All the plastics manufacturers have been experiencing hard times as their traditional products have been doing badly world-wide for the last few years. Between 1982 and 1984 the Plastics Division of ICI had lost a hundred and twenty million dollars, and they felt that the. most hopeful new market was in packaging, bottles and cans.

　　Since 1982 it has opened three new factories producing "Melinar", the raw material from which high quality polyester bottles are made.

　　The polyester bottle was born in the 1970s, when soft drinks companies like Coca Cola started selling their drinks in giant two-liter containers. Because of the build-up of the pressure of gas in these large containers, glass was unsuitable. Nor was PVC, the plastic which had been used for bottles since the 1960s, suitable for drinks with gas in them. A new plastic had to be made.

　　Glass is still cheaper for the smaller bottles, and will continue to be so unless oil and plastic become much cheaper, but plastic does well for the larger sizes.

　　Polyester bottles are virtually unbreakable. The manufacturers claim they are also lighter, less noisy when being handled, and can be reused. Shopkeepers and other business people are unlikely to object to a change from glass to polyester, since these bottles mean few breakages, which are costly and time-consuming. The public, though, have been more difficult to persuade. ICI's commercial department is developing different bottles with interesting shapes, to try and make them visually more attractive to the public.

　　The next step could be to develop a plastic which could replace tins for food. The problem here is the high temperatures necessary for cooking the food in the container.

　　26. Plastics of various kinds have been used for making bottles__________.

　　A. since 1982

　　B. since the 1970s but only for large bottles

　　C. since the 1960s but not for liquids with gas in them

　　D. since companies like Coca Cola first tried them

　　27. Why is ICI's Plastics Division interested in polyester for bottles?

　　A. The other things they make are not selling well.

　　B. Glass manufacturers cannot make enough new bottles.

　　C. They have factories which could be adapted to make it.

　　D. The price of oil keeps changing.

　　28. Why aren't all bottles now made of polyester?

　　A. The price of oil and plastic has risen.

　　B. It is not suitable for containing gassy drinks.

　　C. The public like traditional glass bottles.

　　D. Shop-keepers dislike reusable bottles.

　　29. Manufacturers think polyester bottles are better than glass bottles because they

　　A. are cheaper B. are more suited to small sizes

　　C. are more exciting to look at D. do not break easily

　　30. Plastic containers for holding food in the same way as cans______.

　　A. have been used for many years

　　B. are an idea that interests the plastics companies

　　C. are possible, but only for hot food

　　D. are the first things being made in the new factories

　　答案：26. C 27. A 28. C 29. D 30. B

　　Directions： The passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

　　The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.

　　As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries and into public places, some of the country's most talented artists have been called in to transform older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant collections of contemporary art in corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms.

　　These recent initiatives owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.

　　A typical hospital waiting room might have as many as 500 visitors each week. What better place to hold regular exhibitions of art? Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the out-patients waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.

　　The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyards.

　　The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.

　　21. According to the passage, "to soften the hard edges of modern buildings" means

　　A. to pull down hospital buildings

　　B. to decorate hospitals with art collections

　　C. to improve the quality of treatment in hospitals

　　D. to make the corners of hospital buildings round

　　22. What can we say of Peter Senior?

　　A. He is a pioneer in introducing art into hospitals.

　　B. He is a doctor interested in painting.

　　C. He is an artist who has a large collection of paintings.

　　D. He is a faithful follower of hospital art.

　　23. According to Peter Senior, _______.

　　A. art is losing its audience in modern society

　　B. art galleries should be changed into hospitals

　　C. patients should be encouraged to learn painting

　　D. art should be encouraged in British hospitals

　　24. After the improvement of the hospital environment, _______.

　　A. patients no longer need drugs in their recovery

　　B. patients are no longer wholly dependent on expensive drugs

　　C. patients need good-quality drugs in their recovery

　　D. patients use fewer pain killers in their recovery

　　25. The fact that six young art school graduates joined Peter shows that_______.

　　A. Peter's enterprise is developing greatly

　　B. Peter Senior enjoys great popularity

　　C. they are talented hospital artists

　　D. the role of hospital environment is being recognized

　　答案： 21. B 22. A 23. D 24. B 25. D