【题目】Students are being forced to take additional exams to get into leading universities because good A-levels do not always indicate the brightest candidates. Sixth formers applying to courses such as medicine and law are being asked to sit American-style aptitude (智能) tests, which are designed to assess (评价) thinking skills, among fears that too many A-level candidates are getting top grades. Last year, almost one in six students applying to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge from independent schools had to sit additional tests to secure a place.

Head teachers criticized the move, which they said would pile more pressure on schools and students. But universities insisted that the reforms were unavoidable, because A-level exams were no longer an accurate barometer (标准) of ability.

In 1986, 40 percent of students starting at Oxford achieved straight As at A-level. Mike Nicholson, its admissions director, said that this year almost every candidate offered a place would get perfect grades. It meant the university had to stage additional tests to identify the most able candidates. "The ability to achieve three A grades is no longer the end-point in the admissions process," he said. "The potential to achieve three A grades will allow them to enter the race for a place."

Oxford is not the only university turning to aptitude tests. At Cambridge, the number of students taking the university's Thinking Skills Assessment shot up 26 percent to more than 3, 000. A survey of 16, 830 sixth formers applying to higher education from private schools last year showed that 2, 860 had to sit at least one exam.

Earlier this year, the National Foundation for Educational Research recommended that most sixth formers should sit SAT tests —a standard reasoning exam widely used in American colleges—to make it easier to pick out the best candidates.

【1】 What is the attitude of head teachers to the reform?

A. Approving.

B. Doubtful.

C. Opposed.

D. Neutral (中立的)

【2】 Which British university first started to use aptitude tests to pick out the best candidates?

A. Harvard.

B. Oxford.

C. Cambridge.

D. Washington

【3】 What can we know about the A-level system?

A. It can indicate the brightest candidates.

B. It was designed to assess students' thinking abilities.

C. It is longer an accurate way to assess students' abilities.

D. It was recommended by the National Foundation for Educational Research.

【4】 What can we infer from the passage?

A. The reform is more popular in American colleges than in British ones.

B. The reform will be applied by all universities in the future.

C. Universities used to depend on the A-level system to choose the best students.

D. Passing additional tests will allow the student to enter Oxford, regardless of whether he or she gets As.

【5】 What is the passage mainly about?

A. How to get into leading universities.

B. The disadvantages of the A-level system.

C. Different ways to identify students' abilities.

D. Universities using extra exams to choose students.

【题目】Stop wasting your time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead,realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.

The seeds and the power to grow them are contained in the human mind. Success is a choice but not a chance. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.

You cannot be successful without first developing yourself esteem (自尊).Your level of self esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself,and thus over your life. People with low self esteem do not believe that they have any power,or responsibility for their lives. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance brought about with any sudden change in the weather.

You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for whatever happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident while successful people realize that they are responsible.

Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause,we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we consciously choose to accept and believe. Thoughts and beliefs cause everything. Our attitudes and actions are a result of habits ingrained in us over a period of time. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success depends upon our level of confidence. We are responsible for either reinforcing good habits or kicking bad habits and consciously replacing them with consistently practiced good habits.

If you associate with positive thinking people,you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary,the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding,planting,and nurturing (培育) the seeds that contain future victory,born from setbacks.

In short,in all areas of your life,whether they are financial,physical,emotional,or spiritual,you are responsible. Once you recognize this,accept it,and firmly believe it,you are on the road to success.

【1】Losers would think that________.

A.success is the result of hard work

B.working hard will lead to success

C.they fail only because of bad luck

D.they don’t make efforts to succeed

【2】It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that________.

A.whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes

B.developing confidence is the key to future success

C.thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind

D.setting our expectations is essential before taking action

【3】The last paragraph serves as________.

A.the proof of the author’s point

B.the conclusion of the argument

C.an introduction to another topic

D.a comparison between two views

【4】Which is the best title of the text?

A.Success Is a Choice

B.The Secrets of Success

C.Develop Our Confidence

D.How to Achieve Success

【题目】Living in a green area can make you live longer,according to research published today. The research also shows that the difference in life expectancy (预期寿命) between rich and poor becomes smaller among those who live in an environment with parks and trees.

Richard Mitchell,from Glasgow University,and his colleagues, found that the gap between the number of deaths of people on high incomes and the number of deaths of those on low incomes in green areas was half that compared with figures relating to built-up areas.

Green spaces,classified by the researchers as “open,undeveloped land with natural vegetation”,encouraged people to walk and be more active. Exercise in these settings could have greater benefits than exercise elsewhere,the researchers said.

The benefits potentially go beyond exercise. Studies have shown that being around green spaces can reduce blood pressure and stress levels,and possibly help patients recover faster.

A number of researchers have looked at the effects of greenery on our wellbeing. But few studies had looked at whether living in green areas reduced health inequalities,the Glasgow team said.

Using information from a landuse database of 2001,the researchers divided the preretirement population of England into four groups according to income level,and five groups according to access to green space. They then looked at death rate for 2001~2005.

They found that the inequality in death rate from all causes relating to lack of money was less in those populations in the greenest areas compared with the figures for people living in more built-up places. They found an even stronger relationship when it came to deaths from certain diseases such as heart conditions and stroke (中风).There was no difference,however,in deaths from lung cancer.

The researchers said that changing the physical environment was an easier way to fight against poor health than using media campaigns or giving out information on health. “The result of the study is clear:Environments that promote good health might be very important in the fight to reduce health inequalities.”

【1】The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to________.

A.the gap

B.the number of deaths

C.the income

D.the living area

【2】What was the special point of the Glasgow team’s research?

A.They offered a scientific definition of “green spaces”.

B.They encouraged people to exercise in green areas.

C.They studied the effects of greenery on people’s health.

D.They focused on the influence of greenery on health inequalities.

【3】What advice would the researchers probably give according to the last paragraph?

A.More health information should be given to the public.

B.People should take more exercise every day.

C.More trees and grass should be planted in cities.

D.People should help to fight against health problems.

【4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A.People should live in green areas.

B.Green spaces promote good health.

C.Income influences health less than environment.

D.Exercise in green areas benefits people a lot.

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