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

　　A study of facts and figures on development demonstrates that China has made remarkable social progress in a range of significant areas in the last 45 years.

　　China feeds and clothes 22 percent of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's farmland. The necessities of life food, clothing, goods for everyday use — are now within reach of the majority of the Chinese people. Nutrition has improved greatly for both urban and rural residents.

　　The Chinese government has taken a series of measures to eliminate or reduce poverty, bringing down the number of poor in the rural population from 250 million in 1978 to only 80 million in 1994, even though this was a period in which China's population increased by over 100 million.

　　The per capita living area in cities and towns increased from 3.6 square meters in 1978 to 7.5 square meters in 1993. In rural areas the per capita housing has reached 20.8 square meters.

　　Educational developments have liberated millions of Chinese people from ignorance and illiteracy. In 1986 China instituted nine years of compulsory schooling, with the result that by 1993 school enrolment had reached 97.7 percent. Today, illiteracy among young and middle-aged people has dropped to only seven percent.

　　The state is taking measures to keep its labor force fully employed. In recent years the urban unemployment rate has remained between two and three percent. China has put strict controls on industrial pollution in an effort to improve the overall urban environment. Ecological methods of farming are being promoted and afforestation is being speeded up. In 1993 the country's forest coverage was 13.9 percent and 766 nature reserves covered a total of 661, 800 square kilometers.

　　China is working toward the goal of health care for everyone by the year 2000. In 1993 there were two hospital beds for every 833 people and two doctors for every 1,266 people. By now the immunization of children has reached 85 percent, and increased efforts are being made to monitor and control AIDS and venereal diseases.

　　57. What is an appropriate title for this passage?

　　[A] Fast Economic Development in China. [B] Social Development in China.

　　[C] The Current Chinese Society. [D] People's View on China's Reform.

　　58. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

　　[A] Chinese people account for 22 percent of the world's total population.

　　[B] The arable land in China constitutes seven percent of that of the world.

　　[C] Most Chinese people now can easily buy the necessities of life.

　　[D] Urban residents can eat nutritiously, but rural residents cannot.

　　59. What is mentioned as a difficulty of poverty elimination efforts by the passage?

　　[A] Slow economic development. [B] Vast area of land.

　　[C] Huge population increase. [D] Natural disaster.

　　60. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　[A] Educational developments have set millions of Chinese people free.

　　[B] After 1986, every child in China must receive an education of at least nine years.

　　[C] Nowadays, only 7% of young and middle-aged people cannot read or write.

　　[D] There is compulsory education for children now.

　　61. Which of the following is mentioned as an example of achievements in health care?

　　[A] Increasing budget and attention. [B] Preferential tax policy and incentives.

　　[C] Decreasing mortality rate and medicine price. [D] Ratio of hospital beds to patient.

　　Passage Two

　　I have certainly seen lots of changes in my lifetime! I look around my home and see "mod cons" that I could never have dreamed of 50 or 60 years ago. I spent the early part of childhood in a cottage without running water or electricity and yet these days, I feel paralyzed if there is a power cut for even just an hour or two! So, I have changed too. Things that I couldn't even imagine in the past now seem quite normal.

　　Businessmen can travel from London to New York in three hours and lots of people exceed the seventy-mile-per-hour speed limit on motorways. A person of 75 is not old these days. A serious illness does not mean certain death because there have been so many advances in medical science. We no longer need to be afraid of contracting diseases like polio or smallpox. I can speak to my son in Australia from my own sitting room here in Manchester, watch athletes running a race on the other side of the world without moving from my own home and I can even do my shopping while I sit here in an armchair. I never need to worry about food going bad in the warm weather and, at the flick of a switch, I can have a hot meal in a couple of minutes. So, it seems, the quality of life has greatly improved since my own childhood.

　　I'm not convinced, however, that people are happier today than they were 50 years ago. We are certainly materially better off than we were but most people still seem to be weighed down by problems. My daughter and her family are a good illustration. They have a spacious, comfortable home with every labor-saving device you can think of. There's a washing machine, a clothes dryer, a food processor, a vacuum cleaner and all sorts of other household items which are designed to save time but it seems to me that my daughter and her husband just spend all that "saved" time working! They never relax and are always complaining of being tired and "stressed".

　　62. What is the passage mainly about?

　　[A] How life has improved. [B] How life has become worse.

　　[C] A comparison of life now and that in the past. [D] Memory of life in the past.

　　63. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

　　[A] People can travel faster nowadays.

　　[B] In the past, a 75-year-old person is considered old.

　　[C] Now a person will die if he suffers from a serious illness.

　　[D] At present we will no longer be helpless victims of diseases like polio or smallpox.

　　64. What does the word "contracting" (Line 4, Para. 2) mean?

　　[A] Infecting. [B] Acquiring. [C] Shrinking. [D] Entering into an agreement.

　　65. Which of the following is NOT an example given by the author to demonstrate the convenience of _____ modern life?

　　[A] Quick food. [B] Easy shopping. [C] Internet. [D] TV shows.

　　66. According to the author, what is a problem of modem life?

　　[A] Increased crimes. [B] Diminished friendships. [C] Increased divorce rate. [D] Pressure of modem life.

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