Wouldyoueatareadymealfromthefr-优题课

London——Laura Spence has excellent grades, a place at Harvard University and a US $25,000 a year scholarship. The British Government says that is scandal(丑闻).
Not because the 13-year-old girl is going to Harvard, but because she was rejected by Oxford University. Her case makes people talk about the long-running problems about elitism(精英主义) in British education.
“I think it’s a scandal if a child has to go to Harvard rather than getting into Oxford, don’t you?” Education Secretary David Blunkett said on May 26th in an interview on BBC radio.
British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said in a speech on May 25th it was “an absolute scandal”, a girl with those grades was turned down by Oxford’s Magdalen College. He noted that Spence comes from Monkseaton in northeastern England, where people sometimes complain they get fewer chances than people living in the richer, more populous south.
Oxford and Cambridge University now take the majority of their students—53 percent—from publicly funded schools. Elite(精英)private schools such as Eton and Harrow account for the other 47 percent, even though they serve only 7 percent of secondary students.
A BBC reporter had seen notes of Spence’s interview at Magdalen. “As with other comprehensive school pupils, she’s low in confidence and difficult to draw out of herself in spite of being able to think on her feet,” the BBC quoted the notes as saying. Still, the notes concluded that Spence “will be an excellent doctor.”
“It appears as if some of our institutions have admissions procedures which may be because of absurd prejudices against children from comprehensive schools…are not giving these children a fair crack of the whip”, Education Minister Wicks told the BBC.
5.Laura Spence was rejected by Oxford University because.
A.she was a girl of 13 years old B.she lacked confidence and she couldn’t think by herself
C.she didn’t win excellent grades
D.she was a shy girl from a comprehensive school in the poorer, less populous north
6.If Laura Spence was from such a school as Eton,.
A.she would be admitted to Oxford B.she would be accepted by Harvard
C.she could cause longrunning problems about elitism in British education
D.she wouldn’t be an excellent doctor
7.What’s the meaning of “a fair crack of the whip”in the last paragraph?
A.A good chance. B.Warning. C.Rejection. D.Admission
8.According to Education Minister Wick’s words, we know he .
A.thought there was something wrong with procedures of admissions to their institutes
B.took the side of Oxford University
C.considered giving up children from comprehensive schools D.didn’t tell the truth to the BBC

Material Girl no more? Madonna says writing children’s books is more satisfying than being a movie star.
Her book, The English Roses, wen t on sale on September 15th, appearing in 100 countries and in 30 languages as the first in her series of tales for children. The pop diva (女歌唱家), whose only book until now was the 1992 photo essay titled “Sex”, said she wrote the books to teach children some of the life lessons she’s learned over the years.
“The most fun that I’ve had of all the things I’ve done successfully has been to write these books. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m not doing it to become more famous, and I’m not doing it to become richer. I’m doing it because I want to share something I know with children.”
Hours after its release, the 43page book was already No. 3 on Amazon, com’s sales list. The first print is 1 million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 in the United States. The English Roses is about a friendship shared by four girls and their mutual (共同的) envy of a beautiful classmate, with illustrations (插图) by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.
“There is one lifegiving force in the world,” Madonna declared. “When we disconnect from this lifegiving force, that’s when we bring pain and suffering into our lives. Each of the stories has to do with different ways you disconnect from God. ”Madonna also said she was deeply affected by the experience of raising two children, Lourdes, 6, and Rocco, 3. The English Roses is the latest among a growing number of celebritywritten children’s books.
The next book in the series, “Mr Peabody’s Apples,”will be out in November.Each tale is set in a different time and place and has new characters and different illustrators.
1.How many books does Madonna’s series of tales include?
A.At least 3. B.4. C.At least 2. D.6.
2.According to the idea of Madonna, the underlined phrase “life-giving force”in Paragraph 5 refers to .
A.The English Roses. B.God C.Mr Peabody’s Apples. D.her life
3.When Madonna said writing children’s books was more satisfying than being a movie star,she meant that .
A.she was more satisfied with her writing children’s books
B.she was more satisfied as a movie star C.being a movie star was not really successful
D.she was not a Material Girl any more
4.According to the passage,Madonna wrote the book The English Roses in order to .
A.provide children with funB.teach children some life lessons
C.teach children how to become famous D.share her success with children

While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states-at least in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994.
In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens County have been cut in half. But 15 percents of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The resuit: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent-twice the national average.
For advocates (代言人) for the poor, that’s an indication that much more needs to be done.
“More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better,” says Kathy Lairn,a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and policy Priorities in Washington.
A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down.
But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory.
“Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin(毒素) that was poisoning the family,” says Robert Rector, a welfarereform policy analyst. “The reform is changing the moral climate in lowincome communities. It’s beginning to rebuild the work ethic(道德观), which is much more important.”
Mr. Rector and others argued that once “the habit of dependency is cracked, ”then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards.
13.From the passage, it can be seen that the auther .
A.believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden
B.insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor
C.is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform
D.considers welfare reform to be fundamentally successful
14.Why aren’t people enjoying better lives when they have jobs?
A.Because many families are divorced. B.Because government aid is now rare.
C.Because their wages are low. D.Because the cost of living is rising.
15.What is worth noting from the example of Athens County is that .
A.greater efforts should be made to improve people’s living standards
B.15 percent of the people there have been employed for two years
C.50 percent of the population no longer relies on welfare
D.the living standards of most people are going down
16.From the passage we know that welfare reform aims at_______ .
A.saving welfare funds B.rebuilding the work ethics(观念)
C.providing more jobs D.cutting government expenses

Unless we spend money spotting and preventing asteroids(小行星) now, one might crash into Early and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn’t be cheap. Is is worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: (1)How likely the event is; and (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500 000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. “If we don’t take care of these asteroids, they’ll take care of us,”says one scientist. “It’s that simple.”
The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(世界末日) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against it,” said a New York Times article.
9.What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?
A.They are heavenly bodies different in composition.
B.They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.
C.There are more asteroids than meteoroids.
D.Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.
10.What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?
A.It is very unlikely but the danger exists.
B.Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.
C.Coilisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.
D.lt’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.
11.What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?
A.It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.
B.It may create more problems than it might slove.
C.It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.
D.Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.
12.We can conclude from the passage that .
A.while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world
B.asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future
C.the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlike to happen in our lifetime.
D.workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth

America is a country on the move. In unheardof numbers, people of all ages are exercising their way to better health. According to the latest figures, 4 percent of American adults exercise regularly-up 12 percent from just two years ago and more than double the figure of 25 years ago. Even non-exercisers believe they would be more attractive and confident if they were more active.
It is hard not to get the message. The virtues of physical fitness are shown on magazine covers, postage stamps, and television ads of everything from beauty soaps to travel books. Exercise as a part of daily life did not catch on until the late 195s when research by military doctors began to show the health benefits of doing regular physical exercises. Growing publicity (宣传) for races held in American cities helped fuel a strong interest in the ancient sport of running. Although running has leveled off in recent years as Americans have discovered equally rewarding-and sometimes safer-forms of exercise, such as walking and swimming, running remains the most popular form of exercise.
As the popularity of exercise continues to mount, so does scientific evidence of its health benefits. The key to fitness is exercising the major muscle groups vigorously (强有力地) enough to approximately double the heart rate and keep it doubled for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Doing such physical exercises three times or more a week will produce considerable improvements in physical health in about three months.
5.It can be learnt from the passage that the health benefits of exercise .
A.are to be further studied B.are selfevident
C.are yet to be proved D.are supported by scientific evidence
6.A growing interest in sports developed after___________ .
A.an increasing number of races were held in American cities
B.research showed their health benefits
C.scientific evidence of health benefits was shown on TV ads
D.people got the message from magazine covers and postage stamps
7.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Exercise-The Road to Health B.Scientific Evidence of Health Benefits
C.Different Forms of Exercise D.Running-A Popular Form of Sport
8.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase “leveled off” in the paragraph 2?
A.“reached its lowest level in popularity” B.“stopped being popular”
C.“stopped increasing in popularity” D.“become very popular”