There has been much discussion recently about reducing the weight of English in China's high-stake tests such as the national college entrance examination. It is argued by some applauding the recent change to reduce the importance of English in tests so that it will lead students to focus more on learning Chinese. The TV program Writing in Chinese has exposed the problem that students and the general public cannot write in Chinese as they used to do.
Some blame the design of the curriculum for giving English an equal or greater amount of emphasis, which might have contributed to the failure in teaching Chinese. But this is probably not a fair accusation since children in English speaking countries cannot spell either.
I doubt that studying English in itself hurts the study of Chinese. In fact, high achievers in English or another foreign language are more likely to be high achievers in Chinese. It has been proved many times in recent Chinese history that those capable of using a foreign language are also masters in their mother tongue. Qian Zhongshu, Lu Xun and Lin Yutang are just a few examples.
Another trend of thought for curriculum reform is related to the perception of "worth". It is true that English is one of the subjects that students do spend too much time on, with pitiful results. This makes some doubt if it is worth giving it priority. But this is not a sound argument either as students still need to study things that matter more to their future in spite of challenges learning English presents to them.
Improvements in Chinese language education should not be achieved by sacrificing another important subject. There should be a robust(健康的) foreign language education program, as a foreign language improves a student's future job prospects. Bashing(抨击) English education as a waste of time or using it as a goat for failures in Chinese education are both harmful tendencies.
To be constructive, we ought to start a dialogue on ways to make improvements in learning outcomes so that students' time learning English is spent more effectively. There are a few things that could improve English education, such as assessment design,learner motivation and teaching style,
I am sure there are many other areas where changes can greatly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of English learning. The public discourse at present is a little oversimplified. People are arguing for or against English having less weight in major tests, when the dialogue should be taken a step further, to the improvement of learning or teaching methods that may benefit the teaching of other subjects as well, Chinese included.In paragraph 3 Qian Zhongshu, Lu Xun and Lin Yutang are mentioned to _____.
A.show respect for their capabilities of learning languages |
B.prove English and Chinese are not contradictory |
C.confirm the importance of learning English in China |
D.tell the readers English Education is to blame |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is right?
A.The TV program Writing in Chinese is very popular at present. |
B.Good results of learning English are not worth so much time. |
C.Some are in favor of attaching less importance to English in exams. |
D.Sacrificing English can improve Chinese language education. |
In the writer’s opinion, what should be done to solve the argument?
A.Increasing time spent in learning Chinese. |
B.Increasing time spent in learning English. |
C.Reducing the weight of English in examinations. |
D.Improving the learning outcomes effectively. |
Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
A.English education is still important in China. |
B.Chinese education is more important in China. |
C.English contributes to the failure in teaching Chinese |
D.Ways to make improvements in learning Chinese. |
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they're always coming in for criticism. Their critics(批评家)seem to hate them because they have so much money to throw around. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays.
The poor old consumer! He'd have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn't create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods is largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a dull wall or a newspaper full of the incidents and disasters.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmers is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn't forget is the “small ads.” What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the “hatch, match and dispatch” column(栏目) but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or “agony” column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It's the best advertisement for advertising there is!
1.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Advertisements steal money from our pockets
B. The critics get the wrong idea of advertisements.
C. Advertisers perform a useful service to communities.
D. Advertisements are everywhere.
2.What is the attitude of the author toward advertisements?
A. He appreciates the role of advertisements.
B. He doubts the effect of advertisements.
C. He believes what is said in advertisements.
D. He complains too many advertisements in daily life.
3.Which of the following is Not True?
A. The personal or “agony” column makes us know more about human nature.
B. The only purpose of advertising is to sell goods.
C. A newspaper will cost us more if there is no advertisement on it.
D. Advertisement makes our life colorful.
4.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
A. B. C.D.
① ① ① ①
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② ② ③ ② ③ ④
③ ④ ④ ⑤
⑤ ⑤ ② ③ ④ ⑤
( ①=" Paragraph" 1, ②=" paragraph" 2, ③=" paragraph" 3, ④=" paragraph" 4 ⑤=" paragraph" 5 )
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分 40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑
Win $ 50 in the Coolest Gadget of the Week
Look at what’s the coolest gadget (vote for a chance to win $ 50).
Cryo S: A Cool Netbook Cooler
Like the other devices of NZXT, the Cryo S was designed to provide a competitive advantage at PC gaming. It has two adjustable 120mm fans that provide powerful cooling.
The full post can be found onTrends Updates.
Starry Night Bed
Are you having trouble getting that good nights sleep that you’re needing? Well, not any more. Why not take a look at the Starry Night Bed? The Starry Night Bed is a great new invention which will revolutionize the way in which you sleep. Not only is this bed fashionable and comfortable but it’s also a gadget heaven. With this bed you get many added gadgets including anti-snore technology, movie projector with speakers, temperature control and many more.
The full post can be found onTech Styling.
Fugoo—talking gadgets
Fugoo gets all your appliances(装置,设备) talking to each other so your alarm clock could first wake you up and then tell the coffee machine to start working while checking traffic conditions online to tell you how long it will take you to get to work.
The full post can be found onDecide What to Buy.
Vote What is this week's coolest gadget?
〇 A Cool Netbook Cooler
〇Starry Night Bed
〇Fugoo—talking gadgets
1. Where can you find the full post of the “Cryo S”?
A. Tech Styling. B. Super Cool Pets.
C. Decide What to Buy. D. Trends Updates.
2.If you buy a Starry Night Bed, you can get all the following gadgets EXCEPT ___________.
A. temperature control B. movie projector
C. adjustable fans D. anti-snore technology
3.From this passage, we learn that Fugoo can_________.
A. check traffic conditions B. wake you up
C. take you to work D. make coffee
4.Where does this advertisement probably come from?
A. A magazine. B. A website. C. A newspaper. D. A textbook.
△Banff National Park of Canada
Banff’s rich history dates back to 1885,when three railway workers met with hot mineral
springs surfacing from deep within the mountains.This discovery led to the establishment of Banff National Park,and marked the beginning of Canada’s national parks system.Spanning 6641 square kilometers of valleys,mountains,glaciers,forests,meadows and rivers,Banff National Park is one of the world’s premier destination spots.Contact information:
Phone(403) 762---1550
Fax: (403)762---3380
E-mail:banff.vrc@pc.gc.ca
69.The underlined word “spanning” in the passage means _____ .
A. expanding B. enlarging C. covering D. holding
70.Banff National Park was built because_____ .
A. there were no national parks in Canada then
B.mineral springs were found in Banff
C.there were many valleys and mountains
D.there were lot of scenic islands
We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. but most
mistakes are about people. "Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?" "When I got
that great job, did Jim, as a friend, really feel good about it? Or did he envy my luck?" "And was Paul friendly just because I had a car?" When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad.
But when we look back, it is too late.
Why do we go wrong about our friends, or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meanings. And if we do not really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, "You're a lucky dog!"(你真幸运!) Is he really on your side? If he says, "You're a lucky guy!", that is being friendly. But "a lucky dog?" There is a bit of envy in those words. What he may be saying is that he does not think you deserve your luck.
"Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for" is another phrase that says one thing and means another. It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem. But this phrase contains the thought that your problem is not at all important.
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone's words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Is what he says shown by the tone of voice? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minu
te you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save your another mistake.
65.When the writer recalls(回想) some of the things that happened between him and his
friends, he _______.
A.feels happy, thinking how nice his friends were to him
B.feels he might not have understood his friends' true feelings
C.think it a mistake to have broken up with his girl friend
D.is sorry that his friends let him down
66.When the writer talks about someone saying, "You're a lucky dog!", he is saying that
_____.
A.the speaker is just friendly
B.this sentence suggests the same as "You're a lucky guy!"
C.the word "dog" should not be used to apply to people
D.sometimes the words show that the speaker is a bit envious
67.This passage tries to tell you how to ______.
A.avoid mistakes about money and friends
B.get an idea of friendly people
C.avoid mistakes in understanding what people tell you
D.keep people friendly without trusting them
68.The writer suggests that ______ be trusted.
A.everybody B.nobody C.all the people D.not all the people
第三部分阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
"I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生)," said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate".
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术)make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. "There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years," he said. "Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years."
However, many scientists who specialize in ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. "It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?" said Leonard Pooh, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology(老龄学) Center. "At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."
1.By saying "we are knocking at the door of immortality", Michael Zey means ________.
A.they believe that there is no limit of living
B.they are sure to find the truth about long living
C.they have got some ideas about living forever
D.they are able to make people live past the present life span
2.Donald Louria's attitude towards long living is that ________.
A.people can live from 120 to 180 years
B.it is still doubtful how long humans can live
C.the human body is designed to last about 120 years
D.it is possible for humans to live longer in the future
3.The underlined "it"(paragraph 4)refers to ________.
A.a great push
B.the idea of living beyond the present life span
C.the idea of living from 200 to 300 years
D.the conservative estimate
4.What would be the best title for this text?
A.Living Longer or Not B.Science, Technology and Long Living
C.No Limit for Human Life D.Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living