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31. According to the passage, the teaching of science and math in America is
A) focused on tapping students' potential
B) characterized by its diversity
C) losing its vitality gradually
D) going downhill in recent years
32. The fundamental flaw of American school education is that ________.
A) it lacks a coordinated national program
B) it sets a very low academic standard for students
C) it relies heavily on the initiative of individual teachers
D) it attaches too much importance to intensive study of school subjects
33. By saying that the U.S. educational environment is "a mile wide and an inch deep" (Line 2, Para. 5), the author means U.S. educational practice ________.
A) lays stress on quality at the expense of quantity
B) offers an environment for comprehensive education
C) encourages learning both in depth and in scope
D) scratches the surface of a wide range of topics
34. The new National Science Education Standards are good news in that they will
A) provide depth to school science education
B) solve most of the problems in school teaching
C) be able to meet the demands of the community
D) quickly dominate U.S. educational practice
35. Putting the new science and math standards into practice will prove difficult because ________.
A) there is always controversy in educational circles
B) not enough educators have realized the necessity for doing so
C) school districts are responsible for making their own decisions
D) many schoolteachers challenge the acceptability of these standards.
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
"I've never met a human worth cloning," says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. "It's a stupid endeavor." That's an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy this spring - or perhaps not for another 5 years. It seems the reproductive system of man's best friend is one of the mysteries of modern science.
Westhusin's experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog's eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos (胚胎) carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate (代孕的) mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted fetuses (胎) may be acceptable when you're dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. "Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous," he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin's phone has been ringing with people calling in hopes of duplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. "A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right," says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy's mysterious billionaire owner; he's put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are "both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy."
Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems~ "Why would you ever want to clone humans," Westhusin asks, "when we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?"
36. By "stupid endeavor" (Line 2, Para. 1), Westhusin means to say that ________.
A) animal cloning is not worth the effort at all
B) animal cloning is absolutely impractical
C) human cloning should be done selectively
D) human cloning is a foolish undertaking
37. What does the first paragraph tell us about Westhusin's dog cloning project?
A) Its success is already in sight.
B) Its outcome remains uncertain.
C) It is doomed to utter failure.
D) It is progressing smoothly.
38. By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.
A) study the possibility of cloning humans
B) search for ways to modify .its temperament
C) examine the reproductive system of the dog species
D) find out the differences between Missy and its clones
39. We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have ________.
A) a bad temper
B) immune deficiency
C) defective organs
D) an abnormal shape
40. It can be seen that present cloning techniques ________.
A) still have a long way to go before reaching maturity
B) have been widely used in saving endangered species
C) provide insight into the question of nature vs. nurture
D) have proved quite adequate for the cloning of humans
Part III Vocabulary (20 minutes)
Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
41. My grandfather, a retired worker, often ________ the past with a feeling of longing and respect.
A) considers
B) contemplates
C) contrives
D) contacts
42. Medical students are advised that the wearing of a white coat ________ the acceptance of a professional code of conduct expected of the medical profession.
A) supplements
B) simulates
C) signifies
D) swears
43. The doctors ________ the newly approved drug into the patient when he was critically ill.
A) injected
B) ejected
C) projected
D) subjected
44. Apart from philosophical and legal reasons for respecting patients' wishes, there are several practical reasons why doctors should ________ to involve patients in their own medical care decisions.
A) enforce
B) endow
C) endeavor
D) enhance
45. This is a long ________ - roughly 13 miles down a beautiful valley to the little church below.
A) terrain
B) descent
C) degeneration
D) tumble
46. She was deeply ________ by the amount of criticism her play received.
A) deported
B) deprived
C) involved
D) frustrated
47. Some scientists are dubious of the claim that organisms ________ with age as an inevitable outcome of living.
A) depress
B) default
C) deteriorate
D) degrade
48. Many manufacturers were accused of concentrating too heavily on cost reduction, often at the ________ of the quality of their products.
A) expense
B) exposure
C) expansion
D) expectation
49. One witness ________ that he'd seen the suspect run out of the bank after it had been robbed.
A) convicted
B) conformed
C) retorted
D) testified
