3.　　 The opponents of the examination system will agree that _____.

　　 A. jobs should not be assigned by systematic selection

　　 B. computers should be selected to take over many jobs

　　 C. special classed is necessary to keep the school standards

　　 D. schools with academic subjects should be done away with

2.　　 What would happen if exams were taken away according to the author?

　　 A. Schools for bright children would lose their reputation.

　　 B. There would be more opportunities and excellence.

　　 C. Children from poor families would be able to change their schools.

　　　 D. Children’s job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation.

1.　　 The word “favoritism” is used to describe the phenomenon that _____.

　　 A. bright children also need certificates go get satisfying jobs.

　　 B. children from well-respected schools tend to have good jobs

　　 C. poor children with certificates are favored in job markets

　　 D. children attending ordinary schools achieve great success

4.　　 The passage mainly tells us about _____ in UK.

A. the history of birdwatching

B. a growing passion for birdwatching

C. the impact of media on birdwatching

D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport

论述文 04

　　 We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, other, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.

　 　Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed-no examination is perfect-but to have to tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in school or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency, the values and the purpose of each teacher.

　 　Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them －a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lake of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well-respected school. This defend of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away, and the bright child form a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored school.

　 　The opponents of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.

3.　　 Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?

　 A. Television wildlife programs started the popular pastime of birdwatching.

　 B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.

　 C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.

　 　D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.

2.　　 What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora chrysoptera was put on the network?

　 A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.

　 　B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.

　 C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.

　 D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.

1.　　 The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “_____”.

A. affected　　　　　　　　 B. shared　　　　　　　　 C. satisfied　　　　　　　 D. narrowed

4.　　　 What might be the best title for this passage?

A. 110-year-old Tourist　　 　　　　　　　　　 B. Secret for Long and Healthy Life

C. Free Return Ticket　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 D. Sightseeing in London

说明文--自然科学 05

Equipped only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch (红腹灰雀). Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show birdwatching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.

Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for a sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.

“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book-A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching -which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.

Television wildlife programs have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million viewers and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.

Birdwatchers’ networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera-a golden-winged songbird from North America-to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent, where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightings texted to their phones.

“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers,” said David Cromack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine, “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”

3.　　　 The word “quip” in the last sentence most probably means _____.

A. to make a witty remark　 　　　　　　　　　 B. to express a happy message

C. to make a wish　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 D. to tell a joke

2.　　　 Which of the following statements is true?

A. A single trip from Mr. Evans’s house to the White City used to be ten shillings.

B. The first place for Mr. Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament.

C. He appreciated people’s arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit

D. Mr. Evans once made the journey to London at the end of the century.