E

Educating girls quite possibly brings in a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world.Women education may be an unusual field for economists,but increasing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived(被剥夺) of an education.

Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else' s family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school-the prophecy (预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a bad circle of neglect.

An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The bad circle is thus transformed into a good one.

Few will question that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 percent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant effect on health practices, including family planning.

77. By saying "the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling..." in the second paragraph, the author means that_______.

      A. girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys

      B. girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams

      C. girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach

      D. girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home

78. The author believes that a bad circle can turn into a good circle when_______.

      A. women care more about education             B. girls can gain equal access to education

   C. a family has fewer but healthier children D. parents can afford their daughters' education

79. What does the author say about women' s education?

   A. It deserves greater attention than other social issues.

   B. It is now given top priority in many developing countries.

   C. It will bring in greater returns than other known investments.

   D. It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.

80. The passage mainly discusses_________.

   A. unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries

   B. the potential earning power of well-educated women

   C. the major contributions of educated women to society

   D. the economic and social benefits of educating women

D

Eight-year-old Bethany and seven-year-old Eliza are having a great time jumping around in the orchard of their home in a village near Penrith. They can play any time they like because they don't go to school. Instead, they are educated at home by their parents, Paul and Veronika Robinson. But they don't have lessons, have never used a timetable and learn only what and when they want to learn.

"I want my kids to have freedom in their childhood, not spend it in an institution," says 37-year-old Veronika, "School is all about control and following the rules." Veronika and her 56-year-old husband Paul have never experienced the daily rush to get dressed and out of the door that is common in most households with school-aged children. "We get up at our leisure - usually around 8:30," says Veronika. "We might visit a friend, or go to the library, and on Tuesdays we shop at the market. In summer, we spend most of our time outside and the girls entertain themselves a lot."

New research due to be published this spring reveals a very different picture of Britain's home educators. "Out of 297 families, 184 said that they never use a timetable," says Mike Fortune-Wood of Home Education UK. "Ninety per cent never or rarely use textbooks, and nearly all said that happiness, contentment and self-fulfillment were more important than academic achievement. Only 15% felt that planning what to learn was crucial."

So far, so good. But what, you might ask, are the children actually learning?

"It wasn't important to me that the girls could read by a certain age, but they both picked it up for themselves at around seven," says Robinson. "Weighing cooking ingredients uses maths, and making a shopping list teaches them to write. Observing five hens has taught the girls about survival of the fittest. "

But what about when the children grow up? Can they go to university? The home educators' answer is they can if they want to. There are a variety of routes into higher education, but probably the most common is to join a local college. This is what Gus Harris-Reid has done. "I was educated at home all my life. I'd never had a lesson or been inside a classroom until I started GCSEs," says the 18-year-old. "I'm now studying for 4 A-levels at Exeter College. I've had no problem with the work or with fitting in." When asked to reflect on his experience of home education, his considered response is, "Like a permanent holiday, really!" Not a bad start for someone who plans to take a mechanical engineering degree next year.

67. What is the topic of this article?

 A. New ways of learning to read and write      B. Problems with UK schools

C. Home education in the UK                  D. Wild, undisciplined children

68. Why do the Robinsons not send their children to school?

A. They think schools control children too much.

 B. They do not like the courses taught in schools.

 C. They want to teach their children farming skills.

 D. They live in a remote area where there are no schools.

69. According to the article, in homes with school-going children, ______.

  A. mornings are rushed and stressful.   

  B. the children hardly ever go outside.

  C. the family wakes up around 8:30am.

  D. the children must ask permission to go to the toilet.

70. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

  A. Most home educators believe that happiness is more important than good grades.

 B. Most home educators believe that planning is important.

  C. Most home educators do not follow a timetable or use textbooks.

  D. Most home educators are not worried about when their children learn to read and write.

71. What does the article say about home-educated children getting into university?

  A. They learn so many useful skills at home that universities are happy to accept them.

  B. They can get into university if they have 4 A-levels.

 C. They can go to school later and get the qualifications they need in order to enter university.

  D. Home education is so relaxed that they are likely to experience problems when faced with the pressures of a degree course.

B

Expressions about water are mostly as common as water itself.

The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get “in hot water”. When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.

“Being in deep water” is somewhat like being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don’t have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.

“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.

“Water over the dam” is another expression about past events. It is something that is finished, and cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam and cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake he or she has made, you might tell him or her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam.

Another common expression “to hold water” is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about . It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes; if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating.

“Throwing cold water” also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.

60. Don’t cheat in this exam! Or you’ll      if you are caught cheating by the teacher.

A. be in hot wate                  B. have to hold water

C . be in deep water                  D. keep your head above water

61.The expression using water in Paragraph       has almost the same meaning as “Things done cannot be undone.”

A. 3    B. 4   C . 5    D. 6

62. We can see from this passage that many of the expressions using water have         meanings.

A. double   B. unpleasant   C . close   D. moral

63.The best title for this passage should be         .

A. The history of water         B. Cold water or hot water

C . Water and it culture         D. Expressions concerning water

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