People complain that decisions to approve or deny a permit are often　　　　　　　　　 rather than based on fixed criteria.

A. appropriate　　 B. conscious　　 C. arbitrary　 D. controversial

    Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?

    A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to .In Hong Kong , men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis .In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses .It is ,therefore, desirable that boys and girls grow up together ,go to school together ,and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation.

    Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development .Regular contact （接触）can remove the strange ideas about the opposite-sex and lead to more natural relationships .Single-sex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality（同性恋）,though there is no proof that this is the case.

    Those who are against coeducation often also fix their attention on the sexual side. Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers. They want their children to be attentive to their studies. Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes.

    A stronger argument comes from research into school results .Girls grow up earlier than boys ,tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at languages .In a mixed class ,boys who might do well in a single-sex class become discouraged and take on the rule of troublemaker .Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed （惊动）the government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have some single-sex classes.　In the UK the best schools are all single-sex, strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best answer. This may, however, not be as simple as it looks .It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be single-sex ,　rather than that being single-sex makes them better schools.

1.In the third paragraph ,by saying “though there is no proof that this is the case” ,the writer means that         .

    A．students in single-sex schools will certainly become homosexual

    B．students in co-educational schools cannot have extreme opinions

    C．students in co-educational schools are likely to be homosexual

    D．single-sex school conditions may or may not have effects on the students.

2.All the following arguments can be found in the passage EXCEPT that       .

    A．co-education can produce a society-like situation

    B．co-educational schools may lead to love affairs between boys and girls

    C．co-education will help develop a better understanding about the opposite sex

    D．co-education can make boys perform well in mixed classes

3.Alarmed by the situation ,the UK government encourages        .

    A．co-education

    B．single-sex education

    C．single-sex classes in co-educational schools

    D．co-educational classes in single-sex schools

4.At the end of the passage the writer suggests that        .

    A．single-sex schools are the best schools in the UK

    B．being single-sex does not necessarily make a school better

    C．co-educational schools are better for both sexes in personal development

    D．because boys cannot compete with girls in study ,they go to single-sex schools

Though very intelligent,he is 　　　 rather modest.?

A.nevertheless　　　 B.however　　 C.very　　 D.would ?

Talking to plants makes them grow, especially if you ‘re a woman ,according to an experiment by the Ryal  Horticultural Society(RHS皇家园艺学会).

Women gardeners’ voices speed up growth of tomato plants much more than men’s, it found.

In an experiment that ran over a month, they found that tomato plants grew up  two inches taller if they were serenaded by the sweet tones of a female rather tha a male.

Appropriately the most effective talk came from Sarah Darwin ,whose great-great grandfather was legendary botanist(植物学家)Charles Darwin, one of the founding fathers of the RHS’ Scientific Committee. She read a passage from On the Orgin of Species and beat nine other”voices”.

Her plant grew nearly two inches taller than the best performing male and half an inch higher than her nearest competitor.

The experment began in Apirl,2009 at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. A variety of recorded voices were picked to play to 10 taomato plants over a month. Every plant was played a voice through headphones connected to the plant pot, and the conditions for all the plants remained the same throughout the experiment. To ensure the experiment was fair, two control plants were also left to grow in silence.

The results showed that women on average saw their plants rise by an inch on their male competitors. Some men were so bad that their plants actually grew less than a plant that was left completely alone.

Colin Crosbie, the leader at RHS, said:”We’re not sure why the female voice is more effecitive, It could be that they have a greater range of pitch and tone that affects the sound waves that hit the plant. Sound waves are an emvironmental effect just like rain or light.”

67.What is the best title for the passage?

A. Plants can’t grow faster without female voices

B. Women’s voices are more useful than men’s

C. Women’s voices make plants grow faster

D. Voices have positive effects on the growth of plants

68.The underlined word”serenaded” in Paragraph 3 most probably means”________”.

A.sung songs to

B.spoken to

C.talked about

D. played music to

69.According to the passage, ten_________were used in the experiment.

A.tomato plants

B.headphones

C. tape recorders

D.plant pots

70.What can we know about the findings of the experiment from the passage?

A. The women’s voices made the palnts grow faster by half an inch than the men’s.

B.Sarah Darwin’s plant grew 2 inches taller than her neraest competitor’s.

C. The plants which grew in silence did not necessarily grow the slowest

D. The women’s plants grew 2 inches taller than the men’s on average.