Passage Three

　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard。

　　32. A) Why people hold back their tears。

　　B) Why people cry。

　　C) How to restrain one’s tears。

　　D) How tears are produced。

　　33. A) What chemicals tears are composed of。

　　B) Whether crying really helps us feel better。

　　C) Why some people tend to cry more often than others。

　　D) How tears help people cope with emotional problems。

　　34. A) Only one out of four girls cries less often than boys。

　　B) Of four boys, only one cries very often。

　　C) Girls cry four times as often as boys。

　　D) Only one out of four babies doesn’t cry often。

　　35. A) Only humans respond to emotions by shedding tears。

　　B) Only humans shed tears to get rid of irritating stuff in their eyes。

　　C) Only human tears can resist invading bacteria。

　　D) Only human tears can discharge certain chemicals。

　　Section C

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written。

　　注意：此部分试题在答题卡2上；请在答题卡2上作答。

　　Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)

　　Section A

　　Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.

　　Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage。

　　The prospects for women who are scientists and engineers at major research universities have improved, although women continue of face inequalities in salary and access to some other resources, a panel of the National Research Council concludes in a new report。

　　In recent years “men and women faculty in science, engineering and mathematics have enjoyed comparable opportunities,” the panel said in its report, released on Tuesday. It found that women who apply for university jobs and, once they have them, for promotion and tenure(教师任期)， are at least as likely to succeed as men. But compared with their numbers among new Ph.D.’s, women are still underrepresented(未被充分代表的)in applicant pools, a puzzle that offers an opportunities for further research, the panel said。

　　The panel said one factor outshined all others in encouraging women to apply for jobs: having women on the committees appointed to fill them。

　　In another report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Wisconsin reviewed a variety of studies and concluded that the achievement gap between boys and girls in mathematics performance had narrowed to the vanishing point。

　　“US girls have now reached parity(平等)with boys, even in high school and even for measures requiring complex problem solving,” the Wisconsin researchers said. Although girls are still underrepresented in the ranks of young math prodigies, they said, that gap is narrowing, which undermines claims that a greater prevalence of profound mathematical talent in males is biologically determined. The researchers said this and other phenomenon “ provide abundant evidence for the impact of socio-cultural and other environmental factors on the development of mathematical skills and talent and the size, if any, of math gender gaps。”

　　The research council. an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, convened its expert panel at the request of Congress. The panel surveyed six disciplines—biology, chemistry, mathematics, civil and electrical engineering and physics----and based its analysis on interviews with faculty members at 89 institutions and data from federal agencies, professional societies and other sources。

　　The panel was led by Claude Canizares, a physicist who is vice president for research at M.I. T., and Dr. Sally Shaywitz of Yale Medical School, an expert on learning。

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。

　　47. In spite of much improvement, women still remain confronted with the inequalities in            。

　　48. Compared to the number of men Ph.D. in applicant pools, women Ph.D. are still   ____　　___________。

　　49. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin concluded that the achievement gap between boys and girls in their mathematics performance      。

　　50. Those factors that affect the development of mathematical skills and talent are      _     　　_________。

　　51. The panel has studied six disciplines and their analysis is based on     _________     at 89

　　institutions as well as data from federal agencies, professional societies and other sources。

　　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 52 to 56 are based on the following passage。

　　An epidemic of swine flu has recently developed in Mexico and the United States, says the CDC. Swine flu has killed many people, and the outbreak has features that suggest it could become a global pandemic(大流行病)A  pandemic is an epidemic that spreads around the whole  world. Pandemics also often cause more severe disease than epidemics。

　　Flu is a disease caused by the influenza virus. Humans, pigs, birds and other animals all can be infected by influenza viruses. Typically, influenza viruses can infect only one species, so the influenza viruses of humans are different from those pigs and birds. However, sometimes a virus can infect more than one species. For example, pigs sometimes can be infected not only with pig influenza viruses, but also with human and bird influenza viruses. Then these viruses can come up to one another secretly and swap (交换) genes, creating new viruses that have a mix of genes---from human, pig, and bird viruses. That is what has happened with this new swine flu virus。

　　Sometimes this swapping of genes allows a virus that was originally able to infect only pigs or only birds to also infect humans. When that happens, we refer to the illness as" swine flu" or" bird flu". This current virus could actually be called "swine/bird flu" , since it has some genes from pig flu viruses and other genes from bird flu viruses。

　　Most viruses that cause swine flu or bird flu are very hard to pass from one human to another; they don't cause, epidemics. Sometimes, however, further changes in gene create a virus that can spread rapidly among humans, and can produce a more severe illness. One reason this illness is more severe is that the virus is so new. The regular flu that comes each year is caused by a regular human influenza virus that often has similarities to the viruses that have caused the flu in years past, so people have some degree of immunity to the latest virus. The unusual swine flu or bird flu viruses that develop the ability for person-to-person spread are so different that people have little or no immunity to them。

　　The worst global pandemic in modern times was the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919. It affected about a third of the human race, and killed at least 40 million people in less than a year---more than have been killed by AIDS in three decades. The world economy went into a deep recession. The average length of life dropped for 10 years。

　　Unfortunately, the new swine flu virus can be transmitted between humans. It is not clear yet how easily it is transmitted, nor how it is transmitted. Almost surely it is transmitted by sneezing and coughing, and by skin-to-skin contact with an infected person。

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　52. According to the passage, a pandemic                    。

　　A) proves to be identical to an epidemic。

　　B) always follows an epidemic。

　　C) tends to be widespread and produces more serious disease

　　D) turns out be fatal to people who get infected

　　53. What can we know about the present epidemic ---swine flu?

　　A) The genes of the flu virus come from pigs。

　　B) It will soon spread and cause a pandemic。

　　C) There has been further change in the genes of the viruses。

　　D) It is similar to the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919.

　　54. Why is the swine flu very dangerous to humans?

　　A) Because it is fatal and has killed many people。

　　B) Because it has spread to many countries。

　　C) Because people know nothing about it。

　　D) Because people know no immunity to it。

　　55. What can know about the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919?

　　A) It is the only large-scale epidemic in modern times。

　　B) It killed about one third of the world’s population。

　　C) It killed more people than AIDS did。

　　D) It had a great impact on the world’s economy。

　　56. What do scientists say about the transmission of the swine flu virus?

　　A) It is easily transmitted from person to person。

　　B) It remains unclear how it is transmitted。

　　C) It is transmitted by sneezing or coughing。

　　D) It is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact。

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage。

　　Every other week it seems a new study comes out that adds to our already-formidable store of parental worries. But even by those upgraded standards, the report issued last week by the federal government’s National Center for Health Statistics contained a jaw-dropper: the parents of nearly one of every five boys in the United States were concerned enough about what they saw as their son’s emotional or behavioral problems that they consulted a doctor or a health-care professional. By comparison, about one out of 10 parents of girls reported these kinds of problems。

　　The report confirms what many of us have been observing for some time now that lots of school-age boys are struggling. And, parents are intensely worried about them。

　　What is bothering our sons? Some experts suggest we are witnessing an epidemic of ADHD and say boys need more treatment. Others say that environmental pollutants found in plastics, among other things, may be eroding their attention spans and their ability to regulate their emotions。

　　Those experts may be right but I have another suggestion. Let's examine the way our child rearing and our schools have evolved in the last10 years. Then ask ourselves this challenging question: could some of those changes we have embraced in our families, our communities and our schools be driving our sons crazy?

　　Instead of unstructured free play, parents now schedule their kids' time from dawn till dusk (and sometimes beyond). By age 4, an ever-increasing number of children are enrolled in preschool. There, Instead of learning to get along with other kids, hold crayon (蜡笔) and play Duck, Duck, Goose, children barely out of diapers are asked to fill out work sheets, learn calculation or study Mandarin. The drumbeat (鼓声) early academics gets even louder when they enter" real" school. Veteran teachers will tell you that first graders are now routinely expected to master a curriculum that, only 15 years ago, would have been considered appropriate for second, even third graders. The way we teach children has changed, too. In many communities, elementary schools have become test-prep factories---where standardized testing begins in kindergarten and" teaching to the test" is considered a virtue. At the same time, recess (休息时间) is being pushed aside in order to provide extra time for reading and math drills. So is history and opportunities for hands-on activities---like science labs and art. Active play is increasingly frowned on---some schools have even banned recess and tag. In the wake of school shootings like the tragedy at Virginia Tech, kids who stretch out a pointer finger, bend their thumb and shout" pow! "are regarded with suspicion and not a little fear。

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　57. What are many American parents concerned about according to the first paragraph?

　　A) Their children's health problems。

　　B) Their children's emotional and behavioral problems。

　　C) The report issued by National Center for Health Statistics。

　　D) The studies that come out every other week。

　　58. What might be the reason that caused the problems among the boys according to the author?

　　A) The wide spread of ADHD。

　　B) Environmental pollutants found in things we use。

　　C) The way children are reared and educated

　　D) Over-attention from parents

　　59. What do most parents expect of their children in preschools?

　　A) The ability to get along with other children

　　B) The freedom to learn what they like

　　C) Enjoyment of free play

　　D) Good academic performance

　　60. What do elementary schools encourage children to do according to the passage?

　　A) To put all their time and energy into reading and math drills。

　　B) To do more quiet activities instead of active ones。

　　C) To use more recess time for hands-on activities。

　　D) To develop good virtues along with good academic performance。

　　61. What does the author want the parents to be aware of?

　　A) Their boys have emotional or behavioral problems。

　　B) The present way of educating children might have problems。

　　C) Children need more time and concern from parents。

　　D) It is no good sending children to preschools。

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