Australia’s foreign language skills are declining, Voice of America has reported. New figures(数字)show that only 13 percent of high school graduates can speak a foreign language. But four decades(一个decade是10年) ago（40年前）, 40 percent had foreign language skills（答案的出处）.


2. What can be inferred（推测出） from paragraph 2?
A) Australia has rich deposits of minerals.（澳大利亚有丰富的矿藏）
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.
分析：题目中有infer，所以该题是推断题 。因此，需要读第二段，寻找核心内容，主要是要找到关键句：
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（经济的繁荣）, which is driven（受到驱动） by red-hot（非常有活力的）demand（要求）for its minerals矿物（核心词）, is helping mask掩盖 serious deficiencies不足 in its language skills.
注意：一般发现A、B、C、D四个选项中，哪个选项出现中心词，一般该选项就是正确答案 。


3.What does Dilip Dutta think language skills can do?
A. Improve your relation with you百思特网r partner.
B. Help settle international conflicts.
C. Remove barriers in negotiations.
D. Increase trading opportunities.
分析：这是一道标准的细节题，中心词就是：Dilip Dutta 。带着它，我们可以在第三段里搜索到相关的语句：
Dilip Dutta, from the economice and business faculty at Sydney University, says language skills can enhance trading opportunities（答案D出处！）. 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.


4. Why has the Australian government （澳大利亚政府）been keenly（强烈地） interested in strengthening（加强） ties（联系）with Asia（亚洲）?
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.
C) Because Asia is where Australia can play a big role in international affairs.
分析：从题目的类型来说，一定是细节题，找到核心词：Australian government，keenly interested in，ties with Asia 。我们会发现核心词没有出现在第四段中，而在最后一段中出现了：
At present, about 70 percent of Australia’s major exports（主要的出口货物） go to Asia and （该词相当于so,因果关系连词）the Australian government has been keen on developing closer（亲密的） economic（经济的） and diplomatic （外交的）ties with Asia（答案出处）. Academics say that, as Asia becomes one of the world’s economic powerhouses（支柱）, Australia needs to improve its language skills if it is to take full advantage of the business opportunities on its doorstep.


5. The word "faculty" in paragraph 3 can be replaced by _______.
A) college学院. B) institute学会、研究所
C) university大学. D) department系.
分析：这是一道词语释义题 。大家可以查字典，也可以根据单词出现的前后文来判断：Dilip Dutta, from the economics（经济学） and business（贸易） faculty at Sydney University, 。。。因为后面有...university, 因此自然想到是大学里的“系” 。