The A-level question Have 22 continuous years of rises in A-level pass rate made the exam worthless? David Miliband, the minister for School Standards, insists the answer is a firm " no". And he said it was wrong that " more will mean worse and more educa??tion for more people will mean lower standards". Figures show that — despite the rise in A-grades to 21. 6 per cent — only 22,000 out of 600,000 18-year-olds gain three A-grade pas??ses. Put another way, that means — in a primary class of 30 pupils — only one will get three A-grades. The center right Bow Group, in a pamphlet published today, however, says nine out of ten scholars believe A-grades have been devalued over the past ten years.

Two inquiries (调查) — both set up by the Government’s exams watchdogs — one of which included in??dependent teaching experts, refused to accept that there had been any " dumping down" of A-level standards. But while they conclude that the exam questions have not become easier, changes in examining methods have almost certainly made it easier to gain top-grade passes.

As a result of the exams shake-up introduced in 2000, students sit six different types of exams to make up an A-level during the course of their two years of study. Only 20 per cent of the marks are set for the end-of-term exam. This makes it easier for teachers to help their pupils with the right answers.

Mr Miliband said yesterday, " My argument is not that to??day ‘s generation of pupils are cleverer than their parents; it is that schools and teachers are getting better at getting the best out of them. "

5. From the writer’s point of view, the rise in A-grades to 21. 6 per cent shows ______.

A. it is generally thought more education means lower standards

B. the rise in the A-level pass rate has made the exam worthless

C. the quality of the 18-year-olds has become lower

D. it is still hard for the general pupils to get three A-grade passes

6. The underlined word " they" in the second paragraph refers to ______.

A. the exams watchdogs               B. the independent teaching experts

C. the A-level standards                D. the two inquiries

7. As a result of the exams shake-up introduced in 2000 ______.

A. the pass rate for A-levels was set to rise continuously

B. the exam became easier than it had been before 2000

C. pupils could have many more choices of test after 2000

D. it soon became popular with teachers and pupils

8. What does this passage mainly discuss?

A. How reliable and effective the A-level grading system is.

B. How the A-level system helps universities select pupils.

C. How the pass rate has been increased in recent years.

D. How the A-level grading system has changed over the years.

It was the night before the composition was due. As I looked at the list of topics , "The Art of Eating Spaghetti (意大利面条) " caught my eye. The word "spaghetti" brought back the 36  of an evening at Uncle Alien' s in Belleville   37  all of us were seated around the table and Aunt Pat  38  spaghetti for supper. Spaghetti was an exotic (外来的) treat in   39   days. Never had I eaten spaghetti, and  40  of the grown-ups had enough experience to be  41  it. What laughing  42  we had about the  43  respectable method for moving spaghetti from plate to mouth.   44  , I wanted to write about that, but I wanted to  45  it down simply for my own 46 , not for Mr. Fleagle, my composition teacher.   47 , I would write something else.

When I finished it the night was half gone and there was no  48  left to write a proper com­position for Mr. Fleagle. There was no choice next morning but to  49  my work. Two days pas­sed before Mr. Fleagle returned the   50  papers. He said, "Now, class, I want to read you a composition, “The Art of Eating Spaghetti'. "

My words! He was reading my words out  51  to the whole class.   52 laughed, then the whole class was laughing with open-hearted enjoyment. I did my best not to show  53 , but what I was feeling was pure happiness,   54  my words had the power to make people  55 .

It was the night before the composition was due. As I looked at the list of topics （题目） , "The Art of Eating Spaghetti （意大利面条） " caught my eye. The word "spaghetti" brought back the1  of an evening at Uncle Alien' s in Belleville   2   all of us were seated around the table and Aunt Pat  3   spaghetti for supper. Spaghetti was an exotic （外来的） treat in   4  days. Never had I eaten spaghetti, and  5   of the grown-ups had enough experience to be  6   it. What laughing  7   we had about the  8   respectable method for moving spaghetti from plate to mouth.   9 , I wanted to write about that, but I wanted to  10   it down simply for my own 11 , not for Mr. Fleagle, my composition teacher.   12  , I would write something else.

When I finished it the night was half gone and there was no  13   left to write a proper com­position for Mr. Fleagle. There was no choice next morning but to  14   my work. Two days pas­sed before Mr. Fleagle returned the   15   papers. He said, "Now, class, I want to read you a composition, “The Art of Eating Spaghetti'. "

My words! He was reading my words out 16 to the whole class.   17  laughed, then the whole class was laughing with open-hearted enjoyment. I did my best not to show  18  , but what I was feeling was pure happiness,  19my words had the power to make people  20.

1. A. memory                  B. thought               C. knowledge            D. experience   

2. A. when                      B. where                C. since                    D. after            

3. A. cooked                    B. served                 C. got                        D. made           

4. A. their                        B. past                    C. last                       D. those           

5. A. none                       B. one                     C. earns                    D. neither         

6. A. careful about           B. good at               C. fond of                 D. interested in

7. A. speeches                 B. lessons                C. sayings                 D. arguments    

8. A. nearly                     B. naturally              C. officially               D. socially        

9. A. Especially                B. Probably             C. Suddenly               D. Fortunately  

10. A. settle                     B. put                     C. Bite                      D. let               

11. A. work                     B. story                  C. luck                      D. joy

12. A. However               B. Therefore            C. As for him            D. Except for that    

13. A. time                      B. excuse                C. way                      D. idea             

14. A. give up                  B. continue              C. hand in                 D. delay           

15. A. written                  B. graded                C. collected               D. calmly

16. A. laid                       B. fast                     C. publicly                 D. calmly         

17 A. People                    B. Nobody               C. Somebody             D. I                 

18. A. shock                    B. wonder               C. worry                    D. pleasure       

19. A. if                          B. for                      C. while                    D. although      

20. A. excited                  B. satisfied              C. think                     D. laugh