The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

From its opening lines – “ ‘You my lucky piece,’ Grandma says.... Her hand is wrapped around mine” – Heidi W. Durrow pulls us into her first novel, a moving story encircling us as firmly as that protective grandmotherly grip.

When we meet Rachel Morse, the daughter of an African-American GI and a Danish woman, she is just moving into the Portland, Oregon., home of her strong-minded paternal grandmother and her warm, classy Aunt Loretta. We soon learn that Rachel has survived a fall from a nine-story apartment building in which her mother, brother, and baby sister all died. Three months earlier, Rachel’s mother had left her alcoholic husband in Germany, following her “orange-haired” lover to Chicago. But Nella hadn’t been prepared for boyfriend’s drinking and racism, or for the looks and questions she gets as the mother of three brown children.

Rachel’s “new-girl feeling” in her grandmother’s home goes beyond her recent tragedy. Having grown up with a Scandinavian mother in the more colorblind society of an overseas Army base, this is her first time in a mostly black community. Her light-brown skin, “fuzzy” hair, and blue eyes raise questions about her racial identity that are entirely new and puzzling to her.

Starting sixth grade in her new school, Rachel notes, “There are fifteen black people in the class and seven white people. And there’s me. There’s another girl who sits in the back. Her name is Carmen LaGuardia, and she has hair like mine, my same color skin, and she counts as black. I don’t understand how, but she seems to know.” Several years later, in high school, her status remains uncertain. “They call me an Oreo. I don’t want to be white. Sometimes I want to go back to being what I was. I want to be nothing.”

Winner of the Bellwether Prize, created by Barbara Kingsolver to celebrate fiction that addresses issues of social injustice, “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” comes at a time when bi-racial and multicultural identity – so markedly represented by President Obama – is especially topical.

But set in the 1980s and focusing on one unusually sympathetic girl overcoming family tragedy and feeling her way through racial tensions, Durrow’s novel surpasses topicality.

Like Rachel, Durrow is the light-brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish mother and an African-American father enlisted in the Air Force. With degrees from Stanford, Columbia Journalism School, and Yale Law School, it’s no wonder she gives her heroine discipline and brains.

Rachel’s life, however, is clearly not Durrow’s. No, there’s alcohol and drug addiction; deaths by fire, trauma, and infection. There are mothers who lose their children, and a saintly drug counselor who loses his beloved girl-friend. Through it all, what makes Durrow’s novel soar is her masterful sense of voice, her assured, delicate handling of complex racial issues – and her heart.

After hearing the blues music for the first time, Rachel feels what her mother called hyggeligt – “something like comfort and home and love all rolled into one.” She wonders what might have happened if her mother had known about such soulful music, “that sometimes there’s a way to take the sadness and turn it into a beautiful song.”

This, of course, is precisely what Durrow has done in this powerful book: taken sadness and turned it into a beautiful song.

60. What should be the direct cause of Rachel coming to Portland, Oregon?

  A. Her mother left her alcoholic father.

  B. A deadly tragedy happened to her family.

  C. Her grandmother wants her to come and stay with her.

  D. There was too much racism where she used to live with her mother.

61. Durrow’s life is different from Rachel’s in that _____________.

  A. Durrow has to struggle through her life, depending on herself.

  B. Durrow is troubled in her life by racism, living in a poor neighborhood.

  C. Durrow has come through life much easier, with a better family background.

  D. There’s alcohol and drug addiction in Durrow’s suffering-laden neighborhood.

62. Why does the writer of the book review mention President Obama in this writing?

  A. To show the progress in America’s black community.

  B. To highlight the racial harmony in the United States.

  C. To indicate Obama’s influence in helping Durrow win the Bellwether Prize.

  D. To remind readers of the background when the novel was written and won the Bellwether Prize.

63. The blues music Rachel hears is, deep at the bottom of her heart, most suggestive of ______.

  A. bravery          B. hope           C. sadness         D. beauty

C

Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature yesterday, honored for work that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, describes the landscape of the dispossessed(被流放者)," the Swedish Academy said.
   The 56-year-old author, who immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987, first gained public attention in 1982 with a collection of short stories titled Niederungen, or Lowlands in English, which was promptly censored(审查通过) by her government.
   In 1984 an uncensored version was smuggled to Germany where it was published and her work describing life in a small, German-speaking village in Romania was popular with the readers there. That work was followed by Oppressive Tango in Romania.
  "The Romanian national press was very critical of these works while, outside of Romania, the German press received them very positively," the Academy said. "Because Mueller had publicly criticized the dictatorship(独裁) in Romania, she was prohibited from publishing in her own country.” In 1987 she immigrated to Germany with her husband two years before dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was toppled from power.
   Mueller's parents were members of the German-speaking minority in Romania and father served in the Waffen SS during World War II. After the war ended, many German Romanians were deported(放逐) to the Soviet Union in 1945, including her mother, who spent five years in a work camp in what is now Ukraine.
   Most of her works are in German, but some works have been translated into English, French and Spanish, including The Passport, The Land of Green Plums, Traveling on One Leg and The Appointment.
   Mueller has given guest lectures at universities, colleges and other venues in Paderborn, Warwick, Hamburg, Swansea, Gainsville (Florida), Kassel, Gottingen, Tubingen and Zurich among other places. She lives in Berlin. Since 1995 she has served as a member of Deutsche Akademie fur Sprache und Dichtung, in Darmstadt."
   Mueller is the 12th woman to win the literature prize. Recent female winners include Austria's Elfriede Jelinek in 2004 and British writer Doris Lessing in 2007.
   The award includes a $1.4 million prize and will be handed out on December 10

51．Herta Mueller was awarded Nobel Prize in literature because of____________.

A．her public criticism upon the dictatorship in Romania

B．her works with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose

C．her works describing the life of the dispossessed in Germany 

D．the popularity of her works with the readers in the German-speaking village

52．Which of the following statements is mentioned by the author?

    A．German Romanians were treated unfairly in Germany in the 1940s.

B．Her parents were dispossessed to Ukraine after the World War II.

C．Her first work was published in Germany in the early 1980s.

D．Her works were all translated into versions in different languages.

 53．It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that _____.

    A．people then in Romania had the right to say whatever was true.

    B．Herta Mueller left her home country after the dictatorship was ended.

   C．Herta Mueller immigrated to Germany together with her parents.

    D．Romanian citizens lived a hard life without democracy in the 1980s.

54．According to the passage, which of the following works has an English version? 

   A．Lowlands in English                  B．Oppressive Tango in Romania.  

C．Traveling on One Leg                 D．The Land of Green Plums

55．What is the passage mainly about?

    A．Mueller made great contribution to literature through hard work

B．Mueller won the Nobel Prize for her great literature works.

C．Mueller gained great popularity by describing dictatorship.

D．Mueller was treated badly in Romania and immigrated to Germany.

Sixteen-year-old Karlos Dearman's future is looking much brighter than he might  previously have imagined. Karlos is learning to refurbish (翻新 ) old bicycles in the workshop of Recycle Bikes, a local community charity in Sheffield, which has a contract with the city council to provide training opportunities for young people aged 14 to 16, particularly those struggling in mainstream education or excluded from school.

    "It's about engaging youngsters with education and youth training by teaching them work and life skills," explains Des Pearee, workshop training manager. "These young people have so much potential, but often don't realize it."

     Established in 2001, Recycle Bikes repairs bicycles donated by the public, which, once restored, are sold for ~20, Abandoned bikes supplied by the council ensure a steady flow of bike~, but a recently formed partnership with Sheffield University shoed improve further the prospects of the young mechanics.

    "The student population, presents a large and ready market, so we approached the  university last year and offered to host bike sales on the campus. They thought it was a great idea, and agreed to supplement our council funding. This means we can train youngsters to repair extra 500 bikes over three years, and fund Karlos's apprenticeship."

 Des Pearce told the city media.

    Having set up Recycle Bikes on his own, Pearce now has the staff and resources to track the career development of those who have passed through his workshop. "But we are planning exit interviews with the young people to make sure what they plan to do, and these Will allow us to check on their progress." says Pearce.

    That most of the teenagers enjoy the work is; according to Pearce, easily explained. "Most kids have ridden a .bike and know how to oil a chain or mend a puncture (穿孔).

 As low-cost transport, cycling gives, the young and old a sense of freedom and independence,  and the impact on their well-being is immense. Add to that a growing concern for the environment, and it's no surprise that bike sales are on the increase."

41. What do we know about Recycle Bikes?

     A. It is a popular brand of bikes which are sold in Sheffield,

     B. It is a local community charity that provides training opportunities for young people.

     C. It is a contract signed between a local community charity and the city council.

     D. It is a training program offered by the city council to those excluded from school.

42. How did Recycle Bikes run at the beginning?

     A. By repairing bicycles donated by the public and selling them.

     B. By donations from the public and Sheffield University.

     C. By selling bicycles supplied by the city council.

     D. By tuition fees (学费 from kids aged between 14 and 16.

43. Recycle Bikes has formed a partnership with Sheffield University because

     A. students at Sheffield University assure a large and ready market

     B. Sheffield University offers many mechanical teachers to Recycle Bikes

     C. Sheffield University donates a lot of money to Recycle Bikes

     D. teenagers at Recycle Bikes can study at Sheffield University in the future

44. What does Recycle Bikes do now is to

     A. give accurate information to schools

     B. tell the truth in interviews

      C. attempt to track students' career development

     D. organize all the trainings in this way

45. According to Pearee, why do most of the teenagers enjoy the work?

     A. Most kids want to learn how to repair bikes.

     B. Teenagers don’t have enough money to buy cars.

     C. Youngsters care more about bikes than adults.

     D. Teenagers are familiar with hikes and they have a passion for them.

Getting to the top is hard enough but staying there is an even greater challenge. And so it could be argued that the 10th World Championship 400m victory by Tonique Williams Darling is even more remarkable than when she struck Olympic gold in 2004.

     Coming off the final turn the 27-year-old from the Bahamas held off the attack of both Sanya Richards (USA)  and the former World champion Ana Guevara of Mexico displaying a hunger that permanent champions must have.

"I would say that being able to pull off the Olympic title and then come back a year

later and pull off the World Championship title has just been a miler coaster (过山车)

experience for me," she revealed. "It's really an historical moment for me and for the

Bahamas, just to be able to do something like this. And so i feel really humbled and

grateful and just overjoyed right now."

      "It is not an easy experience. I will tell you, definitely, that in the off-season it was

just a struggle to go out there every day and practice because coming off the top races

and after the Olympics experience you are just kind of worn out mentally. It's not even

physical. So you just go with the season, and work through it, and by the time, like two

weeks away from this competition, I was hungry again and ready to be competitive."

     Williams Darling credits a support group of friends and family, her husband, Bahamian

400m runner Denis Darling, with keeping her grounded when the natural tendency would

be to celebrate and then rest on one's laurels (桂冠，荣誉), Most importantly she credits

her Christian faith.

      "My life has changed a little bit (since winning the Olympics) but as far as the

competition and training it hasn't changed that much,' she declares. "One thing I have

tried to do is to train like I have never won anything before. And I think that it was

achieved because I could have been lackadaisical (无精打采的) and blown off the season

or whatever. I just Stayed in there and knew that everybody else was coming after me.

That really helped me to stay motivated this season."

46. The underlined words "credit' in paragraph S probably means

     A. believe somebody

     B, add money to the bank

     C, attributes her success to those who have Supported her

     D, record, payment of money

47. Who won the gold medal of the 400m at the 9th World Championship?

     A. Denis Darling.                         B. Sanya Richards.

     C. Tonique Williams Darling.                D. Ana Guevara.

48. According to the passage we can infer that

     A. the 10th World Championship was held in 2005.

     B. Tonique Williams Darling's husband was her coach.

     C. Denis Darling used to be a winner of the 400m of the Olympics

     D. Sanya Richards only won at the .10~ World Championship

49. Which of the following statements is 'TRUE according to the passage?

     A. Tonique Williams Darling was retired after the 10' World Championship.

     B, Tonique Williams Darling believed that SomeOne would catch up with her if she'

         did not stay motivated and train hard enough.

     C. Tonique Williams Darling got to the top because she Was hungry before a competition.

     D. According to Tonique Williams Darling, the Olympic title was less important than

         the World Championship title.                  

50. Which is the most probable title of the passage?

     A. The harder you work, the more you'll get.

     B. An athlete's successful story.

     C. The higher top you get, the greater challenge you'll meet.

     D. DO your best, and you are sure to be the top.

Last year, I was driving home one night, just around the holidays.  I was about to turn onto the highway 31  I noticed a rather sad looking figure holding a sign.   I honestly don't recall 32  the sign read, but I did know that it was getting very cold outside.  This man was obviously homeless, and was completely exposed 33  the elements.

I happened 34 (purchase) a new blanket.  It was in my car, still packed in plastic from the store.  I thought for a moment, 35 (roll) down the window, and gestured to the man.  He ran over to my vehicle.  I told him that he looked cold, and he laughed.  I explained that while I didn't carry any cash, I 36  happen to have a new blanket, and asked him if he could use it.   He was thrilled.  I told him that it was 37 , as long as he agreed to do something kind for someone else 38  return.

I am pretty sure that  39  made his day, and kept him warm through the evening. 

I know I felt the 40 (warm).

The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine(男女主角) in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.

The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset ?”

“No, sir,” the men answered.

The director was angry. “Why not?” he asked.

“Well, sir,” one of the men answered, “we’re on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”

“But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”

But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don’t you photograph a sunrise,” she suggested, “and then play it backwards? Then it’ll look like a sunset.”

“That’s a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”

The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, sir,” they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.

They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘sunset’ behind them.”

The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.

The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

41. One evening, the director sent his camera crew out _________.

  A. to film a scene on the sea        B. to find an actor and an actress

  C. to watch a beautiful sunset       D. to meet the audience

42. Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?

  A. Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset.

  B. Because he was angry with his crew.

  C. Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset.

  D. Because it was his secretary’s suggestion.

43. The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because ______.

  A. it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine

  B. when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening

  C. it was more moving than a sunrise

  D. the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset

44. After the “sunset” began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands ______.

  A. because he was moved to tears

  B. as he saw everything in the film moving backwards

  C. as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined

  D. because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine

45. Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice .

  B. If you want to see a sunrise, the east coat is the place to go.

  C. The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day.

  D. The director ordered his crew to stop filming the “sunset”.

I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes-anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲讽) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever

read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)

     There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality, "these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn't ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic and seriously crossed Plato off my list.

46. On hearing the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought______.

    A. one must read as many books as possible.

    B. a student should not have a complicated idea.

    C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books.

    D. students ought to make a list of the books they had read

47. While at high school, the writer_________.

    A. had plans for reading                B. learned to educate himself

    C. only read books over 100 pages         D. read only one book several times

48. The underlined phrase "with finality" in the second paragraph probably means_________.

    A. firmly         B. clearly        C. proudly        D. pleasantly

49. The writer's purpose in mentioning "The Republic" is to________.

    A. explain why it was included in the list[

    B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

    C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

    D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

50. The writer provides two book lists to________.

    A. show how he developed his point of view

    B. tell his reading experience at high school

    C. introduce the two persons' reading methods

    D. explain that he read many books at high school

Like other student athletes, Ray Ray McElrathbey deals with schoolwork, practice and games. But after a long day of studying and working out on the football field, the Clemson University player can’t relax with friends. Ray Ray has to make sure his 11-year-old brother, Fahmarr, gets a good dinner, does his homework and goes to bed.

Since taking responsibility for Fahmarr this August, “I’ve aged dramatically, ” said Ray Ray. “I can’t be running around at all hours, making 19-year-old decisions.” Ray Ray has temporary custody (监护权) of Fahamrr. Their mother struggles with drug addiction, and they are not in touch with their dad. Ray Ray didn’t want to see his brother go into foster care(收养), where both of them have spent time. The brothers now live together in an apartment near the campus in Clemson, South Carolina.

Clemson Tigers fans aren’t the only people rooting for Ray Ray. Sports Illustrated, ESPN and ABC News have featured the story of the brothers. They have received praise and many offers of help, but Ray Ray attends the university and arrange their life on a scholarship. Under the rules, he can’t accept money or gifts. Coaches’ family members can’t even give Fahmarr a ride home from school.

This changed a few weeks ago, when the National Collegiate Athletic Association allowed Clemson to set up a trust fund for Fahmarr. It will help provide for his basic needs, including food and clothing. However, the brothers can give each other something that all the money in the world can’t buy. Ray Ray says he hopes to instill in Fahmarr qualities of “strength and intelligence”. He says having his brother around is “a great thing, knowing he will grow up right.”

41．What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Ray Ray McElrathbey Works Hard at College

B．Ray Ray McElrathbey Loves His Brother

C．Parents Fail to Raise Their Children

D．College Football Player Plays Parents’ Role

42．Ray Ray and his brother mainly live on_____.

    A．foster care               B．money or gifts from others 

C．a scholarship             D．his coaches’ families

43．The underlined phrase “rooting for ”in Paragraph 3 can be best explained as _______.

    A．supporting         B．praising          C．admiring       D．exciting

44．It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

    A．Ray Ray must be the best player on his team

    B．like his brother, Ray Ray has had little care from their parents

    C．Clemson University will raise money for Ray Ray and his brother

    D．Ray Ray’s brother do well at school

45．Which of the following is True according to the passage?

   A．Ray Ray has few friends to relax with.

   B．Ray Ray knows where his father is.

    C．Ray Ray’s mother suffered from cancer and depends on drugs.

    D．Ray Ray is proud to support his brother.

Getting to the top is hard enough but staying there is an even greater challenge. And so it could be argued that the 10th World Championship 400m victory by Tonique Williams Darling is even more remarkable than when she struck Olympic gold in 2004.

   Coming off the final turn the 27-year-old from the Bahamas held off the attack of both Sanya Richards (USA) and the former World champion Ana Guevara of Mexico displaying a hunger that permanent champions must have.

"I would say that being able to pull off the Olympic title and then come back a year later and pull off the World Championship title has just been a miler coaster (过山车) experience for me," she revealed. "It's really an historical moment for me and for the Bahamas, just to be able to do something like this. And so I feel really humbled and grateful and just overjoyed right now."

   "It is not an easy experience. I will tell you, definitely, that in the off-season it was just a struggle to go out there every day and practice because coming off the top races and after the Olympics experience you are just kind of worn out mentally. It's not even physical. So you just go with the season, and work through it, and by the time, like two weeks away from this competition, I was hungry again and ready to be competitive."

   Williams Darling credits a support group of friends and family, her husband, Bahamian 400m runner Denis Darling, with keeping her grounded when the natural tendency would be to celebrate and then rest on one's laurels (桂冠，荣誉), Most importantly she credits her Christian faith.

   "My life has changed a little bit (since winning the Olympics) but as far as the competition and training it hasn't changed that much,' she declares. "One thing I have tried to do is to train like I have never won anything before. And I think that it was achieved because I could have been lackadaisical (无精打采的) and blown off the season or whatever. I just stayed in there and knew that everybody else was coming after me. That really helped me to stay motivated this season."

46. The underlined words "credit' in paragraph 5 probably means

    A. believe somebody

    B. add money to the bank

    C. attributes her success to those who have supported her

    D. record, payment of money

47. Who won the gold medal of the 400m at the 9th World Championship?

    A. Denis Darling.                         B. Sanya Richards.

    C. Tonique Williams Darling.                D. Ana Guevara.

48. According to the passage we can infer that _________.

    A. the 10th World Championship was held in 2005.

    B. Tonique Williams Darling's husband was her coach.

    C. Denis Darling used to be a winner of the 400m of the Olympics

    D. Sanya Richards only won at the .10~ World Championship

49. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

    A. Tonique Williams Darling was retired after the 10' World Championship.

    B. Tonique Williams Darling believed that SomeOne would catch up with her if she'         did not stay motivated and train hard enough.

    C. Tonique Williams Darling got to the top because she Was hungry before a competition.

    D. According to Tonique Williams Darling, the Olympic title was less important than         the World Championship title.                  

50. Which is the most probable title of the passage?

    A. The harder you work, the more you'll get.

    B. An athlete's successful story.

    C. The higher top you get, the greater challenge you'll meet.

    D. Do your best, and you are sure to be the top.

Now in his senior year in Bowdoin College, a small, elite liberal-arts（文科）college in Masine, Chen Yongfang has become such a devotee of the liberal-arts approach that he’s made it his mission to spread the word throughout China. He has coauthored a book called A True Liberal Arts Education, which essentially explains the little-known concept to Chinese students and their parents. Though there have been many books about how to get into Ivy League universities, “there was not a single book in China about the smaller liberal-arts colleges,” he says.

The book, which Chen wrote with friends Ye Lin and Wan Li, who also attend small U. S. colleges, touts（兜售）such benefits as intimate classes (the student-to-faculty ratio at Bowdoin is 9:1) and professors who focus on teaching rather than research. Chen, 23, explains that he was won over by Bowdoin’s commitment to nurturing skills for life, rather than simply for the workplace. “Liberal arts is abut fostering your identity,” he says. “They want to cultivate your mind.” He admits that liberal arts may be a hard sell in a country with an increasingly competitive job market. The book states bluntly that in the short term, a liberal-arts education won’t improve job prospects. “In China, employers are looking for someone who can come in and start working immediately when they graduate, not someone who still needs to be trained in practical skills,” Chen says.

The book, which received wide media coverage in China and now has a waiting list for its second print run, is certainly timely: it plays into a growing debate in China about what national universities should be teaching. The country needs a workforce with the skills and creativity to help move away from low-cost manufacturing and, in economic terms, move up the value chain. And some educators believe liberal-arts training is vital to help China deal with its increasingly complex new realities. Yet the well-known intellectual historian Xu Jilin believes that China’s rapid expansion of higher education has had a detrimental effect on curriculum as the country’s universities race to compete globally. “Education these days in like factory-farming chickens,” he says. “Universities all wan to get into international rakings—and most of these depend on research. They’re not interested in providing a unique education for our kids.”

41．According to Chen Yongfang, the benefits of attending liberal-arts colleges are the following EXCEPT        .

       A．closer relationship with tutors

       B．teachers more devoted to teaching

       C．practical skills for getting a job in China

       D．development in mind and life-long ability

42．It can be inferred from the passage that        .

       A．the teaching quality in big research universities not as good as small colleges

       B．it is more difficult for liberal-arts graduates to find a job because employers don’t believe that they can perform well

       C．literal-arts education is of little help to China’s economic development

       D．research universities received more Chinese applicants than smaller liberal-arts colleges

43．The word “detrimental” in Para.3 probably means “         .”

       A．instant      B．rewarding C．damaging  D．obvious

44．According to Xu Jilin,         .

       A．the expansion of higher education has improved the competitive strength of China’s universities

       B．Chinese universities are providing the same courses as foreign universities

       C．many universities are not paying enough attention to teaching

       D．research should gain more attention in order to improve China’s universities’ rankings

45．This passage is most probably adapted from         .

       A．an article introducing liberal arts

       B．an article introducing the book A True Liberal Arts Education

       C．an article criticizing China’s higher education

       D．an advertisement for Bowdoin College