Europe's first major university department to promote research into government and public policy will open in Oxford under new plans．
In a hugely significant move, Oxford University will create a new school of government in 2012 following a￡75 million donation by Leonard Blavatnik, the American industrialist and philanthropist（慈善家）．The school is intended to train outstanding graduates from across the world in the skills and responsibilities of government．The move is being backed by world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan．
Andrew Hamilton, Oxford's vice - chancellor, said: "The school represents a huge milestone in Oxford's history．It will give tomorrow leaders the best of Oxford's traditional strengths alongside new and practical ways of understanding and meeting the challenges of good governance．
"The university has educated 26 British Prime Ministers and over 30 other world leaders, yet until how the major international schools of government have all been outside Europe, principally in the United States．"
Under plans, the Blavatnik School of Government will provide a series of practical courses leading to a Master's degree．It will cover a range of subjects including the humanities, social sciences, law, science, technology, health, finance, energy and security policy．
Oxford said Mr Blavatnik's donation was one of the most generous in the university' s 900 year history The university itself will be investing an additional￡26m in the school, as well as land in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, where the school will be located．
Lord Patten, Oxford's chancellor, said: "This is a once - in - a - century opportunity for Oxford through the Blavatnik donation, Oxford will now become the world's leading centre for the training of future leaders in government and public policy - and in ways that take proper account of the very different additions, institutions and cultures that those leaders will serve．It is an important moment for the future good government throughout the world．"What is the text mainly about?
| A．Political leaders from Oxford． |
| B．Traditions and strengths of Oxford． |
| C．Oxford ways to train future leaders． |
| D．Oxford school of government under plans． |
The move is meant to _____．
| A．provide varieties of courses |
| B．promote popularity of Oxford |
| C．find talented graduates in Europe |
| D．educate tomorrow’s political leaders |
What can students learn in the new school?
| A．Politics and economics． |
| B．Philosophy and humanities． |
| C．Traditional and practical courses． |
| D．Modern science and technology． |
Which of the following is true of the school?
| A．It is named after Leonard Blavatnik． |
| B．It will not provide traditional courses． |
| C．It is wholly financed by Leonard Blavatnik． |
D．It is the first international school of gover nment. |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Public policy is the present focus． |
| B．More world leaders will rise from Oxford． |
| C．World leaders need to respect each other． |
| D．Lord Patten has different opinions of the plan． |
E
By far the most common difficulty in studying is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine (规律性事务) of study. Many students just do a bit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.
Few students work to a set timetable. They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to change it frequently, since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be.
No doubt some students are more willing to accept a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable, and dislike being tied down to a fixed program of work. Many able students state that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation to work. Most people over 25 years of age have become used to routine, and the majority of real productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work. The “tough-minded” school doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally, under the influence of inspiration.
Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”. In fact, freedom from control and discipline leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”. Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality (准时), and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society, we have to meet its demands.
57．The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is ______.
A．changing from one subject to another
B．the failure to keep to a set timetable of work
C．the unwillingness to follow a systematic plan
D．working on a subject only when one feels like it
58．Which of the following is true?
A．Many students are not interested in using self-controlled timetable.
B．Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable.
C．Most people of over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable.
D．Tough-minded people agree that good job is done naturally
59．The underlined part “as the fit takes them” in paragraph 4 means ______.
A．when they have the energy B．when they are in the mood
C．when they feel fit D．whey they find conditions are suitable
60．A suitable title for the passage might be ______.
A．Attitudes to Study B．A study Plan
C．The Difficulties in Studying D．Study and Self-discipline
D
Wives, children and parents left behind in the countryside by migrant workers need special assistance, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said yesterday.
Adult males moving to work in cities, is causing a challenge to the traditional function of bringing up children and supporting the elderly, said Shen Shuji, who is also an official with the All-China Women’s Federation.
Shen recommended certain measures, including a special policy to guarantee educational opportunities for such children, accelerating (加速) the establishment of pension (养老金) and medical care systems in rural areas, and encouraging enterprises and non-governmental organizations to help such families.
The rights and welfare of migrant workers themselves have called much attention in recent years. The government has made policies to protect their rights.
The number of children aged between 6 and 16 in this situation is more than 20 million nationwide, accounting for more than half of the country’s total. Some of the children have both their parents in cities and have to be taken care of by grandparents or other family relatives.
Without enough care from parents, many of them become problem children, Shen said. Wives left at home by their husband have to face hard work, loneliness and a lack of a sense of security. In many cases long-term separation ends up with divorce.
There is still no pension system in China’s countryside. Traditionally, the elderly in rural areas are supported by their children with low incomes.
But the exodus of their children has left many old people in a difficult situation. They have to continue to work in farms while taking care of their grandchildren, Shen said.
The country should gradually scrap (消除) the decades-old bi-polar system separating rural and urban areas, which prevent farmers from enjoying the equal rights.
53．What is the key to solving the problem that wives, children and parents are left behind in the
countryside?
A．Migrant workers should have a higher pay.
B．More profitable policies for migrant workers should be carried out.
C．The government should try to make the countryside catch up with the city.
D．Everyone should give his hand to help migrant workers.
54．We can infer from the passage that ______.
A．enough efforts have been made to improve the situation in the countryside.
B．families in the countryside are often very large.
C．all the children can go to school before long.
D．there is a long way to go before solving the problem
55．Which of the following is NOT the problem of adult males moving to work in cities according to the passage?
A．The broken marriage. B．More problem children.
C．Lack of labour force. D．More deserted land.
56．The underlined word “exodus” probably means ______.
A．poverty B．missing C．absence D．illness
C
There is no doubt that watching television and movies can influence the way people behave. Moreover, it seems that people are spending more and more time watching some sort of entertainment, whether it is a television, a video tape or a DVD. Therefore, the effects of the visual media cannot be ignored.
One obvious effect of these media is that watching them persuade people to buy certain products. Television advertising is widespread and nowadays, even movie theaters permit advertisements. Another way TV or movies affect people is that they give people either a broader view of the world or a distorted (歪曲) one, depending on what type of program they watch. Those who watch news and educational programs can learn many new things while those who watch entertainments shows may come to believe that most people in the world have great wealth and good looks. It may make them dissatisfied with their own lives. Finally perhaps the most easily influenced viewers are children, who may be unable to tell fact from fiction and may try to copy acts that they see on TV or in the movies.
With the ever-increasing popularity of video entertainment, society must pay attention to these effects. Television and movies, while entertaining and informative, cannot take the place of experiences.
49．From the passage we know that watching television and movies can ______.
A．make people live better B．make people feel pleased
C．make people change their way of life D．make people live worse
50．The writer hold the view that ______.
A．people may take no notice of the effects of the visual media
B．people must pay attention to the effects of the video media
C．the effects of the visual media make the world changed greatly
D．the visual media only affect young people
51．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．Those who watch news and educational program can earn a lot of money.
B．Most people possess great wealth and good looks.
C．People buy products when they are persuaded by TV advertising.
D．Never believe advertisements on TV or in movie theater.
52．What should be the best title for this text?
A．The Influence of TV and Movies B．The Popularity of TV and Movies
C．Television and Movies Cheat People D．The Function of TV and Movies
B
For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.
45．Which is the main idea of this passage?
A．Opera is famous for its long history.
B．Opera is only performed for rich people.
C．Young people are not interested in opera.
D．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.
46．The underlined phrase “loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes” (paragraph 2) means ______.
A．breaking up the old rules B．changing the formal suits
C．making the audience at ease D．advertising themselves
47．The San Francisco Opera Company employs student actors in order to ______.
A．celebrate its 75th anniversary B．reduce the cost
C．attract young people D．make Cinderella popular
48．From the passage we can infer that ______.
A．the tickets for operas are very expensive
B．operas are performed in a difficult language
C．operas are not so popular an art form today
D．students enjoy performing operas very much
第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题, 第二节5小题；每小题2分, 满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
Nate suffered a hard blow when he lost his job. His boss had spoken rudely, “Your services are no longer needed.” Nate left the building filled with despair. By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression. When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia, “I lost my job. I am a complete, utter failure.” A tense silence followed. Then a smile crept across Sophia’s face. “What great news!” she responded.
“Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write.”
“But I have no job and no prospect of a job,” YC he objected, completely without hope. “If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on? Where will the money come from?” Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen. Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash. “Where on earth did you get this?” Nate gasped. “To whom does it belong?”
“It’s ours!” Sophia replied. “I always knew that one day you would become a great writer if only you were given the chance. From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance. Now there is enough to last us a whole year.”
What a surprise! What encouragement! What a wife! The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece. The book is The Scarlet Letter. Sophia had an even greater achievement, and she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master.
41．Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A．Sophia was very disappointed to hear the news
B．Nate was too sad to speak any more
C．Sophia was thinking of how to encourage Nate
D．Neither husband nor wife had any idea what to do
42．Sophia saved money because ______.
A．she knew her husband would lose his job one day
B．she knew their life would be in difficulty
C．she was very careful with money
D．she was trying to help her husband in every possible way
43．From the passage we can know that Sophia was ______.
A．kind and brave B．careful and encouraging
C．friendly and warm-hearted D．honest and determined
44．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Sophia’s Achievement. B．A great writer’s struggle to success.
C．Great encouragement in hard times. D．Failure is the mother of success.