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Yuan Guiren, Minister of Education, announced some measures to reform the NCEE, known as Gaokao, for this year in a media conference.
The first measure is to balance the recruiting quota(招生配额) around the nation, with particular emphasis on recruiting more students in central and western provinces.
In addition to this, Yuan said that 200,000 places would be available in the universities in eastern China for students from western China.
The third measure is to cancel some policies that allow students with special talents to receive extra points on their final result of the NCEE. “All national-level bonus marks for Gaokao will be cancelled in 2015, while over 60 percent of the province-level bonuses will be cut. Ten provinces have already canceled the policies while other provinces have cut down 63 percent of the policies,” said Yuan. The policy was originally introduced to be aimed at making Gaokao fairer because some students have special abilities but fail to get high scores in the national exams. Yet, it has been abused by corrupt officials to get the bonus marks for their children. This is a good example of corruption ruining a good policy.
Additionally, all students can recommend themselves for independent recruitment in some education institutions without any restrictions. Schools can also recommend their students to some universities.
The date for independent recruitment is scheduled for after the NCEE in 2015, and universities will be required to publicize their recruiting requirements, processes and results.
The last measure mentioned by Yuan is to gradually unify the NCEE around the nation. Students in three more provinces will sit for the same exams in 2015. Seven more provinces, totaling 25 provinces, will use the same exam format(版式) in 2016.
1.The passage is most probably taken from a(n) ______.
A. opening address B. historical book
C. news report D. science report
2.How many measures are mentioned for the Gaokao reform in the passage?
A. Four. B. Five. C. Six. D. Seven.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. More students in eastern China can enter western universities.
B. Independent recruitment will take place after Gaokao in 2015.
C. The policy of bonus marks were designed for corrupt officials.
D. 25 provinces will use the same NCEE format in 2015.
4.The best title for the passage could be “______”.
A. Extra points to be Cancelled
B. The NCEE to be Unified
C. Chances to Favour Western Students
D. China to Reform NCEE
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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B
Blindsided
In many ways, Natalie O’Reilly is a typical 14-year-old girl. But Natalie will lose her sight within a few short months.
Natalie is sent to school for the blind to learn skills such as Braille(盲文). Outwardly, she does as she’s told; inwardly, she hopes for a miracle(奇迹) that will free her from a fearful life of blindness. But the miracle does not come. Will she go home to live scared? Or will she master the skills she needs to make it in a world without sight?
Crossing the Tracks
At 15, Iris seems to have no home, no family, no direction.
After her mother’s early death, Iris’s father focuses on big plans for his new shoes stores and his latest girlfriend, and has no time for his daughter. Unknown to her, he hires Iris out as housekeeper and companion for a country doctor’s elderly mother.
Iris is buoyed by the warmth and understanding the doctor and his mother show her, but just as she starts to break out of her trouble, a disaster strikes. Iris must find the courage to discover if she is really as helpless — or as hopeless — as she once believed.
The Education of Bet
Will and Bet were brother and sister. Being a girl, Bet’s world is contained within the walls of their grand home. Will is allowed — forced — to go to school.
So Bet comes up with a plan: They’ll switch places. She’ll go to school as Will. Will can then live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.
X-Isle
Ever since the floods came and washed the world away, survivors have been desperate to win a place on X-Isle, the island where life is believed to be easier. Only young boys stand a chance of getting in, the smaller and lighter the better. Baz and Ray are two of the lucky few to be chosen, but they soon discover that X-Isle is a far cry from paradise(天堂). It’s a violent, unpredictable place, where terrible things can happen at any moment.
1.From the book Blindsided, we can learn that Natalie ______.
A. is longing to stay away from blindness
B. has been blind for several months
C. has to quit school because of her blindness
D. is unconfident in learning Braille
2.The underlined word “buoyed” probably means “______”.
A. spoiled B. thrilled C. annoyed D. encouraged
3.X-Isle turns out to be ______.
A. easier for life B. no paradise
C. chosen for lucky men D. a romantic place
4.The main characters of the four books ______.
A. live a happy life
B. get out of trouble eventually
C. struggle for a better life
D. dream about better education
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Starting next year, Ford Motor Co. will allow parents to limit the speed at which their teenage children drive their car.
The company will make a new feature on many models that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph(130 kph), using a computer chip(芯片) in the key.
Parents in the United States, where most teens can get their driving license at 16, also have the option of programming the car key to limit the audio system volume(音量), and to sound continuous alarm if the driver doesn’t wear a seat belt.
More than half of parents surveyed worry that their teenage children are driving at unsafe speeds, talking on hand-held cell phones or texting while driving, or otherwise driving without due care and attention. More than a third of parents also are concerned that their teens do not always fasten their safety belts when driving.
“Our message to parents is, hey, we are proving you some conditions to give your new drivers that may allow you to feel a little more comfortable in giving them the car more often,” said Jim Buczkowski, Ford’s director of electronic and electrical systems engineering.
More than 5,000 US teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal(致命的) and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers aged 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The new feature, called “MyKey”, will be standard on an unspecified number of Ford models when the new models come out late next summer. The feature will spread to the entire Ford, Lincoln and Mercury Lineup as models are updated, spokesman Wes Sherwood said.
The company already uses computer chips in its keys to prevent thefts. The car won’t start unless it recognizes the chip in the key.
“It’s making use of existing technology, and through the magic of software, we’re able to build features on top of the features we already have,” Buczkowski said.
1.According to the passage, MyKey can ______.
A. limit speed and prevent thefts
B. adjust the audio system’s volume
C. remind drivers to answer the phone
D. help drivers wear a seat belt
2.According to Jim Buczkowski, MyKey ______.
A. helps parents feel more comfortable in their cars
B. provides parents more chances to get along with children
C. helps parents feel less worried when giving cars to children
D. discourages parents from giving cars to their children more often
3.From the passage, we can learn that ______.
A. teens often drive 10 times faster than adults
B. many parents think their children drive too fast
C. Ford will take over Lincoln and Mercury Lineup
D. MyKey has nothing to do with existing technology
4.Ford Motor Company’s new car key may be most welcomed by ______.
A. teens B. passengers C. parents D. policemen
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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When the one-year anniversary of my mother’s passing came around, I found myself in the kitchen preparing some of her favorite dishes.
As I poured myself into cooking, some of the deep sadness I was experiencing at this one-year mark moved through me. I loved my mom's turkey soup. I remembered the time she made some especially for me. It was summer then and I had a terrible head cold. She arrived unexpectedly one afternoon at my work place with a huge jar of her turkey noodle soup. At the thought, I began to feel a little more relieved in the pain of losing her.
It was then that I realized I was reconnecting with my mother through food. I laughed a bit at myself when I reflected on all the dishes I had cooked that week. Without knowing it, I had created a beautiful ceremony to honor my mother and to comfort myself at this vulnerable(脆弱的) time. I suddenly felt my mother at hand and was filled with her presence. I was so uplifted and excited that I began talking to her, imagining she was there.
“What else should we make?” I asked of us both, wanting to keep the ceremony from ending.
“Irish Potato Pancakes,” was the reply.
I hesitated. The thought of these brought up another loss. The last time I made potato pancakes was two and a half years ago. I had taken off my engagement (订婚) ring and never found it again. Since then, I resisted using that recipe even though I really liked those pancakes as if it were partly to blame.
My mom should know better than to suggest these, I thought. She knew how upset I was about losing my ring. But despite these hesitations, I found myself caught up in the joy and celebration of the moment, and I reached for the cookbook without another thought of the ring. My mom did love Irish things. I opened the cookbook and turned to the pancake recipe. At once, something at the bottom of the page caught my eye... It was shining! Amazingly, there, pressed into the pages of this book, was my diamond ring!
That day, I made potato pancakes in the shape of hearts.
1.At the one-year anniversary, the writer ______.
A. cooked some dishes in memory of her mother
B. felt more painful at the thought of the turkey noodle soup
C. was so excited as to see her mother home
D. didn’t give a thought of the lost ring
2.The writer hesitated to cook potato pancakes probably because ______.
A. she felt too sad to make them
B. she didn’t like such pancakes
C. her mother was to blame for the loss of her ring
D. they reminded her of the loss of her ring
3.It can be inferred from the passage that her mother ______.
A. was connected with the writer through food
B. taught the writer how to cook pancakes
C. actually still lived with the writer
D. found the ring for her daughter
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Heart-shaped Pancakes B. Lost and Found Ring
C. Favorite Dishes D. Sad One-year Anniversary
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Building a foundation for your child of family values may not be as easy as you think. Often we believe that our child will pick up on our values if they live in the same home. While they may pick up many of our values, parents need to remember they are not the only influence in their child’s life. These outside values often compete with family values for your child’s attention. If we do not make a conscious(有意的) effort to instill our values into our children, they may not get instilled at all.
I wish I had learned that lesson a little earlier. I thought if I lived my values for my children they would pick them up and make their own. Sometimes this happened and sometimes it didn’t. I often see twenty-something “kids” who have no faith in many of the values of their family in favor of the values of their friends. Children will often pick up the negative you show quicker than the positive, so the positive things need extra focus to set them.
Some of the influences your children face every day include their church, their school, their friends, any clubs or sporting groups they are part of and more. Kids spend many hours a day at school and with their friends. Sometimes in the business of life, we suppose our children will obtain that foundation we want for them.
Instilling a foundation of family values to sustain(维持) your child requires more than living it in front of them. That is important, but building up your child with this important foundation must become intentional.
That means we plan times to gather as a family. We plan activities together that show the values we want to pass on. We talk about our values; we live our values; we discuss the values of others and how they differ from ours; we constantly look for opportunities and make our own opportunities to share these values in word or deed with our children.
Family values give our children a foundation to build upon. It helps them know they are loved and gives them a sense of belongings. Upon this sure foundation, they can spread their wings and grow to become parents who share these same values with their own children.
1.The underlined word “instill our values into” in the 1st paragraph probably means “______”.
A. get our ideas out of B. impress our ideas on
C. collect our ideas for D. force our ideas upon
2. We can learn from the passage that children ______.
A. sustain their family values easily
B. will hold their family values with age
C. often discuss family values of others
D. accept negative values more quickly
3.Family values can be passed on if ______.
A. we live with our children
B. parents show positive things
C. parents foster them intentionally
D. we plan times to gather with other families
4.The passage mainly tells us about ______.
A. the importance and the way to pick up family values
B. a lesson the writer learned in educating his(her) kids
C. the influences the children face while growing up
D. some negative and positive family values
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
