Part IV Translation

By making vehicles lighter in weight aluminum has greatly reduced the amount of fuel needed to move them, (Passage Two)

Passage 4

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:

Successful innovations have driven many older technologies to extinction and have resulted in higher productivity, greater consumption of energy, increased demand of raw materials, accelerated flow of materials through the economy and increased quantities of metals and other substances in use each person. The history of industrial development abounds with examples.

In 1870, horses and mules were the prime source of power on U.S. farms. One horse or mule was required to support four human beings a ratio that remained almost constant for many decades. At that time, had a national commission been asked to forecast the population for 1970, its answer probably would have depended on whether its consultants were of an economic or technological turn of mind. Had they been “economists”, they would probably have projected the 1970 horses or mule population to be more than 50 million. Had they been “technologists”, they would have recognized that the power of steam had already been harnessed to industry and to learn and ocean transport. They would have recognized further that it would be the prime source of power on the farm. It would have been difficult for them to avoid the conclusion that the horse and mule population would decline rapidly.

16. According to the passage, what supplied most of the power on U.S. farms in 1870?

A. Animals B. Humans C. Engines D. Water

17. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a consequence of new technological developments?

A. Older technologies die away. 

B. The quality of life is Improved.

C. Overall productivity increase. 

D. More raw materials become necessary.

18. It can be inferred from the passage that by 1870 .

A. technology began to be more economical

B. the steam engine had been invented

C. the U.S. horse population was about 10 million

D. a national commission was about 10 million

19. In the second paragraph, the author suggests that “economists” would .

A. plan the economy through yearly forecasts

B. fail to consider the influence of technological innovation

C. value the economic contribution of farm animals

D. consult the national commission on the economy

20. What is the author’s attitude toward changes brought on by technological innovations?

A. He is excited about them. 

B. He accept them as natural.

C. He is disturbed by them. 

D. He questions their usefulness.

I’mworriedabouttheappearanceofthefloor.Ineedto_____it.

Passage 2

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

There are two kinds of memory: shot-term and long-term. Information in long-term memory can be remembered at a later time when it is needed. The information may be kept for days or weeks. However, information over and over. The following experiment shows how short-term memory has been studied.

Henning studied how students who are learning English as a second language remember vocabulary. The subjects in his experiment were 75 college students. They represented all levels of ability in English: beginning, intermediate, and native-speaking students.

To begin, the subjects listened to a recording of a native speaker reading a paragraph in English. Following the recording, the subjects took a 15-question test to see which words they remembered, each question had four choices. The subjects had to circle the word they had heard in the recording. Some of the questions had four choices that sound alike. For example, weather, whether, wither, and wetter are four words that sound alike. Some of the questions had four choices that have the same meaning. Method, way, manner, and system would be four words with the same meaning. Finally the subjects took a language proficiency test.

Henning found that students with a lower proficiency in English made more of their mistakes on words that sound alike; students with a higher proficiency made more of their mistakes on words that have the same meaning. Henning’s results suggest that beginning students hold the sound of words in their short-term memory, and advanced students hold the meaning of words in their short-term memory.

6. Henning made the experiment in order to study .

A. how students remember English vocabulary by short-term memory

B. how students learn English vocabulary

C. how to develop students’ ability in English

D. how long information in short-term memory is kept

7. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Information in short-term memory is different from that in long-term memory.

B. Long-term memory can be achieved only by training.

C. It is easier to test short-term memory than long-term memory.

D. Henning gave a separate test on vocabulary to his students.

8. From Henning’s result we can see that .

A. beginners have difficulty distinguishing the pronunciation of words

B. advanced students remember words by their meaning

C. it is difficult to remember words that sound alike

D. it is difficult to remember words that have the same meaning

9. The word “subjects” in the passage means .

A. memory B. the theme of listening material

C. a branch of knowledge studied D. the students experimented on

Underno_____willIgothereagain.