The United States will introduce a new and comprehensive(综合的) exam for students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.

The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America’s leading educational organization.

The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May 10, 2002, said Jen.

However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International English Language Testing System).

“I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam,” said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.

Most of Xu’s classmates have never heard of the APIEL. “The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.” said Jen.

The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission.

Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing with clarity and fluency(流畅), Jen said.

The United States will introduce a new exam because _______.

A. more and more students want to get further education in the USA

B. the Chinese people pay special attention to English studies with China’s entry into the WTO

C. the already existing exam systems seem to be far from perfect

D. it will bring the US government quite a lot of money

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the selection？

A. It will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL.

B. The TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS.

C. A student will have to take the APIEL if he or she wants to study in English—speaking countries from 2002.

D. Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future.

The underlined word current in the second paragraph means _______.

A. modern            B. present             C. standard           D. formal

Please decide which of the following would be the best title for this news report.

A. The Key to English-speaking Countries

B. The Four Skills in Learning English

C. TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to be Out of Date

D. New Exam Designed for Students

The United States will introduce a new exam system for students who seek to study in the USA and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York．

       The exam, which means a great change from the current English level test, was introduced by Theresa Jen, associate director of the International Service of the USA College Board, America's leading educational organization．

       "The Advanced Placement International English Language （APIEL） will be offered for the first time all over the world on May 10, 2012," said Jen．

       However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language）, the GRE （Graduate Record Examination）, or the IELTS （International English Language Testing System）．

       "I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam," said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL．

       Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL．"The APIEL is made for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia．" Jen said．

       "The APIEL will be used," said Jen, "because the TOEFL can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities of using English．" Xinhua reported that a large number of foreign students who had high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after being admitted．

       "Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand 'English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with fluency, and writing in an organized way．" Jen said．

The underlined word "current" in the second paragraph means____．

       A．high        B．present     C．low         D．formal

We can learn from the passage that____．

       A．the TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS

       B．it will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL

       C．Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future

       D．a student will have to take the APIEL if he/ she wants to study in English-speaking countries from 2012

The APIEL is designed for students who want to study in English-speaking countries, such as____．

       A．the United States and Canada       B．Canada and Ireland

       C．Australia and India                D．Britain and France

According to the passage, the United States will introduce a new exam because____．

       A．it will bring the US government quite a lot of money

       B．more and more students want to get further education in the USA

       C．the existing exam systems can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities

       D．the Chinese pay special attention to English studies with China's entry into the WTO

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

       A．A New Exam Designed for Students   

     B．The Four Skills in Learning English

       C．The Key to English-speaking Countries           

       D．TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to Be out of Date

Maupassant（居·莫泊桑）was born in 1850 in northern France. His early life was not happy. His parents separated when he was 11. Most of his education came informally from Gustave Flaubert—his mother’s friend and his godfather, a journalist and novelist. Often Flaubert would let him take a walk and then ask him to write 100 lines about what he saw. This type of training developed in Maupassant a sense of observation, which he later put to use in his writing. Flaubert also allowed Maupassant to attend his Sunday gatherings with others in his literary circle

For a few years, Maupassant was connected with the Ministry of Public Instruction. It is interesting to note that Monsieur Loisel, a poor man character in The Necklace, worked there. He also served in the French army during the Franco-Prussian War. His favorite writing subjects were peasants, servants, in the city, and the Francd-Prussian War.

At an early age, Maupassant started writing short stories. In 1880, some of his works were published and he received a wide reputation for Boule de Suif (Ball of Tallow). With this success, he began to work full-time on writing. During the next ten years, he wrote over 300 stories, including six novels, three travel books, and a book of verse. Through them, he earn a lot of money.

His writing was classical and simple, avoiding social comments and dirty details. His works often showed a real world and an accurate knowledge of the subject. Although Maupassant wrote in many forms, he received widest recognition for his short stories. By 1890, Maupassant was suffering from the latter staged of syphilis（梅毒）. He died in 1893 in Paris.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Gustave Flaubert?

A. He often went out for a walk with Maupassant.

B. He was a journalist and novelist working for church.

C. He had a great influence on Maupassant’s writing..

   D. He often helped Maupassant with his writing homework.

2. From text we know Monsieur Loisel is _______.

A. a man selling necklaces

B. a character in one of Maupassant’s works.

C. a short story written by Maupassant

   D. a friend of Maupassant the Ministry of Public Instruction

3. What are the characteristics of Maupassant’s stories?

A. They have few social comments.

B. They are simple and humorous.

C. They only focus on the lives of peasants.

     D. They are full of imagination.

4.What can we learn about Maupassant from the text?

A. Only in his 30s did he begin to write stories.

B. He did not received any formal education.

C. He spent his last years happily.

D. Boule de Suif was his first success.

B
The United States will introduce a new and comprehensive(综合的) exam for students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.
The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America’s leading educational organization.
The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world, said Jen.
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International English Language Testing System).
“I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam,” said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.
Most of Xu’s classmates have never heard of the APIEL. “The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.” said Jen.
The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission.
Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing with clarity and fluency(流畅), Jen said.
60. The United States will introduce a new exam because _______.
A. it will bring the US government quite a lot of money
B. the Chinese people pay special attention to English studies
C. the already existing exam systems seem to be far from perfect
D. more and more students want to get further education in the USA
61. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the selection？
A. The TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS.
B. It will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL.
C. Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future.
D. A student will have to take the APIEL if he or she wants to study in English-speaking
countries.
62. The best title for this news report is_____.
A. New Exam Designed for Students          B. The Key to Improving Your English 
C. TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to be Out of Date   D. The Four Skills in Learning English

Freshmen, eager to get home for the Chinese New Year, queue up at the railway station for hours．Days later, they squeeze into a crowded train and dream of the home-cooked meals and love they'll enjoy once they arrive home．This, they say, makes all the trouble of getting home worthwhile.

However, many freshmen come to find that home is not exactly how they remembered it．Living away from their parents has exposed them to a new life of freedom – one that within hours of arriving some begin to miss．Household chores（家务活）and complaining parents are just a few of the things that can ruin students' winter fantasies．“My parents still treat me like I was in senior high,” Song Ying, a 19-year-old freshman at Shandong University, complained．“I get an earful from them every day.”

During her first term away from her Hubei home, Song missed everything – from her parents cooking to the city bus．She cried and ached to sleep in her own bed．So, upon finishing her exams, she fled home, thinking everything would be just as it used to be．But she was wrong．Now, she spends entire days at a friend's home to “avoid all the restrictions”．She logs online to update friends' profile on SNS, skips meals and sleeps in – just like she did on campus.

Things have been even tenser at home for Luo Ruiqi, a 19-year-old freshman at Beijing Jiaotong University．Instead of moving to a friend's house, though, he has decided to challenge his parents' rules for his right to be an adult at home．When they complained about the amount of time he spent in the toilet, Luo said he decided “enough is enough” and lost his temper．He feels guilty about his attitude, but he still argues that he is grown up enough to live by his own rules．“I just want to live my own way of living, wherever I am,” said Luo．

Recent graduates like Wang Kai know what Song and Luo are going through．But Wang, who graduated in 2008 and now works in Beijing, says students should value the time spent with their family and “just try to be nicer.” Wang says he acted the same way when he first returned home from college, but now, living 1,500 km away from his hometown in Hunan, he regrets his behavior．He realizes that his parents meant well．And, looking back, he says that “the way of living that we got used to on campus is not that healthy anyway”.

Parents, meanwhile, are more understanding than you might think．“Living on their own in a strange place can be hard –we've been there before,” said Luo's father．“We want to make sure that they are healthy and happy．Sometimes maybe we just worry too much.” As for the tension that's arisen between father and son, Luo senior laughed and said, “It's not a problem at all – he's my son; we work things out, always.”

1．Having read the passage, we can infer that home is now a(n) ___________for most freshmen.

         A．birdcage                       B．paradise

         C．temporary station in life         D．open house

2．Why are things even tenser at home for Luo Ruiqi during the Chinese New Year?

         A．He has to spend entire days at a friend's home to “avoid all the restrictions”.

         B．He has decided to go against his parents for his right to be an adult at home.

         C．He feels guilty about his attitude towards his parents.

         D．He has wasted much money his parents gave to him.

3．According to the text, there exists a main problem between parents and children that_______.

         A．parents want to bring their children under control as before.

         B．children look down upon what their parents always do.

         C．their way of life is apparently different now.

         D．they are always misunderstanding each other.

4．Who the text implies is mainly responsible for the bad parent-child relationship?

         A．parents         B．social changes               C．professors           D．freshmen

5．What does the underlined part in the 2nd paragraph probably mean?

         A．learn a lot                B．receive much punishment

         C．get a scolding             D．have a narrow escape