This was no ordinary class. The students who came together were all science or engineering professors at Cornell University. They had interrupted their research to accept an invitation to take part in an unusual experiment: “an interesting week of poetry.” This class was part of a study to answer the questions: Why is science difficult for many nonscience students? What can teachers learn about teaching if they take a class that is not in their field?

The students in the poetry class listened to lectures and took notes. They had reading tasks and had to write three short papers. All students noticed one thing – the importance of spoken words. In science and engineering classes, the instructors put tables and drawings on the blackboard. But in this poetry class, the instructors just talked. They didn’t write anything on the board.

The scientists and engineers noticed one similarity between science and poetry. In both subjects, students need to find layers (层次)　of meaning . Some layers are simple, clean, and on the surface; other layers are deeper and more difficult. This search for different levels of meaning doesn’t happen much in undergraduate(本科)　science classes, but it is important later, in graduate school. And it is always important in humanities(人文科学).

Both the poetry instructors and their students learned something about teaching from this experience. One poetry instructor, for example, now sees the importance of using informative as he teaches. Most of the scientists agreed on several points. First, humanities classes might help science students to see patterns and decide which information is important. Second, the poetry class was fun. One engineer decided, “We need to change the way we teach engineering to make to make it an enjoyable experience for students.”

But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this; All of the professors began to think about how they teach and how they cam teach better.

1.What do we know about this unusual class?

A．The teachers did lots of writing on the board

B．The teacher were invited to attend several lectures.

C．The student were professors from a university

D．The students were studying science and humanities.

2.The experiment was designed to find out             

A．how to teach the students in the science class

B．whether poetry is difficult for science students

C．what to be taught in the humanities class

D．why many humanities students find science hard.

3.Finding levels of meaning is            .

A．important for graduate students in humanities

B．difficult for graduate students in humanities

C．common for undergraduate students in science

D．easy for undergraduate students in science.

4.What did the science professors learn after the experiment?

A．They should change the way they teach

B．A poem could be explained in clear definitions.

C．A poetry class could be more informative.

D．Their teaching was an enjoyable experience.

 

One of the most famous travelers in history was Marco Polo. At the age of 17, he left Italy with his father and uncle. It took them more than three years to cross the mountains of Asia. In the year 1275, they reached China. They stayed in China for almost 20 years and went to many places. They were very surprised at what they saw. China was a country far more advanced than Italy or any other countries in Europe.

After he returned to Italy, Marco Polo told many of his stories to a friend. His book, Description of the World, became the most popular book in Europe. People found it difficult to believe his stories of people, animals, places and things. They were so different from Europe at that time. These are a few of Marco's descriptions.

In one area of China, there were black stones. People dug them out of the mountains. They burned very slowly. People used them to cook and keep their homes warm.

The Chinese people were also very clean. In every town, there were many public baths. Everyone bathed at least three times a week. Rich families built baths in their homes and bathed every day.

China was one of the first countries to use paper money.

On one of his trips in the south of China, Marco Polo saw a strange animal which lived along the rivers. It looked like a large piece of wood and was more than ten feet long. In the front, it had two small legs. Its eyes were very large. Its mouth was big enough to eat a man and its teeth were long.

Most people believed Marco Polo's stories. But others told him that they did not believe his descriptions. He answered that he did not tell half of what he saw in his book.

1．According to the passage, Marco Polo ________.

A．came to China in the fourteenth century

B．lived in Asia before he came to China

C．left China in about 1285

D．was about 40 years old when he left China

2．The reason why Marco Polo's book became the most popular book in Europe may be________.

A．his book was very cheap so most people could afford it

B．the stories in the book were very interesting because European people never heard of them

C．many people wanted to know whether the stories in the book were true or not

D．the book was very easy to understand

3．The strange animal described in Marco Polo's book________.

A．had large eyes and lived in the mountains

B．had long legs and lived in the rivers

C．had very big mouth and lived along the rivers

D．had very long teeth and lived in the forests

4．Which of the following is NOT true?

A．In the thirteenth century, there were not many or even no baths in European towns.

B．Chinese people began to use coal to cook and give off heat in the thirteenth century.

C．Chinese people used paper money earlier than European people.

D．European people knew the animal that Marco Polo described in his book.

 

 (北京市北大附中2007年5月高三最后适应测试)

The word “sharp” can be   36   to describe many different things in your home, classroom, and places of work．In this chapter, the writer   37  sharp pencils, meaning pencils with a very fine   38  ．The writer does not like dull pencils.

We can also use “sharp” to describe the blades of knives．Knives also have points．We can use “sharp” to describe a   39   kind of point,   40   as the sharp points of kitchen and steak knives．Scissors have blades, too, and we can describe these blades as sharp or dull．Furthermore, the points of scissors are   41   sharp or   42  ．Some tools, such as saws, scrapers, and garden tools, also have blades．We can use the words “sharp” and “dull” to describe the blades of these tools,   43  ．Sharp knives, scissors, and tools are  44  to use．They cut things easily and quickly, without effort.

“Sharp” can be used to describe the edges of furniture and   45   some containers．For example, the edge of a table or desk can be   46  ．In addition; we can describe the edge of   47   open can as sharp．The top of a can is sometimes sharp  48   to cut your hand．A piece of  glass from a(n)   49   jar or bottle is   50   very sharp.

51  , we sometimes use “sharp” to describe people．A person who appears sharp is very well   52  ．A person who is sharp, on the other hand, is intelligent, smart, and  53   learn and understand.

To summaries, “sharp” can be used to describe many kinds of   54   that have blades, points, and edges．When we used it to describe people, it can mean nice looking, well dressed, or intelligent．It is an expensive word   55   it can be used in many different ways.

36．A．written                   B．used                      C．seen                            D．taken

37．A．talks about            B．takes up                C．care for           D．makes up

38．A．sharp                   B．color                     C．point              D．edge

39．A．some                    B．any                        C．only               D．certain

40．A．so                        B．as soon                C．such              D．or

41．A．either                           B．neither                  C．too                D．very

42．A．blunt                            B．used                     C．frank              D．round

43．A．too                        B．even                      C．either             D．ever

44．A．difficult                  B．easy                            C．interesting              D．clean

45．A．for                        B．with                       C．of                D．at

46．A．seen                            B．sharp                    C．smooth           D．hard

47．A．an                        B．a                        C．the               D．any

48．A．so as                           B．in order                 C．so that          D．enough

49．A．old                        B．broken                  C．new              D．glass

50．A．again                   B．quite                     C．rather            D．ordinarily

51．A．However                      B．Finally                  C．Therefore       D．In this way

52．A．prepared                     B．dressed                 C．mannered            D．served

53．A．easy to                 B．is to               C．slow to                  D．quick to

54．A．materials               B．knives                   C．objects                 D．containers

55．A．because               B．even if                  C．though           D．in case