Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes, 40 points)
Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passages is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the answer sheet with a single line through the center.

Passage One

Our losses change us and change the course of our lives. It is not that one who can never again be happy following an experience of loss. The reality is simply that one can never again be the same.

Sudden, unexpected change can create the greatest of all challenges to our peace and serenity. With no advance preparation, we have to adjust to what may be different circumstances than what we’re used to. We may come home from a normal day at work to find our house has burned to the ground. We may lose a loved one through death. We may lose our property, beliefs, future plans, feelings of safety, or even our sense of identity. The truth is, almost everything in our lives can be lost.

Most of the time we protect ourselves from this reality. We just don’t think about the fact that we could lose something dear to us in an instant. To be in this thought would make it impossible to get on with our lives in a positive way. We don’t need to fear loss or begin grieving before anything has happened. But we can accept the reality that it could happen, and that will eventually come out of the experience all right if rational acceptance of reality changes our lives. It comes along unexpectedly, and it did. This kind of rational acceptance without irrational fear can help prepare us for an unexpected loss.

Two kinds of changes take place within us when we experience a sudden loss. First, we become conscious of our vulnerability. We can no longer achieve that denial which kept us oblivious to all the things that could happen. We know that all kinds of losses can happen to us, not just to other people. We may never feel quite as safe again. The other effect of sudden loss is that eventually we adjust to it. It may take a long time, but we gradually incorporate the loss into our lives and go on.

31. According to Paragraph 1, our losses can _________.

I. change the course of our lives

II. change our experience of loss

III. change the character and personality of ours

A. I only B. I and II C. I and III D. I, II and III

32. Examples of the following belong to sudden changes or losses except one may__________.

A. return home from work to see one’s home destroyed by a fire

B. be desperate to find one’s best friend or lover betray himself/herself

C. find what he believes in life turns out a lie

D. find that there can not be so-called feelings of safety.

33. “This thought” in the sentence “To be in this thought would make it impossible …” may refer to _______.

A. most of the time we protect ourselves from this reality

B. we could lose something dear to us in an instant

C. we just think of something that we could lose in an instant

D. almost everything in our lives can be lost in an instant

34. From Paragraph 3, the author’s attitude towards loss or sudden loss in life can be summarized as _________.

A. always being ready for unexpected loss

B. eventually coming out of the loss experience

C. accepting the unexpected loss reasonably and calmly

D. being prepared for unexpected losses though fearfully sometimes

35. The best title of this passage can be_____________.

A. Sudden Loss and Change in Our Life

B. Unexpected Loss on Our Way to Success

C. Loss and Misfortune in the World

D. Sudden Loss and Feeling of Safety

Passage 2

Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer’s background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.

Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people’s impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle-class man or woman may be alienated (疏远) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person’s education, background, or interests.

People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits (套装), including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we acted. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.

In the workplace, men have long had well-defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of “masculine” and “feminine” attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that available for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less “feminine” grooming (打扮)— shorter hair, moderate use of make-up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, “An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won’t get a job.”

36. According to the passage, the way we dress __________.

A. provides clues for people who are critical of us

B. indicates our likes and dislikes in choosing a career

C. has a direct influence on the way people regard us

D. is of particular importance when we get on in age

37. From the third paragraph of the passage, we can conclude that young adults tend to believe that certain types of clothing can __________.

A. change people’s conservative attitudes toward their lifestyle

B. help young people make friends with the opposite sex

C. make them competitive in the job market

D. help them achieve success in their interpersonal relationships

38. The word “precedent” (Line 1, Para.4) probably refers to __________ .

A. early acts for men to follow as examples

B. particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importance

C. things that men should agree upon

D. men’s beliefs that everything in the world has already been decided

39. According to the passage, many career women find themselves in difficult situations because

A. the variety of professional clothing is too wide for them to choose

B. women are generally thought to be only good at being fashion models

C. men are more favorably judged for managerial positions

D. they are not sure to what extent they should display their feminine qualities through clothing

40. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Dressing for effect. B. How to dress appropriately.

C. Managerial positions and clothing. D. Dressing for the occasion.