Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)  

Directions: This part is to test your reading ability. There are 5 tasks for you to fulfill. You should read the reading materials carefully and do the tasks as you are instructed.  

Task 1  

The eight airlines of the One-world alliance ( 联盟 ) have joined forces to give   world travellers a simple way to plan and book a round-the-world journey. It’s called the One-world Explorer program.  
One-world Explorer is the perfect solution for a once-in-a-lifetime holiday or an extended business trip. It’s a great way for you to explore the four comers of the earth in the safe hands of the eight One-world airlines.  

You can have hundreds of destinations to choose from, because the One-world network covers the globe. And, as you travel around the world, you’ll have the support of 260,000 people from all our airlines, who are devoted to the success of your journey, helping you make smooth transfers and offering support all along the way.  

The One-world goal is to make global travel easier and more rewarding for everyone of our travellers. We try our best to make you feel at home, no matter how far from home your journey may take you.  

We can offer travelers benefits on a scale beyond the reach of our individual-net-works. You’ll find more people and more information to guide you at every stage of your trip, making transfers smoother and global travel less of a challenge.  

36. One-world in the passage refers to  

A) a travel agency  

B) a union of airlines  

C) a series of tourist attractions  

D) the title of a flight program  

37. The One-world Explorer program is said to be most suitable for those who  

A) have been to the four corners of the earth  

B) travel around the world on business  

C) want to explore the eight airlines  

D) need support all along the way  

38. The advantage of the alliance lies in  

A) its detailed travel information  

B) its unique booking system  

C) its longest business flights  

D) its global service network

Directions: After reading the following passage, you will find 5 questions or unfinished statements, numbered 36 to

40. For each question or statement there are 4 choices marked A), B), C), and D). You should make the correct choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

39. We can learn from the last paragraph that One-world  

A) offers the lowest prices to its passengers  

B) keeps passengers better informed of its operations  

C) offers better services than any of its member airlines alone  

D) is intended to make round-the-world trips more challenging  

40. The purpose of the advertisement is to  

A) promote a special flight program  

B) recommend long distance flights  

C) introduce different flights  

D) describe an airlines group   

Task 2  

Directions: This task is the same as Task 1. The 5 questions or unfinished statements are numbered 41 to 45.  

The human body has developed its millions of nerves to be highly aware of what goes on both inside and outside of it.

This helps us adjust to the outside world. Without our nerves and our brain, which is a system of nerves, we couldn’t know whats happening. But we pay for our sensitivity. We can feel pain when the slightest thing is wrong with any part of our body. The history of torture ( 折磨 ) is based on the human body being open to pain.  

But there is a way to handle pain. Look at the Indian fakir ( 苦行僧 ) who sits on a bed of nails. Fakirs can put a needle fight through an arm, and feel no pain. This ability that some humans have developed to handle pain should give us ideas about how the mind can deal with pain.  

The big thing in withstanding pain is our attitude toward it. If the dentist says, "This will hurt a little," it helps us to accept the pain. By staying relaxed, and by treating the pain as an interesting sensation ( 感觉 ), we can handle the pain without falling apart. After all, although pain is an unpleasant sensation, it is still a sensation, and sensations are the stuff of life.  

41. The human body has developed a system of nerves that enables us to  

A) stay relaxed  

B) avoid pain  

C) stand torture  

D) feel pain  

42. What does the writer mean by saying "we pay for our sensitivity" in the first   paragraph?  

A) We have to take care of our sense of pain.  

B) We suffer from our sense of feeling.  

C) We should try hard to resist pain.  

D) We are hurt when we feel pain.  

43. When the author mentions the Indian fakir, he shows that  

A) fakirs possess magic power  

B) Indians are not afraid of pain  

C) people can learn to cope with pain  

D) some people are born without a sense of pain  

44. What is essential for people to stand pain according to the writer?  

A) Their relaxation.  

B) Their interest.  

C) Their nerves.  

D) Their attitude.  

45. The author believes that  

A) feeling pain is part of our life  

B) pain should be avoided at all costs  

C) feeling pain can be an interesting thing  

D) magic power is essential for reducing pain