Until a relatively short time ago, traveling abroad was limited to rich tourists and wealthy businesspeople. Flying abroad was not common for the average person. In time, however, plane travel became safer, more convenient, and less expensive. As a result, people of different backgrounds now fly to distant places for pleasure and businesspeople fly to one country for a breakfast or lunch conference, and then fly to another country for a dinner meeting.
With the world becoming smaller, many young adults make the decision to study in foreign universities. It is an exciting, challenging experience to live in a foreign country. Anyone who can study abroad is fortunate; but, of course, it is not easy to change from one culture to another. One faces many difficulties.
The student who studies in a foreign country leaves behind a familiar, loving, comfortable environment. Back home, he has his family, friends, and acquaintances. He knows the language, politics, money, food, social customs, and so forth. He knows all the unclear aspects of his native culture, such as body language, and bargaining practices, etc. in short, he knows “the system” in his native country. Then one day he leaves all this behind and suddenly finds himself in a place where everyone and everything is strange, perhaps even confusing. All this strangeness is a major surprise to a person’s self-confidence. This sudden change often leads to a reaction called culture shock.
Foreigners experience different degrees of culture shock. The symptoms range from being ill at ease to being seriously depressed. Feeling homesick, unhappy, and very sensitive are other signs of culture shock. It is easy to understand that the endless frustrations of the early days in a new country would produce dissatisfaction, and perhaps even hostility. People are always at ease in a familiar environment. A mature, realistic person experiences mild, temporary symptoms; the insecure newcomer suffers more seriously from a culture shock.
During the inevitable period of adjustment, the international student tends to complain about everything in the new environment. In fact, the student is likely to exaggerate the problems. When the student meets another miserable person from the same country, he will pour out his unhappy feelings. Together they can complain in their native language. Although this complaining provides temporary satisfaction, it certainly does not help him adapt to a new society. Being negative will never get rid of the feelings of frustrations. The mature person understands that a positive attitude, determination, and flexibility are important in making the change successful. A sense of humor is a big help.
1. Nowadays, flying abroad is ___ ____.
A. limited to rich tourists and wealthy businesspeople
B. more convenient but less safe
C. common for the average person
D. not common for the average person
2. “The system” in the third paragraph includes the following except _________.
A. social customs
B. bargaining practices
C. politics
D. foreign culture
3. Culture shock affects foreigners _________.
A. in just the same way
B. in the same degree
C. in quite similar ways
D. in different degrees
4. Endless frustrations of the early days in a new country would create _________.
A. dissatisfaction
B. discomfort
C. hostility
D. all of the above
5. The following are important in fighting culture shock except _________.
A. determination
B. a positive attitude
C. a sense of humor
D. hostility
Wall Street is the banking center of New York City. But how did the street get its unusual name? To find out, we must go back to the early years of exploration in North America.
New York City was first called New Amsterdam by the explorer Henry Hudson. He was working for a Dutch trading company when he entered what is now the lower Hudson River area in the year 1609. There he found an island that was a perfect trading harbor. The Manhattan Indians lived there.
Dutch traders built a town on the end of Manhattan Island. It became a rich trading center. But the British questioned the right of the Dutch to control the area. The two nations went to war in 1652.
The governor of New Amsterdam, Peter Stuyvesant, worried that British settlers in New England would attack his town. He ordered that a protective wall be built at the north edge of Manhattan. The wall was more than 2,290 feet long. It extended from the Hudson River to the East River.
The British never attacked New Amsterdam. So the wall was never tested in war. But the path beside it became known as Wall Street. Later, Wall Street became a street of banks and business.
Dealing in stocks and shares in the stock markets began in the 17th Century. An informal market developed around the coffee houses in the City of London gradually. In 1773 “New Jonathan’s” Coffee House became the informal Stock Exchange, and it was formally established till 1802. at that time London was the largest share market, and the growth of the Industrial Revolution helped the establishment of local share markets in other parts of the country --- more than 330 of them when there were most. These markets first began moves towards combination in 1890, when the Council of Associated Stock Exchanges was formed. By 1967 all the “Country” Exchanges had got together themselves into six regional exchanges, and in 1973 all seven exchanges in the British Isles came together to form The Stock Exchanges of Great Britain and Ireland, and its member firms spread from Aberdeen to the Channel Islands and from Lancaster to Limerick.
1. Manhattan was named after __________.
A. a Dutch explorer
B. a British colonist
C. an Indian tribe
D. the Dutch governor
2. The British and the Dutch went to war in 1652 because __________.
A. they both liked the rich island
B. they both wanted to have Wall Street
C. they both wanted to control the rich area
D. they had questions in some aspects unsolved
3. The wall _________.
A. was used in the war
B. was never used in the war
C. was destroyed later
D. was so weak that the British never tested it
4. In 1773 “New Jonathan’s” Coffee House became _________.
A. the place the merchants had their ventures
B. an informal stock exchanges
C. a formal stock exchanges
D. the biggest market in Britain
Active participation in the classroom is not only accepted but also expected of the student in many courses. Some professors base part of the final grade on the student’ s oral participation. Although there are formal lectures during which the student has a passive role (I.e., listening and taking notes), many courses are organized around classroom discussions, students questions, and informal lectures.
A professor’s teaching style is another factor that determines the degree and type of student participation. Some professors prefer to control discussion while others prefer to guide the class without controlling it. Many professors encourage students to question and challenge their ideas. Students who make statements that contradict the professor’s point of view should be prepared to prove their positions.
Ideally, the teacher-student relationship at universities is characterized by trust. The “honor system” demands that the student be honest in all areas of school work. Thus, cheating on tests, presenting others’ ideas as original, and turning in homework done by someone else are all forbidden.
Violation of the honor system can result in a student’s failing a course, having a record of the violation placed in the student’s school files, or even being driven out from the university. Students who cheat may lose the respect of other students, particularly those who study for exams and work independently. When leaving the classroom while students are taking an exam, an instructor may or may not say, “I expect you all to obey the honor system.” Even if the words are not stated, the student is expected to work alone and not to share answers.
1. In many courses, teachers__________.
A. allow the students to participate
B. require the students to participate
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
2. If a student does not agree with the professor in a lecture, the student is encouraged to __________.
A. remain silent
B. challenge the professor
C. leave the class
D. tell the professor immediately that he is wrong
3. If a professor believes in the “honor system,” it implies his _________.
A. suspicion of the students
B. distrust of the students
C. trust in the students
D. pride in the students
4. Violations of the honor system do not include __________.
A. cheating
B. failing a course
C. sharing answers
D. handing in homework done by another student
Section B
Directions: Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
(A)
Matsushita, the world’s largest provider of consumer electronics, has decided to move in on Hollywood. Last weekend, Matsushita company leaders met with movies VIPs from MCA, Inc., the entertainment community that produced the movies as “Jaws” and “E.T. the Extra-terrestrial”. If the negotiations are successful, Matsushita will pay somewhere between $6 billion and $7.5 billion for MCA, by far the largest U.S. buying by a Japanese company.
The deal is larger than last year’s $5 billion buying of Columbia Pictures by Matsushita’s competitor, Sony Corporation. The movement by the Japanese companies shows Tokyo’s growing interest in the entertainment world. It is surprising for both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Why does a disciplined, no-nonsense nation like Japan want to get into show business? The answer is quite simple: To make money. Japanese corporation leaders feel the global potential of the entertainment business and recognize that there is an increasing market for movies and television in the rapidly industrializing world.
1. The movement of buying American entertainment companies by the Japanese shows that____ _.
A. American movies are better than Japanese
B. Japan has growing interest in the entertainment world
C. Japanese market is larger than American market
D. Japanese people are richer
2. A disciplined nation like Japan wants to get into show business because _____
A. they want to make money
B. they want to learn from American people
C. they want to entertain their people
D. they want to win in the competition
3. Matsushita would pay ______ for MCA.
A.$5 billion
B.$6 billion
C.$7.5 billion
D. Somewhere between $6 billion to $7.5 billion
III. Reading Comprehension：31%
Section A
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that fits the context.
Good news! Tiny robots designed by University of Nebraska researchers may 50 doctors on Earth to help perform surgery on patients in space.
The tiny, wheeled robots, which are about 3 inches tall and as wide a lipstick case, can be slipped into small incisions ( 切口 ) and computer-controlled by surgeons in different 51 . Some robots are equipped with 52 and lights and can send images back to surgeons and others have surgical tools attached that can be controlled 53 .
“ We think this is going to 54 open surgery.” Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov said at a news conference. Oleynikov is a 55 in computer-assisted surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
Officials hope that NASA will teach 56 to use the robots soon enough 57
surgeries could one day be performed in space.
The camera-carrying robots can provide 58 of affected areas and the ones with surgical tools will be able to operate inside the body in ways surgeons’ hands can’t. The views from the camera-carrying robots are 59 than the naked eye, because they 60 back color images that are magnified. Because several robots can be inserted through one incision, they could reduce the amount and 61 of cuts needed for surgery, which would decrease recovery time. This is particularly 62 to those patients who have been weakened by long illness.
Eventually, Oleynikov said, “ The tiny robots may enable surgeons to work without ever __63__their hands in patients’ bodies. That is the 64 . It is getting easier and easier. We can do even more with these devices.”
50. A. use B. pay C. allow D. force
51. A. locations B. directions C. fields D. ways
52. A. operators B. monitors C. cameras D. flashes
53. A. automatically B. remotely C. manually D. widely
54. A. perform B. undergo C. follow D. replace
55. A. reporter B. specialist C. designer D. director
56. A. astronauts B. nurse C. teachers D. trainers
57. A. in order to B. so that C. thus D. in case
58. A. answers B. services C. views D. insights
59. A. weaker B. stronger C. poorer D. better
60. A. send B. produce C. change D. create
61. A. measure B. size C. power D. pressure
62. A. relevant B. true C. helpful D. interesting
63. A. touching B. pressing C. holding D. placing
64. A. ambition B. goal C. achievement D. victory
Section B
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need
A. agree B. suffer C. system D. notice AB. through
AC. dangerous AD. space BC. limited BD. absorbs CD. let out
For years scientist have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more 41 than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to 42 eye-pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists 43 that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution. People began to 44 the problem in the early 1970s, when it was that builders began making houses and offices which did not waste energy. To do this they built buildings that 45 the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to 46 harmful gases. As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control 47 for building green plants. Scientist do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant produces oxygen 48 its leaves and through its tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each 49 different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and healthier place.
