单选题 In our system of education today, examinations area common feature. Our present education system has often been criticized as too examination-oriented (以考试为导向的). However, one must remember that in offices and other areas of work, examinations still feature clearly. There is no doubt that the fear and influence of examination cause much preparation work. So it therefore appears that examinations whether considered good or bad would stay for a while as a test of human knowledge.
Examinations are meant to test the intellect of a person, how much he knows or how he has learnt from a particular course. It is designed to make students study, which should be their immediate mission in life. In our competitive world of today, examinations have a highly selecting or filtering(筛选) role. In the university, students have to pass annual examinations before they are allowed to continue, or study a harder syllabus (教学大纲). Moreover, for entrance into a university, pre-university examination results would provide a guide as to whether a student has the minimum qualifications necessary.
In offices either government or private ones, examination results show clearly whether a person is fit for promotion. The results indicate how much he knows about the work.
In all these cases, examinations inculcate (灌输) a spirit of hard work and competition. Students or office workers can refresh their mind again and again on what they have learnt. This maintains a certain individual and overall standard of knowledge.

单选题 The first paragraph mainly indicates that ______.
A. although criticized, examinations are still widely used
B. examinations play a bad role in education
C. one should take an argument in favor of examinations
D. examinations serve as a test of human knowledge
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推理题。此题要求概括第一段大意。文中指出,虽然有人批评现代教育是以考试为导向,但仍然被广泛运用,故选A。
单选题 The function of examinations in offices is that their results ______.
A. show clearly how well a person is prepared for the examinations
B. show clearly whether a person is fit for promotion
C. suggest the way in which the employees deal with routine work
D. indicate whether an employee has minimum qualifications necessary
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。根据文章第三段第一句可知,A与C两项的内容文中没有涉及,D项“说明雇员是否达到了所要求的最低水平”是干扰项,故选B。
单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. Examinations can motivate people to work hard and to be competitive.
B. Examinations involve much preparation work.
C. Through examinations, excellent people can be selected.
D. Examinations have produced many people capable of their own field.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。分别根据文章最后一段第一句话,第一段第四句,第二段第三句话,可排除A、B、C。
单选题 The underlined word "filtering" in Paragraph 2 means ______.
A. passing B. purifying by using a filter
C. motivating D. encouraging
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】语意题。filter意为“过滤”,可根据selecting猜测出此意,故选之。
单选题 The author's attitude to examination seems to be ______.
A. uncertain B. neutral C. positive D. partial
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】语气题。uncertain意为“不确定” neutral意为“中立”;positive意为“肯定”; partial意为“片面”,根据文中内容可知作者对考试的态度是积极肯定的,故选C。