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Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based an the following passage.
Dropping out of university to launch a start-up is old hat. The twist with Joseph Cohen, Dan Getelman and Jim Grandpre is that their start-up aims to improve how universities work. In May 2011 the three founders quit the University of Pennsvlvania. to launch Coursekit,soon renamed as Lore.whichhas already raised $ 6m to develop what Mr. Cohen, its 21-year-old chief executive, describes as a social-learning network for the classroom".
Lore is part of a trend that builds on the familiarity with social networking that has come with the success of Facebook. It customizes the rules of a network to meet the specific needs of students. Anyone teaching a class would reasonably worry that students using Facebook were gossiping rather than learning useful information from their network of friends. Lore allows teachers to control exactly who is in the network by issuing a class-membership code and to see how they are using it. They can also distribute course materials, contact students, manage tests and grades, and decide what to make public and what to keep private. Students can also interact with each other.
In the academic year after launching its first version last November, Lore was used in at least one class in 600 diversities and colleges. Its goal for its second year, about to begin, is to spread rapidly within those 600 institutions, not least to see what the effects of scale are from having lots of classes signed up within the same institution.
The firm has a fast-growing army of fans in the faculty common room. Lore, says Edward Boches, who uses it for his advertising classes at Boston University, makes teaching "more interactive, extends it beyond the classroom and stimulates students to learn from each other rather than just the professor. "
Among other challenges for the company, there remains the small matter of figuring out a business model. For the moment it has none. Mr. Cohen hopes that eventually Lore could become the primary marketplace for everything from courses to textbooks, but so far the service is free and carries no advertising. Blackboard, the industry incumbent (占有者), charges users for its course-management software. It remains to be seen how it will respond to the upstart(新貴).
The lack of a plan does not appear to bother Lore's founders or investors, -who seem content to learn a lesson from another university drop-out, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook: achieve critical mass in your network and the profits will follow. And after that perhaps they can expect an honorary degree from the a/ma mater(母校).
56. What do we learn from the first paragraph about Lore?
A． It specializes in producing old hats.
B． It aims to improve the way universities work.
C． It invests $ 6m in the development of social network.
D． It promotes the communication among classmates.
57. What does Lore enable teachers to do?
A． Meet specific needs of students.
B． Learn useful information from friends.
C． Control the online class membership.
D． Monitor students' personal privacy.
58. For its second-year goal, Lore is to __
A． increase fans in the faculty common room
B． launch its second version in 600 universities
C． make more classes from 600 institutions signed up
D． spread its influence within the same institution
59. Concerning the prospect of Lore, Mr. Cohen expects it to
A． confront with Blackboard as an equal
B． offer free service to the advertisers
C． cover businesses from courses to textbooks
D． Develop its own come-management software
60. What do we learn about Lore's founders?
A． They can't be bothered to design a business model.
B． They learn a lesson from the success of Facebook.
C． They will not make profits without drawing mass users.
D． They desire to receive an honorary degree from the alma mater.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
A bull grazes on dry wheat husks(Phi) in Logan, Kansas, one of the regions hit by the record drought that has affected more than half of the U. S. and is expected to drive up food prices.
Leadinu water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.
Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-unstable world, the scientists said. Animal protein-rich food consumes 5 to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. One third of the world's arable(適于耕種的) land is used to grow crops to feed animals. Other options to feed people include eliminating waste and increasing trade between countries in food surplus and those in deficit.
"900 million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase," they said. "With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land. "
The report is being released at the start of the annual world water conference in Stockholm, Sweden, where 2,500 politicians, UN bodies, non-governmental groups and researchers from 120 countries meet to address global water supply problems.
Competition for water between food production and other uses will intensify pressure on essential resources, the scientists said. "The UN predicts that we must increase food production by 70% by mid-century. This will place additional pressure on our 'already stressed water resources, at a time when we also need to allocate more water to satisfy global energy demand-- which is expected to rise 60% over the coming 30 years--and to generate electricity for the 1.3 billion people currently without it," said the report.
Overeating, undernourishment and waste are all on the rise and increased food production may face future constraints from water scarcity.
"We will need a new recipe to feed the world in the future," said the report's editor, Anders Jagerskog.
A separate report from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) said the best way for countries to protect millions of farmers from food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia was to help them invest in small pumps and simple technology, rather than to develop expensive, large-scale irrigation projects.
"Farmem across the developing world are increasingly relying on and benefiting from small-scale,locally-relevant water solutions. These techniques could increase yields up to 300% and add tens of billions of U. S. dollars to household revenues across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. " said Dr. Colin Chartres, the director general.
61. What can be inferred from the water scientists' warning?
A． The record drought forces half of the U. S. to go hungry.
B． The record drought drives up food prices m the U. S.
C． Severe food shortage may happen without proper measures.
D． A vegetarian diet is the only option to avoid disastrous shortages.
62. What do the scientists say can be done to increase food supply?
A． Grow more animal protein-rich food.
B． Turn pastures into arable lands.
C． Promote trade between countries self-sufficient in food.
D． Increase the amount of water for food production.
63. According to the water scientists' report,
A． per capita food production has been increasing
B． reduced food supply will make more people malnourished
C． 70% of water will be used to feed 2 billion people by 2050
D． researchers begin to seek solutions to tackle water problem
64. In regard to the problem of water supply, scientists believe
A． more water should be allocated to satisfy energy demand
B． food production must be increased to 70% by mid-century
C． energy demand will intensify pressure on water resources
D． electricity generation must be increased by 60% 30 years later
65. What does the IWMI say is the best solution to food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia?
A． Applying small pumps and simple technology.
B． Launching large-scale irrigation projects.
C． Increase the local household revenues.
D． Investing in a new expensive irrigation project.
