For the most part, schools are designed to produce people who fit into society, not people who set out to change it. However, schools, particularly universities, may not only spread culture; they may add to the cultural heritage(遗产). Today American society places a good deal of emphasis on the development of new knowledge, especially in the physical and biological sciences , medicine, and engineering. In the recent years, the nation’s leading universities have increasingly become research centers.
An emphasis（强调）on research has led universities to judge professors not by abilities as teachers, but as researcher. promotions(提升), salary increases , and other benefits have long been dependent on research and publication. However, the most important is no longer publishing. To be successful these days, professors have to bring in money provided by government and private industry. Critics claim that academic(学术) success is most likely to come to those who have learned to“ignore”their teaching duties to pursue research activities. Defenders say that even when students themselves are not involved in research projects they benefit from such an emphasis on research.
Major research universities like the Massachustts Institute of Technology have also cooperated with industrial companies to develop technology and products with commercial potential(潜能).With university-industry ties continuing to grow, debate（辩论）has increased about the consequences for basic science, academic openness, the control of information, the direction of research, and the influence on students.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT emphasized by today’s American society?
A. Physical science. B. Biological science.
C. Engineering. D. Computer science.
2. In the present standard, a successful professor is one who can____.
A. teach well
B. get financial support for research
C. get the highest salary
D. have many publications
3. Supporters of the present emphasis on research argue that_____.
A. it involves more students in it.
B. it does good to students anyway.
C. it has a direct good effect on teaching
D. it earns a lot of money for a university
4. The author seems to be_____ the move of emphasis to research.
A. totally against B. sorry to see C. in favor of D. neutral (中立) about
Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap. Some call it the summer learning setback. Simply speaking, it means the longer kids are out of school, the more they forget. The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar. Students get winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation. Some schools follow a year-round calendar. They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time, with a few weeks off in between. The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than three thousand such schools at last count. They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school. Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said, "Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback. They simply spread it out across the year."
Across the country, research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students. Experts say this can be prevented. They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them "summer school" could be a problem. The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins, Ron Fairchild, said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term summer school”. In American culture, the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood. The parents welcomed other terms like "summer camp," "enrichment," "extra time" and "hands-on learning."According to the first paragraph the summer learning gap.
| A．helps children to gain weight |
| B．leads children to work harder |
| C．improves children’s memories |
| D．affects children’s regular studies |
Compared to traditional schools, students in the year-round ones.
| A．perform better and have more learning gains |
| B．have much less time for relaxation every year |
| C．have generally the same number of class days |
| D．hold more classes with more free weeks off |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Students from poor families often fall behind after the vacation. |
| B．Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap. |
| C．There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar. |
| D．Nothing can help the students who fall behind after the vocation. |
Why did almost all parents dislike the term “summer school”?
| A．They cherish the children’s rights of freedom very much. |
| B．They are worried about the quality of the “summer school”. |
| C．They want their children to be forced to make up the gap. |
| D．They can’t afford to the further study during vacation. |
What would be the best title of this passage?
| A．Opening Summer Camps |
| B．Forbidding Summer Schools |
| C．Spreading Year-Round Education |
| D．Minding the Summer Learning Cap |
Most American students go to traditional public schools．There are about 88, 000 public schools, all over the US．Some students attend about 3000 independent public schools called charter schools．
Charter schools are self-governing．Private companies operate some charter schools．They are similar in some ways to traditional public schools．They receive tax money just as other public schools do．Charter schools must prove to local or state governments that their students are learning．These governments provide the schools with the agreement called a charter that permits them to operate．
Charter schools are different because they do not have to obey most laws governing traditional public schools．Local, state, or federal governments cannot tell them what to teach．Each school can choose its own goals and decide the ways it wants to reach them．Class size is usually smaller than in traditional public schools．
The Bush Administration strongly supports charter schools as a way to re-organize public schools that are failing to educate students．But some education agencies and unions oppose charter schools．One teachers' union has just made public the results of the first national study comparing the progress of students in traditional schools and charter schools．
The American Federation of Teachers criticized the government's delay in releasing the results of the study, which is called the National Assessment of Educational Progress．Union education experts say the study shows that charter school students performed worse on math and reading tests than students in regular public schools．
Some experts say the study is not a fair look at charter schools because students in those schools have more problems than students in traditional schools．Other education experts say the study results should make charter school officials demand improved student progress．If a private company wants to operate a charter school, it must______．
| A．try new methods of teaching |
| B．prove its management ability |
| C．obey the local and state laws |
| D．get the government's permission |
Charter schools are independent because_____．
| A．they make greater progress |
| B．their class size is smaller |
| C．they enjoy more freedom |
| D．they oppose traditional ways |
What's the government's attitude toward charter schools?
| A．Doubtful | B．Supportive. | C．Subjective． | D．Optimistic． |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．More students choose to attend charter schools． |
| B．Charter schools are better than traditional schools． |
| C．Students in charter schools are well educated． |
| D．People have different opinions about charter schools． |
It can be interred from the text that ___.
| A．charter schools are part of the public education system |
| B．one-on-one attention should be paid to students |
| C．the number of charter schools will be limited |
| D．charter schools are all privately financed |
Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.
Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because.
| A．baby boys are much more active |
| B．baby girls like bright colors more |
| C．their parents treat them differently |
| D．there is a natural difference between them |
Both baby boys and baby girls like to play withaccording to the study.
| A．a ball | B．a teddy | C．a car | D．a doll |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all. |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls. |
| C．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is. |
| D．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys. |
What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?
| A．Adults purposely influence their babies preference. |
| B．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings. |
| C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting. |
| D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted. |
We may read this article in asection of a newspaper.
| A．science | B．health | C．education | D．entertainment |
For centuries, the body's blood has been linked closely with the emotions．People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer．For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer．He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone's life as nothing．
Cold can affect other parts of the body．The expression "get cold feet" has nothing to do with cold or your feet．The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do．For example, you agree to be president of an organization．But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organizations will be your responsibility．You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation．
The expression "give someone the cold shoulder" probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face．You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you．Or, to someone who has lied about you to others．
A cold fish is not a fish．It is a person．But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth．A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone．Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted．Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy．Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers．
"Out in the cold" means not getting something that everybody else got．A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise——he was left out in the cold．And it is not a pleasant place to be．There are _____ expressions related to cold that are mentioned in the passage．
| A．3 | B．4 | C．6 | D．7 |
When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by "_____"．
| A．I give him the cold shoulder |
| B．I think he is a cold-blooded man |
| C．I think he is a cold fish |
| D．I'm likely to get cold feet |
If Sue shows absolutely no reaction to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say ______．
| A．she is a cold-blooded killer |
| B．she gets cold feet |
| C．she is a cold fish |
| D．she is out in the cold |
We can use the expression "_____" to describe a man who abandons or hurts his lover without mercy．
| A．cold-blooded | B．cold shoulder | C．cold feet | D．cold-hearted |
The topic of this passage is about _____．
| A．the relationship between cold and our body |
| B．some expressions about friendship |
| C．some expressions connected with cold |
| D．how cold weather comes into being |
Emma Hart Willard (1787—1870) was an American pioneer educator. In her time, colleges and universities were open only to men, and women were not permitted to attend.
Emma received advanced education at home from her father and became a school teacher at twenty. She continued to teach at school for several years after her marriage. Then began offer college lessons in her home to women students. Later she founded a school in New York State, which was the first school that offered higher education in the US for women.
Emma Willard also tried to persuade New York State to pass a law to allow women to attend public colleges and universities, though that did not come about until after her death. Some years later people remembered her for her life-long efforts and elected her to the US Hall of Fame (荣誉) in 1905.Emma received advanced education at home because _________.
| A．universities were only for men at that time |
| B．her father did not trust the schools |
| C．her family was poor when she was young |
| D．she was too shy to go to a public college |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．She managed to persuade her state to pass a law allowing women to go to universties. |
| B．She went on with her teaching after she got married. |
| C．She received advanced education by teaching herself. |
| D．She was elected to work in the US Hall of Fame. |
What do you suppose the US Hall of Fame is?
| A．It is a grand hall where honoured people receive prizes from the government. |
| B．It is a place where honoured people in the US are buried. |
| C．It is a building set up in memory of great American people. |
| D．It is a house of representatives to which respected people are elected. |
Why was Emma Willard considered an important person?
| A．She was the first woman to get college education. |
| B．She fought for equal rights for women in the US. |
| C．She was the first American woman to become a college teacher. |
| D．She was a pioneer in winning higher education for women in the US. |