Passage 3

Pictures in the British papers this week of Prince William, Prince Charles's 18-year-old son, cleaning toilets overseas, have led to a surge of altruism (利他主义). Raleigh International, the charity that organized his trip, has seen inquiries about voluntary work abroad rise by 30%. But the image of idealistic youth that William presents no longer reflects the reality of the volunteer force. It's getting older and older.
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) has about 2000 volunteers in the field around the world. After a dip in interest in the mid-1990s, applications to work abroad are at record levels. Last year 7, 645 people submitted applications, and 920 successfully negotiated the VSO selection process and were sent abroad. When the organization was founded in l959, the average volunteer was in his early 20s. Now, the average age is 35, and set to rise further.
Partly, that is because there are more older people who want to do VSO. More people take early retirement; more, says the chief executive of VSO, "still feel that they have more to give and are in good health". And the demands of the African and Asian countries where most of the volunteers go are changing, too. Their educational standards have risen over the past couple of decades, so they want people with more qualifications, skills and experience.
BESO (British Executive Service Overseas) recruits executives and businessmen with at least 15 years’ experience for short-term contract work overseas. It organizes 500 placements (工作安置) a year, and at the moment supply is surpassing demand. A BESO spokesman said that the organization is "limited by funding rather than a lack of volunteers".
Enthusiastic but unqualified students do not impress as much as they once did alongside accountants, managers and doctors. The typical volunteer, these days, has been in full-time employment for at least five years and is highly qualified. And the profession which provides the biggest portion of volunteers is education—headmasters and school inspectors as well as classroom teachers.
56. According to the passage, the volunteers ______.
   A. are getting older and older                        B. are becoming fewer
   C. are inexperienced and unqualified              D. are mostly students
57. All the statements are true about Prince William EXCEPT that ______.
   A. his trip has triggered a surge of altruism
B. his trip was organized by a government institution
C. he presents the image of idealistic youth
D. he is not a representative volunteer in age
58. From the second paragraph we can know that ______.
   A. the number of applications to work abroad declined in the mid-1990s
   B. the average volunteer now is not much older than forty years ago
   C. of those who have submitted applications a majority have been chosen and sent abroad
   D. there were more applications to work aboard in the early 1990s than in the late 1990s
59. There are more older people who want to do VSO because ______.
   I.  more people take early retirement
   II.     more older people feel they are in good health
   III. the foreign countries where the volunteers go want people with more qualifications, skills and experience
   A. II only                B. I only                C. I, II and III              D. I and II
60. According to the last paragraph, the typical volunteer now may be ______.
   A. an enthusiastic but unqualified young student
   B. a highly qualified headmaster or teacher
   C. an executive or businessman with at least 15 years’ experience
   D. a well-experienced accountant, manager, or doctor

Passage 4

       With only about 1 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That’s a move similar to what a Texas A&M University researcher has been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and a pioneer in embryo（胚胎）transfer work and related procedures, said he salutes the Chinese effort and “I wish them all the best success possible. It’s a worthwhile project, certainly not an easy one, and it’s very much like what we’re attempting here at Texas A&M — to save animals from extinction”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos, semens（精子）and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Kraemer says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2 000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will become extinct over the next 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes.
“They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy. It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Missyplicity Project at Texas A&M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly applaud their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”
61. The aim of “Noah’s Ark” Project is to ______.
   A. salute the Chinese efforts in saving pandas
   B. implant embryo into a host animal
   C. introduce cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit
   D. save endangered animals from extinction
62. How long will the Chinese panda-cloning project take according to the passage?
   A. 3 to 5 years.                                    B. 1 year.
   C. 25 years.                                         D. 2 years.
63. The word “groundbreaking” (paragraph 7) can be interpreted as ______.
   A. pioneering                                       B. essentially new
   C. epoch-making                                  D. evolutionary
64. What could be the major problem in cloning pandas according to Professor Kraemer?
   A. Lack of host animals.                       B. Lack of available panda eggs.
   C. Lack of funds.                                 D. Lack of qualified researchers.
65. The best title for the passage may be ______.
   A. China’s Efforts to Clone Pandas
   B. China—the Native Place of Pandas Forever
   C. Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas
   D. China’s First Cloned Panda

Passage 5

       If there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil（畏缩）from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located. If they have, today’s scientists can hope to contribute no more than a few grace notes to the symphony of science.
       A book to be published in Britain this week, The End of Science, argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer for Scientific American magazine, who has interviewed many of today’s leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose.
       The End of Science provoked a wave of denunciation (谴责) in the United States last year. “The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief,” Mr. Horgan says.
       The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s — the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards proving the Big Bang — genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, that ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size.
       Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today’s? That seems unlikely. A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. “Look, don’t get me wrong,” says Mr. Horgan. “There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on for ever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress.”
66. The sentence “most of the best things have already been located” could mean ______.
   A. most of the best things have already been changed
   B. most of the best things remain to be changed
   C. there have never been so many best things waiting to be discovered
   D. most secrets of the world have already been discovered
67. John Horgan ______.
   I.  has published a book entitled The End of Science
   II.     has been working as an editor of Scientific American
   III. has been working many years as a literary critic
   IV. is working as a science writer
   A. I and II                                               B. I only
   C. I and IV                                      D. I, II and IV
68. There have not been many genuine scientific revolutions in the past few decades because ______.
   A. there have been decreased returns in the research of fundamental science
   B. there are too many important things for scientists to study
   C. applied science and engineering take up too much time and energy
   D. today’s scientists are not as intelligent as those in the past
69. The term “the Big Bang” probably refers to ______.
   A. the genetic code theory                 B. a geological theory
   C. a theory of the origin of the universe      D. the origin and the power of atomic energy
70. The best title of this passage can be ______.
   A. Great Scientific Discoveries Will Never Be Possible
   B. The Harsh Challenge Has to Be Met by Modern Scientists
   C. The State Sponsorship and Scientific Enterprise Are All in Vain
   D. The Chance for Great Scientific Discoveries Becomes Scarce
Part IV  Cloze (15 minutes, 10 points)
Directions: In this part, there is a passage with twenty blanks. For each blank there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer for each blank and mark the corresponding letter on your ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.
       There is virtually no limit to how one can serve community interests, from spending a few hours a week with some charitable organization to practically fulltime work for a social agency. Just as there are opportunities for voluntary service   71   (VSO) for young people before they take up full-time employment,   72   there are opportunities for overseas service for   73   technicians in developing countries. Some people,   74   those who retire early,   75   their technical and business skills in countries   76   there is a special need.
       So in considering voluntary or   77   community service there are more opportunities than there   78   were when one first began work. Most voluntary organizations have only a small fulltime   79   , and depend very much on volunteers and part-timers. This means that working relationships are different from those in commercial organizations, and values may be different.   80   some ways they may seem more casual and less efficient, but one should not   81   them by commercial criteria. The people who work with them do so for different reasons and with different   82  , both personal and   83  . One should not join them   84   to arm them with professional expertise; they must be joined with commitment to the   85  , not business efficiency. Because salaries are   86   or non-existent many voluntary bodies offer modest expenses. But many retired people take part in community service for   87  , simply because they enjoy the work.
       Many community activities possible   88   retirement were also possible during one’s working life but they are to be undertaken   89   seriously for that. Retired people who are just looking for something different or unusual to do should not consider   90   community service.
71. A. oversea               B. over sea            C. over seas           D. overseas
72. A. as                       B. so                     C. then                  D. that
73. A. quantity                     B. qualifying          C. quality               D. qualified
74. A. partially        B. partly                C. particularly        D. passionately
75. A. order                  B. operate              C. offer                 D. occupy
76. A. which                 B. where               C. as                     D. that
77. A. paying                B. paid                  C. to be paid          D. pay
78. A. before                 B. lately                 C. never                D. ever
79. A. team                   B. number             C. staff                 D. crowd
80. A. In                       B. By                    C. With                 D. Through
81. A. look at                B. comment           C. enjoy                D. judge
82. A. subjective            B. subject                     C. objectives          D. objects
83. A. organization         B. organizational     C. organized          D. organizing
84. A. expecting            B. to expect           C. being expected   D. expected
85. A. course                B. cause                C. case                  D. caution
86. A. little                    B. small                 C. large                 D. big
87. A. free                    B. freedom            C. money                     D. something
88. A. before                 B. on                     C. in                            D. at
89. A. much                  B. very much         C. no more            D. no less
90. A. to be taken          B. to take               C. taking               D. being taken