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PASSAGE 13
A Thirsty World
?The world is not only hungry, it is also thirsty for water. This may seem strange to you, since nearly 75% of the earth#39;s surface is covered with water. But about 97% of this huge amount is sea-water, or salt water. Man can only drink and use the other 3% --the fresh water that comes from rivers, lakes, underground, and other sources. ____1____, because some of it is in the form of icebergs and glaciers. Even worse, some of it has been polluted.
At the moment, his small amount of fresh water is still enough for us. However, our need for water is increasing rapidly. Only if we take steps to deal with this problem now, can we avoid a severe worldwide water shortage later on. One of the useful steps we can take is to stop unlimited use of water. ____2____, however, would have a bad effect on agriculture and industry.
In addition to stopping wasting our precious water, one more useful step we should take is to develop ways of reusing it. ____3____, but only on a small scale.
Today, in most large cities, water is used only once and it eventually returns to the sea or runs into underground storage tanks. ____4____ that has been used to a purifying plant. There it can be filtered and treated with chemicals so that it can be used again just as if it were fresh from a spring.
___5____, we still would not have enough. Where could we turn next? To the oceans! All we#39;d have to do to make use of the vast amount of sea-water is -remove the salt. This salt-removing process is already in use in many parts of the world.
So if we take all these steps, we#39;ll be in no danger of drying up!
A. A limited water supply
B. But it is possible to pipe water
C. It is possible to purify large amounts of sea water
D. But even if every large city purified and reused its water
E. And we cannot even use all of that
F. Experiments have already been done in this field
KEYS: EAFBD
PASSAGE 14
Looking to the Future
?When a magazine for high-school students asked its readers what life would be like in twenty years, they said: Machines would be run by solar power. Buildings would rotate so they could follow the sun to take maximum advantage of its light and heat. Walls would “radiate light” and “change color with the push of a button.” Food would be replaced by pills. School would be taught “by electrical impulse while we sleep.#39;#39; Cars would have radar. Does this sound like the year ? Actually, ________ and the question was, ”what will life be like in 1978?“
The future is much too important to simply guess about, the way the high school students did, so experts are regularly asked to predict accurately. By carefully studying the present, skilled businessmen, scientists, and politicians are supposedly able to figure out in advance what will happen. But can they? One expert on cities wrote: _______, but would have space for farms and fields. People would travel to work in ”airbuses“, large all-weather helicopters carrying up to 200 passengers. When a person left the airbus station he could drive a coin-operated car equipped with radar. The radar equipment of cars would make traffic accidents ”almost unheard of“. Does that sound familiar? If the expert had been accurate it would, because he was writing in 1957. His subject was ”The city of 1982“.
If the professionals sometimes sound like high-school students, it#39;s probably because _________. But economic forecasting, or predicting what the economy will do, had been around for a long time. It should be accurate, and generally it is. But there have been some big mistakes in this field, too. In early 1929, most forecasters saw an excellent future for the stock market. In October of that year, _______, ruining thousands of investors who had put their faith in financial foreseers.
One forecaster knew that predictions about the future would always be subject to significant errors. In 1957, H.J. Rand of the Rand Corporation was asked about the year 2000, ”Only one thing is certain,“ he answered. ”Children born today _______. “
A. the stock market had its worst losses ever
B. will have reached the age of 43
C. the article was written in 1958
D. Cities of the future would not be crowded
E. the prediction of the future is generally accurate
F. future study is still a new field
Key:CDFAB
PASSAGE 15
Marriage and Children
Many single Americans today are waiting longer to get married. Some women and men are delaying marriages and family ___(1)___; others want to become more established in their chosen profession. Most of people eventually will marry. One survey showed that only 15 percent of all single adults in the United States want to stay single. Some women become more interested in getting married and starting a family as they enter their 30s.
One positive result may come from ___(2)___. People who get married at later ages have fewer divorces. Along with the decision to wait to marry, couples are also waiting longer before they have children, ___(3)___. Rearing a child in the United States is costly.
Some couples today are deciding not to have children at all. In 1955, only one percent of all women expected to have no children. Today more than five percent say they want to remain childless. The ability of a couple to choose ___(4)___ means that more children ___(5)___ are very much wanted and loved.
EXERCISE:
A) whether they will have children
B) sometimes in order to be more firmly established economically
C) no matter how late they marry
D) men and women marrying late
E) who are born in the United States
F) because they want to finish school or start their careers
KEY:F D B A E
PASSAGE 16
Don#39;t Mind if I Smoke
The French surprised even themselves when they banned tobacco ads three years ago, and created smoke-free zones in public spaces. Even then, ___(1)___ seemed a little too American. Now some French lawmakers are preparing to end the act as reform that simply can#39;t work in a country __(2)___.
Law or no law, smokers and nonsmokers mingle __(3)__, whose owners generally ignore requirements to create separate no-smoking sections. French smokers __(4)___, in hospitals and directly under no -smoking signs. There are stiff fines for violating the smoke-free areas, but they are never imposed. ”We have more important things to do“, says a Paris official.
The 1992 law#39;s most controversial provision is the tobacco-ad ban. An exception has been made for motor sports, which are underwritten by tobacco firms. And fans shouted angrily when French TV blacked out a soccer game from abroad because of ”secondary“ tobacco and liquor ads at the local stadium. Still, those __(5)___ credit the ad ban for a 15 percent drop in smoking among French teens in the last three years.
EXERCISE:
A) without apparent friction in Paris café and restaurants
B) light up in train stations
C) doing great harm to the smoker#39;s health
D) the attempt to legislate good health
E) who are against smoking
F) that has always aided life#39;s petty vices
KEY:D F A B E
PASSAGE 17
Mergers
The most common kind of consolidation today is the merger. A merger occurs ____(1)____.
With the deregulation of natural gas, the nation#39;s 20 interstate pipeline companies became fearful of cutthroat competition. Some felt that they could increase their efficiency and improve their market flexibility by merging. In 1985 Internorth of Omaha paid $2.3 billion for Houston Natural Gas Corporation, ____(2)____. The system connected markets from coast to coast and raised sales to $10 billion.
On occasion, mergers have occurred between smaller companies in an industry dominated by a few giant firms. These smaller companies claim that they need to merge to become more efficient and effective in competing against the biggest corporations. They maintain that such action increases competition instead of reducing it. The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department has not always agreed with them.
Four major waves of mergers have taken place in this country. The first started in 1887, just prior to the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and ended in 1904. It involved such giants as United States Steel and Standard Oil trying to create monopolies in their industries. From the end of World War I until the 1930s, large firms swallowed smaller firms to create oligopolies. The monopoly had no chance and the oligopoly little chance of succeeding today under present antitrust policy.
The third major merger movement began in the 1960s, reached a peak in 1969, ____(3)____. Many of the acquisitions involved giant firms in one industry buying up large companies in totally unrelated industries. Such mergers are called conglomerate mergers. A classic example is Mobil Oil Corporation#39;s purchase of the huge retail chain Montgomery Ward & Company.
Mergers in the last ten years were in the thousands. More important is the value of the transactions, which has risen sharply. The number of mergers and acquisitions apply ____(4)____. The petroleum industry had mergers and acquisitions valued at closed to $80 billion between 1981 and 1984. Other industries ____(5)____ were banking and finance, insurance, mining and mineral, processed foods.
A thereby gaining control of the world#39;s longest pipeline
B and then gradually declined
C experiencing large takeovers
D resulting in combinations of small firms
E only to those valued at $100 million or more
F when two or more companies get together to form one company
KEYS: FABEC
PASSAGE 18
The Dollar in World Markets
According to a leading German banker, the U.S. dollar is ”the most frequently discussed economic phenomenon of our times.“ He adds, ”…the dollar#39;s exchange rate is at present the most important price in the world economy…“. Because the dollar acts as a world currency, ___(1)___. The central banks of many countries hold huge reserves of dollars, and over half of all world trade is priced in terms of dollars. Any shift in the dollar#39;s exchange rate will benefit some and hurt others. Some people suggest, therefore, ____(2)___.
The dollar#39;s exchange rate has been too volatile and unpredictable. Several years age the dollar was rapidly declining in value. This made it ___(3)___. The rise in the price of foreign goods made it possible for U.S. businesses to raise the price of competing foods produced here, thus worsening inflation. Foreigners who dealt in dollars or who held dollars as reserves were hurt. People in the United States who had borrowed foreign currencies found that they had to pay back more than they borrowed ___(4)___. The United States lost face in the eyes of the rest of the world.
The dollar went soaring upward, and the situation was reversed. United States exporters found it hard to sell abroad because foreigners would have to pay more for U.S. dollars. People in the United States now bought the relatively cheaper foreign goods, and U.S. manufacturers complained that they could not compete. Job losses were often blamed on the ”overvalued“ dollar. Poor nations ___(5)___ found it difficult to repay both the loans and the interest because they had to use more and more of their own currencies to obtain dollars. The solution to this problem is to end the system of floating exchange rates and return to fixed rates. We might even return to the gold standard.
Fixed exchange rates did not work in the past. Currency values should be determined by market conditions. A drop in the exchange value of a nation#39;s currency means that it is importing too much, that it is too inefficient to compete in world markets, that it is permitting a high rate of inflation which makes its goods too expensive, that it is going too deeply in debt, or that others have lost confidence in the nation#39;s stability. A nation should bring its exchange rate back up by addressing these problems, not by interfering with the money market.
A. that had borrowed dollars
B. that the dollar#39;s value should be more tightly controlled
C. because the declining dollar would buy fewer units of the foreign money
D. its value affects many nations
E. difficult for Americans to purchase foreign goods and services
F. that have a lot of U.S. dollars
KEY: DBECA
PASSAGE 19
Mobile Phones
Mobile phones should carry a label if they proved to be a dangerous source of radiation, according to Robert Bell, a scientist. And no more mobile phone transmitter towers should be built until the long-term health effects of the electromagnetic radiation they emit is scientifically evaluated, he said. ”Nobody#39;s going to drop dead overnight but we should be asking for more scientific information,“ Robert Bells said at a conference on the health effects of low-level radiation .”If mobile phones are found to be dangerous, ____1____until proper shields can be devised,“ he said.
A report widely circulated among the public says that up to now scientists do not really know enough to guarantee there are no ill-effects on humans from electromagnetic radiation. According to Robert Bell, there are 3.3 million mobile phones in Australia alone and they are increasing by 2,000 a day. By the year 2000 it is estimated that Australia will have 8 million mobile phones:___2__
As well, there are 2,000 transmitter towers around Australia, many in high density residential areas. For example, Telstra , Optus and Vodaphone build their towers ___3___and disregard the need of the community. The electromagnetic radiation emitted from these towers may have already produced some harmful effects on the health of the residents nearby.
Robert Bell suggests that____4___ the Government should ban construction of phone towers from within a 500 metre radius of school grounds, child care centres, hospitals, sports playing fields and residential areas with a high percentage of children. He says there is emerging evidence that children absorb low-level radiation at a rate more than three times that of adults. He adds that there is also evidence that if cancer sufferers are subjected to electromagnetic waves _____5_____.
Robert Bell calls on the major telephone companies to fund adequate research and urges the Government to set up a wide ranging inquiry into possible health effects.
A. until more research is completed
B. nearly one for every two people
C. they should carry a warning label
D. mobile phones should be radiation-free
E. where it is geographically suitable to them
F. the growth rate of the disease accelerate
key:CDBEAF
PASSAGE 20
Financial Risks
Several types of financial risk are encountered in international marketing; the major problems include commercial, political, and foreign exchange risk.
Commercial risks are handled essentially as normal credit risks encountered in day-to-day business. They include solvency, default, or refusal to pay bills. The major risk,__1__ which can only be dealt with through consistently effective management and marketing. One unique risk encountered by the international marketer involves financial adjustments. Such risk is encountered when a controversy arises about the quality of goods delivered, a dispute over contract terms, or__2__. One company, for example, shipped several hundred tons of dehydrated potatoes to a distributor in Germany. The distributor tested the shipment and declared it to be below acceptable taste and texture standards. The alternatives for the exporter were reducing the price, reselling the potatoes, or shipping them home again, each involving considerable cost.
Political risk relates to the problems of war or revolution, currency inconvertibility, expropriation or expulsion, and restriction or cancellation of import licenses. Political risk is an environmental concern for all businesses. Management information systems and effective decision-making processes are the best defenses against political risk. As many companies have discovered, sometimes there is no way to avoid political risk,__3__.
Exchange-rate fluctuations inevitably cause problems, but for many years, most firms could take protective action to minimize their unfavorable effects. Floating exchange rates of the world#39;s major currencies have forced all marketers __4__. International Business Machine Corporation, for example, reported that exchange losses resulted in a dramatic 21.6 percent drop in their earnings in the third quarter of 1981. __5__, devaluations of major currencies were infrequent and usually could be anticipated, but exchange-rate fluctuations in the float system are daily affairs.
Exercise:
A to be especially aware of exchange-rate fluctuations and the need to compensate for them in their financial planning
B any other disagreement over which payment is withheld
C however, is competition
D so marketers must be prepared to assume them or give up doing business in a particular market
E Before rates were permitted to float
F After serious consideration
Key: CBDAE
PASSAGE 21
Price Planning
A price represents the value of a goods or service for both the seller and the buyer. Price planning is systematic decision making by an organization regarding all aspects of pricing.
The value of a goods or service can involve both tangible and intangible marketing factors. An example of a tangible marketing factor is the cost savings__1__. An example of an intangible marketing factor is a consumer#39;s pride in the ownership of a Lamborghini rather than another brand of automobile. For an example to take place, both the buyer and seller must feel that the price of a goods or service provides an equitable value. To the buyer, the payment of a price reduces purchasing power __2__. To the seller, receipt of a price is a source of revenue and an important determinant of sales and profit levels.
Many words are substitutes for the term price: admission fee, membership fee, rate, tuition, service charge, donation, rent, salary, interest, retainer, and assessment. No matter what it is called,__3__: monetary and non-monetary charges, discounts, handling and shipping fees, credit charges and other forms of interest, and late-payment penalties.
A non-price exchange would be selling a new iron for 10 books of trading stamps or an airline offering tickets as payment for advertising space and time. Monetary and non-monetary exchange may be combined. This is common with automobiles, __4__. This combination allows a reduction in the monetary price.
From a broader perspective, price is the mechanism for allocating goods and services among potential purchasers and for ensuring competition among sellers in an open market economy. If there is an excess of demand over supply, prices are usually bid up by consumers. If there is an excess of supply over demand,__5__.
Exercise:
A a price contains all the terms of purchase
B obtained by the purchase of a new bottling machine by a soda manufacturer
C where the consumer gives the seller money plus a trade-in
D available for other items
E prices are usually reduced by sellers
F price means what one pays for what he wants
key:BDACE
PASSAGE 22
What is a Profit
Entrepreneurship is directly responsible for production. The business person (entrepreneur) takes a cue from consumers in deciding what they want - or, in the case of a new product, __1__.
Profit means different things to different people. According to some public opinion polls, many people are not sure what it is, but they are sure __2__. Workers may look at profit as an unfairly large payment to the entrepreneur that deprives them of a higher wage. The business person thinks of profit __3__. During negotiations before the settlement of the second baseball strike in August, 1985, the Players#39; Association claimed the owners had made profits of $91 million, an accounting firm said owner profits were $43 million, and the owners insisted they had lost $9 million. The truth was that all three were correct. The disparity in the figures was due to the fact that each group was defining profit differently. Let us now see if we can develop a more exact definition of what profit is.
Gross profit is the difference between what a business firm sells its product for and what it costs to produce that product. The merchant buys $200,000 worth of merchandise during the year and sells it for $270,000. His gross profit is $70,000. The percentage difference between his cost and the selling price is 35 percent, and he calls this markup.
Net profit is __4__--rent, wages, and interest-and setting aside money to allow for the loss due to depreciation (wearing out) of capital. Our merchant has to subtract from his gross profit his payments for rent ($6,000), wages ($20,000), interest on money borrowed ($1,000), repairs and upkeep ($1,000), taxes ($1,000), electricity and other expenses $1,000. Expenses for operating the business come to $30,000. Gross profit is $70,000, and net profit is $40,000.
Economists have a narrower definition of what constitutes profit. They are concerned with payment for all the resources that have gone into production, __5__, like those listed above, or from inside the business.
Exercise:
A what profit really means
B it is too large and represents too much of the consumer#39;s dollar
C whether they come from outside the business
D as the difference between total revenue and total cost
E what the business person has left after paying expenses
F what they might want
Key: DBECA
PASSAGE 1
Teamwork in Tourism
?Growing cooperation among branches of tourism has proved valuable to all concerned. Government bureaus, trade and travel associations, carriers and properties are all working together to bring about optimum conditions for travelers.
Travel operators, specialists in the field of planning, sponsor extensive research programs. They have knowledge of all areas and all carrier services, and they are experts in organizing different types of tours and ____(1)____. They distribute materials to agencies, such as journals, brochures and advertising projects. They offer familiarization and workshop tours ____(2)____.
Tourist counselors give valuable seminars to acquaint agents with new programs and techniques in selling. In this way agents learn ____(3)____ and to suggest different modes and combinations of travel - planes; ships, trains, motorcoaches, car-rentals, and even car purchases.
Properties and agencies work closely together to make the most suitable contracts, considering both the comfort of the clients and their own profitable financial arrangement. Agencies rely upon the good services of hotels, and, conversely, ____(4)____, to fulfill their contracts and to send them clients.
The same confidence exists between agencies and carriers, ____(5)____. Carriers are dependent upon agencies to supply passengers, and agencies are dependent upon carriers to present them with marketable tours. All services must work together for greater efficiency, fair pricing and contented customers.
A including car-rental and sight-seeing services.
B so that in a short time agents can obtain first-hand knowledge of the tours.
C in preparing effective advertising campaigns
D as a result tourism is flouring in all countries
E hotels rely upon agencies
F to explain destinations
KEYS: CBFEA
PASSAGE 2
Death control
?A very important world problem-in fact, I am inclined to say it is the most important of all the great world problems________(1) _________-is the rapidly increasing pressure of population on land and on land resources.
This enormous increase of population will create immense problems. By 2000 A.D., unless something desperate happens, there will be as many as 7,000,000,000 people on the surface of the earth! So this is a problem which you are going to see in your lifetime
Why is this enormous increase in population taking place? It is really due to the spread of the knowledge and the practice of _________ (2)_______. You have heard of Birth Control? Death Control is something rather different. Death Control recognizes the work of the doctors and the nurses and the hospitals and the health services in keeping alive people who,_____(3)_____, Would have died of some of the incredibly serious killing diseases , as they used to do. Squalid conditions, which we can remedy by an improved standard of living, caused a lot of disease and dirt. Medical examinations at school catch diseases early and ensure healthier school children. Scientists are at work stamping out malaria and other more deadly diseases. If you are seriously ill there is an ambulance to take you to a modern hospital. Medical care helps _____(4)______. We used to think seventy was a good age; now eighty, ninety, it may be , are coming to be recognized as a normal age for human beings. People are living longer because of this Death Control, and _____(5)_____, so the population of the world is shooting up.
练习：
A fewer children are dying
B a few years ago
C what is coming to be called Death Control
D which face us at the present time
E making it possible for people to live longer
F to keep people alive longer
Keys: DCBFA
PASSAGE 3
Ludwig van Beethoven
?Ludwig van Beethoven, a major composer of the nineteenth century, overcame many personal problems to achieve artistic greatness.
Born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770, be first studied music with the court organist, Gilles van der Eeden. His father was excessively strict and given to heavy drinking. When his mother died, Beethoven, ____(1)____, was named guardian of his two younger brothers. Appointed deputy court organist to Christian Gottlob Neefe at a surprisingly early age in 1782, Beethoven also played the harpsichord and the viola. In 1792 he was sent to Vienna by his patron, Count Ferdinand Waldstein, to study music under Haydn.
Beethoven remained unmarried. Because of irregular payments from his publishers and erratic support from his patrons, ____(2)____. Continually plagued by ill health, he developed an ear infection which led to his tragic deafness in 1819.
In spited of this handicap, ____(3)____. He completed mature masterpieces of great musical depth: three piano sonata, four string quartets, the Missa Solemnis, and the 9th Symphony. He died in 1827. His life was marked ____(4)____.
Noting that Beethoven often flew into fits of rage, Goethe once said of him, ”I am astonished by his talent, but he is unfortunately an altogether untamed personality.“ Although Beethoven#39;s personality ____(5)____, his music shows great discipline and control, and this is how we remember him best.
A however, he continued to write music
B he was troubled by financial worries throughout his adult life
C by a passionate dedication to independence
D then a young man
E may have been untamed
F his music has been loved over the past centuries
KEYS: DBACE
PASSAGE 4
The Importance of Agriculture in China
?The development of agriculture and the balance between food and population are China#39;s fundamental economic problems. The classical histories praise emperors for devotion to agriculture and much of China#39;s modern history is ____(1)____, which has been growing steadily.
Today, although agriculture accounts for only a quarter of the Gross National Product, it is still the main determinant of the standard of living and the principal occupation of at least 70 percent of population.
Agriculture also _____(2)____ because industry needs both agricultural raw materials and food for its work force. The failure of agriculture to supply raw material and food halted and later reversed the industrial progress of the 1950#39;s, After 1960 new emphasis was placed on agriculture, and the slogan ”Agriculture is the foundation of the economy“ has remained a central Chinese economic policy ever since.
___(3)___, there is an indirect link due to the relationship between agriculture and foreign trade. Many of China#39;s exports are ___(4)___ or consumer goods based on them. Flourishing agriculture, therefore, promotes exports. It also reduces the need to spend foreign exchange on imports of grain and cotton, therefore __(5)___.
练习：
A determines the progress of industry
B the story of the unfolding struggle to feed a peasant population
C either agricultural raw materials
D enlarging the capacity of the economy to import machinery and commodities for industry
E In addition to the direct links between agriculture and industry
F thus promoting both import and export
KEY : B A F C D
PASSAGE 5
Tests Show Women Suited for Space Travel
?Between 1977 and 1981, three groups of American woman, ___(1)___, between the age of 35 and 65, were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those aboard the space shuttle.
Though ___(2)___, the women were volunteers and the pay was barely above the minimum wage. They were not allowed ___(3)____ during the tests, and they were expected to tolerate each other#39;s company at close quarters for the entire period. Among other things they had to stand pressure three times the force of gravity and carry out both physical and mental tasks __(4)__. At the end of ten days, they had to spend a further twenty days absolutely confined to bed, during which time they suffered backaches and other discomforts, and when they were finally allowed up, the more physically active women were especially subject to pains due to a slight calcium loss.
Results of the tests suggest that women will have significant advantages over men in space. They need less food and les oxygen and they stand up to radiation better. Men#39;s advantages __(5)__, meanwhile, are virtually wiped out by the zero-gravity condition in space.
EXERCISE:
A): to smoke or drink alcohol
B) carefully selected from among many applicants
C) numbering 27 in all
D) in terms of strength and stamina
E) those who are physically stronger
F) while exhausted from strenuous physical exercise
KEY:C B A F D
PASSAGE 6
Development in Newspaper Organization
?One of the most important developments in newspaper organization during the first part of the twentieth century ______(1)_______, which are known as wire services. Wire-service companies employed reporters, who covered stories all over the world. Their news reports were sent to papers throughout the country by telegraph. The papers paid an annual fee for this service. Wire services continue _______(2)________. Today the major wire services are the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). You will frequently find AP or UPI at the beginning of a news story.
Newspaper chains and mergers began to appear in the early 1900s. A chain consists of two or more newspapers _______(3)______. A merger involves combining two or more papers into one. During the nineteenth century many cities had more than one competitive independent paper. Today in most cities there are only one or two newspapers, and _______(4)______. Often newspapers in several cities belong to one chain. Papers have combined ________(5)_______. Chains and mergers have cut down production costs and brought the advantages of big-business methods to the newspaper industry.
A. to play an important role in newspaper operations
B. was the growth of telegraph services
C. and they usually enjoy great prestige
D. they are usually operated by a single owner
E. in order to survive under the pressure of rising costs
F. owned by a single person or organization
KEY: BAFDE
PASSAGE 7
The Building of the Pyramids
?The oldest stone buildings in the world are the pyramids. They have stood for nearly 5,000 years, and it seems like that _____(1)_____. There are over eighty of them scattered along the banks of the Nile, some of which are different in shape from the true pyramids. The most famous of these are the ”Step“ pyramid and the ”Bent“ pyramid.
Some of the pyramids still look much the same as they must have done when they were built thousands of years ago. Most of the damage suffered by the others has been at the hands of men who were looking for treasure or, more often, ____(2)____. The dry climate of Egypt has helped to preserve the pyramids, and their very shape _____(3)_____. These are good reasons why they can still be seen today, but perhaps the most important is that they were planned to last for ever.
It is practically certain that plans were made for the building of the pyramids_____(4)____. However, there are no writings or pictures to show us how the Egyptians planned or built the pyramids themselves. Consequently, we are only able to guess at the methods used. Nevertheless, by examining the actual pyramids and various tools which have been found, archaeologists have formed a fairly clear picture of them.
One thing is certain: there must have been months of careful planning_____(5)_____. The first thing they had to do was to choose a suitable place. You may think this would have been easy with miles and miles of empty desert around, but a pyramid could not be built just anywhere. Certain rules had to be followed, and certain problems had to b overcome.
EXERCISE:
A for stone to use in modern buildings
B has made them less likely to fall into ruin
C before they could begin to build
D because the plans of other large works have fortunately been preserved
E while building the pyramids
F they will continue to stand for thousands of years yet
Key:FABDC
PASSAGE 8
Einstein Named ”Person of Century“
?Albert Einstein, whose theories on space time and matter helped unravel the secrets of the atom and of the universe, was chosen as ”Person of the Century“ by Time magazine on Sunday.
A man whose very name is synonymous with scientific genius, Einstein has come to represent_(1)_the flowering of 20th century scientific thought that set the stage for the age of technology.
”The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic, but technological-technologies_(2)_,“ wrote theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in a Time essay explaining Einstein#39;s significance. ”Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein.“
Time chose as runner-up President Franklin Roosevelt to represent the triumph of freedom and democracy over fascism, and Mahatma Gandhi as an icon for a century when civil and human rights became crucial factors in global politics.
”What we saw Franklin Roosevelt embodying the great theme of freedom#39;s fight against totalitarianism, Gandhi personifying the great theme of individuals struggling for their rights, and Einstein being both a great genius and a great symbol of a scientific revolution that brought with it amazing technological advances_(3)_,“ said Time Magazine Editor Walter Isaacson.
Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. In his early years, Einstein did not show the promise of what he was to become. He was slow to learn to speak and did not do well in elementary school. He could not stomach organized learning and loathed taking exams.
In1905, however, he was to publish a theory which stands as one of the most intricate examples of human imagination in history. In his ”Special Theory of Relativity,“ Einstein described how the only constant in the universe is the speed of light. Everything else-mass, weight, space, even time itself-is a variable. And he offered the world his now-famous equation: energy equals mass times the speed of light squared-E=mc2.
”Indirectly, relativity paved the way for a new relativism in morality, art and politics, “ Isaacson wrote in an essay___(4)____. ”There was less faith in absolutes, not only of time and space but also of truth and morality.“
Einstein#39;s famous equation was also the seed that led to the development of atomic energy and weapons. In1939, six years after he fled European fascism and settled at Princeton University, Einstein, an avowed pacifist, signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging the United States to develop an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany did. Roosevelt heeded the advice and formed the ”Manhattan Project“_(5)_. Einstein did not work on the project.
Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey in 1955.
A．explaining Time#39;s choices
B. how he thought of the relativity theory
C. more than any other person
D. that secretly developed the first atomic weapon
E. that flowed directly from advances in basic science
F. that helped expand the growth of freedom
Key: CEFAD
PASSAGE 9
The First Four Minutes
?When do people decide whether or not they want to become friends? During their first four minutes together, according to a book by Dr. Leonard Zunin. In his book, ”Contact: The first four minutes“, he offers this advice to anyone __(1)___: ”Every time you meet someone in a social situation, give him your undivided attention for four minutes. A lot of people#39;s whole lives would change if they did just that“.
You may have noticed that the average person does not give his undivided attention to someone he has just met. He keeps looking over the other person#39;s shoulder, as if __(2)__. If anyone has ever done this to you, you probably did not like him very much.
When we are introduced to new people, the author suggests, we should try to appear friendly and self-confident. In general, he says, ”People like people who like themselves“.
On the other hand, we should not make the other person think we are too sure of ourselves. It is important to appear interested and sympathetic, realizing that the other person has his own needs, fears, and hopes.
Hearing such advice, one might say, ”But I#39;m not a friendly, self-confident person. That#39;s not my nature. It would be dishonest for me to act that way“.
In reply, Dr. Zunin would claim that a little practice can help us __(3)__. We can become accustomed to any changes we choose to make in our personality. ”It is like getting used to a new car. It may be unfamiliar at first, but it goes much better than the old one.“
But isn#39;t it dishonest to give the appearance of friendly self-confidence when we don#39;t actually feel that way? Perhaps, but according to Dr. Zunin, #39;total honesty” is not always good for social relationships, especially during the first few minutes of contact. There is a time for everything, and a certain amount of play-acting may be best for the first few minutes of contact with a stranger. That is not the time to complain about one#39;s health or to mention faults one finds in other people. It is not the time to tell the whole truth about one#39;s opinions and impressions.
Much of __(4)__ also applies to relationships with family members and friends. For a husband and wife or a parent and child, problems often arise during their first four minutes together after they have been apart. Dr. Zunin suggests that these first few minutes together be treated with care. If there are unpleasant matters to be discussed, they should be dealt with later.
The author says that interpersonal relations should be taught as a required course in every school, along with reading, writing, and mathematics. In his opinion, success in life depends mainly on __(5)_. That is at least as important as how much we know.
EXERCISE:
A) Feel comfortable about changing our social habits
B) What has been said about strangers
C) How we get along with other people
D) Interested in starting new friendships
E) Hoping to find someone more interesting in another part of the room
F) Who are eager to make friends with everyone
KEY: D E A B C
PASSAGE 10
Public Relations
?Public relations is a broad set of planned communications about the company, including publicity releases, designed to promote goodwill and a favorable image.
Publicity then is part of public relations when it is initiated by the firm, __(1)__. Since public relations involves communications with stockholders, financial analysts, government officials, and other noncustomer groups, it is usually placed outside the marketing department, perhaps as a staff department or outside consulting firm reporting to top management. This organizational placement can be a limitation because the public relations department or consultant will likely not be in tune with marketing efforts. Poor communication and no coordination may be the consequences. __(2)__, this influence generally may be less than that provided by the other components of the public image mix.
Publicity may be in the form of news releases ___(3)___. Publicity on the other hand should not be divorced from the marketing department, as it can provide a useful adjunct to the regular advertising. Furthermore, __(4)__; some can result from an unfavorable press as a reaction to certain actions or lack of actions that are controversial or even downright ill-advised.
The point we wish to emphasize is that a firm is deluding itself if it thinks its public relations function, whether within the company or an outside firm, can take care of public image problems and opportunities. Many factors impact on the public image. Many of these have to do with the way the firm does business, __ (5)__. Public relations and directed publicity may help highlight favorable newsworthy events, and may even succeed in toning down the worst of unfavorable publicity, but the other components of the public image mix create more lasting impressions.
EXERCISE;
A) that have favorable overtones for the company initiated by the public relations department
B) not all publicity is initiated by the firm
C) usually in the form of press releases or press conferences
D) such as its product quality, the servicing and handling of complaints, and the tenor of the advertising
E) what it means to the company is
F) Although the basic purpose of public relations is to provide positive influence on the public image
KEY: C F A B D
PASSAGE 11
Gross National Product (GNP)
?GNP is measure most often used to determine how well the economy is faring; government and business alike ____(1)____. What does GNP include? If the retail prices of all the goods and services produced during the year were added up, the figure arrived at would be the gross national product for that year.
There are three different approaches to determining gross national product. All three will yield the same answer, because each is doing the same thing-measuring the total value of goods and services produced in the nation during the year. The first approach is totaling up the final market price of retail value of all production. This approach is easy to understand because it follows exactly the definition of GNP-the value of the nation#39;s production, or product, _____(2)_____.
It is also possible to look at GNP from the point of view of goods and services bought rather than produced. This method is called the expenditures approach; it involves recording ____(3)____.
About two-thirds of all expenditures in the marketplace are for consumer goods and services and are made by families buying to satisfy their needs. Economists call these household purchases personal consumption expenditures.
The second largest buyer in the marketplace is government. Government at all level#39;s accounts for over one-fifth of total expenditures.
Investment expenditures made by business account for most of the remaining purchases. Under this category are all purchases of capital goods (such as machinery and equipment), all construction (including homes), and the differences between inventories at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year.
The final and smallest item in the expenditure approach is net foreign investment. The total for this category is calculated by adding together all the expenditures ____(4)____ and subtracting from that amount the total of all U.S. purchases made abroad.
The third method of determining GNP is by analyzing income. Because the factors of production are responsible for the making of goods and services, it is possible to determine GNP by adding up all the payments made to those involved in this production. The sum of all wages, salaries, interest, rent, and profits, plus indirect business taxes and capital consumption, must be calculated. The resulting total represents the payment, or income, side of the goods and services produced. This figure is most frequently referred to _____(5)_____. However, the gross national income should equal the gross national product.
练习：
A before anything is subtracted from the total
B as gross national income because it deals with income instead of production
C use it to determine their future policies and plans
D based on foreign investments
E made by foreign countries in the United States
F who is buying the goods and services in the marketplace
Keys: CAFEB
PASSAGE 12
Supermarket
?Supermarket is a type of retailing institution that has a moderately broad product assortment spanning groceries and some nonfood lines, that ordinarily emphasizes price in either an offensive or defensive way. As a method, supermarket retailing features several related product lines, a high degree of self-service, largely centralized checkout, and competitive prices. The supermarket approach to retailing is used to sell various kinds of merchandise, ____(1)____.
The term supermarket usually refers to an institution in the grocery retailing field. Most supermarkets emphasize price. Some use price offensively by featuring low prices in order to attract customers. Other supermarkets use price more defensively by relying on leader pricing to avoid a price disadvantage. Since supermarkets typically have very thin gross margins, they need high levels of inventory turnover to achieve satisfactory returns on invested capital.
Supermarkets originates in the early 1930s. They were established by independents ____(2)____. Supermarkets were an immediate success, and the innovation was soon adopted by chain stores. In recent decades supermarkets have added various nonfood lines to provide customers with one-stop shopping convenience and to improve overall gross margins.
Today stores using the supermarket method of retailing are dominant in grocery retailing. However, different names are used to distinguish these institutions ____(3)____:
A superstore is a larger version of the supermarket. It offers more grocery and nonfood items ____(4)____. Many supermarket chains are emphasizing superstores in their new construction.
Combination stores are usually even larger than superstore. They, too, offer more groceries and nonfoods than a supermarket but also most product lines found in a large drugstore. Some combination stores are joint ventures between supermarkets and drug chains such as Kroger and Sav-on.
For many years the supermarket has been under attack from numerous competitors. For example, a grocery shopper can choose among not only many brands of supermarkets but also various types of institutions (warehouse stores, gourmet shops, meat and fish markets, and convenience stores). Supermarkets have reacted to competitive pressures ____(5)____: Some cut costs and stressed low prices by offering more private brands and generic products and few customer services. Others expanded their store size and assortments by adding more nonfood lines (especially products found in drugstores), groceries attuned to a particular market area (foods that appeal to a specific ethnic group, for example), and various service departments (including video rentals, restaurants, delicatessens, financial institutions, and pharmacies).
A by size and assortment
B than a conventional supermarket does
C including building materials, office products, and, of course, groceries
D attracting more customers with their low prices
E primarily in either of two ways
F to compete with grocery chains
KEYS: CFABE
职称英语补全短文 第2课时
PASSAGE 4
The Importance of Agriculture in China
?The development of agriculture and the balance between food and population are China's fundamental economic problems. The classical histories praise emperors for devotion to agriculture and much of China's modern history is ____(1)____, which has been growing steadily.
Today, although agriculture accounts for only a quarter of the Gross National Product, it is still the main determinant of the standard of living and the principal occupation of at least 70 percent of population.
Agriculture also _____(2)____ because industry needs both agricultural raw materials and food for its work force. The failure of agriculture to supply raw material and food halted and later reversed the industrial progress of the 1950's, After 1960 new emphasis was placed on agriculture, and the slogan “Agriculture is the foundation of the economy” has remained a central Chinese economic policy ever since.
___(3)___, there is an indirect link due to the relationship between agriculture and foreign trade. Many of China's exports are ___(4)___ or consumer goods based on them. Flourishing agriculture, therefore, promotes exports. It also reduces the need to spend foreign exchange on imports of grain and cotton, therefore __(5)___.
练习：
A determines the progress of industry
B the story of the unfolding struggle to feed a peasant population
C either agricultural raw materials
D enlarging the capacity of the economy to import machinery and commodities for industry
E In addition to the direct links between agriculture and industry
F thus promoting both import and export
KEY : B A F C D
PASSAGE 5
Tests Show Women Suited for Space Travel
?Between 1977 and 1981, three groups of American woman, ___(1)___, between the age of 35 and 65, were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those
Mt. Desert Island
The coast of the State of Maine is one of the most irregular in the world. A straight line running from the southernmost coastal city to the northernmost coastal city would measure about 225 miles. If you followed the coastline between these points, you would travel more than ten times as far. This irregularity is the result of what is called a drowned coastline____(46) At that time, the whole area that is now Maine was part of a mountain range that towered above the sea. As the glacier (冰川) descended, however, it expended enormous force on those mountains, and they sank into the sea.
As the mountains sank, ocean water charged over the lowest parts of the remaining land, forming a series of twisting inlets and lagoons (咸水湖). The highest parts of the former mountain range, nearest the shore, remained as islands. ____(47) Marine fossils found here were 225 feet above sea level, indicating the level of the shoreline prior to the glacier.
The 2,500-mile-long rocky coastline of Marine keeps watch over nearly two thousand islands. Many of these islands are tiny and uninhabited, but many are home to thriving communities. Mt. Desert Island is one of the largest, most beautiful of the Maine coast islands. Measuring 16 miles by 12 miles. Mt. Desert was essentially formed as two distinct islands, _____(48)
For years, Mt. Desert Island, particularly its major settlement, Bar Harbor, afforded summer home for the wealthy. Recently though, Bar Harbor has become a rapidly growing arts community as well. But, the best part of the island is the unspoiled forest land known as Acadia National Park. Because the island sits on the boundary line between the temperate (温带) and sub-Arctic zones, the islands supports the plants and animals of both zones as well as beach, inland, and alpine (高山的) plants.____(49). The establishment of Acadia National Park in 1916 means that this natural reserve will be perpetually available to all people, not just the wealthy. Visitors to Acadia may receive nature instruction from the park naturalists as well as enjoy camping, cycling, and boating. Or they may choose to spend time at the archeological museum, learning about the Stone Age inhabitants of the island.
The best view on Mt. Desert Island is from the top of Cadillac Mountain. ____(50) From the summit, you can gaze back toward the mainland or out over the Atlantic Ocean and contemplate the beauty created by a retreating glacier.
A It also lies in a major bird migration lane and is a resting spot for many birds.
B Mt. Desert Island is one of the most famous of all of the islands left behind by the glacier
C The wealthy residents of Mt. Desert Island selfishly kept it to themselves.
D The term comes from the activity of the ice age.
E This mountain rises 1,532 feet, making it the highest mountain on the Atlantic seaboard.
F It is split almost in half by Somes Sound, a deep and narrow stretch of water seven miles long.
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1、题目要求：
补全短文题型中，每个题目都是一个陈述句，出现的`位置不固定，这种题型不是要求你写出答案，而是从选项中选择。选项的数目要多于题目的数目。
2、难点剖析：
补全短文题型对阅读能力的要求较高，同时也非常注重基础知识如语法、词汇知识的考查，因此补全短文题型的难度较大，是职称考试中最令考生头痛的题型之一，
3、必备解题技巧：
解题方略：解每道题时只需要阅读该题所在段落，不需要阅读其他段落。往往通过阅读该题目的前后句就能够确定答案，在考试时，应该注意利用以下前后句子存在的关系来做题：
（1）利用转折关系
（2）利用归纳总结关系
（3）利用总分关系
（4）利用并列关系
Saving a City's Public Art
Avoiding traffic jams in Los Angeles may be impossible,but the city's colorful freeway murals (壁画) can brighten even the worst commute. Paintings that depict (描述) famous people and historical scenes cover office buildings and freeway walls all access the city. With a collection of more than 2,000 murals, Los Angeles is the unofficial mural capital of the world.
But the combination of graffiti (涂鸦) , pollution, and hot sun has left many L.A. murals in terrible condition.__________(46) In the past, expertssay, little attention was given to caring for public art. Artists were even expected to maintain their own works, not an easy task with cars racing by along the freeway.
__________(47) The work started in . So far,16 walls have been selected and more may be added later.
Until about 1960, public murals in Los Angeles were rare. But in the 1960s and 1970s, young L.A. artists began to study early 20th-century Mexican mural painting. __________ (48)
The most famous mural in the city is Judith Baca's “The Great Wall”, a 13-foot-high (4-meter-high) painting that runs for half a mile (0.8 kilometer) in North Hollywood, __________(49) It took eight years to complete--400 underprivileged teenagers painted the designs- and is probably the longest mural in the world.
One of the murals that will be restored now is Kent Twitchell's “Seventh Street Altarpiece”.which he painted for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. __________ (50) Twitchellsaid, “it was meant as a kind of gateway through which the traveler to L.A. must drive. The open hands represent peace.”
Artists often call murals the people's art. Along a busy freeway or hidden in a quiet neighborhood, murals can teach people who would never pay money to see fine art in a museum,“Murals give a voice to the silent majority,” said one artist.
A. The city trying to stop the spread of graffiti, has painted over some of the murals complete.
B. This striking work depicts two people facing each other on opposite sides of the freewat near downtown Los Angeles.
C. Artists like murals because they like the work of Mexican artitsts.
D. Now the city is beginning a huge project to restore the city's murals.
E. The mural represents the history of ethnic proups in California.
F. Soon their murals became a symbol of the city's cultural expressions and a showcase for LA's cultural diversity.
答案与解析
46.A。空位于段中，所以与前后的句子都有语义上的衔接。从空格前的句子看，谈论的是涂鸦、污染和炽热的阳光造成了壁画的糟糕的状态，空格后谈论的是专家认为公共艺术没有得到足够的重视，所以推断空格处谈论的壁画的糟糕情况或者如何解决，故A(城市试图阻止涂鸦的蔓延，所以在那些壁画上涂上了油漆)为最佳选项，其中A项中的graffiti与空格前句子中的graffiti有词语衔接的一致性。重复词的出现是体现语义衔接的重要标志。
47.D。空格位于段落的首句，空格后的句子谈论的是这项工作开始于，已经选择了16堵墙的壁画，随后有更多的墙壁会加入起来，故D(现在城市开始实施修复城市壁画的巨大工程)是正确答案，谈论的是墙壁壁画修复工作，the project与空格后句子中的the work也有语义上的衔接。
48.c。空格位于段落的尾句，因而与前面的句子有语义上的衔接。空格前提到洛杉矶那些年轻的艺术家开始研究20世纪早期的墨西哥壁画，因而空格处继续谈论话题应与此有关，其中Mexican artists和Mexican mural painting体现出语义的衔接，故C(艺术家们喜欢壁画是因为他们喜欢墨西哥艺术家的作品)是正确答案。
49.E。空位于段中，所以与前后的句子都有语义上的衔接。从空格前的句子看，谈论的是the most famous mural，从空格后的代词“it”可以判断，谈论的对象是个单数，由此可知空格所在的句子谈论的还是the most famous mural，故E(壁画代表了加州地区种族群体的历史)是正确答案。主语的一致性是体现语义衔接的重要标志。
50.B。空位于段中，所以与前后的句子都有语义上的衔接。从空格前的句子看，谈论的是Kent Twitchell所创作的该幅壁画是为1984年洛杉矶奥运会所做，空格是创作者KentTwitchell对其含义的解释，因而空格处谈论的还是这幅画，再结合复现词汇Los Angeles可推断空格处所填的句子为选项B或者选项F，但是选项F中的their murals为复数形式，所以由此可知B(这幅引人注目的作品刻画了两个人相互面对，分别立于洛杉矶市中心快车道的两侧)为最佳答案。谈论对象的单复数的一致性也是判断语义衔接的重要标志。
The Day a Language Died
When Carios Westez died at the age of 76, a language died, too. Westez, more commonly known as Red Thunder Cloud, was the last speaker of the Native American language Catawba.
Anyone who wants to hear the songs of the Catawba can contact the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where, back in the 1940s, Red Thunder Cloud recorded a series of songs for future generations.__________(46) They are all that is left of the Catawba language. The language that people used to speak is gone forever.
We are all aware of the danger that modern industry can cause the world's ecology (生态) .
However, few people are aware of the impact widely spoken languages have on other languages and ways of life. English has spread all over the world. Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and Hindi have become powerful languages as well.__________(47) When this happens, hundreds of languages that are spoken by only a few die out.
Scholars believe there are around 6,000 languages around the world, but more than half of them could die out within the next 100 years. There are many examples, Araki is a native language of the island of Vanuatu, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is spoken by only a few older adults, so like Catawba, Araki will soon disappear. Many languages of Ethiopia will have the same fate because each one has only a few speakers.__________ (48) In the Americas,100 languages, each of which has fewer than 300 speakers, are dying out.
Red Thunder Cloud was one of the first to recognize the danger of language death and to try to do something about it. He was not actually born into the Catawba tribe, and the language was not his mother tongue.__________(49) The songs he sang for the Smithsonian Institution helped to make Native American music popular. Now he is gone, and the language is dead.
What does it mean for the rest of us when a language disappears? When a plant insect or animal species dies, it is easy to understand what has been lost and to for the balance of the natural word. However, language is only a product of the mind. To be the last remaining speaker of a language, like Red Thunder, must be a peculiarly lonely destiny, almost as strange and terrible as being the last surviving member of a dying species.__________ (50)
A. Some people might want to learn some of these songs by hearts.
B. In New Guinea is an extremely rich source of different language, but more than 100 of them are in danger of extinction (灭绝) .
C. However, he was a frequent visitor to the Catawba reservation in South Carcinoma where he learned the language.
D. These languages don't have many native speakers.
E. For the rest of us, when a language dies, we lose the possibility of a unique way of seeing and describing the world.
F. As these languages become more powerful, their use as tools of business and culture increase.
答案与解析
46.A。从原文来看，空白处前面一句讲到那些想要听卡托巴语歌曲的人就需要联系Smithsonian机构，因为早在20世纪40年代，Red Thunder Cloud为未来的后代灌录了一系列的歌曲;空白处后一句说的是这些歌曲都是以卡托巴语而保留的。由此可知空白处应该讨论这些卡托巴语歌曲的事情，所以A(有些人可能想要用心学习这些歌曲)比较合适，符合内容一致的原则。
47.F。从原文来看，空白处前面一句讲的是汉语、西班牙语、俄语和北印度语已经变成很强大的语言(powerful)，与F项中powerful一致，而且these languages与空白处前的languages“Chinese，Spanish，Russian，and Hindi”指代也比较一致，所以F(当这些语言变得更加强大时，他们作为商业和文化的工具的使用就会增加)符合原文，符合指代一致的原则。
48.B。从原文来看，空白处之前的句子说的是埃塞俄比亚的许多语言也面临着消亡的命运，因为说那些语言的人太少了;空白处之后的句子说的是在美洲有近100种语言因为说话人少于300人也正在消亡。所以空白处谈论的也应该是语言消亡的例子，再结合第三段的首旬可知本段主要谈论语言的消亡，所以B(新几内亚有着非常丰富的不同语言的来源，但是有100多种语言正濒临灭绝)是正确答案，符合内容与段落主题句一致的原则，其中die out反复出现。
49.C。从原文来看，空白处前面一句讲的是Red Thunder Cloud并非出生在卡托巴，而且卡托巴语也不是其母语;空白处后一句讲的是他为Smithsonian机构所唱的歌曲使得美洲本土的音乐流行起来。因此，空白处谈论的还是RedThunderCloud唱歌的问题，所以C(但是，他经常访问South Carcinoma的Catawba的保留地，并在那里学会了这种语言)比较符合原文语义，从逻辑上解释了为什么卡托巴不是Red Thunder Cloud的母语，但是他却会唱卡托巴语的歌曲，符合上下文逻辑一致的原则。
50.E。从该段的首句来看，本段主要讨论语言消亡给我们带来的后果，从剩余的两个选项D和E比较来看，E选项(对我们剩下的人而言，当语言消亡的时候，我们失去了用一种独特方式观察和描述这个世界的可能性)符合该段的内容，而且E项中的“for the rest ofus”与段落首旬的“for the rest ofus”也保持了一致。
The Tough Grass that Sweetens Our Lives
Sugar cane was once a wild grass that grew in New Guinea and was used by local people for roofing their houses and fencing their gardens. Gradually a different variety evolved which contained sucrose (蔗糖) and was chewed on for its sweet taste. Over time, sugar cane became a highly valuable commercial plant, grown throughout the world. __________ (46)
Sugar became a vital ingredient in all kinds of things, from confectionery (糖果点心) to medicine,and, as the demand for sugar grew, the industry became larger and more profitable.__________(47)
Many crops withered (枯萎) and died, despite growers' attempts to save them, and there were fears that the health of the plant would continue to deteriorate.
In the 1960s, scientists working in Barbodos looked for ways to make the commercial species stronger and more able to resist disease. They experimented with breeding programmes, mixing genes from the more delicate, commercial type. __________(48) This sugar cane is not yet ready to be sold commercially, but when this happens, it is expected to be incredible profitable for the industry.
__________ (49) Brazil, which produces one quarter of the world's sugar, has coordinated an international project under Professor Paulo Arrudo of the Universidade Estaudual de Campinas in Sao Paulo. Teams of experts have worked with him to discover more about which parts of the genetic structure of the plant are important for the production of sugar and its overall health.
Despite all the research, however, we still do not fully understand how the genes in sugar cane.
__________(50) This gene is particularly exciting because it makes the plant resistant to rust, a disease which probably originated in India, but is now capable of infecting sugar cane across the world.
Scientist believes they will eventually be able to grow a plant which cannot be destroyed by rust.
A. Eventually, a commercial plant was developed which was 5 percent sweeter than before,but also much stronger and less likely to die from disease.
B. One major gene has been identified by Dr Angelique D'Hont and her team in Montpelier, France.
C. Sugar cane is now much more vigorous and the supply of sugar is therefore more guaranteed.
D. Since the 1960s, scientists have been analyzing the mysteries of the sugar cane's genetic code.
E. The majority of the world's sugar now comes from this particular commercial species.
F. Unfortunately, however, the plant started to become weaker and more prone to disease.
答案与解析
46.E。空格前一句甘蔗成了一种极具价值的商业作物，在全世界种植。空白处应继续谈论其价值，故E选项(现在世界上大部分糖都是产自这个特殊的商业作物)符合文意。
47.F。空格前提到对糖的需求增加，这个行业开始获利，而空格后提到植物枯萎并死掉。前后具有转折关系，所有选项中只有F含有转折词however，故F(然而不幸的是这种植物开始变弱，容易得病)是正确答案。
48.A。空格前提到了科学家进行不同植物基因混合的实验来培育新品种，空格后提到现在这种甘蔗植物还不准备用做商业用途。由此可知，空白处讲的应该是关于新的甘蔗品种，故A(最终，一种新的商业甘蔗被培养出来，比之前的甜度增加5%，而且比之前的作物要更强壮，发病的可能性更小)是正确答案。
49.D。空格后列举了巴西的例子，指出科学家试图发现更多的影响含糖量和产量的基因结构，故D项(自20世纪60年代起，科学家一直在研究甘蔗基因代码的秘密)是正确答案。
50.B。空格前提到研究者们仍然无法完全了解甘蔗的基因，空格后提到这个基因尤其令人兴奋，其中的this gene应该指代空白处提到的某个基因，故8选项(一个主要的基因已经由Angellique D’Hont博士及其团队鉴别出来了)符合文意。
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