The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, acc
题型：不详难度：来源：
The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to details of exam and admission reform revealed by the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. The Ministry will solicit(征求) public opinions before its release. Instead, tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to alleviate study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The plan and suggestions for its implementation will be announced in the first half of next year. It will be piloted in selected provinces and cities and promoted nationwide from 2017. A new exam and admission system will be established by 2020, according to the education ministry.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.
“The reform shows China is learning from the West to give students more test-taking chances. But more chances might become more of a burden since Chinese students are likely to repeat the test until they get the highest score,” said Cai Jigang, a professor at Fudan University’s College of Foreign Languages and Literature and chairman of the Shanghai Advisory Committee for College English Teaching at Tertiary Level.
Yu Lizhong, chancellor of New York University Shanghai, where classes are in English and students are required to have a high standard of English, said the most important aspect of the reform lay in what to test and how to test.
“ As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” Yu said. “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, can have different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system. ”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years.
小题1:What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education. | | B．It has been 30 years since English became one subject of national college entrance exam. | | C．China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all. | | D．The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime exam system. |
小题2:According to the passage, Shanghai educators and parents argue that _____.| A．the new exam and admission system will make no difference | | B．English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam | | C．the reform may accomplish the very opposite | | D．Western educational system does not apply to China |
小题3:What does the passage try to express in the underlined sentence?| A．Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school. | | B．Whether students should study hard English may depend on their major. | | C．Students can constantly strive for perfection only in their major. | | D．English must be close to full mark. |
小题4:What’s the purpose of the passage?| A．To advise students not to devote themselves to English. | | B．To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”. | | C．To support the act of Ministry of Education. | | D．To encourage students to do as they have planned. |
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答案
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:B
小题4:D |
解析
试题分析：文章大意：文章介绍了高考中英语考试改革方案，作者的观点与家长和教育工作者不同，他认为英语是否要学习取决于学生的专业。
小题1:D推理判断题。根据第一段最后一句Instead, tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to alleviate study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.可知，一年多考要比只考一次有更多的好处。故D正确。
小题2:C细节理解题。从第三段的句子：The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.可知上海的父母和教育工作者认为这项改革其结果可能与预期的相反。故C正确。
小题3:B句意理解题。此句的含义为：如果一个学生的专业不需要很好的英语就可以减轻压力，而如果想成为最优秀的学生还是需要认真学习英语，也就是说：学生是否学习英语取决于他们的专业。故B正确。
小题4:D写作意图题。根据文章倒数第三段的句子As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,英语考试改革不意味英语就不重要了，所以可知作者写此文是为了鼓励学生按照自己的计划去选择。故D正确。 |
举一反三
It’s the place where smart people make smart machines work even smarter. It’s also in the heart of sunny California, a great place to start a family and raise kids. What could be better?
But something is happening to their children. Up until the age of two they develop normally. But then everything seems to go backwards. The children become locked into their own small world, unable to communicate at all.
They call it the “curse(诅咒)of Silicon Valley,” but the medical name for the condition is autism(自闭症). It used to be thought that autism was a kind of mental illness. Now doctors are sure that it is a neurological disease transmitted genetically. It seems that the people leading the communications revolution are having children who cannot communicate at all.
But even the parents have trouble communicating. Asperger’s Syndrome is a mild version of autism. People who have it are highly intelligent and often brilliant with numbers or system but have no social skill. This very combination of symptoms makes Asperger’s sufferers into ideal computer professionals.
The Asperger’s sufferer has always been a well—known figure in popular culture. He or she was the eccentric but dedicated scholar or the strange uncle or auntie who never married. But the high numbers of such people in Silicon Valley mean that they can meet others who understand them and share their interests. And while they might not be personally attractive, they can earn truly attractive amounts of money. They can get married and have kids. Unfortunately, many of the children of two Asperger’s parents seem to be developing serious autism.
There is little anyone can do. It takes hours of work just to make autistic child realize that anyone else exists. And there is no cure in sight. Some argue that no cure should be found. “It may be that autistics are essentially different from normal people, but that these differences make them invaluable for the evolution of the human race,” says Dr. Kirk Whilhelmsen of the University of California. “To eliminate the genes for autism could be disastrous. ”
It seems that the children of Silicon Valley are paying the price of genius.
小题1:What does Dr Kirk Whilhelmsen think of autism?| A．It is disastrous to society. | | B．It is not completely a bad thing. | | C．It is a punishment to those working in Silicon Valley. | | D．People with autism should never marry. |
小题2:What can we learn about autism according to the passage?| A．It is believed to be a king of mental illness that can be cured. | | B．People with autism can’t find people sharing their interests. | | C．They do not care about the presence of others. | | D．They are a burden for the society. |
小题3:Why do people call autism “curse of Silicon Valley”？| A．Because autistic people live in Silicon Valley. | | B．Because many people working in Silicon Valley have autism children. | | C．Because people with autism will be driven out of Silicon Valley. | | D．Because people with autism are not personally attractive and not liked by others. |
小题4:What can we know about Asperger’s Syndrome according to the passage?| A．Asperger’s sufferers are ideal computer professionals. | | B．Asperger’s sufferers never get married and have children. | | C．Asperger’s sufferers are ashamed of themselves and locked into their own world. | | D．Asperger’s sufferers can be beneficial to society if they are cured. |
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Kids undergo a large amount of pressure and stress during their school exams, which can often become quite overwhelming (to much) for them. It may be the first experience of stress, at this level, they have ever experienced and therefore quite frightening. Yes, you may say that it"s all a part of growing up and therefore good lessons for them to learn, and to an extent I agree with you. However, it’s important to learn how to prepare for life’s challenges so that they aren’t overwhelming or scary and so that we are able to manage them the best we can.
Here are some tips you can use during your kids exam time.
Break their revision plan down into small parts. Doing this will help transform what once seemed like a huge impossible task into a more manageable one.
Help them arrange properly so that the subjects they like the least (perhaps ones that require more time and effort) are worked on first; once they are out of the way, it will help reduce the worry.
Plan week on week to make sure they are on track. Ticking items of a list each week will help them to feel good about themselves and their progress.
Create rewards for all the ticks - a favourite TV programme, a delicious snack, an hour’s surfing the Internet, computer games or whatever it was that they enjoy the most. This will encourage them to carry on and make them feel good.
Think of strategies on how to deal with exams calmly so their anxieties don"t get the better of them.
Talk about times in their lives when they had been successful at something and look at the qualities they used to get them there - determination, persistence, hard work, patience, positivity, dedication - discuss how they can apply these skills to their exams.
Acknowledge that if they do their best that is good enough.
Ensure they realize that this period in their lives will pass and that exams are only a temporary time in their lives; nothing can and does last forever.
Ensure they keep their eye on the prize: enjoying their long summer holiday when the exams are finished; giving them something to look forward to will help to motivate them and provide a positive end in sight.
小题1:According to paragraph 1, it’s important to learn how to prepare for exams because___.| A．it is a part of growing up. | | B．It is the first experience of stress | | C．it helps kid release stress and do better. | | D．it is important to get a good mark in exams. |
小题2:Which subjects should be worked on first?| A．Their best ones. | B．Their favourite ones. | | C．the easiest ones | D．the most difficult ones |
小题3:According to the passage, which of the following is true?| A．Kid should become aware of the importance of exams. | | B．Kids should learn to deal with exam pressure independently. | | C．Parents should keep their kids away from entertainment. | | D．Parents should care about the psychological development of children. |
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The mental aspect of athletics is underrated. The common expression, “athletics are 90 percent ____ and 10 percent physical,” is often used by coaches, and stresses that mindsets make a huge ____ in competitions.
“The physical aspect of the sport can only take you ____ ,” said Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Shannon Miller during an interview with the Dana Foundation. “The mental aspect has to ____ , especially when you’re talking about the best of the best. In the Olympic games, everyone is talented. Everyone ____ hard. Everyone does the work. What ____ the gold medalists from the silver medalists is simply the mental game.”
Many athletes have used the technique of mental imagery, or ____ , to perform at their best. Research on the brain patterns of ____ found that the patterns activated when a weightlifter lifted heavy weights were activated ____ when they simply imagined lifting and some studies have suggested that mental ____ can be almost as effective as physical training. One study, published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology in 1996, found that ____ weight lifting caused ____ changes in muscle activity.
“Mental imagery ____ many cognitive (认知的) processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory,” researcher Angie LeVan wrote in Psychology Today. “So the ____ is getting trained for actual performance during visualization. It’s been found that mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence, improve motor performance and ____ your brain for success.”
____ visualizing is more than just thinking about an upcoming event. ____ athletes use visualization, they truly feel the event taking place in their mind’s eye.
“During visualization, she incorporates (整合) all of her ____ into the experience,” sports psychologist Dr JoAnn Dahlkoetter wrote in a blog post on The Huffington Post ____ a speed skater she works with. “She feels her forefoot pushing off the track, she hears her skating splits, and she sees herself racing ahead of the competitors. She experiences all of the elements of her race ____ before executing (完成) her performance.”
| 小题1: | | A．lucky | B．intelligent | C．mental | D．strategic |
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| 小题2: | | A．difference | B．importance | C．improvement | D．challenge |
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| 小题3: | | A．so long | B．so far | C．so much | D．so high |
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| 小题4: | | A．turn on | B．show off | C．take up | D．set off |
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| 小题5: | | A．thinks | B．moves | C．runs | D．trains |
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| 小题6: | | A．breaks | B．pushes | C．decides | D．distinguishes |
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| 小题7: | | A．activation | B．visualization | C．motivation | D．perception |
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| 小题8: | | A．athletes | B．gymnasts | C．weightlifters | D．skaters |
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| 小题9: | | A．regularly | B．normally | C．finally | D．similarly |
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| 小题10: | | A．connection | B．practice | C．performances | D．directions |
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| 小题11: | | A．imagining | B．considering | C．reviewing | D．dreaming |
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| 小题12: | | A．few | B．usual | C．actual | D．strange |
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| 小题13: | | A．impacts | B．increases | C．slows | D．follows |
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| 小题14: | | A．brain | B．body | C．attention | D．memory |
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| 小题15: | | A．help | B．apply | C．use | D．prepare |
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| 小题16: | | A．Though | B．But | C．Thus | D．Otherwise |
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| 小题17: | | A．Unless | B．After | C．When | D．Until |
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| 小题18: | | A．observations | B．spirit | C．determination | D．senses |
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| 小题19: | | A．to | B．for | C．about | D．with |
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| 小题20: | | A．in surprise | B．in detail | C．on time | D．for example |
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IT’S never a real problem for us when the weather gets cold. We can put on more clothes, stay next to a fireplace, turn on the air conditioner or simply travel to a warmer city to spend the winter – people have many different ways of coping with the cold.
But things are not as easy for plants. Unlike humans, plants can’t move to escape the cold or generate heat to keep themselves warm. So how do they manage to survive the freezing winter?
It turns out that plants have their own strategies too, said a study published on Dec 22 in the journal Nature.
According to researcher Amy Zanne of George Washington University, US, the cold is a big challenge for plants. Their living tissues can be damaged when they freeze. “It’s like a plant’s equivalent to frostbite (冻疮),” Zanne told Science Daily. Also, the process of freezing and thawing (解冻) can cause air bubbles to form in the plant’s water transport system. “If enough of these air bubbles come together as water thaws they can block the flow of water from the roots to the leaves and kill the plant,” she explained.
To live through cold weather, plants have developed three traits, according to the study. Some plants, such as oak trees, avoid freezing damage by dropping their leaves before the winter chill sets in – effectively shutting off the flow of water between roots and leaves – and growing new leaves and water transport cells when the warm spring returns.
Other plants, pine trees for example, protect themselves by narrowing their water transport cells, which makes it easier for cells to travel among air bubbles.
The third strategy is also the most extreme – some plants die on the ground in winter and start growing as new plants from seeds when conditions get warmer.
However, the study also found that these smart strategies were developed very slowly – over millions of years of evolution. This leads scientists to worry that plants may not be able to deal with human-caused climate change, which has only started occurring over the past few decades.
Scientists are hoping that this study can help people find possible ways to save plants from the threat of climate change.
小题1:What is the article mainly about?| A．Why plants are not afraid of the winter chill. | | B．The ways that plants survive cold weather. | | C．Changes in plants’ water transport system in winter. | | D．How plants evolve to keep up with climate change. |
小题2:According to the article, if a plant freezes in the winter, ______.| A．it produces more living tissues to stay alive | | B．its leaves quickly fall out and its roots begin to die | | C．lots of air bubbles form in its water transport system | | D．its water transport system could be blocked in the spring |
小题3:How do oak trees usually survive the cold winters?| A．By dropping their leaves before winter. | | B．By narrowing their water transport cells. | | C．By widening their water transport cells. | | D．By leaving only the seeds alive and growing from the seeds in the spring. |
小题4:What are scientists worried about when it comes to plants according to the article?| A．Plants may not be able to adapt to the increasingly cold climate. | | B．Human activities might have a great impact on the pace of plants’ evolution. | | C．Plants may not be able to evolve fast enough to adapt to human-caused climate change. | | D．The strategies plants develop are not good enough to protect them against cold. |
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EVERYONE has those nights – you lie in your bed for hours, tossing and turning, totally unable to fall asleep. You wish you could just turn your brain off as if it were a light. That would make things much easier, wouldn’t it?
Now it looks like you are one step closer to this wild dream of yours – scientists from Oxford University, UK have just discovered the “switch” that tells the brain to go to sleep, reported Forbes.
To understand the study, you first need to know that there are two mechanisms (机能) that regulate sleep. There’s one that we’re already familiar with – our body clock, which works in a 24-hour cycle based on the light changes throughout the day.
The other one is what scientists call the sleep “homeostat (动态平衡系统)”. This mechanism has nothing to do with daylight. Instead, it keeps track of the brain’s waking hours and urges it to rest if it has been awake for a long time. “It is similar to the thermostat (自动调温器) in your home. A thermostat measures temperature and switches on the heating if it’s too cold,” Professor Gero Miesenböck, who led the study, told The Telegraph.
Our bodies use both of the mechanisms to regulate sleep. “The body clock says it’s the right time, and the sleep thermostat has built up pressure during a long waking day,” explained Miesenböck.
There is no way that scientists can trick the body clock. But with the sleep homeostat, there might be something they can do.
The researchers found that the sleep homeostat works by activating a specific group of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain. They tested their theory on fruit flies by removing the neurons from the insects’ brains. And as expected, they found that the flies without the homeostat neurons did not keep a regular sleep pattern anymore.
Now that scientists have pinpointed (定位) the exact place in the brain – or, the “switch” – that regulates sleep, they can begin investigating (研究) how to activate these cells at any given time so that people can be sent to sleep instantly.
More importantly, figuring out how sleep mechanisms work may also help us to one day unravel one of the oldest mysteries of all: why do we need to sleep in the first place?
小题1:What is the article mainly about?| A．A new way to treat sleep disorders. | | B．The discovery of the sleep “homeostat”. | | C．Advice on what to do when you fail to fall asleep. | | D．A comparison of the two mechanisms that regulate sleep. |
小题2:How does the author explain the function of the sleep homeostat?| A．Through examples. | | B．With comparisons. | | C．Through cause and effect analysis. | | D．By presenting research findings. |
小题3:What can we conclude from the article?| A．Generally, the sleep homeostat has less effect on people during the day than at night. | | B．There is little scientists can do to affect the way the sleep homeostat works. | | C．What makes us go to sleep at night is probably a combination of the two mechanisms. | | D．The more homeostat neurons there are in one’s brain, the more easily one can fall asleep. |
小题4:The underlined word “unravel” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.| A．put up with | B．figure out | C．keep track of | D．take notice of |
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