问答题Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by 5 questions. Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　High Dropout Rate in US　　Many young people in

Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by a summary. Read the passage carefully and complete the summary below by choosing no more than three words from the passage. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　Questions 1 - 5 are based on the following passage.The United Kingdom　　Britain (or Great Britain) is an island that lies off the north-west coast of Europe. The nearest country is France, which is 20 miles away and from which Britain is separated by the English Channel. The island is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the North Sea to the east. It comprises the mainlands of England, Wales and Scotland, that is, three countries. Scotland is in the north, while Wales is in the west. Ireland, which is also an island, lies off the west coast of Britain. It consists of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Britain together with Northern Ireland constitute the United Kingdom (UK). Thus, the United Kingdom is composed of four countries, the largest of which is England. The capital city is London, which is situated in south-east England.　　The UK has a total area of about 244,100 square kilometres (94,248 square miles). About 70% of the land area is devoted to agriculture, about 7% is wasteland, moorland and mountains, about 13% is devoted to urban development, and 10% is forest and woodland. The northern and western regions of Britain, that is Scotland and Wales, are mainly mountainous and hilly. Parts of the north-west and centre of England also consist of mountains and hills.　　Britain has a generally mild and temperate climate. It is, however, subject to frequent changes. It has an average annual rainfall of about 120 centimetres (47 inches).　　In 1998 the population of the United Kingdom was nearly 59 million. The density of population was approximately 240 people per square kilometre. However, in England, where 83% of the population live, the density was much higher, about 363 per square kilometre.　　In the UK, English is the first language of the vast majority of people. However, in western Wales, Welsh is the first language for many of the people. In Scotland only a small number of people speak Gaelic.　　In Britain about 66% of the population say that they are Christian, while fewer than 5% say that they belong to other religions.　　Summary:　　Britain is an island that 　1　the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It comprises the mainlands of England, Wales and Scotland. Ireland 　2　the west coast of Britain. I 　3　Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The United Kingdom consists of Britain together with Northern Ireland. The capital city is London which 　4　outh-east England.In 1998 the population of the UK was nearly 59 million. The density of population was 240 people per square kilometre. In the UK English is the first language of most people. In western Wales, Welsh 　5　many of the people, but few people in Scotland speak Gaelic.

Read the advertisement and email below carefully and answer questions 1to 5. Answer each question in no more than 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.　　Questions1to 5 are based on the following advertisement and email.　　Apartment for Rent　　● Modern studio apartment located 10 minutes from shops and subway　　● 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living / dining room, bathroom, balcony　　● Centrally heated (gas)　　● Suit young couple or professional person　　● Part furnishing can be arranged　　● Rent $985 a month plus utilities　　● Deposit + 1 month’s rent in advance　　● No pets　　● Available mid-March　　Contact Karim on 555 2345　　Email: Karim98@s_mail.com　　To: Karim98@s_mail.com　　From:Kelvin Adams (kelheart2@s_mail.com)　　I saw your advertisement in the local newspaper. I’m very interested in the apartment, for myself and my fiancé. We are currently living in Westside, but are looking for something closer to the town center, and I think your place would be ideal. I was hoping to be able to arrange a visit sometime next week. Monday would be the best day for us, but we can be flexible.　　In the advertisement, you mention that the place could be partly furnished. We have a little furniture ourselves, but probably not enough for a two-bedroom place. Could you possibly tell us what inventory is likely to be included with the apartment?　　I would also really appreciate it if you could send us a couple of pictures of thee bedroom and living / dining room, as well as some directions as to how to get there. Thank you very much in advance.Yours,Kelvin AdamsQuestions:　　1．How much is the rent for the apartment?　　2．Why does Kelvin want to move to a new apartment?　　3．How many rooms are there in the apartment?　　4．When is the earliest Kelvin and his fiancé can move in?　　5．What does Kelvin ask for?

The extract below comes from an article which appeared in a magazine called Society Today. You read the extract and have strong feelings about its contents, and decide to write an article, in which you respond to the points made and express your own views.　　You should write the article in no fewer than 120 words. Now write your letter on the answer sheet.

Read the passage carefully to find the answers for Questions 1 to 5. Answer each question in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　Questions 1to 5are based on the following passage.　　In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, flexible, and do not make mistakes. As one banker said, “Unlike humans, computers never have a bad day.” And they are honest. Many banks advertise that their transactions are “untouched by human hands” and therefore safe from human temptation (诱惑). Obviously, computers have no reason to steal money. But they also have no conscience (良知), and the growing number of computer crimes shows they can be used to steal.　　Computer criminals don’t use guns. And even if they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there are no witness and often no evidence. A computer cannot remember who used it: it simply does what it is told. The head teller at a New York bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years. No one noticed this theft because he moved the money from one account to another. Each time a customer he had robbed questioned the balance in his account, the teller claimed a computer error, then replaced the missing money from someone else’s account. This man was caught only because he was a gambler. When the police broke up an illegal gambling operation, his name was in the records.　　Some employees use the computer’s power to get revenge (报复) on their employers they consider unfair. Recently, a large insurance company fired its computer-tape librarian for reasons that involved her personal rather than her professional life. She was given thirty days notice. In those thirty days, she erased all the firm’s computerized records.　　Most computer criminals have been minor employees. Now police wonder if this is “the tip of the iceberg”. As one official says, “I have the feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching. What we are seeing now is all so poorly done. I wonder what the real experts are doing—the ones who know how a computer works.”　　Questions:1．What is the passage mainly about?　　2．Why did many banks claim the transactions to be safe?　　3．How did the bank teller cover up his crime?　　4．What must the librarian do thirty days after she received the notice?　　5．What is the difference between computer criminals and ordinary criminals?

Read the passage carefully and answer questions 1 to 5. Answer each question in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.　　Every year earthquakes are responsible for a large number of deaths and a vast amount of destruction in various parts of the world. Most of these damaging earthquakes occur either in a narrow belt which surrounds the Pacific Ocean or in a line which extends from Burma to the Alps in Europe. Some of the destruction is directly caused by the quake itself. An example of this is the collapse of buildings as a result of vibration. Other damage results from landslides, tsunamis (large ocean waves) or major fires which are initiated by the quake.　　There are about a million quakes a year. Fortunately, however, not all of them are destructive. The intensity of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale, which goes from 0 upward. The highest magnitude recorded to date is 8.9. Major damage generally occurs from quakes ranging upwards from 6. 0. Exceptions to this are those whose epicenters are located far from inhabited areas.　　The actual cause of the quake itself is the rupturing or breaking of rocks at or below the earth’s surface. This is produced by pressure which scientists believe may be due to a number of reasons, two of which are the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust and continental drift.　　In order to minimize the damage and to alleviate some of the suffering resulting from earthquakes, scientists are working on ways to enable accurate prediction. Two of the instruments presently in use to achieve this goal are seismographs and tiltmeters. The former records any shaking of the earth; by means of calculations seismologists can accurately indicate the exact time, location and size of an earthquake. The latter, as the name suggests, is used to record any changes in the tilt of the land.　　Questions:　　1．Write down one of the two earthquake prone areas.　　2．What other disasters may occur after a serious earthquake?　　3．What is the unit of measurement of earthquake?　　4．What is the highest magnitude in the record?　　5．What are the two instruments used today to predict earthquake?

Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by a summary. Read the passage carefully and complete the summary below by choosing no more than three words from the passage. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　Questions 1-5 are based on the following passage.The City of the Future　　What will city life be like in the future? Some people think that life in the cities is going to be horrible. They predict that cities will become more and more crowded. As the number of people increases, there will be less space for each person. This overcrowding will cause other problems—more crime, dirtier streets, and worse problems with traffic than we have now. How will people find enough drinking water, energy (such as gas and electricity), and housing? Because life will be hard, people who live in cities will worry more, and they may become sick. For these reasons, some say that nobody will want to live in urban areas.　　How can we solve such problems as overcrowding, crime, and traffic? In some cities, thousands of people are already sleeping in the streets because there is so little suitable housing—and because rents are so high. The crime rate isn’t going down. Instead, it is increasing so fast that many people are afraid to go out at night. Traffic is also getting worse. More and more often, traffic jams are so bad that cars don’t move at all for several blocks. These urban problems have been getting worse, not better, so many people see no hope for the future of the city.　　Los Angeles, California, for instance, has no subway system and the buses are slow. Instead, most commuters drive many miles from their homes to work. Many of these drivers spend several hours each day on busy freeways. New York, by contrast, has a mass transit system—buses, commuter trains, and subways. Because the public transportation is crowded and dirty, however, many people drive private cars, and the traffic jams are worse than in Los Angeles.　　On the other hand, some cities have clean, fast, and pleasant public transportation systems. In Paris, France, and Toronto, Canada, for example, anyone can use mass transit to move quickly from one part of the city to another.　　The disadvantages of any modern city are not unique to that city—that is, cities all over the world have to solve the problems of traffic jams, crime, housing, energy, drinking water, and overcrowding. Yet many cities have found answers to one or more of these difficulties. Some European cities, such as Stockholm, Sweden, or London, England, have planned communities that provide people with apartments, jobs, shopping centers, green space, entertainment, and transportation. Many U.S. cities are rebuilding their downtown areas. Urban planners can learn from one another. They can try solutions that have been successful in other parts of the world.　　Summary:　　Some people think that life in the cities is going to be horrible. They say that cities will become more and more crowded and many other problems will be caused by this 　1　Due to the hard life, people do not want to live in 　2　These urban problems such as overcrowding, crime and traffic have been getting worse, so many people 　3　for the future of the city. However, these disadvantages of any modern city are not unique to that city. All the cities all over the world must solve the problems and fortunately, many of them have found answers to one or more of these difficulties. For example, 　4　or London has planned communities providing people with apartments, jobs and so on. Besides, many U. S. cities 　5　In a word, solutions that have been successful in a place should be adopted and tried in another place.

Read the passage carefully to find the answers for Questions 1 to 5. Answer each question in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet. 　　In the United States also there were great changes, though the causes here were due only in part to the war; they sprang mainly from technical progress, and the development of mass-production, in which the United States henceforth was to lead the world. The cheap automobile, pioneered by Henry Ford, is a good example. In 1915 the United States contained 2.5 million cars; in 1920, 9 million. Only the new mass-production techniques made it possible to build all these cars and only the growing practice of “easy-payments” made it possible to sell them. By 1925 three out of four cars, new and old, were sold in this way. About the same proportion was covered against the weather; ten years earlier, forty-nine cars out of fifty were open ones.　　The last fact is important. The car had not only become cheap; it had become a comfortable room on wheels not just a means of transport. First in the United States, then in Britain and other countries, the car began to revolutionize everyday life. People no longer had to live near their work or close to a railway station. So began, in earnest, the problem which is still with us. The town centers, once full of life and sociability, began to wither; evening found them dead and deserted, nothing but bright shop windows and locked doors. The car brought many far-reaching consequences and it was blamed, rightly or wrongly, for the decline in churchgoing and the increase in immorality. More recently, it meant the virtual end of horse drawn transport and a growing threat to the supremacy of the railroad.　　Questions:　　1．What is the main cause for the great changes in the U.S.?　　2．the United States, 20 million cars could be sold in 1925 because of ______?　　3．What does “the last fact” refer to in the second paragraph?　　4．What is the main idea of this passage?　　5．According to the writer, it is doubtful whether the car should be responsible for ______?

Task II（20 points）Directions:Your class has recently had a discussion on violence on television and in films today. Your teacher has now asked you to write a composition giving your opinion on the following statement.　　Violence on television and in films can make young people behave badly.　　Please write your composition in no less than 160 words on the Answer Sheet.

Read the passage carefully and answer questions 1 to 5. Answer each question in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet　　Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superior will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent.　　Thanks to a variety of relatively inexperience communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets. English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal.　　The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.　　Questions:　　1．What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?　　2．What is becoming more and more important to promotion?　　3．What does “out of sight and out of mind” (Line 2. Para. 3) probably mean?　　4．According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in 　　employing people today?　　5．What is the advantage of employees having foreign language skills?

In this section, there is one passage followed by a summary. For Answers 1 to 5, please read the passage carefully and complete each space in the summary, using a maximum of three words from the passage. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　Answers 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.　　Around the world, music therapy is being used to treat different medical conditions and illnesses. Some of the ways people use music therapy are to reduce pain, such as childbirth or during cancer treatments, or to stimulate brain activity after an injury or memory loss. Music therapy has also been successful in aiding children to overcome disabilities.　　Classical music is most typically used for therapies due to its complex sounds and patterns. Although rap or pop might be fun to listen to, it’s unlikely that such styles of music would produce the same kind of therapeutic effect. Playing a musical instrument rather than simply listening to music can also be therapeutic for some people, helping relieve stress and anxiety.　　Have scientists been able to prove that music can heal diseases? Music has been shown to reduce pain in cancer patients by increasing the release of endorphins. Endor-plains are the body’s natural painkillers, and when we listen to music, our brains respond by releasing these natural painkillers. It has also been known to contribute to the brain development of new born babies and even babies still in the mother’s womb. Currently, music therapy is used in a variety of settings such as hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, day care centers, and schools.Summary:　　There appears to be some evidence that music is helpful 　1　some medical conditions. Therefore, doctors and patients are turning to music to treat various 　2　and disabilities. Doctors believe that music with 　3　and patterns is more effective. This kind of music seems to 　4　more activity in the brain. Although it may be fun to listen to rap or pop or dance music, doctors prefer to use 　5　to treat patients.

INTERVIEW2　　In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO. 　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. 　　Now listen to the interview. Which of the following is NOT Vera’s tip for finding a new job?

Directions: Some people say television has altered family life dramatically. Write an article for your school magazine, putting forward your views. You should write about 160 words on the Answer Sheet.

Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by a summary. Read the passage carefully and complete the summary below by choosing a maximum of three words from the passage to fill in the spaces 76 - 80. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　Questions 1- 5 are based on the following passage.　　Lack of culture, or rather an excess of the wrong sort of culture, is often considered to be synonymous with disadvantage. Most commonly associated with low cultural standards are low levels of reading, and some thirteen per cent of all twenty-three-year-olds feel they have trouble with reading and writing. One way of compensating such disadvantaged young people is thought to be to provide them with the culture they lack: in particular, high quality reading material.　　Whereas forty to fifty per cent of young people aged sixteen to twenty rarely read a book, the majority appear to read comics. In 1991 sales of Viz, a UK comic exceeded one million copies per issue, making it the fourth best-selling periodical in Britain. The reading of comics, however, is not restricted to young people: by 1992 it was estimated that two out of three men aged eighteen to fifty-three read Viz. The number of imitators of this comic has spawned, including Zit, Gas, BrainDamageand Swiz,indicates the extent of the influence it wields.　　The reading of comics was traditionally regarded by the educational establishment with considerable suspicion. Whereas the received arts were always assumed to exert an improving or civilizing influence, comics were thought to “rot children’s brains”, to lower educational standards and to threaten morality. They were, and are, assumed to be an inferior cultural form; their readers assumed to come from the lower social classes, to be low educational attainers and to be easily led astray.　　Over the past decade, perceptions of comics have shifted. Since the 1970s, the comic format has been commonly used to represent the interests of various disenfranchises groups—community groups, the unemployed, welfare recipients of—who became more conscious of a climate conditioned by other contemporary movements such as civil rights, consumerism, self-help and de-institutionalization. As cultural signifiers, comics have become the subject matter of academic courses in cultural and media studies. Indeed, young people’s cultural activities, grounded in the commercial rather than the subsidized sector, are beginning to merit the attention of the arts establishment.　　Summary:　　Low cultural standards，such as 　1　of reading，a difficulty experienced by many young adults, are often associated with disadvantage. While around half of sixteen to twenty-year-olds rarely read books，most will read comics. Although many comics in Britain are 　2　and have lots of readers，the educational establishment sill considers them to be an 　3　appealing only to the lower levels of society. However, attitudes are beginning to change as the format has been adopted to 　4　of disenfranchised groups. Certain comics have been included in the courses of 　5　studies. Young people’s cultural activities are beginning to attract the attention of the arts establishment.

Directions: You should write a composition on the topic Positive and Negative Effects of Computer. You should write about 160 words. Now write the composition on the Answer Sheet.

Writing Task II  (20 points)　　Directions: Write a composition of no less than about 160 words, saying whether you agree or disagree with the following statement and giving examples: The biggest dangers to our health and environment come from cars. Remember to write your composition on the Answer Sheet.

Directions:You are required to write a Notice in about 100 words to inform the students and English teachers of a lecture on American Liberal Education by Prof. Gilbert in the English Department Hall. Please write it on the Answer Sheet.

Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by 5 questions. Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　Questions 1-5 are based on the following passage.　　Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979-1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?　　The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.　　Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.　　Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. Software, consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. For each dollar of GDP (in constant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25-0.5% of GDP. That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies—to which heavy industry has shifted—have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.　　One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand. A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. The economist’s commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%.　　Questions:　　1．What is the main reason for the latest rise of oil price?　　2．What are the results of the 1970s’ oil shock?　　3．It can be inferred from the text that the retail price of petrol will go up dramatically if ________.　　4．According to the passage, reduction in oil consumption is due to ________, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries.　　5．According to the passage, compared with those in the 1970s, oil-price shocks are ________ now.

Directions：　　Study the following graphs carefully and write an essay in 160-200 words. Your essay should cover these three points:　　（1）effect of the country’s growing human population on its wildlife　　（2）possible reason for the effect　　（3）your suggestion for wildlife protection Your essay must be written neatly on the ANSWER SHEET.

In this section, there is one passage followed by a summary. Read the passage carefully and complete the summary below by choosing no more than four words from the passage. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　As a result of all these factors, when the recession eases and people find more confidence, there will be an explosion of employees seeking new opportunities to escape their current jobs. This will be led by younger, less-experienced employees and the hard - headed young graduates. ‘Headhunters’ confirm that older staff are still cautious, having seen so many good companies ‘go to the wall’, and are reluctant to jeopardize their redundancy entitlements. Past experience, however, suggests that, once triggered, the expansion in recruitment will be very rapid.　　The problem which faces many organizations is one of strategic planning; of not knowing who will leave and who will stay. Often it is the best personnel who move on whilst the worst cling to the little security they have. This is clearly a problem for companies, who need a stable core on which to build strategies for future growth.　　Whilst this expansion in the recruitment market is likely to happen soon in Britain, most employers are simply not prepared. With the loss of middle management, in a static marketplace, personnel management and recruitment are often conducted by junior personnel. They have only known recession and lack the experience to plan ahead and to implement strategies for growth. This is true of many other functions, leaving companies without the skills, ability or vision to structure themselves for long-term growth. Without this ability to recruit competitively for strategic planning, and given the speed at which these changes are likely to occur, a real crisis seems imminent.　　SUMMARY:　　Taking all of these various factors into consideration, when the economy picks up and people 　1　there will be a very rapid expansion in recruitment. Younger employees and graduates will lead the search for new jobs, older staff being more　2　Not knowing who will leave creates a problem for companies; they need a　3　of personnel to plan and build future strategies. This is a serious matter, as　4　are often conducted by inexperienced staff, owing to the loss of many middle management positions. This inability to recruit strategically will leave many companies without the skills and vision to plan ahead and　5　to achieve long-term growth.

Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by 5 questions. Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.　　High Dropout Rate in US　　Many young people in the United States never finish high school. Exactly how many dropouts is another issue. Recent studies of dropout rates have had conflicting results. For one thing, schools define and measure their dropout rates differently.　　Some researchers say about fifteen to twenty parents of public school students do not complete their education. But many other experts and policymakers believe that for the past twenty years, the dropout rate has been around thirty percent. For Latino and black students, the numbers are even higher. Researchers say almost half of them leave school.　　At the same time, almost half the states let students leave school before the age of eighteen without informing their parents.　　Finding a good job without a high school education is more and more difficult. A Northeastern University study in 2002 found that almost half of all dropouts aged sixteen to twenty-four did not have a job.　　The lack of high school education can also lead to other problems. An estimated two-thirds of prisoners in the United States dropped out of high school.　　Recent studies have shown that the majority of students who drop out do not do it because they are failing. Many are bored with their classes or feel disconnected from their school and teachers. Some students feel that educators place low expectations on them. Teen pregnancies also add to the dropout problem.　　During the past twenty years, there have been efforts to increase graduation rate through education reforms. Some communities are working on dropout prevention programs. These include alternative high schools to meet special needs.　　Some programs, for example, provide free transportation and childcare to help young mothers and fathers finish school. Yet special programs can cost a lot, and many school systems have limited budgets.　　Federal spending on second-chance programs to help students finish school has decreased from the 1970s. This was shown in a report last year from the Educational Testing Service.　　Experts suggest early warning systems to help identify young schoolchildren at risk of dropping out of high school. They say schools also need to get parents more involved, especially if their children are missing school often.　　Questions:　　1．What is the researchers’ estimated percentage of school dropouts among Latino and black students?　　2．What efforts have been made to increase graduation rates?　　3．What has been done to help young parents complete their education?　　4．Who made a report about the decrease，of Federal spending on second-chance programs to help students finish school?　　5．What do experts suggest setting up to help prevent students from dropping out of school?

Task II (20 marks)　　Directions:Many nations’ serious school problems nowadays result from the students’ attitude. What causes these problems? What’s your opinion to deal with these problems? State your opinion in no less than about 160 words, and write it on the Answer Sheet.

Directions: Suppose you are Li Ming, and you are not satisfied with the service in your library, such as the books not arranged in serial orders, librarians’ bad service and the noise in the reading- room. Write a letter to President of your university to make a complaint and give suggestions at the same time.　　You should write about 120 words. You do not need to write the address. Now write the letter on the Answer Sheet.

Read the passage carefully and answer Questions 1 to 5. Answer each question in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.Preserving the Past　　Today, many old buildings are being torn down so new ones can be built. But some older buildings are both beautiful and interesting. They need to be saved.　　The city of San Antonio, Texas, was settled by the Spanish in the early 1700s. Later, it was governed by Mexico. If you go to San Antonio, you can see many missions or churches that were built by the Spanish. All were started between 1720 and 1731. You can also find other buildings from early periods in the history of Texas. Some of these buildings are still standing because a group of women worked to save them.　　In 1924, the city of San Antonio was going to cement over the San Antonio River and turn it into an underground sewer. A group of women felt that the beauty of San Antonio should be preserved. They formed a club to keep the river from being destroyed.　　The women saved the river. Then they worked together to preserve several old buildings that were going to be torn down. In the 1930s, the women saved an old mill and granary. They raised money to buy these buildings by giving tea parties and selling cakes.　　More recently, the ladies in San Antonio have worked to save a Spanish convent. They could not afford to buy the whole building, so they paid for only half. Even so, the women are still looking for other old buildings to save. They want people to know about the city’s long and interesting history.　　Questions:　　1．What is the passage mainly about?　　2．What does the word “ones” in Sentence 1 refer to?　　3．What can you see if you go to San Antonio?　　4．The word in Paragraph 3 that means savedis ________.　　5．Why have the women worked to save the river and old buildings?

Directions: You have read an ad on the board in which an American student is looking for a Chinese student as a language partner. Write an email to him to apply for the post. You should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead. Now write the letter on the Answer Sheet.