Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all, whether rich or poor, clever or stupid, one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough: we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees than there are jobs for them to fill. Because of their degree, they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we would get terrible diseases in our towns.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we are educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability, and secondly, that we realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.The writer of this passage thinks that ________.
| A．free education can solve all of the world’s problems |
| B．free education for all probably leads to a perfect world |
| C．free education won’t help to solve social problems at all |
| D．not all the social problems can be solved by free education |
The writer wants to tell us that ___________.
| A．our society needs all kinds of jobs |
| B．our society needs free education for all |
| C．a farmer is more important than a professor |
| D．people with university degrees earn more money |
According to the passage, ____________.
| A．work with hands is dirty and shameful |
| B．work with hands is low work |
| C．work with hands is the most important |
| D．we can’t regard work with hands as low work |
The purpose of education is ___________.
| A．to choose a system of education |
| B．to let everyone receive education |
| C．to prepare children for their future life |
| D．to prepare children for well-paid jobs |
Watercolor（水彩画） is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men. They discovered that they could mix the natural colors found in the earth with water. In this way they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the wall of caves.
Fresco（壁画）, one of the greatest art forms, is done with watercolor, it is created by mixing paints
and water and applying these to wet plaster（灰泥）. Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelos’ works in the Sistine Chapel, very few know they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world.
The invention of oil painting by the Glemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go downhill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches（素描） or as tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form. The English have widely-known love for the outdoors and also for small, private pictures. The softness o
f watercolor had a strong attraction for them.
The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until the twentieth century. The United States took the place of England and became the cen
ter of watercolor. It produced such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth. The first watercolor users were___________
| A．the early cave men |
| B．Italian fresco artists |
| C．Flemish masters |
| D．the English artists in the 18th century |
In the 16th and 17th centuries the artists thought__________.
| A．watercolor was more costly, but better |
| B．oil painting lasted less long, but clearer and brighter |
| C．watercolor was not suitable for serious works |
D．oil painting was difficult to use |
According to the passage, watercolor painting was put back in England because ______
| A．it was easy to use outdoors |
| B．it was a strong tool |
| C．it was extremely bright in color |
| D．it was well suited to popular tastes |
What is the passage mainly about?________
| A．the gradual weakness of fresco painting. |
| B．Oils having more power of influence over watercolor. |
| C．The rediscovery of watercolor in England. |
| D．The start and development of watercolor. |
What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(细胞) are the ba
sic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciti
ng to imag
ine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.
| A．diseases and aging | B．acci dents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart diseases and war |
In the author's opinion, today's most important advance in technology lies in _____.
| A．medicine | B．the internet | C．brain cells | D．human organs |
Humans may live longer in the future because ______.
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future |
| B．human have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| C．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells. |
A morning rarely began so perfect. I took in the fresh air and felt my heart run into an enthusiastic rhythm. Though cool, the sun warmed my back as it rose over the horse from not far from my house. The slightest wind danced on my skin. Just enough to keep a runner form overheating. My ever-faithful jogging partner, a black dog named Nika pulled my leg with her mouth, mirroring my eagerness to start our run.
We raced forward with determination, ready to leap tall buildings and race against speeding trains. We pushed harder and ran faster, demonstration our skill and impressing passing motorists and neighbors.
We kept on running until we hit the Beast, a name for a very difficult, nearly two-mile long steep climb.
Only a few paces into the Beast, I gasped for air. Far short of superhero status, my enthusiasm and active steps were lost somewhere at the base of the hill. A vision of the newspaper and a cup of coffee waiting in my kitchen appeared, attracting me to turn back toward home.
With a glance I noticed Nika wasn’t doing any better. She continued to faithfully follow me, putting one paw in front of the other, but without her former eagerness. Her tiredness touched me. And in that moment, I felt a sudden spark of renewed determination to press on. I couldn’t allow this mountain to get the better of us. To improve both our spirits, I managed to shout, “Good girl, Nika! Keep going…you can do it!”
“I’m encouraging a dog, for heaven’s sake!’’ I needed to pull myself together. With a few simple words, I changed our course. One moment we were on the edge of quitting. The next, our feet picked up the pace and we continued. Though tired and discouraged myself, with a few kind words I impacted a dog’s ability to go further. I’m sure I could have completed the opposite with ill-chosen comments and an unpleasant tone. Instead, the Beast was defeated and we flew like heroes the rest of the way home.
Life is full of beasts to conquer. For some, it is the seemingly impossible climb of cancer. For others, their beast takes the shape of parenting a child or a teenager. Uphill climbs come in all shapes and sizes, common only in their ability to defeat, discourage and tempt tired travelers to quit. Sometimes all that’s needed is a few spoken, well-timed words of encouragement from a fellow runner – someone who sees the struggle, dares to jogs alongside, and cares enough to say, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re not alone. I believe in you!” The writer starts the text by describing________.
| A．the beautiful scene of the morning |
| B．his or her preparations for a jogging |
| C．a lively dog named Nika |
| D．the growth of crops at the farm |
The writer mentioned the newspaper and coffee to suggest that he or she _______.
| A．liked reading newspapers while drinking coffee |
| B．had an intention to give up running |
| C．would treat himself or herself to coffee after running |
| D．might appear on the newspaper for the long running |
The writer decided to continue running _______.
| A．after he or she found the dog was still energetic |
| B．because they came near the top of the hill |
| C．when he or she noticed the tired dog |
| D．before they arrived at the bottom of the hill |
What does the writer expect to show by telling the story?
| A．Words are powerful than deeds. |
| B．Beasts in life aren’t easily to conquer. |
| C．Dogs are the best friend of humans. |
| D．Try it one more time before giving up. |
For an owl (猫头鹰) with one-metre wingspan, the sky should be the limit. But Troy prefers his bird’s eye view to be no higher than 5 feet 10 inches. The one-year-old owl has an inconvenient symptom: he’s afraid of heights. After an unfortunate start in life when he fell from his nest by accident, Troy was raised by Gareth Tonen, a handler (饲养员), who just happens to be 5 feet 10 inches tall.
As a result, Troy has grown up without any great ambitions of his own. When it comes to trees, he can’t see what is about and would prefer to fly along at Mr. Tonen’s side. Only when the 25-year-old handler climbs up a tree can Troy be tempted to leave his comfort zone and join him.
Ashley Smith said, “ Troy’s fear of heights was a result of forgetting how to be a bird. He’s been in captivity (被圈养) for as long as he can remember and has never been higher than his handler can lift him. He sees himself as more of a human than an owl, and he doesn’t know how to sit in trees or hunt. Gareth has to almost act like an owl to get Troy to behave like one.”
As a result, a daily tree climb has become part of Troy’s – and Mr. Tonen’s – routine. Ladders have been fixed so Mr. Tonen can climb into the trees and call for Troy, who will fly up and join his handler but go no higher. Most of the time he flies down again, but occasionally Mr. Tonen has to carry him back to ground level. The afternoon ends with a meal of mouse, rabbit or his favorite, chicken.
Mr. Tonen said, “He now looks upon me as his mum or dad. He’s gaining more confidence and if I have to carry on climbing up trees with him then we’ll do what it takes for him to be a high flyer.Troy was brought up by Gareth Tonen because he ______.
| A．couldn’t fly high | B．got badly hurt |
| C．left his parents accidentally | D．couldn’t live in trees |
What can you learn from the second paragraph?
| A．Troy doesn’t show any interest in flying high up in the sky. |
| B．Gareth Tonen has spoiled Troy by offering him everything. |
| C．Gareth Tonen is pleased to see Troy fly along at his side. |
| D．Troy would like his owner Gareth Tonen to climb up trees. |
According to Ashley Smith, Troy doesn’t know he is a bird because ______.
| A．he has developed the symptom of fearing heights. |
| B．he has been raised since he was very small. |
| C．he can’t learn how to fly higher than his owner. |
| D．he doesn’t want to fly among trees hunting for food. |
Why does Gareth Tonen have to climb up trees every day?
| A．To set an example of flying high to Troy. |
| B．To see how high Troy can really fly. |
| C．To teach Troy how to get meals in high trees. |
| D．To get Troy back down to cure his fear of heights. |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker(面包师) in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife andfamily, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery (面包房) into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall along them.
Samuel Peyps, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect (建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone, In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the new St Paul's.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that______.
| A．some people lost their lives |
| B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire |
| C．many famous buildings were destroyed |
| D．the King's bakery was burned down |
Why did the writer cite (引用) Samuel Pepys?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To show that poor people suffered most. |
| D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The King and his soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down. |
Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread of the big fire?______.
(a) There was a strong wind. (b) The streets were very narrow.
(c) Many houses were made of wood. (d) There was not enough water in the city.
(e) people did not discover the fire earlier.
A. (a), (b)B. (a), (b), (C)C. (a), (b), (d) D. (b), (c) (e)