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.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 |
The underlined phrase “top up” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
| A．put up | B．make up | C．fill up | D．pick up |
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. |
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 |
“Today we had a discussion in class about heroes,” said Ayesha to her father. “The teacher asked us to name our favorite heroes.”
“What did you say?” asked her father curiously.
“I said Kareena Kapoor,” said Ayesha proudly.
“Why do you like Kareena?” asked her father.
“She is so pretty, Daddy!” shouted Ayesha. “So I want to look like her!”
“But how do you plan to do that?”
“I don’t know, but I want to look like her.”
“When I see you, I see a very pretty girl. You may not be Kareena, but you are just as fine as Ayesha,” said her father seriously. “Adopting（挑选）film actors as our heroes and heroines（女偶像）is part of being young, but in the process don’t put yourself down,” he added. “But if you are trying so hard to be Kareena, you will stop being Ayesha.” Ayesha began to look interested. Her father added, “Each of us is unique, We have come down to the earth to develop our own beautiful gifts. You are such a fine singer, for example. Can you see how this might be your own wonderful gift to the world? Focus on being yourself, child, and you will achieve great things in life.
“OK, Dad,” she said. “I love the way Kareena looks but I am now going to focus on being the best Ayesha I can be.”
“That’s my girl,” said her father, giving her a big hug.Kareena Kapoor is most probably a ______.
| A．popular writer | B．famous actress |
| C．school teacher | D．pretty singer |
Which of the following words can best describe Ayesha’s father?”
| A．Reasonable | B．Humorous | C．Impatient | D．Generous |
We know from the passage that _______.
| A．Ayesha’s teacher liked watching films very much |
| B．Kareena Kapoor became famous for her courage |
| C．Ayesha changed her wrong attitude to Kareena in the end |
| D．Ayesha followed her father’s advice and determined to be herself |
There are many fun, free activities that you can do as a family. All that is required is a bit of imagination and some time. And the best part is that these are the kind of fun, family memories a child will remember for a lifetime.
Family Game Night
Kids often get games for Christmas or birthdays, and would love to have a chance to play with their family. Or, make up some games of their own. Charades（字谜游戏）is a fun game that will challenge children to use their imagination. Divide the family into teams and let each team come up with words and the other has to act out.
Family Art Time
Pick some time for the family to sit down and come up with their own art. It doesn’t need to be just a drawing－take some old magazines, let the kids cut out pictures and paste them into their own shape. Or let them use leaves, branches and whatever else they can find to make something from their imagination.
Family Picnic
Taking the family for a picnic is a great way for some fun that doesn’t cost any money. If the weather is nice, take them to a park or playground and let them have a day of playing.
Family Field Trip
A family field trip doesn’t have to cost a cent. Ask a nearby farm if you can bring your kids out for a tour and to see some of the animals. Or take them to a park to find certain items from nature. Ask a local business if you could bring the family for a tour to see how things work－you might be surprised at the number of people who would be excited to share what they do with others, and it could be an interesting lesson for kids.When playing the game charades, kids are supposed to ______.
| A．prepare some cakes for each other |
| B．sing a song for each other in turn |
| C．connect actions with certain words |
| D．be quick to follow others’ actions |
Which activities in the passage depend much on the kids imagination?
| A．Family Game Night ＆ Family Art Time |
| B．Family Game Night ＆ Family Picnic |
| C．Family Picnic ＆ Family Field Trip |
| D．Family Field Trip ＆ Family Game Night |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．you may share your own experience with workers |
| B．It costs a lot to visit a park for a family |
| C．all the people will be excited to share what they have with you |
| D．you should ask for permission from the farm owner |
The passage is mainly intended for ______.
| A．teachers | B．teenagers | C．tourists | D．parents |
A ship was damaged during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors decided that they should pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide（分割开）the land between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man’s side of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was damaged and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship stopped at his side of the island.
The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven, “Why are you leaving your partner on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them.” The first man answered. “ His prayers were all unanswered so he doesn’t deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice said. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. He prayed that all your prayers would be answered.”Why didn’t the two men stay together on the island?
| A．Because they both wanted to live a quiet life |
| B．Because they couldn’t get along well with each other |
| C．Because they wanted to test the power of their prayers |
| D．Because they wanted to keep their own life secret from others |
The underlined word “barren” is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．noisy | B．empty | C．dangerous | D．calm |
Which of the following words can best describe the first man?
| A．Hard-working | B．Lucky | C．Selfish | D．Dishonest |
What does the author try to express through the story?
| A．God helps those who help themselves |
| B．A life without a friend is a life without a sun |
| C．A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds |
| D．What we do for others is more important than what we do for ourselves |
The NSA(美国国家安全局) and GCHQ(英国政府通讯总部) are tapping popular smart phone apps such as Angry Birds to gather the enormous amounts of very personal data those bits of software collect—including age, gender, marital status, income, education level and more, according to new reports from the New York Times and The Guardian.
Citing secret documents provided by Edward Snowden, former NSA staff, the reports detail efforts to gain data collection from cell phone carriers and smart phones by tapping into “leaky”(有漏洞的) apps themselves.
Both spy agencies showed a particular interest in Google Maps, which is accurate to within a few yards or better in some locations and would clearly pass along data about the area where phone owner is.
“It effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system,” reads a secret 2008 report by the NSA's sister spy agency, according to the New York Times.
More surprising is the wide range of apps that the agencies search for data, including innocent-seeming apps such as Angry Birds. One document in particular from GCHQ listed what information can be found from which apps, mentioning Android apps but suggesting the same data was available from the iPhone platform.
Angry Birds maker Rovio Entertainment of Finland said it had no knowledge of any NSA or GCHQ programs for tapping into its users’ data.
"Rovio doesn't have any previous knowledge of this matter, and have not been aware of such activity in 3rd party advertising networks," said Saara Bergstrom. "Nor do we have any involvement with the organizations you mentioned."
Mobile photos uploaded to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter appear to be a particularly rich source of information for the spy agencies as well. Metadata in the photos is briefly available. The NSA and GCHQ are able to tap into that metadata to collect a wealth of key data points about a person’s life.
“NSA does not profile everyday Americans as it carries out its foreign intelligence mission,” the agency told the Times in response to questions about the program.
During a Monday press conference, White House press secretary Jay Carney stressed that same position. "As the president said in his Jan. 17 speech, to the extent data is collected by the NSA, through whatever means, we are not interested in the communications of people who are not valid foreign intelligence targets（情报目标） and we are not after the information of ordinary Americans," he said.American and British spy agencies were both particularly interested in the information gathered from_________.
| A．Google Maps | B．Twitter | C．Angry Birds | D．Facebook |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The iPhone platform is more reliable than that of Android. |
| B．The New York Times interviewed Edward Snowden secretly. |
| C．It is difficult for common users to protect their personal information. |
| D．A document from NSA listed what information can be found from which apps. |
What did Jay Carney’s words imply?
| A．NSA didn’t gather any worthy information from Americans. |
| B．NSA would stop its foreign intelligence mission in the future. |
| C．NSA and White House shared different attitude towards the affair. |
| D．NSA collected information with the permission of White House |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Angry Birds Give You Away |
| B．NSA Gather Information from Apps |
| C．Reports from the New York Times |
| D．Documents from Edward Snowden |
We might not be alone in the universe. Actually, it may be confirmed as a very crowded place by new computer models developed to help identify habitable planets.
Estimates of places where life can exist have been based on the possibility of them having surface water. But software recently developed by the Aberdeen University allows researchers to identify planets with underground water kept liquid by heat from planets.
Water is fundamental for life and planets too close to the sun lose water to the atmosphere through evaporation. On the other hand, planets located in distant reaches from their star have their surface water locked away as ice.
Sean McMahon, who is carrying out the work, explained: "Traditionally people have said that if a planet is in this Goldilocks zone—not too hot and not too cold—then it can have liquid water on its surface and be habitable."
But this concept might change when considering that planets can receive two sources of heat—heat direct from the star and heat generated deep inside the planet.
It is easy to observe it in our own planet. As you go down through the crust (壳) of the Earth, the temperature gets higher and higher. Even when the surface is frozen, water can exist below ground.
There could be immense quantities of water in fact—full of primitive life.
Professor John Parnell, also from Aberdeen University said: "There is a significant habitat for microorganisms below the surface of the Earth, extending down several kilometres".
"And some believe that the majority of life on Earth could even reside in this deep biosphere."
So the Aberdeen team are developing models to predict which distant planets might harbour underground reservoirs of liquid water with the possibility of alien life.What is considered as the symbol of life existence traditionally?
| A．Solid water on its surface. | B．Solid water below ground. |
| C．Liquid water below ground. | D．Liquid water on its surface. |
Why did John Parnell mention the fact about Earth?
| A．To prove that there is majority of life on Earth. |
| B．To prove that life may also exist in other planets. |
| C．To prove that there is primitive life down through Earth. |
| D．To prove that there is a habitat for microorganisms below Earth. |
What theory is the Aberdeen team’s study based on?
| A．Planets can lose water through evaporation. |
| B．Planets can receive heat direct from the star. |
| C．Planets can have their surface water locked away as ice. |
| D．Planets can receive heat generated deep inside the planet. |
What can we know about the computer models?
| A．They will help identify planets where there is life. |
| B．They will help researchers find Goldilocks zones. |
| C．They have helped find some significant discoveries. |
| D．They have already located some habitats for life. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号