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Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Junk food is everywhere. We're eating way too much of it. Most of us know what we're doing and yet we do it anyway.
So here's a suggestion offered by two researchers at the Rand Corporation: Why not take a lesson from alcohol control policies and apply them to where food is sold and how it's displayed?
"Many policy measures to control obesity (肥胖症) assume that people consciously and rationally choose what and how much they eat and therefore focus on providing information and more access to healthier foods," note the two researchers.
"In contrast," the researchers continue, "many regulations that don't assume people make rational choices have been successfully applied to control alcohol, a substance - like food - of which immoderate consumption leads to serious health problems."
The research references studies of people's behavior with food and alcohol and results of alcohol restrictions, and then lists five regulations that the researchers think might be promising if applied to junk foods. Among them:
Density restrictions: licenses to sell alcohol aren't handed out unplanned to all comers but are allotted (分配) based on the number of places in an area that already sell alcohol. These make alcohol less easy to get and reduce the number of psychological cues to drink.
Similarly, the researchers say, being presented with junk food stimulates our desire to eat it. So why not limit the density of food outlets, particularly ones that sell food rich in empty calories? And why not limit sale of food in places that aren't primarily food stores?
Display and sales restrictions: California has a rule prohibiting alcohol displays near the cash registers in gas stations, and in most places you can't buy alcohol at drive-through facilities. At supermarkets, food companies pay to have their wares in places where they're easily seen. One could remove junk food to the back of the store and ban them from the shelves at checkout lines. The other measures include restricting portion sizes, taxing and prohibiting special price deals for junk foods, and placing warning labels on the products.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答
57. What does the author say about junk food?
A) People should be educated not to eat too much.
B) It is widely consumed despite its ill reputation.
C) Its temptation is too strong for people to resist.
D) It causes more harm than is generally realized.
58. What do the Rand researchers think of many of the policy measures to control obesity?
A) They should be implemented effectively.
B) They provide misleading information.
C) They are based on wrong assumptions.
D) They help people make rational choices.
59. Why do policymakers of alcohol control place density restrictions?
A) Few people are able to resist alcohol's temptations.
B) There are already too many stores selling alcohol.
C) Drinking strong alcohol can cause social problems.
D) Easy access leads to customers' over-consumption.
60. What is the purpose of California's rule about alcohol display in gas stations?
A) To effectively limit the density of alcohol outlets.
B) To help drivers to give up the habit of drinking.
C) To prevent possible traffic jams in nearby areas.
D) To get alcohol out of drivers' immediate sight.
61. What is the general guideline the Rand researchers suggest about junk food control?
A) Guiding people to make rational choices about food.
B) Enhancing people's awareness of their own health.
C) Borrowing ideas from alcohol control measures.
D) Resorting to economic, legal and psychological means.
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
Kodak's decision to file for bankruptcy (破产) protection is a sad, though not unexpected, turning point for a leading American corporation that pioneered consumer photography and dominated the film market for decades, but ultimately failed to adapt to the digital revolution.
Although many attribute Kodak's downfall to "complacency (自满) , " that explanation doesn't acknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak anticipated that digital photography would overtake film - and in fact, Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975 - but in a fateful decision, the company chose to shelf its new discovery to focus on its traditional film business.
It wasn't that Kodak was blind to the future, said Rebecca Henderson, a professor at Harvard Business School, but rather that it failed to execute on a strategy to confront it. By the time the company realized its mistake, it was too late.
Kodak is an example of a firm that was very much aware that they had to adapt, and spent a lot of money trying to do so, but ultimately failed. Large companies have a difficult time switching to new markets because there is a temptation to put existing assets into the new businesses.
Although Kodak anticipated the inevitable rise of digital photography, its corporate culture was too rooted in the successes of the past for it to make the clean break necessary to fully embrace the future. They were a company stuck in time. Their history was so important to them. Now their history has become a liability.
Kodak's downfall over the last several decades was dramatic. In 1976, the company commanded 90% of the market for photographic film and 85% of the market for cameras. But the 1980s brought new competition from Japanese film company Fuji Photo, which undermined Kodak by offering lower prices for film and photo supplies. Kodak's decision not to pursue the role of official film for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation. The bid went instead to Fuji, which exploited its sponsorship to win a permanent foothold in the marketplace.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
62. What do we learn about Kodak?
A) It went bankrupt all of a sudden.
B) It is approaching its downfall.
C) It initiated the digital revolution in the film industry.
D) It is playing the dominant role in the film market.
63. Why does the author mention Kodak's invention of the first digital camera?
A) To show its early attempt to reinvent itself.
B) To show its effort to overcome complacency.
C) To show its quick adaptation to the digital revolution.
D) To show its will to compete with Japan's Fuji Photo.
64. Why do large companies have difficulty switching to new markets?
A) They find it costly to give up their existing assets.
B) They tend to be slow in confronting new challenges.
C) They are unwilling to invest in new technology.
D) They are deeply stuck in their glorious past.
65. What does the author say Kodak's history has become?
A) A burden. B) A mirror. C) A joke. D) A challenge.
66. What was Kodak's fatal mistake?
A) Its blind faith in traditional photography.
B) Its failure to see Fuji Photo's emergence.
C) Its refusal to sponsor the 1984 Olympics.
D) Its overconfidence in its corporate culture.
