An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to （归因于）the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works.

Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.

Professor john Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecture at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures—which are open to students from all departments—were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250.

“There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn’t traditionally done. ” He added.

University applications rose 7% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with people’s renewed interest in careers in the pubic sector（部门）, which are seen as more secure in economic crisis.

A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain.

Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “It’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.”

1. Professor John Beath’s lectures are          .

A．given in a traditional way

B．connected with the present situation

C．open to both students and their parents

D．warmly received by economics

2.Careers in the public sector are more attractive because of their         .

A．better reputation   B．higher pay         C．fewer applications   D．greater stability

3.In the opinion of most parents,         .

A．economics should be the focus of school teaching

B．more students should be admitted to universities

C．the teaching of financial matters should be strengthened

D．children should solve financial problems themselves

4.According to Hocking, the global economic crisis might make the youngsters         .

A．get jobs in Child Trust Funds               B．have access to better equipment

C．confident about their future careers         D．wiser in money management

5.What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Universities have received more applications.

B．Economics is attracting an increasing number of students.

C．College students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty

D．Parents are concerned with children’s subject selection.

 

The advertisement appeared in my e-mail—“1-800-Flowers: Mother’s Day Madness —for just $39.99！” I almost clicked on it, forgetting that those services would not be needed this year. My mother, Margaret Feiddman, died at the age of 89, and so this is my first Mother’s Day without my mom.

In my childhood, my mom appeared to be a typical suburban housewife of her generation. She sewed many of my sisters’ clothes, including both of their wedding dresses and boy’s suits for me. And on the side, she won several national bridge tournaments(桥牌锦标赛).

My mom left many indelible marks on me. The first was to never lose heart and to be independent. My dad died suddenly when I was 19. My mom worked hard for a couple of years. But in1975, I won a scholarship to study in Britain and my mom surprised us all by announcing that she decided to go with me. When I met difficulties, she always said: “You’re a man, so never lose heart, never be knocked down, and try your best to pursue(追求) your dreams.”

My mom’s other big influence on me is a sense of optimism (乐观). She had taken her knocks. But every time life knocked her down, she got up and kept on marching forward, encouraged by the saying that pessimists(悲观者) are usually right, optimists are usually wrong, but most great changes are made by optimists.

How I wish to listen to my mother’s words, and give my best regards on this Mother’s Day, but I have no chance now! My best friends, treasure(珍惜)your mother’s love!

The author mentioned the advertisement to ___.

   A．show he’s tired of the advertisements       B．explain he missed his mother very much

C．make you believe that he was very kind     D．urge the readers to buy the present for their mothers

What experience of the author’s mother surprised the author?

   A．That she volunteered to go to Britain with her son.

B．That she gained knowledge all by herself.

C．That she did all the housework by herself.

D．That she won several national bridge tournaments.

What dose the underlined word “indelible” in the 3rd paragraph probably mean?

   A．be out of control    B．be easy to remember

C．be destroyed easily   D．be impossible to forget

We can know about the author’s mother that_____.

   A．She encouraged the author to pursue his dreams       B．she felt very lonely in her late life

C．She never received a present from her children        D．she passed away before the author’s father

Which can be the best title for the passage?

   A．My Great Mother       B．Mother and I  

C．Treasure Mother’s Love        D．Mother’s Day Madness

I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching (紧握) at one another’s hands for reassurance.

    They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up huddled (聚在一起) round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon (蚕茧) into a larger cocoon.

    It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.  

    But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come – with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.

1.In this passage, the author wants to tell _______.

A. teenagers to try to pursue their real selves

B. readers to try to be popular with people around

C. parents to try to control and guide their children

D. people to try to understand and respect each other

2.The author disapproves of rebelling teenagers _______.

A. growing away from their parents

B. following the popularity trend

C. walking a new way on their own

D. turning to their friends for help

3.The phrase “larger cocoon” at the end of the second paragraph refers to _______.

A. the distractive and variable society

B. the dazzling music world

C. the parental care and love

D. the popularity wave in the society

4.What does the author think of advertisements?

A. Convincing.         B. Instructive.            C. Influential.       D. Authoritative.

 

There was a story many years ago of a school teacher----Mrs.Thompson. She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same. But that was a lie. There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. He didn't play well with the other children and he always needed a bath. She did not like him.

   Then Mrs. Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother. Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when, like all her other students, Teddy brought her a Christmas present too. It was his mother's perfume(香水）.

   Teddy said, "Mrs.Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to." After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and math. Instead, she began to teach children.

   Mrs.Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.The boy's mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved. By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class.

   Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy. He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. He went to college. Mrs.Thompson got two more letters from him with the last signed, Theodore F. Stoddar, M. D. (医学博士）.

   The story doesn't end there. On his wedding day, Dr.Stoddard whispered in Mrs.Thompson's ear," Thank you, Mrs. Thomson, for believing in me. You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference."

   Mrs. Thompson , with tears in her eyes, whispered back,"Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.

What did Mrs.Thompson do on the first day of school?

She made Teddy feel ashamed    

She asked the children to play with Teddy.

C. She changed Teddy's seat to the front row.

D. She told the class something untrue about herself.

What did Mrs. Thompson find out about Teddy?

He often told lies.         B. He was good at math

C. He needed motherly care     D. He enjoyed playing with others

In what way did Mrs. Thompson change?

She taught fewer school subjects.

She became stricter with her students.

She no longer liked her job as a teacher.

She cared more about educating students.

Why did Teddy thank Mrs.Thompson at his wedding?

She had kept in touch with him.

She had given him encouragement.

She had sent him Christmas presents.

D.She had taught him how to judge people.

A child, who has once got interested in a tale, likes, as a rule, to have it retold in almost the same words, but this should not lead parents to treat printed fairy stories as formal texts. It is always much better to “tell” a story than just “read” it out of a book, and, if a parent can produce his own as an improvement on the printed text, according to his child’s actual situation, so much the better.

There is a charge made against some fairy tales, as they probably harm children by frightening them or leaving them sad feelings. To prove it, an experiment has been done to show that children who have heard terrible fairy stories often feel more uneasy than those who have not. As for fears, there are some cases where children get timid (胆怯的) by some fairy story. Often, however, this arises from the child having heard the story once. Familiarity with the story by repetition may weaken the pain of fear.

There are also people who object to fairy stories on the grounds that the stories are not objectively true, and that those giants, witches, two-headed dragons, magic carpets etc. do not really exist, so children should be taught to learn the reality by studying history, instead of being got fond of the strange side in fairy tales. Those, who prefer to create such stories, are so peculiar (奇怪的) that it is hard to argue with them. If their creative exaggeration (夸张) were sound, the world should be full of mad men attempting to fly from New York to Philadelphia on a stick or covering a telephone with kisses in the belief that it was their beloved girl-friend.

Not once is a fairy story ever declared to be a description of the real world, but not every child is clever enough to be aware of it. Parents should choose their children’s “bed-time” reading materials with much care. Only the fairy stories containing positive effect will make a clever and caring child with rich imagination.   

1.The author considers that a fairy story is more effective when it is ______.

A．repeated without any change

B．treated as no more than a joke

C．made some changes by parents

D．set in the present situation

2.According to the passage, when a child hears a terrible fairy story, ______.

A．he will get more interested

B．great fear can take place in him

C．he will like it to be repeated

D．an experiment is being done

3.The word “sound” in Para.3 can be understood as ______.

A．fashionable        B．forgettable        C．available          D．believable

4.The author mentions “sticks” and “telephones” to prove that ______.

A．fairy stories are all made up

B．fairy tales lead to misunderstanding

C．children are cheated by old stories

D．there is more concern for children

5.One of the reasons why some people are not in favor of fairy tales is that ______.

A．they are made up far from the truth

B．they are so full of imagination

C．they are not interesting at all

D．they make history difficult to teach

6.It makes sense that parents choose fairy stories with ______ as “bed-time” reading materials..

A．formal printings     B．creative scenes     C．positive effect      D．terrible characters