Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
You are a German living in Berlin. One day you’re walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger approached with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English: “Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?” What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or, (c) Listen closely for the device to say, in German, “Konnen Sie mir bitte sager, which Sauerkraut Kaufen Kann?”
The most appropriate response would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to he the world’s first portable transistor—a hand-held microcomputer that—at the same time converts one spoken language into another.
The four-pound battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the creation of Advanced Products and Technologies an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the United States in late April—at a price of $1,500—it will be capable of converting spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges (盒式储存器) for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. The item will be sold in Europe soon after the U.S. Introduction, with cartridges that covert Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip (微型集成块) and artificial Intelligence to translate Languages. It is started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. Then the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another Language.
21. The stranger holding the Voice seems to be ________.
A) asking for some information
B) greeting the German
C) amusing himself
D) practising his German（C）
22. The German sentence “Konnen Sie Kann?” means ________.
A) “Why don’t you ask the policeman.”
B) “Would you listen closely for the device to say?”
C) “Can you say it again, please?”
D) “Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?”（D）
23. The word “speaker” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A) the person who speaks to the device
B) a component part of the Voice
C) the person who speaks German
D) the speech produced by the Voice（B）
24. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A) The voice is an invention of an electronics company.
B) The voice is a hand-held translator.
C) The voice is new product in wide use.
D) The voice is mainly a microcomputer.（C）
25. The Voice can translate ________.
A) from German into any of the other four languages mentioned
B) from and into English by using the same cartridges
C) between any two of the above-mentioned languages
D) from English into any of the other four languages or the other way round（D）
Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Computers may one day turn night into day—with good old, natural sunlight.
Colossal computer-controlled mirrors, thousands of feet across, may one day orbit the earth, reflecting sunlight onto a darkened United States.
Some Scientists say that 16 of these mirrors, each about a half mile across, could aim their reflected light at one area on the earth that was about 200 miles by 300 miles. That much light would equal about 56 moons.
The mirrors would be so high that they could catch the sun’s light as it was shining on the other side of the earth. The mirrors could orbit—thousands of miles high—at the same speed as the earth turns on its axis (轴). That way, the
mirrors would always be over the same spot.
The aluminum-coated (涂铝的), plastic mirrors could be folded up and packed into a spaceship, according to the scientists. Once released a few hundred miles in space, the mirrors, powered by a solar-powered engine, could mark the rest of the trip into space on their own.
The scientists say that the computer-controlled mirrors could also be made to tilt (倾斜) slowly, so the reflected sunlight would sweep slowly along the surface of the earth. For example, as night fell, the mirrors could be tilted to light up Boston. Later on, as darkness spread slowly westward. Chicago, for example, then San Francisco could be lit up. The reflected sunlight would allow these cities to save up electricity. And in emergencies, such as power-failures, the mirrors could light up the affected area.
What no one knows yet is what effect this artificial daytime would have on plants, animals, and humans. Would it confuse some animals and harm plants that are used to regular day-night cycles? The scientists recommend that studies be done to find out what had effects there might be.
26. The word “colossal” in Line 3 most likely means ________.
A) nuclear-powered
B) orbiting
C) giant
D) spinning（D）
27. Which of the following is NOT TRUE of the mirrors?
A) They would be made of plastic and coated with aluminum.
B) They could be launched directly into space.
C) They would stay in the same position over the earth.
D) They could reflect sunlight to a large area on the earth.（B）
28. The reflected light should sweep slowly along the surface of the earth because the mirrors ________.
A) would be operated by solar-powered engines
B) would orbit thousands of miles high to catch the sun’s light
C) could move around the earth at the same speed as the earth turns on its axis
D) could be made to adjust their angles（D）
29. The purpose for turning night into day is to ________.
A) confuse animals and plants
B) light up more cities
C) save energy and deal with emergencies
D) enable people to work longer hours（C）
30. The writer of this passage ________.
A) gives an objective account of the mirrors
B) seems to be much worried about the effect of the mirrors
C) is in favour of the wide use of the mirrors
D) suggests that artificial daylight is harmful to living being（A）