Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Reading the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A， B， C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. （40 points）
Text 1
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan laid forth the intellectual basis for the likely continued aggressive easing in monetary policy in the weeks ahead in his semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress.
The broader point in his prepared testimony is that the improved information and production controls evident in the new economy induce companies to respond more quickly and in tandem to changes in their business. Mistakes are still made as is evidenced by the unwanted buildup of inventories at the end of last year，but any mistakes are more aggressively addressed than in the past， as is evidenced by manufacturers' recent slashing of production. Moreover， the increasingly dramatic shifts in economic activity are particularly hard on confidence. Consumers and businesses literally freeze up due to the heightened uncertainty， and run from any perceived risks and curtail their spending and investment. If confidence deflates by enough，then a recession will ensue.
Confidence has also been under extraordinary pressure in recent months due to surging energy prices and weaker stock prices. Higher energy bills have acted much like a tax increase， save the checks are largely being written to foreign energy producers. The lower stock prices are having a magnified impact due to the dramatic increase in stock wealth since the mid-1990s.
The conduct of monetary policy must adjust to all of this，and thus respond more quickly and aggressively than in the past in an effort to shore up confidence. This explains the dramatic and unprecedented action （at least by a Greenspan-led Federal Reserve）to cut the federal funds rate target by 100 basis points in January: This also suggests that substantially more easing is on the way in the weeks ahead. Just when and by how much will depend on whether confidence continues to fall.
The chairman made a point to note that policymakers have significant latitude to ease policy aggressively since inflation remains low and tame. Despite surging energy prices，inflation and inflation expectations remain contained.
The Federal Reserve's economic projections for this year provided as part of the testimony support this non-recessionary view. Real GDP is expected to grow by between 2% and 2.5% between the fourth quarter of 2000 and the fourth quarter of this year. Since this is below the economy's potential growth，the jobless rate will rise to approximately 4.5% by year's end. Inflation will moderate somewhat in response.
Recession risks are rising and as high as they have been since the last downturn almost a decade ago. The key buffer between a soft economy and a recessionary one is confidence， and today's testimony by the Federal Reserve chairman clearly indicates that policymakers will be as aggressive as they need to be to ensure that confidence erodes no further. With just a bit of luck they will succeed.
21. The best title for this passage may be
［A］ Greenspan's Testimony. ［B］ A New Economy.
［C］ New Monetary Policy. ［D］ A Confidence Builder.
22. Which of the following can best be applied to the Fed Reserve's conduct of monetary policy? ［A］ Boldness. ［B］ Confidence.
［C］ Caution. ［D］ Moderateness.
23. According to the passage， the new economy is characterized by
［A］ aggressive investment in stock markets.
［B］ swift response of the chairman to recessions.
［C］ wider latitude to ease monetary policy.
［D］ better information and production controls.
24. All of the following may contribute to the deflation of confidence EXCEPT
［A］ lower stock markets. ［B］ less production controls.
［C］ surging energy prices. ［D］ more risk perceptions.
25. Which of the following is the writer most likely to agree with?
［A］ The Fed has determined to ease the monetary policy by the widest margin.
［B］ Making a monetary policy is comparable to conducting a scientific experiment.
［C］ It is of great importance to build up confidence at times of economic recessions.
［D］ Higher energy bills have acted much like addressing mistakes in a testimony.
Text 2
In my early childhood I received no formal religious education. I did， of course， receive the ethical and moral training that moral and conscientious parents give their children. When I was about ten years old， my parents decided that it would be good for me to receive some formal religious instruction and to study the Bible， if for no other reason than that a knowledge of both is essential to the understanding of literature and culture.
As lapsed Catholics，they sought a group which had as little doctrine and dogma as possible， but what they considered good moral and ethical values. After some searching， they joined the local Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Although my parents did not attend Meetings for Worship very often， I went to First Day School there regularly， eventually completing the course and receiving an inscribed Bible.
At the Quaker School， I learned about the concept to the “inner light” and it has stayed with me. I was，however，unable to accept the idea of Jesus Christ being any more divine than， say， Buddha. As a result， I became estranged from the Quakers who，though believing in substantially the same moral and ethical values as I do， and even the same religious concept of the inner light， had arrived at these conclusions from a premise which I could not accept. I admit that my religion is the poorer for having no revealed word and no supreme prophet，but my inherited aversion for dogmatism limits my faith to a Supreme Being and the goodness of man.
Later， at another Meeting for Worship， I found that some Quakers had similar，though not so strong， reservations about the Christian aspects of their belief. I made some attempt to rejoin a Meeting for Worship，but found that， though they remained far closer to me than any other organized religious group，I did not wish to become one again. I do attend Meeting for Worship on occasion， but it is for the help in deep contemplation which it brings rather than any lingering desire to rejoin the fold.
I do believe in a “Supreme Being” （or ground of our Being， as Tillich would call it）. This Being is ineffable and not to be fully understood by humans. He is not cut off from the world and we can know him somewhat through the knowledge which we are limited to the world. He is interested in and concerned for humankind， but on man himself falls the burden of his own life. To me the message of the great prophets， especially Jesus， is that good is its own reward，and indeed the only possible rewards are intrinsic in the actions themselves. The relationship between each human and the Supreme Being is an entirely personal one.
It is my faith that each person has this unique relationship with the Supreme Being. To me that is the meaning of the inner light. The purpose of life， insofar as a human can grasp it， is to understand and increase this lifeline to the Supreme Being， this piece of divinity that every human has. Thus， the taking of any life by choice is the choice in the closing of some connection to God， and unconscionable. Killing anyone not only denies them their purpose，but corrupts the purpose of all men.
26. This passage is primarily intended to
［A］ explain the roots of his pacifism.
［B］ persuade a friend to convert to Quakerism.
［C］ interpret traditional doctrines and dogmas.
［D］ recall his parents' religious teachings.
27. What is the author's attitude towards the Quakers in terms of their belief?
［A］ Slight contempt. ［B］ Reserved consent.
［C］ Strong support. ［D］ Great disapproval.
28. The author argues that we should seek great understanding of
［A］ our own pacific doctrines. ［B］ our worship for the Supreme Being.
［C］ our own inner lights. ［D］ our connections to religious groups.
29. Which of the following aspects of religious thought would the author definitely reject?
［A］ His parents' moral instructions.
［B］ Moral values conveyed in the inner light.
［C］ Dogmatism of the Quakerism.
［D］ The revealed word of the Supreme Being.
30. If offered a reward for doing a good deed， the author would
［A］ neither take nor refuse the reward.
［B］ make any excuse at all to avoid taking the reward.
［C］ reject the reward indignantly.
［D］ accept it only as a token of good feelings.
