PassageOne
Questions 46 to 50 arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Schoolsarenotjustamicrocosm (缩影) ofsociety; theymediateittoo. Thebestseektoalleviatetheexternalpressuresontheirpupilswhileequippingthembettertounderstandandhandletheworldoutside -- atonceshelteringthemandbroadeningtheirhorizons. Thisisambitiousinanycircumstances, andinadividedandunequalsocietythetwoidealscanclashoutright(直接地).
Tripsthatmanyadultswouldconsidertheadventureofalifetime -- treksinBomeo, asportstourtoBarbados -- appeartohavebecomealmostroutineatsomestateschools. Parentsarebeingaskedforthousandsofpounds. Thoughschoolscannotprofitfromthesetrips, thecompaniesthatarrangethemdo. Meanwhile, pupilsarriveatschoolhungrybecausetheirfamiliescan'taffordbreakfast. TheChildPovertyActionGroupsaysnineoutof 30 ineveryclassroomfallbelowthepovertyline. Thediscrepancyisstartlinglyapparent. Introducingafundraisingrequirementforstudentsdoesnothelp, asbetter-offchildrencantapupricherauntsandneighbours.
ProbingtherockpoolsofalocalbeachorpractisingFrenchonalanguageexchangecanfirechildren'spassions, boosttheirskillsandopentheireyestolife'spossibilities. EducationaloutingshelpbrightbutdisadvantagedstudentstogetbetterscoresinA-leveltests. Inthisglobalisedage, thereisagoodcaseforinternationaltravel, andsomeparentssaytheycanmanagethecostofaschooltripabroadmoreeasilythanafamilyholiday. Eveninthefaceofimmenseandmountingfinancialpressures, someschoolshaveshownremarkabledeterminationandingenuityinensuringthatalltheirpupilsareabletotakeupopportunitiesthatmaybetrulylife-changing. Theyshouldbeapplauded. Methodssuchaswhole-schoolfundraising, withtheproceeds(收益) pooled, canhelptoextendopportunitiesandfuelcommunityspirit.
But 3,000 poundstripscannotbejustifiedwhentheaverageincomeforfamilieswithchildrenisjustover 30,000 pounds. Suchinitiativesclosedoorsformanypupils. Someparentspulltheirchildrenoutofschoolbecauseofexpensivefieldtrips. Evenparentswhocanseethatatripislittlemorethanapartyorcelebrationmaywellfeelguiltthattheirchildisleftbehind.
TheDepartmentforEducation'sguidancesaysschoolscanchargeonlyforboardandlodgingifthetripispartofthesyllabus, andthatstudentsreceivinggovernmentaidareexemptfromthesecosts. However, manyschoolsseemtoignoretheadvice; anditdoesnotcoverthekindofglamorous, exotictrips, whicharebecomingincreasinglycommon. Schoolscannotbeexpectedtobringtogethercommunitiessingle-handed. Buttheleastweshouldexpectisthattheydonotfosterdivisionsandexcludethosewhoarealreadydisadvantaged.
46. Whatdoestheauthorsaybestschoolsshoulddo?
A) Preparestudentstobothchallengeandchangethedividedunequalsociety.
B) Protectstudentsfromsocialpressuresandenablethemtofacetheworld.
C) Motivatestudentstodeveloptheirphysicalaswellasintellectualabilities.
D) Encouragestudentstobeambitiousandhelpthemtoachievetheirgoals.
47. Whatdoestheauthorthinkaboutschoolfieldtrips?
A) Theyenablestudentsfromdifferentbackgroundstomixwitheachother.
B) Theywidenthegapbetweenprivilegedanddisadvantagedstudents.
C) Theygivethedisadvantagedstudentsachancetoseetheworld.
D) Theyonlybenefitstudentswithrichrelativesandneighbours.
48. Whatdoestheauthorsuggestcanhelpbuildcommunityspirit?
A) Eventsaimingtoimprovecommunityservices.
B) Activitiesthathelptofuelstudents'ingenuity.
C) Eventsthatrequiremutualunderstanding,
D) Activitiesinvolvingallstudentsoncampus.
49. Whatdowelearnaboutlow-incomeparentsregardingschoolfieldtrips?
A) Theywanttheirchildrentoparticipateeventhoughtheydon'tseemuchbenefit.
B) Theydon'twanttheirkidstoparticipatebutfindithardtokeepthemfromgoing.
C) Theydon'twanttheirkidstomissanychancetobroadentheirhorizonsdespitethecost.
D) Theywanttheirchildrentoexperienceadventuresbuttheydon'twantthemtorunrisks.
50. Whatistheauthor'sexpectationofschools?
A) Bringingacommunitytogetherwithingenuity.
B) Resolvingtheexistingdiscrepanciesinsociety.
C) Avoidingcreatingnewgapsamongstudents.
D) Givingpoorstudentspreferentialtreatment.
PassageTwo
Questions 51 to 55 arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Risingtemperaturesandoverfishinginthepristine(未受污染的) watersaroundtheAntarcticcouldseekingpenguinpopulationspushedtothebrinkofextinctionbytheendofthecentury, accordingtoanewstudy. Thestudy'sreportstatesthatasglobalwarmingtransformstheenvironmentintheworld'slastgreatwilderness, 70 percentofkingpenguinscouldeitherdisappearorbeforcedtofindnewbreedinggrounds.
Co-authorCelineLeBohec, fromtheUniversityofStrasbourginFrance, warned: "Ifthere'renoactionsaimedathaltingorcontrollingglobalwarming, andthepaceofthecurrenthuman-inducedchangessuchasclimatechangeandoverfishingstaysthesame, thespeciesmaysoondisappear." ThefindingscomeamidgrowingconcernoverthefutureoftheAntarctic. Earlierthismonthaseparatestudyfoundthatacombinationofclimatechangeandindustrialfishingisthreateningthekrill(磷虾) populationinAntarcticwaters, withapotentiallydisastrousimpactonwhales, sealsandpenguins. Buttoday'sreportisthestarkestwarmingyetofthepotentiallydevastatingimpactofclimatechangeandhumanexploitationontheAntarctic'sdelicateecosystems.
LeBohecsaid: "Unlesscurrentgreenhousegasemissionsdrop, 70 percentofkingpenguins -- 1.1 millionbreedingpairs -- willbeforcedtorelocatetheirbreedinggrounds, orfaceextinctionby 2100." Kingpenguinsarethesecond-largesttypeofpenguinandonlybreedonspecificisolatedislandsintheSouthernOceanwherethereisnoicecoverandeasyaccesstothesea. Astheoceanwarms, abodyofwatercalledtheAntarcticPolarFront -- anupwardmovementofnutrient-richseathatsupportsahugeabundanceofmarinelife -- isbeingpushedfurthersouth. Thismeansthatkingpenguins, whichfeedonfishandkillinthisbodyofwater, havetotravelfurthertotheirfeedinggrounds, leavingtheirhungrychicksforlonger. Andasthedistancebetweentheirbreeding, groundsandtheirfoolprows, entirecoloniescouldbewipedout.
LeBohecsaid: "TheplightofthekingpenguinshouldserveasawarmingaboutthefutureoftheentiremarineenvironmentintheAntarctic. Penguins, likeotherseabirdsandmarinemammals, occupyhigherlevelsinthefoodchainandtheyarewhatwecallbio-indicatorsoftheirecosystems." Penguinsaresensitiveindicatorsofchangesinmarineecosystems. Assuch, theyarekeyspeciesforunderstandingandpredictingimpactsofglobalchangeonAntarcticandsub-Antarcticmarineecosystems. Thereportfoundthatalthoughsomekingpenguinsmaybeabletorelocatetonewbreedinggroundsclosertotheirretreatingfoodsource, suitablenewhabitatswouldbescarce. OnlyahandfulofislandsintheSouthernOceanaresuitableforsustaininglargebreedingcolonies.
51. Whatwillhappenby 2100, accordingtoanewstudy?
A) KingpenguinsintheAntarcticwillbeonthevergeofdyingout.
B) SeawaterwillrisetoamuchhigherlevelaroundtheAntarctic.
C) ThemeltingicecoverwilldestroythegreatAntarcticwilderness.
D) ThepristinewatersaroundtheAntarcticwilldisappearforever.
52. Whatdowelearnfromthefindingsofaseparatestudy?
A) ShrinkingkrillpopulationandrisingtemperaturescouldforceAntarcticwhalestomigrate.
B) HumanactivitieshaveacceleratedclimatechangeintheAntarcticregioninrecentyears.
C) IndustrialfishingandclimatechangecouldbefataltocertainAntarcticspecies.
D) KrillfishingintheAntarctichasworsenedthepollutionofthepristinewaters.
53. Whatdoesthepassagesayaboutkingpenguins?
A) Theywillturnouttobethesecond-largestspeciesofbirdstobecomeextinct.
B) ManyofthemwillhavetomigratetoisolatedislandsintheSouthernOcean.
C) TheyfeedprimarilyononlyafewkindsofkrillintheAntarcticPolarFront.
D) Themajorityofthemmayhavetofindnewbreedinggroundsinthefuture.
54. WhathappenswhensealevelsriseintheAntarctic?
A) Manybabykingpenguinscan'thavefoodintime.
B) Manykingpenguinscouldnolongerliveonkill.
C) Whaleswillinvadekingpenguins'breedinggrounds.
D) Whaleswillhavetotravellongdistancestofindfood.
55. WhatdowelearnabouttheSouthernOcean?
A) Thekingpenguinstherearereluctanttoleavefornewbreedinggrounds.
B) ItsconservationiskeytothesustainablepropagationofAntarcticspecies.
C) Itismostlikelytobecometheultimateretreatforspecieslikethekingpenguin.
D) Onlyafewofitsislandscanserveaslugebreedinggroundsforkingpenguins.