Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is following 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 and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a “new” feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on 1,000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: Encyclopedic Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LME plus cultural information.
The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly “cultural” as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult.
While there is some common ground between the encyclopedic/cultural entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference. Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English-speaking world. The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. The cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1,000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension.
In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind of background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will also have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various socio-cultural entries.
21. What feature sets apart the three dictionaries discussed in the passage from traditional ones?
A) The combination of two dictionaries into one
B) The new approach to defining words
C) The inclusion of cultural content
D) The increase in the number of entries
22. The Longman dictionary is more likely to be criticized for cultural prejudice ________.
A) its scope of cultural entries the beyond the culture of the English-speaking world
B) it pays little attention to the cultural content of the non-English-speaking countries
C) it views the world purely from the standpoint of the English-speaking world
D) it fails to distinguish language from culture in its encyclopedic entries
23. The BBC dictionary differs from Oxford and Longman in that ________.
A) it has a wider selection Of encyclopedic entries
B) it is mainly design to meet the needs of radio listeners
C) it lays more emphasis co language then on culture
D) it is intended to help listeners develop their listening comprehension skills
24. It is implied in the last paragraph that, in approaching socio-cultural content in a dictionary, special thought be given to ________.
A) the language levels of its users
B) the number of its prospective purchasers
C) the different tastes of its users
D) the various cultural backgrounds of its users
25. What is the passage mainly about?
A) Different ways of treating socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries.
B) A comparison of people’s opinions on the cultural content in the three new English dictionaries.
C) The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman.
D) The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries.
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV.
The first difference is that a policeman’s real life revolves round criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down a street after someone he wants to talk to.
Little of his time is spent in chatting. He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty of stupid, petty crimes.
Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal: as soon as he’s arrested, the story is over. In real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks little effort is spent on searching.
Having made an arrest, a detective really start to work. He has to prove his case in court and to do that he often has to gather a lot of different evidence.
At third big difference between the drama detective and the real one is the unpleasant pressures: first, as members of a police force they always have to behave absolutely in accordance with the law. Secondly, as expensive public servants they have to get results. They can hardly ever do both. Most of the time some of them have to break the rules in small ways.
If the detective has to detective the world, the world often deceives him. Hardly anyone he meets tells him the truth. And this separation the detective feels between himself and the rest of the world is deepened by the simples mindedness as he sees it-of citizens, social workers, doctors, law-makers, and judges, who, instead of eliminating crime punish the criminals less severely in the hope that this will make them reform. The result, detectives feel, is that nine-tenths of their work is re-catching people who should have stared behind bars. This makes them rather cynical.
26. A policeman has to be trained in criminal law because ________.
A) he must work hard to help reform criminals
B) he must believe as professional lawyers do
C) he must be able to tell when and where a crime is committed
D) he must justify the arrests he makes of criminals
27. What is the most suitable word that describes the work of a policeman according to the passage?
A) Dangerous
B) Demanding
C) Distressing
D) Dramatic
28. According to the passage, policemen spend most of their time an efforts ________.
A) patrolling the street, rain or shine
B) tracking and arresting criminals
C) collecting and providing evidence
D) consulting the rules of law
29. What’s the policeman’s biggest headache?
A) He has to get the most desirable results without breaking the law in any way.
B) He has to justify his arrests while unable to provide sufficient evidence in most cases.
C) He can hardly find enough time to learn criminal law while burdened with numerous criminal cases.
D) He has to provide the best possible public service at the least possible expense.
30. Why do policemen feel separated from the rest of the world?
A) Because they do not receive due support from society.
B) Because they find people insincere with them.
C) Because they feel superior to simple-minded people around them.
D) Because they are suspicious of the people around them.