PASSAGE 4

　　The Importance of Agriculture in China

　　? Today， although agriculture accounts for only a quarter of the Gross National Product， it is still the main determinant of the standard of living and the principal occupation of at least 70 percent of population.

　　Agriculture also _____（2）____ because industry needs both agricultural raw materials and food for its work force. The failure of agriculture to supply raw material and food halted and later reversed the industrial progress of the 1950's， After 1960 new emphasis was placed on agriculture， and the slogan “Agriculture is the foundation of the economy” has remained a central Chinese economic policy ever since.

　　___（3）___， there is an indirect link due to the relationship between agriculture and foreign trade. Many of China's exports are ___（4）___ or consumer goods based on them. Flourishing agriculture， therefore， promotes exports. It also reduces the need to spend foreign exchange on imports of grain and cotton， therefore __（5）___.

　　练习：

　　A determines the progress of industry

　　B the story of the unfolding struggle to feed a peasant population

　　C either agricultural raw materials

　　D enlarging the capacity of the economy to import machinery¹ and commodities for industry

　　E In addition to the direct links between agriculture and industry

　　F thus promoting both import and export

　　KEY ： B A F C D

　　PASSAGE 5

　　Tests Show Women Suited for Space Travel

　　Between 1977 and 1981， three groups of American woman， ___（1）___， between the age of 35 and 65， were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those aboard the space shuttle.

　　Though ___（2）___， the women were volunteers and the pay was barely above the minimum wage. They were not allowed ___（3）____ during the tests， and they were expected to tolerate each other's company at close quarters for the entire period. Among other things they had to stand pressure three times the force of gravity and carry out both physical and mental tasks __（4）__. At the end of ten days， they had to spend a further twenty days absolutely confined to bed， during which time they suffered backaches and other discomforts²， and when they were finally allowed up， the more physically³ active women were especially subject to pains due to a slight calcium⁴ loss.

　　Results of the tests suggest that women will have significant advantages over men in space. They need less food and les oxygen and they stand up to radiation better. Men's advantages __（5）__， meanwhile， are virtually wiped out by the zero-gravity condition in space.

　　EXERCISE：

　　A）： to smoke or drink alcohol

　　B） carefully selected from among many applicants⁵

　　C） numbering 27 in all

　　D） in terms of strength and stamina⁶

　　E） those who are physically stronger

　　F） while exhausted⁷ from strenuous⁸ physical exercise

　　KEY：C B A F D

　　PASSAGE 6

　　Development in Newspaper Organization

　　One of the most important developments in newspaper organization during the first part of the twentieth century ______（1）_______， which are known as wire services. Wire-service companies employed reporters， who covered stories all over the world. Their news reports were sent to papers throughout the country by telegraph. The papers paid an annual fee for this service. Wire services continue _______（2）________. Today the major wire services are the Associated Press （AP） and United Press International （UPI）。 You will frequently find AP or UPI at the beginning of a news story.

　　Newspaper chains and mergers¹⁰ began to appear in the early 1900s. A chain consists of two or more newspapers _______（3）______. A merger⁹ involves combining two or more papers into one. During the nineteenth century many cities had more than one competitive independent paper. Today in most cities there are only one or two newspapers， and _______（4）______. Often newspapers in several cities belong to one chain. Papers have combined ________（5）_______. Chains and mergers have cut down production costs and brought the advantages of big-business methods to the newspaper industry.

　　A. to play an important role in newspaper operations

　　B. was the growth of telegraph services

　　C. and they usually enjoy great prestige

　　D. they are usually operated by a single owner

　　E. in order to survive under the pressure of rising costs

　　F. owned by a single person or organization

　　KEY： BAFDE

　　PASSAGE 7

　　The Building of the Pyramids

　　The oldest stone buildings in the world are the pyramids. They have stood for nearly 5，000 years， and it seems like that _____（1）_____. There are over eighty of them scattered¹¹ along the banks of the Nile， some of which are different in shape from the true pyramids. The most famous of these are the “Step” pyramid and the “Bent” pyramid.

　　Some of the pyramids still look much the same as they must have done when they were built thousands of years ago. Most of the damage suffered by the others has been at the hands of men who were looking for treasure or， more often， ____（2）____. The dry climate of Egypt has helped to preserve the pyramids， and their very shape _____（3）_____. These are good reasons why they can still be seen today， but perhaps the most important is that they were planned to last for ever.

　　It is practically certain that plans were made for the building of the pyramids_____（4）____. However， there are no writings or pictures to show us how the Egyptians planned or built the pyramids themselves. Consequently， we are only able to guess at the methods used. Nevertheless， by examining the actual pyramids and various tools which have been found， archaeologists have formed a fairly clear picture of them.

　　One thing is certain： there must have been months of careful planning_____（5）_____. The first thing they had to do was to choose a suitable place. You may think this would have been easy with miles and miles of empty desert around， but a pyramid could not be built just anywhere. Certain rules had to be followed， and certain problems had to b overcome.

　　EXERCISE：

　　A for stone to use in modern buildings

　　B has made them less likely to fall into ruin

　　C before they could begin to build

　　D becase the plans of other large works have fortunately been preserved

　　E while building the pyramids

　　F they will continue to stand for thousands of years yet

　　Key：FABDC

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