We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed—no examination is perfect — but to have no tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in school or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency, the values and the purpose of each teacher.
Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them — a form of favouritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well-respected school. This defence of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away, and the bright child form a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favoured school.
The opponents of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.
【小题1】What is the similarity between supporters and opponents?
A. They both like exams.                B. They both dislike exams.
B. They value standards.                D. They value equality.
【小题2】The word “favouritism” in paragraph 3 is used to describe the phenomenon that ________.

As prices and building costs keep rising, the“do-it-yourself”(DIY)trend(趋势)in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture(家具)for our living room,” says John Ross,“and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420.“I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you
want to become a “do-it-yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
【小题1】We can learn from the text that many married people_________.

Last year, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, DC. I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?”
When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. Immediately, I pulled out all of my change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money. I just need help finding the post office.”
In an instant, I realized what I had done. I acted with prejudice—I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be. I hated what I saw in myself.
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister. Through the years, I have been a doorkeeper, cashier and pizza delivery driver among many other humble (卑微的) jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.
In my own life, I have experienced prejudice. I remember a time—at the age of 17 —when I was a busboy, I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me.
But now, living in my American middle—class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the streets cured me of my blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility (谦虚). By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.
【小题1】How did the writer give the blind woman money?

Wendy Gallegos writes “concer” on the board. One of her students raises her hand.
“Ms. Gallegos, you should have written ‘conocer’ instead,” she said, referring to the Spanish verb for “to know.”
Gallegos looks at the board, smiles and quickly erases her mistake.
“You see, I have taught you so well, you pick up on my mistakes,” she said with a laugh.
To Gallegos, the scene in her classroom is typical（特有的）of the children she teaches. Gallegos teaches high school Spanish. She became part of their lives and families for three years. She is willing to help her children succeed. After a couple of years, Gallegos’ class becomes like home. Gallegos’ Spanish class is taught mostly in English in sixth grade. By the time the students are eighth-graders, they are speaking fewer words of English and more of Spanish during the 50-minute classes.
“My goal is to get my kids to say something in Spanish every day,” she said, “I want them to be able to talk to me. That’s why I help them, I praise them, I recognize them when they do good work. And we have fun. The day I stop having fun is the day I am going to consider a different job.’’
If a student needs help, Gallegos offers the student a “lifesaver,” which is help from a classmate. The lifesaver gets a piece of candy as a reward. As the students said: “Gallegos’ class is anything but boring.” It is because of Gallegos’ efforts and determination that she is the teacher who they think is most deserving of one of Collier County’s Golden Apple Awards.
“I don’t teach a subject, I teach kids. This is what I was born to do,” Gallegos said.
【小题1】The scene（情景）in Gallegos’ class is mentioned at the beginning of the passage to ____.

The teaching hospital is one associated with a medical school. Teaching hospitals are large, with a range of from 300 to 200 beds. These hospitals always have interns(实习医师) and residents(住院医师) and additionally have medical students on the hospital wards. They have superb technical resources, and it is here that the most extraordinary events of medicine take place. Open-heart surgery, transplantation of kidneys, elaborate(精致的) nurseries for the newborn, support for management of rare blood diseases, and other wonderful achievements are all available here. Dozens of people may be concerned with the well-being of a particular patient. Important medical decisions are thoroughly discussed, presented at conferences, and reviewed by many personnel.
On the other hand, the quality of personal relationships at teaching hospitals is variable. Many patients feel that they are treated in an impersonal way, and that their laboratory tests receive more attention that their human and social problems. Since these institutions are on the frontier of medicine, there is a tendency to emphasize the new and elaborate procedures, when older and more modest ones might have served as well. With the inexperience of some members of the care team, there is a tendency to order more laboratory tests than what would have been ordered for the same condition in a private hospital. The sick patients are sometimes confused by having to relate to a large number of doctors and students. Medical educators are concerned with such criticisms and have to correct some of the problems. However, some excesses(超额) of technological medicine still occur in these institutions.
【小题1】One of the advantages of a teaching hospital is that         .