shock absorbers. The human "car" analogy, of course, is misleading, because an organism, unlike a manufactured object, has a capacity for repair and self-generation, at least up to certain point. The whole question about why we grow old is finding out why that capacity for self-repair ultimately seems unable to keep up with the damage rate: in short, why aging and death seem to be universal.

26. From the passage, we learn that .

［A］ the aging process becomes quicker as people live longer

［B］ one's life span has nothing to do with his genetic constitution

［C］ aging may not be caused by the body's genetic program

［D］ normal development dictates the maximum age of a person

27. The example of the "aging car" is used to make the point that .

［A］ aging is actually a by-product of the life process

［B］ any car may break down or collapse over time

［C］ no car can function at optimum levels due to inferior fuel

［D］ efficient rate of combustion is most important to the car

28. A "basic trade-off" (Line 3, Para. 3) is a process .

［A］ by which old cars are traded off for new ones

［B］ by which any organism depends on others for oxygen

［C］ through which an organism gets rid of harmful substances

［D］ in which any use carries with it an inherent side effect

29. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

［A］ Aging would never take place if we developed a special fuel additive.

［B］ We would live forever if we developed a magic medicine for longevity.

［C］ Longevity is determined by diverse kinds of factors.

［D］ Nothing can be done to prolong a life when it comes to its natural end.

30. The "human car" analogy is faulty in the way that .

［A］ unlike a person, a car does not have a life span

［B］ a human being has a self-repairing capacity

［C］ no can is expected to last longer than a life

［D］ a car cannot be restored to its original state once damaged

Text 3

The most effective attacks against globalization are usually not those related to economics. Instead, they are social, ethical and, above all, cultural. These arguments surfaced amid the protests in Seattle in 1999 and more recently in Davos, Bangkok and Prague. They say this: the disappearance of national borders and the establishment of a world interconnected by markets will deal a death blow to regional and national cultures, and to the traditions, customs, myths and mores that determine each country's or region's cultural identity. Since most of the world is incapable of resisting the invasion of cultural products from developed countries that inevitably trails the great transnational corporations, North American culture will ultimately impose itself, standardizing the world and annihilating its richness of diverse cultures. In this manner, all other peoples, and not just the small and weak ones, will lose their identity, their soul, and will become no more than 21st-century colonies modeled after the cultural norms of a new imperialism that, in addition to ruling over the planet with its capital, military might and scientific knowledge, will