Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: one is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits die hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore (新加坡) are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries--in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus--obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example. “Bras Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay (马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.We learn from Paragraph 1 that ________.
| A．the government is usually the first to name a place |
| B．a ceremony will be held when a place is named |
| C．many places tend to have more than one name |
| D．people prefer the place names given by the government |
What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Change suddenly. | B．Change significantly. |
| C．Disappear very slowly. | D．Disappear mysteriously. |
Which of the following places is named after a person?
| A．Selector Airbase. | B．Raffles Place. |
| C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
Bras Basah Road is named ________.
| A．after an activity | B．after a place |
| C．after a person | D．by its shape |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
BEIJING --Seven prestigious universities in China announced Sunday that they would begin using the same independent exam -- besides the national one -- to test students hoping to gain entrance to them in 2011.
The seven are Peking University, Beihang University, Beijing Normal University, Nankai University, Fudan University, Xiamen University and Hong Kong University.
Students who want to gain entrance to any of the seven universities will only have to sit one independent exam, according to the joint announcement.
"This will help lighten the students' load, otherwise they must take several exams for different universities," said the announcement.
Passing the exam could result in more than one interview chance, giving the students more opportunities to choose their favorite universities.
China's college entrance exam system is undergoing reform as universities aim to select students based on independent criteria rather than just using the results of the national exam.
In 2003, Peking University and another 21 universities were allowed to pilot (试用) the reform by using their own criteria to independently select five percent of their students.
Now nearly 80 universities across the country have the right to select talented students based on their own exams.
Education experts regard universities selecting students according to independent examinations as conducive (有助的) to better understanding where the students' talents lie.
Although this may be the case, it has also created problems as students may sit many different exams as they often apply for a number of universities.
To relieve students from such pressures, the national education outline (2010--2020) released in July this year encourages high-level universities to group together to use the same exams.If students want to be admitted to the seven prestigious universities , they can ______。
| A．only pass the interview. |
| B．only take the national exam. |
| C．only take the independent exam. |
| D．either take the national exam or the take the independent exam. |
What's the purpose of students sitting one independent exam to gain entrance to the seven universities ?
| A．It can reduce students' load to take several exams. |
| B．The universities will have the same standard to test students. |
| C．There will be less trouble marking students' test papers. |
| D．It can avoid fierce competition among these universities. |
If students pass the independent exam , they will ______.
| A．take the national exam. |
| B．have one or more interview chances. |
| C．be admitted to one of the universities. |
| D．he trained to be adapted to universities life and studies. |
What is the advantage of universities selecting students according to independent examinations?
| A．Students needn't take the national exam. |
| B．Students' education cost can be lowered. |
| C．Students abilities and talents can be better found. |
| D．It can encourage middle schools to recommend more qualified students. |
Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch offers a unique outdoor adventure camp for inter- national students.
Students who come to Skinner Creek have the opportunity to learn English in an environment entirely different from a regular school setting. English classes are designed to meet the academic and spoken levels of each student. All English classes will be taught by instructors qualified in Teaching English as a Second Language. All levels of English are available.
After class, students can enjoy many outdoor activities in a controlled safe environment. Experienced managers and camp teachers will prepare each activity to the level appropriate for each student.
Students' safety is a priority (优先考虑的事) for the staff of Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch. Students are monitored at all times and supervisors are in the cabins with the students at night. An emergency clinic is nearby and accessible 24 hours.
English Classes:
Class hours are from Monday to Friday, 9:00 a. m.-- 2:00 p.m. with a one-hour break for lunch.
Students are challenged in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary building and conversational English.
Vocabulary is specific to related outdoor activities in some classes.
Fun after-class outdoor and evening activities:
Great after-class activities on site include: horseback riding lesson, hiking, base ball, volleyball, badminton, mountain hiking, bonfires (篝火) and much more.
Time to watch videos and TV and play games.
Experience Canadian family life.
Weekends:
Special all-day and overnight weekend activities include: camping, days at the lake (fishing, swimming, boating), church and more.
Travel Information:
Students will be picked up in cars at Vancouver airport and dropped off again for their individual flights. Transportation to and from the ranch (农场) will be provided as well as overnight stays in Vancouver.
Please contact the ranch directly for prices: skinnercreek@telus, net.If you attend Skinner Creek Summer Camp, you will ______.
| A．study English in some regular schools. | B．learn how to deal with dangers in the wild |
| C．enjoy different sports activities after class | D．experience the traditional farmer lifestyle |
How many hours of English classes do students have every week in Skinner Creek?
| A．35 hours. | B．28 hours. | C．25 hours. | D．20 hours. |
Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch is in ______.
| A．Canada | B．America | C．England | D．Australia |
How will most students travel to Skinner Creek if they want to attend the camp?
| A．By air. | B．By car. | C．By boat. | D．By train |
I try not to be biased（偏见）but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social worker assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee. He was short, a little fat, with the smooth facial features and thick-togued speech of Down’s Syndrome（唐氏综合症）. I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.
I shouldn’t have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my regular trucker customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.
Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.
That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often had heart problems at an early age and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.
A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, did a little dance when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at her and asked, “Okay, Frannie, what was that all about?”
"We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."
"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"
Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is."
Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.
After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand.
"What's up?" I asked.
“I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left, and I found this. This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup."
She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".
That was three months ago. Today is New Year’s day , the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. I took him and his mother by their arms. “To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me.”
I led them toward a large corner booth. I could feel and hear truck customers and the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups and dinner plates, all sitting slightly on dozens of folded paper napkins.
"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said.
Stevie looked at me, and then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed on it.
I turned to his mother. “There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!”
While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie?
| A．Stevie was not that reliable. | B．Stevie was mentally disabled |
| C．Stevie was too short and fat. | D．Stevie was bad-tempered |
What made the author not fully satisfied with Stevie’s work?
| A．That he made customers uncomfortable. | B．That he couldn’t pay attention to his duties. |
| C．That he often spilled cups of coffee. | D．That he usually cleaned the table too early. |
By saying the underlined words in Paragaraph3, the author meant that the money she paid Stevie .
| A．could help Stevie out of the trouble | B．could send Stevie to a group home |
| C．couldn’t thoroughly solve Stevie’s problem | D．could make a great difference to Stevie’s life |
Why did the author ask Stevie to clean up the mess on the table?
| A．Stevie could pick up the money that was given to him. |
| B．The table was so dirty that it needed cleaning. |
| C．It was Stevie’s duty to clean the table. |
| D．She wanted to congratulate Stevie on his coming back. |
What made Stevie popular among the staff and customers in the restaurant?
| A．His special appearance. | B．His hard work and optimism. |
| C．His funny speeches and actions. | D．His kind-hearted behaviour. |
Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.
Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup(基因构成) as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.
Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.
Exploration also allows minerals and other potential resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions. Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products (副产品) of technological developments in the space industry!
While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.
While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.Why does the author mention the questions in Paragraph1?
| A．To express his doubts. | B．To compare different ideas. |
| C．To introduce points for discussion. | D．To describe the conditions on Earth. |
What is the reason for exploring space based on Paragraph2?
| A．Humans are nature-born to do so. | B．Humans have the tendency to fight. |
| C．Humans may find new sources of food. | D．Humans don’t like to stay in the same place. |
The underlined word “spin-offs” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to______.
| A．survival chances | B．potential resources |
| C．unexpected benefits | D．physical possessions |
What makes it possible for humans to live on other planets?
| A．O ur genetic makeup. | B．Resources on the earth.. |
| C．The adaptive ability of humans. | D．By-products in space exploration. |
Which of the statements can best sum up the passage?
| A．Space exploration has created many wonders. |
| B．Space exploration provides the best value for money. |
| C．Space exploration can benefit science and technology |
| D．Space exploration may help us avoid potential problems on Earth. |
Today, there’s hardly an aspect of our life that isn’t being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail. “If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology,” says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about $ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza.”
Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers. Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year. “We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity.”
You would be hard pressed to name something that isn’t available on the Internet. Consider: books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets. And even after you’ve moved on to your final resting place, there’s no reason those you love can’t keep in touch. A company called FinalThoughts.com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails” you can send to Heaven with the help of a “guardian angel”.
Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable(能预测的) future. Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet. Most kids use computers to play games (some for 30 hours or more a week), and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left.
What’s clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back. “The Internet is just 20% invented,” says cyber pioneer Jake Winebaum. “The last 80% is happening now.”What can we learn from the Microsoft’s remark?
| A．Today’s cars and airplanes are extremely overpriced. |
| B．Information technology is developing at an amazing speed. |
| C．Information technology has reached the point where improvement is difficult. |
| D．There’s more competition in information technology industry than in car industry. |
According to the author, the biggest benefit of the Internet is that___.
| A．it saves companies huge amounts of money | B．it speeds up profit making |
| C．it brings people incredible convenience | D．it provides easy access to information |
The author gives the example of FinalThoughts.com to make the point that____.
| A．there are some genius ideas on the Internet |
| B．almost anything is available on the Internet |
| C．people can find good bargains on the Internet |
| D．some websites provide novel services to increase hits |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．There is a link between income and computer ownership. |
| B．Many American children don’t put computers to good use. |
| C．Studies show that boys are more computer literate than girls. |
| D．The U.S. will stay ahead in the information technology in years. |
What is the message the author intends to convey?
| A．The Internet is going to get firm hold of our lives some day. |
| B．The Internet is going to influence our lives even more greatly. |
| C．We should have a positive attitude towards the changes the Internet brings. |
| D．Children should be well prepared for the challenges in the information age. |
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