, you’re taught how not to be afraid or embarrassed, how to speak without a prepared script, how to reach out to the live audience before you. Public speaking is a matter of overcoming your longstanding nervous inhibitions.

　　It is the same in writing. (81) The point of the whole thing is to overcome your nervous inhibi-

　　tions, to break through the invisible barrier that separates you from the person who’ll read what y-

　　ou wrote. You must learn to sit in front of your typewriter or dictating machine and reach out to the person at the other end of the line.

　　Of course, in public speaking, with the audience right in front of you, the problem is easier. You can look at them and talk to them directly. In writing, you’re alone. It needs an effort of your

　　experience or imagination to take hold of that other person and talk to him or her. But that effort is

　　necessary or at least it’s necessary until you’ve reached the point when you quite naturally and unconsciously “talk on paper.”

　　41. The main task of a public speech course is to ________.

　　A. teach spoken-language experience

　　B. teach how to use gestures to assist speech

　　C. help the learners overcome nervousness

　　D. teach how to control the volume of the speaker’s voice

　　42. Learning how to write is similar to learning how to speak in public in that a writer should ___________.

　　A. overcome his or her nervousness in the first place

　　B. watch his or her grammar and vocabulary

　　C. collect a lot of data before writing

　　D. take hold of a reader and talk to him or her before writing

　　43. In the author’s opinion_________.

　　A. writing needs more experience and skill than public speaking

　　B. both writing and public speaking require effort

　　C. writing is imaginative

　　D. public speaking is not so natural as writing

　　44. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. Not many students feel the need to learn public speaking

　　B. Training is necessary before you can speak with script

　　C. In public speaking, the audience are more nervous than the speaker

　　D. Writing is just like making a public speech on paper

　　45. This selection is mainly about learning how to _______.

　　A. make a public speech

　　B. talk on paper

　　C. behave properly in public speech

　　D. express strong emotion on paper

　　Questions 46 to 50 based on the following passage:

　　Passage Two

　　In the modern technological world the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive. (82)Resources on land are beginning to grow less. The sea, however, still offers hope to supply many of man’s needs.

　　The riches of the sea yet to be developed by man’s technology are impressive. Oil and gas explorations have existed for nearly thirty years. Valuable amounts of minerals such as iron, nickel and copper and so on exist on the ocean floor, ready to be mined.

　　Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish is an ancient skill practiced in the past mainly by Oriental peoples.

　　Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy such as hydroelectric power.

　　Technology is enabling man to explore ever deeper under the sea. The new undersea technology is providing divers with diving suits and undersea chambers that are kept at sea level pressure. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.

　　The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. By the year 2000, experts believe that the problems to exploit the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved.

　　46. What is the best title for the passage?

　　A. Needs of .Man B. Sources of..Energy

　　C. Sea Harvest D. Sea Exploring Technology

　　47. According to the author, technology for exploring the sea is important because______.

　　A. man cannot travel farther into space

　　B. resources on land are running short

　　C. it’s a lot of fun diving into the sea

　　D. ancie