Competition between international universities is heating up, as China grows as one of the largest exporters of students aiming to study abroad. “Lots of universities are becoming more and more aggressive to attract Chinese students. Every day I receive contacts from universities in the US expressing the desire to come to China to recruit students,” said Frank Joseph, a commercial officer from embassy of the United States.
One key reason why more Chinese students are able to study abroad is the economy: With China’s boom within the past decade, more families have the financial wherewithal(资金) to send their children to international universities. There will be a total of 200,000 family-funded Chinese students studying overseas in 2009, up 20 percent from last year, said Wu Zaofeng, deputy secretary general of China Education Association for International Exchange.
International institutions, Joseph said, are also facing increasingly tough financial situation with a shortage of domestic students and a drop in government subsidies(补贴). Students, especially in the US are paying high tuition fees and living expenses. Chinese students with money to spend, according to experts, can fill up the gap. Students on average spend 150,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan every year studying in US, according to statistics from the US Institute of International Education. During 2007-2008, there were approximately 81,000 Chinese students studying in the US, up 19.8 percent from 2006.
Representatives from approximately 60 universities from the United States are planning to arrive in Beijing this weekend to attract more Chinese students at this year’s fair. Besides the US, many other countries are also vying(竞争) to enroll Chinese students.
Post-study work visa put out by British government allows all international students completing a UK degree qualification to apply for a visa to stay on and look for work in UK for up to 2 years. Being the third most popular destination for international students next to the US and the UK, France has set up two types of scholarships and has handed out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years.The reason for heating up competition between international universities is ___.
| A．that China has become one of the largest exporters of the students aiming to study abroad |
| B．that the students in China are becoming richer and richer |
| C．China’s boom, the students’ desire and foreign universities’ commercial motive |
| D．that the students in foreign countries do not want to go to universities |
Why are more Chinese students able to study abroad?
| A．Because they can’t go to the best universities at home. |
| B．Because their families have enough money to send them to international universities. |
| C．Because they want to win the scholarship of foreign universities |
| D．Because the Chinese students enjoy following others and they want to be independent. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．There are fewer family-funded Chinese students studying abroad in 2008 than in 2009. |
| B．Chinese students are able to study abroad for their relatives overseas. |
| C．In 2009 there will be 200,000 state-funded Chinese students studying overseas. |
| D．In 2009 there will be 200,000 Chinese students studying in the US. |
From the passage we can learn that _____.
| A．the number of foreign students is becoming smaller and smaller |
| B．there were approximately 81,000 foreign students studying in the US during 2007-2008 |
| C．the international universities are short of money |
| D．the Chinese students are richer than the American students |
What does the UK do to attract the international students?
| A．Setting up two types of scholarships. |
| B．Handing out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years. |
| C．Allowing to look for work in their spare time in the UK for up to 2 years. |
| D．Permitting students to have a visa to stay on and look for work for 2 years after completing the degree. |
People often use gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that the gestures can be understood in different ways.
It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. Fear is another emotion(情感) that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like “he went pale and began to tremble” suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock.
However, “he opened his eyes wide” is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like “they stretched out their tongues!” “Stretching out your tongue” in English is an insulting(侮辱的, 无礼的)gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people’s faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to understand body language than younger people do. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．We can easily understand what people’s gestures mean. |
| B．It is difficult to tell what people’s gestures really mean sometimes. |
| C．Gestures can be understood by most people but words are not. |
| D．Words can be better understood by older people. |
People’s facial expressions may be misunderstood in different cultures because ______ .
| A．people from different cultures have different meanings about some facial expressions |
| B．people speaking different languages have different facial expressions |
| C．people of different ages may have different interpretations (解释) |
| D．people of different sexes may understand a gesture differently |
From the passage, we can conclude(得出结论) that ______ .
| A．words are often more difficult to understand than gestures |
| B．gestures can be more effectively used than words to express feelings |
| C．gestures can be used to express feelings |
| D．gestures are used as frequently as words to express feelings |
The best title for this passage can be ______ .
| A．Gestures | B．Feelings |
| C．Culture and Understanding | D．Gestures and Feelings |
Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius（天才） of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Edison invented the electric light. |
| B．Many other people have changed Edison’s life. |
| C．Edison has changed the life of many other people. |
| D．Few men in history can change other people’s life. |
Edison thought ____________.
| A．he could be happy if he was a genius |
| B．genius plays the most important part in one’s success |
| C．hard work could do better than genius |
| D．genius could do better than hard work |
In Edison’s opinion, ____________.
| A．thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help |
| B．people’s successs lies mostly in genius |
| C．hard work is the second important thing in making people successful |
| D．there are few secrets for him to discover later |
The last sentence in the passage most probably implies(暗示） ____________.
| A．life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings |
| B．Edison made 100 inventions in his life |
| C．Edison was able to live and work for 100 years |
| D．People of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work |
Derrius Quarles, 19, had an unhappy childhood. But the Chicago teen didn’t give up. He tried his best and won $1 million in college scholarships (奖学金)! Now Derrius is a successful college student with a bright future.
When Derrius was 4, his father was killed. His mother couldn’t take care of him because of taking drugs. Derrius and his 9-year-old brother sometimes had to steal food to eat. Derrius felt different from other kids. In seventh grade, Derrius went to live in a foster home (寄养家庭). His foster parents weren’t nice to him. They told him that he’d never be anything in life.
Derrius didn’t do his best in school. The summer after ninth grade, that changed. Derrius had signed up for a biology class. He didn’t go to class the first day. On the second day, he showed up late. His teacher took him outside. She told him he was smart, but that he was wasting his potential (潜力). The talk inspired him and he planned to prove that he could be anything if he worked hard enough.
Adults at a summer program helped Derrius find out about scholarships he could earn to pay for college. In his senior year, Derrius filled out lots of applications. He told his friends, “You’re not going to see me for a long time.” Derrius’s hard work paid off. He won more than $1 million in scholarships! He has a lot to be proud of. But he’s most proud of helping others. Derrius gives speeches to teens, telling them how to find scholarships. In high school, Derrius got help buying a computer. He wanted to help others who needed them. Last year, he gave two laptops to high schoolstudents. There’s a lot of work in his future. Derrius doesn’t mind — hard work has got him where he is today. He knows it can take him anywhere. From Paragraphs 2 and 3, we can learn that Derrius _____.
| A．always studied hard in school |
| B．lived in the same foster home with his brother |
| C．hated his parents very much |
| D．was encouraged a lot by his biology teacher |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _____.
| A．great success | B．a scholarship |
| C．hard work | D．a computer |
What kind of person do you think Derrius is?
| A．Lazy but kind-hearted. |
| B．Selfish and naughty. |
| C．Confident but troublesome（带来麻烦的）. |
| D．Determined and generous（慷慨的）. |
What does the author want to tell us?
| A．The way to win a scholarship to a college. |
| B．The importance of family background. |
| C．Never forget people who have helped you. |
| D．Hard work pays off sooner or later. |
A mum saved her daughter’s life with her newly learned first aid skills. Sonya Hall, 33, of Denny Avenue, Lancaster, had only just attended one first aid class the day before when she found herself needing to use the skills on her three year old daughter Tilly.
Sonya, who also has son Emmen, six, attended the first aid course at Lune Park Children’s Centre in Lancaster. Then she was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare when Tilly went blue in the face and stopped breathing. But thanks to her newly acquired skills, Sonya saved Tilly’s life.
Sonya said: “Tilly was playing with her brother and they were fighting over a toy. Emmen won the fight. Tilly fell backwards and her head was hit. She was face down and shaking and at first I thought she was upset. But then I saw she was blue in the face and had stopped breathing. I reacted without thinking and immediately started using the first aid skills I had learned the day before which were so fresh in my mind. I began doing mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions (胸外按压). It probably took about a minute before Tilly started breathing again, but to me it felt like a lifetime.”
After getting Tilly breathing again, Sonya called an ambulance and the doctors came. Since then, Tilly has been diagnosed (诊断) with Reflex Anoxic Seizure (反射缺氧发作). Sonya said: “The seizure can happen when there’s any unexpected pain, fear or fright. It is just so lucky that the day before it happened, I had been practising first aid.”
The Empowering Parents First Aid course is run by Lancashire Adult Learning. Sonya said: “I am just so glad I did the course and learnt the first aid skills. I always feared I would not know what to do in a crisis situation, but luckily I had the knowledge and skills to deal with it.”What happened to Tilly?
| A．She was knocked down by her brother. |
| B．She fell on the floor and hit her head. |
| C．She was hit by a toy on the head and felt upset. |
| D．She was hit by her brother and stopped breathing. |
When Sonya found Tilly’s shaking, she thought her daughter must ______.
| A．be crying | B．be very angry |
| C．pretend to be hurt | D．recognize her failure |
When Sonya goes to the first aid class next time, she will feel ______.
| A．enjoyable | B．excited |
| C．grateful | D．confident |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The importance of first aid |
| B．How to practise first aid |
| C．Mum saves girl with first aid |
| D．Mums should attend first aid courses |
Henry was a carpenter of our village. Once I asked him to make a table for my family. A week later, Henry sent us the table and the bill as well.
My wife said to me, "It's a beautiful table, dear, isn't it?"
"I won't decide about that until I see the bill." I said.
Henry was drinking a glass of water. He laughed and gave me a piece of paper. It said,
Bill
One dining table June 10, 2011
Cost of wood17.00
Paint 1.50
Work, 8 hours (1 an hour)8.00
Total(总计) 36.50
When I was looking at the bill, Henry said," It's a fine day, isn't it? Quite sunny."
"Yes," I said. "I'm glad it is only the 10th of June."
"Me too, " said Henry." You wait. It will be a bit hotter by the end of the month."
"Yes, hotter and more expensive. The table will be 20 more expensive on June 30th, won't they, Henry? " I said, "If it isn't too much trouble, please add it up again. You can forget the date."
"OK, man. You are such a guy." Henry said with a smile in his two blue eyes, and he left with the money he should get.The table was made of __________.
| A．Wood | B．glass | C．Paper | D．chair |
The bill showed 36.50 in all because Henry __________.
| A．didn’t do well in math | B．was an honest carpenter |
| C．added the date to the bill | D．was not a carpenter |
In Henry’s opinion the write was a __________ guy.
| A．smart and careful | B．silly and lazy | C．rich and hardworking | D．stupid and rich |
From the story we know that __________.
| A．Henry got 26.5 for his work in the end |
| B．The table will cost 20 more on June 30 |
| C．The writer paid 36.5 for the table |
| D．The writer got 36.5 |