Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
The discovery that language can be a barrier to communication is quickly made by all who travel, study, govern or sell. Whether the activity is tourism, research, government, policing, business or data dissemination, the lack of a common language can severely impede progress or can halt it altogether。
Although communication problems of this kind must happen thousands of times each day, very few become public knowledge. Publicity comes only when a failure to communicate has major consequences, such as strikes, lost orders, legal problems or fatal accidents--even, at times, war. One reported instance of communication failure took place in 1970, when several Americans ate a species of poisonous mushroom. No remedy was known, and two of the people died within days. A radio report of the case was heard by a chemist who knew of a treatment that had been successfully used in 1959 and published in 1963. Why had the American doctors not heard of it seven years later? Presumably because the report of the treatment had been published only in journals written in European languages other than English。
Several comparable cases have been reported. But isolated examples do not give an impression of the size of the problem--something that can come only from studies of the use or avoidance of foreign-language materials and contacts in different communicative situations. In the English- speaking scientific world, for example, surveys of books and documents consulted in libraries and other information agencies have shown that very little foreign-language material is ever consulted. Library requests in the field of science and technology showed that only 13 percent were for foreign language periodicals。
The language barrier presents itself in stark form to firms who wish to market their products in other countries. British industry, in particular, has in recent decades often been criticized for its linguistic insularity---for its assumption that foreign buyers will be happy to communicate in English, and that awareness of other languages is not therefore s priority. In the 1960s, over two- thirds of British firms dealing with non-English-speaking customers were using English for outgoing correspondence; many had their sales literature only in English; and as many as 40 percent employed no-one able to communicate in the customer's languages. A similar problem was identified in other English-speaking countries, notably the USA, Australia and New Zealand. And non-English speaking countries were by no means exempt--although the widespread use of English as an alternative language made them less open to the charge of insularity。
The criticism and publicity given to this problem since the 1960s seems to have greatly improved the situation. Industrial training schemes have promoted an increase in linguistic and cultural awareness. Many firms now have their own translation services. Some firms run part-time language courses in the languages of the countries with which they are most involved; some produce their own technical glossaries, to ensure consistency when material is being translated. It is now much more readily appreciated that marketing efforts can be delayed, damaged or disrupted by a failure to take account of the linguistic needs of the customer。
47. Language problems may come to the attention of the public when they have ______ such as fatal accidents or social problems。
48. What can we infer about American doctors from the case of the poisonous mushrooms?
49. Evidence of the extent of the language barrier can be gained from ______ of materials used by scientists such as books and periodicals。
50. An example of British linguistic insularity is the use of English for materials such as ______。
51. What ways have been used by the British companies to solve the problem of language barrier since the 1960s?
Section B
Passage One
On the last shopping day before Christmas, stores across the United States were busy but not jam-packed as shoppers scrambled for last-minute gifts, even though some refused to admit it. At Boston's Copley Mall, a small crowd gathered outside the main entrance of luxury department store Neiman Marcus, but no one waiting for the store to open would admit to being a last-minute shopper. "I'm really here to use a gift certificate and get something for myself and maybe someone else with what's left over," said Matt Doran, who lives in Boston and had been waiting since 8:30 a.m. for the store's 10 a.m. opening. Ilya Polykoff, who moved to Boston from Russia, said he was waiting "because I had the day off and I wanted to get some perfume." But he insisted that he was really shopping early because for him Christmas comes in January. The Orthodox Christmas will be celebrated on Jan. 7.
"There are lots of men out there today," said Karen McDonald, a spokes-woman for mall operator Taubman Centers, after returning from the Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, Michigan. "There is panic out there but people seem to be in good spirits," she said, adding that most shopping traffic peaked around midday. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, December 24 was the sixth busiest holiday shopping day in 1997, while 44 percent of holiday sales were recorded in the December 15 to December 24 period. Ed Nally, manager of the Swatch Store known mostly for its brightly colored plastic watches, described the atmosphere as festive rather than crazed. He did say, however, that Dec. 21 was the turning point date, after which shoppers started. "The closer to Christmas, the crazier they get," Nally said. "They become more agitated, less patient." He said red-hot items this year were phones, beepers and the new digital swatch watch that costs $ 70 and came onto the market a week before Christmas。
52. The best title for this passage is ______。
A) Last-Minute Christmas Shoppers Fill U.S. Stores
B) Digital Watches Are the Red hot Items This Year
C) The Excuse of the Last-Minute Shoppers
D) Christmas, the Best Shopping Season
53. From the passage we can infer that people would not admit to be a last-minute shopper because ______。
A) they wanted to use a gift certificate
B) Christmas would be celebrated on Jan. 7th
C) they did not want gifts recipients to know that they bought them gifts on the last day
D) they bought gifts during the shopping season lasting from December 15th to December 24th
54. Which of the following statement is true?
A) Most customers came to the mall early in the morning。
B) Shop assistants were most busy at noon。
C) There were more shoppers in the mall from 7:00 to 9:00 p. m。
D) Less people went shopping around midday。
55. Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A) More people went shopping on Dee. 20th than on Dec. 22nd according to Ed Nally。
B) On Dec. 24th, people were crowded outside Boston's Copley Mall, but they were happy。
C) Dec. 24th was the sixth busiest holiday shopping day in 1997.
D) One can buy brightly colored plastic watches in Swatch Store。
56. The word "festive" in paragraph 2 can not be understood as ______。
A) cheery B) fetish C) joyous D) merry
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