20. A) It has helped relieve hunger in some developing countries.

B) It has improved animal breeding skills all over the world.

C) It has bridged the gap between the rich and the poor in America.

　 D) It has promoted international exchange of farming technology.

PartⅡ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions at unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A) , B) , C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

Passage One

　　Educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world. Women's education may be unusual territory for economists, but enhancing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics, with its emphasis on incentives (激励), provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived of an education.

　　Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else's family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and art kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school - the prophecy（预言) becomes self- fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle (恶性循环) of neglect.

　　An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle.

　　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.

21. The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is ____.

A) rewarding　 C) expensive

　 B) troublesome　 D) labor-saving

22. By saying "... the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling ..." (Lines 45. Para. 2), the author means that ____.

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

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

C) girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams

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

23. The author believes that a vicious circle can turn into a virtuous circle when ___.

A) women care more about education

B) parents can afford their daughters' education

　　C) girls can gain equal access to education

　　D) a family has fewer but healthier children

24. What does the author say about women's education?

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

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

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