Ⅲ.Reading Comprehension (30 points, 2 points for each item)

阅读下列短文，并从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案，并写在答题纸的相应括号内。

Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually consisted of saying poetry loud or giving speeches.
In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing students for the doctor’s degree.
Generally, however, modern examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century.Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modern industry. A room full of examinees for a state examination, timed exactly by an electric clock and carefully watched over by managers, resembles a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.
One type of test is sometimes called“objective ”test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three other statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material well enough.
21.Which of the following statements is true about students in the Middle Ages?
( )
A. They took objective tests.
B. They specialized in one subject.
C. They usually took spoken tests.
D. They were timed by electrical clocks.

22.The main idea of Paragraph 3 is that ( )
A. workers now take examinations
B. the population had grown rapidly
C. there are only written exams today
D. most examinations are now written and timed

23.During a(n)( )test, students must select the correct answers from four choices.
A. written B. spoken C. personal D. objective

24.Modern industry must have developed( )
A. shortly after the Middle Ages B. around the 19th century
C. in Greece and Rome D. in the European universities

25.It can be concluded from the passage that the examination( )
A. should always be written in modern society
B. should deal with facts not personal opinions
C. has changed greatly since the Middle Ages
D. has ever been given in factories

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column(专栏).After she retired, she found a volunteer job with an agency. The agency that she chose to work for was a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people. Every day she talked with other retired people like herself. By talking, she recognized two things. Old people had abilities that were not being used. Old people also had problems-mostly problems with communication.