Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King dreamed of an America that would one day deliver on its promise of equality for all of its citizens, black as well as white. Today, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has a dream, too: he wants to provide Internet access to the world’s five billion people who do not now have it. But the world currently faces a growing technological divide, with implications for equality, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness.
Around the world, more than two billion people live in the Digital Age. They can access a vast universe of information, communicate at little or no cost with their friends and family, and connect with others with whom they can cooperate in new ways. The other five billion are still stuck in the Paper Age in which my generation grew up.
Internet.org, a global partnership launched by Zuckerberg, plans to bring the two-thirds of the world’s population without Internet access into the Digital Age. The partnership consists of seven major information-technology companies, as well as non-profit organizations and local communities.
A friend working to provide family-planning advice to poor Kenyans recently told me that so many women were coming to the clinic that she could not spend more than five minutes with each. These women have only one source of advice, and one opportunity to get it, but if they had access to the Internet, the information could be there for them whenever they wanted it.
Enlarging our vision still more, it is a hope that putting the world’s poor online would result in connections between them and more affluent people, leading to more assistance. Research shows that people are more likely to donate to a charity helping the hungry if they are given a photo and told the name and age of a girl like those the charity is aiding. If a mere photo and a few identifying details can do that, what might Skyping with the person do?
Providing universal Internet access can also raise new risks and sensitive ethical issues, the distinctiveness of local cultures may be eroded, which has both a good and a bad side, for such cultures can restrict freedom and deny equality of opportunity. On the whole, though, it is reasonable to expect that giving poor people access to knowledge and the possibility of connecting with people anywhere in the world will be socially transforming in a very positive way.What is Zuckerberg’s purpose of providing Internet access to people who do not now have it?
| A．Attracting more users for his social network. |
| B．Making people without Internet enjoy the benefits of it. |
| C．Establishing connections will affluent people and organizations. |
| D．Helping poor people being available to necessary cure. |
Internet.org is made up of .
| A．Zuckerberg, several major information-technology companies and nonprofit organizations |
| B．nonprofit organizations and a person working to provide family-planning advice to poor people |
| C．seven major information-technology companies, nonprofit organization and national communities |
| D．some information-technology companies, nonprofit organization and local communities |
What does the underlined word in para.5 refer to?
| A．Communicating online by using an Internet tool. |
| B．Playing online games. |
| C．Taking pictures using a digital camera. |
| D．Donating through a personal computer. |
What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?
| A．We should use the Internet without any restrict. |
| B．The Internet should be developed in a very positive way. |
| C．We can develop our local culture on the Internet. |
| D．Using the Internet can lead to negative effects. |
Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water —— drink recycled sewage(污水) or die.
With the drought(干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified waste water for drinking, even if 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 former Premier Peter Beattie. “These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There’s no choice. It's liquid gold; it 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, John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have Supported 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.”What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Australians face the choice of life and death． |
| B．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage． |
| C．Mr Beattie is worried about his people’s health． |
| D．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy． |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history． |
| B．Australia’s largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy． |
| C．No other countries but Australia decides to drink recycled water． |
| D．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water． |
It can be inferred from what Peter Beattie said that_________.
| A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water. |
| B．if the decision is made, people won't survive the drought |
| C．it is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage |
| D．it's up to you to make a life or death decision |
I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering(餐饮) service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.
My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state-owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.
In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well-developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.
With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand-talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign-trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It's hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.
At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.Why does the author feel disappointed at his students?
| A．Because there is one group presenting a catering service. |
| B．Because the six groups made projects for restaurant chains. |
| C．Because all the students copied a case for the difficult topic. |
| D．Because the students’ ideas were lacking in creativeness. |
Which of the following scenes is NOT considered as lack of creation?
| A．Papers were often downloaded from the Internet. |
| B．Students often said that copying is a preferable business strategy. |
| C．Students combine knowledge and critical thoughts to solve a problem. |
| D．Case study debates were written up as well as recited. |
The underlined word “scheme” in the forth paragraph means__________.
| A．timetable | B．theme | C．project | D．policy |
We can infer from the passage that ___________.
| A．China can make and sell any product all over the world |
| B．high pay may not solve the problem of China’s research environment |
| C．cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand |
| D．the new government program are aimed at encouraging imagination |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．Look for a New Way of Learning | B．Reward Creative Thinking |
| C．How to Become a Creator | D．Establish a technical Environment |
London, April 28---The Man Group, a British hedge fund, is betting that investors will want to read more than the latest how-to- get –rich-quick business book.
In a five-year deal worth roughly $3.6 million announced last week, Man has agreed to sponsor(主办)the Booker Prize for Fiction, which will be renamed the Man Booker Prize. Since creating the award in 1969, Booker P.L.G., a British food group, in June 2000, executives began considering attracting outside sponsors. Man will be the first of these. Bill Grimsey, the chief of the Big Food Group, saw little business sense in a link between a food supplier and a literary prize, explained Dotti Irving, a spokeswoman for the Booker Prize foundation.
Such dissimilarities (差异) have not reduced Man’s enthusiasm for the prize which is expected to be open for the first time to American authors. David Browne, a spokesman for Man, said most of the firm’s investors are high-net-worth individuals who appreciate literature. “The people who buy hedge funds,” Mr. Browne said, “also read.”
Under the new agreement, authors will get more money. The winner of the annual prize, to be awarded in October, will receive $73,000 , up from $30,000 the Australian writer Peter Carey won last year for his novel “True History of the Kelley Gang.”
The six short-listed authors will each receive $3,600, up from $1,500. Having a hedge fund as a backer apparently has its perks.(福利).The article is mainly about ____.
| A．the disagreement between two groups | B．the Booker Prize Foundation |
| C．the Big Food Group | D．The new development of Booker Prize |
This article is most probably seen in a(n) ____.
| A．best-selling book | B．magazine | C．newspaper | D．advertisement |
What can be inferred from the article?
| A．Bill Grimsey decided to open the prize for American authors |
| B．“How-to-get-rich-quick” business was written by Peter Carey. |
| C．Under the agreement, the Booker Prize will be sponsored only by Man. |
| D．If you win the prize, you will get $73,000 next October |
Who is the spokesman for Man?
| A．David Browne | B．Peter Carey | C．Bill Grimsey | D．Dotti Irving |
When the TV viewer turns on his set, what sort of programs does he have to choose from? You might think there would be more programs devoted to entertainment than to anything else, but that’s not the case. In most countries, fewer than 20% of broadcasting hours are devoted to entertainment. U.S. figures are high----34.8% , and the unloving Canadians are even higher with 44%. Except Canada and Italy, all countries give more broadcasting time to education than to either information (news , documentaries and so on) or entertainment programs. Of course, few educational broadcasts take place during peak viewing times. In Japan though , more than 60%of broadcasting time is taken up with education of one kind of anther----just another example of the businesslike Japanese philosophy. In the U.K., the figure is 56.4% . the Italians have fewer educational programs than anyone else. They don’t go in for entertainment either. Only about ten percent of viewing time is devoted to dramas and serials, quiz shows, music, sports etc. You will find more news information programs on Italian TV than anything else. That’s understandable in a country experiencing social and political changes. Italians rely on TV to tell them what’s going on---and events are happening almost too fast to follow. The percentage of time the U.S. devoted to news and documentary programs is much smaller. After education, most TV time is given to entertainment. Many of these programs are shown around the world.Based on this passage, the greatest percentage of TV broadcasting hours to educational is in __.
| A．Japan | B．Italy | C．Canada | D．the United States |
More news information programs are broadcast on Italian TV than anywhere else because the Italians ___.
| A．are interested in what is happening in the world. |
| B．Like to follow the changes that are going on in their social life |
| C．Prefer to learn news information on TV rather than in newspapers |
| D．Expect TV to tell them the latest news about what is going on in their country |
So far as the broadcasting hours devoted to entertainment , which of the following is true?
| A．The Japanese figure is the highest in the world. |
| B．The U.S. figure is smaller than the U. K. figure |
| C．The U.K. figure is second to the Japanese figure |
| D．The Canadian figure is higher than that of any other country. |
In the United States, ____.
| A．TV programs are shown for world audience to watch |
| B．Most of TV broadcasting hours are give to entertainment |
| C．Educational programs are shown during peak viewing times |
| D．TV broadcasting hours devoted to education are more than those devoted to entertainment |
A number of times Rosemary edged closer to Gordon , meaning to take his arm, but he edged away from her. She thought that she had offended him deeply, and that he was disappointed because she had pushed him away. She would have apologized if he had given her half a chance. But as a matter of fact, he was scarcely thinking of this any longer. It was the money business that was troubling him now. And the fact was that he would soon have to confess it. What nonsense it made of all he had said! Presently she stopped him, and swung him round to face her. “Gordon, why won’t you speak to me?” she said. “Are you still angry with me for what happened just now?”
“No, I was never angry with you. You’re not to blame. Something else has been worrying me all the way along, I’ve only eight pence left. I had just enough money for today when we started out, but that dinner bill upset everything. Can you lend me some money?’
Rosemary was amazed. “What does it matter if you’ve only eight pence left? How can you let yourself be worried by a thing like that? As though I objected to lending you money, aren’t I always telling you that I want to pay for myself when we go out together?’
“Yes, and you know how I hate you paying.”
“Oh, how silly you are.” She said. “Do you think there’s anything to be ashamed of in having no money?”
Gordon’s face went bright pink. “Of course there is ! It’s the only thing in the world there is to be ashamed of. I can’t be a complete human being—I don’t feel a human being –unless I’ve got money in my pocket.”What gave Rosemary the idea that she had hurt Gordon’s feelings deeply?
| A．He didn’t say he was sorry. |
| B．He pushed her away when she tried to take his arm. |
| C．He didn’t say he was sorry. |
| D．He wouldn’t let her touch him. |
Rosemary made him look at her because ______.
| A．she wanted to ask him a question | B．she wanted to see his face |
| C．she was angry with him | D．he had been rude |
Gordon felt that if he asked rosemary to lend him some money _____.
| A．he would lose some of his self-respect | B．she would refuse to |
| C．he would have to confess his loss | D．she would be angry |
It is clear that Gordon had not intended to _____.
| A．tell her he had a little money left | B．accept any money from her |
| C．blame her for making him angry | D．have such an expensive dinner |
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