Given Australia’s size and the fact that early settlements were far apart, Australian society is remarkably homogeneous (同种的). Its citizens are fundamentally prosperous and the way of life in the major cities and towns is much the same however many miles divide them. It takes a sharp ear to identify regional accents. However, there is some difference in lifestyle between city dwellers and the country people. Almost 90 per cent of the population lives in the fast-paced cities along the coast and has little more than a passing familiarity with the desert. The major cities preserve pockets of colonial heritage, but the overall impression is modern, with new buildings reflecting the country’s youth. In contrast, the rural communities tend to be slow-moving and conservative. For many years, Australia was said to have “ridden on the sheep’s back”, a reference to wool being the country’s main money earner. However, the wool industry is no longer dominant. Much of Australia’s relatively sound economy is now achieved from natural coal and wheat, and by being the largest diamond producer in the world. Newer industries such as tourism and wine making are also increasingly important. Australians are generally friendly and relaxed, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. On the whole, Australia is a society without hierarchies (等级制度), an attitude generally held to stem from its prisoner beginnings.
Yet, contrary to widespread belief, very few Australians have true prisoner origins. Within only one generation of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Australia had become a nation of immigrants. Originally coming almost entirely from the British Isles, today one in three Australians comes from elsewhere. Australia’s liberal postwar immigration policies led to an influx of survivors from war-torn Europe, most notably Greeks, Italians, Poles and Germans.
The emphasis has shifted in recent years and today the majority of new immigrants are from Southeast Asia. Today Australia is a ‘blend of nations’ and although some racism exists, it has generally been a successful experiment and the country is justifiably proud to have one of the most harmonious multicultural communities in the world.
【小题1】What does the writer mean by saying “It takes a sharp ear to identify regional accents.” in the first paragraph?

Owning a smartphone may not be as smart as you think. They may let you surf the Internet, listen to music and take photos wherever you are, but they also turn you into a workaholic（工作狂）.
A study suggests that, by giving you access to emails at all times, the smartphone adds as much as two hours to your working day. Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles. The study shows the average UK working day is between 9 and 10 hours, but a further 2 hours is spent responding to or sending work emails, or making work calls.
Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails. Some workers say they are on call almost 24 hours a day. Nearly two-thirds say they often check work emails just before they go to bed and as soon as they wake up, while over a third have replied to one in the middle of the night. The average time for first checking emails is between 6 am and 7 am, with more than a third checking their first email in this period, and a quarter checking them between 11pm and midnight.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said: “The ability to access millions of applications has made smartphones invaluable for many people. However, there are disadvantages. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people cannot get away from work. The more constantly in touch we become, the more is expected of us in work . ”
【小题1】With a smartphone the average UK working day is _______.

　
D　　
Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy．They feel heavy pressures from their parents to do well in school．Most students are always being told by their parents to study harder so that they can have a wonderful life．Though this may be good ideas for those very bright students，it can have very bad results for many students who are not quick enough at learning．
Unfortunately，a number of students killed themselves．Others are after comfort in using drugs．Some do bad things with trouble-makers and turn to crime．Many of them have tried very hard at school but have failed in the exams and have disappointed their parents．Such students feel that they are less important and leave school before they have finished their study．
It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way．Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers' work to help their children．To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to special school called juku-cram schools．These schools are open during the evening and on weekends, and their only purpose is to prepare students to pass exams, they do not try to educate students in any real sense of the real world. It thus comes as a shock to realize that almost three quarters of the junior or high school population attend these cram schools．　　　　
Ordinary Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from fhe students' hair to their clothes and things in their school bag．Child psychologists now think that such strict rules often lead to a feeling of being unsafe and being unable to fit into society．They regard the rules as being harmful to the development of each student．They believe that no sense of moral values is developed and that students are given neither guidance nor training in becoming good citizens．
67．A lot of Japanese students are unhappy at school because              　　
A．they work very hard    B．they find they can't do well at school
C．they feel unimportant  D．they are under too much pressure　　　　
68．Because of their failure at school, some students take drugs to          
A．kill themselves             B．seek comfort
C．disappoint their parents     D．make trouble　　　　
69．What should be the best title of the passage?
A．Students' Pressure   
B．Students' Problems　　　　
C．The Negative Impact(影响) of Japanese Education　　　　
D．The Trouble in Japanese Schools
70．In juku-cram schools students_______．
A．are taken good care of by the teachers    B．feel no pressure
C．are trained to pass exams               D．can learn a lot of useful things
71．In ordinary Japanese schools，________．
A．there are strict rules      B．students feel safe　　　　
C．students can do anything  D．learning is not important

There is a wide and deep choice of a career. Whether he's a hand in construction or sitting behind the desk working on a computer, everyone has some ideas of what is an attractive career. However, making a career choice is not simply a matter of following a dream; for most people it means a lot of research and soul searching. Choosing the right career becomes one of the most important decisions of an individual's life.
It used to be that one followed in the footsteps of their father or grandfather or took over the family business when it came to making a career choice. These days, a career path can start anywhere and then veer off into something totally different.
Career choices must be realistic and well thought out. It is not uncommon for persons to start a career path and realize they have made a terrible mistake, feeling as if it may be too late to turn around. Not only does a career choice concern your strongest skills and interest, it is also something that you will be doing continuously to bring in income. This is why a career choice can be such a personal decision. Formerly it used to be unusual for someone to change occupations or careers more than once or twice in a lifetime; it is now even more unusual to keep the same career during someone's working life.
There are a great many measures in helping one choose the right profession. A number of websites offering tools such as career tests and information, educational resources, resume services and the kind can be found. It is important for one to research one's career in this changing economy situation, and choose the best from several related career choices.
【小题1】According to the author choosing the right career ______.

Greg Woodburn, a student at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of time cleaning sneakers he collected. But soon the shoes will be sent to poor children in the United States and 20 other countries, thanks to Woodburn’s Share our soles (S.O.S) charity.
A high school track star in the town of Ventura, California, Woodburn was treated in hospital for months with foot injuries.
“I started thinking about the health benefits, the friendship and the confidence I got from running,” he says, “And I realized there are children who don’t even have shoes”.
Woodburn gathered up his old sneakers, and then asked his friends to donate. His goal was to have 100 pairs by Christmas 2006. When he collected more than 500 pairs, he decided to turn the shoe drive into a year-round effort.
Back then, the sneakers came from donation boxes and the local sporting goods store and from door-to-door pickups. Woodburn has now set up collection boxes at two high schools, city gym and recreation center. So far, S.O.S has collected and donated more than 3,000 pairs.
Woodburn has cleaned all the shoes. After sorting the shoes by size, Woodburn selects the good shoes for the washing machine and the worn-out ones for recycling.
For many recipients, the shoes represent opportunity. Two young boys in Southern California attended school every other day because they shared a pair of shoes. They were too big for one boy and too small for the other. Thanks to S.O.S, each brother received his own pair of shoes. The boys now attend school daily and enjoy their learning. When they graduate, they say, they will help a stranger, just as Woodburn helped them.
【小题1】The text is mainly about    .