1.　　　　 As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution _____.

A. caused widespread damage in the countryside

　　　 B. affected the entire eastern half of the United States

　　　 C. had damaging effects on health

　　　 D. existed merely in urban and industrial areas

5.　　　　 All of the following statements are true EXCEPT _____.

　　　 A. young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s

　　　 B. it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s

　　　 C. fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s

　　　 D. Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession

(十)

　　　 It was once thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and/or heavy automobile traffic. Today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the entire eastern half of the United States and led to health warnings even in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be affected by air pollution. Some scientists feel that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a “greenhouse effect"-holding in heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be under water.

　Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particulate matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature-a result that would be equally disastrous. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to new ice age and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. At present we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report prepared by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very likely). Perhaps, if we are very lucky, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now.

4.　　　　 The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that _____.　

　　　 A. they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running

　　　 B. young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees

　　　 C. keeping them running at the same level would cost much more

　　　 D. social services need more state funds because of the recession

3.　　　　 American cars weren’t popular in their domestic markets because of _____.

A. small　　　　　　 B. gas-consuming　　　 C. fuel-efficient　　　 D. not attractive

2.　　　　 The phrase “laid off” can best be replaced by which of the following?

A. Poor 　　　　　　 B. Got rid of　　　　　　 C. Removed 　　　　　 D. Unemployed

1.　　　　 What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything.

B. There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s.

C. Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s.

D. High unemployment caused a lot of social problems.

5.　　　　 It seems that young Europeans ______.

　A. are more like Americans than their elders in their way of thinking

　B. look more like Americans than their elders do

　C. expect more from Americans than from their elders

D. look upon life as their elders do

(九)

　　　 The U.S. birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s. Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased tremendously, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline. At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel-efficient cars in large quantities for the export market. Suddenly, the large, gas-guzzling(非常耗油的)American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands. The American automobile industry went into a recession. Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry. People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing. They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college. Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs. High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service－unemployment benefits and to aid dependent children, for example－than during more prosperous times. It also means that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes. Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states. At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education. The colleges and universities are in trouble.

4.　　　　 British youths ______.

　A. have pity on the unemployed on the Continent

　B. have been the first to show their disappointment over joblessness

　C. care about unemployment in France and Belgium

　D. are trying to find work on the Continent

3.　　　　 What does the underlined word “prosperity” most probably mean?

　A. advance in politics　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. economic troubles

　C. political crisis　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. achievements in economy

2.　　　　 What Nicollete Steggerda said(Para. 2)means that ______.

　A. what the students learn is more than necessary

　B. the students cannot get work after graduation

　C. the students’ aim in study is not clear

　D. school education is not sufficient(enough)