Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?

    In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees. As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan in order to go to university.

    They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.

    The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around ￡12,000 (122,952 yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach April after graduating. If you start to earn over ￡15,000 (153,630 yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.

    You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.

    All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year.”

    Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?

What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A. Universities’ charging students fees is quite common all over the world.

B. It’s unfair to charge college students fees in England and Wales.

C. Before 2006 the UK universities didn’t charge students tuition fees in England and Wales.

D. The UK universities are unwilling to carry out the government’s policy.

What might be the reason that the number of British students at UK universities falls?

A. It’s harder and harder for them to get a degree.

B. The credit crisis has great influnce on their families’ income.

C. College education costs them too much.

D. The competition to become a “white collar” is too fiece.

What does the underlined words “a piece of paper” refer to?

A. A written document from the bank.         B. A letter of recommendation.

C. A filled application form.                       D. A diploma.

Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

  A. More Profits for the Banks                        B. College Life in the UK

C. Welcome! International Students                    D. UK Universities Students Become Poorer

   Breathe, wave and smile. Along with more than 300 other seniors, I marched into the stadium on the afternoon of May 10. The audience burst into deafening cheers. The huge stadium shook with all the whistling and clapping.

It was as if a Hollywood superstar had walked on stage. And indeed, every single senior that day was a star of the moment. Each deserved it. The seniors had been preparing for four years for this once-in-a-lifetime moment—the commencement (graduation ceremony).

Seated, I waited anxiously for the opening address. As a foreign exchange student, I was not able to receive a diploma. However, I still had the wonderful feeling of being part of things. Like the other graduates, I was dressed in marron cap and gown.

Our principal, Mr. Glover, delivered a short, warm greeting. The US national anthem followed and then, hands on chests, a solemn Pledge of Allegiance(美国的爱国誓言).

Students who had excelled academically gave farewell speeches. The tears in some eyes convinced me that many had deep feelings about the occasion. It was as the class motto says, “Life brings us tears, smiles and memories. The tears dry; the smiles fade; but the memories last forever.”

Then came the core (the most important part) of the commencement. Hundreds of names were announced. Each graduate walked across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal. From the different cheers each graduate got, we had the funny sense that it was a kind of competition of who could cheer the loudest.

To be honest, the presentation of diplomas got boring. A girl sitting next to me even started yawning. But it wasn’t boring for those receiving the diploma: they would treasure the moment the principal placed the sacred brown document in their hands for the rest of their lives.

A new page in the book of that person’s life had turned. They were glimpsing their futures: futures of challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which would take all of their courage.

What’s the article mainly about?

A. An American high school’s graduation ceremony.

B. The opening ceremony of a sports meeting.

C. A presentation of college diplomas.                     

D. A US college’s farewell party.

Which of the following statements about the author is FALSE?

A. She was one of the graduates.                               B. She was a foreign exchange student.

C. She was excited to receive her diploma.              D. She felt it great to be at the ceremony.

The right order of the following events is______.

a. Diplomas were presented to graduates.     b. Students gave farewell speeches.

c. The US national anthem was played.      d. The principal gave a short, warm speech.

e. Seniors went into the stadium.

A. b,c,a,d,e       B. c,d,b,e,a         C. d,b,e,a,c         D. e,d,c,b,a

From the text, we can conclude that_______.

A. a diploma ensures a good job                       

B. a diploma guarantees a bright future

C. the commencement symbolizes the beginning of a new stage in life

D. everyone felt excited at the presentation of the diploma

According to the passage, which of the following statement is true?

A. Hollywood superstars went to attend the commencement.

B. Every single senior became a superstar on the commencement day.

C. All graduates would treasure the diploma for the rest of their lives.

D. When each graduate got his or her diploma, there were loud cheers.

Dear Cassy,

Thanks for reminding me by e-mail that you want to baby-sit our children. In spite of the fact that you are only 15 years old, my wife and I would be willing to consider your application if you can meet a few modest requirements:

1. Submit three letters from teachers who will prove that you have never failed to follow directions perfectly in class and never failed to hand in the homework on time.

2. Submit a note from two doctors which says that you are in perfect health, have never been sick, and never will be sick.

3. Submit a document (文件) from your physical education teacher or team coach that proves that you can do each of the following: Run two miles in less than nine minutes, climb an oily rope to a height of twenty feet in thirty seconds while balancing a glass of water on your nose, and walk in bare feet over hot coals and broken glass without complaint or injury.

4. Submit letters from at least two mental health experts saying that you have never had a bad thought towards any living being or not living object.

5. Play and defeat five expert chess players with your eyes covered after going without sleep for 48 hours.

6. Wait patiently for two years while we make sure that all your documents are true.

                                            Your loving and trusting friends,

                                                    The Smiths

1.From the letter we can know that ______.

   A. Cassy wrote to the Smiths twice               B. Cassy loves children very much

   C. Cassy will be in perfect health          D. Cassy does very well in her studies

2. Which of the following can most probably replace the underlined word “submit”?

   A. write            B. report            C. hand in       D. recommend (推荐)

3.What can we infer from this text?

   A. Their children are hard to baby-sit.        B. Their children are well educated.

   C. Cassy is good at doing many things.       D. Cassy won't get the job as a baby-sitter.

4. Which of the following words can best describe the Smiths?

   A. Humorous.     B. Patient.              C. Honest.        D. Kind-hearted.

Swedish master medical photographer Lennart Nilsson is a pioneer in medical photography．In association with researchers and with the help of advanced, specially designed equipment, he has documented the inside of man down to the level of a cell with his camera.

Born in Strängnäs, a satellite city of Stockholm, in 1922, Nilsson got his first camera from his father when he was 11 years old．From the early stage, he has been interested in looking at ants and taking photos of them.Throughout the years, he has devoted special attention to capturing the creation of a human being, from conception to birth.

In 2006 when his photo book Life was published in both Swedish and English, he was invited to give a lecture at the Stockholm bookstore．He vividly described to the public how he took the photos so that the development process of the embryo can be understood better．Finally when he was signing his name in the book, I asked him what made him so passionate about working on this, he stopped writing and thought for a second, “I think it is the respect for life,” Nilsson said.

Nilsson began his career as a photographic journalist in the middle of the 1940s and published a number of photo-essays in Swedish and foreign magazines, including "Polar Bear Hunting in Spitzbergen" (1947) and Midwife.

 “When I went to the professor to take the embryo photo, I was looking around and then I saw something which was unbelievable, it was a tiny human embryo lies in a very special place, a 10-20 millimeter embryo with hands, arms and eyes, and I got a shock,” Nilsson said.

Nilsson began experimenting with new photographic techniques in the mid-1950s to report on the world of ants and life in the sea．His revealing macro-studies were published in his book on ants, Myror (1959), and in the Life in the Sea (1959), and in Close to Nature (1984)．In the 1960s special designed, very slim endoscopes (内窥镜))made it possible for him to photograph the blood vessels and the cavities (空洞) of the body with the necessary depth of field and, in 1970, he used a scanning electron microscope for the first time, he was also considered the pioneer for three dimension digital pictures of the body organs.

After his photographs of human embryo were published, he was encouraged to continue photographing the origins of human being.

Nilsson is very modest and sincere．At age of nearly 88, he is still cooperating with colleagues in Karolinska Institute where the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is selected every year.

“He can forget all the other things when he is working and he is still working diligently,” Mrs Nilsson told People’s Daily Online.

1.Why does Nilsson want to document the creation of a human being?

    A．Because he is a pioneer in medical photography.                                            

    B．Because he has been interested in taking photos.

      C．Because he thinks it a way to show respect for life.

      D．Because he wished to win a Nobel Prize.

2.What can we learn from the passage?

      A．Nilsson was the only expert in medical photography.

      B．Nilsson’s camera is specially designed.

      C．Nilsson’s photo book Life is better received than his other books.

      D．Nilsson has always been working alone．

3.How many books written by Nilsson are mentioned in this passage?

      A．3．                    B．4.                       C．5.                       D．6.

4.Which of the following word can Not be used to describe Nilsson?

      A．Passionate.          B．Devoted.             C．Forgetful.            D．Dillgent.

5.What can be the title for the passage?

    A．Nilsson, a pioneer medical photographer.                              

    B．Nilsson, a pioneer medical publisher

    C．Nilsson, a person of rich experience

    D．Nilsson, a talented photographer

根据汉语意思完成下列句子 （每空1分，共8分）

1. 如果没有发现透视法，现在我们就不能够欣赏到许多那个时代的名作。

If the rules of perspective                  , we                 appreciate many great masterpieces of that time now.

2. 第一批在户外作画的是印象派画家。他们被认为是“现代艺术”的开创者。

The first painters             outdoors were the Impressionists, who              the   beginners of what we call “modern art”.

3. 他多么希望自己是一个教育家！

How he wishes               .

4. 如果你能用电子邮件把文件发给我，我会非常感激的。

I                if you could send me the document by e-mail.

5. 成功不是绝对的，失败也不是致命的；勇气才是最重要的。（强调句）

Success is never final; failure is never fatal;                     .

6. 虽然到现在我研究火山已经很多年了，但是我对火山的壮丽景色以及它那潜在的巨大破坏力至今仍然感到惊愕不已。

___________ volcanoes now for many years, I am still amazed at their beauty as well as their potential to cause great damage.