Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs （金砖四国）? If so, it may end up sounding
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Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs （金砖四国）? If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker-BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach’s famous marketing device（策略）,the BRICs, should really be the BICs.
“Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?” asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreigh Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of “The Russian Balance Sheet”, thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes:
“The country’s economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas. ”
Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing
far better than Russia.
But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock（股票）market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three.
At very least, however, Russia’s economic underperformance and stock market outperfoumance does suggest it is indeed one of the group.
小题1:According to the passage, which country will enjoy the biggest increase in 2009?| A．China. | B．Russia. | C．Brazil. | D．India. |
小题2:According to Aslund, Russia shouldn’t be a BRIC partly because_______.| A．Russia’s economic performance is far worse than the other three | | B．Russia’s leaders are not good at managing economy | | C．Russia has taken effective measures to improve its economy | | D．Russia will no longer attract investors from other countries |
小题3:From the passage we know that ________.| A．Anders Aslund is working for the Russian government | | B．Russia outperfoumed the other three countries in stock market | | C．most people disagree Russia is included in BRICs | | D．the BRICs would end up being the BICs sooner or later |
小题4:The author seems to ________.| A．suggest it’s time to kick Russia out of the BRICs? | | B．feel worried about the economy of the BRICs | | C．think Russia is worth being one of the group | | D．show disappointment to Russia’s economy |
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答案
小题1:A
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:C |
解析
小题1:细节题：从第四段的句子China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doingfar better than R ussia.可知中国经济增长最快。选A。
小题2:细节题：从第三段的句子“The country’s economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. 可知俄罗斯的经济表现比其他三个国家差。选A
小题3:细节题：从到数第二段的句子“From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock（股票）market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three.可知可知俄罗斯的股票市场表现比其他三个国家好。选B
小题4:细节题：从最后一段的句子At very least, however, Russia’s economic underperformance and stock market outperfoumance does suggest it is indeed one of the group.
C |
举一反三
Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.
Recently, two major US student loan lenders — Citibank and JPMorgan Chase — announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.
In the US, many undergraduates top up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2005-2006 academic year, $17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The shortfall in private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.
Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants (助学金). Their biggest concern is a sudden steep increase in student rent.
Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (住房抵押贷款计划) have disappeared — a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.
In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of ￡103. Yet, despite students’ suffering, the number of this year’s university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps (经济萧条时期), people regard further education as a way to survive tough job markets.
小题1:According to the passage, banks are unwilling to offer students loans because ________.| A．the students are poor and sometimes they can’t pay off the debt | | B．banks prefer lending the money to the young professionals | | C．banks don’t have enough money left at the present time | | D．they think college students are not studying hard |
小题2:The underlined phrase “top up” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.| A．put up | B．make up | C．fill up | D．pick up |
小题3:Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?| A．UK college students have to pay more if they want to rent houses. | | B．More UK students want to further their study in college. | | C．It is not so easy for US students to loan money now. | | D．College students’ tuition fees have risen greatly. |
小题4:It can be inferred that ________.| A．there are no private student loan lenders in the UK | | B．loans for US college students will be increased next year | | C．private funding falls a little because of higher-interest loans in the US | | D．private loans play a very important role in financing US students’ education |
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First of all, successful language learners are independent learners. They 31 their own way to learn the language. Instead of 32 for the teachers to explain, they try to find the pattern and rules for themselves. They are good 33 who look for clues and form their own conclusions. When they guess wrong, they guess again. They try to learn from their mistakes.
Secondly, 34 language learners are active in 35 , therefore, they do not wait for a chance to use the languages, and they look for such a chance. They find people who speak the language and let those people 36 them when they make a 37 . They will try anything to communicate. They are not afraid to repeat what they hear or to say 38 things which sound weird. They are willing to make mistakes and try again, when communication is difficult. They can accept information that is 39 or incomplete. It is more 40 for them to learn to think in the language than to know the 41 of every word.
42 successful language learners are learners with 43 . They want to learn language because they are interested in the language and the people who speak it. It is necessary for them to learn the language in order to 44 with these people and to learn from them. They find it easy to practice using the language 45 because they want to learn it.
| 小题1: | | A．learn | B．observe | C．discover | D．notice |
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| 小题2: | | A．delaying | B．waiting | C．postponing | D．staying |
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| 小题3: | | A．finders | B．thinkers | C．believers | D．guessers |
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| 小题4: | | A．winning | B．lucky | C．successful | D．flourishing |
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| 小题5: | | A．discovering | B．memorizing | C．learning | D．studying |
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| 小题6: | | A．correct | B．change | C．adjust | D．mark |
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| 小题7: | | A．mistake | B．point | C．failure | D．fault |
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| 小题8: | | A．awkward | B．strange | C．unfamiliar | D．curious |
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| 小题9: | | A．unobvious | B．incredible | C．incorrect | D．indifferent |
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| 小题10: | | A．funny | B．interesting | C．important | D．boring |
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| 小题11: | | A．meaning | B．content | C．context | D．explanation |
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| 小题12: | | A．Finally | B．Secondly | C．Thirdly | D．Mostly |
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| 小题13: | | A．purpose | B．interest | C．matter | D．concern |
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| 小题14: | | A．convey | B．inform | C．report | D．communicate |
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| 小题15: | | A．regularly | B．commonly | C．typically | D．usually |
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Many teenagers(青少年) feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends．They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do．In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas．
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends．Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone．This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something．These things are difficult to tell their family members．
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them．Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends．Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome．
小题1: Many teenagers think that ____ can understand them better．| A．friends | B．brothers | C．sisters | D．parents |
小题2:When teenagers have something difficult to tell their parent s, they usually____．| A．stay alone at home | B．fight with their parents | | C．discuss it with their friends | D．go to their brothers and sisters for help |
小题3:The sentence (句子) “Your answers are welcome．” means _______．| A．You are welcome to discuss the questions with us | | B．We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome | | C．Your answers are always right | | D．You can give us all the right answers |
小题4:Which of the following is the writer’s attitude(态度)?| A．Parents should choose friends for their children． | | B．Children should choose everything they like． | | C．Parents should understand their children better． | | D．Teenagers should only go to their friends for help． |
小题5:Part of the purpose of this passage is to ___.| A．give information for the parents to make their own judgment (判断) | | B．give advice to children who want to choose their friends | | C．help parents to find better friends for their children | | D．get some information from many readers |
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In the earliest stages of man’s development he had no more need of money than animals have. He was content with very simple forms of shelter, made his own rough tools and weapons and could provide food and clothing for himself and his family from natural materials around him. As he became more civilized, however, he began to want better shelter, more efficient tools and weapons, and more comfortable and more lasting clothing than could be provided by his own neighborhood or by the work of his own unskilled hands. For these things he had to turn to the skilled people such as smiths, leather workers or carpenters. It was then that the question of payment arose.
At first he got what he wanted by a simple process of exchange. The smith who had not the time to look after land or cattle was glad to take meat or grain from the farmer in exchange for an axe or a plough (犁). But as more and more goods which had no fixed exchange value came on the market, exchange became too complicated to be satisfactory. Another problem arose when those who made things wanted to get stocks of wood or leather, or iron, but had nothing to offer in exchange until their finished goods were ready.
Thus the difficulties of exchange led by degree to the invention of money. In some countries easily handled things like seeds or shells were given a certain value and farmer, instead of paying the smith for a new axe by giving him some meat or grain, gave him so many shells. If the smith had any shells left when he had bought his food, he could get stocks of the raw materials of his trade. In some countries quite large things such as cows or camels or even big flat stones were used for trade. Later, pieces of metal, bearing values according to the rarity (稀有) of the metal and the size of the pieces, or coins were used. Money as we know it had arrived.
小题1:What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?| A．Man needed little in the earliest stages of development. | | B．Man preferred to make tools by himself. | | C．How the simple process of exchange arose. | | D．What the early man needed from others. |
小题2:As men became more civilized they __________.| A．all learnt to make by themselves the things needed | | B．had to travel a lot to look for what they wanted | | C．wanted better things than those they themselves could provide | | D．no longer provided food and clothing for themselves |
小题3:Exchange of goods became difficult because __________.| A．man became more civilized | | B．there was not a marketplace for farmers and smiths to exchange their goods | | C．farmers hadn’t enough grain or meat to provide for skilled workers | | D．more and more goods which had no fixed exchange values appeared on the market. |
小题4:Money was not used until __________.| A．paper was invented | | B．nothing could be offered in exchange | | C．people practiced a simple process of exchange | | D．the exchange of one thing for another became too complicated |
小题5: What was used for trade according to the text?| A．Shells | B．Tea | C．Salt | D．Horses |
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Many people will remember the flight of the space shuttle （航天飞机）Challenger , in June, 1993．The achievement of Sally Ride, America’s first woman astronaut to fly into space, made this flight especially memorable．Students from two high schools in Camden, New Jersey, however, are likely to remember Norma rather than Sally whenever they think about the flight．
Norma didn’t travel alone．She brought about 100 companions along with her．Norma was an ant, a queen ant who, with her subjects, made up the first ant colony （群体） to travel into space．The ants were part of a science experiment designed by the students to test the effects of weightlessness on insects．
The equipment designed by the students for their colony functioned perfectly throughout the long space trip．The young scientists and their teachers were very sad to find that their insect astronauts had all died at some point before the container was returned to the school and opened．The problem did not occur in space, but on the ground after Challenger had landed．The container remained in the desert for nearly a week before the ant colony was removed．The hot, dry desert air dried out the colony’s container and the ants died from lack of moisture （水分）．
The project was termed a success because it did provide useful information．Students will continue their efforts to find out exactly what went wrong．They will try to prevent the same difficulties from recurring （再发生） on future missions ．They don’t want to be discouraged either by the death of the ants or by the $10,000 shuttle fare they will have to pay to send the next colony of ants into space．
小题1:The story is mainly about ．| A．Sally Ride’s first ride | | B．space equipment for insects | | C．a space experiment with ants | | D．going to school in New Jersey |
小题2:The project wasn’t a failure because ．| A．some important things were learned | | B．dead ants are better | | C．everything went as expected | | D．students wrote about it |
小题3:The ants died because ．| A．weightlessness harmed them | | B．space caused too much pain | | C．no one fed them in space | | D．they dried out in the desert |
小题4:On the next space trip , ants ．| A．will be sent without people | | B．should not be left in the desert too long | | C．will have to pay double fare | | D．will escape the trip completely |
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