PART II Reading Comprehension (20 minutes) ( 每题 6 分, 20 分钟 ) Passage One Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage. For the most part, rapid economic development has beena boon. But there is a down side to development—health problems such asoverweight are all becoming more prevalent, as more people take taxis to workinstead of riding their bicycles, and other labor-saving devices become morepopular. An increasingly fast pace of life makes it difficultfor people to spend time working out or playing sports. “I know exercise isgood for your health,” a young lady said. “But after a busy work week, the onlything I want to do is watch some TV and go to sleep.” That attitude may explainthe results of a recent nationwide study, which suggested 15 percent of s in China are overweight, a large number of people over the age of 40suffer from high blood pressure and cardiac (心脏的) ailments. Local researchers found that 31.2 percent of elderlyrespondents were getting enough exercise, but less than 9 percent of youngstersand the middle-aged got an adequate amount of physical activity. Elderly people understand the importance of protectingtheir health. The young people, however, are busy working and use this as anexcuse to avoid exercise. In fact, physical exercise doesn’t require much time,money or a special gymnasium. People can make use of any time and any place at theirconvenience to take part in sports. Walking quickly, cycling, climbing thestairs and dancing are all helpful methods to enhance one’s health. The benefits of adding a little more activity to yourlife are priceless. “There is no need to be an athlete, however,” a localdoctor said. People should walk for 30 minutes a day and take part in someother physical activity three to five times a week. He warns, however, thatpeople in poor physical shape should start slowly, and build up over time. China has taken the need for more exercise to heart, withthe government running several activities last Sunday, which was the designatedWorld Health Day. Pamphlets and posters based on the theme “Move for Health”were distributed nationwide, encouraging people to develop a positive andhealthy lifestyle. 11. Rapid economic developmenthas resulted in all the following except______. A) an increasing number oftaxi passengers B) the wide use oflabor-saving device C) an increasingly fast paceof life D) people’s awareness of theimportance of exercise 12. Some people are gettingoverweight because ______. A) they are too busy to haveany time for exercise B) they are ignorant of thebenefits of exercise C) they are too weak toparticipate in physical activity D) they are short of money topay for different exercises 13. According to the passage,who need regular daily exercise most? A) People taking taxis towork. B) s with full-timejobs. C) Elderly people sufferingfrom high blood pressure. D) Youngsters dreaming ofbecoming professional athletes. 14. What is the main idea of thelast paragraph but one? A) Many people are stillunable to afford the cost of physical exercises. B) Nobody should take part inphysical activity in order to be an athlete. C) Moderate physical exerciseis usually enough for ordinary people. D) Old or sick people shouldonly take part in physical exercises of the slowest type. 15. By referring to rapideconomic development as “a boon” at the beginning of the passage, the authormeans that ______. A) it has benefited thegeneral public greatly B) it has done harm to people’shealth nationwide C) it is going faster thananyone could have imagined D) it has helped to establisha positive and healthy lifestyle of the public Passage Two Questions 41 to 45 are basedon the following passage: For Roy Johnson, a senior magazine editor, the latestindignity came after a recent dinner at a fancy restaurant in the wealthy New York City suburbwhere he and his family live. First the parking valet handed him the keys tohis Jaguar instead of fetching the car. Then an elderly white couple came outand handed him the keys to their black Mercedes-Benz. “It took them a while torealize that I was not a valet,” says Johnson. “It didn’t matter that I wasdressed for dinner and had paid a handsome price for the meal, just as he had.What mattered was that I didn’t fit his idea of someone who could be equal tohim.” Such incidents, which are depressingly familiar toAfrican-Americans of all ages, incomes and social classes, help explain whyblack and white attitudes often differ so completely. A recent survey foundthat 68 percent of blacks believe racism is still a major problem in America .Only 38 percent of whites agreed. Many Americans find the gulf between blacks and whitesconfusing. After all, official separation is a bad memory and 40 years of laws,policies and court decisions have helped African-Americans make significantprogress toward equal opportunity. Indeed, a black man born in Harlem could be the nation’s next president. But racism persists, utakable to every black butlargely invisible to many whites. It is evident that in the everyday encountersAfrican-Americans have with racial prejudice and discrimination like the valetparking incident, such encounters often strike whites as unimportantmisunderstandings. But they remind blacks that they are often dismissed as lessintelt, less hardworking, less honest and less likely to succeed. “What is amazing to me is the number of whites whoexpress surprise that any of this happens,” observes Mary Frances Berry,chairperson of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, who says she has beenwatched at shopping malls. 16. The word “valet” in thefirst paragraph most probably means ________. A) a restaurant owner B) a driver of expensive cars C) a wealthy-looking gentleman D) a restaurant employeetaking care of the cars of the diners 17. Roy Johnson was unfairlytreated because ______________. A) his car was inferior inquality B) he forgot to wear properclothes C) he failed to expresshimself clearly to the parking valet and the elderly white couple D) he is black 18. From the passage we canlearn that _________. A) both blacks and whites arebewildered by racism B) examples of racism arecommon in the US C) some government officialshave very bad memories D) a black man born in Harlemwill be the next US president 19. It is implied in thepassage that many white people deny the presence of racism in the US because________. A) they tend to regardinstances of racism as trivial misunderstandings B) they have never seen anyinstance of racism in their country C) they believe that blackpeople are inherently less intelt and less industrious D) they have always treatedblack people as their equals 20. Judging from the context,the most possible explanation for Mary Frances Berry’s being watched atshopping malls is that ________. A) she was a nationalcelebrity B) she didn’t fit people’sidea of an Afro-American woman C) many people nowadays areinsensitive and rude D) she is black