London——Laura Spence has excellent grades, a place at Harvard University and a US $25,000 a year scholarship. The British Government says that is scandal(丑聞).  
Not because the 13-year-old girl is going to Harvard, but because she was rejected by Oxford University. Her case makes people talk about the long-running problems about elitism(精英主義) in British education.
“I think it’s a scandal if a child has to go to Harvard rather than getting into Oxford, don’t you?” Education Secretary David Blunkett said on May 26th in an interview on BBC radio.
British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said in a speech on May 25th it was “an absolute scandal”, a girl with those grades was turned down by Oxford’s Magdalen College. He noted that Spence comes from Monkseaton in northeastern England, where people sometimes complain they get fewer chances than people living in the richer, more populous south.
Oxford and Cambridge University now take the majority of their students—53 percent—from publicly funded schools. Elite(精英)private schools such as Eton and Harrow account for the other 47 percent, even though they serve only 7 percent of secondary students.
A BBC reporter had seen notes of Spence’s interview at Magdalen. “As with other comprehensive school pupils, she’s low in confidence and difficult to draw out of herself in spite of being able to think on her feet,” the BBC quoted the notes as saying. Still, the notes concluded that Spence “will be an excellent doctor.”
“It appears as if some of our institutions have admissions procedures which may be because of absurd prejudices against children from comprehensive schools…are not giving these children a fair crack of the whip”, Education Minister Wicks told the BBC.
5.Laura Spence was rejected by Oxford University because.
A.she was a girl of 13 years old       B.she lacked confidence and she couldn’t think by herself
C.she didn’t win excellent grades
D.she was a shy girl from a comprehensive school in the poorer, less populous north
6.If Laura Spence was from such a school as Eton,.
A.she would be admitted to Oxford    B.she would be accepted by Harvard
C.she could cause long?running problems about elitism in British education
D.she wouldn’t be an excellent doctor
7.What’s the meaning of “a fair crack of the whip”in the last paragraph?
A.A good chance.        B.Warning.           C.Rejection.             D.Admission
8.According to Education Minister Wick’s words, we know he .
A.thought there was something wrong with procedures of admissions to their institutes
B.took the side of Oxford University
C.considered giving up children from comprehensive schools   D.didn’t tell the truth to the BBC
5-8  DAAA
5.  由第4段He noted that Spence comes from Monkseaton in northeastern English, where people sometimes complain they have fewer chances than people living in the richer, more populous south 可知。
6.  結(jié)合第4、5兩段可知。
7.  由最后一段中出現(xiàn)的such prejudices, not giving 等意義可知“由于偏見，來自于綜合中學(xué)的學(xué)生并沒有給予同樣的機會上牛津大學(xué)這樣的名�！�。
8.  由文章可知，教育大臣對大學(xué)的入學(xué)程序提出了質(zhì)疑。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解



"The world's oceans are slowly getting more acidic,”say scientists. The researchers from California report that the change is taking place in response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The lowering of the waters’pH value is not great at the moment but could cause a serious threat to current ocean life if it continues, they warn. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, report their concerns in the journal Nature.
Increasing use of oil fuels means more carbon dioxide is going into the air, and most of it will eventually be absorbed by seawater. Once in the water, it reacts to form carbonic acid. Scientists believe that the oceans have already become slightly more acidic over the last century.
These researchers have tried to predict what will happen in the future by combining what we know about the history of the oceans with computer models of climate change．"This level of acidity will get much more extreme in the future if we continue releasing CO2 into the atmosphere," said Dr Caldeira. "And we predict the amount of future acidity will exceed（超過）anything we have seen over the last several hundred million years, let alone perhaps after rare disastrous events such as asteroid（小行星) impacts．”
However, it is not absolutely clear what that means for ocean life．Most organisms live near the surface, where the greatest pH change would be expected to occur, but deep-ocean life forms may be more sensitive to pH changes．Coral reefs and other organisms whose shells contain calcium carbonate（小行星) may be particularly affected if the water's acidity levels keep going up, the team predict. They could find it much more difficult to build these structures in water with a lower pH.
In recent years some people have suggested storing carbon dioxide from power stations in the deep ocean as a way of dealing with global warming．But Dr Caldeira said that such a strategy should now be re-considered. "Previously, most experts had looked at ocean absorption of carbon dioxide as a good thing-because in releasing CO2 into the atmosphere we warm the planet, and when CO2, is absorbed by the ocean, it reduces the amount of greenhouse warming.”
小題1:According to Dr Caldeira,__________ .
A．ocean absorption of carbon dioxide is a good thing
B．more oil fuels will be used in the near future
C．scientists may predict climate changes with computer models
D．the future situation of the amount of acidity is extremely serious
小題2:f the water's acidity level keeps rising,_________ .
A．ocean life whose structures contain calcium carbonate may be affected
B．the waters’pH value will become higher and higher
C．organisms living near the surface are more sensitive to pH changes
D．some disastrous events will occur more often than before
小題3:Most experts once believed storing carbon dioxide in the ocean would reduce________ .
A．the CO2 absorbed by the oceanB．the amount of greenhouse warming
C．the acidity of the oceanD．the gradual release of CO2
小題4:The purpose of this passage is to_________ .
A．show people the findings of a research teamB．inform people of how acid the ocean is now
C．introduce Dr Caldeira and his team's researchD．warn people of the higher level of CO2

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Everyday rubbish could provide a valuable source of energy thanks to a clever new invention. Smelly methane（沼氣）gas expelled from landfill sites containing tones of rotting household waste could be used to produce a valuable energy resource. In Europe alone land fill tips produce 94 billion cubic meters of methane per year but currently only one percent of what could be a valuable source of energy is used, the rest is burnt off to prevent an explosive build up of gas.
Methane gas forms when organic matter breaks down and is drawn off from large rubbish tips by pipes sunk into the middle of the waste. Until now this process wasn’t possible on small sites because the pipe allowed oxygen to seep in and that stop the breakdown process.
Viktor Popov of the Wessex Institute of Technology has now developed a system to modify existing landfill sites by making them airtight while the methane is extracted from sunken wells. The site is covered by a special three-layered skin whose two outer layers are made of clay with a pressurized（加壓的）layer of carbon dioxide gas in the middle. As the methane is sucked out through a central well it is replaced by carbon dioxide from the middle layer rather than oxygen, allowing the breakdown process to continue.
Unfortunately there are no plans to use the power of methane even though Popov claims his invention could provide a valuable source of energy over the next 20 years.
小題1:The passage mainly introduces ______ to us.
A．how to make methaneB．a(chǎn) new way to make use of rubbish
C．the valuable things in rubbishD．the amount of rubbish beig reused
小題2:From the passage we can see that _____.
A．in Europe 94 billion cubic meters of methane is produced every year
B．some of the waste will explode if it is not burnt off
C．99% of the rubbish has been burnt off in Europe
D．only a very small part of this kind of energy is used in Europe
小題3:In the passage the underlined word “that” refers to ______.
A．methane gasB．the long pipeC．oxygenD．the rubbish
小題4:Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Oxygen can cause the breakdown process to stop.
B．When the methane is sucked out, oxygen will enter from the middle layer.
C．Carbon dioxide doesn’t affect the breakdown process.
D．The new invention has not been put into use.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water — drink recycled sewage (污水) or die.
With t he drought (干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified (凈化的) waste water for drinking, even though there is great opposition to the measure.
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier .
"I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water," said Peter Beattie.  
"These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold, it's a matter of life and death."
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking.
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel.
But Australians have never liked the idea.
To try to change the way Australians think, Prime Minister John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have adhered to Queensland's move.
"I am very strongly for recycling and Mr. Beattie is right and I agree with him completely," Howard said.
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water.” added Turnbull, "All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall."
小題1:What is the text mainly about?
A．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage
B．Australians face the choice of life and death
C．Premier Beattie is worried about his people’s health
D．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy
小題2:According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water
B．Australia's second largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy
C．No other countries but Australia decide to drink recycled water
D．The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history.
小題3:What can we learn from the last paragraph ?
A．Australians have never like drinking purified waste water
B．Australians should develop more water sources to live through the hard time
C．Australians can’t depend upon rainwater , which is not suitable for drinking .
D．Australian government has no ability to solve the problem of water shortage
小題4:The underlined phrase “adhered to” in Paragraph 9 probably means_________.
A．dislikedB．gone againstC．supportedD．doubted
小題5:It can be inferred from what Premier Peter Beattie said that________.
A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water
B．It is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage
C．If the decision is made, people won’t survive the drought
D．It’s up to you to either make a life or death decision

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The question of what children learn, and how they should learn, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the learning of lessons parrot-fashion, the grammar-with-a-whip system, which was good enough for our grandparents. The theories of modem psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the need of children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as much.
Well, you may say, this is as it should be, a good idea. But think further. What happens? "Education" becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists (心里學(xué)家). What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications (暗示) of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child’s. So teachers worry whether history is "relevant" to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violence? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Verbal expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No: Real-life mathematical situations are more understandable.
You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than to write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teacher-training colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make elaborate, sophisticated (精致的，復(fù)雜的) preparations and try out their "modem methods" on the long-suffering children. Since one "modem method" rapidly replaces another the poor kids will have had a good bellyful by the time they leave school. Frequently the modem methods are so sophisticated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so essential for the " informal" feelings the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.
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C. children were treated as grown-ups          D. children were made to learn passively(被動的)
9. What view do the modem psychologists hold?
A. Children must be understood and respected.
B. Children are small adults and know what they need.
C. Children are better off without learning lessons.
D. Education of children is the responsibility of psychologists.
10. What happens when teachers pay too much attention to the psychology of their lessons?
A. They find that the children dislike the lessons.
B. They tend to blame students for their failure.
C. They do not pay enough attention to the actual lessons.
D. They no longer want to teach children history.
11. Grammatical sentences are regarded as unimportant because ________.
A. it is better to use verbs only
B. words are said out of natural feelings only
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D. it is felt that formal grammar rules might cause unnatural expressions
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it’s an ingredient(配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices(香料) like chili peppers.
Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.
The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too.Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.
In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.
Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.  
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A. The workers in the chocolate factory       B. The Spaniards
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B. The word “chocolate” comes from a Mexican word.
C. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys like them.
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3. The Spaniards think that cacao was a medicine because________
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4. Which is the right time order of the events regarding chocolate?
a. Chocolate became a cheap and popular drink in England.
b. A factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate.
c. The Spaniards started drinking cacao.
d. It was found that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao.
e. A factory mixed milk and chocolate together.  
A. a-b-c-d-e　          B. c-d-e-b-a　　  C. c-d-a-b-e　　        D. c-d-b-e-a
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B. Mexicans like chocolate very much
C. chocolate is a product of the cacao tree
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth , is of great importance to African ecosystem(生態(tài)系統(tǒng)). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
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Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
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11. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Disappearance of African elephants.
B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.
C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.
D. The eating habit of African elephants.
12. What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
A. Fixing the time.                                   B. Worsening the state.
C. Improving the quality.                          D. Deciding the conditions.
13. What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.
B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.
C. They are home to many endangered animals
D. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.
14. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The African elephant is the largest animal on earth.
B. African elephants have 300 pounds of plants every day, including small trees and underbushes.
C. The African elephant is in a way the builder of the environment like other land animals
D. If the African elephant disappears, the whole ecosystem won’t be affected..
15. The passage is developed mainly by        .
A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes
B. pointing out similarities and differences
C. describing the changes in space order
D. giving examples

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The United States is trying to improve an edueation system that produces millions of citizens who cannot read, write, or add—let alone finding their country on a map.
In his first State of Union message since taking office a year ago, President George Bush promised to wipe out illiteracy(文盲) in the next decade and declared that“by the year 2008, U.S students must be first in the world in math and science achievements. ” They have a long way to go. American students were placed 14th in a recent general science test conducted in 16 countries. In a separate survey of chemistry students, the United States came 12 out of 14. In a mathematics test, they were last. According to Bush, there are 17 million illiterates in this country of 245 million people. Other estimates put the number as high as 23 million. In percentage terms, that ranks the United States alongside Niearague and below Cuba. “This nation,”Bush said in his State of the Union address, “will not accept anything but excellent in education.” Bush, who has declared himself “Education president”, and senior officals of his administration are warning that the United States will be unable to compete in the world without an educated workforce.
How to increase educational standards is a matter of debate in a country whose schools have no uniform national curriculum and are subject to a confusing variety of state and local controls. Most experts think that the problem lies at the elementary and high school'levels rather than with universities-but even their graduates show huge gaps in general knowledge. Among the root causes most frequently mentioned in education debates is the low respect in which U.S. society holds teachers-in contrast to Japan and Germany. In Japan teaching is a profession of high prestige(威望) and high pay. In the United States teachers are near the bottom of the society.
5.By“the United States came 12 out of 14”(Para. 2), the author means .      
A.the United States ranked 12th not 14th in the chemistry test
B.the United States ranked 12th in the chemistry test conducted by 14 countries
C.the United States progressed from 14th to 12th in the chemistry test
D.the United States ranked 12th in chemistry test and 14th in general science test
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A.some problems exist in primary and secondary education
B.society keeps teachers in low respect
C.America pays more attention to economy instead of education
D.America has no uniform national courses
7.Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
A.President Bush carried out his promise made in his first State of Union message.
B.The education in Japan and Germany is in higher level.
C.According to Bush, the number of illiterates accounts for 9% of the total.
D.Teachers in the United States enjoy good treatment and great respect.
8.Which of the following is the right order of the least-first of the percent of illiterates?
A.Germany, Cuba, Nicaragua.         B.Germany, Nicaragua, Cuba.
C.Nicaragua, Japan, Cuba.            D.Cuba, Japan, Nicaragua.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

For some people, the sight of a mouse can be reason to scream. For other mice, the same sight can be reason to sing.
Mice will probably   21  sing their way to any concert, but researchers in the United States have found   22  that mice do,   23 , sing.
Scientists already knew that mice make ultrasonic(超聲波) sounds—noises that are too high-pitched(高音的) for people to hear   24  special equipment.
To find out whether mice put such sounds together in song-like   25 , the researchers recorded the sounds of 1 mice. Using computer   26 , they were able to separate the sounds into specific types of syllables(音節(jié)), and found the mice produced about 10 syllables per second.
The results showed that nearly all of the mice repeated sequences(順序) of syllables in different patterns. That’s enough to meet the definition of what scientists   27  song. But not all scientists are   28  _ that what the mice are doing is   29  singing. To prove it, the researchers must show that there’s learning involved. And, they need to __  30  why the mice sing.
21. A. almost               B. even                C. never               D. usually
22. A. coincidence        B. evidence           C. guidance          D. instance
23. A. at once               B. by means          C. for example             D. in fact
24. A. during               B. inside               C. through            D. without
25. A. fashions             B. instructions        C. patterns            D. styles
26. A. access                B. printer                    C. screen               D. software
27. A. call                   B. hear                 C. sing                 D. write
28. A. accustomed        B. convinced         C. involved           D. qualified
29. A. actually                     B. obviously         C. simply                    D. unlikely
30. A. figure out          B. get about          C. run across         D. talk over

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