B

As an effect of the high fuel prices spent on bus transportation, some American schools are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.

Having been approved for three years and beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school from Tuesday to Friday. Each school day will be 65 minutes longer. Officials say the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs.

In new Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott(抵制). Now, 17 out of 89 districts use it.

In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school four days a week since 1995. Superintendent Tim Creal says the change has saved about one million dollars over just the past eight years. He sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time, and activities that used to take up class time are now held on non-school days. He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes.

A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers, but working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day.

1.According to Tim Creal, what makes it possible to have even fewer days in school?

A．The increasing number of private tutors.(私人教师)

B．The development of teaching methods.

C．The increase in the number of online classes.

D．The growth in the income of Americans.

2. It can be learned from the passage that______

A．students will be in school from Monday to Tuesday.

B．four-day week was first carried out in South Dakota.

C．Maccray will save one million dollars every year.

D．Minnesota state has approved the four-day week plan

3.The passage is mainly about______

A．some school’s four-day week plan         B．districts using a four-day week.

C．how to save on transportation fees.          D．expense of school transportation.

What is the difference between a college and a university? This is a good question for students who want to attend a college or a university in the United States.
Colleges and universities have many things in common. Both provide a greater understanding of the world and its past. Both provide education in the arts and sciences. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living.
Students who complete their undergraduate studies either at a four-year college or a university receive a bachelor’s degree. One difference is that many colleges do not offer graduate studies.
Universities are generally bigger, offer more programs and do more research. Modern universities developed from those of the Middle Ages in Europe. The word “university” comes from the Latin “universitas”. This described a group of people organized for a common purpose. The word “college” comes from a Latin word with a similar meaning, “collegium”. In England, colleges were formed to provide students with places to live in. Usually each group of students was studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study. But a college can also be a part of a university. The first American universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a college. This is still true.
Programs in higher learning may also be called schools. The University of Arizona in Tucson, for example, has 18 colleges and 10 schools. They include the colleges of pharmacy (制药学), education, engineering and law. They also include the schools of architecture, dance and public administration.
College is also used as a general term for higher education. A news report might talk about “college students” even if they include students at universities. Or someone might ask, “Where do you go to college?”
Today, most American colleges offer an area of study called liberal arts. These are subjects first developed and taught in ancient Greece. They include language, philosophy and mathematics. The purpose is to train a person’s mind instead of teaching job skills.
【小题1】The passage is probably written to _________.

Skiping classes violates school rules and a poor attendance record will damage your final mark. But some college students still try every means to escape classes.   The number of these rebels may be much bigger than you think.  Three students from Anhui Normal University established Itaoke. Com in June. The website quickly attracted 2 000 registered members in three months. On the website, students share their experiences of skipping classes and even post ads to look for someone to stand in for them to attend courses.  Its embarrassing for universities to see this shameful behavior discussed:

However，it's good for schools and teachers to know via the website the reasons why students skip classes，according to Professor Xiao Haitao from Shenzhen University: Xao pointed out that some`students skip classes because of laziness.Others play truant because the teaching is truly dissatisfactory,“Universities can seek improvements to give a cure to the class-skipping problem，”said Xiao.

Chen Yang，21，thinks that he is  “forced" to skip some courses because of the poor teaching.  the  senior，majoring in English at Yangtze University, thinks that he's wasting time in the classroom when the teacher reads the textbook word for word or hands him outdated reading materials. He would rather skip classes to study in the library, watch online videos of Harvard or Yale lectures，or sit in on(旁听）other courses he is interested in. Chen draws a clear line between himself and those who skip classes in order to get more sleep or fool around on campus. He emphasized：“I skip classes with a clear goal，which is to probe into areas I'm interested in and broaden my horizons.”

Li Sicen，President of the National Taiwan University，seems to be on Chen's side.  Li claimed that he supported those students who skip classes for good reasons.

However，Professor Xiao warns students that Li is not giving permission for students to skip  classes. Xiao suggests that Li was just showing his understanding of truancy in a limited number of cases.

In Professor Pan Cuiqiong's opinion，students tend to jump to the conclusion that a certain course is boring and useless. "To clear students' misunderstanding，teachers should use materials closely related to students’lives and adapt interactive teaching methods，”said Pan.

Besides offering teachers more training，schools also need to give students different optional courses and ensure that they can attend the courses they are interested in，according to  Professor  Xiao.  Many Chinese students have the experience of being kicked out of an optional course because its size is limited. They are then forced to choose courses they dislike and are likely to skip them. We may learn from Sydney University in Australia.  There aren't any problems with numbers---if a course is popular then there will be more than one class per week.

1.The underlined word“rebels" in Paragraph 1 refers to           

A．students who embarrass their universities

B．students who establish websites

C．students who skip classes

D．students who quarrel with their parents

2.Chen Yang Skips some courses because_       ___.

A．his school is more student-centered

B．he wants to get more sleep

C．he wants to fool around on campus

D．the teaching style needs much improvement

3.According to the passage，we learn that Professor Xiao__     __.

A．is giving permission for students to skip classes

B．thinks it's embarrassing for the three students to establish ltaoke. com

C．thinks the website will help to know why students skip classes

D．claimed that he supported those students who skip classes for good reasons

4.Which of the following measures is NOT mentioned to stop students skipping classes?

A．Teachers should adopt practical materials and flexible teaching methods.

B．Schools should offer teachers more training:

C．Schools need to ensure that students can attend various courses they are interested in.

D．Students should be punished if they skip classes.

D

THE situation seemed hopeless．

From the day he started at my junior-high，Willard P.Franklin lived in his own world，shutting out his classmates and me, his teacher．My attempts at establishing a friendly relationship with him were met with complete indifference(冷淡)．Even a “Good Morning Willard” received only a very low grunt(咕哝)．I could see that his classmates got on no better Willard was completely a loner who seemed to have no desire or need to break his barrier(障碍)of silence．

Shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday，we received word of the annual Christmas collection of money for the less fortunate people in our school district．

“Christmas is a season of giving,” I told my students．“There are a few students in the school who might not have a happy holiday season．By contributing to our Christmas collection，you will help buy food，clothing and toys for these needy people．We start the collection tomorrow．”

When I called for the contributions the next day，I discovered that almost everyone had forgotten，except for Willard P. Franklin．The boy dug deep into his pants pockets as he walked up to my desk．Carefully, he dropped two quarters into the small container.

“I don’t need any milk for lunch,” he said very quietly. For a moment，just a moment, he smiled．Then he turned and walked back to his desk．

That night，after school．I took our meager contributions to the school principal(校长)．I couldn’t help sharing the incident that had taken place．

“I may be wrong，but I believe Willard might be getting ready to become a part of the world around him，”I told the principal．

“Yes, I believe it sounds hopeful．”he nodded．“And I think we might do well to have him share a bit of his world with us．I just received a list of the poor families in our school who most need help through the Christmas collection．Here, take a look at it．”

As I gazed down to read．I discovered Willard P. Franklin and his family were the top names on the list．

72. From the second paragraph, we can see that the teacher___________

A. established a friendly relationship with Willard

B. tried hard to pull Willard out of his own world

C. found Willard got on better with his classmates

D. was positive that Willard would gradually open his heart

73. What do we learn about the collection of money at Christmas?

A. It is intended for the poor families in their school district.

B. Everyone except Willard was willing to contribute to the Christmas collection.

C. Students were encouraged to buy food, clothing and toys for needy people.

D. It is collected every year to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

74. What does the underlined word 'meager' in Paragraph 7 mean?

A. Great.     B. Generous.      C. Huge.      D. Small

75. Which of the following can best describe Willard?

A. Poor but proud.        B. Lonely but loving.

C. Indifferent and sad.     D. Bright and hopeful.

Authorities did not release（公布）the gunman’s name, but Peters said he had no record of police contact or an arrest record while attending Northern Illionois.
DeKalb county coroner（验尸官）Dennis J. Miller on Friday released the identities of the four victims who died in the county: Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero; RyanneMace, 19, of Carpenters-ville; and Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meridan.
“Two other victims died after being transferred to hospitals in other counties,” Miller said. Witnesses said the gunman, dressed in black and wearing a stocking cap,  emerged from behind a screen on the stage of 200-seat Cole Hall and opened fire just as the class was about to end around 3 pm.
Officials said 162 students were registered for the class but it was unkown how many were there on Thursday.
Allyse Jerome, 19, a sophomore（大二学生）from Shunmburg, said the gunman burst through a stage door and pulled out a gun.
“Honestly, at first everyone thought it was a joke,” Jerome said. Everyone hit the floor, she said. Then she got up and ran, but tripped. She said she felt like “an open target.”
“He could’ve decided to get me,” Jerome said on Friday. “I thought for sure he was gonna get me.”
Lauren Carr said she was sitting in the third row when she saw the shooter walk through a door on the right-hand side of the stage, pointing a gun straight ahead.
“I personally Army-crawled halfway up the aisle（通道）,” said Carr, a 20-year-old sophomore. “I said I could get up and run or I could die here.”
She said a student in front of her was bleeding, “but he just kept running.”
More than a hundred students cried and hugged as they gathered outside the Phi Kappa Alpha house early Friday morning to remember Dan Parmenter, who was one of those killed.
56. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Everyone thought it was a joke when the gunman appeared in front of them.
B. Peters had no record of police contact or an arrest record while attending Northern Illionois.
C. 162 students were attending a lecture when the gunman emerged from behind the screen.
D. The gunman opened fire as soon as the class came to an end.
57. How many people were shot to death according to the passage?
A. 4              B. 6              C. 8              D. 162
58. The following are not witnesses except           .
A. Peters         B. Dennis J. MillerC. Dan Parmenter D. Lauren Carr
59. What was the first thing that Jerome did when she saw the gunman?
A. She got up and ran out of the room.               
B. She hit the floor.
C. She burst through a stage door and pulled out a gun.
D. She tripped and became an “open target”.
60. What is the best title of the passage?
A. Witnesses Tell of Horrible Experience   B. A Cruel Shooter
C. 162 Killed in an Accident          D. An Unkown Gunman