The World Bank has looked at the distinguishing features of successful school system.
According to the World Bank’s education specialist, Harry Patrinos, this include: improving the quality of teachers and making sure that teachers are highly regarded; providing information to make schools accountable and giving autonomy to schools and head teachers.
This matters not only for individual pupils but also for the well-being of countries, he says, because improving educational performance has a direct impact on improving economic performance.
China’s education performance— at least in cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong— seems to be as spectacular as the country’s fast growing economy.
Certainly both these open and outward-looking cities consider education to be important and are willing to adopt the best educational practices from around the world to ensure success. In Hong Kong, education accounts for more than one-fifth of entire government spending every year.
“Shanghai and Hong Kong are small education systems, with a concentration of ideas, manpower and resources for education,” says Prof Cheng.
Under the banner “First class city, first class education”, Shanghai set about systematically re-equipping classroom, upgrading schools and improving the curriculum in the last decade.
It got rid of the “key schools” system which concentrated resources only on top students and top schools. Instead staff were trained in more interactive teaching methods and computers were brought in.
About 80% of Shanghai school leavers go to university compared to an overall average of 24% in China.
Meanwhile, dynamic Hong Kong was forced into educational improvements as its industries moved to cheaper mainland Chinese areas in the 1990s.Its survival as a service and management hub depends on upgrading knowledge and skills.
In the last decade Hong Kong has concentrated on closing the gap for all students, says a report by McKinsey management consultants.
The report, How the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better, rated Hong Kong’s education system among the best in the world.The World Bank’s survey about education mainly concentrates on .
| A．what has made some education systems successful |
| B．China’s education system and competitive exams |
| C．how to relieve Chinese students of their heavy schoolwork |
| D．the relationship between education and economic development |
According to Harry Patrinos, the key to successful school systems is .
| A．to give autonomy to all teachers to educate students freely in class |
| B．to let students attend after-school tutoring and do more exercises |
| C．to improve teachers’ abilities and give schools free performance right |
| D．to make school education directly serve the economy of the country |
We can learn from the text that .
| A．the “key school” system is the key to many schools’ failure |
| B．students in Shanghai and Hong Kong work the hardest |
| C．Hong Kong’s educational performance isn’t as good as Shanghai’s |
| D．Shanghai and Hong Kong’s economic performance will improve |
What is the author’s attitude towards the school systems of Shanghai and Hong Kong?
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. |
| C．Neutral. | D．Critical. |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的 A B C D四个选项中选出最佳选项
Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you do and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow yourself to make your life happen.
Successful and happy people have a vision of how their life should be and they set lots of goals to help them reach their vision. By setting goals you are taking control of your life. It’s like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind (her goal) which is laid out for her in a map. She can drive there without any waste time or wrong turns. The other driver has no goal or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas and oil. Which driver do you want to be?
Winners in life set goals and follow through on them. Winners decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren’t difficult to set, and they aren’t difficult to reach. It’s up to you to find out what your goals, ideas and vision really are. You are the one who must decide what to pursue and in what direction to aim your life.
Researchers tell us when we write a goal down, we are more likely to achieve it. Written goals can be reviewed regularly, and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget.
Also when you write your goals in a particular fashion, you are able to stimulate yourself to be continuously alert to situations that will further your goals.
56. The example of the two drivers was given to show ___________.
A. the importance of having a map and right direction
B. the foolishness of the second driver
C. the importance of setting goals
D. the foolishness of the first driver
57. According to this passage, the most important thing in realizing one’s ideal is to _________.
A. have a clear understanding of what he or she wants in life
B. let others help him or her to make his or her dream come true
C. try to be realistic about one’s ability
D. let others understand him or her first, then work together with them
58. If people want to reach their goals, they should _________.
A. write down their goals
B. discuss with others and ask for their help
C. face the difficulties in front of them
D. sign a contract with other people
59. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Failure always accompanies the people who give up easily.
B. Whenever you set goals, you will succeed.
C. Winners never stop their efforts for success.
D. Success is possible only when a person has clearly set his or her goal.
Uncertainty spreads through our lives so thoroughly that it dominates our language，Our everyday speech is made up in large part of words like probably, many, soon,great,little.What do these words mean?
Such verbal imprecision is not necessarily to be criticized. Indeed, it has a value Just because it allows uw to express judgments when a precise quantitative statement is out of the question.
We have been trying to pin down by experiments what people meari by these expressions in specific contexts, and how the meanings change with age. For instance,a subject is told "There are many trees in the park" and is asked to say what number the word may mean to him. Or a child is invited to take "some" sweets from a bowl and we then count how many he has taken. We compare the number he takes when he is alone with the number when one or more other children are present and are to take some sweets after him, or with the number he takes when told to give
“some" sweets to another child.
First, we find that the number depends, of course, on the items involved. To most people some friends means about five, while some trees means about twenty. However, unrelated areas sometimes show parallel values. For instance, the language of probability seems to mean about the same thing in predictions about the weather and about politics: the expression is certain to( rain,or be elected)signifies to the average person about a 70 percent chance; is likely to, about a 60 percent chance; probably will, about 55 percent.
Secondly, the size of the population of items influences the value assigned to an expression.Thus, if we tell a subject to take "a few" or“a lot of" glass balls from a box, he will take me if the box contains a large number of glass balls than if it has a small number, But not proportionately more: if we increase the number of glass balls eight times, the subject takes only half as large a percentage of the total.
Thirdly, there is a marked change with age. Among children between six and fourteen years old, the older the child, the fewer glass balls, he will take. But the difference between a lot and a few widens with age. This age effect is so consistent that it might be used as a test of intelligence.
51. What's the right attitude towards the words like probably, any and soon ?
A. They are inaccurate and we should avoid them.
B. They are necessary since we cannot be always precise.
C. They should be criticized because there are too many of them.
D. Their value is not yet clear since we don't know their meaning.
52. Why do we do experiments with the words many and some?
A. To prove that people are insensitive to these words.
B. To prove that the words dominate our everyday speech.
C. To find out how the meanings vary with age and contexts.
D. To find out whether the words can mean a precise quantity.
53. Which of the following expressions means a larger chance in weather broadcast?
A. Possible. B. Probable. C. Be likely to. D. Be certain to.
54. Which of the following is similar to the underlined word signifies in its meaning?
A. makes B. means C. predictsD. indicates
55. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Uncertainty in the Language Use.
B. How to Use Language in an Uncertain Way
C.Uncertain Words and their Use in Specific Contexts
D. Experiments on Relationship between Uncertainty and Language Use
Malaria (疟疾), the world's most widespread parasitic (寄生虫引起的) disease, kills as many as three million people every year - almost all of whom are under five, very poor, and African. In most years, more than five hundred million cases of illness result from the disease,although exact numbers are difficult to assess because many people don't (or can't) seek care. It is not unusual for a family earning less than two hundred dollars a year to spend a quarter of its income on malaria treatment, and what they often get no longer works. In countries like Tanzania,Mozambique, and the Gambia, no family, village, hospital, or workplace can remain unaffected for long.
Malaria starts suddenly, with violent chills, which are soon followed by an intense fever and,often, headaches. As the parasites multiply, they take over the entire body. Malaria parasites live by eating the red blood cells they infect. They can also attach themselves to blood vessels in the brain. If it doesn't kill you, malaria can happen again and again for years. The disease is passed on to humans by female mosquitoes infected with one of four species of a parasite. Together, the
mosquito and the parasite are the most deadly couple in the history of the earth and one of the most successful. Malaria has five thousand genes, and its ability to change rapidly to defend itself and resist new drugs has made it nearly impossible to control. Studies show that mosquitoes are passing on the virus more frequently, and there are more outbreaks in cities with large populations.Some of the disease's spread is due to global warming.
For decads, the first-choice treatment for malaria parasites in Africa has been chloroquine,a chemical which is very cheap and easy to make. Unfortunately, in most parts of the world,malaria parasites have become resistant to it. Successful alternatives that help prevent resistance are already available, but they have been in short supply and are very expensive. If these drugs should fail, nobody knows what would come next.
46. According to paragraph 1, many people don't seek care because_______.
A. they are too poor
B. it is unusual to seek care
C. they can remain unaffected for long.
D. there are too many people suffering from the disease
47. People suffering from malaria_________.
A. have to kill female mosquitoes
B. have ability to defend parasites
C.have their red blood cells infected
D. have sudden fever, followed by chills
48. Which of the following may be the reason for the wide spread of the disease?
A. Its resistance to global warming.
B. Its ability to pass on the virus frequently.
C.Its outbreaks in cities with large populations.
D.Its ability to defend itself and resist new drugs.
49.It can be inferred from the passage that_________.
A.no drugs have been found to treat the disease
B.the alternative treatment is not easily available to most people
C.malaria has developed its ability to resist parasites
D.nobody knows what will be the drug to treat the disease
50.Which of the following questions has NOT been discussed in the passage?
A.How can we know one is suffering from malaria?
B.How many people are killed by malaria each year?
C.Why are there so many people suffering from malaria?
D.What has been done to keep people unaffected for long?
Ⅲ 阅读(共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项；并在答题卡上将该
项涂黑。
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they're always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair(天分) for self-promotion and because they have so much mopey to throw around. "It's very unfair," they say, "that this entrely unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don't the stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it's the consumer who pays..."
The poor old consumer! He'd have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn't creato mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only. purpose of advertising is to sell goods.Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know ahout.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements,but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days.And what fun they often are,too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall while waiting for a train? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a dull wall.
we must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets.Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not manage to my alive without this source of revence. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmers is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspapar would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn't forget is the "small ads." which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine. Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns.For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death, I's the best advertisement for advertising there is!
41. What is main idea of this passage?
A. Advertisement
B. The benefits of advertisement
C. Advertisers perform a useful service to communities.
D.The costs of advertisement
42. The attitude of the author toward advertisers is_______.
A. appreciative B. trustworthy C. critical D. dissatisfactory
43. Why do the critics criticize advertisers?
A. Because advertisers often talk too proudly of themselves.
B. Because crifics think, advertisement is a"waste of money".
C. Because customers are encouraged to buy more than necessary.
D. Because customers pay more.
44. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Advertisement makes contributions to our pockets and we may know everything.
B. Advertisements can be found everywhere in our life.
C. Good quality products don't need to be advertised.
D. Advertisement makes our life colourful.
45. What's the meaning of the underlined word "revenue" in the fourth paragraph?
A. Tax. B. Salary. C. Money. D. Living cost.
Sixteen years ago, Eileen Doyle's husband, an engineer, took his four children up for an early morning cup of tea, packed a small case and was never seen or heard of again. Eileen was astonished and in a state of despair. They had been a happy family and, as far as she knew, there had been nothing wrong with their marriage.
Every day of the year a small group of men and women quietly pack a few
belongings and without so much as a note or a good--bye close the front door for the last time, leaving their debts, their worries and their confused families behind them.Last year, more than 1,200 men and nearly as many women were reported missing
from home--the highest in 15 years. Many did return home within a year, but others
rejected the past completely and are now living a new life somewhere under a
different identity.
To those left behind, this form of desertion is a terrible blow to their pride and self-confidence. Even the finality of death might be preferable. At least it does not imply rejection or failure. Worse than that, people can be left with an unfinished marriage, not knowing whether they will have to wait seven years before they are free to start a fresh life.
Clinical psychologist Paul Brown believes most departures of this kind to be well
planned rather than impulsive. "It's typical of the kind of personality which seems
able to ignore other people's pain and difficulties. Running away, like killing yourself,is a highly aggressive act. By creating an absence the people left behind feel guilty,upset and empty."
51. When her husband left home, Eileen Doyle________.
A. could not forgive him for taking the children
B. had been expecting it to happen for some time
C. could not understand why
D. blamed herself for what had happened
52. Most people who leave their families behind them___________.
A. do so without warning
B. do so because of their debts
C. come back immediately
D. change their names
53. Some people would even prefer the death to the running away of their spouse
Because_________.
A. their spouse would feel no pain during the death
B. their spouse death would not blow their pride and confidence
C. a desertion would not bring a feeling of rejection or failure
D. their spouse death would make them feel less painful
54. Which might be the best tire of the passage?
A. Broken MarriageB. New life after Desertion
C. A New Social Problem D. Desertion and its Influence
55. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Many people choose to leave home quietly because they hate their family.
B. Paul Brown regards leaving home as an act of selfishness.
C. Those who are left behind will lose confidence and won't marry again.
D. Eileen's husband, together with his four kids, were probably killed in an accident.