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Question: January 16, 2014 - We know the saying "The early bird gets the worm", but today you're going to learn about the interesting saying "The early fish gets the bird." An African tigerfish was seen jumping out of the air and catching a flying bird. The African tigerfish has bright red fins and very sharp teeth. There have been rumors this kind of fish preys on birds since the 1940s, but no one was able to catch _ . "The whole action of jumping and catching happens so quickly that after we saw it, it took all of us a moment to really understand what we had just seen," said Nico Smit from Environmental Sciences and Management at North-West University. Smit and his research team saw it at a lake in the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa during summer. They found about 20 fish feeding on birds in the morning. Those birds may be out early to look for food, but we will never know for sure! Which is the best title for the passage? A. The early fish gets the bird. B. Nico Smit and an African tigerfish. C. Nico Smit and his research team. D. The Mapungubwe National Park Answer: A. The early fish gets the bird. Question: Kathy started at my nursery school at the age of three. She settled into the group easily, and would be first on the slide and highest up the climbing frame. She could put on her coat without help and not only fasten her own buttons but other children's too. She was a lovely child but unfortunately a scratcher. If anyone upset her or stood in her way, her right hand would flash out fast and scratch down the face of her playmates. Children twice her age would fly in fear from her. This must have been very rewarding for Kathy but obviously it had to be stopped. All the usual ways failed and then I remembered and account by G. Atkinson of prefix = st1 /HighfieldSchool, of how fights in the playground had been stopped. No punishment had been given, but the attacker had been ignored and the victims rewarded. So I decided to try this out on Kathy. With a pocketful of Smarties I followed Kathy around. She was so quick that it was impossible to prevent her scratching, but I was determined to stay within arm's length all afternoon. All was peaceful but then I saw Kathy's hand moved and heard the scream. Gently I gathered up the little hurt one in my arms and said "Nice, nice sweetie" and I put a Smartie into her mouth. Kathy opened her mouth, expecting a Smartie and then looked puzzled when she got nothing. Soon came another scream, this time from John. While holding him in my arms, I said, "Look, Kathy, a nice Smartie for John" and put it into John's mouth. A smile of understanding flashed across Kathy's face, Minutes later, she came to me and said loudly, "Give me a Smartie! I have hurt my finger!" "No," I replied, "you'll get it if someone hurts you." On purpose, she turned and scratched a nearby boy. Tom, and waited quietly while I mothered and rewarded him, then she walked away. She has never scratched a child since. Parents who find older children _ younger brothers and sisters might do well to replace shouting and punishment by rewarding and more attention to the injured ones. It's certainly much easier and more effective. The writer of this passage aims to recommend and approach to_. A. rewarding children's good behavior B. correcting children's bad behavior C. punishing badly-behaved children D. praising well-behaved children Answer: B. correcting children's bad behavior Question: Most children don't enjoy doing housework . Then like playing computer games rather than cleaning the rooms. But in Australia, Jim and Robert's mother, Mrs Black, has a good and proper method to get their children to do housework. Here is an example. "Mum, have you worked out next week's housework? Let Jim and me choose the cards. I can't wait. It's fun! " When Robert shouted out, his mother had already put all the cards on their big table. On the cards, there are some words like these, " sweep the floor, clean your bedroom, help mum cook, wash vegetables, make beds, feed the fish, cut the wood, clean the bathroom " and many others. Jim and Robert chose two cards for each day from Monday to Friday. Then they would hang them on the weekday task board. Jim likes to clean the bathroom, so he picked up the card "clean the bathroom ". Robert loves to make the bed so he picked up his favorite card. Jim again picked up "wash vegetables" and Robert chose " feed the fish ". Soon the two boys were happy to take away all the cards. To help the children do housework, their mother thought hard and came up with this idea. Of course, the couple did the housework on the weekends and left Jim and Robert two days free. Who did the housework on the weekends? A. Their mother. B. Their father. C. Their parents. D. The whole family Answer: C. Their parents. Question: About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do are mostly old British colonies like Australia , and Ireland. But Thailand, Indonesia and Japan also do so. This strange quirk puzzles the rest of the world; however, there is a perfectly good reason . Up to the late 1700's , everybody travelled on the left side of the road because it's the most sensible option for feudal , violent societies with mostly right-handed people. Soldiers with their swords under their right arm naturally passed on each other's right, and if you passed a stranger on the road, you walked on the left to ensure that your protective sword arm was between yourself and him. Revolutionary France, however, overturned this practice as part of its sweeping social rethink. A change was carried out all over continental Europe by Napoleon. It changed under Napoleon because he was left-handed. His armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent. From then on, any part of colonized by the French travelled on the right. After the American Revolutionary War (1775--1783), the US became independent and decided to make traffic drive on the right in order to cast off all remaining links with its British colonial past. As America became the center of the car industry, if you wanted a good reliable vehicle, you bought American right-hand-drive cars. From then on, many countries changed out of necessity. Today, the EU would like Britain to fall into line with the rest of Europe, but this is no longer possible. It would cost billions of pounds to change everything round. The last European country to change driving on the right was Sweden in 1967. While everyone was getting used to the new system, they paid more attention and took more care, resulting in a reduction of the number of road accidents. Why did people travel on the left before the late 18thcentury ? A. They were required to do so. B. They were mostly left-handed. C. It was easier to cross the street. D. They could feel safer from attacks. Answer: D. They could feel safer from attacks. Question: A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression. The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all. The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is "loss of self". According to the study,even though boys would say "lose themselves in a romantic relationship", this "loss of self" is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won't tell that to their parents. Dr Marianm Kaufman,an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends,attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family. Parents should watch for signs of depression--eating or mood changes--and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age.Love will always make us feel young,but only maturity gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects. What's the main idea of the passage? A. Puppy love may bring young people depression. B. Parents should forbid their children's love. C. Romance is a twoedged sword for adults. D. Romance is good for young people. Answer: A. Puppy love may bring young people depression.
Last week, we explained that the planet Mars has passed "opposition. "It passed a point opposite the Sun. This week, we tell about the planet's surprising motion among the stars. For thousands of years, people have recognized that planets travel among the stars. The planets generally follow the path taken by the Sun through the sky. The Sun's path is called the ecliptic. The groups of stars along the ecliptic are called the Zodiac. The motion of the planets can be confusing at times. Everyone knows the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But this is caused by the turning motion of the Earth. Planets generally move from west to east. However, Mars will appear to move backward for about two months this year. This happens because the Earth is overtaking Mars on its way around the Sun. Mars began its backward, or westward, motion on May 11th, It will start moving eastward again on July 19th. Mars' apparent motion has been a mystery to astronomers for hundreds of years. Most early theories of the solar system argued that the Sun and planets turned around the Earth. But the sudden westward motion of Mars presented a problem. Why would Mars move west for two months when it nears "opposition"? In 1543, a Polish church worker named Nicolas Copernicus published a different theory. His theory said the Earth and planets moved around the Sun in perfectly circular orbits. Copernicus' theory was simpler. But his Sun - centered system still did not explain the observed motion of Mars very well. Finally, a German mathematician named Johannes Kepler published a complete theory of the motion of the planets in 1619. He had carefully studied the motion of Mars for many years. Johannes Kepler discovered that the planets do not move in circular orbits around the sun. Instead, they travel in flattened orbits called ellipses. Mars' elliptical orbit is the cause of its unusual brightening this year and its apparent large size. During the next several weeks, you can see for yourself why the mysterious motion of Mars has caused so many people to wonder. Why does Mars appear to be bigger and brighter when it passes "opposition"? A. It is overtaking the earth. B. It follows the path of the sun. C. It moves in an elliptical orbit. D. It travels in a circular orbit. Answer: C Have you ever heard anyone say "It's raining cats and dogs"? It means "It's raining hard!" But sometimes cats and dogs do drop from the sky! Here's how _ happens. Not so long ago, a country far away had many large rats. The people there said, " We need cats!" So cats were sent to them by airplane. But the country had many mountains. It was hard for an airplane to land. So the cats came down by parachute . Did the cats like the ride? They didn't say they didn't! And today they are still catching rats! In another country far away, there is snow the year around. People sometimes got lost in it. "We need big dogs!" the people said, "The dogs could find people lost in the snow. The dogs could help bring them home. Where can we get big dogs?" A man across the sea had big dogs to sell. "I will send dogs to you," he said. " I have some very big ones. They can find people lost in the snow."He sent the dogs by airplane. But the airplane did not land in the snow. The dogs came down by parachute ---- you guessed it !Did the dogs like the ride? They didn't say they didn't! And today they are well and happy.They find anyone who gets lost in the snow. Then they help him get home. Good dogs!Remember it, so you can say, " Yes, it does rain cats and dogs sometimes. They came down by parachute!" The main purpose of the passage is to _ . A. tell the readers cats and dogs do drop from the sky B. tell the readers of a new meaning about an old saying. C. show cats and dogs are our good friends. D. show parachute is an important Answer: B Peter: What are you doing for vacation, Steven? Steven: I'm visiting my aunt in San Francisco. My brother's staying there. He's joining a club. Peter: Oh? When are you going? Steven: Next Friday. Peter: How long are you staying? Steven: I'm staying at my aunt's home for four days. I'm going sightseeing in San Francisco, and then I'm seeing all of my friends New York. How about you? Peter: I'm going to the beach and my friends and I are also going hiking for a few days. Steven: Aren't you renting video tapes and relaxing at home? Peter: No, it's boring. We like outside activities. Steven's leaving _ for vacation. A. tomorrow B. next month C. next Friday D. next year Answer: C animals are unable to stay in good health without enough A. sustenance B. video games C. socks D. doors Answer: A There is always a man who stands on different comers of the street in our city, holding a sign that reads "Will work for food for my family". Normally I don't have much money to help him. When my mother is with me and she sometimes makes me pull over and then she will hand him some money. Tonight, I was on my way to the store to get some milk when I saw the man. My daughter and her friend were in the car. We all felt awful that this man was standing out in the cold, wet weather. Many people had made comments that he should be able to work. I often wondered why he would stand out there rather than be in the warmth of a building, working. Well, he might not have an address, and he may need an address in order to apply for a job. Either way, I don't feel it is _ to judge. As I was sharing that feeling with my daughter and her friend, I decided that I needed to help this man. I wanted to show the girls the importance of helping others, not about worrying whether he was legitimately struggling or not. So, when we pulled over to give him some money, I said, "God bless you," and he said it back to us. But the girls and I were still concerned that he would be cold, standing out in the bad weather. So we got him a hot chocolate and a hamburger. My daughter handed them to him and l told the man that the girl wanted to help him because she was worried about him being cold. He was very sweet and appreciative. We all left with smiles, especially me, because, as we were pulling away, the girls were talking about ways they could raise money to help the man and others like him. It was the best trip I have ever made to get milk!!! Why did the author decide to help the man? A. To show the man she was willing to help others. B. To make her trip meaningful and sweet. C. To realize her mother's wish to help the man, D. To show the girls the importance of helping others. Answer: D
Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel. And he surely deserves additional praise: the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism. I say clever because anti-slavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War. H. B. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is only the most famous example. These early stories dealt directly with slavery. With minor exceptions, Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely. He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story. Again and again, in the postwar years, Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race. Consider the most controversial, at least today, of Twain's novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn, Twain's most widely read tale. Once upon a time, people hated the book because it struck them as rude. Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel "trash and suitable only for the slums ." More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim, the escaped slave, and many occurences of the word nigger. (The term Nigger Jim, for which the novel is often severely criticized, never appears in it.) But the attacks were and are silly--and miss the point. The novel is strongly anti-slavery. Jim's search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic. As J. Chadwick has pointed out, the character of Jim was a first in American fiction--a recognition that the slave had two personalities, "the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual: Jim, the father and the man." There is much more. Twain's mystery novel Pudd'nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day. Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior to whites, especially in intelligence, Twain's tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth. A slave gave birth to her master's baby and, for fear that the child should be sold South, switched him for the master's baby by his wife. The slave's lightskinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slave-holding class. The master's wife's baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave. The point was difficult to miss: nurture , not nature, was the key to social status. The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice--manner of speech, for example-- were, to Twain, indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims. Twain's racial tone was not perfect. One is left uneasy, for example, by the lengthy passage in his autobiography about how much he loved what were called "nigger shows" in his youth--mostly with white men performing in black-face--and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them. Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality. His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that _ did not. Was Twain a racist? Asking the question in the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln. If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the "wisdom" of the considered moral judgments of the present, we will find nothing but error. Lincoln, who believed the black man the inferior of the white, fought and won a war to free him. And Twain, raised in a slave state, briefly a soldier, and inventor of Jim, may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century. What does the author mainly argue for? A. Twain had done more than his contemporary writers to attack racism. B. Twain was an admirable figure comparable to Abraham Lincoln. C. Twain's works had been banned on unreasonable grounds. D. Twain's works should be read from a historical point of view. Answer: A. Twain had done more than his contemporary writers to attack racism. Work is a part of living --my grandparents understood that. They lived and worked on a farm that has been in my family for 150 years. They raised chickens for eggs , pigs and cattle for meat . Cows were kept for milk and the cream, from which Grandma made butter and cheese. What little yard they had became a garden. The Depression, therefore, didn't make much change in their lives. But it did bring an unending flow of men out of work, drifting from job to job, to the farm. The first to show up at the door of the kitchen was a man in rags. He took off his hat and quietly explained that he hadn't eaten for a while. Grandpa stood watching him a bit , then said , "There's a stack of firewood against the fence behind the barn . I've been needing to get it moved to the other side of the fence . You have just about enough time to finish the job before lunch ." Grandma said a surprising thing happened. The man got a shine in his eyes and he hurried to the barn at once. She set another place at the table and made an apple pie. During lunch, the stranger didn't say much, but when he left, his shoulders had straightened. "Nothing ruins a man like losing his self-respect," Grandpa later told me. Soon after, another man showed up asking for a meal. This one was dressed in a suit and carried a small old suitcase. Grandpa came out when he heard voices. He looked at the man and then offered a handshake." There is a stack of firewood along the fence down behind the barn I've been meaning to get it moved. It'd sure be a help to me . And we'd be pleased to have you stay for lunch." The fellow set his suitcase aside and neatly laid his coat on top. Then he set off to work. Grandma says she doesn't remember how many strangers they shared a meal with during those Depression days-or how many times that stack of wood got moved. The writer's grandfather asked those jobless men to move the stack of firewood because _ . A. he didn't want them to have a meal free of charge B. he had been needing to get it moved C. he wanted to help them in his own way D. he wanted to show them his kindness and respect Answer: C. he wanted to help them in his own way The sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west. When the sun rises, It is morning. When the sun sets, it is evening. When the sun is shining, it is day. Morning is the time between sunrise and twelve o'clock, or between sunrise and lunch. At twelve o'clock, the sun is the highest in the sky over our heads. The sun is overhead at noon. The sun shines during(......)the day. The moon and the stars shine during the night. When the sun rises, it is light. It's light during the day. During the night, if the moon is not shining, it is dark. What are the days and nights like in summer? In summer the days are longer and the nights are shorter. What about in winter? In winter, the days are shorter and the nights are longer. At noon the sun is _ . A. high up in the sky B. setting C. shining D. not overhead Answer: C. shining JAKARTA, INDONESIA ---Walking with long steps and his smile lighting up a rainy afternoon, Barack Obama seems to have arrived to visit a school he attended as a boy.But wait.He's not real Obama.The US president is back in Washington, D.C.. So who is this guy?He's IIham Anas,34,magazine photographer who has taken advantage of his perfect resemblance to Obama and turned it into his own wealth.[ Since 2007, Anas' s face and big smile have been seen on Southeast Asian TV and the Internet, and in advertisements.Anas's resemblance to the president has turned his life around 180 degrees. When his sister first mentioned the resemblance, _ .Then a friend asked him to pose as Obama in front of a US flag.He also refused."I'm a photographer, not an object for the camera," he said. However, as soon as he accepted the idea, his career took off.The father of two children is rarely at home these days.Recently a group of reporters followed him on a tour of the school Obama once attended.Anas sat in the classroom where the present US president once studied.He spoke a few lines in English.The moment he opened his mouth, however, the differences became clear."Obama is a baritone ,"Anas said."I'm not.I sound like a little boy." He is also shorter than the president, but he makes up for that by practicing Obama's typical actions. He used to dislike looking into the mirror because of his average appearance.Now he no longer considers himself as an average guy, but a superstar.Looking like a president is a good thing, Anas says."How else could a person like me travel the world and meet all kinds of people? I'm really just a shy guy." He says he has made a request to meet President Obama when he arrives, but he hasn't heard back from the president's schedules. Now, Anas hopes that Obama will win a second term in the White House."The longer he's in office, the longer my fame will last," he said. We can learn from the text that Anas now _ . A. is proud of his appearance B. longs for a simple life C. keeps in touch with Obama D. wants to become a politician Answer: A. is proud of his appearance Reading is the key to success in all school subjects. With a bit of creativity, you can help your child enjoy reading more, and encourage him to do more! Buy or borrow a lot of "fun" books. Choose books that are slightly below his level of reading ability. Don't forget what your child likes to do when choosing books for him. Don't comment about the books. Simply leave the books lying on the table where your child is sure to see them. Computer games are not as harmful as most parents usually think them to be. Instead, you should take advantage of your child's love of computer games to purchase those that require a lot of reading and avoid those that are simply computerized video games. Buy your child a bedside reading lamp, or a tiny book light. Tell him that from now on, he must be in bed by a specific time (say 8:30) and that he can either sleep or read. Most kids will do anything else rather than go to sleep, so there's a chance you'll create a new bedtime reading habit. Many children will read when they are sitting alone having a snack, or when they have a few minutes of unplanned free time. Put a box of books and magazines near the kitchen table so that reading material is accessible. Often, once children learn to read independently, parents stop reading to them. This change of routine causes great sadness to a child who has come to love falling asleep as you read. Even a teenager will enjoy being read to if you pick books that interest him. Select books together, and make sure they're ones you enjoy as well, so your enjoyment will come through as you read to them. What's the main purpose of the passage? A. To help children succeed in school subjects. B. To give parents advice on how to educate children. C. To remind parents of the importance of reading. D. To teach parents how to encourage children to read. Answer: D. To teach parents how to encourage children to read.
When I was eight years old, I had a big accident. I get scared even now when I think about that time. There were many people skating near my house, and seeing them skate so wonderfully, I couldn't wait to have a try, just a piece of cake, I thought . I went with a friend who was very skillful. He spent a long time teaching me how to skate , but I still didn't learn much , which made him very angry. Finally , he left me and skated all around. I skated alone and soon got bored because I kept falling down so I took off my skates and just walked around on the ice in my shoes. It was cold and my feet were frozen. Suddenly, I stepped on something that was not hard. What was it ? It was a weak place in the ice . When I stepped there, I sank under the ice. I thought that I was going to die, but I did my best to grab something to get out from under the ice. I would have climbed out myself by grabbing the edge of the ice, but at that time I was only a child of eight . I cried out. Fortunately, someone helped me. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Those several minutes seemed a year to me. I thanked him. At that time, my friend came back. I was annoyed at him because he was supposed to take care of me, but he didn't. He was embarrassed. When I took a taxi home, the taxi driver was surprised and asked what had happened. I didn't want to say anything because I was tired and scared. Since then, I have never touched skating. According to the writer, if an adult sank under the ice, he would _ . A grab the edge of the ice and get out. B have courage to call for help C wait until people came to help D not like to accept others' help Answer: A On March 3, 1887, the lives of two amazing women were changed forever when Anne Sullivan, a poor university graduate, arrived at the home of the wealthy Keller family to teach their six-year-old daughter Helen. It was a difficult job as Helen was unable to see, hear or speak because of illness. Anne had been suggested to the Kellers by her university professor, a close friend of Mr. Keller. Before she arrived, Anne expected her new pupil to be a quiet, weak child. But Helen was nothing like that. When Anne first walked through the Kellers' door, the energetic Helen nearly knocked her over in her hurry to feel Anne's face, clothing and bag. Helen was used to visitors bringing her sweets, and angrily tried to force open Anne's case to take her candy. But Anne calmed her down by allowing Helen to play with her watch. So began one of the most successful student-teacher relationships in history. Anne Sullivan was only twenty years old when she began teaching Helen. She had to not only teach the child all the usual school subjects, but also control Helen's sometimes wild behaviour. Her well-meaning parents allowed Helen to do as she liked at home. Realizing that such an environment was unsuitable for learning, Anne requested that she and Helen live in a small house nearby. As soon as Helen began learning, it became clear that she was especially intelligent. She quickly learned to read and write, and by the age of ten she could also speak. In 1900, Helen started studying at Radcliffe University, and graduated first in her class in 1904. She was the very first blind and deaf person to get a university degree. How did she do it? Anne Sullivan read all of Helen's books and then signed the information into her hand. Anne remained at Helen's side until her death in 1936. Helen became a world-famous writer, and fought for disabled people's rights until her death on Jun 1, 1968. What surprised Anne most about Helen when they first met? A How intelligent Helen was. B Helen gave Anne a gift. C The way Helen's parents treated her. D How forceful Helen was. Answer: D Working at camp is a great journey that not only creates lifelong memories for yourself ,but the chance to make an influence on the loves of children who attend Kids Camp. As a summer camp professional, you are a teacher , a friend and most importantly a role model. Staff-members ensure the Our youngest staff is 18, but most are over 20 years old we desire a staff with a strong interest in children and job-related experience,Each tent has six campers and two staff members ,We run an exciting range of activities and programs such as Athletics, Arts, Basketball ,Computers , Field Games, Fun & Games, Gardening, Hiking, High\Low Ropes Course, Nature Education. Great Reasons to Become a Camp Professional Meet energetic, warm-hearted staff from around the world Gain meaningful leadership experience Sing crazy songs and wear funny costumes A positive challenge you will remember in the rest of your life Make a difference to the life of a child Staff Needs Lifeguards --Red Cross certified preferably holding a current WSI certification High Ropes Staff--training/certification from a nationally recognized organization Fun & Games - lead non-competitive athletic games Juggler/Clown - teach circus skills Archery - with certification from a nationally recognized course Nature/ Garden - with strong knowledge or interest in natural wildlife and gardening Dave Meizels , Camp Director E-mail: demeizels@channe12kidscamp.org Tel:860-742-2267 Contact Dave if you have any questions about our-application process. There are many benefits of being a camp professional EXCEPT _ . A coming across lots of friendly people B helping you become an excellent leader C supplying you with lifelong memories D having a good influence on kids' lives Answer: B Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. "The rat population is on the rise and soon it'll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat," said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin--with young men the worst group--was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain's rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil's Disease -an infection which can lead to liver or kidney failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats' waste. To attract people's attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title "How close do you want them to get?" The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert's classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans. Where did the rats use to search for food? ks5u A In the street B Under the ground C From the dustbins D In burger shops Answer: B It is now commonly known that AIDS is a deadly disease. It does great damage to human beings' immune system, weakening resistance to disease and leading to death due to utter weakness. To this day, there are no existing drugs that can kill AIDS virus. It is a deadly battle between science and AIDS. This is only one side of the story. Although it can not be cured, AIDS is preventable. For those who have not caught the disease, the knowledge of preventive measures seems to be the most powerful weapon at hand. Since the discovery of the first AIDS patient in 1985, the number of HIV carriers is on an alarming rise in China and statistics show that young people are the more likely victims of AIDS. Nationwide there are 214 million people between the ages of 13 and 22, most of whom are students. If no measures are taken to protect these young people, it is almost certain that the threat of AIDS will be very real to them. There has been a great deal of misinformation concerning the transmission of AIDS. One of the most misleading myths is that AIDS can be transmitted by casual physical contact such as kissing, shaking hands or sharing food container. Surveys and investigations conducted in some universities and colleges show that half of those people questioned are not clear about how AIDS is transmitted, not to mention how it is prevented. This is the driving force behind the State Education Department's decision to spread AIDS awareness information among college students and later to high school students and primary school students. What is the best title of this passage? A China Fights AIDS B Young People--Most likely AIDS Victims C AIDS Information Is Necessary D AIDS--A Deadly Disease Answer: C
Holding a cell phone against your ear or stalling it in your pocket may be hazardous to your health. This paraphrases a warning that cell phone; manufacturers include in the small print that is often tossed aside when a new phone is purchased.Apple, for example, doesn't want iP hones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, Blackberry's manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters. If health issues arise from cell phone use, the implications are huge.Voice calls - Americans chat on cell phones 2.26 trillion minutes annually - generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers. Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cell phone radiation, "Disconnect." The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled. Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population. "Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer. Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No studies have yet been completed on cell phone radiation and children, she says. Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged DNA in their brains. Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone's speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen. In which column can we most probably read this passage? Answer: Science and life. London is the capital of Britain. It is located in the southeast plain of England. The Thames River goes through this city. The British have lived there for about 3,000 years. The Roman Empire intruded into Britannia Island in 54 BC. The Romans built the first wooden bridge over the Thames River. London is a world-famous cultural city. There are many famous cultural sites. It is one of the world's great tourist destinations. About eight million people visit London every year. The largest museum is the British Museum, which was built in the 18th century. There are many ancient cultural relics of Britain and of other countries in the museum. The London Tower stands on the southeast of Tower Mountain. It was once a palace, and it is now an exhibition center. Westminster Hall is located on the west bank of the Thames River and was built in 750 AD. It is the largest Gothic building of the world and was a palace in the past, too. The Clock Tower, which is about 97 meters high, is located northeast of the parliament. The famous "Big Ben" weighs about 21 tons and its big pendulum is about 305 kilograms. Hyde Park is one of the great parks in the world and it is in the west district of London. There is a free forum there and some people give speeches there every week. They can say almost anything, but they can't attack the Queen or support violent revolution. We learn from the passage that _ . Answer: not everything can be talked about in the forum at Hyde Park "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Similarly, if we drink a little more water ever day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often. A healthy diet is made up of water and a great many different kinds of foods. We know that healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and fish, are important as they provide us with energy and fibre, without giving us too much fat and sugar. But why is water important? The human body needs water to survive. Water is important as it carries poisons and waste out of our bodies. However, doctors advise us to drink plenty of water, much more than the small amount we need to stay alive. Some doctors believe that water is important for our health in all kinds of ways. They believe that a great many illnesses and health problems stars as a result of dehydration--a lack of water in the body. Most people are dehydrated at least some of time, although they probably don't know it. It is surprising to learn that if we feel thirsty, we are already in the first stages of dehydration. In fact, we are advised to drink water before we feel thirsty. These doctors think that health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure and asthma could be helped if people drink more water. They also believe that drinking more water can help people who are overweight. Water contains no calories so it will not make us put on weight. If we drink water, we will probably drink less sugary soft drinks such as Coca-cola. Doctors also believe that drinking more water may stop people from overeating. They say that many people think that they are hungry when they are, in fact, thirsty. Doctors suggest, therefore, that we eat less food and drink more water. There are still many health problems that cannot be solved by drinking water, so we should not stop going to seeing the doctor completely. However, if we make a decision to drink water every day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often. Lack of water caused people to put on weight too much because _ . Answer: they think they are hungry and eat too much Maps of the world's population show that the majority of people today live near water. We live along coastlines, around bays, up the course of rivers and streams and on islands. We also vacation at the beach and find comfort fishing on a lake. Nothing makes small children happier than the chance of playing in water. More surprisingly, this human favor for water makes evolutionary sense. Sure, we need drinking water to live, but we have also benefited from what's swimming under the waves. Neuroscientist Crawford of the University of North London has proposed that our ancient ancestors attached to the sea, and that their devotion paid off by allowing the human species to develop large and complex brains. Crawford claims that when humans separated from apes and appeared in the forests of Africa, they stuck close to rivers and beaches and started catching fish, clams and crabs. That seafood was packed with omega-3 fatty acids, essential fatty acids that promote brain cell growth. It's no coincidence, Crawford claims, that human brain growth began to increase rapidly once we left the woods and headed for the beach. Scientists have also discovered that people who eat fish regularly are less likely to suffer from depression than those who eat less seafood. Biochemist Hibbelin of the National Institutes of Health has shown that across cultures there is a direct link between amount of fish eaten each week and rates of depression. More interestingly, Hibbelin and researcher Laura have found that fish is commonly used as a symbol of happiness and good health in various religions and cultures. We know that fish and the sea are good for us, and so we seek them out. We vacation on the coast and see the waves come and go, feeling happiness has taken over our brain. When we move inland, or go home from vacation, we lose touch with our sea roots and feel unhappy. According to Crawford, human brain developed fast when we _ . Answer: left the woods and headed for the beach War Horseis a historical story by Michael Morpurgo. It is written for kids ages 8 to 12. Now just sit and get through the introduction to the plot. In 1914, a young horse named Joey is sold to a farmer. The farmer' s son, Albert, is thrilled. He cares for Joey. When the family begins to feel the financial impact of war, Albert' s father secretly sells Joey to an army officer named Captain Nicholls. Albert begs the captain to let him join the army. Albert is too young, but Nicholls promises to take good care of Joey for him. Nicholls treats Joey well. Though Joey still remembers Albert, he grows to like his new master. He develops a friendship with another horse, Topthorn., who belongs to Nicholls' friend, Captain Stewart. The horses and men are shipped overseas for battle. They soon face their own battle in France, and Captain Nicholls is killed. A young soldier named Warren becomes Joey's new owner. Joey and Topthorn do well in battle, but the Germans capture Warren and Stewart and their horses. The horses' duty of pulling carts full of wounded German soldiers earns them praise. An old farmer and his granddaughter, Emilie, _ the horses as well. When the German army moves out of the area, Emilie and her grandfather keep the two horses. Joey and Topthorn are content to work the farm until another band of soldiers takes them. They become workhorses under bad conditions. Joey is very upset when Topthorn dies of exhaustion. Alone and frightened, Joey wanders into "no-man's-land" between the German and English camps. An English soldier takes him back to camp. Joey is reunited with Albert. As the war ends, Albert' s officer announces the horses will be sold in France. An old Frenchman buys Joey. The man, Emilie' s grandfather, tells Albert how Emilie lost the will to live after the horses were taken. However, he eventually sells Joey to Albert for one penny, as long as Albert promises to share Emilie' s story so her life will not be in vain. Joey and Albert return home. Why does Albert's father secretly sell Joey? Answer: Because he's in need of money.
Our world is a noisy place, but quiet places remain. Eight years ago, audio engineer Gordon Hempton identified the quietest place in the continental United States. He calls the place "One Square Inch of Silence." He has used his symbolic spot in a northwestern rain forest to campaign against noise pollution. But the self-described "Sound Tracker" is now going deaf. For Gordon Hempton, it started with an experience known to many people. "I was lying in the bed in the springtime about a year ago. The sun was shining. The birds could be singing. They should be singing. But I was hearing none. I knew my life was going to be different." Hempton's eyes get watery as he describes his cruel situation. More than 20 years ago he trademarked his nickname as "The Sound Tracker." Sharp hearing defined his career as an Emmy award winning sound recordist. It also led to his activism against noise pollution. He has circled the globe three times in search of the perfect sounds of nature. Hempton says his hearing loss is quickly getting worse but he has to finish his project. "I am running a race to finish the Quiet Planet collection." That's the title of a planned 19-volume set of nature recordings. The sound tracks could be licensed for use in movies, video games, exhibits, plays and the like. Volunteer assistants now help Hempton review and edit sound files and identify imperfections. The exact cause of his hearing loss is not clear. Doctors say it may be the result of an infection, or a tumor or a combination of things. Hempton is self-employed. His health care plan does not pay for hearing loss treatment. So, for now, he's directing his attention to completing his "greatest hits" album. "After I get it finished, I have an economic cash flow to get my hearing back. That's the first thing on my to-do list." He's hopeful his hearing loss can be recovered. What may be the best title of the text? A Searching for the sound of nature. B Hoping to get the hearing back. C Deaf fighter against noise pollution. D Successful Sound-Tracker going deaf. Answer: D. Successful Sound-Tracker going deaf. Most of us fear getting up and speaking in public. Many people don't like to go gathering where they don't know anyone, but while most of us soldier on , those with social anxiety disorder are often stopped by the terror and worry. Research shows that around fifteen million Americans suffer from social anxiety disorder. People in this condition feel that they are always being watched. Even though they know these fears are unreasonable, they cannot overcome their fears on their own. Social anxiety disorder sufferers are often misdiagnosed with conditions such as schizophrenia and personality disorder. Many feel lonely, and are unsure whether anyone else can understand their thoughts and emotions. This can lead to withdrawal from most social situations, even to being unable to hold employment. Those who suffer from social anxiety disorder are often dismissed as being shy. This is simply not the case; shyness is not even a symptom of social anxiety disorder. The majority of sufferers find their symptoms linked to specific situations, rather than all types of social interactions. An important step in overcoming social anxiety disorder is seeking out a therapist who specializes in training this type of disorder. Group treatment has been shown to be especially effective. Medication also help reduce the symptoms, but it should not be used as a replacement for psychotherapy . On your own, you can help reduce the symptoms by taking deep breaths and practising medication or prayer. Alcohol and nicotine should be avoided, as both can cause panic attacks. Exercises can relieve the symptoms, because it burns up the chemicals in your body that cause stress. We are most likely to find this passage in _ . A American Culture B Cross Country C Family Doctor D English Nature Answer: C. Family Doctor Tom comes from Australia. He is now staying in Beijing with his family. Every day he gets up at about six thirty and has breakfast at seven o'clock. Then he leaves home at seven fifteen. He gets to school at seven forty- five. His first class begins at eight. There are four lessons in the morning. Morning classes are over at eleven fifty, and he has lunch ten minutes later. Afternoon classes begin at one thirty. There are two lessons in the afternoon. They are over at three ten. Tom stays at school for another hour to play games, and he gets home at about four thirty. Tom usually has supper at six. In the evening he does his homework. Sometimes he watches TV. He goes to bed at about ten. Tom usually has lunch at _ . A 11: 50 B 12: 00 C 12: 10 D 12: 20 Answer: B. 12: 00 Bill was a boy of 15. His parents went to gambling day and night. Nobody cared about hi. He always failed in his exams. So his teachers didn't like him, nor did his classmates play with him. Bill often slept in class because his heart was not in school. He almost gave himself up. One day, Miss Jones, a new teacher, came to Bill's class. She was a smiling, beautiful woman. Bill was in love! For the first time in his young life, he couldn't take his eyes off his teachers; yet, still he failed. It was Miss Jones' class. She was asking a question. "I'd like the smartest boy to answer my question." Then she said loudly, "Bill, please!" Bill was surprised. And he stood up without a word. "Just try it! I believe you can!" After school, Miss Jones had a long talk with Bill. She told him that she cared about him and believed in him. Bill thought a lot that evening. From then on he arrived at school on time every day. Miss Jones helped him with his homework in the afternoon. She even cooked delicious food for him. She told Bill, "Nothing is impossible if you put your heart in it." Later, Miss Jones gave another exam. Bill did it with all his heart. He was very excited to find that he had passed the exam. Now Bill discovered that not only could he learn, but he could do it well. A changed took place in Bill's heart. You see, one teacher saved one boy, it's simple , really. From the passage we can learn _ . A Miss Jones was a loving and careful teacher B Bill's parents cared about him very much C Miss Jones loved to answer Bill's question D Bill didn't like to play with his classmates Answer: A. Miss Jones was a loving and careful teacher Hello Sandy, We have just returned form our holiday. We went with our friends,Edward Smith and his wife Tina, to the Yorkshire Moors. It is a beautiful natural park. There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills,miles of grassland with no people,just sheep and birds. Edward had just come out of hospital and he could not walk as far as before. However, this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a restaurant for lunch each day before returning to the place we lived in. Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk. Very pleasant! I took lots of photos from the place we lived in, across the valley below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist in the valley. Also, in England, the old steam-powered trains are very popular. I took many photos of the train. Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter. It is very early. We usually have snow in January. It rained all day, then snowed in the evening .Today we have bright sunshine! Both Jenny and I are well. I don't know if I told you, in the last e-mail , that Jenny is now working in a hotel. Although she has to work hard, people there are nice, and she is enjoying the work. Please write to us to tell us your news. Yours, Victor Victor wrote to tell Sandy _ . A he just came back from his holiday B Edward could not walk as far as before C they had the first snow of this winter D how things were going with the holiday. Answer: D. how things were going with the holiday.
Question: In most situations, light helps us see. But when it comes to looking at the night sky, light is actually a kind of pollution. It prevents our view of some of life's most striking sights: stars, planets, and even galaxies . "When I was a little boy, I loved the night sky. I remember looking up and the sky was filled with stars. I became an astronomer because I was amazed by their beauty," says Robert Gent, "Now in most big cities kids can't see the stars like I did." Normally, about 2,500 individual stars are visible to the human eyes without using any special equipment. But because of light pollution, you actually see just 200 to 300 and fewer than a dozen from some cities. Only one in three Americans can see our own galaxy with the naked eyes. Those people live far away from the lights of big cities, office buildings, and shopping malls. Fortunately, there's an inexpensive and useful way. If we shine lights down at the ground instead of up into the sky, and use lower brightness levels, we can save big amounts of energy and keep the beauty of the night sky. Many cities and towns have passed laws limiting lights at night, making sure enough shine for safety without creating much light pollution. Light pollution affects more than our view of the heavens and can harm wildlife. Migrating birds sometimes fly over cities and become confused by the brightness, flying in circles until they drop from _ Sea turtles need dark beaches for nesting and won't approach bright lights. Too much light at night may even affect human health. For all these reasons, researchers are working on ways to use lights only when and where they are truly needed. Everyone deserves to look up at the sky. Which would be the best title for the text? A. Light Pollution B. Seeking the Sky C. Stars in the Sky D. City Pollution Answer: A Question: Soccer star David Beckham will be there with his pop star wife Victoria. Elton John is attending with partner David Furnish. The guest list for the April 29 union of Prince William and Kate Middleton is still being kept secret, but details have begun to leak out, with some coming forward to say they are attending and the Mail on Sunday newspaper claiming to have the official invitation roster . The palace dismissed the newspaper's list as speculation Sunday. It won't be clear until the day how the royal couple has balanced the protocol demands that they invite statesmen, diplomats, religious leaders, politicians and the like with invitations to the people they really want to see, particularly the crowd they made friends with when they met and fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Kate Reardon, editor of high-society magazine Tatler, said many _ Britons acted as if they didn't really care about receiving an invitation while secretly checking the mail every day to see if the invitation had arrived. "Everyone's been hoping," she said. William and Middleton have showed their modern side by inviting a number of close friends, including some former sweethearts, the newspaper said. The wedding is not technically a state event, which somewhat limits the protocol requirements applied to the guest list. But royal obligations still order that a large number of the 1,900 or so seats go to guests from the world of politics, not actual friends of the couple. The couple have also invited many guests from the charities they work with, and Middleton has used her influence to invite the butcher, shopkeeper and pub owner from her home village of Bucklebury. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were not invited and many other international leaders are also expected to be watching on TV, not from a seat at Westminster Abbey. It is not clear if treasured Brits from the world of stage and screen and pop music will be on the list. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? A. The guest list for the wedding is officially announced. B. The wedding is technically a state event. C. Only the actual friends of the couple will be invited to the wedding. D. A large number of guests from the world of politics will be invited. Answer: D Question: A man called Greedy Black loved nothing but old things. He was so crazy about everything that was old and out of fashion because he was convinced that the older, the better. Always worried about losing his treasures, he kept all he had collected in an old room. It had no windows, so it was very dark, and of course, it was full of old things. One day Greedy Black went into this room to get a ladder, as he had often practiced, but slipped on something and fell against a big garden fork. The fork hit him on the head and knocked him down. Then it fell on top of him and hit him hard on the left leg. The ends of the fork then went into his long beard. He fought with the fork fiercely, and at last threw it off him, jumped up and ran out of the room. He was very angry. He had an old sword under his bed, and he now ran and got this. Then he ran back to the room, opened the door suddenly and shouted in a terrible voice, "All right, come out and fight, you and all the other forks in the world! I'm not afraid of you!" But there was no response for his challenge. So in great _ , he turned on the electric light, only to find that there was no other fork but the one that had repeatedly troubled him. After reading this story, what reflections have you got for yourself? Do you still think that keeping old things in a private place sounds sound? Or don't you believe that you have to be far away from forks because forks are the most powerful? Or what else.....? Why did the man keep old things in his room? A. He could hardly put them in any other places. B. He laid great values on old things. C. He was afraid someone would steal them. D. He wanted to let them have life. Answer: B Question: Once there was a rich man who lived with his wife and child.He loved the child so much that he sent him to Oxford university for two or three years.At the end of the first year at the university, this young student came home.He wanted a change.And he also wanted to tell his parents about Oxford. It happened one night that the father, the mother and the young student were sitting at supper.They had in front of them only two chickens.Just as they were about to begin eating, the father said, "My boy, I have spent a lot of money on you to send you to Oxford.Now I want to know what you have learned."The son smiled and said, "Father, I have studied a science which can prove that these two chickens on the plate are really three chickens.""Well," said the father, "This is something I would like very much to know.""There are two chickens on the plate, "said the student.He took one of the chickens in his hand and said, "Here is one more ; and one and two makes three.So here are three chickens."Then the father took one of the chickens to himself, gave the other to his wife, and said, "I will have one of the chickens myself, your mother shall have another, and you can have the third for your supper and nothing else."The father kept his word and so the student went without his supper. (5) In the end _ . A. thestudenthadnothingtoeatforhissupper B. eachofthemhadachickenfortheirsupper C. thefathergavehissonthethirdchickentoeat D. bothoftheparentshadnochickenstoeat Answer: A Question: Opus, the owner of Stoneacre, entered into a written agreement with Miner. Under this written agreement, which was acknowledged and duly recorded, Miner, for a five-year period, was given the privilege to enter on Stoneacre to remove sand, gravel, and stone in whatever quantities Miner desired. Miner was to make monthly payments to Opus on the basis of the amount of sand, gravel, and stone removed during the previous month. Under the terms of the agreement, Miner's privilege was exclusive against all others except Opus, who reserved the right to use Stoneacre to any purpose whatsoever, including the removal of sand, gravel, and stone. One year after the agreement was entered into, the state brought a condemnation action to take Stoneacre for a highway interchange. In the condemnation action, is Miner entitled to compensation? A. Yes, because he has a license, which is a property right protected by the due process clause. B. Yes, because he has a profit Ã prendre, which is a property right protected by the due process clause. C. No, because he has a license, and licenses are not property rights protected by the due process clause. D. No, because he has a profit Ã prendre, which is not a property right protected by the due process clause. Answer: B
Basic Study Manual: $30 Future success depends on the ability to learn. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked by parents, teachers, business trainers and by students themselves. Read this book and learn: What the three barriers to study are and what to do about them. What to do if you get tired of a subject you are studying. Twenty-six simple drills to help you learn how to study easily, rapidly and with full understanding. Buy and read the Basic Study Manual and use it to dramatically improve your ability to study. Study Skills for Life: $20 L. Ron Hubbard's study technology for teenagers opens the door to their future success by giving them the ability to study and learn. Fully illustrated for easy understanding. Learning How to Learn: $40 The basics of effe www.ks5u.comctive study for 8 to 12-year-olds, fully illustrated. Children who read and apply the materials in this book regain their liking for study and their ability to apply this knowledge in life. Get this book for a child you want to see win at his studies! Buy it before May 1, 2005, and you'll just pay half less. How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children: $40 In spite of billions of dollars spent on "educational research", children are not taught the most basic skills of learning, even the most basic of these: how to use a dictionary. Written for children from 8 to 12-year-olds, this fully illustrated book will teach your child: How to find words in a dictionary The different ways that words are used What the different marks and symbols that are used in a dictionary mean How to use a dictionary to correctly pronounce words It includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What's more, you'll just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2005. From the reading we know that all the four books are intended for _ . A teachers B adults C children D women Answer: C Drug Use Report A new study examines drug use by young people in t he United States. The study found that cigarette smoking among American teenagers dropped during t he past years. The drop continues a general decrease in teenager smoking rates that started in 1996. American health officials praised the decrease as good news in the nation's battle against smoking. They note that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease. Smoking rates among American teenagers increased in the first half of the 1990's. However, teenage smoking rates have been decreasing in recent years. The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research supervised the latest study. The Department of Health and Human Services reported the findings. The study involved more than forty-four-thousand students in more than four-hundred schools across the United States. They were asked about past and daily use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. The youngest students questioned were thirteen years old. The study also involved fifteen-year-old students and seventeen-year-olds. The most notable change in the study was a continuation of the decrease in cigarette use among thirteen and fifteen-year-olds. For example, about twelve percent of thirteen-year-old students questioned reported smoking at least one cigarette during the past month. Six years ago, the rate was twenty-one percent. Among fifteen-year-olds, the rate dropped from thirty percent in 1996 to twenty-one percent last year. Tommy Thompson is the secretary of Health and Human Services. He praised the findings. He said more teenagers are making correct choices that will help them avoid health problems caused by tobacco. The study found that use of alcoholic drinks and illegal drugs among American teenagers remained the same or dropped during the past year. However, the use of one illegal drug known as Ecstasy continued to increase. Yet the rate of increase was not as great as in recent years. American health officials said they will continue to give teenagers scientific information about the serious health risks of Ecstasy and other illegal drugs. The goal is to further reduce the use of these drugs. During the past years, the use of Ecstasy among teenagers _ . A remains the same B has also decreased C has increased somewhat D is not mentioned Answer: C Help Wanted PAINTER Must have at least 3 years painting experience. Commercial and new construction work. $10/hr. Immediate opening. Call 435-9201 with work history. SECRETARY Part time position available in friendly, busy office. Good typing and general office skills. Some weekends required. High pay. Various duties. Apply at East Side Management, 500 Park Drive, Dewitt, NY. 13214. Help wanted VET ASSISTENT Person needed for busy animal hospital. Some nights and weekends. Apply in person to Johnson Marks Animal Hospital, 404 Snow Road, Syracuse, NY 13224. After 4 p.m. only please. NURSES' ASSISTANTS Fulltime and part time positions available for modern nursing home. High pay. Call Mrs. Downes, R.N. at 543 7618. Help Wanted COOK NEEDED Immediately. Busy downtown restaurant. Must be good and dependable. Experience preferred. Weekends required. Call 324-9817. SALESPERSON Experienced. Must have some knowledge of men's clothing industry. Available to work evenings and some Saturdays. Send resume to: Martin Apparel, 237 Rockledge St., Syracuse, NY. 13224. Help Wanted TEACHER Small private school needs English and maths teachers. Must have BS degree and at least 4 years teaching experience. Send resume to: Wales Charter School 19 South 8th St. NY. 13214. HOTEL needs part time FRONT DESK CLERK No experience necessary. Excellent people and phone skills a must. Some computer skills helpful. $13/hr. Call: Mr. Jones 357-2897. If you want to get a job as a maths teacher, send your resume to _ . A 237 Rockledge St.,Syracuse, NY.13224 B 404 Snow Road Syracuse, NY. 13224, C 500 Park Drive, DeWitt, NY. 13214 D 19 South 8th St. NY. 13214 Answer: D Mom and Dad are two of the most important people in your life. Over your lifetime, they may influence you more than anyone else you will meet. So if your mom loves to read, you just might grow up carrying a book wherever you go, just as she does. But parents do a lot more than just pass on their hobbies. Moms and Dads need to care for their kids the minute their kids are born. Most parents will do this as long as they live. Here are some ways you can stay close, get along well, and build a strong relationship( )with your parents. Spend time together. Instead of playing computer games or watching TV, ask your mom and dad to play with you. Go outside together, or do some reading. Be kind.Little things might mean a lot to your mom or dad. You can brighten a parent's day with a hug , a card , or a joke. It's also lovely when a kid cleans up his or her room without being asked. And if you try not to fight with your brothers or sisters, your parents will be so happy! Do your best at whatever you do. You don't have to be perfect, but when you do your best, you make your parents proud. It makes them happy to see how you're turning into a great kid. Why? Because it lets them know . Which of the following can't help you build a strong relationship with your parents? A Spending time together B Being kind. C Doing your best at whatever you do. D playing computer games or watching TV Answer: D Enjoy an unforgettable day in the French capital on this luxury day trip from London to Paris,with an included Champagne lunch at the Eiffel Tower! Travel on Eurostar from St Pancras International and enjoy a panoramic sightseeing tour taking in Paris'top sights. Highlights /Romantic experience,perfect for couples /Round--trip fares /Travel by boat and see the sights from the water /Lunch included Make your own way to St Pancras International station and meet your professional guide.The departure time is 6 am.Board the Eurostar and relax as it takes you to Paris in Just over 2 hours.If you wish,upgrade to 1st Class and enjoy breakfast served on board and dinner on your return journey. Once you arrive in Paris ,join your guide on an air-conditioned coach for a patioramic sightseeing tour.See top Paris attractions such as the Champs-Elysees,Arc de Triomphe and Opera House as you hear fascinating facts about the city. Next,arrive at the Eiffel Tower for your Champagne lunch.Skip the possible long admission lines with your fast-aecess ticket and ride the elevator to the stylish 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant on the first floor.Take your seat and enjoy a glass of Champagne and delicious 2-course lunch with the full views of the city providing a truly magical baekdrop! Afterward,enjoy a 1-hour sightseeing tour along the Seine River.Take photos and listen to the helpful commentary as you pass sights, such as soaring Notre Dame Cathedral and the island,Ile de la Cite Next,either choose to use some free time to shop or sightsee,or take a guided visit to the magnificent Louvre Museum(own expense)to see Leonardo da Vinci's exquisite Mone Lisa and other masterpieces. In the late afternoon,return to Gard du Nord,station and catch the Eurostar back to St.Pancras.Your tour ends when you arrive at around 8:30pm. We can learn from the passage that _ . A the back trip fares are not included in the total fees B you should pay extra money for seeing Mona Lisa C everyone should wait in line for the lunch D the sightseeing along the Seine River will take the most time Answer: B
At one time no one could travel on an English road faster than four miles an hour. That was the law until 1896. A man had to walk in front of a car which could not go faster than the man. At night the man had to carry a red lamp. Once Charles Rolls brought a car from France to England, but he wanted to drive faster than four miles an hour. In order to have no trouble with the police, he had a talk with some of the police officers, who ordered their policemen to look the other way when the car came along the road. This was a good plan in the country, but not so easy to follow in the busy streets of London. One night Rolls and some friends started from London on their journey to Cambridge. One of the men walked in front with the red lamp, but he walked as fast as he could. The police became very interested in walls and shop-fronts when they heard the car and not one of them saw it. They reached a hill, but what a waste of time it was to drive down the hill at four miles an hour! Rolls was getting ready to jump into the car, but then he noticed a policeman who was not looking the other way. The slow car reached him. "Good evening," said the policeman, looking at the car. "Good evening," said Rolls, holding the lamp. "One of these horseless things," said the policeman, looking at it with interest. "Yes," said Rolls, and waited. "I've often wanted a ride in one, but of course policemen can't buy things like that." He turned and looked hopefully in Rolls's face. "Jump in," said Rolls. "Thanks," said the policeman, and did so. "Now," he said, sitting down, "You can let it go just as you like down this hill. There isn't another policeman on this road for a mile and a half." In what way did the policemen carry out the order from their officers? They pretended to be attracted by something else. Each person has his own way to have fun. Some like sports. Some like playing chess or cards. But a large number of people enjoy listening to music. Nowadays, music has become an important part of our life. We can listen to music on CDs, on radio or on TV. Also, we can search the Internet to find the song we like. It's the easiest way to enjoy the music that we like. Also we can download our favorite songs from the Internet for free. If we have a Walkman ,we can hear music everywhere. It can give us pleasure if we are sad. It can cheer us up, too. When we are tired, it can make us relaxed. Different people like different kinds of music. Young people like pop music. Maybe old people like gentle and quiet music. Different music can express different feelings. When we are happy, we like to listen to jubilant music. When we are unhappy, we want to hear soft music. We need different kinds of music in different _ We can get different feelings from music. Music is the best friend of human beings. We can't imagine what life would be like without music. Which of the following is TRUE? There are different kinds of music. Tug-of-war is not only popular in China, but in many other countries. Their tug-of-war match is a little different from ours. They have eight players for each team, while we may have the match between two sides with equal men or women players. Of course, they are usually tall, strong and heavy. For a tug-of-war match, we need a long thick rope. Each team stands at one end of the rope, holding it. Then they try to pull the center of the rope, marked in the ground towards each of their own sides. The team which succeeds in pulling the center of the rope away through a certain distance is the winner. Many foreign sport experts think we don't have to be tall, heavy and strong to play tug-of-war. We needn't have endless energy, for a match lasts only a few minutes. The secret is good hands. The players must have big, strong and hard hands. Before they start the match, they put a mixture of oil and petrol on their hands so they can hold the rope better. Many foreign experts say the best hands for tug-of-war belong to the sons of farmers. This is because they have to work hard when they are still very young. Farming is a good practice for this sport! In foreign countries a tug-of-war team _ . has men players equal in number to the other side A: Good afternoon. Are you Zhang Li? B: Yes, I am. A: Is Li your family name? B: No, Li is my given name. My family name is Zhang. What's your name? A: My name is Alice. I'm from the USA. B: Nice to meet you, Alice. A: Nice to meet you, too! I'm a student in Sunny Middle School. B: Oh, great! We are in the _ school. I'm in Class Three, Grade Seven. What class are you in? A: I'm in Class Four, Grade Seven. B: My English teacher is Mr. Miller. He is from the USA, too. Is he your English teacher? A: No, he isn't. He's my father. B: Oh? That's good. My QQ number is 2521786. Do you use QQ? A: No, I don't . But you can call me at 789-0765. B: OK, my phone number is 675-4721. A:OK! See you! B: Bye! Which statement is right? (?) Alice's father is an English teacher. The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child, a son, who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald devoted himself to (...) fathering the kid. Unfortunately the son died in his late teens. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald's wealth greatly increased. He spent a lot on art works of the masters . Later Fitzgerald himself became seriously ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled - to sell his entire collection at an auction . Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection, a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid . Before the auction, the art works were shown, among which was a painting of Fitzgerald's son by an unknown artist. Because of its poor quality, it received little attention. When it was time for the auction, the auctioneer gaveled the crowd to attention. First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald's will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son. The poor-quality painting didn't receive any bidders, except one old servant who had served the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid. As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound, the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became quiet, and the lawyer read from the will: "Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection." Then the auction was over. Why did the painting of Fitzgerald's son receive little attention? It was the works of an unknown artist.
Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish gather by the thousands off an Alabama pirer. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes , never to be seen again. Marine scientists studying the effects of the BP disaster are seeing some strange phenomena. Fish and other wildlife seem to be fleeing the oil out in the Gulf and clustering in cleaner waters along the coast in a trend that some researchers see as a potentially troubling sign. The animals' presence close to shore means their usual habitat is badly polluted, and the crowding could result in mass die-offs as fish run out of oxygen. Also, the animals could easily be captured by their enemies. The nearly two-month-old spill has created an environmental disaster in US history as tens of millions of gallons have flown into the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Scientists are seeing some unusual things as they try to understand the effects on thousands of species of marine life. For nearly four hours Monday, a three-person crew with Greenpeace cruised past delicate islands and mangrove-dotted inlets in Barataria Bay off southern Louisiana. They saw dolphins by the dozen frolicking in the oily sheen and oil-tinged pelicans feeding their young. But they spotted no dead animals. "I think part of the reason why we're not seeing more yet is that the impacts of this crisis are really just beginning," Greenpeace marine biologist John Hocevar said. The counting of dead wildlife in the Gulf is more than an academic exercise; the deaths will help determine how much BP pays in damages. What do the marine life react to the BP disaster? Answer: Sea creatures flee from oil spill, gathering near seashore. You are standing in the kitchen and a voice says, "Add a little more salt to that soup." Yes, it's always nice to have someone help you when you're cooking. But this voice is not from a man. You are alone! Then where does it come from? Is it from a ghost? No, this isn't a ghost kitchen--it's the kitchen of the future. Scientists are working to improve everything in the kitchen, from fridges to tables, and even the ways we cook. They are making a system. It will help a person cook a meal. You don't need cookbooks. You can hear how to cook food. The fridge of the smart kitchen has a scanner. It looks at the foods in the fridge. It will order more milk from the store when your milk has gone bad or there is no more in the fridge. The gloves will test the temperature of everything they touch and say, "Need to cook longer" or "Hot and ready to eat". If you leave them on the stove by mistake, they'll say, "Fire!" Even the knives and spoons will speak. For example, if your food is bad, the knives and spoons will tell you not to eat it. The future kitchen may look wonderful, but it's not cheap. The multimedia fridge costs about 8,000 dollars. So even though high-tech kitchens are no longer a dream, not everyone can afford one. In the future, you can cook by _ . Answer: hearing Do you start your work by making a list of all you have to complete, from walking the dog and washing the clothes, to phoning a or checking your emails? Do you always take a list with you to the supermarket? Do you write down all the steps you need to see a big project through? If you're a natural list maker you can consider this habit as a good thing to do. Here are some reasons: Gives your memory a kick: Even if you pride yourself on remembering all you need to complete, it's only human to forget every once in a while. A to-do list is a handy reminder. Helps you stay in the moment: It sounds surprising, but true. Trying to mentally keep track of the things weighing on your mind can make it tougher to concentrate on the activity at hand. _ : Instead of carrying around a nagging nervousness that you've forgotten to take care of a chore, keeping an up-to-date list can help relieve that kind of stress. Helps planning: Most of us are likely to put off until tomorrow what we can do today, but keeping a list helps to keep this natural impulse at bay. Thinking about what has to be done in advance is a good way to prevent us from falling behind schedule. Prioritizes : Seeing everything we want to take care of allows us to prioritize and give the most time to the more important tasks. On the other hand, not having a to-do list makes it possible for us to spend too much time on unimportant items. Boosts happiness: You will feel very happy each time you check off a task you have completed on your list. Studies show that reaching your goal actually releases feel-good chemical in your brain that boosts happiness. From the text we know that a to-do list can _ . Answer: remind you of the things you should do Thousands of teenagers will be able to move to a new wave of "studio schools" at the age of 14 to improve their chances of finding a job in UK. Twelve new-style schools are open to act as a bridge to the workplace and cut the number of NEETs. Under plans, schools will operate longer days and work outside standard school terms. Each teenager will be expected to spend between four hours and two days a week on work placements with business related to the school and a personal coach will be sent to the teenagers to act as a school "line manager". The reforms are put forward because of the fears that too many teenagers are finishing full-time education at present but they are short of the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. According to a recent report, more than two thirds of employers believe school and college leavers have less important employability skills, while 55% say they are unable to manage their time or daily routine. And the number of NEETs who are not in education has hit a record high, with almost one-in-five young people being left without a job or a training place. The Department for Education will tell the public the building of 12 studio schools - providing for around 3,600 teenagers - in areas such as Liverpool, Stevenage, Stock-on-Trent and Fulham, west London. Each one will be connected to the local employers. Under plans, teenagers will be able to move out of ordinary schools to attend them between the ages of 14 and 19. The government said all subjects would be taught "through projects, often prepared with employers" - with rules such as science being connected directly to local engineering companies or hospitals. Schools will operate a longer day to give teenagers a better understanding of the needs of the workplace. Along with their studies, students will carry out work placements for four hours a week, rising to two days a week of paid work for those aged 16 to 19. They will also get the chance to take professional qualifications connected directly to the needs of local employers. What can be the best title for the passage? Answer: Studio schools are built to improve teens' employability skills. Want to know what we can do to help make our city a better place to live in? Why not take part in "Clean & Green weekend"? Join us, and you can make new friends and help protect the environment at the same time. Park Life Do you like hanging out in the park with your friends? If so,why not take the chance to come with us and tidy up the park as you go?To add some fun, there is a gift for the person who collects the most rubbish! Meet us at the south entrance to Taohe Park at 9 a.m. next Saturday if you want to join in. The Air You Breathe A great way to make the air we breathe cleaner is by planting lots of trees!It is a fact that trees slowly filter a lot of pollutants from the air. So come and help us plant some new ones in Fenhe Park at 2 p.m. next Sunday. War on Graffiti Some people think graffiti is cool. Well, it is not! The best way to stop buildings from becoming totally covered in ugly graffiti is to get rid of it as soon as possible. And that is exactly what we are going to do. We are repainting the school walls from 1 p.m. on Saturday. You don't have to bring any tools, just remember to wear some old clothes! ,. If we're going to repaint the school walls, we need to _ . Answer: wear some old clothes
When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: "We have to go to work now," you're left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the "work" they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre. Stage schools often act as agencies to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name "stage school" are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education. A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn't settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day? Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days. The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don't make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case. In the writer's opinion, a good stage school should _ . Answer: provide a general education and stage training. The field a farmer plants with varied crops over the years is richer than Answer: a field where only grain is planted Last week when I was sitting in my office,I heard an elderly lady talking on the phone about her husband.Her husband's name was Ed.He dropped her off for her doctor's appointment and was going to park the car and wait for her.She was so upset that she started to cry.I knew I should take action. The lady told me her name was Helen and she called the restaurant she and her husband were going to have lunch at after her appointment to see if he was waiting for her there.She explained that she thought her husband parked the car in the parking lot and waited for her in the car but she didn't find him there so she returned to see if he entered the medical building,but Ed was not there either.She regretted making her husband park the car alone since some signs of Alzheimer's had happened in his behavior.I asked a few nurses to help look for Ed inside and outside the medical building according to Helen's description.Then I offered to drive Helen to the restaurant to see if Ed was waiting for her there. On arriving at the parking lot of the restaurant,Helen began to search for Ed's car but she failed,which suggested Ed wasn't there.We decided to have a talk with the manager before we returned to the hospital.On our way to the manager's office.I received a call from a nurse,who said they had found Ed.What a relief! But we still needed to go on searching since he forgot where he parked his car! Fortunately, we didn't have much difficulty finding it. As I waved good-bye to the couple, I thought "This is true love in life.The love is not romantic but it stays with us all the time." What can we infer from the passage? Answer: The author worked in the hospital. The car was invented just a century ago. You may know all kinds of cars' names, but many people don't know who was the inventor of the first car. The first car was invented not by a German, but by an American. His name was Henry Ford. Henry was born in a poor family. He was the eldest of six children. When he was a boy, he became interested in mending watches and machines. When he was twelve years old, his mother died. Soon he had to work in a machine shop for two dollars and fifty cents a week. In the evenings he repaired watches for another dollar a week. The hard life made him strong and able. At that time there was another interest in the life of the young ford. He dreamed to make a machine. It could run without a horse, so named "horseless carriage." He over-came a lot of difficulties and in April 1893, the "horseless carriage" was finally finished. It was the first car. Later Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company . He was really the first inventor of the car in the world. Henry Ford must have _ . Answer: five younger brothers You can never be too sure these days in the United States of your neighbors or even your customers! Try to keep a low profile in your neighborhood: Don't announce to everyone that you are running a home business with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. As much as possible, do not invite clients or visitors to your home. In fact, I know of some homebased entrepreneurs who would rather meet their clients in a neutral ground, e.g. the client's office or even Starbucks. There are other ways to keep burglars away from your house. Keep lights on around your house in the evenings. Light is a natural fright for burglars. Invest in a security alarm, particularly if your house is located at a remote spot. Security systems can often bring down the cost of your homeowner's premium . Make sure that all windows and doors are locked and the security alarm turned on before you sleep at night or go out of the house. Avoid keeping house keys in obvious places, such as under the lamp or on top of the doorframe. Adding an additional lock will provide extra security when you are home. The deadlock, sometimes called an "exit only deadbolt"is a deadbolt that does not have an external key. It is clearly visible on the door from the outside, but cannot be broken into without destroying the door, frame or lock itself. While this security won't help directly when you aren't home, the visibility may discourage an _ from trying the door. *Your door itself should be made of strong materials, such as oneinch thick solid hardwood or heavy metal. All the following are part of the writer's advice except that the homeowner _ . Answer: keep lights on in all rooms to threaten burglars
Electrical devices could soon use power make by human energy, Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking , British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device. The device connects to a person's knee, As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down, To do this ,the device helps with the slowing sown movement of the leg, The movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity, Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute, Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes. There are several possible uses for the device ,Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers, The deice could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers ,It could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs. The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy, But the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version.An improved version should be ready in one year. The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries, Nearly twenty five percent of people around the world live without electric power. A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania,He created a bag carried on a person's back that also produces power from walking, The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag ,But the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms. Compared with the device designed by Larry Rome ,this new device _ . Answer: produces power without adding more loads to the walker Research shows that humans switch from selfish to unselfish behavior when they are watched. Do you? A picture of a set of eyes on a computer screen can cause a change in the way people act. Even images of eyes on a charity donation, collection box encourage people to be unselfish, because people put more money in a collection box that has a picture of eyes on it than they do when a flower symbol is on the box. Manfred Milinski from the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany and Bettina Rockenbach of the University of Berlin, the authors of a new study, found that people act better when they are being watched because they feel they will be rewarded for good behavior. Their report also referred to other research showing that this response of behaving well when watched is somehow _ into humans and people respond this way unconsciously, or without realizing it. It is not just humans that act unselfishly when they are being watched. A fish called the grooming fish cleans other fish. When other fish are around, it is gentler. When no other fish are around, however, the grooming fish bites chunks from the fish it is supposed to be cleaning. The researchers suggest that the best way to get people to behave in the correct way is to make them feel watched. This could be the reason for the success of a famous American army poster. On it was a picture of an elderly man staring fiercely and pointing, it appeared, to the person who was looking at the poster. Under the picture was the caption 'I Want You' It encouraged hundreds of thousands of young American men to join the army during the Second World War to fight the Germans and Japanese. According to the text, which of the following statements is true? Answer: People donatemore money when they feel they are watched. Katie went to the store. She needed to buy some flowers. She also needed to buy a snack and a bow. The store is down the street. Katie's mother drove her to the store. Her mother is named June. Katie looked around for the flowers. She found some pink ones. Katie then looked for the snacks. She wanted cookies not chips. She found some chocolate cookies. Katie then looked for a bow. She wanted to get one for her cat. Her cat is named James. James likes wearing bows. Katie also has a dog, but he does not like bows. His name is Sammy. Katie gave the bow to James the cat. He liked it. Katie ate her snack. She likes chocolate cookies. Katie gave the flowers to her mother. Her mother was very happy. She likes flowers. Katie did not get anything for Sammy. She gave Sammy a hug instead. Sammy likes hugs. James does not like hugs. Katie had a great day. Who drove Katie to the store? Answer: Her mother The gemologist didn't want to teach the young man because he thought the young man have no patience . The young man asked for a chance. Finally the expert had to agree. The next morning, the gemologist put a jade stone in the young man's hand and told him, "Hold it!" The expert then went about his work: cutting, weighing, and making. The big boy felt a bit strange , but he said nothing. He just sat quietly and waited. The following morning the expert again placed the jade stone in the young man's hand and told him to hold it. On the third, fourth, and fifth day the young man did the same job. A month went by, and the young man felt more and more boring because of holding the same stone. One morning, the gemologist came and asked him to hold out his hand, he couldn't go on any longer. But just as the gemologist put the stone in his hand, he said loudly,"This is not the same jade stone!" "You have begun to learn," said the gemologist with a smile. What did the young man want to be? Answer: A gemologist Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have. A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate the British accent of a BBC news reader? Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent. Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex ! Let's listen to what they have to say. Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it. Whether it's Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy . A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood. _ . To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people. Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men.Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style. Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent. For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak. The English accent seems almost like art. In Stephen Yang's opinion, accents just show _ . Answer: the cultural differences of the speakers
Question: The Story of a Broken Bowl Henry is a boy of nine. Three years ago he began to go to school. He studied hard and does well in his lessons. His parents like him very much. Henry's grandpa is a single man. But once he lost a leg in a traffic accident. And now he can't work. He often tells the boy all kinds of interesting stories. Sometimes he makes a kite or a cage. And he teaches the boy how to catch the singing birds and how to give them food. The boy admires him very much and always stays with him when he's free. But Henry's mother didn't like the old man. She always thought him useless and dirty, and didn't let her son play with him but the boy didn't listen to her. When they sat at table, she put some food on another table and filled a broken bowl with rice and porridge. The old man was very sad but he dared not say anything. Henry was angry with his mother about it. One day he saw a broken bowl on his way home. He picked it up and put it into his bag. His mother found it and asked, " Why have you brought a broken bowl home, dear?" " I keep it for you." said Henry, "When you're old like my grandpa, I'll fill it with rice for you !" Having heard this, the woman began to cry. Since then she's been good to the old man. Henry admires his grandpa because _ . A. he tells him a lot of interesting stories B. he knows how to catch singing birds and give them food C. he can make kites and cages D. he's very able old man Answer: D Question: Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one's own. Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one's free time digging, planting, watering and doing other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight's (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night. When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. A. who live in the country B. who have spent time working in the garden C. who have a garden of their own D. who have been digging, planting and watering Answer: B Question: Mr Green has a car. In the morning he takes his children to school in his car. Then he drives to work. Mr Green and his children do not have lunch at home, but Mrs Green does. She does not go to work. She stays at home and does some shopping and cleaning in the morning. In the afternoon she usually goes to see some of her friends, has tea and talks a lot with them. Then she cooks supper for her family. Mr Green comes back home much later than his children. They do not come back in their father's car. They take a bus home. They usually come back home before five. Mr Green's children usually go to school _ . A. on foot B. by car C. by bus D. by train Answer: B Question: Did you know that many people today are getting extra work by taking translating jobs online? It's true! And you can do it too. Many companies in the USA need translators now to translate simple documents online from Chinese to English, such as emails, website content, movie subtitles and more. Companies like Real Translator Jobs are actively seeking translators from China to fill demand. There are more translation jobs than people to complete them. This leaves a big opportunity for anyone to start doing this and earn extra money. Do you have to speak perfect English? No! Even basic knowledge of English is OK. This is really a job for anyone from China who wants to do it. We spoke to one student from Beijing, Harris, who has been doing this for 2 years now and is earning between $150 and $225 every day. He completes about 3 to 4 jobs per day which takes him about 3 hours. It's an incredible amount of money to earn on your spare time! It is great that we now live in the "Information Age" and opportunities like this are available to people in China to earn extra money working from home over the Internet. It's something that our parent's generation could have never imagined. This type of work is surely to do great things for young people in China. If you would also like to do this, it's easy to get started. Just follow these steps: 1. Sign up at Real Translator Jobs (where Chinese translators are needed now), or a similar service. 2. Review the job posting and complete the ones you like. 3. Get paid once per month by cheque, PayPal or bank wire transfer. I hope you enjoyed this information and good luck earning extra money online translating documents. Which step is not followed if you get started the translating job online? A. Signing up at Real Translator Jobs. B. Reviewing and completing the job posting. C. Getting paid once per month by cheque. D. Getting paid once a month in cash. Answer: D Question: Passengers will be able to travel by train from Londonto Beijing in just two days on trains that travel almost as fast as airplanes under new plans from China. China is under discussion with 17 countries to build a high-speed rail network to India and Europe with trains that are able to run at over 200mph within the next decade. The network would eventually carry passengers from London to Beijing and then to Singapore. It would also run to India and Pakistan, according to Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a senior consultant on China's high-speed rail project. A second project would see trains heading north through Russia to Germany and into the European railway system, and a third line will extend south to connect Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia. Mr. Wang said that the rail lines will draw together and open up the whole of Central, East and Southeast Asia, which would also allow China to transport valuable raw materials more efficiently. Mr. Wang said the route of the three lines had yet to be decided, but that construction for the South East Asian line had already begun in the southern province of Yunnan and that Burma was about to begin building its link. China has offered to supply money to the Burmese line in exchange for the country's rich reserves of lithium, a metal widely used in batteries. At present, the only rail line that links China to South East Asia is an old track built by the French in Vietnam a century ago. The Asian Development Bank has recently agreed a second PS27 million loan as part of the PS93 reconstruction of Cambodia's network, which should finish by 2013. The cost of the lines from Cambodia to Singapore and then from Vietnam to China could be roughly PS400 million. Which trade is most likely to benefit from the completion of the rail network? A. The World Bank is. B. Airline companies are. C. Battery production is. D. Highway transportation is. Answer: C
What's a big problem in Shenzhen today, do you think? Besides pollution, traffic is, of course. There are too many people, too many cars but too little space so the roads are always busy. You can almost see traffic jams everywhere. It is even worse when everyone is going to school or to work. What's more, cars need fuel to move, so they let out a lot of dirty smoke and pollute the air. However, the government is trying many ways to solve the problem. We can see more roads and footbridges over the main streets. And the workers are making some roads wider. It is said every car will have a computer. The computer can study the latest traffic news. Then it will look over its own map for the best way to drive and they won't get into traffic jams. With _ cars on the roads, there will be fewer traffic jams. Answer: fewer The loss of a job can have a very serious impact on the individual. The immediate effect, of course, is a sharp drop in income. Unemployment benefits typically offer less than half the individual's previous earnings, and many people are not even entitled to these benefits-for example, the self-employed, recent graduates who have not held a steady job in the previous year, and people who have been unemployed for a long period. The economic pressure on the jobless is very severe, particularly for those who have young children or long-term commitments for expenses for houses and education. But the effects of unemployment are not merely financial; they are also social and psychological. As one out-of-work teacher puts it: "It's difficult when you strip away all the things that supposedly hold you together in terms of an identity. Your work, your money, whatever is power to you, whatever is responsibility, whatever means freedom and choice." I had to ask myself, "Who am I now? What will I do now?" All too often, long-term unemployment may thrust the individual into boredom, despair, ill-temper, and perhaps, conflict with other family members. Even those who keep their jobs are affected by rates of unemployment, for they begin to fear for own future. Lacking the confidence that workers have in times of full employment, they negotiate less aggressively for improvements in pay or working conditions, for they and the employers know that if they do not like the job as it is, others will gladly take it. Unemployment is always accompanied, in fact, by underemployment-the situation in which people are working either for extremely low wages or at jobs below their level of skill. It can be inferred from the passage that unemployment benefits are given to _ . Answer: people who have been unemployed for a short period At two o'clock a bank robber stole in. "This is a holdup," the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. "Hand it over!" George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part-close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave. Then while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took hills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly. The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted. As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy. The next morning, while the others were examining the bank's records, George was called into Mr. Burrow's office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank. "Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed, too. I retired yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box-all six thousand. " This passage tells us _ . Answer: a meaningful story Our three-year-old daughter Becky wanted a dog. But we were too busy to buy one. One day, Becky ran in, shouting, "Mom! Come to see my dog!" Her face was red with excitement. I followed her to the bush and found a wolf! He was hurt. Seeing me, he stood up suddenly! I could see his teeth! God! My mouth _ . "Don't be afraid. That's Mom. She loves you, too." Becky said. Then he became friendly. It was unbelievable! I rushed to find my husband and told him about the wolf. We should have killed the wolf, but Becky loved him. Besides, he was kind to Becky. So we called the vet finally. Becky named the wolf Ralph and she carried food to him every day. Later, Ralph got well. They played together in the daytime. At night, Ralph would return to the mountains. Sometimes he disappeared but came back several days later. On Becky's first day of school, we could see Ralph's sadness. After Becky left school, Ralph lay by the side of the road and waited. When Becky returned, he got happy again. This continued throughout Becky's school years. Twelve years passed. One day we heard that a wolf was killed. The other wolf was hurt and ran away. We were worried about Ralph. That night, Ralph returned with a wound. Becky held his head kindly and comforted him. We hoped he could come through. However, he died. Becky cried. I noticed something strange in the bush--two little yellow eyes! Ralph's child! Before he died, Ralph brought his child to us! He knew he would be safe here, as he had been. Ralph, Ralph, I was moved. "Don't be afraid, little...little Ralphie. That's Mom. She loves you, too." Ralph brought his child to Becky because _ . Answer: he thought Becky was sure to treat his child well. Jeffrey Bezos, founder, president and chairman of the board of Amazon.com, was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother's ancestors were early settlers in Texas, and over the generations had acquired a 25,000 acre farm at Cotulla. Jeffrey spent most summers of his youth working with his grandfather on their farm. Jeffrey showed intense and varied scientific interests at an early age. He set up an electric alarm to keep his younger sisters and brothers out of his room and changed his parents' garage into a laboratory for his science projects. After he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering, Jeffrey Bezos found employment on Wall Street, where computer science was increasingly in demand to study market trends. He rose quickly, becoming a senior vice president, and looked forward to a bright career in finance, when he made a discovery that changed his life, and the course of business history. In 1994, there was still no internet commerce to speak of. One day that spring, Jeffrey Bezos observed that Internet usage was increasing by 2300 percent a year. He saw an opportunity for a new circle of commerce, and immediately began considering the possibilities. Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994, setting up the original company in his garage. The company was called Amazon for the seemingly endless South American river with its numberless branches. It started as an online bookstore but soon diversified to all kinds of products. His work with Amazon eventually led him to become one of the most excellent dot-com entrepreneurs. He was namedTimemagazine's Person of the Year in 1999. In 2008, he was selected byU.S. News & World Reportas one of America's Best Leaders. Bezos' Amazon has become "the Earth's biggest anything store". Amazon.com is now called "one of the smartest strategies in business history". Today, Jeffrey Bezos lives north of Seattle and is increasingly concerned with charity activities. "Giving away money takes as much attention as building a successful company," he said. Jeffrey changed the course of business history because he _ . Answer: founded a new form of commerce that developed fast later
Football The game is played by two teams. There must be eleven players in each team. The field must be about 100m long and 73m wide. There are two goals , 7.32m long and 2.44m high. To score a goal, a player must put the ball into the other team's goal. They may use their feet, heads or other parts of the body, but they must not touch the ball with their hands. Only one on each team, the goal-keeper , may use his hands. Volleyball This is played on a court 18m long and 9m wide. The net is 2.44m high for men and 2.24m high for women. There are two teams and there are usually six players in each team. The players try to make the ball hit the ground on the other side of the net. They may use their hands, fists or arms, but they must not catch the ball or hold it while(---) playing. Basketball The court must be 26m long and 14m wide. There can be ten players in a team but not more than five players in each team may play at one time. The players must not change until the referee allows them to leave the court. To score a point a player must throw the ball into the other team's basket. Players may throw the ball, but they must not carry it. A player must not touch another player. After 20minutes' play there must be a rest period for ten minutes. Then there is another period of 20 minutes before the game ends. Each basketball team can have _ players at most. ten After commuting, cooking dinner and doing household chores, the average parent has just 30 minutes to devote to their children in the evenings, according to a new study. One in four working parents worry that half an hour simply isn't enough, while almost half fret that they aren't a good enough parent during the week. However, parenting experts believe just 12 minutes a day may be enough for mothers and fathers to fully _ with their child -- as long as they ask the right questions. Child psychologist Dr Claire Halsey said asking a series of open-ended questions can help improve parents' relationship with their children. Among the questions recommended in the research are: "How many times have you smiled today -- what made you laugh?"; "Can you act out what you did at breaktime?"; "Who is taller -- mummy or your teacher?" and "What are the names of the toys you played with today?" Parents of older children are advised to start up a conversation with: "I've got a great story for you but I want one in return... you first!" or "Tell me some school gossip ... _ !" Dr Halsey, working with the makers of Ribena Plus, who commissioned the research, said: "There is no one as tough on their own parenting skills as a parent -- but this study shows there is no need for parents to be so harsh. It's hard for working parents to juggle all their responsibilities and it can feel like guilt is simply a parent's lot -- but it's absolutely not. By using clever tactics such as a little preparation alongside use of open-ended questions -- such as 'Tell me what the best bit about your day was?' -- parents can reduce the time worrying about chores and work and spend more time learning about their children's day." Which of the following open-ended questions is for a three-year-old child? What are the names of the toys you played with today? While IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tells you how smart you are. EQ (Emotional Quotient) tells you how well you use your smartness. Professor Salovery, the psychologist who created the term, EQ, says that it is IQ that gets you hired but it is EQ that gets you promoted. Supported by his research, he suggested that when predicting future successes, a person's brainpower, as measured by IQ tests, might actually matter less than a person's character, or EQ. Professor Salovery may be correct. For example, have you ever wondered why some of the best and smartest students in your class end up failing exams? Perhaps it is because of their EQ. People often make the mistake of thinking that EQ is the opposite of IQ. It is not. Although it is hoped that people have both high EQs and IQs, there is little doubt that those with low EQs have a hard time surviving in life. For a long time, researchers discussed if a person's IQ could be raised. The geneticists said no, while the social scientists said yes. Furthermore, the social scientists said that it was possible to improve a person's EQ, particularly in terms of "people skills", such as understanding and communication. Recently, a professor released the findings of a study on senior high school students. When some normal students were introduced to some disabled students, they found that afterwards they were more willing to help people in difficulties. At the same time, there was a marked change in the disabled students' attitudes. They became more positive about their disabilities and were more eager to try new things. People with high EQs often have positive attitudes towards life and are open to different ideas, so they tend to be more creative in their thinking. Please remember that having a high IQ is helpful but having a high EQ might even be more helpful. Which of the following is the writer's attitude toward EQ and IQ? A high EQ is of great benefit in getting people promoted. In a copper wire, a temperature increase is the result of which of the following? an increase in the motion of the copper particles The year of 2014 saw smart people always busy inventing useful things, which have hepled to make the world better, smarter and a little for fun. Now, let's take a look at some of the inventions. Super banana Australian biogeneticist James Dale visited Uganda, a poor African country, in the early 2000s, where he found that 15-30 percent of children under 5 were at risk of going blind because they did not get enough Vitamin A. Dale also learned that people there love bananas. They eat three to 11 bananas a day. So he came up with the idea to plant bananas containing added nutrition in order to improve Ugandans' health. With the help of Bill Gates' foundation, Dale developed the "super banana". He added a gene to the fruit, making it rich in Vitamin A. Coaching basketball Basketball is popular worldwide, partly because you only need a hoop and a ball to play the game. But this simple game has experienced a technology makeover this year with the development of a smart-sensor basketball. The ball, called the 94Fifty Basketball, has nine sensors inside. They can tell you anything from how fast you are going to how accurate your shot angles are. With a Bluetooth chip inside, the basketball can connect to your smartphone and tell you in the voice of a coach to "snap your wrist ", or"go faster", depending on the data. The Hovercraft Thanks to the California-based company Hendo, flying past your friends on a floating board could soon become a reality. The Hovercraft has four small engines. These create a special magnetic field which produce enough force to lift the board off the ground. At the moment, the hoverboard can only float an inch off the ground for 15 minutes and must fly over a metal material. It's expensive too, at $10,000 (61,810 yuan), but the company hopes that one day the technology could be used. Wireless electricity Most of us could not bear to live without wireless Internet. We use it every day for everything from our phones to our cars. But one company wants to go a step further, by combining wireless technology with electricity. That's right, no more tangled wires and no more having to sit and hold your cell phone near a power socket in the corner of the room. WiTricity, a US company, has invented technology that can power objects up to 2.4 meters away. It uses a special plug-in coil that creates a magnetic field! What can we learn about the Hovercraft from the text? It still needs to improve its power and efficiency.
Most children don't enjoy doing chores. They like playing computer games rather than cleaning the rooms. But in Australia, Jim and Robert's mother, Mrs. Black, has good and proper methods to get their children to do housework. Here is an example. "Mom, have you worked out next week's chores? Let Jim and me choose the cards. I can't wait. It's fun! " When Robert shouted out, his mother had already put all the cards on their big table. On the cards, there are some words like these, "sweep the floor, clean your bedroom, help mom cook, wash vegetables, make beds, feed the fish, cut the wood, clean the bathroom" and many others, Jim and Robert chose two cards for each day from Monday to Friday. Then they would hang them on the weekday task board. Jim likes to clean the bathroom, so he picked up the card "clean the bathroom". Robert loves to make the bed so he picked up his favorite card. Jim again picked up "wash vegetables" and Robert chose "feed the fish". Soon the two boys were happy to take away all the cards. To help the children do chores, their mother thought hard and came up with this idea. Of course, the parents did the chores at weekends and left Jim and Robert two days free. Who did the chores at weekends? A. Jim. B. Robert. C. The parents. D. The whole family. Answer: C Sweet peas, cucumbers, grapes ---- what do you think they have in common? None of these vegetables grow on trees. They all don't have strong roots, big trunks or long branches, which makes it harder for them to get sunlight. But don't worry. They have developed their own unique way of growing taller climbing! Take sweet peas as an example. The plant grows as a straight stem until it finds something to hold onto, either a nearby tree or a stick. That is when the stem makes small coil that helps the plant hold the stick tightly. How these plants are able to do this has been a mystery to scientists for years. Even Charles Darwin was interested in this question. But it is not until now that a Harvard research team has finally found the answer. The study was published in the Journal Science earlier this month. The key, as it turns out, is inside a kind of thread-like cell called "g-fiber cell", which has the ability to shrink or stretch. Each stem of the pea plant is made of several layers of g-fibers. Once the plant finds something to hold onto, cells on side of the stem start to shrink, forcing the whole thing to bend and coil, which is a bit like how our muscles get our bodies to move. What's more, a pea's coil is not exactly like that of a spring. If you look closely, you may find that a spring coils all in the same direction, but a plant's coil is in two opposite directions, like a telephone line. This means that the stem can stay soft when pulled gently but become strong enough when pulled harder. "You want the plant to have a little bit of flexibility so that if the wind blows or an animal disturb it, it doesn't break," explained Sharon Gerbode, author of the study. "This structure allows the plant to easily accommodate small movement, but then if something really serious happens it can become strong and protect itself." When the sweet pea plant finds something to hold onto, _ . A. g-fiber cells on both sides of stem, forcing the stem to bend and coil B. g-fiber cells on side of stem shrink, forcing the stem to bend and coil C. g-fiber cells on the stem start to stretch, forcing the stem to bend and coil D. there are more g-fiber cells on the stems Answer: B In almost every big university in the United States football is a favorite sport. American football is not like soccer. Players sometimes kick the ball, but they also throw the ball and run with it. They try to take it to the other end of the field. They have four chances to move the ball ten yards. They can carry it or throw it. If they move it to the end of the field, they receive six points. This is called a touch--down. It is difficult to move the ball. Eleven men on the team try to stop the man who has the ball. If the man does not move the ball ten yards, his team kicks the ball to the other team. Each university wants its team to win. Thousands of people come to watch. They all yell for their favorite team. Young men and women called cheerleaders come on the field to help the people yell more. They dance and jump while they yell. Each team plays ten or eleven games each season. The season begins in September and ends in November. If a team is very good, it may play another game after the season ends. The best teams play again on January 1st, the first day of the New Year. Many people go to see these games and many others watch them on television If a team wants to get points, it has to move the ball _ . A. 10 yards B. to the other end C. 40 yards D. away from its own end Answer: B Huangshi will have new rules about behaviour standards for middle school students very soon. Middle Schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won't only have high marks. The new rules will be used first in No. 2 Middle School of Huangshi in September 2015. The following are some of the new rules. Tell the truth Have you ever cheated in an exam, for example, copying answers from a book or looking at other students' answers? Don't do it again! That's not something honest students should do. Do more at school Good students don't only think of themselves, but they also care for other people and the surrounding. Look at the people around you; do they need help? Give a hand to whoever is in need. You are in a big family! Pay attention to the environment. Wherever possible, do something to protect the earth we live on. Be open to new ideas Have you ever thought people may live on the moon or travel in space? Having new ideas means possible inventions and discoveries. Protect yourself Has a thief ever broken into your classroom and taken your money from your schoolbag? Don't let it happen again. And if you have to go back home late, you should let your parents know. Use the Internet carefully The Internet can be very useful for your study. But some things on the Internet aren't good for kids, so try to look at the good Web pages, which you can use for fun or homework. What's the purpose of the passage? A. To give advice on how to run a school B. To tell students how to be top ones C. To advise students how to be good persons D. To give information about how to be a good teacher Answer: B Greenland is the largest island in the world.It covers over 2,000,000 square kilometers.Most of the island lies inside the Arctic Circle ,and a huge sheet of icecovers 85% of its area. Along the sea mountains rising from the sea,there are a few low trees in the southwest,but no forests.In winter snow covers everything,but in summer very low plants cover the ground between the sea and the ice sheet.Norwegians were the first Europeans to see the island in AD 875,but no one visited it until 982.Three years later a few Norwegians went to live there.In 1261 the people in Greenland decided to join Norway.Norway and Denmark united in 1380.This union ended in 1814,and Greenland stayed with Denmark.Greenland is fifty times larger than Denmark,but it is still part of this small country. When you study a map of the world,you may notice that Greenland _ . A. is the largest country in Europe B. lies just on top of Europe C. is connected with Denmark and Norway D. mostly lies within the Arctic Circle Answer: D
What happens to water molecules during the boiling process? Answer: They move faster and move farther apart as they absorb heat. Below is a web page from http:// www.tvguide.com/ Tonight's TV Hot List:Sunday January 27,2013 Grammy Awards Beyonce and Taylor Swift are ready to take home a lot of hardware tonight as they lead all artists with ten and eight nominations.The ladies also perform,along with fellow Album of the Year nominees the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and the Dave Matthews Band.In addition,Bon Jovi,Green Day,Lady Antebellum,Maxwell, Pink and Zac Brown Band will also take the stage.But perhaps the most expected moment is the Michael Jackson tribute ,which features the 3--D mini-movie "Earth Song" and will be highlighted by performers Celine Dion,Jennifer Hudson,Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher. Maurer A mysterious company named Sabre, headed by an attractive,stubborn CEO(Kathy Bates),appears out of nowhere and buys out Dunder Mifflin. As Michael is unwilling to follow Sabre's new policies, Andy and Erin write a welcome song to greet the company.Meanwhile,Pam and Jim hope to get accepted into a desired local day-care center. Surviving Survivor It's hard to believe it's been ten years since the first season of Survivor.But tonight ten of the game's most iconic players,including previous winners Richard Hatch,Parvati Shallow and Tom Westman,discuss the series in detail and provide insights into how the game is actually played and the impact it's had on their lives. Private Practice So Maya's pregnant and wants to have the baby. What to do now? Dink(Stephen Lunsford),the boy who did his part to get her into this mess,has a solution:he wants to marry her.You can imagine how Sam and Naomi will feel about that.And if that won't raise the histrionic level enough for you, how about this:a couple has two dying daughters,and only one can be saved.Their choice.And Brian Benben is back,so expect more Pete -Violet-Sheldon angst. Edna is crazy about pop stars, so she will most likely choose _ to enjoy. Answer: Grammy Awards A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States.The woman had visited major businesses and investment companies in New York City and Chicago. "I studied English before I left home,"she said."But I still was not sure that people were speaking English." Her problem is easy to understand.Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere.They have a language of their own.Some of the words and expressions deal with the special areas of their work.Other expressions are borrowed from different kinds of work such as the theater and movie industry. One such saying is "get your act together". When things go wrong in a business,an employer may get angry.He may shout,"Stop making mistakes.Get your act together." Or,if the employer is calmer,he may say,"Let us get our act together." Either way,the meaning is the same.Getting your act together is getting organized.In business,it usually means to develop a calm and orderly plan of action. It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began.But,it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry.Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes.The director may have said,"Calm down,now.Get your act together." Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late 1970s.Mister Rogers says the Manchester Guardian newspaper used it in 1978.The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together. Now,this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet.One company even called its yearly report,"Getting Our Act Together." The Japanese visitor was confused by another expression used by American business people.It is cut to the chase. She heard that expression when she attended an important meeting of one company.One official was giving a very long report.It was not very interesting.In fact,some people at the meeting were falling asleep. Finally,the president of the company said,"Cut to the chase." Cut to the chase means to stop spending so much time on details or unimportant material.Hurry and get to the good part. Naturally,this saying was started by people who make movies.Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies.Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars,or in airplanes or on foot. Cut is the director's word for stop.The director means to stop filming,leave out some material,and get to the chase scene now. So,if your employer tells you to cut to the chase,be sure to get to the main point of your story quickly. What do the sayings "get your act together" and "cut to the chase" have in common? Answer: Their origin. Bottled water is a _ on the environment: The US public goes through about 50 billion water bottles a year, and most of those plastic containers are not recycled, according to Elizabeth Royte's bookBottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. Transporting the bottles and keeping them cold also burns fuels, which give off greenhouse gases. And groundwater pumping by bottled water companies draws heavily on underground aquifers and harms watersheds , according to the Sierra Club. And some studies suggest it takes up to three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water. Yet more than $100 billion is spent every year on bottled water globally. In many cities in developing countries where there is not a safe source of tap water, bottled water becomes a trusted choice. In the US, tap water is controlled by the government and often examined for dangerous polluted substances. Each American drinks 79 liters of bottled water per year on average, according to the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University's Earth Institute in New York. The bottled water industry is so successful that it has outpaced milk, coffee, and juice in the number of gallons of drinks sold -- putting it behind only beer and soda. Though the sale and consumption of bottled water is still on the rise, certain policymakers have taken steps to reduce it and encourage people to drink tap water. In September 2009, the Australian town of Bundanoon became the first town in the world to completely ban bottled water from its stores' shelves, building water fountains around the town instead. Among US cities that have taken action are San Francisco and Seattle, which no longer buy water for city use, and Chicago, which added a five-cent tax on each bottle. Several restaurants in those cities have also given up bottled water for tap water. Other cities are also considering taking action. According to the passage, what drink sells best in the USA? Answer: Beer What's your favorite weather? Do you like sunny or rainy days? Many people like sunny days a lot. They don't like rain.They think rain makes them feel sad.During a long vacation.they like going to the beach to enjoy the sunshine.Sunshine makes them feel very good and happy. I like sunshine very much,but I also enjoy rain.I enjoy the sound of rain.It makes me feel quiet. On rainy days,I like listening to music and reading books or just looking at the rain and daydreaming. When you daydream,you don't think about other things.I think it's a good way to relax when it rains. Sunshine can make one run around and rain can make one quiet,so I hope you can feel happy.rain or sunshine. The writer thinks daydreaming is a good way to relax when it _ . Answer: rains
"English may be the global language of business but it is not enough by itself for companies to gain a lasting presence in many markets," the European Commission says in a study published last month. The study collected by the British National Centre for Languages for the EU leader, says over 10 per cent of 2,000 small and medium-sized firms in 29 European countries sampled in the study have lost export contract because of lack of language skills. The study says French is used to trade with partners in Africa, Spanish in Latin America, and Russian in Eastern Europe. "The picture is far more complex than the much-quoted view that English is the world language," the study says. Multilingual Commissioner Leonard Orban admitted that English plays an important role worldwide, but he wants to improve more linguistic variety within the EU. The EU's linguistic headaches have exploded with the group's expansion. Languages have become a sensitive topic in Brussels where English is increasingly eclipsing French as the main working language of the organization. Translation of EU papers into EU's 23 official languages costs 1 billion euros (US $1.31 billion) a year. "We want to be open not only to official languages of the Union, but also to others like regional languages, languages of minorities, immigrants' languages and third countries' languages," Orband said. Many EU students have improved their language skills during non-formal learning activities. Young people from more than 20 different nationalities travel across Europe to participate together in many cultural programmes, language courses, thematic workshops and other activities that are organized in about 100 cities. What about English in Brussels? Answer: English is increasingly eclipsing French. Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute miles? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human Being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in 1954. What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when someone, who doesn't know how to swim, falls in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learnt swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal doesn't. Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. Most people never question it. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam if the operator typed too fast. These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers command to your nervous system. I used a snake in my workshops for children to show them how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes are slippery and slimy and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India. Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change? According to the passage, we know that _ Answer: Roger Banister was the first person who ran a mile in less than four minutes. For about a decade, I knew that I needed to improve my handwriting, but I always put it off. "My typing skills are good, my communication skills are good, and all my other abilities are adequate for the job I do and the life I live. Why would I need to improve my handwriting in such a modern world?" I thought. I was sort of hit by the fact that my handwriting needed improving quite suddenly in the form of a note from my boss. Obviously one of the notes I had posted on the office message board had been misunderstood because of my handwriting. My boss demanded that I learn to write in a neat way, something I couldn't ignore any longer. I tried a lot of different methods to improve my handwriting. Nowadays, there are more resources than before. You don't even have to go to the store and can buy handwriting training materials online. I tried out a lot of these, and my handwriting did improve somewhat. Now I make sure I form every letter correctly. This is inconvenient and time-consuming, but it is better than having my comments misread. People come up to me and tell me how nice my handwriting is. I have never thought of that, but this is exactly what has happened. It really is a pleasure, but it isn't enough. In the long run, I actually have to go to a handwriting coach to improve my handwriting. It seems like I have years and years of bad habits that I have to break, and this isn't something I could handle on my own. I need someone to teach me how to write clearly from the ground up. ks5u How did the writer try to improve his handwriting? Answer: He practiced writing mainly on his own. The United States of America is a large country. On the same day in the winter, it may be warm in some places and cold in others. In parts of the South , in the winter, the temperature might be over 27degC. At the same time, in parts of the North , the temperature might be below (......) 0degC. In the summer, it may be over 38degCin the South. On the same day, it may be 23degCin the North. The temperature is not the same in all parts of the United States. The rain is also very different in the country. In parts of the West there is little rain. In parts of the South there is much rain. In which part of the country does it rain a lot? _ Answer: In the South. John lived with her mother when he was young. He didn't know who his father was. The woman did some washing for the rich and could buy only some bread for her son. So the boy was short and thin. One cold morning there was much snow in the streets. A car knocked the woman down and the policemen took her to the hospital. She didn't tell John that his father deserted her before he was born until she died. She left her son the name and address of his father. John found his father, Mr. Brown, in another city. He was one of the richest shopkeepers and he had to receive his son. From then on the boy lived a rich life. He ate all kinds of delicious food and wore beautiful clothes. But he didn't go to school and could not read or write. Once his father took him to a party. He saw a newspaper lying on the floor and picked it up while others were talking about a film. He had a look at it and found a car's wheels were upward .He called out," Oh, dear! An accident happened!" All the people were surprised and began to read the newspaper. But soon they all began to laugh. Do you know why? After John found his father, _ . Answer: he started a rich life
What do water, aluminum, redwood trees, and valley quail all have in common? Answer: The Sieferts are the kind of environmentally conscious family who has solar panels atop their home. They use timers on their kids' showers and have planted drought-tolerant landscaping. But they feel kind of guilt. "I haven't thought about the pool as much as I probably should," said Annette Siefert. As California's drought worsens, swimming pools have become a target for those who think the classic backyard greens waste water. Some water districts have banned new pools from being filled and have limited how much water existing pools can use. But some of those agencies are walking back the rules as they make a surprising discovery: Pools aren't the water wasters some have made them out to be. Analyses by various water districts, along with scientific studies, conclude that pools and their surrounding landscapes use about the same amount of water as a lawn of the same size. Over time, pools might even use less water. With pool covers, experts say water evaporation can be cut by almost half, making pools significantly less wasteful than grass and about as efficient as drought-tolerant landscaping. Facing complaints over a recent ban on filling pools, the Santa Margarita Water District conducted its own water-use analysis. It found that pools require thousands of gallons of water to fill initially, but they use about 8,000 gallons less water than a traditional landscape after that. By the third year, the analysis found, the savings add up, and a pool's cumulative water use falls below that of a lawn. Water agencies such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have come to similar conclusions. Armed with new information, Santa Margarita Water District officials will reconsider their ban next week. "We want to respect the people's rights to use their property. There are many families we know that have saved for pools," said Jonathan Volzke, spokesman for the 155,000-customer district. "But at the same time, the reality around us is that we're in the third year of a serious drought, and we don't know if we're in the third year of a three-year drought or the third year of a 10-year drought." Annette Siefert feels guilty mainly because of _ . Answer: Old tennis balls are being used in an unusual way to help us learn more about one of the rarest mammals in the country. Harvest mice are only about 2 inches ( 5 cm) long. This spring and summer, wildlife experts are encouraging people to report sightings of harvest mice so that records can be built up about numbers and locations. Meadows and grassland are animals' traditional homes but as farming methods change over time, the habitats are being lost and numbers are thought to be _ . Old tennis balls, complete with penny-sized holes, make a strong and popular choice of home for the mice and around 200 are available for surveyors to distribute and monitor, after being donated by a local tennis club. The project, supported by the Leicestershire County Council, is thought to be the biggest of its kind ever run in Leicestershire. County Council wildlife expert, Helen O'Brien; said, " Little is known about the creature's present situation locally so we need people to look in tall grass and fields and send in their information. The information will help us track numbers and tell us where we need to focus our attention to safeguard their future. " Anyone interested in getting involved , can pick up tips and learn more about harvest mice on a training day. This is taking place between 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm on Monday, 14th June at the County Council's Environmental Resource Centre in Birstall. People living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland can get involved with the survey or book a place on the training day by calling Gareth Price at 0116-267-1950. The County Council needs local people to _ . Answer: She is quiet, soft-spoken and has a kind face and a strong heart. She is my mom, Lili. When I was nine, Lili quitted her job and started her own business. She said she didn't want to stay at home and work as a housewife: "It's a waste of life." Lili became so busy that she spent less and less time with me. She didn't help me with my schoolwork. It was, in her words, "so that you can develop your independence". We quarreled because she rarely showed up at parents' meetings. Like mother, like daughter. I have many things in common with Lili. I want everything to be under control. I want to be perfect and I don't expect other people to help me. I push myself hard to achieve my goals. After I started to go to high school, Lili and I were too busy to communicate much with each other. In biology class I began to be depressed. When the teacher showed us a picture of a butterfly, I was scared and screamed. I had a vision of thousands of butterflies flying toward me. That night I told Lili about it. The next morning, I saw that she had red eyes with black circles around them. She took me to see a therapist . Three hours later, the therapist told Lili that my life was like a wheel spinning faster and faster and that was the reason for what had happened to me. I only realized it when my body couldn't stand the pressure anymore. At these words, Lili burst into tears. "It's all my fault, she's just a kid and I didn't have time to take care of her...." To be honest, I had never seen Lili cry before. After that, Lili began to spend more time at home, cooking and dragging me to do sports. I realized she was the one who would always be there when I was in real trouble. No mom is perfect, but she is the one who really cares about her kid. We quarreled because _ . Answer: We live in the computer age. People use computers to do much of their work. But few people know how to look after them. Remember the following when you use your computer: 1.Keep your computer in a cool, dry room. Too much or too little heat is bad for computers. Damp is also bad for them. 2.Do not let people smoke near your computer. Smoke of all kinds is very bad for many parts of a computer. 3.Do not eat or drink when you are near your computer. Pieces of food and a little water in the keyboard are also bad for a computer. 4.Keep your screen clean and do not have it too bright. They are bad for your eyes. Make sure the screen is not too far from or too near your eyes. Some people use different glasses to protect their eyes when they use a computer. Computers can _ people to do a lot of work. Answer:
Which of these animals has teeth that are most like the teeth of humans? Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next to ours was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there and whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing and reading. After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, "Why doesn't that woman clean her window? It really looks terrible." One bright morning I decided to clean my apartment, including cleaning the window. Late in the afternoon I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly seen. Her window was clean! Then _ . I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window. That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings ? From then on, whenever I want to judge someone, I ask myself first, "Am I looking at him through my own dirty window? " Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I can see others' world more clearly. From the passage we can learn that _ . " Drink your milk.It is good for you! " You've probably heard that many times, and it is true.Milk contains calcium, which is a necessary nutrient for keeping bones and teeth healthy and strong.The US government even requires milk as part of the National School: Lunch Program, saying that students should drink one cup of fat - free milk at each meal. Last Thursday, however, a group of doctors asked the government to remove the lunch program.The Physical Committee for Responsible Medicine says, "Milk is high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal? protein," all of which have negative effects on health.The PCRM says there were better and healthier ways to get calcium such as eating beans, broccoli, cereals and tofu.Orange juice and soymilk that have calcium added to them also supply the nutrient."One of the only reasons people talk about dairy, or promote it at all, is because it is going to help build strong hones." says Dr.Neal Barnard, president of the PCRM.But milk may not be the best way to get calcium your body needs. Of course, calcium is important for health bones and teeth, but there are other things that affect your bone strength, such as genes, how much vitamin D you take in and getting an hour' s worth of exercise every day. Some nutritionists disagree with the idea that milk isn' t important.Keri Gans, a dietitian, says, " I think it is irresponsible to take this beverage that children enjoy, especially among those who are unable to meet their nutrient needs for the day, and remove it from lunch time." The US government is studying the request of the PCRM, but a decision may be a one way to take off.Meanwhile, Marion Nestle, a professor at New York University, put it best: " Milk demonstrably has nutrients.Other foods have the same nutrients.It' s just a food.Like other foods, too much might be a problem." What can we learn from Marion Nestle' s words? A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shining car. "Is this your car, sir?" he asked. Paul answered, "Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was surprised, "You mean your brother gave it to you and it did cost you nothing? Sir, I wish..." He hesitated . Paul thought of course he knew what the boy wanted, but what the boy said surprised him greatly. "I wish, " the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that. " Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, "Would you like to take a ride in my car?" "Oh yes, I'd love to." The boy answered. After a short ride, the boy turned with his eyes shining and said, "Sir, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul smiled a little. He thought he know what the boy wanted, He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He Was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat down on the step and pointed to the car. "There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent . And some day I'm going to give you one just like it... then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window- that I've been trying to tell you about." Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed elder brother climbed in beside him and the three began an unforgettable holiday ride.[:Zxxk.Com] The street urchin was very surprised when _ . When we can see well, we do not think about our eyes often. It is only when we can notsee perfectly that we come to see how important our eyes are. People who are nearsighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Many people who do a lot of close work, such as writing and reading, become nearsighted. Then they have to wear glasses in order to see distant things clearly. People who are farsighted face just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty reading a book unless they hold it at arm's length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses too. Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people's eyes become cloudy because of cataracts . Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them. When night falls, colors become fainter to the eyes and finally disappear. After your eyes have grown used to the dark, you can see better if you use the side of your eyes rather than the centers. Sometimes, after dark, you see a small thing to one side of you, which seems to disappear if you turn your head in its direction. This is because when you turn your head, you are looking at the thing too directly. Men on guard duty sometimes think they see something moving to one side of them. When they turn to look straight at it, they can not see it any more, and they believe they were mistaken. However, this mistake happens because the center of the eye, which is very sensitive in daylight, is not as sensitive as the sides of the eye after dark. To see a small thing at night, it is better to look _ .
Question: Before I had my son, I spent two years working with children with disabilities. I learned that shouting and threats of punishment would result in a disaster. Coming up against their behaviour could only make the job harder and their behaviour more extreme. I found something that worked, though. There was a very naughty boy in the nursery and a teacher who was generally very confident with the children was asked to take charge of him. One day the boy joined a session in the room next to mine. His appearance created an atmosphere of tension. He spent the entire session running around, hitting and kicking, and destroying property. I was in the craft room working with some other children when my co-worker told me that this boy's teacher was in tears, and could not get control of the situation. As we were talking,the boy ran in. I told my co-worker that I would take care of him. I closed the door. He was full of energy, throwing things around and making a huge mess. But I could see that he was doing all these to annoy me. He needed connection, and this was the only way he knew how to ask for it. So I sat back down and kept quiet. Then he slowed down and began making a rocket. I talked to him about it. We continued like this for a few minutes before I slipped into the conversation: "So what happened today?" It was purely a question, no blame or anger in my tone. I believe that if I had criticized him, the gate that was slowly opening would have shut firmly closed. He told me that the teacher didn't let him do what he knew well due to safety but asked him to do what he disliked. He also admitted that he had enjoyed making her run around and saw it as a game. I explained that his teacher had not seen it as a game and was very upset. This again was stated simply as a fact. I suggested that next time he had a session, he talk about what he hoped to do at the start,which might be easier for everyone. He agreed and was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes before quietly asking if he could go to find his teacher to apologize. Why did the boy have tears in his eyes in the end? A. He was sorry about his reputation. B. He was regretful about his behavior. C. He was fearful of the author's warning. D. He was sad for the author's misunderstanding. Answer: B. He was regretful about his behavior. Question: Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea animals comes from a number of human activities. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves. Decibels measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land caused pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect. Some scientists have planned to set a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have found that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales. A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises can seriously hurt some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected. Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds disagree to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research. Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to stop noises from harming creatures in the ocean. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea animals? A. The man-made noises. B. The noises made by themselves. C. The sound of earthquakes. D. The sound of the ice-breaking. Answer: A. The man-made noises. Question: I had managed to sell all my papers and was coming home in the snow. It was that strange hour in New York when the workers were walking towards home in the evening. I recognized my father near Cooper Union, a frozen figure in an old overcoat standing by a banana cart . He looked so lonely; tears came to my eyes. Then he saw me, and his face lit with his sad, beautiful smile. "Arch," he said, "so you have sold your papers! Come and eat a banana." He offered me one, but I refused it. I felt it important that my father sell his bananas, not give them away. He thought I was shy, and joked with me, and made me eat the banana. It smelled of wet snow. "You haven't sold many bananas today, Dad," I said. "What can I do? No one seems to want them," Dad said. It was true. The crowds pushed home; the sky darkened over the New York buildings; the tall street lamps were lit; street cars and bikes went by. Nobody and nothing in the great city stopped for my father's bananas. "I ought to yell ," said my father sadly. "I ought to make a big noise like other peddlers , but it makes my throat sore. Anyway, I'm ashamed of yelling; it makes me feel like a fool." I had eaten one of his bananas. A voice deep down told me that I ought to pay for it somehow. I must remain here and help my father. "I'll yell for you, Dad," I volunteered. "Arch, no," he said, "go home; you have worked enough today. Just tell momma I'll be late." But I yelled and yelled. My father, standing by, spoke words of praise, and said I was a wonderful yeller. However, nobody else paid attention; nobody listened and came to buy our bananas. My father tried to stop me at last. He said, "That was wonderful yelling, Arch. But it's just we are unlucky today! Let's go home." I insisted on keeping up my yells. But at last my father persuaded me to leave with him. What is the main idea of the text? A. The hard lives of factory workers. B. How to survive in a hard environment. C. The love between the father and the son. D. Misunderstanding between the father and the son. Answer: C. The love between the father and the son. Question: Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children.In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream.They both wanted to pursue their talent for art.After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement.They would toss a coin.The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy.Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy. Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg.Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, _ work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation .By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works. When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming.Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream."And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn.Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you." Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, "No...no...It is too late for me.Look...look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands!The bones in every finger have been broken at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush." To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward.He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands", but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it "The Praying Hands".The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, let it be your reminder--no one ever makes any success alone! What can we learn from the story? A. One can achieve success simply on his own B. Any success requires the help of others. C. It's other people who contribute to one's success D. Nobody could succeed without good guidance Answer: B. Any success requires the help of others. Question: There are two kinds of physical activity which require special training. The first demands exact careful movements of the muscles. This kind of activity must be strictly controlled because even a slight movement in the wrong direction will lead a mistake. To type quickly, for example, a person needs training; the slightest movement of a finger in the wrong direction may cause a spelling mistake. A dancer who has to dance on the point of her shoes or turn around on one foot must be trained for a long period of time before she can sense her own center and balance herself. You may have seen a girl walking on a rope across an empty space, which, too, requires a lot of practice. The second kind of physical activity needs greater strength or extra effort. Most of us get tired if we try to run half a mile without stopping, but a specially-trained person can do this without much effort. Three years ago, some scientists carried out experiments, which produced meaningful and unexpected results. They wanted to find out whether a certain amount of physical exercise would injure those suffering from heart problems. They selected some male patients and trained them in continuous bicycle riding. They were surprised to find that the harmful effect of given amount of physical effort was actually less on the hearts of these trained patients than on those of the patients who were not similarly trained. This is important because it shows that regular physical exercise enables us to make better use of the oxygen we breathe in and that this training, in fact, reduces the amount of work our hearts do. Many tasks which are hard for untrained people are not hard at all for trained people. What would be the best title for this text? A. Training Our Bodies B. Physical Activities C. Movement Training D. Extra Body Effort Answer: B. Physical Activities
HARTLAND, Wis. (AP) -- Lauren Panos was surprised when she walked into her ninth-grade English class in the fall and saw there were no boys. Her parents had not told her they had enrolled her in a new all-girls class at Arrowhead High School in Hartland. Panos still isn't sold on the idea. "All the girls there, they can talk out of turn," the 14-year-old said. "We are bored of tasks and it's really upsetting." More public school systems are looking at separating boys and girls, whether for certain classes or by total schools, after the federal government opened the door last fall. Supporters say separating students by sex helps them learn better and allows boys and girls to explore subjects they may not otherwise take. "Boys just make a bigger trouble in the class," Panos' classmate, Alyson Douglas, 15, said "I likes not worrying about boys causing _ ." Presently, nationwide, at least 253 public schools offer single-sex classes and 51 schools are entirely single sex, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. In1995, just three public schools offered single-sex classes. Critics of same-sex classrooms argue that proven methods of improving education should be carried out instead of one that divides boys and girls. "Too many schools feel they can carry out a social experiment with students' education with really the weakest of theories," said Emily Martin, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Women's Rights Project. Single-sex schools are an "illusionary silver bullet," said Lisa Maatz, director of public policy and government relations for the American Association of University Women. They distract from real problems and do not offer proven solutions such as lower class sizes and enough funding, she said. "I would suggest that for many of our kids and families, especially in Milwaukee, it's a question of choice," Spence said. "We have a series of choices in Milwaukee and I just think this should be one additional choice." Critics don't support the idea of single-sex schooling mainly because _ . Answer: Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly _ happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia found. Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier. "We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity. "No matter how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," Dunn said in a statement. Dunn's team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000. "Employees who devoted more of their bonus to prosocial spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself," they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science. They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it. "These findings suggest that very minor changes in spending allocations-as little as $5 may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Dunn said. What is the general idea of the passage? Answer: We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests' coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom. The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids. Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age. I thought to myself that we adults usually _ the younger one because she's the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions. But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying. I said, "What are you doing, my dear?" She turned to me with a sad expression and said, "Mommy, why don't people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I'm not pretty? Is that why they don't say nice things about me as much?" I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better. Now whenever I visit a friend's home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first. Kristen felt sad and cried because _ . Answer: Pocket money means that you have money in your pocket that you can spend. You may get a regular amount of money from your parents or grandparents , for example , every week or once a month. How much pocket money should you get ? That depends on what your parents or grandparents can afford, how many kids there are in your family and how old you are . A little primary school kid may get one yuan , but older children would get more . Each family is different. Many parents or grandparents give kids pocket money so that their kids can : use the money to buy things that they want . learn to find out how much things cost . learn to look after money well . learn to shop around for the best price learn to save their pocket money for the future. learn what is worth buying. It is difficult to _ money . If you spend all of your money too quickly ,you will not be able to buy the necessary things that you will need in the future life . If you always save money , you will not get many nice things that you really like . Try to use your pocket money in the right way and you will always get something good. The writer writes the passage mainly to tell us _ . Answer: If you were on the street in Mexico today you might think you were in an operating room, surrounded by doctors. You could see many concerned people with masks trying their best to stop the swine flu . And the masks aren't only being used in Mexico. A friend of mine traveling from New York City to Florida was given a mask and a pair of gloves just after he reached the airport. And another friend went to get a haircut only to be faced with a hairdresser wearing a mask! But do the masks really work? Is covering your nose and mouth the key to stopping the swine flu? To find out the truth, ABC's reporter Sharyn Alfonsi talked with germ expert Dr. Elaine Larsen. It turns out that when you sneeze the air coming out of your mouth at a speed of one hundred miles per hour carries germs which can travel anywhere around you and make people around you infected . However, whether you become infected actually depends on the weather. As Sharyn reported, when you sneeze, the germs leave your body in small drops of water coming out of your mouth. If the weather is wet, the wet air will make the small drops bigger and heavier and they drop down towards our feet. If this happens, we won't become infected. But if the air is dry, those small drops can float higher up, making it possible for them to touch someone else's nose, mouth or their mask. Larsen says the masks can stop the germs well but after a few hours, they start to get wet, holding a lot of germs they come across and causing you to breathe them in. The masks do work, but the key to stopping the germs is changing your masks often. If you keep wearing a mask for a long time, _ . Answer:
Worms,antis,and flowers live in soil.Fish,crabs,and seaweeds live in oceans.Birds,insects,and moss live in trees.soil,oceans,and trees are habitatsplaces where animals and plants live .Besides offering food and shelter, habitats allow for growth and reproduction. Humans, however,have destroyed many habitats.We change forests into parking lots. We turn grasslands into neighborhoods.We turn beach land into resorts.We turn 0ceans into chemical dumps.Some plants and animals adapt and survive.Others,however die.The changes are too much,too fast.Sometimes the death rate becomes greater than the birth rate.then the extinction occurs.An example of this happened on Florida's east coast,the habitat of the dusky seaside sparrow.This habitat changed suddenly as land was developed. And the sparrows were not able to adapt. More sparrows died than were born. In 1987 the dusky seaside sparrow became extinct.None exist in the world today. Fortunately,conservation efforts are underway.Many states have set aside land for nature preserves. Here,plants and animals live in their natural habitats.Some states have created man-made habitats .Artificial reefs,for example,have been put in ocean waters. The artificial reefs are habitats for hundreds of fish and other marine life.In 1970 the federal government passed a law to protect habitats.'Ibis~that the efforts of development must be studied.A highway,dam,or power plant may not be built if plants and animals,endangered.We were too late to save the dusky sparrow.Hopefully,however,these new efforts will save other plants and animals. The author explains the effects of habitat destruction by presenting a _ . A real-life example B personal narrative C scientific study D made-un story Answer: A. real-life example From Sept. 1, Chinese children will be able to watch domestic cartoon programs during 5 p.m. every day, according to a regulation by prefix = st1 /China's TV watchdog. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has decided to ban all foreign cartoons during the "Golden hours", reported the Beijing News. No foreign cartoons or programs of introducing foreign cartoons can be shown during the period on all domestic cartoon channels, the regulation says. Only after 8 p.m. can foreign cartoons appear on TV, it requires. The regulation has been issued to local TV stations but the administration has not made it public, according to the newspaper. Cartoon programs co-produce by domestic and foreign producers will have to get approval from SARFT to show during 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. from Sept.1. The first foreign cartoon introduced to Chinawas a Japanese cartoon called "Astro Boy" series in 1981. Since then, a large quantity of foreign cartoons _ China. Incomplete surveys show about 80 percent of interviewed Chinese children like foreign cartoons according to the Southern Metropolis News. With the effects of regulations and establishment of 15 film and cartoon production bases in recent years, domestic cartoon industry attracted huge civil investment, resulting in a sharp rise of cartoon programs in 2005. However, due to the poor popularity among children, domestic cartoons found it hard to show during "golden hours", and even had troubles to get back the production costs. Moreover, it was the content of domestic cartoons that lost the audience, said the editorial, therefore improving the creation environment of cartoon makers is much wiser than such market-protecting measures. Finally it said it was reasonable and necessary to introduce system into the cartoon competition to protect the domestic industry, the complete prohibition of foreign cartoons and compulsory screening of domestic ones during popular hours was rather unreasonable. "This is a worrying, short-sighted policy and would not solve the fundamental problems in China's cartoon industry," it concluded. What is the fact about Chinese children? A Chinese children prefer foreign cartoon films to domestic ones. B Chinese children never watch domestic cartoon films. C Chinese children prefer domestic cartoon films to foreign ones. D Chinese children don't prefer foreign cartoon films. Answer: A. Chinese children prefer foreign cartoon films to domestic ones. All boys and girls like good stories. I am sure that all children who read The Ugly Duckling will be glad to know something about the 'King of Story Tellers', who wrote it for them. Thousands and thousands of children have read this story, only to ask for it again and again. It has travelled the wide world over, and has been told in every country. Hans Christian Andersen, the author of "The Ugly Duckling," was born in Denmark. If you look on a map, you will see this little country in northern Europe. There, in the little village of Odense, he spent his boyhood. His father and mother were very poor. The family lived in two little rooms near the top of a house, where his father worked as a shoemaker. On the roof was a box filled with earth. In this box his mother planted her vegetables. Little Hans loved to walk with his father in the woods, where he could pick wild flowers and hear the birds sing. His father read to him when his work was done, or told him stories. What his father did helped him open up a new world. Once, when Hans was still a child, he went into a wheat field with his mother and a number of children, to pick the rest wheat which the reapers had left in the field. While they were busy picking only a small amount of wheat for each of them, an angry bailiff came rushing into the field, armed with a whip . All ran, as fast as they could, away from the angry man. _ and the sharp stalks of the wheat plants which had been cut down, cut his feet so that he could not get away. Unafraid, the boy faced the angry man and his upraised whip. "How dare you hit me when you know God sees you?" he cried, looking fearlessly into the face of the angry bailiff. The whip came down, but not on little Hans. The bailiff admired the boy's courage, and praised him for it. He sent him home with gifts, rather than punishments.[:] While Hans was still a boy, his kind father died. Then Hans and his mother were left alone, to care for each other. "What will you do, Hans?" the mother asked "Would you like to become a tailor?" "No, mother," the boy answered; "I will go to Copenhagen and study. One day I shall write books." "But where will the money be found to pay your way?" asked the mother. "I will work, and God will take care of me," Hans replied. So the boy left his native village and walked all the way to Copenhagen, which was very far. What did Hans' father do in the woods when the work was done? A He gathered wild flowers with Hans. B He taught Hans to make shoes. C He read books or told stories to Hans. D He picked remaining wheat with Hans. Answer: C. He read books or told stories to Hans. Defendant is on trial for the crime of obstructing justice by concealing records subpoenaed May 1, in a government investigation. The government calls Attorney to testify that on May 3, Defendant asked him how to comply with the regulations regarding the transfer of records to a safe-deposit box in Mexico. The testimony of Attorney is A privileged, because it relates to conduct outside the jurisdiction of the United States. B privileged, because an attorney is required to keep the confidences of his clients. C not privileged, provided Attorney knew of the concededly illegal purpose for which the advice was sought. D not privileged, whether or not Attorney knew of the concededly illegal purpose for which the advice was sought. Answer: D. not privileged, whether or not Attorney knew of the concededly illegal purpose for which the advice was sought. It had been a difficult move. I'd left my family and friends in Indiana, the beloved state where I'd lived most of my life. My new home in Florida was thousands of miles away from anything I knew. It was hot--all the time. Jobs were hard to come by, but I was up for almost any challenge. At last, I taught in a special school where students have severe learning and behavioral difficulties. Another teacher and I had spent weeks teaching the children appropriate behavior for public outings. Unexpectedly, only a few students, including Kyle, had not earned the privilege of going. He was determined to make his disappointment known. In the corridor between classrooms, he began screaming, cursing, spitting, and swinging at anything within striking distance. Once his outburst died down, he did what he'd done when he was angry at all his other schools, at home, even once at a juvenile detention center. He ran. People watched in disbelief as Kyle dashed straight into the heavy morning traffic in front of the school. I heard someone shout, "Call the police!" But I ran after him. Kyle was at least a foot taller than me. And he was fast. His older brothers were track stars at the nearby high school. But I could run long distances without tiring. I would at least be able to keep him in my sight and know he was alive. After several blocks of running directly into oncoming traffic, Kyle slowed his pace. He took a sharp left. Standing next to a trash bin, Kyle bent over with his hands on his knees. I must have looked ridiculous. But his was not a look of fear. I saw his body relax. He did not attempt to run again. Kyle stood still and watched me approach. I had no idea what I was going to say or do, but I kept walking closer. He opened his mouth to speak when a police car pulled up, abruptly filling the space between Kyle and me. The school principal and an officer got out. They spoke calmly to Kyle, who willingly climbed into the back of the vehicle. I couldn't hear what was said, but I didn't take my eyes off Kyle's face, even as they drove away. I couldn't help but feel that I had failed him, that I should have done or said more, that I should have fixed the situation. I shared my feelings with a speech therapist who was familiar with Kyle's history. "No one ever ran after him before, Rachel," she said. "No one. They just let him go." Things changed the day he ran and I ran after him, even though I didn't have the right words, even though I wasn't able to save him from the mess he was in. It was the day I didn't throw my hands in the air and decide he was too fast, a waste of time and effort , a lost cause. It was the day my mere presence was enough to make a profound difference. From the passage we know that _ . A the author left her family to Florida because jobs were hard to come by in Indiana. B students were allowed to go out after they passed some specific tests. C the author worked in a school where students were excellent. D no teacher had ever run after Kyle before except the author . Answer: D. no teacher had ever run after Kyle before except the author .
Question: On October 19, 1959, the first Special English program was broadcast on the Voice of America. It was an experiment. The goal was to communicate by radio in clear and simple English with people whose native language is not English. Experts said the goal was admirable, but the method would not work. They were proved wrong. The Special English programs quickly became some of the most popular on VOA. And they still are. Forty years later, Special English continues to communicate with people who are not fluent in English. But during the years its role has expanded. It also helps people learn American English. And it provides listeners, even those who are native English speakers, with information they cannot find elsewhere. Today, Special English broadcasts around the world seven days a week, five times a day. Each half-hour broadcast begins with ten minutes of the latest news followed by 20 minutes of feature programming. There is a different short feature every weekday about science, development, agriculture and environment, and on the weekend, about news events and American idioms. Three elements make Special English unique. It has a limited vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science. Special English is written in short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. No idioms are used. And Special English is spoken at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of Standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are English speakers understand complex subjects. Through the years, Special English has become a very popular tool for teaching English, even though it was not designed as teaching program. It succeeds in helping people learn English in a non-traditional way. Individuals record the programs and play them over and over to practice their listening skills. In countries around the world, English teachers assign Special English to their students. They praise it for improving their students' ability to understand American English and for the content of the programs. Universities and private companies in many countries produce packages of Special English materials for student use. At the beginning, Special English program was _ . A. well received B. rejected by native people C. doubted by some professionals D. intended for teaching English Answer: C Question: Three years have passed since I entered the university. I haven't seen many of my classmates after we parted when the college entrance examination was over. So we decided to have a get-together party this summer vacation. As you can imagine, I could hardly wait to have the day for our reunion. After several month's waiting, 25 of my former higher school classmates and 3 of our teachers were crowded in a small restaurant near our high school. We were more than happy to meet with each other again. Our former Chinese teacher was so excited that he even choked to say some words. With gratitude, we thanked our teachers for their hard work; with great joy, we exchanged the happy things happening in each of our present colleges; We talked before someone shouted. "Oh, it is 11:30 now." But no one would be the first to say goodbye to others . I shall always bear this unforgettable get-together in my mind. With time passing, I believe I will meet many new friends, but I think the friendship among high school classmates will be the purest and will be the most valuable thing to cherish. Which of the following is true? A. The author didn't wait to have the day for their reunion. B. The author's Chinese teacher was not good at talking. C. The author preferred the life in the university to that of his high school . D. The author thought the friendship in high school was well worth treasuring. Answer: D Question: The Netherlands is a small country on the North Sea. From any place in the country, the farthest point is never more than 350 kilometers away. It takes only a little more than four hours to travel by train from Vlissingen, in the southwest, to Groningen, in the northeast. More than 16 million people live there. Most of the people in the Netherlands live in the west of the country. The four largest cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, are there. Amsterdam is the capital, but The Hague is the seat of govemment. The Netherlands is sometimes called Holland, because an area in the west of the Netherlands used to be called Holland. The name lives on in the names of two Dutch provinces: North Holland and South Holland. The language spoken in the Netherlands is Dutch. In the province of Friesland, Frisian is also spoken. That is a separate ( ) language, which is a little bit like English. It takes people _ hours to travel from Groningen to Vlissingen by train. A. less than four B. over four C. less than 16 D. over 16 Answer: B Question: Last summer, Mark became a middle school student. He took an English test in the first month. Mark was a good student and he worked hard. He finished the questions easily until he read the last one: "Everyone sees our school's cleaner every day. What's her first name?" Of course, this question is a little special. Mark saw the woman some times. She was tall and her hair was dark. But Mark didn't talk with her and didn't know her first name. The test was over. Then one student asked the teacher, "Is the last question very important in this test?" "Yes," said the teacher. "In our life, we meet many hard-working people. They are important. You should care about them. You should smile at them or say 'hello' to them." Mark never forgot that question. He also learned that woman's first name. It was Kathy. What's the title of the passage? A. A Special Question B. A Hard-working Cleaner C. A Good Teacher D. A Clever Student Answer: A Question: Once upon a time a driver was taking some meat to the store. But he hit a turtle. Then he hit another turtle. The driver was sad. So he put the turtles in the trash. Then he felt better. The driver told his mommy that he needed to look in the mirror, so she said he could. The driver wanted to go back to work. On the way to work he saw a man with a firework. He watched the man light the firework. It was fun, but the driver needed to get back to work. This time he took a chair to the store. It was a fun job. The driver was very busy all day long. He wanted to go home and have fun, but he was busy working. The driver was a good worker and worked all day so he didn't go home and have fun. What did the driver do to stop him from being sad? A. He took meat to the store B. He put meat in the trash C. he took turtles to the store D. He put the turtles in the trash Answer: D
Since 2008, hunters have illegally killed more than 3000 rhinos in South Africa. The International Union for Conservation of Nature warns that rhinos may die out by 2026. People who hunt and kill illegally are called poachers. The most effective way to watch for and prevent illegal hunting is from the air. However, piloted flights are too costly. Fortunately, some Spanish college students have invented a drone that can observe more places than a plane. Arnau Garcia is an aeronautical engineering student at the Polytechnic Institute of Catalonia, in Spain. He says observers from the air have trouble finding poachers when they hide under the trees. Mr. Garcia and other students have worked with the drone manufacturer HEMAV to help find the hidden poachers. They make it by using the thermal camera, which is especially sensitive to body heat. Even when the poachers keep still, it can also keep track of them. The drone can fly in the wind up to 55 kilometers per hour. It has an autopilot system, so it memorizes the flight path. The drone also has a microphone, a video camera and a GPS system. These permit it to report accurately where a picture is taken. After each flight, the drone can bring back detailed information about where rhinos are found, the conditions of water and plants in the area, and the positions of suspected poachers. Experts say the drone can fly as far as 70 kilometers from the base. It means that it could quickly observe large areas for poachers. However, the same search operation would take days for human observers. Thanks to the drone, many poachers have been caught and the number of rhinos is on the increase. In addition, HEMAV has received an increasing number of orders for the drone. Even South African national park officials attempt to fill the air with drones. What do we know about the drone? _ A It may get lost easily in the air. B It can't work in the windy days. C It can offer detailed information. D It is useless when the poacher stays still. Answer: C. It can offer detailed information. Rhinoceroses and horses are related. They have very similar digestive systems and an odd number of toes on their feet. Horses have one toe, and rhinoceroses have three. These facts best support which claim? A Horses and rhinoceroses share a common ancestor. B Horses and rhinoceroses are genetically identical. C Horses are the ancestors of modern rhinoceroses. D Horses have descended from modern rhinoceroses. Answer: A. Horses and rhinoceroses share a common ancestor. Zoos divide opinion : there are those who think it is cruel to keep animals locked up while others believe zoos are essential for the survival of endangered species. To argue that zoos imprison animals is to misunderstand what zoos are about. Without zoos many of the creatures we love and admire would no longer exist. Every single day,over one hundred animal species vanish. Scientists predict that as early as 2050 one quarter of the Earth's species will become extinct. Some animals are in danger because they are hunted. Alarmingly, the population of tigers has already fallen by ninety-five percent. Other species are in danger because of a lack of food. For example, there are fewer than 1300 giant pandas left in the wild. Zoos have special breeding programmes to help those animals at risk. These breeding programmes are proving extremely successful. As Irene Shapiro from Zoo and Wildlife Support says, "the Puerto Rican Parrot has grown in numbers from just thirteen to about eighty-five and the Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey, which has almost ceased to exist twenty years ago, has been reintroduced back into the wild. " Unfortunately, not everyone understands this important role zoos play. For example, Brian Featherstone from the Anti-Zoo Forum says, "I can't believe we take animals from the wild and put them in cages for the entertainment of the public! We should view them on film or TV in their natural environment.,' However, this misses the point. A zoo does more than display animals to the public. It ensures their survival. Without zoos you would not be able to see many of these animals on TV or anywhere else! What's the writer's attitude towards zoos? A He shows no opinion either for or against them. B He thinks that they are unnecessary and cruel. C He believes they play an important environmental role. D He expresses a desire that more of them be built. Answer: C. He believes they play an important environmental role. It has always been said that women are not good drivers, because they simply don't have very good driving ability. On the other hand, most car accidents happen to men; very few happen to women. From this, we can see that women are much more careful while driving. Another very interesting fact that we should point out is that in the past, women preferred to let their husbands be the only driver in the family rather than have a driving license. Somehow they were prevented from making this step in their lives, but nowadays there are many women that want to pass their driving tests from an early age. However, we have to admit that men are more skillful drivers than women, but this does not mean that a woman cannot become a good driver by accumulating experience. So more and more teenagers and women around the age of thirty now want to pass their driving tests. While taking their driving lessons, they also have a number of special lessons with their parents or somebody in the family that has a driving license, this is just to improve their driving abilities and help them to pass the tests more easily. To conclude, we can say that women are not such bad drivers. They just need more experience than men in order to be able to drive well. And on the other hand, there are a number of women that show better driving skills than the men around them. What advantage do women have over men in driving? A They have more skills. B They are much more careful C They know more traffic rules D They have more driving experience Answer: B. They are much more careful It is easy to find your way about in New York. It is _ so regularly. Instead of streets winding and twisting as they do in London, they are all regular and well planned. The streets running north and south are called "avenues" and are numbered, e.g. 1stAvenue, 2ndAvenue, etc. The streets going east and west are called "streets" and are also numbered, e.g. 51stStreet, 63rdStreet. It is all much more logical than London's street names. But I couldn't help thinking how much more interesting than these dull cold numbers are London's illogical but colorful names of streets, e.g. "Bishopgate" (which is not a gate and hasn't a Bishop in it); "Haymarket" or "Corn market" (where you won't see any hey or corn) or "Poultry" (without a living chicken anywhere in sight) or "Thread needle Street" (where you won't find little girls learning to sew). In the second sentence of the passage, "laid out" means _ . A built B be put C designed D cut down Answer: C. designed
Question: Clive Roberts,a director at ELS Educational Services,says English tests are changing greatly in response to the global growth in the use of English as _ -- the common language used among people with different native languages.For that reason,a lot of new tests are being developed while old tests are being improved to meet the needs of universities and employers worldwide. Changes in language testing "A lot of tests are now delivered online,all four skills are being tested,in some cases,by computer,in particular speaking and writing skills,which are the most difficult to assess on a computer environment,"says Mr.Roberts. Computer testing will reduce the length of time required for testing,because the tests adjust to the test-taker's ability.These computer-adaptive tests also increase accuracy in scoring.Computer-adaptive tests change depending on the test-taker's responses.They can become more or less difficult during the testing session.For this reason,the set of correct answers will be different for each test-taker. Cultural sensitivity Another change to language testing relates to cultural sensitivity.The term refers to material on a test that is based on a certain culture or is hard for test-takers from different cultures to understand. Mr.Roberts says test development companies are now hiring people with intercultural communication backgrounds to review test items.The companies want to make sure the test does not upset test-takers. Proficiency in language Changes to English proficiency tests make them better at measuring the learners' ability.However,Mr.Roberts says the changes may mean the tests are more difficult for some students. "The tests have become more proficiency-oriented.The items are being designed in such a way that they test real-world proficiency and not simply sort of an artificial environment or a specific set of skills that are taught in a classroom.So a lot of authentic texts,a lot of authentic listening passages are being used." The changes mean students have to be able to understand English the way it is used in everyday life, not just in textbooks. Which of the following is true about online English tests? A. Listening is more difficult to be tested online than speaking. B. Online English tests need more time. C. Online English tests make scoring more accurate. D. Online English tests are more difficult. Answer: C Question: I began to think about my future job at the age of fourteen. I was born into a family of teachers. My parents are both teachers and I like the job. When I was a little girl, I often went to school with my mother. When my mother was in the class I watched her, and I wanted to be popular among (......) pupils like her. One day in the 9th grade, the head teacher asked me to give an English lesson to the 5th grade pupils because their English teacher caught a cold. When I entered the classroom, many pupils had been at their desks. I said, "Good morning," and began the lesson.[:ZXXK] I wanted the pupils to like English. We read, wrote, sang songs, asked questions and answered questions. Later, I gave English lessons several times and I was happy teaching the pupils. Now I know what I am going to do after leaving school. I want to be an English teacher. It's a very interesting but difficult job. It's interesting because I can work with pupils. It's difficult because I have to teach them a foreign language. To be a good teacher means to know a lot. Every day I improve my English by reading books, reading English newspapers, looking through magazines and speaking with English people. I like English and I want to be a good teacher. The writer thinks being a teacher is interesting because she can _ . A. learn a lot B. work with pupils C. enjoy long vacations D. work with her mother Answer: B Question: Do you know the Chinese saying "He who doesn't reach the Great Wall is not a true man"? Mr. White knows it. Next month he is going to Beijing with his wife. They are going to visit the Great Wall. They are staying in Beijing for about a week. They have a lot of Chinese friends there, so they are visiting them. Then they're flying to West Lake in Hangzhou. They are going boating there and staying there for about three days. Mr. White knows that the Yellow Mountain is very famous in China. So they're going to Anhui to go hiking in the great mountain. After two days in Anhui they'll have to go back to Sydney. "I'm taking lots of photos in China. When I get back to Sydney, I am going to show the photos to my friends. I want my friends to know more about China." said Mr. White. Mr. White is _ in Hangzhou. A. going boating B. going hiking C. going camping D. going swimming Answer: A Question: In the UK, most children have their lunches at school, but in some schools, parents can choose what their children eat. The children can have a school dinner-a hot, cooked meal; or they can take a packed lunch with them, which usually includes cold food like sandwiches. Often parents know what their children want. Cath, a mother of three children, told us, "My children have packed lunches because they say they don't like to have school dinners. So I make three packed lunches every morning." However, another mother, Susan, made a different choice. She said, "My daughters have a always had school dinners. I think they probably get healthier food at school than a few sandwiches I make for them." But how healthy are school dinners? Kaz, a father, thought poorly of them. He said, "Fizzy drinks were offered and I think there were a lot of chips." Jamie Oliver spent a year working in a school kitchen. He was worried about the unhealthy food which included burgers, pizzas and chips. So he tried to cook healthy food such as good stews and curries for the children instead. So Jamie improved the school dinners, and trained the dinner ladies to cook healthy food in that school. Then he advised the government to improve school food across the country. And it seems that the changes have begun. Anna, a pupil, told us, "We used to have a fast food window where you got chips and coke, but they stopped that this year. There's a salad restaurant, which is good, so it's healthier than it was." ,. How many meals do most children in the UK have at school? A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four Answer: A Question: When I was 12 years old, I was at a very hard stage in life. I was short and fat, which was bad for a girl, so coordination was not one of my strongest features. On the other hand, my mother was a very talented softball player who even acted as my coach. Night after night, I would try my best to impress "my coach".Unfortunately, I just felt like a terrible disappointment to my mother. One summer afternoon, my mother told us we were going to visit Uncle David. Since we lived in an apartment, going to the country was quite a treat. My uncle David always had a way of making me feel special. When we arrived, my uncle and cousin Jeff were throwing metal rings at two holes in the ground. I was curious about what they were doing so I went over to watch. Noticing that I was standing there, my uncle asked if I had ever played washers. Being a "city girl", my reply was that the only "washers" I knew were the ones that cleaned clothes. To my embarrassment, Uncle David, chuckling ,explained that the metal rings were called washers. I was shocked to hear my uncle saying he wanted me to take his place. He then gave me the washers and gave tips on how to throw better. Unwillingly, I joined Jeff. Gradually, I found myself not only enjoying but also wanting to win this game. The washer went into the air and began to fall. Then a cloud of dust appeared as the washer sank into the hole. My first try! I had actually thrown the washer into the hole! Although 23 summers have gone by since that day, this small success in washer playing helped me get back self confidence lost when I struggled with the game of softball. When she was told that she could visit Uncle David, the author felt _ . A. surprised B. pleased C. disappointed D. nervous Answer: B
Learning English is one of the few things I have been doing consistently over the past 16 years.Like most Chinese students, I started learning English because it was a compulsory course in my middle school.More importantly, English was a central subject for the college entrance exam. At that time, studying English was not a pleasant experience for me.There was no fun in the process of learning.The focus of our English education was getting a good mark in exams.And nobody told me that the real meaning of studying mother language was communication. When I became a university student, I spent nearly half of my time on English.In fact , more than 90 percent of the job offer ads in Shanghai list " proficiency as a main requirement. How did I improve my English? People told me that TOEFL was very helpful and useful.As a result, I took a TOEFL training course and studied like mad.After six months' preparation, I took part in the exam and got a high score.Later on, I had a chance to further my study in Britain.I soon discovered that all of my past English learning had been futile .When I first went shopping in a local supermarket, I really could not understand what the cashier was saying at all. It was then that I realized I had totally missed the point.Instead of just passing exams, the main function of learning English or any other language is communication.What is more, language does not exist independent of culture.Hence, mechanical memorization helps very little in communication.That's why I was still unable to freely express myself after learning English for many years.By no means am I talented in any foreign language.I am still learning English.Why? First and foremost, my job requires me to use English everyday.Secondly, English helps me to have access to more information.Thirdly, as a bookworm, English gives me a chance to dive into the huge pool of inspiring English books.Last but not least, it is such a great experience to write in another language.Indeed, English has become part of my life. What is the purpose of studying English according to the writer's idea? A. To get high marks in exams B. To prove that English is very important. C. Studying English well can help you get a good job. D. To use English for communication with others. Answer: D. To use English for communication with others. Bit by bit, the sand dust that fills the sky is dying down. The blue sky and the burning sun once again hang over the desert. He is on the road, driving his beat-up yellow cab. The sides of the road are littered with damaged vehicles. Masses of smoke in the distance tell him that a war is being dragged on throughout his country. It's a fine day despite the choking heat. Not a breath of wind is blowing. A group of vehicles are traveling towards him, carrying many passengers. The scene reminds him of the market days in this country when crowds of trucks transport folks to the markets; the only difference is, this time, they are not trucks, but tanks, carrying foreigners, guns in hand. He stares at them. They stare back. So they pass by one another. "The damned war!" he whispers bitterly. Two days ago, a bomb fell on the market in front of his house, destroying nearly everything in sight. He survived by luck. He decided then and there that he would give up this cab business. This will be his final run. After this, he will leave this place together with his wife and children. "Shala and my children, we'll soon meet each other again, after I'm done here." He turns his head to take a glance at a photo of his wife and children. The glass on the frame is broken, but their smiles in the picture do not fail to provide him with the only comfort that he has. Shortly he arrives at a checkpoint. Tanks sit by the side of the road, the sight of which sends a marked coldness through his backbone. A bunch of soldiers armed to the teeth stand by. A foreign soldier signals him to stop. He calms himself down and pulls over. During the past few days, nearly no civilian vehicles come out of the capital city, his car being the only one on roads. A few foreign soldiers come up to him, one, two, three, four, five. The leader bends over to have a look at the old car, then at him. "Where do you come from and where are you going?" With a smile on his face, he answers with a broken speech in the tongue that the soldier can understand, "Sir, I come from the capital. I'm leaving that place because it is a very dangerous place to be, with the war and everything." While talking, he hands a cigarette over to the soldier, then lights it up for him. "When will the war end?" he asks. "It won't take long. We'll soon give all of you in the capital the true freedom." The soldier breathes a deep mouthful. He seems to have spotted the photo in the car, "The cigarette is not bad at all. Are those your wife and kids? I have two of my own, roughly the same age." "Oh, yes, they are mine and they are constantly on my mind. They left the city a bit earlier, and I'm on my way to be reunited with them. Perhaps I'm never coming back. Driving a cab around during war times is too dangerous. I'm giving up the business." He looks at the soldier, still smiling. "After we overthrow your dictator , you won't have that to worry about. You can come back and pick up your life again." The soldier is leaning on the door of the car. It is perhaps the first time in many days that he has seen a happy face among the local people. It cheers him up. "Maybe, but I have to go to see my family. If you would pay us a visit, my wife will prepare a good meal for all of you. _ " "Can't make it. We're on duty. Give our regards to your wife and kids." The soldier is a bit excited, thinking maybe quite some locals have open arms for them after all. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. The south is battle-infected. Where is your family?" Still smiling, he picks up the broken picture frame, presses a kiss on the photo, then turns around, staring into the eyes of that soldier, not quite himself from excitement, and the other foreign soldiers holding guns. Words drop out of his lips slowly but firmly: "Paradise." Perhaps the last thing he sees is the confused, fearful, twisted expression on the face of that soldier, and the cigarette end dropping from his fingers. Then he pushes the button. Which of the following may best describe the feeling of the locals about the foreign soldiers? A. Fear. B. Hate. C. Disappointment. D. Unconcern. Answer: B. Hate. One of the most successful singers of the twentieth century , Ella Fitzgerald, has made several different styles of her own. She was born in Virginia but was brought up in Yonkers, New York. Chick Webb noticed her in a competition when she was sixteen. He asked her to sing with his band , and when he died in 1939, she took over. Unlike Besie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald taught herself the sentimental music so popular in the 1930's--songs like "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"--- and her recordings became best sellers. During the 1940's she developed her own "scat singing", for songs like "Flying Home" and "Lady Be good". Ella Fitzgerald was the perfect musical partner for her friend, the trumpets Louis Armstrong, matching him in warmth and artistry. " I just like music," she has said."To me, it's a story. There is only one thing better than singing... it's singing." When Fitzgerald was sixteen, Chick Webb asked her to _ . A. marry him. B. hire him. C. take over his band. D. perform with band. Answer: D. perform with band. Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history. Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more. Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature . Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks , the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied quickly. Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger. Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing. What has happened to the animals on the earth? A. Hundreds of kinds of animals have disappeared forever. B. Many kinds of animals have died out. C. About 170 kinds of animals have disappeared forever. D. All kinds of animals are in danger. Answer: B. Many kinds of animals have died out. Which are you more likely to have wath you at sny given mement--your cell phone or your wallet? Soon you may be able to throw your wallet away and pay for things with a quick wave of your smart phone over an electroue scannet. In January, Starbucks announced that customers could start using their phones to buy coffee in 6,800 of its states. This is the first pay-by-phone practice in the U.S., but we're likely to see more witeless payment alternatives as something called ucar field communcation(NFC)GETS IN TO America's consumet electanies. Last Deccmbet some new smart phanes which cantain an NFC chip were introduced to the public. Already in use in part of Asia and Europe, NFC allows shoppers to wave theie phones a few inchs above a payment terminal-a contact-free system build for speed and convenience. plan a few incees live a payment tetminal a one a few ptaht need to be worked out, like who will get to collect the profitable trunsacian fees. Although some credit card providers have been experimenting with wave and pay systems that use NFC enabled credit cards, cellphone service providers truay try to mused their way into the point of sale (POS)market. Three big cell phone service providers have formed a joinf tenture that will go into opention over the next 15 months. Its goal is"to lead the U.S. payments industry from cards to mobile phone." The other big NFC sue, apart from how paymeats will be processed, is security, For instance, what's to stop a thief from digitally pickpocketing you? "We're still not at the point where an attacker can just brush against yee in a crowd and steal all the money out of your phone,"says Jimmy Shah. A mobile security rescarcher, "Usera may also be able to set transaction timeits,requiring a password to be enteced for larger putchases. Bussiness? Keep in mund you lost your smart phone, it can be located on a located on a map and remotely disabled. Plus, your phone can be password protected, Your wallet isn't. The NFC technology can be used to _ . A. ensure the safety of shoppers B. collect transaction fees easily C. make purchase faster and smpler D. improve the quality of cellphones Answer: C. make purchase faster and smpler
On a Saturday morning earlier this September, the world got its first look at the Strati. This electric vehicle is unlike any other currently on the road. It rolls on four wheels, but its body and chassis weren't built in a factory. Instead, Strati's designers used a technology called 3-D printing. It created those parts of the car in one piece, from the ground up. "Compared to a typical vehicle on the road, the Strati definitely looks different," says Greg Schroeder, a senior research engineer at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He did not work on the new car. His organization studies trends and changes in the auto industry. It took 44 hours to print the new car at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Over the next few days, the car's designers installed additional parts. These included the car's engine, brakes and tires. Then, early on September 13, Jay Rogers climbed into the car, started its engine and drove the vehicle onto the street. Rogers helped found Local Motors. It's the Arizona-based company behind the Strati. Two weeks later, his team printed a second Strati, and just as fast, at a fair in New York City. Justin Fishkin, a local Motors official, sees the Strati as a window into the future. Today, car buyers are limited in their choice of a vehicle. They can order only what car companies have already designed. But in the future, he says, you may be able to design your own car online and then get it printed to order. Manufacturing experts say 3-D printing has begun to revolutionize how they make things. The technology has been around for decades. But these machines used to be so expensive that only large companies could afford them. In the last few years, though, that has changed. Many of the machines are now inexpensive enough for small companies--or even individuals --to own. Some local libraries make them available to the public. High Schools are beginning to use them in classrooms. Wide access to these printers means people can now design and print a wide variety of new things. The car's printer is a one-of-a-kind device. The technology behind the 3-D printer used in Chicago is an example of additive manufacturing. This process builds solid objects, slice by slice, from the bottom up. ("Strati" means layers, in Italian.) A mechanical arm moves a _ from one side to another, back and forth. As it moves, the nozzle deposits a liquid--often melted plastic or metal (but it could be food, concrete or even cells) --that quickly hardens or bonds to become solid or semi-solid. This creates a single, thin layer. Once a layer is complete, the printer starts depositing the next one. "There's a lot of interest in 3-D printing in the auto industry," says Schroeder. Right now, the technology is particularly useful for building models of cars or car parts. To compete with current auto manufacturers, the 3-D printer would have to increase in a hurry, Schroeder says. By contrast, he notes, a Ford F-150 pickup truck rolls off an assembly line at a rate of roughly one per minute. To print as many Stratis would require many more printers. Schroeder says he doesn't see 3-D printing soon taking over for such high-volume manufacturing. But, he adds, "Who knows what will happen in the long term?" Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee designed the 3-D printer used in Chicago. Lonnie Love, a research scientist at the lab, led the effort. Additive manufacturing often is slow and expensive. It also may produce materials that are unreliable, Love says. So for two years, his team searched for ways to make 3-D printing better. They built new machines and tested them over and over. All of that work paid off: their new machine is fast and uses less expensive material than earlier printers. In addition, it prints a plastic embedded with fibers of carbon to produce a stronger material. This helps ensure the material won't crack or break under pressure. Why did Lonnie Love make efforts to improve 3-D printing with his team? Answer: "Am I my brother's keeper?" The question comes from the Bible . In the Bible, Cain kills his brother Abel. When God asks Cain where Abel is, he replies, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" by which he means, "Am I responsible for my brother--his safety and health?" The answer, of course, is "Yes, you are." This sense of responsibility for others is basic to all good societies. And also it is basic to what we call "civil society". China is now working on building a civil society and the high schools in Shanghai want students to take part in _ through volunteering. They are supposed to do sixty class hours of volunteer work before graduation. This is something new in China, but it is not new in other countries. In the Canadian province of Ontario, high school students are required to do forty hours of volunteering. In some American states, the volunteering requirement is one hundred hours. These students spend about an hour a week during the school year and summer vacations, helping the poor, the sick and the old. They also teach young children to read and help to clean up the environment. And studies have shown that this volunteering experience influences students a lot after graduation. Some of you may be thinking, "Gee, sixty class hours is a lot. How can I find the time?" In fact, if you finish it in three years, you only need to do the work about three class hours a month. And the time is well spent if it helps you realize that "being your brother's keeper" makes you a better person and makes society a better place for everyone. A Shanghai high school student should finish _ class hours of volunteer work before graduation. Answer: Geese fly south for the winter because Answer: This happened several years ago.But it has stuck with me so I wanted to share it. Every day on my way to work I would buy a newspaper from an elderly gentleman on the corner of the street.He would always smile and say,"Good morning."His smile always made my day. Most of the people who sell these papers are homeless or poor and they do it to make a few bucks. One day Charlie wasn't there!Someone else was in his place! This other guy told me Charlie was in the veterans' hospital. It troubled me all day long.All I could think about was Charlie being alone in the hospital.I never knew he was a veteran who had served our country.I just knew his smile always made my day. I asked my girlfriend if she would go with me to visit him and she agreed.When I showed up in Charlie's room he began to cry.He told us he had been feeling very lonely and was convinced no one would ever visit him.He said that we were his only visitors. We told him we were glad to do it and thanked him for all that he had done for others. I never saw Charlie after that,although I heard he moved to California.That was thirty years ago but I haven't forgotten my smiling friend.A big thankyou to those who serve our country and protect us and thank you Charlie,wherever you are! Why did Charlie cry at the hospital? Answer: To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains.But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain.Its first use was as a shade against the sun. Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times.Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC.We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade.And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority.In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices. In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade.And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece.But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared.Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century.And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority.In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England. By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe.Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight.It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors. In Europe, the umbrella was first used against rain _ . Answer:
Volunteering means that you work to help people without being paid. There are many different volunteers. They help people who really need help. There are many places where you can be volunteers. Here are just a few places for you. Hospital---ask if you can go and visit people who are really sick. Sometimes what they need is someone to talk to, or someone to give them hope Orphanage ---the children living there really need someone to play with them. Food Shelter ---many food shelters need people to clean up the shelters and help give out food or water to those who need it. Seniors' Home ---help the elderly people clean up their homes. Community Center ---a lot of community centers are very well run. However, some of them really need extra help, especially cleaning and repairs. As a student you can also do a lot of things to help others at school. Maybe you could start a support group. Here is some advice: Help students give up smoking, drinking or other bad habits. Help students who come from poor families. Help new students get used to their school life soon. Provide graduating students with information on future studies. The volunteers can _ in the community center. Answer: clean up the yard New research suggests that speaking more than one language may delay different kinds of dementia , that is the loss of mental ability. In fact, researchers say, speaking two languages appears to be more important than the level of education in defending against dementias. A study in India examined the effect of knowing more than one language in delaying the first signs of several dementias. Researchers studied nearly 650 people whose average age was 66. 240 of those studied suffered from Alzheimer's, the most common form of mental decline . 391 of the _ spoke two or more languages. Researchers found the dementias began about four-and-a-half years later in those who spoke two languages compared to those who spoke only one language. The level of education had no effect on the age at the first sign of dementia. Thomas Bak, from the Center of Cognitive Aging at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who helped to organize the study, suggests that individuals who speak more than one language train their brains by moving back and forth between different words and expressions. He also believes this effort improves what scientists called executive functioning, which often weakens in people with dementias. He states that researchers found there was no extra gain in speaking more than two languages. Mr Bak says it does not appear important whether you learn another language at a young age or later in life. It's not something that "you missed the boat when you do not do it as a baby." It is something that is still quite useful and powerful when you do it as an adult. This passage may probably be seen in _ . Answer: a health magazine A young man from a village called Nawalapitiya married a young woman from Maliyuwa, a nearby village. They lived with the man's big family--his parents, his brothers, their wives and children. The family kept an elephant, in which the young woman soon took a great interest. Every day she fed it with fruit and sugar. Three months later the woman went back to her parents' home, having quarreled with her husband. Soon the elephant refused to eat and work. It appeared to be ill and heart-broken. One morning after several weeks the animal disappeared from the house. It went to the woman's home. On seeing her, the elephant waved its trunk and touched her with it. The young woman was so moved by the act of the animal that she returned to her husband's home. The young wife went back to her husband because _ . Answer: the elephant had come to look for her A classical guitarist was excited to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found. It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a cab and forgot to take the guitar with him. Laurence Lennon, 44, said he was running late that day. He was talking to his manager on his cell phone when he dashed out of the taxi. He said that he gave the driver $ 60 and told him to keep the change. He walked through the front doors of the concert hall still talking on the phone to his manager. Upon discovering his loss, Lennon used his cell phone to call the police. The policewoman asked him for the name of the cab company, the number of the cab, and the name of the driver. He said that she had to be kidding. She told Lennon that he could file a missing items report at the police station or online. Lennon asked for the online address. She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years--finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana smokers. Then she told him to have a nice day. "This year has been _ ," said Lennon. "I had to put off the recording of two new CDs. I've been using borrowed guitars. And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar." Lennon was reunited with his $ 100,000 musical instrument yesterday. The case and the guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffee house only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it in the first place. Lennon had offered a $ 10,000 reward for its return. He said he would give the reward to the coffee house owner, who had informed the police. The policewoman told Lennon _ . Answer: to wait with patience Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do. When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing. When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child. There are many things that a parent can do. One thing that people have done is to spank the child. When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to hit them on their bottom. This is meant to show the child that they have done something wrong. One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child. His parents used a stick. When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child's leg. He never did that again. One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing. Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard. Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing. Many parents are not sure of what to do instead of spanking. Some people think that their religion tells them that spanking is okay. Some think that the law lets them do it. The courts say that parents have the right to teach their children how to do things right. Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child. Telling the child clearly what is wanted from them can be one thing. Giving a child more than one choice is another thing that can be tried. Getting down to the child's level and trying a more child- friendly way can help as well. What does the writer think of spanking? Answer: He disagrees.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder, it interferes with the ability to recognise words, and for some readers to understand what they have read. Experts say dyslexia affects about five to ten percent of the population of the United State. Researchers have long known that people with dyslexia write or read words and letters backwards in the wrong order. But a new study shows that people with dyslexia may have trouble redirecting their attention between senses, from seeing something to hearing something. The study suggests something that might help dyslexic people learn more quickly - play video games. Vanessa Harrar of Britain's University of Oxford led the study. She reported the findings in the journal Current Biology. The study suggests that dyslexic people may have trouble moving quickly from what they read to what they hear. Doctor Harrar calls this a " _ shifting of attention across the senses." "So, if you are trying to read something and then trying to listen to somebody who's reading aloud and you're trying to follow along with what they are reading -- they have to switch their attention from hearing what they are saying to looking at the piece of paper and back again. So we found they have quite sluggish shifting of attention across the senses," said Harrar. In the study, Doctor Harrar tested 17 people with dyslexia, and 19 others without reading problems. The volunteers were asked to push a button as quickly as possible when they heard a sound, saw a light or experienced both together. Doctor Harrar compared the speed of their reactions. She found that people with dyslexia were just as fast as the others when they saw only a picture or heard only a sound. But the dyslexics had a slower reaction time when they heard a sound and saw a picture at the same time. Doctor Harrar feels like playing action video games could help dyslexic people shift from seeing to hearing more quickly. She adds that images in video games force the eyes to move and focus quickly. "Video game types of things pop out of here and there, they move your eyes around the screen quite quickly in response to things quite quickly, and the more you play a video game the faster you get that kind of thing. So, the video game is really training the attention system to move quickly," said Harrar. The study also shows that dyslexic people have the most difficulty going between what they saw and what they heard, this may have an effect on how dyslexic children are taught how to read. When children learn the alphabet,they usually see the letter first and then hear the sound, or they see and hear the letter at the same time. The study shows that dyslexics might learn more quickly if they hear the sound of a letter or word first before seeing it. People with Dyslexia have the following problems except _ . Answer: seeing a picture or hearing a sound. Love, success, happiness, family and freedom--how important are these values to you? Here is one interview which explores the fundamental questions in life. Question: Could you introduce yourself first? Answer: My name is Misbah, 27 years old. I was born in a war-torn area. Right now I'm a web designer. Q: What are your great memories? A: My parents used to take us to hunt birds, climb trees, and play in the fields. For me it was like a holiday because we were going to have fun all day long. Those are my great memories. Q: Does your childhood mean a lot to you? A: Yes. As life was very hard, I used to work to help bring money in for the family. I spent my childhood working, with responsibilities beyond my age. However, it taught me to deal with problems all alone. I learnt to be independent. Q: What changes would you like to make in your life? A: If I could change something in my life, I'd change it so that my childhood could have taken place in another area. I would have loved to live with my family in freedom. Who cares whether we have much money, or whether we have a beautiful house? It doesn't matter as long as I can live with my family and we are safe. Q: How do your get along with your parents? A: My parents supported me until I came of age. I want to give back what I've got. That's our way. But I am working in another city. My only contact with my parents now is through the phone, but I hate using it. It filters out your emotion and leaves your voice only. My deepest feelings should be passed through sight, hearing and touch. If there were only one question left, what would it most probably be? Answer: What is your biggest achievement? For several years now, the dollar has fallen lower and lower against other major currencies. Lately, though, the dollar has risen, especially against the Japanese yen and the euro. Some traders think the dollar will continue to rise, but that is not clear. The dollar moved up this week after comments by American officials in support of a strong dollar policy. On Monday, before he left for his last trip as president to Europe, George Bush said: "A strong dollar is in our nation's interests. It is in the interests of the global economy." Also Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on CNBC television that he would consider intervention to keep the dollar from sliding further. The United States has not intervened in currency markets since two thousand. That year the administration of president Bill Clinton bought euros to support the European currency. But on Tuesday, President Bush said in Slovenia that the "relative value of economies will end up setting the proper valuation of the dollar." A weaker dollar helps American exporters. But it means Americans have to pay more for imports and for travel to other countries. Some experts say dollar weakness is the main reason why oil prices have risen so high. Oil is priced in dollars on the world market. But Treasury Secretary Paulson dismissed any link. He noted that since two thousand two, the dollar has fallen about twenty-four percent. But the price of oil has gone up well over five hundred percent. Adding to pressure on the dollar, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet suggested that the E.C.B will raise interest rates next month. European officials are increasingly concerned with inflation. But investors can already get higher rates of return on investments in euros than in dollars. High prices for oil, food and other products have raised inflation concerns worldwide. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the latest increases in energy prices have added to inflation risks. His comments in recent days have suggested that the central bank could stop cutting rates as it has since September. Its rate for overnight loans between banks is currently at two percent. Some market watchers think the Fed could raise rates as early as this month. Finance ministers from nations in the Group of Eight will discuss the dollar and other issues at their meeting this weekend in Osaka, Japan. Why did the dollar move up a little this week according to the passage? Answer: Because of the official's support of the policy. When a handheld video game runs out of power,all you have to do is plug it in and charge it up.Within a few years,some of you might do the same thing with mom's car.Automobile companies are developing vehicles that will plugin to electric sockets ,just like many laptops,digital cameras,cellphones and small video game players do.Called "plugin hybrids ",these cars will get most of their power from electricity.Their drivers will rarely have to stop at gas stations. The technology is more than just cool.In our automobilefilled world,plugin vehicles could reduce the amount of gasoline we use.That gas is made from crude oil ,which keeps rising in cost.Plus,driving around in these hybrids may even help the environment.Gasburning cars produce a lot of carbon dioxide,a type of greenhouse gas.These gases stay in the atmosphere,where they trap heat and cause global warming. The first companyproduced plugin hybrids could hit the roads by 2010.But engineers still have a lot of work to do to make the technology practical and inexpensive. Batteries are the biggest challenge.In the pluginhybrid world,lithiumion (Liion) batteries are getting the most attention.These batteries can store a large amount of energy in a small package,and they last a ly long time between charges.Liion batteries are standard in laptops,cellphones,heart devices and other similar portable devices. But because cars are so big and heavy,it would still require a suitcasesized Liion battery to power about 12km of driving.What's more,the batteries are extremely expensive. "A car filled with batteries could go a long distance," says Ted Bohn,an electrical engineer in Chicago."But it couldn't haul any people,and it would cost $100,000." So researchers need to figure out how to make batteries smaller and cheaper,among other questions. "The answers don't exist yet," Bohn says."As a kid I thought someone someplace knows the answer to everything.All of these questions haven't been decided.That's what engineering is about--making a guess,running tests and finetuning results." The new technology is facing the following problems EXCEPT that . Answer: the government won't support the technology My sister Sharon and I look very different. She's tall, and I'm short. She has short curly dark (,) hair, and I have long straight blond hair. We both have dark eyes, but Sharon wears glasses, and I don't. And she always wears large earrings . I don't wear earring. Sharon and I do many things together . We watch movies together, and we often go shopping. We play tennis together every Saturday. Often, people don't know that Sharon and I are sisters, because we look so . But we are also good friends. Which is the best title for this reading? Answer: Two sisters
The many ponds in the area along with massive swarms of mosquitoes lead the dragonflies to A convert the area into swampland B experience a sharp increase in available resources C leave the area in search of a better habitat D experience a dramatic decrease in population Answer: B A boy pulls a sweater off over his head. His hair is attracted to the sweater due to A a magnetic force B a heat transfer C a chemical change D an electrical charge Answer: D Many people like to travel by plane, but I don't like it because the airport is usually far from the city. You have to get there early and wait for hours for the plane to take off. You can't open the windows. You can't choose the food. Planes are fast, but it still takes hours to get out of the airport and into the city. I like travelling by train. I think trains are safe. Railway stations are usually good in cities. When you are late for a train, you can catch another one. You can walk around in the train and open the window. You can see many interesting things on your way, though it takes a little more time. I also like cars. You can start your journey whenever you want to, and you don't need to get to a railway station or a bus stop. Also you can carry many things with you in a car. But sometimes there are too many cars on the road. ,. Which is not a good thing about the train? A You can open the window. B You can walk around in the train. C It takes a little more time. D It is safe. Answer: B When I was learning calligraphy , my teacher told me a story. A calligrapher taught handwriting. One of his students who often practiced handwriting with old sheets of newspaper complained that he made very little progress though he had learned it with the calligrapher for a long time. His teacher said to him, "Try to use the best paper. Maybe you'll write better." The student did as he was told. It really worked. He made headway not long afterwards and felt curious. He asked his teacher about the reason. The calligrapher answered,"When you used old newspaper to practice handwriting, you would think you were writing a draft. It didn't matter if you wrote badly as old newspaper was plenty in supply. In that case you wouldn't pay much attention to it. Now you use the best paper and you'll treasure it. Each time you write you feel strongly about the rarity of chances and you'll devote to it with all your heart and soul; you'll do the handwriting much more attentively than practicing. Of course you've made rapid progress." Indeed, we spend our ordinary days just as they are worthless "old newspaper".We don't care if we scrawl and waste it, thinking that it will come endlessly--the "old newspaper" is inexhaustible. In such a mood we may each day pass by opportunities but fail to catch any of them. Life is not a military exercise but an actual war in which real weapons are used. In everyday life there's no chance for us to draft. That's because what we call "draft" actually is the answer sheet we write that cannot be changed. Every day of our life is something new. Let us take every day as a sheet of the best paper. The student didn't make much progress at first because _ . A he didn't follow his teacher's advice B he was too poor to buy better paper to write on C he regarded his writing on old newspaper just as a draft D he was not used to the calligrapher's teaching manner Answer: C It is a very common thing for a person to have a good friend.My good friend is Diana.She is a rich and proud girl.She often thinks that she is too good for anyone,so nobody wants to be her friend. One day after school,I was waiting for Diana when Vivien came up to me.She gave me a biscuit.I accepted it.We talked and joked,and from then on,I began to spend more time with Vivien than with Diana.I felt a little uneasy. After a few days,I went to see Diana for some snacks when Vivien came and sat with me.She offered me a sandwich.She also offered one to Diana,but Diana refused it.She walked away.I was angry with Diana for being so rude and thoughtless. "Never mind,"Vivien said,"I'm used to it." After school,I tried to catch up with Diana.While walking home,I tried to correct her attitude,but she would not listen to me.She said,"Go and join your 'dear' Vivien.I know you make new friends and forget the old ones." For the next few weeks,we did not talk to each other.Then,one day,Diana came to Vivien and me,saying,"I'm really sorry about what I did.I'm a spoiled girl,but I also need good friends just like you.Would you please forgive me?"Vivien and I looked at each other and smiled.From then on,Diana,Vivien and I have been best friends." According to the passage,it is clear that _ . A Diana and the writer had been good friends B Diana didn't like sandwiches C Vivien didn't want to make new friends at all D the writer forgot her old friends after she had new one Answer: A
On the old-time farm in America, there were chickens, cows, pigs and horses. But there were very few machines. Most of the work was done by the farm family. Sometimes more workmen were needed in busy seasons. Work done by horses took up 79 percent; by men, 15 percent; and machine work only took up 6 percent. Today all that has changed. On many modern farms machines now will do 96 percent of the work, while man does 3 percent. As for horses, they do 1 percent of the whole work. The children go to school by bus every morning; the parents work on the farm or in the house and other people's help is hardly needed. Their work has been replaced by a whole army of farm machines. Today on an American farm machines do _ times more work than in the past. Are you looking for something fun and would you like to help others in your free time? Then join us to be a volunteer ! We're a non-profit organization . We have volunteer jobs of all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children to people about seventy years old can become a volunteer. You can help people in many ways. Schools need help with taking care of children while parents are working. Hospitals need volunteers to look after children while their parents are seeing a doctor. Animal lovers can help take care of those dogs and cats without homes. There is something for everyone. "As a volunteer. I don't want to get anything. Seeing the children's happy faces, I'm happy, too." said Carlos Domingo. an old woman of 62. "I often played computer games in my- free time before. Now I help older people learn how to use computers," said another volunteer at the age of 18. What do volunteers want to get when they help others? If a bird is pecking at a bush for food, the bush can also eat if Flying over a desert area in an airplane, two scientists looked down with trained eyes at trees and bushes. After an hour's flight one of the scientists wrote in his book, "Look here for probable metal." Walking across hilly ground, four scientists reported, "This ground should be searched for metals." From an airplane over a hilly wasteland a scientist sent back by radio one word "Uranium." None of the scientists had X-ray eyes: they had no magic powers for looking down below the earth's surface. They were merely putting to use one of the newest methods of locating minerals in the ground---using trees and plants as signs that certain minerals may lie beneath the ground on which the trees and plants are growing. This newest method of searching for minerals is based on the fact that minerals deep in the earth may affect the kind of bushes and trees that grow on the surface. At Watson Bar Creek, a mineral search group gathered bags of tree seeds. Boxes were filled with small branches from the trees. Roots were dug and put into boxes. Each bag and box was carefully marked. In a scientific laboratory the parts of the forest trees were burned to ashes and tested. Each small part was examined to learn whether there were minerals in it. Study of the roots, branches, and seeds showed no silver. But there were small amounts of gold in the roots and a little less gold in the branches and seeds. The seeds growing nearest to the tree trunk had more gold than those growing on the ends of the branches. If the trees had not indicated that there was gold in the ground, the scientists would not have spent money to pay for digging into the ground. They did dig and found more gold below. They dug deeper. They found large quantities of gold. Scientists went to different regions in order to search for _ . There was once a captain who loved money so much that he cheated his sailors at the end of every voyage and took their wages. On the last day of one voyage, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, "If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages." The sailors had heard about the captain's cheating, so they didn't trust him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water, and, though it was very cold, he stayed in it. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore about half a mile away. "You are cheating," the captain said to the sailor. "The fire's warming you." "But it's half a mile away!" said the sailor. "A fire's fire," answered the captain. "I have won." The sailor came out of the water, and said, "Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can't cook a chicken." "I can," answered the captain. "If you cook this chicken," said the sailor, "I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can't, you will give me your ship." The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, "Where's the fire?" "There it is," answered the sailor. "On the shore." "But it's half a mile away," said the captain angrily. "A fire's fire,' you said," answered the sailor. "If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken." The captain insisted that the fire was warming the sailor because he _ .
Parents often think that time spent with their kids will gradually decrease in adolescence. But a new study suggests that while teens try to avoid spending a lot of time together with their parents, private parent-child meetings may actually increase in their early adolescent years. And that may raise a teenager's self-esteem and social confidence, especially if it is the time that spent with Dad, the researchers added. The researchers created a long-term study in which they invited families in 16 school districts in central Pennsylvania to participate. In each family, a teenager, a younger sibling , their mother and their father were interviewed at home and then asked about their activities and self-worth five times over a period of seven years. The study authors were surprised to discover that when fathers spent more time alone with their teenagers, the kids reported they felt better about themselves. Something about the father's role in the family seemed to improve self-esteem among the teenagers in the study, said study co-author Susan McHale, a professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University. "Time with Dad often involves joking, teasing, and other playful interactions. Fathers, compared to mothers, were more involved in leisure activities and had more peer-like interactions with their children, which is crucial for youth social development," the study showed. But Marta Flaum, a psychologist in Chappaqua, New York, said, "How these findings reflect the real world is a real question. The sample in the study is so small and so unrepresentative of most families in the country today that I'm not sure how much we can generalize from it. In my community in Westchester County, I don't see parents and teenagers spend much time together at all. Parents are often working so hard and have less time to be together with their kids." However, Flaum encourages parents to make time for their kids no matter how much work they have to do. "Research like this reminds us of how important _ is. The time we have with them is so short," she said. According to the study, when teenagers spend more time alone with their fathers, _ . A. their social skills will be improved B. their fathers will better understand them C. they will be willing to help their siblings D. their family members will spend more time together Answer: A Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee announced it on October 2,2009.Rio de Janeiro beat Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid to win the bid .It will be the first South American city to host the Olympics. The city will also host the 2014 World Cup. Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. Population: 6 million Language: Portuguese * Rio de Janeiro has the world's largest urban forest ,Which is made up of many kinds of green plants. *Every year Rio de Janeiro holds a carnival . It is like a big party. People dress up, dance samba and have fun. It usually lasts for a week. More than two million tourists come to Rio de- Janeiro every year. About half a million people visit the city for the carnival each year. We can see the passage in a _ . A. storybook B. tour book C. geography book D. science book Answer: B Dolphins use echolocation to hunt for A. santa claus B. school children C. tasty morsels D. direction in life Answer: C My brother and I often fight with each other over small things. One day our father said to us, "Tomorrow we will take part in the Ray Home Sports Day. Both of you must go with me. Perhaps you can learn something from those children." My brother laughed, "Dad, Ray is a home for physically disabled children. What can we learn from them?" "You will see," our father said. Our father works as a volunteer at Ray. The children there have problems with their hands, speech, walking or hearing. Every day, he spends hours helping them to move or exercise their legs or arms. The following day, he took us to Ray Home. When we got there, we found a nice place to sit down. Finally, the sports began. There was a 50-meter race to see who could run fastest. All the runners were physically disabled. As the race started, all the children moved as fast as they could. Just then, one of the girls fell over and hurt her leg. She began to cry at the top of her voice. All the children stopped to help the poor girl. Then they all held hands and finished the race together. My brother and I were surprised to see this: the children weren't interested in winning the race-they were more interested in helping each other to finish the race. What does the father often do in Ray Home? A. He works as a teacher there. B. He helps the children there. C. He watches the games there. D. He does sports with his sons. Answer: B Mr. Green has a small garden in front of his house. There are lots of flowers in it. But he has only a few trees. His neighbor Mr. Black has a garden, too. Mr. Black's garden is smaller than Mr. Green 's garden. He has fewer flowers than Mr Green but more trees. Mr. Brown is Mr. Green's another neighbour. Mr. Brown's garden is the smallest one of the three. He has the fewest flowers of them all, but the weeds in his garden are the tallest. There is always a lot of work to do in his garden, but Mr. Brown doesn't have enough time to work in his garden, so his garden is the worst. There are a lot of weeds in Mr. Brown's Garden because _ . A. the garden is too small B. Mr. Brown doesn't like flowers C. Mr. Brown is too busy to work in his garden D. there us always a lot of work in it Answer: C
In the summer of 2011 my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would not be seen among the tourists and lose lots of chances to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and tried to come up with a free tour to Italy. The trip was not very long but it was so exciting that we never forgot. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially worried about my visa, but everything went quite well in the end. The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate , one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far earlier. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about 30 km away from the centre of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip. Every day we took a train that carried us to the centre of Rome. Our big house was among the forest. The beautiful views, nice hosts, comfortable living conditions made us happy to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our hostess was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go. Don't be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It's not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoy travelling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book wherever we wanted to go and we even met some of our countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their local language. Which of the following questions is NOT answered in the article? Answer: Warm water freezes more quickly than cold water. Sir Francis Bacon said that almost four hundred years ago. But few people believed him until 1970. In that year a Canadian scientist George Kill proved the English professor was right. Dr Kill filled an open oil pail with cold water. He filled another with warm water. He put both in the same low temperature. The warm water froze first. The lack of covers on the pails is the secret. Some of the warm water changed into vapor. This meant that less of the warm water was left to be frozen. And so the warm water froze faster than the cold water even though it had a greater temperature drop to make. What Sir Francis Bacon said was right, but people didn't believe him until _ . Answer: A woman was collecting money for a church charity. The money she collected was going to be given to poor children who had no parents to take care of them. She went from apartment to apartment and from house to house. She knocked on doors and asked for money. She always said the same thing. "Good morning, I'm collecting for a church charity. Please give generously. We need $5,000." Then she held out a collecting box. Most people put a few coins in the box. An artist lived in one of the apartments. He opened the door. "Good morning." she said. "I'm collecting for a church charity. Please give generously. We need $5,000." The artist thought for a moment, then he said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any money. However, I'll give you a painting. It's worth $ 400." The woman thanked the artist and took the painting away. A week later she called on him again. "I'm sorry to trouble you again," she said, "but we still need more money. I need another $ 100. Can you help?" "Of course," the artist said. "I'll increase the value of my painting to $ 500." Why didn't the artist give money to her? Answer: The works of Shakespeare and Wordsworth are boosters to the brain and better therapy than some guide books, researchers say this week. Scientists, psychologists and English academics at Liverpool University have found that reading the works of the Bard and other classical writers has a beneficial effect on the mind, catches the reader's attention and triggers moments of self-reflection. Using scanners , they monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they read works by William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, T.S Eliot and others. They then "translated" the original texts into more "straightforward", modern language and again monitored the readers' brains as they read the words. Scans showed that the more "challenging" essays and poetry set off far more electrical activity in the brain than the much plainer versions. Scientists were able to study the brain activity as it responded to each word and record how it was "activated" as the readers encountered unusual words, surprising phrases or difficult sentence structure. This "activation" of the mind lasts longer, shifting the brain to a higher speed, encouraging further reading. The research also found that reading poetry, in particular, increases activity in the right hemisphere of the brain, helping the reader to reflect on their own experiences, which they compare with what they have read. This, according to the researchers, meant that the classic works were more useful than guide books. Philip Davis, an English professor believes "The research shows the power of literature to shift thinking patterns, to create new thoughts, shapes and connections in the young and adults alike." What is the possible benefit of reading classic works according to the study? Answer: Although travelers can try dishes from around China and the globe in well-known food cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it is outside these major metropolises where a world of exciting Chinese cuisine awaits the true foodie . With this in mind and after three years of living in China and writing about Chinese food, I started a six-month journey with my husband and two daughters. Here are four of the eight most amazing Chinese food cities I've come across so far. The list is in no particular order. 1. Chengdu, Sichuan Province Crowned as Asia's first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2010, Chengdu is best-known for its fiery hot pot and spicy dishes, which are characterized by the use of Sichuan pepper and are usually layered with salty, sour and sweet flavors. There are also dishes that aren't spicy at all, such as beer-braised duck. Hot pot is as _ in the city as the smell of chili. At Zigong Delicious Hotpot, the house specialty tiaoshui wa is a cauldron of fiery chili to which vegetables, noodles or other meats can be added. For a real taste of Sichuan's signature pepper, hua jiao, spend a morning at the Chengdu Spice Market where the locals sell and buy it by the sack. 2. Lanzhou, Gansu Province Synonymous in the minds of food-lovers with hand-pulled beef noodles, Lanzhou also has one of the liveliest street food night markets in China. Just west of the city center, the buzzing Zhengning Road bazaar houses more than 100 street food stalls. Available is a broad selection of hot and cold dishes with emphasis on local Hui cuisine. No trip to Lanzhou is complete without feasting on noodles at Wumule Penhui, the 2012 winners of Lanzhou's annual pulled noodle competition. The halal restaurant makes noodles spicy enough to satisfy even the most hardened heat-seekers. 3. Guangzhou, Guangdong Province The birthplace of Cantonese food, Guangzhou is thought by many as the best place to eat in China. The city of 12 million has a passionate food culture, with equal excitement reserved for the opening of a hole-in-the-wall congee joint and a high-end restaurant. The local cuisine is characterized by fresh clean flavors , seafood, barbecued meats and the wonderful tradition of yum cha, which is tea drinking accompanied by dumplings and small dishes. Congee is the way locals love to start their day, and one of the most popular vendors is Ru Xuan Sha Guo Zhou. Here, one can get a bowl of signature seafood congee any hour of the day. Roast meats are Bing Sheng's most popular order--their roast goose is marinated with five-spice, boiled, air-dried, then roasted by a flame oven to give a crisp skin. For something more home style and removed from the madness of downtown, head to Ji Cun for steamed chicken and simple farmer-style dishes. 4. Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province This ancient canal city is home to huangjiu, an amber-colored rice wine that's important in Chinese cooking. Open since 1894, the dining chain is known by almost every Chinese for its appearance in early 20th century novels by Chinese literati Lu Xun. Xianheng's delicacies include crispy-skinned chicken, smoked red dates in rice wine, beans flavored with fennel , and crispy bream in rice wine. Fried fermented tofu is also a local specialty, which is available all over town at small street stalls including one just outside Xianheng. The writer's purpose of the passage is to _ . Answer:
Being busy can become a way of life. Our lives are always filled with emails and text messages. They make us feel wanted and important, but in a tiring and empty way. Being busy has a dangerous allure . If you are busy all the time, it's hard to sit quietly with your thoughts or to really feel what you're feeling. Whynot let everything become a choice -- how we spend time, who we reply to and how much or little we write? Many of us are busy becauseour self-worth goes up when people make demands on our time. Whydon't we free ourselves from needing, or even wanting? Why don't we make the best use of the time and space to be productive in a way that it best serves us? That may be consciously keeping ourselves not busy. In fact many great discoverieswere made by people who built white space into their day. Imagine asking "How are you?" to one of the most successful people you know like Warren Buffet. I've never heard anyone at that level answer "busy" though most people believe they are. What are they doing differently? First, they aim to project an image that things are under control. Second, they actually have things under control. They've had excellent staff, implemented thoughtful processes and they spend time only on critical tasks that require their attention. They make high-level strategic decisions with a large effect. It's time to end the glory of being busy and spend time setting up processes that make sense, rather than simply working more hours. To do this, you need to change yourway of thinking. It's cool to say you're busy, but it's better to be busy helping someone carry a stroller up the subway stairs or busy finishing a book. How to free us from the trendof being busy? Start with small steps. For one day, be mindful of every daily activity. Consider each thing a choice and decide proactively if it's necessary or simply a habit you can get rid of or do in half the time. Next, stop saying how busy you are. Then, figure out what you want to achieve with your day and begin doing it. Put your time and energy where you want it to be. What is the writer's purpose in writing the passage? A. To advise us to be freedfrom the trend of being busy. B. To warn us about the danger of leading a busy life. C. To show us ways to feel good about being busy. D. To tell us how to fit into the busy modern life. Answer: A Robinson Crusoe is a famous novel written by Daniel Defoe. The book tells the story of a man who is shipwrecked . He spends 28 years on an island near Venezuela. The book tells the story of everything that happens to Robinson Crusoe. He hopes someone will rescue him, but he has been there for so long on his own that he also begins to fear being rescued. Robinson Crusoe was published in 1719. Most experts believe the story is based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, who was a Scottish sailor. On an expedition in 1704, Selkirk had an argument with his ship's captain. Selkirk thought the ship was not safe and was about to fall apart. When the ship stopped at a remote island to get fresh water, Selkirk got off. He tried to get the other crew members to leave with him, but nobody would. The shop then sailed away without him. Selkirk spent four years and four months on his own on the island, known as Aguas Buenas. Selkirk was finally rescued by a ship that visited the island in 1709. The ship's captain was grateful to Selkirk because he provided food for the crew when they arrived. Now archaeologists think they have found the remains of Selkirk's camp on Aguas Buenas. They found two deep holes that would have held wooden posts. The archaeologists say this is evidence that Selkirk built a shelter there. The post holes are near a fresh water stream. They are located quite high up, which would have meant that Selkirk was able to watch out for the ships coming close to the island. The most interesting evidence, the archaeologists say, is part of a piece of equipment used by sailors to navigate . Historians believe Selkirk was a navigator, so the instrument could have belonged to him. Robinson Crusoe was published ten years after Selkirk was rescued. Most experts think Daniel Defoe heard and read stories about Selkirk, which inspired him to write the book. Why did Selkirk choose to land on the remote island? A. Because he had quarrels with the crew members. B. Because the captain ordered him to get fresh water. C. Because he wanted to go on an adventure there. D. Because he thought the ship he was on was in danger. Answer: D Every morning my father buys a newspaper on his way to work. Every evening my mother looks through magazines at home. And every night, I look at the posters with photos of David Beckham and Yao Ming on my bedroom wall before I go to sleep. Can we imagine life without paper or print? Paper was first created about 2,000 years ago, and has been made from silk, cotton, bamboo, and, since the 19th century, from wood. People learned to write words on paper to make a book. But in those days, books could only be produced one at a time by hand. As a result, they were expensive and _ . And because there weren't many books, few people learned to read. Then printing was invented in China. When printing was developed greatly at the beginning of the 11th century, books could be produced more quickly and cheaply. As a result, more people learned to read. After that, knowledge and ideas spread quickly. Today information can be received online, downloaded from the Internet rather than found in books, and information can be kept on CD-ROMs or machines such as MP5 players. Computers are already used in classrooms, and newspapers and magazines can already be read online. So will books be replaced by computers one day? No, I don't think the Yao Ming poster on my bedroom wall will ever be replaced by a computer two meters high! When was paper first created? A. About 2.000 years ago. B. In the 19th century. C. About 1.000 years ago. D. In the 11th century. Answer: A Seed of Kindness Jim, a successful businessman, told the experience of his childhood. When he was 12, his parents died. He was alone and didn't get on well with others. People always laughed at him. No one showed kindness to him. His only friend was a dog named Tige. He gave his dog enough to eat and drink, but sometimes he was not polite to it. He didn't know that an unkind work sometimes could cut one's heart like a knife. One day as he walked down the street, a young lady was walking in front of him. Suddenly one of her bags dropped from her arms. As she stopped to pick it up, she dropped other bags. He came to help her."Thank you, dear! You are a nice little boy!"she said kindly, smiling. A special feeling came to him. These were the first kind words he had ever heard. He watched her until she went far away, and then he whistled to his dog happily and went directly to the river nearby. "Thank you, dear! You are a nice little boy!"he repeatedthe woman's words. Then in a low voice he said to his dog,"You are a nice little dog!"Tige raised its ears as if it understood. "Uhum! Even a dog likes it!"he said,"Well, Tige, I won't say unkind words to you anymore."Tige waved its tail happily. The boy thought and thought. Finally he looked at himself in the river. He saw nothing but a dirty boy. He washed his face carefully. Again he looked. He saw a clean nice boy. He was amazed. From then on, he had a new life. After telling this, the businessman stopped for a while, and then he said,"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the very place where that kind woman planted in me the first seed of kindness. All of us should learn about kindness. What a great powerit has!" One day as Jim walked down the street, _ . A. he said kind words to the lady B. he looked at himself in the river C. he saw a young lady dropped her bags D. he told the experience of his childhood Answer: C Two Chinese spacecrafts successfully completed China's first space docking early November 3, 2011, which has taken the country a step closer to building its own space station. Nearly two days after its launch, the unmanned spacecraftShenzhou VIIIdocked with the space lab module Tiangong I more than 343 km above the earth surface.Shenzhou VIIIandTiangong Itook apart after flying together for 12 days. On the 14th of November, the two spacecrafts finished the second docking. ThenShenzhou VIIIparted fromTiangong Iagain and returned to the earth safely on the 17th.Tiangong Iis still traveling around the earth in the space, waiting for the arrival ofShenzhou IXandXand so on in the near future. _ marked another great leap for China's space program and made China the third country in the world, after the United States and Russia, to master the space docking technique . The world's first space docking was achieved in 1966, when the manned U.S, spacecraft Gemini 8 (8) docked with an unmanned Agena Target Vehicle . Space docking is necessary to explore space beyond Earth's orbit. "The capability increases China's ability to act independently in space, as well as its ability to work together with others," said Gregory Kulacki, a U.S. space scientist and senior analyst. "With the success of its first space docking, China is now equipped with the basic technology and ability required for the construction of a space station," said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program." The country is on its way to building a permanent manned space station around 2020." What did the success of the first space docking mean to China? A. China has caught up with the United States in the space exploration field. B. China took a step closer to building its own space station. C. China became the first country to master the space docking technique. D. China has the ability to build a permanent manned space station right now. Answer: B
Dick often goes traveling when the summer holiday begins. But he was out of luck this summer. He went to an old temple on a high mountain by himself. On his way there it suddenly began to rain heavily and he hurried to go down the mountain. When he got to the foot of the mountain, he found the wooden bridge was under the water, so he had to spend the rainy night in a broken farmhouse. He was so hungry that he hardly fell asleep. The next morning the rain stopped and he found the bridge was damaged. He saw the river was not too deep and tried to swim across it. In the middle of the river the water nearly washed him away. Luckily , two farmers saved him, but he lost his bag. They gave him some food and dry clothes. He thanked them and went to the nearest town to call up his parents. At the end of the street, Dick found a small hotel and went in. He asked the price for a room. "A room on the first floor is twenty dollars, on the second floor, fifteen dollars and on the third, ten dollars," answered the owner. The young man had only eight dollars in all his pockets. He said thanks and was leaving. The owner asked, "Don't you like our hotel?" "Yes, it's good," said Dick, "but it's not tall enough!" What do you think of Dick's summer holiday this year? A. Happy B. Terrible C. Boring D. Exciting Answer: B prefix = st1 /Yao-less Rockets Keep Rising Houston Agencies(March 9,2008)--Tracy McGrady had 41 points and nine assists as the Houston Rockets won their 18th game continuously with a 106-96 win over New Orleans on Saturday. McGrady fell just six points short of his season high for points as the Rockets kept their winning record. The Rockets won their sixth in a row since Chinese All-Star Yao Ming went out for the season with his left foot hurt.Yao had an operation earlier in the week. Joining Hands China Daily(March 10.2008)--To celebrate International Women's Day on Saturday, March 8,Avon Products,Inc,a leading global beauty company with almost $10 billion in yearly income and the United Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM)have announced their partnership to ensure women's rights and end violence against women. Avon has offered $1 million to the UNIFEM.The partnership will enlarge the work of the UN to improve women's economic security and rights. Oil prices fall below the $105 mark Bloomberg News(March 11, 2008)--Oil prices dropped below $105 yesterday after last week's record highs and it reduced tension between oil producers Venezuela and Colombia over the weekend. Cold weather in the United States and the continuing weakening of the US dollars were set as main factors supporting prices. The rush to a new record was driven by a US Labour Department report saying that employers cut 63,000 jobs in February--the biggest drop in five years. What day was it when oil prices fell below the $105 mark? A. Monday. B. Tuesday. C. Friday. D. Saturday. Answer: A Ode to Joy(<<>> ),a 42-episodes TV series, is about five young women living on the 22nd floor of Shanghai's "Ode to Joy" high-rise community. They become friends while pursuing love and career advancement. Since its appearance on April 18, Ode to Joy has been praised for its realistic description of the hidden struggles of city life. "The audience can relate to the characters since their experiences can be traced back to real life too," commented the Dahe Daily. "Even better, female audiences can find themselves in one or two of the characters because the characters _ feminine archetypes found throughout the society."But the idea of following a group of women as they lead a city life is hardly a pioneering concept. In many ways, Ode to Joy resembles American TV series like Sex and the City (1998-2004) and Desperate Housewives (2004-2012). These two series were praised for their feminist themes, but they also employed well-known female archetypes to illustrate the range of dilemmas women face. Deborah A. Macey, a communications professor at Saint Louis University in the US, divides these archetypes up into four ways: the iron maiden, the sex object, the child,and the mother. "The iron maiden is portrayed as masculine and career-oriented. The sex object owns her sexuality and genuinely loves her body. The child archetype is naive, optimistic, and dim-witted. The mother archetype connects the characters in the series and serves as the dominant storyteller," Macey said on the online media forum "In Media Res". Sounds familiar? Yes, these features can be seen in the characters of Ode toJoy. Andy (Liu Tao), for instance, partly embodies the iron maiden role. She's super smart, rational and direct. She moves from the US to Shanghai and takes the position of CFO at a top Chinese company. Fan Shengmei (Jiang Xin) can be seen as the "mother" in the series. Despite the fact that she s in charge of her own family issues,she takes her friends under her wing and stands up for them. Qu Xiaoxiao (Wang ziwen), the sexy and beautiful girl born with silver spoon, perfectly illustrates what is bitter-sweet relationship between friends and lovers. With that being said. Ode to Joy doesn't lack creativity. It assigns the "child" role to two characters-the straightforward, naive Qiu Yingying (Yang Zi), and the good-tempered, hard-working Guan Ju'er (Qiao Xin). But this category of TV series has its risks. Having five main characters means the drama isn't story-driven but character-driven. "It's not something you often see in Chinese TV dramas," Yuan Zidan, Ode to Joy's screenwriter, told Changjiang Daily. "But we want to challenge the norms." What can we infer from the passage? A. Ode to Joy is the first TV series to show a group of women's life in the city. B. Ode to Joy is not a traditional Chinese drama because it is character-driven. C. The characters in Ode to Joy arc the same with those in Sex and Cify and Desperate Housewives. D. Andy fully illustrates the iron maiden who is both masculine and career-oriented. Answer: B Feel tired lately? Has a doctor said he can't find anything wrong with you? Perhaps he sent you to a hospital, but all the advanced equipment there shows that there is nothing wrong with you. Then , consider this: you might be in a state of sub - health . Sub - health, also called the third state or gray state, is explained as a borderline state between health and disease. According to the survey by the National Health Organization, Over 45 percent of sub - healthy people are middle-aged or elderly. The percentage is even higher among people who work in management positions as well as students around exam week. Symptoms include a shortage of energy, depression, slow reactions, insomnia and poor memory , Other symptoms include shortness of breath, sweating and aching in the waist and legs. The key to preventing and recovering from sub - health, according to some medical experts, is to form good living habits, ale mate work and rest, exercise regularly, and take part in open air activities. As for meals, people are advised to eat less salt and sugar . They should also eat more fresh vegetables, fruits, fish because they are rich in nutritional elements - vitamins and trace elements - that are important to the body. Nutrition experts point out that it is not good to eat too much at one meal because it may cause unhealthy changes in the digestive tract . They also say that a balanced diet is very helpful in avoiding sub - health. The key to preventing you from falling into a state of sub health is to _ . A. keep on working regularly B. go to sleep a bit earlier C. form good living habits D. take medicine if necessary Answer: C Friends are important to the children. Research shows that children who have no friends can suffer from difficulties later in life. Friendship provides children with more than just fun. In making friends, children learn how to get in touch with the others and solve problems. Having friends even does good to children's study for they can help each other during the class. If the parents care about their children whether they made many friends,what matters is that the child is comfortable and happy with his friends. Parents need to understand the steps children take in building friendships. First of all, be a friend to your child. Good friendships start at home. Children begin to develop the necessary ability to go out and meet others through getting with their parents. Greet the child warmly and let him know you are glad to see him. Children learn a lot from how their parents stay with them and other people. Teach children how to solve conflicts . Being able to work out conflicts is an important skill in getting along with others. If parents know the children have a conflict, let them work it out on their own. Only step in if it is really necessary, for example, an argument is getting physical. Give children chances to practice staying together. Have children play games that require team work and group problem solving skills. For example, races are fun and provide plenty of practice in teamwork. "In what ways didn't you work well together? What might you do differently next time?" For these ideas, see books such as Games Book by Terry Orlick, Energizers by Carol Apacki, and Team-Building Activities for Every Group by Alanna Jones. Encourage children to show thanks to the others. The parents can encourage children to do this by setting the example for them. According to the article, if one child has no friend, he will _ . A. have some troubles in the future B. worry about everything in the future C. not know the importance of making friends D. not find anybody to help him Answer: A
Question: In the UK, we like a good bargain. People flock to the sales in January, when stores slash their prices to get rid of all their winter stock. But surprisingly, the British hate _ In markets you might see the odd British person battling with a stall owner to bring down the price of a pair of trousers or some furniture. Generally, though, people from the UK are too reserved to haggle. If we think the price of something we want is too high, we'll simply move on and try somewhere else. The act of bargaining with someone is very theatrical, in my opinion. It's a test to see who can stand their ground for the longest. But it is not in British people's nature to "perform" in public, especially around strangers. However, in the US, people are generally more willing to haggle. And if you wander into a market, you're likely to hear a number of phrases that Americans reserve for such occasions. First, " _ " is commonly said by the customer to indicate they think the stall holder is working very hard, probably a little too hard, to get the price he wants. Or you might hear the buyer telling a stall holder that "the kid's gotta have braces", which means they don't have enough spare money lying around to afford the price being offered. If the customer is really shocked at the price suggested by the seller, they also might say "you're killing me" to indicate that they think the price is far too high. In Britain, it's difficult to imagine anyone saying anything along these lines. If I were forced to bargain, I'd probably say, very simply: "I'm going to make you an offer." If that offer were refused, I think I'd just walk away. Why don't the British haggle generally? A. They don't think it is polite behavior. B. They have sales every January. C. They can always get a better price somewhere else. D. They dislike openly expressing feelings or opinions. Answer: D Question: As a child, I loved the natural world. Maybe it had something to do with growing up in a small town. Maybe it was because nature had so many secrets and I was thrilled to be a detective, uncovering them one by one. I'm sure that when people from my generation think back to their childhoods, many recall a tree house, family picnics, or a passion for fishing, hunting, or horseback riding. Most of us had an occasional appetite for dirt as we explored backyards and nearby vacant lots. As someone who grew up in such a world, I enthusiastically encourage parents to bring back that happy childhood pastime of letting kids get muddy once in a while. I have more than my own experience to show as evidence that this is a good thing: Study after study indicates that children grow up healthier and happier when they experience a direct connection to nature. Just as importantly, those young people are also far more likely to value the natural world when they've developed a connection to it. The need for this has never been greater than it is today. Our natural world is extraordinary in its diversity and complexity, but it's also under tremendous threat. In the past decade, countless tropical rainforests and coral reefs have been lost forever due to human activities, and many more are critically endangered. These areas don't just house animals and plants found nowhere else on the planet; they also provide important economic services that benefit human health. Streams make fresh water clean; forests reduce flooding; tree provide medicines and insects pollinate (......) crops. The natural world represents an economic backbone for the future of local communities by promoting tourism and local people's livelihoods. The damage to the earth's living systems is fast approaching irreversible "tipping points," and although we now have a wealth of technological tools--both to understand the threats and to assist with solutions--there's still no substitute for a connection to the real world when it comes to understanding the complexity of natural systems. Besides, establishing a connection between child and nature is one of the best and simplest ways to inspire young people to make good decisions about personal health, climate change, and sustainable use of natural resources. They need to know what affects the chemistry of the ocean, why tropical rain forests are critical to life in the temperate regions and how millions of years are required to create fossil oil from dead plants. This understanding becomes realest and most meaningful when a person is connected to the natural world. The author writes the passage mainly to_. A. describe her childhood to the readers B. encourage readers to protect the nature C. stress the importance of natural science D. advise parents to let kids experience nature Answer: D Question: In 1896, Einstein went to Zurich to study physics. There he met a girl from Hungary. They studied in the same class and the same interest in physics brought them together and they became good friends. Before long they fell in love. In 1903 when Einstein was 24, he married Merits, who was 4 years older than he. After their marriage, Einstein devoted himself to the research of the great theory. To give her husband more help, Merits gave up her own work, and became a good wife and assistant. She tried her best to encourage him whenever possible. She was sure that her husband would succeed. They often discussed the theory while walking outside or sitting together in the room. They even did that in their letters when one of them was away from their home. In1914, Einstein moved to Berlin and _ there. At that time his theory proved to be correct and he had become famous all over the world. But it was not long before the First Would War broke out. Merits as well as her two sons, who were on holiday in Switzerland, couldn't come back to Berlin any more. The war not only stopped Einstein's work but also broke up the warm, happy family. In 1919, Einstein and Merits had to get divorced . In which year was Merits born? _ A. 1896 B. 1875 C. 1883 D. 1879 Answer: B Question: Which two body systems work together to transport oxygen to the cells? A. skeletal and respiratory B. digestive and respiratory C. respiratory and circulatory D. respiratory and reproductive Answer: C Question: Sea stars are consumers that live in a tide pool ecosystem that is alternately submerged and exposed by tides. This type of ecosystem contains poisonous anemones and many species of shellfish. The sea star's advantage in this ecosystem is that it can A. pry open shells. B. produce a tiny light. C. move quickly along the sea bottom. D. survive the pressurized atmosphere of deep water. Answer: A
According to legend, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy, which connects the Palazzo Ducale to an ancient prison, got its name because the walk across it gave prisoners on their way to jail a final chance to appreciate the beauty of the city. The view from the bridge today, however, is more likely to be of a giant billboard selling Bulgari or Coca - cola. Beyond the billboards, monuments are being restored. The money comes from advertising profits. But when the Coke billboards went up this summer on buildings near the Piazza San Marco, which is at the historic heart of Venice, there was a public debate. "We can't commercialize everything," said Alessandra Mottola Molfino, a Venetian. "The lesson that goes out is that a price is for everything." "We couldn't stay quiet," said Maria Camilla Bianchini d'Alberigo, president of a heritage protection association. "Too much is too much." There needed to be rules, she added, rules that prevent the advertising billboards clashing with the monuments of the city. City of officials, however, argue that without these ads, the city could not afford to maintain its heritage. Many have been damaged by centuries of wear and are even a threat to public safety. "I can't turn down the image of bottle when there are pieces of the Palazzo Ducale falling to the ground," said Renata Codello, a Cultrue Ministry official. The Culture Minister has a budget of about $ 47 million (315 million yuan) for restoration of monuments, but Italy has a rich architectural heritage, and funds are always tight.Of that amount, $ 1.8 million was given to the entire Vector region, which includes Venice. Two years ago, the city signed an agreement with the Dotter Group, a company responsible for the restoration of the Bridge of Sighs and the Palazzo Ducale.It allows it to sell ad space. But there is a condition in the agreement: The ads should not offend public taste, In August, Venice banned US actress Julianne Moore's Bulgrari ad from a billboard in the Piazza San Marco. The photo shows a naked Moore covered with lion cubs, handbags and jewelry, Mayor Giorgio Orsoni called the image too racy and unsuitable for the Piazza San Marco. "I take account of the fact that Venice is part of the real world... but we cannot accept these Hollywood-style images.There arc intelligent sponsors, and we need to come up with advertising that suits Venice, not Times Square," he said in a speech. Why do many Venetians complain about the ads? Answer: A group of frogs were travelling through the woods. Two of them, Nick and Jack, fell into a deep pit . All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told Nick and Jack that they were as good as dead. Nick and Jack ignored what the other frogs said and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their strength. The other frogs went on telling them to stop, and that they were as good as dead. Nick listened to them and gave up. Finally, he fell down and died. Jack continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the frogs around the pit shouted at him to stop the pain and just die. Jack jumped even harder and finally got out. When he was out, the other frogs asked, "Did not you hear us?" Jack explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him all the time. Nick and Jack fell into a pit when they were _ . Answer: After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletes have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletes and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics athletes did not take part. She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida which left her paralysed from the waist. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she did not like sports, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found she began to love athletics, and never looked back. Indeed, Tanni's athletic career took off . In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games. In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelonn. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories. Tanni's success had been part motivation , part preparation, "The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to see.... I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older, things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart." Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In spite of ups and downs, she never takes her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top level athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records. What advice does she have for young athletes? "Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again." When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal? Answer: One day a man found a cocoon of a butterfly in the forest.He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly.Suddenly, a small opening appeared and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole.Then it seemed to stop making any progress.It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.(, ). So the man decided to help the butterfly.He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly would come out easily.But to his surprise, the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly.But neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a heavy body and small wings.It was never able to fly. The man was in his kindness, but he didn't understand the nature rules.Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon, fluid from its body must be forced into its wings, and then would be ready for flying.It must have a hard struggle to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.If God allowed us to go through our life without any difficulties, it would make us fail.We would not be as strong as we could have been, we could never fly. What do you think of the man? Answer: Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was impolite and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold underground room. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem." The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very kind farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, "How could this happen? Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help." "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the underground room , I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal the wall so he couldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer's bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. You see, things aren't always what they seem. " The younger angel was very angry because _ . Answer:
Jack Ma is the founder and CEO of Alibaba Group. He was one of the 100 global "future leaders" of the 2001 World Economic Forum and the "commercial leader" of 2001 elected by US Commercial Association of Asia. Born in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Ma graduated from Hangzhou Teachers Institute in 1988 (he failed the entrance exam twice) and became a lecturer in English and International Trade. In 1985, a one-month visit to see an Australian pen pal he had met in Hangzhou changed his life. "Everything I'd learned in China was that China was the richest country in the world," he said. "When I arrived in Australia, I realized it's totally different. I started to think you have to use your own mind to judge, to think." After his return, Ma became the chairman of the Students' Union of the whole city. Jack Ma founded Alibaba.com in 1999, a China based business to business marketplace site. In 2003, Alibaba _ Taobao.com, a consumer to consumer auction website similar to eBay. Ma said that he got most of his ideas while taking very long, hot showers. He likes to spend time walking his four dogs and playing chess and poker. He said, "I've learned a lot of business philosophy by playing poker." Looking ahead, Ma said that he dreamed of using his group's resources to improve the lives of all Chinese people, especially the 900 million farmers. "There must be some way of using our experience, our know-how, and make their life easier," he said. We can know from this passage that Jack Ma is _ . a great success and very influential in economy The Italian island of Sardinia recently lost its oldest citizen. Family members say Antonio Todde died in his sleep early this month. Mr. Todde was 112 years old. It was less than three weeks away from his 113thbirthday. Record-keeping experts say he was the world's oldest man. His long life and that of other very old Sardinians are the subjects of a scientific project called Akea. Luca Deiana of Sassari University is directing the study. He says the name Akea comes from a traditional greeting on Sardinia. It means"health and life for 100 years". Professor Deiana and his team started to collect information for the study in 1997. They identified more than 220 Sardinians who were centenarians--100years old or older. His team required three documents to confirm a person's age. They were a government birth record, a church record and a statement by a close family member. The Akea study has produced two major findings. The first is Sardinia's extremely high number of centenarians. The island had about 135 centenarians for every one million people. In other Western countries, the average is about seventy five centenarians for every one million people. The second major finding is an unusual rate of female to male centenarians. Sardinia has two women centenarians for every male centenarian. In central Sardinia there are equal numbers of female and male centenarians. Studies in other parts of the world have shown a much higher percentage of female centenarians. The Akea study collected information about the health and diet of about 140 of the centenarians. About ninety percent of those in the study agreed to provide blood for scientific testing. The study team hope to identify genetic material in the blood that can be linked to successful aging. Study leaders say there is no single reason why people on Sardinia live so long. They believe the answer is a combination of genetic and environmental conditions. Centenarians refer to people who are _ years old. 100 Taking a picture of your tongue with a mobile phone could soon instantly tell you how healthy you are. Researchers believe the images can reveal important information about a patient's health and even give them early warning of serious illness. A team at the University of Missouri is developing a system that can analyze pictures using a 5,000-year-old Chinese principle, which is based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body, and uses the tongue as a key to learning about a person's physical health, or "zheng" according to Chinese medicine. "Within a year, our goal is to create an application for smart phones that will allow anyone to take a photo of their tongue and learn the status of their zheng," said Dong Xu, chair of MU's Computer Science Department in the College of Engineering and the co-author of the latest study. The software analyzes images based on the tongue's color and coating to distinguish between tongues showing signs of "hot" or "cold" zheng. Shades of red and yellow are associated with hot zheng, whereas a white coating on the tongue is a sign of cold zheng. "Hot and cold zheng doesn't refer directly to body temperature," said Xu, "Rather, it refers to a series of symptoms associated with the state of the body as a whole." For the study, 263 gastritis patients and 48 healthy volunteers had their tongues analyzed. The gastritis patients were classified by whether they showed infection by a certain bacteria as well as the intensity of their gastritis symptoms. In addition, most of the gastritis patients had been previously classified with either hot or cold zheng. This allowed the researchers to test the accuracy of the software's analysis. "Our software is able to classify people based on their zheng status. And as we continue to work on the software we hope to improve its ability," said another co-author Ye Duan, "Eventually everyone will be able to use this tool at home using webcams or smart phone applications, which will allow them to monitor their zheng and get an early warning about possible _ ." It can be inferred from the passage that _ . the software still needs improvement The world's oceans are slowly getting more acidic, say scientists. The researchers from California say the change is taking place in response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The lowering of the waters' pH value is not great at the moment but could pose a serious threat to current marine life if it continues, they warn. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, report their concerns in the journal Nature. Increasing use of fossil fuels means more carbon dioxide is going into the air, and most of it will eventually be absorbed by seawater. Once in the water, it reacts to form carbonic acid. Scientists believe that the oceans have already become slightly more acidic over the last century. But these researchers have tried to predict what will happen in the future by combining what we know about the history of the oceans with computer models of climate change. "This level of acidity will get much more extreme in the future if we continue releasing CO2 into the atmosphere," said Dr Caldeira. "And we predict amounts of future acidity will exceed anything we have seen over the last several hundred million years, let alone perhaps after rare catastrophic events such as asteroid impacts ." If carbon dioxide release continues unabated , ocean pH could be reduced by as much as 0.77 units, the authors warn. It is not ly clear what that means for marine life, however. Most organisms live near the surface, where the greatest pH change would be expected to occur, but deep-ocean lifeforms may be more sensitive to pH changes. Coral reefs and other organisms whose skeletons or shells contain calcium carbonate may be particularly affected, the team speculate. They could find it much more difficult to build these structures in water with a lower pH. In recent years some people have suggested deliberately storing carbon dioxide from power stations in the deep ocean as a way of curbing global warming. But Dr Caldeira said that such a strategy should now be re-considered. "Previously, most experts had looked at ocean absorption of carbon dioxide as a good thing - because in releasing CO2 into the atmosphere we warm the planet; and when CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, it reduces the amount of greenhouse warming. According to Dr Caldeira, _ . the future situation of the amount of acidity is extremely serious Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown. Quite the opposite, just as the cook has to undergo a particular training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose is--schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication. You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding. There are still some faraway places in the world where you might find a public scribe to do your business or social writing for you, for money. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves. We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to papers. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put into mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figures must be extremely large. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes whatever he writes will be read, from first word to last, not just thrown into some "letters-to-be-read" files or into a wastepaper basket. This is the reason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to _ . explain and persuade
Question: In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree. But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73. Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn't merely survive. He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship. Stephen received his "death sentence" in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study. Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University. He was said to be a "lazy" undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first-class degree, an "entry ticket" to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement. Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair-bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well. But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began. In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32. The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected -- for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits. Stephen's revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum theory has still not been tested. However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory has been to confirm and build on his idea. He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top-ten living theoretical physicists. What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking? A. His brilliant research. B. His defeating hardship. C. His serious disease. D. His bestselling books. Answer: B Question: The Great Barn Adventure One morning when I was 11, I explored the town's abandoned round grain barn . I found a chained sliding door that was wide enough for me to pass through. Inside, there was a heavy smell of dead mice in the dark. After my eyes adjusted, I noticed a shaft that rose all the way to the top of the barn. On one side was a one-man elevator with a long rope and roller. I stepped onto the platform and gave the rope a drag and the elevator began sliding up the shaft, but stopped halfway. After a brief panic attack, I noticed holes in the wall at regular intervals, forming a ladder. For reasons known only to an 11-year-old, I decided it would be better to go up than down. So, with shaking hands, I began climbing the wall. After what seemed like forever, I reached the top of the shaft. I stood up, dusted myself off and found absolutely nothing of interest. It was just an empty room with a ladder leading up to the roof. I climbed all the way up here for this? Then I noticed a fire extinguisher ,which I'd always wanted to shoot off. So this was the chance of a lifetime. I tried it, and, much to my surprise, the thing worked! It shot out a thick cloud of powder that instantly filled the room. I couldn't breathe. I was going to choke to death, and they'd probably never even find my body. Luckily, I remembered the ladder to the roof. I climbed up, popped the straw roof and saw a bright blue sky. I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw attention. So when the dust had settled, I climbed down and slipped out of the chained door. I'm not sure if I was more excited about being alive or about not being caught, but I ran all the way back home. When the author got inside the barn, he _ . A. noticed a man on the elevator B. opened the chained sliding door C. saw many dead mice in the dark D. found a shaft leading to the top Answer: D Question: Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. In the poem "deep" rhymes with "sleep". Which of the following rhymes with each other? A. Snow and though. B. Sweep and near. C. Here and mistake. D. Flake and know. Answer: A Question: Hi, my name is Wang Jun. Do you want to know about my staying in America? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience here. In China, I had English classes five times a week since Grade Five. But I didn't know textbook English could be so different from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut. When I first studied English, I was told to say "I'm fine." when people say "How are you?" But in the USA, I found that people say "I'm good." or "I'm tired." One day, someone greeted me with "What's up?" It made me _ I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn't know what to say. Since then, I have learnt more and more differences between Chinese and American cultures. To my surprise, American girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun getting a tan . In China, girls try every possible way to keep their skin white. American students are hard-working like Chinese students. In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that's it. But here, a "good" student not only gets good grades, but also does a lot for the public. That is to say, they get lots of knowledge at school and learn many life skills from social work. Which of the following is the best title for the passage? A. My wonderful travel in the USA B. After-school activities in American schools C. What American students learn at school D. My study experience in the USA Answer: D Question: Things that are shiny can reflect light, so all of these will aside from A. dog tag B. ring C. outlet D. confetti Answer: C
Question: Western teens share their top tunes Have you ever wondered what kind of music kids across the Pacific Ocean are listening to? Are they crazy about Britney Spears? Do they love the Backstreet Boys? Or do they dance to Eminem? Well, nearly 6,000 teens have taken part in a Teens & Music study, conducted by USA Weekend Magazine last autumn. And the results show what type of music is hot and what is not. It comes as no surprise that hip-hop and rap are the most popular types of music among American teenagers. They began in the mid-1970s, with young black kids in New York, taking music onto the streets. Hip-hop and rap are well-known for the breakdancing that goes with them. The word "rap" comes from a 1960s slang word for conversation. It is a rapid, slangy rhyme that is spoken rather than sung. Eminem is among the most popular rappers ever to hit the US. His first album "The Marshall Mathers LP" topped the American music chart in May 2000. Although about a third of teens in the US showed their support for him, almost as many said that his music was so offensive that they couldn't listen to it. Compared with Eminem, actor-rapper Will Smith is more of a star for the kids. He was awarded the Wannabe Award, on April 12 at Nickelodeon's 16th Annual Kids' Choice Awards. It is an award given to a celebrity whom kids most want to be. Pop music, such as Brittney Spears and the Backstreet Boys has always suited the tastes of the general public. It continues to enjoy support among teens and is second most popular after rap. Third is rock -- music with exciting dance beats and simple lyrics that speak loudly of social problems. The melodies are led by electric guitars. Rock became popular in the US in the early 1950s. American singer Elvis Presley and British group the Beatles became world-famous rock artists. The study also showed that jazz is least loved by American teens. It developed in the latter part of the 19th century from a mixture of African work songs and hymns . Jazz tends to be the type of music that people enjoy more as they get older. The main purpose of this story is to tell the readers _ . A. about a study conducted among US teens B. what types of music are popular among US teens C. that both American and Chinese teens love music D. that kids love different types of music because of the stars Answer: B Question: Dear Liz, My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life. Life is busy and exciting.Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population of 10 million and heavy traffic.I'm very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city.There are Mr. and Mrs. Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma. I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda.The school teaches about 70 percent in English,and 30 percent in Thai. I've learned some spoken language,but Thai writing is very difficult.The cooking lesson is my favourite.I'm learning all about Thai food and culture People don't use chopsticks here,but spoons and forks.When I come back,I'm going to cook you a real Thai meal. Last weekend we visited some temples.We also drove to Pattaya beach near Bangkok.I thought it was great,but Sanan and Chinda say that next month they're taking me to Phuket Island,where the beaches are even more beautiful.The month after next,we're going to travel to Mr.Phairat,s hometown in the north of Thailand.The Phairats own land there,and they have two elephants.I'm going to ride those elephants -- and even wash them.Sanan and Chinda say it's really fun. I'm amazed by everything in this country,especially by the elephants.Elephants are an important pan of Thai culture and way of life.They have been a traditional symbol of Thailand for many years in times of war and peace.In the seventh century,a Thai king trained 20,000 elephants for battle. I'll tell you all about my Thai boxing lessons next time I write. Love, Mandy Next month,Mandy is going to visit _ . A. Pattaya beach B. Phuket Island C. Phairat's hometown D. Bangkok Answer: B Question: There was once an old tree. The children from all around the neighborhood loved to climb the tree. The children also liked to sit under the tree, hang on it and play games around it. Animals liked the tree as well. Birds, cats and all kinds of lizards would climb the tree too! Rabbits, dogs, frogs and and many ground animals loved to play around the bottom of the tree. One day the children learned the tree was going to be cut down. This made the children, and maybe the animals, very sad. Why was it being cut down? Was it too old? Too weak? Maybe it was dying? The children learned it was because the tree was sick. The children were very sad to hear about this. They wondered where they would play from now on. The tree was their favorite place and they didn't want to see it go. One little boy, named John, went home to tell his parents the story. His parents could tell he was sad so they told him something that made him very happy. What was it? He wondered. Was a jungle gym going to be put in? A mall, maybe a park? In fact, even better than that, a new tree would be planted in its place. John was so happy he rushed off to tell his friends. "Big news!", he shouted. "My parents told me a new tree is going to be planted here over the old one!" All his friends cheered in excitement, now knowing they wouldn't lose their favorite spot. John and his friends went to celebrate by getting ice cream. His friends liked chocolate and vanilla but John got strawberry. What kind of animals liked the bottom of the tree? A. Birds. B. Cats. C. Rabbits, dogs and frogs. D. Lizards. Answer: C Question: The workers who brought the girl to the orphanage knew little about her. The street where they found her had been her home for many years. Her parents were unknown. They left her long ago. At the orphanage, the girl, like all the children there, was taught to read and write. While she was studying at the orphanage, she learned something else-to be independent . At twenty-one, she left the orphanage and began to work as a secretary. And then, in 1975, while she was still working as an ordinary secretary, something special happened. She entered the Miss Hong Kong Competition and won it. This was the turning point in her life. Now her name, Mary Cheung, was known to everybody. Mary entered the competition because she wanted to show that orphanage girls could be something. Winning the competition gave her the chance to start a new life. This led her first into television and then into business as a manager. When she was working as a manager, she had trouble with her reports. "My English just wasn't good enough." she says. Luckily, she had a boyfriend (who later became her husband) to help her. Mary studied management at Hong Kong Polytechnic and graduated in 1980. She started her own business in 1985. But she did not stop developing herself. She then studied at the University of Hong Kong. Since 1987, she had spent a lot of time on photography . She has held several exhibitions of her works in many places-China, New Zealand and Paris. She still found time, however, to work on TV, write for newspapers and support her family. The girl from the street has come a long way, but her journey has not finished yet. The sentence "orphanage girls could be something" means that orphanage girls could be _ . A. popular and successful B. understood by others C. Miss Hong Kong D. known to everybody Answer: A Question: Mattie Stepanek died at the age of 13 from a rare disease called muscular dystrophy. Because of the disease, Mattie had to get around in a wheelchair, but it did not stop him from staying positive and inspiring others with his message of peace. As a best-selling author and role model, Mattie provided a voice for people who suffer from muscular dystrophy. He spoke to people about the disease and about his dream for world peace. "Mattie was something special, something very special," said Jerry Lewis, the chair of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a group that works to find a solution to the disease. "He was an example that made people want to reach for the best within themselves." Mattie moved many people through his speeches and interviews, but he may have touched the most people through his poetry. During his life, Mattie wrote five books of poetry. Three of those books were The New York Times best-sellers. His books all had the word "Heartsongs" in the title. Mattie called his inner voice that encouraged him to work for peace his "Heartsongs". When his first book came out, just 200 copies were printed to be handed out to friends and supporters. But after the news of the book spread, 500,000 more copies were printed. People think Mattie's poems are very thoughtful. Mattie first started writing poetry at the age of 3 to help him face the death of his brother, who also suffered from muscular dystrophy. The magazine Time For Kids once interviewed Mattie. He told the reporter, "Life is a gift. We have to make the best of it." Mattie said his task was to bring peace to the world. What caused Mattie to start writing poetry? A. His struggle against the disease. B. His parents' encouragement. C. The message of world peace. D. The death of his brother. Answer: D
Darlene was arrested on a murder charge. She was given Miranda warnings and refused to talk further with the police. At trial, she testified in her own defense. She recounted in some detail her whereabouts on the day of the crime and explained why she could not have committed the crime. On cross-examination and over defense objection, the prosecution emphasized the fact that she did not tell the police this story following her arrest. The prosecution thereby suggested that her testimony was false. Darlene was convicted. On appeal, she claims error in the prosecutor's cross-examination. Her conviction will most probably be A. affirmed, because Darlene's silence at time of arrest is tantamount to a prior inconsistent statement, giving rise to an inference that the story was fabricated. B. affirmed, because Darlene's silence was not used as direct evidence but only for impeachment, a purpose consistent with legitimate cross-examination. C. reversed, because post-arrest silence constituted Darlene's exercise of her Miranda rights and use of that silence against her at trial violated due process. D. reversed, because to require the defense to acquaint the prosecution with Darlene's testimony prior to trial would constitute unconstitutional pretrial discover Answer: C. reversed, because post-arrest silence constituted Darlene's exercise of her Miranda rights and use of that silence against her at trial violated due process. Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature.However,whether you are on the mountains,in the waves,or on the grassland,you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment. Some sports are resource-hungry.Golf,as you may know,eats up not only large areas of countryside,but also tons of water.Besides,all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses in good condition.This causes major environmental effects.For example,in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain,golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas. There are many environment-friendly sports.Power walking is one of them that you could take up today.You don't need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes;and you don't have to worry about resources and your purse.Simple and free,power walking can also keep you fit.If you walk regularly,it will be good for your heart and bones.Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious,sleep well and have better weight control. Whatever sport you take up,you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials.But the final goal should be"green gyms".They RYe better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors,in the countryside or other open spaces.There is no special requirement for you to start your membership.And best of all,it's free. The author uses power walking as an example mainly because _ . A. it is an outdoor sport B. it improves our health C. it uses fewer resources D. it is recommended by experts Answer: C. it uses fewer resources Teenagers who spend hours in front of the television may have a poorer diet as young adults. A study, which included nearly 1,400 high school students, found that those who watched TV for five hours or more per day had less healthy diets than their peers five years later. Why does this happen? Should the parents take any measures? On the one hand, people who spend a lot of time in front of the TV, especially teenagers may snack more, and that may affect their long-term diet quality. On the other hand, TV ads for fast food, sweets and snacks tempt teenagers to eat more of those foods. And TV time might also replace exercise time for some kids. Lead researcher Dr. Daheia J. BarrAnderson, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Reuters Health a clear correlation between TV time during high school and diet quality in young adulthood . While the heaviest TV viewers were eating the most junk food five years later, those who'd watched less than two hours per day had the highest intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high-calcium food. In her opinion, parents should limit and monitor TV viewing. I think children should watch no more than two hours of television per day. And parents should set a good example by eating right, being physical active and curbing their own TV time. According to the passage, heavy TV viewers tend to _ A. eat more fruits B. eat less junk food C. take in fewer vegetables D. take in high-calcium food Answer: C. take in fewer vegetables "Oh, my God! Did I really just send that text?" Most people have said something that they wish they could take back. And if they had paused to think about it first, they probably would have acted differently. Pausing doesn't pay off just when you speak. Scientific studies have shown that making a habit of pausing before you do something can actually have a big impact on how your life turns out. In making decisions we rely on two areas of the brain. One area creates and processes emotions; the other governs logical thought. The type of decision, how we feel about it, and how prepared we are to handle it help determine which brain area has the most influence. But our age also plays an important role. Thinking through the consequences of one's actions is actually harder for teens because the area controlling logical thought is not fully developed until around age 25. This is why teens often feel an intense emotional drive to act impulsively--it's how their brains are structured! Though this tendency to act without considering the outcomes can lead to problematic situations, impulsivity during the developmental years evolves because it makes teens more open to new experiences and ideas. This openness helps teens become independent adults. The key to making impulsivity work for you--instead of against you--is to train your brain by practicing pausing. This doesn't mean you stop taking risks or being open to new experiences. But you won't know if the risk is worth it until you think it through. Deciding to take a risk based on logic shows self-control, not impulsivity. What are different ways to pause? You might take a deep breath, count to 10, or ask, "Is this worth it?" Different strategies work for different people. Whatever works for you, keep doing it! By practicing pausing, you can actually change your brain. This means that over time, pausing, instead of immediately reacting, becomes your "natural" response. And with this change, people are on their way to enjoying the life rewards that come with high levels of self-control--even if they weren't natural--born pausers! According to the passage, by training one's brain, one can _ . A. stop taking risks B. fully develop one's brain C. become more open to new experience D. reduce the influence of emotional drive Answer: D. reduce the influence of emotional drive Eco City Farms are becoming more popular in cities and towns around the United states. Eco City Farms in Edmonton, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community . People do not have very much money. And they have limited access to fresh food in markets. Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers from the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farms for a lesson. Her son Alston Clark thinks his experience is very valuable."I like coming out here," he says," You know, you connect with the earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more." Margaret Morgan started Eco City Farms. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. "Growing food in a community brings people together," she continues, "Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration to show people everything about how to have an eco-friendly community." she says. From the Eco City Farms people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost made from food waste. Eco City Farms is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks, but from the sun with solar panels. In winter, the green house use a geothermal system. Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bike to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest. "I like eating the vegetables "says five-year-old Owen Moss. What is mainly talked about in the passage? A. Eco City Farms save a lot of energy. B. Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better. C. Eco City Farms are influencing community life. D. Eco City Farms are gaining popularity. Answer: D. Eco City Farms are gaining popularity.
What would it take to persuade you to exercise? A desire to lose weight or improve your figure? To keep you away from diseases? To live to a healthy old age? You'd think any of those reasons would be enough to get Americans exercising. Yet a vast majority of Americans have thus far failed to swallow the "exercise pill". Now a research by psychologists strongly suggests it's time to think of current well-being and happiness as motivators for exercise instead of future health, weight loss and body image. Dr. Segar, one of the researchers, believes that immediate rewards are more motivating than distant ones. "People who say they exercise for the quality of life exercise more over the course of a year than those who say they value exercise for its health benefits." He said. ' Other studies have shown that what keeps people moving depends on age, sex and life circumstances. For those of college age, physical attractiveness typically heads the list of reasons to begin exercising, although what keeps them going seems to be the stress relief that a regular exercise program provides. The elderly, on the other hand, may get started because of health concerns. But often what keeps them exercising are the friendships and sense of community that may otherwise be missing from their lives. Improving daily well-being is the most influential factor for the women. Men indicate they are motivated by more distant health benefits, but this may be because men feel less comfortable discussing their mental health needs. "Exercise should be encouraged but the emphasis on weight loss, disease prevention and healthy aging should be reduced." Dr. Segar concluded. "Exercise can make people feel more energetic, less stressed and, yes, happier." What is the author mainly arguing in the passage? Most American kids love Halloween treats, but a bucket of Halloween candy can be a dentist's nightmare. Some parents try to get rid of half of the candy after their children go to bed, but dentists say parents also need to separate the good kinds of treats from the bad. It is not exactly what a child eats that truly matters, but how much time it stays in his mouth. According to pediatric dentist Dr. Kaneta Lott, the most damaging stuff is something that is sticky or very hard and thus stays in the mouth for a long time. This is because we all have bacteria in our mouths. When we eat, the bacteria take our food as their food and produce an acid that destroys the surface of the teeth, causing cavities to form. The longer the food stays in the mouth, the more likely cavities will develop. Therefore, potato chips are worse than candy because they get stuck between teeth. For the same reason, raisins and crackers are not the best choice. Hard candies take a long time to consume and are also a bad choice for Halloween treats. If children really love candy, dentists recommend that they eat chocolate instead. Unlike hard candies, chocolate dissolves quickly in the mouth. Besides, chocolate contains tannins, which help to kill some of the bacteria in the mouth. But no matter what a child eats, brushing after each meal is still the best way to fight cavities. Why are hard candies especially bad for teeth? Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs. There are 100, 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank card simply by using a photograph or a business card. The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light , and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4, 000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28, 000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors magazine. The text is mainly about _ . New rules and behavior standards for the middle school students came out. Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The following are some of the new rules. You should not be allowed to dye your hair, smoke or drink. You should not copy others' work in an exam. Don't do it again if you did it! Good students love animals and care for other people. Being kind to animals is being kind to ourselves. Be friendly to the people around you. Try to think of others, not only yourself. Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone. Learn to protect yourselves. If you have to go home late, you should let your mother or your father know. Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for our studies. But some things on the Internet aren't good for teenagers, so try to look at web pages that are good for you. The passage mainly tells us how to _ . Say you are a 17th century construction worker who's worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor. Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal,one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself. First, there's the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan,also called the King of the World. In 1612,Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child'number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial to celebrate their love. When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife's death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white. Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife's dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653,Jehan placed Mumtaz's remains in the center under the building. And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Hehan lived the rest of his days-eight years, to be exact-imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it--until he was buried next to his wife. Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction. The Taj Mahal was first built as _ .
January 1: It has happened. I got a call today saying a little girl in Russia is now my little girl. There are a lot of papers to prepare, and we have to travel to Russia to bring her home, but now it is certain. I think I'll tell some close friends. Jason is so excited. I haven't told Steven yet. How can I tell a seven-year-old that he has a sister who is already five years old? January 10: Today I received a picture of Katerina. The picture is small and not very clear, but I look at it over and over again. I don't know anything else about her. She has lived in a home for children without parents for most of her life. I wonder how I will talk to her. I don't speak Russian, and she doesn't speak English. February 1: Today I showed Katerina's picture to Steven. He is very happy and wants to tell all his friends about his new sister. I want to buy some new clothes for Katerina, but I don't know her size. I haven't received any information from the adoption organization, and I'm feeling a little worried. February 16: Finally! Today we received good news! All the papers are ready and tomorrow we will go to Russia to bring Katerina home with us. February 18: Today I met my daughter for the first time. She is very small, very thin, and very shy. On the way home in the airplane, she slept most of the time. When she woke up, she cried. I am very worried and hope that I can be a good mother to Katerina. February 19: Steven met his sister this morning. Although Katerina was quiet at first, soon she and Steven began to talk in a mix of Russian, English, and hand movements. Steven and his sister get along well together. In fact, he is able to help her talk with Jason and me. I am worried about how Katerina will be in school. Next week she will start school. How will she speak with the other children? How will she understand her teacher?www.ks5u.com March 21: Katerina looks much better now. She is heavier, her hair looks good, and her skin is clear. She loves to watch television with her brother, and she has learned to roller-skate. She is doing well in school, and her English gets better every day. Although she sometimes looks sad, and sometimes cries, most of the time she is happy. I think she is slowly getting used to her new life with us. After only three months, I can't believe I could ever live my life without her. Where is the passage most probably from? A A diary. B An advertisement. C An essay. D A speech. Answer: A. A diary. Now, I want to start with a question: When was the last time you were called childish? For kids like me, being called childish can be a frequent occurrence. Every time we make irrational demands, exhibit irresponsible behavior, or display any other signs of being normal American citizens, we are called childish. _ A _ . After all, take a look at these events: imperialism and colonization , world wars, George W. Bush. Ask yourself: Who's responsible? Adults. Now, what have kids done? _ B _ . Well, Anne Frank touched millions with her powerful account of the Holocaust , Ruby Bridges helped end segregation in the United States, and, most recently, Charlie Simpson helped to raise 120,000 pounds for Haiti on his little bike. So, as you can see evidenced by such examples, age has ly nothing to do with it. We are called childish so often by adults that we should abolish this age-discrimination when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking. Then again, who's to say that certain types of irrational thinking aren't exactly what the world needs? Maybe you've had grand plans before, but stopped yourself, thinking: That's impossible or that costs too much or that won't benefit me. For better or worse, we kids aren't hampered as much when it comes to thinking about reasons why not to do things. _ C _ . Kids can be full of inspiring aspirations and hopeful thinking, like my wish that no one went hungry or that everything were free kind of utopia . How many of you still dream like that and believe in the possibilities? Sometimes a knowledge of history and the past failures of utopian ideals can be a burden. On the other hand, we kids still dream about perfection. _ D _ . And that's a good thing because in order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first. Now, our inborn wisdom doesn't have to be insiders' knowledge. Kids already do a lot of learning from adults, and we have a lot to share. I think that adults should start learning from kids. Now, I do most of my speaking in front of an education crowd, teachers and students, and I like this analogy. It shouldn't just be a teacher at the head of the classroom telling students to do this, do that. The students should teach their teachers. Learning between grown ups and kids should be reciprocal. The reality, unfortunately, is a little different, and it has a lot to do with trust, or a lack of it. Now, if you don't trust someone, you place restrictions on them, right. If I doubt my older sister's ability to pay back the 10 percent interest I established on her last loan, I'm going to withhold her ability to get more money from me until she pays it back. True story, by the way. Now, adults seem to have a prevalently restrictive attitude towards kids from every "don't do that," "don't do this" in the school handbook, to restrictions on school internet use. Kids have no, or very little, say in making the rules, when really the attitude should be reciprocal , meaning that the adult population should learn and take into account the wishes of the younger population. Adults, you need to listen and learn from kids. The world needs opportunities for new leaders and new ideas. Kids need opportunities to lead and succeed. Are you ready to make the match? Which of the following least explains kids' advantage over adults based on the speaker? A Younger age. B Irrational thinking. C Knowledge of history. D Excess restrictions. Answer: D. Excess restrictions. John was a very naughty boy. He liked playing tricks on people. Sometimes he would call Mrs. Walker at the hat store and roar at her on the phone. Sometimes he would leave his wet blanket on the sidewalk so that it would squish under people's feet when they walked past. Sometimes he would moo at his sister, June, to annoy her. One time he even painted his friend Jack's bedroom purple without asking. This upset Jack very much. Jack did not want his bedroom to be purple. Jack liked his bedroom blue and white, like his favorite sport's team. Whenever Jack was sad his dog, Scamp, was also sad. John's naughty actions really hurt Jack's feelings so he tried to hide from John. John found Jack anyway. "Why are you hiding from me?" asked John. "You were naughty. You painted my bedroom without asking. You even made Scamp sad and now his tail won't wag." John felt very bad about hurting his friend's feelings. He wanted to make his friend happy again. The problem was he was out of paint. John thought long and hard. He had an idea! He ran to his house and grabbed his favorite toy, his yellow dinosaur. He handed it to Jack. "I'm sorry about your room. I won't do anything like that again. I can't fix it right now, but you can have my dinosaur until I fix your room." Jack accepted John's apology and both boys were happy. Scamp could wag his tail again. Whose tail wouldn't wag when he was sad? A John B June C Jack D Scamp Answer: D. Scamp As one approaches some crossroads, one comes to a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead. At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop (unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road); and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road. Mr. Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroads. It had a "Slow" sign, so he slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely. At once he heard a police whistle, so he pulled in to the side of the road and stopped. A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and pencil in his hand and said, "You didn't stop at the crossing." "But the sign there doesn't say "Stop"," answered Mr. Williams. "It just says "Slow", and I did go slow." The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face. Then he put his notebook and pencil away, scratched his head and said, "Well, I'll be scolded. I am in the wrong street!" Which might be the best title for this passage? A Signs at the crossroads B A careful driver C A policeman and a driver D Policeman in the wrong street Answer: D. Policeman in the wrong street If you choose only to complain and escape from a misfortune, it will always follow you wherever you go.But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise. In an accident, a boy lost.both his arms and his father-who was the main source of support for the family.Since then, he has had to depend on the arms of his younger brother.For the sake of taking care of him, his younger brother became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years.Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their share of problems and they would often quarrel.Then one day, his younger brother wanted to leave, living his own life, as many normal people do.So he was heart-broken and didn't know what to do. A similar misfortune befell a girl, too.One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness, disappeared.Her father went out to look for her mother, leaving her alone at home.She tried to prepare meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in afire which took her hands away. Though her elder sister who was studying in another city, showed her willingness to take care of her, she was determined to be completely independent.At school, she always studied hard.Most of all she learned to be self-reliant. One day, the boy and the girl were both invited to appear on a television interview program.The boy told the TV host about his uncertain future at being left on his own, whereas the girl was full of enthusiasm for her life.They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes.The boy wrote: My younger brother's arms are my arms; while the girl wrote: Broken wings, flying heart. Which of the following is true of the girl? A She lost her mother in an accident. B Her sister took good care of her. C She was optimistic and full of courage. D She led a poor life with her father. Answer: C. She was optimistic and full of courage.
Humans contribute to environmental pollution A. by purchasing products made from recycled products B. by switching to energy efficient appliances C. by leaving behind refuse on public beaches D. by frequently recycling paper and plastic Answer: C. by leaving behind refuse on public beaches If you've been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e-mail with net pals , you have become one of the millions who write in a special, short form of English. Throughout the world, every night children and their elders are "talking" online -- many of them are talking at the same time. It's fast: trying talking to six people once. It's convenient: three or four words per exchange. It takes cleverness, concentration and quick fingers. And it requires very simple language. There's neither time nor space for explanations. Why waste valuable time telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB (="be" right back) will do? Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI (="pardon" me for jumping in). Interested in whom you're talking to? Type A/S/L, the common request to know your pal's age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a reply from your pal. If something makes you laugh, say you're OTF (="on" the floor), or LOL (="laughing" out loud), or join the two into ROTFL (="rolling" on the floor laughing). And when it's time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG (="got" to go) or TTYL (="talk" to you later). People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing feeling, as it takes more time to hold down the "shift" key and use capitals. Punctuation is going too. When people are online, they talk by _ . A. using body language B. drawing some strange pictures C. making phone calls D. making use of a special short form of English Answer: D. making use of a special short form of English For many years, scientists have wondered how Chrysopelea paradisi, known as the "flying" snakes, can stay afloat as they leap from one tree to another, sometimes covering a distance of as long as 79 feet. Now a new study has explained that it may be all to do with the way they move. The report was published by Virginia Tech scientist, Jake Soeha who has been studying the flying snakes for a number of years. He began his research by first focusing on its launch technique. He discovered that the snakes first make themselves completely flat and then move side to side; they glide rapidly at a speed of between 26-33 feet per second, before leaping off. Once they take off, their bodies actually tilt at about a 25-degree angle to the airflow created by their flight. When they first leap, the snakes start to drop altitude to pick up speed. With the front of their bodies held stiff, they start a strange air-gliding dance, by moving from side to side. This turns their entire body into one big wing, allowing them to glide across long distances. The findings are not only exciting because they solve the puzzle of how the snakes are able to fly, but also because the same principles could be used to build small flying instruments. The flying snakes that are native to South and South East Asia spend most of their lives in trees in the lowland tropical forests. They grow between 2-3 feet long and are about as wide as a human finger. As would be expected, the smaller and lighter ones are more able to "glide" for longer distances than the bigger and heavier ones. They are not the only wingless animals that can fly -- there are flying frogs that use similar gliding techniques to make their way across forests. Which of the following is TRUE about the findings of the study? A. It made the scientists excited and puzzled. B. It popularised flying snakes. C. It can help with the building of small flying instruments. D. It taught the public more about snakes. Answer: C. It can help with the building of small flying instruments. We're all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend can pass it on to one of his or her friends, and that friend can do the same, continuing the chain. Eventually, your message could reach just about anyone in the world, and it might take only five to seven e-mails for the message to get there. Scientists recently tested that idea in a study involving 24,000 people. Participants had to try to get a message forwarded to one of 18 randomly chosen people. Each participant started by sending one e-mail to someone they knew. Recipients could then forward the e-mail once to someone they knew, and so on. Targets, who were randomly assigned by researchers from Columbia University in New York, lived in 13 countries. They included an Australian police officer, a Norwegian veterinarian, and a college professor. Out of 24,000 chains, only 384 reached their goal. The rest petered out, usually because one of the recipients was either too busy to forward the message or thought it was junk mail. The links that reached their goal made it in an average of 4.05 e-mails. Based on the lengths of the failed chains, the researchers estimated that two strangers could generally make contact in five to seven e-mails. The most successful chains relied on casual acquaintances rather than close friends. That's because your close friends know each other whereas your acquaintances tend to know people you don't know. The phenomenon, known as the strength of weak ties, explains why people tend to get jobs through people they know casually but aren't that close to. So, start networking and instant messaging now. As they say in show business: It's all about who you know. What does the word "estimate" mean in the passage? A. make sure B. suppose C. think over D. imagine Answer: B. suppose This is Catherine. She is from England. Her family name is Cooper. She is nineteen. Her father is a doctor. His name is Henry Cooper. He works in a hospital in London. Mrs. Cooper works there, too. Catherine is now in China. She studies in Beijing. She studies Chinese. She lives in that building with another girl. Her name is Betty Brown. She is from the USA. She studies Chinese, too. The two girls are good friends now. How many people are there in the passage ? A. Five. B. Three. C. Four. D. I don't know. Answer: C. Four.
A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare . A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for prefix = st1 /ChinaandMongoliasaid thatChina"can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily." China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said. "What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing. The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks , sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day. The Beijingchildren's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children. A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400--500 yuana month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440yuana month during the first quarter this year. Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children. She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling. By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuanin donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms. Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. Every year the Beijing Children's Welfare Home spends _ on the orphans Answer: If you have a watch, don't go to a watchmaker's unless something is wrong with the machinery. Once I had a beautiful watch. And it had kept perfect time. But one night it happened that I forgot to _ it _ . Next morning I went to a watchmaker as I wanted my perfect watch to be set by the exact time. He examined it and said, "The regulator must be pushed up as your watch is four minutes slow. I tried to stop him from doing so, but he didn't listen and pushed the regulator. My beautiful watch began to gain. It gained faster and faster day by day. By the end of the second month it had left all the clocks and watches of the town far behind. I could do nothing but take it to another watchmaker to be regulated. I expected him to regulate the watch at once, but he asked me to come in a week's time. When at last I got my watch back from him, it began to slow down. And I failed to be in time for trains, business affairs, and even missed my dinners. Now I went to a third watchmaker. When I was waiting for him to repair my poor watch, he took it to pieces and said that he would try to finish this work in three or four days. What I could do was to nod my head. After that, my watch went for half a day, and then stopped. So I kept taking my watch from one watchmaker to another. But each watchmaker disappointed me. My watch had cost me two hundred dollars, but I paid for repairs more than two hundred. At last I decided to buy another watch, which I did. Not long after his watch was regulated, he _ for the second time. Answer: Camouflage can be used by animals for hunting Answer: Here are some advertisements taken from a newspaper. (1) Dear Drew Carter, Your first year on this earth has been a pleasure ride for all of us. We love you! Love, Dad and Mom and many friends. (2)Lawlis-Clarke The Doctors Virgil and Marjorie Lawlis are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Diane Susan to Mr.Robert Brent Clarke,son of Mr.and Mrs.James Clarke of Herford,Texas. A spring wedding is planned in Houston. (3) Isbell-Foss Mr.and Mrs.Davis K.Isbell announce the marriage of their daughter Dang to Mr.Stanley Foss,son of Mrs.John Sipe of Ada,Minnesota. The wedding will be early April at Abiding Love Lutheran Church. (4) Story-Kurio Miss Stephanie Story and Mr.Warren Kurio were married February 5,at half past seven o'clock in the evening at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas,Texas.The bride is the daughter of Mr.and Mrs.Herbert Brule Story Jr.of Dallas.The groom is the son of Mr.and Mrs.Gerald Stanley Kurio of Austin. Who got or will get married in spring? Answer: If you look outside, you probably will see some kind of insect. If your first instinct is to kill it, take a moment to think about all of the benefits insects provide to the environment. Entomologists, scientists who study insects, estimate that there are more than 800,000 species of insects found throughout the world. Only a few hundred of these insects are considered harmful. Mosquitoes, for example, are considered harmful. They bite humans and other animals, and their bites can cause skin pain and spread disease. Desert locusts also are considered harmful because they destroy crops causing billions of dollars in damage each year. However, the number of helpful insect species far outweighs the number of harmful species. Some insects make up a vital part of the food chain. Many different birds, reptiles, fish and even plants eat insects. There are also about 500 insects that people in various parts of the world eat. These insects are considered delicious food and prized for their high protein, mineral, and vitamin content. Other insects produce valuable commercial products such as silk, wax, and honey. Of all the insects, perhaps the most important are those that travel from flower to flower and pollinate the plants they visit. Agriculture around the world would be very different without the bees, butterflies, moths, flies and wasps that pollinate many crops. In fact, nearly one-third of the food you eat depends on plants that are pollinated by insects! While it is true that some species of insects harm or annoy us, _ . You may be destroying one of the hundreds of thousands of insects that provides many benefits to human beings. According to the passage, the most important type of insects are _ . Answer:
There are people in Italy who can't stand soccer. Not all Canadians love hockey. A similar situation exists in America, where there are those individuals you may be one of them who frown when somebody mentions baseball. Baseball to them means boring hours watching grown men in funny tight outfits standing around in a field staring away while very little of anything happens. They tell you it's a game better suited to the 19th century, slow, quiet, and gentlemanly. These are the same people you may be one of them who love football because there's the sport that values "the hit". By contrast, baseball seems abstract, cool, silent, still. On TV the game is divided into a dozen perspectives, replays, close-ups. The geometry of the game, however, is essential to understanding it. You will view the game from one point as a painter does his subject; you may, of course, project yourself into the game. It is in this projection that the game affords so much space and time for involvement. The TV won't do it for you. Take, for example, the third baseman. You sit behind the third base and you watch him watching home plate. His legs are apart, knees flexed . His arms hang loose. He does a lot of this. The skeptic still cannot think of any other sports so still, so passive. But watch what happens every time the pitcher throws: the third baseman goes up on his toes, flexes his arms or brings the glove to a point in front of him, takes a step right or left, backward or forward, perhaps he glances across the field to check his first baseman's position. Suppose the pitch is a ball. "Nothing happened," you say. The skeptic and the innocent must play the game. And this involvement in the stands is no more intellectual than listening to music is. Watch the third baseman. Smooth the dirt in front of you with one foot; smooth the pocket in your glove; watch the eyes of the batter, the speed of the bat, the sound of ball on wood. If football is a symphony of movement and theatre, baseball is chamber music, a spacious interlocking of notes, chorus and responses. The passage is mainly concerned with _ . the attraction of baseball One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read: For washing the car .........................................................$5.00 For making my own bed this week ....................................... $1.00 Going to the provision shop ................................................$0.50 Playing with little sister......................................................$0.25 Taking out the rubbish....................................................... $1.00 Getting a good report card................................................ ..$5.00 And for sweeping the common corridor................................... $2.00 Total........................................................................... $14.75 His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment. I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind. So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote : For nine months I carried you, growing inside me .................. No Charge For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you......No Charge For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose ................No Charge When you add it all up, the full cost of my love.......................No Charge Well, when he finished reading, he had big tears in his eyes. He looked at his mother and said, "Mummy, I love you." Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the "bill" "All paid." From the last passage we know that _ the boy realized that it was not right to ask for money for the housework "Homestay is a form of study abroad program. It allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better understand the local lifestyle. It also helps to improve the visitor's language ability,"said a teacher during a school meeting last term. "Students who wish to learn more about foreign cultures or to get foreign experience should join this kind of holiday. I am sure you won't be disappointed ." After this special meeting,I always thought about this kind of holiday. Last month,I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London,a place where I had wanted to go since years ago. As we were still young,we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us. After we got to London,we went to stay with different families. I was lucky that my host family was a white couple who had a daughter about my age. They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there. They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them,too. The holiday was filled with activities every day. After breakfast,a local teacher would come to take us in his car. Then we would have classes or go on a sightseeing trip to different places of interest like the Big Ben,the London Bridge,and the Buckingham Palace. We would go back to our own homes after the activities. The holiday was a valuable experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. Yet,time really flew fast. Three weeks later,we had to leave "home" for Hong Kong. The group leader should _ . take care of the students Several weeks ago, more than 70 American students discussed with American First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House about health problems. The students asked lots of questions that day and Mrs Obama answered them one by one patiently. Then Mrs Obama explained the importance of making healthy choices . _ She told the students that she didn't always feel good about the choices her family was making. Some years ago, when she was working and living with her family in Chicago, Mrs Obama realized she had to make changes in her family's lifestyle. "We were eating out too much, buying a lot of things, and drinking a lot of sugary drinks," she said. So Mrs Obama started talking to her kids about eating healthily and exercising more. Soon they were cooking more, eating fewer desserts, and spending less time watching TV. Mrs Obama realized that making little changes can have a big effect . Mrs Obama said that young people should take care of their own health and their own futures. "Exercise isn't always about sports. It's just about moving," she said. Which is right about Mrs Obama? She thought we didn't have to necessarily do sports , but we should move more. Michelle was a student at University of California, Los Angeles. She is here to tell us how she feels about the city. What were the best things about Los Angeles? One of my favorite things about Los Angeles is the weather. I hate the cold and it never really gets that cold there. Plus, most of the time it's usually sunny, which is good because I love going to the beach during the summer. There's so much to do at the beach, but my favorite thing in L.A. was having a picnic on the sand with my friends. What were the worst things about being there? I disliked having to drive everywhere to get around because the city is so spread out. Los Angeles has a lot of traffic and sometimes it takes a long time to get somewhere close by just because the streets are so crowded. Also, a lot of people complain about the pollution. Did you have any problems there? Just the normal problems of living in any city, like watching out for pickpockets . Some people think Los Angeles has a lot of crime, but I think it's as safe as any other city. Also, many people think driving is difficult because there is a lot of traffic and road rage , but it just takes a little practice and a lot of patience. What are the people like in Los Angeles? There are all types of people in Los Angeles since the city is pretty diverse. For the most part, though, most of the people are friendly, calm and relaxed. Some people say that everyone in Los Angeles is beautiful, but I think that's just a stereotype . Would you go back to Los Angeles? Certainly. Los Angeles is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love the fact that it has all the nightlife and shopping of a big city, but also has access to beaches, parks, mountains and other places you can't usually find in large cities. Between the weather and the beaches and all the fun things to do, it's a great place to be. We learn from the text that _ . Michelle loved the life in Los Angeles
A woman was having some trouble with her heart, so she went to see a doctor. He was a new doctor, and did not know her, so he first asked some questions about her, and one of them was, "How old are you?" "Well," she said, "I don't remember, doctor, but I will try to think." She thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I remember now, doctor! When I married , I was eighteen years old, and my husband was thirty. Now my husband is sixty, I know, and that is twice thirty. So I am twice eighteen. I think I am thirty-six,is it right?" Which is the best title for the passage? Someday a stranger will read your email without your permission or scan the website you have visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits. In fact, it is likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without permission? It might be a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen----- _ stcentury is the equal of being caught naked. Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy and that it is important to reveal yourself to friends, families and lovers at appropriate time and places. But now few boundaries remain. The information you leave everywhere makes it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. Believe it or not, we live in a world where you simply can't keep a secret. The key question is: does that matter? When you ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few refuse to offer personal information like Social Security numbers to get supermarket loyalty cards. But privacy does matter--at least sometimes. It is like health: when you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it is gone do you wish you had done more to protect it. Which of the statements will the psychologists probably agree with? Common indoor plants may prove to be a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. Those plants in your office or home are not only pretty, but NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing possible harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings. NASA have announced the finds of a 2-year study that suggested the common indoor plants may provide a natural way of helping fight against "Sick Building Syndrome ". Research into the use of biological processes as a means of solving environmental problems, both on Earth and in space habitats, has been carried out for many years by Dr. Bill Wloverton, a senior research scientist at NASA. Based on preliminary evaluations of the use of common indoor plants for indoor air purification ,NASA funded a study using about a dozen popular varieties of attractive plants to determine their effectiveness in removing several key pollutants linked with indoor air pollution. NASA research on indoor has found that living plants are so efficient at absorbing pollutants in the air that some will be launched into space as part of the biological life support system aboard future orbiting space stations. While more research is needed, Wolverton says the study has shown that common indoor plants can remove certain pollutants from the indoor environment. "We feel that future results will provide an even stronger argument that common indoor plants can be a very effective part of a system used to provide pollution free homes and work places," he concludes. "Combining nature with technology can increase the effectiveness of plants in removing air pollutants," he said. NASA research has always shown that living, green and flowering plants can remove several poisonous chemicals from the air inside buildings. You can use plant in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make it a more pleasant place to live and work--where people feel better, perform better, and enjoy life more. Why do you think NASA are very interested in indoor plants? There were three brothers. They each decided to find a precious treasure and meet a year later. One year later, the three brothers gathered again. They each _ the treasure they had. The oldest brother brought a telescope. "I found a telescope which can see far away." The second brother brought a flying carpet." I found a flying carpet that can be anywhere." The third brother said." I found an apple that cures all diseases." The brothers were amazed at the treasures they found. "Let's see what we can do with our treasures now." The brothers all nodded. The oldest brother looked through his telescope and saw a palace in the distance. A princess was lying in bed sick. The second opened his carpet and said. "Let's ride this carpet and go to the palace." The three brothers went to the palace on the flying carpet to save the sick princess. The three brothers met the king and told him why they had come. The king said. "If you cure the princess, I will let one of you marry the princess." The youngest brother gave the princess the apple he found. The princess had been sick for a long time, but with one bite of the apple, she was cured. The king hugged the princess with joy. "Okay, as promised, one of you can marry the princess." The brothers each wanted the other to marry the princess. No matter how pretty and princess was, the brothers thought their loyalty was more important. The king was moved and gave them gold and silver and high positions. The three brothers lived happily ever after. Which of the followings is the best title? The yellow-throated longclaw is a bird that lives on the dry savanna of Africa. It looks almost exactly like another bird, the western meadowlark of North America. Although the birds look very similar, they are not even in the same taxonomic family. Scientists think the birds look alike because the two species developed under similar environmental pressures, even though they developed thousands of miles apart. Which process does their development demonstrate?
I met him first in 1936. I rushed into his ugly little shop to have the heels of my shoes repaired. I waited when he did it. He greeted me with a cheerful smile. "You're new in this neighborbood, aren't you?" I said I was. I had moved into a house at the end of the street only a week before. "This is a fine neighborhood," he said. "You'll be happy here." He looked at the leather covering the heel sadly. It was worn through because I had failed to have the repair done a month before. I grew impatient, for I was rushing to meet a friend. "Please hurry," I begged. He looked at me over his spectacles. "Now, lady, we won't be long. I want to do a good job. You see, I have a tradition to live up to." A tradition? In this ugly little shop that was no different from so many other shoe repair shops on the side streets of New York? He must have felt my surprise, for he smiled as he went on. "Yes, lady, I _ a tradition. My father and my grandfather were shoemakers in Italy, and they were the best. My father always told me, 'Son, do the best job on every shoe that comes into the shop, and be proud of your fine work. Do that always, and you'll have both happiness and money enough to live on.'" As he handed me the finished shoes, he said: "These will last a long time. I've used good leather." I left in a hurry. But I had a warm and grateful feeling. On my way home I passed the little shop again. There he was, still working. He saw me, and to my surprise he waved and smiled. This was the beginning of our friendship. It was a friendship that came to mean more and more to me as time passed. Every day I passed his shop, we waved to each other in friendly greeting. At first I went in only when I had repair work to be done. Then I found myself going in every few days just to talk with him. He was the happiest man I've ever known. Often, as he stood in his shopwindow, working at a pair of shoes, he sang in a high, clear Italian voice. The Italians in our neighborhood called him la luce alla finestra--"the light in the window". One day I was disappointed and angry because of poor jobs some painters had done for me. I went into his shop for comfort. He let me go on talking angrily about the poor work and carelessness of present-day workmen. "They had no pride in their work," I said. "They just wanted to collect their money for doing nothing." He agreed. "There's a lot of that kind around, but maybe we should not blame them. Maybe their fathers had no pride in their work. That's hard on a boy. It keeps him from learning something important." He waited a minute and said "Every man or woman who hasn't inherited a prideful tradition must start building one." "In this country, our freedom lets each of us make his own contribution. We must make it a good contribution. No matter what sort of work a man does, if he gives it his best each day, he's starting a tradition for his children to live up to. And he is making lots of happiness for himself." I went to Europe for a few months. When I returned, there was no "light in the window". The door was closed. There was a little sign: "Call for shoes at shop next door." I learned the old man had suddenly got sick and died two weeks before I went away with a heavy heart. I would miss him. But he had left me something--an important piece of wisdom I shall always remember: "If you inherited a prideful tradition, you must carry it on; if you haven't, start building one now." The author was surprised when she heard that the shop had a tradition because the shop _ . Answer: You don't need millions to be happy. In fact, at The Happiness Institute in Australia, a couple of hundred dollars may be enough. The institute opened its doors last year, and, since then, men and women of all ages have been paying A$200 an hour (US$140) for lessons on how to feel great. "You can actually increase your happiness levels. That's what we teach," said Timothy Sharp, founder of the institute. Experts say that only about 15 per cent of happiness comes from income, assets and other financial factors. As much as 85 per cent comes from things such as attitude, life control and relationships. Most of us are significantly better off financially than our parents and grandparents, but happiness levels haven't changed to reflect that. Studies show that once the basic needs of shelter and food are met, additional wealth adds very little to happiness. Many decades ago, the "sage of Baltimore, Maryland", editor HL Mencken, defined wealth as earning US$100 more than your "wife's sister's husband." Behavioral economists now say part of the reason we are richer but not happier is because we compare ourselves to people better off materially. "The argument is that if you want to be happy there's a very simple thing you can do: Compare yourself to people who are less _ than you-- poorer, smaller house, car," said Sharp. The Happiness Institute aims to show you how to overcome these unhappiness factors by focusing on "more than just your bank account." "If I compare myself to Bill Gates then I'm always going to be down," said Sharp. A better thing to compare with, he said, might be Kerry Packer, Australia's richest person who has had a kidney transplant and heart surgery in recent years. The author wrote the passage to tell us _ . Answer: Many years ago,my dad was facing a serious heart condition.He was unable to do a steady job.He fell suddenly ill and had to be admitted to the hospital He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children's hospital.My dad loved kids.It was the perfect job for him.He ended up working with the seriously ill children.He would talk,play, and do arts with them. One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed her from the neck down.She couldn't do anything,and she was very depressed.My dad decided to try to help her.He started visiting her in her room,bringing paints,brushes and paper.He stood the paper up,put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint.He didn't use his hands at a11.All the while he would tell her, "See,you can do anything you set your mind to.'' At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth,and she and my dad became friends.Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her.My dad also left the children's hospital for a little while because he became i11.Some time later after my dad had recovered and returned to work,in came the little girl who had been paralyzed and only this time she was walking.She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight.She gave him a picture she had done using her hands.At the bottom it read:"Thank you for helping me walk.'' My dad would cry every time he told US this story and SO would we.He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctor, and my dad--who died just a few months after the little girl gave the picture--loved every single child in that hospital. The author's father worked at the local hospital to _ . Answer: Mr Smith is a teacher of English.He comes from America.He teaches English in China.He speaks Chinese quite well. He reads a lot of books and his wife often writes books for the students at home.Mr Smith gets up at five in the morning.He leaves home at ten to six.He begins the first lesson at 8:00.He teaches English every day except Saturday and Sunday.At ten to twelve he finishes his lessons.Ten minutes later he has lunch.In the afternoon,he often plays games with his students.Sometimes he teaches his students in his office.Supper time is at about six.After that,he reads newspapers and watches TV.At about ten to eleven he goes to bed. He doesn't have any English classes on _ . Answer: Mobile Phone Manners Mobile phones have changed the way we communicate;they have also brought about problems in phone manners.Gaik Lira, a Singapore-based advice has some advice on phone manners. When dealing with missed calls,the person being.called should return the call."Calls should be returned as soon as possible, and no later than the following day. Anything later than that,and an apology or a reason for the delay should go with the call." Text messages should be kept short and to the point.If they go beyond four or five lines,call or e-mail instead."The use of short forms should be among family members and friends,never in a business situation." Speak in a low voice as if you were talking to someone next to you.If the connection is bad,don't raise your voice in order to be heard,simply move to another place where the connection may be better.And if that doesn't work,tell the caller to call you back or offer to call at a later time. When a conversation is cut off due to a bad connection,the person who started the conversation should call back."It may be inconvenient for the other person to return the call,especially if it's an unlisted number,or an overseas call." When running late for a date or meeting,it is acceptable to text to inform that you'll be delayed.Messages should be apologetic."A message like'Sorry.Will be about 30 mi- nutes late due to flight delay'is considered polite and thoughtful." Taking calls during meetings is only acceptable if you have informed the chairperson that you are expecting an urgent call.If you get an unexpected but urgent call,apologize to those present and offer a quick explanation as to why you have to take that call.Then leave the room to contioue your phone conversation. What should you do if you get an ordinary call during a meeting? Answer:
Handball is a hugely popular sport in Europe and Asia, and it is one of the fastest and most exciting sports in the world.It combines basketball and soccer with the attracting saves of water polo. Handball is played on an indoor court(the size of two basketball courts)and there are goals at each end.There are twelve players on each team,two goal keepers and ten field players,but there is a maximum of one goalkeeper and six field players from each team allowed on the court at any one time.The idea is simple:score more goals than the other team. The ball is made of leather or synthetic material and it must be round.The surface must not be shiny or slippery.The size and weight of the ball varies for male and female teams,and adult and junior teams. Handball has the same free-ranging play as basketball,with all players except the goalkeeper constantly moving from attack to defence.The goalkeeper uses hands, feet,head and body to keep out the other team's shots.The origins of handball are unclear.Many people believe that it developed as a training game for soccer,to be played in the off season,or when it snowing.Now,in countries where handball is popular,players can earn large sums of money,and indoor stadiums seating over ten thousand people sell out regularly.Handball has been played at the Olympics since 1972. The statement,"The idea is simple",emphasizes that in handball the _ . A game has only one purpose B court is clearly marked C players can change positions D goalkeeper is the last defense Answer: A BEIJING--Just as the Chinese people joyfully await the traditional Spring Festival, President Hu Jintao returned here Saturday after successfully concluding a four-day state visit to the United States,which opens a new chapter in cooperative partnership between China and the United States. During his visit,President Hu spared no efforts to make friends,to proclaim China' s philosophy of peaceful development and to express the Chinese people' s willingness to join hands with the world to greet a spring of harmonious development. In Washington,President Hu and his US counterpart,Barack Obama,agreed to build a China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit,and marke d out priorities of the development of China-US relations for the future. Hu met with people from all walks of life in the United States,expounding to them the various policies of the Chinese government and China' s stand on developing China-US ties in the new era. The strengthening of bilateral cooperation and the shaping of a new type of relationship between two great nations will give some enlightenment to the world when tackling regional and international issues,will strengthen the belief of the international communities jointly facing common challenges and will forge a new way for all countries to co-exist harmoniously in a globalized world. During his visit,President Hu stressed that a China-US cooperative partnership should be based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. "Mutual respect and mutual benefit"is not only the keyword in defining China-US relations,but also the principle China honors in the common development with other partners. As a goodwill messenger of a population of 1.3 billion, President Hu' s successful visit will more clearly define the relations between China' s development and the co-prosperity of the world,opening a new chapter in the history of international relations. Which is NOT what President Hu did during the visit? A He met with people from all walks of life in the United States. B He spared no efforts to make friends. C He successfully finished a four-day state visit. D He proclaimed China' s philosophy of peaceful development. Answer: C Once upon a time, there was a cowgirl named Clementine. Orange was her favorite color. Her favorite food was the strawberry. She really liked her Blackberry phone, which allowed her to call her friends and family when out on the range. One day Clementine thought she needed a new pair of boots, so she went to the mall. Before Clementine went inside the mall, she smoked a cigarette. Then she got a new pair of boots. She couldn't choose between brown and red. Finally she chose red, which the seller really liked. Once she got home, she found that her red boots didn't match her blue cowgirl clothes, so she knew she needed to return them. She traded them for a brown pair. While she was there, she also bought a pretzel from Auntie Anne's. What color boots did Clementine buy, and what pair did she end up with? A Orange, Blue B Red, Brown C Blue, Orange D Blue, Red Answer: B A mansion may symbolize the American dream. But the fact is, for most immigrants, the closest one they ever get to is the neighboring bushes. Such is the case with 63-year-old Catalino Tabia, Calif. He's a gardener with a 6'h grade education. He came to America to make his dreams come true, but ended up fulfilling everyone else's."I always wanted to be somebody," Tabia said."But now I just want the opportunity to help others." That is why, not long ago, Tabia started the Bay Area Gardeners Foundation. It's a charity aiming at helping smart kids like Noel Chavez, whose dream was to become the first in his family to graduate from college.Unfortunately, since Noel is still waiting for his citizenship, he's not qualified for financial aid.And after just a few months of going to school full-time and working full-time, he was ready to give in. "I'm working too much. I'm not going to do it. It's impossible. But then you get some help, and that's my break. " The break was a $ 1,500 scholarship from the Gardeners Foundation. In the last two years, the foundation has awarded 13 such prizes to low-income kids, regardless of citizenship. And Tabia plans to give out hundreds more. How does a gardener come up with that kind of cash? "I was thinking and thinking and suddenly, the clients V " he said."That's where the money is coming from. We work for clients with a lot of money. " Tabia and his gardener friends just started knocking on those mansion doors-and the checks have been rolling in ever since. "There might be some gardeners at your graduation," someone said to Noel."I'm sure there will and I'm going to invite them," he replied. Tabia is now hoping this idea catches on with the gardeners around the country. And whether that happens or not, and whether he realizes it or not, Tabia has already finished what he came to America to do-become somebody. The purpose of this text is mainly to_. A tell how a gardener achieved success by helping others B introduce the Bay Area Gardeners Foundation C show the concern of immigrants for education D encourage children to grow up happily Answer: A Hands-on experience is still attractive to many buyers, although online ordering is popular in the UK today. Oxford Street London is shoppers' paradise, and most visitors head for Oxford Street. Halfway along is Sel-fridges, one of the world's first department stores where the architecture and window dressing impress even before you go in. There are at least four other major stores on this street, plus Europe's largest music shop. In December the atmosphere is especially festive because of the Christmas lights which are always lighted by a politician, a great sportsman, or a super star. Kensington High Street A fashionable area for shopping is Kensington High Street. One of its department stores even has a roof garden--good for relaxing between purchases. There's also an organic food superstore. Borough Market You can't visit London and not go to a supermarket. One of the oldest and best for food is probably Borough Market on the south bank of the Thames. Get off the underground at London Bridge and wander among fresh fish stalls, bakeries, and fruit and vegetable sellers. You can also buy specialist food to take away, like cheeses, pork pies, mustard and chutney. More places for bargains Portobello Road on a Saturday is your best choice for jewelry or collector's items. It's a short walk from the subway station at Notting Hill Gate and you never know what you will find. For clothes, Camden Market is the place. It gets a little crowded at the weekends, though. Convent Garden offers great experience for the simple pleasure of looking at jewelry and gifts. Where is this passage probably taken from? A A science book. B A traveler's journal. C A trip guide. D A news report. Answer: C
Li Ming is a runner, he runs for the spring sports on the playground every day.Our school is holding the sports meeting today.Li Ming is in the 1500 Meters'Race.At first he runs very fast,but then he falls on the ground.His left leg is hurt.It is a long way from the end of the race.What will he do? People are looking at him.Li Ming gets up a nd walks the rest of the way.Li Ming doesn't win the race,but he wins a prize for walking. Li Ming's _ is hurt. A. foot B. leg C. arm D. hand Answer: B. leg Many expensive nutrition additives advertised on TV say they can improve your memory. But only ordinary food and healthy habits have been shown to work. A research team from UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) has designed a four-step plan to improve your memory in just 14 days. "It sounds like another advertisement, but it really works," says UCLA psychiatry professor Gary Small. The team found the four-step plan improved memory function in teenagers under stress and older people. After a two-week study that included brain-teasers , exercise and diet changes, test subjects' memories worked more efficiently. Here's the programme: Memory training: Train yourself with brain-teasers, crossword puzzles and memory exercises that train verbal skills throughout the day. Healthy diet: Eat five rather than three meals a day. The food should be rich in omega-3 fats (omega-3), such as whole grains and vegetables that contain antioxidants . Having frequent meals helps increase blood glucose , the primary energy source for the brain. Physical fitness: Have regular physical exercise such as walking, basketball or running, every day. Stress reduction : Perform stretching and relaxation exercises. Stress causes the body to release a chemical that can shrink the memory centres in the brain. Before-and-after brain scans showed that test subjects experienced on average a 5 per cent increase in working memory. This suggests they were using their brains more efficiently. They also performed better on a cognitive test. A control group that didn't follow the plan showed no big changes. "We've known for years that diet and exercise can help people keep their physical health, which is a key part of healthy aging," said Small. "But keeping mental health is just as important. Now we have evidence that people can improve their memories through a programme of memory exercises and stress reduction." Which of the following is NOT helpful to the memory? A. Crossword puzzles. B. Nutrition additives. C. Grains and vegetables. D. Playing basketball and running. Answer: B. Nutrition additives. The other day I heard a few local musicians talking: " I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can't even understand a bit of music." " I'm never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us." But a younger musician said, "There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I'm trying to find other places to play. I'm also looking to book a few summer festivals this year." I've heard that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are. Attitudes are important. Whether they are positive or negative ,they are _ . If you are around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame others, and you play the role of victim , chances are you will start as well. So it's time to take a look at the people you call "friends". This is an easy exercise: make a list of the people who you hand out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard. Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you're looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path." The musicians' words at the beginning are written mainly to show _ . A. the musician's living conditions are quite poor B. People have poor taste in music C. People have different attitudes towards the same thing. D. Young people have greater chances of succeeding Answer: C. People have different attitudes towards the same thing. NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spendall their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares. Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase the effect of painful memories. In November, experts tested a drug on people in the prefix = st1 /USandFrance. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased. The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories. "Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatryat Harvard Medical School. : "This could relieve a lot of that suffering." But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity . They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past. "All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out," said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist We can infer from the passage that_. A. people doubt t he effects of the pills B. the pill will stop people's bad experiences C. taking the pill will do harm to people's health D. the pill has probably been produced in America Answer: A. people doubt t he effects of the pills Targeting teens Using the Web makes teens a target. Posting too much personal information for those millions of cyber eyes to see can cause some big problems and can even invite a threat to your life. As Mary learned, not everyone on the Internet is who he or she says they are. Adults will sometimes pose as other teens, posting fake photos and nice messages to gain trust. They use their fake identity to access the personal information of others, such as home address, phone number, or school name. "That's not the most common scenario ", says David Finkelhor, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire. "Only 3 percent of teens aged 10 to 18 who use the Internet report being asked to meet offline. But the danger is real. Safety measures Mary's My Space profile is set to "private", which means that only the people she adds under the "friend" category can access her page. She also doesn't have any pictures of herself on her site. The only self-identifying material she has posted is her name, grade, and a list of hobbies. "People can only add me if they know my last name or my e-mail, "Mary says. " I don't want random people to see my profile. I just go online to talk to my friends." Stay safe and have fun online Experts say almost 90 percent of U.S. teens are online. But not everyone knows how to surf the Web in a smart way. With these tips, you can have fun, stay safe, and avoid embarrassment! Pick a safe password. Make sure your password is something that other people won't be able to guess. Use numbers in between letters. "spar123ky" is better than "sparky 123." Pick a safe username. Make sure yours doesn't say too much about you, "Happygirl13" is better than "AliceWaters13." Don't include your name, age, or where you are from. Never tell a stranger your name, school, address, age, birthday, phone number, or friends' names. In Mary's opinion, _ . A. one shouldn't trust everyone online B. one shouldn't trust anyone online C. there are many liars online D. all people online pretend to be others Answer: A. one shouldn't trust everyone online
Below is a selection about interesting hotels. Tayka Hotel de Sal Where: Tahua, Bolivia How much: About $95 a night Why it's cool: You've stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That's something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt-including the beds (though you'll sleep on regular mattresses and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake which is the world's biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks. Green Magic Nature Resort Where: Vythiri, India How much: About $240 a night Why it's cool: Taking a pulley -operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just that start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window, there is no glass! You watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy . Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don't even have to come down for breakfast-the hotel will send it up on the pully-drawn "elevator". Dog Bark Park Inn B&B Where: Cottonwood, Idaho How much: $92 a night Why it's cool: This doghouse isn't just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side.You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft in Willy's head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside. Gamirasu Cave Hotel Where:Ayvali, Turkey How much :Between $130 and $450 a night Why it's cool: Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool in summer. (Don't worry- there is heat in winter.) What do we know about Tayka Hotel de Sal? A. It is located on a prehistoric lake. B. It should be protected against the rain. C. Everything in the hotel is made of salt. D. You have to cross a rope bridge to the hotel. Answer: C People who enjoy a dream-filled sleep are better at recalling information and making links between facts when they wake, scientists found. But recharging with a shallow nap offers no such mental improvement, the research suggests. The results of the study add to the evidence that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is very important to the brain's ability to strengthen memories. An average night's sleep includes four or five periods of REM sleep, but these tend to be longer towards the end of the night. This means that adults who get less than the recommended seven to eight hours a night -- and therefore inadequate REM sleep -- may be damaging their mind's ability to form strong memories. Although REM sleep is not classified as a type of deep sleep, it is only reached after the brain has passed through deep sleep stages. In the most recent study, participants were shown groups of three words -- such as "cookie", "heart", and "sixteen" -- and asked to find another word that can be associated with all three words. In this example, the answer would have been "sweet". They were tested once in the morning and then given the same task again in the afternoon. In between, some were allowed a nap with REM sleep, some a nap without REM sleep, while the others had a quiet rest period. The quiet rest and non-REM sleep groups showed no improvement in their test results, but the REM sleep group improved on their morning performance by an average of almost 40 percent. Dr Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher at the University of California who led the study, believes the formation of connections between previously unassociated information in the brain -- which leads to creative problem-solving -- is encouraged by mental changes which occur during REM sleep. People woken while their closed eyes made rapid movements recalled much more color1ful and detailed dreams than people woken during other stages of sleep. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? A. To explain the importance of REM sleep to one's memories. B. To introduce the new study on sleep and memories. C. To discuss the relationship between sleep and memories. D. To persuade readers to sleep seven to eight hours at night. Answer: B I may not be the wisest person on this planet.but I will tell you a little secret to happiness:Help other,,and live life.It is that simple.Just help a friend study for a test,or volunteer at a nursing home .I learned this after a long,hard search. I was feeling really down because my long4ime friend had died.Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day every Saturday.My routine was to serve the meal and clean up.After that,I would wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do. One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right.In the room I found a boy of eight sitting in his bed watching a movie.I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old.He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him.He motioned for me to sit down.I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness. We started to talk,and I found out that his family rarely visited,and all he did ever7 day was watch TV.I wanted to cry for him,and for my lost friend.As we talked,he had a smile on his face,and I asked him why. "The entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile.With this horrible disease,how do you still manage to stay happy?" He thought for a moment,and then said that too many people are dead even before they die. They walk around feeling that God has cursed them and that they have nothing to live for. The boy said that he would not be like that.He wakes every morning thankful to see another sunrise.He keeps his window open so that he can smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun.He also said that he has hope. "Too many people haven't seen much of that around here," he said," Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone." I don't know what happened to him.I assume he passed away,but his lesson lives on.I now wake up and live each day to the fullest.The key to life is not money or fame,but the lessons we learn from it. The boy stayed happy mainly due to _ . A. wonderful TV programs B. his positive attitude C. good medical condition D. others' encouragement Answer: B A lot of people in the world eat fast food.When you go into a fast food shop, you can see many people are enjoying their meals there.But which country people like fast food best? Do you know? A survery says : The English people are the biggest fans of fast food in the world, but the French people are the least interested in fast meals. The survey of thirteen countries shows :45% of the English people say they can't live without fast food, because it's delicious.44% of Americans and 37% of Canadians say the same. The French people ,they have their own delicious and high-class _ , so thy don't like fast food.81% of them think it is not healthy, and 75% of the Japanese think so too. How about the Chinese? How often do you have hamburgers or fried chicken?Do you like Western fast food or Chinese food.The most important thing is to keep a healthy diet. From the survey we know _ like fast food best. A. the Chinese B. the French C. the Japanese D. the English Answer: D With the rapid progress of technology, the English language is changing fast. All the people have to face a choice: either ignore the development of the language and spend the rest of our lives wishing Shakespeare were alive, or keep pace with the Internet age, welcoming the new English which someone has once called Weblish. "you can't avoid it for the simple reason that wherever a new language comes along, it surely impacts the language as a whole," says Dr David Crystal, a famous language professor at the University of Wales. However, there is great trouble with keeping up with the new English because there are so many new words and the old ones no longer mean what we thought they did. In the past if someone said they didn't have "Windows", you would have to suppose they lived in a cave without windows. But now, it is probably because they use a Mac, which is a computer. Spam, which once meant a not-so-good-kind of canned meat, now stands for unwanted "junk " email. Spelling is changing too. Weblish loves to see nouns happily become verbs ( for example, "Please bookmark this site"), and verbs become nouns ("Send me the download").Verbs and prepositions are regularly thrown together to become new nouns or adjectives(for example, dial-up, logon, print-out, pull-down, upload), while others are created from a simple pairing of nouns: cyberspace, ethernet, Internet, hyperlink, metatag and netspeak. The best title for this passage would be " _ ". A. Technology and English B. Keep Up with the Latest Weblish C. Don't Forget English D. The Advantage and Disadvantages of Weblish Answer: B
Question: A switch is used to stop the flow of currents which causes Joule heating in A. thermostat B. solar energy C. magnetic fields D. electrical circuit. Answer: D Question: Able was the owner of Blackacre, an undeveloped city lot. Able and Baker executed a written document in which Able agreed to sell Blackacre to Baker and Baker agreed to buy Blackacre from Able for $100,000; the document did not provide for an earnest money down payment. Able recorded the document, as authorized by statute. Able orally gave Baker permission to park his car on Blackacre without charge prior to the closing. Thereafter, Baker frequently parked his car on Blackacre. Another property came on the market that Baker wanted more than Blackacre. Baker decided to try to escape any obligation to Able. Baker had been told that contracts for the purchase and sale of real property require consideration and concluded that because he had made no earnest money down payment, he could refuse to close and not be liable. Baker notified Able of his intention not to close and, in fact, did refuse to close on the date set for the closing. Able brought an appropriate action to compel specific performance by Baker. If Able wins, it will be because A. Baker's use of Blackacre for parking constitutes part performance. B. general contract rules regarding consideration apply to real estate contracts. C. the doctrine of equitable conversion applies. D. the document was recorded. Answer: B Question: There are millions of used cell phones in the world today, the most of them just lay in our houses without any purpose. Everyday dozens of new cell phone models appeared. _ But what to do with the old phones, which work well enough and not so old? Just get some money! Simply Sellular is buying almost all models of cell phones: LG, Motorola, HP, Siemens, Samsung, Sanyo, Nokia and many others cell phones. Also they accept phones produced in every country, and in every condition. Simply Sellular can offer a good prince for your old cell phone in cash. Their mission is giving you a simple way to get money for an old phone, as simple and profitable , as it's possible. Also they offer a trade-in scheme to get another model instead of your phone, providing a good service after the sale. Also Simply Sellular works with the so-called 911 cell phone program. So you can donate your cell phone to them to help some people who need it. They know what to do with your old phone! You can be interested in their recycling programs, where every used cell phone could be easily recycled for a few time. Some phones, which are good for refurbish , Simply Sellular donates to people who need it, for example women or military personnel. If the refurbish is impossible they just recycle cell phones. Just think a minute: it's a good deal to get some money for your old cell phone, good deal to help somebody with your phone and really important to recycle all techniques after use. Working with Simply Sellular you get every possibility ly free. And they will pay to you! That's a really god deal! This passage is written aiming to _ . A. warn people of the risks by using cell phones B. introduce to us that to do with old cell phones C. advise people not to change cell phones frequently D. encourage us to keep up with new technologies Answer: B Question: The word advertising refers to any kind of public announcement that brings products and services to the attention of people.Throughout history, advertising has been an effective way to promote the trading and selling of goods.In the Middle Ages,merchants employed "town criers" to read public messages aloud to promote their goods.When printing was invented in the fifteenth century, pages of advertisements (ads) could be printed easily and were either hung in public places or put in books. By the end of the seventeenth century, when newspapers were beginning to be read by more people, printed materials became an important way to promote products and services.The London Gazette was the first newspaper to set aside a place just for advertising. _ was so successful that by the end of the century several companies started businesses for the purpose of making newspaper ads for merchants. Advertising spread quickly throughout the eighteenth century.Ad writers were starting to pay more attention to the design of the ad text.Everything,from clothes to drinks,was promoted with clever methods such as repetition of the firm's name or product, words organized in eye-catching patterns,the use of pretty pictures and expressions easy to remember. Near the end of the nineteenth century, companies that were devoted to the production of ads came to be known as "advertising agencies " . The agencies developed new ways to get people to think of themselves as members of a group.Throughout the twentieth century, advertising agencies promoted consumerism as a way of life,spreading the belief that people could be happy only if they bought the "right" products. What was advertising like in the Middle Ages? A. Merchants were employed to promote products. B. Ad messages were shouted out in public places. C. Product information was included in books. D. Ad signs were put up in towns. Answer: B Question: Suzhou is an old city with a long history. The city is very clean and has fresh air. There are a lot of nice gardens in Suzhou and Suzhou gardens are famous in the world. When you enjoy the beauty in the gardens, you will feel very peaceful and happy. Besides (......) the gardens, Suzhou silk is also very famous. On the streets, you can see many silk shops. You should buy some beautiful silk scarves because they are really beautiful. Suzhou food is so sweet and some people may not like it. But you can have different kinds of foods here. Suzhou is close to Shanghai. It takes about only one hour from Suzhou to Shanghai by bus. The traffic is very convenient here. Welcome to Suzhou! You will have a good time here. How far is it from Suzhou to Shanghai? A. Two hours' bus ride. B. Two hours' ride on the train. C. One hour's bus ride. D. One hour's ride on the underground. Answer: C
Does solving a math problem give you a headache? Do you feel nervous when you sit a math exam? For most students, math can be tough but scientists have proved that math problems can actually trigger physical pain. Scientists came to his conclusion with an in-depth experiment, which was published in the Public Library of Science One journal. They began by finding out how much participants fear math. Those involved were asked a series of questions such as how they feel when they receive a math textbook or when they walk into a math lesson. Based on their answers, participants were divided into groups. One group was made up of people who were particularly afraid of math and participants in the other group were more comfortable with the subject. Both groups were then given either math tasks or word tasks. When a math task was going to come next, a yellow circle would appear but when a word task was soon to come, a blue square would be shown. Using a brain-scan machine, scientists noticed that whenever people from Group One saw a yellow circle, their brain would respond in a way similar to when their body is feeling pain. It was like the pain they would fee, for example, if they burnt their hand on a hot stove. But they reacted less strongly when they knew that they would be faced with a word task. However, scientists saw no strong brain response from people in the second group. Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMA), math is associated with tension, apprehension and fear. "When you are really thinking about the math problems, your mind is racing and you are worrying about all the things that could go wrong," explained Ian Lyons from University of Chicago, US, leader of the study. "The higher a person's anxiety of a maths task, the more he activated brain regions associated with threat detection, and the experience of pain." More interestingly, the brain activity disappeared when participants actually started dealing with the math tasks. "This means that it's not that math itself hurts; rather, the anticipation of math is painful," Lyons said. Based on the study, scientists suggested that things could be done to help students worry less and move past their fear of math, which might mean they perform better in tests. In the first stage, scientists ask participants some questions to _ . Answer: find out how much they fear math of pain As nanny , cook, cleaner, shopper, driver, and gardener, she has one of the most demanding jobs in Britain today. And paying someone else to do the chores which take the average housewife 71 hours a week would cost EUR349. At over EUR18,000 a year that's more than the earnings of 70 percent of the population, including train drivers, firemen, prison officers, and social worker. Looking after a baby less than a year old takes a housewife into a even higher pay league. According to a stud, she earns EUR457 a week - at nearly EUR24,000 a year, the same as teachers, engineers, and chemists. Researchers put a price on each chore, then tried to find out how long the average person takes doing them. They found housewives spend an average 70.7 hours a week on housework - with looking after the children (17.9hours) and cooking and cleaning (12.9 hours each) the most time-consuming . A wife with a part-time job still works and average of 59 hours a week at home. Those in full-time employment put in longer hours at home than in the workplace. The good news is that these hours sharply as children get older. While the average mother with child under one puts in 90 hours weekly, the figure drops to 80 hours from one to four and to 66 hours from five to ten. Mother-of-four Karen Williams from London said, "Paying the housewives may not be practical, but the government should recognize the value of housework, perhaps through the tax. Running a house takes a lot of time and most husbands don't understand this. For example, my husband only puts a shelf up now and again. He never cleans the kitchen - that's the real test." By mentioning her husband, Karen Williams wants to show that _ . Answer: housework is no easy job Google works miracles Google is a daily miracle to millions of people. You can type almost anything into the space provided, and soon it wil come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of references . It is said that you can get into billions of websites through Google. Yahoo becomes giant Yahoo was the first wonder of the Web, and in many parts, it still is. It started in January 1994 when two Californian graduate students, Jerry Yang and David Filo, started building a database of links , mainly for their personal use. Well before the end of the year, it had become known as the Yahoo we know today. Ebay enables everyone to buy and sell Ebay, which carries out online auctions , is one of the most important Internet companies. It has, for example, opened up a global marketplace in which people from Beigjing, San Francisco, Moscow or Buenos Aires can bid against each other for products (new or old )put up auction by someone in London. Amazon makes buying a new experience For regular users, amazon has made itself the shortest possible path between wanting and buying. With amazon you can get something more cheaply and perhaps more quickly. The search engine and one-click ordering system let you find and order something in seconds.But this is not the whole story. Amazon also uses technology very cleverly to keep you on the site, and to make you buy more. From this passage ,we know that Yahoo was first started _ . Answer: in 1994 An Earth year is the length of time it takes for Answer: Earth to revolve once around the Sun Once upon a time there were two smart boys. Their talents were obvious from an early age. They knew they were special, and they desired that, in the future, everyone would admit how great they were. They developed in a different way. The first boy had a successful career. He took part in all kinds of competitions, visited the most important people and places. No one doubted that he would be the wisest and most important person in the land. The second boy always felt a heavy responsibility. He would feel _ to help others. This didn't leave him enough time to follow his dreams of greatness. He was busy looking for ways to help others. As a result, he was a much-loved and well-known person in his small circle. A disaster took place, spreading misery there. The first man had never come across anything like this, and he failed to improve the situation. The second man was used to solving all kinds of problems, and had such useful know-how in certain subjects. So the disaster hardly affected the people at all. His methods were adopted there, and the name of this man spread even wider. Indeed, he was elected the governor of the nation. The first man understood the greatest wisdom is from the things we do in life, from the impact we have on others, and from the need to improve ourselves. He never again took part in competitions. Instead, he always took books with him to be ready to help others. What can we learn about the two young men? Answer: Both of them tried hard to deal with the disaster.
This is a new picture. There are four boys and three girls in the room. They are all students. The boy on the desk is Jim. The girl near the window is Kate. Jim's sister Jane is on the chair. Ann and Mike are at the door. Mike's brother Sam is under the table. Where is Tom? Oh, he is over there, near the door. They are all very happy. Where are Ann and Mike? A They are on the teacher's desk B They are near the window. C They are under the bed. D They are at the door. Answer: D. They are at the door. Let's Learn More about Each Other Are the lives of city kids the same as those in villages? In many ways, they are very different. But what are the differences? Hu Peng of Wuhan and four friends decided to find them out. Earlier this month, they lived for a week in Caidian, a village near Wuhan. Hu and his friends went door to door in Caidian and asked the kids there lots of questions. They wanted to learn more about village kids' everyday lives, so they asked these questions like --Do your parents teach you how to do housework? How much money do you usually spend on dinner? What would you do if a thief came into your house? They also asked 150 city kids the same questions.What's the Difference? Last week the team gave a report to their class. There are lots of differences between children's lives in cities and those in villages. The biggest difference is independence. Hu's team said that 60 percent of city kids couldn't do much housework, but 90 percent of village kids could care for themselves. City kids told Hu they cared about school a lot, and they had no time for washing clothes or making their beds. Village kids said they helped their parents with housework a lot. They cooked, did some cleaning and fed animals. Hu's team also found that village kids had less pocket money . Many never used computers. They played in rivers or on mountains. Some didn't really like to make new friends. Hu and his friends said their trip gave them more self-confidence because they were doing something by themselves. But _ also made them a little worried because they saw they still had a lot to learn. "When we grow up, our parents can't take care of us," said Hu. "We have to learn to take care of ourselves." Shen Guanquan, one of Hu's friends said, "When children learn to care for themselves, they learn to do lots of things." They found that most village kids _ . A had no time for their study B didn't care much about school C helped their parents with housework a lot D had much pocket money Answer: C. helped their parents with housework a lot Tips for Getting the Most out of a "Photo walk" Photo walks are a great way to get out and get clicking, either by yourself, with a couple of friends, or with a group of people. They can be wonderful for seeing a neighborhood or wild space with new eyes, getting inspired to be more creative with angles and subjects, as well as simply spending time with fun people. Here are a few tips for making sure you get the most out of a photo walk. Pick a spot with lots of interest A photo walk is a perfect excuse to go exploring a new area. However, if you've never been to the scene before, you might be disappointed at the final photos. Base your chosen spot on what you feel like photographing---whether that is buildings, people, busy streets, a festival, nature and so on, and make sure the place you're heading for is filled with what you most want to shoot. It will pay off in a satisfying walk if you research your chosen spot beforehand and know what to expect. Invite anyone, no matter what their skill level is You'll be surprised at what you learn from people who seem to know nothing about photography. Even with a simple camera, they can catch some outstanding photos. So bring Aunt Betty or your 10-year-old nephew or anyone else whose company you might enjoy on a walk and keep an open mind. Don't forget them Be sure to take the important small things, such as an extra memory card (or two), an extra fully charged battery, comfortable shoes and clothing. And remember a notepad and pen for taking down notes about places, times, conditions, the names and information of people you meet and any other information you might want to remember about certain shots. Keep an eye out for danger Apart from watching the sky for rain, you'll want to watch out for other people as well. Smartphones are always a target for thieves but they have become much clearer about the value of digital cameras. Don't make yourself a target by standing for a very long time holding your camera out in front of you. If you're in an area that is really busy or you aren't super comfortable, then just be careful about when to use your camera. Imagine your shot in your head before holding up your camera, or use a camera belt wrapped around your wrist or shoulder. You are supposed to hold the camera around your wrist or shoulder in case _ . A it is stolen by a thief B it gets wet in the rain C it loses some information D it falls down on the ground Answer: A. it is stolen by a thief During the 15 days from New Year's Eve to Lantern Festival , Beijing was affected by haze .Do you know what the haze is ? Today I will introduce it to you . Haze is air pollution in which is mixed up with dust, smoke and other dry particles (,),and it covers our blue sky ,so we can't see sunny days. It often happens in winter and spring. The haze brings much trouble to people's lives. On the road many traffic accidents happened because people can not see clearly. The haze is _ to our health. People also have to go to see the doctor because of the poisonous air caused by the haze. As students, we must tell our friends and family members to go to work or school with the public traffic, such as the bus and the underground and BRT .Also we should plant more trees and develop green and energy to reduce the haze. According to me, I will go to school by bike or on foot, and I won't throw the waste anywhere . It may take about 20 years to solve the problems caused by the haze .I believe the environment will get better and better and haze weather will vanish completely with the help of new technology. When does it often happen ? A Summer and autumn B Winter and summer C Winter and spring D All year round Answer: C. Winter and spring If you want to help children develop language and speech skills, UCLA researchers say, listening to what they have to say is just as important as talking to them. The effect of a conversation between a child and an adult is about six times as great as the effect of adult speech input alone, the researchers found. "Adults speaking to children helps language develop, but what matters much more is the interaction," said the study' s lead author, Frederick Zimmerman, an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers also found that TV viewing didn' t have much of an effect -- positively or negatively -- as long as it wasn' t displacing conversations between an adult and a child. The UCLA study included 275 families with children between 2 months and 48 months old. They represented a variety of incomes and education. The researchers found that, in an average day, children hear about 13,000 spoken words from adults and participated in about 400 adultchild conversations a day. Assessed separately, factors positively associated with language development included each additional 100 conversations a day and each 1,000 word increase in the number of words spoken by adults and heard by children. When looked at alone, TV was negatively associated with language development. But, when the three factors were analyzed together, the only one that stood out was conversation between adults and children. "The more a child speaks and interacts with an adult, the better idea a parent has about where the child is," Zimmerman said. "Although it' s mostly done unconsciously, parents will provide feedback and correct mistakes. They'll also _ their speech to the child. Parents can give a child words by talking to them about what they' re doing, such as, 'I'm putting on your pajamas now'. But give your child the opportunity to talk, hopefully without the rest of the noise in the environment," she added. "If parents can carve out some conversation time -- maybe at bath time or at dinner time -- that' s a wonderful thing." The researchers also found that TV viewing _ . A could have a positive effect on a child's language development B had a little effect on a child' s language development C affected a child's language development more negatively than positively D affected a child's language development both negatively and positively Answer: B. had a little effect on a child' s language development
Mary had a nice summer vacation last year. She went to Hawaii in July. Mary likes fruits, and the Hawaiian bananas and oranges were great. The weather was very fine, but sometimes it rained heavily. On Monday she went to the museum. It was an interesting place and not very crowded . On Tuesday she went to the mountains. On Wednesday she visited an old friend. They went to the movies in the evening. The movie was so funny that they laughed again and again. On vacation she felt like she she was a flying bird! The vacation cost her about 600 dollars, but Mary had a fun time. Why did Mary laugh when they saw the movie in that evening? Because the movie was very interesting. Dear Linda, I have been in England three months now, and it's my first time to be here. I hope you don't think I've forgotten you. There have been so many places to see and so many things to do that I've not had much time for writing letters. I shall soon be starting my studies at King's College. So far I've been learning about England and British ways of living. I won't tell you about London. There are plenty of books you can read and plenty of pictures you can look at. I'm sure you'll be more interested to know what I think about the life here. I find some of the customs new and interesting. People here do not shake hands as much as we do in Europe. During the first few weeks I was often surprised because people did not put out their hands when I met them. Men raise their hats to women but not to each other. Yours Alice She has _ . a little time to write letters Isabella Stewart was born in New York City in 1840. Her father made a great deal of money in trade. During school,her parents took her to Italy to explore the country's many cultural treasures. One of the private art collections Isabella visited in Milan had a deep influence on her. She wrote to her friends about her dream of owning a house one day with an art collection like the one she had seen in Italy. In Paris, Isabella became a close friend of one of her classmates, Julia Gardner, whose family was from Boston. Julia would later introduce Isabella to her brother, Jack. In 1860, Isabella Stewart married Jack Gardner. The couple had too much art to fit inside their home. So they decided to start planning a museum. Mrs. Gardner didn't like the cold and empty spaces of many museums during her time. She wanted a warm museum filled with light. She once said that she decided years ago that _ . America was a young country developing quickly in other areas. But the country needed more chances for people to see beautiful examples of art. After her husband's death in 1898, Isabella knew she had no time to lose in building her museum. She bought land, hired a building designer, and supervised every detail of her museum's construction. Mrs. Gardner opened her museum on January 1,1903. The museum was then called Fenway Court. She invited her friends that night for a special musical performance. The next month, she opened the museum to the public. At first, visits were limited to twenty days out of the year. Visitors paid one dollar to enter. Isabella Stewart Gardner died in 1924 in Boston. In her will, she left the museum a million dollars and a series of requirements about how it should be managed. One requirement is that the permanent collection cannot be changed. In order to achieve her dream of owning an art museum, Mrs. Gardner _ . watched over the process of building the museum Jesse was a great teacher, tutor, mentor, and family member. He was a dedicated volunteer in the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa. He went to a place where he knew he could make a difference and wanted to help teach children who otherwise would not have a teacher. He made friends wherever he went and touched the hearts of many. Jesse was never one to go anywhere without making a good impression on everyone he met. His sudden death in a tragic car accident in Africa brought his family and friends together in a celebration of his life. They came from all over: Africa, Canada, the US. The church was filled with people who knew that Jesse had made a difference in their lives, in the lives of the children, and in the hearts of his loved ones. Jesse volunteered with the Peace Corps to help educate children in Guinea, Africa. Guinea is a very poor and complex country where tribalism is strong. Each tribe that Jesse worked with wanted him to commit to one or the other. Jesse would not surrender to tribalism when he took an African name, and he wanted a tribal last name. Each of the two tribes in which he taught insisted that he choose their name. He would not choose but married the tribes' two names into one. Jesse was a light to all who knew him. We will always remember the joy and love he brought to his work, to his family, his friends. The people who loved Jesse are planning to build a school in Guinea in his honor. So his work continues... The writer wrote this passage _ . in memory of the teacher A student uses a telescope to view stars at night. The student notices some of the stars are different colors. The color of a star is determined most by its temperature.
In today's world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people's health. However, not all people know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and this is harmful to people's health, too. People who work and live under noisy conditions usually become deaf today. However, scientists believe that 10 percent of workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers who print newspapers and books, and who weave cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old persons, for these young people like to listen to pop music and pop music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet planes or machines will make people ill or even drive them mad. It is said a continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness. Now the government in many countries have made laws to control noise and make it less than 85 decibels. In China, the government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also noise problems. Ten percent of the workers in Britain are being deafened because _ . A. they are working in noisy places B. they often listen to pop music C. they are busy in listening to other's talk D. they live near airports Answer: A Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer. One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball . He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room. Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin. On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forget Merlin's grand entrance for a long time! Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to _ . A. impress the party guests B. arrive at the party sooner C. test his invention D. show his skill in walking on wheels Answer: A Everyone takes drugs.Sometimes a drug might be called a herb but the effect is the same.Drugs and herbs can make life better for they are used to improve health.From the simplest headache to a cure for cancer, people believe that certain drugs can help them.But there is danger if the drugs are not used in a proper way. American teenagers sometimes use certain drugs to feel good.They call this "getting high".The problem is that once a young man or a young woman has the feeling of"getting high",they want to do it often.If school is boring or too hard,students might get depressed and a drug or herb might help them feel better.If the student takes too much of a drug,the body may change in a wrong way such as a confused mind,poor sight,a headache,and an uncomfortable stomach. Schools now have D.A.R.E.program which means Drug Abuse Resistance Education.This program was started so that young students from age 10 to 18 might understand how a drug affects their bodies.The main point of the program is education.Once a student understands certain drugs can cause ill health,he will know he should not use them. Education is the key to good nutrition as well.If a student eats correctly,he or she will be full of energy which leads to good study habits and good grades.Poor nutrition may cause the need for more sleep and poor concentration.Proper food is similar to the proper use of drugs.Both allow a healthy body to grow while misuse of them prevents a person from developing normally. We can infer from the passage that_. A. drug abuse is a common phenomenon in prefix = st1 /America B. poor grades is the main reason for drug abuse. C. good eating habit may help students keep away from drugs D. teenagers al ways need to seek for excitement Answer: C Most people make their living with their hands, but Bob makes his living with his feet. Bob's story began in a small city of England. His family was poor. Seven people lived in a small house. Bob had no place to play but on the street. Kids in the city like playing football very much. Little Bob wanted to play football, too. So his father made a soft ball for him to kick. It was a sock full of old cloth. He kicked it every day. At last ,Bob learned how to kick a real football. And after a few years, he could play football very well. ,. Which of the following is TRUE? A. Bob was born in a small village. B. Bob's house was very big. C. There were eight people in the family. D. Little Bob played on the street. Answer: D SYDNEY--- An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world"---- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months. The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars ($105,000) and includes free airfares from the winner's home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland's state government announced on Tuesday. In return, the island caretaker will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks"----- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo dairies and video updates. The successful applicant, who will stay rent-free in a three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf cart, must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English. "They also have to talk to media from time to time about what they are doing so they can't be too shy and they'll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors," said acting state Premier Paul Lucas. "The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world. " Lucas said that the campaign was part of a drive to protect the state's 18 billion Australian dollar a year tourism industry during th tough economic climate caused by the global financial meltdown. "Traditional tourism advertising just doesn't cut it sometimes and we are thinking outside the box by launching this campaign." Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said some people might question whether it was risky to let an unknown person become an unofficial tourism spokesperson for the state. "I think the biggest risk will be that the successful candidate won't want to go home at the end of the six months," she said. "This is a legal job which is open to anyone and everyone." Applications are open until February 22, 2009. Eleven shortlisted candidates will be flown to Hamilton Island in early May for the final selection process and the six month contract will commence on July 1. What is the main purpose of this news report? A. To inform the public of the best job in the world. B. To show the world how beautiful the island is. C. To further promote the Great Barrier Reef. D. To encourage more people to move to Australia. Answer: C
Buck did not read the newspapers,or he would have known that trouble was coming,not only for himself,but for every big dog,strong of muscle and with long,warm hair in California.Men had found gold in the Yukon,and these men wanted big,strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north. Buck lived at a big house in the sunkissed Santa Clara valley.Judge Miller's place,it was called.There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house,and a river nearby.In a big place like this,of course,there were many dogs.There were house dogs and farm dogs,but they were not important.Over this great land Buck ruled.Here he was born and here he had lived the four years of his life.He was not so large--he weighed only one hundred and forty pounds.But he had saved himself by not becoming a mere housedog.Hunting and outdoor delights had kept down the fat and hardened his muscles.He went swimming with Judge Miller's sons,and walking with his daughters.He carried the grandchildren on his back,and he sat at Judge Miller's feet in front of the warm library fire in winter.During the four years,he had a fine pride in himself which came of good living and universal respect.He was king of Judge Miller's place. But this was 1897,and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to northwest Canada to look for gold.And he did not know that Manuel,one of the gardener's helpers,was in bad need of money for his hobby of gambling and for his large family.One day,the Judge was at a meeting and the boys were busy organizing an athletic club.No one saw Manuel and Buck go off on what Buck imagined was merely an evening walk.Only one man saw them arrive at the railway station.This man talked to Manuel,and gave him some money.Then Manuel tied a piece of rope around Buck's neck. Buck had accepted the rope with quiet dignity .He had learned to trust in men he knew and to give them credit.But when the ends of the rope were placed in the stranger's hands,Buck roared,and was surprised when the rope tightened around his neck,shutting off his breath.In extreme anger,he jumped at the man.The man caught him and suddenly Buck was thrown over on his back.Then the rope tightened cruelly while Buck struggled,his tongue out of his mouth.Never in all his life had he been so badly treated.Never in all his life had he been so angry.For a few moments he was unable to move,and it was easy for the two men to put him into the train. When Buck woke up,the train was still moving.The man was sitting and watching him,but Buck was too quick for him and he bit the man's hand hard.Then the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let go. That evening,the man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco.The barman looked at the man's hand and trousers covered in blood. "How much are they paying you for this?"he asked. "Only get fifty dollars." "And the man who stole him--how much did he get?"asked the barman. "A hundred.He wouldn't take less." "That makes a hundred and fifty.It's a good price for a dog like him." Buck spent that night in a cagelike box.He could not understand what it all meant.What did they want with him,these strange men?And where were Judge Miller and the boys? The next day Buck was carried in the box to the railway station and put on a train to the north. What is the writer's attitude towards Buck? A Regretful. B Critical . C Positive. D Indifferent . Answer: C. Positive. Psychiatrists who work with older parents say that maturity can be an advantage in child raising--older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, decreasing energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents' biggest, and often unspoken fear. "Having late-life children often means parents, particularly fathers, end up retiring much later. For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream." says Brandy Gabrielle, an economics professor. Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he's also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps to keep up his energy. "My body is aging," says Metcalf. "You can't get away from that." Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. "They worry they'll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school," says Joann Gals, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: "that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their children," she says. Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of pregnancy treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband, Randy, had twins. "We both wanted children," says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years -- a sense of family. Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. "The dads are older, more mature," says Dr. Silber, "and more ready to focus on parenting." According to Brandy Gabrielle, what can we know about old parents? A They support and protect their children at the cost of their lives. B They can get retired earlier to educate their children. C They have to go on working beyond their retirement age. D They attach more importance to work rather than child raising. Answer: C. They have to go on working beyond their retirement age. One day, a man found the cocoon of a butterfly and he brought it home. A few days later, the man saw a small hole in the cocoon. He sat and watched for several hours as a butterfly struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it stopped. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a knife and cut a bigger hole in the cocoon. The butterfly came out of the cocoon but it had a weak body and small, thin wings. The butterfly didn't start to fly. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a weak body and thin wings. It was never able to fly. The man acted with kindness but he didn't understand that he had done something wrong. When a butterfly crawls out of the cocoon, it must struggle. The hard work of getting out of the cocoon forces the fluid from the butterfly's body into wings. It helps the butterfly be ready to fly. If the butterfly never has to force itself out of the cocoon, its wings never get the fluid and it can never fly. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we lived our lives without any problems, we would never learn or grow. We would not be as strong as we could have been and we would never fly. So, the next time you are faced with a challenge or a problem, remember the butterfly. Struggle a little - then fly! Which is the best title for the passage? A The Old Man and the Butterfly B Life Struggle C How To Help a Butterfly Fly D Kindness and Rush Answer: B. Life Struggle It's high time someone spoke up for today's college students. They're probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated. People like the Secretary of Education simply don't know what they're talking about when they knock students. Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards. The vast majority of the nation's 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations. They are part of the invisible workforce. Many hold down full-time jobs. They're frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables. The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event. The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools. Why are the traditional courses so unpopular? Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers? Answer: Today's working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things. Romance is gone. The notion of transforming one's self through study alone has disappeared. Today's students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job. There are other consequences. Today's students don't have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework. That's the secret behind falling academic standards. Students have become consumers. They want grades and certifications. Their professors can't be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills. There's a lot wrong with this situation. It's twisting the definition of education out of shape. Worse, it's creating a generation that is totally unpleasant. The brightest students turn out to be yuppies . The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates. The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study. What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one's formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support. If families can't or won't give it to their children, then the government should. The author's purpose in writing this article is to _ . A awaken the whole society to the problems today's college students face B warn Americans that academic standards are falling C advise college students to study hard D provide a suggestion that only full-time students be enrolled Answer: A. awaken the whole society to the problems today's college students face Everyone, please imagine, a big explosion breaks out as the plane takes us high in the sky. The plane is full of smoke and the engine sounds scary. Two minutes later, the engines are turned off. We are now sitting in a plane with no sound. And we can see: Life is over. That really happened. In January 2009, I had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York. Now let me tell you the three things I learned when the silence came. First, I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to but didn't. I thought about all the experiences I wanted to have but never did. I no longer wanted to put off anything in life. Second, I really regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter. I decided to remove negative energy from my life. Third, I realized, wow, dying was not scary. But it was very sad just because I only wished I could have seen my kids grow up. Fortunately, I was given the gift of a miracle of not dying that day. I was given another gift, with which I was to see into the future and come back and live differently. About a month later, my wife and I were at a performance by my daughter, not much artistic talent. Yet, I'm crying. I realized that above all, the only goal in my life was to be a good father. Audience, again, imagine the same thing happening on your plane. How would you change? What would you get done? And more than anything, are you being the best parent you can? Thank you. Which of the following can be the best title for the text? A Air crash is always a tragedy. B What I learned from the air crash. C Life is a miracle as we imagine. D How to become a good father. Answer: B. What I learned from the air crash.
The best swimmers tend to be tall and thin with long arms, long legs, long feet, and long hands. The size of their hands gives them great "water grasp", and only a very small hand movement keeps them afloat. They also have great strength, endurance, insulation against heat loss while in water below body temperature, thus better energy conservation, low resistance when in the water, and swimming stroke mechanics . Part of the reason why some people are better swimmers than others has to do with body density. The average person's body density is slightly less than that of water. Muscle has greater density than fat. Therefore, very muscular people tend to be poor at staying afloat. Bone has greater density than fat. Therefore, very skinny people tend to be poor at staying afloat. Good buoyancy is not necessarily the most important factor in good swimming, but it certainly helps. For example, great competitive swimmers--tall, thin, and usually more muscular than average--tend to have greater body density than average and less buoyancy. Many would not float very well if they remained motionless in the water. Their much greater "water grasp" makes up for it. www.ks5u.com The average woman contains a higher proportion of fat in her body than the average man, and the average man contains a higher proportion of muscle in his body than the average woman. Therefore, in general, women are better floaters than men. Compared with other competitive sports, the performance of women is closer to that of men in competitive swimming. How is the whole passage organized? A By reasoning and explaining. B By argument and debate. C By explaining one part after another. D By examples and comments. Answer: C Even before they start school, many young girls worry that they are fat. But a new study suggests watching a movie starring astereotypically thin and beautiful princess may not increase children's anxieties. Nearly half of the 3 to 6 year old girls in a study by Professor Stacey Tantleff-Dunn and doctoral student Sharon Hayes said they worry about being fat. About one-third would change a physical feature, such as their weight or hair color. The number of girls worried about being fat at such a young age concerns Tantleff-Dunn because of the potential effects later in life. Studies have shown young girls worried about their body image are more likely to suffer from eating disorders when they are older. The encouraging news for parents is that taking their young daughters to see the new Disney film "The Princess and the Frog" isn't likely to influence how they see their bodies. "The media have a great effect on how young girls see their bodies. That's why it's important for parents to use movies such as 'The Princess and the Frog,' to start conversations with their children about weight, skin color and their views of beauty. They can explain that princesses' tiny waists are not realistic for girls and that children don't need Cinderella's golden hair or Snow White'sporcelain skin to look good," Tantleff-Dunn said. "We need to help our children challenge the images of beauty, particularly thinness, that they see and idolize, and encourage them to question how much appearance should be part of their self-worth," said Tantleff-Dunn. "We should help them build a positive self-image with an appreciation for many different types of body features." And as their children's most important role models, parents also should avoid criticizing their own bodies. Parents can help kids build a positive self-image by _ . A encouraging kids to act as role models B preventing kids seeing beautiful models C telling kids the importance of appearance D avoiding complaining of their own bodies Answer: D You are careful with your money: you collect all kinds of coupons; look for group-buy deals if you eat out; you don't buy clothes unless in a sale. Does all this make you a wise consumer? Let's do the math first: you walk into a coffee shop and see two deals for a cup of coffee. The first deal offers 33 percent extra coffee. The second takes 33 percent off the regular price. What's the better deal? Well, they are about the same, you'd think. And you'd be wrong. The deals appear to be equal, but in fact, they are different. Here's the math: Let's say the standard coffee is 10 yuan and let's divide the amount of coffee into three portions . That makes about 3.3 yuan per portion, The first deal gets you 4 portions for 10 yuan (2.5 yuan per portion) and the second gets you 3 portions of coffee for 6.6 yuan (2.2 yuan per portion) and is therefore a better deal. In a new study published by the Journal of Marketing, participants were asked the same question, and most of them chose the first deal, the Atlantic website reported. Why? Because getting something extra for free feels better than getting the same for less. The applications of this view into consumer psychology are huge. Instead of offering direct discounts, shops offer larger sizes or free samples. According to the study, the reason why these marketing tricks work is that consumers don't really know how much anything should cost, so we rely on parts of our brains that aren't strictly quantitative. There are some traps we should be aware of when shopping. First of all, we are heavily influenced by the first number. Suppose you are shopping in Hong Kong. You walk into Hermes, and you see a 100,000 yuan bag. "That's crazy." You shake your head and leave. The next shop is Gucci, a handbag here costs 25,000 yuan. The price is still high, but compared to the 100,000 yuan price tag you just committed to your memory, this is a steal. Stores often use the price difference to set consumers' expectation. zxxk Another trap we often fall to Is that we are not really sure what things are worth. And so we use clues to tell us what we ought to pay for them. US economist Dan Ariely has done an experiment to prove this. According to the Atlantic, Ariely pretended he was giving a lecture on poetry. He told one group of students that the tickets cost money and another group that they would be paid to attend. Then he informed both groups that thelecture was free. The first group was anxious to attend, believing they were getting something of value for free. The second group mostly declined, believing they were being forced to volunteer for the same event without reward. What's a lecture on poetry by an economist worth? The students had no idea. That's the point. Do we really know what a shirt is worth ? What about a cup of coffee? What's the worth of a life insurance.policy? Who knows? Most of us don't. As a result, our shopping brain uses only what is knowable: visual clues, invited emotions, comparisons, and a sense of bargain. We are not stupid. We are just easily influenced. What consumer psychology is mentioned in the passage? A The first number has little influence on which item should be bought. B Consumers never use visual clues to decide how much should be paid. C Getting something extra for free is better than getting the same for less. D Consumers never rely on parts of the brains that aren't strictly quantitative. Answer: C Dear Mary, I am not happy these days. I am new in this class, you know, but I don' t have any friends here. I always have to keep quiet and put my heart into my study. I thought things would be fine. It's very hard for me to be happy and sometimes I get lost in thought. So I can't follow the teacher. I know it is not right like this, but I can't control myself in class. Then my study is bad now. Some students make fun of me. I feel hurt , but I don't show my anger. In fact, I have to hide my unhappiness. I feel terrible. Dear Mary, I really don't know what to do now, Can you help me? Yours, Jane ,A, B, C, D,, . How does Jane overcome her problem? A She gets lost in thought B She works hard at her lessons. C She writes to her friend. D She calls a lot. Answer: C Why are coal, oil, and natural gas called fossil fuels? A They were once fossils. B They were formed in prehistoric times. C They are used to heat our homes and businesses. D They formed from the remains of prehistoric plants and animals. Answer: D
"Hey! That isn't fair! Knights can't fly! Only wizards like me can! And maybe also witches." Bobby yelled. "Yes! They can, too!" Frank said, "They're the most powerful and you can't stop me from flying!" "Well, if you fly, then I can fight with a sword, too. It's only fair," Bobby said back. "No! They can't! They aren't even strong enough to pick up a sword. They can't even pick up a knife, they're so weak! I don't even know what you're talking about. You're crazy, aren't you?" Frank pointed his finger at Bobby and ran at him with the sword made out of cardboard. Bobby jumped out of the way as quickly as he could! Bobby then pointed a finger at Frank. "FREEZE!" Frank stopped in place. "Hey, you can't use the freeze spell. How can I fight you if I can't move? I'm going to tell mom." "I can use any spell I want! I can use Freeze, Trap, and Fly! I can do any of them! I'm also telling mom that you think you can fly and you can't. You're a stupid knight with no brains. I have all the brains here." Bobby crossed his arms over his chest and stomped a foot on the ground. "You take that back! I'm the smartest knight there is and I'll get you any day!" Suddenly, Frank pulled Bobby to the ground. "Take it back right now!" "BOYS! What's all the noise?" Mom asked. "Bobby called me stupid!" Frank yelled. "Frank is trying to fly!" Bobby cried. "Oh boy." Mom laughed. What did Frank try to do that Bobby didn't like Are you afraid of tests? What will you do to prepare for a test? The following suggestions will be helpful. Pay attention to what your teacher gives about a coming test. Write down exactly what you will be tested on. Knowing what the test will cover is half done. Make a review list that includes important points from class and reading material. Then your studying notes will be in one place. What's more, rewriting the material will help you to remember it. Don't cram !Test preparation begins the first day of class, so keep on doing your reading and homework. Then you just need to review for the test--not learn all the materials. If you wait until the night before to try to learn everything, you will only put more stress on yourself. Get a good night's sleep before the test, but if you can't, don't be awake the whole night. Research shows that getting at least four hours of sleep produces the better test results. Eat a healthy breakfast to keep your mind sharp . Avoid sugar, as it will weaken your ability to concentrate . Where will students probably know something about a coming test? Archaeologists studying Stonehenge and its surrounding area say they've dug up the relics of an untouched, ancient campsite that dates back to 6,000 years--a find that could rewrite British prehistory. "This is the most important discovery at Stonehenge in over 60 years," Professor Tim Darvill, a Bournemouth University archaeologist and a Stonehenge expert who did not take part in the new discovery, told theTelegraph. And as he told The Huffington Post in an email, the discovery changes earlier theories that Stonehenge was built in a landscape that was not heavily used before about 3000 B.C. The discovery was made during a dig at Blick Mead, a site about 1.5 miles from Stonehenge. Researchers found charcoal dating back to 4,000 B.C. and evidence of possible buildings, according to a statement released by the university. They also dug up burnt stone and tools, as well as the remains of animals--ancient cattle that served as food for ancient hunter-gatherers. The researchers plan further analysis on theartificial objects but say they're worried the tunnel construction could damage the site and get in the way of their work. "Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for centuries--an answer to the story of Stonehenge's past," David Jacques, the University of Buckingham archaeologist who discovered the campsite, toldThe Guardian. "But our only chance to find out about the earliest part of Britain's history could be ruined if the tunnel goes ahead." Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument made up of a ring of standing stones, lies eight miles north of Salisbury, England in Wiltshire. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1986. We can learn from the passage that _ . The American tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to colonial times, to the Pilgrims of Plymouth rock Colony. To escape religious persecution in England, the Pilgrims journeyed to the New World on their ship, the Mayflower. After a long journey, they finally arrived at Plymouth Rock in autumn of 1620. They could not finish building the settlement before winter, so many froze to death. They ate most of their food on the journey over, so many also starved. However, the Pilgrims met a Native American named Tisquantum, or Squanto as he was better known, who taught them how to plant corn and catch eel . By the same time next year, the Pilgrims had built a steady settlement, and had a bountiful harvest. To thank the Native Americans for their help and to celebrate the harvest, the Pilgrims held a grand banquet . Together, they feasted on corn, yams, fish, and most importantly: roast turkey, which became the highlight of the modern Thanksgiving feast. Schools always make a big deal about Thanksgiving, because they feel that it teaches children how to be thankful and to treat others with kindness. I spent the many years of elementary school making paper turkeys, fake cornucopias(a shell filled with food, a symbol of the holiday), and writing lists of what I'm thankful for. When I grew older, I watched movies and read books about the First Thanksgiving, and completed crossword puzzles and word searches filled with holiday themed words. While the idea for Thanksgiving is great, and it is a wonderful opportunity to instill certain values in children, I don't think we should name a special holiday for being thankful. We should be thankful for what we have every day, not just Thanksgiving. The passage was written to show the writer's attitude of being _ . Tech-Camp No.6 Devon Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong a technology day camp for students 12-17 About Tech-Camp Tech-Camp is a day camp with a focus on computers and electronics technology. We offer 2-week summer programmes for students of 12 to 17 years of age. We have a computer lab with the latest and fastest equipment, an electronics lab, and a video production studio. Our staff are special, too. They are experts in computers and electronics, of course, but they are also people who care about children and enjoy working with them. The benefits of Tech-Camp In all of our programmes, we show students how to work in teams and how to solve problems by themselves. We encourage them to think creatively. What students will do at Tech-Camp Each day Tech-camp is filled with useful, interesting and challenging activities. For example, in the Computer Programme, students learn the basic computer programming, and how to use the Internet. In the Tech-Camp Programme, they make radio-controlled model cars and produce their own short videos. Programme Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Computer Programme 15 June-26 June 15 June-26 June 15 June-26 June High-tech Programme 29 June-10 July 27 July-7 August 15 June-26 June Fee: HK $2,000 per student (10% discount available for groups of 10 or more students.) For more information about Tech-Camp, please contact Director of Summer Programmes, Ms Julia Brown, by phone, fax or e-mail. Telephone: 26548898 Fax: 26948850 E-mail: juliab@techcamp.com.hk According to the passage, how much will they pay if a group of 20 students enter for Tech-Camp?
For many people today, reading is no longer relaxation. To keep up with their work they must read letters, reports, trade publications, interoffice communications: a never-ending flood of words. In getting a job or advancing in one, the ability to read and comprehend quickly can mean the difference between success and failure. Yet the unfortunate fact is that most of us are poor readers. Most reading faults can be traced to early school training. According to Dr. Betts, two persons out of five in school were forced to read material too difficult for them to understand at the time, a frustration experience which left them with bad reading habits. Fortunately, almost anyone can learn to read faster and with more comprehension. Age makes little difference. According to a recent study of 138 students at The Reading Laboratory, Inc. , all age groups showed a marked increase in reading rate after training from 93 percent for the 50-90 age group to 142 percent for the 20-29.Dr. Mila Banton Smith, director of New York University's Reading Institute, says that the average adult student, in 28 training hours, nearly triples his reading speed and boosts his comprehension by about 30 percent. The best way to improve your reading, of course, is to enroll in a reading clinic. If there's no clinic handy, you can improve your reading ability yourself--- provided you have no eyes troubles. (if reading tires you easily or makes your eyes or head ache, you should consult a doctor.) According to the passage, what is the best way to improve one's reading? Answer: go to reading remedial class for special training Banks are not ordinarily prepared to pay out all accounts(,); they rely on depositors not to demand payment all at the same time. If depositors should come to fear that a bank is not safe, that it cannot pay off all its depositors, then that fear might cause all the depositors to appear on the same day. If they did, the bank could not pay all accounts. However, if they did not all appear at once, then there would always be enough money to pay those who wanted their money when they wanted it. Mrs. Elsie Vaught has told us of a terrifying bank run that she experienced. One day in December of 1925 several banks failed to open in a city where Mrs. Vaught lived. The other banks expected a run the next day, and so the officers of the bank in which Mrs Vaught worked as a teller had enough money on hand to pay off their depositors. The officers simply told the tellers to pay on demand. The next morning a crowd gathered in the bank and on the sidewalk outside. The length of the line made many think that the bank could not possibly pay off everyone. People began to push and then to fight for places near the tellers' windows. The power of the panic atmosphere was such that two tellers, though they knew that the bank was quite all right and could pay all depositors, drew their own money from the bank. Mrs Vaught says that she had difficulty keeping herself from doing the same. A bank run happens when _ . Answer: too many depositors try to draw out their money at one time Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him. He had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with some clothes, a baseball bat and a glove. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the things. Since they were going the same way, he offered to carry some things for the boy. As they walked, Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill. He loved video games, baseball and history, but he was having trouble with some of his subjects. They arrived at Bill's home first. Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with some laughs and talk. Then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior school. Three days before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill reminded Mark of the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I took away all my things from school. I had stored away some of my mother's sleeping pills . I was going home to kill myself. But after we spent some time talking and laughing, I realized that if I had died, I would have missed so many good times. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. _ " At Bill's home, they didn't _ . Answer: play video games Poor Sultan,who was lying close by them,heard all that the shepherd and his wife said to one another,and was very much frightened to think tomorrow would be his last day.So in the evening he went to his good friend,the wolf,who lived in the wood,and told him all his sorrows,and how his master meant to kill him in the morning. "Make yourself easy,"said the wolf,"I will give you some good advice.Your master,you know,goes out every morning.very early with his wife into the field,and they take their little child with them,and lay it down in the shade while they are at work.Now you lie down close by the child,and pretend to be watching it,and I will come out of the wood and run away with it.You must run after me as fast as you can, and I will let it drop.Then you may carry it back,and they will think you have saved their child,and will be so thankful to you that they will take care of you as long as you live." The dog liked this plan very well,and accordingly so it was managed.The wolf ran with the child a little way.The shepherd and his wife cried out,but Sultan soon overtook him and carried the poor little thing back to his master and mistress.Then the shepherd patted him on the head and said,"Old Sultan has saved our child from the wolf,and therefore he shall live and be well taken care of,and have plenty to eat.Wife,go home,and give him a good dinner and let him have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives."So from this time forward Sultan had all that he could wish for. We can guess from the passage that the shepherd and his wife wanted to kill Sultan because they thought that_. Answer: he was too old Why do earthquakes happen? Scientists explain that the outside of the earth is made of a number of different plates . For example, at San Francisco the Pacific Plate which is moving towards the northwest meets the North American Plate. The Pacific Plate is moving very slowly-at 5. 3 centimetres a year. Sometimes these two plates stop and do not move for years. Then suddenly, they jump and an earthquake is felt. As the movement of these plates, West America near the sea has always been a bad place for earthquakes. When the 1906 earthquake happened, the Pacific Plate jumped 5-6 metres to the north. We cannot stop earthquakes, but we can do things to make sure they don't destroy the whole of cities. First ,it is not a good idea to build houses along the lines, where two of the earth's plates join together. Second, if you think there may be an earthquake, it is better to build houses on rock not on sand. Third, you must make the houses as strong as possible. Weak buildings will fall down in an earthquake, but strong ones may stay up. We _ to make sure earthquakes don't destroy the whole of cities. Answer: A, B and C
Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food 9:00--9:45 a.m. Blue Tent Panelists :Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer. Hosted by Denise Grady, science writer for the New York Times. How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world?The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health, and present a look at food politics. Sports Writing:For the Love of the Game 9:50--10:35 a.m. Blue Tent Panelists:Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape. Hosted by William C. Rhoden, sports writer for the New York Times. Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or covering breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience. Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news. The Art of the Review 11:15--12:00 a.m. Green Tent Panelists: John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler. Hosted by Sam Tanenhaus, editor for the New York Times Book Review. How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales?Join this group of critics as they discuss the reality of book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review. New York Writers, New York Stories 3:00--3:45 p.m. Green Tent Panelists: Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, RicKlass and Lauren Redness. Hosted by Clyde Haberman, columnist for the City Section of the New York Times. Join this inspiring group of New Yorkcentric writers as they talk about why New York is a gold mine of ideas for their work. We can learn from the text that _ . A sports writers are a type of audience B the New York Times is popular C Denise Grady will discuss politics D book reviews may affect book sales Answer: D. book reviews may affect book sales 2015, the time has come for more creative China tours to be made, Shanghai Disney opens, more high-speed rail options. Insisting on high-quality services, we are proud to present our ever best-selling China tour packages, tour themes and the next popular destinations. Check out the optional activities and information making our Smart Travelers' trips outstanding. China Highlights' most popular private tour. Our private guide, driver and car are available all times. You take the trip, we take the stress. Day 1-2 In Beijing Take a break on your arrival. Enjoy local people's morning exercise at the Temple of Heaven before visiting the Great Wall, and then have a lifetime experience of visiting the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall on Day 2. Day 3-4 In Xi'an Still in Beijing in the daytime of Day 3. Visit the Forbidden City and the Tian'anmen Square to feel royal life in ancient China. After that pay a visit to hutongs which give full flavor of authentic experience. Catch a flight at night to Xi'an. Private guide and driver escort you to visit the highlights of Xi'an on Day 4.[:] Day 5-7 In Guilin/Yangshuo Continue to see Xi'an and have more interacts with the local. Visiting a family in Xi'an and learning how to make different shapes of dumplings give you an unforgettable time. Take a plane at night and arrive at Guilin on Day 5. Get on board to enjoy essence of Guilin, the Li River cruise to Yangshuo. Cycle to villages and meet friendly local people and learn more about Chinese agriculture. Day 8-10 In Shanghai Private transfer from Yangshuo to Guilin airport. Shanghai guide and driver are waiting for you with smiling faces. Highlights of the city on Day 9 show you the future of China as the end of the trip. You have free time on the last day before taking an international flight. Just let us know your travel style! We will then adapt this tour and create a unique quote based on your individual needs. For more information, please click here: http://www.chinahighlights.com/tour/. Where can you find this passage? A In the newspaper. B In a report. C In a textbook D On the Internet. Answer: D. On the Internet. Dad was lying in the hospital weakly, but his smile was as sure as ever . It was another attack of lung illness. My husband and I stayed with him for the weekend but had to return to our jobs on Monday. Local relatives would help Dad get home from hospital and look after him. But I longed to be able to let him know that we cared about him too, even when we weren't with him. Then I remembered a family tradition when our children were small. When leaving our grandparents' home after a visit, each child would write a love note to their grandparents. We hid notes in a box, under a hairbrush or next to the phone or even in the microwave oven. For days, our grandparents would smile as they discovered these reminders of our love. So as I tidied Dad's kitchen and made up a bed for him downstairs in the living room, I wrote some notes. Some were practical, "Dad, I put the food in the fridge so it wouldn't spoil". Some expressed my love, "Dad, I hope you will sleep well in your new bed." Most notes were downstairs where he would stay for several weeks until he recovered strength, but one note I hid upstairs under his pillow, "Dad, if you have found this note, you must be feeling better. We are so glad!" Just like his medicine strengthened him physically, these "emotional vitamins" would improve his spiritual health. Several weeks later, in one of our regular phone calls, I asked Dad how he was doing. He said, "Pretty good. I just found your note under my pillow upstairs!" Which of the following is true according to the text? A The writer believed that a family tradition was not good. B The writer enjoyed talking with her father. C The writer tried to comfort her father with love. D The writer thanked her children for looking after her father. Answer: C. The writer tried to comfort her father with love. Healthy people with stressful jobs who work long hours but get little satisfaction from what they do have twice the risk of dying from heart disease as satisfied employees, according to a study. Job stress has been known to cause heart problems in people who already have cardiovascular disease . Finnish scientists have now shown that even in healthy people the pressures of work can take their toll. High blood pressure, lack of exercise, smoking and being overweight contribute to heart disease--a leading killer in many industrialized countries. But Mika Kivimaki, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, and his colleagues, who studied the medical histories of 812 healthy Finnish men and women in a metal industry company over 25 years, said job stress also plays an important role. Workers who had the highest job-related stress levels at the start of the study were more than twice as likely to die of heart disease, according to the study published in The British Medical Journal. Work stress involves too much work as well as a lack of satisfaction and feeling undervalued and unappreciated. Many people work long hours but if the effort is rewarding the stress is _ The British Heart Foundation said the results support earlier research showing that people in jobs with low control, such as manual workers, could be as great risk of heart disease than other employees. " It is advisable for people to try to minimize levels of stress at work and for employees to allow people to have more control at work and to be rewarded for their successes," the foundation said in a statement. Healthy people may die from heart disease of _ . A too much job stress B working too hard C feeling valued D being satisfied Answer: A. too much job stress More and more mainland high school graduates are considering attending universities in Hong Kong. They feel that attractive scholarships, the high quality of education and a chance to experience a different culture present a good opportunity. At Fudan University's prefix = st1 /Handancampus, nearly 800 local high school graduates have attended an admission interview for Hong Kong University (HKU). The candidates have already passed the national college entrance exam and an HKU written test. HKU applicants in the mainland are 10,000 students this year, more than doubling last year's applicants. "Most of the applicants are excellent high school graduates with outstanding performance in the national college entrance exam," Cui Jijia, an official with HKU's Shanghaioffice, said. Excellent freshmen from the mainland will be awarded a scholarship ranging from HK$30,000 (US$3,862) to HK$100,000 this year, as HKU has set aside a total scholarship budget of HK$55 million for first-year students. One HKU applicant says that entering a university in Hong Kong provides access to jobs in Hong Kong in the future. "I'll choose HKU if I receive an offer from both a local school and HKU," he says. Besides HKU, some other universities from Hong Kong also hold admission interviews for students from mainland high schools. They expect to enroll more than 1,300 mainland students. The main idea of this passage is _ . A the scholarship of the universities in Hong Kong is very high B the competition of entering a Hong Kong university is very tough C excellent students in the mainland now have a new choice for higher education D to study in a university in Hong Kong is better than to study in the mainland Answer: C. excellent students in the mainland now have a new choice for higher education
Trends come and go but style is eternal. So what is the latest fashion trend that defines this season? Let's take a look at the fashion trend in 2016 and be the first ones to embrace the latest trend. Head----It seems like everyone will be wearing a bucket hat this season. Bucket hat might sound a bit old-fashioned for some people, but the 90s trend is in season again! Spring and summer are always the seasons for casual clothes, so pairing the bucket hat with casual shorts or skirts would be your outfit to go in this spring and summer in 2016. Bottom--Summer is the season when everyone gets ready for the humid weather. The current season trend is making everyone have a more comfortable summer because wide-leg bottoms is in trend again. Perhaps not everyone likes wide-leg bottoms because this could possible make people look shorter, choosing a high-waist wide-leg bottom and matching it with crop top will definitely make you look taller and trendy in 2016. Dress---Be prepared for embracing the feminine details this season. Ruffles around the sleeve or ruffles all-over the dress will be everyone's favorite in SS 2016. All these little details will transform your look in season. Simple colors like pink and black are designer's favorites in this season too. Shoes---Many people thought wedges are also the shoes to go in spring and summer time, but in SS 2016, very flat flats are in trend again. Shoe designers are trying to have more combinations flats or low-heels with less of gender identity. Accessories----No outfit goes perfect without accessories. Adding statement accessories to your simple and natural outlook this summer is your day-to-night outfit. These jewels are doing to make you feel completed in day time and sparkled at night. What kind of people will benefit a lot more from this passage? Answer: Tom and his cousin took a boat trip. When they got on the boat, every passenger should answer the keeper a question. If the passenger answered "yes", he or she got one gift; if the passenger answered "no", he or she got two gifts. Tom and his cousin saw all about this. Now it was their turn. The keeper came up to them and asked, "Are you _ ?" Tom wanted to get two gifts, so he answered "no" loudly, at the same time he said, "I have never been a sailor, how could I be a good sailor." The keeper gave him two gifts. His cousin gave the same answer, so, he got two gifts too. The boat started off. The passengers began to open their gifts. Tom and his cousin did the same. They found that one of the two gifts was a small bottle of drinking water, the other was a seasick tablet . Tom had a look at a "yes"-passenger's gift. His was a nice chocolate. Tom shouted at the keeper, "We are never seasick. Why do you give us seasick tablets?" Tom and his cousin _ . Answer: Tom was taken to the police station and put in a room with another thief, an older man. The man looked at Tom and said, "Why have they brought you here, boy?" "I stole a small radio one day after lessons," Tom said. The man laughed rudely at him, "you should steal something which is worth a lot if you want to be a thief. You ought to steal something really expensive, so that your name is put in the newspaper. Go and steal a lot of money from a bank next time!" Tom thought for a few seconds and then said, "I can't do that!" "Why can't you?" said the older man. "Are you afraid?" "No," said Tom, "I'm not afraid at all, but the banks are all closed at three o'clock, and my lessons don't finish until four." . Tom couldn't steal from a bank because _ Answer: What enters the eye through the pupil? Answer: The Basics of Math--Made Clear Basic Math introduces students to the basic concepts of mathematics, as well as the fundamentals of more tricky areas. These 30 fantastic lectures are designed to provide students with an understanding of arithmetic and to prepare them for Algebra and beyond. The lessons in Basic Math cover every basic aspect of arithmetic. They also look into exponents , the order of operations, and square roots. In addition to learning how to perform various mathematical operations, students discover why these operations work, how a particular mathematical topic relates to other branches of mathematics, and how these operations can be used practically. Basic Math starts from the relatively easier concepts and gradually moves on to the more troublesome ones, so as to allow for steady and sure understanding of the material by students. The lectures offer students the chance to "make sense" of mathematical knowledge that may have seemed so frightening. They also help students prepare for college mathematics and overcome their anxiety about this amazing--and completely understandable--field of study. By the conclusion of the course, students will have improved their understanding of basic math. They will be able to clear away the mystery of mathematics and face their studies with more confidence than they ever imagined. In addition, they will strengthen their ability to accept new and exciting mathematical challenges. Professor H. Siegel, honored by Kentucky Educational Television as "the best math teacher in America," is a devoted teacher and has a gift for explaining mathematical concepts in ways that make them seem clear and obvious. From the basic concrete ideas to the more abstract problems, he is master in making math lectures learner-friendlier and less scary. With a PhD in Mathematics Education from Georgia State University, Dr. Siegel teaches mathematics at Central Arizona College. His courses include various make-up classes and a number of lectures for future primary school teachers. If the course fails to provide complete satisfaction to you, you can easily exchange it for any other course that we offer. Or you can get your money back. What does the course Basic Math mainly cover? Answer:
This was no ordinary class. The students who came together were all science or engineering professors at Cornell University. They had interrupted their research to accept an invitation to take part in an unusual experiment: "an interesting week of poetry." This class was part of a study to answer the questions: Why is science difficult for many nonscience students? What can teachers learn about teaching if they take a class that is not in their field? The students in the poetry class listened to lectures and took notes. They had reading tasks and had to write three short papers. All students noticed one thing - the importance of spoken words. In science and engineering classes, the instructors put tables and drawings on the blackboard. But in this poetry class, the instructors just talked. They didn't write anything on the board. The scientists and engineers noticed one similarity between science and poetry. In both subjects, students need to find layers of meaning . Some layers are simple, clean, and on the surface; other layers are deeper and more difficult. This search for different levels of meaning doesn't happen much in undergraduate science classes, but it is important later, in graduate school. And it is always important in humanities . Both the poetry instructors and their students learned something about teaching from this experience. One poetry instructor, for example, now sees the importance of using informative as he teaches. Most of the scientists agreed on several points. First, humanities classes might help science students to see patterns and decide which information is important. Second, the poetry class was fun. One engineer decided, "We need to change the way we teach engineering to make to make it an enjoyable experience for students." But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this; All of the professors began to think about how they teach and how they cam teach better. The experiment was designed to find out _ A. how to teach the students in the science class B. whether poetry is difficult for science students C. what to be taught in the humanities class D. why many humanities students find science hard. Answer: D Last year Jim was going to join the army( ) and had to take a medical examination . The doctor was sitting at a desk when he went in. He said to the man, "Take your coat and shirt off, and sit on that chair." Jim did so. The doctor looked at him for a moment without getting up from his chair and then said, "All right. Put your clothes on again." "But you haven't examined me at all." the young man said in surprise. "There is no need to do so," the doctor said with a smile. "When I told you to take your coat and shirt off, you heard me all right, so there is nothing wrong with your ears. You saw your chair, so your eyes are good. You could take your clothes off and sit on the chair, so you must be in good health. The best title for this story is _ . A. A Strict Doctor B. A Special Medical Examination C. A Serious Mistake D. A Smart Young Man Answer: B Psychological noise refers to forces within a communicator that interfere with the ability to express or understand a message exactly. For instance, an outdoor person might overstate the size and number of the fish he caught in order to convince himself and others of his talents. In the same way, a student might become so upset upon learning that she failed a test that she would be unable ( Perhaps " unwilling" is a better word) to understand clearly where she went wrong. Indeed, psychological noise is a very important communication problem. But the linear model, despite its advantages, suggests that communication flows in one direction, from sender to receiver. Although some types of messages ( printed and broadcast messages, for example) do flow in a one-way, linear manner, most types of communication, especially the interpersonal variety are two-way exchanges. To put it differently, the linear view ignores the fact that receivers react to massages by sending other messages of their own. Consider, for example, the meaning of a friend's yawn as you describe your romantic problems. Or imagine the hot face you may see as you tell one of your dirty jokes to a new friend. Nonverbal behaviors like these show that most face-to-face communication is a two-way affair. The discernible response of a receiver to sender's massage is called feedback. Not all feedback is nonverbal, of course. Sometimes it is oral, as when you ask an instructor questions about an upcoming test or volunteer your opinion of a friend's new haircut. In other cases it is written, as when you answer the questions on a midterm exam or respond to a letter from a faraway friend. Which of following considered to be a psychological noise? A. A person likes to tell others his achievements B. A person goes fishing every day instead of going to work C. A person often overestimates his ability D. A person talks without noticing others' reaction Answer: C ELMONT, N. Y. (AP)---Elmont High School senior Harold Ekeh had a plan--he would apply to 13 colleges , including all eight Ivy League schools, figuring it would help his chances of getting into at least one great school. It worked, And then some, The teenager from Long Island was accepted at all 13 schools, and now faces his next big test: deciding where to go. "I was stunned, I was really shocked, "Ekeh told The Associated Press during an interview Tuesday at his home near the Belmont Park racetrack, his four younger brothers running around. He found out last week he had been accepted to Princeton University. That made him eight for eight in the Ivy League--he had already been accepted to Yale University , Brown University, Columbia University , Cornell University , Dartmouth College, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. His other acceptances came from Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Stony Brook University and Vanderbilt University. "We are so proud of him, " said his mother , Roseline Ekeh."Hard work, dedication, prayer brought him to where he is today. " Born in Nigeria, Harold was eight years old when his parents brought the family to the United States. "It was kind of difficult adjusting to the new environment and the new culture, " he said. But he saw his parents working hard, "and I took their example and decides to _ He referenced that effort in his college essay, writing, "Like a tree, uprooted and replanted, I could have withered in a new country surrounded by people and languages I did not understand. Yet, I witnessed my parents persevere despite the potential to give in. I faced my challenges with newfound zeal; I risked insults, spending my break talking to unfamiliar faces, ignoring their sarcastic remarks. " Harold "is tremendously focused in everything he does." said John Capozzi, the school's principal, "He's a great role model. All the students and faculty are so proud of him. " Harold is the second Long Island student in as many years to get into all eight Ivies. Last year, William Floyd High School's Kwasi Enim chose to go to Yale. Harold, who has a 100. 51 grade-point average and wants to be a neurosurgeon, said he was leaning toward Yale, and had heard from Enin, offering congratulations. Like Enin, he's likely to announce his college choice at a press conference later this month. The deadline to decide is May 1. Harold is probably going to A. Harvard B. Princeton C. Yale D. MIT Answer: C Jane Scott is fourteen and the year before last she began to study in a middle school. She likes dancing and singing and spends a lot of time on them. But she hates math and does not work hard at it. She thinks it difficult to learn. She falls behind her classmates and once failed the math exam. She decides to drop it. Her father is angry with her when he knows about it. It was Sunday. Mr Scott gave a call to his sister, who teaches math in another school. He hoped she would come and tell his daughter how to learn math. The woman came quickly and said. "You're a clever girl, Jane. I'm sure you'll soon do well in math if you work hard at it." "I'm afraid I can't, Aunt," said Jane, "Girls can't be good at math." "I don't think so," said the woman. "I was good at it when was a girl. You must do more exercises and practice a math problem again and again until you master it. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Well, it's a math problem. Think about it and practice it again, and you'll work it out." "OK," said the girl, "Let me try." About an hour later, Jane took the exercise book to her aunt and said, "I've done the problem ten times." "Well done!" her aunt said happily, "What result did you get?" "Ten answers." The woman told her _ . A. it is not difficult to learn math B. to work hard at math C. math is important D. She was clever at math Answer: B
Every English learner hopes to find a patient native speaker who will politely correct mistakes and teach him some useful new vocabulary. But native speakers can be hard to find. If you're having trouble communicating in English, American situation comedies are one good way to help. They can not only give you a lot of information about American culture, but also offer some useful daily expressions. Watching them will help you enlarge your vocabulary and teach you correct language usage in different situations. Best of all, situation comedies are a fun way to learn. The Apprentice The American reality TV show is hosted by the famous businessman Donald Trump. It's based on the idea of the final job interview for the final job. The show picks 16 people to compete for a job with Trump's business. Those who fail their weekly tasks have to meet with Trump. They have to explain why they should not be fired . The Apprentice is useful for English students who want to learn how to make up a persuasive argument. For example, rather than say "I think I did a good job", one may also learn to throw off the possibility of uncertainty by saying, "I did a good job." Desperate Housewives (DH) Desperate Housewives is set in an invented American town, Wisteria Lane. It follows a group of middle-aged women as they go through their daily family lives. But in fact, those women live a life of lies, secrets, criminal acts, and mystery. This program is good at expressing the funny life of American neighbors. And, it's the perfect comedy series for foreign learners wanting to see how to hold a relaxed daily conversation. Another reason for watching DH is to learn some expressions American families use that are not in your English language textbooks. For example, the mothers often use words such as "sport" and "you guys" to speak about their kids. Which of the following statements about DH can we get from the introduction? Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her. One summer afternoon, she stopped at the store to buy supplies. Another Negro woman of her health and age would have been expected to carry the paper sacks home in one hand, but Momma said, "Sister Flowers, I'll send Bailey up to your house with these things." "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson. I'd prefer Marguerite, though." My name sounded so beautiful when she said it. "I've been meaning to talk to her, anyway." They gave each other age group looks. There was a little path beside the rocky road, and Mrs. Flowers walked in front swinging her arms and picking her way over the stones. Without turning her head, she spoke to me, "I hear you're working very good school work, Marguerite, but that it's all written. The teachers report that they have trouble getting you to talk in class." We passed the triangular farm on our left and the path widened to allow us to walk together. "Now no one is going to make you talk--possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is man's way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals." That was a totally new idea to me, and I would need time to think about it. "Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That's good, but not good enough. _ " She said she was going to give me some books and that I not only must read them, I must read them aloud. She suggested that I try to make a sentence sound in as many different ways as possible. "I'll accept no excuse if you return a book to me that has been badly handled." My imagination boggled at the punishment I would deserve if in fact I did abuse a book of Mrs. Flowers'. The odors in the house surprised me. The sweet scent of vanilla had met us as she opened the door. "Have a seat, Marguerite. You see, I had planned to invite you for cookies and lemonade so we could have this little chat." She carried a plate covered with a tea towel. As I ate she began the first of what we later called "My lesson in living." She said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors. She encouraged me to listen carefully to what country people called mother wit. That in those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations. When I finished the cookies she brought a thick, small book from the bookcase. I had read A Tale of Two Cities and found it up to my standards as a romantic novel. She opened the first page and I heard poetry for the first time in my life. "It was the best of times and worst of times..." Her voice slid in and curved down through and over the words. She was nearly singing. I wanted to look at the pages. Were they the same that I had read? Or were there notes, music, lined on the pages? Her sounds began cascading gently. I knew that she was nearing the end of her reading. "How do you like that?" It occurred to me that she expected a response. The sweet vanilla flavor was still on my tongue and her reading was a magic to my ears. I had to speak. I said, "Yes, ma'am." It was the least I could do, but it was the most also. "There's one more thing. Take this book of poems and memorize one for me. Next time you pay me a visit, I want to recite." I have often tried hard to search for the enchantment I so easily found in those gifts. To be allowed, no, invited, into the private lives of strangers, to share their joys and fears, was a chance to exchange the Southern bitter wormwood for a cup of mead with Beowulf or a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist. When I said aloud, "It is a far, far better thing than anything I have ever done..." tears of love filled my eyes at my selflessness. I was liked, and what a difference it made, I was respected not as Mr Henderson's grandchild or Bailey's sister but for just being Marguerite Johnson. Marguerite's opinion of A Tale of Two Cities before and after Mrs. Flowers' reading can be described as _ . Dae Jon is the city in South Korea, where I was born and grew up. There was a public park there. It was a very popular place, and I have tons of precious memories from times spent there. Our teachers often took us to that park for a spring or fall picnic. When I learned martial arts --Tae Kwon Do, my master usually took us there to train us. There was a hill there which was not high, so I could reach the peak within forty minutes even though I was very young. From the peak, I could see a lot of places if it was a sunny day. There was a huge rock on the top called Eagle Rock because the shape of the rock looked like the head of an eagle. We spent lots of fun days there. We played hide-and-seek within the limited area, and we sometimes caught frogs and fish in the pond. When we felt thirsty, we enjoyed drinking cold spring water. When I was a ten-year-old boy, I usually went to the park with my father to exercise early in the morning. It was quite dark, so I sometimes felt afraid, but after I got used to going there, I enjoyed breathing the fresh air and hearing the birds sing. Recently, I went back to the park to remember my good times there. When I arrived at the entrance, I was surprised because it didn't seem to be the same as I remembered it. Everything has changed in the thirteen years since I last saw it, but the good memories soon came back. I could almost imagine a boy playing there with a slight smile and shaking hands with me. As a child, the writer did the following in the park EXCEPT _ . Tea, coffee and cocoa are three major drinks all over the world. Tea is drunk by the largest number of people in the world. Tea, as well as silk and porcelain, began to be known by the world over a thousand years ago and has been an important Chinese export since then. Tea has a history of over 4 , 000 years and China is the home of tea. In ancient China, tea was used as a kind of medicine, while nowadays people drink tea daily. Longjing, Pu'er, Wulong and Tieguanyin are all famous tea. Thanks to the mild climate and rich soil in Fujian, Zhejiang and Yunnan, tea is produced mainly in these provinces. The word for tea in different languages came from Chinese, like "cha'i" in Russian. And the Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese. Over the past centuries, Chinese people have developed their unique tea culture, which includes tea planting, tea-leaf picking, tea making, tea drinking and so on. Tea is also popular in some sayings, like " " In dances, songs, poems and novels, tea is often mentioned. loo. ,A, B, C, D,. (10) Which is the best title for the passage? "One thing I enjoy about my job is that I can work on something that is actually active," says Game McGimsey, an American volcanologist . Part of his job includes keeping an eye on Alaska's many active volcanoes and giving people a heads-up when a volcano might erupt . Like most jobs in the science, volcanology requires a lot of education. McGimsey received an undergraduate degree in geology at the University of North Carolina, then landed an internship with a geologist at the USGS whose work field was about volcanoes. After earning a graduate degree at the University of Colorado, McGimsey accepted a job with the USGS and has been with the Alaska Volcano Observatory for 25 years. Volcanoes can influence the world in ways we might not think about. For example, on Dec.15 1989, a 747 jetliner (a large airplane) flew through a thick ash cloud produced by Mount Redoubt, an Alaskan volcano that hadn't erupted in 25 years. The ash caused all four engines to die, and the plane's electronics went dead. "The plane was within several thousand feet of flying into the mountains below when the pilots got a couple of engines restarted and landed safely in Anchorage," McGimsey says. It cost nearly $80 million to repair the damage to the plane. Such situations show just how dangerous volcanoes can be. However, volcanologists know the risks and are prepared to protect themselves. McGimsey admits, "There is certainly a higher danger level in volcanology than some other jobs. We understand how serious the danger is, and we don't like taking unnecessary chances. We avoid getting too close to an erupting volcano, because it is not worth injury or death simply to get a rock or a photograph." On Dec.15,1989, a 747 jetliner _ .
Buckminster Fuller once said, "The minute you choose to do what you really want to do, it's a different kind of life." If you want to live abundantly, decide what you really want and figure out a way to do it. Be clear and live with intent . You may have heard of Fred Lebow. He complained to his doctor that he lacked energy. His doctor advised him to take up running. He fell in love with it! He was 39 years old when he entered his first race. Fred joined the New York Road Runners Club and organized New York City's first marathon race. But what Fred truly wanted to do was to bring people together. He believes that anybody should be able to run -- people of all ages and of any country. Not everyone in New York was excited about people running through their neighborhood. A youth gang warned him that nobody had better run through their turf. "That's great," Fred said. "I need someone to protect the runners in your area, and you look like just the fellows to do it." He gave them each a hat, shirt and jacket and that year, when the marathon went through their neighborhood, these young men proudly guarded the runners along their way. Fred decided what was truly important to him and he found a way to do it. He lived with intent. That single decision made his life remarkably different. As one sports writer said, "Fate handed him a short race. With his goal, with his love of life, Fred turned it into a marathon." Fred would say that it's not about how long you live, but how you run the race of life. The purpose that Fred Lebow organized New York City's first marathon race was _ . A to be popular with people B to display his true love for sports development C to drive away his loneliness in the running D to get more people together Answer: D. to get more people together In life, people come across many experiences, which they remember throughout their lives. I had a similar experience, too. I was very excited. It was the day of my last paper of the final examination. My mind was full of thoughts of how I would spend my vacation. I was especially excited of the invitation that my uncle had given me to stay with him for a few days in Cambridge. I was prepared for the subject, physics. My friends and I were on the ground doing the last minute revisions and also discussing the questions that were supposed to come in the paper. Suddenly the bell rang and we got into our classrooms. The teacher came and quickly handed out the answer paper and the question paper. The paper was of two hours and some of the expected questions came. I finished it almost forty-five minutes earlier. But since it was a rule not to collect the answer paper before the allotted time. the teacher was not collecting and I had to sit till the time was over. I checked my paper twice and corrected some of the mistakes in it. I started thinking about the place my friends and I had planned to go after the paper. Though I was thinking for a long time, the time seemed to be endless. So I thought of drawing something on the question paper and turned it overleaf. I was shocked to see that the page which I had supposed to be blank had four more questions on it which carried 20 marks and would take at least half an hour to complete. I had a quick glance at my watch. There were only 10 minutes left. I was so nervous that I was hardly in a state to write anything. They were the sub-questions of the last question. Suddenly our physics teacher came in and told all of us that in the last question, out of 6 sub-questions only 2 had to be solved. I felt very much _ . Thereafter I never made such mistakes again. But I realized that my anxiousness and excitement could have cost me to lose 20 marks and decided never to make such a mistake again. We can infer from the passage that _ . A the writer did 2 sub-questions of the last question B the writer turned overleaf to do the sub-questions C the writer spent 45 minutes finishing the paper D the writer got full marks in the physics exam Answer: A. the writer did 2 sub-questions of the last question Price sued Derrick for injuries Price received in an automobile accident. Price claims that Derrick was negligent in (a) exceeding the posted speed limit of 35 m.p.h., (b) failing to keep a lookout, and (c) crossing the center lineBystander, Price's eyewitness, testified on crossexamination that Derrick was wearing a green sweater at the time of the accident. Derrick's counsel calls Wilson to testify that Derrick's sweater was blue. Wilson's testimony is A admissible as substantive evidence of a material fact. B admissible as bearing on Bystander's truthfulness and veracity. C inadmissible, because it has no bearing on the capacity of Bystander to observe. D inadmissible, because it is extrinsic evidence of a collateral matte Answer: D. inadmissible, because it is extrinsic evidence of a collateral matte A doctor was once teaching a class of medical students at a famous hospital in Edinburgh. An injured man was brought in, and the doctor turned to one of his students and asked him, "What's wrong with this man?" "I don't know, sir," the student answered. "Shall I examine him and find out?""There's no need to examine him," said the doctor. "You should know without asking questions. He has hurt his right knee. Didn't you notice the way he walked? He hurt it by burning it in the fire. You see his trouser leg is burnt away at the knee. This is Monday morning. Yesterday was fine, but on Saturday the roads were wet and muddy. The man's trousers are muddy all over. The man fell down on Saturday night." The doctor then turned to the man and said, "You had your pay on Saturday and went to a public house and drank too much. You got muddy and wet on the way home. Because you had drunk too much, you fell on the fire and burnt your knee. Is it right? " "Yes, sir," said the man. From the passage we know that _ is very important for medical students. A watching and thinking B taking good care of others C learning from others D teaching Answer: A. watching and thinking I went on line to check if my pay was in my bank account . To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, but a company I'd never worked for had also paid me! I know I would have been beside myself if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money back to the right person. Easier said than done. The bank couldn't help as it "wasn't a bank problem." The human-resource department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn't have enough details. I rang the bank again. Thankfully I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a name, so I again rang the company "Daniel" worked for. I expected the bank would contact me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard nothing for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, explaining he'd tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their error. He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably fix this problem ourselves. We decided I would take the money from my account and he would pick it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel personally but he left me a lovely bottle of wine in exchange for what was rightfully his. I never had any intention of keeping Daniel's pay but red tape made it difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to two people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn't do -- admit a mistake has occurred and fix it. From the passage we can infer that _ . A the bank could solve the problem soon and easily with the red tape B some large organizations usually have troublesome official rules C Daniel didn't know the error until he contacted the author D it was easy for a company to have a mistake which had occurred fixed Answer: B. some large organizations usually have troublesome official rules
Down on the beach of Dover,56-year-old Channel swimmer Jackie Cobell bravely set off for Calais.The time was 6:40 am.28 hours and 44 minutes later the exhausted,successful mother from Kent crawled to the shore and walked proudly into the record books.After five years in training,Mrs.Cobell became the slowest person to cross the Channel under her own steam.The previous record for the slowest crossing,set by Henry Sullivan at 26 hours and 50 minutes,has stood for 87 years before Mrs.Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning. She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way,then the other.It turned the 21-mile crossing into a 65-mile one.She declared,"Time and tide wait for no man--and they certainly didn't wait for me.I was fully expecting it to get dark before I got to Calais but I never imagined I'd also see the dawn again.But I wasn't going to give up." Her feat raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship for research into Huntingdon's disease,a sum that was continuing to grow as news of her achievement spread.That was why she did it."I don't really know myself," she said."I just kept thinking of all the people I'd be letting down if I stopped." Mrs.Cobell took to the water so well at school.But after bringing up two daughters,she started to gain weight.Five years ago she took up swimming again and decided to prepare for the Channel challenge to lose weight.She became much fitter.Then came the big swim."I practiced on Windermere Lake," she said."it's about half the distance of the Channel so I just doubled it,added some extra time,and worked out I could probably get to Calais in about 16 hours." Her husband David,trainer,official observer and friend sailed alongside her on a boat.She said,"I sang to keep myself going.When they told me I was a record breaker I thought they were just having a joke--until I realized it was the record for the slowest crossing.But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker." Why did Mrs.Cobell spend so much time crossing the Channel? A. Because the tides changed her direction. B. Because she was not in good condition. C. Because she wasn't good at swimming. D. Because the winds kept her from swimming fast. Answer: A As a volunteer teacher, I traveled a long way to a small village school in Longzhou, Guangxi. On my way there, I thought about the village, the school and the childrenn there. However, my heart sank when I arrived there. It wasn't what I expected. It didn't look like a school at all! The school had only three rooms, one for Grades 1, 2 and 3, and the other for Grades 4, 5 and 6. There was a third one for me. The children welcomed me warmly on my first day. They asked me a lot of questions, and I told them stories about myself and my life in Shanghai. The next day, I gave them a test to find out their level . To my surprise, though the test was very easy, over half of the students failed it, yet they all wanted to learn new things. I knew they needed me. I was busy preparing lessons and reading test papers every night. I enjoyed teaching these lovely and hard-working children, and I could see that they were making progress with my help. I have also learned a lot from them. I understand their level is becoming higher and higher, and we are good friends now. I worked in Longzhou for a year. I'm very happy, and the experience is very useful to me. I love the small village and the children. In fact, I would like to continue working here. According to the passage. The writer _ . A. was sorry for the school B. worked hard to teach the children C. don't want to work in the school D. left the school in a short time Answer: B Have you ever heard of blogs ? If you haven't, you should have. It's here, it's growing and it's having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you'll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from "weblog", is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are "published", so other people can read them. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging". Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as "text and photos" in a blog can be called "blog posts", "posts", or "entries". The person who posts these entries is called a "blogger". Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it's great potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He's trying to make blogs the important tools for future business communications. A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _ . A. talk to others B. give comments C. read articles D. enjoy photos Answer: A Pop stars today enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty. Wherever they go, people turn out in their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling, color1fully dressed idols. The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls Royces, private helicopters or executive airplanes. They are surrounded by a permanent entourage of managers, press agents and bodyguards. Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported, for, like royalty, pop stars are news. If they enjoy many of the privileges of royalty, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well. It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public. They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds who idolize them. They are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated, for their rates of pay are great. And why not? Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly. The great days of Hollywood have become legendary: famous stars enjoyed fame, wealth and adulation on an all time scale. By today's standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did. The competition for the title "Top of the Pops" is fierce, but the rewards are truly huge. It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way. Don't the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the service they perform to their companies and their countries? Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency -- often more than large industrial companies -- and the taxman can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer . So who would envy them their rewards? It's all very well for people in boring jobs to complain about the successes and rewards of others. People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living. A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards. He has chosen security and peace of mind, so there will always be a limit to what he can earn. But a man who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks. He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top. He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure. But he knows, too, that the rewards for success are very high indeed: they are the payback for the huge risks involved and once he makes it, he will certainly earn them. That's the essence of private enterprise. According to the passage, which of the following can match the view of the author? A. He who laughs last laughs best. B. Success belongs to the persevering. C. He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. D. If you venture nothing, you will gain nothing. Answer: D Corky walked to the store to buy some milk, like he does every Tuesday. On his way, he passed the red house where John lives, the green house where June lives, the white house where Barack lives, the blue hat store, and the orange house where Jessie lives. He finally reached the store at 5 o'clock. Corky thought about buying some other things too. He looked at the potato chips, but didn't like the flavors they had left. All of the normal flavored ones were gone. He never liked hard candy, so he ignored those. He saw the apples, but didn't need one because he had apples at home. So he picked out some cookies instead. Corky thought he'd eat them on his way home. He waited in line until it was his turn, and then paid Abe the cashier. Abe gave him his change and wished him a good day. On his way home, Corky ate his cookies. He had hoped to buy peanut butter cookies, but the store never has those. Instead, he bought sugar cookies. He liked them very much too, so he wasn't at all upset. When he got home, he poured a glass of milk and finished his cookies. Who reached the store at 5 o'clock? A. Corky B. Abe C. Barack D. Jessie Answer: A
Do you know Walk With A Doc? It is a new program . This program helps people to be healthy. It's not difficult to do it. You only need sports shoes and then go for a walk in a store or a park with two or more people at a time. David Sabgir is a doctor in the U.S.A. He starts the new health program. Every Saturday morning, Sabgir runs in a park and he starts thinking, "I run to help myself to be healthy. But I think I can help more people to be healthy." So he tells his friends and other people about this. They all like the idea. For the first walk, 101 people join. Later , more and more people join this health program. We only need _ if we want to join Walk With A Doc. A a computer B a basketball C two buses D sports shoes Answer: D. sports shoes Those who are used to looking through thousands of books in big bookstores may find Japan's Morioka Shoten a little strange. That's because this tiny bookstore that is located in Ginza, Tokyo sells only a single book at a time. Opened in May 2015, Morioka Shoten is the brainchild of Yoshiyuki Morioka. The experienced bookseller began his career as a bookstore clerk in Tokyo's Kanda district before branching out to open his own store. It was here while organizing book readings that he realized that customers usually came into the store with one title in mind. Morioka began to wonder if a store could exist by selling many copies of just one single book. In November 2014, he partnered with his two friends, to establish a unique bookstore with the idea of "A Single Room, A Single Book." Like its offering, the bookstore is simple. The selections that are picked by Morioka change weekly and vary widely to attract customers with different interests. Recent choices include The True Deceiver, an award-winning Swedish novel by Tove Jansson, Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, and a collection of artist Karl Blossfeldt's photography of plants. Morioka has also chosen books written by famous Japanese authors Mimei Ogawa and Akito Akagi. To highlight his only offering, Morioka often uses clever methods. For example,when selling a book about flowers, he decorated his shop with the ones that had been mentioned in the book. He also encourages authors to hold talks and discussions so they can connect with customers. Morioka says his goal is for the customers to experience being inside a book, not just a bookstore! Risky as the idea might seem, things appear to be going well. Morioka says he has sold over 2,100 books since he opened it. Things can get better considering that his bookstore is becoming increasingly popular not just among the locals but also visitors from other countries. What's the author's opinion about the bookstore's future? A Risky B Optimistic C Unpredictable D Hopeless Answer: B. Optimistic My name is Jane. I'm now living in a small house with my parents. Life for us is difficult but happy. I must study hard to buy a big new house someday. I call it a dream house. My dream house is near the sea. It has three floors with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, two big dining rooms and two living rooms. When my friends come to visit me, I will have enough bedrooms for them. We have a swimming pool behind the house and a garden in front of the house. In the morning, my parents can _ in the garden to keep them healthy. The air will be very good and nice. When it's hot, we can have a swim in the swimming pool. Life will be easy for us. Which is the best title for the passage? A My Home B My Dream House C My life D My Family Answer: B. My Dream House Which of the following can cause erosion? A falling leaves B flowing water C growing grass D rising temperatures Answer: B. flowing water A recent study on parents who beat their children indicated that physical punishment still occurs far more frequently than previously thought but that physical punishment was ineffective. Given that 73 percent of the children who were hit waited less than 10 minutes before acting out again. So, what is? Many parents deal with their children's mistakes by taking away toys and separating them from their playmates. But for strong-willed kids like I was, none of these methods were effective. Like many kids, I wasn't bad; I was bored. Fortunately, my father realized this fairly early on and developed a new form of "discipline" that produced immediate results and long-term positive effects. Looking back as an adult, my father's method of making me read the encyclopedia whenever I did something wrong was the best thing he could have done. He would tell me a topic and say, "Learn about the aardvark and I'm going to quiz you shortly after." It was punishment in the sense that I was forced to stop whatever I was doing, but it also had a purpose in that it kept my mind occupied and presented the type of mental challenge I clearly lacked. Although unwillingly, I went to learn ly everything there was to know about aardvarks because I was going to figure out every question he could throw at me. If it weren't for my driving need to prove him wrong, it may not have worked as well as it did. So that's just it: It was effective. It helped me change my behavior in that moment and it conditioned me to seek out books when I was bored. Obviously, that happened frequently and apparently and it worked. I grew up to become a successful lawyer and a famous writer as well. To this day, Dad's the only one who can beat me. What can be inferred from this passage? A Children who are mentally challenged are more likely to be successful. B Parents ought to develop a new form of discipline to educate their kids. C It's ly necessary to punish strong-willed kids physically. D The stricter parents are, the few mistakes children will make. Answer: A. Children who are mentally challenged are more likely to be successful.
Most dictionaries will tell you a number of things about a language. There are three important things. These three things are spelling, pronunciation and meaning. First, a dictionary will tell you the spelling of a word. If you are not sure about the spelling of a word, you can try to find the correct spelling in a dictionary. Words are listed in an alphabetical order--- a, b, c and so on. For example, on a dictionary page the "poor" comes before "poverty" and the word "poverty" comes before the "power". The words are always given in alphabetical order. The second thing, a dictionary will tell you the pronunciation. Most dictionaries give phonetic , or sound alphabet. The phonetic alphabet shows pronunciation. The third thing, a dictionary will tell you the meaning of words. You can look up a word and find out what it means. Many words have more than one meaning, and a good dictionary will tell you all of the word's meanings. For example, in English the common word "get" has over 20 different meanings. A good dictionary will tell you _ Answer: Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes. An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys on this topic suggests that parents today continue to be "very" or "somewhat" overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today's parents are trying to manage their children's lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate. However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their "adult" children. In the context of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents' involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn't present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents - today's grandparents - would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier. Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past. Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyondthe role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings. The writer believes that _ . Answer: The historical documentary, Mr. Deng Goes to Washington, which was first shown in the capital on May 12, not only reveals the details of an attempted assassination of Deng, but is also the first time that animated images of China's leaders have appeared on the silver screen. The film tells the story of Deng's nine-day visit to the US in 1979, only a month after China established diplomatic relations with the US for the first time after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Lv Muzi, the film's producer, said the film includes 12 animated sequences of Deng, drawn in French, American and Japanese styles, as well as China's traditional shadow puppetry style. Hu Yuchen, who has drawn cartoons for leaders including former premier, Wen Jiabao, is the artist behind the animated images of Deng. Among the three versions of images he drew, director, Fu Hongxing, chose to use the version which was moderately realistic. "Deng's animated images are not static in the film. When he's at meetings, the images are more serious, and when he's at a party, he's _ in a more lively way," said Zhu. For the young animator, animation can tell the story of that period of history better to younger viewers. "At first glance, animation may seem simple, but in reality, we need to do a large amount of homework, like checking what dishes were served at a dinner or what paintings were displayed in a particular room." Zhu said he and the team went through a lot of historical documents and reviewed video clips in the process of creation. Fu said the film is in honor of Deng's contribution to China as well as his influence on generations of Chinese people. Production was completed last year, which marked the l10th anniversary of Deng's birth and also the 35thanniversary of Sino-US diplomatic relations. Which of the following is NOT true about the documentary? Answer: Children in the United States are exposed to many influences other than that of their families.Television is the most significant of these influences,because the habit of watching television usually begins before children start attending school. Parents are concerned about the lack of quality in television programs for children.The degree of violence in many of these shows also worries them.Studies indicate that,when children are exposed to violence,they many become aggressive or insecure. Parents are also concerned at,out the commercials that their children see on television. Many parents would like to see fewer commercials during programs for children.And some parents feel that these shows should not have any commercials at all because young minds are not mature enough to deal with the claims made by advertisers. Educational television has no commercials and has programs for children that many parents approve of The most famous of these is Sesame Street,which tries to give preschool children a head start in learning the alphabet and numbers.It also flies to teach children useful things about the world in which they live. Even though most parents and educators give Sesame Street and shows like it high marks for quality,some critics argue that all television,whether educational or not,is harmful to children.These critics feel that the habit of watching hours of television every day turns children into bored and passive consumers of their world rather than encouraging them to become active explorers of it. Which of the following statements is NOT based on the passage? Answer: People may use the expression"birdbrain"in English to talk about someone who is stupid,but crows prove that this is unfair.Now it has been discovered that crows may understand analogies . It was once thought that only humans could understand analogies,which help us to solve problems creatively,put things into categories,and make scientific discoveries. To test this ability in animals,scientists do"relational matching-to-sample"(RMTS) tests,according to the IFL Science website.If a pair was AA,for example,then picking BB to match it would be correct.If the pair was CD,however,then EF would be correct. Apes and monkeys have learned RMTS,but scientists wanted to know if crows could do it,too.An international team led by Edward Wasserman from the University of Iowa in the US first trained two hooded crows to match things by color1,shape,and number in what is called"identity matching-to-sample(IMTS)",then moved onto RMTS. For the IMTS test,the birds were put in a cage with a plastic tray that had three cards and two cups in it.The card in the middle was the sample card.The cups on either side were covered with the other two cards:One was the same as the sample (in the color1,shape,or number of shapes pictured),while the other wasn't.The cup with the card that matched the sample card contained two wormsto eat. In the second part of the experiment,the birds were tested with relational matching pairs.A card with two same-sized circles,for example,meant they should pick the test card with two same-sized squares and not two different-sized circles.The birds did well in the more difficult test and picked the correct card more than three quarters of the time,Science News reports. Wasserman was surprised that crows were able to solve the problem without any training in RMTS."What the crows have done is extraordinary,"he said in a news release."Honestly,if it was only by force that the crows showed this learning,then it would have been an impressive result.But this was spontaneous." So perhaps it's time to stop saying"birdbrain"permanently! Which of the following is TRUE about the tests on the hooded crows? Answer:
I guess I always knew about the little fish treat, but this past summer it was all I could see. Pipin and Nemo were balancing on one front flipper , flying through hoops, dancing with the trainer, and we were all applauding -- the little kids screaming with delight. That's when the trainer, who wore a little treat bag on her belt, slipped Pipin and Nemo a fish. Each time they successfully performed a trick, they'd get an immediate reward. These creatures weren't really dancing, of course. They were performing a series of movements that they knew would produce a fish. It's such a good show because the sea lions look like they're having such fun. These talented performers who love to be in front of an audience seem almost human. Somewhere in our faith journey, _ . You see how you've spent years jumping through hoops, balancing a ball on your nose, not because it's really who you are, but because you've always done it and the system rewarded you for your performance. But when you've done that for ten or twenty years, you start to ask yourself, "Whose approval am I working for? What do I really believe?" Suddenly you see it: you've spent most all your life taking direction from other people. They've told you what to believe in, what to work for, what to value, how to live your life. You don't want to end your life like Sinclair Lewis's George Babbitt, the middle-aged real-estate broker who has everything and reached the top. But on the last page of Babbitt, George is speaking to his son Ted, who cannot follow in his father's steps. He wants to leave college and head off on his own way. "Dad, I can't stand it any more," the boy says. "Maybe it's all right for some fellows. Maybe I'll want to go back some day, but now, I want to get into mechanics." Babbitt, seeming old and subdued, says, "I've never done a single thing I've wanted to in my whole life!" The Good-Bye Gate brings us naturally to a second passage, leading from dependency to self-possession. As you start separating from the whole worn-out system, you discover that where there is supposed to be a self, there really isn't. While watching the sea lions' performance, the author _ . Answer: realized an important life philosophy Ice melting erodes Answer: granite Some countries have a large number of earthquakes. Japan is one of them, while others do not have many, for example, there are few earthquakes in Britain. There is often a great noise during an earthquake. The ground vibrates .Houses fall down. Railways are broken, which causes trains to turn over. Sometimes thousands of people are killed in different ways. About 60,000 were killed in 1783 in the south of Italy. Some people say that earthquakes often happen near volcanoes , but it is not true. The centres of some earthquakes are under the sea. The bottom of the sea suddenly moves. The powerful forces inside the earth break the rocks. The coast is shaken and great waves appear. These waves travel long distances and rush over the land when they reach it, breaking down houses and other buildings. Sometimes they break more buildings than the earthquake itself. A terrible earthquake happened in Assam, India, in 1986.The land near Shillong suddenly moved 1.5 feet to one side, and then back again. It continued to act like this 20 times a minute.Few buildings could stand what was happening and the great stones flew four feet up into the air. What kind of building stays up best in an earthquake? The Americans carefully studied the results of the earthquake at San Francisco(1906) and believed it best for buildings to be made with concrete walls together by steel frames. Such are the buildings that can't burn or fall easily. The best title of this passage should be _ . Answer: The Centres of Earthquakes One rainy evening I went to fill up at the gas station. A pre-teen boy approached my car and asked me for money to help him and his mother stay in their hotel for an additional week. He stated that if they did not come up with $25 they would be _ that same evening. Having worked in social services before and having doubt about this, I asked why his mother hadn't applied for social services for assistance. The boy said that they needed to remain in their hotel for one more week until his grandmother, who lived out of town, could take them in. I gave the boy what I had -- $5. He thanked me and continued to wander the parking lot asking for help. I got my gas and drove away. Some weeks ago, a boy asked me for money and I told him I didn't have any though I did. Yet, I thought about it for a while and went looking for the boy to give him a dollar. But it seemed that he had disappeared into thin air. "This time," I thought, "I'll do it differently." I went to my bank and got an additional $20, then I returned to the gas station. The boy was still there. I observed him shyly approaching strangers who walked past him without notice. I pulled up and waved at the boy to come over. I handed him the $20 bill. He reached through my car window and gave me a huge hug. His hug told me all I needed to know -- that finally this kid could get out of the rain, the cold and the darkening skies and go inside where it was warm. When the boy received the $20 bill, he was _ . Answer: thankful Kristy,28,a cook in La Gross, often wondered what she'd do in a life threatening situation. On August 29, she got her answer. While she was driving on a road,a big truck hit its head on a pickup car. _ .Kristy rushed out and ran to the pickup.Two farmers,Dean Bernhard,51, and his brother,Donald,44,were inside. When she got close,Kristy could see the unconscious driver.The other man was under the passenger seat. "The smells were sicking.I was afraid the truck would blow up and kill us all," said kristy. The driver of the big truck was struggling to open the passenger door,so Kristy rushed to the driver's side.Finally they opened the door.She reached in,seized the driver and, to her horror,felt her hands sink into his chest.She quickly dragged the man to safety on the roadside,then hurried back.As Kristy started down the ditch with the passenger,the pickup exploded..She jumped on top of him and they both rolled to safety. Today,the two farmers,each the farmer of two children,are good friends with Kristy.To show their deep appreciation,they bought her a ring with nine diamonds---one for each member of their immediate families,and the ninth for her. When coming to save Donald and Dean Bernhard,Kristy never thought that she _ . Answer: would be tested in dangerous situations
MOST recently, my world has been shaken by the death of a teacher at my school. He was Dr Allan Woolley and he was only 52. Suddenly he took his own life, which remains a mystery. That morning, everyone sensed that something wasn't right. During our lessons, an announcement was made that an assembly was scheduled for morning break, which was only done in emergencies. Once morning break came, the entire school gathered in the main hall. As our headmaster marched out to announce the "momentous news", it felt like the air around us trembled . Many students broke down in tears, and the reaction afterward was intensely powerful and unifying . The headmaster said that students were allowed to miss lessons and have a free period to _ themselves if they found the news too distressing . Many students went outside and shared memories of Dr Woolley to control theirselves. Dr Woolley taught me chemistry two years ago, but up until his death he still taught many of my close friends. Many of my friends were so shocked that they still couldn't believe the person that they had owed some homework to was now dead. It was heart-warming to spend time with teachers that morning and get to know more about them. _ The best title for the passage should be _ . Answer: Our School Faces a Tragedy During his life Dr James Naismith worked as a doctor, taught P.E and wrote several books. While he never thought it very important, Dr Naismith is today best known for one thing. He was the inventor of basketball. Dr James Naismith was born in Canada in 1861 and his first job was at a special sports school in the USA. One day the school principal told James he was having a problem with the students. Because of heavy snow, the students could not go outside. He told James that they needed a sport the boys could play indoors and gave the teacher two weeks to think of something. It was on the very last day that James came up with his idea. The "birth of basketball" is said to be on December 21, 1891, when two teams from the school played the first game. It was quite different from the basketball games of today. It had 9 players on each team and footballs were used instead of basketballs. Soon after, the game changed to 5 players on each side, using special "basketballs" through nets. Although Dr Naismith did not live to see basketball become the worldwide game it is today, in 1936, just three years before his death, basketball became an Olympic sport at the games in Berlin. At the time of Dr Naismith's death, which of the following was true? Answer: Basketball was an Olympic sport. Six years ago, Ann graduated from college with a degree in Art. Now she is twenty-nine and works for a large computer company. She takes classes twice a week after work. She is learning to use the computer program PowerPoint. "I enjoy the college, but my job doesn't use the information I learned at college." Ann says. "The course is helping me to do my job better." In the past, when students graduated from college and got a job, they usually stopped studying. Today, lifelong learning is becoming more common. In many countries, some people return to school in their late twenties, thirties, or even older to get a higher degree. More people are taking training courses to improve their working skills after work. People can also get degrees or training through the Internet. Ann's sixty-year-old mother and father are taking courses in Art and Music. "We love these two subjects. Learning is so much fun."They say happily, "It's never too old to learn." Which of the following is TRUE? Answer: People in the past usually stopped studying after graduating from college. Mr. Green is quiet and doesn't like talking with people .He likes reading newspapers and using the Internet.He hardly ever exercises. Sometimes he watches soccer or basketball games on TV. He likes coffee very much and drinks it three times a day . Mr. Green is a bank clerk . It's a busy but boring job. He works with people and money every day .So he always feels tired after work. He likes to get enough rest and goes to bed early after dinner.Usually he goes to bed at 8:30 in the evening and get up at 6:30 in the morning. Mr. Green is very happy with that .But Mrs. Green isn't ,because Mr. Green always talks in his sleep. One morning , Mr. Green sat at table and had breakfast. Mrs. Green asked him, "Why do you always talk in your sleep?" Mr. Green said, "Because I have few chances to talk in the day time." The next morning after their children all went to school, Mrs. Green asked Mr. Green angrily , Why did you scold me in your sleep last night ? "Because I don't have the courage to do it when I'm awake ." Mr. Green doesn't like _ . Answer: talking with people I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money --- often in the millions. A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. And the money he did earn was chicken feed --- very little. Sometimes Al even had to accept gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a _ . He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate . He did not like to spend money. One day, Al got together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery and won a great deal of money. Al was so excited. The first thing he did was to buy a costly new car. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly. When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy. But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money. Some might say he was penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things. What was to become of Al, according to the passage? Answer: He was penny wise and pound foolish.
Winter weather has returned to northern areas of the world. In much of the United States, winter means the return of snow. Snow is a form of frozen water. It contains many groups of tiny ice particles ( ) called snow crystals ( ) . These crystals grow from water particles in cold clouds. They usually grow around a piece of dust. All snow crystals have six sides, but they grow in different shapes. The shape depends mainly on the temperature and water levels in the air. The shape of a snow crystal may change from one form to another as the crystal passes through levels of air with different temperatures. Snow contains much less water than rain. About seventy-five centimeters of snow has as much water as two and one-half centimeters of rain. Generally, the color1 of snow and ice appears white. This is because the light we see from the sun is white. Most natural materials take in some sunlight. However, when light travels from air to snow, some light is sent back, or reflected ( ). Snow crystals have many surfaces to reflect sunlight. It is this light that gives snow its white color1. Much of the water we use comes from snow. Melting snow gives water to rivers and crops. Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from cold. Fresh snow is made largely of air which is kept among the snow crystals. Because the air has trouble moving, the movement of heat is greatly reduced. However, snow is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in the United States every year. Many people die in traffic accidents on roads that are covered with snow or ice. According to the text, snow looks white because _ . Answer: Venice is the Queen of the Adriatic Sea .Every year many people visit the city. Why do they go there? Because Venice is a beautiful city. There aren't any roads in the city, so there aren't any cars or buses. There are a lot of canals. People go up and down the canals in boats. But Venice is going down, and water is going up. In 2040 Venice will be under the water. The Adriatic Sea will cover the city. But the people in Venice love the city and want to stay there. How can they stay there? The people in Venice _ . Answer: The original Olympics took place nearly 3000 years ago in the year 776 BC. Many different sports were played, including boxing, running, throwing the discuss , though there were fewer sports involved than those in the modern Olympics. The Games were held every five years until they were forbidden by the Romans in AD 393. The first new Olympics were held in 1896 in Greece. From 1900, the Games were held every four years, only three Olympics were wiped out because of wars---1916, 1940 and 1944. Nowadays, different countries hold the Games in turns. The country which holds the Games provides vast facilities, including a stadium , swimming pools and accommodation , but competing countries pay their own players' expense. The Olympics start with the arrival in the stadium of a torch , lighted on Mount Olympus by the sun's rays. The well-known Olympic flag, however, is a modern conception : the five interlocking rings symbolize the uniting of all five continents that take part in the Games. When was the first new Olympics Games held? Answer: From diaries to blogs, we're all used to recording our lives with words. So why not take those words one step further? It's a great hobby that can produce something as simple as a 17-word poems, or as _ as a 900-page novel. All you need is just a pen and a notebook. Types of Writing You can jump into any type of creative writing-novels, poems, or something else. Start wherever you feel most inspired, and try a few different forms to see what you like. You can also plan a children's book, write a song, or just write pages in your diary. Actually Writing Creative writing is a skill. If you own natural talents for writing, that's great! If not, you can improve yourself by writing something every clay, even if it's just a few words. 100words. com and 750words. com can help you reach the goal. Getting Inspiration No inspiration is one of the biggest problems that beginning writers face, and it can be hard to find until you know how to look. So, you have to practice looking. Look for the beauty in everyday life, start by reading everything, and see where it takes you. Really, just start writing. Get your thoughts on paper, express yourself, and have fun--because that's what creative writing is all about. As Ray Bradbury, the famous American writer said, "May you live with hysteria ,and out of it make fine stories. What type of writing should a beginning writer choose? Answer: A drunk walks into a bar and says to the waiter, "Waiter, buy everyone in the house a drink, pour yourself one, and give me the bill." So the waiter does just that and hands the man a bill for $57. The drunk says, "I haven't got it." The waiter slaps the guy around a few times, then throws him out into the street. The very next day the same drunk walks into the bar and once again says, "Waiter, buy everyone in the house a drink, pour yourself one, and give me the bill." The waiter looks at the guy and figures _ to _ himself that he can't possibly be stupid enough to play the same trick twice, so he gives him the benefit of the doubt, pours a round of drinks for the house, has a drink himself and hands the drunk a bill for $57. The drunk says, "I haven't got it." The waiter can't believe it. He picks the guy up, beats the living daylights out of him, then throws him out into the street. The next day the same drunk walks back into the same bar and says, "Waiter, buy everyone in the house a drink and give me the bill." In disgust , the waiter says, "What? No drink for me this time?" The drunk replies, "You? No way! You get too violent when you drink." Why does the waiter the second time give everyone in the house a drink, including himself? Answer:
Nowadays we can see ATMs everywhere. So we'd better learn how to use an ATM to withdraw money. First, we must find an ATM for your cards. Some ATMs can only work with certain bank's cards. But now more and more ATMs can use all the banks' cards. Second, we can put our cards in a slot on the right side of the machine. Make sure the card is facing the right way. Then , when the screen says, "Please enter your PIN," we can press the numbers. After that, we can select the type of transaction .So we can press the key for withdrawing money. Next, we can put in the amount of money we want to withdraw by pressing the numbers. Then the screen may say, "Please wait". After a short while, we can take our money from the slot at the bottom of the machine. At last, if we don't need other services, we can press the key for ending. Then our cards will come out from the slot we put it in. And we can finish our dealing and take the cards and money away. When will money come out of the machine? Answer: After we put in the amount of money. At a young age, Patti Wilson was told that she was an epileptic . Her father, Jim Wilson, is _ . One day she said, "Daddy, I want to run with you every day, But I'm afraid I'll have a seizure . Her father told her, "If you do, I know how to deal with it, so let's start running!" That's just what they did every day. It was a wonderful experience for them to share. And there were no seizures at all while she was running. After a few weeks, she told her father, "Daddy, I want to break the world's long-distance running record for women." So she did. That year, she wore a T-shirt that read, "I love epileptics" and completed her run to San Francisco. Her dad ran every mile at her side, and her mom, a nurse, followed in a car behind them in case anything went wrong. In her second year in college, Patti's classmates got behind her. They built a huge poster that read, "Run, Patti, Run!" Her foot was injured when she was running to Portland. A doctor told her she had to stop her run. "Doctor, you don't understand," she said, "This isn't a whim of mine. I'm doing it to let people know -- we can do what others do. Isn't there a way I can keep running?" "Yes, but it would be unbelievably painful." The doctor said. But she told the doctor she could do it. At last she finished the run to Portland and completed her last mile with the governor of Oregon. What's Patti's mother's attitude towards her run? Answer: Supportive. The Danish capital is a year-round destination. Here are some of the city's best annual events. Roskilde Festival (July) The Danes love the outdoors and they love rock music; the Roskilde Festival is where they combine these passions for a weekend of drunken celebration. The four-day event is held about 30 minutes from the city completely, which means you can either go in for the full festival experience, or you can travel from the city to the festival each day. There are also day tickets if you don't have the power for the whole collection of facts. Kulturnatten (October) For something a little more high brow there's the Night of Culture. For one night only some 300 venues in the city stage theater performances, art exhibitions, concerts and poetry readings. Father Christmas Congress (July) One of the more bizarre fixtures in Copenhagen's calendar, the event is held in July--the slow season for Santas--at the Bakken amusement park, some 20 minutes north of the city. The most interesting of the event is a procession of Santas from all over the world along Stroget. Parents should be prepared for some embarrassed questions from the kids. Tivoli Gardens (November/December) These pleasure gardens make for a great day out any time of the year but to see them at their most attractive, visit from mid-November through December, when they are transformed into a fairy tale of lanterns and Christmas markets. There's also outdoor skating, a Christmas entertainment and the very Danish 'Nissekobing' village, home to more than 100 mechanical fairies. The passage is probably written for _ . Answer: tourists Mrs. Black and her daughter Jane are in a store. (: Clerk ) Clerk:Can I help you? Mrs. Black: I want a sweater for my daughter. Clerk: What color does she like? Mrs. Black (to Jane): What color do you like, dear? Jane: I like yellow. Clerk: Do you like this one? Jane: Yes, it's really beautiful. How much is it? Clerk: 80 dollars. Mrs. Black: It's too expensive . Clerk: Look at this blue one. It's only 30 dollars. Mrs. Black: I think the blue one is nice , too. Jane: But, Mom, I don't like blue. Mrs. Black: OK, we'll take the yellow one. Jane: Thank you, Mom. Clerk: Here you are. Mrs. Black: Thanks. Clerk: You're welcome. Where are Mrs. Black and her daughter? Answer: In a clothes store. There once was a wolf that liked to scare the other forest animals. By daylight he pretended to be a kind, nice wolf. By night, he would circle the forest and hunt down his food. When he was very hungry, he would find humans and woof like a dog in hopes that someone would feed him. The wolf's favorite food was meat seasoned with lemon. The wolf liked to watch his food run in circles like a hamster until he felt like eating it. Sometimes the wolf would stay in the sand and lay in the sun until he would crawl back to his home and fall asleep with a full stomach. On other days, he goes home hungry. Sometimes there would be a knock on his door, and the wolf would be pleased because it meant his dinner had come to him and he would not have to hunt that day. Those days were the best for the wolf, by far. What does the wolf like to do? Answer: Scare the other forest animals.
136 Crestview Circle Dover, Connecticut January 16, 1995 Gander's Furniture Store Stamford, Connecticut, 09876 Dear Sir, I am writing about your January bill, which I am returning with this letter. I am not going to pay this bill. Last month I bought a table and four chairs for $65.50. They were sent to me on December 18. That night one leg of the table broke while my wife was putting our dinner on it. It fell on one of the chair, and that broke, too. Our $ 2.50 steak landed on the floor, and the dog ate it. I spoke to the salesmen who had sold me the table and the chairs. He told me to write you a letter. I wrote you on December 20, saying that I was not going to pay for the furniture. On December 21 some men came and took it back to the store. Please do something about your records. I do not want to receive another bill for the furniture which I returned. Yours truly Alberts Robbins Why do you think Mr. Robbins write the letter to the furniture store? A He had paid for the furniture but was asked to pay again. B He didn't want to receive a second bill for the furniture he had returned. C The furniture he bought was badly made and he wanted to return it. D He wanted the manager to scold the salesmen for the bad furniture. Answer: B All plant cells are capable of taking up water. Even dead ones do to a certain degree. Absorption of water by dead cell walls makes wood become larger. In common land plants, the living cells of roots take upmost of the water. Land plants without roots do exist, however. Those greenish-yellow lichens you see on rocks in the high mountains have no roots. Half a billion years ago, when water plants started to enter the land, the first land plants did not have roots. Even among the flowering plants, one finds rootless forms. These flowering plants are "the higher plants" because they evolved recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale . In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad. It is a relative of the pineapple. Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains. The plant gets its water only from the dew it collects at night, when its leaves cool off. Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open. If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies. In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees growing high above the streets on the insulation of electric wires. These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves. Wood becomes larger because of _ . A dead cell walls B water entering dead cells C the growth of cells D the death of cells Answer: B On September 22, 2007, 108 Chinese cities took part in Car-Free Day, a global event held every year, for the first time. China became the world's second-largest auto market and third-largest car-maker in 2006. It has also become the second-largest greenhouse gas producer in the world, and is rapidly catching up with the United States. In this sense, China's participation will greatly promote the Car-Free Day movement. The number of cars on the road is going up rapidly in China. In Beijing, about 1,000 new cars are added to the streets on an average day. Cars certainly offer people plenty of freedom to move around. But in many Chinese cities, appearance of too many cars has turned into a major problem. Getting stuck in traffic jams is an everyday experience for drivers. Even worse is the environmental impact caused by cars. According to a national report, on a "smog day", 79 percent of the air pollution is caused by cars. The growing number of traffic accidents is another problem. Over 100,000 people die from traffic accidents every year in China, which is by far the highest number of road deaths in the world. 108 cities' participation in Car-Free Day shows growing public concern about the traffic and environmental problems caused by cars. On this day, all cars were banned from running in selected areas of the participating cities. People were encouraged to walk, cycle and use public transport. According to experts, the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere produced by cars was reduced by 3,000 tons on Car-Free Day. With cleaner air and smoother traffic flow on the day, more cities will hopefully want to join the event next year. And more people might share the hope that Car-Free Day is not just on September 22, but a possibility 365 days of the year. Which of the following is discussed in the passage? A The causes of car growth in China. B The effects of car growth in China. C The history of World Car-Free Day. D The popularity of World Car-Free Day. Answer: B Lying on his sickbed in hospital, all 86-year-old Lin Ruiming can do is stare out at a tiny part of sky through the small window. The old man used to ride his motorbike through the busy streets of downtown Beijing. All the while he could only dream of touring the world. He has been suffering from terminal lymphoma since February. As a last gift, his granddaughter,Lin Yifan,asked China's Internet population to give her grandfather a shot at globetrotting . Last week, Lin Ruiming's _ from Sydney Harbor, Australia, to the River Thames in London, UK, and even to a volcano in Auckland, New Zealand. Lin Yifan, 29, had promised to paint a portrait of her grandfather, but had almost forgotten her word until the old man got ill. "I had put off the painting for many years because I believed I would have plenty of time to do it," she said. She spent one evening last week working on a portrait, based on a photo taken on her grandfather's birthday last year. She posted the portrait on Sina Weibo, and called for Web users to take photos with the portrait in different locations and send them to her on May 11.Over the following five days she received about 20,000 photos, most of which were sent by people she had never met. She says that her grandfather, while too weak to view all the photos, has said that he is happy. "Thanks to all these helpers, I have become a celebrity around the world," the old man joked. Lin Yifan put off painting the portrait mainly because _ . A her grandfather was seriously ill B she believed she could do it anytime C she was too busy with her work D her grandfather wanted to travel himself Answer: B There is a famous English saying "You are what you eat", and _ means what you put in your mouth will become part of you. Many experts use it to tell people it's important to have a good eating habit. For example, too much sweet food makes a person overweight . To avoid being fat, kids are told to keep off sweet food. But, a team of American scientists have found something new about eating sweet food. "When we say some people 'sweet', we mean they are kind and friendly to us. Perhaps this word can help us learn more about people's feelings and acts." said Brian Meier, a scientist from the study team. "Taste is something we experience every day. What we have done is to find whether we can know someone's character and behavior depending on their taste." In one of their experiments , students were asked questions about their character-whether, for example, they were soft-hearted or not. Then they were asked to make a list of their favorite food. According to their answers, the scientists found that the students who liked sweet food were nicer. In their another experiment, the scientists found that people who preferred sweet food such as cookies and chocolate were more willing to help other people in need, and those who ate non-sweet food such as chips weren't. For example, people with a sweet tooth were more likely to volunteer to clean up their city, visit sick children in the hospital and so on. The result of the experiments is that people's helpfulness or being nice has something to do with their taste for sweet food. So eating sweet food is a useful way to make people nice and helpful. Next time, try some ice-cream. ,. It can be learnt from the passage that _ A scientists asked college students questions about their future B scientists told college students not to eat sweet food C people with a sweet tooth are more willing to help others D people's character has nothing to do with their taste Answer: C
"We're leaving you a great gift,"Papa once told us, " _ !"We thought this was another one of Papa's jokes.But Papa and Mama knew the true value of that gift.We children didn't -until much later.What great gift did our parents leave us? They left us the oil lamp On winter nights,I felt my way through the dark kitchen to get a drink of water for Papa.I was so afraid of the darkness that I never took the time to light the oil lamp or even to drink before I filled his glass.I always sipped from the glass on my way back to him, "Don't drink it all before you get here Miss,"Papa would call. They left us the milking Today I buy milk in bottles,pure and cold.But as a girl I had to milk the cows each day.Then after the milking I had to wash the milk pails and pans.I couldn't use soap,because the water had to be fed to the pigs.The same was true of the dishwater.Soap in the water would have made the pigs sick.But even without soap,the dishes must shine,Mama said.So we had to make them shine! Now we have the blessed telephone and the automobile.There's no barn to clean out,no hitching of horses.There is the warming magic of the furnace .There are the electric lights,with no oil lamp to clean.There are the vegetables that come in neat clear bags.If I want an apple pie,I don't have to climb a tree first. And there is always water!It comes from shiny taps. Now I know what Papa meant when he said, "We're leaving you a great gift.It's a great gift--the gift of going without.It makes you rich for all the days of your life!" The reason why she washed pans and dishes without soap is that _ . Answer: the pigs were to drink the water Computers are good tools .The Internet is also good. But some people spend too much time online. They can't stop. Doctors say this is a new sickness. They call this sickness Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). People with IAD are online a lot. They spend hours chatting to their friends or playing online games. Many people with IAD spend more time on the Internet than with family or friends. Some people with IAD even quit their jobs! Do you have IAD? Think about these questions:How many hours a day are you online? Is it a lot or a little? When you are not online,are you thinking about playing a computer game or checking your messages? When you are online,do you forget the time? Do you get angry when you can't play a game? If you have IAD,what can you do? Dr. Ivan Goldberg and Dr. Kimberly S.Young have some ideas. First,ask yourself "Why am I online a lot?" Then try to take a break. For example,use the computer or play games twice a week,not every day. In this way,you can have a good social life with other friends. The passage is mainly about _ Answer: a new sickness My first job was working for a women's clothes manufacturer at the age of 15. It made me realize what I didn't want to do for my future employment. The only advantage of this job was receiving a wage at the end of the week and sometimes getting clothes for free if they were to my taste. I carried on doing this for only a year, as my studies at school were getting more serious and I wanted to study more to get the right grades. After I had finished college, my first real job was working for a play publisher in central London. I remember writing a letter of application for the post of administration for Samuel French Limited. I had put so much effort into writing it, not realizing that this would be my first step in the process of finding out what I really wanted to do for my future employment. I didn't think I would get the job, but as it turned out, I got a telephone call quickly and started a week later. I remember being excited that I would be working for a publisher in London. Although I had thought I would prefer to work for a book publisher, a play publisher was just as enjoyable. Looking back now, not all first jobs turn out to be enjoyable. Some of my friends worked in supermarkets while they were at college just to earn a bit of money. I remember thinking how much happier I felt working in a clothes factory than in a supermarket. Years later, I can see how good it is to experience work at an early age, as it gives people the opportunity to decide what kind of career will be most suitable for them one day. The boring task of a job will make a person want to pursue an education to get into the right type of employment, which was what I had realized in the end. The author did her first job for only a year because _ . Answer: she didn't get well paid at the end of the week Some parents say summer is the time when teachers should get more pay.But not everyone is grateful to teachers for keeping kids occupied between June and August--Washington state representative Liz Pike has written a Face book post and responded to teachers' complaints of rising cost of living.After reading her post,I feel that Liz Pike should rethink her criticism of public school teaching and avoid comparing it to the private sector. Many of us teachers would certainly like teaching to be more like the private school.It's nothing wrong with fair pay for fair performance.With standardized testing popular throughout the education, teachers are some of the most analyzed and performance-measured employees in the United Sates. Liz Pike is very angry that teachers want raises even while test scores are dropping.Well,how are they supposed to have discipline in the classroom when our hands are tied and we can hardly do anything with naughty students? Teachers would love to be able to turn education around and improve student performance.,However, unlike private school businesses.public schools cannot turn away "customers".A private school business serves customers who walk through the door of their own free will,while public schools have to educate students who only attend school because laws say they must. She says those teachers who are uninspired by a lack of a cost of living increases should give up teaching.Is this the message that she thinks should be sent to the students whose academic performance she claims to care so much about? I think supporting teachers can make teachers teach children how to stand up for themselves. Why do parents think teachers should get more pay? Answer: Because teachers'work is not easy Why play games? Because they are fun, and we can learn even more while playing. Following the rules, planning your next move, acting as a team member -- these are all "game" ideas that you will come across all through your life. They can help you in different ways. Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are very interesting. But perhaps more importantly, they translate part of life into exciting games that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating . Many children's games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For example, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which improves the hand-eye coordination needed in fishing. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competitions. People who watch the event know that a gold medal is a win for the whole country, not just the athlete who got it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or wars, an Olympic win can mean so much. Sports games are also an event that unites people. Football is the most popular sport in the world. People all over the world play it -- some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian football player, has discovered a way to spread hope through football. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a bright future. Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other parts of your life. What's the main idea of the passage? Answer: Games can help people in different ways.
Which would freeze last? Answer: an ocean of water It is often claimed that nuclear energy is something we cannot do without. We live in a consumer society, where there is a huge demand for commercial products of all kinds. Moreover, an increase in industrial production is considered to be one solution to the problem of mass unemployment. Such an increase needs an abundant and cheap energy supply. Many people believe that nuclear energy is endless and economical. There are a number of other advantages in the use of nuclear energy. Firstly, nuclear power, except for accidents, is clean. A further advantage is that a nuclear power station can be run by ly few technical and managing staff. The nuclear power station represents a large step in our scientific research and, whatever the anti-nuclear group says, it is wrong to expect a return to more primitive sources of fuel. However, those who disagree with nuclear energy point out that nuclear power stations bring a direct threat not only to the environment but also to the human race. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether finally nuclear power is a cheap source of energy. There have, for example, been very costly accidents in prefix = st1 /AmericaandRussia. The possibility of increases in the cost of uranium and the cost to ensure its safety could price nuclear power out of the market. In the long run, environmentalists argue, nuclear energy may bring about the destruction of the human race. Thus, if we wish to survive, we cannot afford nuclear energy. Though nuclear energy programmes are expanding, which assumes a continual growth in industrial production and consumer demands. It is doubtful whether this growth will or can continue. Having weighed up the arguments on both sides, it seems there are good economic and environmental reasons for sources of energy other than nuclear power. According to the passage, an increase in industrial production can_. Answer: offer more working opportunities Katy Johnson hit her forehead into a tree branch while walking and texting on her cell phone a couple of weeks ago. "I'm pretty sure I was replying to two texts at a time," the 18-year-old girl said, recalling one text was from her dad and one from a friend. "I was just so devoted to the texts that I just walked right into it." There appear to be a growing number of serious injuries that occur when people use their cell phones to send text messages while also doing something else, such as walking. Bill Haselow, an emergency physician, said the risks are real. He treated two serious texting-while-walking injuries at the Mequon hospital in the past few months. Both teens suffered a broken nose after falling face first on a sidewalk. If you're over 25 or so, it might be hard to appreciate the popularity of exchanging word messages that you compose and read on the screen of your cell phone. But there's no doubt they have an attraction. Perez, a new college graduate, said the number of text messages she sends and receives easily exceeds the number of calls she makes and receives on her cell. Perez said her bills show she typically sends 3,000 texts per month, or an average of 100 per day.www.ks5u.com Perez said she favors texting because it's less formal than calling someone and because it's easier to communicate while doing another activity -- although she is aware now that texting and walking aren't always easy to do together. "I only talk on the phone if I really have to," Perez said. The popularity of cell phones has led to efforts to limit their use. Illinois is considering a ban on walkers using wireless devices while crossing streets. And Wisconsin passed a bill to forbid text messaging by drivers. But don't expect laws to change addiction -- er, habits. The most suitable title for the passage is _ . Answer: Texting While Walking? No Way! It's AOL Jobs Week. We'll have many job listings, so settle in and get your resume ready. And be sure to check out the rest of our Jobs Week content: from resume writing and networking to day jobs and time management to getting a new restaurant off the ground. Lastly, don't forget to enter our sweepstakes for a chance to win a personal session with one of our career experts! Customer Service Workers Median salary: US$31,547 Top cities for hiring: Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia We've all dealt with customer service representatives, those disembodied voices helping you over the phone with various company or purchase-related matters. Love them or hate them, the customer service field is currently blowing up in the United States--big time. Warehouse Workers Median salary: US$29,357 Top cities for hiring: Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio Without warehouse workers, everything we've ever purchased would still be sitting in a building somewhere. The rise of online shopping sites like Amazon has made warehouses a hot spot for hiring. Accountants Median salary: US$63,550 Top cities for hiring: Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; New York Death and taxes may be two reasons for the popularity of accounting jobs, which are frequently in high demand. You'll need to become a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to get started. But while some jobs are at the mercy of the economy, the economy itself isn't going away. Neither are accountants. Human Resources Managers Median salary: US$99,720 Top cities for hiring: Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; New York Speaking of job security, workers in company's human resources department are always needed to find and assess new hires, along with countless other tasks essential to keeping a company well-peopled. CareerCast named it one of the ten best jobs of 2016, because it has high income and low stress. What is the best title for the passage? Answer: Jobs Week: Find Your Next Job Here! April 11, 2003 12:44 a. m. PST, Associated Press The respiratory virus known as SARS has appeared to spread in the United States only to family members of health workers with close contact to a sick person. On Thursday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there might be a case of severe acute respiratory syndrome spreading through the workplace. Dr. Julie Gerberding said a suspected SARS virus patient who became ill after traveling to Asia might have infected a co-worker in Florida, which made her "very worried". So far, a dozen people--nine family members and three health workers--were infected after coming into close contact with the person with SARS. The rest of the 166 suspected American cases have something to do with people who were infected while traveling in Asia. In the Gainesville, Fla. area, a 47-year-old woman was believed to have been infected at work by a 60-year-old woman who was the nation's first suspected SARS case, said Tom Belcuore, director of the Alachua County health department. Since the World Health Organization announced a worldwide warning last month about SARS, the United States has started infection control in hospitals and among families of suspected cases. Florida officials said a school in Okaloosa County went through a cleaning after a 6-year-old boy suspected of having SARS appeared at school with slight symptoms. "Health officials are watching the boys' contacts at school to make sure no one else is infected," said Rob Hayes, health department spokesman, "The boy may have been infected from a family member," Hayes said, "We immediately became aware of it and had the child sent home. He's staying at home with his family until 10 days after symptoms disappear." The researchers guessed that the virus might have come from animals. However, the scientists have not ruled out the possibility that some other microbe might also help make SARS more serious or easier to catch. How many cases of suspected SARS are there in the U.S.A. according to the text? Answer: 166.
Question: Most people hate change, which is sad since we often go through intense changes in life. And for some of us, even the smallest changes can upset our day. So the question is: Why do most of us find making adjustments to our lives so hard? Fear of change is nothing new. Over a century ago, the Parisians were unhappy over a particular addition to their city: the Eiffel Tower. In fact, the citizens were so angry about the plans for the tower that they protested its construction. As strange as it may seem, their anger was completely natural. They were given no choice about the huge change that was going to be made, so they became angry. But we get upset over changes even when we do have a say in the matter and think about them carefully. Changes are brought about every day by the decisions we make: which school to attend, which job to take, whom to marry. Voluntary changes also make most of us uneasy because we don't know how those changes will affect our future. People have discovered that the key to overcoming the fear and anger associated with change is to be flexible . When they are flexible, people can adapt to new situations more easily. Being flexible is especially important in the 21st century as technology makes change occur faster than ever before. Those who oppose change, especially with technology in the workplace, may find themselves out of a job. When change comes, and you have no choice but to face it, embrace it. A positive attitude helps a lot. In fact, the change may turn out to be the best thing for you. That new job you got may end up being much better than your old one. You may make the best friends of your life in the new city you moved to. Don't merely focus on how you feel about change; instead decide to accept the change. The change is the reality, and it's up to you whether the change will be a success or a failure. Why did the building of the Eiffel Tower make the Parisians unhappy? A. Because they didn't like the design of the Eiffel Tower. B. Because they couldn't avoid accepting the Eiffel Tower. C. Because it was no use building the Eiffel Tower. D. Because the Eiffel Tower seemed strange. Answer: B. Because they couldn't avoid accepting the Eiffel Tower. Question: Five years ago, when I taught art at a school in Seattle, I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students. I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student, and said:"Make something out of the Tinkertoys. You have 45 minutes today - and 45minutes each day for the rest of the week." A few students hesitated to start. They waited to see the rest of the class would do. Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided. Another group built something out of their own imaginations. Once I had a boy who worked experimentally with Tinkertoys in his free time. His constructions filled a shelf in the art classroom and a good part of his bedroom at home. I was delighted at the presence of such a student. Here was an exceptionally creative mind at work. His presence meant that I had an unexpected teaching assistant in class whose creativity would infect other students. Encouraging this kind of thinking has a downside. I ran the risk of losing those students who had a different style of thinking. Without fail one would declare, "But I'm just not creative." "Do you dream at night when you're asleep?" "Oh, sure." "So tell me one of your most interesting dreams." The student would tell something wildly imaginative. Flying in the sky or in a time machine or growing three heads. "That's pretty creative. Who does that for you?" "Nobody. I do it." "Really-at night, when you're asleep?" "Sure." "Try doing it in the daytime, in class, okay?" The teacher used Tinkertoys in class in order to _ ? A. know more about the students B. make the lessons more exciting C. raise the students' interest in art D. teach the students about toy design Answer: A. know more about the students Question: Every human being,no matter what he is doing,gives off body heat.The usual problem is how to get rid of it.But the designers of the Johnstown campus of the University of Pittsburgh set themselves the opposite problem-how to collect body heat.They have designed a collection system which uses not only body heat,but the heat given off by such objects as light bulbs and refrigerators as welt.The system works so well that no fuel is needed to make the campus' six buildings comfortable. Some parts of most modern buildings--theaters and offices as well as classrooms-are more than sufficiently heated by people and lights and sometimes must be air conditioned even in winter.The technique of saving heat and redistributing it is called "heat recovery".A few modem buildings recover heat,but the University's system is the first to recover heat from buildings and reuse it in others. Along the way, Pitt has learned a great deal about some of its producers.The harder a student studies the more heat his body gives off.Male students send out more heat than female students and the larger a student,the more heat he produces.It is tempting to conclude that _ for the Johnstown campus would be a hard-working overweight male genius . A good title for the passage would be _ . A. MODERN BUILDING'S HEAT SYSTEM B. A NEW HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM IN PITTSBURGH C. A STRANGE OBJECT IN HEATING SYSTEM D. RECOVERY OF BODY'S HEAT Answer: B. A NEW HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM IN PITTSBURGH Question: Vincent Van Gogh was an important painter of the 19thcentury. He was born in Holland, but he lived much of his life inprefix = st1 /France. He was a very emotional man, and there was much suffering in his life. His style of painting was very different from classical art. He painted pictures of sunny, hot regions ofFrance. He looked for interesting shapes and exciting colours. He liked to work freely and quickly. There is a fast movement in many of his paintings. Sometimes the trees look like fire. The sun, the moon, and stars move rapidly in the sky. He also painted pictures of people. Like his life, his art was always unusual and very emotional. Paul Gauguin was another 19-century painter. He was French and a friend of Van Gogh. Before he became an artist, Gauguin had been a businessman for many years. He made a lot of money, and he likes to buy modern paintings. At the age of 354, Gauguin decided to become a painter himself. Gauguin wanted to discover more important things about man. He went to a different part of Franceto live with the farmers. He painted pictures of French country people there. Two years later he went to live in a small place in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles fromFrance. He wanted to learn about the simple life there. His most famous and interesting paintings were painted at that time. Paul Gauguin became a painter _ . A. all his life B. at the age of thirty-five C. at the age of nineteen D. at an early age Answer: B. at the age of thirty-five Question: Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van . A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded . A van hold seven persons easily, so a family with three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together. Mr Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and bought a van. The sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents' home, the suitcases are brought into the home and the two seats can then carry the grandparents. Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes. Motor homes have become popular because _ A. they can take people to another city when people are free B. they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays C. some people think motor homes are cheap D. big families can put more things in motor homes Answer: B. they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays
This is my first day in our new school. In the morning, I help my new teacher Mr. Hu put some new English textbooks into a big box. And then I carry it to the classroom. The box is very heavy. I walk very slowly with the big heavy box in my arms. A boy runs very fast to me. He can't stop . Oh, dear! My box drops on the floor and there are books everywhere on the floor. 'I'm very sorry.' The boy says again and again. He helps me to pick up all the books. He then helps me to carry the books to our classroom. Who is he? He is my classmate. His name is Jim. He comes to China with his father. He comes from England. Later, _ carry the box of books to our classroom. Answer: Jim and I Our lives and our songs Do you ever listen to the songs that your parents like? Chances are that you don't. You probably think the music that they like is old and dull and that the songs on your playlist are much cooler. But here is what scientists found recently : People's music tastes change as they age, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. So it is likely that your own musical preferences will follow a similar path to your parents', whether you like it or not. We used to think that culture and personality are the only factors that affect one's music choice. But researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, gathered data from more than 250,000 people over the past 10 years. They noticed that as people age, their social circumstances change, and so does their music taste. There are three musical periods that people pass through as they mature -- "intense ", "contemporary" and " sophisticated ". The first period comes in the teenage years , during which people like intense music such as punk and rock because teenagers tend to be aggressive and want to establish their identities as independent individuals. But as people move into early adulthood, their lifestyle changes --they socialize more and want to build close relationships with others. As a result, they become more fond of contemporary music ,such as pop and R&B, which is usually uplifting and danceable and played at parties where people hang out together and chat. When middle age comes, things have settled down for most people. This period will be dominated by more "sophisticated" music, such as jazz and classical, as well as more catchy music like country, folk and blues. " For many , this life stage is frequently exhausted by work and family, and there is a requirement for relaxing , emotive music,"Jason Rentfrow, a research member , told The Telegraph. But you must be thinking : "Aren't there old people who are still into rock music ?" Of course there are. But Rentfrow explained that their reasons for listening to rock music may have changed. " We use music for different reasons," he said , and thus at that age people may listen to remind themselves of their youths. Which of the following statements about musical periods is TRUE according to the article.? Answer: People's music tastes tend to settle down as they age. The Hunan Satellite TV(HNTV) show "Where are we going, Dad?" is a big hit. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the "how to be a good father". As the young parents today are too busy to take care of their children, this new form of "Lost on the way" played by nanny Daddy and cute kids triggered a lot of people's emotional resonance . Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children. The TV shows like "Children are hard to support!", "Where are we going, Dad?", "hot mom" and "cute kids" are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents' confusion in children's education and the appeal for the balance between career and family. In real life, on the one hand the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV shows that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34. We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility of raising a child. The participation of mother in the children's education is also very low. It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that "Where are we going,Dad?" shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with independent personality and free spirit, it is very important for him or her to follow the parents who serve as their first teacher. Maybe this is the real reason why such kind of TV programs could get hot. The truth is that children will go where their parents go; and society will go where the children go. The program is wildly welcomed mainly because _ . Answer: it introduced many beautiful sights and cultures There are seven continents in the world. Among them, Antarctica is the most special one. It is a world of snow and ice all year round. China has sent many scientists there. They try to find resources under the icy land and study climate change and sea biology. What do they eat? Scientists don't have many choices on what they eat. About 60% their food is frozen food. It is easy to heat . Meat is common on the menu, while vegetables are not usual. Fresh vegetables are hard to grow in the cold weather. Therefore, people often eat dried and canned vegetables. How do they sleep? In Antarctica, summer lasts from November to March. During this time, Antarctica faces the sun and gets sunlight 24 hours of the day. In order to get some sleep,scientists cover the window with black cloth to make "night". How do they work? People can wear warm clothes to be against the cold weather, but they can do little with the strong wind. Sometimes, the wind is even stronger than a typhoon. It can easily blow people away. So there are ropes that connect some research stations. People can hold these ropes to keep balance in strong winds. How do they keep in touch with others? There are no cables or Internet on the frozen continent. So mobiles and computers don't work there. Scientists usually use two-way radios to communicate at work. If they want to say hello to family and friends, they can use the satellite phones. How do the scientists work on the terrible windy days? Answer: They use ropes to help themselves. When we talk about village teachers, we often think of difficult conditions, heavy teaching tasks and little income. But there is a village teacher who makes his teaching jobso interesting. His name is Liu Yuesheng who is now called "the most beautiful teacher", Liu comes from Liugang Village Middle School in Dagang, Tianjin. The school is a rural area middle school. It has only about more than 300 students and teachers. Though the school is small, it is only a village school that takes the municipal scientific research projects in Tianjin. Since Liu started to work at Liugang Village Middle School in 1999, he has led his students completing the 300 designs and reportings of national patents . Liu spent three years writing a book called Practice and Invention. In this book, he mostly tells people his teaching experience. The inventions of his students won the silver medal in the national youth science and technology competition. The rural students improve their living skills while they are inventing. Many of the students start their own business after graduation . Liu also guided his students to make a big 260 Model Airplane. He often takes his students to go to the wetlands and take photos during holidays. In order to call on people to pay more attention to protecting environment, he further watches the number of the birds with his students. Today , the wetland aerial of his school of has reached the UAV level. Liu yuesheng has been teaching Liugang Village Middle School for _ years. Answer: 15
Question: Mrs Brown was very fat. Her husband thought she should go on a diet, and he made her eat no meat or cakes. One morning, Mrs Brown made a nice cake for her husband, and he ate half of it. After he went out, Mrs Brown cut a very small piece of the cake and ate it. It was very delicious. Then she cut a bigger piece and ate it, too. In a few minutes she finished up the cake. "My husband is going to be very angry," she thought. "What should I do?" She made another cake very quickly, ate half of it, and put the other half on the table. Mr. Brown came back later. When he saw the half of the cake on the table, he was very happy. ,. (5,2, 10) Mrs Brown made another cake because _ . A. She was good at making cakes B. her husband liked eating cakes. C. She wanted to eat more cakes D. she didn't want her husband to be angry Answer: D. she didn't want her husband to be angry Question: James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves:His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9.There,a school teacher asked the youth his name. "J.C."he replied. She thought he had said"Jesse",and he had a new name. Owens ran his first race at age 13.After high school,he went to Ohio State University.He had to work part time so as to pay for his education.As a second-year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935,he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later. A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs.His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week,and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet.He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event.He did try, and the results are in the record book . The stage was set for Owens' victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political.Hitler did not congratulate any of the African American winners. "It was all right with me,"he said years later."I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him,anyway." Having returned from Berlin,he received no telephone call from the president of his own country, either.In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976,four years before his death. Owens'Olympic victories made little difference to him.He earned his living by looking after a school playground,and accepted money to race against cars,trucks,motorcycles,and dogs. "Sure,it bothered me," he said later."But at least it was an honest living.I had to eat." In time,however, his gold medals changed his life."They have kept me alive over the years," he once said,"Time has stood still for me.That golden moment dies hard." When Owens says"They have kept me alive over the years,"he means that the medals_. A. have been changed for money to help him live on B. have made him famous in the US C. have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life D. have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs Answer: C. have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life Question: On what product might you find a reflector? A. Xbox B. Toyota C. Samsung D. Apple Answer: B. Toyota Question: A month went by in this manner, but a month was all I could bear. The memory of Marguerite accompanied me wherever I went. I had loved that woman -- still loved her -- too much for her suddenly to mean nothing to me. Whatever feelings I might have for her now, I had to see her again. At once. ... I knew Marguerite. Meeting me so unexpectedly must have thrown her into a state of great confusion. Probably, she had heard of my departure which had set her mind at rest as to the consequences of our sudden parting. But, seeing me back and coming face to face with me, weak as I was, she had sensed that my return had a purpose, and must have wondered what was going to happen. If, when I saw her again, Marguerite had been unhappy; if, in taking my revenge , there had also been some way of helping her then I might well have forgiven her, and would certainly never have dreamed of doing her any harm. But when I saw her again, she was happy, at least on the surface. Another man had ensured her the wealthy life in which I had been unable to keep her. She brought shame both to my pride and my love; she was going to have to pay for what I had suffered. I could not remain cold to what she did now. It followed that the thing that would hurt her most would be exactly for me to show coldness. Coldness, therefore, was the feeling which I now needed to pretend, not only in her presence but in the eyes of others. I tried to put a smile on my face, and I went to call on Prudence with whom Marguerite was staying. ... Prudence saw me to the door, and I returned to my apartment with tears of anger in my eyes and thirst for revenge in my heart and thought only of finding a way to make the poor creature suffer. What would the author most probably write about next? A. Why he changed his mind suddenly. B. How he made up his relationship with Marguerite. C. How he made Marguerite suffer. D. Why he wanted Marguerite to pay for what he had suffered. Answer: C. How he made Marguerite suffer. Question: Lee Kuan Yew emerged onto the international stage as the founding father of the state of Singapore, then a city of about 1 million. He developed into a world statesman who acted as a kind of conscience to leaders around the globe. Fate initially seemed not to have provided him with a stage on which to achieve more than modest local success. In the first phase of decolonization, Singapore emerged as a part of Malaya. It was cut loose because of tensions between Singapore's largely Chinese population and the Malay majority and, above all, to teach the city a lesson of dependency, _ But great men become such through visions beyond material calculations. Lee challenged conventional wisdom by opting for statehood. The choice reflected a deep faith in the virtues of his people. He asserted that a city located on a sandbar with no economic resource to draw upon, and whose major industry as a colonial naval base had disappeared, could nevertheless thrive and achieve international reputation by building on its principal asset : the intelligence, industry and dedication of its people. A great leader takes his or her society from where it is to where it has never been ---- indeed, where it as yet cannot imagine being. By insisting on quality education, by suppressing corruption and by basing governance on merit. Lee and his colleagues raised the annual per capita income of their population from $500 at the time of independence in 1965 to roughly $55,000 today. In a generation, Singapore became an international financial center., the leading intellectual metropolis of Southeast Asia, the location of the region's major hospitals and a favored site for conferences on international affairs. It did so by adhering to an extraordinary pragmatism: by opening careers to the best talents and encouraging them to adopt the best practices from all over the world.. Superior performance was one component of that achievement. Superior leadership was even more important. As the decades went by, it was moving ---- and inspirational ---- to see Lee., the mayor of a medium-size city, become a mentor of global strategic order. The great tragedy of Lee's life was that his beloved wife was felled by a stroke that left her a prisoner in her body, unable to communicate or receive communication. Through all that time, Lee sat by her bedside in the evening reading to her. He had faith that she understood despite the evidence to the contrary. Perhaps this was Lee Kuan Yew's role in his era. He had the same hope for our world. He fought for its better instincts even when the evidence was ambiguous. But many of us heard him and will never forget him. Which of the following can best describe Lee Kuan Yew? A. Stubborn and arbitrary B. Aggressive and affectionate. C. Demanding and bossy D. Outspoken and humorous. Answer: B. Aggressive and affectionate.
Question: Large population has caused many problems. For example, the traffic is very heavy in some big cities. During the last ten years, big cities like Beijing and Harbin were full of cars and buses. Now the streets are completely crowded and it's very difficult to drive a car along them. Drivers must stop at hundreds of traffic lights. What are our cities going to be like in the future? How can we solve the problem? There are some good ideas to reduce the use of private cars. In 1971, the officer in Rome began an interesting experiment: Passengers on the city buses didn't pay for their tickets. In Stockholm there was another experiment: People paid very little for a season ticket to travel on any bus, trolley bus and train all over the city. In many cities now some streets are closed to vehicles and _ are safe there. In London there is another experiment: Part of the streets is for buses only. So the buses can travel fast. There are no cars or taxis in front of them. , . In many cities, pedestrians are much safer because _ . A. no traffic is allowed in some streets B. traffic is computer-controlled C. cars move very slowly D. only one-way streets are open to traffic Answer: A. no traffic is allowed in some streets Question: Festival Activities Programme TIME AND PLACE October 24~30 Oct. 24,30:9:00 am~4:00 pm Oct. 25~29:12:00 pm~9:00 pm at Kerry Center Hotel Classroom area (1) English Taster l,esson (2) Food health-keeping method presentation Computer area (3)E-photography and Techno-Music (4) Education Software Demonstration Internet Training area SINA and Capital On-Line will provide Internet training for the public. The focus will be on browsing the Internet; how to find useful information on the web; and how to design an elementary Web page. Foyer Activity area (5) The students from Beijing TV University for the aged will provide a calligraphy (handwriting) demonstration (6)Children activities Lectures 21st Century, the educational weekly of China Daily, will invite experts from English-speaking countries to hold lectures from 18:30 on October 27 to 29 and in the daytime on October 30. The students of English Department have a chance to learn English at _ A. 9:00~9:45 am Oct. 27 B. 15:00~15:45 Oct. 30 C. 17:15~18:00 Oct. 28 D. 12:00~12:45 Oct. 25 Answer: B. 15:00~15:45 Oct. 30 Question: Every time you go online you leave a digital footprint. This is just like a real footprint. It tells where you have been, how long you stayed on line and what you have been doing there. It's easy to get the information and show your digital footprint every time when you send an email, messages and photos. You shouldn't worry about it too much but it is better to be careful about your digital footprint when you are online. There are five tips for taking care of your digital footprint. Don't forget to close the pages with your information when you leave a website, especially if you are using a shared computer. Don't tell anyone your password and don't write them down in a place that everybody can see. Make them more difficult by using both letters and numbers. Remember your favourite websites by looking over the history and the bookmark on your computer or your mobile phone. This is a way that your digital footprint can work in your favour, remember to clear your history from time to time. If you want to post some words on line, you don't have to use your own name. You can use a nickname instead. You can also use a picture instead of a real photo. Protect your personal information online. Be careful about who you share your own information with and always think twice before sharing email, home address, school or phone number with someone. All kinds of people are interested in your digital footprint. It's now quite common for people to look over some personal information online before they offer someone a job. There are cases of people having missed out on jobs and places because their digital footprint didn't make them look good. So remember: keep safe, don't put too much personal information online and always think carefully before you post something. Ask yourself, 'would I be happy for everyone to see this?' How do you leave a digital footprint? A. By walking. B. By using internet. C. By writing letters. D. By talking to people. Answer: B. By using internet. Question: According to an English newspaper, scientists could begin cloning human embryos in Britain in 2001. It is understood that the government has already agreed to use Frankenstein's technology, believing the benefits are more important than ethical concerns .Researchers think it will be possible to grow brain tissue to cure the diseases that are likely to get worse as time passes like Alzheimer's , and produce "spare part" organs like hearts and kidneys for transplant . Ministers are aware that the change in the law will be as controversial as the law which legalized abortion more than 30 years ago. Some politicians reacted angrily , arguing that the government had already made up its mind without discussion. Church leaders and anti-abortion campaigners have long expressed their horror at the plans, arguing that even the earliest embryos are forms of human life.They believe that getting an embryo from cells is morally unacceptable . And it will also cause arguments about how far scientists should interfere with nature and lead to accusations that _ are "playing God". The cloning of human embryos to provide spare parts is regarded by most experts to be the most important step forward in the 21stcentury medicine. Scientists say treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's will be the first application of cloning. The ability to clone embryos was first achieved by scientists in Scotland in the late 1990s and now the ability to grow stem cells into tissues and organs is being developed by American researchers. Combining the two technologies will mean an end to long waits for organs from donors and problems caused by rejection of transplanted tissues by the body. Ian Wilmut, the man who cloned Dolly the sheep, has warned that British experts will go to America, where such work is legal, if the government does not permit it. The government has decided to allow scientists to clone human embryos because they think that _ . A. Frankenstein's technology is advanced B. Its advantages are more important than its disadvantages C. Diseases like Alzheimer's are a serious problem in their country D. They can make a lot of money from it Answer: B. Its advantages are more important than its disadvantages Question: I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then I could _ that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn't the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go. It had been snowing so heavily that I didn't know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. It seemed Milly had died. "She meant more to me than anyone... even my own wife!" he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal . I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn. "I wouldn't leave her out in the cold!" he said. Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. "She was such a good cow! I wouldn't let anyone but a doctor touch her !" he said, and burst into tears again. What do we know about Milly from the story? A. She had met with an accident B. She had caused a scandal. C. She was seriously ill. D. She was hidden somewhere. Answer: A. She had met with an accident
Man is the most intelligent animal created by God because God has given him language which other animals do not have. Communication makes life extremely convenient and easy. Language plays a very important role in life as any emotion can be easily and effectively conveyed through language to anyone. But all this is applicable and beneficial only to human beings. What about animals? How do they communicate with each other? We all know that animals do not have the ability to use language as a medium for communication. But they do have other means of conveying messages to other animals, of which use of body language is the most important one. The messages can be of many types like conveying food location, danger alarms, appreciation of good deeds like helping other animals in dangerous situations, etc. There are two main types of communication in animals: verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Sound is one of the most common types of verbal communication in animals, and majority of the species use it as the medium to convey messages. Bats have to rely on sound waves to communicate. They mostly rest in the morning and become active at night to search for food and do other tasks. All the birds communicate through their chirping. Mammals generally make use of sounds to give calls to other members of their community. Whales are the perfect examples, which use sound waves for communication. They have a whale song, which they repeat after regular intervals. Facial Expressions This kind of communication is mostly found in dogs. When they are angry, they show their teeth and raise their ears. On the other hand, when they are frightened, they pull their ears behind and open their mouth. Also, in birds, when the parent bird brings food for the offspring, the begging expression can be observed on the offspring's face. Gestures and Body Movements This type of communication is common not only in animals, but in human beings too. All human beings, although they use language for communication, tend to use gestures and body movements as well while communicating. Honey bees are the most enthusiastic creatures on earth because they dance to communicate. Some bees dance in the hive so that other bees get signals of the location of the honey comb. A deer waves its tail to warn others of coming danger. When a dog pulls its ears behind with the mouth open, we can tell it _ . Answer: I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy' s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up." "That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200 acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4, 000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch." "He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, 'See me after class. ' " What do you think of Monty Roberts' goal of a horse ranch at that time? Answer: A rich man was riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. On the ground lay a young tree, ready to be planted. The rich man called out to the old man. "What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?" "This is a fig tree, sir." He said. "A fig tree?" The rich man was very surprised. "Why, how old are you, may I ask?" "I am ninety years old this year." "What ?" cried the man. "You are ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it will take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree." The old man looked around the garden. Then he said with a smile, "Tell me , sir. Did you eat figs when you were a boy?" "Sure , why do you ask this question?" the man asked. "Then tell me this,"he said. "Who planted the fig tree?" "Why-why? I don't know." "You see, sir. Our forefather planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me." The rich man was quiet and said, "You are right, my good man. We should do something for the people after us. Thank you very much." The rich man rode away. How old was the old man then ? Answer: As a public school superintendent , I believe the best way to prepare students for colleges and careers is to focus on providing instructional programs and opportunities that help them become good thinkers. To do this, teachers and actually everyone else in a community, should play a role as a "cognitive coach" to students, helping develop good thinkers among our youth. The best way for you to become a cognitive coach is to seek out and engage school children and adolescents in meaningful conversations. The objective here is to get kids talking about what they think, how they feel, and what they believe whenever and wherever you may find them. It may be in a classroom. It may be at the grocery store. It may be at a basketball game. It doesn't matter where as long as you engage students in a topical conversation and, hopefully, even a debate. Mainly, you want to encourage students to voice their opinion about things. Get them to take a position on "this thing, or that thing," and ask them to support their position with evidence. Curiously enough, the simple process of engaging students in real life conversations and debates will serve to strengthen what they have learned in the classroom, and help them create their own knowledge about a subject or a topic. Learning indicates that a student has been exposed to material, understands the material, and can recall the information. Knowledge, on the other hand, goes beyond recall and includes information processing, application to other situations, consideration of meaning, and contrasting with other concepts. Naturally, the topic of conversation you engage in with one of your learners will differ from student to student, and in the level of complexity based on child's age and developmental level. Even a kindergartener has an opinion about things that are going on in his or her life. Engaging in conversation with any members of your learning community in ways that get at what they have learned and what they know will help them develop higher order reasoning skills. A student's synthetic thinking process occurs when a respected adult asks a question, particularly a question that requires reflection. I think all adults in a community have a responsibility to help children with this process, with the goal of producing independent thinkers. What is the main purpose of the passage? Answer: In Japan,Luffy is more popular than Harry Potter.Luffy is the main _ of One Piece <<>> ). The book came out in 1997. One Piece tells the adventures of Monkey D.Luffy,a 17-year-old boy.He got supernatural abilities by eating magical fruit.Luffy's dream is to find the world's biggest treasure , One piece. Then he wants to become the next Pirate King. To make his dream come true,Luffy has to reach the end of the most dangerous ocean:the Grand Line .Luffy travels with a group of brave pirates called the Straw Hats.On his way,more people join the group.They even have a cook,a soldier and a musician.They also fight with other pirates on their way. Many Chinese teenagers are One Piece fans.Yang Peiqi,14,from Shenzhen says he thinks reading One Piece is great fun and he also likes the theme of the story,- dreams and friends. Which of the following is not true? Answer:
There is a nice girl in our class. She is twelve. She is not tall and is not short. She is a little fat . She has a round face like an apple. She has big black eyes and a small nose. Her mouth is small, but her ears are big. Her hair is short and black. She likes red. She is often in a red skirt. But today she is in a yellow T-shirt, blue pants and brown shoes. She has a toy dog. It's her friend. ,. Her face is _ . A tall B short C long D round Answer: D. round Man is a born child, his power is the power of growth. The trees come up to my window like the yearning voice of the dumb earth. You smiled and talked to me of nothing and I felt that for this I had been waiting long. The fish in the water is silent, the animal on the earth is noisy, the bird in the air is singing. But Man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth and the _ of the air. The world rushes on over the strings of the lingering heart making the music of sadness. We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. The mist, like love, plays upon the heart of the hills and brings out surprises of beauty. Your voice, my friend, wanders in my heart, like the muffled sound of the sea among these listening pines. What is this unseen flame of darkness whose sparks are the stars? Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves... This is most probably part of _ . A a play B a novel C a story D a poem Answer: D. a poem The animal kingdom has a new member. On September 12, 2012, researchers made a report to the world that they discovered a new species of monkey. It is called the lesula. And it is only the second monkey species discovered in 28 years. Scientists first saw the lesula in June, 2007 in Congo, a country in Africa. The lesula lives in the rain forests. The monkey was first found as a pet in a local family. When researchers found it, the family told them that they caught the monkey in the wild and then kept it as a pet. The scientists have compared the lesula to the owl-faced monkey. The owl-faced monkey gets its name for having a long nose and a face that looks like an owl . The lesula and the owl-faced monkey are similar in size and both have a stripe on their nose. This shows the lesula and the owl-faced monkeys are close relatives, but different species. Scientists say the lesula usually weighs about twelve pounds. It has long blond hair. It eats like a vegetarian . Scientists say it is important to protect African rain forests because there may be other new species like lesula to be discovered in the future. Where is Congo? A In Asia. B In Africa. C In America. D In Europe. Answer: B. In Africa. In ancient times, there was a painter. He was good at painting flowers and birds. But he never stopped practicing until he became very famous. An emperor of China also loved paintings,especially roosters . So he asked the famous painter to paint a rooster for him. He wanted the rooster to be the best among all his collections. The painter promised to do so. The emperor waited and waited for one year.,but he didn't get the picture. He couldn't waited to see the painter. He became angry and wanted to kill him. So the painter hurried into the palace with paper,paint and a brush. In five minutes, a perfect rooster was on the paper. After seeing this,the emperor became much angrier. "Since you can paint a rooster in five minutes, why did you keep me waiting for over a year?"he asked. "Your Majesty ,"said the artist. "I will let you know why.But you'll have to come with me. " he invited the emperor to his house. There, there were piles and piles of paper. On every piece of paper was a painting of a rooster. "Your Majesty ,"said the painter. "It took me more than one year to improve my painting skill in order to paint a perfect rooster for you. In fact, during the whole year the painter _ A escaped from the emperor to live quietly B worked hard at practice drawing roosters C was invited to other places to draw roosters D drew piles and piles of paper to make a living Answer: B. worked hard at practice drawing roosters Through a series of experiments an American scientist has gained an understanding of the social structure of the most complex of ant societies. The ants examined are the only creatures other than man to have given up hunting and collecting for a completely agricultural way of life. In their underground nests they cultivate gardens on soil made from finely chopped leaves. This is a complex operation requiring considerable division of labour. The workers of this type of ants can be divided into four groups according to the size. Each of the groups performs a particular set of jobs. The making and care of the gardens and the nursing of the young ants are done by the smallest workers. Slightly larger workers are responsible for chopping up leaves to make them suitable for use in the gardens and for cleaning the nest. A third group of still larger ants do the construction work and collect fresh leaves from outside the nest. The largest are the soldier ants, responsible for defending the nest. To find out how good the various size-groups are at different tasks, the scientist measured the amount of work done by the ants against the amount of energy they used. He examined first the gathering and carrying of leaves. He selected one of the size-groups, and then measured how efficiently these ants could find leaves and run back to the nest. Then he repeated the experiment for each of the other size-groups. In this way he could see whether any group could do the job more efficiently than the group normally undertaking it. The intermediate-sized ants that normally perform this task proved to be the most efficient for their energy costs, but when the scientist examined the whole set of jobs performed by each group of ants it appeared that some sizes of worker ant were not ideally suited to the particular jobs they performed. It seems that smaller ants perform more of the _ . A construction tasks B home tasks C defensive work D heavy work Answer: B. home tasks
Today, at 28, the young German Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is at the top. "She gives radiance to the music," wrote Geoffrey Norris in The Daily Telegraph, prefix = st1 /London. Mutter is also one of the world's youngest professors. Born in Rheinfelden on June 29, 1963, Anne-Sophie grew up in Wehr, a small town just five kilometers from the Swiss border. Her father, Karl Wilhelm Mutter, and her mother, Gerlinde, considered music lessons part of a good education. Thus, their son, Andreas, began practicing the violin at eight, and his younger brother, Christoph, had piano lessons. It came as no surprise when Anne-Sophie said she wanted a violin for her fifth birthday. Her parents thought she was too young for the violin, and persuaded her to start on the piano. But Anne-Sophie has always had a mind of her own. "I longed to play the violin," she says. "It seemed to me a much more interesting instrument." After six months, her parents gave in. The famous violin teacher Erna Honigberger, who lived nearby, became Anne-Sophie's tutor. After only nine months of lessons, she entered the six-year-old in a nationwide competition for young musicians. With Christoph accompanying her on the piano, Anne-Sophie won first prize. In 1974, Erna, Erna Honigberger died. Anne - Sophie's new teacher was Aida Stucki. She taught Anne-Sophie to develop her own ideas on how a piece should be played, not just to imitate others. This is one of the violinist's strongest most distinctive characteristics today. Though the Mutters were short of money at time, they limited their daughter's performances to one or two a year. "We are glad we went the family road," says her father. "No outsider can ever have an effect on our daughter's career or push her into playing more concerts than she wants to." Later she was allowed to give six to eight concerts a year and make some recordings. Only when she turned 18 did she begin her professional career. Anne-Sophie's career dates back to_. Answer: Which sense can be used to determine an object's ability to reflect light? Answer: The first memory I have of him---of anything, really---is his strength. It was in the late afternoon in a house under construction near ours. The unfinished wood floor had large, terrifying holes whose big and opening darkness I knew led to nowhere good. His powerful hands, then age 33, wrapped all the way around my tiny arms, then age 4, and easily swung me up to his shoulders to command all I surveyed. The relationship between a son and his father changes over time. It may grow and flourish in mutual maturity. It may sour in hated dependence or independence. With many children living in single-parent homes today, it may not even exist. But to a little boy right after World War II, a father seemed a god with strange strengths and strange powers enabling him to do and know things that no mortal could do or know. Amazing things, like putting a bicycle chain back on, just like that, or building a hamster cage, or guiding a jigsaw so it forms the letter F; I learned the alphabet that way in those pre-television days. There were, of course, rules to learn. First came the handshake, a good firm squeeze accompanied by an equally strong gaze into the other's eyes. "The first thing anyone knows about you is your handshake," he would say. And we'd practice it each night on his return from work, the serious toddler in the old Cleveland Indian's cap running up to the giant father to shake hands again and again until it was firm enough. One day, I realize now, there was a change. I wasn't trying to please him so much as I was trying to impress him. I never asked him to come to my football games. He had a high-pressure career, and it meant driving through most of Friday night. But for all the big games, when I looked over at the sideline, there was that familiar fedora . And by God, did the opposing team captain ever get a firm handshake and a gaze he would remember? Then, a school fact contradicted something he said. Impossible that he could be wrong, but there it was in the book. These accumulated over time, along with personal experiences, to strengthen my own developing sense of values. And I could tell we had each taken our own, perfectly normal paths. I began to see, too, his blind spots, his prejudices and his weaknesses. I never threw these up at him. He hadn't to me, and, anyway, he seemed to need protection. I stopped asking his advice; the experiences he drew from no longer seemed relevant to the decisions I had to make. He volunteered advice for a while. But then, in more recent years, politics and issues gave way to talk of empty errands and, always, to illness. After much thought and practice " You can do whatever you have to do.", one night last winter, I sat down by his bed and remembered for an instant those terrifying dark holes in another house 35 years before. I told my father how much I loved him. I described all the things people were doing for him. But, I said, he kept eating poorly, hiding in his room and violating the doctor's orders. No amount of love could make someone else care about life, I said; it was a two-way street. He wasn't doing his best. The decision was his. He said he knew how hard my words had been to say and how proud he was of me. "I had the best teacher," I said. "You can do whatever you have to do." He smiled a little. And we shook hands, firmly, for the last time. Several days later, at about 4 A.M., my mother heard Dad shuffling about their dark room. " I have some things I have to do," he said. He paid a bundle of bills. He composed for my mother a long list of legal and financial what-to-do's " in case of emergency." And he wrote me a note. Then he walked back to his bed and laid himself down. He went to sleep, naturally. And he did not wake up. From the passage we can infer that _ . Answer: TransLink is urging customers to avoid non-essential travel today and to stay home where possible in the difficult weather conditions. TransLink chief executive officer Peter Strachan said bus and train services were continuing to run where possible, however all CityCat and CityFerry services had been cancelled until further notice. "These are extremely difficult conditions for South East Queensland---we are running essential services where possible but safety remains to be the most important," Mr Strachan said. "Severe weather and associated flooding has impacted on all modes of public transport, with bus, ferry and train services all impacted to varying degrees. "If you are planning to use public transport at anytime over the next few days, then I would recommend you check that your intended service is still running." Service disruptions for today include: l City network trains running hourly on all lines. l Bus diversions, delays and cancellations in some regions, particularly across Brisbane, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast. l CityCat and CityFerry services cancelled. Queensland Rail Chief Executive Officer Paul Scurrah said rising waterways had closed some train lines, and road closures and damage to property throughout the South-East had contributed to a shortage of available rail employees. "We intend to run trains hourly on all lines, similar to the timetable we operate on Christmas Day. We will also be looking to run other additional services to meet demand as required. At this stage we will run services stopping at all stations which will depart at the same time on the hour, however, this is all subject to the weather conditions and the availability of traincrew." Mr Scurrah encouraged all customers to visit the Translink website for specific departure times for their station, and asked for patience in the event of delays. "Queensland Rail appreciates that reduced services may cause disruptions but it is simply unavoidable. We have a dedicated and experienced team monitoring the situation around the clock and will be working to reopen the network as soon as practicably possible," Mr Scurrah said. The latest service disruption information is available on the TransLink website www.translink.com.au. According to Mr Strachan, what is the first consideration while providing public transport? Answer: As a result of British colonial rule, English language is the second most widely spoken language in India after the Hindi. Though it appears to be a second language, there is no question about its immense growth over the years in Indian history. It is the main language accepted and spoken in the fields of business and education across all places in India. India is ranked the third largest English-speaking population in the world besides the US and the UK. English writing has blossomed in India and has reached a peak where Indian writers like Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie were able to distinguish themselves in the whole world. Many Indian authors bring out books on Indian culture and literature. Shobha De, a famous fashion and lifestyle columnist is one of the important writers to be mentioned who have paved the way for others to follow suit. Quite a few newspapers like The Hindu, Times of India and Indian Express have increased the popularity and acceptance of English in India greatly. They have played an important role in spreading English in all comers of the country. One of the major contributors in promoting English language development in India is the education system. Private schools and colleges play a major role in preparing students with spoken and written skills in English. The standard is so high that we can see young students actively taking part in group discussions and quiz competitions to show their talents all over the world. Indian movies don't lag behind . There are so many English movies that come out of India every year. The world's movie capital is not Hollywood but Bollywood, which is the nickname for the Indian film industry located in Mumbai. Movies like Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding have great international influence. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text? Answer:
If you have a bad habit of losing things, a new device that can be connected to any item that you might lose may be the way to solve your problem. The Tile, a small square linked up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, lets you see how close you are to the missing item, within a 50-to 150-foot range . If the item goes out of your phone's 150-foot range, it can still be detected on other smartphones with the same app. When you log into the app on your phone, it shows you, with green bars that increase or decrease, how far away you are from the Tile. You can also program it to make a sound when you get close to the Tile. And you can link up your phone with up to ten Tiles. And if your lost item -- a dog, for example, or a stolen bike -- goes out of your own phone's 150-foot Bluetooth range, you can set it as a "lost item". If any of the phones with the Tile app comes within the range of your lost item, a message will be sent to your own phone, reminding you of its position. The Tile app also has the function to remember where it last saw your Tile, so that you can easily find where you left it. Since the Tiles use Bluetooth rather than GPS, they never run out of battery or need to be charged, and they last for one year before needing to be replaced. The app, which will come into the market this winter, works with iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, iPad 3rd and 4th generation, and iPod 5th generation. Where does this passage probably come from? A news report. Some people remember the things by writing notes to themselves. Then they leave the notes in obvious places, such as on the table or on the floor in the middle of the living room. I don't think I like to write notes to myself. Most of the time I lose them or forget to look at them until it's too late. I prefer to use an alarm clock to tell me what I should do. I have ten alarm clocks in my house. They could tell me about things. For example, if I have to make a telephone call at a certain time, I'll set an alarm clock to go off a few minutes early and put the clock by the telephone. Or if I want to watch a certain television program, I'll set an alarm clock at the right time and put the clock on top of the TV set. I can remember almost anything if I use my clocks. However, sometimes an alarm clock goes off and I don't know what it means. I always remember setting it, but I do not know why I set it. If the clock is by the telephone, I know I may have set it to tell me to call someone, but I can't be sure. I might have set it to tell myself that somebody was to call me at a certain time. Some people like to write notes to themselves so that they can _ . remember what to do at a certain time Parents are a child's first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents. The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me. Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby in different seasons. She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy. "I said 'That's not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he's going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Hug him! And she started to do that. They just want a little hugging and a little love. And it works!" Delores Clemens said. Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. "I'm doing something for them that never has been done for them before." In class, with her baby son, is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in looking for a safer life. "Did you go to high school?" "Yes." "Did you graduate?" "No, I didn't. I was in my last year and then, I got pregnant and I got lazy." "You look like you are willing to accept responsibility for that." "Yes, I am, and I would like to finish." Some teenage mothers wish they themselves could be children again. 18-year-old Placida knows that feeling. "Because you have to get up every two hours in the middle of the night, and you can't go out and say 'I am going to buy this for myself.' No. I have to buy pampers, clothes and food. So now it's two. So it's very hard." Placida said. What did Natasha want to finish high school for? To accept the responsibility to look after her baby. When you hear about a man saving his dog from a sinking ship, it's hard not to be moved by the tale of an animal lover's bravery.But the story becomes slightly less heroic when you learn that the man saved his dog before his own wife. But that's apparently what happened when Graham Annie and his wife, Cheryl, found their Yacht sinking after it hit a rock, while on a voyage from East London to Madagascar. National Sea Rescue Institute North London station commander Geoff McGregor said all three were wearing life jackets.The 9-year-old Jack Russell terrier named Rosie was wearing a tailored life jacket equipped with a light. "As the incident happened Graham sent a radio distress call for help and activated the EPIRB (a GPS beacon) but they were immediately forced to abandon ship," McGregor said in an interview, "He first swam Rosie to the shore safely before returning for his wife, whose safety line had caught on the steering gear McGregor added. The couple and their dog all made it out free of injury.Graham, a long-time volunteer with the National Sea Rescue Institute, said, "it was humbling to have the shoe on the other foot and need to be rescued." Some details have yet to come out.So, it's likely that Cheryl was in a position of safety and Rosie might have been in a more dangerous position had she been left on the boat. The couple did not want to speak with the media about their rescue.So, for now, it's left to readers to find out Graham's priorities during their troubled time. What does Graham 's priorities" refer to? Graham's decision to save the dog first. Everyone dreams of changing the world. But can teenagers really make a difference? And how can they go about it? Michael Norton's book 365 Ways to Change the World is a good starting point. The book gives an idea or task for every single day of the year. The tasks include offering to work at a local homeless shelter and planting a tree. The book says that one simple act, no matter how small, can help someone in need. It may even influence other teens to do something. Nathan Anthony, a student at Maple High School in Modesto, California, US, agrees. "It is impossible to get anything in life without giving something to someone or working hard at school or workplace," Anthony said. Another Maple student, Ariane Mota, has the same idea." Giving is our way of repaying those who help us," she said." Whether it is a helping hand or a donation, we should help others to make their day or life better." But how often do teens see peers helping a stranger or doing something nice for someone? According to Anthony, not a lot. He and Mota both believe this needs to be changed. "I help my friends by telling them that their lives are better than those poorer people," Anthony said." Humor is also a great tool." So whether you're helping to find a cure for bad illness or simply smiling at a stranger, do something every day to help change the world for the better. According to Nathan Anthony, how many teens can be seen helping a stranger or do something nice for someone? Some teens
Question: In our daily lives, Wechat is really hot now. Many people express themselves, exchange ideas and deliver information by Wechat. There are a number of reasons for Wechat to be popular. To begin with, Wechat is a cheap way of communication, which cuts down a great deal of the cost made by phone calls. Next, Wechat is to the taste of the most of people. Its attractive and lots of functions are loved widely. What's more, convenience also leads to its popularity. It is _ no matter where we are. However, it has problems, too. First of all, our IDs might be revealed when we use Wechat and we could be in danger. Secondly, we may spend more time on Wechat instead of with our family. As a result, relationship could break down. The last problem is that our attention might be drawn too much and sometimes we may find it difficult to focus on study. There is no doubt that Wechat will improve as time goes by. So let's look forward to the better Wechat and have more fun with it. Using Wechat could be dangerous because _ A. relationship could break down B. IDs might be revealed C. it`s difficult to focus on study D. spending too much time on Wechat Answer: B. IDs might be revealed Question: Are you bored and lonely? Do you want to make new friends? Do long working hours make it difficult for you to get out and about to meet new people? Maybe you or your friends have moved to a new area and this has left you feeling lonely. Even if you are already the proverbial social butterfly, you may still find that your existing friends do not share the same interests and feelings. You may have a satisfying social life, but you still find you have no one to travel with. You may have your circle of friends, but find that none of them will join you in the activities or sports that interest you most. These are just a few of the reasons why millions of people search online to find new friends. Matchmaking websites are good tools to make friends online. Profile matching technologies enable you to search for new friends by age, gender, location, interests and much more. You can make friends near you or anywhere in the world and learn about new countries, cultures and lifestyles. Making friends online is easy and anonymous as members get to know you by your username only. You can get in touch with members by sending private messages, joining in discussion forums, or sharing online chat. When you are ready, you can take your new friendships into the real world by arranging meetings to share your common interests. If you prefer to meet in numbers, you can join or create your own local group in which members share interests and activities near you. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A. It is rather difficult to make friends now. B. You can share interests with your online friends. C. Online friends are usually not your true friends. D. It is very dangerous to make friends online. Answer: B. You can share interests with your online friends. Question: English songs have been very popular for people around the world for many decades. Songs from Elvis Presley to Ricky Martin, from the Beatles to Eminem and from Natalie Cole to Britney Spears have all been enjoyed by people around the world, even for people who don't speak English, and even for people who speak zero English. From my experience, some people listen to English songs for 20-30 years but still don't achieve any good English skills. Some people choose English songs to be their main learning method, but most of them fail. Listening to English songs does not help you to speak English fluently. It does help you gain some vocabulary, but most of these words are unusual ones that you don't use in everyday life. You won't learn the sentence "It is a difficult project. We really need to meet the deadline." in any English songs. All you will hear are love, passion, affection, hate and blue, for the feeling, not the color1. People like using English songs to practice English skills because it's easy and enjoyable. They think that sitting in the car listening to English songs day after day will improve their English skills. It actually will not. You will definitely not improve your listening skills because normal people don't speak with a tune. People don't talk like Eminem's songs. You can't get yourself familiar with English pronunciation or accent just from listening to English songs. The words that they pronounce in the songs are not the words that you will hear in your everyday life. They can even confuse you more about how English is pronounced. I would fully encourage you to watch English movies and listen to radio news or other normal talks, but not music. Of course, you can consume it for fun but not with the aim of improving your English skills. Having good English skills is not that easy. Remember you should work hard to improve your English step by step.ks5u According to the passage, listening to English songs can help you _ A. improve your English grammar B. speak English more fluently C. gain the skills of writing D. learn more new words Answer: D. learn more new words Question: Here comes the last term of Junior 3. Terrible! The big exam is coming in less than two months. You still have a lot to do. How will you spend it? We invited three students to share their stories. Dou Yi, 15,Beijing My chemistry used to be poor in the past. I got scores of around 40 on every test. During the last term, I decide to beat chemistry. I will start to work hard. In class I take every possible note. After school, I spend most of my time studying chemistry. My parents also ask their friend, a chemistry teacher, to help me . Finally in the latest exam, I got 65! How happy I am! Wang Zhaolin, 16, Chongqing My foot got hurt a week before the big PE exam . Luckily, I recovered in time. For PE , all you need is to practice. Sports can also help you relax. Be careful not to get hurt as I did. Wang Feixuan, 15, Xi'an My experience is that for Junior3, every minute of the last term is important. Don't waste any of them. I try to remember English words while waiting in line to get my lunch. I read textbooks on the bus to and from school. I work hard at home and sometimes stay up late studying. Want to have fun? Leave it for the summer holiday after the big exam! Wang Zhaolin thinks if you want to get better score in PE, you have to _ . A. relax yourself well B. practice really hard C. get hurt a week before the exam D. sleep well Answer: B. practice really hard Question: According to the recent survey , only forty percent of children in our school feel happy, Why? Do you know what "happiness" means? A lot of money? No homework every day? High marks or anything else? In fact , happiness is always around you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, you r friends will help you; When you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; When you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; When you do something wrong, people around you will help you to collect it; When you do something good to others, you will feel happy ,too. All these are happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you. All these can't be bought with money. It's a feeling of your heart. When you come across difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. As the saying goes , lift is a revolving door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person. What will your friends say to you when you get high marks? A. Good luck! B. Congratulations C. Just so-so D. Is that so? Answer: B. Congratulations
Which of the following properties of a substance is conserved during thermal expansion? A mass B volume C shape D distance between particles Answer: A. mass a flood is occurring there was most likely A light hail B clear skies C some leaves D great drops repeating Answer: D. great drops repeating America is a mobile society.Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change.Neither side feels hurt by this.Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while --then no more.If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship.This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending sometimes deeply into both families. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life.They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality easily. Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time.This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be _ .Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend.We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine.They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus.And they expect that we will phone them from there.Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real, We will find ourselves treated hospitably.For the Americans, it is often considered friendlier to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters.So accept their hospitality at home! A suitable title for this passage would probably be " _ ". A The mobility of Americans B Treat Americans at home C Americans' hospitality D Americans' views of friendships Answer: D. Americans' views of friendships Lighter and cheaper than high-quality video cameras, today's best smartphones can shoot and edit high-definition (HD) videos. With lower-quality lenses and image sensors, smartphones probably won't replace professional video cameras anytime soon. Still, some creative filmmakers are extending the borders of smartphone moviemaking by shooting professional-quality films using only smartphones. Soon after Apple's iPhone 4 was released, two filmmakers decided to make a short film using only their iPhone 4s. Michael Koerbel and Anna Elizabeth James shot and edited the one-and-a-half-minute film Apple of My Eye in only 48 hours. Audiences were fascinated with the film, in which a man and his grandfather connect emotionally while admiring a model train set in a store window. The filmmakers followed up their success with Goldilocks, an extraordinary spy novel told over nine, three-minute films. Many filmmakers are convinced that smartphone films are here to stay. One sign is their inclusion in major film festivals. In February 2012, organizers of the Berkshire International Film Festival staged the 10 X 10 On North Festival. Entries included Oliver by Hooman Khalili, an award-winning film about a girl whose special powers enable her to brighten the lives of three lonely people. Another entry was Yearlapse'11, a 365-second film by Zsolt Haraszti that describes an actual journey he made from New York to London. During the festival, which ran from February 16 to 26, these and many other smartphone films were shown at the Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Similar festivals in Canada and South Korea have given smartphone filmmakers opportunities to show off their creative work. Which film is about secret agents? A Apple of My Eye. B Goldilocks. C Olive. D Yearlapse '11. Answer: B. Goldilocks. There's more time to go for walks when A it's winter B owls are hunting C it's summer D there's an evacuation Answer: C. it's summer
Trends come and go but style is eternal. So what is the latest fashion trend that defines this season? Let's take a look at the fashion trend in 2016 and be the first ones to embrace the latest trend. Head----It seems like everyone will be wearing a bucket hat this season. Bucket hat might sound a bit old-fashioned for some people, but the 90s trend is in season again! Spring and summer are always the seasons for casual clothes, so pairing the bucket hat with casual shorts or skirts would be your outfit to go in this spring and summer in 2016. Bottom--Summer is the season when everyone gets ready for the humid weather. The current season trend is making everyone have a more comfortable summer because wide-leg bottoms is in trend again. Perhaps not everyone likes wide-leg bottoms because this could possible make people look shorter, choosing a high-waist wide-leg bottom and matching it with crop top will definitely make you look taller and trendy in 2016. Dress---Be prepared for embracing the feminine details this season. Ruffles around the sleeve or ruffles all-over the dress will be everyone's favorite in SS 2016. All these little details will transform your look in season. Simple colors like pink and black are designer's favorites in this season too. Shoes---Many people thought wedges are also the shoes to go in spring and summer time, but in SS 2016, very flat flats are in trend again. Shoe designers are trying to have more combinations flats or low-heels with less of gender identity. Accessories----No outfit goes perfect without accessories. Adding statement accessories to your simple and natural outlook this summer is your day-to-night outfit. These jewels are doing to make you feel completed in day time and sparkled at night. What will fashion icons do in SS 2016 except _ ? Answer: prefer complex colors There are trains to carry people,trains to carry animals or carry things.There are fast trains and slow ones.Some trains go through hills.In big cities,the streets are usually very busy.So you can find trains under the ground.they carry people quickly in and out of the big cities.Can a train run over the water?Yes,it can.There are many bridges over the rivers.The trains can easily run over the water.But it is not easy to build the bridges.Today's trains have dining rooms for people.You may eat something in them on the way if you are hungry.Trains are useful to men,women and children.Many children have model trains.With the model trains they can build their own rails and enjoy the wonderful world of trains. If you are hungry,you may go to _ of the train to have something to eat when you are traveling by train. Answer: the dining room Nancy was new to America. She had an 8-year-old son. They found a house in New York. They were there for only two months when a neighbor's dog jumped into their yard. The dog ran toward Nancy's son. Nancy put her body in between the dog and her son. The dog stopped when it saw Nancy standing in front of it. She was going to hit it on the nose. The dog turned around. Shaking, Nancy took her son upstairs. They stayed in the house all the weekend. Then Nancy found another house. It was close to her son's school. She and her son walked everywhere. They found there was a park and a supermarket near the house. Nancy was very happy. Her son Tommy liked playing badminton, and he could practice in the park every morning. What do you think of the dog according to the passage? Answer: A little scary. In litigation on a federal claim, Plaintiff had the burden of proving that Defendant received a notice. Plaintiff relied on the presumption of receipt by offering evidence that the notice was addressed to Defendant, properly stamped, and mailed. Defendant, on the other hand, testified that she never received the notice. Which of the following is correct? Answer: The jury may find that the notice was received. Be careful on April 1st! When your classmates say "Your shoes untied !", it may not be true. And if you find your alarm clock is set back an hour, this may be a joke too. April Fool's Day is a traditional festival. On that day people play harmless jokes on others and then shout, "April Fool!" It's a "for-fun-only" day, so people don't buy gifts or get the day off work or school. April Fool's Day started in France in the 16th century . At that time, New Year's Day was between March 25th and April 1st. When New Year's Day changed to January 1st in the mid-1560s, some people still celebrate it on April 1st. Others played jokes on them and called them "April Fools". Each country celebrates April Fool's Day differently. In France, it is called "April Fish". The Frenchmen fool their friends by sticking paper fish to their friends' backs. When someone finds out this joke, they shout, "April Fish!" In England, it is bad luck to play an April Fool's joke on someone in the afternoon. Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike. April Fool's Day is called "April Fish" because the French _ . Answer: fool their friends by sticking paper fish to their friend's backs
Beijing Opera is also called Peking Opera.. It came into being after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera troupe came to Beijing. Its music and singing came from Xipi and Er-huang in Anhui and Hubei. Its costtumes are all fascinating and artistic.It is the highest expression of the Chinese culture. It's full of famous stories , beautiful facial paintings, and wonderful gestures and fighting. This kind of opera is very popular with Chinese people. There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng ,Dan, Jing and Chou. Sheng is the leading male actor. For example , a Wusheng is a soldier or fighter .A Xiaosheng is a young man . A Laosheng is the comedy actor or clown.Dan is the female role . Jing,mostly male , is the face-painted role and Chou is the comedy actor or clown. Stories in Beijing Opera are very intetesting . Some of them are from the history book ,but most of them are from the literature , especially famous novels . The people in the story usually have some disagreements. They become angry and uhappy . They are sad and lonely . Sometimes they are nervous and worried. Then they find a way to make peace . The stories usually end with happiness and lunghter and people are all happy in the end. .Beijing Opera's singing is from _ . A Anhui and hubei B Beijing and Anhui C the history book D the literature and novls Answer: A If you never read the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, now is your chance to catch up -- by watching the latest film adaptation. Because if there's one sentence to sum up the film, it would be, as Fox News says in its review, "It's just like the book" Director Baz Luhrmann's main challenge was "either to find a visual equivalent for Fitzgerald's elegant essay--the open secret of the book's staying power-- or to bend the material to his own exotic strengths,a Time magazine review says. He tries it both ways, with varying degrees of success. Considered to be Fitzgerald's representative work, The Great Gatsby explores themes of idealism, resistance to change, social change, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. Nick, the narrator, moves to New York for the summer to visit his cousin Daisy. His next-door neighbor is Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), who rarely contacts with others and is rumored to be a hero of the Great War. Gatsby claims to have attended Oxford University, but the evidence is suspect. As Nick learns more about Gatsby, every detail about him seems questionable, except his love for the Daisy. Though Daisy is married, Gatsby still adores her as his --golden girl.They first met when she was a young lady from a wealthy family and he was a working-class military officer. Daisy promised to wait for his return from the war. However, she married Tom, a classmate of Nick's. Having obtained a great fortune, Gatsby sets out to win her back again. "All of Fitzgerald's original creation finds its way into this film, even going as far to include quite a bit of the original dialogue,US film critic Justin Taroli writes in his review. "The cast is beautiful as is the script, and the scenes are a visual feast.Taroli adds. DiCaprio does a good and professional job as the socialite by re-creating Fitzgerald's description of Gatsby's charm. "He can look at someone for an instant and understand how, perfectly, he or she wants to be seen,David Denby, a film critic for The New Yorker, says in his review. The use of music is almost reason enough to see the film. "Luhrmann is at his best mixing visual and musical styles together to create something wholly original, the Fox News review said. For example, in one of the most outstanding scenes in the film, the first party scene, Nick walks quickly from one party guest to another party guest trying to explain all the gossip about Gatsby until he is finally introduced to the man himself, while the most stirring version of Rhapsody in Blue (composed by American musician George Gershwin in 1924) is played in the background. What did Baz Luhrmann do to make the film a success? A He adapted the story in the novel as he wished. B He made the film more powerful than the book. C He mixed his style with the elegance of the essay. D He showed the elegance of the pictures in the film. Answer: C Here is nine o' clock news Prime Minister Abdul Krim of Tyrea has said that the danger in the Middle East is greater now than for the past two years. His country does not want war, he says, but the Tyrean people have waited too long for an end to the troubles with their neighbours. If war comes, says Mr King, Tyrea will be ready. Ben Kitson, the writer of stories and plays for children, has died at his home in California. Mr Kitson was 82. His most famous book of stories, The Gentleman's House, sells all over the world, in more than twenty-five languages. Policeman in New York have stopped work. Their leader , Mr Paulo Angeli, says that they will return to work only when they receive more money for working long hours and doing what Mr Angel calls "the most dangerous job in the city." It has been a good year on the farm. The warm, wet spring, and the fine summer have been very good for all kinds of food plants. This means that fruit and vegetables will cost less in the shops this year. And now it's time for "Morning Music". . The Tyrean people _ . A are ready and waiting for war B are ready to wait another war C do not want war, but will be ready if it comes D have already ended the war Answer: C "Colour" and "color","favourite" and "favorite"... Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a "u"? Is it because they are lazy? Of course not. In fact,the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists celebrated his 250th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War (1775~ 1783),Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary,rather than rely on British versions . He dropped the British "u" in some words. And he changed "centre" into "center" for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded. Webster wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. In defining preposterous (unreasonable),he wrote: "A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous." Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom. "He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity,"said Joshua Kendall,who is working on a biography about Webster. "He at last bonded us through our language." Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster's work? A Interesting. B Meaningful. C Unfinished. D Boring. Answer: B Shelly Nielsen sees students fall asleep in class at least twice a week. "When I see teens asleep in my class, I wonder if I am really that boring", said Nielsen, a teacher. "I also wonder why they are so tired." Neilson first tried to wake up sleeping students quietly. If the snoozing continues, she may call a student's parents to find out how much sleep the students is getting at night and why. According to a research, teens need at least nine hours of sleep to function properly during the day. And more than 90 percent of teens say they are sleeping less than that each night. "The big problem is the social demand for homework, video games and friends. Teens don't understand how important sleep is." said Dr. Carl Lawyer, a specialist. Rebecca Lucas, another teacher agrees. "Teens are busy," she said, " many activities force them to get home pretty late. When I see teens sleeping in my class, I feel sad. I also feel frustrated because I have so much to teach in such a short amount of time and teens sleeping in the class slows me down." Al Taylor, a teacher says sleeping is not allowed in his class. "When I see a teen sleeping in my class, I feel bad that they didn't get enough sleep but they need to correct it at home," Taylor said. "I've raised teenage boys myself. Teenagers like to wait to the last minute to do their homework so that they often stay up late trying to finish it." What does Shelly first do when she finds students sleeping in class? A She wakes them up with no punishment. B She blames herself for giving a boring lesson. C She asks them to stand outside. D She reports it to their parents. Answer: A
If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others?Don't believe those people who say that young people today often think only of themselves. It's not true at all. More and more young people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don't do it for money. Here are some of their stories. Alice, 17 I'm going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths in the mountains. It's going to be great fun -- I'll spend the whole summer living in a forest and breathing the clean mountain air. I'm going to sleep under the moon and stars. It will be a nice sport, and I'll be able to do something good at the same time! Jason , 18 This summer, I'm going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, less expensive houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They'll teach me what to do, so I'll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses. Trish , 16 I'm going to teach children who have trouble in reading. I'll work for a program called Reading for Life. Every day, I'm going to help them choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher, and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me. What does Alice plan to work for others in summer? A. To sleep under the moon and stars. B. To breathe the clean mountain air. C. To help build hiking paths in the mountains. D. To spend the whole summer living in a forest. Answer: C Last summer, 15-year-old Bob had a problem. Like a lot of children, Bob was interested in doing many things. He liked dancing most and wanted to join a dancing group. But Bob's high school didn't have a boys' dancing group but a girls' group. He tried to join the girls' group. And he made it. Bob thought his problem was over after he had been one of the dancers in the dancing group. But a bigger problem was just beginning. The school didn't allow Bob to stay in the girls' group. "If we let Bob stay in the group," the school said, "other boys will want to join, too. Soon, there won't be any girls in the group." They took Bob off the group. Bob was very angry about it, so he went to a judge . The judge said it was not a right decision and told the school to let Bob go back to the dancing group. We can infer that Bob felt _ when he went back to the group. A. hungry B. sad C. happy D. sure Answer: C Mr. Jackson lived in the center of London but he had a hotel near the airport. There a lot of foreigners stayed for night. He didn't know any other language but English and he found it difficult for him to understand the foreign visitors. Sometimes he had to use the gesture to talk with them, and tried his best to make himself understood. But he was often misunderstood and it brought him a lot of trouble. A friend of his who taught a few foreign languages in a university would teach him. He was happy and studied hard. At first he learned some, but soon he found it wasn't very easy to remember the words and expressions. His friend advised him to write down the useful expressions in his notebook so that he could use them when necessary. He did as he was told. He found it helpful for him to do so. One evening there were plenty of people in the dining-room. They were all busy eating something except a Japanese. He was wandering there and waiting for his wife who was dressing herself up upstairs. Mr. Jackson thought to himself, " The man wants to eat something but he doesn't know any English. Let me help him." As he knew only a little Japanese, he had to bring out his notebook and showed it to the man, pointing to the sentence "I'm hungry." The Japanese had a look at it and gave him two pounds and left. Mr. Jackson knew only English because _ . A. he was an English student B. he had never been abroad C. he couldn't learn by himself D. he hadn't studied any foreign languages Answer: D Once there lived an old man in a town. He always forgot a lot of things. So his wife always had to say to him,"Don't forget this." One day he went on a long way alone. Before he left home,his wife said,"Now you have all these things. You need them on your way. Take care of your things on the way." He went to the station. He bought a ticket and got on the train with it. About an hour later,the conductor began to see the tickets. He came to the old man and said,"Will you please show me your ticket?" The old man looked for his ticket in all his pockets but he could not find it. He was very worried."I can't find my ticket. I really bought a ticket before I got on the train "said the old man. "I think you are right. I believe you bought a ticket. All right,you don't have to buy another ticket "said the conductor kindly. But the old man still looked worried and said sadly,"You don't know why I'm worried. If I don't find my ticket,I can't remember my station. Where am I going? " The old man bought a ticket _ . A. after he got on the train B. before he got on the train C. when the conductor told him to buy one D. when he found he had no ticket with him Answer: B Every student can learn rope jumping. You can jump alone or with your classmate. You can also help turn a long rope for many others to jump over, one at a time. If you jump alone, you will need a short rope and it will be just enough for your height. Try ropes of different lengths until you find a right one for your size. A rope should be turned slowly. It must also be turned high enough to let you jump freely and safely. Turning the rope freely and safely needs careful timing. In rope jumping, timing means turning the rope slowly enough for you to jump over at the right time without its striking your feet. When you jump rope, your heart beats faster and your face has a healthy color1. But if you jump too many times at first, you will get fired. You must learn when to stop for a rest before you jump again, If you practice, you can increase the number of limes you jumpers without resting. This passage is about _ . A. a game B. a rope C. rope jumpers D. careful timing Answer: A
Which of the following would be the most impactful to an ecosystem? Answer: an 8.1 earthquake Being safe in your everyday life needs knowledge. you remember the following information,your life will be much safer. * Always notice the environment around you. You shouldn't walk alone outside late at night. Make sure where the public phones are. If anything dangerous happens,you can find them easily. Your bag should be carried towards the front of your body instead of putting it on your back. When a bus is full of people,it is easy enough for a thief to take away the things in the bag on your back. If you are followed by someone you don't know, cross the street and go to the other way, let the person understand that you know he or she is after you. Next,don't go home at once. You are safer in the street than you are alone in your home or in a lift. *If you have to take a bus to a place far away, try to get to the stop a few minutes earlier before the bus leaves. On the bus,don't sit alone. Sit behind the driver or other people. Don't sleep. When you take a bus alone,it's safe for you _ Answer: to sit behind the driver or with other people,but not to sleep It's not the first movie to show the end of the world. But in the latest box office hit 2012 it is neither aliens nor a killer disease that threaten the human race, but climate change. Some say the film lacks good dialogue and its science is questionable, others believe German director Roland Emmerich makes up for these flaws in special effects. An earthquake destroys the White House and Yellow stone National Park ends up in flames. Emmerich borrows from the old Mayan story which says, that the world will end in 2012.He is being criticized for Internet rumors about doomsday "There is no factual basis for these claims,'' NASA said on its website. "Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat connected with 2012,'' it insisted. "After all, our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, " they added. According to the UK's Daily Telegraph, it was first thought that the disaster would happen in May 2003. When the world continued, supporters picked the last day of the Mayan calendar. "Every culture has a myth of destruction , just as they have a myth of creation. These myths \|of destruction tend to surface during times of crisis , " Michael A. Ryan, an assistant profess of history,speaking to Purdue University News. Ryan studies apocalyptic themes from the Middle Ages at the US university. "Today's current economic climate is a state of crisis for many people who are worried whether they can afford to feed themselves,"he added. Why do the rumors about doomsday come about now and then? Answer: Because during times of crisis, people tend to worry about their future. Mr Robin had his house in a tree. His four baby robins lived in it. They grew very fast. Soon the house was too little for them. "It is time for you to fly," said Mr Robin. "Oh, we can not fly," said the baby robins. "You can, if you try, " said Mr Robin. A robin tried. He flew into a tree. "Oh, how interesting!" said the little robin. "I like to fly. See me go!" Then the other robins tried. In a little while they could all fly. The robins could fly, but they could not sing. "No, Dad, we can not sing." "You can, if you try. Hear the other birds sing. Look at the pretty flowers and the blue sky. Then you will want to sing. Hear me sing to you. Now sing for me." One little robin sang. Then they all sang. A little girl came by. "Wow, hear the birds sing!" she said. "How happy they are!" What did Mr Robin ask his babies to do first? Answer: To fly. Malaysia's Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad has been retired. But he didn't go quietly. In his final speech, he blamed the Jewish people for the problems between Israel and the Palestinians. "The Jews have taken land of the Muslims," he said. "What if part of America was given to the Jews as Israel? Would the Americans let it happen? Of course not." His words angered many western governments, but Mahathir doesn't care. "I like to speak my mind," the 77-year-old explained. "Sometimes people don't like it. But that is what leadership is all about." Loved by some and disliked by others, his 22 years in power have seen great changes in Malaysia. He has taken it from being one of Asia's poorest countries to the world's 18th largest trading nation. It is also a peaceful country with native Malaysians living alongside minority groups. Chinese make up a quarter of the population, while a further 7.4 percent are of Indian origin. Teenage girls wearingMuslim1headscarves happily walk around large stores as ethnic Chinese playmah-jong2in nearby cafes. But Mahathir has made enemies at home and abroad and some people will be glad he has gone. The US was unhappy when he often blamed it for globalization. Meanwhile, critics say that he has limited the freedom of the Malaysian people in order to stay in control of the country. Despite this, he is a hero to leaders in Southeast Asia as well as those in theIslamic3world. "He marked out the path to success for developing nations in the region to follow," said Thai President Thaksin Shinawatra. Now he just wants to enjoy his retirement and insists that he will not take on a special role in government. "I'm a nobody," he said. But many Malaysians do not agree with this. Notes: 1 Muslim adj. 2 mah-jong n. 3 Islamic adj. Choose the best answers according to the above: What does Mahathir probably mean by saying "But that is what leadership is all about."? Answer: Leadership has the obligation to speak up what you think is right or wrong.
Lucy was a young lady bug. She always felt different from the lady bugs because her colors were reversed! Instead of a red body and black spots she had a black body and red spots! As you can imagine this left Lucy feeling pretty lonely so she spent a lot of time flying around to all the different areas to find other ladybugs like her. She loved to feel the wind in her wings as she flew. She spent so much of her time flying around so she could fly longer and faster than another other lady bug. She also loved flying so much because it gave her a feeling of being free. One day when she was flying around she heard a loud scream for help! She went as fast as she could towards the screams for help. She saw another lady bug with a broken wing lying on the ground. She knew the lady bug as Jessie. "What happened?!" asked Lucy. "I crashed into the tree flying home yesterday and I've been lost ever since. I can't fly because my wing is broken. Do you know the way back home?" asked Jessie "Don't worry Jessie, I know this area like the back of my wing I'll lead you home!" Lucy said happily. "Thank you so much!" Jessie said happily. Lucy led Jessie straight home where he was given medicine to fix his broken wing. She was rewarded a medal and called a hero. As she enjoyed her medal she knew she didn't need to find for any more ladybugs that looked like her. She now knew that even with her different colors, she was still a lady bug like everyone else. How did Lucy find her way back with Jessie? She flew faster and farther than another one else so she knew her way around better than any other lady bug. She also knew the area. Camouflage is used by entities for hunting vittles At what time would a person feel the most heat outside? noon THIS WEEK'S TOURS of CATTY SHACK Thursday, January 8, 2015--Daytime Tours Hours: 1:00~4:00 PM, last admittance at 3:15 PM Admission: Adults: $10 Children (3~11): $5 2 & Under: Free Purchase Tickets: Tickets may be pre-purchased up to 24 hours prior to the event by using the button below. Tickets may also be purchased at the ranch--cash, credit Visa, Mastercard & Discover are accepted forms of payment at the ranch. Tickets cannot be exchanged or money refunded. No reservations required. Enjoy a leisurely, guided tour of our sanctuary and see all the residents (Siberian tigers, lions, cougars, black leopards, a bobcat, a coatimundi and foxes)! Tours last approximately 45 minutes. Saturday, January 10, 2015--Night Feeding Tours Hours: Gates open at 6:00 PM. Tours from 6:00 PM -7:00 PM. Last admittance at 7:15 PM. Feeding begins at 7:30 PM. Admission: Adults: $15 Children (3~11): $10 2 & Under: Free Purchase Tickets: Tickets may be pre-purchased up to 24 hours prior to the event by using the button below. Tickets may also be purchased at the ranch -- cash, credit Visa, Mastercard & Discover are accepted forms of payment at the ranch. Tickets cannot be exchanged or money refunded.No reservations required. Enjoy a guided tour of all the residents (Siberian tigers, lions, cougars, black leopards, a bobcat, a coatimundi and foxes) at our sanctuary! Tours begin at 6:00 PM and leave approximately every 15 minutes. Tours last about 45 minutes and include a viewing of all our residents, as time allows, along with facts about the animals. To see the feeding, we suggest everyone arrive at the ranch by 7:15 PM to allow for adequate time for check-in and walking to the feeding point. At 7:30 PM, you will get to watch over 450 pounds of meat distributed throughout the sanctuary! Get ready to see their "wild" side -- there's sure to be plenty of roaring! To learn about more upcoming tours, you can click on the calendar event listing for full details. From the text, we can know all EXCEPT _ . special comments Dear editor, Mary is my friend and she is a very good-hearted girl. She's always the first to help out others. But her habits make me mad sometimes and she just won't change her ways. For most situations, that's just fine with me, as I know it's what make her who she is. However, sometimes it's just so hard for me to bear her behavior. She has recently got a cellphone, but she often borrows mine to make calls. My phone has a chain with it. She always tries to open it like her own phone. I usually open it for her, but not always, as sometimes I'm driving my car, so she needs to get it out of my purse and open it herself. This weekend we were at a party in a faraway village. She borrowed my cellphone. As it was cold outside, I let her take it outside without opening it. Now it's broken because she didn't open it properly. I wouldn't be so mad, but over the weekend she also borrowed my car and never offered to pay for the gas, which made me very angry. She should have offered to pay for the gas. As I have mentioned, she's the type to help out others when and where she can. Perhaps because of that, she thinks others should also do the same for her. Sometimes I just think she is very childish. I don't want to hurt her, but I do want to let her know that not everyone can accept that. What should I do to let her know that? Yours, Lily What kind of person is Mary? Warm-hearted but childish
Question: I grew up in Lakeland, Louisiana, one of 7 children. We all lived on my parents' farm. At 12, I got a part-time job--milking cows to help support the family. I milked cows at five in the morning and again at two in the afternoon, seven days a week. In the kitchen one Saturday before daytime, I remember complaining to my father and grandfather about having to go milk those cows. My father said, "You know, boy, to work is a blessing ." Going to college was rare for a kid from Lakeland, Louisiana. "Pick something that you like doing to study, and you will always look forward to your work," my father told me. But he also added, "Even having a job you hate is better than not having a job at all." I wanted to be a farmer, but I joined the ROTC program to help pay for college. And what started out as an obligation to the army became a way of life that I was devoted to for 37 years. In the late 1980s, during a visit to Bangladesh, I saw a woman with a baby on her back, breaking bricks with a hammer. I asked a Bangladesh military officer why they weren't using a machine. He told me a machine would make that lady unemployed . Breaking those bricks meant she could earn enough money to feed herself and her baby that day. He told me bad as that woman's job was, it was enough to keep a small family alive, which reminded me of my father's words. I'm retired from the army, but I'm still working to help people be prepared for disaster. I'm not going to stop. I believe in my father's words. I believe in the blessing of work. From the passage, we can learn that _ . A. the writer was the oldest child in the family B. people who have no job don't like helping others C. the writer had been a farmer for more than thirty years D. the farm didn't bring the writer's family in enough money Answer: D. the farm didn't bring the writer's family in enough money Question: Ian became a highway robber to support his family. He continued as a robber day after day and year after year. One day, Ian went to rob a traveler. Unlike those who have been robbed by him before, the traveler showed no fear and asked, "Why do you do this every day?" Ian was surprised and answered without thinking, "Because I have a family. Robbing is the only way I can earn money to support my family." "Are your family members prepared to share your punishment with you?" Ian was puzzled and said he didn't know. The traveler told him to go home and ask them. Ian asked his wife, "Do you know how I work to support you?" His wife replied, "Yes, I know." Ian asked, "Are you going to share the punishment I'll get for the way I earn my living?" His wife answered, "No. You married me and you should take care of me." Next, his parents replied, "Son, we raised you with great care. Now we don't have the energy to work. So it's your duty to look after us. We won't share any of the punishments placed upon you for what you've done." Ian hadn't expected their answers. He became sad and returned to the traveler. Ian told him all the conversations. The traveler said, "You have to take the consequences yourself." Ian thanked him for letting him see the errors in his ways. After this incident, Ian started learning in order to work and support the family in legal ways. What do you think of the traveler in this text? A. Silly. B. Wise. C. Fearful. D. Nervous. Answer: B. Wise. Question: In the Internet age, speed reading is a necessary and important skill. We skim over articles and e-mails to try to get key words and the main idea of the text. With so much information through our electronic devices , it would be impossible to get through everything if we read word by word, line by line. However, a new trend calls on people to enjoy reading slowly. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones. They sit back in comfortable chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike typical book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't to exchange ideas about certain books, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the story, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the traditional way of reading. Traditional readers, like Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to understand others. Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that adults who take part in activities that use their brain, such as reading, suffer less memory loss as they get older. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand others' mental states and beliefs -- a key skill in building relationships. Yet technology has made us less careful readers. Computer and phone screens have changed our reading patterns from the top-to-bottom, left-to-right reading order we traditionally used, to a wild skimming pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text online that has many links to other web pages also leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says British journalist Patrick Kingsley, only half joking. Because of the Internet, he says we have become very good at collecting a wide range of factual tidbits , but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, think and connect all these facts with each other. Speed reading is a necessary and important skill in the Internet age because people _ . A. no longer read word by word, line by line B. have to get the meaning faster C. have much more information to read D. must use their smartphones more frequently Answer: C. have much more information to read Question: What is the E-mail The e-mail, which is also called email, stands for "electronic mail". You can send messages in only a few seconds by e-mail. On the Internet there are many powerful computers called "servers" to help people send and receive emails. The sending and receiving servers are just like post offices. If you want to use the email service, you have to open at least an email account called a "mailbox", just like we set up a mailbox in a post office. Some mailboxes are provided free of charge by ISPs, which you can get when you open an Internet account. Most widely used mailboxes are provided free by the ISPs, and anyone can apply for one even if he has no ISP account. How to apply for a free mailbox? First you have to connect to the Internet and go to the homepage of the ISP providing free mailboxes. Then you'll find an icon showing "apply for a free mailbox", click the icon, an agreement about the rules for using the free mailbox will appear. If you want to go on, click the icon "I agree". Then you have to fill in a form about your basic personal information, and the name and pin of the mailbox. The pin is the key to the mailbox. After finishing these, you'll get a mailbox like this: your name @ mail server, for example: jack@ 163. com. The mailbox is separated into two parts by a separator "@", which is read as "at". The former part is the name of the mailbox. The latter is the domain name of the mail server. All mails to you will be received by the server and put into your mailbox. You can read this mail on any computer in the world as long as you have the name and pin of the mailbox. If you want to send or receive an email, you should first _ . A. write to the ISPs B. fill in a form C. apply for a mailbox D. go to the post office Answer: C. apply for a mailbox Question: Elephants are able to differentiate between ethnicities and sexes, and can tell an adult from a child --- all from the sound of a human voice. This is according to a study in which researchers played voice recordings to wild African elephants. The animals showed more fear when they heard the voices of adult Masai men. Livestock-herding Masai people do come into conflict with elephants, and this suggests that animals have adapted to specifically listen for and avoid them. The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Prof Karen McComb and Dr Graeme Shannon from the University of Sussex led the study. They explained that in previous research they had used similar playback experiments to show that elephants could tell --- from the sound of a lion's roar --- whether the animal was a female or a more dangerous male. Prof McComb wanted to find out if the animals used their very sharp sense of hearing to identify a potential danger from humans. The scientists recorded Masai men, women and children saying, in their own language, "Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming". They also recorded Kamba men saying this phrase. While cattle-herding Masai people often come across free-ranging elephants, which can result in violent conflict, the Kamba people's more agricultural lifestyle does not generally bring them into aggressive touch with the animals. When the team played recordings of these different voices through a hidden loudspeaker, they found that elephant family groups reacted more fearfully in response to the voice of a Masai man, than to a Kamba man's voice. And the adult male Masai voices encouraged far more of these defensive reactions than the voices of women or boys. How did the researchers get to know the elephants' special ability of identification? A. By observing the elephants in the zoo. B. By playing voice recordings to them. C. By recording the behaviours of elephants. D. By communicating with them in a special way. Answer: B. By playing voice recordings to them.
Museums in Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia is a great place for visitors seeking a little culture. There are Atlanta museums of all kinds, to interest adults and children. The history of the area is a fascinating one and it is documented in many of the museums. There are also collections of art and science based institutions and displays from the natural world. The city is famous for many reasons, one of them being the World of Coca-Cola Museum. It's a worldwide product with a long history and the collection contains memorabilia and handmade objects. Some of the documents go back to 1905. Visitors can see how a bottling _ operates and there are films about the history of the company. This Atlanta museum has a Pop Culture Gallery that shows paintings with the Coca-Cola image. At the end of the tour, visitors can buy a souvenir at the gift store. The Atlanta History Center,established in 1926, is most well-known for its civil war collection. There is also the exhibition of folk arts and the displays on the history of golf in the US. The state is also proud of its famous daughter, novelist Margaret Mitchell. The Margaret Mitchell House and Museum was founded in the house that the author shared with her husband from 1925 until 1932. It was here that she wrote her great book, Gone with the Wind. Much of this Atlanta museum is focused on the 1939 Hollywood film of the book. Families and school outings are fortunate in having the Fernbank Science Center. It serves the local educational community and the public also enjoys the displays. There are a wide variety of exhibitions, including a collection of dinosaur skeletons, an electron microscope and a Apollo spacecraft. The museum also has an impressive botanical collection. The Georgia Aquarium is the largest one in the world and almost all the tourists place it high on their travel plan when visiting the city. There are numerous species to see and learn about. The highlights include whale sharks, electric fish, Japanese spider crabs, Californian sea lions and African black-footed penguins. Atlanta museums have something for everyone and will never disappoint you. We can learn from the passage that _ . A Coca-Cola is popular with young visitors B most tourists want to visit the Georgia Aquarium C Science Center was set up by the local community D Atlanta museums mainly focus on art and literatur Answer: B. most tourists want to visit the Georgia Aquarium I once did a year of voluntary service in a residential home for people with learning disabilities. was set in an English village deep in the countryside, quite different from my home in Sweden. One of my fellow volunteers, a girl from Tanzania, seemed a little unhappy, so I asked what the problem was. She told me she had a friend back home who had financial difficulties and maybe it was impossible for her to complete her university courses. So this friend of mine had sent all her money to Tanzania to support her friend! This meant that she didn't have much food to eat and no money to go anywhere outside the village. I was so touched and I felt I had to do something. So, during my next trip to one of the nearby towns I walked into a shop. I didn't have much money left myself but I thought I'd buy her an extra box of chocolate we both liked and some rice. I started talking to the woman(also a volunteer)working in the shop and eventually told her about my friend. The woman looked at me, amazed. "Does she eat pasta?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. She immediately started loading a bag with pasta, cookies, and other things until the bag was full. "Give her this for me. It's my treat!'' I couldn't believe it but accepted with happiness. As I left the shop to go home with my unexpected bag of food, I asked the woman her name. "Just Gloria," she said. Imagine my friend's face when I arranged the gifts on my kitchen table and fetched her from her room to see! I had never seen her so happy! A few weeks later she found Gloria in the shop and thanked her in person. These two extraordinary women really showed me what true kindness and compassion are, and the impression will stay with me for the rest of my life! From the text, we know that _ . A the writer was from England B the writer was a university student from Tanzania C Gloria was from Sweden and was very kind to the writer D the writer volunteered to help people with learning disabilities Answer: D. the writer volunteered to help people with learning disabilities Tibet is among the most popular places for Chinese tourists. The number of travelers to Tibet has grown by 10% every year for a few years. Since July 1,2006, when the first train ran 1956 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa, more and more people have been going to Tibet. The train stops at several famous places along the way, such as Qinghai Lake, Kunlun Mountain, and the Potala Palace. Passengers can also enjoy many activities during the journey, like Tibetan dancing and Karaoke. On the train, passengers can have tea, eggs and noodles for breakfast, and fried chicken and green vegetables for lunch and dinner. Unlike most Chinese trains which have open - hole toilets, this one has special toilets which can collect the waste. There is also a special rubbish system in the train that keeps the environment clean. All the windows on the train can protect people from the bright sunlight. TV and electrical sockets for computers and mobile phones can be found on the train. Because there isn't much oxygen there, trains will have oxygen masks for those who need _ . It makes passengers feel more comfortable when they have enough oxygen on the famous "roof of the world". There are also doctors on the train to make sure that all of the travelers are safe. What's the best title of the passage? A Tibet - Roof of the World B Magic Train to Magic Tibet C Beautiful Views in Tibet D A Comfortable Trip to Tibet Answer: D. A Comfortable Trip to Tibet Has Tiger Mom gone soft? One year after the release of her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua is back in the spotlight, reflecting on how overnight infamy affected her life, her family and her parenting. "I have changed a lot," she told the Huffington Post. "In October, we had 30 kids at our house! We have hosted parties with lots of food and music." Last January, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from Chua's book with the headline "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior". In the excerpt, Chua described how her daughters were never allowed to have sleepovers , appear in school plays, or earn any grade lower than an A. Chua, an author and professor at Yale Law School, spent much of 2011 on the defensive. In fact, many of her interviews seemed to lend fuel to her critics' fire. Now, with the book out in paperback, she said, "I put passages in the book and used very harsh words that I regret. Everybody has those moments you wish you could take back." For those who still read Battle Hymn as an advice guide, Chua argues that so-called tiger parenting should be employed mainly during a child's early years, ideally between the ages of 5 and 12. These "super-strict parenting tactics" are not meant for all ages. Remaining strict after middle school makes you a helicopter parent, according to Chua. And she is quick to point out how different that is from being a tiger mom. "By the time kids get to high school, helicopter parents are hiring all these tutors, carrying their kids' sports bags. I never checked older daughter Sophia's papers because I knew she knew how to sit down and focus," Chua said. As for younger daughter Lulu, 15, the rebel for whom the book was written, Chua has really backed off. Instead of forcing Lulu to practise violin for hours a day--the source of their biggest fights, Chua "let her give that up". "My compromise is that I'm going to still be as strict academically, but in exchange she has a lot of social freedom. Lulu has had four sleepovers in the last two months!" Chua said. Chua predicts she'll only get more easygoing with age. What does the passage mainly tell us? A Tiger Mom has changed and wants to be soft. B Tiger Mom persuaded readers to follow her example. C How Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother came out. D How Tiger Mom became the worldwide spotlight. Answer: A. Tiger Mom has changed and wants to be soft. You can't look good if you are not healthy. And one way to be healthy is to do exercise. Football, tennis, volleyball and swimming are all good for you. Muscle exercise is also important. You can exercise at school or at home. Boys can do push-ups and girls can do sit-ups . But there are some don'ts here: First, stay away from weight lifting . It's bad for you, because it gives too much stress to your body and you can't grow tall if you practise often. You should exercise for about an hour a day, and three days a week. On the other days, don't exercise too much. Exercising too much is not a good idea. Don't go running for a long time. Running for a long time makes you tired. Don't want fastresults . Your muscles will grow when you get older. If you want to be healthy and strong, exercise and healthy food are the best way. But don't think you can make it in one day. You in this article is a _ . A teacher B parent C student D player Answer: C. student
It's puzzling, isn't it? No matter where you try to tickle yourself, even on the soles of your feet or under your arms, you just can't. To understand why, you need to know more about how your brain works. One of its main tasks is to try to make good guesses about what's going to happen next. While you're busy getting on with your life, walking downstairs or eating your breakfast, parts of your brain are always trying to predict the future. Remember when you first learned how to ride a bicycle? At first, it took a lot of concentration to keep the handlebars steady and push the pedals . But after a while, cycling became easy. Now you're not aware of the movements you make to keep the bike going. From experience, your brain knows exactly what to expect so your body rides the bike automatically. Your brain is predicting all the movements you need to make. You only have to think consciously about cycling if something changes---like if there's a strong wind or you get a flat tyre. When something unexpected happens like this, your brain is forced to change its predictions about what will happen next. If it does its job well, you'll adjust to the strong wind, leaning your body so you don't fall. Why is it so important for our brains to predict what will happen next? It helps us make fewer mistakes and can even save our lives. For example, when a chief fireman sees a fire, he immediately makes decisions about how best to position his men. His past experiences help him foresee what might happen and choose the best plan for fighting the fire. His brain can instantly predict how different plans would work out, and he can _ any bad or dangerous plans without putting his men at risk in real life. So how does all this answer your question about tickling? Because your brain is always predicting your own actions, and how your body will feel as a result, you cannot tickle yourself. Other people can tickle you because they can surprise you. You can't predict what their tickling actions will be. What is the best title for this passage? A How Does the Brain work? B Why Can't I Tickle Myself? C The importance of Prediction D The Importance of Our Brains Answer: B The island of Port Cros is in the south of France. I first visited it about ten years ago with my wife. I had read that it was a magical place and it seemed fascinating , but I couldn't believe that it was true. In fact, it was much more magical than the tourist brochures had said. The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes. It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn't allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can't use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn't damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it. When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet--a real paradise ! When the author first visited Port Cros, _ . A it was very sunny B there were few visitors there C it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man D the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night Answer: B One day, my father and I were in line to buy tickets for the circus . And a family was standing in front of us. The family had eight children. Their clothes were not expensive but clean.The children talked about the clowns( ), elephants, monkeys and other things excitedly. It was their first time to go to the circus. The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly answered, "I want eight children's tickets and two adults' tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady said the price. The man's wife lowered her head and there was no smile on th e man's face. He quietly asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady said the price again. The man didn't have enough money. How could he tell his eight kids the bad news? My dad put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground.(In fact, we were not rich!) Then my dad said, "Excuse me, sir, this dropped out of your pocket." The man knew what was going on. He looked into my dad's eyes, held my dad's hand in his, and took the $20 bill. "Thank you, sir, thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family." My father and I went back home. We didn't go to see the circus that night, but we didn't care. What can children see in the circus? A clowns B elephants C monkeys D all of them Answer: D It's a safe bet that a robot made your car and made your computer. Pretty soon, they could be making your bed and breakfast too. Increasingly, engineers are saying that robots are going to move out of research departments and into your home. Companies including General Electric are working on designs for small robots. Products like the Roomba, a robot that can clean floors, are flying off the shelves. What's behind this new robot revolution? It's partly a matter of technology. Devices that can recognize and respond to a human voice have been developed. There are now a few different ways for robots to move around. They can walk, crawl or ride on wheels. Robots are being made smaller and smaller. They are also becoming more and more able. A bigger part of the story is on the demand side. From the day the television remote control was invented, people around the world have searched for new ways to be lazy. Take into consideration that more and more people can afford robots, and the time seems ripe to introduce robots to the ordinary family. To be sure, robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still a long way off. However, robots that do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening are sure to come out soon. One thing is certain--when these robots do come into our homes, it will change things forever. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A Robots have already come into every home. B Technology is the only basis of the development of robots. C General Electric is not interested in designing small robots. D Robots that can walk on two legs and talk like people are still far from us. Answer: D A solar cell turns sunlight into another form of energy. A solar cell is most like what natural structure? A an elephant's ears B a plant's leaves C a deer's hooves D a tree's roots Answer: B
In China,cultural differences arose from growing rice or wheat.Different thinking styles between northern and southern Chinese people can trace their roots to rice fields and wheat fields. Rice farming promotes a holistic focus on distinguishing relationships among people and objects,and valuing others as much as or more than oneself, say psychologist Thomas Talhelm of the University of Virginia and his colleagues.Holistic thinking among many modem Chinese people partly reflects regional histories of building communal irrigation systems and cooperatively planting and harvesting rice fields over thousands of years. They draw that conclusion based on studies of college students from regions with different agricultural practices.Students from southern and central China's rice.growing provinces think holistically, even though they have probably never farmed rice,Talhelm's group reports.In contrast,students from northern and central Chinese provinces that have specialized in wheat growing exhibit a preference for abstract analysis and self over others,the scientists find.Wheat is less labor-intensive to grow than rice,SO farmers can plant and harvest crops without much help from neighbors.Analytical,individualistic thinking is not more common among students from richer Provinces, contrary to the argument that this attitude springs from modernization. "Rice theory might explain why East Asia is so much less individualistic than expected based on its wealth, " Talhelm says. Talhelm,s team tested 1,162 Chinese students,who Viewed lists of three items,such as a rabbit,a dog and a carrot. For each list,students chose two items that belonged together. Earlier research found that analytical thinkers often group items according to categories,so rabbits and dogs go together.Holistic thinkers tend to 1ook for relationships,such as rabbits eating carrots. Students from rice-growing areas made an average of around seven to nine holistic matches of 10 possible matches,compared with roughly f1ve to seven holistic matches for those from Wheat-growing areas. Talhelm's team also analyzed national statistics in China from 1 996,2000 and 2010 and found a higher divorce rate and a greater number of successful patents for new inventions in wheat-growing provinces than in rice-growing provinces. That trend is in line with the ides that analytical thinking develops both individualism and creativity. Which of the following statements is true? Answer: In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers. Young men ,or "stewards" helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers' luggage but they did not provide food and drinks. _ Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn't want to work on a farm or marry a farmer --she wanted a more adventurous life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot's license. Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport. She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man's world. Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot .But she had another idea. Most people were frightened of flying because. flying was still an unreliable way to travel. There were often delays ,many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. agreed. The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses. At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early "stewardesses" had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and earned $1 an hour. In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, "stewardesses" have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past. The main reason for Boeing Air Transport offering Ellen the job was _ . Answer: Sam was outside playing. It was very hot out and he got really thirsty. He saw that Mr. Brown was setting up a table with sodas and snacks down the street. Sam was very excited because this would solve his problem. He checked his pockets. They were empty. Where did his money go? This was a problem. In order to get a soda and snack he would need money. Sam ran home as fast as he could. He was in a rush. He passed by Jim as he was running. He asked Sam why he was running. "No time," Sam Said. When he got inside the house Sam was very happy. His money was on his dresser in his bedroom. Thank goodness. He had enough money to get a soda. Sam ran back outside, but this time he slowed down when he saw Jim. He told Jim to come with him to Mr. Brown's table. He had enough money to buy them both a soda. Why did Sam get a soda? Answer: SHANGHAI - Health experts in Shanghai are calling for more protection for young children as the latest research shows about half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke. About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in families, 50 percent in public places, and almost 6 percent on public transportation, shows a research released by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center on Tuesday. "Not only adults but also children and newborn babies are at risk for the adverse effects of passive smoking," said Tang Jingyan, a doctor at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. "Actually, those young children whose bodies are still growing and developing are more sensitive to the effects of secondhand smoke." Research has shown that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke will suffer from more colds, coughs and sore throats, and they are more likely to suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia and will have a higher risk of developing cancer. Doctors even suggested that children suffering passive smoking are more likely to have behavioral problems and may not develop mentally as quickly as their peers. Other research by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center has found that more than 80 percent of child patients in the center live in a smoke-filled household, where one or both parents smoke. "Though doctors have stressed the harm of passive smoking over and over, it is still hard to reach a totally 'smoke free' home," said a pediatrician named Zhang Yiwen, noting that parents are often tempted to smoke even though they have learned the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. China has 540 million people suffering from passive smoke, 180 million of them younger than 15.The age of smokers is also getting lower, earlier reports said. "There are more young smokers than before.You can see young people wearing a school uniform and carrying a schoolbag light a cigarette on the street.Some of them are even female students," said Jing Xingming, a professor of children's developmental behavior at the center. "Children like to imitate adults, especially their parents.If parents often smoke at home, it is very likely children will develop a smoking habit, which can cause a vicious circle," Jin said. Reports from the Ministry of Health said China has about 350 million smokers, of whom 15 million are underage smokers.Also, around 40 million of the country's 130 million children aged between 13 and 18 had tried smoking, and 15 million had become addicted to tobacco. What is the main idea of the passage? Answer: Which of the following is a characteristic of all chemical changes? Answer:
Which of the following statements best explains why the tilt of Earth on its axis causes summer to be warmer than winter in the Northern Hemisphere? A The warm ocean currents flow from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere in the summer. B The rays of the Sun strike the Northern Hemisphere more directly in the summer. C The greenhouse effect increases in the Northern Hemisphere in the summer. D The Northern Hemisphere is closer to the Sun in the summer. Answer: B What happens to metal railroad tracks during the heat of a summer day? A decrease in weight B increase in weight C decrease in length D increase in length Answer: D The connection shared by grandparents and grandchildren is something very special and despite the changing family situation, it still remains strong across generations. For most of us, our grandparents were our first best friends, the ones with whom we shared our secrets and our pain. In majority of the cases, grandparents would have babysat their grandchildren while parents were busy working and didn't have much time for their children. Even as a kid grows up, the love and affection for grandparents never dies, and for many teens, visiting grandparents or living with them in the same house is a pleasure. Kedar Patwary, a mass communication student, says, "I often end up having long conversations with my grandfather about the evolution of Indian society and I really admire him for the patience with which he answers all my questions. " Many teenagers feel that their parents treat them as grown-ups, while their grandparents give them much freedom. Leela Narayanan, a grandmother. says that she loves to her grandchildren and cook favorite dishes for them. She further adds that her eldest granddaughter, who is now 19, was brought up by her till she was four and the closeness they shared remains the same even now. At times, the gap m generations plays a negative role, when grandparents find it difficult adjusting to the modern lifestyle. Technology is what works against this relationship. Youngsters' eing crazy about with gadgets leaves them with no time for their loved ones. Maria Kutty, is a grandmother t0 12 kids. Her face lights up every time her grandchildren are mentioned. But she has one complaint. "All my children stay close to me but when they come to visit and I want to spend time with them, I can't find them anywhere. They only have time for clickety-clackety things in their hands. Sometimes they listen to loud music and talk about things I don't understand. I feel very sad when I think of all those times," she says. How does the author develop the passage? A By giving example. B By following the order of time. C By making comparisons. D By his personal experience. Answer: A Finding a winter job is often a proof that you're growing up, and it's also a method for earning money to pay for what you dream of. It's never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you! Retail Sales Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are expected to take on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 4005075. Food Service A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the opportunity to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 4005077 for more information. Babysitter This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction with kids. Got a question? Just call 4005076. Housekeeping This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to assist with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone:4005079 If you'd like to be a waiter in winter, you may call _ . A 4005075 B 4005079 C 4005076 D 4005077 Answer: D The environmental group 350.org has launched a new campaign called Climate Name Change that proposes to revise to how hurricanes are named: call them after policymakers who say that humans are not to blame for global warming. This will save the Katrinas and Sandys of the world from the injustice of having their names attached to major disaster, the group says. And, as a bonus, it will produce some peculiar weather reports. "Rick Perry leaves trail of death," appears under a broadcast titled "Rick Perry: The Tragedy." "Michelle Bachman is incredibly dangerous. If you value your life, please seek shelter from Michelle Bachman," says an official while addressing a news conference. The campaign is unlikely to influence the World Meteorological Organization, which has since 1954 named Atlantic tropical storms from an official list. But the campaign's goal seems less to actually name a hurricane after the speaker of the house, and more to call attention to an issue that this month has reached an alarming level of seriousness. The campaign comes just a month before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release its most recent report on the state of global warming and a week after a draft of the report was given away to Reuters. In the draft, scientists concluded with near certainty - about 95 percent sure - that humans are to blame for the worldwide temperature hikes over the last few decades. That was a revision from the 2007 report, which put scientific certainty that human activities were driving global climate change at about 90 percent. And global warming, the report said, is not slowing down - it, actually, is accelerating. That means that sea levels could balloon upward as much as three feet by the end of the century, if emissions continue at their current pace. Still, as the Washington Post Climate notes, hurricanes are not the best sign of global warming. Though current data suggests that global warming will in the future stir up terrible super storms, there is still not enough evidence to support the idea that climate change strengthens the recent hurricanes that have torn at the US's eastern coastline. 350.org has launched the campaign with the real purpose of _ . A changing the ways of naming hurricanes B introducing the methods of naming hurricanes C reminding policymakers to change their attitudes D calling attention to the coming report on global warming Answer: D
It was 12:45 pm on January 2, 2007. 50-year-old Wesley Autrey was waiting for the train at a subway station in New York. His two daughters, aged four and six, were with him. Suddenly, a sick man fell down on the platform . The man, 20-year-old Cameron Hollopeter, got up, but then fell again--this time, onto the track between the two rails . A train was coming into the station. It was a frightening moment. But Mr Autrey wasn't frightened. He looked at the man and the space that the man was in. It was about half a meter deep. And he thought, "The train is going to travel over this man. If he tries to get up, the train will kill him. But if he lies on the ground and doesn't move, he'll be OK." So he got an idea. He jumped down and kept Mr Hollopeter down on the ground. The train driver saw them. He was terrified, but he couldn't stop in time. The train traveled over the two men before it stopped. The people on the platform were surprised. When Mr Autrey heard them screaming, he shouted, "We're OK down here, but I've got two daughters up there. Let them know their father is OK." In an interview on a TV show, Mr Autrey said, "The only thing that happened to me was my blue hat got dirty." Mr Autrey was worried about _ when the train stopped. A. his two daughters B. Mr Hollopeter C. his blue hat D. the train driver Answer: A. his two daughters American black bears appear in a variety of colors despite their name. In the eastern part of their range , most of these bears have shiny black fur, but in the west they grow brown, red or even yellow coats. To the north, the black bear is actually gray or white. Even in the same litter , both brown and black furred bears may be born. Black bears are the smallest of all American bears, ranging in length from 5 to 6 feet, weighing from 300 to 500 pounds. Their eyes and ears are small and their eyesight and hearing are not as good as their sense of smell. Like all bears, the black bear is shy, clumsy and rarely dangerous. However, if cornered, the black bear can become a fearful enemy. Black bears feed on leaves, roots, fruit, insects, fish and even larger animals. One of the most interesting characteristics of bears, including the black bear, is their winter sleep. Unlike many other animals, bears do not actually hibernate . Although the bear does not eat during the winter months, its temperature remains almost normal, and it breathes regularly four or five times per minute. Most black bears live alone, except during the mating season . A litter of one to four cubs is born in January or February and they remain with their mother until they are fully grown or about one and a half years old. Black bears can live as long as thirty years in the wild, and even longer in game preserves set aside for them. Which of the following is TRUE about American black bears? A. Their way of "hibernating" is unique. B. They are able to live at most thirty years. C. They are regarded as the smallest bear in the world. D. The babies can soon live by themselves after birth. Answer: A. Their way of "hibernating" is unique. Blind tasting is a very strange activity. Contrary to what many people imagine, it has nothing to do with blindfolds. It involves tasting a wine without seeing the label and it can deliver shocking surprises. I tasted seven champagnes blind with a group of professionals recently. There was a shock when they discovered the wine most of them preferred carried a label they regarded as their least favorite. That sort of result is especially common with champagne, the most image-driven rather than quality-driven wine of all. But it happens all the time when wine is tasted blind. Because I'm interested in how wines really taste instead of how I think they should, I taste wine blind as often as I can, especially when assessing similar young wines. But blind tasting when you know absolutely nothing about the wine in front of you is something completely different. The most difficult Master of Wine exams include three sessions during which you have a dozen glasses in front of you and nothing more helpful than a printed exam paper asking you to identify each wine as closely as possible, and assess its quality. Now that the MW is behind me, I taste wine completely blind only very rarely, and never in public. So my blind tastings these days are round the dinner table with good friends and once a year when I act as a judge, with Hugh Johnson, in the Oxford vs Cambridge wine-tasting competition. This is the most extraordinary match, always held before the Boat Race but taken just as seriously nowadays. This year's taste-off took place at the end of last month, as usual in the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall in London. Which of the following is true about Blind tasting? A. Blind tasting is the professional way to identify a wine. B. Blind tasting usually has the right result. C. Blind tasting means tasting a wine with one's eyes covered. D. Blind tasting is tasting a wine without seeing the label. Answer: D. Blind tasting is tasting a wine without seeing the label. So you have been called for an interview---well done?Your effort has been paid off? You will feeI better at the interview if you show an understanding of the nature of the organization. Ask someone who already does it,or check it with one of the advisers. Ask a member of your family or a friend to act as the employer and to give you an unreal interview.Be as realistic as possible,answer the questions seriously.Afterwards discuss how it went.Think about how the employer would prefer to see your look.Remember---the majority of employers are over 30. It is not wise to rush out and buy new clothes.which will be worn for the first time at the interview.You'll feel more at ease in a familiar dress. Carelessness in any of these could cost you the job.Arrive at least 15 minutes before time,this will give you a chance to have a look around,read the notice board and get the feel of the place.Being late at the interview produces a bad impression.The first impression that the interviewer gets of you is formed as you walk through the door,so take a couple of deep breaths. Be ready to shake hands if the interviewer offers. Don't take a seat until asked.Then sit comfortably. Make eye contact when you are greeted and again if you shake hands.And during questioning,eye contact is a form of non-verbal greeting. Remember the interviewer's name and use it from time to time. Be ready for the question "Is there anything you want to ask?" Before the interview you should get ready for two or three such questions.Look on these not just as a chance to get information but as a means to give your employer a better impression.Asking can show knowledge but avoid asking about holidays,pensions and so on.It looks as if you are tired even before you begin.You can check on these later,when the hope for job is offered. And if you fail, look upon the interview as an experience in itself.Learn from it.We wish you good luck and good job hunting. Before you go to see the employer,you'd better_. A. find a dress you have got used to B. buy some modern shoes,ties,etc. C. have your hair cut D. put on your newly-bought clothes Answer: A. find a dress you have got used to In the 19th century, there used to be a model of how to be a good person. There are all these torrents of passion flowing through you. Your job, as captain of your soul, is to erect dams to keep these passions in check. Your job is to just say no to laziness, lust, greed, drug use and the other sins. These days that model is out of fashion. You usually can't change your behavior by simply resolving to do something. Knowing what to do is not the same as being able to do it. Your willpower is not like a dam that can block the torrent of self-indulgence. It's more like a muscle, which tires easily. Moreover, you're a social being. If everybody around you is overeating, you'll probably do so, too. The 19th-century character model was based on an understanding of free will. Today, we know that free will is bounded. People can change their lives, but ordering change is not simple because many things, even within ourselves, are beyond our direct control. Much of our behavior, for example, is guided by unconscious habits. Researchers at Duke University calculated that more than 40 percent of the actions we take are governed by habit, not actual decisions. Researchers have also come to understand the structure of habits--cue, routine, reward. You can change your own personal habits. If you leave running shorts on the floor at night, that'll be a cue to go running in the morning. Don't try to ignore your afternoon snack craving. Every time you feel the cue for a snack, insert another routine. Take a walk. Their research thus implies a different character model, which is supposed to manipulate the neuralnetworks inside. To be an effective person, under this model, you are supposed to coolly examine your own unconscious habits, and the habits of those under your care. You are supposed to devise strategies to alter the cues and routines. Every relationship becomes slightly manipulative, including your relationship with yourself. You're trying to arouse certain responses by implanting certain cues. This is a bit disturbing, because the important habitual neural networks are not formed by mere routine, nor can they be reversed by clever cues. They are burned in by emotion and strengthened by strong yearnings, like the yearnings for admiration and righteousness. If you think you can change your life in a clever way, the way an advertiser can get you to buy an air freshener, you're probably wrong. As the Victorians understood, if you want to change your life, don't just look for a clever cue. Commit to some larger global belief. The 19th-century model supposedly does not work on the grounds that _ A. one's wished should be pondered before acting. B. the comparison of free will to a dam is groundless. C. it has been proved impractical and cannot hold true. D. there were many other factors beyond one's control. Answer: A. one's wished should be pondered before acting.
Question: The booger on the balloon sailed far and wide. The wind pushed it. The wind pulled it. The booger on the balloon sailed into a house. In the house was a table. On the table was an orange. Next to the orange was some chocolate. Under the table was a crayon. Under the crayon was a seed. The booger on the balloon flew out of the house. Outside, there was snow. A dog went woof. A cat went meow. But the booger on the balloon did not hear them. The booger on the balloon had no ears! The wind blew the booger on the balloon far away, until one day... ...POP! The booger on the balloon fell on top of an alligator, never to be seen again. What was on the table? A. an alligator B. a crayon and a seed C. snow and a booger D. an orange and some chocolate Answer: D Question: Winter Sale! Winter is coming. So we are having a big and end-of-autumn sale. Look at the prices! A blouse :$5 A coat:$20 A silk skirt: $28 A pair of trainers :$30 A pair of jeans:$30 Will you come to Reborn Fashion Shop on the 2nd floor of New Century Shopping Mall from Friday to Sunday? Cash Back! Spend twenty dollars in our shop, we will give you five dollars back. Spend 40 dollars, and you will get 10 dollars back. Remember: only at weekends You are welcome to Happy Times Doll Shop on the first floor of New Century Shopping Mall. Closing Down Sale! Come to our shop next Monday. There is a discount on every kind of chocolate. And we will give you a big box of sweets for free if you spend more than 20 dollars in our shop. So come to Sweetheart Chocolate Shop on the first floor of New Century Shopping Mall. If you want to buy clothes at a lower price, where should you go? A. Reborn Fashion Shop. B. Happy Times Doll Shop. C. Sweetheart Chocolate Shop. D. The first floor of New Century Shopping Mall. Answer: A Question: If I raised the question, "What would be the last thing you would expect to happen while watching your son's flag football game?" you probably still couldn't come up with what happened to me and my family. As we were sitting on the sidelines enjoying the game, a low-flying bird came swooping in attempting to land on my daughter's head! It honestly came out of nowhere. We were seated by ourselves on the tree lined side of the field. I was able to calm my daughter's shock and fear once I showed her that the bird was not some wild animal, it was in fact, somebody's pet! Now, we're sitting at the outdoor fields of the Pontiac Silverdome, far from any populated area, wondering where this very social cockatiel, an Australian parrot could have come from. I walked up to the bird and put out my hand. Immediately, it hopped on and chirped in a friendly way. We looked around us and knew that we could not just leave and suppose that the bird would return to where it came from. This was a very bird that needed help or it would not survive. The flag football game had ended so we walked the bird over to other groups of adults and asked if they knew of anyone who had lost a bird. All the kids were excited about the bird and fed it with some post game snacks. The bird's nails were getting long and he was looking pretty dirty, so we knew it had been out here for a long time and was hungry. Since its wings were clipped, it could fly a little but probably not more than 100 yards or so at a try. We all just scratched our heads as a group wondering what to do with the lost bird. We explained to the kids that this bird needed our help since it was someone's pet and would not know how to get its own food, and it could not fly well since its wings were clipped. The kids understood, and all of them wanted to take the bird home! The parents however, knew this was not a good choice as one had a large dog, another two cats, etc. We explained to the kids that one of us could take the bird home for the night and then bring it to the Humane Society in the morning in hopes to connect it to its owners. We couldn't keep the bird. It wasn't ours. This was tough for the kids to understand at first. We couldn't just leave the bird either. There was no way it could attend itself. The group of us sat around the Silverdome practice fields for quite a while trying to determine the best course of choice for the lost bird. It was getting dark out but no one was willing to leave that parking lot until we had a game plan for how to help the bird. The owner of the football league, Chris Novak, offered to take the bird. It was extremely nice of him and he really stepped in to help while all the rest of us who had kids tugging on our shirts and begging to take it home. We took a box and put a bunch of holes in it and he brought it home for the night. Another mom went online and found a family that had lost a bird that looked just like the one we'd found. She emailed the info to Chris who got in touch with the family and the next day, reunited the bird with the family that lost it almost 3 weeks earlier! When Chris emailed us to let us know, we could not believe that this bird had traveled from The Rochester Tienken area all the way to the Silverdome! We were so happy to be able to save this bird and get it back to its family. I showed my kids the email about how the other family got their pet back. The family has 3 kids who were so happy to see their bird. My kids realized what a nice ending this story had. Not only had we been able to save this bird's life, but we were able to bring it back to the family that loves and misses him. The life lesson in the missing bird story seemed to miss its mark with my kids at first. They were a little bummed out that they couldn't keep the lost bird. I explained to them that when an animal or someone needs help, you just can't turn a blind eye and hope everything works out OK. The "lost bird incident" was also a reminder to them that teamwork and the kindness of strangers can make a world of difference and that a group of well-meaning strangers can work together to help someone. It wasn't a heroic act, but one that I knew had sunk in with my kids when they realized that trying to help was the best and only real course of action. What happened when the author watched his son's football games? A. A parrot tried to eat their food. B. His daughter was hurt by a parrot. C. A parrot flew towards his daughter. D. A parrot landed on his daughter's head. Answer: C Question: My third year of high school has just started.But despite the fact that my school is beautiful,I still wish that I were back in China. You would think that by my third year of boarding school,I would be completely comfortable with going to school in America.I am delighted to see my American friends of course,and Hotchkiss is a warm place,but boarding school will never be home,the place that I love with all my heart. If you are thinking about leaving home to study abroad,please don't be worried!I get worse homesickness than other people.Most of my friends handle it much better than me. However,I miss my family terribly and Hong Kong.The 12hour time difference between Hong Kong and Connecticut makes it difficult for me to talk to my family or friends.And even if I could reach them,I have always found it hard to explain how I feel. But I do have a few friends who left Hong Kong as well and talking to them always lifts my mood .They know what it is like to leave everything they know behind.Between us we share many memories of the times we had in Hong Kong.By talking to friends who have also gone abroad,I can get _ by.It's a break from talking to the friends at boarding school that I spend all my time with. What makes the author miss her/his home terribly? A. Her/his friends at Hong Kong. B. The different time between Hong Kong and Connecticut. C. Her/his boarding school. D. The difficulty of communication with her/his family. Answer: D Question: It would be hard to find a person in America who has never eaten a hamburger, but this popular food was not originally made in America. The original hamburger can be traded back to the Middle Ages, when Russians ate raw meat that was scraped and shredded with a dull knife and formed into patties , It was called Tartar steak. This was the first step in a long series of developments that eventually resulted in hamburger as we know it today. German sailors picked up the raw meat delicacy in their contacts with Russians and brought it back to their home port of Hamburg. But the people there were unused to eating raw meat , so they broiled the outside of the Russian steak; thus the hamburger steak was born. The hamburger steak was brought ot America in the nineteenth century immigrants. Louis Lasssen, a cook in New Haven, Connecticut, modified the hamburger steak by sandwiching it between two pieces of bread. But the true American hamburger came into existence in St. Louis at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. A harried cook at the fair quickly slapped broiled beef patties between buns and served them to a demanding crowd, which gulped them down joyously. At first this new food creation was made from scraps of poorer cuts of meat that were not used for anything else, but before scrapes were not enough. The demand for greater quantities of hamburger could only be met by using more and better cuts . Hamburger stands sprang up all over the country, and a side industry of condiments , such as ketchup and relish, grew What would be the best title for this passage? A. The St.Louis Fair B. .Russian Eating ?Habits C. The Development of the Hamburger D. The First Hamburger Stand Answer: C
Cosmo Books Ltd., 14, Woodman Road, Hertford Estate, Two Bridges, Rickmansworth, West Sussex. Middx. 25thFebruary Dear sir, Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set ( eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a 'remarkable' price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare's plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them. Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice. You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds , and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside. I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgement, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me. Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid. Yours faithfully, SIMON WALKER Simon Walker wrote the letter to _ Answer: In the past , people shopped for fruits, vegetables, bread and meat at small food stores and at open markets. Before there were _ , it was difficult to keep food fresh for a long time, so people shopped almost every day. Life today is very different from the past. Refrigerators keep food fresh, so people don't have to shop every day. People also have very busy lives. They have time to shop for food only once or twice a week. People shop for food in different kinds of places--in small stores, at large supermarkets and sometimes at wholesale stores that sell food and other things at very low prices. Some people even shop on the Internet. They order food online, and the company sends it to their home. And in many places around the world, people still shop at open markets. So people in different places like to shop for food in different ways. How often did people shop in the past? Answer: Catalin Baciu from Romania wanted to make money in Germany. So, he and his wife, Oltita went to Bucharest, the capital city of Romania to get legal papers to move to Germany. However, when they arrived, they were surprised by what they saw. "Hundreds of street children were living in a busy and dirty city of two and a half million people. Many of them were using drugs. They all seemed lost. Most of them were under ten years old. Oltita had tears in her eyes," Catalin said. Many of these streets children were orphans . They had grown up in the government orphanages, but had run away. They thought any place would be better than the orphanages. But the streets were cold and hard. The winters were freezing. The children had to sleep in warm sewers under the ground. Many of the children even became involved with crime and violence . The Baciu's did not like the sight of so many pitiful children in Bucharest. They wanted to leave immediately and go to Germany. However, that night, Catalin and Oltita stayed with a friend in Buchares. "The friend we were staying with was working with street children. I was deeply touched by what he and his fellows were trying to do...they were sacrificing their jobs and lives to save street children, " Catalin said. After that visit, the Baciu's completely changed their life plan. Instead of moving to Germany, they began working with street children in Bucharest. They started by opening a home called House of Hope, which provided a warm and loving place for children who needed to get away from the streets. Many hospitals and business workers called House of Hope when they found troubled kids. Everyone knew the House of Hope would help. We can infer that the orphans in the orphanages _ . Answer: Sitting for more than three hours a day can decrease a person's life expectancy by two years, even if her or she is physically active and gets rid of dangerous habit like smoking ,according to a study. Watching TV for more than two hours a day can worsen that problem, decreasing life expectancy by another 1.4 years. The analysis comes just two years after Australian researchers found that people who said they watched TV for more than four hours a day were 46% more likely to die of any cause than people who said they spent less than two hours a day watching TV. Those watching TV more than four hours a day were also 80% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. "Long-sitting behavior is something we need to take note of beyond telling people to get 30 minutes of activity a day ," said Peter T. Katzmarzyk, one of the lead researchers. But while the evidence of illnesses is increasing, it remains difficult for many people to find time to get on their feet, especially if they do desk jobs. "Try to stand as much as you can," Dr Katzmarzyk said. "Typically when you are on the telephone you can stand and use the speakerphone. Instead of e-mailing someone in the office, just get up and so to talk to them." However , Dr Katzmarzyk added, standing shouldn't be alternative to exercising, but an alternative to sitting . "Several studies show that when you're sitting , your leg muscles are completely inactive," he said . "When you're sitting and completely inactive, this is when you run into trouble managing blood sugar." What does Dr Katzmarzyk think of long-sitting behavior ? Answer: Children are delight, they are our future. But sadly, hiring someone to take care of them when you're going to work is getting more expensive by the year. Earlier this month it was reported, that the cost of involving an infant or small kid at a childcare centre rose 3 percent in 2012, faster than the general cost of living. There are now large strips of the country where daycare for an infant costs more than 10% of the average married couples' income. This is not necessarily a new trend, but it is somewhat puzzling me. The price of professional childcare has been rising since the 1980s. Yet during that time, pay for professional childcare workers has stood still. Actually caregivers earn less today than they did in 1990. Considering that labor costs are responsible for about 80% of a daycare center's expenses, one would infer that stable wages means stable prices. So who is to blame for higher child care costs? Childcare is a carefully regulated industry. States lay down rules about how many children each employee is allowed to watch over, the space care centers need per child, and other details. And the stricter the regulations are, the higher the costs will be. In Massachusetts, where childcare centers must hire one teacher for every three infants, the price of care averaged more than $ 16,000 per year. In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infants, the price of care averaged less than $5,000. Unfortunately I don't have all the daycare center regulations, but I wouldn't be surprised if as the rules have become more complicated, prices have risen. The tradeoff might be worth it in certain cases; after all, the health and safety of children should probably come before cheap service. But certainly, it doesn't seem to be an accident that some of the cheapest daycare available is in the least regulated South. What does the author feel puzzled about? Answer:
Question: People eat different things in different parts of the world. In south China we eat rice every day. Sometimes we eat it two or three times a day, for breakfast, lunch and supp-er. We usually eat it with fish, meat and vegetables. The Japanese eat rice, too. They also eat a lot of fish. They sometimes eat raw fish. In Africa, maize is the most important food. People there make maize into flour .From this flour they make different kinds of bread and cakes. In western countries such as Britain, Australia and the U.S.A, the most important food is bread or potatoes. People there usually make their bread from wheat flour. They cook the potatoes in different ways. In England the most popular food is fish and chips. Sometimes people cook this food at home, but usually they buy it at the shop. They eat this food at home, in their work place, in the park or on the road. People call it "take-away" food. Which of the following countries is called " a western country"? A. One of the countries in Africa B. Japan C. China D. Australia Answer: D Question: In a cold winter, a couple had to move out of their big house because fo bankruptcy . The husband worked day and night but with no care of his wife. SO she thought, " He doesn't love me any more , he just thinks about his work." One day, she wanted to take a shower , but her husband stopped her at the door. "Let me take it first, Ok?" "Why not let me take it first?" she asked. "I'm tired, dear. You take it later, OK?" She was very sad. On a rainy day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer. After a few minutes, her eyes were full of tears....It was his diary: Today I was quite sad. She asked me why I was always taking the shower first, and I said I was tired. She was unhappy. I wasn't as rich as before! We moved to the small house and it was very cold. I found that if one person took the shower first, the bathroom could get a little warmer. So I always rushed to the bathroom first. When she took the shower, the bathroom could get warmer, at least 1degC. i can't give her more, but at least I can give her 1degC love. The woman's eyes were full of tears because _ . A. she felt sad by here husband's words B. the rainy day made her sad C. her eyes were hurt by the computer D. she was moved by her husband's diary Answer: D Question: You can etch the surface of a windshield with A. a sponge B. feathers C. soft cloth D. jasper Answer: D Question: He leant down to the pickpocket. The heaving and gasping had stopped, but he was still making a show of his breathlessness. "That's better," Mallon said. "Can you stand up? Try to stand up. Here," he said, and gripped the pickpocket's arm and forced him upright until he saw his face for the first time. As the pickpocket labored for breath, he gazed up at Mallon with his dark eyes. "How could you?" they asked. Mallon might have said, "Because you tried to steal from me." But he was still conscious of the flush of joy he'd felt when his blow struck home -- when he knew he'd hurt the man. Where that joy came from he couldn't say, but he knew that its roots were deeper than some clumsy failed theft. Fat drops of rain began to patter on the awning . "How are you?" Mallon said. "Can you walk?" The pickpocket turned away and leant against the store window with both hands, and his head sank lower as his shoulders rose and fell. A gray-haired woman inside the store rapped on the glass and made a shooing motion. When the pickpocket ignored her, she rapped harder and kept rapping. "I have to go," Mallon said. "I'm sorry." He looked up at the sky. "I'm sorry," he said again, and stepped into the rain and walked quickly up the street. One of the Bangladeshi umbrella sellers was working the corner, and Mallon had just paid seven euros when he heard a woman shouting. He didn't want to look back but did. It was the woman from the shop, pushing and batting the pickpocket away from the window while he bent down and covered his head like a boxer trying to get through the last seconds of a round. Mallon slipped his wallet back into his jacket pocket and took the umbrella that the Bangladeshi had opened for him. The pickpocket was out on the sidewalk now, in the rain. The woman stood just under the awning with her arms crossed over her chest. "Excuse me, madam," Mallon said, coming up to them. "This man isn't well. He needs to rest a moment." "I know these people," she said. "Our Romans don't want them here." The rain fell in sheets, ran down the pickpocket's shiny scalp and face, down his leather jacket. "Here," Mallon said, and offered him the umbrella, but he only looked at Mallon with his hurt dark eyes and then lowered his head again. Mallon bumped him in the shoulder with the handle of the umbrella. "Go on -- take it!" he said. And finally, with a beaten, unwilling look, the pickpocket did. And that was when he saw a taxi round the corner with a light glowing on its roof. Mallon ran out waving his arm and the cab turned sharply to the pavement, sending a lot of water over his shoes. He opened the door but couldn't help looking back. The pickpocket had lowered the umbrella to the ground upside down and was leaning on the shaft, head low, neck bared to the sky. "Wait," Mallon said to the driver. He went back and grabbed the pickpocket's sleeve and pulled him to the cab. "Get in," Mallon said, and took the umbrella and pushed him into the back seat. He leaned inside. "O.K., where do you live?" "No Gypsies!" the driver said. He was twisted around, glaring at the pickpocket. "Gypsy? Look, he's not well. I'll pay," Mallon added. The driver shook his head. "No Gypsies. Get him out," Mallon looked at the driver's nameplate: Michele Kadare. "It's the law," he said, "If you don't take us, Signor Kadare, I'll report you and you'll lose your license. Believe me -- I am quite serious." The driver fastened those pale eyes on Mallon and turned and put his hands on the steering wheel. He raised his eyes to the rearview mirror and he and Mallon exchanged stares. "O.K., Mr. American," he said. "You pay." Where should the sentence "He hesitated, then turned back." be placed? A. Between paragraphs 5 and 6. B. Between paragraphs 6 and 7. C. Between paragraphs 7 and 8. D. Between paragraphs 8 and 9. Answer: C Question: Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been made illegal. But one popular form continues to exist, that is alphabetism . This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet. It has long been known that the cars of a taxi firm called AAAA have a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers look through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbot has in life over Zoe Zysman. English names are fairly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a quite large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K. Thus the American presidents and vice-presidents have surnames starting with B and C separately and 26 of those before George Bush took office (including his father ) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chretien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers ( Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami)are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. The same case are the world's five richest men ( Gates, Buffet and so on) . Can this merely happen by chance? At the start of the first year in primary school, teachers seat pupils, alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So shortsighted and small-sized Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is seldom asked the improving questions by those teachers. At that time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly. The unfairness continues. At university graduation parties, the ABCs proudly get their awards first. However, by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are a little tired. Lists of job interviews and conference speakers and attendees all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their readers lose interest as they plough through them. What does the author intend to show with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars? A. An example of competition of two kinds of cars. B. Some advantages of AAAA cars in the taxi firm. C. An example of unfairness caused by alphabetism. D. Some disadvantages of Zodiac cars in the taxi firm. Answer: C

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