Almanacs in simple form have been known from the invention of writing.

It is a success in so far as more women retain their youthful appearance to a greater age than in the past. "Old ladies" are already becoming rare. In a few years, we may well believe, theywill be extinctive. Ugliness is one of the symptoms of disease. In【M1】______so far as the campaign for more beauty is also a campaign for morehealth, it is admirable but genuinely successful. Beauty that is【M2】______merely the artificial shadow of these symptoms of health isintrinsically poorer quality than the genuine article. The apparatus【M3】______for mimicking the symptoms of health is now within the reach ofevery moderately prosperity person; the knowledge of the way in【M4】______which real health can be achieved is growing, and will in time, nodoubt, universally acted upon. When that happy moment comes,【M5】______will every woman be beautiful—as beautiful, at any rate, as thenatural shape of his features, with or without surgical and chemical【M6】______aid permits? The answer is obvious: No. For real beauty is as much anaffair of the inner as the outer self. The beauty of a porcelain jar is【M7】______the matter of shape, of colour, of surface texture. The jar may be【M8】______empty or tenanted by spiders, full of honey or stinking slime—itmakes no difference as to its beauty or ugliness. But a woman is【M9】______lively, and her beauty is therefore not skin deep. The surface of the【M10】______human vessel is affected by the nature of its spiritual contents.

Beijing is contemplating charging congestion fees for cars that enter the city center during peak hours in a bid to ease the traffic condition and improve the air quality in the capital. Heated discussions on the effectiveness of congestion fees are aroused among people. The following are opinions from different sides. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should; 1. summarize briefly the different opinions; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. BadBreath (the US): Drastic measures must be taken or imposed in order to deal with the horrendous pollution problems throughout China. They can place enormous tariffs on cars to minimize traffic volume and pollution. Then, continue expanding the subway to the best of their ability. Brendan (the UK) : The congestion charge was introduced in London in 2003 in a bid to reduce inner-city traffic volume and prevent pollution. The congestion charge of about ￡11.5 is required to enter the zone. In the 12 years since the congestion fees have been levied, traffic volume and pollution have fallen sharply. The policy can be named as one of the most successful policies. Matt ( China) : I support the move! I have to endure road congestion every day to and from work; I don't know whether this congestion charge will be an effective solution to this problem or not, but I sure hope so! The ways of managing cars that are currently in force are unreasonable since they cost a lot in fees even for people who don't drive cars. It would be better to change to a situation where those who drive cars bear high costs, while those who do not drive cars pay no money at all. Britomart (China) : There's another very significant factor, which our city's officials seem to be ignoring. Congestion fees are no barrier to the very wealthy, to whom fees and regulations are negligible. If anything, higher rates simply serve to show off that they are the elite, to whom money is irrelevant. Strangerl23 (the US) : Such fees are just more income for the government. People who need to drive will pay the fee. No such fee can ever stop or deter anyone from driving. You know why? Driving is not a luxury as you imagine. To many people, driving is a necessity. Why don't you ban cars? This would work greatly. Aran (Singapore) : The congestion charge is almost proven not to work all by itself. It has to come backed up with extensive public transport systems. Singapore has a decent public transport system and that is why the congestion charge works. Singapore has a metro stop almost every two blocks (in the central districts) and buses every 5 minutes to feed them. The inherent solution itself comes with the way the city is designed so that people travel less. China could solve part of the problems with ramping up the density of residential areas around their work places. PatricklnBeijing (Germany) : Congestion fees might make more sense if they are coupled with other programs. Several people have noted to improve mass transit. How about lower fees for cars with multiple passengers and higher fees for cars with only one person? Multiple passenger cars could also be given priority at toll booths. Electric cars could get reduced fees, while large cars that produce more pollution would pay more. There are a number of ideas which could help. Keep in mind that it is not just about congestion, but about pollution and that not all cars pollute equally. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.

Lao Tzu, the great ancient Chinese thinker, once observed in his well-known work, the Tao Te Ching, "He who knows others is intelligent. He who knows himself is wise. " Is it more important to know others or to know oneself? The following are opinions from two sides. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the opinions from both sides; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.Interviewers Bob Calderoni, Executive Chairman of Citrix: It is impossible to decide whether or not you like something until you have tried it. If you decide that you'd like to play the violin, you need to take more than one lesson before you can know whether you have any interest or ability. It's not enough to want to be a great violinist. You also have to like the hard and long training before you become one. If you would enjoy being a great violinist but hate the work, forget it. Mike Bond, Chief Financial Officer of Pulse Electronics: Although most students would be unhappy if they found that they had failed an advanced math course, they have actually learned a great deal about themselves. They know that they should not become engineers or physical scientists, and that they should not be good at accounting work. So failing can help a student to lead a much happier life if he or she draws the right conclusion from the failing. They may then decide on their aim and choose the kind of work they would like to do. Elizabeth R. Thornton, HR Executive of Verizon Communications: If you think you're truly objective, you're wrong. The reality is we all have bias. If they're not managed, we then may pay in lost opportunities, money, relationships, and other ways. People are naturally biased. We perceive something, and in an instant, we project our mental models, our past experiences, our backgrounds, onto whatever that is—a person, situation, or event. Oftentimes, we get it wrong. Once you realize that you're inherently not objective, you can get some distance and focus on the situation. It takes self-awareness.Interviewees Lynn Calpeter: I have to do my homework before the interview. I'd check with my university to see if there are any graduates working at the company I'm applying for, ask my friends to grill me in a mock interview, go to the library to find newspaper clippings on the company, and maybe call their suppliers or customers. Anyway, it takes no longer to prepare well for one interview than to wander in half-prepared for five. Susan R. Meisinger: Knowing others offers great help to business of course, but it isn't easy. Learning about a wide range of people makes so much of a difference that it is definitely worth it. For example, think of the salesperson who engages you in a conversation about your life rather than acting like they couldn't care less whether you were there or not and only going on about the product. A successful sale is often brought about simply because the salesperson acknowledges that they're in a relationship with the customer as a human being, not as a consumer. Richard A. Laxer: You have to watch your staff and get to know them as individuals. Differences must be taken into account—no two people are alike or have the same interests. As a boss, you have to understand their motives. That allows you to enhance, adjust, and align their motives with your goals. It's your job to figure out which employees best fit for certain jobs, and which for others. So the employees do all they can in their jobs and the talent of every individual can be turned to good account. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.

To say that the novel is dead or dying is to utter a cliche. The evidence is stri-kingly abundant. Yet, paradoxically, never before have so many been written so well. Libraries have been ransacked and techniques have been anatomized. The how of writing a novel has been mastered. But the why of a novel's very being—its significant content—is sadly wanting. And it is this fatal error, this almost exclusive obsession with style and technique that has alienated the novelist from his potential audience. Zola was a Naturalist: a reflector of life rather than an interpreter. He had a story to tell, and his means of telling it was always secondary to the story itself. One may often groan under the weight of his cumbersome sentences, excessive detail, and quaint moralizing, but interest never flags. The man's energy and vigor is larva-like. You are pushed, shoved, and carried along—a willing captive. For in his hand the dazzling Second Empire comes alive in all its tinsel glamour and decadence. Zola's approach to his material was quasi-scientific, almost clinical. He had a case to prove. (And not an existential one!) Man was a victim of his heredity and environment, and no matter how he writhed or struggled in his chains, there was no escape. Society was the arch-villain from whom there was no reprieve. Thus, Zola was never concerned with the subtleties of individual psychology. Man in the mass was his sole quarry—man and his institutions built on corruption, hypocrisy and vice. The publication of Nana (1880) created a storm of protest. It was banned in England, but that was to be expected. And it sold exceedingly well. It was excoriated as being a dirty book, written by a monster and designed to corrupt the morals of both young and old. Years later, a similar fate befell many of the works of that arch-sedu-cer, Theodore Dreiser. Strangely enough, however, the book's advent did not noticeably increase the battalion of streetwalkers. Poor Nana dies much too horrible a death. And her brief period of splendor hardly compensates for the hideous price she has to pay. The truth is that Zola was an impassioned moralist. He used Nana—the slum child—as weapon to flay the shams and pretensions of a profligate society. For Zola to have given us his superb portrait of Nana would have been triumph enough. But his intent and purpose was so much more! Nana, after all, was mere witless pawn, spawned by a corrupt society whose licentiousness was equaled only by its gross materialism. It fed on sensation and thrived on injustice. And it is this society that Zola pilloried with all his matchless weapons. What were they? First and foremost, an intimate knowledge of his subject matter. Secondly, his unparalleled descriptive powers. Actually, Zola does more than merely describe. He literally makes you taste and smell. You are seated at Nana's Nero-like banquets. You are in Nana's intoxicating dressing room. You are a participant in the mass frenzy at the races. And finally, you are present—in the very room—at Nana's death. Everything is painted in livid colors—all the swirl, the ebb and the flow, the pulsating excitement of a society hellbent on destroying itself. Lastly, Zola's outraged moral sense, which gives added weight to his scathing indictment.

There are a number of beauty contests across the world, the most famous perhaps being the Miss World Pageant. Some people believe that these contests are an important platform to celebrate the beauty and wisdom of women. The following are opinions from two women writers. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize the arguments on both sides and then 2. give your comment on the statement that beauty contests are beneficial to women.Naomi Wolf, writer, and author of Beauty Myth The most obvious detrimental effect of beauty pageants is enforcing an inappropriate body perception for men and women. Unlike the majority of so-called "average" women, the beauty of such contests' participants is cherished and rehearsed; this is the case when natural beauty is heavily supported by the efforts of visagistes and dressers. Though pageants represent the absolute minority of the society, their appearances set high, unrealistic standards for how women of all ages should look like. Young girls who try to live up to these standards, mature women complaining about their bodies, men who demand their wives/girlfriends to look like beauty pageants—all of them are affected by the illusions propagated by beauty contests. Another perception issue arises from the very nature of beauty contests—the objectification of women. Despite proclaimed gender equality, physical attractiveness remains one of the major requirements for women today. No matter how progressive and tolerant people strive to be, they still make their first impression about other people by their appearance, and this is natural. However, the idea of beauty contests implies evaluating women solely on their physical shape, ignoring all other aspects of individuality. Interviewing, meant to show a contestant's personality, is a fraud; as one of the former pageants wrote, none of the judges wanted to hear about deep problems, asking about the most challenging childhood experiences. This turns a woman into a media object, or even a product, which can be assessed and then either approved or rejected; due to the popularity of beauty contests, such attitude is being widely propagated.Elizabeth Day, feature writer for The Observe In an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more, according to a survey in The Observer. Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about—they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained. Beauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world; indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40's and 50's.

Christopher Plummer is a Canadian actor who has starred in stage, television, and film productions on both sides the Atlantic Ocean.

PASSAGE TWO

PASSAGE TWO

PASSAGE FOUR

Female-only buses have been introduced in many countries with varying degrees of success. Some think these buses can more or less protect women from groping and harassment. But some hold that such single-sex transport is a relatively discrimination. The following two excerpts introduce the implementation of this practice in Mexico and China respectively. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the two excerpts, and then 2. give your comment on this practice.Excerpt 1 Groping and verbal harassment is an exasperating reality for women using public transportation in Mexico City, where 22 million passengers cram onto subways and buses each day. Acting on complaints from women's groups, the city rolled out "ladies only" buses, complete with pink signs in the windshields to wave off the men. As word spreads about the buses, the women seem delighted, while some men forced to wait a few minutes longer have shown their anger. Still others have stumbled on board despite the signs, much to their embarrassment. On Thursday, when a man mistakenly climbed aboard on one of the female-only buses, the women immediately began teasing him and shouting that he should read the "ladies only" sign. The man blushed and mumbled an apology, then ignored the taunts until he got off several stops later. Mexico City's female-only buses run along three busy routes throughout the day for now, but the city plans to add them to 15 other routes by April, said Ariadna Montiel, who directs the public bus system. "Women were asking for this service because of the sexual harassment, especially groping and leering," Montiel said. And while some men have complained that they have to wait longer for a bus, she said the women are thrilled: "The women are really happy and we have been getting a lot of e-mail and letters from them."Excerpt 2 The introduction of a women-only bus, a relatively new concept in China, in Zhengzhou has riled some local men and sparked an online debate. The new summer service will run during morning and evening rush hours in the eastern city of Zhengzhou, in an effort to cut the number of groping incidents, Dahe Daily reports. The local bus company says it'll protect women from being harassed when wearing lighter clothing, and also help breastfeeding mothers feel more comfortable. Women interviewed on board the bus said they were pleased with the service. But some local men are less impressed. One tells that harassment isn't common on public transport: "The bus company has made a fuss over it—this measure will cause men to feel humiliated." Another man complains: "I had to wait a really long time for another bus to arrive because I wasn't allowed on." A video that has gone viral shows an elderly man remonstrating with the driver after being denied boarding. "You're discriminating against me! This is a public bus!" he shouts. Others appear unfazed, and wander off in search of another service. It's become a hot topic of debate on microblogging site Weibo, with lots of women welcoming the idea, although one notes: "Not all men are bad, but aren't all men being discriminated against here?" There's support from male users too, although some think it promotes a general distrust of men. Many also feel an exception should have been made for the elderly man in the video.

太阳与大家有关，人们跟着太阳起床，随着太阳的沉没而沉睡，等待明天的太阳。大家喜欢太阳，等着看日出，《日出的印象》是举世绘画名作，“夕阳无限好”是千古名句。太阳赋予大自然色彩，太阳在人间创造了阴影。没有了阴影，也就看不清光明，有了阴影才认识世界原来是立体的。总是生活在阴影里不健康，生活中没有阴影也不健康，太阳控制着人们的健康，生死存亡。

[此试题无题干]

PASSAGE FOUR

中国民族自古以来从不把人看作商于一切，在哲学文艺方面的表现都反映出人在自然界中与万物占着一个比例较为恰当，而非绝对统治万物的主宰。因此我们的苦闷，基本上比西方人为少为小；因为苦闷的强弱原是随欲望与野心的大小而转移的。农业社会的人比工业社会的人享受差得多，因此，欲望也小得多。况中国古代素来以不滞于物，不为物役为最主要的人生哲学。 并非我们没有守财奴，但比起莫里哀与巴尔扎克笔下的守财奴与野心家来，就小巫见大巫了。中国民族多数是性情中正平和、淡泊、朴实，比西方人容易满足。

那地方像海南岛的冬天那么温暖。

With a team of the researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs.

Some Theories of HistoryI. The problems of understanding history History with written records: the records may be【T1】 1 and inaccurate.【T1】 2 History before writing: we can only make a partial【T2】 3.【T2】 4II. Some theories have been proposed to give【T3】 5 to human history【T3】 6Theory 1 Man continually【T4】 7 in terms of his potentials and【T4】 8his abilities to【T5】 9 these potentials.【T5】 10 Modern man is superior to his ancestors【T6】 11, physically and morally.【T6】 12 A branch of the theory: man rose to a【T7】 13 before.【T7】 14Theory 2 Man's history is a【T8】 15 of stages of development, whose pattern is【T8】 16the【T9】 17 and fall of civilization.【T9】 18 Whether modern man is superior to his ancestors depends onwhat【T10】 19 of civilization he is in.【T10】 20Theory 3 In this theory, the first two theories【T11】 21 with each other.【T11】 22 It is known as the【T12】 23 of history.【T12】 24Theory 4 This theory views human history from the【T13】 25【T13】 26of【T14】 27 groups.【T14】 28 Human history can be interpreted as the【T15】 29 of class struggle.【T15】 30 Some Theories of HistoryI. The problems of understanding history History with written records: the records may be【T1】 31 and inaccurate.【T1】 32 History before writing: we can only make a partial【T2】 33.【T2】 34II. Some theories have been proposed to give【T3】 35 to human history【T3】 36Theory 1 Man continually【T4】 37 in terms of his potentials and【T4】 38his abilities to【T5】 39 these potentials.【T5】 40 Modern man is superior to his ancestors【T6】 41, physically and morally.【T6】 42 A branch of the theory: man rose to a【T7】 43 before.【T7】 44Theory 2 Man's history is a【T8】 45 of stages of development, whose pattern is【T8】 46the【T9】 47 and fall of civilization.【T9】 48 Whether modern man is superior to his ancestors depends onwhat【T10】 49 of civilization he is in.【T10】 50Theory 3 In this theory, the first two theories【T11】 51 with each other.【T11】 52 It is known as the【T12】 53 of history.【T12】 54Theory 4 This theory views human history from the【T13】 55【T13】 56of【T14】 57 groups.【T14】 58 Human history can be interpreted as the【T15】 59 of class struggle.【T15】 60