4、LONDON（Reuters）—Achieving three A grades at A-level will no longer be enough to ensure a place at a top university, academics warned on Wednesday.

From September sixth-formers will begin studying  A-level exams which will include a higher grade of A for those getting marks of 90 percent or above in their papers.

Those applying for Oxford or Cambridge will need new top grades to win a place, the 1994 Group of 19 leading universities said in a report.

It said it expected the two elite universities to take a large majority of those awarded three or two A grades.

Outside Oxbridge, students will need at least two A grades and standard A grade to be confident of getting a place at their chosen university.

The extra grade is being added to meet complaints from universities that too many pupils gain maximum grades in A-levels, making it hard to select the most able.

But the 1994 Group, which does not include Oxford or Cambridge, said there were concerns among its members that pupils from fee-paying independent schools would dominate the A grades.

It said this could set back efforts by its member universities, who include Durham, St. Andrews and Warwick, to widen the social range of their intake.

The report estimated that just 3,500 out of 660,000 students would be awarded three A*s when they take the first exams in the new A-level courses in 2010.

That compares with the 26,200 students who gained three A grades in A-levels in 2006.

The government said there was no evidence to show that state school pupils would be disadvantaged by the introduction of the new grade.

 “It is up to institutions to decide how they balance their assessments of applications with their desire to be fair and to offer places to applicants with the greatest potential, regardless of background,” said a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools & Families.

1．What would be the best title for this passage?

       A．Independent schools dominate the A* grades

       B．Straight A’s no longer enough for top universities

       C．Pick up applicants with the greatest potential

       D．Top universities need top students

2．The underlined word “elite” in Paragraph 4 means “         ”.

       A．best                    B．expensive            C．worst                     D．cheapest

3．We can infer from the passage that         .

       A．only students with at least 3 A* can be admitted to Oxbridge

       B．fee-paying independent schools provide a better education than state schools

       C．the new assessment system of A* will be carried out in 2010

       D．students’ involvement in social activities is a must to be admitted to the 1994 Group

4．Why does the new assessment system have to be invented?

       A．Few students have gained three A grades in A-level exams.

       B．Oxbridge wants to distinguish themselves from other universities.

       C．Top universities are pushing for the reform of the assessment.

       D．The present A-level exams fail to pick out the most talented students.

3、Dear Sirs,

Your shipment of twelve thousand “Smart” watches was received by our company this morning. However, we wish to make a number of complaints concerning the serious delay in delivery and your failure to carry out our instructions.

It was stressed from the beginning that the delivery date had to be less than six weeks. While we appreciate that delays in production are occasionally unavoidable, we must point out that the major reason why the order was placed with your company was that we were assured by you that your existing stocks ensure immediate shipment. Late delivery of the goods has caused us to disappoint several of our most valued customers, and is sure to have a negative effect on future orders.

The second complaint concerns the difference in color. Only half the watches in the delivery received are of the colors we ordered. Our Hong Kong agent assures us that she stressed to you the importance of following our instructions, since we consider there to be only a limited market in this country for watches of other colors. Any watches that are not of the specified colors will , of course, be returned to you.

We are also somewhat concerned about the rather poor quality of the goods received, since it is obvious that the watches that finally arrived have been produced from inferior materials and have been made to a lower standard than those in the sample. We have also found that a number of the watches do not appear to be functioning. We should like to point out that we feel this matter to be entirely your responsibility.

As a result of the above problems, therefore, we feel that the most suitable course of action is to return to you unpaid any of the goods considered unsatisfactory, and to deduct（扣除）any costs from our final settlement. We shall also be forced to reconsider whether any further orders should be placed with your company.

We look forward to your immediate reply.

Yours sincerely,

John Smith

1．How many complaints does John Smith make with the “Smart ”watch producer?

       A．Five.                  B．Four.                   C．Three.                    D．Two.

2．The producer of “Smart” watches were given the order because           .

       A．they produced the best watches of its kind in the world

       B．the watches would be easy to make and the designs were already prepared

       C．they promised they could produce enough stocks quite quickly

       D．they claimed the order would be easy since the watches were already in stock

3．Receiving watches in the wrong colors is a problem because           .

       A．the Hong Kong agent stressed the need to fulfill the order exactly

       B．these watches will be difficult to sell

       C．these watches will not be able to get into the limited market

       D．people will not buy the watches at present

4．The underlined sentence in the passage suggests that         .

       A．the company may stop trading with the watch producer

       B．the company will probably reduce the orders in the future

       C．the writer is afraid their company might go out of business soon

       D．the company is probably willing to give the producer another chance

2、Blood Drive at Civic Center

The local university blood center had a blood drive today at the Civic Center auditorium. Almost 300 people showed up, but about 50 were turned away for various medical reasons. Fifty others left because the lines were moving so slowly. The event concluded at 6 pm, three hours after the scheduled close. It was a long day for everyone-administrators, nurses, and donors. But there were plenty of chairs and tables, and many people brought their own books, magazines, or newspapers.

The first thing the donors had to do, of course, was fill out the donor registration and screening form. When they finished filling out the form, they waited until a nurse called them to her desk. The average adult body contains 8 to 12 pints of blood. Donors can give one pint at a time. It takes your body 2 to 4 weeks to replace this amount. Most donors filled up the pint bag within 5 to 10 minutes.

Before leaving, the donors received a sheet of instructions including: Do not lift any heavy objects for 12 hours. Leave your pressure bandage on for 2~3 hours. Do not smoke for at least 30 minutes. Avoid alcohol for the rest of the day. Do not do any laborious activity for 24 hours.

 “I wish I could hug and kiss all the volunteers that are here today,” said Martha, the blood center donor recruiter. “Many donors underestimate the importance of what they’re doing. They think it is no big deal, but it is a big deal. Their blood is actually saving lives, helping other people to live, which will lead to a more harmonious society. We cannot thank them enough for that, nor can the recipients.”

Title: Blood drive at Civic Centre

1、2008年1月中旬以来（中国传统节日春节前），一场罕见的暴风雪袭击了中国很多地区。原来在你校工作的外籍教师Iris非常关心这场雪灾。请你根据以上提示及下面表格中的内容，给Iris写封电子邮件。

注意：1．电子邮件应包括以上所有信息，并进行适当发挥。

      2．词数：150左右。文中已提供的部分，不计入总词数。

         3．参考词汇：瘫痪paralyze

Dear Iris,

Thank you for your concern about the heavy snow that has swept across many parts of China including Jiangsu since mid-January.

Luckily, effective measures have already been taken by our government, but fighting the snow disaster is not something left to our government alone.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

33、找出与所给单词划线部分读音相同的选项。语音知识

1champion       A. opinion      B. region       C. occasion      D. conclusion

2. mainly        A. mountainous  B. certain       C. captain       D. sail

3. wisdom       A. sunset        B. insect       C. possession     D. promise

4. volcano       A. location      B. dishonest     C. method       D. protection

5. scholarship    A. champion     B. dutchman    C. technique      D. church

32、-- I was wondering if we could go skiing on the weekend.

-- _______good.
A. Sound        B. Sounded     C. Sounding      D. Sounds

31、I had travelled only two hours one day _____ the winds increased so much that I had to put my tent up ____ the winds became too strong.

A. when; before    B. then; but      C. while; because    D. but; before