ENG98

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

Part I
Text IIn a poll taken early last year, U.S. teachers ranked computer skills and media
technology as “more essential” than the study of European history, biology, chemistry,and physics; than dealing with social problems such as drugs and family breakdown;
than reading modern American writers such as Steinbeck and Hemingway or classic
5 ones such as Plato and Shakespeare.
In keeping with this view, even as Camden, New Jersey, was cutting aid to anumber of school districts this past year, it spent $10 million on classroom computers.
In Union City, California, a single school district is spending $27 million to buy newcomputer equipment for just eleven schools. The Kittridge Street Elementary School, in
10 Los Angeles, eliminated its music program last year to hire a technology coordinator; in
Mansfield, Massachusetts, administrators dropped proposed teaching positions in art,
music, and physical education, and then spent $330,000 on computers; in one Virginia
school the art room was turned into a computer laboratory.
Such faith in the potential of technology is not new. In 1922 Thomas Edison
15 predicted that “the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system
and... in a few years it will replace largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks.”
Twenty-three years later, in l945, William Levenson, the director of the Cleveland publicschools’ radio station, claimed that “the time may come when a portable radio receiverwill be as common in the classroom as is the blackboard.” Forty years after that the20 noted psychologist B. F. Skinner, referring to the first days of his “teaching machines,”in the late 1950s and early 1960s, wrote, “With the help of teaching machines andENG
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programmed instruction, students could learn twice as much in the same time and withthe same effort as in a standard classroom.” Ten years after Skinner’s recollections werepublished, President Bill Clinton campaigned for “a bridge to the twenty-first century...
25 where computers are as much a part of the classroom as blackboards.”
Careful observers ought to see a pattern here - a pattern that spells trouble for theschools. In Teachers and Machines: The Classroom Use of Technology Since 1920, Larry
Cuban, a professor of Education at Stanford University and a former school
administrator, observed that as successive rounds of new technology failed their
30 promoters, expectations, a cycle of disappointment emerged. The cycle began with big
promises backed by the technology developers’ research. In the classroom, however,teachers never really used the new tools, and no significant academic improvement
occurred. This provoked consistent responses: the problem was not enough money,
spokespeople argued, or too much teacher resistance, or the paralyzing school
35 bureaucracy. Meanwhile, few people questioned the technology advocates’ claims. As
academic results continued to lag, the blame finally was placed on the machines. Soon
schools were eager to buy the next generation of technology, and the lucrative cycle
started all over again.

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ENG98

51. What is the writer’s attitude toward the current enthusiasm for computer
technology as revealed in the recent poll?
a. He is sympathetic.
b. He is suspicious.
c. He is angry.
d. He is optimistic.
52. Which teacher would probably be most worried by school administrators’ responses
to the latest developments in educational technology?
a. An English teacher.
b. A math teacher.
c. A music teacher.
d. A computer skills teacher.
53. What does the second paragraph suggest to readers?
a. That a gap exists between teacher opinion and educational policies.
b. That school bureaucracies continue to resist change.
c. That not enough money is available for buying school computers.
d. That school administrators share the attitudes expressed in the poll.
54. Why does the writer include the statements by Edison, Levenson, and Skinner?
a. To contrast past failures with current success.
b. To caution against high expectations for academic improvement.
c. To illustrate the progression of technological advancement.
d. To explain the technological roots of educational technology.
55. What does “that” (underlined in the middle of the third paragraph) refer to?
a. The comments made by Levenson in 1945.
b. The time when radios would be as common as blackboards.
c. The late 1950s and early 1960s.
d. The days when students would learn twice as much using machines.

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56. What seems to have been the ultimate reaction of teachers to new educational
technology in the past?
a. Enthusiasm
b. Caution
c. Disappointment
d. Surprise
57. According to Professor Cuban, what typically causes the failure of new educational
technology?
a. Lack of money for the technology.
b. Slowness of school bureaucracies.
c. Teachers’ attitudes towards the technology.
d. Unrealistic claims by technology advocates.
58. What is the main point of the last paragraph in the text?
a. Success creates success.
b. Necessity is the mother of invention.
c. Technology is the wave of the future.
d. History repeats itself.

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ENG98

Text 2

Not many people today remember Pope Urban II. Yet there have been few men
whose impact on human history has been so obvious and direct, for Urban II was thepope whose call for a Christian war to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims
began the Crusades. On November 27, 1095, before a crowd of thousands, Urban
5 delivered what was perhaps the single most effective speech in history - one that was
to influence Europe for centuries to come. In his speech, Urban protested that theTurks, who were occupying the Holy Land, were violating the Christian holy places
and attacking Christian pilgrims. Urban urged that all Christians join together in aholy war - a great crusade to recapture the Holy Land for Christianity. But Urban was
10 far too clever to appeal to altruistic motives alone. He pointed out that the Holy Land
was fruitful and wealthy - far richer than the overcrowded lands of Christian Europe.
Finally, the Pope announced, participation in the crusade would assure that eachcrusader would be forgiven for all his sins.
Urban’s speech, which appealed at the same time to his listeners’ highest motives
15 and to their most selfish ones, aroused passionate enthusiasm in his audience. Before
he had finished, the crowd was shouting, “Deus le volt!” (God wills it), which was soon
to become the battle cry of the crusaders. Within a- few months, the First Crusade wasunder way. It was to be followed by a long series of holy wars which took place over a
period of roughly two hundred years.
20Pope Urban II’s place in history is secure because it is unlikely that the Crusadeswould have taken place without his inspiration. Obviously, conditions for war wereripe; otherwise his speech would have fallen upon deaf ears. However, to start aENG
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general European movement, the leadership of some central figure was needed. Had a
German emperor, for example, declared a holy war against the Turks, and led his25 armies on a crusade, it is doubtful that many English or French knights would havejoined him. The Pope was the only figure in western Europe whose authority crossed
national boundaries. Only he could have proposed a project for all Christians to engage
in, with the hope that large armies would follow his suggestion. It is not the case,however, that virtually any pope would have proposed a crusade to liberate the Holy
30 Land, for, in many ways, it was an extraordinarily dangerous suggestion. Cautious
leaders would have been very reluctant to risk making a proposal when theconsequences were so difficult to predict. But Urban II dared to do so; and thus he had
a greater and more enduring effect on human history than many far more famous men.
Urban himself died in 1099, two weeks after the First Crusade succeeded in
35 capturing Jerusalem, but before news of that capture had reached him in Rome. His
influence, however, lived on. The Crusades had the effect of bringing western Europe
into close contact with the Byzantine and Islamic civilizations, which at that time wereconsiderably more advanced than western Europe. That contact helped prepare theway for the Renaissance, which in turn led to the full flowering of modern European
40 civilization.

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ENG9859. What is the writer’s main purpose in this passage?
a. To introduce Pope Urban II’s reasons for calling for a holy war
b. To argue for Pope Urban II’s historical importance.
c. To describe the political origins of the Crusades.
d. To explain why Pope Urban II enjoys such wide fame today.
60. In the writer’s opinion, why was Pope Urban II’s speech so clever?
a. It declared that Christian wars were holy.
b. It appealed to a wide range of human motives.
c. It aroused such passionate enthusiasm.
d. It influenced Europe for centuries.
61. What is the best synonym for ‘‘roughly’’ (end of paragraph 2) in this context?
a. approximately
b. barelyc. with difficultyd. not smoothly
62. What crucial difference does the writer point out between a German emperor and apope?
a. One is a political leader, the other is a religious leader.
b. One is necessarily European, the other is not.
c. Only an emperor commands an army.
d. Only a pope’s authority crosses national borders.
63. Despite the fact that ‘‘conditions for war were ripe” what does the writer suggestabout the First Crusade?
a. Virtually any leader could have started it.
b. Virtually any pope could have called for its start.
c. Only a religious leader could have called its start.
d. Not just any pope could have started it.

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64. According to the text, which is the correct chronological order for the events listedbelow?
1. Pope Urban II’s death.
2. Success of the First Crusade.
3. News of the capture of Jerusalem reaches Rome.
a. 2,1,3
b. 2,3,1
c. 1,2,3
d. 1,3,2
65. What does the writer suggest was Urban’s impact on history?
a. He established a model for politically active popes.
b. He was the first pope to become a military leader.
c. Without Urban, the Pope’s authority would not have crossed national borders.
d. Without Urban, there likely would have been no Crusades.
66. Which of the following reasons for joining the holy wars can be considered most“altruistic’’?
a. To fight for the enrichment of one’s country.
b. To fight for the well-being of fellow Christians.
c. To fight for the wealth of the Pope.
d. To fight for the forgiveness of one’s own sins.
67. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
a. Pope Urban II was history’s most daring pope.
b. Fame and historical importance are not necessarily linked
c. The Crusades were historically inevitable.
d. German emperors in the 11th century were weak.
68. Why was Pope Urban’s call for a holy war a dangerous suggestion?
a. As pope, Urban II commanded no soldiers.
b. The German emperor was not likely to support the Pope.
c. No one could foresee the consequences of a holy war.
d. The Pope had no military experience himself.

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ENG98PART II

The art of tattooing is an ancient craft known to humankind for thousands of years.
In its _(69)_ form it was used by primitive peoples _(70)_ camouflage for the hunt, buttattooing _(71)_ more complex functions within increasingly structured forms ofsociety.
5_(72)_ its purpose, tattooing has always been unique to _(73)_ wearer and has
always reflected the individual’s needs. The _(74)_ of tattooing frightening images on
the skin _(75)_ protection is particularly widespread, and has been adopted _(76)_ancient cultures and modern gang members alike to deter _(77)_ by intimidation.
Tattoos also have a long tradition _(78)_ membership in a specific cultural group,

10 ethnic tribe, or street gang.
At the turn of the century, _(79)_ they were worn by traveling gypsies who weredespised _(80)_ from the lowest classes, tattoos were regarded as the brandmark ofcriminals or social outcasts. That image has _(81)_ changed fundamentally. Tattoos
today are _(82)_ acknowledged as a form of body ornament that _(83)_ a personal
15 message. Contemporary tattoos are as stylistically diverse as fashion _(84)_, and theart of tattooing today has _(85)_ an aesthetic and technical height that is _(86)_ its
impact on so many other visual arts.

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969.

72.

75.

78.

81.

84.

a. earliest

70.

a. as

71.a. later took away fromb. laterb. at

b. soon took onc. latest

c. in

c. was kept away fromd. modernd. on

d. was taking froma. Besides

73.

a. any74.

a. designb. Despiteb. eachb. painc. Howeverc. onec. powerd. Whateverd. somed. practicea. as a meaning of

76.

a. by

77.

a. defenseb. as a means of

b. in

b. discriminationc. by a means of

c. of

c. enemies

d. for the meaning of

d. to

d. feara. from becoming

79.

a. although80.

a. about comingb. from showing

b. duringb. as beingc. of joining

c. oncec. to bed. of signaling

d. whend. to comea. after82.

a. exceptionally83.

a. depresses

b. becomeb. expectedly

b. expressesc. oncec. likelyc. impressesd. sinced. widelyd. represses

a. by itself

85.

a. accepted

86.

a. in reflection ofb. for itself

b. limited

b. reflected fromc. in itself

c. reached

c. reflected ind. itself

d. refinedd. reflecting on

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