Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country.
The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid­2012.
As a result, the student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit(押金)required to study in Australia has been reduced. Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased.
Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be granted a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement.
“This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas,” says Wang Lan, a consultant from Education International Cooperation Group(EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas.
However, in the past few years, many of Wang’s student clients(客户)could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were tough. The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says.
A 22­year­old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago.
“According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550,000 yuan ($86,850). Now we only need to prepare 410,000 yuan. This is a relief for my parents,” Li says.
She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans.“ I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China,” she says.
Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC.
1.What’s the main idea of the passage? 

ALanguage requirement for overseas students have been eased in Australia.

BAustralia is a most attractive place for students in China.

CAustralia widens window of opportunity for international students.

DMore students will work in Australia after their graduation.

2.Which of the following is NOT the content of the new regulations?

AThe student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified.

BThe deposit required to study in Australia has been reduced.

CLanguage requirements for overseas students have been more difficult.

DAfter graduation, some overseas students can get a working visa in Australia.

3.After the new regulations are passed, ________.

Amore students will come to Australia to work

Bmore Chinese students will choose to live in Australia

Cthe opportunities to work in Australia decrease for overseas students

Dmore Chinese students will choose to further their education in Australia

4. How much can Li’s parents save according to the new regulations?

A550,000 yuan ? B140,000 yuan? C410,000 yuan? D86,850 yuan

5.Why do many students want to work in Australia after their graduation? 

AThe working experience abroad will strengthen their competitiveness.

BThey can earn more money in Australia.

CTheir working experience can make them stay in Australia forever.

DThey have to do so according to the new regulations.

 

It’s a sure sign that summer is over and winter is on the way — leaves that were once deep green turn red, yellow and bright orange. It happens every autumn. But did you ever wonder why?

The leaves start changing color when the nights start getting longer and the temperature starts getting cooler. Some scientists think that as the number of daylight hours shrinks, the leaves stop making chlorophyll which makes plants green. The reason is that the process of making chlorophyll requires sunlight. But according to horticulture (园艺) educator Susan Rose from Colorado State University, it turns out leaves don’t really change color at all. “The fall colors are actually there all along,” she said. “But they are covered by the green chlorophyll. As the chlorophyll stops being produced, the other colors can shine through.”

The kind of color that the leaves are going to change to is determined by the plant’s genetic (基因的) background. In some places, the leaves start changing color in September — before autumn even officially begins. In other places, they don’t change until late October or even November. Some scientists say the leaves have been changing color later than usual in recent years. And they think global warming has something to do with that.

In one study, researchers found that the growing season in the Northern Hemisphere was nearly a week longer, on average, in 2008 than it was in 1982. And a professor from Harvard University found that the leaves, west of Boston, Massachusetts, are changing color about three days later than they used to. However, other scientists disagree with the global warming theory. Susan Rose said the leaves in her part of Colorado are changing “right on schedule.” But the leaves in other parts of that state are running a little late. “The lateness in the mountains may have something to do with the really warm late summer and early fall,” she said. “But I’m afraid that’s just a guess.”

1.According to Susan Rose, _____.

A.the fall colors are always in leaves

B.leaves make chlorophyll all the seasons

C.leaves’ changing color have nothing to with the weather

D.leaves begin changing color because they start making chlorophyll

2.The underlined word “shrinks” in Paragraph 2 could best be replaced by _____.

A.reduces          B.increases          C.lasts              D.appears

3.Scientists guess leaves change color later than usual probably as a result of _____.

A.genetic background                     B.dry weather

C.global warming                         D.low temperature

4.The purpose of the last paragraph is to tell readers _____.

A.why leaves change color at fall

B.leaves change color at different time

C.the effects of the global warming on plants

D.different opinions on the lateness of leaves’ changing color

 

In the US and Britain, the slogan around colleges was “Save water. Shower with a friend.” Now, Wuhan University has come up with another system for the campus bathhouse. It charges students for the amount of time in a shower. Before entering the bathhouse, students pay for the amount of time they want in the shower with cash or their student ID card. The clock starts ticking the minute the tape is turned on. It pauses when a button is pressed for soap. An integrated circuit(IC) card reader at each tap shows the time. No money, no water. The benefits of the new system can be seen with the old system, which charged 1 Yuan for each person regardless of time in the shower. The university used about 320 tones of water daily under the old system, but only 160 tons now.

Many students use the new system but opinions on it are divided. Some students say it is bad because bathing had become a sort of race. Many people using it for the first time are not sure how long they need to shower. Some might be embarrassed if their time is up and they’re still covered in soap. They have to ask the bathhouse worker to help them buy extra time.

“It’s a flaw in the system that you can not buy extra time on the ID card,” said Ren, a freshman in Wuhan University. The university is also considering some students’ suggestions that they be allowed to pay after they’ve finished the shower. Not surprisingly, some are complaining about losing the hour shower. But many students say the move helps them develop a water-saving sense.

Without the time limits, most students tended to shower for 30 to an hour in the bathhouse.

Some even used the hot water to wash their clothes. “In my experience, 10-20 minutes is enough,” said Dai Zhihua, a third-year student who usually takes 8 minutes.

A similar system has been installed in other universities. Shanghai Normal University introduced it at its Fengxiang Campus in September. The bathing fee there is 0.2 Yuan per minute. One male student responded by setting a record with a two-minute shower.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Students pay for the amount of time they want in the shower.

B. The clock times all through while the student is bathing except when the bather paused for soap.

C. If money runs out, there will be no water.

D. Having finished bathing, the student has to pay for it.

2. The underline word “flaw” (Paragraph3) most probably means______.

A. perfection         B. advantage                 C. pity                         D. fault

3. Since the new system has performed, ______ of water can be saved.

A. a quarter                  B. one third                  C. one half                   D. two thirds

4. It can be inferred from the passage that______.

A. the new operation can solve the water crisis.

B. The new operation can raise students’ environmental awareness.

C. a similar operation has been set in other universities.

D. The university has saved a lot of water by using the new system.

5. In which column can you find this passage?

A. People.         B. Society         C. Campus Life.    D. Lifestyle.

 

Kenya wants to organize a major international conference to discuss how to fight piracy(海盗) off the coast of Somalia. The conference may also deal with ways to rescue Somalia from seventeen years of civil war. More than forty percent of its people depend on food aid.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says the world cannot end piracy and civil war without dealing with Somalia’s political problems.

Somali pirates operate in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean by way of the Suez Canal. The pirates have fast boats, modern weapons and equipment like satellite phones and global positioning systems.

Pirates hijacked the Sirius Star off the coast of Kenya and moved it to waters off Somalia.

The tanker Sirius Star, at three hundred thirty meters long, is the biggest ship ever known to have been captured by pirates. It also happened farther south than most attacks, and farther out at sea ---- more than eight hundred kilometers from land.

The ship was headed for the United States with two million karrels of oil, worth an estimated one hundred million dollars. A Saudi Arabian company owns the tanker. The pirates have  reportedly demanded twenty-five million dollars in negotiations to release the ship and its crew of twenty-five.

Somali pirates generally do not steal goods or kill hostages. They are believed to be holding seventeen ships with about three hundred crew members. Among the ships is a Ukrainian vessel hijacked(劫持) in September with a load of military weapons including tanks.

The increase in piracy is raising the cost of insuring ships. Also, oil from the Middle East and exports from East Asia could take longer to arrive.

Some of the world’s heaviest shipping traffic passes the Somali coast. But major shipping companies have begun to consider new routes. One of the world’s biggest shippers, A.P, Moeller Maersk, says it will avoid the Gulf of Aden. A move away from the Suez Canal could hurt Egypt’s economy.

American and other foreign navy ships are now watching for pirates. This week the Indian Navy destroyed a heavily armed “mother ship” in the Gulf of Aden. But the area to protect covers more than one hundred sixty million square kilometers.

 

1. According to the passage, which of the following is the key to solving the piracy in Somalia?

A. Providing lots of money.               B. Ending Civil war.

C. Supplying enough food.                D. Handling Somalia’s political problems.

2. Somali pirates do the following things except that _______.

A. they demand money                       B. they hold the ships with crew

C. they kill some of the hostages           D. they hijack ships with military weapons

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The cost of ship transport is decreasing.

B. The routes of some ships might change.

C. Nothing has been done to fight against the piracy.

D. The Suez Canal is of no importance to Egypt’s economy.

 

Officials in a remote Russian city have drawn up a list of practical tips for locals on how to survive encounters (相遇) with bears, after growing numbers have wandered into the streets in search of food.

Officials in the city of Syktyvkar drew up the guidelines to guide the local people, after several bears were caught sight of in the city, going hungry after a heat wave shriveled their usual diet of nuts and berries.

The guide warns that city people there should stay calm and stand still if they meet with a bear. “Speak to the bear in a firm voice” and “Don’t turn your back on it,” it adds. In the worst case, if the bear attacks, the person should also be ready to attack, the guide says. “Shout angrily at it and look it straight in the eye,” the guide advises. “Bears have started coming into the areas where people live more and more often,” the city officials said in a statement. “Any encounter with a bear is unsafe for humans, so our task is to do all we can to prevent such accidents.”

In September, a bear attacked a 25-year-old man in a central street of the city, wounding him in the neck before he managed to run away, police said. “Three or four people who met with brown bears have been recorded recently,” the head of the hunting department in the regional agriculture organization, Alexander said.

Officials have asked police to patrol (巡逻) streets close to wooded areas in the evenings.

Syktyvkar is the regional capital of the remote Komi region in northwest Russia. Its population is just over 230,000.

1. The city issued the guidelines to help the local people to _____.

A. avoid bear encounters  B. survive bear encounters

C. get along well with bears  D. drive hungry bears away

2. The underlined word “shriveled” in Paragraph 2 probably means _____.

A. piled up                                             B. saved up   C. kept up  D. dried up

3. What can be inferred from Alexander’s words?

A. Bears have been seen frequently recently.

B. Bears like to wander around schools.

C. Brown bears are usually very fierce.

D. Too many bears have disappeared.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Bears are short of food worldwide 

B. Ways to got along well with bears

C. Tips are issued on bear encounters

D. Bears have started coming into cities

 

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