With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it.
And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio station. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children's programmes and films for an annual license fee of ￡83 per household.
It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years - yet the BBC's future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.
The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC - including ordinary listeners and viewers - to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.
Defenders of the Corporation - of whom there are many - are fond of quoting the American slogan. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The BBC ain't broke, they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word broke, meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?
Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels － ITV and Channel 4－ were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels - funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions - which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.
56. The world famous BBC now faces ________.
A. the problem of new coverage B. an uncertain prospect
C. inquiries by the general public D. shrinkage of audience
57. In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is not mentioned as the key issue?
A. Extension of its TV service to Far East.
B. Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.
C. Potentials for further international co-operations.
D. Its existence as a broadcasting organization.
58. The BBC's royal charter （line 4, paragraph 4） stands for ________.
A. the financial support from the royal family B. the privileges granted by the Queen
C. a contract with the Queen D. a unique relationship with the royal family
59. The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than ________.
A. the emergence of commercial TV channels
B. the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government
C. the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs
D. the challenge of new satellite channels
Douglas Grace talks about his ideal city of the future.
I see the city of the future in three zones——inner， middle and outer. In the inner zone there will be no private cars. Public transport will be free and there will only be ambulances， fire engines， taxis and police cars. This inner zone will be the residential（住宅的） and recreational（娱乐的） area of the city. People will live there and go out to enjoy themselves——to cinemas and restaurants. There will be parks and open spaces， trees and lakes， schools and universities. This way， when people are at home， they can go out easily and safely.
Just outside the inner zone there will be big car parks for all private cars.
The banks and most of the shops and hospitals will be in the middle zone. These are things that people don’t need every day.
All the factories and offices will be in the outer zone. People will travel
out of the center to work， and back to the center in the evenings. The inner zone will be cleaner and better to live in and there will be more space for industry on the outside.
This is my ideal city of the future—— a very beautiful place！ But I don’t really think things will ever be like that！Where will people live and go out to enjoy themselves？
| A．In the middle zone. |
| B．In the inner zone. |
| C．In the outer zone. |
| D．In the inner and middle zone. |
Where will big car parks be？
| A．Just outside the middle zone. |
| B．Just inside the middle zone. |
| C．Just outside the inner zone. |
| D．Just inside the inner zone. |
What will be in the middle zone？
| A．The banks，hospitals and schools. |
| B．The banks，hospitals and police stations. |
| C．The banks，schools and car parks. |
| D．The banks，hospital and most of the shops. |
Where will the factories and offices be？
| A．In the outer zone. |
| B．In the middle zone. |
| C．In the inner zone. |
| D．In the middle and inner zone. |
Douglas Grace is probably .
| A．a painter |
| B．a builder |
| C．a town planner |
| D．a dentist |
I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, 
such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.Why did the boy start his job young?
| A．He wanted to be famous in the future. |
| B．The job was quite easy for him. |
| C．His mother had high hopes for him. |
| D．The competiton for the job was fierce. |
From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
| A．excited | B．interested | C．ashamed | D．disappointed |
What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
| A．She forced him to continue. | B．She punished him. |
| C．She gave him some money. | D．She changed her plan. |
What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?
A．The war between th e boy’s parents. |
| B．The arguing between the boy and his mother. |
| C．The quarrel between the boy and his customers. |
| D．The fight between the boy and his father. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The early life of a journalist. |
| B．The early success of a journalist. |
| C．The happy childhood of the writer. |
| D．The important role of the writer in his family. |
Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (美洲鳄) was swimming toward the shore.
His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U – turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug – of – war (拔河) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his fresh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy asked if he would show his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my dad wouldn’t let go.”
You and I can identify with that boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because someone has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, someone has been there holding on to you.
If you have the scars of someone’s love on your arms, be very, very grateful. Someone in your life did not and will not ever let you go.
Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they got them. Which of the following is the most closely related to the underlined word “passionate”?
| A．determined | B．anxious | C．frightened | D．courageous |
When the boy told the newspaper reporter about the scars on his arms, he felt .
| A．painful and fearful | B．regretful and panic |
| C．proud and grateful | D．excited and thankful |
In the story the writer intends to tell us that .
| A．scars always remind people of their past experiences |
| B．wounds in the mind are more painful than those in the body |
| C．a painful past always leaves scars on a person’s mind |
| D．scars do not necessarily mean pain at all times |
Which of the following viewpoints will the writer most probably agree with?
| A．Be grateful to a painful past, for you can always learn something from it. |
| B．Other people’s criticism or blame may hurt you, but if it is for your own good, you should take it thankfully. |
| C．The swimming hole of life is filled with danger, but you don’t need to be too serious about it as someone will never let you go. |
| D．If someone hurts you, be grateful to them, for they mean no harm |
Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7:34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch. We should have arrived at Liverpool at 9:19, but due to a typical London fog, the train had to move along so slowly that it was not until 10:30 that it got there. In spite of our late arrival, Joan, my wife’s sister, decided that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London while we went shopping. It was only after her sister had disappeared into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should meet for lunch. Since I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a problem. There seemed to be nothing we could do except taking a taxi to the Tower of London, and try to find her there. Needless to say, we didn’t find her.
It was now one o’clock, and the concert began at 2:30. “Perhaps she will think of waiting outside the concert hall,” suggested my wife hopefully. By this time the fog was so thick that road traffic had to stop, and the only way to get there was by underground railway. Hand in hand we felt our way along the road to where we thought the nearest station should be. An hour later we were still trying to find it. Just as I was about to lose my temper completely when we met a blind man tapping his way confidently through the fog. With his help we found Tower Hill tube station just fifty yards down the road.
By now it was far too late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2:30, so we decided to return to Cambridge. It took seven long hours instead of the usual two to make that journey. Nor were we able to get any food and drink on the train. Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten, opening the door to the sound of the telephone bell. It was Joan; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for concert, and had had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the hotel where she decided to stay for the night. Now she was ringing to discover whether we had had an equally successful day. Why was Joan separated from her sister and her brother-in-law?
| A．they could not see each other because of the fog. |
| B．Joan had not seen Crown Jewels. |
| C．They planned to do different things until lunch time. |
| D．The writer didn’t want to go to the concert. |
What did the writer plan to do in the afternoon?
| A．Go to the concert. | B．See the Crown Jewels. |
| C．Return to Cambridge. | D．Go shopping. |
The reason why they didn’t all meet for lunch was that _______.
| A．They lost their way in the fog |
| B．they forgot to make necessary arrangement |
| C．they waited at different places and didn’t meet each other |
| D．the couple couldn’t find the underground station |
It’s quite clear that for Joan the trip to London had been ________.
| A．spilt by the fog | B．quite tiring |
| C．rather disappointing | D．very enjoyable |
Some people don't believe that driving more slowly can save lives．But the truth is that driving more slowly can help a person to avoid serious accidents．
The above chart（表格） shows the distance that it takes to stop a car at a given speed．The distance is measured in feet．The shaded area（阴影部分） shows the driver's thinking distance．That's the distance it takes for the driver to react to a danger that he sees．The white area shows the car's braking distance．That's the distance it takes for the car to stop once the brakes（闸、刹车） are used．The number at the top of each bar shows the total number of feet that it takes to stop the carAccording to the chart, what is the total number of feet needed to stop a car that is traveling at 50 miles per hour?
| A．55． | B．73． | C．128． | D．183． |
What is the braking distance for a car that is travelling at 60 miles per hour?
| A．66 feet． | B．119 feet． | C．185 feet． | D．251 feet． |
Which of the following statements about braking and speed is true?
| A．The braking distance is what it takes for the driver to react to a danger that he sees． |
| B．The speed of a car has a direct effect on the distance needed to stop the car． |
| C．The braking distance increases only when a driver drives faster than 50 miles per hour. |
| D．Driving slowly can help a person to avoid all accidents |
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