4. Passage Twenty-Four Social change is more likely to occur in societies where there is a mixture of different kinds of people than in societies where people are similar in many ways. The simple reason for this is that there are more different ways of looking at things present in the first kind of society. There are more ideas， more disagreements in interest， and more groups and organizations with different beliefs. In addition， there is usually a greater worldly interest and greater tolerance in mixed societies. All these factors tend to promote social change by opening more areas of life to decision. In a society where people are quite similar in many ways， there are fewer occasions for people to see the need or the opportunity for change because everything seems to be the same. And although conditions may not be satisfactory， they are at least customary and undisputed. Within a society， social changes is also likely to occur more frequently and more readily in the material aspects of the culture than in the non-material， for example， in technology rather than in values; in what has been learned later in life rather than what was learned early; in the less basic and less emotional aspects of society than in their opposites; in the simple elements rather than in the complex ones; in form rather than in substance; and in elements that are acceptable to the culture rather than in strange elements. Furthermore， social change is easier if it is gradual. For example， it comes more readily in human relations on a continuous scale rather than one with sharp dichotomies ( 一分为二). This is one reason why change has not come more quickly to Black American as compared to other American minorities， because of the sharp difference in “appearance between them and their white counterparts” . In the first paragraph， “greater tolerance” probably refers to ( ) .

2. Passage Twenty-Seven Out of all the students who enroll in a massive open online course 【MOOC】， only about 5 percent complete the course and receive a certificate of accomplishment. This statistic is often cited as evidence that MOOCs are fatally flawed (有缺陷的) and offer little educational value to most students. Yet more than 80 percent of students who fill out a post-course survey say they met their primary objective. How do we look at these two facts? We’re used to focusing on completion rates in higher education， but they’re not the only—or even the most meaningful—indicator of engagement in open online courses. With no cost to enroll， no punishment for dropping out， and little reward for actually earning a certificate， MOOCs are fundamentally different from traditional classes—and students use them in fundamentally different ways. Data from more than 1.8 million students enrolled in 36 MOOCs offered by the University of Pennsylvania show that students treat MOOCs like a buffet (自助餐)， sampling the material according to their interests and career goals. Some are curious about the subject matter and just watch one or two video lectures; others use the discussion forums to connect with their intellectual peers around the world. Of all enrolled students， nearly 60 percent watch at least one video， complete at least one assignment， or post at least once in a forum. So focusing on the tiny fraction of students who complete a MOOC is misguided. The more important number is the 60 percent engagement rate. Students may not finish a MOOC with a certificate of accomplishment， but the courses nonetheless meet the educational goals of millions. In Para. 2， the author stresses ( ) .

A. the primary objective of MOOC students

B. the significance of completion rates in education

C. the strengths and weaknesses of open online courses

D. the differences between MOOCs and traditional classes

3. Passage Twenty-Eight On November 19， 1863， Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett， a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere. It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night， alone in his hotel room and tired out， he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15，000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked， “I have failed again.” On the train back to Washington， he said sadly， “That speech was a flat failure， and the people are disappointed” . Some newspapers at first criticized the speech， but little by little as people read the speech， they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made. Today， every American school child learns Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history. It can be inferred from the text that ( ) .

A. Lincoln prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg

B. Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn’t have much time to prepare his speech

C. Lincoln’s speech was full of rich words

D. Lincoln’s speech was very long

37. Tom returned to his house after a holiday, only to find it (_____).

A. 　 to be broken into

B. 　 was broken into

C. 　 had broken into

D. 　 had been broken into

3. Passage One There are three separate sources of danger in supplying energy by nuclear power. First， the radioactive material must travel from its place of production to the power station. Although the power stations themselves are strongly built， the containers used for the transport of the materials are not. Normally， only two methods of transport are in use， namely road or rail. Unfortunately， both of these may have an effect on the general public， since they are sure to pass near， or even through， heavily populated areas. Second， there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes that in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to make these wastes nonradioactive， so they must be stored in one of the inconvenient ways that scientists have invented. For example， they may be buried under the ground， or dropped into deserted mines， or sunk in the sea. However， these methods do not solve the problem， since an earthquake could easily break the containers.
Third， there may occur the danger of a leak or an explosion at the power station. Compared with the other two dangers， this is not very likely， so it does not provide a serious objection to the nuclear program. However， it can happen. Separately， these three types of dangers are not a great cause for worry. Taken together， though， the probability of disaster is extremely high. What do we learn from the last paragraph?

A. By itself， none of the three dangers is very likely to cause much worry.

B. The dangers of nuclear energy can be prevented.

C. The general public are strongly against the nuclear program.

D. The power station is a safe place.

46. I got to the airport, (_____)_ that the plane had left ten minutes before.

A. 　 only to find

B. 　 to only find

C. 　 only having found

D. 　 only found

2. Passage Twenty-Four Social change is more likely to occur in societies where there is a mixture of different kinds of people than in societies where people are similar in many ways. The simple reason for this is that there are more different ways of looking at things present in the first kind of society. There are more ideas， more disagreements in interest， and more groups and organizations with different beliefs. In addition， there is usually a greater worldly interest and greater tolerance in mixed societies. All these factors tend to promote social change by opening more areas of life to decision. In a society where people are quite similar in many ways， there are fewer occasions for people to see the need or the opportunity for change because everything seems to be the same. And although conditions may not be satisfactory， they are at least customary and undisputed. Within a society， social changes is also likely to occur more frequently and more readily in the material aspects of the culture than in the non-material， for example， in technology rather than in values; in what has been learned later in life rather than what was learned early; in the less basic and less emotional aspects of society than in their opposites; in the simple elements rather than in the complex ones; in form rather than in substance; and in elements that are acceptable to the culture rather than in strange elements. Furthermore， social change is easier if it is gradual. For example， it comes more readily in human relations on a continuous scale rather than one with sharp dichotomies ( 一分为二). This is one reason why change has not come more quickly to Black American as compared to other American minorities， because of the sharp difference in “appearance between them and their white counterparts” .( ) is one of the factors that tend to promote social change.

A. Joint interest

B. Advanced technology

C. Less emotional people

D. Different points of view

32. Many a man (_____)_ satisfied (_____)_ life for the cause of the revolution.

A. 　 have...his

B. 　 has...his

C. 　 have... their

D. 　Has... their

1. Passage Twenty-Six Today just as technology changed the face of industry， farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution” . On the farm of today， machines provide all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records， so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog (猪) producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers. In the future， farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power， and modern farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power. Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear (修剪) sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the special barn (畜棚)， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future， this will all be done by robots. In addition， when the milking is completed， the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future， but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long. Which sentence is the main idea of the whole passage?

A. The first sentence of the first paragraph.

B. The first sentence of the second paragraph.

C. The first sentence of the third paragraph.

D. The last sentence of the second paragraph.

33. Gold has been highly prized throughout the ages due chiefly to (_____)_.

A. 　 it is scarce

B. 　 so scarce is it

C. 　 scarcity of it

D. 　 its scarcity

4. Passage Ten Nowadays， children heavily cling to digital devices such as computers and smart phones. Some spend up to six hours a day on their digital devices. They can be playing games online with people elsewhere， updating their status on social media， texting friends， or looking for the latest apps to download to their computers or smart phones. This worried Martin Strott. He is the headmaster of the Old Hall School in Wellington， England. He was so concerned that he challenged his students to take part in a week of 【 “digital】 【detox”】， a program to reduce their reliance on digital devices. Mr. Strott told the local newspaper， the Shropshire Star， that too much screen time would affect the development of their social skills. At another interview with a magazine， he mentioned that this over-reliance on digital devices “takes away family time and reduces their chances of face-to-face communication” . The parents are happy with the program. But what about the children? Nine-year-old Fred usually spends around two hours on his digital devices at home after school and around 12 hours on weekends. For him， the digital detox experience was “really hard” . He said that he had been engaged in many interesting outdoor activities organized by the headmaster， but still missed his phone and online games. The idea of keeping children away from their digital devices for a while to prevent too much dependence on them is not particularly new. There have been similar practices in the United States. But are they effective in the long run? According to Mr. Strott， even if kids go back to their digital devices， the hope is that at least they will think about how they will use their time. How did Fred feel about his “digital detox” experience?

A. Tough.

B. Ashamed.

C. Enjoyable.

D. Attractive.