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Text 11

Education is an absolute imperative in the emerging global knowledge society, so new ways of providing access to education for a much higher percentage of the population are now being devised.

The most dramatic examples of access to education are found in the 11 distance-education mega-universities found around the world. In "distance education," the student is separated in time or space from the teacher or professor. The largest of these high enrollment universities is in China, the China Central Radio and Television University, with more than 3 million students. The English-speaking world has the British Open University, with 215,000 students, and the University of South Africa, with 120,000 students. In addition to the mega-universities, dozens of other national and regional systems are providing education at all levels to students.

The base delivery system for the distance-education mega-universities is television, supplemented by other technologies or even some onsite instruction in more-developed countries. Some distance-education systems use two-way interactive video connections to particular locations where students gather; others supplement with the Internet, and still others deliver only by Internet. With video-and-audio-streaming now available, the Internet appears to be the technology of choice for systems where students have access to computers. Of course, these technologies merely add to the radio-- delivered courses that have been offered for years in many countries around the world.

The programs and courses offered vary from basic literacy courses to the highest graduate-level programming. Hundreds of university degrees are now available through distance education, where 90% or more of the required credits are given at a distance, as are dozens of master's degrees and a small number of accredited doctoral degrees. One estimate suggests that 50,000 university-level courses are now available through distance-education delivery systems.

There will be two main types of educational institutions: those that add value in coursework and those that are certifying agencies. The certifying colleges and universities are those that act as educational bankers for students. Students will earn credits from many places and have the credits or certifications of completion sent to the certifying university, then that certifying university will award the degree when enough credits of the right type have been accumulated. Regent's College of the University of the State of New York and Thomas Edison College of New Jersey are public certifying institutions that give accredited degrees.

One vision for some of the remaining residential colleges in the United States, now serving mainly the 18-to-23-year-old population, is that many will become certifying colleges. Students will come to the colleges for their social, artistic, athletic, and spiritual programs. The basic commodity these colleges will sell is membership in the college community. Students will access their courses from colleges and universities around the world, transfer the credits to the college, then gain a degree. Faculty members will serve as tutors and advisers and may provide some courses live. (479 words）

51. What is the passage mainly about?

[A] The emerging global knowledge society

[B] Distance-education mega-universities

[C] The largest of these high enrollment universities

[D] Two main types of educational institutions

52. It may be inferred that the Internet could be the technology of choice in_______.

[A] the China Central Radio and Television University

[B] the University of South Africa

[C] the British Open University

[D] the English-speaking world

53. We learn from the passage that the distance-education programs may offer all the following EXCEPT______.

[A] virtually all the basic literacy courses and the highest graduate-level programming

[B] nearly 90% of the required credits

[C] courses for master's degrees and accredited doctoral degrees

[D] 50,000 university-level courses

54. The residential colleges in the United States ______.

[A] serve only the 18-to-23-year-old population

[B] provide students with social, artistic, athletic, and spiritual programs

[C] provide courses from colleges and universities around the world

[D] may provide a lot of faculty members to conduct courses lively

55. Judging from the context we know that a mega-university is_______.

[A] the largest of these high enrollment universities

[B] the China Central Radio and Television University

[C] the British Open University

[D] a university with very large number of students

Text 12

To date, over 1 billion Barbie dolls have been sold. The average American girl aged between three and 11 owns a staggering ten Barbie dolls, according to Mattel, the American toy giant. An Italian or British girl owns seven; a French or German girl, five. The Barbie brand is worth some $2 billion--a little ahead of Armani, just behind the Wall Street Journal--making it the most valuable toy brand in the world, according to Interbrand, a consultancy. How is it that this impossibly proportioned, charmless toy has endured in an industry notorious for whimsical fad and fickle fashion?

Part of Barbie's appeal is that she has become, according to Christopher Varaste, a historian of Barbie, "the face of the American dream". Barbie is not a mere toy, nor product category: she is an icon. Quite how she became one is hotly debated among the Barbie sorority. Some think she answers an innate girlish desire for fantasy, role-playing and dressing-up. Others believe that Mattel has simply manipulated girls' aspirations to that end.

Either way, wrapped up in her pouting lips and improbable figure--buxom breasts, wafer-thin waist and permanently arched feet waiting to slip into a pair of high heels--is an apparently enduring statement of aspiration and western aesthetic. She is, according to M.G. Lord, who has written a biography of Barbie, "the most potent icon of American popular culture in the late twentieth century."

Officialdom has recognised Barbie's iconic status. The Americans included a Barbie doll in the 1976 bicentennial time capsule. Earlier this year, the American government buried her in a "women's health" time capsule, alongside a pair of forceps and a girdle. As an emblem of Americana she is subject to pastiche, derision and political statement. Andy Warhol made a portrait of Barbie, the Campbell's soup of toy brands. An exhibition in London earlier this year displayed "Suicide Bomber Barbie" by Simon Tyszko, a British artist. Her hair was blonde, her hair ribbon red, and around her slender waist was wrapped a belt of explosives, attached to a detonator held daintily in her hand.

Barbie has not colonised girls' imaginations by accident. Mattel has dedicated itself to promoting Barbie as "a lifestyle, not just a toy". In addition to selling the dolls, Mattel licenses Barbie in 30 different product categories, from furniture to make-up. A girl can sleep in Barbie pyjamas, under a Barbie duvet-cover, her head on a Barbie pillow-case, surrounded by Barbie wall-paper, and on, and on. There are Barbie conventions, fan clubs, web sites, magazines and collectors' events.

"She's so much more than a character brand," enthuses a Mattel publicity person, "she's a fashion statement, a way of life." (449 words）

56. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

[A] The average American girl aged between three and 11 owns 10 staggering Barbie dolls.

[B] Wall Street Journal is the most valuable toy brand in the world.

[C] The Barbie brand is the most valuable toy brand in the world.

[D] The Barbie brand is worth more than $2 billion.

57. How did Barbie become an icon according to the text?

[A] Barbie has "the face of the American dream".

[B] She answers an innate girlish desire for fantasy, role-playing and dressing-up

[C] It is Mattel that manipulated girls' aspirations to that end.

[D] Different people have different explanations.

58. Barbie's iconic status is shown in all the following EXCEPT______.

[A] Barbie doll in the 1976 bicentennial time capsule

[B] She was buried in a "women's health" time capsule

[C] She is subject to pastiche, derision and political statement

[D] Barbie has colonised girls' imaginations

59. It can be inferred from the text that Mattel is_______.

[A] a man who created Barbie doll

[B] the name of a toy manufacturer

[C] an individual organization

[D] a sorority

60. The best title for the text may be ______.

[A] Barbie dolls in USA

[B] Barbie's appeal

[C] Barbie's appeal and iconic status

[D] Barbie, the most valuable toy brand

Text 13

There are many reasons why London is an attractive place in which to live and to do international business: the time zone, English, the shops, the theatre--and the taxes. A loophole in Britain's law allows many foreigners to avoid paying tax on income generated outside Britain or on the disposal of foreign assets.

In most countries, a foreign resident's "domicile" (home country) status is determined by objective criteria. In Britain, it's largely up to the foreigner. So a Greek shipowner who has lived in Britain for years but says that he intends to move back to Athens when circumstances permit is treated differently from one who says he intends to settle in Britain.

This rule helps explain why so many rich foreigners choose to live in a city with such rotten weather and congested roads. At least 60,000 are reckoned to benefit from the loophole; and their considerable investments in the better streets of Belgravia, Mayfair and Hampstead have injected many millions into the top end of the property market. If they pulled out, nasty things could happen to the price of penthouses. So there has been considerable alarm in monied circles since Gordon Brown declared that he was going to review the rules in last April's budget. The review is expected this year.

It is easy to understand why a Labour chancellor would want to close a loophole that turns Britain into a tax haven for rich foreigners. And it isn't just politicians who disapprove. "Every tax system treats temporary residents differently. What is ridiculous about this system is this archaic, subjective rule about domicile," says Edward Troup of Simmons & Simmons, a City law firm.

But there are worries that if the government removes this tax loophole, London will suffer. The change will affect not just rich shipping magnates but foreign staff working for London's international banks. "Whenever governments have looked at this in the past 20 years, they have concluded that the balance of advantages was in favour of leaving the rules as they are," says John Battersby, a tax partner at KPMG, an accountancy firm. "There isn't any easy money for the government because a lot of the people are internationally mobile and won't stay."

So far, the Treasury appears inclined to caution. In the November pre-budget report, it stressed the need to balance tax fairness with the ability to attract skilled labour. But rich foreigners are keeping a close eye on the promised review. (419 words）

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