1、BFT阅读（综合）模拟试卷 42及答案与解析 一、 Part 3 0 In the late 1960s, many people in North America turned their attention to environmental problems, and new steel-and-glass skyscrapers were widely criticized. Ecologist pointed out that a cluster of tall buildings in a city often overburdens public transportation an
2、d parking lot capabilities. Skyscrapers also lavish consumers, and wasters, of electric power. In one recent year, the addition of 17 million square feet of skyscraper office space in New York City raised the peak daily demand for electricity by 120,000 kilowatts enough to supply the entire city of
3、Albany, New York, for a day. Glass-walled skyscrapers can be especially wasteful. The heat loss through a wall of half-inch plate glass is more than ten times that through a typical masonry wall filled with insulation board. To lessen the strain on heating and air-conditioning equipment, builders of
4、 skyscrapers have begun to use double-blazed panel of glass, and reflective glasses coasted with silver or gold mirror films that reduce glare as well as heat gain. However, mirror-walled skyscrapers raise the temperature of the surrounding air and affect neighboring buildings. Skyscrapers put a sev
5、er strain on the citys sanitation facilities, too. If fully occupied, the two World Trade Towers in New York city would alone generate 2. 25 million gallons of raw sewage each year as much as a city the size of Stanford, Connecticut, which has a population of more than 109,000. Skyscrapers also inte
6、rfere with the television reception, block bird flyways, and obstruct the traffic. In Boston in the late 1960s, some people even feared that shadows from skyscrapers would kill the grass on Boston Common. Still, people continue to build skyscrapers for all the reasons they have always built them per
7、sonal ambitions, civic pride and the desire of owners to have the largest possible amount of retable space. 1 The main purpose of the passage is to _. （ A） compare skyscrapers with other modern structures （ B） describe skyscrapers and their effect on the environment （ C） advocate the use of masonry
8、in the construction of skyscrapers （ D） illustrate some architectural designs of skyscrapers 2 According to the passage, what is one disadvantage of skyscrapers having mirrored walls? （ A） The exterior surrounding air is heated. （ B） The windows must be cleared daily. （ C） Construction time is incre
9、ased. （ D） Extra air-conditioning equipment is needed. 3 According to the passage, which aspect of skyscrapers were concerned about by some residents of Boston in the late 1960s? （ A） The noise from the construction. （ B） The removal of trees and grass from the building sites. （ C） The harmful effec
10、ts on the citys grass. （ D） The high cost of the retable office space. 4 Which of the following groups would concern the issues raised by the author? （ A） Electricians. （ B） Environmentalists. （ C） Aviators. （ D） Teachers. 5 Which paragraph compares the energy consumption of skyscraper with that of
11、the city? （ A） Paragraph two. （ B） Paragraph three. （ C） Paragraph four. （ D） Paragraph five. 6 The problems caused by the tall buildings are pointed out by _. （ A） environmentalist （ B） ecologist （ C） citizens （ D） government 7 The reasons that people build skyscrapers are so many EXCEPT _. （ A） pe
12、rsonal ambition （ B） desire of owners to have the largest possible amount of retable space （ C） block bird flyways （ D） civic pride 7 There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. Three basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered syst
13、em, and the traditional system. In a market system, individual economic units are free to interact each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy commodities form other economic units or sell commodities to them. In a market, transactions may take place via barter or money exchange. In a barte
14、r economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and pizzas are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for sailboat may not always be an easy task. Hence the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In t
15、he modern market economy, goods and services are bought or sold for money. An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue edicts or commands as how much of each good and service should be produced, exchanged, and consumed by
16、 each economy unit. Central planning may be one way of administrating such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each commodity produced by the various firms and allocated to different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of pro
17、duction consumption, and exchange for the whole economy. In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition: every persons place within the economic system is fixed by parentage, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition too. People
18、belonging to a certain group or caste may have an obligation to cater for other persons, provide them with food and shelter, care for their health, and provide for their education. Clearly, in a system where every decision is made on basis of tradition alone, progress may be difficult to achieve. A
19、stagnant society may result. 8 The word “real“ in “real goods“ in the second paragraph could best replaced by _. （ A） high quality （ B） concrete （ C） utmost （ D） authentic 9 According to the passage, a barter economy can lead to _. （ A） rapid speed of transactions （ B） misunderstandings （ C） inflati
20、on （ D） difficulty for the traders 10 According to passage, _ has the greatest control in an administered system. （ A） individual households （ B） small businesses （ C） major corporations （ D） the government 11 Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a criterion for deciding a person
21、s position in a traditional society? （ A） Family background. （ B） Religious beliefs. （ C） Age. （ D） Custom. 12 What is the main purpose of the passage? （ A） To outline contrasting types of the economic system. （ B） To explain the science of the economics. （ C） To argue for the experience of one econ
22、omic system. （ D） To compare barter and money-exchange market. 13 In the market system, money acts as a role of_. （ A） buy or sale （ B） trade （ C） medium of exchange （ D） doing businesses 14 The old system is based on _. （ A） tradition only （ B） religion group （ C） certain costs （ D） parentage 14 Th
23、e US may so far have enjoyed good luck in escaping a direct SARS hit, but officials arent leaving anything to chance. The best hope for averting a SARS epidemic at home will be to keep SARS out at the nations borders. Federal immigration laws authorize immigration authorities to exclude non-citizens
24、 who are determined to have a “communicable disease of public health significance“. Immigration law also authorizes the President by proclamation to suspend the entry of any group of aliens whose entry he deems to be detrimental to the interests of the United States. This little-used power could be
25、deployed to exclude all aliens from affected areas, a policy Taiwan has recently implemented. Under the Public Health Service Act, any individual(citizens included)may be quarantined at an international port of entry if they are reasonably believed to be carrying a designated communicable disease. A
26、s of an April 4 Executive Order by President Bush, SARS is now a designated disease. Thus, in tandem with airline screening, federal health authorities are carefully monitoring travelers from affected areas in Asia for SARS symptoms. With an estimated 25,000 individuals entering the country legally
27、from Asia on a daily basis, that is a tall order. A single SARS-infected person getting through the net could bring down the border strategy. The US government might also front-end the border strategy through restrictions on travel by American citizens to affected areas. In a series of Cold War era
28、decisions, the Supreme Court upheld international travel restrictions for national security reasons, and one can imagine the same rationale applying to a public health emergency. How practical it would be to prohibit and police a travel ban to countries such as China is another question. The initial
29、 SARS defense, then, hinges on effective border control. But US borders are far from under control. There are an estimated 8-9 million undocumented aliens now in the United States, a figure growing by as many as 500,000 per year. Asia is the largest contributor to undocumented immigration outside th
30、e western hemisphere, tunneling illegal aliens into the United States through elaborate smuggling networks. SARS could just as easily make serious inroads into the US through this backdoor rather than the front. 15 From the first three paragraphs, we learn that _. （ A） American officials dont see an
31、y chance of escaping an immediate SARS hit （ B） non-citizens with a disease will be quarantined at the international airport （ C） foreigners with a communicable disease may legally be denied entry into the US （ D） immigration officers are empowered to keep aliens out of the US 16 Which of the follow
32、ing statements is true according to the text? （ A） The President rarely declares a rejection of non-citizens from infected areas. （ B） The US is the only lucky country to have kept safe from a SARS attack. （ C） The interests of the US are given more legal protection than public health. （ D） The Publ
33、ic Health Service Act has been brought into effect since April 4. 17 The phrase “a tall order“ in paragraph 4 most probably means _. （ A） an ambitious plan （ B） a difficult task （ C） a careful arrangement （ D） an illegal decision 18 The authors attitude toward the American border strategy can be des
34、cribed as _. （ A） optimistic （ B） pessimistic （ C） objective （ D） negative 19 Which of the following border strategy is NOT mentioned in the passage to keep SARS out of America? （ A） The president is authorized to suspend the entry of any group of aliens whose entry could be harmful to the interests
35、 of the US. （ B） Any individual(citizens included)may be quarantined at an international port of entry if they are believed to be carrying SARS. （ C） Federal health authorities are carefully monitoring travelers from affected areas in Asia for SARS symptoms. （ D） No American citizen is allowed to tr
36、avel to affected areas. 20 The author would probably agree that _. （ A） a SARS hit could be escaped by means of strict monitoring of international travel （ B） undocumented immigrants poses a serious threat to national security of US （ C） illegal aliens come into the US with the help of complicated s
37、muggling networks （ D） American border strategy may fail to attain its goal of avoiding a SARS epidemic 21 The passage is primarily concerned with _. （ A） the threat of SARS to the national security of US （ B） the US border strategy against SARS （ C） the problems in US national security （ D） the cri
38、sis of a public health emergency 21 Bank of America, holding company for the San Francisco-based Bank of America, was once unchallenged as the nations biggest banking organization. At its peak, it had more branches in California 1,100 than the US Postal Service. It was also a highly profitable enter
39、prise. But since 1980, Bank of Americas earnings have been down or flat. From March 1985 to March 1986, for example, earnings per share dropped 50. 8 percent. Samuel H. Armacost, president and CEO, has confessed that he doesnt expect a turnaround soon. Some of Bank of Americas old magic seems to hav
40、e rubbed off on New Yorks Citibank, perennial rival for top banking honors. Thanks to aggressive growth policies, Citicorps assets topped Bank of Americas for the first time in 1983 and by a healthy margin. Citibank has also been generating profits at a fast clip, enabling it to spend lavishly on ca
41、mpaigns to enter new markets notably Bank of Americas turf in California. The bad times Bank of America is currently facing are partly the result of the good times the bank enjoyed earlier. Based in a large and populous state and operating in a regulated environment, Bank of America thrived. Before
42、deregulation, banks could not compete by offering savers a higher return, so they competed with convenience. With a branch at every crossroads, Bank of America was able to attract 40 percent of the California deposit market a source of high earnings when the legal maximum payable to depositors was m
43、uch lower than the interest on loans. The progressive deregulation of banking forced Bank of America to fight for its customers by offering them competitive rates. But how could this mammoth bureaucracy, with its expensive overhead, offer rates as attractive as its loaner competitors? Pruning the es
44、tablishment was foremost in the minds of Bank of America policymakers. But cutbacks have proceeded slowly. Although the bank is planning to consolidate by offering full services only in key branches, so far only about 40 branches have been closed. Cutbacks through attrition have reduced the work for
45、ce from 83,000 to fewer than 73,000; wholesale layoffs, it seems, would not fit the tradition of the organization. And they would intensify the morale problems that already threaten the institution. 22 According to the passage, New Yorks Citibank _. （ A） is a dark horse in the field of banking （ B）
46、has been growing in a moderate way （ C） has been making efforts to conquer the markets of Bank of America （ D） has more branches than Bank of America now 23 Which of the following is NOT the reason for which Bank of America thrived? （ A） Its turf California was a state with a large number of populat
47、ion. （ B） The economic environment that was controlled by the government. （ C） Its deposit rate was higher than that of other banks. （ D） Its large amount of branches. 24 The phrase “mammoth bureaucracy“ in paragraph 4 refers to _. （ A） its expensive overhead （ B） its large amount of branches （ C） i
48、ts long history （ D） corruption of its leaders 25 The word “deregulation“ in paragraph 3 most probably means _. （ A） the reduction of regulation （ B） the increase of regulation （ C） the abolishment of regulation （ D） transformation of regulation 26 The best title of the passage would be _. （ A） the
49、Prospects of Bank of America （ B） the Rise and Fall of Bank of America （ C） the Mammoth Bureaucracy of Bank of America （ D） Measures Taken to Save Bank of America 27 Now the most important factor for a bank to win in competition seems to be _. （ A） higher deposit rate （ B） flexibility of capital （ C） high banking honors （ D） support of the government 28 Which of the following conclusions CANT be drawn from the passage? （ A） The US Postal Service had less than 1,
