1 . When the island of Singapore became an independent country in 1965, it had few friends and even fewer natural resources. How did it become one of the world's great trading and financial centers? The strategy, explained Lee Kuan Yew, its first prime minister, was "to develop Singapore's only available natural resource: its people".
Today Singapore's education system is considered the best in the world. The graduates of its best schools can be found scattered around the world's finest universities.
The island-state has much to teach the world. But other countries are reluctant (不情愿的) pupils. One reason is that Singapore favors traditional method, with teachers leading the class. That seems not useful for children to learn for themselves.
Yet Singapore shows that academic brilliance need not come at the expense of personal skills. In 2015 Singaporean students also came first in a new PISA ranking designed to look at cooperative problem-solving, scoring even better than they did in reading and science. They are also reported to be happy. Not content with its achievements, Singapore is now introducing reforms to improve creativity and reduce stress. This is a gradual education reform - the first of three lessons that Singapore offers the rest of the world.
The second lesson is to accept Singapore's distinctive approach to teaching maths. It emphasizes a narrower but deeper curriculum, and seeks to ensure that a whole class progresses through the syllabus (教学大纲). Struggling students get compulsory extra lessons to help them keep up.
The third and most important lesson is to focus on developing excellent teachers. In Singapore, they get 100 hours of training a year to keep up to date with the latest techniques. The government pays them well, too.
The system is hardly faultless. Other countries might wish to avoid Singapore's dividing of high — and low-achievers into separate schools from the age of 12, which contributes to stress about exams. That is a pity. Education would be much better if more countries copied Singapore's homework.
1. What did Lee Kuan Yew think contributed to Singapore's great development?| A．Trading with other countries. | B．Making full use of its people. |
| C．Exploiting its natural resources. | D．Introducing all kinds of talents. |
| A．Its system is too advanced. | B．Its method, seems not to be up to date. |
| C．Their students are too independent. | D．They are lack of challenging teachers. |
| A．Sticking to quick reforms. | B．Adopting different syllabuses. |
| C．Aiming at teachers' further training. | D．Helping struggling students catch up. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Worried. | C．Subjective. | D．Uncertain. |
2 . A research by the National Center for Health Statistics is seen as an important confirmation of the “Hispanic mortality paradox(西班牙裔死亡率悖论).”
On average, Hispanics outlive whites by 2.5 years and blacks by 7.7 years. Their life expectancy at birth in 2006 was 80.6 years, compared with 78.1 for whites, 72.9 for blacks and 77.7 years for the total population.
The report shows that the Hispanic population has higher life expectancy at birth and at almost every age despite a socioeconomic status lower than that of whites. “Mortality is very correlated with income, education and health care access,” says Elizabeth Arias, author of the report. “You would expect the Hispanic population would have higher mortality, in line with the black population.”
The Hispanic paradox has been documented for more than two decades, but this is the first time the government has had enough data to issue national numbers. Researchers are struggling to explain why Hispanics live longer.
“We don’t know,” says David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “We thought it was a problem in the data, but we can pretty much say this is real.”
Potential factors:
·Culture and lifestyle. Support from extended family and lower rates of smoking and drinking. Latino groups in particular have very strong family and social ties.
·Migration. The “healthy migrant effect” argues that healthy people are more likely to emigrate. And when immigrants become ill, they might return home and die there.
“Solving the puzzle may help the nation deal with health care issues because Hispanics use health services less—they make fewer doctors visits and spend less time in hospitals,” Hayes Bautista says. “It’s clearly something in the Latino culture,” he says.
1. In 2006, Hispanics’ life expectancy is years longer than the average of the total population.| A．2. 5 | B．7. 7 | C．2. 9 | D．80. 6 |
| A．To live longer than. . . |
| B．To live shorter than. . . |
| C．To die out. |
| D．To expect to live. |
| A．Hispanics were born better than whites. |
| B．Morality is closely related with health care access. |
| C．Whites should have longer life expectancy. |
| D．Even experts can’t explain the phenomenon. |
| A．He supports there is a problem with the data. |
| B．He intends to trust the cultural factor. |
| C．He believes in the “healthy migrant effect”. |
| D．He thinks health care the most important factor. |
注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
Imagine living in a country torn by war. Or maybe you live in a place where there are few jobs and little chance to earn a living. Your family decides to move — not to another town, but to another country. You and your family have become immigrants. People are called immigrants when they move to a foreign country to make their homes.
People become immigrants for many reasons. The most common one is economic opportunities. Most immigrants are attracted to other countries by the promise of jobs, farmland, or business opportunities.
Other people become immigrants in order to get away from mistreatment or natural disasters. They are refugees (难民). Some refugees move to avoid wars and political unrest. Others are seeking freedom to express their religious views. Still others are uprooted by disasters, such as terrible flooding or drought.
Some people have become immigrants against their will. Captured in Africa, shipped to foreign lands and forced to work as slaves, many early African immigrants to North and South America came in chains.
Except for Native Americans, all people came to the United States from someplace else. For nearly 500 years, immigrants have landed on America’s shores seeking a better life. Throughout American history, immigrants often worked low-paying, dangerous jobs that other people refused to do.
Immigrants from around the world helped shape American life. Many immigrants absorbed the customs and language common to most Americans. They also brought their own traditions, including music and foods. Over time, many of these traditions have become part of American life.
The first European immigrants to America hoped to colonize (使成为殖民地) new lands. By the mid-1500s, Spaniards had ventured into Florida, California, and the American Southwest. French immigrants arrived in the early 1600s and built their first colony in Canada. The English also arrived in the early 1600s. They established 13 colonies along America’s Atlantic Coast.
In the 1700s, England became the major power in colonial North America. But many European immigrants came to live in the English colonies. They included people from Sweden, Holland, Germany, Scotland, and Ireland.
Immigrants still come to the United States seeking freedom and economic opportunities. Most new immigrants no longer come from Europe. They come mainly from Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Asia.
Today, the U. S. government limits the number of immigrants into the country each year. People who sneak illegally into the United States are called illegal immigrants, who, if caught, would be sent back to their home countries.
| Key Points | Detailed Information |
| Immigrants are those who move to a foreign country to make their homes. | |
| Reasons | Most people come for Some move to the US to Some people immigrate in Some people have become immigrants |
| History | French immigrants The English also arrived in the early 1600s and In the 1700s, European immigrants came to live in the English colonies, |
| Today | The US government sets |
4 . It is 4:45 am in Samasati village in north-western Zambia and the Chimwanga family, champion beekeepers of the village, are already on their way to collect honey from one of their many hives（蜂房）. Samasati has been famous for beekeeping but it is only in the last ten years that the business has begun to make a difference to the lives of the producers, since they began to trade through an organization guaranteeing them a fair price for their crop.
Samasati is a beautiful place, where nature provides and pollution is non-existent. Here, 61 miles from the nearest telephone or source of electricity, the 322 inhabitants support themselves from the forest and rivers and the only income available to the villagers is from selling their honey.
It is a half-hour walk from the Chimwangas’ house to the hive. On reaching the site, the Chimwangas tear off low, leaf-covered branches from nearby trees. They place these in a pile on the ground as a bundle（捆）and put some dry plants in the middle. A match then sets the plants alight and thick smoke is produced as the fire spreads from the dry plants to the green leaves.
Mr. Chimwanga climbs quickly up the tree trunk and moves carefully along a branch towards the hanging hive, carrying the smoking bundle with him. When he reaches the hive, he waves smoke into the entrance to calm the bees. The bees circle his head continuously. Unafraid, he pulls up a bucket and fills it with the precious delicious honey, fragrant but not too sweet ‒ the result of hundreds of wild flowers the bees have enjoyed in the forest.
This honey is sold straight to the exporting company, North West Bee Products, through Bon Malichi. He is the vital middleman for the beekeepers. Bob believes the honey is Zambia’s future. “Our honey is produced without adding anything.” he says. The honey is transported to Dares Salaam, in neighbouring country Tanzania, for export. Within a month of a Zambian beekeeper climbing to his hive, his honey can be spread on bread anywhere in the world.
1. What are the Chimwanga family going out so early to do?| A．Look for bees. |
| B．Get honey in the forest. |
| C．Make honey for trading. |
| D．Sell their honey crop. |
| A．get light and see the hives clearly |
| B．scare away the bees by thick smoke |
| C．produce smoke to protect him from the bees |
| D．keep warm by the burning plants |
| A．It is popular for its superior quality. |
| B．It has a large quantity of production. |
| C．He can guarantee a fair price for it. |
| D．He can help export it to neighboring countries. |
| A．It enjoys beautiful nature and less pollution. |
| B．It has an abundant supply of electricity. |
| C．It is well known for processing honey. |
| D．It is a small, poor and backward village. |
5 . Deo had grown up barefoot in Burundi, but for a peasant boy he had done well. He was twenty-four. Until recently he had been a medical student, for three years at or near the top of his class. But he had spent the past six months on the run.
He had one friend who had seen more of the world than East Central Africa, a fellow medical student named Jean. And it was Jean who had decided that New York was where he should go. Deo was traveling on a commercial visa. Jean’s French father had written a letter identifying Deo as an employee on a mission to America. He was supposed to be going to New York to sell coffee. Deo had read up on coffee beans in case he was questioned. Jean’s father had also paid for the plane tickets. A fat book let of tickets.
He had heard of French soldiers behaving badly in Rwanda, and had even caught glimpses of them training militiamen(民兵) in the camps, but waking up and seeing a white person in the next seat wasn’t alarming. No one called him a cockroach (蟑螂). No one held a machete (大砍刀).
A voice was speaking to him. He turned and saw a policeman who seemed friendly. Deo spoke to him in French, but the man shook his head and smiled. He asked a question in what Deo guessed was English. Then a woman who had been sitting nearby got up and walked over French, at long last French, coming out of her mouth. Perhaps she could help, the woman said in French. Deo thought: “God. I’m still in your hands.” She arranged to sit next to him on the flight to New York and asked him lots of questions. Deo wanted to pay her back for helping him. So he tried to answer her questions. They talked most of the way to New York. After such long solitude (独处), it felt wonderful to talk.
When he reached Immigration the agent stared at Deo’s documents, then started asking questions in what had to be English. There was nothing to do except smile. The agent went off and came back with another man. He introduced himself to Deo in French. His name was Muhammad. He said he came from Senegal. Muhammad asked Deo the agents’ questions and also some questions of his own. For the agents, he asked Deo, “Where are you coming from?” When Deo said he had come from Burundi, Muhammad made a pained face and said to him in French, “How did you get out?”
There was no time even to attempt an answer. The agents were asking another question: Deo’s visa said he was here on business. What business?
Selling coffee beans, Deo told them through Muhammad. Just keep smiling, Deo told himself.
How much money did he have?
Two hundred dollars, Deo said with pride. The cash had been a gift from Jean. Exchanged for Burundian francs, it could have bought a lot of cows. But neither Muhammad nor the agents looked impressed.
Where was he staying?
Jean had told him he’d be asked this. A hotel, he said.
The agents laughed. A week in a hotel on two hundred dollars?
In 1994, airport security wasn’t what it soon would be. Muhammad said something in English to the agents. His words must have been the right ones, because after a few more questions, the agents shrugged at each other and let him through, into America.
He had no idea what he’d do next. After six months on the run, he was in the habit of not looking ahead. And what was there to fear? What could the man in the booth up ahead do to him? Whatever it might be, he’d already seen worse. God had taken care of him so far. And still was taking care of him, it seemed. As this serious-looking stranger, Muhammad, walked him out of Customs, he said that Deo could stay with him in New York City. But Deo would have to wait here for three hours. Muhammad worked at the airport as a baggage handler. He had to finish his shift. Could Deo wait three hours?
Only three hours? said Deo. Of course!
1. Which of the following is the reason why Deo left his hometown?| A．Jean persuaded him to go to New York. |
| B．Jean's father paid for the plane tickets for him. |
| C．He was an employee on a business mission to America. |
| D．He wanted to flee his home town to seek shelter in New York. |
| A．She arranged a seat for him. |
| B．She did the interpreting for him. |
| C．She asked the policeman to show mercy to him. |
| D．She talked with him which made him feel less lonely. |
| A．God is toying with him. | B．God is taking him under his wing. |
| C．He is at the mercy of God. | D．He can’t break away from God. |
| A．happy | B．sympathetic |
| C．terrified | D．relieved |
| A．he was a white person |
| B．he was brave and optimistic |
| C．he had a good academic performance |
| D．he was grateful to those who had helped him |
| A．Selling coffee beans in NewYork. |
| B．Turning to Jean’s father for help. |
| C．Being reduced to a beggar in the street. |
| D．Making a living in New York with Muhammad’s help. |
6 . Each country has its own secret to happiness, If "pyt", which closely means “don't worry about it and stuff happens", explains a relaxed attitude of Danish people, "niksen" will reveal how Dutch people combat （对抗）stress and burnout in a fast-paced lifestyle.
The term "niksen" origins from the Dutch word "niks", which refers to "nothing'', Mindfulness, another welcome subject to help people have a peaceful mind. But unlike mindfulness, niksen is not about concentrating on the present moment. It's about letting yourself do nothing, and allowing your mind to run free without expectation.
In practice, this means "hanging around, looking at your surroundings, or listening to music as long as it's without purpose” according to Time Magazine.
Niksen sounds contrary to the advice we were all given as kids. Nowadays, we're constantly told to stay busy and work harder than everyone else. But niksen opposes that mentality( 心态). It offers the chance to "deliciously do nothing", as Carolien Hamming, a coach at CSR Centrum, an organization devoted to fighting stress and burnout in the Netherlands, told Time.
She thinks that niksen is essential to staying healthy, since it’s a form of mental relaxation and healing. Just as a wild animal lies in wait for their prey, niksen seems to be a natural state of being.
For some people, niksen can mean more than just stress reduction. It's also a means to imagine new ideas or plans. As an early adopter（尝试者）of niksen, Jenny Holden, a communications expert in the UK, adds it to her daily lunch breaks. “Within 10 minutes of doing nothing - just staring and listening to myself - my head began to clear and sort out my work and home to-do lists,” she told the MetroUK.
Above all, niksen is a suggestion for balancing work and rest. As Dutch-bom writer Ogla Mecking wrote in US-based Whoolly Magazine, niksen is the "thorough enjoyment of life’s pauses".
Everyone is encouraged to embrace your niksen moments. They revitalize （使恢复元气） you and give you the strength needed to face everyday challenges.
1. What does niksen means?| A．Living in the moment. |
| B．Leading a healthy lifestyle. |
| C．Being free and doing nothing. |
| D．Using your wildest imagination. |
| A．how niksen improves one's mental health |
| B．niksen is closely related to stress reduction |
| C．niksen can shorten the distance between people |
| D．niksen helps people come up with new thoughts |
| A．long | B．full |
| C．unexpected | D．quiet |
| A．The introduction to a special Dutch lifestyle. |
| B．Suggestions on how to balance work and rest. |
| C．The importance of allowing time to pause life. |
| D．An explanation of some Danish words about life attitudes. |
| A．people can restrengthen themselves to face challenges by niksen |
| B．a wild animal usually lies in wait for their prey just as niksen advices |
| C．Danish people are stressful and tired because of their special lifestyle |
| D．Carolien Hamming thinks niksen is the most important way to keep fit |
Where do you think the world’s happiest people live? Somewhere hot with sandy beaches? A country with a tradition of the fine food and culture? Not according to a recent study by the university of Leicester. Who are the happiest people on Earth?
Let’s start with all that tax they pay. The Danish government provides its people with one of the finest education and health systems in the world. It spends more on children and elderly people per capital than other country.
And there’s another advantage to those high taxes. Because a shop assistant’s final salary is not that much less than someone who works in a bank, for example, Danes don’t choose their careers based on money or status as people in other countries do. They choose the job they want to do. There’s a philosophy in Denmark known as “Jante-lov”, which translates as “you’re no better than anybody else.”
Money doesn’t seem as important in Denmark. It has been called a “post consumerist” society.
| A．In a list ranking countries by the happiness of their citizens, it pm tropical Fiji 50 places below freezing Iceland. |
| B．The street sweeper can hold his head up high as he proudly does his job. |
| C．Danish people aren’t as suspicious as many other nations. |
| D．Most Danes are used to seeing between 50-70% of their salary going to the government! |
| E．Those 5.5 million people who call Denmark their home. |
| F．People have nice things in their houses, but they’re not mad about shopping and spending. |
8 . Britain and France are two important countries in Europe. They are neighbors, separated only by the 20-mile seaway of the English Channel. And for most of the time that the two countries have existed, the French and the British have been rivals or even enemies. One conflict between the two countries lasted over 100 years, and the British and French were at war through the 18th century.
There is no fighting now, of course. But there is still a strong sense of rivalry (敌对) between the two nations. That’s why a recent survey in the UK caused a major shock.
It revealed (揭露) that one third of the British people would like to live in France. It also showed that twenty-one percent of British people would actually prefer to have been born in France.
Many reasons were given. France has a better climate and a more relaxed lifestyle, with some of the longest holidays in Europe. It is thought to have better public services in every area from health to transport. People in France work shorter hours and enjoy longer vacations. And think of the food and wine!
Estimates (估计) of the numbers of Britons living in France range from 100,000 to half a million. But it is not one-way traffic. Around 15,000 French people per year come to live in Britain, mainly settling in London. They are attracted by higher pay in Britain, lower taxes, a more dynamic lifestyle. Now it seems that people can go to the place that suits them best.
1. Why do some British people like to live in France?| A．They prefer the longer holidays there. |
| B．England has the worst food in Europe. |
| C．France is not far away from England. |
| D．The two countries have always been friends. |
| A．they like better the more dynamic lifestyle |
| B．they think there are better public services in it |
| C．they live in France for a long time |
| D．they can work shorter hours there |
| A．Work and live in France. |
| B．Work and live in London. |
| C．Work in London and live in France. |
| D．Work in France and live in London. |
| A．Both of the people like to move between two countries. |
| B．Both of the people are becoming more European. |
| C．The French are becoming more British. |
| D．The British are becoming more French. |
9 . The most welcome sight on a cold, wet winter night in London is the familiar shape of a London taxi cab approaching with its yellow “for hire” sign shining brightly. That shows it is ready to pick you up. Travelling by taxi in London is not just a way of going from one place to another. It is an experience to be enjoyed and remembered.
The main reason for this is the drivers, who are called "cabbies." Many of them are true Cockneys. This means they were born in the heart of London and speak their own special dialect(方言) of English. All of them know every street and famous building in the city, and all of them love to talk. A simple twenty-minute Journey across town can become very interesting. You may have a discussion about the government and its leaders or a friendly talk about the driver’s Aunty Nellie! One thing is for sure, it will never be boring. Cabbies know all the latest news about film stars, the Royal Family, government leaders, and popular singers or actors and actresses.
They also know the best places to eat, shop and relax. And they can take you straight to any large hotel, department store, theatre or museum. They know the shortest way possible without even looking at a map, because everyone who wants to become a taxi driver must pass a very difficult examination in order to get a license to drive a taxi. The exam is called “The Knowledge.” It is a written test, and in it drivers are asked the shortest way from one place to another. They must take into account the time of day—in rush hour, a longer route(路线) may be quicker—and describe the best way. Moreover they must never forget the one-way streets!
1. From what can we tell that someone is a Cockney?| A．Their interest. | B．Their manners. | C．Their speech. | D．Their appearance. |
| A．Passengers are full of curiosity. |
| B．Cabbies’ topics are wide-ranging. |
| C．Aunty Nellie is popular in London. |
| D．Londoners are friendly to each other. |
| A．To qualify one to drive a taxi. | B．To assess one’s driving skills. |
| C．To test drivers’ ability to write. | D．To check taxi drivers memory. |
10 . Living in a culture that is different from your own can be both an exciting and challenging experience. You have to learn different cultural practices and try to adapt to them.
In China, elders are traditionally treated with enormous respect and dignity while the young are cherished and nurtured. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence, particularly that of the children.
Chinese people have different meanings to define friends.
As is well known, the Chinese like to save.
| A．Just hanging out together time to time is not friendship. |
| B．Chinese people put more emphasis on good character and faith. |
| C．Chinese people value education and career more than Americans. |
| D．They are always conservative when they are planning to spend money. |
| E．Basically China values the community and the US values the individual. |
| F．Chinese people do not have the same concept of privacy as Americans do |
| G．Unlike the Chinese, older Americans seldom live with their children. |
