Some pessimistic experts feel that the automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all autos will be abandoned and allowed to rust. Other authorities, however, think the auto is here to stay. They hold that the car will remain a leading means of urban travel in the foreseeable future.
    The motorcar will undoubtedly change significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, and more economical, and should not be powered by the gasoline engine. The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types.
    Regardless of its power source, the auto in the future will still be the main problem in urban traffic congestion (拥挤). One proposed solution to this problem is the automated highway system.
    When the auto enters the highway system, a retractable (可伸缩的) arm will drop from the auto and make contact with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically. Once attached to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, and control of the vehicle will pass to a central computer. The computer will then monitor all of the car’s movements.
    The driver will use a telephone to dial instructions about his destination into the system. The computer will calculate the best route, and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to relax and wait for the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of his coming exit. It is estimated that an automated highway will be able to handle 10,000 vehicles per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that can be carried by a present-day highway.

    Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused of killing farm animals. They are officially classified as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them.
    Farmers can also call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population. Hunting consists of pursuing a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox they kill it or a hunter shoots it.
    People who take part in hunting think of as a sport; they wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers, and follow strict codes of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly is expensive, so most hunters are wealthy.
    It is estimated that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox hunting. But over the last couple of decades the number of people opposed to fox hunting, because they think it is brutal (残酷的), has risen sharply. Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to pass off without some kind of confrontation (冲突) between hunters and hunt saboteurs (阻拦者). Sometimes these incidents lead to violence, but mostly saboteurs interfere with the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the trail of the fox’s smell, which the dogs follow.
    Noisy confrontations between hunters and saboteurs have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as the pursuit of foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox hunting face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party Member of the Parliament, Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to approve a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain.

    For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs, coupled with the aging of the baby-boom (生育高峰) generation, a longer life span means that the nation’s elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995. The change poses profound questions for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions, and in law and business as well. “In addition to the doctors, we’re going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers,” says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Gerontology (老年学).
    Lawyers can specialize in “elder law,” which covers everything from trusts and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination (歧视). Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees in human history. “Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,” one professor says.
    Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC. She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria.” So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she lied it. She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”

    The decline in moral standards—which has long concerned social analysts—has at last captured the attention of average Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad.
    The fact the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nation’s moral climate, says this ethics (伦理学) professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it.
    But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. “The thought that ‘I’m in it for me’ has become deeply rooted in the national consciousness,” Ms. Elshtain says.
    Some of this can be attributed to the disintegration of traditional communities, in which neighbors looked out for one another, she says. With today’s greater mobility and with so many couples working, those bonds have been weakened, replaced by a greater emphasis on self.
    In a 1996 poll of Americans, loss of morality topped the list of the biggest problems facing the U.S. and Elshtain says the public is correct to sense that: Data show that Americans are struggling with problems unheard of in the 1950s, such as classroom violence and a high rate of births to unmarried mothers.
    The desire for a higher moral standard is not a lament (挽歌) for some nonexistent “golden age,” Elshtain says, nor is it a wishful (一厢情愿的) longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and minorities. Most people, in fact, favor the lessening of prejudice.
    Moral decline will not be reversed until people find ways to counter the materialism in society, she says. “Slowly, you recognize that the things that matter are those that cant’ be bought.”

    One summer night, on my way home from work I decided to see a movie. I knew the theatre would be air-conditioned and I couldn’t face my (1)_____ apartment.
    Sitting in the theatre I had to look through the (2)_____ between the two tall heads in front of me. I had to keep changing the (3)_____ every time she learned over to talk to him, (4)_____ he leaned over to kiss her. Why do Americans display such (5)_____ in a public place?
    I thought the movie would be good for my English, but (6)_____ it turned out, it was an Italian move. (7)_____ about an hour I decided to give up on the movie and (8)_____ on my popcorn (爆玉米花). I’ve never understood why they give you so much popcorn! It tasted pretty good, (9)_____. After a while I heard (10)_____ more of the romantic-sounding Italians. I just heard the (11)_____ of the popcorn crunching (咀嚼) between my teeth. My thought stated to (12)_____. I remembered when I was is South Korea (韩国), I (13)_____ to watch Kojak on TV frequently. He spoke perfect Korean—I was really amazed. He seemed like a good friend to me, (14)_____ I saw him again in New York speaking (15)_____ English instead of perfect Korean. He didn’t even have a Korean accent and I (16)_____ like I had been betrayed.
    When our family moved to the United States six years ago, none of us spoke any English. (17)_____ we had begun to learn a few words, my mother suggested that we all should speak English at home. Everyone agreed, but our house became very (18)_____ and we all seemed to avoid each other. We sat at the dinner table in silence, preferring that to (19)_____ in a difficult language. Mother tried to say something in English but it (20)_____ out all wrong and we all burst into laughter and decided to forget it! We’ve been speaking Korean at home ever since.

Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic: A Letter to the University President about the Canteen Service on Campus. You should write at least 100 words, and base your composition on the outline given in Chinese below:
假设你是李明，请你就本校食堂的状况给校长写一封信，内容应涉及食堂的饭菜质量、价格、环境、服务等，可以是表扬，可以是批评建议，也可以兼有而有之。
January 12th, 2002
Dear Mr. President,