Section C: Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
As a university student I've come to realise just how little I know about money. I’ve come to the brutal realisation that Australia’s youth are being done a great disservice by not receiving any consistent financial education. Diving headfirst into the crash course of starting university, I’ve quickly tried to get myself up to speed with the financial terms of the modern era to help manage my personal finances.
I’ve read some financial education books, done some online learning, and have spoken to my nearest and dearest for their pearls of financial wisdom. There are undoubtedly hundreds of great resources out there for those wishing to improve their financial literacy, but while I was researching, I still kept wishing that I didn’t have to play catch-up with the money world. I felt that I was sailing the financial seas with no skills and no life jacket!
However, after talking to my friends who felt the same, I quickly realised that it wasn’t my ignorance but the lack of financial education in our schooling system that is leaving high schoolers seriously behind in the modern world of money. Let’s compare a theoretical financial education subject to the standard compulsory English class. On average, English may not be the most popular subject, but it’s consistently on the schedule throughout high school, with all students graduating fluent in English.
A financial education subject should do just the same. It shouldn’t be just a one-day event but a course integrated throughout the whole of high school that would allow students to gradually expand their financial literacy, and would prevent the need for a ‘catch up’ phase once we’re out on our own after graduation. In the same way that learning a language or new skills takes time, building financial skills requires practice and years to gradually accumulate bits and pieces of knowledge.
Giving young people the opportunity to become familiar with the world of money would provide them with a great advantage to enter adulthood with confidence and security so that they are able to manage their own money and look after themselves.
46. What has the author come to realise since entering university?
47. How did the author feel in today’s money world?
48. What did the author realise after talking to his friends?
49. What is the author’s idea of a financial education course?
50. What would financial literacy do to young people?
Passage Two
Chocolates save us from many things, especially emotional distress. They comfort us in times of trouble, calming down a racing heart by channeling happy calories inside us. We all have faith in chocolates to delight us in an instant! Recently, chocolate lovers were heartbroken as scientists claimed that they can become extinct by 2050! But hey, we have some happy news for you. Scientists can still help save chocolates from dying out!
If you are not aware as to why scientists made the statement about the death of this wonderful thing, let us tell you the facts. Chocolate trees, whose seeds are used to make chocolate, grow in the tropical plant world and require very specific weather conditions to prosper. Now, fifty percent of the world’s cocoa beans come from two countries in West Africa: Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Scientists believe that both of these countries will experience a 3.8F temperature increase by 2050 due to global warming, endangering the cacao farms in the rainforests. These farms will then have to be shifted to cooler mountainous areas, which are the natural habitat of wildlife. This will lead to some tough decisions: whether to grow chocolate or save wildlife.
Unfortunately, the crisis of global warming has already had a serious negative impact on cacao farms’ yields, leading to the prices of chocolates skyrocketing. Scientists, however, are trying to find a long-term and eco-friendly solution to this problem! They are trying to modify the species with a gene-editing technology, which will transform the seedlings into a species that survives even in a drier and warmer climate.
According to a report by The Business Insider, in the University of California’s new bio-sciences building, tiny green cacao seedlings are lined up in refrigerated greenhouses for a new experiment by using a technology called CRISPR. By manipulating the DNA of plants, this technology is already being used across the world to make plants tougher and cheaper. Similarly, in this unconventional experiment, scientists will make tiny, precise changes to the DNA of the seedlings to make the cocoa crops survive in warmer and drier climates.
51. What do people believe chocolates can do?
52. What was scientists’ recent assertion about chocolates?
53. What would happen if the cacao farms were shifted to cooler mountainous areas?
54. What do we learn about the cacao farms in the crisis of global warming?
55. What are scientists trying to do in the University of California’s new bio-sciences building?
Answers & Explanations
Passage One: Financial Literacy Education
46. B。解析：文章首句提到“...just how little I know about money”，作者意识到自己缺乏理财素养，对应选项 B。
47. A。解析：第二段作者说自己像“sailing the financial seas with no skills and no life jacket”，形容在现代金融世界中缺乏生存能力，对应选项 A (Badly equipped to survive)。
48. B。解析：第三段提到作者发现并不是自己无知，而是“the lack of financial education in our schooling system”，即学校教育系统的缺失导致了问题，对应 B (blame for his trouble)。
49. D。解析：第四段明确建议理财课应是“a course integrated throughout the whole of high school”，即融入中学教育，对应选项 D。
50. C。解析：最后一段提到理财素养能让年轻人“enter adulthood with confidence and security”，从而能管理好财务，对应选项 C。
全文翻译
作为一名大学生，我开始意识到自己对金钱了解得多么少。我残酷地认识到，由于没有接受过任何一致的金融教育，澳大利亚的年轻人正在遭受巨大的不公。一头扎进大学生活的速成课程中，我迅速尝试让自己熟悉现代时代的金融术语，以帮助管理我的个人财务。我读了一些金融教育书籍，做了一些在线学习，并与我最亲近的人交流，听取他们的金融智慧。对于那些希望提高金融素养的人来说，无疑有数百种优质的资源，但在研究过程中，我仍然一直希望自己不必在金钱的世界里追赶补习。我感觉自己就像在没有技能、没有救生衣的情况下在金融的海洋中航行！然而，在与有同感的朋友交谈后，我很快意识到，不是我的无知，而是我们学校教育体系中缺乏金融教育，让高中生在当今的金钱世界里严重落后。让我们将一个理论上的金融教育科目与标准的必修英语课做个比较。平均而言，英语可能不是最受欢迎的科目，但它贯穿整个高中始终出现在课程表上，所有学生毕业时都能流利地使用英语。金融教育科目也应该这样做。它不应只是一天的活动，而应该是一门贯穿整个高中的课程，让学生逐步扩展他们的金融素养，并避免在毕业后独自面对社会时需要「追赶」的阶段。就像学习一门语言或新技能需要时间一样，建立金融技能需要实践和多年时间，逐步积累点点滴滴的知识。给年轻人一个熟悉金钱世界的机会，将为他们提供一个巨大的优势，让他们带着信心和安全感进入成年期，从而能够管理自己的钱财并照顾好自己。
全文翻译
作为一名大学生，我已经意识到我对金钱知之甚少。我已经残酷地意识到，澳大利亚的年轻人因为没有接受任何一贯的金融教育而吃了大亏。一头扎进开始大学的速成课程，我迅速尝试让自己跟上现代金融术语的步伐以帮助管理我的个人财务。我读了一些金融教育书籍，做了一些在线学习，并与我最亲近的人交谈，请教他们的金融智慧。对于那些希望提高金融素养的人来说，毫无疑问有成千上万优秀的资源，但在我的研究过程中，我仍然一直希望我不必在金钱世界追赶。我感觉自己是在没有任何技能和救生衣的情况下航行在金融的海洋！然而，在与有同感的朋友交谈后，我很快意识到，不是我的无知，而是我们学校体系中缺乏金融教育，让高中生在当代金钱世界中严重落后。让我们将一门理论上的金融教育科目与标准必修的英语课进行比较。平均而言，英语可能不是最受欢迎的科目，但它始终贯穿整个高中，所有学生毕业时都精通英语。一门金融教育科目应该做同样的事情。它不应该只是一个一天的活动，而是一个贯穿整个高中的课程，让学生逐渐扩展他们的金融素养，并防止我们需要在毕业后独立出来后进入「追赶」阶段。就像学习一门语言或新技能需要时间一样，建立金融技能需要实践和多年时间，逐步积累点滴知识。让年轻人有机会熟悉金钱世界，将为他们提供以自信和安全感进入成年的巨大优势，使他们能够管理自己的钱并照顾好自己。
Passage Two: The Chocolate Crisis
51. A。解析：第一段提到巧克力能“delight us in an instant”，让人瞬间高兴，对应选项 A (Cheer them up instantly)。
52. D。解析：第二段提到科学家预测到 2050 年巧克力可能灭绝，从现在（2024/2026）算起不到 30 年，对应 D (unavailable)。
53. A。解析：第三段提到如果农场搬迁到山区，那里是“natural habitat of wildlife”，这意味着会破坏野生动物栖息地，对应 A (ruined)。
54. C。解析：第四段指出全球变暖对产量的负面影响（impact on yields），导致农场遭受巨大损失，对应 C (decrease in produce)。
55. B。解析：末段描述科学家利用 CRISPR 技术修改 seedlings（幼苗）的 DNA，使其能在“warmer and drier climates”下生存，对应 B (withstand a drier, warmer climate)。
亮点句型与核心搭配
【核心搭配与高频短语】
- get oneself up to speed：了解最新情况，达到标准
- pearls of wisdom：智慧结晶，睿智的话语
- play catch-up：追赶，赶上进度
- bits and pieces：零碎，零星的东西
- emotional distress：情绪痛苦/忧虑
- in an instant：瞬间，立刻
- due to global warming：由于全球变暖
- skyrocketing prices：价格猛涨
- gene-editing technology：基因编辑技术
- withstand climate change：抵御/经受气候变化
【亮点句型解析】
- Sailing the financial seas with no skills and no life jacket (生动比喻)：
这句话通过“大海、技能、救生衣”的类比，极具画面感地表达了作者面对金融复杂性时的无助。 - Whether to grow chocolate or save wildlife (两难选择)：
这是一个经典的 `whether... or...` 引导的宾语从句，表达了环境发展与生态保护之间的尖锐冲突。