A. grossly      B. severely      C. rapidly      D. radically

 
    14. In times of economic difficulty, governmental budgets for education are often slashed before any others.

    A. shifted      B. cut      C. checked      D. donated

 
    15. Modern printing equipment quickly turns out duplicate copies of textual and pictorial matter.

    A. identical      B. double      C. illustrated      D. legible

 
    16. With her youngest child having left home, she felt a pressing need to fill her time.

    A. tense       B. thorough        C. urgent      D. small

 
    17. The role of the performing artist is to interpret, not alter, the notes on a printed sheet of music.

    A. omit       B. reproduce       C. compose      D. change.
 

    18. Aircraft and rocket can be used to collect radioactive debris, while high-altitude satellites carry detectors for gamma rays and other emissions.

    A. diffusion       B. remains      C. glitter      transfer

 
    19. Although worn out by years of service to his country, Washington accepted the presidency of the United States.

    A. favored       B. honored       C. exhausted       D. weakened
 

    20. Between French friends, who have chosen each other for congeniality of their point of view, lively disagreement and sharpness of arguments are the breath of life.

    A. coexistence     B. coincidence      C. correlation      D. compatibility
 

    Ⅱ. Cloze

    Directions: Read the following passage. Choose the best word for each numbered blank and mark the corresponding letter with a single bar across the square bracket on the ANSWER SHEET.
 

    We do not know when man first began to use salt, but we do know that it has been used in many different ways throughout history. (21)         evidence shows, for example, that people who lived over three thousand years ago ate (22)         fish.

    Stealing salt was considered a major crime at certain times in history. In the eighteenth century, for instance, if a person was (23)         “stealing salt”, he could be put in prison. History reveals that about ten thousand people were put in prison during that century (24)         stealing salt.

    In the modern world salt has many uses (25)         the dining table. It is used in making glass and airplane parts, in the (26)         of crops and in killing weeds. It is also used to make water soft, to melt ice on roads and highways, to make soap, and to (27)         colors in cloth.

    Salt can be obtained in various ways, besides being taken from mines underground. Evaporation of salt water from the ocean or from salt water lakes or small seas is one of the (28)            common processes for manufacturing salt. In Australia, it can even be taken from a “salt bush”. Yet, (29)           it is obtained, salt will continue to play an important (30)         in the lives of men and women everywhere.