阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。AWheneveranyone measures educational success，East Asian countries are always top scorers．But in a recent league table，a Europeancountry，Finland，was top of the class．South Korea wasstill in second place，though．Britain was atnumber 6．InKorea the school day is long - typically 7 or 8 hours，followed byhours of private tutoringin the evenings．Allthis hothousingleaves Korean students so tired；theysometimes fall asleep in class next day．Worries about the effects of late night cramming(填鸭式)ledthe government to force cramming schools to close by 10pm．Finnish childrenspend the least time in class in the developed world，often finishingjust after lunch，withabout one hour of homework a day．Private tuition isuncommon．TheBritish school day is quite long in comparison，around 6 hours，and secondaryschool pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self-studya night．TheKorean education system，likemany in Asia，is intensely competitive，with studentseven competing to get into the best cramming schools，to help them get ahead．Finnisheducation is far less cut-throat．Classes are all mixed ability，and there are noleague tables．Britishschools again occupy themiddle ground，withquite high levels of competition for places at university，and schools anduniversities battlingto come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction．Korea andFinland both do well，yettheir education systems are so different．However，there are somesimilarities in Korea and Finland．In those countries，teachers have high status in society，and education isvery highly valued．Thoseattitudes can'tchange quickly．Butit can be done．Theymight be the star pupilnow，butuntil the 1970s，Finland'seducational system was poor．Theirthoroughly different approachto schoolinghas taken them to the top in just a generation．1. According to the passage，the students take themost time in school in _____．A．BritainB．Finland C．KoreaD．East Asiancountries 2. From Paragragh 3，we can knowthat______________．A．the students inKorea are most competitive in AsiaB．Finnish classesdevelop the students' all-round abilitiesC．British schoolsare less competitive than universitiesD．Britishuniversities pay more attention to exam results only3. According to the author，the key factor inimproving education is _______．A．theattitudeB．the schoolingtime C．starpupilsD．new teachingapproachBNuclear power's danger tohealth，safety，and evenlife itself can be summed up in one word: radiation．Nuclear radiation has a certainmystery about it，partly because it cannot be detected byhuman senses．It can't be seen or heard，or touched or tasted，eventhough it may be all around us．There are other thingslike that．For example，radiowaves are all around us but we can't detect them，sensethem，without a radio receiver．Similarly，we can'tsense radioactivity without a radiation detector．Butunlike common radio waves，nuclear radiation is not harmless to humanbeings and other living things．At veryhigh levels，radiation can kill an animal or human beingimmediately by killing masses of cells in vital organs．But even the lowest levels can do serious damage．There is no levels of radiation that is completelysafe．If the radiation does not hit anythingimportant，the damage may not be serious．This is the case when only a few cells are hit，and if they are killed immediately．Your body will replace the dead cells with healthyones．But if the few cells are only damaged，and if they reproduce themselves，you may be in trouble．Theycan grow into cancer．Sometimes this does not show up for manyyears．This is another reason for someof the mystery about nuclearradiation．Serious damage can be done without thevictim being aware at the timethat damage has occurred．A person can be irradiated(辐射)and feel fine，then diefor cancer five，ten，or twentyyears later as a result．Or a child can be born weak as a result ofradiation absorbedby its grandparents．Radiation can hurt us．We must know the truth． 4. Whatis the most dangerous factor of nuclearpower? A．RadiationB．Quantity C．Amount D．Place5. Whichof the following statements istrue? A．Nuclearradiation can do harm to human beings．B．Nuclearradiation cannot do harm to human beings．C．Nuclearradiation can be detected by human senses．D．Nuclearradiation is just like common radio waves．6. Whydoes nuclear radiation have acertainmystery? A．Becausehuman beings learn its harmfulness．B．Becauseit can do harm to a person while the victim isn't aware the damage has occurred．C．Becausenuclear radiation can kill a person very easily．D．Becausehuman beings have no effective machine in order to detect nuclear radiation．7. Ifa human being is hit by nuclear radiation，he may _______．A．die ofcancer after many yearsB．dieimmediately C．have achild who may be born weakD．all ofthe aboveCNearly everyone agrees thatmoney doesn't buy as much as it used to，no matterwhen you want to spend it．This is certainly true of the paper moneythat passes so quickly through one's hands．But whatabout coins that seem to do very little except stay in purses and pockets?Unlike notes，metal money becomes more valuable thelonger it is held，especially if it is put away where it won'tget scratched (破坏)or worn．Why isthis? One reason is that coins，being more durable (持久的)，fall more readily into a category for collectors．Naturally，the rarergold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up．But，curiously，one of therarest coins in the world is not made of gold，but ofthe relatively cheaper silver．In 1840，the United States mint (造币厂)struck19570 silver dollars．That is what its records show．Today only six of this original number remain andthese are unlikely ever to reach the auction (拍卖)market．So what happened to some 19564 large silver coins，not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of themore romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon forthe American land then known as Louisiana．But theynever reached France．Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico，the ship transporting them was sunk，either by a storm or by pirates (海盗)．The probable answer to the mystery is that they weremelted down — since the silver value was greater than the actual value of thecoin．What really happened to the rest willprobably always remain a mystery．What isknown is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich．8、Whichof the following is true of acoin? A．Thelonger it is held，the less valuable it becomes．B．Themore it wears out，the more valuable it becomes．C．Theless it gets scratched，the less it values．D．Thelonger it lasts，the more it values．9、Accordingto this passage，oneof the rarest coins in the world is made of _______．A．silver B．goldC．copperD．paper10、Coinsbecome more valuable because_______．A．theystay in pursesand pocketsB．the price of metal goes upC．they fall more readily into a category for collectors due to theirdurationD．Both Band C11、Whatreally happened to some 19564 largesilver coins? A．Theyweremelted down．B．Theywere sunk in the Gulf of Mexico．C．It isstill a mystery．D．Theywere stolen by pirates．DAnyone whohas ever lost keys or money will have wished for a simple but effective way tomake sure it never happens again．A US company is trying to help．Using atiny microchip which is implanted into the arm，they have come up with areplacement for cash or credit cards that cannot be left at home or dropped onthe bus．TheVerichip is about the size of a grain of rice and works using radiofrequency identification technology．At a shop，a radio frequency“reader” would send a signal and the chip in your arm would respond with yourunique identity number．Thatwould give the “reader” your financial information，and money could be taken directlyfrom your accounts and you wouldn't even have to reach for your wallet．Thecompany also hopes toinclude other information on the chip，such as medical records，building security codes(密码)and passwords，making life eveneasier．But noteveryone is happy with the developments．Critics say that a lot can gowrong with the chip．Aclever thief could build a fake(假的)reader that would steal your information without youknowing．Soyour money could still be stolen．Privacy is a big issue too．Stores，or even the government，only need to track thechip to find out what you buy，howmuch you spend and where you go．And if youwanted to get rid of your chip,you would need an operation to remove it．12、The Verichip is ．A．the identitynumber B．the security codeC．a tinymicrochipD．a radio reader13、Paragraph 3 is mainlyabout ．A．how the Verichip worksB．the importance of theVerichipC．the development of theVerichipD．how money is takenfrom your accounts14、Which is true of theVerichip?A．Your information on itwill always be safe．B．Medical records havealready been included．C．You can easily reachfor your wallet using it．D．An operation has to beperformed to remove it．15、What can be inferredfrom the text?A．All people aresatisfied with the chip．B．The Verichip companyhas financial problems．C．The chip needsimproving to be widely accepted．D．Many people have theexperience of losing keys or money．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Whenever anyone measures educational success，East Asian countries are always top scorers．But in a recent league table，a European country，Finland，was top of the class．South Korea was still in second place，though．Britain was at number 6．

In Korea the school day is long - typically 7 or 8 hours，followed by hours of private tutoringin the evenings．All this hothousingleaves Korean students so tired；they sometimes fall asleep in class next day．Worries about the effects of late night cramming(填鸭式)led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10pm．Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world，often finishing just after lunch，with about one hour of homework a day．Private tuition is uncommon．The British school day is quite long in comparison，around 6 hours，and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self-studya night．

The Korean education system，like many in Asia，is intensely competitive，with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools，to help them get ahead．Finnish education is far less cut-throat．Classes are all mixed ability，and there are no league tables．British schools again occupy the middle ground，with quite high levels of competition for places at university，and schools and universities battlingto come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction．Korea and Finland both do well，yet their education systems are so different．

However，there are some similarities in Korea and Finland．In those countries，teachers have high status in society，and education is very highly valued．Thoseattitudes can't change quickly．But it can be done．They might be the star pupilnow，but until the 1970s，Finland's educational system was poor．Theirthoroughly different approachto schoolinghas taken them to the top in just a generation．

1. According to the passage，the students take the most time in school in _____．

A．Britain

B．Finland                

C．Korea

D．East Asian countries 

2. From Paragragh 3，we can know that______________．

A．the students in Korea are most competitive in Asia

B．Finnish classes develop the students' all-round abilities

C．British schools are less competitive than universities

D．British universities pay more attention to exam results only

3. According to the author，the key factor in improving education is _______．

A．the attitude

B．the schooling time 

C．star pupils

D．new teaching approach

B

Nuclear power's danger to health，safety，and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation．

Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it，partly because it cannot be detected by human senses．It can't be seen or heard，or touched or tasted，even though it may be all around us．There are other things like that．For example，radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them，sense them，without a radio receiver．Similarly，we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector．But unlike common radio waves，nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things．

At very high levels，radiation can kill an animal or human being immediately by killing masses of cells in vital organs．But even the lowest levels can do serious damage．There is no levels of radiation that is completely safe．If the radiation does not hit anything important，the damage may not be serious．This is the case when only a few cells are hit，and if they are killed immediately．Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones．But if the few cells are only damaged，and if they reproduce themselves，you may be in trouble．They can grow into cancer．Sometimes this does not show up for many years．

This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation．Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred．A person can be irradiated(辐射)and feel fine，then die for cancer five，ten，or twenty years later as a result．Or a child can be born weak as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents．

Radiation can hurt us．We must know the truth．       

4. What is the most dangerous factor of nuclear power?             

A．Radiation

B．Quantity 

C．Amount 

D．Place

5. Which of the following statements is true?                    

A．Nuclear radiation can do harm to human beings．

B．Nuclear radiation cannot do harm to human beings．

C．Nuclear radiation can be detected by human senses．

D．Nuclear radiation is just like common radio waves．

6. Why does nuclear radiation have a certain mystery?                

A．Because human beings learn its harmfulness．

B．Because it can do harm to a person while the victim isn't aware the damage has occurred．

C．Because nuclear radiation can kill a person very easily．

D．Because human beings have no effective machine in order to detect nuclear radiation．

7. If a human being is hit by nuclear radiation，he may _______．

A．die of cancer after many years

B．die immediately

C．have a child who may be born weak

D．all of the above

C

Nearly everyone agrees that money doesn't buy as much as it used to，no matter when you want to spend it．This is certainly true of the paper money that passes so quickly through one's hands．But what about coins that seem to do very little except stay in purses and pockets? Unlike notes，metal money becomes more valuable the longer it is held，especially if it is put away where it won't get scratched (破坏)or worn．Why is this? One reason is that coins，being more durable (持久的)，fall more readily into a category for collectors．Naturally，the rarer gold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up．

But，curiously，one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold，but of the relatively cheaper silver．In 1840，the United States mint (造币厂)struck 19570 silver dollars．That is what its records show．Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to reach the auction (拍卖)market．So what happened to some 19564 large silver coins，not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American land then known as Louisiana．But they never reached France．Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico，the ship transporting them was sunk，either by a storm or by pirates (海盗)．The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down — since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin．What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery．What is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich．

8、Which of the following is true of a coin?   

A．The longer it is held，the less valuable it becomes．

B．The more it wears out，the more valuable it becomes．

C．The less it gets scratched，the less it values．

D．The longer it lasts，the more it values．

9、According to this passage，one of the rarest coins in the world is made of _______．

A．silver 

B．gold

C．copper

D．paper

10、Coinsbecome more valuable because _______．

A．they stay in purses and pockets

B．the price of metal goes up

C．they fall more readily into a category for collectors due to their duration

D．Both B and C

11、What really happened to some 19564 large silver coins? 

A．They were melted down．

B．They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico．

C．It is still a mystery．

D．They were stolen by pirates．

D

Anyone who has ever lost keys or money will have wished for a simple but effective way to make sure it never happens again．A US company is trying to help．

Using a tiny microchip which is implanted into the arm，they have come up with a replacement for cash or credit cards that cannot be left at home or dropped on the bus．

The Verichip is about the size of a grain of rice and works using radio frequency  identification technology．At a shop，a radio frequency “reader” would send a signal and the chip in your arm would respond with your unique identity number．That would give the “reader” your financial information，and money could be taken directly from your accounts and you wouldn't even have to reach for your wallet．

The company also hopes to include other information on the chip，such as medical records，building security codes(密码)and passwords，making life even easier．

But not everyone is happy with the developments．Critics say that a lot can go wrong with the chip．A clever thief could build a fake(假的)reader that would steal your information without you knowing．So your money could still be stolen．Privacy is a big issue too．Stores，or even the government，only need to track the chip to find out what you buy，how much you spend and where you go．

And if you wanted to get rid of your chip,you would need an operation to remove it．

12、The Verichip is         ．

A．the identity number 

B．the security code

C．a tiny microchip

D．a radio reader

13、Paragraph 3 is mainly about         ．

A．how the Verichip works

B．the importance of the Verichip

C．the development of the Verichip

D．how money is taken from your accounts

14、Which is true of the Verichip?

A．Your information on it will always be safe．

B．Medical records have already been included．

C．You can easily reach for your wallet using it．

D．An operation has to be performed to remove it．

15、What can be inferred from the text?

A．All people are satisfied with the chip．

B．The Verichip company has financial problems．

C．The chip needs improving to be widely accepted．

D．Many people have the experience of losing keys or money．