5. B。细节题。亚特兰大奥运会是 1996 年召开的，再根据
They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the coming Atlanta Olympic
Games this year 可知这篇文章写于 1996 年，故选 B。
(10)
The United States will introduce a new and
comprehensive(综合的) exam for
students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries,
Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.
The exam, which stands for a great change
from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei
Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board,
America’s leading educational organization.
The Advanced Placement International English
Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May
10, 2002, said Jen.
However, the APIEL is a strange title to
most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other
already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign
Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International
English Language Testing System).
“I have
never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another
exam,” said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already
taken the TOEFL.
Most of Xu’s classmates have never heard of
the APIEL. “The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get
university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States,
Britain, Canada, and Australia.” said Jen.
The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen,
because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of
using the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua
reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores
in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after
admission.
Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures
a student’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English through
testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing
with clarity and fluency(流畅), Jen said.