ii.閱讀理解。認真閱讀下面兩篇短文，每篇短文后有五個問題，根據短文的內容從a、b、c、d四個選項中選擇一個最佳答案，并將所選答案的字母寫在答題紙相應的位置上。 (本大題共10小題，每小題2分，共20分)

　　passage 1

　　insurance is the sharing of risks. nearly everyone is exposed to risk of some sort. the house owner, for example, knows that his property can be damaged by fire; the ship-owner knows that his ships may be lost at sea; the breadwinner knows that he may die at an early age and leave his family poorer. on the other hand, not every house is damaged by fire nor every ship is lost at sea. if these persons each put a small sum into a pool, there will be enough to meet the needs of the few who do suffer losses. in other words, the losses of the few are met from the contributions of the many. this is the basis of insurance. those who pay the contribution are known as insured and those who administer the pool of contributions as insurers.

　　the legal basis of all insurance is the policy. this is a printed form of contract on a piece of paper in best quality. it states that every year the insured shall pay a named sum of money, which is called the premium; in return, the insurer will pay a sum of money or compensation for loss if the risk or event insured against actually happens.

　　the premium for an insurance naturally depends upon how likely the risk is to happen, as suggested by past experience. if companies fix their premiums too high, there will be more competition in their area of insurance and they may lose business. on the other hand, if they make the premium too low, they will lose money and may even have to drop out of business. so the ordinary forces of supply and demand keep premiums at a level satisfactory to both the insurer and the insured.

　　21. by “the pool of contributions” (para. 1) the writer means______.

　　a. money paid by the insurers b. the amount of each premium

　　c. money paid by all those insured d. the cost of administering insurance

　　22. a policy is ______.

　　a. a named sum of money b. a kind of legal agreement

　　c. a printed form of payment d. a particular kind of insurance

　　23. insurance premiums do not become too high because ______.

　　a. not many people insure themselves b. premiums depend on the risk of loss

　　c. insurers have to be more competitive　d. insurance companies can never lose money

　　24. according to the passage, insurance business is profitable because ______.

　　a. nearly everyone suffers losses　b. only insured people suffer losses

　　c. everyone at some time suffers losses　d. only a few of those insured suffer losses

　　25. the purpose of the passage is ______.

　　a. to define an insurance policy　b. to introduce insurance business

　　c. to persuade people to be insured　d. to warn people of possible losses

　　passage 2

　　one evening i went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. on this occasion, the chore was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend. i left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones. later, i discovered that complete confidence was the last thing i should have left home with.

　　i had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. i called home with this happy news. but instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all i heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.

　　it was, i should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “i’ll give him a lesson,” i said. i decided they must be outside. why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night i had no idea, but it was the only explanation i could come up with.

　　finally, in desperation, i called his girlfriend’s house. after what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered. “yes,” she said brightly, “he’s right here.”

　　he came on the phone. i was not my usual calm, rational self. after all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “where are the children?” i said. he said they were with him. they had done nothing wrong. my son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. this was too wholesome to be believed. well, it turns out that i shouldn’t have believed it. it was only part of the truth.

　　the following saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. my oldest son gave me the children’s gifts. mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. they are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.

　　that was the most precious gift of all.

　　26. the author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because ______.

　　a. she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter

　　b. she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night

　　c. the older children and the younger ones would get along well

　　d. she believed he was old enough to take care of the younger ones

　　27. shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ______.

　　a. her son had brought his girlfriend home

　　b. her son had left home with his girlfriend

　　c. she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son

　　d. she should have taken the children along with her

　　28. when the author called home ______.

　　a. no one answered the phone

　　b. she expected to hear some good news

　　c. her son’s girlfriend answered the phone

　　d. she heard a cheerful voice on the other end

　　29. the sentence “it was only part of the truth.” (para. 5) implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ______.

　　a. had a birthday party 　b. framed some photographs

　　c. had their pictures taken 　d. showed off their best clothes

　　30. which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?

　　a. an evening out 　b. modern teenagers

　　c. mother and children 　d. a precious birthday gift