The United States will introduce a new and comprehensive(综合的) exam for students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.
The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America’s leading educational organization.
The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May 10, 2002, said Jen.
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International English Language Testing System).
“I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam,” said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.
Most of Xu’s classmates have never heard of the APIEL. “The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.” said Jen.
The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission.
Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing with clarity and fluency(流畅), Jen said.The United States will introduce a new exam because _______.
| A．more and more students want to get further education in the USA |
| B．the Chinese people pay special attention to English studies with China’s entry into the WTO |
| C．the already existing exam systems seem to be far from perfect |
| D．it will bring the US government quite a lot of money |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the selection？
| A．It will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL. |
| B．The TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS. |
| C．A student will have to take the APIEL if he or she wants to study in English—speaking countries from 2002. |
| D．Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future. |
The underlined word current in the second paragraph means _______.
| A．modern | B．present | C．standard | D．formal |
Please decide which of the following would be the best title for this news report.
| A．The Key to English-speaking Countries |
| B．The Four Skills in Learning English |
| C．TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to be Out of Date |
| D．New Exam Designed for Students |
Ji Xianlin, a famous paleographer(古文书学家), historian, and writer, was born in 1911. In 1930, Ji was admitted to Tsinghua University as a major in Western literature. In 1935, he went to Germany as an exchange student to study ancient languages, receiving his PhD degree in 1941. Ji returned to China in 1946, and in the autumn of the same year, became a professor in Peking University.
Ji Xianlin believes, “Cultural exchange is the main drive for humankind’s progress. Only by learning from each other’s strong points to make up for shortcomings can people constantly progress, the ultimate（最终的）target of which is to achieve a kind of Great Harmony. ” Over the past ten years, Ji has actively participated in discussions on the cultural problems between the East and the West, based on the same ideology. According to him, human culture is divided into four parts: Chinese culture, Indian culture, Arabic-Islamic culture and European-American culture, with the former three making up the Eastern cultural system and the last the Western one.
With his achievements in the history of Sino-Indian cultural relations, Buddhism history, Indian literature, and comparative literature, Ji Xianlin is known as a master of Eastern studies both at home and abroad.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The brief introduction of Ji Xianlin. |
| B．Ji Xianlin’s ideology. |
| C．Ji Xianlin’s achievements. |
| D．Ji Xianlin’s discussions on the cultural problems between the East and the West. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．In 1930, Ji was admitted to Tsinghua University as a major in Eastern literature. |
| B．The ultimate target of cultural exchange is to achieve a kind of Great Harmony. |
| C．Ji Xianlin is a master of Western studies both at home and abroad. |
| D．Ji Xianlin received his PhD degree in 1935. |
What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean?
| A．Decision. | B．Measure. |
| C．Support. | D．Aim. |
Which of the following is different from the others according to Ji Xianlin?
| A．Chinese culture. |
| B．Indian culture. |
| C．Arabic-Islamic culture. |
| D．European-American culture. |
Two brightly colored butterflies have just flown by. They seems to be exactly alike, but actually one is a little larger than the other. The larger insect has a wingspread (翼长) of up to four inches. The smaller one has a wingspread of less than three inches and also a black line on its back wings.
At first sight, it is hard to tell them apart. Would you guess from this that they are different-sized butterflies of the same species? Or that they are different species of butterflies but close relatives belonging to the same family? If you said yes to either question, you would be wrong, for these look-alikes belong to quite different families.
The larger insect is the monarch butterfly (黑脉金斑蝶). As a baby insect, the monarch feeds on milkweed, which seems to give the monarch a disagreeable taste and smell. The bright coloring of the monarch acts as a warning sign to its enemy. Birds that eat butterflies soon recognize the monarch and quickly learn to leave it alone.
The smaller insect is the viceroy (副王峡蝶), which feeds on the leaves of trees. Birds would find this insect tasty, but because it looks like the monarch, birds keep away from it. The viceroy’s similarity to the monarch gives it some protection from its enemies and helps it survive.
There are other pairs of look-alike butterflies, bees and moths. In each case, one either has a disagreeable taste or smell, or can give a painful sting (叮咬). The larger is called the model. The insect that imitates (模仿) this model for protection is called the mimic.The best title for the passage is ______.
| A．The taste and the smell |
| B．The model and the mimic |
| C．Look-alikes learn from each other |
| D．The similarities and the differences |
The bright coloring of the monarch butterflies is used to ______.
| A．catch other butterflies | B．warn small insects |
| C．express their ideas | D．scare away the enemy |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．There are few look-alikes among insects. |
| B．The monarch butterfly and the viceroy are not close relatives. |
| C．There are only a few species of butterflies in the wild. |
| D．A monarch butterfly rules the world of butterflies. |
It doesn’t matter when and how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That’s what all doctors thought, until they heard about Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.
Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw him sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure. Herpin died at the age of 94.The main idea of this passage is that_____.
| A．large numbers of people do not need sleep |
| B．a person was found who actually didn’t need any sleep |
| C．everyone needs some sleep to stay alive |
| D．people can live longer by trying not to sleep |
The doctors came to visit Herpin, expecting_____.
| A．to cure him of his sleeplessness |
| B．to find that his sleeplessness was not really true |
| C．to find out why some old people did not need any sleep |
| D．to find a way to free people from the need of sleeping |
One reason that might explain Herpin’s sleeplessness was _____.
| A．his mother’s injury before he was born |
| B．that he had gradually got rid of the sleeping habit |
| C．his magnificent physical condition |
| D．that he hadn’t got a bed |
Al Herpin’s condition could be regarded as ______.
| A．a common one | B．one that could be cured |
| C．very healthy | D．a rare one |
A mother of a cheerful five-year-old just returned from a meeting of the National Organization for Women. Inspired by exciting dreams for the possibilities of womanhood, she asked her daughter what she wanted to be when she grew up. Little Lisa quickly answered, “A nurse.”
There was a time when nursing was thought of as a woman’s job and the answer somehow seemed not to be satisfied. She had, after all, just returned from a new meeting.
“You can be anything you want to be,” she reminded her daughter. “You can be a lawyer, a doctor, a banker, president of the country — you can be anything.”
“Anything?” Lisa asked.
“Anything!” her mother smiled.
“I know,” Lisa said. “I want to be a horse!”
Lisa’s dream may need some improvement, but there is plenty of time for that. When do we give up dreaming about the future? When do we resign (听任) ourselves to simply replaying dreams from the past?
Maybe her dream needs to mature (成熟) a bit, but would you rather have the optimism (乐观) of a five-year-old girl who wants to be a horse, or the pessimism (悲观) of an adult who says in despair, “I can’t be anything at all”？
Teddy Roosevelt said, “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” I believe that is the way to make those dreams come true. It begins with looking up and dreaming of something beautiful.What did the girl really want to be when she grew up?
| A．A nurse. | B．A horse. |
| C．A banker. | D．A lawyer. |
How did the mother feel when hearing her daughter’s first answer?
| A．Satisfied. | B．Puzzled. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Excited. |
The lesson we can learn from the passage is that we should ______.
| A．stop children dreaming of something strange |
| B．advise parents how to educate children |
| C．encourage adults to learn from children |
| D．help children to set up a big goal |
The true meaning of the underlined sentence in the last paragraph is “______”.
| A．Stand on the ground and watch the stars |
| B．Have a big dream and work hard |
| C．Protect your eyesight while working |
| D．Find a good way to watch the stars |
阅读下面短文，并根据题目要求用英语回答问题（请注意问题后的字数要求）。
Diana Rae of Tenino, Washington, demonstrates Virtual (虚拟的)Urgent Care with Dr. Ben Green in Seattle, who consults with her via Skype.
Telemedicine is the name for when doctors give advice to patients by telephone or the Internet, or when health care providers in rural areas connect with specialists in big cities.
Telemedicine has existed for a long time, but the rise of smartphone, tablets and webcam-equipped computers is raising telemedicine to new levels. Some health care systems in the United States now offer Virtual Urgent Care, patients see a doctor by video chat without having to leave home.
Diana Rae is a nurse educator in the western state of Washington. She recently demonstrated how Virtual Urgent Care works. She used an iPad tablet and Skype — the video chat service.
“Hi, yes, my name is Doctor Ben Green, among the doctors with Franciscan Virtual Urgent Care.”
Doctor Green has the patient describe her symptoms. Then the doctor performs a physical exam by demonstrating what he wants her to do. Doctor Green decides that the problem is an infection. For medicine, he advises penicillin, a common antibiotic drug for viruses. He says about 3 out of 4 patients who have health problems can be treated like this — through Virtual Urgent Care, which means a video chat could replace a visit to the doctor’s office.
The Franciscan Health System is based in Tacoma, Washington. Franciscan charges $35 for this kind of virtual house call, that is much less than the cost of going to an emergency room, a doctor’s office or an urgent care clinic.
After trying the video conference, Diana Rae says she would be happy to pay the 35 dollars, when she was recently home with a bad cold. “I would’ve paid twice that for the convenience of getting taken care of without having to sit in a waiting room, wait, and get exposed to everyone else’s germs.” Rae said.
But a company official says state rules have not kept progress with development in telemedicine. The workers who provide Virtual Urgent Care must be licensed separately in each state where the company does business. For now, that means Franciscan doctors can treat patients in Washington state and California, for example, but not in neighboring Oregon or Idaho.What is helping telemedicine to rise to new stages? (No more than 8 words)
What does the underlined word “infection” mean? (No more than 5 words)
Why would Diana Rae be happy to pay Virtual Urgent Care even more? (No more than 10 words)
Why can’t Virtual Urgent Care develop fast now? (No more than 10 words)
What do you think of Virtual Urgent Care’s future? Why? (No more than 20 words)