1 .         Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country.

The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid-2012.

As a result, the student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit (押金) required to study in Australia has been reduced. Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased.

Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be granted a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement.

“This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas,” says Wang Lan, a consultant from Education International Cooperation Group (EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas.

However, in the past few years, many of Wang’s student clients (客户) could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were tough. The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says.

A 22-year-old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago.

“According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550,000 yuan ($86,850). Now we only need to prepare 410,000 yuan. This is a relief for my parents,” Li says.

She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans.

“I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China,” she says.

Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Language requirement for overseas students have been eased in Australia.

B．Australia is a most attractive place for students in China.

C．Australia widens window of opportunity for international students.

D．More students will work in Australia after their graduation.

2. Which of the following is NOT the content of the new regulations?

A．The student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified.

B．The deposit required to study in Australia has been reduced.

C．Language requirements for overseas students have been more difficult.

D．After graduation, some overseas students can get a working visa in Australia.

3. After the new regulations are passed, _______ .

A．more students will come to Australia to work

B．more Chinese students will choose to live in Australia.

C．the opportunities to work in Australia decrease for overseas students

D．more Chinese students will choose to further their education in Australia

4. How much can Li’s parents save according to the new regulations?

A．550,000 yuan

B．140,000 yuan

C．410,000 yuan

D．86,850 yuan

5. Why do many students want to work in Australia after their graduation?

A．The working experience abroad will strengthen their competitiveness.

B．They can earn more money in Australia.

C．Their working experience can make them stay in Australia forever.

D．They have to do so according to the new regulations.

2 . Endangered languages are languages that wouldn’t exist any longer, much like endangered species of plants or animals. Languages are considered to be endangered when parents are no longer teaching the language to their children and are not using it actively in everyday life. A language is considered to nearly disappear when it is spoken by only a few elderly native speakers.

The world faces enormous challenges in order to protect different kinds of languages. Of the more than 6,912 languages, half may be in danger of disappearing in the next several decades.

It is caused by many reasons: small numbers of speakers, the regular use of other languages, attitudes towards their languages, moving of the younger population, government policies, and languages used in education and so on. A language may lack important things such as a body of literature, and people who read and write it. A language may also lack prestige (声望) and support of its speakers.

The survival of a language is also threatened when speakers move to other areas where different languages are spoken, or when government policies improve the use of a specific language in school, official business and the media. These situations encourage people to learn the wider-known language and may cause them, especially the young, to stop using their mother tongue. Often those speaking lesser-known languages will choose to learn a more prestigious language with the hope of greater economic opportunities. Most of the world’s parents are teaching their children English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian or some other main languages instead of their own languages for social and economic reasons.

1. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Languages in the world.

B．Reasons why languages become endangered.

C．What an endangered language is.

D．Languages spoken by few speakers.

2. About ________languages will probably disappear in this century according to the passage.

A．more than 6,912

B．more than 3,456

C．6,912

D．less than 3,456

3. Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
①=Paragraph1     ②=Paragraph2   ③=Paragraph3   ④=Paragraph4

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. We can infer that the best way to maintain an endangered language is to _________.

A．forbid the speakers to move about

B．pass laws to protect the language

C．raise the salaries of the people who speak the language

D．teach the language to young children and encourage people to speak it often

5. All of the following about languages are true EXCEPT __________.

A．many languages will be probably endangered in this century

B．government policies have a big effect on languages

C．the endangered language is a language that is spoken by a few people

D．languages are related to their speakers’ social and economic position

3 . My 8­year­old son，Kevin，has made friends with some boys in the neighborhood. He has been _______with them after school. My wife，and I are _______he has other kids to be with and we have _______ and encouraged him to play with his friends. We also want Kevin to learn _______，so we have asked him to tell us _______ he's going and to come home at a specified time.
The _______ started when Kevin didn't come home on time. On one occasion，I asked Kevin to be back at 6 pm. By 6：30，I needed to go _______ him. I found him at a friend's house，and he looked _______ that he couldn't continue playing. After we came home，I sat Kevin down for a talk about the _______ of keeping his word. I told him I was not worried about his arriving a few ________ late， after a half hour， he told me he understood and I was ________
The next day，I came home from work at about 6:30 pm and my wife asked me to go and get Kevin back ________ she said he should be back home at 6. I walked to his friend's house and a look of ________ appeared on Kevin's face when he came to the door.
At ________，my wife and I spoke to Kevin about why he didn't come home on time again. He said he just wanted to ________playing. This was ________，so we decided to ground(罚不准出门)him for a week. This ________no playing with his friends.
For the next week，whenever his friends came to ask for Kevin，we let him________to them that he was grounded. We felt this would help him be responsible for his ________
As a ________，I believe one of the most important things we can teach our kids is self-responsibility and that actions have consequences.1.

A．studying

B．playing

C．chatting

D．quarreling

2.

A．glad

B．lucky

C．worried

D．sure

3.

A．made

B．allowed

C．trained

D．forced

4.

A．amusements

B．communication

C．honesty

D．responsibility

5.

A．when

B．why

C．where

D．whenever

6.

A．changes

B．conflicts

C．worries

D．problems

7.

A．looking for

B．picking up

C．waiting for

D．calling up

8.

A．angry

B．nervous

C．disappointed

D．ashamed

9.

A．quality

B．importance

C．stories

D．ways

10.

A．hours

B．minutes

C．days

D．times

11.

A．satisfied

B．shocked

C．surprised

D．concerned

12.

A．if

B．unless

C．because

D．so

13.

A．guilt

B．disappointment

C．excitement

D．hatred

14.

A．home

B．school

C．work

D．office

15.

A．finish

B．keep

C．learn

D．stop

16.

A．impossible

B．impolite

C．unacceptable

D．unbelievable

17.

A．meant

B．suggested

C．showed

D．implied

18.

A．reply

B．apologize

C．tell

D．explain

19.

A．decisions

B．words

C．actions

D．friends

20.

A．teacher

B．parent

C．writer

D．professor

4 . Only when the European countries’ financial system broke down _____to take measures to deal with those problems.

A．did they decide

B．they decided

C．they had decided

D．had they decided

5 . He, an average citizen, always thinks of_____ he can do more for the people．

A．how

B．why

C．what

D．which

6 . I always ________on life when listening to Beethoven’s symphony.

A．react	B．recover
C．reflect	D．respond

7 . Children under sixteen are not permitted to participate in such kind of activities _____ bad for their mental development.

A．as is

B．as are

C．that are

D．that they are

8 . — I’m fed up with this rain. How I wish to go hiking this weekend!
— Forget it. I’m afraid the wet days will _____.

A．hold up

B．keep up

C．take up

D．turn up