As society advances and basic needs are most often being met, things that were not considered important in the past have taken priority(優(yōu)先). In the past, people could easily get a job and progress pretty well, as long as they were hard-working; education was important but not as crucial(關(guān)系重大) as it is today.
Nowadays, just as clothes are important to first impressions, degree is important to a person’s first job interview or even a job with a good salary. Although experience is important to survive in any trade or profession, the first thing that companies look for is that piece of paper before looking at one’s experience.
A passport into the world of any profession is what having a degree means today, especially for professions that have need of certification and pay well, such as architects, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.
That piece of paper, the degree, is also a passport to jobs in top or middle management in any company, especially so for multi-national corporations(跨國公司). Having a degree opens up opportunities that one would not have had if one did not have any kind of degree. A degree simply proves that one has gone through the necessary training and understanding of how to carry out a job.
Although there are many that may say having a degree may not necessarily equal to success, it would most definitely help any person achieve success in shorter and easier steps. Success cannot simply be a result of hard work and/or depending on one’s experience or degree alone; it is the art and knowledge of how to work that determines one’s success. Therefore, it should not be for the sake to get a degree, but the quality of the degree and experiences that one can learn from that matter as well.
【小題1】 What would be the best title for this passage?

Translation.  ( 20 points )

1.老實說，這本書對我來說沒有任何價值。(value n.)

2.去年，一場可怕的洪水切斷了這個村莊的食物供給。(cut off)

3.最近我們班就垃圾食品是否對人的皮膚有害展開了一次討論。(harm n.)

4.隨著互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的普及，網(wǎng)購已經(jīng)被越來越多的人所接受。(as; on-line shopping)

5.很抱歉，我不能理解你在會上提出的建議。(make sense；定語從句)

6.政府必須采取有效措施保護這些歷史遺產(chǎn)不受破壞。(protect ... from)

7.我們可以循環(huán)使用課本，以達到節(jié)約和減少污染的目的。(recycle; so as to)

8.這是人類首次認真思考自己的活動對環(huán)境造成的影響。(It’s the first time; effect)

9.怎樣保持健康是我們經(jīng)常談?wù)摰囊粋�話題。(介詞+關(guān)系代詞的定語從句）

10.越來越多家庭節(jié)假日期間外出旅行，由此導(dǎo)致很多地方交通擁擠不堪。(a/an ... number of; as a result)

As society advances and basic needs are most often being met, things that were not considered important in the past have taken priority(優(yōu)先). In the past, people could easily get a job and progress pretty well, as long as they were hard-working; education was important but not as crucial(關(guān)系重大) as it is today.

Nowadays, just as clothes are important to first impressions, degree is important to a person’s first job interview or even a job with a good salary. Although experience is important to survive in any trade or profession, the first thing that companies look for is that piece of paper before looking at one’s experience.

A passport into the world of any profession is what having a degree means today, especially for professions that have need of certification and pay well, such as architects, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.

That piece of paper, the degree, is also a passport to jobs in top or middle management in any company, especially so for multi-national corporations(跨國公司). Having a degree opens up opportunities that one would not have had if one did not have any kind of degree. A degree simply proves that one has gone through the necessary training and understanding of how to carry out a job.

Although there are many that may say having a degree may not necessarily equal to success, it would most definitely help any person achieve success in shorter and easier steps. Success cannot simply be a result of hard work and/or depending on one’s experience or degree alone; it is the art and knowledge of how to work that determines one’s success. Therefore, it should not be for the sake to get a degree, but the quality of the degree and experiences that one can learn from that matter as well.

What would be the best title for this passage?

A. People used to be hard-working

B. How important is the degree?　　

C. How can we enter the top management?

D. Degree surely leads to success

Why does the author mention clothes in the second paragraph?

A. To prove the importance of the first impression.

B. To stress the importance of job interviews.　　

C. To show the importance of clothes.

D. To explain the importance of degree.

What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A. Having a degree

B. Success

C. Necessary training

D. Having an opportunity

There are many thoughts on the origins of civilization. One of the major factors involved was the increase in population. The development of techniques, primarily irrigation and flood control, which permitted agriculture in special areas such as the flood plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, made possible the support of large population. Once populations reach a certain number, the older pattern of social organization breaks down and new ones develop. Specifically the older system, whereby each individual participated in food production and maintained a similar standard of living and whereby kinship(家屬關(guān)系) served as the basic method of social organization, was replaced by the occupational division of labor, political and religious hierarchies(等級制度), public works such as road and public building construction, class systems, codes of law, markets, new forms of warfare, and urban centres. Allied with these important sociological traits are material traits, such as monumental architecture and the development of science and, in many cases, metallurgy(冶金學) and writing systems.

The earliest civilization, Sumer, developed in the Middle East. This was the Bronze Age of the Old World, during which people first developed the art of metallurgy, civilization also arose in other parts of the Old World, first in Egypt, China, and India, and later in Europe and Africa. At this time, civilization also developed independently in the New World, in the Mexican area and in Peru and its adjacent(鄰近的) areas.

In the Old World the Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, which saw the rise and fall of great empires and the shift of power from the Middle East to Greece and Rome and then to Western Europe. In the 1700s the Industrial Age began, leading directly to the modern civilization of today.

46. The author of this passage __________________________________.

A. gives a comparison between ancient civilization and modern civilization

B. suggests that population increase is most important in the development of civilization

C. tries to explain how civilization developed in human history

D. explore the relation between agriculture and industry

47. According to the first paragraph, the increase in population __________________.

A. resulted in the development of agricultural technology

B. resulted from the breakdown of old social organization

C. caused the occupational division of labor

D. was impossible without the development of agriculture

48. The word “traits” in Paragraph One most likely means ____________________.

A. main appearances                        B. great achievements

C. distinguishing features                      D. outstanding successes

49. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The Bronze Age is one of the earliest civilizations.

B. The Industrial Age started in the Middle East.

C. The Bronze Age developed into the Iron Age.

D. The use of metal instruments started from the Bronze Age.

50. Which of the following is NOT included in the expression “the Old World” used in the passage?

A. American continent.                         B. Both Western and Eastern Europe.

C. African continent.                                   D. Asian countries.

There are many thoughts on the origins of civilization. One of the major factors involved was the increase in population. The development of techniques, primarily irrigation and flood control, which permitted agriculture in special areas such as the flood plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, made possible the support of large population. Once populations reach a certain number, the older pattern of social organization breaks down and new ones develop. Specifically the older system, whereby each individual participated in food production and maintained a similar standard of living and whereby kinship(家屬關(guān)系) served as the basic method of social organization, was replaced by the occupational division of labor, political and religious hierarchies(等級制度), public works such as road and public building construction, class systems, codes of law, markets, new forms of warfare, and urban centres. Allied with these important sociological traits are material traits, such as monumental architecture and the development of science and, in many cases, metallurgy(冶金學) and writing systems.
The earliest civilization, Sumer, developed in the Middle East. This was the Bronze Age of the Old World, during which people first developed the art of metallurgy, civilization also arose in other parts of the Old World, first in Egypt, China, and India, and later in Europe and Africa. At this time, civilization also developed independently in the New World, in the Mexican area and in Peru and its adjacent(鄰近的) areas.
In the Old World the Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, which saw the rise and fall of great empires and the shift of power from the Middle East to Greece and Rome and then to Western Europe. In the 1700s the Industrial Age began, leading directly to the modern civilization of today.
46. The author of this passage __________________________________.
A. gives a comparison between ancient civilization and modern civilization
B. suggests that population increase is most important in the development of civilization
C. tries to explain how civilization developed in human history
D. explore the relation between agriculture and industry
47. According to the first paragraph, the increase in population __________________.
A. resulted in the development of agricultural technology
B. resulted from the breakdown of old social organization
C. caused the occupational division of labor
D. was impossible without the development of agriculture
48. The word “traits” in Paragraph One most likely means ____________________.
A. main appearances                        B. great achievements
C. distinguishing features                      D. outstanding successes
49. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The Bronze Age is one of the earliest civilizations.
B. The Industrial Age started in the Middle East.
C. The Bronze Age developed into the Iron Age.
D. The use of metal instruments started from the Bronze Age.
50. Which of the following is NOT included in the expression “the Old World” used in the passage?
A. American continent.                         B. Both Western and Eastern Europe.
C. African continent.                                   D. Asian countries.