For all young Australians who are neither certified as insane nor serving prison sentences of a year or more, a solemn public duty follows hot on the heels of the excitement of their twenty-first birthday. They must register as voters. Having done so, they cannot, as can some American or English adults if they so wish, then forget all about it—voting is compulsory in Australia. Failure to vote without a "true, valid, and sufficient reason" can result in a fine for an Australian citizen. Australians must vote frequently, too, for in proportion to its size, Australia is a much-governed country. For its ten million persons it has seven parliaments—one for each of six states and one commonwealth, or federal, parliament with representatives from all states. Every adult, unless he lives in one of the two territories that do not have state status, must do his share in electing both state and federal representatives. Whats more, with only one exception, these parliaments have two houses each and comprise among them 701 members. This may seem a great many politicians to govern Australias relatively small population of ten million especially when one considers that 630 members of Britains House of Commons govern forty million people. But just as government in the United States and England developed gradually as the result of events in those two countries, so the Australian system has developed in response to the needs of the nation.

What follows an Australians twenty-first birthday?

A．Termination of any prison sentence.

B．Public solemnity.

C．Voting in a national election.

D．Registration to vote.

How Europe fails its young

Those Europeans who are tempted, in the light of the dismal scenes in New Orleans this fortnight, to downgrade the American challenge should meditate on one word: universities. Five years ago in Lisbon European officials proclaimed their intention to become the world's premier "knowledge economy" by 2010. The thinking behind this grand declaration made sense of a sort: Europe's only chance of preserving its living standards lies in working smarter than its competitors rather than harder or cheaper. But Europe's failing higher-education system poses a lethal threat to this ambition.

Europe created the modem university. Scholars were gathering in Paris and Bologna before America was on the map. Oxford and Cambridge invented the residential university: the idea of a community of scholars, living together to pursue higher learning. Germany created the research university. A century ago European universities were a magnet for scholars and a model for academic administrators the world over.

But, as our survey of higher education explains, since the second world war Europe has progressively surrendered its lead in higher education to the United States. America boasts 17 of the world's top 20 universities, according to a widely used global ranking by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. American universities currently employ 70% of the world's Nobel prize-winners, 30% of the world's output of articles on science and engineering, and 44% of the most frequently cited articles. No wonder developing countries now look to America rather than Europe for a model for higher education.

Why have European universities declined so precipitously in recent decades? And what can be done to restore them to their former glory? The answer to the first question lies in the role of the state. American universities get their funding from a variety of different sources, not just government but also philanthropists, businesses and, of course, the students themselves. European ones are largely state-funded. The constraints on state funding mean that European governments force universities to "process" more and more students without giving the TM the necessary cash—and respond to the universities' complaints by trying to micromanage them. Inevitably, quality has eroded. Yet, as the American model shows, people are prepared to pay for good higher education, because they know they will benefit from it: that's why America spends twice as much of its GDP on higher education as Europe does.

The answer to the second question is to set universities free from the state. Free universities to run their internal affairs: how can French universities, for example, compete for talent with their American rivals when professors are civil servants? And free them to charge fees for their services—including, most importantly, student fees.

Asia's learning

The standard European retort is that if people have to pay for higher education, it will become the monopoly of the rich. But spending on higher education in Europe is highly regressive (more middle-class students go to university than working-class ones). And higher education is hardly a monopoly of the rich in America: a third of undergraduates come from racial minorities, and about a quarter come from families with incomes below the poverty line. The government certainly has a responsibility to help students to borrow against their future incomes. But student fees offer the best chance of pumping more resources into higher education. They also offer the best chance of combining equity with excellence.

Europe still boasts some of the world's best universities, and there are some signs that policy makers have realised that their system is failing. Britain, the pacemaker in university reform. in Europe, is raising fees. The Germans are trying to create a Teutonic Ivy League. European universities

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

Even for overachievers who are used to multitasking, the idea of watching two versions of the same television show at the same time—one on television and one on a computer—is something that is probably foreign to most people over the age of 30. To the eternally young brains that nm MTV, however, it is the next step in reshaping their business.

Beginning this summer with the MTV Video Music Awards and continuing in the fall with the cable channel's live afternoon program, "Total Request Live", MTV will offer two simultaneous versions of each show, one on television and another, focusing on a behind-the-scenes narrative, on its broadband channel, MTV Overdrive.

"We do tons of research on our audience, and it shows that they are instant messaging and listening to music and watching TV all at the same time", said Christina Norman, president of MTV. "We've definitely seen them become more adept at navigating through multiple media. They live comfortably in several worlds at once".

The Overdrive component, located at mtv.com, will feature a sort of video digression that will continue to stream live while the television show is broadcasting commercials. For example, if a viewer wants to watch an entire music video after a snippet is shown on the "Total Request Live" video countdown, or take a backstage tour with Jamie Foxx after he finishes his onstage appearance on the set of "T.R.L". (as the show is familiarly known), Overdrive will be the place to turn.

"Doing three things at once when you're 19 years old is not hard", said Dave Sirulnick, an executive vice president at MTV who oversees multiplatform. production, news and music.

Last Thursday at MTV's studios in Times Square, Mr. Sirulnick proved adept at doing at least two things at once, dashing between two control rooms that were steps away from each other just down the hallway from the "T.R.L" set.

It was the second test-run of simultaneous production, and in each control room-one for Overdrive, one for "T.R.L".—separate sets of directors and producers guided cameramen and the show's hosts, known as V. J.'s, through their paces.

"No one that we know has done a live stream of a different signal of an existing show". Mr. Sirulnick said. "It's a live parallel experience, one that very quickly turns into an on-demand experiment" with portions of each show archived and kept on the Overdrive site for fans to replay at will.

In the first paragraph, the author introduces his topic by______.

A．posing a question

B．justifying an assumption

C．making a comparison

D．explaining a phenomenon

What does the writer think of the scientists who are directly funded by weight-loss companies?

A．They are not really experts in the field.

B．Their studies are not based on scientific principles.

C．They dramatize and exaggerate their studies.

D．They don"t know what "overweight" and "obese" mean.

Persons who are overweight should watch their diet carefully in order to lose pounds. The, best way to do this is to start a weight control program. At first it is wise to talk with your doctor. He can advise you of the number of calories(卡路里) you should have in your meals each day. He can tell you about exercising while on your diet. A good rule is to lose slowly. A loss of a pound or two is plenty. 　　Plan meals around foods you know. This means that it is wise to include foods that you are used to and that are part of your regular eating habits. When you have lost the weight you wish, simple items can be added to your diet so that you can maintain the weight you want. While you are dieting, try to build a pattern of eating that you can follow later to maintain your desired weight. 　　When dieting, choose low-calorie foods. Avoid such items as fats, fried food, sweets, cakes, cream and soft drinks. Try to take coffee and tea without sugar or cream. Snacks can be part of your diet. For example, a piece of fruit or a simple dessert saved from mealtime can be eaten between meals. Keep busy! This way you will not be tempted to go off the diet. Make full use of opportunities to exercise. Try walking instead of riding whenever possible. Happy dieting! Fill in the best answer according the passage. 3. When you have lost the weight you wish, you can ____________. 　　A) have some more simple items in your diet 　　B) eat more and more foods you like 　　C) stop dieting 　　D) tell the doctor what you've done （請把選擇項(xiàng)的答案寫在空中，例如假設(shè)選A，就填A(yù)) have some more simple items in your diet）

Why are there many rural workers who are trying to find jobs in the cities?

According to the passage, forgers are usually sold to______.

A．experts

B．persons who aren' t experts

C．book sellers

D．owners of old books