摘要：　　Australia's foreign language skills are declining, Voice of America has reported. New figures show that onl...

　　Professor Elise Tipton, from the University of Sydney, says increasingly students do not feel the need to learn another language to boost their career. She believes that Australia's economic boom, which is driven by red-hot demand for its minerals, is helping mask serious deficiencies in its language skills.

　　Australia does business very successfully in English with most of its trading partners. But as the world's economic power shifts to emerging regions such as Asia, its language gap could soon be exposed. According to the new figures, less than 6.5 percent of high school graduates are proficient in an Asian language. Academics worry that this means Australia will increasingly be isolated from its economically important Asian neighbors. Dilip Dutta, from the economics and business faculty at Sydney University, says language skills can enhance trading opportunities. If Australians want to trade with Asian countries, it is very important for them to learn the language that will help them to get closer to the culture.

　　But students have different opinions about Asian language learning. Pippa McCowage, a 22-year-old Australian student, says many young Australians have a half-hearted approach to foreign languages, and the language curriculum is often weak. "While we're encouraged in high school to learn another language, it's not really apparent to me as a realistic expectation that you will have to speak it," said McCowage. "For example, I learned Japanese in high school, when I went on an exchange in Year 10, I found that the Japanese students of my age had a much greater proficiency in English than I did in Japanese. So in that sense, it almost discourages you."

　　At present, about 70 percent of Australia's major exports go to Asia and the Australian government has been keen on developing closer economic and diplomatic ties with Asia. Academics say that, as Asia becomes one of the world's economic powerhouses, Australia needs to improve its language skills if it is to take full advantage of the business opportunities on its doorstep.

　　36. How much percent of high school graduates were proficient in foreign languages forty years ago?

　　A. 70. B. 13. C. 40. D. 6.5.

　　37. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?

　　A. Australia has rich deposits of minerals.

　　B. Australia is essentially a self-sufficient country.

　　C. Australia has no intention to trade with Asian countries.

　　D. Australian students are not required to learn a foreign language.

　　38. What does Dilip Dutta think language skills can do?

　　A. Improve your relation with your partner. B. Help to settle international conflicts.

　　C. Remove barriers in negotiations. D. Increase trading opportunities.<< p="">

　　39. Why has the Australian government been keenly interested in strengthening ties with Asia?

　　A. Because Asia is where Australia is located.

　　B. Because Asia is where Australia's major exports go.

　　C. Because Asia is where Australians go and spend their holidays.

　　D. Because Asia is where Australia can play a big role in international affairs.

　　40. The word faculty in paragraph 3 can be replaced by _____.

　　A. college B. institute C. university D. department 　　Passage Three

　　39. Why has the Australian government been keenly interested in strengthening ties with Asia?

　　A. Because Asia is where Australia is located.

　　B. Because Asia is where Australia's major exports go.

　　C. Because Asia is where Australians go and spend their holidays.

　　D. Because Asia is where Australia can play a big role in international affairs.

　　40. The word faculty in paragraph 3 can be replaced by _____.

　　A. college B. institute C. university D. department 　

　　答案：

　　36. C。答案在第一段。该段是这么说的：根据美国之音的报道，澳大利亚的外语技能在滑坡。新的数字表明，只有13%的高中毕业生能说一种外语，而四十年前是40%。

　　37. A。文章第二段中提到，Australia's economic boom, which is driven by red-hot demand for its minerals, is helping mask serious deficiencies in its language skills，由此可以推出，足够的矿物质供掩盖了外语能力的匮乏。故答案为A。

　　38. D。答案在第三段的一句话中，这句话是这么说的：Dilip Dutta, from the economics and business faculty at Sydney University, says language skills Can enhance trading opportunities. 悉尼大学经济和商务系的Dilip Dutta说道，语言技能可以增加就业机会。

　　39. B。最后一段的第一句话是这么说的：目前，澳大利亚主要的出口货物的70%流向了亚洲，因此澳大利亚政府热心于发展与亚洲的经济和外交联系。

　　40. D。"department"也是"系"。