Hockerill’s Suggestion
Caught between the rising cost of university tuition in England and the falling percentage of applicants offered places, one British school is giving its students some surprising advice.
By any measure HockerilI is one of the most successful schools in Britain. Named last month as one of the government’s flagship academies, its students regularly come at or near the top of exam results for the entire country, outperforming such famous names as Eton or Harrow. But unlike those private schools, where fees can exceed ￡28, 000 or ￡45, 000 a year, Hockerill, in the Hertfordshire town, is a state comprehensive, which charges no tuition fees and is forbidden from selecting its students on the basis of academic ability. And while a third of Hockerill’s 830 students are boarders, they are chosen on the basis of need rather than ability to pay.
So when the school’s principal heard of government plans to raise university tuition fees in England to ￡9, 000 a year, he decided to make use of the school’s international focus. urging his students to apply to universities abroad and hiring a counselor（顾问） to help the students who want to apply to universities in countries whose fees are cheaper. “If you can get into a university in France and pay about ￡180 a year for an education at one of the best institutions in the world, why would you pay ￡9, 000 a year in Britain?” the principal asked.
Pupils at Hockerill are offered a choice of seven foreign languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese or Mandarin. History and geography classes are taught exclusively in French or German. But with English rapidly becoming the international language of education, even less linguistically flexible students soon find that going abroad can save them money while enhancing the quality of their education.
“Our students can get to Maastricht in Holland by train more quickly than they can get to Lees from London,” the principal said. Just over the border from Germany and Belgium, Maastricht University offers a highly regarded undergraduate program taught in English. Tuition fees are about ￡1, 430, a year. Germany and France offer even greater savings.What is Hockerill’s suggestion to its students?
| A．Learning foreign languages. |
| B．Picking courses on their basic needs. |
| C．Applying for less famous universities. |
| D．Receiving further education outside of UK. |
We can learn from the passage that Hockerill __________.
| A．admits students based on their academic performance |
| B．provides dormitories to the students in need |
| C．collects less money than private schools |
| D．hires counselors for every student |
What’s Hockerill’s principle’s attitude towards government’s tuition plan?
| A．Neutral. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
Students choosing Maastricht in Holland will benefit from the followings EXCEPT_________.
| A．education quality |
| B．convenient location |
| C．flexible program plans |
| D．lessons taught in English |
Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30 and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club．At last，the traffic was moving．She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door，she nearly tripped over Sheba．
“Hey，Sheba,” she said，“I’ve got no time for you now，but I’ll take you out as soon as I get
back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously，she could hardly breathe．Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet(兽医)
When she got there，the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba，Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office．
“Listen，doctor，I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting. Can I leave her with you，and go and get changed? I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick her up，and then I’ll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure.” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes．As she was once more
entering the hall，the phone by the door began to ring．
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor’s voice．“I’m coming round right away，and the police will be there any time now．Wait outside!”
At that moment，a police car screeched to a stop outside the house．Two policemen got out and ran into the house．Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened．Then the doctor arrived．
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne．
“She’s fine，Joanne．I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now．”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man，who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him．
“My God,” said Joanne，“how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers.”Joanne wanted to get back to her home again ．
| A．to dress up for the meeting | B．to phone the police station |
| C．to catch the badly hurt burglar | D．to wait for her dog to be cured |
From the passage we can infer that ．
| A．Sheba fought against the burglar |
| B．the police found the burglar had broken in |
| C．Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting at first |
| D．the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog |
The underlined word a burglar in the last paragraph probably means ____________.
| A．a cleaner | B．a physician | C．a thief | D．a murderer |
In this passage, the writer intends to tell us that the dog is ．
| A．clever | B．friendly | C．frightening | D．devoted |
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics. Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.
77.For children who receive allowances, they’d better not ________.
A. waste money to buy gifts for their parents or friends
B. buy their favorite clothing or electronics for themselves
C. save money like their parents or other adults
D. ask for the next allowance before the decided date.
78．Many parents give children an allowance regularly to ______.
A. meet children’s basic need for life
B. give control over their children
C. see whether they have financial mistakes
D. help children learn how to manage money
79.If children are required to save their allowance, they ______.
A. can experience three things related to money
B. can understand the relation between goals and sacrifice
C. will do more work around the house
D. help themselves found the basis for their future life
80. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Be Generous to Pay Your Children
B. Be Wise to Avoid Financial Mistakes
C. Saving Allowances Does Good to Children
D. Allowances Help Children Learn about Money
Sandeep Mukerji was on his first visit to Thailand but would leave the “Land of Smiles” with a frown and an empty pocket.
A stone’s throw from the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the 26-year-old Canadian ran into a monk in a robe. The monk told him that the attraction he was hoping to visit had been closed.
The monk then introduced Mukerji to a jewellery store instead. On the way there, three different people told him that it was the last day of a once-a-year, tax-free jewellery promotion to encourage tourism.
They said that tourists can make a lot of money by buying gems（宝石）in Thailand and selling them once at home.
Two hours later, Mukerji had spent US $ 1, 250 on a set of almost worthless jewellery in the jewellery store.
“The whole process took me by surprise. They take advantage of your greed,” he said.
In fact, Mukerji is just one of a huge number of tourists who are cheated by the promise of making a fortune. The scam（诡计）brings Thailand more than US $ 10 million each year.
Although tourist police stations have displayed posters to warn of the scam, many fresh-faced tourists still fall prey to the trick.
The police say they receive 5～10 complaints a day. Many more may not realize they have been cheated until they go back home.
That authorities say that the jewellery scam is harmful to Thailand’s image, but getting rid of the cheats is hard.
Sanit Miphan, head of the police, said the scam has been running for about 15 years but not one jewellery shop owner has been arrested.
The shops usually open for two weeks and then close. They reopen and register under a new name. What’s more, overcharging（要价过高）itself is not breaking the law.
Yet, to keep the tourism business alive, the police said they would take action against any shop receiving more than 10 complaints.
73. Sandeep Mukerji was cheated probably because of all the following EXCEPT that_______.
A. he was young
B. he believed that the monk wouldn’t cheat others
C. he had more or less the wish to try his fortune
D. the cheat scam was too skillful to be found out
74. How many people cheated Sandeen Mukerji?
A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five
75. Suppose everyone who was cheated lost as much as Mukerji did, how many visitors to Bankok would be cheated each year?
A. About 6, 000 B. About 8, 000 C. About 10, 000. D. About12, 000.
76. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Thai tourist police are carrying out their task very efficiently.
B. The management of Thai tourist market is very strict.
C. Any shop receiving complaints will be punished as seriously as possible.
D. It is hard for the police to crack down（制裁） the cheats efficiently partly because many cheats’ deeds seem not to break the law.
In Germany, English expressions are used in conversations and increasingly in written form. Advertisements are often expressed completely in English. When I go to the gym, there are “aerobic-classes (增氧健身法课程)”. We “warm up”. We go “jogging.” In business, we attend a “meeting” and we have “good connections.”
Other nations, like France, have taken action to protect their language from the influence of “Americanization”. In Germany, however, there is concern that those rules could be connected with Hitler’s Third Reich (帝国), when the language had to be pure. If the government curbed（限制）the use of English words now, this could be considered by some as a return to that terrible past.
Some German citizens are now trying to stop the use of English vocabulary in German. However, I think generally it is not a big deal to use some common English expressions as they often describe things more directly. But we should know that it is important to use English correctly. All too often, bad English is spoken or even written instead of good German. The proper use of the German language would be the better choice. However, there are some fields that require the use of English words, for example, in the high-tech communication and the Internet fields, there is no alternative to English. Also, I think sometimes I have to speak English when I introduce some scenic places to tourists.
I think you have to find a balance and decide when it is better to use good German in place of bad English or when the use of correct English words is more suitable. Languages have always changed naturally, and I disagree with a restriction by law. Some nice expressions borrowed from other languages can make a conversation more vivid.
69. By giving many examples in the first paragraph, the writer shows that __________.
A. most Germans have no difficulty in understanding English
B. English is more and more widely used in Germany
C. it is more convenient to use English in some situations
D. English has completely replaced German in Germany
70. From the passage, we can learn that when Hitler was in power, _________ in Germany.
A. all languages except English could be used
B. some foreign languages could be used
C. only the upper class could speak English
D. only the German language could be used
71. What job does the writer probably do?
A. A travel guide B. A lawyer C. A computer engineer D. A teacher
72. What is the writer’s attitude towards the use of English in Germany?
A. There should be a law to protect the German language
B. It is foolish for Germans to worry about their native language
C. Germans should be encouraged to speak more English
D. Proper use of English can make conversations more colorful
I had never seen sand dunes（沙丘）before. If you go to the seaside in Britain, you may see some small hills of sand, but nothing very impressive. Of course, Africa is home to many beautiful “sandscapes”, but I was in China, so I went to Dunhuang.
I had spent my first day looking at the beautiful Mogao caves. Now I wanted to experience something very different.
I have been walking in Asia, Europe and America, but nothing prepared me for walking over hills of sand. Whenever I took a step up a hill, my feet would sink into the sand and move backwards. Sometimes it seemed as if I were moving in the wrong direction.
I wanted to see the sunset so I had to climb to the top of the highest sand dune. The sun was beating down upon my back as I walked slowly over the sand. Some plants had managed to survive in the dry ground but not many.
As I climbed higher, the hills of sand became steeper and my feet started to slip further backwards. I ended up with my hands and knees, crawling (爬行)upwards through the top. I just let go if I would fall the way down. But I refused to give up: inch by inch, I made my way to the top of the sand dune.
When I got there I was amazed by what I saw. The sand formed a very sharp point, just like a knife-edge. One side of the dune was bathed in sunshine, the other covered by shade. As I looked into the distance, the same pattern was repeated on all of the hilltops, and the difference between dark and light was beautiful.
As the sun began to sink, the shadows grew longer and the light became warm and orange. The wind had come to life and sand was blown against my legs as I walked along the dunes. Soon it was getting dark and I could only just make out the line of footprints that marked my journey to the top of the hill. I slowly made my way down to the bottom, my path lit by the dying sun.
65 The author probably went to climb the sand dunes __________ after he arrived at Dunhuang.
A. on the afternoon of the first day B. on the afternoon of the second day
C. on the evening of the second day D. on the evening of the first day
66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Africa has many beautiful sand dunes.
B. The author could see nothing but his own footprints on his way back.
C. The author had seen some kinds of sand dunes before he visited Dunhuang
D. What attracted the author most was that the sand formed a very sharp point.
67. The author got to the top of the highest hill of sand _____________.
A. on his hands and knees all the way
B. with falls to the bottom many times
C. on his hands and knees in the last leg (一段旅程)
D. with a few rests all the way
68. The author mainly wants to tell readers about_____________.
A. the beautiful sunset B. his experience of climbing the sand hills
C. the joy of traveling in nature D. the difficulty of climbing the sand dunes
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