21st Century College English (Book 3)
Part I Listening Comprehension
(20%)
Section A (10%)
Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each
conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and
the question will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause, you
must read the four choices marked A), B), C), and D), and decide which is the best
answer. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
1. A) Either email or the telephone.
B) Both email and the telephone.
C) Email.
D) The telephone.
2. A) He can’t stand up.
B) He feels the same way as the woman.
C) He will not stand in the way.
D) He is not a boss, either.
3. A) They are talking about the world.
B) They met some time ago.
C) They are discussing how small the world is.
D) They will not meet again.
4. A) He agrees with the woman.
B) Smoking can kill a person.
C) Smoking is more than self-poisoning.
D) Cigarettes have poisonous elements.
5. A) He is nervous about giving lectures.
B) He gives amusing lectures.
C) He lectures to a group of humorous people.
D) He is not serous with his lectures.
6. A) In an office.
B) In a store.
C) In a hotel.
D) In a friend’s house.
7. A) He has finished his research project.
B) He is happy with his research project.
C) His research project is not completed yet.
D) He will fail in his research project.
8. A) He thinks John should be informed so he doesn’t just guess.
B) He definitely knows John does not know because he just arrived.
C) He is not sure if John knows.
D) He is sure John knows it because he got it a little while ago.
9. A) The man has no time to study in the evenings.
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B) The man only has time to study in the evenings.
C) The man doesn’t think the woman is behind in her study.
D) The man thinks work is more important than study in the evening.
10 A) He can do the wok himself.
B) He is a mechanic.
C) He is going to send the bike to the repairer’s.
D) He is going to have his bike repaired.
Section B (10%)
Directions: In this section you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage,
you will hear a number of questions. Both the passage and the questions will be read
only once. After you hear one question, you must choose the best answer from the
four choices marked A), B), C), and D). Then blacken the corresponding letter on the
answer sheet.
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11．A) To teach and train citizens.
B) To save natural resources for future use.
C) To collect taxes.
D) To protect persons and property.
12．A) By selling public lands.
B) By selling land containing oil.
C) By selling coal and other natural products.
D) By selling services that make life comfortable.
13．A) People’s attitude toward taxes.
B) Police efforts to protect people.
C) Taxes and services for the public.
D) Environmental pollution and protection.
Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. A) They will definitely end up as good language learners.
B) They set their own direction in the process of their learning.
C) They are aware of their own learning styles.
D) They take responsibility for their own learning.
15. A) Mostly first language development.
B) Mostly second language skill-building.
C) First language skill-building and second language development.
D) Lots of training in their first and second languages.
16. A) Just teaching new strategies to students is of no use.
B) Few students have great responsibility for their own learning.
C) Independent learning helps students make better use of resources.
D) Students favor teaching resources more than teachers themselves.
Questions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
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17. A) Because it reminds you of your weight.
B) Because it can get rid of your worries.
C) Because it is a good way to test your weight.
D) Because it helps you control your weight.
18. A) Making wise food choices.
B) Continuing to eat more.
C) Choosing fatty and sweet foods.
D) Eating less than usual.
19. A) By eating more.
B) By being active in exercising.
C) By eating better foods.
D) By eating fruits, grains and vegetables.
20. A) Drinking water.
B) Watching less television.
C) Eating no breakfast.
D) Eating more grains.
Part II Reading Comprehension (40%)
Directions: There are some questions or unfinished statements in this part. For each of
them there are four choices marked A), B), C), and D). You should decide on the best
choice and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on College Pressures (Text A, Unit Four, Book 3,
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY COLLEGE ENGLISH).
21. The author makes predictions for many unexpected changes of the future, but the
students don’t want to hear them, because_______________.
A) they think there is a bright future ahead of them
B) they think he is a pessimist
C) they think that they are all wild fantasy
D) they feel a need for certainty and security
22. According to the author, the four kinds of pressure affecting students are
________________.
A) the pressure of family anxieties, economic pressure, parental pressure and
self-induced pressure
B) psychological pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure and self-induce
pressure
C) economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure and self-induce pressure
D) self-induced pressure, parental pressure, social pressure and peer pressure
23. Why are women at Yale under even more pressure than men?
A) Because it is hard for them to find a leading position when after graduation.
B) Because they often lag behind.
C) Because their education is very expensive.
D) Because they must start to repay their loans within one year after graduation.
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24. Those students whose parents want them to become doctors often go off to the
labs_______________.
A) willingly
B) confidently
C) full of expectations
D) unwillingly
25. Why does the author say that peer pressure and self-induced pressure are
intertwined?
A) Because if students don’t work hard, they will lose self-confidence.
B) Because more and more students want to get good marks.
C) Because peer pressure will not exist without self-induced pressure.
D) Because students compare themselves with another.
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European
societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the
setting up of a dowry or decimum. Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her
against the risk of desertion, but in reality its function in the social and family life of
the time was much more important. The decimum was the wife’s right to receive a
tenth of all her husband’s property. The wife had the right to withhold consent, in all
transactions the husband would make. And more than just a right: the documents
show that she enjoyed a real power of decision, equal to that of her husband. In no
case do the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband
and wife.
The wife shared the management of her husband’s personal property, but the
opposite was not always true. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own
inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they
showed a fine fighting spirit. A case in point is that of Maria Vivas, a Catalan woman
of Barcelona. Having agreed with her husband Miro to sell a field she had inherited,
for the needs offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the scribe to have a
contract duly drawn up assigning her a piece of land from Miro’s personal inheritance.
The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract says, “for the sake of
peace.” Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the Catalan wife
knew how to win herself, within the context of the family, a powerful economic
position.
26. A decimum (line 3, para. 1) was ________________.
A) the wife’s inheritance from her father
B) a gift of money to the new husband
C) a written contract
D) the wife’s right to receive 10% of her husband’s property
27. In the society described in the passage, the legal standing of the wife in marriage
was_____________________.
A) higher than that of her husband
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B) lower than that of her husband
C) the same as that of her husband
D) higher than that of a single woman
28. What compensation did Maria Vivas get for the field?
A) Some of the land Miro had inherited.
B) A tenth of Miro’s land.
C) Money for household expenses.
D) Money from Miro’s inheritance.
29. Could a husband sell his wife’s inheritance?
A) No, under no circumstances.
B) Yes, whenever he wished to.
C) Yes, if she agreed.
D) Yes, if his father-in-law agreed.
30. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an effect of the dowry system?
A) The husband had to share the power of decision in marriage.
B) The wife was protected from desertion.
C) The wife gained a powerful economic position.
D) The husband was given control over his wife’s property.
Questions 31 to 36 are based on the following passage.
It was not yet eleven o’clock when a boat crossed the river with a single passenger
who had obtained his transportation at that unusual hour by promising an extra fare.
While the youth stood on the landing-place searching in his pockets for money, the
ferryman lifted a lantern, by the aid of which, together with the newly risen moon, he
took a very accurate survey of the stranger’s figure. He was a young man of barely
eighteen years, evidently country bred, and now, as it seemed, on his first visit to town.
He was wearing a rough gray coat, which was in good shape, but which had seen many
winters before this one. The garments under his coat were well constructed of leather,
and fitted tightly to a pair of muscular legs; his stockings of blue yarn must have been
the work of a mother or sister, and on his head was a three-cornered hat, which in its
better days had perhaps sheltered the grayer head of the youth’s father. In his left hand
was a walking stick, and his equipment was completed by a leather bag not so
abundantly stocked as to inconvenience the strong shoulders on which it hung. Brown,
curly hair, well-shaped features, bright, cheerful eyes were nature’s gifts, and worth all
that art could have done for his adornment. The youth, whose name was Robin, paid the
boatman, and then walked forward into the town with a light step, as if he had not
already traveled more than thirty miles that day. As he walked, he surveyed his
surroundings as eagerly as if he were entering London or Madrid, instead of the little
metropolis of a New England colony.
31. The boatman was willing to take Robin across the river because _____________.
A) he wanted to make extra money
B) he saw that Robin was young and rich
C) he was going to row across the river anyway
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D) he felt sorry for him because Robin looked poor
32. The stockings that Robin wore were obviously________________.
A) well worn
B) very expensive
C) handmade
D) much too big
33. From the way he looked, it was evident that Robin was _____________.
A) a wealthy merchant’s son
B) a country boy
C) a soldier
D) a foreigner
34. Robin was apparently going to town _______________.
A) to buy new clothes
B) for the first time
C) for the first time in several years
D) on one of his regular trips there
35. How did Robin appear as he walked into town?
A) He was cheerful and excited.
B) He was tired.
C) He seemed very sad.
D) He seemed frightened by his strange surroundings.
36. How far had Robin traveled?
A) Over thirty miles.
B) Over thirty miles from Madrid.
C) Over thirty miles from London.
D) Over thirty miles from a nearby town.
Questions 37 to 40 are based on the following passage.
In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical
Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of these, only about a half a dozen generate the strong,
circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status, and several
usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and
bring death to large numbers of people.
The great storms that hit the coast start as innocent circling disturbances
hundreds---even thousands--- of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water
warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds. When
conditions are just right, warm, moist air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance,
moves upward through it and come out at the top. In the process, the moisture in this
warm air produces rain, and with it the heat that is converted to energy in the form of
strong winds. As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to swirl in a
counter-clockwise motion.
The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost more
power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane’s rainfall in
a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than
six months. Water, not wind, is the main source of death and destruction in a hurricane.
A typical hurricane brings 6- to 12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods. Worst of
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all is the powerful movement of the sea----the mountains of water moving toward the
low-pressure hurricane center. The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as
it moves toward shore.
37. When is an ordinary tropical storm called a hurricane?
A) When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas.
B) When it hits the coastline.
C) When it is more than 75 miles.
D) When its winds reach 75 miles per hour.
38. What is the worst thing about hurricanes?
A) The destructive effects of water.
B) The heat they release.
C) That they last about nine days on the average.
D) Their strong winds.
39. The counter-clockwise swirling of the hurricane is brought about by____________.
A) the low-pressure area in the center of the storm
B) the force of waves of water
C) the trade winds
D) the increasing heat
40. Apparently the word downpour (line5, para.3) means__________________.
A) heavy rainfall
B) dangerous waves
C) the progress of water to the hurricane center
D) the energy produced by the hurricane
Part III Vocabulary
Section A (5%)
Directions: There are 10 incomplete sentences in this section. For each sentence there
are four choices marked A, B), C), and D). Choose the one that best completes the
sentence. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
41. The champagne had caused his face to________ and eyes were bright.
A) flush
B) blush
C) turn pale
D) light up with pleasure and excitement
42. Before he moved to his new apartment, the young man spent more than 10,000 yuan
on electrical__________.
A) instruments
B) appliances C) applications
D) facilities
43. They have been __________of the fuel necessary to heat their homes.
A) refused
B) declined
C) denied
D) deprived
44. The teacher came up with a(n) ___________way to cope with absenteeism in his
class.
A) genuine
B) indignant
C) generous
D) ingenious
45. Being granted a yearly bonus can be considered __________ to getting a raise in
pay.
A) comparable B) preferable
C) detectable
D) equable
46. The mob broke into shops and ___________ passers-by in its fury.
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A) convicted
B) revenged
C) shattered
D) assaulted
47. He _______ over his words when speaking in public.
A) slumps
B) stumps
C) stumbles
D) stabilizes
48. The editor examined the report carefully to __________all the slang words from it.
A) withdraw
B)abandon
C) diminish
D) eliminate
49. Don’t _________ it, the taxi will arrive on time, and we won’t miss the plane.
A) refer to
B) fuss with
C) comment on
D) delay
50. He had to _________ an appointment with me on account of illness.
A) call off
B) put off
C) show off
D)cut off
Section B (10%)
Directions: There are 10 sentences in this section. Write a definition or synonym
of the italicized word on the Answer Sheet.
51. Many educators would be delighted to abolish exams, but they also worry that
without them there would be too little incentive for student s to work hard.
52. The winners of the contest were chosen randomly; no consideration was given to
age, gender or income.
53. Christy is bright, creative and quick to assimilate new ideas.
54. You can’t do this kind of work if you don’t have conviction about what you are
doing.
55. The region is renowned for its outstanding natural beauty.
56. Technology has an irreversible impact on society.
57. It’s peculiar that they didn’t tell us they were going away.
58. It always intrigues me how someone so intelligent could do such stupid things.
59. Anger can be a positive force if it provides impetus for change.
60. She relieved her boredom at home by learning how to type.
Part IV Cloze (10%)
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four
choices marked A), B), C), and D) at the end of the passage. Choose the answer that
best fits into the context, and then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer
Sheet.
For the past years, I have been working on students’ evaluation of classroom
teaching. I have kept a record of informal conversations__61_some 300 students from
at _62____twenty-one colleges and universities. The students were
generally___63_____and direct in their comments ___64____ how course work could
be better __65_____. Most of their remarks were kindly ___66___----with tolerance
rather than bitterness--- and frequently were softened by the __67____that the
students were speaking __68____some, not all, instructors. Nevertheless, __69___the
following suggestions and comments indicate, students feel __70___with
thing-as-they-are in the classroom.
Professors should be __71____from reading lecture notes. “It makes
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their__72___monotonous.”
If they are going to read, why not __73___ copies of the lecture? Then we
__74____need to go to class. Professors should __75____repeating in lecture material
that is in the textbook. “__76____we’ve read the material, we want to __77_____it or
hear it elaborated on, ___78____repeated.” “A lot of students hate to buy a
__79___text that the professor has written __80_____to have his lectures repeat it.”
61. A) involving
62. A) best
63. A) Reserved
64. A) over
65. A) presented
66. A) received
67. A) occasion
68. A) on
69. A) though
70. A) dissatisfied
71. A) interfered
72. A) voices
73. A) hold
74. A) couldn’t
75. A) refuse
76. A) Once
77. A) remember
78. A) yet
79. A) desired
80. A) about
B) counting
B) least
B) hard-working
B) at
B) submitted
B) addressed
B) truth
B) about
B) as
B) unsatisfactory
B) interrupted
B) sounds
B) leave
B) wouldn’t
B) prohibit
B) Until
B) argue
B) not
B) revised
B) how
C) covering
C) length
C) polite
C) on
C) described
C) made
C) case
C) at
C) whether
C) satisfied
C)discouraged
C) pronunciation
C) drop
C) mustn’t
C) prevent
C) However
C) discuss
C) and
C) required
C) but
D) figuring
D) large
D) frank
D) of
D) written
D) taken
D) fact
D) with
D) if
D) satisfactory
D) disturbed
D) gestures
D) give
D) shouldn’t
D) avoid
D) Unless
D) keep
D) or
D) deserved
D) only
Part V Writing (15%)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition entitled
Making Our City Greener. Your composition should be based on the following outline
given in Chinese.
1. 城市绿化的现状；
2. 绿化的好处；
3. 怎样才能实现绿化。
Your composition should be no less than 120 words. Write the composition on the
Answer Sheet.
Key (Test A)
1. C
2. B
3. B
4. C
5. B
6.A
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7.C
8.C
9.A
10. A
11. D
21. D
31. A
41. A
12. A
22. C
32. C
42. B
13. C
23. A
33. B
43. D
14. A
24. D
34. B
44. D
15. D
25. D
35. A
45. A
16. C 17. D 18. A 19. B 20. C
26. D 27. A 28. A 29. C 30. D
36. A 37. D 38. A 39. D 40. A
46. D
47. C 48. D 49. B 50. A
51-60 (for reference)
51. an encouragement to do sth./ motivation
52. without any plan, or aim
53. understand properly
54. very firm and sincere belief
55. famous
56. not possible to change
57. unusual and strange
58. interest greatly, esp. because strange or unexpected
59. stimulation, stimulus
60. make less strong
61. A 62. B 63. D 64. C 65. A 66. C 67. D 68. B 69. B 70. A
71. C 72. A 73. D 74. B 75. D 76. A 77. C 78. B 79. C 80. D
21st Century College English (Book 3)
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Mid-term Test (A)
Part I
Listening Comprehension
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each
conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and
the question will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause, you
must read the four choices marked A), B), C), and D), and decide which is the best
answer. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
1. W: I’m thinking of using some labor-saving devices. What do you suggest?
M: If I were you, I would prefer email to the telephone.
Question: What labor-saving device does the man suggest?
2. W: I can’t stand the way he treats his employees.
M: Me neither.
Question: What does the man mean?
3. W: Hi! Mark. Nice to see you again. How’s everything?
M: Great! I didn’t expect to see you again. What a small world!
Question: What do we know about the speakers?
4. W: Smoking is self-poisoning.
M: Worse, I believe.
Question: What does the man mean?
5. W: Professor Smith seems serious.
M: But his lectures are quite humorous, aren’t they?
Question: What does the man think about Professor Smith?
6. W: What Can I do for you, Mr. Jones?
M: I’d like o get permission to stay in China for another month.
Question: Where does this conversation most probably take place?
7. W: Paul seems to be in a bad mood today.
M: He’ll feel happier when his research project is over.
Question: What does the man imply about Paul?
8. W: Do you think John knows about the change in schedule?
M: He just got here a little while ago himself, so it’s anyone’s guess.
Question: What does the man mean?
9. W: You know, every time I see you poring over the notes it makes me wonder
whether I’m behind. Are you really on Chapter 5 already?
M: What do you mean? I have to stay ahead. I work in the evenings.
Question: What can be inferred about the man?
10. W: Are you going to repair your bike yourself?
M: Well, my bike’s broken, but it’s not beyond my repair capability.
Question: What does the man mean?
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Section B
Directions: In this section you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage,
you will hear a number of questions. Both the passage and the questions will be read
only once. After you hear one question, you must choose the best answer from the
four choices marked A), B), C), and D). Then blacken the corresponding letter on the
answer sheet.
Passage One
We use all sorts of services without thinking how we get them. But such services
cost money. We pay for them through taxes. What would happen if everyone in the
city stopped paying taxes? The water supply would stop, the streets might not be
cleaned, and there would be no police force to protect people and property.
The chief duty of every government is to protect persons and property. More than
3/4 of the money spent by our government is used for this purpose. The next largest
amount of public money goes to teach and train our citizens. Billions of dollars each
year are spent on schools and libraries. Public money is used to pay the teachers and
other public officials.
Years ago, the government made money from the sale of public lands. But most of
the best public lands have now been sold. The money raised was used to help pay the
cost of government. There’re still some public lands that contain oil, coal, gas and
other natural products. They could be sold, but we want to save them for future years.
So we all must pay our share for the services that make our life comfortable.
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. What’s the chief duty of every government?
12. How did the government raise the money in the past?
13. What is the passage mainly about?
Passage Two
Nowadays language teachers see independent learning as a goal. It is part of
what makes the good language learner: one who sets his or her own direction and
takes responsibility for his or her own learning. Certain skills are necessary for
independent learning, including awareness of learning styles and the ability to track
one's own progress. Both children and adults can be encouraged to be independent
learners, but their needs as language learners are often different. ESL children in the
US, for example, often need extensive first language development as well as second
language skill-building to be fully literate in both languages.
Language learners, both adults and children, have certain cultural expectations
about teacher and student roles. For many learners, the teacher has the duty to impart
knowledge to them, and their duty as learners is to memorize it. This attitude is
clearly not helpful to self-direction. Just teaching new strategies to students will
achieve very little unless students begin to want greater responsibility for their own
learning. On the other hand, studies in Japan and Hong Kong indicate that some
students realize that they could take better advantage of resources by being more
independent. If we want to encourage independent learning, we will need to give
learners good reasons for moving in that direction.
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Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. Which of the following is NOT true about independent learners?
15. What do ESL children in the US often need in order to be fully literate in both
languages?
16. What do studies in Hong Kong and Japan indicate?
Passage Three
If you're worried about your weight, healthy eating and exercising may help ease
your worries. To begin with, being more active is important for keeping your weight
in check. Choose an activity that makes you breathe hard and sweat a bit. Discover
some great activities you can do by yourself, with a friend, or with a big bunch of
people.
Doctors usually don't recommend cutting back on the amount of food you eat,
although your doctor may suggest better food choices, such as choosing foods with
less fat and sugar in them.
You can talk with your family and get everybody involved in eating better foods
and exercising more. Keep the rate at which you use energy from food, at a high
speed by staying active. The faster your body uses energy, which comes from food,
the less likely you are to be at an unhealthy weight.
In fact, small changes in your diet and activities can add up to big changes in
how you look and feel. For example, you can cut down on your TV, computer, or
video game time by 30 minutes a day. Never skip breakfast and eat a good one with
fruits, grains, and vegetables. Again, you can start a water habit. If you're thirsty,
drink water instead of sugary juice, iced tea, or soft drinks.
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