Part ⅣReading Comprehension（Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）
Section A
Directions:In this section,there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to 0select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.Read the passage through carefully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter.Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
If our society ever needed a reading renaissance（复兴）, its now. The National Endowment for the Arts released “Reading at Risk” last year, a study showing that adult reading47 have 0dropped 10 percentage points in the past decade, with the steepest 0drop among those 18 to 24. “Only one half of young people read a book of any kind in 2002. We set the bar almost on the ground. If you read one short story in a teen—ager magazine, that would have48 ,” laments a director of research and analysis. He49 the loss of readers to the booming world of technology, which attracts would—be leisure readers to E—mail, IM chats, and video games and leaves them with no time to cope with a novel.
“These new forms of media undoubtedly have some benefits,” says Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You.Video games
50 problem—solving skills. TV shows promote mental gymnastics by
51 viewers to follow complex story lines. But books offer experience that cant be gained from these other sources, from52 vocabulary to stretching the imagination. “If theyre not reading at all,” says Johnson, “thats a huge problem.”
In fact, fewer kids are reading for pleasure. According to data53 last week from the National Center for Educational Statistics long—term trend assessment, the number of 17—year—olds who reported never or hardly ever reading for fun
54 from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. At the same time, the
55 of 17—year—olds who read daily 0dropped from 31 to 22.
This slow but steady retreat from books has not yet taken a toll on reading ability. Scores for the nations youth have56 constant over the past two decades （with an encouraging upswing among 9—year—olds）. But given the strong apparent correlation between pleasure reading and reading skills, this means poorly for the future.
A. percent B. remained C. rose D. rates E. percentage
F. counted G. relieved H. presentI. Believing J. released
K. forcing L. improveM. Styles N. building O. attributes
Section B
Directions:There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A）,B）,C） and D） .You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 a
责任编辑:yechenglu
