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If you want to become a fluent English speaker you should take some advice. There are four skills in learning English. They are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important thing you must remember is that if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills, you should first master the skills of reading and listening. Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentence, the meaning of the unfamiliar words, etc. There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammars or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you _ , but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them, for example, in other passages or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it. As for listening, there are two choices: besides reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practice listening. For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes. If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve quickly, and you can be a fluent English speaker one day. The passage is mainly about how to _ . A. choose suitable listening materials B. deal with new words in reading C. improve your reading ability as quickly as possible D. become fluent in speaking and writing English Answer: D. become fluent in speaking and writing English In an age dominated by new media and the Internet, there are so many alternative ways of learning.Gone are the days when, if we couldn't make it into a classroom, the only real option was to pick up a book, or when audio materials consisted of bad quality cassettes or sporadic radio and TV programmes.With the appearance of broadband access to the web, we have a whole new learning domain at our fingertips.Sophisticated learning materials in the form of text or high-quality audio are now available at the touch of a button, and tests and assignments can be submitted and marked online.Questions and learning, studying away from the classroom has never seemed easier.Yet many teachers would argue that face-to-face contact between teachers and students is an essential part of the language learning experience.Enter the concept of blended learning, an approach to education which seeks to combine the best of new technology and actual human contact. Advocates of blended learning argue that an approach to study which combines the benefits of new technology with the best aspects of face-to-face (often abbreviated to F2F) teaching, will achieve better results.For example, there are some aspects of study, like practical sessions, dealing with more subjective questions, or meeting the needs of an individual student, which require face-to-face human interaction, whereas the more mechanical aspects of learning, such as answers to clear-cut questions, can be managed simply and effectively in a remote environment using new technology. Blended learning approaches have proven especially appropriate in language learning.For example, in an ELT (English Language Teaching ) environment, a simple scenario might be a classroom session where a teacher asks a group of students to use a wiki to create a text. Students then go away and compose and edit the text remotely.During the next F2F session, the teacher express his opinion about their work. Which of the following can be best describe the writer's attitude towards blended learning? A. Critical. B. Objective . C. Supportive. D. Neutral . Answer: D. Neutral . When I put a foot in the school for the first time, the thing that I will never forget is a big smile coming from the people of the reception. This is the kind of things that means a lot to you when you are feeling like a strange person in a country that you have never been, as it was in my case. In the classes, I don't know if I'm a lucky person, but the teachers that I have had, in my opinion, are excellent, very professional in their jobs, and they just seem to enjoy teaching, and make the lessons useful and classes amusing. Another fact that I've really enjoyed is that the school is not only aimed at the English language knowledge. You can also find every kind of activity intended to entertain the students in their free time, with things like going to museums and galleries, visiting special places in the city or going to the very famous pub night to have a few beers with your friends. So here you have the opportunity to enjoy the stay in London, to meet new friends, and also to learn everything about the city and the British culture. Personally, there are some facts that have not been easy for me since I arrived, like being so far away from my family, the differences between English food and the food I used to eat, and the high prices for everything. However, I am impressed about a very developed and multicultural city, with people aware of the sense of living in community, with a public transport amazingly thorough, with outstanding tourist places, with opportunities for work and with food from every part of the world that you can imagine. I've experienced something priceless with my friends in London. Every time I made contact with my friends from another country, I learn about their culture. I was lucky to have such good friends. I think that time was a present for me. What did the author do besides his studies while in London? A. He learned the differences between languages. B. He got to know the city with different cultures. C. He served at many outstanding tourists places. D. He made contact with friends from his home. Answer: B. He got to know the city with different cultures. Like many people, I have no clear idea about heroes. At some point, we all wonder if we need a hero and what a hero really is. Although there are a lot of differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics which give us courage and make us want to learn from them. A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a special story to tell and people think highly of it. But a hero is not just the person with great fame . A hero has powers larger than himself. Some people want to live like a hero, and they have to experience life with new and further meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom they serve. What do they want to live and die for? If the answer suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. A hero has a _ from the mountaintop. He has the power to move people. He creates new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of Britain. Without Martin Luther King, Jr., Americans might take different buses, eat in different restaurants, go for walks in different parks, and shop in different stores because of the different colors of their skin. There might be changes in society without a hero, but the speed of change would be rather slow. Thanks to heroes in history, they make the society develop so rapidly. According to this passage, a hero is a person who always _ . A. gives us courage B. thinks highly of others C. shares great fame D. stands on the mountaintop Answer: A. gives us courage What I've noticed about some very successful business owners is that they are always learning and growing. For your business to be better you need to be better and, you don't get better by doing nothing! You are the average of the five PEOPLE you hang around with most. Surround yourself with people whom you want to be like. To do this you may have to get right out of your comfort zone and join in a coaching program, go along to seminars where you can meet other like-minded people or those playing at a higher level of business than you. There's no excuse not to _ and learn your way to success. Regardless of where you are located,events are taking place all around the country regularly as well as online. Saying you have "no money" or "no time" is not a good enough excuse. For many business owners they spend their whole lives using these excuses and going nowhere. Don't focus on where you are now, but where you want to be. You'll find the money and the time if you seriously want to change. Your ongoing learning can take you from struggling along to soaring high in all areas of your life. It's been nearly six months since you made those New Year decisions to make changes in your business and your life. Are you getting the results you wanted? Is your business more profitable? Do you have more free time? Is the quality of your life improving? Is your answer "yes", then take a look at why that is. What have you been doing to get these results? And if you're not moving ahead, seriously look at why that is. When's the last time you read a book, listened to a CD, got coached or attended a seminar to learn how to do things better? The people I know who are getting great results in their business and personal lives are always learning and growing. You are the Secret to Your Success, so do everything within your power to invest in yourself. According to the passage, the most important thing to success is _ . A. attending important meetings often B. making changes when necessary C. keeping learning all the time D. making a plan ahead of time Answer: C. keeping learning all the time
Not many people can say that they have lived in two totally different environments, and technically neither can I. I have lived in the same house in the same Connecticut town my whole life, but a lot of my childhood and teenage years have been spent visiting my family in New York City. Wethersfield is a typical New England town, a small close community where almost everyone knows your name. My friends all go to the same high school and my parents are friendly with my friends' parents. Most of my friends don't realize what life is like outside this little town. Maybe every so often a few take a day trip to Manhattan or Boston, but none really knows what it's like to live in an urban environment. My parents are both from New York City and since they have _ and friends who still live there, we visit a lot. From an early age I have been exposed to urban life. Jeff, one of my cousins, lives with his mother in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. He has never had his own room and has always been very much on his own. I don't think any of my friends could understand how someone could live like that. www.zxxk.com When I go to the city I see things I would never see in my hometown. I see poverty and people struggling to make a living. I observe a whole different pace; there, you're just one guy living with millions of others who will never know your name. I feel blessed to have experienced the lifestyles of two completely different places. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had. I feel that living in Wethersfield has given me a solid base in forming my character and the ability to deal in a close-knit society. On the other hand, my time spent in New York has exposed me to diverse cultural experiences. I feel that I would be comfortable in any environment and could make the best of any situation. The author's life in New York has brought him _ . Answer: Dear Florence, We arrived in India last week, and the voyage was the worst experience of my entire life. I'm lucky to be alive! The first part of the journey was terrible, because the ship hit bad weather almost as soon as we left Liverpool. But much, much worse was to come. Later, we were involved in a collision with another boat and we had to abandon ship! We had been at sea for about two weeks and we were in the Mediterranean. There is now a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea called the Suez Canal, which opened last year. Our boat stopped at Port Said, the Egyptian port at the entrance to the canal. I remember looking through the porthole of my cabin and wishing that I could go ashore and visit this fascinating place, but mummy had ordered that I was to stay in the cabin because I was feeling ill. "you must stay here for at least another two days." I remember her saying. How wrong she would turn out to be! The ship left the port and headed towards the canal . I was alone in the cabin and I watched the port disappear into the distance. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the most awful crunching sound, and the ship shook and turned slightly on its side. There was an for a moment, then people started shouting. Mummy came running into the cabin and told me that we had collided with another boat. She took my hand and we ran along the deck towards the lifeboats. There was a lot of shouting and people were running everywhere, but the crew were all acting calmly, helping people into the lifeboats and telling people not to panic. Well, clearly we survived, as did all the passengers and crew of the ship. The other boat wasn't so lucky. It sank and several lives were lost. I will write about the rest of the journey soon. Please give my love to Aunt Claire and Uncle Eric. Your loving cousin, Jane 58.The author's mother didn't allow her to go ashore and visit the port city, Said because _ . Answer: For the kids in Matt Marciano's sixth-grade social studies class, Thanks-giving is a time for great ideas. "We look at different foods that people eat around the world," says Marciano. "The lesson," he explains, "teaches students to admit that some people are unlucky. And it also gets them thinking about Thanksgiving, about their lives, and about their biggest homework of the year--to find a way they can change the world." Last year, 12-year-old Christian D. taught basic soccer skills to 63 kids with cancer. Christian's classmate Brianna used the money she had raised to buy 56 teddy bears. She donated them to a woman's shelter. Both students say the experience taught them something they'll never forget: When we give something to others, we're really giving thanks. And giving thanks feels good. "Helping the woman smile, if just for a day, made me feel like I could make a difference," Brianna says. "And it taught me that I should always be thankful for what I have." Brianna's happiness is something Jeffrey Froh knows about. Froh studies how gratitude affects a person's mind and attitudes. Those who are thankful are more likely to help others. Grateful people and kids in particular are healthier and happier than those who are not. "Grateful kids tend to be happier and more satisfied with their lives," Froh says. "Kids who give thanks are happier with school, their families and their friends. Grateful children also feel less envy toward others, are less likely to be depressed and even do better in school." "To experience gratitude," says Froh, "a couple of things have to happen. First you have to notice that there is goodness in your life. Then you have to admit that the reason for that goodness lies partially outside of yourself." How did the students celebrate Thanksgiving in Marciano's class? Answer: CHICAGO (AP) On Jan. l,an order went into effect requiring that every checked bag at more than 400 of the nation's commercial airports be screened for bombs and weapons. Sunday was expected to the heaviest travel day since Jan. l. Yet spot checks on Sunday at several of the nation's airports showed no major delays caused by the new security measures. At the international terminal for Northwest Airlines at John F. Kennedy International Airport inprefix = st1 /New York, passengers waited up to 30 minutes longer than usual. Their bags were sent through giant screening machines and workers tore open taped boxes and searched through their contents before closing them up again. Most travelers simply accepted stricter screening developed since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,2001,before which only 5 percent of the roughly 2 million bags checked each day were screened for bombs. The U. S. government has put an additional 23,000 people into airports to carry out the new order. Sonny Salgatar, a 23-year-old college student flying home to San Diego fromChicago, was told by an airport officer after the first pass that one of his bags was "hot", meaning there was something he couldn't identify and he wanted to open the bag for an inspection. The "hot" item turned out to be Salgatar's clothing iron. "Listen, anything they want to do for security is OK for me," Salgatar said. But not all of the passengers hold the same viewpoint as Salgatar's, complaining that they had to arrive at the airport too much time ahead of their schedule. The best title of the passage might be Answer: People who drink alcohol earn more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlighted "social capital " gained from drinking. The study concluded that drinkers earn 10-14 percent more than _ and that men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay. "Social drinking builds social capital," said Edward String ham, an economics 'professor, "Social drinkers are outgoing, building relationships, and keeping in contacts, which results in bigger paychecks." The researchers said the most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities. "Drinkers may be able to socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers ;an advantage in important relationships.Drinking may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills." They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies aimed at controlling alcohol use in university and public places. "Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings," the study said, "One of the consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private behavior.By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies ignores one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital." The researchers found some differences in the economic effects of drinking among men and women.They concluded that men who drink earn 10 percent more than non-drinkers and women drinkers earn 14 percent more than non-drinkers. However, unlike men, who get a 7 percent income increase from drinking in bars, women drinkers who visit bars frequently do not show higher earnings than those who do not visit bars. What's NOT the consequence of anti-alcohol policy ? Answer:
Question: At a young age, Patti Wilson was told that she was an epileptic . Her father, Jim Wilson, is _ . One day she said, "Daddy, I want to run with you every day, But I'm afraid I'll have a seizure . Her father told her, "If you do, I know how to deal with it, so let's start running!" That's just what they did every day. It was a wonderful experience for them to share. And there were no seizures at all while she was running. After a few weeks, she told her father, "Daddy, I want to break the world's long-distance running record for women." So she did. That year, she wore a T-shirt that read, "I love epileptics" and completed her run to San Francisco. Her dad ran every mile at her side, and her mom, a nurse, followed in a car behind them in case anything went wrong. In her second year in college, Patti's classmates got behind her. They built a huge poster that read, "Run, Patti, Run!" Her foot was injured when she was running to Portland. A doctor told her she had to stop her run. "Doctor, you don't understand," she said, "This isn't a whim of mine. I'm doing it to let people know -- we can do what others do. Isn't there a way I can keep running?" "Yes, but it would be unbelievably painful." The doctor said. But she told the doctor she could do it. At last she finished the run to Portland and completed her last mile with the governor of Oregon. Patti continued running after getting injured because _ . A. she wanted to win the competition B. her injury didn't affect her run C. she wanted to prove that nothing is impossible D. she wanted to run with the governor of Oregon Answer: C. she wanted to prove that nothing is impossible Question: Last weekend, our family went to have Christmas dinner in a restaurant. We were the only family with a baby in the restaurant. Suddenly, my baby Erik became excited when we were enjoying our meal. I looked around and saw an old man with old clothes and dirty old shoes. His hair was unwashed. He was smiling at my Erik. "He might hurt my Erik," I thought. Everyone in the restaurant looked at us and the old man. Then we decided to leave. The old man sat between the door and us. As I walked closer to the man, I turned my back. Suddenly, Erik leaned over my arms, reaching with both arms in a baby's pick-me-up position . Before I could stop him, Erik had escaped from my arms to the man's. Soon the very old smelly man and my young baby developed a kind of friendship. Erik put his little hand on the man's face, and I saw the old man closed his eyes and tears running down his face. His aged hands held my baby so gently . A moment later, the old man opened his eyes, passed me my baby and said, "Thank you, Madam. You've given me the best Christmas gift." I cried, with my face burning hot. A child saw a soul , but a mother saw only a kind of clothes. At first, the writer thought the old man was _ . A. terrible B. friendly C. impossible D. wise Answer: A. terrible Question: 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. How do dogs bring happiness and health to humans according to the author? A. By doing funny tricks. B. By keeping humans busy. C. By serving their owners. D. By playing with their owners. Answer: B. By keeping humans busy. Question: One day, a college student was taking a walk with a professor. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes. They supposed the shoes belonged to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's word. The student turned to the professor, saying, " Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his confusion when he cannot find them". "My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by tricking on the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him." The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. After he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, he felt something hard. He bent down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen on his face. He fixed his eyes on the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him. He fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and cried a sincere thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, Whom the timely help, from some unknown hand, would save from dying. The student stood there, deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears."Now,"said the professor,"are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?" The youth replied,"You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. After finding the two coins, the man felt _ . A. helpless B. interested C. peaceful D. thankful Answer: D. thankful Question: With limited pocket money in hand,many Chinese college students are increasingly opting to live life "low cost".One way to save money is teambuying.Online teambuying offers huge discounts and becomes popular on campus. Li Jing,a student at China Youth University for Political Sciences,for example,says she often buys movie tickets on teambuying websites.But while they offer a good opportunity to save money,Li said she would "think twice before buying them from online stores".Because many of them are "a bit chaotic ",and have fake goods mixed among them.Then why don't the students just earn more pocket money by taking up parttime jobs?Guo Na,a teacher at the Communication University of China,said most college students were unlikely to choose workstudy programs to earn pocket money because of their intensive study schedules. A kind of card called "VELO" has become another ideal choice for many money savers.It provides allround discounts while dining out or shopping in general.Cao Zuyang,a student at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China,often searches for sales online and buys things together with friends to cut down on costs.Cao once wanted to buy an electromagnetic oven ,which was on sale at a shopping website.He then asked five dormitory roommates to pitch in for the oven.Each student only paid 25 yuan. Most students find it difficult to deal with the expense of accommodation while traveling.So they choose to travel to cities where they have friends and live in their dorms.For instance,Ge Rui,a student at the Hebei University of Technology,has been to many cities where he has friends."Friends can act as free guides,offer me free accommodation,give me valuable tour information,and broaden my mind at the same time," he said.He also had friends from other cities coming over and living with him when they visited his city. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A. Li Jing is a student from China Youth University for Electronic Sciences. B. Most college students earn more pocket money by taking up parttime jobs. C. It's not a good idea to ask five roommates to buy one oven together. D. You should think twice before buying something from online stores. Answer: D. You should think twice before buying something from online stores.
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. Gorge Washington borrowed a book from _ . Is it wrong to use someone else's wireless (Wi-Fi) connection? Just recently, a man was arrested for doing just that. At that time, he was sitting in the street with a laptop and using an unsecured wireless connection to surf the Net. What do you think about this topic? Listen to the following different views on it. For a start, if someone is using your Internet service or downloading, this will affect your speed of access or download limit. Also, it's bad for Internet service providers. They will suffer in the long run because fewer people will pay for an Internet service if they know they can get it for free. And finally, just imagine this: what if the person who is stealing your Internet connection is involved in an illegal activity? I think the police are totally right to arrest these criminals. -- by Sandra Wilkins Basically, if the person who paid for the service still has everything they paid for, what's the problem? It's just like using the light from streetlamps to read your book, or watching someone else's firework display. It's not stealing. Also, if you leave your wireless connection unsecured, then it is your own fault if someone else uses it. Just as you wouldn't leave your front door unlocked, or your car door open, neither should you leave your wireless connection open. By leaving your wireless connection open, you are inviting people to use it. Securing your wireless connection is as easy as clicking a few settings on your router . And finally, haven't the police got more important crimes to solve? They're always saying how they haven't got the manpower to solve real issues. But this is just ridiculous . -- by James Hoarley What would be the best title for the passage? While I was running slowly one morning, I saw my friend's father sitting alone on the roadside bench. So I crossed the road to wish him a good morning. As I came over to him, he was very happy to see me. He said it was nice of me to come and chat with him. Then he said to me in a low and sad voice: "At this stage of my life, it feels very lonely here. Anybody sharing a few heartfelt moments would mean a lot to me. " I was completely shocked by what he said, and I wondered: What could be that little thing that I can do to make his life different? I knew he was a painter, so I started to ask him about his latest painting experiences. Painting is a passionate topic for him, and he started to talk with me about it. I asked him, "Can you teach me to paint?" He was surprised at first and then agreed instantly. Now, every other day, I go to learn how to paint from him. We paint a lot and talk a lot. He says he feels better, and he waits for me. I say I feel better. After all, I am the one getting so much wisdom from a man who is nearing the horizon of his life with so much experience! Why did the writer talk with the old man about painting? The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year. Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher's instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job. _ Each child received a normal job. But Rita's job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest. Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger. One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, "Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant." That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks. What is Rita's attitude to her father's suggestion? Being beautiful means a lot to teenage girls. Once it did to me too. I was the vainest person in the world, but that all changed one December night. It was a Thursday, and I was getting ready for the wrestling tournament the following day. I was so excited; it was going to be my first tournament as a cheerleader. I walked past the mirror and stopped to check my appearance. I noticed my eyebrows were a little bushy, and that's when my vanity kicked in. The brows could be easily fixed with the waxing kit I had purchased. I put the jar of wax in the microwave. But instead of heating the wax for 30 seconds, I pressed too many zeros and heated it for three minutes. As I reached for the jar, I dropped it, spilling it all over myself. My mother came running when she heard my screams. The hot wax was rolling down my face and arm. My mom took a wet washcloth and tried to wash the wax off my face. This proved to be a bad idea, because the wax was honey based, and it pulled my skin off with the wax. The 15-mile drive to the emergency room seemed to take hours. When we finally arrived, the nurse didn't waste any time. They took me straight to a doctor and gave me extra-strength painkillers, so my mind was in confusion. The doctor explained how severe my burns really were: my arm was a combination of first-, second- and third-degree burns, and needed to stay bandaged. My face was first- and second-degree burns. If the wax had gotten any closer to my right eye, I would have lost my sight. I was covered in multi-colored "goop ", wrapped, and sent home to recover. I got up the next morning and the first thing I wanted to do was wash off the remaining wax. I unwrapped the bandages and "degooped", letting warm water gently remove the rest of the wax. The next step was to do a self-evaluation of the damage. I couldn't believe how horrible I looked. A horror-movie monster stared back at me from the mirror. All I could think was, my life is over. For someone as vain as me, this was very true. I thought I was going to be horribly disfigured for the rest of my life! All I could do was cry. My mom made it worse by forcing me to go out in public. She dragged me to the grocery store and wherever else she felt like taking me. Everywhere we went, people had a million questions, none of which I wanted to answer. Then my mom declared she was going to put me through even more torture--I had to go to school on Monday. School only led to more questions from more people. Now, two years later, my wounds have healed, leaving a few scars. I still feel self-conscious if I don't wear make-up, and I've discovered that three-quarter length sleeves are wonderful for covering the scars on my arm. After spending several months adjusting to this injury, I realized how vain I was. _ . It took this event to teach me that no matter how much you change on the outside, you're still the same person on the inside. Which of the following can be the best title?
Joe Brown has a shop. He sells meat in his shop. One Thursday a woman comes into his shop at five to one. "I'm sorry I'm late," she says. "I need some more meat for my dinner tonight." Joe has only one piece of meat in his shop. He takes it out of the fridge and says, "This is $6.50." "That piece is too small," the woman says, "Don't you have anything bigger?" Joe goes into the room behind his shop, puts the piece of meat into the fridge, takes it out of the fridge again and closes the door with lots of noise. Then he brings the piece of meat to the woman and says, "This piece of meat is bigger and more expensive. It's $8.75." "Good," the woman says with a smile, "give me both of them, please." How many pieces of meat does Joe have in the fridge? Answer: Who do you think are the most important people in your life, your parents, your sisters or your brothers, or your friends? I think your answer must be "my friends". Some teenagers often say their parents don't understand them. In large families, brothers and sisters often argue with each other. So most of us think friends are the most important people in our lives. It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. As for the reason, it may be because we can discuss some private things with friends. Of course we won't tell these thi ngs to our family members. However, parents often try to choose friends for us. They may even stop us from meeting some of our best friends. In fact, they do it just because they care for us too much. But they often neglect our real feeling. How can you solve this problem? I think the best way is to find a right time to talk with parents about our real feelings. The writer thinks the best way to solve the problem is _ . Answer: "In the online world you don't need to fill buildings or lecture theatres with people and you don't need to be trapped into a lecture timetable," says Peter Scott, director of the Open University's Knowledge Media Institute. The Open University, the UK's open access university, which allows people to study from home in their own time, has been an international pioneer of degree courses online. The university, with more than 263,000 students in 23 countries, has become a record breaker on the iTunes U service, which provides a digital library of materials for university students and staff.Instead of music or movies, Apple's iTunes U provides a download service for lectures and resources from universities around the world.Top universities from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard in the US to Oxford and Cambridge in the UK have been making their materials available, with no charge to the users. There have been 31 million downloads of OU materials, more than any other university, representing roughly 10% of all iTunes U downloads.Nearly 90% of these users are from outside the UK.In this online era, the OU student is also getting younger.A quarter of students are aged under-25 and only 10% are aged 50 or over.That change can only be accelerated as the cost of going to university increases in many countries.The prospect of learning from Harvard from your own bedroom is getting closer. "We have a belief that a degree and an opportunity are rights for all citizens.And we have got to enable the population of students attending higher education to scale up.What I am most excited about is that the privilege of going for higher education is not something only for the wealthy or for the smartest or for the most well-equipped students in the future," an American educator says.Online education will be a way of opening up more choices and getting beyond the big brand names of the most exclusive universities. At the Open University, Peter Scott says they are trying to develop services that give students exactly what they want, from face-to-face learning to the fully online experience."We can produce brilliant televisual material and get it to you on YouTube, on iTunes U or even on the web. According to the passage, we can infer that _ . Answer: One day I walked down to get to my car, thinking about what I had to accomplish and scolding myself for being late for work, but surprisingly the car was nowhere to be found. This was at 8 a.m. in the morning. I made trips to all the towing places and police stations, all the time thinking that it was towed by cops .By around 10 a.m., the cops decided that it was actually stolen. After filing a report with them, I finally got to work thinking how my day was completely messed up. Later in the day I went to pick up a rental car at Enterprise only to realize that my license was missing, too, along with my car. I told the enterprise guy the whole story and he offered to take me to the closest DMV and get a duplicate license. 1 was totally shocked. I did not know why this complete stranger would want to take some time off his day to help me. He actually took me to DMV, got a duplicate and then rented me a car. I was upset the whole day because of the events happening to me but somehow this simple act of kindness from a complete stranger made it all worth it. It cheered me up and made me forget all the troubles of the day. I was so moved by this kind act that the next day I made sure someone else got a similar surprise. I took some smiley shaped chocolates and left them on some of my colleagues' desks. There is still a lot of goodness out there in the world. We just need to take the time to notice it. I hope that this story would inspire many others like me to do more acts of kindness. The moment the author found the car missing, he thought _ . Answer: The Zen of Cat The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat's days were numbered. The doctor had said there was not anything more that could be done, and that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible. The Man stroked the Cat on his lap and sighed. The Cat opened his eyes, purred and looked up at the Man. A tear rolled down the Man's cheek and landed on the Cat's forehead. The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look. "Why do you cry, Man?" the Cat asked. "Because you can't bear the thought of losing me? Because you think you can never replace me?" The Man nodded "Yes." "And where do you think I'll be when I leave you?" the Cat asked. The Man shrugged helplessly. "Close your eyes, Man," the Cat said. The Man gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told. "What color1 are my eyes and fur?" the Cat asked. "Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich, warm brown." the Man replied. "And where is it that you most often see me?" asked the Cat. "I see you...on the kitchen windowsill watching the birds...on my favorite chair...on my desk lying on the papers I need...on the pillow next to my head at night." "Then, whenever you wish to see me, all you must do is to close your eyes," said the Cat. "Close your eyes again," the Cat said. "Now lick your hand." The Man widened his eyes in surprise. "Just do it," the Cat said. "Lick your hand, and think of me in all my familiar places." The Man felt foolish, licking his hand, but he did as he was told. He discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop, and when he didn't, he opened his eyes. The Cat's eyes were closed. The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone. The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the windowsill, then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears. One day, not long after, there was a new cat on his lap. She was a lovely spotted and white...very different from his earlier beloved cat and very much the same. The Cat asked the Man to lick his hands to _ . Answer:
Question: Good evening, everyone! Let's talk about some of the new and the old everyday shows. The news is on Channel Six from 6:00 to 7:00 every evening. Johnson has been reading the news for many years. He and his group always do their job well. The same channel is also good for late night watching. At 11:30 every night, Ted talks with famous people on this 90-minute show Night Time. He always has interesting people on. This week, three movie stars are going to talk about their new movies. In the afternoon, Channel Eleven has a good children's show The Children's Room at 3:30. This show has interesting cartoons. They keep children happy and entertained for hours. Channel Three has the best game shows. They ask some interesting questions and give away a lot of money and gifts. It's really a good way to learn about the world in the game shows. The passage is mainly about the _ . A. best channel B. best TV show C. famous movie stars D. everyday TV shows Answer: D Question: A predator kills and eats other animals as prey .Sometimes it also becomes food for other predators. Polar bears are the largest of all the land predators. They can run across snow and swim in icy water for hours without rest. Their favorite food is seal. Not all big animals live on small animals. Hippos have heavy bodies and huge mouths. But they don't eat animals. They just eat grass. Some predators use speed to catch their prey. Cheetahs are the fastest animals on land. They can run up to 70km an hour. Other predators use their senses to find their food. Sharks can see, smell, hear, feel and taste. They can also sense electrical currents( )from other animals' bodies. Some fish try to hide themselves, but with this sixth sense, sharks can always find them. Sharks have smooth bodies. This helps them swim without using lots of energy. They need to save their energy because they never really sleep and never stop hunting. Flying is a useful skill for many predators in the sky. The butcher bird is the most interesting predator. It has a special way of eating its prey. First it kills its prey. Then it hangs it on a fence or in a tree, just like a butcher hangs meat in his shop. Finally, it eats its prey. Some people hunt and kill more animals than any other predator. They not only hunt for food. They also hunt for fun. They kill sharks for their fins, and tigers for skins. Those human hunters are the worst predators on Earth. Why do sharks can find some fish that try to hide themselves? A. Because sharks can see, smell, hear, feel and taste. B. Because sharks can sense electrical currents( )from other animals' bodies C. Because sharks have smooth bodies. D. Because sharks never really sleep and never stop hunting. Answer: B Question: Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 percent of the job's wages, its holidays and its other benefits. Job sharing differs from conventional part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment. Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing by contrast, is not designed to address the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities. As would be expected, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain's Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 per cent of sharers were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence. The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals. In what way is work sharing different from job sharing? A. Work sharing requires more working hours. B. Work sharing is aimed at creating more jobs. C. Work sharing provides a more satisfactory salary. D. Work sharing depends on the employer's decision. Answer: B Question: As we know, the earth's climate has changed over time.The present rate of climate change depends, in large part, on human activities.Today, people all over the world are making everyday choices that help the environment.Small actions matter.In other words, climate change is your business. A woman in Nicaragua buys fluorescent light bulbs that are 80 percent more energysaving than traditional ones. Many governments are now _ energysaving lights to encourage people to turn to them.Consumers are discovering that the newgeneration bulbs help them save money in the long run. Agriculture accounts for about 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions , and transporting the food around adds to the environmental cost.There is a team of young vegetable growers in the United Kingdom who want to encourage kids to start planting their own fruit and vegetables. A young lawyer wearing business clothes rides her bicycle to work in a large U.S.city.She's been biking to work every day for the past two years and says it's a lot easier than many people think.A recent study shows that more Americans bike or walk to work today than before. A university student from southeastern China carries a reusable shopping bag to cut back on disposable plastics.Some large shopkeepers have removed paper and plastic bags, and consumers are responding. In Canberra, Australia, summers are hot and winters cold.To save electricity, Adam Wilson in Canberra uses an energysaving heating system, and he keeps the temperature lower than he did in years past.He still makes it through the summer without air conditioning. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE? A. The governments don't expect consumers to use the newgeneration bulbs. B. Agriculture should be responsible for part of the global gas emissions. C. Many people in Nicaragua go to work on foot or by bike. D. University students from China always carry disposable shopping bags. Answer: B Question: To attract birds to your yard A. erect a large menacing scarecrow B. destroy all your flowers C. cut down all trees big and small D. put out seeds in an easily accessible dish Answer: D
What science fiction once told of other worlds far away is now a fact. Astronomers prove the existence of another solar system like ours with some planets in the constellation Andromeda . Geoffrey Marcy is a professor of astronomy and physics at San Francisco State University and says, "What we have found now, for the first time ever, is indeed a fully-grown system of planets around the star Upsilon Andromeda, in which there are three planets, one close in, one at a middle distance, and one farther out." The star is slightly larger than our sun. The planets are huge, like our Jupiter . Marcy's partner in this research, Debra Fischer, describes the solar system, "Here's the inner planet that goes around every 46 days, the middle planet that goes around every 242 days, and then the outer planet that goes around every three and a half to four years." Astronomically, it's not far away, 44 light years. The sun of that solar system, Upsilon Andromeda, is so near and bright that it can be seen by using no equipment during summer and fall. For twelve years astronomers searched the skies in the belief that if our sun has planets around it, surely others do, too. Geoffrey Marcy says, "And then starting three and a half years ago, we began finding for the first time planets singly, one planet here around one star." "When I look up at the stars now at night, I can imagine easily that every one of them has planets around them," says Debra Fischer. It was the tremble in the star that led Marcy to discover the planets. "The star rocks around due to the gravity of the planet much like a dog owner gets pulled around by a little dog." Can they support life? We don't know, because present technology is not advanced enough to determine what the planets are made of. That, Marcy says, is astronomy's next challenge. What led to Marcy's discovery of the planets? Answer: The tremble of Upsilon Andromeda. Lulu is a little dog. She likes to play with her toys. She really likes her little lamb. She likes when Lauren throws her lamb. Lulu likes to chases the lamb. Lulu doesn't like to bring the lamb back to Lauren. Lauren gets mad. Lulu likes to bark. She barks at the children outside. She barks when the mailman comes to the door. Lulu barks at everything. Lulu barks all the time. Daddy gets mad. Lulu likes to eat. She likes her dog food. Her dog food has a picture of dog that looks like her on the bag. Lulu likes her food, but she likes the cat's food better. The cat gets mad. Lulu likes to drink water. Her favorite water bowl is in her cage. Lulu likes that water bowl because it's the right height. Lulu likes her water bowl, but she likes Heather's glass of water better. Heather gets mad. Lulu likes her bed. She goes there to rest. She likes to sleep on the blanket there. Her favorite blanket is from Grandma. Lulu likes Grandma's blanket, but she likes Alan's better. Alan gets mad. Lulu curls up on the blanket on the couch. Lauren gives Lulu her lamb to sleep with. Daddy pets Lulu. The cat licks Lulu. Heather thinks Lulu looks sweet. Alan lets Lulu use his blanket. No one gets mad at Lulu. What do Lauren and Alan give to Lulu to sleep with? Answer: Lauren gives her the lamb and Alan gives her his blanket Is there intelligent life on other planets? For years, scientists said "no" or "We don't know." But today this is changing. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are astronomers. They believe intelligent life exists somewhere in the universe. They also think we will soon contact these beings. Why do Shostak and Barnett think intelligent life exists on other planets? The first reason is time. Scientists believe the universe is about 12 billion years old. "This is long enough for other planets to have intelligent life," say Shostak and Barnet. The second reason is size--the universe is huge. "Tools like the Hubble telescope have shown that there are at least 100 billion galaxies," says Shostak. "And our galaxy, the Milk Way, has at least 100 billion stars. Some planets going around these stars might be similar to Earth." In the past, it was hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But now, powerful telescopes allow scientists to discover smaller planets--the size of Mars or Earth in other solar systems. These planets might have intelligent life. Have beings from space already visited Earth? "Probably not," says Shostak. "It's a long way away. However, intelligent beings may contact us in other way, such as radio signs. In fact, they may be trying to communicate with us now, but we don't have the right tools to receive their messages. However, this is changing. By 2025, we could make contact with other life forms in our universe and we might help each other." Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are _ . Answer: astronomers. Early risers are most likely to be healthy, wealthy and wise, according to the old saying. But those who are early to bed and early to rise do not always have advantages, researchers say. They have found that night owls are generally brighter and wealthier than those who are able to get up early in the morning. Experts from the University of Madrid carried out tests on around 1,000 teenagers and found that those who preferred to stay up late showed the kind of intelligence to find good jobs and earn much money. Larks or "morning people", however, often get better exam results, possibly because lessons are held at the wrong time of day for night owls. The researchers examined the habits and body clocks of the young people to determine whether they liked to stay up late and sleep later in the morning, or preferred to go to bed early and were at their best state in the morning. School performance and problem solving ability, were judged and test grades in the major subjects were also taken into consideration. Jim Horne, professor of psychophysiology at Loughborough University, said: "Evening types tend to be the more creative types, the poets, artists and inventors, while the morning types are considered to be civil servants and accountants . " In Jim Horne' opinion, Larks may choose to be _ in the future. Answer: civil servants Suzanne Clement first met Xavier Dolan when he was 17 -- an "ambitious, intelligent, hyperactive" young director who wanted to make a film called "J'ai tue ma mere" ("I Killed My Mother"). The Quebecois actress never doubted his talents. Now eight years later, she stars in his acclaimed film "Mommy," which has been selected as Canada's foreign-language entry to the Oscars. "I think 'Mommy' is like a continuation of this amazing authenticity that he puts into his work," said Clement in a recent telephone interview. "He's saying something very deep. And he started to say those deep things about his life when he was doing his first movie." The film focuses on a trio of troubled characters: widowed mother Diane (Anne Dorval), her violent son Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), and Kyla, a shy, mysterious neighbour with a terrible stammer who offers to help (Clement). While the dynamic between Diane and Steve is perhaps the most important, Kyla's character is equally _ . The viewer knows she is on leave from her teaching job and she recently stammered, but the reasons are left somewhat vague. She said Dolan contacted her last summer, shortly before "Mommy" began filming, and sought help in fleshing out Kyla's story. "He told me, 'I have this third character and I'd love you to play her, but she's not very, very definite now. If you want to talk about her and give your input, I'd like to build her.'" she recalled. "Mommy" opens in Toronto on Friday before screening in other Canadian cities. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where audiences gave it a lengthy standing applause before it was awarded with the prestigious Jury Prize. After appearing in Dolan's "J'ai tue ma mere" in 2009, Clement went on to star in his film "Laurence Anyways," for which she won the Cannes Un Certain Regard award for Best Actress in 2012. How many films did Clement star in Dolan's films? Answer: Three
A king had a wonderful talent for growing flowers. He became old and didn't want to deal with big things anymore. So he began to look for someone to take his place. But who could he trust for the job? He thought for a while and got an idea. He would let the flowers decide. He gave everyone a little seed . The one who could grow the most beautiful flower from the seed would be the next leader. A girl called Serena was very beautiful and wanted to grow the most beautiful flower. She planted it in a nice pot and took great care of it, but nothing would grow. The next year she saw everyone come to the palace with pots full of beautiful flowers. She was disappointed but also went to the meeting with her empty pot. The king looked through all the flowerpots and then stopped at hers. "Why is your pot empty?" he asked. "Your Majesty , I did everything to make it grow, but I have failed," she answered. "No, you didn't," he said. "You see, the seeds I've _ were all roasted , so nothing could come out of them. I have no idea where all these flowers come from. But you have been honest and by being so, you will become my successor ." The king wanted to choose a person to _ . A be the next leader B grow beautiful flowers for him C be his daughter or son D make friends with him Answer: A Recently I went to the Tsavo National Park in northern Kenya for a film. We set off early for a distant water hole. A huge elephant,covered with dry mud,drank calmly and deeply. He might have traveled 50 km to reach the water. He wasn-t going to hurry now. He-d drink a while and then rest in the shade, and then drink again-or so we thought. What actually happened was that he drank deeply and stepped away. Then he suddenly fell down. Within minutes he was dead. We called animal doctor Jeremiah Poghon immediately. He removed the head of a poisoned arrow from the eLephant s body,and let out over 100 litters of pus -the result of the elephants meeting with a poacher months before. Today's poacher shoots from a blind. He fires an arrow,covered with poison,into the body of an elephant. If the poacher is lucky,the elephant might die in an hour or two; if not,he might have to follow the elephant for days before it dies. Often the arrow head fails to kill the elephant at once-it doesn't mean the poison won't finally kill the elephant,but it will be a slow death. Living in Tsavo through these times,l could see the results of poaching from time to time. When I think about the death of that elephant,what stays with me is the extraordinary silence after the shocking sound of his body hitting the ground. I took some comfort from the knowledge that as the dead body returned to the soil,some animals would benefit-but I couldn't escape the feeling that with the death of such a large animal,the world seemed a poorer and emptier place. Further examination showed that the dead e!ephant_. A had suffered a lot B had wounds all over it C had drunk some deadly water D had had a good fight with a poacher Answer: A There once was a giant orange farm in space. No human had ever been there before. It could not be reached by plane, spaceship, car, or any other means of travel. The farm was run by large squirrels, and was started in 1032. They owned the planet the farm was on, called Etopit. In the year 2037, one brave man named Hugo wanted to travel to Etopit to see the farm. On Earth, it was known the squirrels grew better oranges than any other animal, including rabbits, dogs, and horses. Hugo wanted to learn the squirrels' secrets and bring them back to Earth. Hugo was no normal man. He could sneeze so hard that it would send him flying into the air. Hugo put on a squirrel costume, and had his friend Ralph tickle his nose for 7 hours. Hugo sneezed so hard he flew into space and landed in Etopit. The squirrels did not know he was a human because of his costume. Hugo met Rufus and Xenon, 2 of the most power squirrels in space. He told them his name was Tiddlywink, and that he was sent by the squirrel king from Etopit's moon Rebeti to help them grow even more oranges. Rufus and Xenon told him all their secrets. Hugo wrote all of them down, then sneezed so hard he went back to Earth! With his help, Earth has now become the best place to grow oranges. When did Hugo travel to Etopit? A 2 B 2037 C 7 D 1032 Answer: B Shoppers throughout the West, wary of a double-dip recession , are still _ . However, Chinese consumers are opening their wallets--big time. According to McKinsey, shop sales in China have grown by 25 percent annually from 2007 to 2009. Consumer confidence is now at its highest point since 2007 and female shoppers are leading the way. Chinese women saved just 24 percent of their income, compared with 55 percent in 2006, according to a recent study in Women of China Magazine. What's more, three quarters of Chinese women say that they're the ones who control the family purse strings .That means the nation's 650 million women are an "emerging powerhouse within the powerhouse" of China. In the 1950s women contributed just 20 percent of household income. That rose to about 40 percent in the 1990s and then reached 50 percent last year. In a recent study of Chinese consumer behavior, McKinsey found that women tend to shop more frequently than men, and spend more on personal-care products and food. Men, by contrast, tend to spend more of their income on gadgets , drinks and alcohol, dining out, and socializing. They also tend to save for the bigger-ticket items, like cars and houses. Chinese women make up an ever-growing small part of the market--up from 20 percent a decade ago to 50 percent last year. It's estimated that in the next five years women will account for 55 percent of the $9 billion market. "The future is female," concludes a January HSBC report on luxury goods in China. The Chinese Market Research Group recently found that women younger than 35 are the most optimistic segment in China. A very large 80 percent of the 3,500 women surveyed saying they'll spend more in the second half of 2010 than they did in the first half. With trends like these, Chinese women may bring new meaning to the term "the power of the purse." According to the passage, Chinese women _ . A save more of their income than before B save less of their income than before C make as much money as men in the 1990s D spend half of their income on luxury goods Answer: B School education is very important and useful. The students both learn knowledge and get an education. Yet, no one can learn everything from school. The scientists,such as Edison,Newton,Galileo and Einstein, didn't learn everything from school. They learned a lot of knowledge outside school or in practice by themselves. A teacher, even he knows a lot, can't teach his students everything. The teacher's job is to show his students how to learn, how to read and how to think. A good teacher with rich experience in teaching can teach his students the methods(=" ways)of" study. Through these methods the students are able to learn and get a lot of things by themselves. Usually it is very easy for the students to remember some knowledge, but it is very difficult to use it for problems. If a teacher really shows the students the ability of how to use knowledge, it means the teacher has learned lots of knowledge by himself (or herself). The success in learning shows he or she knows how to study. Which of the following is right? A If we know how to learn,we can get a lot of knowledge. B We can learn everything from our teachers. C The writer tells us that practice is more important for the students than learning. D It is the only job for the students to learn knowledge. Answer: A
Liz Parle can't drive. "I did try to learn," says the 24-year-old, Birmingham-born cafe owner, "but I failed my test a few times." Then she moved to London, where running a car can be a nightmare. Instead she cycles everywhere. "It's cheap, keeps me fit, and is of course better for the environment." _ In Britain, the percentage of 17- to 20-year-olds with driving licences fell from 48% in the early 1990s to 35% last year. The number of miles travelled by all forms of domestic transport has remained unchanged for years. Meanwhile, road traffic figures for cars and taxis, having risen more or less every year since 1949, have continued to fall since 2007. Motoring groups put it down to oil prices and the economy. Others offer a more fundamental explanation: the golden age of motoring is over. "The way we run cars is changing fast," says Tim Pollard, associate editor at CAR magazine, "Car manufacturers are worried that younger people in particular don't like to own cars like we used to in the 70s, 80s, or even the 90s, they were owning things for shorter periods. As hi-tech research and development budgets try to keep pace with the iPhone generation, Pollard says carmakers are also coming to terms with less possessive buyers. This has led to a different ownership and rental schemes such as Streetcar, Zipcar and Whipcar. In response, the latest deals from the big carmakers are very unlike your usual deals. "Peugeot , for instance, has launched a European project called Mu," says Pollard. "You become a member and can then rent whichever Peugeot best suits your mobility needs that day. So you can borrow a truck to move house at the weekend.' Other car manufacturers are studying similar ideas. Which of the following is TRUE about the teenagers today in Britain? Answer: James knew the decision was not going to be an easy one to make as he sat on the hill near the small town that he lived in. There was no one he could turn to for advice. His only sister lived away and he hardly ever saw her and when his sister came over, they always ended up in an argument. It had been a hot day and James's clothes seemed to stick to his body. He had felt terrible for weeks and he was just tired of feeling sick. He had started vomiting after he would eat anything and he knew that something would have to be done. After going to the doctor, he was told to come back in a few days. The next three days had gone by slowly and it was time for his visit to the doctor. He had been shown into the doctor's office and James knew it was bad news. The end result was he had stomach cancer. James sat on the hill looking down at the town and wonder what he would do. Taking out his phone, he dialed his sister's number and told her the bad news. She started to cry and said, "If anything happens to you, I will be alone in this world." Marie, his sister said, "You are moving up here and you will live with me until you get back on your feet, so go home, pack up and I will be there to get you in two days." He smiled and said, " _ sounds wonderful, but I still haven't decided if I am going to have the surgery or not?" Hearing this, she softly whispered, "Of course you are having the surgery. I will pick you up in two days. I love you." James knew the final word was still up to him and he would think about it because this was a decision that wouldn't come easy to him. What is the message expressed in the passage? Answer: When my son was a teenager he already knew he wanted things. He wanted nice things and he wanted to get them by himself.He never depended upon us to provide for him.He gladly accepted the room and other different necessities we gave him,but when it came to the luxuries ,or the extra things of life,he knew he would have to make his own way. At the age of 13,he started talking to me about working.His sister had worked at a local amusement park for several years as her first job so he gave that some thought. He had us drive him to the park and he went in and applied. Within two days he was called back to go to work. His sister had been a model employee and the park didn't even ask what he was able to do. He worked at least 20 hours a week at the local amusement park. With his first week check he came home with a big smile. He had made something like $60 for his four days of afterschool efforts,and he wanted to thank us for our his wealth. He needed transportation both to and from work so we would take him there and back;no matter when the park closed,we would be there. With his very first check,he insisted on treating me and his dad. He took us and his sister to an expensive restaurant. We had a wonderful time there and we spent his entire check. He didn't care;he knew he had to take care of those who had made it possible for him to have the check in the first place. He had always been a generous boy,perhaps too generous sometimes,but very loving. In his teens,the boy _ . Answer: What makes a boarding school different from a normal school? The answer is simple: when in a boarding school you stay there instead of going home. This is something everyone knows. But what not everyone knows is that when you are in a boarding school, you make a lot of friends. You live together with your friends for a few years, which makes the friendship even more _ . You are a lot closer to your teachers and other workers in your school. It most feels like you are in one big happy family. If boarding students have any problems, they can always go to one of the teachers or one of the workers, and they will be glad to be able to help. Life in a girl boarding school or a boy boarding school differs a lot from life in a mixed one. Studies have shown that the social life and academic results from students in a single sex boarding school are much better than those of a mixed one. One of the reasons for this is that with less pressure in the classes, the children can concentrate much better when they are in separated classes. Life in boarding schools for troubled teens differs from that of all the other boarding schools. Life in these schools is often much stricter because of the rules the students have to obey. These schools have strict rules to teach troubled teens respect. Although some boarding schools have some different rules and different ways of teaching, life in schools is almost the same. Students attend classes, eat together, and sleep in dorms where they normally have to share their room with some other students. Attending a boarding school is a great experience and the values you learn there will help you in the rest of your life. Compared with students in a mixed boarding school, most teenagers in a single sex one _ . Answer: It's good to make mistakes, and here is why. First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It's always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? The simple answer is "You can't". Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new. Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn't failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn't work. Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success. Why? Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some number of things before you succeeded. Every time you make a mistake you _ one of those things and are one step closer. But this all doesn't mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn't work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again. We all have limited resources in the form of time and money so don't blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won't be perfect the first time and allocate these resources appropriately so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again. Only by accepting and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career. There is an old saying that goes, "If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough." So go forth and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And prosper . . What would the writer probably suggest we say to ourselves when we make a mistake? Answer:
My family lives very happily on a farm near a small town. My father always learns some information about weather through the TV, the Internet and newspapers. One evening, he asked us to meet at the table after dinner. "I have some bad news," he said. "The weather reports on the television warned that we would face a typhoon tomorrow." At 6.30 a.m. the next day, the winds started and the rain was falling heavily. There were new warnings that the sea level could go up as much as 5 meters. The winds were terribly strong and tree branches were flying everywhere. Trees were falling down and the rain kept coming down. Just after 10:30, the wind stopped suddenly-it was strangely calm and the sun was shining. Then the winds came howling again, but this time more rain fell. There were more flying things and the storm came in. Everything within 1 km of the coast was flooded-there was fish in the streets. Now the winds were dying down, but the rain was still falling. After another two hours, the wind came to a stop at last. My home was in a mess and my mum burnt her arm when the hot water from the stove hit her skin. We were all frightened, but we were all safe, including the cat. The father knew that there was going to be a typhoon from _ . Answer: When you want to go shopping, decide how much money you can spend on new clothes.Think about the kind of clothes you really need.Then look for those clothes you really need.Then look for those clothes on sale. There are labels inside all new clothes.The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes.The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water.A sweater label may tell you to wash in cold water.The label on a coat may say "dry clean only", for washing may ruin this coat.If you do as the directions on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best for a long time. Many clothes today must be dry cleaned.Dry cleaning is expensive.When buying new clothes, check to see if they will need to be dry cleaned.You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed. You can save money if you buy clothes that are well made. Well-made clothes last longer.They look good even after they have been washed many times.Clothes that cost more money are not necessarily better made.They do not always fit better.Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes. The first thing for you to do before you buy clothes is _ . Answer: What is funny? The short answer is: Who knows? The joke that causes a burst of laughter from one listener might be met with a puzzled look from another. In general, you should avoid jokes at any business or social gathering where there are more than two people in your conversational group. If there are only two people -- and they consist of you and your best friend -- go ahead and tell it. Admittedly, a few people possess a perfect sense of timing, appropriateness, and joke delivery. You are probably not one of them. You might be quite funny and have many great jokes. But there's a place for jokes -- over dinner with family, hiking with friends, but business or social affairs with colleagues and acquaintances are not it. It takes a whole other level of joke-telling ability to put a joke into the more formal conversations. The best jokes come into the conversation so that by the time listeners realize a joke is in progress, the punchline that produces humour is being delivered -- to their surprise and delight. Jokes don't translate well when you're in a group with mixed backgrounds: those whose first language is not English, those who might not understand a special term or an "in" expression, young people who wouldn't catch a reference to some bit of culture familiar to older people -- and vice versa . Never joke about another person in the group -- about their name, habits, hometown, profession, appearance, or past. It's not a question of whether the joke is cheery or appropriate. No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn't feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they're not laughing at you. Because that's what it feels like. What do you say if you realize your joke upset someone? Apologize as briefly and as sincerely as you can, and hope that someone changes the subject. Try saying: "I'm sorry. I should have known better" or "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." What do you do if people don't get your joke or don't appear to find it as funny as you do? First, do not retell it, only louder this time, hoping the point of the joke will be seen. Second, don't try to push people to get it. People do not like people whose jokes they don't understand. They feel stupid and need to blame someone. If you want to leave with the goodwill of your listeners, say something to make them feel less foolish. You could say: "I don't know why I tell jokes when I'm so poor at it." The world needs laughter, and good humour is a success wherever it goes, so this caveat about joke-telling is not meant to dampen high spirits or to advocate dull conversation. If you're a gifted story-teller and you know people love your jokes, go for it. We need your kind. The rest of us will save our jokes for family and close friends. How will people feel when they are joked about? Answer: This is VOA. The National Cryptologic Museum is on Fort George G. Meade, a military base near Washington, DC. The method of hiding exact meanings is called coding. People have used secret codes throughout history to protect important information. The National Cryptologic Museum celebrated 60 years of cryptologic excellence in 2012. One event there marked the sixtieth anniversary of the National Security Agency. Two former NSA workers shared their memories of operating a code machine called Sigaba. In 1940, an American woman named Genevieve Grotjan found some information being repeated in Japanese coded messages. Her discovery helped the United States understand secret Japanese diplomatic messages. After the United States understood the code, it was possible to study messages from the Japanese ambassador to Germany and to his supervisors in Japan. Understanding these messages helped the United States prepare for a possible war in the Pacific with Japan. After the attack on Pearl Harbor. the American naval commander in the Pacific Ocean was Chester Nimitz. His forces were much smaller than the Japanese Naval forces. And the Japanese had been winning many victories. Joseph Rochefort had worked for several months to read the secret Japanese Naval code called JN-25. If he could understand enough of the code, he would be able to give Admiral Nimitz very valuable information. From the beginning of 1942, the Japanese code discussed a place called "AF." Joseph Rochefort felt the Japanese were planning an important battle aimed at "AF." After several weeks, he and other naval experts told Admiral Nimitz that their best idea was that the "AF" in the Japanese code was the American-held island of Midway. Admiral Nimitz said he must have more information to prepare for such an attack. The Navy experts decided to trick Japan. They told the American military force on Midway to broadcast a false message. The message would say the island was having problems with its water-processing equipment. The message asked that fresh water be sent to the island immediately. This message was not sent in code. Several days later, a Japanese radio broadcast in the JN-25 code said that "AF" had little water. Joseph Rochefort had the evidence he needed. "AF" was now known to be the island of Midway. He also told Admiral Nimitz the Japanese would attack Midway on June 13.The battle that followed was a huge American victory. That victory was possible because Joseph Rochefort learned to read enough of the Japanese code to discover the meaning of the letters "AF." One American code has never been broken. Perhaps it never will. It was used in the Pacific during World War Two. For many years the government would not discuss this secret code. Listen for a moment to this very unusual code. Then you may understand why the Japanese military forces were never able to understand any of it. The code is in the voice of a Native American. The man you just heard is singing a simple song in the Navajo language. Very few people outside the Navajo nation are able to speak any of their very difficult language. At the beginning of World War Two, the United States Marine Corps asked members of the Navajo tribe to train as Code Talkers. The Cryptologic Museum says the Marine Corps Code Talkers could take a sentence in English and change it into their language in about 20 seconds. A code machine needed about 30 minutes to do the same work. The Navajo Code Talkers took part in every battle the Marines entered in the Pacific during World War Two. The Japanese were very skilled at breaking codes. But they were never able to understand any of what they called "The Marine Code." The Cryptologic Museum has many pieces of mechanical and electric equipment used to change words into code. It also has almost as many examples of machines used to try to change code back into useful words. The NSA was founded _ . Answer: Before I had my son, I spent two years working with children with disabilities. I learned that shouting and threats of punishment would result in a disaster. Coming up against their behaviour could only make the job harder and their behaviour more extreme. I found something that worked, though. There was a very naughty boy in the nursery and a teacher who was generally very confident with the children was asked to take charge of him. One day the boy joined a session in the room next to mine. His appearance created an atmosphere of tension. He spent the entire session running around, hitting and kicking, and destroying property. I was in the craft room working with some other children when my co-worker told me that this boy's teacher was in tears, and could not get control of the situation. As we were talking,the boy ran in. I told my co-worker that I would take care of him. I closed the door. He was full of energy, throwing things around and making a huge mess. But I could see that he was doing all these to annoy me. He needed connection, and this was the only way he knew how to ask for it. So I sat back down and kept quiet. Then he slowed down and began making a rocket. I talked to him about it. We continued like this for a few minutes before I slipped into the conversation: "So what happened today?" It was purely a question, no blame or anger in my tone. I believe that if I had criticized him, the gate that was slowly opening would have shut firmly closed. He told me that the teacher didn't let him do what he knew well due to safety but asked him to do what he disliked. He also admitted that he had enjoyed making her run around and saw it as a game. I explained that his teacher had not seen it as a game and was very upset. This again was stated simply as a fact. I suggested that next time he had a session, he talk about what he hoped to do at the start,which might be easier for everyone. He agreed and was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes before quietly asking if he could go to find his teacher to apologize. The author managed to get the boy to talk to her by _ . Answer:
Question: A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare . A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for prefix = st1 /ChinaandMongoliasaid thatChina"can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily." China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said. "What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing. The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks , sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day. The Beijingchildren's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children. A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400--500 yuana month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440yuana month during the first quarter this year. Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children. She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling. By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuanin donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms. Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the up coming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. Children can grow healthily and happily as long as _ . A. parents take good care of them both at home and in society B. the whole society care for children as well as their parents C. Schools and teachers pay much attention to the growth of children D. Chinese people always give special attention to children who are in special need Answer: B Question: An exercise method (Gyrotonics) designed to stretch muscles and improve strength and balance is becoming popular in the United States. Here's more about Gyrotonics and the man who invented this special form of exercise. Gyrotonics is a kind of exercise that combines the movements of dancing and swimming with the mental and physical practice called yoga. It helps lengthen muscles, improve balance, and exercise the joints, the parts of the body where bones are joined. A Hungarian dancer named Juliu Horvath developed this special form of exercise. After he was injured in dancing, Mr. Horvath studied yoga intensely. In the 1980s, he developed a new exercise method as a special kind of yoga to strengthen dancers. According to Mr. Horvath, his method was based on the octopus ,monkey and cat. He says these animals have no restrictions. They can move in any direction the Gyrotonic movements to help the human body move more freely. A special machine made of wood and weights helps guide the body through the Gyrotonics exercises. You sit or lie on a flat board. You put your legs or hands through special cloth handles attached to a line with weights. With the tension created by the weights, you must try to move through the exercises. Seven kinds of backbone movements form the base of Gyrotonics. For example, you can stretch your back to the left and right or forward and backward. While moving your back, you can also work on arm or leg motions. These movements must be done in a smooth way. Often the motions are circular . When Juliu Horvath first developed Gyrotonics, he was the only teacher. Since then, he has taught almost 70 trainers. Now, there are more then 800 official schools in the world where you can learn Gyrotonics. According to the passage, what made it possible for Horvath to develop Gyrotonics? A. His dancing-related injury. B. His failure in practicing yoga. C. His good skills of dancing D. His wish to be a Gyrotonics trainer. Answer: A Question: When people think of food in the United States, they think mostly of fast foods like hamburgers and hot dogs. In fact, in the U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles, there are thousands of different kinds of restaurants with foods from all over the world. So if you like to try different foods, the United States is the place for you. The United States has people from all over the world, and they bring with them typical foods from their countries. You can eat tempura in Japanese restaurants, tacos in Mexican restaurants, paella in Spanish restaurants, pasta in Italian restaurants, and you can also eat America's most popular food, pizza. Yes, pizza! Pizza is from Italy, but today it is an important part of the U.S. menu. There are about 58,000 pizzerias in the United States--that's about 17% of all restaurants in the country, and the number is growing. The United States has eating places for all tastes--and all pockets. You can buy a hot dog on the street and pay one or two dollars. Or you can go to a four-star restaurant and pay $200 for a dinner Pizzas were first made by _ . A. Americans B. Mexicans C. Italians D. Japanese Answer: C Question: We thought we had it all---a beautiful house, three healthy children and one more on the way, two cars, a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment---and we loved it. Then, the market turned and my husband's job at a construction company was gone. The company was closing down for good.We both started looking for jobs right away, but there weren't any to be found. With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through. _ I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn't felt in years. That's why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for our present situation. I continually asked him to stop, but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job. Finally, one afternoon I pulled him aside and said, "We have four healthy children and each other. That's what's important. That makes you a rich man." " But what if we lose the house? They'll hate me--you'll hate me," he replied. I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye. "No matter where we live I will be happy -as long as I have you." I smiled again. In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said "I do". I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed. He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn't for quite some time. It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family. We are still struggling for out better life, but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can't buy and no one can take away from us. We can learn from the passage that _ . A. they both found good jobs at last. B. both of them were worried about joblessness. C. her husband was to blame for the unemployment D. they didn't love each other when they got married Answer: B Question: Art museums are places where people can learn about various cultures. The increasingly popular "design museums" that are opening today, however, perform quite a different role. Unlike most art museums, the design museum shows objects that are easily found by the general public These museums sometimes even place things like fridges and washing machines in the center of the hall Pele have argued that design museums are often made use of as advertisements for new industrial technology. But their role is not simply a matter of sales-it is the honoring of excellently invented products. The difference between the window of a department store and the showcase in a design museum is that the first tries to sell you something, while the second tells you the success of a sale. One advantage of design museums is that they are places where people feel familiar with the exhihits. Unlike the average art museum visitors, design museum visitors seldom feel frightened or puzzled. This is partly because design museums clearly show how and why mass-produced products work and look as they do, and how design has improved the quality of our lives. Art museum exhibits, on the other hand, would most probably fill visitors with a feeling that there is something between their understanding. In recent years, several new design museums have opened their door. Each of these museums has tried to satisfy the public's growing interest in the field with new ideas. London's Design Museum, for example, shows a collection of mass-produced objects from Zippo lighters to electric typewriters to a group of Italian fish-tins. The choices open to design museums seem far less strict than those to art museums, and visitors may also sense the humorous part of our society while walking around such exhibits as interesting and unusually attractive toys collected in our everyday life. Showcases in design museums are different from store windows because they _ . A. show more technologically advanced products B. help increase the sales of products C. show why the products have sold well D. attract more people than store windows do Answer: C
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words -- the longer the lists, the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange of ideas and information. It's meaningless to know all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently . They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers often make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly." But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They are English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, but they also make language. But people can only make their own language. They can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo it. When they learn a foreign language, they should put communication first. Language is used to _ . A exchange ideas B practice grammar rules C talk with foreigners only D learn lists of words 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. How many suspects were there? A 4 B 2 C 8 D 6 Answer: D A beaver is building a home in a river, and that eventually blocks up the river, giving the beaver a nice home. A side effect of the beaver's new home is A a pool B freshwater body C a mountain D an ocean Answer: B Different people use different languages. We Chinese speak Chinese, and, most of us are learning a foreign language. But there is another kind of language we need to know --- the language of the body. All over the world, people "talk with their hand, with their heads and with their eyes." When Japanese people meet, they bow. When Indians meet, they put their hands together. What do American and British do? Americans are more imformal than the British. They like to be friendly. They use first names, they ask questions and they talk easily about themselves. When they sit down, they like to relax in their chairs and make themselves comfortable. British people are more reserved . They take more time to make friends. They like to know you before they ask your name. When British or American people meet someone for the first time, they shake hands. They do not usually shake hands with people they know well. Women sometimes kiss their women friends, and men kiss women friends (on one cheek only). When a man meets a man, he just smiles, and says, "Hello." Men do not kiss each other, or hold hands. Even fathers and sons do not often kiss each other. Which of the following is right? A different countries hav the same body language. B different countries have different body anguages. C people in Asia share the same body language. D many people only use their body language. Answer: B After studying the daily habits of 177 self-made millionaires over the course of five years, Thomas C. Corley found that they avoid one costly habit: procrastination . "It prevents even the most talented individuals from realizing success in life," he writes in his upcoming book, "Change Your Habits, Change Your Life." This goes hand-in-hand with author Napoleon Hill's claim that the wealthiest people are also the most decisive people. Out of the 500 millionaires Hill studied in the early 20thcentury, "Every one of them had the habit of reaching decisions quickly," Hill wrote in his 1937 classic, "Think and Grow Rich." One of the major causes of procrastination is lack of passion, Corley emphasizes: "We simply like to do the things we like to do and we put off the things we do not like to do." "According to Gallup, only 13% of employees are 'engaged' in their jobs, or emotionally invested in their work," Corley writes. "Whether you realize it or not, procrastination is a big reason why you are struggling financially in life. It damages your credibility with employers and fellow colleagues at work. It also affects the quality of your work and this affects the business you or your employer receive from customers, clients, and business relationships." The good news is that anyone can overcome procrastination -- and it's simpler than you may think. He also notes that "the voice of procrastination screams just as loud and clear in the minds of those who _ in life as it does in the minds of those who do not." How do they silence it? They rely on "to-do" lists to get things done. They create firm deadlines, and they meet with "accountability partners" to ensure they're sticking to their goals and deadlines, Corley says. Nearly everyone is susceptible to procrastination -- but fighting against it can make all the difference. What can people do to overcome procrastination? A Do whatever they like to do. B Avoid things they are unwilling to do. C Be fully prepared for emergencies. D Accomplish things on schedule. Answer: D
By today's standards, my mobile phone is pretty rubbish. It's a Nokia 1616. If that doesn't mean much to you ( it's not the kind of phone you see advertised on television) ,all you need to know is that it's a small, not very heavy device with which you can send and receive telephone calls and text messages. It also has a very handy torch on the top for when you can't find your keys, or when you drop something on the floor in the cinema. Apart from that, my phone doesn't do much. Well, it has an alarm, and it probably has a calculator and things like that, but it's nothing compared to a smartphone. Why would I want one of those? I have often been told that the big advantage of having a smartphone is that " you can do everything with them!" But when was the last time you saw someone doing "everything" with a smartphone? Okay, so they may have an endless list of functions, but generally they are used for checking social networking sites, playing games, and receiving and replying to emails. I'm happy just doing all of those things at home on my laptop. As far as I can tell, the best thing about having a smartphone is that you can be connected to the internet all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love the internet, but I just don't see the point of constantly being online. I can't remember the last time I received a Facebook update which was so urgent that I had to read it as soon as it appeared, and I can't imagine ever having a job which was so important that I would need to read work-related emails immediately. I would think that if someone needed me urgently, they would just ring me rather than send an email. And my trusty Nokia can manage that. One of the most peculiar effects of the smartphone is, in my opinion, the newly-found addiction to maps and navigation systems. Is there anything more boring than knowing exactly where you are all of the time? How do you get to know an area if you don't get lost there a few times? And if you are dependent on online maps, what happens to those great places you find just by chance? You can't exactly find out from google maps the journey from "here" to "that hidden cafe with the tasty-looking cakes", or to "that pond next to the church which looks really pretty in the evening sun. " It is, of course, true that we all occasionally need to be pointed in the right direction, but I find that there are often real life humans you can ask. There are many benefits of having a very basic mobile phone, like the face that it cost me about twenty pounds, and that I don't have to worry too much about it being stolen. But the main benefit has to be the fact that it provides me with the world's greatest excuse for my bad habits. Whether it's turning up late to events, or getting lost on a trip, or missing buses or trains, or forgetting about an appointment at work. I'm pretty sure I'm covered with the following explanation "I'm really sorry, but I don't have a smartphone." To the writer, one benefit of having a basic mobile phone is that _ . A it can remind him of important appointments B it can often be found back after it is stolen C it can be used as an excuse for his bad habits D it can save him the trouble of catching trains Answer: C Teaching Boys: Developing classroom practices that work Amanda Keddie and Martin Mills Bridges the gap between theory and practice to offer a practical and sustainable framework for teaching boys in classrooms of all levels. Sales points Teaching boys remains one of the most concerned issues in education today. Many books have been published analysing why boys perform less well than girls, and why some boys struggle at school. But they don't show teachers what will work: this book does. The authors offer a research-based framework for classroom strategies that work with boys--and don't disadvantage girls. Description Boys' education continues to be a focus of public anxiety among teachers. Concern about boys' general educational under-achievement and the impact this under-achievement has on the boys themselves, as well as on the broader society, continues to fuel disagreement and debate on the best approach to take in response. Teaching Boys provides a framework for developing practical and sustainable ways to improve boys' education. The book indicates how what teachers do in the classroom can enable boys' academic and social outcomes. With detailed case studies, Keddie & Mills outline a range of practical classroom strategies that will assist teachers to meet the challenge of teaching boys, without neglecting the girls in the process. About the Authors Amanda Keddie is a researcher at the University of Queensland. Her research interests and teaching areas focus on classroom teaching, curriculum and educational sociology. Martin Mills is Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Queensland. He has written several books, and is co-author of Teachers and Schooling Making a Difference (Allen & Unwin, 2010). The book Teaching Boys is intended for _ . A parents B teachers C students D boys Answer: B In James Cameron's fantasy films, such as Avatar and The Abyss, the unexplored is decorated in color and filled with alien danger. But on his dive to the deepest place on Earth, which took place on a Sunday last month, reality proved far different: white, deserted, and dull. "I felt like I literally had gone to another planet and come back," Cameron said after returning from the cold, dark place in the western Pacific Ocean, nearly 7 miles (11km) below the surface. "It was a very fantastic day." Cameron is the first person to explore the deepest valley in the ocean since two men made a 20-minute trip there in 1960. He spent about three hours gliding through the icy darkness, brightened only by lights on the one-man sub . This deepest section of the Mariana Trench is so untouched that at first it appeared dull. But there's something strangely interesting about the first pieces of video that Cameron shot -- a sense of aloneness. "It's really the sense of isolation, realizing how tiny you are down in this big, black and unexplored place," the Titanic director said. The wordless minute-long video, released by sponsor National Geographic, shows Cameron's sub gliding across what he calls "the very soft, almost gelatinous flat plain." To Cameron, the main thing was to appreciate being there. "There had to be a moment where I just stopped, and took it in, and said, ' _ What does that mean?'" Cameron told reporters during a conference call. The trip was only about half as long as planned because Cameron's battery ran low. He said he would return and film it in 3D for later viewing. "I see this as the beginning," Cameron said. "It's not a one-time deal and then moving on. This is the beginning of opening up this new frontier." Why did Cameron dive to the deepest place on Earth? A To study ocean creatures in the deepest valley. B To prove his strong will and perseverance. C To get support from National Geographic. D To open up a new frontier. Answer: D When you are talking to somebody at a party, do you focus entirely on the person you are speaking with or does your attention keep jumping around the room to all the other people there? General1y, if the person is someone you really want to talk to, you will focus on him. Most other people will only get about half of your attention. You may think that this is OK, because if you don't really want to talk to him, then what does it matter if you don't give him your full attention? Consider two things. First, you may just not realize the importance of that conversation. If you are at a networking meeting and you hope to meet the CEO of Company X, but you end up talking to someone who has a low-level job at a different company, then you may let your attention wander as you speak to him. But maybe you don't realize that this person has already met the CEO and could introduce you. Do you think he will do that if he feels you don't really care about speaking to him? This doesn't mean you need to spend the whole time talking to him. Five or ten minutes of real attentive conversation can be worth 30 minutes to an hour of partial attention. Second, whether you want to speak to someone is based on the situation. You can love your wife, but if she tries to talk to you while you are watching something you like on TV, where is your attention going? Make your own decision, but if you want her to feel valued, give her your 100% attention. The nice thing is that in many cases you can give her your attention for a few minutes and then return to what you were doing. You miss very little, she feels valued, and all is good. A person who has a low-level job probably _ . A would like to talk to you B is well worth focusing on C wants to make friends with you D is the one you're looking for Answer: B On December 8, 1980, John Lennon -an English musician who rose to fame as one of the founding members of Liverpool pop band The Beatles - was shot dead outside his New York apartment. In the 1960s and 70s, Lennon was one of the most iconic men on the planet. Some 30 years ago on from his death, he is still respected by many people in the West. The Beatles, formed in 1960 in Liverpool, were one of the most commercial successful acts on the history of pop music, with, according to some estimates, global record sales over 1.1 billion. The band conveyed the progressive ideals in which many young people of the time believed. In the 1960s and 70s, widespread tension developed in both British and American society, regarding issues such as women's rights and the Vietnam War. Lennon in particular became known for his message of peace and for his opposition to the war in Vietnam. This led to an attempt by former US president Richard Nixon to drive him away from the US. Lennon's second-wife Yoko Ono was also politically active. Lennon was also hugely admired for his musical abilities. Along with fellow-Beatle Paul, Lennon and McCartney were the Beatle's song-writing team. After Lennon was shot by crazy fan Mark Chapman,one of his most iconic songs, Imagine, became a humanist anthem . Lennon's legacy survived his death and continued till this day. In 2008, he was ranked the fifth greater singer of all time in US-based Rolling Stone magazine. Former possessions of Lennon or furnishings from his homes continue to be sold for vast sums. In an auction to be held next week in London, lines written by Lennon on the back of a demand for an outstanding bill are expected to sell for PS350,000(3.7 million yuan). In August, a bathroom from his last home in Britain, was auctioned for PS9,500. And in 2009, a British film describing his early years before the Beatles began, was one of the most successful films of the years in the UK. But do Lennon and his music continue to resonate with the young people of today? Which of the following is right about the Beatles according to the passage? A It was founded in the 1960s in London. B It had 1.1 billion sales in Britain. C It was commercially successful. D Many of today's young people believe its ideals. Answer: C
Question: Betty is an American girl. She is thirteen. She is in Beijing with her parents. She doesn't know much Chinese. She can't speak Chinese well. Sometimes her friends don't understand her. It's Sunday morning. She's going to the zoo to see the pandas. She's waiting at the bus stop. At the bus stop she asks a Chinese boy how to go to the zoo. But the boy can't understand her. Then she takes out a pen and some paper. She draws a panda on the paper and shows the picture to the boy. The boy smiles and then shows her the way to the zoo. She is going to the zoo _ . A. by bike B. by bus C. by train D. on foot Answer: B. by bus Question: One night, I was sitting in my room half listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy fought with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. I didn't pay attention when Kevin rushed up the stairs with the hurt on his face. About 20mintes later, as I was walking up-stairs I heard Kevin crying inside the bathroom. I knocked on the door and asked, "Hey, Kevin, do you want to talk?" No answer. I tried again, "Why don't you come out of there?" Again, on answer. I tried again, "Why don't you come out of there?" Again, on answer. So, looking around, I grabbed a stack of cards and a pencil and wrote, "if you don't want to talk, we can write notes to each other.." An hour later, I was still sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with two stacks of cards in front of me. One was blank and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his _ feeling into words for me. As I read one of Kevin's notes, tears came to my eyes. It said, "No-body in this family cares about me. I'm not the youngest, and I'm not the oldest. Tommy thinks I'm silly and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he's better at basketball. And you're never around to even notice me." Tears came to my eyes as I wrote back to him. "You know Kevin, I really do love you and I'm sorry I don't always show it . I am here for you and you are loved in this family." There was no answer for a while, but then I heard a tearing sound coming from inside the bathroom. Kevin, who had run out of words wrote on a torn paper cup. "Thanks." I wrote back, "For what?" It returned to me with "Loving me." On it. Since then, I try my best to never only half-notice my family members any more. Kevin and I have a closer relationship now. And sometimes when one of us notices that the other is upset, we'll smile and say "Write it on a paper cup." ,. What does the writer want to tell us? A. It's important to keep peace in the family. B. It's hard to get on well with family members. C. Everyone should show how they love their family members. D. Everyone should hide their love deeply. Answer: D. Everyone should hide their love deeply. Question: You are what you eat Keeping better eating habits can help you have less illness. A healthy eating plan means choosing the right food to eat and cooking food in a healthy way. _ Do you often change your toothbrush? Maybe you think it is unnecessary. A study shows old toothbrushes bring disease . You should often change your toothbrush. Exercise Swimming, cycling, jogging, skating, dancing, walking and some other activities can help you stay healthy. You should exercise at least three times a week and for twenty minutes or more each time. Do it! Plan out your life You should have breakfast before you go to school. Have a right meal for lunch. Follow a healthy diet. What is the best title for the second passage?? A. Man's disease. B. Disease. C. Your toothbrush. D. Your bathroom. Answer: C. Your toothbrush. Question: A glass a day keeps obesity at bay.Alcohol has always been thought to cause weight gain because of its high sugar content,but new research suggests a glass a day could form part of a diet.Looking at past studies they found that,while heavy drinkers do put on weight;those who drink _ can actually lose weight. A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says,"Light to moderate alcohol intake,especially of wine,may be more likely to protect against,rather than promote,weight gain".The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions,particularly that current data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight. Boston University's Dr.Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood.His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes ,which relate to increasing obesity.Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers. The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat,and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods.They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks,taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight. For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one's risk of becoming obese.What's more,a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol,a compound present in grapes and red wine,destroys fat cells. What can we learn from the passage? A. Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight. B. Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat. C. The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear. D. The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect. Answer: D. The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect. Question: August was one of the nastiest months I can remember: torrential rain; a hailstorm or two; cold, bitter winds; and mists. But we are accustomed to such weather in England. Lord Byron used to say that an English summer begins on July 31 and ends on Aug. 1. He called 1816 "the year without a summer." He spent it gazing across Lake Geneva, watching the storms, with 18-year-old Mary Shelley. The lightening flickering across the lake inspired her Frankenstein, the tale of the man-made monster galvanized into life by electricity. This summer's atrocious weather tempted me to tease a Green whom I know. "Well, what about your weather theory now?" (One of the characteristics of Greens is that they know no history.) He replied: "Yes, this weather is unprecedented. England has never had such an August before. It's global warming, of course." That's the Greens' stock response to anything weather-related. Too much sun? "Global warming." Too little sun? "Global warming." Drought? "Global warming." Floods? "Global warming." Freezing cold? "Global warming." I wish the great philosopher Sir Karl Popper were alive to _ the unscientific nature of global warming. He was a student when Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was first published and then successfully tested. Einstein said that for his theory to be valid it would have to pass three tests. "If," Einstein wrote to British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, "it were proved that this effect does not exist in nature, then the whole theory would have to be abandoned." The idea that human beings have changed and are changing the basic climate system of the Earth through their industrial activities and burning of fossil fuels--the essence of the Greens' theory of global warming--has not much basis in science. Global warming, like Marxism, is a political theory of actions, demanding compliance with its rules. Those who buy in to global warming wish to drastically curb human economic and industrial activities, regardless of the consequences for people, especially the poor. If the theory's conclusions are accepted and agreed upon, the destructive results will be felt most severely in those states that adhere to the rule of law and will observe restrictions most faithfully. The global warming activists' target is the U.S. If America is driven to accept crippling restraints on its economy it will rapidly become unable to shoulder its burdens as the world's sole superpower and ultimate defender of human freedoms. We shall all suffer, however, as progress falters and then ceases and living standards decline. Which of the following is probably a good title for this article? A. Why Einstein's Theory Stands the Tests. B. Which Country the "Greens" Are Attacking? C. Global Warming? I See Little Point. D. The Climate in England and beyond. Answer: C. Global Warming? I See Little Point.
Every year landslides {} cause 25 to 50 deaths and $1.5 billion in damage in the United States.They account for 15 percent of the deaths from natural disasters in Europe.And in December, a single event killed more than 200 people in the Philippines.Sending workers to stabilize mountainsides using steel bars and cement can help prevent disaster, but it introduces new difficulties.Shaking drills produce harmful dust and loosen heavy, dangerous debris ."It's quite a risky job," says Giorgio Pezzuto of D'Appolonia, an engineering company in Italy. D'Appolonia, working with eight other companies, may have an answer: a three-ton robot called Roboclimber."The idea is to operate a machine far away that can drill without a human being on board,'" says Pezzuto, manager for the project, which is supported by the European Commission.Engineers claim that the machine will be faster and cheaper than manual labor.The robot, a large radio-controlled four-legged mechanical spider , has cost at least $2 million so far.The final product should be able to climb unstable mountainsides, drill holes, insert bars and cement, and collect data on the slope' s stability.Testing should begin in May. The biggest advantage of this product is that _ . it can drill without a human being on board A new word has suddenly become wildly popular in China - "tuhao" - which loosely translated means "nouveau riche". There have been more than 100 million references to the word "tuhao" on social media since early September. It's being used to describe everything from the new People's Daily building, to expensive celebrity weddings full of bling, and the new gold-coloured iPhone. In Chinese "tu" means earth and "hao" means rich. To say someone is tuhao is to imply they come from a poor peasant background, and have made it rich quick - but don't quite have the manners, or sophistication to go along with it. It's like the term "nouveau riche", says Professor Steve Tsang at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies in Nottingham - but has even more negative meanings, suggesting a certain vulgarity . "Tuhao" is actually an old word - dating back perhaps as far as the Southern Dynasty 1,500 years ago - but it has always meant something rather different. During the communist revolution, from the 1920s to early 1950s, it was widely used to refer to landholders and gentry who would bully those beneath them. This new usage of the term took off in September after a widely-shared joke about a rich, but unhappy man, who goes to a Buddhist monk for advice, expecting to be told to live a more simple life. The monk replies instead with the phrase: "Tuhao, let's be friends!" Chinese internet users are highly creative in their use of language, and are constantly inventing, and re-inventing words as a way of getting past censorship rules. But in this case, its popularity seems to be down to the fact that it expresses China's changing society so well - many people sneer at those with wealth, but are secretly jealous. What is the best title of the passage? Tuhao, a new popular word in China Why Rent Textbooks? Renting textbooks is a relatively new idea for everyone. Back in the old days, the idea of renting one never existed since the books are affordable or readily available in libraries. But the time has changed and with the changes in educational system and various economic challenges happening across the globe, the price of textbooks increased. Given such fact, textbook renting is now a new fashion among college students. Research was made to find out if renting helps one save money and time rather than buying new textbooks and realized that it really is. Let's examine carefully further and see why renting books is a cost-effective way to still get to have your textbooks without _ too much money from your pocket. Gives value for your money You don't have to buy all of your textbooks. Those non-major subjects, are better acquired through renting. It saves one money and helps you give out the money you save on some other personal possessions you need in college. Renting textbooks allows you to save at least 50% off the standard retail price for each item. You can tell, with a little research, that renting is a lot cheaper compared to buying used books aside from looking way better than the former. Saves time You can save a great deal of time when renting a textbook. Instead of browsing your way for hours trying to look for better deals online, you can simply go to a popular book renting marketplace online and just order away. There is literally no need to skimming for hours and see where you can find a great deal. Often, the rental company gives you prepaid postage slip just to get you going and do the same when you decide to return the book. This process not only saves you time, it also saves other resources like gas if you decide to go to the nearest bookstore to buy books or spend hours using electricity just to find a good deal. User Friendly Aside from being able to save money and time, renting textbooks brings convenience to all users. Imagine trying to scan the virtual bookshelf and checking on comments of previous users and figuring out which ones got bad comments and which had great ones. It could be fun at first but if you are short of time, the process can become annoying. If you rent books, you will only be needing the book's ISBN number and find it right away. No more time-wasting site search. Type in the ISBN number, order the book, and wait for it to get shipped to your home. The following statements are the reasons why textbook renting is now a new fashion among college students EXCEPT _ . The process saves other resources if you don't go to the nearest bookstore What do you like? Different people like different things. Some people like loud music, other people don't. They think it is too noisy. They like soft music. Many people like sports, but they do not like the same sports. In some countries, cricket is a very popular sport. In others, it is not popular at all. No one plays it and few people watch it on TV. The World Cup is very popular. Millions of people watch the games on TV. Some people don't like doing sports. They just like to watch other people playing. Different people like different foods. Some people do not like meat. They eat most kinds of fruits and vegetables. Some people do not like potatoes and bread. They prefer rice or corn. Not everyone like the same colors. Most people have a favorite color. Some people like bright colors. Others prefer pale colors. The world is an interesting place because we all like different things. Which sentence is true? Most people have a favorite color What usually occurs over a period of many years? rock breaking
The greatest recent changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman's life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children ,her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience foods. This important change in women's way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age , and though women tend to marry younger ,more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more after wads, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each of them. We are told that in an average family about 1990 _ . A many children died before they were five B the youngest child would be fifteen C seven of eight children lived to be more than five D four or five children died when they were five Answer: D Recently,CCTV journalists have approached pedestrians with their cameras,held a microphone to their mouth and asked a simple question :"Are you happy?" The question has caught many interviewees off guard.Even Mo Yan who recently won a Nobel Prize,responded by saying:"I don't know". While the question has become a buzz phrase and the Internet plays host to heated discussions,we ask:What exactly is happiness ?And how do you measure it? In the 1776 US Declaration of Independence,Thomas Jefferson set in writing the people's unalienable right to"Life,Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".Last year,235 years on,China's Premier Wen Jiabao told the nation:"Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily."At last year's National People's Congress,officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target for the 12thfive-year plan. US psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness:Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth describes happiness as "a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive than negative emotions",according to US broadcasting network PBS.This may sound straight forward enough,but it still doesn't explain what determines people's happiness. Many argue that happiness is _ and that there is no single source.It also means different things to different people.For some,happiness can be as simple as having enough cash. Researchers believe happiness can be separated into two types:daily experiences of hedonic well-being;and evaluative well-being, the way people think about their lives as a whole.The former refers to the quality of living,whereas the latter is about overall happiness,including life gods and achievement.Happiness can cross both dimensions. Li Jun,a psychologist and mental therapy practitioner at a Beijing clinic,says:"Happiness can mean both the most basic human satisfaction or the highest level of spiritual pursuit. It' s a simple yet profound topic ." Chen Shangyuan,21,a junior English major at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,said his idea of happiness always evolves."At present it relates to how productive I am in a day,"he said."It might be linked to job security or leisure time after I graduate." Then there is the question of measuring happiness.Does it depend on how many friends we have,or whether we own the latest smart phone? Is it even quantifiable? Economists are trying to measure happiness in people's lives.Since 1972,Bhutan's GDP measurement has been,replaced by a Gross National Happiness index.It is calculated according to the peoples'sense of being well-governed,their relationship with the environment,their satisfaction with economic development,and their sense of national belonging. In 2009,US economist Joseph Stiglitz proposed "to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people's well-being".But is well-being more easily measured? According to the passage,the writer may most likely agree that _ . A CCTV journalists are concerned about people's happiness out of sympathy. B the question has led to heated discussions about who are the happiest people in China, C Bhutan's new index shows that people there are the happiest in the world D it is not easy for us to decide what determines people's happiness Answer: D The concept of health holds different meanings for different people and groups. These meanings have also changed over time. This change is no more evident than in Western society today, when notions of health and health promotion are being challenged and expanded in new ways. For much of recent Western history, health has been viewed in the physical sense only. That is, good health has been connected to the smooth mechanical operation of the body, while ill health has been attributed to a breakdown in this machine. Health in this sense has been defined as the absence of disease or illness and is seen in medical terms. In the late 1940s the World Health Organization challenged this physically and medically oriented view of health. They stated that health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and is not merely the absence of disease (WHO, 1946). Health and the person were seen more holistically (mind / body / spirit) and not just in physical terms. The 1970s was a time of focusing on the prevention of disease and illness by emphasizing the importance of the lifestyle and behaviour of the individual. Specific behaviours which were seen to increase risk of disease, such as smoking, lack of fitness and unhealthy eating habits, were targeted. Creating health meant providing not only medical health care, but also health promotion programs and policies which would help people maintain healthy behaviours and lifestyles. While this individualistic healthy lifestyle approach to health worked for some (the wealthy members of society), it was of little benefit to people experiencing poverty, unemployment, underemployment or who had little control over the conditions of their daily life. During the 1980s and 1990s there has been a growing swing away from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health. While lifestyle factors still remain important, health is being viewed also in terms of the social, economic and environmental contexts in which people live. This broad approach to health is called the socio-ecological view of health. At the Ottawa Conference in 1986, a charter was developed which outlined new directions for health promotion based on the socio-ecological view of health. This charter, known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, remains as the backbone of health action today. In exploring the scope of health promotion it states that: Good health is a major resource for social, economic and personal development and an important dimension of the quality of life. Political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, behavioural and biological factors can all favour health or be harmful to it. (WHO, 1986) The socio-ecological view of health includes the following broad areas EXCEPT _ . A the social contexts B the environmental contexts C the economic contexts D the area of personal development Answer: D A farmer had some puppies to sell. He painted a sign advertising them on the edge of his yard. One day, a little boy came to buy one of the puppies. With a whistle , the farmer called, "Here, Dolly!" Out from the doghouse ran Dolly followed by _ . The little boy stood against the fence . His eyes danced with happiness. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, something wrong with its legs, doing its best to catch up. "I want that one," the little boy said. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would." With that, the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so, he showed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see, sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands." Which of the following words best describes the boy? A clever B lovely C warm-hearted D strange Answer: C When this story happened, they were working around a very large house. Their job was to do the cleaning. It was not a difficult job, but sometimes it was a little dangerous, because they had to walk below where workmen were working. Often these workmen dropped something from the top of the house many meters high to the ground. One morning Joe was working near the house with a cigarette behind one of his ears. Suddenly somebody on the top shouted, "Look out!" But Joe did not "look out". He looked up. And as he did so, a long knife missed Joe's head, but it cut off one of his ears. At once he put his hand to one side of his head and cried out, "I've lost an ear. Help! Help!" Jeff ran up to help his friend. "Look for my ear," Joe told him. "It must be on the ground somewhere." Jeff looked everywhere for the missing ear. At last he found an ear on the ground. He picked it up and carried it to Joe. "Here you are," he said, "I've found it." Joe looked at it. "No, that's not my ear." he said, "Mine had a cigarette behind it." How did Joe lose his ear? A He cut it off by himself. B Jeff cut it off with a knife. C A falling knife cut it off. D A cigarette burned it up. Answer: C
A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child. On seeing this, people began to talk. "You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior , "said a middle-aged man. "Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger. "That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor. " Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said , "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised..." Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted , "I know his name. I call him Dad." The passengers were _ to see the conductor's kindness to the woman and the child. A. excited B. pleased C. interested D. surprised Answer: D Jay Chou was born on January 18, 1979, in Taiwan, China. He grew up with his mother, and was a quiet and shy kid. He didn't do well in study, so people thought he would never be successful in life. As a small child, Jay took a great interest in music. His mother sent him to learn the piano when he was only three years old. He loved it and kept on practicing. When he was in high school, he could play the piano quite well. At the same time, he showed his talent for writing songs. Before Jay became a singer, he worked as a songwriter. For two years, he spent most of his time writing for singers. Some of them were very famous, like Coco Less and Jacky Cheung. Jay released his first album in 2000 and soon he got quite popular. Now Jay is one of the most famous singers in Asia. However, he is still shy and doesn't speak clearly when he sings or talks, but he has a lot of fans. Most of his fans like him because he is really good at music and never follows others. Jay Chou wrote songs _ for two years. A. for himself B. for his friends C. for his mother D. for Coco Lee, Jacky Cheung and some other singers Answer: D There are many kinds of movies in the world. For example: comedies, scary movies, documentaries , soap operas, action movies... People love movies. Comedies make people laugh because they are funny. Scary movies make people frightened and cry because they are scary. Documentaries bring people knowledge because they are educational. People like soap operas because they are romantic . People also like action movies a lot because they are exciting. Different people like different kinds of movies. Girls always like soap operas. Boys like action movies and scary movies. But all girls and boys like comedies. . What kind of movies do boys like according to the passage ? A. Action movies and scary movies. B. Documentaries and action movies. C. Scary movies and soap operas. D. Comedies, action movies and scary movies. Answer: D The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups -- plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some fine -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress." "What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups." "Now consider this: Life is the coffee and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and do not change the quality of life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. So, don't let the cups drive you... enjoy the coffee instead." The professor brought in a variety of cups because _ . A. he was richer than his students B. he was fond of collecting cups C. there were too many people to drink coffee D. the cups would play an important part in his talk Answer: D Which likely would suffer in the arctic? A. a polar bear B. a lion C. a penguin D. a walrus Answer: B
Hawthorne rolled over in bed and looked around the room. He let out a breath. His eyes were half-closed as he shoved the covers back from his bed, and moved towards the door. He knew that he had to check on Kate, if he did nothing else. She was ill, with a heart problem, and he worried about her all the time. They both lived in a home for orphans, and he had since his parents had died, when he was the age of four. He had taken care of Kate as if she were his sister ever since. He wandered to her room sitting himself by her on her bed, shoving her hair from her face. She moved on the bed as he pulled her into his arms, "Kate." He said into her ear, "It's time to wake up." He pressed a kiss to her head, and her eyes opened. "Hawthy?" She said, her nickname for him moving from her lips. "Yea." He moved her hair. "I want to go outside today," she said, and he nodded in response. "If you are up to it, I won't stop you", he told her, and she smiled. "Thanks Hawthy", she said. It wasn't long until she fell back to sleep. What is the boy's name? Answer: Hawthorne Remember those highly charged first days? They were full of real-life tests where there was always something new to learn, and not always from a book. One of my first lessons occurred on my first day of kindergarten, when I got on the wrong bus --- as my older sister still likes to remind me. Life's minor embarrassments do happen, and I know I can't protect my own children from them. I just try to teach them to laugh at theirs like I do at mine. My daughter Erin started on the wrong foot in the 1st grade, at a new school where she knew no one. All the other 1st graders couldn't resist opening and closing, closing and opening their new desks. Wouldn't you know Erin would neither open nor close? She came to find out she was sitting on the wrong side! Even getting around in a new school can be a challenge. Erin's older sister, Molly, almost missed her first lunch in junior high. The school secretary came to her rescue, arming her with the knowledge that while the gym and flex space were next door to each other, lunch was served only in the latter. The first day sometimes has _ for Mom and Dad, too. Once, I managed tostockpile Molly and Erin's school supplies as they went on sale the previous year. I thought everything was ready for the first day --- oh, yeah! My victory dance was short-lived, however. After day one my ladies rushed off the bus, both worried and confused, saying "Mom, we need wide-rule not college-rule paper, and three 2-inch notebooks instead of two 3-inch ones! And for standardized testing, standardized No. 2 pencils only, please." Perhaps my favorite first-day memory happened the first time my two daughters went to full-day public school together, when I was understandably emotional. Erin noticed my red eyes and white smile. "You are happy and sad, huh, Mommy?" Such a sensitive girl! She added, "Just like the time when you were crying and laughing after the car stopped running on the ice and we were OK." Well, at least I could laugh! What is the subject of the passage? Answer: The first day of a new school year. As a volunteer teacher, I traveled a long way to a small village school in Longzhou, Guangxi. On my way there, I thought about the village, the school and the children there. However, _ when I arrived there. It wasn't what I expected. It didn't look like a school at all! The school had only three rooms, one for Grades 1,2 and 3, and the other for Graeds 4,5 and 6. There was a third one for me. The children welcomed me warmly on my first day. They asked me a lot of questions, and I told them stories about myself and my life in Shanghai. The next day, I gave them a text to find out their level. To my surprise, thought the test was easy, over half of the students failed it, yet they all wanted to learn new things. I knew they needed me. I was busy preparing lessons, reading test papers every night. I enjoyed teaching these lovely and hard-working children, and I could see that they were making progress with my help. I have also learned a lot from them. I understand their lives better, and we are now good friends. I have worked in Longzhou for a year now. I'm very happy, and the experience has been very useful to me. I love the small village and the children. In fact, I would like to continue working here. ,. Which of the following statements is NOT true? Answer: The volunteer teacher doesn't like to work there any longer. The temperature of a monitor lizard will increase if it Answer: leaves a rainy forest for a sunny desert For Kim LeBlanc, knowing that her son Tyler's organs, eyes and other tissues have given life or healing to others is helping her cope with the loss of her child, who was struck by a truck in Guelph on May 31. Tyler was believed to have been texting a friend when he stepped onto a high-traffic road against the green light and was struck by the truck. Then he was sent to a Hamilton hospital. Surgery was performed to ease the pressure in his brain, but .the family was told he would not recover. "With all of his injuries, I just prayed all night for a miracle. And I was granted a miracle, but not in the way I'd expected," says LeBlanc, her voice choked by emotion. The family decided to donate Tyler's organs, a choice she believes her kind and considerate son would have made on his own. It's also a choice that transplant programs wish would be made more often, because the need for donor organs is far more than the supply worldwide. More than 1,500 people in Ontario are on the waiting list for life-saving organs, and one dies every day because an organ has not become available in time. Across Canada, the gap between donations and the need for organs continues to widen. At the end of 2010, more than 4,400 Canadians were on the waiting list for donor organs, including 3,362 needing a kidney. That year, 229 died before the organs they needed became available. LeBlanc recalls the morning when her son was taken off life support and his organs were removed. Despite living what she calls a parent's absolute worst nightmare, LeBlanc says she has got the strength to bear such an unbearable loss. "He's still there. He's still living. And he's still breathing. And he's brought so much joy to families," she says. "He's my hero. He really is my hero." Tyler was struck by the truck mainly because _ . Answer: he broke the traffic rule
There was a big race in town. Stephanie and Sarah were friends. Stephanie was faster than Sarah. On the day of the race, they wished each other good luck. Sarah tripped on a rock during the race. She cried but another one of her friends, Matt, helped her stand up. Stephanie cheered for her to finish after she crossed the line. On the next day Sarah came into school with a bruise on her knee. Jane thought she looked silly. They were in the same class. Jane did not make fun of Sarah. She gave her a bandage instead. It had a cat on it to match Sarah's shirt. Sarah was still unhappy. She would not eat her lunch or play at recess. When Stephanie tried to talk to her she frowned. Then Stephanie gave Sarah a bunny toy that she liked. Sarah smiled. She gave Stephanie a hug. What did Stephanie give Sarah? A. A rock B. A bunny toy C. A hug D. A bandage Answer: B You may feel curious about students in other countries: Do they also have so much homework? What do they do in their free time? On April 8, a report came out on the lives of high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. It surveyed around 6,200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report. Who studies hardest? Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That's much more than students of the US (26.4%), Japan (8.2%) and South Korea (5.2%). Who sleeps most often in class? Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45% of them said they sometimes _ in class. In South Korea, it's 32%; in the US, 21%; and 5% in China. South Korean students don't like taking notes. About 70% said they write down what the teacher says in class, much fewer than in Japan (93%), China (90%) and the US (89%). Who is the most distracted ? American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted: 64.2% said they chat with friends in class; 46.9% said they eat snacks in class; and 38.9% said they send e-mails or read unrelated books in class. What do they do after school? In their free time, most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercises. Most Korean students watch TV. What country isn't mentioned in the report? A. The US B. South Korea C. Japan D. India Answer: D One day, a woman traveled alone in the mountains.When she was walking, she found a precious stone.She was very happy and put the stone into her bag. The next day, the woman met another traveler.The traveler was hungry and the woman opened her bag to s hare her food with him.The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and said, "How beautiful the stone is! Can I have a look?" The woman gave it to the traveler.The traveler looked and looked, and then he asked the woman whether she would like to give it to him.She gave the stone to him without hesitation . The traveler left.He was very happy because he knew he could get lots of money by selling the stone and he could live a rich life.But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman. "I know how precious the stone is," the traveler said. "But I gave it back.I hope that you can give me something even more precious." "Even more precious? What is that?" the woman asked. "Your beautiful mind is more precious than the stone," the man said. Which sentence is true according to the passage? A. The traveler didn't like the stone at last. B. The traveler became very rich at last. C. The woman was happy when she found the stone. D. The woman didn't want to give the stone to the traveler. Answer: C Warning: reading too much Cinderella to your daughter may damage her emotional health in later life. A paper to be developed at the international congress of cognitive psychotherapy in Gothenburg suggests a link between the attitudes of women abused by their parents and early exposure to the wrong sort of fairy tales. It says girls who identified with Cinderella, Rapunzel and Beauty in Beauty and the Beast were more likely to stay in destructive relationships as adults. The theory was developed by Susan Darker Smith, a psychotherapist at the University of Derby. She interviewed 67 female abuse survivors and found that 61 put up with severe abuse because they believed they could change their partners with patience, composition and love. The same view was taken by male survivors who had been abused as children. Hardly any of the women in a control group, who had not experienced abuse, thought they could change their partners in this way. The same view was taken by male survivors who had been abused as children. These women and men said they would leave a relationship rather than put up with abuse from a partner. Ms Darker Smith found the abused women were much more likely to identify with Cinderella and other _ female characters in fairytales, who were later rescued by a stranger prince or hero. Although most girls heard the stories, damage appeared to be done to those who adopted the characters as role models. "They believe if their love is strong enough they can change their parents' behaviors," she said." Overexposure in children to stories that emphasize the transformational qualities of love may make women believe they can change their partners." For example, they might never have understood the obvious flaw in the story of Rapunzel, who remained locked in a high tower until rescued by a knight on a white horse, who broke the door down. "The question," said Ms Darker Smith, "is why she did not break the door down herself." The passage is especially intended for _ . A. parents with young daughters B. girls who like reading fairy stories C. girls who think they can change their partners D. parents with grown-up daughters Answer: A Dear MSN, I live in San Diego. I'm single and would like to meet people near me. Can I do this on the Internet? Searching in San Diego Dear Searching, On the Internet, you could easily go looking for love in all the wrong places, but here are lots of great ways to meet singles near you. The Web is a good place to start. MSN also has international sites for Europe, Australia and South America. There are several California-based MSN web communities where you can meet like-minded people near you as well as city-specific chat rooms for real-time interaction . Hope for some clever friends. What about a little more excitement in your online interactions? Try the "Gaming Zone!" I also tried MSN Search, looked under the "Personal" heading and found "Relationships". Clicked on that, then found "Ads & Personals", by "Region" and found San Diego specific personal from there. Try it! Also, give "IRC" (Internet Relay Chat) and "Usenet Newsgroups" a shot. Many a net romance has started and then developed in these off-the-Web communities. If you'd rather make friends F2F (face to face), the Web has some helpful dating and redating tips. According to the second letter, MSN has several advantages such as _ . A. shooting IRC and Usenet Newsgroups B. giving you time and places to chat with others C. satisfying you with whatever kind of help you want D. supplying you with many methods to make friends Answer: D
Question: Li Ming is staying with the Wang family for the weekend.Today it is warm and fine.The family are having dinner in the garden.They often have dinner in the garden on a warm and fine spring day.Now Mr and Mrs Wang are sitting at the table with Li Ming under a tree. "It's great to have dinner out here on such a lovely day,"Mrs Wang says."What's the weather like in your hometown,Li Ming?"Mr Wang asks."It's not very warm in spring.But I like the spring there best,"Li Ming says."Help yourself to some cakes,Li Ming,"Mrs Wang says."Thanks,"says Li Ming."The cakes are very nice.I enjoy the dinner very much." What's the weather like in Li Ming's hometown? A. It isn't very cold in spring. B. It's very nice. C. It's not very warm in spring. D. It's very cold. Answer: C. It's not very warm in spring. Question: A disheveled man appeared in court Thursday on charges of murdering a Chinese woman whose fight with her attacker was seen on webcam by her boyfriend in China. Police refused to release any details about the crime or its possible motive. The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found Friday in her apartment in Toronto a few hours after her boyfriend witnessed the attack, police said. She was found undressed from the waist down but there were no obvious signs of sexual attack or trauma severe enough to kill her. Police say it may be weeks before the results of an autopsy are known. Brian Dickson, 29, stood before the court in a wrinkled white shirt and blue jeans as a charge of first- degree murder was read out. He did not enter a plea. His case was held over until April 26. Dickson was arrested Wednesday. Police only announced his name and his age and asked the media not to publish any photos of Dickson, saying it could compromise the investigation. Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella declined to respond to the request further. Liu's father, Liu Jianhui, who arrived from China after being informed of his daughter's death, thanked authorities for their quick action. "I sincerely thank the people concerned with my daughter's case," he told reporters after the arrest. "Our daughter was studying very hard." Police released no motive or details about Dickson, but one friend described the Toronto man as _ . Patricia Tomasi, a friend of Dickson's, told The Associated Press that she acted in a play at a local theater in Toronto with Dickson in 2007. "He doesn't seem like the type but that's what they always say," Tomasi said. "He's tall with boyish good looks. I don't know much about him except that he wanted to be an actor." Dickson attended York University where he studied global politics, but did not earn a degree from there. He later worked for the Atlantic Council of Canada (ACC), where he served as an assistant to the president Juilie Lindhout. According to his biography on a newsletter from the Atlantic Council of Canada, Dickson has also been a running instructor and has been involved with Developments in Literacy, a Pakistani aid organization that raises money for children in Pakistan. A statement from the Atlantic Council of Canada on Thursday said it was not council policy to comment on staff, but it confirmed that Dickson had been an intern with the council from September 29, 2008, until March 27, 2009. Liu was chatting with her boyfriend, Meng Xianchao, by webcam at about 1 am. Friday when a man knocked on the door, police said. Meng reported seeing a struggle break out between the two before Liu's webcam was shut off. Meng contacted other friends in Toronto who in turn called police. The victim's father, Liu Jianhui, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before moving to Canada, where she met Meng. Liu Qian's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack, police said. Police said the online chat was on a live streaming camera and was not recorded, though investigators were trying to figure out if there was any way they could recover it. York University, whose campus is located near one of Toronto's rougher neighborhoods, is one of Canada's largest universities with more than 53,000 undergraduate and graduate students. About 3,200 of York's students come from more than 150 foreign countries, the university's website says. Why did police ask the media not to publish any photos of Dickson? A. Worrying about bad influences on the investigation. B. Not intending to give out any information about Dickson. C. Not confirming whether Dickson had killed Liu Qian. D. Wanting to protect their citizen for fear of losing face. Answer: A. Worrying about bad influences on the investigation. Question: On May 28th, 1998 I was driving my 13-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son to school. Unfortunately my car crashed with a truck. All three of us were critically injured. Stacey's brain injury was the most severe. Despite all attempts to save her, she died two days later. When I became conscious, I heard my husband talking to the organ donor coordinator . We knew that Stacey would want that because that's the kind of person she was. She always wanted to assist people. She was always smiling and brought so much joy to others. She was friendly and enjoyed writing stories and poetry. It has been a comfort to know that Stacey lives on in the lives of others. I have even met the family of one of Stacey's kidney recipients . This little girl was 6 years old at the time of the transplant. She was suffering from Nephrotic Syndrome. I saw pictures showing the effects of the Nephrotic Syndrome and the pictures of her after the transplant. _ already showed an amazing difference. We correspond every year through letters, cards and pictures. The girl is doing really well at school and will be graduating from high school next year. I am so grateful that we have this relationship. I also feel relieved that my daughter has made so great a difference to a person's life. Over the years, I have had some kind of contact with all of the recipients except the heart recipient. I'm very sorry for that. I would love to hear something from the heart recipient's family. There are so many things that I wonder about her. I wonder if she is anything like Stacey. Does she smile all the time? Does she enjoy writing stories and poetry? I do hope that they can contact us! I feel guilty because I was the one driving in the accident which caused Stacey's death. I also feel proud that my daughter has helped so many people. When did Stacey die from the traffic accident? A. On May 28th, 1998 B. On May 29th, 1998 C. On May 31st, 1998 D. On May 30th, 1998 Answer: D. On May 30th, 1998 Question: A town built a road through a forest. Deer live in the forest on both sides of the road. Which would not help protect deer from the cars on the road? A. feeders on the side of the road B. lights along the side of the road C. signs telling drivers to be careful of deer D. bridges that let the deer walk under the road Answer: A. feeders on the side of the road Question: Nowadays people are troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media. Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what's wrong with a society that presents videos of violence as entertainment. Viewing large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behavior in certain individuals. The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality . Skeptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: "At this time, well over 1,000 studies... point to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children." Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of catering to politicians, and even disputed the number of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression. And when he weeded out "the most doubtful measures of aggression", only 28% supported a connection. The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read "aggressive" or "non-aggressive" words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intention of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important step in the right direction. Another appropriate step would be to tone down the criticism until we know more. Several researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media. That is, of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither science nor society. What is the skeptics' view of media violence? A. Violence on television is fairly accurate reflection of real-world life. B. Most studies exaggerate the effect of media violence on the viewers. C. A causal relationship exists between media and real-world violence. D. The influence of media violence on children has been underestimated. Answer: B. Most studies exaggerate the effect of media violence on the viewers.
I hear many parents saying that their teenage children are rebellion . I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are all taking the same way of showing that they degree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own, most of them are trying to seize at one another's hands for safety. They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon -----into a larger cocoon. It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly opened up a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teenager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high narks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path. But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come-----with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts. The writer's purpose in writing this passage is to tell _ . Answer: teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves What are you reading? (A3) How do your reading habits compare to those of students of a similar age? We ran a poll to discover what, when, where and why teens read. Literary greats(A4-7) People have been telling stories for centuries. We profile eight authors, whose work has made a great contribution both to literature and the world as a whole. Have you read any of their books? Teen reading(A8-10) Not all books are written by adults for adults. The market for books aimed at young adults is very strong and many new titles are published each year. Some of them are even written by teenagers. Science fiction (A11) Have you ever thought what it would be like to travel in space or meet _ ? Jules Verne and Douglas Adams did. It's time to explore the world of science fiction, where anything and everything can happen. Horror(A12) You'll want to sleep with the light on after reading a story by Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King. They are two of the finest fiction writers. Get ready for unpleasant deaths and frightening ghosts . _ (A13) Don't have time to read a whole book? Then why not spend a few minutes with a book of poetry? We have selected some poems that celebrate the winter season--white snow, cold weather and Christmas. Past and present(A14) Over the centuries, stories have been written on all kinds of things. Find out about the development of paper and printing----and what books will look like in the future. Join in the fun(A15--16) Reading is enjoyed by almost everyone. Here are some activities you can do to make it even more fun. You can also try our special literature quiz. Which of the following can be put into the blank before(A13)? Answer: Winter poems For Chinese, it's a time for dragon boat racing and Zongzi . But across the Yellow Sea, South Korea, wrestling and swing play are the _ .However, both events go by the same name-the Dragon Boat Festival-which falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar. One festival, two cultures: does one nation have the right to call its own? It has been reported that South Korea will apply to the UNESCO to make the celebration its cultural heritage .If successful, people from other countries may see the Dragon Festival as a Korean creation. As the birthplace of the yearly event more than 2,000 years ago, China is not happy with the situation."It would be a shame if another country successfully made a traditional Chinese festival part of its own cultural heritage ahead of China," said Zhou Heping, deputy culture minister.The Ministry of Culture is even thinking of making its own application to UNESCO, covering all traditional Chinese festivals, including the Dragon Boat event. Over the years, the Dragon Boat Festival has spread throughout the world.In Japan and Viet Nam, as well as South Korea, the festival has mixed with and become part of local culture. With this in mind, some experts say that it is meaningless to argue about which country the festival belongs to."No one can deny that it came from China," said Long Haiqing, an expert from Hunan Province."But if all the countries involved can protect culture heritage together, they will all benefit." It can be inferred that South Korea _ . Answer: has proclaimed the Dragon Boat Festival as a part of its cultural heritage Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a parent you might never guess how it can benefit your child. It helps your child: Develop Social Skills As children play pretend games,they explore relationships between family members,friends and coworkers and learn more about how people interact.Playing doctors,they imagine how physicians care for their patients.Imaginative play helps develop empathy with others.If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet,they are better able to help those in need.They become more willing to play fair,to share,and to cooperate. Build Selfconfidence Young children have very little control over their lives.Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a super hero defending the planet is inspiring to children.It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential. Promote Intellectual Growth Using imagination is the beginning of abstract thought.Children who can see a king's castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically.This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects,letters symbolize sounds,and so on. Practice Language Skills Kids who pretend with their friends do a lot of talking.This helps increase their vocabulary,improve sentence structure and develop communication skills. Get Rid of Fears Pretending can help children get rid of their fears and worries.When children roleplay the big,bad monster under the bed,they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn't seem quite so big or so bad. The best title for this passage probably is _ . Answer: Benefits of Playing Pretend Games Shanghai ---- More Shanghai people are renting cars to travel over the coming National Day holiday, Tom reported today. Most cars in large local car-rental companies such as Yongda,Anji and Dazhong are rented so far with the Buick Sport Utility Vehicle(SUV)in great need. Santana and Jetta were the most popular car models rented by Shanghai people for travel last year,while the high-end Buick models have attracted more people this year. However,the rent on a Buick GL or GS model is between 650 yuanand 750yuana day,nearly double that of Santana or Jetta cars. Compared with Santana,Buick looks better,which has greater capabilities and is safer and more comfortable,said a car renter." I don't mind paying a higher cost for a Buick to enjoy the holiday,"he said. SUV cars are very popular in the car renting market, according to some car-rental firms. "All the 31 Buick GL&SUV cars were rented out several days ago," said a manager in the Shanghai Yongda Car Rental Co. Local people would like to go travel with as groups of friends,so SUV cars are a better choice,said an industry analyst. Moreover, SUV cars are safer on rough roads,the analyst said. According to the data,most people rented cars for seven days,a lesser number rented them for two or three days. At present for how much money can you rent a Santana or Jetta for a day? Answer: Between 350 yuanand 380yuan.
Uncle Wang works in a book shop in the middle of the city. The shop is not far from his home. It is about one kilometer away. So Uncle Wang seldom goes to work by bus. He usually goes bike there by bike, sometimes on foot .It takes him twenty minutes to get there by bike and forty minutes on foot. Today his bike is broken. He wants to walk there. Now he is having breakfast. He leaves home at 7:50 and he walks to work twenty minutes earlier. His work starts at 8:30 in the morning and finishes at 4:45 in the afternoon. His work finished at _ . Answer: 4:45 There was a young woman who had a baby. She was very young. She had to learn how to feed the baby right. The doctor helped her with this. The doctor helped her with many things. Yesterday, the doctor had helped her try and teach the child to use the toilet. Today, she puts a bib on the baby to try to feed her. She tries to feed it with a frog shaped spoon. She tries to feed her a banana. She tries a rhyme, to get the child to have fun. The rhyme is about the cat that jumped over the moon. The doctor watches with a smile on his face. The doctor has a beard. The baby likes to play with the doctor's beard. The baby also likes to play with her rattle. Her rattle is shaped like a bull. It is a loud rattle. The baby still makes a mess, but she is drier than yesterday. The doctor says it is a good job. What does the woman try to feed the baby? Answer: A banana. People like to read stories about dog very much.They thought dogs were very clever. One of my good friend , Bob , had a very big dog .Its name was Bill.Every Sunday afternoon,Bob and Bill had a walk in the park , Bill liked walking with Bob very much. I visited Bob last Sunday.I stayed in his house for a long time.Bob and I talked with each other happily.Soon it was time for them to go for a walk in the park .We forgot that.Bill began to worry about it.He walked around the room and sat down in front of me and looked at me.But I didn't know this.I went on talking with my friend.At last, Bill couldn't wait.He went out of the room and came back soon.He carried my hat in his mouth.Oh, I knew what Bill meant. How many people were there in this story? Answer: Two Have you ever seen people building houses? To build a house , you need workers. They use their hands , tools and machines to put things together. Building the ISS is the same. The difference is that the workers are astronauts. They walk in space and use robots' arms and hands to do their work. In the space station ,astronauts are comfortable. The temperature there is about 21degC.But outside the station , it can be too hot or cold for people. In the sunlight, it's about 120degC. In the shadow of the station, it's about -85degC . So when astronauts walk in space , they have to wear heavy clothes---- _ s. Spacesuits also keep astronauts safe from flying rubbish in space.Each time people go into space , they leave rubbish there. So astronauts should be careful because there's a lot of rubbish, some rubbish goes many times as fast as a plane ! Space walking is not easy , and it can be dangerous. So getting ready for it takes a lot of time to learn. Astronauts will need to do 160 space walks to finish their work in the ISS. That will take about 1,900man-hour of work. The astronauts work in space with _ Answer: robots' arms and hands Diao Weihao, a student who studies business English at the Chengdu campus of Sichuan International Studies University, was in his dormitory when the earthquake struck at 2:30 pm on Monday. The 22-year-old felt that his chair was shaking. All of a sudden, the textbooks on the bookshelf began to fall to the floor. The glass in the window broke. "It felt like our dormitory building was being hit by a tractor," recalled Diao. "I wasn't afraid.. I was even excited and curious. Now, looking back, it was a scary experience." Diao and his roommates kept their calm. They didn't try to get out of the building until the shaking stopped. They were on the fifth floor and they feared there might be trouble if they didn't remain calm. "We've watched lots of disaster films, and that helped us keep cool," he said. "Only one student sprained his ankle. He was escaping in a hurry. Most of us got outside quickly and safely." They were surprised to see so many students outside. "I began to realize then what had happened," he said. The college had warned them that in the event of an earthquake, they should leave the dormitory immediately. A few did rush in when it was safe to grab some clothes to keep warm. Without any tents or bedding, the students stayed on the football field for the whole night. Rain started falling in the morning, but the students all kept in good order. They simply chatted and shared their feelings and comforted each other. "Our students seemed to have self-control," he said. "I heard that hospitals in Chengdu have lots of injured people who jumped out of buildings." Now, Diao is mostly worried about the people in Wenchuan County. "It seems we won't be able to have classes in one or two day's time," said Diao. "I want to become a volunteer at the damage-hit area, or donate my blood to the injured people in hospital. Also, I will write on my blog to keep people calm and encourage them to protect themselves during emergencies." Since the university is close to Dujiangyan, Diao and his classmates are still forbidden to return to their dorms or classrooms. However, they can eat in the canteen and get information about other parts of Sichuan by reading the newspapers. From this passage, we know that Diao Weihao and his classmates are _ . Answer: wise and caring
Mr Ling lives in China. He worked in a factory and last year he retired. His wife died five years ago and his son works in Japan. He always has sports and he is in good health. One day his son called him and asked him to have a journey to Tokyo. He was very happy. He was afraid to travel by plane and took the ship. On the first morning on the ship Mr Ling met an Englishman at table. The man said to him, "Good morning!" He thought the Englishman told his name to him. So he stood up and said, "Ling Bing!" And it was repeated a few mornings and Mr Ling told a teacher about it. Hearing him, the teacher began to laugh and said, "He says hello to you in the morning." The next morning, when Mr Ling met the Englishman, he said, "Good morning!" And the Englishman stood up and said, "Ling Bing,sir." Mr Ling went to Japan by ship because _ . A he thought it was safer B he wanted to have sports on the ship C he had little money to take a plane D he had enough time to do so Answer: A. he thought it was safer Many a online shopper stayed up until 2 am on Sunday, looking through the Internet to buy products being sold at half price before they could _ (be bought)by other shoppers. Tens of millions of the Internet users were crazy to take advantage of the halfprice promotion, started by the ecommerce giant Alibaba Group on Sunday, Nov. 11, which is known as Singles' Day in China, and is the Chinese answer to Cyber Monday in the United States. By 7 pm on Sunday, 14.1 billion yuan's worth of sales was made on tmall. com and taobao. com. That could make Singles' Day the biggest ecommerce sales day on record. The research company comScore said US online retailers saw $ 1.25 billion of sales during last year's Cyber Monday, the day after Thanksgiving weekend and the busiest day for online retailers as US shoppers start to prepare for Christmas. Singles' Day originated with university students, and was later adopted by ecommerce companies as a promotional opportunity. Ecommerce companies, including Jingdong Mall and Amazon China, also took part in the promotion." In the past, people only shopped online occasionally, but now, online shopping is a lifestyle accepted by many," said Zhang Yong, Tmall president. Alibaba began to hold Singles' Day promotions in 2009, and last year, its sales totaled 5.2 billion yuan."I don't know whether we would lose money, but I don't think we could earn much on this day by selling goods at half price," said Hao Hongfeng, chairman of Beijing Jiuxian ECommerce, a liquor retailer in Beijing who took part in the event. He said it is a good opportunity for online retailers to get their names known. Which title do you think is more suitable for this article? A Chinese Shopping Style B The Origin of Singles' Day C Online Purchasing Power D A Craze for Online Promotion Answer: D. A Craze for Online Promotion Paparazzi, or "paps", are photographers who take pictures of famous people when they are not at the center of public attention. Paps are different from professional photographers or journalists because they never take ordinary photos. The goal for paparazzi is to get pictures that no one else will get and then sell the pictures to the buyer who offers the most money --normally a small newspaper, magazine or website. There is no law against paparazzi taking pictures in public places. However, there are laws that protect certain individuals. For example, child protection laws stop improper pictures of anyone under 16 from being published. There is also no law that stops paparazzi from following celebrities and taking their pictures either. However, if paps are secretly following them and taking pictures of their faces, they could get into trouble. Most paparazzi hang out on streets and hot spots for celebrities, waiting for the opportunity to take a picture of a star. Many stay on the streets until the early hours of the morning when celebrities are leaving nightclubs and looking a little worse for wear. However, some have other ways to make sure they get pictures. Many paps are in contact with "informers" who know the locations of celebrities at any given time. They then pass the information on to paparazzi. An informer could be anyone --from a restaurant waiter to a salesman. Most of the time, paparazzi get a bad reputation for following celebrities. But sometimes stars or their managers will contact paps themselves and tell them exactly where and when they will go. What a love-hate relationship between paparazzi and celebrities! What can we infer from the passage? A Paparazzi always take pictures when famous people are tired. B Stars hate paparazzi and don't want to be followed. C Paparazzi and famous people rely on each other sometimes. D Informers might get paparazzi into trouble. Answer: C. Paparazzi and famous people rely on each other sometimes. Four days after Dad's 67thbirthday, he had a heart attack. Luckily, he survived. But something inside him had died. His enthusiasm for life was gone. He refused to follow doctor's orders, and his sour attitude made everyone upset when they visit him. Dad was left alone. So I asked Dad to come to live with me on my small farm, hoping the fresh air would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated. Something had to be done. One day I read an article which said when given dogs, depressed patients would be better off. So I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. As soon as I got there, a pointer's eyes caught my attention. They watched me calmly. A staff member said: "He got here two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow." I turned to the man in horror. "You mean you're going to kill him?" "Ma'am," he said gently. "We don't have room for every unclaimed dog." The police's calm brown eyes awaited my decision. "I'll take him," I said. I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. I was helping it out of the car when Dad walked onto the front porch. "Look what I got you!" I said excitedly. Dad wrinkled his face. "I don't want it," he muttered, turning back towards the house. Then, suddenly, the dog pulled free from my grasp. He sat down in front of my Dad. Dad's anger melted, and soon he was hugging the dog. This was the beginning of a warm friendship. Dad named the dog Cheyenne. Together they spent long hours walking down dusty lanes and relaxing on the banks of streams. Dad's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne went on to make many friends. Then, late one night two years later, I felt Cheyenne's cold nose burrowing through my bed covers. He had never before come into my bedroom at night. I ran into my father's room and found that he had passed away. Two days later, my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed. As I buried him near their favorite stream, I silently thanked the dog for restoring Dad's peace of mind. Why did the author take the pointer home? A It was a type that is known for its friendliness. B Its eyes made her think it was the best dog available. C It was good at getting people's attention and entertaining them. D It caught her attention right away and she didn't want it to be killed. Answer: D. It caught her attention right away and she didn't want it to be killed. Looking for a new way to raise money for charity ? Has your school run out of clever and fun ideas? Don't give up. There are several ways to support your favorite charity. How about organizing a car wash? Everybody who has a car sooner or later washes it or has it washed. So why don't you and your classmates do the job? The money the car owners pay for having their cars washed will go towards your charity. When we did it, we had an amazing time! At first, some of us were worried about getting wet or dirty and it's true. But we also had fun, and at the end of the day it was really worth it! On the other hand, if you don't feel like getting wet or messy, but have some musical talent, how about organizing a street concert? Street musicians can make a lot of money, and so can you if you've got the talent and courage it takes to play in front of _ . You just need to find a suitable place, practice for a few hours with your friends first, and give it a try! I hope the above ideas have helped you a bit, and if you've got any other great suggestions, we would love to hear them and practice them, too. Good luck! What might be the best title for this passage? A How to Wash a Car B How to Organize a Street Concert C Ways to Raise Money for Charity D Ways to Make Money after School Answer: C. Ways to Raise Money for Charity
Jim was looking straight at his neighbor's bright Christmas display but it looked very dim to him. That's because Have you ever heard of a rattlesnake? It is a poisonous American snake. When it is angry or afraid, it makes a noise like a rattle with its tail. It's very scary. But Heather Ramirez and her husband, from California, in the United States, make a living in an unusual way. They are self-employed snake catchers! They catch snakes, especially rattlesnakes which have gone indoors, and return them to the wild. Heather describes her work as "protecting people from rattlesnakes -- and protecting rattlesnakes from people!" In the area where they live, rattlesnakes often come face to face with people. They are found in stores, offices, houses and gardens. Heather explains that it's not the snakes that are moving into places where people live, but it's the other way round. The snakes lived in these places first and then the people built houses. Most people who see a rattlesnake are feared. If you keep your distance, however, the snake won't bite you. In twelve years as a snake catcher, Heather has never touched a snake. She doesn't take the risk. She picks up the snakes with a special tool. This doesn't hurt _ , but it keeps them at a safe distance so that they can't bite her. Heather and her husband are very busy because they are never off duty. Catching snakes is a full-time job and they don't often have a day off. People can get to them at any time of the day or night. Not everyone can do this job, but Heather doesn't want to do anything else. "I just love my job," she says. The Ramirezs make a living in an unusual way by _ . Hong Kong Harbour Cruise By Night Enjoy your wonderful dinner on the ferry and see the fantastic city lights. Time: 7:00 pm~10:00 pm daily Price: With dinner Without dinner Adult: HK$300 HK$120 Child under 12: HK$ 210 HK$ 84 Start/ Stop: Kowloon Public Pier (Near Star Ferry Pier) Ticket Office:Star Company (123 Canton Road) Where can they buy the tickets? The big red American car was much too wide for an English country road. When Jack saw it running towards him, he stopped his own car at the side of the road to make room for it to pass. The American car went slowly past, so close that he could see the driver's face clearly. "Where have I seen that face before?" he though. "Wait a minute! I remember now. It was in the newspaper!" He took all the newspapers from his bag and turned quickly to the middle page. There was a picture of the face in it. Yes, it had a large mouth and small eyes, and his eyes were behind dark glasses. "Wanted by the police," read by Jack. "The city Bank will give a lot of money to anyone who helps the police to catch this man." "Call the police at once," he said to himself. But a few minutes later, he was sad. "This man was caught this morning," answered the police. The story happened _ . Ears are for hearing -- everyone knows that. But for a creature called the Cuvier's beaked whale, hearing starts in the throat, a new study found. The observation might help explain how all whales hear. The work might also help scientists understand how animals are affected by underwater sonar . This sonar, used by some ships, sends out sound waves to locate underwater objects. The Cuvier's beaked whale is a so-called toothed whale. Toothed whales dive deep into the ocean in search of food. As the whales hunt, they produce sounds that reach objects and then return to the whales. This allows the animals to "see" the shape, size, and location of objects, even when they're 1,000 meters under the sea, where it is totally dark. To better understand how the whale hears, researchers from San Diego State University in California took X-rays of two Cuvier's beaked whales. The whales had died and washed up on the beach. Ted Cranford and his colleagues used the images to make a computer model of a Cuvier's beaked whale's head. Then, they modeled the process of sound traveling through the head. The researchers knew that some sounds get to the ears of a toothed whale through a structure called "the window for sound". Found on the lower jaw, this structure is very thin on the outside and has a large pad of fat on the inside. When the researchers used their computer model to work out how sound waves travel in the whale's head, they were surprised to find that sounds coming from right in front of the whale actually travel under the animal's jaw. From there, sound waves move through the throat, into a hole in the back of the jaw, and finally to the pad of fat near the animal's ears. Cranford guesses that other types of whales may hear through their throats. Further testing is needed to be sure. Eventually, the insight into how whales hear might explain whether sonar testing by military ships is causing the animals to wind up on beaches. Toothed whales look for food under the sea by _ .
This month inTravelersCorner there are three teenagers' experiences in year-abroad programmes. Mariko Okada - Tokyo My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I'm not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned many English songs and lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future. Carla Fonseca - Rio de Janeiro I spent last year studying English in London. I'm from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I'm glad to be home! Alvin Chen - Hong Kong Studying in New Zealand was a fun experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week----with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my homestay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I'm really glad I went. Which of the activities are NOT mentioned by Alvin? A Homework B Singing practice C Keeping a diary D Going to interesting places Answer: B Are you thinking of writhing someone a letter? Call instead. It isn't that expensive, especially when you call during the evening, night, or weekend hours. In fact, you can made a ten-minute call anywhere in the continental United States for just $2.60. For even greater saving, always dial direct ,that is ,without an operator's help .Rates on direct, that is ,without an operator's help. Rates on direct calls are lower after five o' clock in the evening and lowest after, and pay phone calls than direct calls. Need to call out of the country? Now calls to many overseas places may be dialed direct. Check your telephone direction for overseas area codes. Next time you have good news, or you just want to stay in touch, remember, a phone call means so much more than a letter. This has been a message from Southern Bell Telephone Company. What should one do in order to made an overseas call? A Dial the operator. B Call the Southern Bell Telephone Company C Check the phone book for the overseas operator's number so that he can help you D Check the phone book for overseas area codes so that you can dial direct. Answer: D How do you go to school? Do you take a bus or ride a bike? For many students, it is easy to get to school. But for some children in one small village in Hunan, it is very difficult. There is no road between the village and the school. The children have to climb down ladders to get to school. Yu Xinxin is an 8-year-old girl. She climbs the ladders every day. "My parents are good at it and _ tell me how to do it, and now I don't think too much about how _ it is," she says. It is hard for the villagers to get in and out of the village, too. Their dream is to have a road. . ? A Yu Xinxin is seven years old. B Yu Xinxin's parents can climb ladders. C The villagers don't want to have a road. D It is easy for the villagers to get out of the village. Answer: B When you have a question about something, where do you go? For many people the answer is simple. They go online to a search engine like Google or Yahoo. But what about people in rural or underdeveloped areas who may have no way to get on the Internet? Luckily, Rose Shuman, a business and international development consultant in California, has found a way for them. Her amazing solution is "Question Box". Question Box is a service that provides answers--free of charge--for people who cannot search the Internet directly. They might not be able to read, or they simply have no access. Question Box began two years ago in India.People use a metal call box with a pushtotalk button to connect to a live operator, as Rose Shuman explains, "You just push a button, a big green button, and that will connect you directly to our operators who are sitting in front of computers, and speak your language. And you can ask them any sort of question you want, and they'll look it up in English or in Hindi, or whatever the main language is, and translate the answer right back for you." The service is currently offered in two villages. The latest version of the box uses mobile phone technology and solar panels in case the electrical power fails. Rose Shuman says the aim was to make the box as easy as possible for users. "Rather than try to bring a lot of infrastructure to them and expect them to learn how to use the Internet, the idea was to make a technology that even Grandma could use, figuring that Grandma could probably walk up to a box and push a button," added Shuman. In April, Question Box expanded to Uganda.Forty community workers with mobile phones connect villagers to call center operators in Kampala.The community workers go around telling people about the service. They wear Tshirts that say "Ask Me." But Internet service in Uganda proved slow and undependable. So Question Box teamed up with a local technology company to store information on a local server. That way, the researchers in Kampala can quickly search the database for answers when users ask about current events and many other subjects. Rose Shuman continued, "When was Mahatma Gandhi born and how long is the Nile River? What's the tallest mountain? The funniest one I think we got was, 'Did the pyramids ever move to another place?', which we found pretty funny. But we did look it up, and they haven't moved." Which of the following is true about Question Box according to the passage? A Uganda is the original place where the service started. B Some modern technologies have been used for improving the service. C Question Box won't be able to work if there is no electrical power. D It was impossible for a grandma to use Question Box. Answer: B There are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms. The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but considering all the positive effective coming from wearing uniforms you would be more likely to enjoy them. Teachers love school uniforms because it helps provide an orderly learning environment. Having students dressed in uniforms may teach them how to present themselves in a neat and professional manner. It gives students the opportunity to learn how to dress like young ladies and gentleman. And they can focus their attention on academics rather than style. Purchasing school uniforms is easy and needs less hesitation and consideration. No matter what the school' s policy is, there are only specific essential pieces to the wardrobe that are necessary, so _ . A few wardrobe items can last a long time. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to choose a set of clothes for the school day. Students wearing uniforms will feel less pressure about what to wear or not to wear when their classmates are dressed similarly. Getting dressed before school becomes less of a chore when students are limited in their choices, so there shouldn't be any trouble about choosing an outfit for the day and getting ready quickly. Some students may not like the lack of individuality with a uniform, but some school dress code policies may offer them the opportunities to show their unique styles. Uniforms today are also becoming trendier and can be seen in many areas of pop culture. Celebrities and fashion designers are using uniforms as inspiration for new looks which also appeal to students. The author's attitude towards students' wearing school uniforms is _ . A negative B supportive C doubtful D unclear Answer: B
A messy desk can actually lead people towards clearer thinking, say researchers from Germany. The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos, as they sought to simplify the tasks at hand. Visual and mental clutter forces human beings to focus and think more clearly. Famous thinkers and writers such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl have been notorious for their untidy desks. "Messy desks may not be as detrimental as they appear to be, as the problem-solving approaches they seem to cause can improve work efficiency or increase employees' creativity in problem solving," say the authors. "Business and government managers often promote 'clean desk' policies to avoid disorganized offices and messy desks, for the purpose of boosting work efficiency and productivity," writes lead researcher Jia Liu of the University of Groningen in a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research. "This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and complicate one's judgments." "However, not all evidence supports this conventional link between a messy environment and a messy mind." The scientists tested people's response in various 'messy' environments - including a messy shop front, a disorganized desk, and even a work environment where a language task 'reminded' people of messiness. The authors found in the series of six studies people tended towards simplicity in their thinking. "They categorized products in a simpler manner, were willing to pay more for a T-shirt that shows a simple-looking picture, and sought less variety in their choices." said the researchers. Why does the author take Albert Einstein as an example? A. to support the idea that clearer thinking comes from messy environment. B. to tell the fact that Einstein was known for his untidy desks. C. to stop us from learning from Albert Einstein. D. to call on us to develop a good habit. Answer: A At the age of 11, Peter Lynch started caddying at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, Mass. "It was better than a newspaper carrier, and much more profitable," the Fidelity vice chairman recalls. He kept it up during the summers for almost a decade. "You get to know the course and can give the golf players advice about how to approach various holes," he says. "Where else, at age 15 or 16, can you serve as a trusted adviser to high-powered people?" One of those people was George Sullivan, then president of Fidelity's funds, who was so impressed with Lynch's smarts that he hired him in 1966. "There were about 75 applicants for 3 job openings," Lynch says now. "But I was the only one who had caddied for the president for 10 years." In between caddying and managing money, Lynch went to Boston College on a scholarship from a program called the Francis Ouimet Fund. Named after the 1913 winner of the U.S. Open, the fund launched in 1949 which is open to Massachusetts kids only. Ouimet executive director Robert Donovan says, "Help with college is a logical extension of friendly relation between golfers and their favorite caddies, because there is a close tie to train up them to be excellent that happens between the players and the kids who carry their golf poles. And for the teens, caddying is all about being around successful role models." It is obvious that caddies who are finally successful include all kinds of outstanding personnel, from actor Bill Murray, to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, to former GE chairman and CEO Jack Welch. Of course, the great number of financial giants who caddied in their youth might be coincidence, but Dick Connolly thinks not. "Caddying life teaches you a lot about business, and about life," he says. "You learn to show up early and look people in the eye when you shake their hand, and you learn how to read people -- including who's likely to cheat and who isn't." Connolly is a longtime investment advisor at Morgan Stanley's Boston office, a former Ouimet scholarship student and, along with Peter Lynch and Roger Altman, one of the program's biggest supporters. He wants to share the most important lesson he learned on the links, so he says: "One golfer I caddied for told me that if you want to succeed in any field -- golf or business -- you have to spend a lot of lonely hours, either practicing or working, when you'd rather be partying with your friends. That's true, and it stuck with me." Which of the following may be the best title for the passage? A. Legend of Peter Lynch. B. An introduction of Golf Caddying. C. Golf Caddying into Future Success. D. Five Giants with Caddying Experiences. Answer: C Have you ever remembered something with your nose? Maybe the smell of hot dogs makes you think of being at a baseball game. Or the smell of barbequed meat reminds you of a night around a fire. Scientists know that smells can make people think of powerful memories. Wouldn't it be great to somehow save those memories? _ is exactly what Mark Crames, a businessman making perfumes , is trying to do. His company, Demeter Fragrance, makes more than 200 kinds of perfumes. "Imagine every smell in the world as a musical note," Crames said. "We try to join those notes to make a piece of beautiful music." He has made many perfumes and he got the idea from plays, storms and even animals. Everyday smells mean different things to different people. "A perfume called Poison Ivy might make you think of sadness or surprise," Crames says. "But it could make another person think of a great time at summer camp." Crames produces perfumes using a high-tech method called headspace technology. This month, Crames is making scent for Tootsie Roll and Junior Mints. Not every smell can be easily copied. "One of our most needed perfumes is a little dog's breath," he says. "But it is so chemically complicated that it's very hard to get." What scent would you like to bottle? A zoo? Or grandma's old house? Crames may be able to help you bring back your memories, so all you have to do is have a smell when you want to remember. What can we learn from the passage? A. A smell can't have different results with different people. B. It is not difficult to copy the scent of Poison Ivy. C. People want to smell specific things to bring back memories. D. If you want to remember something, just take a deep breath. Answer: C It was August 2nd,1927.The news had spread fast.A man named Ralph Peer was coming to the city of Bristol.He wanted to make recordings of local people singing and playing musical instruments.And he said he would pay fifty dollars for each song recorded.That was a lot of money in those days.Many people came to Bristol that day to play for Mr.Peer.But one group seemed to have just the sound that he was looking for.They were a man named A.P.Carter,his wife Sara,and her cousin Maybelle.They called themselves the Carter Family. Their first recordings were sent to radio stations throughout the United States.Many listeners were surprised at what they heard.Instead of classical or jazz songs that radio stations usually played,a new sound was born.The Carter Family sounded different.They did not sound as if they had taken music lessons.But it did not matter.The people in poor rural areas thought they sounded just like their neighbors. The Carters sang songs about living in the mountains of Virginia,Tennessee,and North Carolina.They sang about the love of a young man for a special girl.They sang about the beauty of nature.They sang about death and sadness.And they sang religious songs that told of the hope for a better life after death. A.P.Carter sang in the group and also searched for new songs.He often traveled long distances to small towns in the southeastern United States.He wanted to hear the songs that local people sang in their communities.He wrote down the words but kept the music in his memory.When he returned home,he helped Sara and Maybelle fit them to the Carter Family musical style. The Carter Family soon became famous.They recorded more songs.They traveled to many cities and towns in the eastern United States to perform.Thousands of people heard them sing and bought their recordings.Some people estimate that within three years,the Carter Family sold three hundred thousand recordings. Many listeners were surprised when they heard the Carter Family's singing because _ . A. the family did not seem to be good at singing B. what the family sang sounded uncomfortable C. the family sang classical and jazz songs in a very different way D. the family sang something that they had never heard before Answer: D In our town, there is a big zoo with a lot of animals in it. There are so beautiful tigers and two old lions. They eat a lot of meat every day. There are also two big elephants and one baby elephant. The elephants are kind animals. They eat a lot every day. They like children. Children often give them bread and bananas. Elephants like bananas best. In our zoo there are also brown bears, black bears and white bears. They stand on their hind legs, hold up their four legs and ask for food. They like cakes very much. There's also a children's corner in our zoo. Children ride horses and donkeys and watch the monkeys there. The monkeys are very funny. They climb up ropes and jump down again and play with each other like small children. Which animal likes bananas best ? A. monkeys B. tigers C. elephants D. donkeys Answer: C
Question: In the United States alone,over 100 million cell-phones are thrown away each year.Cell-phones are part of a growing mountain of electronic waste like computers and personal digital assistants.The electronic waste stream is increasing three times taster than traditional garbage as a whole. Electronic devices contain valuable metals such as gold and silver.A Swiss study reported that while the weight of electronic goods represented by precious metals was relatively small in comparison to total waste,the concentration of gold and other precious metals was higher in So-called e-waste than in naturally occurring minerals. Electronic wastes also contain many poisonous metals.Even when the machines are recycled and the harmful metals removed,the recycling process often is carried out in poor countries,in practically uncontrolled ways which allow many poisonous substances to escape into the environment. Creating products out of raw materials creates much more waste material,up to 100 times more,than the material contained in the finished products.Consider again the cell-phone,and imagine the mines that produced those metals,the factories needed to make the box and packaging it came in.Many wastes produced in the producing process are harmful as well. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency notes that most waste is dangerous in that"the production, distribution,and use of products-as well as management of the resulting waste-all result in greenhouse gas release." Individuals can reduce their contribution by creating less waste at the start-for instance,buying reusable products and recycling. In many countries the concept of extended producer responsibility is being considered or has been put in place as an incentive for reducing waste.If producers are required to take back packaging they use to sell their products,would they reduce the packaging in the first place? Governments' incentive to require producers to take responsibility for the packaging they produce is usually based on money.Why,they ask,should cities or towns be responsible for paying to deal with the bubble wrap that encased your television? From the governments' point of view,a primary goal of laws requiring extended producer responsibility is to transfer both the costs and the physical responsibility of waste management from the government and tax-payers back to the producers. What docs the passage mainly talk about? A. The increase in e-waste. B. The creation of e-waste. C. The seriousness of e-waste. D. The management of e-waste. Answer: D. The management of e-waste. Question: Humans are A. Air B. Sunlight C. Water D. Plants Answer: C. Water Question: By attaching to sharks, remora fish eat the scraps of food left behind when the sharks feed. If remoras were not able to attach to sharks, they would most likely A. attach to boats. B. not be able to survive. C. find another source of food. D. not need to eat anymore. Answer: B. not be able to survive. Question: It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, "Look at his bag, dear. I'm sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep." "No, no," said the woman. "He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he'll take you before the judge." They thought and at last the woman had an idea. "We have forgetful grass," said the woman, "Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away." "How clever you are!" said the owner, "Don't forget it when you prepare supper for him." The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, "What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn't useful at all." "No, no," said the woman. "I don't think so. He must forget something." "Oh, I've remembered!" The owner cried out suddenly, "He forgot..." Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A. Both the owner and his wife were clever. B. The owner of the inn got nothing from the old man. C. The old man left the inn without his bag. D. The woman forget to put the grass into the food. Answer: B. The owner of the inn got nothing from the old man. Question: Who could forget those sleepless nights last summer watching Germany beat Brazil and Argentina to win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil? It was their fourth World Cup, and it gave them the No.1 position in FIFA . Germany is becoming the most important soccer team in the world. But how has this change happened? A newspaper offers a clue: "For over 10 years, German teams have been building in the right way." After Germany scored only one goal at the 2000 European Championships, Germans wondered why the country no longer produced good young players. So in 2001, the German Football League required that all Bundesliga clubs set up schools with youth teams from Under-12s to Under-23s. The clubs now spend over EUR100 million (764 million yuan) on youth development every year. And they have improved young German players enough to put them among the best in Europe. For example, Bayern Munich player Thomas Mueller, 25, who scored five times at the 2014 World Cup, was educated in one of the schools. More than anything, though, it is team work that has pushed the Bundesliga forward. Bayern is the richest team in Germany, but the team helps its rivals when needed. Through the country's World Cup performances , the German soccer tradition is doing better than ever. Germany can play on top of the world for a few years yet. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A. This year was the third time that Germany had won the World Cup. B. Since 2001Bundesliga clubs have spent over EUR100 million on youth development. C. It is believed that the German soccer team will perform well in the coming years. D. In the first ten years of the 21st century, Germany produced many top young players in Europe. Answer: C. It is believed that the German soccer team will perform well in the coming years.
On Thanksgiving Day, about 88 percent Americans eat turkey. But one lucky turkey not only will not be eaten but also will become famous. Every year, turkey farmers present turkeys to the US president. But instead of eating this turkey, the president gives it a "pardon". The turkey is flown to Florida for a thanksgiving parade . Then it lives on the farm for the rest of its life. Turkeys come from America and have been part of American culture for centuries. Benjamin Franklin even wanted the turkey to be America's national bird. Turkeys that are kept on farms are large, awkward birds that can not fly. But wild turkeys are quite fast. They can fly at speed up to 88 kilometers per hour. They can also run at 40 kilometers per hour. Turkeys don't have ears. They hear by using the growth of beaks . But their hearing is about five times better than human's hearing. Turkeys are such interesting birds. No wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted them to be American national birds. A wild turkey can fly at the speed of _ . A 88 kilometers per hour B 40 kilometers per hour C as fast as a kept one D five times faster than man Answer: A. 88 kilometers per hour Kate Green is a girl. She is my good friend . She is English. Kate is her first name.Green is her family name. Mr Green is her father .His first name is John. Mrs Green is her mother . Her first name is Helen. Kate is eleven years old. Her home telephone number is 865---64108. (10) Kate is _ good friend. A his B your C my D her Answer: C. my Florida is celebrating a big anniversary this year. Five hundred years ago, on April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce arrived on the east coast of what is now Florida. Native Americans had been living there for centuries, but Ponce was the first European to set foot in what would become the United States. According to legend, Ponce may have landed in Florida by mistake. He is said to have been looking for an island called Bimini and its Fountain of Youth. The magical fountain could supposedly make old people young again. Instead, Ponce landed on Florida and claimed it for Spain. He named it La Florida, or "flowery place". Ponce explored more of Florida's coasts over the next few months. He later returned to Spain but went back to Florida in 1521 to attempt to set up a colony. However, native Americans attacked him and his friends, and Ponce was killed. It wasn't until 1565 that Spain set up a successful colony at St. Augustine on Florida's east coast. It is the oldest European settlement in the U.S. Florida didn't belong to the U.S. until Spain lost control. It was admitted to the U.S. as the 27thstate in 1845. Today, Florida has one of the fastest-growing populations of any state. More than 19 million people call it home. It's also popular with tourists. Last year, 89 million people visited the Sunshine State. These days, most visitors come in search of fun in the sun on its sandy beaches and its theme parks, such as Disney World and Sea World. Which of the following is TRUE about Florida? A Tourists are losing interest in it. B Its beaches are not well protected. C There are 89 million people in Florida at present. D Its population has been increasing in recent years. Answer: D. Its population has been increasing in recent years. A four-wheeled robot,known as Rover,has been tested by a team at Sydney University.It was used to move a herd of cows from a field to a dairy . Researchers were amazed at how easily cows accepted the presence of the robot.They were not disturbed by it and the gathering process was calm and effective.Because the robot moved in a steady manner it allowed cows to move at their own speed,which was important in reducing injuries among cattle,said Dr Kendra Kerrisk,dairy researcher and associate professor. The robot was adapted from one that was already being used to monitor fruit and trees on farms.A team at Sydney University's Centre for Field Robotics improved the robot so that it could be put in a field with cows in order for the researchers to gather data on robot--cow interaction. The robot needs to be operated by a human but it's hoped that in the future a version can be developed that will be fully automated.As well as gathering cows a new version could also collect information useful for farmers. Using robots to get cows to the dairy will be better for their well-being."The research is in its very early stages but robotic technologies certainly have the potential to transform dairy farming,"said Dr.Kerrisk."When we have discussed this concept with farmers they have been extremely excited and we have had a series of calls and emails asking how they can get hold of one,"she added. The robot could also cut down the number of accidents involving humans on farms.Most dairy farmers in Australia use bikes to round up their cattle and they are one of the leading causes of injury.The team hopes that by using the robot to do the job instead,accident rates could fall. The robot Rover was mainly used to _ . A milk the cows on the field B feed the cows with food C round up cows on dairy farms D take farmers around the farm Answer: C. round up cows on dairy farms Kilimanjaro Climb : a Rite of Passage for Father and Son Climbing Kilimanjaro is a transformational experience for many people. The things that make the mountain hard are the very things that make it so powerful. In the case of my son Josh and I,the walk up Kilimanjaro proved a powerful symbol ofhis transition into manhood, and a great change in our relationship. Day three on the mountain, Josh was hit with massive headaches. He told me every step felt like a nail driving into his head. And then, on the night we climbed the crater rim, less than 40 minutes from the summit, Josh fell. I was walking ahead, and did not even see it. He was so exhausted that he could not get up. He recalled our guides, debating whether or not they should take him straight down. Josh _ He forced himself to his feet, shook the guides off. He set his face towards the peak and just kept marching. Near the summit he caught up with me and we reached the peak together. " I've never been in so much pain and so happy at the same time,,,he said, as we sat side by side on the frozen rock and looked down over Africa. "You know, in the past when we'd go on camping and rafting trips, you guided and took care of me through it all. But on Kilimanjaro it was different. From the bottom up, I climbed it. I never feltlike a kid, even when 1 was in pain. You never acted like a parent." "That's not quite true,"I replied. "When you told me that on the summit you fell-and I did not even notice, my first thought was, 'Oh my God! I'm such an awful parent!' But then it hit me, 'He got himself up. He walked to the peak on his own. He didn't need me to help.," I realized as I spoke that two people had died that night on Kilimanjaro. A child and a parent. It wasjust two friends who walked down the mountain together. Why did the father feel that two people had died? A Because two people had lost their lives while climbing Kilimanjaro. B Because the father and son had become friends. C Because they had witnessed an accidence of a father and son. D Because two friends had misled him. Answer: B. Because the father and son had become friends.
LONDON--Manchester is Britain's fattest city, a survey for "Men's Health" has found, beating Glasgow for the first time since the magazine started examining the issue three years ago. Editor Pete Muir said the survey had looked at a variety of factors from gym membership to heart disease rates to find the fattest city. "Manchester has more fast food restaurants than anywhere else in the UK," he told Reuters. "People are taking the easy choice --eating and then just sitting in front of the TV." Manchester's problem is part of a wider trend . On Thursday, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) blamed a lack of exercise and poor diet for a fifth of adult Britons being obese . "Obesity is a major risky factor related to heart disease, diabetes and premature death ," said an ONS survey. "None of the 108 young men in the survey reported eating five portions of fruit or vegetables on average each day." In Manchester, the head of the city's public health programs said he did not believe that they were necessarily the fattest city, but that they did have problems and were aiming to address them. Social deprivation was a major factor. "One of the myths is that the stressed-out rich businessman is the one who is overweight," David Regan told Reuters. "In fact, it is the poor areas that have the most problems. We aim not to be the fattest but the fittest city but we have a long way to go." Second in the survey is Stoke-on-Trent, followed by Liverpool, Swansea and Leicester. Glasgow is sixth. Manchester took the place of _ and became Britain's fattest city. A. Liverpool B. London C. Stoke-on-Trent D. Glasgow Answer: D Alice's mother died when Alice was five years old. Alice, who grew up to be my mother, told me that after her mother's death her family was too poor to even afford to give her a doll. In December 2012, I had a job at a local bank. One afternoon, we were decorating the tree in the bank lobby . One of my customers approached me with her beautiful handmade dolls. I decided to get one for my daughter, Katie, who was almost five years old. Then I had an idea. I asked my customer if she could make me a special doll for my mother--one with gray hair and spectacles : a grandmother doll. And she gladly agreed. A friend had told me that his dad who played Santa Claus would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home to deliver my Katie her presents, so I made some special arrangements. Christmas Day arrived and at the planned time; so did Santa Claus. Katie was surprised that Santa had come to see her at her own house. As Santa turned to leave, he looked once more into his bag and found one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, surprised at her name being called, indicated that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift, with a message card that read: For Alice: I was cleaning out my sleigh before my trip this year and came across this package that was supposed to be delivered on December 25,1953. The present inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift. Love, Santa Claus My mother's reaction was one of the most deeply emotional scenes I have ever seen. She couldn't speak but only held the doll she had waited fifty-nine years to receive as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. That doll, given by "Santa", made my mother the happiest "child" that Christmas. The best title for this passage could be _ . A. A Doll from Santa B. An unforgettable Christmas C. A considerate daughter D. A help from Santa Claus Answer: A Holding a cell phone against your ear or stalling it in your pocket may be hazardous to your health. This paraphrases a warning that cell phone; manufacturers include in the small print that is often tossed aside when a new phone is purchased.Apple, for example, doesn't want iP hones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, Blackberry's manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters. If health issues arise from cell phone use, the implications are huge.Voice calls - Americans chat on cell phones 2.26 trillion minutes annually - generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers. Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cell phone radiation, "Disconnect." The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled. Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population. "Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer. Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No studies have yet been completed on cell phone radiation and children, she says. Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged DNA in their brains. Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone's speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen. We can infer from the passage that _ . A. Cell phone may do harm to our health if we hold it against our ear or store in our pocket B. Devra Davis thinks that there are many factors contributing to cancer. C. The increase in brain cancer in the young adults may have something to do with cell phone D. Children are more likely to be affected by radiation Answer: C Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy. "An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. "You're a very clever boy, Johnny." Johnny is a hacker. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer accounts and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers. What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story? A. Information. B. Back computer accounts. C. Computers. D. Grades. Answer: C The name of our restaurant is Mediterranean Seafood Restaurant. When you hear the name you will immediately think of the sea and Europe. European countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France are all famous for their special cuisine and most of the best sea recipes come from these countries. These countries also produce the best wines and champagnes in the world. Our restaurant has the best seafood in the world. Enjoy the best sea recipes from the Mediterranean countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. We only use fresh ingredients brought directly from the sea to our kitchen. Among the we serve, you will find the best brands of wines and champagnes on earth. We also have a large variety of colorful cocktails. If you drink one of those and eat our seafood, you'll experience a feeling that you have never felt before. We also have excellent waiters and waitresses who wear typical mariner uniforms. Mediterranean Seafood Restaurant is the best choice for seafood lovers because it has everything you need for the perfect meal. You can find every kind of seafood here. If you are tired of the typical restaurants, come here to discover the true taste of the sea. Nowhere else has the wonderful environment that we have. Most of the other restaurants offer the same type of dishes without the real flavor of the sea. You'll like the Mediterranean because the quality of our service is unique. Don't waste your time trying to find another place to eat; we have everything that you are looking for -- comfort, newness, and of course, delicious food. We can infer from the passage that the reason why waiters and waitresses wear mariner uniforms is that _ . A. they want to make people feel that they are at sea B. they find it comfortable to wear uniforms C. they want to remind people that they are on a ship D. mariner uniforms can keep people safe at sea Answer: A
There are two kinds of people in the world. Those of the first kind are born idlers , taking interest in nothing. It seems what they live for is to pass time idly. They simply don't know why they have to do so, nor will they bother to ask. The other kind are those who take things seriously and never wish to idle away their life. But only a part of the second group are eager enough to make success. All the others fail to make enough effort to make their dreams come true. Why do things so happen to them? What are the reasons? I later find out that some people are determined. They are "igniters" that catch fire of their own, giving light and heat. But that's not the case with others. They may be fuels but not igniters. As pieces of wood or coal, they need a match or a lighter to make them burn so that their energy can be released to give off light and heat. The majority of people need some igniter to light them. Thus igniter becomes a must for those people to succeed. Unless a suitable igniter comes their way, they will always remain idle like cold unused firewood or coal. Fortunately, such an igniter is not difficult to meet. One may find it in an instructive book, a film story, a few words of a close friend, some advice of a good teacher, a pleasant journey, or an unexpected love. Any of these, coming at the right time, can serve as an igniter to start one's enthusiasm for learning or for a better career, to turn him from a passive state of waiting to an active state of pursuing, to lend him strength to go ahead bravely. In that case, what he has prepared for years will be quickly turned into fruitful reality. Such an igniter may turn up of itself, but most likely we have to find it ourselves. Never let a chance slide away, for it is the key to your success. The writer writes the article to _ . A describe two kinds of people B encourage people to find chances to succeed C praise those who work hard D make fun of idlers Answer: B London used to be "foggy" for the same reason that cities like Beijing' or Chongqing are "foggy~ today. The "fog was in fact smog, a mixture of smoke and fog. In other words, it was made by air pollution In London, some of this pollution came from factories, but much of it came from the coal that people burnt in their houses to keep warm during the winter. By the 1950s, London's smog problem had become so bad that the-government decided to do something to clean the air. A new law was made and nobody could bum coal in any British city. Within a few years, the air became much cleaner. There were no more " _ ". . Many Chinese cities now face the same sort of' problem with air pollution that . London faced 40 0r 50 years ago. However, this problem is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve One reason is that more of the pollution comes from the factories, rather than from coal burnt in people's houses If these factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would lose their jobs. Another reason is that changing from coal to cleaner fuel , like gas, is quite expensive. However, the air in many Chinese cities is becoming cleaner and cleaner, as the government and people pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution . As a result,there are fewer "pea-soupers" in Beijing than there used to be. . In China, air pollution is more difficult to solve Which of the following is not the reason?. A Most pollution comes from the factories B Chinese government pays little attention to it. C Changing from 'coal to cleaner fuel is quite expensive D If factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would .lose their jobs. Answer: B Many people are so busy these days that they have no time to cook at home. This becomes a problem because most families love home cooking! The food tastes good and a family meal can bring everyone together. In some families, meals are often the only chance everyone gets to see each other at the same time during the day. Another reason people enjoy home cooking is that it is a way of showing love. A parent who makes some cookies is not just satisfying a child's sweet tooth. He or she is sending a message . The message says, "I care about you enough to spend an hour making cookies that you will eat up in 15 minutes if I let you." There is also something about the smell of home cooking. The smell of cooking makes people happy. It makes most of us feel good and loved--even if we're the ones doing the cooking! Next time you smell a cake making, stop for a moment and pay attention to your mood (,). Why do many people have no time to cook? A Because they haven't many things to do. B Because many people are too busy. C Because people don't like home cooking. D Because they are too tired to cook. Answer: B A source of something supplies that something, like how A clouds are a cloud source B ponds are a moisture source C air is a air source D fish are a fish source Answer: B Doctors say anger can be an very harmful emotion unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that angry feelings can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer. Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time. Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger, losing control of themselves. But other people repress their anger. They cannot or will not express it. For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person's health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain gives off the same hormones that are produced during tense situations. They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood and narrow the blood vessels to the interstices . In general, the person feels excited and ready to act. Doctors said that repressing these feelings only makes the feelings continue. And this can lead to many medical problems. Doctors thought a person could prevent these problems by letting the anger out by expressing it freely. But recently some doctors held a different view. They said that people who express anger repeatedly and violently did become, in fact, more and not less angry. They said this,too,can cause medical problems. Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure. Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger. They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, and then decide if the cause is serious. If it is, they say: "Do not express your anger while angry. Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably. " When you get angry,which of the following should you do for the good of health? A Repressing the anger. B Expressing the anger. C Learning how to make a deal. D Treating the anger properly. Answer: B
The Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday named Mo Yan winner of the Twenty-Twelve Nobel Prize in Literature. The academy praised the Chinese writer for what it called his "hallucinatoty realism ". It noted his ability to combine folk stories, history and modern events in his works. An academy official said Mister Mo was "overjoyed and sacred" when he learnt he had won the award. He will receive his Nobel diploma, a medal and more than one million dollars at the ceremony in Stockholm in December. Mo Yan is a leading author of modern Chinese novels. He often writes from memories of his youth. He also sets many of his stories in the area where he was born--Shandong Province in northeastern China. Mister Mo's 1987 bookRed Sorghum is an example. It is about the extreme violence in rural eastern China during the Communist Revolution in the 1920's and 1930's. The story describes the criminal culture of the time, Japan's occupation and the terrible conditions faced by farm workers.Red Sorghumwas later made into a movie. Mo Yan's other major works includeBig Breasts and Wide Hips,Republic of WineandLife and Death Are Wearing Me Out. The Royal Swedish Academy compared him to two 20th century writers: American William Faulkner and Colombia Gabriel Marquez. Mo Yan's real name is Guan Moye. Mo Yan means "Don't speak." The writer said he chose the name to remember to stop his tongue from getting him in trouble. China is celebrating the victory of his native son. Minutes after the award was announced, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on social media websites. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . Answer: Morgan is very happy these days. She is in Grade 7 at L.B Clarke Middle School, the USA. She gives her journals to the teacher. She writes them in the summer holiday. She says, "I read many books to finish them." In the summer holiday, most schools in the USA ask students to read. But L.B.Clarke starts a program this year. Students write their journals three times a week. The journals are about books they read or their everyday life. _ says a teacher in the school, "Our program also asks them to read, but in a different way." Caroline, another student, finishes six journals. She writes about her favourite books and family trips. "The program helps me learn new things," she says, "and if I forget something, I can look in my journals." One of Caroline's journals may be about _ . Answer: If a warm potato is left on a steel sink, the potato will Answer: Mr. and Mrs. Su don't often go out in the evening, but today they go out for a walk after supper. They go to the park and have a good time there. On their way home, Mr. Su says to Mr. Su, "Look! A woman is running in the street and a man is running after her." Mr. Su says, "What's the matter? Let's go and help her." Now the woman gets near them. Mr. Su asks, "Shall we help you?" "No, thank you," the woman says, "My husband and I are running home, and the slower one does the housework." Housework is _ . Answer: BEIJING, Oct.14(Xinhua)----A total of 120 middle school students from 35 countries will attend the final of an international China language contest, to be held in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from Oct.16 to 30. The candidates, aged from 15 to 20,must be from foreign countries and not native Chinese speakers, said a statement issued by the Chinese language Council (CLC),the contest's organizer, here Thursday. All of the candidates have passed the preliminary contests held in their own countries. According to the organizer, the competition will have a top prize, five second prizes,10 third prizes and a dozen prizes for special talents.The organizer will also launch an online vote for "the most liked candidate." It was the third year China has held the contest. "The competition not only tests the proficiency of Chinese language but also the candidates capability to communicate across different cultures."the statement said. All the candidates in the final will receive scholarships from the Chinese government.said Hu Hangyu, an official with the Education Bureau of the Chongqing Municipality, jointly organizing the contest. They will also meet local Chinese students and live with Chinese families, Hu said. "The competition is to meet the increasing demand for Chinese learning by foreign youngsters."said Xu Lin.the CLC director. The CLC has also hosted similar contest for foreign college students since 2002. China has been working to promote Chinese language learning abroad over the past few years.According to the CLC, the country had 282 Confucius Institutes and 272 "Confucius Classrooms" in 88 countries and regions as of 2009 since the first one was established in 2004. The text is intended to _ . Answer:
I think lots of students like the pop singer named Jay. I also like him very much. Do you know as a boy, Jay was called _ . But his mother noticed that the quiet, shy boy seemed to dance well when he heard the Western pop music. His mother sent him to a piano school when he was four. When he grows up, he has an ability for playing the piano beyond his years. I learned to play the piano from 7 years old to 13 years old. I often feel bored when I practice playing the piano. But Jay was always crazy about playing the piano. I think he really likes music. He is my hero.. I admire Jay. The real reason is when the others all denied him, he never gave up. He tried his best to change his life. I think it is good for everybody. I hope that everyone can learn from him--try our best to do everything. Then I think we will be the winners. From this article, we know that _ . A. The pop singers were all foolish when they were young. B. Everyone should try his best to do everything C. Jay is able to play the piano and football. D. It's easy to become a pop singer. Answer: B. Everyone should try his best to do everything Nancy was new to America. She had an 8-year-old son. They found a house in New York. They were there for only two months when a neighbor's dog jumped into their yard. The dog ran toward Nancy's son. Nancy put her body in between the dog and her son. The dog stopped when it saw Nancy standing in front of it. She was going to hit it on the nose. The dog turned around. Shaking, Nancy took her son upstairs. They stayed in the house all the weekend. Then Nancy found another house. It was close to her son's school. She and her son walked everywhere. They found there was a park and a supermarket near the house. Nancy was very happy. Her son Tommy liked playing badminton, and he could practice in the park every morning. What was Tommy's hobby? A. Keeping dogs. B. Traveling. C. Playing badminton. D. Reading. Answer: C. Playing badminton. One day a teacher told his students a story: There were three dogs chasing a woodchuck ,which ran into a hole in a tree. Soon from the tree out ran a white rabbit. The rabbit ran away very fast. _ and driven by the three dogs, the rabbit climbed up a tree. But it couldn't stand steadily, so it fell down to the ground. Before the dogs came to realize what had happened, the rabbit ran away quickly again... Finishing the story, the teacher asked, "Are there any problems with the story?" One student said, "Rabbit cannot climb trees." Another said, "It's impossible for three dogs not to catch a rabbit." When the students couldn't find any more problems with the story, the teacher said, "There is another problem. Where did the woodchuck go? The woodchuck was the goal that the dogs were chasing. But because of the rabbit's appearance, the dogs changed their direction, and our thoughts unknowingly changed, too. The woodchuck disappeared in our minds." Such is life. While holding on to our goals, we are sometimes fascinated by surrounding beauties or interrupted by minor details, so we forget our goals. The teacher wanted his students to _ by telling the story. A. keep a cool mind when facing difficulties B. find as many problems as possible C. often change their goals in their life D. concentrate on their goals in their life Answer: D. concentrate on their goals in their life Which invention would a culture living above the Arctic Circle most likely develop? A. ice production B. air conditioning C. insulated clothing D. irrigation canals Answer: C. insulated clothing The Winter Olympic Games are a major international sporting event that occurs once every four years. Unlike the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics feature sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, was held in Chamonix, France. The Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II. The Olympics resumed in 1948 and was again held every four years. Until 1992, the Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same year. The Winter Games have evolved since its beginning. Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them, such as short track speed skating, freestyle skiing, have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic program. Others have been discontinued and later reintroduced. Still others, such as speed skiing, bandy and skijoring, were demonstration sports but never incorporated as Olympic sports. The rise of television as a global medium for communication _ the impression of the Games. It created an income stream, via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising.This allowed outside interests, such as television companies and corporate sponsors. Beijing has become the first city to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games after beating Kazakhstan's Almaty to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics. With a fully-prepared final presentation by an all-star team, Beijing has successfully convinced the committee members that the 2008 Olympics host city is a more favored candidate for the Winter Games. Beijing was the safe choice because it had already proved it could stage the Games and said it would take winter sports into the backyard of the world's most populated country. Why were the Winter Olympic Games not held for 12 years ? A. Because of the economic crisis B. Because of culture difference C. Because of the Second World War D. Because of countries' lack of interest Answer: C. Because of the Second World War
Hello and welcome! My name is Shelley Ann Vernon and I am glad that you want to find out more about teaching English through games. Right here you will find ways to get great results in the classroom for children aged 4 to 12; ways that from my experience will bring more success and joy into the lives of the children you teach. You'll learn how to make your serious classes fun, how to ensure everyone gets better grades, how to help inspire the brighter kids while taking care of the slower ones, and how to associate fun with learning by teaching vocabulary and grammar through language games. Earn even more appreciation, love and respect from your students and their parents for your teaching. The games presented here work for ESL (English as a Second Language) pupils aged 4 to 12. These games are most suitable for beginners to general level students. Achieve results 2 X as fast. Don't take my word for it; read evidence from teachers and parents: She found it valuable right away!Although I only bought your book on Monday, and today is Wednesday, I want you to know how valuable I have found it to be. I have used a couple of the games in school already and the children loved them.Most importantly, they were learning and reviewing English at the same time. Can I admit that I also enjoyed my lessons more? Gila Goldberg, Jerusalem The games help with learning difficulties! My daughter Aurore has learning difficulties and since coming to your classes she has gained confidence and has improved in all subjects at school. Mrs. J. Brown, Canterbury, Kent, UK Click here to order now with our secure server. Remember, if you are not satisfied, just let us know and we will refund you in full. You still get to keep the essential bonus material, yours for FREE, and that's a rare time saving gain, plus a value of 25 dollars. If you are unsatisfied with the book, _ . Answer: One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the "cashless society" is not on the horizon----it's already here. While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply _ . They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customer for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself. Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers. It can be inferred that _ . Answer: Statistics show that every year, about 4 million students fail to pass the national college entrance exam. However, as China recently publicized students' scores for this year's college entrance exam, it seems that schools, parents and society at large give more attention to students who succeed in the exam, few people care about those who fail, the China Education Daily reported. Some students, after failing the exam, cannot get a timely support from their parents or teachers and begin to display some serious mental problems. How to help these students to get rid of the shadow on their mind has become a problem to be taken seriously. First, students' friends, parents and relatives should offer their sympathy and care to them in order to comfort their heart. At this time, parents should not blame students for their failure, otherwise they might bear more psychological burden. Secondly, teachers and the whole society should also offer more support to students who fail the exam. Lastly, students themselves should also try to overcome their depressions and adjust their mood. The newspaper urges the general public to offer their care, trust and support to these students. It also expects that students can face their failure bravely and try to start a new life happily. What can we infer from the passage? Answer: A 1. 6-meter tall robot may soon become the best friend for lonely elderly people,as Chinese scientists are making the final sprint toward its market launch ,said a senior researcher on the robot project on Saturday. "We are working on testing the exact functions and ways to reduce the cost in preparations for an expected market launch of the robot in two to three years,"said Li Ruifeng,a member of the project. He said the team hoped to reduce the cost so that the robot can be priced at 30,000 to 50,000 yuan,which is expected to be an affordable price for most of China's better-off families. The robot has been developed with the functions of fetching food,medicine,sounding alarms in case of water or gas leakage,sending texts or video images via wireless communications,and even singing a song or playing chess to entertain its masters. Li said that the robot,developed independently in China, has technology at the same level as those in western labs. China set about the research of the robot in 2007,when it was listed as a national key project. It is _ by government funding . China has the world's largest elderly population with 159 million people over 60,accounting for 12 percent of its total population. According to a survey by the Ministry of Civil Affairs,more than 10 million caregivers and nurses are needed to attend the elderly population,as most of Chinese elderly prefer to live their retired lives at home. The author wrote the passage to_. Answer: Which part of a plant produces the seeds? Answer:
While traveling, you'll be taking money, license or passport. Or you will buy something expensive to take back home with you and you don't want it to get stolen. Here are some ideas on how to keep your valuables safe while traveling Plan ahead of time Think of what you really need and don't need to take on your trip. Only take the valuables that you must have, not just ones that you would like to have. Carry your valuables on your person Something that is small, like cash and credit cards and your passport, can be carried in a money wallet around your neck or in a money belt. This way, your valuables are hidden and right next to you, where you know where they are at all times. Wear clothing that can hide the money belt. Carry larger valuables in your carry-on bag. If you can't fit it in your money wallet like some large valuables, you'd better put them somewhere that you will keep touch with them. Your can put them on the plane, so you don't have to worry about the airline losing your bag or someone stealing it from the belt after the flight before you get to it. Choose a hotel that has the front desk for valuables. This way, you don't have to worry about housekeeping getting hold of your valuables, or someone stealing your valuables if your room is broken into. If you give the valuables to the front desk to keep for you, choose a time when others are not looking. The passage is mainly about _ . A. what to do while traveling B. how to carry your valuables on your person C. how to keep your valuables safe while traveling D. how to save money while traveling Answer: C Your cell phone holds secrets about you. Besides the names and numbers that you've programmed into it, traces of your DNA remain on it, according to a new study. DNA is genetic material that appears in every cell. Like your fingerprint, your DNA is unique to you --- unless you have an identical twin. Scientists today usually analyze DNA in blood,saliva , or hair left behind at the scene of a crime. The results often help detectives identify criminals and their victims. Meghan J. McFadden, a biologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, heard about a crime in which the suspect bled onto a cell phone and later dropped the device. This made her wonder whether traces of DNA remained on cell phones --- even when no blood was involved. To find out, she and a colleague collectedflip-style phones from 10 volunteers. They collected invisible traces of the users from two parts of the phone: the outside, where the user holds it, and the speaker, which is placed at the user's ear. The scientists scrubbed(meaning "cleaned") the phones using a liquid mixture made mostly of alcohol. The aim of washing was to remove all detectable traces of DNA. The owners got their phones back for another week. Then the researchers collected the phones and repeated collecting traces on each phone once more. They discovered DNA that belonged to the phone's owner on each of the phones. Surprisingly, DNA showed up even in swabs that were taken immediately after the phones were cleaned. That suggests that washing won't remove all traces of evidence from a criminal's cell phone. So cell phones can now be added to the list of clues that can help a crime-scene investigation. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? A. The reason for collecting the phones from volunteers. B. The technique of collecting DNA on the phones. C. The method of removing traces of DNA on the phones. D. The purpose of washing the cell phones. Answer: B Shirley Temple, who died on February 10, 2014, was that rare example of a Hollywood child star who, when the cameras stopped rolling, carved out a new career. For four years, she was Hollywood's biggest box-office star representing the kind of sweet, innocent girl that everyone wanted as their daughter. However, years later, she reappeared as a successful politician. Shirley Temple was born in Santa Monica, California on 23 April 1928. Encouraged by her mother, she learned to dance while she was just three. In 1934, Stand Up and Cheer became her first film and the film was a great success. At the age of six she was earning $1,250 a week -- more than $21,000 at today's values. Across the world, audiences flocked to see her in films such as Little Miss Marker, The Little Colonel and The Littlest Rebel. In 1935 she was awarded a special Oscar (Academy Award) and her foot and hand prints were added to those of stars such as Jean Harlow and Mary Pickford outside Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood. The peak of her film career came in 1939 when The Little Princess became a box-office success. Temple starred in a total of 43 feature films. But she found it difficult to maintain her film career in adulthood and retired from Hollywood in 1950. She disappeared from the spotlight for nearly 20 years. She returned to the public eye in 1967, as a Republican candidate for Congress. When Nixon became president, he rewarded her with an appointment to the American delegation to the United Nations. Then, in 1974, President Ford appointed her the United States Ambassador to Ghana. George Bush Snr, appointed her Ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Shirley Temple drew a line between her childhood stardom and her later political career. "Some people are stuck on this image of the little girl," she once said. "She is not me. We shouldn't live in the past; my life is now." Nevertheless, for many across the world, the name Shirley Temple always called to mind a superstar child. We can infer that _ . A. the films in which Shirley Temple starred in adulthood were not popular B. Jean Harlow and Mary Pickford appeared in the same film with Temple C. Shirley Temple succeeded in being elected as Congresswoman in 1967 D. Shirley Temple was the youngest person to receive an Academy Award Answer: A May 2, Saturday We arrived in Hangzhou at 3:00p.m. After we walked out of the train station, we took a taxi to the hotel. The hotel was very clean. We stayed there for three days. Then we wanted to travel to Hainan. May 5, Tuesday In the morning we went to Hainan by plane. The people in Hainan were very friendly. Then we went to a beautiful beach. It was sunny. So we had great fun playing in the water. May 7, Thursday It was rainy today. So we went to a museum. We saw many old things there. Then we went to the aquarium to see some sea animals. We saw many kinds of fish. They were very lovely. I hope I could come to Hainan again. They _ on Tuesday. A. visited a museum B. saw some sea animals C. had dinner in a restaurant D. played in the water Answer: D One weekend in May 2015, over 48 centimeters of rain fell in Houston, Texas, USA. Soon the city was covered with water. The rising water rushed into the cars on the roads. There were 16 deaths that weekend. Changing Weather The weather is changing. Over the last few years, heavy rains have caused floods in Brazil, Pakistan, and Thailand. Droughts have struck Russia and Australia. Heat waves have killed thousands in Europe. There are more different kinds of terrible wild weather all over the world. In 2011 alone, the bad weather caused the world to lose 150 billion dollars. Warmer and Wetter As more wild weather events happen, a worried world is beginning to ask questions like: What is going on with the weather? And why? Many also want to know: Is this natural, or are we to blame ? The answer seems to be: a little of both. Wild weather is natural. _ This global warming makes heat waves more likely to happen. The higher temperatures also cause more water to enter the air. This causes much more rain. Some scientists also believe global warming makes some storms stronger. This means we're likely to see more wild weather. "But we don't have to just stand there and take it," says Scientist Michael Oppenheimer. He and other scientists say we need to stop the Earth from getting warmer. We also need to be prepared, to do things that will help save lives. Which of the following would Oppenheimer probably agree with? A. It is too late to stop global warming. B. Humans have nothing to do with global warming. C. The weather will get better if we can stop global warming. D. To find ways to keep our things safe is the most important. Answer: C
You might notice something new in the next few years as you watch Disney programs: Starting in 2015, there won't be any candy, sugary cereal or fast-food commercials aimed at kids. The Walt Disney Company has become the first major media company to ban ads for junk food on its TV channels, radio stations and websites. It hopes this will stop kids from making poor food choices. First Lady Michelle Obama called it a "game changer" that is sure to send a message to the rest of the children's entertainment industry. "Just a few years ago, if you had told me or any other mom or dad in America that our kids wouldn't see a single ad for junk food while they watched their favorite cartoons on a major TV network, we wouldn't have believed you," said the First Lady, who heads a campaign to help stop child obesity. The ban would apply to Disney-owned ABC stations as well as Radio Disney and Disney-owned websites aimed at families with young children. In addition, Disney plans to make changes to its kids' menus at theme parks and resorts . Fast-food options will be replaced with healthier choices, such as smoothies , apples, vegetables and yogurt. In addition to candy bars and fast-food meals, other foods that don't meet Disney's nutritional standards will be banned from the company's kid-targeted media. Any cereal with 10 grams or more of sugar per serving will be _ . There will be no ads for full meals of more than 600 calories. Juices with high levels of sugar and foods with too much salt will also be pulled. Leslie Goodman, Disney's senior vice-president of Corporate Citizenship, said a company that wants to advertise will need to show that it offers a range of healthy options. Disney isn't the only one pushing away unhealthy foods. Last week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested a ban on drinks over 16 ounces sold in movie theaters, restaurants and convenience stores in the Big Apple. He says large, sugary drinks are partly to blame for obesity. What Michelle Obama said suggests that while watching cartoons _ . Answer: People at home keep asking me, "Is it hard to learn Chinese? Why have you learned it so well?" Well, there's one thing that makes Chinese easy to learn: there are so many people to talk to. You've probably heard that it's the most spoken language. Today it's also one of the most written languages online. And with so many Chinese people interested in learning English, it couldn't be easier to find a friend for language learning. You just have to know where to look for them. The really good place to look for them is QQ. QQ has the same status in China as AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) does in the US. It is reported that at any moment, up to 9,000,000 people are using QQ. They're at work, or in a web cafe , or at home, and the information of the users can be found. If you sign on with your address set to "abroad", you'll soon find that many thousands of them are interested in speaking to you! This is a great way for you to learn Chinese, and for them to learn English. I think that it's a very interesting way of cultural contact , too, for ordinary people from around the world to be able to have one-on-one contact. The writer wrote this passage mainly to _ . Answer: Dear Sir, I read your ad in the newspaper yesterday. I'm writing to tell you I'd like to work as a volunteer for the 2008 Olympics. My name is Fanny. I am 16. I study in No.46 Middle School from September, 2002. I love sports , and table tennis is my favorite . I can speak English very well and I am quite healthy. If I am lucky enough to become a volunteer for the 2008 Olympics, please call me as soon as possible. My telephone number is 028-84661314. I will try my best to do the job well. Best wishes! yours Fanny What's Fanny's telephone number? _ Answer: Mom noticed that something was wrong when I started getting so thirsty, I'd have a lot to drink before bed, which was unusual for me. One time, I opened a big container of apple juice and kept refilling my glass. Before I knew it, I'd drunk the entire container! My mom call my doctor. I then had a few blood tests, and the results were certain ------ I had diabetes, which meant that the amount of sugar in my blood was very high. That can be dangerous, so I had to learn how to control my blood-sugar level. My eating habits had to change in a big way. With diabetes, I can't eat a lot of sugar or carbohydrates. I have to figure out exactly how much sugar I plan to eat, and then I get an injection of insulin before the meals to help my body process the food. Also, I test my blood-sugar level often. I'm always trying to keep my blood sugar at a healthy level. The level can drop when I exercise, but that doesn't keep me out of gym class or off the basketball court ------ I just keep some juice boxes around to _ my blood sugar if I need to. It's a lot of work ------ and not a lot of fun ------ to keep track of everything, but I've gotten used to my new habits. I was a little scared at first because I wasn't sure how my life would change. Once I knew what I needed to do, though, it wasn't a big deal. My life is different now from what it was before, but it has become completely regular to me. The insulin injected into the body before the meals can _ . Answer: When visiting Maui , one of the most beautiful islands in the world , there are so many attractions for you . HALEAKALA Mt. Haleakala towers 10,023 feet high and is one of the two volcanoes that created this incredible Hawaiian isle . Haleakala National Park offers a variety of activities , making it one of the most revisited attractions in all the Hawaiian Islands . The most popular activities include enjoying sunrise and sunset , hiking , and backcountry camping on Maui . ROAD TO HANA There are many ways to experience the Road to Hana , and the sleepy coastal Town of Hana , Maui . Visitors can go by group and private tours , or explore on their own by renting a vehicle . Beginning at the historic Town of Paia , visitors can enjoy decorated coastlines all the way to Hana , world famous beaches in Hawaii , tropical landscapes , waterfalls , scenic lookout points , and cultural attractions that mark significant points in Maui's unique Hawaiian history . HO'OKIPA BEACH PARK Ho'okipa Beach Park is one of the most famous beaches in the world for professional surfing and windsurfing . In the ancient Hawaiian language , " ho'okipa " means hospitality , which is exactly what this Beach Park offers ! At Ho'okipa , visitors can see the powerful coastline from the top parking lot for amazing photo opportunities . Or you can go to the sand for afternoon BBQ's and the glorious Maui shunshine . OHE'O GULCH POOLS The Ohe'o Gulch Pools , more commonly referred to as the Seven Sacred Pools , is a wonderful place to explore Maui on vacation . The lower pools are more easily accessed , and perhaps the best choice for visitors who want to jump in . Due to the popularity of the Seven Sacred Pools , it is highly suggested to arrive early for a chance to enjoy privacy in this beautiful location . From the passage , we can learn that _ . Answer:
When my daughter Sally was five, I bought Grimm's Fairy Tales and read Snow White to her one night. At the end of the original Grimm tale, Snow White's stepmother is made to put on red-hot iron shoes and dance until she falls down dead. This came as something of a shock. I always thought fairytales had happy endings. And I didn't want my five-year-old daughter going to sleep thinking: "Thank goodness they tortured that old woman to death." That's when I decided to write fairy tales. In the years that followed, I wrote tales non-stop and read them to Sally at bedtime. The Corn Dolly was based on a child who was always complaining; The Silly King was just a silly story Sally loved; I wrote The Witch and the Rainbow Cat for Sally because of her enormous appetite for stories about witches while Dr Bonocolus's Devil is a new version of the Faust legend. Nifobobinus, however, was different. I wrote this book when Sally was older and took up all things girls have to do -- who's friends with who, who stuck a sticker on the back of whose boyfriend, or whatever thing she felt funny. Nicobobinus, the boy who could do anything, came out of my desire for a more innocent world. He lived a 1ong time ago, in a city called Venice. Only his best friend, Rosie, knew he could, and nobody took any notice of anything Rosie said, because she was always having wild ideas anyway. Nicobobinus was so different that it turned out to be an instant hit. The Times called me "an author setting out to _ the classic fairytales". I asked Sally what she thought of Nicobobinus. She said it was her favourite. What led the writer to start writing fairy tales for her daughter? A. The frightening ends of past fairy tales. B. His daughter's strong interest in fairy tales. C. His desire to let his daughter know more stories. D. His attempt to fill his daughter's bedtime with something. Answer: A For generations here in the deepest South, there had been a great taboo : publicly crossing the color line for love. Less than 45 years ago, marriage between blacks and whites was illegal, and it has been forbidden for much of the time since. So when a great job about an hour's drive north of the Gulf Coast attracted him, Jeffrey Norwood, a black college basketball coach, had reservations. He was in a _ relationship with a woman who was white and Asian. "You're thinking about a life in South Mississippi?" his father said in a skeptical voice, recalling days when a black man could face mortal danger just being seen with a woman of another race, regardless of intentions. "Are you sure?" But on visits to Hattiesburg, the younger Mr. Norwood said he liked what he saw: growing diversity. So he moved, married, and, with his wife, had a baby girl, who was counted on the last census as black, white and Asian. Taylor Rae Norwood, three, is one of thousands of mixed-race children who have made this state home to one of the nation's most rapidly expanding multiracial populations, up 70 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to new data from the Census Bureau. In the first comprehensive accounting of multiracial Americans since statistics were first collected about them in 2000, reporting from the 2010 census, made public in recent days, shows that the nation's mixed-race population is growing far more quickly than many researchers had estimated, particularly in the South and parts of the Midwest. That conclusion is based on the bureau's analysis of 42 states; the data from the remaining eight states will be released soon. In North Carolina, the mixed-race population doubled. In Georgia, it grew by more than 80 percent, and by nearly as much in Kentucky and Tennessee. In Indiana, Iowa and South Dakota, the multiracial population increased by about 70percent. Census officials estimated the national multiracial growth rate was about 35 percent since2000 according to the known result, when seven million people ----- 2.4 percent of the population chose more than one race. Which of the following states had the fastest growth rate of mixed-race population? A. Georgia. B. Tennessee. C. North Carolina. D. South Dakota. Answer: C Kataria is the founder of the worldwide laughter movement. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive activity for world peace and is intended to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. The first "World Laughter Day" gathering took place in Mumbai, India, on 11th January, 1998. 12,000 members from India and international Laughter Clubs attended it. Now there are over 5,000 Laughter Clubs worldwide on all 5 continents. "HAPPY--DEMIC" was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place on 9th January, two years after the Mumbai gathering. In Copenhagen, Denmark, more than 10,000 people gathered at Town Hall Square. The event went into Guinness Book of World Records. "World Laughter Day" is now organized on the first Sunday of May every year. Hundreds of people gather worldwide on that day to laugh together. Today, many people fear widespread international terrorism. The world has never faced so much unrest before. People are at war within themselves. Laughter is a universal language, which has the ability to unite humanity without religion. Laughter can build a common connection between various religions and create a new world order. The idea may sound over -ambitious , and maybe it is. But maybe it is not. It is our deep belief that laughter and only laughter can unite the world, building up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship. Studies also say that laughter helps your body do the following: lower blood pressure; lighten depression; reduce stress; work out the heart, especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercise. So in life, when you can laugh, you should laugh loudly and with your entire body-because it's good for you. The passage is mainly about _ . A. World Laughter Day and its significance B. the worldwide laughter movement C. a universal language D. laughter. Answer: A Hello! The University of Hawaii is located just outside of downtown Honolulu in green Manoa valley.We invite you to visit and want to let you know about our learning programs, the richness of our culture, the beauty of our environment, the spirit of our students and teachers, advanced equipment and modern buildings.We look forward to seeing you come.The following information is given so that your visit will be as easy as possible. You should get in touch with us ahead of time.You may directly contact the office of the College to schedule appointment service at 1--877-447-3233. To arrange a campus tour, please hand in a request through our Online Campus Visit Request Form. Tours are on weekdays: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00a.m.--9:30a.m.: Meet with a University Representative 9:30a.m.--11:30a.m.: General Campus Tour with a UHM (The University of Hawaii Manoa ) student Tuesday & Thursday 1:00p.m.--l:30p.m.: Meet with a University Representative l:30p.m.--3:30p.m.: General Campus Tour with a UHM student You also can get in touch with us by: Phone Number: 1 (877) 447-3233, or 1 (808) 956-6524 E-mail: visituhm@hawaii.edu How do you get to UHM? It is in Honolulu less than 3 miles away from Waikiki and about 9 miles from Honolul International Airport. By car: From Waikiki and from Honolulu International Airport Taxi: Taxi fare to UHM is about $25.00, except baggage charges and a tip of 10 to 15percent. Public bus: Luggage is allowed on city buses. Bus stops are on the second floor of the airport.A one-way fare is $2.00(in exact change). What can we learn from the passage? A. You need to contact them in advance. B. Taxi fare to UHM is about $ 25.00, including a tip. C. Only by car and bus can you get to UHM. D. You can visit the campus both on weekdays and weekends. Answer: A Which source of data about Nevada resources is likely to be most current and reliable? A. a science encyclopedia B. an article in a local newspaper C. a government-maintained website D. a student's classroom presentation Answer: C
Question: Do you feel a little sleepy after lunch? Well, that's normal . Your body slows down then. What should you do about it? Don't drink coffee! Instead, take a nap . It's good to have a daily nap. First of all, you are more energetic after napping. You remember things better and make fewer mistakes. Also, you can learn things more easily after taking a nap. A nap may improve your self-confidence and make you more active. It may even cheer you up. But, there are some rules you should think about taking a nap. First, take a nap in the middle of day. Next, a 20-minute nap is best. If you sleep longer, you may fall into a deep sleep. After waking from a deep sleep, you will feel worse. Also, you should set an alarm clock. That way, you can fully relax during your nap. You won't have to keep looking at the clock so you don't sleep too much. Now, the next time you feel sleepy after lunch, don't get stressed. Put your head down, close your eyes, and take a nap. What is the text mainly about? A. Why and how to take a nap. B. Rules to improve your self-confidence. C. How to make fewer mistakes. D. When to take a nap. Answer: A. Why and how to take a nap. Question: 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. How much do you pay for the park's 60th anniversary edition? A. $7.95 B. $19.95 C. $5 D. $30 Answer: D. $30 Question: For their nick-of-time acts, Toby, a 2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a cute cat, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. As Amy Paul choked on a piece of apple at her home, her dog jumped up, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece in her throat out. When the Keesling family of Indiana was about to be killed by carbon monoxide, their cat clawed at the wife Cathy's hair until she woke up and called for help. No one could explain their timely heroics. Both pets were rescued by their owners in _ -----Toby as a 4-week-old thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Cathy's husband, Eric, had to feed her milk with an eyedropper. As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump being used broke down, spreading carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie went to rescue, the couple's 14-year-old son was already unconscious. "Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry sound," Cathy Keesling said. The state police responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house. Amy Paul's husband was at his job when she took a midday break from making jewelry and bit into an apple. "Normally I peel them, but I read in Good Housekeeping Magazine that the skin has all the nutrients, so I ate the skin, and that's what caused me to choke," she recalled. "I couldn't breathe and I was in panic when Toby jumped on me. He never does that, but he did, and saved my life." Both Toby and Winnie accompanied their owners to the awards luncheon. Why did Amy Paul choke on a piece of apple? A. She was too young to care for herself. B. She had a big bite. C. She didn't peel the skin as usual. D. The apple was too hard. Answer: C. She didn't peel the skin as usual. Question: Do you know how to write an English letter? It is different from the Chinese letter. When we write a letter in English, we should write the date on the top of the right corner. Sometimes we write the _ ---the number of the house and the names of the street, city and country. Then we can begin the letter at the left corner. We always use words like "Dear sir", "Dear Mr/Miss/Mrs ..."to begin the writing. At the end of the letter, we usually use expressions as "Yours", "Yours ever" or "Yours sincerely". Then sign the writer's name. It is also different to write an English envelope. You should write your name and address on the top of the left corner and write the receiver's in the middle or on the bottom of the right corner. We always use words like " _ " to begin the writing. A. Dear sir B. Dear Mr/Miss/Mrs C. Your sincerely D. A and B Answer: D. A and B Question: When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald's in January 2004, the world's biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining.One exception was France, where Mr.Hennequin had done a reliable job as head on the group's French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs to his relatives, His task was to copy this success in all 41 of the European countries where anti-globalisers' favourite enemy operates. So far Mr.Henncquin is doing well.Last year European sales increased by 5.8% and the number of customers by 3.4%, the best annual results in nearly 15 years.Europe accounted for 36% of the group's profits and for 28 of its sales.December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly . Mr.Hennequin's recipe for revival is to be more open about his company's operations, to be "locally relevant", and to improve the experience of visiting his 6.400 restaurants. McDonaId's is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly, polluting the environment and simply for being American.Mr.Hennequin says he wants to engage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns. He introduced "open door" visitor days in each country which became hugely popular.In Poland alone some 50,000 visitors came to McDonaId's through the visitors' program last year.The Nutrition Information Initiative launched last year, put detailed Sables on McDonaId's packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohy drates and salt content, "the details are also printed on tray-liners. Which of the following is not included in the McDonaId's packaging? A. attentions B. fat C. protein D. salt content Answer: A. attentions
Post your problems on the blog and get other bloggers' advice! My problem is my parents. They never stop going on about how I should keep my room tidy, keep my hair tidy and wear smart clothes. They even make me do the washing-up after dinner every night! None of my friends have got such tenable parents. What should I do? Helen, USA Hi, Helen. I think you should do what your parents ask. They're much older than you and you should respect them. It's their house you live in and their money you spend. Emily, Australia Helen, why should your parents do all the housework? You should help around the house. -it's only fair. I don't think you should change your appearance though. Teenagers should look like teenagers. Simon, England What is Helen's problem? Answer: She doesn't want to do what her parents ask. Do you know Walk With A Doc? It is a new program . This program helps people to be healthy. It's not difficult to do it. You only need sports shoes and then go for a walk in a store or a park with two or more people at a time. David Sabgir is a doctor in the U.S.A. He starts the new health program. Every Saturday morning, Sabgir runs in a park and he starts thinking, "I run to help myself to be healthy. But I think I can help more people to be healthy." So he tells his friends and other people about this. They all like the idea. For the first walk, 101 people join. Later , more and more people join this health program. David Sabgir often runs on _ . Answer: Saturday morning Like most people, I have grown up hearing the story Cinderella, in which a young girl lived with her cruel stepmother and suddenly had her life changed by a kind fairy and a smart prince. So when to see Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella, which is now playing on Broadway, I was very excited, As soon as I sat down, I noticed the trees lining the stage ,which gave it a magical appearance. The orchestra started to play and the lights became dark as the show began. I loved the entire performance. Everything and everyone on stage seemed like they had just jumped off the pages of the beloved story. It turns out that the Broadway experts agree with me. The show has received nine Tony nominations . Tony awards are the top prizes for Broadway shows. Laura Osnes, who plays the role of Cinderella, has been nominated for the Tony for best actress in a musical. How similar is the show to the story of Cinderella you know? The answer, of course, depends on which version of the story you've seen or read. In an interview with TIME FOR Kids, Osnes pointed out that many people are familiar with the Disney movie version. There are some differences between that movie and the Broadway show. For one thing, the stepmother and the sisters are not as cruel in the show as in the movie. Also, in the Broadway version, when Cinderella escapes from the dancing party, she picks up her shoe after dropping it. So how does the prince find Cinderella again? You'll have to see the show to find out! I just think anyone would enjoy this play, including both kids and adults. The attention to detail is amazing. In my opinion, this play deserves a double thumbs-up! What is one of the differences between the Disney movie and the Broadway show according to the passage? Answer: The stepmother and the sisters are crueler in the movie. Hank Viscardi was born without legs.He had not legs but stumps that could be 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 artificial legs .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. The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi . Answer: never saw himself as different from others In my mind, there is a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys,he got ly nowhere. Despite his hard training at all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played. This teenager lived alone with his father, and the relationship between the two of them was very special. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him. The young man loved football and was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a benchwarmer. Besides, his faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a"walk-on". Everyone firmly believed that he could never make the cut, but he did. The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, butactually he never got the real chance to play in a game. It was at the end of his senior football season that the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became totally silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach,"My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?"The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said,"Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday." Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines , the coach and his players were surprised to see their faithful teammate back so soon."Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today,"said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close play-off game. But the young man insisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in."All right,"he said."You can go in."Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to succeed. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid got a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. Finally, after the stands had emptied, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said,"Kid, you were unbelievably fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?" He looked at the coach, tears in his eyes, and said,"Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?"The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile,"Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could make it!" From the passage, we can infer that . Answer: the young man's father had a great positive influence on him
Mr and Mrs Green married thirty years ago and they have lived in the same house since then. Mr Green goes to work at eight every morning from Monday to Friday and Mrs Green does the housework everyday. Both of them enjoy their work very much. There are quite a lot of houses in their street, and most of their neighbors are kind and friendly. One day, the old lady in the house opposite them died and, after a few weeks, a young man and a young woman came to live in it. Mrs Green watched them for a few days from her window. One day when her husband came back from work, she said to him, "Bill, the man in that house opposite us always kisses his wife when he leaves in the morning and kisses her again when he comes home in the evening. Why don't you do that, too?" Mr Green thought for a while and answered, " Well, I don't know her very well yet." From then on, Mrs Green never mentioned it again. From the passage, we can see that Bill is _ . A the young man B Mr Green C the young woman D Mr Green's son Answer: B A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts to determine whether an individual pressure aroa is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity .They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a summary picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time. All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately.Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather conditions existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day"outlook" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an anaiysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for development of air masses, fronts and storms. Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather predictions, with identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weathef modification studies. You may possibly read this article in _ . A a magazine B newspaper C a novel D a science book Answer: D If we are asked exactly what we were doing a year ago, we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written it in an account of what we did each day, we should be able to give an answer to the question. It is the same in history. Many things have been forgotten because we don't have written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the important happenings in their country, but it was often destroyed by fire or in a war. Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write. For example, we know a great deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them. But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa because they had not learnt to write. Sometimes, even if the people cannot write, they may know something of the past. They have heard about it from older people and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings, and those have been sung and acted and told for many generations , for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past. This we may call "remembered history". Some of it has been written history because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing. But where there are no written records, such spoken stories are often helpful. We know very little about the central Africa 200 years ago because _ . A there was nothing worth writing down at that time B the people there paid no attention to the importance of keeping a record C the written records were perhaps destroyed by fire D the people there did not know how to write Answer: D Today was my high school reunion. I was the most remarkable student for all the wrong reasons. I was born with some birth defects and learning disabilities. I overcame them, but it was hard. While working blue-collar jobs, I lived in my car for a few years. On a cold winter night several years ago, I met Dr. X in the emergency room. He was a former classmate of mine, and we pretended not to know one another. He discovered I was living in my car and heard some of my stories. Then he arranged for me to be admitted to the hospital for a day so I could get warmed up and recover. When I left the hospital, I found a $100 bill in the gas tank door of my van . I'm sure it was from him. I now have a home of my own and I'm doing OK, considering everything. When I sent my reservation and check to the reunion committee, it was returned uncashed with a $50 bill along with a note saying "Please don't come." I guess my classmates are more closed-minded than I thought they would be. I was hoping age would change them but my wish turned out to be nothing but a joke. In addition to the reservation return, I have also seen a few forwarded emails _ my attempts to find out about the event. I hope none of those people were blessed with a child with learning or physical issues. I guess people never change on some things. Thankfully, I have found nicer, caringpeople along my journey in life, and for that I'd like to thank all of the kind people in the world. What made the author the most remarkable student? A Living in his own car. B His physical problems. C Providing wrong reasons. D His efforts to help others. Answer: B Big Ben Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a huge clock in London. London is the capital of England. This clock has four faces. So,no matter where you stand,you can read the time on the face of Big Ben. Each face is the size of a double decker bus. The hands are about four meters long. It is about the size of two people standing on top of each other. If you go to London,you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament. There you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament. Maybe you will hear it as well as see it. The huge clock makes such a loud noise. "Ding dong,ding dong,"it goes every quarter of an hour. The clock was named after a big man. He was Sir Benjamin Hall. This man did much building work in London many years ago. The clock strikes every _ of an hour. A ten minutes B fifteen minutes C thirty minutes D forty-five minutes Answer: B
Which is an example of a chemical reaction? Answer: nails rusting Tears came into this mother's eyes when she talked about waking up her son. Every morning, her ten-year-old boy puts up one finger with his eyes still closed, begging for one more minute to sleep. Why is he so sleepy? Because, like thousands of student "early birds" in China, he has to get up before 6 a.m. every morning. School students usually need eight to ten hours' sleep a night. But in Shanghai, it's reported that 90% of the students do not get enough sleep. And studies show that without a good night's sleep, students seem to be weaker than they should be. Many become near-sighted as a result. Li Ming, a student at Qinghua High School, said that he usually goes to bed after 11 p.m. But when he has exams coming up, he can stay up as late as midnight. This "night bird" lifestyle has made many students nod off in class. Li Ming said that it is during afternoon classes that he feel most sleepy. "My parents are usually happy to see me studying so late," he said. "They think I work very hard and they make me cups of coffee." However, not all parents are happy about this. "My daughter gets up so early. She looks tired and it really hurts me." said one of the parents. Why don't so many students get enough sleep? Now many members of society began to think about it. Why did the ten-year-old boy's mother talk about waking up her son with tears in her eyes? Answer: Because her son's lack of sleep hurt her but she had to wake him up. Most people want to be successful, but never stop to think what it will really take to get there in their chosen field. If it means going back to college for 2 years of night school, could you do it ? If it means reading a book a week for about 6 months in order to really master a new skill ? If you aren't prepared to do any of those things because they are outside of your comfort zone, then you can forget being succesful. I guarantee you will never reach your goals in life, unless your goals are to be ordinary. The biggest killer by far is the dreaded " comfort zone " where most people live in their entire life. And the funny thing is that people just can't wrap their heads around the fact that people who have reached some success get tons of time to just relax, but only because they've earned it ! If you haven't built a successful business, or in some way built a career that allow you so much freee time, then you are stuck in the grinding world of nine-to-five jobs everyone else. So how comfortable is that ? So what can you do about it ? Well, find a way to make something happen in your life--- build a business around your favourite hobby, write a book and publish it, or take a course in stock trading and become an expert at that, working on making enough money to retire. If you don't take massive action that puts your way of your comfort zone, you will never be successful at much of anything. I promise--- and I don't make many promises ! Finding real happiness in life can be a mystery for many. That's why I wrote The Road to Happiness for those who want real success and happiness in life, including spirituality and all the gifts life has to offer. Don't wander aimlessly through life. Get focused on your goals, start helping others in need, and live life to the fullest ! Life is too short to be anything but happy. Visit my website and find what you've been missing. Sign up for my newsletter and get seven free ebooks, too ! Read hundreds of articles while you're there in the article section, which is updated daily. If you want to be successful in life, what should you do first ? Answer: We should think what it really takes to be successful in our chosen field. Today, Anne is hungry. She wants to eat somewhere in town. There is a popular diner in town. She goes there and asks them if she can get fries and a chocolate milkshake. Her friends come into the diner and sit with her. Their names are Jane, Jake and Dave. All of them are 15 years old. Jake gets a big cheeseburger with onions. Jane wants a vanilla ice cream cone with sprinkles. Dave doesn't eat anything. He talks with them instead. After they finish eating, they go back to Jane's house to hang out and play games. Dave wins most of the puzzle games. Jane beats them at a few. They're racing games. Dave leaves after an hour. He needs to go do his reading homework. Jake and Anne leave that evening because it's a school night. They all promise to meet up again the next day to hang out after school. What games did Jane beat the others at? Answer: racing games Welcome to Wen Feng's Clothes Shop! Big Sale ! Goods Colors Price (each) Pants Black, white, brown Y=65 Coat Black Y= 95 Cap Blue, white Y= 15 T-shirt Red, green Y= 60 Shoes Black , white Y= 80 Bag Blue Y= 35 Peter has two hundred yuan , so what can he buy? Answer: Two bags and two pairs of pants .
"But what if I break my arm again?" my 5-year-old daughter asked. I knew how much she wanted to learn to ride. Yet ever since she'd fallen off her bike and broken her arm, she'd been afraid. "Oh honey," I said. "I don't think you'll break another arm." "But I could, couldn't I?" "Yes," I admitted, and found myself struggling for the right thing to say. "I don't think I want to ride," she said and got off her bike. We walked away and sat down beside a tree. "Don't you want to ride with your friends?" I asked. "And I thought you were hoping to start riding your bike to school next year," I added. "I was," she said in a low voice. "You know, honey," I said. "Most everything you do comes with dangers. You could break your arm at gymnastics. Do you want to stop going to the gym?" "No, of course not!" she replied. And with a determined spirit, she stood up and agreed to try again. I held on to the back of her bike until she found the courage to say, "Let's go!" I spent the rest of the afternoon at the park watching a very brave little girl overcome a fear, and congratulating myself for being an independent single parent. As we walked home, pushing the bike as we made our way along the sidewalk, she asked me about a conversation she'd overheard me having with my mother the night before. "Why were you and Grandma arguing last night?" "It's nothing." I told her. She shrugged . "Grandma said she just wanted you to find someone to love." "What Grandma wants is for some guy to break my heart again," I snapped. "But Mom ..." "You're too young to understand." I told her. She was quiet for the next few minutes. Then she looked up and in a small voice said, "So I guess love isn't like a broken arm." Unable to answer, we walked the rest of the way in silence. When I got home, I let go and agreed to meet a man called Steve. Steve was the man for me. We married less than a year later. It turned out my mother and my daughter were right. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE? Answer: Sometimes teens need to have some time away from their families. They may want to move out of the family or home for a while. Many parents will say no to this demand. But experts say it might be a good idea to let your teens live with a friend or a relative. "It was the break I needed at the time," said Richard Lerne. He is talking about the time he spent living with his grandmother when he was 15. "It allowed me to be a more different person than I was with my parents." Lerne said. He now heads the Institute for Children, Youth and Families at Michigan State University. Experts say teens living away from their families can test new ways of thinking and getting along with people. They may see new ways to problems. Some teens who want some time away from family attend a structured summer program. Others live for a while with a relative or with the family of a friend. If there is conflict at home, having a teen live elsewhere can benefit other family members. It gives everyone space to develop better relationships. Joseph Kett teaches history at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He says living at home until the late ten years has become the norm only in recent times. "In the 17th century, children were often sent to live in other people's home when they were about 10 or 11", he said. Peter Sheras teaches education at the University of Virginia. He says parents should listen when a child wants to move out. They should try to find out why the child wants some time away. In history, _ . Answer: Dubai is a city of big business, expensive hotels , skyscrapers ,and shopping malls, In the early 20th century, Dubai was a successful trading port. People from the world stopped in Dubai to do business, But it was still a small city, and most people lived as fishermen and businessmen. Then in 1966, oil was discovered. This brought a lot of money into the area, and soon Dubai began to change. Today Dubai is one of the world's most important business centers. In fact , each year the city gets its money mainly from business, not oil. Recently Dubai has attracted more and more visitors from abroad, They come to relax on its beaches, and every year, millions visit just to go shopping! Dubai is also one of the world's fastest growing cities. Many tall buildings are built in months. The city also has many man-made islands.One of these, the Palm Jumeirah, is like a palm tree and is very beautiful. The city is still an amazing mix of people from different countries . The people from 150 countries live and work in Dubai , and foreigners now _ Dubai natives by eight to one! Many people welcome the city's growth. But an increasing number of Dubai natives worry about the speed of change As a Dubai native says, " _ ." Which of the following is NOTtrue? Answer: As the new semester begins,millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper-or,more likely,how best to delay that paper. _ is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from it.They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space,eating snacks,surfing the Internet,watching videos and looking at their pretty peers sitting around them,who,most likely,are doing nothing either. Paralyzed by their habit to procrastinate,they write micro blogs about their fears,asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue.But this does nothing to solve their problems. According to a recent report by the BBC,95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world's population are procrastinators,complicating their lives with their continual delaying of tasks. Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior,but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong.Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure.Pelling says this is nonsense,as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time. She says the behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel flustered and ashamed,inconveniences others,and annoys loved ones. Fortunately,social seientists have made tireless efforts to understand this behavioral shortcoming and offer strategies to control it.Piers Steel,a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation,believes humankind is"designed"to procrastinate.Nevertheless,he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand. The first one is obvious:Break the task down into small pieces and work your way through them methodically. The second is clever:Give a trusted friend a sum of money and tell them that if you don't complete the task you have undertaken by a specific time,they can keep it or donate it to a cause you hate. Which of the following statements is true according to the text? Answer: Mail was usually carried west on ships that sailed around the bottom of South America and then north to California.That could take several months. So, in eighteen fifty-seven, D.C.Lawmakers in Congress in Washington wanted to make it possible to send mail all the way across the United States by land.Congress offered to help any company that would try to deliver mail overland to the West Coast. A man named John Butterfield accepted this offer. He developed plans for a company that would carry the mail--and passengers, too. Congress gave John Butterfield six hundred thousand dollars to start his company. In return, he had to promise that the mail would travel from Saint Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, in twenty-five days or less. It was not possible to travel straight through because of the Rocky Mountains and the deep snow that fell in winter. So the stagecoach would travel south from Saint Louis to El Paso, Texas, then over to southern California, then north to San Francisco. The distance was about four thousand five hundred kilometers. Two hundred of these stations were built, each about thirty-two kilometers apart. The workers were to quickly change the horses or mules whenever a stagecoach reached the station. There could be no delay. Each stagecoach was to travel nearly two hundred kilometers a day. One hundred stagecoaches were built and painted red or dark green. They were the most modern coaches that money could buy. They were designed to hold as many as nine passengers and twelve thousand pieces of mail. The seats inside could be folded down to make beds. Passengers either slept on them or on the bags of mail. The cost would be one hundred fifty dollars to travel from Saint Louis to San Francisco. If a passenger was not going all the way, the cost was about ten cents a kilometer. The passengers had to buy their own food at the stations. The stagecoach would stop for forty minutes, two times a day. The company warned passengers about the possible dangers. A poster said: "You will be traveling through Indian country and the safety of your person cannot by granted by anyone but God." The reason why Lawmakers wanted to send mail by land was that _ . Answer:
It's difficult not to become involved in gossip at work. After all, people like gossip and interesting bits of information: you only have to look at the number of celebrity-focused publications to realize that we have a huge appetite for discussing other people's lives. At work, however, this type of interaction is harmful and costly. It wastes time, damages reputations, promotes divisiveness , creates anxiety. Rumors often grow because people like to be "in the know." Knowledge is power, and that's why the people with the least amount of power in an organization can often be the ones to start and spread rumors. It can make them feel important if they're seen to know things that others don't. This knowledge is at the center of why and how rumors start and spread. Insufficient knowledge or incomplete information are often to blame. Consider these examples: People don't know why a colleague was fired, so they make up a reason based on some limited knowledge or insignificant fact. "I saw John override the cash register the other day without a supervisor present. Maybe he stole some money and that's why he went." People see a pattern of behavior between two individuals and they add their own explanation. "Joseph and Samantha spend a lot of time together after hours 'catching up on paperwork.' And just yesterday, they were sitting awfully close to each other in the meeting. I bet paperwork isn't all that's getting done after work!" These rumors are typical of the things you'll face at work, and they spread because of a lack of accurate information. So, the best way to fight rumors is with good communication. When you communicate well, your team knows what's happening, and they trust that you'll keep them informed. Good communication within your team also means that you will become aware of any rumors that are starting, and you'll be able to address them quickly and effectively. What is the relationship between Joseph and Samantha in the eyes of the people spreading rumors? A They are lovers. B They are work partners. C They are rivals. D They are old friends. Answer: A. They are lovers. Drawing is a universal language. It was probably our first form of self-expression when we were babies: long before we start writing, we're painting and scribbling , both in order to make sense of the world and because we enjoy it. In the history of human culture, too, painting and image making came before writing or even simple mathematics: 30,000 years ago compared to 5,000. Yet after we leave school most of us never pick up a pencil again--willingly. If asked to draw something, most adults and many older children will shake their heads and say, " Not me! I can't draw. I'm hopeless at it." When you think about it, this is very strange. Drawing involves coordinating the hand and the eye with the pencil. It's a basic skill, no more difficult to learn than other amazing things that humans do, such as hitting a tennis ball over the net or writing our own name. there's no special talent involved. Anybody who can learn to write can learn to draw. So, there you are - no excuse not to get out your pencil, pencil sharpener and rubber and take part in the Big Draw, a nationwide series of free art events taking place all over Britain next October. Everyone's welcome: all you need is a willingness to express yourself through drawing. The Big Draw, now in its fifth year, has already achieved two world records: one for the longest drawing in the world (1km) and the other for the greatest number of people drawing at the same time (7,000). This year, there will be an attempt to create a new Guinness World Record for the longest visitors'book: people will be invited to leave their name and a drawing on a three-kilometer piece of paper. The theme this year is Inside\Outside--People, Structure( ) and Spaces, and other events planned include drawing on a three-kilometer piece of paper. The Big Draw is not about turning the nation into artists, it is about helping people to acquire this universal language of communication. Its greatest achievement next October will be to bring hundreds of thousands of people together to look, imagine, draw and have fun. The Big Draw already holds a world record for _ . A the number of visitors to the event. B the length of time spent on a drawing. C the number of balloons released in one day. D the number of people drawing at the same time. Answer: D. the number of people drawing at the same time. Kenji Croman has broken his bones,his shoulder and elbow, and nearly drowned several times.He's also had three close encounters with sharks over the years.A 10-foot wave landed directly on top of him five years ago,bending his body to the point that he actually kicked himself in the head."I literally heard every bone in my body crack."he said. Croman has been photographing ocean waves since 2008,sometimes risking his life to get that perfect shot at the surf break.Despite the risks and certain injuries that come with wave photography, the Hawaii resident,body surfer and former competitive swimmer wouldn't do anything else.The 36-year-old photographer loves the thrill of meeting breaking waves head on,shooting waves as his interest and shooting surfers to pay the bills. The process of photographing waves requires more than just swimming out to where the surf breaks and waiting,he says.The night before a photo shoot Croman checks Surfline.com,a website and the coastal camera network that provides live and predicted ocean weather information,to see what the winds,waves and tide will be like at certain times.Croman has both a primary camera and a backup for emergencies.He goes without a wetsuit and uses heavy duty underwater housing to protect his camera.There is no great way for him to protect himself.He admits there are probably protective clothes he should be wearing,but there is little he could have done to decrease the impact of the 10-foot wave that crashed on top of him. The hardest part of Croman's job is staying calm in the face of breaking waves when his initial reaction is to panic and swim away.At most.Croman will take two to three shots of a single wave."I've shot waves for so many years now that I see the wave in slow movement,"he said. What would be the best title of the text? A Taking adventures around the ocean B Risking his life for the perfect wave C Making preparations for life risks D Appreciating breaking waves in danger Answer: B. Risking his life for the perfect wave One of the strangest races in history is about to begin. The judge raises the starting gun and says,"On your marks, get set...'' BANG! Who will win this 40-yard race? Will it be the ostrich with its long legs? Or will it be the highly trained football player? Could the squirrel rush past them all? Don't worry. It's not a real race. Last week, Scientific American magazine asked professor Peter Weyand who would win an imaginary race between an ostrich, a football player, a pig, a squirrel, and an elephant. Weyand teaches physiology. He studies the way animals move. According to his knowledge of how animals _ , here's how the race might go: The ostrich runs out of the starting gate neck and neck with the football player in second, the gray squirrel running third, and the pretty pink pig in fourth. Forty yards later, at the finish line, the heavily feathered bird beats the speeding human! The competition isn't terribly close between the ostrich and the football player, but in a surprise move, the pig moves fast and manages to beat the squirrel by a nose. Pigs don't look like they're built for speed, so its third-place finish is a bit of a shock. How does Weyand explain the Animal Kingdom's speedy match? "The easiest way to explain why the ostrich is fast is that it has long legs,'' he says. Most of the ostrich's leg muscles are high up on its short thighbones. Its long, light legs allow the bird to go faster and keep speed easily. When running, an ostrich's highest speed is about 35 mph. Elephants and squirrels actually run at the same pace. But because squirrels can accelerate quickly, the huge elephant would lose. Pigs can't speed up as fast as squirrels, but they can run faster. Pigs that live in the wild can run close to 16 mph, and squirrels can run at about 14 mph. From what Weyand explained, we can infer _ . A humans can't run as fast as animals B the ostrich is built for speed C the squirrel can succeed in long races D the elephant is faster than the pig Answer: B. the ostrich is built for speed What if it isn't a dog-eat-dog world? What if caring for a dog or for a mom with Alzheimer's makes you stronger and allows you to live longer? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are born to be selfish. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was misunderstood by his male followers, the researchers say. Rather than "every man for himself", Darwin believed that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our educational, selfless and sympathetic characteristics. Why has it taken so long for Darwin's central revelation to be properly understood? "We've had too many men in social science," Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner told me in an interview. "Female scientists acknowledge that caring for people is part of human nature according to the research, which shows the human ability to care exists in our brains and nerve systems." In my bookPassages in Caregiving, I urge women who take the whole responsibility for taking care of an elderly parent or a sick relative to build a "Circle of Care". Reach out to your brothers and sisters, friends, neighbors and community volunteers to help you care, because no one can perform this overwhelming role alone. You will be as shocked as I to learn how the most selfless caregivers are rewarded with longer life. Sympathy is not a woman's word. In fact it makes all of us stronger under stress and more highly respected by our peers. For so long we have repeated the false saying "Nice guys finish last". But the 40 richest Americans committed to doing good by donating half their fortunes are _ . So here is my new explanation:Nice guys die last. Which of the following might be the BEST title of the passage? A Selflessness could be the secret to longer life B Darwin's theory of evolution is out of date now C Measures must be taken to improve the world D Males and females have different opinions about selflessness Answer: A. Selflessness could be the secret to longer life
"How did Norman know, Sister Emma?" "He overheard you and Aryan arguing. I suspect that he purposely overheard on you. Norman knew or concluded what profession Aryan practiced. He might well have followed Aryan on his explorations. Whether he did or not is beside the point. When Aryan came back yesterday afternoon, Norman certainly decided that he had made some find, for Aryan told Norman that he would be leaving for the capital to meet the detective the next morning. He probably followed Aryan to your room and overheard what passed between you. "Since you could not act against the law of man and God, he would serve a natural justice in his own way. He took the jar of poison hemlock from the chemistry shop and when Aryan asked for a drink, he supplied it. Norman did not know the precise quantity needed and so Aryan did not suffer the full effects until after the bell called the community into the dining hall for the evening meal." Abbess was following Sister Emma closely. "And then?" "Then I began my investigation, and then the detective arrived seeking Aryan for an explanation for his death." "But who killed Norman?" "Norman knew that sooner or later he would be discovered. But more importantly in his guileless mind there was also the guilt of having taken a man's life to be considered. Norman was a simple man. He decided that he should accept the punishment--the honor-price of a life. What greater honor-price for the life of Aryan could he offer than his own? He also took a draught of poison hemlock." There was a pause. What did Abbess do according to Sister Emma when Aryan came back? Answer: We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don't do a very good job. This article gives some suggestions on how to give an effective speech. So, you have to give a speech and you're fearful. You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long and you bore your audience. Later you think," Thank goodness, it's over. I'm just no good at public speaking. I hope I never have to do that again." Cheer up! It doesn't have to be that bad. Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making. Ask yourself the purpose of your speech. What is the occasion ? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject. Spend plenty of time doing your research. Then spend plenty of time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many examples as possible and use pictures, charts and graphs if they will help you make your points more clearly. Never forget your audience. Don't talk over their heads so that they can understand what you say. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Just remember: Be prepared. Know your subject, your audience and the occasion. Be brief. Say what you have to say and then stop. And be yourself. Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience. If you follow these simple steps, you'll see that you don't have to be afraid of public speaking. In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You're not sure yet. Give it a try and see what happens. The main idea of the passage is that _ . Answer: Say you're in the supermarket parking lot, holding your baby, bags of goods, and trying to open your car. A stranger walks up and says,"Here, let me hold your baby."Should you let him? According to a new New York University study, knowing whether or not to trust someone is so important that we can tell whether a face is trustworthy before we even consciously know it's there. The researchers knew from previous studies that people are fairly similar when it comes to how they judge a face's trustworthiness. They wanted to find out whether that would be true if people only saw a face for a quick moment -- an amount of time so short that it would prevent making a conscious judgment. To carry out their study, the researchers monitored the amygdala of 37 volunteers while showing them 300 faces for 33 milliseconds each. Those faces had already been tested with a different set of 10 subjects, who saw them for much longer. In those earlier tests, people agreed about whether to trust each face. In this new study, fascinatingly, different parts of the amygdala lit up when a subject saw an untrustworthy face and a trustworthy one -- and it lit up more when the face in question was suspicious . "Faces that appear likely to cause harm are suddenly tracked by the amygdala, so it could then quickly change other brain processes and make fast responses to people -- approach or avoid,"says Jon Freeman, the study's senior author."Our talents for making instant judgments could either come from birth or be learned from the social environment." So should you trust the guy in the parking lot? Your brain already knows. The amygdala lit up more clearly when people . Answer: Help Wanted PAINTER Must have at least 3 years painting experience. Commercial and new construction work. $10/hr. Immediate opening. Call 435-9201 with work history. SECRETARY Part time position available in friendly, busy office. Good typing and general office skills. Some weekends required. High pay. Various duties. Apply at East Side Management, 500 Park Drive, Dewitt, NY. 13214. Help wanted VET ASSISTENT Person needed for busy animal hospital. Some nights and weekends. Apply in person to Johnson Marks Animal Hospital, 404 Snow Road, Syracuse, NY 13224. After 4 p.m. only please. NURSES' ASSISTANTS Fulltime and part time positions available for modern nursing home. High pay. Call Mrs. Downes, R.N. at 543 7618. Help Wanted COOK NEEDED Immediately. Busy downtown restaurant. Must be good and dependable. Experience preferred. Weekends required. Call 324-9817. SALESPERSON Experienced. Must have some knowledge of men's clothing industry. Available to work evenings and some Saturdays. Send resume to: Martin Apparel, 237 Rockledge St., Syracuse, NY. 13224. Help Wanted TEACHER Small private school needs English and maths teachers. Must have BS degree and at least 4 years teaching experience. Send resume to: Wales Charter School 19 South 8th St. NY. 13214. HOTEL needs part time FRONT DESK CLERK No experience necessary. Excellent people and phone skills a must. Some computer skills helpful. $13/hr. Call: Mr. Jones 357-2897. If you want to get a job at _ , you must have office skills. Answer: Writing a long book seemed to be too much for me. So, for a long time, I just wrote short articles. One day, inspiration for an article hit me and, as I started writing, paragraphs began flowing out fast. It turned out to be too long to be an article. I thought it would not hurt to try self-publishing a booklet . The first printing of this 32-page black and white booklet sold out within a week. Here is something that I have learned through my experience. 1.Start small. Don't try to have a 400-page work as your first publication. I suggest you publish a booklet under 50 pages to _ your career as an author. 2.Ask for advice. If you know some people who have published something, ask them for advice and help. You will gain useful information from them and save yourself many problems. 3. _ When you put your heart into something only to hear"We're not interested",you may get hurt. But you must remind yourself that this is quite common. Every"yes"you receive comes after at least five"noes",especially at the beginning. You need to revise your book many times to reduce the chances of being turned down. 4.The more you market, the more you sell. You can publish an excellent book. But if no people know about it, you cannot expect many buyers. Send out an e-mail to friends, family and business partners, telling them your book's publication date. Ask them to help sell your book. Do not be afraid to try novel ideas. What's the best title for Point 3? Answer:
A dog can't speak any words, but it can "talk". It has feelings just as you do. Sometimes it may feel angry or afraid. Watch a dog closely, and you can find out how it feels. You can see what it is trying to tell you. When you are afraid, you may look down. When a dog is afraid, it may run away. When you are angry with other people, you stare at them. An angry dog also stares. Sometimes the hair along its back stands up. Do you feel guilty when you do something you shouldn't do? Dogs can feel guilty, too. Sometimes when I come home, my dog gives me a guilty look. Then I know he did something wrong. Dogs need love and care. Some dogs are very unhappy when they are alone for a long time. Some dogs even snap if they don't get enough care. You may have a dog or you may know a dog. Take care of it well if you want to have fun with it. Take it on walks. Don't make it do too many things. Try not to punish it again and again for doing the same thing. Always remember, a dog has needs and feelings just as you do. Talk to a dog, and it will talk to you. When a dog is afraid, it may _ . A look down B stare C bark D run away Answer: D Ask anybody out there, what is the most important thing in his life - Fame, Fortune and Money, and there is a chance that he is going to say, money, because with that, fame and fortune comes quite easily. On the other hand, if you add "family" to these three choices given above, there is a chance that 99% of the people are going to put their family first, especially if they happen to be ladies! The main reason is because nature has created a woman to be the cherisher and the nurturer of the family, while the man is the hunter and protector of his little family. That is the natural rule which has come down through thousands of years. Even if a person happens to be a comparatively worldly-wise person and has no idea of taking on the responsibility of a family, he has a picture of a tight little _ in his subconscious . They tell a story about a successful millionaire businessman who died and the whole city came to pay its respects. One of his business competitors, met the son and said, "We are really going to miss your father. You see, I knew your father well." And the son replied, "You happen to be really lucky there, because I never did." So, you might be an extremely successful person in your own right upon Wall Street, but if your little child fails to come running out to welcome his daddy at the end of the day to be swung up in his father's arms and held there lovingly and protectively, you come in the "nothing" category in the business of life. Many people are under the impression that taking on the responsibility of the family is quite tiresome, but they do not know what it takes to be a parent. It is very easy to be a biological father or a biological mother, but the real mother and the real father is that person who stays awake all night when the baby is teething, teaches him right from wrong, is there to hold him when he takes his first steps, and in every way shows that he is there to cherish and protect the little one from harm. There was a man who did not believe in family, because of an unhappy childhood. But he found a faithful woman to love him unconditionally. The moment he picked up his little baby, he said, "Well son, welcome to the world! I am here to teach you what your mama has taught me, and we shall both protect you, when you need our help. I will teach you to be a good, just and fair man." What might be the title for the passage? A What More Could a Family Be About B How Should We Parent a Child C How to Take on Your Responsibility D What Contributes to One's Success Answer: A When you're not at home,many worries may start to crowd your mind.Did I turn the coffee maker off?Did I lock the door?Are the kids doing their homework or watching television?With a smart home,you can quiet all of these worries. A smart home is a home with a communication network.This network connects devices ,such as lights and TV sets,and allows them to be controlled from far away through electrical wiring,mobile phone communication or WiFi over the internet. More and more people may start to consider owning a smart home,because it makes life much more convenient.It can help keep your room at a certain temperature.It can record what happens inside the home and send the video to your phone.When you are on vacation abroad,you can use a smart home controller to switch on or off the electricity when necessary.Some smart homes can receive a visitor,allowing him to come in and offering him a drink.They can even feed the cat and water the plants. Besides,smart homes are easy to fix.Most smart home technology and devices are wireless and can be set up with a minimum of tools,using only the guiding information.When a problem appears,you can deal with it yourself without paying a professional. However,for home-users,the smart home technology is far from perfect.It can be rather expensive to own the technology and the devices.Also,because the smart home system allow its owner to get home information from anywhere,it leaves the home easy to be attacked by hackers ,who may secretly use or change the information in the system. Now,many scientists are excited at the future of smart home technology.Imagine being able to get fashion advice from your mirror,or receive food shopping suggestions from your refrigerator.While there are others who worry that those smart devices will make people lazier and lonelier.Whatever it is,one thing is for sure---smart home technology will change the way we live and work. Which of the following is TRUE about a smart home according to the passage? A Smart homes can't help feed pets nowadays. B Smart homes costs a lot of money at present. C You can't control your smart home in other countries. D It's hard for hackers to get information from smart homes. Answer: B Helping your children to read and write at home will improve your children's skills and confidence -- it will also make them learn better in the classroom environment. Reading and writing skills are needed by every child in every subject in every year of their school life and outside school. As parents, you can play an important role in improving your children's literacy by practicing reading, writing, spelling and speaking with them outside school. By listening, asking questions, giving information, and reading with your children outside school -- you can make a difference. Students who improve their reading and writing will increase their vocabulary and their ability to use English correctly. Here's some advice on how to help your children to read, write and spell: * reading aloud each night * letting children take part in everyday conversations * listening to your children read * reading your children's writing * using a dictionary * encouraging your children to talk about funny things * trying not to ask questions that require "yes" or "no" answers * Practicing reading and writing by filling in forms, writing letters, sending cards or e-mails. ,. _ is NOT mentioned in the passage. A Reading aloud each night B Joining an English club C Practicing children's speaking D Using a dictionary Answer: B Jenny lived in a town.Her father,Mr.Young,had a shop there and sold clothes in it.The shopkeeper was born in a poor family and was in school no more than a year.He was always sorry for it though he had much money now.He hoped his daughter could become a scientist.But the girl didn't 1ike anything else except singing.She often went to the concerts,bought a lot of records the famous pop stars made and insisted on listening to the music when she was free.Of course she wanted to be a pop star,too.Her parents wanted to prevent her,but she didn't listen to them and they had to agree to her choice.They engaged an old man who was good at music as a private teacher. Five years passed.Mr.Young bought all kinds of musical instruments for Jenny and they visited some places where the famous singers were born.Of course he spent a lot of money on it.But he found the girl didn't make any progress.At last the teacher didn't think the girl could become a singer at all and had to tell Mr.Young about it.The man became angry and said,"Why didn't you tell me about it earlier? My daughter learned nothing but I paid you month after month!" "I think you should thank me for it,"said the teacher."Another teacher, who teaches badly,is paid more than I was.And I saved much money for you!" Jenny spent much money buying records and went to the concerts in order to _ A visit some places B know some pop stars C become a pop star D 1earn singing Answer: C
what creates no pollution? Answer: Bringing a giraffe into the world is _ . A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality of life. In his book,A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it's sent sprawling . When it doesn't get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there's safety. Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin. Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, "I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They're beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they've realized some small parts of what they set out to do ." What does the bookA View from the Zootalk about? Answer: It's Jim's birthday today. He is five years old. He gets many nice birthday presents from his family and one of them is a big drum . " Who gives him the drum?" his father asks. " His grandfather does." answers Jim's mother. Jim likes his drum very much. He makes a noise with it, but his mother doesn't say anything about it. His father is not at home. He is working in a school. So he doesn't hear the noise. But one of the neighbours doesn't like the noise at all. So one morning she takes a knife and goes into Jim's room. Jim is making a noise with the drum. She says to him, "Hello, Jim, Do you know there is something nice in your drum? Here is a knife. Open the drum and let's find it." Which of the following is right? Answer: A job is more than just a job,especially to the older generation."It's not the money that matters,but the sense of selfworth," 56yearold Cheng Wonlan said.So,every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels,letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point.She's a courier . Five years ago,Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic.She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated .It was extremely difficult for her to find another job."People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am," she said.After two years of searching,the mother of two eventually found another nursing job.But then after two years,she quit.Why? "My colleagues were young and they didn't understand me because of my age.They often asked me,'You are so old;what are you working for?' I was very unhappy." she said.So while the rest of her family left for work,she was left to lonely boredom at home.The urge to work drove her to suffering.Then,one of Ms Cheng's neighbours told her about Employee's Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations,such as convenience store assistants,junior clerks and so on. "I was interested in courier work.I didn't think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy.So I thought why not give it a try." she said.Upon graduation from the ERB,Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited.But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict:she was caught between honour and employment.It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job.So she took heart and went off to work as a courier. Ms Cheng's employer is delighted with her,"Ms Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work."Anthony Chong,who runs the company,said.Currently,Mr Chong has 60 couriers working for his company:five of them are over fifty,four of whom have been through the ERB plan.Mr Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable."Age is not an important factor but attitude is.Many old people are more capable than the youngsters.They will not run from difficulties but the young ones will," he said."It is not easy to recruit young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges." When Ms Cheng was offered the courier job she _ . Answer: When the musical sound rings you, you immediately reach for your pocket ready to have a chat. But although you probably use it all the time, have you ever thought about the manners related to talking on the phone? If you haven't, here are some tips to guide you. Always give the person you are calling plenty of time to get to the phone before you hang up. If the person who answers is not the one you want, give your name and ask if you may speak to the person you want. Think about the time you call people. Try not to call too early in the morning (before about 9:00) or too late at night (after about 9:30). Also try not to call at mealtimes. If you go by plane to visit your relatives at Christmas, remember to follow airline instructions. Cell phone must be turned off as soon as the plane doors are closed and remain so until the doors open again on arrival. When you're face to face with someone, do not talk on the phone. It is rude to be on the phone when a waiter is trying to take your order in a restaurant, or when you are returning the shoes you have just been trying on in a shop. Finish any face-to-face business before taking a call. Continuing to use the phone while nodding to the person in front of you is quite impolite. When in a restaurant with your friends, keep phone conversations short. Make a call only if it is important. Practice speaking in a low voice. If no one turns to your way, _ . If you go to a theatre, a concert or a cinema, consider the other people around you. Check that your phone is "off" before you enter. If you are expecting a very important call, put your phone on "vibrate" and run for the exit as soon as you feel it. If you forget both "off" and "vibrate" and your phone rings, don't answer it, turn it off straight away. From the tips given above, how do you consider the other people around you at a theatre? Answer:
This sad story happened on a cold winter evening. It was so cold and snow was falling so heavily that the roads were covered with ice and a strong wind was blowing. Being outside in such weather was very unwise. However, Peter Lee had to walk home from work. Peter walked with difficulty along a country road, the cold wind beating against his chest. He thought, "If I wear my coat backwards, maybe, it will be a little bit warmer for me." He stopped walking, took off his coat, and put it on backwards. "That's much better," he said to himself happily. Walking on through the thickly falling snow, he was thinking about drinking a cup of warm coffee by the burning fireplace. A few minutes later, a car knocked down Peter. The driver hadn't seen him soon enough. When he tried his best to put on the brakes , the car skidded on the icy road. The frightened driver got out of the car and ran to see how the poor man was. After a while, a police car arrived. A policeman went up to see Mr Lee who was lying on the ground. He told the driver, "I'm afraid he's dead." The driver was so surprised. "This can't be the case, because I hardly touched him. Check my car carefully. There's not a mark on it." The policeman said, "I'm sure he's dead." "It's impossible," the driver said anxiously. "As soon as I hit him, I ran to help him. He was lying on the road, but he was breathing and there was no blood." "Did you touch him?" the policeman asked. "Yes, but only to turn his head around the right way," the driver answered. What did the driver do to make Peter Lee die? He turned his head around the right way. A new supermarket put on a notice inside the entrance. It said, "Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods(things that cost nothing). This may be your lucky day!" All the housewives who went to the supermarket had one great hope: to be the lucky customer who didn't have to pay for her shopping. For several weeks Mrs. Blake hoped to be the lucky customer. Unlike many other customers, she never gave up hope. The cupboards in her kitchen were full of things she did not need. She dreamed of the day, when the manager of the supermarket would come and say to her, "Madam, this is your lucky day and everything in your basket is free." One Friday morning, after she finished her shopping and had taken all the things to her car, she found that she had forgotten to buy tea. She went to the supermarket, got the tea and went towards the check-out. As she did so, she saw the manager of the supermarket come to her. "Madam," he said, "congratulations! You are our lucky customer and everything in your basket is free!" Why did Mrs Blake go back to the market after her shopping? Because she forgot to buy one more thing. Fifa has announced a track by Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez as the official the me song for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. We are one,which also features Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte,will be performed at the opening ceremony at the Arena de Sao Paulo on 12 June. The track will be released later this year in the lead up to the World Cup.It will also be included on the upcoming official 2014 Fifa WorldCup album. Pitbull said,"I truly believe that this great game and the power of music will help unify us,because we are best when we are one."The 33-year-old singer, also known as Mr.Worldwide,has had 11 top 10 tracks in the Official Singles Chart to date.His most recent single,"Timber which features Kesha,was the first number one of 2014. "I grew up in a house that loved football.so I am thrilled to be performing at the World Cup Opening Ceremonies, with Pitbull and Claudia Leitte,"said Jennifer Lopez."This is all amazing celebration of global unity,competition and the sport." The last Fifa World Cup song for the South Africa tournament in 2010 was Waka Waka by Shakira.The track peaked at number 21 in the Official Singles Chart and the video has been viewed almost 600 million times on YouTube. Talking about this year's track,Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke added,"In my many visits to this country I've seen and heard a lot about the great Brazilian music tradition and it gives me great pleasure to see a Brazilian artist at the heart of this song.I'm sure,like me, millions of football and music fans all over the world will be eagerly awaiting the song's release." The last Fifa World Cup song was _ . popular People in Poland tend to spend Christmas with their families, and the most important part of Christmas is Christmas Eve supper. The whole family just sits around the table, and there are twelve traditional dishes on the table, and you are supposed to taste them all, because if you don't try them all you may have bad luck in the coming year. Before everybody sits down to supper, they just break wafers with each other, wishing each ot her good luck. As soon as the supper is over, the children go to the other room, where the big Christmas tree stands and they find Christmas presents under the Christmas tree. After that, the whole family just sits around the table singing Christmas songs, and waiting for midnight to come, when they go to church. Why do people break wafers with each other before Christmas Eve supper? Because they wish each other good luck Mum gives little Jerry twenty yuan. Then little Jerry goes shopping. He gets on a bus and sits down next to an old woman. Then he sees the old woman's bag is open. There is twenty yuan in it. He quickly looks into his pocket. The money isn't there now! Little Jerry is sure that the old woman is a thief . He wants to take back the money from the old woman's bag. He carefully puts his hands into the old woman's bag, takes the money and says nothing. Then, the old woman shouts, "Where is my money? I can't find it. There is a thief on the bus." Little Jerry feels strange . Then he sees twenty yuan under his seat. Little Jerry is thinking a question now, "Am I a thief?" Little Jerry is sure that the old woman is a _ . thief
In 2002, the Beijing Municipal government led the nation in issuing an order banning electric bicycles from January 1, 2006. Since then a number of local governments have followed this. In May, the Legislature of Zhuhai in South China's prefix = st1 /GuangdongProvincebecame the first law-making body in the country to pass a regulation to keep electric bicycles off the roads. They claim environmental disadvantage and concerns over public safety justify their ban. Local government officials and law makers have argued their leading concern is the threat of pollution from spent lead-acid batteries. The ly high speed of electric bicycles --- faster than most common bikes at about 20 kilometers per hour --- is just too dangerous in the eyes of some policy-makers. They also mention interference with automobiles, common bikes and passers-by that results in accidents or slowed traffic. But none of these arguments justify the ban. In the first place, it should be made clear that while operating, the battery driving an electric bike sends out almost no polluting gas. They are much cleaner than cars. If the batteries, which can be used for one or two years, are thrown away without proper treatment or recycling, environmental damage is highly likely. It is required that electric bike producers and store sellers sign recycling contracts to ensure consumers can sell used batteries back to producers. In practice, some small producers neglect their recycling responsibility, causing concern for environmental pollution. It is clear the authorities can solve the problem through strengthening management. Although it will require some extra efforts from the government, it does not go beyond government officials' call of duty. Regarding the speed, there are technical standards governing the production of electric bikes. According to the standards, the designed speed should be limited to a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour. This is slower than the top speed of some mountain bikes. To _ the consumer desire for higher speed, some manufacturers have made it easy to remove speed-limiting devices after purchase, which is potentially very dangerous. To make the bicycles safer, local governments should draft regulations specifying severe punishments for rule-breakers. The black sheep should be picked up and punished, but violations by a small number of manufacturers or riders should not be an excuse to spoil the fun for everyone. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? Answer: Beijing will be the first city in Chinato ban electric bicycles starting this year. Beijing, April 2----Starting from this year, the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau will begin to promote a home medical service. With this service a medical team which is made up of a doctor, a nurse and a medical health worker will be sent to some communities in the city. They will set up a medical filing recorder for every resident in community and publicize their contact information to them. If people in the community feel sick, they can consult their community doctor first. If community doctors cannot treat their illness, they will then be transferred to large hospitals. Liang Wan, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, made the statement last Friday . In addition ,the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau will set up some funds to train home medical service workers for families whose members suffer either from high blood pressure, diabetes,cerebral apoplexy , or coronary heart disease . The home medical service workers will remind patients to take pills on time and lead the patients to follow some health tips in their daily life. They will also learn some practical knowledge to save patients in case of an emergency . The work will first begin in the medical service room in the 25 community centers and spread to all communities in Beijing. The disease prevention and control centers at various counties and districts in Beijing will be responsible for teaching community doctors and giving home medical service lectures, or advice . These workers will not be able to work until they pass related examination and obtain the work certificates. It is expected that by the end of this year, there will be 10000 home medical service workers in Beijing . If you want to work as a home medical worker, you need to _ . Answer: All the above. Learning a second language can improve brain power, scientists believe. US researchers from Northwestern University say bilingualism is a form of brain training -- a mental "work out" that adjusts the mind finely. Speaking two languages well affects the brain and changes how the nervous system reacts to sound, lab tests showed. Experts say the experiment performed by the National Academy of Sciences provides "biological" evidence of this. In an attempt to prove the guess that speaking two languages is good for one's mind, the team monitored how the brain of 48 healthy student volunteers reacted to different sounds. Twenty three of these volunteers were bilingual. The scientists used special equipment to trace the pattern of brainwaves. Under quiet, laboratory conditions, the bilingual students responded in a similar way to the English-only-speaking students, who formed the control group. But the bilingual group were far superior at processing sounds even when there were a lot of people talking in the room. They were better able to focus on to the important information -- the speaker's voice -- and block out other _ noises. Prof Nina Kraus, who led the research, said: "The bilingual's better experience with sound results in a hearing system that is highly efficient, flexible and focused in its automatic sound processing, especially in challenging or novel listening conditions." Co-author Viorica Marian said: "People do crossword puzzles and other activities to keep their minds sharp. But the advantages we've discovered in double language speakers come automatically simply from knowing and using two languages.'' Musicians appear to gain a similar benefit when rehearsing , say the researchers. According to some theories, being bilingual might help avoid dementia . What does Viorica Marian seem to believe? Answer: Speaking two languages is an easier way for people to increase their brain power. Ralph the bee wanted to go visit his friend George the fly. George lived very far away, it would a long trip for Ralph. Ralph first flew over a jungle, in the jungle he met a nice tiger by the name of Benny. Benny wanted to play but Ralph had no time, he still had a long way to go. Then Ralph flew by a lake. At the lake he met a cowboy. The cowboy was named Walter. Walter was letting his horse get a drink of water from the lake. The horse drank a lot and when he was done he let out a huge burp. Ralph waved goodbye to Walter and his horse. Ralph then stopped for lunch, he had some bread he brought with him from home. While he was sitting when all of the sudden a pig walked up to him. He did not get the pigs name, because the pig could only say oink. Finally, after a long trip, Ralph finally got to the house of George the fly. George wanted to play, but Ralph was too tired. So Ralph went to sleep. What is George? Answer: A fly He met her at a party. She was so outstanding that many guys were chasing after her, while he was so ordinary. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised but due to being polite, she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, too. Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him. It was so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why do you have this hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, my hometown, and my parents who are still living there." While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. Then she also started to speak, speaking about her faraway hometown, her childhood, and her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their love. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who met all her demands. He had tolerance, kind-hearted, warm and careful. Thanks to his salty coffee! They married. And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that was the way he liked it. After 40 years, he passed away and left her a letter which said, "My dearest, please forgive my whole life's lie. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead. I didn't like the salty coffee then, what a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life, for it was prepared by you." What can be concluded about the man? Answer: He enjoyed his lifelong bitter salty coffee out of love
Food is less risky to consume when Answer: fully cooked Doubt usually comes along when companies talk very proudly how socially responsible they are, but Nike's decision to publish its entire list of contract suppliers on the Internet is harder to ignore. Nike's move opens a new front in companies' efforts to face their critics. As Nike states in its latest corporate responsibility report, it is often hard to confirm exactly what is happening at about 800 factories that make its footwear and clothing under contract, many of which are remote. Nike is hoping other companies will publish their factory lists, too. Hannah Jones, Nike's vice - president for corporate responsibility, says Nike would like to see the best - run contract factories using their social position as suppliers to the big brands to try to get more work. Nike's approach moves corporate responsibility into its third age. The first age was corporate philanthropy - companies donating money to various community projects. The $170, 000,000 that Wal - Mart gave in charitable donations last year is a good example. Of course, some critics oppose even this form of corporate generosity , arguing that companies should concentrate on making profits, leaving it to shareholders to decide what charitable donations to make. Corporate responsibility's second age was reputation management and risk avoidance. Second - age corporate responsibility supporters believe agreement with the wider community can warn a company of future risks in advance. Nike is now trying to go a stage further. The company says it sees corporate responsibility as a way of improving its performance rather than just protecting its reputation. Factories which ensure that workers are registered for social - security benefits often become more productive as a result. Attention to one aspect of staff management often leads to improvement in others. If other companies publish supplier lists, they can together work out common standards, Nike says. At present, different companies have different standards, which make life difficult for the many factories that produce for more than one brand. If other companies published suppliers' locations, they could work out common standards and save money by relying on one another's checks. What is the best title of the passage? Answer: Lists of Contract Suppliers. Please read and discuss the following information.We ask for your support in making 2008~2009 the best school year for everyone!If you have questions,please call us. STUDENT IDENTIFICATION BADGES Please remind your child to have his/her school ID badge on every school day from 8:00 a.m.~2:40 p.m..Each student is given an ID badge at the beginning of the school year. NO PHONE MESSAGES FOR STUDENTS Only calls about Extreme Emergencies such as death or serious illness will be taken for students.A question about where something is at home or other messages about picking up brother/sister will be given to the student after school. STUDENT ABSENCES Parents must telephone the school,6538100,BEFORE,OR THE DAY OF,the student's absence.Notes from parents are NOT accepted.An answering machine is on before and after school hours for you. OPEN HOUSE We hope you will come to our Open House at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday,September 11th.We will have a meeting in the Auditorium,and after the meeting,parents will follow your child's schedule. PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES Please attend the Parent/Teacher Conferences on November 5th & 6th (3:30~6:30 p.m.).Teachers will discuss your child's behavior and grades with you. DATES TO REMEMBER Aug.18.............................First Day of School Sep.1...............................Labor Day (NO SCHOOL) Sep.11..............................Open House Nov.5 & 6...........................Parent/Teacher Conferences Nov.26~28.........................Thanksgiving Holiday (NO SCHOOL) Dec.22 through Jan.4...............Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) Jan.5....................................Return to School Mar.23~29............................Spring Break (NO SCHOOL) Mar.30..................................Return to School May.29..................................Last Day of School If a student is ill and can't go to school,the parents should _ . Answer: call the school as early as possible The Man of Many Secrets -- Harry Houdini -- was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes -- from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his "magic" tricks. Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted. Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch. It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdini's success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck -- and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his. Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today. Which of the following is the best title for the passage? Answer: Great Escape Valentine's Day was coming. Helen felt hurt and lonely because this was her first Valentine's Day after the divorce . Helen's twelve-year-old son, Jack, looked at his mother, knowing that this was a difficult time for both of them. In order to make his mother happy, he prepared a present, and handed it to her on Valentine's Day. It was a beautiful gift package .Helen couldn't believe what was happening. She opened it and took out a lovely card and a small box. "Now," he said, "read the card." It read as follows: "I know that this isn't easy for you because it has been a hard year for both of us. I know that Valentine's Day is a special day for people in love. I want you to know that I love you. I know that Valentines are supposed to get chocolate. I went to the store today to buy some for you. Luckily, I got the last piece. I told the clerk it was just perfect." Helen stood there for a moment and looked at her son. Her eyes sparkled in the light as tears formed in each corner. Jack knew he had done the right thing. Slowly she opened the small box, careful not to tear the paper. She would never forget the moment. She found a chocolate heart that was broken into pieces along with a note: "I am so sorry that Dad left us, Mom. And all you were left with was a broken heart. But I just want you to know we still have each other. Happy Valentine's Day! Your son, Jack" Why did Jack think it was a difficult time for his mother and him? Answer: Because his father left them and his mother felt hurt and lonely.
Like human beings, dogs may catch cold because of cold weather, wet conditions or can also get it from other sick dogs. If a dog has a running nose and watery eyes, coughs or sneezes , then it is quite probable that the dog has caught cold. A dog's cold can get over after a few days without treatment but it totally depends upon the owner to treat it with medications or improve its immune power to get rid of the cold naturally. Following are some of the things you can do if your dog gets a cold. You can improve its immune power by giving it proper nutrient diet. Healthy food can really do wonders. Try to give it food which is either suggested by the vet or is healthy for your pet. Increase the intake of food which is rich in vitamins A, C and E. Keep your dog warm. The best place for your dog in winter is inside your house. Do not keep your dog outside when it is cold and wet. At home you can also keep the dog warm with the help of carpets. This will make him comfortable and help him to recover fast. Increase the fluid intake as it helps a lot. Water can be the best choice but you can also add broth in water which will give your dog strength. Warm water will make your dog more comfortable and will also keep the dog away from the respiratory infections . Steam treatment is considered to be effective in getting rid of cold. It makes the nasal passage wet, which helps proper breathing. Just fill your bathroom with steam and leave your dog inside the bathroom for 15 minutes. Do it nearly 2 to 3 times a day and you will see your dog recovering. These are some of the things you can do to help your dog recover from cold. However, if you are not able to find any improvement in its health, then turn to the vet for help immediately. Take your dog for regular checkups so as to avoid complications . When your dog catches cold, you should feed it on _ . Answer: The quickest way to make friends with others is to smile . When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk to. It may not be easy to smile at first, but you can practice it in front of a mirror . When you look at yourself in the mirror, think about the difference between a smiling face and a sad or an angry face. Most people will stay away from a sad or an angry face. The easiest way to start a conversation with someone is to say something nice about him or her. For example, you can _ someone's great answer to a teacher's question, a great prize, a nice shirt, etc. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking with that person? Also, ask your new friends questions about themselves. For example, who are their favorite singers and what do they do after school are all good questions to start a conversation. The following questions are good to start a conversation EXCEPT (......) " _ ". Answer: How to deal successfully with a child showing outstanding musical ability? It's not always clear how best to develop and encourage his gift. Many parents may even fail to recognize and respond to their children's need until discouragement explodes into uncooperative behavior. And while most schools are equipped to deal with children who are especially able in academic subjects,the musically gifted require special understanding which may not always be available in an ordinary school. Such children may well benefit from the education offered by a specialist music school. The five music schools in Britain aim to provide all environment where gifted children can develop their skills under the guidance of professional musicians. Children here spend about half of a day on musical activities,for example,individual lessons,orchestras,chamber groups,voice training,conducting and theory. They also spend several hours a day practicing in private rooms .The rest of their time is taken up with the subjects:English,maths and basic sciences. What are the disadvantages? An obvious problem is that the fees are high .However, each school will often scholarships and other forms of financial aid. Secondly, not all parents want to send their children to boarding school, especially at an early age .Almost all the directors of the specialist schools express doubts about the wisdom of admitting children as young as seven into such a tense and disciplined environment. They stress,however, that their main aim is to turn out "well-rounded and well--balanced individual." According to school directors,what is a possible disadvantage for pupils? Answer: Chinese Ancient Science & Inventions Chinese Inventions--Can You Name Them? The Invention of Paper and find out everything about paper-making at The Rober C.Williams American Museum of Papermaking. The Art of Printing(Matteo Ricci) The Origin of Chinese Books and Printing Chinese bookmaking an ancient craft Paper,a contribution to human progress The History of Chinese Mathematics Chinese Ancient Science & Technology Chinese Ancient Agriculture The Coins of Ancient China Chinese Agriculture The Coins of Ancient China Chinese Agriculture Invented in China? The History of Calculating(abacus) Return of the Dragon:Hazards of Man-Made Magnetism(a discussion) Chinese Ancient & Modern Think-tanks Kong Fu Zi--Confucius(James A.A.Tucker) The Philosopher Confucius (551~479 B.C.) The Analects--Confucius (English text) The Great Learning--Confucius (English text) The Doctrine of the Mean--Confucius (English text) Mencius--Meng Zi and some text (GB) Mao Zedong--A Great Man in China History Man of the Year--Teng Hsiao-ping (Times) The Tao Te Ching--Lao Tzu (Translated by S.Mitchell) XUN KUANG (Xunzi--25 B C) Han Fei Welcome to Taoist Resource Center A Complete Guide to Taoism and its many applications. ASIAWEEK--MAO NOW--The Great Helmsman led China into some of the most monumental disasters of the modern era.Now,20 years after his death,Mao Zedong's star is shining asbrightly as ever.How can it be so? Chairman Mao's Poems--In Chinese (GIF). Dr. Sun Yat-Sen--The founding father of Republic of China. Mao Zedong--An unofficial site which collects quotations of Mao and some articles on Mao.(CHINESE GB) (CHINESE PS) Mao Zedong--A Great Man in China History--Internet resources on Mao & his era. Sun Yat-Sen:Fundamentals of National Reconstruction--"This book is Sun Yat-sen's most important political statement.It enunciates his famous three principles whereby he set China on the road to modernity." DENG Xiaoping--Deng Xiaoping leads a far-reaching,audacious but Risky Second Revolution.(Man of the Year 1985,Time Magazine)(in English) ...For more information Click the Underlined. The passage is designed mainly to _ . Answer: Five years ago, I was sent to a better middle school. For me, everything there was new and strange. After I had been there for two months, there was an important test in the middle of the term. It covered all my courses. In that test, I didn't get a good grade, but most of my classmates got an A. It made me upset for a long time. I felt everything in the world was changing. I thought my classmates were all better than me. During those days I was very unhappy. One day, my aunt, after talking with my teachers, talked to me. She told me to think about what I had done in the past and what I should do in the future. I was shocked by her words. I thought about what I had done during the past months, and I found I had done nothing to improve my grades. I thought I should work harder. After that, I paid more attention to the teachers' talking in the classes, and I asked my teachers or my classmates when I didn't understand something. I studied very late at night when I met with difficult problems. Most of all, I came to understand the importance of taking notes in class. As a result, I did better in some tests. About three months later, the most important test came at the end of the term. _ From then on, I have tried to do my best when I do something because I know if I want something, I should work hard for it. Why did the writer fall behind in the new middle school? _ Answer:
Question: Hi, I'm Nick. I am very busy from Monday to Friday. In the morning, I always get up and take a shower at six ten. After half an hour, I have breakfast. After I finish eating, I get dressed and go to school by bike. It takes me about twenty minutes to get to school. After school, I go to the English club. Because my English is not very good, I join the English club at school. The students in the club get together to practice speaking English at half past five. We can talk in English and we can tell English stories in the club. It is good for us to improve our English. How does Nick get to school? A. By bus. B. By bike. C. By subway. D. By train. Answer: B Question: JIUQUAN, China--China's Shenzhou-9 spacecraft blasted off at 6:37 pm Saturday, from a remote desert in western China, sending a crew of three, including the country's first female astronaut, into space. The successful launch, powered by a Long March 2F rocket, was shown live on state television Saturday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in western China. The Chinese astronauts will complete the country's first manned space docking mission , an important step in Beijing's ambitious plan to build a permanent space station by 2020. Possible future missions could include sending a man to the moon. The crew is expected to spend more than 10 days in space and dock with the Tiangong-1 space lab module, which China launched in September 2011. Two of them will live and work inside the module to test its life-support systems, while the third will remain in the capsule to deal with any unexpected emergencies. China first launched a man into space in 2003, followed by a two-man mission in 2005 and a three-man trip in 2008 that featured the country's first spacewalk. In November 2011, the unmanned Shenzhou-8 successfully docked twice with Tiangong-1 by remote control. The manned docking would be considered a milestone for China's space program. China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit . It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their own. The program is a source of enormous national pride for China, reflecting its rapid economic and technological progress and ambition to rank among the world's leading nations. In space, the three astronauts will complete the following tasks EXCEPT _ . A. handling some emergencies B. testing the life-support system C. walking in space D. docking with a space lab module Answer: C Question: Part 3 NARRATOR: As soon as Goneril has got all she can from her father, she begins treating _ disrespectfully. When Lear wants to speak to her, Goneril tells her servant, Oswald, to say she is sick. She encourages her staff to be disrespectful towards Lear and begins complaining about the hundred soldiers Lear has brought with him. However, King Lear soon has a friend by his side. The Duke of Kent, who Lear ordered to leave Britain, cannot abandon his king. He therefore comes to Lear disguised as a servant called Caius and asks for a job. (Enter Lear, several of Lear's soldiers and Kent disguised as a servant.) LEAR: OK, Caius. I'll give you a trial. And if you prove to be good at your job, I'll keep you on as my servant. (Oswald enters.) Hey, you there. Where's my daughter? (Oswald ignores the king and hurries out of the room.) Hey. What's going on? Call him back. Is he deaf? (A Soldier rushes out after Oswald.) It's as though the whole world has gone to sleep. (Soldier reenters.) Where's that servant? Why didn't he come back when I called? SOLDIER: Sir, he answered me very rudely and said he would not come back. LEAR: I don't believe it! SOLDIER: Sir, I am sorry, to tell you this, but it seems to me that you are not being treated with the respect due to a king. Everyone here, including your daughter, is behaving very coldly towards you. LEAR: Mmm. I suspected the same, but I kept telling myself it was my imagination. Please tell my daughter I wish to speak with her. (Soldier bows and leaves. Oswald enters.) Ah, come here my man and answer me. Who am I? OSWALD: My lady's father. LEAR: Your lady's father? Is that all I am to you, you dog, you slave! (Lear raises his arm as though to strike Oswald.) OSWALD: I'll not be hit, my Lord. KENT: (Kent kicks Oswald's feet out from under him.) And you won't be laid flat on your back either, I suppose. Now get up and get out of here. (Oswald leaves.) LEAR: My thanks, Caius. I can see you will be a most valuable servant. (Enter Goneril.) What's up, daughter? You always seem to be frowning lately. GONERIL: Is it any wonder that I frown when your soldiers are continually drinking and fighting? I thought when I told you about their behavior you would make them behave, but now I hear you have insulted Oswald. I do believe you are encouraging your soldiers in their bad behavior. LEAR: Is this my daughter scolding me? GONERIL: I have had enough of your soldiers. They are expensive to keep and you don't need them. Besides, their drunken behavior and bad manners are disgusting. You will send half of them away. And unless you want me to get rid of the rest of them too, I suggest you teach them how to behave properly. LEAR: That's a lie. My soldiers are good men who know how to behave properly. I won't stay here to be insulted. I still have one more daughter. She'll scratch out your eyes when she hears how you've treated me. Men! Get my horses ready and collect my baggage. I'll leave immediately. I won't stay where I'm not welcome. (Lear and companions leave.) NARRATOR: Lear sends Kent on ahead to the castle of his other daughter, Regan, to tell her that he will soon be arriving. Goneril sends her servant Oswald to Regan to tell her side of the story. From the passage, what is the relationship between Goneril and Regan? A. Sisters. B. Couple. C. Sister and Brother. D. Brothers. Answer: A Question: John has diabetes. Which of the following should he be careful about eating or drinking? A. beef B. eggs C. milk D. fruit juice Answer: D Question: New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It's now a "global village" where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly increased by foreign language skills. Deeply involved with this new technology is a kind of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts. Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being "out of sight and out of mind." He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company's plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to manage back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more common. Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets. English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn't generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal. The employee posted abroad who speaks the country's language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign customers over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, businesspeople _ . A. are eager to work overseas B. have to get familiar with modern technology C. are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations D. are attaching more importance to their overseas business Answer: D
Miguel was conducting an experiment. He wrote the following sentences in his notebook: The starting temperature of the water was 10 degrees Celsius. An object weighing 5 grams was placed in the water. The temperature of the water increased to 15 degrees. The object must have been hotter than 10 degrees. In which sentence did Miguel make an inference? Answer: sentence 4 Students Begin to Smoke at a Younger Age SHANGHAI---- Almost one in four students aged between 12 and 14 have tried smoking, according to the results of a survey from the CATC . " Quite a number of boy students in my class smoke outside the school yard during lunch break," said Li Xiaolan, an English teacher from a high school in Shanghai. The survey also found that 39 percent of students took their first cigarette from their classmates. " It was quite common to smoke with my classmates at school,"said Zhou Guangrong,a 22- year-old university student from Guiyang, Guizhou province,who started smoking at the age of 12. Most of the student smokers buy cigarettes themselves." My middle and high schools were surrounded by cigarette shops when I was a student," said Liu Minghui who used to smoke two cigarettes per day in primary school and two packs per week in middle and high school. " We're keen to show that more teenagers are starting smoking much younger than before,and that we need to minimize the number of young smokers," said Duan Jiali, an officer in CATC. He added that teachers and parents should set a good example for teenagers by not smoking in front of them at school or at home, which is the best way of stopping teenagers from smoking. Many boy students smoke _ during lunch break. Answer: outside the school yard Musicians wanted We want four good musicians for our rock band .Are you a musician?Can you sing?Can you play the piano,the guitar or the drums?Do you want to be the best musician?If you want to join us,please send an e-mail.Our e-mail address is rockband2009@pep.com.cn.Or you can call Mr.Liu at 790-4566. Teachers needed Are you an art teacher?Can you paint or draw well?Are you good with kids?We need two teachers for our art club.Please find Mrs.Wang for more information or call 628-1183. What should you do if you want to join the rock band? Answer: Send an e-mail. Today Newtown is a very clean place. But many years ago, there were millions of rats in Newtown. They attacked the cats and dogs. Sometimes a lot of them knocked down a man or woman walking home at night. The rats were very big in size and they hurt many people. The government ordered everybody to kill rats. Most people were lazy, so they did not kill many. Then the government decided to pay some money for each dead rat. That made the people very happy. They killed thousands of rats every day. A government officer put all the dead rats in a big pile . Sometimes a man brought hundreds in one day. After two weeks there were not many rats in the city, but people still brought many rats to the government office. The government officer thought that people were stealing dead rats from the pile. He ordered his men to dig a deep hole and put the rats in it. Soon there were no more rats, and the government did not pay any more money. Which of the following is the best title for this passage Answer: How Newtown Became a Very Clean Place In October 2013, Davion Only made an appeal on the Internet. He had learned that his biological mothr had died not long before. "My name is Davion and I've been in foster care since I was born," he said, "but I'm not giving up hope. " The heartbreaking appeal spread quickly, and Only's foster agency received calls from more than 10,000 people. Only ended up travelling to Ohio to live with a family. But after Only got into a physical fight with one of his elder would-be brothers, the family changed their minds. Back in Florida, Only passed through four different temporary homes over the following year, until he called Connie Going, his adoption case worker, to make a special request. Only had known Going for nearly ten years, and had asked every year if she would adopt him, but she always hesitated. "I always believed there was a better family than us out there," Going said in an interview. But last July, when Only called and asked again if she might adopt him, Going said something felt different. "When he asked me, my heart felt this ache and I just knew he was my son," she said. So Going, 52, invited Only to start spending time with the rest of her family-her two daughters, Sydney, 21, and Carly 17, and a son Taylor, 14, who she also adopted out of foster care. Eventually, after seeing how well the arrangement was working, Going, who had rented a bigger home, started adopting Only. Only moved in with her family last December.He officially joined Going's family on April 22, 2015 when the adoption papers went through. "Today, I feel blessed and honored to have been chosen to be the parent of all my children," Going said. Davion Only didn't live with the family in Ohio because Answer: they finally refused to accept him
Welcome to your future life! You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people your age could live to be 150,so at 40, you're not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age ! You say to your shirt , "Turn red." It changes from blue to red. In 2035, "smart clothes" contain particles much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change clothes'color or pattern. You walk into the kitchen . You pick up the milk ,but a voice says , " You shouldn't drink that!" Your fridge has read the chip that contains information about the milk , and it knows the milk is old . In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip . It's time to go to work . In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your "smart car" where to go. On the way , you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve . Such "smart technology" is all around you. So will all these things come true? "For new technology to succeed," says scientist Andrew Zolli , "it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already." The Internet is one example --- what will be the next? We can learn from the text that in the future _ . clothes will be able to change their pattern In China, many people are leaving the countryside to find jobs in the cities, because the countryside is much poorer than the city, and often there isn't much work there. Services such as hospital and transport are usually much better in the city than in the countryside. They hope that their lives will improve when they move to the city. But in the big cities of Europe like London or Pads, people are moving out of the city. These rich families want to live a quieter life. They are tired of the noise and the dirt of the city, and they are tired of the crowded streets, crowded trains and buses. They don't want to live in the cities any more. They want a house with a garden in the countryside, and breathe the fresh air there. So they move out of the cities. Some don't go very far, just a little way out of the city, to the towns near the cities, other people move to the real countryside with sheep, cows and green fields. There, they start new lives and try to make new friends. Not all those who move from the city to the countryside are happy. After two or three years, many people who have done this feel that it was a big mistake. They don't make so much money and there isn't much work to do. People in the countryside are very different and aren't always very friendly. As a result, quite a lot of people who have moved to the countryside move back to the city. " _ ." they say. Why do some rich families in Europe move to the countryside? Because they are tired of living in the city. An Australian man has beaten 75 other contestants from around the world to win a race up the stairs of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101. Paul Crake,30, ran up 91 floors containing 2,046 steps in 10 minutes, 29 seconds. Mr. Crake, who has won a similar race up the Empire State Building five times, won $5,920 in prize money. The women's race was won by Austrian Andrea Mayr, who finished in 12 minutes,38 seconds and also won a $5,920 prize. Austrian Rudolf Reitheiger, who beat Mr. Crake in this year's Empire State Building Race, came second in the men's competition. Mr. Crake and Ms. Mayr missed out on the offer of $30,000 for completing the grueling race in under 10 or 12 minutes respectively. A further 1,001 people took part in a so-called "self-challenging" race up the skyscraper. Taipei 101 is 508 meters tall and was finished in 2003, although Chinese developers have said Shanghai's World Financial Center will be taller when completed in 2007. "Tower-running" races take place up the tallest buildings and structures across the world. The Sears Tower in Chicago, the CN Tower in Toronto and the Azrieli Tower in Tel Aviv have all held recent events. Runners also race up the longest staircase in the world-the service staircase for the Niesenbahn railway near Spiez, Switzerland, which has 11,674 steps. At event for the long--distance stairway runners also takes place in Radebeul, Germany, where competitors run up 397 stairs 100 times to equal the height of Mt everest. According to the passage, Shanghai's World Financial Center_when completed in 2007. will be more than 508 meters tall Four friends live in a small town. Their names are Cook, Miller, Smith, and Carter. They have different jobs. One is a policeman, one is a carpenter , one is a farmer, and one is a doctor. One day Cook's son broke his right leg, and Cook took him to the doctor. The doctor's sister is Smith's wife. The farmer isn't married . He has a lot of good hens. Miller always buys eggs from the farmer. The policeman sees Smith every day because they are neighbors . Smith's neighbor is _ . Cook In the Western world in-laws usually don't get along well with each other or with a new spouse . Perhaps they have a problem in understanding that their wonderful child has now grown up and got married. Maybe they don't like the spouse their child picked. Or maybe they just don't think that anyone will ever be good enough for their own "baby". So what can the newly married people do? First of all, go for a long honeymoon. This will give you two things. First, it will give you time to get close to your new partner. Now you must stay with him or her just as you said on your wedding day. Second, it will give the in-laws time to cool down after the exciting wedding. Enjoy your honeymoon! When you return, it will be time to start dealing with the rest of the family. After you get back from your honeymoon, move to another place. Do whatever you need to do. Change your job. Start a new career, and so on. If you stay near your home or move into a house just down the street from either family, you'll get in trouble. Trust me! You also need to start making new family traditions. You don't have to make your mum's apple pie for Thanksgiving. You don't have to go to both families on Christmas Eve! Relax. You don't have to have both soon-to-be grandmothers with you when you are giving birth! Don't give in to in-law pressure. Finally, talk with other new spouses. They will encourage you and give you support for the never-ending and ongoing reality of having in-laws. From the passage, we can infer that _ . distance helps to deal with in-laws
Question: Harry likes driving his car very fast, and one day he hit another car. He jumped out and ran to it. There was an old man in the car. He was very angry and said to Harry." What were you doing? You nearly killed me!" "Yes," Harry answered," I am very sorry." He took a bottle out of his car and said, "Drink some of this. Then you will feel better." He gave the old man some whisky and the man drank it, but then he shouted again, "You nearly killed me!" Harry gave him the bottle again. "I feel much better now. But why aren't you drinking?" "Oh, well," said Harry, " I don't want any whisky now. I am going to sit here to wait for the police." The old man was very angry because _ A. he wanted some whisky B. Harry hit his car C. he was Harry's father D. Harry drove his car too slow Answer: B Question: An energy watchdog is alarmed about the threat to the environment from the increasing electricity needs of gadgets like MP3 players, mobile phones and flat screen TVs. In a report today, the Paris-based International Energy Agency says new electronic gadgets will be three times their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours , which is equal to today's home electricity consumption of the United States and Japan combined. The world would have to build around 200 new nuclear power plants just to power all the TVs, iPods, PCs and other home electronics expected to be plugged in by 2030,when the global electric bill to power them will rise to $200 billion a year, the agency said. "Consumer electronics is the fastest growing area and the area with the least amount of policies in place to control energy efficiency, " said Paul Waide, a senior policy analyst at the agency. Electronic gadgets already account for about 15 percent of household electric consumption, a share that is rising rapidly as the number of these gadgets multiplies. Last year, the world spent $80 billion on electricity to power all these household electronics, the energy agency said. " Most of the increase in consumer electronics will be in developing countries, where economic growth is the fastest and ownership rates of gadgets are the lowest , " Waide said. "This will _ efforts to increase energy security and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming." the agency said. Existing technologies' could cut down gadgets' energy consumption by more than 30 percent at no cost or by more than 50 percent at a small cost, the agency estimates, meaning total greenhouse gas emissions from households' electronic gadgets could be held stable at around 500 million tons of CO2 per year. What is the condition in the area of consumer electronics? A. There are a lot of rules to control the market. B. There are few policies to control energy efficiency. C. There are few choices for the customers. D. There are lots of regulations to protect consumers' rights. Answer: B Question: Red-clay bricks have a density of approximately 2000 kg/m^3. Air has a density of 1 kg/m^3. Which of the following has the lowest mass? A. 2 m^3 of bricks B. 4 m^3 of bricks C. 6000 m^3 of air D. 10,000 m^3 of air Answer: A Question: Have you ever had that fantasy to visit the moon, grab a rock and throw it into space so it would float forever? Soon, if you have got the cash, you can! Enter the Artemis Project. This new and exciting project is a private one that will "establish a permanent, self-supporting manned lunar base," which translates into a community on the moon for people to live in. "It's not a question of whether it'll work, but rather how long it will take." according to Gregory Bennett, the founder of the Artemis Project On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon. That moment became a great achievement in both the space community and for humanity itself. Despite the significance of occasion, almost certainly when viewers saw images of his weightless, bouncing figure they thought, "That looks like fun!" So the Artemis team is taking realistic approach to a human fantasy: they are marketing the project of a lunar base as pure entertainment. Veronis, Suhler & Associates are investment bankers for the communications and media industry. Their research found that Americans spent over 40 billion dollars to be entertained in the movies, through home videos and television in 1999. California investor, Dennis Tito, recently took a trip to the International Space Station, after donating $20 million dollars to the Russian Space program. Wealthy celebrities like Canadian director James Cameron and the brothers of rock band Oasis have also voiced their interest to visit the big ball in the sky. In the same report by Veronis, Suhler & Associates, consumers spent close to 4 billion dollars on video-game software alone. So, for $1.42 billion dollars the Artemis Project is a drop in the entertainment bucket. University student, Al Dharsee says, "I would certainly go to the moon, if given the opportunity, so that I could look at the earth and laugh. But with the way we treat our own planet, I don't think we deserve to set foot on any planets or moons for that matter. However, if you're one of those ready to book a flight, don't pack your bags quite yet, your flight is not scheduled to depart for at least a couple of decades. This text may be taken from _ . A. a fiction story. B. an advertisement. C. an entertainment report. D. a business survey. Answer: C Question: I often walk dogs at an animal shelter near our house. When they see me, they look so happy, because they know they will get to go outside, play with me and get lots of love from me. -----Mandy, 12 Every weekend, I go to an animal shelter to help. They have adoption events at pet stores. I help out by talking to people about animals, feeding animals and making sure the cages are clean. It makes me feel great when a cat or dog gets a new home. ----Lucas, 11 Sometimes I do things for my neighbors and ask them to give me some money or clothes. Then I can give these to the unlucky people. ----Linda, 10 I love volunteering! Last week, I cleaned up the houses for people who couldn't do it themselves. I also made gifts for many women on Mother's Day. And I'll help the older people cook dinner next week. I love the feeling I get when the people smile and I know I made a difference in their life. ----Megan, 13 I volunteer at an after-school reading program. I help young children to learn how to read. My favorite part of it is seeing a little child feels excited when he or she learns a new word. ----Victoria, 12 Mandy works as a volunteer at a(n) _ . A. animal shelter B. primary school C. children's hospital D. old people's home Answer: A
When you are next in Hawaii,be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel.Whether you come on business or on holiday,you will find everything as comfortable and as convenient as you would expect in a first-class international hotel.Every bedroom has its own private bathroom,telephone,wall-to-wall carpeting and colorful,modern materials and furniture in the local style. In the Mitsui Restaurant,you can choose your meals from as wide a variety of dishes,both Eastern and European,as you will find anywhere in the country.In the Beach Bar,you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort,to the music of internationally known musicians.Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name,or to the tables that surround the swimming pool.Throughout the hotel,you will find the service is both friendly and efficient. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach,only five minutes' walk from Hawaii's modern shopping center.Here you will find all that money can buy,at prices you can afford. The Service is both friendly and efficientmeans _ . Answer: One day when I came home at lunch time the Jonas Brothers, Kevin, Joe, and Nick, were at my door. I jumped out of my Range Rover and started screaming. I ran up to them and just started hugging them and crying. I had no clue what was going on. They were just smiling and laughing. I was speechless and I was just staring at them. We stood there in dead silence for a couple of minutes. I finally picked up courage to say, "Hey, would you all like to come in?" They told me yes and that they had something to tell me. I brought them in and asked them why they came to my house. They told me, "We need you for something. We would like you to join the band; we want you to be our background dancer. You will also be a dancer for Miley Cyrus." Hearing their words, my jaw dropped in amazement. We kept talking for a while. I skipped school for the rest of the day, because it was the Jonas Brothers! We sat and watched television for a while, and then I went to my room and got ready. Then later that day we went and got lunch and went to a movie. We had to go to private places to go to the movie and eat because of all of the fans, but we had a great time! They brought me home that night and told me that they would see me tomorrow. Once I got home and got out of the car, Nick got out too and walked me to the door! He told me goodnight and gave me a hug and went back to the car. That night I could hardly go to sleep, but I finally did. The next morning I woke up and got ready really quickly. Then the Jonas Brothers' driver came and picked me up in their black Range Rover. I got in the back seat and by surprise Nick was there with flowers and chocolate. I asked him, "What is this?" He said, "It's for you! I want to surprise you! Today we are going to go to the studio and you are going to start learning everything for the tour this year. Kevin and Joe are already at the studio, I just want to come here and pick you up. After that I have something special planned for us!" "I don't have any clothes to wear, except for the clothes that I am wearing to practice," I said. He told me, "It's okay, we are going shopping to find outfits for our special date." We went shopping for our clothes and I got to pick anything I wanted and Nick paid for all of it. Then that night we went and ate at a restaurant right by the beach. After dinner, we went and walked on the beach. It was amazing! That night he took me home and walked me to my door and we said goodnight. I then went in and went to bed right away. The next few months I went to the studio with them about every day. It was a lot of hard work, but once the tour started, it paid off. I had the best time of my life. Once the tour was over, I got more into the acting and dancing business, I then became famous. Miley Cyrus and I became best friends and I also was a background dancer for her. Miley, the Jonas Brothers, and I were all best friends and we pretty much grew up together. Now, Miley and I are still best friends, and Nick Jonas and I are married. We are still famous and have the best time of our life. It can be inferred from the text that . Answer: If you dream in color, you're not alone: the majority of people today claim to have colorful dreams. But it wasn't always thus. Research conducted in the early part of the last century consistently found that people reported dreaming most often in black and white. According to Eva Murzyn at the University of Dundee, there are at least two possible explanations for this strange situation. The first is the methods used in the researches. The early studies tended to use questionnaires , while more modern studies use dream diaries (filled in upon rising in the morning) or so-called "REM-awakening", which involves interrupting people's dream-filled periods of sleep to find out what they were dreaming about. People's memories of their dreams are likely to be less accurate by using the questionnaire approach and they are more likely to reflect their beliefs about the form dreams generally take in an unclear way. The second explanation has to do with black and white television and film. It's possible that the sudden increase in black and white film and television during the first half of the last century either affected the form of people's dreams at that time, or affected their beliefs about the form dreams generally take. According to Murzyn's findings, it's the explanation based on media exposure that _ . She used both questionnaire and diary methods to study the dreams of 30 older (average age 64) and 30 younger people (average age 21). The methodological technique made no difference to the type of dreams people reported. However, the extremely important thing was that, across both questionnaires and diaries, the older participants (who had had significant early life exposure to black and white media) reported experiencing significantly more black and white dreams over the last ten days than the younger participants (22 per cent vs. 4 per cent). Another finding was that older participants reported black and white dreams and colorful dreams to be of equal clearness. By contrast, the younger participants reported that the quality of black and white dreams was poorer. This raises the possibility that the younger participants didn't really have any black and white dreams at all, but were simply regarding poorly remembered dreams as black and white. From Murxyn's findings we can infer that _ . Answer: Whenever the house gets quiet, Mrs. Smith knows just where to find her 6-year-old daughter Maria: lost in the world of stories. "I like to read every time of the day," said Maria, a student at Creel Elementary School in Australia. Maria's headmaster, Mrs. White, wants each of her 850 students and their families to learn the love of reading this year. She wants reading at home to become an activity of choice in every family, even during holiday breaks. "I truly realize reading should be an important part of everyone's life, and nothing should stop it." said Mrs. White. "The aim we want most of all is to help children understand they can enjoy reading, as well as practice their skills," said Hannas, an education researcher. He suggested parents take their children to the library and allow them to pick out books that interest them. Each night, students take home two books to read with their parents or other family members. They have to return the books the next day with a signed note from their parents showing that the books were read, and have passing tests that check how well they understand the books. "We're trying to get parents into the habit of reading with their kids." said the headmaster. "Nothing is better than sitting on a sofa with your child and reading and laughing." Through books, Mrs. Smith, a parent, said she's able to give her two daughters more experiences than she could. "I think reading opens all the doors and creates imaginations in children," she said, "I think if you read well, you can succeed in anything in life." To make sure how well the students understand the books, the school has to _ . Answer: The high cost of living in Sydney causes city parents to worry more about their children. New research by the Financial Services Council (FSC)shows that 75% of metropolitan mums and dads say their ability to earn is important to the well-being of their kids, Tet a greater proportion of Sydney parents think children suffer emotionally by having two full-time working parents .AS a result 46%of Sydneysiders feel their Kids could be happier , against 38%of both Melbourne and regional New South Wales mums and dads. The FSC research ,which interviewed 1200 parents across the country ,also shows 66% of Sydneysiders believe the happiness of their children would be greatly affected if they or their partner couldn't work. The FSC undertook the survey as part of its Lifewise campaign ,to encourage Australians to protect themselves against financial hardship. Chairman of the Lifewise campaign John Crosswell said:"The research findings quite clearly highlight that Sydney parents prioritise their ability to earn money and yet because they are so busy doing so, it seems that their ability to spend time with their family is affected .Sydney parents are dedicated to earning money but as a consequence, perhaps they don't have the time to enjoy spending it with their family." In sydney ,the top factor for creating an ideal childhood is financial security ,at 92%.Fewer parents rate having a tigh-knit family(89%)or living near friends and family (85%)as important. David and Ari Dearnley ,of North Manly ,said money pressure was hard to avoid in Sydney ,They both work and said family finances would be severely hard if one of them couldn't But only Mrs Dearnly has income-protection insurance, "I think that I don't really need it yet",Mr Dearnly ,37, said. "I think he's mad",Mrs Dearnly ,also 27 ,said,"If David couldn't work it would have a huge impact on our lifestyle." "Looks like I'll be getting _ tomorrow,"Mr Dearnly responded. From the passage we can infer that _ Answer:
John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas city in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks. Fortunately he had a strong-willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, "Son, you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe."She told him not to depend on others, including his mother. "You have to earn success, "she said. "All the people who work hard don't succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard." These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don't mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago. Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John's mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words--as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks. While others discouraged him, John's mother offered him more words to live by."Nothing beats a failure but a try. "She also let him pawn her furniture to get the $ 500 he needed to start the Negro magazine. It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother's words in mind."Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!" Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America--worth $ 150 million. John's mother _ Answer: thought no one could succeed without working hard Digital wallets have been called the future of real-world payment technology. With major players like Alipay, WecChat and Apple Pay becoming popular, it seems to be a safe bet that a change in consumer payment technology is coming soon. A recent study by Citi Retail Services found that a growing number of people are embracing digital wallets, due in large part to their convenience and ease of use , "There's no question 2016 will be an important year as digital wallets gain more acceptance.", Leslie MeNamara, managing director of partner management, Citi Retail Services, noted. Last month, CNN reporter Will Ripley experience a day in Beijing without his wallet. "In China's largest cities, you can definitely survive without carrying a pocket full of cash and credit cards- as long as you've got your smartphone," he wrote. "A huge number of businesses in Beijing accept mobile payments." He paid for breakfast by scanning a QR code on the window of a hole-in-the -wall restaurant. All he had to do was enter a password and the transaction was completed. Then he also used his phone to pay for movies tickets, buy takeout food, order goods for delivery. In fact, he was not the only one to enjoy this convenience. His assistant Shen Lu also paid her household water bill with her mobile phone. In seconds, she was able to transfer funds( ) from one of several linked accounts. Unlike the situations in the US and other countries, "China doesn't have a really money-making credit card system". Gu Yu, co-founder of the new payment app Mileslife, told CNN. "So Chinese people just skipped credit cards and wet straight to mobile payments." Gu also pointed out the advantages of mobile payments. "No coins or bills that can be lost or stolen, electronic receipts, the ease of keeping track of spending and of course, no wallet taking up space." he said The passage is written to _ Answer: introduce mobile payment A British shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named "the Coupon Queen" has spent just PS350 on a luxury Christmas for her and her family--but got PS2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers. Ms Mumford is a so-called "extreme couponer" and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate PS1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital. "It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about _ . I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misconception that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes , a high-end coffee machine." she explained. She said "What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That's what really inspired me." She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offers tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page. "I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year." How did Emma make the huge savings? Answer: She compared prices through websites. MOOCs, an acronym for "massive open online courses," mark an important, possibly revolutionary, development in education. These courses are online, free of charge, and open to anyone in the world who has a laptop and an Internet connection. Moreover, they are mainly offered by elite universities like Standford, Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia. The courses, like normal college courses, are sequenced by difficulty, enabling students to progress from beginners to the advanced. The courses cover not only a broad range of technical subjects such as math and computer science, but also courses in the social sciences and the humanities . Though MOOCs are not offered for credit and degree, many students enroll in the courses for real skills or knowledge which they can put to some practical use. Some students even form online study groups, or in-person groups with students who live nearby. The format seems superior to the traditional school class. The average quality of the lecturer is much higher, because students do not have to stick with a mediocre lecturer. Besides, students can scroll back or forward--in short, they can go at their own learning speed, which they cannot do in a live lecture. And, of great importance, they do not have to travel anywhere to attend an online lecture. One can obtain a first-class American college education wherever he or she lives and however little money he or she has. There is a problem of asking questions of the lecturer in a class of ten thousand students, but some MOOCs have solved it by allowing students to post questions online for a vote, and only the most popular questions are put to the lecturer. In a knowledge era, lifelong learning is not confined to a traditional classroom. Of course, students enrolling in MOOCs cannot be compared with those who are in traditional universities, but we need to rethink what a "students" is. Students in MOOCs are very clever, have work experience, and in many cases, have already developed a set of core competences. Moreover, they also offer unique international _ that would be the envy of any school classroom. Which of the following statements is NOT true about MOOCs? Answer: The word "MOOCs" is an acronym for "Massive open online campuses." When most people turn 21, they spend too much time partying and having fun. But when Adele turned 21, she did something completely different. After going through a tough breakup , the British singer turned her pain into glory and recorded one of the most moving albums of the year. The album,21, which was _ in January, has already hit the charts in 14 countries, according to the Billboard magazine. It also noted that Adele made history as the first artist since the Beatles to have two top five singles and two top five albums in the charts at the same time (Adele's first album,19, was released in 2008. Each album is named for her age when she wrote it). Now, after touring around the world for almost a year, the DVD of her live concert, released on November 29, is Adele's latest work. Having topped the pre-order list ofAmazon. comfor over a month already, this one seems set to stay on top for a while. Born in north London, Adele sang her way up honestly: In 2006, she was signed by England's XL Recordings on the strength of a three-song demo a friend of hers had posted on MySpace;within two years she had won the BRIT Awards 'Critics' Choice prize and been tipped by the BBC as the "Sound of 2008". In 2009 she got the best new artist Grammy Award, and went on a world tour in support of the album19with a sold-out show in Los Angeles. According to Adele herself, much of the inspiration of her music comes from one single breakup. That's probably what has made the singer's success-that emotional certitude , according to Dickins. "The key to great singers is believing every single word they sing, " he said. "And I think you believe every word that comes out of Adele's mouth. You can feel her life force through her voice. " How many awards did Adele get? Answer: Three.
A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27(Sat. & Sum. ). At 5:30am, the riders will leave Tian'anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometers as a training _ . Then the next 55 kilometres leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli. The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaibe, covering a distance of 20 kilometres. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing. Cost:200 yuan Telephone:4675027 _ The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo'an Team at the Workers Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players . Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes. Ticket prices:60,100,150 yuan Time/Date:4:30 pm, August 26(Sat. ) Telephone:5012372 _ The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators . Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou. Time/Dates:9-12 am, August 26 and 27 Telephone:7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua The main purpose of announcing the above events is to give information about _ . Answer: things to do for the weekend Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son's soccer team. It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, my son's team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement. With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son's teammate, Mickey O' Donnel. With shouts of "Kick it!" echoing across the playground, Mickey turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted . O'Donnel had scored! Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total _ . You see, Mickey has Down syndrome and for him there is no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored. The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted, "I scored! I scored. Everybody won! Everybody won!" For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, "Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!" Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal. Mike happily and everyone sent their wishes to him. Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, "It was a tie. Everybody won." We can infer from the passage that Mike _ . Answer: was cared about by his teammates There is a unique place where deserted factories have been transformed into a lively artistic zone - where the city's tradition and heritage meet with cutting-edge art and fashion. This is Redtory. Located at Yuancun Si Heng Lu, not far from the Pearl River of Guangzhou city, Redtory is a creative cultural and industrial zone made up of more than 30 old buildings - mostly red-brick ones. Back in 1956, it used to be the biggest canning factory in China. The factory produced the Can Dace with Black Bean Sauce, an iconic food product in the last century, well-known throughout south-east Asia. After the local government's industrial structure reformations, the canning factory moved away and the workshops were left deserted. There was nothing left but memories in well-preserved Soviet-style buildings. Not long after the noise of the running machines was gone, posters of advertisement and art were found hanging on the wall in the area. To enrich the cultural and artistic life of the people in Guangzhou, the abandoned factories reopened in 2009 - displaying art, fashion and culture of different forms. Redtory is home to more than 40 establishments including art galleries, themed restaurants and design studios. Large international cultural exchange activities, art exhibitions and seminars are often held here, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Meanwhile, waste materials have been used wisely instead of being thrown away. For instance, some installations standing around the area are made up of the rusty machines or components from the old canning factory. The shabby and nostalgic appearance combined with fashionable and artistic features makes Redtory uniquely attractive. That may be the reason that Redtory is considered the holy land for young art-lovers in Guangzhou. Add.: No.128 Yuancun Si Heng Lu, Tianhe District, Guangzhou Bus: Yuancun Er Heng Rd Stop - 40,44,140,284,293,299,401,504,540,542,583,882;Yuancun Stop Terminal (Meilin Garden) - B11,243;Pazhou Bridge (North) Stop - 137,304,564,B7,B25 Metro: Exit B, Yuancun Station, Line 5 The canning factory was removed from Redtory because _ . Answer: the industrial structure needed reforming Animals are our friends. We can find different kinds of animals on Earth. Some animals are living in big forests. And some animals are living with man. Animals are very important to man. For example, people can train the elephants to do some heavy work. And they can also train the dogs to look after the house. A police dog is clever. It can help people in danger. And it can also help the policeman to catch the thieves or murderers. The children like dogs very much. Everyone knows sheep and pigs very well. Man eats their meat almost every day. People can make coasts and shoes with their skins. From cows, we can get milk. It's good for our health. And horses can take us to other places. In some places, horses and camels are instead of car and buses. It's clear that man can't live comfortably without these animals. We can get milk from _ . Answer: cows More often than not, the person sitting next to you on a plane or sleeping in the next hotel room has paid more or less than you did for the same services. Each day, airlines give more than several hundred fares for flights between the same two cities and hotels charge different rates for the same room. So how do you find the best rates? Here are some tips: ^ Sign up for fare special e-mails. When airlines get into a fare war, the cost of a plane ticket can fall overnight and the discounted fare may be sold out by noon the next day. Get on the mailing list of airlines and other travel Web sites so you can be told immediately if fares drop. ^ Buy your tickets at least 21 days in advance. There are usually four different timetables for advance tickets: 21-day, 14-day, 7-day, and 3-day. The further in advance you book your flight, the lower the fare you will find. ^ Consider another airport. Find out about all the airports that are near your destination city. You might be able to fly into a smaller airport or neighboring city at a much lower rate. ^ Stay over a Saturday night. Airlines give the highest fares to business travelers, who fly during the week and spend their weekends at home. If you plan to leave for your trip on a Wednesday and return on Saturday, your fare would be a lot higher than you stay until Sunday morning. ^ Fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Some airlines offer cheaper fares on different days of the week. Generally, it's the cheapest to fly on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Remember, though, that a Saturday stay is necessary to receive the lowest rate. ^ Pick a flight with plenty of open seats. Seats in a flight are divided into "classes", and each class has its own price. Since the cheapest classes sell first, the fewer seats that are left on a plane, the more expensive they are. Which is NOT the cheapest way to travel by air according to the passage? Answer: Choose a flight with same "classes" seats every time you travel.
Beijing Restaurant _ SOUPS :Tofu soupY=10. 00 Bone soupY=15. 00 Chicken soupY=20. 00 STAPLES:Fried riceY=8. 00 Fried noodlesY=10. 00 Hot dogY=4. 00 Meat pieY=10. 00 SandwichY=10. 00 HamburgerY=10. 00 MAIN COURSES:Roast chickenY=30. 00 Italian pizzaY=9. 00 Indian curriesY=15. 00 Pork and cabbageY=15. 00 Cheese pieY=10. 00 BeefY=15. 00 Beijing Roast DuckY=50. 00 SausageY=15. 00 DESSERTS :Fruit saladY=8. 00 Pear pancakeY=6. 00 Apple pieY=6. 00 Ice creamY=4. 00 DRINKS :CokeY=5. 00 CoffeeY=5. 00 TeaY=3. 00 Apple juiceY=3. 00 BeerY=10. 00 WineY=30. 00 MilkY=3. 00 LemonadeY=4. 00 What's the price of pear pancake and a cup of tea? A Y=8. 00. B Y=9. 00. C Y=7. 00. D Y=6. 00. Answer: B When JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon became unpredictable, his co-pilot invented a reason for him to go back into the cabin.Once the captain was out of the cockpit , the co-pilot locked the door to keep the captain from returning.Passengers, some with law enforcement experience, calmed the captain.The flight changed course to Amarillo, Texas where the captain was hospitalized. Incidents in which a pilot has had an in-flight psychological breakdown are rare.But how could it happen at all? Though pilots are required to have an examination at least once a year by a physician approved by the FAA, there are no formal procedures in place to test pilots for signs of psychological problems. At most airlines, pilots are members of a union.A pilot who appears to have a psychological or an alcohol problem can be reported to a union member whose job it is to investigate.If there is a problem, the pilot is given the choice of getting treatment or being reported to management.But at airlines, such as Allegiant, JetBlue, and Virgin American where there is no union, pilots are - to say the least - unwilling to report a fellow pilot to management. In most professions, a person experiencing emotional difficulties is free to consult a doctor.Rut an airline pilot in therapy is viewed with suspicion both by the airline and by the FAA.No pilot wants to be put under extra examination by an agency that has the power to _ their license or end their employment.That being the case, pilots are less likely than people in other professions to seek help. There may be no way to make sure this never happens again, but its possibility can be reduced. Tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ( MMPI) can reliably detect depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, and other problems.The FAA could require pilots to take the MMPI or a similar test on a periodic basis.Whether such testing becomes required will depend upon the public's response to this incident and whether additional incidents take place. Flying is remarkably safe.But incidents such as this cause concern. In which part of the newspaper can the passage be found? A Entertainment B Sports C Business D Society Answer: D Prices for the Lunar New Year's eve dinners in 2007, the most important dinner for the Chinese people, will be 5 to 9 percent higher as restaurant reservations boom for the festival, Shanghai Morning Post reported on Thursday. This year, the Lunar New Year's eve festival falls on February 17. The tradition meal, know as nianyefan, is for family reunions in prefix = st1 /Chinaand to enjoy a homecoming feast, similar to Christmas dinners in the west. "Agricultural products are more expensive than previous years, and this directly leads to the prices increase of nianyefan," Xia Xiangqing, a senior official with the Shanghai Restaurants Association, told the newspaper, "Labour and transport also cost more." Up till a few years ago, almost every family in the city ate at home or the home of a close , with restaurants shutting down for the evening. However, most families in the city now prefer to head out to a restaurant on that night to save the trouble of cooking and cleaning at home. In fact, "if you haven't reserved a table yet, you may be out of luck as most of the city's restaurants are already booked before the new year," Xia said. "In the past, restaurants decided everything," Xia said. "They sometimes refused to return the customers deposit if they wanted to cancel their reservation." Xia also told the newspaper yesterday that the association is working on some standards for nianyefan to avoid complaints from customers. According to the passage, if you want to book a table in a restaurant for 2007 Lunar New Year's eve, you will have to _ first. A save some money in a bank B accept the restaurant's decision C put some money in the restaurant D invite some s or friends Answer: C A woman renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was asked to state her occupation.She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. "What I mean is," explained the recorder, "do you have a job, or are you just a ..." "Of course I have a job," said Emily."I'm a mother." "We don't list 'mother' as an occupation... 'housewife' covers it," said the recorder. One day I found myself in the same situation.The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title."What is your occupation?" she asked. The words simply popped out."I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations." The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair. I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire. "Might I ask, " said the clerk with new interest, "Just what you do in this field?" Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn't), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out).Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it).But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money." There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out. As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another mother." Motherhood...What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door. What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage? A The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was. B The recorder was impatient and rude. C The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced. D Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society. Answer: D "If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you're a woman." Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster. The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male. Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice was the most "inspiring" for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener. Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch and tone which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. " _ ,"said Mr Grosbie. The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species.[:Z,xx,k.Com] Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that "listened" to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices. Miss Darwin said, "I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London." Sarah Darwin is most likely a (an) _ . A botanist B gardener C astronomer D environmentalist Answer: A
Which is a characteristic of a dog that is most likely a result of its environment? A. its color B. its length of ears C. its food preference D. its ability to see in the dark Answer: C For Chinese, it's a time for dragon boat racing and Zongzi . But across the Yellow Sea, South Korea, wrestling and swing play are the _ .However, both events go by the same name-the Dragon Boat Festival-which falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar. One festival, two cultures: does one nation have the right to call its own? It has been reported that South Korea will apply to the UNESCO to make the celebration its cultural heritage .If successful, people from other countries may see the Dragon Festival as a Korean creation. As the birthplace of the yearly event more than 2,000 years ago, China is not happy with the situation."It would be a shame if another country successfully made a traditional Chinese festival part of its own cultural heritage ahead of China," said Zhou Heping, deputy culture minister.The Ministry of Culture is even thinking of making its own application to UNESCO, covering all traditional Chinese festivals, including the Dragon Boat event. Over the years, the Dragon Boat Festival has spread throughout the world.In Japan and Viet Nam, as well as South Korea, the festival has mixed with and become part of local culture. With this in mind, some experts say that it is meaningless to argue about which country the festival belongs to."No one can deny that it came from China," said Long Haiqing, an expert from Hunan Province."But if all the countries involved can protect culture heritage together, they will all benefit." If South Korea's application to UNESCO is successful, _ . A. China will also make its own application to UNESCO B. it will be meaningless to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival C. people from other parts of the world will think South Korea created the festival D. the Dragon Boat Festival will become part of local culture Answer: C Once there was a boy named Bill who liked to play at being a cowboy. One day he was playing at chasing Indians in his room when he heard a loud crack of thunder. He got really scared. Bill's parents, Ned and Susan, came into his room. They told him not to be scared. They said they were going to make sure the car windows were shut and they would be back soon. Bill said okay. He climbed under his bed and listened to the wind outside. He had his favorite toy gun to keep him safe, but he was still scared because his parents weren't back yet. His brother Zack had given him the gun. Bill started to think he could hear voices in the wind. It sounded like a strange kind of chanting. He started to shake and hug his toy gun. He said, "I'm not afraid of you. If you try to hurt me I'll shoot you." After that he felt a little better. But then he jumped as his bedroom door slammed shut. He hit his head on the bottom of his bed and it hurt. He looked out from under his blanket and saw a strange orange light in his room. He was worried that it was on fire, but he couldn't smell any smoke. What did Bill think had happened to his room after the door slammed shut? A. The Indians had attacked it. B. The voices in the wind were in it. C. It had caught fire. D. Susan and Ned had set it on fire. Answer: C Doctors sometimes prescribe light therapy to treat a form of depression in people who get too little morning sun. But too much light at other times may actually cause such mood disorders. Long-lasting exposure to light at night brings depression, a new study finds, at least in animals. The new data confirm observations from studies of people who work night shifts, says Richard Stevens of the University of Connecticut Health Center. Mood disorders join a growing list of problems, including cancer, obesity and diabetes--that can occur when light throws life out of balance by disturbing the biological clock and its timing of daily rhythms. www.ks5u.com In the new study, Tracy Bedrosian and Randy Nelson of Ohio State University exposed mice to normal light and dark cycles for four weeks. For the next four weeks, half of the mice remained on this schedule, and the rest received continuous dim light throughout their night. Compared with mice exposed to normal nighttime darkness, those getting dim light at night lost their strong preference for sweet drinks, "a sign they no longer get pleasure out of activities they once enjoyed, " Bedrosian says. In a second test, mice were clocked on how long they actively tried to escape a pool of water. Those exposed to night lights stopped struggling and just floated in the water, a sign of "behavioral despair",10 times as long as the mice that had experienced normal nighttime darkness. All symptoms of depression disappeared within two weeks of the mice returning to a normal light-dark cycle, the researchers report. The scientists also could quash the behavioral symptoms by injecting the brains of animals with a drug that prohibits the activity of certain molecules linked with human depression. This finding further suggests that light at night may cause something related to depression. Human studies linking nighttime light and mood disorders are important but can't easily detect molecular underpinnings as animal studies can,says George Brainard of Thomas Jefferson University. The new work, he says, suggests that the change of the biological clock by light at night can be "an extremely powerful force in regulating biology and behavior. " After being exposed to continuous nighttime light, the mice _ . A. changed their preferences B. escaped from the water more eagerly C. showed less interest in their favorites D. remained active as before Answer: C For incoming freshmen at western Connecticut's suburban Brookfield High School, lifting a backpack weighed down with textbooks is about to give way to tapping out notes and touching electronic pages on an iPad, A few hours away, every student at Burlington High School near Boston.will also start the year with new school-issued iPads, each loaded with electronic textbooks and other online resources in place of traditional texts.Apple officials say they know of more than 600 districts that have launched what are called "one-to-one" programs. At Burlington High in suburban Boston, Principal Patrick Larkin says the $500 iPads is better than textbooks in the long term, though he said the school will still use traditional texts in some courses if suitable electronic programs aren't yet available." Lark/n said of textbooks, "but But some experts warn that the districts need to ensure they can support the wireless infrastructure , repairs and other costs that accompany a switch to such a tech-heavy approach. Mark Warschauer, an education and informatics professor said, "I think people will like it. I really don't know anybody in high school that wouldn't want to get an iPad," he said. "We're always using technology at home, then when you're at school it's textbooks.so it's a good way to put all of that together." Districts are varied in their policies on how they police students' use. And the nation's textbook publishing industry, accounting for $ 5.5 billion in yearly sales to secondary schools, is taking notice of the trend with its own shift in a competitive race toward developing curriculum specifically for iPads. Jay Diskey, executive director of the Association of American Publishers' schools division, said all of the major textbook publishers are moving toward electronic offerings, but at least in the short term, traditional bound textbooks are here to stay."I think one of the real key questions that will be answered over the next several years is what sort of things work best in print for students and what smt of things work best digitally, " What's the problem for iPads to be used in schools at present? A. Some students wouldn't like to have iPads in schools. B. The iPads are too expensive for school students to buy. C. Most experts oppose the idea that iPads replace paper textbooks. D. The iPads may be unavailable for some traditional courses. Answer: D
Once upon a time there was a blue spider named Twinkle Toes. All spiders have to get rid of their old skin in order to grow a new, larger skin. Twinkle Toes was a very special kind of spider because his tenth new skin would be pink instead of blue. When it was time for Twinkle Toes to turn pink, he was very excited, but he was also worried. He was afraid that his best friend, an orange cat named Morty Roo, wouldn't know that the pink spider was Twinkle Toes in his new skin. He was scared that Morty Roo would mistake him for a normal spider who does not change colors. If Morty Roo saw a spider who wasn't Twinkle Toes, he would likely kill the spider and eat it. Twinkle Toes was hoping to tell Morty Roo that he would soon turn pink, but Morty Roo didn't come around to visit that day. Twinkle Toes called over Woofington, the neighbor's dog. Twinkle Toes asked Woofington to please tell Morty Roo that he would be pink after he grew his new skin but would still be the same Twinkle Toes he had always been. Woofington normally liked to chase Morty Roo around the neighborhood. He knew he would have to be nice to Morty Roo to deliver the message and that it would be really hard. Because it was so important to Twinkle Toes, Woofington said he would deliver the message. Woofington had a special respect for spiders because they eat other bugs. Woofington is afraid of other bugs because they could bite him and make him sick. That evening, Twinkle Toes began growing his new, pink skin, and Woofington explained to Morty Roo that he shouldn't eat the pink spider because it was still his old friend. Why was Twinkle Toes afraid of growing his new skin? Answer: He was afraid Morty Roo would mistake him for another spider and eat him. These days, more and more students in the UK are taking a "gap year"between their graduation from school and their university studies. This means they can take a year off to do something else, before they start their studies. For most students, spending time in foreign countries is the favorite activity --- and Australia is the favorite place to go. Many parents, teachers and business people agree that travelling can teach important values. "After a year of travelling, I felt I'd grown up. I had learnt the importance of relationships with people, on all kinds of levels." There are many companies around the world that welcome these students on their projects---helping people in poorer countries, or even in your home country. Although you don't get paid for your work, this kind of work can teach important skills---decision making and finding answers to problems, for example---that will help many students in a job one day. Finally, getting some knowledge and experience in an area you hope to study or work in one day will always be very useful. If several university graduates are applying for the same job, gar year work experience allows you to say, " I've already had some experience of this kind of work." And that can get your job. What can't students get in gap year work in the writer's opinion? Answer: money The famous English writer, Charles Dickens, is on every British child's school reading list. Though Dickens is one of England's greatest writers, he is not often read. Most people do not read his books because they think they are too long and the language he uses is old-fashioned . Television, however, has rescued this great English writer from disappearing in the modern age. In the UK for several years, Dickens' novels have been turned into exciting television dramas. His latest book to be filmed is his little known story Little Dorrit. Before the story became a 15-part television drama most Britons were unaware that Dickens had ever written it. Most of the Dickens television dramas are so well filmed that English students are likely to watch them in class while studying his book. There are, however, some differences between the books and television dramas. The television dramas often give more time to the exciting parts of Dickens' books. For example, there is far more kissing scenes in the television shows than there are in the books. Some television dramas have also slightly changed Dickens' female characters to make them more acceptable to a modern audience . In Dickens' books his females are often weak and emotional. The TV dramas, however, show them as being fairly independent-minded. Several TV critics have argued that Dickens' stories are actually better suited to television than they are being read as books. Their reasoning is that Dickens wrote his stories for newspapers. A chapter would appear in the newspaper each week so Dickens ended each chapter at an exciting moment. People then would buy the newspaper the following week to find out what happened later. This makes his stories perfect for being shown on television as 15-part programs. We can learn from the TV critics that _ . Answer: Dickens' stories were originally intended for newspaper readers The first step in the construction of a building typically involves Answer: clearing the land. Life in space will certainly take some getting used to!But the space station has been designed to keep the astronauts as comfortable as possible--the modules are roomy,bright,and kept at a constant 70 degrees Fahrenheit.It's important the crew members are comfortable because they'll be busy aboard the station.In a typical workday,crew members will spend 14 hours working and exercising,1.5 hours preparing and eating meals,and 8.5 hours sleeping.Here are some other fun facts about life aboard the station: Food Come mealtime,astronauts will have a special dining kitchen.Space food just keeps getting better--and more like food we enjoy here on Earth.In early space missions,astronauts could eat only freezedried food that didn't require any preparation.But the space station is equipped with water,microwave ovens,and refrigerators,allowing the folks on board to eat more "normal" types of food,including fruit,vegetables,and ice cream! Sleep Each crew member has a private room.With no gravity,they'll need to tie themselves to their beds,or they will float away!That might sound like a strange way to sleep,but astronauts from past space missions report that sleeping in space is actually pretty great! Exercise You might not think it,but exercise is even more important on the station than it is on Earth.There is not much gravity in space.Astronauts don't stand up,sit down or walk in space,so their muscles and bones don't have to work much--and this muscle and bone loss can be dangerous back on Earth.To fight this,astronauts on the station will exercise on bikes,rowing machines,and other equipment about two hours every day. Clothing Astronauts will have to wear special space suits while traveling aboard the U.S.shuttle or Russian rockets.But once they're safe inside the space station,crew members can wear regular clothing.Of course,a specially designed,pressurized space suit is required for space walks.It has to withstand flying pieces and protect the astronauts from dramatic temperature changes.It can range from 120 degrees below Fahrenheit in the shadow of the station to 250 degrees in the hot sun. Personal Cleanliness Simple tasks like brushing your teeth can be challenging in a weightless environment.A little water doesn't flow in a stream--it suspends in a bubble!Astronauts will use a freshwater hose to take showers,shampoo,and wash off--then a second vacuum hose to suction off the dirty water.And how do you go to the bathroom in space?With a special "air toilet" that uses flowing air instead of water to dispose of waste. What do we know about space food from the text? Answer: Astronauts could eat apples in space in the past.
Miss Han: You bring many things to school, Kevin. Can you tell me what are on your desk? Kevin: Yes, I can. There is an eraser, a ruler, three pencils and a pencil box on my desk. Miss Han: What is in your drawer ? Kevin: In my drawer, there are two books and a notebook. Miss Han: What is that on the floor? Kevin: It is my school bag. Miss Han: Do you bring your lunch box to school? Kevin: Yes, I do. Miss Han: Where do you put it? Kevin: I put it under my desk. _ is (are) NOT on Kevin's desk. A picture A blog can be a very effective way of spreading the words about yourself, and your other writing. It can _ your knowledge, and create an ongoing relationship with your readers. A good blog is more than just a marketing tool; it's also an expression of your personality. An obvious starting point is to post samples of your work that not only show off your skills and writing ability but also leave people wanting more. Post elections from the most exciting parts of your stories but end them just as the action reaches its peak. If you write nonfiction , show people what they could achieve, and give them a few steps to get them started. Give tips, information and advice about the subjects you cover. For example, something about struggling with difficulty and many other issues like this. Your writing tips can also be included, as well as interesting, strange or funny things you discovered during your research. Whenever you contact an expert, ask if he or she has any interesting stories you could use. You many also give background information about your stories and locations Give details of coming posts on your blog, so people can watch out for you, or come and meet you. Personal news will help people feel better connected to you Include photos of objects and locations in your writing, famous people you meet, the views from your window, and your favorite things - with a note about where they came from and what they mean to you. Look out for things that will help your readers get to know you better, know the subject better, or anything else you think they might find useful, inspiring or entertaining. If you only occasionally post things on your blog, people have a tendency to forget you. As a writer you shouldn't ever run out of interesting materials to fill your blog with --and your readers will love you for it. You'd better blog about _ . the entertaining stories you have With the popularity of 3D movies over the past several years , there was no doubt that the technology would make its way into our homes, The question is: Is it really a technology that is going to stay with us , thus deserving an upgrade at this time? Many families have recently bought a new TV set, and the idea of changing it just to take advantage of a technology in its infancy will put many people off the idea. Then there are the additional costs that come along with a 3Dset from needing to get a Blu-ray player that can process the signal to purchasing enough glasses for the entire family to be able to watch a program at the same time. Another issue is that the glasses are expensive as well as complicated, and have also been known to cause headaches, none of which makes for a pleasant experience. While manufacturers are working towards glasses-free technology, it just isn't here yet, and it could be several years before it is commercially successful. That is one of main things that will keep 3D completely in the "fashion" zone for the time being . If the television manufacturers are willing to hold onto the idea until glasses-free choices are available--and they can reach a higher installed user base--this might very well catch on. Everyone needs to remember, however, that these are businesses, and they are in it to make money. If 3D isn't selling at the rate they are comfortable with, then they will dump it and move on to the next thing. Many homes are filled with products that didn't catch on rapidly and companies ended up leaving them with no support. Do you have an HD DVD player? Remember how the MiniDisc was supposed to replace the CD? For now, it's easy to see how 3D televisions could join this list of technologies. There is one _ to the 3D television problem: They have beautiful 2D images. Even if 3D goes away, you still have a great -looking screen and beautiful images. If you are in the market for a new TV and you can afford to drop the couple extra hundred dollars to buy one, you can view it as guaranteeing your purchase in case the technology proves to be effective. We know from the text that 3D TV _ . has many products attached to it What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science? We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work. What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves. He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum . He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively. Furthermore, he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation. Lastly, he is full of imagination since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place. These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts. Many people believe that science helps society to progress through _ more than one aspect. Selecting a proper summer camp for your child is not an easy task. You have to consider too many factors . Remember, you are sending your kid to a summer camp not just to let him enjoy himself but also to help him become confident. So you should try to select a summer camp for your kid so that after he returns from the camp, the first thing that he asks you is when you will send him again for camping. Let us see how you can pick the best summer camp for your child. Search the Internet If you browse the Internet, you will find a number of websites of summer camps where you can find all the detailed information about the camps. For example, how much the whole camping will cost, where the camps are, what children can do in the camps and what additional facilities they can provide. Don't forget to read the comments of parents who have sent their children to those camps and pay attention to how they find those camps. _ Some camp organizers prefer advertisements in newspapers. Some of the organizers even invite famous people to their camps to communicate with kids. You should keep an eye in the summer camp advertisements in newspapers so that you could pick a suitable one for your kid. Ask for advice from your child's school teachers Go to your kid's school and ask his teachers whether they can give you names of some of the summer camps they consider to be the best. Know the interest of your child While searching, you will come across different types of camps. They are organized according to the nature and interest of children like a music camp, a sports camp, etc. So it is very important to know what your child is interested in before picking a summer camp. We can know that in the writer's opinion, ' the purpose of a summer camp is not only for children to have fun
Question: Customs are social habits. They have been handed down through generations among groups, social classes, etc. Customs can be described as ways of doing things. They are particularly strong in social practices on the occasions of births, marriages and deaths. In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs. For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is usual bridal wear in many Western countries. Every people has special customs for New Year. The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs. And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st. One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap up their babies tightly .This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are usually dressed in loose garments. The difference about clothing between Chinese and Western babies is that_. A. Chinese babies are usually dressed in new clothes B. Chinese mothers are used to dressing their babies in colourful clothes C. Western babies are dressed in bigger clothes while Chinese babies are usually wrapped D. Western babies have more clothes than Chinese babies Answer: C. Western babies are dressed in bigger clothes while Chinese babies are usually wrapped Question: There is one type of illness in the world that affects more people than anything else and is very deadly. If untreated this illness could affect everything you do. What is this illness? Depression. Serious depression requires professional treatment. Self-induced depression is something each of us can change. Everyone's circumstances are different, but the causes of self-induced depression are common: low self-esteem, hurtful thinking and a bad attitude. So how can we change the way we think, feel, and cultivate a cheerful attitude? First we must look at ourselves, truly and honestly examining our motives for what we wish to achieve. If you are dissatisfied because you feel you haven't or can't do anything, then one step is needed - to set goals. Always start your goals relatively small and easy to attain. Think of them as sand; one grain may be insignificant but as a group they form the beach. Once you have set and attained small goals for yourself, move on to slightly larger, more challenging goals. It takes more than just setting goals to be happy. It takes positive thinking. How can we attain this? There are a number of factors that can make us think negatively and one of those is diet. In my opinion, a person who eats a lot of take out and fast food is feeding their body junk. Start by eating better foods which give the body much NEEDED minerals. If your physical body is happy, it's much easier for your mental body or "thinking ability" to be happy. Next, exercise. A half-hour a day is recommended for positive well being. Then think about good memories you had, or generally think of things that make you smile. Remember, everything you wear costs money but to wear a smile is free. A smile can be the difference between an average day and a great day. If you follow these steps, positive change is inevitable. What's the passage mainly about? A. To prove the argument that depression can be changed. B. To analyze the danger depression can bring to people. C. To introduce to readers how to keep positive thinking. D. To recommend some ways to deal with depression. Answer: D. To recommend some ways to deal with depression. Question: I was waiting in a check-in line at Arlanda International Airport. The man ahead of me was quite a big guy. As an airport baggage handler checked through a customer at the roadside, he accidentally knocked over the man's luggage. He quickly collected the fallen bags and apologized for his mistake. However,the traveler burst into anger, shouting at the baggage handler for his carelessness. The baggage handler calmly apologized and smiled all the time. The customer continued to berate the man, even as he turned away and headed for his gate. Through it all the baggage handler smiled and remained calm. The other customers in line witnessed the incident and admired the baggage handler's professionalism and self-control. "I have never seen such restraint and humility," one of the customers sighed, "How do you keep your cool when somebody is attacking you so viciously?" "It's easy," the baggage handler answered. "He's going to London, but his bags are going to Tokyo." I won't recommend that we use revenge to relieve stress. But let me tell you about one of my friends who has found a way to go through most of his life unaffected by the _ that disturbs most people. He is one of the calmest people I've ever known and he describes how he keeps his cool no matter how turbulent a situation becomes. He says, "I look at it this way. A traffic jam has no power to make me angry. It just stops my car. And that's the way I try to look at most of what happens to me." With that philosophy, this guy goes through life with a calmness I can only envy. My friend likes to say things like, "A rude customer has no power to make me angry; he just fusses." And, "A mistake I made has no power to make me upset; it's just a chance to do better." He shows how we can truly find calmness in the midst of chaos. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage? A. A Clever Baggage Handler B. Restraint and Humility in Life C. A Philosophy for Everyone D. Calmness in Chaos Answer: D. Calmness in Chaos Question: I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy .I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza. I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza. It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought. Many years later finally saw the Leaning Tower . I knew then that it was Pisa and no pizza. But there was still something special about it for me. The tower got its name because it really does lean to one side. Some people want to try to fix it. They are afraid it may fall over and they don't like it leans over city. I do not think it's a good idea to try to fix it. The tower probably will not fall down. It is 600 years old. Why should anything happen to it now? And , if you ask me, I like what it looks like. To me it is a very human kind of leaning. Nothing is perfect, it seems to say. And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting. Let's take the tower in Pisa. Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy. But Pisa tower is the most famous. People come all over the world to see it. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is _ A. modern B. falling down C. 600 years old D. 60 years old Answer: C. 600 years old Question: Look at the two posters about Sunshine Theatre and Moonlight Theatre: Welcome to Sunshine Party! Time: 1:30 p.m. -8:30p.m. , June 1st Happy Children's Day Place: Sunshine Theatre Activities: Singing, dancing, a magic show and a fashion show Welcome to Moonlight Party! Happy Children's D ay Time: 2:30 p.m. -10:30p.m. , June 1st Place: Moonlight Theatre Activities: 3 cartoon films and a fashion show When does the celebration finish in Moonlight Theatre? A. 10:30 a m. B. 10:30 p. m. C. 8:30 p. m. D. 2:30 p. M. Answer: B. 10:30 p. m.
Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it's one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature. Earth Hour started on March 31st, in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later Earth Hour had become a global movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome's Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world's largest movement to stop global climate change. On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common--our planet. Earth Hour will continue to be a call to action to every individual, a call to stand up, to take responsibility and lead the global journey to a sustainable future. From the text, we can learn that _ . Earth Hour is getting more and more support Five teens from Sarasota, Florida, are making music from garbage. The Garbage-Men band's instruments are made from recycled objects. The guitars are boxes. A horn is made from pipes. The keyboard is formed from old bottles. The band started about two years ago. Jack Berry decided to make a playable, homemade guitar. After some trial-and-error, he ended up building it from a cereal box, a yardstick and toothpicks. After Jack showed his creation to his friend Ollie Gray, Ollie had the idea to form a band using other homemade instruments as a way to promote recycling. "We want to show people there is more to recycling than throwing things away in the bin ," Jack, 16, said, "You can actually reuse materials." Ollie, 15, plays drums made from trash cans. Evan Tucker, 15 (bass guitar); Harrison Paparatto, 15 (horns and violin); and Austin Siegel, 15, (keyboard), round out the band. The Garbage-Men plays at local events around Sarasota, including festivals, farmer's markets and community fundraisers. Typically, the teens will set up on the street and perform popular songs from the 1960s, including classic Beatles tunes and people's favorite "Wipe Out," by The Surfaris. In between sets, they talk about recycling the offer tips for how to help the environment. while they perform, Jack's little brother Trent, 11, gives out flyers about recycling and helps sell the band's CD and other merchandise. The band donates the money from sales to charity. They have raised more than $2,500 for Heifer International. The organization gives farm animals, seeds and agricultural training to people in poor countries to help end poverty and hunger. The band--all tenth graders--tries to play a gig for America's Got Talent. The teens hope to eventually take their show on the road by touring in other states. "Music is a really good way to get a good message across to people because it's really accessible," Jack says. Their instruments may be garbage, but their message isn't. What's the purpose of the garbage-Men band? To promote recycling. Which statement best describes the climate of Nevada? Humidity is low throughout every summer. For history fans, Margaret Thatcher is one of the most interesting of the British Prime Ministers. She is praised by both British and American conservatives for her firm principles and accomplishments of her term. Being so popular, it is only appropriate that a solid movie be made to detail the life of the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The film Iron Lady focuses on Thatcher (Meryl Streep) and her dementia , with certain items in her house reminding her of periods of her life, which then start series of flashbacks. Thatcher also fantasies of her husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent), and holds conversations with him throughout the film. In a world controlled by men and where women are thought to belong to the kitchen, Thatcher struggles to break through the barriers of sex to win a seat in Parliament . Not only does she struggle with her sex, but being the daughter of a simple shopkeeper, she struggles with class barriers. After winning a seat in Parliament in 1959, Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science(SES). The film details how the leadership of her party didn't take her or her opinions seriously. Thatcher became tired of being unheard and decided to challenge the leadership of the party and run for Leader of the Opposition. Not expecting to win the position, she took off in popularity, continuing a strong campaign even after her manager was killed by the Irish Republican Army. Thatcher, after the conservative party won a majority in Parliament, became the first woman Prime Minister of the UK. She took off in popularity until an economic decline hit the country. She regained popularity after the Falklands War. The film, in many cases, shows archive footage to convey the historic timeline of the movie. The film does an excellent job in recording the complex life of one of Britain's most complex women. It examines the price that Lady Thatcher paid for power, the class and sex struggles she overcame, and the burden of dementia. The film strikes an astonishingly dear portrait of the "Iron Lady" and will be sure to stand the test of time. This passage is possibly a(n) _ . film review Do Algebra problems 15 through 25. Give the different forms of the verbs on page 50 of your French workbook. Read page 12 through 20 of the Shakespeare play, and when you have finished that, don't forget to fill the missing chemical symbols on the Periodic Table of Elements worksheet. Homework is a major part of going to class, and it helps students grasp important concepts. Luckily, you can do a few things to make homework less painful. First, be sure you understand the assignment. Write it down in your notebook or day planner if you need to, and don't be afraid to ask questions about what is expected. It is much easier to take a minute to ask the teacher during or after class than to struggle to remember later at night! Second, use any extra time you have in school to work on your homework. Many schools have study halls that are specifically designed to allow students to study or get homework done. It is attractive to hang out with friends during study periods or unscheduled time, but the more work you can get done in school, the less you will have to do at night. Third, pace yourself. If you don't finish your homework during school, think about how much you have left and what else is going on that day, and then budget your time. Most high school students have between 1 and 3 hours of homework a night. If it is a heavy-homework day and it seems like you have got an assignment on every subject but gym and lunch, you will need to devote more time to homework schedule, especially if you are involved in sports or activities or have an after-school job. One way to reduce your burden of homework at night is to _ . make full use of the time at school
Basketball is still a young game. It's over a hundred years old. In the winter of 1891, a certain college was having some trouble with its boy students. The weather was bad and the students had to stay indoors. As they couldn't play outdoors, they were unhappy, and some even got into fights from time to time. Some of the teachers, at the college asked Dr. Naismith to invent a game so that the students might have something to play with. It was not easy to invent such a game because it had to be played indoors , and the court was not very large. Dr. Naismith thought for a few days and invented a kind of ball game. It was a fast, wonderful game with much moving and passing of the ball. It was played between two teams. To make a score , the ball had to be thrown into the basket ten feet above the floor on the wall . At each end of the court there was such a basket. At first, Dr. Naismith wanted to throw the ball into a box. As he could not find boxes of the right size, he had to use fruit baskets instead. That is how the game got its name. Which sentence is right? A. Dr. Naismith had to use fruit baskets to throw the ball. B. It was easy to invent the game. C. The students could go outdoors when the weather was bad. D. The ball had to be thrown into the basket ten feet above the floor. Answer: D. The ball had to be thrown into the basket ten feet above the floor. Luke was starting his first day of day care. He was a little nervous about meeting his new teacher and all of his new friends. When his mother dropped him off, he kissed her goodbye and sat down in the green seat that his teacher showed him. He looked around the room. There were a lot of other kids there. A baby sat in a high chair sucking on a blue pacifier. A kid about Luke's age named George was drawing and tracing his hand on paper. A little girl named Mary raised her hand and asked the teacher if she could go to the toilet. The teacher walked her into the bathroom and then returned to the class. She started helping Luke get to know the other kids in the class. A little girl named Jessica tapped Luke on the shoulder and gave him some candy. He took the pink candy from her and thanked her. Luke smiled and thought, "I'm going to like it here." What color was the candy? A. blue B. green C. yellow D. pink Answer: D. pink I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another l8 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unmarried college graduate student, and she decided to, put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course. " My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers, She only gave in a few months later when my parents promised that would someday go to college. And 17 years later I did go to college. But I artlessly chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and ail of my working class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the $ 5 deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. From the passage we know that the author _ . A. was adopted by a lawyer and his wife B. dropped out when he was 17 years old C. The author was admitted to Stanford D. valued his dropping out Answer: D. valued his dropping out Liz Parle,24,a Birmingham--bom eare owner,cannot drive."I did try to learm,but I failed my test a few times," Parle told the Guardian.Then she moved to London,where running a car coil be a nightmare ,so now she cycles everywhere. Parle is by no means an exception.According to the Guardian,in the UK,the percentage of 17 to 20--year--olds with driving licenses fell from 48 percent in the early 1990s to 35 percent last year.Meanwhile,road traffic figures for cars and taxis,which have risen more or less every year since 1949.have continued to since 2007. Motoring groups put it down to oil prices and the economy.Others offer a more fundamental explanation: the golden age of motoring is over. "The way We run cars is changing fast,"Tim Pollard,associate editor at Car magazine,told the Telegraph,"Car makers are worried that younger people in particular don't desire to own cars as we used to in the 70s,80s,or even the 90s.Designers commonly say that teenagers today de--sire to own the latest smart phone mote than a ear." "The digital generation don't care about owning things.Possession is a burden.and a car is a big investment for-most people--not just the vehicle,but the permits,the parking space,"Da--vid Metz. professor at the University College London's Center for Transport Studies,told the Guardian. "It's not just about the cost."'Metz said."Other factors are likely that there are more peo-pie in higher education,which typically takes place in city centers where the car isn't the neces-sary part." Metz added there's nothing wrong if you want a little house in the country,and a car to get you to and from it.Yet there is something earelessin limiting new buildings to a particular form of transport,especially if that form of transport shows signs of decline. Liz Parle now cycles mainly because A. cycling is good to her health B. she doesn't like driving at all C. driving in London is terrible D. it is a fashion to cycle in London Answer: C. driving in London is terrible Cloning is suggested as a means of bringing back a relative,usually a child,killed tragically.Some parents can understand that wish,but it must first be recognized that the copy would be a new baby and not the lost child.Here lies the difficulty,for the sad parents are seeking not a new baby but a return of the dead one.Since the original would be fondly remembered as having particular talents and interest,would not the parents expect the copy to be the same?It is possible,however,that the copy would develop quite differently.Is it fair to the new child to be placed in a family with such unnatural expectations? Copying is also suggested as a means by which parents can have the child of their dreams.Couples might choose to have a copy of a film star,baseball player or scientist,depending on their interest.But because personality is only partly the result of genetic inheritance ,conflicts would be sure to arise if the cloned child failed to develop the same interest as the original.What if the copy of Einstein shows no interest in science?Or the baseball player turns to acting?Success also depends upon fortune.What if the child does not live up to the hopes and dreams of the parents simply because of bad luck? Every child should be wanted for itself,as an individual.In making a copy of oneself or some famous person,a parent is deliberately specifying the way he or she wishes that child to develop.In recent years,particularly in the U.S.,much importance has been placed on the right of individuals to reproduce in ways that they wish.So I suggest there is a greater need to consider the interest of the child and to reject these proposed uses of cloning. In this passage,the author is mainly concerned about _ . A. the future of a cloned child B. the possibility of cloning people C. the importance of cloning a lost child D. the problems of a cloned child Answer: D. the problems of a cloned child
American beekeeping operations have been hit hard by what scientists call colony collapse disorder(C.C.D.). Almost half of their worker bees have disappeared during the past season. C.C.D. has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America. Bees fly away from the hive and never return. Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found. Many crops and trees depend on pollination by bees to help them grow. A new report says virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States. This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus. It was first identified in Israel in 2004. Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science magazine. Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause. He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder. The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year. They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder. They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony. The next step is further testing of healthy hives. The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia. They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected. The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite . This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive. Australian bee producers reject these suspicions. And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather. Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees. The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey. But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers. Many bees may have starved. Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing a part. Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time. He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country. We can infer from the passage that _ . Answer: the crop and plant production in U.S may be influenced by the bee disorder When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, at the same time they usually talk about a lot of subjects, including children, men, careers and what's happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen---they can't do both---and they don't understand that women can. Besides , women think that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships--not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen. During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot(the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.) and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the small body language signals that show how the characters are feeling emotionally . Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully because they want to keep relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to connect to the facts. Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a way of keeping relationship. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours. There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Lewis, author ofSocial Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents reply to the brain differences of their children. Since a girl's brain is better organized to send and receive speech, we talk to them more. As a result, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short complaints in reply. What does the writer want to tell us most? Answer: Women's brains are better organized for language and communication. As the father of a student, I have experienced first hand what a great teacher is. My son was in the 4thgrade last year, and he had a teacher called Miss Green. I believe that when he is an adult he will surely look back on her as the best teacher he has ever had. My son has attention deficit disorder that makes it a little more difficult for him to learn. She was able to change her teaching methods for him so that he could keep up with the rest of the class. As a result, he got straight As on many subjects. She regarded her class as a family and they even had their own class song. She would often have them sing it to encourage them and develop a team spirit for them. When she saw that they were no longer listening carefully to what she was teaching, she would have them close their textbooks, stand up all around the room and throw around a small football. This helped them clear their minds and then _ the lesson again. Besides, she was quick to reply to any phone calls or emails from us and got rid of our worries about children quickly. When my son went to the 5thgrade this year, we happened to pass her classroom. When she saw my son, her face lit up and she came out and hugged him. She generally loves all of the children in her classroom and that love really shows. I can only pray that my son will continue to get teachers just like her for the rest of his school years. Which of the following is NOT true about Miss Green? Answer: She was good at teaching football and music. Though there are about 400 languages from all over the world that are in danger of disappearing completely, Zoque-Ayapaneco, a native Mexican language is considered the most likely to become extinct, because the only two people in the world that speak it fluently do not talk to each other! And, it's not because they live in different countries, states or even villages. In fact, Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez, both in their 70s, live within 500 yards of each other, in the village of Ayapa in the Southern Mexican State of Tabasco. They, however, refuse to communicate because they simply don't have much in common. Segovia is apparently a little flank in nature while Velazquez is described as shy. Segovia was at least able to talk in Zoque-Ayapanece with his brother until he passed away about 12 years ago, and still manages to practice it with his family, especially his son Manuel, who for the last five years has been trying to learn it and hopes to become fluent enough to teach it to the next generation. Velazquez on the other hand, has not been heard speaking in the language with anybody. The two men say the language used to be widely spoken in the village, but the younger generation _ it for fear of being laughed at, and it therefore began to die a slow death, as the elders passed away. Unless the two men get their acts together, the only way to hear the language will be to either listen to Manuel's not-so-fluent statement or see them talk in a documentary entitled "Lengua Muerta" (Dead Language) that is being filmed to capture Zoque Ayapaneco and 364 other native Mexican languages that are in a similar state. We sure hope Segovia and Velazquez soon find something common to talk about. Maybe the fact is that the language is dying and that they should start encouraging and teaching the next generation together. From the passage, we can conclude that _ . Answer: we can hear the language from Manuel or documentary "Lengua Muerta" In 1834, the clock tower in London was burned down. People planned to build a new clock which would be the biggest and best in the world. So the clock had to be big and keep very good time. The big clock was made in two years. Five more years later the tower was finished. Then people put the big clock in the tower, and made it ring out for the first time on July 11, 1859. In order to give the bigclock a good name, people held a meeting. Someone wanted to call it the Queen of Bells, and someone thought Victoria was good. At last, a man named Benjamin Hall stood up. He was a big man. Before he started to speak, someone shouted, "Why not call it Big Ben? "Everybody laughed and agreed with him. From then on, Big Ben became its name. And it also became a famous building of London. People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents--bottles of oil-to help keep Big Ben running. Big Ben is not only a clock but also a dear friend ofpeople. How did Big Ben get its name? Answer: Big Ben got its name because of a joke.
Adam and his mom, Deborah, ran across the front lawn of their house. The grass was very tall, the lawn had not been mowed. After removing the groceries from the car, Adam had wanted to play in the yard. Deborah did not. She was sad that her new boss at work, Pierre, did not seem to like her. She ran along with Adam, but he could tell that Deborah was upset. Adam asked his mom what was bothering her. Deborah explained that she felt like her new boss was not nice to her. Adam sat down in the grass and asked Deborah to sit down next to him. He told her that he had a bully in his class named Mike. Adam said that all he had to do was ignore the bully and he would feel better. Then Adam asked why his mom could not ignore her new boss. Deborah explained to Adam that her new boss could fire her. Deborah frowned, took off her pink shoes, and walked inside the house to make rice for dinner. Why was Deborah upset? Answer: I knew I was all right now. Nobody else would come ahunting after me. I got my traps out of the canoe and made me a nice camp in the thick woods. I made a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so the rain couldn't get at them. I caught a catfish and towards sundown I started my camp fire and had supper. When it was dark I sat by my camp fire, feeling pretty satisfied; but by and by it got sort of lonesome, so I went and sat on the bank and listened to the current crashing along, and counted the stars and drift logs and rafts that came down, and then went to bed; there was no better way to _ when you are lonesome; you can't stay so, and you soon get it over. And so for three days and nights. No difference--just the same thing. But the next day I went exploring around the island. I was boss of it; it all belonged to me, and I wanted to know all about it; but mainly I wanted to spend the time. I found plenty of strawberries and green summer grapes; and the green blackberries were just beginning to show. Well, I went fooling along in the deep woods till I judged I wasn't far from the foot of the island. I had my gun along, but I had shot nothing; it was for protection. About this time I almost stepped on a goodsized snake, and it moved quietly and smoothly through the grass and flowers, and I was after it, trying to get a shot at it. I clipped along, and all of a sudden I bounded right on to the ashes of a camp fire that was still smoking. My heart jumped up among my lungs. I never waited to look further, but unlocked my gun and went sneaking back on my tiptoes as fast as I could. Every now and then I stopped a second among the thick leaves and listened, but my breath came so hard that I couldn't hear anything else. I moved quietly along another piece further, then listened again; and so on, and so on. If I saw a stump , I took it for a man; if I stepped on a stick and broke it, it made me feel that a person had cut one of my breaths in two and I only got half, and the short half, too. There was no time to be fooling around. When getting to the camp, I got all my traps into my canoe again to have them out of sight. I put out the fire and threw the ashes around to look like an old last year's camp, and then climbed a tree. I suppose I was up for two hours; but I didn't see or hear anything--I only thought I heard and saw as much as a thousand things. Well, I couldn't stay up there forever, so at last I got down, but I kept in the thick woods and on the lookout all the time. All I could get to eat was berries and what was left over from breakfast. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? Answer: Do you have back pain or difficulty with your eyesight? If you do, you are likely to have a problem of posture, which can be solved if you ask a help from a doctor promptly. The conference on posture held in Rome this year has brought out the fact that an Italian out of four have posture problems. Back pain is certainly the typical disease deriving from a wrong posture, which can also cause other problems: sight problems, for example, which affect above all children. You might think that women are most affected by these problems, as they are more used to following the trends of fashion, which imposes the use of heavy bags, flat pumps or high-heeled shoes, but the latest conference of the Italian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology has brought out the fact that men also have bad behavior. About two millions Italian men suffer from backache. Besides wrong shoes and the habits of keeping the wallet in the back pocket for a long time, hi-tech products can cause some serious problems: laptops, iPads, smartphones...all these electronic products together can weigh up to 5 kilos, while the maximum weigh to carry on shoulders should be 3 kilos. The handiness of modern netbooks can have negative consequences, as you can use them when you are lying down. However, it would be better to use them while seated, keeping your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. If you do not disregard the problem and you intervene in it in time, you can start having a right posture, perhaps doing posture correction exercises and more sport. A global posture re-education , a healthier lifestyle and a series of little devices might solve your back problems. According to the writer the posture problems happen_. Answer: By 2050, half of the world's population will live in the tropics--the ly warm belt that circles the globe--according to State of the Tropics, a report released today. Rapid population growth, along with economic growth, means that the region's influence will grow in coming decades, the authors of the 500-page work predict. The project, first launched in 2011, aimed to answer one significant question: Is life in the tropics improving? To find out, the researchers analyzed environmental, social, and economic indicators collected over 6 decades. It finds that the region has made "extraordinary progress" in many areas. For example, more people have access to safe drinking water, and the number of protected areas is increasing. The tropics also have outperformed the rest of the world in economic growth over the past 30 years. However, some challenges remain. Investment in research and development, for example, has increased cautiously, but tropical nations still invest less than the rest of the world. "As a proportion of GDP the Rest of the World invests almost four times as much in research and development than the Tropics." concludes the report. The report also includes a new analysis of how climate change will affect the region. Many plant and animal species are moving poleward in an attempt to stay within their preferred environmental conditions in the tropics, the authors write. However, some organisms may not be able to keep pace with the changing conditions, they predict. As a result, they can experience population declines or go extinct. In addition, an expanded tropical zone also threatens health and safety issues, the authors warn. As regions become more suitable to insects such as mosquitoes and ticks, the spread of insect-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and Lyme disease could rise, causing a burden to human health and the economy. Bruna, a researcher, says he sees a lot to be concerned about in the report. "While we've made incredible advances in some areas, I think the risks for the tropics that are highlighted in this report are things that we really need to be concerned about." What can we learn from the passage? Answer: "Babies are supposed to instinctually know who they daddy is," Gerald, Dooriya's daddy, said, holding Dooriya before him."But she don't recognize nothing." Everybody had something to say about raising my baby, but none of them actually did any raising.Taking Dooriya to see the ocean had become the only thing that kept me from feeling like my life was an everlasting losing race, this vision of what could be for my little girl.When I told Momma about my plans to visit the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras, she just spun her broken record. "That baby'11 never understand a thing of what she's seeing." "My baby book says I should treat her just like any other child.It's good to show her beautiful things even if she don't know what she's seeing.It helps her brain develop.How's her brain gonna develop if all she ever sees is the walls inside this crummy house?" "That child's brain ain't never gonna develop.We love her, but it's not like she's ever gonna not be a Mongoloid ." I had read a half-dozen books about Down Syndrome that said stimulation might improve a child's chances of developing to her fullest potential.And what's more stimulating than a trip to see the ocean? Guidebooks described the area as the land of beginnings, which I liked the sound of.But before I could map out a plan, I woke up one night when Dooriya hiccupped .Then she just stopped breathing.The ER doctor gave me a pamphlet on SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and said, children with Down Syndrome are much more likely to be affected by this sort of thing. I didn't remember much about driving to Cape Hatteras, especially taking Dooriya from the hospital. But up on that lighthouse, with its broad spiral running up and around it like a black and white barber's pole, I saw my life twist into the air. As I climbed the winding stairs, I counted the steps, 268 in all, stopping on 77, Dooriya's very number of days on this planet.At the top, I held Dooriya up to the Atlantic, its cold air raising the thin soft hair on her head.With her eyes closed and her arms spread out, it looked like she was bathing in the warmth of the sun. The reason why the mother wanted to take her baby to see the ocean is that _ . Answer:
School education is very important and useful. The students both learn knowledge and get an education. Yet, no one can learn everything from school. The scientists,such as Edison,Newton,Galileo and Einstein, didn't learn everything from school. They learned a lot of knowledge outside school or in practice by themselves. A teacher, even he knows a lot, can't teach his students everything. The teacher's job is to show his students how to learn, how to read and how to think. A good teacher with rich experience in teaching can teach his students the methods(=" ways)of" study. Through these methods the students are able to learn and get a lot of things by themselves. Usually it is very easy for the students to remember some knowledge, but it is very difficult to use it for problems. If a teacher really shows the students the ability of how to use knowledge, it means the teacher has learned lots of knowledge by himself (or herself). The success in learning shows he or she knows how to study. From this passage we know _ . Answer: In 1865, a creative engineer, John Roebling, decided to build a bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge experts throughout the world thought that this was impossible and told Roebling to forget the idea. However, Roebling thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington that the bridge in fact could be built. With great excitement and inspiration, and great hardships before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge in 1869. The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. prefix = st1 /Washingtonwas injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move. In spite of his handicap,Washingtonwas never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. Now all he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By touching his wife's arm with that finger, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. For 13 years Washingtontapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, telling the engineers what to do, until the bridge was finally completed. The construction of the bridge was mainly under the guide of _ Answer: Kelsey's uncle Jack gave him and his brother, Davy, some chalk to play with. Kelsey was a pretty good artist. His family said that all of his drawings looked real. His brother was sad that he was not as good at art and drawing as Kelsey. Davy teased Kelsey to take his mind off the fact that he was not as good at art. He called Kelsey names and pretended to be a monster to scare Kelsey when he wasn't paying attention. When their mother gave them some chocolate as a treat, Davy took all of it and wouldn't let Kelsey have any. Uncle Jack finally saw that Davy was hurting his brother, so he sat down to talk to him. After lots of questioning, Davy told his uncle the truth. "Instead of teasing your brother," Uncle Jack said, "why don't you ask him to teach you how to draw some things? He's used to his big brother knowing everything. I think he would like to teach you some things." Davy looked at the ground and finally said, "Okay." Kelsey was pleased that his brother asked him to teach him. After that, both boys got along much better. What did Davy do to tease Kelsey? Answer: Books which give instructions on how to do things are very popular in the United States today. Thousands of these "How to" books are available; in fact, there are about four thousand books with titles that begin with the words "How to". One book may tell you how to earn more money, another may tell you how to save or spend it, and another may explain how to give your money away. Many "How to" books give advice on careers . They tell you how to choose a career and how to succeed at it. If you fail, however, you can buy a book called "How to Turn Failure into Success". If you would like to become very rich, you can buy the book "How to Make a Million". If you never make any money at all, you may need a book called "How to Live on Nothing?" One of the most popular types of books is one that helps you with personal problems. If you want to have a better love of life, you can read "How to Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life?". If you are tired of books on happiness, you may prefer a book called "How to Make Yourself miserable?". Many of these books help people use their time better. Some people want books which will give them useful information about sports, hobbies, and travel. Other people use their free time to make repairs and improvements on their homes. They prefer books which give step by step instruction on how to repair things like plumbing and electrical wiring, or on how to redecorate or enlarge a house. Why have "How to" books become so popular? Probably because life has become so complex. Today people have far more free time to use, more choices to make, and more problems to solve. "How to" books help people deal with modem life. Before someone wants to find a good job, he _ . Answer: It all starts with a tree.In fact, it starts with several trees.Since the first modern guitars were made in northern Spain over 150 years ago, crafts persons have known the wood to be used is important in making a guitar. Every guitar is made of several different kinds of wood.Each piece is carefully chosen and then cut to fit the part of the guitar for which it is designed.The most important part of a guitar is the soundboard--the piece of wood with a large hole that lies under the strings(,).Guitar makers are careful to make the soundboard just the right shape and thickness.Then they fix stripes of wood across the inside in a special pattern, which helps strengthen the soundboard and improves the tone of the guitar. Wood for the curvy sides of the guitar must be soaked in water and bent over a hot iron pipe.When all the pieces of the guitar are ready, they are carefully stuck together with glue .Special woodworking tools are used to shape and smooth the neck of the guitar.The craftsperson must make sure that the neck is perfectly centered over the soundboard. Then it is time to use varnish .This brings out the beauty of the wood.Varnish also improves the sound of the guitar but too much varnish makes the guitar sound flat and dull. Finally guitar strings are attached and tightened to make just the right musical tones.Then it's time to play a song. In order to make the soundboard strong,_. Answer:
Most of Earth's major earthquakes are caused by A. seasonal heating and cooling of Earth's surface B. weathering of rock at Earth's surface C. Earth's gravitational attraction to the Moon D. faulting of rock in Earth's crust Answer: D Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart--we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity . Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school. Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears. Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not--kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her. The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies. "The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. "The focus is firmly on following your dream." What can we infer from the passage? A. Joey is just like other boys in Mary's class. B. Mary's mother influences her a lot in singing. C. Not many people have a dream to be realized. D. The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary. Answer: D Read the following time table and then answer the following question. Train Time Table lv. (Leave) Boston Ar. (Arrive) Midway Ar. New York 5:10 AM EX.(Except)Sun. 7:00 AM 10:45 AM 7:10 AM Daily 9:00 AM 12:45 PM 9:10 AM Ex. Sat. & Sun. 11:00 AM 2:45 PM 10:00 AM Ex. Hol.(Holiday) 11:45 AM 2:55 PM 1:15 PM Daily 3:15 PM 5:45 PM 3:40 PM Ex. Hol. 5:40 PM 8:15 PM 5:20 PM Daily 7:20 PM 9:55 PM What is the shortest time between Boston and New York by train? A. 5 hours 35 minutes B. 5 hours 5 minutes C. 4 hours 30 minutes D. 4 hours 25 minutes Answer: C Five years ago, Rachel Lopez graduated from college with a degree in history. Today she works for a large software company. Now twenty-seven, Rachel takes classes twice a week after work. She is learning to use the computer program PowerPoint. "I enjoyed college, but my job doesn't use information I learned when I was doing my degree," Rachel says," This course is helping me to do my job better. In the future, I might go back to school and got an MBA. " In the past, when students graduated from college and got a job, they usually stopped studying. Today, lifelong learning is becoming more common. In the United Stated, people can return to school in their late twenties, thirties, or older to get a higher degree, such as a master's or Ph. D. Like Rachel many more are taking training courses to improve their workplace skills. With many classes now available through the Internet, it is easier for people to get degrees or training by distance learning. Mayumi Hosoya, who is forty, teaches Japanese at a community college in New York. "Next term, I'll be teaching some of my classes using the Internet. This is new for me," says Mayumi, "At the moment, I am taking a course to learn how to teach this way. " At the same time, Mayumi's seventy-year-old mother and father are taking a distance learning course in Art History. "We love the subject," says Mayumi's father, "and now we can study with people from all over the world. I never thought learning could be this much fun. " Mayumi's parents are taking a course _ . A. the using of the Internet B. the workplace skills C. Japanese teaching D. Art History Answer: D One of the functions of a topographic map is to A. gauge local rainfall amounts. B. study the area's geological history. C. predict the severity of earthquakes. D. show the surface features of an area. Answer: D
Walking home from work with a family friend, I found myself in a discussion about her daughter's going to college. It started with the mother telling me that she had no money to help her daughter go through college, which led the mother to push community college fiercely. She then started to say how she had been pushing "high-paying" fields on her daughter--doctor, engineer, lawyer, etc. When I asked her if that was what her daughter had interest in, she said no. I asked her what the point was to push her daughter into something that she didn't like, and she responded with, "I just want her to make a good fortune." After hearing her words, I would like to state that money is not everything. A high-paying job means nothing if you are miserable. I used to do a high-paid job, but it was very tiring and I had no time of my own. I didn't like it at all. Though the pay was good, I was not happy. So I'd like to tell parents, please do not force your children into a major or a career just because you think they are going to make a lot of money. They would feel terrible for taking that major or job just to comfort you. The worst part is the feeling of guilty when they decide to change that major to something they actually want or when they quit that job. Being a member of a generation who are willing to give ly everything to our kids, we know we just hope our children could live happy lives. Please do not force a career path on our children just because we think it is good for them. Give our children advice, but don't force them. From the text, we can infer that the writer would most probably advise parents to _ . Answer: let their children make the final decision on their major or career DEARAUNTYf My husband's niece is 13 and what I would call "a handful". She wants to stay with us for while, and her mother and grandmother have told me what a great influence I would be on her. Her visit ,no doubt, would bring about a long list of demands' and she'd want to bring a friend too. I don t feel comfortable hosting her, but I don 3r know how to tell my husband's family members without hurting their feelings. -Reluctant Aunt Dear Reluctant, Let's get you out of this mess. Your husband's family is making a request that borders on a demand and sugarcoating it with self-serving flattery * Put your foot down, and tell the truth. Say you don't feel equipped or comfortable hosting the little darling, and regretfully decline .Under no circumstances should you take part in any discussion that attempts to change your mind through flattery. DEAR AUNTY have two stepdaughters, 21 and 24. On holidays, the older one always buys me gift but adds her sister's name on the card. I feel insincere thanking the younger daughter -Vd rather get no gift than be a part of this pretence. Is it tacky to ask the 24-year-old to stop giving her sister credit while it isn t deserved? Will the younger one ever learn to be thoughtful? -Mindful Mum Dear Mindful, Lighten up! Your older stepdaughter is a considerate and generous sister who covers for and protects her younger sister. Good for her! The girls' relationship is between them. As for your role, you can't punish anyone into being thoughtful. You can, however, model thoughtful behavior. Spend some time with her, and get to know her better. Which of the following is TRUE about the second case? Answer: The older stepdaughter cares for her sister. The story below is a true story that happened in September. During the month of September, a dear friend of mine lost her husband suddenly in an accident. The _ was a great shock to everyone. This accident was sudden and certainly unexpected. It made me realize the fact that you just don't know when a loved one is no longer going to be with you. We sometimes take our loved ones for granted ,and we expect that they will be with us all the time. However, as we all know, life does not work that way and sometimes we get a wake-up call that shocks us and makes us stand back and realize how short life is. To cheer her up, I tried to imagine if I were in her shoes how I would feel. It was impossible to imagine what she was going through. What words could I say to help her?Sometimes words just can't express our feelings. Sometimes our actions are much more meaningful than words. So I gave her a hug ... Life is too short, and we should treasure every day staying with our loved ones. In the writer's opinion, life for us is _ . Answer: short What do you usually do after class? When class is over , most students in my class go out of the classroom, We have 20 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 boy is trying to stop him. They are so cool. And some girls are watching the match. Some students are still in the classroom. They are talking. A few of them are reading and doing homework. A girl is looking at the birds in the trees, and she has a _ on her face. She is very happy. Where are the teachers? Some of them are working in the office, and some are talking with students. We are all busy and happy. The teachers are _ . Answer: working or talking with students The moon looks bigger than the stars at night. But in fact, it is smaller than any other stars. The moon looks big to us, because it is closer to us than any stars. The moon goes around the earth. It makes one trip about four weeks. The moon is a round ball and looks beautiful. Now people know quite a lot about the moon. There is no air or water on the moon, so there are not any trees or animals, or people on it. The moon gets its light from the sun, but some places on the moon are quite dark. It's very hot on the moon during the day, but it's very cold at night. _ looks bigger than the stars at night. Answer: Moon
When Sally Ride was ten years old, she had no idea that she would some day grow up to be one of America's first woman astronauts. In fact, if you had asked her then what wanted to be, she would have said, " I want to play shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers." Sally collected baseball cards by the boxful, and she knew the name and batting average of every player in the National League. But major league baseball didn't seem much of a possibility for a girl, even an athletic one like Sally, so her father and mother talked her into taking tennis lessons when she was twelve. At first she hated to trade in her baseball bat for a tennis racket, but it wasn't long before she started to win tournaments in her new sport. " Tennis became much more fun when I started winning," Sally remembers. Soon a row of trophies replaced her box of baseball cards, and tennis star Billie Jean King replaced Dodger shortstop Maury Wills as her sports idol. Sally first became interested in the space program in 1962 when astronaut John Glenn orbited the earth in his Mercury space capsule. Sally was ten years old at the time, but she remembers the launch and the splashdown as if they happened yesterday. The girl who used to memorize batting averages became a space fan. She quickly learned the name of every NASA astronaut(there were only eight of them in 1962), the date of every launch, and the name and number of every spacecraft from Freedom 7 to Skylab 3. She could tell you the speed of light (186,300 miles per second), the distance to the moon (238,860 miles), and the names of the three nearest stars( the Sun, Alpha Centauri, and Barnard's Star). By the time she was sixteen, Sally had decided to become an astrophysicist, a scientist who studies space. She had also become a nationally ranked tennis player. She remembers yawning through an important tennis match on June 20, 1969, after staying up all night to watch Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. Sally lost the match. As Sally got older, many of her friends started playing professional tennis. Some of them tried to talk her into quitting school to join them on the professional tennis circuit. But Sally said no. " Black holes are more interesting to me than backhands," she told them. Now she knows that she made the right choice, but in 1970 Sally had no way of knowing that NASA would open the space program to women. Sally Ride lost the match on June, 1969 just because _ . A. she was tired B. she couldn't decide whether to be an astrophysicist C. she couldn't decide whether to take part in a professional tennis circuit D. she wasn't interested in tennis Answer: A My first day of high school was like any other first day: registering, finding new classmates, meeting new teachers, and seeking new friends. During lunch, I ran into my first snag of the day. At the dining hall, as the checkout lady asked for my money, I realized that I had forgotten my money. When I told her about it, I heard a voice behind me. I turned around and there stood a teacher telling her he will pay for my lunch. He told me his name was Mr. Peter Walker, and said, "If you get a chance, you should take my history class." I recognize his name, and told him I was in his class later that day. Mr. Walker befriended me on the very first day of school at a very crucial time of the day---lunch! He always told us we should do more than we ever thought. He pushed us to do all things better. He coached many sports, and sponsored many after class activities. If we were interested in something, he would find a way to expose us to it, say, inviting speakers, taking us on field trips, or obtaining information for us. Two years later, my junior year in school was clicking along nicely when one day I was riding my motorcycle and I was hit by a car. I spent six days in hospital and was at home in bed for two weeks before returning to school. Mr. Walker stopped by the hospital each day with my work from my teachers. Once I was at home, he would bring my work too. After high school, I attended the United States Army Airborne School in Georgia. I knew my parents would be there the day I graduated, but they brought an unexpected guest. They came across Mr. Walker at lunch several days before and told him I was about to graduate. His visit, however, was not a surprise to me. What can we infer from the last sentence? A. The author's parents had informed him of Mr. Walker's visit. B. The author had invited Mr. Walker to his graduation ceremony. C. Mr. Walker went to visit the author frequently. D. Mr. Walker had a very close relationship with his students. Answer: D Each Indian tribe had a different language. Many Indians never learned any languages except their own. Do you know how Indians from different tribes talked to each other? They had two ways to talk without sound. One way was by sign language; another way by signals. Sign language is a way of talking by using signs. Indians used sign language when they met strangers. In this way, they could find out whether the stranger was a friend or an enemy. In Indian sign language, signs were made with the hands. One sign meant "man". Another meant "horse". To tell the time of day when something happened, an Indian pointed to the sky. He showed where the sun had been at the time. Indians usually used signals when they wanted to send messages to someone far away. To make signals, an Indian might use a pony. He might use a blanket. Or he might use smoke, a mirror or fire arrows. To signal that he had seen many animals, an Indian rode his pony in a large circle. Sometimes the Indian gave a signal like this and then went away to hide. This meant that there was danger. The blanket signal was visible from far away. An Indian held the corners of a blanket in his hands. Then he began to swing the blanket from side to side in front of him. An Indian could send many different signals with his blanket. He could also send many signals with a mirror. He usually used the mirror to warn someone of danger. Of course, mirrors could be used only when the sun was shining. At night, Indians used fire arrows for signaling. Now you can see that Indians didn't need to learn each other's language. They could talk to one another by using signals or sign language. Sign language is _ . A. a language only for Indians B. a way of taking by signing on paper C. a way to express one's ideas by making gestures D. a secret way of talking to strangers Answer: C Friends are important in our lives, but how to keep our friendship is more important. Here are some ways for you. Write letters If your best friend moves to other cities, you could buy the same magazine, E-mail, phone or write each other about the articles in the magazine that make you laugh. This will make you have the same interest. Don't forget to visit each other as often as you can. Think of your friends first What are your friends' thoughts, dreams, hopes and fears? What are her past experiences ? From these, you could think of ways to support your friends. You put your friend first, she or he feels special, and you both grow closer to each other. Gifts from the heart Take photos of a whole day or weekend together. Write a short story about your time you enjoyed. Save the movie tickets, restaurant stubs or special gifts you find every place you travel. Put everything in a box you'll keep all the time. Create your own fun ways to keep your friendship if you can. The writer wrote this article to tell us how to _ A. make friends B. find good gifts C. create our own fun D. keep friendship Answer: D "Linda, if beating yourself up were an Olympic sport, you'd win a gold medal!" Annabel, my close friend, stunned(...)me with that frank observation after I told her how I had mishandled a situation with a student in a third-grade class where I was substituting . "I should never have let him go to the boy's room without a pass! It was my fault he got into trouble with the hall monitor! I'm so stupid!" My friend burst out laughing, and then made her "Olympic" comment. After a brief period of reflection I had to admit that she was right. I did put myself down an awful lot. Why, just during the previous day I had called myself "a slob" for having some papers spread out on my desk, "ugly" when I left the house without makeup and "an idiot" when I left the house for an emergency substitute job without my emergency lesson plan. In a more reflective tone, Annabel said, "I once took a workshop at church where the woman in charge had us list all the mean things we say about ourselves." "How many did you have on your list?" I asked. "Fifteen," she confessed. "But then the teacher said, 'Now turn to the person next to you and say all the items on your list as if you were speaking to that person!' " My jaw dropped,"What did you do?" "Nothing. Nobody did. We all just sat there, until I said, 'I could never say these things to anyone else!' " "And our teacher replied, 'Well, if you can't say them to anyone else, then don't ever say them to yourself!' " My friend had a point. I would never insult a child of God---and I'm God's child, too! God, today let me be as kind to myself as I would be to another of Your children. What does Annabel mean by the first sentence of the passage? A. The writer is a good athlete. B. The writer scolds herself too much. C. She is encouraging the writer D. A gold medal is not a big deal. Answer: B
What does an animal require to survive? Answer: nutriment Mr. and Mrs. Green come from Australia. They are in Beijing now. Mr. Green is a teacher in a high school. He teaches English. He likes reading and running. He isn't good at cooking. His son, Jim, is a student. He is on the school football team. He likes playing football very much. He is the best football player in his class. He likes school, too. He does his homework every day. Mrs. Green is a teacher, too. She can speak a little Chinese. She likes Chinese food. She doesn't like doing housework at all, but she likes cooking. They all like China a lot. , . Mrs. Green doesn't like _ at all. Answer: doing housework Sarah is a girl. Sarah has one brother. Sarah's brother's name is Timothy. Sarah has one sister. Sarah's sister's name is Annabelle. Their last name is MacGregor. One day Sarah went to the park with her brother Timothy. They swung on the swings for a short time. Then Annabelle came out and swung with them. They all sang some nice songs together. They all became very happy. Then Timothy's friend came. Timothy liked his friend very much. Timothy went off the swing and went away with his friend. Then Annabelle and Sarah felt very very sad. Happily then Annabelle and Sarah's friend came. Their friend's name was Kate Smith. She was the same age as Sarah. They wanted to go to the slide together. So they went to the slide and played for a long time. Then Annabelle became happy. And Sarah also became happy. Then they went home together and had some food. Who is Annabelle and Sarah's friend? Answer: Kate Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middle-class peers , the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today. The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend; he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' annual conference. Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons. He told delegates in Manchester, "For children who come from homes where parents don't have the resources to provide _ and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer." "Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives," he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, plus Saturdays. But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added. Parents said Saturday classes could become a "badge of dishonor" if pupils were forced to go while teachers raised concerns about their workload. Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said, "I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children's performance. I'm just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week." The ATL's general secretary, Mary Bousted, said, "If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer." Which of the following is TRUE? Answer: Teachers may not like the program. Daniel: Hi, Simon. How are you these days? Simon: Not bad. But I just feel a little sad. Daniel: What's wrong? Simon: You see, I bought some goldfish last week. But now they all die. Daniel: I'm afraid you forgot to change water for them. Simon: No. I just gave them a lot to eat. I think they like eating. Daniel: Oh,I see. It's the food that killed your goldfish. You know goldfish can only remember things for 3 seconds. Simon: So what? Daniel: So they always forget they have already eaten food. They just keep eating if you feed them. Simon: You mean my goldfish die of eating too much? Daniel: That's right. Simon: Oh,my poor goldfish. Daniel: Don't be sad. Why not have a cat or a dog as your pet? Simon: Oh, no. I don't like them. Cats and dogs always make much noise and they will make my room dirty. Besides that I should take good care of them. Daniel: Well,why don't you try an e-pet? It's modern and cute. And it's easy to look after because they don't need food and water. The most important thing is that you can control it freely. Simon: That's good! I want to have an e-pet. Daniel: That will cost you a lot of money. Simon: Oh, my God! I think I will just have it in my dream. Which isn't the advantage of having an e-pet? Answer: It's expensive.
Many people do not like to stay at home on holidays.They want to go out to see something different or do something interesting.So people from the country come to the city and people from the city go to the country for holidays.During the holidays trains,buses and planes are all very busy.It is very hard to buy train tickets or air tickets.Many people take cars or buses for traveling. Last May Day my family went to the country by car for our holiday.There was too much traffic on the road,so we had to move very slowly.It took us about an hour to get out of the town.After some time,we came to a hill.It was green and beautiful.We thought this was a good place for a picnic,so we stopped and took the food,fruit and drinks out of the car.We sat down and began to eat.Suddenly a strong wind blew and soon it started to rain.We had to run back to our car and have our picnic in the car.Then we drove back home.What a sad holiday! Which one is right in the following sentence? A. Many people like staying at home on holidays. B. People living in the city often go to another city for traveling. C. It is easy to buy a ticket on holidays. D. Many people take cars or buses for traveling. Answer: D Shanghai-More Shanghai people are renting cars to travel over the coming National Day holiday, Tom reported today. Most cars in large local car-rental companies such as Yongda, Anji and Dazhong are leased so far with the Buick Sport Utility Vehichle (SUV) in high demand. Santana and Jetta were previously the most popular car models rented by Shanghai people for travel, while the high-end Buick models have generated great interest among locals renting cars these years. However, the rent on a Buick GL or GS model is between 650 yuan and 750 yuan a day, nearly double those of the Santana and Jetta cars. Compared with Santana, Buick looks better, has greater capabilities and is safer and more comfortable, said a car leaser. "I don't mind paying a higher cost for a Buick to enjoy the holiday," he said. SUV cars are very popular in the car renting market, according to some car rental firms. "All the 31 Buick GL8SUV cars were leased out several days ago," said an employee with the Shanghai Yongda Car Rental Co. Local people are more inclined to go travel with groups of friends, so SUV cars are a better choice, said an industry analyst . Moreover, SUV car are safer on rugged and rough roads, the analyst said. According to the data, most people rented cars for seven days; a less number rented them for two or three days. According to the passage we can see SUV is _ . A. the name of a car-rental company B. the name of an expensive car C. the name of an ordinary car D. the place for the holiday Answer: B One of the most popular American singers of the twentieth century was Elvis Presley. He made the Rock & Roll music popular around the world. He sold millions of records and made many successful films, and he helped change the direction of popular music in the 1960s. Elvis Presley was born in a poor family in 1935. His parents were simple country people who often took him to church, where he learned to sing and he never forgot the kind of songs that he used to sing in church as a child. When he was a teenager, Elvis moved from Tupelos to Memphis in Tennessee, where he attended high school, but he was not a good student. His only real interest was singing. He began to sing in the style that is called "country and western". In 1955 he recorded some songs for his mother's birthday. The people at the recording studio liked his singing and his music. There was something different about it. It was country and western music, but it also sounded a little like the music, which black people used to sing in the American South, music known as "blues". Shortly after that, Elvis met Tom Parker, who became his manager and arranged concerts for him across the United States and new recordings as well. Soon Elvis rose to fame all over the country. Later, Elvis went to Hollywood and began to appear in films like Love Me Tender and King Creole. But Elvis found it hard to live with success, like many other entertainment personalities .He began to take drugs and his health began to suffer. When he died at an early age of 42 in 1977, his many millions of fans were shocked. "The King Is Dead!" the newspaper said. But today his memory and his music live on and he will always be remembered as the King of Rock & Roll. What was the main reason for death ? A. A car accident B. Killing by others C. Taking drugs D. Heart attract Answer: C What do Napoleon, Clinton and Wang Nan have in common? They are all left-handed. Today about 15% of the people are left-handed. But why are people left-handed? The answer is the way the brain works. The brain has two halves---the right half and the left half. The right half controls the left side of the body, and the left half controls the right side of the body. So right-handed people have a strong left brain, and the left -handed people have a strong right brain. The two halves of the brain are about the same size. But each side controls different things. The left side controls language, Maths and logic . When you remember new words, or when you put things in order, you use your left side. The right side of the brain controls colour and music. It is also good at recognizing faces. This does not mean that all artists are left-handed and all accountants are right-handed. Some right-handers have a strong right brain, and some left-handers have a strong left brain. Each side of the brain _ . A. likes music and Maths B. controls different things C. controls the same thing D. has two halves Answer: B a full moon will block which of these A. global eclipse B. lunar eclipse C. twilight D. solar eclipse Answer: D
The "Occupy Wall Street" movement gained more support on Wednesday as unions and students joined in. With the protests developing from a group of young people's camping out near the New York Stock Exchange on September 17 to large-scale movements across the country and around the world, people can't help asking: What has led to "Occupy Wall Street?" Three years after the severe economic crisis, the U.S. economy now is stuck again. Protesters are not satisfied with the present economic situation since unemployment rate is above 9 percent and economic growth has slowed. The housing market is still struggling for a recovery three years after the bubble burst. People are losing their houses even after they have paid a large amount of mortgage . It is getting difficult for young people to find jobs. People feared that a similar crisis like the one in 2008 may be already on its way. It is Wall Street that possessed the most riches. It is Wall Street greed that, at least partly, led to the financial crisis in 2008. It was Wall Street's "fat cats" who take taxpayers' aid money as their own big bonus . With the growing economic crisis around the world, people realize that Wall Street is responsible for it. So they try to target people who created the crisis. The majority of the protesters are young people under 30. Many of them are unemployed. Some are students with mountains of loans . Some are hard-working people about to lose their houses even if they have paid a large amount of mortgage. They are complaining that the hard-working middle class is getting poor, yet Wall Street stays wealthy. William Cohan, author ofMoney and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the world, wrote recently that Wall Street not only learned nothing from the 2008 crisis, they are also trying to kill all reforms that might "break this dangerous cycle in which bankers get very rich while the rest of working people suffer from their mistakes." . We can learn from the passage that Wall Street is the symbol of _ in the USA. Answer: I have recently completed my college degree. The last project was called "Smile". The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake. My husband, youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around I smelled a horrible body odour and saw two poor homeless men standing behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was "smiling". The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, "Coffee is all, Miss," because that was all they could afford. Then I really felt it-I embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals on and gave them to the men. The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." When I sat down my husband smiled at me. We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that because of the good fortune that we had been given. I turned in my project. My teacher said, "Can I share this?" I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to heal people and to be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn. Why did people around the author in the McDonald step back? Answer: Trawf, the manager of a state fair, contracted 100. with Schweinebauch, a renowned hog breeder, to exhibit Schweinebauch's world champion animal, Megahawg, for the three weeks of the annual fair, at the conclusion of which Schweinebauch would receive an honorarium of $300. Two days before the opening of the fair, Megahawg took sick with boarsitis, a communicable disease among swine, and, under the applicable state quarantine law, very probably could not be exhibited for at least a month. Upon learning this, Trawf can legally pursue which of the following courses of action with respect to his contract with Schweinebauch? Answer: Last summer, after finishing our work in China, I took a trip of a lifetime on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Leaving Beijing early on a Wednesday morning in July, my wife and I traveled through some gorgeous countryside before we arrived in Moscow the following Monday evening. The first part of the journey took us past the Great Wall and through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. At the Mongolian Republic border, we had a delay while the wheels were changed because the railway is different. On our way to the capital, Ulan Bator, we saw herdsmen on horseback looking after their cattle. There was a terrible thunderstorm as we crossed a vast open plain. Later we had a quick tour of Ulan Bator. Next, the train took us into Siberia. After a stop at Irkutsk, a popular holiday resort , where a tour group left the train, we passed the great Lake Baikal. Later, we saw some lovely wooden houses in pretty, sunny countryside. This surprised us, as we had imagined Siberia as being covered in thick snow. Over the next few days, we passed through Novosibirsk, Omsk and other cities in the heartlands of the Russian Federation. By now, our body clocks were losing their sense of time. We wanted to sleep and eat at the wrong time! At last we reached Moscow. We were too tired and slept for 16 hours that night. The next day we went sightseeing. We saw the Kremlin and some other great buildings in the Russian capital. Then, all too soon, it was time for us to return to our home in London. The author was surprised by what he saw in Siberia because _ . Answer: Raising pets is a popular online game among teenagers. "More than 20 of my classmates have adopted pets online." Said Wang Hui from Beijing. If you go to some websites, you can adopt virtual pets like penguins , chickens, dogs and elephants. You can feed, wash, talk to and play with your pet. Dai Yingshuang of Shanghai said, "It's great fun and I have also learned how to take care of others." She usually asks her uncle to take care of her pet while she is at school. If you don't feed and care for the pet, it will become unhappy and unhealthy. So raising an online pet means spending a lot of time online. This makes many parents worried. They fear it will have a bad influence on the children's studies. Wang Zhaotong from Anhui has raised a penguin since last year. She said, "My parents know about the penguin and think it's okay." If the students can keep the _ between studying and playing, it's not bad for them to "raise" pets online. What does the passage mainly talk about? Answer:
Being that I worked in a grocery store for 7 years, I know quite a bit about impulsive purchases. In fact, I helped (sadly to say) push certain products by placing them in a certain fashion. Through said experience, I tend to know some of the best ways to counter the impulsive nature of buying things that are unnecessary. The following is a 3- point list to counter the need to buy something shoved in your face... Don't bring the kids. You wouldn't believe (or maybe you parents would) how much more junk parents buy for their kids that is completely impulsive. Working as a checker at a grocery store, I quickly learned that most of the time kids were with their parents, the parents would buy something else within 10 feet of the check stand. Bring exact cash. I like to use my debit card because I am able to track every penny better, but holding and letting go of cash is much tougher for me personally. So, if I am going through a tough time budgeting properly, I will bring the allotted amount of cash to the place of business and only allow that to be used. Ignore salesman. If you are at a department store and someone asks if you need help, try to ignore their push as much as possible. Sure, if you know nothing about laptops, get their advice, but even then I suggest doing your research pre-shop. Salesman could care less what you want. It's all about what their quota or commission is. Ignore them. Why does the author write the passage? Answer: To give readers some advice about resisting buying unnecessary things. Which sense is used to tell if there is sugar in a glass of tea? Answer: Taste HOUSTON (Reuters) -- Houston tops a U.S. magazine's annual fattest cities list for the fourth time in five years, with four other Texas cities in the top 25. Fast food restaurants -- Houston has twice the national average number -- are partly to blame for the dishonor,Men's Fitnesseditor-in-chief Neal Boulton said. "Americans work long hours, don't take vacations, and when they're faced with the worst food choices, they indulge in those," he said. High humidity, poor air quality and some of the nation's longest commute times also helped Texas' most populous city unseat Detroit, the 2003 heavy weight champion, the magazine said. Houston Mayor Bill White, who has worked with a major food company to develop healthy food products and the city's public schools to improve lunch menus, called the report "mostly ungrounded and nonsense." "On the other hand, it calls attention to real issues the mayor is trying to deal with," his spokesman, Frank Michel, said. The magazine said it looked at factors such as the number and types of restaurants, park space, air quality, weather and the number of health clubs. Philadelphia, Detroit, Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago followed Houston on the seventh edition of the fat list. Texas cities Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and El Paso were in the top 14, which Boulton said was no surprise. "It's pure big indulgence, just _ , and that's part of the culture," said Boulton. Seattle ranked as the fittest city. Austin and Arlington, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, were the only Texas cities on the fit list. Austin was 19th and Arlington 22nd out of 25. Which of the following is best supported by the text? Answer: Texas has the most fat cities in the U.S. The cost of college textbooks has risen sharply from 2002 to 2014. As a result, students have to look for other less expensive options , such as renting books. Now, they find another way, that is, using textbooks on the Internet, uploaded by other students. It is hard to know how popular this practice will be, but many college students around the country are uploading their expensive college textbooks onto the Internet, so that other students can download them for free and avoid the big fees. A year ago, a student wrote a blog called Children of the Stars about a professor who insisted that students buy the newest edition of a specific sociology book for more than $200 and didn't allow them to purchase an older paperback edition of the same book for $5. The student wrote, "The newest edition of the book is so expensive. Fortunately, we found the electronic one online, which is very cheap. This is why we downloaded. " The blog is followed by a list of websites where people can download books. Curious about how varied the selection of books was and how easy it was to download them, Vocativ.com decided to do an experiment. The workers of it picked five typical and important courses of freshmen and tried downloading all these textbooks on the websites offered by the student who wrote Children of the Stars. They typed the titles of these textbooks into a computer, and found them immediately. Within minutes, they had four textbooks on their hard drive. It is illegal to upload or download copyrighted materials without permission, but students still do it due to its advantages. Besides, schools haven't taken action to stop it. According to the passage, why do many students choose to download textbooks? Answer: Because it is lower in cost. The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone.Enter the Red Hat Society -a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun. "My grandmothers didn't do anything but keep house and serve everybody.They were programmed to do that," said Emily Cornett, head of a of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society. While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age.But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers , and the same people who refused their parents' way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old. If you take into consideration feminism , a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable .In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing. "The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.With a red hat which doesn't go," said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998.When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention. "The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else," Cooper saiD."Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves." This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful."We're a ladies' play group.It couldn't be more simple," added Cooper's assistant Joe Heywood. It could be inferred from the text that members of the Red Hat Society are _ . Answer: believers in equality between men and women
But for most kids,labels applied early in life tend to stick,even if they are wrong. Sorting school children by ability has long been controversial.In some countries,especially in Asia,school-wide tracking remains normal.Children are tested and placed in different schools that direct them toward professional or vocational careers.Movement between the tracks is rare. School-wide tracking decreased in U.S.schools in the 1960s and 1970s.It never died out,though.Sorting students into separate tracks for math at about junior high school age continues to be common,and other forms of tracking persist as well. Unlike tracking,which means sorting students into separate classrooms,ability grouping happens within classrooms.When done according to the latest research,it has proven to promote achievement. Ability grouping is changeable and temporary.Within classrooms,students might be divided into different learning groups dealing with materials of different levels.Any students who master concepts can move upward between groups,and the student groups might look different from subject to subject and unit to unit.For instance,a student who stands out in language arts might be at an average or slower level in math.A student who flies through multiplication tables might need extra help with fractions.Students who lag in reading can be pulled out of the classroom in small groups for practice with a tutor until their reading improves. Research shows ability grouping within classes has more positive benefits than tracking.However,that must be weighed against the challenges involved.In many regular classrooms,the differences between student ability levels are very big.That presents challenges for teachers and low-performing students to constantly compare themselves with students who seem to fly through school with ease. The rigid ability groups and tracking of the past are still with us in many schools.Likely,labels are applied with more caution than in the bad old days when some teachers gave reading groups not-so-secret code names like"Bluebirds""Robins""Crows"and"Buzzards".But kids still know. Why is grouping children by ability becoming popular again? Many of us feel uneasy when someone stands too close to us, talks to us too loudly or makes eye contact with us for too long. But have you ever wondered why those things make you uncomfortable? It's all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume makes you feel angry. Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire to have space to themselves. In a survey by Trip Advisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food. Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers. Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall. Preference for personal space are different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other. Who might feel his personal space is safe according to the passage? We all know what a brain is. A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head. It controls our body's functions, movements, emotions and thoughts. But a brain can mean so much more. A brain can also simply be a smart person, If a person is called brainy, she is smart and intelligent. If a family has many children but one of them is super smart, you could say, "She's the brains in the family. " And if you are the brains behind something you are responsible for developing or organizing something. For example, Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft. Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice. Word experts say the phrase"brain trust" became popular when Franklin D. Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932, Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facing the U. S.These professors were called his "brain trust. " These ways we use the word "brain" all make sense. But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand. For example, to understand the next brain expression, you first need to know the word"drain." As a verb to drain means to remove something by letting it flow away. So a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears. But, brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another. The brains are,sort of,draining out of the country. However,if people are responsible for a great idea,you could say they brainstormed it. Here,brainstorm is not an act of weather. It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic. For example, business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products, and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems. If people are brainwashed, it does not mean their brains are nice and clean. To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way. Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a positive way. Why did Roosevelt successfully win the election? Herbivores who live in climates that get cold must find other sources of food in the winter because plants Mr Smith gave his wife money every Friday evening. His wife always spent it all the next Wednesday, so that for the next three days she had no money to spend at all. One day Mr Smith asked her, "But how did you spend all that money?" She answered, "I don't know ."So on Friday evening, Mr Smith gave her money together with an exercise book and a pencil. He said to his wife , "Please write down how you spend the money ."Next Tuesday, his wife had no money again. Mr Smith took the exercise book to see how she had spent it. "I have done what you told me,"she said gladly . She had written "Friday, I got 18 pounds from Mr Smith. " on the first page, and on the second page, she wrote , "Tuesday, I have spent it all." The story tells us that Mrs Smith was not very _ .
Company: KinderCare Location: US-TX-College Station Base Pay: 600$ ,. Employee Type: Full-Time Employee Industry: Education-Teaching-Management Job Type: Education Required Education: 2 Years Degree Required Experience: At Least 1 Year Jobs So Desirable, We Hate To Call It Work... Looking for a great opportunity and the chance to make a difference? KinderCare Learning Centers is the leading for-profit provider of early childhood educational services and care in the country with nearly 120,000 children enrolled. KinderCare's training is the key to providing high quality education and care for children 6 weeks to 12 years old. We are looking for devoted, responsible, and creative people for full-time and part-time positions at our centers located in College Station and Bryan, TX. REQUIREMENTS Successful applicants will possess a High School diploma or GED, and at least 1 year of childcare experience. You must also have 12 credits in Early Childhood Education or be now enrolled in ECE classes and possess 6 credits in ECE. We offer a wonderful work environment! If you have previous education and/or experience in childcare and a love for children, we want to hear from you! Salary goes with experience and position. KinderCare offers a comprehensive benefits package, a competitive salary, and childcare discount. KinderCare is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To apply, please contact us at: Kinder Care Learning Centers 1711 Village Drive College Station, TX 77840 Fax: (979) 696-6616 Email: [ Click here for email ] www. kindercare. corn From the ad above, it seems that the company wants _ . Kangkang's father is a doctor. When SARS, a kind of serious disease, spread in Beijing, he took an active part in the battle against it. He left his wife and his son to work in the Xiaotangshan Hospital. He cared for the patients day and night. He couldn't go home and he could only talk with family on the telephone. "Do you miss your family?" asked a reporter. "Yes, of course. It's my duty to save the patients," Doctor Lee answered. Could Kangkang's father go home? Animals are more like us than we ever imagined.They feel pain, they experience stress, they show affection, excitement and love.All these findings have been made by scientists in recent years--and such results are beginning to change how we view animals. Strangely enough, some of this research was sponsored by fast food companies like McDonald's and KFC.Pressured by animal rights groups , these companies felt they had to fund scientists researching the emotional and mental states of animals. McDonald's, for instance, funded studies on pig behavior at Purdue University, Indiana.This research found that pigs seek affection and easily become depressed if left alone or prevented from playing with each other.If they become depressed, they soon become physically ill.Because of this, and other similar studies, the European Union has banned the use of isolating pig stalls from 2010.In Germany, the government is encouraging pig farmers to give each pig 20 seconds of human contact a day, and to provide them with toys to prevent them from fighting. Other scientists have shown that animals think and behave like humans. Koko, the 300-pound gorilla at the Gorilla Foundation in Northern California, for instance, has been taught sign language. Koko can now understand several thousand English words, more than many humans who speak English as a second language.On human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95. Before such experiments, humans thought language skills were absent from the animal kingdom.Other myths are also being overturned, like the belief that animals lack self-awareness.Studies have also shown that animals mourn their dead, and that they play for pleasure. These striking similarities between animal and human behavior have led some to ask a question: "If you believe in evolution, how can't you believe that animals have feelings that human beings have?" Until recently, scientists believed that animals behaved by instinct and that what appeared to be learned behavior was merely genetically-programmed activity.But as Koko the Gorilla shows, this is not the case.In fact, learning is passed from parent to offspring far more often than not in the animal kingdom. So what implications does this knowledge have for humans? Because of this, should we ban hunting and animal testing? Should we close zoos? Such questions are being raised by many academics and politicians.Harvard and 25 other American law schools have introduced courses on animal rights.Germany meanwhile, recently guaranteed animal rights in its constitution--the first country to do so. McDonald's and KFC give money to support scientist to do research on animals, because _ Thirteen times a year, roughly, the moon In Britain, when people meet each other for the first time, they talk about things like family, work, school,or sports. They ask question like "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" "Where do you work?" "What school do you go to?" and "Do you like sports?" They also ask questions like "Where do you come from?" and "Where do you live?" These are polite questions. They are not personal or private. But some things are personal or private, and questions about them are not polite. People don't ask questions about a person's salary . They don't ask how much or someone is paid for something. It is not OK to ask people questions about politics, party or religion unless you know them very well. People don 't ask unmarried people "Why are you single?" and they don't ask a married couple with no children "Why don't you have any children?" It's not polite for a person to show interest in the _ life of others.
Games are a good form of teaching or training children as they combine fun with knowledge. They make the teaching or training activities more interesting. They are useful in all fields of teaching and training. Help your child discover just how much more is going on in the world around them with this listening game. It will also provide a few minutes of peace and quiet in what is probably a very noisy and busy day. A discussion of the sounds you each hear will also assist in language development and an ability to articulate that which was heard. The sit-and-listen game is especially helpful if your child is at the stage of developing language skills: listening, speaking and so on. Method: This is a very relaxing activity in which you both need to sit still and silent for about 30 seconds and just listen to the world around you. You are both trying to hear as many different things as you can, whether they are cars, people, airplanes, water running, the wind in the trees or any other kinds of daily sounds. After the given time is up, having a chat about what you both could hear. It is a good idea to ask your little one some open ended questions to promote their language development, such as: "What were the loudest sounds you heard?" "What were the closest sounds you heard?" "How many cars did you hear?" "How far away do you think that barking dog might live?" "What sounds did you hear which you did not expect to hear?" Note: As an extension activity you may wish to draw a picture of all the things you could hear. During the game, the child _ . A. is given more time than the parent B. tries to catch any sound that is going on C. can go and explore outdoors if necessary D. can ask the parent any question he/ she has Answer: B. tries to catch any sound that is going on Juan and Amy were happy because they were going to help their mom make a cake. They were making the cake for their dad who was returning from a long trip. Amy thought about all the things she wanted to do with her dad when he got back. They would go to the park and he could push her on the swing then they could take their dog for a walk and have a long talk like they used to do. Juan was also thinking about all the things he and his dad could do when he got back. Maybe they could all go to the river like last year and his dad could teach him how to skip stones across the river. They could share hotdogs like last year too. "What are you two doing in here?" Their mom asked. "We are waiting to help you with Dad's cake." Juan said. "Okay, you two get out the yogurt for the frosting and I am going to start the oven to get it warmer." "Oh no! I spilled the punch when Juan was closing the door." Amy cried. "It is okay we can clean that up in no time." Juan said and grabbed the paper towels. Just as their mom was mixing the cake ingredients Juan and Amy heard their dog bark. "Mom! The dog is barking someone is here." Juan said. "Well your dad is not going to be here until this afternoon. You two wait here." She said and walked out of the kitchen. Her husband opened the door and smiled at her. She hugged him and they walked into the kitchen together. "Daddy!" Juan and Amy shouted and ran to hug him. "I missed you guys so I left early." Why were Juan and Amy happy? A. They were going on a long trip. B. They were going to the river to skip stones and eat hotdogs. C. Their dad was coming home from a long trip and they were going to help their mom make him a cake. D. They were going to the park to walk the dog and swing. Answer: C. Their dad was coming home from a long trip and they were going to help their mom make him a cake. Animals are being killed by hunters in America in a cruel way, says an animal protection organization. There are about 1,000 hunting farms across America whose owners offer hunters an opportunity to kill animals that are kept in fenced areas. Russian boar, zebra, deer, antelope and many other species are raised just to be killed. Farm owners charge hunters thousands of dollars for animals that they kill, many of which are close to extinction . The Humane Society of the United States says this type of hunting should be stopped because it is not fair to the animals. Many owners raise their animals. Others buy from animal dealers or from zoos and circuses that no longer want them. This means that the animals are not afraid of humans and they are easy to be shot by hunters. Owners of small ranches keep their animals in fenced areas so that the hunters can get close to the animals before shooting at them. On large farms hunters are taken to areas where the animals are fed sometime of the day. This also makes it easy to kill the animals. The hunters want to keep the heads and chests of the animals they kill to hang as trophies on their walls. This means that the animals are usually shot in parts of the body. That means they will suffer a slow and painful death. The hunting is allowed across most of America but some parts of the country have stopped or restricted it. The Humane Society of the United States hopes that it won't be too long before the rest parts of the country also give up this cruel sport. What can we learn from the passage? A. Many animals can run away when hunters want to shoot them. B. It is very cruel to kill the animals in the way mentioned in the passage. C. The Humane Society of the United States considers this kind of hunting as a good sport. D. The animals are usually hung on the walls after being shot. Answer: B. It is very cruel to kill the animals in the way mentioned in the passage. International Robotics Forum Tokyo Big Sight,Tokyo, Japan, December 4-5 The Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ), to provide opportunities for young robot lovers to learn more about industrial and service robots, is going to hold the International Robotics Forum that will cooperate with this year's International Robot Exhibition. The lectures and explanations throughout the Conference will be given in Japanese but will be interpreted into English at the same time. The Conference will offer a great opportunity for senior high school students from all around the world to communicate with each other through robots. Therefore, we look forward to your active participation. The event will take place two days. On the morning of Day One, Prof. Shinichi Yuta of the Shibaura Institute of Technology will give a lecture on basic mobile robotics and learning through robots. This will be followed by a talk by Mr. Kazuhiko Yokoyama of Yasukawa Electric Corporation who will explain the mechanism and control of robots and also point out the highlights of the International Robot Exhibition. We will prepare a challenge for all the participants. We will send you themes for robot research. You will study them in advance, and on the afternoon of Day One, you will visit the Tokyo International Exhibition Center and investigate real robot. You will be able to experience fun and excitement of advanced robot technologies. On the morning of Day Two, you will present your study and investigation results. On the afternoon of Day Two, as the final event, awards will be given by the RSJ to groups that have given outstanding presentations. We hope that many future robot researchers and engineers will be born today. When can the participants study the real robots? A. On the afternoon of December 4. B. On the morning of December 5. C. On the morning of December 4. D. On the afternoon of December 5. Answer: A. On the afternoon of December 4. The moon's surface A. is smooth on the entire surface B. contains large cavities cause by explosions C. contains an internal core of cheese D. is filled with lakes Answer: B. contains large cavities cause by explosions
A yard can become a changed environment when Answer: vegetables are farmed Sam: Hey, Maria and John. This Thursday is Bill's birthday. Let's think about the presents. Maria: Sure, Sam. I want to give him a computer game. Sam: No, Bill never plays computer games. John: I want to buy a CD of his favourite songs. Sam: Good idea. Bill likes listening to music. Maria: How about buying a birthday cake for him? Sam: Oh, you don't have to do it. His mother usually buys a birthday cake for him. Maria: How about buying him a cinema ticket? I remember Bill likes watching films. Sam: That sounds a good idea. Maria &John: What about you? What would you like to buy for Bill, Sam? Sam: It's a secret. Which of the following is TRUE? Answer: We don't know Sam's present for Bill. A new report shows what life might be like in 100 years from now. It describes skyscrapers that are much taller than today's buildings, underwater "bubble" cities and holidays in space. The report is from a company. It asked experts on space and architecture, as well as city planners, to give their ideas on the life in 2116. They said the way we live, work and play will be totally different to how we do these things today. The experts used the Internet as an example. They said that 25 years ago, people could not imagine how the Internet and smartphones would change our lives. The Internet has completely changed the way we communicate, learn and do daily things. The experts said the changes in the next century would be even more unbelievable. Researchers questioned 2,000 adults about the prediction they thought were most likely to happen in the future. They predicted that in the future, few people will go to an office but will work from home and have work meetings online. People will have highly developed 3-D printers that will let you download a design for furniture or a food recipe and then "print" the sofa, table or pizza at home. There will also be less need for visits to the doctor. We will all have a home health instrument that will tell us what the problem is and give us treatment. We will also be going into space for holidays and to get resources that we have used up on Earth. A prediction that is missing is whether people will still need to study English. ,A, B, C, D,. With the help of highly developed 3-D printers, a way to get a sofa in 2116 is to _ . Answer: download a design and "print" one Bird dogs use their nose to find Answer: water foul Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. These two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses. One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn't returned home. They went looking for him with no success and by the next week he was still missing. Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie's house alone. Barking, whining and generally pestering Brownie's human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog. Continuously,Ted, Brownie's owner, was disturbed by the angry, determined little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently, then rushing toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, "Follow me! It's urgent!" Eventually, Ted followed Spotty to a deserted spot half a mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leghold trap. Horrified, Ted now wished he'd taken Spotty's earlier appeals seriously. Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable. Spotty had done more than simply led Brownie's human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week! Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in the hope of keeping his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort. Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from hunger and other dangers, and keep his spirits up. Brownie's leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends chasing each other down that well worn path between their houses. When Ted was led by Spotty to Brownie, he _ . Answer: regretted not following Spotty earlier
Two weeks after the opening ceremony, the Games are over. The last of the three hundred gold medals has been awarded and the flags of the winners have been raised for the last time. The final event is the closing ceremony. This occasion is always sad and happy at the same time. It is a sad occasion because the tremendous excitement is over, and it will not happen again for four years. Those who have made friends will have to say goodbye, perhaps for ever. It is also a happy occasion because the competition is over and the athletes can really show their friendship for one another. The closing ceremony is rather like the opening. But now the Olympic flame goes out and the Olympic flag, with its five rings, is lowered. The person who closes the Games calls upon the youth of the world to meet again in four years' time. The scoreboard lights up with the name of the city for the next Games and the band starts to play. Then the celebration starts. All the athletes try to be at the closing ceremony. They have forgotten all their fears and worries. It does not matter whether they have done well or not. All the teams walk round the stadium together. Everybody is laughing and joking. The band plays and people start to dance. After that, everybody in the Village _ and gets ready to leave. Everyone is hunting for souvenirs. People exchange track suits, hats, running vests and badges. There is a last chance to take photographs and get addresses of new friends. Then each team starts its journey home. At the closing ceremony, it is found that _ . Answer: Until 1954, the state of New Atlantic required segregation in all public and private schools, but all public schools are now desegregated. Other state laws, enacted before 1954 and continuing to the present, provide for free distribution of the same textbooks on secular subjects to students in all public and private schools. In addition, the state accredits schools and certifies teachers. Little White School, a private school that offers elementary and secondary education in the state denies admission to all non-Caucasians. Stone School is a private school that offers religious instruction."Which of the following is the strongest argument against the constitutionality of free distribution of textbooks to the students at the Little White School? Answer: The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country. The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years' development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction. Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People's food supplies were similarly _ . Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another. Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves. These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked. The king of China around 1000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag. The earliest flags were connected with heavenly power because _ . Answer: What is more important to a high school student than being popular? Anyone who has ever gone to high school or at least seen a John Hughes' movie knows the answer to that question. When Theresa Sommers first discovered MySpace three years ago, the teen from Minneapolis, St. Paul thought she had found the real high school popularity contest. She could spend hours a day creating an online picture, finding cool pictures and music to make her page look more beautiful, and looking for interesting-looking people to be her online friends. And along the way, she could compete with her friends to see who had the most friends or most-visited page. The more she used the site, however, the less interested she became in only being popular; she started using her time for more heartfelt conversations with friends and went more deeply into her personal interests. As a beginner in taking pictures, she put her best pictures on the site and looked for advice from people who are good at taking pictures. At the same time,she began to get in touch with the students of the colleges she wanted to go to. She opened up a new account on Facebook. And she even began to put some of her own creative writing on the website and would ask for advice on homework from her friends. She asked them," How long did you spend on your homework?" or "How would you write it?" Often she would put her homework online. What's a John Hughes' movies most probably about? Answer: Last Sunday, I waked into the house in the afternoon to find my brother rushing around in a hurry. As soon as I took my coat off, my little brother placed a bunch of papers in my hands and asked me to fold them up so they could fit into an envelope as quickly as possible. He said it needed to get done quickly before it turned dark. I was a little surprised that something could be so urgent on a Sunday. It wasn't until I was halfway through that I actually looked at what I was folding. After I read it, it put the biggest smile on my face. It was a lovely letter to all the residents in my neighborhood. My brother was asking everyone to let him know if anyone needed help. He left his contact information and said that anyone that needed help should get in touch with him and he would figure something out. He also asked people to get in touch if they were able to help out. London received an unusual amount of snow last week, and the city was completely under- prepared for it. So it was quite difficult to get anywhere. Only the major roads had been cleared, and smaller roads and pavements could be quite _ . There are a good number of old people in our little community. So my brother thought that the snow may have posed some difficulty for some of them, particularly because we live on a hill. A few elderly people got in touch with him asking for help for things they needed. One of them was especially grateful because his caregiver couldn't make it. To our surprise, he got more responses from people offering to help. Then he received help from people who wanted to help. Everyone was really touched and wrote to my brother wonderful email. One of our neighbors wrote email saying that although she wasn't able to help, she was "very proud of having a neighbor like him who puts other people's interests first." One of their neighbors sent email to the author's brother to _ . Answer:
John is a paper boy. He delivers newspapers to different houses in his street every day. He has about 80 customers . Half of his customers only take the newspapers on weekdays, and about half take the newspapers on weekdays and on Sundays. Two of John's customers only take the newspapers on Sundays. John has to get up at 4:30 every morning to deliver his newspapers. It takes longer to deliver the newspapers on Sundays. The Sunday newspapers are twice as heavy as those on weekdays. John is saving his money to buy a new bicycle. He is also saving money for college . He has already saved 500 dollars. How many customers does he have? A About 40. B About 120. C About 80. D About 20. Answer: C There are 45 students in our class. I have made a survey, 36 students say they like to exercise. Most boys play basketball together twice a week. But girls think basketball is difficult for them, they'd like to play volleyball together twice a week. My friend, Tony, is good at running. He runs fastest in our class. He runs for 30 minutes on the playground every evening before he goes to bed. Is it interesting? Gray is good at swimming. He goes to the swimming club three times a month in winter, and three times a week in summer. So he is pretty healthy. Some of my classmates have good eating habits. They eat both meat and vegetables. 70% of them drink milk every day. 15 students say they drink milk three or four times a week. But some students like to eat junk food, especially Sally. What's worse is that she doesn't like to exercise, so she is very fat. She always says " I'm going to lose weight tomorrow." How often does Gray swim in winter? A Threetimesamonth. B Threetimesaweek. C Itisn'tmentionedinthepassage D Hardlyever Answer: A Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch. They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady's work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen--a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack. The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof--the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs. There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell. "We have to got and help her," whispered Amy. "What if it is a trick?" replied Ben. "Don't be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already," reasoned Meg. "Come on Amy, let's go." The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack. Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady's face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. "Go and get Dad," Amy yelled to her brother. "Tell him about the accident." The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs. . Which of these old sayings best suits the story's lesson for us? A Make hay while the sun shines. B Never judge a book by its cover. C People in glasshouses should not throw stones. D A bird in the hands worth two in the bush. Answer: B Questions My 14th birthday is coming and I'm ready to plan my birthday party. I spent a lot of time planning my party to make it interesting. I was thinking about having a "Remember the Good Times" party. Everyone who is coming is going to graduate soon. I thought I should put up some photos of my friends and pictures from popular television shows on the wall. The food could be the things we've always loved (hamburgers, ice creams and French fries). I don't know if my idea is going to be good for my birthday party. What do you think, Miss Lee? Answer: Hi, Maria, I love the idea of the "Remember the Good Times" party. It sounds like a graduation party. I love the idea of eating your favorite foods! It's fun, easy and cheap! You can bring photos of your class trip to remember the places where you went. I hope you will have a wonderful birthday party! Have a wonderful 14th birthday! Why does Miss Lee love the idea of the food they will eat? A Because they are her favorites. B Because they are fun and expensive. C Because they are cheap and easy. D Because they are like for a graduation party. Answer: C 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. From the story, we know _ didn't tell the truth. A the truck driver B Tom C the taxi driver D Tom's friend Answer: C
People living in the UK take quite a few holidays abroad and in this country each year.Choices made about where to go, how to get there and what to do while there can either benefit or harm the environment. While on holiday Many of the things you can do to the greener on holiday will be the same things you can do at home--but there are also some extra things too, like avoiding gifts made from endangered plants and animals.Here are some suggestions: Making the most of locally produced food and drink, and local activities and attractions will support people in the area you are visiting and reduce the need for further environmental influence from transport; Switching off any air conditioning, heating and lights will help reduce climate change effect; Save water--some countries suffer from water shortages and saving water can help avoid damage to our natural habitats . Endangered species Some gifts and foods available in some countries can be made from endangered plants or animals.Check before you buy, but if you doubt, avoid animal and plant gifts.More details of the types of products to avoid and illegal trade hotspots can be found on the Souvenir Alert web page. Making a positive contribution to the place you are visiting There are ways in which your holiday can help support local people and the environment: There are many opportunities to volunteer and help with projects that conserve and improve natural habitats; *When you are away, or if you are looking for somewhere to visit, you can support projects or attractions which protect wildlife, such as nature reserves and conservation projects. We should check the gifts and foods before buying because _ . For a writer, there is hardly any greater honor than winning the Nobel Prize for literature. And for a woman writer, claiming the prize is even harder, for only eight women once won it. Austria's Elfriede Jelinek is the ninth and the first since 1996. The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy announced last Thursday that Jelinek won this year's Nobel Prize in literature. She is recognized for her socially critical novels and plays. Jelinek, 57, made her literary debut in 1967. She has written plays, novels and poetry. She is best known for her autobiographical 1983 novel "The Piano Teacher", made into a movie in 2001. The basic theme of her work is the inability of women to live as people beyond the roles and personalities traditionally expected of _ . Her characters struggle to lead lives not normally acceptable in society. "The nature of Jelinek's texts is often hard to define. They shift between prose and poetry and songs, they contain theatrical scenes and film script," said the academy. The Nobel Prize was founded by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Nobel died in 1896 and left his fortune of about US $920 million to a fund to honor people who have helped other human beings. This year each prize is worth US $13 million. Elfrede Jelinek won the Nobel Prize just because _ . How often do you sit still and do absolutely nothing.The usual answer these days is"never".or"hardly ever".As the pace of life continues to increase,we are fast losing the art of relaxation.Once you are in the habit of rushing through life,being on the go from morning till night,it is hard to slow down.But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body. Stress is fl natural part of everyday life.There is no way to avoid it, since it takes many and varied forms-driving in traffic,problems with personal relationships are all different forms of stress. _ .A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life.It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health. The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual.Some people are not afraid of stress,and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities.Others lose heart at the first sight of unusual difficulties.When exposed to stress,in whatever form,we react both chemically and physically.In fact we make a choice between "fight" or "fright" and in more primitive days the choice made the difference between life and death.The crisis we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme,but however little the stress,it involves the same response.All the energy is shifted to cope with the stress.It is when such a reaction lasts long,through continued exposure to stress,that health becomes endangered.Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established links with stress. Stress in some people produces stomach disorders,while others experience tension headaches.Since we cannot remove stress from our 1ires,We need to find ways to cope with it. People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because _ . Years ago there was a group of kids who would hang around at some local ponds in the woods near their houses in Warwick, Rhode Island. In summer they caught frogs and fish. When winter arrived they couldn't wait to go skating. Time passed, and the ponds became the only open space for the kids to enjoy themselves in that neighborhood. One day a thirteen-year-old boy from this group of kids read in the local newspaper that a developer wanted to fill in the ponds and build over a hundred small houses called apartments. So the boy went door to door and gathered more than two hundred signatures to stop the development. A group of citizens met and decided to support him. At the meeting of the town planning organization,the boy was quite nervous at first and spoke very softly. But when he saw the faces of his friends and neighbors in the crowd and thought about what was happening to their favorite ponds,his voice grew louder. He told the town officials that they should speak for the citizens. He also insisted that they should leave enough space for children. A few days later,the developer stopped his plan. Nine years later, when that teen was a senior in college, he was informed that the developer was back with his proposal to build apartments. Now twenty-two years old, he was studying wetlands ecology. He again appeared before the town planning organization. This time as an expert, he used environmental protection laws to explain _ on development in and around wetlands and the knowledge of wetlands ecology to help to improve the development. Finally some apartments were built, but less than half the number the developer wanted. The ponds where those kids used to hang around were protected by a piece of natural land, and are still there today. The boy thought that the town officials should be _ for the citizens. A man was looking for things of old times.One day he came to a village and found a blue bowl which looked very old.The bowl was on the ground and a cat was drinking milk from it.A farmer,the owner of the cat.was lying beside the bowl.In order not to draw the farmer's attention to the value of the bowl,the man said to him in a soft voice,"What a nice cat you have! Won't you sell it to me?" "How much would you give me for it?" the farmer opened his eyes and asked. "Twenty dollars. Would it be enough?" A few minutes later,the farmer agreed.After he paid the farmer,the man said,"My cat will feel thirsty.May I take the bowl so that the cat can have milk?" But the farmer said, "I'm sorry I can't give it to you.Thanks to the bowl,I can sell twenty cats." The man liked _ .
American country music is also known as country western music .It has a very long history . It comes from the folk songs of immigrants from Britain. Country music users simple music and words to express everyday feelings such as loneliness, love , and sadness . That is to say , country music describes life . It talks about friends and enemies , trucks and roads , farm and crops.. People in many parts of the world like country music, because everyone can understand what the music is about . Country western music became popular first among cowboys in the American west countryside . Cowboys had to take care of cows day and night. When they were alone with the cows, they often sang beautiful and peaceful songs to _ and to overcome their own fear .They were not well-educated and so they sang about their daily life in very simple words .They played guitars, violins. and other instruments. In the south of America , many people added instruments from their homes , like bottles and spoons, When cowboys visited their friends and families on holidays like Thanksgiving , they usually sang and played country western music . In recent years ,many musicians have made country western music a little different from the one in the past.These changes make the songs sound even better.Today singers such as Carth Brooks.Reba McEntire. Emmylou Harris. Lyle Lovett,Eddie Rabbitt, LeAnn Rimes,Randy Travis and a group called Alabama are singing and playing in different styles.They have brought country western music more and more fans from all over the wold. ,. According to the passage, people like American country music because _ . David Beckham had a dream: to be the first English player to appear in four World Cups.But now it appears that dream is over after a serious injury to his Achilles tendon which means he could be out of action for around six months.With this year's World Cup in South Africa only three months away, sadly Beckham looks set to miss out.The injury happened while Beckham was playing for AC Milan against AC Chievo in the Italian league.After attempting to kick the ball he fell to the ground and hobbled off the pitch before being stretchered away. It is not yet known whether he has completely severed his Achilles tendon or only torn it.The player has now flown to Finland for assessment and treatment by a knee specialist. England manager Fabio Capello fears the worst for Beckham's World Cup chances. "We have to wait for the results of the scan but it looks like he is out of the World Cup," he said in a statement."I spoke with him after the game on Sunday night to offer my support. "David is a great professional and has worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup, so missing it will be a big blow." Beckham's former manager at American club LA Galaxy, Alexei Lalas, echoed Capello's words of support: "It is a horrible situation for Beckham.I know how much it meant to him to be in the World Cup and how important he was to the England team. David Beckham is now 34 and some are asking whether this serious injury could mean his whole career is over. Whatever happens, as one of football's best-known and popular players, Beckham will have no shortage of encouragement from fans around the world. Some will remember Beckham's miraculous recovery from an Achilles injury in 2006, when he was back on the pitch after only eight weeks. If he could repeat the same feat in time for the World Cup it really would be the stuff of fairytales. So, perhaps all is not lost.Optimists will _ from Alexei Lalas' words: "You never want to write off David Beckham as he has shown us his ability to bounce back ." .What is the best title of the passage? From hitting the mall with your girl friends on a Saturday afternoon, to holiday spending on gifts that go under the tree, shopping could be called one of America's favorite pastimes. For most people, it means some new clothes for work or a small trinket for a friend. For others, however, shopping is much more than an enjoyable pastime, and in some cases, it is a real and destructive addiction that can turn into a financial disaster. Compulsive shopping and spending are defined as inappropriate, excessive, and out of control. Like other addictions, it basically has something to do with impulsiveness and lack of control over one's impulses. In America, shopping is embedded in our culture; so often, the impulsiveness comes out as excessive shopping. Sometimes this is referred to as "shopholism". Shopping addiction can damage a person's life, family, and finances. "No one knows what causes addictive behaviors, like shopping, alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling", says a professor of applied health science. Some of the new evidence suggests that some people, maybe 10%-15%, may have a genetic predisposition to an addictive behavior, coupled with an environment in which the particular behavior is triggered, but no one really knows why." Individuals will get some kind of high from an addictive behavior like shopping. What are the telltale signs that shopping has crossed the line and become and addiction? What should a concerned family member or friend look out for when they think shopping has become a problem? The behaviors can signal a serious problem: Shopping or spending money as a result of feeling angry, depressed, anxious, or lonely Having arguments with others about one's shopping habits Feeling lost without credit cards -- actually going into withdrawal without them Buying items on credit, rather than with cash Describing a rush or a feeling of euphoria with spending Feeling guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed after a spending spree Thinking obsessively about money Spending a lot time juggling accounts or bills to accommodate spending "If someone identifies four or more of any of these behaviors, there may be a problem", experts say. Treating a shopping addiction requires a multifaceted approach. There are no standard treatments for shopping addiction. Medications have been used, but with mixed results. Therapists also focus on cognitive-behavioral treatment programs. There is no quick and easy answer that will immediately cure a shopping addiction, and while treatment is a necessary part of solving the problem, so is behavior change on the part of the addict. Some basic changes in behavior that will have a big impact on breaking a shopping addiction are recommended: Admit that you are a compulsive spender, which is half the battle. Get rid of checkbooks and credit cards, which fuel the problem. Don't shop by yourself because most compulsive shoppers shop alone and if you are with someone you are much less likely to append more. Find other meaningful ways to spend time. And keep in mind that while behavior change is clearly important to recovery, so is reaching out for professional help.(509) Which of the following statement is not true? _ . A common household item that may be a ferrous metal is I was puzzled! Why was this old woman making such a fuss about an old copse which was of no use to anybody? She had written letters to the local paper, even to a national, protesting about a projected by-pass to her village, and, looking at a map, the route was nowhere near where she lived and it wasn't as if the area was attractive. I was more than puzzled, I was curious. The enquiry into the route of the new by-pass to the village was due to take place shortly, and I wanted to know what it was that motivated her. So it was that I found myself knocking on a cottage door, being received by Mary Smith and then being taken for a walk to the woods. "I've always loved this place," she said, "it has a lot of memories for me, and for others. We all used it. They called it 'Lovers lane'. It's not much of a lane, and it doesn't go anywhere important, but that's why we all came here. To be away from people, to be by ourselves. " she added. It was indeed pleasant that day and the songs of many birds could be heard. Squirrels watched from the branches, quite bold in their movements, obviously few people passed this way and they had nothing to fear. I could imagine the noise of vehicles passing through these peaceful woods when the by-pass was built, so _ but as I hold strong opinions about the needs of the community over-riding the opinions of private individuals, I said nothing. The village was quite a dangerous place because of the traffic especially for old people and children, their safety was more important to me than an old woman's strange ideas. "Take this tree," she said pausing after a short while. "To you it is just that, a tree. Not unlike many others here." She gently touched the bark, "Look here, under this branch, what can you see?" "It looks as if someone has done a bit of carving with a knife." I said after a cursory inspection. "Yes, that's what it is!" she said softly. She went on, "He had a penknife with a spike for getting stones from a horse's hoof, and I helped him to carve them. We were very much in love, but he was going away, and could not tell me what he was involved in the army. I had guessed of course. It was the last evening we ever spent together, because he went away the next day, back to his Unit." Mary Smith was quiet for a while, then she sobbed. "His mother showed me the telegram. 'Sergeant R Holmes ...Killed in action in the invasion of France.'..." "I had hoped that you and Robin would one day get married." she said, "He was my only child, and I would have loved to be a Granny, they would have been such lovely babies'- she was like that! " "Two years later she too was dead. 'Pneumonia , following a chill on the chest' was what the doctor said, but I think it was an old fashioned broken heart. A child would have helped both of us." There was a further pause. Mary Smith gently caressed the wounded tree, just as she would have caressed him. "And now they want to take our tree away from me." Another quiet sob, then she turned to me. "I was young and pretty then, I could have had anybody, I wasn't always the old woman you see here now. I had everything I wanted in life, a lovely man, health and a future to look forward to." She paused again and looked around. The breeze gently moved through the leaves with a sighing sound. "There were others, of course, but no one can match my Robin!" she said strongly. "And now I have nothing - except the memories this tree holds. If only I could get my hands on that awful man who writes in the paper about the value of the road they are going to build where we are standing now, I would tell him. Has he never loved, has he never lived, does he not know anything about memories? We were not the only ones, you know, I still meet some who came here as Robin and I did. Yes, I would tell him!" I turned away, sick at heart. What was probably the carving on the wounded tree?
Sports are important in English life. The people of England are sports lovers. Some of the world's famous sports began here such as football and cricket. Football is a game played in winter and early spring. Lots of people play football in parks or playgrounds just for fun. With hundreds of year's history, it is one of the most important sports in England. The English love football very much and they turned most of their main players into famous persons. David Beckham and Bobby Charlton became heroes for many children. The most interesting part of the English football year is the FA(Football Association) Cup Final each May. Sports are _ in English life. Answer: One evening I was on my daily evening return from London to my home. I had got into the habit of sitting in the last carriage at the platform, so I could get off near to the station exit at my end. One evening before getting off the train, I found a purse. I opened the purse and thought this must be my lucky day, for the purse contained some PS80 in cash. Looking further into the purse, I found credit cards, and house keys and a name and address. My first thought when seeing the cash was to pocket it, and throw the other contents away. Now I am not a basically dishonest person, but had developed a hardened attitude over the years that most people were dishonest in some way, and my own personal experience had been that whenever I lost anything of value, that was the last I ever saw of it. And since I was a construction worker at that time, I had been the victim of a great deal of stealing during my working life. Almost as I read the name and address, I had a picture of that woman being struck with terror, when she realized she had lost her purse, and could not get into her home, had no money, and, would have thoughts of someone spending on her credit cards, not to mention the trouble of canceling all the cards. In that same moment I decided to hand the purse over to the train guard. So I told him I would like to see it returned to its rightful owner. He told me would be sent to the lost property office. I arrived at my station and started to walk the five minute journey to my home all the while feeling very pleased with myself that I was going to bring a great deal of happiness to someone I did not know. Which of the following in the purse attracted the author most? Answer: There's a big zoo in our city. It's about five kilometres away from my house. I like all kinds of animals. I often go to the zoo by bus on Sundays. In the zoo, I can see many different kinds of animals, such as monkeys, bears, pandas, tigers, lions and dolphins. Some animals are friendly, but some are not. Tigers, lions and bears are dangerous, so they have to stay in cages. But I don't think it's good for animals to stay in cages. They are not happy. They should be free. Tigers and lions usually live in forests. They can run very fast there. They catch and eat small animals like deer and rabbits. But now in the zoo, they live in small rooms. They walk round and round in the cages, and they want to get out. I feel sorry for them. Of all the animals I like dolphins best. The most interesting animals in the zoo that I like are dolphins. I like watching them swim and jump. They swim fast and they jump very high. They are very clever. They can play with balls. They are very friendly to people. If you fall into the water and can't swim, they may come to help you. How does the author usually go to the zoo? Answer: Americans love their cars. There are more than eight cars for every 10 Americans, but most of the time, they sit idle , parked in a driveway or on the street. Now, several companies on the U. S. West Coast are helping people rent their personal car to someone else when they don't need it. Eric Loebel is one of those people. For a small price, he wants to let his Oregon neighbors "borrow" his car. It's a dark blue, model year 2000 Volvo car. The sales and marketing consultant says he doesn't use it much. "My wife and I are huge bike commuters and almost don't need a car," he says. Loebel is one of the first car owners in Portland to list his wheels for rent through a so-called "peer-to-peer car sharing" service called Getaround. Com. "Cars are so expensive to own," he says "This can definitely offset some of the cost." The website lets car owners decide for themselves how much to charge borrowers to rent by the hour, day or week. Person-to-person rentals began in Germany a decade ago, and there are a handful of similar companies in Europe and Australia. The concept caught on quickly in California over the past year according to John Atcheson, vice president of Getaround, one of four carsharing startups in the San Francisco area. "We have had amazing cars leaping into our system," Atcheson says. "Not just 1995 pickup trucks but we have had late model Mercedes, Audis, any type of car you can imagine. We actually have a Tesla Roadster--a $150,000 sports car." Another service called JustShareIt plans to stand out by going beyond cars. Its founder says the company will offer person-to-person rentals of power boats, jet skis and snowmobeles( ) too. What's the main idea of the passage? Answer: Which country grows the most tea? The answer is India. It grows three times as much as China. Which country drinks the most tea? It's neither China nor Japan. It's Great Britain. In the wild, tea plants may be 30 feet tall. But a plant grown for market is pruned. Pruning keeps the plant only three or four feet tall. This is an easy height for tea picking. Only the two top leaves and bud of each new shoot are picked. So to make money, tea plantations must be huge. In general, there are two kinds of tea. Black tea and green tea. Black tea is fermented. In the process, the tea loses nearly all of its healthy qualities. Green tea is steamed right after the leaves are picked. Green tea _ its healthy qualities. For example, it may prevent heart disease. How did we get tea bag? The answer: by accident. Tea merchants used to send samples in tin boxes. This was costly. One merchant thought of a cheaper way. He sent samples in small silk bags. Customers would cut open the bag. They would brew the leaves as usual. One customer put the bag into a pot. Then he just poured hot water over it. And the tea bag was born. Shen Nong was the first to drink tea. (Shen was a Chinese emperor.) This was about 2737 B.C. Shen had bad digestion. So he drank several cups of hot water daily. One day something happened. Leaves from a wild tea tree fell into the hot water pot. The next cup was poured. The water was now colored. Shen sipped it. He liked it. He drank it all. Shen was proud of his new drink. He served it to his guests. Word spread. People thought this way. Tea is good enough for the Emperor. So it must be good enough for the people. Tea became the drink of China. The best title for this passage should be _ . Answer:
Canada, the second largest country in the world, lies in the north of America. The population of Canada is about 29 million and the capital is Ottawa. The country covers about 9,980,000 square kilometers and six of the world's 24 time areas as well. There are two official languages spoken in Canada: French and English. Many people can speak both English and French. More than 60% of Canadians speak English as their language. About 25% of the Canadians speak French. In one province of Canada where French is the common language, the programmes on TV and radios as well as the teaching in schools are all in French. Today, Chinese has become the first inofficial language in Canada. Canada's climate is not as cold all year around as some may believe. In winter, temperatures fall below freezing point throughout most of Canada. In summer, the southern provinces often experience high levels of temperatures that can reach over 30degC regularly. The weather in Canada is just like the weather in China. It is rather cold in the north while it is fairly warm in the south. Winters in the north last long with snow for half a year. As the cold northern climate, only one-fifth of the land is suitable for farming. As it is known to all, Canada has one-third of the world's supply of fresh water. It has many great lakes. There are five great lakes in the south. And there are many others, especially in the north. It is also rich in natural resources, such as coal, oil, natural gas of which Canadians make use to produce energy. People of northern Canada are called Inuit , who came from Asia and settled in Canada about 4,000 years ago. They used to travel around from place to place with teams of dogs which pulled their baggage. Now, they seldom move. There are about 2,500 Inuit in all. The government has started a new school project in which Inuit teach their own young children. So it is hoped that the way of Inuit life will be kept alive for more centuries. Which statement about Inuit is NOT right? A. They settled in Canada about 4,000 years ago. B. Dogs could help them pull their baggage when they had to travel years ago. C. They can teach their own young children according to the new school project. D. They way of Inuit life may disappear in the future. Answer: D It is a fine Sunday morning .Ann and her mother are on a big bus .There are many people on it . Some of them come from America ,and some come from English and Canada. They are going to the Great Wall . There are only two Chinese on the bus .One is the woman .She is driving the bus .The other is a young man.He is their guide and can speak English very well. Now he is talking with an Ameican girl .Other people are listening to them .They are very interested in the Great Wall.They want to see it very much. There are _ Chinese people on the bus. A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 Answer: B Imagine, one day,getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours,and then,after a full day of work,going back home to Beijing and having dinner there. Sounds unusual,doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic,with the development of China's high-speed railway system.And that's not all.China has an even greater high-speed railway plan -- to connect the country with Southeast Asia,and eventually Eastern Europe. China is negotiating to extend its own high-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15 years,eventually reaching London and Singapore. China has proposed three such projects.The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia.Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,and possibly to Germany.The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe. If China's plan for the high-speed railway goes forward,people could zip over from London to Beijing in under two days. The new system would still follow China's high-speed railway standard.And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour. China's bullet train ,the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou,already has the World's fastest average speed.It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours. Of course,there are some technical challenges to overcome.There are so many issues that need to be settled,such as safety,rail gauge ,maintenance of railway tracks.So,it's important to pay attention to every detail. But the key issue is really money.China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion. China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment.Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development. It'll be a win-win project. For other countries,the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business,tourism and so on,not to mention the better communication among those countries. For China,such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources,but would also help develop China's far west.We foresee that in the coming decades,millions of people will migrate to the western regions,where the land is empty and resources unused.With high-speed trains,people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all.And they'll trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries. China's new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because _ . A. China will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions B. China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways C. China will develop its railway system and communication with other countries D. The foreign countries involved will develop their business and tourism Answer: B Pilling a cat can be a 'terrible" experience. Cats don't want something pushed down their throats, and they'll fight with all their strength to prevent it. In fact, it's amazing how powerful their small bodies can be. The easiest way of pilling a cat is to press the pill into powder. Then mix the powder with a small amount of wet food. If your cat usually eats dry food, she will probably view the wet food as a treat and eat it up. If your cat won't eat the wet food that contains the pill or if she is too ill to eat, you can get a "pill gun". There are some basic instructions. Getting your cat's mouth to open is going to be the most difficult part. First, be sure the pill is in a handy place. Then you can put your cat on a bookshelf with her bottom in a corner or you can put her on your lap firmly tied. Have your cat facing to the right if you're right-handed. With your left hand, hold your cat at the cheekbones, putting your palm at the top of her head. Keeping your finger off the trigger , with your right hand, Insert the pill gun until the pill is positioned over the tongue and open throat Be sure to give your cat a treat directly after giving the pill. If you don't feel comfortable using a pill gun, you can try giving the pill by hand. Push your cat's head backwards just far enough so that her nose is pointing towards the ceiling. At this point, most cats will slightly open their mouths. With the little finger or ring finger of the hand holding the pill, open the bottom jaw a little more. You may need to hold her top jaw with your other hand while doing this. Aim straight and lightly throw the pill or drop it. Most cats will then swallow the pill. Pilling a cat can be a terrible experience because cats _ . A. are amazingly powerful and dangerous B. may fight with all their strength against pills C. refuse something pressed down their throats D. are difficult to treat once they've got ill Answer: C Apple Seeds Circulation : 1 Year, 9 Issues Cover Price: $44.55 Price For You: $33.95 Product Description: Apple Seeds is an award winning magazine filled with stories for kids aged from 7 to 9. The cover is very soft, providing durability that allows each issue to be enjoyed for many years to come. Besides, there is a big surprise for you --- it's being sold at a more favorable discount than usual. Better Life Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues Cover Price: $44.55 Price For You: $15.00 Product Description: Designed for those who have a strong interest in personal lifestyle, Better Life is America's complete home and family service magazine. It offers help with food, recipes, decorating, building, gardening, family health, money management, and education. Humor Times Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues Cover Price: $36.00 Price For You: $11.95 Product Description: Humor Times Magazine is for those who love to laugh! Full of cartoons and humor columns, it shows up in your mailbox once a month and keeps you smiling all year round! In today's world, you need a reason to laugh. So let's find it in Humor Times. News China Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues Cover Price: $47.88 Price For You: $19.99 Product Description: News China Magazine is the English edition of China Newsweek. The magazine covers the latest Chinese domestic news in politics, business, society, environment, culture, sports and travels, etc. It is the first comprehensive news magazine for readers interested in China. What do we know about Apple Seeds? A. The soft cover enables it to be read and kept long. B. It can be purchased as an award for your children. C. It offers the biggest discount among all the magazines. D. The magazine is going to surprise you for many years. Answer: A
When I paid for the bicycle repair, the repairman told me, " No change, Professor Pan. We're friends." "I'd rather pay," I replied. "If it's free, I can't afford it." Chinese often refuse payment for professional services, insisting, "We're friends now!" But then they show up later to ask me to tutor them in English, or get them into an American university, and I wish I'd have just paid the 30 yuan I owed them in the first place. According to the Americans, "There's no free lunch," meaning that there's a price for everything, and I'm always looking around to figure out what this means. Many of our neighbors have given us fruit or flowers or costly teas, never asking anything in return. For years, a bicycle repairman has repeatedly refused to let me pay him. "Wait until you have something major to fix!" he insists. Chinese generosity is a real education for Americans like me, who would rather avoid social entanglements and just hand over the money. But cash can't make up for the greatest gift - friendship. When an American saw some of my friends sitting on bamboo stools under the trees, sipping tea, he said, "They must have nothing better to do." "Actually," I said, "they are professors, with plenty to do. But probably you're right in saying that, at this moment, they have nothing better to do. And neither do I." And I joined the group. We chatted about tea and Chinese cooking and how much my boys have grown since we arrived. One man said, "They were pocket-sized when you came here. Now they're taller than you. How time flies." How life flies. And Chinese are smart enough to share what they know they cannot keep. They freely give of their time, never too busy to help a friend. And they are teaching me, slowly, to both give and receive. So the next time someone says, "No charge. We're friends." I will thank them heartily. But if they show up later asking me to tutor them in English, I'll make sure they tutor my son in Chinese as well, because there's still no free lunch. Which of the following is TRUE? A All the Chinese help foreigners on purpose. B Chinese like to ask for help. C The author thinks little of the Chinese way of life. D The author thinks that Chinese are wise enough to enjoy the limited life. Answer: D. The author thinks that Chinese are wise enough to enjoy the limited life. We all make excuses. But the successful ones are those who can kill the excuses like the miserable maggots they are. I'm too tired. I don't have the time. I don't feel motivated. I'd rather do nothing. I don't have the money, equipment, space. I can't because ... We've all made the excuses. Here's how to kill them. See the positive. Excuses are usually made because we don't feel like doing something -- we're accentuating the negative. Instead, see the fun in something, the joy in it. And maintain a positive attitude, or you'll never beat the excuses. Take responsibility. Excuses are ways to get out of owning up to something. If we don't have the time, money, equipment, etc., then it's not our fault, right? Wrong. Take responsibility, and own the solution. Find a solution. Just about every problem has a solution. Don't have time? Start with just 5-10 minutes. Make the time. Wake earlier. Do it during lunch. Don't have the energy? Do it when you have higher levels of energy. You're smart. Figure out the solution. See your goal. This is your motivation -- your reason for doing it. Sure, you could just lay on the couch, but if you think about why you really want to pursue a goal, you'll be motivated. that goal and just get started. Be accountable. Have a workout partner, a project partner, a team, someone to report to. If you have to meet a coach or partner, you're more likely to do something. Watch this. Then go an do it. How many tips mentioned in the text to prevent excuses? A Four B Three C Six D Five Answer: D. Five International students in Christine Rhodes' English class in Australia share theirimpressions of places they have visited in Australia. Canberra, the nicest city in Australia I went for a short holiday to Canberra. My uncle lives there. It's the nicest city in Australia, a little bit similar to Cairns. There're lots of big rivers and trees around the city. Siggi Siebold from Germany The small city of Mount Isa I went to Mount Isa six months ago. It's a long way from Brisbane -- about 2,000 km. It's a small city, with a population of 21,000, but it has all the basic _ such as a base hospital, six schools and supermarkets. Here the weather is hot and gets very little rain. There're two big lakes to keep rainwater for people in the city to drink. Indra Ekanayake Lake Moondarra and amine In Mount Isa, there's adam called Lake Moondarra. At weekends you can go there with your friends, and it is beautiful. On the lake, there is water skiing. Also, people can go fishing there. There's a big mine in Mount Isa. Many people go to work in the mine and earn a lot of money. Mount Isa isn't a beautiful green place, but many people love it. Ida Robb from Indonesia Siggi Siebold is from _ . A Australia B Germany C England D Indonesia Answer: B. Germany Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs ? If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker-BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach's famous marketing device ,the BRICs, should really be the BICs. "Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?" asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreigh Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of "The Russian Balance Sheet", thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes: "The country's economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas. " Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing far better than Russia. But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three. At very least, however, Russia's economic underperformance and stock market outperfoumance does suggest it is indeed one of the group. From the passage we know that _ . A Anders Aslund is working for the Russian government B Russia outperfoumed the other three countries in stock market C most people disagree Russia is included in BRICs D the BRICs would end up being the BICs sooner or later Answer: B. Russia outperfoumed the other three countries in stock market Two years ago my husband bought me a bicycle. If you live in a city, it is often faster than a car and you don't have to worry about parking . You can leave it anywhere. Because it has a seat at the back and a basket at the front, I can take my daughter to school, to the library, to the shops, to anywhere. I use it most in summer when the weather is warm and dry. It can be very unhappy in winter when it is cold and the rain is heavy. Of course, you must be careful on a bicycle. Accidents are not the only problems. One day I went shopping and came back late. I found my front wheel missing. So I have to walk to the bicycle shop. My husband uses my bicycle sometimes for short journeys. He says it is better than waiting for a bus. He still uses his car for longer journeys. I think that all this sitting down is making him fat and lazy. On my bike I get lots of exercise and fresh air, and this makes me feel a lot younger. When doesn't the writer like to use the bike? A When she is very busy. B When it is very warm. C When the weather is bad. D When she goes to work. Answer: C. When the weather is bad.
The city of Rome has passed a new law to prevent cruelty to animals. All goldfish bowls are no longer allowed and dog owners must walk their dogs, "The civilization of a city can be measured by this," said Monica Cirinna, the councilor( ) behind the new law. "It's good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention," she told a Rome newspaper. The newspaper reported that round bowls don't give enough oxygen for fish and may make them go blind. "Rome has tried to protect fish more than anywhere else in the world. It stands out for recognizing that fish are interesting animals who deserve our respect and compassion every bit as much as dogs and eats and other animals," said Karin Robertson, a director of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Last year a law was passed in Italy that gives people who desert pets big fines and prison sentences. Since then local governments have added their own animal protection rules. The northern city of Turin passed a law in April to give pet owners fines of up to $ 598 if they do not walk their dogs three times a day. The new law in Rome also says that owners mustn't leave their dogs in hot cars or cut their dogs' tails to make them look lovelier. The law also gives legal recognition to the "cat ladies" who feed homeless cats. The cats live all over the city from ancient ruins to modem office car parks. People in Rome believe that the civilization of a city can be judged by its_. Answer: awareness of animal protection Beijing's historic hutong are in danger of disappearing. That's the warning from residents and historians, who have called on authorities to do more to protect this unique part of the capital's culture. In 2000, Beijing still had 1,300 hutong, according to amateur historian Zhang Wei. But he estimates that since then, at least half of them have disappeared. According to regulations, people can report illegal buildings to urban patrol officers, known as chengguan, and buildings found to be illegal will be demolished by force. However, a China Daily reporter found that it was not an easy task, and lots of additional structures built by their owners were found in hutong. Many owners added a second floor or even more floors to their houses, especially in buildings near main streets, in order to rent more apartments and make more money. Zhang, the historian, said that to better protect the hutong, the government should offer more compensation to residents willing to move away. Guo Dazhi, a photojournalist in Beijing, lived in a hutong for nearly 30 years before moving to eastern Chaoyang district. Guo hopes that the government can solve the problem by moving residents out of hutong with policies such as public renting programs. However, the Beijing Commission of Urban Planning said in a report in July that the relocation of residents from old areas was very expensive.According to the report, allocating 10,000 residents costs 1.5 billion yuan . What is the suggestion mentioned of solving the problem? Answer: offer more money to residents willing to move away. The Mandarin Chinese word for "cha" is pronounced "t'e" in certain Chinese dialects . Also the Malay word for the leaf is"the". This word "the" was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as the Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference; so these may be the origins of our word tea in the western world. Tea may have been discovered in 2737 BC by Shen Nong, a Chinese Emperor of the San Huang Period(3,000 - 2,700 BC). He was a scholar, the father of agriculture and the inventor of Chinese herbal medicine. One summer day, while visiting a distant place, he and the court stopped to rest and his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and made it a brown liquid. The Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so, tea was created. The first samples of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea was referred to as the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, and tea and was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink. The original English pronunciation of the word tea was "tay" and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage to England. The pronunciation "tee" also originated in the 1600's but only gained predominance after the late 18th century. By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. During that year Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (later re-named New York). The following information is true EXCEPT _ . Answer: The word "the" was used to describe only the leaf. Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused of killing farm animals. They are officially classified as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them. Famers can also call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population. Hunting consists of running after a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox, the kill it or a hunter shoots it. People who take part in hunting think of it as a sport. They wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers, and follow strict rules of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly are expensive, so most hunters are wealthy. It is estimated that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox-hunting. But over the last couple of decades the number of people who are against fox-hunting, because they think it is brutal , has risen sharply. Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to pass off without some kind of conflict between hunters and hunt opponents . Sometimes these incidents lead to violence, but mostly opponents discourage the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the trail of the fox's smell, which the dogs follow. Noisy conflicts between hunters and opponents have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as running after foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox-hunting face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party member of Parliament , Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to approve a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain. A new law may be passed by the British Parliament to _ . Answer: protect wild animals like foxes People who smoke could lose around one third of their daily memory, researchers say. A study by a team at Northumbria University showed that smokers lost more of their memory when compared to non-smokers. And the research also found that those who kicked the habit saw their ability to recollect information restored to almost the same level as non-smokers. The study involved more than seventy 18-to-25-year-olds and included a tour of the university's campus. Those who took part were asked to recall small details, such as a list of songs played at a campus concert and tasks completed at various points-known as real world memory test. Smokers performed badly, remembering just 59 percent of tasks. But those who had given up smoking remembered 74 percent and those who had never smoked recalled 81 percent of tasks. Dr. Tom Heffernan, who leads Northumbria University's Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group, said the findings would be useful in anti-smoking campaigns. He said, "Given that there are up to 10 million smokers in the UK and as many as 45 million in the United States, it's important to understand the effects smoking has on everyday cognitive function-of which prospective memory is an excellent example. " "This is the first time that a study has set out to examine whether giving up smoking has an _ on memory. We already know that giving up smoking has huge health benefits for the body, but this study also shows how stopping smoking can have knock-on benefits for cognitive functions too. '' The research will now investigate the effects of passive smoking on memory, while Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Terence O'Neil will look into the effects of third-hand smoking-toxins left on curtains and furniture. According to Dr. Tom Heffernan, the findings _ . Answer: would contribute to fighting against smoking
Finding a friend doesn't seem like a difficult job. However, bad friends are easier to find than good friends these days. If you're sitting there and wondering if you have a bad friend, let me define it for you. A bad friend is someone whose jealousies and insecurities outweigh their love for someone. They night want to be a good friend but they're too messed up in their own head to ever actually do it. They wonder if their friends are going out without them or if they're being forgotten and left behind. People who are violently insecure don't have what it takes to be the quality of a friend. Bad friends are narcissistic .They look for any opportunity to bring the conversation back to them. Worse, they might not even be aware that they're doing it. In their mind, they might think they are the best friend ever, which is truly frightening. Bad friends are quick-change. They're by your side when you're fun and you have something to give them but as soon as you're going through a difficult time, they will become indifferent quickly. They won't bring you cold medicine. They won't give you a ride to the doctor, everything they do is self-serving. If you find a friend who has these same characteristics, send them to your bad friend list immediately. Your friends are supposed to be the solution to your problems, not the source. I believe your twenties are a time when you need positive and helpful friends. In such a time, friendships aren't easy to maintain like they once were in school. Now we actually have to put work into it, we have to make a conscious effort to keep the friendship going. You need to ask yourself, "Is this person worth it? Do they treat me like a fool or what?" if your have doubts, try to make them clear by considering the past experiences. Toxic friendships do nothing but drag you down. My point is that you have to take care of yourself and stop getting in touch with your bad friends. Only surround yourself with people who bring out the best qualities in you. It may sound cruel but it's true,. We can infer from the passage that a bad friend will _ when you have trouble. Answer: A person who is deaf when he is born is usually dumb as well. There may be nothing wrong with his mouth and tongue, but he cannot speak. This is because he cannot hear people, so he has nothing to imitate . He may try to make sounds himself, but cannot hear his own voice. However, even though he finds it difficult to speak and cannot hear, he can learn to read. Nowadays such persons can also be taught to speak because we have modern methods and equipment, but we did not have these when Helen Keller was born. Even with modern methods and equipment, however, it is not easy for deaf children to learn to speak, though most of them succeed. When a child is deaf and blind as well, it becomes much more difficult, though it is possible. Helen Keller was born in 1880. She became very ill at the age of nineteen months. Medical knowledge was not as great then as it is now. She did not die but lost her sight and hearing. As a result, she became dumb as well. Her parents did their best to teach her, but she couldn't speak by the age of six. Then, in 1887, a teacher, Miss Sullivan, came to live with her. Miss Sullivan herself had been blind. She had been partly cured. Though she could not see very well, she was not blind. Helen was a difficult pupil at first, but in a month Helen had learned how to understand signs and how to make them herself. At last in spite of her great difficulties, Helen learned to read, write and speak, even though she was deaf and blind. She even went to college and had full education. She wrote many books, and though other people have written books about her, her own books are the ones that best explain how it feels to be deaf, dumb and blind. Her best book is The Story of My Life. Perhaps you have read it. Though it was written in 1902, it is still a very interesting book. Even if you have not read it, you may have heard of Helen Keller. A person who is deaf at birth is also dumb because _ . Answer: She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday. When it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world's recordholder. She lived to the ripe old age of 122. So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span ? If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150-or beyond? Researchers don't entirely agree on the answers. "Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn't surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135, "says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas. Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees. "People can live much longer than we think, "he says. "Experts used to say that humans couldn't live past 110. When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120. So why can't we go higher? " The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it's all just guessing. "Anyone can make up a number, "says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan. "Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine. " Won't new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries? Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120. Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most. So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller, "adding another 50 percent would get you to 120. " So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers? That life span is flexible , but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington. "We can get flies to live 50 percent longer, "he says. "But a fly's never going to live 150 years. "Of course, if you became a new species , one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story, he adds. Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve their way to longer life? "It's pretty cool to think about, "he says with a smile. What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us? Answer: How do you celebrate New Year's Eve? Have you ever imagined how New Year's Eve would look in another country? Examples listed below are four of the top ten "Special New Year Traditions Around the World". 1. Breaking Dishes on Neighbor's Door----Denmark A strange Danish New Year tradition is throwing dishes at neighbor's door. Strangely, this makes them happy instead of annoying them. The family with the tallest tower of broken plates, glasses, cups is considered to be the luckiest one because it means their large number of true friends. 2. Talking to Spirits----Mexico Talking to spirits is a part of Mexican belief. Mexicans strongly believe that they can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones. New Year's Eve is considered the best time to communicate with dead spirits. 3. Wearing Polka Dots ----Philippines Imagine streets full of people wearing polka dots and dining room tables full of round shaped food and fruits on one single day of the year. This all actually happens in the Philippines on New Year's Eve every year. Philippines believe that this will bring them wealth by relating the round dots to coins and wealth. 4. Mistletoe Leaves Are Placed Under Pillow to Find Husband----Ireland The unmarried women of Ireland wait until 12 for New Year's Eve because it is the night that can bring them the love of their lives. They place mistletoe leaves under their pillow hoping to catch their future husband. It is also believed in the Irish culture that this act will help them stay away from bad luck. No matter how people celebrate the New Year, we all want to start a new, fresh year with renewed enthusiasm. We all want to be happier, find love, renew friendships, increase our wealth and also hope for a little extra luck in the coming new year. The unmarried Irish women placed mistletoe leaves hoping to _ . Answer: If one mineral can scratch another mineral then that other mineral is softer than that one mineral, as can be tested with Answer:
Question: Nowadays, many children spend hours a day looking at computer screens or other digital products. Some eye care doctors say all the screen time has caused more children to have what they call computer vision syndrome . Nathan Warford is an optometrist in the US. He says he has seen more children having eye problems. "More children come into my office because their parents have noticed that they have headaches or red eyes, or because their degree of short-sightedness appears to be increasing very fast and they're worried," he said. Dr. Warford says part of the problem is that even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, some children don't tell their parents, because they don't want their games or the computer to be taken away. Another part of the problem is that people blink less often when they look at the screen.A person who uses a computer or a digital product blinks about a third as much as we normally do in everyday life. If eyes can't stay wet or are too tired, they will not be protected like normal. Why don't some children tell their parents when their eyes start to feel uncomfortable? A. They think it is not serious. B. They want to continue playing computer games. C. They don't want their parents to worry. D. Their parents don't care about them. Answer: B Question: My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his CF & thr 3:-@ kids FTF ILNY, its gr8. Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad: neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cellphones. To newcomers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the "translation" of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York; it's great. Schoolteachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes cxan be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted . Everyone should just relax, say linguists . They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nunberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says, "Kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mail, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents." Linguist James Millroy says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can bet your bottom dollar that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents, they too will think this way. Milroy argues that languages do not and cannot become "corrupted"; they simply change to meet the new needs. However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but that learning to write proper English is a must for their future." Perhaps we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, age 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Texting is just for fun" Which of the following is true according to the passage? A. Cynthia McVey points out teenagers can deal with Netspeak properly. B. Geoffrey Nunberg believes Netspeakers can write Standard English. C. David Crystal thinks Netspeak helps develop the habit of writing. D. James Milroy says that language is changing and improving. Answer: C Question: Buying permanent things instead of disposable things is A. composting B. conservation C. recycling D. returning Answer: B Question: One day last September, as Britney Spears was about to board a flight to Los Angeles from prefix = st1 /London, a blue bottle fell out of her purse. She quickly put it back in, but not before the camera recorded the event. Neither Spears nor her spokesman was willing to comment on the contents of the bottle, but the next morning London's Daily Express published a page of pictures under the headline "EXCLUSIVE: POP PRINCESS SPOTTED AT AIRPORT WITH POT OF SLIMMING TABLETS." Spears was apparently carrying Zantrex-3, one of the most popular weight-loss pills now sold in theUnited States. The pill, which is sold at about fifty dollars for a month's supply, contains a huge amount of caffeine, some green tea, and three common South American herbs that also act as stimulants . It hit the U.S.market last March and has had _ . Millions of bottles have been sold, and during the Christmas season it was displayed in the windows of the nation's largest chain of vitamin shops, G.N.C. (It is so highly sought after that many of the stores keep it in locked counters.) Zantrex-3 is also sold at CVS, Rite _ Aid, Wal-Mart, and other chains, and over the telephone and on the Internet. If you type "Zantrex" into Google, more than a hundred thousand pieces of information about it will appear. At any moment, there are scores of people sell it on eBay. Perhaps the most interesting thing aboutthe success story of Zantrex-3, however, is that _ is far from unique. There are hundreds of similar products on the market today, and they are bought by millions of Americans. And though Zantrex's producer makes some exciting statements ("the most advanced weight control compound period"), so do the people who sell Stacker 2 and Anorex along with those who sell Carb Eliminator and Fat Eliminator. Almost all of these compounds suggest that they can help people lose weight and regain lost energy, and often without diet, exercise, or any other effort. Which of the following is also a kind of weight-loss pill? A. CVS B. Rite Aid C. Wal-Mart D. Anorex Answer: D Question: As a preteen in New York, Whitney Johnson volunteered at soup kitchens and delivered clothes to the homeless. While at college, she started an English-language tutoring program for immigrant children. No one was surprised, then, when she chose to volunteer in an orphanage in Khayelitsha, one of South Africa's poorest areas, during her junior year abroad. At the orphanage, Johnson discovered most of the children infected with HIV at birth, many abandoned by parents too sick to care for them, or neglected by surviving s. Few were receiving the care needed to stay healthy. Many died. When she left, all she wanted to do was go back and change what she had seen. After graduation, Johnson began a fund-raising effort that eventually collected enough money to found UBA, a nonprofit organization intended to provide services for HIV-positive kids aged 4 to 18 in Khayelitsha. Now UBA is housed in a church big enough for offices and the children. The staff includes counselors , a social worker, a nurse, a cook, and a handful of volunteers, ensuring that each child has access to proper care, a free healthy meal, and emotional support. Once a week, she makes sure the children receive age-appropriate lessons about AIDS. The social worker sees to it that the kids are enrolled in school and have safe living conditions-especially those without parents. Johnson plans to soon relocate UBA to an even larger location with more medical staff and a field"so the kids can run around and just feel like kids." She's also working with the South African Department of Health so that the new center can distribute drugs and give blood tests. "Many people think that HIV means death, but it doesn't," Johnson says. "There's so much that can be done." In the five years since the center opened, not one of the 200 kids in the program has died. "It's so emotional to see the strong, independent people they become." One teenage girl who had received help at UBA even announced that she wanted to become a nurse. After graduating from college, Whitney Johnson _ . A. volunteered at soup kitchens in New York B. went to study abroad for a year C. started an English-language tutoring program D. began collecting money to found UBA Answer: D
No one knows why we sleep, but it's certain that we need to. People who are prevented from sleeping begin to suffer obvious effects after a few days--they think less clearly, and they fall asleep during the working hours; some may have hallucinations . There are no rules about sleep. Generally speaking, grown-ups sleep about 7 and a half hours each night and probably more than 60 per cent get between seven and eight hours. But perhaps eight per cent are quite happy with 5 hours or less, and four per cent or so find that they want ten hours or more. If you feel all right, you're probably getting enough sleep. The important thing is not to worry how much other people get--their needs may be different. Exercise doesn't seem to increase the need for sleep--office workers, for example, sleep for about as long as people doing physically active work. Children sleep more than grown-ups--perhaps 14 to 18 hours soon after birth, going down to grown-up levels by early teenage. Sleep patterns also tend to be different in the elderly, who may sleep less at night than they did when younger, find sleep getting more broken, and often make it a rule to sleep during the daytime. Whether you have got enough sleep is judged by _ . Answer: It is well-known that twins are closer to each other than most brothers and sisters ---- after all, they probably spend more time with each other. Parents of twins often notice that they develop special ways of communicating: they invent their own words and one can often finish the other's sentence. In exceptional circumstances, this closeness becomes more extreme: they invent a whole language of their own, as in the case of Grace and Virginia Kennedy from Georgia in the USA, who communicated so successfully in their own special language that they did not speak any English at all until after they started school. However, these special relationships are the result of lives spent almost entirely in each other's company. What happens when twins do not grow up together, when they are separated at birth for some reason? Are they just like any other strangers, or are there still special similarities between them? Professor Tom Bouchard, of the University of Minnesota, set out to find the answer to this question. He traced sixteen pairs of twins, who were adopted by different families when they were babies, and often brought up in very different circumstances. Each twin was then interviewed about every small detail of their life. The results of this research make a surprising reading. Many of the twins were found to have the same hobbies, many have suffered the same illnesses, and some have even had the same type of accident at the same point in their lives. One pair of middle-aged women arrived for their first meeting in similar dresses, another pair were wearing similar jewellery. The most incredible similarities are to be found in the case of Jim Springer and Jim Lewis from Ohio in the USA. The story of the 'Jim Twins' made headline news across USA. Born to an immigrant woman in 1939, and adopted by different families at birth, both babies were named Jim by their new parents. But what can be the explanation for these remarkable similarities? Is it all pure coincidence, or is the explanation in some way genetic? Research into the lives of twins is forcing some experts to admit that our personalities may be at least partly due to 'nature'. On the other hand, analysts are also anxious to emphasise that incredible coincidences do happen all the time, not just in the lives of twins. The case of Grace and Virginia Kennedy (Para. 1) is to show that _ . Answer: A group of students was preparing an activity to determine whether certain materials will float or sink when placed on water. Before the experiment started, one student said, "I think the sponge will float." This statement was Answer: Imagine the following scenario : A woman buys her lunch every day from a fast food outlet near her job. After some years, she finds herself 30 pounds overweight, and feeling unhealthy. So what does she do? She chooses to bring a lawsuit against the fast food outlet, claiming that the food served there was the cause of her being overweight and in poor health. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't? The only thing more absurd than the story itself is the fact that is not fiction. There are people who have sued fast food chains for causing their weight problems. This is an example of one of the ways in which many of us spend enormous amounts of energy trying to deny the undeniable and universal fact that we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices and our own lives. How much easier would we make it for ourselves if we could accept this fact rather than resist it? But how can we embrace the truth, that we are living the lives we choose to live, that we are enjoying or suffering the consequences of our own choices, and that blaming others for our problems and shortcomings is nothing more than a comfortable fantasy? We must acknowledge the truth of our lives, however unpleasant this may be. If we are overweight, in a bad relationship, in a dead end, we need to accept that this is where we are, at this moment in time. Imagine that woman decided that she was unhappy with the extra pounds she'd gained after many years of eating fast food on a regular basis. Imagine that this woman took the time to really understand and accept that she and no one else was responsible for her eating choices. Having acknowledged this fact, she then decides to make the changes in her lifestyle to become the healthier, slimmer person she wants to be. What should a person do if he is in a bad relationship with his roommates, according to the author? Answer: Jan was a window cleaner. One morning, Jan was in a lift of a high building with his window cleaning tools when the building was on fire. There were five other passengers in the lift. All of a sudden the lift stopped. Although they didn't know what had happened outside, they had only 100 minutes to get out of the building before it would fall into the dust. Soon smoke began coming into the lift. The men knew that something was wrong. They tried to open the door but found a wall in front of them. The wall had the number 15 on it and they knew they were on the 15th floor. But their lift usually didn't stop there, so there was no opening for them to escape. Jan decided they would have to make their own. Knowing that the wall was made of a material that could be cut through, Jan took out his window cleaning tools, and began knocking a hole through the wall. When he felt tired, others helped. Starting with one small hole, they cut through the three-inch-thick wall. Then they kicked hard at the wall. The wall cracked apart. They saw before them a tile wall! Refusing to give up, they knocked a hole through the tile, then made the opening big enough to get through. Surprisingly, the fire-fighters were outside the hole, they took Jan and his partners to the nearest stairs and they ran down the stairs as quickly as possible. By 10:23, Jan and the others ran out of the building. Five minutes later, the building burned down. What was Jan doing when the building was on fire? Answer:
Different countries have different greeting customs.Now let's learn more about the greeting customs in different cultures. France France people greet each other with a handshake ,but close friends kiss each other on the cheek when they meet.They do this when meeting and before leaving. Korea In Korea ,it is a sign of respect for people to bow when greeting each other.In Korea, a bow is followed by a handshake.However ,Korea women do not shake hands with western men ,instead ,they bow slightly. Brazil Kissing women on the cheek is a common way of greeting.In a formal situation ,a handshake is often done to show respect.Men should shake hands before and after meeting, and once they have become familiar with each other ,a light hug is often given to each other. Ghana In a social situation, it's polite to greet everyone in the room.A handshake is used in greeting,and the palm must directly touch the palm of the other.It's considered impolite to touch the back of the hand. Two close French friends will kiss each other on the _ when they meet. A. hand B. cheek C. neck D. arm Answer: B Stay in the magic with your friends and family and book a hotel stay at either Disney's Hollywood Hotel or Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.As a hotel guest, you can enjoy an extra day at Hong Kong Disneyland Park during your stay when you buy a one-day ticket! How It Works Hotel guests staying at either the Disney's Hollywood Hotel or Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel who buy a Hong Kong Disneyland Park ticket will receive an extra park admission for the following day.Guests can buy Stay and Play for 2 Days tickets as soon as you check in at the Front Desk.Ticket price will be based on the first day a guest visits the Park.If the first visit day is a Regular Day, guests can buy Regular Day tickets even though the following day may be a Peak or Special Day.If the first visit day is a Peak Day, Guests should buy Peak Day tickets even though the following day may be a Regular Day. This offer is available 13 May through 30 September 2006.Guests who have bought their Hong Kong Disneyland Park tickets before 13 May 2006 can exchange their unused and not expired tickets to Stay and Play for 2 Days tickets at the Hotel Front Desk. Where to Buy Guests can book their hotel stay through the following: Call Hong Kong Disneyland Reservation Center at +852 1-830-830, opens daily 9 am-6 pm. OR Get in touch with your travel agent. Dates to Remember Offer Period 13 May 2006 - 30 September 2006 Last Day to buy Stay and Play for 2 days tickets 29 September 2006 Last Visit Date 30 September 2006 For more information, please click here. You can get a Stay and Play for 2 Days ticket _ . A. from 13 May 2006 to 30 September 2006 B. by getting in touch with your travel agent C. by calling 852 1-830-830 any time of the day D. with your used Hong Kong Disneyland Park ticket Answer: B In jokes, the chicken only crosses the road. In Australia,cane toads use roads to travel. A new study finds that Cane toads are using roads to spread across the continent. They take shelter overnight close to the opencorridors , and then hit the road each evening in their damaging way. Cane toads were brought into Australia from Hawaii in 1935 to control the spread ofbeetles that were destroying Australia's sugar cane crop. _ are now moving into new places at the speed of 30 miles a year. Toads can grow as large as dinner plates and can weigh up to 4.5 pounds. Their heads and backsides are covered with rows ofwarts . They are known to kill snakes, lizards and other animals, including pet dogs. They have no natural enemy in Australia. According to a research, toads make slower progress through thick plants than along open spaces and they hop alongside roads and fences whenever possible. Toads use long corridors that are well-suited for them to travel long distances. Another study recently found that toads haveevolved longer legs in recent years and that this is also helping them in their spread. Efforts to kill toads have been largely unsuccessful, although scientists tried their best. Another new finding suggests ways to slow down its population. For example, roadside borders can be changed to make them less attractive to toads, or allowing thick plants to grow along the sides of highways, thus forcing toads onto the road of themselves. Which would be the best title for the passage? A. Ways to kill cane toads in Australia. B. Cane toads have evolved a lot in Australia. C. Australian cane toads hit the road. D. Worse environment forces toads to travel. Answer: C Fidenzio Salvatori is determined that the city of Toronto will have an outdoor marketplace for merchants from its immigrant community, complete with dancing and other forms of amusement form their native countries. "Toronto is truly multicultural ," he said in a newspaper interview. "It's a city from many places, and multicultural marketplace will help Torontonians to understand and appreciate the rich variety of cultural groups in our city." Salvatori, aged 23, will soon complete his studies at the University of Toronto. He was eleven years old when he came to Canada from Italy with his parents. "Most of Toronto's immigrants are from lands where the marketplace has always been part of daily life," he said. Salvatori has been interested in getting an open-air market for Toronto for the last three years. This year, with the help of two fellow students, he prepared a proposal on the subject and presented it to the city's Executive committee, asking for their support. The proposal pointed out Toronto's rich variety of national groups, "whose customs include market shopping." Under a Canadian government program for multiculturalism, the three students have received two thousand dollars with which they will do a study to find out whether Toronto's immigrant businessmen would support an open-air market. They hope the merchants will support the plan strongly. "A study done earlier this year showed that 90 percent of shoppers would be in favor of it," Salvatori said. "At first it would be an experiment. But we think it will prove to be good business for the merchants, as well as tourist attraction." Fidenzio Salvatori, with two other students, has got two thousand dollars from the government _ . A. to make an experiment B. to perform a research C. to start a marketplace D. to operate a business Answer: C February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines. On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine's Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn't allow marriage. But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine", an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint , as well as becoming one of history's most romantic characters. Nowadays, Valentine's Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine's cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine. Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country? A. Because there were few women in his country at that time. B. Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. C. Because there wasn't enough food for so many people. D. Because he wanted to control the birth rate. Answer: B
Sunshine For All The Beijing Sunshine Secondary School students are holding a charity show at the school hall of Beijing Sunshine Secondary School, Sunny Street, Sunshine Town. Date: 29 April Time: 7:30 p. m.9:00 p. m. We hope to raise money to help poor children go to school. Ticket price: $20 Donations are welcome. Programme: 7:30 p. m. Introduction 7:40 p. m. Songs 8:00 p. m. Break 8:15 p. m. Speech 8:30 p. m. Drama 9:00 p. m. End of the show Project Hope is an organization that raises money to build schools and buy books for poor students. We would like to thank the following for their help and support: The teachers at Beijing Sunshine Secondary School The Star Shopping Mall for the costumes Sunshine Advertisement Company for the posters What can you do at 8:00 p. m.? Answer: Have a rest. The whole body is covered with skin.The surface of the skin is dead(like the hair and the nails),but it is made from a living layer just under the surface.The outside dead layers wear off all the time,with new ones replacing them,and the body forms a totally new skin every three weeks. The skin protects the body from the outside world and it passes information from the outside.It helps to keep water in the body and to keep the body at the same temperature.Becteria can't get in through the skin unless it is damaged. If the weather is cold,the blood vessels in the skin squeeze down,or contract ,so that as little blood as possible comes near the surface.This means that less warmth is lost to the outside.This makes the skin look pale,or even "blue".At the same time,the hairs on the skin are pulled upright by tiny muscles. When it is hot,the blood vessels expand ,or get wider again,to allow plenty of blood to run near the surface of the skin.This helps the body to lose heat,and the skin may look red.At the same time,the sweat glands produce more sweat,which cools the skin. If your skin has ever been numb ,you will realize how important the feeling from the skin is.Nerves in the skin are sensitive to heat and cold,sharpness,hardness and softness,wetness and dryness and pain.If one is not able to feel these things,which can act as warnings,he is likely to be burned,cut or hurt in other ways. The colour of the skin depends on special colour cells .These are just below the top layers of the skin.They are needed as protection from some harmful ray of the sun.The stronger the sun is,the more important it is to have a dark skin.People with pale skins may "tan" in the sun.This happens when the body produces extra colour cells in the skin for protection.In the sun,the skin produces a vitamin(vitamin D)which is needed for strong bones. The colour of the skin is determined by _ . Answer: colour cells It was several years since Adolf Hitler came into power inprefix = st1 /Germany. And now his army was marching into some parts of Europe. He must be in the prime of his career. One day Hitler went to an exhibition where the works of school children were on show. He seemed to have great interest in the exhibits--inventions as well as carvings, drawings. After having walked around the hall and examined everything, he said he was ready to meet the young artists. And soon a group of children came into the room to salute (......) him. "Well, well. You did very good work." Nodded Hitler in satisfaction. "I promise on my honor I'd satisfy you with whatever you want. What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" "A sailor sailing the sea" one of the boys answered. "Good. I'll have you join my navy and some day you will rule the oceans." "Ask for anything? What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" he asked a second boy. "A painter as great as Rembruant." "Good. You are to be sent to the Fine Art School and surely you will make an even greater painter." When Hitler caught sight of a sad-looking boy he frowned , then quickly forced a smile, "There my boy, in spite of my point of view towards the Jews , I'd do you a favor and your dream will come true. What'd you wish to be if I were your father?" The boy looked straight at the man. "An orphan ( a child who has no parents )." he murmured. Judging by what the boy said we can see that _ . Answer: the boys hated Hitler very much The direction water flows in a river depends on Answer: the slope of the land A 15-year-old student who invented a flashlight getting power from the holder's body heat is going home today from California with a big prize and a chance to do further research. Ann Makosinski was the only Canadian among the four winners at Google's international science competition. Thousands of young scientists from around the world took part in the competition. Winning the science and technology competition was "a surprise". Ann said, "I think it will have a great influence on my future." Ann thanked her family for encouraging her interest in science and said that her first toy was a box of transistors . The ideas for the invention came from seeing unwanted batteries and her friend's experience. When Ann visited a friend in the Philippines, she saw the friend couldn't study when it became dark because there was no electricity or light. She saw the need for a flashlight that has no batteries - Hollow Flashlight. In her project, Ann wrote "I made two flashlights that do not use any batteries or harmful materials. They do not create any noise and will always work. The flashlight needs at least a 5degCtemperature difference between the holder's body and the environment around to produce light." A video of Ann explaining how she created the flashlight has been watched more than 1.4 million times on the Internet. Though Ann was successful, she has not made a decision about her career path. Ann hope that she can find a way to join her love of film and science together. The four winners were chosen from 15 final competitors from eight countries. The competition attracted thousands of students in 120 countries. In which part of a newspaper can we probably read this passage? Answer: Technology.
There was once a violinist who said he was not afraid of animals that are dangerous. He said in a proud way, "Even a bear would be as quiet as the friendliest cat when hearing my music." But he had never played, and no one believed him. A chance to show his words arrived just when a circus came to the town. The musician came to the ringmaster and told what he could do. "Wow, that's interesting." The ringmaster said. "We just have three new lions and they haven't worked with the lion tamer yet. Let's see what you can do with them." The violinist agreed and the whole town crowded the hall to see what would happen. The violinist was standing quietly in the center of the ring with a smile. Then the ringmaster opened the door of the cage and jumped out angrily a huge lion, shouting and showing his teeth. Everyone was too nervous to breathe. Still with the smile , the violinist began to play. The beautiful music rose , then the lion sat down and began to enjoy the music. Everyone lost themselves in the music. The lion did, too. For the second lion, _ . Then it's the third lion's turn to appear and everyone there was waiting for the lion to be quiet just like the other two . But the lion ran up to the man and ate him. All the people were surprised. The other two lions asked angrily, "What have you done ! We were enjoying the music!" The third lion put his paw( ) to its ear and said, "Sorry, I can't hear you. I have been deaf for 5 years." The people felt so _ that they couldn't breathe when seeing the first lion. A angry B scared C nervous D bored Answer: C. nervous Big messaging apps abroad While WeChat is China's biggest mobile messaging app , there are many equivalent apps in other countries that offer similar features. WhatsApp (US) Users: more than 300 million Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry Features: text chats, pushtotalk, file sharing, location sharing With more than 300 million active users, WhatsApp is one of WeChat's biggest competitors. Developed by two exYahoo employees in 2009, WhatsApp originally focused on text chats, but on Aug. 6 it also started pushtotalk service. It's noted for its accessibility, ease of use and the absence of adverts. The service is free for the first year, after which D\|S0.99 (6.06 yuan) is charged for a oneyear subscription. Kakao Talk (South Korea) Users: more than 100 million Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Bada (an operating system developed by Samsung) Features: text chats, group chats, pushtotalk, group calls, file sharing With more than 100 million users in more than 230 countries, Kakao Talk is a multiplatform texting application that allows users to send and receive messages for free. With Kakao Talk, users can message each other oneonone or in group chats with unlimited numbers of friends. You can also choose from more than 250 animated emoticons and share them with friends. Line (Japan) Users: more than 200 million Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and PC Features: text chats, group chats, pushtotalk, file sharing, location sharing, gaming, stickers Line tops the list of the most downloaded free apps in 52 countries. Apart from text and voice messaging, Line provides its users with more than 250 original stickers and emoticons to buy from its own shop. In the first quarter of 2013 alone, it made D\|S17 million just from stickers. The popular app also allows friends to battle each other in the Line games. One of the popular features of WhatsApp is that users _ . A can send and receive messages for free B can enjoy live video chats within groups C don't need to worry about unwanted ads D regularly get free stickers and emoticons Answer: C. don't need to worry about unwanted ads We see 3D movies, games, TVs, and so on. Do you hear of 3D newspapers? Yes, here is a kind of newspaper from Belgian. And it was born on March 3rd, 2010. This is the first 3D newspaper in the world. Huber Leklein with his friends began to make the 3D newspaper in January,2010. They worked really hard. And they finished in March. If you buy this newspaper ,you can get a pair of free 3D glasses. All the pictures and ads in the newspaper are in 3D,but the articles are not in 3D.You can read this 3D newspaper by holding( ) the newspaper 50cm away from the eyes. In fact, if people don't wear the 3D glasses, they can't read the newspaper very well because the pictures and words in it are not clear. People like reading 3D newspaper very much. But Hubert Lekein and his friends don't want to continue with it because they spent too much money and time. The first 3D newspaper is in _ A England B Belgian C German D France Answer: B. Belgian You are what you eat Keeping better eating habits can help you have less illness. A healthy eating plan means choosing the right food to eat and cooking food in a healthy way. _ Do you often change your toothbrush? Maybe you think it is unnecessary. A study shows old toothbrushes bring disease . You should often change your toothbrush. Exercise Swimming, cycling, jogging, skating, dancing, walking and some other activities can help you stay healthy. You should exercise at least three times a week and for twenty minutes or more each time. Do it! Plan out your life You should have breakfast before you go to school. Have a right meal for lunch. Follow a healthy diet. How long should you exercise each time? A Twenty-five minutes. B Fifteen minutes. C Five minutes. D Ten minutes. Answer: A. Twenty-five minutes. The law says women should have the chance of doing the same jobs as men and earn the same as them. The reality is very different. Women lose because, 25 years after the Equal Pay Act, many of them still get paid less than men. They lose because they do lower-paid jobs which men just won't consider. And they lose because they are the ones who interrupt a career to have children. All this is reported in an independent study ordered by the Government's women's unit. The biggest problem isn't equal pay in workplaces such as factories. It is the sort of work women do. Make a list of low-paid-jobs, then consider who does them. Try nurses, secretaries, cleaners, clerks, teachers in primary schools, dinner ladies and child-care helpers. Not a lot of men among that group, are there? Yet some of those jobs are really important. Surely no one would deny that about nurses and teachers, for a start. So why do we reward the people who do them so poorly? There can be only one answer--because they are women. This is not going to be put right overnight. But the government, which employs a lot of them, and other bosses have to make a start. It is disgraceful that we have gone into the 21st century still treating women like second-class citizens. Women should have the chance of doing the same jobs and getting the same pay as men _ . A after 25 years B according to the law C as a result of those important jobs D because women are as strong as men Answer: B. according to the law
Hello,my friend.I'm Jack.Today I'd like to tell you a story about the language.People live together and they speak the same language.They are kind to each other . People want to build a tower.One of them says, "Let's build it high and it can reach the heaven !".And the name is the Tower of Babel.But God doesn't like it."I will stop them!" God says. People can work together because they can speak the same language.So God makes people speak different language.This is a big problem.Someone asks for water,people give him clothes.They can't understand each other.So people are not friendly.They don't like building the tower. People begin to speak different languages and live in different places.They never finish building the Tower of Babel. Now people in the world _ . Answer: DAVID Beckham. Cristiano Ronaldo and Rnfacl Nadal while you watch sports and admin* the players' skills, do you ever notice how handsome the players are? Yes, sportsmen tend to be handsome. And they haven't only attracted the interest of the audience even scientists are now studying their good looks. In a recent study, Erik Postma, a biologist at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, collected the headshots of 80 professional athletes from I hr 2012 Tour He France, a bicycle race held in Franco. The race, which covers 3,200 kilometers in 23 days, is often considered to In* one of the hardest endurance events, according to The Telegraph. Postma then asked female participants to score the cyclists' attractiveness.judging them only based on their facial appearances. So, if a participant recognized any of the cyclists, meaning she knew how good he was at the sport, her score wouldn't count. After comparing all the scores with the cyclists' performances in the 2012 race, Postma was surprised to find that the best riders were rated on average 25 percent more attractive than the worst ones. For example, one of the cyclists, Maxime Monfort , came third in terms of attractiveness and sixth in terms of performance, reported Discovery News. But where did women get the ability to single out a good rider by simply looking at his face? According lo Postma, evolution seems to be the answer. In ancient times, women preferred to marry strong men because they would provide good genes for their children. A man with great endurance was also able to cover long distances to hunt for food, which would allow him to better feed the family. "That's why endurance performance was a key evolutionary factor." Postma told Discovery News. As you can see, it's not that sportsmen ate more attractive themselves, women were just born to think of them that way. Perhaps surprisingly, when Postma did the same test with male participants, he found that men actually had a quite similar view on which riders were handsome. Even though most men aren't aware of it. they inherited this ability from their ancient past, when it was necessary to "spot potential competitors" , explained Postma. What did Erik Postma ask female participants to do in his study? Answer: As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But Venezuela, whose beauty queens have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times, doesn't leave it to chance. In Venezuela, girls as young as four can be found attending beauty schools, where they can learn a range of skills from how to walk to the correct way to hold a wine glass. "Hair must always be completely clean, make-up should look natural, and you should always, always wear high-heels," advises Andrea Reyes, a teacher in a school of Caracas with 160 students. Beauty contests are treated in Venezuela much as sporting competitions are elsewhere. Many Venezuelan parents believe that if their daughters can succeed and get the beauty crown, their future as famous and public persons is sure to come. As a result, the girls are trained to compete at a young age. Among former beauty queens are Irene Saez, who went on to compete for the country's president, and Eva Ekvall, whose battle with cancer helped to make more people know about the illness in Venezuela. However, voices against the trend can be heard all over the country. At one time, a feminist group tried to stop the Miss Venezuela broadcast. President Hugo Chavez has spoken out against the culture of plastic surgery in Venezuela, calling it a "frightening thing". The BBC reporter Sarah Grainger says that acceptance of the contests is partly a result of the country's "machista" view of the different roles that men and women should play, "Men are supposed to be strong and brave and women to be gentle and beautiful". Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, knows the price to be paid when you're no longer seen as attractive. After winning the beauty contest, she said all she wanted to do was "eat, eat and eat". Her weight gain later and warning by the organizers of the contest to replace her as queen with the _ was among the hottest topics in the country, especially in Latin America. Girls try to win in the beauty contest to _ . Answer: One year ago Bertha and Grace became close friends at a college in Dartmouth. One day, Bertha said that her aunt Margaret had invited her to spend the summer holiday with her. And they would have picnics and parties as well. But Grace told Bertha that she planned to stay in Clarkman's bookstore until the new term began. Grace had to do something to feed herself because her parents died many years ago. Bertha watched her friend's pale face. Just then she got a good idea. The next day when Grace came back, Bertha showed her an invitation letter from her aunt Margaret. "Grace, would you like to spend your holiday with us? I will help you find a part-time job in our town." Grace cried after reading it. "Grace, please spend the holiday with me, or Margaret will be disappointed . I want you to be happy," Bertha said. The holiday quickly passed by, and finally one letter from Margaret came to Bertha. "Bertha, Grace is the sweetest girl in the world, and I am very grateful to you for sending her here." It's clear that _ . Answer: Forty years ago, Finland was a small, country with mediocre public schools. Today, Finland is still small but no one calls Finland's public schools mediocre any more. In 2000, the Finns surprised the world when their 15-year-olds scored at the top of a closely watched international exam called the PISA. Finland has stayed near the top ever since, while the U.S. scores around the middle. Pasi Sahlberg, an official with Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture, is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland's success, and what states like Washington can learn from it. Sahlberg's message, although he is too polite to put it so bluntly: Stop testing so much, trust teachers more; give less homework; shorten the school day. On Tuesday, in a room filled with teachers, principals, professors, school-board members and policy makers, Sahlberg joked about the Finns' reputation for being a quiet, humble people. "When Finland hit the top of the PISA," he said, "the biggest disbelievers were Finns." More seriously, Finland never set out to create the world's top school system. Instead, he said, the country decided in the 1970s that it wanted to ensure that a student's success didn't depend on family background. "Finland relied on cooperation among teachers and schools, rather than on competition. Rather than judging teachers and schools based on test scores," he said, "Finland puts trust in its teachers and principals. Teachers develop the curriculum in Finland, and design their own tests. There are no national tests, except one at the end of high school." That's just the start. Along with a shorter school day, Finnish students don't even start school until they are 7 years old. Many primary schools have a policy against giving homework. "But Finland," he said, " succeeded in part by adopting ideas from the U.S. and other countries. And those countries, he said, can learn from Finland, too." People first learned Finland's success in education from _ . Answer:
I come to the United States ten year ago. I would always say that I was trying to study, but there were always things like work and my kids that would not allow me to start. Now I realized that those were only excuses. What stopped me was that I was afraid to start studying again. I always believed I would learn by myself. One day, however, my son told me that he was sad because his friends would come over and I didn't understand them because I didn't speak English. He was also sad because I could never help him with his homework. That same day, I told myself, "Rocio, you have to start believing in yourself and you will see you can make it." The next day, I went downtown to look for a big banner in front of the school which said that they offered classes for adults. I came in to see if I could join, but the classes were closed already. That night I took the kids to the movies, and on the way back, I told them we would take a new route. I ended up getting lost. That's the way I found Chaffey College. The following Monday, I went to ask for information. They told me that summer school was starting that week. That's how I started studying English last summer. It is difficult, but I have had great rewards. My daughter had to write a story for school. It was about the female they most admired and why . She wrote that I was the person she most admired because I had started going to College. I will never forget this. Which of the following is NOT true? On Nov.18,1995,Itzhak Perlman,the violinist,came on stage to give a concert.If you have ever been to a Perlman concert,you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him.He was stricken with polio as a child,and so he walks with the aid of two crutches. The audience sat quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair and begins his play.But this time,something went wrong.Just as he finished the first few bars,one of the strings on his violin broke.We thought that he would have to stop the concert.But he didn't.Instead,he waited a moment,closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. Of course,anyone knows that it is impossible to play a pleasant work with just three strings.I know that,and you know that,but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. When he finished,there was a breathtaking silence in the room.And then people rose and cheered.There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. He smiled,wiped the sweat from this brow and then he said-not proudly,but in a quiet,holy attitude-"You know,sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." This powerful line has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it.And who knows?Perhaps that is the meaning of life-not just for artists but for all of us. So,perhaps our task in this fastchanging,puzzling world in which we live is to make music,at first with all that we have,and then,when that is no longer possible,to make music with what we have left. Why did the audience give heated claps to Itzhak Perlman? If parents bring up a child with the aim of turning the child into a genius , they will cause great damage to him. According to several leading educational experts, this is one of the biggest mistakes that some parents make. Generally, the child will understand very well what the parents expect, and will fall. Unrealistic expectations of the parents can cause great damage to children. However, if parents are realistic about what they expect their children to do, and are hopeful in a sensible way, the child may succeed -especially if the parents are very supportive to their children. Michael Li is very lucky. He is very fond of music and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and let him attend piano and violin lessons. Although his father is a good musician, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling to. Michael's friend, Winston Chen, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are successful musicians, and they set too high a goal for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. "When I was your age, I used to win every competition I entered." Winston's father tells him. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint his parents and now he is always quiet and unhappy. Michael is fortunate because _ . Can it be true that Australian men spend more time during the week brushing their teeth than they do alone with their children? A new study from the University of the New South Wales has discovered that during the working week, Aussie fathers only spend an average of just over a minute each day alone with their children. Australian mothers, on the other hand, spend three hours a week looking after their children -a much greater disparity than in other countries like America, Denmark, Italy and France, where couples divide the child-care more evenly. These findings will upset those who want to shake off the perhaps unfair image of the Australia as a land of old-fashioned male chauvinism . According to the study, Australian fathers appear to like the fun aspects of parenthood, but shy away from the drudgery. So while they tend to be happy taking the kids to the park or to sports events, they are unlikely to participate regularly in feeding, bathing, or taking the kids to school. In short, parenting is seen as a woman's job and a man's hobby in Australia. Many people believe that in Europe the last twenty years have seen the arrival of the so-called "new man"--the man who is willing to share the housework and child-care. The "new man" never misses his children's school plays and he always gets home in time to read their bedtime story. Indeed, a questionnaire conducted in the UK indicated that almost 70% of British women thought that men were as good at raising children as women. According to the passage, Australia fathers should _ . The famous American gorilla expert Diane Fossey had a completely new way to study gorillas -- she pretended to be one of them. She copied their actions and way of life -- eating plants and getting down on her hands and knees to walk the way a gorilla does. It was a new relationship. Diane Fossey was murdered in Rwanda in 1985 and her story was made into the popular filmGorillas in the Mist. It was a long way fromKing Kong, which is about a gorilla as a monster (a frightening animal), and helped to show a new idea: the real monster is man, while the gorilla is to be admired. Today there are thought to be around 48,000 lowland gorillas and maybe 400--450 mountain gorillas in the wild. From the Congo in West Africa, to Rwanda and Uganda further east, they are endangered by hunting and by the cutting down of their forest homes. Some time ago, I found in my letterbox a little magazine from the World Wide Fund for Nature. It had two photos side by side. One was of a young gorilla. "This is a species of mammal ," said the words below it. "It is being destroyed by man. We must save it for our own good." The other photo showed a human baby. The words also read, "This is a species of mammal," but then went on: "It is the most destructive on earth. We must retrain it for its own good." The text mainly talks about _ .
Unlike chemists and physicists, who usually do their experiments using machines, biologists and medical researchers have to use living things like rats. But there are three Nobel prize-winning scientists who actually chose to experiment on themselves - all in the name of science, reported The Telegraph. 1. Werner Forssmann (Nobel prize winner in 1956) Forssmann was a German scientist. He studied how to put a pipe inside the heart to measure the pressure inside and decide whether a patient needs surgery. Experiments had been done on horses before, so he wanted to try with human patients. But it was not permitted because the experiment was considered too dangerous. Not giving up, Forssmann decided to experiment on himself. He anaesthetized his own arm and made a cut, putting the pipe 30 centimeters into his vein. He then climbed two floors to the X-ray room before pushing the pipe all the way into his heart. 2. Barry Marshall (Nobel prize winner in 2005) Most doctors in the mid-20th century believed that _ was down to stress, spicy food or an unusually large amount of stomach acid. But in 1979 an Australian scientist named Robin Warren found that the disease might be related to a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. So he teamed up with his colleague, Barry Marshall, to continue the study. When their request to experiment on patients was denied, Marshall bravely drank some of the bacteria. Five days later, he lost his appetite and soon was vomiting each morning - he indeed had gastritis. 3. Ralph Steinman (Nobel prize winner in 2011) This Canadian scientist discovered a new type of immune system cell called the dendritic cell. He believed that it had the ability to fight against cancer. Steinman knew he couldn't yet use his method to treat patients. So in 2007, when doctors told him that he had cancer and that it was unlikely for him to live longer than a year, he saw an opportunity. With the help of his colleagues, he gave himself three different vaccines based on his research and a total of eight experimental therapies. Even though Steinman eventually died from his cancer, he lived four and a half years, much longer than doctors had said he would. From the text, we can conclude that Ralph Steinman _ . A. discovered a new type of cancer cell called the dendritic cell B. tried different therapies containing the dendritic cell on himself C. had his request to experiment on patients denied D. believed that he was better than doctors at treating cancer Answer: B. tried different therapies containing the dendritic cell on himself What kingdom contains organisms that are multicellular, have no chlorophyll, and absorb nutrients from decaying tissue? A. Fungi B. Plantae C. Protista D. Animalia Answer: A. Fungi Mr. King goes to a dinner party. He is wearing old clothes. He comes into the room. But people in the room do not look at him. They don't ask him to sit at the table. Mr. King goes home and puts on his good clothes. He goes back to the party. Everyone in the room stands up and smiles at him. They give him the very good food to eat. Mr. King takes off his coat, and puts it in the food and says, "Eat, coat!" The other people ask, "What are you doing?" He answers, "I'm asking my coat to eat the food. I am wearing my old clothes. You do not look at me. You do not ask me to sit down. Now, I am in these clothes. And you give me very good food. Now I see, you give the food for my clothes not for me!" Mr. King goes to the dinner party, but people in the room don't look at him, because _ . A. he doesn't come by car B. he is wearing his old clothes C. he is old D. he is wearing his new clothes Answer: B. he is wearing his old clothes Looking for a new weight loss plan? Try living on the top of a mountain.Mountain air contains less oxygen than air at lower altitudes,so breathing it causes the heart to beat faster and the body to burn more energy. Studies have found that athletes training at high altitudes tend to lose weight.Doctor Florian Lippl in Germany wondered how the mountain air would affect _ individuals if they weren't doing any more physical activity than usual. Lippl and his colleagues invited 20 obese men to an environmental research station about 300 meters below the summit of Zugspitze, mountain around 2, meters near the Austrian border.2,970 This was no hiking expedition. They were allowed to eat as much as they liked. men also gave The blood so that researchers could test for hormones linked to appetite and obesity.At the end of the week, men, the whose weight starting out was 105 kilograms, had lost about 1.5 kg on average.The men's blood pressure also dropped,which the researchers owed to weight lost. Exactly what caused the weight loss is uncertain.Loss of appetite is common at higher altitudes, and indeed the men ate significantly less than usua!--about 700 calories fewer per day. Appetite loss at high altitudes could certainly be key,notes Damian Bailey,a physiologist, who himself recently lost 11 kg during a 3-month expedition to the Andes in Chile. Unfortunately,for the average person there's no treatment that can resemble living at high altitudes, says Lippl.He says,half-jokingly, obese people plan their holidays,they might not "If go to the sea,but maybe to the mountains." Why does Damian Bailey agree with the idea of appetite loss at high altitudes? A. He experimented with the new weight loss plan in the Andes. B. He found no other reasons for his loss of weight in the Andes. C. He researched the related subject in the Andes. D. He lost much weight in the high altitude Andes. Answer: D. He lost much weight in the high altitude Andes. All over the world people began their exciting day by drinking a cup or several cups of coffee. People have always said that a cup of coffee in the morning helps them begin their day on the right foot. They need this cup of coffee to get going in the morning. It is not the coffee but something in the coffee that activates our bodies and brains. It is a material called caffeine. Caffeine may increase a person's mental and physical abilities. For example, two cups of coffee will _ blood flow, breathing, and body heat production by 10% to 20%. All of this make your heart beat faster and doctors warn that this may be somewhat dangerous. Caffeine is found in tea, coffee, chocolate, and many other common foods. A little caffeine is probably helpful. But too much caffeine can result in nervousness and sleeplessness. A cup of coffee will make your blood move faster by _ . A. 5% to 10% B. 10% to 20% C. about 15% D. about 20% Answer: A. 5% to 10%
Knowing what to do without ever being taught is known as Mr. and Mrs. Jones never go out in the evening, but last Saturday Mrs. Jones said to her husband , "There is a good film at the cinema tonight. Shall we go and see it?" Mr. Jones was quite happy about it. So they went, and both of them enjoyed the film very much. When they came out of the cinema, it was 11 o'clock. They got into their car and began driving home. It was quite dark. Mrs. Jones said," Look, a woman is running along the road very fast and a man is running after her. Can you see them?" Mr. Jones said, "Yes, I can." He drove the car slowly near the woman and said to her, "Can I help you?" "No, thanks," said the woman, but she did not stop running. "My husband and I always run home after the cinema. Because whoever gets home late are going to do the dishes." On their way home, they saw _ . Liverpool Discover the best music, sport, culture ... in the UK Liverpool MUSIC The Beatles Story The world-famous 1960s music group came from Liverpool. Find out about The Beatles at the Beatles Story. Open every day except Dec. 25th and 26th. Adult:PS15.95 Child:PS7.00 Child under five: Free Liverpool SPORT Liverpool FC This city loves football. Visit Anfield football stadium, home of Liverpool FC, Liverpool's favorite football club, and take a tour. Closed on weekends. Adult:PS15.00 Child:PS9.00 Child under five: Free Liverpool MUSEUM The Museum of Liverpool Learn all about the history and culture of Liverpool. Open daily 10:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m. Free! Liverpool SHOPPING Liverpool ONE Find the best shopping in the center of Liverpool at Liverpool ONE, a big shopping center. Opened in 2008. More than 160 shops, restaurants and cinemas. , What can we learn about Anfield football stadium? A thing that is experiencing transpiration is likely to be Do you have imagination? Do you like to solve problems? Can you? If so, you could be the next great inventor. "But I'm just a kid",you might be! Don't worry about a little thing like age. For example, one famous inventor-- Benjamin Franklin--got his start when he was only 12. At that young age, he created paddles for his hands to help him swim faster. Finally his creation led to what we know is called flippers! So you don't have to be adult to be an inventor. One thing you do need, though, is something that kids have plenty of: curiosity and imagination. Kids are known for looking at things in new and unique ways. So what should you do if you have what is a great idea for an invention? Talk to a friend or family member about it. Get input from others about your idea. Then ask them to help you create a working model--called a prototype of your idea. Once you have a prototype, you can test it. Sometimes your idea turns out to be not as great as you thought. At other times, though, you realize it is a good idea and your prototype can help you figure out how to make it even better. If your idea is really a good one, an adult can help you contact companies that might be interested in it. You will also want an adult's help to get a patent for your idea, so that it is protected and can't be stolen by someone else. If you need some inspiration, consider these kids and their inventions: Jeanie Low invented the Kiddie Stool when she was just 11. It's a folding stool that fits under the kitchen sink. Kids can unfold it and use it to reach the sink all by themselves. At the age of 15, Louis Braille invented the system named after him that allows the blind to read. Chelsea Lanmon received a patent when she was just 8 for the "pocket diaper ",a new type of diaper that includes a pocket for holding baby wipes and powder. Who invented something that helps the blind to read?
In the past few years development in medical technology has made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want to. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become terrible. They say that people should be allowed to die with dignity and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the argument goes on and on without a final answer. According to some people whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is decided by _ . A the doctors B the head of the hospital C his or her family D the patient himself or herself Answer: D The writers of murder stories go to a great deal of trouble to keep up guessing right up to the end. In actual fact, people often behave more strangely in real life than they do in stories. The following advertisement once appeared in a local newspaper: "An opportunity to earn $ 250 in a few minutes. A man... willing to chances, wanted for an out-of-the-ordinary job which can be performed only once. "A reader found this offer very nice and write to the advertiser. But being a bit suspicious , he gave a false name. Soon afterwards, he received a reply. Enclosed in the envelope was a typed note instructing him to ring a certain number if he was still interested. He did so and learned on the telephone that the advertiser wanted him "to get rid of somebody" and would discuss it more fully with him the next day. But the man told the police and from then on acted under their instructions. The police saw the two men meet and watched them as they drove away together. In the car the advertiser came to the point at once; he told the man he wanted him to shoot his wife. The reason he gave was that he was suffering from a serious disease and wanted to live in a warmer country, but his wife objected to this. Giving the man some money, the advertiser told him to buy a gun and warned him to be careful of the dog, though it would not bite, it might attract attention. He also gave him a photograph of his wife so that he would be able to recognize her. After that, the advertiser suggested that the man should "do the job" the next morning. At the same time he would prepare his wife by telling her that a young man was going to call. After the murder they would meet again outside a railway station and the money would be paid as arranged. The second meeting never took place, for the advertiser was arrested shortly afterwards and charged with attempting to persuade someone to murder his wife. The advertiser wanted the reader "to get rid of somebody. "This implies _ . A the advertiser was surrounded by the police B it was inconvenient for the advertiser to speak directly at the time C the advertiser wished to kill his wife the next day D the advertiser would hire the man to kill someone Answer: C It seems like every year brings a new outbreak of sickness.Recent research tells us how diseases spread, from person to person.And it also gives us an idea how we can spread something better than diseases. An author called Malcom Gladwell recently published a book explaining how the process works.We usually think of an epidemic as a force of nature that rolls over anyone in its way.In fact, it starts with a single person or very few people.These people travel around and infect small groups in different places.When enough of these groups are infected, then the disease suddenly seems to be everywhere.Gladwell also found that the process of infection was not just limited to disease? It also affects the world of ideas. The process can be seen in books and fashion.So called _ are not pushed towards the public.They spread through hundreds of small reading groups until the day when everybody you know seems to have a copy.A group of young people may decide to wear an item of clothing simply because no one else is wearing it.Designers who monitor street fashion then pick up the idea and spread it.Finally everyone is wearing it. New York is often described as an unfriendly place.People are too busy looking after business to look after each other.In the early 1990s, one unknown person decided to perform at least one kind act a day.This caught on with his or her friends.The newspapers noticed the trend .New York became full of people smiling and carrying each other's bags. The success of trends like this fits in with other social phenomena .One is the 80/20 rule.This was invented by economists who noticed that in any situation 20 percent of the people did 80 percent of the work.Another is the "bystander problem".Psychologists noticed that in accidents where a large number of people were around, no one stepped forward to help.Each person supposed that someone else would do something.When there were less people present, more of them decided to offer help. What all this proves is the power of individuals and small groups.The "epidemic model" could be a great way of making a business grow or spreading an idea.A small start can make a big difference. The writer's main purpose is to tell us _ . A how diseases spread B how ideas are formed C how popularity takes place D what diseases and ideas have in common Answer: C Elephants are the largest land animals and they need plenty of living space. They have seasonal migration routes. As human populations rise, elephant land is being cleared for agriculture and other kinds of development. When animals are effectively trapped on small areas of land, it restricts the gene pool and also results in a shortage of food. Where elephant reserves border agricultural areas, elephants are often attracted to leave parks to attack crops and barns. Only the strongest walls will stop an adult elephant (males can weigh 6,000kg), so farmers have great difficulty protecting their fields. In prefix = st1 /India, elephants don't only attack for food. Some even have developed a taste for rice beer. InAssam, elephant-human conflict has resulted in the death of more than 150 people and 200 elephants in the space of two years. Poverty leads to the killing of elephants for meat. If people don't have enough food and their governments cannot afford to enforce poaching bans, it's not difficult to predict the outcome. Ivory comes form elephant tusks , which can grow to be 3 meters long. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks. Most new ivory comes from Africa and is sold as a high status material in Asian countries such as Thailand, mainlandChinaandJapan. It can fetch $150 an pound and is carved to make decorations, chopsticks and ink stamps. The conservation priority here is to change public attitudes. In some countries in southern Africa, where conservation efforts have been successful, there is not enough room for a growing elephant population and animals have to be killed. A CITES meeting in November 2002 ruled that Botswana,NamibiaandSouth Africamay sell stock-piled ivory, starting in2004. Many conservationists are convinced that _ will fuel the demand for ivory and lead to more illegal poaching, they say it is almost impossible to tell legal from poached ivory. The governments argue that the sales will be used to fund conservation work. The most important thing to protect elephants is _ . A to build strongest walls B to change people's ideas C to enforce poaching bans D to sell stock-piled ivory instead of illegal ivory Answer: B When you are in Nanoko, be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel, whether you come on business or on holiday you will find everything as comfortable and convenient as you would expect in a first class international hotel. Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, and colorful modern materials and furniture in the local style. In the Mistu Restaurant, you can choose your meals from a lot of dishes, both Eastern and European, as you will find anywhere in the country. In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort, listen to the music of internationally known artists. Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name, or to the tables that surround the swimming pool. Throughout the motel, you will find the service is both friendly and efficient. By day the pool is alive with the holiday spirit and the happy shouting of children and by night, soft light and music make it a perfect place for a party, or simply for an after-dinner drink and conversation. The Garden Hotel has its own minibus service. Give us a ring and we will arrange to collect you at the airport or in the city center. If you prefer, we can arrange for you to visit the wainiri Islands that lie just off the coast. Here you can swim in peace; or you can fish there. As it is well known, Wainiri is really a good place for people going fishing. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes from Nanoko's modern shopping center. Here you will find all that money can buy, at prices you can afford. The hotel arranges for the visitors to _ . A go fishing off Cape St. Cermain near wainiri B go by bus to the Wainiri Islands for peach C see amounts of sea lives off the coast of Wainiri D go across to the Wainiri Islands to swim or fish Answer: D
The story is about two old people named David and Rosy Jackson. Both of them had very bad memories. For example, Rosy would forget to cook dinner or take vegetables home after paying for them. David would show up for work on Sundays, thinking it was Monday. One winter they were to take a long plane trip. When they arrived at the airport, there were only ten minutes left. In that situation, anyone would get into the plane right away. But David and Rosy didn't do so. They went to buy some flight insurance instead. Immediately after they put a two-pound note into a machine, their policy came out. "Who would get the money if the plane crashed, I wonder?" asked Rosy. "My mother, of course," her husband replied. "We should post the policy to her. Now, be quick! Give me a stamp, will you?" he said to Rosy. "The plane is going to take off in another minute." David put the stamp on the envelope, dropped it into a postbox, and suddenly he let out a cry. What do you suppose happened to him? He had posted their plane tickets to his mother. Rosy is David's _ . Answer: wife BEIJING--- A series of earthquakes shook two rural provinces in southwest China on Friday, killing at least 80 people and damaging 20,000 homes, a provincial official said. The _ hit Yunnan and adjoining Guizhou provinces, both rice-growing areas. The magnitude of the earthquakes ranged from 4.8 to 5.8 , according to Qiu Yu, an official at the Yunnan Provincial Civil Affair Bureau. The web site of the provincial Yunnan government said more than 100,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in Yunnan, a province known for its scenic beauty and ethnic diversity. In the town of Luozehe, a rice-and tobacco-growing area in northeastern Yunnan, 31 people were killed, Mr. Qiu said. The earthquake was so violent that rocks from landslides crushed cars in Luozehe,. A water company worker, Tan Xuewen, said in an interview. "Suddenly we felt the strong earthquake," Mr. Tan said. "Huge rocks fell off the mountain. I immediately took an old person and began to run." The local government authorities ordered people out of their homes that are spread across the hills of a mountain valley, and told them to gather in public square. At the tiny primary school in Luozehe, the teacher, Ma Decai, said his 11 students aged 9 to 12 were eating lunch in the dining room when the earthquake hit. "Dirt dropped from the ceiling into our bowls and cooking pots," Mr. Ma said. "The students abandoned their meal and ran out of the room." As he tried to prepare a new lunch for the students, aftershocks struck the building. Large cracks appeared in the mud and stone schoolhouse, and the toilet collapsed. In neighboring Guizhou Province, authorities said they knew of no casualties. But homes in rural Guizhou often built of wood and mud are usually constructed on hillsides, and provincial authorities there said some homes had been damaged or destroyed. Tents, blankets and coats were being sent to the region, the official Xinhua news agency said. The earthquake may happen _ . Answer: at noon In our daily life now, you may often find some people like to do several things together at the same time. They may watch TV while playing cell phones, and they may work while chatting with their close friends. As a new research suggests, people who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluations by about 300 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted and can't focus on one activity. And "those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things," said David Sandy, a psychologist at the University of Utah. Sandy and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking or impulsive they were. They then evaluated the participants' multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters. Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cell phone while driving or viewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted. "People multitask not because it's going to lead to greater productivity, but because they're distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important," Sandy said. Adam, a researcher at the University of California, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn't find out whether people who start out less focused tend toward multitasking or whether people's recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking. The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seekers who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. "People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations," said Paul, another researcher not in the group. "This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they're dangerous. When Sandy and his colleagues conducted their research, they _ . Answer: assessed the multitasking ability of the students Vacation is a time for refreshment. In work, we are often called to think. Sometimes, it's good to give our brains a rest. Without a break, we may not be able to perform up to our potential. This can be a problem, not only for the employee, but for the employer as well. "The main benefit of vacation is for the worker to come back energized," says Weaver. "If they haven't had a break, then they're not coming back with new energy. They haven't had a chance to step back and get perspective , and come back with renewed enthusiasm." Long working hours without a break, insecurity about one's job, and other work-related worries can lead to burnout and stress. Humans can usually adapt to pressure, but not for a limitless amount of time. "It is a problem of relating good workers and having them loyal to the firm while they're _ ," says David Maume, PhD, professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati. He says burnout can also affect employees' productivity, creativity, and effectiveness. In addition, high levels of stress are likely to be precursors to depression, which can hit both the employer and employee's pocketbook. Even people who manage to remain productive at work can have problems. If they're always at work, then they're not with their family and friends. If they're working while on vacation, for the time that they're on the job, they're not really present. An unbalanced emphasis on work can strain family and social life. When you come up for air, you may see that you're alone, or that your relationships have gone on without you. What's the main benefit of a vacation? Answer: The worker can come back with new energy. You may think that an underground town of 3,500 people is something out of a science-fiction film. You may not believe that such a town has shops car parks, hotels, restaurants, cafes and much more. Well, Coober Pedy in Australia is just such a place. Miners and their families choose to live like this, hoping to get rich looking for the precious stones that Australia is famous for --- opals . Living underground is the only way to be away from the sandstorms and the high temperatures above ground. Deep down in the town far below the desert surface, the temperature is between 19degC and 20degC and life is cool. Mary Deane and her husband Jim are among the lucky ones. They live in a home, built with money from the opals Jim has found. "Whenever people hear we live underground, they always imagine a dusty cave," says Mary, "but they are amazed at my clean kitchen, our furniture and electrical appliances in here." However, not everything is perfect in Coober Pedy. Mary has a tiny garden that she is very proud of, but the grass is not real. Plant life is rare. Water is five times more expensive underground than it is overground. Recycling is a way of life, so Jim usually washes his car with bath water and they have a special system to reuse the water from the dishwasher and washing machine. Even so, most families enjoy life in Coober Pedy. The children can make as much noise as they want and there are no complaints from the neighbors because the thick walls stop sounds from traveling. Adults enjoy the peace and quiet away from the world above. Which is the biggest problem people in Coober Pedy have to face? Answer: Shortage of water and greenery.
Have you ever been offered an alcoholic drink? What about someone saying "Don't worry, just have one little sip"? Most people have their first drink by the time they're 13. That first drink can be the start of a troubled life. Drinking can make teens feel good, but that lasts only a short time. Alcohol clouds your brain and limits your ability to make decisions. Excessive drinking gradually makes your brain shrink and can cause serious damage. Over-drinking can cause learning disabilities and damage your memory. It distorts your vision and leads to blackouts. Teenagers often think that drinking will give you more energy, but alcohol isn't an energy drink; it's a depressant. Drinking and driving is one of the top causes of death for teen boys. An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills one person every 33 minutes and injures someone every two minutes. The rate of teenagers driving drunk is so high that the government is trying to pass new laws restricting teen driving. When we get to high school, friends start pressuring us to drink. High school students see alcohol as glamorous and a way to become popular. I created a survey at my school. Twenty-four of the 63 respondents predicted they would drink in high school. Eleven said maybe, and 28 said they don't plan on drinking. Regardless of what they say now, things can change. Teens starting high school want to fit in. Some people will do anything to be accepted, including potentially(,) hurting themselves. They think that one drink won't do anything. A little bit of alcohol probably won't kill you, but it can lead to poor decisions. High school is the time to experiment with what you want to do in life, but if you're experimenting with alcohol you could hurt someone, including yourself. (300 words) Some students in high school start drinking mainly because _ . Answer: In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens. Since then many countries have successfully held the Olympics, such as England, France, Germany, Canada, the USA, Spain and Australia. After more than a century the Games returns to its hometown. When people hold the Olympic Games, they always make an emblem . The emblem of the Athens Olympic Games this year is a white circle of olive branches in the sky. " Athens is developing a spirit of peace ." An officer said, "While in Athens, the world should be at peace. We hope the peace is not just for a short time. We would like the message from the Athens Games to help countries come together and solve their problems." Four years from then, the Olympic Games will be held in Beijing ,China. And China has already made a seal as the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The emblem has a single Chinese character on a red seal and means "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing(.)". Below it, there are the words "Beijing 2008". The character in the emblem is "Jing". It means "capital'' of China and it is also like a runner or a dancer. The running figure on the emblem shows the spirit of the Olympics--faster, higher and stronger. How many years have passed when Athens holds the Olympic Games again/ Answer: Robots that can chat, find misplaced glasses, draw airplanes and play with your children are attracting thousands of visitors during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society. Robots, such as the sound-sensitive Chapit, answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the _ fight loneliness and stay alert in old age. "Many old people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to," said Kazuya Kitamura, a representative of the expo organizer. "Communication robots stay together with old people and don't mind listening to the same stories over and over again." While Chapit, a relatively simple robot, managed to attract a partner, many researchers, such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto, a professor at the University of Tokyo, struggle to attract sponsors for more expensive projects. Matsumoto's "Personal Mobility Robot", equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user's centre of gravity, is designed to help the elderly move around without pressing buttons as in traditional wheelchairs. The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by recognizing them with a sensor. "We have developed a robot that can assist many people, but because of the high cost, we still haven't found a sponsor," said Matsumoto, who added that the cost of the machine, if produced in large quantities, would be comparable to that of a small car. "In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project," he said. Other robots, such as the award-winning "DiGRO", can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children. The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures, looking after children while parents work. Japan is one of the world's fastest-aging countries and the government predicts that by 2050 the population of people over 65 will reach 40 percent. What is the problem with Matsumoto's "Personal Mobility Robot"? Answer: Hey there, So you're about to spend four years of your life and tens of dollars of your parents' money, and all you really know about college is that all of your friends are going. Do you ever stop to wonder why you're going? Relax. You're making the right decision. First of all, you'll discover what interests you by taking courses in many subjects. For example, it's hard to decide if you want to be a painter if you've never painted any pictures; once you're in a drawing-room on campus, you'll know one way or the other. College is also a lot of fun--after you graduate, you'll be working every weekday for 50 or so years. And remember that college graduate earn about twice the income of those who never attended college. Finding the right college can be difficult. Fortunately, Johnson Review is here to help you every step of the way. Researching Schools. To us, the most important decision you'll make is to choose the school that really fits you best -- not the one that is the most competitive or has the best-equipped rooms. Applying to School. On JohnsonReview.com., you'll find hundreds of actual college applications and links to many more. Raising Your Scores. American College Test is one of the most important parts of the admission course. It's not the most important, though, and everyone needs to prepare for the best. But, if you can do better, find the right course for better scores. Paying for School. Most families need financial aid for the high cost of college. The problem is that financial aid seems difficult to get and many families get caught up in the price of college rather than learning the ways to get financial aid. If you really do your research, you'll learn that you can afford to attend any college, no matter the cost. For more information, call 600-3681 or visit JohnsonReview.com.Wherever you go, have a nice trip! Johnson Smith Founder and CEO Johnson Review How many reasons for going to college does the author mention in the text? Answer: Hello! I am Tommy. This is my classroom . 33 desks and 32 chairs are in it. These are my desk and chair. They are yellow. What's on the desk? It's my backpack. It's green. What's on the chair? It's my jacket. It's blue. What's under the desk? It's a white school ID card. Is it my school ID card? No, it's David's. His name is on it. Is it a hat under the chair? Yes, it is. It's my new hat. It's black. My mother buys it for me. ,. What color are Tommy's desk and chair? Answer:
By the age of almost four, Elijah Edney has never had a haircut in his life. But now he can ' t wait to visit the barber's - for two reasons: losing his two - foot - long golden hair will mean that strangers stop mistaking him for a girl; the hair will be donated to charity to provide a wig for a child with cancer. Mrs. Edney, who works in a restaurant, says, "Elijah has always had beautiful hair, so I let him grow it as he w8nted. It' s like silk. But now it is at a stage where people mistake him for a girl and he wants it cut into a boy's haircut. " Mrs. Edney and her husband want to collect enough money-PS350-to process Elijah's hair for a sick child. She says, "I couldn't bear to see all Elijah's beautiful hair go to waste and my mum mentioned charities that have human hair made into wigs. " Mrs. Edney says, "If we can raise the amount we want, it will mean a family will not have to pay for the wig and can receive it for free. When you've got children yourself, you hope that if they lost their hair someone would do the same for them by donating their hair. " The two-foot-long hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust to make a wig for children suffering cancer. Elijah keeps telling people he is giving his hair to poor princesses and he is so excited about it. A spokesman for the Little Princess Trust says, "We're very grateful to anyone who decides to have their hair cut to donate it to the Little Princess Trust. As a result of hair donations like this, the charity receives real-hair wigs for free to pass on to families whose children have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment. " What does Elijah think of his hair being given to a charity? Answer: He is excited about it. When we're young and we dream of love and fulfillment, we think perhaps of moon-covered Parisian nights or walks along the beach at sunset. No one tells us that the greatest moments of a lifetime are short, unplanned and nearly always catch us off guard. Not long ago,as I was reading a bedtime story to my seven-year-old daughter, Annie,I became aware of her focused look. She was staring at me with a faraway, blank expression. Apparently, completing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers was not as important as we first thought. I asked what she was thinking about. "Mommy," she whispered, "I just can't stop looking at your pretty face."I almost dissolved on the spot. Little did she know how many trying moments the glow of her sincerely loving statement would carry me through over the following years. Not long after, I took my four-year-old son to an elegant department store, where the sweet notes of a classic love song drew us toward a tuxedoed musician playing a grand piano. Sam and I sat down on a marble bench nearby, and he seemed as astonished by the pleasant theme as I was. I didn't realize that Sam had stood up next to me until he turned, took my face in his little hands and said, "Dance with me." If only those women walking under the Paris moon knew the joy of such an invitation made by a round-cheeked boy with baby teeth. Although shoppers openly chuckled and pointed at us as we glided and whirled around the open space, I would not have traded a dance with such a charming young gentleman if I'd been offered the universe. What does the author want to prove by showing two examples of her kids? Answer: The greatest moments of a lifetime always come unexpectedly. The Human Genome Project, a great $3 billion, 15-year task aimed at drawing the genetic map of humans, is now more than 90 percent completed. The scientific and medical communities are very excited about the chances genetic research provides for getting rid of diseases and prolonging human life. But those communities and policy makers are also careful about the scientific door they are opening as the project uncovers the mysteries of life. For the last few years, the genetic advances in the fast developing field of biotechnology have provided material for all kinds of work, but the developments of modern science in unlocking the secrets of human genetic code have opened a world of possibilities for human health, as well as for the population imagination. While European and Japanese researchers are making rapid progress in decoding human DNA, the leading organization for genetic research in the Untied States, which began in 1990, is "unlocking the code" of the human body to learn how to defeat fatal diseases. Already, the Human Genome Project has become widely known and praised for finding the genes connected with as yet terrible diseases, and making progress toward separating the genes that show a sign of breast cancer or AIDS. Once these genes are found and studied, researchers can develop new ways to attack infections, and genetic diseases. Medical companies are very interested in mapping the human genome, as they expect to develop a lot of new drugs for these illnesses. According to the passage, which of the following countries is the most advanced in genetic research? Answer: The United States Every few years comes a fitness trend that has people scratching their heads in amazement. "Crunning" will probably be one of them. The "c" stands for "crawling" . This new sport needs two-legged humans running on all fours! The funny idea is the brainchild of Shaun McCarthy. The 34-year-old is convinced that it will revolutionize fitness as we know it. According to the sports enthusiast, "The only thing that crunning's changed about fitness is that it's changed everything about fitness." Mccarthy has no scientific evidence to prove that crunning is more efficient than traditional two-legged running. However, he believes it is a more effective way to exercise because it puts an emphasis on the shoulders and arms, providing a complete body workout. Mccarthy also says crunning seems to tire him out more. He therefore concludes that the unconventional exercise is a bigger calorie burner than normal running. While experts generally agree that crunning may provide a better workout, many are not sure if it is the right exercise for humans. Fitness coach Kevin Dean says we are not built to be on all fours and our wrists are therefore not as strong as our ankles. He believes crunning, which he calls a fad , could result in bad wrist and shoulder injuries, not to mention broken noses. But McCarthy is not worried. Since the release of his crunning video a few weeks ago, many Melbourne residents have been seen scampering around on all fours. As it turns out they are not the only ones. In the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, crawling, a much slower version of crunning, has been a favorite activity for many years. According to some enthusiasts, the light exercise that is believed to date back two thousand years to the Han Dynasty, is good for curing back and spine ailments. Ready to give crunning try? Then Mccarthy recommends investing in some good shoes, hardy gloves and most important of all, a face mask! What is the text mainly about? Answer: A new trend of exercising. "Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I was disappointed. "Don't worry. One day your luck will change." I didn't pay attention to her words. After finishing my college education, I decided to look for a job in a radio station. I wanted to host a sports programme. I went to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. ButI got turned down every time. In one station, a kind lady said to me that I hadn't got enough experience. "Get to a small station and work for some time," she said. When I went back home, my dad told me that a businessman had opened a store and needed someone to help him. But again, I didn't get the job. I felt really down. "Your luck will change," Mum said to me. Later, I tried another radio station in Iowa. But the owner, a nice man, told me he had already had someone to work for him. As I left his office, I asked, "How can someone be a sportsannouncer if he can't get a job in a radio station?" I was waiting for the lift when I heard the man call, "What did you mean? Do you know anything about football?" He let me sit in front of a microphone and asked me to try to imagine that I was giving my opinion on a football game, and finally I succeeded. On my way home, Mum's words came back to me, "One day your luck will change, Son." The writer got a job _ in the end. Answer: in Iowa
One day, an old man went(go)for a walk in a park in Washington, and when he was(is) tired, he sat(sit) down on a bench . A young person was standing on the other side of the pond . "My goodness" the old man said(say)to the person sitting next to him on the bench."Do you see the person with loose pants "and long hair? Is it a boy or a girl?" "A girl," said the person sitting next to the old man. "She's my daughter." "Oh!" the old man said quickly, "please excuse me. I didn't know that you are her mother." "I'm not her mother," said the person."I'm her father!" The young person standing on the other side of the pond was _ . Answer: This is a page from a college information handbook. It tells you where you can find several different college services and facilities . Where To Find Help In The College Here are the places of some important college services and facilities. Rooms numbered 100-130 are on the first floor and those numbered 200-230 are on the second floor of the main college buildings. Students Services Center Careers 113 The officers can offer you some advice on career choice and applications for higher education. Accommodation Office 114 Mrs. J Mardle is here each afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 to help students with housing problems. Medical Room 115 Mrs. J Wright, the college nurse, helps you each morning from 9:30 to12:00 am. The college doctor is on duty at the room on Wednesday mornings. Sports office 207 Mrs. B Murie can provide information about sporting and keep-fit activities. Student Union Office 222 A range of services and advice (travel etc.) is provided. Food service 127 Mr G Nunn is the manager and will do his best to help if you ask for a special diet. Library 215 Besides books this also has photocopying, video, audio-visual and computing facilities. Self Access Language Learning Center 203 Students can attend on a drop-in basis from 9:00 am to 4:15 pm. Where should you go for help if you fail to find a place to live in? Answer: We usually believe what our brain tells us, but there are some amazing facts which show that the brain tricks us. As a result, we think we can see something that is not actually there or we ignore things that actually are there. Scientists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris have researched this phenomenon , which they call "change blindness". Their experiments show how we sometimes just do not see what is in front of our eyes because _ . Here is one of their most famous experiments. In this experiment, the participants were shown a video of two groups of people (one group in white T-shirts and one group in black T-shirts) who passed basketballs around in a hallway. Each group had three members. Simons and Chabris asked the participants to count how many times the white team passed the ball. While the two teams were passing their balls around, a person dressed up as a big bear walked through the group and stopped to look at the camera. Simons and Chabris found that about half of the research participants did not notice the big bear. What percentage of the participants noticed the big bear? Answer: Every few years, we buy an expensive new PC and love how fast it runs. Unavoidably though, it starts to slow down until eventually we are pulling our hair out waiting for it to do tasks. Why is this? It turns out the answer is quite simple and you don't even need to be "technical" to understand the causes and solutions. In most cases, the hardware you have is capable of being restored to its original function and kept in fast running condition with little effort. Spyware are software programs that are loaded on your computer without your permission. Most spyware and viruses get onto our computers through files that we download from the Internet or as attachments to emails. They tend to take up a lot of computing power and , as a result, will slow down your computer. The simple rule to follow is to never download any free software programs from companies you do not know and trust, especially screensavers, emoticons, and the like. In addition, you should never open any attachment to an email unless you are 100 percent certain you know and trust the sender. In addition, make sure you have a good anti-virus spyware removal software running at all times. Every time you load a program, your PC's software registry is updated with new instructions needed to operate that item. However, when the item is carried out, these instructions remain on your PC. Every time you run your computer it tries to execute these instructions but, because the related program can't be founded, it causes a registry error. Your PC is doing a lot more work than it should be and the result is a slower computer. One of the best ways to manage this is with a neat little tool from Support.com. You can now get a free working version of the software which will quickly scan your entire PC and identify all of the registry errors. The free version also scans for junk and checks your PC. It will deal with the first 100 errors for free, and if you have more to clean up, you can easily upgrade to the full version for just $29.95. Where is this passage most probably taken from? Answer: A farmer bought an old and run-down farm. The fields were grown over with weeds, the farmhouse was falling apart, and the fences were broken all around. The roads were hidden because of the grass that were growing madly. And there were not any animals on it. However, the farmer planed to turn it into a pleasant and loving place. During his first day of work, the town preacher passed by. He looked at the farmer and then the mess, saying, _ A few months later, the preacher stopped by again to call on the farmer. He was so surprised to see a completely different place -- the farmhouse is rebuilt and in excellent condition, there were plenty of cows, sheep, hens and other livestock eating happily in the fence which had already been well repaired, and the fields were filled with crops planted in rows. A lot of flowers and small trees were growing along the road. He even saw some ducks swimming in a small pool. "Amazing!" the preacher said. "Look what God and you have finished together!" "Yes, " answered the farmer, "but remember what the farm was like when God was working it alone!" What happened to the farm a few months later? Answer:

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