Students are being forced to take additional exams to get into leading universities because good A-levels do not always indicate the brightest candidates. Sixth formers applying to courses such as medicine and law are being asked to sit American-style aptitude (智能) tests, which are designed to assess (评价) thinking skills, among fears that too many A-level candidates are getting top grades. Last year, almost one in six students applying to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge from independent schools had to sit additional tests to secure a place.
Head teachers criticized the move, which they said would pile more pressure on schools and students. But universities insisted that the reforms were unavoidable, because A-level exams were no longer an accurate barometer (标准) of ability.
In 1986, 40 percent of students starting at Oxford achieved straight As at A-level. Mike Nicholson, its admissions director, said that this year almost every candidate offered a place would get perfect grades. It meant the university had to stage additional tests to identify the most able candidates. "The ability to achieve three A grades is no longer the end-point in the admissions process," he said. "The potential to achieve three A grades will allow them to enter the race for a place."
Oxford is not the only university turning to aptitude tests. At Cambridge, the number of students taking the university's Thinking Skills Assessment shot up 26 percent to more than 3, 000. A survey of 16, 830 sixth formers applying to higher education from private schools last year showed that 2, 860 had to sit at least one exam.
Earlier this year, the National Foundation for Educational Research recommended that most sixth formers should sit SAT tests —a standard reasoning exam widely used in American colleges—to make iteasier to pick out the best candidates.What is the attitude of head teachers to the reform?
| A．Approving. |
| B．Doubtful. |
| C．Opposed. |
| D．Neutral (中立的) |
Which British university first started to use aptitude tests to pick out the best candidates?
| A．Harvard. |
| B．Oxford. |
| C．Cambridge. |
| D．Washington |
What can we know about the A-level system?
| A．It can indicate the brightest candidates. |
| B．It was designed to assess students' thinking abilities. |
| C．It is longer an accurate way to assess students' abilities. |
| D．It was recommended by the National Foundation for Educational Research. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The reform is more popular in American colleges than in British ones. |
| B．The reform will be applied by all universities in the future. |
| C．Universities used to depend on the A-level system to choose the best students. |
| D．Passing additional tests will allow the student to enter Oxford, regardless of whether he or she gets As. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How to get into leading universities. |
| B．The disadvantages of the A-level system. |
| C．Different ways to identify students' abilities. |
| D．Universities using extra exams to choose students. |
What’s delicious to eat and comes in a variety of colors? Eggplant! And no, it has nothing to do with chickens! This strangely named vegetable is, however, as versatile as an egg．It can be steamed, fried, and baked．It can be eaten by itself or combined with meats and other vegetables．
Eggplant was first grown in India in the 5th century BC．Its popularity soon spread to China and then throughout Asia．Finally, during the Middle Ages the vegetable made its way to Europe．At that time, eggplant was not the shiny purple vegetable most people know today．Instead, it’s like a white egg．Due to this egg - like appearance, eggplant got its name．In its early days, the vegetable was so bitter that people often called it a “mad apple.” This nickname started because people believed its bitterness was bad for one' s health．People actually thought eggplant could cause madness and cancer．
Fortunately today people know that eggplant doesn't cause insanity or cancer．In fact eggplant is so healthy that it may prevent cancer．In addition, the brain and the heart benefit from this super vegetable．Since it's high in fiber, eggplant can improve digestion．
Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant in the world today．Depending on its location, eggplant may be purple, green, orange or yellow - white．And it can be as small as a tomato or as large as a cucumber．Dish varieties range from simple to complex, with all of them being delicious．
Today, thousands of people gather in Loomis, Calif, for the annual Loomis Eggplant Festival．The main activity at the festival is eating delicious eggplant dishes．There is plenty more to do and see, though．Recipe contests, arts and crafts, performers, races and children's activities all “egg – cite” festival - goers．Most people at the festival would agree—eggplant is an “egg—cellent” vegetable．Eggplant got its name because of its _____．
| A．appearance | B．taste | C．color | D．value |
Which of the following does NOT belong to the qualities of eggplant?
| A．It can be cooked in various ways． | B．It is easy to digest． |
| C．It can prevent cancer． | D．It is valuable and priceless． |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Eggplant can be eaten to cure cancer | B．Eggplant used to taste bitter． |
| C．India produce the most eggplant in the world today． | D．Eggplant has a history of nearly 1,000 years． |
Most people come to the Loomis Eggplant Festival to_____．
| A．see arts and crafts | B．enjoy food with eggplants |
| C．take part in recipe contests | D．promote eggplant |
When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）become bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last. What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a far more gifted artist |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a much more famous person |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by .
| A．polio | B．back injuries |
| C．the operations she had | D．her bent spine |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the .
| A．1950s | B． 1930s | C．1940s | D．1970s |
What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?
| A．Devotion | B．Sympathy | C．Worry | D．Encouragement |
Sometimes people cheat in daily life. When people cheat, it’s not fair to other people, like the kids who studied for the test or who were the true winners of a game.
Many people like the action of cheating. It makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won’t help on the next test --- unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And, if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they’re busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating, cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before and couldn’t study, it would be better to talk with the teacher about this. And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice, you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.
A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions(解决办法) together. Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.The author thinks that when kids cheat in class, _______.
| A．teachers should punish them |
| B．it does harm to their heath |
| C．it is unfair to other people |
| D．teachers shouldn’t stop them at once |
Some students like cheating mainly because_________.
| A．the material in the test is very difficult |
| B．they want to do better than the others |
| C．cheating can make hard things seem very easy |
| D．they have little time to study their lessons |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us______.
| A．cheating isn’t a good idea |
| B．some kids don’t spend the time studying |
| C．some kids can’t pass the test without cheating |
| D．why kids cheat in the test |
We can learn from the passage______.
| A．cheaters are often thought highly of |
| B．people show no respect for those who cheat |
| C．parents whose kids cheat are often in trouble |
| D．kids cheat in the test because of swim practice |
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.What main obstacle(障碍) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming for a doctor?
| A．She wrote too many letters. |
| B．She was a woman. |
| C．She couldn’t graduate from medical school. |
| D．She couldn’t set up her hospital. |
Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
| A．She couldn’t get admitted to medical school |
| B．She decided to further her education in Paris |
| C．A serious eye problem stopped her |
| D．It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States |
How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?
| A．Nineteen years | B．Ten years | C．Eight years | D．Thirty-six years |
Eilzabeth Blackwell spent most of her lift in _______.
| A．the United States | B．Paris | C．England | D．New York City |
One day last summer, watching the boys and girls trying to catch butterflies I remembered something happened when I was young．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. No musician can sing more beautiful than the birds. I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, the bird flied about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out, and on the second day my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in cage.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
| A．He had just got a new cage. |
| B．He liked its beautiful feather. |
| C．He wanted a pet for a companion. |
| D．He wanted it to sing for him. |
The mockingbird died because it ______.
| A．drank the poisonous water by mistake |
| B．was frightened to death |
| C．refused to eat anything |
| D．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it |
An ornithologist probably means ______.
| A．a religious person | B．a kind person |
| C．an expert in birds | D．a schoolmaster |
What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
| A．Freedom is very valuable to all living things. |
| B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long. |
| C．You should keep the birds from their mother. |
| D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds. |