Computers have been used in teaching for more than twenty years. But a new book says that only now are they changing education. And it predicts that a lot more is about to happen.

The book is called “Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.” “Disruptive Innovation” is a theory developed by lead author Clayton Christensen, a professor at the Harvard Business School. He says organizations almost always use new, creative technology only to continue what they already do.

New technology should change organizations, he says, and disrupt them in a good way. They should use the technology to do things differently―for example, to serve more needs. The book says the needed disruptive force in education is computer-based learning.

Michael Horn, another author of “Disrupting Class”, told us about a Boston public that he visited. Every student at Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, has a laptop computer. One class was learning about storms. Michael Horn says the laptops made it possible to truly individualize（使个人化）the lessons, to divide materials by ability level and learning style. At the end of the class, the students all took part in a discussion led by the teacher.

Computer-based learning offers a way for students to take advanced courses not offered at their school, or to retake classes they failed. It also serves those who cannot physically attend school, and students who receive home schooling.

Computer-based learning includes online courses. Enrollments（招生）in online courses have grown sharply. In 2007, the United States had about one million enrollments, not including college courses. Students could be enrolled in more than one course, through schools or education companies. High school students make up about seventy percent of the enrollment. Still, nationally, only about one percent of all high school courses last year were taught online.

But the authors of “Disrupting Class”predict it will be ten percent in about six years. And their research suggests that the number will be about fifty percent by 2019. And Michael Horn says the future of online learning could be even greater in developing countries.

73. Which of the following is TRUE about the book “Disrupting Class”?

A. It was written by more than one author.

B. It thinks the computer affects students’ studies.

C. It introduces a new scientific technology to readers.

D. It has been a best-seller since it was published.

74. Paragraph 4 is written to show                .

A. how modern the Boston public school is  

B. how clever the American students are

C. how well the American teachers teach

D. what computer-based learning is like

75. From the last two paragraphs, we can infer that the authors of “Disrupting Class”think that              .

A. more and more students are interested in “Disrupting Class”

B. those who take online courses are mainly college students

C. more and more high school courses will be taught online

D. enrollments in online courses haven’t grown recently

76. The passage is mainly about              .

A. a new book

B. a new learning way

C. some American writers

D. the advantages of computers

People have been burying the dead at Salem’s Hope Cemetery since 1833. The place is filled with old gravestones and gothic mausoleums(哥特式陵墓), the spirits of the dead hanging over the land like an early morning fog.
Keeping watch, a few steps from the road with her skirt over the pedestal (基座), is Goldie Belle Taylor, her face weathered but otherwise in good condition. On this day, she is holding a bunch of pink rises because Goldie Belle always holds flowers. Someone makes sure of that.
“And she has had fresh flowers in her hands for the last 150 years.” Karen Biery lives in Damascus, about five miles west of Hope Cemetery. She’s written a book based on the legend of Goldie Belle Taylor titled Believe. In 1886, at the age of two, young Goldie Belle used her hands to sop up (抹去) the left over elderberry juice from her father’s iron kettle. She died not long after from poisoning. She was the love of her dad’s life, and he was so upset that he sold the family farm to buy the Italian made statue, which today marks her grave.
At first, it was her father who brought the flowers and laid them in her hands. When he died in 1896, the flowers kept coming. Her flowers are different per season. Why do the flowers keep miraculously appearing? People have tried to find out by having camped by the statue, but not even the groundskeepers have been able to catch the criminal.
It’s said that a fairy arrives at Hope Cemetery looking for the grave of her birth mother. She comes across Goldie Belle’s statue.

1. 1.

   The underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 probably refers to________.

   1. A.
      her face in good condition
   2. B.
      her bunch of pink roses
   3. C.
      Goldie Belle Taylor is holding pink roses
   4. D.
      Goldie Belle Taylor always holds flowers
2. 2.

   It can be inferred from the third paragraph __________.

   1. A.
      her father was poisonous
   2. B.
      the iron kettle was poisonous
   3. C.
      elderberry juice was poisonous
   4. D.
      it was her father that hated her
3. 3.

   After her father died, the flowers in the hands of Goldie Belle Taylor_______.

   1. A.
      usually change
   2. B.
      were stolen
   3. C.
      are no longer fresh
   4. D.
      come from a criminal
4. 4.

   What would be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      A fairy brings the flowers.
   2. B.
      The mystery of Goldie’s flowers.
   3. C.
      What happens to the girl?
   4. D.
      How do the flowers get there?

People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.

About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ______.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures    

B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination

D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons      EXCEPT that _______.

   A. the former was easy to write    

B. there were fewer signs in the former    

C. the former was easy to pronounce

D. each sign stood for only one sound

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.    

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.

In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ___________.

A. should be made comprehensible

B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life     

D. have disappeared from our life

People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hun??ted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or per??haps human beings have always wanted to tell stories accord??ing to pictures.

About 5,000 years ago the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet(字母表).

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell sto??ries by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was bur??ied. Some of these pictures are like modem comic-strip sto??ries. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic-strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.  

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area a-round the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days we can write down a story, or record informa??tion, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the streets, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pic??tures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

6. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ________.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures  B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

7.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.  

A. the former was easy to write         B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce    D. each sign stood for only one sound

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyp??tians.

9. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures　__________.

A. should be made comprehensible         B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life             D. are disappearing from our life

Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water－drink recycled sewage(污水) or die.

With the drought(干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified(净化的) waste water for drinking, even though there is great opposition to the measure.

Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier(总理)．

“I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water，” said Peter Beattie.

“These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold, it's a matter of life and death.”

Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking.

Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel.

But Australians have rebutted the idea.

To try to change the way of Australians think, Prime Minister John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have backed Queensland's move.

“I am very strongly in favour of recycling and Mr Beattie is right and I agree with him completely，” Howard said.

Turnbull added that Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water.

“All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall，” he said.

1．What would the BEST title for the passage be?

A. It's Life or Death

B. Struggling With Drought

C. Australians' Efforts to Settle Water Issues

D. Drinking Recycled Purified Water or Not

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

A. Queensland is the first state to use recycled water for drinking voluntarily.

B. No other countries but Australia once used purified waste water for drinking.

C. Australians well understand the policy, showing support and acceptance.

D. The drought is the worst one of the droughts recorded in Australian history.

3．Which of the following is TRUE about Turnbull?

A. He is the Australian Environment Minister and Prime Minister.

B. He expresses his opposition to the idea of using recycled water for drinking.

C. He thinks that to use recycled water will be a long－term process.

D. He suggests more water sources should be found to live through the hard time.

4. The underlined word “rebutted” in Paragraph 8 probably means________.

A. been fond of  B. objected to

C. turned a deaf ear to  D. doubted

5．What attitude does Queensland Premier Peter Beattie show towards the measure?

A. He feels very glad.  B. He feels at ease.

C. He can't help it.  D. He has lost heart.