Part ¢ò
Reading Comprehension(35 minutes)
Directions: There are four passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some
questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
Passage One ª¤
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage. ª¥
If, at the end of a conversation somebody says to me, ¡°as soon as I know, I¡¯ll ring you up¡±, he is talking too much for granted. He is proposing to attempt the
impossible. So I have to say, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t. You see. I¡¯m not on the telephone. I just haven¡¯t got a telephone.¡±ª¥
Why don¡¯t you have a telephone? Not because I pretend to be wise or pose as unusual. There are two chief reasons: because I don¡¯t really like the telephone I find I can still work and play, eat, breathe and sleep without it. Why don¡¯t I like the telephone? Because I think it is a pest and a time-waster. It may create unnecessary suspense and anxiety, as when you wait for an expected call that doesn¡¯t come; or irritating delay, as when you keep ringing a number that is always
engaged. As for speaking in a public telephone box, which seems to me really horrible. You would not use it unless you were in a hurry, and because you are in a
hurry you will find other people waiting before you. When you do get into the box, you are half asphyxiated by stale, unventilated air, flavored with cheap face
-powder and chain-smoking; and by the time you have begun your conversation your
back is chilled by the cold look of somebody who is fidgeting to take your place.ª¥If you have a telephone in your own house, you will admit that it tends to ring
when you least want it to ring; when you are asleep, or in the middle of a meal or a conversation, or when you are just going out, or when you are in your bath.
Are you strong-minded enough to ignore it, to say to yourself, ¡°Ah, well, it will all be the same in a hundred years¡¯ time.You are not. You think there may be some important news or message for you. Have you never rushed dripping from the bath, or chewing from the table, or dazed from the bed, only to be told that you are a wrong number?
Suppose you ignore the telephone when it rings, and suppose that, for once, somebody has an important message for you. I can assure you that if a message is really important it will reach you sooner or later. Think of the proverb: ¡°ill news travels apace.¡± I must say good news seems to travel just as fast. And think of the saying: ¡°the truth will out.¡± It will.ª¤
21. The write does not like telephone in a public telephone box, because____.ª¤
A) unventilated airª¤
B) it is far from his homeª¤
C) it is not convenientª¤
D) he must pay for itª¤

22. In the third paragraph, ¡°it will all be the same in a hundred years¡¯
time¡¯ means ____.ª¤
A) the phone has been the same thing for many yearsª¤
B) everything will remain the same thing whether I answer the phone or notª¤
C) the phone will not be changed in a hundred yearsª¤
D) the phone will not be changed for many yearsª¤

23. What does ¡°the truth will out¡± mean in the last sentence? ª¤
A) The truth will become publicly.ª¤
B) The truth will be truth.ª¤
C) The truth will disappear.ª¤
D) The truth will be hidden.ª¤

24. Which of the following in the main idea of the passage?A) It is not necessary to have a telephone because ill news travels just as fast as good newsª¤
B) The writer states his reasons for not having a telephone
C) The writer does not like the telephone at all.ª¤
D) People can live a normal life without a telephone.ª¤

25. What kind of person do you think the writer is?ª¤
A) Eccentric. B) Modern.ª¤
C) Realistic. D) Idealistic.ª¤