Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
■ Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its 47 lie mainly in blues, rhythm and blues, country, folk, gospel, and jazz. The style subsequently spread to the rest of the world and developed further, leading ultimately to 48 rock music.
The term “rock and roll” now covers at least two different meanings, both in common usage. The American Heritage Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary both 49 rock and roll as synonymous with rock music.
50 , Allwords.com defines the term as referring specifically to the music of the 1950s.
Classic rock and roll is 51 played with one or two electric guitars, a string bass or an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. In the 52 rock and roll styles of the late 1940s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally 53 or supplemented by the guitar in the middle to late 1950s.
The massive popularity and eventual worldwide view of rock and roll gave it a 54 social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and in the new medium of television, 55 lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. It went on to spawn various sub-genres, often without the initially 56 backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply “rock music” or “rock”.
A) define I) followed
B) characteristic J) modern
C) unique K) explanation
D) roots L) Conversely
E) usually M) replaced
F) Basically N) prepare
G) earliest O) seldom
H) influenced
■Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished sentences. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
According to a report, around 30,000 pupils started secondary school last year with the math skills of a seven-year-old. MPs (国会议员) warned that many young people would need “expensive” remedial lessons in later life to get a job — posing major problems for the economy. The findings came just months after Ofsted(教育标准办公室)claimed almost half of math lessons in English schools were not good enough. It said many teachers relied on textbooks and mundane exercises to make sure pupils passed exams at the expense of a proper understanding of the subject. MPs backed the conclusions, saying too many pupils found lessons “boring”. They insisted improvements had been made under Labor but achievement had “leveled off” in recent years.
In 2008, 79 percent of pupils met the Government’s expected standard at the end of primary school, well short of the 85 percent target set for 2006. Around five percent moved to secondary school with the math skills of a seven- year-old, said the committee. In 2006, ￡2.3 billion was spent teaching the subject. It equates to around a quarter of the ￡10 billion total budget for primary teaching and support staff.
The report said the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) needed to “radically rethink its strategy for improving pupil attainment; otherwise we seriously doubt that the department will meet its 2011 target”. The target demands that 84.5 percent of pupils will make the necessary progress between 7 and 11.
Last year, the DCSF published a major review of math education in England to boost standards. It called for a math specialist in every primary school within 10 years and more emphasis on mathematical “play” in nursery schools. Mr. Leigh said, “The department’s 10-year program to train 13,000 specialist math teachers will not benefit some primary schools for another decade. That’s far too long; the department needs to look for ways to accelerate the program.” Sarah McCarthy Fry, the Schools Minister, said, “We have already accepted the main recommendation from a recent independent review of primary math that every school should have a specialist math teacher and have pledged ￡24 million over the next three years for a training program for teachers.”
Nick Gibb, the Tory shadow schools secretary, said, “The Government is not getting value for the money they have piled into education and the country is falling behind in international league tables as a result. The Government has failed to replace methods of teaching which have failed with tried and tested methods used in countries that have much higher levels of math achievement.”
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