ENG90

90 年度英語読解力考査
This is NOT the actual test.

PART I

Text 1England's Magna Carta (Latin for "Great Charter") and the American Constitution
have many things in common. Both are documents which form a significant part of thelegal foundations of their countries. Both came into existence because of strong politicalforces of the time. Yet there are many differences as well, not least of which is the fact
5 that American courts not only still refer actively to the Constitution to guide theirdecisions, but Americans still consider it necessary to amend the Constitution from timeto time to take new situations into account. English law, on the other hand, rarely ifever refers back to the Magna Carta for its decisions, depending instead on the rule of"common law" and legal precedent to take care of new situations, and the document has
10 more of an historical value than a contemporary legal one. In spite of this position of theMagna Carta it remains one of the most significant documents in English constitutionalhistory. And since the American legal system is historically linked with the English one,it is of primary significance for American constitutional history as well. In about 1215
King John of England was trying to raise money to continue a war against France,
15 something for which he was not very popular. Few people enjoy paying taxes, and thethirteenth century was no different from the twentieth in that respect. In order to raisethese taxes King John had to call together the most important members of the nobility
in England, and ask for their cooperation. Led by Simon de Montfort, these men madeone major demand in return for such cooperation: no English king would ever again
20 raise taxes without consulting the people. Of course by "the people" they meant thenobility, those who owned property, not the workers. Nevertheless, this demand, written
down in the Magna Carta and agreed to by King John, made sure that no English king,

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and later no English government, could ever again collect taxes in an unpredictablemanner.
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The legal principle set out in the Magna Carta was tested a number of times during
the course of English history. By the seventeenth century, however, it was widely
accepted that the purse-strings of the nation belonged to the representatives of thepeople, not to the king. By the middle of the nineteenth century the relationship30 between the rulers of England and Parliament had become the reverse of what it was in
the thirteenth century. Instead of completely independent rulers, kings were now
subject to Parliament very much like other citizens. Hence, although the Magna Carta
does not have the same position in English history that the American Constitution doesin American history, it is perhaps even more important in that it set out a fundamental
35 principle of democracy more than 500 years before a group of Americans set down on
paper the rules by which the new American nation would be governed.

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Questions for text1
26. How does the American Constitution differ from the Magna Carta ?
a. The Constitution is mainly a legal document but the Magna Carta is both a legal
document and an historical one.
b. The Magna Carta was the basis of English style law only until the American
Revolution.
c. The Magna Carta set the legal precedent for the American Constitution.
d. The former document is often changed but the latter one is not.
27. Why did King John try to raise money?
a. Because he did not like the nobility.
b. Because he did not like the English.
c. Because he was fighting a war with the French.
d. Because he was trying to increase his personal wealth.
28. Why was King John not popular?
a. Because he was fighting a war against France.
b. Because he wanted to raise taxes.
c. Because he signed the Magna Carta.
d. Because he consulted the nobility.
29. Who was Simon de Montfort?
a. A Frenchman who did not like King John.
b. A Frenchman who hated France.
c. An English lawyer.
d. An English nobleman.
30. What is the "legal principle" contained in the Magna Carta ?
a. Kings cannot raise taxes without consulting parliament.
b. Tax increases must always be predictable.
c. The English should not pay more taxes in peacetime than wartime.
d. Only the nobility have the right to increase taxes.

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31. What seems to be the writer's purpose in this article?
a. To argue that the American Constitution is superior to the Magna Carta.
b. To show that the English legal system works better than the American one.
c. To compare the Magna Carta and the American Constitution
d. To explain the historical significance of the Magna Carta.
32. In the writer's opinion, is the Magna Carta still a significant document?
a. No, the legal principle it contains has outlived its usefulness.
b. Yes, the legal principle it contains is just as important now as it was 800 years ago.
c. No, but governments should pay more attention to it than they have recently.
d. Yes, but its usefulness is fading rapidly.
33. Why don't the English amend the Magna Carta?
a. Because they consider it perfect.
b. Because they would like to but it is not legally possible.
c. Because it is rarely referred to in current legal decisions.
d. Because it is considered too important historically to change.

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Text 2If Earth's close encounter with a kilometer-wide asteroid last year gave you a scare,astronomers and geologists can sympathize. They know only too well what damage adirect hit can cause. Yet ironically we probably owe our very existence to just such acollision. Scientists have at last concluded a ten-year debate over what caused the
5 global disaster that completely destroyed perhaps two-thirds of all living species 66
million years ago. The event destroyed the last of the dinosaurs, but it also restarted thehalted development of our ancestors, the early warm-blooded animals. The agent ofdestruction seems to have been a 10-kilometer-wide asteroid or comet striking the earth
at a still undiscovered location at something like 65,000 kilometers per-hour, and not a
10 disastrous volcanic eruption, as some scientists had believed. The public, however, has
not gotten the message yet. In an attempt to appear to be open-minded, the news media
have shown opposing groups of equally respectable scientists still arguing over whether
the disaster was the result of a large collision or solely a huge volcanic explosion. In
reality, scientists who support the volcano theory remain a tiny minority, and the15 evidence is solidly on the side of a collision between the earth and another heavenly
body.

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Questions for text2
34. What does the expression, "astronomers and geologists can sympathize," mean?
a. That astronomers and geologists agree with one another.
b. That astronomers and geologists understand your fear.
c. That astronomers and geologists thought the earth would be hit by an asteroid lastyear.
d. That you can understand astronomers and geologists.
35. What is ironic about the damage caused by a collision between the earth and an
steroid or comet?
a. That most but not all dinosaurs were destroyed.
b. That such a collision almost happened again last year.
c. That such a collision set in motion the development of the human race.
d. That scientists cannot agree about the causes of the collision.
36. Which of the following statements is true about the place where the asteroid or
comet hit the earth?
a. The location was just recently discovered.
b. There are two theories about where the comet hit.
c. Scientists are afraid to tell the public the location .
d. Nobody knows where the collision occurred.
37. What have scientists been debating for the past ten years?
a. Where the last dinosaurs died.
b. Where the greatest volcano existed.
c. What caused the earth and an asteroid or comet to collide.
d. Why most living species died about 66 million years ago.
38. What is the "message" that the public has not gotten yet?
a. The location of the collision.
b. The exact date of the collision.
c. The conclusion of the debate between scientists.
d. The number of species destroyed in the disaster.

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ENG9039. Why has the public not received the message yet?
a. Because the media have not written about the story.
b. Because scientists have been hiding information.
c. Because the media have tried to present both sides of the story equally.
d. Because most scientists have not agreed on the subject yet.
40. Which of the following groups does the writer seem to be most critical of?
a. Scientists who believe the disaster was caused by a volcano.
b. Scientists who believe the disaster was caused by a collision.
c. The general public.
d. The media.

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PART II
According to some psychologists, police officers who become corrupt tend to follow acommon route called "socialization to corruption." The process begins _(41)_ the newofficer leaves the police academy for the streets. _(42)_ rapidly learns two secrets. First,
much police work involves waiting around for something to happen, _(43)_ saving lives
5 or catching criminals. Danger is always a possibility, _(44)_ boredom is a more_(45)_
problem. Second, police efficiency is low. _(46)_ secret can be revealed to the outside
world, _(47)_ it would damage the police image and _(48)_ crime.
_(49)_ continues as the new officer learns to accept small gifts or favors frombusinesses on his beat: a haircut, a magazine, a pack of cigarettes. Small cash gifts
10 are_(50)_ which, the officer rationalizes, are legitimate _(51)_ he gives a little extra
service for them - maybe he stops by the store an extra time or two to check thateverything is OK. This is _(52)_ part of his job anyway. _(53)_ what's wrong with it?
_(54)_ the officer becomes accustomed to the small luxuries the extra cash makes _(55)_ ,he comes to count on_(56)_. It is only natural to look for ways to make a bit more,
15 usually _(57)_ small favors for persons in his district. Perhaps the officer informs ashopkeeper that the traffic patrol is in the neighborhood, so he and his customers don't_(58)_ ticketed for illegal parking. Or perhaps he sees a card game in the back room and_(59)_ it.
_(60)_, psychologists say, the officer starts to distinguish _(61)_ clean and dirty
20 money. He gets clean money for ignoring victimless crimes _(62)_ illegal parking andgambling. The law isn't really being broken, _(63)_ bent a little. And _(64)_ no one isbeing hurt, it's all right to take the money. _(65)_ an officer begins to think this way, heis in trouble.
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ENG9041. a. if

42. a. Recruit

43. a. other thanb. sinceb. Recruits

b. eitherc. whenc. The recruit

c. rather thand. because

d. It

d. by

44. a. and

45. a. infrequent

46. a. Eachb. butb. constantb. Only onec. soc. unlikely

c. Neither

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48. a. encourage

49. a. Corrupting

b. sob. reportb. Supervisionc. because

c. terminatec. Development

d. if

d. involved. Socialization

50. a. better

51. a. although

52. a. only

b. soonb. because

b. notc. worsec. so

c. reallyd. next

d. whiled. still

53. a. so

54. a. As

55. a. freeb. butb. Beforeb. capablec. exceptc. Thenc . possible

d. nowd. Untild . easy

57. a. to do

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c. done forc. haved. thosed. done byd. be

60. a. Therefore

61. a. among

59. a. OK's
b. joins

b. In conclusionb. aboutc. stops

c. At this pointc. justd. ignores

d. At lastd. between

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62. a. for

63. a. however

64. a. anyway

b. such as

b. not evenb. whilec. except

c. just

c. so

d. of

d. if notd. since

65. a. Once
b. Nowc. At onced. Soon

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