Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
One of London Zoo's recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so patently did it distort reality. Headlined "Without zoos you might as well tell these animals to get stuffed", it was bordered with illustrations of several endangered species and went on to extol the myth that without zoos like London Zoo these animals "will almost certainly disappear forever". With the zoo world's rather mediocre record on conservation, one might be forgiven for being slightly skeptical about such an advertisement。
Zoos were originally created as places of entertainment, and their suggested involvement with conservation didn't seriously arise until about 30 years ago, when the Zoological Society of London held the first formal international meeting or3 the subject. Eight years later, a series of world conferences took place, entitled "The Breeding of the Endangered Species", and from this point onwards conservation became the zoo community's buzzword. This commitment has now been clearly defined in The World Zoo Conservation Strategy (WZCS, 1993)， which does seem to be based on an unrealistic optimism about the nature of the zoo industry。
The WZCS estimates that there are about 10,000 zoos in the world, of which around 1,000 represent a core of quality collections capable of participating in coordinated conservation programs. This is probably the document's first failing, as I believe that 10,000 is a serious underestimate of the total number of places masquerading as zoological establishments。
The second flaw in the reasoning of the WZCS document is the naive faith it place in its 1,000 core zoos. One would assume that the caliber of these institutions would have been carefully examined, but it appears that the criterion for inclusion on this select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or association. This might be a good starting point, working on the premise that members must meet certain standards, but again the facts don't support the theory。
Even assuming that the 1,000 core zoos of the WZCS are all of a high standard, what might be the potential for conservation? Colin 'Fudge, author of Last Animals at the Zoo argues that if the world's zoos worked together in cooperative breeding programs they could save around 2,000 species of endangered land vertebrates. This seems an extremely optimistic proposition from a man who must be aware of the failings and weaknesses of the zoo industry. Moreover, where are the facts to support such optimism?
Today approximately 16 species might be said to have been "saved" by captive breeding programs, although a number of these can hardly be looked upon as resounding successes. Beyond that, about a further 20 species are being seriously considered for zoo conservation programs. Given that the international conference at London Zoo was held 30 years ago, this is pretty slow progress, and a long way off Tudge's target of 2,000.
47. Zoos made an insignificant contribution to conservation up until ______ years ago。
48. According to the writer, one of WZCS's failings is it ______ the number of zoos in the world。
49. In accordance with WZCS, what kind of zoos can participate in the international coordinated conservation programs?
50. The writer doubts the value of the WZCS document partly because of its failure to examine the of the "core zoos"。
51. What word best describes the writer's response to Colin Tudge's prediction on captive breeding programs?
Section B
Passage One
U.S. college students are increasingly burdened with credit card debt, according to a study released Tuesday, and the consequences can be serious--ranging from higher drop-out rates to future employment problems and even suicide。
Based on hundreds of face-to-face interviews and surveys with students, sociologist Robert Manning of Georgetown University concluded both the number with credit card debt and their indebtedness had been "systematically underreported" in previous studies which failed to reflect the "survival strategies" many used to cope with their debts. These included the use of federal student loans to pay off credit cards, effectively shifting the debt, appeals to parents for loans, cutting back on course work to increase time at paid jobs, or even dropping out altogether to work full time. "Official drop-out rates include growing numbers of students who are unable to cope with the stress of their debts and/or part time jobs for servicing their credit cards," the study said。
Even then, debts can haunt students. "Student credit card debts are increasingly scrutinized during the recruitment process and may be an important factor in evaluating prospective. employee," it noted. And the stress can also manifest in far more tragic ways. Janne O'Donnell's 2g-year-old son, a junior at the University of Oklahoma, committed O'Donnell and Manning agreed students should bear some responsibility for reckless use of credit, but said credit card companies also had to be held accountable for making it so easy for them to get into debt. Manning said one of the most disturbing aspects of the student credit card issue was "the seduction of college and university administrators by the credit card industry." Card issuers were sponsoring school programs, funding activities and even entering into business partnerships with schools involving college-branded "affinity" cards, he said. "As a result, rather than protecting the economic and educational interests of their students, college administrators are playing an active and often disingenuous role in promoting the prominence of credit cards in collegiate life."
52. Which is NOT one of the strategies American students may use to deal with their credit card debt?
A) Use federal student loans。
B) Seek part-time jobs to get money。
C) Promote the prominence of credit cards。
D) Ask parents to help them pay the debt。
53. Which may NOT be the consequence of students' credit card debt?
A) High drop-out rates。
B) Enter into business partnerships with schools。
C) Commit suicide。
D) Future employment problems。
54. Who should be least criticized for negative consequences of students' credit card debt according to the passage?
A) Parents。
B) Students themselves。
C) College and university administrators。
D) Credit card issuers。
55. The main idea of this passage is ______。
A) negative consequences of students' using credit card
B) college administrators are playing their proper roles in promoting credit cards
C) card issuers or college administrators promoted credit card
D) reasons for high drop-out rates in universities
56. We can infer from the passage that ______。
A) students should not have part-time jobs
B) credit cards should not be used
C) if there is no credit card, college students may not commit suicide
D) college students should learn to wisely manage their personal finances
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