an life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(當(dāng)代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (療養(yǎng)的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

31. The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.

A. an increase in birthrates                        B. the industrial development

C. a decrease in death rates                         D. human beings’ cultural advances

32. It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could    not work

B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

33. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the  United States is true?

A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

34. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D. taking care of the sick or weak people

35. Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A. Sympathetic.        B. Approving.         C. Optimistic.        D. Critical.

—Would you mind giving me and my classmates a gift to school? 

    —___

       A．Yes, please                          B．Yes, I do

       C．never mind                          D．Of course not

After his first book of poetry was published, he ______ and became famous nationwide overnight.

A. was to be transformed          B. was transformed  

C. would transform           D. transformed

In order to change attitudes ________ employing women, the government is bringing in new laws.

       A. about                       B. of                            C. towards                    D. at

閱讀下面短文，按照要求回答問題(共5小題；每小題3分，滿分15分)

The Monster of Lake Tianchi

The "Monster of Lake Tianchi" in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin province, northeast China, is back in the news after several recent sightings. The director of a local tourist office, Meng Fanying, said the monster, which seemed to be black in colour, was ten metres from the edge of the lake during the most recent sighting. "It jumped out of the water like a seal—about 200 people on Changbai's western peak saw it," he said. Although no one really got a clear look at the mysterious creature, Xue Junlin, a local photographer, claimed that its head looked like a horse.

In another recent sighting, a group of soldiers claim they saw an animal moving on the surface of the water. The soldiers, who were walking along the side of the lake, watched the creature swimming for about two minutes. "It was greenish-black and had a round head with 10-centimetre horns", one of the soldiers said.

A third report came from Li Xiaohe, who was visiting the lake with his family. He claims to have seen a round black creature moving quickly through the water. After three or four hundred metres it dived into the water. Ten minutes later the monster appeared again and repeated the action. Mr Li Xiaohe said that he and his family were able to see the monster clearly because the weather was fine and the lake was calm.

There have been reports of monsters in Lake Tianchi since the beginning of the last century, although no one has seen one close up. Some photos have been taken but they are not clear because it was too far away. Many people think the monster may be a distant cousin of the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. They also think that there might be similar creatures in other lakes around the world. Scientists, however, are sceptical. They say that the low-temperature lake is unlikely to be able to support such large living creatures.

Lake Tianchi is the highest volcanic lake in the world. It is 2,189 metres high and covers an area of about ten square kilometres. In places it is more than 370 metres deep.

76. How many sightings of the monster does the article report?

_________________________________________________________________________________

77. Who saw the monster clearly, and why?

_________________________________________________________________________________

78. Which description of the monster is most detailed?

_________________________________________________________________________________

79. When was the monster first sighted?

_________________________________________________________________________________

80. What is special about Lake Tianchi?

_________________________________________________________________________________

Mr. White graduated from _____ Cambridge University with a degree in ____ physics.

A. the; a        B. a; a      C. a; the      D. /; / 

My mother opened the drawer to _________ the knives and spoons.

put away  B.  put up  C.  put on  D. put together

He attends the evening class ________ , that is, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

      A. every three days         B. every the second day   

C. every two day           D. every other day

--- Mike, it’s a pity you didn’t come to last night’s concert. It was really great!

   --- Really? If I ________ so busy, I would have gone with you.

   A. hadn’t been       B. weren’t         C. shouldn’t be         D. wouldn’t be  

You can never be ________ when crossing the street. 

   A. very careful            B. too careful           C. carefully enough      D. enough careful