阅读理解

International Applications to Cambridge

How to apply

All applicants to the University of Cambridge must submit（提交）an application to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) by the deadline. Once you've submitted it, you'll receive an email directing you to complete the Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ).

In addition to a UCAS application, students applying from outside the UK/EU, and/or who wish to be considered for an Organ Scholarship or an overseas interview must submit a Cambridge Online Preliminary Application (COPA). After that, you'll receive COPA reference number, which you should enter on the SAQ.

You may be required to submit academic reports. To determine whether you are required or not, please see our reports page. For your application to be valid (有效的), all required documents must reach us by the relevant deadline.

Interviews

Everyone with a realistic chance of being offered a place is invited to attend an interview. A reasonable standard in spoken English is required at interview. Information on why we interview, what to expect and how to prepare can be found on our main interviews page.

Admission assessments

Most applicants are required to take a subject-specific written admission assessment, either pre-interview or at interview. Additionally, some Colleges ask applicants for some courses to submit examples of their written work which may then be discussed at interview.

Decisions

We'll advise you of our decision before the end of January. If you're offered a place, you'll be informed by the College and through UCAS.

1. （1） Who is required to submit a COPA?

   A . Those applying online overseas. B . Those hoping to win a scholarship. C . Those anxious to enter Cambridge. D . Those from non-EU/UK countries.
3. （2） What must you do if you succeed in your application?

   A . Turn in academic reports. B . Participate in an interview. C . Take an admission assessment. D . Offer copies of written work.
5. （3） What is the purpose of the text?

   A . To instruct. B . To comment. C . To advertise. D . To persuade.

阅读理解

In a cafe in south London, two construction workers are talking cheerfully. They sometimes break into loud laughter. They are discussing something, and their conversation looks fun and interesting. But I don't speak their language. Out of interest, I interrupt them.

With friendly smiles, they both change easily to English, explaining that they are South Africans and were speaking Xhosa. In Johannesburg, where they are from, most people speak at least five languages, says one of them, Theo Morris. "My mother's language is Sotho. My father's is Zulu. I learned Xhosa and Ndebele from my friends and neighbors, and English and Afrikaans from school. I can speak well all of the languages mentioned above. I went to Germany before I came here, so I also speak a little German," he adds.

"Is it easy to learn so many languages?" "Yes, it's normal," he laughs. He's right. Around the world, more than half of the people speak at least two languages. Many countries have more than one official language — South Africa has 11. People, young or old, are increasingly expected to speak, read and write in at least one of a handful of "super" languages, such as English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish and Arabic.

Multilingualism（多语言）has many social psychological and lifestyle advantages. Moreover, many health benefits from speaking more than one language have been found, including faster stroke (中风) recovery.

Could it be that the human brain evolves (进化) to be multilingual — that those who speak only one language are not realizing their full potential? And in a world that is losing languages faster than ever — one every two weeks, half our languages will disappear hopelessly by the end of the century. What would happen if the rich diversity of languages disappeared and most of us ended up speaking only one? That's a serious problem we are facing.

1. （1） Why does the author interrupt the two workers?

   A . To join them in the conversation. B . To stop them from laughing loudly. C . To find out what language they're speaking. D . To learn the language that is spoken by them.
3. （2） What do we know about Theo Morris?

   A . He speaks all of his languages well. B . He can speak seven languages. C . He is from a single-language family. D . He is confident of learning super languages.
5. （3） Which of the following is one feature of multilingualism?

   A . It can do wonders. B . It is culture-specific. C . It is a difficult task. D . It is preferred by the young.
7. （4） What's the author's attitude towards the present situation of languages?

   A . Neutral. B . Favorable. C . Concerned. D . Doubtful.

阅读理解

Back in the early 2000s, lots of people couldn't have imagined life without alarm clocks, CD players, calendars, cameras, or lots of other devices. But along came the iPhone and other smartphones, and they took over the functions of dozens of things we used to think were essential.

The smartphone story could even be a model for fighting climate change; not because smartphones use a small part of the energy of all the things they replace — although they do — but because they represent a different approach to design in general. And that approach is to focus on function rather than form. That requires focusing on understanding the underlying problem, and then engineering a wide range of potential solutions. This approach could revolutionize how we think about energy efficiency.

Traditionally, improvements in energy efficiency have mostly focused on individual devices, which can be quite fruitful. But focusing on individual devices is like if Apple had spent effort inventing a better alarm clock, a better CD player, a better calendar, and a better camera. Now with an iPhone, we don't need the standalone devices at all, because it can function as all of them.

So when it comes to using energy efficiently, rather than just installing a more efficient heater, some people have focused instead on the desired function: staying warm. They designed and coated their house so well that they could get rid of their heater altogether, letting them heat their house with 99% less energy.

In the same way, rather than just making cars more efficient, what if we focus on the desired function — getting where we want when we want — and create an efficient transportation system where we can drive less or get rid of our personal cars entirely?

The most energy efficient car or heater is no car, or no heater, while still being able to get around and stay warm. In other words, it's not thinking efficient, it's thinking different.

1. （1） What makes the iPhone a good example of environmental protection?

   A . Perfecting individual devices. B . Combining possible functions. C . Adopting a minimalist design. D . Reducing the energy consumption.
3. （2） According to the passage, what is the core of improving energy efficiency?

   A . Using recyclable materials. B . Revolutionizing technologies. C . Figuring out various solutions. D . Concentrating on the essential needs.
5. （3） What does the author think of traditional practices in energy improvements?

   A . Out-of-date. B . Ineffective. C . Adequate. D . Successful.
7. （4） What can we learn from the passage?

   A . Be economical with energy. B . Differences make it unique. C . Think out of the box. D . Step out of the comfort zone.

阅读理解

When I was in primary school, my favorite place was the library, I was the kid who got shouted at for trying to bring home sixty books at a time because I just couldn't decide which world I wanted to experience that week. I remember spending my weekends glued to a book, hungering for experiencing lives other than my own. Up until middle school, reading was a passion (酷爱) of mine.

Something changed after I entered senior high school though. All of a sudden, reading was a task that I could not avoid fast enough. The books that I read in school bored me, or even if I enjoyed the books themselves, the difficult homework we completed based on those books made me hate reading as a whole.

It actually wasn't until recently that I rediscovered my love for reading. How you may ask? Audiobooks（有声书）. Last summer, I spent every morning taking long walks while listening to them, and I would find myself lost in the stories for hours. And now I'm rediscovering my passion for reading. I feel that pull again. That desire.

My love story with reading may have had a happy ending, but not everyone is as lucky as me. What went wrong?

What will happen is that students lose their love for reading because of the way many schools try to encourage children to read. For example, when a child is told to read for twenty minutes every night, they will read for the required amount of time and then check the task off on their list. In this way, reading has suddenly become a boring task instead of an exciting experience.

Making sure that kids keep their passion for reading will require us to rethink how we teach reading in schools and how we introduce books to children outside of school as well. There needs to be less of a focus on meeting reading requirements and more of a focus on creating an environment in which students are actually excited to read.

1. （1） Which word best describes the author's love for books before high school?

   A . Confusing. B . Crazy. C . Secret. D . Short-lived.
3. （2） Why did the author once hate reading?

   A . She couldn't choose what to read. B . She found high school books difficult. C . She was given too many books to read. D . Reading as a task turned her off.
5. （3） What does the underlined word "pull" in paragraph 3 probably mean?

   A . Attraction. B . Duty. C . Annoyance. D . Influence.
7. （4） What advice does the author give in the last paragraph?

   A . Give kids extra-curricular reading tasks. B . Encourage parents to introduce books to kids. C . Improve schools' ways of teaching reading. D . Develop kids' interest in advanced literature.

阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

For you who dream of studying abroad, you're probably thinking it'll be an easy transition. From my personal experience, I can tell you that it is much fun, but certainly not easy. In fact, there are many challenges of studying abroad.

You may feel like an outsider. Regardless of what country you're going to, you may find yourself wondering why everyone's laughing when you don't realize someone has told a joke.

Actually everyone I've ever met while studying abroad has been very friendly. Though I may never become truly "one of them", finally this problem becomes smaller and smaller.

You have to overcome the language barrier. Even if you're studying in a country where you speak the same language, there're still strong local accents and slang phrases (俚语) to clear.

However, the language barrier problem also goes away pretty quickly.

When something seems to go against you in a foreign country, you can really feel on your own. Your family and friends will be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This challenge is likely to be felt most especially true in the first few months. But then, you'll make new friends and after a year or so, everything will be OK!

There're cultural misunderstandings for you to deal with. As a foreigner, you don't know the local culture. Don't worry; you can avoid cultural misunderstandings by observing what others do and how they do it. If there's any doubt, just ask! You'll find most people are happy to talk about their customs.

A. Don't let this discourage you.

B. You're far from your support network.

C. You'll make mistakes, and many may be embarrassing.

D. Living abroad is wonderful when everything is going well.

E. So the words students use are going to be difficult to learn.

F. You should know that you can work out the problem by yourself.

G. Here are some of them that you need to overcome for your further study.

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳项。

Very few of us become fluent in another language by studying it in high school. I made an effort to keep up the little bit of French that I learned in school, but eventually realized that this was1. I was well aware that new languages are best learned when 2, and that our abilities in that regard decline with age. 3, just before my 50^th birthday, I registered for French classes.

After I was 4 to see which group I belonged in, I was 5 at almost the introductory level. I found that it really was true that certain linguistic（语言的）abilities 6 with age. While I'd always thought of myself as a (n) 7 learner, that was no longer the case. I absorbed new vocabulary very 8. What I learned one week ago seemed to 9 as soon as I learned the next skill.

Now, a couple of years later, I can listen to the news in French and 10 90 percent of it on the first try and read a novel if it's not too difficult.

Who knows what I might still 11?

I've learned so much 12 grammar and vocabulary. I've met people from around the world and all walks of life who have the 13 to make fools of themselves in order to 14 something new. I've been taught by patient and inspirational teachers from many 15 of the world, including France, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. But most of all, I've learned that it really is never too late to learn something new.

阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The students are running around the playground for their PE course credits. But a school in Iowa is allowing its students (earn) their PE credits by volunteering in the community.

Traditionally, high school students can finish their PE course by doing sports or other after-school (activity) in the community. The students at this school, however, (encourage) to meet their PE requirements by doing yard work for the elderly and the disabled. One learning center in the area is specifically designed for the students are interested in visiting the local retirement community.

Tim Hitzler started the yard work program a few years ago, and since then, he (manage) the volunteers — and he says it has had a big influence the teens.

"At the beginning, the teens aren't (typical) too excited to do the work in the community, once they start doing the yard work, they become thrilled," he added. "They feel that they are making great difference to the community. Moreover, they really enjoy (help) the senior citizens and the disabled in it."

I joined the drama club out of (好奇) and really enjoyed dubbing with our members.

(挑战性的) work that requires lots of thinking and planning might help your brain stay sharp as you age.

She has had a fruitful semester after taking part in (志愿) activities and winning a speech contest.