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D. The drawings by Michelangelo are too difficult for viewers to understand.

D

With more and more students being given unconditional offers before they take their exams, have universities made A levels useless? A levels useless? A student has an unconditional offer even before he or she takes the final Year 13 exams. Based on a student’s Year 12 grades and his or her predicted results, a place at university has been given to him or her.

An education writer Laura McInerney discovered that earlier this year a survey by the University and College Union found one in ten staff said their university was making unconditional offers based on predicted grades alone. Birmingham University, part of the Russell Group has built a whole unconditional offer plan, saying that applicants with great academic performance in their schooling can get an offer, regardless of final results, just so long as they make Birmingham their top choice. In 2014, Nottingham University made 176 unconditional offers to applicants with predicted three or more A grades. At least eight students started their degrees without achieving any As. Several achieved Ds or Es in at least one subject.

The Times Higher Education has criticized the practice of giving unconditional offers based on the grounds of fairness. It has found that the practice is becoming more popular, year on year whilst the offers are largely given to the same people—students coming from rich families.

But for the rest of us, how have A levels affected our preparation levels? For most students, they spend much time in preparing for A levels. With tough deadlines, high expectations and the added pressures of having to be responsible.A levels hit us at the perfect age and before we spend ￡15,000 a year with loans.

What is your opinion? Are A levels useless? Or are they a relic of our school system? 32. What can we know from the first paragraph? A. A levels are of great use to some students.

B. A levels are given to the students with high Year 12 grades. C. Students will receive As unconditional in the A level examination. D. Some students may get unconditional offers before the final Year 13 exams. 33. Birmingham University promises to give places to students who . A. get As on their final exams

B. show their interest in Birmingham University

C. get good grades in schooling and choose Birmingham as their first choice D. prove their grades are excellent either in schooling or in their final exams 34. Which of the following would The Times Higher Education agree with? A. The fairness of schooling system is being lost.

B. The practice of giving unconditional offers should be promoted. C. More universities should follow the practice of predicting results. D. All the unconditional offers are given to the students from rich families. 35. What can we learn from the passage?

A. A student should spend ￡ 15,000 with loans preparing for A levels. B. Passing A levels is the only way to enter a top university. C. A levels seem difficult for the majority of the students. D. Preparing for A levels seems to need much patience. 第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

It’s important to prepare for rainy days. Similarly, it’s important to save money. 36 Why? It’s because they’re got used to spending all the money they make. Sometimes, the hardest thing about saving money is just getting started. Here are some tips to help you save money.

37 The first step in saving money is to know how much you’re spending. For one month, keep a record of everything you spend money on. Once you have your data, organize these numbers by category and get the total amount for each.

You can make a budget. Now that you have a good idea of how much you spend in a month, what can you do now? 38 To plan your spending, you can build a budget. In this way, you can limit over-spending and make sure that you put money away for unexpected situations.

39 Doing so makes it much easier to get started. Begin by deciding how long it will take to reach each goal. Some short-term goals include starting a fund to cover 6 months to a year of living costs and saving money for a vacation. Long-term saving goals are often several years or even decades away can include saving for retirement and putting money away for a child’s college education.

Make saving money easier with automatic transfers(自动转账). Automatic transfers to your savings account are very helpful. 40 By moving money out of your checking account, you’ll be less likely to spend money you plan to use for savings.

A. You can move money out of your savings account. B. However, some people find it hard to cut costs. C. You should keep a record of what you do. D. You can plan the amount of money spent. E. They can make saving money much easier. F. You can set your savings goals. G. You can record your costs.

第三部分英语知识运用（共两节，满分45分）

第一节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1. 5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I’m exhausted after a day’s housework. “Sometimes I just want to do something 41 than all of this…” I tell my husband Tony, who sits beside me in 42 , weighing his words. Finally, he says, “What you’re doing feels really small, but it doesn’t mean that it is.” His words reminds me of the 43 that had unfolded on the driveway earlier that morning. The kids lined up their scooters (滑板车)for a friendly 44 . I launched the action with a wave of my hand and stepped back to watch the race. Wheels rolled. Kids cheered 45 . But then, a sharp cry ended the 46 .

My 10-year-old daughter fell down on the ground, 47 by a group of broken scooter parts. Blood leaked from an obvious cut in her knee, and tears 48 in her blue eyes. “What happened?” I asked as I ran to her side.

“ I don’t know…” Hannah said as she 49 the scooter. “My scooter was just missing one little price…”

She dropped her head in 50 . “Something fell off my scooter right before the race began, but it was a small thing, so I didn’t think it was 51 .”

As I lifted Hannah to her feet, her little brother began 52 the scattered parts in a bucket.

With a smile, he presented the pieces to his sister and 53 . “I guess a small thing was really a big deal after all.”

“Who dares to 54 the day of small things…” When we prepared to 55 an old house, one small brick matters. Like the children of Judah, we, too, have a choice. We can 56 the significance of our lives by the size of our 57 , or we can trust God to use our 58 offerings for His great glory.

As for me, I think I’ll ask God to renew my love for this 59 life that I live, because there’s a 60 scooter in my garage that reminds me of my son’s declaration.

41. A. smaller 42. A. anger 43. A. beauty

B. prettier B. silence B. silence

C. bigger C. delight C. delight C. activity

D. easier D. doubt D. accident D.

44. A. discussion competition

45. A. happily 46. A. line

B. argument

B. angrily B. fun

C. politely C. part

D. gradually D. side D. buried D.

brought

47. A. covered B. included B. burst out

C. surrounded C. came up

48. A. welled up up

49. A. deserted

B. rolled

C. cleaned D. examined

D.

50. A. excitement amusement

51. A. important 52. A. floating 53. A. judged

B. embarrassment C. amazement

B. creative B. arranging B. pointed

C. strange

D. pleasant D. recovering D. declared D. take hold

C. gathering C. explained C. look up to

54. A. look down upon of

55. A. destroy 56. A. offer

B. make most of

B. present B. measure

C. reward

D. rebuild D. remind D. failures D. sharp

C. convince C. achievements C. unusual

57. A. scores 58. A. small

B. preparations B. huge