In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees. More than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan in order to go to university. They use the loan (贷款) to pay for tuition fees, books and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan. The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with debts of around £12,000. Students of medicine usually have debts of more than £20,000. That is a lot of money. It means graduates cannot afford to buy a house for many years. They even struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan after graduating. If you start to earn over £15,000 a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary. Is it any surprise, therefore, that the average British person does not leave their parents’ home until they are 30 years old?
You might think that a British person with a degree will find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in white-collar jobs seem to have a degree these days, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper. Like everyone else, graduates usually have to start at the bottom and work their way up. That can be very frustrating for them, since they are often over-qualified for the work they are doing. While at university, they have dreams of getting an exciting, challenging job. Therefore, life after university ends up being quite disappointing for a lot of graduates.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money.
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．What's a University Education worth in the UK? |
| B．There is a lot of competition in the UK |
| C．There won't be any University Place left for British students |
| D．It doesn't cost students more and more to attend university |
What's the following is true?
| A．University Education is really worth the money in England |
| B．University Education is worth all over the world except in England |
| C．British education is becoming more expensive for a majority of British students |
| D．British students don't like to go to university |
We can infer from the passage ____
| A．The average British person didn't leave their parents' home until they are 35 years old |
| B．Having a degree doesn't get aBritish person a good job |
| C．Students are graduating without larger and larger debts. |
| D．things are easier for students from other countries coming to study |
in the UK without money
The word "interest" in paragraph2 means_______
| A． money paid for a week's work |
| B． money borrowed from a band |
| C． a regular monthly salary |
| D． extra money paid on a loan or bank savings |
Travel is fun and exciting, but it’s not if you get sick. You may think, “Not me, I won’t get sick in my holiday.” But, for many people, that is what happens.
Of course you don’t want to spend your holiday sick in bed. So what can you do to stay in good health? There are three things you should remember when you travel: relax, sleep, and eat well.
A holiday must be a time for relaxing. But very often it is not. Think about what you do when you are a traveller. There are many places to visit: museums, shops, parks, churches. You may spend most days walking around these places. This can be very tiring. You may have a terrible headache after a few hours. If this is the way you feel, you should take a rest. Don’t ask your body to do too much. A tired body means a weak body. And a weak body gets sick easily. So sit down for a few hours in a nice place. In good weather, look for a quiet park bench(石凳). Or you can stop at a cafe. You can learn a lot by watching people while you rest.
Sleep is also important. If you want to stay healthy, you need to get enough sleep. You may have trouble sleeping at night when you travel. There may be too many noises in your hotel or the bed may be uncomfortable. If this is true, don’t be afraid to change rooms or hotels. Or you may get enough sleep for another reason. You may want to stay out late at night. In many cities, the nightlife can be very exciting. Then you should plan to sleep for an hour during the day. The extra(额外) hour can make a big difference。
Finally, if you want to stay healthy, you must eat the right kinds of foods but you need to be careful about how much you eat. Lots of food is not good for you.
So, remember this, if you want to enjoy your holiday, take care of yourself. Give your body some rest. Get enough sleep and eat good, healthy food.This passage is about ______
| A．how to stay healthy when you travel |
| B．how exciting travel is |
| C．relaxing when you travel |
| D．what you eat when you travel |
Travel is ______
| A．the best way to relax | B．very tiring |
| C．never any fun | D．unhealthy |
Your body needs sleep to_____
| A．enjoy the nightlife | B．stay strong and healthy |
| C．change hotels | D．learn a lot about a new place. |
Why can you have a terrible headache while visiting these places?
| A．Because you don’t like these places |
| B．Because some place makes you feel headache |
| C．Because you feel boring to visit these places. |
| D．Because there are so many places to visit. |
You can change your rooms or hotels, if______.
| A．you want to stay out late at night |
| B．you want to eat different food |
| C．your hotel is noisy |
| D．you can’t get on well with the manager in the hotel |
Saturday, March 24th
We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok. This is our first trip to Thailand（泰国）. All the different smells make us want to try the food. We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is cheap, and very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North.
Tuesday, March 27th
Bangkok is wonderful and surprising. The places are interesting. We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables. Everything is so colorful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai. We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai.
Friday, March 30th
Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. The village people here love the quiet life—no computers or phones. They are the kindest people I have ever met. They always smile and say “hello”. Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year.The diaries above show the writer’s ______ days in Thailand.
| A．3 | B．8 | C．15 | D．7 |
It seems that visitors _________ in Bangkok.
| A．often feel hungry | B．can have a good time |
| C．can’t take any photos | D．feel a little bored |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer left Chiang Mai for Chiang Rai by bus. |
| B．Chiang Mai is a beautiful city in the south of Thailand. |
| C．The writer is traveling alone in Thailand. |
| D．The writer will take a bus to Chiang Mai. |
The people in the village _______.
| A．are friendly to others | B．like to speak English |
| C．hope to live in the cities | D．live a very busy life |
What is the best title（标题）for the whole diary?
| A．My First Travel | B．Traveling in Thailand |
| C． The Outside World | D．My Trip to Chiang Mai |
In the north of Scotland there is a lake called Loch Ness. It is the biggest lake in Britain. It is over thirty kilometres long and in places nearly 300 meters deep. It is cold and dark and not many people went there until after 1930. Then a road was made around the lake. Holiday makers began to use the road, and this was when the stories began.
Someone said that he had seen a monster in the lake. He said it was twelve meters long. It had a long neck and a small head. Then someone else said he had seen it. Others said the same thing and in 1933 a London doctor took a photo. It looked like a monster with a long neck and a thick body but the photo was not dear. The newspapers printed the picture and called it the Loch Ness monster, or "Nessie".
Then the argument began. Some people, however, were certain there was something living in the lake. Others said there was nothing there.
In 1961, a lot of people joined together to make a real effort to see and photograph the monster if there was one! Several times people thought they saw something but after ten years there was still no real proof.
Later underwater television cameras were used, but no one found any real proof. However, they did find something interesting: a huge underwater cave. It was big enough to be home of a monster, but of course, this was not a proof.
In 1975, however, some American scientists formed a search group. They used an underwater camera. It took pictures every seventy seconds. Some of the pictures seemed to show a red-brown creature. Its body was about four meters long and had a very ugly head on the end of a four meter neck. Many people then began to believe in the monster. But even today we can not be certain.Before 1930, ____.
| A．few people went to Loch Ness Lake |
| B．many people had been there |
| C．nobody went to the lake |
| D．nobody knew about the lake |
What did the monster look like?
| A．It looked like a horse. |
| B．It was a creature with a long neck and a small head. |
| C．It looked beautiful. |
| D．It was tiny and pretty. |
Who first took a photo of the monster?
| A．An American |
| B．A television camera |
| C．A holiday-maker |
| D．A doctor from London |
A search group formed by some American scientists.
| A．found the monster itself |
| B．found a huge cave under water |
| C．believed that there wasn't any monster at all |
| D．took some pictures which seemed to show a monster |
Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein. Or AFGP.What is the text mainly about?
| A．The terrible conditions in the Antarctic. |
| B．A special fish living in freezing waters. |
| C．The ice shelf around Antarctica. |
| D．Protection of the Antarctic cod. |
Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?
| A．The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃. |
| B．It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture. |
| C．A special protein keeps it from freezing. |
| D．Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．A type of ice-salt mixture. | B．A newly found protein. |
| C．Fish blood. | D．Sugar molecule. |
What does “glyco-” in the underlined word “glycoprotein” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．sugar | B．ice |
| C．blood | D．molecule |
May : Happenings from the past
May 5,1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history , rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby . He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times .
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon （漫画）, showing a snake cut in pieces, with the words “ Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11,1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl , the result of years of drought，blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D.C. .
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis , former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s , died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64 .
May 24, 1844
Samuel F.B. Morsr taps out the first message , “ What Hath God Wrought ,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D.C. , to Baltimeore , Md .We know from the text that Buchanan is_____________.
| A．Isaac”s father |
| B．a winning horse |
| C．a slave taking care if horses |
| D．the first racing horse in Kentucky |
What is the title of the first American political cartoon ?
| A．Join or Die | B．Pennsylvania Gazette |
| C．What Hath God Wrought | D．Kentucky Derby |
In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die ?
| A．1934 | B．1960 |
| C．1964 | D．1994 |
Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history ?
A. Washington , D. C. B. New York City
C. Kentucky. D. Pennsylvania