The pound new Library of Birmingham(LoB)will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization of everyday life. Set to open in 2013, the PS188 m LoB is already beginning to tale shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment. As digital media is important to _ . the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at the new technologies. Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says it is about giving people the right tools for learning, "The aim is to mix the physical with the digital. Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways. It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively." The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public. Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists. Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoB to understand the building and how it will work before it even opens. Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects. Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls "enlarge reality" project. It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of the LoB which is in the early stages of development is an online library of figures of the city being built by a digital content company in Cahoots, in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material. Gambles says: "Technology will enable us to make the library's content and services open to citizens as sever before." This text is most probably taken from  _  . A) a put book B) a library guide C) a handbook D) a newspaper report
D


(Question)
At thirteen, I was diagnosed  with  kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not. In my first literature class, Mrs.Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said,"Mrs.Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it." She glanced down at me through her glasses, "you are no different from your classmates, young man." I tried, but I didn't finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home. In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much education. But Louis didn't give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots , which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind. Wasn't I the "blind" in my class, being made to learn like the "sighted" students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up? I didn't expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs.Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day- with an"A" on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:" See what you can do when you keep trying?" What is the main idea of the passage? A) The disabled should be treated with respect. B) A teacher can open up a new world to students. C) One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts. D) Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges.
(Answer)
C


Ques: GCSEs not fit for purpose GCSEs(General Certificate of Secondary Education,)encourage "teaching to the test" and may be past their sell-by date, according to Britain's leading business organization. The Confederation of British Industry(CBI) warns that the qualification is stopping teachers delivering an "inspirational classroom experience" and should be replaced. John Cridland, the CBI director general, said industry faced a shortage of key skills, particularly in science and maths. The CBI , which represents more than 240,000 companies, is also concerned about the 40% of young people who fail to achieve the _ of five good GCSE passes including English and maths. The percentage of pupils who reach this standard is the main measure of school success. Speaking at the launch of a CBI inquiry into education, Cridland argued that abandoning GCSEs could help deliver a full education. "There's something about this GCSE limitation which produces a form of learning ------ teaching for the test.'' "It frustrates teachers because it stops them delivering that inspirational classroom experience." The CBI head suggested that raising the school leaving age to 18 - a change that comes into effect in 2015 - is an opportunity to reform the system. "It seems to me that we've raised the participation age to 18 and we're left with an education system that focuses on 16," said Cridland. More than 600,000 children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to take GCSEs this summer. Many other countries do without a public exam at 16. Finland, the highest performing school system in Europe, has just one public exam, at 18, though children are regularly tested at younger ages. What does the author intend to tell us in paragragh1? A) "Teaching to the test" should be encouraged. B) We should stop teachers delivering "inspirational experience". C) The current qualification is out of date and should be replaced. D) The Confederation of British Industry should be replaced.
Ans: C


There was a time when, if a lady got onto a crowded bus or train, a gentleman would immediately stand up and offer her his seat. No more, though. Today, a gentleman will probably look out of the window, or, if he feels a bit guilty , hides behind his newspaper. Either way, the lady will have to stand until someone else gets off. You can't entirely blame men for this change in manners. The days are gone when women could be referred to as the weaker sex. A whole generation of women has grown up demanding equality with men; not just equality in jobs or education, but in social attitudes . Hold a door open for some women and you're likely to get an angry lecture on treating women as inferiors , unable to open doors for themselves. Take a girl out for a meal and she'll probably insist on paying her share of the bill; though on second thoughts perhaps that's not such a bad idea. It's no wonder, then, that men have given up some of the gestures of politeness and consideration which they used to show towards women. On the other hand, automatic male (men) politeness is perhaps slowly being replaced by true consideration for the needs of women, so that men can see women as equal human beings. Maybe that's worth standing in the bus or train. The passage mainly tells us   _  . A) gentlemen and ladies have equal rights on a bus or train B) ladies wonder why gentlemen offer their seats to them C) gentlemen consider politeness to be more important than ladies do D) the change in manners has taken place between men and women

D