“Holding girls back from an education is robbing them of their dignity (尊严),” says Mariam, a teacher, in an interview with Action Press.
“I feel proud when I tell people that I’m from Swat in Pakistan, with its green and mountainous valley. But I don’t feel proud about the number of women and girls where I’m from who are still being unable to enjoy the right for an education.
“I have taught many students — including Malaya, the young education activist who was shot in the head as travelling to school in Pakistan after campaigning for girls’ education. Among them I see the dignity that education can offer. This is why I have long been devoted to teaching, and why I am doing what I can to make sure that all girls have the chance to go to school.
“At the Khushaal school and college in Mingora, many girls are prevented from going to school because of poverty and fights. However, the most common reasons for girls not attending classes are cultural. People fear that females will become too independent if educated. Instead, parents prefer to marry off girls early. Girls and young women are considered a financial burden if left dependent on their parents.”
“In the school where I have been teaching for over ten years, I have seen how this discrimination plays out. Parents regard an educated and independent female as being too clever for her own. Even if parents agree to give a girl an education, a limit is set to the number of years for her to attend classes and it is common for girls to make it through only primary school. This is why I have been working tirelessly to change these damaging views and cultural practices. These are crimes against humanity (人道),which I have no choice but to strongly accuse of.”
“Malala was right to fight for her education.” says Mariam, who will be in New York with UNESCO (联合国教科文组织), delivering a speech calling for world leaders to make sure every child gets a chance to go to school.What does Mariam take pride in?
| A．Her dignity from education. |
| B．Her lifelong devotion to teaching. |
| C．Her hometown with fantastic scenery. |
| D．Her experience as a speech maker. |
What is the major reason to prevent girls from going to school?
| A．The constant fights across the country. |
| B．The lack of financial support for schooling. |
| C．The limited time allowed to attend classes. |
| D．The traditional views on females’ social role. |
What will Mariam appeal for in her speech?
| A．Accusing of the shooting of the schoolgirl. |
| B．Sex balance among children of school age. |
| C．Equal access for boys and girls to education. |
| D．Independence of girls with a good education. |
Which of the following is true about Mariam？
| A．Malala event motivated her to work years for children. |
| B．She spoke in favour of Malala’s action in the interview. |
| C．A press invited her to attend a conference in New York. |
| D．She started a campaign with Malala for females’ freedom. |
第三部分：阅读理解（第一节16小题，每小题1.5分，满分24分；第二节5小题，每小题1分，满分5分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?
In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees (学费). As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan (贷款) in order to go to university.
They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.
The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around $12,000 (122,952yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach the April after graduating. If you start to earn over $ 15,000 (153,639yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.
You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year (2008).”
“Student poverty” is now considered a real problem. Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?
61. What makes British students question the worth of a university degree?
A. Higher university expenses. B. Lower education quality.
C. A higher interest rate on student loans D. Grater difficulty obtaining student loans.
62. According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. University tuition fees in all parts of Britain have been on the rise since 2006.
B. Interest on a student loan starts as soon as the student receives it.
C. People have always questioned the worth of a university degree.
D. University graduates need to pay off their loans right upon graduation.
63. Which of the following is NOT a factor that concerns a British university graduate?
A. Fierce competition in the job market. B. The burden of a large debt.
C. Lack of experience. D. Fewer job openings.
64. What is the title of this passage?
A. Student poverty B. Is college worth it?
C. The UK government started to charge students tuition fees.
D. British students use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses.
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. For example, to absorb heat from the sun to heat water, you need large, flat, black surfaces. One way to do that is to build those surfaces specially, on the roofs of buildings. But why go to all that trouble when cities are rub of black surfaces already, in the form of asphalt （柏油） roads?
Ten years ago, this thought came into the mind of Arian de Bondt, a Dutch engineer. He finally persuaded his boss to follow it up. The result is that their building is now heated in winter and cooled in summer by a system that relies on the surface of the road outside.
The heat-collector is a system of connected water pipes. Most of them ran from one side of the street to the other, just under the asphalt road. Some, however, dive deep into the ground.
When the street surface gets hot in summer, water pumped through the pipes picks up this heat and takes it underground through one of the diving pipes. At a depth of 100 metres lies a natural aquifer （蓄水层） into which several heat exchangers （交换器） have been built. The hot water from the street runs through these exchangers, warming the ground-water, before returning to the surface through another pipe. The aquifer is thus used as a heat store.
In winter, the working system is changed slightly. Water is pumped through the heat exchangers to pick up the heat stored during summer. This water goes into the building and is used to warm the place up. After performing that task, it is pumped under the asphalt and its remaining heat keeps the road free of snow and ice.Which of the following is true according to the first two paragraphs?
| A．Arian de Bondt got his idea from his boss. |
| B．Large, flat, black surfaces need to be built in cities. |
| C．The Dutch engineer's system has been widely used. |
| D．Heat can also be collected from asphalt roads. |
For what purpose are the diving pipes used?
| A．To absorb heat from the sun. | B．To store heat for future use. |
| C．To turn solar energy into heat energy. | D．To carry heat down below the surface. |
From the last paragraph we can learn that __
| A．some pipes have to be re-arranged in winter |
| B．the system can do more than warming up the building |
| C．the exchangers will pick up heat from the street surface |
| D．less heat may be collected in winter than in summer |
Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public. Not only does he want to say it well, but he wants it to be something that has not been said before. He hopes that the public will listen and understand ----he wants to teach them, and he wants them to learn from him.
What visional artists like painters want to teach is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because painters translate their experience into shapes and colors, not words. They seem to feel that a certain choice of shapes and colors, out of the countless billions possible, is very interesting for them and worth showing to us. Without their work we should never have noticed these particular shapes and colors, or have felt the delight which they brought to the artists.
Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in movement and at rest; their choices show that these aspects(方面)of the world are worth looking at, that they contain beautiful sights. Modern artists might say that they only choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern, that there is nothing more in it. Yet even they do not choose totally without thinking about the character of their subjects.
If one painter chooses to paint a decaying(溃烂的) leg and another a lake in moonlight, each of them is directing our attention to a certain aspect of the world . Each painter is telling us something, showing us something, emphasizing(强调) something - all of which means that, consciously or unconsciously, he is trying to teach us.It is hard to explain what a painter is saying because _______.
| A．most painters do not express themselves well |
| B．a painter uses unusual words and phrases |
| C．a painter use shapes and colors instead of words |
| D．many painters do not say anything |
Modern artists might say their choice of subjects ______.
| A．carries a message to the public | B．only provides interesting patterns |
| C．has no pattern or form | D．teaches the public important truths |
The writer says that modern art contains______
| A．nothing but meaningless patterns | B．uninteresting aspects of the world |
| C．subjects chosen partly for their meaning | D．completely meaningless subjects |
Which of the following is implied(暗示) but NOT directly stated in the passage?
| A．A painting is more easily understood than a song |
| B．Art is only the arranging of shapes and colors |
| C．Every artist tries to say something to the public |
| D．One must look beyond shapes and colors to find out what an artist is saying |
Dorothea Shaw is 71 years old and nearly blind, and she chose to live alone far away from people. She lives in Belize — a county the size of Wales with a population only that of Swansea. Her home is at Gales Point, a tiny village which can be reached only by sea or air; after a 10-mile walk into the hills one finally reaches a piece of land and two small houses so hidden in the thick over-grown forest that only a handful of people know Dorothea is there.
She lives happily and totally alone – growing her vegetables, looking after her trees and dogs, cats and chickens. Once a month or so an old friend passes by with her food supplies and letters-usually including a letter from her sister in Scunthorpe and some bits of clothing from friends in Canada. Sometimes a local man will come and cut wood for her and a group of British soldiers will come across her and be greeted with the offer of a cup of coffee.
At night she lies in her tiny sleeping room with the dogs on the floor, the cats on the table near the typewriter and one of the hens settled down in a corner of the bookshelf, and listens for hours to any Spanish, English, German or French broadcasts she can find on her radio. Sometimes she gets lonely but most of the time the animals and the radio are company enough.
But recently the very things that she had tried to get free from so well have begun to catch up with her. The peace of the forest has been destroyed by the noise of earth-moving machines not many miles away. What she once only heard of distantly on the radio is now on her doorstep. Things began to change three years ago. The new main north-south road in Belize was cut through the forest only four or five miles away. “Now more people know I’m here.” She says. “I feel more and more uneasy each day.”Dorothea’s small houses ________.
| A．are entirely surrounded by trees |
| B．have always been her home |
| C．were built for just a few people |
| D．are in a county with the same population as Wales |
Dorothea lives in the tiny village because ________.
| A．she doesn’t like living near people | B．she is too old to move |
| C．machines destroyed her home | D．there’s nowhere else for her to live |
Dorothea doesn’t get lonely since she has _______ with her.
| A．her sister | B．some animals | C．friends from Canada | D．a postman |
Dorothea spends a lot of time __________.
| A．growing all the food she needs | B．cutting down trees |
| C．listening to the radio | D．studying languages |
Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. The mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure(基础设施)that must be maintained.
Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It’s not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.
Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.
Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.
Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is a lack of money. The United States has 378 monuments, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.
Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.
A Sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park.According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when they are appreciated from _______.
| A．the bottom of the valleys | B．the top of the mountains |
| C．the side of the mountains | D．the edge of the valleys |
National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to meet the need of visitors because ________.
| A．the transport management needs improving |
| B．they spend too much on their service systems |
| C．their service systems frequently go out of order |
| D．they need help from environmental organizations |
The main problem of Yosemite National Park is its _______.
| A．rundown water pipes | B．overcrowdedness | C．lack of money | D．narrow roads |
According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be ______.
| A．an environmental group | B．an information center |
| C．a travel service | D．a law firm |