The use of lotteries (彩票) to allocate (分配) school places is to be reviewed by the British government because more than 20 percent of children are failing to get into their first-choice schools in parts of the country.
The struggle for secondary school places has reached record levels this year, increasing anxiety for hundreds of thousands of families. A report from 43 local authorities suggests that in many areas, up to a fifth of children face disappointment. Families in London are the hardest hit.
This week is admissions week, when about 570,000 families will receive notice about their child’s secondary school acceptance. As the recession (不景气) forces more parents to consider a state education rather than a private one for their children, more than a third of local authorities have noted rises in the number of applications for secondary school places.
This year, just 62 percent of children in Richmond-upon-Thames got into their parents’ first-choice school, down from 64 percent last year. The council said this was caused by an increase in applications.
In another London authority, Tower Hamlet, 71.1 percent of children were admitted to their parents’ first choice school. In Leeds and Warwickshire, 85 percent were successful. In Derby the figure was 81 percent, while in Wiltshire, Stockport and Lincolnshire, the figure was 89 percent.
In many authorities, the figures are similar to those of last year. Exceptions include Brighton and Hove, which introduced a lottery system to allocate oversubscribed places last year. This year, it has seen a 3.5 percent increase in the number of children obtaining their first choice, bringing the total to nearly 88 percent. However, more than 5 percent of children in this area have been allocated a place at a school that was not among any of their choices.
Lotteries are being used at the government’s suggestion by a small number of oversubscribed schools in around twenty-five local authorities. They were meant to prevent middle-class parents from abusing the system by buying or renting homes close to the best schools.
【小题1】According to the passage, more and more parents in Britain prefer to send their children to _______.

On a cold winter day, I waited in line to see my hero, Jack Canfield, the author of The Success Principles, who was going to deliver a speech on his new book.

During his talk, Jack   41   his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, ‘‘Who wants this?”   42   shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would   43  . But I jumped up, ran up the   44   to the stage, and grabbed the bill. As I was launching myself in the air,   45  raced through my mind — was I about to be humiliated(羞辱) in front of 800 people? Would they   46   security guards and take me from the stage?    47   my desire for bold （大胆的）action was louder than any   48  voice. As I got the bill from his hand, he said, “That’s it! We can’t wait for the   49   to come to us. We must take    50    to create what we want!’’

After his talk, I   51   to formally meet Jack and boldly asked for his personal e-mail address. Over the next months, I sent him emails   52   my points of view and dreams with him. He kindly e-mailed back lots of encouragement. But my life got busy   53  other things. I stopped e-mailing Jack.

A year later, my dreams had worn away. I thought Jack would inspire me into action, like a giant arrow that would show me the way.

I e-mailed him, and then again — but got no   54  . As I sat down at my computer to 55   my e-mails, I  56   woke up. What was I doing? I was waiting! Now I remembered the crowd, most likely   57   that hundred-dollar bill, while they sat glued to their chairs.

Usually we all have a “Jack” for whom we wait — whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. We   58   believe the gifts of life are just around the corner, and that everything will come in a(n)   59   way. So we don’t try. We  60  . But as Wayne Gretzky said，“You’ll always miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take!” So I stopped waiting and started my writing career.

Now what are you waiting for?

1.A. brought in                    B. reached for                     C. took over                         D. handed in

2.A. Cheers                                    B. Shouts                              C. Heads                     D. Hands

3.A. offer                              B. trust                                  C. like                                   D. choose

4.A. path                               B. road                                  C. steps                                 D. route

5.A. thoughts                       B. opinions                           C. ideas                      D. plans

6.A. ask                                 B. call                                    C. demand                            D. order

7.A. And                               B. So                             C. But                                    D. Or

8.A. noisy                             B. doubtful                           C. meaningful                      D. helpful

9.A. opportunities                  B. consequences                  C. results                              D. aims

10.A. step                         B. measure                           C. way                       D. action

11.A. expected                            B. tried                                  C. permitted                        D. managed

12.A. stating                       B. describing                        C. presenting                       D. sharing

13.A. with                             B. in                                  C. about                                 D. over

14.A. news                                    B. message                           C. response                          D. reaction

15.A. check                                   B. examine                           C. inspect                             D. review

16.A. gradually                    B. suddenly                          C. immediately           D. slowly

17.A. desiring                               B. claiming                            C. begging                            D. dreaming

18.A. particularly                         B. honestly                           C. falsely                      D. correctly

19.A. difficult                B. impressive                C. early                         D. natural

20.A. give up                                 B. put up                         C. take up                     D. set up

On a cold winter day, I waited in line to see my hero, Jack Canfield, the author of The Success Principles, who was going to deliver a speech on his new book.

During his talk, Jack   41   his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, ‘‘Who wants this?”   42   shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would   43  . But I jumped up, ran up the   44   to the stage, and grabbed the bill. As I was launching myself in the air,   45  raced through my mind — was I about to be humiliated(羞辱) in front of 800 people? Would they   46   security guards and take me from the stage?    47   my desire for bold （大胆的）action was louder than any   48  voice. As I got the bill from his hand, he said, “That’s it! We can’t wait for the   49   to come to us. We must take    50    to create what we want!’’

After his talk, I   51   to formally meet Jack and boldly asked for his personal e-mail address. Over the next months, I sent him emails   52   my points of view and dreams with him. He kindly e-mailed back lots of encouragement. But my life got busy   53  other things. I stopped e-mailing Jack.

A year later, my dreams had worn away. I thought Jack would inspire me into action, like a giant arrow that would show me the way.

I e-mailed him, and then again — but got no   54  . As I sat down at my computer to 55   my e-mails, I  56   woke up. What was I doing? I was waiting! Now I remembered the crowd, most likely   57   that hundred-dollar bill, while they sat glued to their chairs.

Usually we all have a “Jack” for whom we wait — whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. We   58   believe the gifts of life are just around the corner, and that everything will come in a(n)   59   way. So we don’t try. We  60  . But as Wayne Gretzky said，“You’ll always miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take!” So I stopped waiting and started my writing career.

Now what are you waiting for?

1.A. brought in                    B. reached for                     C. took over                         D. handed in

2.A. Cheers                                   B. Shouts                              C. Heads                     D. Hands

3.A. offer                              B. trust                                  C. like                                   D. choose

4.A. path                               B. road                                  C. steps                                 D. route

5.A. thoughts                       B. opinions                           C. ideas                      D. plans

6.A. ask                                 B. call                                    C. demand                            D. order

7.A. And                               B. So                             C. But                                    D. Or

8.A. noisy                             B. doubtful                           C. meaningful                      D. helpful

9.A. opportunities                  B. consequences                  C. results                              D. aims

10.A. step                         B. measure                           C. way                       D. action

11.A. expected                            B. tried                                  C. permitted                        D. managed

12.A. stating                       B. describing                        C. presenting                       D. sharing

13.A. with                             B. in                                  C. about                                 D. over

14.A. news                                    B. message                           C. response                          D. reaction

15.A. check                                   B. examine                           C. inspect                             D. review

16.A. gradually                    B. suddenly                          C. immediately           D. slowly

17.A. desiring                               B. claiming                            C. begging                            D. dreaming

18.A. particularly                         B. honestly                           C. falsely                               D. correctly

19.A. difficult                B. impressive                C. early                         D. natural

20.A. give up                                B. put up                         C. take up                     D. set up

People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics(失语症患者).Such patients can be extremely good at something else.From the changing expressions on speakers’ faces and the tones of their voices,they can tell lies from truths.

Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics.Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the baggage.

Recently,scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true.THEY STUDIED A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE.Some were normal;others were aphasics.It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches—in most cases,the normal people were fooled by words,but the aphasics were not.

Some years ago,Dr.Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics.He mentioned a particular case in a hospital.Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on TV.Since the president had been an actor earlier,making a good speech was no problem for him.He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.

But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients.They didn’t seem to believe him.Instead,they burst into laughter.The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he was saying.He was lying!

Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to understand words.However,according to Dr.Sacks,they are more gifted than normal people.Normal people may get carried away by words.Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better,though they cannot understand words.

1.What is so surprising about aphasics?

2.How did the scientists study aphasics?

3.What do we learn from this text?

. An expert was _____ to give a speech on how to learn English well.

A. brought in   B. brought on   

C. brought out   D. brought up