A new report says the number of foreign students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by three percent last year. This has been the first obvious increase since 2001.
American schools last fall had 583,000 foreign students. The record is 586,000. That was set in 2002 after many years of gains. But after that the numbers fell. The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 led to more visa (签证) requirements. Now stronger efforts are being made to get more foreign students to study in the United States.
China remained in second place in front of South Korea but behind India, which sent almost 84,000 students last fall. The number of Japanese fell sharply by nine percent, although it remained in fourth place.
There were three percent drops from Indonesia and Kenya, the only African country in the top twenty last year. But there were obvious increases from Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Vietnam. The number of Saudi students more than doubled, rising to nearly eight thousand.
For a sixth year, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles had the most foreign students. Columbia University in New York was second. Other schools in the top five were New York University, the University of Illinois and Purdue University.
Unlike American students in other countries, who often choose history and language study, the leading area of study in the USA was business and management. Second was engineering.
The new report also says more than 220,000 Americans studied in other countries. That was during the 2005-2006 school year. It was a record number, and an increase of eight and a half percent from the year before. But only five percent of them stayed for a full year.
1 After 2002, the number of foreign students in the USA fell mainly because ____ .
A. Americans were worried that foreign students might attack them
B. few American universities welcomed students from abroad
C. their own countries could offer them a better education
D. it was harder for foreign students to get permission to study in the USA
2 Which of the following Asian countries has the largest number of students studying in the USA?
A. China. B. Japan. C. South Korea. D. India.
3 Which subject is the most attractive to foreign students in the USA?
A. Business and management. B. History.
C. Engineering. D. Language.
4We can learn from the passage that ____ .
A. Kenya is the only African country that has students in the USA
B. now foreign students are encouraged to study in the USA
C. the number of students studying in America always increases
D. the number of foreign students in the USA will keep increasing in the future
5 In which section of a newspaper could you most probably read this passage?
A. Culture. B. Science. C. Education. D. Business.
Officials in the Midwestern U. S. town of Joplin, Missouri, say the death from Sundays’ big tornado reaches 116 and that search efforts continue for possible survivors trapped in rubble (碎石). Search and rescue teams are conducting their third sweep through the nearly 10 kilometer – long and one – kilometer wide area of destruction left by the tornado. They are working as quickly as possible while weather conditions remain relatively stable. More storms are forecast for the area.
Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said there are areas with large piles of rubble that might hold survivors. “We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath rubble yesterday and, of course, we are also finding dead folks as well.” Said more folks and that is why we are doing these searches. We want to make every opportunity that we can to find everybody that is in the rubble and that has survived to this point.”
Randles said the current sweep involves a slower pace that previous searches and that he plans a fourth search, possibly on Wednesday, using specially trained dogs. “We are searching every structure that has been damaged or destroyed in a more in-depth manner, “he said.” I have dogs and dog handlers coming from all over the country do help us in that effort.”
Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations are helping people who were left homeless by the tornado and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand to help. “Joplin is a great city. We have suffered a great loss, “said Rohr.” We will recover and we will recover strongly and we have a lot of help and a lot of volunteers to make that easier.”
The tornado that struck Joplin was classified by the Natioonal Weather Service as an F – 4, with winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It lasted only 20 minutes, but it killed more that 100 people, injured more than 400 others, and destroyed or heavily damaged some 2,000 homes, businesses, churches and a hospital. Authorities have registered more than 1,700 calls about missing people and they hope to resolvemost of those cases soon, as victims are identified and survivors come forth and reunite with loved ones.
This was the worst tornado to strike the United States in 60 years. It was the latest in a wave of violent storms that have swept Midwestern and southern states in recent weeks, leaving more than 300 people dead an causing more than $2 billion dollars in damage.What kind of disaster (灾害)of this article is talking about?
| A．tornado | B．earthquake | C．flood | D．drought |
The best headline for this newspaper article would be.
| A．Difficulties in the Rescue |
| B．The Great Loss Brought by the Tornado |
| C．Search for Survivors After the Disaster |
| D．Worst Tornado in the USA |
The word “resolve” in Para 5 probably means.
| A．cover | B．settle | C．overcome | D．challenge |
The number of death caused by the tornado that struck Joplin reached more than.
| A．100 | B．300 | C．400 | D．1,700 |
From the text, it can be inferred that.
| A．many victims might be under the ruins |
| B．it was impossible to find out survivors |
| C．the tornado lasted several weeks |
| D．the bad weather influenced the rescue greatly |
Besides containing attractive flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community, eco-friendly rain gardens are healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby.
A rain garden （雨水花园）is not very different from a traditional garden. It is just a far more eco-friendly garden. Usually it is built lower than the ground. Rain gardens make smart use of rain and storm water by temporarily holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak（浸入）slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply.
Thus, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rather than flowing immediately into nearby streams and going unused. The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes to breed. This is a simple, attractive, and eco-friendly “green” way to treat storm water.
What’s more, planting a rain garden helps reduce pollution and improve the environment. Without using expensive machinery and chemicals, rain gardens remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and cut down on the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%.
Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the locals climate, soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden immediately after planting and once a week, unless you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. Once the native plants establish the necessary root system, it will require little care.
Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks as a way to improve the environment and solve flooding problems. However, you don’t need to be a professional environmental engineer to create a rain garden. As long as you’re eco-conscious homeowners, you can help the environment by building smaller rain gardens in your yards.Which of the following is NOT RIGHT for the function(功能) of rain gardens?
| A．They are good for living conditions. |
| B．They increase pollution. |
| C．They can beautify the community. |
| D．They improve the environment. |
Which of the following is the eco-friendly function of rain gardens discussed in Paragraph 4?
| A．They can keep the rain and storm water. |
| B．They can help reduce the pollution problem. |
| C．They can be healthy for the people around. |
| D．They can make the environment more beautiful. |
One of the main reasons why native plants are recommended is that.
| A．they cost less and are much easier to get |
| B．they may attract local wildlife to come |
| C．they require little care from the local gardener |
| D．they are more used to the local growing conditions |
What do we know about rain gardens?
| A．They need little water after all the plants are planted. |
| B．They usually need at least an inch of rainwater a week. |
| C．They may attract local birds and change the locals climate. |
| D．They may reduce the water pollution problem by 70%. |
Who are the intended readers of the passage?
| A．Homeowners. | B．Students. | C．Engineers, | D．Educators. |
People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word “mouth.”
For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say “Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might feel down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.
Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”
Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.
Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.
But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.People use their mouths for many things. Which is NOT RIGHT?
| A．eat | B．talk | C．sing | D．hear |
In what kind of situation will a person say “Do not bad mouth me.”? _____________.
| A．When he feels down . | B．When he feels regretful. |
| C．When he is spoken ill of. | D．When he feels innocent. |
If a person feels sorry for what he has said, he might say “.”
| A．Do not bad mouth me | B．I really put my foot in my mouth this time |
| C．Do not put words in my mouth | D．Stop mouthing off |
If a person lives from hand to mouth, it implies.
| A．he is badly – off(家境贫寒) | B．he is hard – working |
| C．he is well – off（家境好） | D．he has enough to eat |
By saying, “I have been running my mouth long enough”, the speaker means “”.
| A．I have run a long way | B．I have been a mouthy person |
| C．I have learned a lot | D．I have talked too much |
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine (饥荒), infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary societies, people feel a moral obligation (责任) to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel (员工).The author believes that the increased size of the human population results from _______.
| A．an increase in birthrates | B．the industrial development |
| C．a decrease in death rates | D．childhood diseases |
It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.
| A．it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work |
| B．the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation |
| C．old people were given the task of imparting (传授) the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations |
| D．death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of (免除) the hardships of life |
The phrase “this need” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
| A．prolonging the dying old people’s lives |
| B．reducing the problems caused by the retired people |
| C．making profits through caring for the sick or weak people |
| D．taking care of the sick or weak people |
According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?
| A．Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough. |
| B．Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement. |
| C．Many nursing homes are sponsored by religious and nonprofit groups. |
| D．Older people have wealth or private insurance if they have a serious illness. |
It helps to choose the colors you plan to live with in your home with awareness of how different colors affect your emotional and physical states. Every color has a unique meaning, and this can significantly affect how you feel in a room.
Simple Solution:
Using this simple chart, you can choose a room’s color to be in balance and harmony with the role you want a room to have in your and your family’s life.
| Red: A room that is painted red will energize, inspire activity and movement, help passion, and be powerful and stimulating. it is a great choice for such gathering places. Orange enhances parties, |
Orange: Orange rooms encourage happy, joyful, social gatherings. While an orange dining room or family room can stimulate the appetite, it is a great choice for such gathering places. Orange enhances parties, communication, positive feelings, and general good cheer. |
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| Yellow: Yellow rooms inspire intellectual clarity, organization, clear-headed thinking, and happy energy. Yellow is considered a color for the logical left side of the brain. Yellow is also very bright and somewhat energizing. |
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| Blue: Blue rooms are often chosen for bedrooms and meditation (冥想) rooms because its cool energy is very calming, restful, peaceful, and spiritual. Blue helps inspire a quiet meditative quality, and color therapy with blue has been found to reduce blood pressure. Blue is also useful to make one to sleep. |
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| Green: Green rooms are very restful but combine with an energizing quality. Green is the color of outdoors, calm and active at the same time. Green brings balance and harmony to a room, and can be used as a calming place for people who are troubled or in need of refreshment. |
What impression can green rooms give to you?
| A．Passionate and powerful. | B．Refreshing and harmonious. |
| C．Cool and calming. | D．Inspiring and bright. |
If you are going to hold a family gathering, which color of the room can best enhance your atmosphere?
| A．Red. | B．Orange. | C．Blue. | D．Green. |
Which of the following statements about color is NOT true?
| A．Yellow rooms inspire logical and clear thinking. |
| B．Blue creates a quiet meditative quality. |
| C．Different colors affect you emotionally and physically. |
| D．Red rooms are acceptable when you are in a bad mood. |