ABORIGINAL is a term used to describe the people and animals that lived in a place from the earliest known times or before Europeans arrived. Examples are the Maori in New Zealand, the Aborigines in Australia and the Indians in America. They all share the fact that they were pushed off their land by European settlers.
Maori
The Maori were the first people to go to New Zealand, about 1,000 years ago. They came from the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific. They brought dogs, rats and plants with them and settled mainly on the Northern Island. In 1769, Captain James Cook from Britain took possession of the Island and from that time British people started to settle. The Maori signed an agreement on land rights with these settlers, but in later years there were arguments and battles between them.
Aborigines
The native people of Australia came from somewhere in Asia more than 40,000 years ago. They lived by hunting and gathering. Their contact with British settlers began in 1788. By the 1940s almost all of them were mixed into Australian society as low-paid workers. Their rights were limited. In 1976 and 1993 the Australian Government passed laws that returned some land to the Aborigines and recognized their property rights.
American Indians
Long before the Europeans came to America in the 16th and 17th century, the American Indians, or Native Americans, lived there. It is believed that they came from Asia. Christopher Columbus mistook the land for India and so called the people there Indians. The white settlers and American Indians lived in peace at the beginning, but conflicts finally arose and led to the Indian Wars (1866-1890). After the wars, the Indians were driven to the west of the country. Not until 1924 did they gain the right to vote.The similarity among Maoris, Aborigines and American Indians is that _________.
| A．they lost their vote right after European settlers’ arrival |
| B．they lost their land after European settlers’ arrival |
| C．they were driven out of their country after European settlers’ arrival |
| D．they were not treated as citizens until recently |
Before European settlers arrived, we can infer that the Aboriginals had lived _________ life.
| A．a miserable | B．a bitter | C．a peaceful | D．a troublesome |
Which of the following was first interrupted by the Europeans?
| A．Maoris. | B．Aborigines. | C．American Indians. | D．Not mentioned. |
The passage mainly tells us _______.
| A．the war between aboriginal people and white settlers |
| B．the history of Maoris, Aborigines and American Indians |
| C．the present unfair treatment to aboriginal people of the world |
| D．European settlers were the enemy of all aboriginal people |
Will Nanfang University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen announce a new beginning for China’s higher education reform? It’s too early to answer. But its presence is challenging the Ministry of Education. Even without the approval of the ministry it seems that the school is determined to move forward and enroll 50 students, so-called child prodigies(奇才), to begin classes on March l, 2011.On graduating in 2015, these students will receive a diploma unauthorized by the Ministry of Education----unlike the students of their age from the state-run universities.
The school is committed to modeling itself on Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, but if the government will not approve the school, the situation could cause a lot of trouble for those 50 students if they want to do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions. Other schools could turn their applications down for their unauthorized diplomas.
The difficulties, however, have not frightened students and their parents away. On Dec.18, 2010 more than 1,000 students and their parents visited Nanfang University of Science and Technology for interviews.
Private investment marks the school out from other higher learning institutions in the nation. Not a penny comes from the government. So the government will have no voice in how the school will be run.
The Ministry of Education has published a comprehensive plan for education reform and development between 2011 and 2020.The goal is to make China’s higher education internationally competitive. To accomplish this goal, the government should have the courage to let the educators who have big ideas try them out. The ministry should have applauded the independence. The school in Shenzhen has shown and encouraged more to do likewise.
Education reform in China has reached a new and crucial stage. Nanfang University of Science and Technology has a long way to go to prove itself competitive rather than a diploma mill.
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．University of New Style. |
| B．China’s Education Reform. |
| C．Modeling Hong Kong University. |
| D．Authorized or Not? |
It’s not easy being a teenager---nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager．You can make your child feel angry, hurt or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself．It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you’ll still be there for him when he needs you．
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything．Except for health and safety problems，such as drug use or careless driving, consider everything else open to discussion．If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind．The more you insist，the more likely that he’ll calm up．Instead, let him attempt to solve things by himself．At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him should he seek advice or help．Show respect for your teenager’s privacy（隐私）．Never read his mail or listen to personal conversations．
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family．If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for l5 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least all equal period of time．This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation（节制）．Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job．
The main purpose of the text is to tell parents_________．
| A．how to get along with a teenager |
| B．how to help a teenager grow up |
| C．how to understand a teenager |
| D．how to respect a teenager |
The term, culture shock, describes the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment. This term expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate. The feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few weeks of coming to a new place.
We can describe culture shock as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or place. Often, the way that we lived before is not accepted as or considered as normal in the new place. Everything is different, for example, not speaking the language, not knowing how to use banking machines and so forth.
Although one can experience real pain from culture shock, it is also an opportunity for resetting one' s life objectives. It is a great opportunity for learning and acquiring new viewpoints. Culture shock can make one develop a better understanding of oneself.
Culture shock has many stages. The first stage is called the "honeymoon" stage. The new arrival may feel excited as everything is new.
In the second stage, a person may encounter some difficult times in daily life. For example, communication difficulties may occur such as not being understood. There may be feelings of discontent, anger, sadness, and feeling incompetence. This happens when a person is trying to adapt to a new culture. Transition (过渡) between the old methods and those of the new country is a difficult process and takes time to complete.
The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture. One may start to feel a certain psychological balance. The new arrival may start to have a feeling of direction and want to belong.
In the fourth stage, the person realizes that the new culture has good and bad things to offer. The person has a more solid feeling of belonging and starts to set goals for living.
The fifth stage is called the " re-entry shock". This occurs when a return to the
country of origin is made. One may find that things are no longer the same. For example, some of the newly acquired customs are not in use in the old culture.
Many factors (因素) contribute to the length and effects of culture shock. For example, the individual's state of mental health, type of personality, previous experiences, familiarity with the language, and level of education. So the five stages are present at different times and each person has their own way of reacting.
The main purpose of the passage is to________
| A．discuss and clarify | B．argue and advise |
| C．introduce and explain | D．compare and evaluate |
While astronauts in space get to do many exciting things, they miss out on ordinary things that we all take for granted—being able to walk on firm ground, hanging out with family and digging into a slice of hot steaming pizza. Though not much can be done about the first two things, there may soon be a solution to the third one, thanks to this cool 3-D pizza printer!
About a year ago, NASA offered $125 ,000 to Anjan Contractor, a 3-D technology expert, to build a device (设备) that would allow astronauts to make pizza on demand. The mechanical engineer promised that his invention would produce pies in large quantities that looked, tasted and even smelled like pizza made in common ovens.
Late last year, the engineer presented a video of his first prototype (原型) that begins by creating a single slice of dough (面团) that is cooked and printed at the same time. Then comes the tomato “sauce” — a mix of tomato powder, oil and water and finally, a protein slice that resembles cheese. While the video doesn’t show the baking process, the inventor says that once the pizza is printed, it can be ready to be consumed in 7 seconds.
While the pie in the video looks delicious enough to attract any pizza lover, Anjan Contractor is far from ready for astronauts. That’s because he still has to find a solution to make the food container in the printer last for 30 years. Though that may sound unrealistic, actually it is not.
Anjan Contractor believes that the only way that is possible is that the water is removed from all the ingredients (配料) and then they are reduced to the powder form. This, as you can imagine, will not be so easy. But, while the printer may not be ready for space, it certainly looks ready enough for people on earth. Hopefully, NASA and Contractor will consider selling it to those not fortunate enough to go to Mars!
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．NASA is trying its best to help astronauts eat better |
| B．Astronauts may soon be able to enjoy steaming hot pizza |
| C．NASA is working on making pizza for common people |
| D．A 3-D pizza printer has been used to make pizza |
Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. We go fishing, sit in the garden, have a picnic, live in the suburbs or go to the seaside. The most popular leisure activity in Britain is going for a walk. When joggers jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them tend to go to the park or the river.
But despite this, our children are growing up nature deprived(剥夺). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.
The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (多动症). Those whose accommodation had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.
ADHD is one of the great problems of modern childhood. One study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.
The life of old people is measurably better when they have access to nature. The increasing concern for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.
We need the wild world. It is essential to our well-being, our health and our happiness.
What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Access to nature improves our life.
B. Nature treats children with ADHD.
C. Getting close to nature reduces crime.
D. Man can’t live without natural areas.