Part B: Vocabulary 9%

F. negative       G. failures         H. defined          I. mark          J. reliable  

We might be surprised at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It is really extraordinary that after all years, educationists have still failed to devise something more 41 than examinations. For all the 42 that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact 43. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability.

As anxiety-makers, examinations are 44 to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the 45 of success or failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don’t 46: the exam goes on. No one can bring out the 47 in him when he is in terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of fierce competition where success and failure are clearly 48 and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of “dropouts”: young people who are written off as 49 before they have started a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?

A Chinese couple tried to name their baby“@”，saying the character best represents their love for the child, according to an official trying to whip the national language into shape. The unusual name stands out especially in Mandarin（普通话），which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke（多笔画的）characters to represent words. “The whole world uses it to write emails, and translated into Chinese it meanshe A. None               ‘love him’”, the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the

State Language Commission Li Yuming.

While the @ symbol is familiar to Chinese email users,they often use the English word “at” to sound it out. With a drawn-out “t”, this sounds something like “ai ta”, or “love him”, to Mandarin speakers. Li says the name is an extreme example of people's increasingly adventurous approach to Mandarin, as commercialization and the Internet break down conventions（习俗）.

Another couple tried to give their child a name that in English sounds like “King Osrina”.

Li did not say if officials accepted the“＠”name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals and foreign languages. Sixty million Chinese face the problem that their names use ancient characters so uncommon that computers cannot recognize them and even fluent speakers are left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a transcript on the government website. One of them is the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name has a rare “rong” character that gives newspaper editors headaches.

56. Why did the Chinese couple try to name their baby“@”？

  A. Because they wanted their baby to have a special narne．

  B. Because they wanted their baby to haw an international name.

  C. Because the @ symbol is familiar to email users all over the world.

  D. Because die＠symbol sounds something  like “ai ta”,which means “love him” in Chinese.

57. It can be inferred that       .

  A. Li Yuming is in favor of the baby's name

  B. many Chinese people use Arabic numerals in their names

  C. a majority of the Chinese people are having longer names

  D. there is little possibility for the“@”name to be officially accepted

58. The underlined part in the passage probably means“       ”.

  A. even native speakers find it hard to accept these strange names

  B. even native speakers can't find these characters in their computers

  C. even those who are expert at Chinese can't recognize these characters

  D. even those who are expert at Chinese find it hard to accept these names

七．阅读理解 (20分)   
When did you see a polar bear ? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps ? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These  “Polar Bears” are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3 degrees. And the water temperature was a little higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.
Doctors don’t agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body’s temperature drops so slow that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water tempreature is much greater in summer than in winter.
The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system (循环系统) because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold-water swimming.
The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away.”
1. Doctors _________ .
A. have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming
B. believe swimming is helpful both in summer and in winter
C. enourage people to take part in cold-water swimming
D. point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming
2. According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that _______ .
A. Polar bears are bears swimming in freezing water    
B. cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high            
C. you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue           
D. cold-water swimming causes more heart attack in summer than in winter
3. The Polar Bears like to swim year-round, for _______ .
A. it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter                        
B. they can stay young
C. they find it enjoyable and interesting
D. they might meet fewer troubles in life
4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text ?
A.The Polar Bear is a club in which people swim to protect polar bears.
B. The club members are all over 60 years old.
C. There is no woman in the club.
D. None of the above.
5. This passage is mainly about _______ .
A. the requirements of the Polar Bear Club                
B. a group of cold-water-swimming lovers
C. the Polar Bears’ life in New York                 
D. doctors’ ideas about cold-water swimming

七．阅读理解 (20分)   

When did you see a polar bear ? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps ? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These  “Polar Bears” are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3 degrees. And the water temperature was a little higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.

Doctors don’t agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body’s temperature drops so slow that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water tempreature is much greater in summer than in winter.

The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system (循环系统) because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold-water swimming.

The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away.”

1. Doctors _________ .

A. have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming

B. believe swimming is helpful both in summer and in winter

C. enourage people to take part in cold-water swimming

D. point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming

2. According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that _______ .

A. Polar bears are bears swimming in freezing water    

B. cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high            

C. you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue           

D. cold-water swimming causes more heart attack in summer than in winter

3. The Polar Bears like to swim year-round, for _______ .

A. it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter                        

B. they can stay young

C. they find it enjoyable and interesting

D. they might meet fewer troubles in life

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text ?

A.The Polar Bear is a club in which people swim to protect polar bears.

B. The club members are all over 60 years old.

C. There is no woman in the club.

D. None of the above.

5. This passage is mainly about _______ .

A. the requirements of the Polar Bear Club                

B. a group of cold-water-swimming lovers

C. the Polar Bears’ life in New York                 

D. doctors’ ideas about cold-water swimming

七．阅读理解    

When did you see a polar bear ? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps ? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These  “Polar Bears” are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3 degrees. And the water temperature was a little higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.

Doctors don’t agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body’s temperature drops so slow that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water tempreature is much greater in summer than in winter.

The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system (循环系统) because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold-water swimming.

The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away.”

1. Doctors _________ .

A. have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming

B. believe swimming is helpful both in summer and in winter

C. enourage people to take part in cold-water swimming

D. point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming

2. According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that _______ .

A. Polar bears are bears swimming in freezing water    

B. cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high            

C. you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue           

D. cold-water swimming causes more heart attack in summer than in winter

3. The Polar Bears like to swim year-round, for _______ .

A. it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter                        

B. they can stay young

C. they find it enjoyable and interesting

D. they might meet fewer troubles in life

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text ?

A.The Polar Bear is a club in which people swim to protect polar bears.

B. The club members are all over 60 years old.

C. There is no woman in the club.

D. None of the above.

5. This passage is mainly about _______ .

A. the requirements of the Polar Bear Club                

B. a group of cold-water-swimming lovers

C. the Polar Bears’ life in New York                 

D. doctors’ ideas about cold-water swimming