LONDON(Reuters)－Achieving three A grades at A-level will no longer be enough to ensure a place at a top university, academics warned on Wednesday．
From September sixth-formers will begin studying A-level exams which will include a higher grade of A for those getting marks of 90 percent or above in their papers．
Those applying for Oxford or Cambridge will need new top grades to win a place, the 1994 Group of 19 leading universities said in a report．
It said it expected the two elite universities to take a large majority of those awarded three or two A grades．
Outside Oxbridge, students will need at least two A grades and one standard A grade to be confident of getting a place at their chosen university．
The extra grade is being added to meet complaints from universities that too many pupils gain maximum grades in A-levels, making it hard to select the most able．
But the 1994 Group, which does not include Oxford or Cambridge, said there were concerns among its members that pupils from fee-paying independent schools would dominate the A grades．
It said this could set back efforts by its member universities, who include Durham, St．Andrews and Warwick, to widen the social range of their intake．
The report estimated that just 3,500 out of 660,000 students would be awarded three A*s when they take the first exams in the new A-level courses in 2010．
That compares with the 26,200 students who gained three A grades in A-levels in 2006．
The government said there was no evidence to show that state school pupils would be disadvantaged by the introduction of the new grade．
“It is up to institutions to decide how they balance their assessments of applications with their desire to be fair and to offer places to applicants with the greatest potential, regardless of background,”said a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools & Families．
(1)
What would be the best title for this passage?
[ ]
A．
Independent schools dominate the A* grades
B．
Straight A’s no longer enough for top universities
C．
Pick up applicants with the greatest potential
D．
Top universities need top students
(2)
The underlined word“elite”in Paragraph 4 means“________”．
[ ]
A．
best
B．
expensive
C．
worst
D．
cheapest
(3)
We can infer from the passage that ________．
[ ]
A．
only students with at least 3 A* can be admitted to Oxbridge
B．
fee-paying independent schools provide a better education than state schools
C．
the new assessment system of A* will be carried out in 2010
D．
students’ involvement in social activities is a must to be admitted to the 1994 Group
(4)
Why does the new assessment system have to be invented?
[ ]
A．
Few students have gained three A grades in A-level exams．
B．
Oxbridge want to distinguish themselves from other universities．
C．
Top universities are pushing for the reform of the assessment．
D．
The present A-level exams fail to pick out the most talented students．
The pound new Library of Birmingham(LoB)will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization(数字化)of everyday life．
Set to open in 2013, the ￡188 m LoB is already beginning to take shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment．
As digital media(媒介)is important to itsidea, 49the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at new technologies．
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says 51．a it is about giving people the right tools for learning：“The aim is to mix the physical with the digital．51．b Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways．It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively．”
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public．
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual(虚拟的)LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists．50Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoN to understand the building and how it will work before ot even opens．
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects．Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls an “enlarged reality” project．It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of LoB the which is the early stages of development．And The People’s Archive is an online library of figures of the city being built content company in Cahoots, 51．d in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material．
Gambles says：“Technology will enable us to make the library’s and services open to citizens as sever before．”
(1)
The underline part “its idea” in Paragraph 3 refers to the idea of _________
[ ]
A．
the equipment
B．
the project
C．
the digital media
D．
the physical library
(2)
While visiting the Virtual LoB, the public can _________
[ ]
A．
get a general idea of the LoB
B．
meet more world-famous experts
C．
learn how to put up a library building
D．
understand how the specialists work on the project
(3)
Which of the following is true of the LoB when it opens?
[ ]
A．
a, b, d
B．
a, c, e
C．
b, c, d
D．
b, d, e
(4)
This text more probably from _________ ．
[ ]
A．
a computer book
B．
a library guide
C．
a project handbook
D．
newspaper report
阅读理解
A structure thought to be the world's oldest building has been discovered under the sea off the coast of Japan, and could be evidence of a previously unknown Stone Age civilization．
The monument dates back to at least 8,000 BC; the oldest pyramid in Egypt was constructed more than 5,000 years later．
The structure was first discovered under 75 feet of water by divers in 2000, and was believed to be a natural phenomenon．
Professor Masaki Kimura, the first to study the site, has concluded that the structure is man-made．"The object was not formed naturally．If that had been the case, we would have found pieces through erosion(腐蚀)around the site, but there is nothing there," he says．
The discovery of a road surrounding the building is further evidence that the structure was made by humans, along with small underwater stone tombs nearby．
Kimura says it is too early to know who built it or its purpose．"It might be an ancient religious shrine(神社), possibly celebrating an ancient god．And it could be evidence of a new culture, since there are no records of a people intelligent enough to have built such a monument 10,000 years ago; it could only have been done by people with a high degree of technology, probably coming from the Asian continent, where the oldest civilizations originated．"
Teruaki Ishii, a professor at Tokyo University, said the structure could be natural, but that part of it may have been made by humans．
The first signs of civilization in Japan date back to around 9,000 BC, but nothing in the archeological record suggests the presence of a culture advanced enough to have built such a structure．
Jim Mower, an archeologist at University College Lon-don, says, "If it's proved that the site is as old as 10,000 years and is man-made, then it's going to change an awful lot of the previous thinking on southeast Asian history．It would put the people who made the monument on equal terms with the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia(An an-cient region of southwest Asia)．"
(1)
Professor Masaki Kimura believes that the monument is man-made because ________．
①
no pieces through erosion were found around it
②
underwater stone tombs are nearby it
③
a road surrounds it
④
a shrine was built on it
[ ]
A．
①②④
B．
②③④
C．
①③④
D．
①②③
(2)
Which of the following is NOT true, according to the text?
[ ]
A．
The Japanese mastered advanced construction techniques 10,000 years ago．
B．
Professor Masaki Kimura was the first to study the monument．
C．
The purpose of the monument is still uncertain．
D．
The world抯 oldest civilizations originated in Asia．
(3)
What does the underlined word "that" in the fourth paragraph refer to?
[ ]
A．
The structure being man-made．
B．
The structure being a natural phenomenon．
C．
The structure having first been found ten years ago．
D．
The structure dating back to 8,000 BC．
(4)
What do we learn about the monument from the text?
[ ]
A．
It was made at least 5,000 years earlier than the oldest pyramid of Egypt．
B．
It was built by people from Europe．
C．
It抯 the first evidence of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia．
