TAIBEI－Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island’s “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．

    According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate（研究生）programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available,” Netbig. Com Said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year.

    The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college and universities. “Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market, Net. Com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University. Chang plans to go on to get a master’s degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies.

    A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”. “They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies. A Netbig. Com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou. The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine.

    At present, Chinese Taibei doesn’t recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there. But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates（证书）from selected universities.

1.ore Taiwanese students study on the Chinese mainland because ___________.

       A．Taiwan will reunite with the mainland sooner or later

       B．the fees asked for are lower than those of Taiwan

       C．what they have learned on the mainland will bring them a bright future

       D．there are many famous universities for them to choose

2．Some business executives were sending their children to study in the Chinese mainland so that their children ___________.

       A．could receive better education       B．could learn more about the policy there

       C．could do well in the business operations     D．could make more friends there

3．The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to __________.

A．Netbig. Com                      B．a Chinese education on the mainland

C．the Chinese job market            D．the university

4．The author wrote the article to tell us ______________.

       A．more Taiwanese students are studying on the mainland

       B．the number of Taiwanese students going to universities on the mainland had been increasing year after year

       C．education on the mainland is more attractive compared with that of Taiwan

       D．Taiwan and the mainland should cooperate with each other in every field.

5．Which is true according to the passage?

       A．Chinese Taibei recognizes diplomas earned on the Chinese mainland

       B．The number of Taiwanese students going to study on the mainland will surely be increasing in the next few years.

       C．Chinese Taibei doesn’t help with any inquiries about Taiwanese studying in the mainland

       D．Education of Taiwan is far behind the mainland.

There are only 1 2 shopping days until Christmas，and the British public is going present-shopping crazy．But some parents might have left it too late to buy the present their child really wants for Christmas．

    Every year there  seems to  be a  certain  craze  which  sweeps  across  Britain，whether through clever marketing or peer(对等的)pressure，so that practically every child in the country wants the same thing for Christmas．

    Of course，with thousands of parents trying to make their child’s Christmas , it’s quite easy for the most popular presents to get sold out before everyone can buy one．This leads to  parents going to extraordinary lengths to find the desired gift．

In past years,the most favoured toys have included Tracy Island，from the‘Thunder—birds’TV series，and Buzz Lightyear，from the“Toy Story”film．This year’s must—have present is the Nintendo Wii，an indication that British children are becoming more and more techologically savvy(悟性)

Other presents which are expected to top Christmas wish-lists this year are several toys related to TV Programmes，such as popular science—fiction series“Doctor Who，”and pre—school sensation “In the Night Garden”，as well as the main character from the transformcrs’movie.

    As parents esperately search shops and online retailers(零售商)for the gifts their children want，some people are cashing in．Those who predicted the trends bought some of the top  presents earlier in the year，and can now sell them for great profits on online auction websites.

    Special stock-check websites have been set up to alert(警报) parents as soon as a certain  item becomes available anywhere．But with so many people signed up it’11 still   be a race  against time to buy  the toys before they sell out again．  

    Some children will inevitably be disappointed on Cnnstmas mormng，  but let’s hope that the chocolates，Christmas dinner and the many other presents will make up for it.

71．What makes every child want the same thing for Christmas?

  A．their same interest    B．their parents’same interest

  C．the reasonable prices  D．clever marketing or peer pressure

 72．Which of the following statements is not true?

  A．Those who predicted the trends got great proiits．

  B．Some children won’t get Christmas presents on Christmas morning .

  C．It’s not easy for the most popular presents to get sold out.

  D．Many people won’t be able to buy their children presents because they leave it too late   to buy the presents and there are so many people to buy them．

73．Last year the most popular presents included

  A．Buzz Lightyear   B．Nintendo Wii

  C．Doctor Who       D．Night Graden

74．“Dcotor Who”is a__________.

  A．toy             B．fiction film

  C．TV programme    D．main character

7 5．The passage mainly talks about______.

     A．kinds of presents children like most

B．presents parents will buy for their children

C．parents buying presents for their children for Christmas

D．how to celebrate Christmas with children

Must-Read about Notting Hill Carnival(狂欢节)

Route

The carnival procession itself begins at 9am on both Sunday and Monday. It starts on Great Western Road, winding its way along Chepstow Road, then on to Westbourne Grove, and then down Ladbroke Grove. See our Notting Hill Carnival map for the full route.

Bus 

While extra services will be in operation, no buses will enter the Carnival area from first thing Sunday morning until the first service on Tuesday morning. On both days bus services begin from Notting Hill Gate in the south and from Harrow Rd (close to Elgin Avenue) in the north.

Bike

Last year the nearest bike-parking stations – Chepstow Villas and Pembridge Road – were removed for Carnival, so don’t rely on being able to park your bike nearby this year.

Safety

Avoid carrying expensive items, such as jewellery and digital cameras. Take a bag with a secure zip to keep your more valuable possessions in and avoid putting your valuables in your back pocket. 

Do tell police if you see an incident. Officers will be stationed throughout the Carnival area. Don’t try to walk against the flow of the crowd, as you won’t get far. Drink plenty of water on the day too, especially if the sun makes an appearance.

Children

Children’s Day on Sunday is recommended for families as the smaller crowds and kid-friendly floats(游行花车) create a fun atmosphere. Arrange meeting points in case you become separated. The smaller the buggy(婴儿车), the better. Ear defenders may be necessary for very young children.

1.Visitors are warned not to bike to the Carnival because _________.

A. there are an increasing number of bike thefts there

B. there are no bike-parking stations nearby

C. roads to the Carnival area are closed to bikes

D. they will be charged with extra parking fees

2.Visitors had better_________.

A. wear trousers without back pockets

B. bring plenty of beer with them

C. leave their valuables in the hotel

D. walk along the flow of the crowd

3.People who go to the carnival with children are advised_________.

A. to be there on Sunday

B. to let their children go wherever they like

C. to arrange a meeting time

D. to bring ear defenders for each child.

Kuss Middle School serves students in Fall River, Mass. , a former mill town that has struggled economically for decades. Students at Kuss have struggled, too, usually falling short of making the academic progress required under the No Child Left Behind law.

Then, last year, the school experimented with extending the school day. Teachers got paid at a higher hourly rate.

Students weren't thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The only surprise is that more districts haven't lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate (适应) a farm economy rather the information economy of today.

New research suggests the time is ready for a change:

Matched against 39 other developed countries, the United States is near the bottom in the rankings of average weekly instructional time in school.  Measured over 12 years, students in the top-scoring countries spend the equivalent of a full extra year in school.

US students perform poorly on math and science tests compared to their international peers, according to a US Education Department comparison released earlier this month. In math, American 15-year-old scored near the bottom among the study's 30 developed countries.

Most countries that boost the number of minutes spent on math instruction find pay offs in improved math scores, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution. Small in creases in the school day are more effective than a longer school year, the report concluded.

The most encouraging news about the benefits of extending the school day comes from Massachusetts, where an experiment with 10 schools, including Kuss, appears to be working. Those 10 schools lengthened their instructional days by 25% and boosted their state scores in math, English and science at all grades.

Perhaps the concept won't work everywhere. Certainly, it won't instantly be popular. But it's obvious that a problem exists or that adding class time seems to help.

1.What is the main idea of the above passage?

2.A longer school day is suggested for the following reasons except that _________.

3.Which statement is true of Kuss Middle School?

4.The writer has expressed ____________.

Faye’s fondest memory is of last year, ______ the club gave a tea party for her birthday.

1. A.
   that
2. B.
   which
3. C.
   where
4. D.
   when