【正文】 et flexible materials, such as steel and wood, which bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports, called smart buildings, the structures respond like living anisms to an earthquake’s vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the puter would force the building to shift in the opposite direction. The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes. 56. One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was paratively low is that______. A. new puters had been installed in the buildings B. it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways C. large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday D. improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways 57. The function of the puter mentioned in the passage is to ______. A. counterbalance an earthquake’s action on the building B. predict the ing of an earthquake with accuracy C. help strengthen the foundation of the building D. measure the impact of an earthquake’s vibrations 58. The smart buildings discussed in the passage ______. A. would cause serious financial problems B. would be worthwhile though costly C. would increase the plexity of architectural design D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes 59. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes attention should be focused on . the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction B. the development of flexible building materials C. the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations D. early forecasts of earthquakes 60. The author’s main purpose in writing the passage is to______. A. pare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U. S. B. encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of puters C. outline the history of the development of quakeresistant building materials D. report new developments in constructing quakeresistant building 8 Part III Cloze (20 points) Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage and mark the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET. Do the old people in the United States like to live alone? No doubt some of them do. 61 at least some of them 62 living alone to the changes and 63 that living with others needs. Independence is, 64 , the chief and most honored 65 in this country. Deeply rooted 66 us early, the ideal remains even when we can no longer ―stand on our own feet‖, 67 literally. When our 68 parents’ need for help grows too obvious to 69 , we say they are beginning to ―fail.‖ Losing one’s independence is, for Americans, a 70 thing. And needing help, we know, 71 pity, frustration and 72 in our potential helpers. We are all, through our lives, 73 to others. From the moment of 74 , we are nourished and nurtured by others. As adults we learn to pay for or negotiate our 75 needs, but the fact 76 that it takes an 77 army of other people to grow our food, clean our clothes, maintain our roads, fuel our furnaces. When we 78 , we accept another’s pledge to stick with us in sickness and health, 79 and poverty. The load we lay on 80 only bees visible, less deniable, as we age. 61. A. But B. Or C. So D. Besides62. A. favor B. appreciate C. like D. prefer 63. A. failures B. promises C. fashions D. balances 64. A. after all B. above all C. at all D. in all 65. A. manner B. custom C. habit D. virtue 66. A. at B. in C. for D. on 67. A. quit B. quilt C. quiet D. quite 68. A. late B. aging C. maturing D. younger 69. A. emphasize B. meet C. cater D. ignore 70. A. shameful B. pity C. ashamed D. shame 71. A. builds B. acts C. transforms D. evokes 72. A. fear B. fearless C. fearing D. fearful 73. A. burden B. responsibility C. relief D. requirement 74. A. born B. bearing C. birth D. bear 75. A. mon B. independent C. actual D. mutual 76. A. stays B. remains C. manifests D. reveals 77. A. variety B. invisible C. abundant D. forceful 78. A. marry B. marrying C. married D. marriage 79. A. prosperously B. prosperous C. prosperity D. prosper 80. A. others B. other C. others’ D. other’s Part IV Error Detection (10 points) Directions: There are 10 sentences. Each of the following sentences has four underlined parts marked A, B, C, and D. You are required to identify the one that is incorrect, and then mark the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET. 81. The more air there is in the tire, the less strength you use in ride a bicycle. 9 A B C D 82. Watching the performance, one could see that his capacity to remember A B C figures are remarkable. D 83. Helen did not arrive until the meeting was nearly over for the simple reason A B why she had fallen asleep in the bus. C D 84. Peter stopped to write his letter because he had to leave for the hospital. A B C D 85. A tourist can find cheap puters nowhere else in the world A B C than in Hong Kong. D 86. I would rather have a good night’s sleep than watching a movie, however A B C good, if it is late in the night. D 87. People can not but feel puzzling, for they simply cannot understand how he A B C could have made such stupid mistake. D 88. In spite the often high price of dining out, restaurant busboys and A B dishwashers are among the most underpaid and overworked. C D 89. Throughout history, shoes have been worn not only for protection and also A B C D for decoration.