When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall of 2009, they’ll be joined by a new face; Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost (教务长) of Yale, who’ll become Oxford’s vice-chancellor—a position equivalent to university president in America.
Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic. Schools in France, Egypt, Singapore, etc, have also recently made top-level hires from abroad. Higher education has become a big and competitive business nowadays, and like so many businesses, it’s gone global. Yet the talent flow isn’t universal. High-level personnel tend to head in only one direction: outward from America.
The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad. For example, when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president, it wanted a leader familiar with the state government, a major source of the university’s budget. “We didn’t do any global consideration,” says Patricia Hayes, the board’s chair. The board ultimately picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist (活动家) who is likely to do well in the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising. Fund-raising is a distinctively American thing, since U.S. schools rely heavily on donations. The fund-raising ability is largely a product of experience and necessity.
Many European universities, meanwhile, are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student number. The decline in government support has made funding-raising an increasing necessary ability among administrators and has hiring committees hungry for Americans.
In the past few years, prominent schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2003, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen “a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position.”
Of course, fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer. The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind of promote international programs and attract a global student body. Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective on established practices.What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the passage?
A.Institutions worldwide are hiring administrators from the U.S. |
B.A lot of political activists are being recruited as administrators. |
C.American universities are enrolling more international students. |
D.University presidents are paying more attention to funding-raising. |
What is the chief consideration of American universities when hiring top-level administrators?
A.The political correctness. |
B.Their ability to raise funds. |
C.Their fame in academic circles. |
D.Their administrative experience. |
What do we learn about European universities from the passage?
A.The tuitions they charge have been rising considerably. |
B.Their operation is under strict government supervision. |
C.They are strengthening their position by globalization. |
D.Most of their revenues come from the government. |
Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard as its vice-chancellor chiefly because _____.
A.she was known to be good at raising money |
B.she could help strengthen its ties with Yale |
C.she knew how to attract students overseas |
D.she had boosted Yale’s academic status |
In what way do top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development?
A.They can enhance the university’s image. |
B.They will bring with them more international faculty. |
C.They will view a lot of things from a new perspective. |
D.They can set up new academic disciplines. |
Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential $ 1 coin.
The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint(造币厂)that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue four Presidential $ 1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters(纪念币) program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential $ 1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be released. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.
The Presidential $ 1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription(题字)on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “$ 1”.
There will be one Presidential $ 1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served two nonconsecutive(不连续的)terms.
The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin. Hundreds of people lined up at the railway station in order to ____________.
A.exchange money | B.visit a coin show |
C.book train tickets | D.do some shopping |
. What may you find on the head side of the new US $ 1 coin?
A.The Statue of Liberty | B.The name of a U.S. president |
C.The year when the coin was made | D.The inscriptions “ United States of America” |
Why will Grover Cleveland have two coins ?
A.He is the only one who has served two terms |
B.He is the most famous President in the U.S. |
C.He served longer than any other President. |
D.He served two terms but not continuously. |
From the passage we can infer that_________.
A.the new presidential coin can buy more than the old coin. |
B.the U.S. Mint has issued all the presidential coins by now. |
C.no presidential coin has been released for president Obama |
D.the coins are issued to honor the greatest presidents in America |
Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. Ms. Müller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Günter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901. She is the 12th woman to gain the literature prize. But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, Ms. Müller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany.
“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,” Ms. Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”
She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”
At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms. Müller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措) by all the cameras in her face.
When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Böll, Ms. Müller remained philosophical(达观的). “I am now nothing better and I’m nothing worse,” she said, adding: “My inner thing is writing. That’s what I can hold on to.”
Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms. Müller was honored for her “very, very distinct special language” and because “she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family.we can learn from the passage that Ms. Muller is_______.
A.the 1st writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature since 1999 |
B.the 12th winner for the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901 |
C.the 13th woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature |
D.a German citizen since she moved to German in 1987 |
Ms. Müller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because ____.
A.she was born a Romanian person |
B.she had failed many times in winning it |
C.she had never wanted to win the prize |
D.she was only an unknown writer |
The underlined expression “in the same breath” is the nearest in meaning to ____.
A.instead of | B.at the same moment |
C.in a breath | D.under the same roof |
We can infer according to the passage that ____.
A.her honored works are based on her own experience |
B.most of Ms. Müller’s novels are unsuccessful works |
C.Ms. Müller is feeling much better after she becomes the award winner |
D.Ms. Müller was honored because she’s described the Germans’ life vividly |
I first visited hutong as part of a tourist group several years ago. We rode on a trishaw(脚踏三轮车) with a guide explaining the history, architecture and lifestyle of the local inhabitants.
Having visited the "must-sees" of Beijing, like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum Tower and the Summer Palace, going into the hutong home of some famous ancient families gave the “Beijing experience” a human element.
My curiosity has sharpened over the years from reading about them at every opportunity. During the preparation for the Olympics I was eager to learn that some siheyuan courtyards in hutong were turned into accommodations(食宿) for visitors. I wished to stay in one someday.
Preparing for a recent trip to the capital, I eagerly sought one out. On my limited teacher’s salary, I settled on an affordable option, though I looked longingly at the more upscale courtyard accommodations.
As usual, I ended up having something closer to a true experience. A real family still lives in the courtyard, which is closer to the original. The rooms all opened into the central courtyard. Flowers were blooming, beans and peas were climbing up the bamboo fence, and the cat was napping in the sun. Every day after exploring the city, I'd hurry back to the hutong, take a quick shower and join the cat – snoozing(小睡) in a bamboo-made chair with a book ready nearby.
As the other guests came back we’d greet one another. There was a mother and young daughter from France, a guy from Canada, a mother and teenage daughter from the Netherlands, a teacher from England and several guests from various parts of China.
Coming and going through the narrow alleys(小巷) of the hutong, the residents would smile and give cheery “ni hao” (hello). Laughing children were playing under the watchful eyes of the neighbors. I felt right at home in this friendly neighborhood. The main idea of the passage is about ______________.
A.hutong days realize my desires to live local life |
B.Trishaw is the only way to visit the hutong |
C.living in the hutong with other visitors |
D.exploring the deeper of Beijing |
When did the author have the idea to visit Beijing hutong?
A.As early as he was a little child |
B.when he was reading the text books at school |
C.during the preparation for the Olympics |
D.the author doesn’t mention it specifically |
The underlined word “upscale” in the fourth paragraph means _________.
A.inexpensive | B.high-class | C.appropriate | D.secondary |
What is the impression of the author about the people in hutong?
A.They came from all over the world. |
B.They all wanted to enjoy the old life of Beijing. |
C.They are living together in harmony. |
D.They are living in a heavenly peace life. |
Once an Englishman named Larry Belmont went to Russia for a holiday. After he got back some of his friends came. “I had a very dangerous trip while I was in Russia.” Larry said, “I went to see a friend in the country and when the sun went down, I was still traveling through a forest in a sleigh(雪橇). It was a long way from my friend’s house when about twenty wolves began to follow my sleigh.”
“It was very dark in the forest. There was thick snow on the ground. First I heard the wolves. The noise was terrible! Then I saw long, grey forms among the trees, and soon the wolves were near me. They were running very fast, and they didn’t seem to get tired like the horses.”
“What did you do?” one of Larry’s friends asked.
“When the wolves got very near,” Larry answered, “I put up my gun and shot the first wolf dead. Then all the other wolves stopped and ate it, so my sleigh got away from them for a few minutes. Then they finished their meal, and I heard them coming again. The moon was shining brightly on the snow now, and after a few minutes I saw them running among the trees once more. They came nearer again, and then I shot another one of them, and the others stopped once more to eat it. The same thing
happened again, and my horses become more and more tired and ran slower and slower until, after two hours, only one wolf was still alive and following me.”
“Wasn’t it too fat to run?” one of Larry’s friends asked.The purpose of this passage is to ______.
A.amuse readers | B.tell an exciting adventure |
C.praise Larry Belmont’s bravery | D.show the danger of traveling through a forest |
According to what Larry said, the last wolf _______.
A.was the strongest of all | B.had eaten up all the other wolves |
C.ran much faster than the other wolves | D.was very fat and couldn’t run fast enough |
From what Larry’s friend asked at the end, we know that_______.
A.Larry’s trip was really dangerous |
B.the last wolf was too fat to run |
C.all the wolves had been shot by Larry |
D.the friend did not believe what Larry had said |
Alone in the darkness under layers of rubble (碎石) , Dan Woolley felt blood streaming from his head and leg.
Woolley, an aid worker, husband, and father of two boys, followed instructions on his cell phone to survive the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
“I had an app that had pre-downloaded all this information about treating wounds. So I looked up excessive bleeding and I looked up compound fracture(断裂),” Woolley told CNN.
The application on his iPhone is filled with information about first aid and CPR from the American Heart Association. “So I knew I wasn’t making mistakes, ” Woolley said. “That gave me confidence to treat my wounds properly.”
Trapped in the ruins of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, he used his shirt to bandage his leg, and tied his belt around the wound. To stop the bleeding on his head, he firmly pressed a sock to it. Concerned he might have been experiencing shock, Woolley used the app to look up what to do. It warned him not to sleep. So he set his phone alarm to go off every 20 minutes.
Once the battery got down to less than 20 percent of its power, Woolley turned it off. By then, he says, he had trained his body not to sleep for long periods, drifting off only to wake up within minutes.
With his injuries tended to, he wrote a note to his family in his journal: “I was in a big accident, an earthquake. Don’t be upset at God. He always provides for his children even in hard times. I’m still praying that God will get me out, but he may not. But even so he will always take care of you.”
After more than 60 hours, Woolley was pulled from the rubble.
“Those guys are rescue heroes,” he said to the crew that pulled him out. Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
A.How to deal with the wo![]() |
B.Try to get in touch with outside. |
C.How to stay awake under the ground. |
D.An unforgettable experience in the earthquake. |
Woolley set his phone alarm to go off every 20 minutes because_____.
A.he tried his best to communicate with rescuers |
B.he was forced to stay awake to check his wounds |
C.he was afraid that sleep might do harm to him |
D.he needed to use the app to look up what to do |
The underlined sentence suggests that_________.
A.he turned off his iPhone to save power | B.the battery of his IPhone lasted long |
C.he didn’t want his iPhone to disturb him | D.his iPhone went off because of lack of power |
What Woolley wrote his journal showed _______.
A.he expected his family to lend a hand | B.he didn’t lose heart in hard times |
C.he cared more for his family than his life | D.his children made him upset |