Entering a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine or education. 1.. An important one started in Egypt over one thousand years ago.
The world’s oldest surviving university, AL-Azhar, is in Cario, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque for religion (宗教寺院) in A.D.972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque. They read and talked about the subject of religion and law. 2.. Leaders in the city of Cario decided to create a school for higher learning and soon after that, and AL-Azhar University was founded.
3.. For these teachers at AL-Azhar, they needed to think about what courses to teach and how to teach them. The earliest courses were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teachers, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers had interesting discussions, and there was no ‘right’ answer. In the years that followed, the new university interested scholars from around the world. 4.. At AL-Azhar, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.
Over a thousand years later, AL-Azhar is still an important university in the world. 5.. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the same traditions as they do at AL-Azhar.
A. However, the university is not a modern invention.
B. There are many reasons to study in Egypt.
C. They came here to teach and do research.
D. Around the year 988, a new decision was made.
E. Its library contains many of the world’s oldest and most valuable books.
F. The cost of university education is increasing year by year.
G. A university was a new idea at that time.
NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce ,or possibly erase(抹去),the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
"Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
1.The passage is mainly about ___________.
A.a new medical invention
B.a new research on the pill
C.a way of erasing painful memories
D.an argument about the research on the pill
2.The drug tested on people can ___________ .
A.cause the brain to fix memories
B.stop people remembering bad experiences
C.prevent body producing certain chemicals
D.Wipe out the emotional effects of memories
3.We can infer from the passage that ___________.
A.people doubt the effects of the pills
B.the pill will stop people's bad experiences
C.taking the pill will do harm to people's health
D.the pill has probably been produced in America
4.Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with?
A.Some memories can ruin people's lives.
B.People want to get rid of bad memories.
C.Experiencing bad events makes us different from others.
D.The pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories.
One advantage of the Internet is shopping conveniently online for clothes; one disadvantage of the Internet is also shopping conveniently online for clothes.
“Nothing fits,” said Lam Yuk Wong, a senior in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. “Everyone says this. They order clothes and they don’t fit. People get very unhappy.”
Wong and her design partner, Xuaner “Cecilia” Zhang, are Team White Mirror, creators of what they call a “virtual (虚拟) fitting room”. Their goal is simple and consumer-friendly: to let online clothing shoppers have a perfect fit and a perfect look when shopping every time.
Both women are from China, Wong from Hong Kong and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experience as consumers and from listening to the complaints of friends and relatives. “They say, ‘The color is wrong’ or ‘I got the right size but it still does not fit.’ We want to make it like you’re in the store trying on the clothes,” Zhang said.
Using a Kinect developed by Microsoft for use with its Xbox 360 video game player,
Zhang scans Wong and turns her image into, in effect, a virtual model, keeping Wong’s dimensions (尺寸), and even her skin and hair color. “We put the clothes on the shopper’s 3-D body models and show how they look when they are dressed,” Wong said. So far, Wong and Zhang have adapted the software to show dresses and shirts, and they are now working on shorts.
Asked if she thought men as well as women might be interested in using their virtual fitting room, Wong said, “I think their wives will care about this, so it will also be important to men.”
1.Why is shopping conveniently online for clothes a disadvantage?
A.Clothes bought online may not fit.
B.Students may easily get addicted to it.
C.It attracts more online clothing shoppers.
D.It causes shoppers to waste too much money.
2.Wong and Zhang got the idea to design a virtual fitting room from .
A.the Xbox 360 video game player B.a program at their university
C.some shop-owners’ complaints D.their shopping experiences
3.Which of the following shows the process of using the virtual fitting room?
A.scanning—trying on clothes—getting images
B.trying on clothes—getting models—scanning
C.scanning—getting models—trying on clothes
D.trying on clothes—getting images—scanning
4.What did Wong think of her virtual fitting room?
A.It is perfectly developed.
B.It will have its market share.
C.It is limited to women shoppers.
D.It is like a kind of video game player.
The forest in Senegal, a country in western Africa, is full of the chimps’ usual noises. Suddenly dogs bark. Larger male chimps drop from the trees to face the threat while the others climb to safety. Then the dogs’ young human masters appear.
One mother chimp with a tiny baby tries to run. The dogs attack and separate them. The two teenage boys quickly catch the baby chimp. But they don’t act out of sympathy --- they save the baby so they can sell it.
After the teenagers return to their hometown, they visit a man who is said to be very interested in chimps. When they ask the man, Johnny Kante, if he wants to buy the baby, he replies, “That’s not what we do.” Kante is a member of a scientific team. Although Kante is angry with the teens for capturing the chimp, he hides his anger and persuades them to take him to the baby chimp.
Unsure of what to do next upon seeing the chimp, Kante calls Jill Pruetz, the head of the chimp research team. “I’m really worried,” says Pruetz, doubtful that the mother is still alive. But knowing that wild chimps sometimes adopt orphans（孤儿）， Kante and pruetz decide they must try to return the baby chimp to its wild community.
Kante pays another visit to the teenagers. After he explains how much trouble they are in, because chimps are an endangered species, he requests they should give him the frightened baby without payment. They agree. Kante takes the baby chimp to his home and feeds her milk from a bottle whenever she cries.
The next morning, Pruetz and Kante leave the baby with another team member and begin their search for the wild chimps. Pruetz quickly finds the group in the woods. She recognizes the female that is without her child.
Pruetz is so excited that she runs the entire mile back to bring the baby chimp to the tree where the chimps are hanging out. The researchers place the baby on the ground near the tree and back away. Almost immediately, a male chimp drops to the ground and stares at the baby curiously. He carries her back to where the mother is waiting.
Pruetz still can’t believe how fortunate they were to have reunited the mother and child. “Surprising is the only word I can think of,” she says.
1.The dogs’ master visit Johnny Kante to ______________.
A.sell the baby chimp
B.ask him to take care of the baby chimp
C.wash the baby chimp’s wound
D.ask him to return the baby chimp to its wild community
2.When Kante sees the little chimp the first time, he’s __________.
A.a bit at a loss B.excited
C.angry D.clear about how to save her
3.It can be learned from the passage that ___________.
A.Kante feeds the baby chimp carefully in the lab
B.larger male chimps protect other chimps when there are dangers
C.the teenagers get some money after setting the baby chimp free
D.Pruetz and Kante take the baby chimp with them to search for the wild chimps.
4.What is the main idea of the passage? ________
A.How precious chimps are.
B.An adult chimp’s deep love for her baby.
C.The dangers the wild chimps are facing.
D.How caring people reunite a baby chimp with her mother.
Read the advertisements, and then choose the best answers.
Driver Wanted
1. Clean driving license 2 Must be of smart appearance. 3 Aged over 25.
Apply to：Capes Taxis, 17 Palace Road, Boston
Air Hostesses for International Flight Wanted
1. Applicants must be between 20 and 33 years old.
2. Height 1.6m to 1.75m. 3. Education to GCSE standard.
4 Two languages. Must be able to swim.
Apply to: Recruitment office, Southern Airlines, Heathrow Airport West HR37KK
Teachers Needed
For private language school. Teaching experience unnecessary.
Apply to: The Director of Studies, Instant Language Ltd, 279 Canal Street
1.What prevents Jack, an experienced taxi driver, working for Capes Taxis?
A.Fond of beer and wine.
B.Punished for speeding and wrong parking
C.Unable to speak a foreign language.
D.Not having college education.
2.Ben, aged 22, fond of swimming and driving, has just graduated from a college and can speak two foreign languages. Which job might be given to him?
A.None of the three jobs mentioned above.
B.Working for Southern Airlines.
C.Driving for Capes Taxis.
D.Teaching at Instant Language Ltd.
3.If Mary wants to work for Southern Airlines, she must _____.
A.be over 25 years old
B.look smart and beautiful
C.speak another language besides her own
D.have some similar working experience
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
It was the first day of our new grade. Everyone in the classroom was chatting happily, excited to see each other again after the long holidays. When the door slid open, all of us stopped talking and turned to look. In came our teacher Ms. Sullivan, followed by an ordinary-looking boy,
“This boy’s name is Rafael.” Ms. Sullivan announced. “He’s a transfer student (转校生), and he’s going to be in our class starting from today. Make sure all of you welcome him warmly.”
The class clapped. But I didn't want to have a second look at the newcomer, for he had no outstanding qualities considering his small figure and casual T-shirt.
“Oh, I forgot to mention one thing.” Ms. Sullivan spoke up. “Rafael actually has hearing problems. Normally he would have hearing aids on, but his old ones have just been broken.
His doctor suggested that he stay at home until he got his new ones. However, Rafael insisted on attending his first day of school. So if you want to communicate with him, you have to write it on a piece of paper.”
This single speech sent the whole class up into an uproar (嘈杂). Some students looked at each other with expressions of surprise. Others voiced cries of concern out of pity.
Ms. Sullivan calmed everyone down. “I’d like someone to personally help him out throughout the day. Do I have any volunteers?”
“How can a disabled person be intelligent?” I thought to myself. I refused to raise my hand, expecting someone else would. But nobody did or said anything. Dead silence spread across the classroom.
It was by total bad luck that my eyes happened to meet Ms. Sullivan's.
“How about you, James?” She asked me. “Is it okay for you to take care of Rafael just for today?”
It is difficult to refuse a request by someone, especially if that person is a teacher. I sighed and nodded slightly. Ms. Sullivan gestured for Rafael to sit beside me and then asked us to share our holiday stories with the class.
Paragraph 1:
Immediately, the class became excited.
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Paragraph 2:
Then Rafael rose and walked onto the platform.
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