I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.

My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.

In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.

With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It’s hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.

At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.

1. Why does the author feel disappointed at his students?

A．Because there is one group presenting a catering service.

B．Because the six groups made projects for restaurant chains.

C．Because all the students copied a case for the difficult topic.

D．Because the students’ ideas were lacking in creativeness.

2. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．China can make and sell any product all over the world

B．high pay may not solve the problem of China’s research environment

C．cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand

D．the new government program are aimed at encouraging imagination

3. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Look for a New Way of Learning.            B．Reward Creative Thinking.

C．How to Become a Creator.                 D．Establish a technical Environment.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

An independent college claimed to have become the first school in England to make Chinese a compulsory (强制的) subject for its pupils.

 Richard Cairns, the headmaster of Brighton College, said the move aims to recognize the importance of China as the world’s fastest growing economy.

    Chinese will become one of the core subjects at the 1,200-pupil college from September. At present the school has only a “handful” of native Chinese students, but it hopes to attract more in the future.

    Mr Cairns, who made the announcement in his first week as head of the high-achieving college, said, “One of my key tasks is to make sure that the pupils at Brighton College are equipped for the realities of the 21st century, and one of those realities is that China has the fastest growing economy in the world.

“China has replaced Britain as the world’s fourth-largest economy. We in Britain need to face up to this challenge, see it for the trading opportunity that it is, and ensure that our nation’s children are well-placed to thrive (茁壮成长) in this new global reality.

“A better understanding of the language and culture of China will be hugely important to the advantage of the children of Brighton College.”

    Mr Cairns said he hoped the Chinese children already at the college would help and encourage their fellow pupils to learn their language.

    In order to lead the way, Mr Cairns, a historian from Oxford, plans to take part in the first Chinese class as a pupil. “I have agreed to join the first Chinese class as a pupil. I think it is the best way for me to show the pupils here how important I regard this new addition to our core subjects.”

The passage mainly tells us ________.

A. how to face up to new challenges in the 21st century

B. the realities of the 21st century

C. the fastest growing economy in the world

D. about a school which will make all its pupils learn Chinese

The college makes its students learn Chinese mainly because ________.

A. Chinese is a language spoken by the largest population in the world

B. it realizes the importance of China as the world’s fastest growing economy

C. Chinese is the easiest language for the students

D. there are many native Chinese students at the college

What is Mr Cairns’ attitude towards the development of China?

A. He sees it to be a threat.                  B. He thinks of it as a danger.

C. He considers it to be an opportunity.        D. He regards it as an encouragement.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The Chinese students at the college have already helped their fellow students

to learn Chinese.

B. The school is the first in England to make Chinese a compulsory subject.

C. Mr Cairns has just been made head of this high-achieving college.

D. In Mr Cairns’ opinion, learning Chinese will be a great help to his students.

Can you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike or drive a car？Learning these skills changed your life forever and opened up new horizons（视野）.Learning about computers can be like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car.Once you have invested the time to master the skills，you will never go back to the old days.The new technology is simply too convenient and too powerful.

Technological developments through the years have enabled us to do more with less effort.We have continuously looked for better ways of doing things.Each invention and new development has allowed us to extend our capabilities.Today we see one of the most dramatic technologies ever developed—the computer.It extends the capabilities of our minds.

Computers have saved organizations millions of dollars. Furthermore，these same computer systems have opened up new opportunities that would have gone undiscovered or neglected.The computer may multiply what we can do，and the return on investment is high.The growth of computer usage is surprising. On the other hand，the computer can do serious damage.Invasion of privacy（侵犯隐私），fraud（欺诈），and computer-related mistakes are just a few shocking examples.?The computer is like a double-edged sword.It has the ability to cut us free from some activities，but it can also cut deep into profits，personal privacy，and our society in general.How it is used is not a function of technology.It is strictly a function of how people decide to use or misuse this new technology.The choice is yours，and only through a knowledge of computer systems will you be able to avoid the dangers while enjoying the many，many benefits of the computer age.

The writer thinks learning about computers is like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car because ______.

A.it is simple and practical                                B.it needs a lot of practice

C.it leads people to new life experiences             D.it takes much time to master the skills

According to the passage，computers bring people the following benefits except ______.

A.avoiding mistakes                                         B.saving money

C.making money                                              D.opening up opportunities

According to the writer，the bad effects of computers can be avoided if we ______.

A.have some knowledge of computer systems

B.tell people not to misuse computers

C.have strict rules over the use of computers

D.make more investments in the technology

This passage is probably written for ______.

A.computers                                                    B.computer producers

C.computer learners                                          D.computer programmers

I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering（饮食）service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.

My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.

In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.

With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It’s hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.

At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.

1.Why does the author feel disappointed at his students?

A．Because there is one group presenting a catering service.

B．Because the six groups made projects for restaurant chains.

C．Because all the students copied a case for the difficult topic.

D．Because the students’ ideas were lacking in creativeness.

2.We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．China can make and sell any product all over the world

B．high pay may not solve the problem of China’s research environment

C．cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand

D．the new government program is aimed at encouraging imagination

3.Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Look for a New Way of Learning.

B．Reward Creative Thinking.

C．How to Become a Creator.

D．Establish a technical Environment.

When we read books we seem to enter a new world. This new world can be similar to the one we are living in, or it can be very      . Some stories are told       they were true. Real people who live in a       world do real things; in other words, the stories are about people just like us doing what we do. Other stories, such as the Harry Potter books, are not       . They are characters and creatures that are very different from us and do things that would be       for us.

But there is more to books and writing than this. If we think about it, even realistic writing is only      . How can we tell the difference between what is real and what is not real? For example, when we read about Harry Potter, we       seem to learn something about the real world. And when Harry studies magic at Hogwarts, he also learns more about his real life than      . Reading, like writing, is an action. It is a way of      . When we read or write something, we do much more than simple look at words on a page. We use our       -- which is real-- and our imagination-- which is real in a different way --- to make the words come to life in our minds. www.zxxk.com

　　Both realism and fantasy(幻想)       the imagination and the “magic” of reading and writing to make us think. When we read       realistic, we have to imagine that the people we are reading about are just like us, even though we       that we are real and they are     . It sounds       , but it works. When we read, we fill in missing information and     about the causes and effects of what a character does. We help the writer by   52   that what we read is like real life. In a way, we are writing the book, too.

Most of us probably don’t think about what is going on in our       when we are reading. We pick up a book and lose       in a good story, eager to find out what will happen next. Knowing how we feel       we read can help us become better readers, and it will help us discover more about the real magic of books.

1.A. possible              B. easy                        C. new                        D. different

2.A. that                     B. what                       C. whether                 D. as if

3.A. usual                            B. normal                   C. certain                   D. common

4.A. realistic              B. reasonable            C. moral                      D. instructive

5.A. difficult               B. impossible    C. important              D. necessary

6.A. thinkable            B. designed                C. imagined                D. planned

7.A. do                        B. make                      C. have                       D. are

8.A. lessons               B. dreams                   C. experience           D. magic

9.A. working              B. thinking                  C. living             D. understanding

10.A. knowledge                B. skill                         C. words            D. grammar

11.A. make                          B. get                          C. use                          D. have

12.A. a newspaper   B. something             C. everything             D. a story

13.A. find                            B. learn                       C. know                      D. hope

14.A. too                             B. not                          C. all                            D. so

15.A. dangerous                B. serious                   C. strange                   D. terrible

16.A. talk                             B. learn                       C. read                        D. think

17.A. telling                        B. pretending            C. promising              D. guessing

18.A. mind                          B. life                          C. world            D. society

19.A. heart                          B. time                        C. money                    D. ourselves

20.A. what                           B. how                        C. when                      D. why