Most American students go to traditional public schools．There are about 88, 000 public schools, all over the US．Some students attend about 3000 independent public schools called charter schools．
Charter schools are self-governing．Private companies operate some charter schools．They are similar in some ways to traditional public schools．They receive tax money just as other public schools do．Charter schools must prove to local or state governments that their students are learning．These governments provide the schools with the agreement called a charter that permits them to operate．
Charter schools are different because they do not have to obey most laws governing traditional public schools．Local, state, or federal governments cannot tell them what to teach．Each school can choose its own goals and decide the ways it wants to reach them．Class size is usually smaller than in traditional public schools．
The Bush Administration strongly supports charter schools as a way to re-organize public schools that are failing to educate students．But some education agencies and unions oppose charter schools．One teachers' union has just made public the results of the first national study comparing the progress of students in traditional schools and charter schools．
The American Federation of Teachers criticized the government's delay in releasing the results of the study, which is called the National Assessment of Educational Progress．Union education experts say the study shows that charter school students performed worse on math and reading tests than students in regular public schools．
Some experts say the study is not a fair look at charter schools because students in those schools have more problems than students in traditional schools．Other education experts say the study results should make charter school officials demand improved student progress．If a private company wants to operate a charter school, it must______．
| A．try new methods of teaching |
| B．prove its management ability |
| C．obey the local and state laws |
| D．get the government's permission |
Charter schools are independent because_____．
| A．they make greater progress |
| B．their class size is smaller |
| C．they enjoy more freedom |
| D．they oppose traditional ways |
What's the government's attitude toward charter schools?
| A．Doubtful | B．Supportive. | C．Subjective． | D．Optimistic． |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．More students choose to attend charter schools． |
| B．Charter schools are better than traditional schools． |
| C．Students in charter schools are well educated． |
| D．People have different opinions about charter schools． |
It can be interred from the text that ___.
| A．charter schools are part of the public education system |
| B．one-on-one attention should be paid to students |
| C．the number of charter schools will be limited |
| D．charter schools are all privately financed |
Along a long path we came to a deep valley, on the far side of which the path led into some very thick bushes. Rather than push through up again and rejoin the path on the far side of the bushes.
As I climbed down into the valley a bird flew off h rock on which I had put my hand. On looking at the spot from which the bird had risen, I saw two eggs. They were the kind that I did not have in my collection, so I placed them carefully in my bag, wrapped in a little dry grass.
As we went further down the valley the sides became steeper and not far from where I had entered. It came to drop of about twelve to fourteen feet. The water that rushed down all these small valleys in the rainy season had worn the rock as glass. As it was too deep to climb down, I handed my gun to one of the men and slid down it. My feet had hardly touched the sandy bottom when the two men jumped down, one on each side of me. They quickly gave me the gun and asked me if I had heard the tiger. In fact, I had heard nothing; possibly because of the noise I made sliding down the rock. The men said they had heard a tiger growling somewhere nearby, but they did not know from which direction the noise had come.According to the text we know that __________.
| A．the writer decided to push through the thick bushes |
| B．the writer decided to walk along the valley |
| C．the writer wanted to stop climbing |
| D．the writer tried to find two eggs |
When the writer found the eggs, he ________.
| A．wrapped them in dry grass and put them aside |
| B．wrapped them in dry grass and took them with him |
| C．tried to find the bird |
| D．made the bird fly off |
At the end of the story, the writer knew that ____________.
| A．a tiger had run away | B．a tiger was close to them |
| C．the men had seen a tiger | D．a tiger had seen them |
Which of the following orders is RIGHT about what happened in their travel?
| A．hear the sound of tiger→find eggs→push through the bushes→climb down into the valley |
| B．climb down into the valley→push through the bushes→hear the sound of tiger→find eggs |
| C．push through the bushes→climb down into the valley→find eggs→hear the sound of tiger |
| D．find eggs→climb down into the valley→hear the sound of tiger→push through the bushes |
In the last 500 years, nothing about people — their clothes, ideas, or languages—has changed as much as what they eat. The original chocolate drink was made from the seeds of the cocoa tree(可可树)by South American. Indians. The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500’s. And although it was very expensive, it quickly became fashionable. In London, shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places. Some still exist today.
The potato is also from the New World. Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Eu¬rope, where it soon was widely grown. Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish peo¬ple starved when the crop failed during the "Potato Famine (饥荒)" of 1845—1846, and thousands more were forced to leave their homeland and move to America.
There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia, a country in Africa. It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s.
according to an. Arabic legend, coffee was discovered when a person named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red berries on a coffee, bush. He tried one and experienced the " wide-awake" feeling that one third of the world’s population now starts the day with.
1. according to the passage, which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?
A. Food. B. Clothing. C. Ideology. D. Language.
2. The word "some" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to________.
A. some cocoa trees B. some chocolate drinks.
C. some shops D. some South American Indians
3. Thousands of Irish people starved during the " Potato Famine" because________
A. they were so dependent on potatoes that they refused to eat anything else
B. they were forced to leave their homeland and move to America
C. the weather conditions in Ireland were not suitable for growing potatoes
D. the potato harvest was bad
4. according to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. One third of the world’s population drinks coffee.
B. Coffee is native to Colombia.
C. Coffee can keep one awake.
D. Coffee drinks were first made by Arabs.
It gives me great pleasure today to say a few words in praise of a man we will all miss very much. To be honest, I can’t imagine we will do without him when he’s gone. Bill Masters almost single-handed built up our sales force in the Houston area and developed the market position that we enjoy today. In only six years, he has brought the firm from a very low fifth position in the area sales to the point where we now outsell all but one of our competitors. Not only have we got 37 per cent of the market under Bill’s leadership; we are increas¬ing our share with each passing month.
As you know, the company has moved Bill to northern California to work his sales magic in one of this company’s competitive areas. But we know that if anyone can do it, Bill Masters can, and I know you all join me in wishing him the best of luck in his new work.
1. The speech was made ________.
A. at a welcome meeting B. after someone died
C. when somebody was leaving D. when they had a new manager
2. How long did Masters work there?
A. 37 years.B. Less than 5 years.
C. About six years. D. Since he began to work.
3 When Bill started to work in Houston area, he had to help him.
A. many people B. nobody C. about 37 people D. very few people
4. Bill increased the company’s sale________.
A. by 37 per cent every month B. to the second largest in the area
C. to be the fifth largest in the area D. five times as much as before
People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1933, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their surprise that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliff (悬崖) on which they had been built. While ex¬perts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea.
Erosion (侵蚀) of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be aban¬doned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be eaten up by the hungry sea.
Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland ar¬ea of hard rock, which will not be eaten as limestone is. Mean¬while, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain fu¬ture, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knock¬down price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.
1. What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?
A. The rising of the sea level.
B. The experts’ short of knowledge.
C. The washing-away of limestone cliff.
D. The disappearance of hotels, houses and gardens.
2. The erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England ________.
A. will soon become a problem for people living in central England
B. has now become a threat to the local residents
C. can be stopped if proper measures are taken
D. is quickly changing the map of England
3. The experts’ study on the problem of erosion can ________.
A. warn people whose homes are in danger
B. provide an effective way to slow it down
C. help to its eventual solution
D. lead to its eventual solution
4. It is not feasible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because ________.
A. house agents along the coast do not support the idea
B. it is too costly and will endanger neighboring areas
C. the government is too slow in taking action
D. they will be easily knocked down by waves and currents
Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great impor¬tance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy (婴儿), every child needs opportunity and the right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys. The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play. To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back to again, and again. Therefore it is important to choose suit¬able toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited (遗传的) abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability: Bricks and jigsaws (七巧板) and construction toys; painting, scribbling (涂鸦) and making things; sand and water play;toys for imaginative and pretending play — the first so¬cial games for learning to play and get on with others.
But at the third stage of play development — from five to seven or eight years old — the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school. It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child. But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and val¬uable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed — to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.
1. according to the first passage we know that as a child grows up________.
A. he should be allowed to choose his own toys
B. he should be given the same toys
C. he should be given different toys
D. he should be given fewer and fewer toys
2. according to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents________.
A. determine his character
B. will not change after the age of three
C. partly determine the standard he is likely to reach
D. to a large extent determine the choice of toys
3. We learn from the passage that a child has boundless curiosity________.
A. when he is twoB. when he is around four
C. when he is sixD. when he is eight
4. The passage is mainly about________.
A. the importance of pre-school education B. the importance of schooling
C. the role of play in a child’s development D. the choice of toys for youngster