Do you have any strong opinion on co-educations or single-sex schools?

　　A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to．In Hong Kong, men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis．In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses．It is, therefore, desirable that boys and girls grow up together, go to school together, and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation．

　　Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development．Regular contact can remove the strange ideas about the opposite sex and lead to more natural relationships．Single-sex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality(同性恋)，though there is no proof that this is the case．

　　Those who are against co-education often also fix their attention on the sexual side．Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers．They want their children to be attentive to their studies．Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes．

　　A stronger argument comes from research into school results．Girls grow up earlier than boys, tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at languages．In a mixed class, boys who might do well in a single-sex class become discouraged and take on the role of troublemaker．Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed(惊动)the government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have some single-sex classes．In the UK the best schools are all single-sex, strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best answer．This may, however, not be as simple as it looks．It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be single-sex, rather than that being single-sex makes them better schools．

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阅读理解

　　The Shanxi Province Department of Education decides, starting from 2007, the project of“Exercise in the sun”will be carried out in the whole province．It is to ensure 10 hours to sleep for pupils in primary schools and 9 hours at least for middle school students every day．It is also to guarantee students an hour physical time in every school day．

　　At present, as many schools place emphasis on the proportion of the graduates who are admitted to colleges, school physical education and sports activities are difficult to be ensured that students’ health are coming down obviously, which at the same time results the high rate of bad sight, overload and fat．

　　Therefore, Shanxi Province plans to make 85％ schools to put into effect“Student Body Constitution Health Standards”, making 85％ students be able to take an hour exercise every day, mastering at least two skills．

　　The Shanxi Province department of education also asks, every school student’s written report in physical education should be made into his or her student file, as one of the important basis guarantees in entering the higher school．No school is allowed to take the physical time away with any reason．Sports activities will be brought into the education system as a principle．

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Annealing is a way of making metal softer by heating it and then letting it cool very slowly．If metal is heated and then cooled very quickly, for example by dipping(浸)it in water, it will be very hard but also very brittle(脆)that is, it will break easily．Metal that has been annealed is soft but does not break as easily．It is possible to make metal as hard or as soft as is wished, by annealing it．The metal is heated, and allowed to cool slowly for a certain length of time．The longer the heated metal takes to cool slowly, the softer it becomes．Annealing can also be used on other material, such as glass．

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　　“would almost rather see you dead,”Robert S．Cassatt, a leading banker(银行家)of Philadelphia, shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist．In the 19th century, playing at drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not．And when the young lady’s family ranked among(跻身于)the best of Philadelphia’s social(社交界的)families, such an idea could not even be considered．

　　That was how Mary Cassatt, born 1844, began her struggle as an artist．She did not tremble before her father’s anger．Instead, she opposed(抗拒)him with courage and at last made him change his mind．Mary Cassatt gave up her social position(社会地位)and all thought of a husband and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady．In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance(坚持)，she became America’s most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time．

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　　Moscow, Russia(Space news)－“The computer is a better chess player,”insisted Viktor Prozorov, the loser．“It seemed as if it were laughing after every good move．I know I should have beaten it for the sake of mankind(为人类着想)，but I just couldn’t win,”he announced and shook his head sadly．

　　Prozorov’s disappointment was shared by several grand masters who were present, some of whom were so upset that they shouted at the machine．Many chess players said that this meant the end of chess championships(锦标赛)around the world, since the fun had been taken out of the game．

　　The computer walked－or rather, rolled－away with 5,000 dollars in prize money and limited its remarks to a set of noises and lights．

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　　Sam and Joe were astronauts．There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced astronauts knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive(活着)．Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be exciting though a little dangerous．“we’re the best men for the job,”they said to the boss．“There may be problems, but we can find the answers．”“They’re the last people I’d trust,”thought the boss．“But all the other astronauts have refused to go．”

　　Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs．When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship．But the door was locked．He knocked but there was no answer．He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came．Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said,“Who’s there?”“It’s me!Who else could it be?”shouted Joe．Sam let him in all right but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!

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阅读理解

　　My legs were too short to reach the floor from up there on the big chair．I was so afraid, they started to tremble(颤抖)．It was the first time I had been to the principal’s office(校长办公室)．And I knew what she was going to ask me．Why had I been running on the concrete(水泥)in the playground?Why hadn’t I followed the school rules?

　　The principal’s secretary was sitting at her desk．She kept asking me questions like whether I liked schoo1 and what grade I was in．I didn’t want to talk to her，so I just gave one－word answer．Then she asked what my dad did．But I didn’t really know what he did, so I made something up．“He plays basketball for the Boston Celtics(波士顿凯尔特人队)，”I said．The secretary just looked at me and said nothing more．Just then, the door to the principal’s office opened．There she was，the woman that everyone called“the witch(女巫)”．

　　Was she really that bad?I was surprised to see her office were bright yellow, and there were some nice pictures on the desk．She told me about the pictures．I was surprised that she had a family and a kid, just like me．Then she asked how my family was．It turns out she had known me since I was only a few weeks old．I was happy to hear that．If she knew my mum, then I wouldn’t get in much trouble．She cleaned the cut on my knee and told me to be more careful．She also told me about the rules of the playground．But she didn’t punish or shout at me．And I forgot all the bad things I had heard about“the witch”．I had met her, an I knew she was nice．

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