The majority of Britons are educated in state schools, making up around 60% of those admitted to Oxford and Cambridge in 2013. Admissions at other leading universities were also weighted towards teenagers educated privately.
Then began a quiet revolution. The number of state-schooled pupils getting Oxbridge places has risen yearly; the number from private schools has fallen. The Russell Group of 24 leading universities says its members aim to admit more students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A few things lie behind this change. The government has given cash to universities to reach underrepresented students and, since 2018, required them to publish plans showing how they are doing this. One report in 2018 showed that eight schools, six of which were private, accounted for more Oxbridge places than 2,900 other secondary schools combined.
Teach First, a scheme that sends clever graduates into tough schools for a couple of years, has also helped raise pupils, eagerness. It began in London, where the highest- performing state schools are concentrated.
All this has fueled a joint effort by schools and universities to make pupils consider the distinguished universities. For those state-school kids getting into top universities, extra help is needed. “You need to provide extra tutoring in the first year,” says Professor Smith from Oxford, who made efforts to admit state-school students before it became fashionable. She says they often do worse in exams at the end of the first year, but clean up in final exams.
That would seem to rebut one of the criticisms made of universities’ efforts to correct the state-private imbalance: that letting in more state-school students means standards will slip. “If you bring in people with diverse experiences and ways of thinking, who challenge one another’s assumptions, it promotes intellectual creativity and academic success,” says Helen, the principal of Mansfield College, Oxford.
“All this adds up to an important change,” says Lawrence. “Increasing numbers of state-school children are applying to universities in America and getting full scholarships.”
1. What was the quiet revolution?| A．Admitting more poor students into top universities. |
| B．Getting state schools to cooperate with top universities. |
| C．Letting less private-school students into universities. |
| D．Having private schools take poor-background students. |
| A．State schools should promote their students’ academic reports. |
| B．Oxford and Cambridge preferred graduates from private schools. |
| C．Students in Oxbridge place high standard for their aims in life. |
| D．Oxbridge had a stricter admission standard than other universities. |
| A．They get academic help from Teach First. |
| B．They become top students in a few years. |
| C．They need extra tutoring in the first term. |
| D．They are inspirations for other students. |
| A．Support. | B．Expose. | C．Improve. | D．Oppose. |
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【推荐1】For many people, having children can force them to choose between career and family. Sometimes it comes down to finances — sending a child to nursery or hiring a nanny can be a huge financial burden, while others may feel it’s better to be a hands-on parent. These days, more and more men are choosing to stay at home to look after the kids. So why are more dads choosing to put their careers on hold, and what does the job involve?
With more women working outside the home than 70 years ago, if the need is there for one parent to stay at home, it could simply come down to who earns more — the biggest breadwinner. And with attitudes changing towards a man’s role in the family, it seems to be easier for them to enter full-time parenthood. Sadly, though, many men still feel shamed by choosing to raise their child. A study in the US by the Pews Research Center found that 51% of people thought children were better off if a mother stayed at home. But what do parents have to do when they choose to stay with their kids?
In the early stages, a baby is totally dependent on a carer. The changing of nappies(尿布), burping after milk and making sure they feed on time are just some of the vital 24 -7 activities a baby relies on. During this period, many parents take paternity and maternity leave from work. But as a child gets older, it can become less about necessity and more about choice. Rather than choose a creche(日托中心), which can prove expensive, either parent may remain at home to educate, protect and play with their children to help them develop and grow.
It’s a difficult job, with a demanding boss, but it can also be incredibly rewarding for those willing to do it. And with attitudes changing towards who should stay at home, maybe more and more fathers will choose to become stay-at-home dads.
1. When may a man choose to stay at home for the child?| A．When he is more needed by his child. |
| B．When he is tired of doing a full-time job. |
| C．When his wife earns more money than him. |
| D．When he wants to change his role in the family. |
| A．It seems less expensive. |
| B．It is more time-consuming. |
| C．It is more important to kids. |
| D．It becomes more complicated. |
| A．A kid. | B．A carer. | C．A parent. | D．A manager. |
| A．Full-time Parenting is Rewarding. |
| B．More Men Become Full-time Dads. |
| C．Full-time Dads —Biggest Breadwinner. |
| D．Full-time parents Benefit Children’s Growth. |
【推荐2】Take a look at teenagers around, dressed in baggy-pants (宽松裤), drinking soft drinks such as coke, reading Japanese cartoons. Whether you are in Beijing, Wuhan or Hong Kong, you will get the same impression. But should we copy others or should we maintain our differences?
It sounds convenient that people around the world speak the same language, dress in the same style, eat the same food and play the same games. If the world was like this, you won’t feel strange in any corner of world. But just imagine living in such a strange world. How dull and colorless it would be!
Different kinds of food that people can taste, the colorful and fashionable clothes that we dress in and different languages we speak are all part of the different cultures that our ancestors left us. These differences represent their creativity and talent. And we all enjoy different cultures in our daily lives. When you travel to other places, you want to see different things. When you talk to foreigners you expect to listen to interesting stories. These differences in culture are what make life colorful.
But the whole world is shrinking into a small village as globalization (全球化) takes effect and many different cultures are disappearing. In most big cities around the world people wear the same clothes. Fast food stores are everywhere. Hollywood movies are kicking traditional performing arts out of our lives. The colors of our life are disappearing.
There is joke that even the panda and zebra want to live a colorful life. So let’s take action to protect our colorful culture before it becomes as simple as black and white.
It’s not difficult. Learning some folk songs, trying on a traditional clothing and even eating local food instead of going to KFC can help. And we’re sure you will enjoy it.
1. The passage is written to _______.| A．explain cultural differences | B．convince readers to maintain cultural differences |
| C．predict the future of globalization | D．show some cultural phenomena(现象) |
| A．make the world colorful | B．make communication difficult |
| C．only exist in food and clothing | D．will never fade away |
| A．mentioning certain cultural phenomena |
| B．mentioning his view at the very beginning |
| C．mentioning the opposite view at the very beginning |
| D．giving examples of cultural differences |
| A．expand | B．disappear |
| C．become smaller | D．grow in number |
| A．food | B．clothing |
| C．language | D．architecture |
【推荐3】It may not come as a surprise but the world as a whole is getting richer. Some people have more disposable(可自由支配的)income to spend on luxuries such as holidays, cars, TVs and smart phones. Recent data has shown that the number of people living in extreme poverty has halved in recent decades. So should we celebrate the fact that more of us now have a better standard of living?
Maybe not. While the gap between the rich and the poor in some countries is narrowing, there is still a lot of inequality in other places-some people have a lot of money and opportunities and others don't. A recent report by Oxfam and Credit Suisse revealed how divided many of us are when it comes to wealth. A lot of the money in the world is in the hands of very few people. In fact, 48% of global wealth is owned by the richest l% of the population.
But some countries are attempting to reduce this inequality and make the poor, less poor. According to David Bryer from Oxfam, Brazil has been taking "some really sensible measures--measures around having more progressive tax, around investing in a higher minimum wage and investing in central public services." Having a higher minimum wage can help people eat better and seek a better education. And more people with more money buy more things-and factories can produce more. In turn, a factory which produces more will need more workers. So, more jobs are created.
Other wealthy individuals are doing their bit to help reduce inequality. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, earned a lot of money from his company but when he retired, he and his wife Melinda, created a foundation to help the poor. He thinks that rich people should, of course, pay their taxes but he also advises that they should all "look at taking their wealth and being philanthropic (乐善好施的 ) , both in their own country and to help the global poorest."
Bill Gates feels that giving money to help poor people is "fulfilling". But if other super-rich people don't want to experience this fulfillment then, according to Oxfam, very soon the wealthiest l% will soon own more money than the rest of the world's population. Do you think that is fair?
1. The first two paragraphs mainly tell us _________.| A．the poverty and inequality in a richer world |
| B．some sensible measures to make the 'poor less poor |
| C．the increase of global wealth in recent decades |
| D．the narrowing gap between the rich and the poor |
| A．Limiting it. | B．Increasing it. |
| C．Making it lower. | D．Setting it free. |
| A．Spend it on their luxuries. | B．Give it to help the poor. |
| C．Invest it in their business. | D．Hand it over to their children. |
【推荐1】It is presently harvest(收获)season for Christian Nacht Wey, who operates an apple farm, or orchard, in the western German town of Gelsdorf. Besides apples, Nacht Wey’s farm also produces a second harvest：electricity. Many of the farm’s trees grow under solar panels(太阳能电池板)that have been producing power during this year’s unusually sunny summer. Putting solar equipment on the same land as crops is becoming increasingly popular in Europe and North Ameri-ca. Farmers are finding that this method can make the most of their land, while creating a second way to earn money.
But getting the right mix of crop and solar is difficult. Most fruit requires specific growing conditions. Even small changes in the environment can harm crops and cause money losses. Even if the fruit survives(幸存), it might turn the wrong color or be less sweet and may be difficult to sell.
For these reasons, Nacht Wey is working with researchers to test which kinds of apples do well under a solar cover. For testing purposes, Nacht Wey covered some of his trees with a traditional netting material. It is normally used to Protect sensitive(敏感的)crops from serious weather events.
Juergen Zimmer is an expert with the area’s agricultural services department. He told the AP that apples grown under the solar covers were a little less sweet this year than those under the nets. But almost no solar-shaded apples got damaged(损害)in the strong sunlight that hit the ar-ea on July 24. In the non-shaded group, about 18 percent of apples suffered sun damage that day, Zimmer said. Researchers hope the tests will show that fruit crops perform well under solar panels. This could help prevent renewable energy production from competing for valuable agricultural land. That competition has become an increasing question as the need for renewable energy increases to fight climate change and rising food prices.
1. What does the author try to tell us in paragraph 2?| A．The method of the test. |
| B．The disadvantage of solar panels. |
| C．The difficulty of growing crops. |
| D．Some reasons for the test in the farm. |
| A．Test what apples are suitable for a solar cover. |
| B．Examine why some crops are sensitive to heat. |
| C．Keep some crops from being damaged by terrible weather. |
| D．Speed up the growth of apples. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supportive. | C．Unclear. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．German Farmer Grows Fruit under Solar Power Equipment. |
| B．Researchers Find Out New Way to Produce Renewable Energy. |
| C．Solar Energy Could Play Big Part in Valuable Agricultural Land. |
| D．Increasingly Popular Way of Operating Orchard Among German Farmers. |
【推荐2】As you cut into the steak at table, it can ruin your appetite to think of the fate of the cattle. This could be a dilemma for those who love animals but reject their desire of the meat.
However, guilt-free sausages coming from animals that are still alive could be on the menu next year under plans to produce pork in tanks. Technology, which was developed at Oxford University and originally intended to grow human cells for medical applications, has been adapted to reproduce muscle and fat cells taken from a pig. The process involves cutting two cubic centimeters-one of fat and the other of muscle-from the leg of an anaesthetized （麻醉的）pig and placing cells from the samples in separate tanks kept at 37℃ and supplied with nutrients, minerals and vitamins.
The university has agreed to introduce the technology to a company called Ivy Farm Technologies, which is seeking £16 million to build a research and development facility in the city. Next year it plans to open a plant in London where visitors will be able to see the technology and taste the sausages , which would also be on sale. It plans to produce 12,000 tons of pork a year by 2025, equal to 170,000 pigs on the farm. Ivy expects its sausages to cost about 25 percent more than the sausages from outdoor-farmed pigs. It has begun discussions with the Food Standards Agency to gain authorisation（核准）for the sausages. It also plans to develop beef burgers and meatballs.
Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, said, “It could be the future but we need to make sure it's not rushed to market without understanding hidden results. You start with one little culture of meat and then grow it rapidly and you have to be certain that it is safe in future.”
1. What are the guilt-free sausages made of?| A．A new hi-tech material. | B．Outdoor-farmed animals. |
| C．Vegetable with a taste of meat. | D．A kind of man-made meat. |
| A．Offering them a lot of anaesthetics. |
| B．Putting them in several different cans. |
| C．Extracting them from fatty samples. |
| D．Keeping them in the specific conditions. |
| A．Traditional farming is quite out of date. |
| B．The scientists fail to grow human cells. |
| C．The new technology is probably practical. |
| D．The government doesn't offer support. |
| A．A little too soon. | B．Very profitable. |
| C．Unavailable now. | D．Obviously illegal. |
The online economics magazineForbes.comsays traffic congestion(拥挤) cost Americans $ 124 billion in 2014 and that number could rise to $ 186 billion by 2030.
Bui scientists at the CATT lab are trying to reduce those costs. They are developing a system that helps traffic managers. planners, emergency workers and businesses plan and react better. Michael Pack is CATT director. He says the system is important to help emergency workers, or first responders，reach an accident area faster.
The CATT Lab collects information from many sources, including roadside devices, GPS (global positioning system) equipment and wireless phones.
About 60 students and 30 software developers observe traffic flow and manage the computer servers at all times. They also work to develop software and applications that can help traffic run smoother and safer, Some of them turn the information gathered into so-called "visualizations". These visual representations help emergency workers better understand what is happening.
The center shares its findings with firefighters, police，Transportation departments and the military. They also share information with universities and transportation company. The technology company Google uses the data for its traffic-related websites. Michael Pack says, the information is then shared with anyone who wants to help traffic run more smoothly.
Mr. Pack says the goal is to help develop an intelligent system of road signals that will communicate with each other and with vehicles on the road.
1. The second paragraph is written to____.
| A．attract more people to look throughForbes.com. |
| B．tell readers whatForbes.comsays on its website |
| C．show how much money controlling costs America |
| D．prove it is very expensive for some developed countries to control traffic |
| A．They can be safer. |
| B．They can reach an accident area faster. |
| C．They can get more advice from people. |
| D．They can share their information with others. |
| A．They observe traffic flow continuously. |
| B．They develop software and applications. |
| C．They control the computer servers occasionally. |
| D．They change the information gathered into visual image. |
| A．Daily life. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Exploration. |
