The terrible college entrance exam is not only a big challenge (挑战) for Chinese high school students, but also a very important exam in the lives of South Korean students.
Although the long, cold winter has already started in South Korea, the annual (一年一度的) national exams have made the atmosphere very heated.
More than 675,000 South Korean high school graduates took the college entrance exam last Wednesday. They usually take exams in Korean, maths, sociology (社会学), history and foreign languages.
Officially there is one college place for every 1.33 students. But because all the students want to go to the top universities in the country, the competition can reach one place for 10 students. The students want to attend these colleges for both their famous names and better job opportunities.
Because students face fierce competition, they have to study very hard to realize their dreams. Park Seung said he and his classmates often go to school before 7:30 a.m. After school has finished at 6:30 p.m., most of them go to the library to continue their study instead of returning home. Since many libraries in South Korea are open 24 hours a day, they often stay long into the night. Many of the Senior 3 students only sleep for three to four hours a day. “I feel a lot of pressure, but I have to study very hard in order to make my dream come true. This is my lifetime goal and it will be a turning point in my life which could decide my future,” Park said.
The exam day is a very serious day for the whole of South Korea. Vehicles are not allowed within a 200-metre radius (范围) of all the test sites to make sure the students have quiet surroundings. Tooting (吹奏) of horns is forbidden, even airplanes are ordered to avoid landing and take-off near the test sites during listening comprehension test hours.
Students are told their scores in December before they apply for college. This is followed by face-to-face oral tests. There are public and private universities in South Korea. Many private universities are well-known, but their fees can be 18, 000 yuan each term. This has made a lot of students think again.
1.We can infer that there are almost ________ college places for high school graduates.
A. 675, 000 B. 507, 520 C. 500, 000 D. 600, 000
2.The students want to study in top colleges mainly because ________.
A. they can succeed more easily in future B. they can learn more
C. they can make more money D. it is interesting to study there
3.Before students are allowed to colleges ________.
A. they will be interviewed B. they will ask questions of colleges
C. they will not be tested any more D. first they will pay all the education fee at all
Air quality in Shanghai worsened last week compared with the previous week, according to the latest report from the Shanghai Environment Monitoring Centre.
The average air pollution index (API) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) remain almost unchanged from the previous week, but the APIs for nitrogen oxide (NOx) and total suspended (悬浮) particles (TSP) rose by 35 and 27 percent. The overall quality still belonged to class 2 category. Nitrogen oxide, caused mainly by vehicle exhaust and burning of cooking gas, was still the major pollutant of the week.
The Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre operates six automatic air monitors in the city’s Putuo, Yangpu, Luwan, Hongkou, Jing’an and Xuhui districts.
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0 12 13 14 15 16 17 18(October)
0-50: excellent 51-100: good 101-200: slight pollution
201-300: medium pollution 301-400: heavy pollution
1.Judging from the chart, on which day was the air quality the worst?
A. October 13. B. October 14. C. October 17. D. October 18.
2.Which of the following can be used to describe the air quality of the week?
A. GoodB. Seriously polluted. C. Excellent. D. Slightly polluted.
3.Six automatic air monitors are operated in the city except ________.
A. Putuo District B. Xuhui District C. Chang’an District D. Hongkou District
4.In Shanghai, nitrogen oxide mainly comes from ________.
A. the burning natural gasB. the burning cooking gas
C. the burning coal D. dust raised by vehicles
Sometimes life gets a little dull. What used to be fun and different becomes boring. That is the time to look for something new. It is the time for a big idea to get your mind off everyday life. So why not search for extraterrestrial (地球外的) intelligence? Or even better, why not get your computer to do it for you?
Over two million people have joined the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence（SETI）project. Based in California, the SETI project analyzes information taken from a giant radio telescope based in South America. Its task is to look for signals from outer space that might prove that life exists on other planets.
Processing this information is far too big a job for one computer. So the SETI project workers divide the work among volunteers who visit their website. Each computer gets some information to work out from the SETI network through the Internet. This process is often known as “meta-computing”.
It is a wonderful thought. You are sleeping, eating a meal or going out with friends. All this time, your computer is searching the stars for signs that might show something is out there trying to get in touch. Volunteers are proud of being involved in the SETI project. It shows that they understand the potential (潜能) of computing. They know that it is more than just a way of working or playing games.
Meta-computing may also be creating intelligence as well as looking for it. This idea is based on the theory that human intelligence is created by the way in which different parts of the brain communicate with each other. As the saying goes, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” People who join the SETI project sometimes wonder whether their computer will become part of a huge network that has learned to think for itself.
1.According to the writer, meta-computing may be creating intelligence .
A. because human beings are intelligent B. because a computer works as the brain does
C. because of a network of many computers D. because of the number of computers
2.Which of the following shows the order in which the SETI network works?
A. Radio telescope→SETI website→Volunteers’ computer→SETI base
B. Radio telescope→SETI base→SETI website→Volunteers’ computer
C. SETI base→SETI website→Volunteers’ computers→Radio telescope
D. SETI base→Radio telescope→SETI website→Volunteers’ computers
3.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to .
A. extra-terrestrial intelligence B. human intelligence
C. the SETI projectD. meta-computing
4.The passage mainly tells us about .
A. a new way to work on the computer
B. a new way to work and play games
C. a new way to search for life outside the earth
D. a new way to make life interesting and different
“I don’t want to write a story about girls! I don’t know anything about girls,” Louisa May Alcott told her publisher, Mr. Niles. But she was desperate for money. She seemed to be the only one in her family who could make any money. Niles had asked her to write about something she knew, instead of the romantic adventure stories she had been writing. “So I plod away,” Alcott wrote, “though I don’t enjoy this sort of thing.” It was 1867, and the horrible Civil War was over. Now Alcott could turn her energy to making money.
Alcott wrote a simple story of life in her family, their pillow fights on Saturday nights and the amateur (业余的) plays they performed. “Our experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it.” (“Good joke,” she wrote years later.) Her book described her days growing up with four sisters in a family that had no money. She sketched (勾画) a loving mother who took time to be interested in each child, and she told of the death of a beloved sister. She portrayed her family and friends in her book Little Women. Finally, in July of 1868, she finished writing. With a sigh and a headache, she sent off all 102 handwritten pages of her book.
Niles thought the book was dull, and so did Alcott. But when she received her copies of the book, Alcott thought it seemed better than expected. “Not a bit sensational,” she wrote, “but simple and true. We really lived most of it.” Niles asked some girls to read Little Women, and they loved it.
In three months, all the copies of Little Women had sold. It was already time to print more books! Niles thought he could sell three or four hundred more copies. “An honest publisher and a lucky author made a dull book into a golden egg for an ugly duckling,” Alcott wrote in 1885. Later, with a great sigh of relief, she was able to write, “Paid off all the debts! Now I feel that I could die in peace. If my head holds out, I’ll do all I once hoped to do.”
1.Which of the following would be used to describe Alcott’s book?
A. funny B. boring C. magic D. skillful
2.In which order did the following happen?
a. Alcott began writing Little Women b. Niles asked Alcott to write about girls
c. Alcott wrote romantic adventure stories d. Alcott performed plays with her sisters
e. Niles was not pleased with Alcott’s work.
A. a, b, e, d, c B. d, c, a, b, e C. c, b, e, d, a D. d, c, e, b, a
3.When she handed her first writing in, Niles was _________.
A. sure of her success B. happy about her work
C. unsatisfied with the work D. unpleased with the publisher
4.We learn from the story that, after Little Women sold out, _________.
A. Alcott wrote another book B. some girls started to read the book
C. Alcott paid off all her billsD. Niles published hundreds of books girls liked
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My bed is supposed to be the best part of my home — the place where I go to find 1and relaxation after a long, stressful day. So, lately, why do I get 2just looking at it? I can’t leave this problem unsolved to the next day, because I can’t get to 3in the first place: I am a victim of insomnia (失眠).
I’m not 4: studies show that more than one in three people worldwide 5insomnia. It takes different 6: some people can get to sleep on time, but 7much too early; others get a full-night’s sleep but still 8very tired when they wake up. And then there are people like me, ordinary insomniacs who toss and turn all 9, trying to fall asleep.
Insomnia is most commonly a side effect of depression, but it can 10be caused by many other ailments (小病痛). To find the 11, doctors first find out the cause by 12a “sleep diary,” in which you record your sleep habits. The diary may reveal (揭示) lifestyle patterns, 13an afternoon nap, which are causing your 14. Dr. Mark Dyken, a specialist in sleep disorders, writes that, “a good sleep diary can often 15the patients to ‘cure themselves.’”
A good night’s sleep is created during the day. 16in the beginning or middle of the day, and 17from caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes in the afternoon and evening. After dark, dim (使暗淡) the lights and try to 18stress. Our bodies like consistent (一贯的) patterns, so we should let 19know that it’s time to wind down.
If you can’t fall asleep, keep the lights 20. Try reading a book or listening to soft music. You’ll most likely be asleep.
1.A. courage B. knowledge C. decision D. energy
2.A. nervous B. comfortable C. calm D. satisfied
3.A. live B. rest C. sleep D. play
4.A. sad B. alone C. pleased D. afraid
5.A. suffers from B. benefits from C. quarrels about D. struggles for
6.A. ways B. effects C. results D. forms
7.A. get up B. wake up C. dream D. turn over
8.A. feel B. become C. prove D. look
9.A. evening B. day C. night D. time
10.A. still B. also C. even D. only
11.A. cause B. reason C. excuse D. cure
12.A. keeping B. discussing C. writing D. describing
13.A. as B. like C. for D. about
14.A. illness B. question C. problem D. worry
15.A. have B. allow C. let D. make
16.A. Sleep B. Work C. Read D. Exercise
17.A. stay away B. come out C. stay out D. make out
18.A. remember B. increase C. keep D. reduce
19.A. it B. that C. them D. this
20.A. bright B. low C. bad D. good
_______ about Lucy, the teacher called her parents to find out why she was so often absent from class.
A. Concerning B. Considering C. Concerned D. Considered
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