Text 1
For more than two decades, U.S. courts have been limiting affirmative-action programs in universities and other areas. The legal rationale is that racial preferences are unconstitutional, even those intended to compensate for racism or intolerance. For many colleges, this means students can be admitted only on merit, not on their race or ethnicity. It has been a divisive issue across the U.S., as educators blame the prolonged reaction to affirmative-action for declines in minority admissions. Meanwhile, activists continue to battle race preferences in courts from Michigan to North Carolina.
Now, chief executives of about two dozen companies have decided to plunge headfirst into this politically unsettled debate. They, together with 36 universities and 7 nonprofitable organizations, formed a forum that set forth an action plan essentially designed to help colleges
circumvent court-imposed restrictions on affirmative action. The CEOs’ motive: “Our audience is growing more diverse, so the communities we serve benefit if our employees are racially and ethnically diverse as well”, says one CEO of a compang that owns nine television stations.
Among the steps the forum is pushing: finding creative yet legal ways to boost minority enrollment through new admissions policies; promoting admissions decisions that look at more than test scores; and encouraging universities to step up their minority outreach and financial aid.And to counter accusations by critics to challenge these tactics in court, the group says it will give legal assistance to colleges sued for trying them. “Diversity diminished by the court must be made up for in other legitimate, legal ways,” says, a forum member.
One of the more controversial methods advocated is the so-called 10% rule. The idea is for public universities — which educate three-quarters of all U.S. undergraduates — to admit students who are in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. Doing so allows colleges to take
minorities who excel in average urban schools, even if they wouldn’t have made the cut under the current statewide ranking many universities use.
1. U.S. court restrictions on affirmative action signifies that______.
[A]minorities no longer hold the once favored status
[B]the quality of American colleges has improved
[C]racial preferences has replaced racial prejudice
[D]the minority is on an equal footing with the majority
2. What has been a divisive issue across the United States?
[A]Whether affirmative action should continue to exist.
[B]Whether this law is helping minorities or the white majority.
[C]Whether racism exists in American college admission.
[D]Whether racial intolerance should be punished.
3. CEOs of big companies decided to help colleges enroll more minority students because
they_____.
[A]think it wrong to deprive the minorities of their rights to receive education
[B]want to conserve the fine characteristics of American nation
[C]want a workforce that reflects the diversity of their customers
[D]think it their duty to help develop education of the country
4. The major tactic the forum uses is to_____.
[A]battle the racial preferences in court
[B]support colleges involved in lawsuits of racism
[C]strive to settle this political debate nationwide
[D]find legally viable ways to ensure minority admissions
5. If the 10% rule is applied, ______.
[A]the best white high school students can get into colleges
[B]public universities can get excellent students
[C]students from poor rural families can go to colleges
[D]good minority students can get into public universities
Text 2
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 andseminars. Not bad for a humble baseball player of modest education. " Mr Papathanasiou takes first prize.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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
1.[精解] 本题考查推理引申。第一段首句提到美国法院对平等权利法案的限制。第二句指出其理论依据是种族照顾政策是违反宪法的。 第三句指出这种做法意味着对学生的录取不再考虑其种族或民族背景。由此可推知， [A]是该做法的潜在含义。 [B]文中未提，[C]明显错误，因为该举动恰恰是反对种族照顾政策。 [D]表面上看似乎有点道理，但根据第一段的论述可知， “平等”并不是本文主要涉及的内容。
2. [精解] 本题考查句意理解。第一段第四句提到， “这在整个美国范围内引起了争议” ，注意句中 it 指的是上文提到的“限制平等权利法案的做法” 。该句中 as 引导的原因状语从句解释了引起争议的原因， 即， 教育者们认为它造成了少数民族录取率的降低。 因此引起争议的是限制平等权利法案的影响，排除[A] 。 [B]虽然与文中论述不完全一样，但它其实就等于说“这种做法到底是有利于哪一方” ，因此是正确项。第一段主要论述的是“种族照顾政策” ，不是“种族歧视”或“不容忍行为” ，排除[C]和[D] 。
3. [精解] 本题考查推理引申。根据题干定位到第二段。该段最后一句通过引用一位电视公司总裁的话解释了原因： 我们的观众越来越多元化， 所以如果员工来自不同的种族和民族，那么我们服务的机构将会受益。由此可推知， [C]为正确项。其他项均未提及。
4. [精解] 本题考查事实细节。论坛推行的策略在第三段第一句提到。其中第一种是找到通过新的录取政策增加少数民族录取人数的有创意且合法的办法。 [D]符合这种策略，为正确项。 [A] 与论坛的宗旨相悖， 因为论坛是要维护平等权利法案和少数民族利益的。 [B]错在 racism， 第三段后半部分提到， 论坛将援助那些由于尝试他们提出的策略而被起诉的大学。第二段首句只提到，一些公司总裁决定带头加入这场政治上很争议的辩论之中。因此，[C] “解决争论”无从推知。
5. [精解] 本题考查事实细节。 根据题干关键词 the 10% rule 定位到第四段。 该段提到，该规则将使公立大学录取在高中毕业班排名前 10%的学生。这种方法也使公立大学能招收到一般城市学校中名列前茅的少数民族学生。因此[D]正确。 [A]和[B]本身表述并没有错，但都是泛泛而谈，没有具体提到“公立大学”或“少数民族学生” 。 [C]在文中根本没有涉及。
文章概要： 某杂志邀请读者评选近五十年来最聪明的傻瓜。 有人提名里根， 有人提名阿拉法特， Denis Papathanasiou 提名棒球选手 Lawrence， 理由是他在接受采访时， 常常是看似答非所问的回答却包含着诚实的禅宗智慧。
6. [答案] D 细节题。 答案的依据在第四段里。 Denis 认为 Lawrence 在接受采访时
常常似答非所问，但是话里却包含诚实的禅宗智慧。故 D 正确。
7. [答案] B 判断题。 里根总统虽然曾在广播中宣布要在五分钟内轰炸俄罗斯，
但这是个玩笑，并不是根据某个占星家的建议所作的决定。故 B 正确。
8. [答案] A 细节理解题。 答案的依据在第一段的第三句里，表明这次推选并不
是看谁最受欢迎。故 A 正确。
9. [答案] D 细节理解题。在文章的第三段里，Richard 说 Arafat 没能够抓住历史
的契机，由此可判断 D 正确。
10. [答案] B 词意理解题。 humble 意思是 "谦虚的，谦逊的"，显然 B 正确。