Part A

Directions:

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing ［A］, ［B］, ［C］ or ［D］. Mark your answers on Answer Sheet 1. (40 points)

Text 1

Readers of our Christmas issue were invited to nominate the wisest fool of the past 50 years. They responded magnificently, though often predictably. But this was not a popularity contest, or an unpopularity one. Except Jack Kennedy, every eligible president of the United States was nominated, along with every important political leader of the rest of the world. Alan Greenspan was a popular choice, but surprisingly few businessmen were proposed. Donald Trump, Kenneth Lay, Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson and Lord Conrad Black were those most often mentioned. Even fewer women were nominated, though Diana, Princess of Wales, was a strong contender.

Piers Allen of Malta nominated Ronald Reagan, explaining, “A joke-cracking, afternoon-napping, intellectual lightweight whose memory could, in times of crisis, always be relied upon, but only to fail. Although foolish enough to announce, live on radio, that he would be bombing Russia in five minutes and take advice from his wife’s astrologer (占星家), he was also wise enough to have survived union leadership and two terms as governor of California to reach the presidency of the United States and end the cold war favourably for the West. Any other wise fools making it to the White House will be hard pressed to fill his cowboy boots. ”

Richard Spencer (address not supplied) chose Yasser Arafat, whose foolishness was in “never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity”. “While appearing to his people as a strong leader who could stand up to the Israelis, Arafat was unable to (or simply chose not to) seize the historical moment and forge a compromise solution that would benefit the lot of the Palestinians. Had he been wise enough to make a deal with Israel when the going was good, he likely would have been buried as a bona fide (真正的) world leader in a sovereign state of Palestine. ”

Denis Papathanasiou of Hoboken, New Jersey, nominated Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, baseball player for the New York Yankees (1946-63). “Mr Berra hardly qualifies as an intellectual: he is famous for such remarks as ‘You don’t look so hot yourself’ (in response to a comment that he looked cool in his summer suit), ‘What? You mean right now? (when asked for the time of day), and ‘I take a two-hour nap, from one o’clock to four. ’ On second glance, however, his utterances depict a certain honest Zen-like（类似禅宗） wisdom: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else? It was hard to have a conversation with anyone—there were so many people talking. Those qualities have inspired a miniature popular cult (崇拜) of books and seminars. Not bad for a humble baseball player of modest education. ”

Mr Papathanasiou takes first prize.

21. Dennis Papathasiou’s comment suggests .

［A］ Lawrence Berra is no doubt a confused character.

［B］ It is hard to have a conversation with Lawrence Berra.

［C］ It is wrong to underestimate a person of modest education.

［D］ The baseball player is philosophical about life.

22. What is NOT true of Ronald Reagan?

［A］ He was a trade union leader before assuming the governorship of California.

［B］ He threatened to bomb the Soviet Union on the advise of an astrologer.

［C］ He projected an image of tough guy when he was the U.S. president.

［D］ His memory could only be relied on in times of crisis.

23. The possible reason to drop the U.S. presidents from the contest is that .

［A］ The magazine deliberately disregarded popularity in the contest

［B］ most of the readers endorsed Dennis Papathanasiou’s choice

［C］ The editors decided that they were not strong contenders

［D］ The purpose of the contest was to outwit the readers

24. Richard Spencer’s comment implies that the Palestinian leader .

［A］ should have declared the formation of a Palestinian state

［B］ failed to identify a historical opportunity when it arose

［C］ failed to live up to his image as a strong leader

［D］ should have been flexible in his approach to dealing with the Israelis

25. The word “humble” (Line 9, Para. 4) denotes .

［A］ self-importance in bearing ［B］ modesty in behavior

［C］ a free of care character ［D］ easy-goingness in manners
答案：DBADB