Language is a major problem for the European Union (EU). The agreement or treaty(条约) which created the organization that eventually became the EU, the Treaty of Rome, stated that each country's language must be treated equally. The original(原来的) six countries had only three languages between them: French, German and Dutch/Flemish. However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages, and at official meetings the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.

      All this translating is very expensive and time-consuming (费时的). It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches, and nearly half of the EU's administrative(管理方面的) costs are spent on this task. In the near future it is probable that several more

countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.

      The problem is not just cost; there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages, there are 132 possible "translation situations" that might be needed. It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from (for example) Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.

      In practice the problem has been made less severe by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials, since almost all of them speak some English. However, any move to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller Countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany.

The organization that eventually became the EU       .

   A. was started by France and Germany      B. started with three countries

   C. was set up by the Treaty of Rome       D. included 132 languages

What's the main purpose of this passage?

   A. To give a solution to a problem.

   B. To find out a problem and show how severe it is.

   C. To criticize the European Union for inefficiency.

   D. To show that the problem cannot be solved.

According to the writer, the use of English in contacts among EU officials has       .

   A. angered the officials who don't speak English

   B. reduced the number of official languages

   C. reduced the effect of the problem

   D. been opposed by powerful member countries

The writer mentions "Danish into Greek" as an example of       .

   A. a situation that might be difficult to deal with

   B. a situation that occurs often

   C. one of the 12 situations that requires an interpreter

   D. languages easily being interpreted

The writer suggests that if the number of official languages was reduced  .

   A. the EU would not know which official languages to choose

   B. countries whose languages were not used officially would be unhappy

   C. only languages which are easy to translate would be used officially

   D. the smaller member countries would be pleased

By the year 1889, there were just 541 bison       in the whole of North America.

     A. leaving alive       B. to leave alive         C. to be left alive        D. left alive

第二节：信息匹配 （共5小题，满分10分）

下面是一篇应用文及其应用场合的信息，请阅读下列应用文和相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。

A：Norman SCD—1885 Dictionary

The electronic dictionary is programmed with over 200,000 words. It uses Clari Speech technology to actually speak words and phrases, making it easy to pronounce new vocabulary.

B: Norman Merriam Webster BES---1850 Dictionary

This handy translator provides you with 5,000,000 total translation to and from Spanish and English! This dictionary is specially designed for all levels of language skill from beginner to advanced.

C: Brand V7 Dictionary / Translator

This special model features （以……为特征）the largest and most complete Russian-English dictionary. Advanced English speech, accent correction function and specialized terms database will help you communicate. Business organizer will allow you to stay in touch with the world through all kinds of advanced features.

D: Seiko WP1500 Rogets III Thesaurus Dictionary

It is the nearest word finder. It is also great for cross word puzzles. It will show you the time, day and date of local time zone and the same for over 100 cities throughout the world by simply entering the first letter of the name of the city.

E: Ectaco KD-800 Dictionary / Translator

This advanced talking handheld translator features the following dictionaries: the general English-Korean dictionary for 215,905 entries (词条); popular Korean-English dictionary for 183,279 entries, and the dictionary of Chinese traditional characters for 7,744 entries.

F: The Lingo Traveler 18

It is a great value as well as an International translator. Draw on over 96,000 words and 8,000 useful phrases. Equipped with a powerful databank, the Lingo Traveler 16 allows you to store all of your appointments, telephone numbers, and addresses.

请阅读以下有关学生的信息，然后为他们选择要购买的电子词典：

41.________ John is a student in a university now. He often travels around the world and he likes making all kinds of friends. But sometimes he can’t remember his friends’ telephone numbers so he is always worried about this.

42.________ Belly is an American girl who studies in a foreign language school. Belle's native language is English but her major is Spanish. Yesterday she asked her mother to buy her an electronic dictionary to improve her Spanish.

43.________ Lily, a clever girl, comes from the United States. She loves Chinese culture very much. She is also a girl who loves Korean movies in her spare time as many Chinese girls. She says she is not sure about some of the Korean words and phrases.

44.________ Ray is a middle school student who is funny and humorous. In his spare time he likes to play crossword puzzle games. He likes traveling around the world very much, but he often makes mistakes about the time in another country.

45.________ Tom is a university student. Not only can he speak English, but also he can speak Russian. But sometimes people can't understand him because he often speaks with strong accent. He wishes a translator could help him a lot.

There are _____advertisements which encourage ______to participate in improving their neighbourhood.

 A.the public,the public  B.the public,public  C.public,public  D.public ,the public

．Given that the patient smokes 50 cigarettes a day, it will be       to assume there is some lung damage.

       A．remote     B．complex   C．merciful   D．reasonable

Hong Kong, major commercial center for Asia, and with a population which has grown at an alarming rate to over 5 million, is a city highly dependent on mass (大量的, 大规模的) transit of all sorts, both local and long distance. An ordinary Hong Kong worker or businessman, going about his daily activities, simply must use transportation at one time or another.    

Because Hong Kong is in two parts, Kowloon, on the mainland side, and Hong Kong, the island, with Hong Kong's harbor in between Hong Kong's mass transit systems, in addition to going over land they must also cross water.    

Going from home to work, or going shopping from one side of the harbor to the other, the Hong Kong resident has three choices. One way is to take a bus which will cross the harbor through an under water traffic tunnel moving slowly through bumper- to-bumper (一辆接一辆) traffic．Another way is by ferry boat , a pleasant ride which crosses the harbor in from seven to fifteen  minutes.    

But by far the fastest way of crossing the harbor is the newly built underground electric railway, the Hong Kong Metro(地铁). If one gets on the train in the Central District,the commercial area of Hong Kong on the island side, he can speed across the harbor in an astonishing three minutes. On the other side of the harbor the railway continues, snaking back and forth through the outlying districts of Kowloon, allowing one to get off a short distance from his destination.    

       The story of the Metro is an encouraging one for supporters of mass transit. Although building the system was certainly a challenging task, the Japanese firm hired to construct it did so in record time. Construction got underway in 1979 and it was completed in 1980.    

       For the average commuter (一般持月票往返两地的乘客) the system has only one disadvantage; it is more expensive than by bus or ferry. One can ride the bus across the harbor for half as much or he can ride the ferry across for less than one-fifth as much.

Hong Kong public transportation extends ________.

     A．over hills and valleys             B．across land and water   

     C．through mountains               D．throughout the Kowloon area

Crossing the harbor by train is ________. 

     A．by far the most economical methods

B．the most pleasant method   

     C．the least pleasant method         

D．the fastest method

The business area on the island side of Hong Kong is referred to as ________.  

     A．Kowloon                          B．the Central District   

     C．the Hong Kong Metro       D．downtown Hong Kong

The underground railway ________.   

     A．winds through Kowloon              B．ends when it reaches Kowloon   

C．snakes across the harbor                D．circles Kowloon

To Whom It May Concern:

My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.

My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business.

After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends , "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for."

But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job．I have received several promotions and pay increases , and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing , but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy.

We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end．

I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior, but I also love my job．I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how .Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?

Please help.

"Distressed"

The letter was most probable written ________.

       A．in 1975    B．around 1980   C．four years ago  D．in 1965

Her husband ________ when she first found her present job．

       A．was very critical of her   B．felt disappointed

       C．was proud of her     D．was happy but critical

What does the underlined word "promotion" mean?

       A．scolding   B．criticism C．prize D．advancement

As her income increased, ________.

       A．she found a gap emerged between her and her husband

       B．she bought more clothes and a house

       C．she did the many things she and her husband dreamed of

       D．she felt very proud of herself

—Happy birthday to you!

　    — ______.

　　A．Happy birthday to you!   B．I am very glad．

C．That’s all right.               D．Thank you.

Having been ___ volunteer in a day-care centre for weeks, Susan feels much sympathy for ___ disabled.

A. a; /                          B. /; a                          C. the; the                   D. a; the

__________ the students, the teacher came into the room smiling.

       A. To follow          B. Follow              C. Following  D. Followed