Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country.
The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid-2012.
As a result, the student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit (押金) required to study in Australia has been reduced. Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased.
Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be granted a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement.
"This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas," says Wang Lan, a consultant from Education International Cooperation Group (EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas.
However, in the past few years, many of Wang's student clients (客户) could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were tough. The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says.
A 22-year-old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago.
"According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550,000 yuan ($86,850). Now we only need to prepare 410,000 yuan. This is a relief for my parents," Li says.
She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans.
"I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China," she says.
Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC.What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Australia widens window of opportunity for international students. |
| B．Australia is a most attractive place for students in China. |
| C．Language requirement for overseas students have been eased in Australia. |
| D．More students will work in Australia after their graduation. |
Which of the following is NOT the content of the new regulations?
| A．The student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified. |
| B．Language requirements for overseas students have been more difficult. |
| C．The deposit required to study in Australia has been reduced. |
| D．After graduation, some overseas students can get a working visa in Australia. |
After the new regulations are passed, _______.
| A．more students will come to Australia to work |
| B．more Chinese students will choose to live in Australia. |
| C．more Chinese students will choose to further their education in Australia |
| D．the opportunities to work in Australia decrease for overseas students |
How much can Li's parents save according to the new regulations?
| A．550,000 yuan | B．86,850 yuan |
| C．410,000 yuan | D．140,000 yuan |
Why do many students want to work in Australia after their graduation?
| A．They can earn more money in Australia. |
| B．The working experience abroad will strengthen their competitiveness. |
| C．Their working experience can make them stay in Australia forever. |
| D．They have to do so according to the new regulations. |
More than 6000 children were expelled(开除) from US school last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.
The department gave a report to the expulsions(开除) as saying handguns accounted for 58 percent of the 6093 expulsions in 1996---97, against 7 percent for rifles(步枪) or shotguns and 35 percent for other types of firearms.
“The report is a clear sign that our nation's public schools are cracking down(严惩) on students who bring guns to school,” Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a statement. “We need to be tough-minded about keeping guns out of our schools and do everything to keep our children safe.”
In March1997, an 11 years old boy and 13 years old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14-year-old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Dasucah, Kentucky.
Most of the expulsions, 56 percent, were from high school, which have students from about age 13. 34 percent were from junior high schools and 9 percent were from elementary schools, the report said. The main idea of the passage is that in the US schools _______.
| A．students enjoy shooting |
| B．students are eager to be soldiers |
| C．safety is a problem |
| D．students can make guns |
From what Richard Riley said we can infer that ________.
A. the number of the expulsions is not large
B. the number of the expulsion is wrong
C there are soldiers hiding among the students
D. guns are out of control in US schools The main idea of paragraph four shows us ______.
| A．some examples of shoot in US schools. |
| B．the American's feeling. |
| C．some famous schools. |
| D．that some teachers were killed by students. |
From this passage we get to know that ________.
| A．every American cannot have guns |
| B．only soldiers and police can have guns |
| C．every American citizen can own guns |
| D．teachers have no money to buy guns |
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However, you do not need your BooksFirst personal account number to place an order—simply present all the required details on the order form. If you don’t have a note of your account number just Contact us so that we can supply it to you.We can probably read this advertisement ______.
| A．in a newspaper | B．in a magazine |
| C．on the Internet | D．on TV |
The information under RETRUNING CUSTOMERS is for those _____.
| A．who have forgotten their BooksFirst account numbers |
| B．who haven’t got their BooksFirst account numbers |
| C．who have experienced BooksFirst online shopping before |
| D．who have never done online shopping before |
Which of the following is true?
| A．You must put what you choose in a basket as you do in a supermarket. |
| B．You can find your Shopping Basket nowhere but in View Basket. |
| C．You will pay less if you are an overseas customer and buy over three books. |
| D．You can get an account number only after you place an order online |
The purpose of this advertisement is________.
| A．to promote the sale of books |
| B．to show the procedure of ordering books online |
| C．to help readers apply for account numbers |
| D．to supply account numbers to readers |
One answer to the question of land shortage was suggested by an organization some years ago. A city was to be built at sea, housing 30,000 people.
The suggestion was to shape the city like a harbor(港口).The outer wall of the harbor would stand on steel columns resting on the sea-bed. Naturally this could only be where the water was fairly shallow. The people would like to live in flats in the fifty-metre high outer wall. The flats would be all face inwards, and would be made of concrete(混泥土) and glass. The glass would be specially made and colored to control the heat and strong light from the sun. The planners called this man-made harbor would be calm. On it would be floating islands carrying more building: a hospital, two theaters, museum, an art exhibition hall and a church. On one of the islands would be a special factory to take the salt out of sea water and turn it into fresh water.
People living in the city could move around on small boats driven by electricity, so there would be no air pollution from the burning of gas. There would be platforms outside the man wall for ships bringing supplies. People could also travel to the mainland by motorboat or water plane. What was suggested about the construction of a new city at sea?
| A．The city was to be designed together with a harbor. |
| B．The walls around the city would be made of steel and glass. |
| C．The building of the city would rest on a floating island. |
| D．The people would live in tall building surrounded by a wall. |
How would fresh water be supplied to the city?
| A．By treating sea water. |
| B．By getting it from the surrounding islands. |
| C．By building a small lake of fresh water inside the city. |
| D．By transporting it from the mainland. |
The suggestion made by the organization is to solve the problem that _______.
| A．there is not enough space for building cities on land |
| B．land transportation has became increasingly difficult |
| C．there are too many people on land |
| D．present cities are heavily polluted by cars |
The purpose of the writer is _______.
| A．to suggest how new type of harbor could be built at sea |
| B．to give a description of a new-type city |
| C．to draw people's attention to the problem of air pollution |
| D．to introduce a new way of building harbor-cities |
Mobile phones are an important business tool for farmers in rural areas．But they also put a valuable educational tool in their hands．
The University of Illinois in the United States has a project called SAWBO—Scientific Animations Without Borders．It produces educational videos that can be downloaded to cell phones．The goal is to help people in developing countries improve their lives．
One video shows farmers how to make a natural insecticide from neem seeds to prevent insect damage to crops．The process starts with sorting and drying the neem fruits．Then let the fruit dry in the sun for about three or four days, until they become brown．Using a mortar（碾槌） and stick, the fruits are slightly pounded to remove the shells from the fruits without breaking the seed inside．
The videos use computer animation（动画）．Some of the animated characters are a little funny looking-like a farmer with a long nose．But the subjects are serious, including a health video on preventing cholera（霍乱）．Team member Francisco Seufferheld says the information in the videos is meant to be quickly understood．He says, “The information is digested in such a way that in two minutes, we can transmit a complex idea．”
The researchers tested the seven-minute video on seven mobile phones．They wanted to see if people would share the video using Bluetooth wireless technology．With Bluetooth, files can be passed to a nearby phone even if neither phone is connected to the internet．As a result, in one month, the video had spread to one hundred eighteen people in fifty different villages．" This is just incredible impact," said Francisco Seufferheld．
The team has made a few videos so far．These are available in a total of eighty languages, dialects and accents．Professor Barry Pittendrigh says there are plans for more videos later this year．What is the text mainly about?
| A．A best-selling mobile phone |
| B．A valuable educational project for farmers |
| C．United States support for developing countries |
| D．A new type of scientist –farmer relationship |
The SAWBO program is introduced in order to ____．
| A．raise farmers’ standard of living |
| B．do some research on mobile phones |
| C．develop farmers’ practical skills |
| D．help farmers prevent insect damage to crops |
The biggest advantage of the program is that it______．
| A．includes health video on preventing cholera |
| B．can be passed to farmers using Bluetooth technology |
| C．can be used to sort and dry the neem fruits |
| D．is easy for farmers to understand |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “ pound” in the 3rd paragraph?
| A．moved | B．beat | C．picked | D．cut |
Brrriiinnng．The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning．You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think．A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing．Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters．In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking．Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused．If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed．Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving．By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer．
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either．The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons （神经细胞）, making inspirations less likely to occur．And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done．
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead．We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation．We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic．And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer．What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
| A．To tell us a specific story． |
| B．To introduce the topic of the passage． |
| C．To indicate how busy one usually is in the morning． |
| D．To show mornings are not suitable for creative work． |
What does the author imply about newspapers?
| A．They are normally full of bad news． |
| B．They are solution providers． |
| C．They are a source of inspiration． |
| D．They are more educational than websites． |
By “tune into your wandering mind” （in Para．2）, the author means “_______”．
| A．wander into the wild | B．listen to a beautiful tune |
| C．stop concentrating on anything | D．switch to the traffic channel |
The author writes the last paragraph in order to _______．
| A．establish a routine for the future | B．summarize past experiences |
| C．advocate diverse ways of life | D．offer practical suggestions |