Chinese reports say the country’s vast pool of cheap labor is getting smaller, which could hurt an economy that heavily depends on labor-intensive manufacturing.
The academy’s research shows that China’s rural labor surplus, the source of migrant workers for the country’s factories, is about 50 million people—far less than the previously estimated 150 to 200 million.
Jonathan Unger, director of the Contemporary China Center at the Australian National University, says fewer rural residents are willing to leave their farms today. This is partly because there are more employment opportunities in rural areas, and because agricultural prices have gone up.
“And at the same time taxes in the countryside, fees in the countryside have gone down because of new sets of government policies,” he explained. “So people are not eagerly forced in the way they were five, six years ago to leave the farm in order to earn enough money for their families.”
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says another reason for the reduced labor pool is the country’s population policy, which allows city residents to have just one child, and farmers up to two if the first one is a girl.
A UN study predicts that China’s workforce will reach its top in 2015 and then gradually drop. Some of China’s major manufacturing areas, such as Guangdong Province, already face labor shortages.
Some economists think these shortages are, at least for now, a regional rather than a national problem. Sun Mingchun, an economist with investment bank Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong, points out that there are still millions of people in China who can not find work.
57. According to the academy’s research, China’ rural labor surplus today is about _______.
A. 150 million B. 50 million C. 200 million D. 175 million
58. The reason why many rural residents don’t leave their farms today is ________.
A. the farmers are older than before.
B. the farmers are lazier than before
C. the farmers have much more money
D. there are more employment opportunities and agricultural prices have gone up
59. Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?
A. A study of UN estimates China’s workforce will come to the top in 2015.
B. No a study shows millions of people can’t find work in China.
C. The country’s population policy isn’t a reason for the reduced labor.
D. Five years ago, few farmers left their homes to earn money for supporting their families.
60. According to some economists, the shortage of Chinese workforce __________.
A. is a national problem B. is a regional problem
C. is not a problem D. can be solved easily
The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world. But to those who are new to it all , sometimes it can be confusing .
October is usually the busiest month in the college calendar . Universities have something called Freshers’ Week for their newcomers. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends , join lots of clubs and settle into university life.
However , having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind , the prospect (前景) of meeting lots of strangers in big halls can be nerve-wracking (令人焦虑不安的). Where do you start ? Who should you make friends with ? Which clubs should you join ?
Luckily , there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you are worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot . So just take it all in slowly . Don’t rush into anything that you’ll regret for the next three years.
Here are some top advice from past students on how to survive Freshers’ Week :
Learn rules. Make sure you know British social etiquette(礼节). Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends.
Be kind . Sometimes cups of tea or even slices of toast can give you a head start in making friends.
Be social . The more active you are , the more likely you’ll be to meet new people than if you’re someone who never leaves his room .
Bring a doorstop. Keep your door open when you’re in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you’re friendly .
So with a bit of clever planning and effort , Freshers’ Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you’ll be passing on your experience to next year’s new recruits .Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage ?
| A．October is generally the busiest month for universities. |
| B．It’s a good idea to put a doorstop in your door. |
| C．A bit of planning can make Freshers’ Week easier. |
| D．The first week of your every year at university is called Freshers’ Week . |
The underlined word “ recruits” in the last paragraph refers to _________ .
| A．courses | B．freshers |
| C．neighbors | D．challenges |
We can infer from the 4th paragraph that __________ .
| A．the newcomers usually miss the days living at home |
| B．most of the students in the UK spend three years in universities |
| C．many freshers are worried about how to fit universities life |
| D．all the new students will make new friends and join certain clubs |
Why does the author suggests having wine glasses and snacks handy ?
| A．To pass the busy university life. |
| B．To help make friends with other freshers . |
| C．To show yourself a drinker as others. |
| D．To pass the time in a happy way. |
The main purpose of the passage is to _________ .
| A．tell the newcomers how to make a new start in universities |
| B．introduce something about higher education system of the UK |
| C．discuss something about the Freshers’ Week in the UK |
| D．advise the freshmen how to behave well in the beginning |
Booking opens for Beckett Shorts on September .
BY TELEPHONE
For credit card booking. Calls are answered .
BOX OFFICE 01789 295623 9 a.m.～ 8 p.m. (Mon.～ Sat)
0541 541051 (24 hours , 7 days , no booking charge )
BY FAX
For credit card booking . Please allow at least 48 hours for reply , if required.
BOX OFFICE 01789 261974 or 01862 387765
BY POST
Please enclose (附上) a cheque or credit card details together with an SAE or add 50 p to the total amount (总额) to cover postage. Please send to the Box Office , RST, Stratford-upon-Avon , CV37 6BB. In which of the following ways of booking does one probably have to pay extra money ?
| A．In person. | B．By telephone. |
| C．By fax. | D．By post . |
One has to wait for 2 days or longer for a reply if he / she pays _______ .
| A．in person | B．by telephone |
| C．by fax | D．by post |
. What is a useful number to call at 11 a.m. Sunday ?
| A．01789 295623. | B．0541 541051. |
| C．01789 261174. | D．01862 387665. |
When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station . When other teens were studying or going out , she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University . And her amazing story has inspired a movie , “ Homeless to Harvard : The Liz Murray Story” , shown in late April .
Liz Murray , a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination . Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house . Liz was the only member who had a job . Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died , she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless . At night , she lived on the streets. “ What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding , by understanding that there was a whole other way of being . I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night .
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on . She used the benefits that come easily to others , such as a safe living environment , to encourage herself that “ next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University . But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “ I love my parents so much . They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they loved me all the time.”
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “ as simple as making a decision”. The main idea of the passage is __________ .
| A．how Liz managed to enter Harvard University |
| B．What a hard time Liz had in her childhood |
| C．why Liz loved her parents so much |
| D．how Liz struggled to change her life |
In which order did the following things happen to Liz ?
a. Her mother died of AIDS.
b. She worked at a petrol station.
c. She got admission into Harvard University.
d. The movie about her life was put on.
e. She had trouble about finding a place to sleep .
| A．b, a , e , c, d | B．a , b , c , e , d |
| C．e , d, b , a , c | D．b , e , a , d , c |
What actually made her go towards her goal ?
| A．Envy and encouragement. |
| B．Willpower and determination . |
| C．Decisions and understanding. |
| D．Love and respect for her parents. |
When she wrote “ What drove me to live on … I had only experienced a small part of the society，she meant that __________ .
| A．she had little experience of social life. |
| B．she could hardly understand the society. |
| C．she would do something for her own life. |
| D．she needed to travel more around the world. |
Late that afternoon I took the train back to Sydney . There I found another surprise waiting for me . My room at the hotel had been given to somebody else and they had no room for me. Harkin had known my travel plans and had planned everything . How could he have booked the room only for three days ? There was nothing to be done but to find another hotel. The waiters were happy to find me a new hotel , and when I said that I was happy to stay at the airport , thinking it might be cheaper than staying in the city , they suggested the Holiday Inn at the airport . There was one small matter : the room rate was $ 300 per night . The best hotel in Katoomba had wanted only $ 145 . I asked if there was anything cheaper they might suggest but they warned that most hotels would already be full by this time.
The hotel was far from the train station , so I had to take a taxi , at $ 25 . On the way to the Holiday Inn , we passed a hotel just two blocks from the Holiday Inn that advertised a room rate of $ 104 . At the desk I asked if their room rate could go down a lot . “ No , this is a 4-star hotel,” the waiter told me . “ In that case ,” I replied , “ I’ll just walk the two blocks to the cheap hotel.” But she warned me that they were probably full and that if I didn’t take the room , it might not be available when I came back . Finally , I decided to take the room.
The room itself was big , but the air conditioning couldn’t keep up with the Australian heat . I couldn’t sleep until about 1:00 am. Why did the writer have to look for another hotel ?
| A．He didn’t book early. | B．Harkin made a mistake. |
| C．He was short of money. | D．He wasn’t well received. |
How did the writer feel when hearing the room rate at the Holiday Inn ?
| A．Nervous. | B．Happy. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Relaxed. |
Why did the writer take the room finally ?
| A．It’s a 4-star hotel . | B．It’s around the station. |
| C．It was mid-night then. | D．The room was in great demand. |
What does the text mainly talk about ?
| A．A hotel hunting experience. | B．An unforgettable day. |
| C．A warm-hearted waiter. | D．An introduction to hotels. |
Look, this is the first plane in the world to be created using the new technology of “3D printing”. The airplane was built using only a computer-but it can fly at a speed of 100mph and has a two-meter wingspan.
It was produced using a special nylon laser printer that builds up something layer-by-layer. The parts were made separately and attached using a “snap fit”（搭扣） technique so the aircraft could be put together without tools in minutes.
No fasteners(扣件) at all were used in the manufacture of the plane. Unmanned and electrically powered, the plane can travel in near silence and is also equipped with a small autopilot system. The special production process used is known as “laser sintering(激光烧结) “and allows the designers to create shapes and structures that would normally include costly manufacturing techniques. This technology allows a highly-tailored aircraft to be developed from your own design to first flight in days, while using traditional materials and techniques would take months. And because no tooling is required for manufacture, major changes to the shape and scale of the aircraft can be made with no extra cost.
Professor Jim Scanlon, who led the team, said, “The process allows the design team to revisit historical techniques and ideas that would have been too expensive using traditional manufacturing.” He added, “This form of structure is very firm and lightweight, but very complex. If it was manufactured traditionally it would require a large number of individually tailored parts that would have to be connected or fastened at great expense.”
The new printed plane is known as the Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft-or SULSA for short-and is part of a wider project using cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. The University of Southampton has been at the leading position of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development since the early 1990s. What does the passage maily talk about?
A. New Designed Airplane with New Techniques.
B. Scientists Create Aircraft with High Speed.
C. Revolut ionary Breakthrough of 3D Printer.
D. The World’s first 3-D printed Airplane, SULSA. How does the 3-D printed plane fly?
| A．A pilot controls it using a remote control. |
| B．It should be controlled by “laser sintering”. |
| C．It should be controlled by an autopilot system. |
| D．A pilot with high techniques controlled it. |
Which of the following is NOT advantage of the plane?
| A．It only requires simple and cheap tools. |
| B．It is manufactured in quite a short time. |
| C．It produces little noise while flying. |
| D．It needn’t extra cost if changes are made. |
Accoding to Professor Jim Scanlon, plane manufacturers can
with their techniques.
| A．copy earlier planes to study their techniques |
| B．connect and fasten tailor parts for real planes |
| C．produce firmer and lighter real planes |
| D．find differences by studying the traditional ones |