第二部分：閱讀理解(共25小題，每小題2分，滿分50分)

　　第一節：閱讀下列短文，然后從所給的四個選項 (A、B、C和D) 中選出最佳選項，并在答題紙上將該項涂黑。

A

　　If we are to help students develop reading skills in a foreign language, it is important to understand what is involved in the reading process itself. If we have a clear idea of how “good readers” read, either in their own or a foreign language, this will enable us to decide whether particular reading techniques are likely to help learners or not.

　　In considering the reading process, it is important to distinguish between two quite separate activities: reading for meaning (or “silent reading”) and reading aloud. Reading for meaning is the activity we normally engage in when we read books, newspapers, road signs, etc.; it is what you are doing as you read this text. It involves looking at sentences and understanding the message they convey, in other words “making sense” of a written text. It doesn’t normally involve saying the words we read, not even silently inside our heads; there are important reasons for this, which are outlined below. Ks*5u

　　Reading aloud is a completely different activity; its purpose is not just to understand a text but to convey the information to someone else. It is not an activity we engage in very often outside the classroom; common examples are reading out parts of a newspaper article to a friend, or reading a notice to other people who can’t see it. Obviously, reading aloud involves looking at a text, understanding it and also saying it. Because our attention is divided between reading and speaking, it is a much more difficult activity than reading silently; we often stumble and make mistakes when reading aloud in our own language, and reading aloud in a foreign language is even more difficult.

　　When we read for meaning, we do not need to read every letter or every word, nor even every word in each sentence. This is because, provided the text makes sense, we can guess much of what it says as we read it.

　　41. The passage is mainly about ____________.

　　A. reading skillsB. silent readingC. reading processesD. reading aloud

　　42. The underlined word “stumble” in Paragraph 3 means ____________.

　　A. step over something and fallB. repeat something or pause for too long

　　C. walk with heavy movementsD. speak in a fluent and confident way

　　43. We can infer from the passage that the author will continue to ____________.

　　A. discuss in detail how to read aloud

　　B. introduce some more reading activities

　　C. tell how good readers read in their own language

　　D. explain why we needn’t say the words when reading for meaning

　　44. We can conclude that ____________.

　　A. reading silently is easier than reading aloud

　　B. to understand a sentence, you have to read all the words in it

　　C. silent reading involves looking at a text and saying the words silently to yourself

　　D. there’s no difference between reading in one’s own language and in a foreign one

B

　　When I was about 14, I decided to make money, so I got a part-time job at a local restaurant. With my first paycheck, I realized that I would have to work awfully hard to make very little money. My boss had been making just above minimum wage for 20 years, and I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of my life working to death. Around the same time, my godparents took me to an investment(投資) workshop. Immediately, my eyes were opened to the power of compound growth in investing. I knew that this was a way to financial freedom. I left the workshop, determined to make my money work for me instead of just me working for money.

　　Honoring what my mother had taught me, to share whatever I had, I donated part of my paychecks to raise money for breast cancer, and saved everything else to build up a large enough nest egg to open a brokerage account (經紀人賬戶). Too excited to wait, I began reading everything I could about investing. With most of my life savings (which wasn't very much money), I invested in DuPont, AT&T, Caterpillar, and International Paper. The pride in being a shareholder (股東)in a company, along with watching my stocks increase in value, fueled my desire to learn more. I went to three more investment workshops with my godparents and browsed(瀏覽) books at the library.

　　I began with $4,000 in my account and have added about $2,000 since then. My portfolio is now worth roughly $12,000, five years later, having grown about 18% per year, on average. My favorite holdings are biotechnology companies that I know a fair amount about because they're based near me.

　　In the years since then, I have experienced many moments of gratitude for discovering investing so early in my life. I'm in college now, and plan to go on to medical school and become a family practice physician. And I know that, thanks to investing, my road will be much easier. Not only have I taken an active step towards improving my long-term financial future, but I am confident that I will also be able to generously support the causes I believe in with more ease than I otherwise would have imagined.

　　45. What can we learn from the first paragraph? Ks*5u

　　A. The working condition in the local restaurant was awful.

　　B. The writer didn’t make much money because he took a temporary job.

　　C. People can’t make a lot of money unless they work hard as hard work always pays.

　　D. The investment workshop taught the writer that he could make money through investment.

　　46. The writer was eager to learn more about investing because ________.

　　A. he had invested all his life savings in stocks

　　B. he was too excited to wait to open a brokerage account

　　C. he wanted to donate more to raise money for breast cancer

　　D. he felt proud of being a shareholder with his stocks increasing in value

　　47. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. Investing made his wealth grow effectively.

　　B. Investing enabled him to achieve his life goals.

　　C. Investing allowed him to pay off all his debts.

　　D. Investing helped him to reach financial independence.

　　48. The best title of the passage should be __________.