This was no ordinary class. The students who came together were all science or engineering professors
at Cornell University. They had interrupted their research to accept an invitation to take part in an unusual
experiment:"an interesting week of poetry." This class was part of a study to answer the questions: Why is
science difficult for many nonscience students? What can teachers learn about teaching if they take a class
that is not in their field?
The students in the poetry class listened to lectures and took notes. They had reading tasks and had to
write three short papers. All students noticed one thing-the importance of spoken words. In science and
engineering classes, the instructors put tables and drawings on the blackboard. But in this poetry class, the
instructors just talked. They didn"t write anything on the board.
The scientists and engineers noticed one similarity between science and poetry. In both subjects, students
need to find layers (层次) of meaning. Some layers are simple, clean, and on the surface; other layers are
deeper and more difficult. This search for different levels of meaning doesn"t happen much in undergraduate
(本科) science classes, but it is important later, in graduate school. And it is always important in humanities (人文科学).
Both the poetry instructors and their students learned something about teaching from this experience.
One poetry instructor, for example, now sees the importance of using informative as he teaches. Most of the
scientists agreed on several points. First, humanities classes might help science students to see patterns and
decide which information is important. Second, the poetry class was fun. One engineer decided, "We need to
change the way we teach engineering to make it an enjoyable experience for students."
But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this; All of the professors began to think
about how they teach and how they cam teach better.
( )1. A. restrictive | B. negative B. glanced B. concept B. cause B. understand B. practising B. orders B. ambitiously B. impolite B. In addition B. face up to B. in all B. means B. relax B. fame | C. active | D. instructive D. shouted D. expectation D. consequence D. neglect D. sport D. insults D. bravely D. accessible D. After all D. come up with D. in advance D. directions D. enjoy D. spirit |
| Reading comprehension. | |||
| A study involving 8, 500 teenagers from all social backgrounds found that most of them are ignorant when it comes to money. The findings, the first in a series of reports from NatWest that has started a five- year research project into teenagers and money, arc particularly worrying as this generation of young people is likely to be burdened with greater debts man any before. University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at ￡3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling. In the research, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average ￡ 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just ￡ 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than ￡ 10.000. Average debts for graduates are ￡ 12,363. Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they arc to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively." Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fair-weather, aged 15 from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money. | |||
| 1. Which of the following can be found from the five-year research project? | |||
| A. Students understand personal finances differently. B. University tuition fees in England have been rising. C. Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings. D. The students" payback ability has become a major issue. | |||
| 2. The phrase "to raise the ceiling" in paragraph 2 probably means "______". | |||
| A. to raise the student loans B. to improve the school facilities C. to increase the upper limit of the tuition D. to lift the school building roofs | |||
| 3. According to Stephen Moir, students ______. | |||
| A. are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues B. should learn 10 manage their finances well C. should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans D. benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance | |||
| 4. What can we learn from the passage? | |||
| A. Many British teenagers do not know money matters well. B. Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts. C. Financial planning is a required course at college. D. Young people should become responsible adults. | |||
| 阅读理解。 | |||
| We experience different forms of the Sun"s energy every day. We can see its light and feel its warmth. The Sun is the major source of evaporation (蒸发) of water from the oceans and lakes. Sunlight also provides the energy used by green plants to make their own food. These green plants then provide food for all organisms (生物) on the Earth. Much of the energy that comes from the Sun never reaches the Earth"s surface. It is either reflected or absorbed by the gases in the upper atmosphere. Of the energy that reaches the lower atmosphere, 30% is reflected by clouds or the Earth"s surface. The remaining 70% warms the surface of the planet, causes water to evaporate, and provides energy for the water cycle and weather. Only a tiny part, approximately 0.023%, is actually used by green plants to produce food. Many gases found in the atmosphere actually reflect heat energy escaping from the Earth"s surface back to the Earth. These gases act like the glass of a greenhouse in that they allow energy from the Sun to enter but prevent energy from leaving. They are therefore called greenhouse gases. When sunlight strikes an object, some of the energy is absorbed and some is reflected. The amount reflected depends on the surface. For example, you"ve probably noticed how bright snow is when sunlight falls on it. Snow reflects most of the energy from the Sun, so it contributes to the low temperatures of winter. Dark- coloured surfaces, such as dark soil or forest, absorb more energy and help warm the surrounding air. | |||
| 1. According to the passage, the root cause for weather changes on the Earth is ______. | |||
| A. the atmosphere surrounding the Earth B. water from oceans and lakes C. energy from the Sun D. greenhouse gases in the sky | |||
| 2. Only a small part of the Sun"s energy reaches the Earth"s surface because most of it ______. | |||
| A. absorbed by the clouds in the lower atmosphere B. reflected by the gases in the upper atmosphere C. lost in the upper and lower atmosphere D. used to evaporate water from the oceans and lakes | |||
| 3. We learn from the passage that ______. | |||
| A. all living things on the Earth depend on the Sun for their food B. a forest looks dark in winter because it absorbs solar energy C. only 0.023% of the energy from the Sun is made use of on the Earth D. greenhouse gases allow heat energy to escape from the Earth"s surface | |||
| 阅读理解。 | |||
| More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple (菠萝). The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within. Then in 1966, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves. The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside. But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world"s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple. In nutrition (营养) it was all good news too. This nice tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C (维生素C) than the old green variety. Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases. People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit. The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater. Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep market to itself. But other fruit companies developed similar pineapples. Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte"s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out the market. | |||
| 1. We learn from the text that the new type at pineapple is ______. | |||
| A. green outside and sweet inside B. good-looking outside and soft inside C. yellowy-gold outside and hard inside D. a little soft outside and sweet inside | |||
| 2. Why was the new type of pineapple selling well? | |||
| A. It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice. B. It was less sweet and good for health. C. It was developed by Del Monte. D. It was used as medicine. | |||
| 3. The underlined word "fixture" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something ______. | |||
| A. that people enjoy eating B. that is always present C. that is difficult to get D. that people use as a gift | |||
| 4. We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte _______. | |||
| A. slowed other companies to develop pineapples B. succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself C. tried hard to control the pineapple market D. planned to help the other companies |