Even under the best conditions, we couldn't finish in ________ three days.

person's knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It really is extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to device anything more efficient and reliable than examinations. For all the pious claim that examinations text what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person's true ability and aptitude.

As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none. That is because so much depends oil them. They are the mark of success of failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn't matter that you weren't feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don't count: the exam goes on. No one can give of his best when he is in mortal terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of vicious competition where success and failure are clearly defined and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of "drop outs": young people who are written off as utter failures before they have even embarked on a career？ Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students？

A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus, so the student is encouraged to memorize. Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming. They lower the standards of teaching, for they deprive the teacher of all freedoms. Teachers themselves arc often judged by examination results and instead of teaching their subjects, they are reduced to training their students in exam techniques which they despise. The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under duress.

The results on which so much depends are often nothing more than a subjective assessment by some anonymous examiner. Examiners are only human. They get tired and hungry; they make mistakes. Yet they have to mark stacks of hastily scrawled scripts in a limited amount of time. They work under the same sort of pressure as the candidates. And their word carries weight. After a judge's decision you have the right Of appeal, but not after an examiner's. There must surely be many simpler and more effective ways of assessing a person's true abilities. Is it cynical to suggest that examinations are merely a profitable business for the institutions that run them？ This is what it boils down to in the last analysis. The best comment on the system is this illiterate message recently scrawled on a wall: I were a teenage drop-out and now I are a teenage millionaire.

The main idea of this passage is ______.

A．examinations exert a pernicious influence on education

B．examinations are ineffective

C．examinations are profitable for institutions

D．examinations are a burden on students

of us now think of car seats as standard baby equipment, about half of all children under the age of four who died in vehicle accidents last year were not restrained. It is calculated that only about two-thirds of children ages five to fifteen buckle their seat belts.

Moreover, the traffic-safety agency estimates that even among parents who always strap their children in, 85% are not doing it properly. They often don't know where best to place the kids, don't use the proper restraint for their age and weight, or don't install the safety seats properly. Despite the reports about front seats collapsing onto back seats when certain car models get in accidents, the safest place in the car for any child up to the age of 12 is still the back seat. Babies up to 9 kg and one year old should ride in rear-Facing infant seats.

Never place a child under age 12 in the front seat with a working passenger-side air bag. These devices are discharged at 320 km/h and can be triggered by low-speed fender benders. They have killed 77 kids in the U.S. since 1993. If you must place a child in front, make sure the paasengar-side bag is switched off.

Children over age one should ride in forward-facing safety seats with a five-point harness system. A child who weighs at least 18 kg or at least 1m high can graduate to a booster seat that elevates her so that the standard shoulder and lap belt fits properly.x

What does the author mainly discuss in this passage？

A．How to avoid car crash.

B．How to design safer baby equipment.

C．How to educate children properly.

D．How to properly secure children in the ear.

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

Half of the world&39;s coral reefs （珊瑚礁）have died in the last 30 years. Now scientists are racing to ensure that the rest survive. Even if global warning were to right now, scientists predict that more than 90% of corals will die by If no major steps are taken to address the problem, the reefs may be headed for total extinction （灭绝）.

(78) The planet ’s health depends on the survival of coral reefs. They described as “the rainforests of the sea", because they provide shelter for a wide variety of sea life. In addition, the reefs serve as barriers that protect coastlines from the full force of powerful storms. Coral are used in medical research for cures to diseases. They are key to local economies as well, since the reefs attract tourists, the fishing industry, and other businesses, bringing in billions of dolllars.

（79）Corals are particular sensitive to changes in temperature. A rise of just 1 to 2 degrees can force the corals to drive out the algae （水藻）. Then the corals turn white in a process called “bleaching”. Corals can recover from short-term bleaching, but long-term bleaching can cause permanent damage. In 1998, when sea surface temperatures were the highest in recorded history, coral reefs around the world suffered the most severe bleaching. It is estimated that even under the best of conditions, many of these coral reefs will need decades to recover.

Although reefs face other threats from pollution, industrial activities, and overfishing, it is global climate change that most concerns scientists. Scientists remain hopeful that it’s not too late to save the reefs, and some are moving ahead on experiments to accomplish that goal.

6. Which of the following is the best title for the passage？

A.Rising Global Temperatures

B.Rainforests Are in Danger

C.Coral Reefs Face Extinction

D.Global Climate Change

The word address in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _____.A.break down

B.stick to

C.go over

D.deal with

Why are coral reefs called "the rainforests of the sea"？A.Because they are home to a wide variety of sea life.

B.Because they can protect our coasts from storms.

C.Because they might supply natural medicines.

D.Because they look like rainforests.

According to the passage, _____ is the biggest threat to coral reefs.A.pollution

B.overfishing

C.industrial activity

D.dimate change

The corals turn _____ in the process of “bleaching”.A.red

B.black

C.green

D.white

请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

According to Dr. David, Americans ______.

A．are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life

B．often neglect the consequences of sleep deficit

C．do not know how to relax themselves properly

D．can get by on 6. 5 hours of sleep

A、relax

B、take

C、deal with

D、cope with

al, ethnic, or other groups【C1】______holding them to different standards. The details【C2】______. In some countries, the policy【C3】______only to areas under direct state control, such as public-works contracts or【C4】______to public universities. In others, private firms are also obliged to take【C5】______of the race of their employees, contractors and even owners.【C6】______the effects are strikingly similar around the world. Many of these policies were put in place with the best of intentions: to【C7】______for past injustices and purify their legacy. No one can deny that, 【C8】______, blacks in America have suffered awful wrongs, and continue to suffer【C9】______. Favouring members of these groups seems like a quick and effective way of making society【C10】______. Most of these groups have made great【C11】______. At the same time, the downside of affirmative action has become all too【C12】______. Awarding university places to black students【C13】______lower test scores than whites sounds reasonable,【C14】______the legacy of segregation. But a study found that at some American universities, black applicants who scored 450 points worse than Asians on entrance tests were【C15】______likely to win a place. That is neither fair on Asians, nor a(n) 【C16】______to blacks to study in high school. The book "Mismatch" produces evidence that【C17】______affirmative action reduces the number of blacks who【C18】______as lawyers by placing black students in law schools for which they are【C19】______, causing many to drop out. Had they attended less demanding schools, they might have【C20】______.

【C1】

A．with

B．in

C．at

D．by

is impossible for her to get there by the canceling date．

A.mend

B.bend

C.rend

D.send