Standardized exam in American public education are being reformed. Over the next four years, hundreds of university professors and testing experts will work together to design new assessment system.
The new tests will be computer-based and will measure higher-order skills ignored by the multiple-choice exams used in all states，including students’ ability to read complex texts, synthesize(合成)information and do research projects．
Because the new tests will be computerized and will be administered several times throughout the school year, they can provide faster feedback(反馈)to teachers．If these plans work out, It’ll turn the current testing system upside down．
One group，led by Florida，will be made up of 25 states and the District of Columbia．The group was awarded $170 million．The other group, whose membership over-laps the first，has31 states and is led by Washington．The group was given $160 million．Twelve of the 44 states are
participating in both groups but are expected eventually to choose one set of tests．
The two groups are supposed to work in a friendly competition，though their plans are very similar．Both groups will produce tests that rely heavily on technology and both groups’ tests will include so-called performance-based tasks，designed to mirror complex，real-world situations．
In performance-based tasks，students are given a problem－they could be told, for example, to suppose they are a mayor who needs to reduce a city’s pollution—and must write about how they would solve the problem．
The new tests could be useful to teachers by giving them information on what their students are le
arning, but it might also require some mid-course adjustments.
Over the past decade, the federal No Child Left Behind law has emphasized helping low-achieving students improve their basic reading and math by encouraging states to produce tests that measure relatively low-1evel skills. Although the Bush-era law is still on the books, two
years of Obama administration policy have been leading schools in new directions． . . What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Obama’s education policy takes the lead. |
| B．A computer-based testing system is adopted. |
| C．American education system has been changed. |
| D．Experts are reinventing the student testing system. |
. Why are multiple-choice exams to be given up?
| A．Because they are not computer-based. |
| B．Because they can’t test students’ higher-order skills. |
| C．Because they can’t provide proper feedback for teachers. |
| D．Because they can’t test students’ general reading ability. |
. The underlined part in Para. 4 probably means________.
| A．the two groups have some shared members |
| B．the other group is more demanding than the first |
| C．the groups have different tasks of their own |
| D．the other group does better than the first group in the task |
. According to the passage, performance-based tasks may refer to tasks that______.
| A．are related to real-world problems |
| B．have to be performed in an imaginary world |
| C．teach us theories through complex problems |
| D．can only be completed by relying heavily on technology |
. . From the last paragraph, we can infer that_________.
| A．the No child Left Behind policy is not helpful |
| B．the Obama administration’s policy is highly praised |
| C．the two policies both emphasize math and reading abilities |
| D．the two policies both emphasize the development of practical skills |
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.
66. Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
A. She couldn’t get admitted to medical school
B. She decided to further her education in Paris
C. A serious eye problem stopped her
D. It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States
67. What main obstacle(障碍) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming for a doctor?
A. She was a woman.
B. She wrote too many letters.
C. She couldn’t graduate from medical school.
D. She couldn’t set up her hospital.
68. How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?
A. Eight years B. Ten years C. Nineteen years D. Thirty-six years
69. According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blacekwell except that she ______.
A. became the first woman physician
B. was the first woman doctor
C. and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children
D. set up the first medical school for women
70. Eilzabeth Blackwell spent most of her lift in _______.
A. England B. Paris C. the United States D. New York City
A young British sailor was missing at sea yesterday in similar circumstances(情况)to the way his father died five years ago．
The dinghy(救生橡皮船)，used to take Richard Smith，21，to his yacht(快艇)，was discovered empty, floating in seas off the Caribbean island．An air and sea search was carried out but he has still not been discovered．
Richard’s mother, Bicknell，said from her home in Hampshire，“It’s so much coincidence．Richard always carried a photograph of his father attached to a poem，which included the date of his disappearance．”
“Now, it’s very strange because all they have found is Richard’s dinghy．We need to know this time what has happened one way or another．If you know at least you can go through the grieving process(悲痛的过程)．”
In November 1996，Mr. Smith’s father, Charlie，was sailing in the Tasmen sea between the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmen with his new wife．They lost radio contact with the shore and they, together with their yacht were never seen again，and their disappearance remains a mystery．
Richard is described a talented(有才能的)and experienced sailor who has crewed for the champion ocean racer．He had sailed to the。Caribbean in November to crew ocean racing yachts for entertainment．He ended the evening drinking in the Abracbabra bar but left after local police closed it for being too noisy．
About 2 am the following day Richard headed back for his dinghy．He started its outboard motor before giving all elderly woman a lift to her yacht after her dinghy had gone missing．It was the last time he was seen．
61．Riehard Smith was in 2000．
A．ten B．fifteen C．twenty D．eighteen
62．People searched for Richard using．
A．ship only B．ship and radio C．ship and plane D．yacht and car
63．According to the passage，we know Richard died because．
A．he was a green hand in sailing
B．some unknown animal attacked him
C．that was a maze in the area he was sailing
D．of something we don’t know
64．Which statement is NOT true according to this passage?
A．Young Smith had lost radio contact with the shore before he died．
B．Richard’s father had married two women at least．
C．Richard didn’t drink on the evening before he was lost because the
policeman closed the bar．
D．Richard was seen at about 2 am the day he disappeared．
65．The writer tells us．
A．a story about two heroes B．a piece of news about a merchant ship
C．a coincidenceD．the dying process of Richard
Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives．For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite．Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving．Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls．
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites. Many of our TV programs come to US through satellites．Airplane pilots also sometimes use a satellite to help them find their exact location．
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another．They are usually 35，880 kilometers above the equator．Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place．This is because it is moving around the world at 11，000 kilometers an hour—exactly the same speed that the earth rotates．A satellite must orbit the Earth with its antennae(天线)facing the earth．Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit，So there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position．This usually happens about every five or six days．
Space is not empty! Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the Earth．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years．Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to Earth to be repaired．Often，very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the Earth for a very long time．This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other．
56．Which of the following is NOT done by satellites according to the passage?
A．Sending information for weather forecast．
B．Taking photographs of the Earth．
C．Sending TV pictures．
D．Providing food for airplane pilots．
57．What’s the speed the earth rotates at?
A．35,880 kilometers per hour． B．335,880 kilometers per hour．
C．11,000 kilometers per hour． D．110,000 kilometers per hour
58．Why does the satellite move around the world at the same speed as the Earth rotates?
A．In order to take photographs．
B．In order to stay in a certain position in the orbit．
C．In order to move away from its orbit．
D．In order to send television pictures．
59．What does the underlined word “This” refer to?
A．A satellite． B．A little rocket．
C．A satellite seems to stay in the same place in the sky．
D．The satellite puts the rockets in the right position．
60．Which is true of satellites?
A．A satellite usually works for about 10-2 years．
B．Every time a satellite gets broken，it is brought back to the Earth to be repaired．
C．A broken satellite is never left in space．
D．They often crash into each other．
The reasons for going to college have been accepted without question for more than a generation．All high school graduates ought to go ，because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people，and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don’t go.
But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone．And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending，those who don’t fit the pattern are becoming more numerous，and more obvious．College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis；college students interfere with each other’s experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school．Others find no stimulation in their studies，and drop out—often encouraged by college administrators．
Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves—they are spoiled and they are expecting too much．But that’s a criticize of the students as a whole，and doesn’t explain all campus unhappiness．Others blame the state of the world，and they are partly right．We’ve been told that young people have to go to college because our economy can’t absorb an army of untrained eighteen-year-old either．
Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best，the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school．We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down，it seems，and through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences．Perhaps college doesn’t make people intelligent，ambitious，happy , liberal，or quick to learn things-maybe it's just the other way around，and intelligent，ambitious，happy, liberal，quick-learning people are merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place．And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not．This is heresy(异端)to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good，more has to be much better．But contrary evidence is beginning to gradually increase in amount．
48．What does the author believe according to the passage?
A．People used to question the value of college education．
B．People used to have full confidence in higher education．
C．All high school graduates went to college．
D．Very few high school graduates chose to go to college
49．Why does the drop-out rate of college students seem to go up?
A．Young people are disappointed with the traditional way of teaching at college.
B．Many young people are required to join the army．
C．Young people have little motivation in pursuing a higher education．
D．Young people don’t like the intense competition for admission to graduate school．
50．According to the passage，the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that .
A．society cannot provide enough jobs for properly trained college graduates
B．high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college education
C．too many students have to earn their own living
D．college administrators encourage students to drop out
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday that his country hopes to deepen ties with China, which have been strained over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama.
"We need China, the world needs China to get out of the recession(衰退) " Fillon told parliament.Relations between the two countries hit a low after Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in December.
Beijing then pulled out of a summit（峰会） with the European Union (EU) that was supposed to have taken place on Dec 1 in France, which held the rotating EU presidency at the time.
Fillon stressed that Tibet is part of China, but insisted that the French president had every right to meet the Dalai Lama.
"For us, this incident does nothing to distract（转移） from our desire to reinforce our strategic partnership with China."
Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is scheduled to visit China next week following earlier attempts to improve relations.
China, which has said it is up to France to repair ties with Beijing, agreed with the EU last week to hold a summit soon, after the London G20 summit on April 2.
France was excluded from Premier Wen Jiabao's recent European visit.
"We all know why," Wen said when asked why he had omitted France from his journey, China News Service reported.
"I looked at a map of Europe on the plane. My trip goes around France," Wen said.
"The reason (for not visiting) doesn't lie with China", he told a group of reporters. He urged Paris to "mend and improve ties" with China.
44.Premier WenJiabao didn’t visit France because_______.
A.he promised to visit France later
B.former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is scheduled to visit China soon
C.France didn’t attend the summit of the EU
D.Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama
45.According to France, ____________.
A.the president has the right to meet the Dalai Lama
B.the meeting will strengthen the strategic partnership with China
C.they don’t know why Premier WenJiabao didn’t visit France
D.China don’t care much for the ties with France
46.From paragraphs 2,3 and 4, the important conclusion is that _______.
A. Tibet is part of China
B. France and the world need China
C. Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in December.
D. Beijing pulled out of a summit with the Dalai Lama in December.
47.The main idea of the news is that_______.
A. It’s France’s fault to affect the relation between the two countries
B. France seeks to repair relations with China
C. Premier Wen urged Paris to “mend and improve ties” with China
D. Relations between China and France are going smoothly.