Part III: Reading Comprehension (10%)

　　Passage One

　　In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story ”often told, Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English. --- Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one.

　　So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top form yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?

　　Second , is the goal (目標) you’re trying to reach the right one ? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question, “If I do succeed in this, where will it get me ?”This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.

　　The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s a part of life. Learn to “l(fā)ive with yourself ”even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win at all.”

　　21. This passage deals with two sides of failure. In paragraph 1, the author talks mainly about ___________.

　　A. the value of failure B. how people would fail

　　C. famous failures D. the cause of failure

　　22. The underlined phrase “made it ”means ________ .

　　A. succeeded B. failed

　　C. gave D. got

　　23. The lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce seems _________ .

　　A. productive B. straight forward

　　C. sorrowful D. deep

　　24. The author tells you to do all things except ________ .

　　A. to think about the cause of your failure

　　B. to check out whether your goals are right for you

　　C. to consider failure as a part of life

　　D. to bear in mind that you will never fail in your life

　　25. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. Bruce and Edison were successful examples.

　　B. Failure may be regarded as a way toward success.

　　C. Edison learned a lot from the lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce.

　　D. One may often raise a question whether his goals are worth attempting

　　Passage Two

　　While the private schools may be charging too much, some of the publics are risking their futures by charging too little. Low tuition is fine, as the state assigns enough money to education, as has generally been the case in Texas and California. But for years, New Jersey’s legendary resistance to taxes condemned Rutgers University to second-class status. “Of what real worth is a low-tuition policy,” wrote Rutgers’ former president, the late Edward Bloustein, “If it dooms students to an education below the quality they want and require?”

　　New York State’s students might ask themselves the same. A series of protests pressured Governor Maria Cuomo into canceling a $200 rise in tuition last year (prices haven’t gone up since 1983). And what’s the result? Greatly-reduced budgets, shabby campuses, course restrictions, limited library hors and various new student fees.

　　The irony of New York and other state systems is that the percentage of higher-income students they serve is increasing at a phenomenal rate, says Arthur Hauptman of the American Council on Education. Given this changing population, more states should start playing the Robin Hood game increasing their sticker price, discounting rates to low-income students and using the rest of the money to raise the quality of their schools.

　　The middle-class melt and the betterment of public universities are still in their very earliest stages. But these trends will intensify as the children of the burdened boomers reach college age. For the academics, it’s a wake-up call. In the next century, they’ll have to be affordable and good.

　　26. According to some critics, the low-tuition policy of public universities might lead to____.

　　A. the middle-class melt

　　B. a credit crisis

　　C. a decline in the quality of education

　　D. the enrollment of second-class students

　　27. Public universities reduce the tuition because____.

　　A. they yield to the pressure of protesters

　　B. they get contributions from the rich

　　C. they get enough money from the state

　　D. they try to give lower-income students an opportunity

　　28. It can be inferred from the passage that____.

　　A. private universities will join in the thrice competition

　　B. public universities have to withdraw from the price competition

　　C. rich students find ways of paying less by taking the advantage of the policy

　　D. rich students should be entitled to equal opportunities as poor students

　　29. In order to maintain their high quality at the stone time of opening the floor to low-income students, public universities have to ______.

　　A. enlist their students for some voluntary jobs

　　B. exert long-term effort to improve themselves

　　C. count upon the financial support from the government

　　D. increase the proportion of rich students and charge more from them

　　30. This passage is mainly about _____.

　　A. the Robin Hood game

　　B. ways of paying less for college education

　　C. difficult situation of public universities

　　D. financial aid to lower—income students

　　Part IV : Translation (20%)

　　Section A: Translate the following Chinese into English (15%)

　　31.我們得趕快，要不就會趕不上車了。

　　32.這支鋼筆花了我不到兩美元。

　　33.我每天需要20分鐘讀英語。

　　34.他已經夠上學的年齡了。

　　35.中國決不會第一個使用核武器。

　　Section B: Translate the following English into Chinese (5%)

　　We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead. No one looking behind ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chips would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots. Tomorrow’s achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes. But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more vital, and the people who possess it, whether they work in manufacturing or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth. If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information services will be predominant. It will be the way you do your job.