Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?
In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees (學(xué)費(fèi)). As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan (貸款) in order to go to university.
They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.
The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around $12,000 (122,952yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach the April after graduating. If you start to earn over $ 15,000 (153,639yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.
You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year (2008).”
“Student poverty” is now considered a real problem. Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?
61. What makes British students question the worth of a university degree?
A. Higher university expenses.                 B. Lower education quality.
C. A higher interest rate on student loans         D. Grater difficulty obtaining student loans.
62. According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. University tuition fees in all parts of Britain have been on the rise since 2006.
B. Interest on a student loan starts as soon as the student receives it.
C. People have always questioned the worth of a university degree.
D. University graduates need to pay off their loans right upon graduation.
63. Which of the following is NOT a factor that concerns a British university graduate?
A. Fierce competition in the job market.         B. The burden of a large debt.
C. Lack of experience.                       D. Fewer job openings.
64. What is the title of this passage?
A. Student poverty                         B. Is college worth it?   
C. The UK government started to charge students tuition fees.
D. British students use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2011—2012學(xué)年廣東省惠州市實(shí)驗(yàn)中學(xué)高一上學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)卷 題型：閱讀理解

Everyday, 340 million people speak it. One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world’s population will be using it. What are we talking about? That is the global language—English.
The English language started in Britain in the 5th century. It is a mixed language. It was built up when German. Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication.
Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean. Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India. Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong.
But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English. Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about “burgers”. “fries” and “milkshakes”. Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English. We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!
English is a messy (雜亂的) language. Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chartroom". Also included are words that teenagers use. Who does not know “cool”, “OK” and “hello”?
Other languages also influence English. Many English words come from French. Words like “café” and expressions like “c'est la vie” (that is life) are all part of the English language. On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping". German words are also part of English. Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language.
Recently, British people have become interested in “yoga”. But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India.
【小題1】The English language has a history of ______.

A．over 2000 yearsB．over 500 years
C．over 1500 yearsD．over 1000 years
【小題2】The underlined expression “thanks to” can be replaced by ______.
A．because ofB．in order toC．a(chǎn)s usual D．a(chǎn)s if.
【小題3】Which of the following statements is true about the language of English?
A．It has been changing all the time.
B．It has borrowed words from all the other languages.
C．French words are used by the English because dictionaries have French words.
D．Singers and film stars have the greatest influence on language.
【小題4】How many people in the world are using English now?
A．One billion peopleB．340 million
C．a(chǎn)lmost all the people in the world.
D．not mentioned above, but the number is growing rapidly.
【小題5】 Many countries and regions use it for politics and business except______.
A．the USAB．Nigeria C．the PhilippinesD．Norway

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2009年全國(guó)各省市高考命題動(dòng)態(tài)信息卷（遼寧專(zhuān)用）英語(yǔ)（二） 題型：閱讀理解


B
　　Chinese children will be able to get a taste of adult working life in a theme park planned for Hang-zhou city,East China's Zhejiang Province.The Kids City,the first of its kind in China,will allow children aged five to ten to try out jobs of their choice after it opens in October 2008.
　　Located in eastern Hangzhou,the indoor entertainment and educaion park,similar to "Kidzania" in Mexico and Japan,offers more than 50 professions,including pilot,doctor,police officer and lawyer,according to Hangzhou Youth Activity Center(HYAC),the organizer of the park,The park will be a 7:10 scale (比例尺) city with streets,hospitals,museums,supermarkets, schools,airport and other facilities.Construction has begun on the indoor section.
　　Inside the 7,000-square-meter city,every kid would get a bank account holding special money that they can only spend in the park.They could earn more money by working in different booths or workshops.One job would take about half an half an hour and the whole tour would usually last five to six hours."The interactive(交互式) experience will help kids to learn about the adult life,which is good for their future career planning.They will have a lot of fun here,"said Huang Jianming,chief of HYAC.Parents are not allowed to enter the city,but they can take pictures from outside the huge glass house.
　　The ticket price has not been decided yet.But HYACsaid it might be lower than Kidzania Tokyo's and around several hundren yuan.With the majority of investment(投資) coming from the government,the project also needs financial support from companies and organizations,according to HYAC.
　　The world's first Kidzania was opened in Mexico City in 1999.It has turned out to be a huge success receiving about 800,000 visitors every year.In 2006,Kidzania opened its Tokyopark in Japan,which also became an attraction to kids."We are confident that the Chinese version(版本) wll be very successful."said Huang.
　　60.The theme park is aimed at letting the kids_______.
　　　A.work with adults B.experience adult careers
　　　C.imitate adults looking after a family D.watch adults work
　　61.The Kids City will________.
　　　A.be more than half the size of Hangzhou City
　　　B.consist of two parts,one larger than the other
　　　C.contain buildings smaller than those we use
　　　D.have lower buildings than Kidzania Tokyo's
　　62.A visitor to the Kids City ______.
　　　A.has nothing in his bank unless he's worked
　　　B.always leaves his tour with much money in his bank
　　　C.learns to earn money as well as to use it
　　　D.can try out all the professions on one tour
　　63.How many of such theme parks are open to visitors at present in the world?
　　　A.Only one B.Two C.Three D.None

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2010年福建省三明市普通高中畢業(yè)班質(zhì)量檢查（英語(yǔ)） 題型：閱讀理解

This is a dangerous world we live in. The numbers of murders goes up every year； people are dying of cancer；more people contract（感染）HIV；more teens are using drugs；etc. You know this because you’ve heard all the statistics on the news. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are going up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background, statistics mean very little.
This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous.
For example, several years ago a high school student reported dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors（腫瘤）， is found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once. After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background.
The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said. When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths. Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view. For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe. Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really more dangerous? If you think about it, you will realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightening strike. When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics. If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able think critically, and form our own views. rather than be easily persuaded by another’s. To be warned is to be prepared.
59．In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?
A. We are now living in a dangerous world.
B. We got a lot of false statistics from the media.
C. There are around us more and more murders, diseases etc.
D. Statistics alone without full background don’t give us an accurate picture of things.
60．Why does the writer use the example in the second paragraph?
A. To show the danger of reporting only part of the information.
B. To argue that high school students are easily persuaded.
C. To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous.
D. To warn us of the harmful substances（物質(zhì)）around us.
61．Relative information is often left out because      .
A. relative information is not that important
B. the author is trying to show what he or she says is true
C. too much information will make readers feel confused
D. readers are not able to analyze so much information at once
62．What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world.
B. We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides.
C. The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control.
D. Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2013屆山東省沂南一中高三第二次質(zhì)量檢測(cè)英語(yǔ)試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

閱讀下面短文，并根據(jù)短文后的要求答題（請(qǐng)注意問(wèn)題后的字?jǐn)?shù)要求）。
Scientists believe that conditions on Mars around 3.8 billion years ago were very similar to those of the early earth, when primitive organisms were spreading through our oceans. At that time, Mars would have been much warmer and wetter than it is today, with an atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide, just like that of the earth at the time. Under these conditions, it is highly probable that life may have arisen on Mars as well.
But, even if life did not arise naturally on Mars, it does not mean that it could not have existed there. According to Professor Paul Davies of the University of Adelaide, Australia, life forms could have been transferred between the earth and Mars in wreckage (broke pieces) created by the impact of comet(彗星) and small planets on the surface of the two planets.
Even today, about 500 tons of material from Mars lands on earth every year. It is mainly in the form of the dust but occasionally a larger chunk(厚片，大塊) strikes the earth. In 1911, a piece of Martian rock crashed in Egypt, killing a dog. According to Professor Davies, it is in these chunks of rock, which were much larger and more frequent in the past that life forms could have been transported from planet to planet.
“But how could these life forms have survived their journey through space?” says Paul Davies, “The difficulty in believing this theory is that a bacterium on its own in space has to struggle itself not only against cold but also against deadly cosmic (宇宙的) radiation. But wrapped in a rock the situation is different. A rock ten meters across would shield life inside it from a lot of radiation and the temperature might only be minus 10 or 20 degrees, the sort of thing we have on earth.”
【小題1】Where do some scientists suppose life probably come from? (3’) (No more than 6 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
【小題2】What does Professor Paul Davies believe? (3’) (No more than 6 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
【小題3】Why could life survive when transferred from one planet to another? (3’) (No more than 12 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
【小題4】According to Professor Paul Davies, how did the wreckage come into being? (3’) (No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
【小題5】List at least two differences about Mars between the past and now. (3’) (No more than 16 words)
____________________________________________________________________________

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2013-2014學(xué)年天津市高三第三次月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological（生態(tài)的） disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.

For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.

However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.

Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (磷酸鹽)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.

A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine（帶狀礦）. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer（層） of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.

In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.

Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.

1.What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To seek help for Nauru’s problems.            B. To give a warning to other countries.

C. To show the importance of money.            D. To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.

2.What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?

A. Rich and powerful.                        B. Modern and open.

C. Peaceful and attractive.               D. Greedy and aggressive.

3.The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from           .

A. soil pollution                                B. phosphate over mining

C. farming activity                        D. whale hunting

4.Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem?

A. Its leaders misused the money.           B. It spent too much repairing the island.

C. Its phosphate mining cost much money.    D. It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.

5.What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?

A. The phosphate mines were destroyed.          B. The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously.

C. The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.     D. The ecological damage is difficult to repair.

 

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