Four in 10 Chinese complain about the great gap between large investments in education and its returns, a recent nationwide survey has showed.
The Horizon Research Consultancy Group polled 3,355 residents aged 16 to 60 in both urban and rural areas, including Beijing and Shanghai.
The survey found that only 16 percent of respondents believed their investments on education gave good returns.
Those with higher education voiced greater disappointment at the quality of education received, the survey showed.
People in the rural areas generally gave more positive feedback（反馈）on the quality of education than those from the cities, the survey found.
"Our education has been focusing on an examination-oriented system," Huo Qingwen, the deputy director of language education testing service center under the Beijing Foreign Studies University, told China Daily yesterday.
"The survey result doesn't surprise me, as I had heard complaints not only from the students, but also from the teachers who have been asked to focus more about the exam-passing rate," Huo said.
"The job market is still hungry for talented staff, but many graduates are not competent(胜任的) because the posts require more practical experience and creative ability of workers," Huo added.
Most university graduates prefer jobs in large cities, causing an imbalance in human resources between urban and rural areas, Hong said.
The graduates would get better job options if they chose to work at the grassroots (基础的) level because of the government's preferential policies, including the waiving of tuition for those willing to work in the country's rural and western regions, he added.
About 580,000 graduates last year found county- or village-level jobs, and more than 550,000 got jobs in the central and western regions, Ministry of Education figures showed.
"Because many graduates focus only on jobs with high salaries and that are directly relevant to their specialties, they miss other good work opportunities," Kong Xiang, a Beijing graduate who works as an English teacher in a college located at a remote area in Yunnan province, said.
The recent survey showed that education costs form one-quarter of an urban family's income, while it forms one-third of a rural family's income.
46．According to the passage, most people think that _______
A. the investments in education gave them good returns.
B. the investments in education don’t bring them good results.
C. college students are satisfied with their the education received.
D. People in the cities are more satisfied with the quality of education than those in the rural areas.
47．Which of the following is NOT mentioned?
A. China’s education has been focusing on an examination-oriented system .
B. Both the teachers and students are asked to pay more attention to the exam-passing rate.
C. The job market now does not lack university graduates.
D. Most university graduates enjoy hunting jobs in large cities.
48. What would happen to the graduates if they chose to work at the grassroots level?
A. They would get higher salaries. B. They would get lower salaries.
C. Their tuition would be free. D. They would get better job choices.
49. How much does the education cost according to the survey ?
A. One-third of a family's income.
B. one-quarter of a rural family's income.
C. 25% of an urban family's income.
D. Three in ten a rural family's income.
50. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage.
A. The gap between investments in education and its returns
B. Education and university graduates
C. China’s higher education
D. Education costs
A study of more than five million books, both fiction and non-fiction, has found a marked decline in the use of emotional words over time. The researchers form the University of Bristol used Google Ngram Viewer, a facility for finding the frequency of terms in scanned books, to search for more than 600 particular words identified as representing anger, dislike, fear, joy, sadness and surprise.
They found that almost all of the categories showed a drop in these “mood words” over time. Only in the category of fear was there an increase in usage.
“It is a steady and continuous decrease,” said Dr Alberto Acerbi. He assumed that the result might be explained by a change in the position occupied by literature, in a crowded media landscape. “One thing could be that in parallel to books the 20th century saw the start of other media. Maybe these media — movies, radio, drama, had more emotional content than books.”
Although both joy and sadness followed the general downwards trend, the research, published in the journal PLOS One, found that they also exhibited another interesting behaviour：the ratio (比率) between the two varied greatly, apparently mirroring historical events.
During the Roaring Twenties the joy-to-sadness ratio reached a peak that would not occur again until before the recent financial crash. But the ratio plunged at the height of the Second World War. Nevertheless, the researchers held a reserved opinion about their claim that their result reflected wider social trends. In the paper, they even argue that the reverse could be true.
“It has been suggested, for example, that it was the suppression (压抑) of desire in ordinary Elizabethan English life that increased demand for writing ‘filled with romance and sex’… perhaps,” they conclude, “songs and books may not reflect the real population any more than catwalk models reflect the average body.”
The word "decline" (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to_________.
| A．increase | B．rise | C．decrease | D．change |
A study of more than five million books indicated a decrease in “mood words” over time except_______.
| A．in the use of the words of historical events |
| B．in the category of fear |
| C．in the category of literature |
| D．in the category of joy |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．A study of emotional words. |
| B．A study about vocabulary in literature. |
| C．Reasons for the use of emotional words decreases in literature. |
| D．A study on increase in the category of fear. |
“Don't worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain.
Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.
On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon (泻湖) side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?
The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."
Then he added, “That's the way it is with every living organism.”
That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"
Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.Who has no problems according to the passage?
| A．The persons who are very famous. |
| B．The persons who have much money. |
| C．The persons who have been born. |
| D．The persons who are living in the cemeteries. |
In the writer's opinion, ________.
| A．problems bring us much trouble |
| B．problems have two sides, good or bad |
| C．we should try to stay away from any trouble |
| D．the fewer things we do, the less trouble we'll meet |
The reason why lagoon side of the reef has no life is _______.
| A．it hasn't got any sunlight |
| B．it has less energy than others |
| C．it never faces any challenge and tests |
| D．it has no work to do every day |
After reading this passage, we should ________.
| A．regard any problem as challenge |
| B．learn from the lagoon side |
| C．worry your problem |
| D．enter into cemeteries |
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!From paragraph 2 we know that _______ .
| A．animals are as clever as human beings |
| B．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees |
| C．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills |
| D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children |
Both experiments show that_______ .
| A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
| B．Rico can recognize different things including toys |
| C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
| D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities. |
| B．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
| C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. |
| D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．To train your dog. |
| B．To talk to your dog. |
| C．To be friendly to your dog. |
| D．To be careful with your dog. |
Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up. The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806 .The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world ,for over 250 years.
◆Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World，a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.
◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare’s period.
◆Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden，planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet’s works.
The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ Walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its exhibition．and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users.
The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children？
| A．￡9.80． | B．￡12.00． |
| C．￡14.20． | D．￡16.40． |
Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace？
| A．Behind the exhibition hall． |
| B．Opposite the Visiturs’Centre． |
| C．At Windsor Street． |
| D．Near the Coffee House． |
A wheelchair user may need help to enter_________．
| A．the House | B．the garden |
| C．the Visitors’Centne | D．the exhibition hall |
An old friend from California called from the airport to tell me that he had arrived. I was not able to leave the office, but I had made plans for his arrival. After explaining where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat (门垫). Since I knew it would be pretty late before I could get home, I suggested that he make himself at home and help himself to anything that was in the refrigerator.
Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my records after having had a delicious meal. Now, he said, he was drinking a glass of orange juice. When I asked him if he had had any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat, but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next door neighbor's house!An old friend of mine called ______.
| A．to tell me to meet him at the airport |
| B．to tell me about his arrival |
| C．to ask me to leave the office |
| D．to ask me to make plans for his arrival |
My friend climbed into the room because ______ .
| A．there was an apple tree outside |
| B．the living room window was left open |
| C．he had difficulty opening the door |
| D．he hadn't found the key |
My friend telephoned me two hours later ______ .
| A．from my home | B．at the airport |
| C．in his office | D．from my neighbor's house |