Nowadays, there’s a lot of debate about single sex education since it has begun to regain its popularity recently. According to long term studies of children from around the world, students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools.
An Australian study of 270,000 students found that both boys and girls performed much higher on standardized(标准化) tests when they attended separate schools. During an experiment in Virginia in 1995, 100 eighth graders were separated just for math and science courses. Almost immediately, the girls began to achieve more, become more confident and take part more often in class activities.
In 2001, a British study concluded that nearly every girl regardless of (不论) her ability or socio-economic status performed better in single sex classrooms than co-ed ones. The study of 2,954 high schools and 979 primary schools showed that while boys at the lowest levels in study improved the most in single sex schools, single sex education was particularly beneficial (有益的) to girls. Every one of the top 50 private elementary schools and top 20 private high schools in Britain are single sex schools.
Girls became more confident in themselves as students and earned higher scores on their College Board and Advanced Placement examinations. A quarter of the female members of the US Congress and one-third of all female members of Fortune 100 boards graduated from all-women’s colleges.
While the statistics are not as dramatic for boys, however, boys tend to soften their competitive edge and become more cooperative in a single sex setting. They can just be boys and not worry about what the girls might think.
Single sex education has a pleasant way of encouraging children to be fearless, to be curious, to be enthusiastic --- in short, to just be themselves. Children are subjected (屈从于) to pressures from every quarter to become adults before they are ready to do so. They grow up too quickly. Why not let them be children for a few more years? Single sex education with its gentler, more controlled social atmosphere is just the right answer for many children. With the experiment in Virginia in 1995, the writer wants to show that .
| A．single sex education has become popular in recent years |
| B．the effect of single sex education on girls is immediate |
| C．students at separate schools are better prepared for standardized tests |
| D．both boy and girl students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools |
According to the article, which of the following statements about single sex education is TRUE?
| A．Girls’ performances in single sex classrooms are determined by their ability and socioeconomic status. |
| B．In all-boys schools boys with the worst academic performances improved the most. |
| C．Single sex education was particularly helpful for boys. |
| D．There are more single sex schools than co-ed schools in Britain. |
In the article, the underlined phrase “soften their competitive edge” probably means .
| A．act in a kindly manner | B．become less competitive |
| C．lose interest in something | D．take advantage of something |
What is the main point of the article?
| A．Ways to reduce pressure and help children grow. |
| B．The reason why girls perform better than boys at school. |
| C．The advantage of single sex education. |
| D．The development of single sex education in different countries. |
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what "PK" meant.
"My family has been watching the 'Super Girl' singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the "Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.
"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM'. I loved to 'FB' with him together; he always took me to the 'KPM'," went one composition.
"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). "FB" means Fu Bai (corruption). "KPM" is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao! By writing the article, the writer tries to ________ .
| A．explain some Internet language |
| B．suggest common Internet language |
| C．laugh at the Beijing father |
| D．draw our attention to Internet language |
What does the writer think about the term "PK"?
| A．Fathers can't possibly know it. |
| B．The daughter should understand it. |
| C．Online game players may know it. |
| D．"Super Girl" shouldn't have used it. |
The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons________ .
| A．are used not only online |
| B．can be understood very well |
| C．are welcomed by all the people |
| D．cause trouble to our mother tongue |
The underlined word "jargons" means " ________ " in Chinese.
| A．行话 | B．粗口 |
| C．歌词 | D．趋势 |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A puzzled father |
| B．Do you speak Internet-ish? |
| C．Keep away from Internet-ish |
| D．Kong Long or Qing Wa? |
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?
| A．Because there were few women in his country at that time. |
| B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. |
| C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. |
| D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
Valentine was put into prison because ______.
| A．he killed one of the soldiers |
| B．he stole a lot of food |
| C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order |
| D．he didn’t want to be a soldier |
The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A．students in China send cards to their teachers |
| B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
People celebrate Valentine’s Day to _________.
| A．get gifts | B．honor a priest |
| C．enjoy romance | D．get married |
The best title for this passage should be ______.
| A．Valentine’s Day | B．A Brave Priest |
| C．Valentine’s Day in China | D．A Romantic Man |
Why do we laugh and get amusement from so many different things，from puns (双关语) to pratfalls? Why are some things funny to some people and not to others? How is that while a successful joke can cause pleasure，a sick one can cause serious harm?
Over the centuries，various scholars have attempted to produce a universally agreed-upon theory of humor．Plato and Aristotle introduced the superiority(优越感) theory，the idea that people laugh at the misfortune of others．Their theory seems to explain teasing，but it doesn’t work well for knock-knock jokes．Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory，the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires．His theory works well for dirty jokes，less well for most puns．
The majority of humor expels today agree with the incongruity theory，the idea that humor arises when there’s a gap between what people expect to happen and what actually happens．Incongruity has a lot going for it — jokes with unexpected funny lines，for example，fit well．But scientists have found that in comedy，unexpectedness is overvalued．
With the goal of developing a new，more satisfactory explanation，I produced “the gentle violation(违背)theory”，the idea that humor arises when something seems wrong or threatening，but is actually OK or safe．A dirty joke，for example，trades on moral or social violations，but it’s only going to get a laugh if the person listening is open enough to consider the subject OK to talk about．Similarly，puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense．
And while most humor theories have struggled to account for tickling (挠痒痒)，or just avoided the phenomenon altogether，my theory accounts for even this kind of laughter．Tickling involves violating someone’s physical space in a gentle way．People can’t tickle themselves — because it isn’t a violation．What is the author’s attitude towards Plato and Aristotle’s theory?
| A．Critical． | B．Approving | C．uncaring | D．Unclear |
According to Sigmund Freud’s theory，we can infer that __________ .
| A．people will laugh when they see others suffer |
| B．telling dirty jokes is a relief of one’s nervous feelings ’ |
| C．unexpectedness can explain how humor works |
| D．tickling doesn’t involve psychological tension |
According to the author，why are some things funny to some people but not to others?
| A．Because the sense of humor varies greatly from person to person． |
| B．Because people have different expectations for the same thing． |
| C．Because some people lack the sense of safety deep in their heart． |
| D．Because people’s understanding of violation is different． |
What is the author’s main purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To draw people’s attention to the research of humor． |
| B．To criticize people’s misconceptions about humor． |
| C．To explain what exactly causes people to laugh． |
| D．To prove the sense of humor can be developed． |
Coffee is a powerful beverage．On a personal level，it helps keep US awake and active．On a much broader level，it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture．
Coffee didn’t take off until the l400s when people figured out they could roast its seeds．By the l500s，the drink had spread to coffeehouses across the Arab world．Within another l50 years，it took Europe by storm．
“It actually had a major impact on the rise of business，” historian Mark Pendergrast says．Coffeehouses became a spot not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas．The insurer Lloyd’s of London was founded hundreds of years ago in one of London’s 2,000 coffeehouses．Literature，newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach and Beethoven were also spawned(涌现)in coffeehouses．
It is often said that after the Boston Tea Party of l773，when American colonists attacked British tea ships and threw boxes of tea into the harbor，Americans universally switched over to drinking coffee．In a letter John Adams wrote to his wife，Abigail，the Founding Father claims his love of tea but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead，because drinking tea had become a symbol of not loving the country．
For all the upsides coffee has brought the modern world，it also led to its fair share of downsides，too．Europeans carried coffee with them as they colonized various parts of the world，and this frequently meant they enslaved people in order to grow it．In Brazil — where slavery was legal until l888 — coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture，tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees．Once the soil had been exhausted，growers would move on to another place．
And yet，coffee，as Pendergrast says，”had a very good impact in many ways on our civilization，even though it was，for a long time，grown by slaves．”Why did people enjoy going to coffeehouses?
| A．Because it was a fashion to drink coffee． |
| B．Because coffeehouses provided a better flavor． |
| C．Because they could stay awake and active there． |
| D．Because they could exchange ideas there． |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．American colonists made great profits by trading in coffee． |
| B．Tea was regarded as a symbol of loving one’s country． |
| C．Coffee became very popular after the incident in Boston． |
| D．John Adams was the Founding Father of the Tea Party． |
In the fifth paragraph．the writer points out that __________ .
| A．Coffee plantation was closely connected with slavery |
| B．coffee plantation led to outdated agriculture in Brazil |
| C．slavery in Brazil had been against the law until l888 |
| D．slavery was responsible for the damage to rainforests |
What is mainly talked about in this passage?
| A．Some interesting stories about coffee culture． |
| B．Important Roles that coffee played in history． |
| C．How coffee became the most popular beverage． |
| D．How coffee affected America’s independence． |
It is hard to imagine that such a small country，the size of Indiana with the population of Alaska，tucked in the Himalaya Mountains，accessible only by two airplanes，is the “Happiest Country’’ in the world and has one of the fastest growing GDP’S in the world．This country is Bhutan，“Land of the Thunder Dragon”，which is located in South Asia and is encompassed by India，China，and Nepal．
Bhutan is the last standing Buddhist Kingdom in the World and，until recently，has preserved much of their culture since the l7th century by avoiding globalization and staying isolated from the world．Internet，television，and western dress were banned from the country up until ten years ago．Over the past ten years globalization has begun to change in Bhutan，but things remain perfectly balanced．
Bhutan is the only country in the world that has a ‘GNH’，which refers to “Gross National Happiness．’’The process of measuring GNH began when Bhutan opened up to globalization．It measures people’s quality of life，and makes sure that “material and spiritual development happen together．”Bhutan has done an amazing job of finding this balance．Bhutan has continually been ranked as the happiest country in all of Asia，and the eighth Happiest Country in the world according to Business Week．In 2007，Bhutan had the second fastest growing GDP in the world，at the same time as maintaining their environment and cultural identity．
In 2008，in Bhutan’s first democratic election，28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wang Chuck was elected president of Bhutan．He promises to “maintain a stance （立场)of protection against the worst aspects of globalization，maintaining the ‘Gross National Happiness’．”But Jigme himself is no stranger to globalization．He attended high school at Phillips Academy and university at Wheaton College and then graduated from Oxford．The underlined word “encompassed’’ in the first paragraph most probably means __________ .
| A．covered | B．surrounded |
| C．separated | D．guarded |
Why is Bhutan regarded as “the happiest country”?
| A．Because it changes its policy and begins to open up． |
| B．Because it uses “GNH” to measure its achievement． |
| C．Because it stresses both material and spiritual development． |
| D．Because it has the second fastest growing GDP in the world． |
What Can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The election in Bhutan is far from satisfactory． |
| B．Globalization has influenced Bhutan’s religion． |
| C．Jigme’s educational background will cause distrust． |
| D．People in Bhutan will continue living a happy life． |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
