阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C，D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　The United States will introduce a new and comprehensive (综合的) exam for students who seek to study in America and other English-speaking countries, Xin Hua News Agency(新华社) reported from New York.

　　The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang-whei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America's leading educational organization.

　　The Advanced Placement International English Language ( APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May 10, 2002, said Jen.

　　However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similar popularity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign language) , the GRE (Graduate Record Examination ), or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

　　“I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam,”said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (北京航天航空大学), who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.

　　Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL.“The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.”said Jen.

　　The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately (准确地) reflect the abilities of students to use the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xin Hua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission(录取).

　　Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL, measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy (精确) and resourcefulness (机智), and writing with clarity (明晰) and fluency (流畅), Jen said.

1．The United States will introduce a new exam because ________.

[　　]

A．more and more students want to get further education in the USA

B．the Chinese people pay special attention to English studies with China's entry into the WTO

C．the already existing exam systems seem to be far from perfect

D．it will bring the US government quite a lot of money

2．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the selection?

[　　]

A．It will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL.

B．The TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS.

C．A student will have to take the APIEL if he or she wants to study in English-speaking countries from 2002 on.

D．Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future.

3．The underlined word current (in Paragraph 2) means ________.

[　　]

4．Which of the following can be the best title for the news report?

[　　]

A．The Key to English-speaking Countries.

B．The Four Skills in Learning English.

C．TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to be Out of Date.

D．New Exam Designed for Students.

Last year, a report by a committee of education experts said that a lot of American students cannot write well. The report noted the concerns of business leaders and teachers. The experts said that more students should have to pass a writing test before they can finish high school. They pointed out that major college entrance tests are changing now to include a writing part.

　　Educators know that teaching students to write well is not easy. One problem is the amount of time needed to read through large amounts of work. So some companies have developed computer programs. These can grade student writing much more quickly than a person can. Writing tests can also cost less to carry out by computer than paper-and-pencil. These computer systems are known as e-readers. They use artificial (人工的) intelligence to think in a way like teachers. In the state of Indiana, computer grading of a statewide writing test began with a test of the system itself. For two years, both a computer and humans graded the student writing. Officials say there was almost no difference between the computer grades and those given by the human readers.

　　The entrance test commonly used by business schools, the GMAT, already uses e-readers. The GRE and TOEFL tests might start; officials are deciding. The GRE is the Graduate Record Examination. TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

　　Systems are also being used to grade writing in college classes. The computers read a few hundred examples of student writing already graded by humans. Then the systems compare new writings against those already examined.

　　How do teachers feel all about this? Many say machines can never do the job as well as people can. A computer can find spelling and grammar mistakes. But these teachers say it can never really understand what a writer is trying to say. Critics say a program cannot follow a thought or judge humor or understand a beautifully expressed idea.

　　But inventors of the programs say computer grading guarantees that each piece of writing is graded in the same way. They also say the systems are meant to judge knowledge more than creativity.

What do the teachers think of the computer system?

       A. They think highly of the computer systems.

       B. They think that computers cannot grade writing as well as people.

       C. They believe that computers can understand a writer’s idea well

       D. They are glad computers will spare their effort to correct students’ school work.

From the first paragraph we can conclude that _________.

       A. American students’ writing ability is being improved

       B. American students’ writing ability is not satisfactory

       C. business leaders and teachers are not worried about students’ writing

       D. all college entrance tests will include a writing part

Which of the following is NOT the advantage of e-readers?

       A. Saving much of teachers’ time.　    B. Saving a lot of money.

　    C. Being fair and objective.   D. Appreciating humor and beauty

The best title of this passage might be _________.

       A. Computer-graded Writing B. Human-graded Writing

       C. How to Improve Students’ Writing   D. Advantages of E-readers