Section A Directions:In this
section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word
for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the
passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each
choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding
letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following
passage. A college education is an investment in the
future. But it can be a (47) one. The College Board
(48) that the costs at a four-year public college in the
United States increased 10% this past school year. That was less than the 13%
increase the year before, but still much higher than the inflation (49)
. Public colleges and universities still cost a lot less than private
ones. Financial aid often helps. But financial experts
(50) parents to start college savings plans when their child
is still very young. All fifty states and the District of
Columbia (51) what are called 5-29 plans. These plans are
named after the part of the federal tax law that created them in 1996. States
use private investment companies to operate the (52) of the
programs. Every state has its own rules (53)
5-29 plans. Some of the plans are (54) of state taxes. And
all are not required to pay federal taxes. However, the government could start
to tax withdrawals (取钱) in 2011 if Congress does not change the law.
5-29 plans include investment accounts that increase or decrease in value
with the investments they contain. Families must decide how (55)
they want to put money into stocks, or other investments.
Another kind of 5-29 plan lets parents begin to pay for their child’s
education in (56) and long before their child starts
college. This kind of savings program is called a prepaid tuition plan. The
money goes into an account to pay for an education at a public college or
university in the family’s home state. A) aggressively
B) estimates C)
offer D) automatically E) rate
F) consumes
G) costly H)
decline I) advise
J) capable K) free
L) majority M) advance
N) governing O)
general