Few will dispute that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well. Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 per cent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices, including family planning.

　　26. The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is ________.

　　A) troublesome

　　B) labor-saving

　　C) rewarding

　　D) expensive

　　27. By saying “... the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling...” (Lines 45, Para. 2). the author means that ________.

　　A) girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys

　　B) girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams

　　C) girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach

　　D) girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home

　　28. The author believes that a vicious circle can turn into a virtuous circle when ________.

　　A) women care more about education

　　B) girls can gain equal access to education

　　C) a family has fewer but healthier children

　　D) parents can afford their daughters’ education

　　29. What does the author say about women’s education?

　　A) It deserves greater attention than other social issues.

　　B) It is now given top priority in many developing countries.

　　C) It will yield greater returns than other known investments.

　　D) It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.

　　30. The passage mainly discusses ________.

　　A) unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries

　　B) the potential earning power of well-educated women

　　C) the major contributions of educated women to society

　　D) the economic and social benefits of educating women

　　26. C 27. A 28. B 29.C 30. D

　　Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobiliser (鎖止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.

　　The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro-processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系統) satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.

　　In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. ‘The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,’ says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.

　　Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won’t allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (點火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.

　　But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting bold of the owner’s keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.

　　If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.

　　Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle’s movements via the car’s GPS unit.

　　31. What’s the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to a car?

　　A) To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.

　　B) To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen.

　　C) To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.

　　D) To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner.

　　32. By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed” (Lines 1-2. Para. 3), Martyn Randall suggests that ________.

　　A) it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing

　　B) self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft

　　C) the thief has to make use of computer technology

　　D) the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old

　　33. What is essential in making a modem car tougher to steal?

　　A) A coded ignition key.

　　B) A unique ID card.

　　C) A special cellphone signal.

　　D) A GPS satellite positioning receiver.

　　34. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?

　　A) To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.

　　B) To keep police informed of the car’s movements.

　　C) To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.

　　D) To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.

　　35. What will the operations centre do first after receiving an alarm?

　　A) Start the tracking system.

　　B) Contact the car owner.

　　C) Block the car engine.

　　D) Locate the missing car.

　　31. C 32. B 33. A 34.D 35. B