If there is no difference in general intelligence (智力) between boys and girls, what can explain
girls' poor performance in science and mathematics?
     It seems to be that their treatment at school is a direct cause. Mathematics and science are seen
as subjects mainly for boys, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them.
Interestingly, both boys and girls often regard the subjects for boys as more difficult. Yet it has been
suggested that girls do not take mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social
reasons. Girls do not want to be in open competition with boys because they are afraid to appear less
feminine (女性的) and attractive. However, if we examine the performance of boys and girls who have
taken mathematics courses, there are still more high-achieving boys than there are girls. This difference
appears to be world-wide. Biological explanations have been offered for this, but there are other
explanations too. Perhaps the difference which comes out during the teenage years has its roots in much
earlier experiences. From their first days in kindergarten, boys are enoouraged to work on their own and
to complete tasks. Facts show that outstanding (杰出的) mathematicians and scientists have not had
teachers who supplied answers.
     Besides, there can be little doubt that teachers of mathematics and science expect their boy students
to do better at these subjects than their girl students. They even appear to encourage the difference
between boys and girls. They spend more time with the boy students, giving them more time to answer
questions and working harder to get correct answers from them. They are more likely to call on boys
for answers and to allow them to take the lead in classroom discussion. They also praise boys more
frequently. All of this seems to encourage boys to work harder in science and mathematics and to give
them confidence (信心) that they are able to succeed.
     Such a way of teaching is not likely to encourage girls to take many mathematics and science courses,
nor is it likely to support girls who do. When it comes to these subjects it seems certain that school widens
the difference between boys and girls.

1. Girls are likely to think that _____.

A. science courses are for both boys and girls
B. science courses make them more popular
C. science courses make them successful
D. science courses are difficult for them

2. The text mainly discusses _____ reasons for the difference between boys and girls in scientific
achievements.

A. biological
B. historical
C. social
D. personal

3. What are boys usually encouraged to do at school?

A. To get help with their homework.
B. To play the leading role in class.
C. To work with girl students in class.
D. To learn to take care of others .

4. What does the passage say about great mathematicians?

A. Their teachers did not supply answers to them.
B. They started learning mathematics at an earlier age.
C. They showed mathematical abilities in their teenage years.
D. Their success resulted from their strong interest in mathematics.

5. The author would probably agree that _____.

A. boys and girls learn in the same way
B. boys and girls are equal in general intelligence
C. girls are more confident in themselves than before
D. girls should take fewer science courses than boys

     Net Library is a library that lends out digital (數(shù)字化的) books. It treats a digital book like a paperback
copy. It charges libraries per book per copy and gives publishers a cut of the total income.
     From the consumer's (消費(fèi)者) point of view, this means that if more than, say, five people want the latest
Danielle Steel romance novel, other people who request that book will get a message saying the title is
unavailable.
      It's a model many publishers seem to have embraced. More than 350 gave the company rights to hand out
their digital works, and McGraw-Hill Corporation and Houghton Mifflin Corporation have put money in the
company. The California public libraries and about 1, 800 others across the US are trying out the Net Library
service.
     Some librarians criticize the New Library model. Stanford University librarian Michael Keller argues that the
company is creating an unnatural fear of digital works, which is contrary to the ideas of the Internet.
     Keller and some other librarians argue for the e-book vision set forth by EBrary. EBrary is starting a service
that lets us users read books for free.
     But it will charge about 25 cents a page when a person tries to print out material or copy and paste it into a
different file or tries to download a copy onto a computer.
     Christopher Warnock, chief executive of EBrary, believes most consumers won't want to buy entire books,
only the parts that interest them.
     "There's not really a lot of good in owning an electronic file and having to store it and manage it. It doesn't
make sense," he said.

1. How do publishers get money from the Net Library?

A. They get money from selling their books to the Net Library.
B. They share the money with the Net Library.
C. They get money by cutting the cost of the books.
D. They get the money from the readers.

2. The underlined word "embraced" in the 3rd paragraph means ______.

A. taken something willingly
B. held something tightly
C. disliked something badly
D. tried out something hard

3. From the 2nd paragraph we can see consumers ______.

A. don't care if they are charged money
B. enjoy the service of the Net Library
C. don't like other people borrowing books
D. complain about the limited number of the new books

4. What does the last paragraph mean?

A. Net Library is not a good way for the consumers.
B. There is no need for consumers to have a whole book.
C. EBrary is not a good library for the consumers.
D. It's reasonable to charge the consumers money for copying some pages.

     How does a place become a World Heritage Site (世界遺產(chǎn))? It takes a lot of people to decide.
     1) If a country wants one of its places to be on the World Heritage List, it has to ask JUESCO (聯(lián)合國(guó)教
科文組織).The place must be important and special. UNESCO put the Great Wall on the list in 1987 because it
said it was great part of Chinese culture and beautifully made to go with the land. When a country asks, it must
also make a plan for taking care of the place.
     2) The World Heritage committee of UNESCO talks about different places and decides whether to put them
on the list. The committee meet every June. Many experts help the committee to decide.
     3) After a new place goes on the list, UNESCO gives money to help keep it looking good. If a place is in
serious danger, it may be put on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. UNESCO gives special care and
help to those places.
     4) Countries have to give UNESCO regular reports about places on the list. If UNESCO thinks a country
isn't taking good care of a place, the site will be taken off the list.

1. The passage implies that ______.

A. become a world heritage site takes hard work.
B. a place with beautiful scenery is often on the World Heritage List.
C. a place which was taken good care of is often on the World Heritage List.
D. the Great Wall became a World Heritage Site for its long history.

2. If a place successfully becomes a World Heritage Site, the country _____.

A. can ask UNESCO for more money and help
B. should continue to take special care of it
C. won't take trouble to care for it
D. will try to put it on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger

3. The passage mainly discusses ______.

A. what the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO is
B. how the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO protects a World Heritage Site
C. how the Great Wall becomes a World Heritage Site
D. how a place becomes a World Heritage Site

4. The purpose of putting a place on the World Heritage List is _____.

A. to attract more tourists from other countries
B. to get more money and help from other countries
C. to have it taken better care of
D. to make it known to other countries

     Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are
the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional
work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary
reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know
where they should go next.
     The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market
have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved
in climbing Japans rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5
percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in
the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than their
counterparts did in the ten other countries surveyed.
     While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test
taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression." Those things that do not show up in the
 test scores, personality, ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman
of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee." Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids
to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929
assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis
on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he
argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World WarⅡ had
weakened the"Japanese morality of respect for parents."
     But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles." In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro,"it's never
a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic
growth becoming centralization, fully 76 percent of Japans, 119 million citizens live in cities where community
and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two generation households. Urban Japanese
have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old
group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce
rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have
increased by nearly one-quarter.

1. In the Westerners eyes, the postwar Japan was_____. 　

A. under aimless development
B. a positive example 　
C. a rival to the West
D. on the decline

2. According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society? 　

A. Women's participation in social activities is limited. 　
B. More workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. 　
C. Excessive emphasis has been placed on the basics. 　
D. The life-style has been influenced by Western values.

3. Which of the following is true according to the author?

A. Japanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladder. 　
B. Japanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.　　　　　
C. More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity. 　
D. Dropping out leads to frustration against test taking.

4. The change in Japanese life-style is revealed in the fact that ______. 　

A. the young are less tolerant of discomforts 　
B. the divorce rate in Japan exceeds that in the U.S. 　
C. the Japanese endure more than ever before 　
D. the Japanese appreciate their present life 　

                                                     Find Which Direction Is South
     Do you have a good sense of direction? If not, please take with you a compass. But if you forget to take
a compass, you can still find your way.
     It's never a good idea to imagine that the family member who was entrusted (委托) with the job of map-
reading actually knows where the family is. You can tell by the slightly confused load on their faces that
nothing on the ground seems to match the map. Never mind. The shu is shining and it's still morning. If you
don't know the exact time, you can still find out where south is, but you'll need to be patient. 
     ①Find a straight sick and put it in the ground in a place where you can mark its shadow.
     ②Try to position the stick as vertically (垂直) as you can. You can check this by making a simple plumb
line (鉛錘線) with a piece of string and weight. You haven't got any string? OK, use a thread from your
clothes with a button tied at the end to act as a weight.
     ③Mark the end of the shadow cast by the stick.
     ④Wait approximately half an hour and mark the end of the shadow again.
     ⑤Keep doing this until you have made several marks.
     ⑥The mark nearest the stick will represent the shortest shadow, which is cast at midday, when the sun
is highest in the sky and pointing to the exact south.
     ⑦Pick a point in the distance along the line between the shortest shadow and the stick.
     ⑧That point is south of where you are.
     ⑨Now you can turn the map, like you did before, and find which way you should be travelling.

1. To find the direction, we ought to be patient probably because _____.

A. it is not easy to find a proper stick
B. it is not easy to position the stick
C. it takes hours to make the marks
D. it takes about half an hour to make the marks

2. The passage would probably be most helpful to _____.

A. those who draw maps
B. those who get lost
C. those who make compasses
D. those who do experiments

3. Which of the following pictures best shows the way of finding the direction of south?

A.  B.
C.  D.

4. The author presents this passage by _____.

A. telling an interesting story
B. describing an activity in a lively way
C. testing an idea by reasoning
D. introducing a practical method

     Students will need to use all of their skills in order to understand the reading selections in Reader's
Choice.
     _1_ These selections provide practice on employing different reading skills to get the message of the
writer. They also give students practice in four basic reading skills:skimming, scanning, reading for
thorough comprehension, and critical reading.
     Skimming involves reading quickly through a text to get an overall idea of its contents. This kind of
rapid reading is suitable when you are trying to decide if careful reading is desirable or  __2__
     Like skimming, scanning is also quick reading. However, in this case the search is more concentrated.
__3__  When you read to find a particular date or number, you are scanning.
     Reading for thorough comprehension is carefully reading in order to understand the total  meaning of
the passage. At this level of comprehension the reader is able to summarize the author's ideas   _4_.
     Critical reading demands that a reader makes judgments about what he or she reads. This kind of
reading requires posting and answering questions such as "_5_", "Do I share the author's point of view?"
and "Am I convinced by the author's arguments and evidence?
A. Does my own experience support that of the author?
B. Reader's Choice is one of the most popular magazines in the world.
C. but has not yet made a critical evaluation of those ideas.
D. The book contains many types of selections on a wide variety of topics.
E. To scan is to read quickly in order to find out specific information.
F. Do I know about the author?
G. when there is no time to read something carefully.

     Their reunion was unlike any other.  Graduating from the Macon, Georgia,  class of 1959 gathered
together in 2009, even though many of them never had an opportunity to meet during their high school
days.
    Schools in the 1950's, like most other public locations, were segregated (隔離)in Georgia. Kids were
forced to attend different schools depending on the color of their skin, and those with white skin were
further separated by gender. Fifty years later these people who were not allowed to associate with each
other were finally able to connect.
    It all began with the personal journey of a man named Tom Johnson. He grew up in Macon and
enjoyed a very successful career which included serving as the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and
president of CNN. Tom's life changed drastically over the years, but he still felt the desire to reconnect
with his roots.
    In 2005 Johnson returned to Macon with his son, Wyatt. As the pair drove around town,  the father
recounted high school stories to his son. He talked about how students attended one of three schools:
BallardHudson, Lanier or Miller. Wyatt looked over at his father and said:"Dad  think about how many
friends you missed getting to know."
    Johnson thought about the people he never got the chance to meet. He decided to do something
about it.
    The first step was to find people who graduated from all three schools. Johnson wrote to each person
and proposed they all get together for a luncheon. He explained that even though they were kept apart
during their youth, they didn't have to be separated any more. His classmates received the message with
open hearts. A reunion date was set for October.
     More than 200 former Macon students traveled hundreds of miles to reunite with people who went
to high school with them. It was an unprecedented event, former students coming together to make up
for the time they had lost during the days of segregation.

1. White students in Georgia in the 1950's could ________.  

A. attend school of a single sex
B. attend school of mixed sexes
C. attend school with students of other skin colors
D. attend any school they like

2. When the classmates received the message from Tom, they ________. 

A. were all eager for the reunion
B. were doubtful about his real purpose
C. refused to listen to him
D. all began to miss him

3. We can learn from the passage that Tom Johnson ________.  

A. began to miss his old school friends after he retired
B. wanted to reconnect with his roots after the dramatic         changes in his life
C. wanted to reconnect with his roots in spite of his successful career
D. began to miss his old school friends after hearing his     son's words

4. The passage mainly tells us ________.  

A. the success story of Tom Johnson
B. the segregation in Georgia in the 1950's
C. an unusual reunion of old graduates
D. the old school system in Georgia

                                                      SELF STUDY TIPS
     However difficult you find it to arrange your time, it will pay off in the long run if you set aside a
certain part of the day for studying － and stick to it. __1__ But don't forget to make sure that you
have enough left for recreational activities or simply to be "with" yourself: reading a novel or watching
a television programme.
     As part of your weekly schedule, it is also advisable to consider exactly what you have to do in
that week, and make sure that you handle the most significant tasks first. __2__
On a physical level, make sure you have an area or space for studying. __3_ If you always study in
the same place, preferably a room of your own, you will find it easier to adjust mentally to the activity
when you enter that area. You should have everything that you might need at hand.
     Make sure that all the physical equipment that you use, such as a desk, chair etc. is at good height
for you. If you use a personal computer, there are plenty of guidelines available from the movement on
angles, lighting and the like.   __4__
     If you are working on topic your teacher has set, but finding it hard to concentrate, it may be that
you actually need to take your mind right off it for a period of time.  __5__ After a period away from
the test, having not thought about it at all, you may return to it refreshed and full of ideas.
A. It's wise to leave the easier or less urgent areas of your work until later.
B. It's all too easy to read something and then forget where it came from.
C. Consult these and avoid the typical student aches and pains.
D. "Airing the mind"can work wonders sometimes.
E. Make use of equipment that is available to you.
F. It is best to make a weekly schedule.

    In June,2007,a group of students from eight highI'm daydaytest Placeholder!
schools in Winnipeg, the capital of Canada's ManitobaProvince, will begin test-launching
(試發(fā)射) a satellite the size of a Rubik's cube.
The one-kilogram WinCube satellite,
named for its home city and its shape, will be put into low orbit. Once in space,it can
perform for a few months or up to several years, communicating information  that could
help find the early signs of earthquakes.
    

     There are 80 similar satellite projects worldwide, but this is the first high school based
program of its kind in Canada, 30 Manitoba high school students are having a hand
in designing and building the satellite, in cooperation with aerospace (航空航天的 )
experts and 10 students from the University of Manitoba, and with support from two other
organizations.
    The Win-Cube project is not something that goes on a piece of paper; it is real-world
engineering, allowing high school students to have an opportunity to learn more about the
exciting world of engineering through their participation in this challeng-ing program It is
also taken as a wonderful example of the unique partnerships within Manitoba. Designing,
building and launching a satellite with high-school participation will bring this world-class
educational project into reality and Manitoba closer
to space.
    "These Manitoba high school students deserve congratulations for their enthusiasm,
innovation (創(chuàng)新) ,and a  strong love for discovery,"said Education,Citizenship andYouth
Minister Peter Bjornson. "We want to make science more relevant c相關(guān)的) ,interesting
and attractive to high school students by showing them how classroom studies can relate
to practical experience in the workplace or, in this case,in space,"Bjornson added.
      The Win-Cube program is mainly aimed at inspiring a strong desire for discovery on
the part of the students. It also shows Manitoba's devotion to research and innovation and
the development of a skilled workforce-all important drivers of knowledge-based economic
growth.   

1. According to the passage, the Win-Cube satellite is_______.    

A. named after Manitoba and its shape
B. intended for international communication
C. designed like a Rubik's cube both in shape and size
D. challenged by university students around the world

2. According to Mr. Bjornson,_______ .   

A .those Manitoba high school students are worth praising
B. the study of space c an be practically made in classrooms
C. Manitoba high schools are famous for the study of space
D. scientific research is too far away from high school students

3. The primary purpose of the project is to_______. 

A. find the early signs of earthquakes
B. relate studies to practical experience
C. help high school students study real-world engineering
D. inspire a strong desire for discovery among the students

4. The best title for this passage may be_______.

A. Manitoba School
B. Win-Cube Program
C. Space Cooperation
D. Satellite Launching