TAIBEI － Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island’s “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．
According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate（研究生）programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available,” Netbig. Com Said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year.
The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college and universities. “Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market, Net. Com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University. Chang plans to go on to get a master’s degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies.
A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”. “They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies. A Netbig. Com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou. The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine.
At present, Chinese Taibei doesn’t recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there. But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates（证书）from selected universities.More Taiwanese students study on the Chinese mainland because ___________.
| A．Taiwan will reunite with the mainland sooner or later |
| B．the fees asked for are lower than those of Taiwan |
| C．what they have learned on the mainland will bring them a bright future |
| D．there are many famous universities for them to choose |
Some business executives were sending their children to study in the Chinese mainland so that their children ___________.
| A．could receive better education | B．could learn more about the policy there |
| C．could do well in the business operations | D．could make more friends there |
The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to __________.
| A．Netbig. Com | B．a Chinese education on the mainland |
| C．the Chinese job market | D．the university |
The author wrote the article to tell us ______________.
| A．more Taiwanese students are studying on the mainland |
| B．the number of Taiwanese students going to universities on the mainland had been increasing year after year |
| C．education on the mainland is more attractive compared with that of Taiwan |
| D．Taiwan and the mainland should cooperate with each other in every field. |
Which is true according to the passage?
| A．Chinese Taibei recognizes diplomas earned on the Chinese mainland |
| B．The number of Taiwanese students going to study on the mainland will surely be increasing in the next few years. |
| C．Chinese Taibei doesn’t help with any inquiries about Taiwanese studying in the mainland |
| D．Education of Taiwan is far behind the mainland. |
For more than 40 years, scientists have sought to learn how well human beings can adapt to long periods in space. The International Space Station continues to provide valuable knowledge about spaceflight. But an earlier space station, Skylab, helped make the current space project possible.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sang aboard the International Space Station on May 12, 2013. His music video has become extremely popular. The astronaut played his own version of David Bowie’s song Space Oddity. He performed while floating weightlessly, with images of planet earth and space appearing in the window behind him.
Chris Hadfield recently returned home after nearly five months on the space station. For him, the long flight produced a hit video on YouTube and no major physical problems. But 40 years ago, scientists did not know how humans would react to long-term spaceflight. To find out, NASA, the American space agency, launched Skylab in May, 1973. Over nearly a year, three teams of astronauts visited Skylab for stays of between 28 to 84 days. They learned how people react to extended periods in space.
Gerald Carr commanded Skylab 4. He spoke at a NASA event marking the 40th anniversary of Skylab’s launch. He said that the loss of the body’s muscle mass was a main concern. Astronauts on Skylab used exercise equipment to stay strong. The astronauts spent their workdays carrying out experiments, including biomedical (生物医学的) research.
Marshall Porterfield is the director of NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Division. He says the Skylab astronauts’ understanding of their own ability to deal with long-term spaceflight continues to help current astronauts. NASA says the next step for life away from Earth is a year-long space station mission, set for 2015.Why was Chris Hadfield’s song so special?
| A．It was performed in space. |
| B．It was created by an astronaut. |
| C．It was a very familiar song. |
| D．It was first sung by a famous singer. |
Which of the following best describes the physical condition of Chris Hadfield after his return?
| A．Worse. | B．Better. |
| C．Normal. | D．Weaker. |
For what purpose did NASA launch Skylab?
| A．To research on whether human beings could stay in space. |
| B．To gather up information on setting up a space station. |
| C．To study the changes in the body when staying long in space. |
| D．To find out the possibility of doing experiments in space. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Skylab is still in use to explore the space. |
| B．The research results on Skylab are still valuable. |
| C．Skylab is more advanced than the International Space Station. |
| D．The Skylab astronauts made great contributions to biomedical research. |
Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high-school curriculum (课程).
The committee decided that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics. Because the school system is running out of funding, it needs to make sure that students pass the test or even more money will be lost. If students fail the state standardized test，it is not the fault of drama and music classes—they are failing because the “academic” classes are not sufficient (充足的).
It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered. Many families cannot afford private music lessons, and many potential musicians and artists may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school. The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.
Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete, well-rounded people. It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art—there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide. What happens after a test? Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge—certainly not a good preparation for the real world.Music and drama are not included in the high school curriculum mainly because ________.
| A．the school committee pays no attention to them |
| B．the school is afraid of losing financial support |
| C．the students are not interested in both of them |
| D．the state standardized test is more important |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The sufficiency of the classes determines students’ performance in the mastery test. |
| B．Quite a few students are discouraged from learning music and art in today’s school system. |
| C．Students can be musicians and artists only if they can afford private music lessons. |
| D．The school committee completely influences students’attitude towards the arts. |
We can learn that music and art can ________.
| A．motivate students in creativity and expression |
| B．make students round-shaped people in future |
| C．provide students with analytical thinking |
| D．prevent students graduation from high school |
The best title of the passage can be ________.
| A．Who killed music and drama? |
| B．Can curriculum go without music? |
| C．Why is music so important? |
| D．How to prepare for the real world? |
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter (炼铜厂), and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was “No”.
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren’t any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. Everyone knew that, he was told. Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married but his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense. Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow (誓言) he made to himself as a child.When Paul was a boy, _______.
| A．he had decided never to leave his hometown |
| B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter |
| C．he hit a young visitor because of his comments on the wasteland |
| D．he stopped the copper smelter polluting the area |
Paul went to college to study the science of plants, because _______.
| A．he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself |
| B．he was interested in planting trees since he was young |
| C．he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him |
| D．he thought his knowledge would make his advice more convincing |
What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably mean?
| A．It was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland. |
| B．His normal work and life would be greatly affected. |
| C．No one would like to join him in the efforts. |
| D．He had to keep everything he did secret. |
The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because_______.
| A．they realized the importance of environmental protection |
| B．what Paul was doing moved them |
| C．Paul persuaded them to help him |
| D．they had legal pressure |
We've all heard the old saying，“Sticks and stones can break my bones，but words can never hurt me.” Don't you believe it？Words are powerful，and they can hurt—a lot. In fact，if you're not careful，you can even hurt yourself，by using the wrong word in your writing.
Recently a friend sent me a copy of an email she received from the customer service department of her credit card company，after she contacted them with a question about her account. She was happy with their positive response. But as I read the email，one line jumped out at me：“In lieu of good customer service...”
Did they really mean they were offering her a few extra reward points instead of good customer service？I doubt it. More likely，what the customer service department meant to say was，“Because good customer service is important to us...” followed by the details of what they were doing to make sure she remained a happy customer.
So why didn't the writer say that？I can only guess that perhaps the writer liked the phrase “in lieu of”，thought it sounded more interesting than saying “because”，and so used it—without bothering to check the true meaning.
Have you ever done that？Try to impress others with a big word，only to find out you've used the word incorrectly？It's just the opposite effect，isn't it？You may impress people all right，but it's not the impression you were going for.
When you write，remember to choose your words carefully. People may still disagree with what you say，but they won't be able to dismiss you because you made careless mistakes in how you said it.What's the writer's purpose in giving the saying?
| A．To amuse the reader. |
| B．To persuade the reader. |
| C．To support a conclusion. |
| D．To lead to the topic. |
It can be inferred that the writer's friend ______.
| A．was the manager of the customer service department |
| B．was the customer of the credit card company |
| C．emailed a company to complain |
| D．used a phrase incorrectly |
What does the phrase “in lieu of” most probably mean?
| A．Because of. | B．In honour of. |
| C．Instead of. | D．In favour of. |
According to the writer，the customer service department ______.
| A．didn't express what they really meant |
| B．didn't prefer to use familiar words to attract customers |
| C．didn't need to offer their customers extra reward points |
| D．succeeded in impressing their customers |
The world has changed and being intelligent isn't normally equal to being a successful person. Look at the example of the blue whale：It has a huge brain，but it still doesn't know how to avoid whalers or use its large size and weight to deal with those who try to use their body for profit. Scientists hold an opinion that the blue whale just likes some highly intelligent people who fail to succeed. Those highly intelligent people can't succeed in life because they can't communicate well with the world around them.
Intelligence is a word in life that makes you think you are better than others. Intelligence can blind these very people from how others view them. These people also think that the route to power and success results purely from intelligence and they sometimes live in a fantasy world that they create by their supposed brain power.
This is a distance that develops whether or not they realize it and sometimes，a person can be disliked simply because of his or her intelligence. This distance is sometimes so far apart that it gets to the position where they can't listen to each other. One side thinks the other is stupid and the other thinks he/she is haughty(傲慢的)．And most of the time it is the intelligent people who lose themselves in this situation. They become unpopular with most of the people around them. This affects them in whatever they do and sooner or later they will lose their confidence.
It doesn't help that they get a culture shock—especially when they leave college and realize success and richness don't always and sometimes never come naturally with intelligence. While some might think this is a dramatic picture to paint，it is sometimes the end result of some people.The example of “the blue whale” is used to show ______.
| A．communication is more important than intelligence |
| B．human beings are always more intelligent than animals |
| C．humans should have the sense of protecting animals |
| D．the blue whale is the largest animal in the world |
Those supposed intelligent people often believe that ______.
| A．they should make their life the same with others |
| B．they should live in a better world than the others |
| C．they are sure to be successful because of their intelligence |
| D．other people's opinion should be seriously considered |
What makes the intelligent people lose their confidence?
| A．They often can't get higher positions though they are intelligent. |
| B．They become separated from other people and lose their support. |
| C．They can't persuade those stupid people to accept their ideas. |
| D．They often can't make good use of their advantages. |
We can infer that the end result of the supposed intelligent people would be ______.
| A．great achievements | B．more efforts |
| C．proper changes | D．failure in the future |