ENG95

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

PART I
Text 1

It is becoming increasingly clear that the comfort of a good fit between people andmachines is largely absent from the technology of the information age. Consider the
humble wristwatch, which has been transformed into some kind of wrist-mounted
personal computer, with a digital display and a calculator pad whose buttons are too
5 small to be pressed by a human fingertip. In fact, the very usefulness of thedigitalization of time is open to question. People generally care less about knowing thetime to the exact second than about seeing how much time they have until lunch. With
digital watches this requires a little bit of figuring, whereas with the old analog watches,the ones with hands, it is clear at a glance. Worse, by replacing the watch’s conventional
10 stem-winding

mechanismwithamystifying

arrangement

of

tiny

buttons,

manufacturers created a watch that was very hard to reset.
One leading manufacturer of watches was so disturbed to find that one of its mostadvanced watches was being returned in unprecedented numbers that it turned for help
to consultant, Charles Mauro, an expert in the field of ergonomics, a branch of
15 engineering that addresses the question of product usability. Mauro calls the problem
experienced by the watch maker, ''the complexibility problem." "Complexibility" isdefined as a basic mismatch between the demands of the technology and the abilities of
the user. This problem is everywhere in our lives. Fewer than half of all owners of VCRs,
fax machines, telephones, even coffee makers know how to program the machines for
20 their use. Mauro argues that the growing length of the instruction manuals is anindication of the seriousness of the complexibility problem. Who wants to carry athirty-page instruction manual for their watch in their wallet, he asks. Donald Norman,
ENG
1

Edited by www.bucho-net.com

a cognitive scientist at a leading computer manufacturer, believes that the fundamental
confusion is due to the essentially inscrutable nature of the technology. In the
25 mechanical systems of the old days, you could wiggle a switch or move a knob or a leverand see something happen. Today's technology concerns information that is invisible
and abstract. Who can see what happens inside a computer chip?
Most people who find that they cannot operate a new piece of technology usually
blame themselves. Often, however, it is not the consumer's fault. Companies have
30 become technology driven. If they can do something, they believe they should do it. The
question of how easy the equipment will be to use is often overlooked. The best designed
products require no instructions at all; their appearance tells you what to do as surely
as a coffee mug's handle says "Hold here. "ENG
2

ENG95

56. What is the writer's opinion about keeping time digitally?
a. He likes it because it helps keep him on time better.
b. He prefers it because it is easier to understand.
c. He believes it has caused simple devices to become more complex
d. He does not think it is really necessary for everyday life.
57. What does ''it'' in line 9 refer to?
a. Knowing the time to the exact second.
b. Figuring the time to the exact second.
c. Seeing how much time there is until lunch.
d. Caring how much time there is until lunch.
58. What does the writer of this text seem to think about the stem-winding mechanism
on a wristwatch?
a. It is an easy device to use for setting the time on a watch.
b. It needed to be replaced by a less delicate mechanism.
c. It cannot be used to set the time on a watch accurately enough.
d. It is even worse than a mystifying set of buttons.
59. What is being compared by the word "Worse" in line 9?
a. Watches with hands and stem-winding watches.
b. Making watches that require calculation and those that are hard to reset.
c. The ability to keep accurate time and having to set the time with buttons
d. Digital watches and analog watches.
60. Why does the writer tell us that fewer than half of all owners of machines like VCRs
and fax machines know how to program them?
a. To explain why the complexibility problem exists.
b. To illustrate the seriousness of the complexibility problem.
c. To show us examples of successful technology.
d. To help us appreciate manufacturers' problems.
61. What is the key difference between older mechanical systems and newer, moreadvanced technology?
a. Older systems were simpler but less reliable than the newer technology.
ENG
3

Edited by www.bucho-net.com

b. Modern technology appeals primarily to the younger generation.
c. The connection between form and function was clearer in older mechanical systems
d. Newer systems lose their usefulness more quickly than older mechanical systems.
62. What does the writer seem to suggest is the cause of the complexibility problem?
a. The complexity of modern life promotes technological complexity.
b. People enjoy products which challenge their ability to use them.
c. The right questions are not asked before developing new products.
d. Companies can make better profits on more advanced products.
63. By calling new technology is "inscrutable" (line 24), Donald Norman means that thetechnology is __________.
a. too complicatedb. not necessaryc. not transparent
d. too inhuman
64. What does the writer think about people who are unable to use new technology theway it was intended by the manufacturer?
a. They ought to return the product to the manufacturer.
b. They have no choice but to read the manual more thoroughly.
c. They must accept responsibility for their own failures.
d. They often feel inadequate even though they shouldn't.
65. What does it mean for a company to be "technology driven''?
a. The company makes whatever is technologically possible.
b. The company expects consumers to understand its technology
c. The company is in control of its own technological future.
d. The company is in the process of shifting technologies.
66. What does the writer think a company should do once it has the ability to develop atechnologically more advanced product?
a. Build it quickly to beat the competition.
b. Educate consumers about the complexity of the new product.
c. Find ways to make its instruction manuals easier to read.
d. Consider how easy the new product will be to use.
ENG
4

ENG95

67. From a technological viewpoint, which of the following devices would the writerprobably be most happy to use himself?
a. A high-tech VCR.
b. A manual typewriter.
c. A programmable coffee maker.
d. A multiple-function telephone and fax machine.

ENG
5Edited by www.bucho-net.com

Text 2In almost every advanced economy over the past 20 years, industrial employment
has either remained level or fallen. Meanwhile, the number of service jobs in these
economies has grown dramatically and now accounts for about two thirds of all jobs in
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). While some
5 experts view these developments as a sign of economic decline, it has become
increasingly popular to see them as the dawn of a post-industrial age in which
manufacturing industry will no longer be essential to the prosperity of rich countries.
Instead, the thinking goes, these economies will be devoted almost exclusively toservices. The problem with this view is that it underestimates the strength of the recent
10 recovery in manufacturing exports. Moreover, it adds to this error by blurring animportant distinction between employment and export figures.
The export crisis in the early 1980s, which resulted from dropping oil prices andgrowing national debt problems in Africa and Latin America, is over. Exports have riseneven above the high levels of the 1970s as capital lending to the developing countries
15 has recovered. One must note, however, that while exports have risen and fallen inrecent years, the relative importance of service exports has remained steady at justbelow twenty-five percent of the total. This is the key to accurately assessing the
economic promise of the service industry.
In other words, with exports, little change may be seen in the relative balance
20 between manufacturing and services. This does not imply, however, that nothing haschanged in the dynamics of the manufacturing industries of the richer and poorer
countries. In fact, a shift is occurring within the manufacturing sector itself. Many

ENG
6

ENG95labor-intensive manufacturing activities in the rich countries, such as clothing or
assembly, have been put out of business by rising imports from the developing countries,
25 causing jobs to be lost. On the other hand, manufacturing activities that require lesslabor, superior capital reserves, and higher skill levels continue to flourish due tocomparative advantages in these areas. As for the developing countries, they are
specializing in types of manufacturing that utilize their abundant supplies ofcomparatively inexpensive and less highly trained labor. To suggest that simply because
30 employment levels are down in this sector the advanced countries should abandon
manufacturing in favor of service exports is to ignore the competitive manufacturing
advantages that still exist; to stake our economic future on expansion in an area thathas shown little growth over the last few decades would be to court disaster in the
future.

68. According to the text, what best accounts for the decline in industrial employment in
the advanced economies?
a. A decline in manufacturing efficiency in advanced countries.
b. A shift in emphasis from manufacturing to service exports.
c. A reduction in labor-intensive manufacturing in advanced countries.
d. Lower demand in the developing world for manufactured goods.
69. What does the phrase ''the thinking goes'' in line 8 represent?
a. The view that advanced economies are in a period of decline.
b. The idea that manufacturing jobs are the key to economic strength.
c. The opinion held by the writer about future economic developments.
d. The more popular opinion on the meaning of recent economic trends

ENG
7Edited by www.bucho-net.com

70. According to the writer, which of the following views is NOT correct?
a.

An increase in service jobs can substitute for manufacturing exports in advanced
economies.

b.

An internal shift in the manufacturing industry of the advanced economies istaking place.

c.

Advanced economies still enjoy certain manufacturing advantages over thedeveloping economies.

d.

Industrial employment continues to distinguish advanced and developing
economies.

71. Why did developing countries begin again to increase imports from the advanced
countries recently?
a. Oil prices became stable again after the decline in the 1980s.
b. The debt crisis in Africa and Latin America deepened.
c. Industrial development loans from advanced countries increased.
d. Their economies have shifted from manufacturing to service.
72. What does the word "promise'' in line 18 mean?
a. commitmentb. forecast
c. guaranteed. potential
73. According to the writer, what has changed in the manufacturing sector of the world's
economies?
a.

Competition between the advanced and developing countries has led to job
losses in all areas.

b.

As advanced economies rely increasingly on service, manufacturing jobs moveto the developing world.

c.

Manufacturing requirements for higher skill levels are placing workers indeveloping economies at a disadvantage.

d.

A division in the kinds of manufacturing activities carried out in both advanced
and developing countries has appeared.

74. According to the writer, why would a complete shift to a service-based economy by
the advanced countries be ill-advised?
ENG
8

ENG95a.

He believes advanced countries should try to stay competitive in all employment
areas.

b.

He expects manufacturing employment levels to recover in the foreseeable
future.

c.

He does not think advanced countries should change from areas of definite
advantage to an area of uncertain growth.

d.

.

He does not accept figures that show there has been an increase in service jobs.

75. In line 33, what does the word ''court'' mean in the phrase ''court disaster''?
a. avoidb. invite
c. legalize
d. postpone
76. What part of the world does the writer appear to be from?
a. A developing country.
b. A labor-intensive society.
c. A country with an advanced economy.
d. A country with primarily service-based exports.

ENG
9Edited by www.bucho-net.com

PART II

Language is not a cultural artifact that we learn the way we learn to tell time or
how the federal government works. _(77)_, it is a distinct piece of the biological makeup
of our brains. Language is a complex, specialized ability which develops in the childspontaneously _(78)_ conscious effort or formal instruction, is used without awareness5 of its underlying logic, is qualitatively the same in _(79)_ individual, and is distinct from
more general abilities to behave intelligently. _(80)_, some cognitive scientists havedescribed language _(81)_ a psychological faculty, a mental organ, a neural system, anda computational mode. _(82)_ I prefer the simple word, ''instinct.'' _(83)_ conveys theidea that people know how to talk in _(84)_ the sense that spiders know how to spin
10 webs. Web-spinning was not invented _(85)_ some forgotten spider genius and does notdepend on _(86)_ the right education or on having an aptitude for the construction
business. _(87)_, spiders spin webs because they have spider brains, which give them
the urge to spin and the competence _(88)_. Although there are _(89)_ between webs andwords, I encourage you to see language in this way.
15_(90)_ language as an instinct may not be easy, though, _(9l)_ this view goes against
the popular wisdom. Language, however, is _(92)_ a cultural invention than is the factthat humans stand in an upright position. _(93)_ language is a magnificent ability_(94)_ to Homo Sapiens among living species, it does not call for the isolation of thestudy of humans _(95)_ the domain of biology, for a magnificent ability unique to a

20 particular living species is _(96)_ unique in the animal kingdom. _(97)_ kinds of batshome in on flying insects using Doppler sonar. Certain migratory birds navigate
thousands of miles _(98)_ the positions of stars against the time of day and year. _(99)_ENG
10

ENG95nature's talent show, we are simply a species of primate with _(100)_ own act, a knackfor communicating information about who did what to whom by adjusting the sounds
we make when we breathe out.

ENG
11

Edited by www.bucho-net.com

77. a .Besides

78. a. by

79. a. nob. Insteadb. fromb. everyc. Otherwisec. throughc. oned. Stilld. without

d. unique80. a. By this idea

81. a. as

82. a. As

b. Eventuallyb. forb. Butc. For these reasons

c. to

c. So

d. Thend. withd. While

83. a. Each

84. a. as good as

85. a. byb. It

b. more or lessb. forc. Languagec. over and abovec. in

d. The former

d. still and all

d. to

86. a. having been to

87. a. Accordingly

88. a. by succeedingb. having had

b. In this way

b. having succeededc. learningc. On the other handc. of successd. using

d. Ratherd. to succeed

89. a. comparisons

90. a. By thinking

91. a. because

b. differencesb. Come to think ofb. even ifc. exceptions

c. Having thought ofc. whiled. similarities

d. Thinking ofd. yet92. a. more

93. a. If

94. a. aloneb. no moreb. Moreoverb. belongc. some morec. Even thoughc. givend. still more

d. Unlessd. unique95. a. for

96. a. also

97. a. Almost

b. fromb. close tob. Lotsc. to

c. far fromc. Oned. withd. onlyd. Some

ENG
12

ENG9598. a. by calculating

99. a. For

100 a. its

b. from calculating on

b. In

b. one'sc. in calculation ofc. On

c. ourd. to calcu1ate

d. Withd. their

ENG
13