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This past month saw one of the most devastating storms in history brings death and destruction on the Philippines. The number of lives lost is still being calculated, but it is already sitting above five thousand. In the flurryof news about the storm and its after-math, the cries of "I told you so" from environmentalists rang out loud and clear. These scientists were especially vocal during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which just wrapped up in Warsaw, Poland. The timing of the conference and Typhoon Haiyan was an eerie coincidence, but perhaps the concurrence offered a wakeup call for all. Christiana Figures, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said, "We are witnessing ever more frequent extreme weather events, and the poor and vulnerable are already paying the price." Scientists claim that storms like Typhoon Haiyan are an inevitable result of the effect greenhouse gases are having on our environment. Environmental analysts claim that rising temperatures around the globe and changing weather patterns are all part of the same problem. This isn't breaking news. We've heard the warnings for years. The UN has been hosting the Climate Change Conference since1995.But the changes that need to be made are huge. Added to this, the developed nations and developing countries have competing interests that are difficult to settle. The issue of who takes responsibility becomes difficult to resolve. We may feel far away from Poland and resolving conflicts between countries, but we mustn't feel far away from the issue. When we watch neighboring countries suffer in severe weather, when we hear reports of increasing global temperatures, when we walk outside and find it difficult to breathe the Shanghai air, we know we have a very real problem. So what are we going to do about it? Are we making every-day choices that can have a positive impact? Are we reducing our carbon footprint? Are we choosing to walk, ride a bicycle or take public transportation instead of a car? Are we recycling? Are we turning off the lights and electronics whenever possible? The problem is complex, but saving our earth starts with each of us taking simple steps. Which of the following is NOT FALSE? Answer: The environment is a big problem and we must take simple steps You might think that "global warming" means nothing more than a rise in the world's temperature But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation of an island nation--the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland. During the 20th century , sea level rose 8--12 inches. As a result ,Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country's drinking water. Paani Laupepa , a Tuvaluan government official ,reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years .Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms. Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions ,which are a main cause of global warming . "By refusing to sign the agreement ,the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years," Laupepa told the BBC. Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries . Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable to rising sea levels .Maumoon Gayoon ,president of the Maldives ,told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an "endangered nation". According to scientists ,the direct cause of more and fiercer storms is _ . Answer: higher surface water temperatures of the sea Summer Rain The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its cloudy days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, lying on the sand and enjoying the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains. As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn't fair. We suffered through months of school and experienced bad weather for those short ten weeks of freedom and pleasant weather. On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a bird in a cage. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was at work. It was those days that I would watch whatever was on television or read any books that I could find lying around. I'd drag through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day. As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as exciting. Everything seems dull. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I hate how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which makes me comfortable. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful -- and considerably cooler -- weather tomorrow. We can learn from the passage that the author _ . Answer: had no brothers or sisters Dear Betty, I'm your eraser Jill .This afternoon you lost me in your classroom. Simon found me and gave me to your English teacher Ms White. Now Ms White's three keys and I are in Ms. White's bag. The bag is yellow. It's on Ms White's desk. Please call Ms White at 718-0167 and ask her for me .You can come to the library, too. Ms White is in the library now. Jill Ms White is in _ now. Answer: the library Lots of people make it as their aim to get to the top of Mount Everest. Mark is one of them. The difference between Mark and other climbers is that he lost both his legs when climbing. New Zealand's highest mountain, Mount Cook. He was caught in a big ice hole and he had to have his legs cut below the knees after he was saved. But that couldn't make Mark lose heart, who has become the first person with man-made legs to reach the top of Mount Everest. From the top of the world's highest mountain, Mark called his wife to say he made it. His wife, Anne got the phone when she was sleeping. She couldn't hear him clearly on the phone. She was unable to say when he reached the top but thought it was around mid-day. She also said his "legs" didn't work well sometimes, so her husband was carrying a spare leg and repair tools. Mark used to be a mountain guide before his accident. He said it was not important that no one like him had ever reached the 8850-meter mountain. "I'm not doing this to be the first. I have been climbing most of my life and I just feel Mount Everest is really a great aim. I want to send a message that I can do-anything better." Mark's story makes us believe that he is a _ man. Answer: brave
Marjorie Gestring Marjorie Gestring was a springboard diver from the United States who won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany at the age of 13 years. With the cancellation of the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II, Gestring did not get a chance to defend her title, and her comeback attempt for the 1948 Summer Olympics failed. Bob Mathias 17-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon only four months after taking up the sport. He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men's track and field event. By the time Mathias retired from decathlon competition in 1952, he had nine victories in nine competitions. He had won two gold medals separately in 1948 and 1952. In 1954 a film about his early life called The Bob Mathias Story was made, in which he and his wife played themselves. Fu Mingxia Fu Mingxia was born on August 16, 1978 in Wuhan, Hubei Province. At an early age, her father taught her to swim at a nearby river. She started exercising gymnastics at age 5, soon turning to diving. Fu Mingxia left home at age 9 to train in Beijing. In the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Fu Mingxia became China's youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13. Ian Thorpe Ian Thorpe was born on 13 October, 1982. He is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia. Ian Thorpe, 17 years old, won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle by breaking his own world record in Sydney 2000. He has won five Olympic gold medals. How long had Fu Mingxia practised diving in Beijing before she won the 10-meter platform gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics? A. About ten years. B. About nine years. C. About five years. D. About three years. Answer: C. About five years. First Frenchman: I once heard someone shout, "Look out," I put my head out of a window and a basin of water fell on me. It seems that "Look out" may mean "don't look out." Second Frenchman: Once I was on a ship and heard the captain shout, "All hands on deck," I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them. Third Frenchman: I once visited an English friend early in the morning and the maid who came to the door and said, "He's not up yet. Come back in half an hour," When I went again for him, she said, "He's not down yet." "If he's not up and he's not down, where is he?" I asked. She said, "He's still in bed. When I say 'He's not up ' I mean 'he has not yet got up'. When I say 'He's not down ' I mean 'he has not yet come downstairs,'" When the third Frenchman went back, the English friend _ . A. was washing his face B. was having his breakfast C. was still in an upstairs room D. was reading a newspaper Answer: C. was still in an upstairs room Travel Unaccompanied Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone. Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. "It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone." Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents. In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen. It is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone.It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own. Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year.He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He said he wished he had traveled alone earlier. "The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person," said the 30-year-old. Richardson describes traveling alone like "a shot in the arm", which "makes you a more confident person that was ready to deal with anything". He said: "The feeling of having conquered something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I'm dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try." The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said: "Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness." Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with? A. Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone. B. It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries. C. It is comfortable to travel around without a friend. D. Traveling abroad helps people to find new things. Answer: A. Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone. Cholera is a water-borne disease that is spread through polluted water and food. Cholera is an illness caused by the bacterium. It produces a poison that causes a painless , watery diarrhea( ) that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not given. Most persons infected with cholera do not become ill, although the bacterium is present in their waste for 7-14 days. When this illness does strike, more than 90% of the time is not severe and is difficult to tell from other types of diarrhea. Less than 10% of sick persons develop cholera with signs of moderate or severe dehydration. A person may get cholera by drinking water or eating food polluted with the cholera bacterium. The disease can spread rapidly in areas without the proper treatment of drinking water. The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in dirty rivers and coastal waters. Shellfish eaten raw have been a source of cholera. Therefore, the disease is not likely to spread directly from one person to another. Cholera can be simply and successfully treated by immediate replacement of the fluid and salts lost through diarrhea. Patients can be treated by being given a mixture of sugar and salt to be mixed with water and drunk in large amount. Antibiotics shorten the course and decrease the severity of the illness. To avoid cholera, we should eat well-cooked food instead of raw food. Cholera can be treated by _ . A. replacing the blood in the body. B. eating a lot of water mixed with sugar and salt and using antibiotics. C. eating a large amount of sugar and salt D. drinking a lot of water and eating a large amount of food. Answer: B. eating a lot of water mixed with sugar and salt and using antibiotics. Around three forty-five on a rainy Saturday morning, I was woken up by the sound of my pager beeping. As a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician, I can never count on a full night of sleep. I pulled myself out of bed and went toward the desk to grab my radio. Our crew was being sent to a nearby home where a man was in cardiac arrest . We found the man lying on the kitchen floor with his wife beside him. We rushed the patient to the hospital, but despite our efforts, we were unable to save his life. In my line of life, I rarely get any recognition from the patients we treat, or from their loved ones. But that night, a man's wife approached us, and through her tears, whispered, "Thank you." Then she hugged each of us. She knew we answered her late-night call for help, even though the ending was not positive. There is something deeply rewarding about helping people in these circumstances. Sometimes, I'm able to make their worst day a bit better: like seeing the tears of an injured child turn into a smile when I gave him an interesting toy; or watching a terrified mother's screams turn into tears of joy when she realized her baby was going to be fine. Experiences like these allow me to see the impact my work has on others. At the same time, I also know the effect _ has had on my own life. As a teenager, I felt awkward when my dad hugged me and said, " I love you, my dear son." I was equally uncomfortable and responded, "I love you." But then I imagined him lying on the kitchen floor that rainy night and realized that my opportunity to say those three words could---at any moment---be taken away forever. Now, I extremely treasure the moment when my father says those three words to me. I've learned to appreciate every relationship I have, to tell people I care about them, and to never take anything in life for granted. The author mentioned the injured child and the terrified mother to show that _ . A. Life was not always pleasant B. His help could bring people happiness C. He saved a lot of people D. They were very grateful to him Answer: B. His help could bring people happiness
Question: The English love sports.One of the popular games in England is cricket .But cricket doesn't change much these years.For some parts of England, the eight months of the football season is more important than the four months of the cricket season. Most middle schools have sports fields and boys usually play rugby or football in winter and cricket in summer.While school girls play tennis or baseball in summer and basketball or hockey in winter ,boys seldom play basketball.The more popular grown-up games are golf and tennis. A lot of people play them. The British also like watching horse racing, but few show interest in bike racing. Britain is the home of many modern popular sports. . Which of the following is TRUE? A. For most British people, the cricket season is more important than the football season. B. Cricket changed a lot during the last ten years. C. Middle school girls seldom play basketball. D. The British prefer horse racing to bike racing. Answer: D. The British prefer horse racing to bike racing. Question: Around the world, people have different traditional foods to celebrate different festivals. Traditional foods also show a new year of good luck and good health: An English Christmas dinner has a meal of turkey, and it also includes pies and plum puddings . In Germany, Christmas is celebrated with bread, cookies and cakes, which are made like Christmas trees. In France, Christmas dessert is a cake filled with butter cream. In southern parts of India, there is a three-day festival in mid-January called Pongal. It includes rice and a dish of rice cooked with sugar that is shared with families and friends. Japan celebrates New Year with a seven-day festival. It begins from January 1st. Food is prepared before the festival so people don't need to cook during the festival. On New Year's Day, _ dishes called Osechi ryori are served--each dish is a wish for the New Year. In most Asian countries, the New Year begins with the first full moon of the first Chinese Lunar month. Each place has its special food to welcome the coming year: People in China prepare their food ahead of time to avoid the _ that using a knife during New Year's time might "cut luck". Foods with lucky names are popular, such as fish, which sounds like "surplus ". In Japan, people all like eating _ on New year's Day. A. turkey B. dessert C. Osechi ryori D. Dumplings Answer: C. Osechi ryori Question: Joker found one of the biggest diamonds in the world right in his own back yard. He sold the stone to a diamond dealer for over three hundred thousand dollars. In New York, the diamond was resold---this time for almost eight hundred thousand dollars. The true value of a diamond is never known until it has been cut. Once cut successfully, its value can increase a thousand times. It's easy to understand why the owner of Joker's diamond went to the best diamond cutter he knew, Kaplan. The cutter studied the diamond for twelve whole months. When he felt he was ready to start work, he discovered a flaw . He had to begin his calculations all over again, or he might have made the stone useless. Six months passed, and Kaplan finally said to the owner, "I am ready to start my work. There will be one excellent diamond that will be comparable one excellent diamond of first-class quality " Kaplan waited a few more days until he felt he was in the best physical and mental condition possible. He picked up his tools and held his breath as he made the diamond exactly as he promised. Joker found one of the biggest diamonds in the world _ . A. in a minute B. at the foot of a big mountain C. in his own back yard D. in a garage Answer: C. in his own back yard Question: A French woman goes to London to see her son. She knows a little English, but can not speak it very well. One day she goes to a shop. She wants to buy a hen for supper. But she can not remember the English word for "hen". Just then the shop waiter asks her, "Can I help you?" "I want the egg's mother." the woman answered. The shop waiter does not understand her and says, "Sorry, we have not any bigger eggs." Suddenly the woman remembers the word "cock". "I want the cock's wife!" she says. This time the shop waiter laughs. The shop waiter thinks that an egg's mother must be _ . A. a bigger egg B. the cock's wife C. a hen D. the hen's sister Answer: A. a bigger egg Question: Andy rode slowly on his way to school, day-dreaming about the fishing trip that his father had promised him. He was so busy dreaming about all the fish he would catch that he was unaware of everything else around him. He rode along until a strange sound drew him to the present. He came to a stop and looked curiously up to the sky. What he saw shocked and terrified him. A huge swarm of bees filled the sky like a black cloud and the buzzing mass seemed to be heading angrily towards him. With no time to waste, Andy sped off in the opposite direction, riding furiously--but without knowing how to escape the swarm. As the bees came closer, his panic increased. Andy knew that he was sensitive to bee stings . The last sting had landed him in hospital--and that was only one bee sting! Suddenly, his father's words came to him. "When you are in a tight situation, don't panic. Use your brain and think your way out of it." On a nearby hill, he could see smoke waving slowly skywards from the chimney of the Nelson family home. "Bees don't like smoke," he thought. "They couldn't get into the house." But Andy knew he could not reach the house in time. He estimated that the bees would catch up with him soon. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small dam used by Mr. Nelson. Off his bike and into the cool water he dived, disappearing below the surface and away from the savage insects. After holding his breath for as long as he could, Andy came up for air and noticed the bees had gone. Dragging himself out of the dam, he struggled up the hilly slope and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Nelson took him inside and rang his mother. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the swarm of bees in the passage? A. They crowded like a black cloud. B. They shocked and terrified Andy. C. They tried to attack Andy in a mass. D. They made Andy stay in hospital for two days. Answer: D. They made Andy stay in hospital for two days.
Crash. Shatter. Boom. Crash. Shatter. Boom. Smattering of silly dialogue. Pretty girl screams: "Dad!" Crash. Shatter. Boom. Crash. Shatter. Boom. Silly dialogue. "Dad!!!" Crash. Shatter. Boom. What? Oh, sorry. We were falling into a trance there. Which is, dear moviegoer, what may happen to you during Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth Transformers film and lasts 165 minutes, which is precariously close to the three-hour mark that Bay undoubtedly will reach--by our sophisticated calculations, and at the current growth rate, with his sixth installment . But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Despite what you've just read, this film will likely be a massive hit because by now, if you're buying a Transformers ticket, you surely know what you're getting into, and you want more, more, more. And Bay is the Master of More. Or just take it from the 11-year-old sitting next to me, who reserved any audible judgment--he, too was in a trance, though maybe from sugar intake--until the moment he saw a Transformer become a dinosaur. Overwhelmed by the pairing, he proclaimed, "That's the sickest thing I've ever seen in my life." It was as if peanut butter and jelly had been tasted together for the first time. This time, there's a whole new human cast. Most important, Mark Wahlberg has replaced Shia LaBeouf as well, Main Human Guy. A significant part of the movie also takes place in China--clearly a nod to the franchise's huge market in the country. In any case, we begin in Paris, Texas, where Cade Yeager (Wahlberg), a struggling inventor, is desperatlely seeking a big discovery. He's also a widowed dad, and super-protective (as the movie constantly reminds us) of his high-school daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz, blond and pretty and ineffective, though the one-note script does her no favors). One day, Cade buys a rusty old truck. Examining it back home, he soon discovers it's none other than Optimus Prime, the Autobot hero, seriously damaged. As Cade works on fixing him up, his assistant, witty surfer-dude Lucas, has the dumb idea of calling the authorities. What he doesn't know is that the government is plotting to destroy all remaining Autobots in favor of a man-made army of Transformers. So now, it's evil humans that pitted against the trustworthy Autobots. So much for gratitude. There's also a subplot involving Tessa and her secret boyfriend, Shane (Jack Reynor, underused), whose Irish accent leads Cade to dismissively call him "Lucky Charms"--at least until the two bond in battle. The obvious question: Is it too much for its own good? Bay is vey talented at all things visual. The 3-D works well and the robots look great. But the final confrontation alone lasts close to an hour. At some point, you may find yourself simply in a daze, unable to absorb any further action into your brain. The tone of the passage as a whole can be described as _ ? A. serious B. ironic C. scholarly D. light-hearted Answer: D For the first time in Singapore, it's snowing. Visitors to Singapore will be amazed by the technology that brings winter to you on this tropical island. All visitors can have cool winter fun in Snow City, Singapore's first indoor snow center. Visitors can see and touch snow falling. Of course, it's more than just touching and feeling snow. You can enjoy exciting snow rides or skiing on snowboard. You can also build your own real snowman and have snowball fights filled with fun and learn about life in cold climates. Snow City is about family-based fun and is suitable for all ages. Join us and step into Snow City today. How to get there: 21Jurong Town Hall Road, Snow City Building, Singapore 609433 Tel: 63371511 Bus services: No. 66, No. 178, No.198 Price: Adults: $18; Children: $12 Opening Hours: Tuesday--Sunday: 10:30 am--6:30 pm Notice: No phone booking. For updated information, please visit our website www.snowcity.com.sg. Visitors can _ . A. go to Snow City on Monday B. take a No. 66 bus to Snow City C. book their tickets by phone D. visit Snow City at 7:00 pm Answer: B One morning, Wu Liang discovered that her classroom had changed. She found that the desks were no longer in rows, but pushed together to make eight bigger desks. She was so excited about it for the first two days that she couldn't listen to the teachers carefully. But soon she and her classmates got used to this new classroom arrangement . "Now our class is quieter," said Wu. "What's more, we can come up with our own ideas and learn more through discussion. It's a better way to study." Li Yu liked it, too. "Group members first discuss," he said, "and then present to the whole class. It makes us believe in ourselves." This was part of a reform at Li's school. The school made this reform because they wanted to offer students easier ways to study and more chances to discuss. "Our school hopes to improve students' abilities to study by themselves and work in groups." said Zhang Ming, an English teacher. However, the reform has demanded more from teachers. Now they have only 15 minutes to give a lesson that would have been taught in 45 minutes before. It is difficult to teach in such a short time. The teachers have to find better ways to teach more effectively. "The reform demands more, but I'm sure it is helpful." added Zhang Ming. Which of the following sentences is wrong? A. Wu Liang and her classmates like the new classroom arrangement. B. The desks are no longer in rows now. C. The reform has demanded more from teachers. D. It's easy for teachers to give a lesson in 15 minutes now. Answer: D This year, a very sweet old lady that I cared for, Alice, had gone through a difficult time. She got _ and so she had been in the hospital twice. In November I was finally able to get her back to her "home". Alice had thought her daughter was coming to visit her on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that that happy moment was not going to happen, she was very sad. Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to make her feel happy, I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday! On Christmas Eve, I gave her a surprise by asking if she would like to go to a candlelight service at church that night. Instead of taking her to my church, I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were. We got there early and I got her a seat where her friends could see her as they came in. God and his angels had a hand in the plan and it worked out perfectly. Then soon some of her friends came to the church and they rushed over to greet her and sit with her. The candlelight service was beautiful and Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there. The truth of the story is that I am the one who got the best gift: the smile on Alice's face. The smile on Alice's face shows that I made a difference. What is the best title for this passage? A. The dream of an old lonely lady B. A real present C. A special candlelight Christmas Eve D. The true love Answer: C Dessert house We have three kinds of desserts : small, medium and large. A small dessert with strawberries, bananas and ice cream is 10Y=. A medium dessert with apples, tomatoes and cheese is 12Y=. A large dessert with pears, potatoes and ice cream is 15Y=. Welcome to our house. Noodle House We have some great specials. Special 1 is chicken and cabbage noodles, and the large bowl is just 4Y= and the small 2Y=. Special 2 is mutton and carrot noodles, and the large bowl is only 5Y= and the small 2.5Y=. Special 3 is beef and potato noodles. The large bowl is 4Y= and the small 2Y=. Special 4 is tomato and egg noodles. The large bowl is only 3Y= and the small 1.5Y=. Large drink is only 5Y=. And all the fruits are free. Come and get your noodles today! How many kinds of desserts does Dessert House have? A. three B. two C. one D. four Answer: A
Question: My name is Sam. I'm tall. I have a round face and big eyes. I have a good friend. His name is Tom. He is short. He has red hair and big eyes. His favorite actor is Jackie Chan, and he thinks Jackie Chan is strong and cool.Our Chinese teacher is Miss Zhang. She is from Shanghai. She is 25 years old. She has long, black hair. She's Tom's favorite teacher. ,. . (5,2,10) Miss Zhang comes from _ . A. England B. China C. Cuba D. USA Answer: B. China Question: prefix = st1 /New Zealand Education Compulsory Education Compulsory education starts at age 5 and ends at age 16. The day children turn 5, they are expected to start school. They can leave school as soon as they reach 16. Class Size The maximum number of students in a class is 30 students. Classrooms Students from year 0--8 stay in the same classroom for most subjects and move to other classrooms only for specific subjects. Even when they move from one classroom to another, they mostly stay together as a class. In year 9, students take some courses with their homeroom class and some optional classes with students from different classes. Starting from year 10, students no longer stay in the same classroom most of the time nor do they move around with their classes. They go to different classes based on their own choice and abilities. Term Dates A school year starts in January and ends in December. There are four terms in a year. Each term is about 10 weeks. Class Schedule School starts at around 8:30 and ends at 15:15. There are only five periods a day and a period is about an hour long. In the morning, around 10:30, there will be a 20--30 minute interval when students and staff have morning tea. Students usually have some snacks during this time, and staff gathers in the staff room to drink coffee and eat some snacks. There is a lunch period at around 12:40 for about an hour. Teachers In New Zealand, teachers have to teach students of different year level at the same time. Most teachers teach students from at least three to four different year levels. In addition, quite a number of teachers teach more than one subject. This is mainly due to the fact that many courses are optional. Which of the following is TRUEaccording to the passage? A. You are obliged to leave school when you are 16 inNew Zealand. B. The total of school time per year is about 40 weeks in New Zealand. C. Students have a 20--30 minute interval between each period in New Zealand. D. Most teachers in New Zealandteach one subject for at least three to four years. Answer: B. The total of school time per year is about 40 weeks in New Zealand. Question: Although there are many ways in which people communicate through speech, public speaking has probably received more study and attracted more attention than any other. Politicians winning an election, salespeople presenting products and etc. All depend upon this form of public communication. Even people who do not make speaking a part of their daily work are often asked to make public speeches: students at graduation, for instance, or members of churches, clubs or other organizations. Nearly everyone speaks in public at some time or other, and those who perform the task well often become leaders. There are many reasons for speaking in public. A public speaker may hope to teach an audience about new ideas, or provide information about some topic. Creating a good feeling or entertaining an audience may be another purpose. Public speakers, however, most often seek to persuade an audience to accept new opinions, to take certain actions, or to see the world in a new way. Public speakers usually know well in advance when they are scheduled to make a speech. Consequently, they are able to prepare their message before they deliver it. Sometimes, though, speakers must deliver the message unprepared, or off the cuff, such as when they are asked to speak at a wedding reception or to participate in an interview. When they do not have to speak unprepared, most speakers write their own speeches. Politicians and business managers sometimes employ professional writers who prepare their speeches for them. These professional writers may work alone or in small teams. Although the speaker may have some ideas into the contents of the speech, the writers sometimes have a great influence over the opinions expressed by their employers. Regardless of how a speech is prepared, the person who delivers it is given credit for its effect upon its hearers. Which of the following is rarely the purpose of public speaking? A. To influence people's ideas and behaviour. B. To persuade the audience to accept an idea. C. To enjoy the satisfaction from one's own speech. D. To develop public interest. Answer: C. To enjoy the satisfaction from one's own speech. Question: Lily has a pen friend in America. Her name is Alice. They write to each other every week. They tell each other about their lives. Here is a letter from Lily. Dear Alice, Thank you for your letter and telling me about your best friend. In this letter, I'm going to tell you about my friend. Her name is Cathy. She has long brown hair and blue eyes. She is the same age as me, but a little taller .She is always happy. We sit together in class and help each other with our homework. We always play together after school and play computer games for an hour. Cathy thinks quickly and does better than me. She is learning to play the piano .I am learning to play the piano, too. We play together every day. It's fun. We always have a good time. Please write to me soon. Love, Lily How often does Lily write to Alice? A. Every two weeks. B. Every week. C. Every day. D. Every three weeks. Answer: B. Every week. Question: We send our children to school to prepare them for the time when they will be big and will have to work for themselves.They learn their own language so that they will be able to tell others clearly what they want and what they know,and understand what others tell them.They learn foreign languages in order to be able to understand the people from other countries and make themselves understood.They learn history to know something about human beings they meet every day.What they learn at school is,of course,quite useful,but is that the only reason why they go to school? No.There is more in education than just learning facts.We go to school,above all,to learn how to learn,so that when we have left school,we can continue to learn.A man who really knows how to learn will always be successful,because whenever he has to do something new,he will quickly teach himself how to do it in the best way.The uneducated person,on the other hand,is either unable to do something new,or does it badly.So the purpose of school is not just to teach the students these useful subjects but teach the way to learn. Why do they learn languages?Because they will _ . A. make friends with others B. be able to speak to and hear others clearly C. be able to understand others D. make themselves understood Answer: B. be able to speak to and hear others clearly
Is there someone you hate? Well, maybe you don't really hate them. But you get really angry every time you think of them. If you don't let this anger go, it can turn into bitterness Bitterness appears when we can't forgive someone who has hurt us or made us angry. Someone might say or do something that hurts us. But Instead of controlling the anger, we keep it deep inside. Before long, a bitter feeling begins to grow. We may think we're hurting that person by criticizing him or her often, but we're really only hurting ourselves. Bitterness can not only lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, but also hurt our relationships with friends and family members. No one enjoys being around an anger person for very long. If you see bitterness in your life, here are some ways to deal with it. Accept it Instead of trying to your anger, make it clear to yourself and accept it. See your anger for what it is and quickly deal with it. Stop making excuses for it You may feel you have a right to be anger. You may think you're right and the other person is wrong. You may even secretly enjoy making the other person look bad. But in the end, bitterness hurts you much more than the other person. The bitterness will hold you back, and the other person will go on with his or her life. Forgive and forget it You probably can't completely put the anger out of your mind. But you can decide to forgive the other person. Forget it and move on. You'll enjoy better health and peace of mind. ,, According to the passage, we might get angry when someone _ . A. holds us back B. forgets us C. doesn't like us D. does hurt us Answer: D. does hurt us I climbed Kilimanjaro with Lava Expeditions during the rainy season. I flew to Nairobi in Kenya and spent several days there. At my hotel in Nairobi I met the rest of the group with whom I would spend the next week. We all travelled on the bus together for a 6-hour journey into Tanzania and then Arusha , a quiet town. After we arrived at our hotel in Arusha , we had dinner and a few drinks. Then we were introduced to more members including Taddeus Minja, the main guide, who was very experienced -- climbing Kilimanjaro runs through the generations of his family. The next day the Lava Expeditions members checked if we had the correct and enough clothing for our expedition on Kilimanjaro. Only one person needed to bring more clothes. After that we set off, walking in the rain through the beauty of the rainforest, all the way to the first camp. I was happy the next few days as the view was so wonderful and changed every day. I suffered a little during the trip and I felt so tired. But the members of Lava Expeditions provided me with lots of encouragement, which was one of the best memories. Finally we reached the top of Kilimanjaro in bright blue skies. I felt excited about climbing Kilimanjaro and the feeling didn't change during my trip. Lava Expeditions looked after me so well that I was deeply thankful for their help. What did the author think of his climbing Kilimanjaro? A. Tiring and disappointing. B. Tiring but excited. C. Dangerous but exciting. D. Dangerous and tiring. Answer: B. Tiring but excited. Vitamins are stored in foods we eat. The kids are udner great need of vitamins for growth. As they use their energy in playing, they need lots of vitamins. Children usually choose certain foods above the others and often do not eat those with important nutrients . Sothough the food they are eating is nutritious, it may not always provide all the nutrients the child needs. One nutrient can not balance the shortage of another. Foods like grains, vegetables, fruits and meats should be eaten daily, because different foods in the child's diet can balance against taking too much or too little of any nutrient. Kids grow slower in their childhood than when they were babies or when they develop into adults. Energy output is high, with hard paly perids that include plenty of running, jumping, and testing of new physical skills. So they need a lot of vitamins. Here are some important vitamins and their functions Vitamin D in milk helps your bones. Vitamin A in carrots helps you see at night. Vitamin C in oranges helps your body heal if you get a cut. B vitamins in leafy vegetables helps your body make protein . The children, who are suffering from a sickness called cystic fibrosis, lose vitamin A, D and E. These are main body-building vitamins. Therefore, vitamin supplements may be necessary. Blood tests will telll you whether a child needs vitamin supplements. If babies over nine months of age are receiving whole cow's milk, they'll need a daily vitamin C supplement till their diet provide enough vitamin C. Vitamin D is added to all milks so babies drinking them need no extra vitamin D. Children are greatly in need of vitamin C. If you are 18 years of age or younger, you should get 115 millgrams of vitamin C per day. Those over 19 should get 120 milligrams per day. What is it expecially necessary for high school students to have daily? A. . Milk B. Orange. C. Carrots. D. Vegetables. Answer: B. Orange. President Bush this week announced his support for a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.Details published Friday said Israel would remove troops and all settlements from the Gaza Strip by the end of next year.About seven-thousand settlers live there. Israel would also remove four settlements in the West Bank.But six large settlements would remain.The ruling Likud party of Minister Sharon is expected to vote on the proposal on May second. Minister Sharon visited the White House on Wednesday.President Bush praised what he called " historic and courageous actions." Mr.Bush said the plan gives the Palestinians, in his words, " a chance to create a reformed, just and free government." Palestinian leaders have denounced the president.Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Bush is the first president to accept Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was at the White House Friday.He said he welcomed the plan.Blair urged other countries to get involved. At least for now, Israel would continue to control airspace, waters and land passages.Minister Sharon says the plan is necessary because the Palestinian Authority has failed to stop attacks against Israelis.Diplomatic efforts also have not succeeded. A Bush administration official said the president supports the plan because Israel is taking steps to remove existing settlements.Mr.Bush said removing all Jewish settlements in the West Bank would be unrealistic. Palestinian officials called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union.Palestinian President Yasser Arafat says the plan is hurting Palestinians and they will never stop seeking an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. Israel captured Gaza and the West Bank in the nineteen-sixty-seven Middle East War.It soon began to build settlements.Palestinians want their own state in all of the West Bank and Gaza.They also demand the right of return to lands that are now part of Israel. On Friday, several thousand Palestinians protested against President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon. From the passage we learn that _ . A. Palestinians and Israelis are in peace B. Bush is the first president to accept Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories C. Other countries also support the proposal D. Israel would not continue to control airspace, waters and land passages Answer: B. Bush is the first president to accept Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories A traveler once visited a city where everyone wore blue. Puzzled, he went to a dyer and said, " Please dye the handkerchief red." "I don't know how to dye red." "Then dye it green." "I can't dye it green. There are forty master dyers in this city, and every one of us can dye only blue." "I can dye all color1s," said the traveler, "Hire me and I'll teach you my art." "We never allow a stranger to enter our craft ", said the dyer. The traveler made the same offer to the other master dyers, but none would hire him. So he began his own dye shop. Folks soon crowded around asking, "What are all these beautiful color1s called?" He answered, "This is red and that is yellow," and so on. Everyone began bringing him cloth to dye. When the master dyers saw this, they quickly apologized for their past insults , begging him to hire them and teach them his art. This story could be taken as a warning against _ . A. wearing only blue clothes B. refusing to learn new ways C. hiring a stranger D. visiting strange cities Answer: B. refusing to learn new ways
"It is high time someone explained to you about good manners. Yours are obvious by their absence and I feel sorry for you." These were the words that Carolyn Bourne e-mailed to her son's fiancee , Heidi Withers. The couple had just visited the Bourne family home in England. Within days, the e-mail was all over the Internet, and the subject of manners hit UK national news. Heidi, Mrs Bourne said, stayed in bed too late. She complained when she was hungry and was particular about food. She told rude jokes. Finally, she had never thanked Mrs Bourne for the weekend. But it wasn't just Heidi's behavior that got people talking. Facebook groups started up about the e-mail. The one with the most members was called "Carolyn Bourne needs to learn some manners". People said Mrs Bourne had been too direct. They thought she had been cruel when she told Heidi to go to "finishing school" -- a centre where badly-behaved young women used to be sent. Heidi's father wrote back to Mrs Bourne and called her a "snotty Miss Fancy Pants" -- someone who thinks they are socially better than anyone else. Everyone agreed that there are rules of "good" and "bad" behavior. Everyone agreed that these rules had been broken. However, no one could agree what these rules were -- or whether Heidi or Mrs Bourne was in the wrong. So what does politeness really mean? Is there a secret to social etiquette ? Shirley Schomaker runs a real-life finishing school. She said that both Mrs Bourne and Heidi had been impolite. The true secret, she said in a BBC interview, lies in making everyone feel comfortable. "Social etiquette isn't about being snotty and being in the know ," she said. "It's about making other people feel good. It's about communication. It's about making society get along better." What would Shirley Schomaker probably agree with? A Good manners help people communicate better. B Those who break behavioral rules should be punished. C Social etiquette is about getting up on time in the morning. D Only going to finishing school can teach you social etiquette. Answer: A It had been a very disheartening day. The doctors had given us the worst of news. Our daughter, who had just completed her first brain surgery to remove a tumor and was going through radiation treatment, was now officially given a two percent chance of survival as this type of cancer had no cure. My wife and I decided to take our daughter to lunch before continuing our afternoon conversation. We went to a local restaurant where we sat in silence waiting for the waitress. I noticed a very elderly couple sitting a few booths away, who were also in silence and did not speak a word. I couldn't help but wonder what challenges they had faced in their life and if they ever faced such terrible news about a child of theirs. We eventually ordered our lunch and still sitting in silence we ate what we could. At some point I became intrigued by the old couple. I thought to myself that they hadn't yet spoken to each other and I wondered if it was the peace they were enjoying or the food or maybe both. However, at some point I lost interest and put my focus back on my lunch. Molly was still talking away and enjoying her meal. Her mom and I both listened and tried to be happy in her presence but it wasn't going very well. All of a sudden I saw a hand come out of nowhere. It was huge and I could tell that it had been afflicted with arthritis . I couldn't take my eyes off that hand. It landed on my daughter's tiny six-year-old hand and as it did I looked up; it was the old woman who had been sitting with the old man in silence eating their lunch. I looked into her eyes and she spoke, but not to me. She looked at my daughter and simply whispered, "If I could do more for you I would..." and then she smiled and moved away to join her husband, who had moved towards the door. "Look, a whole dollar," Molly spoke with excitement as she discovered a crumpled one dollar bill left behind by the old lady. I looked up to thank her, but she was gone. I sat stunned, not sure what had just happened and then I looked over at my wife. In almost unison, we broke out into a smile. The sadness of the day had been wiped out by the crippled hand and generous touch of the old lady. The dollar, although exciting to Molly, was not what made us smile; it was the offer from the old lady, who felt our suffering. The crippled hand symbolized a healing touch and made us realize that we did not have to fight this battle alone. By saying "If I could do more for you I would...", the old woman means _ . A she had the ability to cure the disease of Molly B she had the responsibility for the safety of Molly C she was an old friend of the author and can lend some money to them D she would like to help Molly as much as possible Answer: D How do you feel when you have to make a speech in front of class? What about when you go to a birthday party? Do you get really shy? Shyness means feeling nervous or afraid when you're around other people. Experts have found that more than 80% of middle school students feel afraid to be the center of attention. Some kids are born shy. Some become shy later because of their life experiences . It's OK if it takes you a while _ when you go to a new place or meet new people. In fact, everybody gets a little shy sometimes. It's just a case of how much. Most people have red faces and talk in broken sentences when they get shy. But some become so shy that they won't go to a restaurant because they are too nervous to order and pay for their food. Some are afraid of meeting new people, so they seldom go outside. This kind of shyness can be bad for a person. If shyness doesn't stop you from doing something you want to do, being shy isn't a very big problem. Some experts say shy people are cleverer because they think more and talk less. Shy people are also good at working with others because they think more for other people. Some great people in history were shy, too. You see, being shy isn't all bad. But remember not to let good opportunities pass by just because of it! If you have to sing a song at a birthday party or practice your spoken English in front of others, just do it! There's nothing to be afraid of. What's the best title for this passage? A Are you too busy? B Think more for others! C Are you shy or not? D Once he was shy just like you! Answer: C ." Those words were some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively. For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony of a century's prosperity. One of America's bedrock brands is about to disappear, the Kodak moment has passed. But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends be needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world. It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company. Kodak served mankind through entertainment, science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks. It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor, and a fallen Martin Luther King Jr. on the hard balcony of a Memphis motel. When that sailor kissed the nurse, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift to posterity from the Eastman Kodak Company. In an era of easy digital photography, when we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was like before George Eastman brought photography to people. Yes, there were photographers, and for relatively large sums of money they would take stilted pictures in studios and formal settings. But most people couldn't afford photographs, and so all they had to remember distant loved ones, or earlier times of their lives, was memory. Children could not know what their parents had looked like as young people, grandparents far away might never learn what their grandchildren looked like. Eastman Kodak allowed memory to move from the uncertainty of recollection, to the permanence of a photograph. But it wasn't just people whose features were savable; it was events, the sacred and precious times that families cherish. The Kodak moment, was humanity's moment. And it wasn't just people whose features were savable; it was events, the precious times that familes cherish. Kodak let the fleeting moments of birthdays and weddings, picnics and parties, be preserved and saved. It allowed for the creation of the most egalitarian art form. Lovers could take one another's pictures, children were photographed walking out the door on the first day of school, decided what was worth recording, and hundreds of millions of such decisions were made. And for centuries to come, those long dead will smile and dance and communicate to their unborn progeny. Family history will be not only names on paper, but smiles on faces. The cash flow not just provided thousands of people with job, but also allowed the company's founder to engage in some of the most generous philanthropy in America's history. Not just in Kodak's home city of Rochester, New York, but in Tuskegee and London, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He bankrolled two historically black colleges, fixed the teeth of Europe's poor, and quietly did good wherever he could. While doing good, Kodak did very well. Over all the years, all the Kodakers over all the years are essential parts of that monumental legacy. They prospered a great company, but they - with that company - blessed the world. That is what we should remember about the Eastman Kodak Company. Like its founder, we should remember how it lived, not how it died. History will forget the small men who have scuttled this company. But history will never forget Kodak. It can be learnt from the passage that George Eastman _ . A died a natural death of old age. B happened to be on the spot when President Kennedy was shot dead. C set up his company in the capital of the US before setting up its branches all over the world. D was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the improvement of other people's lives. Answer: D These days it's cheaper to throw that broken DVD player, cell-phone or TV out and buy a new one. This " replace-rather-than-repair" mentality is polluting the planet with electronic waste. According to the UN Environment Program, we are throwing away an estimated 50 million metric tonnes of electronics waste (e-waste) per year. But this is not ordinary garbage. Our electronics leak harmful heavy metals -- such as mercury and arsenic -- along with equally poisonous chemicals that end up in our soil and eventually our water. You've probably participated in a community recycling event and left feeling good about shipping off that old computer to be recycled. Chances are it was shipped overseas where it's polluting someone else'community. Guiyu city in Southeastern China has become known as the e-waste city where low-paid workers use whatever means available to remove electronics in hopes of recovering the copper, microchips, aluminum, gold and silver and plastic that can be resold. Any leftover waste is simply thrown into the nearby river or piled up high in the streets, poisoning the children growing up here. So what can you do with your e-waste? Robert Houghton, President and founder of Redemtech, an asset management and recovery firm, recommends you vote with your dollar. Buy from companies who have a take-back program that guarantees your discarde electronics are handled proper. " Consumers want to do business with companies who are demonstrably good with corporate responsibility and dealing with e-waste, " said Houghton. There are plenty of charitable organizations that will take your used electronics and donate them for charitable causes: * Electronic Recycling Association (Canada) (ERA) collects old computers for donation to libraries and other organizations across Canada. * eBay's Rethink Initiative pairs up consumers with businesses that refurbish old computers for donation. * TechSoup has a thorough listing of resources for those who would like to donate or recycle hardware,buy recycled hardware or find a refurbisher. * The Charitable Recycling Program accepts all cell-phones and has a listing of charities it helps with its program. * Call2 Recycle has set up drop off points across Canada in a number of stores. You can drop off your cell-phone and also your rechargeable batteries from handheld electronic products. In the writer's opinion, who can first shoulder the great responsibility to guarantee e-waste is handled proper in the future? A The UN Environment Program. B Consumers who buy electronics. C President and founder of Redemtech. D Guiyu city in Southeastern China. Answer: B
Question: Motorists who used to listen to the radio or their favorite tunes on CDs may have a new way to entertain themselves, after engineers in Japan developed a musical road surface. A team from the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute has built a number of"melody roads,"which use cars as tuning forks to play music as they travel. The concept works by using grooves .They are cut at very specific intervals in the road surface. The melody road uses the spaces between to create different notes. Depending on how far apart the grooves are, a car moving over them will produce a series of high or low notes, and designers are able to create a distinct tune. Paten documents for the design describe it as notches "formed in a road surface so as to play a melody without producing simple sound or rhythm and reproduce melody-like tones". There are three musical strips in central and northern Japan--one of which plays the tune of a Japanese pop song. Reports say the system was invented by Shizuo Shinoda. He scraped some markings into a road with a bulldozer before driving over them and found that they helped to produce all kinds of tones. The _ speed for melody road is 44kph,but people say it is not always easy to get the intended sound. "You need to keep the car windows closed to hear well,"wrote one Japanese blogger."Driving too fast will sound like playing fast forward, while driving around 12mph[20km/h]has a slow-motion effect, making you almost car-sick." In order to hear the music well, you have to _ . A. drive very fast B. drive slowly C. open the windows wide D. keep the windows closed Answer: D Question: The newspaper seller was a clean, neat man, of about forty with a rather serious, unsmiling face. He didn't speak much to the customers or to his helpers, but when he did he spoke slowly and quietly, as if to himself. He believed in efficiency, not conversation. And this was how the office workers, rushing to catch their trains, preferred it. It had been a good day. Lunch-time had been warm and sunny, and many people had bought magazines to read outside with their sandwiches. Now it was cold and rainy, and people wanted an evening paper for a cheerless journey ahead and a dull evening indoors. At 6:30, with the main rush over, he started to collect the money together and count it. Then he left the stand and went home. It was the assistant's turn this evening to look after it till eight o'clock, when it would be packed away for the night. His large white Mercedes was in the private car park of a large prefix = st1 /GovernmentBuilding. He'd parked there for six months, pretending to be part of a heating firm working in the building. They would find out about him soon, and he'd have to park in a garage again, which was annoying. Their charges were far too high. A couple of junior clerks, regular customers, happened to see him getting into his car. "Must be a lot of money in papers, eh?" one of them shouted. He just smiled coldly in reply, and got into the car, placing the bags of money on the floor. He thought about the clerks on the way home. Like the majority of his customers, despite their white shirts and dark suits, they probably made in a week as much as he could make in a good day. If they realized that he was not a heating engineer he would have to . A. park his car in a Government car park B. look for another free parking place C. pay to park his car in a garage D. pretend he was a Government employee Answer: C Question: Women are still underrepresented in top academic positions. One of the possible explanations for this is the increasing importance of obtaining research funding. Women are often less successful in this than men. Psychology researchers Dr. Romyvan der Lee and professor Naomi Ellemers investigated whether this difference also occurs at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and examined potential explanations. The researchers were assigned by NWO to carry out this study as part of the broader evaluation of NWO's procedures and its gender diversity policy. The aim was to gain more insight into the causes of the differences in awarding rates for male and female applicants for research funding. The analysis addressed an important "talent programme" of NWO, the Veni grant. "Whoever receives this grant has a greater chance of obtaining an important appointment at a university,"says Naomi Ellemers. Van der Lee and Ellemers investigated all the applications submitted by male and female researchers over a period of three years: a total of 2823 applications. Under the direction of NWO these applications were assessed by scientific committees consisting of men and women. The results demonstrate that the awarding rates for female applicants (14.9%) are systematically lower than those for male applicants (17.7%). "If we compare the proportion of women among the applicants with the proportion of women among those awarded funding, we see a loss of 4%," said Ellemers. The study reveals that women are less positively evaluated for their qualities as researcher than men are. "Interestingly the research proposals of women and men are evaluated equally positively. In other words, the reviewers see no difference in the quality of the proposals that men and women submit," says Romy van der Lee. In search for a possible cause for the differences in awarding rates and evaluations, the researchers also investigated the language use in the instructions and forms used to assess the quality of applications. This clearly revealed the occurrence of gendered language. The words that are used to indicate quality are frequently words that were established in previous research as referring mainly to the male gender stereotype (such as challenging and excellent). Romy van der Lee explains: "As a result, it appears that men more easily satisfy the assessment criteria, because these better fit the characteristics stereotypically associated with men." In response to the results of this research, NWO will devote more attention to the gender awareness of reviewers in its methods and procedures. It will also be investigated which changes to the assessment procedures and criteria can most strongly contribute to more equal chances for men and women to obtain research funding. This will include an examination of the language used by NWO. NWO chair Jos Engelens said, "The research has yielded valuable results and insights. Based on the recommendations made by the researchers we will therefore focus in the coming period on the development of evidence-based measures to reduce the difference in awarding rates." Van der Lee and Ellemers carried out the research to find out whether _ . A. women are less successful than men in top academic positions B. female applicants are at a disadvantage in getting research funding C. NOW's procedures and gender diversity policy enhance fair play D. there are equal chances for men and women to be admitted to a university Answer: B Question: Singing songs is fun, but is it also useful? For learning English pronunciation , Mr. Joe thinks songs are the most useful way to learn. At the same time, you can learn some new words and phrases while singing songs. Mr. Joe has used songs to help himself learn French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. You should do the same. Some words used in songs are not everyday English, so you have to be careful how you use song lyrics when you speak. Most words and sentences are very useful. You don't have to sing songs aloud if you are shy, but after learning a song you should be able to follow the words without looking at the lyrics. When you can do that, you have learned something that you will never forget! Some good songs to listen to are from the Beatles, John Denver and the Carpenters. Their songs are not too fast and the lyrics are close to normal spoken English. Just for fun, you can try Mr. Joe's favorite singer, B.B. King. His songs are not easy at all! If you can understand even 80% of "Why I Sing the Blues", you are a very _ student. If you become good at singing English songs, you can try to go to karaoke and sing with your friends. When you are able to sing a song in another language, even if you don't sing so beautifully, you will really impress(......) other people! Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A. English Songs. B. The Famous Band-The Beatles. C. English Songs helps English Learning. D. How to Learn English. Answer: C Question: In an auction, how might a seller avoid too much of a loss? A. buyer beware B. Auction Block C. Sealed Bid D. setting a reserve Answer: D
Question: When you tidy your messy bedroom,it gets a lot easier to find things.Dreams may work the same way for a messy brain,helping you learn by organizing memories and ideas. To test how much dreams can help learning,Robert Stickgold had some students play a shapefitting game called Tetris for a few hours and then go to sleep.Soon they were dreaming of falling Tetris shapes.Interestingly,the worst Tetris players had the most Tetris dreams and improved their game the most.Similar tests have shown the same results for all kinds of skills. As we dream,many important tasks are getting done.The brain decides what to keep and what to forget.It is connecting new experiences to older learning.In fact,the brain is learning all night long. Another important task of dreams may be to help us deal with emotions .At night,emotions are in the driver's seat.People who have had an upsetting experience often dream about it afterward.Often the dream event changes somehow--another way the brain tries to make the memory less upset.So if your best friend moves away,you might dream that you're the one who's moving.In fact,dreams have a proven power to improve mood,and people who dream about what's bothering them usually feel better sooner than those who don't. Everybody dreams for a couple of hours every night--in the course of your life,you'll spend about 25 years asleep and 6 years dreaming.There's probably no single answer to the question why we dream,but there doesn't have to be.One dream might help you remember your math facts,while another might lead to a new invention,or give you a fun,crazy story to tell your friends.It's all in a night's work for our busy,mysterious brains. In which part of a magazine can this text be found? A. Entertainment. B. Tourism. C. Science. D. Advertisement. Answer: C. Science. Question: While studying the rings in a fossilized tree trunk, a scientist notices a group of rings that are closer together than the other. This means that A. the trees had more sunlight for those years B. the trees were dead during those years C. during those years, there was less precipitation D. the trees had extra water those years Answer: C. during those years, there was less precipitation Question: China's Winter Olympians have been welcomed home as national heroes from Vancouver, Canada. The country enjoyed its best Winter Games results, collecting 11 medals in Vancouver--including 5 gold medals. With flowers and national flags in hands, many people waited at Beijing Airport for hours. Every member was received by a crowd of family members and friends. Hundreds of workers and fans welcomed the athletes and coaches back with color balloons and ribbons. Wang Meng who won three gold medals in Vancouver Winter Olympics said, "We have shown the Olympic spirit and our Chinese sports spirit at the Vancouver Olympics. We Chinese athletes didn't fear to meet the strong opponents and had good team work." ,. How did China's Winter Olympians come back? A. By train. B. By ship. C. By bus. D. By plane. Answer: D. By plane. Question: Which occurs as a result of Earth's tilt on its rotating axis? A. movement of the tides B. prevalent or trade winds C. seasonal changes in the climate D. light and dark changes of day and night Answer: C. seasonal changes in the climate Question: It takes years of school to develop math skills, but learning about numbers starts earlier than you might think. Now according to a new study, at three months, babies have already started acquiring a concept of "how much". Previous research had suggested that very young babies can tell when the number of objects in a group has changed. But the babies in these studies were simply reacting generally to the fact that something had changed, they suspected. Researchers of Harvard University studied 36 babies, all three months old. During the tests, each baby wore a hat with sensors . The babies watched a series of images on a computer screen. _ showed the same object, such as a cartoon character. For a while, the number of the objects in the pictures didn't change. Then the images began to display a different object, or a different number of one of the objects the babies had previously looked at. As soon as something changed, the babies' brains responded with a specific pattern of electrical signals, which would be recorded by sensors. By analyzing these signals, the researchers discovered that one part of the brain (near the top on the left side) responded when the object in the image changed. A different part of the brain (lower and on the right side) responded when the number of objects in the image changed. This was not the area of the brain that is involved in attention. That suggests that the babies' brains are doing more than just reacting to a change in what they're seeing - they actually seem to be able to tell number changes from other types of changes. Numbers and amounts are important concepts in our lives. Even though babies are years away from adding, subtracting , multiplying, and dividing, their brains seem to be preparing for a time when they finally will. Which part of the brain is responsible for responding to the changes of numbers? A. The top. B. The left side. C. The lower and the right side. D. The upper and the left side. Answer: C. The lower and the right side.
If you feel at present that you don't have enough friends in your life, one reason may be that you have let yourself become too busy to make time for the relationships you already have. Starting and keeping friendship require effort and commitment(,,). Many of us let our lives become so busy with work and other commitments that we don't get around to scheduling time for pleasure and renewal with the friends, relatives and acquaintances we already have. Making the effort to call your friends more regularly and to accept more of the invitations you receive from others can improve your social life in a hurry! Are there any people you could call right now and be assured of a pleasant welcome? Are there people that you could depend on to help you in time of difficulty? Can you have close talks with them? Do you have fun when you are together? Are you happy to have them in your life? If you haven't seen much of them lately, is it because you have become too busy? Have you grown apart? Was there an argument? If the main reason you haven't been getting together with the people you already know is that you have gotten too busy, take a good look at how you spend your time. Compare it with your real values and priorities in life. Is your busy lifestyle really bringing you the quality of life that you want? If you have become too busy for friends, why has this happened? Are you seeking material joys in your life at the expense of relationships with other human beings? Have you allowed your time to be over-committed because you never say ''No" to anyone? Do you insist on doing things yourself that could be _ o others? If so, why? Do you believe that everything depends on you? Examine whether the way you are now spending your time exactly reflects your deepest values and priorities. Make sure that you schedule enough time for the things that are truly most important to you. If you really want to keep friends in your life, make a space in your schedule, and a space in your heart for them. Which would be the best title for the text? Answer: Dear Li Ming, I've been in England for two months now. I hope you don't think I have forgotten you. There have been so many places to see and so many things to do that I've not had much time to write letters. I will soon be starting my studies at King's College. So far I've been learning about England and British ways of living. I will tell you about London. One great thing about it is that it has lots of books you can read and lots of pictures you can look at. I am sure you'll be more interested to know what I think about the life here. I found some of the customs new and interesting. People here don't shake hands as much as we do in Germany. During the first few weeks I was often surprised because people didn't put out their hands when I met them. Men raise their hats to women but not to each other. Wang Gang The writer came to London from _ Answer: Flowers will reproduce more if Answer: Primary schools could be told to remove some traditional subject-based lessons and replace them with "personal development" classes to encourage children to improve their social and practical skill. Parents, teachers and pupils, who took part in the investigation carried out for the biggest ever official review of the primary curriculum, argued that the number of subjects taught to very young people should be reduced. The review, being conducted by the government's school's director Sir Jim Rose, will consider how to redesign the primary school day to handle concerns that too many pupils leave primary school unable to read, write and do maths at the level expected of them. It will also address criticisms that pupils are expected to study so many subjects there is little time for creative learning. The 60 focus groups brought together 1,500 parents, pupils and school staff and is expected to heavily influence the thinking of the Rose review, which the government is promising to back. Instead of a broad range of subjects, pupils should study in-depth literacy and maths lessons alongside a more creative curriculum that encourages pupils to develop personal, learning and thinking skills, they say. Such lessons might include "healthy lifestyles, sex and relationships education, drugs and alcohol education". "Child and personal development as priorities have been shamefully neglected in recent years in the rush to hit targets in the basics." John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said, "The worst thing would be to evaluate child development through the current high stakes testing system. That would weaken the capacity of teachers to meet children's unique needs." However, the shadow schools minister, Nick Gibb, said, "If lessons on lifestyle are given the same status as traditional subjects, it is the most disadvantaged children who will be worst affected." "Children are not able to personally develop and succeed in the future if they don't have a grasp of basic subjects such as maths and English early on in primary school. Removing high requirement from the primary curriculum would increase the inequality gap between less well-off pupils and the rest." Nick added. A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) said, "This is a summary of stake holder's view, not the views of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority or the DCSF, and has been submitted to Sir Jim Rose's review as evidence to consider." John Bangs's attitude towards the current high stakes testing system is _ . Answer: My English teacher is very funny . He has really long hair and wears earring in one ear . He likes to wear purple shirts and orange pants . He also uses all kinds of slang words from 1970s. When he likes something , he'll say it's really " groovy ". I think he played the guitar in a rock band when he was young . The other day , he walked into class and noticed that there was a new student . He asked him , "Hey ,man ,what's happening ?" The student was very confused ,but we all laughed because we knew that the teacher was just saying hello . "You're new ,aren't you ?" The teacher asked . The student was surprised , and said to himself , "Is this the teacher ? He looks strange( )." Then he explained to all us , "Sorry .Maybe I'm in the wrong classroom ." What does the teacher like to wear ? Answer:
"We don't have rush hours any more", said Mr. Charles Mac Lean, who runs the nation's busiest road. "We have rush periods, and they keep getting longer and longer." Mac Lean was describing prefix = st1 /Chicago's 235 miles of expressway. But the same might be said about almost any of the expressways that have become an important part of American city life--and about the heavy traffic that often blocks them. In Chicago, a computerized system has been developed that controls traffic on the city's seven expressways. Now one man--a controller--can follow the movement of Chicago's traffic by looking at a set of lights. The system uses electronic sensors that are built into each expressway, half a mile apart. Several times a second, the computer receives information from each sensor and translates it into green, yellow, or red lights on a map in the control room. A green light means the traffic is moving forty-five miles an hour, yellow means thirty to forty-five miles an hour and red means heavy traffic--cars standing still or moving less than thirty miles an hour. "See that red light near Austin Avenue?" the controller asked a visitor. "That's a repair truck fixing the road, and the traffic has to go around it". At the Roosevelt Roadentrance to the expressway, the light kept changing from green to red and back to green again. "A lot of trucks get on the expressway there," the controller explained. "They can't speed up as fast as cars." The sensors show immediately where an accident or a stopped car is blocking traffic, and a truck is sent by radio to clear the road. The system has lowered the number of accidents by 18 percent. There are now 1.4 deaths on Chicago's expressways for each one hundred million miles traveled, while in other parts of the country there are 2.6. Traffic experts say that the Chicagosystem is the "coming thing". Systems like Chicago's are already in use on some expressways in Los Angeles andHouston. "Chicago has taken the lead," saysNew York City's traffic director; and he adds, "We are far behind..." How does the controller follow Chicago's traffic? A By controlling the traffic lights. B By operating a computer in the control room. C By sending a truck to clear the roads. D By looking at a set of lights on the map in the control room. Answer: D. By looking at a set of lights on the map in the control room. Swimmers wanted Can you swim? Do you like children? Can you help them with swimming on weekends? Come and join us. Call Jane at 330-9786 Chess Club Do you like to play chess? Do you want to play chess well? Mr. Chen can teach you. You can come here every Friday afternoon. Tel: 6723-1940 Add : Room 102 in School's P.E. Building Let's learn English Can you speak English? Do you want to learn English? Join the English Club now. Time: 9:00 a.m. --- 11:30 a.m. (from Monday to Friday) Call Henry at 543-1248 Musicians Wanted Boys and girls, are you music lovers? Can you sing or dance? Can you play any instruments ? Welcome to our Star Rock Band . Please call Victor at 891-3453 or send an e-mail to music@yahoo.com. Judy can speak English very well and she teaches children English. She works from Monday to Friday. Where does she work? A The Star Rock Band. B The Chess Club. C The English Club. D The Football Club. Answer: C. The English Club. Do you like traveling? How can you make your trip more interesting? Here's some advice. Read! Before we leave, we should find some information about the place you want to go to, such as its geography, its history and its famous people. And we should read them carefully. So, we can really understand that place during our trip even though we don't have much time. Take photos! Most of us take a camera when we travel, If you want to take some photos, remember to choose the most special sights, Don't choose the sight we can see in other places. For example,Beidaihe, Qingdao and Zhuhai are _ cities. Don't only take photos of the sea. You should take photos of something special, too. Taste! Don't buy the food that you like most because you can buy it in your own city or town. You 'd better taste something special in that place. Food in some places is very delicious. And from food, you can find its food culture. So why not taste it? Maybe you have just one chance to taste it in your life. Write! When you visit a place, you should take a pen and a notebook, so you can write down what you see and what you think during the trip. Later, when you read it, you'll feel that you can find the pleasure during the trip. ,. During the trip we'd better taste _ in that place. A something tasty B something delicious C something favorite D something special Answer: D. something special Can we turn negative thoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed"? Is there power in positive thinking? Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply emphasize how unhappy they are. The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by referring to older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better.If you tell your friend that he may be an Einstein, _ In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write passages opposing funding for the disabled.When they were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written. In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem .The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes.Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell.When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable." Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the experiment.In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts. The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them.In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse.Meditation techniques, on the contrary, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a large, more realistic perspective .Call it the power of negative thinking. The Canadian researchers find that _ . A encouraging positive thinking may do more harm than good B there can be no simple cure for psychological problems C unhappy people cannot think positively D the power of positive thinking is limited Answer: A. encouraging positive thinking may do more harm than good Sandra usually gets up at six in the morning. She usually has breakfast at six thirty. She goes to school at around seven o'clock. School starts at seven thirty. Sandra learns many subjects at school: math, English, science, history, art, music and PE. Her favorite subject is music. It's relaxing, and the music teacher is fun. Sandra has four classes in the morning. At eleven forty she comes home for lunch. She has lunch with her grandmother. In the afternoon, she isn't very busy. She has only two classes. After school she does her homework and plays with other kids. In the evening, Sandra's parents come home from work at five o'clock. The family have dinner at six. After that they usually listen to music or watch TV. Sandra goes to bed at nine thirty. Her grandmother goes to bed at nine, and her parents go to bed at around ten o'clock. Sandra's favorite subject is _ . A math B music C history D art Answer: B. music
I do desire to help my Chinese students to find a better way of learning. I once divided my Chinese MBA students into six groups and set them an assignment: brainstorming on "two-hour business plans", for example: a restaurant chain. Originality would be valued most. As a result, five groups proposed projects for restaurant chains. The sixth showed a catering service. I couldn't help expressing my disappointment, though the time limit had been rather challenging. Those middle managers and financial analysts from state-owned enterprises and global companies were not untalented or without opinions, but they had been accustomed to an educational system that rarely rewarded critical thinking or Originality. Papers were often copied from the Internet and the Harvard Business Review. Students insisted that copying was a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating. In China, you can see almost all kinds of products you can imagine have been made and sold, but so few well developed marketing and management minds have been produced that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand! Partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established so as to solve the problem mentioned above. And there's also the "thousand talent scheme": this new government program is designed to improve technological modernization by inviting top foreign trained scientists to the mainland with large sums of money. But there are concerns about China's research environment, which is known for lacking in encouraging independent thinking and inventiveness, and even high salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this. If China wants to become a major world creator, it is no good just seeking partnerships with top Western universities or gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It's time to establish a rich learning environment for young minds. Yes, new way of learning is the key! Which statement is TRUE according to the passage? Answer: The new government program is aimed at encouraging imagination Who's in control of your life? Who's pulling your strings ? For the majority of us, it's other people--society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry , their passions a quotation." So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug--we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix , we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval. But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom--the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda , and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process. So how can we take back control? I think there's only one way--make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values--not values imposed from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic , effective, purposeful and happy life. What Oscar Wilde says implies that _ . Answer: most people's thoughts are controlled by others. People like to give gifts to others on _ days. Do you know how to choose gifts? You should choose gifts that your family or friends like. Different gifts are for different people. For example, boys often like to play with robots ,toy guns and balls. And girls may like something lovely, like flowers, dolls and beautiful clothes. Of course, you don't need to choose something expensive. Your feeling is much more important than money. There is a Chinese saying, " _ Which is the best title for the passage? Answer: How to choose a gift Andy the lion lived in Africa. He was a happy lion, and he liked to lay in the sun all day. One day when Andy got hungry, he thought about strawberries. He had never had a strawberry before. "Oh," he thought, "strawberries must be very tasty." He thought about how red they were, and how sweet they must taste. "I have to have a strawberry," said Andy. So Andy went to talk to his friends, to find out if they had any strawberries. He walked to a big field where he saw his friend Billy the Bison. Andy asked Billy if he had any strawberries. "No, I don't," said Billy, "All I have is a banana." Andy was sad, because he really wanted a strawberry, but he wouldn't stop there. Andy walked to the river to find his friend Charlie, the duck. It was a long way to walk, but Andy really wanted a strawberry. When he finally got there, he asked, "Do you have any strawberries?" "No," said Charlie, "I only have is an apple." This made Andy really sad, but he wouldn't stop there. Andy knew that he only knew one other friend who might have a strawberry, and that was David the Elephant. So he walked and walked and walked until he was finally at his friend David's house. Andy was tired, but wouldn't give up. Andy asked, "Do you have any strawberries?" David said, "Yes! Help yourself." Andy was excited, and finally tasted his first strawberry. Andy thought it was tasty. Who finally had a strawberry for Andy? Answer: David 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 passage, it is exciting for people to visit different places for the following reasons EXCEPT _ Answer: They will help to improve the tourism of the region
If rain is something other than clean, then water in that area will Writer: Amy Gillett Price:$24.95Fare :$3.99(Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.) INTRODUCTION .................................9 Lesson 1: Bob's Day at Work...........................11 Lesson 2: Bob Returns Home with Bad News.........17 Lesson 3: Ted's Day at School........................23 Lesson 4: Nicole's Day at School.....................27 Lesson 5: Ted Goes Out for the Evening...............33 REVIEW: Lessons 1-5 .................................37 : If Tom wants to buy this book from Amazon.com, he has to pay _ . The United States Capitol Dome in Washington, DC, is recognized around the world as a symbol of the U.S. Government. Since last November, the dome has been surrounded by metal poles and heavy cloth as part of a repair project. The last major repair work on the U.S. Capitol took place in 1960. Since then, the dome has become weathered and worn. The Architect of the Capitol group reports that the dome has more than 1,000 narrow breaks on its surface and other damage. The dome was completed around 1863. U. S. Senate Historian Don Ritchie says the dome's cast iron frame is at special risk of weathering. "The capitol dome, being cast iron, has been hit by lightning countless times. And so the current construction is to repair the leaks, to fill the cracks, to take off extra layers of paint." Some recent visitors to the Capitol were unhappy about its current appearance. They had hoped to get a picture of the usually shining dome. Joyce said, "It was impressive, and very fantastic, and all white, but when I come here today, it is under construction so my family cannot see it clearly, it is kind of a disappointment." Others were more understanding of the repairs. Rick Jones, another visitor, said, "It's a little inconvenient for us not to see the dome but you have to think about the future and the people will be coming to this place for centuries...and you know ,there just needs to be preventive maintenance . I am not upset with that at all." The project is expected to take more than two years to complete. The dome should be ready for a new president in January 2017. Which of the following is NOT included in the current construction? American culture is unique because it is formed and developed under certain conditions. The major factors contributing to the making of this new nation and the forming of a new culture are the hard environment, ethnic diversity (;) and plural religion, which is quite different from other nations in the world. What is more, these elements are still influencing the American culture. The early immigrants who were English Puritans settled down in northeast part of America from 1607 to 1892. Frontiers were pushed further west. The frontiersmen looked for a land of rich resources and a land of promise, opportunity and freedom. Actually they looked for a better life. So individualism , self-reliance, and equality of opportunity have perhaps been the values most closely associated with the frontier heritage of America. In history, people from different countries in the world rushed to America three times. They brought their own culture to America and later on, different cultures were mixed together. Thus the unique American culture was formed, a common cultural life with commonly shared values. The fundamental American belief in individual freedom and the fight of individuals to practice their own religion is at the center of religious experience in the United States. The great diversity of ethnic backgrounds has produced religious pluralism ; almost all of the religions of the world are now practiced in the United States. Nowadays, we can see the continual influence of the three elements in the current American society. American family is typically parents and their unmarried children. Middle-aged and elderly people generally do not live with their married children. The people in America have a very strong desire to start a new life in a new place. Quite a number of people change residences every year. The average American moves fourteen times in his lifetime. We can learn from this article that _ . When Carrie Conley's husband left in the early 1960s, she started raising six children on her own. She took a job at a hospital, delivering meals to patients as what was called "a tray girl". Jerry Johnson, the youngest child in the family, was 5 years old when his dad left. Speaking with his mother recently, Johnson heard his mother repeat the question she asked at that time. "Lord, what am I going to do with all these kids by myself?" The answers came in the form of lima beans, black-eyed peas and low prices on chicken necks. "Something to boil for every day of the week," Conley said. "I cannot remember one Christmas that I didn't feel like the luckiest kid in the world," Johnson said, "even though now I realize we had hardly anything in terms of money." "How did you hold all that together?" he asked his mother. Conley said she would save up her sick days at work, going in no matter how she felt. Then in December, the company would pay her for the unused sick days. More help came in castoffs , when wealthy families would clean out their toy chests at Christmastime and take a load of toys to the Salvation Army. Conley would pick through them, finding the best ones for her children. The result of those sacrifices led to a big, happy Christmas for Conley and her kids. "But I never did tell you it was a Santa Claus," Conley said, "I couldn't give any man credit for what I had done." Johnson thanked his mom for her sacrifices, and for the good example she set for him and his siblings. "I think it's helping us all be better parents," Johnson said. In 1975, Conley retired from Detroit's Outer Drive Hospital. Jerry was a sophomore in college at that time. He later graduated from Washington University Medical School and received a degree in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. From the passage we can know that _ .
Unlike modern animal scientists, dinosaur scientists cannot sit on a hillside and use telescopes to watch dinosaurs in order to know how they lived and whether they were good parents. Instead, they have to search hard for information from dinosaurs' fossils because dinosaurs died out millions of years ago. It's very difficult for the scientists to reach an agreement because different results can be got from the same fossils. Many fossils of the same kind of dinosaurs have been dug out from one place. They might have formed when an entire group of dinosaurs got stuck all at once, or they might have been the result of dinosaurs getting stuck one after another over a course of a few centuries. Thus we can say that dinosaurs might have in the first case lived in big groups and in the second lived alone. Though there are two different results, dinosaur scientists now generally agree that at least some kinds of dinosaurs lived in big groups. "That's pretty much settled at this point," says Paul Sereno. A kind of dinosaurs called Sauropods left behind tracks in the western United States that appear to run north and south, suggesting that they even moved long distances together. As to whether dinosaurs cared for their young, dinosaur scientists have turned to the closest living relatives of dinosaurs-birds and crocodiles-for possible models. Birds give a lot of care to their young, while crocodiles just help their young to the water. The discovered fossils of dinosaurs sitting on their eggs and staying with their young suggest the parents were taking care of their babies, but we still cannot say that all dinosaurs did the same. There is still a long way to go before the above questions could be answered. Dinosaur scientists, will have to find more proof to reach an agreement. Dinosaur scientists can probably know whether dinosaurs were good parents by _ . studying dinosaurs' living relatives Once there lived an old man in a mountain village. He was a famous hunter. He often went hunting alone in the mountains. He was not afraid of any wild animals, not even a tiger. One night, someone saw a tiger come into the village, and stole two sheep away. The next night the tiger came again. The villagers were frightened. They asked the old hunter to catch it so that they could have a safe life. When the old man heard about the tiger, he thought hard. He wondered why the tiger came at night twice but only stole the sheep. The next night he walked outside the village. Suddenly he saw the tiger coming. He quickly threw himself on the ground. To his surprise, the tiger did not come at him, but went away. He followed it quietly and found it was running on two of its feet just like a man. Then everything was clear. On the fourth day, when it got dark, the hunter took some animal skins with him and hid himself behind a big tree near the village. He was waiting for the "tiger". As soon as the "tiger" came near the tree, the old hunter jumped out, caught the "tiger" by the "leg" and said, "Don't be afraid. I do not mean to hurt you. You know who I am, don't you?" The "tiger" said "Yes" and took off the tiger's skin. "You are poor. But you mustn't steal anything from others. Here are some animal skins for you. You may sell them at the market. With the money, you can buy food and clothes for your family. Work harder and try to make a living. " With tears in his eyes, the poor man thanked the kind-hearted old hunter and walked home. Why did the old hunter take some animal skins with him when he was waiting for the "tiger" ? To help the poor man. Marriages improve after children grow up and move out,according to an academic study, which suggests an "empty nest" is not always a bad thing. Popular wisdom has it that parents' relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop, because they feel they have lost their purpose in life.However, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together. In total,123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying, when they were bringing up babies, once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61, when almost all had "empty nests". Although not all said they were happier in general, most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home. Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together, but because they were able to enjoy each other's company more. One of the participants in the study,which is published in the journal Psychological Science,said:"Once the kids grow up...there's some of that stress removed...that responsibility removed,so things are a little more relaxed." Psychologist Sara Gorchoff,who carried out the investigation,said: "The takehome message for couples with young children is 'hang in there'." Her coauthor Oliver John added:"Don't wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner." However, Dr Dorothy Rowe,from the British Psychological Society,said the effects of living in an "empty nest" will depend on the parents' relationship with their children."If you're just waiting for them to leave home so you can get on with your life,then of course you'll be pleased to see them go," she said, "But if you've built your life around your children you'll be terribly lonely.For some parents,their world falls apart when their children leave." Marriages improve after children fly the coop not because _ . many couples needn't work at all Helen's eyes are not very good, so she wears glasses. But she doesn't wear glasses when she is with her friend, Jim. When Jim comes to her house to take her out, she will take her glasses off, and when she gets back, she puts on the glasses. One day her mother asks her, "Helen, why don't you wear glasses when you are with Jim? He takes you to many lovely places in his car, but you can't see anything. " Helen says, "I look more lovely to Jim when I'm not wearing my glasses and he looks better to me, too. " Jim looks better to Helen _ . when she doesn't see things clearly. Which is an example of a human-made product? cake
Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions. My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren't written until the final threat. I've been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master's degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a "vo-tech" student . They're called "motorheads" by the rest of the student body. When a secretary in my office first called him "motorhead", I was shocked. "Hey, he's a good kid," I wanted to say. "And smart, really." I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don't often make school honor rolls . But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don't have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. "Hey, I can fix it," said Jody. I doubted it , but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose. My son ,with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junkyard, non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbours and co-workers trust their car repair to him. Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him. These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes. I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don't need clones in footsteps or anywhere else. My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine. The author let his son repair the car because he believed that _ . A His son had the ability to fix it. B it would save him much time. C it wouldn't cause him any more loss D other motorheads would come to help. Answer: C. it wouldn't cause him any more loss There are about 7,000,000 people in London. London is one of the big cities in the world. London is famous for many things. People from all over the world come to see the famous buildings. There is a famous clock called Big Ben, too. Like many big cities, the _ is very busy in London. When the work hours begin, over 1,000,000 people use the London underground , but there are still too many buses and cars on the streets. The air isn't clean. For me, the best things about London are the parks. There are five in the middle of the city. But my children's favorite is playing in Hamleys, the biggest toy shop in the world. ,,. What is the writer's children's favorite in London? A The toy shop. B The famous buildings. C The parks. D The Big Ben Answer: A. The toy shop. Does eating a good breakfast improve school study? A study of more than 1,000 pupils in the city of Lawrence suggests it does. Youngsters who took part in the breakfast program improved their scores in the tests much more than those who didn't. Among those who attended the program, fewer were found late for school than those who didn't. And much fewer were found absent from their classes. "Starting the day with a meal appears to be quite helpful," says Amy Sampson, a research professor, who carried out the experiment on the students for a year. Students who miss breakfast may be losing out on important nourishment in fruit, milk, bread and so on. If you are in a hurry in the morning, get you some pieces of bread with some fruit or yogurt. In that case, you won't have to go to the selling machines for some chips or candy bars. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true? A Over 1,000 pupils took part in the experiment. B The experiment lasted a year. C A good breakfast can improve school study. D A good breakfast means eating a lot . Answer: D. A good breakfast means eating a lot . Arts and culture is lived and breathed in every corner of Canada.Due to a racial and immigrant population,the variety and richness of art and sports is very evident. Since World War II,Canada has produced an impressive amount of writing.From novels to poetry,the selection is wide.Native writers are also becoming better known across Canada in recent years. Musicians are reaching a higher level of recognition in the world music scene.Everything from country to pop,classical to heavy rock can be found across Canada and across the globe performed by Canadian artists. The National Film Board,a film crew in Canada,is the primary producer of movies in Canada.However,many Hollywood studios are turning to Canada as a source for locations and as an alternative to the more expensive US.Many wellknown actors,directors,screen writers and movies come from Canada and often scoop awards for their work. French art was the first to appear in Canada along the St Lawrence in and around Quebec.Since then the volume of art and artists has increased.Canadian photography as well as painting by Canadians is not wellknown outside of Canada but recognition is increasing. Sport is a major part of today's society in Canada.Hockey is the most popular spectator sport with more participants taking part in curling.American style football and baseball are also very popular and all of these sports are played across Canada. Which group of Canadian artists is wellknown all over the world today? A Native writers and screen writers. B Photographers and actors. C Painters and writers. D Musicians,actors and directors. Answer: D. Musicians,actors and directors. When I was a kid, I was close to my dad, but as I grew older, my dad and I grew further apart. We always had totally different opinions. He thought that college was a waste of time, but for me it was important to finish college. He wanted me to work my way to the top as he had done in his field, but I wanted a different life. There was a time when we did not talk with each other. A few months ago, I heard that my 84-year-old dad was in poor health. When he called and asked whether I could move from Colorado back to Tennessee to help him, I knew he was seriously ill. I am his only child and so it was time to meet my father's requirement. Two weeks after moving back, we bought a boat and started fishing again. Fishing was one of the few things that we did while I was young and that we both enjoyed. It is strange but true that as we are fishing we are able to put things that have kept us apart for so many years behind us. We are able to talk about things that we have never talked about before. Fishing has been healing the old wounds that have kept us apart It is not important how many fish we catch. It is about enjoying the relationship that we have not had for years. I'm 62 and he is 84. When we are on the lake fishing, it is like two kids enjoying life. It is far better to find a way to put the unhappy past behind. I am so lucky to spend the happy time with my father in his last years. Now my heart is filled with love. A smile always graces my lips. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE? A The writer's car is always breaking down. B Father intended me to be a fisherman. C I was unwilling to come back. D Father used to think it was useless to attend college.. Answer: D. Father used to think it was useless to attend college..
Parents have to do much less for their children today than they used to do,and home has become much less of a workshop.Clothes can be bought ready made,washing can go to the laundry,food can be bought cooked,canned or preserved,bread is baked and delivered by the baker,milk arrives on the doorstep,meats can be had at the restaurant,the work's canteen,and the school dining-room. It is unusual now for father to pursue his trade or other employment at home,and his children rarely, if ever,see him at his place of work.Boys are therefore seldom trained to follow their father's occupation,and in many towns they have a fairly wide choice of employment and so do girls.The young wage-earner often earns good money,and soon acquires a feeling of economic independence.In textile areas it has long been customary for mothers to go out to work,but this practice has become so widespread that the working mother is now a not unusual factor in a child's home life,the number of married women in employment having more than doubled in the last twenty-five years.With mother earning and his older children drawing substantial wages father is seldom the dominant figure that he still was at the beginning of the century.When mother works,economic advantages accrue,but children lose something of great value if mother's employment prevents her from being home to greet them when they return from schoo1. The writer mentions home as workshop because _ . A fathers often pursue employment at home B parents had to make food and necessity themselves for their daily-life C many familie2s produce goods at home for sale D both fathers and mothers in most families are workers Answer: A Most children have ever heard their parents yell "sit up straight!" or "don't hang your head !" when they eat dinner. Nowadays, it is also heard around another activity -- video games. Ten-year-old Owaish admits it takes him three to four hours a day to play games on his tablet computer. In addition, he plays for about two hours on the smart phone every day. As a result, he started suffering a serious pain in the neck around June or July. What's worse the pain has spread to the hand and back gradually, which makes his mother Mehzabin become concerned. The doctors note the number of young children with the chronic pain in their necks, arms and shoulders is on the increase sharp in recent years . They are not aging, they haven't had an accident, the blood reports are fine, their X-rays are fine, and their MRIs are fine. Facts have proved that the pain is from the poor posture while they are playing video games on smart phones or other electronic devices. 19-year -old student Nida feels pain in the finger which holds the weight of her smart phone most of the day. Nida almost uses her smart phone 24/7, which means 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or all the time. Health experts predict there will be not only physical but mental problems resulting from the overuse of electronic devices. They encourage people to often take breaks and exercise from using computers, smart phones or other devices. Stand up! Stretch the legs, back, shoulders and arms in all the possible directions. That's the most effective way and maybe the key to solving the problem completely. After all, the medication doesn't help sometimes. According to health experts, _ . A best treatment for the chronic pain is exercising B people must take medicine to cure the chronic pain C people should stop using smart phones D the chronic pain has nothing to do with one's mental health Answer: A London has a new magazine. But it's not printed on paper. Everyone who has a television can receive it because it is on TV. In order to read this magazine you have to have a _ . Each page of it is numbered, so you only have to dial the number to choose which subject you want to read about. There's a wide choice--- everything is included from cooking to the latest sports news. If you want to read the news, the first thing you have to do is to turn to the index page which has an easy-to-remember page number, 100 for example. Then you start choosing what you want to read. The news is on pages 101 to 109, so you push out the numbers and the news appears written across your screen. Perhaps you want to go out in the afternoon, so you press 181, and a brightly colored weather map appears on the screen. But the weather is terrible so you decide to go shopping and dial 162 for a list of the week's best bargains. But should you drive or take the train ? To answer the question you only have to press 189 for the traffic report. It's very simple to use. But probably the best thing about the service is that it's being updated all the time. Journalists type new material directly onto the screen and whole pages of the magazine can be replaced in minutes. London has already had three services. One, transmitted by ITV, is called ORACLE, while the other two, on BBC, are called CEEFAX, because they let you see facts. Although CEEFAX and ORACLE have been operating for some time, they have not been well publicized. BBC engineers do not think that their idea will ever replace books and newspapers because they can be taken with you everywhere. But many people agree that this is a breakthrough as great as the invention of printing, which could change not just our reading habits but our whole way of life. According to the passage, the "decoder" is used to help people to _ . A read the information transmitted by TV signals B broadcast special TV programs at home and abroad C dial the number to choose which subject you want to read about D find the exact page in which you can get information you need Answer: A Food serves as a form of communication in two fundamental ways. Sharing bread or other foods is a common human tradition that can promote unity and trust. Food can also have a specific meaning, and play a significant role in a family or culture's celebrations or traditions. The foods we eat--and when and how we eat them--are often unique to a particular culture or may even differ between rural and urban areas within one country. Sharing bread, whether during a special occasion or at the family dinner table, is a common symbol of togetherness. Many cultures also celebrate birthdays and marriages with cakes that are cut and shared among the guests. Early forms of cake were simply a kind of bread, so this tradition hits its roots in the custom of sharing bread. Food also plays an important role in many New Year celebrations. In the southern United States, pieces of corn bread represent blocks of gold for prosperity in the New Year. In Greece, people share a special cake called vasilopita. A coin is put into the cake, which signifies success in the New Year for the person who receives it. Many cultures have ceremonies to celebrate the birth of a child, and food can play a significant role. In China, when a baby is one month old, families name and welcome their child in a celebration that includes giving red-colored eggs to guests. In many cultures, round foods such as grapes, bread, and moon cakes are eaten at welcome celebrations to represent family unity. Nutrition is necessary for life, so it is not surprising that food is such an important part of different cultures around the world. What does the coin in vasilopita signify for its receiver in the New Year? A Trust. B Success. C Health. D Togetherness. Answer: B God created the mule and told him,"You will be Mule,working constantly from dusk dawn, Carrying heavy loads on your back.You will eat grass, and you lack intelligence.You will live for 40 years."The mule answered,"To live like this for 40 years is too much.Please, give me no more than 20."And it was so. Then God created the dog and told him, "You will hold vigilance over the dwellings of Man.To him you will be his greatest companion.You will eat his table scraps and live for 25 years." the dog responded,"Lord,to live 25 years as a dog is too much.Please, no more than 10 years."And it was so. God then created the monkey and told him,"You are Monkey.You shall swing from tree to tree, acting like a fool. You will be funny,and you shall live for 20 years."The monkey responded,"Lord,to live 20 years as the clown of the world is too much.Please,Lord,give me no more than 10 years."And it was so. Finally,God created Man and told him,"You are Man,the only rational being that walks on the earth.You will use your intelligence to have mastery over the creatures of the world.You will dominate the earth and live for 20 years."The man responded,"Lord,to be Man for only 20 years is too little.Please,Lord,give me the 20 years the mule refused,the 15 years the dog refused,and the ten years the monkey rejected."And it was so.So God made Man live 20 years as a man, then marry and live 20 years like a mule,working and carrying heavy loads on his back.Then,Man is to have children and live 15 years as a dog,guarding his house and eating the leftovers after they empty the pantry .Then,in his old age,to live 10 years as a monkey,acting like a clown to amuse his grandchildren. We can infer that _ . A the monkey is lazier than the mule B the monkey is cleverer than the dog C the man is more intelligent than the monkey D the mule is more hard--working than the dog Answer: C
Tigers are the largest wild cats in the world. They usually go out to hunt for food when it is dark. When a tiger sees an animal, it moves quickly and then jumps on the animals to kill it. Sometimes it can take the tiger several days to finish eating its food. When the tiger is full, it will cover the dead animal with leaves. Later, when the tiger is hungry again, it comes back to eat some more. Tigers are different from others in the cat family: they like water and often jump into rivers to swim. Some tigers live in very cold places in North Korea, Russia and China. Other tigers live in warmer places--in India and parts of Southeast Asia. But now all tigers are in danger. Some people kill tigers to use their skins for clothes, and their bodies for medicine. There is also less and less land for tigers to live in. ,. Tigers are in danger now because _ . Answer: There is a poster below. Read it carefully. VISIT SWANSEA ZOO! Come and see the African elephants and the new tigers from India. The Arctic bears are waiting to meet you, and the monkeys from Zaire are waiting to throw things at you. The hyenas (a _ animal, like a wolf, with a howl that sounds like wild laughter) from Tanzania are waiting to laugh at you, and the giraffes from Zambia are waiting to look down on you. Tickets Adult: $1.20 Children: Over 12: 80 cent Under 12 : Free Opening Time: 9: 00a. m. ~4: 00p. m. Except Fridays: 10: 00a. m. ~3: 00p. m. KEEP THE ZOO CLEAN! DO NOT FEED,TOUCH OR GO NEAR THE ANIMALS! If you want to visit the Swansea Zoo, what is the best time to go there? Answer: Monkeys prefer heavy metal to classical music, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin whose findings are published this week in Biology Letters. Scientists played a selection of music to a group of South American cotton-top monkeys but the only sound that got a reaction were from the heavy metal band Metallica. They were seemingly disinterested in Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis and Bach, but after the beautiful sound of Master of Puppets by Metallica was played the monkeys calmed down. "Monkeys interpret rising and falling sounds differently than humans. Oddly, their only response to several samples of human music was a calming response to the heavy-metal band Metallica," said Professor Charles Snowdon, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rather than making them excited or aggressive, the heavy metal tracks had a comforting effect. Dr Snowdon, who teamed up with National Symphony Orchestra musican David Teie, also played the monkeys music composed specifically for them. Although they enjoyed Metallica, they were much more interested in these pieces. A melody based on the short calls of scared monkeys led to anxiety levels rapidly growing, researchers found, while one based on long calls the creatures make when they are happy had a calming effect. Frans B.M. de Waal, a professor of psychology at Emory University who studies animals, said the findings appear to say more about how monkeys respond to the sounds they make than they do about music or the evolution of music. Dr Snowdon no longer has a monkey colony to use in his research, but he said his co-author David Teie is exploring the concept of music for cats. "If we understand how we can affect their emotional states through using musical sound and aspects of our speech, maybe those of us living with companion animals can have a better relationship with them, too," Snowdon said. The aim of the research, according to Professor Snowdon, is to _ . Answer: Nora, a 17-year-old American, notices that when she has to do a paper for school and researches it on the Internet, she rarely reads a whole page and does deep reading. "I'll read the beginning of a paragraph and then I'll skip the rest," she says. While Nora's mother, Martha, loves sitting down with a good book and reading carefully, her daughter may be the wave of the future. "Deep reading", or slow reading, is a process in which people think carefully while they read. With most, that means slowing down --- even stopping and rereading a page or paragraph to really understand what the author is trying to say. Last summer, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said he was concerned about what he sees as a decline in slow reading. Instant messages and 140-character tweets appear to be reducing out ability to concentrate on a single idea or theme of a book, he told Foreign Policy Magazine. It's easy to forget the benefits of deep reading in an age when anything worth doing is done fast. Experts warn that without deep reading, it is impossible to be an educated person of the world, a knowledgeable voter or even an imaginative thinker. "If you want to have a deep relationship with a text and understand a complex idea, then slow reading is a preferred style. It is good for pleasure, too. It is not a rushed experience and you can lose yourself in a text," said Canadian writer John Miedema, the author of the book Slow Reading. US' Ohlone College English professor Cynthia Lee Katona says reading is a highly social activity that builds the mind and social connections. If you read, she says, you simply know more and have more to talk about with friends, partners and people you know. Deep reading can also take a reader on a trip around the world even if they are sitting in a living room armchair, Katona says. Also, deep reading helps people develop thinking, writing and conversation skills. "If you like beautiful things, authors put words together that are really beautiful and expressive," she says. "If you want to write well--- and there are lots of reasons to express yourself clearly --- you should read." The comparison between Nora and her mother's reading habits _ . Answer: The circulatory system brings oxygen to the body from where? Answer:
Edward Snowden--the fugitive former U.S.intelligence employee --appears to be stuck in Moscow, unable to leave without a valid American passport, according to interviews Sunday with two men who had sought to aid him: WikiLeaks' Julian Assange and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa. Snowden, 30, arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport last weekend, after previously taking refuge in Hong Kong. Moscow was only supposed to be a stopover.WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization, had said Snowden was headed on to Ecuador--whose president has been critical of the United States -- and that he would seek _ there. Now, however, both men said Snowden is unable to leave. "The United States, by canceling his passport, has left him for the moment trapped in Russia," said Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on ABC ' s " This Week With George Stephanopoulos". The United States canceled Snowden' s passport last weekend. Assange criticized the United States, saying: " To take a passport from a young man in a difficult situation like that is a disgusting action." President Correa spoke to the Associated Press in Puerto Viejo, Ecuador. For now, he told the AP, Snowden was "under the care of the Russian authorities. " "This is the decision of Russian authorities. He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don' t know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can' t," Correa said. He said that the case was now out of Ecuador' s hands. "If Snowden arrives at an Ecuadoran Embassy, we' 11 analyze his request for asylum." Snowden traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on his U.S.passport. Although the U.S.had already revoked it, Hong Kong authorities said they hadn't received the official request to cancel the passport before Snowden left. An official at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London had also issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. But Snowden apparently did not use it for his trip to Moscow. And it doesn't appear that the Ecuadoran government would make a similar gesture again. On Sunday, Correa told the AP that an Ecuadoran official at that embassy had committed "a serious error" by issuing the first letter without consulting officials back home. Correa said the consul would be punished, although he didn't specify how. Correa' s tone seemed to have shifted after a conversation with Vice President Biden on Friday.Where Correa had earlier been aggressive and determined, he now voiced respect for U.S.legal procedures. Edward Snowden is a person who once worked in a federal department _ . Answer: to collect information secretly for the US There are many new ways of shopping , and online shopping is one of them. You can buy almost everything on the Internet, and it's very easy. First, you choose something--clothes, tickets, a mobile phone, even a new computer--and pay for it. Then you receive it a few days later by post. Online shopping has several advantages. First, you can shop at any time. The shops are always open. Second, shopping usually takes a lot of time. But to shop on the Internet you only need a computer and a mouse! You can also compare the prices of the same product and spend a lot... or save money. But many people like going out and shopping with friends. They don't like shopping on the Internet because they can't see the product or try the clothes on. Also paying over the Internet isn't always safe. Online shopping is changing our way of life. One day no one will go to the shops any more, because you'll be able to buy anything on the Internet, and you will be able to receive it anywhere in the world at any time! According to the passage, you pay for online shopping _ you receive it. Answer: before A study found most people use their smart phones for an hour and 52 minutes a day. Most of this time is taken up with texting, emails and surfing the web, but only around 20 minutes is spent making three calls. The survey of 2,000 people found that social media apps, calculators , calendars and cameras were also seen as particularly important functions. Navigation apps such as Google Maps were popular too - with one in six people admitting they would feel unable to travel around an unfamiliar city without _ . The study also found checking Facebook and taking pictures of others are carried out more frequently than making calls. Also on the list were the calendar to remember appointments and birthdays, mobile banking and the news are apps that make day-to-day life a little easier. Tom Barr said: 'The functions on a mobile phone have developed and improved drastically over the past 10 years. With so many ways to keep in touch nowadays, people are using the functions that are convenient for them. As we get less and less time to ourselves, we need more convenience in our lives and less difficulty. While calling can be more personal, it doesn't always save your time.' Scientists at Rice University wanted to see if the latest mobile technology would be used by the students to improve their learning. But a year later, the researchers concluded that it's not enough to give students the right technology, but said they need guidance about how to use it. The writer mainly wants to tell us _ . Answer: the functions on a mobile phone have developed and improved drastically A man enters a store to buy milk. He walks out of the store with milk. That is all-- milk. At the same time, a woman enters the same grocery store also to buy milk. She buys it. But, she also buys chicken and lemons to make dinner that night. Then she remembers to buy food for her son to eat at school. She also gets a bottle of wine for drinks with friends and a birthday card for her husband's niece. Then she gets coffee for breakfast, ice cream for dessert and remembers stamps to mail the bills. And don't forget soap for the bathroom. And that is the difference between the female and male brains simply explained in a grocery store. Generally speaking,men do one thing at a time. Women do many. Doing many things at one time is often called "multi-tasking", a very popular word these days. Now scientific research supports this theory about male and female brains. A recent study has confirmed what we have known all along--men and women think differently. Scientist at the university of Pennsylvania studied brain images of 949 people aged from 8 to 22 years old. They found that male brains have more connections on one side of the brain, or hemisphere. In female brain, they found more activity and connections between the right and left sides of the brain. The left side of the brain is known as the side of "reason" The right hemisphere is known as the "creative" side. Regina Verma is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-wrote the report. She says when women are asked to do something difficult they might use different parts of the brain. Men, she adds, generally use just one side of the brain. As a result, men generally deal directly with a problem. There is a strong connection between the "understanding" and the "action" parts of their brains. Women, however, might include other parts of the brain, like the part connected with reason and the part connected with sensitivity when solving a problem. Women take a less direct path to find a solution. Dr. Venma warns that the study should not lead anyone to expect some behaviors from women and others from men. When asked to deal with a problem, _ . Answer: men tend to take action straight Society is the term to describe human beings gathered together by social networks tand power networks. It does not refer to everything everybody thinks or does, but, only refer to those things that everybody depends upon ,for example, public services, governments, and all kinds of communities. A society must keep even the poorest and weakest members willing to help even the richest and strongest, so it is very concerned with citizenship, rights, ethics ( )and time limits. These are basic ways to achieve fairness. If they break down badly, people will think the society is unfair and start taking things from each other, refusing to help each other, or seeing those who have more as cheats. When this happens, it is time for the society to break down or fail. Theft, violence and war are things that can make a society break down. A new society may be formed out of the collapse of an old failed one when people of different kinds reach an agreement about fairness and are willing to live together in harmony again. To adapt to the society, people should make sure that their behavior can be supported by the society, that is to say, there must be some social rules on which citizens base what they do. However, some people take risks that the society will support them when they do whatever they intend to. For instance, they may refuse to obey the law, and count on their fellow society members to free them in a court of appeal, which harms the society. Therefore we need a social contract which sets out rules for the society. One kind of the social contract is a constitution -which allows a jury or court to decide what is right or wrong according to the social rules. We know from the passage that _ Answer: Social fairness is very important for a society to survive "
LONDON, Feb. 18,2014 (Xinhua News agency) --Britain will send experts to East China's Shanghai to learn from the city's experience in maths teaching in an attempt to raise the teaching standards. British Education Minister Elizabeth Truss is to lead a delegation of experts on a fact-finding mission to Shanghai's schools next week to see how children there have become the best in the world at maths, to get a first-hand look at maths classes and teaching methods there, and particularly to investigate why the performance of almost all children in Shanghai is high, regardless of gender or income. Britain was last year placed 50th out of 148 countries and regions in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness ranking in quality of maths and science education. Two years ago, Shanghai topped the 2012 international PISA tables for maths, while England was ranked in 26th place. The top five were all in Southeast Asia, with 15-year-olds in Shanghai judged to be three years ahead of their peers in maths. The education department said: "England's performance in maths has lagged behind while other countries have improved and overtaken us, including Poland and Germany." Actually, it is the latest step in the government's drive to raise standards in maths, looking at what has made schools in the far East the most successful in the world in teaching the subject. "Shanghai is the top-performing part of the world for maths--their children are streets ahead. Shanghai and Singapore have teaching practices and a positive mind that make the difference. They have a belief that diligence makes up for lack of ability," Truss said. "Our new curriculum has borrowed from theirs because we know it works--early learning of key arithmetic, and a focus on times tables and long division , for instance." She was determined to change the situation as performance in maths is weakening the country's skills base and threatening the productivity and growth. The government is emphasizing maths because of the importance of good grades in the subject to young people competing for good jobs in a global labor market and to the economy more generally. An education and skills survey released by the Confederation of British Industry last year showed that 30 percent of employers reported dissatisfaction with the standard of school and college leavers' numeracy. More than two-thirds of employers said they wanted both maths and science promoted more in schools. What can we infer from the news? Answer: Being fit is a way of saying a person eats well, gets a lot of physical activities, and has a healthy weight. If you're fit, your body works well, feels good, and can do all the things you want to do, like running around with your friends. Some steps only parents can take - such as serving healthy meals or deciding to take the family on a nature hike. Here are three rules you can follow, if you're a kid who wants to be fit. 1. Eat _ Foods You may have a favorite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety. Taste new foods and old ones you haven't tried for a while. Some foods, such as green vegetables, are more pleasing than the older you get. Take at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day - two fruits and three vegetables. 2. Drink Water & Milk When you're really thirsty, you can drink cold water. It's also enough to drink 2 or 3 cups of milk a day. 3. Listen to Your Body When you're eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Sometimes, people eat too much because they don't notice when they need to stop eating. Eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable and can make you put on weight. Who can help kids stay healthy in daily life? Answer: It was Mary's birthday.Her uncle wrote a letter and told her he would like to send her some chickens.She was very happy because she liked eggs and chicken."I can keep the chickens for their eggs or eat them,"she thought. When the chickens arrived the next day, they were all in a box.Mary took the box off the truck and began to carry it into her garden,but the box of chickens was so heavy that she dropped it.The chickens all ran out.They ran here and there.Mary spent hours in trying to find them. A few hours later her uncle came.He asked."Did the chickens arrive safely?" "Yes,but I dropped the box.The chickens ran everywhere.It took me the whole morning to look for them,"Mary said. "Did you find them all?" asked her uncle."I hope so,"Mary answered,"But l only caught eleven of them" "That's very interesting.I only sent you six."her uncle laughed. When she got the letter, Mary was _ . Answer: About 12,000 years ago- long before the famous UFO crash make headlines in America--an alien spaceship crashed in China. And their descendants are still living in a faraway Chinese village today! That is the mind-bending claim made in the new book Out of Time and Place, a collection of reports from the files of Fate, a magazine edited by Terry O'Neil. The story first came to light in 1937 when an expedition led by Chi Pu-Tei came across a group of caves deep in the Bayan-Kara-Ula Mountains. In the caves were found strange-looking skeletons with big heads and small, slender bodies--closely matching typical descriptions of space aliens. The explorers also uncovered 716 mysterious stone discs with strange hieroglyphics on them. In Qinghai Province, where the mountains lie, ancient stories tell of small, skinny beings with oversize heads who came from the sky long long ago. And to this day, locals live in fear of attack from strange-looking creatures from above. And there is more. In 1947, British scientist Karyl Robin-Evans led an expedition into the mountains and discovered a group of dwarfs who called themselves the Droza. "They told him that their ancestors came from a planet in the Sirius system and crashed in this mountain area a long time ago," writes Hausdorf, "Many of them were killed, but survivors adapted to living on this rough planet far from home." For decades, Robin-Evans' claims were dismissed as nonsense. But in 1995, the Associated Press reported that in the region a village named Huilong had been discovered--populated by 120 dwarfs ranging from 3-foot-10 to 2-foot-1tall.Hausdorf asks, "Could these people be the last living descendants of the survivors of the legendary UGO crash--the Chinese Roswell?" What can be safely concluded from the passage? Answer: Hello,everyone.let me introduce myself.My name is Wang Mei.I'm 1.7 metres tall.My eyes are black.I have long red hair.My favourite colour is blue.My favourite clothes are dresses.I feel happy every day because I have many friends.They look different,but they are very kind to me.Jenny has short blond hair.Her eyes are brown.She is 1.65 meters tall.Li Ming is my friend ,too.He has short black hair.He is 1.7 metres tall,too.Danny has three hairs and they're green.His favourite colour is green .He is 1.6 metres tall. Jenny has _ eyes. Answer:
Farmers may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but they can at least try their best to reduce losses. For example, they can plant crops that are more likely to survive extreme weather. In north-central Vietnam, people with small farms do not plant rice between September and December. Seasonal rains might destroy the rice. So instead, they plant lotus seeds on raised beds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the lotus seeds _ . Farmers in the Philippines are showing new interest in crops like winged beans, string beans, arrowroot and cassava. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center says traditional crops like these can survive the fierce storms that often strike the islands. The United Nations says some African farmers grow bambara groundnuts during long dry periods. The seeds of this drought-resistant plant can be boiled for eating or for making flour. In some parts of the world, farmers grow vetiver grass. Researchers in Thailand wrote about vetiver in 2007 in the journal Science Asia. They noted that the grass can absorb and control the spread of harmful waste waters, like those from pig farms. Agricultural expert and author William Rivera says vetiver resists difficult conditions. It reduces damage from heavy rains. And vetiver planted on earthen dams may strengthen them against breaks and flooding. William Rivera also speaks approvingly of alfalfa. Its deep roots can find and take up groundwater. Those roots also help hold the soil against winds. And alfalfa can be a valuable food source for animals. The deep and extensive roots of sunflowers make them another good candidate for resisting extreme conditions. The tall plants have brightly color1ed heads that provide seeds and oil. North Dakota grows more hectares of sunflowers than any other American state. But North Dakota is better known as a top wheat producing state. Hans Kandel works at the North Dakota State University Extension Service in Fargo. He says farmers in some parts of North Dakota plant wheat that is ready to harvest in only about one hundred days. That way it can grow before the hot, dry months of July through September. Vetiver grass is planted because it can _ . A be a valuable food source for animals B survive the fierce storms in summer C provide seeds and oil D be useful in many aspects Answer: D 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. Where can you add credit to your Visitor Oyster card? A On the Internet. B At a Tube station ticket office. C On Eurostar trains. D At Gatwick Express ticket offices. Answer: B There is a discovery that students who rely on working at night to improve their grades might want to sleep on that strategy: a new survey in the US says those who never study all night have slightly higher grades than those who do. A survey of 120 students at St. Lawrence University found that students who have never pulled an all-nighter on average have higher grades than those who have. The survey found those who did not study through the night had a grade point average of 3.2 compared to 2.95 for those who have. The study, by assistant professor of psychology Pamela Thacher, is to be included in the January issue of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. "It's not a big difference, but it's pretty striking," Thacher said. "I am primarily a sleep researcher and I know nobody thinks clearly at 4 in the morning. You think you do, but you can't." Many college students, of course, have inadequate or irregular sleep, for reasons ranging from excessive caffeine to poor time management. "A lot of students were under the impression that all-nighters were a very useful tool for accomplishing work, that caffeine intake was very useful in meeting deadlines and stuff like that," said Chatani, who had a 3.4 grade point average last term. Dr Howard Weiss, a physician at St. Peter's Sleep Center in Albany, said the study results make sense. "Certainly that data is out there showing that short sleep duration ly interferes with concentration, interferes with performance on objective testing," he said. Some night owls do get good grades, of course, which may be explained by circadian rhythms , Weiss said. Some people have different 24-hour body clocks than others, and may do better depending on class and testing times, Weiss said. An all-nighter in the passage refers to _ . A a habit of accomplishing work by skipping a whole night' sleep B a drink to keep people awake all night C a person who falls into the habit of working at night D a way to improve one's grades by working deep into the night Answer: A About 45 percent of Americans don't get enough sleep, according to a recent survey. However, the benefits of getting enough sleep far outweigh the thrill of watching TV for one more hour or surfing the web. Getting a better night's sleep will help you lose or keep your weight more effectively. Try these simple steps to improve your quality of sleep. Take time to relax So many of us go-go-go until it's time for bed, but it's important to take time to slow down and relax before sleeping. Do relaxing things, such as listening to soothing music or deep breathing. Avoid stimulating activities such as writing e-mails, talking on the phone and watching TV. Some guidelines : no e-mail after 8 p.m. and no TV or phone calls after 9 p.m.. Darker is better Your body regulates your sleep cycle in response to the presence and absence of light, so dim the lights as evening approaches. Try getting ready for bed by candlelight. When you're ready to sleep, make sure your room is as dark as possible. Put your thoughts to bed We all need time to process our day, but bed is not the place to do it if you want to sleep well. Take 10 to 15 minutes to record your thoughts in a journal. This effective technique will capture what's in your mind so you don't lie awake. Tell yourself you're putting your thoughts to bed so that you can go to bed. No sugar or alcohol before bed These may wake you up. If you need a snack before bed, make it protein. Try to get more sleep Get an extra hour or two of sleep every night for a week and see how you feel. You'll notice the difference! We should take time to slow down because it can _ . A inform us of the importance of sleeping B signal to our body it's time to sleep C tell us to stop watching TV for making phone calls D tell us not to do stimulating activities Answer: B Americans often plan social gatherings on short notice, so don't be surprised if you get invited to someone's home or to see a movie or baseball game without much warning. If the time is convenient for you, surely accept their invitation. But if you're busy, don't be afraid to _ the invitation, perhaps suggesting a time that would be better. Your host won't be shamed. Invitations are usually sent in person or over the telephone. The main exception is for some formal occasions, in which case a written invitation will be mailed. You would normally receive a written invitation to a wedding . For a casual dinner invitation, don't arrive more than 5 minutes early, because your host may still be preparing for your visit. Arriving more than 10 minutes late is considered rude if very few people were invited. If many people were invited, it's OK to arrive a little late, even as much as half an hour late. For example, it's OK to arrive late for a party, for a potluck dinner or for a social gathering inviting a large group of people. If you're invited for dinner, it's proper to bring the host a bottle of wine, a gift basket of fruit, a box of candy , or a bouquet of flowers. Don't bring roses, as men often give roses to women on a date . If you wish to thank the host for his or her hospitality , it's right to call or send a brief written thank-you note the next day. The passage is to tell us _ . A how to accept Americans' invitations. B something about American social visits. C something about American business visits. D how to make a living in America. Answer: B
Northern Europeans spend a lot of time in their cold and cloudy winters planning their summer holidays. They are proud of their healthy color when they return home after the holiday. But they also know that a certain amount of sunshine is good for their bodies and general health. In ancient Greece people knew about the healing powers of the sun, but this knowledge was lost. At the end of the nineteenth century a Danish doctor, Niels Finsen, began to study the effect of sunlight on certain diseases, especially diseases of the skin. He was interested not only in natural sunlight but also in artificially produced rays. Sunlight began to play a more important part in curing sick people. A Swiss doctor, Auguste Rollier, made full use of the sun in his hospital at Lysine. Lysine is a small village high up in the Alps. The position is important: the rays of the sun with the greatest healing power are the infra-red and ultra-violet rays; but ultra-violet rays are too easily lost in fog and the polluted air near industrial towns. Dr. Roller found that sunlight, fresh air and good food cure a great many diseases. He was particularly successful in curing certain forms of tuberculosis with his "sun-cure". There were a large number of children in Dr. Roller's hospital. He decided to start a school where sick children could be cured and at the same time continue to learn. It was not long before his school was full. In winter, wearing only shorts, socks and boots, the children put on their skis after breakfast and left the hospital. They carried small desks and chairs as well as their school books. Their teacher led them over the snow until they reached a slope which faced the sun and was free from cold winds. There they set out their desks and chairs, and school began. Although they wore hardly any clothes, Roller's pupils were very seldom cold. That was because their bodies were full of energy which they got from the sun. But the doctor knew that sunshine can also be dangerous. If, for example, tuberculosis is attacking the lungs, unwise sunbathing may do great harm. Today there is not just one school in the sun. There are several in Switzerland, and since Switzerland is not the only country which has the right conditions, there are similar schools in other places. According to the passage, when did sunlight begin to play a more important part in the treatment of disease? Answer: Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was bom at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously . But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of prefix = st1 /Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806,Bathwas her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set inBath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bathin her life and work. The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy. You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen'sBath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped. It takes you about one and a half hours _ . Answer: In Africa, Christmas day begins with groups of carolers walking to and fro through the village, along the roadway, by the houses of the churchmen, singing the lovely carols known the world around. Often people may be awakened by a group of carolers beginning to gather at the church. They return home to make final preparation as to the clothes one must wear and also as to his offering for the Christmas service. The most important part of their Christmas service is the love offering. This is the gift in honor of Jesus. At about 8 or 9 o'clock, everyone makes their way to the celebration of the birthday of Jesus. Everyone who attends the service goes forward to lay down their gift upon the raised platform near the Communion table. Not one person will attend the service without giving a gift. Christmas in South Africa is a summer holiday. There is no snow, but it has many flowers, many beautiful varieties of wild flowers being in their full pride. In Ghana, most churches announce the coming of Christmas by decorating the church and homes beginning with the first week in Advent, four weeks before Christmas. This season happens to be the cocoa harvest time, so it is a time of wealth. Everyone returns home from wherever they might be, such as farms or mines. In Africa, it is the traditional dinner of turkey, roast beef, mince pies, suckling pig, yellow rice with raisins, vegetables, and plum pudding, or crackers. In the afternoon, families go out into the country and usually there are games or bathing in the warm sunshine, and then home in the cool of the evening. Boxing Day is also a public holiday of real relaxation usually spent in the open air, which falls on December 26. If you visit South Africa on Christmas day, you'll find _ . Answer: Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good ,most would admit that their spoken English is poor .Whenever I speak to a Chinese student they always say, "My spoken English is poor." However ,their spoken English does not have to remain "poor" ! I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English. First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary . Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary. However ,you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if your attitude is positive .Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know. Second ,they are afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous .Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly .However ,in speaking your aim is fluency. You want to get your message across ,to talk to someone in English ,as quickly and as well as you can ,even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense ,but it doesn't matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances(,)for any mistakes he hears. The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening .You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking. Fourth ,most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners .Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor .If you have this proactive outlook ,then you will see English opportunities wherever you go. If you do not use your English beyond the classroom you will forget what English you know .Remember: USE IT OR LOSE IT! You can learn how to speak English better by speaking English more. The text is most probably taken from a _ . Answer: It is thought that crying is hardly an activity encouraged by society. Tear, whether they are of sorrow, anger, or joy, typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. The shedder of tears is likely to apologize, even when a great tragedy was the cause. The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional tears. But judging from recent studies of crying behavior, _ to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive . Humans are the only animals clearly known to shed emotional tears. Since evolution has given rise to few purposeless physiological responses, it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that enhance (increase) survival. Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to ask for assistance form others (as a crying baby might from its mother), the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help. Vocal cries would have been quite enough, more likely than tears to gain attention. So, it appears, there must be something special about tears themselves. Indeed, the new studies suggest that emotional tears may play a direct role in alleviating stress, University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have recently isolated two important chemicals from emotional tears. Both chemicals are found only in tears that are shed in response to emotion. Tears shed because of exposure to cut onion would contain no such substance. Other researchers are investigating the usefulness of tears as a means of diagnosing human ills and monitoring drugs. At Tulane University's Teat Analysis Laboratory Dr. Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse, to study the causes of "dry eye" syndrome and the effects of eye surgery, and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants. From the passage we can infer that _ . Answer:
Question: A man goes into a restaurant one day. His clothes are very nice. He sits down at a table near the window. A waiter comes to him and says, "Can I help you, sir?" The man says, "Yes, please. Can I see the menu ?" "Sure," answers the waiter. The man wants a good meal and he wants a lot of nice dishes. After a moment, the waiter brings them to him. The man has his meal happily. At this time, a boy comes in and sits down besides the man. He asks the waiter to give him ice cream. The man says, "I will be back in 5 minutes." Then he goes out. After the boy eats his ice cream, he stands up and goes to the door. "Excuse me, your father doesn't give the money for the meal and your ice cream," the waiter stops him and says. "Father? You are wrong. He is not my father. I do not know him. I meet him in the street. He says he'll give me ice cream when I come here at twelve o'clock." The man has _ in the restaurant. A. breakfast B. supper C. lunch D. dinner Answer: C. lunch Question: You may think, salt is just a simple cooking element we shake on our food for a little extra taste. But salt is much more than that. Without salt our muscles would not move. Our nervous systems would not operate. Our hearts would not beat. But do not think rubbing salt in a wound will help. Doing that would be painful and not heal the wound. To rub salt in a wound is an idiom that means to purposefully make a bad situation worse. Early humans got the salt they needed to stay alive from the animals they killed. But advances in agriculture led to a diet low in salt. So, humans needed to find other sources. Those who lived near the ocean or other natural sources for salt were lucky. Those who did not had to trade for salt. In fact, people used salt as a method of payment in many parts of the ancient world. The word "salary" comes from the word "salt". Salt also played an important part in population movement and world exploration. Explorers understood that if they could keep food fresh,they could travel longer distances. So they used salt to preserve food and explored the world. Salt was so important that, according to food historians. it was traded pound-for-pound for gold. Today, people still use the expressions "to be worth one's salt" or "worth one's weight in salt". The expressions describe a person of value. A person might also be called salt of the earth. That description means he or she is dependable and trustworthy. However, when you say "I think we should take what he said with a grain of salt" you mean you accept it but maintain a degree of doubt about its truth. If you describe a person as a great help, you mean _ . A. he is called salt of the earth B. he is often taken as a grain of salt C. he often uses salt to preserve meat D. he is worth his weight in salt Answer: D. he is worth his weight in salt Question: I think it's hard for a teenager to live in the modern society. For example, how to go to school is a problem I often worry about. Every afternoon, my father picks me up at the gate of the school. Many parents pick up their children, too. Most of them drive private cars. Of all the cars, Anna's father's car is the best. Anna seems to have a very rich father. She always has beautiful dresses, shoes and bags. Besides these, she is also very beautiful. But she has no friends in school. When other students are playing, she never joins them. I don't like her because she is too perfect. It makes me uncomfortable to make friends with her. She seems to have everything. One afternoon, when I went to my father's car, I saw a small thing fall out of Anna's bag. So I called her quickly. However, she didn't look back and kept going. I felt very angry with her. During the dinner, my father asked me, "Why do you look unhappy?" "Today I saw something fall out of Anna's bag, so called her. But she didn't answer me. She is _ . " said angrily. "Oh, I know that girl. She has no friends and is unhappy because she was born deaf. I'm sure that she didn't hear you. " What my father said suddenly woke me up. Because she is deaf, she does not talk or play with anyone at school. She seems to have everything, but in fact she doesn't. Not everyone is perfect, even the perfect man has his weakness. The writer goes home _ every afternoon. A. by bus B. on foot C. by car D. by subway Answer: C. by car Question: It took 100 years, but finally, scientists proved Albert Einstein's theory that gravitational waves exist. The waves were predicted as part of Einstein's general theory of relativity nearly 100 years ago. It was the theory of the physics behind the workings of our world and the universe. The idea was that the waves are like ripples in space, caused by some of the violent and energetic processes in the universe. For example, two black holes crashing into each other. Now a group of scientists, including ones from Caltech, MIT and the LIGO Scientific, Collaboration finally found the gravitational waves. David Reitze is the executive director of the LIGO observatory at Caltech. "We have detected gravitational waves. We did it!" What are these gravitational waves? Well, imagine throwing a rock into a pond. When the rock hits the flat surface of the water, it creates ripples or waves. Space-time is like the surface of the water. So that means gravitational waves are like the ripples moving out from where the rock hits the water. It might be hard to understand, but those gravitational waves expand and contract space and time as they move through space. And when they get to the Earth, the waves pass through, and they contract and expand the planet as the waves go by. It was Einstein who said these gravitational waves should be observable. But these are not huge waves. They are very, very small, which is why it took so long to find them. You cannot see them with your eyes. They are smaller than the size of an atom. How did the scientists find them? They used a giant scientific tool called LIGO, which stands for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. The billion-dollar LIGO project is two L-shaped observatories. One is in Louisiana and the other in Washington state. For years, scientists have been watching two black holes in another faraway galaxy. The two were spinning around each other, moving closer and closer together. When they finally crashed into each other, it was with such power and force that gravitational waves rang throughout the universe, like a giant bell. Those waves, traveling at the speed of light, finally reached the Earth, some l. 3 billion years later. They are the same waves that the scientists announced this past week. So, what does this discovery mean? Our understanding of the heavens changed dramatically. With the discovery of gravitational waves, we'll _ . A. create a new world B. make full use of gravitational waves C. view the universe in a new way D. avoid being hit by black holes Answer: C. view the universe in a new way Question: In this age of media technology where the Internet is playing a more and more important role in our lives,how do you usually get information? For many students and office workers,their first Interact stop is the search engine Google:For any information they want,they's imply type in a keyword, click "enter",and within seconds relevant web pages appear out. So are people still reading books? The answer is surely yes.It's simply not realistic to use acomputer to read a novel But reading habits in China,and other countries,are changing.Mr Li,a businessman,says his purpose in reading is to get practical knowledge."I like stories of successful people and books that give advice on how people become successful.Besides,I read books with basic knowledge,"said Li. "I like funny books,especially Japanese funny books,"said Xing Mingyan,a junior student,who reads purely for entertainment. "I like to read cook books,"said Miss Zhang,an office worker,who usually reads magazines. "And I usually buy fashion magazines." It seems that the purposes of reading have changed a lot.People don't tend to read for entertainment as much.They usually read to learn.Books that teach people how to be more successful,wealthier or more beautiful stay on the best--seller charts for a long time.People are also interested in buying funny books and magazines.Just remember how the funny novels of Jimmy Liao took China and other countries by storm. But educators say reading is important to teach people and also to develop their imaginations and language skills.No matter what you like to read,why not turn off the computer and television and read a good book,make yourself comfortable and open the door to another world? From the passage we can infer that the writer thinks_. A. books are more important than the Internet B. books are as important as the Internet C. it's pleasant and useful to read good books D. books can give us more information than the Internet Answer: C. it's pleasant and useful to read good books
Applying to Stellinga College Why Stellinga? Thank you for your interest in Stellinga International College. As an international student, we are sure you will find our college an exciting place to study, with like-minded and ambitious people. Preparing and submitting your application We have tried to make the application process as easy as possible for you, but there are a number of procedures you must follow. All our courses are taught in English, so first of all you will probably need to submit evidence of your English language ability. We require an IELTS score of 6.5. You will also have to send us your secondary school diploma, so that we can evaluated it. We will also require a personal statement. This is a text of up to 1,000 words in which you introduce yourself, explain your interest in our college, and why you want to study your chosen course. If you are from outside the European Union(EU), it is important that you have an entrance visa before you come to study in the Netherlands, but we will apply for this for you. We now only accept online applications, so please ensure that you have all your documents ready to upload before you begin. Any documents that are not in English originally will also need to be translated and the translation also uploaded. You will need a passport photograph; a copy of your passport; copies of all your certificates and diplomas; your proof of language ability; and your personal statement in English. What happens next? Your application will then be considered. If your initial application is successful, you will be invited for an interview. This will be conducted in English via skype, over the phone or on site. You will talk to two or three members of staff for up to 30 minutes. We aim to inform you of our decision in writing, within 4 weeks. There are several possible outcomes: you may not have been successful; you may be offered a place on the waiting list. You will need to reply to any offers within two weeks, otherwise your place may be offered to somebody else. Good luck with your application. Where can we find the passage? A. In an educational magazine. B. On a notice board. C. In an English teaching book. D. On a university's website. Answer: D You know that balloons must be kept away from sharp objects. They also needed to be kept away from flames. A fire can weaken the rubber and cause it to break. However, in this experiment you will find out how you can hold a balloon directly in a flame without breaking the balloon. Materials needed: * two round balloons not inflated * several matches * water Inflate one of the balloons and tie it. Place 1/4 cup of water in the other balloon, and then inflate it and tie it. Light a match and hold it under the first balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens? The balloon breaks, perhaps even before the flame touches it. Light another match. Hold it directly under the water in the second balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens to this balloon? It doesn't break. Why does the balloon with no water break in the flame? The flame heats the rubber of both balloons. The rubber of the balloon without water becomes so hot that it becomes too weak to _ the pressure of the air inside the balloon. However, when the balloon with water in it is placed in the flame, the water takes in most of the heat from the flame. Then, the rubber of the balloon doesn't become very hot, it doesn't weaken, and the balloon doesn't break. Water is a particularly good absorber of heat. It takes a lot of heat to change the temperature of water. On the other hand, when water cools, it gives off a great deal of heat. That's why areas near oceans or other large bodies of water don't get as cold in winter as areas at the same latitude further inland. From the passage we can know the following aspects of the experiment except _ . A. method B. material C. result D. time Answer: D "Super Dan", as top-seeded Lin Dan of China is better known in the badminton world, had his Olympic dream come true after claiming the men's singles gold by beating Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on August 17 in the Beijing Olympics. His father, Lin Jianbin, said "Super Dan"has waited for four years to get this championship and he felt very proud of his son, as well as his prospective daughter-in-law Xie Xingfang, who is also a badminton player and won silver in women's singles at the Beijing Games. An SMS: The beginning of a love story Lin was born in Shanghang County, Longyan in Fujian Province. He first met Xie Xingfang when he was 14-years-old. 16-year-old Xie was attending a national youth team badminton training camp in Jinjiang, Fujian and Lin was also there. Tall and beautiful, Xie became the Snow White in the heart of Lin Dan, and he tried to please her and get chances to chat with her after the training sessions. He did not go beyond that. Before the Spring Festival in 2004, Lin finally mustered(,) the courage and sent Xie Xingfang a text message - I LOVE YOU. In fact, Xie Xingfang had already realized Lin Dan was fond of her. And covertly , she began to pay attention to Lin's movement and performance on the court. "He is very interesting, got a lot of ideas, and is a lovely boy." Two Kisses In May 2004 at the Thomas Cup in Jakarta, their love relationship was first known to the public. Xie sat with her teammates and watched the men's team playing. When Lin Dan won the match, he rushed to the bench and kissed Xie, a move that Xie did not expect Lin to do in public. A photographer captured this moment. At the All England Open in 2007, Lin kissed her again in public, making Xie feel like the happiest woman in the world. After Lin won his third title at the Open, he did not stay to watch Xie play. Xie defeated her opponent and won the championship. When she was called to accept the trophy(,) , Lin suddenly emerged at the central venue, holding red roses and gave her the flowers, and a passionate kiss. Nine Roses Earlier, on February 14, 2006, Lin and Xie were with the national badminton teams at a training camp in Jinjiang. The teams had their rules - not going out of the training camp. Xie thought she would spend the Valentine's Day without flowers. But Lin still managed to give her a surprise - giving her a Dior wallet as a Valentine's gift and nine roses. With the teams' rule in place, Lin asked his local friend to buy the roses and gave her a pleasant Valentines surprise. A 200-square-meter apartment Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang's love has been through four years of tests, and Xie's father also said that they should consider marriage after the Olympics. In fact, Lin Dan has already prepared for this. He has bought a 200-square-meter apartment in downtown Beijing, with 4 rooms and 2 living rooms. Paying about 20,000 yuan per square meter for the apartment, it is reported the apartment is now valued at 8 million yuan. "After the Olympics, we really want to live our own lives, go on vacation, go to school, get married, I am really looking forward to it," Xie said happily. With two kitchens, one Chinese and one Western style, Xie said she wanted to be the person preparing soup at home and enjoy family life. When are the plans of this couple after the Olympic except _ ? A. to start business B. to go to school C. to go on vacation D. to get married Answer: A JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author, has signed a deal with Little, Brown and Company, to publish her first ever novel for adults, which is set to become one of the most anticipated book in years. The deal means that Rowling's long-standing relationship with Bloomsbury, the London-based publisher that launched the Harry Potter books, has come to an end, at least in terms of new works by the author. Rowling is keeping her fans guessing about the characters and plot of her new book. She only said that the new novel will be nothing like the Harry Potter series, which was sold over 30 million copies in the UK alone. She thought that with the move from children's to adult fiction, a switch to a new publisher seemed like a natural and reasonable step. She said, "Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, this book will be very different from the Harry Potter series. The freedom to explore a new field is a gift that Harry's success has brought me." Ian Rankin, the Edinburgh-based author whose highly-successful detective novels are also set in the city, suggested Rowling's book will be a crime novel. "Wouldn't it be funny if JK Rowling's first novel for adults turned out to be a crime story set in Edinburgh?" he said. Industry insiders guessed that the deal is worth more than PS5 million and the new book is expected to come out later this year. A spokesman said, "JK Rowling's audience is vast and her position is unique. Harry Potter books were a global success and her fans are very loyal. Children that were eight, nine, or ten when the books first came out in the 1990s are now in their 20s. Plenty of adults, loved the books regardless of whether they had children, so the potential market for her is huge." The author used Ian Rankin's words in order to _ . A. tell us that some famous novelists offer to give Rowling some advice B. show that many readers are curious about Rowling's new book C. tell us that many readers prefer to read detective or crime novels D. prove that a crime story set in Edinburgh is sure to be successful Answer: B WASHINGTON-Laura Straub is a very worried woman . Her job is to find families for French teenagers who expect to live with American families in the summer . It's not easy , even desperate . "We have many children left to place :40 out of 75," said Straub , who works for a Paris-based foreign - exchange programme called LEC. When exchange programmes started 50 years ago , family life was more accommodating . For one thing , more mothers stayed home . But now , increasing numbers of women work outside the home . Exchange-student programmes have struggled in recent years to sign up host families for the 30,000 teenagers who annually come from abroad to spend academic year in the prefix = st1 /United States, as well as the thousands more who participate in summer programmes . School systems in many parts of the US, unhappy about accepting non-taxpaying students , have also strictly limited the number of exchange students they accept . At the same time , the idea of hosting foreign students is becoming less _ . In searching for host families , who usually receive no pay , exchange programmes are increasingly broadening their appeals to include everyone from young couples to retirees . "We are open to many different types of families," said Vickie Weiner , eastern regional director for ASSE, a 25- year -old programme that sends about 30,000 teen-agers on academic -year exchange programmes worldwide . For elderly people , exchange students "keep us young -they really do ," said Jean Foster , who is hosting 16-year -old Nina Porst from Denmark. Which of the following is the best title of this passage ? A. US Struggle to Find Host Families B. Idea of Hosting Students Is Different C. Foreign-exchange Program Is Going On D. Exchange Students Keep Old People Young Answer: A
Ted lives in a big city .Today he's very happy .it's the first day of school .Ted to go back to school. He wants to see his friends. He is going to meet his new teachers. Ted gets up early in the morning .He washes and puts on his new clothes .Look !He is having breakfast with his parents .Now ,he is ready for school. He goes to school by bike .He meets his friends outside the school gate .They are talking about something .Then the bell rings . Everyone runs to his or her classroom. Where does Ted live! A He lives in a small house. B He lives in a big city . C He lives on a farm. D He lives in a school. Answer: B. He lives in a big city . The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a "river of grass" because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes--and skin! Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water's surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators . While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water. For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained . They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem. People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an _ from Australia. Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides to kill them. Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats? A They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators. B The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators. C Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface. D They can watch alligators without hurting them. Answer: C. Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface. Beethoven was born in a small city near the Rhine in Germany. His father always drank and his mother was a maid . They lived a poor life. Beethoven was a talented child in music. People at that time thought he was as clever as Mozart. His father wanted to make money from his talent, so he told him to practice and play all the time. If he didn't do that, his father would be angry with him and beat him. Beethoven was very short and ugly. He couldn't hear well from the age of 22 and later he heard nothing, but all these unhappy things didn't make him dislike music. He began to write sonatas at 12, and later he became a great musician. His life was so short that he didn't leave many works. But people think he was one of the best musicians in the world. ,A, B, C, D,. Beethoven's father told him to practice and play all the time because his father wanted to make _ . A him be a great musician B him not drink too much like him C himself rich D him beat Mozart in music Answer: C. himself rich LONDON (Reuters) Ecotourism is causing a lot of damage to wildlife and may be endangering the survival of the very animals people are flocking to see, according to researchers. Biologists and conservationists are worried because polar bears, dolphins, penguins and other creatures are getting stressed and losing weight and some are dying. "Evidence is growing that many animals do not react well to tourists in their backyard," New Scientist magazine said. The immediate effects "researchers have noticed are changes in behavior, heart rates. or stress hormone levels but they fear it could get much worse and over the long term " could endanger the survival of the very wildlife they want to see. " Although money produced through ecotourism, which has been growing at about 10-30 percent a year, has major benefits for poor countries and people living in rural areas, the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN) and some governments fear not all projects are audited and based on environmentally friendly policies,according to the magazine. Transmission of disease to wildlife,or small changes to wildlife health through disturbance of daily life or increased stress levels, while not obvious to the casual observer, may translate to lower survival and breeding," said Philip Seddon , of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Scientists have noticed that bottleneck dolphins along the northeastern coast of New Zealand become nervously excited when tourist boats arrive. Similar changes in behavior have been observed in polar bears and yellow-eyed penguins in areas visited by colorists are producing smaller babies. Conservationists are now calling for more research into the effect of ecotourism on animals and say the industry must be developed carefully. They also want studies done before new ecotourism projects are started. _ said Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland in New Zealand Which is not discovered to have changed in animals disturbed by tourists? A behavior B birth rate C hormone levels D heart rates Answer: B. birth rate Death Valley, one of America's great national parks, is a place of strange and silent beauty. As beautiful as this place is, its name provides evidence of very real danger. Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. There are mountains that reach more than 3,000 meters into the sky. There is a place called Badwater that is the lowest area of land in the Western Hemisphere. If there were water there, it would be 86 meters below the level of the ocean. Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley. The air temperature during the summer has been as high as 57degC. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as 74degC. The extreme heat of Death Valley has killed people in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor this extreme climate. Death Valley does not forgive those who are not careful. Death Valley is a good example of the violence of nature. It contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide. In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black. Other areas of rock look as if some huge creature violently broke and _ the Earth to create unusual, sometimes frightening shapes. In other parts of Death Valley there are lines in the rock that show clearly that this area was deep under an ocean for many thousands of years. Much of the Valley is flat and extremely dry. In fact, scientists believe it is the driest place in the United States. Death Valley, part of the Great Mojave Desert, is a huge place. It extends more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of California, and across the border with Nevada. Why were some people killed by Death Valley? A Because they didn't respect Death Valley and thus they were punished. B Because it is extremely hot in summer and dangerously cold in winter. C Because they were not careful enough to take with them what they needed. D Because several volcanoes erupted and caused huge explosions. Answer: B. Because it is extremely hot in summer and dangerously cold in winter.
In early autumn I applied for admission to college. I wanted to go nowhere but to Cornell University, but my mother fought strongly against it. When she saw me studying a photograph of my father on the sports ground of Cornell, she tore it up. "You can't say it's not a great university, just because Papa went there." "That's not it at all. And it is a top university." She was still holding the pieces in her hand. "But we can't afford to send you to college." "I wouldn't dream of asking you for money. Do you want me to get a job to help support you and Papa? Things aren't that bad, are they?" "No," she said. "I don't expect you to help support us." Father borrowed money form his rich cousins to start a small jewellery shop, His chief customers were his old college friends. To get new customers, my mother had to help. She picked up a long-forgotten membership in the local league of women, so that she could get to know more people. Whether those people would turn into customers was another question. I knew that my Parents had to wait for quite a long time before their small investment could show returns. What's more, they had not wanted enough to be rich and successful ;Otherwise they could not possibly have managed their lives so badly. I was torn between the desire to help them and change their lives, and the determination not to repeat their mistakes. I had a strong belief in my power to go what I wanted. After months of hard study I won a full college scholarship .My father could hardly contain his pride in me, and my mother eventually gave in before my success. According to the text, what was the author determined to do in that autumn? Answer: Have you ever noticed that you're treated differently in stores based on your sex,age,race and even the way you dress? I certainly have,so 1 wanted to see exactly what happens inside these stores that are meant to be run with"customer service". A young man in ripped jeans and a hoodie went into a car shop and asked for a price on the top of the line vehicle.The salesman looked him up and down and said."I don't think you can afford a car like this.Have a look at the _ cars over here." As you can imagine,the young man was angry and left the showroom.Two days later, the young man walked back in,and he walked up to the salesman who had served him two days before and asked,"Hi,do you remember me? You said l should look at the inferior cars the other day."The salesman nodded and said yes. The young man then asked him to just quickly come outside and have a look at something. They walked out and the young man pointed to the brand--new top of the line Ford and said."I paid with cash ,do you like my new car?"And then the salesman quickly left. Maybe many businesses don't understand a fact--if they don't treat their customers equally,they will lose business.Not every one of the above people will ever go back to those companies and they won't recommend them to anyone.You will not only lose repeat business but also lose up to 10 customers,for every person you treat badly will not recommend your companies and will tell people not to go to these places. What fact does the writer mainly tell us about treatment in the passage? Answer: Robert is thirteen years old now , but he still remembers one day ten years ago, when he tried to get a bottle of milk from the fridge. The bottle fell to the floor and the milk spilled all over the floor. When his mother came into the kitchen , she didn't shout at him"Oh, Robert, it is _ . Well ,would you like to play in the milk for a few minutes ?" she said. Robert was very surprised ,but he began to play in the milk quickly, after a few minutes, his mother said ," You know ,Robert, when you make a mess like this ,you have to clean it yourself ." He then cleaned the milk with his mother. His mother then said, "It's hard to take a big bottle with your two small hands. Here is another bottle .Let's see how to find a better way to take it." The little boy learned that if he took the bottle near the top with both two hands , he could do it easily . Robert also learned that it wasn't always bad to make mistakes .It was just the mistake that helped him to learn new things. What a good lesson!! Later, Robert's mother told him _ . Answer: Hello, My name is Dale. I'm 13 years old. This is a photo of my family. Look! This is my father. His name is Tim Brown. He is 45 years old. This is my mother Alice. She is 43 years old. I have a sister and her name is Gina. She is 11 years old. I look like my mother and Gina looks like my father. All my family are in the same school. My parents are teachers. They are friendly to the students, so the students love them very much. My sister and I are students and we love our school. Dale and Gina are _ . Answer: Warner Brothers has announced more Harry Potter movies are on the way. The studio is working with Potter author J. K. Rowling to create a new franchise of movies based on "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them", which is a fictitious textbook in the Harry Potter world. The story will also follow the adventures of the book's author, Newt Scamander. Rowling, for the first time, will pen the screenplay. It comes as no surprise that Warner Brothers is trying to keep the Harry Potter franchise going. The films alone have earned $7.7 billion at the box office. The franchise has probably almost doubled those earnings on home video and TV sales. Then there's the many Harry Potter products that fans still _ . But at some point, Harry Potter could seem old hat and that's not something Warner Brothers wants to see happen. So executives had three choices: restart the franchise, come up with continuations or spin off part of the Potter world into a new movie. Without books to support the new stories, the upcoming movies could be a tougher sell for Warner Brothers. Harry and friends won't appear at all in the new movies which will be set in New York 70 years before Harry Potter heads to Hogwarts. The new stories will also net video games, products and enhance Rowling's website. Here's Rowling on the upcoming franchise: It all started when Warner Brothers came to me with the suggestion of turning "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of "Fantastic Beasts", realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood. As I considered Warners' proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn't get rid of. That is how I could express my own idea for a film to Warner Brothers. Although it will be set in the worldwide community of wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, it is neither a previous work nor a continuation to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry gets underway. It is implied in the passage that creating and selling the new movies may be _ . Answer:
There are all kinds of food in the world. Some people like the Chinese food. Firstly, the Chinese food has a lot of fruit and green vegetables. It has little sugar and fat. Secondly, the Chinese food is very delicious and has many dishes. So Chinese people can keep fit and have white teeth. However, some people enjoy the western food. Now many people, especially the workers in companies , are too busy to have lunch slowly so the western food meets their need and they can eat quickly. And the food is not too bad, too. It is a great pleasure to try eating a different style of food. In my opinion, I like the Chinese food more than the western food. First of all I'm a Chinese and used to Chinese food, it can keep us healthy. On the other hand, the western food is high in fat, sugar and salt. If you eat too much these food and don't take enough exercise, you'll get fat easily. The western food is too expensive and "not good value for money". Chinese people can keep fit and have white teeth _ . Answer: because Chinese food has many dishes Many everyday American expressions are based on colors. Red is a hot colour. Americans may say they are red hot about something unfair. They are red hot when they are very angry about something. The small hottasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hot for their colour and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz. Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It comes from the fact that many babies are born with nice pink skin that shows that they are in good health. The colour black is often used in expressions. People describe a day on which everything goes wrong as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations. The colour green is natural for trees and grass. But it is,an unnatural colour for humans. A person who has a sick feeling in his stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because green is the colour of the back side of the paper money. People use "in the pink" to express they are in good health because _ . Answer: healthy babies are born with nice pink skin Holidays Holiday News Vacancies now and in the school holidays at a country hotel in Devon. This comfortable, friendly home-from-home lies near the beautiful quiet countryside, but just a drive away from the sea. The food is simple but good. Children and pets are welcome. Reduced prices for low season. The Snowdonia Centre The Snowdonia Centre for young mountain climbers has a mountain climbing lesson. The beginners' costs are PS57 for a week, including food and rooms. Equipment is included except walking shoes, which can be hired at a low cost. You must be in good health and prepared to go through a period of body exercises. This could be the beginning of a lifetime of mountain climbing adventure. The World Sea Trip of a Lifetime Our World Sea Trip of 2008 will be unlike any holiday you have ever been on before. Instead of one hotel after another, with all its packing and unpacking, waiting and traveling, you just go to bed in one country and wake up in another. On board the ship, you will be well taken care of. Every meal will be first-class and every cabin like your home. During the trip, you can rest on deck , enjoy yourself in the games rooms and in the evening dance to our musical team and watch our wonderful play. You will visit all the places most people only dream about -- from Acapulco and Hawaii to Tokyo and Hong Kong. For a few thousand pounds, all you've ever hoped for can be yours. What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets? Answer: Choose the holiday in Devon. Sports City Bar Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, in Sports City Bar everyone can a " Buy one, get one free . At our Sunday Family Buffet , We have games for children. The buffet is from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. And costs 98 yuan per adult . Children aged 12 to 16 eat for half price, and children under 12(two at most) eat for free. Happy hours at Sports City Bar are from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Buy one drink, get one free. Tel: 65158855--3349 Location :The third floor. If you are eleven and your father takes you to have the Sunday Family Buffet, how much will your father pay ? Answer: 98 yuan. There are many places to go on safari in Africa, but riding a horse through the flooded waters of Botswana's Okavango Delta must rank as one of the world's most exciting wildlife journeys. Several safari camps operate as the base for this adventure, providing unique rides twice a day to explore deep into the delta. The camps have excellent horses, professional guides and lots of support workers. _ have a reputation for providing a great riding experience. The morning ride, when the guides take you to beautiful, shallow lakes full of water lilies, tends to be more active. It is unlike any other riding experience. With rainbows forming in the splashing water around you and the sound of huge drops of water bouncing off your body and face. It is truly exciting. You are very likely to come across large wild animals, too. On horseback it is possible to get quite close to elephants, giraffes and many other animals. The sense of excitement and tension levels rise suddenly though, as does your heart rate, as you move closer to them. In the evening, rides are usually at a more relaxed and unhurried pace. With golden light streaming across the grassy delta and the animals coming out to eat and drink. _ though they are, rides at this time of day are still very impressive. As the sun's rays pass through the dust kicked up by the horses, the romance of Africa comes to life. Back at the camp you can kick off your boots and enjoy excellent food and wine. Looking back on your day, you will find it hard to deny that a horseback Safari is as close as you will ever come to answering the call of the wild. The author introduced the riding experience in the OKavango Delta mainly by _ . Answer: Following time order
According to scientists' research, the month in which babies are born could affect them in some ways. Babies born in spring get sick easily. Children born under Aquarius may be less clever than those born in other seasons. They may also have shorter lives than those born in autumn Scientists believe many of the differences can be explained by the mother's exposure to sunlight in pregnancy . Sunlight helps lead to the production of Vitamin D in the body. The lack of this in the first months of life may have a bad effect on mental and physical health. Vitamin D, called the "sunshine vitamin", is known to help regulate thousands of genes during development, according to a study of more than two million people. So Vitamin D has a good effect on health This study showed that people born from April to June had slightly shorter lives than those born in October, November or December. Similar studies in the USA showed that people born in autumn lived about 160 days longer than those born in spring. Professor Russell Foster, an Oxford University neuroscientist on seasonal biology, said the conclusions were surprising and interesting. He added, "These are small effects but they are very, very clear. I am not giving voice to star signs and they are just for fun. But it is true that we are affected by our season of birth." A baby's season of birth doesn't affect its _ . Every year thousands of young people in England finish school and then take a year off before they start work or go to university. Some young people go to other countries and work as volunteers . Volunteers give their time to help people. For example, they work in schools or hospitals, or they do something helpful for the environment. Pauline Jones, 18, lives in Cardiff, Wales. Next year she is going to university to study Chinese, but now she's living in Belize. Pauline says, "I'm working with other people here to save the coral reefs in the sea near Belize. The reefs here are beautiful, but if the sea water is very polluted, the coral will die. I'm helping to do research on the coral and the fish that live around the reefs. All over the world, coral reefs are dying. We need to do something about the problem before it's too late." "I'm staying with a family here and I help do some housework. I don't get any money, but that's OK. I love my work here, and I'm learning a lot about the people of Belize--and myself! After I finish my work, I want to stay here for another three months. I want to travel around Belize and Central America." Pauline Jones wants to _ after she finishes her work as a volunteer. What can cause animals to leave an environment? Surtsey was born in 1963. Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's feet. He noticed a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano was breaking out. Red-hotrocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November. Scientists flew there to watch it. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967. It was 175 metres high and 2 kilometres long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world. When did scientists fly to Surtsey? You may not have heard the words "freshman fifteen" before, but they are very important for students who are entering university. A freshman is a first-year college student. "Fifteen" refers to fifteen pounds--the fifteen pounds added to a student's weight in his or her first year. There are a number of reasons why first-year university students gain (n) weight; but it's encouraging to know that freshmen don't have to add these harmful fifteen pounds. Mistakes choosing food University kitchens serve many kinds of food. Some students choose unhealthy food,because now their parents are not nearby to help them choose. Some students visit the kitchen many times while studying. Late at night, some students get harmful fast food such as fish and chips with Coke to drink. Students also have less time for walking, running, and doing sports because of their schoolwork. Eating right If you,re careful, you don,t have to add fifteen pounds. Here are some ideas: l Think more about what you eat. l Eat plenty of vegetables and healthy meats. l Don't eat desserts full of sugar; have fruit after dinner. l Try not to eat so much unhealthy food while you study. l It,s all right to have a little fast food sometimes--but not often. l Write down the foods you eat. l Walk, run, do sports--move and you will feel better! Remember that the "freshman fifteen" can happen to anyone. Talk to your friends about it. Together, try to eat healthy food and not to eat unhealthy food. Walking, running, and playing sports is always more fun with friends. Help each other and you can have a healthy and happy freshman year. The "freshman fifteen" is _ .
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 ." What does Mr. Chen do ? A A teacher . B A cook . C An office worker . D A farmer . Answer: C. An office worker . To succeed in business or life we must continually take actions. Putting yourself on the line day after day can be extremely boring, especially when things do not work out as desired. Each time a disappointing event happens, I like to get reminded of these famous failures: Gates has literally changed the work culture of the world in the 20the and the 21st centuries, by simplifying the way the computer is being used. He was the world's richest man for more than one decade. However, in the 1970's before starting out, he was a Harvard University dropout. The most ironic part is that he started a software company by purchasing the software technology from someone for only $50 back then. Lincoln received no more than five years of formal education throughout his lifetime. When he grew up, he joined politics and had 12 major failures before he was elected the 16th President of the United States of America. Newton was the greatest English mathematician of his generation. His work on optics and gravitation made him one of the greatest scientists the world has even known. Many thought that Newton was born a genius, but he wasn't! When he was young, he did very poorly in grade school, so poor that his teachers became helpless in improving his grades. Beethoven is widely regarded as one of history's great composers. His reputation has inspired composers, musicians and audiences who were to come after him. Before the start of his career, Beethoven's music teacher once said of him "as a composer, he is hopeless". And during his career, he lost his hearing yet he managed to produce great music. A deaf man composing music, ironic, isn't it! Which of the following is true according to the above passage? A Bill Gates never thought he would earn so much. B Both Gates and Lincoln did well at school. C Both Newton and Gates didn't do well at school. D Beethoven's music teacher thought poorly of him. Answer: D. Beethoven's music teacher thought poorly of him. Anthony was sad. He was, as he put it, "not very bright" and couldn't win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his "clever" older brother. At age 8, Anthony was sent away to a boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded with his parents year after year not to send him. "The thought was ,it would be good for me," he recalled. It was not. Anthony did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied for five years. "My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me," he said. "I wasn't even smart enough to rebel. The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was the desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer." Now, at 55, Anthony is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies,and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, has come out. The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16. Anthony says he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way." I have a feeling that it has something to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action," he said. The style has also made Anthony a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story. Now, Anthony couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success:"...you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely." What advice does Anthony give to readers? A Confidence is the key to success. B Hardship teaches valuable lessons. C Internet is the best teacher. D Failure is the mother of success. Answer: A. Confidence is the key to success. wildfire occurs when A being environmental is considered hot B someone smokes near a forest C condensed tree areas are ablaze D tree patterns are similar to fire Answer: C. condensed tree areas are ablaze What force causes a compass in Illinois to point towards Wisconsin? A natural magnetism B wind direction C weight D gravity Answer: A. natural magnetism
Sri Lankan police made an appeal for the public to donate their pet dogs to help the fight against terrorism and crime on the war - torn island. "Make your pet a hero-to detect terrorism and make our motherland Sri Lanka a country with a new facelift," the police department said in a public notice carried by the state-run Daily News. It said that donated dogs should be between six months and two years old and must have an impressive pedigree . German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Rottweilers, Dalmatians, Cocker Spaniels and Doberman Pinschers are preferred. Chief Inspector Lal Senavirathne said 25 people donated their pets, but only 18 dogs could be enlisted as the others did not meet the recruitment. He said the dogs would be trained to identify explosives, search for buried mines, sniff down drugs, deal with criminals and even perform tricks for the public. The dogs will retire after serving a maximum period of eight years and will be returned to their original owners. "We already have 170 dogs deployed in 30 units, including the operational area or conflict areas in the island's north and east", Senavirathne told AFP by telephone from his headquarters in the central town of Kandy. He said it was the first time they were making a public appeal because of pressure on the police kennels , which usually import about half of their annual requirement. "This time, we hope to enlist about 50 dogs. They will be given six months extensive training and another six months on the job," he said. "Thereafter they will be officially called Police Dogs." Sri Lanka's dog population is about 2.3 million while it has 19.5 million people, and about 20,000 to 30,000 people are annually treated for homeless dog bites. What did the police mainly want people to do? Offer their dogs to be Police Dogs. My family lives in London. In the morning, my father goes to work and we go to school. My father takes us to school every day. My mother stays at home. She does the housework. She always has lunch at home, and visits her friends in the afternoon. In the afternoon, we go home from school by bus. My father gets home from work late. At night my two brothers and I always do our homework. We go to bed at about ten. My father and my mother usually read newspapers. We can watch TV at the weekend. _ lunch at home. My mother has "The Heart of the Matter," the newly-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), deserves praise for attaching the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good. In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by federal states and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others to maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education. In response, the AAAS formed the Committee on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the Committee's 51 members are top-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as distinguished figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism. The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because the government supports full literacy of citizens, the report stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the introduction of a series of curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning into practice on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs. Unfortunately, despite 2 years in the making, "The Heart of the Matter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The committee ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive". Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas--such as free markets and self-reliance--as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legal intellectual investigation. The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well hold back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to clarify. Influential figures in the Congress required that the AAAS report on how to _ . keep a leading position in liberal education As Seller, an encyclopedia salesman, approached the grounds on which Hermit's house was situated, he saw a sign that said, "No salesmen. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Proceed at your own risk." Although Seller had not been invited to enter, he ignored the sign and drove up the driveway toward the house. As he rounded a curve, a powerful explosive charge buried in the driveway exploded, and Seller was injured. Can Seller recover damages from Hermit for his injuries? Yes, if Hermit was responsible for the explosive charge under the driveway. Every year there is a Spring Festival in China. Usually it is in January or February. It is the most important festival in China. So before it comes, everyone has to prepare things. They buy pork, beef, chicken, fruits and many other things. And they often make a special kind of food--"dumplings". It means "come together". On the day before the festival, parents buy new clothes for their children. Children also buy presents for their parents. On the Spring Festival Eve , all the family members come back to their hometown. This is a happy moment. Some sing and dance, some play cards and others get the dinner ready. When they enjoy the meal, they give each other the best wishes for the coming year. They all have a good time. ,,. (5 ,2,10) The family _ when they are having dinner together on the Spring Festival Eve. give each other the best wishes
The USA, New York--Whales and dolphins are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report published by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS). The report "Whales in hot water?" draws attention to the growing impacts of climate change on whales.They range from changes in sea temperature and the freshening of the seawater because of the melting of ice and increased rainfalls, to a sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats and the _ of krill populations in key areas.Krill, a tiny shrimp that is dependent on sea ice, is the main source of food for many of the great whales. The speeding up of climate change adds greatly to trouble from other human activities, such as chemical and noise pollution, which kills some 1000 whales every day. "Whales and dolphins have an ability to adapt to their changing environment," said Mark Simmonds, International Director of Science at WDCS."But the climate is now changing at such a fast pace that it is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins will be able to adjust." Climate change impacts are currently greatest in the Arctic and the Antarctic.According to the report, cetaceans that rely on polar, icy waters for their home and food resources are likely to be greatly affected by the reduction of sea ice cover. WDCS and WWF are urging governments to cut global production of C02 by at least 50 percent by the middle of this century.The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible to stop global warming if the world's emissions start to decline before 2015. Which of the following is the most important for whales and dolphins? Answer: Sea ice cover The US will seek to expand its own oil production in an attempt to reduce dependence on imported oil and bring down fuel prices , President Obama says . New contracts for exploration will be signed in non-protected areas of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. In his weekly speech , the President insisted the US could reduce its need for imported oil and improve safety. Using his speech to tell Americans that he understood their concerns about rising prices, President Obama focused particularly on the price of fuel, which has risen in recent months. US consumers have historically enjoyed cheap fuel , but have seen prices rise in recent months even though US oil production in 2010 reached its highest level for seven years. Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was serious, Mr Obama said the Gulf remained a key part of the country's future energy supply. The President's proposals come after Republicans introduced a series of proposals that would expand and speed up oil and gas production. The White House has criticized the Republican proposals for safety reasons , but Mr Obama was clear in his speech that he felt safety and environmental standards could be maintained even though production might rise. " I believe that we should continue to expand oil production in America --even as we increase safety and environmental standards ,"he said. "As a nation, we should be investing in the clean, renewable sources of energy that are the solution to high gas prices." Mr Obama has previously called for a step-change in energy policy, saying the US must move towards getting 80%of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035. Which of the following can serve as the title? Answer: Obama: US will seek oil in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico. The growth of which of the following usually occurs first in primary succession on a bare rock? Answer: Lichens A person wanting to do something good for the environment will Answer: put plastic in special containers A few weeks ago, a friend of Smile Groups gifted me PS100 to do good deeds with. Since then I have used the money in the U.K. and the U.S and have helped some strangers, generally raising a lot of smiles. They have warmed my heart, but none so much as the gift I was able to give just an hour ago. I was in a shop looking at the second-hand books. It just so happened that the bookshelves were next to the toy section. After a few minutes I became aware of a group of women standing behind me. They were poorly dressed and spoke in what sounded like an eastern European language. As the little girl, about three years old, came over to the toy section, immediately her attention was caught by a toy. She spoke to her mother and in halting English her mother asked the shop assistant how much it cost. PS3 was the answer. The mum looked down at her child, perhaps calculating what she still had to buy and how much money she would have left. Then she simply shook her head. The child didn't react badly as some children might. Being told no was obviously not a new experience for her. But she couldn't keep the disappointment from her face. I had the total of four pounds in my pocket, two PS2 coins. A moment later, I tapped the mother on the shoulder, and pointed to the coins which I had left and said, "Buy her a dolly, too." I didn't hang about to see the end result. _ . I made my way out of the shop and into the sunshine. The money my friend gave me was an investment in the happiness of the world. Was there any better way, I wondered, to get so much happiness with so little money than to buy a toy for a little girl? We can learn from the passage that the little girl . Answer: lived in a poor family
People say that George Washington, the first president of the United States, never told a lie. But it seems that the president was not without faults. A New York library recently found that Washington borrowed two books from the library in 1789. He didn't return them. If he were still alive, he would have to pay the library $300,000 for being 220 years late. On October 5, 1789, when the first president borrowed the books form the New York Society Library, he didn't sign his name in the borrower's book. He just wrote "president" to show who had taken them out. The two books should have been brought back a month later but were never returned. Workers at the library realized the books were missing. The New York Society Library doesn't expect anyone to pay the fine. But it hopes that someone will return the books. The library hopes _ . Answer: someone will find the book and return it Frederic Mishkin, who's been a professor at Columbia Business School for almost 30 years, is good at solving problems and expressing ideas. Whether he's standing in front of a lecture hall or engaged in a casual conversation, his hands are always waving and pointing. When he was in graduate school, one of his professors was so annoyed by this constant gesturing that he made the young economist sit on his hands whenever he visited the professor's office. It turns out, however, that Mishkin's professor had it exactly wrong. Gesture doesn't prevent but promotes clear thought and speech. Research demonstrates that the movements we make with our hands when we talk form a kind of second language, adding information that's absent from our words. It's learning's secret code: Gesture reveals what we know. It reveals what we don't know. What's more, the agreement (or lack of agreement) between what our voices say and how our hands move offers a clue to our readiness to learn. Many of the studies establishing the importance of gesture to learning have been conducted by Susan Goldin-Meadow, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. "We change our minds by moving our hands," writes Goldin-Meadow in a review of this work. Particularly significant are what she calls "mismatches" between oral expression and physical gestures. A student might say that a heavier ball falls faster than a light one, for example, but make a gesture indicating that they fall at the same rate, which is correct. Such differences indicate that we're moving from one level of understanding to another. The thoughts expressed by hand motions are often our newest and most advanced ideas about the problem we're working on; we can't yet absorb these concepts into language, but we can capture them in movement. Goldin-Meadow's more recent work strews not only that gesture shows our readiness to learn, but that it actually helps to bring learning about. It does so in two ways. First, it elicits helpful behavior from others around us. Goldin-Meadow has found that adults respond to children's speech-gesture mismatches by adjusting their way of instruction. Parents and teachers apparently receive the signal that children are ready to learn, and they act on it by offering a greater variety of problem-solving techniques. The act of gesturing itself also seems to quicken learning, bringing new knowledge into consciousness and aiding the understanding of new concepts. A 2007 study by Susan Wagner Cook, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Iowa, reported that third-graders who were asked to gesture while learning algebra were nearly three times more likely to remember what they'd learned than classmates who did not gesture. How is gesturing important in acquiring knowledge? Answer: It draws tasteful responses from others and increases learning speed. Hellen Keller was born in 1880 in the USA. When she was about 19 months old, she got very ill. After many weeks, the doctor told her parents, "Your daughter is better, but now she can't see and she can't hear." Her mother and her father were very sad. After a few years , things got worse. There was no way for Helen to speak to other people. She heard nothing. She didn't understand anything. Then one day a teacher came. Her name was Anne Sullivan. She lived with Helen and her family. The teacher helped Helen learn words. Helen was a very bright child and soon she learned to spell her first word. When she was older, she went to college . Helen was a very old woman when she died. The world remembers her today as a brave and wonderful person. She was blind and deaf, but she found a way to see and hear. It helped many people in the world. Where was Helen Keller from? Answer: America People who breathe infected air from a TB patient can become infected with the tuberculosis bacteria . However, most people with active tuberculosis do not expel (,)very many TB bacteria. So, the spread of the disease usually does not happen unless a person spends a large amount of time with a TB patient. Those most at risk are family members, friends and people who live or work closely with a patient. Tuberculosis can attack any part of the body. However, the lungs are the most common targets of the bacteria. People with the disease show several signs. They may expel air from the lungs suddenly with an explosive noise. This kind of cough continues for a long period of time. People with a more severe case of tuberculosis also may cough up blood. People with the disease often have high body temperatures. They suffer what are called night sweats, during which their bodies release large amounts of water through the skin. TB victims also are tired all the time. They are not interested in eating. So their bodies lose weight. One thing that is especially dangerous about TB is that people with moderate signs of the disease may not know they have had it. They may spread the disease to others without even knowing it. So, it is very important for people to get tested for tuberculosis. The spread of the TB is through _ . Answer: air My grandson, Daniel, and I have always been very close. When Daniel's father remarried after a divorce, Daniel, who was eleven, and his little sister, Kristie, came to live with us. My husband and I were more than happy to have kids in the house again. Things were going along just fine until the diabetes I've lived with most of my adult life started affecting my eyes, and then more seriously, my kidneys . Then everything seemed to fall apart. Three times a week, I had to go to the hospital to be hooked up to a dialysis machine . I was living, but I couldn't really call it a life -- it was an existence. I had no energy. I dragged myself through daily chores and slept as much as I could. My sense of humor seemed to disappear. Daniel, seventeen by then, was really affected by the change in me. He tried as hard as he could to make me laugh, to bring back the grandma who loved to clown around with him. Even in my sorry state, Daniel could still bring a smile to my face. But things were not improving. After a year on dialysis, my condition was deteriorating and the doctors felt that if I didn't receive a kidney transplant within six months, I would surely die. No one told Daniel this, but he knew -- he said all he had to do was look after me. To top it off, as my condition worsened, there was a chance that I would become too weak to have the transplant surgery at all, and then there would be nothing they could do for me. So we started the tense and desperate wait for a kidney. I was adamant that I didn't want a kidney from anyone I knew. I would wait until an appropriate kidney became available, or I would literally die waiting. But Daniel had other plans. The time that he took me to my dialysis appointments, he did a little secret research on his own. Then he announced his intention to me. "Grandma, I'm giving you one of my kidneys. I'm young and I'm healthy ..." He paused. He could see I wasn't at all happy with his offer. He continued, almost in whisper, "And most of all, I couldn't stand it if you weren't around." His face wore an expression of appeal mixed with determination. He can be as stubborn as a mule once he decides on something -- but I've been told many times that I can out-stubborn any mule! We argued. I couldn't let him do it. We both knew that if he gave up his kidney, he would also give up his life's dream; to play football. It was all he ever talked about. And he was good, too. Daniel was co-captain and star defensive tackle of his high school team; he expected to apply for a football scholarship and was looking forward to playing college football. He just loved the sport. "How can I let you throw away the thing that means the most to you?" I pleaded with him. "Grandma," he said softly, "compared to your life, football means nothing to me." After that, I couldn't argue anymore. So we agreed to see if he was a good donor match, and then we'd discuss it further. When the tests came back, they showed Daniel was a perfect match. That was it. I knew I wasn't going to win that argument, so we scheduled the transplant. Both surgeries went smoothly. As soon as I came out of the anesthesia , I could tell things were different. I felt great! The nurses in the intensive care unit had to keep telling me to lie back and be quiet -- I wasn't supposed to be that lively! I was afraid to go to sleep, for fear I would break the spell and wake up the way I had been before. But the good feeling didn't go away, and I spent the evening joking and laughing with anyone who would listen. It was so wonderful to feel alive again. The next day they moved me out of ICU and onto the floor where Daniel was recuperating three doors away. His grandfather helped him walk down to see me as soon as I was moved into my room. When we saw each other, we did not know what to say. Holding hands, we just sat there and looked at each other for a long time, overwhelmed by the deep feeling of love that connected us. Finally, he spoke, "Was it worthwhile, grandma?" I laughed a little ruefully . "It was for me! But was it for you?" I asked him. He nodded and smiled at me. "I've got my grandma back." And I have my life back. It still amazes me. Every morning, when I wake up, I thank God --and Daniel -- for this miracle. A miracle born of the purest love. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? Answer: Daniel agreed with grandma that the transplant was worthwhile for her, not for him.
Question: What do you usually do after class? When class is over, most students in my class go out of the classroom. We have twenty minutes' rest between classes. Look! Most of us are playing during (......)the rest time. Some students are on the playground. They are having a basketball match. Oh! A boy is running with a ball, and another is trying to stop him. They are so cool. And there are some girls watching the match. Some students are still in the classroom. They are talking. A few of them are reading and doing homework. Look! A girl is looking at the birds in a tree in front of the classroom. She must be thinking of something interesting because she is smiling. What are the teachers doing? Do you know? Some of them are doing work in the office, and some are talking with students. Everyone is busy with his or her things, busy and happy! A girl is looking at the birds. She is _ . A. happy. B. not happy C. in a tree D. watching the match Answer: A Question: Some problems are difficult to solve.But there are a lot of number expressions that can help.For example, if we put two and two together , we might com e up with the right answer.We know that two heads are better than one.It is always better to workwith another person to solve a problem.Some problems have only one solution.You cannot be of two minds over this.But with any luck , we can solve the problem in two shakes of a lamb' s tail.In other words, we could have our answers quickly and easily. Sometimes we can kill two birds with one stone.That is , we can complete two goals with only one effort or action.But we must remember that two wrongs don' t make a right.If someone does something bad to you, you should not do the same to him. If you are going out with your girlfriend , or boyfriend , but you don' t want another friend to go a long on your date, you can just say to your friend : two' s company , three' s a crowd. When I was a young child in school , I had to learn the three R' s.These important skills are reading , writing and arithmetic.These three words do not all start with the letter " R".But they have the sound of " R".My teacher used to give three cheers when I did well in maths.They gave praise and approval for a job well done. Some of my friends were confused and did not understand their school work.They were at sixes and sevens.In fact , they did not care if they finished high school.But they were happy when they completed their studies and graduated from high school.They were in seventh heaven.They were on cloud nine.Nine times out of ten students who do we'll in school find good jobs.Some work in an office doing the same things every day at nine-to-five jobs.You do not have to dress to the nines , or wear your best clothes , for this kind of work. Which of the following has the similar meaning to " in all probability"? A. Two wrongs don' t make a right. B. Two' s company, three' s a crowd. C. Nine times out of ten. D. Two heads are better than one. Answer: C Question: Ethiopia has greatly reduced its death rates for children under the age of five years during the last two decades, new UN statistics show. The report says Ethiopia has cut the number of child deaths, by two thirds or so, to 68 per 1,000 births compared to that in 1990. The government owed the improved figures to its growing economy. Despite the reduction, the UN Children's Fund said Ethiopia needed to do much more to improve health facilities for pregnant women. Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest states, although it has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years and is one of the continent's leading coffee producers. Its economy centers around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall. The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza in the capital, Addis Ababa, says Ethiopia was once representative of poor nutrition in Africa. But the latest UNICEF figures show Ethiopia is one of the few African countries on the path to realizing the development goal of reducing child death rates, he says. Ethiopia's Health Minister Kesetebirhan Admasu said increasing family incomes had helped improve people's health. "This has also resulted in better nutrition for children and women; this has translated into better medical conditions ---- all these have a direct or indirect influence on the survival of children," he told BBC Africa. He said the government has also been "aggressively expanding its primary health care network". "We have now 93% coverage( ) of one health centre for 25,000 people, which basically means one health facility within a 7km area," he said. How many in 1000 births would die in Ethiopia in 1990? A. about 680 B. about 330 C. about 68 D. about 200 Answer: D Question: In a prosecution of Dahle for assault, Wharton is called to testify that the victim, Valerian, had complained to Wharton that Dahle was the assailant. Wharton's testimony is most likely to be admitted if Wharton is A. a doctor, whom Valerian consulted for treatment. B. a minister, whom Valerian consulted for counseling. C. Valerian's husband, whom she telephoned immediately after the event. D. a police officer, whom Valerian called on instructions from her husband. Answer: C Question: Come to Austria Soll is a village in the mountains in western Austria. And the Post Hotel is clean and not expensive. It is opened by a local family. From the hotel you can see the whole village, the forests and the mountains. Temperatures in summer are usually 20degC to 25degC in the daytime, but much cooler by evening. Enjoy Thailand When you visit Bangkok in Thailand, don't miss the early morning river boat trip to the Floating Market outside the city. There you will find many kinds of fruits and vegetables. And you can pay for them when you sit in your boat. Don't forget your hat: the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40degC at noon. Visit Hawaii! Maybe the most beautiful place in Hawaii is Kauai. You can visit its long, sandy beaches in the south and west of the island, and mountains and forests in the north, but don't be surprised if it rains in the centre of the island. Daytime temperatures there are usually around 24degC to 26degC by the sea, and only a little cooler by late evening. The advertisements above are about _ . A. shopping B. food C. travel D. hotels Answer: C
Sartorial, Inc., a new business enterprise about to commence the manufacture of clothing, entered into a written agreement to purchase all of its monthly requirements of a certain elasticized fabric for a period of three years from the Stretch Company at a specified unit price and agreed delivery and payment terms. The agreement also provided: 1. The parties covenant not to assign this contract. 2. Payments coming due hereunder for the first two months shall be made directly by Sartorial to Virginia Wear and Son, Inc., a creditor of Stretch. Stretch promptly made an "assignment of the contract" to Finance Company as security for a $100,000 loan. Sartorial subsequently ordered, took delivery of, and paid Stretch the agreed price ($5,000) for Sartorial's requirement of the fabric for the first month of its operation.Which of the following accurately states the legal effect of the covenant not to assign the contract? Answer: Stretch's assignment was a breach of its contract with Sartorial but was 38 nevertheless effective to transfer to Finance Company Stretch's rights against Sartorial. Convenient location 5 minutes from Washington , D. C. and one block to Crystal City METRO , Cryastal City Underground. Alexandria. Free Parking, free Deluxe Continental Breakfast and complimentary Hotel Shuttle Service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 14000 Jefferson Davis Hwy ( endurance onS. Eads St) Phone (703) 979 - 3722 DAYS INN ARLINGTON Days Inn Arlingtonis located two miles from the Pentagon , Lincoln Memorial . There is a restaurant which serves American style food , plus two meeting rooms and an outdoor pool. Complimentary shuttle service runs to the Rosslyn Metro Station. Complimentary parking is avail- able on the property . An experienced staff welcomes out guests. Phone (703) 525 -0300 THE HIGHLANDER MOTORINN Comfortable rooms at moderate rates . Convenient location only minutes away from Washingtonarea attraction. Near VA Square METRO Station and Ballston Commons Shopping Mall . Free continental breakfast, free parking. Phone (703) 524 -4300 HYATT REGENCYCRYSTALCITY Conveniently located next to Washington National Airport and two miles from Washington D.C.Complimentary Shuttle to and from NationalAirport, metro, local restaurants and shop-ping. Experience a view to remember at out rooftop restaurants "Chesapeake Grill. " Call for Reservations. Phone (073) 418 -12341 (800) 233 -1234 Which hotel does not provide service to drive its guests to the airport or metro stations? Answer: The Highlander Motor Inn The Sahara Festival is a three-day African celebration of the very recent past, which takes place every year either in November or December. It is part military display and part competition. The military display comes first. It is very popular with tourists and local people and especially with government leaders. During the opening ceremonies, the government leaders first make speeches. They welcome everybody to the display and hope that everyone will enjoy themselves. Then there is a display of soldiers who march very smartly in front of the place where the government leaders sit. Then horsemen from several different countries show off their beautiful clothes and their good riding skills. One after another they come and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turns to show off their wonderful traditional clothes and dances. They are accompanied by men playing drums and beating strong rhythms for the dancers. The highlight of the opening ceremony are the races which take place in the evening. It is the grand _ of the day. Men ride their horses very fast. Some ride with their legs in the air, others ride in pairs on different horses. It is so fast and so wonderful! This passage mainly tells readers _ . Answer: what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival At school many things happen to us .We may feel excited when we have success in a school play.We may feel sorry if we lose an important game .We want to keep the memory for the rest of our lives . How to keep the memory ?Our English teacher ,Miss Wang ,has taught us a good way of remembering things to make our own yearbook .What is a yearbook ? A yearbook is a kind of book which is used to keep the memory of exciting moments .It's usually made at the end of the year . Last December ,we began to make our yearbook .First we chose the persons who had done something special ,then some students interviewed them ,some wrote down their stories ,others took photos of them .Every one in our class had something to do .Finally our teacher helped us to put the things together .We had our first yearbook . All of us put a lot of love into making the yearbook .It is so wonderful that not only the students but also our parents and teachers will remember the special time forever . Usually a yearbook is made in _ . Answer: December When you press on the brakes in a car, because of friction, Answer: speed goes down
It's generally believed that people act the way they do because of their personalities and attitudes. They recycle their garbage because they care about the environment. They pay $5 for a caramel brulee latte because they like expensive coffee drinks. It's undeniable that behavior comes from our inner dispositions , but in many instances we also draw inferences about who we are, as suggested by the social psychologist Daryl Bern, by observing our own behavior. We can be strangers to ourselves. If we knew our own minds, why should we need to guess what our preferences are from our behavior? If our minds were an open book, we would know exactly how much we care about the environment or like lattes. Actually, we often need to look to our behavior to figure out who we are. Moreover, we don't just use our behavior to learn about our particular types of character --- we infer characters that weren't there before. Our behavior is often shaped by little pressures around us, which we fail to recognize. _ Maybe we buy lattes in order to impress the people around us. We should not mistakenly believe that we always behave as a result of some inner disposition. Whatever pressures there can be or inferences one can make, people become what they do, though it may not be in compliance with their true desires. Therefore, we should all bear in mind Kurt Vonnegut's advice: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." According to the passage, personalities and attitudes are commonly believed to _ . A. determine one's behavior B. reflect one's taste C. influence one's surroundings D. result from one's habits Answer: A A good relationship between students and teachers makes the classroom a very inviting place. When you like your teachers, it's easier to pay attention to their explanations and improve your marks. When you consider your teachers as friends, you'll certainly have more respect for them. When your teachers consider you to be a friend, they'll feel more open in class and that will probably influence the classroom in a positive way. Now here are some tips to develop a friendly relationship with your teachers: Ask questions. If you have any questions about that subject, ask them. Show them that you're interested in their subjects. That will make them notice you. But never ask questions that you already know the answers to. If your teachers realize that you are not asking real questions, they might think that you're not actually trying to learn, but only trying to make an impression. Talk about non-school subjects. When you see one of your teachers in the hall, greet him/her and ask if he/she is going to that concert or if he/she has seen that movie. That way you'll show that you consider him/her as a reined. Some teachers don't like to have friendly relationships with students, but most of them are happy to chat with their students. After a while, they may start to talk with you about non-school subjects in the classroom. The rest is totally up to you; it is very easy to develop a friendly relationship with any of your teachers. If you want to be friends with your teachers, just treat them as friends, but don't forget that no matter how good friends you are, they will still be your teachers and deserve your respect. What's the main idea of this passage? A. What a good teacher-student relationship is. B. How to make friends with your classmates at school. C. How to make the classroom a very inviting place. D. How to develop a good relationship with your teachers. Answer: D It was a very different school from those in China. You're not met by imposing doors and concrete walls, and the buildings were inviting. On the front of the main building was inscribed "Lee Elementary School, 1904." Wow! I knew it was an old school. Surrounding the main building were five trailers . One of them was my classroom, 5T. The "T" stood for Mrs. Toalson, my 5th grade teacher. Mrs Toalson showed me to my seat. A girl sitting at my table greeted me. Her name was Regina, and she was a blonde girl from Ukraine. Her eyes were like diamonds, and we had met at a party two days before. During my first morning, we had math class, PE and science. We didn't even have a break! I wondered why? Mrs Toalson said to us: "Guys, line up for the bathroom break please!" All the kids stood up and went outside. I didn't know what "bathroom break" meant. Was it break time? Lunch time? I was confused. Nevertheless, we followed Mrs. Toalson to the main building. We sat in the hallway across from the bathroom. In Chinese, "bathroom" means the WC, and a "break" means having a rest! Gosh, I thought that was weird and why did we have to go to the bathroom together? "Mary and Regina, you may go." When we heard Mrs. Toalson, we went into the bathroom. The bathroom was clean, and it smelled like perfume. I asked Regina what if someone wanted to go to the bathroom during class time. She told me that there was a special pass called a "bathroom pass." All you had to do was raise your hand with the pass to let Mrs. Toalson know you need to go to the bathroom. Then you would be permitted to go. At 3:30pm, school ended for the day. Students put their textbooks in their cabinets and lined up in front of the change room, where they collected their backpacks and coats. As they walked out of the door, each student said "Good bye" and gave Mrs. Toalson a high five. "Did you have a good day today?" Mrs. Toalson asked me as she hugged me goodbye. "Sure!" I nodded. According to the passage, the author wanted to know the answer to the following questions EXCEPT _ . A. .what did "bathroom break" mean? B. why didn't we have a break between lessons? C. why did we have to go the bathroom together? D. why did we have lunch together? Answer: D A private sixth grade is set to start its lessons at 1.30 pm every day because the school's teacher thinks his students will study better after a morning lie-in . Instead of rising early for a 9 am start, students at the PS15,000-a-year Hampton Court House, in East Molesey, Surrey, will get to enjoy a lie-in and work from 1.30 pm until 7pm. Head teacher Guy Holloway says the move for all sixth grade students, set to begin from September, has been made according to research by scientists. He predicts that not only will his students aged 16 and upwards get great night's sleep, but their productivity will also be improved. The co-educational school will have the latest start time in the UK, and will be the only one to begin lessons in the afternoon. Experts say young people are programmed to get up later, and that rather than laziness it is simply a shift in their body clocks. 'There are 168 hours in a week and how productive they are depends on how they choose to use those hours,' said Mr Holloway. 'At Hampton Court House we don't think we have the answer for everybody; it's about what works in our school. We want to get them into a condition where they can get great sleep and study well.' He said students would also benefit from reduced journey times as they travel to and from school after rush hour . Year 10 student Gabriel Purcell-Davis will be one of the first of 30 A-level students to start at the later time. 'I want to wake up in my bed, not in my maths lesson,' said the 15-year-old. Lessons for all other students at the school will still begin at 9 am as usual. In Mr. Holloway's eyes, students can improve their productivity by _ . A. working harder B. not wasting time C. using time wisely D. learning new study methods Answer: C Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man's house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting. "I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said. "But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked. "I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples. The monkeys left the basket because _ . A. they had thrown apples on the ground B. the farmer had politely asked them to get off C. they were afraid of the hat D. the farmer was angry with them Answer: B
It was only a few weeks after my surgery, and I went to Dr. Belt's office for a checkup. It was just after my first chemotherapy treatment. My scar was still very tender. My arm was numb underneath. As usual, I was taken to an examination room to have my blood drawn, again --a terrifying process for me, since I'm so frightened of needles. I lay down on the examining table. Ramona entered the room. Her warm smile was familiar, and stood out in contrast to my fears. She knew about my fear of needles, and she kindly hid the equipment under a magazine. As we opened the blouse, the fresh scar on my chest could be seen. She said, "How is your scar healing?" I said, "I think pretty well. I wash around it gently each day." The memory of the shower water hitting my numb chest flashed across my face. She gently reached over and ran her hand across the scar, examining the smoothness of the healing skin and looking for any irregularities. I began to cry gently and quietly. She brought her warm eyes to mine and said, "You haven't touched it yet, have you?" And I said, "No." So this wonderful, warm woman laid the hand on my chest and she gently held it there. For a long time, I continued to cry quietly. In soft tones she said, "This is part of your body. This is you. It's okay to touch it." But I couldn't. So she touched it for me. The scar. The healing wound. And beneath it, she touched my heart. Then Ramona said, "I'll hold your hand while you touch it." So she placed her hand next to mine, and we both were quiet. That was the gift that Ramona gave me. After I got my first chemotherapy treatment, _ . A. I began to feel better B. my scar was still painful C. I could hardly stretch my arm D. I got tired of operation Answer: B. my scar was still painful Traffic jam and cities, it seems, go hand in hand. Everyone complains about being stuck in traffic; but, like the weather, no one seems to do anything about it. In particular, traffic engineers, transportation planners, and public officials responsible for transportation systems in large cities are frequently criticized for failing to solve traffic jam. But is traffic jam a sign of failure? Long queues at restaurants or theater box offices are seen as signs of success. Should transportation systems be viewed any differently? I think we should recognize that traffic jam is an unpreventable by-product of successful cities, and view the "traffic problem" in a different light. Cities exist because they promote social interactions and economic transactions.Traffic jam occurs where there are lots of people but limited spaces. Culturally and economically successful cities have the worst traffic problems, while _ cities don't have much traffic. New York and Los Angeles are America's most crowded cities. But if you want access to major brokerage houses , you will find them easier to reach in crowded New York than in any other large cities. And if your firm needs access to post-production film editors or satellite-guidance engineers, you will reach them more quickly through the crowded freeways of LA than through less crowded roads elsewhere. Despite traffic jam, a larger number and wider variety of social interactions and economic transactions can be made perfect in large, crowded cities than elsewhere. Seen in this sight, traffic jam is an unfortunate consequence of prosperity, not a cause of economic decline and urban decay. So while we can consider traffic jam as increasing costs on the areas of big cities, the costs of inaccessibility in uncrowded places are almost certainly greater. There is no doubt that traffic jam brings the terrible economic and environmental damage in places like Bangkok, Jakarta, and Lagos. But mobility is far higher and traffic jam levels are far lower here in the US, even in our most crowded cities. That's why, for now, we don't see people and capital streaming out of San Francisco and Chicago, heading for cities like California, and Illinois. According to the passage, what's the author's opinion towards traffic jam? A. Traffic jam is unavoidable in any cities. B. Traffic jam is both a sign of failure and a sign of success. C. Traffic jam is one of the consequences of successful cities. D. Traffic jam is a cause of economic decline. Answer: C. Traffic jam is one of the consequences of successful cities. Which of the following will most likely to be true? A. focused light beams like lasers can endanger pilots B. napkins can endanger pilots C. sweaters can endanger pilots D. teddy bears can endanger pilots Answer: A. focused light beams like lasers can endanger pilots A woman Vicki once knew a young person named Susan at church. Susan always seemed happy, although Vicki knew she had faced struggles in her life. Her long-awaited marriage had quickly ended in divorce, but her whole face seemed to smile. One day Vicki asked Susan,"How is it that you are always so happy, you have so much energy, and you never seem to get down?" With her eyes smiling, Susan said,"I know the secret!" "What secret is that? What are you talking about?"Vicki asked. Susan replied,"The secret is this: I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to HIS riches. I have learned most of the time I don't need half of what I think I do. He has never let me down. Since I learned that secret, I am happy." Vicki thought first, "That's too simple!" But upon reflecting over her own life, she remembered how she thought a bigger house would make her happy, but it didn't! She thought a better-paying job would make her happy, but it didn't. When did she realize her greatest happiness? Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, playing games, eating pizza or reading a story, this is a simple gift from God. Vicki used to _ . A. get happiness from better -paying work B. live a happy life in a big house C. be at a loss as to what the real happiness was D. enjoy the simple things in life Answer: C. be at a loss as to what the real happiness was An ancient philosopher felt: be content with what you have; be pleased about the way things are. When you realize that, the whole world belongs to you. When we can be grateful for what we have, and take our focus off what we think we are short of, it's amazing how our feelings will shift to a place of peace and happiness. The reason for "an attitude of thankfulness" isn't necessarily so that God can hear our appreciation, but perhaps so that we can live happily and peacefully, with a feeling of "all is well". Have you ever experienced this-the feeling that "what is" is great, and there is no need to wish for things to be different? It's a wonderful feeling and a great way to go through life. Here's an example: We have strong winds in the desert at times, and the other day the high winds broke three arms on the beautiful mimosa tree in my back yard. The tree's arms are twisted and the leaves and flowers are dying. It looks hurt and brown. Well, that's certainly one way to choose to look at it, And if I choose that way, then I can allow myself to get upset that the tree has been hurt, that there will be less shade in the yard, that I have to cut up and pull away the branches, etc. OR I can choose to see that "all is well" -that nature does what it does, that trees will lose branches, that the yard is not a _ thing, but it is alive. In other words, I can choose to be okay with "what is". Either way, the tree situation hasn't changed-I've simply changed how I choose to interpret it. My interpretation then affects my emotions, my state of peacefulness, my happiness with things, etc. When I choose to be content with "what is", to be pleased about the way things are, and to see that nothing is missing, that everything is just fine, then I choose to be at peace. Suddenly, the whole world looks beautiful. Instead of seeing problems, I see reality. I see "what is" and I am okay with it. Try seeing everything and accepting everything just the way it is. And watch the world open up to you. What's the best title for the article? A. We Value Life B. We Love Nature C. We Better Ourselves D. We Lack Nothing Answer: D. We Lack Nothing
Question: A woman needs to check something with binoculars, so it is likely A. very near B. inside the room C. a ways away D. in outer space Answer: C. a ways away Question: Bill Robinson is on trial for murder .He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year. When he was nineteen years old ,he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam. He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people. Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off, but things were never quite the same again for the young black man. For one thing, he always had terrible dreams about the war. He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school. Then he was fired from one job after another. He wanted to meet someone nice and get married , but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone. He become angry easily and people avoided him. He was always lonely. Finally one day, while eating at a restaurant, Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all. Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting. He hopes that the judge and the jury will understand that Bill was "temporarily insane" and did not really choose to kill anyone. He never married because _ . A. there were no nice girls around B. he didn't care to meet any girls C. he hadn't met girls that he liked D. he found it hard to make friends with girls Answer: D. he found it hard to make friends with girls Question: Call out. Call loud: "I'm ready! Come and find me!" The snacks in the tool shed smell like the seaside. They'll never find you in the salty dark, But be careful that your feet aren't sticking out. Wisher not to risk another shout. The floor is cold. They'll probably be searching The bushes near the swing. Whatever happens, You mustn't sneeze when they come prowling in. And here they are, whispering at the door; You've never heard them so hushed before, Don't breathe. Don't move. Stay dumb. Hide in your blindness. They're moving closer, someone stumbles, mutters; Their words and laughter scuffle, and they're gone. But don't come out just yet; they'll try the lane And then the greenhouse and back here again. They must be thinking that you've very clever, Getting more puzzled as they went away. You legs are stiff, the cold bites through your coat; The dark damp smell of sand moves in your throat. It's time to let them know that you're the winner. Push off the snacks. Uncurl and stretch. That's better! Out of the shed and call to them: "I've caught you!" The darkening garden watches. Nothing stirs. The bushes hold their breath; the sun is gone. Yes, here you are. But where are they who sought you? ---Vernon Scannell Which part of the body is difficult to hide? A. head B. hands C. legs D. feet Answer: D. feet Question: There is no better way to enjoy Scottish traditions than going fishing and tasting a little bit of whisky at a quiet place like the Inverlochy Castle. When Queen Victoria visited the castle in 1873, she wrote in her diary, "I never saw a lovelier spot ," And she didn't even go fishing. Scotland is not easily defined. In certain moments, this quiet land of lakes and grasses and mountains changes before your very eyes. When evening gently sweeps the hillside into orange light, the rivers, teeming with fish, can turn into streams of gold . As you settle down with just a fishing pole and a basket on the bank of River Orchy, near the Inverlochy Castle , any frustration will float away as gently as the circling water. It's just you and purple, pink, white flowers, seeking a perfect harmony. If you are a new comer to fishing, learning the basics from a fishing guide may leave you with a lifetime's fun. For many, fishing is more than a sport; it is an art. Scotland offers interesting place where you can rest after a long day's fishing. Set against a wild mountain and hidden behind woodland, the beautiful Inverlochy Castle Hotel below the Nevis is a perfect place to see the beauty of Scotland's mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest of all British mountains, and reaching its 1343-metre top is a challenge. But it's not just what goes up matters; what comes down is unique. More than 900 metres high, on the mountain's north face, lies an all-important source of pure water. Its name comes from the Gaelic language "usquebaugh" or "water of life"; and it is the single most important ingredient in Scotland's best known drink: whisky. What is Ben Nevis special for? A. The Inverlochy Castle Hotel . B. The beauty of its surroundings. C. The water from the mountain. D. The challenge up to its top. Answer: C. The water from the mountain. Question: School Activities Our school activities are suitable for all ages and levels including foundation>> primary, secondary and A-IeveL We offer workshops, hands-on activities and a teacher support service to help you get the most out of your visit.All school services are free, but must be booked in advance.Earth Lab Workshops This activity is designed for KS3 and KS4 students.Packed with fascinating fossils ,minerals and rocks.Earth Lab is where students can dig deep into the exciting and varied world of British geology using specialist microscopes and geologist tools. Darwin Centre Find out who you really are and where you come from in our interactive films about evolution, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Hands-on Activities Get up close and personal with the Museum in these hands-on activities, where you can handle real specimens from our collections.Hundreds of real,natural history specimens for students to touch and explore are in our hands-on science centre. Self-led Activities Pupils can engage with specimens through role-play in a self-guided explorer challenge through the Museum. The Great Debate Schools Program Students are introduced to the history of the debate during a lively tour.They are then divided into groups and use exhibits to prepare presentations representing the views of the debated key characters. Booking All school activities must be booked in advance by calling the schools booking line: 44 (O) 20 7942 5555. If you're interested in British geology, you'd better choose _ * A. Earth Lab Workshops B. Darwin Centre C. Hands-on Activities D. Self-led Activities Answer: A. Earth Lab Workshops
"If music is the medicine of the soul , let it play on," said a famous person. I think he said so because probably he got some help from music. Music has some strange abilities. Medical scientists have found that a person that feels stressed can actually listen to some kind of music and become well. The researchers said that since stress comes as a result of life events such as starting a new family, starting a new business, and starting a new job, one can actually listen to good music and feel good because good music touches the human mind in a positive way. Music helps you to forget the life events that make you worried and remember the important events that once happened in your life. Depression is a disease cause by stress, smoking, social problems and so on. Depression is also caused by problems such as failure in business. Depression may bring us weakness, headache, and loss of concentration. Good music makes one remember happy moments or good days. If you play music about love, it makes you feel like falling in love again though you may have had several upset experiences. And such good feeling make you healthy. Anxiety is another health problem that can be controlled by music. Anxiety is a side effect of some major health problems such as cancer of the liver and cancer of the breast. Good music makes you feel relaxed and removes the pains from these diseases and you feel all right. Good music can send you to sleep. And you need to know that sleep puts your body in a healthy condition. Sleep takes away the effects of stress, depression and anxiety from a person. Which of the following is NOT a reason for depression mentioned in the passage? Trying to make a big decision while you're also preparing for a scary presentation? _ . Feeling stressed changes how people weigh risk and reward. However, an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests stressed people pay more attention to the positive sides of a possible outcome. It's a bit surprising that stress makes people focus on the way things could go right, says Mara Mather of the University of Southern California. She co-wrote the review paper with Nichole R.Lighthall. "This is sort of not what people would think, " Mather says. "Stress is usually associated with negative experiences, so you'd think, maybe I'm going to be more focused on the negative outcomes." But researchers have found that when people are under stress, they start paying more attention to positive information and discounting negative information. "Stress seems to help people learn from positive feedback and impairs their learning from negative feedback, " Mather says. When people under stress are making a difficult decision, they may pay more attention to the good sides of the alternatives they're considering and less to the problems. So someone who's deciding whether to take a new job and is feeling stressed by the decision might focus on the increase in salary more than the longer commute . The increased focus on the positives also helps explain why stress plays a role in addictions. People under stress have a harder time controlling their urges. "The compulsion to get that reward comes stronger and they're less able to resist it," Mather says. A person who's under stress might think only about the good feelings they'll get from a drug, while the downsides shrink into the distance. Stress also increases the differences in how men and women think about risk. When men are under stress, they become even more willing to take risks; when women are stressed, they get more conservative . Previous research backs this up -- men usually react to difficulties while trying to fight them or escape them; women try to find friends and improve their relationships. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article? My husband, Michael, a manager of an ordinary company, came home from work one day saying, "It's not looking good." At midnight,I woke up seeing him sitting in a chair,his hand on his forehead. I was worried.I had to cheer him up and help ourselves financially. As an advisor for top companies and a teacher in creative thinking at the college of New Jersey for years, I thought of a good plan. What if we undertake an adventure while making money from it? As a family, we'd always talked about traveling more, but we'd been tied to routines. Now I saw no point in sitting around worrying when we could see the country. We'd take our three young kids, teach them on the road. It was the perfect time before they reached high school. We'd rent out our house. Michael disagreed at first but realized that with his cell phone, and computer, he could work anywhere. We listed our house for rent and created a brand strategy, logo, and website for us---familyofftrack.com---and persuade five companies to support us. Their ads on our site would help pay travel costs, and we'd promote their brands on our trip in exchange for their support. With everything done, we took off on April 3. All spring and summer, we visited national landmarks and treasured lands. By August when we returned home, Michael's company continued to slide and now may have to close down. But we've made the travel a permanent part of our lives. What's more, with a Chicago-based production company I've developed the Family Off Track brand by creating videos, educational programs and exhibits. And Michael has new ideas for management businesses. It's great to see the spark in his eyes again. Now I feel it even more. Together we taught our kids a lesson: Nobody ever made history by living 100 percent by the book in times of recession . The family benefited a lot from the creative travel except. Sometimes life gets a little dull. What used to be fun and different becomes boring. That is the time to look for something new. It is the time for a big idea to get your mind off everyday life. So why not search for extraterrestrial intelligence? Or even better, why not get your computer to do it for you? Over two million people have joined the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence(SETI)project. Based in California, the SETI project analyzes information taken from a giant radio telescope based in South America. Its task is to look for signals from outer space that might prove that life exists on other planets. Processing this information is far too big a job for one computer. So the SETI project workers divide the work among volunteers who visit their website. Each computer gets some information to work out from the SETI network through the Internet. This process is often known as "meta-computing". It is a wonderful thought. You are sleeping, eating a meal or going out with friends. All this time, your computer is searching the stars for signs that might show something is out there trying to get in touch. Volunteers are proud of being involved in the SETI project. It shows that they understand the potential of computing. They know that it is more than just a way of working or playing games. Meta-computing may also be creating intelligence as well as looking for _ . This idea is based on the theory that human intelligence is created by the way in which different parts of the brain communicate with each other. As the saying goes, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts." People who join the SETI project sometimes wonder whether their computer will become part of a huge network that has learned to think for itself. Which of the following shows the order in which the SETI network works? A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry, proof reading and problem solving. In an office-based experiment, 88 per cent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music. The study also found that 81 per cent completed their fastest work when music was played. And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance, if you're doing your tax returns, then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills. Listening to Jessie Jor Justin Bieber could also improve your speed, with 58 per cent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs. During proof-reading, dance music, such as David Guetta, had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 per cent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spell-checking with a 75 per cent pass rate compared to 68 per cent when no music was played at all. The research, undertaken by Brighton-based Mind lab International, suggests that silent offices may be the least productive. 'The Music Works experiment revealed a positive _ between music and productivity - overall it showed that when listening to music, nine out of 10 people performed better,' said Dr David Lewis, chairman of Mind lab International. The main purpose of the passage is to _
In 1886 explorer Robert Peary traveled to Greenland for the U.S. Navy. Before his journey, no one knew Greenland's size or shape. On Peary's first trips, he explored Greenland, mapping parts of it. When Peary returned to the United States, he went to a businessman to sell some furs. There he met Matthew Henson, an African American mechanic, builder and navigator. When Peary went to Nicaragua on a Navy mission ,Henson went with him. When that job was over, the two headed to the Arctic. Henson and Peary set sail for Greenland. When they landed, Henson built a house for their base camp. Peary and his men set out to explore the land by dog sledge . Henson was injured and had to stay at the base. While there, he made friends with the Inuit, the native people. In 1895 Henson, Peary and Hugh Lee went out on another dog sledge journey. This time, they found Greenland's northernmost point. They now knew that the North Pole lay under the frozen Arctic Ocean. Peary had hoped to cross the ice. but the group ran out of food and returned to base camp. In the years that followed, Peary and Henson tried several times to reach the North Pole, but each time they failed. On one trip, Peary's feet froze, and he lost his toes . Peary and Henson planned last trip when Peary was 53 years old. They started across the sea ice from Ellesmere Island, which is located north of Canada. The temperature dropped as low as--51 degrees Celsius. The explores' cheeks froze , and they suffered snow blindness from the sun's glare. They experienced high winds and storms, and they also faced a hidden danger. Under the frozen ocean were powerful currents . The ice moved and broke apart leaving open water, called leads. Twice Peary fell into leads. But eventually he and Henson became the first persons to reach the North Pole. The best title for the passage might be " _ ". A. The mapping of the Arctic Ocean. B. Peary and Henson: Arctic explorers C. Early explorers' trips to the South Pole D. Henson and Peary: discoverers of Greenland Answer: B You have been working hard to learn English. Do you know American kids are trying to learn Chinese? More than 60,000 American students now study Chinese. "Because of China's fast development, Chinese has become more useful, and more and more Americans begin to learn it, " said Scott McGinnis, a Washington language expert . For example, in 1999, only three schools in Chicago had Chinese lessons. This year more than 30 schools there have Chinese during school days. Last year China gave them 3,000 textbooks because they had done a good job. Although Chinese is becoming more and more popular, it is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Usually, an English speaker takes about 1,320 hours to become good at Chinese. He needs only 480 hours for French, Spanish or Italian. This year, _ schools in Chicago give students Chinese lessons. A. only three B. thirteen C. over thirty D. less than thirty Answer: C To some, it's a dream job---eating delicious meals for free and then writing about them. But _ Karen Fernau, a food writer for The Arisona Republic, said when she first started her job -she began to gain weight. "I always looked forward to lunch before this job, then all of a sudden lunch was all day every day. " she says. Nine years later, keeping her weight steady and her health intact is a daily battle. If she knows she will be going to a tasting at a bakery or eating a four-course meal, she usually eats fruits or salads throughout the day. Now she is always keeping track of what's in the food she eats and she says most people don't even look at or consider it. At one tasting task alone, she says, upward of l,000 calories is often added to her day. That's about half of the recommended total calories per day for the average adult. But even though she's thought of a special eating method, Fernau says sticking to it is a daily battle. And food editors, writers and critics across the country couldn't agree more. "When I'm at home or not eating for work, it's healthy food to the extreme," says Phil Vettel, who's been a restaurant critic for the Chicago Tribune for 19 years. Vettle, who eats dinner at four restaurants each week, says unlike most professions, he has no right to choose. "If I'm going out to eat, I can't choose the healthiest thing on the menu, I have to eat when they're bringing me. " While Vettel exercises when he can, Joe Yonan, a food editor at The Washington Post, has strengthened his exercise habits since he started the job two years ago. Yonan says he realized early on that he was gaining weight and immediately hired a personal trainer to meet with three times a week, on top of his body training three to five times a week. Still, it's a struggle that many Americans might envy. After all, it's one thing to get your calories from lobster tails or a delicate chocolate cookie and quite another to get them from sodas and fast-food burgers. What is mentioned to be a method that food writers use to keep fit? A. Not eating anything except for the free meals. B. Writing down everything they put into their mouth. C. Hiring a personal trainer for special exercise instructions. D. Choosing only the healthy food on the menu. Answer: C Comfort is comforting, but it might narrow our experience at work -- and beyond. In our modern world, discomfort is considered a terrible thing. If not terrible, at least a thing of the past. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, remote controls--yes, they add convenience, but also a level of comfort our forefathers did not enjoy. As pain of any kind discourages happiness, we tend to reason, anything that compromises our ability to feel good must be bad. And that's also particularly true for our careers. Success makes us feel great, not terrible. Such a view, however, is a matter of personal opinion. And it may blind us to hidden opportunities. Artists throughout history have tried to experience suffering, instinctively if not consciously, to produce works that explore the darker hidden sides of the human condition. This was done, in part, because pain is a reality of life for everybody in some form at some time. Pain is something everybody can relate to. And pain makes a person very present. For such artists, to relieve or to deny pain would be to block the creative thinking, which drives them to explore and express. In fact, Germans have a term for this melancholia, " _ ", which means "suffering from the world." Writers, from Lord Byron to Kurt Vonnegut, have used the term to describe the psychological pain encountered along life's roller-coaster journey. It was not to be avoided; it was to be understood, investigated and employed. So I propose that discomfort is good for us. Or, put another way, it tells us that something needs to be addressed. It stretches us by forcing us to view our circumstances through a wholly different lens. Because we're drawn to safety and security, we do our best to create pleasant comfort zones for ourselves and our loved ones through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the places we work. But by resisting discomfort, we deny ourselves an important opportunity: the chance to shake ourselves out of our predictable perspectives and allow ourselves to make knowledgeable observations we could not possibly have made before. Discomfort gives us fresh eyes. The author believes that by challenging discomfort, one may _ . A. lose an important chance to make a big fortune B. feel upset and fail to think calmly C. judge and think about the world in a new particular way D. control the situation properly when things go unsteady Answer: C What would you do if you found a snake in your house? Many people might be afraid or try to kill it. However, if you live in North Carolina in the USA, one thing you can do is to call the Snake Catchers. The Snake Catchers are four men who love snakes, even poisonous ones. Their newspaper advertisement says, "Snake Catchers: free snake removal Please do not kill them -- Call us. " The Snake Catchers, who started their service in 1998, don't charge anything for helping people. "We do this as a hobby," explained Fred Johnson, one of the Snake Catchers. Because of their love of snakes, the Snake Catchers try to keep them alive. "One man asked us to kill a python , so he could make a pair of boots from the skin. We refused, because we like snakes, and we don't want to see them killed, " said Fred. Some of the snakes that they catch are kept as pets; some are given to the North Carolina State University. Most, including the poisonous snakes, are set free in the wild, usually in a national park. Fred suggests that people should treat snakes with care. "Actually snakes are very shy and gentle creatures. They only attack if they are frightened. However, you have to know how to treat a snake properly!" According to one happy family, the Snake Catchers are good. One day, the Greenwood family found a snake skin in the kitchen. They looked very carefully and saw a snake sleeping behind a cupboard. They thought about what to do. Then Steve Greenwood remembered the advertisement for the Snake Catchers. He called them. "The Snake Catchers arrived within an hour and they finished the job quickly too," said Steve Greenwood. "One of them went into the kitchen, found the snake and took it out alive. The Snake Catchers did a very good job." Last year, the Snake Catchers removed more than seventy snakes from houses in North Carolina. When a man asked them to kill a python, the Snake Catchers _ . A. made some boots from the skin B. were very happy C. gave him some old boots D. did not agree Answer: D
Ally was at home, sitting in her chair. She was drinking orange juice. Orange juice was her favorite drink, because she loved its sweet taste. Ally's sister was sitting on the carpet. She was drawing a pair of pink socks. Ally's sister loved the color pink, because she thought it was cute. Ally's brother was also sitting on the carpet. He was drinking coffee with lots of sugar in it. He loved sugar because it made him feel energetic. All of the sudden, there was a knock at the door. Ally's sister answered it. When she opened the door, she saw an alligator wearing a suit and tie! Ally's sister screamed, and closed the door. "Please," the alligator said, "Don't be afraid. I want to draw with you." Ally's sister opened the door, and the alligator came inside. He sat on the carpet, and started drawing his own pair of pink socks. Ally's sister sat down, and joined him. Who loved sugar in the story? Answer: How to wash clothes in a flash LAUNDRY is never an easy part of housework. But if piles of sweaty T-shirts and smelly socks drive you crazy, then two Chinese scientists might have the answer. Long Mingce and Wu Deyong of Shanghai Jiao Tong University have invented a kind of cotton that cleans itself. No need for soap or water, the scientists say. All you have to do is put the clothes out in the sun. According to the Guardian, this magical self-cleaning ability comes from a special chemical mixture. The material is covered with this mixture. It can break down dirt and remove bad smells after only a few hours in the sun. One of the chemicals is called titanium dioxide . Scientists have known for some time that titanium dioxide can clean fabrics . However , it only works under ultraviolet light and so is not yet widely used - ultraviolet light cannot be seen. "We knew that self-cleaning cotton fabrics with titanium dioxide coating had already been developed, but they cannot work, or they work weakly, under sunlight," Long said. "If we want to use the fabrics in daily life, we must develop cotton that cleans itself under daylight." The scientists worked hard for years to find a better chemical. Finally , they added silver iodide into the mixture. This made the chemical reactions in sunlight faster. The new mixture is also nearly seven times better than the former one with pure titanium dioxide at removing dirt and killing bacteria. The experiment was only carried out on cotton clothing. However, according to Long, the technology can be "applied to all kinds of fabrics and their related products." It is also cheap and environmentally friendly , he said. The self-cleaning material is not yet ready for the market. Scientists still need to know whether it could harm people. Although titanium dioxide is used in some foods, it can cause health problems if it gets into the lungs . Scientists need to make sure it is safe before we can start to enjoy the benefits of this technology . Thanks to this new discovery, we will be able to clean fabrics _ . Answer: At a nation's saddest moment, its greatest heroes are born. On September 11th, 2001, many police officers and government officials in America worked day and night to save lives from the big fire at the World Trade Centre. And in Japan, after the serious earthquake, a group of workers showed their courage. The earthquake on March 11th made Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant turn off and stop its protective cooling systems. And later, a fire broke out. Workers were told that the plant's radiation could be harmful to human health. Hundreds of workers left the plant quickly. However, a group of workers decided to fight against the fire and the damage, though they knew it could cause very serious health problems. There were 50 workers in all, so they were also named the "Fukushima 50". The workers worked in shifts . People knew little about the workers, who were mainly experts with the skills to control the situation. One woman said that her father had volunteered to stay there. "I heard that he volunteered even though he would retire in just half a year and my eyes were filled with tears. I am really proud of him. And I pray for his safe return. _ workers stayed in Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant after the earthquake. Answer: A Japanese company has ordered its employees to get the same hairstyles--- to help save energy. Tokyo-based Maeda Corporation has announced the move as part of a national campaingn to cut energy use. Since Fukushima nuclear plant was destroyed in the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March, 2011, the county's government has asked its people to _ their energy consumption. Men are expected to sport a short back-and-sides, slightly longer on the top, while women have been asked to wear short hair with a fringer that can be swept to one side. Chizuru Inoue, a spokesman for Maeda Crop, said: "Our company is very devoted to protecting the environment and we encourage our staff to adopt many environment-friendly actions." "We are not sure of the data yet, but we believe if people have short hair they do not need to use their hairdryers for so long and they will use less water. If all our staff do this, then it may save a lot of power." There is another advantage for employees of the construction firm, Ms. Inoue added, as it is easier to make short hair neat again after staff had been wearing hard hats. She said a lot of staff had been calling for information on where they can get their hair cut in the correct style. Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March, Japan has been struggling to produce enough electricity for the tsunami ended production at the Fukushima plant. The disaster resulted in a review of the country's energy policy that now means less than a quarter of its remaining nuclear plants are in use. The government has talked about a move away from nuclear energy towards more sustainable technologies. Many government institutions have taken measures to save power, including a reduced use of air-conditioning in offices and schools. According to Chizuru Inoue, there are _ advantages for the employees to have short hair. Answer: It becomes cold enough for heavy clothing in December in the northern hemisphere because Answer:
Question: An insect bee stands out on the logo of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, despite "Bee" being unrelated to the name of the insect. "Bee" refers to "a gathering", where people join together in an activity. The National Spelling Bee was formed in 1925 as a collection of many local spelling bees,organized by Louisville. With competitions, cash prizes, and a trip to the nation's capital, it was hoped the Bee would _ "general interest among pupils in a dull subject". Mark Neuhauser won the first National Spelling Bee held that year, by successfully spelling "gladiolus".In 2014,there were two winners of the Bee--a conclusion that has only happened three other times in Bee history, and not since 1962. Sriram Hathwar, a 14yearold from New York and Ansun Sujoe, a 13yearold from Texas shared the excitement as cochampions after 22 rounds of spelling. Each took home over $30,000 in cash, scholarships and bonds. The Spelling Bee has been held every year except for 19431945 due to World War II.Later, the Scripps Company acquired the rights to the program in 1941. The bee is held in late May or early June of each year.It is open to students who have not yet completed the eighth grade, reached their 15th birthday, nor won a previous National Spelling Bee.Its goal is educational:not only to encourage children to perfect the art of spelling, but also to help enlarge their vocabularies and widen their knowledge of the English language. What's the purpose of writing the text? A. To make people know a new kind of insectspelling bee. B. To introduce a competition about spelling words. C. To discuss the ways of participating the Scripps National Spelling Bee. D. To share Mark Neuhauser's pleasure of winning the competition. Answer: B. To introduce a competition about spelling words. Question: WASHINGTON--Two-thirds of the world's polar bear population could be gone by 2050 if predictions of melting sea ice hold true, the US Geological Survey reported on Friday. The fate of polar bears could be even worse than that estimate, because sea ice in the Arctic might be disappearing faster than the available computer models predict, the geological survey said in a report aimed at determining whether the big white bear should be listed as a threatened species. "There is a definite link between changes in the sea ice and the welfare of polar bears," said Steve Amstrup, who led the research team. He says Arctic sea ice is already at the lowest this year and is expected to retreat farther this month. That means that polar bears--some 16,000 of them -- will disappear by 2050 from parts of the Arctic where sea ice is melting most rapidly, along the north coasts of Alaska and Russia, researchers said in a telephone briefing . Other polar bears could survive beyond that date but many of those could be gone by 2100, Amstrup said. By this century's end, the only polar bears left might live in the Canadian Arctic islands and along the west coast of Greenland. "It is likely to result in loss of approximately two-thirds of the world's current polar bear population by the mid 21st century," the report's executive summary said. "Because the observed trajectory of Arctic sea ice decline appears to be underestimated by currently available models, this assessment of future polar bear status may be conservative ." In January, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species, noting polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals, their main food. Without enough sea ice, polar bears would be forced onto land, but they are poor hunters once they get out of the water and ice, the researchers said. The bears' disappearance would probably take place as young cubs failed to survive to adulthood and females were unable to reproduce successfully. The key to preventing polar bears dying out seems to _ . A. help young polar bears to survive the cold winter B. have large number of seals living in the oceans C. make sure there is enough sea ice in the Arctic D. provide chances for adult polar bears to reproduce Answer: C. make sure there is enough sea ice in the Arctic Question: My first full-time job after high school was selling vacation packages via the telephone for a well-known company. One day, I was put through to a man who sounded a bit out of breath. I started with my normal pitch , expecting to hear the normal reply --"I don't want any." Instead, he spoke in a faint, weak voice and told me how he wished to take a vacation I was offering, but he couldn't because he was dying of illness. He explained how he was lacking in oxygen then, and it took almost all his energy to answer the call. He asked if I smoked, which I did, and begged me to stop. He told me smoking was what was killing him. He told me to spend every day with my loved ones, and tell them how much I love them. At this point, I couldn't control myself. We ended the call, but I held on my phone to prevent another call coming in so I could _ I wrote down his name and address, and sent him a card appreciating his advice and praying for him and his family. Shortly after, I received a letter from Frank, along with a picture of him and his wife. We continued to write back and forth over the next few months, and became very fond of each other. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and in many ways, I felt as if he was. About a year later I received a letter from his wife. When I started to read, tears came to my eyes. She told me how Frank's battle with the disease had finally come to an end, and he passed away shortly before the Christmas. She wanted to thank me for the letters to Frank, and explained how Frank touched many lives over the years. At his funeral, to show just that, they read the 1st letter I had written to Frank to show how he affected a 19-year-old he'd never met. The author was then probably working for _ . A. a travel agency B. a cigarette company C. an e-shopping store D. a vacation school Answer: A. a travel agency Question: Look at this picture! It's a picture of a room. What can you see in the picture? I can see an apple on the table. Can you see an English book on the table? No, I can't. Where is it? It's in the schoolbag! The schoolbag is on the chair next to the bed. What is next to the table? Oh, it's a bookcase. Some books are in it. Look! What's that under the chair? It's a cat. A ball is beside the cat. The ball is mine. It is a volleyball. I like playing volleyball very much. Where is the cat? A. It's next to the bed. B. It's under the chair. C. It's on the soccer. D. It's on the bed. Answer: B. It's under the chair. Question: It was a nice day, an old man decided to go fishing. But he got nothing.Finally, he gave up and went back home. He found the door open when he got home. He walked into his house and saw a big bear. The bear poured his honey all over the floor. His paws were full of(...) honey. The old man was very angry, so he shouted to the bear. The bear ran out of the door strangely. And the old man ran after him. The bear ran to the riverside. Standing on his back legs, he walked into the water. Soon many flies were on his paws. A big fish jumped out of the water and tried to eat the flies. The bear gave a swat to the fish and the fish flew to the riverside. Then another one... Soon there were lots of fish on the riverside. After a while, the bear went back to the riverside and ate lots of fish.He looked through the trees where the old man was, and then walked away.The old man came out the trees and found the bear had left six large fish for him. Why did the bear run strangely? A. Because his paws were full of honey. B. Because there was something wrong with his legs. C. Because he liked walking like that. D. Because he wanted to get more honey. Answer: A. Because his paws were full of honey.
Question: With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are getting pushed aside as households decrease in size and increase in number. Small numbers of people per household on average use more energy and goods per person. Greater numbers of households require more natural resources for construction. The possible result of this problem may be _ natural resources to meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity. Personal freedom and social choice may come at huge environmental cost. Direct costs include visible damage to animal habitats and plant life. Indirect costs include the release of more greenhouse gases. The effects of such "personal freedom and social choice" have already surfaced in south-west China's Wolong Nature Reserve. In Wolong, they found that a reduced average household size was directly tied to an increase in homes, and thus an increase in the amount of firewood consumed for cooking and heating. The rise in wood fuel use has contributed to disappearance of forests and to the loss of habitats for giant pandas. Curious about whether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they got the support of a team of researchers including Stanford's Paul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the household dynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000. Their study proved that the difficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend. In the 76 countries considered biodiversity "hotspots", such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number of households grew by 3.1% every year, while the population increased just 1.8%. Meanwhile, the number of people per home dropped from 4.7 to 4.0. The decline in household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspot countries, almost always limiting biodiversity. In the 10 non-hotspot countries -- those without high-density areas of animal and plant species -- similar results were found, though on a lesser scale. Even in countries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number of households still increased because of a reduction in household size. What does the passage mainly talk about? A. Reduced household size leads to an increase in household number. B. Modern homes consume more natural resources. C. How to meet consumer demand without endangering animals and their habitats. D. Reduction in household size as well as increase in household number threatens nature. Answer: D Question: Enjoy a museum visit with your class! Available Programs: Art Tells a Story: By looking at the subject matter and by drawing from personal experiences, students can find the story in some works of art. ( All grades) Learning to Look: An interactive tour that explores a variety of art using storytelling, movements, music, games, and other techniques helps introduce children to a museum. (Preschool~ Grade 3) Native American Collection: This program explores relationships that exist between art, culture, the geographic location and natural resources. Students will see a bowl made by Maria Martinez, a Towa storyteller, a Northwest coast mask, and Inuit clothing. ( For Grades 2~5) The Language of Art: Classes are welcomed into the museum to take part in an interactive tour of American Art. It gives participants a new set of vocabulary while helping them feel comfortable. Art-on-the-Move: Teachers may borrow suitcases filled with art objects. Free organizations with Education Membership. Planning Your Visit: Booking: Booking is necessary for all tours and programs. Please book at least a week in advance. Teachers are encouraged to organize self-guided visits for their classes during public hours. Tour Hours: Tours can be organized between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Program Fees: Tours are free for those with Education Membership. There is a charge of $6 per student of non-member organizations. Tour with art activities cost $12 per student (non-members) or $10 per student (members). Chaperones :We require one adult chaperone for every 10 children. Chaperones help to make your museum visit a success. A chaperone must pay $5 admission. Lunch: We regret that no lunch facilities are available at the museum. Museum Rules: Don't touch works of art. Don't take photographs. Ask questions. Look, and then LOOK again! Enjoy! How much should the museum charge a class of 60 students with Education Membership for a tour with art activities? A. $600. B. $630. C. $720. D. $750. Answer: B Question: A lot of management training each year for Circle K Corporation, a national chain of convenience stores. Among the topics we address in our course is the retention of quality employees-a real challenge to managers when you consider the pay scale in the service industry. During these discussions, I ask the participants , "What has caused you to stay long enough to become a manager?" Some time back a new manager took the question and slowly, with her voice almost breaking, said, "It was a $19 baseball glove." Cynthia told the group that she originally took a Circle K clerk job as an interim position while she looked for something better. On her second or third day behind the counter, she received a phone call from her nine-year-old son, Jessie. He needed a baseball glove for Little League. She explained that as a single mother, money was very tight, and her first check would have to go for paying bills. Perhaps she could buy his baseball glove with her second or third check. When Cynthia arrived for work the next morning, Patricia, the store manager, asked her to come to the small room in the back of the store that served as an office. Cynthia wondered if she had done something wrong or left some part of her job incomplete from the day before. She was concerned and confused. Patricia handed her a box. "I overheard you talking to your son yesterday," she said, "and I know that it is hard to explain things to kids. This is a baseball glove for Jessie because he may not understand how important he is, even though you have to pay bills before you can buy gloves. You know we can't pay good people like you as much as we would like to; but we do care, and I want you to know you are important to us." The thoughtfulness, empathy and love of this convenience store manager demonstrates vividly that people remember more how much an employer cares than how much the employer pays. An important lesson for the price of a Little League baseball glove. Among many of the problems in the service industry, talked about in this passage, is _ . A. how to ensure his employees' high pay B. how to attract more customers C. how to look carefully after the employees D. how to keep the good employees from leaving Answer: D Question: Lu Xun is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20thcentury. Today, many of his writings are included in school textbooks and his works are read by millions around the world. Born in 1881 to rich family, Lu Xun had a happy childhood. In 1893, however, his grandfather was put into prison for taking money. At the same time, his father became seriously ill. From that time on, his family were no longer accepted by their relatives and friends. These early experiences greatly influenced his writing. By the time Lu Xun arrived in Nanjing to study at a college in 1899, he already believed that Chinese government had to change and become modern. In 1902 he went to study in Japan. There he began writing articles for some Chinese student magazines. He showed a gift for writing and translating and he even wrote several books, though none was popular. He returned to China in 1909 because he was in need of money. After working for a few years as a teacher in Beijing, Lu Xun again returned to writing. In 1918, he wrote his famous short story Diary of a Madman. It was the first Chinese novel using the everyday language that people spoke, which helped make it a great success. _ , together with his novel The True Story of Ah Q(1921), made Lu Xun a leading Chinese writer. Though successful, Lu Xun still worried greatly about China's future. In 1926, he moved to Shanghai and gave up writing stories. He only wrote articles which called on the people to fight against the government. For this, the government stopped him publishing any more books. He was made to write his articles using false names . Since his death in 1936, Lu Xun's importance and influence have grown. More and more people have become interested in reading and studying his works. After moving to Shanghai, Lu Xun mainly wrote _ . A. funny stories B. articles about himself C. articles against the government D. stories about the government Answer: C Question: A family installs a new heating system in their home. Which is the most desirable result of the new heating system? A. producing more noise pollution B. decreasing the amount of energy used C. increasing the use of natural resources D. increasing the time it takes to heat the home Answer: B
Most summer camps for teens center around sports, or music and arts, or just for having fun. But some girls in the Washington suburb of Arlington County, Virginia, went to camp to get a taste of what its like to be a firefighter. This is not a typical summer camp. But Michelle Pawlaw is glad she signed up for it."Getting to experience the fires hands-on is really cool and something that most people don't get to do," she said. Michelle and eight other teenage girls are participating in the three-day camp offered by the Arlington County Fire Department located just outside of Washington. "The purpose is to try to get young women interested in considering the fire service as a career" said firefighter Clare Burley, who is in charge of the program. The free of charge, overnight camp is designed to let the girls experience what firefighters do in the line of duty to protect the community. They take classes and learn how to climb the ladder on a fire truck, operate emergency tools and rescue on injured person. They also do their share of cleaning the firehouse and the equipment Firefighting is still a male-dominated service. Clare joined the department seven years ago, saying "We do everything that the guys do to the same standarD.We are tested to the same standarD.We are expected to operate at the same standard." Most of the girls say they had never thought about becoming a firefighter, but the camp was a great learning experience. "I think it is definitely not a job that only men can do. Women can do it just as well as men can," said Michelle Pawlaw. 'I think I can help other people if they need help and know what to do in case I am at a fire myself," said Kayla Ehrlich. "I think it's fantastic; I could consider taking it as a career some day." said Monica Bartorsh. And, the girls say, by spending three days together, they also made new friends and had a lot of fun. The purpose of the text is _ . to introduce a new type of camp Are you a problem shopper? The answer is "Yes" , if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping .In other words ,do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping ? If people have regrets later about their shopping , or have an "out-of-control" feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use , they may be considered to be problem shoppers. Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem -addictive shopping . Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money . They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a "rush" during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity. Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety ,pain and shame are common ones,. When we feel bad inside ,we often do something to make ourselves feel better . In this case ,we often go shopping . A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness .For some people ,the motivation is a desire for status ,power ,beauty or success .Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants .Others shop simply because it makes them forget , at least temporarily , tension ,fear or unhappiness in their life. Besides ,shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping . For instance ,there are some malls where you can't see clocks displaying the time because they don't want you to become too aware of the time you spend there .What's more ,food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided ,so you don't have to leave the mall because of your physical needs. Therefore ,once you become aware of how market forces work ,you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior .For example ,how much time you will spend an d what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend . Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it . That is vital for gaining self0control. Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers? Those who just walk around the shopping malls. If you're a male and you're reading this, congratulations: you're a survivor. According to statistics, you are more than twice as likely to die of skin cancer as a woman, and nine times more likely to die of AIDS. Assuming you make it to the end of your natural term, about 78 years for men in Australia, you'll die on average five years before a woman. There are many reasons for this--typically, men take more risks than women and are more likely to drink and smoke--but perhaps more importantly, men don't go to the doctor. "Men aren't seeing doctors as often as they should," says Dr. Gullotta. "This is particularly so for the over-40s, when diseases tend to strike." Gullotta says a healthy man should visit the doctor every year or two. For those over 45, it should be at least once a year. Two months ago Gullotta saw a 50-year-old man who had delayed doing anything about his smoker's cough for a year. "When I finally saw him it had already spread and he has since died from lung cancer," he says. "Earlier detection and treatment may not have cured him, but it would have prolonged his life." According to a recent survey, 95% of women aged between 15 and early 40s see a doctor once a year, compared to 70% of men in the same age group. "A lot of men think they're undefeatable," Gullota says. "They only come in when a friend drops dead on the golf course and they think, 'Geez, if it could happen to him, ...'" Then there's the ostrich approach. "Some men are scared of what might be there and would rather not know," says Dr. Ross Cartmill. "Most men get their cars serviced more regularly than they service their bodies," Cartmill says. He believes most diseases that commonly affect men could be addressed by preventive check-ups. Regular check-ups for men would inevitably place strain on the public purse, Cartmill says. "But prevention is cheaper in the long run than having to treat the diseases. Besides, the ultimate cost is far greater: it is called premature death." What does Cartmill say about regular check-ups for men? They will save money in the long run. "We're leaving you a great gift,"Papa once told us, " _ !"We thought this was another one of Papa's jokes.But Papa and Mama knew the true value of that gift.We children didn't -until much later.What great gift did our parents leave us? They left us the oil lamp On winter nights,I felt my way through the dark kitchen to get a drink of water for Papa.I was so afraid of the darkness that I never took the time to light the oil lamp or even to drink before I filled his glass.I always sipped from the glass on my way back to him, "Don't drink it all before you get here Miss,"Papa would call. They left us the milking Today I buy milk in bottles,pure and cold.But as a girl I had to milk the cows each day.Then after the milking I had to wash the milk pails and pans.I couldn't use soap,because the water had to be fed to the pigs.The same was true of the dishwater.Soap in the water would have made the pigs sick.But even without soap,the dishes must shine,Mama said.So we had to make them shine! Now we have the blessed telephone and the automobile.There's no barn to clean out,no hitching of horses.There is the warming magic of the furnace .There are the electric lights,with no oil lamp to clean.There are the vegetables that come in neat clear bags.If I want an apple pie,I don't have to climb a tree first. And there is always water!It comes from shiny taps. Now I know what Papa meant when he said, "We're leaving you a great gift.It's a great gift--the gift of going without.It makes you rich for all the days of your life!" On winter nights,the author was so afraid of the darkness that _ . she tried to spend the least amount of time she could in the kitchen Many students ask for advice about improving their English. There are three basic questions. The first question is about real English. Li Hao from Hubei wrote, "I enjoy watching English films and listening to real English songs. But it takes a long time. What do you think?" This is a great way to learn English! Talk about the film or song with your friends, and guess the meaning of the new words. Just enjoy yourself! The second question is about speaking. Sam, from Suzhou wrote. "Our school has a foreign teacher. But I'm shy and can't speak to her. What should I do?" When I visit China, lots of people in the street say, "Hello! How are you? Where are you from? Do you like China?" These are good questions to start a talk. Many people are shy when they speak English, so before you begin, take a deep breath and smile! Smiling always helps. The third question is about vocabulary. Oliver, from Anhui wrote, "I want to remember all the new words. I write them down, but I forget them quickly. What should I do?" Try to remember eight or ten words a day. Write them on pieces of paper and place them in your bedroom. Say the words when you see them, and change them every day. And when you're shopping, how about counting the English words, or saying the English names for everything you see? Which isn't a good way to learn English? Sitting in your bedroom to remember words
Mr. Smith is telling two funny stories of his police work. Story A I remember catching a "thief" in a clothes shop once. It was strange. The man was hiding a yellow sweater inside his coat. I thought he had stolen it, so I caught him. We found later that his wife gave him the sweater for his birthday, but he hated it. He just wanted to return it to the shop for money, but he didn't want his wife to see him! We soon let him go. Story B Another day, a man called Bob went into a bank on Sixth Street. He wrote on the back of an envelope, "Give me the money! Or I'll kill you." and gave it to the bank clerk. She gave him $100,000 and the man ran away. Then we received a phone call from the bank clerk. She told us to go to the man's house in Candy Town and get him. We caught him as soon as he got out of the elevator. He couldn't believe that we found him so quickly. We told him that the front of the envelope he used his name and address on it! Mr. Smith caught the man in the clothes shop _ . LONDON(Reuters)--Organic fruit, delivered right to the doorstep.That is what Gabriel Gold prefers, and he is willing to pay for it.If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food. "Organic produce is always better," Gold said."The food is free of pesticides , and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms.And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty." Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into _ , and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business.But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce? Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences--but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete.For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products.And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet growing demand."The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market," said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business. More and more people in Britain are buying organic food because _ . Hi! My name's Frank. Look! This is my schoolbag. It's black and red. My pens, my ruler and my books are in it. I have 2 pens, they are blue. My ruler is yellow and white. My books are purple and brown. Look! What's this? It's a map. It's red, yellow and green. I like them very much. The ruler is _ . Milk is the most complete food in the world. It has many things that we need to help us grow. It can give us energy and good health. Milk is a food enjoyed by people of all ages as we can easily _ it. Milk is produced by all mother animals to feed their babies after they are born. Some such as cows produce more milk than their young ones need, so the extra milk is used by people. Nowadays, baby cows are often taught to eat solid food earlier, so that we can use most of the cow's milk. A cow can produce as much as 45 liters of milk a day. She will give good milk if she is fed on rich grass. Many products can be made from cow's milk. The simplest is cream, which is made from the fat of the milk. Butter is made from cream. Cream is also used for making cakes and other foods. Another common milk product is cheese. Cow's milk can be also turned into powdered milk. In countries where cows are not raised, people get milk from other animals. The buffalo gives milk to the people of India. In China, Iran and Turkey, a large number of sheep and goats are kept for their milk. And many Arabs drink camel's milk. For babies, however, the best of all is their mother's milk which is given to them during their first few months of life. People need milk because it can _ Looking for some inspiration or the "write" kind of ideas for your creative stories? To start with, some writers describe winter by using their five senses or their imagination. Others write on their favorite winter activity. Whatever you choose to write about, working on a winter story can always help to improve your writing skills. Now read the following story and see if it helps get rid of any icy writing block you' ve been struggling with. A Winter Adventure Beep, beep. Beep-beep: the alarm clock rang. Slowly, I got out of warm bed down onto the wooden floor which the winter had thrown its cold upon. The bitter cold temperature penetrated my socks and I hurried to put my feet in shoes. Looking out of the window, I watched the white snow, soft and thick, drop onto rooftops and trees. Half an hour later, finishing the last of my hot chocolate, I prepared to enter the _ that waited for me outside. I buttoned my jacket and fastened my boots. Hat on, I opened the door and was greeted by the winter coldness. In the depths of winter, the early morning did not have the rush of the rest of the year. Most of my neighbours were put off by the cold, and stayed in bed until the sun had climbed higher into the sky. Unseen by those who remained locked inside their homes, warm in their beds, I enjoyed being alone with the beauty of the wintertime. Those indoors were unable to appreciate the snow-scapes, ice crystals, frost and the crisp breeze. For them, the coming of winter meant just the arrival of the cold. Appreciation depends on contrasts. One cannot love the warmth of April if one has not known the freezing cold of winter. Later that year, the heat of the sun on my skin would be all the more wonderful for my memories of that cold morning and others like it. What function does the story A Winter Adventure serve?
The Channel is the name given to the stretch of water which separates England and France. Ferries operate all year round to carry people across the Channel, and they are busy most of the year. January is the only quiet month nowadays. As well as summer holiday-makers, there are day trippers and coach traffic, not to mention lorries and other commercial vehicles. Some ferries carry cars and their passengers, while others also connect train passengers with the Continental rail network. The biggest hazard for the ferry is the wind. The crew listens to BBC weather reports four times a day. Or they sometimes get gale warnings from local radio station. Crossing the Channel by ferry is a bit like trying to cross Oxford Street on a busy afternoon, according to one ferryboat captain. The ferries from Folkstone and Dover to Calais and Boulogne have to cross the main flow of traffic. This consists of ships traveling through the Channel to and from Northern Europe. There may be four hundred ships making the journey at any one time, and they all pass through a "choke point" which is only fifteen miles (twenty-five kilometers) wide. The cross-channel ferries have to sail right through the middle of all this traffic. The word hazard is closest in meaning to _ . A trouble B danger C enemy D problem Answer: B. danger Most people feel lonely sometimes,but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours,This kind of loneliness is not serious.In fact,it is quite normal.For some people,though,loneliness can last for years.Now researchers say loneliness comes in three different types. The first kind of loneliness is temporary.This is the most common type.It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention.The second kind is situation,for example,family problem,the death of a loved one,or moving to a new place.Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems,such as headaches and sleeplessness,it usually does not last for more than a year.The third kind of loneliness is the most serious.Unlike the second type, chronic (the opposite of'temporary') usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause.People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others.Unfortunately,many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition. Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person's social contacts,for example,friends,family members,co-workers,etc.We depend on various people for different reasons.For instance.our family give us emotional support,our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our fiends share similar interests and activities. However,psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts,they sometimes feel they should have more.They question their popularity. Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons:they are unhappy and unable to socialize arid there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease,while temporary and situational loneliness can be a sad,and sometimes dangerous condition. Loneliness is divided according to _ . A the time it lasts B the places where it appears C different people it happen to D different seasons when it appears Answer: A. the time it lasts 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 the hamburgers or fried chicken? It doesn't matter whether you like Western fast food or Chinese food . The most important thing is to have good eating habits to keep healthy . The survey shows _ of Americans like fast food . A 37% B 44% C 75% D 81 % Answer: B. 44% India has many festivals, with some celebrations that last for weeks. However, none of them come even close to Holi, India's most colorful and fun festival. Celebrated on the day following the full moon, this year's festival happens to be on March 19th. As with most Indian festivals, this one also has many different folk stories. Most of them center around the success of good over evil. The most popular one is about a king, who hates his son Prahlada for loving the creator of the Universe--Lord Vishnu. When every attempt to stop him fails, his sister, Holika believed to be immune to fire, joins in the effort by inviting the young boy to sit with her inside a huge fire. Helped by the power of Lord Vishnu, Prahlada escapes safely, while the evil Holika is burned to death. To remember this event, huge outdoor fires are lit in the night before Holi in order to clean the air of evil spirits and to celebrate the death of the evil. So what's so great about this day? While there are some fun parades and folk songs and dance performances, the most fun of all is walking to the streets and splashing people with water guns and dry colors and even covering them with entire buckets of colored water. On this day, everybody is _ , no matter how old or how young. At about midday, the splashing comes to an end and people living close to oceans or rivers usually take a bath in the water to clean themselves before going home to a delicious home-made big dinner and a well-deserved short sleep, following this full day of fun and activities. Prahlada gets out of danger _ . A with the help of Lord Vishnu B because of his good luck C by beating his aunt Holika D using his amazing talent Answer: A. with the help of Lord Vishnu Chinese students aren't the only ones who have a sleep loss problem. In Australia, teenagers are also missing out on, on average, one hour's sleep every night during the school week. Organized activities and homework push bedtimes later, the first large-scale Australian study of children's sleeping habits has revealed . Their sleep deprivation is enough to cause "serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory", and governments should consider later or flexible school start times, said the study's leader, Tim Olds. ks5u His survey, of more than 4,000 children aged 9 to 18, found those who slept least did not watch more television but spent their time socializing with family or friends or listening to music. "Almost all children get up at 7 or 7:15 -- they have to get to school on time," said Olds. He favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sports and activities would still consume the latter end of the day. Olds' research also establishes lack of sleep as a cause of weight gain in children, and a possible source of future problems with depression, anxiety and increased susceptibility to illness. It was already known that overweight children sleep less, but Professor Olds found sleep duration was strongly linked to weight across the full range of body sizes. The thinnest children sleep 20 minutes more than the _ . This showed being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times stimulate appetite and make kids hungry. The US National Sleep Foundation says teenagers aged 13 to 18 need eight to nine hours' sleep a night. Younger school-aged kids need 9 to 11 hours. On that basis, Professor Olds said, half of Australian children are under-sleeping on weekdays and a quarter on weekends. Which of the following suggestions did Mr. Olds raise? A The students should go to bed earlier to have longer sleeping time. B The students should participate less in organized activities. C The school should put off the start time in the morning. D The school should finish earlier in the afternoon. Answer: C. The school should put off the start time in the morning.
If you look at the word Christmas, you can see the word Christ in it. On Christmas, people celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Of course not everyone in America thinks Christ a great man, but Christmas is a holiday for all the people. It's on December 25. Shops and schools are not open. Almost every family has a Christmas tree in the house. People make their Christmas trees very beautiful. They put many colored bulbs on the trees. The bulbs make the trees more beautiful at night. They also put some dolls, balls and small animals on the trees. On Christmas day almost everyone gives gifts to others and also gets gifts from others. In America people celebrate Christmas because_. Answer: Mozilla has shown off a prototype for a $25 (PS15) smart phone that is aimed at the developing world. The company, which is famed mostly for its Firefox browser , has partnered with the Chinese low-cost chip maker Spreadtrum. While not as powerful as more expensive models, the phone will run apps and make use of mobile internet. It would appeal to the sorts of people who currently buy cheap "feature" phones, analysts said. Feature phones are highly popular in the developing world as a halfway point between "dumb" phones --- just voice calls and other basic functions --- and fully-developed smart phones. Mozilla hopes that it will take an early lead in a market that is now being targeted by mobile phone producers who see the developing world as the remaining area for massive growth. It will face fierce competition from bigger, more popular brands, however --- with more announcements of this kind expected over the course of the next couple of days at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "These solutions expand the global accessibility of open web smart phones to first-time and entry-level smart phone buyers by reducing the time and cost required for handset makers to bring these phones to market," said Spreadtrum in a press statement. Mozilla said the phone "redefines" the entry-level phone market. The concept of a cheap smart phone may seem likely to appeal to consumers in developed countries, particularly those who locked into long contracts in order to pay part of the cost of the likes of the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy range. But analyst Carolina Milanesi, from Kantar World panel, said it should not be seen as a competitor. Which of the following is true about the $25 smart phone? Answer: Good morning, everyone! Welcome to our school. Now you are students of a middle school. All the things here are new. The life here is a little different. I think you must know what you can do and what you can't do. It can help you study well and live happily. Here are some rules of our school. You have to come to school from Monday to Friday. You will learn some important subjects, such as Chinese, math, English and science. Classes begin at 8:00. You have four classes in the morning. You have lunch in the school dining hall. You can't eat in the classroom. Classes are over at 3:30 in the afternoon and then you can join your favorite clubs to have fun. You can't play balls or run in the classroom and hallways. You mustn't _ these rules. I really hope you will have a happy life here. Thank you. The speaker mainly tells them _ . Answer: Why do mountain climbers at high elevations use oxygen tanks to help them breathe? Answer: When I was just a kid of ten, my father said to me," Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree. Don't put your faith in love, my boy." My father said to me, "I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree." Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. beneath the lemon tree One day my love and I did lie. A girl so sweet that when she smiled, the stars rose in the sky. We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree. The music of her laughter hid my father's words from me. Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. One day she left without a word, she took away the sun. And in the dark she'd left behind, I knew what she had done. She left me for another; it's a common tale but true. A sadder man but wiser now, I sing these words to you. Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. Lemon tree, Lemon tree, Lemon tree, Lemon tree The name of the song should be _ . Answer:
Chaplin was one of the famous clown-style actors of the silent time. It was through Charlie Chaplin that the Hollywood comedy movies became famous. Then in the 1920s came another trend of animated cartoons. They were the most popular Hollywood comedy movies of the time. The several popular characters of that era were Felix the cat, Krazy Kat and Betty Boop. However, the popularity of these movies was blocked out due to lack of sound and color. The end of 1920s, the Hollywood comedy industry marked a change brought about by the introduction of sound into the movies. This has allowed the industry to create dramatic new film styles and use verbal humor. These films were soon replacing silent movies. These films used dialogue of comedians such as the W.C Fields and the Marx Brothers. Charlie Chaplin was the last comedian to have acted in the silent films. When the United States entered into World War II, Hollywood movies changed its course to themes related to the conflicts, and Hollywood comedy movies described more on military themes. The war time experienced a boom, where restrictions on the traveling made nearly a quarter of the money spent on attending movies. In the 1950s, the interest shifted where the TV became popular. During this time the release of Hollywood comedy films declined . The 1960s saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies. In 1970 Hollywood comedy movies reflected the anti-war sentiment, which was popular then. In the 1980s the gag based comedy Airplane was released, and Hollywood comedy movies paved its way for more of the same. The popular comedians of this time included Dudley Moore, Tom Hanks, etc. Jim Carrey, the Canadian actor and a comedian, came into Hollywood comedy movies in the late 1980s where he won the role in such a comedy, Copper Mountain. The most popular Hollywood comedy movies were of John Hughes, which includes Ferris Buellers Day Off and Home Alone series of 1990s. The later films focused more on family audience. This was a revival in comedy movies. Comedy movies remain popular till date. The theme of the 1970s Hollywood comedies is _ . Answer: protests against wars Japanese workers who run secretly out of the office and spend their afternoons hanging around coffee shops may soon be caught out by their bosses. A new cellphonebased tracking device from Hitachi can show, on an employer's computer screen, not only the whereabouts of their workers but also whether they are standing, walking, running--or have fallen over. The system, called Partout, was originally developed as a monitoring device for the families of people with dementia, who may wander off and need to be located. "It's estimated that the number of elderly people with symptoms of dementia will reach 1.5 million in Japan next year," says Hitachi's Keisaku Shibatani. But the high cost of the system--early prices are around PS27,000--has put it out of reach of most families. Indeed, companies with large sales forces and police departments who want to track officers on dangerous patrol duties are interested in the system. Partout uses a multifunction location sensing unit that tracks users through global positioning satellites. The user's body motion is determined by an accelerometer inside the sensing unit: no movement means the subject has stopped, slow movement means they are walking, fast movement means they are running, and strong and unexpectedly sudden movement means the user may have fallen. The date is relayed through the user's cell phone to computer, which displays their position on a map. Graphics record the motion or position of the subject's body. What is mainly talked about in the text? Answer: A new cellphonebased tracking device--Partout. There seems to be a general assumption that brilliant people cannot stand routine ; that they need a varied , exciting life in order to do their best . It is also assumed that dull people are particularly suited for dull work . We are told that the reason the present-day young complain so loudly about the dullness of jobs is that they are better educated and brighter than the young of the past . Actually , there is no evidence that people who achieve a lot desire , let alone live , colorful lives . The opposite is nearer the truth . Einstein worked out his theory of relativity while serving as a clerk in a Swiss patent office . Immanuel Kant's daily life was a dull routine . The housewives of Konigsberg set their clocks when they saw him pass , on his way to the university . He took the same walk each morning , rain or shine . The greatest distance Kant ever traveled was sixty miles from Konigsberg . It may be true that work on the assembly line dulls the abilities and empties the mind , and the cure is only fewer hours of work at higher pay . But during fifty years as a workingman , I have found dull routine coexisting with an active mind . While doing dull , repetitive work by the water , I could talk with my partners and compose sentences in my mind , all at the same time . Chances are that had my work been too interesting I could not have done any thinking and composing at work or even on my own time after returning from work . People who find dull jobs unbearable are often dull people who do not know what to do with themselves at leisure . Children and mature people will get used to dull routine , while the adolescent , who has lost the child's ability for concentration and is without the inner resources of the mature , needs excitement and novelty to get rid of boredom . What is the purpose of the passage ? Answer: To argue for the benefits of dull work . If you like adventurous cartoons, then Koala Kid is the movie for you. Koala Kid tells us a story of a white koala named Johnny. It lives in a community of the gray koalas. He is not confident because of his color. But he thinks he has special talents. So the goes on a magic trip. On his trip he meets Miranda, Hamish and Lokie. And they become friends. They fight with their wits against Bog. I think this movie tells us: whatever you look like, you can become a hero. I give the movie five stars. It is a great movie for ages six and up. Because there are some scary parts in the movie, I wouldn't recommend it to kids under the age of six. ,. How many friends does Johnny make on his trip? Answer: Three. Dear Alfred, I want to tell you how important your help is to my life. Growing up, I had people telling me I was too slow, though, with an IQ of 150 at 17, I'm anything but stupid. The fact was that I was found to have ADIID . Anxious all the time, I was unable to keep focused for more than an hour at a time. However, when something did interest me, I could become absorbed. In high school, I became curious about the computer, and built my first website. Moreover, I completed the senior course of Computer Basics, plus five relevant pre-college courses. While I was exploring my curiosity, my disease got worse. I wanted to go to college after high school, but couldn't . So, I was killing my time at home until June 2012 when I discovered the online computer courses of your training center. Since then, I have taken courses like Data Science and Advanced Mathematics. Currently, I'm learning your Probability course. I have hundreds of printer paper, covered in self-written notes from your video. This has given me a purpose. Last year, I spent all my time looking for a job where, without dealing with the public , I could work alone, but still have a team to talk to. Luckily, I discovered the job--Data Analyst--this month and have been going full steam ahead. I want to prove that I can teach myself a respectful profession, without going to college, and be just as good as, if not better than, my competitors. Thank you. You've given me hope that I can follow my heart. For the first time, I feel good about myself because I'm doing something, not because someone told me I was doing good. I feel whole. This is why you're saving my life. Yours, Tanis Tanis wrote this letter in order to _ . Answer: show how grateful she was to the center
Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Great Wall of China make up our world's heritage. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is _ in an international treaty called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. How does a place become a World Heritage Site? It takes a lot of people to decide. 1)If a country wants one of its places to be on the World Heritage List, it has to ask UNESCO. The place must be important and special. UNESCO put the Great Wall on the list in 1987 because, it said, it was a great part of Chinese culture and beautifully made to go with the land. When a country asks, it must also make a plan for taking care of the place. 2)The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO talks about different places and decides whether to put them on the list. The committee meets every June. Many experts help the committee to decide. 3)After a new place goes on the list, UNESCO gives money to help keep it looking good. If a place is in serious danger, it may be put on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. UNESCO gives special care and help to those places. 4)Countries have to give UNESCO regular reports about places on the list. If UNESCO thinks a country isn't taking good enough care of a place, the site will be taken off the list. If a place successfully becomes a World Heritage Site, the country _ . Answer: The idea of what shaking the head means is not always the same in different countries. Maybe some visitors would be surprised when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, they would find he would often shake his head. The visitors might think that the Indian doesn't like what they say. But in fact, they would be completely wrong. Indians always shake their heads when they talk to others. It doesn't mean "No". If someone wants to visit India, he should know this, or he will be in trouble. One day, a foreign officer went to India on business. He hired a car and asked an Indian to drive him. When he told his driver to take him to his office, the Indian shook his head at once. The officer said again and the driver shook his head again. At last the officer, of course, got angry. "How dare you refuse my order?" he shouted, "Drive me to my office at once!" The driver answered in quite a loud voice, too. "Yes, sir!" But to the officer's surprise, the driver shook his head at the same time. The car started and the foreign officer was now too surprised to say a word. He thought about it for a while, and then he nodded with a smile, "'No' means 'Yes' here!" Why did the officer get angry? Answer: In the past two years, his wife, Merlie, and their seven children have said "goodbye" to him four times, most recently last month. Each time it has been unnecessary. Mr. Smart had a hip replacement in February at the Burnie hospital but was rushed back two months later with internal bleeding. "The doctors couldn't stop the bleeding," Mrs. Smart said. Medical staff told Mrs. Smart to contact her family, which includes children in Western Australia. "It took two days for them to get here. We had to hope he _ ." he did. "The doctors were there 24 hours a day and they stopped the bleeding. They brought him back," Mrs. Smart said. "I certainly believe in miracles because I've seen one happen, but it wouldn't have happened if the doctors didn't do what they did." It was the second time Mrs. Smart thought she was losing her husband of 54 years. Two years ago, Mr. Smart was admitted to the Launceston General Hospital after a heart attack and a few days later with intense pain caused by a hemorrhage . Again, the family was called to say goodbye---twice. "I was given a 50-50 chance of coming out of it, " Mr. Smart said. Going through the ordeal (,) then was trying on the family, who had prepared themselves for the worst. But to face the same situation only two years later was hard. The Smarts said the support they received at the Burnie hospital helped them through. And it seems the experience has also left an impression at the hospital. Mrs. Smart said when she rang recently and mentioned her husband's name, the reply was "ah the miracle man". The experience Mr. Smart had at the hospital could be that of _ . Answer: Try this: for a whole day, _ . Eat when you're hungry and sleep when you're tired. What do you think will happen? You may be surprised to find that your day is much like most other days. You'll probably get hungry when you normally eat and tired when you normally sleep. Even though you don't know what time it is, your body does. Inside our bodies are several clocklike systems that follow a 24- hour cycle. Everyone is unique, which is why you might like to stay up late while your sister always wants to go to bed early. Regularly staying up late can make kids do worse on tests and quizzes. And working shifts at night leads to higher rates of heart disease. "There is a growing sense that when we eat and when we sleep are important parts of how healthy we are," says Steven Shea, Director of the Sleep Disorders Research Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "During the night, we are prepared to sleep," Shea says. "During the day, we are prepared to eat and move around, If you reverse ( ) what you are doing, everything is out of phase. That can have adverse consequences. Steven Shea suggests _ . Answer: Mrs. Jackson was a rich woman. She had many friends. She liked cooking very much and she often invited her friends to her big house. One day, she invited some of her friends to lunch. She wanted very much to try a new way of cooking a fish, and she was very pleased with herself when the dish was ready. The fish was very hot, so she put it near the open window to make it cool. But five minutes later, when she came back for it, she was surprised to see her neighbor's cat, Mike, eating the fish. She was in time to stop the cat before it was too late. That afternoon everything was good and all her friends liked the fish very much. They talked until four o'clock. Then they said goodbye and left. At the end of that afternoon, when she was alone again, Mrs. Jackson was very tired but happy. She was sitting in the chair just near the window. Then through the window, she was surprised to see her neighbor's cat dead in the garden! Why, the fish must be bad! What would happen to her friends? She telephoned her family doctor at once. The doctor told her to call each of her friends to see him at the hospital. At last, the danger was over. Once again, Mrs. Jackson was alone in her chair in the sitting-room, still tired but no longer happy. Just then the telephone rang. It was her neighbor. "Oh, Mrs. Jackson, Mike is dead. He was killed by a car and put in your garden...". ,. When did Mrs. Jackson's friends leave her house? Answer:
Everyone has a family name. In China, the family name is the first name, but in English countries the family name is the last name. Do you know how English people get their family names? And what do they mean? English people usually get their family name in these ways . Some family names come from the places of their homes. A man live on or near a hill, his family name may be Hill. In England, people's names may be Wood, Lake because they live near the wood or the lake. Some family names come from a person's job. If a person is a cook, his family name may be Cook. And many people get their family names from their father's family names. If you hear the name "Jackson", you can know that he is the son of Jack. The passage mainly talks about _ in English countries. A. family names B. English people C. hills and lakes D. jobs and homes Answer: A. family names Dear SJ, Losing a best friend is never easy. Your problem, is not just that you miss your best friend, it is that you feel empty and lost without her friendship. It takes time to get over a lost, and during that time, your mind is getting used to _ . This is usually a good thing, even if it feels like a bad thing. Now that you are on your own, you are being forced to learn to be by yourself and to rely upon your own inner voice for guidance. I am sure that this feels strange for you, but if you can hang on for a bit longer, it may work to your advantage. Best friends are cool, but it is important to know the difference between missing someone and being too independent upon them. At your age, girls do tend to stick together and having a good boyfriend may not yet be the better choice. Your friend is leaving you, her best friend, for a boyfriend. Boyfriends are completely different from best friends. The distinction is that boyfriends come and go, while girl friends often stay in your life throughout high school, and even afterwards. It is a completely different sort of bond. I suggest that you take advantage of this period in your life to expand your horizons. Enjoy the freedom of having no best friend for a while, and hang with the group. By the time your former best friend breaks up with her boyfriend, you will be in a completely different place, a far better place. And, by the way, next time you feel empty and lost, try to write about it in a diary. In several months, you will look back and read it with curiosity about yourself. "Who was I then, and what could I have been thinking?" The writer believes by the time SJ's former friend loses her boyfriend, SJ will _ . A. take revenge on her former friend B. comfort her former friend C. feel more independent and confident D. continue friendship with her former friend Answer: C. feel more independent and confident As far back as 700 B. C, man has talked about children being cared for by wolves. Romulus and Remus, the legendary twin founders of Rome, were said to have been cared for by wolves. It is believed that when a she-wolf loses her litter, she tries to get human child to take its place. This seemingly foolish and unreasonable idea did not become believable until the late nineteenth century when a French doctor actually found a ten-year-old boy having nothing on wandering in the woods. He didn't walk upright, could not speak understandably, nor could he relate to people. He only growled and stared at them. Finally the doctor won the boy's confidence and began to work with him. After many long years of devoted and patient teaching, the doctor was able to get the boy to clothe and feed himself, recognize and say a number of words, as well as write letters and form words. Which of the following statements is not true? A. She-Wolves have been said to replace human children for their lost litter. B. Examples of wolves caring for human children can be found only in the nineteenth century. C. The French doctor succeeded in training the boy to enjoy the human life somewhat. D. The young boy never was able to speak perfectly. Answer: B. Examples of wolves caring for human children can be found only in the nineteenth century. 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. About the tickets to Li Yun Di Piano Recital, which of the following is right? A. The price for the tickets hasn't been determined. B. The tickets have been sold out. C. The price of the tickets is too high. D. It will be long before you can book the tickets for it. Answer: A. The price for the tickets hasn't been determined. We live in a digital world now, and a student's technology needs have changed. For the early years, when you are in primary school, you can get by with no technology at all. Even if you have a computer, it's a good idea to get children familiar with libraries. At this age, trips to the library are like family outings. As you get closer to middle school, a computer with Internet access becomes more of a necessity. Teachers will often give assignments that require a student to use the Internet for research. After a computer, technology choices for students become more difficult to make - especially when it comes to cell-phones. Kids will beg their parents for a cell-phone, especially in middle school. For many parents, it's a safety issue: They want to know that their kids can reach them quickly if necessary. For teachers, cell phones can be used to record lessons when students are absent. But many teachers dislike cell-phones. Some kids send messages or have talks in the class. Sending messages also raises the problem of cheating on exams. More and more schools are now forbidding the use of cell-phones. Many kids see iPods as necessary things to have. IPods are great for music, but do they do anything good for your children's education? Maybe they do. s the opinion of Doug Johnson, an educator for 30 years. Johnson says that educators should accept all new forms of technology in the classroom, including iPods. "Some do more with their cell- phones than we can do with our laptops," he jokes. "I don't think we should be afraid. The truth is that it's easier to change the way we teach than to change the technology habits of an entire generation." Why do parents agree to buy their children cell-phones? A. They want their children to be cool. B. They think cell-phones be helpful to their study. C. They want to keep in touch with their children. D. They want their children to keep up to date. Answer: C. They want to keep in touch with their children.
Medical scientists are already putting computer chips directly into the brain to help people who have Parkinson's disease, but in what other ways might computer technology be able to help us? Ray Kurzweil is the author of the successful book The Age Of Intelligent Machines. He is also one of the world's best computer research scientists. He is researching the possibilities. Kurzweil gets computers to recognize voices. An example of this is Ramona, the _ hostess of Kurzweil's website, created by the computer, who is able to understand what you say. Visitors to the website can have their own conversations with her. Ramona also dances and sings. Kurzweil uses this technology to help people with physical problems. One of his ideas is a "seeing machine". This will be "like a friend that could describe what is going on around," he explains. Blind people will use a sensor which will probably be built into a pair of sunglasses. This machine will describe to the person everything it sees. Another idea, which is likely to help deaf people, is the "listening machine". This invention will recognize millions of words and understand any speaker. The listening machine will also be able to translate what it hears into other languages, so even people without hearing problems are likely to be interested in using it. But it is not just about helping people with physical problems. Looking further into future, Kurzweil sees a time when we will be able to store what we hear, see and think in a computer. This technology probably won't be ready for at least 50 years, but when it arrives, it means our minds will be able to live forever. Ray Kurzweil is _ . Answer: a computer research scientist Many students in China are learning English. Some of these students are small children Others are teenagers . Many are adults . Some learn at school, others _ . A few learn English language over the radio, on television or in films. One must work hard to learn another language. Why do all these people want to learn English? _ . Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language, Maths and English. Some people learn English because it is useful for their work. Many people often learn English for their further studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers and magazines in English If one wants to learn another language well, he must _ . Answer: work hard When the TV viewer turns on his set, what sort of programs does he have to choose from? You might think there would be more programs devoted to entertainment than to anything else, but that's not the case. In most countries, fewer than 20% of broadcasting hours are devoted to entertainment. U.S. figures are high----34.8% , and the unloving Canadians are even higher with 44%. Except Canada and Italy, all countries give more broadcasting time to education than to either information (news , documentaries and so on) or entertainment programs. Of course, few educational broadcasts take place during peak viewing times. In Japan though , more than 60%of broadcasting time is taken up with education of one kind of anther----just another example of the businesslike Japanese philosophy. In the U.K., the figure is 56.4% . the Italians have fewer educational programs than anyone else. They don't go in for entertainment either. Only about ten percent of viewing time is devoted to dramas and serials, quiz shows, music, sports etc. You will find more news information programs on Italian TV than anything else. That's understandable in a country experiencing social and political changes. Italians rely on TV to tell them what's going on---and events are happening almost too fast to follow. The percentage of time the U.S. devoted to news and documentary programs is much smaller. After education, most TV time is given to entertainment. Many of these programs are shown around the world. So far as the broadcasting hours devoted to entertainment , which of the following is true? Answer: The Canadian figure is higher than that of any other country. Once there lived an old man. He liked gold better than anything else in the world. He often said, "If I have enough gold, I will be the happiest man in the world." One day when he was traveling in the desert , the old man lost his way. He was very hungry and thirsty, but there were only rocks and sand around him. Just then, he found a bag lying on the sand. He hoped he would find water and food in it. He took up the bag and opened it. He saw that the bag was full of gold. He was so sad that he threw away the bag and began crying. Now, the old man knew that there was something better than gold in the world. When he lost his way, he wanted to get _ . Answer: food and water Hello! I'm Paul. I'm from America and I' m in China with my parents now. I like China and Chinese food. I have breakfast at home. I eat an egg and some chicken for it. I don't like salad, but Mom says that it's healthy. I should eat it. I have lunch at school. The lunch in my school is good. I can eat different food. I eat a hamburger, a banana and some vegetables. Sometimes I have chicken and French fries . I have dinner at home and I like to eat some fruit and ice-cream. Paul eats _ for breakfast. Answer: an egg and some chicken
Sport is very popular in England. In other words lots of English people like the idea of sport. A lot watch sport on TV. But the number who take part in sport is quite small. On the whole English people prefer to be fat rather than thin. The most popular sport in England is football. Football is played on Saturday afternoon in most towns and the supporters of a certain team will travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play. There are four divisions of the football league.Not surprisingly the best teams are in the first division. But the best supporters are often in the fourth division. You have to be a good supporter to watch the fourth division football! Many other sports are also played in England, such as golf, in which you try to knock a ball into a hole; basketball, in which you try to got a ball through a net ; tennis, in which you try to hit a ball so that your opponent can not hit it. As you see, if the ball had not been invented, there would have been no sport. Actually , that is not quite true. Athletics isn't played with a ball; nor horseracing . Perhaps that is why they are not so popular as football! _ is the most popular sport in England. Football What is the frequency of ocean waves that have a speed of 18 m/s and a wavelength of 50 m? 0.36 Hz HOUSTON (AP) --- A 10-year-old boy fatally shot his father Friday, striking him several times as he sat in the front seat of a SUV to pick up the boy from his mother's home for a weekend visit. The incident happened about 3pm on a cul-desac in the 1700 block of Cedar Cove Court, said Sgt. Williams of the Harris County Sheriff's Department. An investigation found that Rick James Lohstroh, 41, was shot by his son, who was sitting in the back seat of the man's Toyota 4-Runner, said Sgt. Williams. The shooting took place outside the home of Lohstroh's ex-wife, where the boy lives with his mother and a 7-year-old brother. "We're not certain of anything until we finish our investigation," Williams said. "The information we have at this time is that the 10-year-old did fire the weapon." The mother and the 7-year-old were inside the house when the shooting occurred, said Williams. Williams said the gun belonged to the boy's mother. After firing shots through the back seat, the boy exited the back of the vehicle and continued to fire at the car. The man died on the way to Memorial Herman Hospital. Lohstroh was a doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The man and woman shared custody of the children. Williams said the mother and the boy were still in the home talking to investigators Friday night. Neighbors described the family as being quiet and keeping to themselves. Justin Gray, 17, was walking in the neighborhood when he heard gunshots. "We've had a suicide in this neighborhood once, but never anything like this," Gray said. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the news? The family don't like being linked to their neighbors. About ten men in every hundred have the trouble of color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all ,it is safer to be driven by a woman. There are different kinds of color blindness. For example, a man cannot see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green. Sometimes a person can't tell the difference between blue and green. Only a few unlucky men may see everything in shades of green-- a strange world indeed. Color blindness in human beings is a different thing to explain. In only one eye there are millions of very small things called "cones " . These help us to see in the bright light and to tell differences between colors. These are also millions of "rods" ,but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shapes but not colors. Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes like blue but do not like yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue light will. Human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the help of the cones in our eyes, we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the help of the rods we can see shapes at night. Some people say it's safer to be driven by women because _ . there are fewer color -- blind women 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. The passage is most probably a _ . science news report
Like lots of small-business owners, Lola Gonzalez had to decide to cut down her company's nine-person staff when the economic recovery began to fail last spring. Unlike other companies, she picked an unlikely employee to lay off : herself. Her business began to have problems in 2008 after going through her books One day, her husband, Marcos, told her she had to reduce her payroll by one person. Gonzalez said at a meeting, "I want you all to know that I have to lay somebody off and it's been a very difficult decision. And that person is me." Employees first froze in amazement and then burst into laughter until they realized she was serious. Gonzalez 's employees said they were grateful for her kindness. Her reason was simple. Although she ran the business and her employees did the legwork , she thought she could find work more easily than her staff. Sure enough, she soon got a job as a social worker for a non-profit organization called Devereux Kids. She enjoys her social-worker job now, but the salary cut has required some lifestyle changes. She and Marcos no longer eat out daily; they no longer pay for their son's car and mobile phone, and they changed their car to a smaller one to save $300 a month. Her business has picked up a bit recently and Marcos has begun to work part-time at Gonzalez's company. Gonzalez says she has no plan to return to work at her company until the economic situation becomes better, perhaps in a year. Her employees, however, will get Christmas bonuses this year. After leaving her company, _ . A. Gonzalez sold her car and went to work by bus B. Gonzalez always had meals in a restaurant C. Gonzalez's son helped her a lot D. Gonzalez changed her lifestyle a lot Answer: D Since 1950, the amount of information about the nutrition of food has increased by nearly 900 percent. Besides this fact, obesity has risen by 214 percent and nearly two out of every three adults in America are overweight or obese. Being overweight is not only an appearance problem, and it also increases the risk of various diseases including diabetes, sleep disorder and cancer. With so much nutritional knowledge easy to find, we cannot simply ignore our present obesity epidemic . We know that fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin. Though we are overweight, many of us choose junk food over healthy food out of habits. One explanation for our strong desire for junk food is that we learn to connect junk food with positive feelings when we are young, and changing this attitude requires a huge amount of confidence and determination. Fortunately, new research published in May 2012 has shown a simple and _ way to make healthier food choices- the one that doesn't rely on great determination. The research was based on two separate studies and it was carried out by T. Bettina Cornwell of the University of Oregon and Anna R. McAlister of Michigan State University. In the first study, 60 adults between the ages of 19 and 23 were questioned about the role of food and drinks. The survey tells us that adults prefer sweetened drinks with high-calorie, salty foods, to sweetened drinks with vegetables. In the second study, 75 children between the ages of 3 and 5 were gathered for some experiments including drinks served with vegetables. The preschooler experiments were carried out under different situations and on different days. The researchers found that the children chose to take more green vegetables when they were served with water instead of a sweetened drink. According to Cornwell, children learn to connect high calorie, sugary drinks such as cola, with high fat foods such as French fries, from a very early age. McAlister adds that early taste development appears to play an important role in food choices later in life. Meals served at home and meals offered at restaurants, set the stage for this idea and for the preference to choose junk food over healthy food, when beginning to take sweetened drinks. "Our taste preferences are heavily influenced by regularly eating particular food and drinking particular drink," states Cornwell. "If the drink on the table goes against both adults and children eating their vegetables, then perhaps it is time to change that drink... and to serve water with all meals. Restaurants could easily use water as free drink for children's meals and charge extra money for other drinks." Both McAlister and Cornwell are confident that serving water with meals could effectively reduce the nation's obesity rates, diabetes rates and ever rising healthcare costs. What makes many of us choose junk food according to the author? A. Positive feelings about food. B. High calorie of junk food. C. Nice taste. D. Eating habits. Answer: D Everybody has one of those days when everything goes wrong. This is what happened to Harry. He got up one morning very late because he had forgotten to wind up his alarm clock . He tried to shave quickly and cut himself. When he got dressed he got blood all over his clean shirt, so he had to find another one. The only other shirt that was clean needed ironing , so he ironed it. While he was ironing it, there was a knock at the door. It was the man to read the electricity meter . He showed him where the meter was, said good-bye and found that the iron had burnt a hole in his shirt. So he had to wear the one with the blood on it after all. By this time it was very late, so he decided he couldn't go to work by bus. He telephoned for a taxi to take him to work. The taxi arrived and Harry got in and began to read the newspaper. In another part of the town, a man had killed a woman with a knife and was seen to run away in a taxi. When Harry's taxi stopped outside his office, a policeman happened to be standing there. He saw the blood on Harry's shirt, and took him to the police station. He was kept till 3 o'clock in the afternoon before the police were sure that he was not the man they wanted. When he finally arrived at the office at about four, his boss took a look at him and told him to go away and find another job. His boss told him to go away and find another job because _ . A. he had been kept by the police B. there was blood on his shirt C. he was late for work D. he had killed a woman Answer: C It's hard to track the blue whale, which has almost been killed off by commercial whaling. Attaching radio devices to it is difficult and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior. So biologists were delighted early this year when, with the help of the US Navy, they are able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days recording its sounds. This was possible because of the Navy's former top secret system of underwater listening devices across the oceans. Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies. Earth scientists announced at a news conference recently that they had used the system for closely observing a deep-sea volcanic eruption for the first time and that they planned similar studies. Other scientists have proposed to use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in the ocean and global temperatures. Different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds focusing them in the same way a stethoscope does when it carries faint noises from a patient's chest to a doctor's ear. This focusing is the main reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean, especially low-frequency ones, can often travel thousands of miles. What can we infer from the passage? A. New radio devices are developed for tracking the blue whales. B. Blue whales are no longer endangered with the new system. C. Opinions differ on the use of military technology. D. Military technology has great potential in civilian use. Answer: D There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to give children something to do. In the ancient world, as is today, most boys play with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are strictly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers. This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world. What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same. It is the universality of toys about their development in all parts of the world and their continuing to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles. Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological progress that characterizes inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of advancement. The progress from a rattle used by a baby in 3,000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of materials then ready for use. (words: 285 ; time : 5ms) The reason why the toys most boys play with are different from those that girls play with is that _ . A. their social roles are strictly determined B. most boys would like to follow their fathers' jobs C. boys like to play with their fathers while girls with their mothers D. they like challenging activities. Answer: A
Michael J. "Crocodile Dundee" (also called Mick), played by Paul Hogan, is the main character in the fictional Crocodile Dundee film series consisting of Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. The character is a crocodile hunter, hence the nickname. In the first film, Crocodile Dundee, Mick is visited by a New York reporter, Sue Charlton, who travels to Australia to investigate a report she heard of a crocodile hunter, who had his leg bitten off by a crocodile in the outback. The hunter supposedly walked more than a hundred miles back to civilization and miraculously survived his injuries. However, by the time she meets him, the story turns out to be a somewhat exaggerated legend where the "bitten-off leg" turns out to be just being some bad scarring on his leg; a "love bite" as Mick calls it. Still _ by the idea of "Crocodile Dundee", Sue continues with the story. They travel together out to where the incident occurred, and follow his route through the bush to the nearest hospital. Despite his old-fashioned views, the pair eventually become close, especially after Mick saves Sue from a crocodile attack. Feeling there is still more to the story, Sue invites Mick back to New York with her, as his first trip to a city (or "first trip anywhere," as Dundee says). The rest of the film depicts Dundee as a "fish out of water," showing how, despite his expert knowledge of living outdoors, he knows little of city life. Mick meets Sue's boyfriend, Richard, but they do not get along. By the end of the film, Mick is on his way home, lovesick, when Sue realizes she loves Mick, too, and not Richard. She runs to the subway station to stop Mick from leaving and, by passing on messages through the packed-to-the-gills crowd, she tells him she won't marry Richard, and she loves him instead. With the help of the other people in the subway, Mick and Sue have a loving reunion as the film ends. The film Crocodile Dundee can be best described as _ . A a romantic story B an action movie C a science fiction D a frightening story Answer: A. a romantic story "Indeed," George Washington wrote in his diary in 1985, "some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to eat the leaves before I left home." But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lighining-bug . But the English were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity. Althoug fan became the usual term. sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseballbugs, and the like. Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burglar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, "to install an alarm". Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others' conversation. Since the 1840s, to bug has long meant "to cheat", and since the 1940s it has been annoying. We also know the bug as a _ in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Edison. In 1878 he explained bugs as "little problems and difficulties" that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison "had been up the two previous nights discovering 'a bug' in his invented record player." The passage is mainly concerned with _ . A the misunderstanding of the word bug B the development of the word bug C the public views of the word bug D the special characteristics of the word bug Answer: B. the development of the word bug Most people hate change, which is sad since we often go through intense changes in life. And for some of us, even the smallest changes can upset our day. So the question is: Why do most of us find making adjustments to our lives so hard? Fear of change is nothing new. Over a century ago, the Parisians were unhappy over a particular addition to their city: the Eiffel Tower. In fact, the citizens were so angry about the plans for the tower that they protested its construction. As strange as it may seem, their anger was completely natural. They were given no choice about the huge change that was going to be made, so they became angry. But we get upset over changes even when we do have a say in the matter and think about them carefully. Changes are brought about every day by the decisions we make: which school to attend, which job to take, whom to marry. Voluntary changes also make most of us uneasy because we don't know how those changes will affect our future. People have discovered that the key to overcoming the fear and anger associated with change is to be flexible . When they are flexible, people can adapt to new situations more easily. Being flexible is especially important in the 21st century as technology makes change occur faster than ever before. Those who oppose change, especially with technology in the workplace, may find themselves out of a job. When change comes, and you have no choice but to face it, embrace it. A positive attitude helps a lot. In fact, the change may turn out to be the best thing for you. That new job you got may end up being much better than your old one. You may make the best friends of your life in the new city you moved to. Don't merely focus on how you feel about change; instead decide to accept the change. The change is the reality, and it's up to you whether the change will be a success or a failure. How should we overcome negative emotions that the changes bring? A We are not supposed to face the changes and let them alone. B We should actively accustom ourselves to the new circumstance. C We should not take the changes seriously and avoid them as much as possible. D We should know that the changes merely bring us bad influence. Answer: B. We should actively accustom ourselves to the new circumstance. About five states in Nigeria will experience a total eclipse of the sun on March 29, 2006, according to a forecast by the Ministry of Science and Technology this week. An eclipse occurs in one of two ways: when the moon passes between the earth and the sun so that all or part of the sun cannot be seen for a time, or when the earth passes between the moon and the sun so that you cannot see all or part of the moon for a time. The first case is a solar eclipse or eclipse of the sun, which occurs as the earth enters the shadow of the moon. The second describes a lunar eclipse or eclipse of the moon, which happens when the moon enters the shadow of the earth. More than 60 percent of Nigerians are uneducated, and eclipses in some parts of the country in the past have caused commotions in which people have been killed and property destroyed. Some Nigerians believe an eclipse is punishment from the gods for evil doing. The March 29th eclipse would be the fifth in prefix = st1 /Nigeria's history, and it is expected to last for 30 minutes -- 9:15AM to 9:45AM, according to the official prediction.Nigeriawitnessed eclipses in 1898, 1947, 1959, and 2001. The shadows in an eclipse have a central dark part called umbra, and a less dark external section called penumbra. In the umbra, all the sun's light is cut off, and this is called total eclipse; while in the penumbra, only a part of the light from the sun is cut off from the moon, and it is called partial eclipse. Five Nigerian states -- Oyo, Kwara,Niger, Zamfara, and Katsina -- are expected to have total eclipse, while other parts of the country will experience partial eclipse. The best title for this passage is _ . A What Is an Eclipse B How Foolish People in NigeriaAre C Nigeria Expects Solar Eclipse D Solar Eclipse Happens on March 29, 2006 Answer: C. Nigeria Expects Solar Eclipse My name is Tom. My best friends are John and Ann. John lives near my house and we are in the same class. He's tall and thin, he has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is polite and very clever. He is very good at math and sometimes helps me with my homework sometimes. He usually wears jeans and a blue T--shirt. We three often play basketball in a nearby park. My friend Ann studies at another school. She's short and slim with straight brown hair and brown eyes. She's a little bit shy. We all have Kong fu lessons every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. We love Kung fu very much. Ann is really good at Kung fu. We call her the "Kong fu girl". Sometimes she practices Kung fu with us. She loves wearing a T--shirts and a hat. The three of us have great fun together. When do they have Kung fu lessons? A Every Monday B Every Tuesday afternoon. C Every Saturday afternoon. D Every day Answer: B. Every Tuesday afternoon.
People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents. Big Ben is not a person. It's a clock. Big Ben is the great clock hanging up in a tower of the parliament building. The people of London like to see Big Ben's four friendly faces. They like to hear the bell striking on the hour. Bong! Bong! Bong! Big Ben's story started in 1834. In that year the old parliament building was burned down. Its clock tower fell to the ground. There had to be a new building and a new clock. Plans were made. They called for a "King of Clock, the biggest and the best in the world". So the clock had to be big. And it had to keep very good time. In two years the big clock was made. Five more years went by before the clock tower was last finished. Then the four bells for the chimes were brought into the tower. And at last the big hour bell was put in place. It rang out for the first time on July 11, 1859. This great bell had to have a name. A meeting of parliament was called to pick one. "This clock is the king of clocks," one man said. "Let's call the bell the Queen of Bells." "Then why not Victoria?" said another (Victoria was the British queen at that time). The talk about names went on and on. Then Benjamin Hall got up to speak. He was a big man. By this time they were all tired. Someone shouted, "Why not call it Big Ben and be done with it?" Everybody laughed, and the meeting was over. But it was called Big Ben from then on. Not just the bell but the whole clock. Which is the best title for this passage? Answer: How Big Ben Got Its Name The clothes you wear. The food you eat. The color of your bedroom walls. Where you go and how you get there. The people you hang around with. What time you go to bed. What do these things have in common, you're asking? They're just a few examples of the many hundreds of things that your parents controlled for you when you were a child. As a kid, you didn't have a say in everything; your parents made decisions about everything from the cereal you ate in the morning to the pajamas you wore at night. And it's a good thing, too--kids need this kind of protection on their own. But finally, kids grow up and become teens. And part of being a teen is developing your own identity--one that is separate from your parents'. But as you change and grow into this new person who makes his own decisions, your parents have a difficult time adjusting . In many families, it is this adjustment that can cause a lot of fighting between teens and parents. And issues like the type of friends you have or your attitudes to partying can cause bigger arguments, because your parents still always want to protect you and keep you safe, no matter how old you are. The good news about fighting with your parents get more comfortable with the idea that their teen has a right to certain opinions. It can take several years for parents and teens to adjust to their new roles, though. In the meantime, focus on communicating with your parents. Sometimes _ can feel impossible--like they just don't see your point of view and never will. But talking and expressing your opinions can help you gain more respect from your parents. Keep in mind, too, that your parents were teens once and that in most cases, they can relate to what you're going through. In the opinions of the writer, parents control teens in order to _ . Answer: protect them from being hurt My husband and I were once in Nepal to see sunrise over the Himalayas. One morning we awoke to total darkness at 5 o'clock.As we rushed through a town with cameras in hand,I noticed the calm,gentle way the Nepalese people greeted the morning.One man boiled a huge pot of milk tea,and other villagers gathered around his fire,cupping their hands around small glasses of the steaming sweet mixture.It was fascinating,but not to be left behind,we joined the stream of tourists moving quickly up to the lookout point. The top was crowded when we arrived,but after 10 minutes of cold waiting,the assembled group gave up."The cloud cover is too heavy,"one said.Then one by one they rushed down the hill to the next item on their sightseeing list.I was disappointed as well,but suddenly I noticed a small Nepalese boy absently playing with a stick and shooting quick glances at the clouds.He must know something we don't,I thought.I decided to wait with him. The boy and I didn't have to wait long.Moments later,a tiny stream of golden light burned through one thick cloud,then another.Rose-colored fog warmed the backs of the clouds,and suddenly the morning sun stole a glance around the side of the mountain,mile above where I'd expected it to be. Nothing I'd seen before prepared me for the moment the clouds withdrew with bowed heads,and the magnificent Himalayas were revealed before,around,and above me.I sat in astonishment,not breathing,not daring to look away,certain that God had placed me here at the backdoor of Earth to show me what Heaven really looks like.I certainly got the message.Never again will I rush a sunrise.I now know Nature will supply her fruits to me only when I am truly ready to receive them. What can be concluded from the passage? Answer: Fortune rewards those having patience. Greg enjoys playing with his friends. On Friday, Greg went outside to play with two of his friends, Peter and Lucy. They played with a ball for some time, but then they got bored. Lucy said that she wanted to climb a tree. Peter thought that they could see if their other friend Robert could play with them. The three of them went to find Robert. They saw Robert in front of his house, but he said that he was busy and he could not play with them. Greg and Peter then thought that Lucy's idea was good. There was a large tree in the park. Greg, Peter, and Lucy walked to the park together. When they got to the park, they were surprised by the size of the tree. It was much larger than they thought. At first, Greg was scared to climb the tree. But Peter and Lucy told him that it would be fun, so he began to climb. When he had climbed the first few branches, he slipped and fell down. But he was not hurt. After that, the three friends thought that it was too dangerous to climb that tree. So they all went home. When Greg went home, his mother asked him what happened. She saw that his shirt was dirty. Greg explained about the tree. Then he changed into a different shirt, so that his mother could wash the dirty shirt. What did they find in the park? Answer: A large tree With her adopted son, she travels the world making movies and dispensing hope. Angelina Jolie lives in two worlds: Hollywood, where she makes movies and stays in five-star hotels, and the refugee camps of Africa and Asia, where she works with the UN, bringing hope to the homeless. She feels most alive, most herself, she says, working with refugees, yet still feel grateful for life. At 24, Jolie won an Oscar for playing in Girl Interrupted, but found little satisfac-tion in stardom or the wealth that came with it. The daughter of actor Jon Voight and actress Marcheline Bertrand, she had already seen the downside of celebrity--her parents divorced when Jolie was a child. And she always burst into tears when metioned that. After she finished shooting Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Jolie volunteered to be a UN ambassador and returned to Cambodia to visit refugee camps. She found a calling, and realized that her fame and money could be used to accomplish a world of good. Now the mother of son Maddox, 3, whom she adopted in Cambodia, Angelina Jolie hopes to adopt more children. We caught up with her in Beverly Hills on a day away from the set. She talked to us about her role as the mother of Alexander the Great (played by Colin Farrell) in her new movie, Alexander, her passion for helping the homeless, and her longing for a partner with whom she might share it all. Which is NOT true about Angelina Jolie? Answer: She gave up acting and became a voluntary UN ambassador.
ARIEL, West Bank: A suicide bomber blew up near Israeli soldiers outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank yesterday, killing at least three people and wounding about 30 Ron Nachman, mayor of the settlement of Ariel. "Soldiers were among the casualties . "People on the spot said the bomber blew up after soldiers eating at a food stand in a petrol station at the entrance of the settlement found him. According to some people on the spot accounts reported by Israeli media, a soldier shot and wounded the bomber, who then exploded. The Magen David Adorn ambulance service said at least three people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the blast , which set the bomber burning at Ariel, about 25 kilometers east of Tel Aviv. A fire brigade official said: "The bomber was still burning when we got there and we put out the fire immediately." Meanwhile, a blast shook homes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp early yesterday, damaging buildings but causing no injuries, Palestinian sources said. They said the bomb was planted outside the home of a member of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in Ain el-Hilwch camp, and exploded while the family was sleeping. The suicide bomber blew himself up because _ . Peggy Hilt wanted to be a good mother. But day after day, she got out of bed feeling like a failure. No matter what she tried, she couldn't connect with Nina, the 2-year -old girl she'd adopted from Russia as an infant . The preschooler pulled away whenever Hilt tried to hug or kiss her. Nina was physically aggressive with her 4-year-old sister, who had been adopted from Ukraine, and had violent tantrums . Whenever Hilt wasn't watching, she destroyed the family's furniture and possessions. "Every day with Nina had become a struggle," she recalls now. As the girl grew older, things got worse. Hilt fell into a deep depression. She started drinking heavily, something she'd never done before. Ashamed, she hid her problem from everyone, including her husband. On the morning of July 1, 2005, Hilt was packing for a family vocation, all the while swallowing one beer after another and growing increasingly angry and impatient with Nina's deeds. "Everything she did just got to me," Hilt said. When Hilt caught her reaching into her diaper and smearing feces on the walls and furniture, "a year and a half of frustration came to a head," Hilt says. "I snapped . I felt this uncontrollable rage." Then Hilt did something unthinkable. She grabbed Nina around the neck, shook her and then dropped her to the floor, where she kicked her repeatedly before dragging her up to her room, punching her as they went. "I had never hit a child before," she says. "I felt horrible and promised myself that this would never happen again." But _ . Nina woke up with a fever, and then started throwing up. The next day she stopped breathing. By the time the ambulance got the child to the hospital, she was dead. Hilt is now serving a 19-year sentence for second-degree murder in a Virginia prison. She and her husband divorced, and he is raising their other daughter. She realizes the horror of her crime and says she isn't looking for sympathy. "There is no punishment severe enough for what I did," she told NEWSWEEK in an interview at the prison. This story mainly tells us _ . Millions of years ago dinosaurs lived on the earth. In the days of dinosaurs the whole earth was warm and wet. There were green forests and they could find enough to eat. Later, parts of the earth became cold and dry. and the forests there died. Then dinosaurs could not find enough to cat. This must be one reason why dinosaurs died out. We can guess another reason. New kinds of animals came on the earth. Some had big brains and were fast and strong. They could kill dinosaurs. There may be other reasons that we don't know about yet. Scientists are trying to make more discoveries about dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were of many sizes and shapes . Some were as small as chickens, while some were about 90 feet long. There were also terrible fights between dinosaurs. They might have happened more than 100 million years ago. Though there was no man to see any of the fights, we can be told by the animal's footprints that fight did take place. According to the passage, dinosaurs did exist only _ on the earth. This is time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents.Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help. Littleton Children's Home We don't want your money, but children's toys, books and clothes in good condition would be very welcome. Also, we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests.You have so much--will you share it? Phone Sister Thomas on 55671. Children's Hospice We look after a small number of very sick children.This important work needs skill and love.We cannot continue without gifts of money to pay for more nursing staff.We also need story books and toys suitable for quiet games. Please contact The Secretary, Little Children's Hospice, Newby Road. Street Food In the winter weather, it's no fun being homeless.It's even worse if you're hungry.We give hot food to at least fifty people every night.It's hard work, but necessary.Can you come and help? If not, can you find a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we badly need some new saucepans.Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed. Contact Street Food, c/o Mary's House, Elming Way, Littleton.Phone 27713. Littleton Youth Club Have you got an unwanted chair?--a record player?--a pot of paint? Because we can use them! We want to get to work on our meeting room! Please phone 66231 and we'll be happy to collect anything you can give us. Thank you! The Night Shelter We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go.We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street.Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money.Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help. Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton.Please make check payable to Night Shelter. Reading the passage, you might like to help these organizations which work for Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation. Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them, sense them, without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things. At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being immediately by killing masses of cells in vital organs. But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no levels of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be serious. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and if they are killed immediately. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years. This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated and feel fine, then die for cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth. What is not the reason why nuclear radiation has a certain mystery?
As jewelry designers,my sister Jodie and I are always traveling for work.We need to go to a lot of shows,so we can't pack lightly and usually bring about four suitcases filled with our work. Most of our stuff is made from heavy materials and metals.So part of the routine for us when we fly is getting stopped by security.Our jewelry sets off the alarms,and we've become accustomed to arriving early to go through private screenings.Most of the time,it's not troublesome. However,on our recent trip to a Paris trade show,we were stopped at security and asked to empty our bags. One of the agents walked over to another agent and they started whispering to each other.Both gentlemen came back,and one of them then told us that it seemed that we were carrying a very dangerous object. My sister and I just said,"Huh?"Of course,we were a little concerned,thinking that maybe someone put something dangerous in one of our bags when we weren't looking. One of the agents then started to unpack our bags.I kept asking what he was 1ooking for and then the object in question finally appeared.It was our Cosima necklace.It's a piece of jewelry,with large,metal triangular spikes. My sister and I 1ooked at each other and breathed a huge sigh of relief.We started laughing and explained to the two male agents that it was just a necklace from our collection.not a weapon of mass destruction.They thought we were lying,and one agent kept repeating that he believed it was a weapon. I tried to explain that we were jewelry designers going to a trade show,and this was simply a piece from our collection.But the agents didn't _ it.Then a few women guards came over to assist.One of the women guards was holding an earring up to her ear and another was trying on a ring.Apparently,they liked our stuff. It was only at this point that the male guards gave up.And I think they also got tired of listening to a bunch of women talk about jewelry.They let us through. We took the names of the women agents and sent them a piece of jewelry when we got back to say thanks. According to this passage,which of the following statements is NOT true? Answer: Someone put something dangerous in one of the writer's bags. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man.Over the phone ,his mother told him,"Mr.Belser died last night ,The funeral is Wednesday."Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. When Jack was very young ,his father died.Mr Belser,who lived in the same neighborhood with them,spent as much time as he could to make sure Jack had a man's influence in his life.He spent a lot of time teachimg Jack he thought what was important in his following life.If Mr.Belser hadn' taught him how to weave,he wouldn't be in this business now.So he promised his mother he would attend Mr.Belser's funeral. "You'd better not drive your car.It's a long way."his mother warned him. Busy as he was,he kept his word.Though tired from the earliest flight,Jack tried his best to help.Mr.Belser's funeral was small because he had no children of his own and most of his s had passed away. The night before he had to return home,Jack and his mother stopped by to see the old house Mr.Belser once lived.Now it belonged to him.He bought the house from one of his s. The house was exactly as he remembered.Every step held memories.Every picture,every piece of furniture... Jadk stopped suddenly. The box on his desk was gone!He once asked the old man what was inside.He just smiled and said it was the most valuable thing to him,though it almost cost nothing to others.He figured that someone from the Belser family had taken it ."I will never know what was so valuable to him."Jack thought disappotntedly. Three days later returning home from work,Jack discovered a small package in his mailbox. The handwriting was difficult to read,but the return address caught his attention."Mr.Harold Belser"it read. Jack couldn't wait to open it .Inside lay the familiar small box.His heart racing,Jack unlocked the box.Inside he found a gold pocket watch with these words engraved:"Jack,Thanks for your time!Harold Belser." "The thing he valued most was my time."Jack held the watch before his chest,tears filling his eyes. What might be the relationship between Jack and Mr.Belser? Answer: Mr.Belser was Jack's neighbor. 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. Weatherman _ makes mistakes. Answer: sometimes Animals cope with the differing temperatures in different ways. When its hot out, which animals pant? Answer: canines Found: A black pen is in the library. Is it yours? I am Lucy. E-mail me at lucy556@hotmail.com. Lost: I am Anna. I lost my computer game. It is blue. My telephone number is 471-4295. Call me! Thanks! Lisa, Is this your dictionary? Your name is on it. I found it in Classroom 6A. Tom Found: I found a ring. It is nice. Please e-mail me at frank996@gmail.com. Frank What is Anna's telephone number? Answer: It's 471-4295.
During the day we work and play; at night we sleep. Our bodies rest while we sleep. In the morning we are ready to work and play again. While we are asleep our bodies grow most. Children usually need more sleep. We can get our lessons better and we feel better too, when we have plenty of rest. Boys and girls need ten hours of sleep every night when they are eight or nine years old. Our bodies need lots of air when we sleep. If we do not get enough fresh air we'll feel tired when we wake up. While in bed we must not cover our heads. If we do, our lungs will not get enough fresh air. If we open our windows at night we can have plenty of fresh air. Cool air is better then warm air. Boys and girls must get enough sleep if they want to grow and be strong. Our bodies grow most while we are _ . Answer: A taxi hit a truck. A policeman spoke to the taxi driver and to the truck driver. He also spoke to Tom. He was a witness . This is what they said. TRUCK DRIVER: I was driving from the airport to Newton. A car crossed the road, so I slowed down. I did not stop. A taxi hit the back of my truck. Nobody was badly hurt but both cars were damaged. TAXI DRIVER: I was driving behind a truck a few kilometers from Newton. The truck stopped suddenly. The driver did not give me a warning. I was driving very slowly. I could not pass the truck because there were two cars coming near from Newton. My taxi hit the truck, and some glass cut my left hand. TOM: I was watching the traffic about a kilometer from the airport. A truck was going to Newton. It was not going very quickly. There was a taxi about two hundred meters behind the truck. It was going fast. When the truck slowed down, the taxi hit it. The taxi driver was not looking at the truck. He was looking out of the window at something. My friend saw the accident, too. Tom's friend spoke to the policeman and agreed with Tom. How many people are mentioned in the story? Answer: In Florida,one McDonald's customer started a pay-it-forward chain that inspired other 249 customers to be generous and do the same. ABC News reports the spirit of giving is in the air as 250 drive-thru customer at a local McDonald's paid for the meals of the people next to the them.Lakeland customer Torie Keene was paying for her food on Wednesday morning when she decided to pay for the meal of the car next to her. Keene then purposely told McDonald's cashier Marisabel Figueroa to greet the other customer "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Holidays."The next customer was moved when Figueroa said her food was already paid by the previous car.That's when she thought that she would love to do the same and the domino effect followed. Figueroa,who worked from 9 a.m.to 3 p.m.on Wednesday,said that the chain reaction almost lasted for her entire shift."I just kept giving everyone the same message,and they were all so stunned and so happy,"she continued."One lady even paid for the meals of the next three cars behind her." While people were amazed by how generous they could get,Figueroa said she had "never experienced something like that before" in her 12 years of working for McDonald's."I feel very blessed to have been a part of a11 that,"the cashier said. Keene contacted Figueroa on Facebook when the pay-it-forward chain came out in the local news.She revealed that she was the "mystery customer" that started the long chain of kindness. Keene added that she was surprised by the number of people who continued her good deed when she was only trying to brighten someone's day. Who started the pay-it-forward chain? Answer: Have you ever dreamed of having a fashionable watch of great value? A small watchmaker in Switzerland in 1922 designed the first automatic watch to show the day, month , and date. Only seven of these splendid watches were ever made and these watches were almost lost to history. Today, it is so hard to get and original watch that some watch historians are even willing to offer $200,000 for one. These watches attracted a lot of people for their splendid color1, fashionable style and new uses in the 1920s. The owners of the watches were admired and set apart from the crowd. Because the number of the original watches is very limited, owning such a watch will make you feel very special. Today, you are offered the same kind of watch with improvement. It has a 24-jewel mechanical movement, the kind desired by watch collectors. The watchmaker has made the movement of the watch much more modern with an automatic rotor so that the watch never needs to be wound by hand. The watch comes in a very beautiful case with a crocodile design on it. To get a watch in such a perfect design means to get a chance to know a piece of watch-making history and to wear such a watch will show your personal taste and social position. You can get the watch either in person or by mail at an affordable price. You will also receive good service form the watch seller. If you are not satisfied with the watch after you get it, you may simply return it within 30 days. Don't miss the chance to realize your dream. The passage is probably taken from a _ . Answer: What's your favorite weather? Do you like sunny or rainy days? Many people like sunny days a lot. They don't like rain.They think rain makes them feel sad.During a long vacation.they like going to the beach to enjoy the sunshine.Sunshine makes them feel very good and happy. I like sunshine very much,but I also enjoy rain.I enjoy the sound of rain.It makes me feel quiet. On rainy days,I like listening to music and reading books or just looking at the rain and daydreaming. When you daydream,you don't think about other things.I think it's a good way to relax when it rains. Sunshine can make one run around and rain can make one quiet,so I hope you can feel happy.rain or sunshine. We don't think about other things when we _ . Answer:
This holiday my sister and I went to Shanghai. My sister had just graduated and she wanted to find a job in Shanghai. My uncle lived in Shanghai, so we lived with him after we got there. On the first day we went to a lot of interesting places, including Waitan and Huangpu Park. We spent the next few days helping my sister find a job. We read many advertisements in newspapers to find one. My sister couldn't get the first job because they said she was too young. Then we lost our way and couldn't find the second company. We had a map but the city is so big, so we had to ask someone for help and finally found the second company. The boss had a talk with my sister and asked her to wait at home for their decision. A month later we went home. My sister couldn't find a job in Shanghai because she was not knowledgeable enough or she didn't have enough experience. In this holiday we learned that if we want to succeed in life, we have to work hard and get a lot of knowledge. Why did my sister go to Shanghai? Answer: The first step in the water cycle is evaporation. What gives water the energy to evaporate? Answer: At a day care center in Texas, children were playing outside. One of the children was Jessica McClure. She was only 18months old. Her mother, worked at the day care center , was watching the children . Suddenly Jessica fell and disappeared. Jessica's mother screamed and ran to her. A well was in the yard of the center. The well was only eight inches across and a rock always covered it. But children had moved the rock. When Jessica fell, she fell right into the well. Jessica's mother reached inside the well, but she couldn't feel Jessica. She ran to a phone and dialed 911 for help. Men from the fire department arrived. They discovered that Jessica was about 20 feet down in the well. For the next hour the men talked and planned Jessica's rescue. "We can't go down into the well, " they said. "It is too narrow. So, we're going to drill a tunnel across to Jessica. When we reach her, we'll bring her through the tunnel and up through our hole." The men began to drill the hole at 11a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 1987. The men had a difficult job; they were drilling through solid rock. During her days in the well, Jessica sometimes called her mother, sometimes she slept, sometimes she cried and sometimes she sang. All over the world, people waited for news of Jessica. Everyone worried about her. At 8 p.m. on Friday, October 16, men reached Jessica and brought her up from the well. Then paramedics rushed her to the hospital. Jessica was dirty, hungry, thirsty and tired. Her feet and forehead were badly injured. But she was alive. After Jessica's rescue, one of the rescuers made a metal cover for the well which wrote, "To Jessica, with love from all of us." The best title of the passage is _ . Answer: How hot is it on the surface of the Sun? Answer: Jim wanted to make a fun meal one day. After thinking about it for a long time, he chose to make a chicken dish. Jim made a trip to the store to collect all of the different things he would need to make this meal. He drove his blue truck to the store. On the way he passed a green car, a red van, and a yellow bus. When he got to the store, he met his friends Bob & Mark. He asked if they had seen his friend Joe, but they said no. At the store, Jim bought two pieces of chicken, tomato sauce, cheese, and bread. He drove back to the house, but he saw that something was missing. He had forgotten to grab the bag with the bread in it. He drove back to the store, apologized to the clerk, and grabbed his bag with the bread inside. When he got home, he began to get the food ready. It took him an hour to get the chicken ready to cook and the oven heated up. After that, it took him another hour to cook the food. He had to wait another hour after it was done cooking for his dinner guests to arrive. When they finally arrived, everyone told Jim how wonderful the food tasted, and everyone at the table asked for seconds. Jim smiled, glad that everyone loved this meal that he had worked so hard to make. How many trips did he make to the store? Answer:
"It takes an entire village to raise a child." That's an old proverb that is being quoted more and more often these days. And I'm pleased about that. Today, more and more schools are reaching out to involve parents, community members and businesses to help shape a child's future. Parents need to be involved in their children's education in many ways. Helping children with homework and studying, going on a field trip, teaching a craft or coaching a child's sports team are all great ways to be involved with your child's education. And don't forget to communicate with teachers ---- they need and respect your input. Studies show that children learn more and schools function better when parents and schools work together. It's important to stay in touch with your child's education all through his or her school career. Communities can help children create and achieve new goals. Help with homework, read to a child, coach a children's team, or provide emotional support. Help solve problems and build self-esteem . Kids need role models and advisers can be role models by sharing their experiences and wisdom. Businesses can also help shape our children's future. Invite a class from your local school to visit your workplace. You may be providing a glimpse that opens a new world of possibilities. Show students what goes on during a typical day. Give a mini course for students: how to use a computer; how products are made; how machinery works. You may have a developing electrician, teacher, nurse, or even a newspaper reporter on your hands. It really does take an entire village to raise a child.So share the responsibility -- and the joy -- of bringing a child to his or her full potential . Which is NOT true according to the passage? A Parents play an important part in children's education. B Communities have not a bit effect on the way to new and high ideal. C Educating a child well demands of the work not only from school but from other organizations. D Businesses may arrange some training courses for students. Answer: B. Communities have not a bit effect on the way to new and high ideal. One cold day in winter, my wife and I were walking back home from the grocery store as usual when we suddenly decided to walk into a coffee shop. My wife ordered a coffee at the counter. Just then, I saw a young woman in her thirties helping with a rather weak Mexican woman into the shop. Maybe it was the gentleness of their difficult experiences or an unclear familiarity with the situation that drew my full attention. I immediately had a strong wish to do something for them. Unfortunately, before I could think of anything reasonable to say, they left the coffee shop without ordering anything! When my wife returned, I told her about the two women and said, "I missed the chance to do something for them." Strangely enough, though, they came back into the same coffee shop five minutes later. Unbelievable! "This is my chance," I thought out loud as my wife shared some creative possibilities. The two women ordered, took their place card and left the counter. After quickly finishing our coffee, we walked up to the counter and asked the smiling cashier , "What is your most popular dessert ?" Chocolate Cake," she answered. With a childlike feeling of happiness, my wife made an unusual order. "Can I buy a chocolate cake for the two women who were here just before us? But don't tell them it is from us. Just give them this card," she said while taking out a smile card. The cashier couldn't believe it. " Do you do this all the time?" she asked. " Not all the time, but just whenever the heart calls for it," I answered with a natural smile. We, my wife and I, are people of middle income . That night, we had planned to have our once-in-a-while dinner at a restaurant. But walking out of that coffee shop, both of us stood upright and said, "Let's eat at home today." It's more filling to give a chocolate cake than to eat it. How did the author feel when he first saw the two women? A Proud. B Frightened. C Interested. D Upset. Answer: C. Interested. I stood outside New York's Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world. From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a _ that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes. Life was tough. I couldn't stand, much less walk. I rarely, left the farmhouse---and then only in someone's arms. Mam bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season. "The world will see him when he can walk," she told Dad. "And he will walk." Mam devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin. A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs . Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs. "There's nothing anyone can do but you can't," Mam said. "You and I are going to walk through town." The next day Mam dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mam took my hand. "Hold your head up high, now, Ronan," she said. We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I'd walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mam's eyes shining with a mother's pride. That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I'd done on my walk. Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mam's words came back to me--Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do--and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it. I've sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world's finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mam's words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mam's promise lived. What was the problem with the author as a baby? A He was expected unable to walk. B He was born outward in character. C He had a problem with listening. D He was shorter than a normal baby. Answer: A. He was expected unable to walk. Once upon a time there was a monster . He was very ugly and had no friends. No one wanted to talk to him. Even other monsters thought he was ugly. He lived alone and was very unhappy because he was so lonely. "I wish I had a friend." He said to himself every day, "One friend would be enough. Someone to talk to." He wrote a letter to a magazine. The magazine gave people advice. "Dear Editor," he wrote, "I am a ugly monster. How can I find a friend?" "Dear monster," the Editor replied, "Advertise for a friend in this magazine." The monster wrote an advertisement. "Monster wants a friend, male or female. I have two heads, four arms, six legs and three tails. I have one blue eye, one green eye and one brown eye. Smoke comes out of my nose. But I am really a kind monster and will be a good friend to someone. If you would like to meet me, please stand outside Blake's Store at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 7th. Write to Mr. A, Box 45, everybody's Magazine." A few days later he went to the magazine. "Do you have any letters for Box 45?" he asked. The clerk looked in Box 45. "Yes, there is one." She said, and gave it to him. The monster opened the letter, and read, "Dear Monster, I think a person's character is more important than his appearance. I will wait outside Blake's Store on Friday. Please carry a flower so that I will recognize you. Yours sincerely, Miss Alice Thwaite." Why was the monster unhappy? A He had no friends. B He was ugly. C He had two heads. D He had three tails. Answer: A. He had no friends. People People is America's No.1 magazine about fascinating people. It's a guide to who and what's hot in the arts, science, business, politics, television, movies, books, music and sports. It is published weekly. Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company Cover Price: $211.47 Our Price:$117.00 Issues :53 issues/ 12 months Lucky Lucky is the shopping magazine with the best buys, and the fashion tips you'll need before you hit the stores. What makes Lucky really different is that it gets you the information you need before anyone else has it. Publisher: Conde Nast Publications Inc. Cover Price: $35.40 Our Price:$15.00 Issues: 12 issues/ 12 months Parents The most trusted magazine for parents who want to raise smart, loving and self-confident children. Each issue has age-specific child-development guidance, advice on your child's health and safety, and the best ways to encourage your child's learning. Publisher: Meredith Corporation Cover Price: $42.00 Our Price:$9.97 Issues: 12 issues/ 12 months Entertainment This magazine covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture. Unlike _ like People, its main concentration is on entertainment media and reviews. It's intended for a more general audience. Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company Cover Price: $199.50 Our Price:$38.95 Issues: 62 issues/ 12 months You're most likely to find the above information _ . A on a magazine club website B in an educational magazine C in a guide to magazines D in a magazine sales report Answer: A. on a magazine club website
Question: Chelsea Bourque was 17 years old. When she took a summer job, her mother, Kim Guidry, was confident her daughter would get good life experience. And Chelsea wanted to make her own money and be more independent. Kim didn't worry about her daughter because she'd known the store owner for years. Chelsea did such a good job that when summer ended she was asked to stay on and even open and close the shop sometimes. That was when Kim started feeling uneasy. "She'd be there alone with a drawer full of money for the first or last 20 minutes of her shift ," says Kim. "If she was opening, I'd drop her off to lock the door the minute she got into the building, and I'd wait in the car until the owner arrived. If she was closing, I'd arrive 20 minutes early. You can never be too careful." Kim's concerns were natural. Even though the 6 million American teens who hold job benefit a lot -- learning to manage money, developing time-management skills, and becoming good at problem-solving with other people -- they face some dangers as well. About 230 000 teen workers are injured yearly, from burns and cuts in restaurant kitchens to falls from roofs on buildings. Deaths, fortunately, are rare, but they do happen -- between 60 and 70 each year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. But for most teens and their parents, the pay-offs of working do more good than harm. So help your teens get most out of employment with these stay-safe tips. We can know from the passage that about _ US teen workers are injured every year. A. 2% B. 4% C. 8% D. 12% Answer: B Question: A forest was turned to mostly charcoal overnight. What happened? A. a spaceship took the trees and put charcoal in their place B. the trees died of old age C. someone was careless with a match D. the trees were chopped down Answer: C Question: After an absence of thirty years, I decided to visit my old school again. I had expected to find changes, but not a completely different building. As I walked up the school drive, I wondered for a moment if I had come to the right address. The dirty red brick houses had been swept away. In its place stood a bright, modern block. A huge expanse of glass extended across the face of the building, and in front, there was a well-kept lawn where previously there had been "an untidy gravel yard". I was pleased to find that it was bread time and that the children were all in the playground. This would enable me to meet some members of staff . On entering the building, I was surprised to hear loud laughter coming from what appeared to be the masters' common room. I could not help remembering the teachers in my time, all dressed in black gowns and high collars . And above all, I recalled Mr Garston whom we had nicknamed "Mr Ghastly", the headmaster who had iron discipline on staff and pupils alike. I knocked at the common room door and was welcomed by a smiling young man who introduced himself to me as the headmaster. He was dressed casually in a sports jacket, and his cheerful manner, quickly dispelled the image of Mr Ghastly. After I had explained who I was, the headmaster presented me to the teachers all of whom were a little younger than himself, and said he would take me round the school. Here the biggest surprise of all was _ me. Gone were the heavy desks of old with their deeply carved names; gone too, were the dark classrooms with their ink stained, dark brown walls, and their raised platforms for the teachers. The rooms now were painted in bright colors, and the children, far from sitting straight in their places, seemed almost free to do as they liked. I looked with envy as I remembered how, as a child, I had looked at the blackboard hardly daring to whisper to my neighbor. From what is said in the passage, it seems clear that the writer _ . A. disapproved of all the changes that had taken place B. felt sorry for the children in the school C. was glad that the school was still the same D. felt that conditions at the school had improved a lot Answer: D Question: If babies are given more love and feelings by their mothers, they will deal better with stress and anxiety when they grow up , research has shown. The study of eight-month-old children shows even the very earliest life experiences can influence our happiness. Lots of mother love makes children form a safe bond with their mothers , so they are able to feel safe in relationships when they grow up ,and they will have better social skills and deal with life's difficulties. The researchers, led by Dr.Joanna Maselko of Duke University in North Carolina, studied the relationships of 482 eight--month - old babies with their mothers during daily development. They studied how well the mother had dealt with her child's developmental text and how she had responded child's performance.Mental health was then assessed when the babies had grown up - at the average of 34. The more feelings and attention a mother gave to her child, the better her child would be. This kind of child had the lowest levels of anxiety, hostility and general difficulties. The research studied children who are _ . A. 8 - month - old B. 8- day - old C. 8 - year - old D. 18 - month - old Answer: A Question: Like any good mother,when Karen found out that another baby was on the way,she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son,Michael,prepare for a new baby.They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl,and day after day,night after night,Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach. Finally,Michael's little sister is born.But she is in serious condition.With alarm in the night,the ambulance rushes _ to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital,Knoxville,Tennessee.The days go by.The little girl gets worse.The pediatric specialist tells the parents,"There is very little hope.Be prepared for the worst." Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot.They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby,but now they plan a funeral.Michael,keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister,"I want to sing to her,"he says. Karen makes up her mind.She will take Michael whether they like it or not.If he doesn't see his sister now,he may never see her alive. She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU.He looks like a walking laundry basket,but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts,"Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed.Never disturb patients here."The mother rises up strongly and said,"He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside.He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live.And he begins to sing.In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old,Michael sings:"You are my sunshine,my only sunshine,you make me happy when skies are gray..."Instantly the baby girl responds.The pulse rate becomes calm and steady. The next day,the very next day,the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it"the miracle of a brother's song."The medical staff just called it a miracle.Karen called it a miracle of God's love! Never give up on the people you love. What do we know about the head nurse? A. The head nurse was careful. B. The bead nurse was rude. C. The head nurse was responsible. D. The head nurse had no sympathy. Answer: C
Ice might be formed by A upper hemisphere B a flowing river C a temperature higher D hot reaction Answer: A The Internet has become part of teenagers' life. A new report shows that 38 percent (......) of 3,375 students use the Internet often. Most of the students get useful information for their studies, but some are not using it in a good way. Many students are playing online games too much. Some even visit some unhealthy websites. A teacher from Beijing Yinghua Middle School, Hong Ying warns that something bad can happen if young people spend too much time on the Internet. She said that one of her students used to be good at school. But when he started visiting unhealthy websites,he hurt a girl by cheating online. At last the police caught him and sent him into the prison . In order to help young people use the Internet safely, some schools in Shanghai find a good way. The schools provide a textbook for the students. The book uses real examples to teach students about good ways of using the Internet. Teachers and parents all think the book is good. Hong said that the book will help students keep away from the bad behaviors of using computer. The book will teach students how to be a good person in the online world. The aim of the book is to _ . A teach students how to get online in a good way B tell children how to make online friends C tell a lot of stories about the harm of the Internet D teach students how to play computer games Answer: A With the start of the new term, students around the country exchange their fun and fashionable clothes for boring school uniforms. But not all campuses are fashion deserts. Colorful sports shoes, school bags, T-shirts and even drink containers are breathing life into campuses. _ especially when we are doing morning exercises on the playground," and Qing Pei, a Senior 2 students from Shanghai Qibao High School. "But boys wear different sports shoes and girls have different decorations in their hair. These are the areas where you can express yourself," said Qing. Although it might be strange for boys to talk about fashion, they do care about what they wear in school, especially shoes, according to Qing. "Nike and Adidas basketball shoes, although they are still the must-have items for many of my friends, are becoming out-of-date," Qing added. He explained, "Since Liu Xiang ran so fast in Athens, running shoes are becoming popular in this autumn." "Still in fashion are the various baseball caps and American-style T-shirts with some English words printed on them," said Qing. Besides sports shoes and T-shirts, styles and colors of schoolbags are another chance for students to express their taste in fashion. Some bags are made more eye-catching by decorating them with small dolls. Other fashionable items are colorful drink containers, which are now popular with girls this term. "Some teachers are surprised to see a teenager sucking a bottle like this at school and criticize it as childish regression . But some girls just love it," said Yang Rui, a Senior 3 student. How do girls express themselves on campus? A They wear different spots shoes. B They wear school uniforms. C They have different decorations in their hair. D They drink coffee from colorful drink containers. Answer: C Recent weeks have seen a wave of new books, stamps, movies, television programmes, newspaper articles, songs and performances, all celebrating the 100thanniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping, on August 22. To Chinese people, he was no doubt one ofprefix = st1 /China's greatest leaders. Many Westerners remember Deng as "a little man with great ideas". He was famous for his practical and direct manner, shown in famous slogans such as "No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; a cat that can catch rats is a good cat" and "Poverty is not socialism". In 1979, as the first top Chinese communist leader to set foot in theUnited States, he was regarded as a symbol of friendship when he wore a cowboy hat inHouston,Texas, and rode around in a stage coach. "His straightforward manner earned the trust of the American people. He changed the American people's traditional view of Chinese leaders andChina," said David Lampton, a well-known American expert onChina. "He succeeded in strengthening Chinese diplomatic relations." Lampton said that Deng openedChinaup to the rest of the world and helped develop more friendly relations with the West. "Deng's reform increased the world's understanding of Chinaand today Americans are no longer afraid ofChina," said Mike Wallace, an American journalist who interviewed Deng in 1986. At that time, he said,Chinawas still mysterious in the eyes of Westerners. Talking of his impression of Deng, Wallace said he was very honest and clever. He recalled a conversation at the beginning of the interview. "I started the interview by saying 'reporters don't normally get to meet you'. Deng answered, 'Because I am an ordinary person'. Then I asked, 'Why did you decide to have the interview with us at this time?' He replied, 'Because I want to know American people and that they can know Chinabetter; by American people I also mean American leaders'." Though he interviewed many international leaders, Wallace thought Deng was very different form them all. Maybe the fact that Deng was selected twice as "Person of the Year" by the world-famous American Time magazine tells it all. Which of the following can best show many Westerners' impression on Deng? A Honest and clever B Kind and friendly C Practical and direct D A little man with great ideas Answer: D Which organisms benefit in the relationship between bees and flowering plants? A only the bees B only the flowering plants C both the bees and the flowering plants D neither the bees nor the flowering plants Answer: C
When I was growing up, I was unhappy to be seen with my father. He was disabled and quite short. He used to walk together with me and his hand was on my arm for balance. At this time, people would look at us strangely. I was afraid to look at others but he never cares. It was difficult to _ our steps -- his slow, mine impatient. But each time, he always said, "You set the pace, I'll follow you." He never talked about himself as a disabled man and nor did he envy other people's good fortune or health. What he looked for in others was a "good heart" -- a good heart in man. Now that I am older, I believe that is a right standard to judge people, even though I still don't know exactly what a "good heart" is. But I know the times when I don't have it. Unable to take part in many activities, my father still tried to participate in some way. When I played ball, he "played" it too. When I joined the Navy, he "joined" too. He often introduced me, saying "This is my son, but it is also me, and I could have done this if things had been different." He has been gone many years, but I am so sorry for my unwillingness to walk with him. I never told him how I regretted it. I think of him often when I complain about small affairs and when I don't have a "good heart ". At such times, I want to put my hand on his arm and say, "You set the pace, I'll try to follow you. " In his father's view, the most important quality a good person should have is _ . A excellent health B a good heart C smart hands D beautiful appearance Answer: B. a good heart Which adaptation often helps an animal attract a mate? A hibernation B camouflage C coloration D migration Answer: C. coloration The Internet has greatly changed the way people communicate. But some teachers think the changes are not all for the better. Eleanor Johnson, an English professor, thinks that text messaging has made students believe that it is far more acceptable than it actually is to just make terrible spelling and grammatical errors. And she says her students over the past several years have increasingly used less formal English in their writing. Words and phrases like "guy" and "you know" now appear in research papers. Professor Johnson supposes there is a strong relationship between the rise of informal online communication and an increase in writing mistakes. But she says there may not be much scientific information, at least not yet. David Crystal, a British linguist , says the actively changing nature of the Internet makes it difficult to keep up-to-date in studying its effects. But he believes its influence on language is small. The main effect of the Internet on language is the way it has added to the expressive richness of language, providing language with a new set of communicative tools that haven't existed in the past. Erin Jansen is founder of NetLingo.com, an online dictionary of the Internet and text messaging terms. She says the new technology has not changed existing language but has greatly added to its vocabulary. Basically it's freedom of expression. And what about those teachers who find these new kinds of mistakes in spelling and grammar in their students' work? What is her message to them? Erin Jansen said, "I am always on the students' side and won't get angry or upset about that. If it's helping the kids write more or communicate more, that's great. That's what teachers and educators want--to get kids communicating." But Erin Jansen and David Crystal agree with Eleanor Johnson on at least one thing. Teachers need to make sure students understand the uses and rules of language. Which of the following is Eleanor Johnson's view on text messaging? A It becomes far more acceptable. B It causes an increase in writing mistakes. C It helps students learn informal expressions. D It makes informal expressions accepted by educators. Answer: B. It causes an increase in writing mistakes. A recent survey found that the French are the second-most insecure people in Europe after Italy about their proficiency in English. Only 13 percent of the French respondents believed they are proficient in the language, according to the European data agency Eurostat. The situation is no better in business circles, where three-quarters of French executives feel unprepared to hold an interview in English and only 16 percent say they feel comfortable with the language, a separate survey showed. The survey results aren't surprising. The French seem to have always had this cold and gloomy attitude toward the English language. But what struck me is that, despite the French pessimism, living in Paris without being able to speak the language of Moliere is easier these days than in the past. New immigrants are part of the reason. I can have an easy chat with the owner of the laundry in my neighborhood. Buying the medicine I need at the local pharmacy is effortless. Ordering a meal in English at the restaurant two blocks away from my apartment does not make me feel awkward. It is all because the people who run these businesses are immigrants. Greater tolerance and acceptance of non-French speakers is a reflection of the fact that France, willingly or not, has begun to embrace globalization more comfortably. For instance, you will never get the same look you would have had 15 years ago if you ask for directions in English on the streets of Paris. I have also met many native French who are happy to communicate in English. They are usually the kind of people who are open-minded and are sensitive to the changes beyond their own territories. They are very interested in gaining insight into what is happening on the other side of the globe. In my hometown, English is also being hotly debated since Beijing education authorities decided to reduce the importance of English proficiency in college entrance exams and increase that of the Chinese language and literature. The Chinese and the French share similarities in attitudes toward foreign languages. We are both so proud of our own languages and cultures that we can feel uncomfortable when we are forced to communicate in another language. But like it or not, English is still the most widely used language in the world, at least for the foreseeable future. After all, it is not about abandoning one's own language but about being able to fit more easily into this globalized world. The expression "to speak the language of Moliere" can be understood as _ . A to speak Italian B to speak English C to speak French D to speak the language of an immigrant named Moliere Answer: C. to speak French Salesman Ramesh lived in the southern part of India. He got his first assignment in the month of June, the start of the rainy season in the area. He was given a list of local laundry owners whom he had to approach and sell products to. He was scared and thought he wouldn't be able to fulfill the task, but he accepted the challenge as he had no other choice. The next day he started approaching the laundry owners, and within 15 days he got a really nice response. Most of them purchased his products, but they borrowed money from Ramesh to buy the products. Everyone promised to pay him back within the next 15 days. During the last week of June amidst heavy showers, he started visiting the laundry owners to collect money. Upon visiting half of them, he realized he hadn't collected a penny. After almost 14 days, on a bright sunny Monday morning, he started visiting the laundry owners once again. Suddenly, by noon Ramesh realized that he had collected the payments from almost 50% of the owners. He worked hard throughout the day, and by the end of the day he had completed 90% of his target for June and July. At last, he became the "star performer" for the months of June and July. Why did the laundry owners look at the sky and tell him to come the next day when Ramesh visited them? He went to a laundry owner and asked him the question. The owner said, "This is the month of the rainy season and we have to wash the clothes, dry them off and iron them before handing them over to customers. If the sun doesn't shine, how can we dry our clothes and earn money to pay you back?" Ramesh then realized that it was his patience and endurance that kept him going and ultimately helped him achieve success. Like Ramesh, each one of us should realize that apart from being honest and hard-working, if we can keep our patience, we are inching up the ladder of success. What can we learn about Ramesh? A He didn't like the job of salesman. B He was confident in his first task. C His customers were mainly the local laundry owners. D He accomplished his sales task perfectly within 10 days. Answer: C. His customers were mainly the local laundry owners.
Have you ever lost your car on a parking lot? You don't have a clue where your car is after shopping. Then you start walking around clicking on your car keys so the alarm goes off. It can be annoying, especially on a hot sunny day. No, you needn't install an expensive GPS system to keep track of your car. That's too expensive. You would need to pay a monthly fee to use it. But is there a way to track your vehicle without spending a fortune? Yes, now there is! A California-based company has created a tiny device that works with your smartphone, which could be exactly what you're looking for! What is it? It's called TrackR. It is a state-of-the-art tracking device the size of a coin. It's changing the way we keep track of the important things in our lives. How does it work? It's easy! Install the free TrackR app on your smartphone, connect the app to your device and you're ready to go! Simply attach TrackR to whatever you want to keep an eye on. The entire process of setting it up only takes 5 minutes or less. You can attach it to your keys, briefcase, wallet, your latest tech gadgets and anything else you don't want to lose. Then use the TrackR app to locate your missing item in seconds. If you forget where you have parked your car, pull out your smartphone and open the TrackR app. Tap on the "find device" button on the screen and the app will tell you the exact spot of the last known location of the TrackR. What else can I do with TrackR? The device is small and unnoticeable enough that you can attach it to your pet. Put it on their collar, and the issue of searching for them when they run away to nearby places will be over! You'll never waste a minute searching the whole house for it. TrackR even comes with a double-sided glue so you can stick it to your laptop or under your bike seat. Track down and punish the thieves who steal your expensive things! How much does it cost? You're probably thinking that this device is very expensive. False! TrackR only costs $29! That's a small price to pay for peace of mind, isn't it? Where can I buy one? You can buy it directly from the company's website by clicking here https://buy.thetrackr.co/gu/special-offers/15/ . This passage is mainly developed by _ . answering questions A scientist has collected monthly population counts of three animal species in a forest for five years. To display this data, the scientist should use which of the following? a line graph Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place. Around 1870,it was experiencing an economic boom, and the capital, Buenos Aires, attracted many people. Farmers, as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy, came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs. These jobs didn't pay well, and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city. As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city, the dance known an the tango came into being. At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes. It was danced in the bars and streets. At that time there many fewer women the men, so if a man didn't want to be left out, his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women. Gradually, the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable. In Europe at this time, strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning. This interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris. Every kind of dance from ballet to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters of the Paris theaters. After tango dances from Argentina arrive in Europe, they began to draw the interest of the public as they performed their exciting dance in cafes. Though not everyone approved of the new dance, saying it was a little too shocking, the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular. The popularity of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world. Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America. It reached Japan in 1926, and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act an a kind of dance ambassador, and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea. Which of the following is true about the tango? It was often danced by two male in the beginning. A man fell out of his plane and fell back into it again. Two people rowed a small boat from New York to England in 56 days. One person was so big that he wouldn't fit in any hospital room. Would you believe these stories? Well, they may sound strange, but they did happen. James Cornell has more strange but true stories like these in a book called Very Strange People. Here is part of the contents of Very Strange People. The contents lists the names of the chapters or parts of the book. It also tells on what page each chapter begins. Chapter Page One A Dog's Life ..........................................3 Two A Lucky Pilot ................... ..............14 Three High Wire Act .................... .............33 Four Fat Men ............................................... 41 Five Over the Falls .........................................43 Six A House without an end ................... .............53 Seven Row, Row, Row Your Boat ................. ..............60 Eight The Tower Builder ....................... ..............85 One morning in New York City, people saw a man walking on a rope between two tall buildings. You may read this story in Chapter _ . 3 This is a story told or read to children of young ages.The heroine , Cinderella, treated cruelly by her stepmother and her two ugly stepsisters, is helpless until the right magic comes along.She meets her prince and they live together happily. Just a sweet, pretty tale? Not in the view of Ellen Macintosh, who has written much about fairy tales.Ellen' s main concern is with what the story implies. "Instead of standing up to her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella just waits for a fairy godmother to appear and solve her problem.But wouldn't you want a daughter of yours to show more spirit?" The story is long lasting, whatever its shortcomings, and it does' t take much to see its influence on a number of recent Hollywood productions.In these versions for the silver screen, the Cinderella character no longer has to clean the house and has no sisters to make her life terrible, though she keeps the way of not showing much courage.The character of the rich and handsome stranger, however, is kept, and in some cases really is a prince.The role of the fairy godmother is often played by luck; we live in a civilized age when even very young children might reject the idea of fairies.In the majority of film versions, the heroine has a profession and is even permitted to continue working after marrying her prince this is the twenty first century, after all. Doesn't the success of these films indicate that the story has relevance to children even today?" Yes,, admits Ellen, who sees its message as being rooted in a fundamental childhood desire for love and attention." Most children experience a sense of inner loneliness as they are growing up and empathize with (...)the character who faces some sort of challenge.This can be seen in the original story of Cinderella, where the fairy godmother tells the heroine that she must learn to be gracious and confident if she is to go to the ball.She has to grow spiritually, and by maturing, she becomes attractive to the prince, thus ensuring that the ending of the story will be happy." "In the later versions, thus element is missing," says Ellen, " and the theme of the story is simply that a girl' s role in life is to be more beautiful than other girls so that she can carry off the prize: the handsome prince.Is this really what we want girls to grow up believing?" In the film versions of the Cinderella story, _ . luck plays an important role in the heroine' s happy life
Stonehenge may have been a prehistoric health center rather than a site for observing stars or a temple in honor of the dead, scientists said yesterday. New evidence unearthed at the World Heritage Site in more than 40 years suggests that the monument was a place where the diseased and injured went in groups, seeking cures. After a two-week dig, scientists have concluded that Stonehenge was "the ancient healthcare centre of southern England" because of the existence of "bluestones"---the smaller columns of dolerite that formed an earlier stone structure. By dating pieces of remains to around 7330BC, Tim Darvill, of Bournemouth University, and Goff Wainwright, of the Society of Antiquaries have found that hunter-gatherers were at the site on Salisbury Plain 4,000 years earlier than thought. The first stage of Stonehenge, a round earthwork structure, was built around 3000BC. Professor Wainwright added: "I did not expect the degree of complexity we discovered. We're able to say so much more about when Stonehenge was built and why---all of which changes our previous understanding of the monument." The research reveals the importance of the henge's famous bluestones. Hundreds of bluestone chips gathered at the site have led the team to conclude that the bluestones were valued for their curing effects---the key reason that about 80 of them, each weighing up to 4 tons and a half, were dragged more than 150 miles from the Preseli Hills to Wiltshire. After years of research, Professors Darvill and Wainwright have concluded that, for thousands of years, the Preseli mountain range was home to magical health centers and holy wells. Even today there are those who believe in the curing powers of the springs for coughs and heart disease, and people who use crystals and bluestones for self-curing. Radiocarbon tests have also revealed that the construction of the original bluestone circle took place around 2300BC, three centuries later than originally thought. Interestingly, on the same day died the "Amesbury Archer"---a sick traveler from the Swiss or German Alps who had an infected knee---whose remains were discovered about five miles from Stonehenge. The professors believe that he was a devoted religious person who was hoping to benefit from the curing powers of the monument. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage? Answer: Stonehenge: Still Making News Seattle, Washington ,is nicknamed "Rain city", but it's snow that is making it famous. On January 12,2013, Seattle residents set the Guinness World Record for the biggest snowball fight More than5,800 people showed up to throw snowballs at one another at the Seattle Centre. It didn't snow in Seattle on that day, but there was snow in a small comer of the city-enough to make a lot of kids' dreams come true. Trucks carried 34 loads of snow from Snoqualmie Pass, an hour away in Washington's Cascade mountain range to the Seattle Center It took 162,000 pounds of the white stuff to build the winter wonderland. The goal! To break the Guinness World Record for the biggest snowball fight The event was also a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs. Seattle businessman Neil Bergquist took three months to organize the playful battle. He wanted to raise money for kids by remembering what it was like to feel like a kid' Although Seattle residents aren't used to snow, they succeeded in getting enough people to come out and play About 6,000 tickets were sold online. Participants were given bar-coded wristbands when they arrived The wristbands were scanned as participants entered and left the location, so Guinness counted the number at all times. There were 130 judges for the official minute-and-a-half snowball fight Anyone not throwing snowball wasn't counted in the total To raise money for the Clubs, companies paid for space to build snow fonts ( ). A Guinness official confirmed the count of 5,834 people. Seattle beat the previous world record of about 5,400 at a 2010 snowball fight in South Korea "We had much fun set a Guinness record, raised some money for kids, and everyone had a chance to act like a 'kid for a day," said Bergquist Seattle prepared for its snowball fight event by _ Answer: carrying snow from elsewhere Interviews can be quite frightening but our tips can help you. Don't worry--relax! Remember these things and you'll be fine. Be on time. Find out exactly where the interview is and how to get there. Remember that buses and trains can often be late so allow plenty of time. It's better to be early than late. Be prepared. Think about what the interviewer will ask you. He or she will probably ask about your qualifications and your experience but they'll also ask you why you want the job. Think of some possible questions and prepare your answers before you go. Wear comfortable clothes. If you wear something new it will make you feel uncomfortable. It's best to wear something smart but something you like and feel happy in. Make eye contact . In the interview, don't sit looking at your feet. Make sure you sit up and look the interviewer in the eye. This makes you look honest and more confident . Ask a question. It's a good idea to ask questions at the interview. Ask about the company or the job. Prepare some questions before the interview. It makes you look more interested if you do this. How many tips does the writer give in this passage? Answer: Five. A carefree summer vacation can be yours with these easy tips. 1.Fly into Alternate Airports Most major destinations are served by more than one airport.Flying into a less popular one can result in cheaper tickets.Another added _ of quieter airports? Shorter check-in and security lines,and less waiting around. 2.Use Public Transportation for City Travel to Save Time and Money When possible,take public transportation from the airport to your hotel.For example,the London-Heathrow express train takes just 15 minutes to get from airport to city and costs under 20 pounds.By contrast,"A taxi costs about 70 pounds and takes 40 minutes,"reports DiScala. 3.Eat Smart,Explore...and Save Look for ways to take your order in pricey restaurants and you can avoid "Are we about to run out of money?""Don't order an appetizer.Don't drink a lot of booze," says DiScala. Also,cover more ground by spreading out your snack places."Have dessert at a cafe or ice cream stand, instead of at the dinner restaurant," suggests DiScala.You'll see more of the city and decisions about where to go for dinner will be less worrying. 4.Hit the Market Much like reading the local newspaper,visiting a market gives context to a foreign country. Even the smallest villages tend to have a weekly open-air market(often on Saturday mornings) , while in larger towns and cities,expect additional market days,as well as big supermarkets. Markets also sell amazing,wallet-friendly souvenirs.Think about sea salt,local spices or sauces,and regional oils and vinegars. Eatable gifts are almost always appreciated,saving you the stress of finding the"perfect"gift for each person on your list. Which of the following will best help you save time and money? Answer: Taking an express train. Strange Baby-Naming Laws Germany Parents are banned by law from using last names and the names of objects and products as first names. A child's first name must clearly indicate his or her sex, and all names must be approved by the office of vital statistics in the area in which the child was born. Iceland The country's naming committee consults the National Register of Persons to determine if a name is acceptable. If parents want to go off-list, they must apply for approval and pay a fee, and the name must contain only letters in the Icelandic alphabet. New Zealand The country's Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act of 1995 prohibits parents from choosing a name that " might cause offense to a reasonable person; is unreasonably long; or is, includes, or resembles an official title or rank," including, apparently, Adolf Hitler and Yeah Detroit--both names recently rejected. Denmark If Danish parents prefer a moniker not on the list of 7,000 preapproved baby names, they must get permission from local church and government officials. Fifteen to 20 percent of the 1,100 reviewed names--including creative spellings of common names, last names as first names, and unusual names--are rejected each year. Which name is accepted in New Zealand? Answer: John Smith
They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing flannel and thickframed glasses while listening to music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at secondhand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways. They call themselves hipsters. Being "hip" used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has become a sign of "being cool, unique and unusual". Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony is central to their culture and offers an interesting conflict. "I do take things in the mainstream with a positive attitude," says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University. "But sometimes I also question what determines popularity, especially regarding music." Polson represents many hipsters. When lessknown bands become popular, they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes, "I used to like that band before it got popular," Polson quoted. According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly disappear for the sake of popularity. Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and they are adopting hipsters' antimainstream culture mind to themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster consumers. But on the other hand, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly made the antimainstream culture become weaker. "A lot of people that are selfdefined hipsters aren't really hipsters. They're just trying to act as hipsters to seem cooler," says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unusual tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster. According to the author, _ . A hipsters are the pioneers of the mainstream B hipsters are unhappy with the mainstream C hipsters' culture exists mainly in music field D hipsters' culture can also become popular Answer: D In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, flexible, and do not make mistakes. As one banker said, "Unlike humans, computers never have a bad day." And they are honest. Many banks advertise that their transactions are "untouched by human hands" and therefore safe from human temptation. Obviously, computers have no reason to steal money. But they also have no conscience, and the growing number of computer crimes shows they can be used to steal. Computer criminals don't use guns. And even they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there are no witnesses and often no evidence. A computer cannot remember who used it: it simply does what it is told. The head teller at a New York City Bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years. No one noticed this theft because he moved the money from one account to another. Each time a customer he had robbed questioned the balance in his account, the teller claimed a computer error, then replaced the missing money from someone else's account. This man was caught only because he was a gambler. When the police broke up an illegal gambling operation, his name was in the records. Some employees use the computer's power to get revenge on employers they consider unfair. Recently, a large insurance company fired its computer-tape librarian for reasons that involved her personal rather than her professional life. She was given thirty days' notice. In those thirty days, she erased all the company's computerized records. Most computer criminals have been minor employees. Now police wonder if this is "the tip of the iceberg". As one official says, "I have the feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching. What we are seeing now is all so poorly done. I wonder what the real experts are doing--the ones who really know how a computer works." The head teller was found guilty of stealing _ . A when he was caught transmitting money from one account to another B when the police broke up the illegal gambling operation C afer he was questioned on the abnormal balance of an account D after the police examined the illegal gambling operation documents Answer: D A boy that has two legs and two arms has parents that have A nearly an arm and a leg B the same number limbs C their left arms only D one right leg each Answer: B 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. New York, Sydney, and Tokyo are mentioned in this passage to show _ . A modern cities are usually built along the coastline B the coastline is very important for modern countries C climate changes have endangered many big cities on land D climate changes have been completely out of control Answer: C Riding was the favourite activity of Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. He usually rode good horses. One day, he was riding outside Washington, when a jockey came near. He did not know the President, but his professional eye was attracted by Mr. Jefferson's horse. He stopped and said that he wanted to buy the horse, but Mr. Jefferson politely refused his offer. The jockey offered more money for the horse, because the closer he looked at the horse, the more he liked it. All of his offers were refused, which made him angry. He then became rude, but his rudeness left as little an impression as his money, for Jefferson had a very good temper. At last, he hit Mr. Jefferson's horse with his whip, getting it to run suddenly. This would have thrown a less skillful rider to the ground, but Jefferson stayed on his seat, and controlled his horse well. The jockey then gave up. He rode with Mr. Jefferson side by side and began to talk with him about politics. Jefferson joined in the conversation. When they got into the city and came close to the gate of the presidential mansion , Mr. Jefferson stopped, and politely invited the man to enter. The jockey was surprised and asked, "Why? Do you live here?" "Yes" was the simple reply. "Why, stranger, what's your name?" "My name is Thomas Jefferson." Embarrassed, the man quickly left, while the President looked at him with a smile and then rode through the gate. We can infer from the passage that _ . A the jockey had once bought a horse from another stranger B Mr. Jefferson was very good at riding a horse C Mr. Jefferson would invite the jockey to his own house later D the jockey would not talk about this experience to others Answer: B
A computer game is very popular today. Many young office workers and students like playing it. People can "farm" on a piece of "land", and "grow vegetables, flowers and fruits" on the Net. They can make some emoney to buy more things.Here are different ideas about it. Henry: I don't like any computer games. I think it's a waste of time. Laura: I live in the city and I long for the life on the farm. So I like this game very much. Allen: I often play this game with my friends. We have fun playing it. Ivy: I'm a student. I think we students can use computers to do many useful things. But why do some of us choose to play computer games? It's bad for our studies. Which is TRUE according to the passage? A Allen is happy to play the game. B Laura lives on the farm. C Ivy doesn't like to study. D Henry usually plays computer games. Answer: A Louis Pasteur, one of the world's great scientists, was born in 1822, and died in 1895.While still a young boy, Louis Pasteur made his decision to become a scientist. He spent much of his life time studying the diseases of cattle, chickens and other tame animals. His wife learned to help him with his work. Almost everyone knows that Pasteur is the man responsible for finding a way of preventing milk from spoiling . Not many people know he was the first to imagine and to prove that air we breathe is full of germs . One of his greatest successes was finding a treatment for people and animals to prevent a disease called rabies . Louis Pasteur won many honors and could have got large amount of money. But Pasteur preferred to live simply. The real happiness of this unusual man came from his work. Louis Pasteur did so well in his life that the French government took up his work and created the Institute Pasteur in the year 1888. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? A Pasteur was a scientist and doctor as well. B Pasteur lived for less than seventy years. C Everybody knows that Pasteur succeeded in finding a way of preventing milk from spoiling. D Pasteur's wife was of some help to him in his work.. Answer: D Are animal brains too simple for thoughts and choices? Stories about animal kindness have really changed my point of view. In fact, some stories are amazing, especially when animals are meeting with people. Here are two stories that interest me. James, a wildlife writer, told a story that an African woman had placed her baby in the shade of a tree while she was working. An elephant group walked by and saw the baby. Several elephants pulled leafy branches from the tree covered the sleeping baby. Flies can be a problem in Africa and the branches protected the baby from the flies. The elephants were so gentle and quiet that they did not even wake up the baby. Then the elephants walked away. An English magazine offers another story. Bill, a cat, stayed at home while its master was away on a trip, but the man was injured in a railway accident and died a few days later in a hospital. At the funeral, the Man's brother was surprised to see that Bill was there. The faithful cat had traveled a long way to the hospital, looked at the coffin , and then sadly returned home. Humans are only one part of the earth. The beautiful flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horses and the great eagles, these are our brothers. The sky and mountains, the cows and men, all belong to the same family. These stories, I hope, will inspire more people to treat animals as our friends rather than pets or our next meal. Though it is a long way to travel, the faithful cat managed to _ ? A appear at its master's funeral. B catch up with his master on his trip C see its master's brother. D see it master die in an accident. Answer: A Many textbooks are not written in the kind of English that we speak every day. In fact, sometimes the reading is so difficult that it almost seems like a foreign language. In a way, it is--the language of science. You should not expect to be able to read a difficult science passage the same way you read an interesting story; you should not expect to read it easily and all at once. Instead, you may have to read it several times through, catching on the meaning of difficult words, going back over difficult sentences, and finally putting the whole thing together. Do not be discourages if the whole passage don't make sense to you at first. You need to pick it apart patiently until you can understand it. These are the steps to follow when you are reading something difficult: 1. Start to read normally until you _ a sentence that doesn't make sense to you. 2. When a sentence doesn't make sense, go back and read it again more slowly. 3. Look for any word you don't know in the sentence. Try to understand their meanings using word parts and context clues . If necessary, look them up in the dictionary. 4. Look at the next few sentences to see if they explain more about the sentence you are working on. Do not read very much farther ahead until you understand what is being said. 5. Finally, read the sentence again. Try to put it into simpler words. 6. Read through the passage once. Try to understand all the hard parts well. Then read the whole passage once more at a usual speed. This helps you to put all ides together. The stops sound a lot harder than they are. It is really just the normal way good readers understand anything that is difficult to read. After you have done the best you can this way, you should always feel free to ask for help from your teacher, if you have one. From the passage, we can know _ . A we should look up new words before reading B it is sometimes difficult to read a science passage C the six steps are helpful in learning spoken English D interesting stories help readers to improve their English Answer: B The head of the World Health Organization (WTO) yesterday warned of worsening health in the country's vast rural areas while praising the government for its commitment on improving healthcare in the countryside. "The health indicators have failed to improve in pace with economic indicators." said Margared Chan when addressing a conference on rural primary healthcare in prefix = st1 /China. "The health gap between rural and urban areas has grown even wider and health in parts of rural China is deteriorating ,"she said, adding medical costs are rising faster than the growth of per capital income in rural areas. She said she appreciated the government's efforts and plans to build a medical system for all people. Saying "when fair and accessible public health services become the clear targets of a country's public health policy, people's health will improve." The WTO chief said she noticed that the tasks on improving people's well-being in the report by Party chief Hu Jintao at the 17thNational Congress of the Communist Party of China included a basic medical insurance system for urban dwellers and a cooperative medical care system in rural areas. She said recent WTO research has found that diseases are the source of poverty for 30 to 50 percent of the rural population of 737 million. A growing number of rural people, especially the aged, are suffering from various diseases; however, few have access to decent healthcare, she told the conference. Chan criticized the practice of allowing healthcare services to be commercialized in rural areas, warning it will cause the patients more suffering. The government has pledged to provide its population with basic medical care by 2020. It's expanding medical care through the Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme, a plan under which subscribers are provided with 50 yuan($6.4) per person--20 yuan ($2.6) each from the central and local governments and 10 yuan ($1.3) from the individual. Vice-Minister of Health Chen Xiaohong said nearly 85 percent of the country's rural area, or 2,429 counties, are participating in the plan. Which of the following can be chosen as the best title for this passage? A Healthcare in Rural Area Faces Challenges B The Head of the WTO----Margaret Chan C The Comparison of Rural and Urban Healthcare D The Importance of the Rural Healthcare Answer: A
Young people frequently say that they want to exercise, but they just can't find the time. The solution just might be in-office interval training. Recent studies show that very short but intense exercise rapidly builds and maintains fitness and health, even when the workout is only a few minutes long. Work the stairs You can complete an excellent, effective -- and very brief -- workout in an office stairwell, says Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada and an expert on interval training. For a study that he and his colleagues presented earlier this year, they asked 12 out-of-shape women in their 20s to warm up for two minutes by slowly walking up and down stairs in a campus office building. They completed three of these abbreviated stair workouts per week for six weeks. By the end, their aerobic fitness had improved substantially, the researchers reported, by about as much as if they had been running or cycling each week for hours. Fidget your way to fitness. Parents and teachers may once have urged you to sit still, but wiggling, tapping your toes, standing briefly, and otherwise fidgeting as much as possible at your desk is in fact good for your body. In one recent study, college students showed healthier blood flow in their lower legs if they fidgeted than if they did not. Even better, a 2008 study found that among office workers, those who frequently fidgeted burned as many as 300 calories more each day than those who resolutely stayed still. According to the experiment, women spending two minutes working stairs for six weeks _ . Answer: benefited a lot When Sara and Nathan Jones were training to become foster parents , their son, Noah, learned a tough thing or two about foster care. For instance, nearly 600 local foster kids changed families every year, and they carried their belongings from one home to the next in black garbage bags. Noah, then ten, couldn't imagine squeezing his clothes, favorite toy, and soccer ball into a trash bag and dragging it to a new house in the middle of the night. "Packing kids' belongings into garbage bags is like telling them that their stuff has no more worth than trash," says Noah. So with help from his parents and younger sisters, Macy, then nine, and Molly, then seven, Noah began to collect suitcases and duffel bags from friends and extended family; he received more than 100 bags in less than two weeks. He then sent letters to churches and put ads in local newspapers and on radio stations asking for donations. Within a few months, the family was collecting about 500 bags a week, which they stored briefly in their spare bathroom and downstairs hallway before giving them to foster care caseworkers at the Department for Community Based Services. In addition to suitcases, Noah now provides foster kids with backpacks containing shampoo, soap, a journal, and a toy--all donated. "My hope is that by giving the children things that are just theirs, they will feel a little control in the midst of the chaos," says Noah. Noah's group, A Case for Dignity, collects and distributes hundreds of bags a year. He recently convinced foster care managers from 15 Kentucky counties to pledge to use his bags instead of trash bags. "I've been so inspired by him," says his mom. "If a ten-year-old can see a problem and create a solution, how much more can we do as adults?" What might be the purpose in writing the text? Answer: To tell us a story about Noah. Every day we are adding more and more vacation ideas, destinations, tours, and articles. As you explore our website,you will find there is an ever-growing collection of things that will help make your vacation easier and more affordable. We change our featured destinations very frequently so be sure to keep coming back to see what new ideas we have for your family vacation.We feature a different state,park, and city destination on the front page of the website.These change frequently, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you can be sure to keep up with all the new information. Another great feature we are offering is Guest Articles.These may come from a travel professional,author, parent or child about their travel ideas or offers.These informative articles are great to read and are perfect for discovering valuable tips and tricks for the travel less stressful.Plus,in many articles you will discover some hidden gems that you probably miss if you did not know about them. One of the best things about our website is our ability to get you discounted Tours and Attraction Passes to the places you want to go most.This is a fantastic way to plan ahead and have your tours and passes paid for and pick them up before you leave your home.Now that is a helpful way to go.These programs can save you over 50%of what you could expect to pay when you arrive.And,we are adding new tours and programs every week.Be sure to check it out. You can be sure we are working hard for you so that you can relax on your vacation. Let us do all the leg work for you so you can simply enjoy your family vacation! What does the writer want to do by writing this text? Answer: To attract readers to surf a tourist website. With fifteen years prefix = st1 /Britainand other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes for the recycling of waste . The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything which goes into the dumps would be made into something useful . Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else . The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out . The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city . This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel , lead and copper , but also paper and rubber as well . Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish . When this project is complete , the rubbish will be processed like this : First , it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed ; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids ; after that founders and rollers will break up everything that can be broken . Finally , the rubbish will pass under magnets , which will remove the bits of iron and steel ; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage . The first full-scale giant recycling plants are perhaps fifteen years away . Indeed , with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps , some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long . The first full-scale huge recycling plants_. Answer: will probably be in operation in fifteen years Mr Smith is a teacher of English.He comes from America.He teaches English in China.He speaks Chinese quite well. He reads a lot of books and his wife often writes books for the students at home.Mr Smith gets up at five in the morning.He leaves home at ten to six.He begins the first lesson at 8:00.He teaches English every day except Saturday and Sunday.At ten to twelve he finishes his lessons.Ten minutes later he has lunch.In the afternoon,he often plays games with his students.Sometimes he teaches his students in his office.Supper time is at about six.After that,he reads newspapers and watches TV.At about ten to eleven he goes to bed. He has lunch at _ . Answer: 12:00
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance, The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly ,The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs ,from family to family. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance in no time ,Lf they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget ,which demands choices between spending and saving ,Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs ,like clothing or electronics. But it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home ,These jobs are a normal part of family life , Paying children to do extra work around the house , however, can be useful .It can even provide an understanding of how a business works. Allowances give children a chance to experience the things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause .They can spend it by buying things they want., Or they can save and maybe even invest it , Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice; you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers ,lean about personal finance .A savings account is an excellent way to lean about the power of compound interest. Compounding works by paying interest on interest .So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year .The second year, the money will earn to percent of one dollar and two cents,, and so on ,That may not seem like a lot .But over time is adds ,up. According to the text, it is considered a bad idea for parents to A. give children freedom to spend money B. pay chileren for common house work C. let children understand how business works D. help children learn about personal finance Answer: B. pay chileren for common house work Keeping the kids busy over the school holidays can be discouraging and cost parents a lot. But we've found some cheap and cheerful ways to enjoy family time this Easter from free days out to fun-filled theme parks which won't cost us much. We've done the homework so you can get started on having a great time. Theme Parks Save from 10% to 25% off the price of tickets for Legoland in Windor by booking in advance online. A family of four can save up to L45.90 on a one-day ticket, paying L137.70. Book seven days in advance and save L43 off the price of a family of four tickets for Drayton Manor Theme Park. Call 0844-472-1950 or book online and you'll pay L65 on the day. You can pick up a family of four ticket for a day at Alton Towers in Staffordshire for L43.80 off the day price. Save L16 off the price for a family trip to The Making of Harry Potter by buying a family ticket (two adults and two children) online. Family of four L101, compared to L117. Activities Students looking for a cut-price trip to see the animals can save 15% off the ticket price at Bristol Zoo and pay L12.71 rather than the full adult price L14.53. Teens should show their identity as students. Freebies Let your kids discover what it's like to be an animal on the African Plain in the ocean. Or, they can learn to love leaf beetles or become a scientist for the day at the Natural History Museum in London. How can tourists enjoy a cut-price trip at Bristol Zoo? A. By showing their birthdays and birthplaces. B. By showing their family addresses C. By showing their driving licenses. D. By showing their students' cards. Answer: D. By showing their students' cards. Rocky Hurt and Ethan Wilson were playing football in their front yard in Marietta. Suddenly a woman they had never met ran out of her house shouting to them to call an ambulance. That woman was Susanna Rohm. Her 12-week-old baby seemed to stop breathing. She was so scared that she couldn't find her cell phone. so she had decided to rush outside to ask for help. After getting their parents to make the call, the two boys followed their mother to see if they could do anything to help. And help they did! As Susanna was trying to do CPR on her baby. Young Rocky came in and told her she was doing it all wrong. Instead he asked her to use two fingers, push on the chest 5-10 times. tilt( ) the baby's head. plug the nose and then do a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation ( ) by breathing into the baby's mouth. Luckily for him and the baby. Susanna accepted his advice for even a second and came a loud cry from the baby. Soon the doctors came and the baby was sent to hospital. The most amazing part of this story is that neither boy has attended a CPR class. Instead. They learned it all by carefully reading the posters on the walk of their school hall. And, while they are now being called as heroes and even interviewed on national television .neither really cares. They are just glad to have saved the baby's life! "Thanks to the posters on the walls, they could save the kid! "Their teacher said to the reporter proudly. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A. Rocky and Ethan often attended CPR classes. B. Susanna didn't know anything about CPR at all. C. Rocky taught Susanna to do CPR correctly. D. Rocky's mother did CPR for Susanna's baby. Answer: C. Rocky taught Susanna to do CPR correctly. Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch.They may think eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness.Or,in summer, they may think it is the heat.However, the real reason lies inside their bodies.At that time--about eight hours after you wake up--your body temperature goes down.This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy.Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day.The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later. In many parts of the world,people take naps in the middle of the day.This is especially true in warmer climate ,where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon.Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate.A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general.In countries where naps are traditional,people often suffer less from problem such as heart disease. Many working people,unfortunately, have no time to take naps.Though doctors may advise taking naps,employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance,however,here are a few tips about making the most of your nap.Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up.A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward.This can also happen if you sleep for too long.If you do not have enough time,try a short nap--even ten minutes of sleep can help you. If you get up at 6:30 a.m,what is the best time for you to take a nap? A. About 12:30 p.m. B. About 1:30 p.m. C. About 2:30 p.m. D. About 3:30 p.m. Answer: C. About 2:30 p.m. Summer time is a great opportunity for kids to learn how to work and earn a little bit of spending money. If your child needs a summer job, here are a few options to consider: Lemonade/Cookie Stand Benefits Creates a concept of running a business: Your child will be his own boss, set his own price , and run the show. It's a great introduction to running his own business. Limited Start-Up Costs: The things used to make lemonade are cheap, so your child should be able to get back his investment with a handful of sales. What Kids Learn About Money: Your child will learn a very valuable lesson about pricing. The price of his lemonade will decide how much he can sell, if he will recover his investment and the amount of profit. Yard Work Benefits: Repeated Customers: If a homeowner needs help raking this year, he'll probably want help again next year. Your child should be able to maintain a regular set of customers after one season. Safety: Yard work is generally safer than a lawn-mowing job. Without having to operate machines, your child will be much safer. What Kids Learn About Money: Because of the variability in pay, your child will need to learn how to negotiate a fair price with homeowners if they ask. Lifeguard Benefits: Responsibility: Kids learn a lot about responsibility when lifeguarding. They are within rights to tell whether a certain activity is safe and are allowed to take action as they see fit. Exercise: Lifeguards need to be proficient at swimming and must exercise to stay in shape. What Kids Learn About Money: To be a lifeguard, one must be certified. Your child may have to pay for lifeguard training, although some employers provide it on-site. Which one is not the benefit of selling lemonade or cookies for children? A. To learn how to run a business. B. To own repeated customers. C. To learn profit and loss. D. To lower the risk of losing money. Answer: B. To own repeated customers.
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries. Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frogs' legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places. This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was to catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent to the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn't last long. The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and there seemed to be more insects around lately. The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money they'd just had to buy pesticides and medicine. Soon there was no money left. Then the people realized that what was happening. It was the frogs. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job--eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, soon there were more and more insects. They were doing harm to both crops and people. Now, the people are still poor. But in the evening they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. _ . What can we learn from the last sentence of the passage? Answer: I was twenty years old, and my parents were looking forward to the day when I would be earning my own living. Unfortunately, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted my future occupation to be. The only thing I did know was that I did not want to spend the next 45 years teaching, being a nurse or sitting in an office. But that was before the postman delivered a catalogue of courses that were being offered at the local college. As I looked through it, I was attracted by a page that talked about the difficulties faced by deaf people in their everyday lives and how students could help by learning sign language. It went on to say that graduates of the course usually find work in different organizations, such as law companies, the Stock Exchange, insurance companies and banks. Then I saw something that really caught my eye: "Singer" are also needed for sporting events, concerts, theatrical performances and, believe it or not, circuses! By the time I got to the bottom of the page, I knew I had found the perfect occupation. I enrolled on the course, which to my parents' great delight was free of charge. The course was brilliant. My favourite part was the final lesson, when our teacher asked us to sign our favourite song. It was really difficult because not only did we have to sign the words, but we also had to find a way of showing whether the song was happy or sad and whether the beat was slow or fast. It was the hardest thing I have ever done--but also the most rewarding. The only thing the writer knew that she _ . Answer: It's 8:00 a.m. and you are running out of the door. You walk outside and your handbag suddenly says, "Wait! You forgot your keys!" A talking handbag? Yes, it's true. This "smart bag" can "talk" to the things you often bring with. If you forget your keys or drop your purse, for example, the bag will tell you. How does it work? There is a "smart chip" in the bag. You put other chips on your phone, purse or keys. Then the bag and the others can "talk" to each other--and you! SMART CLOTHES These clothes change colors--while you are wearing them! Is it hot outside? Watch your jacket change from dark blue to a lighter color to protect you from the sun. Did you spill coffee on your white trousers or shirt? No problem. These smart clothes never get dirty! Who needs the "smart clothes" most? Answer: Read a lot, I mean a lot! You have to increase your ability for reading. Many students are in the habit of reading only when their exams are approaching while some others read only what they are taught or things that must be read because it is in their curriculum. But listen to me now, I am telling you from my own experience that it is a very bad habit and it is not enough to improve your intelligence. You have to learn and get ready to become _ in your reading. The fact that you are studying medicine in school does not mean that you should not know one or two things on politics. Many people have complained to me that they find it hard to read stuffs like novels but I just shake my head in pity for them because it is obvious they have failed to realize the truth in that wise saying by Margaret Fuller that "today a READER, tomorrow a LEADER!" When you read, you get to "see" so many places and it will be as if you have visited those places in real life. This is because reading will improve your imagination and creativity and understanding. You also get experience from learning about how people dealt with their various problems thereby saving you from going through the pains and difficulties they must have gone through! Reading will also help you in improving your vocabulary because you will certainly start coming across so many new words which you will try as much as possible to get accustomed to with the help of the dictionary! The good thing about increasing your vocabulary is that it will also improve your thinking ability. After all, we think in words and the more words you know, the easier it will become for you to express yourself or your thoughts. And when you read, make sure you read so wide because the more you read, the more you know and the more you know the more intelligent you can become. What is the best title for the passage? Answer: Children of America are getting fatter every time. 13% of the children at the age of 6 to 11 are overweight(too fat). When we look at children's lives today in the USA, we can see the root(origin)of the problem--sports and foods. Young children like sports but they don't have enough around the start of high school. That's especially true for girls. Meanwhile, to make matters worse, schools are becoming much more interested in sports teams. So children are not able to get enough exercise just when they need it the most. There is also the food problem. Children get most of their calories at restaurants or parties or somewhere else away from home. They often drink too many Cokes. Parents have a lot of fears about telling a child he needs to lose weight-- they are afraid it will push a child into an eating disorder. Some parents fear that pushing children to lose weight means their children will think they're not good enough, or not loved because of their weight. Parents need to come to terms with the fact that the family is very important to the children. The most useful program for children is called "family weight control". This is good news. Mom and Dad, even if they don't have weight problems, have to go through the same program as their children and learn how to get some exercise and how to eat healthily. Which of the following is NOT the root of overweight problem? _ . Answer:
Dorothea Shaw is 71 years old and nearly blind, and she chose to live alone far away from people. She lives in Belize -- a county the size of Wales with a population only that of Swansea. Her home is at Gales Point, a tiny village which can be reached only by sea or air; after a 10-mile walk into the hills one finally reaches a piece of land and two small houses so hidden in the thick over-grown forest that only a handful of people know Dorothea is there. She lives happily and totally alone - growing her vegetables, looking after her trees and dogs, cats and chickens. Once a month or so an old friend passes by with her food supplies and letters-usually including a letter from her sister in Scunthorpe and some bits of clothing from friends in Canada. Sometimes a local man will come and cut wood for her and a group of British soldiers will come across her and be greeted with the offer of a cup of coffee. At night she lies in her tiny sleeping room with the dogs on the floor, the cats on the table near the typewriter and one of the hens settled down in a corner of the bookshelf, and listens for hours to any Spanish, English, German or French broadcasts she can find on her radio. Sometimes she gets lonely but most of the time the animals and the radio are company enough. But recently the very things that she had tried to get free from so well have begun to catch up with her. The peace of the forest has been destroyed by the noise of earth-moving machines not many miles away. What she once only heard of distantly on the radio is now on her doorstep. Things began to change three years ago. The new main north-south road in Belize was cut through the forest only four or five miles away. "Now more people know I'm here." She says. "I feel more and more uneasy each day." Dorothea lives in the tiny village because _ . A. she doesn't like living near people B. she is too old to move C. machines destroyed her home D. there's nowhere else for her to live Answer: A. she doesn't like living near people My mom isn't fancy like other moms.They wear fancy clothes and drive fancy cars.My mom wears her gardening clothes when she walks me to school. When fancy moms laugh,their laughs sound soft and whispery.You can hear my mom's laugh from down the hall.I show her how to laugh quietly and she practices.But before long she starts laughing even harder than before. At the talent show,my mom cheers loudly,"Bravo,everyone!Bravo!"instead of clapping politely the way fancy moms do. For our class hike ,parents are invited.At breakfast I go over my rules for Mom,"Please don't whistle.Don't laugh loudly.No clapping.And stay in line." The other moms show up wearing fancy jackets and sneakers.My mom wears cutoffs,a floppy straw hat,and her old hiking boots. We hike along,all in a line.Soon Mom starts to whistle her hiking songs,She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain.I shake my head at her.She stops and whispers,"Oops.Sorry,Jane." We keep hiking.Everything is perfect until... Our teacher,Ms.Steele,stops and points,"A snake!"All the moms hold their kids hands and back up,except my mom."Watch out!It might be poisonous !"Ms.Steele says. The other moms shuttle back some more.However,my mom steps forward and says,"Hmm.Let's see what kind it is.Nope,lt's not poisonous." I shut my eyes.I know what's coming next.Mom makes a sudden attack."Got it!"she says.The other moms scream,not sounding fancy at all. Kids gather around as Mom examines the snake."It's OK to touch,"she says. Everyone's too scared,but I go first."snakes aren't slimy,"I tell them.Right away,others line up.A couple of the fancy moms come up to touch the snake's tail. Later,Ms.Steele tells us to draw our favorite part of the hike.After a while,I look around quickly.Everyone's picture is of Mom and me with the snake. As we hike back to the bus,I squeeze Mom's hand."I'm glad I didn't tell you my don't-catch-snakes rule."She smiles.But soon,she's whistling her hiking songs again! I start to make her silent,then stop.Instead,I take a deep breath and sing out too.Everyone joins in,even the fancy moms. Which can be the best title for the passage? A. My Mom Isn't Fancy B. Our Hike Isn't Perfect C. An Unpleasant Talent Show D. An Unforgettable Experience Answer: A. My Mom Isn't Fancy Born in a fishing village in Japan, Fujiyama, 25, recalls a childhood dominated by health concerns. Doctors told his parents that he had a hole in his heart and "they didn't think I had a lot longer to live". But during a later visit to the doctor, his family learned the hole had closed. "Somehow I was cured and I became a normal kid," Fujiyama says. "And I had a second chance." During his second year at the University of Mary Washington, he volunteered in Honduras with a campus group and was struck by the extreme poverty he saw--barefoot children collecting cans and sleeping in the streets. Fujiyama realized he could help give other children their own second chance. Today, his organization, Students Helping Honduras, brings education and community projects to children and families in need. He started by telling his friends about his experience and collecting spare change at his two campus jobs. "When I had my very first meeting, only two people showed up," he says. "I knew I had to keep fighting." He persuaded his younger sister, Cosmo, to join the cause. "She's dynamite,." He says. "When she talks in front of a crowd, she can move mountains. Knowing that she was behind it, I knew I could do anything." Since 2006, the _ organization has grown to 25 campuses and raised more than $750,000 to fund projects, including the construction of two schools and the establishment of scholarships to help young women attend college. Fujiyama says students are deeply committed to the organization. They raise money and then travel to Honduras to help building houses. While Fujiyama spends his summers in Honduras working alongside volunteers, he spends a large portion of the year on the road visiting colleges to raise funds. Cosmo Fujiyama, 23, lives in Honduras full time to coordinate the group's building efforts on the ground. Students Helping Honduras is working with community members of Siete de Abril to build a new village. Many of the families lost their belongings in Hurricane Mitch in 1998. A lot of them didn't have access to clean water or health care, and they didn't have a school. Fujiyama's group helped build 44 homes in the village named "Sunshine Village". The organization is also raising funds to build a water tower, an eco-friendly sanitation system and a library. We can infer that Fujiyama is a _ man. A. diligent B. mean C. sympathetic D. cheerful Answer: C. sympathetic Good morning, class! We know that there are too many net bars around us. The Internet is popular and it makes our lives colorful. Many of us like going online very much because we can learn how to use the computer and get more information from the Internet. We can learn English. We can read some good newspapers and magazines. It can make us clever in playing computer games. We can send E-mails to our friends quickly. We can chat freely online with our friends. It can help us get in touch with people from all over the world. But some students spend too much time in playing computer game and some stay in the net bars all day and all night. Teenagers even get to have boyfriends or girlfriends online. They write too many letters to each other. It takes them to much time to chat online so they do worse and worse in their lessons and they don't study well any more. I think we mustn't get online when it is time for us to study. We can do it in summer or winter holidays. We should get online with adults --our teacher or parents. At the same time, if we have lots of free time, we can do some out-of-class activities at school. We usually have activities from 4:50 to 5:50 in the afternoon. We have different kinds of activities. If you are interested in sports, you can play basketball or football. We can go to the English Corner. We can practice talking in English there. We hope we can spend more time on our subjects or on such activities that we can learn a lot from and less time on the Internet. Thank you for listening to me. That's all. Playing computer games _ . A. gives us lots of information B. makes our studies worse C. makes us more clever D. is harmful to our health Answer: C. makes us more clever The tough economy is bringing new shoppers to the secondhand market. Plato's Closet in Chaelotte, NC is a private company, which mainly buys and sells used clothes. While Charlotte has outstanding secondhand stores offering high-end and graceful brands for women, most of their stock applies to adults. Plato's closet targets teens and those in their 20s. Plato's Closet , with stores in Matthews and the university area, sells clothes and accessories that are currently popular at about one third the retail prices . The two hottest brands, for buying and selling, are Hollister and Abercrombie &Fitch. Even though the offerings tend to be suitable for young people, there are a variety of shoppers at Plato's Closet of varying ages. Women in their 30s, 40s, and older could easily find a purse, jacket or piece of jewelry they like. If you are selling Unlike higher-end resale stores which usually work on consignment ,Plato's Closet buys on the spot. Items can be gently used, but must be in very good condition. Clothes should be less than two years old and styles should be the same as those still being sold at the shopping center. There is no negotiation; prices are set company-wide. If what you sell amounts to $30 or less, they'll give you cash. More than that, you'll get a Visa cash card. Secondhand success Don't get discouraged if you can't find something on your first trip. Resale shops are always getting new lists of goods and change their styles with each season. Be sure to check each piece carefully before buying. Price comparison Jackets: New York & Company black blazer, $12; retail: $37 Pants: Express Editor-style pants, $12; retail: $69.90. Shoes: Nine West black peep-toe pumps, $12; retail: $89. Jewelry: Necklaces, $3-$5; retail: $18-$30. Which of the following about Plato's Closet is NOT true? A. Hollister and Abercrombie &Fitch are the two hottest brands in Plato's Closet. B. Women in their fifties can't find proper clothes and accessories in Plato's Closet. C. Goods in Plato's Closet are sold at 67 percent off retail prices or so. D. Plato's Closet targets teens and those in their 20s. Answer: B. Women in their fifties can't find proper clothes and accessories in Plato's Closet.
What would classify students in a class differently? favorite animal On July 12, 1997, Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan, located in the country's Swat Valley. Yotsafzai attended a school that her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, had founded. After the Taliban began attacking girl schools in Swat, Malala gave a speech in Peshawar, Pakistan, in September 2008. The title of her talk was, "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?" When she was 14, Malala and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a death threat against her. Though Malala was frightened for the safety of her father----an anti-Taliban activist-she and her family initially felt that the fundamentalist group would not actually harm a child. On October 9, 2012, on her way home from school, a man boarded the bus Malala was riding in and demanded to know which girl was Malala. When her friends looked toward Malala, her location was given away. The gunman fired at her, hitting Malala in the left side of her head. Two other girls were also injured in the attack. Despite the Taliban's threats, Yousafzai remains a firm advocate for the power of education. On October 10, 2013, in acknowledgement of her work, the European Parliament awarded Yousafzai the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. That same year, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She didn't win the prize, but was named a nominee again in March 2014. Malala Yousafzai's Speech at the United Nations (Excerpt) Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights. There are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality.Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured.I am just one of them. ... Dear sisters and brothers, now it's time to speak up. So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of peace and prosperity: We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and children's rights. We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world. We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm. We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities for girls in the developing world. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave--to embrace the strength within themselves and realise their full potential. What can we infer from Malala's speech at the United Nations? Many girls in developing countries cannot receive education. Abby Subark is a mother of two from Boston. "For my kids, I'm nervous. I don't know if they'll be able to achieve their American dream." She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich. It is the case that somebody who is in the upper third of income, poor scores, in the bottom on tests when they are in eighth grade, is more likely to go to college and finish college than a poor kid with the top scores. That's what the working persons' children are up against. The Economic Policy Institute finds it would take a poor couple with 2 children 9 or 10 generations to achieve middle class status. That's about 200 years. The hallmark of American opportunity has always been the ability to do better than your parents. But compared with similar developed countries, the United States ranks fifth out of six for so-called intergenerational mobility . If you look at the mechanisms for upward mobility that were so readily available 50 years ago, they are becoming out of reach, like plentiful factory jobs with good wages and affordable education and health care. White families are twice as likely as blacks to be upwardly mobile. For most people in America today, _ If you started in the middle-income class, about 40 to 45 percent of what you are making right now is due to the fact that your parents were in the middle-income class. The rest is up to you. But for the millions of people who find themselves below the poverty line and the millions more who are the working poor, their starting point for the American dream leaves them painfully far away from the middle class. Which of the statements is NOT true according to the passage? You can make all your dreams come true in America if born rich. Meagan and her friend Samantha, both students, lived together in Denver. On mornings when Samantha had class, Meagan would watch her 2-year-old daughter, Hannah. Also part of the household was Meagan's pet, Willie, a parrot -- a particularly intelligent and chatty breed. He picked up quite a healthy vocabulary ("Silly Willie"was a favorite saying) and became a great mimic -- of cats, dogs, chickens and humans. One day with Samantha at school, Hannah sat in front of morning cartoons while Meagan cooked Pop-Tarts in the kitchen. When the toaster spat out the food, Meagan placed it at the center of the kitchen table to cool. She glanced at Hannah and, confident the child was fully engaged in the TV, slipped out quickly to use the bathroom. "I was gone maybe 30 seconds,"Meagan recalls."And suddenly, I heard the bird going crazy and shouting."She heard two very distinct words from the parrot's mouth."Mama! Baby! Mama! Baby!"Meagan ran out of the bathroom to find Hannah in the kitchen, holding the partly eaten Pop-Tarts, out of breath, her face and lips a terrifying shade of blue. And Willie was still crying. "Hannah had climbed up on a chair and gotten the Pop-Tarts and she was clearly choking on them,"says Meagan."I seized her and immediately started doing first aid until the piece came flying out."The bird quieted down and Meagan burst into tears, relief washing over her; Hannah was fine, already smiling her big smile. When Meagan told Samantha what happened,"She was so grateful, thanking me for what I did,"Meagan says."But I said, 'Don't thank me! It was Willie who was the hero!'" What happened to Hannah? Something was stuck in her throat. I got married in 2008. My husband and I are very emotional and have loads of dreams in life. Now I want to share a hidden part of my life. After one month of my marriage, I started working because I could not sit home. To accomplish our dreams, we are both working hard day and night in spite of belonging to a good family. Life is very strange. When any turn happens, one cannot know. I started working because I was very ambitious. I used to wonder about people who worked to earn their bread but I never knew in my wildest dreams that I would be part of the crowd who work to earn a livelihood. I was blessed with a daughter in November, 2009. She was just three months and 15 days old when I rejoined my job. My husband supported me and my family supported me but I never wanted to work again because I belonged to a family where a mother should give her full attention to her child. Keeping all the values aside that I learnt from my parents, I went back to work and will work till my last breath. I missed my daughter every second. She has started recognizing and throwing expressions for likes and dislikes. I cannot share my feelings with anyone, as I do not want anyone to know that I am broken completely from inside. My husband and my daughter are my greatest strength but I ignore them just to earn money and fulfill my dreams that I have. If one day, my daughter complains to someone about her mom, please tell her that she is my reason for survival and happiness and she is the only one who brings smile to my face. What is the best title of this passage? The secret of a working mother
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. . Which of the following is not true? A. California law does not allow children to act in TV shows. B. Many of the children actors become famous stars. C. The lessons are given by forty teachers. D. The teachers must teach them from September to June. Answer: A Donny, an 11 year-old boy, is playing with a ball. The ball goes into the street, and Donny runs for the ball. A car hits Donny. An ambulance takes Donny to the hospital. The doctors at the hospital tell Donny's parents, " _ ". Every day Donny's parents visit him at the hospital. They sit next to Donny's bed and talk to him. But Donny never talks to them. He just sleeps. One day Donny's father says, "Wake up, Donny. Wake up and come home. Come home and play with Rusty. " When Donny's father says "Rusty", Donny moves his arm. "Rusty! " Donny's father says again. Again, Donny moves his arm. Donny's parents have an idea. They tell the nurses, "We want to bring Rusty to the hospital". The nurse says "OK". The next day, Donny's parents bring Rusty to the hospital. When they put her on Donny's bed, Donny opens his eyes and hugs her. Donny's parents bring Rusty to the hospital every day. One day, Rusty jumps on Donny's bed and scratches Donny's arm. Donny says his first words: "Bad dog!" After seven weeks, Donny is well. He leaves the hospital and goes home. What can be the best title for the passage? A. The Parents' Love B. Donny and Rusty C. A Story of Donny D. Donny is in Hospital Answer: B Mary is from the USA. She has two brothers. Now her family are in China. Her father, Mr Peterson, teaches English in Xihu Middle School. Her mother works in the same school. She teaches English, too. Mary goes to school in her father's car with her mother every day. Mary is a nice girl student. She can speak a little Chinese. She is very lovely, so she has many Chinese friends. She teaches them English, and they teach her Chinese. Her two brothers are twins. One is Bob, and the other is Bill. They look the same. They are only five. So their grandparents look after them at home. Mrs Peterson has many toys for the twin brothers. Bob likes to play with toy cars, but Bill likes to play with teddy bears. They are happy every day. Mr Peterson is a _ . A. teacher B. worker C. officer D. doctor Answer: A Andrew waited for his granddaddy to show up. They were going fishing. His mom had packed them a lunch. She had made Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. She also packed a bottle of nice cool water to drink. Andrew had wanted something else for lunch. He wanted chicken or cold cuts or left over meat loaf, but his mom sent Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. The best way to get to the river was along the path. When the path ended, they needed to go through the bushes to the river. On some days they would think about going another way. They could go over the bridge, or through the back of the house or through Uncle Tom's yard. Today they took the path to the river. Andrew found some animal poop along the path. He asked his Grandpa what kind of animal poop he had found. He wanted to know if it was a lion, a tiger or a bear that had made the poop. Grandpa pointed in the bushes. Andrew saw a small black and white animal looking at him with big eyes. Andrew knew that he had was looking at a raccoon. He was sure that the raccoon had made the poop. When Andrew and Grandpa got to the river they put their fishing poles into the water. Andrew caught his first fish right away. He caught a second fish before lunch. He got hungry and had his Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and cool water. He saw that Grandpa had fallen asleep. After eating his lunch, Andrew caught three more fish before he woke up his grandpa. When Andrew and Grandpa got back home they gave all the fish they had caught to Andrew's mother, so she could make a good dinner. What lunch did Grandpa and Andrew take with them to the fishing spot? A. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and a bottle of cool water. B. Basket of chicken and Ice Tea. C. Left over meatloaf and soda pop. D. Cold cut sandwiches and Cola. Answer: A Three armed robbers stole two Pablo Picasso prints from an art museum in downtown Sao Paulo on Thursday, which was the city's second high-profile art theft in less than a year. The bandits also took two oil paintings by well-know Brazilian artists Emiliano Di Cavalcanti and Lasar Segall, said Carla Regina, a spokeswoman for the Pinacoteca do Estado museum. The Picasso prints stolen were "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, according to a statement from the Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Culture, which oversees the museum. The prints and paintings have a combined value of $612,000, the statement and a museum official said. About noon, three armed men paid the $2.45 entrance fee and immediately went to the second-floor gallery where the works were being exhibited, bypassing more valuable pieces, authorities said. "This indicates to us that they probably received an order" to take those specific works, Youssef Abou Chain, head of Sao Paulo's organized crime unit, told reporters at a news conference. The assailants overpowered three unarmed museum guards and grabbed the works, officials said. The robbery took about 10 minutes and the museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces -- frames and all -- out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors. In December, Picasso's "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" by Candido Portinari, an influential Brazilian artist, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art by three men who used a crowbar and car jack to force open one of the museum's steel doors. The framed paintings were found Jan. 8, covered in plastic and leaning against a wall in a house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. One of the suspects in that robbery -- a former TV chef -- turned himself over to police in January, who already had two suspects in custody . Why didn't the thieves take other more valuable works? A. Because they didn't know that the other pieces were worth more. B. Probably because they had received an order for the prints that they took. C. Because they didn't have enough time. [:Zxxk.Com] D. Because they were in such a hurry that they couldn't get them all. Answer: B
Question: Hi! I'm Alan.This is my dream house .It has a small but nice room.Some pictures are on the wall.There is a bookcase in my room.There is a desk and a chair in it.My schoolbag is on the desk.Oh!Where is my pencil case?It is under the chair.There are some pencils and a ruler in the pencil case.My shoes and a basketball are under the bed.I like my dream house very much. There _ in his room. A. is a bookcase and a desk B. are some desks and a chair C. is a desk and a picture D. are some chairs and a desk Answer: A Question: The Atacama Desert is located just west of the Andes, a 1000-km strip of land next to the Pacific Ocean. In spite of its location beside the sea, several studies have shown that this region is the driest place in the world. In the Antofagasta Region of the desert, the average annual rainfall is just 1 mm and some weather stations have never received rain at all. Atacama is so _ that the surrounding mountains that reach up to 6885 m, have ly no glaciers! In the region, the river beds have been dry for over 120,000 years. However, unlike the Sahara Desert,Atacama is surprisingly not that hot. It has an average daily temperature between 0'C and 25degC! If you find that surprising, you'd be shocked to find out that this desert has lakes! When there was rainfall in the region (many year ago), this accumulated water created what we now know as the Salt Lakes. The name of these lakes was given as a result of the effect of the Atacama environment: the long dry period makes the water evaporate ,resulting in the higher concentrations of salt in the remaining water. This region has been tested by scientists to see if life is present in the Atacama soil with the same instruments that would be used to detect life in the soil on Mars! As a result of the soil's similarites to that of Mars,the Atacama land is used to test instruments for future Mars missions. In addition, the region has been used in movies as a set for filming Mars scenes, most famously in the television show Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets. The Atacama Desert is truly a unique place, due to its lack of rain as well as its similarities to Mars. You would think that this place would be a bare ghost town , but think again! Many people have lived here for centuries, giving this desert its own culture and economic significance. Compared to the Sahara Desert,the Atacama Desert is _ . A. smaller B. wetter C. less famous D. less hot Answer: D Question: A student pushes against a tree with a force of 10 newtons (N). The tree does not move. What is the amount of force exerted by the tree on the student? A. 0 N B. 5 N C. 10 N D. 20 N Answer: C Question: During my second year of nursing school, our teacher gave us a test. I was a hardworking student and I did well in all the subjects. I finished the questions successfully until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Of course this was a joke. I saw the cleaning woman every day. She is short and about 60 years old. She has dark hair. But how would I know her name? I had never talked with her before. In fact, I'd never even thought about talking to her. I stared at my paper and started to feel rather guilty. Finally, I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grades. "Absolutely," the teacher said. "In your life, you will meet many people. All are important. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is to smile and to say hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. Everyone deserves my attention and I should get to know all of the people who work and live around me. That was, perhaps, the most important lesson of my life. I also learned the cleaning woman's name was Dorothy. How did the writer feel she first saw the last question? A. She felt guilty. B. She felt surprised. C. She felt excited. D. She felt comfortable. Answer: B Question: If you are going to Europe, you might consider taking some time to visit Provence. Whether you are interested in beautiful places, ancient history, good food, or music and theater, Provence has something to offer to you. Provence once was a Roman province and is in the southeast of France now. You will be attracted by its green hills, olive trees, and old towns with pretty houses. Visitors can find forests, colorful flowers, horses, and people with smiles there. Provence is also "the city of dream in Europe." Some people say it is Provence that makes France so romantic. The place should play an important part in the romantic stories. The Flowers: Provence is the hometown of lavenders and sunflowers. Lavender means "waiting for love". It also means beautiful. The mountains of Lubero is the most beautiful area across France. And there are also many kinds of lavenders. Compared with the fantastic flowers Lavender, sunflower is a lot warmer. Under the sunlight, thousands of yellow sunflowers are smiling at the sun. The Food: The people there are well-known for keeping their traditional lifestyles. And in the restaurant, you will have the experience of eating the food that has the too much use of olive oil. The food is fresh and healthy. All the things make Provence become the heaven to those who like delicious food. The other activities: Provence is the Kingdom of city. They hold many parties, dance, and festivals. You can even see a bullfight in the towns of Arles and Nimes, or enjoy great shows with the famous stars. May to July are the best tourist months. Not only the red sky, the sweet smell of olive, but also the wonderful lavenders, make Provence send out the breath of romantic. According to the passage, which following statement is RIGHT? A. Provence has green hills, olive trees, and new towns with pretty houses. B. Lavender is warmer than sunflower. C. If a person likes food, Provence is a wonderful place for him. D. June is not a good time to visit Provence. Answer: C
Question: Shenzhen is a city in South China.It is not very big, but it has attracted people of the whole country and the whole world as well. Just about twenty years ago, it was only a small fishing village.There were not many people there. Most of them lived on fishing.Things have greatly changed since the 1980s.It became the first special economic zone in China. Because of the opening policy , economic changes between China and the outside world have increased greatly.People can come and go easily between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.Both foreigners and Chinese have built a lot of factories, companies and tourists' attractions there.People all over the country have come to find jobs.Many of them have settled down in this new booming city. Shenzhen is developing so fast that it has become a well-known metropolis in China. About twenty years ago most of the people in Shenzhen _ . A. worked in the factories B. did housework C. caught fish for a living D. lived a happy life Answer: C Question: Becky was really smart. She knew how to spell really well. She won every spelling prize from her teacher. Her teacher told her that soon the whole school would have a spelling test. Becky wanted to get the highest grade. Her two best friends were going take it too. She dreamed that they would all get prizes. Every day she practiced spelling new words. Her family always laughed. "Is that a spelling word Becky?" they would ask. Then they would all practice it together. Becky walked with her dog to school each day excited. Soon the day of the test arrived. Becky was not nervous. She had eaten a big breakfast. She had worn her lucky socks. She had spelled every single word she knew out loud. When Becky got her test, she picked up her sharpened pencil and happily started writing her name. The spelling test was going to be hard, but she could do it! What did Becky's parents do with her? A. Walked to school. B. Practiced spelling. C. Dreamed. D. Learned to cheat. Answer: B Question: More over smart phone, the intelligent watch is about to take your spot as the latest hi-tech current, allowing wearers to glance at messages and even take calls without touching their phones. The i'm Watch, available since 2011, is the flagship product of an Italian company--i'm. This smart watch is an assist to the smart phone, with which it can communicate by Bluetooth wireless technology. It means you can leave your phone in your pocket as you answer or reject a call, review e-mails or read updates from friends on Twitter or Facebook. The i'm Watch also has its own applications, such as i'm Sport, which links with a heart rate detector to allow a runner to check his pulse. Such functions already exist in specialized sports watches but not on watches that are linked to smart phones. With a square shape, a 3.8-centimeter touch screen and various color1s, the i'm Watch sells for a minimum of 300 Euros($390) for the basic model and prices climb to 16,000 Euros for a luxury model in silver or decorated with diamonds. So far, the watch has already found 30,000 buyers, 80 percent of whom are men aged 25 to 50. "Seventy percent are iPhone users, 25 percent Samsung and the rest are other telephones using Google's Android operating system," said Massimiliano Bertolini, a manager of the company, which aims to sell more than 200,000 watches this year. The company's target market is the person who is always glued to his smart phone, even in meetings or at the movies, or people who wish to keep an eye on their heartbeat during exercise. They will especially target women with advertisements emphasizing its design rather than its technology. The text is meant to _ . A. advertise a hand-held device B. show an example of high-tech C. introduce a new type of watch D. compare the phone with the watch Answer: C Question: On her first day back at school in August, Stephanie Hughes, a teenage student, was sent to the principal's office at Woodford County High School in Kentucky, US and her mom was called to school. She had made a "huge" mistake-at least in the eyes of the school-by wearing a top that showed her collarbone . It was against the school's _ . "This is ridiculous!" Stacie Dunn, Hughes's mom, wrote on the social media site Facebook. "Something needs to change!" The incident has become an Internet sensation. Across the US, schools like Woodford are being criticized for their dress codes. Some say the rules are especially unfair to young women. Over half of US public schools have a dress code, and they are often different for girls and boys, according to the National Center for Education Statistics in the US. Some dress codes, for example, ban skirts and ask for pants to be at least knee-length. Some have pointed out that these rules are mostly for female students. Women's clothes are usually cut to be more fitted and shorter, while men's clothes are longer and looser. In practice, more women will be caught breaking dress codes. The New York Post reported that last year, one school in Staten Island, New York gave 200 dress code detentions in two weeks-90 percent of which went to female students. Some school administrators say they simply want students to dress professionally to prepare students for their future careers. But others have told female students that their clothes present a "distraction" to male students. That idea is being criticized. The "distraction" argument is unfair to women, critics say. It suggests that exposed skin means that you want criticism or sexual advances. "These dress codes mean that girls are getting very clear messages that men have a right to your body in public spaces and it's socially acceptable, but you will be punished," Laura Bates, a co-founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, a project that aims to promote equality between men and women, told The Atlantic. Some students have taken action to change the situation. They have started online campaigns and made short films to build public support. Certain schools have now chosen to think again about their dress codes with parents and students. Even Woodford County High School-home of the "collarbone" ban-is thinking again about its policies. But, at least for now, the dress code debate is far from over. What does Stacie Dunn think is "ridiculous"? A. Her daughter making big mistakes in class. B. Showing collarbones being considered a huge mistake. C. Sharing the incident on Facebook. D. Being called in to school. Answer: B Question: Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories, but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space? On Nov. 19, a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US _ peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite. The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record-setting. 28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia, CNN reported. It took the students seven years to build. The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat, which is named after their school. It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms, according to Orbital Sciences, a company which developed the rocket and supported the students' project. It can be controlled with a smartphone. Like most satellites, TJ3Sat can send and receive data. The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer , which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves, said Orbital officials. In this case, anyone can give it a try via the project's website (school website) by submitting a text. The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite, changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves. "I can say 'Go Colonials' on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world, in India, someone can hear 'Go Colonials'over the radio," the team explains on the website. The satellite will stay in space for at least three months. School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time. Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors. At a time when American students are busy with SATs, the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities, Glazer said. "It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut," Andrew Petro, program executive for small spacecraft technology at NASA, said in a statement. "I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft. The idea here is that they really can do that." Which of the following statements about TJ3Sat is TRUE according to the article? A. It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite. B. Besides TJ3Sat, 28 other small satellites were built by the students. C. TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space, which it can change to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth. D. TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year, sending out messages together with information about its position in space. Answer: C
Question: Chris Rock was born in the state of South Carolina in the United States. When he was a child, his family moved, and he grew up in a poor area in Brooklyn, New York. As a teenager, Rock left high school and started telling jokes in comedy clubs in New York City, Even at age 18, Chris Rock was very funny. He told jokes about his family (his parents were very strict) , and about growing up in Brooklyn in the 1980s. Many of his jokes were also about high school, which Rock says was terrible. Famous comedians went to see Rock's performances. One comedian (Eddie Murphy) helped him get work on television and in the movies. Chris Rock still acts in movies, but he does not want to be a serious actor. For him, comedy is more important. It makes people laugh, but it can also make people think. Today,Chris Rock still does live comedy shows around the world. He also created a TV show called "Everybody Hates Chris. " It is about his teenage years growing up and going to school in Brooklyn. In 2006, it was considered as one of the best comedy shows on American television. Chris Rock tells a lot of jokes about _ . A. South Carolina B. Brooklyn C. Los Angeles D. Texas Answer: B Question: Tony Burke, Australia's environment minister, says he won't decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala's population. In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala's population is on the decrease. "But they may not yet be eligible for listing as a threatened species," said Senator Doug Cameron. "To have such a significant Australian icon included on the threatened species list would be a national shame." The koala is found only in the eucalyptus forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings' development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads. Putting off the decision on protection for the koala "is really bad news," said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. "We've worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations," Pointing said. "That data should be enough to make a decision." However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland - the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm's way. Some people say that is not enough. "What we're doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction," Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said. "Koalas are an iconic Australian animal," Burke told Australians. "They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians." But it is a fact that if more isn't done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians' memories. According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that _ . A. the construction of special koala bridges is of little use B. the government should announce the koala as an endangered species C. the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population D. koala are becoming less important in Australians' hearts Answer: B Question: One of the most popular and enduring myths about depression is that depressed people are sad all the time--and that by extension, people who are happy can't be experiencing depression, even if they say they are. It is a mistaken version of depression. Depression doesn't make you sad all the time. When I'm having a depressive feeling, I'm not walking around in black clothes, and weeping. I go out with friends. I play jokes. I keep working, and have friendly chats with the people I work with. I read books. Above all, I experience moments of happiness. Yet I feel a strange conflicting pressure. On the one hand, I feel like I need to engage in a sort of sadness for people to understand that I really am depressed and that each day is a struggle for me. Because that way I will appear suitably sad, and thus, depressed--and then maybe people will recognize that I'm depressed and perhaps they'll even offer support and assistance. On the other hand, I feel an extreme pressure to perform just the opposite, because sad depressed people are boring and no fun, as I am continually reminded every time I speak openly about depression or express feelings of sadness and frustration. I'm caught in a trap where if I don't perform sadness, I'm not really depressed, but if I express sadness at all to any degree, I'm annoying and boring and should stop being so self-centered. Depression can become your master, but you can slip out from under it occasionally. And many depressed people don't actually spend it fainting dramatically on the couch and talking about how miserable they are. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A. Sad people are always depressed. B. Depressed people are sad all the time. C. Happy people will never feel depressed. D. Depressed people do not always feel sad. Answer: D Question: Do you want to go by ship to Australia or anywhere? A big ship may help you. It looks like a big house. There are rooms for everyone. In the day you can swim in the pool or play games on the ship. You can even see a film on the ship. Sometimes you can see birds flying around you. They are flying here and there. Look at the picture of the ship. Does it look like a house? It's very large. And it's the most luxury passenger liner in the world, called 'Freedom of the Seas' . The ship is 339 meters long and 38.6 meters wide, with a golf field on it. It's so cool to take a trip on a ship! We can play _ on 'Freedom of the Seas'. A. basketball B. football C. golf D. the piano Answer: C Question: Robots industry is developing so rapidly that there is no denying that we may one day find ourselves surrounded by robots. The humanoid (human like) robots with two legs such as Honda Motor Co. Ltd's ASIMO would likely have an easier time climbing up stairs inside homes than a robot that moves on wheels, developers say. But it will be some time before such devices make their way into people's homes. "They may look smart, but they are still quite stupid," Shimoyama said. "I don't think they will ever be as smart as humans." While safety is an obvious concern, robots also need to be sensitive to people's needs. Researchers at Fujitsu Frontech Ltd and Fujitsu Laboratories responsible for developing "Enon", a guide and patrol robot designed for use in shopping malls and corporate facilities , are working on this. Enon, which has a humanoid upper body but no legs, is equipped with a touch screen on its chest and space in its stomach to carry loads weighting up to 10 kg. In guide mode, it will check a newcomer and approach the person with a nod and a greeting: "Are you a visitor? Hello." Visitors requiring directions can point to icons displayed on Enon's chest screen. If the restroom icon is pressed, the screen will display a map that shows the way. The robot will then face and point in the direction of the restroom, although it won't actually walk the visitor there. Enon is now in use at four locations in Japan, including a shopping mall near Tokyo. The main goal is to make it more helpful for the elderly. "People who work in the transportation sector often ask whether we can build a robot that will find elderly people who look lost in train stations, and ask them if they are all right," said Toshihido Marita, director of Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd's autonomous system laboratory. "Actually that is hard to do, very hard," he said. Which of the following statements about "Enon" is NOT true? A. It can be used as a guide in hospitals. B. It can help shoppers carry goods selected. C. It can be used to welcome guests in restaurants. D. It can be used to stop thieves in malls. Answer: D
Weather Report (8:00 a.m. December 17--8:00 a.m. December 18) Influenced by a cold front northern Xinjiang, the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the northern and eastern parts of Heilongjiang are expected to experience light snow today. Drizzle is forecast for most areas of Sichuan and western coastal areas of South China. Northerly winds of force 4-6 are expected to affect western and southwestern Inner Mongolia, and most parts of Northeast China while northerly winds of force 5-7 will sweep across the Bohai Sea, the northern parts of the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, the Taiwan Straits, and the central and northern parts of the South China Sea. Weather forecast for major Chinese cities The temperature in Harbin Min(degC) is _ lower than that in Guangzhou Min(degC). A. 23 B. 31 C. 26 D. 7 Answer: A Probably many of you know the idiom "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But do you believe a tooth for an eye? That's something a little bit different. This strange exchange is neither a form ofretribution nor an unexpected gift from the Tooth Fairy --- it's actually a very generous gift from a young Irishman, Robert McNichol, 23, to his formerly blind father, 57-year-old Bob McNichol. In 2005, Bob McNichol's sight was destroyed in an accident when his eyes weredoused(......)with liquidaluminum . Doctors predicted that he would never be able to see again. But McNichol never liked to take no for an answer: when he heard about a unique operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis, he knew he had to _ , even though the success rate was a mere 65 percent. In the technique, the eyesocket is rebuilt and implanted with a human tooth and part of the jawbone, to provide support for an artificialcornea . Luckily for McNichol, Robert was willing to sacrifice one of his teeth to help his father regain his sight. The technique isn't simple: McNichol's first stint on the operating table lasted ten hours, with a five hour follow-up session at a later date. But thanks to his son's gift, he's already seeing astonishing results. "Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness." he told his friends. The tooth Bobert donated to his father is used to _ . A. make the eye socket look prettier B. cause his jawbone to function well C. help his father take in more food D. support the implanted artificial cornea Answer: D The day was like any other day in his life, Tom walked past the shop on the street corner. He stopped to look at the front row of shoes, and he felt happy to see that the pair of shoes he wanted very much was still there. Looking down, he felt sorry for himself. He really wanted to have them for his birthday. He sadly walked away and thought how to tell his mother about it. He knew she would give him anything he liked if she could. But he also knew very well she had little money. He decided not to go home at once, as he looked worried and his mother would notice it. So he went to the park and sat on the grass. Then he saw a boy in a wheel chair . He noticed that the boy moved the wheel with his hands. Tom looked at him carefully and was surprised to see the boy have no feet. He looked at his own feet. "It's much better to be without shoes than without feet, "he thought. There was no reason for him to feel so sorry and sad. He went away and smiled, thinking he was happier The pair of shoes he liked was _ . A. too expensive B. quite cheap C. not there D. not sold yet Answer: D In 1841, a book was published which astonished the world. It was called"Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan". The author John Loud Stephens had just returned from a long, difficult and dangerous journey through the thick rain forest of southern prefix = st1 /MexicoandGuatemala. He had once been there with Frederick Catherwood, an architect and artist, to search for the remains of a lost civilization known as the Mayas .Very little was known about the Mayas at that time, but Catherwood's drawing in the book showed incredible cities with temples, pyramids and other buildings as impressive as those of their northern neighbors, the Aztecs. These cities, however, were deserted. The inhabitants had disappeared almost a thousand years before. Since that time, far more has been learned about this remarkable civilization. The Mayas had a highly developed system of government and of agriculture, as well as an incredibly accurate system of measuring time. They were also wonderful engineers capable of moving huge blocks stone long distances and cutting them to accurate shapes and sizes. And yet although the Mayas knew about the wheel, they never used it. Neither did they use metals other than copper. What is ever more surprising is that they suddenly abandoned many of their cities and built new ones in the jungle. Some time around AD900, Mayan civilization collapsed. By the year 1200, their last great capital,Chichen Itza, was deserted. Who were these strange people and the even stranger gods they worshipped ? What brought about their sudden and mysterious collapse? Some writers have tried to prove that the Mayas had contact with visitors from space and even that they themselves came from another planet. Some people believe that their civilization came to an end because the Mayas never developed a proper resistance to local germs and diseases. All we really know is that when the first Europeans appeared off their coast in 1517, this great and mysterious culture was only a memory. Mayas civilization collapsed probably in_. A. a thousand years before 1841 B. around AD 900 C. any year between 1200 and 1517 D. AD1200 Answer: B This is a tale of two friends --- one is blind, the other has no arms. On their own, the two are "disabled". But together, they are a powerful team that has changed part of their village in North China's Hebei Province into a rich, green forest. Meet 53-year-old Jia Haixia and Jia Wenqi! Their story began in 2000, when Haixia, who was already blind in his right eye, lost his left one after an illness. Wenqi lost his arms in an accident when he was just three. Neither could find a job, so the two decided to team up. They rented some poor land and began to plant trees. In return, the local officials paid them a small fee. Haixia and Wenqi never imagined that they would end up creating an environmental paradise. Their forest now has over 10,000 trees, hundreds of birds and many other wild animals. In addition, it saves the village from river flooding during the rainy season. When the friends work together, they focus on their strengths not their disabilities. Their day begins at 7 a.m. when the sightless Haixia carries Wenqi across the river to get to their worksite. Since they cannot afford to buy young trees to plant, the two use branches from existing trees. Haixia climbs to the tree-top and with Wenqi's direction, selects the perfect branch. He then digs a hole and carefully plants it. Finally Wenqi waters the area. Though hard-working, the men don't make much money. But as Wenqi puts it, " _ ." Neither Haixia nor Wenqi cares about money. Together, they already have everything they need --- a perfect pair of eyes, two strong hands, and the best friendship in the world! Why did Haixia and Wenqi start working together? A. Haixia needed someone to help him. B. They both needed a way to make money. C. They wanted to improve the environment. D. They were required to do so by local offcials. Answer: B
Most people think talking is the most important communication skill.They care little about listening.A research about our waking day communicating time shows that 9% is spent writing, 16% reading, 30% talking and 45% listening. Many of us can remember only 50% immediately after hearing something.But within two to eight weeks, we can only remember 25% or less of the message.Sometimes it will make us fail if we really forget something important. Here are some suggestions to be a good listener. Stop talking -- you can't listen well when you speak. Ask questions -- when you don't understand, when you want to catch their attention or when you want to be liked. Be polite -- give them time to say what they have to say. Listen carefully and actively to what they are saying -- pay attention to their words, their ideas and their feelings as those things relate to the subjects. Understand the main points. Look at each other -- you will feel confident by looking. Don't argue with other people when you are trying to understand them, especially when they are speaking. Try not to bring your worries and problems -- when you listen, they will stop you from listening well. Learn to listen and you'll achieve a great success in your life. How many suggestions does the writer give us? Answer: I will never forget the lesson about my window. Four years ago, I moved to a house in a large town. One of my new neighbors' house was only a few feet away from mine. There lived a woman. Through one of my windows, I could see her reading by her window every afternoon. Several months later, I found I couldn't see the woman clearly. I thought her window was too dirty. I said to myself, "Why doesn't she clean her window? It looks terrible!" One afternoon, I decided to clean my house including the window. I felt tired after three hours of hard work. So I sat down by the window for a rest. What a surprise! I could see the woman reading there clearly again! By that time, I realized that my own window was too dirty, not hers! I really felt _ for myself. I had been watching her through my dirty window in the past days! The experience is very important for me. So I try to clean the window of my heart before judging others. According to the passage, the writer has learnt how to _ . Answer: How to save money to visit Shanghai Disneyland? The "happiest place on earth" is a top destination on many families' bucket lists. But taking a vacation to Disney World can be difficult to do on a budget. There are some considerations that you can make to reduce the cost of your Disney World vacation. 1. Buy Souvenirs in Advance Disney has influenced practically every industry, which makes it easy to find Disney items anywhere, from Walmart, Target, and your local grocery store to department stores and Amazon. You can save a lot of money by purchasing items before your trip at these less-expensive places than at Disneyland. 2. Make an Autograph Book An autograph book is seen as a must-have by many Disneyland enthusiasts and is a memory you can take home with you. These books can cost anywhere from $7.95 to $19.95 at the Disney Store and up to $30 for the latest-and-greatest autograph book at Disneyland, such as the park's 60th anniversary edition. Other choices can get the job done for under $5. For example, you can buy a small photo album; cute pads or notebooks. 3. Eat Breakfast Before You Arrive Breakfast is almost as pricey as lunch or dinner if you eat inside the Disneyland parks. If you have a hotel with a free breakfast, take advantage of it. If you want to eat out, eat at a local restaurant that is inexpensive or has a kids' menu, such as McDonald's which is close to the park. 4. Take Advantage of Discounts Offered to Special Groups Disney offers a wide variety of discounts, including for military service members, college students, teachers, and youth groups. If you think you might qualify for a special discount or group rate, call the Disneyland Resort to book tickets. What is one piece of the author's advice on breakfast? Answer: Mark, Matthew, Zach and John love to play Football. They did not really care for baseball, basketball or soccer much. They enjoy it so much that they like to draw silly pictures on to their arms and notebooks showing footballs. Then when the teacher sees them they have to use the pink erasers to erase the drawings. One day Mark was out playing football when he tripped and hurt his knee, the next day Matthew was also playing football when he fell and hurt his arm. Both boys could not play their favorite games now. So to cheer them up, Matthew's parents bought them a new football game they could play at home. When Mark showed up to play, they had also made chocolate chip pancakes as a present to both of them, even if both of their favorite food was bacon, waffles and hamburgers. After some time both boys got bored with the game and thought to build their own. So they got some cardboard and tape and built a small table top football game. After that they were busy enough to forget their own hurt parts and had a lot of fun that day. What food did the parents make them? Answer: Whether the eyes are "the windows of the soul" is debatable;that they are intensely important in interpersonal communication is a fact.During the first two months of a baby's life,the stimulus that produces a smile is a pair of eyes.The eyes need not be real:a mask with two dots will produce a smile.Significantly,a real human face with eyes covered will not motivate a smile,nor will the sight of only one eye when the face is presented in profile .This attraction to eyes as opposed to the nose or mouth continues as the baby matures.In one study,when American four--year--olds were asked to draw people,75 percent of them drew people with mouths,but 99 percent of them drew people with eyes. In Japan.however,where babies are carried on their mother's back,they do not acquire as much attachment to eyes as they do in other cultures.As a result,Japanese adults make little use of the face either to encode (...) or decode meaning.In fact,Argyle reveals that the "proper place to focus one's gaze during a conversation in Japan is on the neck of one's conversation partner." The role of eye contact in a conversational exchange between two Americans is well defined:speakers make contact with the eyes of their listener for about one second,then dance away as they talk;in a few moments they re-establish eye contact with the listener or reassure themselves that their audience is still attentive,then shift their gaze away once more.Listeners,meanwhile,keep their eyes on the face of the speaker,allowing themselves to glance away only briefly.It is important that they be looking at the speaker at the precise moment when the speaker reestablishes eye contact:if they are not looking,the speaker assumes that they are disinterested and either will pause until eye contact is resumed or will stop the conversation.Just how critical this eye contacting is to the maintenance of conversational flow becomes clear when two speakers are wearing dark glasses:there may be a sort of traffic jam of words caused by interruption,false starts,and unpredictable pauses. According to the passage,a conversation between two Americans may break down due to _ . Answer:
I still clearly remember that day. I was on the side of the road for about four hours with my big jeep. I put signs in the windows that said, "Need a jack ." As I was about to give up,a truck stopped and a man got off. He looked at the situation, made a judgment and went back to take a jack. After about two hours, we finished the job with sweats. We were both dirty. His wife took a large bottle of water for us to wash our hands. I tried to put $ 20 in the man's hand, but he wouldn't take it, so I went to give it to his wife as quietly as I could. I asked their little girl where they lived, thinking maybe Pd send them a gift. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon now,so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. After that, they were going to pick peaches and then go back home. After I said goodbye and started going back to my jeep, the girl ran to me and handed me a tamale for lunch. I thanked them again and walked back to my jeep. When I opened the tamale, what did I find inside? My $ 20! I ran to the truck and the guy rolled down his window. He started shaking his head, smiled, and with what looked like great concentration said in English, "Today you, tomorrow me. " Then he drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back. This family, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours to help a stranger while others passed by quietly. Since then I've helped many people like the Mexican family. I didn't accept their money. Every time I was able to help,I felt as if I was putting something in the bank. The Mexican man helped the author because he tended to think that _ . A. it was completely wrong for others to pass by quietly B. it was quite easy to help the author repair the jeep C. it was possible that everyone might get into trouble D. the author was a polite stranger and deserved the help Answer: C. it was possible that everyone might get into trouble When I was a kid, the Easter holidays in Australia were my favorite time of the year. As soon as they began in April, my family would head straight to the beach for a weekend of camping. Unlike most of the world, Easter falls in autumn in Australia. This means that Easter is our last chance to enjoy the warm weather, swim in the ocean and sleep in the bush under the stars. We'd pitch our tents on clear patches of grass and look out onto an almost empty beach. Often we were the only ones camping and the whole beach would be ours alone. We used to spend all day outside - swimming, hiking and fishing. On Easter morning, my parents would wake up early and plan an Easter egg hunt for my three brothers and me. They would hide the eggs in the strangest places - in abandoned bird nests in the trees, under our tents and in every corner of the stones that surround the beach. In Australia, instead of chocolate bunnies, we had chocolate bilbies . Bilbies are Australian animals with long ears. Chocolate bilbies were the best treat to find and there was always one for each of us. But sometimes, other animals found them first, and all we'd find were brightly colored wrappers with animal tooth marks. After the hunt we would come back to the campsite with our bellies full of chocolate. For us, Easter wasn't about chocolate eggs or religious tradition. It was about being with our family in the great outdoors. Which of the following is TRUE of Easter in Australia? A. It falls in spring. B. Many animals come out that day. C. It's different from that in other countries. D. It's about the rebirth of Jesus. Answer: C. It's different from that in other countries. Is your schoolbag too heavy to carry? The e-schoolbag will help you. In fact, the e-schoolbag should perhaps be called an e-textbook. It is a small computer for students. Heavy schoolbags have been a serious problem for them for a long time. But the e-schoolbag will change everything. It is much lighter than a usual schoolbag. Also, it is as small as a usual textbook, an exercise book and so on. They can be made into _ that are as small as a stamp. The students can read the text page by page on the "screen", take notes, or even send e-mails to their teachers. All they have to do is to put the right chip into the e-schoolbag and press the button. It is said that e-schoolbags have been put into use in some Chinese middle schools. In 2012, some students in Shanghai started to use e-schoolbags in the new term. Some say that e-textbooks can be easily broken. Some say it is not good to students' eyes. But only time will tell us all. We can use e-schoolbags for _ . A. our study B. our work C. the buttons D. stamps Answer: A. our study In May, 2014, some Chinese tourists found a Chinese-character message "Ding Jinhao once visited here" on a statue of god in a 3500-year-old Egyptian temple. An angry tourist took the photograph of the scrawl and posted it on social media Sina Weibo. It was quickly spread and there were more than 100,000 comments during two weeks. Later, a 15-year-old Chinese boy was searched out as the person who caved this message. Many netizens expressed their anger and disappointment for the uncivilized behavior. They searched and identified the boy and then posted his personal information including the address and pictures online. Over the weekend, his school's website was hacked, and reporters flooded into his home in the city of Nanjing. Besieged by reporters, the child's mother offered a formal apology for her son's behavior. "We want to apologize to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China." the boy's mother told the local newspaper. With China's economy booming over the past decades, a growing number of the country's residents have become global tourists. Earlier this month, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang addressed: "Uncivilized behavior of some of tourists is giving this country a bad reputation abroad." The discussion about Chinese quality was carried out on many media. On the bright side, Egypt government described the damage to the temple as superficial and could be restored and they would forgive the boy. While the act of Ding Jinhao symbolizes a national shame, meanwhile, many people concern about the child's development and wish he could return to anonymity once more. "The boy has known his mistake and cried all night. He has to be moved around because reporters rushes to his house for interviews." said a reporter who talked with the parents. What is the netizens' attitude towards Ding's behavior? A. Critical. B. Doubtful. C. Tolerant. D. Supportive. Answer: A. Critical. If you go into the forest with friends, stay with them .If you don't , you may get lost, this is what you should do .Sit down and stay where you are .Don't try to find your friends ---let them find you instead .You can help them find you by staying in one place. There is another way to help your friends or other people to find you .You can shout or whistle three times. Stop. Then shout or whistle three times again. Any signal given three times is a call for help . Keep up shouting or whistling. Always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making a noise for fun. They will let you know that they have heard your signal. They will give you two shouts or two whistles. When a signal is given twice, it is an answer to a call for help. If you don't think that you will get help before night comes, try to make a little house with branches Make yourself a bed with leaves and grass. When you need some water, you have to leave your little branch house to look for it. Don't just walk away . _ When you are lost, the most important thing to do is to stay in one place. If you get lost in the forest, you should _ . A. try to find your friends B. walk around the forest C. stay in one place and signals D. shout as loudly as possible Answer: C. stay in one place and signals
The nervous-looking young man had waited for a few moments--outside the jeweler's before he got enough courage to enter. He was warmly greeted by a young assistant. James felt a rush of blood to his face as he explained he would be bringing in his future wife to choose a birthday present. The assistant listened carefully and told him he'd better buy a necklace. He wasn't used to buying jewellery and was a little worried about over-spending. After some discussion as to a reasonable price and the type, the assistant showed him dozens of necklaces and helped him to choose. At last James chose one and left the shop promising to return at five o'clock. When, half an hour later than planned, James did return to the shop with his future wife, Laura, the assistant acted as if she had never seen him before. When she was asked to show them some necklaces, she first brought out some inexpensive ones for them to choose, and then gave them the one she had prepared. A choice was soon made and they went away satisfied. James would certainly come back to buy what he wanted. James and Laura reached the shop at _ . Answer: 5:30 Tyler was a troublesome student. He sat in the back row. Every time I called him to answer questions, he'd reply with a flip answer. If he got it wrong, he would get very angry. Usually kids could sit quietly in class. However, Tyler was just loud. One day, Tyler was talking while I was teaching. I said to him, "Tyler, why not join in our discussion instead of having one of your own?" He got up from his chair, pushed it over, and shouted something I can't remember. I sent him to the office and he received a week's out-of-school punishment. The week was a wonderful time for me, but when it came to an end, I began to feel worried. So I came up with a plan. On the day of his return, I told him I wanted to start over with him. If he felt like he was going to lose control in class, he could step outside the door for a moment. From then on, Tyler was a changed student in my classroom. In fact he was a smart child and he even stopped a fight between two students one day. And he never used the privilege to leave the class for a moment. I believe that just letting him decide for himself made all the difference. When the year was over, he wrote me a thank-you note about how good the year had been for him. I still have it today and find it very moving to reread when I get stressed about teaching. Tyler did all the following things EXCEPT _ . Answer: leaving the class for a moment The future of written English will owe more to Hollywood films than Dickens or Shakespeare, if the findings of a study into children's writing are anything to go by. Researchers who looked at the entries to a national competition found they were increasingly using Americanisms such as garbage, trash can, sidewalk, candy, sneakers, soda, and flashlight. The stories, written by pupils aged 7 to 13, show how fairy cakes are referred to as cupcakes and a dinner jacket has become a tuxedo. "Smart" is now often used for "clever" and "cranky" for "irritable". Television also has a powerful influence on children's work, with Lady Gaga and Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi among the famous names from TV cropping up repeatedly. But pupils are let down by basic spelling, punctuation and grammar, according to the study by Oxford University Press (OUP), which looked at the entries to BBC Radio Two's "500 Words" competition. Children struggled to correctly spell simple words such as "does" and "clothes" and often failed to use the past tense correctly, frequently writing "rised" instead of "rose" or "thinked" instead of "thought". Researchers also found that punctuation was underused, especially semi-colons and speech marks. Some did not know how to use capital letters. However, exclamation marks were overused. Researchers found 35,171 examples in total, with some young writers using five at a time! Popular US fiction such as the Twilight novels and films is thought to be fueling the increasing use of American vocabulary and spelling. Meanwhile, fears that texting was spoiling children's written work were unfounded, they said, with youngsters only using text language when they were referring to a text message. Samantha Armstrong from OUP said: "Perhaps we are catching a glimpse of the language of the future." Chris Evans, whose radio show runs the competition, said the results were "fascinating", adding: "Who'd have thought that Messi and Gaga would be some of the most used names?" The passage is intended to _ . Answer: discuss the noticeable changes and evolution of written English in Britain Which natural event can dry out plants and cause wildfires? Answer: drought It's true that many dads in the wild aren't interested in parenting, but there are some that work pretty hard to give their little ones a good start. Maybe one of these dads will make you remember your own dad! The male giant water bug doesn't seem to mind a heavy load on his back for his kids. The female puts about 100 to 150 eggs on the back of the male, and then she leaves. Once the female is gone, the male has to look after the eggs. It usually takes one to two weeks for the eggs to hatch. The father giant water bug jumps around to make sure the growing eggs get enough air and water. All this time he can't fly because of the weight of the eggs growing rapidly on his back. Now let's turn to the male stickleback fish. When the mother leaves after laying her eggs, the father tends his young. If the young fish go too far away, their father helps with their safe return by carrying them back in his mouth. The male stickleback looks after all his young -- as many as 100 -- until they can live on their own. A similar example can be found in emperor penguins living in cold areas. The male emperor penguin goes without food while looking after his egg until it hatches. For about 62 to 67 days, the egg stays on top of the father's feet, in very cold temperatures that drop down to -39deg C. As a result, the father may lose nearly 50 percent of his body weight while waiting for his baby penguin to be born! What is the best title for the text? Answer: Mr. Moms in the Wild
Do you need friends? I'm sure your answer is "Yes,of course. Everybody does! " You need friends when you play and when you work. If you have friends, you will feel happy. If you have no friends. you will feel lonely . Do you know how to make friends? There is only one good way--You make friends by being friendly. A friendly person is interested in other people. He is always helpful If you want to make friends with a new classmate, you can talk with him, tell him about the other classmates in your class and try your best to be helpful to him. If we want to make friends, we should _ . A be politely to them B be friendly to them. C be afraid of them D when we talk with them. Answer: B. be friendly to them. When I was 10 years old, I tried out for the cheerleading squad. I had taken gymnastics classes for two years to prepare for these tryouts. However, I didn't make the team. It was a heavy blow to me. I cried all night. Kids today won't experience that kind of rejection. They're growing up in "everybody gets a turn" world where every child gets a chance to kick the ball, sing the song, and win the award. But that's not always such a good thing. Parents have become fearful of letting kids fail, thinking that our children are easily hurt and will never recover from anything--that's a serious problem. Last week, my 7-year-old daughter didn't get into the school play. At first, I was upset by it. How would she react? When I gave her the news, I was ready to hug her and cry with her. She looked at me, made a slight face and said, "That's too bad. What's for dinner?" It clearly wasn't the end of her world. Maybe if we let our kids experience rejection once in a while, we'd realize they are much stronger than we think. Kids need to be able to handle disappointments; doing so helps them to prepare for real life. Most importantly, rejection carries the possibility not only for growth and can also motivate kids to try harder the next time. Rejection is pain. There is no way around that. How will our kids ever discover their true talents if we don't let them? Instead of complaining, maybe we should consider rejection an opportunity. In the author's opinion, rejection _ . A is something that can be avoided in life B is good for the growth of the children C discourages children from learning new things D causes children to lose their confidence Answer: B. is good for the growth of the children It can be dangerous to travel by sea. Ships sometimes sink far away from land. When this happens, the sailors have to get into small boats. If another ship does not come and help them and they do not have enough food or water, they will die. Most people believe we must not drink sea water. They believe that if we do, we shall be very ill because of all the salt in the water. A doctor called Alain Bombard did not believe this. He thought that people could stay alive by drinking sea water and eating small fish, animals and plants from the sea. On 19 October 1953, he set out in a small boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean . He did not take any food or water with him. Every day Dr. Bombard drank just a little sea water. He also caught fish and they had water in them. He drank this water. He could not cook the fish, so he ate them as they were. He took small plants from the sea, which gave him more food. Dr. Bombard became hot, tired and quite ill, but after 65days at sea he was still alive. He traveled 2,750 miles from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other, and on 24th,December 1953, he reached Barbados. He lost 20 kilos, but he showed that people could live on sea water, the animals and plants in the sea. Dr. Bombard lived on _ . A sea water B food that he cooked C only fish D sea water, fish and small plants Answer: D. sea water, fish and small plants Fannie Cratty wasn't really my aunt. I only referred to her as "My Aunt Fannie" because the name always made my father laugh and gave my mother cause to look angrily at both of us---at me for being disrespectful of my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior. As a young woman, my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse owned by Fannie Cratty. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fannie make the best blueberry jam ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. Aunt Fannie was well known for her jam and for never sharing the recipe with another living soul. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart, as long as Aunt Fannie was alive (and she lived to be ninety-six!), she never made the jam without Ms. Cratty in our kitchen to direct the process and preserve the secret. Each August, when blueberry season would roll around, my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannie's visit. It was vital that I should be on my best behavior. After all, the woman was old, wealthy, very strict with children. Whenever she was at the house, I didn't need to be reminded to guard my thoughts and watch my tongue. One year, after I had been particularly helpful with the jam process, Aunt Fannie gave me a quarter(25) and then made me promise that I would never spend it. "Hold onto this quarter," she said, "and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first quarter, given to me by my grandfather." It had obviously worked for her. So, I kept the 1938-quarter into a small box, put it in my dresser drawer, and waited to become rich. I now have the blueberry jam recipe and the quarter from Aunt Fannie. In people's eye Aunt Fannie's success was due to that secret recipe. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Neither has significantly contributed to my wealth, but I keep them as reminders to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build. The author thinks that we can feel wealthy if we _ . A share our wealth with others B have good fortune and money C know the secret of a jam recipe D own lasting love and friendship Answer: D. own lasting love and friendship There once lived a young man who thought himself to be poor. One day he went to a wise man to ask how to become rich. The wise man said, "Young man, you are already rich now." "But where is my wealth?" the young man asked. "It is with you. Your eyes are your wealth. You use them to see this world. You use them to see all the beautiful things in this world. Your hands are your wealth. You can use them to work. You can use them to hug your beloved ones. Your legs are your wealth. You can go to any place..." the wise man said. "You call these wealth? But everyone has them," the young man said. "These are wealth. What you have now is not what someone else can luckily have. Would you like to give your eyes to me? I'd like to give you a lot of money to exchange for them," the wise man said. "No, I'm not going to do so! My eyes are important to me!" the young man said. Everyone is rich. We should treasure our wealth, and take care of it. We should not overuse it because once it is gone, it is gone forever. Remember it is our wealth that we do not want to lose. The young man wouldn't like to exchange his eyes for money because _ . A he was already rich B he didn't like the old man C he thought his eyes were important to him D he didn't like money Answer: C. he thought his eyes were important to him
A Mountain of Green Beans Another envelope in the mail. There's my name, Alexander Spencer, typed on the front. I throw it under the bed. The piles of envelopes are growing. The envelopes were applications to all the colleges I was supposed to attend. I did open the first envelope. Then I saw the application, all those blank spaces I was supposed to fill with my own writing, spaces for my name and birth date and grade average and ... statement of purpose. I looked at them for a long time. I could write for hours and not fill all those spaces. So I put the application back in the envelope. I would fill it out the next day, when I had time. But another envelope arrived. And then the pile began. The pile scares me -- it is really like a monster. All the while, I feel the weight of a million envelopes raining down on my head until my grandmother calls me and wants to know how I am. "I am overcome by too many tasks," I say. "Honey, you just take it bit by bit," she says, and she reminds me about the green beans. When I was a little kid I hated green beans. But my mom said I couldn't leave the table until I ate ten green beans. All alone at the table, I stared at the green beans for what seemed like hours. It was a mountain of green beans. I couldn't do it. My grandma came to me and asked if I could eat one green bean. "But Grandma, I have to eat ten!" She said all I had to do was to eat one green bean. One tiny little green bean. So I ate one. It was bad, but not as bad as I'd thought it would be. Then she asked me again if I could eat one. So I ate one green bean nine more times. My grandma doesn't know about the envelopes, but she tells me anyone can do one thing every day. Back in my room, I lay down on the bed. Just like I used to do when I was a little kid, I hang my head down to look at the pile of envelopes. There it is. But instead of a monster, I see a pile of green beans. Who's afraid of green beans? What does the author learn from the story of the green beans? A A good start is half done. B Actions speak louder than words. C A long journey begins with a single step. D All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Answer: C If you think you are too shy and want to be a little bit braver, just try the following things: You can make it. Tell people you are shy. There is no need to hide it. When they get to know you are a shy kid, they will understand you better. This also helps feel more _ in talks. Try to smile more. When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk with. Remember that other people have feelings, too; and most people will stay away from an angry--looking face. Learn to be a good talker. If you find it hard to start a conversation, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person? Get your attention elsewhere. Think more about ways to enjoy parties or games. Don't waste time worrying about your book or whether people like you or not. Take one small step at a time. Each time when you say: "Hi!" or smile at someone, say to yourself: "You can make it." Keep trying and one day you'll never feel shy when you talk to others. If you find it difficult to start a talk, you can _ . A say nothing but smile B say something nice about others around you C look others up and down D tell others you are a shy person Answer: B When you're curious about something, and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions.Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers.The steps below can guide you during the research. Step1 On a note card or piece of paper, write down the subject that you are interested in.Just get the main idea down.For example, you might write: Discover more about dinosaurs. Step2 Next, stop and think for a moment about what you already know about your subject.List what you already know like the sentences below: (1)Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeareD. (2)Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years. (3)Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat. Step3 What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions.On your paper, start writing down questions about the dinosaurs as you think of them: (1)What's the best weather for dinosaurs to live in? (2)How many kinds of dinosaurs are there? (3)Have dinosaurs really disappeared? Step4 Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research.As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions.For example, you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago.Why? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely. If you always find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions.And remember learning more always brings more questions. What does "Armed with your list of questions" mean? A Putting your list of questions under your arm B Discussing your questions with your classmates C Writing down your list of questions D Taking your list of questions with you Answer: D It takes years of school to develop math skills, but learning about numbers starts earlier than you might think. Now according to a new study, at three months, babies have already started acquiring a concept of "how much". Previous research had suggested that very young babies can tell when the number of objects in a group has changed. But the babies in these studies were simply reacting generally to the fact that something had changed, they suspected. Researchers of Harvard University studied 36 babies, all three months old. During the tests, each baby wore a hat with sensors . The babies watched a series of images on a computer screen. _ showed the same object, such as a cartoon character. For a while, the number of the objects in the pictures didn't change. Then the images began to display a different object, or a different number of one of the objects the babies had previously looked at. As soon as something changed, the babies' brains responded with a specific pattern of electrical signals, which would be recorded by sensors. By analyzing these signals, the researchers discovered that one part of the brain (near the top on the left side) responded when the object in the image changed. A different part of the brain (lower and on the right side) responded when the number of objects in the image changed. This was not the area of the brain that is involved in attention. That suggests that the babies' brains are doing more than just reacting to a change in what they're seeing - they actually seem to be able to tell number changes from other types of changes. Numbers and amounts are important concepts in our lives. Even though babies are years away from adding, subtracting , multiplying, and dividing, their brains seem to be preparing for a time when they finally will. The purpose of the study is to prove that _ . A math skills should be developed as early as possible B numbers are easier for babies to judge than images C babies really do have some sense of numbers D babies can react differently to what they see Answer: C Bob was happy. He was at a new school, and the other students were friendly. "Hi, Bob!" They said. But some students said, "Hi, Peter!" Bob didn't understand. He asked another student, " Why do some students call me Peter?" "Oh, that is easy to answer," the student said. "Peter was a student here last year. Now, he goes to a different school. You like Peter. Some students think that you are Peter." Bob wanted to meet Peter. He got Peter's address from a student and went to Peter's house. Peter opened the door. Bob couldn't believe his eyes. He looked really like Peter! Bob and Peter had the same color eyes and the same smile. They had the same black hair. They also had the same birthday. Bob and Peter found out that they were twin brothers. They both were adopted by two different families. Soon after the boys born, one family adopted Bob, and another family adopted Peter. Bob's family never knew about Peter, and Peter's family never knew about Bob, either. What is not mentioned about Peter and Bob? A Their eyes had the same color. B They had on the same clothes C They had the same black hair. D They were born on the same day. Answer: B
Question: When we hear the words "college students", we usually think of a young person between 18 and 22 years old. But in the U.S.A today, a college student often is much older. In fact, educators say in the next few years colleges and universities may have more older part-time students than traditional full-time younger students. Educators report a big increase in the number of Americans who attend college and university classes in the evening or at night or weekends. Most of them are older than 25 years old and more have full-time or part-time jobs. Many are in their thirties or forties. Why are so many people deciding to spend their time and money in order to continue their education? Most are doing it because they believe more education will help them to get a better job. Some are industrial workers whose factories have closed. They are learning new skills to prepare for other kinds of work. Some of the part-time students are not pleased with the jobs they have. They are studying for new ones. Some have retired and are looking for new kinds of work. Two of every three of the students older than 35 are women. Many of them are returning to school after years of staying at home to care for children. Are older students good students? Most teachers say yes. They say older students really want to learn. They ask difficult questions and are not pleased with simple answers. They often get high grades. It's said that in the next few years _ . A. students in colleges and universities will be much older B. full-time students in colleges and universities will be even younger C. American colleges and universities will take in part-time students equally D. The number of older students will be greater than that of the younger ones Answer: C. American colleges and universities will take in part-time students equally Question: While all cultures share the same basic emotions, the body language used throughout different cultures of the world vary enormously. What can mean one thing in one country can often mean something completely different in another. For example, in North America and Europe people tend to prefer direct eye contact. But in some Asian countries longer eye contact is considered rude. So when communicating with people, always be aware of different cultural customs that may exist. A V sign in the US could mean victory, but in England, it stands for a rude challenge, which has the same meaning as showing the middle finger in the US. The OK gesture in America and England is given to mean everything is good or well. But in Latin America is looked on as a rude sign. The thumbs up sign in America and most of Europe means that something is good or well done, but it is considered rude in many Asian countries. Putting your feet on the table is generally not thought to be rude in America and England. However, in Thailand it is really rude. Telling someone to come to you by curling your index finger is acceptable in America and England, but this gesture signifies death in Singapore. Raising your hand up means stop in America and England. In some Asian countries this gesture is used when asking for permission to speak. In most westernized countries it is considered normal for two men to shake hands. In some Asian countries it is quite normal for men to kiss each other, while in most westernized countries men kissing in public would be viewed as homosexual behavior. If you would like more information on different cultural gestures all over the world, visit our website often. And we do have lots of information that interests you. What's the best title for this passage? A. How gestures can vary in different cultures? B. What gestures can be acceptable in western countries? C. What can we do when traveling? D. How to be friendly to others? Answer: A. How gestures can vary in different cultures? Question: Make some noise on May 7 for Music Monday.People in the U.S. and Canada will be celebrating the day by singing and playing musical instruments together. Music Monday is the first day of National Wanna Play Music Week,which runs from May 7 to 13.The National Association of Music Merchants(NAMM) organizes the weeklong celebration every year.This marks the seventh year the organization is teaming up with Canada's Coalition for Music Education(CME),the group that started Music Monday. "It's a day to fill the skies with music and bring young people together in song," CME Executive Director Holly Nimmons said. The CME started Music Monday in 2005.It is held every year on the first Monday of May.It was created to help people realize the importance of music education programs in schools and in communities.The day also celebrates the benefits of playing music for people of all ages. NAMM researches the effects of music on children.They found that playing music has positive effects on thinking skills and on confidence.It also teaches selfdiscipline and helps kids bond with their peers ."Learning musical skills can also help in your studies of other subjects,such as math,reading and language," Lora Bodmer,who works at NAMM,said. Their studies show that music can also help people form friendships and connect with different groups.Nimmons says anyone can join in on the day,not just those who are musically gifted."I think that we all have the music in us,and it's a matter of confidence," she said."Sing with other people or beat drums,just enjoy the music." Participants can turn on the radio to join the fun.Each year a song is assigned to Music Monday.This year the song is "Tomorrow Is Coming" by Luke Doucet.The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation(CBC) will be playing the tune at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.People across North America will play or sing the song at the exact same time.The performance is meant to connect people through melody .More than 700,000 students took part in the concert last year. Schools,afterschool programs,organizations,groups and individuals throughout the U.S. and Canada can all participate in Music Monday.Students who would like to share in the celebration should let their teachers or organization leaders know.But NAMM also encourages people to pick up any instrument and play anytime on the day. What can we learn about Music Monday? A. National Wanna Play Music Week begins on Music Monday. B. People can't sing every day except on Music Monday. C. Music Monday will last at least seven days. D. Students can enjoy music on Music Monday freely. Answer: A. National Wanna Play Music Week begins on Music Monday. Question: Nowadays, the food we eat seems to have great effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 68 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue. What is the best possible title of the passage? A. Drug and Food B. Cancer and Health C. Food and Health D. Health and Drug Answer: C. Food and Health Question: Some birds have adapted to their cold environment by over time evolving to have thicker feathers in order to A. go to space B. avoid freezing C. eat dinosaurs D. nothing Answer: B. avoid freezing
Steven Spielberg's new movie Lincolnpaints a vivid and breath-taking picture of the 16th U.S. president and his determination to end slavery. Spielberg based his film on parts ofTeam of Rivals, a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. He makes Abraham Lincoln relevant today by presenting a cunning political mind trying to overcome Washington's all too familiar political divisions. In previous movies, Lincoln was shown as a simple yet almost perfect man. But Spielberg's Lincolnis different. "I was determined to make a movie about a working president dealing with real problems. Not some angel," Spielberg said. We watch the president first ending slavery and then the war. The film's adviser, historian Eric Martin, explains how Lincoln's thinking evolved. "His main objective when the war began was not the freeing of the slaves but to keep the country united. Lincoln realizes that in order to keep the country together, the question of slavery will have to be addressed," Martin said. The film focuses on the last four months of his presidency. In the movie, the arguments among political enemies seem very similar to the problems we see in Washington today. The disagreements were bitter. The film turns to Lincoln's relationships with his wife and kids, his beliefs and constant self-examination. Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor who plays Lincoln, offers an Oscar-worthy performance as the 16th President. Not only is his physical similarity to the president incredible, he is able to capture many of Lincoln's mannerisms and his high-pitched, almost lady-like voice. "I found it very easy to play the role of Lincoln because the real man himself was so open. When I was researching his history to prepare for the part, one of the most surprising things I found was just how accessible he was. Even in war-time, when he was in great danger, he was always willing to meet with others and share his ideas," Day-Lewis said. Spielberg's Lincolnwill head to the Oscars. But more important it will make history. Which of the following is true about the actor who plays Lincoln? A He looks very similar to Lincoln. ks5u B His performance is very lady-like. C He won an Oscar for his performance. D He believed he really was Lincoln. Answer: A. He looks very similar to Lincoln. ks5u Global Positioning Systems(GPS) are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But, they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two. We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype . He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay. BARRY BROWN: "And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn't until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of 'garbage in garbage out'." Mr Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment. BARRY BROWN: "One problem with a lot of the GPS units is that they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it's going to the wrong place." Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people's cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called "The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS." It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given. Barry Brown says, " To make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together." What is Mr. Brown's attitude towards GPS? A Unconcerned. B Prejudiced. C Objective. D Critical. Answer: C. Objective. Yu Pengnian is an 88-year-old real estate Chinese businessman. He amassed a fortune of $1.3 billion dollars during his career but instead of keeping the money and living like an emperor, he decided to give it all away. All of his fortune will be spent on helping poor Chinese students get a better education. And Yu isn't the only super-rich person in China who has this spirit of giving. Chen Guangbiao, a Jiangsu recycling tycoon, has given millions of dollars to charity and promises to give all of his money to charity when he dies. Yu and Chen are among the many businessmen who have become prosperous during China's economic rise. An American business magazine, Forbes, estimates that there are 117 billionaires in China and hundreds of thousands of millionaires. What sets Yu and Chen apart from the rest, though, is their tremendous generosity(,) when it comes to donating money to charity. Last week Bill Gates and Warren Buffett came to Beijing. Gates and Buffett, two of the world's richest men, are also the world's biggest philanthropists. They invited fifty of China's richest people to have dinner with them and talk about the spirit of giving. At first, only a few people accepted their invitation. It seemed some of the invited guests were afraid that Buffett and Gates were going to pressure them into giving their wealth to charity. A lot of people are angry at the billionaires who are not willing to give away their fortunes. They _ hem for being miserly and not caring about the poor and the less fortunate. But I think this criticism is wrong. A gift, any gift, should come from the heart. Instead of criticism, these reluctant billionaires should be encouraged to follow the examples of Yu Pengnian and Chen Guangbiao. Encouragement is always a better strategy than criticism. As we say in English, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." What sets Yu and Chen apart from other rich people in China? A When it comes to charity work, they are very generous. B They had dinner with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, talking about the spirit of giving. C They are pressured into giving their fortune to charity. D They are both businessmen. Answer: A. When it comes to charity work, they are very generous. Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes into touch with them. Their values - this can't be repeated too often - are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important for them. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with going bad food covered with dust on the table, and an old person lying alone on bed, taking no notice of anything. Is it doing harm to personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their s so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers are the ones who clean up the dust, thinking we are in danger of carrying this idea of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old. Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car; it needs more care as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision of spare parts. Never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results. At what point should you stop treating the old body? Is it right to try to push off death by using drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that there is little hope? You cannot ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel sure to have a try on the belief that while there's life, there's hope. When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than _ does on your ability to have fun. The author thinks that _ . A the opinion that we should try every means possible to save old people is doubtful B medical decisions for the old people should be left to the doctors C old people can enjoy a happy life only if they are very rich D it is always right to treat old people and push off death Answer: A. the opinion that we should try every means possible to save old people is doubtful Many years ago, there was an old man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he told them to go and look at a pear tree. It was far away from his home. The first son went in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in autumn. When the sons came back, the old man asked them to say what they had seen. The first son complained the tree was ugly. The second son said the tree was covered with buds and full of hope. The third son said the tree was full of green leaves. They looked so beautiful, and it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. The youngest son said that the tree was bowed down with heavy fruits. It was full of life and fulfillment . The man explained that all of his sons were right, but each of them had seen just one season of the tree. He told them that they couldn't judge a tree or a person by only one season. "If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the hope of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your autumn." said the old man. It is true that we shouldn't let the hard season break the happiness of the other seasons. Never give up during the difficult days and better times are sure to come some day. In which season did the fourth son go and look at a pear tree? A Spring . B Summer. C Autumn. D Winter. Answer: C. Autumn.
Books are not Nadia Konyk's thing. Her mother brings them home from the library, but Nadia rarely shows interest. Instead, like so many other teenagers, Nadia, 15, is addicted to the Internet. She regularly spends at least six hours a day in front of the computer, spending most of her time reading and commenting on stories written by other users. Her mother, Deborah Konyk, would prefer that Nadia read books for a change. As teenagers' scores on reading tests have declined, some argue that the hours spent surfing the Internet are the enemy of reading--destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books. Critics have warned that electronic media would destroy reading. Others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write. What is different now, some literacy experts say, is that spending time on the Web engages viewers with text. Web supporters believe that strong readers on the Web may eventually surpass those who rely on books. Reading five Web sites, experts say, can be more enriching than reading one book. "It takes a long time to read a 400-page book," said Spiro. "In a tenth of the time," he said, the Internet allows a reader to "cover a lot more of the topic from different points of view." Some literacy experts say that reading itself should be redefined. Interpreting videos or pictures, they say, may be as important a skill as analyzing a novel or a poem. "Kids are using sound and images so they have a world of ideas to put together," said Donna Alvermann, a professor of literacy education at the University of Georgia. "Books aren't out of the picture, but they're only one way of experiencing information in the world today." Next year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which gives reading, math and science tests to 15-year-old students in more than 50 countries, will add an electronic reading component . The United States says it will not participate because an additional test would overburden schools. Why are books not the thing of Nadia Konyk? Answer: I'm often told how I have a dream job, that I work for a great company, getting to deal with the leaders in social media every day, and especially that I get to work from my home. Usually the people who tell me that working from home is wonderful have never worked fromhome. They spend most of their career working from an office and hate it. In fact, I love being able to work from home and make my own hours. I truly appreciate beingable to drop what I'm doing to attend kids or go shopping, but there's a side to it we don't often talk about, the hard side. No one wants to believe people like me, working from home, have anything tocomplain about. Really, I'm not going to complain, but I do want to share a few things about telecommuting that few home-based people want to tell you, because working from home doesn't look so wonderful. One of the reasons I love my job is the flexibility . I know that I can volunteer for school projects,meet friends for lunch and work out for an hour as long as I get my work done. But did you know telecommuters have to make up the time if they wish to fill their days with fun items? Sowhile my husband and kids are watching a movie, I'm working until midnight. Besides, when youwork from home, you're held to your phone and Skype in case someone wants to talk toyou during business hours. So it's not so easy to be flexible! We learn from the passage that the writer _ . Answer: Which of the following is a cause of the ocean levels periodically rising and then falling? Answer: Hummingbirds contribute to seed dispersal by Answer: Pepito the Brave By Scott Beck, Dutton, ISBN 0-525-46524-3, $12.99 Ah, the time in life when one has to leave home. No one seems to have as hard a time with it as Pepito. Pepito is a little bird who needs to leave the nest, but the problems is, he's afraid of heights. This makes flying away a bit of a problem, so like most people (or birds in this case) he avoids it, when he finds himself in a new situation, someone happens to give him some advice. A fox suggests he run to where he's going (I got nervous when he came across a fox, _ , a frog tells him to hop, a gopher to burrow . After his various attempts not to fly, he makes it to his brothers' and sister's new tree, and realizes that what he's done is much harder than actually trying to fly. It's a charming story with a good message--often facing up to our fears is much easier than running from them. The Stray Dog By Marc Simont, HarperCollins, ISBN 0-06-028933-3, $15.95 As someone who has taken in his share of stray animals, I can totally relate to the family in The Stray Dog. While picnicking one day, they befriend a dog that wanders by. Everyone immediately falls in love, but they leave him behind, figuring he belongs to someone else. But as the week goes by, none of them can get the dog, which they've named Willy, off their mind. So naturally the next Saturday they go back to that same place to see if Willy's still there. They find that not only does he not have an owner, but they've arrived just in time to prevent a catastrophe. Kids who love animals will definitely _ in the action, and even those who don't will appreciate the quick thinking children who save the day. Which of the following statements in NOT true according to the text? Answer:
Canada geese are large blue and white birds .When autumn arrives ,they have to fly south where the weather is warmer .The winters are so cold in Canada that the birds will die if they stay there . Last spring ,Bill Lishman found sixteen young Canada geese on his farm "They had lost their parents , "Bill thought . "These young birds won't know what to do in the autumn . Bill had a small plane and he decided to teach the birds to follow him .All through the summer ,he went on short trips in his plane and the young geese flew after him ." When the cold weather arrived in autumn ,Bill flew to Virginia in the United States ,600 miles south from his home in Canada .The geese follwed him all the way .Bill flew to Virginia and returned home . This spring ,Bill was waiting for the birds to come back .They didn't arrive ,so Bill flew to Virginia to get them .He looked for them for two weeks but he couldn't find them . When he arrived back home ,Bill found the geese waiting for him .Then had found the way home without him ! The young birds _ ,so they could follow Bill to Virginia . were well trained If you go to Hawaii, you can stay at the Garden Hotel. When you go there for holiday, you will find everything as comfortable as you would expect in a first-class international hotel. Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, special tables and colourful, modern sofa. In the Mitsui Restaurant, you can choose your meals from different dishes, both Eastern and European. You can also find the dishes anywhere in the country. In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends comfortably to the music of famous musicians . Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden of the hotel. You can also swim in the swimming pool. In the hotel, you will find _ . It will not take you a long time to wait for your service. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes on foot from Hawaii's modern shopping centre. Here you will find all things at prices you can agree. The Waikiki Beachside Hotel is also one of the most famous hotels in Hawaii. Beachside Hotel is close to restaurants, bars, Honolullu nightlife, Waikiki beaches, Oahu and all of the Hawaii adventure activities! We are sure that your stay here at our Waikiki Beachside Hotel will be the best stay you have in Hawaii or the world. The service there is both friendly and efficient means _ . you can get what you want quickly and happily Many environmentalists and entrepreneurs are looking for ideas on how to "capture gold" -- that is, how to collect and convert plastic waste into new plastic or fuel. OK, describing plastic waste as potential "gold" may be overdoing it. But the campaigners say that publicizing the notion that plastic is worth something may help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in oceans and the bellies of sea creatures. To that end, they have set up a competition inviting members of the public to submit ideas online. Organizers will take the best ones to the Rio+20 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro next month, where they are planning a daylong side event called Plasticity focusing on issues related to plastic pollution. The plastic waste problem is gaining broader attention as environmentalists, scientists, manufacturers and the public become more aware of the sheer volume of the stuff that finds its way into the sea. More than 260 million metric tons of plastic are now produced per year, according to the trade association PlasticsEurope. The majority of that is not recycled. Most of it ends up in landfill, and a significant amount ends up as litter on land, in rivers and in the oceans. Technological advances have made clear that it is possible to reuse much of this plastic by turning it into fuel or new products. Yet the companies that have come up with such solutions have not achieved the economies of scale that would allow them to function profitably. Insufficient waste-collection and recycling systems in most countries also stand in the way of " _ " concept, said Doug Woodring, an environmental entrepreneur in Hong Kong who is among the organizer of the Plasticity forum in Rio. Rather than breast-beating, the form aims to highlight some of the technologies and ideas out there for collection and reuse. My personal favorite for now is a vacuum cleaner with plastic parts made from plastic waste. What do the campaigners like to do exactly? To collect ideas on how to recycle plastic waste. Your friends' lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook,but new research shows that is because they are faking it. A recent survey has found around twothirds of people on social media post images to their personal information to make their lives seem more adventurous.And more than three quarters of those asked said they judged their peers based on what they saw on their Instagram,Snapchat or Facebook pages. The British survey,by smartphone maker HTC,found that,in order to make our own pages and lives appear more exciting,six percent also said they had borrowed items to include in the images in order to pass them off as their own. More than half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to show off,causing _ among friends and family. Behavioural psychologist Hemmings said the trend was unsurprising due to the rise of social media."We're living in a world of instant communication."she said."Fashion and style used to live and die in magazines;now people are in search of authentic ,peertopeer recommendations as well,making social media an equal power house to magazines and newspapers." "With images being shared in an instant we desire to know what our friends are wearing,or what super stars are buying, as soon as they have got them." Such is the influence of social media sites like Instagram,76 percent of those asked also said seeing items on social media influences them to buy them,with men more likely to take style advice and buy what they see. Which of the following best describes social media like Instagram? Persuasive. Hello Sandy, We have just returned form our holiday. We went with our friends,Edward Smith and his wife Tina, to the Yorkshire Moors. It is a beautiful natural park. There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills,miles of grassland with no people,just sheep and birds. Edward had just come out of hospital and he could not walk as far as before. However, this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a restaurant for lunch each day before returning to the place we lived in. Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk. Very pleasant! I took lots of photos from the place we lived in, across the valley below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist in the valley. Also, in England, the old steam-powered trains are very popular. I took many photos of the train. Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter. It is very early. We usually have snow in January. It rained all day, then snowed in the evening .Today we have bright sunshine! Both Jenny and I are well. I don't know if I told you, in the last e-mail , that Jenny is now working in a hotel. Although she has to work hard, people there are nice, and she is enjoying the work. Please write to us to tell us your news. Yours, Victor Why couldn't Edward walk very far? Because he was weak then.
My friend BJ Gallagher told me a great story recently, about her own experience with resentment . She once worked as the training manager for a large newspaper, where she found the corporate culture extremely frustrating. The company was a hundred years old and their past success had blinded them to the need for change. Finally, after _ several senior executives many times, she left the company. But she found that she hadn't left her resentment, frustration, and anger behind when she resigned. "I finally decided to write about my experiences and my feelings at the newspaper. I wanted to be rid of that company and those people, once and for all. So I wrote and I wrote. It wasn't just a story that poured out; it was a whole book! We called it A peacock in the Land of Penguins. I was the peacock and those newspaper executives were the penguins." "It took me several more years to finally get over my negative emotions. Through a lot of soul-searching and reflection, I finally was able to let go of my resentment. I came to see that there was nothing personal in the way they treated me, and they were good people doing what they thought best for the company. I was the one who had made it personal. I thought they were making my life miserable on purpose."[:Z#xx#k.Com] "Finally, the time came when I decided to make amends for the sharp, angry things I had said about the company. I invited my former boss to dinner and made my apology. It was a great healing process for me. I finally felt free of the resentment that had been eating me up." "What was the final outcome?" I asked her. "Gratitude," she replied. "Not only wasn't I resentful any more, I was grateful to the company. If I hadn't had those painful experiences, I would never have written a book. And the book became hugely successful - now published in 21 languages; it transformed my business." Why did BJ Gallagher write about her experiences and feelings at the company? A. To make peace with the executives. B. To make suggestions to the company. C. To do soul-searching and reflection. D. To express her anger. Answer: D. To express her anger. Ice-climb in London The huge ice skating area at Somerset House has been drawing crowds each winter for years, but last November an ice wall was added for the first time, bringing even more danger and excitement. Standing more than 26 feet high is along line of pure ice, featuring three climbing faces of varying difficulty using crampons ,ice picks. and ropes. Using it costs about PS40 (020 7854600;www. somersethouseicednk. org. uk). It is open from late November to the end of January. Hang-gliding in Rio De Janeiro According to the hang-gliders of Rio, once you ' ve swooped over the city's streets,gazing at the Sugar Loaf, and the city of Niteroion, the other side of Guanabara Bay, you will understand why birds are peaceful animals. Accept the romantic idea on a 30-minute cycling flight from the 525-meter Pedra Bonita in the Sao Conrado mountain down to the Sao Conrado beach. It costs aroundPS55. Contact Air Adventures (021 98439006;www. rio-hanggliding, com). Sky-walk in Sydney This experience takes having a look at a nice view to the whole other level, as you are suspended more than 850 feet (260m)above street level,controlled to a glass viewing platform of Sydney Tower. It's the city's highest building. After a thorough briefing and being fitted with protective sky suits , sky-walkers make their way along two-purpose-built walkways and platforms, which have transparent floor,while a guide points out landmarks. Night time sky-walks. are also available. It costs PS46. Mountain-boarding in Leeds Riders roll down hills and fly off jumps, doing tricks. A number of special mountain-board parks have been opened around the country (see www. ridethehill. com). But the Leeds body of the Boarding Society practice at least twice a week in the city in locations that include Roundhay Park. Those with their own boards are welcomed to join them. Contact the society at www. scua. info. Alternatively, beginners can get lessons in Halifax at the Another World(014 22 245196; www mountainboarding.co.uk)mountain-board center for PS8 an hour with equipment. Which of the following is open at night? A. Ice-climb in London. B. Hang-gliding in Rio De Janeiro. C. Sky-walk in Sydney. D. Mountain-boarding in Leeds. Answer: C. Sky-walk in Sydney. That Upper class people generally have more educational opportunities, greater financial security, and better jobs than people from lower social classes, but that doesn't mean they're more skilled at everything. A new study finds, surprisingly, that lower class people are better at reading the emotions of others. The researchers were inspired by observing that, for lower class people, success depends more on how much they can rely on other individuals. For example, if you can't afford to buy support services, you have to rely on your neighbors or relatives to watch the kids while you're busy. One experiment researched on volunteers who worked at a university: some had graduated from college and others had not. Researchers used the educational level as an indicator for social classes. The volunteers did a test of emotion perception , in which they were instructed to look at pictures of faces and indicate which emotions each face was displaying. People with more education performed worse on the task than people with less education. In another study, university students who were of higher social status had a more difficult time accurately reading the emotions of a stranger. These results suggest that people of upper-class status aren't very good at recognizing the emotions other people are feeling. This is because they remember their upper status and they think they can solve their problems without relying on others. In the third experiment, people were made to feel that they were at a lower social class than they actually were, and they got better at reading emotions. "The differences between upper-class people and lower-class people are not something ingrained ," Kraus says. "It's the cultural environment leading to them." This work helps show that the traditional image of the classes is wrong. "It's not true that a lower-class person, no matter what kind of person, is going to be less intelligent than an upper-class person. It's all about the social environment the person lives in, and the specific challenges the person faces. If you can change the environment even temporarily, social class differences in lots of behaviors can be removed." According to the passage, when lower-class people meet problems, they tend to _ . A. turn to others B. work even harder C. feel more frustrated D. learn from upper-class people Answer: A. turn to others Have you seen a historical film recently? Do you think it was accurate? Some say that there is no such thing as a historical film. In many cases, Hollywood film-makers simply change the facts. Just look at these supposedly "historical" films. 1. The Patriot The film was released in 2000 and was directed by Ronald Emmerish and starred Mel Gibson. It is set near Charleston, South Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War(1775--1783) and follows the story of Benjamin Martin and his fight for American freedom against the British. The film was criticized for inventing and exaggerating British cruelty. The most criticized scene was one showing the burning of a church containing people of the town, of which there is no historical record. Another historical inaccuracy was the description of American-owned slaves being freed to serve with the American forces. In reality, many slaves ran away from their American owners and fought with the British against the Americans. 2. Brave Heart The film(1995) starred Mel Gibson was directed by Toby Reisz. It is based on the life of Scottish national hero William Wallace and his fight against English rule in Scotland during the 13th century. The film includes an affair between William Wallace and Princess Isabella (based on Isabella of France). The film implies she is a mother-to-be when William Wallace will be killed. However, historically, the real Isabella was a child of nine still living in France at this time, never having met Wallace. The film also caused controversy because of its anti-English nature. Apparently, when the film was shown in Glasgow, there was a loud noise made by happy American audience. 3. U-571 This 2000 film was directed by Jonathan Mostow and starred Mathew MacConaughey, Havey Keitel and Jon Bon Jovi. It took place during the Second World War(1939--1945). In the film, a German submarine(warship underwater) is boarded in 1942 by American soldiers who made themselves up as Germans. They took away the German submarine's code-language machine, which, in the film, helps the Americans get many secret messages from Germany. However, the film was heavily criticized because it was actually the British who got the machine in May 1941 when they boarded U-110. The movie was also criticized for showing a scene where the U-boat sailors killed American sailors in the water after their ship sunk, which is, in 99% cases, impossible to happen. 4. The 300 Spartans The latest controversy surrounds the film The 300 Spartans. The film (directed by Zack Synder) tells the story of the battle between the Greeks and Persians in 480 BC. It is regarded as a key event in the birth of western democracy by some historians. In the film, 300 Spartans under the king fight against the enemies, 120,000 Persians led by Emperor Xerxes. The tiny Spartan forces repeatedly gain advantage over the invaders. These actions delays the Persians' attack and gives the Greek armies enough time to prepare for the defense of Athens. But the Iranians (modern-day Persians) aren't happy with the film. They say the film describes them as savage, killing-loving, and war-loving. Mel Gibson, a great American actor, starred in _ . A. The Brave Heart and U-571 B. The Patriot and Brave Heart C. The 300 Spartans and Brave Heart D. The Patriot and The 300 Spartans Answer: B. The Patriot and Brave Heart A group of kids at McIntyre Elementary School, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have created a special bench to make sure their fellow classmates aren't left out on the playground. Called the "Buddy Bench", students can use the seat as a safe and supportive place to let others know they'd like to be included in playtime, but may be too shy to ask. The concept of the Buddy Bench is simple: Students who want to partake in playground games and activities, but may feel hesitant, can take a seat, which signifies to other children on the playground that they may need something extra to encourage them to participate. The idea for the bench came about last year, when Farrell, school counselor at McIntyre Elementary, was conducting a leadership group to help students overcome shyness and gain confidence. Four fourth-grade students came up with the idea for the Buddy Bench in this workshop, and worked with Farrell to draft a letter to present to the Parent Teacher Staff Organization to make the bench a reality. The PTSO approved the students' proposal, and installed a bright metal bench with a cheerful sign that reads "Buddy Bench" on the school's playground. Since it was installed on Nov. 16, the bench has been effective. The simple concept has resonated with the students, and already has created a better environment within the school community. "Each day, I go to see the buddy bench working," Farrell said. "The lessons _ are learning now will benefit them their entire lives. It is simply a beautiful example of kids wanting to be kind and continue to be kind every day." Which of the following statements can show "the bench has been effective"? A. The workshop kids have set a good example. B. More and more creative ideas have come up. C. The PTSO has decided to provide more buddy benches. D. Some shy students have found friends on the playground. Answer: A. The workshop kids have set a good example.
The nervous-looking young man had waited for a few moments outside the jeweler's shop before he got enough courage to enter.He was warmly greeted by a young assistant. James felt a rush blood to his face as he explained he would bring in his future wife to choose a birthday present.The assistant listened carefully and told him he'd better buy a necklace. He wasn't used to buying jewelry and was a little worried about overspending. After some discussion as to reasonable price and type , the assistant showed him dozens of necklaces and helped him to choose. At last James chose one and left the shop promising to return at five o'clock. When, half an hour later, James did return to the shop with his future wife, Laura, the assistant acted as if she had never seen him before. When she was asked to show them some necklaces, she first brought out some inexpensive ones for them to choose and then gave them the one she had prepared. A choice was soon made and they went away, satisfied. James would certainly come back to buy what he wanted when he got married. Why did the young man look nervous? What do you do if you don't get into your first choice of university? That's the dilemma that faces thousands of British students every year. Many candidates turn to Clearing, the service that helps find university places for students at the last moment. If they don't have the marks to get into their first choice of institution, Clearing tells them about places available at other universities, though they might have to read another subject. But this year has seen a record number of people applying to university. This, combined with the weak economy, an uncertain job market and budget cuts at universities, means that _ than usual. Some sources say six students have applied for each remaining undergraduate university place. The British university admissions service, UCAS, says up to a quarter of this year's university applicants --- almost 190,000 people --- still don't have a place on a degree course. That's a rise of over 46,000 students from last year. Faced with these figures, some British students might be thinking of an interesting alternative: studying abroad. The University of Nottingham, for example,is offering places at its campuses in Ningbo, near Shanghai, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Students here can gain University of Nottingham degrees in business, accounting, engineering and English. Similarly, the University of Bolton says it has 'unlimited' places at its campus in the United Arab Emirates. Given the problems getting into university, the UK's Higher Education Minister, David Willetts, encourages students who haven't made the grade to consider alternatives to university, such as apprenticeships and studying at home. "There are a range of options available," he says. "People are able to reapply. They should think how they can spend their year adding that bit to their CV, which would help their application --- getting practical work experience or extra skills --- anything that strengthens their chances next year." But some experts say that rising university costs, poor long-term job prospects, and a drop in graduate recruitment mean it's the worst time to be a university student in the UK. Which of the following is NOT the reason that may make this year the worst time to enter university? Surfing for hours on the Internet consumes a lot of electricity and is harmful to the environment. However, a new ecological PC saves energy as it operates:it produces about 70 percent less CO2than conventional computers. As a work tool, a leisure activity resource, and a personal assistant, computers seem to be everywhere. Yet the environmental performance for today's computers leaves a lot to be improved: they rapidly become out of date, and typically contain poisonous materials and individual parts that are difficult to recycle. Moreover, they consume plenty of power whose production, in return, causes the release of CO2into the atmosphere. Employees at the MicroPro Company in Ireland, teaming with colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin, have engineered a wooden--frame computer with reduced environment impact. As the first computer for its class, the"iameco"(pronounced I-am-eco) was awarded the "EU Ecolabel", the European Union's environmental label. "This touch-screen PC has very low energy consumption over the entire lifecycle" explains Alexander Schlosser, scientist at IZM. Over the full product life cycle, it releases 70 percent less CO2than a typical desktop PC with monitor. In addition, it can be easily recycled. Of the materials used, 98 percent can be recycled. Indeed, 20 percent of the computer can be reused immediately--in other words, many parts can be reused for repairing other computers--such as parts of the wooden frame. The wooden frame is used because _ . I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled ( ) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other. War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, "Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!" Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder. The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled ( ) under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart. Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn't notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. "Thanks." Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn't always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in cleaning up and holding on. The author tidied up the room most probably because _ . I have had the privilege of meeting some very interesting people over the years. Some of these people made a great impact on my life, my views and personal philosophy. Others I met had the opposite effect because they represented attitudes, behavior and beliefs that were directly opposed to my views on life and my feelings about the value of all people. One such person I met was a woman in her late seventies. She had been an active woman, raised a family and had engaged in helping others, and developed her own crafts to sell at selected craft shows throughout the year. When I met her for the first time, I couldn't believe that she was in her late seventies -- I would have placed her age more in her early sixties. After speaking with her for a short period, it was only then that the conversation seemed to turn to age. And, it wasn't a conversation about thefrailty of age, or the aches and pains, or about pleasures lost. The conversation, instead, focused on her _ for life and all the things that she was in the planning stages of doing. And, what she was planning to do wasn't about going to a seniors group so she and her husband could go on a bus tour. What she was planning was an excursion to Europe, unaccompanied by any tour operator or taken around the usual sights by a local guide. She really impressed me a lot because of her zest for life; for an uncompromising view of the future not in the least affected by her age; for the undying faith in knowing that there was a great deal of life yet to be discovered and experienced and yearning for each new image, discussion, smell, cultural uniqueness or experience. The old woman impressed the author because _ .
Rock and roll music developed in the United States in the early nineteen-fifties. It was based on the music called rhythm and blues that was performed by African American musicians. Early rock and roll singers developed their own kinds of music. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan were the most popular rock and roll musicians in the early 1960's. All were American. Then, in 1964, a new rock and roll group from England invaded America: the Beatles. Some people say the Beatles' music shook America like an earthquake. The Beatles changed rock and roll forever. Their early songs were influenced by American rock and roll musicians, including Chuck Berry. But the Beatles looked different and sounded different from any musical group before them. The Beatles released their first album in the United States in 1964, when all of the top five records in America were by the Beatles. In 1967, they released an album called "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." It was one of the first "concept" albums. That is, all the songs were linked by a common story or idea. The popularity of the Beatles led the way for more rock and roll bands from England to become popular in America. The Rolling Stones was the most important of these bands. The Rolling Stones is one of the few groups from the 1960's that is still performing and recording today. In 1965, the group recorded one of its most famous songs, "Satisfaction". The musical instrument most linked to rock and roll is the guitar. Experts say Jimi Hendrix was one of the most influential guitar players in rock and roll during the late 1960's. His "Purple Haze" was liked by many people. By the 1970's, rock and roll music became known as rock music. It expanded into many new forms. For example, there was country rock, hard rock, acid rock, and heavy metal rock. Punk rock, jazz rock, and glitter rock. In the middle 1970's, experts say rock music regained some of the energy of early rock and roll. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band became popular with their album "Born to Run". Springsteen's music was like the lively rock and roll music of the early nineteen-sixties. Many of his songs were about social issues. He sang about the effects of unemployment and the war in Vietnam. Which of the following matches is NOT true? A the Beatles -- Chuck Berry B the Rolling Stones -- Satisfaction C Jimi Hendrix -- Purple Haze D Bruce Springsteen -- Born to Run Answer: A Which statement best describes the relationship between the total amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold and the temperature of the atmosphere? A The amount of water vapor is not related to atmospheric temperature. B The amount of water vapor increases as the atmospheric temperature increases. C The amount of water vapor increases as the atmospheric temperature decreases. D The amount of water vapor decreases as the atmospheric temperature increases. Answer: B Oxford's Department for Continuing Education runs over 1000 courses per year, offered on a part-time basis. Programmes include Oxford awards and degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level, online short courses, weekly classes, day and weekend events, continuing professional development and summer schools. Oxford awards & degrees Over 50 undergraduate and postgraduate Oxford qualifications: certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, Master's and Doctoral degrees, offered part-time, in the arts, social sciences, diplomatic studies, human rights law, health care and biomedical sciences, which involve overseas students. Course duration ranges from one year to several years part-time. The Department also runs a Graduate School to provide the support and guidance needed by those following part-time graduate programmes. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/qualifications Online & distance learning Choose from over 90 courses across a range of disciplines. Most are short courses of 5-10 weeks, accredited (officially approved). A few longer courses result in Oxford qualifications. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/online Weekly classes Approximately 500 part-time accredited classes, open to all, and held in Oxford, Reading and other locations. Topics are studied in depth over a period of 10 or 20 weeks. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/weekly Day & weekend events Courses of 1 or 2 days, usually held at weekends and taught by lecturers and speakers who are noted authorities in their field of research. Many courses are offered in combination with national organizations. Over 150 offered per year. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dayweekend Professional development courses 200 courses per year, ranging from day schools to short refresher courses to full degree programmes. Subjects include health sciences, public policy, diplomatic studies, nanotechnology, electronics, historic conservation, environmental sciences, public administration, higher education leadership and more. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/cpd Summer schools Accredited and non-accredited courses of between one and three weeks, with over 120 to choose from. Most are designed for the general public; others are designed to allow professionals to update skills. www.conted.ox.ac.uk/summerschools Which programme will you choose if you want to learn from the famous top experts in your field? A Summer schools B Online&distance learning. C Day&weekend events. D Professional development courses. Answer: C There are stories about two U.S . 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". .According to the first story, the term "OK" _ . A was approved of by President Jackson B was the title of some Official documents C was first used by President Jackson D was an old way to spell "all correct" Answer: C A troubled young man in Connecticut laid his hands on the kinds of guns that no civilian should ever have and shot 20 children and 6 adults . It was a tragedy that " broke the hearts of America " , as President Barack Obama said . The obvious way to prevent the next such _ is gun control . And , yes , we need it now . Voters need to be loud , politicians need to be brave , and the gun lobby needs to be defeated . Perhaps Barack Obama , no longer up for election , will no longer be chicken . But American violence doesn't just come from the weapons we buy and the gun shows we frequent . It's much deeper than that . This is also the country that supplies three-quarters of the world's arms trade . These are weapon sales authorized by our government and by a Democratic President . International weapon sales by America between 2010 and 2011 tripled . The same Democratic President continues a policy of targeted ( often poorly ) assassinations in Pakistan . This country also supplies most of the world's violent entertainment . America leads the world in massacres in life , and in film too . The most popular movie this week , " SKyfall , " is a load of fun ; but every emotional climax involves a shooting , sometimes with small guns sometimes with large ones . Firearms have long been identified with manliness in popular culture . Ever more they are identified with womanliness , too . The most popular culture . Every more they are identified with womanliness , too . The most popular video game this week is " Halo 4 ; " the most popular novel is Tom Clancy's " Treat Vector ; " the second and s\third best-selling works of nonfiction are " Killing Kennedy " and " Killing Lincoln , " respectively . Every author , and every creator , should have the right to make what they want . Still , every civilian has a right to choose what to see and what to buy . Violence is sometimes essential to art , and often to foreign policy , too . But the cruel killing in Newtown , the worst single event in this country in eleven years and three months , should lead to a moment of deep reflection . It's time to talk about guns ; but it's also time to talk about a lot more . The best title for the passage would probably be _ . A The Roots of Violent Movies B America's Culture of Violence C Bloody Killing Shocked America D Divide on Gun Control in America Answer: B
Jim is my good friend. We are in the same school. He is an American. We are good friends. This is Jim's bedroom. It's not big, but new. A black desk is in the room. Some English books are on the desk. Jim's backpack is on it. The backpack is yellow, but old. What's under the red chair? It's a white cat. It's a Chinese cat. Its name is Mimi. Jim's father is in the living room. He is about fifty years old. Where is his mother? She is in the bedroom. She is a teacher. Jim's father is _ . Answer: 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. Though he was tired,Howe slept badly.He turned and turned.Then he had a dream.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 it run through a small hole in the center of the needle.This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practical sewing machine. Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.Thomas Edison,the inventor of the electric light,said his best ideas came into him in dreams.So did the great physicist Albert Einstein.Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre. To know 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 understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day.It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed.It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake.However,the unconscious part acts in a special way.It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first.This is why dreams are sometimes called "secret messages to ourselves ". Thomas Edison is spoken of because _ . Answer: Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together. An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe. Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, report they have demonstrated for the first time that plants can recognize their kin. This suggests that plants, though lacking recognition and memory, are capable of complex social interactions. "Plants have this kind of hidden but complicated social life," Dudley said. The study found plants from the same species of beach-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families. Sea rocket, a North American species, showed stronger and healthier root growth when planted in pots with strangers than when raised with relatives from the same maternal family, the study found. This is an example of kin selection, a behavior common in animals in which closely related individuals take a group approach to succeeding in their environment, the researchers said. Kin selection also applies to competition, because if family members compete less with each other, the group will do better overall. "Everywhere you look, plants are growing right up next to other plants," Dudley said," Usually it's a case of each plant for itself. But sometimes those plants are related, and there are benefits to not wasting resources on being competitive, and there is not really a cost to not being competitive as long as your neighbor is also not being competitive." Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn't an option for plants, she noted. Some researchers speculate that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant's family. Which of the following is NOT right about animals' social skill? Answer: Teaching and research are supported by the University's extensive collections--the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Collection of Musical Instruments. All the collections are open to the public. Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery, founded in 1832, today houses a collection that has grown to rank with those of the major public art museums in the United States. Its two connected buildings house ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art, Near and Far Eastern art, archaeological material from the University's excavations , Pre-Columbian and African art, works of European and American masters from actually every period, and a rich collection of modern art. Across the street, the Yale Center for British Art, which was opened in 1977, holds the largest collection of British art and illustrated books anywhere outside the United Kingdom. Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History, founded in 1866, contains one of the great scientific collections in North America. Among its holdings are the University's comprehensive mineralogical and ornithological collections, the second-largest repository of dinosaur artifacts in the United States, and the largest undamaged Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus ) in the world. The Peabody is truly a working museum, where public exhibition, research, conservation, teaching, and learning intersect . Yale Center for British Art Institutions like the Art Gallery, the Center for British Art, and the Peabody Museum hold only a portion of the treasures in the University's collections. From paintings by Picasso, to pterodactyl remains, to a 1689 tenor viol in the Collection of Musical Instruments, Yale's possessions are meant to be accessible to the communities they enrich. Collection of Musical Instruments Exhibitions are also frequently mounted at the following venues on campus: Art + Architecture Gallery (School of Architecture), Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Green Hall Gallery (School of Art), and Sterling Memorial Library, including the Arts of the Book Collection. Which of the following cannot be found in the Yale University Art Gallery? Answer: Do you still get free plastic bags from the supermarkets? Things have changed. China has banned free plastic bags in shops and supermarkets,and people have to pay for using plastic bags. The rule started on June 1st. It came because our country tried to make less litter. Making super-thin plastic bags has also been banned. The Chinese once used about 3,000,000,000 plastic shopping bags a day,and they have caused pollution of the environment. The bags have become a main cause of plastic pollution because they are easy to break and people throw them away here and there. So the Chinese people are encouraged to bring their own bags for shop ping. What kind of shopping bag is the best to bring? Some students in Chongqing have a good idea. They make their own shopping bags. They use old clothes to make cloth bags,and send them to their parents as presents. They also ask their parents and friends to use cloth bags instead of plastic ones. They think it is their duty to protect the environment. ,. The Chinese people are encouraged to bring _ for shopping. Answer:
Hi! I'm Mike the apple tree. I like spring because it's warm. I get pink and white flowers. I get new leaves. The friendly bees visit me. Ahhh! Spring. I like summer because it's hot. My apples grow bigger and bigger. My leaves become greener and greener. People rest under my shade. Hummm! Summer. I like autumn because it is cool. My apples become red. My leaves become colourful. People come and pick my red apples. Wow! Autumn. I have no leaves or apples any more. But, I like winter thanks to the clean white snow. I can sleep and wait for spring. Zzzzz! Winter. The poem is about _ . 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's anger and confusion was probably because _ . Camp Jano India Celebrate Indian culture, languages, arts, festivals and literature. Weekly themes are brought to life through related arts, games, projects, stories and theatre in a very unique, exciting, creative, interactive and structured style. A very unique and memorable experience that kids will want to repeat! Mornings are spent with the Hindi language at the child's level. Afternoons provide the cultural elements taught in an interactive style with special emphasis on drama. Bay Language Academy We invite campers (4-12 years old) to travel and open up doors to explore past and recent civilizations through daily field trips. Cultures will be shown through customs and cooking. Lectures (6/10-8/30) will introduce/reinforce French, Spanish or Chinese and the cultures they convey. Our language summer-camp is infused with cultural activities and taught by a team of bilingual instructors. Petits Confettis Want your 3- to 5-year-old kids to experience a French camp? Come and join us for 6 weeks of French camps! Kids will be totally happy to learn French and French culture while they take part in team projects like building a tipi or making French bread. Weekly themes include cooking, arts, drama, outdoor activities, board games, music, yoga, rhymes and story time. Chinese Immersion Summer Camp This is our 11th Chinese language and culture summer camp. We take children from 6th grade. This year we continue the weekly fun themes like art, science, cooking and sports in the morning. In the afternoon, we have abacus, reading and Chinese culture lessons taught in Chinese. Our teachers are all native speakers with a lot of experience. Our weekly field trips go to different places like SF zoo, tech museums, fire stations etc. A girl who likes yoga will go to _ . If a patch of land gets six inches of rainfall each month, then that is the amount of the As is often the case, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is "What's your name?" Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct. Have you ever thought about people's names? Where do they come from? What do they mean? People's first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones. Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means "bright"; Beatrice means "one who gives happiness"; Donald means "world ruler"; Leonard means "as brave as a lion". The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook ; someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest. Other early surnames came from people's occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter -- a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter -- a person who made pots and pans. The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter's great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture. Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer. Some family names were made by adding something to the father's name. English-speaking people added -s or -son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family's ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnell's and the McDonnell's and the O'Donnell's are _ of the same Donnell. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
It was a comfortable sunny Sunday. I was going to meet an old university friend I hadn't seen for years, and was really excited to hear all his news. My train was running a little late, but that was no big problem - I could text him to say I would be delayed. He would understand. But... where was my mobile phone? I had that familiar sinking feeling. Yes, I'd forgotten it at home. No mobile phone. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling anxious, _ and worried when I don't have my phone with me. In fact, I know I'm not alone: two-thirds of us experience 'nomophobia', the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. That's according to a study from 2012 which surveyed 1,000 people in the UK about their relationship with mobile phones. It says we check our mobile phones 34 times a day, that women are more 'nomophobic'than men, and that 18-24 year-olds are the most likely to suffer fear of being without their mobiles: 77% of them say they are unable to be apart from their phones for more than a few minutes. Do you have nomophobia ? * You never turn your phone off * You obsessively check for texts, missed calls and emails* You always take your phone to the bathroom with you* You never let the battery run out It's funny to think that around 20 years ago the only people with mobile phones would be businessperson carrying their large, plastic 'bricks'. Of course, these days, mobile phones are everywhere. A UN study from this year said mobile phone subscriptions would outnumber people across the world by the end of 2014. And when there are more phones than people in the world, maybe it's time to ask who really is in charge? Are you in control of your phone, or does your phone control you? So, what happened with my university friend? When I arrived a few minutes late he just laughed and said: "You haven't changed at all - still always late!" And we had a great afternoon catching up, full of jokes and stories, with no interruptions and no nagging desire to check my phone. Not having it with me felt strangely liberating. Maybe I'll leave it at home on purpose next time. According to the passage, who is most likely to be addicted to mobiles ? A. a successful manager B. a 21-year-old girl C. a 21-year-old boy D. a lonely middle-aged person Answer: B The part of the rock cycle that transforms compressed rock formed from sea organism shells into a harder, denser rock is A. igneous rock becoming sedimentary rock. B. igneous rock becoming metamorphic rock. C. metamorphic rock becoming igneous rock. D. sedimentary rock becoming metamorphic rock. Answer: D More and more often we heard of people talking about Karaoke(OK). But what on earth it is about, still remains a question for many people. Karaoke is a sort of acoustic equipment which was invented in Japan around the middle of the 1970's. It means "a band without people" in Japanese. In fact, it is just a music tape without words. This equipment first appeared in some public houses and snack bars, and mainly for the customers to enjoy themselves. Most of the music in Karaoke was popular music. Therefore, at times, when anyone felt like it, he might sing songs to the accompaniment of the music that came from the equipment. Shortly after its invention, Karaoke was spread to the whole world. It was introduced to China and was welcomed by many people. Although you are not a good singer, or even sometimes you may sing out of tune, you can always enjoy yourself by singing Karaoke. Karaoke was spread to the whole world _ . A. as soon as it was invented B. long before C. not long after it was invented D. before long Answer: C Bruce and Bruno looked worried those days. Their father went to a town far away. Before leaving, he said he would write to them as soon as he found a job there. But two months passed, they did not hear from him. Now they had nothing except the old house and they had no money to buy any food. They thought for a long time. Then they decided to sell the house and look for their father. So one day the two brothers said goodbye to their friends and started to go. They got to the station and bought two tickets. They were afraid that they would be hungry in the train, so they went to the market to buy something to eat. They saw bananas for the first time. The seller told them the bananas were very delicious, so they bought five kilos and got on the train with them. After a while Bruce brought out a banana and bit a little. Just at that moment the train went into a tunnel and it was dark in the train. He was afraid and called out,"Have you taken a bite of your bananas, Bruno?" "Not yet." "That's good."Bruce said, crying,"I did and went blind!" Bruce cried because _ . A. He couldn't see anything. B. The train went into a tunnel. C. He thought he was blind. D. He bite the banana. Answer: C Some of the new cars being made can run on a renewable fuel that is made mostly from corn. Scientists are developing even more renewable fuels to replace gasoline. Why are renewable fuels most likely becoming more important? A. Renewable fuels release less energy. B. Car fuel tanks are being made smaller. C. The demand for gasoline is decreasing. D. Nonrenewable fuel supplies are limited. Answer: D
Hank Viscardi was born without legs.He had not legs but stumps that could he fitted with a kind of special boots,People stared at him with cruel interest.Children laughed at him and called him'Ape Man' because his arms practically dragged on the ground. Hank went to school like other boys.His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve.After graduating from school,he worked his way through college. He swept floors,waited on table,or worked in one of the college offices.During all this busy life,he had been moving around on his stumps.But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer.He would soon have to use a wheel chair. Hank felt himself got cold all over.However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificiallegs .Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror, for the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be-a full five feet eight inches tall.By this time he was already 26 years old. Hank had to learn to use his new legs.Again and again he marched the length of the room,and marched back again.There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching.He went out on the street.He climbed stairs and learned to dance.He built a boat and learned to sail it. When World War II came,he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training.He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers.Few knew that he was legless.This was the true story of Hank Viscardi,a man without legs. When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers,he A. did everything the other soldiers did B. did most of the things the other soldiers did C. did some of the things the other soldiers did D. took some special training Answer: A A Chinese tourist has died in Hong Kong a day after being beaten up during a so-called "forced shopping" tour. Businessmen try to make money by forcing tourists to buy goods at some stores. Police said the dead, 54, tried to quiet a tourist and a tour guide after the tourist decided not to buy anything at a shop. At least four people have been arrested. The dead, from north-east China, was found lying cold outside the shop in Kowloon on Monday morning. He tried to make peace in a fight between two women -- believed to be the tour leader and one of the tourists, but a group of men pulled them onto the street and beat them, police said. The two women, aged 32 and 53, have been arrested, along with two men, one a 44-year-old Hong Kong and the other a 32-year-old mainlander. Police say they are still searching for two other suspects. On the mainland the man's death cause a boycott of travel to Hong Kong. The HongKong local people hate mainlanders because they think mainlanders push up prices. They say mainlanders are always eating on the underground and making loud noises. China's National Tourism Administration has asked Hong Kong to protect mainland tourists' rights. What's the best title for the passage? _ . A. Mainlanders in HongKong B. A boycott of travel to Hong Kong. C. Tourist beaten to death in HongKong. D. Bad news for HongKong traveling. Answer: C This is a beautiful park near my home. People like to go to the park after work. Some of them go to the park every day. Look! This is Mr. Smith. He is sitting on a chair and watching the children. Some children are playing the game of _ . Some boys are playing yo-yo. Lucy and Lily are standing under a tree. They are talking. There is a small river in the park. We can see some boats in the river. Some children are sitting in the boats with their fathers and mothers. Listen! A lot of birds are singing in the trees. This is really a nice park. I come here to read English after school every day. Which one is right? A. Lucy and Lily are playing hide-and-seek with other children. B. Lucy and Lily go to the park only on Sunday. C. Lucy and Lily are talking under the tree. D. Lucy and Lily live far from the park. Answer: C A recent survey found that the French are the second-most insecure people in Europe after Italy about their proficiency in English. Only 13 percent of the French respondents believed they are proficient in the language, according to the European data agency Eurostat. The situation is no better in business circles, where three-quarters of French executives feel unprepared to hold an interview in English and only 16 percent say they feel comfortable with the language, a separate survey showed. The survey results aren't surprising. The French seem to have always had this cold and gloomy attitude toward the English language. But what struck me is that, despite the French pessimism, living in Paris without being able to speak the language of Moliere is easier these days than in the past. New immigrants are part of the reason. I can have an easy chat with the owner of the laundry in my neighborhood. Buying the medicine I need at the local pharmacy is effortless. Ordering a meal in English at the restaurant two blocks away from my apartment does not make me feel awkward. It is all because the people who run these businesses are immigrants. Greater tolerance and acceptance of non-French speakers is a reflection of the fact that France, willingly or not, has begun to embrace globalization more comfortably. For instance, you will never get the same look you would have had 15 years ago if you ask for directions in English on the streets of Paris. I have also met many native French who are happy to communicate in English. They are usually the kind of people who are open-minded and are sensitive to the changes beyond their own territories. They are very interested in gaining insight into what is happening on the other side of the globe. In my hometown, English is also being hotly debated since Beijing education authorities decided to reduce the importance of English proficiency in college entrance exams and increase that of the Chinese language and literature. The Chinese and the French share similarities in attitudes toward foreign languages. We are both so proud of our own languages and cultures that we can feel uncomfortable when we are forced to communicate in another language. But like it or not, English is still the most widely used language in the world, at least for the foreseeable future. After all, it is not about abandoning one's own language but about being able to fit more easily into this globalized world. What is the passage mainly about? A. French people have great difficulty speaking English. B. English is becoming increasingly acceptable in France. C. Great changes take place in France because of the immigrants. D. English helps France to embrace globalization. Answer: B Do you know Tai Ping Clothes Store? It's a great store. I like it very much. There are lots of things at a very good price in the store. They have sweaters in all colors for 50 yuan . They have bags for sports and school. They sell them for only 4 yuan. They have black T-shirts for only 20 yuan. They have long white socks for just 2 yuan. A red skirt is only 35 yuan. If you want to buy two, You will spend only 65 yuan. You buy many things, and then you will get lots of _ for free . And that's all. You can go to the store and see for yourself. Which things are not mentioned in the article? A. Skirts B. Bags C. Shorts D. Socks Answer: C
An Englishman was showing a foreign visitor around London. "What's that strange building?" asked the visitor. "That's the Tower of London." "I see. How long did it take to build it?" "About 500 years." "In my country we can build it in five months," Shortly after that they came to St. Paul's Cathedral . "Very interesting!" said the visitor. "How long did it take to build it ?" "Near forty years." said the Englishman. "In my country we can finish it in forty days at most," said the visitor. This went on all day. They visited most of the best known buildings in the city. Every time they saw a new one, the visitor asked what it was and how long it took to build it. Then he said that they could do the same thing much faster in his country. At last the Englishman got angry with the visitor though he tried not to show it. Several days later they came to the House of Parliament and the visitor asked his usual question, "What is that?" The Englishman answered, " I have no idea. It wasn't there last night." The visitor said that in his country it would take them _ to build the Tower of London. Answer: less than half a year Which statement best describes the theory of natural selection? Answer: It happens over a long period of time. I do a lot of hiking.And I can step out of my house and within minutes reach a beautiful forest where I walk for exercise every day.I see many photography subjects such as parrots,snakes,hares,big trees and flowers.There are so many different flowers around my place that once I decided to see how many types I could count in a onehourlong walk,and I counted over 100. Needless to say,as a keen amateur photographer,I always take a camera with me.I have three favorites: a Pentax Optio RZ10,a Sony Alpha 390 and a Panasonic Lumix FZ100.I mostly take the Pentax pocket camera with me.This Pentax pocket camera takes images as good as those from much more expensive Single Lens Reflex cameras.It allows you to get to just 1 cm from the subject,and these images are of astonishing clarity .I can stick the camera right into a flower.And the photo shows fantastic details. The Pentax is also good at taking landscapes.The color is natural and price again the details even of distant objects are great.Sometimes,even when I have one of my other cameras with me,I still just use the Pentax pocket camera.About half of all the images on my website were taken with the Pentax. The Pentax takes quality images in poor light and the zoom works well.You have to work hard to get a blurry shot.This is an especially good feature at parties and gatherings.You get fantastic photos of people.You don't have to wait for them to keep still. Keep this camera in your pocket or in the car.It takes up little room;it's light and you'll never regret it! Why does the author walk through the beautiful forest every day? Answer: He takes exercise to keep fit. In 1945, Owen, owner of both Blackacre and Whiteacre, executed and delivered two separate deeds by which he conveyed the two tracts of land as follows: Blackacre was conveyed "To Alpha and his heirs as long as it is used exclusively for residential purposes, but if it is ever used for other than residential purposes, to the American Red Cross." Whiteacre was conveyed "To Beta and her heirs as long as it is used exclusively for residential purposes, but if it is used for other than residential purposes prior to 1965, then to the Salvation Army." In 1950, Owen died leaving a valid will by which he devised all his real estate to his brother, Bill. The will had no residuary clause. Owen was survived by Bill and by Owen's daughter, Delia, who was Owen's sole heir. For the purpose of this set of questions, it may be assumed that the common law rule against perpetuities applies in the state where the land is located and that the state also has a statute providing that "all future estates and interests are alienable, descendible, and devisable in the same manner as possessory estates and interests."""In 1946, the interest of the American Red Cross in Blackacre could be best described as a Answer: void executory interest. Which model best illustrates the wave property that enables scientists to explore Earth's interior using seismic waves? Answer: shining a light through a prism
Question: This fourth of July I moved into a new house with my wife, Nicole. Nicole and I met through a series of _ that would be unlikely without some unbelievable force causing them to happen. The day Nicole and I met, we talked about the Yankees. In the restaurant where we sat, the first game between the Yanks and Tampa Bay was being shown on television. Nicole was happy I was a baseball fan, and she told me that was an important reason when she considered dating me. "My dad wouldn't like me dating anyone who isn't," she said. Nicole's dad, Ira, used to be a coach for the Yankees. Many years ago, a colleague of his was leaving and packing up his office. The only thing left unpacked was a photo on the wall. It was a picture of Sparky Lyle, a famous baseball player. Sparky had signed the photo on the bottom. "You're not taking that?" Ira asked. "You want it?" his colleague offered. "Sure!" Ira said. He jumped at the chance to have a signed photo from a great player who had helped the team win two World Series. Ira told me the story after the movers had gone. He then said to me, "Adam, when I first learned who was dating my daughter, that photo came into my mind," he said. "But by now, I know for sure you're meant to have it." He then presented me with a box. I tore it open. Inside was the signed photo of Sparky Lyle which I had lost years ago. "To Adam, Best Wishes, Sparky Lyle". It was picked up by Nicole's dad years before I'd even met her. The perfect gift -- a sign only making me believe what I already knew ... I was meant for Nicole and her family all along. A big reason why Nicole agreed to be Adam's girlfriend was that _ . A. he was able B. he was a baseball fan C. he got a new house D. they had much in common Answer: B. he was a baseball fan Question: What are the most popular courses at Harvard University, US? Unsurprisingly, Intro to Economics and Intro to Computer Science claim the top two spots. But what about Classical Chinese Ethical and Political Theory (<<>> ), a course focused on ancient Chinese philosophers and their theories? As the third most popular course, it has drawn so many students that Harvard had to move the class to its Sanders Theater, the biggest lecture hall on campus. According to The Atlantic, Professor Michael Puett requires his students to read original texts Such as Confucius' Analects (<<>>) and the Mencius (<<>>). But doesn't that make the class boring ?Not at all, says The Atlantic: "It' s clear that students are attracted by Puett's promise: This course will change your life." Puett introduce his students not just to a completely different culture worldview. More importantly , he puts Chinese thought "in the context of contemporary American life to help 18 and 19-year-olds figure out how to be good human beings and become successful people". Puett told The Atlantic that nowadays , more students are pressured to think big and achieve individual excellence. They usually direct all of their courses, and even their activities after class, towards practical career goals. www.ks5u.com However, Puett believed that being calculating about one's plans is the wrong way to make any sort of important life decision."The Chinese philosophers would say that this strategy makes it harder to remain open to other possibilities," he explained to The Atlantic."Students who do this are not paying enough attention to the daily things that actually inspire them."Our smallest actions ,said Chinese philosophers, have ripple effect .To really change our lives for the better, we have to start with mundane things."Holding open the door for someone or smiling at the grocery clerk can change the course of the day by affecting how we feel," said Puett."Paying attention to small clues can change everything that we can become as human beings." Which of the following is TRUE according to the article? A. The texts the students read have been translated into English. B. Harvard had to move the big class to a theater outside of its campus. C. Classical Chinese Ethical and Political Theory is the most popular course at Harvard. D. It wasn't expected that so many students would be interested in ancient Chinese philosophers and their theories. Answer: D. It wasn't expected that so many students would be interested in ancient Chinese philosophers and their theories. Question: Unless we spend money to spot(,) and prevent asteroids now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. But $500 million worth of new telescopes right now, then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we'll have a way to change its course. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are (i) How likely the event is; (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare but if one did fall. It would be the end of the world. "If we don't take care of these bid asteroids, they'll take care of us," says one scientist. "it's that simple." The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets(,) of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? "the world has less fear from doomsday rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them." Said a New York Times article. We can conclude from the passage that _ A. While pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world. B. Asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future. C. The worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime. D. Workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth. Answer: D. Workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth. Question: "Why do we have to learn this useless thing?" Of all the questions I have heard from my students during my years in the classroom, this was the one most frequently asked. I would answer it by telling them about an experience I once had. It was an experience I had with a students, who I shall call Alan, early in my teaching career. When Alan was in the eighth grade, he majored in "trouble". He had studied how to be a bully and was getting his master's degree in "thievery". Every day I had my students memorize a famous saying from a great thinker. No one complained about this daily routine more than Alan -- right up to the day he was dismissed. Then I lost touch with him for five years. Then one day, he called. He told me that after being sent to juvenile prison , he hated himself so much that he had cut his wrists with a knife. He said, "You know what? Mr. Schlatter, as I lay there with my life running out of my body, I suddenly remembered that useless saying you made me write twenty times one day. 'There is no failure except in no longer trying.' Then it suddenly made sense to me. As long as I was alive, I wasn't a failure, but if I allowed myself to die, I would most certainly die a failure. So with my remaining strength, I called for help and started a new life." At the time he had heard the saying, it as a pebble which made no sense to him. But when he needed guidance in a moment of difficulty, it had become a diamond. And so it is to you. I say, gather all the pebbles you can, and you can count on a future filled with diamonds. What would be the best title? A. Alan B. A Saying C. Pebbles D. A Story Answer: C. Pebbles Question: This is a picture of a classroom. The classroom is big and clean. You can see a teacher's desk, six desks and seven chairs. You can see a girl and a boy ,too. Four books are on the teacher's desk. A pencil case is on the desk. Two pens and two rulers are in the pencil case .A school bag is under a chair. A ball is on the floor. The girl is Mary, She is 11.The boy is Jack. He is 12.They are is Class Two. They are friends. The teacher is Miss Smith. She is not here. _ is eleven. A. Mary B. Jack C. Miss smith D. Mr Smith Answer: A. Mary
Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Song tang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21. Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially - decorated" care huts". They talked with them and gave massages to patients kept in their beds. I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up. said Deng Yetao, 20, a third - year student. "But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies. They are afraid of the coming death. Their loneliness is worse than physical pains." "Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us. Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share. _ Said Mao Xiaohua, another third - year student. Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon. The fact that most of the patients in the 80 - room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers' hearts heavy. Ninety - one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital. Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programmer. A total of 330, 000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital. Many continue to offer services in their spare time. Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives. Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt" the glory of life" as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness while he was holding his hands. When volunteers know most of the aged people are dying patients, they feel _ . A. sad B. disappointed C. satisfied D. worthless Answer: A Before I even started school, people felt that I was not going to _ . At the age of four, I started speech lessons because even I could not speak well enough to be understood. First grade was a struggle. I not only had difficulty speaking, but I was expected to learn to read and I just couldn't do it. My parents grew more and more frustrated. They bought books and offered great rewards if I could read one of them from start to finish to them. Well, with my speech problems and now my reading problems, I did not like to do reading and so refused to do it whenever possible. Second grade was not much better. It was in the second grade that the teacher decided that I needed special education. I remember the days of taking the physical exams. However, after all that, they decided that I did not qualify for special education. It was in third grade that a new school was built close to where I lived. I remember going there with my parents and helping to get the school ready so that we could transfer . It was a happy day that we started school at Vandalia. However, things did not get better as my parent expected. It was now time for fifth grade. Mrs. Wakefield was my teacher, and if ever there was a teacher that deserved a gold star, it was her. She did not make me feel upset. Instead, she helped me in so many ways and built my self-confidence so that I actually did believe that I could do something special. And that is just what I did. For the past 22 years, I have been a fifth grade teacher. Because of Mrs. Wakefield's influence in my life, I am now encouraging students who have had difficulties in their lives to believe that they can overcome and become someone. I have won a large number of awards but I know that all of them belong to one fifth grade teacher who believed in me and challenged me to be all that I could be. I still have a class picture of her with her fifth grade class hanging on the wall of my office, encouraging other teachers to reach out to their students. In which grade did the turning point in writer's life appear? A. In Grade Two. B. In Grade Three C. In Grade Four D. In Grade Five Answer: D A couple of years ago, before a trip to China, Nicole Davis and her US women's volleyball teammates were warned about the prominence (, ) of coach "Jenny" Lang Ping in her native country. "I was pushed over by Chinese journalists while I was just trying to put my luggage on the bus," said Davis. Known as the "Iron Hammer" for her punishing spikes , Lang made it possible for China to dominate in the sport in the early 1980s. She was a key player on China's 1984 Olympic gold medal winning team. When the US team arrived for the Olympics, Lang, 48, who is from Beijing, had to take a different route to avoid a crowd of reporters and fans. Then came the greatest moment to Lang:while the US team was playing in a packed gym, at least 8,000 Chinese fans _ an American flag. "That really says it all," Davis said. "They look at her as an icon .I'm sure it's hard for them to see her coaching another country, but they love her so deeply that her success is their success." The loyalty of the Chinese fans was tested on Friday, when China lost a match to the US. "It's a pity that China lost the match, but I'm still glad that Lang Ping's team won, since she is the pride of China's volleyball," said Liu Chengli, a spectator. "We also cheered for Lang's victory." Lang said she just tried to stay professional when the two teams meet. "It doesn't matter if we play China or any other team. It's the same." Lang said. Davis said she and her teammates could not have imagined the passion for volleyball among Chinese because the sport was lack of popularity in the US. The reception from Chinese fans has touched the US players, said a US volleyball player Lindsey Berg. "It's such an honor to be here and play for our coach here in China," she said. "The amount of support that the Chinese give to her and us has been tremendous. The whole event has been unbelievable." Lang Ping avoided meeting the reporters and fans probably because she _ . A. was afraid to be questioned about her strategy B. didn't want to be paid much attention to C. disliked to be with her fans D. didn't want to disturb public order Answer: B As rules, laws are people's rights and responsibilities toward society. Laws are agreed on by society and made official by governments. Some persons look on laws with fear, hatred, or annoyance. Laws seem to limit people's freedom to do many things they would like to do. Though laws may prevent us from doing things we wish to do at the moment, laws make everyone's life safer and more pleasant. Without laws we could not hold on to our property; we could not go to bed at night expecting to wake up in the morning and find that we had not been robbed; no stores in which we buy food, clothes, and other necessities could stay open and sell to us. Our banks would not be safe places to keep our money. Social life would be impossible without laws to control the way people treat one another. It is not the laws that should be feared but the trouble that comes to everyone when laws are broken. Once this is understood, a citizen will not fear or hate the law. Understanding the need for good laws and the evil results of breaking laws is the first requirement of good citizenship and government. Philosophers once believed that in prehistoric time people lived without laws in a "state of nature". People were free to do as they pleased unless someone stronger stopped them by force. As a result, life became so dangerous and unsafe that leaders had to create laws to protect life and property. This is no longer believed to be true. Scholars now think that as soon as people began living in small groups, they worked out rules for getting along with one another. In time everyone accepted and supported the rules. Manners, customs and beliefs controlled the living habits and behavior of the group. Such rules and habits of life are called folkways. Folkways are probably the real meaning of human laws, as well as of religion, morals, and education. As life became more complex, folkways became more complete guides to living. After thousands of years, some of the important folkways were put into writing as the earlier laws. And as life grew more and more complicated with faster transportation and the rise of modern industry and big cities, more human acts and interests had to be ruled by law. This led to a great increase in the number of laws. But we know that unless laws are enforced, they cannot protect us. Poorly enforced laws invite crime and violence. So we agree that the best protection against crime is planned social change and law reform -- to reduce the causes of crime and to encourage people to obey the laws. Such a solution would join a sound system of law enforcement with forces working to prevent crime. To attain this goal, all citizens must understand the need for good laws and for their enforcement. A sound system of law enforcement is necessary because _ . A. some citizens fear or hate the law. B. poorly enforced laws cause crime and violence. C. we need someone stronger to stop crime by force. D. the evil results of breaking laws are getting fewer and fewer . Answer: B What's on stage An acrobatic show: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe will present "The Soul of China", where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills will run down your spine as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge. Time: 7: 30 p. m., September 13-19 Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District Exhibitions Joint Show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display. Time :9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. until September 10 Place:prefix = st1 /HuangshichengArtGallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District Oil paintings:The Wanfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are, more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles. Time:9:00 a. m. - 4:00 p. m. until September 15 Place:136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949. Time: 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., daily Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (Shaoyaoju area) Concert Beijing rocks: "The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock" is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm. Time:September 11-14 Place:The Olympic Center Suppose it is September 14th today, how many activities can people choose to attend? A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5. Answer: C
Three men were travelling across the desert when their car broke down. There were no other traffics, so their only hope was to walk. Before they set off, they looked around in the car for useful things to take with them. One of the men took a bottle of whisky. Another took an umbrella. The third unscrewed a door from the car and carried that. After they had been walking for almost a day, they came across a camel caravan travelling towards them. "Let's try to join the caravan," one of the men said. "It's going the wrong way but we'll be safer than if we keep on alone across the desert." The other s agreed, so they asked the leader of the caravan for permission to join it. "You can join the caravan only if you answer three questions," he said. He pointed to the first man's bottle. "What is that and why are you carrying it?" he asked. "It's a bottle of whisky. I decided to carry it with me so that if I feel miserable and want to give up, I can get drunk, cheer myself up and then keep on walking." "Very sensible," the leader of the caravan said. Then he pointed to the next man and his umbrella. "It hasn't rained in the desert for many years," he said. "Why are you carrying an umbrella?" "I don't want to get heat exhaustion," he replied. "The umbrella will give me shade from the sun." "Very sensible," the leader of the caravan said. He pointed to the third man and his car door. "And why are you carrying a car door?" he asked him. "I thought that if I got too hot I could open the window and let some air in," he explained. Each of the men took _ . Answer: iD Tech camps Camp Address: 910 E Hamilton Ave. Suite 300 Campbell, California 95008,USA Phone: (888) 709-8324 This summer, encourage the excellent in your child! At iD Tech Camps>> students age 7-17 can learn to code, design video games, engineer robots, model 3D characters, build websites, and Print 3D Capers meet new friends, learn STEM skills, and gain self-confidence. Alexa Cafestem Camp Camp Address:California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois Phone: (212) 796-8350 This summer, encourage the excellent in your daughter. At Alexa Cafe, girls ages 10-15 d,discover technology in a unique environment that celebrates creativity, and puiamhropy . Girls learn engineering principles, code games, design websites' model and print 3D objects. A Water Planet Dolphine Therapy Camp Camp Address: 203 Greenwood Drive, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407, USA Phone: (850) 230-6030 1-week camp in Panama City Florida where children with Special Needs swim with dolphins. Water Planets dolphin therapy programs use the emotional impact of a dolphins meeting in his own environment combined with expressive art, massage, and music as a beneficial experience. iD Tech Mini Camp Address: a lot of places>> California and more, USA Phone:(323) 287-5580 This summer, encourage the awesome in your child! We've full every half-day camp session with tons of tech awesomeness. Kids ages 6-9 can discover programming, game design, or robotics. And with an emphasis on creativity and exploration, every camper becomes a maker of fun. What is the common advantage of the four camps? Answer: Which is the best example a chemical change has occurred? Answer: Your dog is as smart as any two year old, according to a new study. Dogs bring much happiness to their owners, and even improve human health. Most two year olds keep us busy in life -- an important part of living a long and happy life. According to Stanley Coren, Ph.D.of the University of British Columbia, our dogs are smarter than we thought. Dr.Coren reviewed many studies to find out that dogs are as smart as 2 to 2.5 year olds. Forget about one word orders -- according to Coren, the smartest dogs can learn up to 250 words. Most dogs understand an average of 165 words. "The upper limit of dogs" ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a Border Collie named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words, and 'fast-track learning', which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language-learning apes . Dogs are also great at tricking. During play, they have the ability to trick humans and other dogs in order to get treats. "And they are nearly as successful in tricking humans as humans are in tricking dogs, saysCoren. Dogs can also count to four or five, which might explain how they know when their toys are missing. Coren explains,"Their astonishing flashes of smartness and creativity are reminders that they may not be Ensteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought." Animals can do much to keep us happy, health, and protect us from harm. Stories of dog heroes can be found using a simple Internet search. Pets teach us sense of duty, keep us from loneliness, and can help with treatment of the disabled. Dogs are smarter than we thought -- as smart as a two year old. What does Dr. Coren say about a dog's counting ability? Answer: When we talk about stars ,especially women stars ,it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely. Simon Cowell ,one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice. "This lady camp up ,and I'm thinking, 'This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea'. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face through -it was one of my favorite moments," Cowell said. The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world. Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn't thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. "I mean, that's hardly a makeover," she added.Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, "I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence." According to the passage, which is NOT true? Answer:
Some recent surveys show that the health conditions of many white collar employees and office workers are rather dangerous. Death cases among white collar employees and office workers are increasing year by year and these cases are generally believed to have been caused by overwork and spending little time taking rest or doing exercise. If their offices are within the distance of half an hour's walk, some office workers now choose to go to work on foot. Ms. Deng, who works in a foreign enterprise in Beijing, has been walking to her office for more than six months now. " I usually have a tight work schedule and can't find time to do exercise. So I choose to walk to work. " As she said, if the office is not far from home, most women would like to go to work on foot. Walking is good for their health and can help them to keep good figures as well. Apart from walking to office,one can also find time to do exercise when one is at work. The simplest way is to desert the lift. Mr. Wei, who works in the Passenger Service Department at Shenzhen Airlines, is one of such men who frequently climb stairs. " I only use the lift whenever I'm with my colleagues or my boss. Otherwise, I would climb stairs instead of taking the lift. " In addition, some office workers try to find time to go to a gym at the end of a day. Ms. Sang works in a law firm in Shenzhen. She goes to the gym several times a week when she has the time. " I go to the gym every weekend. During the weekdays,I will also go there whenever I have the time. " Ms. Sang and her husband both have a gym membership card for a whole year. The cards cost them 3000 yuan. However, they think it's worth it. The best title of the passage is _ . Answer: Office Workers Try to Keep Healthy One day a strong cowboy was traveling on his horse when he saw a bar. He decided to stop for a few drinks, so he tied his horse outside the bar, walked into the bar and ordered two bottles of beer. This cowboy was new in town. He looked around and noticed some people making faces to him. He guessed that they might play some tricks on him, but he said nothing and continued to drink. After drinking, he walked out of the bar and found his horse lost. However, he kept calm, came back into the bar, and said slowly, " I don't know what you fools did to my horse out there... but I'm leaving in five minutes, and by then if my horse isn't back where it's supposed to be, well ... I have to do here what I did in Texas!" The cowboy added, "And I don't want to do what I did in Texas!" After hearing these words, the other customers seemed a little bit frightened. The cowboy went back to his seat and ordered another two bottles of beer. After five minutes, he walked out and found his horse tied where it was supposed to be. Just as he was leaving, the boss of the bar came up and asked curiously , "What was the thing that you did in Texas but you didn't want to do here?" The cowboy turned to the boss and replied in a low voice, " I had to walk home!" ,. (5) In Texas, the cowboy had to _ when he couldn't find his horse. Answer: walk home Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. One family between us and the ticket counter made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. Their clothes were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly said, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady told him the price. The wife's head dropped, and the man's lip began to quiver . The father asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady told him the price again. The man didn't have enough money. Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground (We were not wealthy either). My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket." The man knew what was going on. He wasn't begging for money but certainly thanked the help in a difficult, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, and with a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, "Thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family." My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn't go to the circus that night, but we didn't go without. What did the writer mean by saying "we didn't go without"? Answer: They returned home with another kind of joy. If you're into sports, you've seen it happen--tennis players jump over the net to shake hands after a hard match; football players exchange clothes after 90 minutes of knocking each other around; even boxers touch gloves at the beginning of each round. Players in every event, from spelling _ to golf, act in this way. It's all part of sportsmanship, a great tradition in sport and competition. It means playing and being calm all through the match. Everyone feels great when they win. In the last few years, you might see some players celebrate a goal with a long victory dance or talk big about their ability. However, it's always hard for people to say in public that they made a bad play. Good sportsmanship is what they really need. It's the golden rule of sports. Good sportsmanship means that you play by the rules, talk politely to everyone during games and stay cool even when you lose the game. At the school sports meeting, for example, it's more important for you to know how to work as part of a team and cheer your teammates on. That may help you enjoy more success at your future work. In competition--as in life--you may not always win, but believe me, sportsmanship will help you get through, and there is always the next match. ,. When people need good sportsmanship? Answer: When they are in public places So the little girl now walked on, her bare feet quite red and blue with the cold. She carried a small bundle of matches in her hand, and a good many more in her tattered dress. No one had bought any of them the live long day; no one had given her a single penny. Trembling with cold and hunger crept she on, the picture of sorrow: poor little child! The snow-flakes fell on her long, fair hair, which curled in such pretty ringlets over her shoulders; but she thought not of her own beauty, or of the cold. Lights were glimmering through every window, and the savor of roast goose reached her from several houses;it was New Year's eve, and it was of this that she thought. In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected beyond the other. She sat down, drawing her little feet close under her, but in vain, she could not warm them. She dared not go home, she had sold no matches, earned not a single penny, and perhaps her father would beat her,besides her home was almost as cold as the street,it was an attic; and although the larger of the many chinks in the roof were stopped up with straw and rags. The wind and snow often penetrated through. Her hands were nearly dead with cold; one little match from her bundle would warm them. Perhaps, if she dared light it, she drew one out, and struck it against the wall, bravo! It was a bright, warm flame, and she held her hands over it. It was quite an illumination for that poor little girl; no, I call it rather a magic taper, _ , so beautifully blazed the fire within! The child stretched out her feet to warm them also; alas, in an instant the flame had died away, the stove disappeared, the little girl sat cold and comfortless, with the burnt match in her hand. Which below is not the reason why the little girl dared not go home? Answer: She didn't finished selling her matches.
Monty Hempel is a professor of environmental sciences at Redlands University in California. He studies ecological literacy--or ecoliteracy, for short. Ecoliteracy is the ability to think about and understand the natural processes that make life possible. Monty Hempel says ecoliteracy gives people knowledge about environmental problems. But he says it does not always work to get them to change their behavior. Mr. Hempel wrote part of the Worldwatch Institute's latest State of the World report. He says in his article, "Some people think that ecoliteracy is just a green form of science literacy. And what I have tried to ask is whether that's enough. In other words, what an ecologically-literate person needs to know might include things like the cycles and the flows, the energy systems, all of those kind of things that we would call the science of ecology. " "That doesn't seem to lead to action to protect our environment--to protect our life-support system to the level that we need to. Just because we know a lot about the environment doesn't mean that we actually act to save it. After all, actions speak louder than knowledge. " He adds that people may not be very worried about environmental problems if they seem far away. "Some people call it psychological distance. A lot of climate issues are worse in the Arctic and most of us don't spend time in the Arctic. And so, there's a certain distance. But there's also a distance that's happening in the world as it urbanizes--people spending more time in front of screens and less time out in nature. We become, if you will, disconnected from the natural systems that used to be the key to success for a human being. " To help children discover the wonders of nature, he adds that children should learn about nature in school. But he also points out we have a high mountain for people to climb from knowledge to action. Mr. Hempel thinks people show no concern about some environmental problems because _ . Answer: some environmental problems happened far away An African-American man named John Henry was the hero of former slaves and the people who built the railroads in the US in the 19th century. John Henry was born a slave. He was known for his strength. Many people say he represents the spirit of growth in America during that period. John Henry grew up in a world that _ . Before he was six years old, he was carrying stones for workers building a nearby railroad. By the time John Henry was a young man, he was one of the best railroad workers in the country. John Henry was asked to lead workers on a hard project, creating a tunnel through a mountain. The project required about 1,000 laborers and lasted three years. Hundreds of men became sick as a result of the hot weather and tiredness. John Henry was the strongest and fastest man. Concerned his friends might lose their jobs, he picked up their hammers and began doing their work. He worked day and night, rarely stopping to have a rest. One day, a salesman came to the work area with a new drilling machine powered by steam. He said it could drill holes faster than twelve men working together.[: _ Z _ X _ X _ K] John Henry looked at the machine and saw images of the future. He saw machines taking the place of America's best laborers. He saw himself and his friends unemployed and sanding by a road, asking for food. He decided he would never let the machine take their jobs. Therefore, a competition between a man and a machine began .At first, the steam-powered drill worked twice faster. Then, John Henry started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. People cheered when the machine broke down and was pulled away. But they were sad to find John Henry fall to the ground, with blood spilling all around, and still holding a hammer in one of his hands."I beat them,"he said. Then he took his last breath. Why did hundreds of workers become sick? Answer: Because the weather was hot and they were tired. Mrs. Hunt comes back from work. She tells Mr. Hunt about a nice dress. "I see it in the shop every day," she says "and..." "And you want to buy it?" says Mr. Hunt. "How much is it?" "Two hundred and sixty dollars." "Wow, two hundred and sixty dollars for a dress? That's too much!" But every evening when he comes back, Mrs. Hunt only speaks about the dress, so at last he says, "Oh, buy the dress! Here is the money!" She is very happy. But the next evening, when Mr. Hunt wants to have a look at the nice dress, Mrs. Hunt says "I don't want to buy it." "Why not?" he asks. "Well, it's still in the window of the shop after a week. So I think no one wants this dress. And I don't want it, either." What does Mr. Hunt think of the dress? Answer: too much Many of you have heard a Cinderella story, but what you may not know is that there are over a hundred different ways to tell the Cinderella story. Each of these stories is written by a different author. The story of Cinderella has many different versions. The version that most people know is the oldest one written in 1697 by Charles Perrault from France. This is the version where the birds help make Cinderella's dress and the mice turn into carriage men and help Cinderella go to the ball in the pumpkin that turns into a carriage. In this version, many of the animals are Cinderella's friends. They help her meet the Prince, who Cinderella marries, and together they live happily ever after. In another version of this story, written in the 1850s by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm from Germany, there are birds that help Cinderella throughout the story. Cinderella's mother is not living at the beginning of the story. She visits her mother's grave three times a day to say a prayer for her. Cinderella's father has given her a brunch when he goes to the festival. She plants the brunch and her tears water the brunch until it grows into a tall tree. The birds now live in the tree and they give Cinderella a dress of gold and silver and slippers of the same colours. Cinderella goes to the festival to meet and dance with the Prince. Later, Cinderella marries the Prince and they have a nice life ever after. Have you read other versions of the Cinderella story? More than one author can tell a story in a different way from their viewpoints . That is why there are many versions of the same story. The first version of the Cinderella story was written by _ . Answer: Charles Perrault In fall 2006,the National Basketball Association (NBA)started using basketballs made with synthetic ,or man-made ,material instead of leather .They made the change be- cause they wanted every basketball they use to feel and bounce the same.Not all leather balls are exactly alike in weight or how they bounce,but the synthetic balls are. However,some players complained right away that the new balls bounced differently and were actually harder to control than the leather ones. Physics helped answer questions about why the new balls felt different.For example,the scientists studied friction ,which in this case affects the ability of a player to hold onto a ball."The greater the friction,the better it will stick to his hand,"explains a scientist. Tests on both wet and dry balls showed that while the synthetic ball was easier to hold onto when dry,it had less friction and became much harder to hold onto when wet.That's because _ stays on the surface of the synthetic balls but gets taken into the leather balls. The scientists also tested bounce and found that the logo printed on the new balls made their surface uneven and caused them to bounce a little strangely com- pared with the leather balls. In January,the NBA went back to using the leather balls.They aren't perfect,but for now,that's just the way the ball bounces. The synthetic ball bounces differently from the leather one mainly because _ Answer: there's a logo on it
Can feeling of nostalgia be good for you? Or is it unhealthy to have a strong love for the past? For years, medical experts have studied nostalgia and the reasons for it. Many experts warn that too much nostalgia is harmful. They say living in the past shows that a person is unhappy with his present life. These feelings keep the person from living his life to its fullest. However, experts say it is normal to love the past sometimes. In fact, a little nostalgia can enrich a person's life. Dr. Louise Kaplan has written several books about nostalgia. She says these feelings often begin when a young person is between 13 and 19 years old. "This is the time when you must face the loss of your childhood, "Kaplan says. "You see your new life is easily destroyed. But you think romantically about a golden past. You remember your childhood as a time when life is perfect." These feelings continue as the person gets older, Kaplan adds. She says many grown persons have a hard time keeping up with changes in the modem world, so they think back to their younger years. At that time the world seemed simple and more harmless. Kaplan says these feelings do not always actually exist. The good old days did not always exist. The good old days weren't always good. However, she says nostalgia can be helpful, if used properly. "Feelings of nostalgia can cause you to remember a time when you had high hopes and dreams, "Kaplan says. "It might give you the strong wish to catch those dreams today in your past life." She adds that nostalgia can prevent you from "cutting yourself off from your aim". The reason for grown persons to think back to their past is that _ . Answer: We all dream about things that we would like to do and things we hope to achieve in the future. But are everybody's dreams the same? Here are some of the findings of a survey about hopes and dreams,and thousands of students across China took part in it. _ We received several different answers to the question:What would you like to do after finishing your education? It seems some students would like to start work as soon as possible, so that they can help provide better lives for their parents. Other students hope to continue studying after finishing school and to go to university. Although money is important, many teenagers said they want to do jobs they enjoy. According to the survey, the most popular choice of job is computer programming. _ Teenagers have all kinds of dreams. Some are more realistic than others. For example, many students said they would like to be volunteers if Beijing could hold the World Cup, maybe working as translators or tour guides. And quite a few said they dream of going to the moon one day. According to the survey, less realistic dreams are also common, but many students reported that they were willing to work hard to achieve their dreams. Quite a few dream of becoming famous, perhaps famous sports people or singers. Some said they'd like to go on exciting trips; one student said she'd love to sail across the Pacific Ocean. And then there are dreams that are impossible; three students said they'd like to be able to fly! _ It was clear from the survey that teenagers have similar hopes. It seems that most students hope to have a good education and find a good job. Besides,students dream of very different things:good things, and even crazy things. It is very important to dream, so hold on your dreams; one day they may just come true. Some students would like to start work to _ as soon as possible. Answer: Mike was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always happy and always had something interesting to say. If someone asked him how he was doing, he would reply, "Couldn't be better!" He was really a care-free young man and never felt tired. Mike used to say, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be upset.' I choose to be happy. Each time something happens, I am always ready to learn a good lesson. I choose to learn from life." I tried to understand what he said. Indeed life is all about choices. Every situation is a choice. The bottom line is: You're living your life and you make it either happy or sad. Several years later I had a car accident and my legs were seriously injured. When I was lying on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or choose to die. I chose to live. People like to say, "Choose the one you love and love the one you choose." Why not choose the one we love and live happily? What kind of man was Mike? Answer: Poor Alice was very unhappy. "What a wonderful garden!" she said to herself. "I'd like to be out there - not in this dark room. Why can't I get smaller?" It was already a very strange day. and Alice was beginning to think that anything was possible. After a while she locked the door again, got up and went back to the glass table. She put the key down and she saw a little bottle on the table. Round the neck of the bottle was a piece of paper with the words DRINK ME in large letters. But Alice was a careful girl. "It can be dangerous to drink out of strange bottles," she said. "What will it do to me?" She drank a little bit very slowly. The taste was very nice. like chocolate and oranges and hot sweet coffee. and very soon Alice finished the bottle. "What a strange feeling!" said Alice. "I think I' m getting smaller and smaller every second." And she was. A few minutes later she was only 25 centimeters high. "And now," she said happily, "I can get through the little door into that beautiful garden." She ran at once to the door. When she got there. she remembered that the little gold key was back on the glass table. She ran back to the table for it, but of course, she was now much too small! There was the key, high above her, on top of the table. She tried very hard to climb up the table leg, but she could not do it. At last, tired and unhappy, Alice sat down on the floor and cried. But after a while she spoke to herself angrily. "Come now," she said, "Stop crying at once. What's the use of crying?" She was a strange child, and often talked to herself like this. Soon she saw a little glass box near her on the floor. She opened it and found a very small cake with the words EAT ME on it.[:. . ] Nothing could surprise Alice now. "Well, I'II eat it," she said. "If I get taller, I can take the key off the table. And if I get smaller, I can get under the door. _ I'll get into the garden. So it doesn't matter what happens!" She went on eating, but nothing happened. What's the main idea of this passage? Answer: When Abraham Lincoln was just a boy, he had to help his father to look after their farm. It was hard work and there wasn't anything interesting for him. Abraham wanted to go to school, but there was no school there. He was sad most of the time. Mrs. Lincoln loved the boy very much. She tried her best to make Abraham happy. One morning she got up early and went to the town. It was a long way, so it took her a long time to get there. She bought something there and went back. It was late in the evening when she got home. The next morning Mrs. Lincoln said to Abraham,"Today is your birthday, so we're going to have a party."She put some food on the table, and then brought out a present. "A book!"Abraham cried. It was an old book, but he liked it. A smile came on his face. He looked up at Mrs. Lincoln and said,"Thank you, Mom." Abraham Lincoln's father was a _ . Answer:
After years of research and testing, the hybrid car was developed and put on the market. It's an interesting and exciting new improvement in today's world as we look for better ways to protect the quality of the air we breathe and conserve our natural resources. The quality of our air is affected by many different things. But one of the largest sources of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline which are used to power a car's engine. The EPA has set national standards to help control the level of harmful pollutants sent off into the air, and the automobile industry has acted by producing a hybrid car that uses less gas and therefore causes less pollution. A hybrid car is a combination of a regular car that runs on gasoline and an electric car that is battery powered. Some people tend to think that since the hybrid car is partially electric, you have to plug it in to charge it. But that's not how it works. The 144 volt battery pack is actually recharged( ) through the energy that is produced when the car's brakes are used. This is referred to as "regenerative braking", because it generates electricity. Although the hybrid car still runs on gasoline most of the time, this helps it use less gas than a regular car. When the driver stops at a traffic light, the engine automatically ( ; )shuts off to save fuel. Then, as soon as the driver puts the car in gear and touches the gas pedal, the engine starts back up. Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who ran out of gas? That probably wouldn't happen if you were riding in a hybrid car. It flashes a warning on its computer screen that says, "I am low on gas". When it completely runs out, the warning reads, "YOU ARE NOW OUT OF GAS!" Then the electric power supply kicks in to let the driver travel a few more miles to a gas station. According to the passage, the word "hybrid" refers to _ . A a high tech discovery B energy saving C a new invention D a combination of two things Answer: D. a combination of two things The behavior of a building's users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own--though extremely important--is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behavior of the people using the building has to change too. The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency, _ instead focus on architectural and technological developments. "Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,"explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher, "consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design." In other words, old habits die hard, even in the best designed eco home. Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill payers don't have the knowledge they need to change their energy use habits. Without specific information, it's hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors, could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behavior directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters. Social science research has added a further dimension, suggesting that individuals' behavior in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted--whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat , for example. Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused program to teach people about buildings and their own behavior in them. The information gap in energy use _ . A affects the study on energy monitors B brings about problems for smart meters C can be bridged by feedback facilities D will be caused by building users' old habits Answer: C. can be bridged by feedback facilities On a cold Christmas Eve in 1952, when the country was in the civil war, a young woman struggled along a village street, soon to give birth to a child. She pleaded with passers-by ,"Help me! Please, My baby." But no one helped her. A middle-aged couple walked by. The pushed away the young mother and asked," Where's the father?" The couple laughed and went on. The young woman almost cried as she watched them go. "Please..." she pleaded. But they didn't return. Shaking and in pain, she struggled over the frozen countryside. But the night was so cold. Snow began to fall. She had to go under a bridge. There, alone, her, baby was born on Christmas Eve. Worried about her newborn son, she took off her own clothes, wrapped them around the baby and held him close in the warm circle of her arms. The next day, as a peasant walked along, he heard the cry of a baby. He followed the sound to a bridge. Under it, he found a young mother frozen to death. She was still carrying her newborn son. The peasant tenderly lifted the baby out of her arms. When the baby grew up, the peasant told him the story of his mother's death on the Christmas Eve. The young boy cried, realizing what his mother had _ for him. Later every year the young man went to the bridge where his mother had died to remember her. What would be the best title for the passage? A A Cold Christmas Eve B A Very Kind Peasant C A Mother and Her Son D A Great Mother's Love Answer: D. A Great Mother's Love C Last year my summer holiday was spoiled by my bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good: the iPad.Instead of looking at nature, I checked my e-mail.Instead of paddling a small boat, I followed my Twitter feed .Instead of reading great novels, I stuck to reading four newspapers each morning.I was behaving as if I were still in the office.My body was on vacation, but my head wasn't. So this year I made up my mind to try something different: withdrawal from the Internet.I knew it wouldn't be easy, since I'm bad at self-control.But I was determined.I started by giving the iPad to my wife. The cellphone signal at our house was worse than in the past, making my attempts at cheating an experience in frustration .I was trapped, forced to go through with my plan.Largely breaking away from e-mail, Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites, I had few ways to connect to the world except for the radio--and how much radio can one listen to, really? I had to do what I had planned to do all along: read books. This experience has had a happy ending.With determination and the strong support of my wife, I won in my vacation struggle against the Internet, realizing finally that it was I, not the iPad, that was the problem.I knew I had won when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi."I don't need it," I said. However, as we return to post-vacation life, a harder test begins: Can I continue when I'm back at work? There are times when the need to know what's being said right now is great.I have no intention of giving up my convenience completely.But I hope to resist the temptation to check my e-mail every five minutes, which leads to checking my Twitter feed and a website or two. I think a vacation is supposed to help you rest your brain to become more productive.Here I hope this one worked. When back at work, the author will probably choose to _ . A keep control of when and how to use the Internet B continue to road more and more books C stay away from the Internet for ever D stop checking what is being said right now completely Answer: A. keep control of when and how to use the Internet Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I'm not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don't come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that's just the reality of how life is. However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it'll require even more time, time that most people won't put in. This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it. When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It's sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there's a huge chance that you're wrong anyway. Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you're not willing to put in the time and work, don't expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won't guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into. ks5u What is the main theme of the passage? A Having a goal is vital to success B Being good is different from being great C One cannot succeed without time and practice D Luck, talent and family help to achieve success Answer: C. One cannot succeed without time and practice
Question: For many businessmen online education has been a dream. Now it has come true. The investment in higher education, whether financial or in terms of time, has long been impossible for many of them. But well-known educational institutions have chosen to deliver an internet-based program, and these barriers have been lifted. That is good news for people eager to improve themselves and is more attractive to employers. It is also a benefit to industry with better qualified candidates applying for jobs at every level. Having the benefits of a higher qualification without going to the university campus is attractive to many students. Campus study means greater cost, while online programs are flexible and save time, whether at home or at work. Students can achieve their degrees without causing too much _ to their career or home life. In addition to affordable, flexible classes and greater convenience, students also have access to the online learning resources of many of the world's top educational institutions. They can also communicate with their tutors no matter what time it is or whether either party is away for any reason. This has opened up the possibility of getting a qualification from a university or college that many students could only have dreamed of in the past. It also allows specialists to get the precise qualifications and focus on their studies. As well as seeing the increase of applicants from lower-incomes and housewives, studying online in the US is even becoming popular with younger people of college age. Employers have become increasingly welcome and positive to online qualifications as more candidates earn them, especially if they're properly approved by the US Department of Education. US institutions have led the way in online education provision. Many top US colleges and universities offer a range of online programs that are highly respected and in every way perfectly fit for adults who need to combine their studies with a working life. Which would be a good title for the passage? A. Adult Education Online B. Top US Universities Offering Online Education C. The Best of USA's Online Education D. Online Education Taking the Place of Campus Education Answer: C. The Best of USA's Online Education Question: Bob is six years old.He is old enough to go to school. On the first day,his teacher taught him three words,"I,you,he".Then the teacher said,"I am your teacher.You are my student.He is your student. He is your classmate."When school was over,Bob went home. His mother asked him,"What has your teacher taught you today?"Bob said with a smile,"Listen,Mum and Dad,I am your teacher.You are my student.He is your classmate."His mother said,"No,dear.You're wrong."Then she said,"I am your mother.You're my son.He's your father."The next day,Bob's teacher asked Bob to make sentences with "I,you and he". Bob stood up and said,"I'm your mother.You're my son.He is your father."All the students in Bob's class laughed. Did Bob understand what his teacher taught him? A. Yes,he did. B. No,he didn't. C. No,but he understood what his mother said. D. The writer doesn't tell. Answer: B. No,he didn't. Question: Are You Right Handed or Left Handed? Which hand do you use when write? About 8 to 15 percent of people are left handed. They often have to use tools that are designed for right-handed people. So it is difficult for left-handers to use most tools. If you are right handed, try this experiment: Take a knife with your left hand and try cutting a potato into pieces. Don't be surprised if you feel awkward . In the past, people thought it was strange to use the left hand. Young students looked down upon their left-handed classmates. Some children were even punished for using their left hand to write. But these days parents and teachers have accepted that. In almost every school in the world, left-handed students can use their left hand to write. What causes people to be left handed or right handed? Experts have searched long and hard on this. They conclude that left-handed people are left handed for the same reason that right-handed people are right handed. One out of every ten people just is a left-handed people are right handed. One out of every ten people just is a left-hander. It's simply like the color of our eyes - some people have brown eyes, while some others have black eyes. However, may researchers think that left-handers and right-handers are different in some aspects. Right-handers are more talkative and outgoing than left-handers. Many right-handed people understand spoken words better. For example, after they listen to directions to a supermarket, they can find it easily. Right-handers are good at organizing people, too. They are also better basketball guards. Just ask Yao Ming. Research shows that left-handers are creative and artistic. Many famous performers, like Jim Carrey and Paul McCartney, are left handed. Many left-handers learn better visually . In art, both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were left handed. In music, Ludwig van Beethoven was left handed. In science, you find Newton and Einstein. The left-handed people are also really good at tennis and other single sports. If you prefer one hand, but you are still good at writing with the other, you are mixed. Research shows mixed-handers can remember everyday things better than other people. What did you eat for lunch two weeks ago? If you're mixed handed, you can probably remember. According to the passage, right-handers _ . A. learn better visually B. are good organizers C. are better at single sports D. give clear directions to others Answer: B. are good organizers Question: I'm taking my family to other countries to have a trip.My wife and I and our two children are all going along.My elder brother will go with us,too.He has never been overseas and he is even more excited than the children.My father is so old that he'd like to stay at home and take care of the house. We're going by train to New York,and then take a ship to Europe.When we arrive in Europe,we're going to some countries for sightseeing .We'll go to places either by train or by bus.We're going to fly home. It took us a long time to decide where to go,but I think we'll have a very interesting trip.We'll go to England,France and Italy.We also talked about how we would go to Europe.At first we wanted to fly because it would be faster and would save more time.But my brother likes to take a boat trip and the children like that,too. How many people of the family will go to have a trip? A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six. Answer: C. Five. Question: In today's world, English is the most wildly used language. It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world. How can we master the English language ? I'd like to give you some good advice. First, get interested in it. I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child. At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Me on TV. From then on, I kept on learning English. The more I learned, the more progress I made. Second, practice makes perfect. Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes. _ A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too. Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to idioms. The English language has many idioms. For example, you should say " He is as strong as a cow." When we are learning English, _ . A. remember the mistakes and correct them B. try not to make any mistakes C. avoid mistakes before making them D. don't be afraid of making mistakes Answer: D. don't be afraid of making mistakes

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