19. What does the underlined word “exempt” probably mean?

A. suffering　　　　　　　　　 B. different　 　　　　 　　　 C. prevented　 　　　　　　　 　　　 D. free

18. All the following statements about GPs are true except that they ____________.

A. take care of the local people’s health

B. often take part in competitions to see who is the best

C. work under high pressure nowadays　　　　　　　 D. have more responsibilities than before

17. What do we know about the NHS?

A. It’s managed by the central government.

B. Its cost is mainly paid for by the National Insurance contributions.

C. It hires more people than any other unit in Europe.

D. Fewer patients go to its hospitals than before because they spend less on health care.

16. We can know from the first paragraph that ______________.

A. the original aim of the NHS was to provide equal basic health care for everybody

B. people didn’t have to pay for health care since the NHS was set up

C. patients were charged for receiving health care before 1948

D. the NHS was an organization which gave free advice to villagers

15. As used in the last sentence, the phrase “in short” means _________.

　　　 A. in the long run　 　　　　　　　 B. in detail 　　 　　　 C. in a word　　　　　 D. in the end

D

The British National Health Service (NHS) was set up in 1948 and was designed to provide equal basic health care, free of charge, for everybody in the country. Before this time health care had to be paid for by individuals.

Nowadays central government is directly responsible for the NHS although it is administered by local health authorities. About 83 percent of the cost of the health service is paid for by general taxation and the rest is met from the National Insurance contributions paid by those in work. There are charges for prescription and dental care but many people, such as children, pregnant women, pensioners, and those on Income Support, are exempt from payment.

Most people are registered with a local doctor (a GP, or General Practitioner) who is increasingly likely to be part of a health centre which serves the community.

As the population of Britain gets older, the hospital service now treats more patients than before, although patients spend less time in hospital. NHS hospitals - many of which were built in the nineteenth century - provide nearly half a million beds and have over 480, 000 medical staff. The NHS is the biggest employer in Europe although Britain actually spends less per person on health care than most of her European neighbours.

During the 1980s there was considerable restructuring of the Health Service with an increased emphasis on managerial efficiency and the privatization of some services (for example, cleaning). At the end of the 1980s the government introduced proposals for further reform of the NHS, including allowing some hospitals to be self-governing, and encouraging GPs to compete for patients. Patients would be able to choose and change their family doctor more easily and GPs would have more financial responsibility. The political questions continue of how much money should be provided to support the NHS and where it should come from.

14. Which of the following is NOT true?

　 A. People do not analyze the problem they meet.

　 B. People often accept the opinions or ideas of other people.

　 C. People may learn from their past experience.

　 D. People can not solve some problems they meet.

13. By referring to Sam’s broken bicycle, the author intends to _________.

　 A. illustrate the ways to repair his bicycle

　 B. discuss the problems of his bicycle

　 C. tell us how to solve a problem　　　　　

　 D. show us how to analyze a problem

12. In analyzing a problem we should do all the following except 　　　　　　　　.

　 A. recognize and define the problem 　　 B. look for information to make the problem clearer

　 C. have suggestions for a possible solution

　 D. find a solution by trial or mistake

11.What is the best title for this passage?

　 A. Six Stages for Repairing Sam’s Bicycle　　 B. Possible Ways to Problem-solving

　 C. Necessities of Problem Analysis　　　　　　　　 D. Suggestions for Analyzing a Problem

10．Which is true according to the passage?

　 　　 A．Chinese Taibei recognizes diplomas earned on the Chinese mainland

　 　　 B．The number of Taiwanese students going to study on the mainland will surely be increasing in the next few years.

　 　　 C．Chinese Taibei doesn’t help with any inquiries about Taiwanese studying in the mainland

　 　　 D．Education of Taiwan is far behind the mainland.

C

People do not analyze every problem they meet. Sometimes they try to remember a solution from the last time they had a similar problem. They often accept the opinions or ideas of other people. Other times they begin to act without thinking. They try to find a solution by trial and error. However, when all these methods fail, the person with a problem has to start analyzing. There are six stages in analyzing a problem.

First the person must recognize that there is a problem. For example, Sam’s bicycle is broken, and he cannot read it to class as he usually does. Sam must see that there is a problem with his bicycle.

Next the thinker must define the problem. Before Sam can repair his bicycle, he must find out the reason why it does not work. For instance, he must determine if the problem is with the gears, the brakes, or the frame. He must make his problem more specific.

Now the person must look for information that will make the problem clearer and lead to possible solutions. For instance, suppose Sam decided that his bike does not work because there is something wrong with the gear wheels. At this time, he can look in his bicycle repair book and read about gears. He can talk to his friends at the bike shop. He can look at his gears carefully.

After studying the problem, the person should have several suggestions for a possible solution. Take Sam as an illustration. His suggestions might be: put oil on the gear wheels; buy new gear wheels and replace the old ones; tighten or loosen the gear wheels.

Eventually one suggestion seems to be the solution to the problem. Sometimes the final idea comes very suddenly because the thinker suddenly sees something new or sees something in a new way. Sam, for example, suddenly sees that there is a piece of chewing gum between the gear wheels. He immediately realizes the solution to his problem: he must clean the gear wheels.

Finally the solution is tested. Sam cleans the gear wheels and finds that afterwards his bicycle works perfectly. In short , he has solved the problem.