Forty years ago, Finland was a small country with mediocre（普通）public schools. Today, Finland is still small but no one calls Finland’s public schools mediocre any more.
In 2000, the Finns surprised the world when their 15-year-olds scored at the top of a closely watched international exam called the PISA. Finland has stayed near the top ever since, while the U.S. scores around the middle.
Pasi Sahlberg, an official with Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture, is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland’s success, and what states like Washington can learn from it.
Sahlberg’s message, although he is too polite to put it so bluntly（坦率）: Stop testing so much, trust teachers more; give less homework; shorten the school day.
On Tuesday, in a room filled with teachers, principals, professors, school-board members and policy makers, Sahlberg joked about the Finns’ reputation（名声） for being a quiet, humble people. “When Finland hit the top of the PISA,” he said, “the biggest disbelievers were Finns.”
More seriously, Finland never set out to create the world’s top school system. Instead, he said, the country decided in the 1970s that it wanted to ensure that a student’s success didn’t depend on family background.
“Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools, rather than on competition. Rather than judging teachers and schools based on test scores,” he said, “Finland puts trust in its teachers and principals. Teachers develop the curriculum in Finland, and design their own tests. There are no national tests, except one at the end of high school.”
That’s just the start. Along with a shorter school day, Finnish students don’t even start school until they are 7 years old. Many primary schools have a policy against giving homework.
“But Finland,”he said,“succeeded in part by adopting ideas from the U.S. and other countries. And those countries, ”he said, “can learn from Finland, too.”
1.What might be the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
A. To introduce a Finnish official.
B. To compare the education systems of Finland and the US.
C. To share the story of Finland’s success in education.
D. To ask the US to improve its education.
2.People first learned Finland’s success in education from_____.
A. its students’ performance in an international exam.
B. its international exchange programs.
C. lectures given by Pasi Sahlberg.
D. its small-sized public schools.
3.Which of the following can contribute to Finland’s success in education?
a. Giving students fewer tests.
b. Giving teachers more trust.
c. Evaluating students’ family backgrounds.
d. Creating the world’s top school system.
e. Starting school late.
A. a,b,c B. c,d,e C. a,b,e D. b,c,d
4.What Pasi Sahlerg said in Paragraph 7 suggested that ______.
A. children should start school as early as possible.
B. competition among teachers might be harmful to education.
C. the US education system is still the most advanced.
D. it’s necessary to set up a national curriculum.
Sydney has a huge bus system. No buses accept cash, and a ticket needs to be bought ahead of time. The buses often run at busy hours and regularly during the day. The Sydney Explorer bus provides air-conditioned service and stops at 27 tourist attractions. Its partner, the Bondi Explorer, stops at 19 attractions. Tickets allow holders to jump on and off as they please, and they can be used for one or two days. It's an easy way to see the city and the surroundings.
Sydney's train service runs throughout the central city area and the surroundings. Tickets can be bought from machines that operate 24 hours a day or from ticket offices. The monorail(单轨火车)travels through central Sydney. It is the most excellent way to gain a good view of the whole city. The monorail runs every three to five minutes, and it takes 15 minutes to complete its journey.
Sydney is built around a harbor, and the Parramatta River has a large ferry(渡船)system. It serves the area around the harbor. These include Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbor, Rose Bay, the North Shore, Cockatoo Island and Sydney Olympic Park. The ferries have operated for more than 135 years and 14 million passengers take the ferries each year.
Water taxis can offer special services that some visitors enjoy, such as transporting passengers to specific locations, offering guided tours of waterways and so on. The tickets sell for 20 Australian dollars for a day or 57 Australian dollars for a week. It is strange，isn’t it?
1.What should people take when getting on the bus in Sydney?
A. Cash B. Tickets C. Change D. Bank cards
2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means that passengers________.
A. can stop the bus at any time
B. can visit the city at night
C. should buy two tickets to get on and off the bus
D. can get on and off the bus many times with a ticket
3.Which of the following is the best way to view the whole Sydney?
A. By monorail B. By bus
C. By train D. By ferry
4.Compared with the ferry，what is the advantage of water taxi?
A. It is much faster.
B. It is much cheaper.
C. It can reach more places.
D. It can provide special services.
Are there any foreigners in your city? How do you address(称呼) them in English when you want to talk to these foreigners? The following may be some simple rules the beginners should follow.
1. When talking to strangers there is often no special form of address in English. In most cases, if you want to catch the attention of a stranger， it is necessary to use such phrases as “Excuse me”.
2. In British English “Sir” and “Madam” are considered to be too formal for most situations. They are used mostly to customers in shops or restaurants. While in American English “Sir” and “Madam” are not so formal and are commonly used between strangers, especially with older people whose names you don’t know.
3. When you talk to some people you know, you can use their names directly. If you are friends, use their first names; if your relationship is more formal, use “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, “Ms.”, etc, before their family names.
4. There are many other forms of address which can be used between friends and strangers. However, many of these are limited in use. For example, “pal” and “mate” can be used between strangers, but are usually only used by men talking to other men.
If you meet foreigners, do remember not to address them in wrong ways.
1.According to the passage, “Excuse me” is mainly used to _______.
A. address a friend B. apologize to others
C. catch the attention of a stranger D. suggest good manners
2.If John Smith is your best friend, according to the passage you should often call him______.
A. John B. Smith C. Mr. John D. Mr. Smith
3.What is the title of this passage?
A. Foreigners in Your City
B. How to Introduce Others
C. Politeness Education
D. How to Address Foreigners
书面表达
假设你是李华。上个月你从某国外网店订购了一件衬衫、一件外套和一条裤子。收到货后，你发现衬衫不是你要的尺码而且少了一粒纽扣，外套上有个小洞，裤子不是你要的颜色。请给该网店客服写封投诉信，内容主要包括：
1. 出现的问题；
2. 你期望的解决方案；
3. 希望能尽快得到回复。
注意：
1. 词数100左右（开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数）；
3. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
参考词汇： button （纽扣） order （定货；定单） refund （退款）
Dear Sir\Madam,
I’m writing to make a complaint about
Yours,
Li Hua
短文改错
假如英语课上老师要求同学们交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，要求你在错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号( ＾), 并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
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、只允许修改十处, 多者(从第11处起) 不计分。
Last summer vacation, I went back to my hometown to visit my grandparent. They had several cows in their yard. One day, one of them were ill, but it didn’t want take any medicine. An animal doctor came and gave it an injection. After a while, and it seemed to be better, so I decided to feed it anything. I fed it carrots, which were cutting into small pieces. I also fed it milk powder with pills in them, just as a doctor told me. Although looking after an ill cow was a tired job, I felt a sense of achievement as it begins to recover.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Alice: Do you think that I’m 1.____(fat) than before?
Bruce: Hmmm a little bit. Are you 2. _____ (annoy) about that?
Alice: Yes, of course. I don’t like being fat you know! I must go on a diet.
Bruce: 3. ______ mind. As long as you’re healthy, I think it’s okay. You are suitable for you height.
Alice: But I think I’m a little overweight. I desire 4..____ (lose) some weight.
Bruce: So, what kinds of food do you avoid 5. _____ (eat)?
Alice: That’s the problem. I have 6. ___ affection for cooking with coconut milk (椰子汁) and also fried food. As far as I know, coconut milk contains saturated (饱和的) fatty acid , 7. ____ might increase my weight.
Bruce: Ha ha --- yes! Cooking with coconut milk gives a better taste, but it isn’t 8.____ (benefit) to your health if you eat too much of it. How about boiled or steamed food?
Alice: Well, --- I don’t really like them. It would be hard for me to eat food cooked that way. But no pain, no gain. So I must try my best to control 9. ____ (I) from now on.
Bruce: You could also set 10._____a few minutes each day to do some exercise to lose weight as well .
Alice: That’s true.
