I. Reading Comprehension:

　　Text 1

　　In contrast to traditional analyses of minority business, the sociological analysis contends that minority business ownership is a group-level phenomenon in that it is largely dependent upon social-group resources for its development. Specifically, this analysis indicates that support networks play a critical role in starting and maintaining minority business enterprises by providing owners with a range of assistance from the informal encouragement of family members and friends to dependable sources of workers and clients from the owner’s ethnic group. Such self-help networks, which encourage and support ethnic minority entrepreneurs, consist of “primary” institutions, those closest to the individual in shaping his or her behavior and beliefs. They are characterized by the face-to-face association and cooperation of persons united by ties of mutual concern. They form an intermediate social level between the individual and larger “secondary” institutions based on impersonal relationships. Primary institutions comprising the support network include relatives, friends, and neighborhood or community subgroups.

　　A major function of self-help networks is financial support. Most scholars agree that minority business owners have depended primarily on family funds and ethnic community resources for investment capital. Personal savings have been accumulated, often through frugal living habits that require sacrifices by the entire family and are thus a product of long-term family financial behavior. Additional loans and gifts from relatives, forthcoming because of group obligation rather than narrow investment calculation, have supplemented personal savings. Individual entrepreneurs do not necessarily rely on their relatives because they cannot obtain financial backing from commercial resources. They may actually avoid banks because they assume the commercial institutions either cannot comprehend the special needs of minority enterprise or charge unreasonably high interest rates.

　　Within the larger ethnic community, rotating credit associations have been used to raise capital. These associations are informal clubs of friends and other trusted members of the ethnic group who make regular contributions to a fund that is given to each contributor in rotation. One author estimates that 40 percent of New York Chinatown firms established during 1900-1950 utilized such associations as their initial source of capital. However, recent immigrants and third or fourth generations of older groups now employ rotating credit associations only occasionally to raise investment funds. Some groups, like black Americans, found other means of financial support for their entrepreneurial efforts. The first Black-operated banks were created in the late nineteenth century as depositaries for dues collected from friendly groups, which themselves had sprung from Black churches. Black banks made limited investments in other Black enterprises. Irish immigrants in American cities organized many building and loan associations to provide capital for home construction and purchase. They, in turn, provided work for many Irish home-building contractor firms. Other ethnic and minority groups followed similar practices in founding ethnic-directed financial institutions. (459 words)

　　Notes: ethnic 民族的。entrepreneurs企业家。frugal勤俭的。in rotation轮流地。entrepreneurial企业的。depositary储存处。due n. 会费。spring from从…派生。contractor firms承包公司。rotating credit associations轮流信贷协会。

　　1. Which of the following illustrates the working of a self-help support network as described in the text?

　　A. The local government in a city sets up a program that helps teen-agers find jobs.

　　B. A commercial bank offers low-interest loans to those who hope to establish businesses.

　　C. A neighborhood-based organization develops a program of job training for its members and their friends.

　　D. A public high school offers courses in book-keeping and accounting as part of its open adult education program.

　　2. The logical organization of the second paragraph is that _________.

　　A. an argument is stated, followed by a counter argument

　　B. an assertion is made and several examples are provided to illustrate it

　　C. a situation is described and its historical background is then outlined

　　D. an example of a phenomenon is given and then is used as a basis for conclusions

　　3. It can be learned from the text that ________.

　　A. self-help networks have been effective in helping entrepreneurs primarily in the last 50 years

　　B. minority groups have developed a range of alternatives to standard financing of business ventures

　　C. a minority entrepreneur who had no assistance from family members would not be able to start a business

　　D. the financial institutions founded by various ethnic groups owe their success to their unique formal organization

　　4. It can be learned from the last paragraph of the text that rotating credit associations _________.

　　A. were developed exclusively by Chinese immigrants in New York

　　B. were frequently joint endeavors by members of two or three different ethnic groups

　　C. had to be relied on by the Chinese because they could not borrow money from commercial banks

　　D. provided a big portion of the investment capital for Chinese immigrants in New York in the early 20th century

　　5. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the Irish building and loan associations _________.

　　A. originated as offshoots of church-related groups B. were started by third-or fourth-generation immigrants

　　C. helped employ many Irish construction workers D. enabled Irish entrepreneurs to finance manufacturing

　　Text 2

　　In 1997 the prestigious Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea, announced the opening of the first women’s studies program in Asia. Few academic programs have ever received such public attention. In broadcast debates, critics dismissed the program as a betrayal of national identity, an imitation of Western ideas, and a distraction from the real task of national unification and economic development. Even supporters underestimated the program; they thought it would be merely another of the many Western ideas that had already proved useful in Asian culture, similar to airlines, electricity, and the assembly line. The founders of the program, however, realized that neither view was correct. They had some reservations about the applicability of Western feminist theories to the role of women in Asia and felt that such theories should be closely examined. Their approach has thus far yielded important critiques of Western theory, informed by the special experience of Asian women.

　　For instance, like the Western feminist critique of the Freudian model of the human psyche, the Korean critique finds Freudian theory culture-bound, but in ways different from those cited by Western theorists. The Korean theorists claim that Freudian theory assumes the universality of the Western nuclear, male-headed family and focuses on the personality formation of the individual, independent of society. An analysis based on such assumptions could be valid for a highly competitive, individualistic society. In the Freudian family drama, family members are assumed to be engaged in a Darwinian struggle against each other －father against son and mother against daughter. Such a concept projects the competitive model of Western society onto human personalities. But in the Asian concept of personality there is no ideal attached to individualism or to the independent self. The Western model of personality development does not explain major characteristics of the Korean personality, which is social and group-centered. The “self” is a social being defined by and acting in a group, and the well-being of both men and women is determined by the equilibrium of the group, not by individual self-assertion. The ideal is one of interdependency.

　　In such a context, what is recognized as “dependency” in Western psychiatric terms is not, in Korean terms, an admission of weakness or failure. All this bears directly on the Asian perception of men’s and women’s psychology because men are also “dependent”. In Korean culture, men cry and otherwise easily show their emotions, something that might be considered a betrayal of masculinity in Western culture. In the kinship-based society of Korea, four generations may live in the same house, which means that people can be sons and daughters all their lives, whereas in Western culture, the roles of husband and son, wife and daughter, are often incompatible. (451 words)

　　Notes: prestigious 有声望的。national identity 民族性。feminist 女权主义的。thus far 至今。 be informed by 被…贯穿。culture-bound 受文化限制的。psyche 心灵。project … onto 把…投射到…上，使…反映在…上。social being 社会存在。well-being 幸福。equilibrium 平衡。bear on 影响…。masculinity 男子气。kinship-based 亲属为基础的。

　　1. Some of the supporters of the Ewha women’s studies program __________.

　　A. assumed that the program would be based on the uncritical adoption of Western theories

　　B. failed to show concern for the issues of national unification and economic development

　　C. were unfamiliar with Western feminist theories and their important roles in social life

　　D. were not themselves scholars in the field of women’s studies and had no idea about them

　　2. According to paragraph 2, the Western feminist critique of Freudian theory __________.

　　A. fails to address the issue of competitiveness in Western society

　　B. recognizes the influence of Western culture on Freudian theory

　　C. acknowledges the universality of the nuclear, male-headed family

　　D. challenges Freudian analysis of the women’s role in Western society

　　3. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the Ewha women’s studies group holds that __________.

　　A. personality development occurs in identifiable stages from childhood to adulthood

　　B. any theory of personality development, in order to be valid, must be universal

　　C. personality development is influenced by the characteristics of the society a person lives in

　　D. personality development is hindered if a person is not permitted to be independent

　　4. By referring to “dependency” in the last paragraph, the author intends to show .

　　A. the betrayal of masculinity in Western culture

　　B. the characteristics of kinship-based Korean culture

　　C. the compatible attitude of parents towards their children

　　D. the distinction between the Western culture and the Korean culture

　　5. Which of the following best summarizes the content of the text?

　　A. A critique of a particular women’s studies program.

　　B. A brief history of Korean women’s studies program.

　　C. An assessment of a particular women’s studies program.

　　D. A report of work in social theory done by a particular women’s studies program.

　　Word Study

　　1. dismiss (下课)让走掉，使（会）解散；解雇；打消（想法），不考虑；认为（不重要）而不加考虑：1) The teacher dismissed th

　　class ten minutes earlier. (老师提前10分钟下课了。) 2) No lecturer may be dismissed from his post for misconduct without proper inquiry being held. (没有进行好好的调查就认为行为不端是不可以解聘老师的。) 3) She did her best to dismiss the thoughts. (她尽力打消这些想法。) 4) He dismissed the suggestion with a shake of his head. (他摇摇头不考虑这项建议。) 5) He just laughed, and dismissed the idea as unimportant. (他只是大笑，认为这个主意不重要而不加考虑。) 6) He dismissed the story as mere rumor. (他认为这件事是谣言不屑一顾。)

　　同根词：dismissal 解雇：Martin was not free from a fear of dismissal if he refused to obey. (如果马丁不肯服从，那他就无法

　　摆脱担心被解雇。)

　　2. reserve vt. 保留；预定；留到以后（再宣布讨论等）：1) I reserve the right to make my own decision. (我保留做出我自己决定

　　的权利。) 2) I will reserve my opinion at this time. (这次我将保留我的看法。) 3) The use of this room is reserved to members of the staff. (这个房间的使用权留给内部人员。) 4) He reserved a table for two.

　　reserve n. 保留或储备的东西，储备金，储量；后备军人；自然保护区：1) As I require money quickly I must draw on my reserve.

　　(当我马上需要钱时，我必须利用我的储备金。) 2) The old man keeps a large reserve of firewood for cold weather. (这位老人保存了大量生火木柴天冷时用。) 3) the bank’s reserves银行储备金；the gold reserve 黄金储备。4) Animals are kept in reserves lest they should be shot. (动物关在自然保护区以免被射杀。) 5) He is a person of reserve. (他是一个沉默寡言的人。)

　　用于成语：in reserve 保存起来：I still have a little money in reserve. with reserve 有保留地：Clearly, he spoke with reserve,

　　but even so his meaning was quite plain. without reserve 无保留地：We accept your statement without reserve.

　　reserved adj. 沉默寡言的；有保留的：1) He was naturally thoughtful and reserved. 2) reserved consent (有保留的同意)。

　　reservation 保留(意见)；定（票、座）；保留地：1) I have no reservation about hiring him. 2) We make reservations of rooms at a hotel. 3) The government has set apart Indian reservations. (政府已经划出印第安人保留地。

　　Text 3 [2002 RC 2]

　　Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics – the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close.

　　As a result, the modern world is increasingly populated by intelligent gizmos whose presence we barely notice but whose universal existence has removed much human labor. Our factories hum to the rhythm of robot assembly arms. Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy – far greater precision than highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone.

　　But if robots are to reach the next stage of laborsaving utility, they will have to operate with less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves – goals that pose a real challenge. “While we know how to tell a robot to handle a specific error,” says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, “we can’t yet give a robot enough ‘common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world.”

　　Indeed the quest for true artificial intelligence has produced very mixed results. Despite a spell of initial optimism in the 1960s and 1970s when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might be able to copy the action of the human brain by the year of 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries.

　　What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented – and human perception far more complicated – than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer system on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it. (418 words)

　　Notes: ingenuity 心灵手巧，发明创造。plain adv. (=simply)简直是。teller 出纳员。confer… on…把…赋予…。for themselves 独立地。a spell of 一阵。panel控制板；论坛。panel discussion 论坛讨论会。

　　1. Human ingenuity was initially demonstrated in ____________.

　　A. the use of machines to produce science fiction B. the wide use of machines in manufacturing industry

　　C. the invention of tools for difficult and dangerous work D. the elite’s cunning tackling of dangerous and boring work

　　2. The word “gizmos” (line 1, paragraph 2) most probably means ____________.

　　A. programs B. experts C. devices D. creatures

　　3. According to the text, what is beyond man’s ability now is to design a robot that can ____________.

　　A. fulfil delicate tasks like performing brain surgery B. interact with human beings verbally

　　C. have a little common sense D. respond independently to a changing world

　　4. Besides reducing human labor, robots can also ____________.

　　A. make a few decisions for themselves B. deal with some errors with human intervention

　　C. improve factory environment D. cultivate human creativity

　　5. The author uses the example of a monkey to argue that robots are ____________.

　　A. expected to copy human brain in internal structure

　　B. able to perceive abnormalities immediately

　　C. far less able than human brain in focusing on relevant information

　　D. best used in a controlled environment

　　Text 4 (课外阅读) [98年阅读考试文章，试题重编]

　　Science has long had an uneasy relationship with other aspects of culture. Think of Galileo’s 17th-century trial for his rebelling belief before the Catholic church or poet William Blake’s harsh remarks against the mechanistic worldview of Isaac Newton. The schism between science and the humanities has, if anything, deepened in this century.

　　Until recently the scientific community was so powerful that it could afford to ignore its critics--but no longer. As funding for science has declined, scientists have attacked “anti-science” in several books, notably Higher Superstition, by Paul R. Gross, a biologist at the University of Virginia, and Norman Levitt, a mathematician at Rutgers University; and The Demon-Haunted World, by Carl Sagan of Cornell University.

　　Defenders of science have also voiced their concerns at meetings such as “The Flight from Science and Reason,” held in New York City in 1995, and “Science in the Age of (Mis) information,” which assembled last June near Buffalo.

　　Anti-science clearly means different things to different people. Gross and Levitt find fault primarily with sociologists, philosophers and other academics who have questioned science’s objectivity. Sagan is more concerned with those who believe in ghosts, creationism and other phenomena that contradict the scientific worldview.

　　A survey of news stories in 1996 reveals that the anti-science tag has been attached to many other groups as well, from authorities who advocated the elimination of the last remaining stocks of smallpox virus to Republicans who advocated decreased funding for basic research.

　　Few would dispute that the term applies to the Unabomber, whose manifesto, published in 1995, scorns science and longs for return to a pre-technological utopia. *But surely that does not mean environmentalists concerned about uncontrolled industrial growth are anti-science, as an essay in US News & World Report last May seemed to suggest.

　　The environmentalists, inevitably, respond to such critics. The true enemies of science, argues Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, a pioneer of environmental studies, are those who question the evidence supporting global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer and other consequences of industrial growth.

　　Indeed, some observers fear that the anti-science epithet is in danger of becoming meaningless. “The term ‘anti-science’ can lump together too many, quite different things,” notes Harvard University philosopher Gerald Holton in his 1993 work Science and Anti-Science. “They have in common only one thing that they tend to annoy or threaten those who regard themselves as more enlightened.” (399 words)

　　Notes: schism分裂。if anything 甚至于还可能。find fault with 批评，挑剔。creationism 上帝创世说。long for 渴望。utopia 乌托邦，理想主义。epithet 表述。lump together 把…归并在一起。have … in common 共同点是…。

　　1. The example of Galileo’s 17th-century trial is used to show ___________.

　　A. the hostile attitude of the humanities towards science

　　B. the confusion between science and other aspects of culture

　　C. the conspicuous advantage of science over anti-science

　　D. the harmonious relationship of science with the humanities

　　2. What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs of the text?

　　A. The author sympathizes with scientists in a reasonable way.

　　B. The decline of science’s power is attributed to reduction in funding for science.

　　C. The development of science contributes to its struggle against humanities.

　　D. The division of science and the humanities has considerably grown until recently.

　　3. Which of the following is true according to the text?

　　A. The “more enlightened” tend to tag others as anti-science.

　　B. Politicians and certain authorities are subject to the labeling of anti-science.

　　C. Environmentalists were not blamed at all for anti-science in an essay.

　　D. Sagan does not criticize those who advocate theories contrary to science.

　　4. The last paragraph suggests that __________________.

　　A. some observers are afraid of being accused of anti-science

　　B. Gerald Holton tags many different views he doesn’t agree with as anti-science

　　C. anything that offends the “more enlightened” is now in danger of being listed in “anti-science”

　　D. the “more enlightened” think that the term “anti-science” involves many wrong attitudes towards science

　　5. The author’s attitude toward the issue of “science vs. anti-science” is ___________________.

　　A. detached B. subjective C. biased D. puzzling

　　II. Writing: (提纲漫画式作文)

　　Directions:

　　In this part, you are to write an essay of 160--200 words within 30--35 minutes. Your essay must meet the requirements below.

　　1. Show your understanding of the meaning of the picture below

　　2. State the harmful effects of fake and inferior products

　　3. Suggest ways to fight against fake and inferior products

　　

　　假冒伪劣产品

　　正如所给的图画所描绘的, 我国社会主义市场经济正在迅速发展, 就像一辆高速行驶的卡车。但是公众惊讶地发现, 越来越多的假冒伪劣产品严重地阻碍了我国市场经济的发展。消费者必须经常谨慎地去购买他们所需的货物或服务, 否则他们会落入不法制假人所设的陷阱。

　　毫无疑问, 假冒伪劣产品极其有害。首先, 它们危害人民的健康, 引发了许多伤害事故。例如，伪劣药品不仅使病人的病情恶化, 而且往往会威胁病人的生命, 更糟的是, 导致病人的死亡。其次, 假冒伪劣产品通常廉价出售。在许多情况下, 它们又干扰了我国正常的经济秩序, 影响了许多高质量产品的销路。这在很大程度上阻碍了我国社会主义市场经济的健康发展, 并损害了我们国家的利益。 因此, 我们可以说, 假冒伪劣产品是我们健康经济中的一颗“毒瘤”, 对此必须尽快清除。

　　依我看, 必须采取若干有力措施来与假冒伪劣产品斗争。一方面, 制假者应该依法严惩。另一方面, 消费者应该学会识别真假。只有这样, 消费者才能维护他们的合法权益。

　　www.etestedu.com

　　As the picture given depicts, the socialist market-oriented economy in our country is developing rapidly, just like a truck running at a high speed. But the general public is surprised to find that there are more and more fake and inferior products seriously hampering the expansion of our market economy. Consumers have to be very careful in purchasing goods and services they need; otherwise they will fall into the traps set by the illegal manufacturers.

　　There is no doubt that fake and inferior products are extremely harmful. In the first place, they endanger people’s health, giving rise to a lot of injury accidents. For instance, inferior-quality medicines not only aggravate a patient’s condition, but also tend to threaten his life and, what’s worse, to result in his death. Secondly, fake and inferior products are usually sold on the cheap. In many cases they interfere with the normal economic order in our country, affecting the marketing of many high-quality goods. This, in a great degree, hinders the development of our socialist market economy and harms the interests of our state. Therefore, we can say that fake and inferior products are a dangerous “tumor” in our healthy economy, which must be cut away as soon as possible.

　　In my opinion, several strong measures should be adopted to fight against fake and inferior products. On the one hand, those who make them deserve to be severely punished by the law. On the other hand, consumers should learn to discern between true and false. Only in this way can they defend their own legal rights and interests. (263 words)

　　背记重点词语汉英对照： 1. 阻碍，妨碍：hamper, hinder, obstruct，interfere with。 2. 引起，造成：give rise to; cause。 3. 使病情加重：aggravate a patient’s condition。 4. 小心谨慎做某事：be careful in doing sth.。 5. 廉价出售某物：sell sth. on the cheap。 6. 干扰某人：interfere with sb.。 7. 损害我们的国家利益：harm the interests of our state。 8. 辨别真伪：discern between true and false。 9. 维护某人的合法权益：defend one’s legal rights and interests。

　　Put the following sentences from Chinese into English:

　　1. 我们前进时受到恶劣天气的阻碍。[ALD]

　　2. 这次交通事故造成了他头部和双臂的重伤。

　　3. 无论什么时候我们都不应该做任何损害国家利益的事。

　　4. 我们必须采取若干有力措施来与假冒伪劣产品斗争。

　　5. 只有这样, 消费者才能维护他们的合法权益。

　　家庭作业：1. 背记作文并改写(缩短)，注意作文句型的英汉对照； 2. 加强阅读训练，注意精读与快读的区别。

　　赠言：事业成功的秘诀是：一个人要有崇高的理想和刻苦的精神，他最大的业余爱好就是他所从事的事业, 只有这样他才能全神贯注，执著追求，不畏艰险，不怕失败，总结经验，汲取教训，继续前进。不要追名逐利、斤斤计较, 名利是人民自然给你的公正反馈。