Part II　　　　　　Reading Comprehension　　　　　　　(35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 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.
　　Navigation computers, now sold by most car-makers, cost $2,000 and up. No surprise, then,
that they are most often found in luxury cars, like Lexus, BMW and Audi. But it is a developing
technology－meaning prices should eventually drop-and the market does seem to be growing.

　　Even at current prices, a navigation computer is impressive. It can guide you from point to point in most major cities with precise turn-by-turn directions-spoken by a clear uman-sounding voice, and written on a screen in front of the driver.

　　The computer works with an antenna ( 天线 ) that takes signals from no fewer than three of
the 24 global positioning system (GPS) satellites. By measuring the time required for a signal to
travel between the satellites and the antenna, the car's location can be pinned down within 100
meters.

　　The satellite signals, along with inputs on speed from a wheel-speed sensor and direction froma meter, determine the car's position even as it moves. This information is combined with a map database. Streets, landmarks and points of interest are included.

　　Most systems are basically identical. The differences come in hardware-the way the computer accepts the driver's request for directions and the way it presents the driving instructions.On most systems, a driver enters a desired address, motorway junction or point of interest via a touch screen or disc. But the Lexus screen goes a step further: you can point to any spot on the map screen and get directions to it.

　　BMW's system offers a set of cross hairs ( 瞄准器上的十字纹 ) that can be moved across themap (you have several choices of map scale) to pick a point you'd like to get to. Audi's screen can be switched to TV reception.

　　Even the voices that recite the directions can differ, with better systems like BMW's and
Lexus's having a wider vocabulary. The instructions are available in French, German, Spanish,
Dutch and Italian, as well as English. The driver can also choose parameters for determining the
route: fastest, shortest or no freeways ( 高速公路 ), for example.

21. We learn from the passage that navigation computers________.
A) will greatly promote sales of automobiles
B) may help solve potential traffic problems
C) are likely to be accepted by more drivers
D) will soon be viewed as a symbol of luxury

22. With a navigation computer, a driver will easily find the best route to his destination________.
A) by inputting the exact address　　　　　　C) by checking his computer database
B) by indicating the location of his car　　　　D) by giving vocal orders to the computer

23. Despite their varied designs, navigation computers used in cars
A) are more or less the same price
B) provide directions in much the same way
C) work on more or less the same principles
D) receive instructions from the same satellites

24. The navigation computer functions________.
A) by means of a direction finder and a speed detector
B) basically on satellite signals and a map database
C) mainly through the reception of turn-by-turn directions
D) by using a screen to display satellite signals

25. The navigation systems in cars like Lexus, BMW and Audi are mentioned to show
A) the immaturity of the new technology
B) the superiority of the global positioning system
C) the cause of price fluctuations in car equipment
D) the different ways of providing guidance to the driver

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
　　"The world's environment is surprisingly healthy. Discuss." If that were an examination topic, most students would tear it apart, offering a long list of complaints: from local smog ( 烟雾 ) to global climate change, from the felling ( 砍伐 ) of forests to the extinction of species. The list would largely be accurate, the concern legitimate. Yet the students who should be given the highest marks would actually be those who agreed with the statement. The surprise is how good things are, not how bad.

　　After all, the world's population has more than tripled during this century, and world output
has risen hugely, so you would expect the earth itself to have been affected. Indeed, if people lived, consumed and produced things in the same way as they did in 1900 (or 1950, or indeed 1980), the world by now would be a pretty disgusting place: smelly, dirty, toxic and dangerous.

　　But they don't. The reasons why they don't, and why the environment has not been mined,
have to do with prices, technological innovation, social change and government regulation in re-
sponse to popular pressure. That is why, today's environmental problems in the poor countries
ought, in principle, to be solvable.

　　Raw materials have not run out, and show no sign of doing so. Logically, one day they must: the planet is a finite place. Yet it is also very big, and man is very ingenious. What has happened is that every time a material seems to be running short, the price has risen and, in response, people have looked for new sources of supply, tried to find ways to use less of the material, or looked for a new substitute. For this reason prices for energy and for minerals have fallen in real terms during the century. The same is true for food. Prices fluctuate, in response to harvests, natural disasters and political instability; and when they rise, it takes some time before new sources of supply become available. But they always do, assisted by new farming and crop technology. The long term trend has been downwards.

　　It is where prices and markets do not operate properly that this benign ( 良性的 ) trend begins to stumble, and the genuine problems arise. Markets cannot always keep the environment healthy. If no one owns the resource concerned, no one has an interest in conserving it or fostering it: fish is the best example of this.

26. According to the author, most students________.
A) believe the world's environment is in an undesirable condition
B) agree that the environment of the world is not as bad as it is thought to be
C) get high marks for their good knowledge of the world's environment
D) appear somewhat unconcerned about the state of the world's environment

27. The huge increase in world production and population ________.
A) has made the world a worse place to live in
B) has had a positive influence on the environment
C) has not significantly affected the environment
D) has made the world a dangerous place to live in

28. One of the reasons why the long-term trend of prices has been downwards is that________.
A) technological innovation can promote social stability
B) political instability will cause consumption to drop
C) new farming and crop technology can lead to overproduction
D) new sources are always becoming available

29. Fish resources are diminishing because________.
A) no new substitutes can be found in large quantities
B) they are not owned by any particular entity
C) improper methods of fishing have mined the fishing grounds
D) water pollution is extremely serious

30. The primary solution to environmental problems is________.
A) to allow market forces to operate properly
B) to curb consumption of natural resources
C) to limit the growth of the world population
D) to avoid fluctuations in prices