37. In the first paragraph of the text, the author’s attitude toward the literary critics mentioned can best be described as        [A] disparaging. [B] ironic. [C] facetious. [D] skeptical but resigned.38. It can be inferred from the text that Woolf chose Chaucer as a literary example because she     believed that        [A] Chaucer was the first English author to focus on society as a whole as well as on individual characters. [B] Chaucer was an honest and forthright author, whereas novelists like D. H. Lawrence did not sincerely wish to change society. [C] Chaucer was more concerned with understanding his society than with calling its accepted mores into question. [D] Chaucer’s writing was greatly, if subtly, effective in influencing the moral attitudes of his readers.39. It can be inferred from the text that the most probable reason Woolf realistically described the social setting in the majority of her novels was that she        [A] was aware that contemporary literary critics considered the novel to be the most realistic of   literary genres. [B] was interested in the effect of a person’s social milieu on his or her character and actions. [C] needed to be as attentive to detail as possible in her novels in order to support the arguments she advanced in them. [D] wanted to show that a painstaking fidelity in the representation of reality did not in any way hamper the artist.40. Which of the following phrases best expresses the sense of the word “contemplative” as it is used in line 2, paragraph 4 of the text? [A] Gradually elucidating the rational structures underlying accepted mores. [B] Reflecting on issues in society without prejudice or emotional commitment. [C] Avoiding the aggressive assertion of the author’s perspective to the exclusion of the reader’s judgment. [D] Conveying a broad view of society as a whole rather than focusing on an isolated individual   consciousness。

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　Read the following text and answer question by deciding each of the statements after the text is True or False. Choose T if the statement is true or F if the statement is not true. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

　　If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006’s World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced。

　　What might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a) certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above。