57．Laura knows quite well that a secretary must be　　　　 ．

A．quick and busy　　　　　　　 　　　　　　 B．pleasant and helpful

C．calm and patient　　　　　　　 　　　　　 D．both B and C

56．The underlined phrase “run-around” probably means　　　　 ．

A．a strange experience　　　　　 　　　　　 B．a flat refusal

C．a not-so-warm welcome　　　　 　　　　　　 D．a cold response

55．“To kill two birds with on stone” means　　　　 ．

A．to get some particular knowledge　 　　　 B．to get more than what one pays

C．the stone is too big　　　　　　　 　　　 D．the birds are blind enough

D

The phone is ringing at the other end of the line and it clicks as it is being answered．A voice says quickly, “Hello, will you hold, please?” then there is another click, followed by silence．It seems like hours before someone comes back on the line-that is, if you don’t hang up first．

Office calls are, perhaps, the most difficult and the most important part of a secretary’s work．The first impression that a client(顾客)receives about a business is often through a telephone contact．A caller who is left hanging on “hold” will get the feeling that he or she has been forgotten or ignored．If a call is answered rudely, the caller may become angry．And if the call is not routed directly to the right person, the caller may feel that he or she is getting the “run-around”．

Laura Needham is a secretary in the executive offices of a large manufacturing company．As a good office secretary, Laura knows that all phone calls must be answered quickly and handled efficiently．She knows that a secretary must be pleasant and helpful, no matter how busy she is or what kind of mood she may be in．she knows she must keep calm if a caller gets impatient or becomes angry; also, of course, she knows she can never allow herself to lose her temper．If she does not have the information the caller asks for, she must know who does have the information．Finally, she knows that one of her most important responsibilities is to “screen” telephone calls and to know which calls to refer to her boss, which calls to refer to other people, and which calls to handle herself．

A well-handled telephone call will give the caller a good impression of the company he or she is dealing with．For this reason, an office secretary who can handle telephone calls cheerfully, tactfully(机敏), and efficiently is a valuable asset(财富)to any organization．

54．In the fourth paragraph the writer gave some advice on　　　　 ．

A．how to read faster

B．how to guess the meaning from the context

C．how to look up new words in the dictionary

D．how to grasp the general meaning of a passage

53．In his last point the writer advised us　　　　 ．

A．to kill two birds with one stone

B．to learn two languages at a time

C．to study all the subjects in a foreign language

D．to get some knowledge of the foreign country whose language you are studying．

52．In his first point the writer told us　　　　 ．

A．how to speak English

B．how to read and write

C．why spoken English is important

D．why English people couldn’t understand Lenin

51．How many points are there in the passage?　　　　　 ．

A．Two　　　　　　 B．Three　　　 　　　 C．Four　　 　　　　 D．Five

50．Implied(暗示)but not stated:

A．A painting is more easily understood than a symphony(交响乐)．

B．Art is merely the arranging of shapes and colours．

C．Every artist tries to say something to the public．

D．One must look beyond shape and colour to find what the artist is saying．

C

To master a language one must be able to speak and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write．Lenin and his wife Krupskaya translated a long English book into Russian．But when they went to England in 1980, English people couldn’t understand what was said to them．These days more foreigners are coming to China and more and more Chinese are going out to foreign countries to work or study．So the spoken language is becoming more and more important．

Speaking, of course, can’t go without listening．If you want to pronounce a word correctly, first you must hear it correctly．The sounds of the Chinese and English language are not exactly the same．If you don’t listen carefully, you’ll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers．

Well, what about writing? Like speaking, it’s to exchange ideas．People generally use shorter words and shorter sentences in their writing．The important thing is to make your idea in your head and then to write it in clear lively language．

Chinese students read far too slowly．If you read fast, you understand better．If you read too slowly, by the time you have reached the end of a page you have forgotten what the beginning is about．When you meet with new words, don’t look them up in the dictionary．Guess the meaning from the context．You may not guess quite correctly the first time, but as new words come up again and again in different contexts, their meaning will become clearer and clearer．If you look up every word, you’ll never finish a book．

Students of a foreign language need a particular knowledge, the knowledge of the life, history and geography of the people whose language they’re studying．They should study these subjects in the foreign language, not only in translation．In this way one can kill two birds with one stone: learn a foreign language and get some knowledge of the foreign country at the same time．

49．Compared with a painter of unpleasant subjects, a painter who draws a lake in moonlight is　　　　 ．

A．having more meanings　　　　　　 　　　　 B．pointing out different things

C．more skilled　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　 D．giving less information

48．The writer says that contemporary artists might say their choice of subject　　 ．

A．carries a message to the public　　　 　　　

B．only provides interesting patterns

C．has no pattern or form　　　　　　　 　　

D．teaches the public important truths