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More students than ever before are taking a gap-year (间隔年) before going to university. It used to be called the “year off” between school and university. The gap-year phenomenon originated with the months left over to Oxbridge applicants between entrance exams in November and the start of the next academic year.
This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).
That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. “Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible,” he said.
But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students(NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship –young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their
education. “New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university with up to ￡15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacation periods,” he said.What do we learn about the gap year from the text?
| A．It is flexible in length. |
| B．It is a time for relaxation. |
| C．It is increasingly popular. |
| D．It is required by universities. |
According to Tony Higgins, students taking a gap year_________.
| A．arc better prepared for college studies |
| B．know a lot more about their future jobs |
| C．are more likely to leave university in debt |
| D．have a better chance to enter top universities |
What would most students do on their vacation according to NUS statistics?
| A．Attend additional courses. |
| B．Make plans for the new term. |
| C．Earn money for their education. |
| D．Prepare for their graduate studies. |
Weighed down by study? Pushed to the limit by the fast pace of life ? Frightened by the possible war ? Well, you’re not alone. Men and women in France are seeking relief using the world’s best medicine-----laughter.
In the past year, more than 15 laughter clubs have been set up across the country. People of all ages go to release their stress with an hour group laughs. “People telephoned me and said they have forgotten what it is to laugh. They want to find a place where they can escape all their problems for a while. So they come,” said 40—year—old Jocelyne Le Moan. She usually takes a class of around 60 people through a series of laughter techniques.
Her pupils range from teenagers to 70 years old, but most are middle---aged white collars seeking 60 minutes of relaxation at the end of a busy day. Le Moan takes them through the “Lion Laugh”and the “Laugh Contest”, where participants “speak”to each other in different ways. And instead of talking, they break into fits of laughter. At the end there are 15 minutes of “meditation”, when they lie on their backs and let the laughs burst out of their mouths.
“I love it. It’s an experience that has changed my life. Through it I rediscovered the child’s laugh inside me,”Said Romain Jouffroy, 24. “US President George W. Bush should give it a try. He has lost his laugh,”she joked . Like Jouffroy, many laughter club members find themselves changed into children again, and why not ? The average preschooler laughs up to 400 times a day.
The average adult only a day seven to 15.
The physical benefits of laughter are already well—recognized. Doctors say the act of laughing releases good chemicals into the blood—stream, while the quick breathing that accompanies it helps massage（按摩）the digestive organs and strengthens the heart.
“A full hour is like having your inside go jogging！One finishes out of breath, but feels revitalized（产生新活力. And on top of that , you’ve had a laugh,”said doctor Alexisd’ Estaing.And many participants in Paris also emphasize the psychological benefits. They believe that laughter is a way of making oneself feel more confident.Which of the following is not included among the benefits of laughing?
| A．It can make people rediscover their children’s laugh. |
| B．It can release good chemical into blood streams. |
| C．It can make you feel self—confident. |
| D．It can cure the illness of people. |
The writer suggested that you should_____________.
| A．take the world’s best medicine. |
| B．talk to each other about what troubles you. |
| C．learn series of laughter techniques. |
| D．have a good laugh after a busy day. |
From the passage , we can conclude the following but___________.
| A．Jocelyne Le Moan is a teacher of the club. |
| B．the members are mostly middle---aged white collars. |
| C．people always need some way to relax in life. |
| D．laugh freely and everything goes well. |
Which of the following is not the reason why so many people join the laughter clubs ?
| A．Those members feel too much pressure on them. |
| B．They want to find a place to relax themselves. |
| C．Laughters help massage the digestive organs. |
| D．The members don’t know how to laugh. |
Imagine a classroom missing the one thing that’s long been considered a necessary part to reading and writing---paper. No notebooks, no textbooks, no test papers. Nor are there any pencils or pens, which always seems to run out of ink at the critical moment. A “paperless classroom” is what more and more schools are trying to achieve .
Students don’t do any handwriting in this class . Instead , they use palm size , or specially—designed computers. The teacher downloads texts from Internet libraries and sends them to every student’s personal computer. Having computers also means that students use the Web. They can look up information on any subject they’re studying from maths to social science.
High school teacher Judy Herrell in Florida, US, described how her class used the Web to learn about the war in Afghanistan over one year ago. We could touch every side of the country through different sites from the forest to refugee camps, she said .“Using a book that’s three or four years old is impossible.”And exams can go on line too. At a high school in Tennessee, US, students take tests on their own computers. The teacher records the grades on the network for everyone to see and then copies them to his own electronic grade book. A paperless classroom is a big step towards reducing the waste of paper. High school teacher Stephanie—Sorrell in Kentucky,US, said she used to give about 900 pieces of paper each week to each student.
“Think about the money and trees we could save with the computers,”she said .But, with all this technology, there is always the risk that the machines will break down. So , in case of a power failure or technical problems, paper textbooks are still widely available for these hi—tech students. What does the part of the last sentence in the first paragraph “run out of ink at the critical moment” mean ?
| A．Pens may not write well at the critical moment. |
| B．Pens get lost easily , so you may not find them at the critical moment. |
| C．Pens may have little or no ink at the critical moment |
| D．Pens use ink, while pencils don’t. |
The high school teacher, Judy Herrell, used the example of her class to show that ________.
| A．the Web could take them everywhere |
| B．the Web taught them a lot. |
| C．the Web is a good tool for information. |
| D．the Web , better than the textbooks ,can give the latest and comprehensive information. |
The paperless classroom will benefit _________ the most.
| A．students | B．teachers | C．trees | D．computers |
What does the phrase in the last paragraph “break down ”mean ?
| A．Break into pieces | B．Stop working | C．Fall down | D．Lose control |
In South Korea, children get used to the Internet at an early age. A survey last year by the Ministry of information and Communication showed that nearly half of children between the age of 3 and 5 use the internet.
“In south Korea, the Internet has become a babysitter, said Lee Kyong Ko, a professor at Duksing, Women’s University in Seoul.
Online role-playing games, where participants make friends and band together, have a strong appeal to Koreans,“One problem with those games is that you build your online person through countless hours of battles, and you develop a huge emotional attachment to your game character,”said Chang Woo Min, a one-time online gamer.
Parents report that their children steal money and do not come home for days and even weeks, practically living in Internet Cafes, and sometimes they refuse to look for jobs and play games all night and sleep during the day.
The authorities require Internet cafes to keep their distance from schools, and they open camps for teenage addicts and distribute booklets(小册子) on the dangers of game addiction. In addition, they are training hundreds of counselors, who visit schools and Internet Cafes.
In the 28,000 Internet Cafes in South Korea, persons under 18 are banded from entry after 10 p.m.. The authorities have even discussed reducing the points of gamers who play for more than three consecutive (连续的) hours, But such talks have produced no agreement, amid concerns that such restrictions would put a high-growth industry in danger and worse the problem of teenagers stealing adult online identification numbers,“Sooner or later we will be able to announce our measures,”the minister of Information and Communication, Rho Jun Hyoung, said at a news conference in May.“Since South Korea is one of the most active and developed countries in the Internet, the world is paying great attention to What policy we will adopt on this problem.”According to the passage, in order to solve the Internet problem, the authorities of South Korea took the following measures EXCEPT
| A．demanding the Internet Cafes to be far away from schools |
| B．telling the students about the dangers of game addiction |
| C．training counselors to visit schools and cafes |
| D．banning all the people from entering the Internet after 10 p.m. |
We can learn that from the passage.
| A．most children under 6 in the South Korea use the Internet |
| B．some parents hope their children use the Internet only at home |
| C．all kinds of measures are not supported by all the people |
| D．the authorities in the South Korea believe that it is most active and developed country in the Inter |
In paragraph 2,the underlined sentence “the Internet has becomes a babysitter”means.
| A．children are well looked after on the Internet |
| B．children likes sitting in the Internet Cafes |
| C．children can earn money working as a babysitter in Internet Cafes |
| D．Internet has become a place where children are looked after while their parents are not there |
The passage is written to tell us_________________.
| A．the Internet problems in South Korea | B．the bad effects of the Internet |
| C．the measures of the authorities | D．teenagers like going surfing in South Korea |
Researchers questioned nearly 9,800 people over the age of 50 about their lives and found women were happier than men and enjoy life more in old age.
Dr Elizabeth Breeze, one of the researchers, said that women could become happier as they get older as they no longer have to worry about looking after their families.
She said:“There is a difference between the way men and women view their quality of life and they are influenced by slightly different things. Women are affected negatively by caring for someone else or if they are not in employment but if they see their children and family more they are positively affected.”
“A strange thing happens to male actors, especially movie stars, in my experience,” said Helen Mirren, a 62-year-old Hollywood actress.“A young male actor feels that all the girls want him-he’s a star. As actors get older they bad-tempered for they have lost that sense of being in control of their destiny(命运).”
Wealth also helps you live longer with the poorest people more than twice as likely to die earlier than the richest, researchers at University College London discovered. In some age groups. the difference was even greater. The poorest women between 60 and 74 are six times more likely to have died than the richest women of the same age.
According to the study, you have more chances of living longer if you are married, educated to certain degree or a professional. single people are twice as likely to die early as those who are married or living with a partner.What may be the best title of the passage ?
| A．Why Women Are Happier Than Men in Old Age . |
| B．How to Live Longer. |
| C．Women Happier Than Men in Old Age. |
| D．The Difference between Women and Men in Old Age |
What can we know from the passage？
| A．Men should not worry about looking after their family any more in old age |
| B．Male actors, especially movie stars are easy to get bad—tempered when they get older and older. |
| C．The poorest women about the age of 50 can’t live longer than the richest women at the same age. |
| D．Education has nothing to do with happy life in people’s old age. |
What may be talked about if there is another paragraph as the ending ?
| A．Things that the old should do to be happier. |
| B．The disadvantage of being actors. |
| C．We should earn money as much as we can. |
| D．How to become a professional. |
It was New Year’s Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal --- the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.
The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads --- one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and filled with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.
He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, “O youth, return! O my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I’ll choose the better way!” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.
He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall down from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His regret, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year’s Night.
The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents’ early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry: “Come back, my early days! Come back!”
And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year’s Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.
Those who still wander on the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain: “O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!”We can learn from the passage that ____.
| A．the man returned from a long journey and regretted what he had done |
| B．the man didn’t enter the deep, dark cave when he was young |
| C．the man was deserted by his parents when he was only a child |
| D．the man found it no use crying over the spilt milk |
Why does the author set his story on New Year’s Night?
| A．He wants to tell people it’s time to recall the past |
| B．he suggests the aged man will have a bright future |
| C．He tries to stress the man’s sad feeling |
| D．He expects people to share the man’s emotion |
The aged man in the passage can be described as ________.
| A．sorrowful, fearful and regretful | B．hopeful, cheerful and peaceful |
| C．regretful, painful and disappointed | D．disappointed, regretful and hopeful |
The author writes the passage mainly to ________.
| A．encourage young people to take the right road | B．help the old man to pick up his confidence |
| C．describe the old man’s unsuccessful experience | D．show his compassion for the aged man |