Directions: There are two passages followed by several multiple choice questions. Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question. Passage 1 Last December, David Leonhardt, a member of the Yale College class of 1994, identified with crystal clarity the issues we face in the form of a picture he published in The New York Times — a budget Sudoku ( 预算数独 ). In this brilliant graphical display, he demonstrated that no combination of discretionary ( 不受严格规定控制的 ) spending cuts could close the federal budget gap by 2020. The only way to do so involves some combination of reducing Social Security benefits, controlling Medicare and Medicaid costs, reducing defense spending, and raising taxes. David’s Sudoku allowed his readers to see the big picture clearly, and he was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize. I am going to make the audacious ( 大胆的 )claim that David's Yale education has had a lot to do with his ability to see the big picture. He experienced, just as you will over the next four years, exposure to a variety of disciplines — in his case, mathematics, economics, politics, and history, as well as physics and art history. This broad education has allowed him to look beyond the small-mindedness of what politicians say to interpret the larger trends driving the economy and society. He also learned to write clearly, analytically, and forcefully. He mastered this essential tool not only through his English courses but also through his principal extracurricular activity as a reporter for and subsequently as editor of the Yale Daily News. David Leonhardt is but one of many visible examples of the profound way in which the liberal arts education you are about to experience can help you to develop the capacity to see the big picture. By sampling courses across a wide range of disciplines, you will learn to see problems from multiple perspectives. And by learning to think critically and analytically, you will become disinclined to accept simplified slogans as truth, more able to see subtle interconnections, and more capable of forging solutions that embrace complexity without being overwhelmed by it. No matter what subjects you choose to pursue in depth, you will be required in your first two years to develop some breadth, and you will be challenged to think for yourselves — independently and analytically.