Urbancongestionwouldgreatlyberelievedifthe____chargedonpublictransportweremorereasonable.

Recentresearchhasclaimedthatanexcessofpositiveionsintheaircanhaveanilleffectonpeople’sphysicalorpsychologicalhealth.Whatarepositiveions?Well,theairisfullofions,electricallychargedparticles,andgenerallythereisaroughbalancebetweenthepositiveandthenegativecharged.Butsometimesthisbalancebecomesdisturbedandalargerproportionofpositiveionsarefound.Thishappensnaturallybeforethunderstorm,earthquakeswhenwindssuchastheMistral,HamsinorSharavareblowingincertaincountries.Oritcanbecausedbyabuild-upofstaticelectricityindoorsfromcarpetsorclothingmadeofman-madefibres,orfromTVsets,duplicatorsorcomputerdisplayscreens.

Whenalargenumberofpositiveionsarepresentintheairmanypeopleexperienceunpleasanteffectssuchasheadaches,fatigue,irritability,andsomesensitivepeoplesuffernauseaorevenmentaldisturbance.Animalsarealsoaffected,particularlybeforeearthquakes,snakeshavebeenobservedtocomeoutofhibernation,ratstofleefromtheirburrows,dogshowlandcatsjumpaboutunaccountably.ThishasledtheUSGeographicalSurveytofundanetworkofvolunteerstowatchanimalsinanefforttoforeseesuchdisastersbeforetheyhitvulnerableareassuchasCalifornia.

Conversely,whenlargenumbersofnegativeionsarepresent,thenpeoplehaveafeelingofwell-being.Naturalconditionsthatproducetheselargeamountsarenearthesea,closetowaterfallsorfountains,orinanyplacewherewaterissprayed,orformsaspray.Thisprobablyaccountsforthebeneficialeffectofaholidaybythesea,orinthemountainswithtumblingstreamsorwaterfalls.

Toincreasethesupplyofnegativeionsindoors,somescientistsrecommendtheuseofionisers:smallportablemachines,whichgeneratenegativeions.Theyclaimthationisersnotonlycleanandrefreshtheairbutalsoimprovethehealthofpeoplesensitivetoexcesspositiveions.Ofcourse,therearethedetractors,otherscientists,whodismisssuchclaimsandareskepticalaboutnegative/positiveionresearch.Thereforepeoplecanonlymakeuptheirownmindsbyobservingtheeffectsonthemselves,oronothers,ofanegativerichorpoorenvironment.Afterallitisdebatablewhetherdependingonseismicreadingstoanticipateearthquakesismoreeffectivethanwatchingthecat.

1.Whateffectdoesexceedingpositiveionizationhaveonsomepeople?

A.Theythinktheyareinsane.

B.Theyfeelratherbad-temperedandshort-fussed.

C.Theybecomeviolentlysick.

D.Theyaretootiredtodoanything.

2.Inaccordancewiththepassage,staticelectricitycanbecausedby___.

A.usinghome-madeelectricalgoods.

B.wearingclothesmadeofnaturalmaterials.

C.walkingonartificialfloorcoverings.

D.copyingTVprogramsonacomputer.

3.Ahighnegativeioncountislikelytobefound___.

A.nearapoundwithawaterpump.

B.closetoaslow-flowingriver.

C.highinsomebarrenmountains.

D.byarotatingwatersprinkler.

4.Whatkindofmachinecangeneratenegativeionsindoors?

A.Ionisers.

B.Air-conditioners.

C.Exhaust-fans

D.Vacuumpumps.

5.Somescientistsbelievethat___.

A.watchinganimalstoanticipateearthquakesismoreeffectivethandependingonseismography.

B.theunusualbehaviorofanimalscannotbetrusted.

C.neitherwatchingnorusingseismographsisreliable.

D.earthquake

Letchildrenlearntojudgetheirownwork.Achildlearningtotalkdoesnotlearnbybeingcorrectedallthetime;ifcorrectedtoomuch,hewillstoptalking.Henoticesathousandtimesadaythedifferencebetweenthelanguagesheusesandthelanguagethosearoundhimuse.Bitbybit,hemakesthenecessarychangestomakehislanguagelikeotherpeople.Inthesameway,whenchildrenlearntodoalltheotherthingstheylearntodowithoutbeingtaught-towalk,run,climb,whistle,rideabicycle-comparethoseperformanceswiththoseofmoreskilledpeople,andslowlymaketheneededchanges.Butinschoolwenevergiveachildachancetofindouthisownmistakesforhimself,letalonecorrectthem.Wedoitallforhim.Weactasifwethoughtthathewouldnevernoticeamistakeunlessitwaspointedouttohim,orcorrectitunlesshewasmadeto.Soonhebecomesdependentontheteacher.Lethimdoithimself.Lethimworkout,withthehelpofotherchildrenifhewantsit,whatthiswordsays,whatansweristothatproblem,whetherthisisagoodwayofsayingordoingthisornot.

Ifitisamatterofrightanswers,asitmaybeinmathematicsorscience,givehimtheanswerbook.Lethimcorrecthisownpapers.Whyshouldweteacherswastetimeonsuchroutinework?Ourjobshouldbetohelpthechildwhenhetellsusthathecan’tfindthewaytogettherightanswer.Let’sendthisnonsenseofgrades,exams,marks,Letusthrowthemallout,andletthechildrenlearnwhatalleducatedpersonsmustsomedaylearn,howtomeasuretheirownunderstanding,howtoknowwhattheyknowordonotknow.

Letthemgetonwiththisjobinthewaythatseemssensibletothem.Withourhelpasschoolteachersiftheyaskforit.Theideathatthereisabodyofknowledgetobelearntatschoolandusedfortherestofone’slifeisnonsenseinaworldascomplicatedandrapidlychangingasours.Anxiousparentsandteacherssay,“Butsupposetheyfailtolearnsomethingessentialtheywillneedtogetintheworld?”Don’tworry!Ifitisessential,theywillgooutintotheworldandlearnit.

1.Whatdoestheauthorthinkisthebestwayforchildrentolearnthings?

A.bycopyingwhatotherpeopledo.

B.bymakingmistakesandhavingthemcorrected.

C.bylisteningtoexplanationsfromskilledpeople.

D.byaskingagreatmanyquestions.

2.Whatdoestheauthorthinkteachersdowhichtheyshouldnotdo?

A.Theygivechildrencorrectanswers.

B.Theypointoutchildren’smistakestothem.

C.Theyallowchildrentomarktheirownwork.

D.Theyencouragechildrentomarktocopyfromoneanother.

3.Thepassagesuggeststhatlearningtospeakandlearningtorideabicycleare___.

A.notreallyimportantskills.

B.moreimportantthanotherskills.

C.basicallydifferentfromlearningadultskills.

D.basicallythesameaslearningotherskills.

4.Exams,grades,andmarksshouldbeabolishedbecausechildren’sprogressshouldonlybeestimatedby___.

A.educatedpersons.

B.thechildrenthemselves.

C.teachers.

D.parents.

5.Theauthorfearsthatchildrenwillgrowupintoadultswhilebeing___.

A.tooindependentofothers.

B.toocriticalofthemselves.

C.incapabletothinkforthemselves.

D.incapabletousebasicskills.

PartIVTranslation

Bymeasuringandchartingtheresultsofmanyexperiments,theyaretryingtofindoutwhatmakesdifferentpeopleperceivetotallydifferentthingsaboutthesamescene.(PassageOne)

翻译：

中国位于亚洲东部，是世界上人口最多的国家。中国是世界四大文明古国之一，拥有大量的中华文化光辉的古迹，此外，中国地大物博，拥有茂密的森林、雄伟壮丽的瀑布、秀丽的湖泊以及如利剑直插云霄的山峰，所有这些都令世界各国人民神往。但是，更重要的是，中国以拥有五千多年的历史而自豪，遗留下无数的历史文物，其中包括珍贵珠宝、古迹名胜、宫殿及数不尽的雄伟建筑，令人惊叹不已。这种种原因都促使中国成为许多人梦寐以求的旅游胜地。