U3readingcomprehension

Part1Readingcomprehension(Eachitem:1point(s))

Directions:Readthefollowingpassagescarefully.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedsentences.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD.Choosethebestanswertoeachquestion.

Questions1to5arebasedonthesamepassageordialog.

Anadditionallifephasebetweenadolescenceandadulthoodhasbeenadded.Toooften,whenyoungadultshavenotyetaccomplishedmanyofthetasksandchallengescommonlyexpectedofthemaftertheyleavecollege,theyarecharacterizedas"lost,""nothavingfoundthemselves,"or,worse,"dysfunctional."

Manyparentscontinuetohope,andperhapsexpect,thattheirchildrenwillknowclearlyabouttheircareeraspirationsandbeactivelyonthepathtowardaprofessionallifebygraduationday.Often,theygettheirwish.Manygraduates,however,completecollegewithconsiderablecareeruncertainty.Theymayneedaperiodofpost-graduateexplorationandexperimentationbeforecomingclosetoacareerchoicethatfeelsrighttothem.Inmypsychotherapy(心理治療)practice,Ihaveseenmanyyoungsterswhoeitherreferredthemselvesforhelporwerereferredbyconcernedothers,typicallytheirparents.Theanxietyordepressiontheyreportedisoftenrelatedtophase-of-life.Someyoungadultsfeelunpreparedwhentheyleavehomeorcollegeandtrytoestablishaseparateandindependentlife.Others,however,similarlydepressedoranxious,simplymaynothaveyetfiguredoutthetermsandconditionsoftheiradulthood,includingcareerchoice.

Someuniversitiesareworkingtocreateaprogramtosendtheirnewlyadmittedstudentsforayearofsocialserviceworkinaforeigncountrybeforetheysetfootoncampusasfreshmen.Suchaprogramwouldgivestudentsamoreinternationalperspective,whichwilladdtotheirmaturityandgivethemabreakfromacademicpressures.Similarly,growingnumbersofhighschoolstudentshavechosentotakea"gapyear"beforeenteringcollege.

Someparentsmayworry,however,thatoncetheirchildrengetawayfromthetraditionalpatternofhighschool-collegetheymayloseinterestinattendinguniversity.Infact,the"gapyear"makes"theodysseyyears"moremeaningfulastheseyoungadultstrytofigureouthowtoestablishtheirfuturecareer.

1. Whyareyoungadultssometimescharacterizedas"lost"?

A.Theydon'treallyaccomplishmuchaftergraduation.

B.Theylosttheirenergyinsearchingforjobs.

C.Theyfacemanychallengesintheircareer.

D.Theysimplycouldn'tdoanything.

2. Whatshouldgraduateswithcareeruncertaintydo?

A.Theyshouldknowclearlyabouttheircareeraspirations.

B.Theyshouldbeactivelyonthepathtowardtheircareer.

C.Theyneedtoconsultwithpeoplewho'reexperienced.

D.Theyneedaperiodofpost-graduateexploration.

3. What'sthepurposeforsomeyoungpeopletogotopsychotherapy?

A.Theyareunabletobeindependent.

B.Theywanttomaketheirparentshappy.

C.Theywanttoknowhowtohandletheirlife.

D.Theyareunpreparedfortheircareerchoice.

4. Whydouniversitieswanttosendstudentstoaforeigncountry?

A.Itistoenablestudentstoburnoutstress.

B.Itistobroadenstudents'horizons.

C.Itistoletstudentsbecomemoremature.

D.Itistomakesurestudentswon'tbelost.

5. Whatmessagedoestheauthorwanttosendout?

A.Parentsshouldstopworryingabouttheirchildren'scareer.

B.Youngpeoplearefollowingadifferentpatternoflife.

C.It'snecessaryforyoungadultstotakeayearofftoexploretheirlife.

D.Youngadultsshouldfigureouthowtoestablishtheirfuturecareer.

Questions6to10arebasedonthesamepassageordialog.

Asthefirstgenerationstogrowupinawiredworld,teenagershardlyknowatimewhencomputersweren'taround,andtheyleapatthechancetospendhoursonline,chattingwithfriendsandsearchingthewebfortheirinterestedtopics.Sowhat?

Butresearchersnationwideareincreasinglyconcernedthatteenagersarebecomingmoreisolated,lessskillfulatinterpersonalrelationships,andperhapsnumbtothesmall-or-bigcheatingthatissomuchapartofthee-mailworld.ResearchersareaskingjusthowthefuturesofteenagersarechangedwhensomanyofthemarespendinghoursontheInterneteachday,replacingface-to-facecontactwithcomputercontact.

Teens,whousedcomputersevenjustafewhoursaweek,showedincreasedsignsoflonelinessandsocialisolation.Theseteenshavefewerfriendstohangaroundwith,possiblybecausetheircomputertimehasreplacedthehourstheywouldhavespentwithothers.Theydon'tseeanythingstrangeinthefactthatthecomputerscreenoccupiesacentralplaceintheirsociallives.Theythinkschoolisstressfulandbusy.There'salmostnotimetojusthangout.Talkingonlineisjustcatch-uptime.

Manyteensacknowledgethere'sanunrealqualitytotheircyberspacecommunication,includingtheiroddshorthandterms,suchasPOS(parentovershoulder)orLOL(laughingoutloud).Thiscodeisconsideredaspartoftheexclusivesharedlanguagethatteenagerslove.Whenitcomestoe-mailexchanges,teensalsoshowaremarkabletoleranceforeachother'sexcusesortricks.Noraretheysurprisedwhenamereacquaintanceunloadsapersonalsecretthroughe-mail.Nobodyseemstoexpecttheonlineworldtobethesameastherealworld.

Teenssaytheyalsoappreciatetheabilitytoeditwhattheysayonline,ortakethetimetothinkaboutaresponse.Ascowardlyasitmayseem,someteensadmitthataskingsomeoneforadate,orbreakingup,canbeeasierinmessageform.Buttheyinsistthere'snoharmintended,andcyberspacehasbecomejustanothermedium,likethetelephone,intheworldofteenagers.

6. Whyareresearchersaskinghowthefuturesofteenagersarechanged?

A.Teensdon'tknowaboutalifewithoutcomputersaround.

B.Teensarebecomingmoreisolatedandlessskillful.

C.Teenscaneasilygettrappedintothee-mailworld.

D.TeensarespendingtoomuchtimeontheInterneteachday.

7. WhydoteensspendmuchtimeontheInternet?

A.Theyhavefewerfriendstohangoutwith.

B.Theydon'tseetheirsociallifestrange.

C.Theythinkschoolistoostressfulandbusy.

D.Theythinktalkingonlinecancatchuptime.

8. WhichstatementillustrateshowteensthinkabouttheInternet?

A.Cyberspacecommunicationisnottherealworld.

B.TheInternetenablesthemtosharetheiroddshorthandterms.

C.Theyenjoyuploadingtheirowninformationthroughemail.

D.Excusesandtricksinemailsarenormalandtolerable.

9. Whyhascyberspacebecomeanothermediumforteens?

A.Breakingupwithgirlfriendsorboyfriendsiseasier.

B.Usingcyberspacebringsthemalotofconvenience.

C.Theycaneasilyeditwhattheywanttosayonline.

D.Theyfeelmorecomfortablewhenexpressideasbymessages.

10. Whatisthemajornegativeeffectonteenagersusingcyberspace?

A.Theydon'tspendtimedoinghomework.

B.Theydon'thandoutwiththeirfriends.

C.Theybecomemoreisolatedandsociallyawkward.

D.Theybecomemorecoweredincommunication.

Questions11to15arebasedonthesamepassageordialog.

Whenimportanteventsarehappeningaroundtheworld,mostpeopleturntotraditionalmediasources,suchasCNNandBBC,fortheirnews.However,nowpeoplecanwritediariesandpostthemonawebsite,knownasa"blog."Blogs,shortfor"web-logs,"areonlinediaries,usuallykeptbyindividuals,butsometimesbycompaniesandothergroupsofpeople.TheyarethefastestgrowingtypeofwebsiteontheInternet.

Ablogdiffersfromatraditionalwebsiteinseveralways.Mostimportantly,itisupdatedmuchmoreregularly.Manyblogsareupdatedeveryday,andsomeareupdatedseveraltimesaday.Also,mostblogsusespecialsoftwareorwebsiteswhicharespecificallyaimedatbloggers,soyoudon'tneedtobeacomputerexperttocreateyourownblog.Thismeansthatordinarypeoplewhomayfindcomputersdifficulttousecaneasilysetupandstartwritingtheirownblog.

Therearemanydifferentkindsofblogs.Themostpopulartypeisanonlinediaryoflinks,wheretheblogwritersurfstheInternetandthenpostslinkstositesornewarticlesthattheyfindinteresting,withafewcommentsabouteachone.Othertypesarepersonaldiaries,wherethewriterstalkabouttheirlifeandfeelings.Sometimestheseblogscanbeverypersonal.

Thereisanotherkindofblogging,called"moblogging,"shortfor"mobileblogging."Mobloggersusemobilephoneswithcamerastotakephotos,whicharepostedinstantlytotheInternet.TheuseofmobilephonesinthiswaymadetheheadlinesinSingaporewhenahighschoolstudentpostedontheInternetamoviehehadtakenofateachershoutingatanotherstudentandtearingupthestudent'shomework.ManypeoplewereshockedbythestudentpostingavideooftheincidentontheInternet.

Asblogsbecomemorecommon,newsreportingwillrelylessonbigmediacompaniesandmoreonordinarypeoplepostingnewstotheInternet.Possibly,thenewswillbelesslikealectureandmorelikeaconversation,whereanyonecanjoinin.

11. Whatisthemainideaofthispassage?

A.ThehistoryoftheInternet.

B.Theintroductionofnewtypesofmedia.

C.Theincreaseinpopularityofcomputers.

D.growingnumberofpeoplewritingdiaries.

12. Tostartyourownblog,whatdoyouneedmost?

A.Specialsoftware.

B.AnInternetaccount.

C.Aninterestingpointofview.

D.AccesstotheInternet.

13. Whatisthemostsignificantdifferencebetweenblogsandtraditionalwebsites?

A.Blogsareupdatedmuchmoreoften.

B.Blogsusespecialsoftware.

C.Blogscontainlinkstootherwebsites.

D.Blogscontainpersonalinformation.

14. Whatis"moblogging"?

A.MobilephonesthatmadetheheadlinesinSingapore.

B.Usephonestotakephotosandthenpostthemonline.

C.NegativenewspostedontheInternet.

D.PicturespostedinstantlytotheInternet.

15. Accordingtothepassage,whichoneismostlikelytohappeninthefuture?

A.Everyonewillhaveablog.

B.Largemediacompanieswillbeunnecessary.

C.Peoplewilllearnthenewsfromdifferentpointsofview.

D.Bloggingtechnologywillbebanned.

Questions16to20arebasedonthesamepassageordialog.

Haveyoueverflown?DidyouflytoanothercountrytostudyEnglish?Howdoyoufeelaboutflying?Peoplewhohavetoflyallthetimeforbusinessusuallyfinditboring.Peoplewhoflyonlyonceinawhileareexcited.However,somepeoplefeelonlyterrorwhentheyboardanairplane.Theysufferfromaphobia,anillogicalfear.

Ifyouareafraidofpoisonousspiders(有毒蜘蛛),thisislogical.Ifyouareafraidofallspiders,evenharmlessones,thisisaphobiabecauseitisillogical.Somepeoplehavephobiasaboutheightsbeingshutupinasmallorlargeopenarea.It'snotlogicaltobeafraidofthesethingswhenthereisnodanger,butaphobiaisnotlogical.

Fearofflyingisanotherphobia.Wealwayshearaboutaplanecrash,butwedon'thearaboutthemillionsofflightseveryyearthataresafe.Ridinginacaristhirtytimesmoredangerousthanflying,butmostofusarenotafraideverytimewegetintoacar.Itisnotlogicaltobeafraidofflying,butresearchshowsthatabout12percentofpeoplehavethisfear.

Peoplewithaphobiaaboutflyingareafraidforoneormorereasons.Theyareafraidofheights.Theyavoidhighplaces,andiftheyareinahigh-risebuilding,theydon'tlookoutthewindows.

Theymightbeafraidofbeinginanenclosedplacelikeanelevatororatunnelonahighway.Whentheygetonanairplane,theycan'tgetoutuntiltheendoftheflight,andtheflightmightlastseveralhoursorevenmore.Maybetheyareafraidofthecrowdsandallthenoiseandpeoplerushingaroundatanairport.Thisespeciallybothersolderpeople.

Somepeopleareafraidoftheunknown.Theydon'tunderstandthetechnologyofflyingandcan'tbelievethatahugeairplanecanstayupintheair.Thoughsomepeopleareafraidofflying,formanypeopleit'snotimportantbecausetheydon'treallyneedtofly.

16. ________usuallythinkflyingisboring.

A.Peoplewhoflyonceinawhile

B.Peoplewhoflyoftenonbusinesstrips

C.Peoplewhohaveaphobiaaboutflying

D.Peoplewhofeelterroroncetheyboardaplane

17. Accordingtothepassage,aphobiarefersto________.

A.achemicalthatcausesterror

B.anillogicalwayofreaction

C.areliablewayofpredictingdanger

D.aharmfulwayofthinking

18. Apersonwithafearofenclosedplacesdoesn'tlike________.

A.walkingonapath

B.stayinginhighplaces

C.beinginatunnel

D.drivingacarbyhimself

19. ________especiallybotheroldpeople.

A.Crowdsatairports

B.High-risebuildings

C.Dangerousspiders

D.Anenclosedplace

20. Whatdoes