The national assistance system for poor college students is getting more effective as proved by fewer phone calls to the hotline of the National Center for Student Assistance Administration.
"Poor college students and their parents are getting more satisfied with the national assistance system," said Ma Wenhua, deputy director of the administration, on Saturday. Over the past three years, the hotline received 8,488 calls. Statistics show 62 percent of the calls were made to ask about the funding policy, while 38 percent (3,200 calls) complained local colleges had failed to abide by the rules to support the students.
Complaints were seen a year-on-year decrease from 2006 to 2008. Ma said some poor families might still overlook what they should do to get support for their child. To ensure education equality, the government has introduced a set of favorable policies to help poor students, such as scholarships, grants(助学金), student loans, tuition waivers(学费全免) and the work-study programs under which poor students are helped out in libraries, teachers' offices or service departments to earn money.
Statistics show the government spent 29.3 billion yuan last year to aid college students, up 7.6 percent from the previous year. Around 40 million persons of college students received the national aid.
The Ministry of Education of the government would ensure that no students drop out of colleges or universities because of poverty.
Among the 20 million students in the country's public and private universities and colleges last year, about 20 percent came from poor backgrounds, official figures show.The national assistance system is set up ___.
| A．for parents and students to complain |
| B．to help poor college students |
| C．for poor students to get free education |
| D．to help students find jobs |
The underlined phrase "abide by" in the second paragraph probably means ____.
| A．follow | B．break | C．bear | D．agree to |
From the passage, we know that ____.
| A．students will drop out of university because of poverty |
| B．Chinese poor college students are more satisfied with national assistance system |
| C．more and more parents are complaining about their local colleges |
| D．college students are suffering from great economic pressure |
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his fortune(财富)，largely to the cause of global health，during the course of his lifetime.With an estimated(估计)worth of more than $40 billion，according to Forbes，the project will be no small fate(功绩) for Gates.Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues，Gates said that finally his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.
So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest？Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity（机会）”in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the populations，he says，has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially successful.“National borders allow inequalities，”said Gates.“We all need to take a more global view，rather than just saying my country is doing well.We have to step up these health issues，knowing how few resources are going into them.”
Gates said that both his parents set up an example for him as a child.His father，William H．Gates，was the head of the local Planned Parenthood，and his mother，Mary，volunteered for the United Way.As he gathered his fortune，Gates knew he would finally want to give back as well，but he didn’t expect to devote himself wholeheartedly to one project until he was about 60.
However，Gates,47，began to question his ability to wait that long.“It seemed there was a real time urgency，”Gates said.“I started to think how many lives I could save before then.”Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to .
| A．improve the health of population all over the world |
| B．improve the health of population in America alone |
| C．avoid leaving his children too much money |
| D．spare the American government the burden of health care |
Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is .
| A．to set up more foundations for them |
| B．to help them with natural resources |
| C．to put more efforts into the health issues in them |
| D．to help them take a more global view |
It can be learned from the passage that Bill Gates thinks .
| A．Americans can be worldfamous by giving away vast fortune |
| B．Americans should treat fellow citizens well |
| C．Americans should devote themselves to certain projects |
| D．Americans should care about people in other countries |
It has always been said that women are not good drivers, because they simply don’t have very good driving ability. On the other hand, most car accidents happen to men; very few happen to women.
From this, we can see that women are much more careful while driving. Another very interesting fact that we should point out is that in the past, women preferred to let their husbands be the only driver in the family rather than have a driving license. Somehow they were prevented from making this step in their lives, but nowadays there are many women that want to pass their driving tests from an early age.
However, we have to admit that men are more skillful drivers than women, but this does not mean that a woman cannot become a good driver by accumulating(积累) experience. So more and more teenagers and women around the age of thirty now want to pass their driving tests. While taking their driving lessons, they also have a number of special lessons with their parents or somebody in the family that has a driving license, this is just to improve their driving abilities and help them to pass the tests more easily.
To conclude, we can say that women are not such bad drivers. They just need more experience than men in order to be able to drive well. And on the other hand, there are a number of women that show better driving skills than the men around them.Compared with the past, nowadays many women ______.
| A．have more accidents while driving | B．prefer to have a driving license |
| C．are somehow prevented from driving | D．are the only driver in the family |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Teenage girls cannot take driving tests. |
| B．Men didn’t allow women to drive in the past. |
| C．Women can easily pass their tests by taking driving lessons. |
| D．With enough experience, women can become good drivers. |
The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．why men are better drivers than women |
| B．men and their driving ability |
| C．women and their driving ability |
| D．why more women like to have a driving license |
How would you like to learn more without having to study more？Here’s how：
1．Get to bed and go to sleep.Your performance，attention，and the ability to concentrate are damaged by lack of sleep.Teenagers need nine to ten hours of sleep a night for best performance.
2．Feed your head.The brain runs badly if it doesn’t get enough fuel.That means protein(蛋白质)and complex carbs (复合碳水化合物)－eggs and wheat bread for breakfast，say，rather than sugary cereal(含糖的麦片粥)and orange juice.The biggest mistake teens make is not to have breakfast or to go for sugar，which raises blood sugar levels.
3．Body exercise is brain exercise.Body exercise really improves brain performance，perhaps because it increases blood flow，or perhaps because it reduces stress and anxiety(焦虑).Twenty minutes of activity a day that raises your heart rate will do great good.
4．Learn now what you want to remember for the rest of your life.Teenage brains are much better at remembering things than the brains of young children or adults.Scientists aren’t sure why.Whatever the reason，the teenage years are the time to learn new languages and master other lifelong skills.
5．Learn the power of risk taking.Adults are always worried about the downside of teenage risktaking，and it’s true that teenagers are more likely than adults to get themselves in trouble by drinking and driving.But the fact that the parts of the brain that drive people to try new，risky，and exciting things appear to be more developed in teenagers can be a huge advantage.Pick certain challenges－difficult sports，a hard job，mastering a performance art，traveling overseas－and the teenage brain is able to deal with them.They have this power they’re given to go out and do it without fear.
6．Learn what you love.Because emotional(情感的)systems develop fast in teenager brains，teenagers learn things they’re interested in quickly and well.Their brains give them tools like attention on the project.According to the passage，teenagers should have for breakfast.
| A．wheat bread and eggs | B．sugar and orange juice |
| C．sugar and bread | D．wheat bread and orange juice |
Body exercise plays a part in all the following EXCEPT .
| A．making people less anxious | B．raising heart rate |
| C．reducing blood pressure | D．reducing stress |
The underlined word “downside” in the passage probably means .
| A．excitement | B．disadvantage |
| C．benefit | D．power |
It can be learned from the passage that .
| A．teenagers learn quickly when they are fond of something |
| B．teenagers should be forbidden to drive |
| C．scientists know why teenagers have a good memory |
| D．teenagers need less sleep than adults |
ABOUT LIPITOR
Lipitor is a prescription medicine. Along with diet and exercise, it lowers "bad" cholesterol(胆固醇) in your blood. It can also raise "good" cholesterol.
Lipitor can lower the risk of heart attack in patients with several common risk factors, including family history of early heart disease, high blood pressure, age and smoking.
WHO IS LIPITOR FOR?
Who can take LIPITOR:
· People who cannot lower their cholesterol enough with diet and exercise.
· Adults and children over 10.
Who should NOT take LIPITOR:
· Women who are pregnant, may be pregnant, or may become pregnant. Lipitor may harm your unborn baby.
· Women who are breast-feeding. Lipitor can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby.
· People with liver problems.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF LIPITOR
Serious side effects in a small number of people:
· Muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure.
· Liver problems. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start Lipitor and while you are taking it.
Call your doctor right away if you have:
· Unexplained muscle pain or weakness, especially if you have a fever or feel very fired.
· Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing.
· Stomach pain.
Some common side effects of LIPITOR are:
· Muscle pain.
· Upset stomach.
· Changes in some blood tests.
HOW TO TAKE LIPITOR
DO:
· Take Lipitor as prescribed by your doctor.
· Try to eat heart-healthy foods while you take Lipitor.
· Take Lipitor at any time of day, with or without food.
· If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. But if it has been more than 12 hours since you missed dose, wait. Take the next dose at your regular time.
Don't:
· Do not change or stop your dose before talking to your doctor.
· Do not start new medicines before talking to your doctor.What is a major function of Lipitor?
| A．To help quit smoking. | B．To control blood pressure. |
| C．To improve unhealthy diet. | D．To lower "bad" cholesterol. |
If it has been over 12 hours since you missed a dose, you should ________.
| A．change the amount of your next dose |
| B．eat more when taking your next dose |
| C．have a dose as soon as you remember |
| D．take the next dose at your regular time |
Which of the following is a common side effect of taking Lipitor?
| A．Face swelling. | B．Upset stomach. |
| C．Kidney failure. | D．Muscle weakness. |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To teach patients ways for quick recovery. |
| B．To present a report on a scientific research. |
| C．To show the importance of a good lifestyle. |
| D．To give information about a kind of medicine |
Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.
Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud（积云）. How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."
The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?
"First of all, the water isn't in elephant sized particles（微粒）, it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.
So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.
Now, ratchet up the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive. "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.
The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet. The weight of is NOT mentioned in the passage.
| A．a cumulus cloud | B．a tornado | C．a hurricane | D．a storm cloud |
How did Peggy LeMone feel about the result of her calculations?
| A．She found it not convincing. |
| B．She thought it needed further calculations. |
| C．She was quite surprised at it. |
| D．She considered the calculations inaccurate. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants. |
| B．The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud. |
| C．There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth. |
| D．The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials. |