LONDON, Feb. 18,2014(Xinhua News agency)—Britain will send experts to East China's Shanghai to learn from the city's experience in maths teaching in an attempt to raise the teaching standards.
British Education Minister Elizabeth Truss is to lead a delegation of experts on a fact-finding mission to Shanghai's schools next week to see how children there have become the best in the world at maths, to get a first-hand look at maths classes and teaching methods there, and particularly to investigate why the performance of almost all children in Shanghai is high, regardless of gender or income.
Britain was last year placed 50th out of 148 countries and regions in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness ranking in quality of maths and science education. Two years ago, Shanghai topped the 2012 international PISA tables for maths, while England was ranked in 26th place. The top five were all in Southeast Asia, with 15-year-olds in Shanghai judged to be three years ahead of their peers in maths.
The education department said: "England's performance in maths has lagged behind while other countries have improved and overtaken us, including Poland and Germany." Actually, it is the latest step in the government's drive to raise standards in maths, looking at what has made schools in the far East the most successful in the world in teaching the subject.
"Shanghai is the top-performing part of the world for maths—their children are streets ahead. Shanghai and Singapore have teaching practices and a positive mind that make the difference. They have a belief that diligence makes up for lack of ability," Truss said. "Our new curriculum has borrowed from theirs because we know it works—early learning of key arithmetic, and a focus on times tables and long division(长除法), for instance."
She was determined to change the situation as performance in maths is weakening the country's skills base and threatening the productivity and growth. The government is emphasizing maths because of the importance of good grades in the subject to young people competing for good jobs in a global labor market and to the economy more generally.
An education and skills survey released by the Confederation of British Industry last year showed that 30 percent of employers reported dissatisfaction with the standard of school and college leavers' numeracy. More than two-thirds of employers said they wanted both maths and science promoted more in schools.
1.Why does the British government send a delegation of experts to Shanghai?
A. To see how children from rich families have become the best at maths.
B. To investigate why the performance of almost all children in China is high.
C. To get a first-hand look at science classes and teaching methods there.
D. To raise the teaching standards in maths in Britain.
2.Which of the following statements is true according to the two international competition results?
A. British students performed better in 2013 than in 2012.
B. British students did better than the students from Poland in 2013.
C. The students from Singapore did better than the students from Germany.
D. The students from Germany did better than the students from Poland.
3.What has made schools in Shanghai the most successful in teaching maths in the eye of Truss?
A. Curriculum and teaching methods.
B. Teaching practices and a positive mind.
C. Early learning of key arithmetic and times tables.
D. A focus on times tables and long division.
4.How will students’ poor performance in maths affect the country?
A. By threatening the country's competitiveness of economy.
B. By weakening the country's political system.
C. By losing international competitions in education.
D. By failing to find jobs in a global labor market.
5.What can we infer from the news?
A. The students in Britain don’t work hard at Maths.
B. The students in shanghai are the smartest in the world.
C. The education of science in Britain is no better than that of maths.
D. Most British citizens are dissatisfied with teachers’ work.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
LONDON, Feb. 18,2014(Xinhua News agency)—Britain will send experts to East China's Shanghai to learn from the city's experience in maths teaching in an attempt to raise the teaching standards.
British Education Minister Elizabeth Truss is to lead a delegation of experts on a fact-finding mission to Shanghai's schools next week to see how children there have become the best in the world at maths, to get a first-hand look at maths classes and teaching methods there, and particularly to investigate why the performance of almost all children in Shanghai is high, regardless of gender or income.
Britain was last year placed 50th out of 148 countries and regions in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness ranking in quality of maths and science education. Two years ago, Shanghai topped the 2012 international PISA tables for maths, while England was ranked in 26th place. The top five were all in Southeast Asia, with 15-year-olds in Shanghai judged to be three years ahead of their peers in maths.
The education department said: "England's performance in maths has lagged behind while other countries have improved and overtaken us, including Poland and Germany." Actually, it is the latest step in the government's drive to raise standards in maths, looking at what has made schools in the far East the most successful in the world in teaching the subject.
"Shanghai is the top-performing part of the world for maths—their children are streets ahead. Shanghai and Singapore have teaching practices and a positive mind that make the difference. They have a belief that diligence makes up for lack of ability," Truss said. "Our new curriculum has borrowed from theirs because we know it works—early learning of key arithmetic, and a focus on times tables and long division(长除法), for instance."
She was determined to change the situation as performance in maths is weakening the country's skills base and threatening the productivity and growth. The government is emphasizing maths because of the importance of good grades in the subject to young people competing for good jobs in a global labor market and to the economy more generally.
An education and skills survey released by the Confederation of British Industry last year showed that 30 percent of employers reported dissatisfaction with the standard of school and college leavers' numeracy. More than two-thirds of employers said they wanted both maths and science promoted more in schools.
1.Why does the British government send a delegation of experts to Shanghai?
A. To see how children from rich families have become the best at maths.
B. To investigate why the performance of almost all children in China is high.
C. To get a first-hand look at science classes and teaching methods there.
D. To raise the teaching standards in maths in Britain.
2.Which of the following statements is true according to the two international competition results?
A. British students performed better in 2013 than in 2012.
B. British students did better than the students from Poland in 2013.
C. The students from Singapore did better than the students from Germany.
D. The students from Germany did better than the students from Poland.
3.What has made schools in Shanghai the most successful in teaching maths in the eye of Truss?
A. Curriculum and teaching methods.
B. Teaching practices and a positive mind.
C. Early learning of key arithmetic and times tables.
D. A focus on times tables and long division.
4.How will students’ poor performance in maths affect the country?
A. By threatening the country's competitiveness of economy.
B. By weakening the country's political system.
C. By losing international competitions in education.
D. By failing to find jobs in a global labor market.
5.What can we infer from the news?
A. The students in Britain don’t work hard at Maths.
B. The students in shanghai are the smartest in the world.
C. The education of science in Britain is no better than that of maths.
D. Most British citizens are dissatisfied with teachers’ work.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
London, Dec.17 (Xinhua) “Drivers on London Underground trains have started reading out sayings from great thinkers like Mahatma Gandhi , Frindrich Engels, and Albert Einstein in a bid to cheer up passengers ,” officials said. As well as the usual announcements urging passengers to “mind the steps” and warning of delays, the sayings such as “ an ounce ( 盎司) of action is worth a ton of theory” have taken the place of commercial ad in the underground carriages .
New York, Oct.8 (Xinhua) Once as a famous actor, now the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to abandon textbooks in favor of digital ones. He plans to launch this program in August next year when California’s high-school pupils will have access to online math and science text. But some teachers wonder whether his idea of getting rid of textbooks might end up costing more not less, with digital textbook going for $300.
Amsterdam, Nov.30 (Xinhua) A few cups of coffee a day may not only help to put off the disease—dementia(痴呆) but also can treat it, according to Dr. Arendash, who led the research. After giving mice with memory damage water containing caffeine, he found the mice developed better memories and quick thinking. The reason is that caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain and directly affects the disease process. He suggested people should drink five eight–ounce cups of ordinary coffee, two cups of strong ‘coffee shop’ coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks to get the same amount of 500 milligrams of caffeine.
1.What’s the purpose of putting up sayings on the underground carriages in London?
A.to help passengers to kill time.
B.to encourage passengers to learn.
C.to lift the spirits of passengers.
D.to make money as a commercial ad.
2.What can we conclude from the second news?
A.digital textbooks will replace traditional textbooks.
B.online math is already available to high-school pupils .
C.digital textbooks are convenient to carry anywhere.
D.Not all the teachers support their governor’s idea.
3.Which of the following statements is true from the third news?
A.The more coffee you drink, the less chance there will be for dementia.
B.Caffeine can make mice become more and more intelligent and energetic.
C.Caffeine can affect the process of the disease—dementia and treat it.
D.Caffeine is a safe drug for all the people for everyday use so enjoy it.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Xinhua News—The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city’s employment problems.
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or party secretaries in suburban areas.
People interested in jobs in Beijing’s rural villages and towns can send applications to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Personnel or log on to www.bjbys.com from February 1 through March 15.
“We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers,” Sun Zhenyu, the Deputy Director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency.
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 Yuan in the first year, 2,500 Yuan the second year and 3,000 the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said.
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city’s countryside. After majoring in Industrial and Commercial Administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing’s Pinggu District. For one project, Wang contacted people at Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting. Her efforts paid off. The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year.
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to the figures provided by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry predicts that 4.95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate. In Beijing, a record of 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year. Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to Beijing Personnel Bureau.
1.From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that _________.
A. Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers plant organic strawberries
B. local farmers can get big harvests if they work together with her
C. the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful
D. university graduate can realize their value no matter where they work
2.The underlined word “recruit” in the first paragraph probably means ________.
A. force B. employ C. encourage D. train
3.The last two paragraphs seem to tell us that ________.
A. it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays
B. more and more graduates will work as junior officials
C. the universities should not enroll so many students
D. there are more and more jobs provided by the Ministry of Education
4.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
A. The Government’s Help for University Graduates
B. A Good Choice for University Graduates
C. Job Hunting for University Graduates
D. What is the Best Career?
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
(CNN News)-In his work for a humanitarian(人道主义)agency in Afghanistan, Lex Kassenberg asks an important question when he visits schoolchildren: What will you do when you grow up?“I want to be president,”is an answer Kassenberg often hears from girls.
But for all the admiration Kassenberg has for a youngster's ambition, the 53-year-old CARE aid worker knows that in Afghanistan, the idea of a female national leader remains unlikely to be realized in the immediate future. Only recently, women had suffered a lot under the rule of the militant(激进的)Taliban.
The importance of education, especially for girls, is not ignored by the Afghan people or humanitarian agencies trying to improve their living conditions. That's why the World Bank partnered with CARE to investigate how education can succeed when there are increasing violent attacks on Afghan schools.
“Knowledge on Fire”, CARE's education report made known to the public Monday, found that community-based schools are the most sound and workable in Afghanistan.“Education-related violence is an alarming trend in Afghanistan,”said Helene Gayle, president of CARE. “But this study suggests that an approach of building support for education at the local level can reduce the risks of attacks.”
Because government school are often associated with a Kabul administration viewed by the Taliban as a pupper(傀儡政府)of the United States, they are likely to be attacked, Kassenberg said. And schools built with reconstruction dollars are associated with the military. Between January 2006 and December 2008, 1,053 education-related attacks or threats were reported in Afghanistan, according to CARE. The number of incidents was almost three times as much as that in 2005.
1.The World Bank cooperated with CARE in order to________.
A. know how to educate Afghan boys and girls successfully during the war.
B. know how to give money to Afghan boys and girls.
C. know the condition of education in Afghan schools.
D. know if the education of Afghan boys and girls is successful
2. The passage implied that________.
A. Afghan people suffered a lot B. Afghan boys suffered little
C. Afghan girls didn't suffer at all D. Afghan girls suffered more than boys
3.Why have attacks on schools been on the rise since 2005?
A. The Taliban thought schools are connected with the military.
B. The Taliban thought the Kabul administration would cooperate with it.
C. The Taliban thought schools were built by the American government.
D. The Taliban thought schools were built with reconstruction dollars.
4. According to the last paragraph, attacks on Afghan schools in 2005 amounted to________.
A. 670 B. 1, 053 C. over 1,700 D. about 350
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
The news agency had got hold of some secret government papers for tomorrow’s headlines.
A.somewhat | B.somehow | C.somebody | D.sometimes |
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.
Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometime in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.
He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.
“What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.
For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.”
I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.
1.Bill Javis became a news-agent when ________.
A. he needed the money.
B. he decided to take things easy
C. he was quite an old man
D. he gave up clock-repairing
2.Bill opened the shop so early in the day because ________.
A. he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work
B. the shop had to be open when the morning papers came
C. he was never sure of time
D. it was then that he did a lot of business
3.On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because _______.
A. he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing
B. he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all
C. Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange
D. Bill stayed in his flat
4.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase in paragraph 2?
A. become noisy B. become less
C. become stronger D. become busy
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Bill Javis took over our village’s news-agency at a time of life when most of us only wanted to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.
Every day he opened his shop at 6:00 a. m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his doorstep before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometimes in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doorway, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened his shop. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.
He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.
“What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.
For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.”
I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.
1.Bill Javis became a news-agent when _______.
A. he needed the money
B. he was quite an old man
C. he decided to take up fishing
D. he gave up clock-repairing
2.Bill opened the shop so early in the day because _______.
A. he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work
B. the shop had to be open when the morning papers came
C. he was never sure of time
D. it was then that he did a lot of business
3.From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?
A. The bell was-it must have gone off at the wrong time.
B. Bill was-he had dropped off to sleep.
C. The writer’s watch was-it was fast.
D. Bill’s clock was-it was old.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
I don’t ________ your idea of sending your daughter to Britain to study, because she is too young to take care of herself.
A.adjust to B.refer to C.subscribe to D.appeal to
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
LONDON—Archaeologists have discovered a smaller prehistoric(史前) site near Britain’s famous circle of standing stones at Stonehenge.
Researchers have named the site “Bluehenge” after the color of the 27 Welsh stones that were laid to make up a path. The stones have disappeared, but the path of holes remains.
The new circle, unearthed over the summer by researchers from Sheffield University, represents an important find, researchers said Saturday. The site is about a mile away from Stonehenge.
Bluehenge, about 80 miles southwest of London, is believed to date back to about the time Stonehenge was built, about 5,000 years ago.
Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University said he believed the path and stonehenge itself were linked to rituals(仪式) of life and death.
Mike Parker suggested that the ancient funerary rituals began at a different circle site known as “Wood-henge”, which represented the world of the living. The bodies of the dead were then brought down the River Avon to Bluehenge, which represented death, and were finally carried along a ceremonial route known as the Avenue to Stonehenge.
Bournemouth University Professor Tim Darvill, an expert on Stonehenge, told Britain’s Dail Mail that Bluehenge “adds to the richness” of the ancient site’s story.
“This henge is very important because it forms part of the picture of ceremonial monuments in the area and puts Stonehenge into context,” Darvill was quoted(引述) as saying. “It’s no longer Stonehenge standing alone, but it has to be seen in context with the landscape.”
1.How many henges are mentioned in this passage?
A.Two B.Three C.Four D.Five
2.Who believed the Stonehenge is related to ancient ritual of death?
A.Archaeologists from London B.Welsh researchers
C.Mike Parker Pearson D.Professor Tim Darvill
3.What does the underlined sentence “It’s no longer Stonehenge standing alone, but it has to be seen in context with the landscape.” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Stonehenge has noting to do with Bluehenge
B.Woodhenge represented the world of living in ancient times.
C.Bluehenge represented death
D.Stonehenge, Woodhenge and Bluehenge should be studied together
4.From the passage we can learn that ______.
A.researchers have named the site “Bluehenge,” because they have found blue huge stones there
B.funerary rituals were carried out along the path starting from Woodhenge, River Avon to Bluehenge, finally Stonehenge.
C.Bluehenge is 1 mile away from London
D.Bluehenge dates back to 2000 BC
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
London is the capital of Britain. It is located in the southeast plain of England. The Thames River goes through this city.
The British have lived there for about 3,000 years. The Roman Empire intruded into (侵入)Britannia Island in 54 BC. The Romans built the first wooden bridge over the Thames River.
London is a world-famous cultural city. There are many famous cultural sites. It is one of the world's great tourist destinations. About eight million people visit London every year.
The largest museum is the British Museum, which was built in the 18th century. There are many ancient cultural relics of Britain and of other countries in the museum. The London Tower stands on the southeast of Tower Mountain. It was once a palace, and it is now an exhibition center. Westminster Hall is located on the west bank of the Thames River and was built in 750 AD. It is the largest Gothic building of the world and was a palace in the past, too.
The Clock Tower, which is about 97 meters high, is located northeast of the parliament. The famous “Big Ben” weighs about 21 tons and its big pendulum(钟摆)is about 305 kilograms. Hyde Park is one of the great parks in the world and it is in the west district of London. There is a free forum(论坛) there and some people give speeches there every week. They can say almost anything, but they can't attack the Queen or support violent revolution.
1.Which of the following statements is WRONG?
A. London lies in the southeast plain of England.
B. The British first lived in London thousands of years ago.
C. People can enjoy a walk along the Thames River in London.
D. The Roman Empire intruded into Britannia Island over 2,100 years ago.
2.We learn from the passage that _________.
A. London receives millions of visitors every month
B. only in the British Museum can you see ancient cultural relics of Britain
C. the famous "Big Ben" in the Clock Tower is about 97 meters high
D. not everything can be talked about in the forum at Hyde Park
3.This passage is most probably taken from a website about ___________ .
A. traveling B. kids C. museums D. Holidays
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析