The Finns, who have long felt neglected by the rest of the world, are delighted to show off their schools. Many foreign educators want to visit Finnish schools for the simple reason that they are so good – very likely the best on Earth.

Superb schools symbolize the modern transformation of Finland, a poor and agricultural nation half a century ago, and today one of the world’s most prosperous, modern and adaptable countries.

Finland finishes first in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exams that test 15 – year – olds in all of the world’s industrial democracies. Finland also finishes at or near the top in many global comparisons of economic competitiveness: Internet usage, environmental practices and more. Finland, where the modern cell phone was largely invented, has more cell phones per capita than any other nation – nearly 85 per 100 citizens.

As recently as the 1970s, Finland required that children attend school for just six years and the education system here was nothing special. But new laws supported by substantial government spending created, in barely 20 years, a system that graduates nearly every young person from vocational or high school, and sends nearly half of them on to higher education. At every level, the schooling is rigorous, and free.

“The key,” said Pekka Himanen, 31, a renowned scholar with a PhD in philosophy (earned at age 20) who is a kind of guru of information – age Finland, “isn’t how much is invested, it’s the people. The high quality of Finnish education depends on the high quality of Finnish teachers. You need to have a college – level degree to run a kindergarten. You need a master’s – level degree to teach at a primary school. Many of the best students want to be teachers. This is linked to the fact that we really believe we live in an information age, so it is respected to be in such a key information profession as teaching.” 

1．Half a century ago, Finland          .

       A．used superb schools to symbolize the country

       B．was a poor nation with farming as its main history

       C．has very few schools

       D．was the only poor country whose schools were great

2．The economic competitiveness in Finland is now         .

       A．rank first one in the world

       B．not so good

       C．even better than education

       D．quite well

3．The following statements about the education in Finland today are true except         .

      A．the students will feel free at school

       B．every young person has to finish vocational or high school at least

       C．half of the young people will go for higher education beyond vocational or high school

       D．it is created only about 20 years ago

4．A kindergarten teacher in Finland today           .

       A．will take a special physical examination by doctors with college – level degree

       B．has to receive some special training like dancing and singing

       C．must have at least graduated from a college – level school

       D．can get a college – level degree if he or she needs

5．The passage is mainly about          .

       A．the education in Finland                        B．the development of Finland

       C．the teachers in Finland                          D．neglected Finns

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Pacing and Pausing

       Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.

       Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.

       It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.

       The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思維定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in--and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.

        That's why slight differences in conversational style--tiny little things like microseconds of pause-can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems---even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.

1. What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?

      A. Betty was talkative.

      B. Betty was an interrupter.

      C. Betty did not take her turn.

      D. Betty paid no attention to Sara.

2. According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?

      A. Americans.    B. Israelis.        C. The British.     D. The Finns.

3. We can learn from the passage that ____________

      A. communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing

B. women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US

      C. one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes

D. one should receive training to build up one's confidence

4. The underlined word "assertiveness" in the last paragraph probably means ____________

      A. being willing to speak one's mind

B. being able to increase one's power

C. being ready to make one's own judgment

      D. being quick to express one's ideas confidently

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科目：高中英語 來源：2011-2012學(xué)年廣西桂林中學(xué)高一下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解


If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare(車費(fèi)) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登記） card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.
With so many loopholes （漏洞） in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
【小題1】The underlined words in this passage means to “______”。

A．be ready to help others
B．make good use of one’s friends
C．be a little ahead of others
D．gain something at other’s loss
【小題2】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.
B．In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.
C．The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of t heir working hours.
D．The workers are always honest with their working hours.
【小題3】We can infer from the passage that ______.
A．the Finnish society is of very high moral (道德) level
B．there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland
C．in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything
D．everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves
【小題4】Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A．Life in Finland
B．A Society with “Foolish” People
C．What a Life
D．Honest accounts of the Finns

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科目：高中英語 來源：河南省鶴壁高中2010屆高三下學(xué)期第一次壓軸卷 題型：閱讀理解


D
If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare(車費(fèi)) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登記） card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.
With so many loopholes （漏洞）in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
68． The underlined words in this passage means to “______”。
A. be ready to help others         B. make good use of one’s friends
C. be a little ahead of others     D. gain something at other’s loss
69． Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.
B. In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.
C. The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of their working hours.
D. The workers are always honest with their working hours.
70． We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. the Finnish society is of very high moral level
B. there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland
C. in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything
D. everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves
71． Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Life in Finland     B. A Society with “Foolish” People
C.What a Life         D. Honest accounts of the Finns

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科目：高中英語 來源：河南省2010屆高三下學(xué)期第一次壓軸卷 題型：閱讀理解

D

If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare(車費(fèi)) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.

The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登記） card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.

The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

With so many loopholes （漏洞）in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

68． The underlined words in this passage means to “______”。

A. be ready to help others         B. make good use of one’s friends

C. be a little ahead of others     D. gain something at other’s loss

69． Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.

B. In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.

C. The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of their working hours.

D. The workers are always honest with their working hours.

70． We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. the Finnish society is of very high moral level

B. there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland

C. in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything

D. everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves

71． Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. Life in Finland     B. A Society with “Foolish” People

C.What a Life         D. Honest accounts of the Finns

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：2011-2012學(xué)年江蘇省、大豐高級(jí)中學(xué)、栟茶高級(jí)中學(xué)高三第二次調(diào)研聯(lián)考英語 題型：閱讀理解

Pacing and Pausing

Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.

Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.

It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.

The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思維定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in --- and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.

That's why slight differences in conversational style --- tiny little things like microseconds of pause --- can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems --- even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.

1.What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?

A．Betty was talkative.

B．Betty was an interrupter.

C．Betty did not take her turn.

D．Betty paid no attention to Sara.

2.According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?

A．Americans.

B．Israelis.

C．The British.

D．The Finns.

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.

A．communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing

B．women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US

C．one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes

D．one should receive training to build up one's confidence

4.The underlined word "assertiveness" in the last paragraph probably means ______.

A．being willing to speak one's mind

B．being able to increase one's power

C．being ready to make one's own judgment

D．being quick to express one's ideas confidently

 

查看答案和解析>>

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