Andreea,18,from Romania, sent a photograph of the view from her window and included a brief apology, “Sorry, this picture is plain and boring. No one would like it.”
At home in New Jersey, US, Coreen Burke,16, clicked on the same image on the internet. She saw a village with its rooftops and walls painted in reds and yellows, a distant chimney(烟囱) giving off smoke. “Isn’t this amazingly different from my country?” She thought to herself.
Burke, a teenager with a skill for computers, saw beauty in that photo. She posted it to her blog, Outside My Window, which features a daily snapshot(快照) of someone’s window view around the world.
The concept is simple: We can all relate to the act of staring through a piece of glass, onto the scene on the other side. “Maybe if we understood the way people from all over the world live,” she explained, “we would all get along better than we have been lately.”
With a click of a mouse, you can see Frederic’s window in the south of France, looking out on sailboats anchored (抛锚) in a peaceful harbor. Or Virginia’s view in Canada, a winter scene with trees laced in white.
Like most high school students, Burke has traveled the world. But she says someday she hopes to collect stamps in her passport, starting with Greece and India. Her recent break was devoted to launching the site with a blogger account and recruiting(招募) contributors from deviant ART, an online art community. She posted the first window view from Switzerland, a sunset photographed by an 18-year-old. Then others came flowing in by email, up to seven a day, from as far as Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
Contributors are marked on maps pinned on her bedroom wall: a blue dot indicates their country and a pink dot shows their city, if they provide it. The most responses have come from Europe – Estonia, Poland, Italy, Germany and Sweden, to name a few. She is crossing her fingers, thinking that she’ll receive a photo from Africa or Antarctica, which are unrepresented so far.
While she’s become a cyber crusader(网络革新者) for appreciating the beauty outside our own windows, get this: She has no windows in her bedroom. She has a nice skylight（天窗）, though.
66. What does Burke think of the picture she received from Andreea?
A. Boring B. Charming C. Strange D. Plain
67. Outside My Window is a blog intended to show_______.
A. the view from Burke’s window
B. pictures of rural New Jersey
C. photos of window views taken by people all over the world
D. beautiful scenes of famous places of interest
68. We can conclude from the article that Burke _______.
A. believes we should reach out to people of different cultures
B. has traveled around the world and taken many pictures
C. is a member of an online art community
D. has made a lot of money by selling beautiful pictures
69. Which of the following is not true?
A. Burke is likely to receive a photo from Africa or Antarctica.
B. Burke is a junior middle school student.
C. Burke has photos from many countries in the world, including Kazakhstan.
D. Burke wants a photo of window view from Africa or Antarctica.
70．What is the best title of this passage?
A. World Windows
B. Beautiful Pictures
C. Pictures on the Internet
D. Windows in Bedrooms
Whenever anyone measures educational success, East Asian countries are always top scorers. But in a recent league table, a European country, Finland, was top of the class. South Korea was still in second place, though. Britain was at number 6.
In Korea the school day is long—typically 7 or 8 hours, followed by hours of private tutoring in the evenings. All_this_hothousing leaves Korean students so tired, they sometimes fall asleep in class next day. Worries about the effects of late night cramming(考试的突击准备) led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10 p．m. Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world, often finishing just after lunch, with about one hour of homework a day. Private tuition is uncommon. The British and American school day is quite long in comparison, around 6 hours, and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of selfstudy a night.
The Korean education system, like many in Asia, is intensely competitive, with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools, to help them get ahead. Finnish education is far less cutthroat. Classes are all mixed ability, and there are no league tables. British schools again occupy the middle ground, with quite high levels of competition for places at university, and schools and universities battling to come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction. Korea and Finland both do well, yet their education systems are so different.
However, there are some similarities between Korea and Finland. In those countries, teachers have high status in society, and education is very highly valued. Those attitudes can't change quickly. But it can be done. They might be the star pupils now, but until the 1970s, Finland's education system was poor. Their thoroughly different approach to schooling has taken them to the top in just a generation.The students spend the least time in school in ________.
| A．the UK | B．Finland | C．the USA | D．Korea |
According to the text, we think in Korea ________.
| A．students spend more time in studying |
| B．students are tired of studying in class |
| C．students leave their school early |
| D．students are always top scorers |
The underlined phrase “All this hothousing” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ________.
| A．private evening tutoring | B．selfstudy at home |
| C．longhour study | D．school study |
From Paragraph 3, we can know that ________.
| A．Finnish students are less stressed in study |
| B．there're also many cramming schools in Britain |
| C．students in Korea are the most competitive in Asia |
| D．British schools are less competitive than universities |
According to the author, the key to improving education is ________.
| A．the attitude | B．the schooling time |
| C．star pupils | D．new teaching approach |
Rockwatch—The Best Club on Earth
If you are young and interested in geology(地质学), then Rockwatch is the club for you. When you apply for membership, you'll receive a Rockwatch Rox file each. It has the information and top tips you will need to start enjoying geology. It's designed to serve as your own field notebook as well.
In it you will find your
·membership card
·fullcolour minimap
·thumbsup guide
·fact cards
Rockwatch Magazine
Our lively magazine is mailed to members three times a year. They can read reports and news from around the world, and articles on everything from diamonds to dinosaurs, earthquakes to erosion(侵蚀)．
Rockwatch Events
With each magazine you will receive a Rockwatch events calendar. Rocky activities suitable for families are listed and include road shows and guided walks.
The Rockwatch Rock Artist
Are you an artist, or a photographer? This is your chance to turn Rockwatch Rock Artist of a year and win amazing prizes in our annual competition.
Special Offer
Rockwatch members can have specially discounted Wildlife Watch membership. Wildlife Watch is the biggest environmental action club for young people, with 100 groups across the country. You can join both clubs together by filling in the boxes in the membership form.Rockwatch Magazine mailed to its members tells about things related to ________.
| A．geology | B．agriculture |
| C．politics | D．economics |
What activities are specially arranged for Rockwatch members interested in photography?
| A．Guided walks. | B．Rocky activities. |
| C．Yearly competitions. | D．Academic workshops. |
When applying for Wildlife Watch membership, a Rockwatch member can enjoy ________.
| A．free membership | B．a special discount |
| C．a Rock Artist prize | D．guided road shows |
You may join both Rockwatch and Wildlife Watch clubs by ________.
| A．calling the two clubs | B．providing references |
| C．applying separately | D．filling in one form |
They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing flannel(法兰绒) and thickframed glasses while listening to music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at secondhand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways.
They call themselves hipsters. Being “hip” used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has become a sign of “being cool, unique and unusual”．
Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony(讽刺) is central to their culture and offers an interesting conflict.
“I do take things in the mainstream with a positive attitude，” says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University. “But sometimes I also question what determines popularity, especially regarding music.” Polson represents many hipsters.
When lessknown bands become popular, they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes, “I used to like that band before it got popular，” Polson quoted.
According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly disappear for the sake of popularity.
Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and they are adopting hipsters' antimainstream culture mind to themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster consumers. But on the other hand, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly made the antimainstream culture become weaker.
“A lot of people that are selfdefined hipsters aren't really hipsters. They're just trying to act as hipsters to seem cooler，” says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unusual tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster.In the passage, hipsters refer to people ________.
| A．who are fans of pop music |
| B．who study in different colleges |
| C．who appear cool and unusual |
| D．who try to attract others |
According to the author, ________.
| A．hipsters are the pioneers of the mainstream |
| B．hipsters are unhappy with the mainstream |
| C．hipsters' culture exists mainly in music field |
| D．hipsters' culture can also become popular |
What is the main idea of the seventh paragraph?
| A．Urban Outfitters and American Apparel are famous clothing labels. |
| B．Hipster consumers have more specialized brands, stores and music. |
| C．Antimainstream culture can gain mainstream popularity. |
| D．The culture of hipsters is becoming more and more terrible. |
When describing hipsters, the author speaks ________.
| A．in an ironic voice | B．in an objective voice |
| C．in an angry voice | D．in a funny voice |
Angry Birds has become a worldwide gaming mega hit but how did this game come into existence? Rovio is the name of the company that created angry birds, however, it's not the first game they developed. Surprisingly they have been creating games for several years but had just never broken through into the mainstream the way they did with angry birds. The idea for the game came about in 2009 when the company was looking at different ideas for games which they thought could become popular. It was a simple idea spawned from some sketches(素描) of wingless and legless birds which were angry.
The sketches caught on among the staff who in turn created a unique design which became angry birds. The pigs were added into the game later in the development as an enemy. During this period of development, pig flu was being heavily reported in the news which is where the idea for the pigs appeared.
The basis of the game is very simple and is not unique to angry birds but has been seen in many other games previously. It's a simple physics/puzzle game. The player is given a slingshot and a limited supply of angry birds with different characteristics. Some birds are faster than others while others can be split into multiple birds. You control the trajectory(轨迹) of the birds with the slingshot which launches them towards rickety structures containing your main enemy, the pigs. In order to advance to the next level you must eliminate(消灭) all of the pigs before your birds run out.
Rovio has released several different versions of the game at this point. The original, Seasons, and Rio. Seasons is a collection of holiday themed versions of the game while Rio was a movie tie in for the movie Rio. All versions continue to be updated with new levels which are free to those who have previously purchased the game.What's the meaning of the underlined word in the first paragraph?
| A．Turned. | B．Played a role. |
| C．Changed. | D．Came into being. |
In the game, the birds ________.
| A．have different kinds that only include faster birds and slower birds |
| B．have to be controlled to kill all of the pigs before your birds run out |
| C．are the enemy of the pigs which have been infected with pig flu |
| D．lose their temper for the pig flu so they try to kill the pigs |
According to the text, the game players ________.
| A．must pay for this game—angry birds one level by one level |
| B．only pay for once and then it will be updated freely |
| C．should control angry birds to kill all the animals with pig flu |
| D．will become angry easily for playing the game too much |
Which one is the best title of the passage?
| A．The Unknown Game—Angry Birds |
| B．Facts and Hints About the Game Angry Birds |
| C．Rovio Created Famous Games |
| D．Pigs and Angry Birds |
Have you ever had travel problems because your airplane was late? It is a common problem and it is getting worse. Airport delays make people angry and cost the country billions in lost work time.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the government agency that oversees air travel. They studied the problem of airline delays.
They found eleven major problems and suggested eleven ways to fix them. Some of the problems are caused because different regions of the country do things differently. The regions don't talk to each other enough. Some of them need new computers.
Also, more planes are flying. A strong economy has more people using airplanes to get around. Airplanes are a form of mass transportation now, like trains and buses were in the past. More planes in the airport cause delays.
The airport in San Francisco is a good example. It is growing fast. Many people go through San Francisco to get to other places around the world. Ron Wilson of the San Francisco International Airport says, “If you've got 18 flights that all want to take off at 8：00 am and you're on the 18th plane in line, you're going to be 40 minutes late.”
Weather is another main reason for delays. Weather causes about 70% of delays. Fog or freezing rain can cause delays.
The first thing the FAA wants to do is take control away from the regions during heavy traffic times and bad weather. A national center would make decisions on things that affect the whole country. The FAA also wants to put more distance between planes in the sky when the weather is bad. This rule could cause even more delays.
The FAA knows that their solutions will not solve the problems with airport delays. But, they hope to make things better. There are just too many planes, too few traffic controllers, and not enough new technology.FAA found that some of the delay problems are caused by ________ between two regions.
| A．different languages |
| B．technical misunderstanding |
| C．misunderstanding of the rules |
| D．lack of communication |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for airline delays?
| A．A growing number of flights. |
| B．Bad weather. |
| C．A growing population. |
| D．Lack of new technology |
From the passage we can infer that ________.
| A．FAA is a national center which controls all the flight matters |
| B．FAA has taken control to solve airport delays |
| C．in San Francisco, each plane will delay about 40 minutes |
| D．safety rules during bad weather may cause more delays |
Which of the statements best gives the idea of the passage?
| A．FAA should make decisions to stop airport delays. |
| B．Airport delays are on the rise. |
| C．Travel problems cost billions in lost work time. |
| D．FAA has taken control of air traffic nationwide. |