Why does a large education nation like China have so few world renowned scientists as the US? Educationists from China and the US try to find out the answer to questions like this at a forum on the basic education strategy.
The forum, held recently, was jointly organized by the Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education in China and the Postgraduate School of the University of Pennsylvania in the US. It aims to find out similarities and differences that exist between two countries in their educational system.
While some educationists in China keep a doubtful eye to the country’s educational system in recent years. Their American counterparts give a positive answer to the basic education in China, saying that it is still one of the best in the world.
An American educationist told reporters that the basic education in the US was criticized in recent years due to its political tendency. On the contrary, Chinese government’s stress on basic education and qualified teachers has set a good example.
At primary and middle school, pupils in China did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils. However, few grow to be world “masters”. Why? Educationists attributed this to China’s stress on examination rather than students’ interest.
Deputy Director of the postgraduate school of Pennsylvania University said American teachers encouraged students to focus on their strong points. In China, students are driven to study to pass the entrance examination test and they do not pay much attention to their own interest.
At the forum, director of the Education Development Research Center Mr. Zhang said in the future, the research center would make its middle and long-term basic education strategy by taking some references from other countries including the US.
He also revealed that for a long time in the future, China would make a breakthrough in setting the policy for quality education.This passage is mainly about _________.
| A．quality education development in the future |
| B．why China’s education cultivates(培养) few world masters |
| C．China’s good basic education |
| D．genius education at the primary stage |
The underlined word “renowned” in the first paragraph probably means ________
| A．famous | B．active | C．qualified | D．experienced |
Few pupils in China who did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils grow to be
world “masters”, because _________
| A．The US government spends more money on basic education |
| B．American pupils are cleverer than Chinese pupils |
| C．basic education in China is not as successful as that of the US |
| D．Chinese people pay less attention to students’ interest |
China’s educational system will _______ in the future.
| A．help students to study even harder to pass the examination |
| B．apply more attention to quality education referring to systems of other countries |
| C．allow students to pay more attention to their own interest without their test results |
| D．copy the educational system in the US |
We don’ t always get a second chance to achieve our dreams. But some people are lucky, like Matthew McConaughey. Once almost unknown, the actor has recently found himself back on the list of the best actors in Hollywood. His new movie Interstellar is just another sign that his career reinvention has been an incredible success. “The film relies on McConaughey’ s performance to hold together the emotional story of a father and his daughter against the background of space travel and the end of the world,”Forbes commented.
But only years ago, the Texas native was often the butt of jokes（笑柄）about being too handsome. In 1993, after meeting with director Richard Linklater, McConaughey starred in Dazed and Confused. And a Hollywood career was born, mostly in romantic comedies. For a long time, the whole world believed McConaughey was just a handsome guy with comic talent.
But McConaughey stopped starring in that type of movie, and began to use his looks differently. Slowly he built up his reputation as a serious actor. In 2013, McConaughey was offered to play an AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers Club. The role saw the normally muscular actor losing 50 pounds in order to appear sick. His performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor.
The actor gave thanks to someone he has always looked up to as a hero during his Oscar acceptance speech. When he was 15, the actor said, he decided that his hero would be himself in 10 years. But 10 years later, he pushed the deadline ahead another decade. Then 10 years later, another decade.“My hero’ s always 10 years away,” he said. “I’ m never going to attain that. That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.”Or perhaps constantly chasing the chance to be his own hero has given him a second chance to follow his dreams.Why was McConaughey often the butt of jokes in his early career?
| A．He was limited to handsome roles. |
| B．He was unknown to the audience. |
| C．He played in romantic comedies. |
| D．He was handsome and emotional. |
What role won Mc Conaughey an Oscar for Best Actor?
| A．A caring father. | B．An AIDS activist. |
| C．A serious buyer. | D．A strong hero. |
What can we learn about McConaughey？
| A．He was born in Hollywood. |
| B．He has become a hero of his own. |
| C．He wasn’ t famous until recently. |
| D．He isn’ t content with his achievements. |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．McConaughey, a Romantic Comedian |
| B．McConaughey, a Man Making a Hit |
| C．McConaughey, a Man Daring to change |
| D．McConaughey, Handsome and Talented |
Parents might tell older children to “Act your age”. But some researchers say that is what persons from thirteen to nineteen years old are doing. While teenagers can look all grown up, studies have shown that their brains are still developing. How much this explains their behavior, though, is a subject of debate.
Jay Giedd of America’s National Institutes of Health is a leader in this area of research. Doctor Giedd has been studying a group of young people since 1991. They visit him every two years for imaging tests of their brains. He says considerable development continues in young people from the teenage years into the twenties.
A part of the brain called the dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears especially undeveloped in teenagers. Researchers believe that this area controls judgment and consideration of risk. So, its underdevelopment may explain why young people seem more willing to take risks like driving too fast.
Laurence Steinberg is a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. He says stronger laws and stronger parental control are needed to protect teens from themselves. That includes raising the age for driving. He says research shows that teenage brains are not fully equipped to control behavior.
Other researchers, however, say there is not enough evidence to make a strong case for such findings. Psychologist Robert Epstein is a visiting scholar at the University of California in San Diego. Mr. Epstein notes that teen behavior differs from culture to culture. He says behavior depends for the most part on socialization. He believes that teenagers will demonstrate(表明) better, safer behavior if they spend more time with adults, and are treated more like them.
But is that always true? Mike Males works at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. He suggests that all of this talk lately about brainless teens could be an attempt to take away attention from the reality. Writing in the New York Times, he says it is middle-aged adults whose behavior has worsened. In his words, if grown-ups really have superior brains, why don’t we act as if we do?If your parents ask you to act your age, they really mean to advise that you __________.
| A．behave yourself |
| B．take care of yourself |
| C．make yourself at home |
| D．do everything on your own |
Why do young people seem more willing to take adventures?
| A．Because they can all look grown up in that way. |
| B．Because their dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears undeveloped. |
| C．Because some researchers have been studying and encouraging them. |
| D．Because stronger laws and stronger parental control protect them |
Which of the following is TRUE about teenagers?
| A．Their brains have almost stopped developing. |
| B．Their cultures have influenced their behavior more or less. |
| C．The behavior of brainless teens has drawn a lot more attention. |
| D．Staying more often with adults makes things even worse. |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Mike Males _______.
| A．agrees with what Robert Epstein says |
| B．keeps silent about the subject of debate |
| C．is a leader in this area of research |
| D．has the opinion of his own |
The passage is written mainly to tell people that __________.
| A．development continues in young people from the teens into the twenties |
| B．teenagers’ behavior differs from culture to culture |
| C．there is still a debate between researchers about people’s behaviors |
| D．the talk about brainless teens could take away attention from governments |
Three boys and three girls boarded a bus to Lauderdale, Florida, dreaming of golden beaches. When the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo, who sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit.
Deep into the night, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson Restaurant, and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat, and the young people began to wonder: perhaps he was a sea captain, a runaway from his wife, an old soldier going home.
Shortly after a snack, they went back to the bus and one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.
After a while, slowly and painfully, he told his story. He had been in prison in New York for the past four years. Last week he was released from imprisonment and now going home.
“When in prison I wrote to my wife,” he said. “I told her that I was going to be away a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, she could just forget me; I’d understand. We used to live in Brunswick, and there’s a big oak tree just as you come into town. Last week, I wrote her again. I told her that if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it and I’d go on through.”
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and crying, doing small dances of joy. The oak tree was covered with yellow handkerchiefs, 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like small flags of welcome flying in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo rose and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.What attracted the six young people when their bus passed through New Jersey?
| A．The Howard Johnson Restaurant. |
| B．A silent man. |
| C．Golden beaches. |
| D．A well-dressed man |
The young people on the bus try to imagine Vingo may be a person EXCEPT_________.
| A．a sea captain |
| B．an old soldier going home |
| C．an old soldier going home |
| D．a prisoner escaping from prison |
Vingo wrote a letter to his wife again last week to ________.
| A．ask for her forgiveness |
| B．beg her to allow him back home |
| C．tie a yellow handkerchief to the oak tree |
| D．make sure if she was still in love with him |
Why did all the young people shout with joy when they arrived in Brunswick?
| A．They were approaching their destination. |
| B．They were surprised to see so many welcoming people. |
| C．They were sure that Vingo’s wife was expecting him home. |
| D．The oak tree was still standing there welcoming Vingo back home. |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going home |
| B．Vingo and his wife |
| C．Yellow handkerchiefs |
| D．The relationship between Vingo and the young people |
The disease Ebola is spreading in West Africa. The situation frightens both local citizens and travelers.
There is no vaccine or special treatment. It is difficult to stop Ebola from spreading. It moves easily from person to person. The disease strikes its victims through direct contact with the blood or other fluids from the body of an infected person.
The bodies of victims still contain the virus days after they die. Local traditions and burial and funeral customs also make the sickness hard to control. Doctors say it is important to identify an Ebola case early to prevent others from becoming infected. Patients suffer from high body temperature, bleeding and diarrhea(腹泻).
Only a few prevention measures exist. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. suggest staying away from countries with confirmed Ebola cases. People at increased threat include those working in animal research, health care workers and others caring for patients in the community.
In the past, cases of Ebola have been confirmed in the Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sudan, and Uganda.
Doctors advise careful protective measures if you must go to an area where Ebola exists.
If Ebola has been identified directly around you, the C.D.C. and W.H.O. strongly suggest wearing protective clothing. Cover your face and hands. Goggles can protect the eyes. Try to remove Ebola germs with cleaners that fight infection.How does the disease Ebola spread? (No more than 16 words)
What makes the sickness hard to control? (No more than 10 words)
What symptoms do the Ebola patients have? (No more than 7 words)
Who are at increased threat according to the passage? (No more than 17 words)
Quickly ask yourself: What did you eat today? Now tell me how you actually feel. If you’re complaining of stress, anxiety, depression, aches and pains, foggy thinking, or just a general lack of energy, a new medical theory will blow your mind. The chances are that those disease-like symptoms are all the result of what’s called hidden food allergies(过敏反应).
This is what Ken Drew found out when he was lucky enough to be recommended to medical practitioner Dr. Patel. Patel is considered something of a genius, and has been called a modern day Louis Pasteur. You’ve heard of him, of course—Pasteur figured out how to keep milk from getting spoiled. Dr. Patel is like a Louis Pasteur for keeping your body from getting spoiled from chronic(慢性的) diseases.
“Foggy thinking, slightly constipated(便秘的), heart pain,…you name it. It’s part of getting old,” you say. “It’s just stress.” Most of the body’s immune defenses are all located in your stomach, so when you have a hidden food allergy and you expose yourself to harmful foods, your defenses malfunction(故障) and disease-carrying bacteria take over. Had you not eaten that one food you were allergic to for breakfast, you would never have got sick.
Together, Dr Patel and Ken Drew have developed the Reverse My Disease program, which claims it can bulletproof your body against diseases like arthritis(关节炎), Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease and cancers. You won’t need a prescription and there isn’t any kind of medical procedure involved. There’s no medical jargon, no complicated diet to do. What it does do is claim to tell you how to hack your body’s natural defense system.
Dr. Patel has remained under the radar of the entire medical establishment because his ideas are so threatening to doctors who don’t want you to stop being sick enough for them to write you prescriptions. Those doctor visits cost you, so check out Reverse My Disease if you want to prevent disease by learning how to eat food that won’t harm your body.We can learn from the passage that Louis Pasteur ________.
| A．made great contributions to keeping human body from getting spoiled from chronic diseases. |
| B．has developed the Reverse My Disease program with Dr. Patel. |
| C．recommended Ken Drew to Dr. Patel. |
| D．might be a great scientist who did research on bacteria. |
According to Ken Drew and Dr. Patel, people get slightly constipated and have heart pain because _______.
| A．they are getting old. |
| B．their immune defenses are all located in your stomach. |
| C．they don’t eat the right food. |
| D．they are involved in a medical procedure. |
What does the underlined word “bulletproof” most probably mean?
| A．damage | B．defend |
| C．diagnose | D．demand |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Once you get sick or depressed, you should go to the doctor for a prescription. |
| B．You can find a prescription or a complicated diet from the Reverse My Disease program. |
| C．Exposing yourself to harmful foods causes problems to your defense system. |
| D．Reverse My Disease program has been well-accepted by doctors. |
What is the author’s attitude towards Reverse My Disease?
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Negative |