When education fails to keep pace with technology, the result is inequality. Without the skills to stay useful as innovations arrive, workers suffer—and if enough of them fall behind, society starts to fail apart. That fundamental insight seized reformers in the Industrial Revolution, promoting state-funded universal schooling. Later, automation in factories and offices called forth a surge in college graduates. The combination of education and innovation, spread over decades, led to a remarkable flowering of prosperity. Today robotics and artificial intelligence call for another education revolution. This time, however, working lives are so lengthy and so fast-changing that simply cramming more schooling in at the start is not enough. People must also be able to acquire new skills throughout their careers. Unfortunately, as our special report in this issue sets out, the lifelong learning that exists today mainly benefits high achievers and is therefore more likely to aggravate inequality than diminish it. If 21st-century economies are not to create a massive underclass, policymakers urgently need to work out how to help all their citizens learn while they earn. So far, their ambition has fallen pitifully short. The classic model of education—a burst at the start and top-ups through company training—is breaking down. One reason is the need for new, and constantly updated, skills. Manufacturing increasingly calls for brain work rather than physical work. The share of the American workforce employed in routine office jobs declined from 25. 5% to 21% between 1996 and 2015. The single, stable career has gone the way of the Rolodex. Pushing people into ever-higher levels of formal education at the start of their lives is not the way to cope. Just 16% of Americans think that a four-year college degree prepares students very well for a good job. Although a vocational education promises that vital first hire, those with specialized training tend to withdraw from the labour force earlier than those with general education—perhaps because they are less adaptable. At the same time on-the-job training is shrinking. In America and Britain it has fallen by roughly half in the past two decades. Self-employment is spreading, leaving more people to take responsibility for their own skills. Taking time out later in life to pursue a formal qualification is an option, but it costs money and most colleges are geared towards youngsters.

Now that we are fairly sure that there are many Earth-like planets in the Galaxy, the time is ripe (or almost so) to wonder whether these new worlds do indeed have a high probability of hosting new forms of life. Currently, the best【C1】______on the existence of other planets comes from NASA's【C2】______Kepler satellite, which has been mapping an area of the sky【C3】______some 150,000 stars. Scientists estimate that around 5 percent of planets in our galaxy have masses similar【C4】______Earth's and, possibly, are within the habitable zone of their stars, meaning that【C5】______they hold water it has a high chance of being liquid.【C6】______there are about 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone, scientists estimate that there should be about 10 billion Earth-size planets. Not bad, especially if we【C7】______that to be Earth-size and within a habitable zone is all it takes for life to take hold in an【C8】______world. In practice, however, the situation is much more【C9】______, since it depends on what life is and how it appears in a planet,【C10】______on the planet's detailed geological history. Here on Earth life appeared some 3.5 billion years ago.【C11】______that it may have been here as far【C12】______as 3.8 billion years ago remain tentative. For about the first three billion years, life on earth was【C13】______in the form of single-cell creatures. Only when Earth's atmosphere was full of oxygen did more sophisticated organisms appear. 【C14】______its unusual atmosphere, Earth's heavy, single moon, its magnetic field also did something else that allowed complex life to【C15】______on its surface.【C16】______these, Complex life would find it very hard to【C17】______and survive. The results from Kepler's mission are encouraging and exciting. We have the【C18】______of confirming the existence of countless other worlds out there. Based on these findings, we should indeed【C19】______that other worlds would host some kind of simple life. However, as some scientists argued, Earth and its ability to host complex life will probably remain a【C20】______phenomenon in this and other galaxies.

Writeanessaybasedonthefollowingtable.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthetable,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150wordsontheANSWERSHEET.(15points)

BPart BDirections: Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following information./B

Suppose you are going to resign from your company for personal reasons. Write a letter of resignation to your manager to 1) inform him about your decision, and 2) express your best wishes. You should write about 100 words. Do not use your own name. Use "Li Ming" instead. Do not write your address.

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Forum was established in 2011, with the intention to support and encourage cooperation between the BRICS nations in commercial, political and cultural dimensions. The five member states of BRICS are nations with unique culture, different economic sizes, and social and economic developments. However, one thing the BRICS nations have in common is that each plays significant roles in their regional affairs. Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized, multiple times in his keynote speech to the BRICS heads, as well as to the business and industrial leaders from the participation nations, that the BRICS highly value mutual respect, openness and tolerance, as well as mutual benefit, which, President Xi said he believes, is the cornerstone to the success of the cooperation among the BRICS nations in the past decade and will continue to be so in the foreseeable future cooperation among the BRICS nations, and cooperation between BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing economies.

BSection III Writing/B

For a child, happiness has a magical quality. I remember making hide-outs in newly cut hay, playing cops and robbers in the woods, getting a speaking part in the school play. For adults, happiness is complicated. As far as I am concerned, happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from loving and being loved, the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, even good health. While happiness may be more complex for us, the solution is the same as ever. Happiness isn' t about what happens to us; it' s about how we perceive what happens to us. It' s the knack of finding a positive for every negative, and viewing a set-back as a challenge. It' s not wishing for what we don' t have,but enjoying what we do possess.

BPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D./B

While still catching up to men in some fields of modern life, women appear to be far ahead in at least one undesirable aspect. "Women are particularly liable to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men." according to Dr. Yehuda, chief psychiatrist at New York's Veteran's Administration Hospital. Studies of both animals and humans have shown that sex hormone (荷尔蒙) somehow affect the stress response, causing females under stress to produce more of the trigger chemicals than do males under the same conditions. In several of the studies, when stressed-out female rats had their ovaries (the female reproductive organs) removed, their chemical responses became equal to those of the males. Adding to a woman's increased dose of stress chemicals, are her increased "opportunities" for stress. "It's not necessarily that women don't cope as well. It's just that they have so much more to cope with." says Dr.Yehuda. "Their capacity for tolerating stress may even be greater than men's," she observes, " it's just that they' re dealing with so many more things that they become worn out from it more visibly and sooner." Dr.Yehuda notes another difference between the sexes. "I think that the kinds of things that women are exposed to tend to be in a chronic or repeated nature. Men go to war and are exposed to combat stress. Men are exposed to more acts of random physical violence. The kinds of interpersonal violence that women are exposed to tend to be in domestic situations, by, unfortunately, parents or other family members, and they tend not to be one-shot deals. The wear-and-tear that comes from these longer relationships can be quite devastating." Adeline Alvarez married at 18 and gave birth to a son, but was determined to finish college. "I struggled a lot to get the college degree. I was living in so much frustration that that was my escape, to go to school, and get ahead and do better." Later, her marriage ended and she became a single mother. "It's the hardest thing to take care of a teenager, have a job, pay the rent, pay the car payment, and pay the debt. I lived from paycheck to paycheck." Not everyone experiences the kinds of severe chronic stresses Alvarez describes. But most women today are coping with a lot of obligations, with few breaks, and feeling the strain. Alvarez's experience demonstrates the importance of finding ways to diffuse stress before it threatens your health and your ability to function.

As I type these lines, my daughter, Harriet, who is 14, is on her iPhone skipping among no fewer than eight social media sites. My son, Penn, who is 15, will be asleep for hours yet. He was 【C1】______ all night with a friend playing two video games, in a jag fueled by his favorite foodlike【C2】______. I like that my kids are comfortable and alert in the wired world. But increasingly I am 【C3】______ for them. It's more 【C4】______ every day that screens have gradually stolen them from themselves. My wife, Cree, and I have 【C5】______ them to drift quite distantly into the online world, and we fear our casualness has been a【C6】______. Each summer Cree and I resolve to 【C7】______ things back. This is 【C8】______ we draft rules for a new school year, strictures like: no laptops in bedrooms during the week; homework before screen time; no electronics after 10 p.m.. These rules invariably begin to 【C9】______ by Day 3. By Day 4, there is pleading, and the discreet slamming of doors. By Day 8, no one is sure what the【C10】______are anymore. We're back where we started, and plump with fear. This year it【C11】______to me we needed help. So I sat down with a new book that【C12】______assistance, and understanding. It is The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age, whose primary【C13】______, Catherine Steiner-Adair, is a clinical psychologist who teaches at Harvard Medical School. Her book is【C14】______on thousands of interviews, and it can be eloquent about the need to ration our children' s computer time. Here the author has pinned me. I like to think I' m a good father, perhaps even casually【C15】______in my better moments,【C16】______there is zero doubt that, without my iPhone in my palm, I feel I lose something since I'm fairly【C17】______. I must change my life a bit. Cree and I are still hammering out our kids' computer rules. We are trying to【C18】______in mind that we' re not our kids' best friends; we' re their【C19】______. And we are【C20】______if there' s an app for fortitude.

BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B

An article in Scientific American has pointed out that empirical research says that, actually, you think you' re more beautiful than you are. We have a deep-seated need to feel good about ourselves and we naturally employ a number of self-enhancing strategies to achieve this. Social psychologists have amassed oceans of research into what they call the " above average effect" , or " illusory superiority" ,and shown that, for example, 70% of us rate ourselves as above average in leadership, 93% in driving and 85% at getting on well with others—all obviously statistical impossibilities. We rose-tint our memories and put ourselves into self-affirming situations. We become defensive when criticised, and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem. We stalk around thinking we' re hot stuff. Psychologist and behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key study into self-enhancement and attractiveness. Rather than have people simply rate their beauty compared with others,he asked them to identify an original photograph of themselves from a lineup including versions that had been altered to appear more and less attractive. Visual recognition,reads the study, is "an automatic psychological process occurring rapidly and intuitively with little or no apparent conscious deliberation". If the subjects quickly chose a falsely flattering image — which most did— they genuinely believed it was really how they looked. Epley found no significant gender difference in responses. Nor was there any evidence that those who self-enhanced the most(that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored pictures were real)were doing so to make up for profound insecurities. In fact, those who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were real directly corresponded with those who showed other markers for having higher self-esteem. " I don' t think the findings that we have are any evidence of personal delusion", says Epley. "It's a reflection simply of people generally thinking well of themselves". If you are depressed, you won't be self-enhancing. Knowing the results of Epley' s study, it makes sense that many people hate photographs of themselves so viscerally —on one level, they don' t even recognise the person in the picture as themselves. Facebook, therefore, is a self-enhancer' s paradise, where people can share only the most flattering photos, the cream of their wit, style, beauty, intellect and lifestyle. "It' s not that people' s profiles are dishonest", says Catalina Toma of Wisconsin-Madison University, "but they portray an idealized version of themselves".

Directions： In this part，you are asked to write an essay according to the information below．You should write more than 150 words neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2．(15 points) 近年来，火车提速一直是一个热门话题。对此，有些人持肯定态度，认为火车提速能带来很多便利。但也有些人持否定态度，他们认为火车提速带来的弊要多于利。请谈谈你的看法。

You are going to read a list of headings and a text. Choose the most suitable heading from the list[A]to[G]for each numbered paragraph (41-45). There are two extra subheadings which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. ( 10 points)[A]Prepare for temptation. [B]Stay organized. [C]Prioritize your assignments. [D]Focus on what you do. [E]Find a productive study environment. [F]Study effectively. [G]Make a detailed schedule. When it comes to studying, managing your time is of the uttermost importance. You should determine how much time spent studying is enough, which varies from student to student and from one class to another. The following are some helpful tips on better managing your time. 【R1】______ Instead of just determining time to study in your head, make a subject-specific calendar and mark is so you can be reminded effectively. You will be more likely to follow through with your study plan if it is clearly marked on your calendar. Making a schedule and sticking to it will allow you to develop a routine that you can easily follow. Remember, you will have to revise your study schedule each semester to accommodate your class schedule and your other changing commitments. 【R2】______ Sorting out your assignments is a good way to ensure you spend the appropriate amount of time studying for each class or subject. Devote more time to studying subjects that are new to you or those in which your grade needs improvement. Also, remember to study the harder subjects first so that you tackle them with a fresh mind. Additionally, you should organize your studies with important tests or exams in mind. 【R3】______ You will inevitably be driven to distraction at some point, but don't get discouraged. Rather, learn from your mistakes, and look for patterns in the times you put off studying. Additionally, establish a way to reward yourself with fun activities after you finish a study session. This will give you the extra boost of energy to accomplish what you need to so you can enjoy spending time with your friends and family. 【R4】______ All students have a place where they are able to stay on task and maximize their time. Actually, some students find it ideal to study in a coffee shop or another place where there is background noise. Some students become more distracted when they study alone because there is no accountability. If you tend to stay on task when there are other students around who are devoting time exclusively to studying, go to these places at the right time. 【R5】______ Since you will be enrolled in several classes at a time, it is important that you systematize your class and study materials in a way that makes it easy to access them. Find a method that works for you, such as using a separate binder or folder for each class. Also, you don't want to interrupt your study session by searching your room for flash cards or notes. If you are taking online courses, figure out how to avoid wasting time sifting through your hard drive for course materials.

Over the past two decades America"s broken immigration system has confounded one Congress after another, because it never seemed possible to create a law that satisfied the right balance of interests. But some Republicans changed their minds after the 2012 presidential election, when Mitt Romney took just 27% of the Latino vote. It did not take a brilliant strategist to understand the threat: Latinos were growing in number, were increasingly likely to vote, and were turning away from Republicans in droves. Last June, 14 Republicans in the Senate joined the majority Democrats to pass a comprehensive immigration-reform bill. The effort stalled when the Republican-led House of Representatives said it would not take up the measure. But last week it roared back to life when John Boehner, the House Speaker, issued a brief memo to his caucus outlining principles for reform. Although short on specifics, in most respects Mr Boehner"s note echoes the Senate bill. It calls for a secure border, biometrics to track comers and goers, and a digitized system for employers to check the immigration status of workers. It urges the allocation of visas to suit the demands of American firms. It says that most of the 1. 5m "Dreamers"(illegal immigrants brought to America as children)should be allowed to become citizens. How the ground has shifted; only three years ago Senate Republicans put a Dream Act to death. These provisions are not universally loved—many think America already spends too much money keeping people out—but they can command support from both parties in Congress. That may not apply to the knottiest part of reform: what to do about America"s 11m—12m illegal immigrants, two-thirds of whom have lived in the country for over a decade. The Senate bill would allow most undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship after paying back-taxes, displaying English proficiency, passing a background check and so forth. That, though, was too much for House Republicans to stomach, so Mr Boehner proposes merely to remove the threat of deportation from those who can satisfy a similar laundry list; there will, he says, be " no special path to citizenship".

BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B

BPart B/B

Suppose you applied to Central Washington University for admission 3 months ago, but have not received a reply. Write an email to Central Washington University to 1) inquire about your admission, and 2) inform it your phone number. You should write about 100 words. Do not use your own name. Use "Li Ming" instead. Do not write your address.

Suppose there will be some basketball matches against Yale University on your campus. Write a poster to 1) inform all students of the matches in your university on behalf of the Student Union, and 2) encourage them to participate. You should write about 100 words. Do not use your own name. Use "The Student Union" instead.