“A proposed textbook about Mexican-American history that would be read by Texas high school students is filled with inaccuracies about Mexican Americans”, said a group of educators opposing the publication of the textbook. Latino (拉美裔的) activists and educators have been urging the Texas State Board of Education to allow for more coverage of Latino Americans in the textbooks, so when a textbook on Mexican Americans was included among the textbooks to be considered for the next school year, it appeared to be a win for those advocates. But when the textbook was released, it became clear that the book was far more harmful than helpful.On Monday, a newly formed Mexican American organization criticized the offensive cultural stereotypes that were found in the textbook that called Industrialists “driven” but said Mexican laborers “were not reared to put in a full day’s work so vigorously.”As for how it has been received by the board members themselves, reactions have been mixed. Texas Board of Education member Ruben Cortez Jr. said, “I don’t believe that this book should see the inside of any classroom in any shape... If it’s as bad as they’re all telling me, there’s not a chance I’m going to support this book.” However, fellow board member David Bradley, who didn’t want a Mexican-American heritage textbook in the first place said, “It’s really kind of amusing. These activists, having pounded the table for special treatment, get approval for a special course that nobody else wanted... Now they don’t like their special textbook?”The way marginalized groups are represented in historical texts has always been a source of controversy. For example, last year a Houston mother objected to a McGraw-Hill textbook that called slaves “workers” and implied that they emigrated to the Americas as opposed to the reality –that they were forced aboard ships to labor as slaves. A European gaming company also found itself under intense criticism last year for an educational game about the Atlantic slave trade that allowed users to stack slaves on top of each other to fit them all on the ship.The Texas State Board of Education will review the textbook and allow for a public comment period in the fall.1. What is the major concern of Latino activists and educators?A) They want to fight for their legal rights in America.B) They want to urge the authorities to confess their mistakes.C) They want the textbooks cover more about Latino Americans. D) They want to correct the inaccuracies of the textbook.2. Why was the book far more harmful than helpful?A) Because Industrialists were thought to be hard working in the book.B) Because Mexican workers were described as lazy people in the book. C) Because the book was full of inaccuracies about American history.D) Because there was too much coverage of Latino Americans.3. Which of the following statements about David Bradley is true?A) His words were quite ironic. B) He felt really amused.C) His opinion was fair enough.D) He was confused about the whole issue.4. The underlined phrase “marginalized groups” might refer to ________.A) African Americans who used to be slavesB) Latino Americans who used to be laborersC) people who were forced to emigrate to AmericaD) American minorities who were treated unfairly 5. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that ________.A) there are many mistakes in American history textbooksB) the Houston mother might be a Latino-AmericanC) the gaming company designed the game improperly D) the textbook will not be published in America

The Canadian Meat Council says every job that remains unfilled in Canada’s meat processing sector costs another four jobs within the Canadian economy. New trade agreements are creating new export opportunities for Canada’s meat processors but a shortage of workers is limiting the ability to take advantage of those opportunities. Ron Davidson, the director of international trade, government and media relations with the Canadian Meat Council, says labor is one of the industry’s primary challenges.People just don’t realize how much is at stake. The meat processing industry is the single largest component of the food processing sector in Canada.Not only does it provide a market outlet for the livestock producers but it provides a market outlet for grain growers who sell feed grains to the livestock industry. We have 65,000 workers, according to Statistics Canada, in the meat packing and processing industry and, for every job that’s on a production line in a meat plant, a study done by the University of Saskatchewan suggests there are at least another four jobs in the economy.These other jobs could be on the farm; they could be in the service sector; they could be in transportation; they could be in marketing. So even when we have 1,000 jobs available in the meat industry that are unfilled on the line in the plant it means there’re at least 4,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy that aren’t going filled. So it has an impact on our jobs; it has an impact on the livestock producers; it has an impact on the grain farmers; it has a major impact on our rural communities; it has a significant impact on our exports and it certainly has an impact on the ability of Canadians to choose Canadian produced food.Davidson says processors are recruiting as actively as possible among all of the Canadian groups, including unemployed people, new immigrants and refugees and continue to work with government to try to gain access to foreign butchers and meat cutters when it’s been clearly demonstrated that there aren’t enough available in Canada.1. What hinders Canada’s meat processors from making full use of new export opportunities?A) Motivation.B) Technology.C) Money.D) Labor. 2. What does “at stake” mean in Paragraph 2?A) Out of control.B) In despair.C) In danger. D) In difficulty.3. Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?A) One of the meat processing industry’s major challenges is labor force.B) Vacant jobs in the meat processing industry have no impact on the grain growers. C) The only biggest component of the food processing sector in Canada is the meat processing industry.D) One vacant job in the meat industry means there are at least another four jobs elsewhere in the economy that are unfilled.4. Who would be the potential labor force to enhance the meat processing industry?A) Grain farmers, unemployed people and new immigrants.B) Unemployed people, livestock producers and new refugees.C) New immigrants and refugees and livestock producers.D) Unemployed people and new immigrants and refugees. 5. What is the main idea of this passage?A) New Trade agreements create new export opportunities for Canada’s meat processors.B) Vacant meat processing jobs impact the entire Canadian economy. C) Grain farmers are associated with the livestock industry.D) Efforts are made to address the problem of shortage of workers.

More than 1.5 million apps compete for attention in the Android App Store, making it difficult for new developers to get their apps noticed. Yet, with more than two billion devices running on Android, this is one platform you don’t want to ignore.If you’re just starting out, here are a few tips from iHub developers to ensure your app doesn’t get lost in the crowd.Be persistent. Successful developers spend a lot of time working on their apps. They accept feedback and use it as constructive criticism to build newer, better versions of their apps.Aim for quality, not quantity. Some developers think that the more apps they have, the more successful they are, but this is not the case. Rather invest the time it takes to develop three average apps in creating one awesome app.Flex your business muscle. Most developers focus only on the technology but this is just 30% of the work. The other 70% involves figuring out how to make money from your app. If it’s a paid-for app, who will your target market be and how will they discover it? If you’re going to give your app away for free, will you make money offering premium content or through advertising?Never stop learning. And learn quickly. Successful developers are able to jump on the latest technology and market trends.Research and understand your target market. If you’re not giving your market something they want or need, they’re not going to use your app. A good place to start is to make sure your app entertains, educates or makes life a little easier.By using Intel’s Integrated Native Developer Experience (INDE) software, you will already have some of these bases covered. It provides you with everything you need to create C++ and Java apps for Android, Windows and OS X, including compiler technology, domain specific libraries, performance analysers, hardware accelerator emulators and a whole lot more. Best of all, you can download the Professional Edition FREE for a limited time only. Click here to start developing today!1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?A) Owing to the hot app competition, it is impossible for new developers to let people know their apps.B) The tips from iHub developers can help new developers’ app find its way into market and attract people’s attention. C) The number of devices running on Android is 1.5 million.D) The Android platform is ignorable compared with other platforms.2. Which of the following statement about successful developers is NOT true?A) They are open to customers’ criticism and then improve apps.B) They think the more apps they have, the more successful they are. C) They keep learning about latest technology and market trends.D) They create apps that entertain, educate or make life easier.3. What does “flex your business muscle” mean in Paragraph 5?A) Make your muscle more flexible.B) Tighten your muscle to prepare for a business activity.C) Find ways to make money from apps. D) Start your own business and keep healthy at the same time.4. What is recommended for developers in the last paragraph?A) C++ language.B) Java language.C) Development software. D) OS X system.5. What is the best title of the passage?A) Five Traits of Successful Developers. B) Tips for Downloading Free Software.C) How to Create Excellent Apps.D) How to Make Money from Your App.

The price of rice on world markets has doubled and in the past two months alone has gone up 50 percent. The rising costs have triggered warnings of social chaos in the Philippines. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and natural disasters are the main reasons for the price increase. Cambodia and Vietnam have cut their rice exports, actions that analysts say threaten to push prices up even further in the coming months.U.S. and the World Food Program officials say they are searching for ways to cut transportation and other non-food costs. They say one way is to develop means of purchasing and processing food in the countries that receive the aid, rather than have to transport it from faraway places. The World Food Program recently launched an extraordinary emergency appeal for donor nations to increase their donations. Gaddi Vasquez, the U.S. ambassador to U.N. food and agriculture agencies told reporters the United States, the largest single donor to the World Food Program, has not yet decided if it will increase donations in the wake of rising food prices.1.What problem may be caused in the Philippines with the high price of rice?A) Social turmoil. B) Natural disasters.C) Increase of fuel costs.D) Shortage of fertilizer.2.How did Vietnam try to solve the rice problem?A) By cutting fertilizer costs.B) By reducing rice exports.C) By increasing rice imports.D) By encouraging rice planting.3.What was the reaction of the World Food Program towards rising food prices?A) It provided various ways of processing food.B) It imposed limits on rice imports and exports.C) It stopped transporting rice from faraway places.D) It asked donor nations to increase their donations.

Don't ask whether the proposed 3 billion merger（兼并）of United Airlines and Continental will benefit you. It won't. Because this isn't about you. It's about them. Specifically, it's about the need for the airlines to raise fares and increase revenues after years of unreasonable discounting that led to billions in losses. "For the airlines, it's a good thing," says Matthew Jacob, an airline analyst（分析师）at Majestic Research. "By not having as much supply, they can fly fuller planes, charge higher prices and operate more efficiently. For the customers, well, I don't think you're going to see planes that are only two-thirds full or bargain—basement prices from airlines desperate to fill seats." In a joint press release, the new company promised "strong competitive pressure on fares," but in reality that pressure has been coming from budget carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue. Those of us in the back of the bus may have to worry about employees who have lost some seniority（老资格）in a joined workforce. Labor issues might be a problem, says Perkins, contributing editor of He remembers the United strike of 1985. "If and when they start making money," says Perkins, "those unions could turn around and say, 'We gave it up when you needed it. Where's our share?'" The potential for a strike worries him, since the new united company will hold 21% of the market and finding a replacement seat in the event of a strike could be next to impossible. As for fares, there's no place to go but up. After Delta merged with Northwest, fares on their combined routes rose at least 10%, according to George Hobica, founder of But that's no reason to panic. "The vast majority of leisure travel is optional," he says. "When airlines raise fares, people stop flying. So they'll have to be careful." Even if this merger prompts a US Airways link-up and even more integration, Hobica doesn't think we're going to see wild fare increases. But say goodbye to cheap escapes to Chicago—for dinner. "I've enjoyed the ride," says Hobica with a sigh. "But the party's over ." 1. What can be learned from the first paragraph?A) The merged airlines will increase their revenues soon after.B) After the merger, airlines will not use discounting to attract customers.C) After the merger, customers will find it hard to get a seat on a plane.D) Before the merger, airlines have suffered losses from discounting. 2. What does the phrase "basement prices" (Para. 1) mean?A) Basic prices.B) Very low prices. C) Prices of back seats.D) Prices of seats with poor view.3. What does Perkins worry about?A) The new airline company holds too much share of the market.B) The unemployed will start a strike against the new airline company. C) Unions want to share the profit if the new airline starts making money.D) The new airline company doesn't want to find new jobs for the unemployed.4. What does Hobica mean by "the party's over"(Para. 3)?A) The days when fares are cheap are gone. B) Leisure travel will be a thing of the past.C) He has no chance to enjoy the ride to Chicago.D) He has to say goodbye to parties held in Chicago.5. What conclusion can be drawn about the merger of the two airline companies?A) The merger will bring much pressure to other airline companies.B) The merger is a must for the two companies to survive in the market.C) The proposed merger may bring mixed blessings to the companies involved. D) The fare increase caused by the merger may bring about panic among customers.

People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn is only relevant when learning a second language. A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet. Different cultures and individuals will find different languages more difficult. In the case of Hungarian for British learners, it is not a question of the writing system, which uses a similar alphabet, but the grammatical complexity, though native speakers may find it easier, struggling with languages that the British find relatively hard. No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that one language that is the most difficult language in the world. 【小题1】Who might find Portuguese an easier language to learn? A．The Chinese. B．Russians. C．Spanish people. D．The Japanese. 【小题2】Why do Japanese speakers find the Chinese less difficult to learn? A．They use Chinese characters. B．Japan is the neighbor of China. C．Chinese is their second language. D．Many Japanese are learning Chinese. 【小题3】Which is the most difficult of Hungarian for British learners? A．Writing. B．Pronunciation. C．Grammar. D．Alphabet. 【小题4】What might be the author’s opinion? A. Chinese is the hardest language. B. Native language is always easy to learn. C. No languages are difficult to learn well.

POLAR bears have patrolled the planet’s icy regions for millions of years longer than previously thought – riding out several episodes of global warming in that time. While this suggests their future might not be so bleak, it is no guarantee they will survive the melting occurring in the polar regions today.Charlotte Lindqvist of the University at Buffalo, New York, and an international team of researchers have just completed the most comprehensive analysis yet of the polar bear genome (基因组). The team looked at DNA from 23 living polar bears and a 110,000-year-old polar bear jawbone. Aided by comparisons with the genomes of brown and black bears, they found that polar bears first emerged as a separate species between four and five million years ago. Previous studies had suggested the species didn’t diverge (分化) from brown bears until much later – perhaps just 600,000 years ago.The analysis also showed that polar and brown bears have sometimes interbred (杂交) since their initial divergence, and that populations of polar bears have been changing over the past million years in accordance with the climate. Polar bear numbers dropped during warm periods but bounced back with prolonged ice ages – most noticeably during a period of cooling between 800,000 and 600,000 years ago. The population looks set to fall again as melting pack ice forces polar bears back to the land-based habitats (栖息地) of brown bears, where interbreeding has recently been observed. Should extensive interbreeding occur, both polar and brown bear populations could decline with the emergence of a new hybrid (杂交的) species.Lindqvist says that the analysis reveals that polar bear DNA has lost diversity as population has decreased, drifted apart and become genetically isolated, suggesting today’s bears have less adaptability to the environmental change, habitat loss, pollution and diseases they now face.Earlier this year, Frank Hailer of the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, and colleagues estimated that polar bears diverged from brown bears 600,000 years ago – a result that itself pushed back the evolutionary record of polar bears by about 450,000 years. However, Hailer says that the new results broadly are consistent with his team’s findings, which also suggested that polar bears may have evolved much earlier than the 600,000 year mark.1. What is the closest meaning of the phrase “riding out” (Para.1)?A) Skyrocketing.B) Seesawing.C) Surviving. D) Substituting.2. What was found in the research of polar bear genome according to the passage?A) Polar bears appeared as a separate species much earlier than we had thought. B) The DNA of living polar bears is very similar to that of a 110,000-year-old polar bear.C) Polar bears have survived the icy ages and will also survive the melting today.D) Polar bears diverged from brown bears perhaps just 600,000 years ago.3. When would populations of polar bears drop over the past million years according to the passage?A) When the climate became colder.B) After the initial divergence between polar and brown bears.C) During a period between 800,000 and 600,000 years ago.D) When polar bears were forced back to the land-based habitats. 4. Why are the polar bears today less able to adapt themselves to the environment according to the passage?A) Because polar bears are isolated and cannot find new habitats.B) Because polar bears are facing more difficulties nowadays.C) Because the DNA of polar bears has lost diversity. D) Because the interbreeding with brown bears has produced a new hybrid species.5. What can be inferred from this passage?A) Brown bear populations may increase, while polar bear populations decline.B) We are not sure that polar bears will survive the melting of polar regions.C) A new hybrid species of polar bears will have more adaptability to the environmental changes. D) The polar bear populations would increase when they began to interbreed with brown bears.

Directions : In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a I list of choices given in a word bank before the passage. Read the passage through carefully before a kind you choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please write down the corresponding letter for each item in the blanks. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.A)musician E)embarrassment I) mysterious M)stage B)simple-hearted F)fame J)response N)physicist C)taking G)inexperienced K) impressed O)action D)examined H) purpose L) makingOnce Albert Einstein together with a fanous cellist Gregor Piatigorsky took part in a concert for a charitable purpose. Among lots of viewers there was a young and _ 26 _ journalist who came to the concert because he was to write an article about it. Having looked around and _27_ the audience, he adressed a woman who was sitting next to him. He asked a _ 28 _ question:" Excuse me, could you tell me who this Einstein is? Of course we all know Piatigorsky, but I don't know another one who is going to be on _ 29 _ tonight!" "Dear god, don't you really know? That is Albert Einstein, one of the greatest people the world has ever seen!" The woman answered indignantly. "Oh! I'm sorry, I should have known. Thank you."murmured the fellow in _30_ and kept on writing the material. He made up his mind to stop _31_ efforts to find out who the hell this _ 32 _ Albert Einstein is. As a result, after that concert in the local newspaper there appeared a small report, which included information about Einstein's performance. Evidently, the journalist was quite _ 33 _ with his performance. To everybody's surprise, according to the article, it turned out that Einstein was the greatest _ 34 _, a most gifted violinist and that his blillant performance nearly eclipsed（使失色) the _ 35 _ of Gregor Piatigorsky.

Directions In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank before the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please write down the corresponding. letter for each item in the blanks. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. A) financially E) majority I) discriminated M) protection B) different F) same J) but N) group C) adapt G) adopt k) disadvantages O)easier D) continue H) however L) established Ironically in the United States a country of immigrants prejudice and discrimination__1_____to be serious problems There was often tension between each established group of immigrants and each succeeding group. As each group became more _______2___successful, and more powerful, they excluded newcomers from full participation in the society. Prejudice and discrimination are part of American history _______3___this prejudicial treatment of different groups is nowhere more unfair than with black Americans. Blacks had distinct_____4_____For the most part, they came to the "land of opportunity' as slaves and were not free to keep their heritage and cultural traditions. Unlike most European immigrants blacks did not have the____5______of a support group; sometimes slave owners separated members of the___6_______ family. They could not mix easily with the established society because of their skin color It was difficult for them to ____7______ to the American culture. Even after they became free people, they were still ___8_______ in employment housing education. Until the 20th century the ______9____of the black population lived in the southern part of the United States. Then there was a population shift to the large cities in the North Prejudice against blacks is often associated with the South Slavery was more common there and discrimination was usually______10____ to see.