Part Two        Reading Comprehension

Directions:

There are three passages and two advertisements in this part. Each passage and the two ads are followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.

Questions 11-15 are based on the following passage:

These days a green building means more than just the color of the paint. Green buildings can also refer to environmentally friendly houses, factories, and offices.

Buildings account for 65 percent of total U.S. electricity use. But green buildings can reduce energy and water use. Also, the buildings are often located near public transportation such as buses and subways, so that people can drive their cars less. That could be good for the environment, because cars use lots of natural resources such as gasoline, and  give off pollution. Green buildings are often built on previously developed land, so that the buildings don’t destroy forests or other wild habitats (棲息地).

Marty Dettling is project manager for a building that puts these ideas into action. The Solaire has been called the country’s first green residential high-rise building. According to Dettling, “We’ve reduced our energy consumption by one-third and our water by 50 percent.”

   Not everyone is leaping to move into a green building, however. Some people think that features such as solar panels cost more money than more traditional energy sources. Despite this, Dettling hopes that green buildings will become common in the future. “It’s going to be big,” she said.

11.       What do green buildings refer to nowadays?

A.      Buildings painted by green hands.

B.      Buildings covered with green plants.

C.      Buildings that are environment-friendly.

D.     Buildings like houses, factories, and offices.

12.       The word “Also” (line 2, para. 2)is used to ___.

A.      continue the discussion of total U.S. electricity use.

B.      Expand the topic of the reduction of energy and water use.

C.      Include the discussion of public transportation.

D.     Shift the focus to the topic of the environment protection.

13.       In terms of land use, green buildings are constructed by ____.

A.      making use of the developed land.

B.      Developing new land.

C.      Clearing the ground in a forest.

D.     Draining wild habitats.

14.       Why are some people NOT so enthusiastic about green buildings?

A.      Because they do not jump into a green building.

B.      Because they fail to move into a green building.

C.      Because they find it more costly to live in a green building.

D.     Because they think that solar panels still cost too much.

15.       What did Marty Dettling mean when she said “It’s going to be big”?

A.      Green buildings have a great potential.

B.      People expect bigger green buildings.

C.      Green buildings will be larger in size.

D.     People prefer to live in bigger buildings.

Questions 16-20 are based on the following passage:

Theme-park-bound bargain seekers would be wise to spend some time surfing online before they get in line at the parks this summer.

A growing number of these attractions now allow customers to print e-tickets at home with large discounts off the gate price, in part to spur attendance that has declined in recent years.

After boom times in the late 1990s, theme park attendance began to decrease, with an overall decline of about 4% over the past few years at North America’s 50 most-visited establishments, says James Zoltak, editor of Amusement Business.

“The bloom was off the rose as we turned the corner into 2000, so there’s more discounting now,” he says.

Discounting isn’t new to an industry that has long partnered with other commercial enterprises, such as soft drink companies, to offer deals. The e-ticketing adds a new opportunity that not only brings savings but convenience as well, since it allows visitors to avoid the line at the gate.

“If you can get in early before the lines fill up, you're getting more for your money,” says Robert Niles of the website Theme Park Insider.

16.       The word “attractions” (line 1, para. 2) refers to ___.

A. theme parks   B. bargains    C. e-tickets      D. discounts

17.  Why do more and more theme parks offer large discounts off gate price?

     A. To get in line at the parks this summer.

     B. To encourage more people to come to the parks.

     C. To enable people to get e-tickets at home.

     D. To reduce the attendance figure.

18.  What does the sentence “The bloom was off the rose” mean?

     A. the rose in the theme park was out of bloom.

     B. the year 2000 was lucky for the 50 establishments.

     C. the theme park attendance was like the rose.

     D. the best time for the theme parks was gone.

19.  What is the new opportunity e-ticketing brings to the theme parks?

     A. The theme park industry will be more profitable.

     B. Soft drink companies will be better partners of the parks.

     C. The tour to the parks will be more convenient.

     D. Visitors to the parks will have more discounts.

20.  The last sentence of this passage is based on the idea that ____.

     A. it is wise to surf online.

     B. discounting isn’t everything.

     C. e-ticketing attracts more partners.

     D. time is money.

Questions 21-25 are based on the following passage:

One thing almost everyone is agreed on , including Americans, is that they place a very high valuation upon success. Success does not necessarily mean material rewards, but recognition of some sort—preferably measurable. If a boy turns out to be a preacher(傳道者) instead of a businessman, that’s all right. But the bigger his church is, the more successful he is judged to be.

A good many things contributed to this accent on success. There was the Puritan(清教徒的) belief in the virtue of work, both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God’s love. There was the richness of opportunity in a land waiting to be settled. There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.

There was the determination of an immigrant to gain in the new world what had been denied to him in the old, and on the part of his children an urge to throw off the immigrant onus(負擔) by still more success and still more rise in a fluid and classless society. Brothers did not compete within the family for the favor of the parents as in Europe, but worked hard for success in the outer world, along paths of their own choosing.

21. According to the first paragraph, ______.

   A. success is highly valued in American society.

   B. success surely brings material rewards.

   C. success equals measurable recognition.

   D. people agree on what success means.

22. In this passage, the author indicates that _____.

   A. preachers are not as successful as businessmen.

   B. businessmen are not as successful as preachers.

   C. boys are advised to become preachers instead of businessmen.

   D. measurable success can also be achieved by preachers.

23. The word “accent” (line 1, para. 2) most probably means ____.

   A. dialect    B. emphasis    C. attention    D. recognition

24. Which of the following does NOT account for people’s desire for success?

   A. The Puritan belief in the virtue of work.

   B. Richness of opportunities in the new world.

   C. Lack of fixed social ranks and classes.

   D. Determination to deny the values of the new world.

25. It is suggested in the last paragraph that _______ in the old world.

   A. children tended to compete for the favor of their parents

   B. children were determined to throw off their immigrant identities

   C. children were urged to achieve success in the fluid and classless society

   D. children worked hard for success along paths chosen by their parents.

Questions 26-30 are based on the following two advertisements:

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