Picking a university is a tense period of asking yourself which institution is most relevant. That’s why university rankings play such a vital role in students searching for their next academic direction. Rankings are also an inescapable part of the reputation and brand image of universities. “No university website is complete without the claim to be in the top 100 for something or other,” reported the BBC. The reason is simple: Rankings help them to attract students, staff and research investment.

Currently there are numbers of university rankings, and each has its own list of criteria. But the main categories are the same: academic reputation, graduates' performance and faculty resources.

However, experts point out the ranking process isn't entirely reliable. Mark Kantrowitz, a US financial aid researcher, said university rankings were mostly just for show. He wrote in The New York Times. “It may give your parents better bragging rights, but that's about it.”

Moreover, it’s not difficult to see the limitations of university rankings. Many rankings focus on the number of times research work is cited (引用) by other researchers. It helps British and US universities to dominate global rankings because English is the favored language of academia, John O’Leary, a member of the QS academic advisory board, told The Gunrdian. Also, rankings such as QS mainly focus on the qualities of the university rather than its students. “Any university ranking is likely to help students make better decisions about where to study, but the need to balance them with other more human factors is also important,” said Phil Moss, an education and admissions consultant. “Advice from graduates or current students can be as valuable in providing a genuine insight into the experience or quality of a particular degree program. It can also add an element that rankings can never convey -- the actual emotion of a university experience.”

1.Why do universities consider rankings important?

A. Rankings make them more appealing.

B. Rankings are students’ only reference.

C. Rankings can increase their academic level.

D. Rankings help them complete their websites.

2.What does the underlined “It” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A. Academic research work.

B. The number of researches.

C. The way of ranking universities.

D. The limitation of university ranking.

3.According to John O’Leary, what helps British and US universities rank well?

A. The wide use of English in academia.

B. Their outstanding qualities.

C. Their graduates’ excellent performance.

D. The academia’s favor to them.

4.Besides ranking, what does Phil Moss suggest you should refer to if you're picking a university?

A. Investment in education.

B. Guidance from professors.

C. Information on websites.

D. Suggestions from students.

E

People talk about energy everywhere.Green energy, for example.Then, energy independence.It has a nice ring to it.Doesn' t it? If you think so, you' re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession(经济衰退).

"Energy independence" and its rhetorical (修辞的) companion "energy security" are, however, unreliable concepts that are rarely thought through.What is it that we want independence from, exactly?

Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil.But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.

The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running.Yes, there is a trickle ( 涓涓细流) )of biofuel ( 生物燃料 )available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.

Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil.They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad.Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection.To what extent are Americans really willing to tolerate the environmental influence of domestic(国内的) energy production in order to cut back imports?

Third, there are benefits to trade.It allows for eoonomic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs t1i;m we do, we benefit.And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.

There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to keep its economy stable.When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices.At the same time, we get massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.

1.What does the author say about energy independence for America?

A.It sounds very attractive.

B.It ensures national security.

C.It will bring oil prices down.

D.It will protect the environment.

2.Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?

A.It wants to expand its storage of raw oil.

B.Its own oil reserves are quickly running out.

C.Its own oil production falls short of demand.

D.It wants to keep its own environment untouched.

3.What does the author say about oil trade?

A.It improves economic efficiency.

B.It makes for economic recession.

C.It brings benefit only to the sellers.

D.It saves the cost of oil exploration.

4.What is the author' s purpose in writing the passage?

A.To explain the increase of international oil trade.

B.To raise Americans' awareness of the energy crisis.

C.To argue for America' s dependence on oil imports.

D.To stress the importance of energy protection.

For the first time, researchers have discovered that some plants can kill insects in order to get additional nutrients. New research shows that they catch and kill small insects with their own sticky hairs near the roots and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the insects are killed and fall to the ground.

Professor Mark Chase, of Kew and Queen Mary, University of London, said: “The cultivated (改良的) tomatoes and potatoes still have the hairs. Tomatoes in particular are covered with these sticky hairs. They do trap small insects on a regular basis. They do kill insects.”

The number of these carnivorous plants is thought to have came up to 50 percent and many of them have until now been wrongly regarded as among the most harmless plants. Among them are species of petunia(矮牵牛), some special tobacco plants and cabbages, some varieties of potatoes and tomatoes, etc. Researchers at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, which carried out the study, now believe there are hundreds more killer plants than previously realized.

It is thought that the technique was developed in the wild to get necessary nutrients in poor quality soil – and even various plants grown in your vegetable garden still have the ability.

The researchers, publishing their finding in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, said: “We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.” “We are accustomed to thinking of plants as being immobile and harmless, and there is something deeply frightening about the thought of meat-eating plants," they added.

1.Tomatoes and potatoes kill insects to _____.

A. get more sticky hairs

B. make themselves grow better

C. make their roots stronger

D. avoid falling down to the ground

2.The word “carnivorous” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _____.

A. fast-growing

B. harmless

C. insect-killing

D. nutritious

3.The insect-killing technique of vegetables is developed most probably through _____.

A. evolution of species

B. helps from other garden plants

C. artificial cultivation

D. nutrients preserved in rich soil

4.The text is probably taken from _____.

A. a student book

B. a science fiction

C. a scientific repot

D. a bulletin board

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