Forty years ago, Finland was a small country with ordinary public schools. Today, Finland is still small but no one calls Finland’s public schools ordinary anymore.
In 2000, the Finns surprised the world when their 15yearolds scored at the top of a closelywatched international exam called the PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment. Finland has stayed near the top ever since, while the US scores around the middle.
Pasi Sahlberg, an official of Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture, is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland’s success, and what states like Washington can learn from it.
Sahlberg’s message, although he is too polite to put it so directly: Stop testing so much. Trust teachers more. Give less homework. Shorten the school day.
On Tuesday, in a room filled with teachers, principals, professors, schoolboard members and policy makers, Sahlberg joked about the Finns’ reputation for being a quiet, humble people. When Finland hit the top of the PISA, he said, the biggest disbelievers were Finns.
More seriously, he said, Finland never set out to create the world’s top school system. Instead, he said, the country decided in the 1970s that it wanted to ensure that a student’s success didn’t depend on family background.
To achieve that goal, Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools, rather than on competition.
Rather than judges teachers and schools based on test scores, he said, Finland puts trust in its teachers and principals. Teachers develop the curriculum(课程) in Finland, and design their own tests. There are no national tests, except one at the end of high school.
That’s just the start. Along with a shorter school day, Finnish students don’t even start school until they are 7 years old. Many primary schools have a policy against giving homework.
But Finland, he said, succeeded in part by adapting ideas from the US and other countries. And those countries, he said, can learn from Finland, too.What might be the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To introduce a Finnish official. |
| B．To share the story of Finland’s success in education. |
| C．To compare the education systems of Finland and the US. |
| D．To ask the US to improve its education. |
People first learned Finland’s success in education from ________.
| A．its ordinary public schools |
| B．its international exchange students |
| C．lectures given by Pasi Sahlberg |
| D．its students’ performance in an International exam |
Which of the following contributes to Finland’s success in education?
a. Giving students fewer tests
b. Giving teachers more trust.
c. Evaluating students’ family background.
d. Creating the world’s top school system.
e. Starting school late.
| A．a, b, e | B．c, d, e |
| C．a, b, c | D．b, c, d |
What Pasi Sahlberg says in the passage suggests that ________.
| A．children should start school as early as possible |
| B．the US education system is still the most advanced |
| C．competition among teachers is harmful to education |
| D．it’s necessary to set up a national curriculum |
When we think of Hollywood, we think of films and famous film stars. They are part of Hollywood’s history. Today people make films in other places,too. Not all famous film stars live in Hollywood. But Hollywood is still a very special city in Los Angeles, California.
You can easily see where Hollywood in in Los Angeles. There is a big sign（标牌）on the hills. It says “HOLLYWOOD”.The white letters are fifty feet tall. You can see the sign from far away. The Hollywood sign is a famous Hollywood landmark（标记）in Los Angeles. Many postcards show this famous Hollywood landmark.
On the hills of Hollywood, there is also the Hollywood Bowl. This is an open-air theater. It is one of the largest open-air theaters in the world. It has seventeen thousand seats and a very different stage（舞台）.The design（设计）of the stage was made by a great American named Frank Lloyd Wright. You can listen to all kinds of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.
49．We learn from the passage that_______.
A．Hollywood can just be seen from faraway.
B．Hollywood is now a place only for travelers
C．all the films are made in Hollywood
D．Hollywood is part of Los Angeles
50．The word “special”in the paragraph means_______.
A．new B．rich C．famous D．unusual
51．At the Hollywood Bowl_______.
A．most of American postcards are made
B．only 7000 people can get together
C．music can be enjoyed
D．you can hardly listen to different kinds of concerts
52．It seems that .
A．some famous film stars don’t choose to live in Hollywood
B．film stars don’t think Hollywood a good place to make films now
C．the Holly wood Bowl is larger than any other open-air theater in the world
D．the Hollywood Bowl is a hill in Hollywood
Mary Quant was born in 1934. When she was young, there were no teenage fashions （时尚）.Young women were dressed like grown-ups or little girls. At thirteen, she designed （设计）her own school uniform（制服）.She wore short dresses and long socks. After school. Mary went to Goldsmith’s College in London. She didn’t enter the college gate but she met her future husband, Alexander Plunkett-Green Like Mary he wore unusual clothes, such as purple velvet trousers and pajama jackets.
In 1955 Mary left college and worked for a hat-maker in London’s West End. But soon they opened their own shop. It was called Bazaar and it was the first small shop for women in the King’s Road in Chelsea Mary designed all the clothes and made them on her old sewing machine.
The 1960s are often called the “Swinging Sixties”.During these years Mary’s designs became very popular. Everyone loved her mini-skirts（迷你裙）and coloured tights（紧身衣）.Thanks to Mary, London became the fashion capital of the world.
Mary’s fashion shows were quite different from what they had been before. Mary’s models（模特）didn’t walk-they danced to pop music.
Soon Mary’s clothes became popular in America,too.
At the age of 37, Mary had a son, Orlando. She said:“Becoming a mother is quite the most important thing that ever happened to me.”
In 1966, Mary was awarded（获奖）the O.B.E.（a special medal given by the Queen）.She went to Buckingham Palace in a mini-skirt to collect the medal.
Later on Mary started her own cosmetics（化妆品）company.
She designed smart black, white and silver packagings（包装）for it,with the Quant daisy symbol（菊花标志）that is still the same today.
Today, Mary’s business is worth 100 million pounds. She is still designing-not just only clothes,but also a perfume（香水）called“Havoc”and some other things.
She has now opened the Mary Quant Colour Shop in London’s Carnaby Street.
45．When Mary was thirteen, ____________.
A．she dressed like a little girl B．she designed her school uniform
C．she dressed like a grown-up D．she became a popular designer
46．In 1960s London became the fashion capital of the world because_______.
A．Mary’s designs became very popular. Everyone loved her clothes.
B．Mary changed fashion shows greatly.
C．of Mary’s business, which was worth 100 million pounds
D．May’s husband also helped to make unusual clothes.
47．Mary’s still designing_______ .
A．just clothes
B．not just only clothes, but also a perfume called “Havoc”and some other things
C．packaging for cosmetics
D．beautiful hats
48．The Quants’symbol is _______.
A．a daisy B．a mini-skirt C．a sewing machine D．a hat
第二部分阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
阅读下例短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
Once a group of 17-year-old schoolboys decided to break the world basketball marathon（马拉松）record. They wanted to play for 90 hours and add 6 hours to the record. Each team had 9 players, with 5 at a time. The boys decided each person would play 21.5 hours and then rest for 2 hours. Then they started at 6 o’clock in the evening.
The first night was very hard for the players. When it was their turn to rest, they were too excited to fall asleep at once. After sleeping for a short time, they had to play again. On the second night,they fell asleep as soon as they stopped, Some of them had trouble with their feet and hands, but the only serious problem was a psychological（心理学的）one. Each boy was thinking: Why am I doing this? How can I play any longer? After the third night, the players knew they could finish the 90 hours. The basketball on the fourth night was very slow. But in the final hours, the players got better. For the last few minutes, the players looked as fresh as when they started. How happy everyone was!
41．Before this basketball marathon, the world record was .
A．84 hours B．86 hours C．90 hours D．96 hours
42．The first night was hard for the players because_______.
A．they were too excited B．they only slept for a short time
C．no one watched them play D．it was very long
43．“…the players looked as fresh as when they started.”Here “fresh”means_______.
A．不熟练的 B．兴奋不己的 C．精神饱满的 D．伤痕累累的
44．Which of the following is not true.
A．Some of the boys were hurt when they played
B．It was hard for the players to fall asleep at night
C．The boys started playing at 6 o’clock in the evening
D．In the end, all the boys felt happy
I am a music store owner. One day, when I was cleaning the instruments in my store, I saw an old man come in. His short steps dragged on the carpet. “Is 77 too old to learn the banjo (班卓琴)?” he asked.
“You can learn to play it well,” I replied, holding back my doubts. My mind told me I was giving false encouragement. I reached the instructor’s schedule and gave the rates, the available time and the additional information that he would need. To my surprise and delight, the old man, Carl, began banjo lessons three days later with my most patient teacher.
With nothing to do at home but practice, Carl made surprising progress. After breakfast he practiced for his required half hour. While waiting for lunch he picked up his banjo again for just a couple of minutes. Since TV was difficult for him to see and hear, he often played the banjo in the evenings. Carl was always early for lessons so it was a surprise that he didn’t arrive one Tuesday.
The next morning I listened to the answering machine with sadness. “Carl’s in hospital,” the voice recorded.
Two months later, I shared the newspaper obituary with the banjo teacher. We both shed tears for a surprisingly clever banjo student.
Several months later, a woman came into the store carrying a plant. “This is for Carl’s banjo teacher,” she said. “I’m his wife, Mary.”
“Why did Carl want to play the banjo?” I asked. Mary took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Carl was at some show when he was 10 years old. He came close to the stage to watch the performers. When they were packing up their instruments, the banjo player said to Carl, ‘You want to see this up close?’ Carl climbed up on the stage and from then on he wanted to play the banjo.” Carl had waited 67 years to realize a dream! Mary gave the plant to me. “Thank you for the best six months of his life,” she said.
68. In Paragraph 2, the author’s reaction to Carl’s question showed that he ______.
A. was willing to help
B. didn’t want to encourage Carl
C. didn’t want to give him false encouragement
D. encouraged Carl though he had doubts
69. How did Carl learn to play the banjo well?
A. By working hard. B. By taking short cuts.
C. By asking his wife to help him.D. By finding the best teacher.
70. The underlined word “obituary” in Para.5 means a notice that _______.
A. announces somebody has diedB. announces somebody is needed
C. announces a good piece of newsD. announces a gift for somebody
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Basic Photography
This is an eight-hour course for beginners who want to learn how to use a 35mm camera. The teacher will cover such areas as kinds of film, light, and lenses(镜头). Bring your own 35mm camera to the class.
Course Charge: $150
Jan. 10, 12, 17, 19, Tues. & Thurs. 6-8p.m.
Marianne Adams is a professional photographer whose photographs appear in many magazines.
Understanding Computers
This twelve-hour course is for people who don’t know very much about computers, but who need to learn about them. You will learn what computers are, what they can and can’t do, and how to use them.
Course Charge: $75
Equipment Charge: $10
Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, Sat. 9-12 a.m.
Joseph Saimders is a professor of computer science at New Urban University. He has over twelve years of experience in the computer field.
Stop Smoking
Do you want to stop smoking? Have you already tried to stop and failed? Now it is the time to stop smoking using the latest methods. You can stop smoking, and this twelve-hour course will help you do it.
Course Charge: $30
Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25 Mon. 4-7 p.m.
Dr.John Goode is a practicing psychologist(心理学家)who has helped hundreds of people stop smoking.
Typing
This course on weekdays is for those who want to type as well as those who want to improve their typing. You are tested in the first class and practice at one of eight different skill levels. This allows you to learn at your own speed. Each program lasts 20 hours. Bring your own paper.
Course Charge: $125
Materials Charge: $25
Two hours each evening for two weeks.
This course is taught by a number of business education teachers who have successfully taught typing courses before.
64. The word “professional” in the first advertisement most probably means “_____”
A. spiritual B. journalist C. professor D. experienced
65. The shortest course is _____.
A. Basic Photography B. Understanding Computers C. Stop Smoking D. Typing
66. A course which can do something good for your health will cost____.
A. $50 B.$30 C.$10 D.$125
67. There are typing courses_____.
A. on Saturdays and Sundays B. from Monday to Friday
C. from Monday to Saturday D. on each day in the week