Will Nanfang University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen announce a new beginning for China’s higher education reform? It’s too early to answer. But its presence is challenging the Ministry of Education. Even without the approval of the ministry it seems that the school is determined to move forward and enroll(招收)50 students, so-called child prodigies(奇才), to begin classes on March l, 2011.On graduating in 2015, these students will receive a diploma unauthorized by the Ministry of Education-unlike the students of their age from the state-run universities.
The school is committed to modeling itself on Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, but if the government will not approve the school, the situation could cause a lot of trouble for those 50 students if they want to do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions. Other schools could turn their applications down for their unauthorized diplomas.
The difficulties, however, have not frightened students and their parents away. On Dec.18, 2010 more than 1,000 students and their parents visited Nanfang University of Science and Technology for interviews.
Private investment marks the school out from other higher learning institutions in the nation. Not a penny comes from the government. So the government will have no voice in how the school will be run.
The Ministry of Education has published a comprehensive plan for education reform and development between 2011 and 2020.The goal is to make China’s higher education internationally competitive. To accomplish this goal, the government should have the courage to let the educators who have big ideas try them out. The ministry should have applauded the independence the school in Shenzhen has shown and encouraged more to do likewise.
Education reform in China has reached a new and crucial stage. Nanfang University of Science and Technology has a long way to go to prove itself competitive rather than a diploma mill. What will makes those 50 students different from others?
A.They are all child prodigies. |
B.They will study much longer time. |
C.They are willing to challenge the Ministry of Education. |
D.They will receive an unauthorized diploma. |
Over 1,000 students and parents visited the school because .
A.they believe that the school will have a bright future |
B.they believe the government is sure to approve the school |
C.the school models itself on Hong Kong University successfully |
D.they will never do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions |
The trouble the students in the school may have is that .
A.the government will have no voice in the school |
B.they won’t receive any diploma when graduating from the school |
C.other schools are unlikely to accept their diploma from the school |
D.they will not learn how to be competitive |
What does the author think of Nanfang University of Science and Technology?
A.It is another kind of diploma mill. |
B.It’s impossible for the school to be competitive. |
C.It will never get the approval from the Ministry of Education. |
D.Its independence from the government may benefit the education reform. |
What is the best title of the passage?
A.University of New Style. | B.China’s Education Reform. |
C.Modeling Hong Kong University. | D.Authorized or Not? |
B
Sir Richard Branson today offered a $ 25,000,000 prize for scientists who find a way to save the planet from the effects of climate change.
Supported by the former US vice-president A1 Gore and other environmentalists, the boss of Virgin Atlantic airlines called for scientists to come up with a way to take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
“What we are doing is making sure we get the most carbon dioxide-friendly planes. We promise that 100% of profits we make from our transportation business are put into things like the prize we've offered today. We shall convince people that we are facing a threat which is urgent and there’s no superhero. We have no hope of a meaningful solution unless we find a way to work together.” he said.
Mr Gore said global warming was man-made and was like to the planet suffering from a “fever”. He said, "Humans had slipped into a way of thinking that was centered on ‘short term satisfaction’, and now meet the challenge of ‘transforming ourselves and changing the structures of everything we do’," he said.
Reacting to the launch of the prize, Tony Jupiter, the Friends of the Earth's director, warned against wasting time waiting for new inventions. He said, "Sir Richard' s initiative (初衷) may encourage inventors to develop a wonder technology to deal with carbon dioxide of the atmosphere. But many of the ways, such as energy efficiency and renewables, already exist, and it is essential that these be put into practice as soon as possible. Moreover, Sir Richard must also look at his business activities and the contribution they make to climate change. The world will find it very difficult to settle climate change if air travel continues to expand and space tourism is developed."
40. Sir Richard Branson is ________.
A. a scientist concerned for climate change B. a businessman working for A1 Gore
C. the boss of Virgin Atlantic airlinesD. the director of the Friends of the Earth
41. The purpose of using A1 Gore' s quotation was to_______。
A. ask people to change the way of thinking
B. compare global warming to an Earth's fever
C. show how serious and urgent the problem is
D. call for more attention to the launch of the prize
42. What is file main idea of the passage?
A. It is important for people to save our planet.
B. Humans are to blame for causing climate change.
C. Scientists are trying to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
D. A prize was offered for solutions to global warming.
43. How was Tony Jupiter’s attitude to space tourism?
A. Negative. B. Positive. C. Optimistic. D. Neutral (中立).
第二部分 阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
A
Since it was published in 1818, Frankenstein, a classic horror story, has been in print in many languages. The monster from the novel by Mary Shelley is the result of man's uncontrolled desire to create and apply his knowledge.
The novel features Victor Frankenstein, a student who explores the secrets of life in his laboratory. Fearing that he has created a monster, Victor Frankenstein wants to stop but too late. The monster kills Victor Frankenstein's young brother and causes the murder to be blamed on an innocent girl. Victor and the monster meet in the frozen mountains. The monster asks Victor to create a female monster, promising to afterwards leave with her for the wilds. Victor begins the work and discovers the monster has followed him to watch the work. Victor regrets his decision to create a second monster and worries that together they will begin a species of monster. Victor destroys the monster's bride. The monster soon takes revenge (复仇) on Victor by killing his best friend, his father and finally, his bride, Elizabeth. Victor pursues (追赶) the monster across many places. On the point of death, Victor meets a ship and tells his story to the captain whose letters and diaries are then to form this novel. Victor Frankenstein's last words are, "Farewell, Walton! Avoid ambition, even if it is only the obviously innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries."
Frankenstein’s conflicted ambition is with us always. And the Monster stands at our window, reminding us to take care of our creations against experimenting with things we don’t understand.
36. The passage was written to _______。
A. tell us the story from Frankenstein B. encourage us to explore the secret of life
C. entertain us with the monster D. show pity on Victor Frankenstein
37. According to the passage, Mary Shelley' s Frankenstein is made up of_________。
A. poems B. plays C. fairy tales D. letters and diaries
38. The correct order of the following events is_________。
a. The monster follows Frankenstein to watch his work.
b. Frankenstein runs after the monster across many places.
c. The monster kills Frankenstein's bride.
d. Frankenstein kills the monster's bride.
e. Frankenstein creates a monster in experiments.
A. e, b, a, c, d B. e, d, c, b, a C. e, a, c, d, b D. e, a, d, c, b
39. In the last paragraph, the writer of the passage points that_______。
A. the monster is still disturbing people
B. man's ambition in creations should never be allowed
C. man's risky experiments have created many monsters
D. creations in science should be carefully dealt with
E
I went on line to check my pay was in my bank account(账户). To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, a company I’d never worked for had also paid me! I know I would have been beside myself if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money back to the right person. Easier said than done.
The bank couldn’t help as it “wasn’t a bank problem.” The human-resource department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn’t have enough details. I rang the bank again. Thankfully I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a name, so I again rang the company “Daniel” worked for.
I expected the bank would contact me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard nothing for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, explaining he’d tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their error. He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably fix this problem ourselves.
We decided I would take the money from my account and he would pick it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel personally but he left me a lovely bottle of wine in exchange for what was rightfully his. I never had any intention of keeping Daniel’s pay but red tape(繁琐手续)made it difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to two people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn’t do — admit a mistake has occurred and fix it.
52. What was the attitude of the author towards the extra money in his bank account?
A. He didn’t know what to do with it. B. He felt lucky to get it.
C. He thought of keeping it for himself. D. He wanted to return it to the right person.
53. The underlined phrase “beside myself” probably means _______.
A. very fortunate B. very angry C. really thankful D. at ease
54. How was the problem solved in the end?
A. The author and Daniel solved the problem themselves.
B. It cost Daniel a lovely bottle of wine to get back his money.
C. The author gave the money back to the company.
D. The call operator offered to solve their problem.
55. From the passage we can infer that _________.
A. the bank could solve the problem soon and easily with the red tape
B. some large organizations usually have troublesome official rules
C. Daniel didn’t know the error until he contacted the author
D. it was easy for a company to have a mistake which had occurred fixed
D
Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown(成熟的). Quite the opposite ,just as the cook as to undergo a particular training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose is — schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication. You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding.
There are still some faraway places in the world where you might find a public scribe(抄写员)to do your business or social writing for you, for money. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letters writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to papers. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put into mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figures must be extremely large. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes whatever he writes will be read from first word to last, not just thrown into some “letters-to-be-read” files or into the wastepaper basket. This is the reason we make efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.
48. In this passage, good writing is compared to fine food because both______.
A. are enjoyable B. are easy to learn
C. are unnecessary to life D. take a short time to prepare
49. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Writing skills are less important than experience.
B. A good writer should have his own way of writing.
C. A good writer should learn to write the same kind of article.
D. The more efforts one makes, the more money one can earn.
50. The authour thinks that the most important reason for us to practice writing skill is ______.
A. to learn about our life B. to attract others to read
C. to do daily reports easily D. to become good secretaries
51. The purpose of the author in writing his passage is to ______.
A. comment and blame B. introduce and describe
C. explain and persuade D. interest and inform
C
He was the baby with no name. Found and taken from the north Atlantic 6 days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, his tiny body so moved the salvage(救援)workers that they called him “our baby. ” In their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, people collected money for a headstone in front of the baby's grave(墓), carved with the words: “To the memory of an unknown child. ” He has rested there ever since.
But history has a way of uncovering its secrets. On Nov. 5, this year, three members of a family from Finland arrived at Halifax and laid fresh flowers at the grave. “This is our baby,” says Magda Schleifer, 68, a banker. She grew up hearing stories about a great-aunt named Maria Panula, 42, who had sailed on the Titanic for America to be reunited with her husband. According to the information Mrs. Schleifer had gathered, Panula gave up her seat on a lifeboat to search for her five children -- including a 13-month-old boy named Eino from whom she had become separated during the final minutes of the crossing. "We thought they were all lost in the sea," says Schleifer.
Now, using teeth and bone pieces taken from the baby's grave, scientists have compared the
DNA from the Unknown Child with those collected from members of five families who lost relatives on the Titanic and never recovered the bodies. The result of the test points only to one possible person: young Eino. Now, the family sees: no need for a new grave. "He belongs to the people of Halifax," says Schleifer. "They've taken care of him for 90 years. "
Adapted from People, November 25, 2002
44. The baby travelled on the Titanic with his___________.
A. mother B. parents C. aunt D. relatives
45. What is probably the boy's last name?
A. Schleiferi B. Eino. C. Magda. D. Panula.
46. Some members of the family went to Halifax and put flowers at the child's grave on Nov. 5__.
A. 1912 B. 1954 C. 2002 D. 2004
47. This text is mainly about how______________.
A. the unknown baby's body was taken from the north Atlantic
B. the unknown baby was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia
C. people found out who the unknown baby was
D. people took care of the unknown baby for 90 years