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Research into the total amount of oil available for use around the world can affect what kind of human choice? Everyone needs to be healthy. Do you eat healthy food every day? It's important for your health. You need fruit, like oranges, apples and bananas. _ " You also need vegetables, like carrots and broccoli. Fruit and vegetables are good for our health. But don't eat lots of chocolate. It's not good healthy food. What about dessert? Don't eat lots of dessert because it's not good for your health. Many people eat lots of chocolate and dessert, so they are _ . Sports can also keep you healthy. Play sports every day. Don't be lazy. You can be healthy. What keeps you healthy? During the 20th century there has been a great change in the lives of women.A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century probably has been in her middle 20's and would be likely to have seven or eight children.By the time the youngest was 15,the mother would have been in her early 50's and would expect to live a further 20 years,during which chance and health made it hard for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children.Usually a woman's youngest child will be 15 when she is 45 and she can be expected to live another 35 years and is likely to get paid work until 60. This important change in women's life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position.Even a few years ago most girls left school and took a fulltime joB. However,when they married they usually left work at once and never returned to it.Today the school-leaving age is 16,many girls stay at school after that age,and though women marry younger,more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born.Many more return to work later.Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage,with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties of family life. According to the passage,it is now quite usual for women to _ . Peng Liyuan, China's first lady, who has accompanied her husband to the United States, is no stranger to being in the spotlight. She has been praised by both mainland and international media for her sense of fashion on earlier state visits. Following her arrival in the U.S., she is set for a much-anticipated fashion face-off with her fellow, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama later this week. Here we take a look at four key differences between the two fashion icons. 1 Backgrounds Peng Liyuan Peng, a Yuncheng county, Shandong native, joined the People's Liberation Army when she was 18. She was one of the first people on the mainland to obtain a master's degree in ethnic music at the China Conservatory of Music. Her vocal talents made her a superstar as an army soprano , and she has given many singing performances at home and abroad. Michelle Obama Michelle grew up with her older brother, Craig, in Chicago. Her father was a water plant operator, and her mother was a full-time housewife until her daughter went to high school. She went to state school, and later graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She then attended Harvard Law School in 1988, where she earned a doctorate in law. 2 Professions Peng Liyuan Aside from being the first lady of China and a singer, Peng is also the president of the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Art College. She has since stepped down from public performances, but continues with her charity work. Michelle Obama After working as a lawyer, Michelle began to work in public service and was the associate dean at the University of Chicago. She then became vice-president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center before her husband's inauguration. 3 Campaigns Peng Liyuan The World Health Organization appointed Peng as a goodwill ambassador in its campaign against tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in 2012. In 2014, UNESCO named her as a special envoy to promote education for girls and women. She has also joined Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, in promoting World No Tobacco Day. Michelle Obama Michelle launched the"Let's Move!"campaign in 2010 to fight against childhood obesity. She has raised awareness of the need for higher education, and also spoken about empowering young women worldwide through a government initiative called"Let Girls Learn". 4 Styles Peng Liyuan China's first lady tends to wear tailored clothing, with clean lines on formal occasions. Internet users have praised her"elegant ensemble"and graceful outfits. The 54-year-old supports home-grown Chinese designers, such as Ma Ke, one of the founders of EXCEPTION de Mixmind, a largely unknown fashion brand until she sparked global headlines by wearing a fancy black overcoat and handbag on her first trip with Xi to Moscow in 2013. Michelle Obama Michelle is more experimental with her style -- her clothes range from casual dresses to off-the-shoulder ball gowns, and tailored trouser suits. The 52-year-old wears clothing mostly made by American designers, which include more affordable fashion retailers, such as J. Crew and Target, and the famous designer Alexander McQueen. From her clothing we can learn that Michelle Obama . Celebrate the arts at Harvard ARTS FIRST: April 28-May l, 2012 Experience non-stop art! Over 200 performances, exhibitions, films, and multimedia presentations Highlighting student and faculty creativity at Harvard. Schedule of events: www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/arts, or call 617 495 8676 to request a program guide. Join us in honoring Susan Meiselas, winner of the 2012 Harvard Arts Medal Photographer Susan Meiselas will be awarded the Arts Medal by President Drew Gilpin Faust and will take part in a conversation organized by John Lithgow. Friday, April 29, 4 pm New College Theatre, 10-12 Holyoke St., Cambridge Admission free: tickets required. Those who receive this announcement may request up to two tickets by emailing www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/arts or calling 617 495 8676. Please indicate one or two tickets, and reply by April 25. How long will Harvard ARTS FIRST FESTIVAL last?
Question: Many people believe that the common garden slug[ is nothing more than a pest that should be wiped out. In attempts to beautify their yards, people employ various poisons, strategically chosen plants, and gardening techniques. Success is attained when no trace of slugs can be found, although the worn-out gardener still watches and waits for their return, as completely ridding a garden of slugs is almost impossible. Experts, however, have discovered that the slug's evil reputation as an enemy of home gardeners may, in fact, be groundless to some degree. Although it is true that a slug can devour[ garden plants from the roots up in amazing quantities, it also produces nutrients for the soil, which help other plants grow. The diet of a slug consists of plant waste and mould, as well as living plants, making it a sort of natural recycling center. The unique structure of a slug digestive system enables it to take these discarded products, transform them into the nutrients that plants need, and then release those nutrients harmlessly as wastes. To some, this situation is unacceptable. No gardener wants to sacrifice his or her plants just to gain a few nutrients that could easily be provided by fertilizers In order to achieve a balance, both slug and gardener may have to compromise some things. One ly easy step is to separate plants with high slug appeal from those with low appeal. That way, the sections of the garden spared for plants with high slug appeal can contain plants that the gardener is willing to sacrifice so as to protect those plants that have a lower slug appeal . Another possibility is to leave some ground-covering plants in a less tidy state, since slugs particularly enjoy semi-decayed plant matter. The slugs will then be drawn toward this decaying matter instead of toward the living plants. These measures may seem slow and difficult but they are still preferable to commercial slug repellents for several reasons. The topsoil of a garden is often highly lacking in nutrients, due to chemical damage caused by just such products. The fertilizer industry sells millions of pounds of dirt mixed with the nutrients necessary for a healthy garden every year. Yet these are the very same minerals that a healthy slug population would provide at no cost. Moreover, since slugs find newly dead slugs highly appetizing. the slug population is unlikely to decrease significantly as a result of these severe measures. Commercial slug repellents are not advisable, because they _ A. do chemical harm to the top soil of a garden B. make chemical fertilizers not so effective C. make products not so healthy for eating D. they help slugs reproduce more quickly Answer: A. do chemical harm to the top soil of a garden Question: There are many expressions with heart.One of them is "lose your heart to someone".When that happens,you have fallen in love.But if the person who "won your heart" does not love you,then you are sure to have a "broken heart".In your sadness,you think that the person you loved is "hard-hearted",and in fact,has a "heart of stone". You may decide to "pour out your heart" to a friend.Telling someone about your personal problems can often make you feel better. If your friend does not seem to understand how painful your broken heart is,you may ask her to "have a heart".You are asking your friend to show some sympathy for your situation.Your friend "has her heart in the right place" if she says she is sorry for how you feel. If your friend says,"My heart bleeds for you",she means the opposite.She is a cold--hearted person who does not really care about your situation. When you are feeling afraid,"your heart is in your mouth".You might say,for example,that your heart was in your mouth when you asked a bank to lend you some money to pay for a new house. If that bank says no to you,do not "lose heart".Be "strong-hearted".Sit down with the banker and have a "heart to heart" talk.Be open and honest about your situation.The bank may have a "change of heart" and agree to lend you the money.Then you could stop worrying and "put your heart at rest". If your friend has her heart in the right place,she may _ . A. be kind to you B. tell us about her personal information C. 1ive a happy life D. have a right heart Answer: A. be kind to you Question: Sunnyside School Bookshop Sunnyside Secondary School A Warm Welcome To All Secondary Pupils! Congratulations on getting into Singapore's premier school. To do well in English, you must have a good English dictionary. May we recommend that you buy any of these two, which have been specially selected by the English teachers in the school. Select the one that fits your needs! Foster's Advanced Learners' Dictionary The most authoritative and up-to-date dictionary for intermediate learners of English. * Over 50,000 references, including new words created over the past ten years. * 20 full-page colour illustrations. * Grammar and spelling rules simply and completely explained. * Lots of examples of how to use words in the correct context. * l0-page appendix on "How To Write More Effectively". Active Learners' English Dictionary A most useful dictionary which not only helps you to learn new words but also shows you different ways of using them in your writing. Particularly useful for foreign students and non-native speakers of English! * Over 48,000 references with explanations focusing on a speaker's attitude and intentions. * Each definition together with tips on how to use the word or its synonyms in the correct context. * Right margin gives a list of synonyms. * Left margin gives information on grammar and spelling. * Clear pronunciation guide. Foster's Advanced Learners' Dictionary is better than Active Learners' English Dictionary in that it has _ . A. more word entries B. grammar tips C. spelling tips D. pronunciation tips Answer: A. more word entries Question: My name is Jenny . I have a sister and a brother, Rose and Paul. We like apples very much. Rose and I like hamburgers. But I don't like salad. Paul doesn't like broccoli. But Rose does. My parents like tomatoes and French fries. My _ is Paul. A. name B. sister C. brother D. father Answer: C. brother Question: Kalle Lasn was in a supermarket parking lot one afternoon when he had an experience that changed his life.In order to shop at the store, he needed to put money into the shopping cart to use it.Annoyed that he had to "pay to shop," Lasn jammed the coin into the cart so that it wouldn't work.It was an act of _ --the first of many--for Lasn. Born in Estonia, Kalle Lasn moved to Australia as a young man and then later to Japan, where he founded a marketing research firm in Tokyo.Eventually, Lasn moved to Canada and for several years produced documentaries for public television.In the late 1980s, Lasn made an advertisement that spoke out against the logging industry and the deforestation going on in the Pacific Northwest.When he tried to show his ad on TV, though, no station in this area would give him airtime.In response, Lasn and a colleague founded Adbusters Media Foundation, a company for the "Human right to communicate. Adbusters produces magazine, newspaper, and TV ads with a social message.Many use humor and irony to make their points: In one, for example, a man chain smokes a brand of cigarettes called "Hope".In another, a child is dressed in an outfit used in fast-food ads.Next to the child is a note from its mother telling the restaurant to leave her child alone. Adbusters also has a magazine and a web site, the Culture Jammers Network, whose members include students, artists, and activists as well as educators and businesspeople interested in social change.Many of these "culture jammers" are working to raise awareness about different social issues by hosting events like "Buy Nothing Day" , " No Car Day" and "TV Turnoff Week" .Lasn and his partners hope these events will encourage people to think about questions such as; What kinds of things are we being encouraged to buy by the media? Should cars be our primary means of transportation? *How are television and radio being used now? How could we be using them? Some culture jammers are using other methods to challenge how people think.Some pretend to be shoppers.They move items in stores from one shelf to another making it difficult for people to find things easily.Other culture jammers break into large company well sites and jam them so that they become unusable.The goal in both cases ia to prevent "Business as usual" and to gel people to ask themselves questions such as "Why am I shopping here?" or "Why should I buy this product?" Lasn and members of the Culture Jammers Network want to make people aware of social issues, but they also believe it's important to think of solutions, too."A lot of people tell you everything that's wrong but they never say much about how to fix these problems," says Lasn."But there is plenty we can do.If you start despairing, you have lost everything." Though many TV stations still won't show Adbusters' " uncommercials" , some cable TV stations have started to.People all over the world have joined the Culture Jammers Network and are doing their part to promote social change. Some culture jammers break into websites in order to _ . A. ask people to be thoughtful consumers. B. help make the companies better known. C. encourage people to think less and buy less D. challenge how people react to sudden changes Answer: A. ask people to be thoughtful consumers.
It just may be the world's most costly vacuum cleaner ( ). The price of CleanSpace One is eleven million dollars. But yet, it has a big job to do. Recently, researchers in Switzerland said they planned to build this new cleaning machine. CleanSpace One will not be for use in homes or businesses. It will be shot into space to help remove thousands of pieces of space junk floating around up there. Last year, we reported on the problem of space junk. Over time, many unused spacecraft have hit each other far above the Earth. Big pieces break into thousands of small pieces. Sometimes they fall back into the atmosphere and burn up. But when they do not, it creates big problems. Scientists fear that if something is not done to remove these objects, it may soon become too dangerous to send people and machines into space. There is a large chance that they might hit some of this junk. So that is why the Swiss researchers are developing the new machine. CleanSpace One is not really a vacuum cleaner. It will not be used to take away space junk. But scientists plan to move it close to an old satellite that is no longer being used. Then a claw-like instrument will catch the satellite, and force it back through the atmosphere. There, the satellite will be destroyed by the heat of friction with the air. Researchers say that all they need to do is slow down the speed of some of these unwanted objects. Once they begin to move more slowly, they will fall back to the Earth. There is little chance that they will fall through the atmosphere and harm the people or things below. Space junk is created when _ . A. unused spacecraft hit each other B. people in space throw away rubbish C. a new spaceship is sent up D. an old spaceship creates friction with the air Answer: A. unused spacecraft hit each other England became England, the land of English-speaking people, at the beginning of the Middle Ages. Before that it had been the home of Iron Age tribes known as Celts, and for a time, part of the Roman Empire. Then beginning in the 400s AD, tribes from the north, known as the Engles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, moved in. The most famous leader of this time period in England was Alfred the Great. Alfred lived in Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons, which was in the southern part of England. He was a good leader who made his kingdom stronger. He created a system of defenses , called burhs, across the country. He reorganized the army so that his men had time to fight and time to farm. Alfred's efforts protected his people from the Vikings and allowed Wessex to grow. Eventually the rulers of Wessex would rule all of England. Alfred also made other improvements. He made laws for his people. He encouraged learning and translated several important books into his Saxon language. This was the beginning of the language we call English today. Two important pieces of literature from that time period are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf, both written in Old English. Old English lasted through most of the Middle Ages. Middle English came in during the late Middle Ages, and Modern English began about the time of the Renaissance. England and English got their names, not from the Saxons, but from one of the other tribes, and Angles. The original name of England must have been something like Angle-land(only in old English of course). Alfred the Great was the king of _ . A. the Romans B. the West Saxons C. the Angles D. the Vikings Answer: B. the West Saxons Sunny countries are often poor. A shame, then, that solar power is still quite expensive. Eight19, a British company by Cambridge University, has, however, invented a novel way to _ this. In return for a deposit of around $10 it is supplying poor Kenyan families with a solar cell able to generate 2.5 watts of electricity, a battery that can deliver a three amp current to store this electricity, and a lamp whose bulb is a light-emitting diode . The firm thinks that this system, once the battery is fully charged, is enough to light two small rooms and to power a mobile-phone charger for seven hours. Then, next day, it can be put outside and charged back up again. The trick is that, to be able to use the electricity, the system's keeper must buy a scratch card--for as little as a dollar--on which is printed a reference number. The keeper sends this reference, plus the serial number of the household solar unit, by SMS to Eight19. The company's server will respond automatically with an access code to the unit. Users may consider that they are paying an hourly rate for their electricity. In fact, they are paying off the cost of the unit. After buying around $80 worth of scratch cards--which Eight19 expects would take the average family around 18 months--the user will own it. He will then have the option of continuing to use it for nothing, or of trading it in for a bigger one, perhaps driven by a 10-watt solar cell. In that case, he would go then through the same process again, paying off the additional cost of the upgraded kit at a slightly higher rate. Users would therefore increase their electricity supply steadily and affordably. According to Eight19's figures, this looks like a good deal for customers. The firm believes the average energy-starved Kenyan spends around $10 a month on oil--enough to fuel a couple of smoky lamps--plus $2 on charging his mobile phone in the market-place. Regular users of one of Eight19's basic solar units will spend around half that, before owning it completely. Meanwhile, as the cost of solar technology falls, it should get even cheaper. What might be the most suitable title for the passage? A. Solar Energy: Starting from Scratch. B. Eight19: a creative British Company. C. Kenyan Families: Using Solar Energy for Free. D. Poor Countries: Beginning to Use Solar Energy. Answer: A. Solar Energy: Starting from Scratch. The first true piece of sports equipment that man invented was the ball. In ancient Egypt, as everywhere, pitching stones was a favorite children's game. But a badly thrown rock could hurt a child. Looking for something less dangerous to throw, the Egyptians made what were probably the first balls. At first, balls were made of grass or leaves held together by vines . Later they were made of pieces of animal skin sewed together and stuffed with feathers or hay. Even though the Egyptians were warlike, they found time for peaceful games. Before long they had developed a number of ball games, each with its own set of rules. Perhaps they played ball more for instruction than for fun. Ball playing was thought of mainly as a way to teach young men the speed and skill they would need for war. The best title for this selection is _ A. The First Ball Games B. How Egyptian Children Played Games C. Egyptian Sports D. The Beginning of Sports Answer: A. The First Ball Games Some people have very good memory and they can easily remember quite long texts. There are other people who can only remember things when they have said them again and again. The famous English writer Charles Dickens said that he could walk down any long street in London and then tell you the name of every shop he had passed. Many great men of the world have a wonderful memory. A good memory is greatly helpful in learning a language. Everybody learns his own language by remembering what he hears when he is a small child, and some children, like the boys and girls who live abroad with their parents, seem to learn two languages almost as easily as one. In school it is not so easy to learn a second language because the students have so little time for it, and they are very busy with other subjects too. A man's mind is like a camera, but it takes photos not only of what we see but also of what we feel, hear, smell and taste. When we take a real photo with a camera, Some people have very good memory and they can easily remember quite long texts.In the same way, there is much work to be done before we can keep a picture forever in our minds. Memory is a diary, and we all carry it about us. We keep things we have experienced in this diary. To learn a language well, one must _ . A. live abroad B. write it every day C. often hear it D. go to school Answer: C. often hear it
JANE AUSTEN(1775--1817)is often regarded as the greatest of English women novelists on the strength of her six completed novels.Known particularly for their social comedy and accurate description of human relationships,they are still as widely read today as they have ever been. The seventh child of a country priest ,Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon in Hampshire.Her father ,the Reverend George Austen,was an intelligent and sensitive man who encouraged Jane in her love of reading.From an early age she was familiar with the works of Henry Fielding,Sir Walter Scott,Richardson,Frances Burney and the poet George Crabbe.Her early attempts at writing include burlesques of popular romances.When her father retired in 1801 the family moved to Bath,which was later to feature in her novel Northanger Abbey(published in 1818).After his death in 1805 the family moved first to Southampton and then in 1809 to Chawton in Hampshire.where Jane Austen is known to have written her last three novels:Mansfield Park(1814),Emma(1816)and Persuasion(also published in 1818).Although her other novels were written much earlier ,it was not until 1811 that Sense and Sensibility was first published.Pride and Prejudice,which followed in1813,features Jane Austen'own favourite hero,Elizabeth Bennet. Surrounded by her lively and warm family and wholly buried herself in her writing and housework,Jane Austen led a life often known for its lack of events.She did,however ,attract several admirers and even accepted a proposal of marriage from one admirer-only to change her mind the following morning.Jane Austen's independent life often seems reflected in her novels,which seem to display the world in miniature .Sir Walter Scott praised Jane Austen for'that unique _ which makes ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting',while Somerset Maugham claimed that she had at her command 'the most precious gift a novelist can possess's that of keeping the reader's interest.Jane Austen died in 1817. This passage is most probably a _ A. collection of women novelists and their works B. comment on Jane Austen and her works C. brief introduction of Jane Austen D. description of Jane Austen's road to success Answer: C. brief introduction of Jane Austen Have you ever gone to work to find that one of your coworkers is coughing and sneezing all day long? You do your best to keep a safe distance and wonder:Why did he or she come to work when they were ill? The reality for many Americans is that they do not have enough paid sick time each year to afford them the luxury of staying home because they don't feel well. This problem doesn't just affect the working employees who are sick,though.In an article by James Warren for Bloomberg Business Week, a second-grade school teacher, Stilli Klikizos shares about the sick children that must stay in school all day long because their parents can't get off work to come and get them.In the past school year, she had several children who were unable to be picked up at school who were later diagnosed with H1N1. There is a movement called the Healthy Families Act in Congress that would change rids situation for many Americans.The Healthy Family Act would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide 7 paid sick days a year for their workers, These days could be used not only for days when the worker is sick, but the time can also be used when caring for others,or going to routine doctor's appointments. Those who are against the Act argue that many businesses are struggling to make ends meet owing to recession ,and point out that this is the wrong time to force employers to add an additional expense. Those who support the Healthy Families Act say that our nation can't afford to not take these measures. When an individual goes to work sick, they are possibly infecting their coworkers,clients and customers. According to a report by Katie Couric on the CBS evening news,three fourths of low wage earners _ when they are on sick leave.Those individuals include daycare workers and restaurant workers,whose health can affect the health of many. Why do many Americans still come to work when they are sick? A. They often ignore the illness if not serious. B. They work in high spirits. C. The cost of staying home is great. D. The cost of medical treatment is high. Answer: C. The cost of staying home is great. A primary school in UK has banned Valentine's Day cards because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends. Ashcombe Primary School in WestonSuperMare,Somerset,has told parents that cards declaring love can be"confusing" for children under the age of 11,who are still emotionally and socially developing. In this month's newsletter ,Peter Turner,the head teacher,warned that any cards found in school would be confiscated .He wrote:"We do not wish to see any Valentine's Day cards in school this year. Some children and parents encourage a lot of talk about boyfriends and girlfriends. We believe that such ideas should wait until children are mature enough emotionally and socially to understand the commitment involved in having or being a boyfriend or girlfriend."Mr.Turner said any families wanting to support the Valentine's Day idea should send cards in the post or deliver them to home addresses by hand. His views were _ by Ruth Rice,46,who has twins Harriet and Olivia at the school. She said,"Children at that age shouldn't really be thinking about Valentine's Day,they should be concentrating on their schoolwork."They are at an age when they are impressionable and most parents including myself are with Mr.Turner. "She added that the cards cause" too much competition. If someone gets a card and another doesn't,then someone will be disappointed. However,Rajeev Takyar,40,who has two children Jai,11,and Aryan,five,at the school,said he was "outraged".He said,"There are schools that have banned conkers and snowballs,and now Valentine's Cards."I think banning the cards stops children from having social skills. How are they going to learn about relationships otherwise?It's ridiculous. Alec Suttenwood,father of three children,said of the ban:"It's totally ridiculous. Young children just send the cards to each other as friends and to their parents. It's just a bit of harmless fun. There is no difference between this and Mother's or Father's Day." According to Rajeev Takyar, _ . A. sending Valentine's Day cards helps develop children's social skills B. banning Valentine's Day cards will benefit children C. the cards cause too much competition among children D. children are too young to talk about love Answer: A. sending Valentine's Day cards helps develop children's social skills What is more important to a high school student than being popular? Anyone who has ever gone to high school or at least seen a John Hughes' movie knows the answer to that question. When Theresa Sommers first discovered MySpace three years ago, the teen from Minneapolis, St. Paul thought she had found the real high school popularity contest. She could spend hours a day creating an online picture, finding cool pictures and music to make her page look more beautiful, and looking for interesting-looking people to be her online friends. And along the way, she could compete with her friends to see who had the most friends or most-visited page. The more she used the site, however, the less interested she became in only being popular; she started using her time for more heartfelt conversations with friends and went more deeply into her personal interests. As a beginner in taking pictures, she put her best pictures on the site and looked for advice from people who are good at taking pictures. At the same time,she began to get in touch with the students of the colleges she wanted to go to. She opened up a new account on Facebook. And she even began to put some of her own creative writing on the website and would ask for advice on homework from her friends. She asked them," How long did you spend on your homework?" or "How would you write it?" Often she would put her homework online. Which of the following is Theresa most interested in? A. Photo-taking B. Drawing C. Writing D. Music. Answer: A. Photo-taking When we arrived at Prinsengracht, we went quickly upstairs and into the hiding place. We closed the door behind us and we were alone. Margot had come faster on her bicycle and was already waiting for us. All the rooms were full boxes. They lay on the floor and the beds. The little room was filled with bedclothes. We had to start clearing up at once, if we wished to sleep in comfortable beds that night. Mummy and Margot were not able to help. They were tired and lay down on their beds. But Daddy and I, the two "helpers' of the family, started at once. The whole day we unpacked the boxes, filled the cupboards and tidied, until we were extremely tired. We did sleep in clean beds that night. We hadn't had any warm food to eat all day, but we didn't care. Mummy and Margot were too tired and worried to eat, and Daddy and I were too busy. Who was waiting for them when they arrived at the hiding place? A. Margot B. Mummy and Margot C. Daddy D. Nobody Answer: A. Margot
Avalanches are one of those natural disasters that can cause great damage and only Mother Nature knows when and where they are going to occur. Even with modern technology it is still impossible to know exactly when or where one is going to occur. Mountain climbers are wise to be careful, as avalanches kill many of them each year. The physics of how and why an avalanche occurs is complex. There are times of higher probability. During the year, the transition( from winter to spring will cause some snow and ice to melt, which may trigger avalanches. Also at daybreak there is a higher probability due to the temperature change . While climbers hike up slopes, some distance between the climbers should be kept. If an avalanche occurs, then there will be fewer lives lost and a higher probability that someone will be able to seek help. Since an accident is more likely to happen when a top layer of snow is loose, avoid areas where heavy snow or rain has recently occurred. Try to choose areas that you are familiar with and stay in areas with rocks, bushes and trees. Trees and bushes allow snow to pile up and keep the layers stable. If an avalanche occurs, trees will take the impact of the snow, so there is a better chance of being safe. Climbers must pay attention to the degree of the slope. Avalanches won't occur on level ground and there is little snowfall on very steep areas. The greatest danger is in areas where the slope is between 25 and 40 degrees. Remember that, if you get stuck in an avalanche, there is no car hire available to take you to the nearest airport. Why is there a higher probability that an avalanche occurs at daybreak? Answer: Because temperature changes at daybreak. The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, be sure to enjoy it, because according to two of the world's largest chocolate makers--Mars Inc and Barry Callebaut, the treat may soon be in short supply. The problem? We are consuming the candy at a faster pace than farmers can grow cocoa. The manufacturers say that in 2013, people consumed 70,000 tons more cocoa than was produced. Experts say that this is the worst supply-demand imbalance they have experienced in more than 50 years. Parts of the reason for the condition is the large reduction in supply, caused by a continuous drought in the west African countries of Ivory Coast and Ghana, where more than 70 percent of the world's cocoa is produced. Additionally, a certain disease known as frosty pod has destroyed 30 to 40 percent of global cocoa production. As a result, many farmers have turned to more profitable and easier grown crops like corn. This means that even if conditions improve, cocoa production may never get back to normal. Meanwhile, the world is only getting hungrier for chocolate. The biggest increase in demand is from the residents of emerging market countries like India. Though their consumption is nowhere close to the amount European devour, their newly acquired amount for the treat , is making a huge dent in an already tight market. There is also the growing desire for dark chocolate, which contains more than 70 percent cocoa compared to normal chocolates. Experts believe that if consumption continue at this pace, cocoa deficits could swell to one million tons by 2020 and to an even more worrisome, two million tons, by 2030. Not surprisingly, cocoa prices have risen by 60% since 2012, a cost that manufacturers have offset by raising the prices of everyone's favorite candy. As the situation worsens, the price of chocolate can only rise--so be sure to enjoy piece of the sweet treat, like it is your last! It is hard to raise cocoa production probably because_. Answer: Many farmers don't grow any longer Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could do to help her 3-year-old son Michael prepare for it. She and her husband found out that the new baby was going to be a girl. Day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in his mom's tummy . Finally, Michael's little sister was born. But she was in a very serious condition. The doctor told the parents there was very little hope. They kept the baby girl in the intensive care unit (ICU, ). Karen was so sad. She decided to plan for her funeral . Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. "I want to sing to her," he would say. Finally Karen decided to take Michael to his sister. This may be the last time he sees her alive. Michael looked at his baby sister. After a moment, he began to sing. In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray." Instantly the baby girl seemed to _ . Her pulse rate began to calm down. "Keep on singing, Michael," encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away." As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's breath became smooth. After a few days, the little girl was well enough to go home. The doctors called it a miracle . ,. What do we know about the newborn baby? Answer: She was in bad condition when she was born. 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. What flavor of cookies did Corky buy? Answer: Sugar Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it. It is true. People usually begin their talks with"Isn't it a nice day?" Many people think they can tell what the weather is going to be like. But they hardly agree with each other. One man may say,"Do you see how cloudy it is in the east? It's going to rain tomorrow."Another man will say,"No, it's going to be fine tomorrow." People often look for the weather they want. When a farmer needs water, he looks for something to tell him it's going to rain; he won't believe anything else. When friends have a travel, they are sure the weather is going to clear up very quickly. Almost everyone listens to what the weatherman says, but he doesn't always tell us what we want, and sometimes he makes mistakes. Still , he probably comes closer to being right than anyone else. _ is a common way to begin a talk. Answer: Talking about weather
Question: "Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When she saw the baby, she was surprised. The baby was born without ears. As time went by, the baby grew up. There was nothing wrong with his hearing. But some kids laughed at him because he didn't have ears. The baby was very sad, but his parents did nothing but felt sorry for him. The boy's father talked with a doctor. "Could nothing be done?" the father asked. " I believe I could give him a pair of outer ears, if they could be got." The doctor answered. So they began to look for a person who would like to give his or her ears. Two years went by. Then the father said, "You are going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have found someone and it will give the ears you need. But it's a secret, "said the father. The operation was very successful. Several years later, he got a good job. One day, he told his father " But I must know who gave so much to me. I want to do something for him or her." "I am sorry, but I can't tell you." Said the father. The secret was kept for years, but the day did come. For the boy it was one of the darkest days. He stood with his father over his mother's coffin. Slowly, the father raised her thick brown hair to show that his mother had no outer ears. "Your mother said she was glad that she never let her hair be cut," he said, "and nobody ever thought she was less beautiful, did they?" From the passage, we know " _ ". A. ears are very important B. no ears are good C. parents' love is great D. secrets are known by people Answer: C. parents' love is great Question: Hollywood is on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Worried about an industry wide writers' strike, struck by a series of theater-chain bankruptcies , burdened with unreasonable corporate profit, requirements and seemingly incapable of producing consistently creative movies, the American film industry is in a period of soul-searching. There's little doubt it will survive this crisis. But most insiders agree there is disease at both ends of the business--where film are produced, and where they're shown---that may take years to overcome. While annual box-office income increases for nine straight years, largely due to increased ticket prices, the number of actual tickets sold declined for the second year in a row. The construction boom has added nearly 10,000 theaters(more than 200,000 more seats) in the last five years. But due to a static audience base, eight major chains have gone into bankruptcy and several others are in terrible financial situations. In fact, insiders say, Hollywood is now in a business it does not want to be in. "There's a general problem in that the companies that have the most consistent output of material are least interested in what they're making," says former 20thCentury Fox CEO, Bill. And, Bill adds, "We're in a period where movies are getting bigger and more costly and less interesting and fulfilling to an audience." Today the studios are under the stress to increase profit margins for their corporate parents, and profit margins are hard to control in a business whose products are seen as impulse buys . Other business can increase profits by cutting costs--buying cheaper material, or making the candy bar smaller. Not Hollywood. "What we're cutting is risk," says the head of one major studio, who asked not to be named, "And risk is what great film has always demanded." While the studios are avoiding risky concepts, their competitors in the home entertainment business have been expanding the boundaries of the imagination. It was this pressure---in electronic games, the Internet, EVDs----that forced the movie theater chains into a self-destructive craze of expansion. Which of NOT the worry of the American film industry according to the passage? A. Theater-chain bankruptcy B. Lack of the advertisement funds C. The stress to increase corporate profit D. Being unable to produce creative movies Answer: B. Lack of the advertisement funds Question: In Denmark, parents are allowed to set up a new school if they are dissatisfied with the school in the area where they are living. Although these schools have to follow the national courses, they are allowed a lot of choice in deciding what to teach. Some of these new schools are called "small schools" because usually the number of pupils in them is only sixty, but a school has to have at least twenty-seven pupils. Cooleenbridge School in Ireland, is a small school similar to the ones in Denmark, it was set up by parents who came from Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England and other parts of Ireland. They came because they wanted to live in the countryside and to grow their own food. In June 1986, they decided to start a school. They managed to get an old, disused primary-school building and started with twenty-four children aged from four to twelve. The teachers say, "The important thing in school is doing, not sitting." And so the courses includes yoga , cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, as well as reading, writing, maths and science. The important thing in school is doing not sitting. What the teachers say actually means _ . A. What we should do is teaching in the classroom, not sitting in the office. B. Children should do more homework at home, not just sit in class to listen to the teachers. C. Children should learn by themselves not rely on teachers. D. Children should learn through practice not just from books. Answer: D. Children should learn through practice not just from books. Question: Many parents today worry about their children's diets. Then what is a healthy diet for children? Miss Jones from Happy Children Hospital gives the following advice: * Children shouldn't eat food with too much salt, because it can cause high blood pressure . * Children should eat food with less fat, oil and sugar. They should not eat too much _ . * Fruit and vegetables are rich in vitamins. Children need to eat fruit and vegetables often. * Water is important to everyone. Children need to drink enough water every day. * Children need to eat breakfast every day. It is good for their bodies and minds. What is the best title of the passage? A. Bad Habits B. Junk Food C. Advice on a Healthy Diet D. An Unhealthy Lifestyle Answer: C. Advice on a Healthy Diet Question: Once upon a time all feelings went to an island for a vacation, and each was having a good time. Suddenly, a warning of a strong storm was announced ,so all rushed to their boats. Yet, Love did not wish to run away quickly. There was so much to do. But as the clouds darkened, Love realized it was time to leave. But there were no boats to spare. Love looked around with hope. Just then Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love shouted, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful boat for help, But Vanity said with a cold voice, "No, I can't take you with me. My boat will get dirty with your mummy feet." Sorrow passed by after some time. Again, Love asked for help. But it was useless. "No, I can't take you with me. I am so sad. I want to be by myself." When Happiness passed by a few minutes later, Love again called for help. But Happiness was so happy that it hardly concerned about anyone else. Love was growing restless and hopeless. Just then somebody called out, "Come, Love, I will take you with me." Love did not know who was being so kind, but jumped onto the boat happily. After getting off the boat, Love met Knowledge. Love asked, "Knowledge, do you know who was so kind to give me a lift when no one else wished to help?" Knowledge smiled, "Oh, that was Time," "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is." What's the best title for the passage? A. the Importance of Love. B. Feelings on the Island. C. Helpless Love. D. Helpful Time. Answer: C. Helpless Love.
The new iPhone 3G should please everyone . Its look and feel are only slightly improved, but a faster network loads Web pages more quickly , true GPS functionality allows it to easily find places nearby , and the new $199 price(down from $400) makes it an affordable luxury. Before deciding whether to buy, however , make sure you can actually take advantage of the iPhone 3G's high-speed data network. 3G stands for third-generation , which in non-geek speak translates to Web pages and mail messages that, ideally, load about three times faster than on the original iPhone. Even better, 3G coverage enables you to make a phone call and surf the Web at the same time . That's great, if you live or work in a place where the 3G network of AT&T (the sole wireless carrier of the iPhone) is active. That's not so great in cities like New York where AT&T's cellular coverage is awful. As one of my colleagues in New York City, who bought the original iPhone , commented , "It's just a toy . You can't make phone calls on it, so I carry my Verizon phone with me all the time." The real fun begins when you tap on the icon called "Apple Store" and start browsing the hundreds of add-on applications that have been developed just for the iPhone. You will find tons of games (I like JirboBreak , a free game inspired by the Atari classic Breakout ) and mobile version of popular websites like Pandora , Facebook , MySpace and the New York Times . Most apps will cost you , but the vast majority are $9.99 or less. The apps work on the old iPhone too, but you'll enjoy them a lot more on the iPhone 3G because many of the programs , including Yelp(local business reviews ), Whrrl (mobile social networking) and UrbanSpoon(restaurant reviews), use you exact location --- provided by the iPhone 3G's GPS chip --- to make recommendations. The apps also load much faster over the 3G network. .Why does one of my colleagues carry Verizon phone with him all the time? A. Because iPhone 3G is just a toy. B. Because he prefers Verizon phone better . C. Because AT&T's cellular coverage is terrible there. D. Because Verizon phone enables him make a phone call and surf the Web at the same time. Answer: C Adam Smith was the first person to see the importance of the division of the labor. He gave us an example of the process by which pins were made in England. One man draws out the wire, another strengthens it, a third cuts it, a fourth points it, and a fifth gives it a head. Just to make the head requires two or three different operations. The work of making pins is divided into about eighteen different operations, which in some factories are all performed by different people, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them. Ten men, Smith said, in this way, turned out twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4,800 pins a worker. But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor, they certainly could not have made twenty pins in a day and not even one. There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work. Fewer people can make more pins. Adam Smith saw this, but he also took it for granted that the division of labor is itself responsible for economic growth and development and it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that stand still. In fact, the division of labor adds nothing new, and it only enables people to produce more of what they already have. According to the passage, Adam Smith was the first person to _ . A. take advantage of the physical labor B. introduce the division of labor into England C. understand the effects of the division of labor D. explain the causes of the division of labor Answer: C Bullis School Visual and Performing Arts Program is designed to advance a student's ability through artistic expression. Students will choose their Majors and Minors and will commit to each of these courses for the academic year. Courses are listed as follows: * Majors: Band, Choir , Dance, Theater * Minors: Painting, Music Ensemble , Visual Arts Arts course meetings will vary according to the term: * Fall Term: 3 Majors - 4 classes / course / week; 1 Minor - 2 classes / course / week * Winter Term: 2 Majors - 3 classes / course / week * Spring Term: 2 Majors - 3 classes / course / week; 2 Minors - 2 classes / course / week Descriptions of Majors: Band: This class is designed to help students progress towards proficiency in a range of musical instruments. An audition will only be required for students who are not current members of the band. Members of the band will be expected to take a weekly lesson with a private instructor. Choir: Choir is a mixed vocal ensemble devoted to the study and performance of music from a wide range of traditions. The course is for students who want to learn to respond to different musical styles. The course also focuses on developing vocal skills. Dance: This course is designed for students who have had little or no dance background. Students have the opportunity to explore the principles of dance skills, develop awareness and control the body. Theater: The primary goal of this course is to introduce students with greater experience to the art of acting. More specifically, it allows students to recognize their own personal responses to a given situation and use these reactions to create individual and unique characters. All the following descriptions about the courses are true EXCEPT that _ . A. Dance is designed for learners who want to improve their skills B. Choir is very helpful in developing students' vocal skills C. an audition will not be open to members of the band D. Theater helps students create individual and unique characters Answer: A The hamster was malnourished because A. There was a depletion in the corn supply B. It went on a hunger strike C. It was paralyzed in the mouth D. It was waiting for the key to get the food Answer: A A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. "I think half of them fell off their chairs," Gerner says. Gerner manages school facilities for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes ; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings. Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. "One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation ," Mark. McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. "You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool." Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of re most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. "I don't believe in the new green religion," Gerner says. "Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I'm interested in those that work." But he wouldn't mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. "You never know what's going to start the interest of a child to study math and science," he says. What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County? A. The large size. B. Limited facilities. C. The desert climate. D. Poor natural resources. Answer: C
China's auto production is expected to grow by 20 percent in 2005 to 6 million vehicles , possibly passing Germany as the world's No. 3 producer. China is the world's-fastest-growing auto market as rising incomes make it possible for millions to buy their cars. Foreign automakers are investing billions of dollars in expanding production in China. Germany produced 5.5 million vehicles in 2004, the No. 3 producer behind the United States and Japan. London is quickly becoming a major cycling city after the terrorist ( ) bombings on London's subway and bus system July 7, which killed 52 people. London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to increase cycling 80% by 2010. "Cycling is the fastest, cheapest, most healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around London, and more and more people are taking it up," Livingstone said. "The number of cyclists has doubled over the last five years, while those killed or seriously injured has fallen by 40%." Under the London Cycling Action Plan, Livingstone hopes to make London a world-class cycling city to reduce congestion and pollution. London now has 273 miles of bike roads, half built since 2000. The goal is 560 miles by 2010. How many vehicles were produced in China in 2004? Answer: 5 million. Which process occurs when rocks and soil slide down a mountain? Answer: erosion Do you know the game "Rock, paper or scissors"? Maybe you think it's just a simple game for children. But in fact, some adults use it to make decisions and solve their problems. It is also popular in many countries. There are different stories about the history of the game. But many people believe the game came from Japan, and Japanese have played it for a long time. Later it came to Europe in the middle of the 18th century. In 1842, England founded the Paper Scissors Stone Club and from then on people could get together to play the game for honor . There is even an international club named the World Rock Paper Scissors Club in Toronto. The club makes "Rock, paper or scissors" more and more popular. It holds the world championship every year. Top players from around the world take part in it and the champion can get a lot of money and the honor of all the fans of "Rock, paper or scissors". How often does the World Rock Paper Scissors Club hold the world championship? Answer: Once a year. Today more and more cars go into families. Which car is the best for people? Different people have different ideas. Some people like the bright colour car made in China. It's really a good choice . The bright colour car made in China is cheap, nice and safe. This kind of cars is suit for the general income family. Some people love famous foreign cars like Japanese cars, American cars and German cars. They're good but too expensive. But most people think famous foreign cars of better quality are better in safety. These are suit for the high income family or for business. Some people like sports cars, because they're fast and exciting. Some sports cars are very nice but very expensive. Only rich people can afford them. Some people like travelling, so they need a travel car. Travel cars are comfortable. But they use much oil . What's the best car for us? Maybe it's a new and popular topic in life. Some people like sports cars because they're _ . Answer: fast and exciting If you're in your 30s, it is possible to defend your skin and body against the visible signs of growing older. 30s-this is when your youthful looks will start to slowly _ Time is the biggest issue for most men and women at this age because they struggle to balance work, relationships and young families. Unfortunately, juggling these parts of your life will start to show through fine lines and dull, tired skin. "This is the time to learn relaxation techniques like thinking and deep breathing to help reduce stress", says Helga Hefner, global educator of Aveda. Sleep is your best weapon during these years. A full eight hours of sleep is necessary for skin to look and perform its best and uninterrupted is the best type.. "Always make sure the head is raised above the body," says Dr Daniel Maes, senior vice-president of Estee Lauder Global Research and Development. This helps to avoid an accumulation of blood to the face and you will wake less puffy. If you sleep in an awkward position, you will wake with puffy eyes and lines on your face because of the constriction blood flow to the skin. Try and train yourself to sleep on your back, too, or you may notice lines forming on one side of your face. A lack of sleep is also linked to weight gain-the longer you are awake the more fuel your body will think it needs, so you may find yourself with an increased appetite. If you are struggling with sleep, try adding aromatherapy oils such as lavender or ylang ylang to your pillows or a bath before bed. Why are most men and women in their 30s busy? Answer: Because they have to spend lots of time dealing with different problems in their life.
My grandma whom we all called Nanny was a solid, first-generation, Italian immigrant. She came to this country with her family on a tiny ship during World War I when she was only 8 years old. During the trip she survived stormy seas,little food, and an attack by a German U-boat. After getting here,her large family worked hard to build a new life in America. They never had much money but were rich in love. One day,when I was about 5 or 6 years old, my parents and brothers went on a trip. It was just me and Nanny in the house for the weekend. Nanny seemed so happy to be taking care of me all by herself. She made me a special breakfast that first morning. However, all I could do was to complain about how the food was not how Mom always made it. Nanny quietly put down the plate and went into the living room. I followed a minute later and saw that she had tears in her eyes. It was the first time I had ever seen my strong and proud grandmother cry and I was the one who had caused it. I walked over to Nanny, climbed on her lap, and for the first time in my short life I did something else too. I apologized without being told to and asked Nanny to forgive me. She smiled, rubbed my head, and told me I was a good boy even though I didn't feel like one then. That memory just like my Nanny's love will stay in my heart forever. It is a sign of both strength and wisdom. Asking for forgiveness helps us to learn, to grow, and to love. The author mainly wants to tell us that _ . Answer: forgiveness can be beneficial to people asking for it Description Tap the Apple Store app on your iPhone or iPod touch, and you can do all things Apple. Buy Apple products and accessories and read customer reviews. Add free laser engraving and choose signature gift wrap on select products to make your items even more special. Find Apple Retail Stores, reserve select Apple products for pickup at your favorite store, and request help when you are at the store. Schedule Genius Bar and One to One reservations and check in for them when you arrive. The Apple Store app is also the easiest way to buy or reserve your new iPhone -- right from your current iPhone. You can do it in just a few taps, without entering your AT&T account information. Order your new iPhone from the Apple Online Store and it's shipped to you free and ready to use. Or reserve your new iPhone, pick it up at an Apple Retail Store, and we'll set it up for you in minutes. Apple Online Store Features - Explore new and featured products from Apple. - Buy a new iPhone and other Apple products, accessories, and software. - Add free personal engraving to any new iPad or iPod. - Choose signature gift wrapping for any iPad or iPod, select Mac notebooks, and select Apple software and accessories. - Read customer reviews and get answers to product questions. Apple Retail Store Features - Reserve iPhone and other select products for pick up. - Request help, check in for reservations, and receive meet-up alerts when you are at a store (iOS 4 required). - Make Genius Bar and One to One reservations. - Sign up for workshops and events. What's New in Version 1.1 - Add engraving and gift wrapping to select purchases from the Apple Online Store. - Reserve products for pickup at an Apple Retail Store. - Check in for reservations and request help within stores (iOS 4 required). - Add Apple Retail Store reservations directly to iCal. Please note: With Location Services on and the Apple Store app open, Apple will use your location to identify nearby Apple Retail Stores and to offer additional services when you are in a store. If you have previously selected the Apple Store app using location but do not want this new feature, you can update your Location Services preferences in General Settings. The text is intended to _ . Answer: inform the readers of Apple Store Things you need to know about studying there Study style Since the 1950s, the Netherlands has had courses in English especially for foreign students. Students are expected to be critical of what they read and hear, and to be able of working independently. Foreign students will soon notice that at Dutch institutions for higher learning people are expected to do a lot of talking. The most common form of teaching is the seminar or working group, where a small group of students work under a teacher's supervision to analyze a certain problem. On exams, they have to show that they know the material, and that they have formed well-founded opinions on the subject. Accommodations If you are in an exchange programme or an international course, it is quite possible that a room will be arranged for you. Accept it immediately, or you will regret it later. That's because finding a place to live in a country as crowded as the Netherlands is not easy. Before you leave China, ask your host institution whether or not housing will indeed be arranged in advance. If you are in the Netherlands and still looking for a place, ask the international relations office or the student dean for advice. Expences Tuition: Bachelor's degree:about 2,500 euros a year Master's degree: 5,000-12,000 euros a year Living expenses: Experience has shown that a year in the Netherlands costs a Chinese Student about 450-700 euros a month. Here is a breakdown of average prices of supermarket goods: Litre of milk: 0.5--0.8 euro Kilo of apples: 1.5 euros Shampoo, 400ml: 4 euros Tube of toothpaste: 1 euro Bed sheet: 20 euros Other expenses: Haircut: 15 euros Air ticket to China: 600-800 euros Mobile phone call(one minute): 0.1-0.3 euro Phone call to China (with IP card): 7 euros(one minute) Postage stamp in the Netherlands: 0.39 euro Stamp for China: 0.78 euro (1 euro-about 10 yuan) Transportation Trains, buses and trams run throughout the country. If you really want to sample Dutch life, and get around quickly and easily, buy yourself a bicycle. Most students buy second-hand bicycles. A reasonable one will cost you 70-120 euros. You can find them at second-hand bicycle shops or at the bicycle parking facilities near railway stations. The passage implies that_. Answer: it is difficult to find a room in Netherlands What is "walk to School?" Now we are working on a programme of "Walk to School". We would like as many parents and children as possible to take part, even if in a small way. Children who walk to and from school along with their parents can learn essential road safety and life skills. You can take part by... #Walking to and from school with your child every day. #Walking for one or two days during the week. #Encouraging others to walk, if you already do. Walking is great! #Walking is great exercise! A walk is good for your body and can keep you fit. #You won't have to waste time looking for a parking site . #It's pollution free. #It's a good chance to talk to your children and to meet other parents, too. Enjoying walking to school! Here is some advice to help you and your child enjoy walking to school. #Plan a safe route together. #Teach children what a kerb is and what it means. #Encourage your child to help you choose the safest places to cross the road. #Look at and discuss the things you see on your way - especially road signs and what they mean. Walk to school! Thousands of parents and children take part, could you? Please go to www.walktoschool. org. uk for more information. By walking to and from school, children can learn _ . Answer: road safety and life skills Everyone has worries. How do you deal with your worries? There is always something you can do to help yourself feel less worried. Sitting there worrying is no fun and it won't solve your problems. Grades at school are often a top worry for kids, If you worry most about grades, ask yourself these questions: * Why are grades important? What do grades mean to me? * How do I get ready for class? Do I go over my notes even when there isn't a test? * Do I have a good place to do my homework? * Have I tried different ways of studying? If your worry is about a fight you had with your friend, you might write down ail the things you could do-write a note to him or her, invite him or her to watch a basketball game, say sorry to him or her and so on. Once you have a list of things you could do, you can choose one thing that could get your friend back. You can ask for help when you're worried. You can find someone to talk to, such as your parents, friends, and teachers, What do kids often worry most about? Answer: Their marks at school.
Dear Mr. Expert, I grew up in a abusive home, I always promised myself that I'd get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house of my own, and I'm really proud . Here's the problem: some of my friends who still live with their parents spend the weekends with me. But now they make mine theirs. They bring boy friends over, talk on the phone, etc. I enjoy having my friends here sometimes -it makes the place feel comfortable and warm, but this is my home, not a party house, what shall I do? Joan Dear Joan, If your family didn't pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now. And if you've gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family, you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of _ that you grew up in. You need to understand that in true friendship it's okay to put your own needs first from time to time. Be clear about the message you want to send to your friends. For example, "I really love you, but I also need some personal space. So please call me before you come over ." Edward According to Mr. Expert, why can't Joan tell her friends her feeling? A She is afraid of hurting her friends. B She does not understand true friendship. C Her family experience stops her from doing so. D She does not put her needs first. Answer: C. Her family experience stops her from doing so. Human cloning technology could be used to reserve heart attacks. Scientists believe that they may be able to treat heart attack by cloning their healthy heart cells and injecting them into the areas of the heart that have been damaged, and other problems may be solved if human cloning and its technology are not forbidden. With cloning, _ couples could have children. Current treatments for infertility, in terms of percentages, are not very successful. Couples go through physical and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children. Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children. Human cloning could make it possible for many more infertile couples to have children than ever before. We should be able to clone the bone marrow for children and adults suffering from leukemia . This is expected to be one of the first benefits to come from cloning technology. We may learn how to switch cells on and off through cloning and thus be able to cure cancer. Cloning technology can be used to test for and perhaps cure gene-related diseases. The above is just a few examples of what human cloning technology can do for mankind. This new technology promises unprecedented advancement in medicine if people will release their fears and let the benefit begin. According to the text, one of the first expected benefits from cloning technology is in _ . A the treatment of mental diseases B the reserve of heart diseases C the cure of gene-related diseases D the bearing of babies Answer: B. the reserve of heart diseases Beach volleyball is one of those sports that can be an exciting game to play and watch. It's really easy, and all you need is sand, a net and a group of people, of any age or fitness level, who want to have fun. Beach volleyball can be played with as few as two people in each team, making a total of four people. However, if you are less skilled and experienced in the game, it will be easier to play with a larger team. The more players you have, the less ground each person will be responsible for covering and the more time they will have to recover between shots. If you only have a few players, each of you will get a lot of running for the ball after each volley . If you are looking for a relaxing, fun, low-key experience, choose larger teams. Beach volleyball is similar to regular volleyball in its rules. However, even experienced volleyball players do not realize how much more difficult it is to run and jump on sand. Since it is harder to move quickly on sand than a hard surface, play will be much slower than regular volleyball on a court. When an athlete trains for beach volleyball, he will focus on building lower body strength as well as upper body strength. Strengthening his legs is extremely important. This improves the player's ability to move quickly and accurately on sand despite the resistance. The ability to jump high and land without injury is necessary for beach volleyball players. Whether you are in it for the competition, or just to have a great time with your friends, beach volleyball can be extremely exciting and fun. You may start out with friends and may soon fall in love with the sport. Why is playing beach volleyball much slower than playing regular volleyball? A Because it is not easy to move on sand. B Because beach volleyball has a larger court. C Because the teams of beach volleyball are larger. D Because beach volleyball players are not experienced. Answer: A. Because it is not easy to move on sand. When first entered, Vanak Restaurant does not look like much of a restaurant, but once the pleasant smells of kabob hit the senses, you are incapable of calling it anything else. Owned by a local couple, this Persian restaurant has an inviting, homelike atmosphere that many restaurants lack. The space is small with only a few dining tables and nearly no decoration, but the environment is truly charming. Lying in a hardly noticeable street corner, the restaurant still attracts all customers, especially those experienced in the delights of Middle Eastern cooking. A common sight is that of old Persian men sitting in the corner talking loudly about world topics, watching news events on TV, drinking a black tea known as Persian chai, and reading local Persian newspapers all the while trying to finish off their plate piled with food. The variety of food at the restaurant is limited, but the amount of each dish is fairly large.Most of the meals can serve two people and are under $10, so not only is it affordable but practical as well. The food especially appeals to health-conscious eaters because each dish is very healthy, made with limited fat and oil and served straight off the grill . The main dish that the restaurant is popular for is its kabobs, which are different style of grilled meat. One delicious and extremely healthy dish is the Joojeh Kabob, which is made of grilled chicken pieces served with either rice or bread.Another great kabob is the Chelo Kabob, a kabob consisting of grilled beef. Although the restaurant is small, the atmosphere and the food is delicious.It is a place that should not be overlooked. The food of the restaurant _ . A is served in small amounts B is rather expensive C is rich in variety D is very healthy Answer: D. is very healthy Liz Parle,24,a Birmingham--bom eare owner,cannot drive."I did try to learm,but I failed my test a few times," Parle told the Guardian.Then she moved to London,where running a car coil be a nightmare ,so now she cycles everywhere. Parle is by no means an exception.According to the Guardian,in the UK,the percentage of 17 to 20--year--olds with driving licenses fell from 48 percent in the early 1990s to 35 percent last year.Meanwhile,road traffic figures for cars and taxis,which have risen more or less every year since 1949.have continued to since 2007. Motoring groups put it down to oil prices and the economy.Others offer a more fundamental explanation: the golden age of motoring is over. "The way We run cars is changing fast,"Tim Pollard,associate editor at Car magazine,told the Telegraph,"Car makers are worried that younger people in particular don't desire to own cars as we used to in the 70s,80s,or even the 90s.Designers commonly say that teenagers today de--sire to own the latest smart phone mote than a ear." "The digital generation don't care about owning things.Possession is a burden.and a car is a big investment for-most people--not just the vehicle,but the permits,the parking space,"Da--vid Metz. professor at the University College London's Center for Transport Studies,told the Guardian. "It's not just about the cost."'Metz said."Other factors are likely that there are more peo-pie in higher education,which typically takes place in city centers where the car isn't the neces-sary part." Metz added there's nothing wrong if you want a little house in the country,and a car to get you to and from it.Yet there is something earelessin limiting new buildings to a particular form of transport,especially if that form of transport shows signs of decline. According to the text,the digital generation _ . A prefer ears to phones B are more careful with money C change their ideas of owing things D don't take anything seriously Answer: C. change their ideas of owing things
Question: A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C.Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, "Can you help me?" When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended.In a natural reflex , I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her.I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar.But the blind woman smiled and said, "I don't want your money.I just need help finding the post office. In an instant, I realized what I had done.I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be.I hated what I saw in myself.This incident re-awakened my belief in humility , even though I'd lost it for a moment. The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant.I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S.at the age of 15.I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother.Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer. In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice .I remember a time, at age 17 -- I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me.I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it's like, and I should have known better. But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going.That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness.She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open.By the way, I helped that lady to the post office.And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson. According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should _ . A. be nice to the elderly and the disabled B. try to experience different kinds of life C. treat others equally with love and respect D. think about one's past as often as possible Answer: C Question: More and more Chinese mainland buyers have in the past few weeks been queuing to cross the border into Hong Kong to _ growing financial pressure led by rising food prices at home. Their shopping baskets are full of sugar, salt and even tissue paper. While prices are rising so fast, many people are worrying out ways to cut down their expenses. Du Zhenqi, an 80-year-old Beijinger, grows different vegetables in the community yard. But this year, before they turned ripe, they were all picked by his neighbors. "The prices of vegetables have gone up dramatically," said Du. "So I understand those people and it pleased me to offer them my help." Du expressed his sympathy for these who took away his vegetables without permission. The rise of food price in China has made people with low incomes feel serious financial pressure and forced them to spend wisely. A collection of practical money-saving tips is thus becoming increasingly popular among Chinese citizens. If you search "money-saving strategies" in Baidu, you will find 4.27 million entries in 0.19 seconds. The collection provides tips such as choosing local and seasonal products, avoiding buying vegetables on rainy or snowy days when higher transport costs increase prices, using websites for purchases, and planting vegetables on the balcony. Some consider buying in large quantity to stay within a tight budget. Fei Yuqin, who lives in Shanghai, frequently hurries to a farmers' market before 6 a.m. to buy large amounts of vegetables for her family and neighbors. "Instead of buying small amounts, I buy large amounts of vegetables at the market and get a 50-percent discount." With these tips, many people have become experts in cutting household expenses. However, financial pressure caused by the current round of price rising still troubles many Chinese people. Fei Yuqin's story tells us that to save money buyers can _ . A. buy products in large quantity B. avoid buying vegetables in bad weather C. choose local seasonal goods D. plant vegetables in the community yard Answer: A Question: British Newspapers In Britain there are 11 national daily newspapers and most people read one of them every day. There are two kinds of newspapers. One is large in size and has many detailed articles about national and international events. These newspapers are called the serious papers or the quality papers. The other kind, called the tabloids , is smaller in size. They has more pictures and shorter articles, often about less important events or about the private lives of wellknown people. Although some people disapprove of the tabloids , more people buy them than buy the serious newspapers. The Sun, for example, which is a tabloid,is the biggest-selling newspaper in Britain. The tabloids are sometimes called the gutter press And in 1997, some photograph reporters of the tabloids were said to be involved in the tragic death of Princess Diana in France and they were criticized as gossip reporters by the public. Most national newspapers in Britain express a political opinion and people choose the newspaper that they read according to their own political beliefs. Most of the newspapers are right-wing, which means they support the Conservative Party . These are The Daily Telegraph ( serious newspaper ) , The Daily Express,Daily Mail, Daily Star, The Sun and Today ( all tabloids) . Of the other serious newspapers, The Times,the oldest newspaper in Britain,did not formerly have one strong political view but it is now more right-wing. The Independent does not support any political party, and neither does The Financial Times, which concentrates on business and financial news. The Daily Mirror^ a tabloid) is the voice of the Labour Party. The tabloids are _ received than the serious papers. A. better B. less C. more poorly D. worse Answer: A Question: When it comes to hotel pools, the indoor variety has long been inferior to their outdoor -- often rooftop -- counterparts. But these days, striking decoration, luxury facilities and stunning settings mean many indoor swimming holes can now challenge even the most glamorous of outdoor pools. So go ahead and take a dip at these luxurious indoor pools. The Water Club at Borgata, Atlantic City This nongaming hotel, which is part of the large Borgata complex in Atlantic City, has three indoor pools (and two more outdoors) so there's really no reason for things to get crowded at any of them. A two-lane lap pool is in the two-floor Immersion spa on the 32nd floor and is set against full-length windows that look out to the Atlantic Ocean, the perfect setup for a water workout. An extremely attractive top-floor pool surrounded by lounge chairs, cabanas and lush foliage expresses a more exotic tropical scene than the property's Jersey Shore location. Rooms from $249/ night. www.theborgata.com Altira Macau On the 16th floor of the tallest building on the island of Taipa is the glamorous indoor infinity pool of the impressively massive gaming complex of Altira Macau. It's easy to see why Forbes once named it one of the best hotel pools in the world: One side faces all of the city with crystal-clear floor-to-ceiling windows. Rooms from $235/ night. www.altiramacau.com Waldorf Astoria Chicago The spa at this hotel is done mostly in a stark white, which only further emphasizes the gorgeous rose-design tile-work at the bottom of the pool, giving bathers the feel of swimming over a bed of roses. The 102,600 individually patterned tiles come from Bisazza, an Italian company renowned for its mosaic tile production. Rooms from $435/night, double occupancy. www.waldorfastoriachicagohotel.com The Charles Hotel, Munich One of the largest pools in Munich, at The Charles Hotel, is also one of the most beautiful. The entire spa is outfitted with marble mosaic tiles, mostly in subdued color1s punctuated with red flourishes. At the pool itself, a very pretty mosaic of red coral shows respect to the 19th century Bavarian royalty, the Wittelsbach family, known for its collection of red coral paraphernalia, from dining cups to jewelry. Rooms from $375/ night, double occupancy. www.roccofortehotels.com Which of the following might be the best title for the passage? A. Four irresistible indoor hotel pools B. What to do in the indoor hotel pools C. Tips on swimming in the indoor hotel pools D. Indoor pools and outdoor pools, which is better? Answer: A Question: In Britain, some people say they will do anything if a famous person they love asks them to. One in three people in Britain have a new kind of disease --they love a famous person too much. Some people love famous stars like Britney Spears, David Beckham or even Tony Blair. It is not just the young, grown-ups have the same problem. One in four people are so interested in their heroes that it affects their life. There are two ways of worshipping famous people. One way is just to follow them or talk about them with friends for fun. The other is a more serious way. People have very strong feelings for them and think they are their friends. People who do so for fun are found to be happier. But those who have strong feelings for a famous person are perhaps to feel more lonely and worried. "Worshipping famous people is not certainly a bad thing," Dr.John, an expert said, "But like many things, overdoing it may not always be good for you." ,,. People who have strong feeling for a famous person often feel worried because _ . A. they cannot become famous themselves B. they think the famous person may be in trouble C. they are afraid the famous person may not like them D. they cannot get anything in return from the famous person Answer: C
An animal would have its inner parts better protected if it had which of these? A a backpack on its back B a calcium fortified internal structure C none of these D a shell of cotton Answer: B Moods, say the experts, are feelings that are likely to become fixed, having effects on one's outlook (way of looking at things) for hours, days or even weeks. That's great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry, or simply lonely. Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Modern pharmacology offers a lot of tranquilizers and anti-anxiety drugs. What many people don't realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non-drug methods to make you free from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous. So next time you feel out of sorts, don't head for the drug store--try the following method. Of all the mood-changing self-help techniques, aerobic exercise seem to be the best cure for a bad mood. --If you could keep the exercise, you'd be in high spirits, says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty. Researchers have explained biochemical and various other changes that make exercise a better mood-raiser than drugs. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercise - running, cycling, walking, swimming, or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate and circulation , and improve the body's use of oxygen. Do them for at least 20 minutes a time, three to five times a week. Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage? A An exercise and its importance are explained B A problem is examined and solutions are given C Two different views of a problem are presented D Recent developments in medicine are described Answer: B 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. Who was the first one to find the bird's owner? A The author B Chris Novak C The Humane Society D A participant's mother Answer: D One day Tom borrowed a pot from his neighbour, Ali. The next day he brought it back with another little pot inside. "That's not mine," said Ali. "Yes, it is." said Tom, "While your pot was staying with me, it had a baby." Some time later, Tom asked Ali to lend him a pot again. Ali said yes, hoping that he would once again get two pots in return. However, days passed and Tom still did not give the pot back. Finally Ali was angry and went to ask for it. "I am sorry," said Tom, "I can't give it back to you because it died." "Died!" cried Ali, "How can a pot die?" "Well," said Tom, "you believed me when I told you that your pot had a baby." Who was the owner of the pot? A Tom. B Tom and Ali. C The baby. D Ali. Answer: D You went to the butcher's for meat, the pharmacy for aspirin, and the grocery store for food. But when I spent the summer with my Grandmother in Warwick, N.Y., she sent me down to the general store with a list. How could I hope to find anything on the packed, messy shelves around me? I walked up to the counter. Behind it was a lady like no one I'd ever seen. Fake-jewel-encrusted glasses teetered on the tip of her nose, gray hair was piled on her head. "Excuse me," I said. She looked up. "You're that Clements kid," she said. "I'm Miss Bee. Come closer and let me get a look at you." She pushed her glasses up her nose. "I want to be able to describe you to the sheriff if something goes missing from the store." "I'm not a thief!" I was shocked. I was seven years old, too young to be a thief! "From what I can see you're not much of anything. But I can tell you've got potential." She went back to reading her newspaper. "I need to get these." I said, holding up my list. "So? Go get them." Miss Bee pointed to a sign on the screen door. "There's no one here except you and me and I'm not your servant, so I suggest you get yourself a basket from that pile over there and start filling. If you're lucky you'll be home by sundown." Sundown was five hours away. I wasn't sure I would make it. I scanned the nearest shelf for the first item on my list: pork and beans. It took me three wall-to-wall searches before I found a can nestled between boxes of cereal and bread. Next up was toilet paper, found under the daily newspaper. Band-Aids --where had I seen them? Oh, ye next to the face cream. The store was a puzzle, but it held some surprises too. I found a new Superman comic tucked behind the peanut butter. I visited Miss Bee a couple of times a week that summer. Sometimes she short-changed me. Other times she overcharged. Or sold me an old newspaper instead of one that was current. Going to the store was more like going into battle. I left my Grandma's house armed with my list--memorized to the letter--and marched into Miss Bee's like General Patton marching into North Africa. "That can of beans is only twenty-nine cents!" I corrected her one afternoon. I had watched the numbers change on the cash register closely, and Miss Bee had added 35 cents. She didn't seem embarrassed that I had caught her overcharging. She just looked at me over her glasses and fixed the price. Not that she ever let me declare victory. All summer long she found ways to trip me up. No sooner had I learned how to pronounce bicarbonate of soda and memorized its location on the shelf than Miss Bee rearranged the shelves and made me hunt for it all over again. By summer's end the shopping trip that had once taken me an hour was done in 15 minutes. The morning I was to return to Brooklyn, I stopped in to get a packet of gum. "All right, Miss Potential," she said. "What did you learn this summer?" That you're a meany! I pressed my lips together. To my amazement, Miss Bee laughed. "I know what you think of me," she said. "Well, here's a news flash: I don't care! Each of us is put on this earth for a reason. I believe my job is to teach every child I meet ten life lessons to help them. Think what you will, Miss Potential, but when you get older you'll be glad our paths crossed!" Glad I met Miss Bee? Ha! The idea was absurd. Until one day my daughter came to me with homework troubles. "It's too hard," she said. "Could you finish my math problems for me?" "If I do it for you how will you ever learn to do it yourself?" I said. Suddenly, I was back at that general store where I had learned the hard way to tally up my bill along with the cashier. Had I ever been overcharged since? As my daughter went back to her homework, I wondered: Had Miss Bee really taught me something all those years ago? I took out some scrap paper and started writing. At the end of the story, the writer might write down the following on the paper EXCEPT _ . A Don't be so quick to judge other people B The best teacher isn't only in school C Stick to your dream whatever happens D Don't expect to be helped when you are in trouble Answer: C
The worst earthquake in 40 years shook South Asia on Sunday, starting with horrible waves that swept entire villages into the sea. At least 20,000 people in six countries were killed in the disaster, and millions were left homeless. The quake shook deep beneath the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was felt more than 3000 miles away in East Africa, where heavy tides kept fishermen at home and resorts closed. It was as if the sea had struck the land. Residents of Sri Lanka, a small island country off the coast of India, ran to the hills to find safety from the tsunami. Many took their radios, televisions, and other valuables with them. The disaster hit Sri Lanka hardest. Of its 20million people, 1 million lost their homes, and 10000 died. "The water simply raised itself up and huge waves came ashore," wrote eye-witness Peter Thomas from India. "It was moving very fast. The force broke the glass walls of a restaurant on the beach here and damaged hundreds of boats." In some places, the _ struck with no warning. "The weather was fine with no clouds," wrote an eye-witness in Indonesia. "Suddenly the seawater just hit the city. In some parts the water was up to chest level." A massive effort to help the affected countries is already underway. Leaders from around the world have promised to help, and teams of aid workers and doctors are rushing to the sea. "The United States stands ready to offer all the help to those nations most affected." Said White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Organizations from the Red Cross to the International Monetary Fund have started fund-raising drives to make up the costs of rebuilding. What's the best title of the passage? A. Tens of Thousands of People Are in Danger B. Storm Caused Disasters in South Asia C. Terrible Quake Hits South Asia D. International Aid for South Asia Answer: C. Terrible Quake Hits South Asia My grandfather spent most of his life in a turbulent India. After settling in New York, he took up his true passion: gardening. Grandfather's garden was where I took refuge from a world of adults and schoolwork. My grandfather cultivated squash and tomatoes -- it was not rare to find me somewhere in the garden, either secretly eating a tomato, or just sitting and admiring my grandfather's hard work. However, as time went by, I did not have the chance to visit his house as often as I used to. On my eleventh birthday, I received a gift bag wrapped in pretty paper from my grandfather. Excited to see what he had given to me for my birthday, I tore apart the paper only to find a yellow squash. I was very angry. What a stupid present! But gradually, I realized that in my developing a relationship with his garden, I had unknowingly grown very close to my grandfather himself, something he wished to remind me of through his gift. His commitment towards doing things definitely influenced me. It could bring him a sense of accomplishment. Because of him, I try to model the idea of approaching everything with both drive and passion. My grandfather passed away five years ago, but his influence on me could not be bigger than it is today. As I prepare to enter college and move on from my relatively sheltered high school life toward achieving complete independence, allowing my passions to find their way into whatever I may be doing will be very necessary. I still look up to my grandfather very much to this day, and I hope that one day I will be able to sow in my own garden, and give someone else a squash on his or her birthday -- it was the most meaningful gift I have ever received.[:ZXXK] What's the best title for the text? A. A Special Gift -- Yellow Squash B. Grandfather and India C. Life with Grandfather D. Gardening and Life Answer: A. A Special Gift -- Yellow Squash In a growing number of English classes, teachers are leaving the classic novels on the shelf and letting students select the books they read. Supporters say that the new approach, called reader's workshop, helps develop a love for reading in students who are bored by classic literature. They argue that the best way to motivate students to read more is to offer them more choices. _ , however. They worry that students who choose trendy, less challenging titles over the classics won't be exposed to the great writing and key themes of important works of literature.Student reporters Donald and Sarah express their ideas about this new approach. Donald thinks that we should turn the page. Students should be allowed to select the books they read in English class. He says he and his classmates are allowed to pick their own books in class. That makes them more focused, and they look forward to class time. Tristin, a classmate of his at Clinton Middle School agrees. "I'm reading books that I want to read, which makes class more fun and interesting," he says. Offering students a choice may also improve test scores. Studies by Professor John Guthrie of the University of Maryland found that students in grades 4 through 6 who had some choices in the books they read showed improved reading comprehension skills during testing. Giving students the chance to decide what they read helps build a lifelong love for reading. Isn't that what we want for our students? Sarah holds a different view. She thinks teachers know more about books than students do. When an English teacher assigns a book, he or she keeps in mind the reading level of most students in the class. Students who choose their own books might be cheating themselves by picking books that are not up to their reading level or that are too difficult. Furthermore, a whole class can discuss a book it reads together. That makes it easier for some kids to understand what they are reading. "The students wouldn't be able to hold a meaningful conversation if they were all reading different books," says Kristin, an English teacher at Fleetwood Area Middle School. "If they read the same book, their conversations would be more in-depth." Sarah thinks that the new approach might _ . A. help students improve reading comprehension skills B. help students hold meaningful conversations in class C. make some students read books not suitable for them D. make some students ignore the important works of literature Answer: C. make some students read books not suitable for them At what time on a sunny day will the shadow of the school's flagpole be the shortest? A. sunrise B. noon C. mid-afternoon D. sunset Answer: B. noon Mr. Sankaram, a physics teacher, was known for his antics in his classroom to make the dull lessons in physics lively and interesting. Mixing different chemical drugs in the lab to become new substances in chemistry makes students excited. While studying botany or zoology, students can visit a garden or zoo. But physics limits students to listening to the boring lectures which are hard to understand. For example, why an apple dropping from a tree travels downwards but not upwards. But Mr. Sankaram's classroom antics to cause students to listen to topics such as how sound travels in air or why light travels faster than sound made him stand out from the rest of the teachers. At that time, most students in our school attended the college to please their parents, and some parents were proud of their children for simply attending a college, no-matter whether they benefited or not. They didn't study hard. But a few students were diligent and they wanted to study pre-medical courses to gain admission into the medical school. The schooling of pre-medical courses was very expensive. The college was next to the medical school. The wall separating them was about four feet high. Few tried to jump over the wall to get free pre-medical courses. Doing this was at risk of injuries and the climbing was forbidden. The college where Mr. Sankaram taught was known for unruly and naughty students. The unruly students usually sat at the back of the classroom. When a student from the back of the classroom tried to disrupt the class, Mr. Sankaram would say, "Dare you go ahead to make noise? Can you jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school?" The student's face went red and he became silent. In the physics class . I sat in the first row to escape from the troublemakers at the back. One day during the class. Mr. Sankaram unexpectedly asked me, "Can you jump over the four-foot wall?" I shook my head and answered, "No, sir, I couldn't jump over a one-foot wall, let alone a four-foot wall." Mr. Sankaram wasn't satisfied with my reply but waved his hand for me to sit down. He looked at me in the eyes hard and said, "If you can. Believe in yourself!" There were stories about Mr. Sankaram's past history. As a student at same college years ago, he went into much depression for some time when he couldn't get into the medical school. In fact he could have been admitted by the school by his ability of studying. Because his family couldn't afford his pre-medical courses and he didn't dare to climb the wall, he often walked back and forth along the four-foot wall talking to himself and sometimes cried over his failure. Whether this story was true or false it was passed on from year to year. So Mr. Sankaram had a nickname "four-foot." It was true that he left his dream to his students and he began challenging the students' ability to jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school. As a student I failed at my attempt to get admission into the medical school. In fact not all students wanted to be a doctor. And years later I ended up as a chemistry teacher at the same college. I thank Mr. Sankaram for his encouragement to me, and I am determined to follow his example to make my class interesting. Mr. Sankaram passed away years ago. He will always be remembered for his wonderful teaching techniques such as dancing movements and his encouraging words. Why wasn't Mr. Sankaram satisfied with the author's reply? A. He didn't think the author was diligent. B. He thought the author lacked confidence. C. The author didn't know what he meant D. The author was shy while answering it. Answer: B. He thought the author lacked confidence.
A spring-fed stream forms a pond that contains watercress plants, minnows, and crayfish. The pond receives 5 hours of direct sunlight every day. Which of the following is an abiotic factor in this ecosystem? Answer: Slamming the breaks in a car will Answer: A friend of mine, in response to a conversation we were having about the injustices of life, asked me the question: "Who said life was going to be fair, or that it was even meant to be fair?" Her question was a good one. It reminded me of something I was taught as a youngster-life isn't fair. One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves or for others, thinking that life should be fair or that someday it will be. It's not and it won't. One of the nice things about accepting the fact that life isn't fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have. Accepting this fact also keeps us from feeling sorry for others because we are reminded that everyone is dealt a different hand; everyone has unique strengths and problems in the process of growing up, facing the reality and making decisions, and everyone has those times that they feel wounded or unfairly treated. The fact that life isn't fair doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole. On the contrary, it suggests that we should. When we don't recognize or admit life isn't fair, we tend to feel pity for others and for ourselves, a self-defeating emotion that does nothing except make everyone feel worse. When we do recognize life isn't fair, however, we feel sympathy for others and for ourselves. And sympathy is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving kindness to everyone it touches. The next time you find yourself thinking about the injustices of the world, try reminding yourself of _ . You may be surprised that it can push you out of self-pity and into helpful action. Accepting the injustices of life will _ . Answer: Evidence that living things have evolved over hundreds of millions of years can be found in Answer: Here's an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front of an audience of millions at CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. Liu's magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in prefix = st1 /China. As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include theUnited States,Japan,South Koreaand theUK. Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people's love for magic. Liu is known for his interaction with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship. "It is actually thinking, rather than one's manipulation skills, that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more intriguing ," Liu said. Liu's success dates back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he wonTaiwan's Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield. Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a decent job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career. To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for pedestrians , policemen and farmers. "Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds." Liu said. Why do people love to watch magic? Answer:
When did you see a polar bear ? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps ? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These "Polar Bears" are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3 degrees. And the water temperature was a little higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February. Doctors don't agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body's temperature drops so slow that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water tempreature is much greater in summer than in winter. The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold-water swimming. The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, "When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away." According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that _ . A Polar bears are bears swimming in freezing water B cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high C you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue D cold-water swimming causes more heart attack in summer than in winter Answer: D A research found that people shown silent videos of piano competitions could pick out the winners more often than those who could also hear the music. It underlines the importance of our sense of vision, say scientists. Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner's musical performance was the visible passion they displayed, followed closely by their uniqueness and creativity. Chia-Jung Tsay, from University College London, UK, is the study's author and herself a concert pianist. She was interested in how music was judged and found that even professional musicians were unaware of how much they were using visual information over sound. "For the last two decades, I've taken part in various competitions. Through this experience, I found that depending on what type of evaluations were used, the results might vary widely. This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions," she explained. More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. The actual competition winners were only correctly identified by those who were randomly assigned the silent videos. Dr Tasy said the findings were quite surprising, especially because both trained musicians and those without training had stated that sound was most important for their evaluation. "Regardless of levels of expertise, we still seem to be led primarily by visual information, even in this field of music," she said. "Classical music training is often focused on improving the quality of the sound, but this research is about getting to the bottom of what is really being evaluated at the highest levels of competitive performance. She added, "We must be more mindful of our inclination to depend on visual information at the expense of the content that we actually value as more relevant to our decisions." Where does this text probably come from? A A text book. B A sports magazine. C A story book. D A science website. Answer: D The Internet can be a great way to connect with people. The latest web craze is social networking on websites such as MySpace. More than 65 million young people use online social networking sites. That cyberspace trend is causing problems in school, however. In a recent survey, nearly 36 percent of school administrators said that social networking sites troubled learning in their districts. Should school districts ban sites like MySpace? Teachers are worried that some students use social networking to post personal information and to cyber bully other students. One of the biggest dangers comes from people who find out kid's personal information. Many districts have blocked students from accessing or using social networking sites from school computers, and some have suspended students for posting harmful material on those sites from their home computers. Nearly two-thirds of US kids have computers in their homes, according to the US Census Bureau. "It is important to keep in mind that just blocking access to social web sites at school is not the end of the story," warns NSBA executive director Anne Bryant, "Most of the misuse of these sites takes place at home but still affects the classroom." _ . They say the main problem with sites like MySpace is that students don't understand the dangers involved in using them. "Many students are posting personal information about themselves without regard to who has access to that information," Jim Hirsch said, "Schools should focus on educating their students and their parents on how to be safe online." Experts argue that too many schools are forbidding students to use social networking web sites without thinking about their educational benefits. "Social networking web sites can help connect students in the United States to their peers in other countries, providing invaluable lessons in foreign cultures," explains Hirsch. Where do students usually misuse social networking sites? A At the teacher's office. B At the net bar. C At the classroom. D At home. Answer: D It's not polite to arrive at a dinner party more than 15 to 20 minutes late. The host or hostess usually waits for all the guests to arrive before serving the meal. If someone is late, the food may be spooked , and so might the host of hostess's spirit. If you will have to be late, call and tell them to start without you. It's even worse to be early !the host or hostess will probably not be ready. If you are early, drive or walk around the block a few minutes, or just sit in your car until the right time. Though it's often important to arrive at a party on time, yet on the other hand, for open houses, he host or hostess invites guests to arrive and leave between certain times, so you can arrive at any time within the times he or she gives you. It's nice to bring an empty stomach, but it's even nicer to bring a small present. The present should not cost a lot, or you might embarrass the host or hostess. Flowers, wine, or a box of candy will do fine. Never bring more as a present. In an introduction, the order of a name is (1)the given name, (2)the family name. In other words, the given name comes first. It's important not only to learn and remember names, but to repeat them often in conversation. After the introduction, we usually call friends by their given names. Older people may want you to call them by their titles and family names, such as "Mr.Jones", "Mr.Smith","Ms.Johson",or "Dr.Brown". A maiden name is a woman's family name at birth. In the United States and Canada, after a woman marries, she takes the family name of her husband in place of her maiden name. It is now becoming common, however, for women to keep their maiden names after they get married. If someone is late for a dinner party, _ A the guest will have to go hungry B the host and the hostess will be in low spirits C the host and the hostess will be very angry D he guests will be angry Answer: B What's onOscar Film Themes Symphony Concert Film highlights accompanied by live performances of movie theme music by the China Opera and Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra, which has recorded the music for many films. Familiar tunes will come from such flicks as Titanic, Jurassic Park and Waterloo Bridge. Where: Nationality Cultural Palace Theatre When: March 8, 7:30 pm Admission:80-380 yuan Tel:6528 7674 ext 508 Fantastic View All the Way The mountains in this area are not very high, but the vistas are excellent. This walk is gentle and very interesting, going through valleys, over passes, along a ridge and through a few little tranquil villages that are located in amazing places. Many sites along the walk offer panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. Where: Pinggu, northeast of Beijing When: March 9, meet 8:30 a.m. outside Starbucks at Lido Hotel, or 9 am at Capital Paradise front gate, return 5 p.m. Admission: adults 150 yuan, children 100 yuan Tel: 13701003694 Email: fjhikers @ yahoo. com..uk Spring Greetings Paintings in bold colors in a traditional Chinese style by young artist Tian Xifeng are displayed to welcome the spring. Tian is a student of famous bird-and-flower painting artist Wang Qing. He has won several prizes at various national painting exhibitions and developed a style emphasizing vivid close-ups of natural scenes. Where: Melodic Gallery, 14 Jianwai Dajie, opposite Friendship Store When:till March 31, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Admission: free Tel: 65188123 Cala, My Dog Directed by Lu Xuechang, starring Ge You. The story is about a middle- aged working man, known as Lao Er, whose chief source of stability and comfort in life is his dog, Cala . One day, when his wife is out walking Cala, a policeman confiscates the unregistered canine. As Lao Er endeavors to recover his dog , the difficult circumstances of his life are revealed. Chinese with English subtitle . Where: Dongchuang Theatre, 3 Xinzhongjie, Dongzhimenwai When: March 13 and 20, 8: 30 p.m. Admission: 20 yuan Tel: 64169253 All the advertisements in this passage are about _ . A music B movies C exhibitions D entertainments Answer: D
Which is an inherited characteristic? A. hair length B. clothing style C. bone thickness D. language skills Answer: C A daughter's duty? Adult daughters are often expected to caregiver for older parents. In 2007, Jorjan Sarich and her dad moved from California to Idaho. It was where he wanted to live his rest time. "I left my occupation, I left my friends; he did the same thing," said Sarich, who bought a house with her father, George Snyder, in the China Gardens neighborhood of Hailey after his health began to decline. Though a graduate student struggling to finish her dissertation , Sarich chose to be her dad's full-time caregiver. "It's only now, several years later, that I'm realizing how much work it was. It's the kind of exhaustion that sleep doesn't cure," she said. About 6 million Americans provide care to elderly relatives or friends living outside of nursing homes. Laurel Kennedy, author of "The Daughter Trap" (Thomas Dunne Books, $25.95), says that women bear a disproportionate share of the burden -- about 70 percent of hands-on care giving such as bathing. "I want to be clear: Women don't hate this," Kennedy said. "What they hate is that everyone just assumes they'll do it." Kennedy is calling for _ equal to the rise of affordable child care and day care: Employers should help working caregivers by offering accommodations. Men should step up more often. It's unfair that women are always chosen to provide care for an elderly family member. Despite the hard work it took on Sarich -- interrupted sleep and the knowledge that his 2009 death was the end game, she would do it again. Since about half a century had gone by, she wasn't the person he remembered, and he wasn't the person she remembered either. Caring for her father changed how each saw the other. What can we infer from the book "The Daughter Trap"? A. Daughters don't like care giving. B. Daughters devote a lot to care giving. C. Care giving is daughters' duty. D. Care giving should be sons' duty. Answer: B Passing a store, you might just step in and see if the store has received any new CDs. Once in the store, you're delighted to discover some new CDs that you must have. You could buy them later, of course, but you're already here, so why not now? In the checkout line you wonder whether to write a check or pay with a credit card. Either way would be OK, you suppose. The trouble with writing a check, though, is that you don't have much money left in your checking account. Using the credit card you won't have to pay at once, and when you do pay, you will only have to pay a little a month. So you hand the salesperson your plastic card, and that's the deal! There are a few good things about credit cards. For one thing, it's almost impossible to rent a car without a credit card. For another, they are helpful if you are in a situation where you don't have your checkbook or you have little cash with you. What are the disadvantages? One is that few people have the discipline to use their credit cards wisely. Instead, many fall into the buy-now-pay-later trap. Many become "addicted to plastic." Another disadvantage is that credit cards are more abstract than money or checks and thus contribute to our having less control over our money. Bank notes are physical things, and you have to _ your checking account every month when you pay with a check. This takes a bit of work, and although it's painful, it's more realistic. Credit cards represent the abstract, lending a certain air of unreality to the stage of managing your finances. All you do is sign your name; someone else does the math for you. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? A. The ABC of Credit Cards. B. Credit Cards, Checks or Cash. C. Why Not Credit Cards? D. Watch out Your Credit Cards! Answer: D Have you ever wanted to travel back through time and see what life was like at the beginning of man? Well, museums can make history come alive. And one museum in particular can take you on an exciting journey from the beginning of human culture to the present day. It is the British Museum. Being one of the largest museums in the world, it is home to over 7 million objects from all the world's continents. While most of us may not have the chance to visit London, we can catch a glance of the treasures it holds in Beijing. From December 10 to Februry 10, more than 100 cultural relics will be on show in the Palace Museum. Named "Britain and the World", a range of pencil sketches, watercolor paintings, sculptures and many other objects have traveled to China. There are several Chinese objects on show. But "the British Museum got them before 1830 mainly by trade," said Ma Jige, deputy director of the Exhibition Department of the Palace Museum. In fact, there are more than 23,000 Chinese relics in the British Museum, including national treasures like gems, artwork and ancient bronze ware objects. The museum is famous for its exquisite Chinese paintings. Picture of Lady Officials by Gu Kaizhi, a top painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420), is there. The British Museum also holds 13,700 Buddhist records from the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province. How many Chinese relics are there in the British Museum? A. Over 100. B. 13,700. C. Over 23,000. D. Over 7 million. Answer: C Everyone makes mistakes in life, but for whales and dolphins, the "mistake" of landing on the shore costs the highest price---their lives. People living along the coast of Australia and New Zealand have been shocked and saddened by the number of whales and dolphins that they have found on their beaches recently. Since November 28th, 96 whales and dolphins have died in Australia and 53 whales died in New Zealand. Although 20 whales were saved, some of these were not expected to live, as they were too weak to swim with the others back to sea. Bob Brown, leader of Australia's Green party, said the mass beaching was caused by the recent "sound bombing" of the ocean floor between the two countries. This is a method of testing for oil and gas reserves . But mass beaching of whales has long puzzled scientists. Typically most members of the stranded group will appear to be perfectly healthy. "Some researchers believe that close relationship within the group causes the problem, if one gets into trouble, the others will not leave" said Shery Gibney, a leading biologist in New Zealand. "Some will come in and try and assist it; if they get trapped on the beach, then more will come." Another common theory is that the whales' navigation system are thought to break down in some way. It has been said that whales follow electromagnetic patterns in the sea-bed. The whales can get confused because these patterns sometimes change. That would be a bit like a new roundabout being built on a road you were used to driving on. You might be confused for a minute when you come to it for the first time, and you might even take a wrong turning before getting back on your route. A different idea is that when whales chase fish for food they end up in shallow waters because they are not paying attention to where they are going. And yet, from time to time a group will swim on purpose into shallow waters and end up on the beach, where they die. If returned to the sea, some whales often show great determination in restraining themselves. The passage is mainly about _ . A. that whales and dolphins may make mistakes as well as human beings B. how scientists have found the reasons for the mass beaching of whales C. how human beings make use of the ocean resources D. why the mass beaching of whales happens Answer: D
It's Tuesday today. After four classes in the morning, it's time for lunch. "Boys and girls, do you want to go to the City Book Store with me this afternoon?" Miss Cheng asks. All the students in our class are very happy, because we don't have to have three afternoon classes as usual . So we answer, "Yes!" "Well, come to the classroom after lunch," Miss Cheng says. At about 1:30 pm, we take a bus to the City Book Store. We get to the store at 2:00 pm. In the City Book Store are lots of books, but I can't read all of them. I only read two books about my favorite subject, history. The books in the store are nice, but they are expensive. I can't afford them. After two hours, we go to the front door of the book store. With Miss Cheng's help, some of the students buy some books at a special discount . Then we take a bus to our school. What do we know from the passage? A. Tom doesn't like any subject. B. Tom's class takes a bus to the City Book Store. C. Miss Cheng buys some books at a special discount. D. It takes the students about one hour to get to the store from the school. Answer: B. Tom's class takes a bus to the City Book Store. The Guinness World Records Museum address:329 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205 Open Hours: From September to May :10 am to 7 pm Sunday through Thursday 10 am to 10 pm Friday and Saturday From June to August: 10 am to 10 pm Sunday through Thursday 10 am to Midnight Friday and Saturday Adult single: $ 14.95 for 2 attractions, $18.95 for any 4 attractions, $22.95 for all attractions Child(4~12)Single: $8.95 for 2 attractions ,$11.95 for any 4 attraction, $14.95 for all attractions In the museum you can enter the different exhibition halls you see below. In each of these halls you can see the world records of different kinds . Sometimes you may get a chance to do something so that you can know better how a record was set. A 10 -year-old girl and her mother will visit two attractions. How much will they pay ? A. $14.95. B. $17.90. C. $23.90. D. $29.90. Answer: C. $23.90. Madame Tussaud's wax Museum, London Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum was first set up in Paris in 1770, moved to London in 1802 and moved to its present address in 1884. The collection of famous people of the past and present is kept up to date. Visitors will see Henry VIII and his six wives, the present Queen and royal family, leading figures of the French Revolution and so on. In 1993 a new part was added to it, the "Spirit of London", a journey through London from medieval times to the present day. Address: Madame Tussaud's Marylebone Road London NWI 5LR United Kingdom Hours: It is open from 9:30 to 17:30 from Monday to Sunday Always closed on Christmas Day (December 25) Cost: Adult: PS25.00. Child 16 & under: PS21.00. Child 4 & under: FREE. Tips: Extra money applies to some peak periods. Group rates apply to 10 or more persons. Combined tickets for Madame Tussaud's and the London Planetariur are available at reduced rate. Opening hours may change throughout the year. Directions: By Tube : Madame Tussaud's is a two-minute walk from Baker Street tube station By Train: Marvlebone Station is within 10 minutes walking distance of Madame Tussaud's By Bus: The following bus numbers travel to Madame Tussaud's: 13, 18, 27, 30, 74, 82, 113, 139 and 274. What can we learn from the Tips? A. The visiting time doesn't change all the year around. B. Visitors can enter the Planetarium for free. C. More than 8 visitors together can buy group tickets. D. Visitors may have to pay extra money during some peak seasons. Answer: D. Visitors may have to pay extra money during some peak seasons. If a new moon occurred on June 2, when will the next new moon occur? A. June 30 B. June 28 C. June 23 D. June 15 Answer: A. June 30 Range At present,there are five network firms---China Telecom,China Unicom,Jitong Communications,China Netcom and China Mobile---that are allowed to operate IP services in China.Each company has its advantages in service. Charge As the Ministry of Information Industry co-ordinates,the charges of IP calls of the five companies are the same,0.30 yuan per minute for DDD calls.4.80 yuan per minute for IDD calls,2.50 yuan for calls from the mainland to Hong Kong,Macao,and Taiwan,and 1.50 yuan from Shenzhen to HK,Zhongshan and Zhuhai to Macao.IP callers don't enjoy discounts on holidays. China Telecom has the widest coverage.All cities in China with telephone access and most countries in the world are open to China Telecom's IP card. China Unicom's IP card can reach 29 cities nationwide and more than 130 countries and regions worldwide.Jitong IP can access 12 cities in China and over 70 countries and regions worldwide. China Netcom's IP card can reach 14 cities in China and 149 countries and regions in the world. China Mobile's IP card is open to only six cities nationwide but can access more than 200 countries and regions worldwide. Voice quality China Telecom realizes its IP service by the public Intermet,therefore net congestion and voice delay may sometimes disturb conversations.The other four companies have their private data networks,which help to increase transmission speeds and improve voice quality. Other services China Telecom,Jitong and China Mobile offer account transfer services.Users can transfer the remaining sum of money on one card to another card. Jitong and Netcom Link their services with bank cards.One can enjoy IP's service without an IP card.Bank card users can make IP phone calls with their bank card numbers,so they needn't buy new IP cards and remember the new numbers again and again. As for customer service,China Telecom,China Unicom and China Mobile provide free hot line service,while Jitong and Netcom charge for their services. The passage mainly talks about_. A. differences between the five IP fims B. foundation of China's five IP firms C. development of China's five IP firms D. organization of the five IP firms Answer: A. differences between the five IP fims
We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why. "Look down, Elsa," Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village, And I saw the criss-cross of streets leading to the square. "See, my dear," Father said gently, "There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road. try another." Now I understood why I was there, Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said. When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere . Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan. At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner. _ She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, "The cook must have gone bad!" Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day! In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square, What did the author's mother think of her lunch soup after she tasted it? A. It wasn't so bad as the author said. B. It was delicious. C. It couldn't be worse. D. It was as good as her cook did. Answer: C Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six - year - old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said."Can we write him a letter?" She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked. "No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for."Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six - year - old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went out-side and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining."Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was passed on. I prayed to be a balloon. In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like? A. An incurable disease B. An unforgettable memory. C. The failures her father experienced D. The hard time her father had. Answer: D 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. Which of the following is the most important according to the policewoman? A. Finding a lost guitar. B. Finding the cab driver. C. Enjoying one's own life D. Finding murderers. Answer: D I have been teaching in the United States for three semesters. During this time, I have been very impressed with the hardworking American students. Tuition fee in American universities are pretty expensive. Most American students receive little, if any, financial support. As a result, they have to work hard to pay for their tuition and other basic expenses. Tertiary education is a necessity in today's workforce. Young people with higher education are rewarded with a good career and better salary. So how do American students support themselves? All my American students have to work to pay for their tuition. For this reason, most universities provide limited jobs for students who need economic help. They also help students search for jobs in the community. I have been touched to see some students are so worn out from their jobs that they doze in my classroom. In addition to taking part-time jobs, students are also expected to take part in various social and sporting activities and, in fact, those who do not take part in are often looked down upon by their peers. A number of American university students are married with families, or are single parents. These students are faced with the additional burden of raising a family. They have to spend much time, money and energy caring for their children and family. Most American university professors are strict. They test students on every unit in their course, in addition to mid-term and final exams in each semester. A lack of preparation by students may result in their failure. This means the loss of a lot of money and possibly future employment opportunities for these students. For this reason, many American students will study or stay up all night before an exam, in an effort to pass. In contrast, Chinese students have a much easier time, because most Chinese parents pay for their kids' tertiary education. Moreover, Chinese students do not need to worry about raising children or maintaining a family. So, Chinese students have no reason for not studying hard and achieving good marks. Compared with American students, Chinese university students _ . A. have no difficulty in raising a family B. live an easy life in universities C. don't have to take full-time jobs D. have more duty to make greater progress Answer: B In spite of the uncertainty of the economy, the movie industry has been stricken by a box-office outburst. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion. And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office increase in at least two decades. Americans, for the moment, just want to hide in a very dark place. People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people. Helping feed the outburst is the mix of movies, which have been more audience-friendly in recent months as the studios have tried to adjust after the discouraging sales of more serious films. As she stood in line at the 18-screen Bridge theater complex here on Thursday to buy weekend tickets for _ : The 3D Concert Experience," Angel Hernandez was not thinking much about escaping reality. Instead, Ms. Hernandez, a Los Angeles parking lot attendant and mother of four young girls, was focused on one very specific reality: her wallet. "Spending hundreds of dollars to take them to _ is ridiculous right now," she said. "For $60 and some candy money I can still be a good mom and give them a little fun." A lot of parents may have been thinking the same thing Friday, as "Jonas Brothers" sold out more than 800 theaters, and was expected to sell a powerful $25 million or more in tickets. The film industry appears to have had a hand in its recent good luck. Over the last year or two, studios have released movies that are happier, scarier or just less depressing than what came before. After poor results for a rush of serious dramas built around the Middle East, Hollywood got back to comedies. The passage is developed mainly by _ . A. presenting the effect and analyzing the causes B. following the order of time C. describing problems and drawing a conclusion D. making comparison of ideas Answer: A
Question: It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The streams were long gone back into the earth. If we didn't see some rain soon we would lose everything. I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He was obviously walking with a great effort... trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful long step toward the woods. This activity went on for over an hour: walking very carefully to the woods, then running back to the house. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I quietly walked out of the house and followed him on his journey. He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very careful not to spill the water he held in them. Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much greater purpose. As I looked at him secretly, I saw the most amazing site. Several large deer appeared threatening in front of him. But Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. And I saw a baby deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from heavy loss of water and heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hand. I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I have ever known working so hard to save a life. As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops... and more drops... and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, Himself, was crying with pride. Why did the author follow her son? A. Because there might be danger. B. Because her son was doing a good deed. C. Because she was curious. D. Because she intended to help. Answer: C. Because she was curious. Question: I'm sitting here in this coffee shop. You know the one there by Allen street. The town is filled with thousands of middle class college kids living off their parent's money. The coffee shop is where the ones come to play the part of sophisticated bohemians . The pretensions glow from their line-less faces as they sip cappuccinos and chew strawberry cookies. The boys to my right are discussing Nabokov with a serious air, a copy of Sartre's Cuba lies on the table. The young woman on my left is declaring that she can never allow her creativity to be killed by entering the work force. The man with her scratches his goatee in agreement, occasionally suggesting they go back to his place to hear his new Washington Squares CD. Matt has just designed a new international symbol for peace. He moves from table to table trying to sell hand painted T-shirts that bear the design. Tomorrow he's leaving for the 25th anniversary Woodstock concert where he hopes to strike it rich with his creation. Gopha the skinny Indian boy feels like singing me a verse of 'It Ain't Me Babe' when I ask him if he's a friend of Monica's. Jason is trying to talk Gopha into a dollar bet on a game of chess. Between times Jason will chew your ear off with his plans to conquer the music industry while studying entertainment law, but when it comes to his never ending dollar chess matches he's quiet as a church mouse. I sit among them. To all surface appearances one and the same. If they could only see I would rather reach into their flesh and tear out their shallow little hearts than listen to another second of their prattle . With no job, no gigs, and my girlfriend's so far gone she might as well be on another planet, I've been leading the writer's quiet cafe life, spending my free time outdoors drinking iced teas and cheap wines. I chat warmly with whoever decides to squander away their hours in my surrounding area. But behind my eyes is an unspoken challenge to any and every one of these social elites to just once say one thing that would inspire me. Just one little idea which is new and meaningful. Unfortunately original thoughts are zero here. In my secret mind I wish to run like a madman banging gongs and speaking in tongues. Or maybe jump on a table and sing the Star Spangled Banner in the forgotten language of the Hottentots. I know these thoughts only reveal me as a fool because the spark I search for cannot be found in acts of shocking performance art. Where it truly comes from is one of the mysteries which will always hang around me. Why is the hero in the coffee shop? A. To recall the pleasant memories. B. To relieve his sorrows and worries. C. To know what is in fashion nowadays. D. To find something new to inspire himself. Answer: D. To find something new to inspire himself. Question: Beijing City International School Position: IT manager Major Duties and Responsibilities: Prepares and carries out the annual budget of the department. Builds and develops the whole school IT system Provides excellent IT services with IT team for teaching and business. Requirements/Qualifications: Bachelor or above, majoring in Information Technology or Finance. Good command of both Chinese and English Minimum 5 years working experience, 3 years in a managerial level Able to work in a collaborative style KAI CABLE INC. Position: Sales Internship Major Duties and Responsibilities: Builds and develops good relationship with new customers Maintains strong relationship with the existing customers Explores potential customers further Conducts market ~ competitors analysis to improve customer satisfaction. Requirements/Qualifications: Graduates with Bachelor degree. Major in Finance, Economics, International Trade. Fluent English (in both written ~ spoken) and Mandarin . Familiar with MS office, especially Excel and PowerPoint and Internet application Willingness to accept challenges and work under pressure. Strong sense of responsibility. Prepare for business trainee. Both of the recruiting ads include the following information EXCEPT _ . A. positions available B. working duties C. a good command of computer skills D. the degrees needed of the applicants Answer: C. a good command of computer skills Question: "Did you hear what happened to Adam last Friday?" Lindsey whispers to Tori. With her eyes shining, Tori brags, "You bet I did. Sean told me two days ago." What are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happens to be yours truly, Adam Freedman. I can tell you that what they are saying is (a) not nice and (b) not even true. Still, Lindsey and Tori aren't very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip . I have noticed three effects of gossip: it can hurt people, it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction, and it can cause social pressures in a group. An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic--breakups, troubles at home, even dropping out--that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing or shameful the secret is, the juicer the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, bur cruel lies can cause pain. If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? The answer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don't. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the "in group". In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority . Gossip can also have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten, unspoken rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. Translated into high school terms, this means that if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The do's and don'ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student handbook. The effects of gossip vary depending on the situation. The next time you feel the urge to spread the latest news, think about why you want to gossip and what effects your "juicy story" might have. In the author's opinion, many people like to gossip because it _ . A. gives them a feeling of pleasure B. helps them to make more friends C. makes them better at telling stories D. enables them to meet important people Answer: A. gives them a feeling of pleasure Question: Biologists believe that love is fundamentally a biological rather than a cultural construct, because the capacity for love is found in all human cultures and similar behavior is found in some other animals. In humans the purpose of all the desire is to focus attention on the raising of offspring. Children demand an unusual amount of parenting, and two parents are better than one. Love is a signal that both partners are committed, and makes it more likely that this commitment will continue as long as necessary for children to reach independence. But what does science have to say about the notion of love at first sight? In recent years the ability to watch the brain in action has offered a wealth of insight into the mechanics of love. Researchers have shown that when a person falls in love, a dozen different part of brain work together to release chemicals that trigger feelings of euphoria, bonding and excitement. It has also been shown that the unconditional love between a mother and a child is associated with activity in different regions of the brain from those associated with pair-bonding love. Passionate love is rooted in the reward circuitry of the brain--the same area that is active when humans feel a rush from cocaine. In fact, the desire, motivations and withdrawals involved in love have a great deal in common with addiction. Its most intense forms tend to be associated with the early stages of a relationship, which then give way to a calmer attachment form of love one feels with a long term partner. What all this means is that one special person can become chemically rewarding to the brain of another. Love at first sight, then, is only possible if the mechanism for generating long-term attachment can be triggered quickly. There are signs that it can be. One line of evidence is that people are able to decide within a second how attractive they find another person. This decision appears to be related to facial attractiveness, although men may favor women with waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7, no matter what their overall weight is. (This ratio may indicate a woman's reproductive health.) Another piece of evidence comes from work by a psychologist at Ben-Gurion University, who found in a survey that a small percentage (11%) of people in long-term relationships said that they began with love at first sight. In other words, in some couples the initial favorable impressions of attractiveness triggered love which sustained a lengthy bond. It is also clear that some couples need to form their bonds over a longer period, and popular culture tells many tales of friends who become lovers. One might also assume that if a person is looking for a partner with _ that cannot be quantified instantly, such as compassion, intellect or a good sense of humor, then it would be hard to form a relationship on the basis of love at first sight. Those more concerned with visual appearances, though, might find this easier. So it appears that love at first sight exists, but is not a very common basis for long-term relationships. Which of the following may be the best title of the passage? A. The science of love at first sight B. The stages of passionate love C. The biological construct of pair-bonding D. The mechanism for generating long-term love Answer: A. The science of love at first sight
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 gets supernatural abilities by eating 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 pirates called the Straw Hats.On his way, more people join the group.It even includes a cook, a soldier and a musician.They also help Luffy fight with other pirates on the way. Many Chinese teenagers are One Piece fans.Yang Peiqi, 14, of Shenzhen, says he thinks reading One Piece is great fun and also he likes the themes of the story-dreams and friends. What are the themes of One Piece? Dreams and friends. Nothing can destroy a vacation quicker than losing your money or credit cards. A few simple steps before you head out of the door can help protect your cash, card and personal information while you're traveling. Paul Stephens, a policy analyst San Diego, notes that people spend a lot of time planning their trips, from buying guidebooks to finding just the right beach outfits ."But their eyes glaze over when the subject of keeping money safe comes up," he said. "Why not take a few minutes to do something that could probably save your vacation?" Stephens asked."In most cases, they can go on your to-do list with' buy travel bags' and everything else," he added. The top recommendation is to clean your wallet. Remove unnecessary credit cards and any other unneeded documents that could compromise(...)your identity if lost or stolen while you're on vocation. Then make a photocopy of the cards you've decided to take along and keep it in a secure location with you(not in your wallet)or leave it with a trusted relative or friend back home. Then you will know who you need to contact and how to reach it if your wallet is missing. "Travelers should never leave their wallets or any identifying documents in their hotel room when they're not there," he said." Choose a hotel with a safe to keep your valuable things in. Or keep your wallet and documents with you at all times. " According to passage, _ can destroy one's vacation the most quickly. losing money or credit cards Many scientists today are convinced that life exists elsewhere in the universe---life probably much like that on our own planet. They reason in the following way. As far as astronomers can determine, the entire universe is built of the same matter. They have no reason to doubt that matter obeys the same laws in every part of the universe. Therefore, it is reasonable to guess that other stars, with their own planets, were born in the same way as our own solar system. What we know of life on earth suggests that life will arise wherever the proper conditions exist. Life requires the right amount and kind of atmosphere. This eliminates all those planets in the universe that are not about the same size and weight as the earth. A smaller planet would lose its atmosphere; a larger one would hold too much of it. Life also requires a steady supply of heat and light. This eliminates double stars, or stars that flare up suddenly. Only single stars that are steady sources of heat and light like our sun would qualify. Finally, life could evolve only if the planet is just the right distance from its sun. With a weaker sun than our own, the planet would have to be closer to it. With a stronger sun, it would have to be farther away. If we suppose that every star in the universe has a family of planets, then how many planets might support life? First, eliminate those stars that are not like our sun. Next eliminate most of their planets; they are either too far from or too close to their suns. Then eliminate all those planets which are not the same size and weight as the earth. Finally, remember that the proper conditions do not necessarily mean that life actually does exist on a planet. It may not have begun yet, or it may have already died out. This process of elimination seems to leave very few planets on which earthlike life might be found. However, even if life could exist on only one planet in a million, there are so many billions of planets that this would still leave a vast number on which life could exist. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? Double stars can provide steady light and heat. Chinese space trainer Wang Yuan has been chosen as one of the volunteers for the Mars-500 test project. He was very happy to be chosen and will accept the meaningful challenge Another five volunteers are all space lovers., including three Russians, an Italy-Colombian and a Frenchman. They are about to feel what it's like to travel to Mars, only without leaving the earth. They are locked up together for a year and a half under a similar condition to the red planet during the whole process. So the experiment is called Mars-500. When reporters asked what they would miss most during the 520-day special life, French trainer Charles said:"For me, it will be mainly my family, the sun and fresh air." The Mars-500 test will be in a special building in Moscow, Russia. Although the people won't leave the building, they will fell as if they are on a real trip to the Mars. The most difficult thing will be to be separated from the people that they used to live with. The trainer won't see sunsets, sunrises, won't feel rain for 18 months. That will be hard. The main task is to study the "Man and environment". It'll care about the astronauts' getting experience and physical effects. The 520-day-test is divided into three parts,the first 250days to Mars, the middle 30days of landing on Mars, the last 240 days to return to the earth. Everyone will stay there alone for a long time and will work lonely. They will have to make decisions themselves and only then report to the earth, and the earth will tell them whether they do the right thing or not. Each astronaut is preparing for the great challenge. It is learned that they will be launched early in June. And the experiment will end in November 2011. Mars-500 test will be done in _ Moscow I am Tony Smith. I am 12. I am in No.101 Middle School. I'm in Class 2, Grade 7. My oldfriend is Jim Green. He is an English boy. He is twelve, too. He is in my class. He can speakgood Chinese. Jane is in Class 2, too. I think she is a good girl. My Chinese teacher isMr. Wang. His students like him. He is very cool. Who is Jim Green? He is Tony's old friend.
Last year more than one million Filipinos worked abroad as servants,nurses,sailors and in other difficult but low-paid jobs.Southeast Asians leave their poorer countries for their richer neighbours. Many of these wage-earners return in the end.In the meantime,they send home huge amounts of money--in the Philippines' case,over 10% of its GDP.Between January and November,the amount was up 18% on the same period of 2005.Poverty and unemployment are still high in the Philippines and other labour-exporting countries.They would be far worse but for this outflow of bodies and inflow of dollars.As for those Asian countries that import labour,as in Europe,falling birth rates mean they are going to need more foreign workers. On January 13th leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) signed an agreement to help migrant workers--with the realization that the flow of labour between their countries is a growing problem that they cannot blame on outsiders.A 2005 study showed that 8.4 million Southeast Asians worked outside their home countries,but this did not include the huge numbers of Indonesians doing so without papers.So the true total is probably rather higher. Of the ten ASEAN countries,the Philippines,Indonesia,Myanmar,Cambodia,Vietnam and Laos export labour,Singapore and Brunei import it,and Thailand and Malaysia do both.Sziraczki of the UN's International Labour Organization points out that,in the next ten years,the total labour force of the worker-exporting countries should grow by about a third.It makes sense to work on the problem before it gets out of control. People in the receiving countries seem to be worried about competition for their jobs.Most Thais said their government should admit no more foreign workers,and a few thought otherwise.Even in Singapore,just over half of people are against admitting more foreign workers.Malaysians think that the increase in foreign workers has worsened crime rates . It can be inferred from the case of the Philippines that _ . Answer: What might be harder to digest? Answer: As time goes by, sports have become more and more important in people's modern life. People take part in different kinds of sports, like football, basketball, table tennis, swimming and so on. Sports are popular all over the world. People also like watching sports matches . Sports stars are very popular with people, especially students. There are sports matches all over the world nearly every year, but the most important and famous is the Olympic Games. Every player wants to win the game. At that time all sports fans sit in front of TVs to watch games. Some even go to the stadium to watch. Why are sports so popular? Because sports can keep our body strong. Do you like playing sports? How often do you exercise? ,. The Olympic Games are _ . Answer: Humans cannot survive without clean, fresh water. Reservoirs of liquid water vary, but all water spends time as a gas in the atmosphere. What is the source of most of the water in the atmosphere? Answer: Mr. Smith works in a factory. There he drives a truck. He's tired all the time. When he comes back, he's always busy and doesn't want to do any housework. His wife is a doctor and likes to keep all the things clean. So she has to do all at home. She usually goes to work from Monday to Friday and has to do all on weekends. All her friends know about it and sometimes they come to help her. It's Saturday today. Mrs Smith tells her husband to help her do some housework, but he says he has something to do and goes out early in the morning. He leaves a lot of dirty clothes at home. Mrs Smith doesn't go to work but she doesn't feel well. So she doesn't want to do any housework. After breakfast, Jo, one of her friends, comes to see her when she's sitting on a chair. The girl finds the rooms are dirty and she asks, "Don't you clean your rooms today, Mrs Smith?" "No, I don't."says the doctor. "Why don't you wear your glasses?" "Then I will think the rooms are still clean." Who usually does the housework at home, Mr Smith or Mrs Smith? Answer:
Martin's Clothes Store Come and buy your clothes at Martin's Clothes Store! We have pants, shorts, hats and more at very good prices! Come and have a look! Clothes Price black pants blue pants green pants $20 $18 $22 shorts ( all colours) $10 hats (all colours) $14 socks (all colours) $5 red skirts blue skirts white skirts $12 $14 $11 white T-shirts green T-shirts $7 $8 red sweaters yellow sweaters $30 $28 Where does Martin work? In a clothes store. Look at the photo. The two girls have big blue eyes and long brown hair. They are ten. They are in the same class. The one in a yellow skirt is Lily. The other one in an orange skirt is Lucy. Bob is their brother . He is in a blue cap. He is a high school student. Their dad is Mr. White. He is in a brown coat. Their mom is Mrs. White. She is in black shoes. Look!Lucy and Lily are in the green car. . What color are the girls' eyes? Blue.. Husband and Wife, walking on a country road, were frightened by a bull running loose on the road. They climbed over a fence to get onto the adjacent property, owned by Grower. After climbing over the fence, Husband and Wife damaged some of Grower's plants which were near the fence. The fence was posted with a large sign, "No Trespassing." Grower saw Husband and Wife and came toward them with his large watchdog on a long leash. The dog rushed at Wife. Grower had intended only to frighten Husband and Wife, but the leash broke, and before Grower could restrain the dog, the dog bit Wife."If Wife asserts a claim based on battery against Grower, will Wife prevail? Yes, because Grower intended that the dog frighten Wife. Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in Europe. It is famous as one of the cleanest countries in the world. The Swiss think that recycling is very important. The government has made laws which require everyone to recycle. In 1998, the Swiss government passed a law which says that people can not throw away any electronic machines. Instead, people are told to bring old ones, such as televisions, computers and fridges, to special centers when they didn't need them. Many parts of the old machines are reused, and only the parts that can't be used are thrown away. The government also charges a rubbish bag tax . If people want their rubbish to be collected, they must buy yellow stickers and put them on their rubbish bags. In 2003, 47% of all rubbish in the cities was recycled. This included 70% of paper, 95%of glass, 71%of plastic bottles and 85--90%of cans. Until recently, people could get a small amount of money when they recycled their bottles. Recycling has become a daily habit for the Swiss. Everyone should learn from the Swiss, and our country will be clean like Switzerland. The best title of the article is _ . Recycling in Switzerland The _ film Titanic has brought millions of dollars and thousands of people to the theaters and continues to touch people today in their homes. Why is this film so successful? It is a combination of many different things. Among these are many different elements. Looking at some of these elements will show how the director and others involved were able to create an emotionally charged movie that appealed to millions. The film uses one thematic element called - The Truth of Human Nature. The two main characters seem to represent noble people. Most of the other characters in the film are shown as non-tolerant, rude and cold-hearted people. The element of focusing on the two main characters' love and emotion seems symbolic of an ideal state. There are also social problems addressed. This is done in a few different ways. The most noticeable way is that the lower class people remain locked in the basement as the ship goes down. Throughout Titanic, the lighting is very important. The poor, lower class people are always shown in very warm-coloured light that gives them a sense of life and happiness. On the other hand, the rich, upper class are always shown in a flat light portraying the feeling of hardness and coldness. By using these techniques, they show the issue of class segregation , and they create stereotypes. The main characters are able to break free of these stereotypes and be together. This is the solution to the segregation problem. As you can see, Titanic took a lot of thinking and preparation to film in a manner that would create emotion and bring to the surface the issues and story of the great ship. Why were different colours of light used in the film Titanic? _ They were used to show the difference between the rich and the poor.
Question: One night, Mrs. Riley, an elderly woman, was walking along a dark London street. She was carrying her handbag in one hand and a plastic carrier bag in the other. There was nobody else in the street except two youths. They were standing in a dark shop doorway. One of them was very tall with fail hair, the other was short and fat with a beard. The youths waited for a few moments, and then ran quickly and quietly towards Mrs. Riley. The tall youth held her from behind while the other youth tried to seize her handbag. Suddenly, Mrs. Riley threw the tall youth over her shoulder. He crashed into the other youth and they both landed on the ground. Without speaking, Mrs. Riley struck both of them on the head with her handbag and walked calmly away. The two surprised youths were still sitting on the ground when Mrs. Riley crossed the street towards a door with a lighted sign above it. Mrs. Riley paused, turned round, smiled at the youths and walked into the South West London Judo Club. What did Mrs. Riley do to the two youths? A. She hurt them seriously. B. She taught them a lesson. C. She reported them to the police. D. She sent them to a judo club. Answer: B Question: It was movie night at Tom's house. He was looking forward to watching a movie. He wondered what sort of movie it would be. Would it be a cartoon? Would there be knights? He really likes to watch movies about spaceships. His sister likes to watch movies about animals. Tonight they would watch his father's favorite type of movie. His mother came home and put it on the table. After dinner Tom cleared away the plates from the table. It was his sister's turn to wash the dishes. His father went to read the newspaper. His mother began to make popcorn. She made a big bowl of popcorn. There was plenty for everyone. She put lots of butter on it. Tom was excited he went to sit on the striped rug in front of the television. His sister came and sat next to him. His parents sat on the couch. The dog climbed on to the blue chair. The movie was about cars. Tom had a great movie night. What did the mother bring home? A. dinner B. popcorn C. a movie D. the newspaper Answer: C Question: It's common for parents to feel emotional when the moment comes for their child to leave home and go to university. Even parents who don't speak about the event are likely to feel a sense of sadness because it's the end of an era where you and your family were at the centre of your child's world. As a parent you'll probably continue to support your child in different ways, but the main job of raising your child is over. It's a huge change for everyone involved. There are a few things that you can do to make the transition easier. Plan carefully for your child's departure and think about how you can help. Many parents take their child to university for the first time. If you decide to do that, be ready to feel a real wrench when the time comes to say goodbye. Your child will probably be as nervous as you are about the moment when you finally say goodbye - but that might not show! Be positive and cheerful about the choice your child has made to continue studying, and plan to leave once you've unpacked the car and looked around your child's new living accommodations. If you can, save your tears for the car - you'll make things easier on your child and yourself. The more you've invested in being a parent, the more you'll feel a sense of loss, so the sadness you feel now is a sign that you've been a good mom or dad. Remind yourself that parenting is all about raising an independent and confident child who functions well without you. If your child quickly settles and starts enjoying himself, you should congratulate yourself. It's also only fair to allow yourself some time to grieve . Don't expect to pick yourself up and move on straight away. But you may decide to find a hobby or sport to fill your extra time. Perhaps you've always wanted to learn a new language, go to yoga classes or take up swimming. You may decide to spend more time with family and close friends, who are likely to be feeling the absence of your child as well. Agree on the best approach to staying in touch before your child leaves, and stick to your agreement. Try not to panic if your child doesn't respond immediately - remember, they're starting a new and busy life.. Why do parents feel sad when their child leaves home for college? A. Because the absence of their child makes them feel lonely. B. Because their children will start a new life in college. C. Because it means the end of love between parents and their child. D. Because they are no longer the main focus of their children's life. Answer: D Question: A neighbor of mine, while visiting his mother in Boston, took her to a shoe store to buy a new pair of shoes. While she was trying on different styles, my neighbor took the manager aside. "When she picks out a pair that she likes," he said, "Just tell her that the price is 12 dollars. I'll pay the regular price. I don't care how much it is." The following week, my neighbor was walking by the shoe store and the manager recognized him and called him in. "What's the problem?" asked my neighbor as he entered the store. "Wasn't my check any good?" "That's not it," answered the manager, "The problem is that your mother is bringing all her friends in for those 12-dollar shoes!" It seems very probable that my neighbor wanted to _ . A. please his mother B. cheat his mother C. cheat the manager D. please his mother's friends Answer: A Question: I was 15 months old, a happy and _ kid, until the day I fell. It was a bad fall. I landed on a piece of glass that cut my eye badly. from then on, my injured, sightless, cloudy gray eye lived on with me. Sometimes people asked me embarrassing questions. Whenever kids played games, I was the "monster". I was always imagining that everyone looked down on me. Yet mum would say to me, "Hold your head up high and face the world." I began to depend on that saying. As a child, I thought mun meant, "Be careful, or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking." As a teenager, I usually looked down to hide my shame. But I found that when I held my head up high, People liked me. In high school I even became the class president, but on the inside I still felt like a monster. All I really wanted was to look like everyone else. When things got really bad, I would cry to my mun and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, "Hold your head up high and face the world. Let them see the beauty that is inside instead of your appearance ." My mum's love was the sunshine that made me bright. I had faced hard times, and learned not only to be confident but also to have deep compassion for others. "Hold your head up high" has been heard many times in my home. I say it to my children. The gift my mum gave me will live on. Why did the writer imagine that everyone looked down on her? A. She felt bad about her appearance. B. She found it hard to act as a monster. C. Kids refused to play games with her. D. People always asked her embarrassing questions. Answer: A
An appliance manufacturer has redesigned its original electrical fan. It has made the new fan more energy efficient. This means that the new fan Answer: reduces the percentage of heat lost to the atmosphere. When people communicate, they need words to express themselves. People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. Each contains many thousands of words. A very large dictionary, for example, contains four or five hundred thousand of words. But we do not need all these. To read short stories you need to know only about two thousand words. Before you leave school, you will learn only one thousand or more. Vocabulary means a lot of words. The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your own vocabulary bigger. Read as many books as you can. There are a lot of books written in easy English for you to read. You will enjoy them. When you meet a new word, find it in your dictionary. Your dictionary is your most useful book. What is your most useful book? Answer: Your dictionary. Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two. Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself , each extra dollar makes less and less difference. Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues. "Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better," conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways---scientists or actors, for example--may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs. In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires--not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health--rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap. Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. "The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income." Says Michalos. Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. "Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?" asks Professor Laura Carstensen. In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often. Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they're more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don't. "People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever," she says. "A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20. Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs _ . Answer: improve their social position What is the first step in designing a product? Answer: identify the need or want I have never understood why so many people visit Rome from late spring to early autumn, when traffic, heat and stressed shopkeepers and waiters lead to the lower tone of the city. Things improve a little in March, April, October and November. But connoisseurs know that winter is the best time to go there. In winter, the low-flying sun turns Rome into a wonderful stage set. There are days in winter when the sky is kind of blue. And there are also days when you find that you have beautiful sights all to yourself. Perhaps the only period you might want to avoid is the two weeks before Christmas. Italians often leave their shopping late, and traffic in the city is often heavy. But this can also be a good time to come if you are more interested in culture than in fashion shops; if you stay somewhere central, you can beat the traffic by walking everywhere. Christmas in Rome is a low-key family event. One of the nice things is the way the city keeps going. Although museums and shops are closed, many bars and restaurants stay open, and public transport continues to run. If you are lucky with the weather, it's in January and February that Rome is at its best. Late February can be especially attractive. One sometimes forgets what a difference that extra hour of daylight makes compared with mid-December. And there are always a few days of proper sunshine, when you can picnic in Villa Borghese and Pompeii. When traveling in Rome, the writer seems to believe it is a good idea to _ . Answer: go on a picnic in Villa Borghese or Pompeii in Late February
Nicholas Winton,a British saved 669 children from the Nazis,was awarded the highest civilian honour in the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Winton,now 105,was presented with the Order of the White Lion by the Czech president in a special ceremony at Prague Castle. Winton,who has often been nicknamed "the British Schindler",organised the transportation and settlement of 669 children over nine months before the Second World War broke out in September 1939.Most of those he saved were Jewish children living in then-German occupied Czechoslovakia whose families were later imprisoned or murdered in concentration camps. Winton gave a speech during the ceremony.He said,"I want to thank you all for this enormous expression of thanks for something which happened to me a long time ago.I am delighted that so many of the children are still about and are here to thank me.England was the only country at that time willing to accept unaccompanied _ .I thank the British people for making room to accept them,and of course the enormous help given by so many of the Czechs who were at that time doing what they could to fight the Germans and to try to get the children out.'' In the same ceremony,the Order of the White Lion was also presented to his grandson Nicholas Soames in honor of Sir Winston Churchill.They are the only British citizens to receive the award,after Margaret Thatcher and the Queen.Presenting the award,the Czech President,Milos Zeman said."It is a great pleasure to present this award to two great personalities of the UK.I am only ashamed it has been awarded so late--but better late than never." The passage mainly wants to tell us _ . A Winton was awarded B Winton saved 669 children C what the Order of the White Lion is D Winton felt thankful at the ceremony Answer: A. Winton was awarded This is a picture of a classroom . You can see a teacher's desk, five desks and six chairs. You can see a girl and a boy, too. Four English books are on the teacher's desk. One pencil-case is on a desk. Two pens and two rulers are in the pencil-case. A schoolbag is behind a chair. A ball is on the floor. The girl is Lily. She is 12.The boy is Mike. He is 11.They are in Class 5.They are good friends. Their teacher is Mr. King. He is not here. Who is their teacher? A Mrs Green. B Mrs King. C Miss King. D Mr King. Answer: D. Mr King. I was born into a family of five children. As the youngest child, I didn't have many new clothes. Though my parents worked very hard, we could hardly make ends meet. The only time we would receive new clothes was at Christmas. The family across the street lived a much better life. They just had two daughters and they were often seen wearing new dresses. The younger girl named Anna was of my age. One afternoon, she walked on the street wearing a beautiful white dress. She looked like an angel in that dress. I, together with many little girls, followed her. We just couldn't keep our eyes off her dress. We all wished we would have such a dress one day! That day, after coming back, I told my mom that I wanted a dress like that. My mom frowned she thought such a beautiful dress like that must cost an arm and a leg, but my mom kept that in mind. She worked five days a week at that time, but when Christmas was getting close, she worked even on every Saturday. However, several days before Christmas, I changed my mind. It was Anna's birthday that day and I was invited to her home with some other girls. After that party, I asked if I could try on her white dress. "Of course," she said, "and you can take it if you like it." I couldn't believe my ears. How could she give such a beautiful dress to someone else? After trying it on, I knew why. The dress looked beautiful, but it was uncomfortable to wear. As a matter of fact, my back was quite itchy after I put it on. From that day on, I stopped admiring what others had. They may not be as good aswe think. The writer's mother started working on very Saturday because she _ . A wanted to buy a new dress for herself B had to buy all her children expensive gifts C prepared herself for the busiest Christmas. D wanted to buy the dress the writer wanted Answer: D. wanted to buy the dress the writer wanted Everyone would like to be a millionaire but can you imagine having over $30 million and only being 20 years old? Britney Spears from Kentwood, a small town in Louisiana, is only 20 years old; she is an international pop superstar with not only $30 million but also a $2 million house in LA. At her young age, she can look after her family financially all her life. This year is a big year for Britney. She is currently on a 31 day tour of the US and every concert is a sell-out. That means she plays in front of a crowd of around 18,000 every time. It's tiring schedule but brings great rewards. When touring, she goes to bed around l a.m. and then has a lie-in until l p.m. or 2 p.m. the next day. Her philosophy is to take care of the body and relax but always make sure you work hard and have fun. Spears is not satisfied with only touring and selling nearly 40 million records, so she decided to branch out into the movie business and try a bit of acting. She made an appearance in " Austin Powers 3" this year and she is filming a teenage comedy that will be released in March 2003. In this movie, she has a starring role. The movie was her own concept and she picked the writer. For Britney, acting is another way to express herself and she is enthusiastic about it all. If her movies are successful, her bank account is sure to grow by another few million dollars but she has been quoted as saying she does it for the love, not the money. Which of the following is not true according to the text ? A Though young, Britney can support her family now. B While touring, Britney sleeps about 12 hours a day. C Britney will be even richer with her movies successful. D The teenage comedy movie was based on Britney's own story. Answer: D. The teenage comedy movie was based on Britney's own story. Dear Malia and Sasha, I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this _ When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me--about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential--schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college--even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity. I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other. Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country--but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free--that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility. That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something. She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better--and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be. I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much--although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential. These are the things I want for you--to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure. I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House. Love, Dad According to the letter, which of the following is NOT true? A The writer and his two daughters had been apart for a long time. B The writer hoped that his daughters would live up to his great expectations. C The only way to settle the differences in the world is through violence. D There still exist some divides of race and region, gender and religion somewhere in the world. Answer: C. The only way to settle the differences in the world is through violence.
You may picture firefighters holding a hose outside of a burning building, but the Golden Eagles Hotshots don't fight fires quite that way. When they go into action, you may not even see a fire truck. The Hotshots are firefighters who battle fires in wildness areas. But don't think you'll only find them in their home state California. Wherever there is a national wildfire emergency, the Golden Eagles Hotshots could be there. But these firefighters don't work the same way as firefighters in a big city. They work in areas where there are a large number of trees, bushes, and grass. They climb up and down steep hills to clear brush and burnable debris . They sometimes use water, but they often fight fire with fire! They do that by lighting what are called "backfires," which are small, controlled fires that burn up fuel in the path of large wildfires. That way, when the wildfire gets there, it has nothing to burn and nowhere to go, because all the burnable fuel has already gone up in smoke. The Hotshots also clear away fuel using old-fashioned hard work. For example, they use a saw to cut away trees and heavy brush that could catch fire. Of course there are times when the Golden Eagles Hotshots do have trucks to supply water to the fires. But the water is limited, and these guys have to rely on hard work more than anything. Physical fitness is very important. They have to be in great physical shape to handle steep hills and difficult terrain while carrying a 60-pound pack. The Golden Eagles Hotshots definitely work hard for their pay. But thanks to their efforts, many lives have been saved, many houses have not burned, and countless trees are still standing. 68. According to the passage, why do the firefighters light "backfires"? A To signal for help. B To remove obstacles. C To protect trees and bushes. D To prevent the fire from spreading. Answer: D Fatimah Bamun dropped out of Balizenda Primary School in the first grade, when her father refused to buy her pencils and paper. Only after her teachers said to him that his daughter showed unusual promise did he change his mind. Today, Fatimah, 14, tall and slender, studies math in a dirt-floored fourth-grade classroom. Whether she will reach the fifth grade is another matter. Fatimah is facing the realities of a school with no toilet, no water, no hope of privacy other than the shadow of a bush, and no girlfriends with whom to share feelings. Fatimah is the only girl of the 23 students in her class. In fact, in a school of 178 students, she is one of the only three girls who have made it past the third grade. "I have no friend in the class," she said. "Most of my friends have dropped out to get married. So during the break, I just sit in the classroom and read." Her father, however, now says he is fully behind her. "The people from the government are all the time telling us to send our daughters to school, and I am listening to these people," he said. But in many cases, parents don't listen. Parents think that if the girls stay home, they can help with the harvesting, fetch the water and collect the firewood. So they take them out of school. In a region where poverty, tradition and ignorance make about 24 million girls not even have an elementary school education. There are many other barriers that prevent girls going to school, such as the lack of school toilets and water. The issue is not only equality. The World Bank thinks that if women in sub-Saharan Africa had equal education, land and other wealth, the region's economy could improve greatly. There is a connection between growth in Africa and sex equality. It is of great importance but still ignored by so many people. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A most African girls are treated equally in society B African governments don't care whether girls go to school or not C most African girls would rather get married than go to school D African girls can't enjoy equal chances for education Answer: D September can be a depressing month. The summer holidays are over, it's time to go back to work or school and Christmas is four months away. However, for some people it's the perfect time to get away. These days more and more people are taking their holidays late in the year and for good reasons. Holidays in autumn can be cheaper, the resorts are less crowded and the weather isn't as extreme as it is in the summer. So, where are the best places to go? Here are our top tips. Sardinia (in Italy) has an average temperature of 27degC in September. It also has "Autunno in Barbagia" (Autumn in Barbagia) a series of festivals that take place in 27 villages in Barbagia, a mountainous region of inland Sardinia. The festivals continue from September to December, so there's always something happening. There are street markets, craft workshops and there's lots of eating and drinking (This is Italy, after all). Dubrovnik Croatia has become very popular in summer but it's quieter and more pleasant once the crowds have left. The weather is still warm but less humid. You can take a ferry to the popular beaches on the islands of Sunj and enjoy it with locals. Dahab Egypt, is extremely hot in the summer with temperatures up to 38degC. However, the autumn is cooler while the sea is still warm. This makes Dahab the perfect place for snorkeling and windsurfing. There are also interesting historical sites to visit such as the Coloured Canyon, with its dramatic rock formations, and St Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai. Kas is a relaxed fishing village on the Lycian coast in southern Turkey. There are plenty of things to do and the temperature has dropped (so you can actually enjoy doing them!) Kas is a good place to stay if you want to walk part of the Lycian way: a long-distance footpath that stretches for 500km from Fethiye to Antalya through the ancient land of Lycia. There are also watersports, of course. The best time to go diving is supposed to be after the first rains of autumn (usually between late September and early October) when the fish become most active. Marrakech Morocco is another good destination. The city itself is a fascinating place to spend a few days. When you have had enough of that, go to Tigmi, a beautiful hill town about 20 kilometers away. There's a hammam (a Turkish bath) and a large heated pool, which makes it the perfect place to relax. Wherever you go this autumn - have fun! For someone who enjoys walking, _ is the best choice. A Kas B Marrakech C Dahab D Dubrovnik Answer: A It is autumn, and the Indians ask their new chief what the weather is going to be like this winter. The chief looks at the sky and says it's usually cold, and he tells the villagers to collect wood for the winter. As a good chief, he goes to call the weatherman and asks, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold," the weatherman answers. So the chief goes back to his people and tells them to collect more food. A week later he calls the weatherman again. "Is it going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the weatherman answers again. "It's going to be a very cold winter." The chief again goes back to his people and tells them to collect every piece of wood they can find. Two weeks later he calls the weatherman again. "Are you sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Yes," the weatherman answers again. "It's going to be very very cold." "Why are you so sure?" asks the chief. The weatherman answers, "Because the Indians are collecting wood !" Which of the following is TRUE? A The chief is sure that the winter isn't going to be very cold at first. B Nobody knows what the weather is going to be like. C The villagers are going to build houses with the wood. D The weatherman knows the weather is going to be cold. Answer: B My name is Joan. I'm a student. I'm fifteen. My dad and mom are teachers. I have a sister. Her name is Lily. She is sixteen.She is a student,too.We are from Canada, but we are in Beijing now. Look! The man in a white coat is my dad. The woman in a red dress is my mom.The girl in a pink skirt is Lily and I'm in a yellow skirt. Are we cool? ,. Joan is _ . A a teacher B 14 C a student D an actor Answer: C
Peter is an American boy from New York. He is tall and he has a good look. He has a big nose and big blue eyes. His hair is brown. He is in a red T-shirt, white pants and blue shoes. He is very cool. He likes basketball , too. He knows NBA stars. He says ,"Yao Ming is cool!"We are good friends. Who is Yao Ming? A. He is Peter's friend. B. He is a teacher. C. He is a NBA star. D. He is a student. Answer: C Jim: Let's play volleyball, OK? Tony: Sorry, I don't have a volleyball. But I have a basketball. Jim: I don't want to play basketball. I only want to play volleyball. Tony: Who has a volleyball? Do you know? Jim: Maybe Tom has one. Let's go and ask him. (Say to Tom.) Hi, Tom! Do you have a volleyball? Tom: No. I don't. Does Peter have one? Tony: Oh, yes, he does. Tom: Hi, Peter! Do you have a volleyball? Peter: Yes, I do. But it is at home. Tom: Sorry to hear that! Tony: Well, let's play basketball. OK? Jim: OK! Tom: Peter, please join us. Peter: OK! Let's play! ,. Does Tony have a basketball? A. Yes, he does. B. No. he doesn't. C. Yes, he is. D. No, he isn't. Answer: A 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. When did Patti decide to break the world's long-distance running record for women? A. After she ran with her father for a few weeks. B. After she completed her run to San Francisco C. When she knew she was a epileptic, D. When she was in her second year in college. Answer: A Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. "Football, tennis, cricket -- anything with a round ball, I was useless," he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England. It was a mountain bike he received for his 15thbirthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon. The following year he met John Ridgway and started to work as a teacher at Ridgway's school of adventure in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway's cold--waterexploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures; he decided that this would be his future. In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long--distance expedition towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains. Saunders has become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he's skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change. What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders? A. He is a success in sports. B. He is the youngest British skier. C. He is Ridgway's best student. D. He is a good teacher at school. Answer: A There is a special kind of hotel in Quebec, Canada. It has a bar, a church, a shop and a small theater. These things are not unusual. But this hotel is only open from January till March every year. Why? Because it is made of ice and snow! When the weather gets warm, the hotel melts and closes. Every winter, the hotel owners build the hotel again. Everything in the Ice Hotel is made of ice and snow. All the furniture, such as the tables and chairs, is made of ice. Even the beds are made of ice! So people use special sleeping bags on the ice beds. Inside the ice hotel, the temperature is about 27degF(-3degC) When people sleep, the sleeping bags keep them warm. In the morning, they can have a hot breakfast. After breakfast, people can enjoy winter activities. They can go skiing or ice fishing. Or they can go skating in the dining room. At the end of the day, people can relax at the bar. They can have drinks in glasses made of ice. Many people enjoy the Ice Hotel every year. But they can only enjoy it for a short time before it melts again. People can go _ in the dining room after breakfast. A. skiing. B. skating. C. fishing D. swimming Answer: B
Celebrated in the city of Munich, Germany, the Oktoberfest, as it is popularly called, is a 3-week festival that takes place in the months of September and October. Also called the largest beer festival in the world, the Oktoberfest gathers about 6 million visitors worldwide every year. Seeing the popularity of the festival, many countries around the world have adapted to what they call their own version of the Oktoberfest. So if you are not able to make it to Germany, you can always enjoy the festival in the areas mentioned below. Don't miss out on it! Brazil: welcome to the German town of Blumenau in Brazil. Well, we are not talking about Germans living in the town, but the place was originally founded by immigrants from Germany in the year 1850. The town is built in a traditional German style and there are a fair number of people who still live the way it used to be in good old days. The Oktoberfest is celebrated in a small village called Parque Vila Germanica between the dates of October 1stto October 18th. Guests can enjoy the festival in addition to exploring the town and its sites which include a beer museum. Vietnam: celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City since 1992, the Oktoberfest event over here is conducted between the 6thand the 11thof October and the decorations are like the original festival in Munich, with large wooden tables lined with beer. The Philippines: unlike the original Oktoberfest which is celebrated in a certain area, the Oktoberfest in the Philippines is a recent addition to the already existing festival which takes place between the 4thof September and the 9thof October. Now the event is set to be celebrated in a total of 30 parties in various cities around the country. Canada: over 700,000 guests (second highest after Munich) in and around Canada take part in the Oktoberfest celebrated in Ontario between the 9thand the 17thof October. In which place does the Oktoberfest take place from September to October? A In Blumenau. B In Ontario. C In Ho Chi Minh City. D In Munich. Answer: D. In Munich. Students learn many subjects at school, like Chinese, English, math and physics. Some students think it's hard to do well in math. They say it's boring. Why do they say this? First, some math problems are so hard for them. They spend a lot of time on them, but they can't work them out, so they lost heart . Second, they are afraid( ) to ask their teachers for help. They think the teachers will laugh at them. Third, they think math class is very tiring because they need to use their brain to find out the answers all the time. How can you do well in math? Here is some advice from a math teacher: 1. Listen to the teacher carefully in class and do some extra exercises after class. 2. Ask the teacher for help if you don't understand anything. Don't be afraid. 3. Don't forget to go over your old lessons. If you do these things, you will find it much easier to do better in math. Doing _ math problem can make students lose heart. A easy B difficult C many D few Answer: B. difficult A storm ravages a town for a week straight, complete with deluges of rain. If someone in that town needs a source of water, it is A everywhere B missing C in short supply D rare Answer: A. everywhere When she graduates from Columbia University next year with a master's degree in Public health, Eric Wheeler is hoping to get a job in international reproductive health. The 26-year-old post-graduate has always wanted to work in public service. But public service doesn't pay much, and her two-year program at Columbia costs about $50,000 a year with living expenses. She has a scholarship from Columbia that covers just $4,000 a year and has taken out loans to pay for the rest. She worries that she will spend years paying back her student loans and not have money left over to put away in an IRA. Wheeler is wondering what she can do to ease the pain of being in debt. Is there anything she can do to handle the debt? The good news is that in 2007, Congress recognized that there were so many students in Wheeler's position that it passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. There were two programs established by this act that Wheeler should look into. The first is the income-based repayment plan, which allows lower-income graduates with a lot of debt to reduce their monthly payments. Depending on a graduate's income and level of debt, the program, which goes into effect July 1, could limit his or her annual educational loan debt repayment to 15 percent of discretionary income ,said Peter Mazareas, vice charman of the College Saving Foundation. The second is the public service loan forgiveness plan, in which the federal government will forgive the remaining debt of borrowers who make 10-year loan payment while working full time in public-service jobs. But the graduate must have a certain loan which is listed in the plan. Depending on the level of debt Wheeler ends up with and how much she repays over 10 years, Mazareas said she could end up with about $75,000 of her debt forgiven. " Tipically, it is projected that a borrower who performs public service under this program will repay only about one-fourth to one-half as much money as a borrower who does not", he said. He also pointed out that public service is broadly defined and includes any government and nonprofit organization job. How can people benefit from the first plan mentioned in the passage? A The interest of the debt will be lowered. B The total amount of debt could be reduced. C The income tax will be cut down. D People will have more time to pay back the debt. Answer: D. People will have more time to pay back the debt. In today's world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people's health. However, not all the persons know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and that is harmful to human health, too. People who work and live under noisy conditions 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 people, for these young people like to listen to "pop" music and most of "pop" music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet planes or machines will make people's life difficult and unpleasant, or even make people ill or even drive them mad . It is said that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness. Nowadays the government in many countries have made laws to reduce or control noise and make it less than 85 decibels. In China, the people's government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also noise pollution problem. Recently many teenagers could hear even worse than 65-year-old people in America, because _ . A they are too young to hear anything clearly B their ears are still too small C they haven't trained their hearing D they listen to "pop" music too much Answer: D. they listen to "pop" music too much
When we walk through the city, we all experience a kind of information overload but we pay attention only to those that are important to us. We don't stop, we keep our faces expressionless and eyes straight ahead, and in doing so, we are not just protecting ourselves but are avoiding overloading other people as well. We make use of stereotypes as convenient ways to make quick judgments about situations and people around us. They may not always be accurate, and they can often be dangerously wrong, but they are used regularly. The problem with the stereotypes is that they restrict experience. By using limited clues to provide us with a rapid opinion of other people or places we may choose to limit our communication. We may decide not to go to certain places because we believe they will not offer something we enjoy. In the city, styles of dress are particularly important with regard to self-presentation. Different groups often use clearly identifiable styles of clothes so that they can be easily recognized. It is becoming increasingly common for brand names to be placed on the outside of clothes, and this labeling makes it easy to send out information about fashion and price instantly, and lets other tell at a distance whether an individual has similar tastes and is a suitable person to associate with. In England, where social grouping or class continues to make social distinctions, clothes, hairstyles, people's pronunciation and the manner of speaking are all clues to our social group. Class distinctions tend to be relatively fixed, although in the city where greater variety is permitted, they are more likely to be secondary determining factors of friendship and association. People walking in cities ignore the surroundings because _ . A. they do not wish to talk to other people B. everyone else is expressionless C. the environment is already familiar to them D. there is too much information to get Answer: D Visitor's Guide KL HOP-ON HOP-OFF gives you an easy city tour that has 22 stops, which cover more than 40 attractions. All buses are equipped with 9 different languages to choose from and a friendly customer service officer will help you on the bus. KL HOP-ON HOP-OFF City Tour offers you a convenient way to discover Kuala Lumpur where tourists can either stay on the bus for the full tour circuit , or get on or get off at any of the attractions. 2. The interval between buses is around 20 to 30 minutes. 3. We operate 365 days per year including school holidays and public holidays. 4. Tickets can be bought from the bus itself, authorized agents, authorized hotels and KL Hop-On Hop-Off counters. 5. Our counters are located at Jalan Bukit Bintang (main counter at stop number 6), Malaysian Tourism Centre at Jalan Ampang, at KL Sentral (arrival hall) and at Central Market. 6. We have 24-hour and 48-hour tickets to choose from. 7. Children below 5 years old do not have to pay any fees. 8. A child below the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. 9. The Do's & Don'ts: * No littering on the bus * No food and drink allowed inside the bus * Visitors are not allowed to exchange tickets * Visitors are welcome to take pictures * Please use electronic devices with care * No smoking allowed 10. Advice: * Please avoid changing from one bus to another on during peak hours usually from 4 PM to 6 PM. During that time you could take a rest and walk around the attractions. * The weather is unpredictable in Kuala Lumpur. Delays may occur because of bad weather. * Please buy _ only from authorized agents. Ticket Ticket Type: STANDARD ADULT TICKET Price: RM45.00 Validity: 24 Hours Price: RM79.00 Validity: 48 Hours Ticket Type: CHILD, STUDENT & DISABLE TICKET Price: RM24.00 Validity: 24 Hours Price: RM43.00 Validity: 48 Hours For 5 to 12 years old following is NOT allowed on the KL HOP-ON HOP-OFF buses? A. Taking the buses at rush hour or in bad weather. B. Exchanging tickets with other passengers. C. Using a personal electronic device on the bus. D. Taking a pet with you. Answer: B One day Mr Smith went to a dinner party. He was wearing very old clothes. He came into the room, but people in the room didn't look at him. They didn't ask him to sit at the table. He wasn't happy. But he said nothing.Mr Smith went home quickly and put on his best clothes. He went back to the party. Everyone in the room stood up and looked at him. They gave him good food to eat.Mr Smith took off his coat, and put it on the food and said, "Eat, coat!" The other people were and asked, "What are you doing? Why do you do that?"Mr Smith answered, "I am asking my coat to eat food. When I wore old clothes, you didn't look at me. You didn't ask me to sit down. Now I am wearing these nice clothes. And you give me good food. Now see, you give the food to my coat, not to me." Which statement is right? A. A person in good clothes should eat good food B. A good coat should eat good food. C. We can't judge a man by his clothes. D. Mr Smith is stupid . Answer: C Teenagers are often a difficult group. With all those hormones flooding their bodies, they can be moody, unpredictable, and tend to make uncertain choices. But however confusing their teenage years are, kids can still be generally happy, depending on their lifestyle choices. According to a new research by British scientists, teens who don't smoke, drink only moderately or not at all, and who don't eat much junk food are likely to be happier than other teens. The study looked at 40,000 British families and came up with some interesting findings. For example, kids who never drank alcohol were up to six times more likely to report higher levels of happiness than kids who drank. And teens who smoked were five times less likely to rate high on happiness charts compared to kids who don't smoke. Same goes for diet and physical activity. The more fruits and vegetables kids eat, and the more hours they spend playing sports, the happier they are. Now, of course this doesn't mean that not smoking or drinking, and playing sports guarantees happiness. It could be that kids who have happy character tend to be more active and less addicted to drinking or smoking. And it could equally be the case that kids who are unhappy are more related to drinking and smoking and eating junk food. Other studies have shown that exercise is a proven way to treat anxiety and depression. Future studies may support the idea that other healthful behaviors, including refraining from smoking, drinking, and eating too much junk, can avoid sadness and increase happiness, too. What can we learn from the text? A. Not smoking or drinking guarantees happiness. B. Teens with flooding hormones can not be happy. C. Playing sports can decrease teen's unhappiness. D. Unhappiness can certainly result in smoking and drinking. Answer: C It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible.Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel.It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter altogether. Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too.It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving.On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting.A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and calm so necessary in modern traffic condition.But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough.Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it. However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous.Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may be not able to stop in time.The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.It always amazes me that the highways are not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies . An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings.Unfortunately, modern drivers can't even learn to drive.Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more _ from all road users.It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart. In the writer's opinion, _ . A. drivers should show road politeness properly. B. strict traffic rules are badly needed C. unskillful drivers should be punished D. drivers should avoid traffic jams Answer: A
Zall, a resident of the state of Paxico, brought suit in federal district court against Motors, Inc., a Paxico corporation. Zall seeks recovery of $12,000 actual and $12,000 punitive damages arising from Motors's sale to him of a defective automobile. Zall's suit is based only on a common law contract theory. From a constitutional standpoint, should the federal district court hear this suit on its merits? A. Yes, because Article III vests federal courts with jurisdiction over cases involving the obligation of contracts. B. Yes, because it is an action affecting interstate commerce. C. No, because this suit is not within the jurisdiction of an Article III court. D. No, because there is no case or controversy within the meaning of Article III Answer: C Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired .The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields. Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It's the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple. Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of farmers .They talk about love, crops or death. The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records. When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America. John Denver was one of America's most famous country singers in the 1970s.His song "Take Me home, Country Roads" is well-known and people still play it today. Who is famous for the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads"? A. A farmer in the countryside B. A person who moved to towns C. John Denver D. John Denver's brother Answer: C People who show confidence really seem to have it made. They seize more rewarding careers, keep good relationships, and just seem to do everything with more styles than the rest of us. So what is the secret? There isn't one. Self-confidence is a skill and habit that anyone can learn to develop. And although people who are raised in an encouraging environment with confident role models have a hard start in self-confidence development, we all can learn to become more confident at any age. Try these simple tips for practising and increasing your self-confidence levels: Dare to fail. Anybody who's out there bravely performing is going to fail repeatedly. If you are not failing, you are not trying. So don't take failure too hard or too personally. Just learn to deal with it and use its lessons to keep improving. When in doubt, pretend you know what you are doing. Because, if you are confident of your abilities, by the time you have done it, you will be experienced. Dress for success. You don't have to be beautiful to be confident. Make the most of your own unique physical characters and weaken your disadvantages. Listen to yourself. You are the only person who knows what's right for you. Don't put others' opinions above your own inner voice. Build a confident vocabulary. Stop putting yourself down and give up continually blaming your tiny weaknesses. Learn to show up your strong points and the world will learn to see and celebrate them with you. Pass on the praise. Praise others for their virtues and strengths. This practice will not decrease your confidence, but help increase it. All the following are tips to increase your self-confidence level EXCEPT _ . A. not to be afraid of failure B. dress yourself properly C. pretend to know everything D. make your advantages more obvious Answer: C Two balls rolled down two identical inclined planes. The balls were exactly the same mass and size, but one ball rolled down the inclined plane faster. Identify a possible reason that one ball rolled faster than the other ball. A. One ball was red and the other ball was blue. B. One ball was new and the other ball was old. C. One ball was shiny and the other ball was dull. D. One ball was sticky and the other ball was smooth. Answer: D cooking food requires adding what? A. frozen water B. scorching power C. coldness D. air Answer: B
Americans are buying more products and services than ever before through the Internet, and the popularity of online sales is likely to spread to other countries. Online sales now represent as much as one-tenth of all retail sales in the United States,which has led traditional stores to seek new ways to keep their customers loyal. Lynne Shaner used the Internet to buy everything she needed for her wedding and holiday gifts for her husband. Other than food, 90 percent of her purchases were made on her home computer. "I find that, by being able to go online and _ the things that I need to select and have them delivered to me right at my doorstep, I'm free from all the driving, all the crowds, all the noise, and I usually get a better selection." There are a lot of people like her. Experts say American online shopping hit records in both November and December. Fifty-seven percent of Americans have bought something electronically. Store owners worry that this growing amount of online sales will hurt their business. Cornell University marketing professor Ed McLaughlin says, "They should be worried. Anything that can move online will be sold online. And it's just a matter of time. However, traditional stores can keep their customers by selling goods like clothing, which buyers may want to see and try on before purchasing. The stores could also offer things that are difficult to ship. " Bill Martin, whose business helps stores learn about their customers, says, "Traditional stores offer a social experience that some people enjoy. There is still a lot of emotion in the buying decision that takes place, and you can't always get that on-line. It's a rather cold process. Traditional stores can provide goods for buyers more quickly than online stores. And some retailers are using websites to persuade people to visit their stores. " While online shopping worries some business owners, the only worry for delivery services like FedEx and UPS is keeping up with the number of packages. UPS Manager Dana Kline says her company is very busy at this time of year. UPS is so busy that it has filled 55,000 temporary worker positions during the holiday season. From the passage we can infer _ . Answer: delivery services are facing more and more pressure from online sales As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more. Lewis and his co-worker carried out their study by videotaping the families while they are having ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger,conversation gives way to the parents' efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. "In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children's IQ scores,"Lewis says. " And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is. " The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings . Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. " _ "says Lewis. When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner,chances are for the middle child. "There is, however,one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: "When the TV is on,"Lewis says, "dinner is a non-event ". Lewis' research provides an answer to the question _ . Answer: why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life TOKYO--Lonely astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) may soon be getting a robot friend from Japan. Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid robot on the ISS to watch the work while astronauts are asleep, monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to Earth through the microblogging site Twitter. Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter--primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas --and provide astronauts with "comfort and companionship". Following up on US NASA's "Robonaut" R2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese robot would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement. Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics and has a rapidly aging society with one of the world's longest life expectancies. Improving robot communication capabilities could help elderly people on Earth by providing a nonintrusive means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality, JAXA said. "We are thinking in terms of a very humanlike robot that would have facial expressions and be able to talk with the astronauts," said JAXA's Satoshi Sano. The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and a team at Tokyo University. The NASA project has a humanlike head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The "Robonaut" called R2 is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab. NASA says it hopes that humanoid robots could one day stand in for astronauts during spacewalks or perform tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans. For now, the $2.5 million NASA robot is limited to activities within the lab. According to the passage, a humanoid robot, put on the ISS, shall carry out the tasks except _ . Answer: get a friend for astronauts from Japan Your mom's garden she worked hard on in the Spring will eventually lose its green in the Winter because flowers need certain temperatures to survive. In the winter, they will all Answer: perish Dear Mom and Dad , I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you . I have been very naughty and the school master is very angry with me . She is going to write to you . You must come and take me away from here . She does not want me in the school any longer . The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed . As I was smoking , I heard footsteps coming towards the room .I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking , so I threw the cigarette away . Unfortunately , the cigarette fell into the waste--paper basket . It caught fire . There was a curtain near the waste --paper basket . It caught fire ,too . Soon the whole room was burning . The master phoned the fire brigade . The school is a long way from the town and before the fire brigade arrived , the whole school was on fire . The master said that the fire was all my fault and I must pay for the damage . She will send you a bill for about a million dollars . I'm very sorry for this . Much love Sarah Why was the school master angry with him? Answer: because he caused a big fire
The oldest and most common source of renewable energy known to man, biomass is one of the most important forms energy production in the United States and elsewhere. Since such a wide variety of biomass materials is everywhere --- from trees and grasses to agricultural and city --- life wastes ---biomass promises to play a continuing role in providing power and heat for millions of people around the world. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists(UCS), biomass is a kind of renewable energy source that produces no carbon dioxide , because the energy it contains comes from the sun. When plant matter is burned, it gives off the sun's energy. In this way, biomass serves as a sort of natural battery for storing the sun's energy. As long as biomass is produced continuously ---with only as much grown as is used-- the "battery" lasts forever. According to the Energy Information Administration, biomass has been one of the leading renewable energy sources in the United States for several years running through 2007, making up between 0.5 and 0.9 percent of the nation's total electricity supply. In 2008---although the numbers aren't all in yet---wind power probably took over first place because of the rapid development of wind farms across the country. Producing power from biomass helps reduce some 11 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. Some homeowners also try to make their own heat by using biomass materials. Such practice may save homeowner's money, but it also produces a lot of pollution. So, the best way is to encourage power plants to use it. We learn from the text that in 2008 _ . Wind power would be the leader of renewable energy. If you are lucky enough, you may find the hummingbird , the smallest bird of the animal world, in a south American forest. Though the hummingbird is no bigger than a bee and weighs only 2 to 3 grams, it can fly as fast as 50 meters in a second. It can fly forwards as most birds do, and it can fly backwards as well. The strangest thing about it, however, is that it can stay still in the air, just like a _ . Whenever a hummingbird needs food, it will fly slowly towards a flower. It won't stand on the flower, as bees do, but just hangs to the flower and then begins to sunk the honey from inside the flower with its needle-like beak. The hummingbird is very particular in building its nest . It takes great trouble to choose materials. It likes soft ones better than hard ones. Its eggs are so small that a common match box can hold as many as one hundred of them. Which of the sentences is NOT true? A hummingbird will fly quickly towards a flower when it's hungry. A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty. Before the trip, I'd had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. "You from New Orleans?" she asked. I said I was, "No charge." She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened. As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We'd began to accept that we'd have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kemmedy in California. He'd read some pieces I'd written about our sufferings for state, the online magazine and wanted to give us ("no conditions attached") a new house across the lake from New Orleans. It sounded a good to her return, but I replied, thinking him for his exceptional generosity, then we to go back. Then the University of Florida offered to let him house to me. While he want to England on his one year, paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet's offer to James Kemdedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months. Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It's almost worth losing you wordy possessions to be reminded that people really when given had a channel. It can be inferred from the text that_. the author's family was in financial difficulty BELT FAJAR, West Bank - of Khalil Taqataqah's nine children, 20-year-old Andaleeb was his favorite. She was up early on Friday, made him tea and then slipped unnoticed out of the modest family home in this West Bank village. In centralprefix = st1 /Jerusalemlater in the day, Andaleeb ended her life the way dozens of other Palestinians did before: She blew herself up, killing herself and six Israelis and injured scores more. Andaleeb's parents, sisters, best friends and close s painted a picture of a quiet and soft-spoken woman who had not given a hint of her intentions. But Andaleeb spoke of her plan in a video taken before Friday's bombing and shown on Saturday on the Qatar-based Arab satellite TV channel AI-Jazeera. "I've chosen to say with my body what Arab's leaders have failed to say." Said Andaleeb, repeating a frequent complaint by Palestinians that Arab nations are not doing enough againstIsrael. "My body is a barrel of gunpowder that burns the enemy." she said, reading from a piece of paper. "She was like any other girl of her age. She spoke about love and marriage. I am so sad she's gone. It's the shock of my life." said her best friend and coworker Laila Mahmoud. A school dropout, Andaleeb had supported her family from a job at a Palestinian-owned textile factory in the nearby town ofBelt Jala. She had not reported for work for nearly three weeks because of repeated closures of West Bank roads by the Israeli army, according to her s. "Anyone in her place would have been out of control. It's her destiny and it's a source of pride and glory for us that she did what she could." said her aunt, Jameela Taqataqah as she held back tears. Andaleeb, the third Palestinian woman to commit a suicide murder this year, wore blue jeans and a matching checkered shirt when she had a photograph taken two months ago. Andaleeb, her parents' fourth child, looked more than 20 in the photograph. Andaleeb's parents said they learned of their daughter's death early this morning when Israeli troops arrived and asked everyone to step out while they searched the house. "They arrested one of her brothers and a male cousin who lives next door." said the parents. How many Palestinian women had committed suicide-murders so far? 3 The average temperature around the world is rising. People living in the US Midwest might find this fact hard to believe, though. Two new studies show that in America's heartland, summers are now cooler and wetter than they were in years past. The scientists suggest that the change in the Midwest climate may have happened because of farming. The first study was led by David Changnon, a climatologist at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. A climatologist studies the climate of an area, which includes measuring rainfall, temperature and wind. Climatologists want to know how these factors have changed in the past, and how they'll change in the future. Changnon and his team studied temperature records from Chicago and 13 other sites in the Midwest. "These two changes--lower temperatures and more rainfall--may be connected by humidity," Changnon says. Humidity is the measure of how much moisture is in the air. Humid air, which contains a lot of moisture, takes longer to heat up than dry air. So where did the extra _ in the air come from? Changnon points to farms in the region. As plants grow, they pull moisture from the ground and release it into the air. And among plants, soybean and corn plants release a lot of moisture. Midwestern farms now plant more soybeans and corn than in the past, with 97 percent of farmland today planted with these two crops. He also notes that the plants are planted closer together now than they used to be, so there are more plants per acre than in the past. The second study was led by famous scientists from the US. The researchers studied a vast area of the United States that stretches from South DaKota to Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. They found that in 1930, farmers in that region irrigated only about 1.8 million acres of farmland, an amount roughly half the size of Connecticut. In 1980, however, farmers irrigated nearly 15 million acres--more land than Vermont and New Hampshire combined. The best title for the article is _ . Why Climate in Midwest Is Changing
Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare at the television--they are actually learning about the world, U. S. researchers said. Parents may want to limit what their babies see on television, based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tuffs University in Boston, who led the research. "Children as young as 12 months are making decisions based on the emotional reactions of adults around them," Mumme said in a statement. "It turns out they can also use emotional information they pick up from television." Mumme's team already knew that babies watch other children and adults for information about the world. A mother urging her baby to eat some "yummy" soup or a brother crying in fear when a dog approaches can influence a baby's reaction. Mumme's team tested babies to determine if television has the same influence, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as red letter holder, a blue ball, and a yellow lubber. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos, but the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted naturally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the babies would avoid the object. Which of the following is Mumme's conclusion? Answer: One-year-olds can be emotionally influenced by TV programs. This is Jim. He is thirteen. He is from the USA. He is a student. He has a good friend. His name is Jack. Jack is fifteen. He is from Canada. Jack is tall but Jim is short. They are in the same class, but they are in different grades. Jim is in Class Two. Jack is in Class Two, too. They go to school at seven in the morning and go home at six in the afternoon. ,. Jim and Jack are _ . Answer: from different countries Digital technology -- email and smart phones especially -- have vastly improved workers' ability to be productive outside of a traditional office. Even so, most white-collar work still happens in an office. One reason is that, according to findings of a new survey of office workers conducted by Wakefield Research for the IT company Citrix, most bosses are doubtful about remote working. Half of the workers say their boss doesn't accept it and only 35 percent say it's tolerated. Skeptical bosses will likely have their doubts reinforced by the same survey, which shows that 43 percent of workers say they've watched TV or a movie while "working" remotely, while 35 percent have done housework,and 28 percent have cooked dinner. It is true, however,that working at home makes people much more efficient , because it allows workers to take care of annoying housework while still getting their jobs done. It's much faster, for example, to shop for groceries at a quarter to three than to stand in line during the after-work rush. The fact that such practices remain officially unaccepted reflects how far we haven't come as a society from the days when we expected every full-time worker to be supported by a full-time homemaker. More broadly the Wakefield survey suggests that employers may be missing a low-cost way to give workers something of value. Sixty-four percent of those survey participants who have worked remotely would rather give up some bonus in order to get even one day a week working from home. Under such circumstances, smart firms need to find ways to let their employees have enough flexibility to manage their time efficiently. What does the author suggest smart firms do? Answer: Adopt flexible work patterns. While football fans feel strongly angry and shocked about mistakes made by referees because they cannot see clearly what has happened, a small German company is quietly pleased. For Carlos Technologies, mistakes made by referees are the kind of advertising that money cannot buy. The company has developed a tiny chip that fits inside a football and determines whether the ball has crossed the goal line, by being able to discover its exact location on the field. The world football organization, FIFA, has shown interest in the technology. It is very possible that the new technology will be used in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. "We've been testing the technology at the main soccer stadium in Nuremberg for some time and more recently in an under-17 FIFA Cup in Peru," said Gunter Rohmer, a director of the company. "The technology has performed well, and we're pretty optimistic that it will be used at the games in Russia." The chip only weighs 12 grams, and is placed in the center of the football. It sends 2,000 signals a second to a receiver network of 12 antennas ,placed around the field. The receivers then send information about the ball's location to a central computer, and because it works in real time, it can immediately tell the referee whether a goal has been scored. The chip even can tell when the ball crosses the line in mid-air. Oliver Braun, one of the inventors of the chip, says that feedback from German referees was generally positive. Germany sports-wear giant Adidas is also optimistic about using this kind of chip in other ball sports. FIFA aims to test the technology later this year at another game in Japan before deciding whether or not to introduce it in all 12 stadiums in Russia for next World Cup. Carlos Technologies is pleased because _ . Answer: their new product will have a good market Whether you prefer burning the midnight oil or going to bed early so you can get up at the break of dawn depends on your genes , according to experts. I jump out of bed each morning, eager to start an active day. But I can hear my neighbour's alarm clock ringing non-stop every morning and I doubt he gets to work on time. A lot of noise comes from his flat in the evening. He's happy to stay up watching TV till after midnight, while I go to bed early and try to sleep. Well, it might not be his fault after all. I'm called 'a lark ' and my neighbour 'an owl '. We all have inside 'clocks' in the brain to control all kinds of bodily functions and it is reset every day by light. These inside clocks run to a different schedule in 'larks' and 'owls'. If you have a fast clock, you like to do things early, and if you have a slow clock, you like to do things late. Because we live in a 24/7 world, scientists believe it's important to understand a person's 'chronotype' - the time of the day when they function the best. It could help us lead a healthier life. A US professor has studied sleeping patterns and thinks work times should be changed and made more individual to fit in with our chronotypes. And he has advice for those who can't choose their working hours: "If that's not possible, we should be more careful about light exposure", says the professor. "You should try to go to work not in a covered vehicle but on a bike. The minute the sun sets we should use things that have no blue light, like computer screens and other electronic devices." We can learn from the passage that the author's neighbour _ . Answer: is passive during the day but energetic at night
Question: In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses, etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends. Before they keep them in their houses, they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections so that they won't carry disease. They have special animal food stores, though they can get animal food in almost every kind of store. Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food. When you visit people's houses, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder( ) in their garden. All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and go and nobody animal in Canada. They have a law against an animal happened to get run over by a car, people would be very sad about it. They give their pets injections before keeping them at their houses because _ . A. the pets are sick B. the pets are wild C. they want to stop them from carrying disease D. they want them to sleep on the way home Answer: C Question: In this fast-shifting world, there can be no guarantees attached to any particular job. But there is much that you can do to protect yourself from the change of society, by equipping yourself with the skills to manage your career more effectively. You need to be a career activist. If you lost your main source of income tomorrow, could you find a different source to replace it? The most important thing in protecting yourself now and in the future is ensuring that you have choices. Don't let yourself be held back by a lack of skill development, or fear of change. Some people have been good performers in their own organization but discovered that they are stuck. Because they are so closely related to a particular company or industry, their skills are not readily transferred to other jobs. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. If you limit yourself to one particular area or sector, you limit your opportunity, too. In a global market place, many jobs come and go quickly as changes in the stock market. Today's hottest job may not exist tomorrow. If you love computers, then this work represents a great choice. But don't enter a field just because you think that's where the hot jobs are; even if the job is available, it may not match well with your own skills and abilities. Start with entry of your own strengths and interests, then see where you may match up best in the job market. Some people are afraid of change because _ . A. they have got a hot job B. they have no other better choices C. they have got used to a certain job D. they have no other skills and interests Answer: C Question: The "Thumbs-Up" While Western culture has become used to the thumbs-up as a positive signal (probably coming from World War II pilots using the signal to communicate that they were "good to go" with ground crews), there are cultures where a thumbs-up may land you in trouble. In West Africa, as well as Greece, Italy and Middle East, the thumbs-up is pretty much the biggest insult . Rather more charming is a thumbs-up in Germany and in parts of Japan --they just see it as the hand signal for the number one. The "A-OK" This sign is mainly used by divers to mean "OK"(to prevent being confused with the thumbs-up sign, which means "rise"). Basically the meaning comes out as "great", or "completely fine". However, in a few countries in Europe, people may think you're telling them that you think they're a 'zero'. The "V Sign" The sign comes in two formats: one with the palm faced outwards, and one with the palm inwards. In America they mean the same thing --"victory". However, if the outside of your hand is facing your target, you're giving somebody a long-established insult in Great Britain and many English-speaking countries such as Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. Winston Churchill famously used the "incorrect" version of the V sign during the early years of the war, turning the outside inside later. The V sign is also considered rude in Italy. The "Corna" The corna hand gesture has most recently been adopted by fans of rock and heavy metal music.Nowadays many Americans use the gesture simply to mean "rock on", or in support of the University of Texas in Austin (known as the "Hook'em Horns"). Today it is still popular in Spain, Brazil and Slovakia . Historically, however, the symbol possibly dates back to Ancient Greece. What information can we get from the passage? A. The "V Sign" was first used by Winston Churchill. B. Italians often use the "Thumbs-Up" to praise others. C. You are most likely to see the "Corna" in a heavy metal music concert. D. The "A-OK" and the "Thumbs-Up" have the same meaning to divers. Answer: C Question: An Englishman was once traveling in Italy. One day he went into a small restaurant to order dinner. He understood very little Italian and couldn't read the menu . He knew the word for eggs, and so he ordered eggs. Italy is famous, however, for its mushrooms with eggs. But he did not know the word for mushrooms. The waiter did not speak a word of English and could not help him. At last, the man took out his pocket a pencil and a piece of paper and very carefully drew a picture of a mushroom on the piece of paper. The waiter looked at the picture of the mushroom for a long while. He did not understand very well, but at last he left. He was gone a long time. After about a half hour he returned. But instead of an order of mushroom, he brought the man a large black umbrella. Why did the Englishman go to Italy? A. He went to work in a restaurant. B. He went to buy an umbrella. C. He traveled in Italy. D. He wanted to visit his friends. Answer: C Question: Years ago while lying in my hammock and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence.Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor' s 10 - year - old daughter' s rabbit.For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard.I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast. The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower.Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as "natural caused". Back to the hammock and JD.Within the hour the neighbor' s Volvo palled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage.Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: " D - A - D - D - Y!!!" Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage.Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do. Her father less than calmly shouted, "What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl's rabbit and put it back in its cage?" We can infer that the rabbit _ . A. was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it B. was already dead before the writer saw his dog dragging it C. was in the cage playing with the dog D. was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog Answer: B
They were just grasshoppers . But there were millions of them, which was why dad was so anxious to get rid of them. "They're totally destroying our beans," he told Mom over lunchtime one Saturday. "I've been trying to keep them out of the tomatoes, but I don't know if I can make it." "Isn't there something you can do about them?"Mom asked. She was mostly concerned about the tomatoes. "I think there's a spray or something," Dad said. "I'm going down to the garden center after lunch and see if they have any suggestions." I'm pretty sure that's what he said. But what I heard was, "While I'm gone, why don't you and George come up with your own plan for getting fid of the grasshoppers?" And so that's what we did. It was the summer between fifth and sixth grade, so we were feeling pretty clever and mature. Certainly we knew how to get rid of these grasshoppers. That seemed simple enough. Finally Ron and Don joined us but then, things got a little crazy. Before we knew it we were doing terrible experiments. I won't describe our experiments. Let's just call it "The Adventures of the Marquis de Orkin". Da came home and saw these different deaths. We were laughing, but the laughter quickly turned to silence when we saw the look on my dad's face. "What are you boys doing?" he asked . "We're just sort of helping to get rid of the grasshoppers," I said. "This isn't 'getting rid of grasshoppers,'" Dad said. "This is killing." I was confused. I looked at the insecticide he was carrying. "But aren't you going to kill grasshoppers with that?" I asked. "Yes, because it's something we need to do for the protection of our garden," he said seriously. "But I'm not going to enjoy it." It can be inferred from the text that _ . A. the tomatoes in the garden were badly damaged by grasshoppers B. the father was advised to get rid of grasshoppers with insecticide C. the father asked the author to help catch grasshoppers D. the author's way of treating grasshoppers was interesting Answer: B Can a fish hear fishermen moving along the stream? What are the facts about the ability of a fish to see? Can they tell the difference between colors? The sharp hearing of a fish has been proved by two scientists, who trained a fish to expect its food when it heard the sound of a whistle. And a slight sound two hundred feet away could drive fishes away. That should make fishermen start thinking. One scientist had made experiments to prove fish can recognize different colors such as red, brown, yellow and green. Fish also have an eye for different shapes. One scientist proved this by teaching fish to connect certain patterns with food. He used a small circle and a square. If the fish swam towards the circle, they received food as a reward. If they swam towards the square, they received nothing. The fish learned in time to go to the circle but not to the square. Does this mean that in time fish might learn to leave alone all food on hooks that they have seen often before? Here is something for all fishermen to think about! These facts help to make more believable some of the "believe it or not" stories that have been told about fish. It is clear that fish have sometimes shown their ability to gain knowledge as man does. A good example of what we might call "thinking" by a fish is given by an experience of Dr. Andrew Gage. Fishing over a bridge, he hooked a fish. It struggled and dragged the line two hundred feet away before he stopped it. Then it swam back to the bridge. The clever fish then swam round a pile and, with a sudden push, broke the line. If the story ended there, one could say that the fish had freed itself by chance. However, Gage went on fishing. Below him he could see the fish that had broken loose. After another twenty minutes the fish again seized the food on the hook. This time it did not swim out but swam round one of the piles and again broke the line. Many stories are told of the fish that get away and the clever "old hand" ones that can't be caught. The more often a fish is nearly caught, the more difficult it will be to interest it next time. What's the best title of the passage? A. Fish can hear and see B. How clever is a fish? C. Fish can play tricks D. How scientists help fishermen. Answer: B The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for _ . A. wasting gold B. wasting wrapping paper C. putting the box under the Christmas tree D. bringing the gift to her father Answer: B During cellar respiration I might find myself with A. candy B. natural face water C. magic D. time travel powers Answer: B Bump! Bump! Scratch! Adam opened his eyes and pulled the covers up to his chin. He stared around his room, searching the darkness for the thing that was making those scary sounds. The closet door moved as something banged on it from the inside. "Who's there?" Adam asked in a shaky voice. The closet slowly began to open. Adam jumped out of bed and ran to the closet door, slamming it shut with his palms. He grabbed his desk chair and propped it against the door handle. Then he ran out of his room and down the hall. His brother's door was wide open, and Adam jumped onto David's bed. "Adam?" David asked in an annoyed voice. "What are you doing in here?" Adam caught David's arm. "There's something in my closet!""You probably had a bad dream. Go back to bed." Adam yanked the blankets off the bed. "It wasn't a dream. I was awake, and the closet door started opening by itself!"David sighed. "Fine. But when we don't find anything, you have to promise to leave me alone for the rest of the night."Adam nodded. David reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a flashlight. Then they headed to Adam's room. Adam stopped in the doorway. He could hear something scratching his closet door."Do you hear that?" Adam asked. David nodded. He walked over to Adam's bed and pulled the case off one of the pillows. He opened the pillowcase. "You open the door very slowly, and I'll grab whatever it is." Adam slid the chair to the side and pulled the closet door open a crack. Something banged against the door, trying to force it open. Adam took a deep breath and opened the door a few more inches. A small furry creature ran right into the pillowcase. "I got it!" David said, closing the pillowcase and holding it in the air."What is it?" Adam moved closer as David peeked inside. David put the pillowcase on the bed and an orange cat climbed out. Adam scooped the cat up. "Apricot? How did you get trapped in my closet?"David laughed. "The poor cat. If I was locked in your closet with your stinky shoes, I'd be banging on the door to get out, too!" What was making the strange sounds in Adam's closet? A. A man. B. A boy . C. A monster. D. A cat. Answer: D
If a species of animal is endangered or going extinct, it's because too many of them have stopped Answer: mating An unemployed man is desperate to support his family. His wife watches TV all day and his three teenage kids have dropped out of high school to hang around with the local toughs. He applies for a cleaner's job at a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him, "You will be hired at minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can contact you easily. Our system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your first day." Greatly surprised, the man protests that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this, the manager replies, "You must understand that to a company like ours that means you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high tech firm. Good day." Unable to believe what he heard, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling beautiful tomatoes. He buys a crate , carries it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than two hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100% profit. From that day on, he repeats the tomato business and becomes increasingly successful as time goes on. By the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse. The tomato company has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work and the business grossed a million dollars. Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance. The insurance adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance salesman is surprised, " No computer? No Internet? Just think where you would be if you'd had all of that five years ago!" "Ha! If I'd had all of that five years ago, I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour!" the man replies. The man's tomatoes sell well because _ . Answer: he has chosen the right place to sell them "Love your neighbor as yourself"is a saying familiar to most of us. It means that you must have he ability to love and accept yourself in order to form and keep satisfying relationship with others self-esteem means accepting yourself for who you really are, and believing that you are indeed a worthwhile person who is deserving of love and respect from others. Self-esteem is our sense of how good we feel about ourselves. It is based on our judgment of ourselves, not on other people's assessment, but simply on our own. Our self-esteem is not dependant on our talent. Some very ordinary people feel very good about themselves, while other extraordinarily high achievers hold low opinions of themselves. Self-esteem is the primary key to long-term stress management. Why? The first three sources of stress are: predictable life event, unexpected changes and build-up of daily stresses, These are much easier to handle when we believe in ourselves, A positive, healthy self-esteem gives us the "hardiness" to deal with the difficulties of life, and to see them as challenges to be met, rather than threats to be feared. The forth category of stress is entirely the result of a low self-esteem. It is the category of stress that is most common and tiring over the long run. This kind of stress cannot be overcome, or even changed, until the self-esteem problems that cause it are corrected. Learning to love yourself for who you are is the key to overcoming stress. Self-esteem comes form the self, and cannot be promoted by others. A person who feels that his self-esteem comes from the approval of those around him or her is bound to self-destruct , One cannot keep the level of "performance" required to please everyone else, especially if that performance disagrees with who you are and is simply a _ that makes you popular with the world. When the applause is gone, there is nothing left. Only those who can feel the strength of knowing who they are and those who can feel good about that will survive the stresses of life. Self-esteem is the basis of contentment and positive living. What is the key to overcoming stress according to the passage? Answer: Learning to love yourself for who you are. On the first day of the New Year 2013, I made up my mind to go to Thailand to teach English as a volunteer. Fresh out of college with the world at my fingertips, all I cared about was travelling and seeing the world. Little did I know how awesome my life would be in the coming months! My journey began with the attendance of TESOL certification course in my home state of Florida last February. After 3 weekends of study and another 40 hours' post-study online, I received my TESOL certificate. I was put in touch with Philip, who is Program Director of the Teach in Thailand. In close consultation with Philip, I chose my employment school and after many months of excitement, I finally boarded my plane to Thailand in early April, and set off on an adventure! After a few weeks of single travel, I met up with Philip and the other new teachers in my program in Bangkok. It was great to meet other people who were on the same journey as me, see some cool sights and hang out in Thailand's cities! Directly after that, I attended the week-long seminar , which is included in the Teach in Thailand Program. At the end of the seminar, I was transported to my employment school---Anuban Buriram Primary School. I truly love my job--- I teach Grades 5 and 6 and I have the cleverest and most motivated kids in the world. It's a truly fantastic thing that you can see the difference you make in someone else's life, right in front of you! The city Buriram is small, surrounded with green rice fields. People here are more friendly than anyone I've ever met--I've never been anywhere where a smile is so easily received, where everyone you pass is so eager to say "Hello" and "Good morning". I've been taken out to countless dinners, and been lent a guitar, a digital camera, and even a motorbike, and I am constantly given little Thai treats and the most delicious fresh fruits many times a week. I only hope to pay it forward in the future. To teach English in a foreign country, one has to _ . Answer: receive a certificate of TESOL It is probably the strangest sport anyone has ever invented.And at first sight,it looks like the easiest.Competitors have to do two things.The first is to stand still.The second is to place their hands anywhere on the body of a car,and keep it there. This is where things start getting difficult.Lots of people are doing the same thing.And the winner of the "handathon" contest is the person who can carry on doing it for the longest time.That person gets to own the car. It still seems to be an easy thing to do.At the beginning it is.Anyone can stand still.But when the contest has been going for four or five days,standing still seems like the most difficult job in the world.And keeping the hand in place over this time becomes an act of serious attention.After a few days,the hand seems to belong to someone else--someone who wants to go home and get some sleep. Competitors are allowed to take a five-minute break every hour to eat,drink or do whatever else is necessary.No one is allowed to lean on the car for support.Winners need to be able to show great powers of attention.They also need to be able to develop special skills. Maybe the popularity of the handathon is due to the fact that it is not necessary to be a trained athlete to enter.Entrants in the Longview handathon certainly don't seem to do much preparation.Most say they will prepare by "getting lots of sleep".Others say they will "eat healthy food" or "pray for success".The whole event gives ordinary people the chance to do something interesting and win something in the end. Handathons are competitions,but there is little rivalry between competitors.They help each other out and keep each other's spirits up.People who drop out early return with food,drink and encouragement. The reason why the sport is called "handathon" is that competitors _ . Answer: do the same thing as in a marathon
Dear Jenny, Gary is having a _ party after Month Exam! He invites all of us to come! Since it is a potluck party, I think I will bring some beef noodles. As I know, Lily will take care of the drinks and Gina will bring a big homemade chocolate cake. Can you ask your mom to buy us some KFC fried chicken? You know it is too far for all of us to ride a bike there, but your mom often drives there. We can pay the bill together. Just think about how surprised our classmates will feel when they see what we prepare! Isn't it great? The party will start at noon on March 25, so be sure to be at Gary's place around 11:30 to prepare for the party. By the way, don't forget to invite Amy, who is good at music. If you have any other questions, just call me or write me back. Take care! Leo According to the e-mail, which is TRUE? A. Gina is having a potluck party. B. The party will start at 11:30 C. Jenny has to pay for the fried chicken alone. D. Amy was invited to go to the party. Answer: D. Amy was invited to go to the party. Not long ago, I opened an interesting e-mail from Jennifer, a friend of mine. "I've realized I want to be around people who make me happy," she wrote, "I've been seeing how I feel after communicating with different people and making a mental list of who I feel good about. And you're on my list." Then she invited me -- and 11 other women-- to a "Movie Night" to be held every six weeks at her house. We'd chat, eat, and watch feel-good movies. She made it clear in her invitation that there was no stress to show up to all or any movie nights. Wonderful! I e-mailed her back immediately. I was in. Later, Jennifer told me she had some puzzled reactions to her invitation. Though all the women were willing to join, some said they didn't see themselves as cheerful people. "I've told them they didn't have to be cheerful around me all the time. I invited them because they made me feel happy," she says. Research shows that gatherings such as Jennifer's _ . In a US study, researchers measured the happiness of 4739 people at regular intervals over 20 years. The study found that a person's happiness depends on the happiness of people they connect with. Amazingly, it also found that happiness spreads not only between direct friends, but also among friends of your friends' friends! And those good feelings seem to be the most contagious among friends of the same sex. "People with more supportive friends are less likely to develop sadness," says Dr Toupey Luft, a psychologist in Penticyon, British Columbia. "Though you can't choose your family or workmates, you do have control over friendships." With a little effort, you can add more positive relationships to your social circle. Here's how... Can you guess what will be talked about in the following passage? A. Why it is important to pick friends who make you feel good. B. How to make friends who make you feel good. C. What kinds of friends you should not make. D. How you can find your social circle. Answer: B. How to make friends who make you feel good. Just 25 years ago, the top three career hopes for young people in Britain were teacher, banker and doctor.Now, they want to be sports star, pop star and actor, according to survey by the Guardian newspaper. Rachel, a character in the popular TV show Glee, may be said to speak for British teenagers."Nowadays being nobody is worse than being poor." He said. Emma Brockes, a reporter with the Guardian, believes it is "the bad influence of celebrity culture" that is to blame."When children wanted to be doctor, it wasn't because they were really more interested in the functions of human organs than they are now; you go where the respect is." She wrote. It could explain why there has been such an increase in levels of anxiety and depression.Dr Carlo Stranger, of Tel Aviv University, studied the sense of self for his new book The Fear of Insignificance: Searching for Meaning in the 21st Century.He told the Daily Mail that young people now are "affected by the close connection to the global entertainment network, which has turned ranking and rating people according to wealth and celebrity into an obsession ." "As humans, we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a global village.We are comparing ourselves with the most 'important' people in the world and finding ourselves wanting," he said.Today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media. The way out? Simply stop measuring your achievement through a fantasy of wealth and celebrity.Dr Strenger said that it is a process called "active self-acceptance through a constant search for self-knowledge through life." "The fear of insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement," he said. The text is mainly written to_. A. talk about job choices B. analyse a social phenomenon C. encourage celebrity culture D. introduce three famous people Answer: B. analyse a social phenomenon Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin. In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young. Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak , they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws. During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes. Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes? A. To find more food. B. To protect themselves better. C. To keep themselves warm. D. To produce their young. Answer: D. To produce their young. Are you a forgetful person? You might be able to blame your genes, a new study in the journal Neuroscience Letters suggests. Researchers from the University of Bonn have identified a variant on the DRD2 gene that seems to be associated with increased forgetfulness. Everyone has one of two variants of the DRD2 gene, the difference is just one letter in the genetic code: Some people have the cytosine (C) variant, while others have the thymine (T) variant. The researchers wanted to see how having one variant over another was associated with forgetfulness. To test this, they analyzed the DRD2 gene of 500 study participants, and also had the participants answer surveys about their forgetfulness (such as how often they misplaced their keys, or forgot names). Most of the study participants--three quarters of them--had the thymine gene variant, while the other quarter had the cytosine gene variant. Researchers found an association between more forgetfulness problems and having the thymine gene variant of DRD2. Meanwhile, the cytosine gene variant seemed to have a protective effect against forgetfulness. However, "there are things you can do to compensate for forgetfulness; writing yourself notes or making more of an effort to put your keys down in a specific location--and not just anywhere," study researcher Dr. Sebastian Markett, of the University of Bonn, said in a statement. Research has also suggested that some age groups are more forgetful than others. A recent national poll showed that millenials, who were born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, are actually more likely than seniors to be absent-minded with things like what day of the week it is, where they put their keys and remembering to bring their lunch. Meanwhile, another study recently published in the journal BMC Psychology showed that men are more likely than women to experience minor memory problems. We can infer from the study that _ . A. most people have the C gene variant B. about 75% of the study participants are forgetful C. people with the C gene variant are more forgetful D. the T gene variant helps improve people's memory Answer: B. about 75% of the study participants are forgetful
A new moon can be observed every A 1 month B 1 week C 1 day D 1 year. Answer: A You have to shake hands when you're coming or going in Germany, but in Britain you usually only shake hands when you meet someone for the first time. You have to give your present in public in the Middle East to show it's not a bribe , but it's good manners to give your present in private in Asia. You mustn't give cutlery in Latin America because it suggests that you want to cut off the relationship. You mustn't give a clock in China because the Chinese word for clock is similar to the word for funeral . "Come any time" means "I want you to visit me" in India. If you don't suggest a time and arrange a visit immediately, an Indian will think you are refusing the invitation. Offices are usually closed on Friday in Moslem countries. It's bad manners to discuss business at social occasion in India. In an English pub, you have to take your turn to buy a "round" drink for everyone in your group. In India, it is good manners to _ . A give present in public to show it's not a bribe B discuss business at a social occasion C take your turn to buy drink for everyone in your group in a pub D arrange a visit at once when an Indian says "come any time" to you Answer: D I happened to think about IQ and EQ on my way home this afternoon. So, I'd like to try to say something about them. Due to the nation's family planning policy, usually a couple only has a kid. Young father and mother pay much attention to the smooth and healthy growing of their baby even when it is still in its mother's womb . So, traditionally speaking, most of the kids have quite higher IQ. The difference of IQ between kids are quite limited. As EQ is concerned, I think the later experience of a kid in the society (home, schools, companies etc.) is of vital importance to shape his or her character. Even two kids have similar IQ, there could be a larger gap between their EQs if they have varied life experience. What kind of people could be more possible to succeed? No doubt, the type of people with quite good combination of IQ and EQ! In my opinion, higher EQ at least includes the following aspects: 1. The ability to stand difficulty and setbacks; 2. Being optimistic towards any uncertainty ahead and having confidence to overcome difficulties facing him or her; 3. With rich inside world to feel others' blue moods and know how to help them solve their problems; 4. Skillful in communicating with _ When I observe colleagues and friends around, I do get my view. Even, I could predict that those people who could perfectly combine their IQs and EQs will be the winners in the society! Those talented graduates from famous colleges and universities couldn't achieve a lot if they don't know how to get along well with their colleagues! Individualism is far away from success in the integrated world. Team work needs cooperation consciousness which is an important element of EQ. To be honest, I still have a long way to go to improve my EQ to perfect myself! How about you? It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A team work is important in improving EQ B later life experience can lead to different EQ C the writer is a young philosopher D the writer didn't succeed in combining his IQ and EQ Answer: B Most American students have to say goodbye to fancy fruits these days. In school restaurants across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges have taken their place. "People are afraid to spend now." said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. "They don't know what the future will bring". During the financial crisis , several of the country's biggest banks have been forced to sell or close. This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive things. The crisis began last year. Experts think it was because US banks lend money too easily. Last year a lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders , the whole world was in trouble. This month the US government agreed on a $700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But no one is sure whether it will help or not. Last week presidents from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. This passage is probably taken from _ . A a story book B a novel C a newspaper D an advertisement Answer: C Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City's jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York's widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars. When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane. Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it's possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21stcentury New York City looks like. Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic. Lois: We wanted a lane -- the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way. Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own. Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you're shrinking it. Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that _ Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals. According to the passage, which of the following CANNOT support the opponents of these new bike lanes? A Drivers lose parking spots and lanes for cars. B The two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents. C We took what used to be a full street so the road is broader than before. D The removal of one bike lane through a neighbourhood in Brooklyn was not supported by the majority of New Yorkers. Answer: C
Where could you most likely jump to the top of a mountain? Answer: on the moon An old gentleman who lives a few doors away from me can always be seen with a bag. He goes out by himself and picks up plastic bottles, plastic bags and pieces of paper everywhere. He does it all carefully and never complains. The children in the nearby school are probably responsible for some of that litter. "There will come a time when they know better," he said. "It's just not yet. So, I'll do it for them." Well, this morning I was out walking my neighbor's dog when I saw another neighbor, a much younger man, out doing the same thing! He had his two little sons with him and they were having good fun trying to pick up the litter. "What a good job you are doing", I said to him. "Well, an older fellow in our street does this", said he. "And my friend and I thought it wasn't fair that he had to do it all the time, so now we take turns." Not only was he taking a turn, not only did he have a friend join in as well, but he was passing on the lesson to the nextgeneration ! By the time I had returned the dog to my neighbor, I looked again and his children's friends had joined in! This man was teaching a whole group of young children to keep their own streetclean. An older man had set an example for him and now he was passing it on--the next generation is doing what he did and the generation to come after that! What can we learn from the text? Answer: The power of example is endless. Before my first summer vacation at college, my roommate Ted asked to me to work with him on his father's farm in Argentina. The idea of spending two months in Argentine was exciting. Then I began having second thoughts. I had never been far from New England, and I had been homesick my first few weeks at college. What would it be like in a strange country? What about the language? The more I thought about it, the more the idea worried me. In the end I turned down the invitation. As soon as Ted asked somebody else to go, I began kicking myself. I had turned down something I wanted to do because I was scared, and had ended up feeling depressed. That unhappy summer taught me a valuable lesson out of which I developed a rule for myself: do what makes you anxious; don't do what makes you depressed. At the end of my senior year, I began to think about becoming a writer. But my professor was urging me to aim at teaching. I hesitated. The idea of trying to live by writing was a lot scarier than spending a summer in Argentina. Back and forth I went, making my decision, unmaking it. Suddenly I realized that every time I gave up the idea of writing, that downhearted feeling went through me. Giving up on what I really wanted to do depressed me. Right then I learned another lesson. To avoid that kind of depression meant having to bear a certain amount of worry and concern. When I first began writing articles, I was frequently required to interview big names. Before each interview I would get butterflies in the stomach and my hands would shake. One person I particularly admired was the great composer Duke Ellington. On the stage and on television, he seemed the very model of confidence. Then I learned Ellington still got stage fright. If the highly honored Ellington, who had appeared on the bandstand some 10,000 times over 30years, had anxiety attacks, who was I to think I could avoid them? I went on doing those frightening interviews. Then I realized to my astonishment that I was even looking forward to the interviews. What had happened to those butterflies? Well, in truth, they were still there, but there were fewer of them. I had benefited, I discovered, from a process psychologists call "extinction". If you put an individual in an anxious situation often enough, he will eventually learn that there isn't anything to be worried about, which brings me to a conclusion: you'll never get rid of anxiety by avoiding the things that caused it. The point is that the new, the different, is definitely scary. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you. Which of the following opinions does the author probably accept? Answer: Anxiety can be a positive drive When wheels are squealing on a blacktop, friction Answer: works against motion Hello, I'm Jack. Please look at the picture of my classroom. On the front wall, there is a blackboard.It's very big. In front of the blackboard, there is a yellow desk. It's for our teachers. There is a computer on it. On the right wall there is a map of China. On the black ( ) wall of our classroom is a blackboard. We can write and draw on it. There are forty students in my class. Everyone has a desk and a chair. In my classroom, my desk is next to Li Fang's desk. She is on my left . And Tim is on my right. In front of me is John . Who is behind me ? It's a girl, Amy. They are my good friends. What's on the right wall? Answer: A map of China
There have always been laws against copying other people's ideas. However, when copying was only limited to copying something by hand, problems were solved easily. The solution was always the destruction or removal of the copy. Nowadays, the rise of the Internet has made the issue of intellectual property more complicated. Almost every bit of information can be cut and pasted with a few clicks of a mouse. Many art forms such as writings, films, and music need new protection to ensure that people do not simply transfer them for free. Online illegal copying has been blamed for a huge reduction in the sales of many records because it is hard to convince people to buy something that they can get for free. Even the ideas behind traditional games, such as Scrabble, have been used without the owners' permission. Old laws have been struggling to keep up. While music companies have been successful in persuading courts that action should be taken against people who illegally download music, the law is difficult to carry out. Furthermore, intellectual property rights vary widely from country to country, so it's up for debate which laws apply. Finally, there is the fact that many people simply do not see the act as theft , since once the work has been digitized there is no clear physical object to steal in the first place. All of these issues mean that companies involved with intellectual property -- ideas or easily digitized information -- are fighting desperately to get people to pay for the information they use, rather than paying for an object like a CD that they use. While the companies have sometimes been successful, the practical barriers to full protection seem _ . Finally, all that concerned parties can do is hope that their few successes scare off others and try to find new ways of making money. Why do writings, films, and music need protection? A They are very expensive. B They are impossible to copy. C It is easy to make CDs, books, and movies. D They are easily able to be transferred when in digital form. Answer: D Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, but with night skies around 1,000 times brighter than globally accepted levels, it gains a bad reputation for its light pollution. A study by Hong Kong University found that brightness levels in the southern Chinese city's popular shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui were 1,200 times greater than the international dark sky standard. The crowded city of 7 million residents , full or residential high-rises, towering office blocks and neon advertisements, has no laws to control outdoor lightning. The result is that light pollution is thought to be much worse than in other large cities, including London, Sydney, Tokyo and Shanghai. "In Hong Kong , you can't go anywhere outdoor in the evening without your eyes being blinded by this really disturbing outdoor lightning," the light pollution survey's head Jason Pum told AFP. "The fact that we have all this light in the sky means energy is wasted," he said, adding that too much artificial lightning also affects nightly wildlife. Research has suggested that light pollution can cause a number of harmful health effects in humans, including sleeplessness and headaches and can also interrupt body clocks and hormones . The university survey, the result of five million measurements taken from points across the city, was released just days before the start of the annual Earth Hour event, organized by the World Wildlife Fund. People around the world will be encouraged to turn off the lights for an hour on Saturday night to raise awareness of climate change. Last year, a number of Hong Kong's major buildings along Victoria Harbour went dark to mark Earth Hour. "Anyway, we should do our best to reduce the amount of lightning and adjust it for the benefit of the environment." .We can know from the passage that _ A light pollution in Hong Kong is among world's worst. B light pollution is the biggest problem in Hong Kong. C Earth Hour is simply organized to reduce pollution. D light pollution is the primary causes of sleeplessness. Answer: A Millions of stars are travelling about in space. A few form groups which travel together, but most of them travel alone. And they travel through a universe which is so large that one star seldom comes near to another. For the most important part each star makes its journey in complete loneliness, like a ship on an empty ocean. The ship will be well over a million miles from its nearest neighbour. From this it is easy to understand why a star seldom finds another anywhere near it. We believe, however, that some two thousand million years ago, another star wandering through space, happened to come near our sun just as the sun and the moon raised its tides on the earth, so this star must have raised tides on the surface of the sun. But they were very different from the small tides that are raised in our oceans; A large tidal wave must have travelled over the surface of the sun, at last forming a mountain so high that we cannot imagine it. As the cause of the disturbance came nearer, so the mountain rose higher and higher. And before the star began to move away again, its tidal pull had become so powerful that this mountain was torn to pieces and thrown off small parts of itself into space. These small pieces have been going round the sun ever since. They are the planets. Most stars are _ . A following a regular path in space B moving about without a fixed course C seldom wandering about in the universe D always travelling together Answer: B What requires warmth for survival? A the moon B an ocean C a bloodhound D a computer Answer: C One day a rich man meets Tom. The rich man asks, "People say you are very clever and nothing is difficult for you. Can you tell my why you are so clever? " Tom answers with a smile, "Oh, I'm not clever. Instead , you are too _ ." The rich man becomes very very angry. Tom says, "Sir, please don't be angry. If you don't believe me, now let me ask you a very easy question: If you have a group of sheep , I send you another group. Then, you say, how many groups of sheep do you have?" "Why! That's the easiest question in the world. One and one is two. Anybody knows _ . I have two groups of sheep , of course." Tom laughs and says, "You are wrong , Sir. Two groups of sheep put together is still one group. That's the easiest question in the world , isn't it?" The rich man becomes angry because _ . A he is hungry B Tom is not friendly to him C Tom hits him D he loses a sheep Answer: B
It was just a windy January day here in the North East of Scotland. When I left home for the office where I worked in the next town, the weather forecasters said, "Windy and cold, but no rain." However, by the time I was about to leave work in the early evening, it was pouring! My office was close to the bus stop so that there was no problem; I just shot out the door and onto the bus. Unfortunately, once I got home to Montrose, I had about a mile to walk from the bus stop to my home. As I stepped off the bus that night to walk home, I struggled to get my tiny umbrella to go up in the strong wind. It was obviously designed for a very light shower. Then, suddenly and to my amazement, I heard my mum's voice. "Quickly! Come under here, before you get soaked! " I nipped under my bigger umbrella and stared at mum in surprise. "What on earth are you doing here in this weather?" I asked her. My mum was eighty-three that year, and although fit and healthy, she did not usually like going out in strong wind and heavy rain. "You said to come round for tea tonight, but I came early before the rain got too heavy. Eric told me that your car was in for a service and I saw your big umbrella lying on the chair. Eric was on the phone, so I just picked it up and came out so that I could meet you and you would not get soaked!'' My mum passed away the following year. This simple act remains in my mind, and reminds me how completely my mum loved me. She would not have gone out in the wind and rain for herself, but, at eighty-three, she never gave a second thought about the bad weather so I would not get wet. Eric failed to pick up the author in the car for the reason that _ Answer: he was busy with his work. While there are some unpleasant people in the world, let's not forget that most people are friendly! If you find someone who likes the same restaurants as you or who is also crazy about "Harry Potter", then feel free to talk the night away! Just keep the conversation light and about your common interests. If a topic is brought up that doesn't sit well with you, keep in mind that you are always in control. Ignore your manners at this time! Do stay open-minded. Sometimes chatting with strangers can turn into a close bond--or just another person you can turn to for a laugh. But when typing away in your computer, it's easy to get carried away and to want to tell your new friend all about yourself. Keep the personal details as secret, and instead talk about fun hobbies or the latest episode of "The Good Wife". If Stranger Sally is asking what you look like, time to put up the red flag. It is never necessary for someone to know what you look like. Always listen to your gut .If something inside you is telling you something isn't right, it probably isn't. Pay attention to how your body responds to certain people online. Remember, you never really know who you are talking to just by looking at a computer screen name, so downloading anything is an no. See? Talking to strangers online doesn't always have to be a nightmare .By following these do's and don'ts, chatting with someone you don't know can be a cool experience,and can make sure that you stay safe in the world of the Internet. When you chat online, you should chat with the people who _ . Answer: like doing the same things as you Which of the following is the best estimate of the number of stars in a typical galaxy? Answer: billions One of the easiest ways to keep fit is to do jogging. Jogging is the name for a very gentle running--it is just a little faster than walking. Start slow jog 20 meters, then walk 20 meters. Little by little, if you are not feeling very tired, you may do more jogging and less walking. Finally, jog the whole way. It will be easy for you to start jogging for 15 minutes twice a week, slowly, increase this to 20-30 minutes every day. The longer you join in jogging, the more you enjoy it and the healthier you will become. Some people like jogging alone, and others enjoy doing it with friends. Jogging in groups makes more people keener , because you just can not stay in bed while there is a group of friends waiting outside. If you want to start jogging, prepare a pair of comfortable shoes and a _ mind. ,. (5,2, 10) If you are not feeling very tired, _ . Answer: you may do more jogging Disease, poverty, hate, love-Charles Dickens' stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens' legacy was far greater that just "great-literature". February 7 marks the 200thanniversary of the writer's birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let's take a look at two of them. A White Christmas Dickens is described as "the man who invented Christmas" - not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19thcentury, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day-unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off. Many people believe that Dickens' popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel,A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth-"home enjoyments, affections and hopes". In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: "Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas." "Dickens" poverty Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London. He helped popularize the term " _ " to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society. "Dickensian" has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like "terrible" or "horrific", but rather described it as "life mirroring the times of Dickens". Why is Dickens' called "the man who invented Christmas"? Answer: Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.
I remembered Julie coming to the front of the classroom after class one autumn day in September 1976. While most of the other students hurriedly left to enjoy the pleasant weather or to relax at the student union, Julie remained to ask me questions about the next week's exam. She had clearly already done some serious studying. Julie never made it to the exam. The day after our conversation, she was hit by a large truck as she rode a bike through a crossroads. I was sad to hear that Julie lay unconscious in a hospital across town from our university. Nurses silently came and went from Julie's room. Her parents stood nearby quietly. Then the doctor entered the room and said to Julie's parents and two brothers, "Your Julie has only a few hours to live." He continued to ask, "Would you think about donating some of Julie's organs ?" At the same time in a neighboring city, a woman called Mary was trying to see better in her small living room. Her eyes followed every movement of her lively two-year-old baby. This mother was storing up memories when she could no longer see her child. Several cities away, a young father called John was reading to his two sons in the hospital. However, he was told to have only weeks to live. His only hope was a kidney transplant . The two parents looked at each other, the doctor could see tears in their eyes. "Yes. Julie had once said she wanted to donate her organs in the event of her death. Julie always gave to others while she was alive. She would like to give in death." Within twenty-four hours, Mary was told that she would receive one of Julie's eyes, and John was told to start preparing for a kidney transplant. Julie's other organs would give life to other waiting patients. "Julie died right after her twentieth birthday. Nothing could possibly be as heartbreaking as the death of your child," says Julie's mother. She continues, "But Julie's life was a gift to us. Knowing that in her death, she gave the gift of life and sight to others is _ to us. " Which of the following is the best title for the passage? The last gift in life. In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast. After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, "Son, you must have dropped _ ," the owner said. The young man couldn't believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West. On the way out of town, he began to understand what that fellow did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. "Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn't embarrass me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can." Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the "Secret Santa" because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City. The best title for this text may be _ . Secret Santa of Kansas City A 72 W navigation unit on a commercial aircraft has a 24 V power supply and uses 3 A of electric current. What is the electrical resistance of the navigation unit? 8 ohms Have you ever considered why you begin yawning too when you see someone yawn? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons in our brains. Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate it whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how, we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions, they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people. Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to ( for example: "The hand took hold of the ball" ) , the same mirror neurons were _ as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball). Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders. Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with even more information regarding how humans behave and interact. Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does -- well, perhaps you'll understand why. We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons _ . relate to human behavior and interaction Birds that are half-asleep -- with one brain hemisphere alert and the other sleeping -- control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks. Earlier studies have recorded half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere's eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once. Decades of studies of bird groups led researchers to predict extra alertness in the end-of-the-row sleepers which tend to be attacked more easily. Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions. Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction. Also, birds napping at the end of the line depend on single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did. Turning 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the researchers found that compared with 12 percent for birds in inner spots, outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of napping time. "We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness at the same time in different regions of the brain," the researchers say. The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing assumption that single-hemisphere sleep developed over time as creatures scanned for enemies. The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts. He's seen it in a pair of birds napping side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by a mirror. The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open. Useful as half-sleeping might be, it's only been found in birds and such water animals as dolphins, whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning. Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds' half-brain sleep "is just the tip of the iceberg." He supposes that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species. According to the passage, birds often half sleep because _ . they have to watch out for possible attacks
Our sense of hearing is one of the most important means of knowing what is going on around us. We are warned of danger by sounds. The sounds of music please us. Sound has a waste product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets any better. Scientists, for several years, have been studying how noise affects people and animals and are alarmed by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. Noise pollution is no joke. It is a threat that should be looked at carefully. Sound is measured in units called decibels . At a level of 140 decibels people feel pain in their ears. Trucks, buses, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, and factories all make noise. This noise bothers not only our ears, but our minds and bodies as well. There is a saying about "it is so noisy that you can't hear yourself think". Doctors who study noise believe that we must be able to hear ourselves think most of the time. If we don't, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even mental problems. Noise adds even more tension to a society which already faces too much stress. Why does the passage say " Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find " ? Answer: Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn't matter where you live--in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village--the chances that you will be disturbed by jet aero planes, transistor radios, oil-powered engines, etc. are almost everywhere.We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they are working. Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be very frightening experience for human beings. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums .The noise level in some disco is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas. One recent report about noise and concentration suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really affects their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise, which doesn't change too much (music, for example) may even help people to concentrate. Scientists have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating is _ . Answer: Saturday, March 24th We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok. This is our first trip to Thailand . All the different smells make us want to try the food. We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is cheap, and very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North. Tuesday, March 27th Bangkok is wonderful and surprising. The places are interesting. We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables. Everything is so colorful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai. We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai. Friday, March 30th Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. The village people here love the quiet life--no computers or phones. They are the kindest people I have ever met. They always smile and say"hello". Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year. The people in the village _ . Answer: Look at this. It's a pencil case. It's orange. It's my pencil case. What's in it? Look, this is a pen. It's black. This is a pencil. It's red. And this is a pencil, too. It's yellow. This is an eraser. It's blue and white. My pencil case is big and nice. I like it. ,. This is an orange _ . Answer: Which sequence of energy transformations occurs after a battery-operated flashlight is turned on? Answer:
Fifty-five years ago Barbie Millicent Roberts first came out in the world of toys. Since then, Barbie doll, as everyone called her, has become the most famous toy doll in history. Her parent, the Mattel Company, said that 90% of all American girls between 3 and 10 have at least one Barbie at home. However, Barbie is facing some trouble at present, There are many similar dolls on the market in competition with her. Another doll named Bratz, for example, came to life fifteen years ago. She looks more like today's pop stars with heavy makeup and miniskirts. It seems that Barbie has lost her magic among older girls. "For young girls, playing with a Barbie is much fun. But when you get older, you want something smarter and more modern," Says Vera Shepherd, a shopkeeper in a New York toy shop. It is good news that on the international market Barbie is still No. 1. Although Mattel is selling fewer Barbies in the United States these years, sales in other countries are still going up. In January 2009, Mattel opened its first Barbie store in Shanghai, where girls can shop, eat, drink or even become _ for their own Barbies. Mattel is planning big celebrations for Barbie's 55th birthday. Fashion designers from all over the world will make new dresses for Barbie. How long will Barbie stay popular in the world of toy dolls? It is hard to say, but 55 is surely not the age to retire . Girls can do the following things in the first Barbie shop in Shanghai except _ . A shopping B having food C drinking juice D taking photos Answer: D. taking photos Experts do not really know when people began keeping fish as pets. But they say that people have been interested in fish for thousands of years. Some say the ancient Sumerians were the first civilization to keep fish in ponds more than four thousand years ago. The Chinese kept and studied carp and goldfish more than one thousand years ago. The ancient Romans kept eels as pets. And the Greek philosopher Aristotle made what is believed to be the first known study of sea life, including sharks and dolphins. Keeping fish at home in small water tanks called _ is extremely popular today. And everyone seems to enjoy visiting huge public aquariums that have opened around the world. By the middle of the eighteen hundreds, science had shown that plants, fish and other sea creatures could survive together under water. So it was no longer necessary to change the water in a tank for the fish to live there. This led to the building of the first public aquariums. The first aquariums opened in London, England in 1853. in the next fifteen years, other aquariums opened in Europe and the United States. By 1928, there were about forty-five public aquariums. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recognized as the first aquarium in the United States and it shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. The Georgia Aquarium opening in 2005 says it is the largest in the world. It has more than one hundred thousand sea animals in thirty million liters of water including two whale sharks---the world's largest fish. Another aquarium re-opened in 2005 in Camden, New Jersey. The Adventure Aquarium first opened in 1992. It spent about fifty million dollars expanding its building and improving its exhibits. Aquariums provide the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. They can be found in most areas of the world. People might even want to start an aquarium at home and join the millions of people around the world who keep fish as pets. Which of the following is NOT mentioned to have kept fish as pets? A The ancient Sumerians. B The ancient Romans. C The Chinese. D The ancient Indians. Answer: D. The ancient Indians. When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention. Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot. Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down. The passage tells us that the writer _ . A should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper B didn't often water his trees C didn't have a large field D took too much care of his trees Answer: D. took too much care of his trees One billion teenagers and young adults around the world are in the face of losing their hearing by listening to loud music. This is according to the World Health Organization. Few things can make people happy and full of energy like good music. Many people believe louder is better if you are listening to rock and roll. But if you really listen to the music loudly, even really good music, it can hurt your hearing badly. If a person takes a subway to go from one place to the other for half an hour in the morning and a half an hour in the evening, and every day has to _ on his audio device because there is so much of noise of the train and everything around, and is listening to for one hour every day, his hearing is going to be hurt seriously in a few years, in a couple of years time, for sure. There can be many kinds of unsafe levels of sound. It depends on how loud the sound is and how long you listen to it. Unsafe can mean noise levels of 85 decibels for eight hours a day or 100 decibels for just 15 minutes. There are simple ways to protect people from unsafe sound levels. Young people who wear earplugs during concerts can enjoy music at 90 decibels as much as they can at 110 decibels. But earplugs may not look very cool. The fact that earplugs may look un-cool may be true today, but if there is nothing wrong with your hearing in the future may be true and wearing earplugs may actually be cool. Another common suggestion is to turn down the volume on your personal audio devices. The World Health Organization also advises young people to limit their use of such devices to less than one hour a day. Besides, the World Health Organization reminds people to use technology, such as smart audio devices keep listening levels safe. This passage mentions _ ways to protect people from unsafe sound levels. A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 Answer: B. 3 The gravitational force exerted by an object depends on its A volume. B weight. C mass. D size. Answer: C. mass.
You have probably read the books. You have probably seen the movies. But have you heard the music? The latest Harry Potter news is that bands form to play what is called "wizard rock" or sometimes just "wrock". The new kind of music began when Joe De George and his brother Paul decided that the characters from Harry Potterwould make a great band. Ron on guitar, Hermione on bass, Hagrid on drums and Harry singing up front would make for an excellent group. In one day, the brothers wrote, rehearsed and performed six songs about life at Hogwarts. After the first performance, Paul decided that "we are Harry and the potters." Wizard rock is pretty much what it sounds like: rock "n" rock inspired by and set in the world of Harry Potter. The De George started a trend. Today there are dozens of wizard-rock bands: the Whomping Willows, the Remus Lupins and the Moaning Myrtles to name a few. Rockers dress like Hogwarts students and play at conventions and festivals. People who like Harry Potter think wizard rock music is totally _ . The songs can be funny, but the music is not a joke. Just ask the De George brothers. They've played more than 500 shows in 49 states and their hit songs are inspired by characters fromHarry Potter: "Save Ginny Weasley" and "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!" The themes of their music are the same as those of Rowling's books: love and friendship, upset and struggle. Wizard rock is just one more by-product in the Harry Pottercraze. Two years after J.K. Rowling published her last book in the series, Potter popularity continues to grow. There are Potter conventions and Potter clubs that try to get kids and grow-ups to help fight hunger, for example. And the fact that they may do it while humming "Wizard Chess" or "Platform 9" makes those meetings fun. What is the text mainly about? A. Harry Potter. B. Harry Potter's music. C. Wizard rock. D. Joe and Paul's band. Answer: C Mary Walker works at a bank. She begins working at eight in the morning. She has a break at noon for one hour. She stops working at five in the afternoon. At five the bank closes. Everybody goes home. Some people drive home. Some ride bikes. Some take the bus or the train. But Mary walks home. She likes to walk. She walks, and walks, and walks and walks. Mary lives eight miles from the bank. She walks for three hours. At eight in the evening, Mary is at home. She eats dinner. At ten she goes to bed. Mary is tired . She is 82 years old. What does Mary do? A. She is a nurse B. She is a factory worker. C. She is a worker at a bank. D. She is a doctor. Answer: C Trees most likely change the environment in which they are located by A. releasing nitrogen in the soil. B. crowding out non-native species. C. adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. D. removing water from the soil and returning it to the atmosphere. 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. According to Desley Boyle's prediction, what will happen when the 6-month contract is over? A. Tourism industry in that state will welcome a boom. B. The :best job in the world: winner will choose not to leave the island. C. The tough economic climate in the state will be greatly eased. D. The local people will persuade the successful candidate not to go home. Answer: B Visitor Oyster cards are electronic smartcards that come fully charged with credit. Whether you're making a one-off trip to London or you're a regular visitor, using an Oyster travel smartcard is the easiest way to travel around the city's public transport network. Simply touch the card on the yellow card reader at the doors when you start and end your journey. Advantages of a Visitor Oyster Card A Visitor Oyster card is one of the cheapest ways to pay for single journeys on the bus, Tube, DLR, tram, London Over-ground and most National Rail services in London: * Save time----your card is ready to use as soon as you arrive in London. * It's more than 50% cheaper than buying a paper travel card or single tickets with cash. * There is a daily price cap----once you have reached this limit, you won't pay any more. * Enjoy special offers and promotions at leading London restaurants, shops and entertainment venues----plus discounts on the Emirates Air Line cable car and Thames Clippers river buses. Buy a Visitor Oyster card Buy a Visitor Oyster card before you visit London and get it delivered to your home address. A card costs PS3 (non-refundable) plus postage. Order online and arrive with your Oyster in hand! You can also buy a Visitor Oyster card from Gatwick Express ticket offices at Gatwick Airport Station and on board Eurostar trains travelling to London. Add Credit to Your Visitor Oyster Card You can choose how much credit to add to your card. If you are visiting London for two days, you can start with PS20 credit. If you run out of credit, add credit at the following locations: * Touch screen ticket machines in Tube, DLR, London Over-ground and some National Rail stations. * Around 4,000 Oyster Ticket Stops found in newsagents and small shops across London. * TFL Visitor and Travel Information Centers. * Tube and London Over-ground station ticket offices. * Emirates Air Line terminals. What can we learn about the Visitor Oyster card? A. It can reach you before your journey to London. B. It requires you to pay as much as the daily price cap. C. It can provide you a 50% discount at a London shop. D. It can be delivered to your home address free of charge. Answer: A
Tuvalu is located in the South Pacific. It is tiny and has only nine islands with a population of just 11,000. In 1999, it was the third- poorest country in the world. The islanders earned just $1,000 each year. But then something unusual happened. Tuvalu received an internet domain name--the letters "tv". These letters were very interesting for many companies around the world. A communication company from California offered to buy the domain name "tv" for $40 m. For the Tuvalans this was a very large amount of money. The islanders became very rich. Because of global warming, and because the islands are only 3m above sea level, Tuvalu will probably become the first country in the world that will disappear under the sea. You can already see signs of the rising sea on Tuvalu. Some beaches are disappearing and you can see tree roots by the ocean. Cyclones used to be very rare but they now appear a few times a year, and the rains that come with the cyclones cause flooding. Despite these problems, the Tuvalans had their new money. They could use it to buy themselves a future. Or at least they could use it to buy some time. Paul Lindsay, a documentary film-maker, took these questions with him all the way to Tuvalu, and came back with an incredible story. As the water rises, the Tuvalans are using the money to develop the land. They are building new houses, planning nightclubs, restaurants and hotels and new cars are driving around on new roads. The residents do not think this is strange: "Just because we are sinking, it doesn't mean we don't want to raise our standards of living." Sam Teo, Tuvalu's minister for natural resources told Lindsay. The biggest problem for the Tuvalans is _ . A. poverty B. global warming C. The small population D. cyclones Answer: B A recent National Public Radio program examined the disappearance of some of the first words we were probably taught - "please" and "thank you." Other polite phrases are also disappearing. "You're welcome" has been replaced by "sure," "no problem," "you bet" or "enjoy." Are we becoming ruder, or are patterns of speech merely updating for changing times? Peter Post, director of the program, argues about people stopping using "you're welcome". He says, "Thank you" is an expression of appreciation one person offers another. To respond "No problem" is to ignore this acceptance as really being undeserved. By responding with a simple "you're welcome," Post adds, a person admits the thanks and shows appreciation for the person giving it. Whatever polite vocabulary you believe is fading, sociologist Gregory E. Smith says that such fading is a sign that we're becoming ruder as a society. "Saying please and thank you, asking permission, offering help, and following up on solutions to problems are no longer as important," he says. In 2011, 76 percent of people surveyed said Americans are becoming less civil. But could it be that it's simply the words we're using that are changing? Actually, the principles of respect, consideration and honesty are universal and timeless, but manners do change. For example, it's important to greet people when you see them, though the form of greeting has changed over time. "How do you do," for instance, became "Hello, how are you?" which changed into "Hello, how are things," or "How's it going?". As for "no problem", if the appreciation is expressed in a sincere manner, many Americans think they do not see its use as a loss of politeness. Peter Post thinks using "You're welcome" to reply to "Thank you" is _ . A. more appropriate B. a bit outdated C. less polite D. really undeserved Answer: A An animal that often lives in holes in the ground in fields has A. long curly hair B. round ears C. four wings D. rainbow stripes Answer: B People aren't walking any more---if they can figure out a way to avoid it.. I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn't in any hurry, either. I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis. It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day's walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced -and beat--a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty. Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all. It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car. The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don't dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is _ r thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. I say that the green of forests is the mind's best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting. What was life like when the author was young? A. People usually went around on foot. B. people often walked 25 miles a day C. People used to climb the Statue of Liberty. D. people considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship. Answer: A A high school history teacher once told us, "If you make one close friend in school, you will be most fortunate. A true friend is someone who stays with you for life." Experience teaches that he was right. Good friendships are just not easily formed. Why? One reason is that it is easy to move around in our society. Mr. Darrell Sifford, a news reporter for the Washington Daily, has been studying and talking about friendships for a number of years. He reports what one woman thought about the effect of ease of movement on friendship: "I was nine, and we'd just moved from South Carolina to New Jersey, and I didn't know anybody. _ and she said to me, 'Amelia, I know you're feeling bad because you don't have any friends. But you can fix that. Just walk across the street -- I know there's a girl about your age over there -- and knock on the door and ask her to be your friend.'" "As a 9-year-old, I could do that. I knocked on the door and said, 'Hi, my name is Amelia, and I'd like for us to be friends.' And to my surprise, she said that she would like that too--and we became friends." She added that going about it directly always worked when she was a child. But as she left childhood, she found that the simple direct approach was more and more difficult for her to follow. So, as an adult, Amelia longed to have friends but her hands were tied when it came to doing anything about it. The problem, according to her, is that society teaches us in a number of ways that direct action is not an acceptable way of doing things. We need to be less direct so that our feelings will not be hurt if our offer of friendship is refused. Mr. Sifford goes on to describe his own ideas on the subject: "To most of us, friendship is very important, but we need to have clear in our own minds the kinds of friendships we want. Are they to be very close or kept at arm's length? Do we want to share ourselves or do we want to walk on the surface?" "For some people, an ordinary friendship is enough -- and that's all right. But at some point we need to make sure that what we expect from the friendship is the same as what our friends expect from it. If one wants more from the friendship than the other, and if this is not talked about, one is likely eventually to feel that he's not being given enough attention. "The sharing of close secrets, including our fears as well as our dark dreams, is the surest way to deepen friendships. But the process must be gone through slowly and continued only if there are signs of interest and our efforts are answered." What are some of the problems in forming friendships? According to Mr. Sifford, the biggest problem is to expect too much too soon. Deep relationships take time. Another "big difficulty" is to think one "possesses" the other and that he should spend all his time only with you. Similarly, friendships require action from both sides. In short, you must give as much as you take. Finally there is a question of developing friendship. Unless you spend enough time together, talking on the phone, writing letters, doing things together, friendships will gradually fade away. Why is it so difficult to form friendships? Perhaps it is possible, as Mr. Sifford states, that we simply do not stay in one place long enough for a true friendship to develop. However, we all agree that each of us should think carefully about the kind of friendships we want. As in all interpersonal relationships, success depends on the kind of friendship we expect to have, openness to others, and a willingness to experiment. By saying that "My mother had a way of getting to the root of things..." the author means that _ . A. her mother could always find friends for her B. her mother had a way of making friends with people C. her mother was able to find the cause of things D. her mother was able to solve difficult problems Answer: C
Parents say that honesty is the best policy, but they regularly lie to their children as a way of influencing their behavior and emotions, finds new research from the University of Toronto and the University of California. Surprisingly little has been published on the subject of parental lying, so Gail Heyman, professor of psychology at the University of California, Diem Luu, a former student of the University of California, and Kang Lee, professor at the University Toronto, set out to explore the under - researched phenomenon.They asked US participants in two related studies about parents lying to their children - either for the purpose of promoting appropriate behavior or to make them happy. In one of the studies, many parents reported they told their young children that bad things would happen if they didn't go to bed or eat what they were supposed to.Other parents reported inventing magical creatures.One explained, "We told our daughter that if she wrapped up all her pacifiers like gifts, the fair would come and give them to the children who needed them." In the other study, the researchers surveyed college students'recollections about their parents'lying and obtained similar results: parents often lie to their children even as they tell them that lying is unacceptable. The researchers refer to this practice as "parenting by lying"."We are surprised by how often parenting by lying takes place," said LEE.Though Heyman thinks that there are occasions when it is appropriate to be less than truthful with a child, she urges parents to think through the issues and consider alternatives before using lies." Children sometimes behave in ways that are disruptive or are likely to harm their long - term interests," said Heyman."It is common for them to try out a range of strategies, including lying, to stop them.However, parents should be concerned about the possible long - term negative consequences tochildren's beliefs about honesty." The study of Gail Heyman, Diem Luu and Kang Lee was focused on parents'lies that _ . aim to give children a positive influence Doctor Seuss was born in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants. In 1954, life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books. In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book is called Green Eggs and Ham. In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize . He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided American children and their parents. He died at the age of 87, but his influence remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people." People like his books because the books _ . are easy and interesting to read Cancer is feared by everyone. And there is more and more fear about cancer. Not the disease itself -- there is no such thing as a high incidence rates of cancer. Except for lung cancer, mostly caused by cigarette smoking, the incidence rates are not on the rise. However, some kinds of cancer are decreasing. But the fear of cancer is catching, and the country stands at risk of an anxiety. The earth itself is coming to seem like a huge carcinogen . The ordinary, more or less, scientific statement that something between 80 and 90 percent of all cancers are due to things in the environment is taken to mean that none of us will be safe until the whole environment is "cleaned up." This is not at all the meaning. The 80-percent calculation is based on the unthinkable differences in the incidence of cancer in various societies around the world -- for example, the high incidence of liver cancer in Africa and the Far East, stomach cancer in Japan, breast cancer in Western Europe and North America, and the relatively low figures for breast cancer in Japan and parts of Africa and for liver cancer in America. These data show there may be specific environmental influences, but largely based on personal life-style, which determines the incidence of various forms of cancer in different communities -- that is all the data suggest. The overall incidence of cancer, counting up all the cases, is probable roughly the same everywhere. According to the passage, the incidence of cancer is generally believed _ . to result from environmental influences Ever get that feeling you're being watched? Well, if you're a dog-owner, you may have a point. Dogs are able to watch people's interactions with one another to determine who holds yummier treats, according to a new study. This study joins others that show dogs are good observers of human behaviors and feelings. It offers evidence that dogs use information not only from people's direct interactions with them, but also their interactions with one another. In the study, dogs watched a man ask two women for some of their corns. Both women gave the man corns when he asked, but in response to one woman, the man showed his enthusiasm and said the corns were so delicious. In response to the other woman, he gave the corns back and called them _ (in Spanish;the study was conducted in Argentina). After these interactions, the man left and an assistant holding the dog let the dog go. While many dogs didn't approach either woman, the dogs that did have a preference tended to prefer the woman with the yummier food. Other studies of dogs' people-watching ability have found dogs are able to tell the difference between happy and sad faces in their owners. They prefer people who give others food when asked over people who don't give others food. And in one study, dogs turned toward crying people more often than toward talking people. So how much do dogs really understand about the humans around them? That's not totally settled yet. In a strange twist to the Argentine study above, when the researchers tried an experiment in which they put two plates of corns on a table and had a man react to each plate, dogs didn't preferentially approach the tastier plate afterward. You could say dogs watch for the interaction between two persons, not just how a person reacts. Yet a previous study found dogs will choose boxes that people reacted to happily, but not boxes people reacted to with a disgusted face. Well, either way, you can be sure Fluffs is keeping an eye on you, to the best of her ability. The study was published in the journal PLOS One. Which is one of the procedures of the Argentine study? The man had different reactions to the food received. Sometime in the next century, the familiar early-newspaper on the front porch will disappear. And instead of reading your newspaper, it will read to you. You'll get up and turn on the computer newspaper just like switching on the TV An electronic voice will distribute stories about the latest events, guided by a program that selects the type of news you want. You'll even get to choose the kind of voice you want to hear. Want more information on this brief story? A simple touch makes the entire text appear. Save it in your own personal computer if you like. These are among the predictions from communication experts working on the newspapers of the future. Pictured as part of broader home-based media and entertainment systems, computer newspapers will unite print and broadcast reporting, and offer news and analysis with video images of news events. Most of the technology is available now, but convincing more people that they don't need to read a newspaper is the next step. But resistance to computer newspapers may be stronger from within journalism. Since it is such a cultural change, it may be that the present generation of journalists and publishers will have to die off before the next generation realizes that the newspaper industry is no longer a newspaper industry. Technology is making the end of ' traditional newspapers unavoidable. Despite technological advances, it could take decades to replace newsprint with computer screens. It might take 30 t0 40 years to complete the changeover because people need to buy computers and because newspapers have established financial interests in the paper industry. It can be inferred that journalists are against computer newspapers because _ . they have been trained to write For traditional newspapers
Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, led the international team that did the study. Professor Worm says species have recently been disappearing from oceans at increasing speed. At this rate, he says, all seafood species could collapse by 2048 and seafood supplies from the world's ocean could be almost gone by then. Other studies have also warned about the dangers of overfishing and the effects on ocean environments. But not everyone thinks the oceans are likely to be empty in fifty years. Some scientists said parts of the world do have problems, but others are doing a good job of protecting fish populations. Government officials in several countries with large fishing industries also questioned the research. The study appeared earlier this month in Science magazine. The researchers say damage to oceans affects not only fish populations but also the productivity of ecosystems. These complex systems help control water quality. The scientists say the loss of different kinds of sea life appeared to increase the risk of fish kills and beach closures from harmful algae growth. The scientists examined the results of thirty-two experiments and observed forty-eight protected areas. They also looked at records of catches worldwide. They studied records from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for nineteen fifty to two thousand three. And they examined archeological information and other historical records for twelve coastal areas. That research reached back over a thousand years. Boris Worm says the findings were, in his words, "beyond anything we suspected." But he also said the situation is not too late to correct. He said that with good fisheries management, some species could completely recover in three to ten years. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A. It's too late to take action to improve the situation. B. Some species will recover with efforts. C. Boris Worm hopes that people take the warning serious. D. Boris Worm shows great concern about ecosystem. Answer: A. It's too late to take action to improve the situation. The '80s' "important role" in the family has also meant a greater concentration and focus on the individual. And, it has made the word "me" one of the most frequently used words. Everything seems to be about "me". This generation has a greater awareness of itself. Some people do not seem to agree that all this is self-centred. When Cai Fuchao, prefix = st1 /Beijing's publicity head, was asked to comment on the lack of responsibility of university students during the SARS period, his reply was: "Modern university students are ambitious, knowledgeable and have a very strong sense of responsibility to the society." As news analyst from sina.com, Pan Fengliang, echoed that, saying that blindly blaming them(for running away during the SARS outbreak)was prejudiced and unfair and not backed with evidence. No doubt, the development of information technology has contributed its bit to broadening, or bending, the minds of the 80s generation. Some people even call Gen'80 "the E-generation". They get in touch with each other via email, QQ, ICQ and MSN. While the people of the '60s and '70s swarmed to Shanghai to catch Luo Dayou, Gen'80s were on the BBS saying that it was "really dumb". "The internet is so much more to those of the '80s than you can imagine," said Wu Junyong, an IT engineer who was born in 1978. In Wu's opinion, it's the Internet that separates the 70s from the 80s, "Many of the'70s don't see why those from the '80s can spend everyday in front of a computer." A new weekly Magazine/163.com survey last year found that 40 percent of the 7,000 people surveyed, born in the '80s, thought the computer was the most important article in life; more than 70 percent of their parents preferred the home. The purpose of this passage is to tell us _ . A. people's different opinions towards the '80s generation. B. the '80s are the E-generation. C. the '80s are different from others in society. D. the'80s have their own characteristics and we shouldn't lose confidence in them Answer: D. the'80s have their own characteristics and we shouldn't lose confidence in them The morning had been a disaster. My tooth was aching,and I'd been in an argument with a friend. Her words still hurt:"The trouble with you is that you won't put yourself in my place. Can't you see things from my point of view?"I shook my head stubbornly-and felt the ache in my tooth. I'd thought I could hold out till my dentist came back from holiday,but the pain was really unbearable. I started calling the dentists in the phone book,but no one could see me immediately. Finally,at about lunchtime,I got lucky. "If you come by right now,"the receptionist said,"the dentist will fit you in." I took my purse and keys and rushed to my car. But suddenly I began to doubt about the dentist. What kind of dentist would be so eager to treat someone at such short notice?Why wasn't he as busy as the others? In the dentist's office,I sat down and looked around. I saw nothing but the bare walls and I became even more worried. The assistant noticed my nervousness and placed her warm hand over my icecold one. When I told her my fears,she laughed and said,"Don't worry. The dentist is very good." "How long do I have to wait for him?"I asked impatiently. "Come on,he is coming. Just lie down and relax. And enjoy the artwork,"the assistant said. "The artwork?"I was puzzled. The chair went back. Suddenly I smiled. There was a beautiful picture,right where I could enjoy it:on the ceiling. How considerate the dentist was!At that moment,I began to understand what my friend meant by her words. What a relief! Which of the following best describes the author's feeling that morning? A. Cheerful. B. Nervous. C. Satisfied. D. Upset. Answer: D. Upset. A large number of people in the world eat fast food. Whenever you go into a fast food restaurant, you can see lots of people enjoying their meals there. How do you know in which country people like fast food best? The English people are the world's biggest fans of fast food, while the French are the least interested in quick meals, according to a survey done last year. The survey of thirteen countries shows that 45% of the English people say they can't give up fast food because it's delicious. And 44% of Americans and 37% of Canadians say the same. The French, proud of their delicious and high-class cuisine, don't like fast food. 81% of them think it is unhealthy, followed by 75% of the Japanese. How about the Chinese? How often do you have hot dogs or fried chickens? It doesn't matter whether you like Western fast food or Chinese food. The most important thing is to keep a balanced diet . From the survey we know _ like fast food best. A. the Chinese B. the French C. the Japanese D. the English Answer: D. the English We should feel grateful in our heart when we accept anything others sacrifice for us. However, we often unconsciously do the opposite, which may not be regarded as returning kindness with ingratitude, but have the equal power to harm each other. In particular, the closer the relationship is, the more determined we are. Jennifer, my friend Randy's mother, is already over 70, poor eyesight and weak legs. But due to her character, she chose to live alone in the suburbs. No matter how busily Randy works, he would go there to visit her once or twice every week. That day as soon as he parked his car, Randy smelt the delicious smell of meat coming from her mother's house. His mother said, "Your birthday is coming next week, so I'm preparing pork trotters for you!" Seeing the steaming delicious trotters, he couldn't help complaining, "I don't like these things at all, so fatty." On his way back, he called me, saying that he felt sorry. In fact, he longed to thank his mother and eat up that bowl of trotters. But he felt sorry that it took her too much time and energy. If he didn't stop her strictly, he was afraid the same thing would continue. He would rather not eat trotters any more than have his mother overwork. I understand how he felt exactly. Each of us has done like that. Because of feeling sorry for others' sacrifice, we purposely harden our heart against accepting others' favor and even criticize them severely in order to frighten their goodness away and make them never do that again. This method may work, but it will hurt each other's feelings. It's not wrong logically, but we always neglect another sound deep in our heart: because we're afraid we can't repay them, we're unwilling to shoulder others' goodness. So we reduce its value and refuse it severely. But to destroy others' goodness is also to deny you. Randy refuse to eat the pork trotters his mother cooked because _ . A. he disliked them at all B. they were really very fatty. C. they weren't his favorite taste D. he didn't want her to overwork. Answer: D. he didn't want her to overwork.
In some countries, the most common unlucky number is thirteen. People don't like to live in a house that is number 13. People don't like to have parties with thirteen people. People don't like to do important things on the thirteenth of the month. Also, when you add the Japanese unlucky numbers together---nine and four ---they make thirteen. There aren't many business meetings on the thirteenth of the month especially when the thirteenth is on a Friday. Friday is always unlucky. Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden on a Friday. Jesus Christ died on a Friday. There were thirteen people at his last supper. In Europe, they kill criminals on Fridays. For some people, unlucky numbers do the opposite things. My elder brother was born on the thirteenth. He passed his exams on the thirteenth. He married on the thirteenth. He became a pilot on the thirteenth. It was always a lucky number for him. ,. When did Europeans kill criminals? A. On the thirteen every month. B. On Fridays of the fifth month every year. C. On Fridays. D. On the third week of every month. Answer: C. On Fridays. Never try to work when you are very hungry. If you decide to do your homework right after school, you may get something to eat before going to work. Always do your homework before you get too tired. Don't wait until very late in the evening, or your work will seem much harder than it really is. If you have more than an hour's work, give yourself a break after an hour. On the other hand don't break it up so much that you can't get anything down. You should be able to work at least a half at a time without stopping. Don't put it off until the last minute. If you put off doing your homework, you will have it on your mind, and you won't enjoy your free time so much. If you put it off until the end of the week or until before a test, you will have too much catching up to do. A little bit each night, enough to keep up with what is happening each day in school, will take the fear out of tests and keep you on top of it all. Do your homework at the same time every evening. This will help you make it a _ . It will make it easier to do, and it will make your free time more enjoyable as well. Some students in schools won't enjoy their free time so much because they _ . A. have to do their homework each night B. will have too much catching up to do C. never finish their homework in time D. want to keep up with what is happening in school Answer: C. never finish their homework in time A swimming coach from Moldova is looking for a job in Beijing. Qualifications as: Coach/Judge at National Standard; Olympian (Ranking 12th in the world in 1995), World Cup Silver Medalist. Experienced children's coach at all levels; Qualified driver (B, C, D, E categories); Bodybuilding instructor; Fluent in Russian, English, French, Ukrainian. Contact Max Cazmirciuc at: 13126711168 or email:mcazmirciuc@yahoo.com A retired president and CEO of two Canadian companies, interested in teaching English or French in China. Cellphone: 13520559132, email: Jeanguyfurois@aol.com Web design graduates are available. For details visit: www.inhb.com, or call Liu or Tang at: 0311-3160000. Email: luogq@beinfo.net Female Beijinger, 39, has a decade's experience in import-export business, human resources management, interpretation and secretarial work. I have a good command of computer skills and am good at English, both writing and speaking. Mobile: 13611163663 *Laid-off workers are providing PC maintenance services such as system upgrade, virus detection and removal, data copying and recovering, system utilization and security. Call: 67327317 The purpose of the advertisements is to _ . A. teach at a school B. start a business C. seek employment D. work as web designers Answer: C. seek employment The World Bank has looked at the distinguishing features of successful school system. According to the World Bank's education specialist, Harry Patrinos, this include: improving the quality of teachers and making sure that teachers are highly regarded; providing information to make schools accountable and giving autonomy to schools and head teachers. This matters not only for individual pupils but also for the well-being of countries, he says, because improving educational performance has a direct impact on improving economic performance. China's education performance-- at least in cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong-- seems to be as spectacular as the country's fast growing economy. Certainly both these open and outward-looking cities consider education to be important and are willing to adopt the best educational practices from around the world to ensure success. In Hong Kong, education accounts for more than one-fifth of entire government spending every year. "Shanghai and Hong Kong are small education systems, with a concentration of ideas, manpower and resources for education," says Prof Cheng. Under the banner "First class city, first class education", Shanghai set about systematically re-equipping classroom, upgrading schools and improving the curriculum in the last decade. It got rid of the "key schools" system which concentrated resources only on top students and top schools. Instead staff were trained in more interactive teaching methods and computers were brought in. About 80% of Shanghai school leavers go to university compared to an overall average of 24% in China. Meanwhile, dynamic Hong Kong was forced into educational improvements as its industries moved to cheaper mainland Chinese areas in the 1990s.Its survival as a service and management hub depends on upgrading knowledge and skills. In the last decade Hong Kong has concentrated on closing the gap for all students, says a report by McKinsey management consultants. The report, How the World's Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better, rated Hong Kong's education system among the best in the world. What is the author's attitude towards the school systems of Shanghai and Hong Kong? A. Negative. B. Positive. C. Neutral. D. Critical. Answer: B. Positive. In one area, a large source of prey for eagles is rabbits. If the number of rabbits suddenly decreases, what effect will it most likely have on the eagles? A. Their numbers will increase. B. Their numbers will decrease. C. They will adapt new behaviors. D. They will migrate to new locations. Answer: B. Their numbers will decrease.
Of all the students of Grade Four, Bill is the tallest. He's thirteen, and of course, he's the oldest, too. But he's the worst student. He can't answer the easiest questions in class. And he never passes the exam. But the boy is the strongest in his school. Even the boys in higher grades are afraid of him. So every day he leaves home with an empty bag. When he gets to school, his bag will be full of fruit and cakes. Sometimes he brings some home. His mother, Mrs. King , is always happy when she sees them. She praises her son, for she can save some money. This morning, Mrs. King went shopping in the market. She saw an old man selling eggs there. She chose twenty-four but paid only for twenty. The old man was too busy to count them. She went home quickly and told her husband as soon as he came back for lunch. "How clever you are!" Mr. King said happily. And Bill was busy eating the eggs, so he didn' t say a word. "What's your favorite food, dear?" asked Mr. King. "Eggs, of course." "Well, then, " said the man, "can you tell us what can lay eggs". The boy thought for a while and said, "Hens, ducks, geese...and...Mum!" "Oh? But why?" "I often hear my classmate call me 'Bad Egg'. " Choose the best answer.(,) Bill never passes the exams because _ . Answer: Three key facts about rising sea levels need to be pointed out to the world's politicians and planners: sea-level rise is now unavoidable, it will happen faster than most of us thought, and it will go on for a very long time. Even greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow, the oceans will continue to become larger as they get warm. The climate scientists estimate that sea-level rise may be in the range of 1 to 2 meters by 2100, with a small risk of an even greater rise. For many islands and low-lying regions, even small rises will cause disasters. But for most countries, the problem is what has been built on that land: New York, Sydney and Tokyo, to mention just a few cities. Unless something can be done, great areas of urban network will disappear under the waves. It will take a great engineering effort to protect these cities---an effort that may be beyond economies that have been brought to their knees. None of this means we should fear, and stop trying to forbid emissions. But together with these efforts, we need to start acting now and we must stop building in danger zones. Billions of dollars are being spent on constructing homes, offices and roads in _ coastal areas. For instance, the skyscrapers of Shanghai are being built on land that is merely 4 meters above sea level on average, and they are sinking under the weight of the buildings. Therefore, planning for new coastal developments is to go against reality. If we want to build a lasting heritage for our children, we should do so on the plentiful land that is in no danger from the sea. It is one of the effective ways to slow down climate change, and we should be acting on it now. What's the main purpose of this passage? Answer: Gray hair is simply a part of the normal aging process, and the rate you go silver is genetically predetermined. Going gray is not associated with earlier death, and premature graying is not, generally speaking, a sign of an illness or ill health in younger adults. There are, however, some specific health conditions associated with gray or white hair, but for most of us, going gray is just a fact of life. Hair color1 comes from the pigment melanin , which determines your individual shade. Hair without any melanin is pure white. The pigment is produced in cells called melanocytes, which inject pigment into the hair. At some point in everyone's lifetime, these cells slow down and eventually stop producing color1. Scientists have yet to identify the exact mechanism by which melanocyte cell death occurs. A study of more than 4,000 women and men from 20 countries determined that about 75% of people between the ages of 45 and 65 have some gray hair. In general, people of European descent gray earliest followed by Asians and Africans. It's interesting to note that a lucky 1 in 10 has no gray hair by retirement age. Beginning at age 30, your chances of having gray hair go up 10-20% per decade. It may feel like you have more grays after a stressful event, but that's probably because middle age is basically a series of anxiety-ridden events. Between working, raising kids, and caring for older parents, the "sandwich" years of 45-65 can be stressful, especially for women. They are also when we naturally start to look older. At this point, there is still no silver bullet to keep away the grays. Which is not among the reasons for hair turning gray according to the passage? Answer: Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York., in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city. Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people's interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends ( ) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said five cents each. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared. Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store., selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half. By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: " The customer is always right." The belief that : " The customer is always right" suggests that _ . Answer: How green are you? Do you know how to be green? We all need a healthy environment, but we produce waste every day and it does harm to our environment. Though we are young,we can still do something to help. In fact, even the simplest everyday activities can make a real difference to the environment. Here are some ideas for you. Reduce Reduce means "use less",Don't waste things. This saves money and reduces pollution and waste going into the environment. Before we buy something new, think whether it is really necessary--or maybe the old one will be just as good! When we do buy things, choose local products if possible, and try not to buy too many things from abroad. Reuse Reuse means "use again". Use things for as long as possible. When we buy things,make sure that they last a long time. We should look after them so that they will last, and we should repair them if we can instead of throwing them away and buying new ones. Don't use a paper cup or a paper bag. It's better to use a china cup and a lunch box because you can use them again. Recycle Recycle means "change things into something else". Though it takes energy to change something into something else, it's better than throwing things away or burning them. Find out what can be recycled in your neighbourhood and take part in recycling programmes. We should also buy products made from recycled materials,such as recycled paper, to help save trees. So please remember these three words:reduce, reuse and recycle. Why is it better to use a china cup and a lunch box ? Answer:
Hello,everyone!I'm Belinda.Welcome to Yiwu. Yiwu is my hometown . It's a big and beautiful international city. There are more than 2,000,000 people in Yiwu.There are four seasons here,spring, summer,autumn and winter.Spring is warm.Summer is hot. Autumn is cool and winter is cold. I like autumn because it's cool .And in autumn I can eat many fruits like bananas, apples oranges and so on .Bananas are my favourite fruit. How many people are there in Yiwu? A 700,000 B 1,000,000 C 2,000,000 D 1,500,000 Answer: C John is six years old. He can read and write well. But he can't tell the time. His mother, Mrs Brown teaches him many times, but he still can't tell. He would say "breakfast time" "lunchtime" and "teatime" instead of saying eight o'clock, twelve o'clock and four o'clock in the afternoon. His mother doesn't know how to help him One day, John's aunt, Mary, comes to see his mother. His mother tells her about that. His aunt says, "Let me help you. I think I can help him." When John comes home after school, Mary begins to teach him. "Can you _ , John?" she asks. "Yes. One, two, three, four..." John says. "That's fine. Now I put the long hand on twelve and the short hand on one-that is one o'clock If I put the short hand on two, what is the time?" "Two o'clock " "Good. And on three?" "Three o'clock. " Then it is four o'clock in the afternoon, and John's aunt asks him, "What time is it now, John?" "Teatime, Aunt, and I am very hungry ," John looks at the clock and answers. John's mother can teach him to _ . A read B write C tell the time D speak Answer: C Most people go to a doctor in their own town or suburb . But people in the Australian _ can't get to a doctor quickly. The nearest doctor is sometimes hundreds of kilometers away so they have to call him on a two-way radio. This special doctor is called the "flying doctor". He visits sick people by plane. When someone is very sick, the doctor has to fly to the person's home. His plane lands on a flat piece of ground near the person's house. Sometimes the doctor has to take the patient to hospital. Flying doctors take about 8,600 people to hospital each year. However, most of the time the person isn't very sick, and the doctor doesn't have to visit. He can give advice on the radio from the office at the flying doctor center. He can tell the patient to use some medicine from a special medicine chest . There is one of these chests in every home in the outback. Each bottle, tube and packet in the chest has a number. The doctor often says something like this," take two tablets from bottle 5 every four hours." The doctor there usually goes to visit his patient _ . A by sea B by air C on foot D in a car Answer: B It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere. When squeezing past someone in a narrow passage, people say "sorry". When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting with people in UK. People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough. Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted. The author develops the text through the method of _ . A making comparisons B telling stories C giving reasons D giving examples Answer: A There are two factors which determine an individual's intelligence, The first is the sort of brain he is born with , Human brains differ considerably , some being more capable others, But no matter how good a brain he has to begin with , an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn, So the second factor is what happens to the individual- the sort of environment in which he is reared, If an individual is handicapped environmentally , it is likely that his brain will fail to develop and he will never attain the level of intelligence of which he is capable. The importance of environment in determining an individual's intelligence can be demonstrated by the case history of the identical twins, Peter and Mark X. Being identical, the twins had identical brains at birth, and their growth, processes were the same, When the twins were three months old, their parents.died, and they were placed in separate foster homes, Peter was reared by parents of low intelligence in an isolated community with poor educational opportunities, Mark was reared in the home of well-to -do parents who had been to college ,He was read to as a child, sent to good schools, and given every opportunity to be stimulated intellectually, This environmental difference continued until the twins were in their late teens, when they were given tests to measure their intelligence, , Mark's LQ ,was 125.twenty-five points higher than the average and fully points higher than his identical brother Given equal opportunities, the twins, having identical brains , would have tested at roughly the same level This selection can best be titled A Measuring Your Intelligence B Intelligence and Environment C The Case of Peter and Mark D How the brain Influences Intelligence Answer: B
Anne Sanders was practicing soccer moves, which was not normal. Usually, Anne only plays basketball. She wins every basketball game she plays, and she loses at any other game. "Anne", I waved to her. "Why are you playing soccer?" "Well, the gym teacher is doing something different," she said. "There are teams of four and partners of two.We get to pick our partners, and I want someone to pick me. "Anne held up a list. "It looks like I'm on a team with you, Stacey, and Paul," I said. "Stacey is my best friend.Maybe we can be together: " Just then, Stacey and Paul came over. They had heard of the teams. "Do you want to be partners, Stacey?" I asked. "Well, I was going to be partners with Paul," she claimed. I didn't blame her. Paul was as fast as a rocket, and my nickname was "Snail". "But we are best friends," said Stacey. "So I guess I'II be with you. " It was our first game. Stacey went to talk to some other friends afterwards, and Paul and Anne were talking about winning their game. I was sipping on my water, when I overheard Stacey, "She's worse than I thought; if I played the team alone,, I would have won easily. She's worse than a snail. She's more like a statue. " That night, I felt terrible for losing and mad at Stacey for calling me a statue. After all, she was my best friend and my only friend. Anyway, the phone rang, and it was Stacey. At first, I thought she might apologize, but no such luck. "Allison, the game tomorrow is canceled, " she said. "Okay," I replied. "Sorry about the game today", Stacey hung up on me. The next day, I went over to the soccer field. I knew the game was canceled, but maybe I could help clean up.But instead of a mess, I saw a soccer game in progress. Stacey and were playing, and Anne was hiding in the corner. "Paul made me pretend to be sick, " she whispered. "He wants to play with Stacey because she's so fast. " So Anne and I went to get ice cream. Even if I lost Stacey ,I just created a lifelong friendship. Stacey phoned Allison in order to Answer: A young man is sitting by the road eating something. A policeman is coming over. At once ,the man gets up quickly and runs down the road. The policeman runs after him. The man runs very fast. But the policeman runs faster. After a few minutes, the policeman catches him. 'Where are you going?' says the policeman. 'You must be a criminal if you run like that when you see a policeman.' 'No, no,' says the man, 'I'm not a criminal. I'm just too fat, you see. The doctor says to me that I must always run fast after eating.' 'I see,' says the policeman, 'You are running to help to lose some weight .' What does the young man do when he sees the policeman? Answer: The early lack of exposure to science ,technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) can be harmful to achieving gender balance in these fields. It begins when we are young and continues throughout our time in high school. While at home,girls generally don't get to experience the level of exposure or encouragement in STEM fields that their male counterparts do. It is often subtle ,but it's the first hurdle that faces and confuses so many women. Boys ,on the other hand, get on their path ,and are encouraged to do so, generally earlier than girls. For example ,boys are more often given science sets as toys ,which spark an interest in these subjects. In school3boys are often pushed to take the more challenging math and science classes. So if we want to attract the best and brightest minds into the fields that will advance us as a people?a country,and a planet,we can no longer look to only half of the population. Young girls cannot possibly consider opportunities they do not know exist. If girls are not exposed to certain subject and career paths,they are highly unlikely to choose to follow them in college. Our bias toward girls9either from families or from schools ,is so rooted in our culture that we often don't even recognize _ . Although the situation Has changed greatly in the past 20 or 30 years,there is still a sense that girls aren't as good at math9for instance9even though there is almost no evidence to support such a belief. It is important that as a society we deal with gender stereotypes long before young people are faced with a decision to declare or choose a major in college. Without making efforts to break them, we are limiting the potentials of our youth,both male and female. Providing the necessary resources, exposure,and encouragement would help young women understand that their gender shouldn't determine the career path they choose, and that pursuing a STEM career does not make them less feminine. The main purpose of the passage is to _ . Answer: Philip is a school boy. On his twelfth birthday, he decided to give up eating meat. "I don't think it's right to eat animals," he said. "They live on the Earth just like us and they are our friends." Philip's parents were not happy about that. "You are a growing boy," his mother said. "You need meat. Do you want to stay short and be weak?" His mother put some beef, rice and carrots in front of him. "I want you to eat all your food now," she said. "Don't leave anything." Philip didn't want to make his mother sad. But he ate only the rice and the carrots. "You're a silly boy!" said his father. "I'm getting very angry at you." "I'm sorry, Mum and Dad," answered Philip. "I don't want you to be sad or angry. But I really don't want to eat any meat." "Then have some fish, dear," said his mother. "Oh no, I can't!" cried Philip. "Fish are living things too." "Well, you can't have anything to eat at all if you don't eat any meat or fish," said his father. The next morning Philip got up hungry. His father walked to the school with him and asked to see the teacher. "Is this what you teach the students at school?" he asked the teacher. "Philip refuses to eat meat at home. He doesn't listen to what I say." "I don't agree with Philip," replied the teacher. "But I think he's brave to do what he thinks is right. We teach the students to do that." Philip's teacher teach students _ . Answer: Amy: Excuse me, Jill. Jill: Yes, what can I do for you? Amy: Did you see two persons pass from here? I want to take photos with them. Jill: Can you describe what they look like? Amy: Yes, they are one boy and one girl. The girl is very beautiful. quite thin and has long hair. And that boy is also very tall. He is about 1.98 meters tall. He has big eyes and short black hair. Jill: You mean Sun Yang, the famous swimming player? And he wears a pair of sunglasses? Amy: Quite right. He stays in Shaoxing these days for swimming. Did you see them? Jill: Yes, they passed here 10 minutes ago. If you go quickly, You can _ them. Amy: I will do that. Goodbye. Thanks a lot. Jill: Goodbye. What does Amy want to do? Answer:
At some time in your life you may have a strong desire to do something strange or terrible. However, chances are that you don't act on your impulse , but let it pass instead. You know that to take the action is wrong in some way and that other people will not accept your behavior. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phenomenon of taboo behavior is how it can change over the years within the same society, how certain behavior and attitudes once considered taboo can become perfectly acceptable and natural at another point in time. Topics such as death, for example, were once considered so upsetting and unpleasant that it was a taboo to even talk about them. Now with the publication of important books such as On Death and Dying and Learning to Say Goodbye, people have become more aware of the importance of expressing feelings about death and, as a result, are more willing to talk about this taboo subject. One of the newest taboos in American society is the topic of fat. Unlike many other taboos, fat is a topic that Americans talk about constantly. It's not taboo to talk about fat; it's taboo to be fat. The "in" look is thin, not fat. In the work world, most companies prefer youthful-looking, trim executives to sell their image as well as their products to the public. The thin look is associated with youth, vigor, and success. The fat person, on the other hand, is thought of as lazy and lacking in energy, self-discipline, and self-respect. In an image-conscious society like the U.S., thin is "in", fat is "out". It's not surprising, then, that millions of Americans have become obsessed with staying slim and "in shape". The pursuit of a youthful physical appearance is not, however, the only reason for America's fascination with diet and exercise. Recent research has shown the critical importance of diet and exercise for personal health. As in most technologically developed nations, the life-style of North Americans has changed dramatically during the course of the last century. Modern machines do all the physical labor that people were once forced to do by hand. Cars and buses transport us quickly from point to point. As a result of inactivity and disuse, people's bodies can easily become weak and vulnerable to disease. In an effort to avoid such a fate, millions of Americans are spending more of their time exercising. Based on the ideas presented in the passage we can conclude "being fat" _ in American society. What do astronauts eat in space, and why? How did astronaut food come into being? How do astronauts preserve food for long periods of time in space? NASA(the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has been researching food for space travel since the 1960's to find the best way of keeping astronauts from going hungry. The research could date from an accident that took place on the first manned Gemini mission in 1965. astronaut John Young managed to sneak a corned beef sandwich onto the Geminni III capsule to eat during its orbit around Earth. To Young's surprise, the sandwich plan did not go as expected; instead the sandwich began to break apart and scatter through the Geminni IIIcapsule. This could have resulted in disaster, since a small piece of food could have stuck in the air vents and other equipment. The sandwich was stuffed into a pocket to avoid the further mess inside the small space capsule This incident caused NASA to enforce strict rules on what types of food can be taken into space. Space food has come a long way since then. During the Gemini period, the astronauts mostly ate cubed, compressed foods high in calories and lightweight. NASA expects a long shelf life for space food. The majority of food taken into space has been dried out or heat-treated. These process and use of sodium , make the food taken into space last longer. Research is ongoing into space food to seek out healthier ways to preserve it. Too much sodium is unhealthy, and can badly change the taste of some foods. Why has NASA set up strict rules on the space since the 1960's? Russian girls think he is the ideal boyfriend. Thousands of Japanese teenagers applied for just a few minutes to practice judo with him. His cool image is on the front pages of newspapers and magazines. Do you know who he is ? Yeah, he's Vladimir Putin who was named "Person of the Year of 2008" by Time. Putin was born in Leningrad in 1952. He entered Leningrad State University's law department in 1970. When he became President of Russia in 2000, he found the country in great difficulty. In his 8 years as president, he guided his nation through a remarkable transformation .Russia's economy had grown a lot. Under his strong leadership, Russia was at the _ of world power again. Putin came to like judo and spy novels when he was a young boy. He relaxes by listening to classical music. Yesterday is his favorite Beatles' song. He has a happy family. He is married to Lyudmila Alexandrovna Putina, with daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. ,. How old is Putin now? Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection. The Galapagos are among the world's most important scientific treasures, a group of volcanic islands surrounded by deserted beaches and inhabited by unique varieties of giant tortoise, lizards, and birds. Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol to put down disturbances. The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park--which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore--has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador's national assembly. "It's a very tense situation," said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. "We are watching it with concern." The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands' population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life "in paradise ". On top of _ , more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year. Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises. These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit the islands' waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea. Angry fishermen surrounded the Charles Darwin research station on Santa Cruz last February, threatened to kill Lonesome George--the last surviving member of the Pinta Island species of the Galapagos giant tortoise. The situation got improved after the Ecuador government made concessions by increasing fishing quotas , which angered conservationists. "It is tragic, the short-term gain of a few fishermen versus the long-term survival of the Galapagos," said John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences. "They are killing the golden goose." Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government. There have been nine directors in the past 18 months. This appointment was particularly controversial, however. Cepeda was known to have close ties with the fishing industry, and the rangers ,who run the national park and reserve, rebelled. More than 300 staged a sit-in at the park's headquarters and prevented Cepeda from taking up his post. A battle broke out, and at least two people suffered serious injuries. Eventually, Cepeda--with the fishermen's help- entered the park. "I am in office, i am in control. And I am trying to lower the tension," he announced. The Ecuador government _ , and sent a patrol boat to maintain the peace. A few days later, Ecuador Environment Minister Fabian Valdivicso met representatives of rangers. After discussions, he told newspapers that he had decided to remove Cepeda from the post. However, as the population continues to rise, the long-term pressures on the islands are serious and will not disappear that easily. "We have to balance its special environment with the needs of local people. In that sense, it is a microcosm for all the other threatened parts of the world. So getting it right here is going to be a very, very important trick to pull off," said Stjepic. What is the primary contributing factor to the conflict between conservationists and fishermen? You're rushing to work and a man ahead of you collapses on the sidewalk. Do you stop to help? In a study of by-standers, it was found that some people avert their gaze and keep on walking rather than stop and get involved. "There is a tendency to decide that no action is needed." says a psychologist. "The first thoughts that pop into your mind often keep you from offering help. In order to take action, you have to work against them." Here are some common thoughts that might prevent you from helping. * Why should I be the one? I'm probably not the most competent person in this crowd. You might think someone older or with more medical knowledge should offer assistance. * What if he doesn't really need my help? The fear of embarrassment is powerful; no one wants to risk looking foolish in front of others. * No one else looks concerned- this must not be a problem. We can follow the people around us, but most people tend to hold back their emotions in public. "If you spot trouble and find yourself explaining inaction, force yourself to stop and evaluate the situation instead of walking on," says the psychologist. "Then retry to involve other people; you don't have to take on the entire responsibility of being helpful. Sometimes it's just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, 'It looks like we should do something.' Or asking someone if an ambulance has been called and, if not, to call for one. Once you take action, most people will follow you." Which is NOT the common thought that stops you from helping others?
The booking notes of the play "The Age of Innocence". Price: $10 BOOKING There are four easy ways to book seats for performance: -----in person The Box Office is open from Money to Saturday, 10 a.m.----8 p.m. -----by telephone Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card (Visa, Master Card and Amex accepted). -----on-line/online Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office. -----online/on-line Complete the on-line booking form at www. Satanfiedtheatre. com. DISCOUNT Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, those over 60 and full-time students. Supersavers: half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show. Standby: best available seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers. Group booking: there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more. School: school parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free. PLEASE NOTE: we are unable to exchange tickets for refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unpredicted circumstances. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A school party of 15 students should pay $90 for the standby tickets. Jean-Michael Lourdis was a promising young pianist. But when the young man played, it seemed to him, as if his hands were iron. He worried so much about his playing that he became oversensitive to the comments of his playing. Unfortunately, in those days, a critic was not considered a critic, unless he found something wrong. This attitude of the critics would often leave the young man ready to give up his dream and return home. He was invited to play in Helsinki. The rich, the famous, the leaders of State were all there. Jean-Michael had one of those days when everything went wrong. That night as he played, he felt as if it were the worst concert of his young life. The next day, in the newspapers, some of the comments were so unkind. The young musician was painful. That day, as he sat in his hotel room in total despair , there came a knocking at his door. He had a visitor.The famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius had come by to congratulate the young pianist on his performance. Jean-Michael asked how he thought of that and began to quote some of the newspaper critics. " Hands of iron. No imagination. Little skill. No joy. Don't you hear what they say?" he asked. Jean Sibelius looked at young Jean-Michael and said, "Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have erected a statue for a critic." The young musician was painful because _ . some of the comments were so unkind It was the Greek shopkeeper who taught me about the power of being kind. In 2008, I left Spain to study alone in London. My parents had to bring up my three younger sisters and two younger brothers, so I found three part-time jobs to pay for my studies. I worked early mornings and late nights, so I was tired, really tired, all the time. Unluckily, I got a cold and had a very high fever. Because I was new in London, I had no friends. Besides, I was too shy to talk with others and ask others for help. After sleeping on the bed for two days, I went out to get some food. Usually, I went to the supermarket, but this time I went into the Greek shop, a small corner shop, because it was closer. I picked up some food and gave it to the shopkeeper, who asked me, 'You look terrible, my boy! You are not feeling well, right?' I said YES in a low voice. She pointed at the salami and bread I was buying and offered, 'I can make you a sandwich, so you don't have to do it yourself.' I nodded without saying a word. So, she made the sandwich and asked me to wait a moment. She went into the back room and came again with a bowl of hot soup. 'It will warm you up,' she said with a friendly smile. What really warmed me up was not the soup. It was her smile that told me she cared me. Her kindness made me think of my mother. I was quite shy, but from that day on, I did not let shyness stop me from talking with and being kind to others. Now I work in a children's hospital in Africa. I love my work and people around me. I always bring my smile and kindness to them. What can we learn about the writer and his family? His parents could not pay for his studies. There's always a lot to do to get the kids ready to go back to school, let alone trying to get them excited about the idea. To help your kids get ready, save a few dollars in the process and have some fun with them in the dying days of summer, try a few of these fun filled activities. ********************************************************************************* UP-CYCLING Every student needs school supplies. But a lot of what they need is already littering around your house. If you don't have reusable school supplies at home, you might have the materials to make them. Try up-cycling with your kids and change old or useless products into new ones. Here are a few ideas to get you started: Sew blue jeans into pencil cases. Turn shoeboxes into arts storage boxes. Use an old belt as a books belt. Wrap book covers in old posters. Up-cycling is a great way to develop artistic talent and creative thinking in your children. ********************************************************************************* PLAN TO PACK AHEAD Most teachers and schools reward green behavior among students. To help your kids stay green, be sure to have these items on hand so you can pack them litter-less lunches. Here's what you need: Reusable lunch containers. A firm lunchbox and thermos . Reusable napkins . ****************************************************************************** MAP IT OUT Across the country, kids are thinking about how they'll get to school. Do I walk? Do I bike? Either way, avoid driving them if at all possible. Kids need to stay active and want to connect with other local kids on the way to school. Help your children map out their route or get them involved with a local walking school bus. A walking school bus is groups of children walking to school with one or more adults. ******************************************************************************* We hope these activities will help you and your kids get ready for the new school year, and that you'll have some fun in the process. Last but not least, some activities may require encouragements ... may we suggest some organic chocolate ice cream. What do the suggested activities have in common? Having fun and saving green. A woman saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard, hungry. She did not know them but invited them in. "We do not go into a house together," they replied. And she asked why. One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," pointing to one of his friends, "and he is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home." The woman went in and told her husband what had happened. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!" he said. "Since that is the case, let Wealth come in and fill our home with wealth!" His wife disagreed, "My dear, why not invite Success?" Their daughter-in-law gave her own suggestion: "Wouldn't it be better to invite Love? Our home will be filled with love then." "Let's _ our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest." Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the woman asked Wealth and Success, "I only invited Love, why are you coming in?" The old men replied together. "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out. But since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!" What's the best title of the passage? Wealth, success and love.
To warm yourself up on a chilly day Answer: Scottish Islands Airports Many of the larger Scottish Islands have airports on the smaller islands. This makes island travel a lot easier across from the mainland of Scotland and between islands. Flying over the islands gives you a bird's-eye view on clear days. Orkney Islands Airport Kirkwall Airport is 3 miles east of Kirkwall itself. Scheduled flights largely by Loganair/British Airways to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness Sumburgh on Shetland are serviced by Kirkwall Airport. The inter - island flight between Papa Westray and Westray is the shortest scheduled flight in the world lasting a mere 2-3 minutes! If you make the journey you get a certificate to prove you've made it. Outer Hebrides Airports Western Isles Stornoway Airport, four miles east of the town, is the main airport for flights to the Western Isles. Flights to Stornoway run direct from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. There are two other airports serving the Outer Hebrides islands. Benbecula airport is on the west coast of the island.Barra Airport is actually on a beach--the only beach airport in the world handling scheduled flights. Islay Airport Islay has its own small airport. British Airways/Loganair schedule regular flights to Islay from Glasgow International Airport. Islay Airport is on the south west of the islands beside a seven mile beach. There is a gift shop at the air- port. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9 am-12:30 and 1:30-6:15 pm; Sat 9:30-10:30 am; Sun 5:30-6:30 pm. The Oban to Colonsay Air Service You can now fly direct to the Isle of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides from Oban Airport. Flights between Oban and Colonsay operate twice daily on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Extra flights between Oban Airport and Colonsay also run during termtime on Saturdays and Sundays. If you travel to Colonsay from Oban during term time, you'd better leave on _ . Answer: You wake up north of the equator, and you notice the sunrise happening earlier than yesterday and later than the day after, what day could it be Answer: Good health is the most valuable thing in the world. When you've got it, you never think about it. When you haven't got it, you think about it all the time. Our biggest enemies are not terrible diseases and so on. We are our own biggest enemies because we sometimes destroy our own good health. Some of us eat too much, drink too much and smoke too much. And though our reason tells us we should control ourselves, we find it difficult. The fact is that most human beings need stimulation . Who doesn't enjoy a drink after a busy day? Only a smoker knows the pleasure of a cigarette with a cup of coffee. The danger is when these innocent pleasures run our lives and so destroy our health. When you find yourself eating between meals or eating too much rich food, when you can only keep yourself going by taking frequent drinks or by smoking one cigarette after another, then it's time to stop and think what you might be doing to yourself. The funny thing is that when we don't control ourselves, simple pleasures are no longer simple pleasures. All right, I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying, "It's easy to say, but I can't help myself. I need that extra bit of food, that extra drink, that extra cigarette. Life has so many pleasures that I can't do without them." But I'm saying you can help yourself. Not only that, you must help yourself. Because if you don't help yourself, no one else can. So be your own best friend. This passage is mainly about _ . Answer: Dogs already guide blind and disabled people and now they are to be trained to help people with dementia. The idea developed by some university students will now be put into practice by Scotland Medical Centre. The research is meaningful, for there are 670, 000 people in Britain who have dementia and by 2021 this is expected to rise to one million. Dementia can make people confuse day and night or forget basic things such as washing or drinking enough water. The dogs would be trained to help to guide them through the day. Joyce Gray from Scotland Medical Centre said, "People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a ly normal life, and dogs help them to maintain routine. For example, people with memory loss will tend to forget to take medicine,but if a dog presents them with a bag with pills in it, there's a greater chance of them taking it." Ms. Gray also said dogs were perfectly suited to remind their owners to eat. "Dogs have an ability to say 'it's my feeding time', so there would be a note in the cupboard next to the dog's food reminding the dog's owner to eat too." Dogs would also encourage their owners to take them out for walks. "It gives a reason for the owner to go out into the community," Ms. Gray said. "We did a test with an elderly person walking down the high street on his own. Then we gave him a dog on a lead and he did the exact same walk. That time people would come up to him, chatting, smiling or making eye contact. We hope we'd see this with people with dementia too." There is one more advantage of using the pets as companions. Since conversations can be increasingly confusing for people with dementia, dogs can give them a sense of silent support and companionship. Ms. Gray said, "We have found that people may forget familiar faces but not pets. People light up when they see animals. There is a speechless bond between the dog and its owner." For people with dementia, pets can _ . Answer:
Question: Here's this week's list of four open jobs throughout the local area. Whether you're unemployed and need a job or you are just _ of the one you have, Roswell Patch wants to help. We know new jobs can be hard to come by these days, which is why we'll try to post a selection of jobs we've found in the area on the site each week. Happy hunting! Part-time Spanish Instructor-World Language Institute, Inc. - Roswell. World Language Institute, Inc. in Roswell is currently hiring a part-time, native-speaking Spanish instructor. Applicants must be able to pass a background check and drive a 15-passenger bus to pick up students from several schools, from 2 p. m. - 6 p. m. Monday-Friday. The position pays $ 10 per hour. More information about the job is available online. Experienced Servers - Chili's - Alpharetta Chili's in Alpharetta is seeking experienced servers to add to its team. Qualifications will include being clean and neat and having great attitude and customer service skills. The pay is $ 2.13, plus tips. Stop by the store to fill out an application. More information about this position is available online. Registered Nurse-North Fulton Regional Hospital-Roswell North Fulton Regional Hospital is looking for a RN/Registered Nurse to fill a 12-hour night shift. Applicants must be registered and previous hospital experience is preferred. More information about the position is available online. Software Engineer-ControlScan-Alpharetta ControlScan in Alpharetta is hiring a software engineer. Applicants should have five or more years of relevant experience, as well as advanced knowledge of computer technology. Pay is commensurate with experience. More information about the position can be found online. Who will mainly work at night? A. Robert, hired by ControlScan. B. John, hired by World Language Institute. Inc. C. Jane, hired by North Fulton Regional Hospital. D. Sally, hired by Chili's. Answer: C. Jane, hired by North Fulton Regional Hospital. Question: What do you hear? Sounds all around you! You can hear the sound of traffic, the wind in the trees, a dog barking, your own breathing and lots of other things. But what is sound? Sound happens when something vibrates or shakes. We can make something vibrate by hitting it. Try this experiment. Put your ruler on your desk so that part of it sticks out over the edge . Put your hand on the part of the ruler that is on the desk. Now pull the part that is sticking out over the edge down, and then let it go. The part you let go will vibrate. It will move up and down very quickly, and give out sound. The part of the ruler sticking out over the edge of the desk produced the sound. If you make that part longer, you will hear a lower sound. When you shorten it, you will hear a higher sound. Why does this happen? When you shorten the ruler, it will vibrate more quickly. When something vibrates more quickly it produces a higher sound. If you _ the ruler, it will vibrate more slowly. When something vibrates more slowly, it produces a lower sound. The best title of the passage is"_". A. An Experiment B. prefix = st1 /A Wayof Making Sound C. Sounds Are Around Us D. Sounds Answer: D. Sounds Question: For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves .Since is beginning in 1980,the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song. This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation." Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests. With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back. The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time .But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jacob Dylan, it's easy to see how that was going to happen. The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time, so using the same Park and Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended .A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close. The Edmond Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug 4 with Van Morrison plaything the special donation fund concert, and will finish up on Sunday,Aug 8. We can learn from passage that A. people can get tickets easily for the festival. B. the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized . C. driving one 's own car to the festival is highly recommended. D. bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday. Answer: B. the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized . Question: London is one of the most expensive cities in the world to stay in, but there are many budget hotels that offer accommodation at a reasonable cost. Please take careful note of the facilities described for each budget hotel; the very cheapest accommodation may offer good budget deals but a minimum of facilities. The higher the price per room, the greater the number and quality of facilities you can expect. Arriva Hotel This 2-star Arriva Hotel lies at the heart of the city centre--just a short walk from King's Cross Tube station London's famous attractions are all easily accessible by foot or public transport. A short stroll will bring you to the British Museum and the fashionable area of Bloomsbury. With 75 en-suite rooms available, the Arriva Hotel is a large budget hotel that offers accommodation for tourists at a very reasonable price. Also, Wi-Fi Internet connection is available in most rooms and a Continental breakfast is included in the rates. From: $ 50.00 Accommodation Rating: Beaconsfield Hotel The Beaconsfield Hotel is situated on Green Lanes, North London, famous for its Turkish community. The Beaconsfield Hotel is housed in an attractive Victorian building, which is also home to a traditional pub(, )--if you want to experience real British culture, an afternoon in the pub is the place to do it! Manor House Station is just a short walk to Beaconsfield Hotel, so you will find traveling around the city quick and easy. The Beaconsfield Hotel offers ten comfortable rooms, each with a television, fridge and kettle. There is a shared kitchen where you can prepare your meals. Bathroom facilities at Beaconsfield Hotel are also shared, but there are enough facilities for all guests to use. From: $ 30.00 Accommodation Rating: unrated What might be the purpose of writing the text? A. To show the problems of London hotels. B. To give warnings to some illegal hotels. C. To blame the travel industry of London. D. To tell us two budget hotels. Answer: D. To tell us two budget hotels. Question: In 1974, the price of petrol in Britain rose by 120 percent; cars became expensive to run and train and bus fares increased. People who hadn't used a bicycle since they were children decided that they would buy bicycles.They discovered that cycling could be enjoyable and cheap. Bicycle sales had been falling for many years but suddenly everything changed.In 1975, British people spent more than one million on bicycles. Bicycle traffic increased by 11 percent. Bicycle fans compare the cost of running a car with the cost of running a bicycle.They also say bicycle-riding is a good form of exercise.In towns bicycles can often be faster than cars or buses.The bicyclists can ride through traffic jams and at the end of his journey he doesn't have to look for a parking space.Cycling through the countryside is a real pleasure; the cyclist has time to see things that the motorist, driving at over 100 kilometers an hour, never sees. But in the cities, cycling can be dangerous.You need good concentration and strong nerves, especially when a truck or a bus is trying to pass you.Since cycling became popular again, there has been an increase in the number of accidents. Cyclists say the answer to the problem is to separate bicycles from other traffic.Stevenage, a new town near London, has a system of "bikeways", where only bicycles are allowed to travel.However, in most towns, cyclists say, the needs of the bicycle riders are overlooked.Cyclists have formed into "action groups" in many towns in Britain.They want to persuade local councils-who are in charge of the roads and traffic in their areas-to make sure there are safe facilities for cyclists.Or, they say, interest in cycling will die. What is special about traffic in Britain today? A. More and more people ride bikes. B. More and more people like to take trains. C. Taking trains is much safer than taking buses. D. No people like to take buses. Answer: A. More and more people ride bikes.
It is true that shyness can be a disadvantage socially for those who suffer from it seriously. I mean real shyness, not somebody who is simply quiet. Quiet people could be shy, but on the other hand, they may just be observing because they are unsure of you or others in your company. They may be capable of being extrovert and sociable, but on some particular occasions, they are quiet. I have learnt from my experience that those who observe and listen more and talk less can gain a position of strength. This means that even a very shy person, the type who is reluctant to talk in company , especially new company, can become a strong person in just about anything they choose. Remember, knowledge is power, and a shy introvert is in a better position to gain knowledge than an extrovert. Introverted people can give great attention to learning, and as good listeners they can take in an enormous amount from others. Over time, people can come to respect them far more than the extrovert who speaks a lot. Usually about themselves. What does it take , then for a very shy person to be that successful person they have always wanted to be ? They may only need one more thing to push themselves on their way. They need to dare themselves to take the leap; and when they do , they will probably find all the knowledge they have gained over the years will help them on their way to the top in their chosen field. According to the author, introverted people can be successful because they usually _ . A have a strong will B talk less and show off less C learn more than extroverts D have a good attitude to learning Answer: C. learn more than extroverts A pencil falls off of a desk. What moves the pencil toward the floor? A mass B friction C gravity D speed Answer: C. gravity The human body has hundreds of muscles. The three types are skeletal muscles, smooth muscles and cardiac, or heart muscles. Each kind of muscle has a special job to do. The skeletal muscles are attached to the bones; they actually hold the skeleton together. Strong cords, called tendons , help connect these muscles to the bones. Skeletal muscles give us strength and allow us to move in many ways. If you look at skeletal muscles through a microscope, you will see that it has bands of fibers that look like stripes . These stripes are called striations. Skeletal muscles usually move because the brain has sent a conscious message to them telling them what to do. This is called voluntary movement. Another type of muscle is smooth muscle. Unlike skeletal muscle, smooth muscle does not have striations. This is found in organs such as the stomach, the bladder , the lungs and the eyes. Smooth muscles are smaller than the skeletal muscles and they move involuntarily. The brain tells these muscles what to do, but we aren't even aware of it. For example, we don't have to think about breathing or digesting food. The smooth muscles just do their jobs automatically. For this reason smooth muscles are sometimes called involuntary muscles. Like smooth muscle, cardiac muscle also works involuntarily. It is a very thick muscle that is found only in the walls of the heart. Its job is to pump blood out of the heart and into blood vessels called arteries . The arteries help carry the blood to all parts of the body. When the cardiac muscles relax, they let blood back into the heart. Cardiac muscles have striations, just like skeletal muscles do. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A Heart muscles are very important because they give us strength and allow us to move. B The heart of human beings completely consists of heart muscle. C The skeletal muscles are connected to the bones by tendons. D Smooth muscle does its work without receiving message from the brain. Answer: C. The skeletal muscles are connected to the bones by tendons. School Open Day Dear students, We have some interesting and fun things for you this term. On September 9th 2014, we have a School Open Day. It begins at 9:00 a.m. and finishes at 4:00 p.m. All parents can come to our school, have a cup of coffee, and meet our teachers and other parents. Your parents can go to your children's classrooms, have a talk with the principal , have a look at the clubs and ask any questions. From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m, the parents can go to Room 106 for lunch. If you have any questions about the School Open Day, you can call John Smith --- the principal. The telephone number is 021-4899688. Welcome to our school and join us. School: Apple Tree Middle School Which is wrong? A Parents can ask any questions on School Open Day. B The name of the school is Apple Tree Middle School. C The principal of the school is John Smith. D Parents can't stay at Apple Tree Middle School at 3:30 on the School Open Day. Answer: D. Parents can't stay at Apple Tree Middle School at 3:30 on the School Open Day. There is one holiday in the year which is completely American, Thanksgiving Day. It is the day when everyone goes back home to spend the day with his family, to have the traditional Thanksgiving dinner of roast turkey, to talk about old times. This is a story of Thanksgiving Day and of one man's efforts, under rather special circumstances, to carry on these traditions. Old Pete took his seat this day on his usual bench in Union Square. Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years, Pete had taken this same seat exactly at one o'clock, and each time the same pleasant thing had happened. But this time Pete had come here more from habit than from hunger. Certainly today Pete was not hungry. He had just had a dinner so enormous that he could hardly breathe. The buttons on his ragged shirt and coat were about to burst. He was so full of soup, oysters, roast turkey, apple pie, ice cream, and a dozen other rich foods that the November breeze and the first light fall of snow felt cool and pleasant to his face. The meal had been completely unexpected. He had been passing one of the large homes on Fifth Avenue, where there lived two rich old ladies. It seems that it was their custom each Thanksgiving to place a servant at the front entrance with orders to bring in the first hungry looking person that passed and then give him a Thanksgiving dinner of everything he could eat. On this particular Thanksgiving Day, Pete had passed, the servant had brought him in, and, before Pete knew it, he was being served like a king with more food than he could eat. Pete sat on the bench now, hardly able to move. He happened to look to the left and there in the distance he saw the Old Gentleman coming toward him. He wanted to get up and run, but he was so full of food that he stayed right there. Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years, the Old Gentleman had come here, and found Pete on this same bench, and then taken him to a restaurant and bought him a Thanksgiving dinner. It was a kind of tradition which the Old Gentleman, who had no family and lived alone, had tried to continue. The old man was tall and thin and sixty years old. He was aristocratic looking and he always dressed in black. His hair was whiter and thinner than it had been the year before, and he leaned more heavily on his cane than he used to. "How do you do!" said the Old Gentleman. "I am glad to see that the changes of another year have permitted you to move in health through this beautiful world." Each time the Old Gentleman had said exactly this same thing. It was part of the tradition. Old Pete, too, began to feel as though he himself was now a part of the tradition, and he therefore did not have the courage to tell the old man that he had already eaten. This dinner seemed to mean so much to the Old Gentleman. "Thank you, sir," said Old Pete at last. "I'll go with you gladly. I'm very hungry sir." Together the Old Gentleman and Pete walked south to the same restaurant where each year Pete had his Thanksgiving dinner. They sat at the same table. The Old Gentleman seemed pleased and happy. When the waiter brought dish after dish of food to Pete, the Old Gentleman sat quietly and smiled. Under the circumstance, Pete had to eat. It was part of the tradition, and so he ate like a hero. Soup, oysters, roast turkey, pie, he ate everything, although when he entered the restaurant even the smell of more food almost made him sick. At last Pete leaned back with the battle won. "Thank you sir," he said, with some effort, " for a fine dinner." They parted as they did each year at the door, the Old Gentleman going south, Pete north. Around the corner, Pete stopped for a moment, felt a terrible pain in his stomach, then fell to the sidewalk unconscious. A little later an ambulance came. In the hospital they discovered that he had had an attack of indigestion. An hour later, another ambulance brought the Old Gentleman to the same hospital. At first they thought it was also indigestion but later one of the nurses said, "That nice old gentleman over there-- you wouldn't think that it was a case of starvation. Proud old family, I suppose. He told me that he hadn't eaten a thing for three days." This year Old Pete came to the Union Square because _ . A he was hungry and expected to find some food B he had nowhere to go on the Thanksgiving Day C he wanted to meet the Old Gentleman and check his health D it was a convention for him to accept the Old Gentleman's dinner Answer: D. it was a convention for him to accept the Old Gentleman's dinner
When we asked Oprah to pick the 10 books she's read in the past decade that have mattered to her most, she was momentarily stumped. For someone who describes herself as --inspired, challenged, and sustained by books, it was almost impossible for Oprah to stay within our limit of 10. Still, she offered up the following, but she emphasized that it was only a sampler of delightful titles that have also managed to teach her -- and all of us -- a few things. 1. Discover the Power Within You By Eric Butterworth 256 pages; Harper One Advice from the internationally known spiritual teacher. 2. A New Earth By Eckhart Tolle 316 pages; Plume There's a reason Oprah picked this for her Book Club in 2008 -- and that she gave audience members Post-it pens along with their copies.So much wisdom, so little time! A real-life guide to living your best life. 3. The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver 576 pages; Harper Perennial This novel is about a family involved in the political trouble of postcolonial Africa. It established Kingsolver as one of our wisest observers of history, politics, and human nature. 4. Night By Elie Wiesel 120 pages; Hill and Wang A memoir of a childhood suffered in concentration camps during the Holocaust. It's horrific butuplifting. --I gain courage from his courage,\|\| Oprah says. 5. A Fine Balance By Rohinton Mistry 624 pages; Vintage A Dickensian novel about India during the Emergency. Like the aftermath of September 11, it teaches us about cultures we haven't understood. "It takes us out of our own little shell and exposes us to a whole other world out there." Oprah say. 6. East of Eden By John Steinbeck 608 pages; Penguin This classic is about good and evil as played out in a late-19th-century California ranch family. If you didn't read it in high school, read it now. If you did, reread it! 7. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle By David Wroblewski 576 pages; Harper Collins A kind of Hamlet on the prairie, this is the wrenching story of a mute boy and his dog. Oprah compares it to East of Eden and To Kill a Mickingbird. 8. The Pillars of the Earth By Ken Follett 973 pages; Penguin About the challenges of building cathedrals in 12th-century England. This novel couldn't be more different in setting, time, and plot from the author's breakthrough success, Eye of the Needle. Oprah declares it simply "great". 9. The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison 224 pages; Penguin How to choose among the great Morrison's novel? Start with this one about a girl who thinks she has to have blue eyes to be beautiful. Oprah considered it one of the best in a crowded Morrison field. 10. The Known World By Edward P. Jones 400 pages, Harper Collins When this book was published in 2003, it shocked everybody with its description of slave-owning blacks before the Civil War. A daring, unusual examination of race. What makes Oprah declare The Pillars of the Earth great? A The advice on discovering the power. B The story of a mute boy and his dog. C The challenges of building cathedrals. D The good and evil in a California family. Answer: C Dream culture is an important part of ancient Chinese culture. Dream interpreting is popular in China, and the most famous reference for dream interpreting is the book of Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams. Ancient Chinese people thought that dreams could suggest lucky and unlucky things. Since different dreams have different meanings, people can get meanings of good or bad luck by interpreting them. Actually, dream interpreting is not totally a _ . It does have some scientific value. * Dreams are the reflection of the facts. Many dreams are actually something about what happened in the daytime. This kind of dream can be easily understood without dream interpreting. * Dreams are the body's self-implication . Traditional Chinese medical science says that dreams are connected with the health condition of humans' bodies. When Yin and Yang are imbalanced, dreams come into being. If someone dreamt that he or she was roasted by a big fire, it shows he or she might easily get angry or nervous. * Dreams are usually different from the facts. It means that things will develop in the opposite direction when they become worse. To some degree, Duke of Zhou Interprets dreams is scientifically reasonable. Over thousands of years has passed, the book still has many secrets waiting for us to explore. According to the passage, dream culture _ . A is important in ancient Chinese culture B is unimportant in foreign culture C has no scientific value D is something about God Answer: A A crow is sitting in a big tree. She has a big piece of meat in her mouth, "My babies will have a nice breakfast," she thinks. An old fox is looking for his breakfast. He sees the crow and the meat, " How can I get that piece of meat? " he thinks. "Good morning, Mrs. Crow," says the fox. " How are you? " But the crow doesn't say a word. "You have very nice babies, Mrs. Crow," says the fox. " How are they? May I see them? " Still the crow doesn't say a word. "You are very beautiful, Mrs. Crow. And you have a beautiful voice, too," says the fox. " Would you like to sing a song for me? " Mrs. Crow thinks, "How nice Mr. Fox is! I must sing a song for him. " So she opens her mouth, at that time, Mrs. Crow drops the meat into the fox's mouth. The old fox _ very much. A likes the crow and her babies B wants to eat the meat C wants the crow to sing for him D wants to eat the crow Answer: B The manager and staff are happy to welcome you and will do all they can to make your stay an enjoyable one. MEAL TIMES Our overnight charge includes a continental-type breakfast. Breakfast: 7:30--9:30 a.m. Lunch: 12:00--2:00 p.m. Afternoon tea: 4:00--5:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:00--9:15 p.m. Meals can be served in rooms at a small extra charge. We regret that meals can not be served outside these times. Light refreshments including tea, coffee, biscuits and sandwiches can be served in rooms between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. except during the meal times listed above. Cold drinks are available in the room refrigerator. ROOM CLEANING Please hang the sign on your door handle if you do not wish to be disturbed. It will be easier for the maids if you can leave the room temporarily at any time between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. VALUABLES We are not responsible for the loss of money, jewels, or other valuables unless they are kept in the safe and signed for by the manager. DEPARTURES Please inform receptionists of your intended leaving before 9:30 a.m. of the day concerned and leave the room by noon to allow for its preparation for incoming guests. If necessary, luggage can be left in the charge of the hall porter . A SPECIAL REQUEST We would respectfully suggest that in consideration of the comfort of other guests, the volume of radios and televisions should be turned down after 11:00 p.m. Where is this notice most likely to be found? A In hotels. B In the newspapers. C At restaurants. D In shops. Answer: A Vitas 2008 Beijing Concert Venue: Capital Gymnasium Time: 2008-01-24 19:30 Price: TBD(Booking) Tel.: 86-10-64177845 God Blessed Boy Extremely Beautiful Voice Unforgettable Hot Live First appeared on the Russian stage in December 2000, this show became an extreme classic in Vitas' music history.Since then, moreover, more fans from other countries were caught by him from this video especially in China.The lack of Russian language was not in the way for dozen thousands of admirers from China, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan first to pay attention and then to love Vitas' creative work, his voice and songs.Undoubtedly his 2008 concert will also be considered as the yearly expectable concert in Chinese music scene and the most important event among his fans.Let's expect it! Lang Lang Piano Solo Concert Venue: National Grand Theater-Concert Hall Time: 2008-01-03 19:30:00/2008-01-04 19:30:00 Price: TBD(Booking) Tel: 800-810-1887 Acclaimed in the major concert halls of North America, Europe and Asia, Lang Lang - at the age of 20s - has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to connect with audiences on a deeply personal level and has established himself as one of the most exciting pianists of our time.Lang Lang's talent and personality make him an ideal ambassador for classical music and a role model for young people.He is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic and all "Big Five" American orchestras. Li Yun Di Piano Recital Venue: National Grand Theater-Concert Hall Time: 2008-3-27 19:30:00 Price: TBD(Booking) Tel: 010-64177845 Remarks: The tickets for Li Yun Di Piano Recital will be available soon! Called "extravagantly gifted and highly accomplished" by the Los Angeles Times, China pianist Li Yundi was born in 1982 in Chongqing and first gained worldwide attention after winning first prize at the 2000 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw.He was the first person in 15 years to be awarded a first prize. Soprano Te Kanawa Solo Concert Venue: National Grand Theater-Concert Hall Time: 2008-01-02 19:30:00 Price: 180(Out)280(Selling)480(Selling)680(Selling)880(Selling)1680(Out) Tel: 400-810-1887 Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa is an internationally famous New Zealand opera singer.In 1981, she was seen and heard around the world by an estimated 600 million people when she sang Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. The main purpose of this passage is _ . A to attract people to attend these concerts B enrich your knowledge of some famous musicians C rouse your interest in music D call on young people to learn from them Answer: A
Question: Become a professional dog trainer, dog walker or pet sitter with our expert education adn lifetime business support. Top Dog Trainers School will teach you everything you need to know about running your new business. A diploma from Top Dog Trainers School will take you into an enjoyable careet with animals. * We help you create a profitable and successful business from the bottom up with little overhead costs. * We have 10 years lf animal care experience. * We run a Dog Training business making over$150,00per year. * You will leam how to rank your website at the top of search engines. * Hands-on experience with animals and customer relations. * We guide you through business insurance,taxes,licenses,and more. Dog Trainers Course In this 2 week course you will be taught how to run a profitable and enjoyable dog training business. You will have hands on experience training and caring for at least 12 dogs ofall sorts ranging in size from a toy poodle to an Anatolian Shepherd. You will leam about all available training techniques and equipment so you can provide personalized training for four customers. We will train you how to run classes and private in-home lessons. How to run a safe and secure kennel including advance animal health care. Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters Course In this 1 week course you will have experience caring for over a dozen dogs,parrots,chickens, ducks,cats,and horses. We will teach you the secrets of successful dog walkers with hours of dog ,parrots,chickens,ducks,cats,and horses. We will teach you the secrets of successful dog walkers with hours of walking experience. We will teach you how to wash dogs and horses. We will teach you how to properly care for cats and birds. We can resd the passage in the _ part of a newspaper. A. entertainment B. advertisement C. science D. business Answer: B Question: "San Francisco, open your Golden Gate," sang the girl in the theatre. She never finished her song. The date was 18th, 1906. The earth shook and the roof suddenly divided, buildings crashed to the ground and people rushed out into the streets. The dreadful earthquake destroyed the city that had grown up when men discovered gold in the deserts of California. But today the streets of San-Francisco stretch over more than 40 steep hills, rising like huge cliffs above the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. The best way to see this splendid city, where Spanish were the first to make their homes, is to take one of the old cable cars which run along the nine main avenues. Fares are cheap; they have not risen for almost a hundred years. You leave the palm trees in Union Square -- the heart of San-Francisco and from the shop signs and the faces around you, you will notice that in the city live people from many nations -- Austrians, Italians, Chinese, and others, giving every part of the city a special character. More Chinese live in China Town than in any other part of the world outside China. Here, with Chinese restaurants, Chinese post-boxes, and even odd telephone-boxes that look like pagoda , it is easy to feel you are in China itself. Fisherman's Wharf, a place all foreigners want to see, is the end of the ride. You get out, and then set out to find a table in one of gay little restaurants beside the harbor. As you enjoy the fresh Pacific sea food, you can admire the bright red paint of the Golden Gate Bridge in the harbor and watch the traffic crossing beneath the tall towers on its way to the pretty village of Tiberon. When you finish your meal, you may decide to take a boat-trip around the bay to look at the sights. You can stare at the famous, now empty, prison of Alcatraz. Then why not go to the fishing village of Sansalito -- a little like London's Chelsea or New York's Greenwich Village--to see people painting and to look at their pictures. You will be able to enjoy a view of the city from the sea and take pleasure in the soft red and blue Spanish-type houses shining in the bright Pacific light. If you have time you might like to go by bus to Carmel, a hundred miles south of San-Francisco, where you will discover a wild and wonderful coast with high cliffs. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. The origin city of San-Francisco is created by Spanish people. B. More Chinese live in San-Francisco than in any other part of the world outside China. C. Alcatraz used to be a prison but now is deserted. D. San-Francisco lies near the blue waters of the Pacific. Answer: B Question: What would you do if your pet cat died just before Christmas? Many cat lovers would go out and buy another cat. But one American woman was unable to bear life without her much loved pet cat Nicky. He had been with her for 17 years; and when she knew he was going to die, she had him cloned. Little Nicky was cloned by an American company, called GSC. But the new cat cost his owner $50,000. "He is the same. His characteristics are the same," the woman told news reporters. The company, Sausalito-based Genetic Savings and Clone, made her available to speak to reporters only on condition that her name or hometown was not used. The woman said she feared being the target of groups against cloning. "Nicky loved water, which is an unusual characteristic of cats. Little Nicky jumped into my bath. Most cats are afraid of water, but Little Nicky is different: he loves it, just like my old cat," said the woman, who said she was in her early 40s and worked in the airline industry. The company delivered Little Nicky two weeks ago and was expected to publicly announce the news on Thursday. However, the cat's creation has raised heated debate. Many people have said they felt disgusted at the amount of money spent on cloning a cat. They said that she should have chosen one of the many cats without a home -- cats like this are a common problem in many countries. The woman has only told news reporters her first name, Julia, but she has already received nearly 100 frightening letters from angry people, who say that cloning is against nature. Little Nicky was not only expensive, but also, like all cloned animals, may have more health problems than an animal which was born in the usual way. GSC said it had to try 80 times before it succeeded in producing a cloned cat. The company is now using new techniques and soon they hope to produce cloned dogs as well as cats. GSC said that if people were not happy with the cloned cats or dogs, they could have their money back. At the moment the cost of cloning is very high, but the manager of CSC said he hoped that eventually it would go down, and that in five years, the cost should be $20,000 for a dog or $10,000 for a cat. According to the passage, GSC hopes to _ . A. earn more money by cloning animals B. clone more animals at a lower cost C. stop Julia from cloning her cat D. solve the health problems of the cloned animals Answer: B Question: John thought about things that he liked to do. Well, for one, he liked baseball. Compared to his friends, he was very good at the sport. He didn't even have to practice that much. He remembered that he once hit the ball so hard that it flew out of the park. Home run! He was also a fan of basketball. He enjoyed watching people on television pull off crazy tricks like slam dunking (but he didn't really like all of the passes). He wasn't quite that good yet, but he was pretty good at making shots from the three point line. He knew that if he kept practicing, he would be really great someday. Finally, he loved football. Unlike baseball and basketball, he didn't play football himself, but he was drawn to the games. He got a kick out of sitting in the stands, cheering on his team and friends. He once cheered so loud that he could barely speak at all for the rest of the day. Based on what John likes to do, what else do you think John would enjoy? A. Reading B. Cooking C. Soccer D. Watching television Answer: C Question: An example of a mixture is A. light B. a molecule C. terra cotta D. gold Answer: C
Santa Claus makes sure that every year at Christmas time that his reindeer are ready to deliver gifts to girls and boys all over the world. Without the reindeer, how would Santa fly from home to home? The most important thing that Santa has to do for the reindeer is to make sure they have their coffee on Christmas Eve. Without the coffee, they won't stay awake for very long. Sleeping reindeer are not very helpful. Santa also gives the reindeer candy to keep up their energy. In the North Pole, the main candy is candy canes in red and white. Reindeer love the candy canes that are different colors best and Santa says that helps them fly faster. Next, Santa has to make sure that the reindeer have a good meal before they go. Santa wants to make sure he doesn't have to share the cookies kids leave for him. The last thing Santa has to do is make sure the reindeer know where they are going. Santa has only been lost one time on Christmas Eve and he does not want that to happen again. What is the most important thing Santa Claus has to do and why? A Make sure the reindeer have their coffee so they can stay awake. B Make sure the reindeer know where they are going because Santa has only been lost one time on Christmas Eve. C Make sure the reindeer have candy canes in different colors to fly fast. D Make sure the reindeer have red and white candy canes so they fly slow. Answer: A. Make sure the reindeer have their coffee so they can stay awake. Teen models are not difficult to find. An online agency features both models young as well as older. Those who are looking for child models to show off their products and make them look better can find what they are looking for by hiring children models from these online modeling agencies. This is less expensive than trying to go through large modeling agencies that often cost thousands of dollars for the client . Many of those who are selling children's products and have websites for parents and children are looking for teen models. As a result, there is more of a need for young models to participate in the field of modeling. The best way for clients to hire models that will not end up costing them a fortune is to use an online modeling site. An online modeling site will have portfolios of models young as well as old. Someone who is looking for teen models can find a variety of different children when they take a look at these sites. Online teen models usually work for less money than offline models, although they are still paid well enough to make it worth their while to model. Clients who are looking for young models can go on an online modeling agency to look for portfolios of the teens that they will want to use in their advertising campaigns. Parents or guardians must agree to the modeling offers and the agency will act as a go-between for both the teen models as well as the clients who are looking for young models. Clients can look through portfolios for the young models and get the ones that are right for what they are looking for to advertise for them. It is now affordable for anyone to hire teen models when using an online modeling agency site. Parents of young models can also use these sites to get their teens a chance to get a head start in the world of modeling. To hire teen models, the clients are advised to _ . A find modeling agencies B look through newspapers C make use of online modeling sites D advertise on the Internet Answer: C. make use of online modeling sites Max was sitting at home reading his favorite book. The story was about cakes. Max thought to himself, "I am going to go to the store and get stuff to make a cake!" Max headed to the grocery store to get the cake ingredients. Max was going to make a banana and chocolate cake. On his way he saw his friend Greg, a small wolf. Greg was also heading to the store. Greg was going to make a pie for his mother. He needed to get strawberries and blueberries. Max asked Greg if he wanted to walk to the store together. Greg the wolf said yes, so they walked to the store together. At the store the other people looked at Max and Greg. They had never seen an alligator and a wolf who are friends before. Max and Greg laughed at this. Max got the chocolate and bananas to make his cake and Greg got the strawberries and blueberries to make his pie. They left the store. Max waved good bye to Greg. "See you later alligator," said Greg. Max went home and made his cake, it was very good. What were the items Greg needed at the store? A Bananas B strawberries and blueberries C Chocolate D Ham Answer: B. strawberries and blueberries Researchers in the US say they might have discovered how to fight against and even _ some processes of ageing, at least in mice. Injecting the blood of young mice into the older ones improved their brainpower, a study found. Scientists at Stanford University plan to carry out trials in people in the hope that new treatments for dementia can be developed. "There are factors present in blood from young mice that can recharge an old mouse's brain so that it functions more like a younger one,"says Dr. Tony from Stanford University School of medicine. In the study published in Nature Medicine, mice aged 18 months were given injections of the blood taken from mice aged 3 months. The injected mice performed better on memory tests than mice of the same age that had not been given the blood. Dr. Tony said it was not known whether the same was true of humans, but a trial was planned. A research center in UK said the treatment restored certain aspects of learning and memory in mice, but was of unknown importance to humans. The research, while very interesting, did not test the type of brain damage that was seen in dementia, which is not a necessary consequence of ageing. Meanwhile, two similar studies by a separate team have thrown more light on how young blood may benefit the old, in mice at least. A substance in the blood of mice previously shown to have an anti-ageing effect on heart muscle also improved brain cells, according to a Harvard team. The research, published in Science, found the blood factors encouraged the growth of brain cells in old mice, and restored their sense of smell. The same chemical also improved muscle power of aged mice, the researchers found. According to the studies, the blood from young mice benefits the old in certain ways except in _ . A memory B muscle power C fur color D brain cells Answer: C. fur color Seller and Buyer execute an agreement for the sale of real property on September 1, 1971. The jurisdiction in which the property is located recognizes the principle of equitable conversion and has no statute pertinent to this problem."Assume for this question only that Seller dies before closing and his will leaves his personal property to Perry and his real property to Rose. 60 There being no breach of the agreement by either party, which of the following is correct? A Death, an eventuality for which the parties could have provided, terminates the agreement if they did not so provide. B Rose is entitled to the proceeds of the sale when it closes, because the doctrine of equitable conversion does not apply to these circumstances. C Perry is entitled to the proceeds of the sale when it closes. D Title was rendered unmarketable by Seller's death Answer: C. Perry is entitled to the proceeds of the sale when it closes.
I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbours. Ever since I moved into this flat, I've had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I'd had enough and I've been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven't found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent's office, but it's the same story. "I might have something by the end of the week" he says, or, "Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then." I've seen a few flats during my search, but I don't like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. "It's got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!" I said loudly, "I want peace and quiet." Last week I visited the agent again. "I won't leave till you show me something," I said. "I've got just the flat for you." I went to see it and I was frightened. "But it's next to a cemetery!" I cried. "But you won't have noisy neighbours," my agent said. "It's exactly right for peace and quiet!" The writer decided to move away because _ . Answer: Dear Florence, We arrived in India last week, and the voyage was the worst experience of my entire life. I'm lucky to be alive! The first part of the journey was terrible, because the ship hit bad weather almost as soon as we left Liverpool. But much, much worse was to come. Later, we were involved in a collision with another boat and we had to abandon ship! We had been at sea for about two weeks and we were in the Mediterranean. There is now a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea called the Suez Canal, which opened last year. Our boat stopped at Port Said, the Egyptian port at the entrance to the canal. I remember looking through the porthole of my cabin and wishing that I could go ashore and visit this fascinating place, but mummy had ordered that I was to stay in the cabin because I was feeling ill. "you must stay here for at least another two days." I remember her saying. How wrong she would turn out to be! The ship left the port and headed towards the canal . I was alone in the cabin and I watched the port disappear into the distance. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the most awful crunching sound, and the ship shook and turned slightly on its side. There was an for a moment, then people started shouting. Mummy came running into the cabin and told me that we had collided with another boat. She took my hand and we ran along the deck towards the lifeboats. There was a lot of shouting and people were running everywhere, but the crew were all acting calmly, helping people into the lifeboats and telling people not to panic. Well, clearly we survived, as did all the passengers and crew of the ship. The other boat wasn't so lucky. It sank and several lives were lost. I will write about the rest of the journey soon. Please give my love to Aunt Claire and Uncle Eric. Your loving cousin, Jane 56.When was the letter written? Answer: Summer Cultural Exploration in France The Summer Cultural Exploration program in Amboise, France, provides students with the opportunity to study French in a friendly historic atmosphere while experiencing a taste of French culture. Amboise Amboise is a charming small town on the Loire River in central France. The royal Amboise castle was the preferred residence of Charles VIII, who built it in the 15thcentury. With a rich history and beautiful natural scenes, Amboise is the ideal environment for students to study French. Learn French courses take place every morning, Monday through Friday, for four hours per day in a historic 19th-century building in the center of Amboise. Students will be given an exam upon arrival to make sure that they attend a language class of the appropriate level. An interactive teaching approach is stressed. Experience There is a good balance between planned activities and free time throughout the four-week program. Two to three days per week, organized activities are offered such as: lecture on topics in French history, literature, art and cinema, showing of French films, and a visit to Leonardo da Vinci's home at the Clos Luce. Travel Also, students will explore France through the following guided trips. Chambord, Cheverny and Blois --Explore two of the area's famous castles. Chambord, the largest of the Loire castle, was built by the great Renaissance king, France I. Chevernby castle was built in 1630. Visit the old town of Blois, a favorite residence of French royalty. Villandry and Sache -- One of the last Renaissance castles to be built along the Loire, Villandry, is also known for its flower and vegetable gardens. The lovely old castle of Sache was a best-loved house of the great 19th-century writer Honore de Balzac. *Paris -- Discover the City of Light, famous for its fashion, food and art during a journey to Paris! Walk along the banks of the Seine River, visit Notre Dame Cathedral and discover some of the city's famous museums and including the Louvre. Housing Students stay with carefully-selected host families. Ability to remain open-minded and tolerance of cultural differences are required. There is an 11 pm curfew for this program. Students who want to take part in the program will _ . Answer: There was once an ant that was very thirsty. It ran here and there looking for some water but could not find any. Then suddenly, when the ant was almost ready to die of thirst, a large drop of water fell on it. The ant drank the water, which saved its life. The water was actually a tear from a young girl who was crying. Because of her sadness, the tear had magical qualities and suddenly the ant could speak the language of human beings. The ant looked up and saw the young girl sitting in front of a huge pile of seeds. "Why are you sad?" asked the ant. "I'm the prisoner of a giant." the girl told the ant. " He won't let me go until I've made three separate heaps of grain, barley and rye out of this huge pile of seeds in which they are all mixed together." "That will take you a month!" the ant said, looking at the huge pile of seeds. "I know," the girl cried, "and if I haven't finished by tomorrow, the giant will eat me for his supper!" "Don't cry," the ant said, "my friends and I will help you." Soon thousands of ants were at work, separating the three kinds of seeds. The next morning, when the giant saw that the work had been done, he let the girl go. Thus it was one of her tears that saved her life. Who or what saved the girl's life? Answer: Protagoras was among the great teachers of ancient Athens. He taught many subjects, including the laws of argument and the right use of language. It is said that he was the first teacher to accept money for his services. A student, Evalthus, heard of this famous teacher and asked him to give him lessons. However, Evalthus didn't want to pay for his lessons at once, and after some discussion it was finally agreed between them that Evalthus should pay only if he won his first case in the court. For if he won, it would prove that he had been taught well. The lessons began and Evalthus proved himself to be a good student. But he refused to pay Protagoras anything at the end of his studies. Protagoras therefore took Evalthus to the court and told the judges that he wanted his money. He explained that he must be paid whether he won or lost the case. "Whatever you decide," he declared to the judges, " I must be paid. For if you decide in my fovor , then I win the case, and so I must be paid . But If you decide against me, then Evalthus has won his first case in the court; according to our agreement, he must pay his lessons. Therefore I shall get my money whatever happens." The Athenian judges found no fault in it, so they asked Evalthus to reply. "No, it's quite clear," said Evalthus, " that I need not pay. If the judged decide in my favor, then I have won the case, and I need not to pay. But if Protagoras wins, then I have lost my first case. Therefore, according to our agreement, I do not have to pay. So I need not pay in any event." As both arguments appeared to be faultless, the judges were unable to come to a decision. They therefore ordered the two men to appear before them again one hundred years later. Why did the judged ask Protagoras and Evalthus to come to the court one hundred years later? Answer:
There are two mice. They are called Bill and Paul. They are good friends. One mouse lives in the country; the other mouse lives in the city. On a sunny day they meet in the street. Paul: Hi, Bill! Have a look at my house in the country. I'm sure you can enjoy yourself. Bill: I'd love to. But I hear that the food is not delicious, and your house is not good. Is it so? Paul: No, that's not true. Go and see! Then Bill goes to the countryside with Paul. Bill: Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have better food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city. Paul: Thanks! Maybe you are right. I'll visit your house one day. _ days later Paul goes to Bill's house in the city. The house is big and beautiful. They are sitting in the sitting-room, having a big dinner comfortably. Suddenly, there a great noise. Bill: Run! Run! The cat is coming! Paul: Oh, no! It's terrible! Both the house and the food are nice, but I do not like living in the city. I enjoy living in my hole in the field, for it is nice to be poor but happy than to be rich but afraid. Which is the best title? A The City Mouse and the Country Mouse B Two friends C Two Beautiful Mice D The Country and they City Answer: A There are many people who could be Olympic Champions. I'd estimate five million people could have beaten me in the pole-vault on the years when I won it, at least five million. Men were stronger, bigger, and faster than I could have done it, but they never picked up a pole, never made the efforts to vault their legs off the ground to try to get over the bar. Greatness is all around us. It's easy to be great because great people will help you. What was fantastic about all the conventions I went to was that the greatest in the business would come and share their ideas, their methods and their techniques with everyone else. I have seen the greatest salesmen showing young salesmen exactly how they did it. They didn't hold back. I have also found it true in the world of sports. I'll never forget the time I was trying to break Dutch Warmer Dam's record. I was about a foot below his record, so I called him on the phone. I said, "Dutch, can you help me? I seem to have _ . I can't get any higher." He said, "Sure, Bob, come on up to visit me and I'll give you all I got." I spent three days with the master, the greatest pole-vaulter in the world. For three days, Dutch gave me everything he'd seen. There were things that I was doing wrong and he corrected them. To make a long story short, I went up eight inches. That great guy gave me the best that he had. Great people will share. Great people will tell you their secrets. Look for them, call them on the phone or buy their books. Go where they are, get around them and talk to them. It is easy to be great when you get around great people. The author of this passage must be _ . A a world record holder in pole vault B a Dutch pole-vaulter C an Olympic Champion D a student of Warmer Dam's Answer: C Many children act in TV shows. They work several hours every day, so they can not go to regular school. How do they get an education? In Hollywood, many TV shows are made. About forty teachers give lessons to the children in the shows. They teach wherever their pupils are working. The teachers' job is very important. They are responsible for making sure that the children work only the permitted hours each week. They are also responsible for making sure that children learn the required subjects. They make sure, too, that the children get enough rest and play, along with their education. Children actors are required to attend classes twenty hours each week. California law says they must be taught from September to June. If they do not make much progress in school, they are not permitted to continue working in TV shows. TV children are usually good pupils, and most of their teachers like this special kind of work. Their classes are held in some wonderful places. Sometimes the "classroom" is a Mississippi riverboat, and sometimes it is the inside of a spaceship. Often the pupils become famous TV or movie stars. . The teachers' duty is to make sure that the children actors _ . A do not overwork B learn what they must learn C have enough sleep and play D all the above Answer: D One morning, I stepped out of bed and put my feet on the floor. Suddenly, a mean little man jumped out from under the bed and stabbed (,) an ice pick through my left foot. Figuratively speaking, yes. I took another step and he stabbed it again. This went on all day. Step, stab, scream. Over the next few days, I started limping . My whole body hurt. Even my hair. I kept thinking that the little man would get tired of stabbing me and go pick on somebody else.We often take things for granted until we lose them or they start to hurt. My brother deals with pain every day. He's also blind and suffers from cerebral palsy , needs a walker to walk, doesn't take much for granted. I had to wonder: What would he think about my foot? Finally, after a week of pain, I went to see a very nice foot doctor. The doctor studied my foot, took X-rays, shook his head, and said the little man's name: Arthur Itis, or Arthritis . I knew it well. I'd often heard it hissed angrily by my grandparents and parents, all attacked by Arthur's ice pick when they got older. "Wait," I said. "Doesn't Arthur usually just pick on old people?" The doctor smiled, looking at my chart. "How old are you?" I gave him a look. "Never mind," I said. "Can you fix it?" "Well," he said, "we can try." He listed several options and I chose the injection . It didn't hurt much. Not half as much as the ice pick. That was yesterday. This morning, I awoke, took a few careful steps and ... hallelujah!It hurt just a bit, but no ice pick. I looked under the bed. No sign of Arthur. Maybe he was hiding in the closet, waiting for another day.But for now, he was gone, and I was grateful.My mind began to race with plans to do all the things I'd been putting off for days:unpack, clean the house, wash my hair ... Then it hit me. Another stab. Not in my foot. In my heart. I remembered that I hadn't called my brother in a long time. It's easy to take some things for granted. But it should never be the people we love. After having the injection, the author's _ . A felt regretful because it hurt so much B was first satisfied with her recovery C felt better but could still feel the "ice pick"pain D was busy with housework that had been delayed for days Answer: B If your child does well on a test,of course,you're going to praise or her-but if you focus too often on achievements, children may not get the right message.Why? An experiment by psychologist Carol Dweck at Columbia University in New York shows what happens when kids are praised for their efforts,and what happens when they're praised for their intelligence. Dweck got a group of ten--yearolds to do a series of puzzles easy enough so that all could do them well.Then they were told either,"You must be smart at this,"or,"You must have worked really hard." In the following tests,the kids praised for their efforts chose to do a harder set of puzzles.when give a task two years beyond their grade levels ,they worked hard and enjoyed the challenge , even when they didn't succeed. And in a final test at the same level as the first ,their scores improved by 25 percent. And the "smart" kids? They refused to try the harder puzzles, choosing the one that guaranteed them good scores. When they did work in the "too hard" tests , they became discouraged and upset. And when retested with the original puzzles, their scores declined by 20 percent. Dweck's conclusion:"When we praise kids for their intelligence,we tell them: 'Look smart,don't risk making mistakes.'"By contrast,"emphasizing effort gives children an inspiring factor that they can control." Which of the statements may 1east support Mr.Dweck's idea when you give praise to your student who does well on a test? A You must have taken a lot of efforts. B You're smart and second to none. C You're diligent in challenges. D Your hard work contributes to your achievements. Answer: B
If a large inanimate thing is moving across arctic seas, it is likely A. freshwater fish B. oily stones C. hardened dampness D. old sheep Answer: C If you breathe on a mirror, part of the mirror clouds up. What are you actually seeing when you see the mirror cloud up? A. Water droplets that formed from cooled water vapor in your breath B. Carbon dioxide that you are breathing out from your lungs C. Oxygen that you are breathing out from your lungs D. Cooled nitrogen in the air around you Answer: A Our environment is being polluted faster. Man's present efforts cannot prevent it .Time is bringing us more people, and more people will bring us more industry, more cars, larger cities and the growing use of man-made materials. What can explain and solve this problem ?The fact is that pollution is caused by man ----by his desire for a modern way of life. We make "industrialization "our main aim. So we seem to be ready to give up everything: clear air, pure water, good food, our health and the future of our children. Large numbers of people are moving from the countryside into the cities, looking forward to the modern life. But as our world has developed so fast in the last twenty years, pollution has become a serious problem. Isn't it time for us to stop to ask ourselves where we are going-----and why? It makes one think of the story about the airline pilot who was heard over the loudspeaker, "I've some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we're flying at 530 miles per hour. The bad news is that we're lost and don't know where we're going." The sad fact is that this becomes a true story when we talk about our modern society. According to the passage, what does man believe to be the most important? A. Industry B. Health C. Clean air D. The future of the children Answer: A Ahmad is the founder of Copia, which she describers as "match com meets Uber for food recovery." Conipanies use the Copia app to report when they have leftover food,what kind, and how much . When recipients such as shelters, soup kitchens , and agencies first register with Cupia, they indicate how many people they need to feed,on what days , and what kind of food they'll take. Cupia makes a profit from the fees that companies pay to remove leftever food; the companies receive a tax write-off for their food donations. How did Ahmad create Copia? Aa a senior at UC Berkeley, the found nearly 50 million Americans are at risk of going hungry every day, white more than 133 billion pounds ofeatable foud are deserted each year. Ahma d started a student group that recovered food from the campus and distributed it Lo local nonprofits. As rewarding as this was,the inefficiencies bothered her. One day , she got a call from the dining hall manager, who had 500 sandwiches left over from m event. She rented a car,loaded it with the food, and called nonprofits, She found takers for only 25 sandwiches and ended up giving out the rest eU a nearby park. "I remember thinking how cool it would be if people who had food could say, 'Hey, we have stuff, ' and people who needed it could speak up, and then we could connect the two. " After she graduated , Ahmad launched Copia carlier this year, it operates in 40 cities in Northem California and has served over 700,000 people. Its biggest success--and challenge-- 10 date was this past Super Bowl: Copia recovered muro than 14 tons of food, which fed more than 23,000 people. Despite her busy schedule, Ahmad tries to do me food pickup a week."When you get to theshelter,"she says ," If you wouldn't have eaten." And that's when I'm like, ' This is why I do what I do.' What's a Copia's operating model? A. Consumer to consumer B. Produciiun to consumer C. Business to consumer D. Business to business Answer: C We often hear people talking about a generation gap . The name is new,but the idea is old. Young people and their parents don't understand each other. The world has always kept changing. During the second century after Christ a wise man said, "Bury me on my face because in a little while everything will be turned upside down." There has always been a gap between generations, but more people talk about it now. Old Mr. Ellis thinks he understands what has happened. "When I was a boy, I thought the world was a beautiful place. My life was very pleasant. But when I was older, I learned about people who were treated badly, people who didn't have enough to eat. I wanted to help them, and I married a girl who wanted to help them, too. We went to meetings and talked a lot, but it didn't seem to make much difference. ""Our children grew up in a world at war. They didn't know when the fighting would stop. They wanted their children to have nice clothes and toys. They didn't want to think about the future. They thought nothing could be done about it." "Now I have grandchildren, and they have their own ideas. They are trying to make the world better. They are trying to help other people. They're making people listen to them. I am proud of their generation." Which generation did NOT want to do anything to make the world a better one? A. Mr. Ellis' generation B. His children's generation C. His grandchildren's generation D. None of the above. Answer: B
Do you know why different animals or pests have their special colors? Colors in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves. Some birds like eating locusts. but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colors together with the change of the colors of crops. When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown color as crops have. Some other pests with different colors from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night. If you study the animal life, you'll find the main use of coloring is protecting themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be seen by hunters. This is because they have the colors much like the tree. Have you ever noticed an even more strange act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid when it faces danger. While the liquid spread over, the enemies cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it isn't strong at all. , . Which is the best title for this passage? Answer: The Main Use of Colors for Animals and Pests I've just got to talk about this problem I'm having with my postman. It all began a year ago, after the birth of his first child. Not wanting to appear rude, I asked him about the baby. The next week, not wanting him to think I had asked out of mere politeness the week before, I asked all about the baby again. Now I can't break the habit. I freeze whenever I see him coming. The words "How's the baby?" come out on their own. It holds me up. It holds him up. So why can't I stop it? The answer is that I want him to like me. Come to think of it, I want everyone to like me. My sister had the same problem with the caretaker of her block of flats: "All he ever does is complain; he talks at me rather than to me, never listens to a word I say, and yet for some reason I'm always really nice to him. I'm worried in case I have a difficulty one day, and he won't lift a finger to help." What about at work? Richard Lawton, a management trainer, warns: "Those managers who are actually liked by most of their staff are always those to whom being liked is not the primary goal. The qualities that make managers popular are being honest with staff, treating them as human beings and observing common politeness like saying hello in the morning." To explain the point, Richard mentions the story of the company chairman who desperately wanted to be liked and who, after making one of his managers fired, said with moist eyes that he was so, so sorry the man was leaving. The employee replied: "If you were that sorry, I wouldn't be leaving." The lesson being, therefore, that if you try too hard to be liked, people won't like you. The experts say it all starts in childhood. "If children feel they can only get love from their parents by being good," says Zelda West-Meads, a marriage guidance consultant, "they develop low self-confidence and become _ ." But is there anything wrong in being a giver, the world not being exactly short of takers? Anne Cousins believes there is. "There is a point at which giving becomes unhealthy," she says. "It comes when you do things for others but feel bad about it." I am now trying hard to say to people "I feel uncomfortable about saying this, but..." and tell myself "Refusal of a request does not mean rejection of a person" and I find I can say almost anything to almost anyone. What could we find out about the author's sister and the caretaker? Answer: She doesn't want to risk displeasing him. My school is not big but beautiful. There is a garden in the school. There are many flowers in the garden. The flowers are colorful-they are all kinds of colours. In the center of the garden, there is a pool. The fish are swimming in it. They look very happy and free. There are two teaching buildings around the garden. There are 18 classrooms in it. And there are also many other rooms in it -- music room, reading room, language lab and library. There are all kinds of books in the library, such as storybooks, cartoon books and magazines. You can read them after class. The playground is behind the teaching building. We do morning exercises on the playground every day. On the playground, you can play sports--running, playing basketball and playing badminton. I like my school very much. When can the students go to the library? Answer: After class. Nearly a quarter-century after a German boy threw a message in a bottle off a ship in the Baltic Sea, he's received an answer. A 13-year-old Russian, Daniil Korotkikh, was walking with his parents on a beach when he saw something lying in the sand. "I saw that bottle and it looked interesting," Korotkikh told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "it looked like a German beer bottle and there was a message inside. " It said, "My name is Frank, and I'm five years old. My dad and I are traveling on a ship to Denmark. If you find this letter, please write back to me, and I will write back to you." The letter, dated 1987, included an address in the town of Coesfeld. The boy in the letter, Frank Uesbeck, is now 29. His parents still live at the letter's address. The Russian boy and the German man met each other earlier this month through an internet video link. The Russian boy said he did not believe that the bottle actually spent 24 years in the sea. He believed it had been hidden under the sand where he found it for a long time. Uesbeck was especially happy that he was able to have a positive effect on a life of a young person far away from Germany. "It's really a wonderful story," he said. "And who knows? Perhaps one day we will actually be able to arrange a meeting in person. " According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE? Answer: Daniil Korotkikh and Frank Uesbeck have got in touch with each other. Facing fear is one of the most important things you can do. Some people have a fear of failure and others a fear of success. It may seem strange but neither one is a good fear. You might think the fear of failure could be a good thing but it's not, particularly if the fear of failure keeps you from accomplishing anything. For myself, I have a huge fear of failure but I am good at facing that fear and overcoming it. I don't let my fear of failure cause me to delay my decision or get me off the track. I use the fear to make sure I'm doing my absolute best at all times because I know if I don't do my best I will fail. That frightens me. I'm not afraid of trying at all. I started a business when I was married to my first wife. The business became successful and I was getting ready to make some huge money. However, my wife just wanted us to stay small because she was comfortable there. She feared what success might bring and did every little thing she could to make sure we didn't grow any bigger. I'm sure you can see the problem. I had a fear of failure and she had an even bigger fear of success. Finally I couldn't stand any more of her fear and we got a divorce. Facing fear and overcoming fear is very important. People even have a fear of fear. I'm sure that it is normal. People fear change more than anything else and fight that change with fear. They fear what they don't know or understand. They fear anything new to them. But we need to keep in mind that the world is changing all the time and that change is inevitable . You can live a life free of fear by learning to face your fears. It can be inferred that when the writer's small business became successful, _ . Answer: something went wrong with their marriage
Ocean Park Hong Kong is a theme park in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island. The park was built with donations from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (now Hong Kong Jockey Club) and opened on 10 January 1977. Today it offers affordable marine animal education and entertainment and is a private organization for commercial purpose. In the early operation of the park, the main sources of income for the park were the ticket prices and the funding from the Jockey Club. Since the ticket price was low, most of the time Ocean Park was operating under deficit . In July 1987, the government established a 200 million trust from the funding of Jockey Club, under the Ocean Park Corporation Ordinance. This separated Ocean Park from Jockey Club and became a non-profit organization; it needs to be responsible for its own income and was allowed to use commercial means to operate the park. Since it was permitted to use commercial means to operate, it gradually raised its ticket price and the deficit turned into profit. In 1992, 3 million visitors visited the park. Since 1998, the East Asian financial crisis , aging attractions, and the passing away of the killer whale, the park recorded a deficit for a couple years. Although it was allowed to host 2 pandas in 1999, the number of visitors did not go up and Ocean Park was forced to close its water attractions and the "Old Village" attraction and turned to bring in more rides in an attempt to capture the youth demand. Together with the opening up of mainland visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme, Ocean Park recorded an astonishing 4 million visitors in the year 2004-2005, the highest since the park opened. In March 2005, Ocean Park made its redevelopment plan. On 23 November 2006, Ocean Park held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment. Which of the following statements is Wrong? Answer: If 100 grams of vinegar and 5 grams of baking soda are poured in a container, a small amount of gas will be produced. What will the final mass of the products be if the gas is trapped in the container? Answer: Here is a true story about a famous man who worked in the White House and a criminal. They once faced the same thing: their mother gave them apples when they were young. The criminal said: one day, my mother brought some apples and asked my brother and me: "Which do you want?" "The reddest and biggest one," my little brother said. My mother stared at him and said to him angrily: "You should learn to give the good things to others; you shouldn't always think of yourself." Seeing this, I suddenly changed my idea and then said to my mother: "Mum, please give me the smaller one and give the bigger one to my little brother." Hearing my words, my mother was very happy. She kissed me on my face and gave the reddest and biggest apple to me as a prize. From then on, I learned to tell lies, fight, steal and rob. In order to get what I wanted, I played hard. As a result, I was sent into prison. The famous man from the White House said: One day, my mother brought some apples. She said to my brother and me: "You all want the reddest and biggest one, right? Well, let's have a competition. Now I divide the grassland in front of the gate into two and I will give one to each of you and you must shear it well. And I will give the reddest and biggest apple to him who does it the most quickly and best." After the competition, I won and I got the biggest apple. In our family, as long as you want to get the best things, you must take part in competition. I think it is fair. No matter what you want, you must pay lots of efforts. We can conclude from the passage that _ . Answer: Elephants have very strong legs.Their legs are like trees.They usually walk slowly because they are so big,but they walk very quietly. Wild elephants living in the jungle usually stay together in big families.Usually one old elephant leads them.The others follow their leader.They usually move about at night,looking for food.In the hot daytime,they go to sleep in the cool shade of the trees.Elephants are kind animals.When one of them is hurt and cannot pull itself to its feet,the other elephants lift it up and help it to walk. Some people say that elephants never forget.They remember people who are kind or bad to them.There are many about this. Wild elephants living _ usually stay together in big families. Answer: Happy April Fool's Day.In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes in history.They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them. INSTANT COLOUR TV In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white.The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display colour reception.All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color.Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people were taken in.Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970. SAN ERRIFFE In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean.A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this unknown nation.The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot.Few noticed that everything about the island was made up. NIXON FOR PRESIDENT In 1992 American National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again.His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his election speech.Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger.Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke, Nixon's voice was copied by comedian Rich Little. We get to know from the passage that _ . Answer:
Rocks that contain fragments of bones, shells, and plant remains are most likely Answer: While driving his car, Plaintiff sustained injuries in a three-car collision. Plaintiff sued the drivers of the other two cars, D-l and D-2, and each defendant crossclaimed against the other for contribution. The jurisdiction has adopted a rule of pure comparative negligence and allows contribution based upon proportionate fault. The rule of joint and several liability has been retained. The jury has found that Plaintiff sustained damages in the amount of $100,000, and apportioned the causal negligence of the parties as follows: Plaintiff 40%, D-l 30%, and D-2 30%. How much, if anything, can Plaintiff collect from D-l, and how much, if anything, can D-l then collect from D-2 in contribution? Answer: Vancouver's Chinatown--Canada's largest Chinatown Vancouver's Chinatown is North America's second biggest Chinatown, after San Francisco's. Mandarin and Cantonese are the mother tongues in 30% of Vancouver homes, which makes Chinese the largest "minority" ethnic group . Vancouver's Chinatown is the place to visit for a taste of Chinese culture. In Chinatown, there are a lot of traditional products and buildings, such as the stone lions which represent for the prestige(;),many red lanterns which stands for the happiness. What's more interesting, in Chinatown, a typical Suzhou garden can be found. Chinatown not only expresses the culture of China to the other cultures, but also one part shows that Vancouver is the multicultural society. Chinatown which carries many Chinese cultures is built by Chinese in Vancouver. In the beginning, Chinatown was the community only for Chinese people, but nowadays, more and more other people from different countries are willing to know the Chinatown. It is the part of the Vancouver's society, and Chinatown is also changing gradually in order to adjust to Vancouver. There are lots of interesting markets with many varieties of fresh and dried seafood and mushrooms in the Chinatown. You'll also find cheap and fine house ware and traditional Chinese medicine. During the summer, on weekend evenings, Keefer and Pender Streets become a busy open-air night market. If you have enough time for a meal, try at one of the many small restaurants. It is not an expensive, multi-course culinary adventure. Relax in the peaceful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, or just steps on Pender Street. Visit the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum, or participate in one of its many activities. If you are tired you should have a rest in _ . Answer: "I left Tangier, my birthplace, the 13th of June 1325 with the intention of making the pilgrimage to Mecca... to leave all my friends both female and male, to abandon my home as birds abandon their nests." So begins an old manuscript in a library in Paris-the travel journal of Ibn Battuta. Almost two centuries before Columbus, Ibn Battuta set off for Mecca, returning home three decades later as one of history's great travelers. Driven by curiosity, he journeyed to remote comers of the Islamic world, traveling through 44 modern countries, three times as far as Marco Polo. Little celebrated in the West, his name is well known among Arabs. In his hometown of Tangier, a square, a hotel, a cafe, a ferry boat, and even a hamburger are named after him. Ibn Battuta stayed in Mecca as a student for several years, but the urge to travel soon took over. In one adventure, he traveled to India seeking profitable employment with the sultan of Delhi.On the way, he described his group being attacked in the open country by 80 men on foot, and two horsemen. "We fought... killing one of their horsemen and about twelve of the foot soldiers... I was hit by an arrow and my horse by another, but God in his grace preserved me... ". In Delhi, the sultan gave him the position of judge, based on his _ study at Mecca. But the sultan had an unpredictable character, and Ibn Battuta looked for an opportunity to leave. When the sultan offered to finance a trip to China, he agreed. IbnBattuta set off in three ships, but misfortune struck while he was still on the shore. A sudden storm grounded and broke up two ships, scattering treasure and drowning many people and horses. As he watched, the third ship with all his belongings and slaves (one carrying his child), was carried out to sea and never heard from again. After a lifetime of incredible adventures, Ibn Battuta was finally ordered by the sultan of Morocco to return home to share his wisdom with the world. Fortunately, he agreed and wrote a book that has been translated into numerous languages, allowing people everywhere to read about his unparalleled journeys. What brought Ibn Battuta finally back to his motherland? Answer: The Cave of Lascaux It was Thursday, September 12,1940.Four French teens were out exploring in the woods off the northern slopes of the Pyrenees.Many years before, an old pine tree fell and left a large hole in the ground.The teenagers were curious and they started to explore the area and fell into one of the most important archeological finds of the twentieth century! There are over a hundred limestone caves in this region of France.Some were _ by humans thousands and thousands of years ago.Between 15,000 and 17,000 years ago, humans painted lively creatures such as cows, bulls, horses, and even cats on the walls of the caves. Why did they mark these walls? Was it to tell a story? Was it to record a famous battle? There are many mysteries and ancient secrets still waiting to be discovered in the cave of Lascaux.There were dots in many of the paintings.What do these dots mean? Were they meant to record time, a calendar? Deep in the cave, there is a drawing of a "birdman".What does this mean? Was it a place for sacred ceremonies? No one knows for sure. The actual cave of Lascaux was closed in 1963 due to the overabundance of tourists visiting the site.The carbon dioxide that people were breathing out was causing damage to the fragile cave paintings.Up till now the Lascaux cave is still closed for tourists.Only a specialist can visit the cave by a special order that must be made out almost a year in advance.Not more than six persons can enter the cave per day.Two days a week, the cave is completely closed.Due to the great interest of numerous tourists, in 1983 Lascaux IIwas opened for tourism.It is an exact replica of the cave of Lascaux. The Pyrenees are the _ in France. Answer:
"Green" is more than just a color. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment--the water, the land, and the air we breathe. Why green? Plants are green, and without them the earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. Every day, people make choices that affect the amount of trash and pollution that gets produced in our world. What can you do? A whole lot, actually. Here's a four-step guide to being green: Reduce the amount of stuff you use and throw away. Reuse stuff when you can. Recycle cans, bottles, paper, books, and even toys, Sometimes water can be. For instance, some communities take used water - like from the washing machine and shower - and clean it up so it's safe to use for watering the grass and flowers. Enjoy the Earth - walk in the woods, plant a tree, and eat some of the delicious food it produces. Here's a list of other stuff you can reduce: Close the switches when you're not using lights. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth.. When you can, walk or ride your bike instead of driving in the car. You'll use less gas - and get some exercise! Turn off for your phone and MP3 player when you're not using them. Put your computer to "sleep" instead of leaving it on with the screensaver running. _ can't reduce the stuff. Answer: Throwing away the books you don't use Wouldn't it be wonderful to travel to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language? In a recentWall Street journalarticle, technology policy expert Alec Ross argued that, within a decade or so. We'll be able to communicate with one another via small earpieces with built-in microphones. That's because technological progress is extremely rapid. It's only a matter of time. Indeed, some parents are so convinced that this technology is imminent that they're wondering if their kids should even learn a second language. It's true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy of the data loaded into computers will make them cleverer at translating "No es bueno dormir mucho" as "It's not good to sleep too much. " Replacing a word with its equivalent in the target language is actually the "easy part of a translator's job". But even this seems to be a discouraging task for computers. It's so difficult for computers because translation doesn't-or shouldn't-involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it's about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, humans have to interpret a mass of information at the same time. Think about all the related clues that go into understanding an expression: volume, gesture, situation, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use. Therefore, we should be very skeptical of a machine that is unable to interpret the world around us. If people from different cultures can offend each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and interpreting meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place. What view does the author hold about translation? Answer: Proper translation can be tough for humans. A California family drives a car that could help protect the environment. When Jon and Sandy go to the store or to their daughters' soccer games, they drive in high-tech style. They drive a $1 million, fuel-cell-powered car. It may be the world's most expensive car and one of the most environmentally friendly cars. The FCX is the first fuel-cell-powered car to be used by a family anywhere in the world. The FCX uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Car makers have been working to develop vehicles that are better for the environment. They are developing cars that use fuel other than gasoline. And then what is fuel cell technology? Fuel cell technology works by changing the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water. This process produces electricity, and water vapor which comes out of the exhaust pipe. Most cars release dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Many scientists say these gases are major contributors to global warming. "The FCX is driven just like any other vehicle on the road, but without the gases which pollute the environment," scientists say. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 1800s, but scientists have yet been to perfect it. They say it may take years before the technology is ready for widespread use. Another earth-friendly car is already on the market. Hybrid cars use both gasoline and an electric motor. They are becoming more popular with customers because they cut pollution and improve fuel efficiency. From the passage, we know that fuel cell technology _ . Answer: has a history for over two hundred years When Frank began his story, we all listened. "I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home." He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was _ from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled the ocean." Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad, he would drive me to school. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me good-bye!" He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I thought I was too old for a good-bye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, 'No, Dad.' It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, ' Dad, I'm too old for a good-bye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss.' My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked our the windshield. ' You're right,' he said. ' You are a big boy... a man. I won't kiss you anymore..'" For the moment, Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back." I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. " Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek... to feel his rough old face... to smell the ocean on him... to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a good-bye kiss." According to the passage, which statement is not accurate? Answer: Dad was so hurt that he left home and never came back. Colin walked slowly home from school. He looked across the hills at the little Irish fishing village. It did not seem like Christmas Eve. Perhaps this was because it still had not snowed. But Colin knew there was another reason--a reason he did not dare whisper even in his heart. He looked toward the sea. There was no ship. And seven days ago his father's fishing boat hadn't gone home in time. "I'll bring you a small sheep dog from the Shetland Isles," Colin's father told him the morning he left. But now it was Christmas Eve. Colin looked toward the lighthouse, high on the hill. For seven days, there had been no light to guide his father's ship. Colin pushed open the door of his cottage. "We'll need more peat for the fire, Colin," said his mother as he entered. "It has burned itself out. And it's near time to light the Christmas candle. Everybody in Ireland lights a candle on Christmas Eve, even when there's sadness in the house. It shows that your house and heart are open to strangers. I've two candles, one for each of us. If you gather some peat, we'll be ready for supper soon." Colin nodded and went outside. He led their donkey up the hill. But while he was staring at the lighthouse, Colin had an idea. He came to the lighthouse and knocked on the door. Mr. Duffy, the keeper, opened the door. "What's up, young man?" "Mr. Duffy," said Colin, "what did you use to light the lighthouse?" "Well, we used an oil lamp. But we've no oil to burn." "Maybe kerosene would do," suggested Colin. "Well, I suppose," Mr. Duffy thought. "But you wouldn't find even a little spare kerosene in this village. Everyone is so poor ..." Colin was gone before Mr. Duffy could finish his sentence. He ran back to the cottage. Then he ran out with four buckets. Colin could see candles glowing in nearly every cottage in the valley. A candle on Christmas Eve meant that a stranger would be welcome and given whatever he asked. He didn't stop running until he came to the first house. "Could you spare me just a half cup of kerosene from your lamp?" he asked. Colin went to every house where a candle was shining . In one hour he had filled two buckets. Slowly and painfully he carried them up to the lighthouse door. "What's this?" Mr. Duffy asked. "This won't keep the lamp burning for more than an hour or so." "I'll get more!" Colin shouted as he started down the hill. After three more long hours, Colin had gathered five more buckets of kerosene. He was on his way with the sixth pail, when the tower suddenly shone with light. The light spread toward the dark heart of the sea like a finger pointing home. Mr. Duffy had lighted the lamp! It was very late when Colin reached home. His mother jumped from her seat near the fire. "Colin, where have you been? You've had no supper, nor lighted your candle!" "Oh, mom! I've lighted a candle, and it's a big one!" Colin slept soundly that night, dreaming of candles. Suddenly, a loud shout aroused him from his sleep. "The boat! The boat was just different in the fog, lost." Colin rushed to the window. His mother was running toward the harbor. It was true! There floated his father's boat. Colin ran across the yard and raced to the harbor. He felt a wet wind on his face. It was beginning to snow. Oh, it was Christmas morning all right, falling right from heaven and into his heart! What Colin dare not whisper even in his heart was that _ . Answer: his father didn't return home from the sea as expected
Welcome to the zoo Day open : Fees : Monday to Friday Adults : $ 8. 00 10:00 am~6:00 pm Ages 8~14: $ 3. 00 Saturday to Sunday Ages 15~18 : $ 6. 00 8 :00 am~8 :00 pm Under 8 : Free Try our train ride for $ 2. 00 per person! ,. If you are 13, how much do you pay to go into the zoo? A. 3 dollars. B. 6 dollars. C. 8 dollars. D. No money. Answer: A. 3 dollars. Every object tells a story. Even the most ordinary objects can present to us powerful images. Sometimes it is the ordinary nature of these objects that actually makes them so extraordinary. Such is the case with an old leather shoe in a museum in Alaska. At first glance it does not look like much. It is a woman's shoe of a style popular in the 1890s. But what is unique about this shoe is where it was found. It was discovered on the Checkout Pass, the famous trail used by the people seeking gold in Alaska. Who it belonged to or why it was left there is not known. Was it perhaps dropped by accident as the woman climbed up the 1500 stairs carved outface? Or did she throw away goods that she didn't need in order to travel lighter? Over 100, 000 people with "gold fever" made this trip hoping to become millionaires. Few of them understood that on their way they would have to cross a harsh wildness. Unprepared for such a dangerous journey, many died of starvation and exposure to the cold weather. The Canadian government finally started requiring the gold seekers to bring one ton of supplies with them. This was thought to be enough for a person to survive for one year. They would carry their supplies in backpacks each weighing up to fifty pounds; it usually took at least 40 trips to get everything to the top and over the pass. Whoever dropped the shoe must have been a brave and determined woman. Perhaps she was successful and made it to Alaska. Perhaps she had to turn back in defeat. No one will ever know for sure, but what we do know is that she took part in one of the greatest adventures in the 19th century. According to this passage, many people who went to Alaska _ . A. eventually became millionaires B. brought with them many shoes C. had conflicts with the Eskimos D. were not properly equipped Answer: D. were not properly equipped Mo Yan's winning of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature shows the world's recognition of China's contemporary literature, according to the China Writers Association. It also represents the attention drawn to Chinese writers and the international influences of Chinese literature, said an official statement from the organization on Thursday evening. Mo is the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. In the statement, the association congratulated Mo Yan on his success and spoke highly of his "outstanding achievements". Mo had effectively extended the boundaries of imagination, the depth of thoughts and the state of arts of Chinese literature by focusing on lives in the countryside with a unique national style, said the statement. He Jianming, vice president of the association, said in a separate interview, "It is not only a joyous occasion for Mo, but also a dream coming true for generations of Chinese writers. " "The prize also shows recognition in realism writing coming from traditional Chinese literature, " said He. He cited Mo's latest novel, Frog, which was published in China in 2010, as an example of Mo's focus on realism. The book focuses on the influence of China's "one child" policy in the countryside. "Mo's works are among the best when it comes to Chinese contemporary literature. "He said, "Adding the award is significant for the development of Chinese literature and will improve confidence in the country's cultural creativity. " Mo Yan, a pen name for Guan Moye, was born in 1955 and grew up in Gaomi in east China's Shandong Province. Mo is one of the most widely translated Chinese writers. His best-known work is Red Sorghum, which was made into a film by the director Zhang Yimou. Mo Yan's works focus on _ . A. lives in the countryside B. city lives C. China's "one child" policy D. the international influences of Chinese literature Answer: A. lives in the countryside One day a poor student walked in a town. He didn't have anything to eat for several days and he was very hungry. But when he saw a man selling steamed bread ( ), he let out a scream ( ) and fell ( ) to the ground. When the man asked the student what was the matter, the student answered, "I don't like steamed bread. Whenever Isee them , I feel ill and can't eat ." The man then wanted to play a joke on the student. He put ten steamed bread in a room and then put the student in it. After a short time, the man opened the door of the room. H e was surprised to find that the student ate all the steamed bread. The student explained, "For some strange reason, I suddenly find that I like steamed bread." The man was angry that the student had fooled ( ) him. He asked what other things he did not like to eat. "Oh, I like everything," answered the student. "But at the moment I don't like to drink two cups of good strong tea!" The student was very hungry because _ . A. he was poor. B. he was ill. C. he had nothing to eat for a long time D. he walked Answer: C. he had nothing to eat for a long time A large body of salty water drying up is responsible for the creation of the A. salt flats B. salt water taffy C. Rocky mountains D. ocean winds Answer: A. salt flats
Few people would question the value of taking part in sports for young people. With proper training, supervision, protective equipment and techniques, and a proper emphasis on winning, sports can develop a healthy body and spirit and a life-long interest in being active and fit. Without such measures, childhood sports can lead to injuries and even paralysis or death. Even in the best conditions, no activity can be risk-free. But most serious dangers are preventable. Cyclists and football players can reduce their risks by wearing helmets, hockey players by wearing masks; basketball and tennis players by wearing eye guards; baseball players by wearing batting helmets. Besides, risks to individual players can often be found, and thus prevented, through a properly performed medical exam before a child plays. For accidents that may not be preventable, having an emergency plan and first-aid equipment, and someone trained to use the equipment, can be lifesaving. Still, each year, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, more than 775, 000 children under 14 are treated in emergency rooms for sports injuries, nearly half of them preventable. An estimated 300,000 athletes experience exercise-related head illnesses each year, and almost all of them should have been avoided. Further, from half to three-fourths of sports-related concussions are never even diagnosed; the injured are often sent back to play too soon and put at risk of another more serious brain-damaging concussion. To help reduce these risks, the National Center for Sports Safety, with the National Athletic Trainers' Association, offers a three-hour online safety course for coaches for $28 at www. SportsSafety. Org. It is implied in the passage that _ . Answer: prevention of injuries is not paid enough attention to Ibrahim became disabled after contracting polio when he was three years old. At first his parents, like many other parents of disabled children in Niger, did not want to send him to school. They were worried he would be laughed at by his classmates. Despite his disability, and his parents' doubts, Ibrahim was determined to go to school. "When I was eight," Ibrahim says, "other kids of my age were going to school while I stayed at home. I did not like that. So, I pestered my parents until they finally let me go to school." Ibrahim's parents sent him to a private school nearby. Although the journey to and from school was a short one, it still wasn't easy for Ibrahim. He had to use his hands to help him move along, protecting them with plastic slippers. But at least he was getting an education. However, after only a year in school, Ibrahim's education was interrupted when his parents separated. His mother did not have the means to continue paying for his tuition. In 2007, Ibrahim received some money to be fitted with a leg brace , corrective shoes and his first pair of crutches . Now that he was more mobile than before, the most important thing for him was to find a way to go back to school. "I wanted to start school again last October," Ibrahim says. "After my mother told me she could not afford it, I went to visit some of my relatives for support. And I collected 5,000 francs CFA (US $8) to pay my tuition for half a year. I will find the rest of the money somehow." Ibrahim attends a school in which he is the only disabled student. According to his teacher, he is among the top five students in a class of 55. How did Ibrahim go to school before his parents separated? Answer: He walked to school with the support of his hands. The H1Nl virus has been spreading world-wide,it is important for us to know how to control it.Please pay attention to the following points: 1.Don't touch your face.Above all,keep your hands away from your eyes,mouth and nose,all of which serve pathways for the viruses to enter your body. 2.Wash your hands.If you have to touch your face,wash your hands,getting under the fingernails for 20 to 30 seconds with hot soap and water before.Soaps with surfactants can deal with flu viruses. 3.Cover your nose and mouth.When someone sneezes or coughs,liquid drops with flu viruses as far as three feet through the air and land on your nose and mouth,so it's best to keep at least an arm's length distance when talking to someone who shows signs of infection .In order to protect others,cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze,and clean your hands afterward.Viruses can live for hours,or even longer when on the skin or other surfaces such as keyboards. 4.Consider buying a mask in case you need it in the future.Some research suggests that masks reduce the risk of getting the flu viruses by as much as 80%.But it also suggests that if you don't wash hands,the mask doesn't work well.So wash your hands and use the mask,especially wearing face masks in crowded places is also useful. ,. Which of the statements is Not True? Answer: When you put a mask,you can often go to the crowded places. Fiji is a beautiful country which consists of many islands. It's located in the South Pacific and it's famous for its beautiful scenery. Here are some family resorts for you. Shangri-La's Fijian Resort &Spa, Yanuca Island (4.5stars) Hitting the top spot once again is the worthy Shangri-La's Fijian Resort and Spa, Situated on its own private island, the resort is an easy 45 minutes by road from the airport. Idyllic island landscapes of tropical gardens and white sand beaches, with swimming right off shore, wait for the visitors. Kids stay and eat free, making the Shangri-la an affordable tropical stay. www. shangri-la.com The Naviti Resort, Coral Coast(4 stars) Located on the famous Coral Coast, this resort is popular with Australian families looking for value and quality. Kids rule at the Rugg Rats Club while there are also specialized teenager activities that will keep them busy both on resort grounds and beyond. Meanwhile, the whole family will enjoy outstanding facilities including 9-hole golf course, swim-up bar, fully equipped gym and giant chess board. www.warwicknaviti.com Mana Island Resort&Spa, Mana Island (4 stars) Learning about Fijian culture is a big part of the Vonu kids' Club at Mana Island, with activities including palm weaving, local games and shell collecting which are all part of the fun. Add to these two pools, a large playground, plenty of water sports. www.manafiji.com Sheraton Denarau Villas (5 stars) Sheraton Denarau Villas are specially designed to suit families, with dining areas, kitchen and laundry facilities plus the convenience of full hotel facilities. These are family-friendly activities on offer including fish feeding, Iawn bowls, boating and a special children's program. www. sheraton.com/denarauvillasoffers The author wrote the passage mainly to tell us _ . Answer: some family resorts in Fiji. Language-learners who say they never or hardly ever use dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes. The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. So they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English. The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables , they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary. Students who never use dictionary speak well but write poor, because _ Answer: They may make mistakes.
Question: An average 30-year-old person who has eaten three meals a day since birth has eaten more than 30,000 meals to date. Even if you've only eaten half that much, you have to admit this: you've let some of that breakfast, lunch or dinner go to waste. And it turns out that we're all to blame for this shaming fact: 30% of all food produced in the world each year is wasted or lost. That's about 1.3 billion tons, according to a new report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. That's the weight of more than 8.6 million full-grown blue whales, the largest creatures on earth. That's the weight of more than 2.3 million Airbus A380s, the largest planes in existence. That's as if each person in China, the world's most populous country with more than 1.3 billion people, had one ton mass of food they could just throw into the dustbin. It's almost _ ,isn't it? Setting aside that big number, we find the people with the most money are the ones who waste the most. Per capita( ), European and North American countries waste between 95 and 115 kilograms of food. Sub-Saharan African, South Asian and Southeast Asian countries waste much less -- between 6 and 11 kilograms per person. Here's another statistic: all the food that the world's richest countries waste is about equal to all the food that sub-Saharan Africa produces. The numbers: 222 million tons and 230 million tons, respectively( ). Basically, the wasted food of the rich could feed much of the African continent. And these numbers come as we've just been reporting about rising food prices around the world in the past week. And my own personal tip: if I eat at a restaurant and can't finish it all, I ask for a doggie bag. I used to be a waiter years ago and will never forget the amounts of food I saw left on the table after the bill was paid. There's no reason to waste food. It's up to all of us to use our common sense to eat and shop just a bit more wisely. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, how much food do people produce each year in the world? A. About 3.3 billion tons. B. About 3.9 billion tons. C. About 4.3 billion tons. D. About 5.6 billion tons. Answer: C Question: Name:Off the Beaten Path Cover price:$30.00 Our price:$19.80 The best-selling Reader's Digest travel book has 40% new content including over 200 new sites, over 200 new full-color photographs, and all-new, up-to-date maps. It focuses on more than 1, 000 of the United States' most overlooked must-see destinations. Name:Container Gardens by Number Cover price:$ 15.95 Our price:$9.49 A unique book contains 50 easy-to-follow container designs. Each design provides a simple numbered planting plan that shows exactly how to create each display, with an instruction of the finished planter and in-depth plant information. The plans are easy to follow and for any type of living space or garden. Name:Best Weekend Projects Cover price:$ 17.95 Our price:$13.96 Choose from 80 unique ideas to create an extraordinary living space. The projects are practical, as well as attractive, and will improve your home and yard and can be made in a weekend. These 80 well-designed projects are presented in a clear, easy-to-follow style that addresses readers in an accessible, user-friendly tone. Name:l80l Home Remedies Cover price:$ 40.00 Our price:$ 29.96 Plenty of health complaints can be handled at home. Each and every remedy will be tested by a doctor to make sure it is safe and sound. Dozens of conditions are covered, from headaches, sunburn, bad breath, and blisters(;)to allergies, and hiccups . Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Container Gardens by Number can help you improve your gardening skills. B. Off the Beaten Path covers about 1, 000 famous traveling sites all over the world. C. Best Weekend Projects may be useful for you to modify your living room. D. 1801 Home Remedies is designed for home use. Answer: B Question: If you see a person carelessly throw a cigarette to the ground, what are you likely to think? If you hate people throwing things on the ground, you might think, "That person shouldn't litter." If you are a smoker, you might think, "I would sure like a cigarette right now." Most likely, though, you are not thinking, "That unused cigarette butt could be used to make something amazing!" That is, unless you are a creative scientist. If you are, you may see potential--a possibility--where others simply see trash . That is just what has happened in South Korea. The spirit of invention can hit at the strangest times and in the most unusual places. In South Korea, it happened near a trash can. Kin Gil-Pyo is with the Seoul National University. He says he saw people throwing away cigarette butts, which got him thinking. He began wondering if something useful could be made from them. He and other researchers found a way to convert cigarette butts into materials required for high-performance batteries. Kim Gil-Pyo says they looked closely at used cigarette filters , the parts of cigarettes smokers put into their mouths. Filters are made of a material called "cellulose acetate ." Mr. Kim explains that cellulose acetate can be made into another material: carbon. The pieces of cellulose acetate, known as fibers, are changed through a one-step burning process. After this, they are turned into an energy storage material. But why use carbon? Carbon has many qualities that seem to make it the perfect material. Carbon has a high surface area. It conducts electricity well. It also stays stable, unlikely to change, for a long time. And carbon does not cost a lot. All these qualities make it the most popular material for making super-capacitors . Super-capacitors are good at storing energy. They have high-power mass, or density . They require only a short time for recharging. And they have a long lifecycle. Super-capacitors are used in products such as laptop computers and cell phones. They are also used in industrial energy converters, like wind turbine machines. Combining carbon and super-capacitors seems like a perfect marriage. Kim Gil-Pyo tells the Reuters News Agency that cigarette butts could affect the economy is a huge way. They could prove to be a low-cost source of carbon material. They are so cheap that smokers throw them to the ground. And you don't get much cheaper than that. Filters can be made into a material that _ . A. is used as the battery surface B. can be turned into electricity C. is very easy and costs nothing D. can hold electricity energy well Answer: D Question: When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside me. I've lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. Clark wouldn't let that happen. Mr. Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact, the scores of our whole class rose. One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down. Mr. Clark was selected as Disney's 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat ; those students would go with him to Los Angles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names, Mr. Clark said, "You're all going." On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn't want his class to end. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch. He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a best-selling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55. In 2003, Mr. Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages . It was the most amazing experience of my life. It's now my dream to start a group of women's clubs one day, helping people from all backgrounds. The Essential 55 is _ . A. a show B. a speech C. a classroom rule D. a book Answer: D Question: Which of the following remains constant in Earth's carbon cycle? A. the total mass of available carbon B. the way organisms use carbon C. the physical state of carbon-containing molecules D. the molecule in which a particular carbon atom is found Answer: A
Question: This is a family tree. It's a very big family. Tim and Gina are very old . They have a son, David and a daughter, Sally. David and his wife Jenny have the twins , Jack and Bob. Jack is single , but Bob is married . His wife is Lucy. They have a cute son, Sam. They love Sam very much. Sally's husband is Paul. They are the parents of Peter and Lily. Peter is married .His wife is Jane. They have a daughter. Her name is Kate. Lily has a dog. It's very cute . She loves it very much. _ is the grandmother of Jack and Peter. A. Jenny B. Sally C. Kate D. Gina Answer: D Question: Look and feel better in 30 days, guaranteed! Our proven workout system helps you reach your goals fast. Many Americans are overweight for lack of physical activity. Many are struggling to lose weight, but most give up just within days. If you've struggled with diets and workout routines, only to feel like you aren't getting anywhere, our gym is for you! Take a moment to read this page to find out what we can do for you. Let us help you Reach your fitness goals quickly and safely Work out in a comfortable environment Look and feel great Get the results you've been looking for Have you tried dieting and working out, only to be let down? Do you have trouble pulling yourself to the gym every day? Our program is designed for the "average Joe or Jane" to be able to lose weight and keep it off, with a combination of nutrition, motivation, and fitness. Our fitness method Our workout system will ensure that you lose weight and build muscles quickly and safely. We have developed a workout that targets all the right muscle groups, while at the same time burning unwanted fat. Our experienced trainers can help you with nutrition in between workouts to allow you to reach your goals faster. Nutrition is a big part of getting fit; don't overlook it! If working out on your own hasn't produced the type of results you want, that's why we're here. Join today! We charge $500 for each membership, but people who join our gym today can get a 20 percent discount. Those who join in the following week can get a 10 percent discount. For more information, please click here. Many Americans fail to lose weight probably because _ . A. they lack confidence B. they do exercise alone C. they are under great pressure D. they don't get enough exercise Answer: D Question: Mary Cassatt was born in Pennsylvania in 1844. When she was seven, her family moved to Europe. They wanted their children to understand European ways and the people who lived there. They travelled a lot and she had visited many countries by the time she was 10 years old. After four years they returned to America. In those days, women didn't have professions, and there were very few women artists. Her family did not approve when she decided that she would become an artist. She studied first in Philadelphia. She happened to be in Chicago in 1871 when the huge fire broke out there. She lost many of her paintings in that fire. She went to Paris to study painting. She met Camille Pissarro there. He taught her Impressionism, a method of painting where the artists used small strokes of unmixed color1s to create an image. She once said of Pissarro that " _ " because he was such a good teacher. She spent a lot of time at the Louvre Museum copying paintings of the famous artists. In 1874, her sister, Lydia, came to live with her in Paris. Lydia was her best friend and posed for many of Mary's paintings. Three years later, her parents came to Paris, also to live with them. Lydia became very ill and died from a disease. Mary missed her very much. Her parents became elderly and she cared for them, but she still found time to paint. One of the more interesting works of Mary Cassatt is her painting, Portrait of Mrs. Curry, Sketch of Mr. Cassatt. Though she never had children of her own, she loved children and painted portraits of the children of her friends and family. She became known as the painter of mothers and children. She lost her sight due to cataracts in her eyes in 1914 and was not able to paint during the later years of her life. The passage is organized in the pattern of _ A. time and events B. comparison and contrast C. cause and effect D. definition and classification Answer: A Question: It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive.That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin.Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves. Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind.So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping.In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one. The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness.They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer.They found only one answer that might explain his condition.Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born.But that was all.Was this the real reason? No one could be sure. Herpin died at the age of 94. After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin _ . A. needed some kind of sleep B. was too old to need any sleep C. needed no sleep at all D. often slept in a chair Answer: C Question: There is a lot of misunderstanding about studying. Most students have not been taught the principles behind really effective working. Imagine a graph showing the amount a person learns against the number of hours he works in a day. If he doesn't do any work, he learns nothing (point 0). If he does an hour's work he learns a certain amount (point 1). If he does two hours' work he learns about twice as much (point 2). If he does more work he'll learn still more (point 3). However, if he tries to do twenty-three and a half hours' work in a day, he will be so tired that he'll hardly remember anything: what he learns will be very little (point 4). If he did less work he'd learn more (point 5). Now whatever the exact shape of the graph's curve , made by joining these points, it must have a high point. Point "X" is the very maximum anyone can learn in the day. And this represents the optimum , the best, amount of work to do. It is the best possible compromise between adequate time at the books and fatigue . Fatigue is an absolutely real thing; one can't escape it or ignore it. If you try to ignore it and press yourself to work past the optimum, you will only get on this downward slope and achieve less than the best - and then become very tired and lose your power of concentration. The skill in being a student consists of getting one's daily study as near the optimum point as possible. I cannot tell you what the optimum is. It differs with the type of work, it differs from person to person, and even in the same person it varies from week to week. You must try to find your own. Every day you study, bear this principle of the optimum in mind. When you feel yourself getting fatigued, if you find yourself reading the same paragraph over and over again and not taking it in, that's a pretty good sign you've reached your highest point for the day and should stop. Most ordinary students find their optimum at five hours a day. Yours may be a little more or a little less - but if you get in five hours' good work a day, you will be doing well. Now, what are you doing with yourself when you aren't working? Before examinations some students do nothing at all except sit in a chair and worry. Here is another misunderstanding. People often think that the mind works like the body; it does not. If one wanted to save one's physical energy in order to cut the maximum amount of firewood, one would lie flat on a bed and rest when one wasn't chopping. But the mind cannot rest. Even in sleep you dream, even if you forget your dreams. The mind is always turning. It gets its relaxation only by variety. That is what makes the mind rest. When you've finished your optimum number of hours you must stop. You must not then sit around in the chair thinking about the work - that only tires without any learning. You must get out and do something. It doesn't matter what - anything so long as you are actively doing something else but work. According to the passage, _ . A. the longer you study every day, the more you will learn B. you'll achieve better learning results if you work three hours every day C. the less work you do, the better you will learn D. your work efficiency will decrease once you exceed a certain point of work Answer: D
Babies who watch TV are more likely to show late learning development and language at 14 months, especially if they are watching programs aimed at adults and older children, according to a new study, which would probably surprise those parents who leave their babies in front of a TV set. Babies who watched 60 minutes of TV daily had developmental scores a third lower at 14 months than babies who were watching less TV. Although their developmental scores were still in the normal range, the difference may have been due to the fact that when children and parents are watching TV, they are missing the talking, playing and other communications that are important to learning and development. This new study, which appeared in the Aechives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, followed 259 lower-income families in New York, most of whom spoke Spanish as their primary language at home. Other studies of higher-income families have also come to the same conclusion: TV watching is not only non-educational, but it seems to slow down babies' development. But what about "good" TV, like Sesame Street? The researchers didn't find any difference when compared to non-educational programs designed for small children, like Spongebob SquarePants. Earlier research by some of the same scientists, most of whom are at New York University School of Medicine's Bellevue Hospital Centre, has found that parents whose children watch non-educational TV programs like Spongebob SquarePants spend less time reading to their children or teaching them. At this point, parents reading this will probably be astonished. TV is so often a parent's good friend, keeping children happily occupied so that the adults can cook dinner, answer the phone, or take a shower. But, clearly, this electronic babysitter is not an educational aid. It is best to make sure the babies are fast asleep if you have to watch TV. We can infer from the passage that _ . A Educational and non-educational TV have different effects on babies B Many parents leave babies to the TV to do their own things C Educational TV is very popular among higher-income families D Lower-income families tend to teach their babies at home Answer: B High school graduation--the bittersweet feelings are as much a part of me now as they were twenty-one years ago. As graduation day approached, excitement increased. Being out of high school meant I was finally coming of age. Soon I would be on my own, making my own decisions, doing what I wanted without someone looking over my shoulder and it meant going to school with boys--a welcome change coming from an all-girl high school. There was never any question in my mind that I would go to a college away from home. My mother's idea, on the other hand, was just the opposite. Trying her best not to force her preferences on me, she would subtly ask whether I had considered particular schools--all of which happened to be located in or near my hometown of Chicago. Once it was established that, as long as the expenses would not be too heavy a burden on the family budget, I would be going away anyway, my family's perspective changed. Their concern shifted from whether I was going away to how far. The schools I was considering on the East Coast suddenly looked much more attractive than those in California. But which college I would attend was just one of what seemed like a never-ending list of unknowns: What would college be like? Would I be unbearably lonely not knowing anyone else who was going to the same school? Would the other students like me? Would I make friends easily? Would I miss my family so much that I wouldn't be able to stand it? And what about the work--would I be able to keep up? (Being an A student in high school seemed to offer little assurance I would be able to survive college.) What if the college I selected turned out to be a horrible mistake? Would I be able to transfer to another school? Then panic set in. My feelings took a 180-degree turn. I really didn't want to leave high school at all, and it was questionable whether I wanted to grow up after all. It had been nice being respected as a senior by the underclass students for the past year; I didn't enjoy the idea of being on the bottom rung of the ladder again. Despite months of expectation, nothing could have prepared me for the impact of the actual day. As the familiar melody of "Pomp and Circumstance" echoed in the background, I looked around at the other figures in white caps and gowns as we seriously lined into the hall. Tears welled up uncontrollably in my eyes, and I was consumed by a rush of sadness. As if in a daze , I rose from my seat when I heard my name called and slowly crossed the stage to receive my diploma. As I reached out my hand, I knew that I was reaching not just for a piece of paper but for a brand-new life. Exciting as the future of a new life seemed, it wasn't easy saying good-bye to the old one--the familiar faces, the familiar routine. I would even miss that chemistry class I wasn't particularly fond of and the long travel each day between home and school that I hated. Good or bad, it was what I knew. That September, I was fortunate to attend a wonderful university in Providence, Rhode Island. I needn't have worried about liking it. My years there turned out to be some of the best years of my life. And as for friends, some of the friendships I formed there I still treasure today. Years later, financial difficulties forced my high school to close its doors for good. Although going back is impossible, it's comforting to know I can revisit my special memories any time. Expectation and excitement suddenly changed into anxiety and fear. Which of the following did the author NOT include as a reason for that change? A Growing homesick might seriously affect her academic performance at college. B She might make a wrong choice and enter a university she did not like at all. C Her being a top student at high school did not mean a successful academic career for her. D It might be hard for her to make friends under new circumstances. Answer: A In the Arctic Ocean waters live the social animals---belugas, which is also known as white whales. Highly intelligent, these whales use different sounds to communicate and find their way. Belugas are also among the smallest kinds of whales. More than 210 belugas, including 31 in the United States, live in aquariums around the world. The Georgia Aquarium has asked for permission to bring 18 more belugas into the U.S. The whales were caught off the coast of Russia. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is considering the aquarium's request thoroughly. A law called the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) says the animals can only be brought into the country and put on display if they are caught without being hurt and there is an educational reason for doing so. Georgia Aquarium officials say the 18 belugas will help people learn more about the species and allow scientists to better understand how to protect it. The aquarium would also breed the whales so the U.S. aquariums can continue to display them. "When we can study and observe, we gain a better understanding of their biology and diseases that affect them, and learn how to aid populations in their natural habitats," says William Hurley, Georgia Aquarium's chief officer. "Much of this research would be impossible in the remote locations and extreme climates where the animals live." The Georgia Aquarium would own the 18 belugas and would rent some to aquariums across the country. Meanwhile, many scientists, including Lori Marino, a whale expert, feel strongly that the whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks. These scientists say the whales are being used for entertainment and not for education, and having them in aquariums is not necessary for the species to survive. Marino said, "Not only is it unfair to the belugas but there is no educational value in putting these whales on display." What can we learn about belugas? A They live in the Atlantic Ocean. B They are highly thought of. C They are very smart whales. D They are the smallest in number. Answer: C The Regional Director of the National Heritage Conservation Commission Kagosi Mwamulowe said the Barotse Plains is unique and it deserves to be on the list of the World Heritage Sites. Mr. Mwamulowe said the Barotse Plains deserves to be included on the World Heritage List because it has a rich cultural heritage which includes the burial sites of former kings. The Director said he hoped that the landscape would be declared as a heritage site next year in June. He also said it was important to protect Zambia's unique culture for education and entertainment. Chief Natural Heritage Officer Muyumbwa Ndiyoi said there will be a lot of benefits when the Barotse Landscape is declared a World Heritage Site because it will attract many tourists and business investments will increase. Mr. Ndiyoi said the site will also benefit young people as knowledge will be passed down from generation to generation. He was reacting to a question from Nalolo District Labour Officer Jason Ngoma who wanted to know how the people of Western Province will benefit once the Barotse Landscape is declared a World Heritage Site. And University of Zambia Lecturer Charles Namate said there is a need for the site to be included on the World Heritage List because 50 years after its independence Zambia only has one heritage site, which is the Victoria Falls. Lecturer Namate said the Barotse Landscape was facing a lot of environmental degradation , and that's why there is a need to recognize the value of its landscape and the memories of dead kings. The National Heritage Conservation Commission together with the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs are in Western Province to hold meetings with Heads of Government Departments. The Commission also held closed-door meetings with the Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II of the Barotse Royal Establishment. What do we know about the Barotse Plains? A It has royal tombs. B It is being well protected. C It is not far from the Victoria Falls. D It'll be listed as a World Heritage Site soon. Answer: A There is no place like home--as long as it is far enough away, it seems. Britain has become a nation of nomads ,with nearly half of us living more than 100 miles from the town or village where we grew up, research shows. The trend is being fuelled by the Internet, better communications and property wealth. People who move away fit into four separate categories--Sheep, Hens, Cows or Pigs. Sheep are people who change home for economic and emotional peace. Hens are home and environment care-seekers. Cows are career or work shifters, while pigs are people caught up in grand parental support. It is far from the common believed idea of Coronation Streets, where close-knit generations of the same family live within a few streets of each other throughout their lives. Less. Than 20 percent of people now live in the town where they were born. Instead, young adults move away to find work, get married or seek adventure. Many use the Internet to work from a home which need not be within easy traveling distance of their workplace. Also joining the moving crowd are older people who either move to be near grandchildren or retire to new homes. One in ten of those who do make away makes a complete break, and now lives 500 miles or more from where they grew up. Women are likely to leave as men, a sign of independence that would not have excited in the 1950s and 60s. People in the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and prefix = st1 /Scotlandare the most likely to live in the community where they were born, the study found. Which of the following can be regarded as a Cow? _ . A A person who changes job often B A person who leaves home because of family trouble C A person who retires to a new home D A person who breaks away from his home Answer: A
Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet, but what is it? The Internet is many different networks around the world. A network is a group of computers put together. These networks joined together are called the Internet. Maybe that doesn't sound interesting. But when we've joined the Internet. There are lots of things we can do. We can have a lot of interest on the World Wide Web (www). We can use the internet instead of a library to find all kinds of information for our homework.. We can find information about our favorite sports or film stars and do shopping on the Internet. We can also send messages to other people by e-mail. It is much cheaper and quicker than calling our friends or sending letters. Thanks to the Internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller. People can now work at home with a computer in front, getting and sending the information they need. They can buy or sell whatever they want by the Internet. But do you know 98%of the information is English? So what will English be like tomorrow? The Internet can not be used to _ . Answer: do some housework By way of a gift, Pat executed a deed naming his daughter, Marian, as grantee. The deed contained descriptions as follows: (1) All of my land and dwelling known as 44 Main Street, Midtown, United States, being one acre (2) All that part of my farm, being a square with 200-foot sides, the southeast corner of which is in the north line of my neighbor, Julia Brown. The deed contained covenants of general warranty, quiet enjoyment, and right to convey. Pat handed the deed to Marian, who immediately returned it to her father for safekeeping. Her father kept it in his safe deposit box. The deed was not recorded. The property at 44 Main Street covered 7/8 of an acre of land, had a dwelling and a garage situated thereon, and was subject to a right of way, described in prior deeds, in favor of Jack, a neighbor. Pat owned no other land on Main Street. Jack had not used the right of way for 10 years, and it was not visible on inspection of the property."The description of 44 Main Street was Answer: sufficient, because the discrepancy in area is not fatal. In pea plants, tall is dominant over short. What size pea plants will result when a pure tall plant is crossed with a pure short plant? Answer: tall plants The first field season is now over at the hut village of the workmen who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. However, the archaeologists working on the excavation have found that they still have a great deal to do. The sun, the wind and tourists have left their mark on the village, originally discovered by Bernard Bruyere in 1935. "From our modern perspective, it is upsetting to see how the village was first excavated and then left to be destroyed. Passers-by have used the huts as rubbish dumps and restrooms," says Jaana Toivari-Viitala, a teacher at the University of Helsinki. "Fortunately, while we still have some surface cleaning to do, conservation are off to a good start." The hut village offers rare insight into everyday life in ancient Egypt. "In the early twentieth century, archaeologists were only interested in the tombs of kings. The workmen's huts they discovered were seen as a necessary evil in the quest for the real treasures." "Now several international research groups on different excavations are examining everyday life and work in the Valley of the Kings. This seems to be a trend in archaeology right now," Toivari-Viitala says. Her research group wants to find out why the hut village was built on the slope of a mountain, halfway between the construction site and Deir-el-Medina. They are also interested in how many workers lived in the village at a time, when they lived there, and what their role was in the construction work. "Comparing the names found in the village and in Deir-el-Medina provides useful information. Judging from the construction methods, settlement in the village can be divided into two separate periods: the initial settlement and a later one." For the time being, much is up to guessing, but Toivari-Viitala believes that the coming four field seasons, three months each, will see results. "The working conditions are not nearly as difficult as I thought they would be. The cool winds in the mountains nicely _ the heat." The research group working on the "Workmen's huts in the Theban mountains" project is planning to return to the Valley of the Kings in October. From the passage we know that the author _ . Answer: is one of those in favor of Toivari-Viitala's ideas and plans Eight years ago, my 13-year-old son, Dustin, became very ill with a heart enlarged. For several months, he lived on life support as we were forced to stand by and watch him wither away. ks5u While his friends were out playing baseball, and sleeping in their own beds, my son was in a hospital bed, attached to a machine that kept his heart beating. As a mother, my first reaction after crying was anger, and then I played the bargaining game: "Take my life for his, Lord. I've lived my life but he still has so much to do." People all around me were praying for a heart to become available, but it made me so angry and confused because I knew for that to happen, someone else's child would have to die. How could anyone pray for that? I still remember so clearly the morning we got the call that there was a heart. As we stood in Dustin's hospital room watching them prepare him for surgery, we experienced the true definition of bittersweet. His dad and I realized that at the precise moment we were standing there with so much hope and so much love, another family somewhere was saying goodbye. We knelt down together and cried, and we prayed for them and we thanked them for giving such a selfless gift. To our amazement, just 10 days later, Dustin got to come home for the first time in many months. He had received a second chance at life. Over the next two years, he got to go to high school, learn to drive and put his brand new heart to good use volunteering at the homeless shelter and helping the elderly. Dustin's new heart failed him when he was 16. A tragedy, yes, but we have to see it as the miracle it was. We received two precious years with him that we would never have had without organ donation. We have more pictures, more memories and a great satisfaction in knowing that he was able to experience some of the most exciting times and milestones in a teenager's life. When he died, difficult as it was for us, we knew that it would be Dustin's wish to give back. His eyes went to someone who wanted to see. Someone who, perhaps, had never seen the faces of the family he loved so dearly. I believe that one day I will look into the face of someone else's son or daughter, and I will see those sky blue eyes looking back at me -- the evidence of selfless giving. The mother agreed to donate her son's eyes after his death mainly because _ . Answer: she wanted to help others as others had helped her son
Imperial College London Tanaka Business School 10 New Professors, Readers, Senior Lecturers or Lecturers Imperial College is among the top ten universities of the world, according to the 2008 Times Higher Education. Having doubled its size in the last 4 years and hired world--class scholars during that period, Imperial's Tanaka Business School wishes to make a further 10 academic appointments in its drive to become a leading research--led business school.Only applicants who have published in top international magazines will be considered.Excellent ones from any field of management are welcome, but the school particularly wishes to appoint in the fields of marketing, technology management and healthcare. International salaries will be offered. An application form and further details may be downloaded from www.imperial.ac.uk/tanaka (About Us, job opportunities). An application form, 2 of your best papers should be sent to tbs.applications@imperial.ac.uk. First review of application will be on 2 April 2009. Which of the following statements does NOT agree with the passage? A Imperial College offers good salary. B Imperial College is a famous university in the world. C Imperial College is very strict with job hunters. D Imperial College is a business school. Answer: D A rising population is one of the main reasons that there is global warming. Between 1650 and 1850 the population increased by 0.75 billion people going from 0.25 billion to one billion. From 1930 to the end of the century the population rose from two billion to over six billion. In just a third of the time the population rose by more than five times what it did before. It is expected that this trend in the changing population will continue and could even heighten. The growing population requires increasing amounts of energy. These energy demands and other supplies require production, which almost always involves the emission of greenhouse gases. The more the population increases the more greenhouse gases that are produced and the greater the increase in temperature. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the best-known causes for global warming. The major reason for fossil fuels contributing so much to global warming is the release of carbon that occurs during the burning of fossil fuels. When people burn fossil fuels, they release large amounts of carbon by way of the release of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide in the air then leads to global warming. Another source of carbon dioxide comes from _ . In forests there is a large amount of carbon that is stored in the trees and other plants. This carbon is out of the atmosphere because the trees consume the carbon from carbon dioxide. When people cut down trees, they are frequently burned. This burning releases the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that was stored in organic matter. Even when new trees are planted, it can take up to one hundred years to make up for the carbon that was released. It is commonly thought that because trees absorb more carbon dioxide, the atmosphere experiences positive effects. Sophie Armstrong, the writer of Earth Care put it, "There's no doubt that the earth is becoming warmer because of human activity rather than a random but natural phenomenon. Which column of a website might the passage come from? A Economy. B Art C Environment D Health Answer: C "BANG!" the door caused a reverberation . It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side. We were both in great anger. "Never set foot in this house again!" stormed Father. With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street. The street lights were shining, causing rather sad-feeling. I wandered aimlessly. A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me. I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and carefree. But now... I don't know whether it is because I have grown up or because Dad is getting old. We differ in our ways of thinking. He always puts his opinions and codes of behaviour on me. Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it. We are just like two people coming from two different worlds. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened. I wandered in the streets, without a destination in mind. My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company. When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on. I thought to myself: "Is Father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?" In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, Dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps he thought they were useless. I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps. I can't stand his outrageous words: "I can't throw you away, let alone these old papers?" All the lights were off except Father's. Dad was always like this. Maybe he didn't know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret. After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers. This was how he always was. He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature. The light was still on. "Am I wrong?" I whispered, maybe... With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door tears ran down my cheeks. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all. Love---is second to none. Why do you think the father often shouts at his son? A Perhaps the father is getting older and older. B Perhaps the son has already grown up. C Perhaps they never agree with each other. D Perhaps the father has got used to doing that. Answer: D Last Sunday, Aron Ralston, an experienced hiker and mountaineer, set off to walk alone through the Bluejohn desert canyon in Utah. He was planning an eight-hour, 21-kilometer hike. While he was climbing through a narrow part of the canyon, a big stone weighing about 400 kilos fell and trapped his right arm. When he failed to return to the mountain camp where he was staying that night, people simply thought he had decided to camp out somewhere in the canyon. When he still had not returned by Tuesday, the alarm was raised, A search party set out on Wednesday evening, but there we no sign and his family began to fear the worst. In fact, Ralston, 27, was lying trapped in the canyon. By Tuesday, he had run out of water. By Thursday, he realized that he would not survive unless he took unusual action, so he used his pocket knife to cut his arm below the elbow . He then climbed down to the bottom of the canyon. There he met two other hikers, who helped him back to safety. He received some help at a local hospital before being carried to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado for surgery. Ralston's astonishing survival brought equal amounts of praise and criticism. While praising the climber for his bravery and calm, experts also pointed out he had broken the first rule of outdoor pursuits. He had failed to leave words with anyone of where he was going that day. This was in fact Ralston's second near-death experience. In February, he was buried up to the neck in snow by an avalanche while skiing in the Colorado Rockies. Ralston not only managed to dig himself out but he also rescued his skiing companion, who had been completely buried in the snow. Ralton rescued himself and his friend in less than 15 minutes. Why did Ralston's survival bring criticism? A Because this was his second near-death experience. B Because he was brave and calm. C Because he told no one where he was going when he set off. D Because he amputated his arm below the elbow. Answer: C Researchers at San Diego Zoo have been studying what has been described as the "secret language" of elephants. They have been monitoring communications between animals that cannot be heard by human ears. The elephant's call will be familiar to most people, but the animals also give out growls . Their growls, however, are only partly audible ; two-thirds of the call is at frequencies that are too low to be picked up by our hearing. To learn more about the inaudible part of the growl, the team attached (......) a microphone sensitive to these low frequencies and a GPS tracking system to eight of the zoo's female elephants. The researchers could then relate the noises the animals were making to what they were doing. Matt Anderson, who led the project, told BBC News, "We're excited to learn how they interact and contact with one another." The team has already learned that pregnant females use this low frequency communication to announce to the rest of their long gestation of over two years, in the last 12 days we see the low part of the growl, which we can't hear. This we believe is to announce to the rest of the herd that the baby is upcoming," said Dr Anderson. The researchers believe that this also warns the elephants to look out for coming danger. "You may think that a baby calf of about 300 pounds would not be as open to predation as other species," he says. "But packs of hyenas are a big threat in the wild." Female elephants are only in season for around four days every four years and these calls can be heard by males more than two miles away. Why some elephants' call is called "secret language"? A Because it can't be heard by human ears. B Because it can only be heard by female elephants. C Because people don't know its meanings. D Because people haven't studied it completely. Answer: A
Question: the summer solstice is on June 21st in the A. in the south pacific B. upper portion of earth C. lower portion of earth D. the equator near the tropics Answer: B Question: Debtor's $1,000 contractual obligation to Aunt was due on July 1. On the preceding June 15, Aunt called Niece and said, "As my birthday gift to you, you may collect on July 1 the $1,000 Debtor owes me." Aunt also called Debtor and told him to pay the $1,000 to Niece on July 1. On July 1, Debtor, saying that he did not like Niece and wouldn't pay anything to her, paid the $1,000 to Aunt, who accepted it without objection. Will Niece succeed in an action for $1,000 against Debtor? A. Yes, because Aunt had effectively assigned the $1,000 debt to her. B. Yes, because Aunt's calls to Niece and Debtor effected a novation. C. No, because Aunt's acceptance of the $1,000, without objection, was in effect the revocation of a gratuitous assignment. D. No, because Debtor cannot be compelled to render performance to an assignee whom he finds personally objectionable. Answer: C Question: Typically, sedimentary rocks are formed A. only in erupting volcanoes. B. only under great pressure and high temperatures. C. below Earth's surface as magma cools and crystallizes. D. from materials that settle. Answer: D Question: Martha was busy with her job. She believed she had to work harder because she loved her father who was sick with cancer. She had to provide for his expensive medicines. Her brothers and sisters meanwhile stayed with their father most of the time. They bathed him, sang for him, spoon-fed him or simply kept him company. One day Martha was hurt. She overheard her father telling her mother, "All our children love me except Martha." "How can this be?" Martha thought. "Am I not the one killing myself in my work to have money to pay for his medicines? My brothers and sisters do not even provide their share in the expenses." One night, as Martha was as usual late in going home, she saw her father was lying awake. She walked close to his bedsides. Her father held her hands and said, "I miss you. I don't have much time. Stay with me." And she stayed with her father holding his hand the whole night. The next morning Martha said to everybody, "I have taken a leave of absence. I would like to be with father. I will bathe him and sing for him from now on." Her father had a beautiful smile. He knew Martha loved him, too. As children, we need the presence of our loved ones. Adults need no less. I have observed my mother's orchids . When she is away for a long time, they are unhealthy and many of them wither . But when she is around , they bloom with beautiful flowers. My mother does nothing special . She just spends her time looking after them. By telling Matha's story, what does the author try to express? A. Nothing is more important than the company of loved ones. B. Money and a successful career don't always bring happiness C. Adults need the presence of their loved ones more than children do. D. Plants like orchids do have feelings. Answer: A Question: Bobby's grandmother was studying at a school in New York City. She lived at the school year round. So Bobby's mother put him on a bus to the city and his grandmother picked him up at the Port Authority bus stop. They took the train back to the school. They put Bobby's backpack on a rack in the guest room. Then Bobby and his grandmother went out for a walk. They stopped at a corner shop for pizza and sodas. Then they walked to the Empire State Building. At the top of the Empire State Building they looked out over the city. They counted all the bridges and looked at all the tall buildings. Bobby bought three postcards and a little snow globe in the shop. Then they took the elevator back to the ground floor. Next they took a yellow cab to Central Park. They rode the carousel and went to the zoo. Bobby's favorite animals were the monkeys. He did not like the snakes at all. After they had ice cream cones, Bobby and his grandmother took the train back to her school. They had salads for supper. Then they read a story together. Bobby's grandmother made up her sofa bed for Bobby as they made plans for the next day. Bobby wanted to know if they could go to a baseball game. His grandmother said she would get tickets. What kind of tickets did Bobby's grandmother say she would try to get? A. Train tickets. B. Elevator tickets. C. Baseball game tickets. D. Zoo tickets. Answer: C
When a dirty and untidy grey cat showed up in the prison yard, I was one of the first to go out there and pet it. I hadn't touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years. I spent at least 20 minutes, knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around, relaxed. When he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly. It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care. Over the next few days, there were other prisoners responding to the cat. Every yard period, a group of prisoners gathered there. They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat. These were guys you wouldn't usually find talking to each other. Several times I saw an officer in the group, not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners. Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it. The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape. People said that the cat came to the right place. He's getting treated like a king. This was true, but as I watched I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us. There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America. We need more programs. We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds. Some may even talk about making prisons more kind. But I think what we really need is a chance to practice our own kindness. Not receive it, but give it. After more than two decades here, I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged. It's often thought of as a weakness. Instead, the culture encourages keeping your head down, minding your own business, and never letting yourself be weak. The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here. By simply saying, "I need some help here", he did something important for us. He needed us. And we needed to be needed. I believe we all do. From the passage we can learn that the author was_. A. an animal protector B. the owner of the cat C. a prison officer D. a prisoner Answer: D Room for Rent by East Jefferson Hospital in Metairie Room for rent for $ 500.00 per month and $500.00 damage deposit, You will have use of the refrigerator (I have two:) and the washer and dryer and the kitchen and the in-ground swimming pool.There is a one-year rental agreement but can be changed to a month-to-month after six months with a 30-day notice.There is parking in front of the house which is on a slot dead end street,.You can contact by phone at 5044551499 0r you can email me at marrt/n286@aol com.My name is Jerry. LOW'PRICE : 2 bedrooms for rent $499 with furniture9 swimming pool Any student attending university during the spring 2014 who wants to live on campus in a safe, gated community at a discounted rate: please respond.2 bedrooms/ 2 bathrooms / 1 living room.If a student is ir.retested in renting both rooms, the rate will be $479 per room, instead of- $499 (water all included).The original amount for the rent is $599, and with our discounted rate (less $100.00 a month) it is an affordable way to engage in on-campus life.Located near the swimming pool, public barbecue pit and laundry room.Ruminates are great, very friendly and trustworthy, Phone: 5049948139 Email: jguol@uno.edu Located:2000 Lakeshore Drive, UNO campus Roommate Wanted I live in an apartment with 2 bedrooms and l bathroom: on Lake Pontcbartrain surrounded by breath-taking scenery.The rent is $17000 per month and electric runs around $12.0.I am 27 years old and my husband is currently sending in Afghanistan.I am looking for a roommate to share rent and electric: woodlot $.550 per month.If interested, contact me at 9856074708.Text or call.My name is Ashley. Roommate Wanted in Slidell Roommate wanted for a 5-bedroom house in great location. Backroom is famished or unfurnished.All utilities indeed WiFi cable w/d and full use of house.Must like I'm Julie.pets, Outside smokers are OK.9857189738. We can know that _ . A. the house in UNO campus has a swimming pool B. the rent is $ 998 if a student rents two rooms in UNO campus C. the person will enjoy free electric if she lives with Ashley D. one who likes surfing the Internet should rent the room in Slidell Answer: D Many places in the world need more fresh water. Every country is trying to find ways to turn salt water into fresh. Why aren't there many factories like the Symi factory? In some places the sun is not hot enough. Or it does not shine every day. In such places other ways of heating sea water can be used. These ways cost more money, but they work faster than the sun. By boiling sea water with high heat a lot of fresh water can be made quickly. But heating is not the only way to get fresh water from salt water. Other ways are tried. One way is freezing. The fresh part of salt water freezes first. To get fresh water, the bits of ice are taken out. Which way is the best? The one that gives the most water for the least money. It may be a different way for each place. Symi's way seems very good for small, hot places. It does not make much water at a time. But the factory is easy to build and costs little. That is why people in many dry places talk about Symi. What fact doesn't the passage mention ? A. New ways of getting fresh water. B. A lot of fresh water can be made quickly by heating. C. The best way is to get the freshest water with the least money. D. The Symi's way doesn't work in dry places. Answer: D A teenage boy couldn't stand his parents' family rules, so he left home. He wanted to be famous, but he had poor education and several years later, he had to ask for food on the street for a living. Now his mother has died. His father is an old man. But he is still looking for his son. He has been to every corner of the city. Everywhere he goes, he puts up a big photo of himself on the wall. At the lower part of the photo he writes, "I still love you... , come back home !" One day, the son saw one of the photos. The face was familiar . "Is that my father?" He moved closer and read the words: "I still love you..." He cried. When he got home, it was early morning. He knocked at the door. The door opened itself. He rushed to his father's bedroom. His father was sleeping. He woke his father up, "It's me! Your son is back home!" The father and the son held each other, full of happy tears. The son asked, "Why is the door not locked? A thief could get in." The father answered softly, "The door has never been locked since you left."The door of parents' love for their children will never be closed. What made the boy get back home? A. The hard life outside. B. His father's words on the photo. C. The police asked him to go back. D. His father found him. Answer: B The small unframed painting called "Fisherman" was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession. Pitt said, "I didn't know it was so valuable. I'm not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought 'Fisherman' in Italy in 1970 for $140.the picture was dirty, and I couldn't see the artist's signature. But anyway it wasn't the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame." "It's most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I'll never part with it." "When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn't know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then." "Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone's signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale." As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department. Pitt was not happy. "I told the truth as I knew it then," he said, "What else could I say?" And then the judge agreed with him. "The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame)," he said, "for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty. Pitt took off the frame in order to _ . A. clean the painting to put it up for sale B. look for the artist's signature C. use if for his wife's photograph D. find the painting's true value Answer: C
I am Bill Jones. I am a teacher of English. My wife is Linda Jones. She is a nurse. We have a daughter and a son. We have many friends. Look! These are my friends. This is Mr. Black. He is a worker. He works in a shoe factory He makes shoes there. That's Mrs. Black. She is a worker on a farm near here. The girl is their daughter. She is a student. She is thirteen. The boy is their son. He is a young soldier . His name is Carl Black. What does Linda do? Answer: Almost every child is scared of something, from monsters in the cupboard to dogs in the park. But the fact that such fears are common and normal doesn't mean they can be taken lightly. Kids experience fears and phobias much more strongly than adults. And the influence of the fear can be physical as well as psychological . It can build up so they almost seem scared of everything--a kind of childhood anxiety. Dr. Creswell says: "Your child may always seem to expect the worst to happen and lack confidence in his or her ability to deal with any challenge." So don't make the same old mistake of treating them as if they're silly for being a"scaredy cat". Handling the fears is essential. Children can be born nervous and, if you have such a baby, you'll tend to prevent them from getting worried. So if they fear dogs, you'll keep them away from dogs, but in fact that can just confirm to the child that dogs are scary. What is worse, keeping your child away from what they fear can turn that feeling into a phobia. Instead, you should encourage them to get in touch with the thing they fear, in a safe and supportive environment. Dr. Andy Field, a researcher of childhood fears, says: "You shouldn't force, for example, a dog anxious child to go up to a dog. But you can approach it yourself, show them there is nothing to be afraid of, stroke( ) it, and talk about the dog being friendly. Once your child dares to stroke a dog-one that's good with children, of course---then you should encourage them to carry on until they feel calmer, and reward them for'being brave'." If we fail to help children to overcome fears, they will _ . Answer: My nine-year-old daughter, Maria, is in Grade Two. Every evening we get into homework battles . When she get home, homework is the last thing she likes to do. I think she should do her homework just after school. But she thinks she should have some time to rest and play first. When Maria does her homework, she wants me to help her. I don't want to help, because I think my daughter should do her homework by herself. And most of the time, I have to do other things. Children these days have much more homework than we did, and some of it is really difficult for them. As you can see, I'm really worried about homework and I really don't know what I should do. Any ideas ? Help me! The woman's daughter is _ . Answer: "Children who eat less salt and drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks may significantly lower their risks of obesity," researchers recently reported in the journal Hypertension. "Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in children," said Feng J. He, a researcher at St George's University of London, England. "It has been shown that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people." They wanted to know whether there is a link between salt intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption. Dr He and colleagues analyzed data from a 1997 national survey of more than 2,000 people between 4 and 18 in Britain. "We found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank less fluid," said He. "From our research, we estimated that 1 gram of salt cut from their daily diet would reduce fluid intake by 100 grams per day." The researchers also found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. From their research, they predicted that reducing salt intake by 1 gram each day would reduce sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption by 27 grams per day, after. "If children aged 4 to 18 cut their salt intake by half, there would be a decrease of about two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week per child, so each child would decrease calorie intake by almost 250 kilocalories per week," Dr He said. In previous studies, researchers found that a low-salt diet lowers blood pressure in children, and prevents the development of high blood pressure later in life. "Both high blood pressure and obesity increase the risk of having strokes and heart attacks," Dr He said. Dr He recommends that parents check labels and choose low-salt food products. "Small reductions in the salt content of 10 to 20 percent cannot be detected by the human salt taste receptors and do not cause any technological or safety problems," Dr He said. Which of the following statements would Dr He agree to? Answer: What kind of life do you want? And what would you do if you were born with an illness like Cystic Fibrosis ?Charley was such a man.He was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a serious disease of the muscles.Without properly functioning muscles, eventually you're unable to breathe.However, Charley was fortunate to have many care- givers, including his wife who helped him a lot.He became an engineer and helped plan structures that would allow streets and buildings to give better access to the disabled.Charley couldn't live without a wheelchair, and could only use one hand to move it.His speech was also difficult to understand.However, Charley had a sharp mind.He could see, hear, use a few fingers and think, and that was enough to allow him to make an important contribution to his city.He made those around him more aware of their physical health. In the movie JackandJillvs.theWorld, Jill is a 25-year-old girl who has just arrived in New York City.She has Cystic Fibrosis, but she doesn't let it control her life.She's happy, in fact! She meets a young man, Jack, and changes his life forever.One day she has to tell him about her illness.He's angry and disappointed, but later he realizes that it's their relationship that matters.They decide to be together, and live as happily as possible. Charley's story is true.Jack and Jill's story is made up.How do you want to live your life? Use your imagination, and enjoy your life and all its wonders.Create your picture of a happy life. About Charley, which of the following is TRUE? Answer:
If you want to make friends, what should you do? Steps: Try to look on the bright side of things. Look for groups in your area that do something you are interested in. Maybe you will learn some new skills and meet some people who have many things in common with you. Tips(,): _ your friends at least once a week by telephone or e-mail, or by visiting them to find out how they are. Remember important things about them such as birthdays and weddings . If you have an argument with your friends, say sorry first. Remember never to leave old friends just because you have made some new ones. Listen to others carefully. It's better to be a good listener. Be different. Don't try to change others through your own ideas. Warnings: Never ask or give away a friend's secret. Don't be afraid to stand up for what is right. You'd better not give your ID number, phone number or your home address to people that you have just made friends with. ,A, B, C, D,. (10) What's the best title for the passage? Answer: How to Make Friends Perfume has been in existence for a long time. These days, certain perfumes are considered comparable to great works of art. Here are a few of the most famous perfumes in history. Chanel No.5 This perfume is probably the best-selling scent in the history of fragrance . Created by Ernst Beaux for Coco Chanel in 1921, it has been described as "the world's most legendary fragrance", and remains the company's most famous perfume. Shalimar Jacques Guerlain created this vanilla fragrance in 1925. The perfume takes its name from the Garden of Shalimar, which was built by Emperor Shah Jehan for one of his wives. It was an immediate hit in 1925 and is still extremely popular today. Joy Joy is famous for having been the most expensive perfume in the world at one point. It was created in 1930 by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou to lift the bad mood that had swept over the world after the 1929 stock market crash. L'Air duTemps Francis Farbon created Nina Ricci's L'Air du Temps in 1948. The fragrance is known for its spicy carnation and gardenia scents as well as its beautiful crystal bottle (designed by Lalique). Eternity Calvin Klein's second perfume was created by Sophia Grojsman in 1988. Known for its light, flowery scent, the perfume was listed in the Fragrance Hall of Fame in 2003. It is recommended for daytime wear. Angel This wildly popular perfume was created in 1992 by Olivier Cresp for Thierry Mugler. The perfume was an instant success. The perfume has often been described as "delicious", owing to its chocolatey scent. The perfume comes in beautiful star-shaped bottles. Angel perfume also comes in several bath and body products. Which of the following statements is TRUE? Answer: Joy was created to cheer people up after the stock market crash. You may think your bathroom is often full of bacteria and so you give it a complete cleaning once a week. But how often do you clean out and disinfect your fridge? Well, probably not often enough, according to a recent study, which found out that the fridge is the second dirtiest place in your house, just behind the bathroom. Fridge temperatures were often set too high, allowing the growth of bacteria, which included E.coil, Enterobacteria, and S. aureus, all of which will give you an easy access to food poisoning. So what can you do to ensure your fridge---and your food in it---is not a health threat? For starters, clean the fridge weekly---wipe it and repeat. Make sure your fridge is at the correct temperature for storing food, between 0 and 5 degrees centigrade. Your freezer should be below-18 degrees centigrade. You can use fridge and freezer thermeters to make sure this is the case. Some modern fridges have zones to store different types of food ,such as meat and vegetables. Make sure you don`t store meat in the vegetable zone, as the temperature there might be higher. Make sure you don not leave the door open too long as the temperature in the fridge will quickly rise, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. Cover food that has not been finished, and eat it within a couple of days. Keep bottles and jars closed. Keep raw meat away from cooked meat. Both should be well covered to prevent pollution. Store raw meat at the bottom of the fridge to stop juices dripping onto other foods. Finally, use common sense, and throw away old food. Which is the best temperature for storing your food in the fridge? Answer: 4 oC San Francisco has its cable cars. Seattle has its Space Needle. And, Longview has its squirrel bridge. The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark. The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars. The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of the library grounds. Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels. Many times, Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over. One day Peters found a dead squirrel with a nut still in its mouth, and that day's coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety. The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of the City Council .The Council approved, and Councilwoman Bess LaRiviere named the bridge "Nutty Narrows." After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started Construction, They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum and lengths of fire hose . It cost 1,000. It didn't take long before reports of squirrels using the bridge started. Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes. The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became know in newspapers all over the world. In 1983, after 20 years of use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge. Repairs were made and crosspieces were replaced. The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of the new bridge. Peters died in 1984, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project. Which of the following is true of the squirrel bridge? Answer: it was rebuilt after years of use. New York is a very large city with 8 million people. How do so many people move on their way to work or school? In New York you can travel by subway, bus, taxi and private car. The subway runs on the railroad lines under the city. Travelling by subway is the fastest way to get around the city. The second way to travel around the city is by public bus. It is a slower way to travel. This is because the traffic is very heavy. You can also travel around the city by taxi. This is very expensive, but the taxi will take you to the very place you want to. If traffic is heavy, the taxi will be slow, too. During the mornings and afternoons, there is the "rush hour".This is the time when the traffic is very heavy with people going to and from work. The last way to get around New York is using your own private car. It is inconvenient because you will perhaps be driving during the "rush hour".The best time to travel around the city is from 9 am to 4 pm, because it isn't the "rush hour". Why is it inconvenient to use private cars? Answer: We will perhaps be driving during the "rush hour".
Many people like animals such as dogs and cats and keep one or more of them as pets. If you keep a dog or a cat as a pet, you must know how to look after it. A grown-up dog needs two meals a day --not more. It can eat meat, fish, rice and some other things. Dogs like large bones , but you can't give them chicken bones. Remember to give them much clean water. A dog should have a clean, dry box for sleeping. Washing it once a week is good for its health. If it is ill, take it to a doctor. A healthy dog will bring you more pleasure. Be careful when you choose a cat. A cat has two meals a day with some meat or fish. It drinks a little milk every day. Sometimes you can give it vegetables to eat. Don't forget that it needs clean water to drink. Take good care of your pets, they will be your good friends. Maybe they can give you some help when you are in need. Many people keep _ as pets. A. pandas B. elephants C. chicken D. cats Answer: D Napoga is a 12-year-old girl in Ghana ,Africa.It is hard for her family to get clean water.Every morning,she leaves home at half past five to get clean water for her family from a village far away.It takes her six hours to get enough clean water for daily cooking and drinking.She has no time to go to school or to play with her friends.Millions of people in the world are like Napoga.They can't get enough clean water to keep healthy. Earth Day is April 22.But on all other days,we must also remember it.The water we use is the most important natural resource on the earth. Water covers 70% of the earth's surface .But most of that is sea water.We can't use it for many things.Fresh water covers only 1% of the earth's surface. You probably feel lucky that your life isn't as hard as Napoga's.But that doesn't mean you don't have to worry about water.We all face serious water problems.One of them is water pollution.All kinds of things from cars,factories,farms and homes make our rivers,lakes,and oceans dirty.Polluted water is very bad for people to drink.And dirty water is bad for fish,too.Now,34% of all kinds of fish are dying out. How do cars and factories make our water dirty?First,they pollute the air.Then,when it rains,the rain water comes down and makes our drinking water dirty.Dirty rain,called acid rain ,is also bad for plants,animals and buildings. Scientists say that in 30 years,more than half of the people in the world won't have enough clean water.We have to learn how to save more water for ourselves and our children.Here is some advice for saving water: * Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.You can save as much as 450 liters each month. * Leaky taps waste a lot of water.Fix them right away! * You can easily cut your 10-minute showers in half--and you'll be just as clean. * When you wash dishes,don't let the water run. * Only wash clothes when you have a lot to wash.If your washing machine isn't full,you're wasting water! Acid rain _ . A. is only bad for living things B. can be produced in factories C. doesn't do harm to people,but it's bad for plants,animals and buildings D. doesn't just do harm to human beings but also to animals,plants and buildings Answer: D New hydro-electric vehicles will result in gas stations A. eventually earning a lot of money B. being blown up by the governor of California C. eventually losing a lot of money D. reporting record third quarter growth Answer: C In April, 2013, I visited Yangzhou. Ge Garden is very beautiful and peaceful. The ticket has a map on the back of it that I didn't noticed until I had already left. But to be honest, I don't think that map is very useful because it isn't very clear an tailed. In my opinion, it's better to improve it. Compared with He Garden, the map on the back of the ticket for He Garden is much clearer, more detailed and more useful. However, in the room that has the picture of the family members, there is only Chinese, no English, so my advice is to add English in interesting places. I got lost in the Slender West Lake. I spent about 30 minutes just trying to get out of one area. I think they need more signs posted along the trails. I like the Slender West Lake best, as she is so pretty! The ladies that were sweeping were very sweet. They always smiled at me and said hello, so it was nice. Taking a taxi is the most efficient and quickest way to get around Yangzhou. I didn't have a problem getting to the places which I'd like to go to while using a taxi. The driver was very friendly. The fare isn't too high, either. But I didn't enjoy taking the bus. The bus ride to the Mastixia Bay took long although I only had to pay one yuan. It was also hard finding where Bus 32 was. I tried asking some people in English but they couldn't understand me, so I had to ask in simple Chinese that I only know buy that still didn't work. I spent about one hour walking around the city to look for Bus 32. The tricycle was nice, but it was a little too expensive for a small distance. Maybe I was _ by the guy who rode for me, but it was an enjoyable ride. I felt like I was part of the garden city more. Over all I am satisfied with Yangzhou and will recommend it to others. We can infer the passage may be written by _ . A. a foreign visitor B. a lady sweeping in the park C. a taxi driver D. a guy riding a tricycle Answer: A 1.Know the fire exit and plan two ways out. 2.If you hear the smoke alarm or smell smoke, Shout "Fire! Everyone out!" to awaken anyone still asleep and to let others know there is a fire. 3. Feel the door with the back of your hand if there's a fire. If it's hot, use the window if possible. A warm door may mean there is a fire outside. If the door is cool, open it slowly, then crawl out of the building. *If heat and smoke come in when you open the door, close it tightly, and find another way out. 4. Don't hide! Go outside! Never hide under beds when there is a fire. 5. Stay low and crawl below the smoke to safety. Smoke goes up with the warm air and the air below is fresher. 6. Don't stop to put on your clothes or look for valuables . 7. Don't go back into a burning house for any reason. 8.Wait for your family at a meeting place outside, such as a big tree or the entrance( ) of the housing estate , to know everyone is safe. 9. If you can't escape from a room because of a fire outside, put wet clothing, towels, or blankets at the bottom of the door to keep the smoke out. 10.Open your window and ask for help if you can't escape through the door. 11. Stop, Drop and Roll if your hair or clothes are on fire. Shout for help, but don't run. Running makes fire burn faster. Stop where you are. Drop to the ground while covering your face with your hands to protect it. Roll over and over until the fire is out. ,A, B, C, D ,. (5,2,10) From the passage, we know we should _ if there is a fire. A. plan two ways out B. look for valuables first C. hide under beds D. escape from a room Answer: A
It's lunch time. You're hungry and want to get your favorite meal in the restaurant, but there are a lot of people waiting at the door. Don't worry-in cyberworld, )you can get your meal just on the Internet. "Shopping has never been so easy. With just a single click on your mouse, anything that you ordered online can be taken to your door quickly," said Bian Jing, a twenty-year-old girl. "I don't want to spend too much time shopping, so I like doing shopping online better than in a usual store," said a boy from a middle school. "It's easy to find the things you want online." If the shoppers buy something online, they can find lower prices and wider choices of things. But many teachers and parents are worried that shopping online is becoming too popular. "It's not a good way for middle school students to spend their money," said a teacher. "I don't want them to shop online." "It's also dangerous to lose money at online stores, because some of them just want to cheat shoppers," another teacher said. Most parents are not willing to pay the money their children spend on the Internet. The girl named Bian Jing thinks shopping online is _ . Answer: easy When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him _ on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him. "I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr.," he says of his father. So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. "I'm jumping up and down, saying, "Mom, can I go? Can I go?' " The experience changed Dekalb's life, he tells his dad on a visit to StoryCorps. "My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off." the younger Dekalb says. " This is the life that I want to live someday. " Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together -- father supervising son. "You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow," his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced. "I received a phone call that night. And they said, 'Well, your son was at this fire.' I said, 'OK, which way is this conversation going to go?' " Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls. "And they said, 'But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.' "And the word went around, 'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad." Dekalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son." What did Dekalb Walcott Jr want to do before he was told that the fire was put out? Answer: Go to the fire scene Mrs. Black is such a heavy woman in the world that one day she goes to see the doctor. The doctor tells her that she should eat more vegetables and less meat. So the next morning she only has an egg and a glass of milk for breakfast. And she has some rice and vegetables for lunch. In the evening, she feels very hungry. She begins to cook supper. She makes some hamburgers with chicken. She puts a little chicken and lots of vegetables in each hamburger. She has five hamburgers for supper. After that, she feels better and goes to bed. After a week, she goes to see the doctor again. The doctor is so surprised to find that she is heavier. But Mrs. Black tells him that she has more vegetables and less meat every day! Why is Mrs. Black heavier? Answer: Because she eats too much. The hit movieNotting Hillbegins with a famous scene. Hugh Grant bumps into Julia Roberts and spills orange juice all over her. After the _ , Grant repeatedly says: " I am so sorry. I am so sorry." His actions in this scene are very British. If Roberts' character were from Britain then she would probably apologize repeatedly as well--even if the crash were not her fault. But this doesn't happen in the film, as Roberts is from the US. A report in The Telegraph last week said that three-quarters of British people apologize when they bump into someone in the street -- regardless of whether they are responsible or not. In fact, we Britons use "sorry" in many situations. For example, if we mishear someone, we say "Sorry?" The person we are talking to will also apologize by replying: "No, I am sorry!" This can go on for up to five minutes as we compete over who is the most sorry. Life is never as simple as "duibuqi" and "meiguanxi". How we use "sorry" has changed. Traditionally, "sorry" was used to express deep regret, but a survey in 2007 showed that we use it to mean anything from "what" to "whatever". Why are Britons so sorry? Mark Tyrell, a psychology writer in the UK, thinks about our apologetic tendencies are rooted in the British class system. We say sorry because historically the new middle classes in Britain had to apologize for not being working class, but also for not really being upper class. Another theory is that we apologize to avoid confrontation . For example, if you bump into someone they might get angry. To avoid this we instantly say "Sorry!". True manners are about being considerate and the modern day obsession with apologizing show that we are perhaps not as thoughtful as we once were. The word has lost some of its meaning. Do you see my point? Sorry, it might just be a British thing... Which of the following might Mark Tyrell agree to? Answer: Now more British people say sorry because of the British class system. Our factories and homes burn coal and oil. Every year we have forest fires somewhere. Many scientists believe that the weather is changing. The earth will perhaps be warmed by about 7degC at the South Pole and the North Pole. The ice will be melt . The sea level will rise by about 7 meters. As a result, water will cover cities like London, Tokyo and New York. Some ports and towns along the coasts will disappear under water. Some other scientists think that the dust, smoke and pollution from coal, wood and oil fires will block out the ultraviolet rays . Then the earth will become colder and great sheets of ice will cover Europe and North America. When chemicals in the air mix with rain, we have acid rain. Acid rain can bring us great harm. It destroys forests and kills life in lakes and rivers. People are beginning to see how serious the problem is. They find it important to work with nature instead of against it. They are trying to save the earth in many different ways. But one of the most important things to do is to make people understand that saving the earth is saving ourselves. ,. Which sentence is TRUE? Answer: People have come to know the importance of working with nature.
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. Many words have _ . A. one meaning B. several meanings C. few meanings D. no meaning Answer: B. several meanings The royal family is a part of British history and cultural identity. Up until the 17th century, people believed that the British king or queen had a "divine right" to rule. This was the idea that God chose the king or queen and that he or she was therefore above the law. However, this idea was challenged during the English Civil War, when King Charles the First was put in prison and then killed in 1649. So what role does the British royal family have today? The Queen is head of the UK and the Commonwealth. She has important formal duties that go with her different titles. As Head of State, for example, she represents the UK on visits abroad and invites other world leaders to visit the UK;as Head of the Armed Forces in name, only she can declare when the UK is at war or when a war is over. She has to sign many government and Commonwealth documents every day. Although the royal family does the work for the UK, there are British people called"anti-monarchists "who do not believe there should be a royal family. One criticism is that the British people should not have to pay for the royal family with their taxes . Today, the royal family works hard to be relevant in the modern world. The Queen still gives a speech to the nation on television at Christmas, but it gets less and less formal every year;now it is even available as a podcast . In 2005, after graduating from university, Prince William spent time teaching English in Uruguay, the sort of work many ordinary young British people do in their gap years. Which of the following is among the formal duties of the Queen? A. Traveling around the UK. B. Declaring when the world is at war. C. Inviting other leaders to have dinner with her. D. Signing Commonwealth documents every day. Answer: D. Signing Commonwealth documents every day. "Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to go along with it," Mrs. Brown said to her husband. "That sounds like a very good idea," he answered. "Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper?" "Let's go to the animal _ . Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go." she said. The next morning the Browns met Mr. Snow at the animal shelter. "We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes," Mr. Snow said, "So I need to ask you some questions." After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr. Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't examined her yet. So Mr. Snow told them to return on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, "Shadow has had all of her shots . She will be healthy." The Browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home. The word "shelter" in the reading means _ . A. a place to sell small dogs B. a place to keep homeless animals C. a place to study animals D. a place to sell books on pet care Answer: B. a place to keep homeless animals This is a rather strange story but it is quite true. In December 1996, a burglar broke into a golf club in a small town. When the police arrived to look into it, they found an unusual clue--- a piece of cheese with a bite-mark in it. The burglar had gone into the kitchen, and had eaten some food there. Then he had stolen some cigarettes and a little money. The police man in charge of the case guessed that the burglar was a local man. He thought that professional thieves would not bother to break into a golf club.He made enquires in the town and asked three suspects to come to the police station. When he questioned them about the burglary, they all denied stealing in the club.The policeman then gave each man a piece of cheese and asked them to bite it. He took the pieces of the cheese to a dentist and asked him to compare the bite-marks with that in the piece of cheese at the scene of the burglary. The policeman set free two of the suspects and questioned the third one. At first the man said that he was innocent . The policeman knew that the man was lying, so he encouraged him to talk until he began to contradict himself . The policeman told him about the bite-marks and the man had to admit his stealing. What can be the best title for this story? A. Bite-marks B. Regretful burglar C. Brave event D. Professional burglar Answer: A. Bite-marks Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem. It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle. Despite his exhaustion, Howe slept badly. He tossed and turned. Then he had a nightmare He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make a small hole in the center of the needle and have the thread run through it. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practical sewing machine. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. To appreciate the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious , but still active part digests your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. However, the unconscious part expresses itself through its own logic and its own language.. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called "secret messages to ourselves". Which of the following was the main problem for Elias Howe to design a sewing machine? A. Deciding the kind of thread to use for the machine. B. Making the thread run smoothly around the needle. C. Designing a needle which would not easily break. D. Finding the proper place to put the needle. Answer: B. Making the thread run smoothly around the needle.
Are you a man or a mouse? When people ask this question they want to know if you think you are a brave person or a coward . But you will never really know the answer to that question until you are tested in real life. Some people think they are brave, but when they come face to face with real danger, they act like cowards. Other people think of themselves as cowardly, but when they meet danger, they act like heroes. Lenny Sputnik had always thought of himself as a nervous person. He got worried before examinations. He worried about his job and his health. All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy. Then, on 15th January 1982, a plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. Lenny went to the river to see what was happening. Then he saw a woman in the ice-cold water. Suddenly Lenny did not feel afraid. He kept very calm and did a very courageous thing. He jumped into the Potomac, swam to the woman, and kept her head above the water. Seventy-eight people died that day. Thanks to Lenny Sputnik, it was not seventy-nine. When you are in a very dangerous situation and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood. This chemical is called adrenalin. With adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and are ready to fight or run away. However, when you are completely terrified, the body can produce too much adrenalin. When this happens, the muscles become very hard and you find that you cannot move at all. You are then disabled with fear. That is why, when we are very frightened, we sometimes say that we are 'petrified'. This word comes from the Greek word 'peters' which means 'stone'. We are so frightened we have become like stone. According to the writer's opinion, a brave person can be judged by _ A his words B his thought C his action D his looks Answer: C TOSHIBA ELEVATORS LTD is one of the leading elevator companies in the world with more than 120 branch companies around the globe. SHENYANG TOSHIBA ELEVATORS LTD in Shenyang produces high-quality elevators. We are offering the following positions: * Plant Manager: Excellent Senior Engineer with experience in this field to manage our plant in Shenyang * Senior Engineers (Mechanical and Electrical): For production and Engineering Department, good command of Internet * Junior positions: For those who wish for success * One purchaser : Preferably with experience in a mechanical engineering company and international markets * Cost Accountant : 5 years experience in mechanical factory costing, good knowledge in Office 2000, CET level. For these senior level Positions, we expect preferably a university degree or an excellent job record. 3-5 years of experience on the job and good command of English. If you are ready to work with us, we will offer attractive salary packet and bright future. SHENYANG TOSHIBA ELEVATORS LTD Shenyang (024-82846556) Liaoning Province TOWER DAIRY PRODUCT COMPANY LTD is a well-known food company in Suzhou. We're offering the following positions: (1) Secretary * University graduate * Good at English speaking, writing&translating * Good PC knowledge and typing skill * Pleasant character with good personal skill (2) Accountants * College or university graduate * Good command of English and PC operation * Work experience (3) Production Trainees * College or university graduate * Food engineering/machinery or chemistry * Good command of English * 1-2 years experience in food factory * Leadership ability and PC knowledge (4) Production workers * Polytechnic school graduate * Food technology or chemistry * Knowledge of basic English *1-2 years experience in food factory TOWER DAIRY PRODUCT COMPANY LTD Suzhou (0512-86734157) Jiangsu Province As a graduate from university this year, you can probably get a job as _ . A a cost accountant in TOSHIBA B a purchaser in TOSHIBA C a secretary in TOWER D an accountant in TOWER Answer: C In many romantic movies or TV shows one scene always appears. It involves a handsome man standing outside a young woman's window, singing a love song to her to win her over. However, trying to woo a female with songs is not just something that humans do. A few animals sing love songs as well. Birds and elephants are romantic but the latest animal to _ a female might surprise you--it is the humble mouse. You may find it odd to find out that mice sing. We do not hear them because the frequency of their voice is so high. In fact, scientists have known for some time that male mice make special sounds to females, but it has always been assumed that the sounds are produced instinctively and randomly, with little thought going into the process. But new research suggests otherwise. When male mice with different voices were put in a cage together, scientists found that they would gradually change their pitches to sound like one another. But when a female mouse was put in the cage with two males, one male would change his pitch to match the other. "It was usually the smaller animal changing the pitch to match the larger animal," professor Erich Jarvis, leader of the study, from Duke University, US, told BBC News. This ability, known as vocal learning, is rare in the natural world. It had been thought to be limited to some birds, such as parrots--as well as whales and dolphins. The latest findings challenge the long-held opinion that mice cannot learn to adapt their voices. Scientists also found the part of the brain that controls the mice's singing ability. In the experiment, they damaged the cells in this part of the mice's brain and found that the animals couldn't keep their songs in pitch or repeat them any more. This also happened when the mice became deaf. Jarvis said that this finding had changed his understanding of the way mice make sound. "In mice we find that the pathways that are at least modulating these vocalizations are in the forebrain, in places where you actually find them in humans," he said. "If we're not wrong, these findings will be a big boost to scientists studying diseases like autism and anxiety disorders." Romantic movies and TV shows are mentioned at the beginning of the passage to _ . A help readers better understand the article B stress the importance of the article C explain why this article is written D get readers interested in the topic Answer: D There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students.Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee , the students would be in fear, because he was hardly pleased with the answers they gave.A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him.At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee.This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all. The professor began to ask.The student was asked to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.Then the professor asked about the cure for the illness , and the student , too , answered just as right. "Good," said the professor, "and how much will you give the patient?" "A full spoon," answered the student. "Now you may go out and wait for what you can get," said the professor. At the same time the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given.Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer."A full spoon is too much," he thought to himself.Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, "Mr. Professor, I've made a mistake! A full spoon is too much for the patient.He can take only five drops." "I'm sorry, sir," said the professor coldly, "but it's too late.Your patient has died." Which guess is the most reasonable from the passage? A The student may not have passed the exam. B The student must have passed the exam. C The student must be very happy when he heard, "Your patient has died." D The professor would let him pass as the student had admitted he was wrong. Answer: A Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the lake behind his house. He ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was getting close. The mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In great fear, she ran toward the water, shouting to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy made a U--turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. The mother caught her little boy by the arms just as the alligator pulled his legs. That began an unbelievable tug-of-war between _ . The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother did her best not to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard their screams, rushed from his truck and helped them. Luckily, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were seriously scarred by the terrible attack of the animal. And on his arms, were deep scars where his mother's fingernails dug into his arms in her effort to pull the son she loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted the legs. And then, he said to the reporter, "Look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mum wouldn't let go." _ was in the middle of the lake. A An alligator B The boy C Mother D Father Answer: A
Question: HONG KONG -- Hong Kong Disneyland is too crowded, a senior Chinese tourism official said today, hinting that another Disney Park is necessary to accommodate demand from China's huge population. The comments by Shao Qiwei, director of China's State Administration of Tourism, came a day after Shanghai's mayor Han Zheng said the city was preparing to build China's second Disney theme park. "China has a very large population. We now have 1.3 billion people. The market is very large. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland is now very crowded," said Shao, whose comments were broadcast on Hong Kong's Cable TV. The Hong Kong theme park, which opened in September, was widely criticized in January when it turned away hundreds of Lunar New Year holiday makers from mainland China because the park was full. Chaos erupted when angry crowds tried to force their way into the park. The embarrassing incident prompted a public apology from Hong Kong Disneyland Managing Director Bill Ernest and a dressing down from Hong Kong's leader Donald Tsang. Authorities are carefully studying the issue of overcrowding in preparation for the possible building of the Disney park in Shanghai, Shao said. The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that no agreement has been reached on the park in Shanghai, quoting senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Leslie Goodman. Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the local government, which shouldered the bulk of the park's construction fees. Why is it necessary to build a Disney park in Shanghai? A. Hong Kong Disneyland can't meet the need of the large population. B. Hong Kong Disneyland is too small and very crowded. C. Hong Kong Disney Park was criticized by tourists. D. Hong Kong Disneyland is far from the mainland. Answer: A. Hong Kong Disneyland can't meet the need of the large population. Question: There is an Asian American basketball player in the NBA. Do you know who he is? Yes, he is Lin Shuhao. His English name is Jeremy Lin. He is another basketball star after Yao Ming. So many people call him the second Yao Ming. But he doesn't like it. In the 1970s, his family moved to America from Taiwan, China. He is twenty-five years old. His elder brother is Josh and Joseph is his younger brother. He studied at Harvard University from the year 2006 to the year 2010. His father, a fan of the NBA, taught him to play basketball when he was young. Now Lin Shuhao plays for the Houston Rocket. He works hard and plays very well. Now he is popular with many people. ,. (1,5) Many people likes him because _ . A. he looks like Yao Ming B. he works hard and plays basketball very well C. he is tall and looks good D. he graduated from the famous Harvard University. Answer: B. he works hard and plays basketball very well Question: Scientists believe that one of our most important means of knowing what is going on around us is the sense of sound. We are warned of danger by sounds. Sounds serve to please us in music. Sound has a waste product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets any better. In order to know how noise affects people and animals, scientists have been studying for several years. They are surprised by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. Noise pollution is a threat that should be looked at carefully. Sounds is measured in units called decibels . At a level of 140 decibels people feel pain in their ears. Trucks , buses , motorcycles, airplanes, boats, factories---all these things make noise. They trouble not only our ears, but minds and bodies as well. There is a saying that it is so noisy that you can't hear yourself think. Doctors who study noise believe that we must sometimes hear ourselves think. If we don't, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems. Noise adds more tension to a society that has already faced enough stress. The sense of sound _ . A. makes us feel excited B. helps us hear more clearly C. is something harmful to us D. helps to know what is happening around us Answer: D. helps to know what is happening around us Question: Have you been asked for money by some disabled beggars while you're enjoying shopping?Do you have any pity on them who are so poor and lonely or do you just feel afraid of their terrible shapes?As one of the most special groups,disabled people's living conditions--not only their material conditions,but their mental world,really need improvement. The treatment for disabled people should go like this:First,don't look down upon them.Don't be afraid of looking at the terrible shapes of the disabled.Try to treat them _ .Because they are a part of the society ,we can't discard them.The second is to help them as much as we could.If you can be a volunteer and do some work for the disabled people,that would be very nice.That does help not only to the disabled people but also to yourself because you will feel good after your kind action. If every one of us gives a little love,the world will become a beautiful wonderland! People have pity on disabled beggars because _ . A. they are homeless B. they are poor and lonely C. they have terrible shapes D. they are discarded Answer: B. they are poor and lonely Question: We go shopping on Sunday. I often go to the supermarket with my mother on Sunday morning. Father likes fruit very much. We buy some bananas for him. Mother likes red apples, but the apples in the supermarket are green. We don't buy them. The strawberries are very nice. Mother likes them very much and buys some for herself . The oranges are very nice, too. Mother buys some for me. I like oranges very much. We need some vegetables. The vegetables in the supermarket are very good. We buy some broccoli. I don't like broccoli, but my parents like it. I like carrots very much. We buy lots of carrots. After shopping, mother and I have some salad, French fries and ice cream. Then we go back home with the fruit and vegetables. ---- Does mum buy apples? ---- _ . A. Yes, she does. B. No, she doesn't. C. She likes apples. D. She doesn't like apples. Answer: B. No, she doesn't.
July 21st. 2007 was a typical English summer's day -- it rained for 24 hours ! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was _ By the time I left work at 5pm. However, the road into our village was flooded. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door. a wave of waters greeted me. Thank God the kids weren't with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the wall's ceilings pulled down. At first we tried to push on through. We didn't want to move the children out of home. so we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we move to a wooden house in a park. The house was small. but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community . We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbors, and I'd never thought how much I,I'd miss that. Although our situation was very bad, it's difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what's happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought. "We didn't have a straw hut that was for Christmas. But I can't wait -- I'm going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won't need any gifts -- living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions. Although we are replacing things, there's really no rush -- we have our home back. and that's the main thing. It can be inferred from the text that the author _ . Answer: There are stories about two US Presidents,Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren,which attempt to explain the American English term OK. We don't know if either story is true,but they are both interesting. The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education. In fact,he had difficulty reading and writing. When important papers came to Jackson,he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said. If he approved of a paper, he would write "all correct" on it. The problem was that he didn't know how to spell. So what he really wrote was "ol korekt". After a while,he shortened that term to "OK". The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born,Kinderhook,New York. Van Buren's friends organized a club to help him become president. They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club,and anyone who supported Van Buren was called "OK". The author _ . Answer: A cell that is low in water will most likely immediately lose the ability to Answer: Parents can be very important teachers in our lives. However, they are not always the best teachers. Parents may be too close to their children emotionally . Sometimes they can only see their children through the eyes of a protector. For example, a teacher might see a trip to a big city as a valuable experience. However, it might seem too dangerous to a parent. Another problem is that parents may expect their children's interests to be similar to their own. If they love science, they may try to force their child to love science too. But what if (......) their child's true love is art, or writing, or car repair? Parents usually want to _ their values to their children. But should children always believe what their parents do? When children are young, they believe that their parents are always right. But when they get older, they will have different ways of thinking. The most important thing to realize is that we all have many teachers in our lives. Our parents teach us, our teachers teach us, and our friends teach us. Books and newspapers and televisions also teach us. All of them are valuable. When children get older, they _ . Answer: One fine afternoon, while walking, I remembered that I needed a pair of socks. I turned into a sock shop that caught my eye, and a boy clerk who was about 17 came forward. "What can I do for you, sir?" There was a note of passion in his voice. "Did you know that you have come into the finest place in the world to buy socks? Come with me," said the boy. I followed him to the back of the shop, and he began to take down from the shelves box after box of socks. "I am going to buy only one pair!" "I know that," said he, "but I want you to see how beautiful these are. Aren't they wonderful?" I became far more interested in him than in the socks. I looked at him in surprise. "My friend," said I, "if you can keep this up, if this is not just the enthusiasm that comes from having a new job, if you can keep up this excitement day after day, in ten years you will be a good businessman." My surprise at his pride and joy in his salesmanship will be easily understood by all who read this article. In many shops the customer has to wait for someone to serve him. And when finally some shop assistant notices you, you are made to feel as if you were interrupting him. He displays no interest either in you or in the goods he is paid to sell. It's possible that every shop assistant who is now so bored began his career with hope and enthusiasm. I have observed this happen in the lives of so many men. I have come to the conclusion that the surest road to failure is to do things mechanically . It can be inferred from the story that _ . Answer:
Question: Good health is the most valuable thing a person can have, but one cannot take good health for granted. It is important to remember that the body needs proper care in order to be healthy. There are three things that a person can do to help stay in good shape: eat right food ,get enough sleep, and exercise regularly. Proper nutrition is important for good health. Your body cannot work well unless it receives the proper kind of "fuel" .Don't eat too much food with lots of sugar and fat. Eat plenty of foods high in protein ,like meat, fish, eggs and nuts. Vegetables and fruits are very important because they provide necessary vitamins and minerals. However, don't overeat. It is not helpful to be overweight. Getting the proper amount of sleep is also important. If you don't get enough sleep, you feel tired and easily get angry. You have no energy. Over a long period of time a little a amount of sleep may even result in a change of personality .Be sure to allow yourself from seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you do, your body will feel strong and refreshed, and your mind will be sharp. Finally, get plenty of exercise. Exercise firms the body, strengthens the muscles, and prevents you from gaining weight. It also improves your heart and lungs. If you follow a regular exercise program, you will probably increase your life-span .Any kind of exercise is good. Most sports are excellent for keeping the body in good shapes: basketball, swimming, bicycling, running and so on are good examples. Sports are not only good for your body, but they are enjoyable and interesting, too. If everybody, were to eat the right foods, get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly, the world would be a happier and healthier place. We would all live to be much older and wiser. Eating more and sleeping less _ . A. can keep healthy B. is no good for you C. gets you more energy D. will keep your personality Answer: B Question: What might have more radiation? A. cats B. grass C. water D. cigarettes Answer: D Question: Long March exhibit The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the Long March. On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged bases in Jiangxi Province and fought its way to northern Shaanxi Province in the mid-1930s. Explanations are all in Chinese. The show will end on November 20. Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm Address: 1286 Hongqiao Road Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese /15 yuan for foreigners Thai elephants Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, balancing on a beam, dancing and blowing a mouthorgan. People are encouraged to have a tug-of-war with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them. The elephants give three shows a day at 9:30 am, 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at l:30 pm at weekends. The show will end on November 15. Address: 189 Daduhe Road Admission: 30-40 yuan Dancing dolphins Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, swaying their bodies to music, kissing people and doing math by tapping their tails have made the dolphinarium in Peace Park an attraction for children. Seals and sea lions also perform. Hours: 10:30 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:30 pm Admission: 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children. At the exhibition, you will see _ . A. books on the Long March B. many things left by the Red Army C. many articles written by famous writers D. many photos and pictures about the Long March Answer: D Question: Some birds fly south before winter each year. This is an example of A. migration B. hibernation C. germination D. evaporation Answer: A Question: QINGDAO--Water and power supplies have been _ in the East Chinese city of Qingdao, the site of an oil pipeline explosion on Friday, the local government said on Monday. Crude oil began leaking from the pipeline at 3:00 an Friday in Qingdao in Shandong province. The valves of the Huangdao oil warehouse were shut about 15 minutes later. The oil spill then flowed into the city's rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions occurred at two locations around 10:30 am Friday when workers were clearing the spill. According to the local government, about 85 percent of public heating and 90 percent of the gas supply were also brought back to normal as of Monday. Residents who have been taken to the temporary settlements are receiving bottled water and bread. Many schools and kindergartens have reopened classes after Friday's oil pipeline explosion. No injures and deaths of students or teachers have been reported following the explosions at an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec. The school buildings of one middle school in the district were seriously damaged during the explosions. Education authorities have arranged psychological help for students and teaching staff. All other 18 schools and kindergartens in the district reopened classes on Monday. As of Monday noon, the death toll from the explosion had risen to 55, with 9 people still missing and 136 hospitalized. According to local police, 49 bodied have been identified so far, and 42 of them were male victims. As of Monday morning, the blood supply in Qingdao was enough for the injured after more than 950 people in the city donated more than 340,000 ml of blood in the wake of the incident. We can learn from the passage that _ . A. everything was brought back to normal right after the explosion B. no measures were taken to help the suffering people out of trouble C. no more dead body was found after Monday noon D. all the 19 schools in the district were affected by the explosion Answer: D
It was New Year's Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal --- the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts. The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads --- one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and filled with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled. He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, "O youth, return! O my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I'll choose the better way!" But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away. He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall down from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His regret, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year's Night. The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry: "Come back, my early days! Come back!" And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year's Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land. Those who still wander on the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain: "O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!" The aged man in the passage can be described as _ . Answer: regretful, painful and disappointed The illegal ivory trade has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers have killed hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain ivory. Now, affected areas are taking action. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Wednesday key African states where poaching takes place have promised to stop the ivory trade to protect elephants. Over the past few days, top officials and experts from 30 states met at the African Elephant Summit. The conference, organized by the IUCN and the government of Botswana, was held in Gaborone, Botswana. Conservation efforts will include China and Thailand, where much of the ivory is sent. "Now is the time for Africa and Asia to join forces to protect this universally valued species," said Botswana President Ian Khama. In the 1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory. The ivory was used to make jewelry and other items. This continued until 1989, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted to ban all the trade in ivory. As a result, demand for ivory fell. Governments cracked down on poachers. Elephant populations slowly began to increase. However , this progress was short-lived. According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. Data from the IUCN show even higher levels of illegal trade may have been reached in 2013. "With an estimated 22,000 elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation," said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. "Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinction if the present killing rate continues. At the African Elephant Summit , key African states where elephants make their home agreed to develop a "zerotolerance approach" to poaching. The deal calls for maximum sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between affected states. Officials are committed to classifying wildlife trafficking as a serious crime --- and to making sure that the people who commit it are punished. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states working together, there may yet be hope for elephants. What would be the best title for the text? Answer: New Hope for Elephants Taking exams in a large group setting can be stressful for students and for the staff members who are watching over them. When classrooms are crowded and desks are close together, cheating might be tempting. One university in Thailand came up with an anti-cheating hat that makes it almost impossible for students to see other students' papers. A photo of the students wearing the anti-cheating hats made its way to the Internet, and the university was criticized for making students wear those ridiculous looking homemade hats. The hats were made by stapling pieces of paper onto a headband, one to each side of the head. After being criticized, senior academic staff at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, released a statement saying that the hats idea came from students. They said that in a bid to prevent cheating they asked the students for ideas on how to prevent cheating in the upcoming exam, which was being taken by almost one hundred students. Students came up with different ideas, then the paper hat idea was selected by them as the most suitable. The university claimed that no one was forced to use the hat, but they all chose to do so."When wearing the hat during the exam, students felt more relaxed, "Nattadon Rungruangkitkrai, a lecturer at the university said."It was not meant to indicate that Kasetsart students often cheat on exams. I apologize if the photo makes other people look at my students in a negative way, "Rungruangkitkrai added. Why was the university criticized? Answer: The university made students wear strange looking hats. You may think that an underground town of 3,500 people is something out of a science-fiction film. You may not believe that such a town has shops car parks, hotels, restaurants, cafes and much more. Well, Coober Pedy in Australia is just such a place. Miners and their families choose to live like this, hoping to get rich looking for the precious stones that Australia is famous for --- opals . Living underground is the only way to be away from the sandstorms and the high temperatures above ground. Deep down in the town far below the desert surface, the temperature is between 19degC and 20degC and life is cool. Mary Deane and her husband Jim are among the lucky ones. They live in a home, built with money from the opals Jim has found. "Whenever people hear we live underground, they always imagine a dusty cave," says Mary, "but they are amazed at my clean kitchen, our furniture and electrical appliances in here." However, not everything is perfect in Coober Pedy. Mary has a tiny garden that she is very proud of, but the grass is not real. Plant life is rare. Water is five times more expensive underground than it is overground. Recycling is a way of life, so Jim usually washes his car with bath water and they have a special system to reuse the water from the dishwasher and washing machine. Even so, most families enjoy life in Coober Pedy. The children can make as much noise as they want and there are no complaints from the neighbors because the thick walls stop sounds from traveling. Adults enjoy the peace and quiet away from the world above. People in Coober Pedy live underground _ . Answer: due to the terrible natural environment. often teach about happiness and what has become clear is this:There are some qualities always unhappy people have.Here are some of them. Happy people know life can be hard and tend to live through hard times.They take responsibility for how they got themselves into a mess,and focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as possible.Unhappy people see themselves as victims of life and stay stuck in the"look what happened to me" attitude instead of finding a way through and out to the other side. Most happy people believe in the good in people instead of thinking everyone is out to get them.Generally open and friendly towards people they meet,happy people foster a sense of community around themselves and meet new people with all open heart.Unhappy people are distrustful of most people they meet and don't think strangers can be trusted.Unfortunately,this behavior slowly closes all chances of meeting new friends. Unhappy people believe someone else's good fortune steals from their own.They believe there's not enough goodness to go around and always compare others'against theirs.This leads to jealousy .Happy people know that others'good luck and circumstance are just signs of what they also can achieve if they try hard enough.They believe in unlimited possibilities and don't get stuck in thinking one person's good fortune limits their possible outcome in life. There's only so much space between the two ears.Unhappy people fill that space with constant worry and fear.Happy people experience fear and worry too,but make an important difference between feeling it and living with it.When fear or worry crosses a happy person's mind,they'll ask themselves if there's an action they can take to prevent their fear or worry from happening and they take it.If not,they realize they're spinning in fear and they lay it down. What is implied about happy people? Answer: They try to get out of their fear or worries.
At the beginning of the World Series of 1947, I experienced a completely new emotion, when the National Anthem was played. This time, I thought, it is being played for me, as much as for anyone else. This is organized major league baseball, and I am standing here with all the others; and everything that takes place includes me. About a year later, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, to play in an exhibition game. On the field, for the first time in Atlanta, there were Negroes and whites. Other Negroes besides me. And I thought: What I have always believed has come to be. And what is it that I have always believed? First, those imperfections are human. But that wherever human beings were given room to breathe and time to think, those imperfections would disappear, no matter how slowly. I do not believe that we have found or even approached perfection. That is not necessarily in the scheme of human events. Handicaps, stumbling blocks, prejudices -- all of these are imperfect. Yet, they have to be dealt with because they are in the scheme of human events. Whatever obstacles I found made me fight all the harder. But it would have been impossible for me to fight at all, except that I was sustained by the personal and deep-rooted belief that my fight had a chance. It had a chance because it took place in a free society. Not once was I forced to face and fight an immovable object. Not once was the situation so cast-iron rigid that I had no chance at all. Free minds and human hearts were at work all around me; and so there was the probability of improvement. I look at my children now, and know that I must still prepare them to meet obstacles and prejudices. But I can tell them, too, that they will never face some of these prejudices because other people have gone before them. And to myself I can say that, because progress is unalterable, many of today's dogmas will have vanished by the time they grow into adults. I can say to my children: There is a chance for you. No guarantee, but a chance. And this chance has come to be, because there is nothing static with free people. There is no Middle Ages logic so strong that it can stop the human tide from flowing forward. I do not believe that every person, in every walk of life, can succeed in spite of any handicap. That would be perfection. But I do believe -- and with every fiber in me -- that what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind us (no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past: to discover the truth of today; and perhaps find the greatness of tomorrow. I believe in the human race. I believe in the warm heart. I believe in man's honesty. I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it -- and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist. My fight was against the barriers that kept Negroes out of baseball. This was the area where I found imperfection, and where I was best able to fight. And I fought because I knew it was not doomed to be a losing fight. It couldn't be a losing fight--not when it took place in a free society. And in the largest sense, I believe that what I did was done for me -- that it was my faith in God that sustained me in my fight. And that what was done for me must and will be done for others. The author firmly believed that _ . It is a plain fact that we are in a world where competition is going on in all areas and at all levels. This is exciting.Yet,on the other hand,competition breezes a pragmatic attitude.People choose to learn things that are useful,and do things that are profitable.Today's college education is also affected by this general sense of utilitarianism . Many colleges students choose Business,Law not Computer Programming as their majors convinced that these professions are where the big money is.It is not unusual to see the college students taking a part--time job as a warm--up for the real battle.I often see my friends taking GRE tests,working on English or computer certificates and taking the driving tests to get a license.Well,I have nothing against being practical.As the competition in the job market gets more and more severe,students do have reasons to be practical. However,we should never forget that college education is much more than skill training.Just imagine,if your utilitarianism becomes the main trend on campus,leaving no space for the cultivation of students' minds,or development of their soul.We will see university is training out well--trained spiritless working machines.If utilitarianism controls society,we will see people lost in the money--making adventures;we will see humanity losing their grace and dignity,and that,would be disastrous.I'd like to think society as encouraging and people regard profit or fame only as a horse that pulls the courage.Yet without the driver picking direction,the courage would go straight and may even end out in a dangerous situation. A certificate may give you some advantages,but not broad horizons,positive attitudes and personal integrity ,which are the wealth you cannot acquire through any quick fixed way. Although in today's world,the highest level of competition may not be that of skills or expertise ,but vision and strategy, your intellectual quality largely determines how far you can go in your career. The author does strongly suggest that _ . Have you ever heard of Paynes Prairie ? It is one of the most important natural and historical areas in Florida. Paynes Prairie is located near Gainesville. It is large, 21,000 acres. This protected land is called a reserve, which is managed by the Florida Park Service. The Paynes Prairie basin was formed when limestone broke down and the ground settled. It is covered by wet prairie plants. There are areas of open water. During brief periods it was flooded enough to be considered a lake. Except for that, the basin has changed little through time. Man has lived on Paynes Prairie a very long time. He lived there as far back as 10,000 B.C.. At one time, the Seminoles lived there. The prairie is thought to have been named after King Payne, a Seminole chief. During the late 1600s, the largest farm where cattle are fed in Florida was on Paynes. William Bartram who lived 200 years ago visited Paynes Praire in 1774. Bartram was the first person who described nature through personal experiences as well as scientific observations. At that time he called Paynes Prairie the "great Alachua Savannah". Most of the animal life, which Bartram described, is still here. A large number of animals live here in winter. The variety of animals is increased by the presence of pine flat woods, wetlands and ponds. The Paynes Prairie Reserve State Park is open all year round. The Florida Park Service works hard so that the park will appear as it did in the past. It offers many opportunities for entertainment. In the park you can camp and picnic. You can hike and bike. You can boat and fish. You can ride on horses. And you can see Florida as it was in the early days. The purpose of the passage is to _ . There's no place in the world like Venice, Italy. Called the City of Water, Venice was built about 1,500 years ago. It's made up of 118 tiny islands in the Adriatic Sea. The area, however, may be in over its head. But now scientists have a new plan to save the city. Because the city was built on soft soil, it has been sinking under the pressure of its own weight. Scientists estimate that Venice sinks at a rate of nearly 2 inches every 100 years. Rising sea levels could make Venice go under even faster, some experts say. Earth's temperature is slowly increasing. That is causing sea ice to melt, which makes the world's waters rise, they say. To keep the city afloat, experts want to pump about 40 billion gallons of sea water beneath Venice. The liquid would expand the sand under the city, which would help support the islands, explains lead scientist Giuseppe Gambolati. Experts are rushing to save Venice because of its rich history. The city was once a strong sea power. "Many famous artists and opera singers have come from Venice. Some of the world's greatest paintings can be found on the city's museum walls," explains Melissa Conn, who is a director of Save Venice Inc. While scientists work to get their water-pumping plan approved, Venice's residents go about their normal routines. When the tide rolls in, the locals have ways of keeping everyone dry. Cafe owners move tables to higher ground, and hotels pass out high boots to guests. Still, dealing with the rising water does not give the city's residents a sinking feeling, just ask Erla Zwingle. She has lived in Venice for 17 years. "There has always been high water in Venice." Zwingle told WR News. "If high water really were a serious problem, people wouldn't be still living here." What is the main idea of the passage? You've heard the saying: if you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there. Thousands of successful people attribute (......) most of their success to goal setting. Knowing this, why don't the majority of people set goals? Goal setting starts within you. You have to believe it's possible to do a thing before you have a strong desire to write it down on paper and take steps to make it happen. How do you possibly bring yourself to believe in your own success? After all, so many of you have been at this success thing for a while and it still hasn't happened to you. Companies that you believed in and worked hard for have failed, your family and friends are waiting for you to "be realistic", and life just keeps giving you one blow after another. But there is a small fire burning inside you. You keep at it because all you know is you can't continue to get up every morning, go to work for someone else and allow them to determine how much you're worth each week which is far below your true value. So where do you go from here? Where do you start today? The road to inner belief in your success begins with you telling yourself every day, throughout the day, that you can do what you set out to do, you can have what you set out to get, and you can be that successful person you know that lives inside you. Yes, obstacles will come, doubters will be around, but don't you be one of them. Treat yourself like the person you love and care about most. If you had children who had a paper route and they wanted to accomplish a goal but they kept running into obstacles, what would happen? They would soon become discouraged with so many people telling them no. I'm not interested in what you have to offer. What would you say to your child? I'm sure it won't be the same thing you've been saying to yourself. Turn your words around. Speak those same words of encouragement you would speak to your discouraged child, to yourself. If you would never put a loved one down, especially when they are feeling discouraged, why would you do that to yourself? You have the power within to stop it right now and turn it around. Be committed from this point forward to speaking words of encouragement to yourself. The mind is an amazing thing. You can convince yourself of anything over time. If you repeatedly tell yourself every day, throughout the day, how successful you are, how capable you are, you will not only start to believe it, you will start to live it. In the eyes of the author, _ is what you should do to set a goal.
Lisa has a pet cat named Whiskers. Whiskers is black with a white spot on her chest. Whiskers also has white paws that look like little white mittens. Whiskers likes to sleep in the sun on her favorite chair. Whiskers also likes to drink creamy milk. Lisa is excited because on Saturday, Whiskers turns two years old. After school on Friday, Lisa rushes to the pet store. She wants to buy Whiskers' birthday presents. Last year, she gave Whiskers a play mouse and a blue feather. For this birthday, Lisa is going to give Whiskers a red ball of yarn and a bowl with a picture of a cat on the side. The picture is of a black cat. It looks a lot like Whiskers. What color is Whiskers? Answer: A person wants to make some tomato plants grow, so they get Answer: Huang Naihui was born in 1964 in Taipei. When he was a child, he had a very high fever, which made him partially paralyzed. His parents were afraid that he would bring bad luck to the family and abandoned him. But his grandmother brought him up. It was at the age of 13 that he went to school. At the age of 22, he would study and work part-time. He would sell flowers during the day and attend classes at night. During his spare time he would study. The learning made him very happy. He used his knowledge very well in his business of selling flowers. He would go door to door selling flowers during the day. He would sell flowers at pubs and night clubs at night. At times, in order to sell, he had to sing. He was often tricked. However, he would face the next customer with a smile. His grandmother passed away when he was 24. It was the darkest day of his life. Today Huang Naihui owns 3 flower shops and employs disabled people to work for him. He would spend his spare time doing charity work. His book Facing the sun and his story have encouraged many people. ,. Why didn't his parents want to bring him up? Answer: The small unframed painting called "Fisherman" was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession. Pitt said, "I didn't know it was so valuable. I'm not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought 'Fisherman' in Italy in 1970 for $140.the picture was dirty, and I couldn't see the artist's signature. But anyway it wasn't the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame." "It's most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I'll never part with it." "When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn't know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then." "Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone's signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale." As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department. Pitt was not happy. "I told the truth as I knew it then," he said, "What else could I say?" And then the judge agreed with him. "The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame)," he said, "for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty. Which is true according to the passage? Answer: Giant redwood trees change energy from one form to another. How is energy changed by the trees? Answer:
How good are U.S. drivers? The CBS TV "National Drivers Test" showed that many U.S. drivers have a lot to learn. Here's why: CBS picked 1,799 samples to take the test in TV studios in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles. More than two out of five of the drivers failed the test. And the average score was the lowest passing mark-51 points out of a possible 80. Chicago drivers did best with an average of 53 points. Los Angeles drivers came next with 52 points. New York and Philadephia drivers tied with 50 points-a failing score. Drivers with 50 points or less were rated "poorly informed" by the judges. Here are some of the test results: (1) Are men better informed drivers than women?-Yes. Men averaged 52 points. Women got average of 49. (2) Are older drivers better informed than younger drivers?-No. Drivers under 26 averaged 52 points. Drivers from 27 to 45 averaged 51. Driver over 45 failed with 48 points on average. (3) Does education make a difference?-Yes. College graduates averaged 52 points. High school graduates averaged 50. Those without high school diplomas got 48. And people who had taken driver education courses scored an average of 53 points-three more than those who hadn't. (4) Does driving experience make a difference?-Yes. Drivers with three or more years' experience averaged 51 points. Drivers with less experience averaged 49. Here are some surprising facts brought out by the test: (1)More than one out of three drivers did not know that a blinking red light means a full stop. (2)Three out of ten drivers did not know that an octagonal (eight-sided) sign means stop. (3)More than two of three drivers did not know what to do when being "tailgated"(,) The answer: slow down, drive to the right, and let the driver behind pass. The results of the test were turned over to the National Safety Council. They will help future safety planning. Which of the following as a group was rated "poorly informed" by the judges? A Men. B High school graduate drivers. C Drivers from 27 to 45 years of age. D Drivers with 3 or more years' experience. Answer: B In pea plants, tall is dominant over short. What size pea plants will result when a pure tall plant is crossed with a pure short plant? A middle-sized plants B short plants C tall plants D some tall and some short plants Answer: C The human body has developed its millions of nerves to be highly aware of what goes on both inside and outside of it. This helps us to adjust to the outside world. Without our nerves and our brain, which is a system of nerves, we couldn't know what's happening. But we pay for our sensitivity. We can feel pain when the slightest thing is wrong with any part of our body. The history of torture is based on the human body being open to pain. But there is a way to handle pain. Look at the Indian fakir who sits on a bed of nails. Fakirs can put a needle right through an arm, and feel no pain. This ability that some humans have developed to handle pain should give us ideas about how the mind can deal with pain. The big thing in withstanding pain is our attitude toward it. If the dentist says, "This will hurt a little," it helps us to accept the pain. By staying relaxed, and by treating the pain as an interesting sensation , we can handle the pain without falling apart. After all, although pain is an unpleasant sensation, it is still a sensation, and sensations are the stuff of life. When the author mentions the Indian fakir, he shows that _ . A fakirs possess magic power B Indians are not afraid of pain C people can learn to cope with pain D some people are born without a sense of pain Answer: C I used to watch her from my kitchen window. She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during break. I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. Without a moment of hesitation she said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." Well, I had to give it to her--she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her school team to victory. One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," came a soft reply, "I am just too short." The coach told her that at 5'5" she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team--much less offered a scholarship--so she should stop dreaming about college. She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship and that nothing could stop her except one thing -- her own attitude. The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was offered a scholarship and on the college team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of. Which proverb best matches the story? A Practice makes perfect. B Rome was not built in a day. C Where there is a will, there is a way. D Pride comes before a fall. Answer: C Pingyao, located in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site. It is 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River. People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a county government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of _ are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its lacquer ware became well known as well. In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi's history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people. In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as "World Culture Heritage Site" . Which of the following about Pingyao is NOT mentioned in the passage? A Its location. B Its tourism. C Its business. D Its history. Answer: B
I am Zhang Qiang. On weekends I often watch TV with my friend, Guo Peng. My favourite movie star is Baotian Lee .He is a great actor. He has a movie, Magical Doctor Xilaile(<<>> ).It's a very successful comedy. I think it's great fun. Guo Peng likes Michele Yan best. He likes her famous movie , Sleepless Night. It's a thriller. I don't think it's great. In fact, it's boring. Guo Peng also likes comedies. He often tells me, "Comedies are really fun!" My father likes them, too. He even wants to be a comedy artist! Zhang Qiang and Guo Peng both like _ . A. active movies B. comedies C. thrillers D. documentaries Answer: B. comedies Employees are being flooded with too much information that has little to do with their work, according to a new survey. On average, white-collar workers spend 51 percent of their work time receiving and processing information. Only one third of it was relevant to their work, the survey found. Information overload for white collar workers has become a global issue. The huge amount of information has already affected their efficiency in management as well as their performance at work. Buried with e-mails Every morning, a secretary at the human resources department of an auto parts company opens her e-mail box, only to find it crammed with at least 50 unread mails. For her, even scanning through these e-mails every day takes at least half an hour. Some of her colleagues are not so lucky -- they have to read at least 100. Bothered with calls Telephone calls are also causing a problem. More than 40 percent white-collar workers chose mobile phones as the preferred way to communicate important and urgent business matters. Talking saves time and energy over the clicking, reading and replying to e-mails, but phone calls are also more distracting . While answering a call, a clerk is likely to put away a much more important task at hand and start the business being talked about on the phone. Solution? Not yet. Many companies start with providing staff with better computers, better Internet access and more advanced gadgets . For example, staff members above a certain level in one company will be provided with a blackberry phone for easier access to their e-mails. The company has also organized many lectures on efficient ways of e-mail management. Yet most white-collar workers think their companies can do more. How do some companies try to solve the problem of information overload? A. They start to give staff a pay rise. B. They plan to employ more people. C. They provide employees with more advanced equipment. D. They organize lectures on how to reduce stress. Answer: C. They provide employees with more advanced equipment. Now let's look ourselves as a species in relation to ecosystem balance.Modern scientists believe that humankind, like other animals, evolved through millions of years of changes and adaptations to the environment and that our most direct evolutionary ancestor was probably an earlier species of the primate(monkey, ape) group. Despite this similarity with other creatures, however, the evolution of humankind differs from that of other species in one important and unique way. In other species, evolution has led to specialization, both in the species abilities and in its place within the environmental structure. For example, the giraffe is much adapted to feeding on treetops, but it is also specialized and thus limited to feeding on trees and shrubs. Only with great difficulty can it bend down to graze on the ground. Similarly, the anteater is extremely well adapted to eating ants but is unable to catch or eat other animals. The same is true for countless other species. For humankind it is opposite. Our evolution had led to a very generalized ability. Our highly developed intelligence and ability to make and handle tools mean that we can do almost anything. Humans evolved in such a way that we are able to move into every environment on Earth and even into space. No natural competitor offers great resistance, and other natural enemies such as disease have been controlled. Said another way, we see in humankind a great imbalance between biological potential and environmental resistance. The result is the rapidly increasing world population, frequently referred to as the population explosion. Further, to support our growing population, natural ecosystems are being increasingly displaced by human habitations, agriculture, and other human supporting activities. According to the passage, primate includes such animals as _ . A. monkeys and anteaters B. tigers and apes C. apes and monkeys D. monkeys and giraffes Answer: C. apes and monkeys Dear Jenny, Please take these things to your brother: his math book, baseball, notebook, CDs, and video tape. The math book is on the dresser. The baseball is under the bed. The notebook is on the bed. The CDs are in the drawer. The video tape is on the table. Thanks! Mom The video tape is _ . A. on the table B. under the table C. under the bed D. on the bed Answer: A. on the table Ashrita Furman loves breaking records. In fact, over the last 30 years, he's broken almost 400 Guinness World Records. And he recently broke the Guinness World Record for "the most records held at the same time by an individual". Ashrita broke his first record in 1979, doing 27,000 star jumps in one go. But since then, he's set all sorts of records: clapping non-stop for 50 hours, balance a lawn mower on his chin for almost two minutes... the list is endless. The 57-year-old New Yorker runs a health food shop but spends his free time training to break new records. How does he decide which records to attempt? Simple! Ashrita studies the Guinness Book of Records online database. "I used to stay up two or three hours in the morning, _ the 40,000 records and chose the ones I was interested in." he explained. But these days, to make sure he has overall fitness, he chooses records that work different parts of his body. In his attempts to break records, Ashrita often travels abroad. In 2005, he set the record for the "fastest mile on a space hopper" while jumping along the Great Wall of China. In 2003, he set the record for the "longest time balancing on a Swiss ball" at Stonehenge, England. And he likes to make his record attempts as challenging as possible. As a teenager, he met a guru and began studying meditation . "It changed my life... And I soon realized that limits are all in the mind." One day, his guru told him to go and "break records". So he did and he hasn't stopped since. He recently said, "The point is joy. The point is the challenge. It's something silly, but you are the best in the world at it." Which can be the best title for the text? A. Challenge brings change B. An amazing record-breaker C. Limits are all in the mind D. A great meditation learner Answer: B. An amazing record-breaker
My first visit to Angkor Wat was in 1980. The country had been at war for many years and _ and falling to pieces. Plants were growing out of the roofs, and trees were growing in the courtyards. Today, the temple is the scene of a busy repair program. A team of 15 Indian experts are organizing a workforce of 400 Cambodians, most of them women, who are cleaning, repairing and rebuilding parts of this temple. As I walked through the courtyards, I noticed the Cambodian women devote hours to cleaning carefully a tiny area of stone. Boards are laid down to protect the precious painted stones while the repair work is going on. There are very few machines and little heavy equipment. Workers carry building materials in buckets at the end of long poles. Piles of stones lie in a corner of the courtyard, waiting to be replaced. The work of cleaning the stones is watched over by three Indian chemists. It is a very slow task. First they clean the stones with brushes using buckets of a weak chemical. Then gaps between the stones are filled in. Finally another material is painted onto the stones which will protect them from water forever. Work starts every day at 7 a. m. and goes on until late afternoon six days a week, with a break at midday. Evening is the best time to visit the temple, after the tour groups have left. As the sun sinks lower, shadows spread across the courtyard. After sunset, the sky turns pink. The grey stone towers take on a golden color before turning pink. Nowhere else in the world can there be such a quiet, beautiful place. This passage mainly tells _ . A. the poor look of the temple Angkor Wat in 1980 B. the history of the temple Angkor Wat C. the repair work being done to the temple Angkor Wat D. the difficulty in the repair work Answer: C. the repair work being done to the temple Angkor Wat The new iPhone 3G should please everyone . Its look and feel are only slightly improved, but a faster network loads Web pages more quickly , true GPS functionality allows it to easily find places nearby , and the new $199 price(down from $400) makes it an affordable luxury. Before deciding whether to buy, however , make sure you can actually take advantage of the iPhone 3G's high-speed data network. 3G stands for third-generation , which in non-geek speak translates to Web pages and mail messages that, ideally, load about three times faster than on the original iPhone. Even better, 3G coverage enables you to make a phone call and surf the Web at the same time . That's great, if you live or work in a place where the 3G network of AT&T (the sole wireless carrier of the iPhone) is active. That's not so great in cities like New York where AT&T's cellular coverage is awful. As one of my colleagues in New York City, who bought the original iPhone , commented , "It's just a toy . You can't make phone calls on it, so I carry my Verizon phone with me all the time." The real fun begins when you tap on the icon called "Apple Store" and start browsing the hundreds of add-on applications that have been developed just for the iPhone. You will find tons of games (I like JirboBreak , a free game inspired by the Atari classic Breakout ) and mobile version of popular websites like Pandora , Facebook , MySpace and the New York Times . Most apps will cost you , but the vast majority are $9.99 or less. The apps work on the old iPhone too, but you'll enjoy them a lot more on the iPhone 3G because many of the programs , including Yelp(local business reviews ), Whrrl (mobile social networking) and UrbanSpoon(restaurant reviews), use you exact location --- provided by the iPhone 3G's GPS chip --- to make recommendations. The apps also load much faster over the 3G network. . Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage ? A. App Store will offer you great fun . B. Many apps have been developed for the iPhone. C. Most apps are very expensive. D. Pandora , Facebook, MySpace and the New York Times are popular websites. Answer: C. Most apps are very expensive. "Plants were expected to get larger with increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere, but changes in temperature, humidity and nutrient availability seem to trumped the benefits of increased carbon dioxide," said researchers from the National University of Singapore. 45 percent of the species studied now reach smaller adult sizes than they did in the past. The researchers pointed out that warmer temperatures and changing habitats, caused by climate change, are possible reasons for shrinking creatures. "We do not yet know the mechanisms involved, or why some organism are getting smaller while others are unaffected," the researchers said. "Until we understand more, we could be risking negative consequences that we can't yet quantify." The change was big in coldblooded animals. Only two decades of warmer temperatures were enough to make reptiles smaller. An increase of 1 degree centigrade caused nearly a 10 percent increase in metabolism . Greater use of energy resulted in tiny tortoises and little lizards. Fish are smaller now too. Though overfishing has played a part in reducing numbers, experiments show that warmer temperatures also stop fish growth. There is a recent report on warmer temperatures' negative effects on plankton , the base of the marine ecosystem. Warmblooded animals weren't immune from the size change caused by climate change. Many birds are now smaller. Mammals have been miniaturized too. Soay sheep are thinner. Red deer are weaker. And polar bears are smaller, compared with historical records. This is not the first time this has happened in Earth's history. 55 million years ago, a warming event similar to the current climate change caused bees, spiders and ants to shrink by 50 to 75 percent over several thousand years. That event happened over a long time than the current climate change. The speed of modern climate change could mean organisms may not respond or adapt quickly enough, especially those with long generation times. So, it is likely that more negative influences of climate change will be shown in future. Researchers from the National University of Singapore believe that _ . A. too many studies on animals' size have been done B. all the animals on the earth have become smaller C. how climate change effects animals' size has not been found clearly D. people can avoid the negative effects of climate change Answer: C. how climate change effects animals' size has not been found clearly African-American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is the world's most powerful celebrity , according to Forbes magazine. It placed Winfrey at the top of the annual ranking of the 100 people with the biggest pull . Winfrey, 51, draw 30 million viewers weekly in the United States. Her talk show reaches 112 countries. She earned US $225 million over the past 12 months to rank second in celebrity riches. The annual Forbes list gives most weight to annual earnings. But it also looks at the celebrity's presence on the Internet and in the media. "After 21 years, her exciting chat show still rules the airwaves," the magazine said. Winfrey is most popular with her popular talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show". She can always attract the superstars and let them open up to her intimate interviewing style. Winfrey's approach appears to be simple. She is in a pursuit of self-improvement and self-empowerment. This has proved to be just what people, especially women, want. Winfrey often talks about her personal secrets on her show. That pulls in viewers. For example, she made it known that she had been sexually abused as a child, and has spoken freely of her struggle with her weight. Her success has not just been on the screen. Her media group includes a women's TV network and websites for women. Her work has extended to social change. In 1991, she did a lot of work for the National Child Protection Act. She testified before the US Senate to establish a national database of dangerous child abusers. The then President Bill Clinton later signed the "Oprah Bill" into law. The annual Forbes list selects its celebrities according to _ . A. their names B. their annual earnings C. their presence on the Internet and in the media D. their annual earnings and presence in the public Answer: D. their annual earnings and presence in the public Which relationship is accurate? A. rabbits always eat producers B. plants eat rabbits which eat plants C. rabbits eat plants which eat plants D. plants eat plants which eat plants Answer: A. rabbits always eat producers
Everyone has a family name. My name is Jane Armstrong. Armstrong is my family name. What does Armstrong mean ? Does it mean my arms are strong? But I am a slim girl. I don't like strong arms. My best friend is Lucy Long. Is she a long or a tall girl? No, she isn't. She is short. But she has long hair. Some family names come from jobs. My cousin's name is James Cook. Does it mean he can cook? No, he can't. And he doesn't like cooking at all. He only likes eating nice food. And he likes the TV show A Bite Of China (<<>> ), because it is all about nice food. Some people get family names from places. Ann Hill is my classmate. Is there a hill near her home? Yes, there is one behind her home. But her uncle, Tom Hill, lives 20 kilometers from a hill. Ann Hill lives _ . A 20 kilometers from a hill B behind a hill C in front of a hill D on a hill Answer: C. in front of a hill It is exciting to visit different places. As you travel, you will see beautiful sceneries typical of the region. Besides, you can meet and make friends with people of different color1s and races. Finally, you can get to know the customs and living habits of the local people. Today people are so fond of travelling that tourism has become one of the fastest growing industries in most countries. The main reason why people travel is, perhaps, for pleasure. For example, having worked hard throughout the weekdays, people will find a widened trip to the nearby mountains or beaches for a relaxation. For another example, spending an annual holiday travelling abroad is an especially satisfying experience for those who do not have much of an opportunity to be away from their homelands. When people return from their travel, they will generally feel fresh and energetic, ready to work harder. Travelling is also one of the best means for learning. You may have read or heard about something but you can never get an accurate picture of it until you see it for yourself. _ . Furthermore, if you are a careful observer, you can learn much during your travel about the geography, biology, and history of the places you visit. No matter how well educated you are, there is always a lot for you to learn through travelling. The knowledge _ from travel, as you have found in your life, is no less valuable than that from any influential reference books. According to the author, the most important reason for people to go travelling may be _ A making friends B sightseeing C learning D enjoyment Answer: D. enjoyment Bunny Yeager, a model and photographer, died at 85, her agent, Ed Christin said. Yeager's greatest achievement is her cultural impact on making bikinis popular. "Anyone in Miami in the 1950s who wanted a bikini would come to her, and she'd make one," he said. Yeager became famous for making women feel comfortable enough to take off clothes. Her photos of Bettie Page in a bathing suit standing next to a real cheetah are still well-known today. "They all wanted to model for me because they knew that I wouldn't take advantage of them," Yeager told The Associated Press during a 2013 interview. In the 1940s, Yeager became one of the most photographed models in Miami during her early career. She later turned the camera on herself, in bathing suits she made for her 5-foot-9 frame by hand. Her self-portraits were turned into a book, How I Photograph Myself, in 1946. She began taking photos of Page in 1954 as she began her job behind the camera. She published about a dozen books. And her works have been displayed in art galleries across the world. Yeager said she had a few requests when several magazines began to struggle or went out of business over the last decade, but her career returned to the public in 2010 when the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh held an exhibition of her works, followed by another exhibition in Miami in 2013. In her studio, Yeager kept some photos no one had ever seen in galleries. They will be included in a new book Yeager was finishing, scheduled for publication in September, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Yeager's first photo shoots with Page, Christin said. "I'm still feeling like a little child and excited about everything new that comes along in my life," Yeager said in 2013. "I don't know where it will lead to yet, but it sounds good to me." Bunny Yeager's photo of Bettie Page were _ . A considered controversial B never displayed at all C not in How I photograph myself D photographed with a cheetah Answer: D. photographed with a cheetah "Ordinary" was the worst word my mother could find for anything. Whenever she took me out for shopping, I found she wouldn't take any notice of the shop assistants when they suggested that some dresses were popular. She would say, "We're not interested in that. Haven't you got anything a little unusual?" And then the assistants would bring out all the strange colours no one else would buy. And later she and I would argue because I wanted to be ordinary but my mother wanted to be unusual. "I can't stand that hairdo ," she said to me when I was in a boy hairstyle, " _ 's so terribly ordinary... Not ugly, not unsuitable. But ordinary ..." "Couldn't you please wear something else?" I asked one day when she was dressing for Parents' Day in tight trousers and a bright pink sweater. "What't wrong with it!" "It's just that I wish you'd wear something ordinary." I said, "People won't laugh at." She looked at me angrily, "Are you ashamed of your mother? If you are, Mary, I feel sorry for you." When Mary had her hair cut in a boy hairstyle, her mother _ . A felt happy with it B surely disliked it C told her to change it D thought it was unusual Answer: B. surely disliked it Some people believe that classes, teachers and school buildings will no longer be necessary in the near future because of the Internet and other new technology. Perhaps this will be true one day, but if the world has no schools, I can't imagine how our society will be. In fact, we should learn how to use new technology to make schools better. We should invent a new kind of school connected to libraries, museums, science centers, labs and even companies. Technological companies should create learning programs for schools. Scientists could give talks through the Internet. TV networks and local stations could develop programs about things students are studying in school. Labs could set up websites to show new technology, so students could see it on the Internet. Is this a dream? No. There have been many cities where this is beginning to happen. Here the whole city is connected to the Internet, and learning can take place at home, at school, and in the office. Businesses provide programs for the schools and the society. The schools provide computer labs for people without their own computers at home. Because everyone can go on the Internet, older people use it as much as younger ones, and everyone can visit faraway libraries and museums as easily as nearby ones. How will this new thing of school change the usual way of learning? It is a little early to be sure, but it is very exciting to think about it. Technology will change the way we learn; schools will change as well; and we will learn something from the Internet. What does "a new kind of school" mean in the passage? A A school with many new computers. B A school with many new students. C A school with many new teachers. D A school connected to the Internet. Answer: D. A school connected to the Internet.
Life on earth depends on water, and there is no substitute for it. The current assumption is that our basic needs for water--whether for drinking, agriculture, industry or the raising of fish--will always have to be met. Given this premise , there are two basic routes we can go; more equal access to water or better engineering solutions. Look at the engineering solutions first. A lot of my research concentrates on what happens to wetlands when you build dams in river basins, particularly in Africa. The ecology of such areas is almost entirely driven by the seasonal changes of the river--the pulse of the water. And the fact is that if you build a dam, you generally spoil the downstream ecology. In the past, such problems have been hidden by a lack of information. But in the near future, governments will have no excuses for their ignorance. The engineers' ability to control water flows has created new kinds of unpredictability, too. Dams in Africa have meant fewer fish, less grazing and less floodplain agriculture, none of which were expected. And there average economic life is assumed to be thirty years. Dams don't exist forever, but what will replace them is not clear. The challenge for the future is to find new means of controlling water. Although GM technology will allow us to breed better dry-land crops, there is no market for companies to develop crops suitable for the micro-climates of the Sahel and elsewhere in Africa. Who is going to pay for research on locally appropriate crops in the Third World? What's the main idea of this passage? A. The engineering solutions to water resource and their limitation. B. The challenge for the future. C. The basic means of controlling water. D. The challenge for developing crops. Answer: A. The engineering solutions to water resource and their limitation. A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts to determine whether an individual pressure aroa is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity .They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a summary picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately.Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather conditions existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day"outlook" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an anaiysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for development of air masses, fronts and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions, with identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weathef modification studies. One characteristic of weather maps NOT mentioned by the author in this passage is _ . A. floods B. fronts C. temperature changes D. frosts Answer: C. temperature changes A simple pulley example could be A. Going running on a treadmill B. Swimming lap in a pool C. Riding a bike outside D. pulling water from a well Answer: D. pulling water from a well A young man from a village called Nawalapitiya married a young woman from Maiyuwa, a small 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 woman soon took a great interest. Every day she fed it with fruit and sugar. Three months later, having quarreled with her husband, the woman went back to her parents' home. Soon the elephant refused to eat and work. It appeared to be ill and heartbroken. 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 .So she went back to her husband's home. After the young woman left her husband's home, the elephant _ . A. returned to the forest B. was sad because it missed her C. went to look for a new home D. was sick because nobody fed it Answer: B. was sad because it missed her Ann is a 13-year-old girl. She doesn't like popular music. One of her friends asks her, "What do you think of Wang Lihong and his popular music?" "Who is Wang Lihong? I don't know him." Ann says, "I like classical music." Her friend looks at her surprisingly and says, "Classical music is for old people. We can't stand it. We like cool things." Ann doesn't know why her friend says that. When she goes home, she talks to her father. "Dad, am I strange?" "I don't think so. Why do you ask that?" "Because my friends can't stand classical music, but I like it." "Never mind , Ann. You don't need to do what other people do. Everyone has different _ . Some of them are popular, but others are not." What does Ann's friends like? A. Popular music. B. Cool things. C. Classical music. D. Pop singers. Answer: B. Cool things.
Once there was something wrong with a machine in a factory. The workers could do nothing but turn to a German engineer for help, who drew a line on it and then said, "Take off the part where the line is and change it for a new one. "The machine, with a new line on, began running well again. The engineer then asked for $30,000 for what he had done. The following were what he wrote on a bill, "The new part only costs one dollar, and knowing where the problem with the machine is costs $29,999." One dollar for changing a new part sounds reasonable but the $29,999 is exactly the value of wisdom and knowledge. The factory turned to the German engineer because _ . Answer: Anyone who wants to buy a gun in California will have to wait for 2 weeks. Four people waited for 15 days to buy guns. Then they robbed a store and shot 3 people . Congress is now trying to pass a law that will make everyone wait to buy a gun. Many people do not want this law. Others are glad it might happen. California is one of the longest waiting times for someone to buy a gun. A gun dealer said that this waiting time does not seems to do much good.He has not seen crime go away because of it. One good thing that has happened with the waiting time to buy a gun is a smaller number of suicide . a lot of suicides are with a gun. In California, there are less suicides by gun than in other places. One reason to make people wait to buy a gun is to make sure the guns are not sold to criminals . Last year, this check stopped 2,400 guns from being sold to criminals. This check does not stop anyone else from buying a gun. Many criminals buy guns on the street and not in a store... some people think that a law like this will not do any good.But other people think that if only one person is stopped from getting a gun, then this law is worth it. From the passage we can infer that _ . Answer: A fish lives in Answer: If you are really interested in music festivals, then you have probably heard of the Bestival Music Festival. It takes place every September on the Isle of Wight, the UK. As it is at the end of summer, people think it's their last chance to go to a festival and have fun before going back to boring work. The dream begins as soon as you start traveling to the island. In order to get to the campsite of the Bestival, you have to take the ferry . The ferry is full of happy festival lovers who are ready to take part in the fantastic music party. After you arrive at the campsite, you can put your tent up. There people talk with each other openly. They are not that cold like those you meet in your everyday life. The festival lasts for four days. During that time you forget all your worries and problems, just like living in a dream. And it is really hard for you to come back to "reality" after that. It seems that it is this kind of music event that makes people gather together. It gives people a real sense of unity. I took part in the Bestival with my friends the year before last. It was so exciting and we all lost ourselves in the beautiful music. We are family sung by Sister Sledge was my favorite. I'm really looking forward to joining in it for a second time. Why does the writer say being at the Bestival is a dream? Answer: When you scream in an empty room, you hear an echo due to the noise Answer:
Question: The British are very polite and have good manners--they are never tired of saying "Thank you","I am sorry", or "Excuse me." They have good table manners. They enjoy their breakfasts and most of all the traditional tea around 4 or 5 o'clock. The normal working week has five days. Factory workers usually start at 8 am and offices, shops and schools open at 9 am. Workers have 3 weeks' holidays and professional workers(people with higher education ) have usually longer holidays (a month or more). Except these holidays they have public holidays: e.g. New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. An average Englishman like to live in his own house. Houses are made of red bricks, stone and wood. The house usually has from 4 to 6 rooms, two floors, small front and back gardens. On the ground floor there is a hall, a kitchen, a living room with a fireplace and on the first floor there are parents' and children's bedrooms and a bathroom. The prices of houses depend on the area--the most expensive are the houses in London and South England (about 200,000 pounds); smaller houses in other areas may cost about 50,000 pounds. Social Welfare--The National Health Service gives largely free treatment for everyone living in Britain. People can choose their family doctors. In case of emergency you can call the ambulance by dialing 999 from everywhere. Health centres are run by local authorities. About 7 percent of hospitals, dentists and family doctors work as private. There are about 130 daily and Sunday newspapers and a lot of weekly papers and magazines. The oldest newspaper is The Times. Other famous newspapers are Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Financial Times, etc. Who has the longest holiday? A. A shop assistant. B. A doctor. C. A factory worker. D. A nurse. Answer: B Question: We've all experienced a "good cry". Shedding some tears can often make us feel better and help us put things in perspective. But why is crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a "bad cry"? The researchers analyzed the detailed accounts of more than 3,000 recent crying experiences and found that the benefits of crying depend entirely on the what, where and when of a particular crying episode . The majority of persons reported improvements in their mood following a short period of crying. However, one third reported no improvement in mood and a tenth felt worse after crying. Criers who received social support during their crying episode were the most likely to report improvements in mood. Research to date has not always produced a clear picture of the benefits of crying, in part because the results often seem to depend on how crying is studied. The researchers note several challenges in accurately studying crying behavior in a laboratory setting. Volunteers who cry in a laboratory setting often do not describe their experiences as making them feel better. Rather, crying in a laboratory setting often results in the study participants feeling worse; this may be due to the stressful conditions of the study itself, such as being videotaped or watched by researchers. This may produce negative emotions, which neutralize the positive benefits usually connected with crying. However, these laboratory studies have provided interesting findings about the physical effects of crying. Criers do show calming effects such as slower breathing, but they also experience a lot of unpleasant stress, including increased heart rate and sweating. What is interesting is that bodily calming usually lasts longer than the unpleasant. The calming effects may occur later and overcome the stress reaction, which would account for why people tend to remember mostly the pleasant side of crying. Research has shown that the effects of crying also depend on who is shedding the tears. For example, individuals with anxiety or mood disorders are least likely to experience the positive effects of crying. In addition, the researchers report that people who lack insight into their emotional lives actually feel worse after crying. We can infer from the passage that _ . A. people don't like being seen crying B. crying in public makes people feel better C. a bad cry is as common as a good cry D. a good cry can sometimes help us face problems rightly Answer: D Question: One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine tea. Today, when we think of Western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups. Afternoon tea People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the English ate only two main meals each day: breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o'clock. This meal included cakes and sandwiches. And tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates and silver teapots, knives, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain. Will you come for coffee? Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use the words "Will you come for coffee" to mean "Would you like to come to my home for a chat?" Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a "coffee" party. Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange In the 17th century London, coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange is believed to have started from these coffeehouses. If someone says to you "Will you come for coffee," you _ . A. will be offered coffee only B. are asked what you would like to drink C. will be asked to have a chat with him or her D. you are invited to take part in an afternoon tea party Answer: C Question: Myth: Skipping meals helps you lose weight fast. Truth: There's no truth in this advice. Not only will you lose weight by starving yourself, but according to Carol Ann Rinzler, this may actually cause you to gain weight. Rinzler reasons that missing a meal causes your metabolism to slow down so that you burn food more slowly. This only makes you feel hungrier and by the time you finally do reach the table you will probably eat more food. Strange as it may seem, studies show that eating several small meals and snacks throughout the day is a more healthy way to lose pounds. Myth: If you swallow gum ,it will stay inside your stomach for seven years. Truth: Actually, it takes just a few days for gum to make its exit---not seven years, says Nei Izenberg, M. D., editor of Kids Health Organization. But because gum is made of the same thing as rubber, it cannot be fully digested in your stomach--- so if you gum up the works on a regular basis, you might find yourself in a sticky situation. Myth: The best way to stop a nosebleed is to lift your head back. Truth: Now that's bad advice. Bloody noses are caused by broken blood vessels , so while lifting your head back might stop the fluid from rushing out of your nose, it won't stop the bleeding; you'll just end up swallowing lots of blood. Your best bet? "Rest quietly. Don't poke or pick, and the blood will naturally clot within a minute or two". Suggests Dr. Izenberg. Myth: Cutting your hair will make it grow long faster. Truth: That's not true. "Your hair isn't like a lawn or a rosebush, where cutting can stimulate fresh growth," says Phillip Kingsley. The length of your hair is genetically ( ) determined. When it reaches a certain length, it stops growing. When you clear up the dead split ends, this make your hair look healthier, but not necessarilylonger. The length of your hair is determined by _ A. clearing up the dead split ends B. your gene C. cutting it often D. the food you eat Answer: B Question: Robert was excited that Halloween was coming. He and his mother went to the store to look at costumes so that he could pick one. There was a a witch costume, a horse costume and a costume that looked like a doggy. Robert thought he would get the dog costume because he thought he could make a great woof sound. His mother bought it for him and he couldn't wait to wear it. On Halloween night, Robert was all dressed to go out trick or treating and waited for his Dad to take him out. His father told him that he had talked to the lady who lived next door and she was hoping that her granddaughter could go trick or treating with them. Robert thought it would be okay if she came along and they went to go pick her up. Robert found out her name was Tessa. He was happy to see that she was wearing a costume that looked like a kitten. Their costumes would go well together. They went from house to house getting candy. Some people gave them jelly beans, some gave them chocolate bars and some gave them cookies. Robert's favorite treat that they got was the chocolate bars. When they got home they saw they had both gotten a lot of candy. It was a great Halloween and Robert was very happy. What was Robert's favorite treat? A. chocolate bars B. cookies C. a potato D. jelly beans Answer: A
China Daily Oct.11,2008-TheMinistry Of Health has called for more awareness from the public on the mental health of the young as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day which fell on Friday. More than 15 percent of Chinese youths have been found with mental problems and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression,the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily reported.The World Health Organization estimates that before 2020,the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent ,and mental problem will become a major factor behind deaths and illness in the young worldwide. Dang Xianhong,the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau,said rapid social change is one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems.If these mental dispenses are not addressed on time, science of crimes,drug-taking and other dangerous behaviors are expected to rise.Experts said mental diseases could be caused by many factors,such as the inability to handle interpersonal relations well, unstable emotions and pressures from an overload of studies.A number of experts have also said the one child policy is another reason leading to poor mental health in the young.Children are said to be too "spoiled" and "selfish" in a one child family. It's reported that schools in many cities are rolling out measures to help students maintain their mental well-being.Yin Jingmiao, a teacher of the Beijing No,105 Middle School,told China Daily that the school invites psychologists to provide counseling to students three times a month."Students can be arranged to have 40-minute counseling sessions." Yin said."The school also gives lectures on mental health to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams to help ease any anxiety arising from the tests." Which could be the consequence if the problem is left untreated? Most young people enjoy some forms of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some forms--football, basketball, hockey, golf or tennis. It may be mountaineering. Those who have a _ for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks in high mountains? This astonishment is caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure. Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as others, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of different kinds which would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods. If we compare mountaineering with other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a "team game". We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no "matches" between "teams" of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork. The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities. A mountain climber continues to improve in skills year by year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they perhaps climb with more skills and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment. What is the best title for the passage? When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what' s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen -- they can' t do both -- and they don' t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships -- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen. During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts. Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours. There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents respond to the brain bias of their children. Since a girl's brain is better organized to send and receive speech,we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts in reply. After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to . Here are six questions about your approach to life. Try to answer them as honestly as you can. Are you hard driving and competitive? Are you usually pressed for time? Do you want to control others? Do you have a strong need to do better than others in most things? Do you eat too quickly? Do you get upset when you have to wait for anything? If you have answered "yes" to most of these questions, then I can make a few predictions about you, based on a recent eight-year study of nearly two thousand people who live the way that you do. You likely find that life is full of challenges and you often need to keep two or more projects moving at the same time. The chances are that you have been to college, that you have a management job and that you bring work home at night. You think that you put more effort into your job than many of the people you work with, and you certainly take your work more seriously than most of them. You get angry easily, and if someone is being long-winded, you help them get to the point. You also have trouble finding the time to get your hair cut. And there's one other thing. You are about twice as likely to have a heart attack as someone who takes a more easygoing approach to life. The beginnings of your hard-driving behavior go right back to childhood. In school you got recognition and perhaps prizes for being quick and bright, for being an achiever, for competing with others and for winning. You likely went on from school to get a series of increasingly better jobs against pretty stiff competition. They were jobs where you had to care about the results, where you constantly had to push things forward and get things done. In your present job you also feel some conflict, either with time or with other people. Some of those you work with don't seem able to understand the simplest ideas, and they often put a brake on what you're trying to achieve. The conflict may not take place every day. You pride yourself on being able to keep the lid on. _ . What does the author mean by the last sentence of the passage? Some pupa may
The Count of Monte Cristo ( French: Le Comte de Monte Cristo ) is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas. Completed in 1844, it is one of the author's most popular works, along with The Three Musketeers. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from plot outlines suggested by his co-author Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean, and in the Levant during the historical events of 1815-1838. It begins from just before the Hundred Days period, when Napoleon returned to power after his exile , and goes through to the time of Louis Philippe of France. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is an adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, revenge , mercy and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story. It focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from prison, gains a fortune and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have terrible consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty. Dumas got the idea for The Count of Monte Cristo from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Pierre Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to a rich woman, but four envious friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a fellow prisoner told him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge. The book is considered a literary classic today. According to Luc Sante, " The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of western civilization's literature, as inescapable and immediately identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah's flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood. " The passage is an introduction to _ . Answer: Mr. Chen works in an office and he usually gets up at six thirty in the morning . After he has breakfast , he goes to work at seven o'clock . He comes back home at a quarter to six in the afternoon . Today is Friday . It is six twenty and Mr. Chen is home . Mr. Chen doesn't look happy . His wife , Mrs. Chen looks at Mr. Chen and asks him , " Why do you look _ today , dear ?" " A bus ticket is usually four yuan , but it will be three yuan next week . " Mr. Chen says . " That's good ." Mrs. Chen answers . " But it is not good for me ." Mr. Chen says , " You know , I usually go to work and come back home on foot . I don't take a bus . I can save eight yuan every day now , but I can just save only six yuan every day from next week ." Mr. Chen goes to work at _ . Answer: A student is given three toys by his teacher and is asked to find out the differences. All the three toys seem to be the same in shape, size and material. After careful observation, the student finds out holes in the toys. The first toy has holes in the ears. The second toy has holes in one ear and the mouth. And the third toy has only one hole in one ear. Then the student puts a needle in the ear hole of the first toy. The needle comes out from the other ear. When the needle is put in the second toy's ear it comes out of the mouth. And when the needle is put in the third toy's ear, it does not come out. The first toy means those people around you who make you think that they are listening to you and caring for you. But they just pretend to do so. After listening, as the needle comes out from the other ear, the things you said to them are gone. So be careful while you are speaking to this type of person around you, who does not care for you. The second toy means those people who listen to you and make you think that they care for you. But as the needle comes out from its mouth, these people will use your things and the words you tell them against you by telling them to others for their own purpose. For the third toy, the needle does not come out from it. These kinds of people will keep the trust you have in them. They are the ones you can depend on. What does the difference between the three toys lie in? Answer: One of the most exciting and attractive fields of work today is the fashion industry. Some of the most well-known people in this industry are the fashion designers with unbelievable financial Kingdoms. But most of the clothes that you wear have been designed by people that the world has never heard of. Although these unknown fashion designers will never make a very large amount of money as their famous workmates, most still would not think of changing their careers. They are doing what they love. If you spend hours looking through fashion magazines and like making your own clothes, a career as a fashion designer might be right for you. You do not have to go to design school to become a fashion designer, but many people who want a career in this field do. One of the most famous places to study is the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. It is located in the heart of the "garment" district on Eighth Avenue, also known as Fashion Avenue. Becoming a fashion designer is not just a matter of classroom education. Students know that they cannot just leave school and start designing on their own. Many think that they need at least four years' experience working for someone else after they graduate. The best schools encourage students to work closely with the fashion industry while they are still studying. You need ambition and hard work to get a career in fashion. Students often work 12 hours a day. They are encouraged to have realistic ambitions and not to expect success overnight, if ever. Success means finding a job in the fashion industry and more years of hard work. In order to have a career in fashion design, one had better _ . Answer: No one is glad to hear that his body has to be cut open by a surgeon and part of it taken out. Today, however, we needn't worry about feeling pain during the operation. The sick person falls into a kind of sleep, and when he awakes, the operation is finished. But these happy conditions are fairly new. It is not many years since a man who had to have operation felt all its pain. Long ago, operation had usually to be done while the sick man could feel everything. The sick man had to be held down on a table by force while the doctors did their best for him. He could feel all the pain if his leg or arm was being cut off, and his fearful cries filled the room and the hearts of those who watched. Soon after 1770, Josept Priestley discovered a gas which is now called "laughing gas".Laughing gas became known in America.Young men and women went to parties to try it. Most of them spent their time laughing,but one man at a party,Horace Wells,noticed that people didn't seem to feel pain when they were using this gas.He decided to make an experiment on himself.He asked a friend to help him. Wells took some of the gas,and his friend pulled out one of Well's teeth.Wells felt no pain at all. As he didn't know enough about laughing gas, he gave a man less gas than he should have. The man cried out with pain when his tooth was being pulled out. Wells tried again,but this time he gave too much of the gas,and the man died.Wells never forgot this terrible event. If a man took less laughing gas than he should have when an operation went on he _ . Answer:
John's pet frog was sick because it wasn't staying warm enough. Maybe A. The frog was getting burned by a heat lamp B. the frog was unable to regulate its body temperature without an external heat source C. The frog was using too much ice in its drinks D. The water in the tank had dried up. Answer: B More than 50 people have responded to an advertise for "one of the most relaxing jobs on the market" - a bathtub TESTER. Bathstore is seeking a Bathroom Executive Officer (BEO) to test their range of products. It is sure to give the perfect candidate a stress-free life and possibly some pruned fingers and toes. And 12 month contract role pays a yearly salary of PS6,000, plus bathroom installation worth PS6and products worth PS4,000 to trial. For those expecting an easy life, this job isn't all about splashing around in the suds or playing with a rubber duck. The successful applicant will be responsible for providing written reports and analysis on the overall bathing experience. However, all that boring stuff can be done from the comfort of your own home. That's because Bathstore will regularly install their new baths into the BEO's home "ensuring that this is one job that can be taken lying down". Before you apply, make sure you meet the criteria, which is to be laid back, relaxed and bubbly! Bathstore's chief marketing officer Claire Bayliss said: "We are dedicated to making dream bathrooms easy, from design to installation, and this appointment demonstrates our commitment to deliver quality products and expert advice. "We've already received some great applicants for the BEO position and will be looking to produce a short-list in the upcoming weeks. "We're really looking forward to filling the role and won't rest until we find the right candidate". Other possible best jobs in the world range from a chief funster to a taste master. What should the successful applicant do for the job? A. deliver quality products and expert advice. B. write reports and analyse the overall bathing experience. C. install the new baths into their homes. D. advertise the new baths according to their experience. Answer: B I went home one Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 1993 to get some work done in the garden. While sweeping leaves on the ground, my five-year-old son Nick came over and asked me to write something on a piece of paper to make a sign for him. "What for?" I asked. "I'm going to sell some of my stones, " he answered. Nick _ stones and had collected many stones from all over. "I'm busy to do that for you. Go and ask your mum for help." I said. A short time later, Nick returned with a sign, reading. " Stones. One Dollar Each". He took the sign, a small chair and 4 of his best stones and walked to the road in front of our garden. There he put the stones in a line and sat down on the chair. After half an hour, nobody passed by. I walked to him and asked him to go back, but he didn't. Another half hour later, a small car came down the road. I watched as Nick stood up, holding his sign up. A woman rolled down a window and read the sign. I couldn't hear their talk, but I saw the woman turn to the driver and the man reach for his pocket. I sat in the yard, as Nick ran to me. Waving the dollar, he shouted. "I told you I could sell one stone for a dollar -- if you believe in yourself, you can do anything." Which is the best title of the story? A. My son's first sale. B. Let's collect stones. C. How to sell a stone. D. A hobby that can make you rich. Answer: A Producers provide an ecosystem with A. glucose B. carbon dioxide C. water D. glucosamine Answer: A As a heavy metal ball rolls down a hill, it goes faster and faster. Which statement is true? A. The ball's potential energy is changing to kinetic energy. B. The ball is gaining potential energy from the hill. C. The ball is rapidly losing kinetic energy as it rolls down the hill. D. The ball will continue gaining kinetic energy until it stops. Answer: A
Item 78431 The Video Camera Pen $129. 95 ; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484 This is the pen that has a built-in video camera, capturing(,)videos or still images with a click of its button. Ideal for use while secured in a pocket, it can capture up to five hours of video. Its battery provides up to two hours of power before requiring a recharge. Item 78098 The Wristwatch Camcorder $149. 95; Available for 3-day Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484 This is the men's watch with an unnoticeable camera located at the two-o'clock position, yet the watch's hands never make it covered. So you'll be always ready to capture a famous person or a pet's ridiculous actions. The camera's rechargeable battery provides up to two hours of use from a four-hour charge. Item 77918 The only 55 Inch Widescreen Personal Movie Theater $ 249. 95 ; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone:l-800-321-1484 This is the only personal media viewer that provides a private viewing experience just like watching a widescreen 55 inch television from 10 meters away. It connects to a video iPod, iPhone, portable DVD player with two AA batteries providing up to six hours of continuous operation. Item 77281 The Digital Phone Album Watch $ 99. 95 ; Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484 This is the watch that vividly displays 120 of your favorite digital photographs. You can download digital photographs to the watch. The watch can be viewed in the Photo Album mode or digital mode ( time and date view). A six-hour charge provides up to 10 days of use. What do Item 78431 and Item 78098 have in common according to this passage? A They both sell well. B They both have unusual appearances. C They both can take photos. D They are both cheap. Answer: C. They both can take photos. Let's face it.No one drinks diet soda for the taste.People drink diet soda in the hope that it will help them lose weight or at least keep them from gaining it.Yet it seems to have exactly the opposite effect, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Texas said those who drank two or more diet sodas a day had waist size increases that were six times greater than those who didn't drink diet soda."What we saw was that the more diet sodas a person drank, the more weight they were likely to gain," said Sharon Fowler. The study was based on data from 474 participants in a large, ongoing research project, where the participants were followed for nearly l0 years. While the findings are surprising, they also offer some explanations. Nutrition expert, Melanie Rogers, who works with overweight patients in New York, has found that when patients are switched from regular to diet soda, they don't lose weight at all."We weren't seeing weight loss necessarily, and that was confusing to us," said Rogers. So why would diet soda cause weight gain? No one knows for sure yet, but it could be that people think they can eat more if they drink diet soda, and so over-compensate for the missing calories. A related study found some sweeteners raised blood sugar levels in some mice."Data from this and other potential studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners may be risky," said Helen P.Hazuda, professor at the University of Texas's school of medicine." _ may be free of calories, but not of consequences." We can learn from the passage that _ . A regular soda makes people lose more weight B diet soda does help reduce calories C diet soda drinkers tend to eat more food D most blood diseases come from diet soda Answer: C. diet soda drinkers tend to eat more food Which of the following best describes an atom? A protons and electrons grouped together in a random pattern B protons and electrons grouped together in an alternating pattern C a core of protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons D a core of electrons and neutrons surrounded by protons Answer: C. a core of protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons Enjoyable Saturday Do your children enjoy interesting stories,funny games,and exciting dances?Captain Goodfellow will be ready to do all these things with children at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00,free. Movies at the Museum Two European movies will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre.See Broken Window at 1:30.The Workers will be at 3:45.For further information,call 4987898. International Picnic Are you tired of eating the same food every day?Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food a11 over the world.Delicious and not expensive.Noon to 5:00 P.M. Take Me out to the Ballgame It's November,and Saturday night(7:00--9:00)is your last chance to see the Red Birds this year.Get your tickets at the game.It might be cold.Don't forget sweaters and jackets. Do You Want to Hear "The Zoo"? "The Zoo",a popular rock group from Australia,will give their first US concert this Saturday night,at 8 at Rose Hall,City College. The Zoois_. A a US concert B a park with many red birds in it C a music group D going to give their 1ast concert Answer: C. a music group Most kids get bored with their toys quickly, even the newest ones. The service of renting toys can save parents from buying lots of new toys for their kids. The new web-based company, Baby Plays, was invented by Lori Pope, a mother of twin boys. When her kids' toys started taking over all the floor space in her house, she thought that maybe she didn't need to buy so many toys. What's more, her kids seemed to lose interest in each new toy very quickly. Finally she realized that she needed a special service. She wanted to borrow one toy at a time. When her kids didn't like it any more she could send the toy back. But she couldn't find any service like that, so she decided to create her own. Pope owned a company before. She poured a lot of money into Baby Plays to buy all the best toys. These toys are for children aged from 0 to 5. Under her plan, customers can rent six toys each month. The price for renting a new toy is less than most costs of buying a new toy. Generally, families will keep each toy for one month. This period is plenty for most kids to get tired of playing with it. If the kids are really interested in a particular toy, they can keep it till they are attracted to a new one. Kids are not good at keeping their toys in perfect condition, but Pope doesn't mind a little wear and tear. She thinks that even if the kids don't care about their toys' condition, the parents do. And she will not ever rent anyone a low-quality toy. Why did the mother invent a rent-a-toy company? A Because she got bored with her toys quickly. B Because she wanted to make money. C Because she was interested in starting a web business. D Because her kids got bored with toys quickly. Answer: D. Because her kids got bored with toys quickly.
Wind is a resource that A is a fresh idea B can be retrieved repeatedly C is a source of water D is useless in farming Answer: B. can be retrieved repeatedly Most students hate their endless homework. The students from Class 2, Senior 2 of the High School Affiliated to Peking University certainly did so before they published their own collection of English novels at home. Their small book contains stories about a holy war, the happy life of a self-taught artist and the story of a laid-off worker who devoted his last breath to playing his beloved accordion . The book becomes an instant hit on campus. About 3,000 copies have been sold and the class is already working on the second volume. "We're up to our ears in homework. Exercises and exams make us out of breath. But to do something creative and full of imagination is such a great achievement," said Yu Xiaoxiao, 16. "I took the writing as an ordinary homework at the beginning, but after I finished the first part of my story, I could not help but let it flow," said Wang An, who wrote "Accordion". Inspired by "Lord of the Rings", Jiang Lu wrote his story about magic wins between angels from the light and the dark side. "The main message of the story was to look at the balance of the world. Both dark and light angels fight with love as their weapons. I want to tell people that selfish love might bring hate," Jiang said. "I was shocked by their work and felt so proud to be the editor of my students' book," said Nathaniel Timmermann, the oral English teacher at the school. Liu Xiuqin, an English teacher, started the project by asking students to write whatever was in their mind every week. "They have performed beyond expectation," Liu said. "They wrote interesting stories and their English has improved after they started to express their real minds." "We never imagined that our homework would be so popular and profitable . We sell the novels at five yuan, but many teachers pay more to encourage us," said Yuan Mengyao. After Wang An finished the first part of his story, he _ . A couldn't go on B had to put aside C just wanted to express it freely D lost it Answer: C. just wanted to express it freely A star is a celestial object that produces its own heat and light. Which of these celestial objects is the closest star to Earth? A Mars B Venus C the sun D the moon Answer: C. the sun As I write this, I have half an eye on an old James Bond film that is showing on my computer. But this is a story about how I stopped watching TV and began reading again for pleasure, after ten years in which I hardly turned a page. I suppose I was an enthusiastic reader of "literature" between the ages of nine and fourteen. I had enough time to be White Fang, Robinson Crusoe, and Bilbo Baggins and Jeeves. Of course there was room in the schoolboy's imagination for some real historical figures: Scott of the Antarctic, all of the Vikings, and Benjamin Franklin were good friends of mine. Then, in adolescence, I began a long search for strange and radical ideas. I wanted to challenge my elders and betters, and shock my fellow students with amazing points of view. Of course, the only place to look was in books. I hunted out the longest titles and the authors with the funniest names; I searched the library for completely unread books. Then I found one which became my bible for the whole of 1982, it had a title composed of eleven long words and an author whose name I didn't know how to pronounce. It was really thick and looked dead serious. Even better, it put forward a whole world-view that would take days to explain. Perfect. I took it out of the library three times, proud to see the date-stamps lined up on the empty library insert. Later, I went to university. Expecting to spend long evenings in learned discussion with clever people, I started reading philosophy. For some reason I never found the deep-thinking intellectuals I hoped to meet. Anyway, I was ready to impress with my profound knowledge of post-structuralism, _ and situationism. These things are usually explained in rather short books, but they take a long time to get through. They were the end of my youthful reading. Working life was hard to get used to after so much theory. It was the end of books for me. There didn't seem to be much in books that would actually get things done. To do things you had to answer the telephone and work a computer. You had to travel about and speak to people who weren't at all interested in philosophy. I didn't stop reading, you can't avoid that. I read all day. But no books came my way, only manuals and contracts and documents. Maybe most people satisfy their need for stories and ideas with TV and, to tell the truth, it was all I needed for ten years. In those days I only had a book "on the go" for the duration of aeroplane flights. At first I would come home and watch TV over dinner. Then, I moved the TV so I could watch it from bed. I even got a switch so I could turn it off without getting out of bed. Then, one fateful day, my TV broke and my landlady took it away. My new TV is an extra circuit board inside my computer. It's on a desk in front of a working chair and I can't see it from the bed. I still use it for the weather forecasts and it's nice to have it on while I'm typing this... but what to do last thing at night? Well, have another go with books. Now, I just like books. I have a pile of nice ones by my bed and I'm reading about six at the same time. I don't want to be any of the characters. I don't care if a thousand people have already read them. I don't have to search through libraries. There are books everywhere and all of them have something to read in them. I have the strange feeling that they've been there all along, waiting for me to pick them up. Now the writer starts to read books again _ . A to find back his youth in books B for the pure pleasure of reading C so as to help kill his spare time D for only business purposes Answer: B. for the pure pleasure of reading Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet, but what is it, do you know? The Internet is a network. It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world. Maybe that doesn't sound very interesting. But when you're joined to the Internet, there are lots and lots of things you can do. You can send E-mails to your friends, and they can get them in a few seconds. You can also do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web (www). There are many different kinds of computers now. They all can be joined to the Internet. Most of them are small machines sitting on people's desks at home, but there are still many others in schools, offices or large companies. These computers are owned by people and companies, but no one really owns the Internet itself. There are lots of places for you to go into the Internet. For example, your school may have the Internet. You can use it during lessons or free time. Libraries often have computers joined to the Internet. You are welcome to use it at any time. Thanks to the Internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front, getting and sending the information you need. You can buy or sell whatever you want on the Internet. But do you know 98% of the information on the Internet is in English? So what will English be like tomorrow? Which is the quickest and cheapest way to send messages to your friends? A By post. B By E-mail. C By telephone. D By satellite. Answer: B. By E-mail.

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