C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(="say" that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(=say that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

  A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

  B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

  C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

  D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

  A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

  B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

  C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

  D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

  A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

  B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

  C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

  D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

  A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

  B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

  C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

  D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

A recent survey of teachers found that an unhealthy passion with celebrity culture is having a negative impact on British students’ studies and it discovered that celebrity couple, the Beckhams, are the favorites among most students. Many students are ignoring building their own careers to seek a chance at fame instead, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) survey found.

Almost two-thirds of teachers said sports stars were the type of celebrity many pupils wanted to follow while more than half of students wanted to be pop stars.

The survey said the celebrities that students aspired to mostly were David and Victoria Beckham who live in Los Angeles now. Soccer player Beckham is on the top of the survey while in second place, with almost a third of the survey’s votes, was his 33-year-old pop star wife.

Almost half of the 300 teachers surveyed said pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing "unsuitably".

"We are not surprised about the influence of celebrity culture in schools —it reflects the current media passion with celebrities and the effect of celebrity culture on society as a whole," ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said in a statement.

"Celebrities can have a positive effect on pupils. They can raise pupils’ aspirations and desires for the future. However, celebrity culture can spread the idea that celebrity status is the greatest achievement and reinforce the belief that other career choices are not as valuable," said one primary school teacher. "Too many of the pupils believe that school success is unnecessary, because they will be able to get fame and fortune quite easily through a reality TV show."

The story mainly tells us that ______.

  A. the Beckhams are mostly admired in Britain

  B. most students think that being pop stars is more valuable than other career achievements

  C. the celebrity passion has a harmful impact upon British students’ studies

  D. a survey was made recently about the popularity of the stars

According to the survey, Victoria Beckham ______.

  A. is a pop star most students admire

  B. goes in the second place of the celebrities admired

  C. won two-thirds of the votes

  D. lives in New York now

Why does the author mention that pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing “unsuitably”?

  A. The pupils think it interesting to pretend to be the celebrities.

  B. The behavior or the dress of celebrities can be followed as examples.

C. The author wants to show the negative influence these celebrities had on the students.

D. The author just wants to show being pop stars is very valuable to the students.

What is not TRUE according to the story?

  A. Celebrities can’t have positive impact on the students.

  B. Beckham and Victoria are husband and wife.

C. The so-called celebrity culture does harm to the pupils’ ideas about achievement.

  D. Many students believe that school success is unnecessary.

The best title of the story is _____.

 Sports Star David Beckham 

B. Survey of Students about Celebrities

C Harmful Effect of Celebrities on Students 

D. Better to Be Pop Stars Than Sports Stars

For a clearer picture of what the student knows, most teachers use another kind of examination in addition to objective tests. They use “essay” tests, which require students to write long answers to broad, general questions such as the following: “Mention several ways in which Benjamin Franklin has influenced thinking of people in his own country and in other parts of the world.”

One advantage of the essay test is that it reduces the element of luck. The student cannot get a high score just by making a lucky guess. Another advantage is that it shows the examiner more cares about the student’s ability to put facts together into a meaningful whole. It should show how deeply he has thought about the subject. Sometimes, though, essay tests have disadvantages, too. Some students are able to write rather good answers without really knowing much about the subject, while other students who actually know the material have trouble expressing their ideas in the essay form.

Besides, in an essay test the student’s score may depend upon the examiner’s feelings at the time of reading the answer. If he is feeling tired or bored, the student may receive a lower score than he should. Another examiner reading the same answer might give it a much higher mark. Because of this, the objective test gives each student a fairer chance, and of course it is easier and quicker to score.

Whether an objective test or an essay test is used, problems arise. When some objective questions are used along with some essay questions, however, a fairly clear picture of the student’s knowledge can usually be gotten.

What may have been discussed in the previous paragraphs?

A. The essay test.                    B. How teachers test their students.

C. How students write their essays.      D. The objective test.

The essay test is preferred because ______.

A. it shows more about the student’s understanding of the subject

B. it tests the student’s knowledge of the material as well as his expression of ideas

C. it gives each student a fairer chance

D. its scoring may be influenced by the examiner’s feelings

The underlined word “this” refers to the fact that ______.

A. students may receive a lower score in an essay test

B. another examiner usually gives the answer a higher mark

C. different examiners may give the same essay different scores

D. the objective test gives each student a fairer chance

According to the passage, which of the following statements about the objective test is NOT true?

    A. It is more objective than the essay test in terms of scoring.

    B. It allows the student to guess the correct answer without really knowing the material.

    C. It shows the student’s ability to think about difficult problems.

    D. It is easy and quick to score.

For an owl (猫头鹰) with one-metre wingspan, the sky should be the limit. But Troy prefers his bird’s eye view to be no higher than 5 feet 10 inches. The one-year-old owl has an inconvenient symptom: he’s afraid of heights. After an unfortunate start in life when he fell from his nest by accident, Troy was raised by Gareth Tonen, a handler (饲养员), who just happens to be 5 feet 10 inches tall.

As a result, Troy has grown up without any great ambitions of his own. When it comes to trees, he can’t see what is about and would prefer to fly along at Mr. Tonen’s side. Only when the 25-year-old handler climbs up a tree can Troy be tempted to leave his comfort zone and join him.

Ashley Smith said, “ Troy’s fear of heights was a result of forgetting how to be a bird. He’s been in captivity (被圈养) for as long as he can remember and has never been higher than his handler can lift him. He sees himself as more of a human than an owl, and he doesn’t know how to sit in trees or hunt. Gareth has to almost act like an owl to get Troy to behave like one.”

As a result, a daily tree climb has become part of Troy’s – and Mr. Tonen’s – routine. Ladders have been fixed so Mr. Tonen can climb into the trees and call for Troy, who will fly up and join his handler but go no higher. Most of the time he flies down again, but occasionally Mr. Tonen has to carry him back to ground level. The afternoon ends with a meal of mouse, rabbit or his favorite, chicken.

Mr. Tonen said, “He now looks upon me as his mum or dad. He’s gaining more confidence and if I have to carry on climbing up trees with him then we’ll do what it takes for him to be a high flyer.

Troy was brought up by Gareth Tonen because he ______.

A. couldn’t fly high                   B. got badly hurt

C. left his parents accidentally            D. couldn’t live in trees

What can you learn from the second paragraph?

A. Troy doesn’t show any interest in flying high up in the sky.

B. Gareth Tonen has spoiled Troy by offering him everything.

C. Gareth Tonen is pleased to see Troy fly along at his side.

D. Troy would like his owner Gareth Tonen to climb up trees.

According to Ashley Smith, Troy doesn’t know he is a bird because ______.

A. he has developed the symptom of fearing heights.

B. he has been raised since he was very small.

C. he can’t learn how to fly higher than his owner.

D. he doesn’t want to fly among trees hunting for food.

Why does Gareth Tonen have to climb up trees every day?

A. To set an example of flying high to Troy.

B. To see how high Troy can really fly.

C. To teach Troy how to get meals in high trees.

D. To get Troy back down to cure his fear of heights.