Every second is valuable. An hour before the exam starts, students and parents arrive at the site.

Many of the parents will wait until the exam is over.

This year over 20 percent of the students will be admitted into a four-year college program. Back in 1977, it was only about 5 percent when China resumed the exam after a ten-year break.

Mr. Wang, whose daughter is taking the exam, talked about his experience in 1977. He said, "Back then there wasn't such overwhelming pressure. We all went to take the exam by ourselves. Nowadays there is a much better environment for study. This is the age of knowledge, without knowledge, you can't compete."

In 1977, after the 10 chaotic years of the Cultural Revolution had come to an end, students were admitted to college based on their exam scores, instead of recommendations based on politics and their family background.

The exam has become one measure to ensure equal opportunity in education.

For a long time after the exam was resumed, a college diploma guaranteed a job. But in recent years, with reforms of schools and a big increase in enrollment, college graduates have faced an uphill battle to find a satisfactory job."

Job fairs these days are filled with graduates, resumes in hand, anxiously searching for a future.

It's estimated that the number of college graduates entering the work force this year will top 6 million.

Mr. Qi, father of examinee and 1979 examinee, said, "These days there's huge pressure in finding a job. Competition is tough. What you know determines your fate. My kid is taking the college entrance exam, but it's just the first step in the Long March. He might need to go on to get a Master's degree or even a PhD."

A survey by Peking University indicates that last year, nearly a third of graduates in China had no job offer by the time they graduated.

For these high school seniors, today's exam is just the first heat for the next round of competition.

Premier Wen Jiabao (R) holds a baby born on the day of the earthquake as he paid a visit to the quake-stricken Yunnan Province, June 5, 2007.(Xinhua Photo/Huang Jingwen)

Premier Wen Jiabao has visited victims of an earthquake in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. He expressed sympathy and encouraged them to rebuild their homes and lives.

Aftershocks could still be felt when Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Ning'er County amid the ruins of collapsed houses. His first stop was the makeshift tents where the homeless residents are now staying.

Wen Jiabao was pleased to hear there had been no injuries in Xu Guangrong's family. And for the kid there's no better encouragement than Premier's hug. He examined tent by tent to make sure they had what the needed. And he spoke with confidence about the future.

Wen said, "The earthquake has brought us great damage. The central government is greatly concerned for the people here. But we will not be scared and draw back from the disaster. Let us rebuild our homeland with our own hands. "

Wen Jiabao was also concerned about school children. He took some time to teach these primary school pupils. Faith, confidence and courage, he explained, are the essential spirit to fight through the disaster.

He also expressed sympathy and wishes for early recovery to the injured in a local hospital. This child, he hear, has learned to be brave.

Wen Jiabao urged local government officials to mobilize all resources available to minimize the losses of lives and property. And he called for prompt reconstruction of infrastructure and to restore normality to the lives of local residents as soon as possible.

On one side you have the Spurs, a veteran group led by two-time league MVP and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan as well as head coach Gregg Popovich, in his 12th year with San Antonio compiling a .676 winning percentage and garnering the 2003 NBA Coach of the Year Award in the process.

In the other corner you have the Cavs, a group of upstarts led by the magnificent LeBron James and the young coach Mike Brown, once a Popovich assistant, who has guided Cleveland to a 100-64 mark in his two seasons at the helm.

James is the first No. 1 pick to lead the team that drafted him to The Finals since Kenyon Martin did it with the Nets in 2002. The last player to accomplish the feat before Martin? That's right, Tim Duncan.

But the series isn't just about a mentor and his protege on the sidelines or about two marquee superstars leading their respective squads to the brink of a title which would be the fourth in franchise history for San Antonio (all in the Duncan era) and a franchise first for Cleveland.

No, it's about defense, as the Spurs and the Cavs both ranked in the top five in defensive points allowed per game during the regular season.

It's about journeyman veterans chasing a ring as Michael Finley of San Antonio and Eric Snow, Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall of Cleveland are all out to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in their careers.

And it's also about role players stepping up. Sure, Tim Duncan and LeBron James are the bread and butter for both teams but some nights it's Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili taking the spotlight for the Spurs or Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Larry Hughes, Boobie Gibson or Drew Gooden shining for the Cavs.

The world is waiting to find out which group can complete the journey and capture that 16th win of the playoffs first to earn the title of NBA Champions. It all starts in San Antonio with Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 7 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

US President George W. Bush speaks at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. Bush said Thursday he would urge major industrialized nations at a summit next week to join a new global framework for fighting climate change after the Kyoto Protocol lapses.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

US President George W. Bush has unveiled a long-term strategy on climate change a week before the G8 summit.

He's calling on world leaders to set up investment in research and development in his technology-based plan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will host the summit, has hailed the US initiative as an important step.

Bush says he wants the 15 major nations that emit the most climate-warming greenhouse gases to meet in the US this fall and agree on a goal for greenhouse-gas emissions.

Bush said, "By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases. To help develop this goal, the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce most greenhouse gas emissions."

Bush said technological solutions must be found to meet energy needs and environmental concerns. He also promised to cut trade barriers to sharing environmental technology.

The US strategy calls for a new framework on greenhouse gas emissions when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, though the US never signed that agreement.

But in negotiations before the G8 summit, Washington rejected setting targets to reduce greenhouse gases, an idea championed by other participants.

Germany saw the US move as a positive change from its previous position. The Bush administration has opposed a proposal by Germany to curb greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2020.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao looks through the exercise book of a boy Yang Saike in a village of Xingping City, North China's Shaanxi Province, May 26, 2007. [Xinhua]

    For years,scientists have been listening for faint whispers of E.T.phoning anyone in electronic earshot.Now,some researchers are hearing sounds almost as exciting--the staccato of hammers,the crackle of arc welders,and the rumble of construction equipment--that signal the building of huge new telescopes to help answer an old question:Are we alone in the galaxy?

    The answer to that question looms closer,thanks to boosts in funding,astronomical discoveries,and advances in technology.Researchers asy within a few years they'll be able to conduct more exhaustive searches for civilizations beyond our solar system.

Love means that i know the person i love.

Love means that i care about the welfare of the person i love.

Love means having respect for the dignity of the person i love.

Love means having a responsibility to the person i love.

Love means growth for both myself and the person i love.

Love means making a commitment to the person i love.

Love means trusting the person i love.

Love means tolerating imperfection of the person i love.

Love is freeing.

Love is expansive.

Love means having a want for the person i love without having a need for that person in order to be complete.

Love means identifying with the person i love.

Love means seeing potential within the person i love.

Hercules and the waggoner(大力神和车夫)
　　
　　　　A waggoner was once driving a heavy load on a very muddy road.
　　
　　　　Suddenly the wheels of the wagon sank into the mire, and the horse could not pull them out.
　　
　　　　The waggoner threw down his whip. He knelt down and prayed to Hercules. “Hercules, help me,please,“ he said.
　　
　　　　  But Hercules appeared to him, and said, “Man, don’t kneel there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel.

(1). We study spoken English so as to make oral communications, so this order of importance of oral English study should be followed: Fluency, Accuracy, and Appropriateness. That is to say, we have to pay more attention to practical communicating ability instead of only laying emphasis on the grammatical correctness.

(2). Try to find some partners practicing oral English together and English corner is a good place as where we may exchange English study experience, widen our sight and improve interest in English.

(3). If English partners are not easy to get, then we have to create an English environment ourselves by speaking English to ourselves.

(4). This method is very effective and easy to insist on--interpreting Chinese-English novels or books. First we read the Chinese parts and then try to interpret them into English and then compare our interpretation with the original versions in the novels or books so that we can find out the mistakes, shortcomings and progresses in our interpretation.

(5). Interpreting what you hear---Changing Roles: Three people make a group: one speaks Chinese, one speaks English acting as the foreigner, one acts as interpreter. Then change roles. This is a good interpreting training method and is good for studying from one another. In addition, it may improve the responding ability and speed of students. The advanced stage of this method is simultaneous interpretation

(6). Oral composition and 3-minute training method: This method is suitable for intense training. Making an oral composition about a certain topic for one minute the first time and record the composition on tape at the same time. Then listen to the composition and find out the room for improvement. Then make the same composition for two minutes for the second time and also record it. And at last repeat the above-mentioned for three minutes.

(7). Retelling exercise: Retell some articles or English stories in our own words.

(8). If possible, we may read some English tongue twisters loudly and quickly with one or two cakes of candy in our mouth (just as the Chinese cross-talk actors do.) to train our oral cavity muscle and tongues suitable for English pronunciation.

(9). Paying more attention to phrases and small words as one major shortcoming of Chinese English (especially Chinese oral English) is that Chinese students tend to use big words in their oral language, but the idiomatic oral English is abundant with short, active and vivid phrases. And most of such phrases are made of small words.

(10) Thinking in English.

(11). Oral English has its own features, but it is closely combined with other aspects of English, for example, writing may make oral English precise and accurate.

    Ranks     last year               institution
      1           1                   Oxford
      2           2                   Cambridge
      3           3                   Imperial College
      4           4                   London School of Economics
      5           13                  Edinburgh
      6           6                   University College London
      7           9                   St Andrews
      8           8                   Warwick
      9           7                   York 
     =10         12                  Bristol
     =10         8                   Durham

All the treasures of the earth would not bring back one lost moment.
机会失去不再来，千贯万贯难赎回。  

   Today,i download a facility used for studing English.It concludes BBC,English songs and so on.I recommend it to other English lovers,as is well known,BBC is a worldwide radio,it provides us a patio to learn sterling English.From now on,i can take advantage of it to improve my English ,especially spoken English.In addition,i can enjoy a lot fair-sounding songs,yes ,i like it.

    Computer games are very popular with college students,i'm also interested in playing computer game.Sometimes,i spent a lot of time in playing game,but these days,i have a sense that it is meaningless,just wastes time.As is saying goes,time waits no person,i will not be immersed in game from now on.I buy a computer not in order to play game but to study and do other significative thing.

    Little time is left to take the English cet4 exam.Our teacher take many measures to help us prepare the exam,but i regrad it as uselessness,what he did cann't make any difference.I decide to prepare it on my way,i believe that i can make it.Undoubtedly,not everyone can pass the exam.On condition that i make enough preparation,i have confidence that i can do it.

卡特10大经典扣篮
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