Princeton University

Location

The University is in Princeton, New Jersey. It is an hour's train ride south of New York City and an hour's train ride north of Philadelphia.

Students

There are 4,600 undergraduates (本科生). There are also 1,900 post-graduate students, but Princeton is unusual among universities in having a student body made up largely of undergraduates.

 Faculty

Princeton has about 700 full-time faculty members (教员). There are another 300 or so part -time and visiting faculty. All faculty members at Princeton are expected to teach and research.

Degrees

   Princeton offers two undergraduate degrees: the bachelor of arts (A.B.) degree and the bachelor of science in engineering (B.S.E.) degree.

Academic Year

An academic year runs from September to late May and lasts two terms (fall and spring). A normal course load is four or five courses per term, although many students take extra courses.

 Residences

Princeton provides housing for all undergraduate students. Freshmen and second-year students are required to spend their first two years in one of five colleges. Each college has its own dining hall, common rooms and computer centers.

Fees and Expenses (Academic Year 2004-2005)

    Tuition (学费): $29,910

    Room and board: $ 8,387

    Other expenses (books, telephone, etc.): $ 3,083

    Total: $ 41,380

How many kinds of faculty members are there in Princeton University?

   A. Four.                B. Three.               C. Two.          D. One

In Princeton University, an undergraduate will pay at least ________ for the Academic

Year 2004-2005 besides tuition.

   A.   $11,470           B. $ 52,850            C. $ 41,380     D. $ 8, 387

In what way is Princeton University different from other American universities       according to the text?

A. All the faculty members at Princeton are expected to teach and research.

   B. It provides housing for all undergraduate students.

C. Its students are mainly undergraduates.

D. It has five colleges.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. It's about an hour's train ride from Princeton University to the north of New York City.

B. Undergraduates should spend their first two years in one of five colleges.

C. An academic year lasts about nine months in Princeton University.

D. Princeton offers two undergraduate degrees.

If there is something that appears most frequently on Chinese dining tables, it is doufu—bean curd. Bean curd looks like soft cakes and it's made from dried soybeans. Bean curd used to be considered a favourite of the poor because of its low cost. Beans have high yields(产量) every year with their short growing period and suitability for various(各种各样) soil both dry and wet.

Historical records show bean curd was invented by Liu An, Prince of Huainan and uncle of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty(206BC—220AD). He had a dream of finding the pill for longevity(长寿). He travelled all over the country and found soybeans, which looked much the same as gold in terms of colour. He collected soybeans, put them in the water and crushed them into pulp(浆). It got solidified and became known as doufu. Although it's not able to keep longevity, it's really good for one's health with high protein and low fat.

With a long history, bean curd is rooted deep in Chinese culture. People eat more meat and fish than bean curd. But they are encouraged to have bean curd every once in a while for it's really good for health. Most Chinese people still keep bean curd as one of their favourite dishes.

1．Why was bean curd considered to be liked by the poor?

 A. It's easy to make.       B. It's easy to cook.

 C. It's cheap.            D. It's good for health.

2．Where can beans grow well?

 A. Only in wet soil.     B. In dry soil.

 C. In soft soil.         D. In any soil.

3．What appears more often on the dining table in poor areas?

 A. Meat.        B. Fish.        C. Eggs.      D. Bean curd.

4．Why did Liu An travel all over the country?

 A．He had a dream.

 B．He wanted to find something that could make people live longer.

 C．He wanted to invent bean curd.

 D．He wanted to find gold.

5．How long has bean curd been invented?

 A. It's about 1,700 years.

 B. It's less than 2,000 years.

 C. It's 500 years.

 D. It's more than 2,000 years.

It’s only 4 hours flying time from Sydney, but a world away. What better place to rest than a country where the only place people hurry is on the football field and things are done in “Fiji time”?

Viti Levu – Great Fiji – is the largest island. Here you’ll find the capital Suva and the international airport at Nadi. Vatoa, on the other hand, is a tiny island in the farthest part of Fiji. Then there are 331 other islands, many of them with places to stay.

Whit less than a million people living on islands, you’ll never feel crowded. And with a climate(气候) that changes only for five degrees between seasons, there’s never a bad time to come.

 From cities to villages, from mountains to beaches, from water sports to wooden artworks, Fiji can give you more adventures and special experiences than you could find almost anywhere in the world.

Whenever you come, wherever you go, you’re sure to see some unforgettable events. From war dances to religious(宗教的) songs. From market days to religious days. It’s not just staged for tourists; it’s still a part of everyday life in Fiji. And any one of us can enjoy Fiji’s spirit by being part of the traditional(传统的) sharing of yaqona, a drink made from the root of a Fiji plant.

So why not join us for the experience of a life me?

Where is the international airport of Fiji?

A. In Suva.

B. In Sydney.

C. On the island of Vatoa.

D. On the island of Viti Levu.

What does the text tell us about Fijian people?

A. They invented “Fiji time” for visitors.

B. They stick to a traditional way of life.

C. They like to travel from place to place.

D. They love taking adventures abroad.

One of the things that make Fiji a tourist attraction is _______.

A. it’s comfortable hotels

B. its good weather all year round

C. its exciting football matches

D. its religious beliefs

Where can we most probably read this text?

A. In a personal diary                B. In a science report

C. In a travel magazine               D. In a geography textbook

On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.

       “It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”

       The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?

“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”

In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.

“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”

But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.

“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”

What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

A. It’s expensive but worthwhile because it works the best.

B. It confuses students because the knowledge taught in it is out of date.

C. It isn’t effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

D. It is effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

What do the underlined words “magic bullet” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Something that cannot help to solve problems at all.

B. Something that solves a difficult problem in an easy way.

C. Something that seems useful but has no use at all.

D. Something that encourages interest in study.

According to Elaine Tyrrell, private tutoring is _______.

A. effective in language learning but not for exams

B. effective for foreign students but not for local students

C. unnecessary in most cases and may harm the further study of students

D. unnecessary in secondary school but helpful to further study

What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A. Fleet Tutors and the Rowans School are competitors.

B. Entrance exams to schools are too difficult for most students.

C. Further study isn’t as difficult as was first thought.

D. Private tuition is worth the financial investment.

What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?

       A. Critical           B. Objective         C. Supportive          D. Uninterested

While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

       The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

       I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

       I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

       But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

       No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.

       A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

       Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to the Olympics.

       In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.

From the passage we can learn that the young man _______.

A. made his turn to start back pitifully                       B. was skillful in freestyle in the game

C. swam faster than the average swimmer                  D. was not capable enough to win the medal

The crowd changed their attitudes because _______.

       A. they felt sorry for the young man                         B. they wanted to show their sympathy

       C. they were moved by the young man                      D. they meant to please the young man

According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______.

       A. it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills

       B. it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself

       C. it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors

       D. it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals

What’s the best title for the passage?

       A. Go for it!          B. Try again！              C. Compete for Gold!      D. Break a Record!