Last week the British university system offered a record number of places. That sounds like good news—but do we really need more people to go to university? For that matter, does the world need more universities?
The answer feels like it should be yes.
Education is good, is it not? But everything has a cost.
Education takes time. We could insist that everyone study full-time until the age of 45 but that would surely be too much. And perhaps half the population studying until they’re 21 is also too much. As for universities, they consume financial and intellectual resources—perhaps those resources might be better spent elsewhere.
My own personal opinion is strongly in favour both of going to university, and of simply having universities around.
The main skill I learnt at university was to write about economics, and I use that skill every day of my professional life, even an abstract education seems practical to me. And I now live in Oxford, one of the world’s most celebrated (著名的) university cities. Oxford’s experience certainly suggests that universities have much to offer.
The city’s architecture and green spaces have been shaped—greatly for the better, on balance —by the 900-year-old institution at its heart. The beauty attracts tourists and locals too.
But these are samples of one. Many people do not find themselves using the skills and knowledge they accumulated at university. And Oxford’s dreaming spires (尖顶) aren’t terribly representative of global universities as a whole.
1.Which of the following is the most proper title?
A. Does the world need more universities?
B. Is education really necessary?
C. Is British university system the best?
D. Do you prefer universities abroad?
2.Which of the following about the writer is TRUE?
A. He is an economist now.
B. He likes Oxford’s architecture and green spaces most.
C. The skill he learnt at university is practical in his career.
D. He holds the view that going to univeristy is a waste of resources.
3.The writer develops the passage by ______.
A. comparing his experience with others’
B. persuading us with his own experience and opinion
C. describing and sharing his own university experience
D. informing us of the advantages of universities
4.In the following part, the writer is likely to ______.
A. list more supporting details about his opinion
B. show more disadvantages about going to universities
C. present some opposite opinions about universities
D. draw a conclusion about the topic
I recently spent two years in the Arctic filming the series Blue Planet. I love being in an environment that has changed for 20,000 years. Of course, it’s freezing, but it must be a healthy place because you never catch colds.
When I’m filming, I like to really feel how lonely the environment is. Filming underwater involves cutting through thick ice and diving in tied to a line. The person at the other end has to be ready to pull you out fast if necessary.
Originally I was a research diver for the British Antarctic Survey project, but for me science lacked excitement. I’d always enjoyed photography, and whenever camera teams passed through, they encouraged me to watch and learn. I was then able to move into filming in 1985 and have concentrated on Arctic and Antarctic wildlife ever since.
I prefer face to face with the animals I’m filming. I haven’t got into the water with killer whales yet, but I plan to. Of course, it’s dangerous if you choose the wrong moment. They are big animals and can move fast, so I’d be stupid to film them searching for food.
I’ve never had problems with polar bears, although once I was frightened when one tried to get into my tent. Polar bears are bold, clever and dangerous. But I made this one see I wasn’t about to attack it—I’m sure it realized I wouldn’t hurt it.
When I came back home from my trips, I work in the mornings and spend the afternoons swimming to keep fit. Now I’m fifty, filming is harder. The challenge for me is to continue to deliver high-quality work.
1.In this text, the writer is mainly describing ______.
A. the challenges of the environment he works in
B. the career opportunities in TV camera work
C. the difficulties of having to work alone
D. the beautiful scenery of the Arctic
2.What does the writer say about his early career?
A. He wasted the years he spent as a scientist.
B. It was a good chance to learn about filming.
C. He was bored by working only in the Antarctic.
D. It taught him how to become a skilled diver.
3.When talking about killer whales, the writer says that ______.
A. he will only film them from a safe distance
B. he has always been careful when diving with them
C. he tries to avoid any danger by facing them
D. he believes there are safe opportunities to film them
In Washington, DC, only 69 percent of public school students graduate from high school on time. Many factors influence that low rate. One of the most important ones is whether the people around the students expect them to succeed.
So, for the past 40 years, a DC organisation has stepped in to give around 10,000 students the support and positive environment they need to thrive (茁壮成长). This organisation, called Higher Achievement, provides students with a welcoming space, help with class work, and caring teachers. More than 95 percent of students who complete Higher Achievement graduate from high school on time.
Katherine Roboff is the group’s executive director in the DC area. She gives several reasons for the group’s success. One is timing. Higher Achievement does not work with students who are already in high school. It works with students in middle school. They start High Achievement at fifth or sixth grade—in the US, that is usually age 11 or 12.
Roboff says research shows that if students are doing well academically in eighth grade—around age 13—they will have a greater chance of graduating from high school and going to college. In other words, what happens in middle school has a huge impact. The years between ages 10 and 13 may affect a student’s future more than anything that happens academically in high school.
Roboff explains that students participate in Higher Achievement after school and during the summer, when public schools take a break of about two months. High Achievement students do homework, have community meetings, and work one-on-one with a mentor (导师).
“The purpose of the programme is to help them use those after school and summer hours to become better prepared academically and to develop their leadership skills and confidence so that by the time they get into eighth grade they are ready to get into some of the top high school.”
1.A little more than 30% of public school students in the US ______.
A. drop out of school
B. work hard at their lessons
C. can’t finish school on time
D. are expected to graduate from high school
2.What can we infer from the second paragraph?
A. Higher Achievement is a great success.
B. Higher Achievement works with college students.
C. Many students have doubts about the organisation.
D. Higher Achievement has spread throughout the US.
3.If students are doing well academically in eighth grade, ______.
A. they are certain to go to college
B. they are to succeed when they grow up
C. they don’t need any help in their studies
D. they are more likely to finish high school on time
4.What is the main aim of Higher Achievement?
A. To offer students advice.
B. To help student get into top schools.
C. To teach students how to behave at school.
D. To provide students with different activities.
Here comes a great new book. It has claimed that people can lose weight by eating anything they want, but only during a set eight-hour period. The 8-Hour Diet: Watch the Pounds Disappear Without Watching What You Eat! is co-written by David Zinczen and Peter Moore.
They argue that staying up late and eating around the clock is responsible for the high rates of diabetes (糖尿病) and obesity. Our bodies can’t process the food we eat after these hours. These calories end up where they shouldn’t, around our bellies and butts (臀部). The book claims we can lose ten pounds in a week and up to 20 pounds in six weeks, and asks that we choose any eight-hour window for eating, such as 9 am to 5 pm or 11 am to 7 pm.
Staying up and eating late may be the cause of diabetes. Simply, limiting food intake to 8 hours gives people all the benefits—without having to worry about food intake.
In the simplest terms, the 8-hour diet is a way of extending the period between our last snack and our breakfast, giving our body the chance to burn away our fat stores for the energy it needs.
Restricting (限定) the time period during which we eat makes our body burn more calories in the day. So the longer we eat, the lazier our metabolism (新陈代谢) becomes. However, if we fit food intake into an eight-hour window, our body burns more calories day and night as well as preventing diseases, such as diabetes and heart diseases.
1.According to the book, people should ______.
A. eat as little as possible B. develop an 8-hour diet
C. eat as slowly as possible D. have more than three meals a day
2.If you eat breakfast at 8 am, you had better eat your last meal at ______.
A. 4 pm B. 6 pm
C. 8 pm D. 10 pm
3.The underlined sentence may mean ______.
A. if we keep fit by having enough food
B. if we take in food for eight hours
C. if we limit the food we eat to certain types
D. if we eat food within an eight-hour period
4.What’s the purpose of the passage?
A. To show people what to eat. B. To explain some habits on health.
C. To introduce a new book on health. D. To warn people of unhealthy habits.
学校图书馆需要购置一批新书，现向学生征求意见。假如你是李华，请你用英语给图书馆王老师写一封信，推荐科普类图书（popular science books）和文学类图书（literary books），并分别说明推荐理由。
注意：100词左右，结尾已给，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Wang,
Knowing that our library is going to buy books, …
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I’d appreciate it if you could take my recommendation into account.
Yours,
Li Hua
句子翻译
1.吉姆说在昨天的选举中，他投票支持戴茜。
Jim said he _________ _________Daisy in yesterday’s election.
2.是布朗小姐说服他参加了青年联盟。
_________ Miss Brown who _________ him _____join the Youth League.
3.那座庙在海拔3000米高的山上。
The temple lies on the mountain at ______ _________ ____3000 metres above the sea level.
4.直到那时他们才决定以暴抗暴。
Only until then_______they _______ ______ their _______ to answer violence with violence.
5.几秒钟内，无数街区被彻底摧毁，整个城市成为一片废墟。
Just in a few minutes, hundreds of blocks ________ __________ completely and the whole city lay ______ _______.
6.比尔在公司处于这样的境遇：要么承认低人一等，要么马上卷铺盖离开。
Bill was put into a position ________ _______ he had to ________ accept he was less important, ______pack up and leave right away.
