In a recent announcement, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）said that they have joined forces to offer free online courses in an effort to attract millions of online learners worldwide.
Beginning this fall, a number of courses developed by teachers at both universities will be offered online through a new $60 million program, known as edX. “Anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can use our online courses,” Harvard President Drew Faust said during a meeting to announce the plan.
MIT has offered a program called OpenCourseWare for ten years that makes materials from more than 2,000 classes free online. It has been used by more than 100 million people. In December, the school announced it also would begin offering a special certificate, known as MITx, for people who complete certain online courses. Harvard has long offered courses to a wider population through a similar program.
The MITx will serve as the foundation for the new learning platform.
MIT President Susan Hockfield said more than 120,000 people signed up for the first MITx course. She said Harvard and MIT hope other universities will join them in offering courses on the open-source edX platform.
“Fasten your seatbelts,” Hockfield said.
Other universities, including Stanford, Yale and Carnegie-Mellon, have been experimenting with teaching to a global population online.
The Harvard-MIT program will be monitored by a not-for-profit（非盈利的）organization based in Cambridge, to be owned equally by the two universities. Both MIT and Harvard have provided $30 million to start the program. They also plan to use the edX platform to research how students learn and which teaching methods and tools are most successful.
1.According to this text, edX is _______.
A.a part of the free MIT OpenCourseWare
B.a free computer program by MIT and Harvard
C.a Harvard-MIT platform of free online courses
D.a free program online for universities worldwide
2.What is said about online education in the text?
A.Universities have been trying online courses.
B.About 2,000 online courses have been offered.
C.Over 100 million people have finished courses online.
D.Stanford and Yale together have courses similar to edX.
3.The underlined part in the text probably means “ ”.
A.Get ready for the difficulties
B.Get ready for this educational change
C.Get prepared to complete the online courses
D.Get prepared to make materials for the edX courses
4.What can be said about MITx according to the text?
A.It is first offered as part of the edX learning program.
B.It is another free MIT-Harvard online learning program.
C.It is a standard to recognize online learners’ achievement.
D.It is a new kind of free online course of Harvard and MIT.
Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.
In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, king of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.
Though the belief in the merit(优点) of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War II. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea: clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?
Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家), encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.
1.The kings of France and England in the 16th century closed bath houses because .
A. they lived healthily in a dirty environment
B. they thought bath houses were too dirty to stay in
C. they considered bathing as cause of skin disease
D. They believed disease could be spread in public baths
2.Which of the following best describes Henry IV’s attitude to bathing?
A. Curious B. Afraid C. Approving D. Uninterested
3.How does the passage mainly develop?
A. By following the order of time. B. By making comparison.
C. By providing examples D. By following the order of importance.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passages?
A. To call attention to the danger of dirt.
B. To introduce the history of dirt.
C. To present the change of views on dirt.
D. To stress the role of dirt.
Shelton Murray has been playing the didgeridoo(迪吉里杜管乐器) since he was five years old. Now 22, the musician will be travelling to the United States with the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the first time.
Mr. Murray comes from an Aboriginal (土著的) community and said his love of the didgeridoo had grown out of his culture. He was taught by his father Lazarus Murray from a young age, but said he was also inspired by his grandfather Peter Apaak Jupurrula Miller. ''My father learnt from David Blanasi. Then he taught me what he learnt from David,'' he said.
As the youngest member of a Tiwi Islander band called B2M (Bathurst to Melville) in the Northern Territory, Mr. Murray played the didgeridoo for the opening act of the Tina Arena Darwin concert in 2014. Now his didgeridoo skills have caught the attention of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, where he was invited to perform in the show The Reef Revisited, which will be touring the US next week.
''It's exciting for me to be travelling over to America, '' he said. Mr. Murray said there were challenges for young Aboriginal artists to break into the industry but said it is all about having the right attitude.
Richard Tognetti, artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, said the team was excited to have Mr. Murray join the 25 - person orchestra. ''He's bringing a really traditional approach. We respect the sound that he brings into the orchestra. We're used to the sound of a didgeridoo but playing it in LA, New York and Richmond Virginia will be interesting for the audience,'' he said.
Another member of the orchestra, Aboriginal musician Steve Pigram, said he was proud of Mr. Murray's achievement at such a young age. ''He's coming through that thing of performing in a reggae (popular music in the West Indies) rock band, same as what I did. But he's got to this kind of level a little quicker. Well it's taken me 40 years, '' he said.
1.How did Murray learn to play the didgeridoo?
A.He taught himself. B.He learned from his grandfather.
C.He drew inspiration from David. D.He followed his father' s instructions.
2.What do we know about B2M?
A.It's a popular local band. B.Its members are all very young.
C.Its tour around the US will come soon. D.It's a band in the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
3.What did Richard Tognetti think of Murray?
A.He needed to get along with the orchestra members.
B.He would play a valuable part in the orchestra.
C.He would face lots of challenges in the US.
D.He needed to learn traditional approaches.
4.What do Steve Pigram and Murray have in common?
A.They became famous at a young age. B.They have played in a rock band.
C.They came from the same city. D.They are of the same age.
假定你是李华，你校将举办音乐节。请写封邮件邀请你的英国朋友Mike参加。
内容包括：
1. 时间；
2. 活动安排；
3. 欢迎他表演节目。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mike,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
As a saying go, “Pressure is another form of motive power”. However, many people can’t deal with pressure in an appropriate way so they become more anxiously. Seriously, it may cause many terrible personal problem. But how can you deal with pressure? To begin with, anybody has pressure, but you should accept the pressure. If you are in deep pressure, you can distract your attention by doing some interested things, like running,crafting or listening to music. Secondly, you should talk to family members and friends to reducing the stress, maybe they can give you some practical advice. Thirdly, you are need to learn how to self-adjust, that is the most effective way to help yourself. In word, pressure is an inevitable part of your life. You are supposed to make the most of it to promote ourselves.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The Chinese New Year red envelope (红包) is one of 1. most popular Chinese traditions for children on the Chinese New Year. They receive red envelopes with money inside! Little kids 2. (usual) learn the words “hong bao” in Mandarin (普通话) very quickly.
The red color 3. (stand) for good luck for the Chinese. Traditionally the envelopes are decorated with gold letters and messages of 4. (happy) or Chinese lucky symbols like the Chinese dragon, the phoenix, etc. Nowadays, in 5. (keep) up with the times, you can find anything from Mickey Mouse to Hello Kitty on the red envelopes.
Generally, kids 6. are unmarried all get red envelopes during the Chinese New Year from their grandparents, uncles, aunts and parents of course. Close 7. (friend ) also give red envelopes to children during the festival. Who gives money and how much money 8. (give) mainly depend on the personal relationship and the age of the kids. And 9. is quite common for an adult 10. (receive) a kid’s greeting for a red envelope during the Chinese New Year.
