Passage Four

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

　　Exceptional children are different in some significant way from others of the same age. For these children to develop to their full adult potential, their education must be adapted to those differences.

　　Although we focus on the needs of exceptional children, we find ourselves describing their environment as well. While the leading actor on the stage captures our attention, we are aware of the importance of the supposing players and the scenery of the play itself. Both the family and the society in which exceptional children live are often the key to their growth and development. And it is in the public schools that we find the full expression of society’s understanding—the knowledge, hopes, and fears that are passed on to the next generation.

　　Education in any society is a minor of that society. In that mirror we can see the strengths, the weaknesses and the culture itself. The great interest in exceptional children shown in public education over the past three decades indicates the strong feeling in our society that all citizens, whatever their special conditions, deserve the opportunity to fully develop their capabilities.

　　“All men are created equal.” We’ve heard it many times, but it still has important meaning for education in a democratic society. Although the phrase was used by this country’s founders to denote equality before the caw, it has also been interpreted to mean equality of opportunity. That concept implies educational opportunity for all children—the right of each child to receive help in learning to the limits of his or her capacity, whether that capacity be small or great. Recent court decisions have confirmed the right of all children —disabled or not—to an appropriate education, and have ordered that public schools take the necessary steps to provide that education. In response, schools are modifying their programs, adapting instruction to children who are exceptional, to those who cannot profit substantially from regular programs.

　　16. In paragraph 2, the author cites the example of the leading actor on the stage to show that

　　A. the growth of exceptional children has much to do with their family and the society

　　B. exceptional children are more influenced by their families than normal children are

　　C. exceptional children are the key interest of the family and society

　　D. the needs of the society weigh much heavier than the needs of the exceptional children

　　17. The reason that the exceptional children receive so much concern in education is that_______.

　　A. they are expected to be leaders of the society

　　B. they might become a burden of the society

　　C. they should fully develop their potential

　　D. disabled children deserve special consideration

　　18. The word “denote” in the fourth paragraph most probably means_______.

　　A. translate B. indicate

　　C. blame D. ignore

　　19. This passage mainly deals with ____

　　A. the differences of children in their learning capabilities

　　B. the definition of exceptional children in modern society

　　C. the special educational programs for exceptional children

　　D. the necessity of adapting education to exceptional children

　　20. From this passage we learn that the educational concern for exceptional children_______.

　　A. is now enjoying legal support

　　B. disagrees with the tradition of the country

　　C. was clearly stated by the country’s founders

　　D. will exert great influence over court decisions

　　II. Speed Reading. (10 points, 1 point for each)

　　Directions: Skim or scan the following passages. Decide on the best answers and then write the corresponding letters on your Answer Sheet.

　　Passage Five

　　Questions 21-25 are based on the following passage.

　　The human thumb made man. Its development was as important an event in man’s growth as his success in learning to walk upright. The thumb shaped the human hand. Without it, man might not have survived. Luckily, the hand developed only one thumb. Two thumbs on one hand would be like having two or more cooks in a small kitchen. They would get in each other’s way. As one English writer said almost 500 years ago, “Ah, each finger today is a thumb, I think.”

　　That is how we still describe a man who cannot get anything right. We say he is “all thumbs”. There are days when this happens to all of us, days when everything we do seems to go wrong. We cannot even get the right shoes on. The typist cannot hit the right key. The carpenter’s hammer misses the nail and hits his finger. Nothing can be done but throw up one’s hands and moan (悲叹), “God, I am all thumbs today!”

　　Clearly, the hand can have just one master—the thumb. It gives the hand a freedom and control of movement that are beautiful to see. This can be seen in old sculptures and stone carvings. We have a special phrase to express this mastery of the thumb. When one is ruled by another, completely controlled by him, we say the person is “under the other’s thumb”. A sick man, for example, often finds himself “under his doctor’s thumb”. Tenants have often complained about being “under the thumb of the landlord”.

　　There was a time, very long ago, when such tenants might in anger “bite their thumbs” at the landlord. Such a gesture was an insult that could not be accepted lightly. People no longer do this. But they do something as childish and as offensive and ugly. They “thumb their noses” at somebody they want to defy or insult.

　　21. If a person has two or more thumbs on one hand, he would______.

　　A. do more things B. have a lot of trouble

　　C. work as two or more cooks D. become a writer

　　22. Without ______man might not have survived.

　　A. the cook B. the thumb

　　C. the finger D. the writer

　　23. When a person says “I am all thumbs today”, he means that_______.

　　A. he can’t get the right shoes on

　　B. his hammer misses the nail and hits his finger

　　C. he does everything smoothly

　　D. he can’t get everything right

　　24. When a person is completely controlled by another person, _______.

　　A. we say that he is “all thumbs”

　　B. we say that he has “a great thumb”

　　C.. we say that he is “under the other’s thumb”

　　D. he turns thumb down on him

　　25. When you want to insult someone, you can_______.

　　A. put your thumb on your nose B. wave your thumb at him

　　C. put him under your thumb D. do nothing with your thumb