Whenever anyone measures educational success, East Asian countries are always top scorers. But in a recent league table, a European country, Finland, was top of the class. South Korea was still in second place, though. Britain was at number 6.

In Korea the school day is long—typically 7 or 8 hours, followed by hours of private tutoring in the evenings. All this hothousing leaves Korean students so tired, they sometimes fall asleep in class next day. Worries about the effects of late night cramming(填鴨式) led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10 pm. Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world, often finishing just after lunch, with about one hour of homework a day. Private tuition is uncommon. The British and American school day is quite long in comparison, around 6 hours, and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self-study a night.

The Korean education system, like many in Asia, is intensely competitive, with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools, to help them get ahead. Finnish education is far less cut-throat. Classes are all mixed ability, and there are no league tables. British schools again occupy the middle ground, with quite high levels of competition for places at university, and schools and universities battling to come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction. Korea and Finland both do well, yet their education systems are so different.

However, there are some similarities in Korea and Finland. In those countries, teachers have high status in society, and education is very highly valued. Those attitudes can't change quickly. But it can be done. They might be the star pupils now, but until the l970s, Finland's educational system was poor. Their thoroughly different approach to schooling has taken them to the top in just a generation.

1.The students spend the least time in school in         .

A．the UK            B．Finland            C．the USA           D．Korea

2.According to the text, we think in Korea         .

A．students spend more time in studying

B．students are tired of studying in class

C．students leave their school early

D．students are always top scorers

3.The underlined phrase “all this hothousing” in Paragragh 2 probably refers to         .

A．private evening tutoring                  B．self-study at home

C．long-hour study                         D．school study

4.From Paragragh 3, we can know that         .

A．Finnish students are less stressed in study

B．there're also many cramming schools in Britain

C．students in Korea are the most competitive in Asia

D．British schools are less competitive than universities

5.According to the author, the key to improving education is         .

A．the attitude                            B．the schooling time

C．star pupils                             D．new teaching approach

You may have never heard of Ladislao Biro, but you have certainly heard of the pen he invented—the ballpoint pen, or biro. Before Biro invented his pen, people wrote with fountain pens. The ink smudged(弄臟) and blotted and the pens sometimes leaked. In the 1930s Biro was a magazine editor in Budapest in Hungary. He noticed that the inks which the magazine’s printers used dried very quickly. Biro wondered if quick-drying inks could be used in pens. He came up with the idea of a tube of ink with a free-moving ball on the end. As a person wrote, the ball collected ink from the tube and rolled it on to the paper. The pen would be cheap and could be thrown away when the ink ran out.

Biro began to work on his invention, but before he could patent it the Second World War broke out. Biro left war-torn Europe and fled to Buenos Aires in Argentina. There, he and his brother Georg, who was a chemist, began to improve the pen. In the early 1940s Biro began to manufacture his new pen, the biro. In 1944, he sold his invention to another company, who began to mass-produce the pen for the British and American armed forces.

Biro was pleased that his pen was popular, but he did not gain much from his invention. The biro was later sold to the French firm, Bic, who now sell twelve million pens a day. Biro sank into obscurity in South America. His name, however, has become a household word.

48. The reasons for the popularity of ballpoint pens are these EXCEPT that_______.

A. the inks dried very quickly                      B. they were cheap

C. they were easy to carry around           D. they were mass-produced

49. Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Biro?

a. applied for patent for first ballpoint pen

b. began to manufacture pens

c. fled from Hungary to escape Nazis

d. sold his invention

A. a c d b                    B. c d a b           C. a c b d           D. c a b d

50. The underlined part “sank into obscurity”(last paragraph) is closest in meaning to“_______”.

A. became unknown to many people       B. became popular with people

C. lost interest in business                         D. lost a lot of money

51. What does the passage mainly tell us about Biro?

A. He is successful in business.                 B. He is an important inventor.

C. He is a famous magazine editor.         D. He is a popular writer.

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.
Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?
The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?
There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.
As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.
Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.
64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.
A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment
B. many of  our books are of the same
C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.
D.  Our authors never know what our children need.
65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.
A. it has no sense of teaching
B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore
C. it is only written in children’s language
D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.
66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?
A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book
B. He is also attracted by the book
C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.
D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.
67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?
A. We are short of books for children
B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.
C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”
D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off

The following form shows the result of a survey (調(diào)查) of parents from five countries, who were asked why children are important to them. They were required to choose three main reasons from seven dealing with personal interests, family relations and social responsibility(責任). Each number in the form is the percentage (%) of parents who chose that particular item(項) as one of their three reasons. Therefore, the most common for Japanese parents are strengthening family ties (Item D, 51%), learning from the experience (Item E, 60%), and raising responsible citizens (Item, G 45%).

According to this survey, Korean parents are most interested in         .

A. continuing their family                B. obtaining care in old age

C. strengthening family relationship      D. caring for raising children

How many items are chosen by parents of more than two countries as main reasons?

A. Two.           B. Three.             C. Four.            D. Five.

From the percentages in items _______, we can see the following difference between the Asian and the European countries: the Asian parents want to devote themselves to future societies through children; the European parents enjoy the course of raising children.

A. B and C            B. D and F              C. E and F            D. F and G

According to the form, which of the following is true?

A. From the main reasons shown in the form it seems that in every country parents do not expect care

from children in their old age.

B. Japanese parents share two of their main reasons with the British and American parents, and the third one with Korean parents.

C. More than half of the parents from each country chose the reason“tostrengthen family ties”and for each it was one of the three main reasons for having children.

D. The percentage of French parents selecting the reason“to see oneself continuing in future”is about as high as that of the other countries.

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China．The British and American editions were No．1 and No．3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week．The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio．

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter"．Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms．But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world．On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound．With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children．However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment．Children often have a feeling of being "educated"．No wonder they don't like them．Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized．One knows the ending as early as in the beginning．In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration．

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination．They long to understand the world and nature．Similarly they have their own choices．They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent．First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language．

Market is a touchstone for products．The theory also holds true for cultural products．It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children．

1．The disadvantages of our books are the following except____

A．they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B．many of our books are of the same

C．the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes．

D．Our authors never know what our children need．

2．The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _____．

A．it has no sense of teaching                                                                           

B．it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C．it is only written in children’s language  

D．it is advertised more on TV or poster．

3．What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A．He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B．He is also attracted by the book

C．He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about our books．

D．He can’t help looking for Harry Potter．

4．What does the writer mean by writing “where’s our own Harry Potter”?

A．We are short of books for children

B．We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”．

C．Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D．Our authors are hoped to make the market of our books for children take off

C

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.

Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.

64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.

A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B. many of  our books are of the same

C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.

D.  Our authors never know what 七彩教育網(wǎng)our children need.

65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.

A. it has no sense of teaching

B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C. it is only written in children’s language

D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.

66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B. He is also attracted by the book

C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.

D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.

67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?

A. We are short of books for children

B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.

C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off

Whenever anyone measures educational success, East Asian countries are always top scorers. But in a recent league table, a European country, Finland, was top of the class. South Korea was still in second place, though. Britain was at number 6.
In Korea the school day is long—typically 7 or 8 hours, followed by hours of private tutoring in the evenings. All this hothousing leaves Korean students so tired, they sometimes fall asleep in class next day. Worries about the effects of late night cramming(填鴨式) led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10 pm. Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world, often finishing just after lunch, with about one hour of homework a day. Private tuition is uncommon. The British and American school day is quite long in comparison, around 6 hours, and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self-study a night.
The Korean education system, like many in Asia, is intensely competitive, with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools, to help them get ahead. Finnish education is far less cut-throat. Classes are all mixed ability, and there are no league tables. British schools again occupy the middle ground, with quite high levels of competition for places at university, and schools and universities battling to come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction. Korea and Finland both do well, yet their education systems are so different.
However, there are some similarities in Korea and Finland. In those countries, teachers have high status in society, and education is very highly valued. Those attitudes can't change quickly. But it can be done. They might be the star pupils now, but until the l970s, Finland's educational system was poor. Their thoroughly different approach to schooling has taken them to the top in just a generation.
【小題1】The students spend the least time in school in         .

You may have never heard of Ladislao Biro, but you have certainly heard of the pen he invented—the ballpoint pen, or biro. Before Biro invented his pen, people wrote with fountain pens. The ink smudged(弄臟) and blotted and the pens sometimes leaked. In the 1930s Biro was a magazine editor in Budapest in Hungary. He noticed that the inks which the magazine’s printers used dried very quickly. Biro wondered if quick-drying inks could be used in pens. He came up with the idea of a tube of ink with a free-moving ball on the end. As a person wrote, the ball collected ink from the tube and rolled it on to the paper. The pen would be cheap and could be thrown away when the ink ran out.
Biro began to work on his invention, but before he could patent it the Second World War broke out. Biro left war-torn Europe and fled to Buenos Aires in Argentina. There, he and his brother Georg, who was a chemist, began to improve the pen. In the early 1940s Biro began to manufacture his new pen, the biro. In 1944, he sold his invention to another company, who began to mass-produce the pen for the British and American armed forces.
Biro was pleased that his pen was popular, but he did not gain much from his invention. The biro was later sold to the French firm, Bic, who now sell twelve million pens a day. Biro sank into obscurity in South America. His name, however, has become a household word.
48. The reasons for the popularity of ballpoint pens are these EXCEPT that_______.
A. the inks dried very quickly                      B. they were cheap
C. they were easy to carry around           D. they were mass-produced
49. Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Biro?
a. applied for patent for first ballpoint pen
b. began to manufacture pens
c. fled from Hungary to escape Nazis
d. sold his invention
A. a c d b                    B. c d a b           C. a c b d           D. c a b d
50. The underlined part “sank into obscurity”(last paragraph) is closest in meaning to“_______”.
A. became unknown to many people       B. became popular with people
C. lost interest in business                         D. lost a lot of money
51. What does the passage mainly tell us about Biro?
A. He is successful in business.                 B. He is an important inventor.
C. He is a famous magazine editor.         D. He is a popular writer.

C

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.

Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.

64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.

A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B. many of  our books are of the same

C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.

D.  Our authors never know what our children need.

65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.

A. it has no sense of teaching

B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C. it is only written in children’s language

D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.

66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B. He is also attracted by the book

C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.

D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.

67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?

A. We are short of books for children

B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.

C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off