III. Reading Comprehension

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 best fits the context.

We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting __50___ nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? __51___ is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off __52___ hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt __53___ the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.

But the reason may be more __54___ : hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of __55___in the UK means the few people left hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The __56___hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still __57___to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting — lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My __58___is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes (家伙) in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help __59___ .

The __60___of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers. org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, __61___ just to hold up my destination sign) and people — wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people — will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a __62___of it. But having __63___ it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a(n) __64___ . I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.

50. A. frequent B. meaningless C. rare D. unbelievable

51. A. Expense B. Distance C. Location D. Safety

52. A. refusing B. picking up C. saving D. getting rid of

53. A. eliminates B. strengthens C. reflects D. multiplies

54. A. complex B. relevant C. personal D. persuasive

55. A. safety awareness B. car ownership

C. transportation service D. road condition

56. A. potential B. sensitive C. suspected D. respectable

57. A. dangerous B. doubtful C. possible D. sensible

58. A. prediction B. principle C. intension D. conclusion

59. A. hating B. stopping C. fearing D. gasping

60. A. future B. problem C. uncertainty D. danger

61. A. pretending B. expecting C. preferring D. managing

62. A. mistake B. habit C. misunderstanding D. decision

63. A. enjoyed B. heard about C. imagined D. suffered from

64. A. example B. coincidence C. imagination D. challenge 

Section B

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read. 

(A)

London has become a cycle friendly zone after the launch of a new bike hire scheme. It has been designed to encourage more people to cycle in and around central London.

So how does it work？First you have to sign up to the scheme to be sent a key. The key will unlock one of the bikes，which are kept at docking stations in and around central London. You have to pay an access fee for the key and then you pay as you go for the length of time you use the bike.

Transport for London, which runs the scheme，are hoping to have 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations in place by the end of the year. The new hire system is hoping to ease congestion (拥挤) in London and is expected to create up to 40,000 extra cycle trips a day into the city centre. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the scheme and said London had been “filled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses”.

However，there have been a few problems since the scheme was launched last Friday. On the first day some people found they couldn’t dock their bike properly and their usage of the bike had not been registered. Transport for London did admit they had been expecting a few “teething problems” and have said they wouldn’t charge for the first day as a “gesture of goodwill”. Some other people have criticized the lack of docking stations and locks for the bikes as well as the price it costs to hire the bicycles.

Despite the comments，the green-thinking London Mayor still seems very positive about things, saying, “My campaign for the capital to become the greatest big cycling city in the world has taken a big pedal-powered push forwards.”

65. London Mayor Boris Johnston launched the new bike scheme in order to ___________.

A. reduce the air pollution of the city

B. encourage the citizens to take exercises

C. deal with the city’s traffic problems

D. increase employment opportunities

66. If you want to hire a bike, what would you do first?

A. Pay for the bike according to the time you use it.

B. Pay for the key to a bike.

C. Cycle in and around central London.

D. Sign up as a member to get a key.

67. All the following are the problems of the scheme EXCEPT___________．

A. the high cost to hire a bike

B. not charging for the first day of the scheme

C. not registering their usage of the bikes

D. docking the bikes properly

68. From the passage we can infer that __________.

A. the London Mayor is confident in the scheme

B. the scheme will be cancelled because of the problems

C. all the citizens in London support the scheme

D. the cycling revolution is not successful         

(B)

Sabina Caste Franco Rome October 16,2011—The U.N. World Food program says there are growing concerns over food insecurity in the developing world. Some of those concerns are discussed in a report to agree with the anniversary Sunday of World Food Day.

The theme for World Food Day 2011 is “Food Prices — From Crisis to Stability”. A ceremony to mark World Food Day will be held Monday at the headquarters of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. Rising food prices, weather emergencies and political instability are deepening the struggle of families trying to provide for their households in many developing nations. This year’s “State of Food Insecurity in the World” report, published last week, focuses on the impact of food price volatility, confirming that high, unpredictable prices are likely to continue. The report highlighted how poor consumers, small farmers and countries dependent on imports, especially in Africa, have been deeply affected by the food and economic crises.

Gregory Barrow is with the World Food Program in Rome. “If you look at the places where World Food program works particularly in developing countries, you see populations of people who might be spending 60, 70, 80 percent of their salaries on purchasing food for their families”. Barrow added that if prices become changeful and generally start rising, even by a small amount, it means that many of these people are going to struggle to put nutritious food on their tables.

The report also showed that even short-term fluctuations (波动) in prices can have a long-term effect on development, and that cutting back on nutritious food in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life can affect mental and physical development and finally, future earning capacity. The United Nations has programs in place aimed at reducing the number of hungry people by one-half by 2015. But most observers agree this target is unlikely to be reached.

69. The U.N World Food program aims to __________.

A. hold a ceremony to mark World Food Day

B. provide food for developing nations

C. show concerns over food insecurity in the developing world

D. introduce the U.N Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome

70. The underlined word “volatility” in paragraph 2 means __________.

A. supply B. instability C. quality D. control

71. According to the report, we can learn that __________.

A. people in Africa have been influenced by the food and economic crises

B. the short-term change in prices has nothing to do with development

C. food price changes have little effect on households

D. children’s development can be affected by the taking of nutritious food