【推荐1】Popular Libraries in the World

The idea of a public library —— where anyone in the community is trusted to borrow books, often for long stretches of time, for free —— is fairly magical. Some of the libraries in the world are pretty popular now.

The British Library, London, the UK

The British Library is comparable to the Library of Congress in terms of the size of their holdings, many of which are unique. According to its annual report, the British Library welcomes millions of visitors every year, but the figure in 2016-2017 represents a small but disappointing reduction in the overall visitor numbers.

The State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

According to its annual report, the State Library of Victoria’s visitors broke the 2 million in 2016-2017 visit record for the first time in its history, making it the busiest library in Australia. It also recorded many online visits, accessed collection items and uses of digitized collection items.

The New York Public Library, New York, the USA

The New York Public Library reports that it has hosted millions of visitors and circulated large numbers of items over their locations. According to a press, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building —— the main branch of the library —— yearly receives the greatest number of visitors.

The National Library of China, Beijing, China

Established as the Imperial Library of Peking in 1909, the National Library of China is now the largest library in Asia, with holdings of over 30 million items. The library’s annual report puts its total visitors across multiple locations at several million every year.

1. What do we know about the British Library?

A．It holds many rare collections.

B．Its visitors are constantly on the rise.

C．It has the largest collection of books in Europe.

D．Its coverage is the smallest in the world’s libraries.

2. What do the four libraries have in common?

A．They possess two branches.

B．They gain plentiful visitors.

C．They are the busiest libraries in their countries.

D．They face a decline in tourism in the 20th century.

3. In which column of a magazine can you find the text?

A．Finance.	B．Culture.
C．Architecture.	D．Technology.

【推荐3】I was always a reader. As a kid, I walked to the library several times a week and stayed up late reading with a flashlight.

As an English major at university, I realised it had been more than two years since I had read most of familiar titles in my memory. I had stopped reading gradually, the way one heals or dies.     1    I joined book clubs that I never attended. I lingered between the shelves in a bookstore for hours as if catching up with old friends. I requested a library book everyone was reading, only to return it unread.

But it was clear to me: I was becoming a person I did not know. I was painfully aware of the glaring hypocrisy(虚伪) in my life. I defended the virtues of bookstores in the age of online retailing and bought books whenever I got the chance, but I hardly read them. They sat on every surface until my house appeared to wear books the way one wears clothes.     2    .

The next time I visited a dollar bookstore, I bought myself five titles for myself. My resolution to “read a book” echoed in my head. I picked up one I’d bought solely for its poetic title.     3    The narrator was an old man, but he sounded more like what a young woman thought an old man might sound like. Whenever I was tempted to give up on it, I thought of my resolution.

    4    I loved the alternating (交替的) points of view. I carried the book to work. I read at lunch and on my walk home, occasionally lifting my eyes to avoid strangers. Back home I stayed up late, finally finishing it.     5    The last time I’d pulled an all-nighter to read, I was 12 and the book was Little Women.

A．I was proud of myself.

B．I had a hard time getting into it.

C．I still loved the idea of reading.

D．I resolved I would find myself back.

E．I tried to maintain my bookish image.

F．I sat on the floor among the poetry, and I read it aloud again and again.

G．I pushed through the first two chapters and discovered a new narrator in the third.

【推荐1】In 2002, William Kamkwamba had to drop out of school, as his father, a tobacco farmer, could no longer afford his school fees. Despite that, William was determined to get his education. He began visiting a local library that had just opened in his old primary school, where he discovered a science book. With only a basic grasp of English, he taught himself basic physics. Another book he found there featured windmills on the cover and inspired him to try and build his own.

He started by constructing a small model. Then, with the help of a cousin and friends, he spent many weeks searching yards and found old tractor fans, shock absorbers, plastic pipes and bicycle parts, which he used to build the real thing.

What he had built was a crude machine that powered four lights. When it was all done, the windmill’s wings measured more than eight feet and sat on top of a tower 15 feet tall that swayed violently in strong winds. He eventually replaced the tower with a more stable one that stands 39 feet, and built a second machine that watered a family garden.

The windmill brought William Kamkwamba instant local fame,but despite his accomplishment, he was still unable to return to school. However, news of his magetsi a mphepo—electric wind—spread beyond Malawi, where he lived, and eventually things began to change. An education official, who had heard news of the windmill, came to visit his village and was amazed to learn that William had been out of school for five years. He arranged for him to attend secondary at the government’s expense and brought journalists to the farm to see the windmill. Then a story published in the Malawi Daily Mail caught the attention of bloggers, which in turn caught the attention of organisers for the Technology Entertainment and Design conference.

In 2007, William spoke at the TED Global conference in Tanzania. Businessmen stepped forward with offers to fund his education and projects, and with money donated by them, he was able to put his cousin and several friends back into school and pay for some medical needs of his family.

1. What did William Kamkwamba do after he dropped out of school?

A．He joined his father in farming.	B．He taught himself physics.
C．He worked for a local library.	D．He began to learn English.

2. The word “swayed” (in paragraph 3) most probably means ________.

A．made a big noise	B．moved from side to side
C．produced more electricity	D．collapsed from the middle

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．William’s local fame faded very soon.

B．An education official wrote a story about William.

C．William returned to school with the funds from the government.

D．The 2007 TED Global conference first let the world know William’s windmills.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．William Kamkwamba’s childhood.	B．William Kamkwamba’s windmills.
C．William Kamkwamba’s talents.	D．William Kamkwamba’s fame.

【推荐2】Parents and math teachers regularly asked by their school-aged charges whether math matters in real life now have an answer.

In a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research this week, Harvard Kennedy School Policy Professor Joshua Goodman took a look at what happened to students whose high school were required in the 1980s to increase the minimum level of coursework required to graduate. What he found is that the students were more likely to increase the number of math courses they took as a result of the change in standards and that translated into higher earnings down the line.

Put simply: About 15 years after they graduated, the high school graduates who went to school when these changes took effect saw their average earnings increase about 10% for every extra year of math coursework. The findings may add fuel to the steady drum of education experts, policy makers and others calling for an increased focus on science and math education.

The increase in required math courses didn’t necessarily produce rocket scientists, Goodman notes, because the extra coursework wasn’t at a particularly high level. But becoming familiar with and practicing relatively basic math skills allowed high school graduates to pursue and excel at jobs that required some level of computational knowledge, he said.

Goodman acknowledged that the earnings boost for the students connected with the uptick (上升) in math education may be dependent on the state of the economy. When Goodman checked in in the late 1990s and early 2000s on the earnings of the students who graduated in the late 1980s, he found that their earnings increased significantly if they took more math.

1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?

A．To propose a definition.	B．To reach a conclusion.
C．To present an argument.	D．To make a comparison.

2. How does the author demonstrate his finding in paragraph 3?

A．By listing some examples.	B．By referring to some data.
C．By quoting an expert's words.	D．By analyzing the educational policy.

3. What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

A．Better late than never.	B．Fortune favors the brave.
C．Skill helps to promote excellence.	D．There is no royal road to learning.

4. What could be the best title for the text?

A．Math makes money

B．Efforts matter most

C．Earnings of different graduates

D．The development of high school students

【推荐3】I was 29 when my brother-in-law said to me "It would be nice if one day you could make use of your education. "I had a degree and an MA (Master of Arts) in creative writing which, as far as I was concerned, I used every day-reading novels, trying to write novels, arguing about politics, interpreting the meanings in French cinema, and generally leading an examined life. But my brother-in-law, who left school at 18, didn't understand why, as a journalist, I was bringing home less than half the salary he earned in the hospitality(餐饮) industry.

I thought of my brother-in-law's comment this week when the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) released figures showing that, on average, male arts graduates earn less at the age of 29 than their non-graduate peers. Graduates of the same age overall are only earning 6% more than non-graduates. For women, the figure is 26%, but earnings growth for women overall is lower, so the benefits from going to university are greater.   

The IFS figures drew a predictable response from the universities minister Sam Gyimah, who listed some courses of arts degrees at certain universities that are not delivering the financial outcomes for students and threatened to punish institutions that don't improve students’ earning prospects. This attack on arts degrees raises fundamental questions about what we want from education and, indeed, from life.   

No one can deny that arts degrees give students the skills to speak and buy them time to work out what they want to say and how to say it. Studying Freud, or reading James Joyce or Toni Morrison for the first time, introduces students to ideas that challenge their intellectual prejudices, as well as the consensus(共识) of the society around them. The value of an arts degree in life is incalculable.

1. What does the author think of his major according to paragraph 1?

A．Hopeless.

B．Unrealistic.

C．Ordinary.

D．Meaningful.

2. What do the IFS data indicate?

A．Men graduates earn less than non-graduate peers.

B．Women graduates earn less than non-graduates.

C．The income increase rate for women is much higher.

D．Women benefit more from getting college education.

3. How did Sam Gyimah respond to the IFS figures?

A．He put pressure on some institutions.

B．He punished some institutions.

C．He bettered students' earning prospects.

D．He accused colleges of giving false hope.

4. What does the text suggest people do about degrees?

A．Challenge their intellectual prejudices.	B．Consider what they expect of life.
C．Work out what they want to say.	D．Think if they can make money.