ELMONT, N. Y. (AP)---Elmont High School senior Harold Ekeh had a plan—he would apply to 13 colleges , including all eight Ivy League schools, figuring it would help his chances of getting into at least one great school.
It worked, And then some, The teenager from Long Island was accepted at all 13 schools, and now faces his next big test: deciding where to go.
“I was stunned, I was really shocked, ”Ekeh told The Associated Press during an interview Tuesday at his home near the Belmont Park racetrack, his four younger brothers running around.
He found out last week he had been accepted to Princeton University. That made him eight for eight in the Ivy League—he had already been accepted to Yale University , Brown University, Columbia University , Cornell University , Dartmouth College, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. His other acceptances came from Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Stony Brook University and Vanderbilt University.
“We are so proud of him, ” said his mother , Roseline Ekeh.“Hard work, dedication, prayer brought him to where he is today. ”
Born in Nigeria, Harold was eight years old when his parents brought the family to the United States.
“It was kind of difficult adjusting to the new environment and the new culture, ” he said. But he saw his parents working hard, “and I took their example and decides to apply myself”
He referenced that effort in his college essay, writing, “Like a tree, uprooted and replanted, I could have withered in a new country surrounded by people and languages I did not understand. Yet, I witnessed my parents persevere despite the potential to give in. I faced my challenges with newfound zeal; I risked insults, spending my break talking to unfamiliar faces, ignoring their sarcastic remarks. ”
Harold “is tremendously focused in everything he does.” said John Capozzi, the school’s principal, “He’s a great role model. All the students and faculty are so proud of him. ”
Harold is the second Long Island student in as many years to get into all eight Ivies. Last year, William Floyd High School’s Kwasi Enim chose to go to Yale.
Harold, who has a 100. 51 grade-point average and wants to be a neurosurgeon, said he was leaning toward Yale, and had heard from Enin, offering congratulations. Like Enin, he’s likely to announce his college choice at a press conference later this month. The deadline to decide is May 1.
1.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined phrase“apply myself”?
A. Word hard. B. Write to the college.
C. Make a formal request. D. Make an adjustment.
2.Which of the following is true about Harold?
A. He was born into a Nigerian family in the US.
B. He planted a tree once he moved to the US,
C. He was always welcome and popular in his schools.
D. He paid a lot to make his way to offeres from all Ivies.
3.Harold is probably going to
A. Harvard B. Princeton C. Yale D. MIT
4.What can we infer from this passage?
A. Too many cooks spoil the soup.
B. He who laughs last laughs best.
C. One can kill two birds with one stone.
D. Chance favors only the prepared mind.
Knots are the kind of stuff that even myths are made of.In the Greek legend of the Gordian knot, for example, Alexander the Great used his sword to slice through a knot that had failed all previous attempts to unite it. Knots, enjoy a long history of tales and fanciful names such as “Englishman’s tie, ” “and “cat’s paw. ” Knots became the subject of serious scientific investigation when in the 1860s the English physicist William Thomson (known today as Lord Kelvin) proposed that atoms were in fact knotted tubes of ether（醚）. In order to be able to develop the equivalent of a periodic table of the elements, Thomson had to be able to classify knots — find out which different knots were possible. This sparked a great interest in the mathematical theory of knots.
A mathematical knot looks very much like a familiar knot in a string, only with the string’s ends joined. In Thomson’s theory, knots could, in principle at least, model atoms of increasing complexity, such as the hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms, respectively. For knots to be truly useful in a mathematical theory, however, mathematicians searched for some precise way of proving that what appeared to be different knots were really different — the couldn’t be transformed one into the other by some simple manipulation（操作）. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Scottish mathematician Peter Guthrie Tait and the University of Nebraska professor Charles Newton Little published complete tables of knots with up to ten crossings. Unfortunately, by the time that this heroic effort was completed, Kelvin’s theory had already been totally discarded as a model for atomic structure. Nevertheless, even without any other application in sight, the mathematical interest in knot theory continued at that point for its own sake. In fact, mathematical became even more fascinated by knots. The only difference was that, as the British mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah has put it, “the study of knots became a special branch of pure mathematics. ”
Two major breakthroughs in knot theory occurred in 1928 and in 1984. In 1928, the American mathematician James Waddell Alexander discovered an algebraic expression that uses the arrangement of crossings to label the knot. For example, t2-t+1 or t2-3t+1, or else. Decades of work in the theory of knots finally produced the second breakthrough in 1984. The New Zealander-American mathematician Vaughan Jones noticed an unexpected relation between knots and another abstract branch of mathematics, which led to the discovery of a more sensitive invariant known as the Jones polynomial.
1.What is surprising about knots?
A. They originated from ancient Greek legend.
B. The study of knots is a branch of mathematics.
C. Knots led to the discovery of atom structure.
D. Alexander the Great made knots well known.
2.What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. No other application found except tables of knots.
B. The study of knots meeting a seemingly dead end.
C. Few scientist showing interest in knots.
D. The publication of complete tables of knots.
3.According to the passage, ______ shows the most updated study about knots.
A. t2-t+1 B. t2-3t+1
C. Alexander polynomial D. Jones polynomial
4.Which one would be the best title for this passage?
A. Mathematicians VS Physicians
B. To be or Knot to be
C. Knot or Atom
D. Knot VS Mathematics
Obviously!
Until Descartes came along in the seventeenth century, everyone assumed that we exited. Obviously. The fact seemed so mind-blowing obvious that it wasn’t really discussed. We could see ourselves in the mirror, we could feel pain and pleasure, we could think thoughts for ourselves and, more importantly, perhaps, all the world’s main religions assumed that we do exist. So we exist.
No you don’t it!
You don’t exist. That’s because it’s impossible to show once and for all that you do. There’s no proof. You might think you exist-that you are sitting at a table reading this book, for instance-but how could you show with 100 percent certainty that this is true? There’s no experiment that could prove it. Although Descartes said just you could prove your own existence by the fact that you are able to think, this isn’t actually, according to the British philosopher A. J. Ayer. Just because we know that we are thinking, this doesn’t mean that there is a “you” doing the thinking. It just shows that the thoughts are happening, not that anyone is having them. Thoughts exists, “You” don’t.
_____________!
What a waste of time this question is. Although you can argue until the end of time whether you exist or not, it doesn’t get you anywhere. Unless you forget about this unanswerable question, you’ll be stuck thinking about it forever, and that isn’t of any use to anyone. Move on. Think about something more important! This very roughly, is the view of almost all philosophers, who prefer to answer other, apparently more useful, questions.
Yes, but…
You exist, but not in the way you might think. According to the great French philosopher Ren Descartes, you can’t show that anything exists—apart from your own self. The existence of the entire world can be doubted in one way or another, but the facts you’re having thoughts shows that there might be something (that’s you) having them. This let Descartes to write the famous philosophical phrase, “ I think before I am”.
1.Which of the following can be the missing heading?
A. Forget about it B. What a ridiculous point
C. Think about it D. What a pointless question
2.This passage is anything but a(n)___________.
A. comment B. discussion
C. argument D. debate
3.The famous answer to the question “Do I exist?” is ___________.
A. No, you don’t exist.
B. I think, therefore, I am.
C. Yes, you do exist.
D. It won’t get you anywhere
Dear Applicant, A We regret to inform you that your application to the stated establishment cannot be processed at this time due to the fact that it does not exist. After consultation with out mythical advisors we have also determined that even if it didn’t exist, the course “wandology” would be highly in demand and hence require at least two As and a B in any of the following subjects: Advanced Spellcrafting Mystimatics Defence Against The Dark Arts History of the Occult Shaft Design Your hand written grade sheet claiming top marks in “waving a stick about”, “ waving a pointy hat” and “watching Paul Daniels TV specials” sadly is not suitable for submission, however by applying through clearing you may be suitable of Liberal Arts courses. Alternatively you may wish to resubmit next year by tying your letter to an owl and hoping for the best. On behalf of UCAS I wish you every success.
Yours sincerely,
XXX |
Dear Duke University Admissions, B Thank you for your rejection letter of March 26, 2015. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me admission into the Fall 2015 freshman class at Duke. This year I have been fortunate enough to receive rejection letters from the best and the brightest universities in the country. With a pool of letters so diverse and accomplished I was unable to accept the rejection letters I would have been able to only several years ago. Therefore, I will be attending Duke University's 2015 Class. I look forward to seeing you then. Best, Siobhan O'Dell |
Dear Siobhan, C I understand how disappointed you are that we were unable to offer you a space in our incoming class, I want to be honest with you and let you know that it’s very rare that we learn something that leads us to change our decision, in the last ten years we’ve about 500 requests for a review… and changed the decision four times Wish you all the best~ XXX |
1.Of the three letters, which is in response to which?
A. A---B B. C---B C. C---A D. B----C
2.Chances for Duke University to change its admission decision in history were_______.
A. none B. big C. slim D. hard to tell
3.What makes it impossible for the applicant to resubmit an application next year?
A. Tying the letter to an owl and send it to UCAS
B. Printing out grade sheet
C. Applying for the Liberal Arts course as an option
D. Improving his scores
4.What can we infer form the letter about college application?
A. It is disappointing for sure.
B. Rejection letters are better written than offers.
C. It is no as fun as on imagines.
D. There could be extra work beyond normal procedure.
完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。
The opening and closing of doors are the most significant actions of man’s life. What a lies in doors!
No man knows what awaits him when he opens a door. the most familiar room, where the clock ticks and the hearth glows red at dusk may harbor .The worker may actually have called and the leaking pipe. The cook may have been ill and demanded her passport.
There are many kinds of doors. Revolving doors for hotels, shops and public buildings. There are many the busy, bustling ways of modern life. Can you William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens skipping through a door? There are double doors, sliding doors, stage doors and glass doors. The and mystery of a door lies in its quality of being hidden. A glass door is not a door at all, but a window. The meaning of a door is to what lies inside; to keep the heart in suspense.
Also, there are many ways of opening doors. There is the cheery of elbow with which the waiter opens the kitchen door. There is the sympathetic and awful of the dentist’s maid who opens the door into the operating room and, without speaking, that the doctor is ready for you.
The opening of doors has in it some flavor of the , some sense of moving into a new moment. Even in , the opening of a door may bring relief. But the closing of doors could be , A door closed brings to an end. And there are degrees of sadness in the closing of doors. A door slammed is a confession of weakness. A door shut may often be the most tragic gesture in life.
The opening and closing of doors is a part of the serious fluency of life. Life will not stay and let us alone. We are opening doors with hope, closing them with despair. Life not much longer than a pipe of tobacco, and destiny knocks us out like the ashes.
1.A. mystery B. relief C. scenery D. pleasure
2.A. So B. Still C. Even D. Also
3.A. wishes B. puzzles C. surprises D. changes
4.A. checked B. fixed C. wrapped D. removed
5.A. essential to B. different from C. consistent with D. typical of
6.A. imagine B. suggest C. catch D. notice
7.A. stage B. sliding C. glass D. revolving
8.A. symbol B. miracle C. sign D. mark
9.A. busy B. hide C. discover D. exhibit
10.A. knock B. bump C. push D. touch
11.A. silence B. noise C. voice D. peace
12.A.announce B. admits C. implies D. expects
13.A. darkness B. certainty C. possibility D. unknown
14.A.vain B. hope C. sadness D. happiness
15.A.easy B. terrible C. dull D. interesting
16.A. nothing B. everything C. anything D. something
17.A. heavily B. hurriedly C. gently D. firmly
18.A.still B. calm C. silent D. simple
19.A.naturally B. continually C. obviously D. possibly
20.A.measures B. matches C. reaches D. lasts
He started school the same day as I did and ________ to it like a duck to water.
A. appealed B. took C. catered D. saw
