Mr Papathanasiou takes first prize.

21. Dennis Papathasiou’s comment suggests.

［A］ Lawrence Berra is no doubt a confused character.

［B］ It is hard to have a conversation with Lawrence Berra.

［C］ It is wrong to underestimate a person of modest education.

［D］ The baseball player is philosophical about life.

22. What is NOT true of Ronald Reagan?

［A］ He was a trade union leader before assuming the governorship of California.

［B］ He threatened to bomb the Soviet Union on the advise of an astrologer.

［C］ He projected an image of tough guy when he was the U.S. president.

［D］ His memory could only be relied on in times of crisis.

23. The possible reason to drop the U.S. presidents from the contest is that .

［A］ The magazine deliberately disregarded popularity in the contest

［B］ most of the readers endorsed Dennis Papathanasiou’s choice

［C］ The editors decided that they were not strong contenders

［D］ The purpose of the contest was to outwit the readers

24. Richard Spencer’s comment implies that the Palestinian leader .

［A］ should have declared the formation of a Palestinian state

［B］failed to identify a historical opportunity when it arose

［C］ failed to live up to his image as a strong leader

［D］ should have been flexible in his approach to dealing with the Israelis

25. The word “humble” (Line 9, Para. 4) denotes.

［A］ self-importance in bearing ［B］ modesty in behavior

［C］ a free of care character ［D］ easy-goingness in manners

Text 2

The aging process may not be the result of a rigid genetic program that in itself dictates longevity. On the contrary, what we see as maximum life span may simply be the complex and indirect result of multiple traits in the organism that are internally tied to normal development. In other words, it is not that the body is somehow pre-programmed to acquire gray hair, wrinkles, or diminished metabolic(新陈代谢的) functions. Rather, these signs of aging are simply telltale side effects of activities of the organism.

Consider the analogy of an “aging car”. Suppose a distinctive “species” of automobile were designed to burn fuel at a fixed temperature with an efficient rate of combustion(燃烧). That specific rate of combustion is required for appropriate acceleration, cruising speed, fuel mileage(油耗), and so on. But, when the car functions in this way over a period of time, the car also, of necessity, produces certain emission by-products that, over time, begin to clog the cylinders, reduce automotive efficiency, and lead to the breakdown and final collapse of the machine.

In the case of the human “car”, it could be the burning oxygen in normal metabolism generates harmful by-products in free radicals that prove toxic to the organism. What we see here may be a basic trade-off: oxygen is essential for life yet harmful to our eventual well-being. In this view, the human “car” is not intentionally designed to accumulate toxic emissions in order to collapse. But there seems to be no way for the car to function at optimum levels without the destructive by-products.