¡¡¡¡Section ¢òReading Comprehension

¡¡¡¡Part A

¡¡  Directions:Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(40 points)

¡¡¡¡Text 1

¡¡¡¡For all his vaunted talents, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has never had much of a reputation as an economic forecaster. In fact, he shies away from making the precise-to-the-decimal-point predictions that many other economists thrive on. Instead, he owes his success as a monetary policymaker to his ability to sniff out threats to the economy and manipulate interest rates to dampen the dangers he perceives.

¡¡¡¡Now, those instincts are being put to the test. Many Fed watchers¡ªand some policymakers inside the central bank itself¡ªare beginning to wonder whether Greenspan has lost his touch. Despite rising risks to the economy from a swooning stock market and soaring oil prices that could hamper growth, the Greenspan-led Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) opted to leave interest rates unchanged on Sept.24. But in a rare dissent, two of the Fed¡¯s 12 policymakers broke ranks and voted for a cut in rates¡ªDallas Fed President Robert D. McTeer Jr. and central bank Governor Edward M.Gramlich.

¡¡¡¡The move by McTeer, the Fed¡¯s self-styled ¡°Lonesome Dove¡±, was no surprise. But Gramlich¡¯s was. This was the first time that the monetary moderate had voted against the chairman since joining the Fed¡¯s board in 1997. And it was the first public dissent by a governor since 1995.

¡¡¡¡Despite the split vote, it¡¯s too soon to count the maestro of monetary policy out. Greenspan had good reasons for not cutting interest rates now. And by acknowledging in the statement issued after the meeting that the economy does indeed face risks, Greenspan left the door wide open to a rate reduction in the future. Indeed, former Fed Governor Lyle Gramley thinks chances are good that the central bank might even cut rates before its next scheduled meeting on Nov.6, the day after congressional elections.

¡¡¡¡So why didn¡¯t the traditionally risk-averse Greenspan cut rates now as insurance against the dangers dogging growth? For one thing, he still thinks the economy is in recovery mode. Consumer demand remains buoyant and has even been turbocharged recently by a new wave of mortgage refinancing. Economists reckon that homeowners will extract some $100 billion in cash from their houses in the second half of this year. And despite all the corporate gloom, business spending has shown signs of picking up, though not anywhere near as strongly as the Fed would like.

¡¡¡¡Does that mean that further rate cuts are off the table? Hardly. Watch for Greenspan to try to time any rate reductions to when they¡¯ll have the most psychological pop on business and investor confidence. That¡¯s surely no easy feat, but it¡¯s one that Greenspan has shown himself capable of more than once in the past. Don¡¯t be surprised if he surprises everyone again.

¡¡¡¡21. Alan Greenspan owes his reputation much to       .

¡¡¡¡A. his successful predictions of economy

¡¡¡¡B. his timely handling of interest rates

¡¡¡¡C. his unusual economic policies

¡¡¡¡D. his unique sense of dangers

¡¡¡¡22. It can be inferred from the passage that       .

¡¡¡¡A. instincts most often misguide the monetary policies

¡¡¡¡B. Greenspan has lost his control of the central bank

¡¡¡¡C. consensus is often the case among Fed¡¯s policymakers

¡¡¡¡D. Greenspan wouldn¬ðt tolerate such a dissent

¡¡¡¡23. Gramley¡¯s remarks are mentioned to indicate that        .

¡¡¡¡A. Greenspan didn¬ðt rule out the possibility of a future rate reduction

¡¡¡¡B. Greenspan¡¯s monetary policy may turn out to be a failure

¡¡¡¡C. Greenspan¡¯s refusal to cut rates now was justified

¡¡¡¡D. Greenspan will definitely cut the rates before Nov.6

¡¡¡¡24. From the fifth paragraph, we can learn that        .

¡¡¡¡A. economy is now well on its way to recovery

¡¡¡¡B. economists are uncertain about consumer demand

¡¡¡¡C. corporate performance is generally not encouraging

¡¡¡¡D. businesses have been investing the way the Fed hoped

¡¡¡¡25. The author seems to regard Greenspan¡¯s manipulation of interest rates with        .

¡¡¡¡A. disapproval B. doubt C. approval D. admiration

¡¡¡¡Text 2

¡¡¡¡The U.S. may so far have enjoyed good luck in escaping a direct SARS hit, but officials aren¡¯t leaving anything to chance. The best hope for averting a SARS epidemic at home will be to keep SARS out at the nation¡¯s borders.

¡¡¡¡Federal immigration laws authorize immigration authorities to exclude non-citizens who are determined to have a ¡°communicable disease of public health significance¡±. Immigration law also authorizes the President by proclamation to suspend the entry of any group of aliens whose entry he deems to be detrimental to the interests of the United States. This little-used power could be deployed to exclude all aliens from affected areas, a policy Taiwan has recently implemented.

¡¡¡¡Under the Public Health Service Act, any individual (citizens included) may be quarantined at an international port of entry if they are reasonably believed to be carrying a designated communicable disease. As of an April 4 Executive Order by President Bush, SARS is now a designated disease.

¡¡¡¡Thus, in tandem with airline screening, federal health authorities are carefully monitoring travelers from affected areas in Asia for SARS symptoms. With an estimated 25,000 individuals entering the country legally from Asia on a daily basis, that is a tall order. A single SARS- infected person getting through the net could bring down the border strategy.

¡¡¡¡The U.S. government might also frontª²end the border strategy through restrictions on travel by American citizens to affected areas. In a series of Cold War era decisions, the Supreme Court upheld international travel restrictions for national security reasons, and one can imagine the same rationale applying to a public health emergency. How practical it would be to prohibit¡ªand police¡ªa travel ban to countries such as China is another question.

¡¡¡¡The initial SARS defense, then, hinges on effective border control. But U.S. borders are far from under control. There are an estimated 8¡«9 million undocumented aliens now in the United States, a figure growing by as many as 500,000 per year. Asia is the largest contributor to undocumented immigration outside the western hemisphere, funneling illegal aliens into the United States through elaborate smuggling networks. SARS could just as easily make serious inroads into the U.S. through this backdoor rather than the front.

¡¡¡¡26. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that        .

¡¡¡¡A. American officials don¬ðt see any chance of escaping an immediate SARS hit

¡¡¡¡B. nonª²citizens with a disease will be quarantined at the international airport

¡¡¡¡C. foreigners with a communicable disease may legally be denied entry into the U.S.

¡¡¡¡D. immigration officers are empowered to keep aliens out of the U.S.

¡¡¡¡27. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

¡¡¡¡A. The President rarely declares a rejection of nonª²citizens from infected areas.

¡¡¡¡B. The U.S. is the only lucky country to have kept safe from a SARS attack.

¡¡¡¡C. The interests of the U.S. are given more legal protection than public health.

¡¡¡¡D. The Public Health Service Act has been brought into effect since April 4.

¡¡¡¡28. The phrase ¡°a tall order¡± most probably means        .

¡¡¡¡A. an ambitious plan B. a difficult task

¡¡¡¡C. a careful arrangement D. an illegal decision

¡¡¡¡29. The author would probably agree that        .

¡¡¡¡A. a SARS hit could be escaped by means of strict monitoring of international travel

¡¡¡¡B. undocumented immigrants poses a serious threat to national security of U.S.

¡¡¡¡C. illegal aliens come into the U.S. with the help of complicated smuggling networks

¡¡¡¡D. American border strategy may fail to attain its goal of avoiding a SARS epidemic

¡¡¡¡30. The passage is primarily concerned with        .

¡¡¡¡A. the threat of SARS to the national security of U.S.

¡¡¡¡B. the U.S. border strategy against SARS

¡¡¡¡C. the problems in U.S. national security

¡¡¡¡D. the crisis of a public health emergency