The use of lotteries (彩票) to allocate (分配) school places is to be reviewed by the British government because more than 20 percent of children are failing to get into their first-choice schools in parts of the country.
The struggle for secondary school places has reached record levels this year, increasing anxiety for hundreds of thousands of families. A report from 43 local authorities suggests that in many areas, up to a fifth of children face disappointment. Families in London are the hardest hit.
This week is admissions week, when about 570,000 families will receive notice about their child’s secondary school acceptance. As the recession (不景气) forces more parents to consider a state education rather than a private one for their children, more than a third of local authorities have noted rises in the number of applications for secondary school places.
This year, just 62 percent of children in Richmond-upon-Thames got into their parents’ first-choice school, down from 64 percent last year. The council said this was caused by an increase in applications.
In another London authority, Tower Hamlet, 71.1 percent of children were admitted to their parents’ first choice school. In Leeds and Warwickshire, 85 percent were successful. In Derby the figure was 81 percent, while in Wiltshire, Stockport and Lincolnshire, the figure was 89 percent.
In many authorities, the figures are similar to those of last year. Exceptions include Brighton and Hove, which introduced a lottery system to allocate oversubscribed places last year. This year, it has seen a 3.5 percent increase in the number of children obtaining their first choice, bringing the total to nearly 88 percent. However, more than 5 percent of children in this area have been allocated a place at a school that was not among any of their choices.
Lotteries are being used at the government’s suggestion by a small number of oversubscribed schools in around twenty-five local authorities. They were meant to prevent middle-class parents from abusing the system by buying or renting homes close to the best schools. According to the passage, more and more parents in Britain prefer to send their children to _______.
| A．a state school | B．a private school |
| C．a school in London | D．a school in Brighton |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．The lottery system is certainly a good way to allocate school places. |
| B．Over one in five children fail to get into their first-choice schools in parts of Britain. |
| C．The lottery system is welcomed by parents around twenty-five local authorities. |
| D．The number of applications for secondly school places is falling this year. |
In the following places, the highest preferred school admission rate is in _______.
| A．Richmond-upon-Thames | B．Brighton and Hove |
| C．Lincolnshire | D．Derby |
The purpose of using lottery system is to ________.
| A．keep middle-class parents buying or renting homes close to the best schools. |
| B．increase the number of children obtaining their first choice |
| C．decrease the number of applications for some good schools |
| D．create equality between children from different social classes |
The passage is most probably taken from _______.
| A．a survey on education | B．a textbook on science |
| C．a speech on radio | D．an essay on economy |
Healthy people with stressful jobs who work long hours but get little satisfaction from what they do have twice the risk of dying from heart disease as satisfied employees, according to a study. Job stress has been known to cause heart problems in people who already have cardiovascular disease (心血管病). Finnish scientists have now shown that even in healthy people the pressures of work can take their toll. High blood pressure, lack of exercise, smoking and being overweight contribute to heart disease—a leading killer in many industrialized countries.
But Mika Kivimaki, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, and his colleagues, who studied the medical histories of 812 healthy Finnish men and women in a metal industry company over 25 years, said job stress also plays an important role.
Workers who had the highest job-related stress levels at the start of the study were more than twice as likely to die of heart disease, according to the study published in The British Medical Journal. Work stress involves too much work as well as a lack of satisfaction and feeling undervalued and unappreciated. Many people work long hours but if the effort is rewarding the stress is minimized.
The British Heart Foundation said the results support earlier research showing that people in jobs with low control, such as manual(体力的) workers, could be as great risk of heart disease than other employees. “ It is advisable for people to try to minimize levels of stress at work and for employees to allow people to have more control at work and to be rewarded for their successes,” the foundation said in a statement.Healthy people may die from heart disease of ____________.
| A．too much job stress | B．working too hard | C．feeling valued | D．being satisfied |
Which one of the following is NOT right according to this passage?
| A．High blood pressure is likely to cause heart disease. |
| B．Being overweight may cause heart disease. |
| C．Job stress is most likely to cause heart disease. |
| D．Working long hours must cause heart disease. |
The underlined word “minimized” in the third paragraph means “_________”.
| A．increased | B．reduced | C．raised | D．cured |
The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to _________.
| A．advise people not to work long hours |
| B．suggest that everyone be satisfied with everything |
| C．ask us to learn to enjoy ourselves |
| D．tell us that job stress threatens our health nowadays. |
Sure, it’s good to get along with your teacher because it makes the time you spend in the classroom more pleasant.
And yes, it’s good to get along with your teacher because, in general, it’s smart to learn how to understand the different types of people you’ll meet throughout your life.
“But really, there’s one super-important reason why you should get along with your teacher. When you do, learning bursts right open,” says Evelyn Vuko, a longtime teacher who writes an education column(专栏) called “Teacher Says” for the Washington Post newspaper.
In fact, kids who get along with their teachers not only learn more, but they’re more comfortable asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier to understand new material and do your best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school life, such as bullying.
As a kid in a primary or middle school, you’re at a wonderful stage in your life. You’re like a sponge (海绵), able to absorb lots of new and exciting information. On top of that, you’re able to think about all this information in new ways. Your teacher knows that, in most cases, is very excited to be the person who’s giving you all that material and helping you make it. Remember, teachers are people, too, and they feel great if you’re open to what they’re teaching you. That’s why they wanted to be teachers in the first place—to teach!
Some kids may be able to learn in any situation, whether they like the teacher or not. But most kids are sensitive to the way they get along with the teacher, and if things aren’t going well, they won’t learn as well and won’t enjoy being in class.In the passage, the author mainly talks about _______.
A. how to get along well with others
B. the importance of a good relation with teachers
C. how much the students are expected of to get along with teachers
D. how to make the time in the classroom more pleasant
【小2】“Learning bursts right open” in the third paragraph really means _______.
A. learning becomes easier for you at once
B. you find an opening to learning
C. there’ll be more problems with learning
D. there’ll be no problems at all with learningAccording to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．If you get on well with your teachers, you must have a good result in exams. |
| B．The more questions you ask, the higher marks you will get. |
| C．If you have a good relationship with your teacher, you can turn to him when in trouble. |
| D．Many kids can do well without a good relationship with teachers. |
I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”
“No! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.
My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and when I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.
When I reached the hospital, my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911, thank God! If he had moved Daddy, there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib（肋骨）might have pierced（穿透）a lung...”
My mother may have said more, but I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear anything except those terrible words: Leave me alone. My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more. How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?
It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.
“Daddy… I am so sorry…”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay. ”
“No,” I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”
My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly. He looked at me and said. “Sweetheart, I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though. ”He managed a weak smile.
My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.The author was in bad mood that morning because _______.
| A．his father had a terrible accident |
| B．he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends |
| C．his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema |
| D．his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends |
Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?
| A．Because he didn’t go along with his father. |
| B．Because he was rude to his father that morning. |
| C．Because he failed to come earlier after the accident. |
| D．Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital. |
The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that _______.
| A．he had a poor memory |
| B．he didn’t hear what his son said |
| C．he just wanted to comfort his son |
| D．he lost his memory after the accident |
What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?
| A．Don’t treat your parents badly. |
| B．Don’t hurt others with rude words. |
| C．Don’t move the injured in an accident. |
| D．Don’t be angry with friends at small things. |
It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington. According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.” People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.
| A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag |
| B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags |
| C．debate over who designed the first American flag |
| D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence |
| B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag |
| C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag |
| D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag |
The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．a person who designs flags | B．a person who makes a living by sewing |
| C．a person who takes part in revolution | D．a person who creates chairs |
What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?
| A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain |
| B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag |
| C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag |
| D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag |
From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Wildcats and their stories. | B．Wildcats and their characters. |
| C．Varieties of animal species. | D．Relationship between animals and humans. |
The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to "__________".
| A．gasoline companies | B．automobile manufacturers |
| C．brands of automobile | D．names of wildcats |
Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?
| A．Wildcat congressmen. | B．Wildcat oil wells. |
| C．Wildcat banks. | D．Wildcat cars. |
It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money__________.
| A．people couldn't buy anything with the money |
| B．people complained and suffered a lot |
| C．the rich invested too much on oil wells |
| D．people didn't know how to save money |