Part III  Reading Comprehension (40 minutes, 25 points)

　　Directions: There are five passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.

　　Passage 1

　　Americans usually consider themselves a friendly people. Their friendships, however, tend to be shorter and more casual than friendships among people from other cultures. It is not uncommon for Americans to have only one close friend during their lifetime, and consider other "friends" to be just social acquaintances. This attitude probably has something to do with American mobility and the fact that Americans do not like to be dependent on other people. They tend to "compartmentalize" （划分） friendships, having "friends at work", "friends on the softball team", "family friends", etc.

　　Because the United States is a highly active society, full of movement and change, people always seem to be on the go. In this highly charged atmosphere, Americans can sometimes seem brusque (无礼的) or impatient. They want to get to know you as quickly as possible and then move on to something else. Sometimes, early on, they wil1ask you questions that you may feel are very persona1. No insult is intended; the questions usual1y grow out of their genuine interest or curiosity, and their impatience to get to the heart of the matter. And the same goes for you. If you do not understand certain American behavior or you want to know more about them, do not hesitate to ask them questions about themselves. Americans are usually eager to explain all about their country or anything “American" in which you may be interested. So much so in fact that you may become tired of listening. It doesn’t matter because Americans tend to be uncomfortable with silence during a conversation. They would rather talk about the weather or the latest sports scores, for example, than deal with silence.

　　On the other hand, don’t expect Americans to be knowledgeable about international geography or world affairs, unless those subjects directly involve the United States. Because the United States is not surrounded by many other nations, some Americans tend to ignore the rest of the world.

　　46. The general topic of the passage is ______.

　　A. American culture                      B. American society

　　C. Americans' activities                     D. Americans' personality

　　47. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. Americans do not like to depend on other people.

　　B. Friendships among Americans tend to be casual.

　　C. Americans know a lot about international affairs.

　　D. Americans always seem to be on the go.

　　48. The phrase "highly charged" (paragraph 2) most probably means ______.

　　A. extremely free                              B. highly responsible

　　C. very cheerful                             D. full of mobility and change

　　49. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

　　A. Americans want to participate in all kinds of activities

　　B. Americans' character is affected by their social and geographical environments.

　　C. Americans do not know how to deal with silence

　　D. Curiosity is characteristic of Americans

　　50. According to the passage, Americans tend to ignore the rest of the world because ______.

　　A. they are not interested in other countries

　　B. they are too proud of themselves

　　C. their country does not have many neighboring nations

　　D. they are too busy to learn about other countries

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