major money-maker for organized crime. Typically, stolen cars are taken to pieces and the parts sold to individuals. But as many as 200000 cars are smuggled out of the country every year. Most go to Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.
Only about 15 percent car thefts result in an arrest, because few police departments routinely conduct in depth auto-investigations. When thieves are arrested, judges will often sentence them to probation, not immediately put them in prison because the prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals.
One exception is a Michigan program that assigns 92 police officers to work full-time on the state‘s 65000 car theft cases a year. Since 1986, when the effort began, the state‘s auto-theft rate has fallen from second in the nation to ninth.
How can you protect your car? If you live in a high-theft area or drive an expensive model, consider a security system. It may cost anywhere from $25 to$1,000. Some systems engage automatically? Simply removing the key disables the fuel pump and the starter. When cars are equipped with such systems, thefts may drop by one-third. In some states, you may be able to use a device that transmits radio signals, allowing stolen cars to be tracked by police. 1. What does the author think Joe Templer should be blamed for? A. He should have equipped his car with a security system. B. He should not have his car refilled at the gas station. C. He should not have been so sure of himself. D. He should have shut down the engine of his car.
2. What is NOT a reason for the increase of car theft as mentioned in the passage? A. Police don‘t give enough attention to car theft cases. B. More people park their cars and left the keys inside.
C. Measures and laws against car thieves are not effective enough. D. Car theft brings car thieves much money.
3. It is obvious that the Michigan program _____ .
A. has no effect on the overall picture of the whole state. B. involves much work but proves to be quite effective. C. involves the construction of larger prisons
D. involves the development of a new security system
4. What type(s) of security system can help the police find a stole car back? A. The device that sends out radio signals B. The device that disables the fuel pump. C. The device that disables the starter. D. All of the above. Passage 2
After a three-year survey of the social and behavioral sciences, a committee of the NRC has concluded that these sciences are losing out in the race for federal science funds. Between 1972 and 1978, federal support for the social and behavioral sciences fell 25 percent, while support for other areas of science rose 36 percent.
Psychological, social and cultural studies pertaining to virtually everything that people treat as a problem in our civilization, the committee writes, play a large role. Paradoxically, one would think these would be times when social science research would be riding high. Yet eve though governments are more that alarmed about a variety of social problems, they are inclined to deal with them by trial and (often) error. The abuse of drugs is a widespread concern, but governments seem to with the qualifications of teachers and their salaries.
If we lack an adequate understanding of drug abuse and educational processes, are we flying blind attempting to deal with these behaviors? What domains of your life could benefit from social and behavioral science research? For instance, are we concerned about crime? Consider that recent sociological research reveals that nearly half of all urban-dwelling American males can expect to be arrested for some non-traffic offense during their lives. However, a very small group of career predators are responsible for a grossly disproportionate share of all crimes committed. What does this insight suggest to you about American criminal Justice and prison policies. Sociological work also shows that most criminals halt their careers by age 25 to 30. Does this finding have policy implication? If a 29-year-old-burglar whose criminal career is nearly over is imprisoned for ten years, may many years of that imprisonment be wasted on expensive and unnecessary confinement?
5. According to the author, social and behavioral sciences are losing federal financial support chiefly because some people _____ .
A. don‘t see the seriousness of the present situation B. don‘t quite see the use for these sciences
C. only consider natural sciences as true sciences D. are unable to solve social problems with them
6. In the second paragraph, the author gives two examples of social problems to show that _____ . A. social problems are on the rise currently
B. the government does not try hard to solve such problems C. some attacks on such problems are often blind D. such problems often go unsolved
7. In the third paragraph, the author uses some findings to illustrate _____ . A. some achievements made in social and behavioral sciences B. the demand for social and behavioral studies C. the current trend in the increase of crimes
D. the inefficiency of criminal justice and prison policies
8. In the last sentence of the passage, the word confinement is closest in meaning to the word
_____ . A. funds B. solution C. research
D. imprisonment Passage 3
Writing to learn makes it possible to show learning in writing. Much of the writing you will do in college and at work will ask you to demonstrate what you have learned. The success of that demonstration will depend on, among other things, revising your writing to show your knowledge to best advantage. When you have begun to see what you want to say (frequently this becomes clear at the very end of a first draft), it is time to start thinking about how to present your ideas to others. It is time to start thinking about revising.
Revising can be described as the most important (and frequently most neglecteD. part of writing. Novelists Doris Lessing has said that many novels miss greatness because authors are unwilling or unable to revise them. James Michener explains the importance of revision this way: I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I‘m one of the world‘s great revisers.
Revising takes many forms. It means thinking about the audience for your writing. Who will read your work and why? It also means developing an overall plan for the writing that will make your ideas clear. Often the organization of a first draft will reflect your process of discovery, but that may not be the best way to present your ideas to someone else. Revising also gives attention to the style of language, to the structure of a paragraph, and to the shape of sentences and other forms that show learning to its best advantage.
Writing to learn and writing to show learning are never, of course, entirely separate processes. Writers frequently consider issues of demonstrating learning while writing to learn, and writing to show learning often leads to new understandings. In drafting, for example, you may start thinking about what an audience will need to know in order to understand your point and change a word or a phrase to make your meaning clearer. But understanding the differences between writing to learn and writing to show learning is central to seeing writing as a process. 9. The author thinks that revising starts when _____ . A. you want to show what you know B. you think about your audience C. you have discovered your idea
D. you have developed an overall writing plan
10. The chief purpose in revising your writing is for you to _____ . A. learn in the course of writing B. add new ideas to your writing
C. show your learning to its best advantage D. use an appropriate style of language
11. What Doris Lessing said helps to support the idea that _____ . A. he is one of the world‘s great revisers B. he is not a good writer C. revising is very important
D. many writers are unwilling to revise their works
12. The passage is mainly about _____ . A. the importance of revising B. the importance of writing C. how to compose good writing D. how to revise your writing Passage 4
That an ecological crisis confronts humankind is now so central to our thinking that the notion that human beings adapt to their natural environment seems obvious. But ecological interpretations of world history are surprisingly recent. Sociologists, in attempting to classify societies, have looked increasingly to a people‘s relationship with their natural environment and, provide food, clothing, and shelter. Human beings meet these needs in a wide variety of environments, including deserts, rain forests, grasslands, and so on. Such environments are part of ecosystem, a complex web of interdependencies among organisms, communities of organisms, and the natural habitat. Some societal variation derives from the different demands made by different ecosystems. Customs and ways of life that would be adaptive in one ecosystem would be maladaptive in another.
We confront a habitat and evolve a mode of existence not so much as lone individuals, but cooperatively as larger social units. Social organization and technology are our chief adaptive mechanisms. Social organization develops, as we create stable, ordered relationships and become infused with common cultural traits. Much depends on whether or not our values, norms, beliefs and institutions favor or foreclose new avenues of adaptation. Likewise, technology—the application of knowledge for practical weds—allows us to harness and change aspects of our environment. In its broadest sense, technology entails the practical arts and skills of human society. As technology has become more advanced, we have gained access to greater amounts of non-human energy (animal, water, fossil fuel, solar, and so on). In turn, new sources of energy have allowed our cultures to expand and change. Other changes follow as well. 13. The author points out that differences in people‘s ways of life come from _____ . A. their cultural traditions
B. their adaptations to the environment C. their demands for natural resources D. their notions about the environment
14. Different ways of life exist among different peoples because of _____ .