Cast your mind back to the past twenty years and hardly did anyone have their own email account. The Internet had just taken off in 1991 and people were only using office and PC­based email exchanges.
In the mid 1990s external email providers appeared. The most famous of these was Hotmail, the first free email provider and web­based email service. Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith launched Hotmail on July 4, 1996. And Microsoft took note of and bought Hotmail for $400 million on December 30, 1997, a nice birthday present for Bhatia who turned 29 that day. It was relaunched as MSN Hotmail and in 2007 was relaunched again as Windows Live Hotmail.
Fast forward the present day and most of us have at least a personal web­based email account. It seems impossible to live without them. One of the biggest advantages of email is the fact that communication has become so much easier, especially with those across different time zones. Email takes seconds to send a message whereas letters, as we used to communicate by, could take weeks. Of course there was the fax, that beeping invention from the 1980s, but it wasn’t as secure as email and you never knew if the person on the other end had picked up your fax or if it had got lost somewhere in the office.
In conclusion, one of the best inventions from the 1990s has to be email. But sometimes people are too closely connected to their email and have a compulsion to check it several times a day. At work, people have become lazy and instead of going to speak to the person sitting next to them, they send an email，causing an in box to pile up with more time spent reading email and responding rather than working. Clearly, an invention that saved time because of its quick and speedy connection can now also cause us to waste a lot of time.
小題1:The earliest web-based email came into being probably _______.

A．in 1991

B．in 1996

C．in 1997

D．in 2007

小題2:The author mentions “fax” in the third paragraph in order to tell us that _______.

A．it is exactly as good as email

B．it is much better than email

C．it is less convenient than email

D．it is easier and faster than email

小題3:The underlined word “compulsion” in Paragraph 4 probably means “_______”.

A．strong desire

B．common sense

C．special curiosity

D．general idea

小題4:Which is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．We should check email boxes frequently.

B．Lazy people like sending an email.

C．Email brings us great convenience.

D．Good inventions also cause problems.

I am a psychologist. I first met Timothy, a quiet, overweight eleven-year-old boy, when his mother brought him to me to discuss his declining grades. A few minutes with Timothy were enough to confirm that his self-esteem(自尊) and general happiness were falling right along with them. I asked about Timothy’s typical day. He awoke every morning at six thirty so he could reach his school by eight and arrived home around four thirty each afternoon. He then had a quick snack, followed by either a piano lesson or a lesson with his math tutor. He finished dinner at 7 pm, and then he sat down to do homework for two to three hours. Quickly doing the math in my head, I found that Timothy spent an average of thirteen hours a day at a writing desk.
What if Timothy spent thirteen hours a day at a sewing machine instead of a desk? We would immediately be shocked, because that would be called children being horribly mistreated. Timothy was far from being mistreated, but the mountain of homework he faced daily resulted in a similar consequence —he was being robbed of his childhood. In fact, Timothy had no time to do anything he truly enjoyed, such as playing video games, watching movies, or playing board games with his friends.
Play, however, is a crucial part of healthy child development. It affects children’s creativity, their social skills, and even their brain development. The absence of play, physical exercise, and free­from social interaction takes a serious toll on many children. It can also cause significant health problems like childhood obesity, sleep problems and depression.
Experts in the field recommend the minutes children spend on their homework should be no more than ten times the number of their grade level. As a fifth­grader, Timothy should have no more than fifty minutes a day of homework (instead of three times that amount). Having an extra two hours an evening to play, relax, or see a friend would soundly benefit any child’s life quality.
小題1:What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph probably refer to?

A．Timothy’s parents.	B．Timothy’s grades.
C．Psychologists.	D．The students.

小題2:What did the writer think of Timothy after learning about his typical day?

A．Timothy was very hard­working.

B．Timothy was being mistreated.

C．Timothy had a heavy burden.

D．Timothy was enjoying his childhood.

小題3:Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s opinion?

A．Children should be allowed enough time to play.

B．Playing board games works better than playing video games.

C．The more they play, the more creative children will become.

D．The depression caused by homework makes children unwilling to play.

小題4:According to the passage, how long should a third­grader spend a day doing homework?

A．About ten minutes.

B．No more than twenty minutes.

C．No more than thirty minutes.

D．About fifty minutes.

One of my China Dialogue colleagues in Beijing recently bought a Philips energy-saving light bulb to replace a standard one．He was happy with his choice．It may have cost 30 yuan （just under US$4．50） - ten times the price of a filament （燈絲） bulb - but he wanted to save energy as part of his low-carbon lifestyle．And according to the shopkeeper, he would save, in the long run, much more than the 30 yuan he was spending．
Yet only one month later, his expensive light bulb blew up, before he had saved even a small part of the purchase price．Will he stick to his high-cost, low-carbon lifestyle?
China's environmental organizations have started to advocate low-carbon lifestyles and the decrease of carbon footprints to help fight against climate change．But they have overlooked one fact: in China, low-carbon living comes at a high cost．It means buying energy-saving bulbs and appliances, and environmentally friendly building materials and daily goods．Cost can no longer be the only standard for purchases．An energy-saving and environmentally friendly product is more expensive than a standard alternative - whether it's a simple light bulb or the house it shines．For average consumers, even buying an ordinary bulb is a huge burden．How can we persuade ordinary people to choose an energy-saving residence? This is not a trend they can afford to follow; perhaps this fashion is only for the rich．
Most consumers today do not cause huge carbon dioxide （CO₂） emissions．Their responsibility lies not in choosing a low-carbon lifestyle today, but in avoiding a high-carbon life in the future．The principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" - a basis of sustainable development - can be applied here as well．
In China, low-carbon living still is resisted by a lack of social infrastructure（基礎設施）. Even if your salary allows you to make that choice, nobody is there to help you accomplish it．
Consider energy-saving homes. You need to find out whether or not the developer has used natural materials wherever possible; how effective the insulation（絕緣物、隔熱物） is; and what the green credentials of installed equipment are．You can read up a little, but you'll still be lucky to avoid being puzzled by the developers' marketing．Many so-called energy-saving buildings are nothing of the sort, and some are even more energy-hungry than the average home - as Li Taige warned in his article "Energy-efficient buildings? Not always", on China Dialogue last August．
小題1: What may probably be the best title of this passage?

A．To purchase a cheap bulb - your wise alternative．

B．To choose an energy-saving residence - a must of your life

C．To learn a low-carbon lifestyle - each citizen's responsibility

D．To learn a low-carbon lifestyle - a promising but difficult purpose

小題2:Why does the writer say this fashion is only for the rich in the fourth paragraph?

A．Because the cost is a very important standard for purchases.

B．Because buying an ordinary bulb is very expensive.

C．Because energy-saving products are more expensive than the common alternatives.

D．Because rich people like to follow this trend.

小題3: What does the writer think of energy-saving homes?

A．Most of them are environmentally friendly.

B．They are musts of low-carbon lifestyle of Chinese.

C．They are huge burdens for Chinese people.

D．Many of them are more in name than in reality.

小題4:We can infer from the passage that ____．

A．Using energy-saving bulbs and appliances is a fashion．

B．It's easy for most Chinese to try to learn a low-carbon lifestyle．

C．All citizens in China don’t have the same responsibility in living a low-carbon lifestyle．

D．Most Chinese families cannot afford to purchase an energy-saving residence.

小題5:What is the writer's attitude towards the low-carbon lifestyle?

A．informative and entertaining	B．supportive but cautious
C．negative but wise	D．positive and active

Sigmund Freud was one of the first scientists to make serious research of the mind. The mind is the collection of activities based in the brain that involve how we act, think, feel and reason.
He used long talks with patients and the study of dreams to search for the causes of mental and emotional problems. He also tried hypnosis(催眠術). He wanted to see whether putting patients into a sleep-like condition would help ease troubled minds. In most cases he found the effects only temporary.
Freud worked hard, although what he did might sound easy. His method involved sitting with his patients and listening to them talk. He had them talk about whatever they were thinking. All ideas, thoughts and anything that entered their mind had to be expressed. There could be no holding back because of fear or guilt.
Freud believed that all the painful memories of childhood lay buried in the unconscious self. This part of the mind he said contains wishes, desires and experiences too frightening to recognize.
He thought that if these memories could somehow be brought into the conscious mind, the patient would again feel the pain. But this time, the person would experience them as an adult. The patient would feel them, be able to examine them and, if successful, finally understand them.
Using this way, Freud reasoned, the pain and emotional pressure of the past would be greatly weakened. They would lose their hold over the person's physical health. Soon the patient would get better.
Many of Freud's theories about how the mind works also had strong sexual connections. These included what he saw as the repressed feelings of sons toward their mothers and daughters toward their fathers.
If nothing else, Freud's ideas were revolutionary. Some people rejected them. Many others came to accept them. But no one disputes his great influence on the science of mental health.
小題1:How many methods did Sigmund Freud use to study the mind?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

小題2:Sigmund Freud’s research was difficult because ______.

A．he had to work hard and have patients talk freely

B．he had to live with people who had troubled minds

C．he had to listen to unhappy stories of different people

D．he had to give his patients a sense of security

小題3:Sigmund Freud held the idea that the painful memories of childhood ______.

A．could be forgotten forever

B．could have a life-long influence

C．could become wises and desires

D．could be understood unconsciously

小題4:If an adult parent feels the memories of childhood painful, the patient would probably ______.

A．have physical and mental problems

B．be greatly influenced by them

C．have a better understanding of life

D．have a healthier and happier life

International students studying in the UK
The UK has a long history of welcoming international students to study in its universities and colleges. In the UK last year there were over 104,000 international students. Choosing which university or college to go to was like a life-changing decision. Do as much research as possible so that you choose the right course for the right reason.
How to apply for higher education
All applications for higher education courses are made using our online application system, which is available 24 hours a day. You fill in the application form online and it does not need to be completed all at once. Please see the When to Apply page to check the dates by which we should receive your completed application.
Choosing a higher education course to study
Try to do a lot of research when deciding which courses to apply for. You will probably want to find out even more before you accept an offer of a place on a course. When you accept an offer of a place, make sure that all of your questions have been answered. Ask teachers if there is anything to prepare before the course starts. They may suggest that you look at certain books on the course reading list or that you improve your computer skills.
Other help and advice
Unistats is a website that can help you to research subjects and universities before deciding where to apply. You can compare subjects, compare universities and explore useful information about getting a job after graduation. Unistats has statistical (統(tǒng)計的) information on universities, colleges, subjects and teaching style.
Yougo is a student-only networking site where you can meet other applicants online and talk about what you hope to study and the university you hope to attend.
If you have any questions, please call us at 0044-330-333-0230.
小題1:One who wants to get into a university in the UK________.

A．must have a good reason to study abroad

B．can make an application on the Internet

C．should create more learning programs

D．will be asked to send a plan to a teacher

小題2:We can learn from the passage that it is a wise idea to ________.

A．learn basic computer skills in the UK when possible

B．get to know as many teachers as possible in the UK

C．do much research before choosing a college major

D．borrow certain books before going abroad to study.

小題3:Unistats is a website that works to help students ________.

A．select the best university and subject

B．meet other teenage students online

C．study further after finishing a course

D．compare colleges at home and abroad

小題4:What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To give information about higher education in the UK.

B．To describe the types of universities across the UK.

C．To introduce the UK education system to students.

D．To attract international students to study in the UK.

Over 60﹪of pupils in South African schools choose English for learning and teaching, but only 7﹪of pupils speak English as their home language, a recent South Africa survey shows.
Out of the country’s 12.2 million pupils only 851,536 speak English at home, yet 7.6 million pupils choose English as their favorite language of learning and teaching. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language, spoken by over 3.1 million pupils. However, less than a third of them choose to be taught in Zulu. The same thing is true of Pedi-speaking pupils, only a third of such pupils choosing to be taught in their home language. Besides English,
Afrikaans is the only language that has more pupils choosing it as their language of instruction than it has pupils who speak it at home. In primary schools, most pupils will choose African languages. As early as grade four, many would choose English or Afrikaans in their lessons.
The rising number of English-learning pupils is mainly caused by social and cultural reasons. English is the most common spoken language in official and public life in South Africa, the survey reports. In April 2011, the leaders of higher education and training said that they would take some steps to improve the university teaching and prevent the continuing decline of African languages. They suggested that in future every South African university student could be required to learn at least one African language in order to complete their studies at school.
小題1: We can learn from the passage that most South African pupils__________.

A．speak English both at home and at school

B．a(chǎn)re required to learn two languages at school

C．choose English as their primary school language

D．a(chǎn)re expected to speak their native language at home.

小題2: It can be inferred from the passage that__________________.

A．Afrikaans is the most popular home language in South Africa

B．it’s easier for South African pupils to learn Afrikaans at school.

C．the number of South African pupils learning Afrikaans has increased

D．many South African pupils use Afrikaans at school instead of at home.

小題3: The underlined word “decline” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “_________”.

A．going downhill

B．spreading widely

C．growing upwards

D．developing further

小題4: What is the survey in the passage mainly about?

A．The use of native languages in South African families.

B．The language choice and use among South African pupils.

C．The progress in South Africa’s language teaching education

D．The spread of English at schools in South Africa.

China needs to set absolute restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions(釋放) if it is to fulfill its aim to set up a carbon market over the next five years, a cabinet office think tank said in a paper.
“It is only under an absolute emissions cap that carbon emission permits will become a scarce resource and possess the qualities of a commodity,” the State Council?s Development and Research Center said in a paper in Seeking Truth, a magazine published by the ruling party.
China has traditionally baulked(猶豫) at the idea of emissions caps either on a regional basis or for industrial sectors, invoking a key Kyoto protocol principle that puts most of the burden of cutting green-house gases on developed countries.
China, the world ‘s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has also been under external pressure to make stronger commitments in the battle against global warming .The country has been the biggest beneficiary(受益人) of the Clean Development Mechanism, a UN-backed scheme that allows industrialized countries to meet their CO2 reduction targets by purchasing certified emission reductions or CERs from low-carbon projects launched in developing nations.
However, the European Union, the biggest buyer of CERs, has said it will not accept CERs generated by Chinese projects once the first phase of its Emissions Trading Scheme ends in 2012, though projects already registered will remain valid.
小題1: What does China hope to do in the next five years?

A．to cut its emissions by 45%

B．to set up a carbon market

C．to have lower emissions than other countries

D．to increase both emissions and production

小題2: China agreeing to limit emissions now because______

A．they care about the environment

B．emissions harm people’s health

C．of pressure from other countries

D．they want more profit for their factories

小題3:How does the CER scheme work?

A．Countries can buy the right to produce as much carbon emissions as they like.

B．All countries are required to set a carbon emissions cap and can then get certificates on how developed their environmental programme is.

C．Developed countries are allowed to produce more emissions than industrial countries.

D．Developed countries can buy the right to produce more carbon emissions from developing countries that produce less.

小題4: What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Air pollution is still increasing the problem of climate change all over the world.

B．China is still resisting cutting emissions as it is necessary for the manufacturing industry.

C．China believes that it is free from meeting international standards on emissions.

D．China will need to cut its emissions in the near future in order to keep up with the international community

Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.
Diet products weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie（卡）, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the counter instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food brands.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.
The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(營養(yǎng)成分). Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemical that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.
小題1:The first paragraph mainly tells us _____.

A．diet products can bring out people’s potential

B．people have difficulty in choosing diet products

C．diet products are misleading people

D．people are fed up with diet products

小題2:One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to ____.

A．resist a variety of diet foods

B．hesitate before they enjoy diet foods

C．pay attention to their own eating habits

D．watch their weight rather than their diet

小題3:The purpose of writing this passage is _________.

A．to warn people of the side effect of diet products

B．to tell people how to lose weight

C．to advise people to eat diet products

D．to introduce some diet products

小題4: Which of the following shows the structure（結構） of the passage?

CP: Central Point      P: Point       Sp: Sub-point(次要點)   C: Conclusion

We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming(把……按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all，it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade！
Besides, it is rather unreal to grade pupils just according to their intellectual(智力的) ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to deal with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively in order to have the ability to become leaders. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs；sometimes they work on individual tasks , and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is suitable. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work：it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.
小題1:We can know from the passage that the author’ s attitude towards “mixed-ability teaching”  is______.

A．a(chǎn)pproving

B．disapproving

C．questioning

D．inactive

小題2:The underlined words “held back” in Paragraph 1 probably means “______”.  

A．drawn to their studies	B．forced to study in the lower classes
C．made to remain in the same classes	D．prevented from advancing

小題3:Which of the following is NOT MENTIONED in the third paragraph?

A．Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilities.

B．Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities

C．Group work gives pupils the chance to learn to work together with others.

D．Group work supply pupils with the chance to learn to be good organizers.

小題4:The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to ______.

A．offer advice on the proper use of the library

B．recommend pair work and group work for classroom activities

C．a(chǎn)rgue for teaching bright and not-so-bright pupils in the same class

D．tell us the importance of proper formal classroom teaching

Everyone likes living in a clean and comfortable environment. If the envionment(環(huán)境) are bad, it will affect（影響）our body, and make us not feel well. Sometimes we may be terribly ill. At that time we don’t want to work, and we have to stay in bed and rest at home. So the envrionment is very important to us.
It’s germs that makes us ill. There are germs everywhere, They are very small and you can’t find them with your own eyes, but you can see them with a microscope（顯微鏡）They are very small and there may be hundreds of them on a very small thing, Germs can always be found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope, we shall see them in it. Germs can also be found in air and dust（灰塵）. If you cut your finger, some of the dust from the floor may go into it, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs will go into all of your boby, and you will have pain everywhere.
To keep us healthy, we should try to our best to make our environment become cleaner and tidier. This needs us to act together.
小題1:The writer tell us that________.

A．we like working when we are ill

B．germs can’t live in the water.

C．we can’t feel ill if the environment is bad.

D．we feel well when the environment is good.

小題2:Germs are________.

A．very small things that you can’t see with your eyes.

B．the things that don’t effect people.

C．the things that you can find with your eyes.

D．the things that are very big.

小題3:Where can germs be found? They can be found_________.

A．on the small thing	B．in air and dust
C．only in dirty water	D．everywhere

小題4:How will you feel if germs go into the finger that is cut?

A．I will feel nothing.	B．I won’t mind.
C．I will feel tense.	D．I will feel painful.

小題5: From the passage we know that________.

A．environment doesn’t affect our life

B．we don’t need to improve our environment

C．germs may make us ill

D．if the environment is better, germs will be more.