Bill Gates recently has predicted that online learning will make place-based colleges less significant, and five years from now, students will be able to find the best lectures in the world online. I applaud Mr. Gates. But what’s taking us so long?
As early as 1997, MIT(麻省理工) decided to post videos of all university lectures online, for free, for all people. But today, how many students have you met who mastered advanced mathematics or nuclear physics from an MIT online video? Unfortunately, the answer is not many. The problem is the poor quality of online education websites and the experience they provide to students. Those who go to the MIT website and watch courses online are surely very smart people, but it’s not like playing a video game such as World of Warcraft. Only the most ardent students, those who are highly motivated, will devote themselves to studying these boring online videos.
The real question is why we aren’t spending more to develop better online education platforms. Where is the Avatar of education? Think about this. The market for Hollywood films per year is worth around 30 billion USD. Education in the world is a trillion-dollar-a-year market, hundreds of times bigger than Hollywood movies. Yet the most expensive digital learning system ever built cost well under 100 million dollars.
Bill Gates’ prediction is going to happen. There is no doubt about it. But it will only happen when we create high level educational content and experiences that engage and excite more than has ever been possible in the real world.
1.What has Bill Gates forecast about online learning?
A. It will concentrate on physics lectures
B. It will completely replace real universities
C. It will help to make universities more successful
D. It will play an increasingly important role in education
2.What does the underlined word “ardent” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. Creative B. Enthusiastic
C. Well-behaved D. Experienced
3.According to the author, what is holding back the popularity of online learning?
A. The lack of lectures available online
B. The high cost of access to the websites
C. The low standard of educational websites
D. The competition with online computer games
4.Why does the author mention Hollywood?
A. To show that Hollywood produces many successful movies
B. To prove that education is more profitable than entertainment
C. To argue that movie directors should produce educational content
D. To urge that more money be spent developing educational websites
Back in the 1860s, a British scientist named Henry Walter Bates noticed something interesting in the animal world: a kind of butterfly, Common Mormon, can change the pattern on its wings so that it looks like another butterfly species, the Common Rose, which is poisonous for birds to eat.
Bates argued that animals develop this ability to protect themselves from being eaten. This theory had been widely accepted by scientists. But one question remains: how do these animals manage to do that?
After more than 150 years, scientists are finally able to answer that question-it is all down to a gene(基因) called “doublesex", according to a study published on March 6 in the journal Nature.
In fact, scientists have long known that genes are responsible for this useful ability. But until the new study, scientists hadn't been able to find out which genes in particular were responsible.
Scientists at the University of Chicago compared the genetic structures of the Common Mormons that changed their wing patterns with those of ones that did not. And all the results pointed to a single gene, “doublesex”.
This was much to the scientists' surprise. They used to expect that something as complex as this would be controlled by many different genes. For example, one gene would control the color of the upper part of the wing, one would do so for the lower part.
However, the “doublesex” gene doesn't quite do everything by itself. Instead, it acts like a switch-it “tells” other genes to change the wing patterns. Isn't that clever?
Scientists believe that this special ability of the “doublesex” gene on Common Mormon was developed throughout the long history of evolution. “The harmless species gains an advantage by resembling something predators(捕食者) avoid,” Sean Carroll, a scientist told Nature. “it was obvious evidence for natural selection.”
1.How do scientists find the truth of butterfly changing wing patterns?
A. By doing experiment on butterflies
B. By comparing genetic structures
C. By observing the butterflies
D. By analyzing the result
2.Which of the following ideas is accepted by scientists?
A. The ”doublesex” gene does do everything by itself
B. The “doublesex” gene is poisonous
C. The “doublesex” gene “tells” other genes to change the wing patterns
D. The “doublesex” gene could only control the color of the upper part of the wing
3.What is the best title of this passage?
A. How Common Mormons stay safe
B. How Butterflies Changed Wings' Pattern
C. What American Scientists Discovered
D. What Genetic Structures of Butterflies Have
After four silent years, British singer Adele Adkins finally introduced herself to the world again with Hello, the opening song from her third album 25, which came out on Nov. 20, 2015.
Although Adele is a very successful singer now, music wasn’t always what she saw herself doing. At age 10, when she saw her grandmother’s pain over the death of Adele’s grandfather, she pictured herself as a heart surgeon.
“I wanted to fix people’s hearts,” she told the UK music website i-D, remembering the childhood interest she’d had in biology classes until she found out that her real talent was for singing.
“Adele didn’t go to medical school, but many would agree that she still has healing (治愈)powers. Her songs find the kind of memory every listener holds somewhere in their heart. This kind of feeling is what people have always liked in Adele,” said The Telegraph. “She writes a pop diary, sharing the simple secrets of her heart.”
Most successful pop stars make albums at a fast pace, but not Adele. After her second album 21 won the 2012 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, she made it clear with her label that she would spend “four or five years” making her next album. She told magazine. “I won’t come out with new music until it’s better than 21.”
Instead of seeking fame, Adele remained silent and moved to the countryside. In her free time, she loved to watch TV series Teen Mom, American Horror Story, and The Walking Dead.
Living life as normally as possible is important to the singer’s art. “Nobody wants to listen to a record from someone who’ s not living in the real world,” Adele told i-D.“So I live a low-key life for my fans.”
1.What does die text mainly tell us?
A. The popularity of Adele’s album 25
B. The healing powers of Adele’s music
C. The secrets of Adele’s success in music
D. TV reason Adele’s becoming a singer
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Adele wasn’t interested in music
B. Adele wasn’t good at music at first
C. Music wasn’t very important in Adele’s life
D. Music wasn’t all Adele wanted to be devoted to
3.Why doesn’t Adele want to make albums at a fast pace?
A. To live a low-key life
B. To win the Grammy Award
C. To guarantee the quality of her music
D. To share the secrets of her heart as a musician
4.What can we know about Adele?
A. Her album Hello will come out on Nov. 20
B. She has kept a diary since childhood
C. She moved to the countryside before 2012
D. Her works are based on real life
XXX: The Return of Xander Cage
Release date: January 20,2017
Starring: Vin Diesel, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev, Donnie Yen, Kris Wu
Rating: ★★★★
Plot: Xander Cage (Vin Diesel)is left for death after an incident, and then he secretly returns to action for a tough assignment designed for him.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons(妖魔) II
Release date: January 28,2017
Starring: Kris Wu, Kenny Lin, Yao Chen, Jelly Lin
Rating: ★★★★
Plot: The film is a sequel (续集)to the 2013 film, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, which was directed by Stephen Chow. Tang Sanzang (Kris Wu), along with his three disciples, sets out on the Journey to the West. Although they appear to be harmonious, in reality, they are plotting against each other. After a series of adventures where they capture demons, they start to understand one another’s pains and heart, and finally solve their internal conflicts, working together to become the most united demon-killing team.
Live by Night
Release date: January 13,2017
Starring: Ben Affleck, Scott Eastwood, Zoe Saldana, Elle Faning
Rating: ★★★
Plot: In the Prohibition Era, Joe Coughlin, the prodigal son of a Boston police captain, becomes a bootlegger and later, a notorious gangster(恶棍).
The Village of No Return
Release date: January 28,2017
Starring: Hsu chi, Wang Qianyuan, Hsiao-chuan Chang, Eric Tsang
Rating: ★★
Plot: In a beautiful and quiet village, an uninvited guest and mysterious treasure appear, making a series of funny stories happen.
1.Which film can you see if you’re free on Jan. 13,2017?
A. Live by Night B. Journey to the West
C. The Return of Xander Cage D. The Village of No Return
2.Who stars two films among the four mentioned?
A. Scott Eastwood B. Kris Wu
C. Ruby Rose D. Hsu chi
3.Why can the demon-killing group finally become the most harmonious one?
A. They are facing risks to explore everything
B. They can avoid their internal arguments
C. They can fully know about each other
D. They are fighting against each other
4.How is The Village of No Return different from the other films?
A. It is rated more stars than the other three
B. It is a follow-up film to the 2013 one
C. It is not released in the same month
D. It can make audience laugh a lot
如今很多城市出现了一种绿色出行方式—共享单车（bike-sharing),它因环保、便捷而备受青睐，但同时也引发了一些问题。请你根据提示以“Bike-sharing”为题写一篇英语短文，表达自己的看法和建议。
要点提示：
Advantage | 便捷，污染少，减缓交通压力,锻炼身体…… |
Problems | 被扔进河里，被损毁，被偷走…… |
Advice | 遵守规则，保护…… |
注意：
1. 短文应包括以上要点，可适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
2. 文中不得出现真实的人名、校名及地名；
3. 词数：80—100 (文章开头已给出，不记入总词数)。
Bike-sharing
Today, as a greener means of transportation, bike-sharing is becoming more and more popular in many cities.
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注意：每句只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：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
1.This is the first time that I had come to this school.
2.Is it because 1 haven’t been able to go outdoors why I am so crazy about nature?
3.This was the factory where I visited yesterday.
4.How can Linda recover her illness in such a dirty room?
5.By the 1600's Shakespeare was able to make a use of a wider vocabulary than ever before.
