Harvard University in the United States has been ranked as the university with the best "reputation" in the world.
The Times Higher Education magazine has listed 200 top universities all over the world based on how they are regarded by a group of international college teachers. That is to say the list measures how universities are regarded, rather than how they actually performed.
A subjective, word-of-mouth（口碑的）quality such as "reputation" has genuine economic value for universities, said Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
"Reputation is not just an impression, though it might be not as reliable as performance by objective indicators（客观指标）," said Prof Marginson.
Based on the views of 13,000 college teachers around the world, it confirms the power of the big US universities, which dominate this list. Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Furthermore, 14 of the top 20 are from the US. Cambridge is the highest ranking UK university in the list, in third place, with Oxford ranked as sixth.
For students applying to university, reputation might be hard to quantify, but was an important part of the attractiveness, said the president of Cambridge University's students' union, Rahul Mansigani.
"Reputation makes a huge difference. If there is an idea that somewhere is great, it will get lots of good people applying whether it's true or not. Factors such as a sense of history and the presence of outstanding college teachers were part of the reputation of Cambridge," he said.The underlined word “dominate” in Paragraph 5 probably means __________.
| A．affect | B．decide | C．control | D．improve |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．No Asian universities are among the Top 10. |
| B．At least five UK universities are among Top 20. |
| C．The Times Higher Education magazine is from the US. |
| D．Reputation affects students’ decisions when choosing universities. |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Turning ideas into reputation |
| B．World’s best universities ranked in order of reputation |
| C．The top 200 universities in the USA |
| D．Reputable Universities attractive to more students |
One day, I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physical problem, while the student claimed a perfect score. I was elected as their arbiter（仲裁人）. I read the examination problem: “Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer（气压计）. ”The student had answered; "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of it is the height of the building.”
The student had really answered the question completely, but the answer didn't confirm his competence in physics. I suggested the student try again. I gave him six minutes to answer the question, warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. Five minutes later, he said he had many answers and dashed off one, which read：“Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, use the physical formula（公式）to calculate the height of the building.”
At this point, my colleague had to accept it, and then the student made almost full marks. I couldn't help asking the student what the other answers were. He listed many others, and then added, "Probably the best is to take the barometer to the administrator and said to him, ‘Sir, here is a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of the building, I will give it to you.”,
Then, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.
The name of the student was Bohr who later was famous all over the world. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922.The student got a zero at the beginning because _____.
| A．the teacher wasn't satisfied with him |
| B．his answer wasn't complete or correct |
| C．the teacher didn't fully understand his answer |
| D．his answer didn't show his knowledge of physics |
We know from the passage that _____.
| A．the student knew the expected answer |
| B．the administrator told Bohr the height |
| C．the author preferred Bohr's last answer |
| D．the teacher was a very stubborn person |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．instructors can teach students how to think |
| B．arbiters can help students to get high scores |
| C．students should be given more freedom in thinking |
| D．teachers should make students use physical formulas |
What was Bohr's attitude toward his schooling?
| A．Optimistic | B．Critical | C．Approving | D．Neutral |
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Wealden District CouncilWe learn from the ads that the Enterprise Shopping Centre needs a person who ____.
| A．is aged between 24 and 40 |
| B．can work for about a month |
| C．should deal with general duties |
| D．may do some training work |
Which position is open to recent school graduates?
| A．Producer, London Kiss. |
| B．Father Christmas. |
| C．Accountants Assistant. |
| D．Software Trainer. |
What kind of person would probably apply to Palmlace Limited?
| A．One having good computer knowledge. |
| B．One with some office experience. |
| C．One with GCSE grade C level. |
| D．One trained in producing music programmes. |
The African elephant, which is the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna (大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| B．The effect of African elephants’ search for food. |
| C．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| D．The eating habit of African elephants. |
What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
| A．Fixing the time. |
| B．Deciding the conditions. |
| C．Improving the quality. |
| D．Worsening the state. |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| B．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |
| C．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
| D．They are home to many endangered animals. |
The passage is developed mainly by ______.
| A．giving examples |
| B．pointing out similarities and differences |
| C．describing the changes in space order |
| D．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage for five days where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating (纪念）the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that’s the traditional togetherness (友爱）that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. “People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation,” Riedel said. “It’s really easy to relax, and it’s great seeing family and friends have fun together.” These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue (举办地）for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it’s easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug.4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug.8.The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is held mainly to _______.
| A．gather people with different musical tastes |
| B．collect old stories of folk music |
| C．exhibitive good voices of great talents in folk music |
| D．remind people of the real sense of folk music |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．It costs people a little to fill up their cups from water stations. |
| B．It’s hard for people to appreciate Blues. |
| C．Riedel has volunteered for the festival for at least 5years. |
| D．People have to pay $2 for a plate of food. |
We can learn from the passenger that .
| A．the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized |
| B．people can get tickets easily for the festival |
| C．driving one’s own car to the festival is highly recommended |
| D．bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday |
What would the best title for the passage?
| A．Folk Music of Blues |
| B．Edmonton’s Downtown Park |
| C．Festival for Family Gathering |
| D．One Festival for All |
It was a dark, wet November morning. It seemed like it would take a million years to get to summer again. I thought bears have got it right---- what a perfect idea to sleep through the worst part of the year and wake up when spring comes!
“Want some words of affirmation(肯定)?” a coworker, seeing my mood, kindly suggested. “You don’t think they would cheer you up?”
“Today? No.” I shook my head.
“I used to think so too,” he said, “until I realized the effect my words had on a certain person. Well, it was someone I knew pretty well. I have to say I treated him rather badly.”
“You? But you are always so positive! How did you treat him badly?”
“I told him I did not like anything about him, really. I told him I did not even like his name. In fact, it wasn’t only what I said. I also did pretty bad things to him. When he was hungry, I did not give him the chance to eat proper food. When he felt like doing something fun, I said to him that he was being childish and having fun was not productive (有成果的). And worst of all, when he was sick and needed care, I did not care. I told him to get up and get to work. And when he did, I never told him he did good work. You could say I was ashamed of him,” he said. “I wanted to get rid of him because he just wasn’t good enough for me---but couldn’t.”
“But that was heartless!”
He nodded. “Then one day it all changed. I stood there in front of the bathroom mirror one morning. I saw the dark circles under his eyes, I saw the excess (过量的) weight. I saw the hair that needed cutting. And I saw the eyes that once had looked at the world eagerly. Now they were so sad and tired. And there and then I realized he deserved better. So I told the man I had disliked for so many years that he was a good person after all.”
My jaw (下巴) dropped. I looked at him---full of positive energy, in good shape, always ready to encourage others.
“Wow…”
He winked (眨眼) at me. “So how about having a little positive conversation with the bathroom mirror? The person in there has the greatest effect on you!”The first paragraph implies that .
| A．the author felt frustrated that morning |
| B．the weather in November was the worst in a year |
| C．the author didn’t enjoy his work environment |
| D．the author always felt bad in winter |
The author’s coworker used to be a person who .
| A．was very proud of himself |
| B．treated people differently |
| C．worked hard to keep fit |
| D．criticized himself a lot |
Which paragraph gives a clue about who the person that a author’s coworker treated badly was?
| A．Paragraph 4. | B．Paragraph 8. |
| C．Paragraph 6. | D．The last paragraph. |
What does the author’s coworker suggest the author do?
| A．Be helpful to those in need. |
| B．Be confident in the face of difficulty. |
| C．Be positive about himself. |
| D．Be kind to those who make mistakes. |