Section Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark four answers on the ANSWER SHEET by drawing a thick line across the corresponding letter in the brackets¹.

　　Text I

　　No one knows exactly how many disabled (残废的) people there are in the world, but estimates suggest the figure is over 450 million. The number of disabled people in India alone is probably more than double the total population of Canada.

　　In the United Kingdom, about one in ten people have some disability. Disability is not just something that happens to other people. As we get older, many of us will become less mobile ( 可动的) , hard of hearing or have failing eyesight.

　　Disablement² can take many forms and occur at any time of life. Some people are born with disabilities. Many others become disabled as they get older. There are many progressive disabling³ diseases. The longer time goes on, the worse they become. Some people are disabled in accidents. Many others may have a period of disability in the form of a mental illness. All are affected⁴ by people's attitude towards them.

　　Disabled people face many physical barriers. Next time you go shopping or to work or visit

　　friends, imagine how you would manage if you could not get up steps, or on to buses and trains. How would you cope if you could not see where you were going or could not hear the traffic? But there are other barriers: prejudice can be even harder to break down and ignorance⁵ inevitably⁶ represents by far the greatest barrier of all. It is almost impossible for the able-bodied to fully⁷ appreciate what the severely⁸ disabled go through, so it is important to draw attention to these barriers and show that it is the individual person and their ability, not their disability, which counts.

　　46. The first paragraph points out that _________.

　　{ A J it is possible to get an exact figure of the world's disabled people

　　[ B ] there are many disabled people in the world

　　[ C ] the number of disabled people in India is the greatest

　　[ D ] India has not much more disabled people than Canada

　　47. The key word in Paragraph 4 is _________.

　　[ A ] barriers                    [ B ] ignorance

　　[C] disability                   [D] prejudice

　　48. The last word of the passage "counts" most probably means _________.

　　[A] "is most important"        [B] "is included"

　　[C] "is considered"            [D] "is numbered"

　　49. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　[A] There are about 10 percent disabled persons in the UK.

　　[ B ] The whole society should pay due attention to the barriers faced by the disabled people.

　　[ C ] Even the able-bodied may lose some of their body functions when they get older.

　　[D] There still exists prejudice against the disabled which results mainly from ignorance.

　　50. It can be concluded from the passage that _____.

　　[A] we should try our best to prevent disablement

　　[ B] we must take a proper attitude towards the disabled

　　[C] the able-bodied people will never fully understand the disabled

　　[D] both physical and mental barriers are hard to break down.