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W: I have a math problem that I can’t figure out. Could you please have a look at it?
M: OK, wait a moment. Sorry, this is beyond the limit of my ability.
Q: What does the man mean? He doesn’t have time to help the woman. He wants the woman to wait a little longer. He cannot solve the problem either. His ability is beyond question.
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M: Your friend is very argumentative. I just can’t stand that.
W: Oh, he is a really nice guy, but he has a quick temper.
Q: What does the woman think of her friend? He is too bad-tempered to put up with. He is a nice guy with a bad temper. He is stubborn and likes to argue. He does everything quickly.
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Workers who commute by car, bus or train to the office are more likely to suffer from stress and exhaustion, according to a sudy from Lund University in Sweden.(18)Scientists assessed 12 000 employees aged between 18 and 65. They found that those who travelled to work by car or public transport reported higher levels of stress and tiredness compared to active commuters who travelled by foot or bicycle.(19)It is now expected that the study will encourage further investigation into the health impacts of commuting and the best forms of transportation Researcher Erik Hansson said car and public transport users suffered more everyday stress, poorer sleep quality, and exhaustion. He also says the negative health of public transport users increases with journey time According to the Office for National Statistics, the average Briton commutes for 54 minutes every day.(20)But now the scientists claim that the advantages of daily commuting, such as higher pay or housing conditions, need to be weighed against the adverse health effects. Income, family background and environmental factors are other variables that need to be considered. Hansson added that the study would help to readdress the balance between economic needs, health, and the costs of working days lost.
18. How many employees does the study in this passage survey?
19. What can we learn about the study?
20. What’s an advantage of daily commuting according to the passage? 18. 54. 65. 12 000.
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Young people are perhaps better-known for spending money than saving it. But some new banking websites are seeking to change that.(15)These websites offer young people the information and tools they need to watch over their money. The websites also let the users share their financial experiences with other young people. Nineteen-year-old Alix Scott has been working at a store this summer. He is saving money to pay for the tuition next year. He has to rely on his own savings to pay all his college money because his parents can’t afford to get a loan.(16)But instead of putting his money in a local bank, Scott began using SmartyPig, a web-based banking service, which can help him overcome the impulses to just spend the money. Michael Ferrari developed SmartyPig with a friend in 2007. SmartyPig is really all about helping people save for very specific financial goals, such as a wedding, a vacation or an iPhone.(17)Ferrari says SmartyPig opened after he started a college savings account for his new baby. He says that experience helped him realize the power of saving for a specific goal. Helping other savers pay attention to their goals is the idea behind his online company.
15. What does the speaker say about the banking websites?
16. Why does Scott choose SmartyPig instead of the local bank?
17. When did Ferrari open SmartyPig? They lend money to students who cannot afford the tuition. They offer information about daily interest rate. They help young people watch over their money. They offer financial advice to young people.
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W:(17)Which social problem do you think the government needs to concentrate on most?
M: I think housing is a big problem. There are thousands of homeless people on the streets.
W: What do you think the government should do to solve the problem?
M: The government could provide some money for homeless people to build their own homes.
W: It would probably be very expensive.
M: I think the government can afford it. Besides, there are many advantages.(18)Homeless people would find it easier to get jobs if they had a settled address. They would learn some useful skills to find a job in the construction industry or home improvement.
W: It’s not a bad idea. But I think education is the biggest problem at the moment.(19)Schools don’t seem to have enough money to educate kids properly now.
M: If the government is to invest more money in education, it will need to raise taxes. That wouldn’t be popular with citizens.
W: Yes, most citizens want the government to pay for lots of things, but without increasing taxes.
M:(20)The government should show that it is using money efficiently. Sometimes we hear about how the government has wasted money on a project.
W: Yes.(20)The government has limited funds and must show that it is using the money responsibly.
17. What is mainly discussed in this conversation?
18. What can homeless people benefit if the problem of housing is solved?
19. Why does the woman say education is the biggest problem?
20. What should the government do on the issue of money? Social problems. Governmental functions. Housing problems. Educational problems.
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There’s a great many reasons why a woman’s weight may change repeatedly. Some might say it’s a tight working【T1】______preventing them from getting to the gym. Others may suggest it’s the 【T2】______of the office t hocolate machine. But research suggests there’s only one real reason—their men.
A study into the ups and downs of the female weight-cycle showed happiness, or the【T3】______of it in a relationship is the biggest【T4】______. The report found early courtship usually brings with it a【T5】______diet control resulting in the loss of around five pounds. After women【T6】______Stage 2, which is the comfort zone, when they feel【T7】______enough to relax a little, they can put on a few pounds.【T8】______, followed by a reinvention(再造期), which again sparks a diet drive.【T9】____________, emerged in a study of 3 000 women by UK weight management firm www. slendex. com. “【T10】______,“ said Jane McCadden of Slendex.
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Each of us seeks our own path to bliss. In accepting the Nobel Prize from the Swedish King in 1980, I said that I had been doubly blessed. For in addition to receiving the recognition and distinction represented by the Nobel Prize, the research itself had given me indescribable pleasure. This kind of bliss is not uniquely(独特地)available to scientists only. Literature, music, art, even business, offers comparable rewards. It is there for all who venture beyond the realm of accepted knowledge and experience. Such adventuiss are challenging and demanding but well worth of the effort.
For me, the adventure began as a young boy in secondary school. The wide range of questions we asked our teachers were rarely met with direct answers. Instead, our teachers encouraged us to find the answers by leading us to books, and most often to more than we had expected. Frequently, our teachers suggested ways to find the answers by searching the reference books that were available in libraries or by actual experimentation. As we progressed to high school, the teachers encouraged us to ask questions that went beyond our and their knowledge and experience, and to speculate(推测)on matters we could not find answers to. Later, when I was in a science club, I was challenged to solve problems about the natural world by experimentation. Perhaps it was those early experiences that sharpened my appetite for exploring the unknown and seeking solutions.
Looking back on that period, I realize now that encouraging young people to discover for themselves the answers is not the easiest way to learn but it is the most rewarding. Developing curiosity and the instinct for seeking creative solutions are perhaps the most important contributions education can make. Schools everywhere would do well to pay attention to that lesson. And students everywhere must accept the responsibility that such an educational system places on them.
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Yahoo has turned into the Paris Hilton of tech companies—a stupid outfit that remains very popular even though nobody, including Yahoo itself, seems to know exactly what Yahoo does for a living. And like the heiress(女继承人), for reasons that most people can’t understand Yahoo continues to attract a string of potential suitors(追求者)and to find itself the subject of constant rumors even though it was no longer interesting long before.
The latest rumor: Google is going to buy Yahoo. Or, rather, Google will put up some of the money that certain unnamed buyout firms will use to buy Yahoo, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources. Teamwork is needed because Yahoo is valued at about $21 billion, making it too rich for anyone to handle on its own.
Any deal between the two companies would be a tough sell in Washington, D.C., considering that regulators in 2008 forbidden a proposed search-advertising partnership between them, It may be that Google doesn’t really want to buy Yahoo but just wants to drive up the price that another buyer(for example, Microsoft, which is said to be weighing a bid)will have to pay.
Despite its travails, Yahoo still attracts an enormous audience—nearly 180 million visitors per month, making it the second-most-popular website in the US, after Google. But financially it’s hurting, with revenues declining 5% in its most recent quarter. Like Google, Microsoft is rumored to be going after Yahoo by offering to provide financing for buyout firms, including Silver Lake Partners, that are interested in Yahoo. Putting up some money would give Microsoft or Google some influence over how Yahoo is run.
Another rumored suitor is Alibaba Group, in which Yahoo holds a 40% stake. Others include AOL and Andreessen Horowitz, which was studying a bid for Yahoo in a deal that might also include Silver Lake Partners and DST Global, a Russian investment company.
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When a rare disease ALD threatened to kill the four-year-old boy Lorenzo, his parents refused to give up hope. Doctors explained that there was no cure for ALD, and that he would probably die within three years. But Lorenzo’s parents set out to prove the doctor’s wrong.
The parents devoted themselves to keeping their son alive and searching for a cure. But doctors and the families of other ALD patients often refused to take them seriously. They thought the efforts to find a cure were a waste of time, and drug companies weren’t interested in supporting research into such a rare disease.
However, the parents still refused to give up and spent every available hour in medical libraries and talking to anyone who would help. Through trial and error (反复试验), they finally created a cure from ingredients (调料) commonly found in the kitchen. The cure, named “Lorenzo’s Oil“, saved the boy’s life. Despite the good results, scientists and doctors remained unconvinced. They said there was no real evidence that the oil worked and that the treatment was just a theory. As a result, some families with ALD children were reluctant to try it.
Finally, the boy’s father organized an international study to test the oil. After ten years of trials, the answer is: the oil keeps ALD children healthy.
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A penguin—that black and white bird—came ashore on a beach in the south of the North Island nearly 4 000 miles away from its usual habitat. The creature’s【D1】______journey was witnessed by a woman【D2】______her dog as the 2 feet bird waddled (摇摇摆摆地走) out of the water in front of her. She said: “It was out of this world to see it. It was this glistening white thing standing up on the【D3】______and I thought I was seeing things.“
The tale of the【D4】______penguin is similar to the 2006 children’s film Happy Feet, in which a young penguin【D5】______himself far from home during a voyage of discovery. Conservationists believe it has completed an incredible journey for such a young bird—it is【D6】______to be around 10 months old. The most likely【D7】______for its appearance in New Zealand is the hunt for food. Experts said it may also have【D8】______on an ice floe during its travels and was carried north for a great【D9】______before it made a swim for dry land. Colin Miskelly said: “They can spend months at a time in the【D10】______and come ashore only to moult (换羽) or rest.“
A) lost F) sand K) finds
B) astonishing G) estimated L) explanation
C) jested H) elevated M) distance
D) stone I) ocean N) strange
E) walking J) sending O) sleep
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There’s no way we’ll get lost in the mountains, since the guide______(已经弄清楚了返程的路线).
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It is widely accepted that the cultural industry has been______(发达国家的一个支柱产业).
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_____(所有航班被取消)because of the snowstorm, so many passengers could do nothing except take the train.
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The manager tried to create a situation______(让所有在场的人都感到轻松自在).
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We are confident that we will get rid of those difficulties______(由于政府已经同意给予我们一些帮助).
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During the twentieth century, the United States participated in two major wars that required the nation to【C1】________its resources in the most【C2】______way possible, World War I and World War II . During, each of these wars, the government worked with businesses to switch【C3】________to wartime production, and government【C4】______asked American citizens to do their【C5】______to help the nation to succeed【C6】________
One major【C7】______was food. During both wars, the government【C8】________that people grow their own food instead of【C9】______them at stores. And these gardens were called “victory gardens“【C10】______emphasize the patriotic nature of these efforts. In order to【C11】______the nation’s war goals, millions of Americans started planting their own gardens In some cases, entire【C12】________came together to plant large gardens【C13】________were divided into smaller plots for each family.【C14】______towns started gardening clubs, and women worked together to preserve【C15】________they grew. Often, classes of school children grew gardens【C16】________the schoolhouse grounds,【C17】______the produce divided up among the children’s families. In addition to【C18】______patriotic activities on the part of the children, teachers were also able to use the gardens to teach about scientific【C19】______. Since the end of World War II, the United States has not been involved in a war that has required so many of the nation’s resources that victory gardens were【C20】________
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For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Knowledge and Diploma. You should write at least 100 words, and base your composition on the outline given in Chinese below:
1．目前社会上存在着这样一种观点：文凭越高越吃香
2．有些人则认为文凭不等于知识
3．我的看法
Words for reference：
文凭diploma
