For my grandmother’s 70th birthday, my family and I visited South Korea. While there, I was attentive to Korean high schools and students.
I was surprised by how different Korea’s public high schools are from America’s. Korean high schools can be all-girls, all-boys or co-ed (男女同校的) unlike our standard co-ed high schools. There are three grades: “go 1” (10th), “go 2” (11th) and “go 3” (12th). ‘‘Go” is the first syllable of the word “go-deung-hakkyo", which, simply translated, is “high school”.
In America, unless you want to go to a private school, you don't have to take an entrance exam. In Korea, however, students must take a test to get in because of the many choices of schools.
Another difference I couldn't help but notice was the students' appearance. With very few exceptions, all wear uniforms. A name tag (标牌) with the student's name, grade and homeroom number must also be worn. Girl's skirts can't be above the upper part of the knee, and it is forbidden to dye (染) your hair or wear accessories (装饰品) except small earrings. There are strict regulations for appearance to achieve neatness, and it seems the only freedom students have is with their choices of hair style, socks and shoes.
The final difference was the setup of the classes. There may be 40 students in a classroom, but the number can be less or even more, depending on the population of the town or city. Although there are many students per classroom, they are very close, which I think is a result of not changing classrooms for different subjects. There are no levels in the subjects and the teachers are the ones who switch classrooms. They just have ten-minute breaks between subjects. In each class, students are ranked by their grades. This causes strict competition, and Korean students do a lot of studying. To help them, all schools have extra study classes after school. One other fact that helped me appreciate living in America is that Koreans have school on Saturdays. Although it's only a half day, I think I speak for most Americans when I say we could never imagine ourselves in school on a Saturday.
Korea's public high schools are clearly different from America's. I had imagined them to be just like our schools, but now I have a clear picture of how different they are.How many main differences are mentioned between Korea's public high school and America's?
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
It seems that the writer_______.
| A．is familiar with the education system of high schools in Korea |
| B．is fond of Korean students' appearance |
| C．prefers the high school life of America to the one of Korea |
| D．feels it common to have lessons on weekends |
What does the underlined word "setup" in paragraph 5 probably mean?
| A．Arrangement. | B．Size. |
| C．Number. | D．Outline. |
According to the rules, the students of Korea can _______.
| A．go to different high schools without exams |
| B．wear any clothes except uniforms at school |
| C．attend different classes as they like |
| D．have different hair styles |
四、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、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
The Winter Olympics are also called the White Olympics. At this time, many colourful stamps are published to mark the great Games. The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule.
During the 4th Winter Olympic Games, a group of stamps were published in Germany in November, 1936. The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear. It was the first time that the rings appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics.
In the 1950’s, the stamps of this kind became more colourful. When the White Olympics came, the host countries as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games. China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sportsmen began to take part in the White Olympics. Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise money for this sports meet.
Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.
56. The White Olympics is _______________.
A. the Games whose color is white.
B. the Olympic Games that is held in winter.
C. the winter when the stamps are published.
D. the Games held in turn by each country.
57. When did the Chinese first participate in the Winter Olympics?
In 1932 B. In 1950 C. In 1936 D. In 1980
58. We can inferred from the passage that _________________.
Stamps are published only to mark the Winter Olympics during the Games.
Only host countries publish stamps.
Japan is the only one of the countries in Asia published stamps to mark the Games.
China hasn’t hosted the White Olympics so far.
59. Which one is the best title of the passage?
A. the Winter Olympic Games B. Stamps for the White Olympics
C. Olympic Countries D. the History of the Stamps
If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.
But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee: public education.
At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.
The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.
So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.
In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅长）in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.
What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer.
71. Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?
A. The government. B. Public education
C. The Detroit automakers. D. The Wall Street firms.
72. What is a big problem with American higher education?
A. It is hard to enroll enough students into college.
B. Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation.
C. Many college students stay away from classes.
D. It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government.
73. The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.
A. running to the end of the line B. going to college
C. finishing college education D. working hard in college
74. Why do some students under--match ?
A. Because they have financial difficulty.B. Because they face ambition crisis.
C. Because they lack confidence.D. Because they can’t get guidance.
75. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. problems with secondary American education and possible solutions
B. America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence
C. low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence
D. relationship between American education and its economy
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her free time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip (退稿条) from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and ruined hopes can surface.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?”
“No”, she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
67. What do we learn form the first paragraph?
A. Now too many entertainments take up too much time.
B. Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities.
C. Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her free time.
D. Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.
68. What did the author say about her own writing experience?
A. She was constantly under pressure of writing more.
B. Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.
C. She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.
D. Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.
69. Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
A. She had won a prize in the previous contest.
B. She wanted to share her stories with readers.
C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.
D. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.
70. What’s the author’s advice for parents?
A. Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.
B. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.
C. Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.
D. A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.
A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective (客观的) information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its abuse of power over people.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art had been almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that described people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand the Bible stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast (对比), one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are not holy.
63. Which of the following statements has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?
A. General history only focuses on politics.
B. Art history shows us nothing but the political values.
C. General history concerns only religious beliefs, emotions and psychology.
D. Art history gives us an insight (洞察力) into the essential qualities of a time and a place.
64. Art is subjective in that __________.
A. it can easily arouse people’s anger about their government
B. it only reflects people’s anger or sadness about social problems.
C. a personal and emotional view of history is presented through it.
D. artists were or are religious, who reflect only the religious aspect of the society.
65. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Francisco Goya expressed his religious belief in his painting.
B. In history books political views of people are entirely presented.
C. For centuries in Europe, painters had only painted on walls of churches.
D. In the Middle East, you can hardly find animal or human figures on church walls.
66. What’s the main topic of the passage?
A. The development of art history.
B. What we can learn from art.
C. The influence of artists on art history.
D. The difference between general history and art history.
Amateur Performance Night
Every third Thursday of the month, aspiring（有抱负的）artists present, read or perform original or existing material, at the Amateur Performance Night -- and anyone can come and watch. So come to the Amateur Performance Night to enjoy presentations and performances on a wide variety of subjects, and practice your languages (Chinese and English) while you do!
7-9 pm, March 15
20 yuan (entrance fee includes one drink and a snack)
Room 109, 2 Dongping Road
amateur.performance.night@gmail.com
Good-Heart Sale
ENO holds a seasonal sale at discounted prices, some more than 50 percent off. When you mention SCAA (Second Chance Animal Aid), 10 percent of the sales income will be donated to the animal rescue group.
Cash only
March 10-24
In Factory, 6F, building A, 1147
Xikang Road, near Wuning Road
Free Coffee for All!
This Friday, March 16, wil be an exciting day for most coffee buyers, especially those who love Starbucks. Between 10 am and 12 noon, Starbucks will hold its second “Coffee Break” and everyone who drops by a local Starbucks outlet can get a free Tall (12-ounce) cup of coffee. The event was first held in America last year and attracted more than 500,000 people. This year the Coffee Break will spread to all Starbucks stores in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and, best of all, China.
Shanghai BookCrossing
Bring books you want to exchange, take away your next fab read. Books are mostly of English language, and include novels, thrillers, chicklit, biography, non-fiction, travel books, classics magazines, etc. Open to all, no registration necessary. Joining in is fun and FREE.
2 pm, March 17, April 21
Figaro Coffee, 160 Xingye Road
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shanghaibxers/
60. In which section will the text appear in the newspaper?
A. News reports. B. Business world.
C. Different voices. D. Life events.
61. By attending which of the events will it be likely for you to practise your English?
A. Amateur Performance Night and Shanghai Book Crossing.
B. Amateur Performance Night and Good heart sale.
C. Good Heart Sale and Shanghai Book Crossing.
D. Good Heart Sale and Free Coffee for All.
62. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Tickets to all the events are free.
B. Free coffee for all will attract more Chinese than foreigners.
C. If you want to get any information about the events, you can only surf the Internet.
D. Both the organizers and participants of Good heart sale show concern about animals.