I entered college in China in 1981. Many things seemed to remain the same. For many things are dominated by one thing: the national entrance examination to get into college. In my year, about 4% high school students went to college. Now the number is 22%, as compared to 40% in the US.
The significant increase in the entrance rate doesn't seem to have relieved the anxiety. As a parent to a freshman college student, I can prove that junior and senior years in high school are not much fun even for students in the US. Once a country has vastly increased the rate of college entrance, students will still want to get into "better" colleges. The rat race is on if you are a rat, no matter where you are.
The NYT Magazine article also mentioned the Soviet-style（苏联模式的） over-specialized（过于专业化的） education in Chinese colleges. My class in college had maybe 60 students specialized in compressors, another 60 students specialized in refrigeration, and yet another 60 students specialized in welding（焊接）. I was among the 60 specialized in mechanics. I cannot recall the numbers exactly, but you get the picture.
It really wasn't as terrible as it sounds. In order to specialize in mechanics, we had to study math, physics and chemistry. We studied electrical circuits, alloy treatment, mechanical drawing, Fortran. We even had a continuous stream of humanity courses: history of communist party, political economics... I'm not sure I enjoyed all the courses, but I cannot claim that these courses damaged my brain, either. I remember some of the humanity courses required writing, which turned out to be a useful skill.
As a consequence of specialization, we did learn a lot of mechanics. By the end of college, we had courses on analytical mechanics, strength of materials.
I often feel sorry for American students in my undergraduate class, knowing that strength of materials will be their first and last course in the mechanics of materials. So many beautiful sights unseen! But they also seem to turn out to be OK. A liberal and superficial eduction doesn't damage their brains, either.
All this high level debate about education makes me dizzy, and turns me off. So far as I can tell, both systems of eduction work fine, and have their own limitations. The bottom line is that the quantity of knowledge is too large to be crammed into 4 years, and you'd have to make choices, making it either narrow or shallow or perhaps both. You'll just have to be prepared to engage yourself in life-long learning.why doesn’t the rising entrance rate seem to have relieved people’s anxiety?
| A．The rate of college entrance is still not high in China. |
| B．There not enough colleges for students. |
| C．Students are not contented with “common”college. |
| D．Students want to receive further education after college. |
What’s the meaning of the sentence “the rat race is on if you are a rat”?
| A．You cannot conquer your rivals forever. |
| B．There are too many people with the same ideas as yours. |
| C．You cannot avoid competition as long as you are in the society. |
| D．You should take yourself as a rat and run on for an established goal. |
What does the author intend to show by listing the specific majors his class specialized in?
| A．To show how specific the education was classified. |
| B．To show he had more major choices in his year. |
| C．To show what is Soviet-style education. |
| D．To show how terrible his college life was. |
What is the author’s attitude towards his courses?
| A．He doesn’t like them at all. |
| B．He doesn’t think that all of them are necessary. |
| C．He is sick of the humanity courses. |
| D．He likes humanity courses just for the future writing. |
It is always hard for a small fish to live in a big pond. Pluto's recent departure from the classical planet family clearly proves that size really matters.
Astronomers voted on August 24 to create the first scientific definition of the word planet, and Pluto obviously didn't make the cut. It turned out to be only a "dwarf planet" (矮行星). After weeks of heated debate, over 2,500 astronomers from 73 countries voted on the definition of a "planet" at a conference of the international Astronomical Union (IAU). According to the definition, a planet must have a clear neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto has widely been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930. Unfortunately, it has a special orbit which overlaps with Neptune's. It is all because, compared with Neptune, Pluto is very small. It is attracted by Neptune's gravity when the two planets get closer.
According to IAU, a "dwarf planet" should have an orbit around the Sun. It will not have a clear neighborhood around its orbit, and must not be a satellite. The new classification means that the science textbooks will have to be updated. The solar system is now made up of the eight "classical planets," together with a number of dwarf planets. The classical planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The debate over Pluto's status started in 1992. After an advanced telescope was sent into space, astronomers started find a belt of objects, which lies beyond Neptune. The belt contains nearly 1,000 objects, including Pluto. As they continued the exploration, scientists recently discovered at least 41 dwarf planets at the edges of the solar system. There are at least two objects of a similar size to Pluto.
It seems that even if the IAU had kept Pluto's status as a planet, the classical theory of nine planets in the solar system would have had to be changed, but the other way around. More dwarf, planets of a similar size to Pluto would join the family of planets. Scientists will probably find many more dwarf planets.According to the passage, Pluto is .
| A．a planet which has a clear neighborhood around its orbit |
| B．a satellite of Neptune which was discovered in 1930 |
| C．the smallest planet in the solar system |
| D．a planet which has an orbit around the sun |
The sentence "It is always hard for a small fish to live in a big pond" quoted in the beginning of the passage is used to .
| A．tell us a small fish can hardly survive in the big pond |
| B．tell us the size of an object really matters |
| C．mean that a small planet can hardly exist in the solar system |
| D．explain the disappearanee of Pluto in the solar system |
From the last paragraph we can infer that if IAU kept Pluto's status as a planet, the number of planets in the solar system would be.
| A．eight | B．nine | C．less than nine | D．more than nine |
Which of the following statements is NOT true aceording to the passage?
| A．According to definition of a "planet", if Pluto were bigger it would not have left the classic planet family. |
| B．It's quite possible for dwarfs to lose if they compete with big men |
| C．Pluto has a special orbit which overlap with Neptune's, because it is so small as to be attraeted by Neptune's gravity when the two planets get closer |
| D．A "dwarf planet", which can not be a satellite without a clear neighborhood around its orbit, should have an orbit around the Sun. |
A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.
But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.
The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.
He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."
A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.
In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except.
| A．Pioneer can explore high-technology markets outside agriculture |
| B．Pioneer's sales representatives can upload information using Norand hand-held terminals |
| C．some of Norand's employees joined the Pioneer |
| D．it later led to the lower of profit-sharing checks of Pioneer's original employees |
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to .
| A．the next thing he said was what I expected least to hear a CEO say |
| B．the next thing he said was the last thing I heard from a CEO |
| C．the next thing he said was what I expected most to hear a CEO say |
| D．the next thing he said was what I heard from the last CEO |
Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?
| A．He felt hot in the room. |
| B．He wanted to look cool by doing this. |
| C．He was too excited. |
| D．He wanted to be close and frank with his employees. |
What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?
| A．They felt he was a stupid CEO. |
| B．They felt he did not deserve their loyalty |
| C．They felt he was more trustworthy. |
| D．They didn't want to take risks with him. |
Chinese White Collars（白领） Go Down on the Farm
The latest craze among China’s white collar workers, reported in the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph, is an online virtual agricultural game called “Happy Farm.” Virtual farmers can visit each other’s farm, trade livestock and can use real cash to buy virtual (虚拟的) items such as special tools, quality seeds, and animals. The free game is played through social networking sites like kaixin001.com, Face book or xiaonei.com.
Urban office workers can escape the pressures and stresses of everyday life and enter a peaceful virtual existence where players can grow vegetables, practice animal farming and receive satisfaction that comes with a hard-won harvest. Because most Chinese white collars have little amusement after work, Happy Farm gives them a virtual world to make their dreams come true.
Global Times, an English language daily based in Beijing, recently reported that there are more than 15 million Chinese urbanites spending more than five hours a day on their virtual “farms.”
According to the English language website of the People’s Daily newspaper, the increased interest in farming among some urban office workers has resulted in some of them becoming real hobby farmers, tending small plots of land in their free time. Mr. Liu, a white collar worker, has rented a piece of farmland for RMB 3000. Mr. Liu and his family like to drive down to their farm on the weekend and do different farming tasks such as watering, weeding, fertilizing and worming. Later on, cabins will be built on agricultural land making it possible for part-time farmers like Mr. Liu to stay on their land for two weeks enabling them to get a little taste of a farmer’s life.
It is a rather interesting social development that some of urban office workers are becoming interested in farming and agriculture, while large numbers of farmers and agricultural workers continue to move to the cities.What is “Happy Farm”? (No more than 7 words)
Why do more and more Chinese white collars go down on Happy Farm?
(No more than 14 words)List 4 farming tasks Mr. Liu and his family do on their farms. (No more than 5 words)
How long do Chinese urbanites spend on their virtual farms every day? (No more than 4 words)
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫） eats only one particular type of bamboo. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.
Senses to 1.___________ food
| Animals that depend on only 2. ______ sense |
|
| ●the giant panda |
bamboo |
| ●a kind of butterfly |
3. ________ |
| Animals that 4. ________ more than one sense |
|
| ●the bear |
5. ____________ |
| ●the fox |
small animals, birds and fruits |
| Humans’ diets are 6. ____________. The 7.___________for French and British people becoming overweight is that they eat foods with 8.________. |
|
| 9. _____________ |
We should 10. _______the right food in modern life. |
Nickname: Hawaii's Island of Adventure
Size: 4,028 square miles
Population: 148,677. The most heavily populated areas are Hilo on the east side and Kailua-Kona on the west.
Temperature: Averages between 71℉and 77℉ year around (expect the mercury(水银柱) to drop at higher heights).
Beaches: 47 Golf Courts: 20 Highest Peak: Mauna Kea, 13,796 feet.
Agriculture: The bulk of Hawaii's farming products are grown and processed on the Big Island, including coffee, macadamia nuts and papaya.
Lodging: 9,655 rooms total; nightly rates range from $35-$5,000.
Airports: Hilo International Airport on the east side and Kona International Airport on the west side.
Rental Cars: All of the nationally known rental car companies have locations at Hilo International and Kona International Airports as well as many resorts. In addition, Hilo, Kona and the major resort areas are serviced by taxis.
Resources: Call (800) 648-2441 to order a video, poster, brochures and maps from the Big Island Visitors Bureau. See www.bigisland.org for updated information.
Shopping: The largest shopping centers are in Hilo, Kona, Waimea and the Kona Coast._______ are mostly interested in reading the passage.
| A．Students | B．Tourists | C．Businessmen | D．Officials |
The average population per square mile on the island is about _________.
| A．28 | B．32 | C．37 | D．44 |
The underlined part "expect the mercury (水银柱) to drop at higher heights" means _________.
| A．Things are easy to lose weight at higher places |
| B．Dropping things from higher places is expected |
| C．Temperature is expected to be higher at higher places |
| D．Temperature is expected to be lower at higher places |
______ are not mentioned as traffic means to get around the Big Island.
| A．Trains | B．Planes | C．Rental cars | D．Taxis |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．You can see www.bigisland.org for updated information. |
| B．You can call (800) 648-2441 to order some food. |
| C．You can find some courts to play tennis on the island. |
| D．You may pay a high price for spending one night on the island. |