The United States will introduce a new and prehensive(综合的) exam for students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.
The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America’s leading educational organization.
The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May 10, 2002, said Jen.
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International English Language Testing System).
“I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam,” said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.
Most of Xu’s classmates have never heard of the APIEL. “The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.” said Jen.
The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language prehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission.
Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening prehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing with clarity and fluency(流畅), Jen said.
【小题1】The United States will introduce a new exam because .A．more and more students want to get further education in the USAB．the Chinese people pay special attention to English studies with China’s entry into the WTOC．the already existing exam systems seem to be far from perfectD．it will bring the US government quite a lot of money【小题2】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the selection？A．It will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL.B．The TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS.C．A student will have to take the APIEL if he or she wants to study in English—speaking countries from 2002.D．Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future.【小题3】The underlined word current in the second paragraph means .A．modern B．present C．standard D．formal【小题4】Please decide which of the following would be the best title for this news report.A．The Key to English-speaking CountriesB．The Four Skills in Learning EnglishC．TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to be Out of DateD．New Exam Designed for StudentsC
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(答案→)C
解析：
全文介绍了APIEL与传统英语测试对比所显出的新功能。
【小题1】推断题。根据 TOFEL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language prehensively in an academic environment 可知原来的测试系统有局限性，由此可知 C 为正确答案。
【小题2】细节题。阅读全文可知B、C、D与原文不符，再根据 …the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams 得知 APIEL 作为新的测试系统不是短时间就能为人们所接受，故答案选 A。
【小题3】词义猜测题。根据第 1 行 …a new and prehensive exam 和第 4 段…it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams 可知 current 意思为“现实的，目前的”，故知 B 为正确答案。
【小题4】主旨题。阅读全文可知由于传统测试不能适应新形势对学生的要求，从而设计了一种新的测试系统 —— APIEL，故选 D。