2014年11月北京地区成人英语三级考试真题和答案解析.docxVIP

2014年11月北京地区成人英语三级考试真题和答案解析Part I Reading Comprehension (30%)Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the bestchoice and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.Passage 1Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage: Jarden Zinc Products, a large zinc plant a few miles outside Greeneville, Tennessee, has a special claim.Since 1982, it has been the only supplier ofpenny blanks for the U.S. Mint (铸币厂). Its a good business for Jarden-since 2000, the company has earned more than $ 800 million. But it may not be a good deal for the U.S. (76) The value of the penny has been dropping for years. In 2006, it began to cost more than a penny tomake a penny. It now costs 2 C to produce a 1 C coin. Many countries have stopped using pennies. Is it time forthe U.S. to do the same? Jarden and the zinc industry are fighting to keep the penny. Since 2006, Jarden has given $1.2 million toAmericans for Common Cents (ACC). The groups mission is to keep the penny in use. Mark Weller is ACCsexecutive director. He argues that there are three main reasons for keeping the penny: Without it, we wouldbecome more reliant on the five-cent coin, which also has problems; charities（慈善机构）that depend on penny drives would not be able to raise as much money; and a 2012 survey shows that 67% of Americans want to keep the penny. (77) Many people surveyed said they feared they would end up paying more for products. Many experts disagree with ACC, They point to the dozens of countries that have gotten rid of their lowest-value coins without raising prices for consumers. And charities dont seem too concerned either. President Barack Obama says the mint could explore using cheaper metals to make pennies. Steel is less expensive than zinc. Pennies are 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. But no matter what it is made of, the p