Part ⅤGRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY   ［15 MIN.］

There are twenty-five items in this section. Beneath each sentence there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Choose one that best completes the sentence.

Mark your answers on your answer sheet.

41.That trumpet player was certainly loud. But I wasn’t bothered by his loudness ____ by his lack of talent.

A. so much as     

B. rather than    

C. as  

D. than

42.____, I’ll marry him all the same.

A. Was he rich or poor  

B. Whethere rich or poor

C. Were he rich or poor  

D. Be he rich or poor

43.The government has promised to do ____ lies in its power to ease the hardships of the victims in the flood-stricken area.

A. however  

B. whichever  

C. whatever 

D. wherever

44.____ if I had arrived yesterday without letting you know beforehand?

A. Would you be surprised  

B. Were you surprised

C. Had you been surprised  

D. Would you have been surprised

45.If not ____ with the respect he feels due to him, Jack gets very ill-tempered and grumbles all the time.

A. being treated  

B. treated

C. be treated  

D. having been treated

46.It is imperative that students ____ their term papers on time.

A. hand in   

B. would hand in  

C. have to hand in  

D. handed in

47.The less the surface of the ground yields to the weight of a fully-loaded truck, ____ to the truck.

A. the greater stress is  

B. greater is the stress

C. the stress is greater   

D. the greater the stress

48.The Minister of Finance is believed ____ of imposing new taxes to raise extra revenue.

A. that he is thinking   

B. to be thinking

C. that he is to think  

D. to think

49.Issues of price, place, promotion, and product are ____ conventional concerns in planning marketing strategies.

A. these of the most  

B. most of those

C. among the most  

D. among the many of

50.____ both sides accept the agreement ____ a lasting peace be established in this region.

A. Only if, will  

B. If only, would

C. Should, will  

D. Unless, would

51.Mr Wells, together with all the members of his family, ____ for Europe this afternoon.

A. are to leave  

B. are leaving   

C. is leaving  

D. leave

52.It was suggested that all government ministers should ____ information on their financial interests.

A. discover  

B. uncover  

C. tell  

D. disclose

53.As my exams are coming next week, I’ll take advantage of the weekend to ____ on some reading.

A. catch up  

B. clear up  

C. make up  

D. pick up

54.I’m surprised they are no longer on speaking terms. It’s not like either of them to bear a ____.

A. disgust  

B. curse  

C. grudge  

D. hatred

55.Mary hopes to be ____ from hospital next week.

A. dismissed   

B. discharged 

ed  

D. resigned

56.Once a picture is proved to be a forgery, it becomes quite ____.

A. invaluable  

B. priceless  

C. unworthy  

ess

57.Jimmy earns his living by ____ works of art in the museum.

A. recovering  

B. restoring  

C. renewing  

D. reviving

58.I couldn’t sleep last night because the tap in the bathroom was ____.

A. draining   

B. dropping   

C. spilling  

D. dripping

59.The book gives a brief ____ of the course of his research up till now.

A. outline  

B. reference  

C. frame  

D. outlook

60.She was sanding outside in the snow, ____ with cold.

A. spinning  

B. shivering  

C. shaking  

D. staggering

61.All the rooms on the second floor have nicely ____ carpets, which are included in the price of the house.

A. adapted  

B. equipped  

C. suited  

D. fitted

62.He plays tinnis to the ____ of all other sports.

A. eradication  

B. exclusion  

C. extension  

D. inclusion

63.She answered with an ____ “No” to the request that she attend the public hearing.

A. eloquent  

B. effective  

C. emotional  

D. emphatic

64.Everyone who has visited the city agrees that it is ____ with life.

A. vibrant   

B. violent  

C. energetic  

D. full

65.We met Mary and her husband at a party two months ago. ____ we’ve had no further communication.

A. Thereof  

B. Thereby  

C. Thereafter  

D. Thereabouts

READING

TEXT A

It often happens that a number of applicants with almost identical qualifications and experience all apply for the same position. In their educational background, special skills and work experience, there is little, if anything, to choose between half a dozen candidates. How then does the employer make a choice? Usually on the basis of an interview.

There are many arguments for and against the interview as a selection procedure. The main argument against it is that it results in a wholly subjective decision. As often as not, emplyers do not choose the best candidate, they choose the candidate who makes a good first impression on them. Some employers, of course, reply to this argument by saying that they have become so experienced in interviewing staff that they are able to make a sound assessment of each candidate's likely performance. The main argument in favour of the interview – and it is, perhaps, a good argument – is that an employer is concerned not only with a candidate's ability, but with the suitability of his or her personality for the particular work situation. Many employers, for example, will overlook occasional inefficiencies from their secretary provided she has a pleasant personality.

It is perhas true to say, therefore, that the real purpose of an interview is not to assess the assssable aspects of each candidate but to make a guess at the more intangible things, such as personality, character and social ability. Unfortunately, both for the employers and applicants for jobs, there are many people of great ability who simply do not interview well. There are also, of course, people who interview extremely well, but are later found to be very unsatisfactory employees. Candidates who interview well tend to be quietly confident, but never boastful; direct and straightforward in their questions and answers; cheerful and friendly, but never over-familiar; and sincerely enthusiastic and optimistic. Candidates who interview badly tend to be at either end of the spectrum of human behaviour. They are either very shy or over-confident. They show either a lack of enthusiasm or an excess of it. They either talk too little or never stop talking. They are either over-polite or rudely abrupt.

66.   We can infer from the passage that an employer might tolerate his secretary's occasional mistakes, if the latter is ________.

A. direct

B. cheerful

C. shy

D. capable

67.   What is the author's attitude towards the interview as a selection procedure?

A. Unclear.

B. Negative.

C. Objective.

D. Indifferent.

68.   According to the passage, people argue over the interview as a selection procedure mainly because they have ________.

A. different selection procedures

B. different puposes in the interview

C. different standards for competence

D. different experiences in interviews

69.   The purpose of the last paragraph is to indicate ________.

A. a link between success in interview and personality

B. connections between work abilities and personality

C. differences in interview experience

D. differences in personal behaviour

TEXT B

Every year thousands of people are arrested and taken to court for shop-lifting. In Britain alone, about HK$3,000,000's worth of goods are stolen from shops every week. This amounts to something like HK$150 million a year, and represents about 4 per cent of the shops' total stock. As a result of this "shrinkage" as the shops call it, the honest public has to pay higher prices.

Shop-lifters can be divided into three main categories: the professionals, the deliberate amateur, and the people who just can't help themselves. The professionals do not pose much of a problem for the store detectives, who, assisted by closed circuit television, two-way mirrors and various other technological devices, can usually cope with them. The professionals tend to go for high value goods in parts of the shops where security measures are tightest. And, in any case, they account for only a small percentage of the total losses due to shop-lifting.

The same applies to the deliberate amateur who is, so to speak, a professional in training. Most of them get caught sooner or later, and they are dealt with severely by the courts.

The real problem is the person who gives way to a sudden temptation and is in all other respects an honest and law-abiding citizen. Contrary to what one would expect, this kind of shop-lifter is rarely poor. He does not steal because he needs the goods and cannot afford to pay for them. He steals because he simply cannot stop himself. And there are countless others who, because of age, sickness or plain absent-mindedness, simply forget to pay for what they take from the shops. When caught, all are liable to prosecution, and the decision whether to send for the police or not is in the hands of the store manager.

In order to prevent the quite incredible growth in ship-lifting offences, some stores, in fact, are doing their best to separate the thieves from the confused by prohibiting customers from taking bags into the store. However, what is most worrying about the whole problem is, perhaps, that it is yet another instance of the innocent majority being penalized and inconvenienced because of the actions of a small minority. It is the aircraft hijack situation in another form. Because of the possibility of one passenger in a million boarding an aircraft with a weapon, the other 999,999 passengers must subject themselves to searches and delays. Unless the situation in the shops improves, in ten years' time we may all have to subject ourselves to a body-search every time we go into a store to buy a tin of beans!

70.   Why does the honest public have to pay higher prices when they go to the shops?

A. There is a "shrinkage" in market values.

B. Many goods are not available.

C. Goods in many shops lack variety.

D. There are many cases of shop-lifting.

71.   The third group of people steal things because they ________.

A. are mentally ill

B. are quite absent-minded

C. can not resist the temptation.

D. can not afford to pay for goods

72.   According to the passage, law-abiding citizens ________.

A. can possibly steal things because of their poverty

B. can possibly take away goods without paying

C. have never stolen goods from the supermarkets

D. are difficult to be caught when they steal things

73.   Which of the following statements is NOT true about the main types of shop-lifting?

A. A big percentage of the total losses are caused by the professionals.

B. The deliberate amateurs will be punished severely if they get caught.

C. People would expect that those who can't help themselves are poor.

D. The professionals don't cause a lot of trouble to the store detectives.