48. It wasn’t until nearly a month later () I received the manager’s reply.

1. Passage Thirteen Trees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods. Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important. In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had. And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees. So the forests slowly disappear. This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees. The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich top-soil. When all the top-soil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert. Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire. It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak. When the empire fell to pieces， the home country found itself faced with floods and starvation. What is the most important service of trees to man according to the passage?

A. They help him make money.

B. They give him wood and other products.

C. They help him prevent droughts and floods.

D. They give him shade.

31. The whole world (_____) the unique opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the National Stadium in Beijing.

A. 　 witnessed

B. 　 have witnessed

C. 　 were witnessed

D. 　 are witnessed

3. Passage Twenty-One What will man be like in the future—in 5，000 or even 50，000 years from now? We can only make guesses， of course， but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time. Let us take an obvious example. Man， even five hundred years ago， was shorter than he is today. Now， on average， men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively short period of time， so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again， in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so， we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on， however， we shall have to use our brains more and more， and eventually we shall need larger ones. This is likely to bring about a physical change to the head， in particular the forehead will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact， we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger. On the other hand， we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These， as a result， are likely to grow weaker. At the same time， however， our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. But what about hair? It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future， then， both sexes are likely to be bald. Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at. This may well be true. All the same， in spite of all these changes， future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being， with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.Man’s forehead will grow larger because ( ) .

A. he will use only about 20% of the brain’s capacity

B. the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time

C. he had rather narrow forehead a few hundred years ago

D. he will have to use his brain more and more as time goes on

37. She earns a good salary, so she (_____)_ be deep in debt.

A. 　 can’t

B. 　 must

C. 　 needn’t

D. 　 should

48. Though we hadn't met each other for 30 years, I recognized him(_____)I saw him.

A. 　 the moment

B. 　 the moment when

C. 　 for the moment

D. 　 at the moment when

2. Passage Nine Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services. People use money to buy food， furniture， books， bicycles and hundreds of others they need or want. When they work， they usually get paid in money. Most of the money today is made of metal or paper. But people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells. Shells were not the only things used as money. In China， cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands， rice was used as money. In some parts of Africa， cattle were one of the earliest kinds of money. Other animals were used as money， too. The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the center. People strung them together and carried them from place to place. Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. The first coins in England were made of tin. Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money. Later， other countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again， the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than paper money used today. Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today. Where were shells used as money in history?

A. In the Philippines.

B. In China.

C. In Africa.

D. We don’t know.

43. The factory is trying every means to (_____)_ the wholesale price of its products.

A. 　pull down

B. 　 bring down

C. 　 put down

D. 　 set down

44. He reads newspapers every day to keep himself () about what’s going on in the world.

A. 　 inform

B. 　 informing

C. 　 informed

D. 　 being informed

3. 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. According to Para. 3， students choose MOOCs for the following reasons EXCEPT

A. earning a certificate

B. improving job-related skills

C. meeting their interest in the subjects

D. exchanging ideas with students worldwide

2. Passage Twenty-Two Though some people have suggested that women should return to housework in order to leave more jobs for men， the idea has been rejected by both women and men in public opinion polls (民意测验). Lately some union officials have suggested that too many women are employed in type of work more suitable for men and that women should step aside to make way for unemployed young men. They argue that women—especially women in their childbearing years actually delay economic development and result in lower productivity， poor quality and inefficiency. To solve the problem， they have suggested that the working women stay at home while their husbands or brothers were given double wages. They argue that under these circumstances， families would retain their same level of income， and women could run the house and raise children much better. The suggestion has been rejected by 9 out of 10 people polled. A hundred persons in a big city were questioned last summer. Out of 50 women， 46 said they were unwilling to leave their jobs， no matter what the situation was. The other 4 said they would like to return home if their jobs could be taken by their sons or daughters. Of 50 men polled， only 6 said they would like to see their wives give up their jobs， if it meant higher wages for themselves. Some other people have suggested another way called “phased employment theory” . The theory suggests that a woman worker take leave from her job when she is seven months pregnant (妊娠) and stay off the job until her baby reaches the age of 3. It suggests that women on leave receive 75 percent of their normal salary and be allowed to return to work after the 3-year period. This will benefit children， women， their families and the society. Some of those polled， both women and men， felt the idea is a good one. It definitely seems to be more acceptable than the suggestion that women return to home forever. Some union officials have suggested that if women resign their jobs， ( ) .

A. they should be allowed to attend school to be trained

B. their jobs should be taken over by the male members of their families

C. the male employees in their families should receive double wages

D. their children should also leave their kindergartens