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Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
The process of perceiving other people is rarely translated (to ourselves or others) into cold, objective terms. “She was 5 feet 8 inches tall, had fair hair, and wore a colored skirt.” More often, we try to get inside the other person to pinpoint his or her attitudes, emotions, motivations, abilities, ideas and characters. Furthermore, we sometimes behave as if we can accomplish this difficult job very quickly-perhaps with a two-second glance.
We try to obtain information about others in many ways. Berger suggests several methods for reducing uncertainties about others: watching, without being noticed, a person interacting with others, particularly with others who are known to you so you can compare the observed person’s behavior with the known others’ behavior; observing a person in a situation where social behavior is relatively unrestrained or where a wide variety of behavioral responses are called for; deliberately structuring the physical or social environment so as to observe the person’s responses to specific stimuli; asking people who have had or have frequent contact with the person about him or her; and using various strategies in face-to-face interaction to uncover information about another person-questions, self-disclosures (自我表露), and so on. Getting to know someone is a never-ending task, largely because people are constantly changing and the methods we use to obtain information are often imprecise. You may have known someone for ten years and still know very little about him. If we accept the idea that we won’t ever fully know another person, it enables us to deal more easily with those things that get in the way of accurate knowledge such as secrets and deceptions. It will also keep us from being too surprised or shocked by seemingly inconsistent behavior. Ironically (讽刺性地) those things that keep us from knowing another person too well (e.g., secrets and deceptions) may be just as important to the development of satisfying relationship as those things that enable us to obtain accurate knowledge about a person (e.g., disclosure and truthful statements).
21. The word “pinpoint” (Para. 1, Line 3) basically means ________.
A) appreciate
B) obtain
C) interpret
D) identify
22. What do we learn from the first paragraph?
A) People are better described in cold, objective terms.
B) The difficulty of getting to know a person is usually underestimated.
C) One should not judge people by their appearances.
D) One is usually subjective when assessing other people’s personality.
23. It can be inferred from Berger’s suggestions that ________.
A) people do not reveal their true self on every occasion
B) in most cases we should avoid contacting the observed person directly
C) the best way to know a person is by making comparisons
D) face-to-face interaction is the best strategy to uncover information about a person
24. In developing personal relationships, secrets and deceptions, in the author’s opinion, are ________.
A) personal matters that should be seriously dealt with
B) barriers that should be done away with
C) as significant as disclosures and truthful statements
D) things people should guard against
25. The author’s purpose in writing the passage is ________.
A) to give advice on appropriate conduct for social occasions
B) to provide ways of how to obtain information about people
C) to call the reader’s attention to the negative side of people’s characters
D) to discuss the various aspects of getting to know people
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
The competition among producers of personal computers is essentially a race to get the best, most innovative products to the marketplace. Marketers in this environment frequently have to make a judgement as to their competitors’ role when making marketing strategy decisions. If major competitors are changing their products, then a marketer may want to follow suit to remain competitive. Apple Computer, Inc. has introduced two new, faster personal computers, the Mackintosh II and Mackintosh SE, in anticipation of the introduction of a new PC by IBM, one of Apple’s major competitors.
Apple’s new computers are much faster and more powerful than its earlier models. The improved Mackintosh is able to run programs that previously were impossible to run on an Apple PC, including IBM-compatible (兼容的) programs. This compatibility feature illustrates computer manufactures’ new attitude of giving customers the features they want. Making Apple computers capable of running IBM software is Apple’s effort at making the Mackintosh compatible with IBM computers and thus more popular in the office, where Apple hopes to increase sales. Users of the new Apple can also add accessories (附件) to make their machines specialize in specific uses, such as engineering and writing.
The new computers represent a big improvement over past models, but they also cost much more. Company officials do not think the higher price will slow down buyers who want to step up to a more powerful computer. Apple wants to stay in the high-price end of the personal computer market to finance research for even faster, more sophisticated computers.
Even though Apple and IBM are major competitors, both companies realize that their competitor’s computers have certain features that their own models do not. The Apple line has always been popular for its sophisticated color graphics (图形), whereas the IBM machines have always been favored in offices. In the future, there will probably be more compatibility between the two companies’ products, which no doubt will require that both Apple and IBM change marketing strategies.
26. According to the passage, Apple Computer, Inc, has introduced the Mackintosh II and the Mackintosh SE because ________.
A) IBM is changing its computer models continuously
B) it wants to make its machines specialize in specific uses
C) it wants to stay ahead of IBM in the competitive computer market
D) it expects its major competitor IBM to follow its example
27. Apple hopes to increase Mackintosh sales chiefly by ________.
A) making its new models capable of running IBM software
B) improving the color graphics of its new models
C) copying the marketing strategies of IBM
D) giving the customers what they want
28. Apple sells its new computer models at a high price because ________.
A) they have new features and functions
B) they are more sophisticated than other models
C) they have new accessories attached
D) it wants to accumulate funds for future research
29. It can be inferred from the passage that both Apple and IBM try to gain a competitive advantage by ________.
A) copying each other’s technology
B) incorporating features that make their products distinctive
C) making their computer more expensive
D) making their computers run much faster
30. The best title for the passage would be ________.
A) Apple’s Efforts to Stay Ahead of IBM
B) Apple’s New Computer Technology
C) Apple’s New personal Computers
D) Apple’s Research Activities
