London——Laura Spence has excellent grades, a place at Harvard University and a US $25,000 a year scholarship. The British Government says that is scandal(丑闻).  

Not because the 13-year-old girl is going to Harvard, but because she was rejected by Oxford University. Her case makes people talk about the long-running problems about elitism(精英主义) in British education.

“I think it’s a scandal if a child has to go to Harvard rather than getting into Oxford, don’t you?” Education Secretary David Blunkett said on May 26th in an interview on BBC radio.

British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said in a speech on May 25th it was “an absolute scandal”, a girl with those grades was turned down by Oxford’s Magdalen College. He noted that Spence comes from Monkseaton in northeastern England, where people sometimes complain they get fewer chances than people living in the richer, more populous south.

Oxford and Cambridge University now take the majority of their students—53 percent—from publicly funded schools. Elite(精英)private schools such as Eton and Harrow account for the other 47 percent, even though they serve only 7 percent of secondary students.

A BBC reporter had seen notes of Spence’s interview at Magdalen. “As with other comprehensive school pupils, she’s low in confidence and difficult to draw out of herself in spite of being able to think on her feet,” the BBC quoted the notes as saying. Still, the notes concluded that Spence “will be an excellent doctor.”

“It appears as if some of our institutions have admissions procedures which may be because of absurd prejudices against children from comprehensive schools…are not giving these children a fair crack of the whip”, Education Minister Wicks told the BBC.

5.Laura Spence was rejected by Oxford University because.

A.she was a girl of 13 years old       B.she lacked confidence and she couldn’t think by herself

C.she didn’t win excellent grades

D.she was a shy girl from a comprehensive school in the poorer, less populous north

6.If Laura Spence was from such a school as Eton,.

A.she would be admitted to Oxford    B.she would be accepted by Harvard

C.she could cause long?running problems about elitism in British education

D.she wouldn’t be an excellent doctor

7.What’s the meaning of “a fair crack of the whip”in the last paragraph?

A.A good chance.        B.Warning.           C.Rejection.             D.Admission

8.According to Education Minister Wick’s words, we know he .

A.thought there was something wrong with procedures of admissions to their institutes

B.took the side of Oxford University

C.considered giving up children from comprehensive schools   D.didn’t tell the truth to the BBC

We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.

The 16-year-old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has-discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(降解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair, a ＄10,000 prize, a ＄20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.

Burd’s strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.

With this goal in mind, he grounded plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.

The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.

“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” Said Daniel Burd.

Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair because      .

    A. he found a new kind of microorganism

    B. he contributed much to environmental protection

    C. he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time

    D. he could encourage microbe growth in an easier way

Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to      .

    A. make the live bacteria work better      B. test how effective his method was

C. know which bacteria worked faster      D. control the temperature in the process

Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because       .

    A. plastics can get hot easily           B. microbes can produce heat themselves

    C. much carbon dioxide is produced     D. the temperature can be controlled

Daniel Burd got his idea from       .

    A. his school textbook          B. the failure of researchers

    C. his everyday work           D. the practice of other people

Renata Di Pietro was studying to be an opera singer. But at 23, while on a music scholarship at the University of Iowa in 1976, her sight began to fail. Soon, it became increasingly difficult to read scores and pick up hand signals from conductors, and the gifted singer was forced to drop out.

After moving to Cleveland, Georgia in 2005, Di Pietro relied on guide dogs to get around. Over the years, she became depressed when she’d lose one of the dogs, who had become her best friend, to old age or death. “It’s very painful, because you love each one,” she says.

In 2009, Di Pietro was intrigued by information from a friend that miniature horses typically live for at least 30 years and make calm and strong guides. She started with a male horse, but he was too hard to control. Angel came next, a mini white female horse Di Pietro has mostly trained herself. “Horses have the ability to avoid the things in the way,” she says. “If I am about to run into something, she slides her body in front of me.”

Di Pietro, now 59, has taught her guide horse to make some sounds with her hoof (马蹄)when she comes to stairs. “Angel can find a chair and locate the nearest door for me,” Di Pietro says. Currently, she’s training Angel to pull her wheelchair and to fetch.

Despite her disability, Di Pietro still sings, performing with her husband, musician Carl Hummer, at special events. Angel is always by her side. “I fight a battle every day to take courage to engage the world,” Di Pietro says. “Angel is my warhorse. We fight that battle together.”

1.Why did Di Pietro have to give up her studying in the university?

A.She disliked her major in music.

B.She failed to get high scores.

C.She couldn’t understand hand signals from conductors.

D.She found it difficult to see things clearly.

2.What does the underlined word “intrigued” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A.Puzzled.        B. Interested.        C. Satisfied.         D. Frightened.

3.Angel can do a lot of things for Di Pietro now EXCEPT_________.

A.supporting her in case of her falling

B. helping her find a chair to sit on

C. keeping her company every day

D. fighting with her against others

4.Which of the following can best describe the author?

A.Caring and strong-minded.               B. Honest and responsible.

C. Kind and helpful.                      D. Ambitious and sensitive.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\ )划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意: 1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
College students have a little ways to pay their college fees. Many students have their parents to
pay the fees. Some students may apply to a bank loan and others will try to find part-time jobs in
and out of the campus. Apart from this, many good student can win a scholarship. By this way
they can pay at least part of the fees. As for me, I will let my parents pay half of their fees because
they are rich enough. Beside my study, I will take up a part-time job by teach some high school
students maths, physics, chemistry and English, as I’m very good at these important subjects. Of
course I will also work very hard at my lessons in order to I can easily win a scholarship.

Education is required and free for every child in the United States. Most children start school by the age of six. They attend eight years of elementary school and four years of high school (or secondary school ).The money for free public schools comes from taxes, and each state is responsible for its own educational system .State legislatures (立法机关) set the educational requirements but leave the management of the schools in the hands of the local communities .Most states require their children to go to school until a certain age. This age varies from 16 to 18 years according to the laws of the individual state. The Federal government contributes funds to the states for additional schools and schools services.
After graduation from high school, a student can start his higher education in two –year college, a four-year college, a university or a specialized professional school----either public or private. Most colleges admit students on the basis of their high-school records. The cost of a college education is expensive in private universities, but it is much less in those supported by states and cities. Many students receive scholarships from the schools, the government, or private foundations and organizations. More than 50 percent of the college students work to help pay their college expenses.
Only 2 percent of the population of the country cannot read and write.
56、Where does the money for public schools come from ?
A. From the Federal government.       B. From the state legislatures.
C. From taxes.                      D. From the parents of the school children.
57、What is the educational system in the United States based on ?
A.  The Federal government                   B. Individual school
C.  Individual state                           D. Local communities
58、What percentage of the population is illiterate (文盲？
A. 50                B. 2               C. 4                    D. 6
59、How are college expenses of most students paid ?
A.      They won earnings from part-time work .
B.      Scholarship from the schools, the government or private foundations.
C.      Taxes .
D.  Both A and B.