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Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Every year television stations receive hundreds of complaints about the loudness of advertisements. However, federal rules forbid the practice of making ads louder than the programming. In addition, television stations always operate at the highest sound level allowed for reasons of efficiency. According to one NBC executive, no difference exists in the peak sound level of ads and programming. Given this information why do commercials sound so loud?
The sensation of sound involves a variety of factors in addition to its speak level. Advertisers are skilful at creating the impression of loudness through their expert use of such factors. One major contributor to the perceived loudness of commercials is that mush less variation in sound level occurs during a commercial. In regular programming the intensity of sound varies over a large range. However, sound levels in commercials tend to stay at or near peak levels.
Other “tricks of the trade” are also used. Because low-frequency sounds can mask higher frequency sounds, advertisers filter out any noises that may drown out the primary message. In addition, the human voice has more auditory (聽覺的) impact in the middle frequency ranges. Advertisers electronically vary voice sounds so that they stay within such a frequency band. Another approach is to write the script so that lots of consonants (輔音) are used, because people are more aware of consonants than vowel (元音) sounds. Finally, advertisers try to begin commercials with sounds that are highly different from those of the programming within which the commercial is buried. Because people become adapted to the type of sounds coming from programming, a dramatic change in sound quality draws viewer a attention. For example, notice how many commercials begin with a cheerful song of some type.
The attention-getting property of commercials can be seen by observing one-to two-year-old children who happen to be playing around a television set. They may totally ignore the programming. However, when a commercial comes on, their attention is immediately drawn to it because of its dramatic sound quality.
31. According to the passage, the maximum intensity of sound coming from commercials ________.
A) does not exceed that of programs
B) is greater than that of programs
C) varies over a large range than that of programs
D) is less than that of programs
32. Commercials create the sensation of loudness because ________.
A) TV stations always operate at the highest sound levels
B) their sound levels are kept around peak levels
C) their sound levels are kept in the middle frequency ranges
D) unlike regular programs their intensity of sound varies over a wide range
33. Many commercials begin with a cheerful song of some kind because ________.
A) pop songs attract viewer attention
B) it can increase their loudness
C) advertisers want to make them sound different from regular programs
D) advertisers want to merge music with commercials
34. One of the reasons why commercials are able to attract viewer attention is that ________.
A) the human voices in commercials have more auditory impact
B) people like cheerful songs that change dramatically in sound quality
C) high-frequency sounds are used to mask sounds that drown out the primary message
D) they possess sound qualities that make the viewer feel that something unusual is happening
35. In the passage, the author is trying to tell us ________.
A) how TV ads vary vocal sounds to attract attention
B) how the loudness of TV ads is overcome
C) how advertisers control the sound properties of TV ads
D) how the attention-getting properties of sounds are made use of in TV ads
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species’ living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests compete with economic interests. In the 1990’s, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl (貓頭鷹), whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters-and the owls-was still undecided in mid-1992.
Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished (使窮困), with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.
Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth’s ozone layer (臭氧層), for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth’s complex web life.
36. Why does the author say that the protection of endangered species is a highly controversial issue?
A) Because people can’t agree as to what species to protect.
B) Because it is difficult to find an effective way to protect such species.
C) Because it affects the interests of certain groups of people.
D) Because it is a major problem involving a series of legal procedures.
37. According to the passage, the preservation of rain forests ________.
A) may hamper a developing country in its fight against poverty
B) benefits developed countries rather than developing countries
C) should take priority over the control of human population
D) will help improve the living conditions in developing countries
38. According to the passage, cutting tress to grow more food ________.
A) will widen the gap between the developed and the developing countries
B) is but a short-term relief to the food problem
C) can hardly alleviate the shortage of food
D) proves to be an effective way out for impoverished nations
39. Among “humanity’s current problems” (Line 6, Para. 3), the chief concern of the scientists is ________.
A) the impoverishment of developing countries
B) the explosion of the human population
C) the reduction of biological diversity
D) the effect of global warming
40. The author’s purpose in writing this passage is ________.
A) to describe the difficulties in solving humanity’s current problems
B) to present the different views on humanity’s current problems
C) to analyze the contradiction between countries in dealing with humanity’s current problems
D) to point out that humanity’s current problems can only be solved through the cooperation of nations
