在中国，风筝具有独特的艺术价值。风筝首先出现在 春秋时代 (the Spring and Autumn Period)的战争中。随着时代的发展，现在风筝已成为一项世界性的体育和休闲活动。风筝的主要材料为竹子和纸，并加以各种绘画来装饰。风筝具有各种形状，如昆虫、 金鱼 (goldfish)和云彩等，大的可达数百平方米，最小的甚至可以放在信封里。这些富有魅力的风筝反映了 手工艺人 (craftsman)的高超技艺。

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胡同(Hutong)是北京的一大特色，有着与北京城一样久远的历史。最早的胡同出现在元朝(the YuanDynasty)，如今大部分胡同是在明清时代(the Ming and Qing Dynasties)形成的。据专家考证，“胡同”一词源于蒙古语(Mongolian)的“井”。自古以来胡同都是北京城里普通市民生息的场所，可以说是北京平民文化的代表。但随着人口的增加，很多古老的胡同已经消失，取而代之的是现代化的却没有特色的高楼大厦。

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五行学说(the theory of five elements)是中国古代的一种物质观。五行包括金、木、水、火和土五种要素。五行学说强调整体概念，描绘了事物的结构关系和运动形式。五行学说认为宇宙万物都是基于这五种要素的运行和变化。这五个要素相互作用，不但影响到人的命运，同时也使宇宙万物循环不已。五行学说成熟于汉代(the Han Dynasty)，之后广泛应用于中医、建筑和武术(martial arts)等领域。

扬州是中国的历史名城之一。扬州，时称广陵，其建城可追溯至公元前(B.C.)486年。在 唐宋两朝 (the Tang andSong Dynasties)期间，扬州逐渐兴盛起来，成为了经济、文化中心以及对外贸易交换地。 京杭大运河 (theBeijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal)建成后，扬州的商业贸易进一步发展起来，扬州变成繁华富庶之地。在中国的诗歌和其他文学作品中，扬州不仅是一个繁华都市，更是 浪漫 (romance)的象征。

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Air Pollution following the outline given below. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.1．近年来空气污染严重。2．空气污染引发的危害。3．提出解决办法。

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{{B}}Part III Reading Comprehension{{/B}}

{{B}}Part III Reading Comprehension{{/B}}

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In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. This is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters (年轻人) who have never been close by during the birth of a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member. Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we transfer them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminally ill patients—even when those patients are their parents. This deprives (剥夺) the dying patient of significant family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience. Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed approximately 500 terminally ill patients in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome. It is important for family members, doctors and nurses to understand these patients' communications in order to truly understand their needs, fears, and fantasies (幻想). Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their tremendous need to be informed, to be kept up-to-date on their medical condition, and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to cope with the approach of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance prior to death.

在这个信息爆炸的时代，大学生的阅读习惯变得碎片化、功利化。一项调查结果显示，许多大学生每日阅读时间不足1小时，而上网时间却超过了4小时。现在年轻人喜欢看一些“更实用的”书籍，如考试指导及职业指南。专家指出，碎片化、功利化阅读削弱了学生的思考以及分析能力。他们一再强调，学生应多去阅读人文作品以提升自身的 审美品位 (aesthetic taste)。

京剧脸谱 (the facial makeup of Beijing Opera)是具有民族特色的一种独特的化妆方法。它最大的特点在于借助不同的色彩来展示人物的性格。脸谱的颜色使观众对人物的善恶美丑一目了然。通常红色代表忠诚；黑色象征正直；紫色意味公正；黄色喻示 残暴 (brutality)。此外，脸谱还常常带有 图案 (design)来表述某个故事，比如后羿脸谱上有九个太阳，表明他曾经用箭射掉了九个太阳。

如今，中国自行车年增长率不超过10％，但高端自行车(high-end bike)年增长率却高达40％。

{{B}}Section A{{/B}}

中国古代的张骞被誉为“中国走向世界第一人”。公元前(B．C．)138年，张骞出使 西域 (the Western Regions)。他在途中被 匈奴部落 (the tribe of Xiongnu)俘虏，被迫在匈奴地区生活十多年。在此期间，他一直在等待机会返回祖国。张骞最终于公元前126年回到了 西汉 (the Western Han Dynasty)的都城长安。得益于这次经历，张骞对西域的地理、物产、风俗有了详细的了解，为开辟丝绸之路提供了宝贵的资料。

BSection A/B

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{{B}}Part II Listening Comprehension{{/B}}