A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.
Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.
Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.
When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.
The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”
Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.
For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?
| A．His success in helping his cousin learn math. |
| B．His discovery that many students found learning math difficult. |
| C．A suggestion made to him at a local high school. |
| D．His interest in Internet teaching. |
Why does Khan never go on camera?
| A．He’s too shy to show his face on camera. |
| B．It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos. |
| C．He wants to keep distance from the viewers. |
| D．He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere. |
From the passage, we know that ________.
| A．Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons |
| B．Khan plans to include more subjects in the future |
| C．Khan gives live math lessons every day for free |
| D．Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife |
Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s lessons?
| A．Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher. |
| B．The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood. |
| C．She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching. |
| D．She cannot concentrate when learning in class. |
What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6th paragraph?
| A．Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration. |
| B．YouTube recommends short lessons for its site. |
| C．Short lessons encourage students to return to the website. |
| D．Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more. |
NEW YORK- One in five U.S．workers regularly attends after-work drinks with coworkers, where the most common mishaps range from badmouthing another worker to drinking too much, according to a study released on Tuesday．
Most workers attend so-called happy hours to bond with colleagues, although 15 percent go to hear the latest office gossip and 13 percent go because they feel necessary, said the survey conducted for CareerBuilder.com, an online job site．As to what happens when the after-work drinks flow, 16 percent reported bad-mouthing a colleague, 10 percent shared a secret about a colleague and 8 percent said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally．Five percent said they had shared a secret about the company, and 4 percent confessed to singing karaoke．While 21 percent of those who attended said happy hours were good for networking, 85 percent said attending had not helped them get closer to someone higher up or get a better position．An equal number of men and women said they attended happy hours with co-workers, with younger workers aged 25 to 34 most likely and workers over 55 least likely to attend．Overall, 21 percent of workers attend happy hours with co-workers and; of those nearly a quarter go at least once a month.
The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,987 full-time employees between February 11 and March 13．Harris Interactive said the results had a sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
56．Harris Interactive made the survey to find out ________.
A．how U.S．workers spend their after-work time
B．what U.S．workers do at after-work drinks
C．the relationships between U.S．workers
D．who are most likely to attend after-work drinks
57．________ of workers who attend after-work drinks speak ill of a colleague.
A．4 percent B．8 percent C．16 percent D．10 percent
58．According to the passage, most of those surveyed believed attending after-work drinks ________．
A．benefited them a lot B．could provide information
C．only made them relaxed D．was of no help to them
59．We can learn from the text that _________.
A．workers over 55 don’t like to attend happy hours at all
B．about 75% of workers go more than once a month
C．10.5% of male workers attend happy hours with co-workers
D．about 700 workers surveyed shared a secret about a co-worker
60．After the survey, it can be inferred that_________.
A．all the workers oppose after-work drinks
B．the workers may change their attitudes towards after-work drinks
C．all the workers support after-work drinks
D．all the workers are suggested going to attend after-work drinks
Gu Changwei was the first Chinese cinematographer to be nominated (提名) for an Oscar, and he is regarded by Zhang Yimou as the best cinematographer in China．Gu was behind the camera for many of Zhang Yimou’s famous films including the one that rocketed Zhang to fame: "Red Sorghum (高粱)"．And now this master of the visual has taken on his first directing role with the film "Peacock"．So Gu Changwei has come out from behind the camera into the spotlight (聚光灯).
Gu Changwei is very serious about his directing "Peacock"．To get the authentic atmosphere, Gu took his film crew to the city of Anyang in central China’s Henan province where the story took place, to shoot the film．He chose all new actors because he didn’t want "stars" appeal to weaken the power of the story, and he also had his actors trained in the local dialect．For this film Gu has been able to get out from behind the camera to manage every aspect of the film, and to realize his own ideals in movie-making.
"Peacock" is about the life of an average family in a small town in Henan province in the late 1970s and early 1980s．Gu chose this story for his first movie because he grew up during this same period and it struck a chord with him.
“Peacock” wrapped up production in June, 2004．It’s aimed at the foreign film market and will be entered in February’s Berlin Film Festival, and released in China at the same time．But at the end of last October, Gu took “Peacock” to his Alma Mater, the Beijing Film Academy, one of the most famous film colleges in China, to hold a preview．The film was warmly received by both teachers and students.
61．The underlined word “cinematographer” refers to a person who ________.
A．has been nominated for an Oscar B．uses a camera to shoot films
C．directs first-class films D．arranges for cinema shows
62．Gu didn’t employ “stars” in his film because ________.
A．stars usually stick to their own acting styles
B．the stars may not be able to speak the local dialect
C．the stars may share the audience’s attention with the story
D．it was not easy for him, a fresh hand, to invite stars to join him
63．Gu chose such a story for his first movie because ________.
A．he was born in the early 1970s B．he grew up in Henan province
C．he was popular in Henan province D．the story had something to do with his own experience
64．From the passage we can learn that "Peacock"________.
A．is the film for which Gu is likely to win an Oscar prize
B．has already become popular both at home and abroad
C．has its production started last summer D．will be publicly shown in spring, 2005
65．Please choose a proper title for this passage.
A．From behind the camera into the spotlight
B．Chinese cinematographer to be nominated for Oscar
C．New faces to appear in “Peacock”
D．"Peacock" to enter foreign film market
Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．
There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的） tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿） are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．
56．The passage mainly tells us ________．
A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains
B．the changes in brain throughout our lives
C．that men are better at spatial tasks
D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors
57．Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s
B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．
C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain．
D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter．
58．What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
A．Women prefer doing many things at a time．
B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time．
C．Women do not need to tell directions．
D．Men have weaker spatial abilities．
59．Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?
A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls．
B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills
C．Women may have stronger feelings than men．
D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills．
60．What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
A．Defensive． B．Persuasive． C．Supportive． D．Objective．
Runners in a relay（接力） race pass a stick in one direction．However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction．They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road．
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network．It passed through thousands of cities and towns．It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea．It was used from about 200 B．C．to about 1300 A．D．, when sea travel offered new routes（路线）．It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway．However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path．They passed through what are now 18 countries．The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles．Only experienced traders could return safe．
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product．Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods．But the traders carried more than just silk．Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia．Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China．Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods．Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West．Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome．The Chinese had learned to graft（嫁接） different trees together to make new kinds of fruit．They passed this science on to others, including the Romans．The Romans used grafting to grow the apple．Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web．
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods．They also shared their beliefs．The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy（外交）, and religion （宗教）．
61．It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed ．
A．to remember the entire trade route B．to know the making of products
C．to receive certain special training D．to deal with a lot of difficulties
62．The Silk Road became less important because．
A．it was made up of different routes B．silk trading became less popular
C．sea travel provided easier routes D．people needed fewer foreign goods
63．What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A．Silk． B．A trading network．
C．The world’s longest highway． D．Goods．k.s.5.u
64．New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people．
A．learned from one another B．shared each other’s beliefs
C．traded goods along the route D．earned their living by traveling
65．What is the best title for the passage?
A．The Silk Road: Past and Present B．The Silk Road: East Meets West
C．The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers D．The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning
The meaning of the word “volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services．” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage from beaches and parks．Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries．They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves．Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay．
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people．Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means．She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta．The following is her story．
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school．We watched a video about her work in India and all over the world．I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work．So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks．”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people．I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch．I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up．I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them．To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much．It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world．”
66．According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______．
A．is willing to help those in need without pay
B．can afford to travel to different places
C．has a strong wish to be successful
D．has made a big fortune in life
67．Tracy started her work as a volunteer _______．
A．after she met Mother Teresa
B．after she finished high school
C．when she was touring Calcutta
D．when she was working in a hospital
68．Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa．
B．She had already had some experience．
C．She was asked by Mother Teresa’s example．
D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa’s example．
69．What is Tracy’s “new idea”（Paragraph 2） of being a volunteer?
A．Going abroad to help the sick．
B．Working in Mother Teresa’s home．
C．Doing simple things to help the poor．
D．Improving oneself through helping others．
70．What is the best title for the passage?
A．How To Be A Volunteer． B．Voluntary Life In India．
C．A Different Meaning Of Volunteer． D．Inspiration From Mother Teresa．