As a professor at a large American university,there is a phrase that I hear often from students:“I’m only a 1050.”The unlucky students are speaking of the score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT),which is used to determine whether they will be admitted to the college or university of their choice,or even if they have a chance to get a higher education at all.The SAT score,whether it is 800,1100 or 1550,has become the focus at this time of their life.

It is obvious that if students value highly their test scores,then a great amount of their self-respect is put in the number.Students who perform poorly on the exam are left feeling that it is all over.The low test score,they think,will make it impossible for them to get into a good college.And without a degree from a prestigious university,they fear that many of life’s doors will remain forever closed.

According to a study done in the 1990s,the SAT is only a reliable indicator of a student’s future performance in most cases.Interestingly,it becomes much more accurate when it is set together with other indicators-like a student’s high school grades.Even if standardized tests like the SAT could show a student’s academic proficiency(学业水平)，they will never be able to test things like confidence,efforts and willpower,and are unable to give us the full picture of a student’s potentialities(潜力).This is not to suggest that we should stop using SAT scores in our college admission process.The SAT is an excellent test in many ways,and the score is still a useful means of testing students.However,it should be only one of many methods used.

1.The purpose of the SAT is to test students’______.

2.Students’ self-respect is influenced by their______.

3.“A prestigious university” is most probably______.

4.This passage is mainly about______.

Suppose you work in a big firm and find English important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English. Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need.

1.You work from 9:00a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day. Which school will you choose?

2.The 21st Century English Training Center is different from the other three schools in that.

3.You’ll probably prefer to go to the International House of English because it.

4.If you take the evening classes at the International House  of English, you’ll pay about      yuan.

C
If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis．From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit．
But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee: public education．
At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world．Yet in terms of its core mission---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing．
The United States does a good job enrolling （招生） teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree．
So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that．Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos．The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching．It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into．They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive．About half of the low-income students with a grade-point average of at least 3．5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have．“I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr．Bowen．
In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates．Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅长）in producing drop-outs．“It’s really a waste,” Mr．Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country．” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students．Instead, it appears to have fallen．
What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer．
46. Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?
A．The government．           B．Public education
C．The Detroit automakers．   D．The Wall Street firms．
47．What is a big problem with American higher education?
A．It is hard to enroll enough students into college．
B．Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation．
C．Many college students stay away from classes．
D．It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government．
48．The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______．
A．running to the end of the line        B．going to college
C．finishing college education     D．working hard in college
49．Why do some students under--match ?
A．Because they have financial difficulty．       B．Because they face ambition crisis．
C．Because they lack confidence．         D．Because they can’t get guidance．
50．The passage is mainly about _______．
A．problems with secondary American education and possible solutions
B．America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence
C．low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence
D．relationship between American education and its economy

About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn't help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy—who could not have been more than seven or eight years old—replied. “Frankly, I've been feeling a little depressed lately.”

    This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.

    Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don't seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.

    Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?

    Human development depends not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.

    In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation（揭示） machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation （诱惑）,  many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.

Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.

1. According to the author, feeling depressed is ____________.

    A. a sure sign of a mental problem in a child

    B. a mental state present in all humans, including children

    C. something that cannot be avoided in children's mental development

    D. something hardly to be expected in a young child

2.According to the author, that today's children seem adult-like results from ____________.

    A. the widespread influence of television

    B. the poor arrangement of teaching content

    C. the fast pace of human scientific development

    D. the rising standard of living

3. What does the author think of communication through print for children?

    A. It enables children to gain more social information.

    B. It develops children's interest in reading and writing.

    C. It helps children to read and write well.

    D. It can control what children are to learn.

4. What does the author think of the change in today's children?

    A. He feels their adult-like behavior is so funny.

    B. He thinks the change worthy of note.

    C. He considers it a rapid development.

    D. He seems to be upset about it.

Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth.  1 The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.  2 The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can

clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.

Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition  3 We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition.

After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. 4  There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.  5  After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.

E. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could.

F. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before.

G. The people of Australia are very hardworking.