There are some very good things about open education. This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people, and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Open education allows students to be responsible for their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life. Some students do badly in a traditional classroom. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules. For students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom.
But many students will not do well in an open classroom. For some students, there are too few rules. These students will do little in school. They will not make good use of open education. Because open education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem getting used to making so many choices. For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom. They worry about the rules even when there are no rules. Even a few rules will help this kind of students. The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it. Many teachers do not believe in open education. Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems at their schools.
You now know what open education is. Some of its good points and bad points have been explained. You may have your own opinion about open education. The writer thinks that open education is a good idea, but only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. The writer believes that most students, but of course not all students, need some structure in their classes. They want and need to have rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.
小題1:Open education allows the students to     .

A．grow as the educated	B．be responsible for their future
C．develop their own interests	D．discover subjects outside class

小題2:Open education may be a good idea for the students who     .

A．enjoy traditional learning	B．worry about grades
C．do well in a traditional classroom	D．a(chǎn)re responsible for what they do

小題3: Some students will do little in an open classroom because      .

A．there are too few rules	B．they hate activities
C．open education is meaningless	D．they worry about the rules

小題4:Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Some traditional teachers do not like it.

B．Many teachers do not believe in open education.

C．Teachers may have problems in open classrooms.

D．Teachers’ feelings and attitudes are important to students.

小題5:Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

A．Open education is a really complex idea.

B．Open education is better than traditional education.

C．Traditional teachers don’t believe in open education.

D．The writer thinks open education is practical.

完形填空（共20小題；每題1.5分，滿分30分）
閱讀下面短文，從后面各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)的標(biāo)號(hào)涂黑。
High school seems bigger.There are  36 kids and it’s a totally new environment. It could be a  37 time for new students,  38 ,in fact,it isn’t really that bad.
The first day of course is always terrifying,but,then again,the first day of middle school was probably the  39 .Of course you might get lost during the first few days  40 your classes,but after a while what seems like a large school really isn’t.
One thing that’s really cool about high school is that there are so many more classes that you can  41 .For example,if you like  42 ,there are many art classes.At the same time,there are  43 classes,which you can’t take in middle school  44 photography and psychology(心理學(xué)).There are many new things in high school that make it much more  45 .
In high school,you’re able to join more clubs,play more sports,and take part in more  46 ,and at the same time make new friends with kids with the same  47 as you.Also, these activities can give you a  48 to learn something that you might not have had the opportunity to learn in  49 .
High school is different  50 everyone,but there’s one thing that’s  51 .You’re going to have just as much fun here as you  52 before.But having fun isn’t enough though! You’re  53 so you have to be more responsible.Everything changes when you get  54 ,but the changes aren’t that bad.You  55 worry too much about growing up.
小題1:.

A．less

B．few

C．more

D．many

小題2:	A．terrible B．popular C．good D．worried

小題3:	A．but B．a(chǎn)nd C．while D．or

小題4:	A．different B．same C．rich D．difficult

小題5:	A．a(chǎn)ttending to B．looking for C．finding out D．knowing of

小題6:	A．take B．join C．give D．learn

小題7:	A．dancing B．sports C．a(chǎn)rt D．singing

小題8:	A．other B．a(chǎn)nother C．others D．the other

小題9:	A．without B．like C．except D．a(chǎn)s

小題10:

A．fun B．boring C．busy D．tiring

小題11:

A．a(chǎn)ctivities B．classes C．lectures D．groups

小題12:

A．customs B．classes C．a(chǎn)ges D．interests

小題13:

A．chance B．time C．place D．space

小題14:

A．your home B．middle school C．society D．primary school

小題15:

A．in B．from C．on D．for

小題16:

A．sure B．certain C．doubtful D．believable

小題17:

A．did B．created C．remembered D．made

小題18:

A．taking classes B．growing up C．joining activities D．making friends

小題19:

A．older B．cleverer C．taller D．wiser

小題20:

A．can’t B．mustn’t C．shouldn’t D．won’t

Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. For Nigel, studying was a piece of cake. The reward was certainly much bigger compared to the little effort Nigel had made. It all began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories. And the peak of his school career came not when he topped the class but when he was selected for the nationwide competition.
Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join in the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets(樂(lè)高積木) and making something out of them. Nigel spent two months building his robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the big prize for the competition as well as a competitive rival(對(duì)手), Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten. Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else. Nigel decided to make friends with Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing touches(收尾工作) to her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia's and it was able to play a ball with its arm, something Alicia had failed to do.
On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia. Everything became clear the minute she saw him among the competitors. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her.
The flashbulbs (閃光燈) of the camera exploded in Nigel's face. The robot had performed actions so unique and different that the specialists' judgments were the same. Nigel was so pleased with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never have won the competition.
小題1:What reward did Nigel receive for doing well in his school work?

A．He was offered a part-time job.	B．He was honored with a scholarship.
C．He helped his teachers build a robot.	D．He helped in the computer laboratories.

小題2:Nigel's original intention of joining the contest was to ___     .

A．win honor for his school	B．be the top student of the school
C．build a robot with the Lego sets	D．win the thousand-dollar prize

小題3:Why did Nigel help Alicia finish her robot?

A．He intended to help her.	B．He was fond of building robots.
C．He wanted to be her real friend.	D．He didn't want her to suspect (懷疑) him.

小題4:What is the author's attitude towards Nigel's actions?

A．Favorable

B．Critical (批評(píng)的)

C．Doubtful

D．Sympathetic

As children face their final month of revision before the exam season starts, many parents are looking for the words to motivate their offspring．But could they be mistakenly praising the value of ability over effort, asks Matthew Syed．
Take a glance at these expressions of encouragement:
"You learned that so quickly, you're so smart!"
"Look at that drawing．Are you -the next Picasso or what?"
They appear as the kind of confidence-boosting statements that should be given to children or, indeed, anyone else．Such phrases are used in homes and classrooms every day, particularly with exams approaching．
Intelligence-based praise leads the receiver towards the fixed thought —it suggests to them that intelligence is of primary importance rather than the effort through which intelligence can be transformed．
Let's take a quick second look into the science of expertise, and ask a question．Where does excellence come from? For a long time, it was thought the answer to this depended, to a large degree, on genetic inheritance．Or, to put it another way, it is all about talent．
It turns out that this is mistaken．Dozens of studies have found that top performers—whether in maths, mi sic or whatever—learn no faster than those who reach lower levels of achievement—hour after hour, they improve at almost the same rates．
The difference is simply that high achievers practice for more hours．Further research has shown that when students seem to possess a particular gift, it is often because they have been given extra tuition at home by their parents．
This is not to deny that some kids start out better than others—it is merely to suggest that the starting point we have in life is not particularly relevant．
Why? Because, over time, with the right, kind of practice, we change so dramatically．It is not just the body that changes, but the brain．The question of talent versus effort would not matter terribly much if it  as merely theoretical．But it is so much more than that．It influences the way we think, feel, and the way we engage with our world．
小題1:What is the best title of this passage?

A．The Words That Could Encourage Your Child

B．Intelligence Says All

C．High and Low Achievers

D．Start Early, Learn More

小題2:Which statement is intelligence-based praise?

A．"You're so brilliant - you passed that exam without really studying!"

B．"With more efforts, you can achieve more!"

C．" You combine study with entertainment so well!"

D．"You study so hard even when you are so good at it!"

小題3:The writer thinks the answer to the question of talent versus effort is _____．

A．simple

B．complicated

C．obvious

D．mysterious

小題4:Why do some people have higher achievements?

A．Because they are born with great talent.

B．Because they start better than others.

C．Because they spend more of their spare time practicing what they have learnt.

D．Because they improve themselves at almost the same rates.

A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth．
Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）．
But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works．
The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it．This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence．
First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests．Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard．During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．
The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively．To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training．
The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking．Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater．Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were．All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement．
“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training．” said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper．“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,” he added, “and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains．”
小題1:.The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________．

A．memorizing telephone numbers	B．improving working memory
C．training in concentration	D．recalling a card

小題2:.The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________．

A．ignoring irrelevant items	B．monitoring ongoing performance
C．managing two tasks at the same time	D．using previous experience

小題3:.When the experiment was conducted, the researchers______________．

A．trained the four groups for the same period of time

B．only made comparisons between the four groups

C．compared the four groups with control groups

D．trained the four groups together

小題4:.By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________．

A．inform the readers of a new study

B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence

C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved

D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (釘), even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“How funny it seems,” he used to say, “even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”
小題1: The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ________.

A．his father told him to	B．he wanted to learn a skill
C．Jones encouraged him to	D．he just wanted to pass his time

小題2: Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks.

B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill.

C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get.

D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young.

小題3: What can we learn from the story?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Skill makes life easy.
C．A good beginning makes a good ending.	D．Every man has his gift.

Bexley Middle School eighth-graders won the grand prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition (TM) on Feb. 18 in Washington, D.C. They competed with 37 other schools across the country.
The students qualified for the national competition by winning a regional competition on Jan. 17 in Columbus. By winning the national event, the students earned an all-expenses paid trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., according to a Bexley school district news report.
Future City aims to stir (激發(fā)) interest in science, technology, engineering and math among young people. Bexley team members were Tom Krajnak, Abby Sharp, Wyatt Peery, Elizabeth Maher, Aaron Hutchinson and Truman Haycock. They work in teams under the guidance of a teacher, Margaret Englehardt, and a volunteer engineer, Mark Sherman, design and build a city of tomorrow. Mayor John Brennan presented the students during a recent Bexley City Council meeting. Each team in the Future City competition plans its city using Sim City software and creates a model to show a physical representation of one section of the city. Team members must write both an essay about the yearly theme and an abstract about their city. They also must make a presentation to judges.
Focusing on eco-responsibility, the Bexley team built “Novo-Mondum,” an Icelandic city in the year 2171. Krajnak said the team’s project included a new water system for each resident unit and a 500-word essay on using bacteria to purify water. “We used our essay and abstract (摘要) to build a model,” he said. “It was hard to organize which building would go where, what each building does and how to make it look good.”
Englehardt said her students did a good job answering impromptu (即席) questions during the regional competition. “They can think on their feet,” she said. Principal Harley Williams said the school is very proud of the students’ performance.
小題1:.. From the passage we can learn that the grand prize winners will _________.

A．receive scholarship for further studies

B．get a free trip to Space Camp in Huntsville

C．earn a large sum of money for their designs

D．be admitted to universities without exams

小題2:.The goal of the Future City competition is to _________.

A．make the Sim City software popular

B．test the students’ knowledge of city planning

C．select future engineers from young students

D．make students become interested in engineering

小題3:. Each team must do the following EXCEPT _________.

A．write brief abstracts describing their city

B．present and defend their designs before judges

C．build a future city in Iceland by themselves

D．create model cities using the Sim City software

小題4:. According to Margaret Englehardt, the students _________.

A．a(chǎn)lways stand still in the competition

B．react very quickly to the questions

C．prepare for the questions in advance

D．take pride in the advisers’ performance

小題5:

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language, which assesses the proficiency (熟練) of English language of a person in an academic setting. Various institutions, scholarship programs require this test as a trusted and effective indicator of a person’s ability to communicate in English.

TOEFL is available in CBT----Computer-based Technology, PBT----Paper-based Technology and IBT----Internet-based Test formats（形式）to assess the proficiency of English Language. IBT TOEFL is a four-hour test comprising sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. In areas where internet-based test is not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given. PBT is a three-hour test comprising four sections: Listening, Structure and Written Expression, Reading Comprehension and Writing.
Taking TOEFL test opens many doors to get admission in foreign universities. More than 7500 colleges, universities and agencies in more than 130 countries rely on TOEFL test scores to check proficiency for English Language. It is very convenient to take this test and it is available in 165 countries world wide.
It measures your academic skills that whether you are ready to study or train at under graduate or post graduate level in foreign universities or not. In the test candidates are provided with a passage from text books and questions based on lectures, and you can be asked to speak or write in response related to that passage.
As the test is made up of 100 % academic questions, so many universities consider it the most effective test, while taking any admission. To take TOEFL test you should:
-----Improve your writing skills;
-----Improve your vocabulary;
-----Practice other reading passages on the TOEFL Test;
-----Be familiar with the format of the test;
-----Practice for listening test on the TOEFL test.
To take admission in World’s famous Harvard University, the minimum TOEFL score required is 587 on the paper-based test, 240 on the computer-based test, or 94-95 on the internet-based TOEFL.
小題1:The underlined word “comprising” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A．including

B．forming

C．combining

D．explaining

小題2:Which section is Not included in IBT TOEFL?

A．Reading.	B．Writing.
C．Speaking.	D．Structure and Written Expression.

小題3: According to the passage, many students are required to take TOEFL test probably because the test can________.

A．improve their academic skills

B．indicate their proficiency of English language

C．provide scholarship programs in many countries

D．decide your graduation from foreign universities

小題4:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Advantages of TOEFL test	B．Introduction to TOEFL test
C．Preparations for TOEFL test	D．Assessment of TOEFL test

As the world prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8, a new report details the progress and challenges girls face in getting an education.
The report – from the Education for All Fast Track Initiative – highlights the importance of girls’ education for economic(經(jīng)濟(jì)的) and social development. It follows progress in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritania, Mozambique and Niger.
Prema Clarke, author of Fast-tracking Girls’ Education, says, “Progress for girls’ education is that they can leave their homes, leave their families and come to a place to study and to learn.  And that’s a big achievement because otherwise these girls have to stay at home, looking after their brothers and sisters, doing the cooking or doing the cleaning.”
She says progress toward the Millennium Development Goals and those of Education for All “is allowing and enabling girls and forcing countries to look at this issue(問(wèn)題) and to ensure that interventions (干預(yù)) help girls attend school.”
Benefits
Improving education for girls brings many benefits, says Clarke. “It means that girls can then enter the workforce. They can look after their own families much more effectively. They can prevent child death rate. They can educate their own girl children when they begin to expand their own families.” Studies show that having an educated female population helps to improve a country’s health and economic well-being.
Warnings
The report says, “In developing countries, too many girls are not in school, and many girls face continuing health risks and danger just walking to class.”
“Especially in the fragile and post-conflict countries and in many of the African countries, this is a real issue,” she says. Till now, the interventions have been so focused on providing schooling and providing teachers, etc. And now I think there is much more expanded focus on looking at specific（特定的）communities of girls within at-risk groups that now need much more specific attention and much more creative solutions(解決方法) to help them attend school.”
小題1:The underlined word “highlights” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A．shows

B．stresses

C．remarks

D．improves

小題2: According to Clarke, improving education can provide girls with all the opportunities EXCEPT _______.

A．to educate their own girl children	B．to prevent child death rate
C．to enter the workforce	D．to study abroad

小題3:This passage is intended to _____.

A．promote the progress in girls’ education

B．talk about the benefits of improving girls’ education

C．give some information about the education girls are facing

D．sing high praise for the girls’ education

小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．the girls’ educational situation in developing countries is still serious

B．girls were free to go wherever they wanted to in the past

C．there are enough teachers in most of the African countries

D．International Women’s Day was first celebrated on March 8 in 1900

With fears of a possible nuclear meltdown(核反應(yīng)堆堆芯的熔毀) in Japan building up, evidence has come to light that the nation received warnings over the stability of its power plants from an international watchdog more than two years ago.
　　As the Telegraph is reporting, an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in December 2008 that safety rules were out of date, and strong earthquakes would cause a “serious problem” for the power stations.
　　A U.S. embassy document, by quoting（引用）an unnamed expert, states: “He (the IAEA official) explained that safety guides for earthquakes have only been updated three times in the last 35 years and that the IAEA is now re-examining them. Also, the presenter noted recent earthquakes in some cases have gone beyond the design basis for some nuclear plants, and that this is a serious problem that is now driving earthquake safety work.”
　　The Telegraph also reports that the government responded to the warnings by building an emergency response center at the Fukushima Daiichi plant designed to resist magnitude-7.0 earthquakes. Friday's earthquake, originally named a magnitude-8.9 shock, has since been upgraded to magnitude-9.0.
　　Other nuclear experts state IAEA officials had willingly ignored lessons from the Chernobyl disaster to protect the nuclear industry's expansion, reports Bloomberg. “After Chernobyl, all the force of the nuclear industry was directed to hide this event, for not creating damage to their reputation,”Russian nuclear accident specialist Iouli Andreyev tells Reuters, before noting that radiation from spent fuel rods（棒）stored close to reactors at Fukushima looked like an example of putting profit before safety. “The Japanese were very greedy, and they used every square inch of the space. But when you have a dense(密集的) placing of spent fuel in the basin, you have a high possibility of fire if the water is removed from the basin.”
小題1: From the passage, we know that ____________.

A．people fear that the nuclear meltdown will possibly become more and more serious in Japan

B．people are becoming more and more afraid of a possible nuclear meltdown in Japan

C．Japan made no response to the warnings over the safety of its power plants

D．Iouli Andreyev warned Japan not to store spent fuel rods close to reactors

小題2: Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Japan was warned of the stability of its power plants when they were built over 2 years ago.

B．Safety guides for earthquakes should be updated three times in 35 years.

C．The emergency response centre at the Fukushima Daiichi plant can not resist Friday’s earthquake.

D．IAEA officials advised Japan to ignore lessons from the Chernobyl disaster.

小題3: IAEA officials were willing to ignore lessons from the Chernobyl disaster because they want ________.

A．to put profit before safety.	B．the nuclear industry to develop
C．to protect the reputation of Japan	D．every inch of land to be made good use of

小題4:The writer develops this passage mainly by__________.

A．making comments	B．providing facts
C．quoting what experts say	D．a(chǎn)nalysing what happened