When six the very best students from different cities in Guandong province all together chose universities in Hong Kong; when the very best student of Beijing picked up HK University while giving up the nearby Peking or Tsinghua University; when the highest enrollment （录取）rate of Hong Kong Science and Industry University reached 48:1, it’s the high time to ask where the real education heaven for students in China is.
Years ago, the answer certainly would be “Peking or Tsinghua University”. But now no one could give the exact reaction without hesitation. The only sure thing is that HK universities have gradually showed an unusual attraction to a great many mainland students.
It’s no doubt to call this HK craze（狂热）,which is even out of the expectation of those HK universities themselves.
How can HK universities shake the steady foundations of Peking and Tsinghua and attract so many mainland students?
First, Hong Kong universities offer large-amount scholarship, especially for the top students who can receive the sum scholarship as much as 400,000 HK dollars. Since higher education has become a kind of heavy burden of many families, it’s easy to understand why the reaction to the generous offering of HK universities is great.
Second, most HK universities receive professors and students from all over the world and carry out bilingual（双语）education. This kind of excellent language atmosphere is another attraction for mainland students.
Further more, university students in Hong Kong have a better chance to study abroad as exchange students.
Can mainland top universities like Peking or Tsinghua University calm as before when facing the unexpected competition from HK? Will they take relevant measures to win back the top students who once help them set the worldwide reputation? Time will explain it.
The fierce competition brought by HK universities can be a good thing for an entire improvement of education in China. After the awakening and action
taking of mainland universities, they can perform better together with HK universities.
At least, it reminded the mainland universities the tuition fees（学费）are among students’ top concern when they are choosing universities. It’s time to move.What is the passage mainly talking about?
| A．Some thought brought by the enrollment of HK universities. |
| B．Higher education in Hong Kong. |
| C．The competition between HK University and Peking University. |
| D．The fall of mainland universities. |
Top students from mainland apply for HK universities because .
| A．many students now would love to study aboard to get a better experience. |
| B．they concern only about the tuition fees when choosing universities. |
| C．HK universities offer higher scholarship, better environment and more opportunities for their further study. |
D．Peking university has lo st its worldwide reputation. |
What is the author’s attitude toward the competition brought by HK universities?
| A．The government should take relevant measures to stop this unfair competition. |
| B．Mainland universities had better lower their tuition fees and win back the top students. |
| C．Universities both in mainland and in HK would get an entire improvement during the competition. |
| D．It may probably cause a complete loss both sides in the end. |
From the passage we can see HK universities .
| A．didn’t mean to enroll top students from mainland |
| B．didn’t expect their enrollment of mainland students would be so popular |
| C．have strict enrollment rules and only 1 out of 48 students can get the chance to study there |
| D．are proud of their teaching staff and facilities |
What does the author mean by saying “It’s time to move” in the last paragraph?
| A．Mainland universities should take measures as soon as possible to attract students. |
| B．The opportunities come for top students to study abroad. |
| C．Mainland universities should make full preparations to challenge mainland universities. |
| D．Top students should be offered further education free of charge. |
Your children’s teacher will be providing extra time for test preparation. This school year’s test will be held on January 8 and 9. The test preparation time is open to all students, and we strongly encourage your children to attend.
This year we are changing the time for our test preparation: it will be on Thursday mornings from 8:10 to 8:50. This helps children who ride the bus and cannot stay for the after-school period. It also helps avoid conflicts with after-school activities.
Danielle and Marina will be working with the recent new test takers 6 days on the following Thursdays: 15th, Nov; 29th, Nov; 6th, Dec; 13th, Dec.; 20th, Dec. and 3rd, Jan.
Besides the test preparation lectures on these dates, teachers are already putting test preparation into their usual courses. We are finding that we can help our students to be both skillful and whole-hearted readers and test takers — after all, we all know that the best test preparation is good reading and writing training.
What can you do at home? Again, the best and most effective test preparation for the ELA test is reading and more reading. The research is quite clear — students who do well in the tests are those who are good readers. Reading not only builds reading ability, it also helps build confidence — important for successful test taking! But do discourage your children from spending too much time on books that are too hard or even a bit too hard. Children best develop comprehension skills when they are reading books just right for them (too easy doesn’t hurt here either).
Finally, on Friday, December 7, we will have a morning lecture on the ELA. Please pay attention!The text is mainly about ________.
| A．how teachers will provide more time for test preparation |
| B．the reason why time for test preparation will be changed |
| C．how teachers have put test preparation into their usual courses |
| D．test preparation information that parents should know about |
The time for test preparation has been changed to _________.
| A．make it more convenient for the students to attend |
| B．help the new test-takers have more time to read |
| C．avoid disagreement in time between different years of students |
| D．avoid conflicts between preparation time and the usual courses |
From the passage, we know that ________.
| A．Danielle will help students prepare for different tests |
| B．the school year test will be on a Tuesday |
| C．all the children must take part in the test preparation |
| D．the students can learn how to write well in the test preparation |
Parents should _____ at home.
| A．prepare good meals for their children |
| B．read more books with their children |
| C．ask their children not to spend too much time on reading |
| D．encourage their children to read more books fit for them |
Why did the school encourage all the students to take part in the test preparation?
| A．Test preparation is what they always do. |
| B．The students will learn what will be included in the final exam. |
| C．Test preparation helps students to be more interested in reading and confident. |
| D．The test is a long way off and there are better things to do. |
By now you may be thinking, “Enough with the sad songs, already!” Ok, then how about a cowboy song? Gene Autry was one of America’s most famous singing cowboys. He recorded When It’s Springtime in the Rockies in 1937.
And finally, we’ll leave you with a sunny song called Up Jumped Spring. Freddie Hubbard wrote this jazz song in 1977 and Billy Taylor Trio performs it.If you are in a bad mood, you’d better listen to _____.
| A．Up Jumped Spring | B．I Dream of Spring |
| C．Spring Is Here | D．Spring Will be a Little Late This Year |
It Might as Well Be Spring is a song that ______.
| A．is also called State Fair | B．is sung by Ella Fitzgerald |
| C．has a lonely feeling | D．was written by two people |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A. Most songs
about spring are written by Italian composers.
B. K.D
. Lang was good at writing happy songs.
C. Sarah Vaughn sang the so
ng Up Jumped Spring first.
D. Gene Autry was a famous cowboy singer before K.D. Lang.Which of the following songs was first written or recorded?
| A．Spring. |
| B．I Dream of Spring. |
| C．When It’s Springtime in the Rockies. |
| D．Spring Will be a Little Late This Year. |
What’s the purpose of the author to write the passage?
| A．Introduce some songs about spring. |
| B．Introduce some wonderful music. |
| C．Introduce some famous singers. |
| D．Express his/ her love to spring |
I suppose that having been brought up in the countryside and close to animals，it wasn’t remarkable(不平常的)when I decided to become a vet(兽医)．Luckily I was also good at all the necessary science subjects. So after the college entrance examination I found myself at a veterinary college，training to look after animals in all kinds of situations. I hoped that I would be able to work in the research field so that I could find cures for animal diseases.
Much to my surprise，I found public health care was a very important aspect of my course. This is an area of animal medicine where a vet’s work has many things in common with the work of a doctor of human diseases. I particularly liked it because I recognized that the study of animal diseases can help human medicine. As we know，many infectious diseases come from animals—including SARS and bird flu.
Some of the infections have only been understood after carefully analytical work in labs by animal doctors. They helped identify the animal source for diseases such as SARS. They were also the first to identify various kinds of viruses. Sometimes vets are also able to suggest a cure for human illnesses. When I found this out I was determined to make public health medicine my chosen career.
After graduation，I applied for a job in public health. Soon I found myself concerned with the problem of bird flu. This is an illness that attacks birds，but humans can catch the disease if they are in close contact with infected birds. Though the job is dangerous，it makes me proud that vets and other animal disease researchers are in the front line helping to fight these unknown human diseases
The writer wanted to become a vet mainly because______.
| A．he did well in all necessary subjects |
| B．he wanted to help animals |
| C．he was close to animals in his early life |
| D．he wanted to find cures for human diseases |
What made the writer particularly like the course of public health care was that________.
| A．it was both important and interesting |
| B．it could help him connect many human diseases with animals |
| C．it made a vet’s work very much like a doctor’s |
| D．it could help human medicine by studying animal diseases |
What can be followed if this passage continues?
| A．The writer’s happy family life. |
| B．How the writer did research work in studying bird flu. |
| C．How the writer dealt with the relationship with other workmates. |
| D．What difficulty the writer met in the research work. |
Which of the following is implied in the passage?
| A．Animals with infectious diseases should be killed. |
| B．Keeping animals is dangerous to humans. |
| C．Dangerous as a vet’s job is，it is significant to the human race. |
| D．Animal researchers work in the same way as human doctors. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Being a vet is helpful to both animals and humans. |
| B．Vets can cure both animals and humans. |
| C．Vets helped identify animal resources for SARS. |
| D．Both SARS and bird flu are infectious diseases coming from animals. |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling．Recycling in the home is very important of course．However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need．We are dealing with the results of that over–consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place．
The total amount of packaging has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005．It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK．In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard．
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment．The UK, for example, is running out of it for burying this unnecessary waste．If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect．Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy．The solution is not to produce such items in the first place．Food waste is a serious problem, too．Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need．However, few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example．
But this is not just about supermarkets．It is about all of us．We have learned to associate packaging with quality．We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality．This is especially true of food．But it is also applied to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary．
There are signs of hope．As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collected．We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb．What does the underlined phrase “that over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging． | B．Recycling too many wastes． |
| C．Making more products than necessary． | D．Having more material than is needed． |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show ___________．
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste | B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of supermarkets | D．the fact of packaging overuse |
According to the text, recycling ___________．
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect | B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage | D．leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality． |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging． |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging． |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food． |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult． |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled． |
| C．People like collecting recyclable wastes． |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture． |
Every girl wants to have a great-looking tattoo (纹身) design that makes them more attractive. Small and lovely tattoo designs are the path to go for girls planning to get tattooed for the first time.
Nowadays, more and more females are getting a tattoo inked on their body. In the last fifteen years, tattoos have grown from being a sign of rebelliousness and trouble to a state of popular acceptance as a mark of fashion.
Tattoos are permanent so you need to be sure that you like it before getting one. A great way is to have small tattoos that look beautiful as well. You can get a cherry blossom tattoo on the foot, perhaps, a hibiscus flower on the shoulder or a lovely butterfly on the lower stomach; whatever design you choose, it can definitely add to your attractiveness and charm.
Deciding to get a tattoo needs careful thought and reflection. Otherwise, you could make some serious tattoo mistakes. Try to avoid big and obvious designs if possible. Another important part of choosing a tattoo design is the location. What part of the body do you want it on? Choosing a hidden location can often make the tattoo the perfect adornment (装饰). As for professional women, tattoos should normally be where they can be hidden.
Most importantly, no matter what tattoo design you choose the final goal is that the design should be something you like. If you are into the tattoo and really feel passionate about it you will carry yourself in a different manner when you get it inked on your body.A girl wants to have a tattoo in order to ________.
| A．show that she is unique | B．catch up the present fashion |
| C．become more attractive | D．have more confidence |
The underlined word “hallmark” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________
| A．feature | B．exhibition | C．entertainment | D．room |
What did people think of girls who got tattooed in the past?
| A．They looked down upon these girls | B．They thought these girls liked to show off |
| C．They thought these girls were fashionable | D．They thought these girls were rebellious |
What is the author’s attitude towards girls’ getting a tattoo?
| A．He is against girls’ doing so |
| B．He thinks professional women should not get tattooed |
| C．He is in favor of it as long as it is done probably |
| D．He calls on all the girls to do so |
According to the author, which of the following is the right kind of tattoo that girls should get?
| A．Big, beautiful tattoos inked on the back |
| B．Small, lovely tattoos inked on the hidden part of the body |
| C．Big and fashionable tattoos inked on the foot |
| D．Small and beautiful tattoos inked on where it is easy to see |