IV. Reading Comprehension (45 points)
Directions:
There are three reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions. For each question. There are four suggested answers marked A. B. C. and D. Choose one best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Passage One

Here is a story told about an American general who was a very important figure in the American army during the First World War. Everybody in the United States knew him and many people wished to have a picture or something of his in their homes.

Soon after the war the general returned to Washington. One day he went to a dentist and had six teeth pulled out. A week later the general heard that his teeth were being sold in curiosity shops at $5 each. On each of the teeth there was a label with the name of the general and words: “Buy these teeth and show them to your friends at home.” The general got angry. He rushed to his office and ordered six officers to go around the city and buy all his teeth.
The officers went out and visited every curiosity shop in the capital. They were away from the office all day. In the evening they returned and put on the table in front of the general the teeth they had bought. They had collected 175 teeth.

56. The general came back to Washington _____ .
A. after the First World War B. after the Second World War
C. during the First World War D. both A and B

57. Many families wanted to have _____ of the general.
A. a picture B. a tooth or anything
C. a curiosity shop D. both A and B

58. The general ordered his men to _____ .
A. arrest the dentist
B. look for all his teeth and buy all of them
C. make all the shops stop selling teeth
D. buy all the teeth in all the shops

59. The fact that the general’s name was on the label of each tooth shows that _____ .
A. the general was famous
B. the shop owners wanted to make more money
C. the general’s teeth were valuable D. both A and B

60. The teeth they collected most probably cost _____ .
A. $175 B. $795 C. $875 D. $1150

Passage Two

Once upon a time there was a great Greek hero, Hercules. He was taller and stronger than anyone you have ever seen. On his shoulder he carried a club and in his hand he held a bow. He was known as the hero of a hundred adventures.

Hercules served a king. The king was afraid of him. So again and again he sent him on difficult tasks. One morning the king sent for him and told him to fetch three golden apples for him from the garden of the Singing Maidens. But no one knew where the garden was.

So Hercules went away. He walked the whole day and the next day and the next. He walked for months before he saw mountains far in the distance one fine morning. One of the mountains was in the shape of a man, with long, long legs and arms and huge shoulders and a huge head. He was holding up the sky. Hercules knew it was Atlas, the Mountain God. So he asked him for help.

Atlas answered, “My head and arms and shoulders all ache. Could you hold up the sky while I fetch the golden apples for you?”

Hercules climbed the mountain and shouldered the sky. Soon the sky grew very heavy. When finally Atlas came back with three golden apples, he said, “Well, you are going to carry the mountain forever. I’m going to see the king with the apples.” Hercules knew that he couldn’t fight him because of the sky on his back. So he shouted: “Just one minute’s help. My shoulders are hurting. Hold the sky for a minute while I make a cushion for my shoulders.”

Atlas believed him. He threw down the apples and held up the sky. Hercules picked up the apples and ran back to see the king.
61. What do you know about Hercules according to the first paragraph?
A. He was a Greek hero. B. He was a king.
C. He was the Mountain God. D. He was a man working in the garden.

62. Hercules was given many difficult tasks because _____ .
A. he was the strongest man
B. the king wanted to get rid of him
C. the king wanted to test his strength
D. those tasks had to be done anyway

63. Which of the following can best describe Atlas according to the text?
A. He looked like a mountain.
B. He was a man with huge shoulders and arms.
C. He was a man with long and huge head.
D. He was the giant who held up the sky.

64. Atlas got the golden apples for Hercules because _____ .
A. he wanted to help Hercules
B. he was afraid of Hercules
C. he did not want to hold the sky any more
D. he wanted to be the king himself

65. Hercules finally managed to get the apples _____ .
A. by fooling Atlas
B. by defeating Atlas
C. because he ran faster than Atlas
D. because Atlas threw down the apples

Passage Three

For thousands of years astronomers have been looking at the moon, studying its appearance and its motion through the sky. In the past three hundreds years, detailed views of the moon have been made possible through the use of the telescope. More recently, radar signals and rockets able to travel through outer space have greatly enriched us with knowledge of the moon.

The moon has no detectable atmosphere, neither air nor any other gases. Therefore, it has no water… no wind, no clouds, no rain, no snow, no water on the surface. People obviously have to take along their won air and water if they want to go there.

As there is no air to filter out some of the sun’s heat, the surface of the moon is heated to a temperature of about 127 C. Just how hot that is can be seen from the fact that water boils at the earth’s surface at 100 C. During the night the temperature goes down to at least 150 C below zero. This is because the moon does not have an atmosphere to act as a blanket to hold much of the day’s heat when the sun goes down.

Ever since the success of the flight to and landing on the moon, the astronomers now know much more about it. But this is only the beginning. Who can say what they will find in the future？We shall wait and see.

66. We get the most detailed views of the moon _____ .
A. through the use of the telescope
B. by looking at it
C. through radar signals and rockets
D. through the success of the flight to and landing on the moon

67. Which of the following is incorrect?
“does not hold much of the day’s heat” mean that the heat ______ .
A. dissipates B. disperses C. disappears D. goes away

68. When the author says “The moon has no detectable atmosphere”, it shows that he _____.
A. is not certain. B. allows for unseen circumstance
C. has some doubt D. does not know anything about the moon

69. Which of the following makes up the atmosphere of a planet?
A. Air. B. Mixtures of gases.
C. Wind, clouds, rain and snow. D. Air and water.

70. In the first sentence of the last paragraph the word “it” represents _____ .
A. the moon B. success C. flight D. landing