Forty years ago, Finland was a small, country with mediocre public schools. Today, Finland is still small but no one calls Finland’s public schools mediocre any more.
In 2000, the Finns surprised the world when their 15-year-olds scored at the top of a closely watched international exam called the PISA. Finland has stayed near the top ever since, while the U.S. scores around the middle.
Pasi Sahlberg, an official with 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 bluntly: Stop testing so much, trust teachers more; give less homework; shorten the school day.
On Tuesday, in a room filled with teachers, principals, professors, school-board 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, 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.
“Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools, rather than on competition. Rather than judging teachers and schools based on test scores,” he said, “Finland puts trust in its teachers and principals. Teachers develop the curriculum 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 adopting ideas from the U.S. and other countries. And those countries, he said, can learn from Finland, too.”What might be the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To introduce a Finnish official. |
| B．To compare the education systems of Finland and the US. |
| C．To share the story of Finland’s success in education. |
| D．To ask the US to improve its education. |
People first learned Finland’s success in education from_____.
| A．its students’ performance in an international exam. |
| B．its international exchange prorrams. |
| C．lectures given by Pasi Sahlberg. |
| D．its small-sized public schools. |
Which of the following can contribute to Finland’s success in education?
a. Giving students fewer tests.
b. Giving teachers more trust.
c. Evaluating students’ family backgrounds.
d. Creating the world’s top school system.
e. Starting school late.
| A．a,b,c | B．c,d,e | C．a,b,e | D．b,c,d |
What Pasi Sahlerg said in Paragraph 7 suggested that ______.
| A．children should start school as early as possible. |
| B．competition among teachers might be harmful to education. |
| C．the US education system is still the most advanced. |
| D．it’s necessary to set up a national curriculum. |
Broken rubber bands and flat tires requiring replacement could soon be a thing of the past．French researchers have developed a new kind of rubber that can repair itself when broken．The new rubber is made from widely available materials including vegetable oil and a common industrial chemical．All the materials are considered safe to the environment and can be easily reused．The best part is that the new rubber can be repaired and used again and again without losing its strength or ability or stretch．When cut, the rubber can be made new again, simply by pressing the two broken ends back together．The product can be repaired at room temperature, around twenty degrees Centigrade；other self-healing materials require higher temperatures for repair．Traditionally, rubber substances are made from huge molecules（分子）connected by strong chemical links, or bonds．The new rubber is made of smaller molecules．The molecules are linked together using hydrogen bonds．When connected in this way, the molecules act like one long molecule, forming what is called supramolecular networks（超分子网）．When the rubber is cut, the molecules attempt to connect with whatever molecule is near them．When pressed together, the molecules are able to repair themselves at the molecular level, making the repaired rubber like new．However, time is an important element in the process．If the broken ends are not brought together quickly, a repair is not possible．This is because molecules will form bonds with molecules on their own side．The inventors say the surfaces of the rubber can be repaired within a week of being separated．The rubber is the creation of scientists at the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Education Institution in Paris．The organization is part of France's National Center for Scientific Research．The new material is described in greater detail in the research publication Nature．According to the introduction, which of the following is NOT the advantage of the new rubber?
| A．It can be made as easily as common rubber． |
| B．It is environmentally-friendly． |
| C．It can repair itself at room temperature． |
| D．It is made of smaller molecules． |
What does the 5th paragraph mainly tell us?
A．Why t he new rubber is unique． |
| B．Why the new rubber can repair itself． |
| C．The new rubber is made from huge molecules． |
| D．The new rubber is different from the common rubber． |
If we want to know more about the technology of this kind of new rubber, where can we get the information?
| A．In the researchers' diary． | B．In a guide book． |
| C．In a research magazine． | D．In a newspaper． |
Dear sir,
I read your story (of the 4th February) about the cost of living in the country rather than in the town, and I agree with most of the points that you made. My husband and I lived in the middle of Horlton until two years ago — a seaside town of nearly five hundred thousand people. When my husband stopped working, we moved to our present house in a small village at the foot of Roland Hill, and there is no doubt that our costs are higher now.
I have to do my shopping in small shops, where the food is more expensive than in city supermarkets; it costs more to travel by bus; and because the men who come to mend the television or the washing
machine, have to come farther, we have to pay them more.
But it does not cost us much to enjoy what is beautiful in the country; and peace and quiet are cheap. Many people spend a great deal of time and money driving into the country to enjoy the simple things of life; yet we can enjoy them just by going out of the front door. It costs more to live here than it did in Horlton but now life really is worth living.
Yours faithfully.
Edith Randall What do you know about Horlton?
| A．A quiet town not far from the sea. |
| B．A middle-sized town until two years ago. |
| C．A town with a population of nearly half a million. |
| D．A small village at the foot of Roland Hill |
What Mrs Randall really wants to express in the letter is that _____.
| A．it cost less to live in the country |
| B．it costs more to live in the country |
| C．living in the country is no better than in the town |
| D．she is quite satisfied with the life in the country |
One can probably find this letter in _____.
| A．a guidebook | B．a newspaper | C．a speech | D．a story book |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．The letter is written by an unknown person. |
| B．This letter is a reply to the questions of 4th February. |
| C．Living in the country is better than living in the city. |
D．The cost of li ving in the city is lower than that of the country. |
Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs. There are 100, 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank card simply by using a photograph or a business card.
The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light , and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4, 000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28, 000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors magazine.The text is mainly about ________ .
| A．the history of phone cards | B．phone card collecting as a hobby |
| C．reason for phone card collecting | D．the great variety of phone cards |
When did people in Britain begin to use phone cards?
| A．In 1971. | B．In 1975. | C．In 1976. | D．In 1981. |
The main reason for most people to collect phone cards is that ________ .
| A．they find the cards beautiful and easy to keep |
| B．they like to have something from different countries |
| C．they want to make money with cards |
| D．they think the cards are convenient to use |
The writer mentions a market in Paris in order to show that ________
| A．card collecting is popular among young people |
| B．French and Japanese cards are the most valuable |
| C．people can make money out of card collecting |
| D．card collectors magazines are very useful |
Justin Young is a _______.
| A．TV reporter | B．popular singer | C．song writer | D．radio reporter |
Which song does NOT change its place this week?
| A．Are You There? | B．The Bees. | C．Say Cheese. | D．Perhaps. |
How many songs listed above are new this week?
A．One. |
B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．You can listen to Music Ground once a week. |
| B．Justin Young is talking about popular songs this week. |
| C．People can call in to listen to their favorite songs. |
| D．Stupid Machine is now in the radio station with OK Band. |
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what “PK” meant.
“My family has been watching the ‘Super Girl’ singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what ‘PK’ meant, but I had no idea,” explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, “PK” is short for “Player Kill”, in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the “Super Girl” singing competition, “PK” was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking (排名).
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students’ compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn’t understand.
“My ‘GG’ came back this summer from college. He told me I’ve grown up to be a ‘PLMM’. I loved to ‘FB’ with him together; he always took me to the ‘KPM’,” went one composition.
“GG” means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). “PLMM” refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). “FB” means Fu Bai (corruption). “KPM” is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao! By writing the article, the writer tries to ________.
| A．explain some Internet language | B．suggest common Internet language |
| C．laugh at the Beijing father | D．draw our attention to Internet language |
What does the writer think about the term “PK”?
| A．Fathers can’t possibly know it. | B．The daughter should understand it. |
| C．Online game players may know it. | D．“Super Girl” shouldn’t have used it. |
The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons ________.
| A．are used not only online | B．can be understood very well |
| C．are welcomed by all the people | D．cause trouble to our mother tongue |
The underlined word “jargons” probably means ________.
| A．expressions | B．phrases | C．letters | D．spellings |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A puzzled father | B．Do you speak Internet jargons? |
| C．Keep away from Internet jargons | D．Kong Long or Qing Wa? |