Hungry for the brightest students, many of the country’s stronger universities a

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Hungry for the brightest students, many of the country’s stronger universities are actively discounting tuition （学费）．And it’s the high achievers, rather than the needy students, who are getting a good chunk of the money．The practice is remarkably widespread, reaching almost all but the 30 or so Ivy and other top colleges that forbid good grades-based financial aid．Schools are also becoming more aggressive in raising their discounts．At the DePauw University Website, enter an SAT or ACT score, grade point average and class rank, and a computer program immediately tells you what kind of "award"．Only "the real unlucky" pay full price any more．
About 76% of first-year students got some form of discount this year at 331 private schools．Average award per student: $7,000．At small schools with tuition under about $20,000, the average discount is even higher, with some schools returning over half their tuition．
Carnegie Mellon even tells students it will "negotiate（讨价还价）" and perhaps match financial-aid packages if kids are offered bigger awards at other schools．Much as banks and insurers offer special rates to their best customers, schools are giving the biggest breaks to their top students．Public four-year colleges, too, are offering discounts．
The flip side of big discounts is that less money is available to improve academic programs and keep school infrastructure （基础设施） up to date．Universities that have sharply increased their tuition discount rates have seen graduation rates fall, and that’s true even among highly selective schools．They get the students in the door, but don’t have the services to keep them．
小题1:From the first paragraph, we can judge that _______．

A．all the universities don’t offer tuition discounts．

B．Ivy and other top colleges offer financial aid to the high achievers

C．the needy students get more money from the universities

D．the graduation rates of the students from highly selected schools fall

小题2:The underlined words “flip side” in the last paragraph probably mean “_______”．

A．advantage

B．disadvantage

C．bad practice

D．good function

小题3:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The brightest students are not at all hungry for stronger universities．

B．About 76% of first-year students got an award of $ 20,000 per year．

C．Public colleges never offer discounts to the students．

D．Colleges should concentrate more on the services to keep the students

小题4:This passage mainly talks about _______．

A．the great benefit of offering lower tuition

B．college tuition discounts in popularity

C．the top students in need of tuition discounts

D．reducing graduation rates due to big discounts

答案

小题1:A
小题1:B
小题1:D
小题1:B

解析

小题1:根据第一段The practice is remarkably widespread, reaching almost all but the 30 or so Ivy and other top colleges that forbid good grades-based financial aid 描述，可知选A。
小题1:联系下文that less money is available to improve academic programs and keep school infrastructure （基础设施） up to date．描述，可知指的是不利方面，故选B。
小题1:根据最后一段They get the students in the door, but don’t have the services to keep them．描述，可知选D。
小题1:这篇短文主要讨论了大学为了招收学生流行的学费优惠的问题，故选B。

举一反三

Humanity uses a little less than half the water available worldwide. Yet occurrences of shortages and droughts (干旱) are causing famine and distress in some areas, and industrial and agricultural by-products are polluting water supplies. Since the world’s population is expected to double in the next 50 years, many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis.
　 But that doesn’t have to be the outcome. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world---if we start valuing water more than we did in the past. Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective. We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want.
　 Instead, for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its actual value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.
　 Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound (健康的) ways. For example, often the cheapest way to provide irrigation water in the dry tropics is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions (凹地) and pumping it to nearby cropland.
　 No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water use. Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local, regional, and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use, countries should set up central authorities to coordinate (调整) water policy.
小题1:What is the real cause of the potentials water crisis.

A．Only half of the world’s water can be used.

B．The world population is increasing faster and faster.

C．Half of the world’s water resources have been seriously polluted.

D．Humanity has not placed enough value on water resources.

小题2:As is indicated in the passage, the water problem _________ .

A．is already serious in certain parts of the world.

B．has been exaggerated by some experts in the field

C．poses a challenge to the technology of building reservoirs(水库)

D．is underestimated by government organizations at different levels

小题3: According to the author, the water price should _______ .

A．be reduced to the minimum	B．stimulate domestic demand
C．go with its real value	D．take into account the occurrences of droughts

小题4:In order to raise the efficiency of the water supply, measures should be taken to ______ .

A．guarantee full protection of the environment

B．centralize the management of water resources

C．increase the sense of responsibility of agencies at all levels

D．encourage local and regional water resources

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OK, I admit it: emoticons (表情符号) are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.
Some, however, such as editor and Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, blast (抨击) the use of emoticons as “infantile (幼稚的) just like the people who use them” He believes that words themselves should be enough. “If you’re being funny, happy or sad, that should be apparent (明显的) from the comment that goes before the emoticon,” he argues.
In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender issue. “Men don’t use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all,” he said. “Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there’ s an emoticon gene.”
It’s an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed “to seek out representations of humanity”. He believes that they appeal not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they tap into (融入) something beyond language. They reach to our need to be with and communicate with people.
All of these arguments may be somehow valid (正确的). Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I do not have much time for emoticons. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing into a primary school class that I had no place being in. I’d rather let my words do the talking.
Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this. I don’t regard any of my friends as lazy or immature (不成熟的). It’s just a question of individuality. :)
小题1:According to the article, emoticons are popular because ______.

A．most of them look funny

B．they are easy for lazy people to use

C．they add feeling and character to a communication

D．a reader cannot understand a message without them

小题2:Which of the following views would John Blumenthal agree with?

A．Instant Message chatters are childish.

B．It’s enough to use language in digital communication.

C．Men never use emoticons.

D．There is an emoticon gene in everybody.

小题3:From the text, we can conclude that the author ______.

A．feels he has no difficulty using emoticons

B．thinks emoticons don’t suit him

C．encourage his friends to use emoticons

D．believes that emoticons are suitable for everyone

小题4:What is the main point of the article?

A．Advice on language used over the Internet.

B．The history of emoticons.

C．Arguments over the use of emoticons.

D．Reasons for the popularity of emoticons.

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Few of us make money by losing sleep．But three graduate students at Brown University in Providence built a company around sleep deprivation （睡眠不足）．
Jason Donahue, Ben Rubin and Eric Shashoua were working late nights in Brown"s business and engineering schools．They began thinking about ways to sleep better．They discovered they weren"t alone in burning the midnight oil．Around 20% of Americans get less than six hours of rest a night．
The friends imagined a smart alarm clock that could track how much time people spend in the most restorative （有回复作用的） stages of the sleep cycle: REM （rapid eye movement） and deep sleep．What would it cost to design such a thing? Five years of research, 20 employees, $14 million and a whole lot of doubting from investors a

nd scientists．
Their company, Zeo, based in Newton, Mass, launched its product in June, 2009．The Zeo device uses a headband with tiny sensors （传感器） that scan your brain for signs of four sleep states- REM, light, deep and waking sleep．The smart alarm clock displays a graph of your sleep pattern and wakes you as you"re not in REM sleep （which is when you"re least groggy）．In the morning you can upload the data to the company"s Web site, and so track your sleep over time．Most of the feedback comes in the form of Zeo"s ZQ score showing how well you"ve slept．
"Zeo allows people to unlock this black box of sleep," says Dave Dickinson, a health-care CEO．
Whether any of this actually improves sleep is up to the consumer, who will also need to make lifestyle changes like cutting out alcohol before bedtime or caffeine after 3 pm．
For now the company is selling Zeo online only．Dickinson also plans to spread it to countries such as Australia, where sleep deprivation approaches US levels．
小题1:Who will support Zeo?

A．People full of imagination．	B．People suffering sleeping problems．
C．People having access to the Internet．	D．People having bad lifestyles．

小题2:Why did the three graduate students imagine a smart alarm clock?

A．To wake them up on time in the morning．

B．To earn enough money for their study．

C．To improve the quality of people"s sleep．

D．To enjoy their life while working at night．

小题3:To design the Zeo device, the three graduate students ____．

A．spent much time and money	B．were widely supported by scientists
C．worked by themselves all the time	D．attracted many investors

小题4:What can we know from the passage?

A．Zeo has a direct effect on users" lifestyles．

B．It needs more personal efforts to make Zeo function better．

C．A large quantity of Zeo devices have been sold in Australia．

D．Consumers can go to the Zeo company to purchase Zeo in person．

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Contrary to common belief, social media websites such as Facebook do not weaken personal ties, they strengthen them in unique ways for different age groups, according to a new study．
The rapid spread of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has prompted concerns about its negative effects, but researchers at the University of Texas have reached a different conclusion．
"Our findings suggest that Facebook is not replacing face-to-face interactions between friends, family and colleagues," said S．Craig Watkins, an associate professor of radio, TV and film who headed the research team．
"In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community．"
The researchers questioned 900 college students and recent graduates about how and with whom they interact on Facebook．
More than 60 percent of Facebook users said posting status updates was among the most popular activities, followed by 60 percent who wrote comments on their profile and 49 percent who posted messages and comments to friends．
The researchers also found that although about the same number of men and women use Facebook, they do so in different ways．
"There is a noteworthy difference in aims in how to use a tool like Facebook．We found that for women the content tends to be more affectionate, and （they） are especially interested in using it for connection," said Watkins．
"For men, it"s more functional," he added．
Watkins pointed out that, for example, women are more likely to post pictures of social gatherings with friends, while men are more likely to post pictures of hobbies, or post a political or pop-culture related link．
小题1:What"s the popular viewpoint of ordinary people about the function of social media websites? They think ____．

A．It is positive to personal ties

B．It has negative effects on personal ties

C．It makes no difference to personal ties

D．It has both good and bad effects to personal ties

小题2:What"s the meaning of the underlined word in the second paragraph?

A．resulted from

B．had

C．showed

D．produced

小题3:What do Facebook users like to do mostly on Facebook? They like to ____．

A．create new expressions of friendship "

B．wrote comments on their profile

C．update their personal statuses

D．post messages and comments to friends

小题4:According to the study, ____．

A．Men concentrate more on the functions of Facebook

B．Much more men use Facebook than women

C．Men and women use a tool like Facebook for the same aim

D．Facebook is taking the place of face-to-face interactions between friends

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Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?
Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.
Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”
Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.
“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.
The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.
The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.
小题1:The purpose of the text is to _______.

A．tell us what life is like in Yemen

B．draw our attention to water shortage

C．remind us how important water is

D．show us ways of solving problems

小题2:The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.

A．buying water from shops

B．drinking dirty water

C．suffering from water shortage

D．washing clothes with used water

小题3:Hannan described _____.

A．what her life is like

B．how beautiful Lahej is

C．how people use water fully

D．how heavy the traffic in Lahej is

小题4:The Yemen Government _____.

A．has found a practical solution

B．only cares about rich people

C．may try to make use of seawater

D．can do nothing about the water supply

小题5:We can infer from the text that _____.

A．Sanaa will run out of water in 10 years

B．Hannan is a teenager from a rich family

C．the capital of Yemen is developing fast

D．private companies make a lot of money

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