Thekoala,oneofAustralia’smostt-优题课

Do you know the open-air art gallery in London's Blackall Street? Probably -not. Not many Londoners know it either, but Henri does and he is willing to show it to you.
Henri used to sleep in parks until he met a charity(慈善机构) that helps homeless people get back on their feet by becoming tour guides.
Rather than show traditional London sights, “Unseen Tours" take people off the beaten track. Henri has been teaching tourists about the history and architecture of Shoreditch, where he slept on public benches for three years.
When he felt separated from the society, contact with the volunteer network "The Sock Mob" gave Henri hope. "Not everyone just looked down on me," he said. The tours aren't the only actions trying to help those who have suffered a misfortune to stand tall again.
An innovative(创新的) college for homeless people in London, the first of its kind in the country, is attracting hundreds of students. The Recovery College, set up by St Mungo's charity, is providing courses designed to improve technical skills and life skills.
According to Andy Williams, who helps to organize the college, the most popular courses have proved to be about raising self-confidence and developing self-pride.
Steve, now in his 50s, told a reporter how much of a difference it makes to "have a bit of confidence". He had difficulty learning to read and had to leave school when he was 12. Because Steve's problem was not recognized at the time, he was "seen to be unable to read or write", and suffered with depression and alcohol addiction. He says the status of "student" is itself important for people who are used to being treated as outcasts（被遗弃者）
Some charities aim not only to help the homeless become independent but also to make them popular. The Homeless World Cup started ten years ago. Today the tournament draws teams from 48 countries made up of players-men and women-who are, or have been, living in the streets. It gives them a chance to become football heroes.
The underlined part "take people off the beaten track" means "take people to______.”

A．famous galleries	B．traditional sights
C．unusual places	D．public benches

How does the Recovery College help the homeless people?

A．By training them to be guides.

B．By offering them different courses.

C．By keeping in contact with them.

D．By asking more students to help them.

At the age of 12, Steve _______ .

A．wasn't treated as a normal student

B．had much confidence in himself

C．didn't want to study at school

D．left school because of depression

The purpose of the Homeless World Cup is to help the homeless people _______.

A．become football stars	B．improve life skills
C．gain self-confidence	D．find proper jobs

Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Confidence Back Now.	B．London Tour.
C．The Popular Homeless.	D．Football Heroes.

【改编】In the fall of 1985, I was a bright eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty one years later I am still a bright eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65.She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic—and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No.3.In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8！Our home was a complete zoo—a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college fulltime. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single minded. It always struck me that when you're looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you're in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won't arrive in your life on one day. It's a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.
How did the writer develop the passage?

A．By giving examples.	B．By comparison.
C．By giving explanations.	D．By time order.

How did the author feel when she had to leave home to study?

A． Relieved.	B．Happy.
C．Guilty.	D．Disappointed.

What is the meaning of the underlined word” withdraw”?

A．Continue.	B．Drop.
C．Graduate.	D．Learn.

Which word can be used to described the author?

A．Considerate and strong-willed.

B．Generous and learned.

C．Clever and sensitive.

D．Honest and brave.

What can we learn from this story?

A．Well begun is half done.

B．God helps those who help themselves.

C．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

D．Pride hurts, modesty benefits.

Microsoft has a problem：It desperately wants the remaining Windows XP users to upgrade to a newer version of the operating system but a good many of them still haven’t started．The latest numbers from NetMarket show that Windows XP still accounts for around 29．5％of all desktops in use even though Microsoft is due to end support for the l3-Year-old platform on April 8th．ZDNet reports that Microsoft plans to force remaining XP users to start next week by sending them notices reminding them again that it will end XP support within a month．
However, as Computerworld reports，Microsoft may have a tough time convincing some Windows XP users to upgrade because it's trying to sell them on Windows 8，the newest operating system that has angered many longtime PC users by removing the traditional Start menu and by adding the interface(界面)a special feature．Computerworld writes that many Windows users expressed anger last month when Microsoft asked them to help switch as many people as they could from Windows XP to Windows 8 partly because Microsoft hasn’t offered any sort of discount for Windows XP users making the switch．
This is particularly tiresome, these users said，because switching from XP to Windows 8 won’t just require a software upgrade but will instead likely force them to buy new machines capable(能够)of running Microsoft’s new operating system．Some users were also annoyed that Microsoft only mentioned Windows 8 and not Windows 7 as upgrade possibilities．
In the end，it looks like when Microsoft ends support for Windows XP next month there will still be a large part of the desktop PC world using the platform．Hackers who have been saving up all their best new malware(恶意软件)for the day when Windows XP support ends are about to have a field day．
What problem does Microsoft have now?

A．Windows XP is out of date and needs improvement．

B．Windows 8 runs worse than Windows XP．

C．No people like to upgrade their operating system．

D．Lots of users refuse to switch from XP to Windows 8．

How will Microsoft remind users of the stop of XP support?

A．By sending them notices．

B．By sending them daily emails．

C．By adding the interface a special feature．

D．By removing the traditional Start menu．

Which is probably one of the reasons why users dislike Window 8?

A．Microsoft hasn’t offered any discount for it．

B．They like Window 7 more than Window 8．

C．Microsoft refuses to offer them a new machine．

D．It’s impossible for them to use the new operating system．

What does the underlined phrase “have a field day” probably mean in the last paragraph?

A．Show up without warning．

B．Make rapid progress．

C．Make full use of the opportunity．

D．Come to an end completely．

What can be inferred from the text?

A．Windows XP will completely be out of use in a month．

B．Windows XP will still be in use for a period of time．

C．Windows 8 will have a longer history than Windows XP．

D．Windows 7 will easily be attacked by Hackers．

But what is teacher quality? How can one measure it reliably?
An analysis is issued on a sample of data from a Texas school district. Experts argue convincingly that teacher effectiveness should be measured by students’ gains on standardized tests: Mr. Smith is probably a better teacher than Ms. Brown if his students consistently improve their test scores more than hers do.
Though this approach is appealing, there are tricky issues. For example, what if Ms. Brown teaches in a school where students score so high there is little room for improvement?
The authors try to correct for this problem, as well as other sorts of measurement issues, to generate a measurement of teacher effectiveness. The paper is primarily concerned with how this measure is related to other observable characteristics.
The first finding is that there is a large variation in teacher effectiveness: some teachers consistently have a larger impact on their students’ achievement than others.
Second, easily observable characteristics like having a master’s degree or a passing score on the teacher certification exam are not correlated关联 with teacher effectiveness.
Then what does matter? The most important single influence is experience: first-year teachers are much less effective than others. The second year is significantly better, and by the fourth year, most teachers hit their stride.
It is not entirely clear whether this experience effect is learning by doing (the more you teach, the more effective you become) or survival of the fittest (those who are not good at teaching tend to drop out early.)
From my reading of the paper, both effects appear important and there is no simple answer. The data do suggest, however, that teacher effectiveness is pretty clear by the end of the second year, so the information to make an informed decision is available at that time.
The authors also investigate the contentious 有争议的issue of racial matching of students and teachers. Here they find strong evidence that minority teachers tend to be more effective with minority students. Again, it is unclear whether this is because of a role model effect (students respond better to a teacher of their own race) or an empathy effect 移情效应(teachers empathize better with students of their own race) or something else entirely.
The authors also look at teacher mobility. There is some evidence that teachers who quit teaching or switch schools tend to be below average in effectiveness. This is consistent with the survival-of-the-fittest model.
The schoolmaster could decide wisely whether to further employ the teacher by the end of the ______.

A．the first year	B．the second year
C．the third year	D．the fourth year

The phrase “hit their stride” most probably means “______”.

A．reach their normal level	B．become confident
C．walk with long steps	D．get bored

The author of this passage holds the view that ______.

A．teachers will perform better with time passing

B．ineffective teachers should leave earlier rather than later

C．teacher’s effectiveness is apparent after a couple of years

D．a master’s degree will improve teacher’s effectiveness

Why do black teachers tend to be more effective with black students?

A．Students fell secure, so they respond better.

B．Teachers sympathize with students of their own race.

C．There are entirely some other identified reasons.

D．The reasons are far from clear and definite.

Which of the following may serve as the best title?

A．The Quality of Teaching

B．Impact of Teacher Quality on Student Learning

C．Different Sorts of Measurement Issues

D．Survival-of-the-fittest Model vs. Learning-by-doing Model

Do you like shopping? Or does the thought of wandering round the shops fill you with terror? For some of us，shopping is an enjoyable way of spending our spare time and our money. For me．it's something I would rather avoid．Thank goodness for the Internet! It's more convenient to buy CDs，electrical items，even food，from the comfort of your sofa．But that’s not the only reason：price is an important factor．We can buy goods and services cheaper online. But sometimes the problem is knowing what to buy．This has led to a type of shopping called “show rooming”．
Show rooming is something I've done．I will go to a shop to see，touch and try out products but then go home and buy them online at a knock—down price．I'm not alone in doing this．Research by a company called Foolproof，found 24％of people show roomed while Christmas shopping in 2013．
Amy Cashman，Head of Technology at TNS UK，says the reasons for this new shopping habit are that“people are lacking time，lacking money and they want security about the products they are buying．”She explains that consumers are not only shopping online at home but they are using the Internet in store or on their smartphones to shop around．
But does this mean technology will kill shops? Certainly shops will change．They will have to offer more competitive prices or encourage people to buy more by giving in—store discounts or free girls．
We mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare．It’s good to speak to a real human rather than look at a faceless computer screen but at least by show rooming，you get the best of both worlds!
The two questions in Paragraph l are raised to _______.

A．introduce the topic	B．give two examples
C．compare different opinions	D．get answers from readers

What does show rooming mean in the text?

A．Trying in shops and buying online．

B．Showing products in a room．

C．Buying something in a store．

D．Shopping on the Internet．

According to Amy Cashman，which is not the reason for show rooming?

A．The lack of time．	B．The comfort of the sofa．
C．The shortness of money．	D．The security of the product．

What can be inferred from Paragraph 4 ?

A．Online shops will disappear．

B．Free gifts will surely promote sales．

C．Shops need necessary changes．

D．Shops will be replaced by online shops．

The author's attitude towards show rooming is _______

A．critical

B．neutral

C．supportive

D．casual