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Question: How do you improve your English speaking skills, so that you can communicate more easily and effectively? These tips will help you to become a more confident speaker. Practice where you can and when you can. Any practice is good--- whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not. It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple sentence structure that you know is correct so that you can concentrate on getting your message across. Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way. Try not to translate into and from your own language. It takes too much time and you will find it difficult to get an English answer right away. You don?t know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you more shilly-shally. If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time ,and say things that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using ' um',or 'er',if you forget the word. Don't speak too fast! It? s important to use a natural rhythm in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you. Try to relax when you speak and you,11 find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at normal speed. Final tips --Try to become less hesitant and more confident. --Don't be shy to speak------ the more you do it, the more confident you,11 become. --Remember to be polite------ use "please" and "thank you" if you ask someone to do something for you. What is the passage mainly about? A. Good ways of studying English well. B. Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker. C. Things to pay attention to when learning English. D. How to correct your mistakes as you speak English. Answer: B Question: This summer Frank and his friends went to Boy Scout camp for two weeks. At camp they had lots of fun activities like swimming, wood carving, and telling ghost stories. At camp there weren't any restaurants or grocery stores, so for food they would have to make their own meals. One thing they could do is make peanut butter sandwiches, which every scout was given at the start of camp. But pretty soon everyone was sick of peanut butter sandwiches and wanted to eat something else instead. Some boys went out into the forest and picked out berries and roots that were safe to eat. Some boys even took out the boat and went fishing. They came back with a big fish that they cleaned and cooked themselves. At first, Frank's mom was very worried about letting Frank go to camp. She was worried that he could get lost in the woods and be eaten by a bear. She was worried that he might get into a fight with the other boys. She was even worried that he wouldn't shower or take a bath for the whole two weeks. But Frank's scout masters explained to Frank's mom that the camp leaders were very serious about taking care of the campers and that everything would be perfectly safe for Frank. Frank promised to call home at least every two days. So in the end Frank's mom let Frank go to camp. Who explained to Frank's mom that it was safe to send Frank to summer camp? A. Frank B. The camp leaders. C. Frank's friends. D. The scout masters. Answer: D Question: Steven Jobs was born in 1955. He was an American businessman and inventor. He was the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. In the late 1970s, Steve, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series and later, the Macintosh. Steve was among the greatest of American inventors - brave enough to think differently, and believed he could change the world and in fact, he had the power to change the whole world. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. He changed the way each of us sees the world. Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is much better because of Steve. On October 5, 2011, Steve died of cancer. The world has lost _ . We all feel sad about it. Why Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last? A. Because he knew he would die soon. B. Because he was too busy every day. C. Because he was humorous. D. Because he wanted to make full use of time. Answer: D Question: When you were looking for a reliable,honest auto mechanic ,how did you find him?Before you went into that restaurant you recently tried,how did you know that it served great food?If you are like most people on the planet,you want to lower your risk of a big ugly surprise so you asked people you trust to refer to a business they trust. Marketers call this friendtofriend recognition of a business "wordofmouth" advertising. When you do a great job for your customer or a bad job,people are going to talk about your business. Unfortunately,because we humans seem to feel negative emotions more intensively than positive ones,we're more likely to tell more of our friends about bad experiences with a business than positive ones. Understand this:Customers believe their own experience. You can't make them believe that your company is wonderful when they felt they were treated badly. So,to get positive wordofmouth going for your business in this servicebased economy,you've got to do a really outstanding job for everyone,exactly. And when you do,you build a great reputation . That takes time. But it forms a close link with your customers in a way that no advertising and no promotional coupon ever could. The good news is that because there are so many different businesses chasing after your customers' money,people want to know whom they can trust. So people are going to be talking about you create a free sales force for your business---- an army of delighted customers who tell everyone that they know how good your company is to do business with. That's a great antidote to nonconfidence. According to the passage,whether we go to a place or not depends on _ . A. business fames B. associates' recommendation C. particular recognition D. media assistance Answer: B Question: Death Valley is the lowest, hottest, driest area in North America. This California National Park has less than 5 cm of rainfall a year and temperature up to 53degC in summer. That's enough to keep Americans away during the hottest months from June to August. But it is the high temperature and terrible heat that draw their most crazy fans, the foreign tourists. From all over the world, they come to the valley floor in cars, carrying maps and water bottles, and fanning themselves with newspapers to keep cool. About 1.3 million visitors enter the park each year, from June through August. 90% of them are foreigners. They go there to experience the summer heat that gives Death Valley its name. The average high in July is 53.2 degC and the low 30 degC. For August, the average high is 52.2 degC and the low 29.4 degC. So what do Americans think of the foreign visitors who arrive for the heat, just when locals from the United States try to avoid it? Park manager Brenda Henson says, " The foreigners want to experience the heat in Death Valley. We think it's crazy." In fact, Death Valley is a series of salt flats 225 km long and 6 km to 26 km wide. Birds and animals are largely absent, and only the plants have some chance of existence in this extreme place. One tourist from Paris concluded, " We come to it because we can tell all our friends and family that we've been to the hottest place in the world." What would be the best title for the passage? A. Crazy Fans of Death Valley. B. Importance of Death Valley. C. Beauty of California National Park. D. The Best Tourist Attraction in North America. Answer: A
Both of my parents worked full-time when I was a little girl, so my grandmother would stay at our house during the day. We would watch game shows in the living room. Our favorite was The Price is Right. We would call out our answers along with the contestants. When I got older and started going to school, we couldn't watch our game shows regularly. That was okay with me, though, because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping her bake cakes. Watching her in the kitchen was amazing: she never seemed to need the recipes but everything she made tasted delicious. At first I would just sit in the kitchen and watch, even though I didn't understand what she was doing, As I got older, she let me help with the easy parts, such as measuring the sugar. The day she let me separate the eggs, I felt like I had found complete pleasure. At last, my parents decided that I could take care of myself, and my grandmother stopped coming over every day. The love of baking, however, stayed with me. I started baking by myself, and even if the cookies ended up burnt sometimes, more often they turned out pretty well. I tried out new recipes, and whenever I got to a _ part, I would call my grandmother for advice. Sometimes I would call her just to talk, too. I felt like I could talk to her about anything. My grandmother passed away ten years ago, but I still think of her every day. Last week, I found a recipe book she made for me. It included her recipes for brownies, cookies, and my favorite, lemon pie. As I looked through the pages, I thought I could hear her voice. She was the one who taught me not just about baking, but about life. While helping her grandmother bake, the author _ . Answer: found it interesting and appealing Sam "Fingers" had been in trouble all his life. He'd started stealing things when he was only a kid. He used to walk through the street market near his home and "pick up" a few things--an apple, or a hairbrush perhaps. But things got worse as Sam got older. By the time he was twenty-five, he was spending a lot of time stealing and then he got caught. While he was in prison he decided that he'd never steal again. He really had to stop. On his first day out of prison, Sam went for a walk along the High Street. It was so nice to walk along in the crowds and looked at the shops. Oh, the shops! "I'll just go into this jeweler's and have a look around," Sam said to himself. "There's nothing to worry about. No more stealing for me." Then Sam saw the diamond ring. He'd always wanted to give one to his girlfriend. And nobody was looking. In a minute the ring was in his pocket and Sam was walking out of the shop. But as he went towards the door he felt a hand on his shoulder, "I shall have to call the police." "I'll pay for it. Yes, I'll pay for it," said Sam. With a smile, the manager handed him the bill: 500! "Err, um, well..." said Sam. "I really didn't want to spend that much. Would you please show me something a little cheaper?" When Sam went into the shop he thought he was _ to take anything. Answer: unlikely 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' color1 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? Which of the following is mentioned in the text? Answer: Cars will be able to drive automatically . Mr. Jackson was tired of living in his old house in the countryside and wanted to sell it and buy a better one. He tried to sell it for a long time, but was not successful, so at last he decided to go to an estate agent. The agent advertised the house straight away, and a few days later, the owner saw a very beautiful photograph of his house, with a wonderful description of his garden in an expensive magazine. Having read the advertisement through, the house owner hurried to phone the estate agent, saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Jones, but I've decided not to sell my house after all." "Why?" the agent asked in a surprised voice. "Because from the advertisement in that magazine I can see it's just the kind of house I've wanted to live in all my life." Mr. Jackson wanted to sell his house because _ . Answer: he didn't want to live in the house any longer Pocket Tape-Recorders "Family and Home Magazine" test what's on the market now. 1)Pearlcorder S702 $64 This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn't turn off automatically. Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 240g. 2)Sony M9 $49.95 Small and very good looking, sony's latest offering scored most for appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. Doesn't switch off automatically but a red light shows if the machine is still running. Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 195g. 3)Sony M400 $115 Lots of little control buttons that make a noise and are difficult to use . Recording was good but machine noise lost points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful. Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g. 4)Imperial OEM. MC $29.95 Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording was good as long as there was no background noise. Use only its own make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast forward button and the record button makes a loud noise. Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g. 5)Philips 585 $80 Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light. Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g. If you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose the _ . Answer: Sony M400
A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night's sleep. But now a study has found it really does help people nod off--if it is milked from a cow at night. Researchers have discovered that "night milk" contains more melatonin , which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety. The study, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea, involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night. Those given night milk, which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin, were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime, according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food. Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer. While the effect of cows milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now, taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night. Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content, which helps people to relax. Milk is also sugar-free and additive-free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening. The more fat you take in before bedtime, the greater burden you will put on your body at night. Which of the following is true of melatonin according to the text? Answer: It's used in sleeping drugs While it may be unlikely for a computer to write a best seller, a technology expert has created a computer program that writes its own fiction stories with minimal user input. The program, called MEXICA, is the first to generate original stories based on computerized representations of emotions and tensions between characters. An Internet survey was carried out to see the popularity of the computer-generated stories, other computerized stories and stories written solely by a human. The result was that readers ranked MEXICA stories highest for flow and coherence, structure, content, suspense and overall quality. Rafael Perezy Perez, the creator of MEXICA, explained that a story might begin with something as basic as, "The enemy wounded the knight. The princess cured the knight. The knight killed the enemy. The knight rewarded the princess. The end." The program reads characters as variables and assigns a numerical value, between a continuum from -3 to +3, to emotional connections that are defined as either amorous or non-amorous. The numerical value is equivalent to the degree of emotion, with -3 being intense hate and +3 being intense love. The program also understands story tension, such as linking the word "wounded" with tension. This too is assigned a numerical value. Once these clusters of emotional links and tensions are established, the program begins what is called an "engagement reflection cycle". Basically this involves searching a database of story actions and other happenings, which are called "atoms", and determines the best match for the characters and contexts for that moment. The process repeats itself again and again until the system can no longer make any matches. At this point, the computer analyzes the story for coherence and "interestingness". The program views a story as interesting when tension levels increase and fall throughout the piece. If the program finds that the story is boring or incoherent in places, it will replace or insert atoms until a version is thought to be satisfactory. What are "atoms" understood by the computer system? Answer: Events becoming of the characters. Shorter periods of daylight happen Answer: December to March This Thursday, across the USA, kids are skipping school and going to work with their parents. They'll be making copies, sending faxes and sweeping floors. This is because April 28 is Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day all over the USA. This holiday shows kids what it means to be a grown-up in the working world. I still remember when this day started, I was very happy. Not only did I have the chance to miss school, but I also got to sit in my dad's taxi all day long and we would go to a restaurant for lunch. But after only 20 minutes of driving around the city, I was very bored. couldn't read my book in the car as I would get carsick and my dad didn't like to turn on the radio. I got hot and uncomfortable. People wouldn't get into his taxi because they thought he already had a passenger-me, so nothing happened. It seemed years before we went out for lunch. I actually started to miss school. While the point of the day is to give kids a chance to experience real-life jobs and give them an idea of the possibilities for their futures, I got something completely different from the day. I learned to appreciate school. Where else do you get to play with your friends, do science experiments, read great books and write stories all in one day? Just as you'll have to learn to love your job later in life, learn to love school now. If you don't already, try spending the day at work with your dad. That day the writer was happy at first for the following reasons except _ . Answer: she would work as a grown-up Britain's oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 101. Mr. John Evans had never found the time or money to make the trip from his home in Forest Fach, near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital he just could not refuse. He arrived at Paddington Station and smartly turned out in his best suit, favorite Panama hat and a red rose in his buttonhole. "It's very exciting. There's no doubt about it," he said. Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. "But I've been on the seas to that faraway land called Ilfracombe 21 miles from home," he joked. Mr Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century. "There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings return from Swansea -- too much I thought. All my money went to the family then," he said. During the next two days Mr. Evans will be taken on a short tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the House of Parliament organized by his MP, Mr. Gareth Wardell. The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided for him if he gets tired. "I don't like the chair -- people will think I am getting old. " he said. His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized -- no wine, no tobacco and no anger. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwell, he said jokingly, "I'm glad to see they've given me a return ticket. " Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? Answer: Mr. Evans could not really enjoy the trip because of his age.
12-year-old Romina Mohaqqeq, believed to be Iran's youngest filmmaker, is dreaming of winning an Oscar someday. "I will not regard myself a filmmaker until I win an Oscar," she remarks. Born in 1998, she has so far directed several documentaries and short films and has received several awards at national and international festivals. "I made my first documentary when I was eight years old. The idea came to my mind when I saw an Afghan boy who was collecting paper in a dustbin near our house. I thought it might be a good topic for a documentary," she said. "I asked my dad to make a movie about this boy but he said that it would not be an interesting topic. He told me to work on the topic myself if I liked it, so I made my first documentary and named it Long Way". Romina's "Long Way" took the best film award at Roshd International Film Festival in 2007, encouraging her to continue filmmaking. "Next, I adapted a story published in a magazine and made the short film A Box Full of Affection". She is now working on Thought, a new documentary about positive thinking. Romina admits that her dad has been her only advisor all these years. "When Romina decided to work on a topic herself at the age of 8, I taught her the whole process of filmmaking within 6 to 7 months. I even worked as a cameraman in some of her productions." her father said. "We also reviewed the book Film Directing Shot by Shot. We read all the sections together where she learned the entire process from pre-production to post-production." Romina also played in one of her dad's productions when she was 6, and acted in the movie The Earrings. She was among the judges of 39th edition of the Roshd International film Festival. According to the passage, "Film Directing Shot by Shot" is _ . A a book written by Romina B a movie directed by Romina's father C a movie directed by Romina D a book on how to produce films Answer: D. a book on how to produce films WASHINGTON--More than one in 10 of the nation's airline pilots are cleared to carry a handgun while flying, and the number will continue to grow, according to a Transportation Security Administration projection. The Federal Air Marshal Service, a TSA agency that runs the armed-pilots program, reports that 85,000 to 90,000 pilots and crewmembers flying domestic passengers and cargo planes are eligible to carry a gun. That puts the number of armed pilots at about 9,500. The TSA projects the program to grow to 16.5% of eligible pilots by the year 2011. Aviation experts were surprised and alarmed that so many pilots are toting guns in the sky. "That's a big number compared to what I thought it would be," said aviation-security consultant Rich Roth, who said he had predicted there would be fewer than 1,000 armed pilots. The 5-year-old program trains pilots for one week and arms them with 40-caliber semiautomatic pistols. "That's a scary number," said Joseph Gutheinz, a former Transportation Department special agent and aviation attorney in Houston. "By allowing so many pilots the opportunity to fly armed, we're giving terrorists opportunity to identify somebody who has a gun and overpower him." Capt. Bob Hesselbein, head of security for the Air Line Pilots Association, said the number of armed pilots is "a tremendous deterrent " to hijackings. "The challenge of an organized terrorist team is to take control of the cabin, then the flight deck." Armed pilots have come under scrutiny since March 22 when the gun of a US Airways pilot fired in the cockpit of Flight 1536 as it approached Charlotte from Denver. No one was hurt, and the plane landed safely after the bullet pierced the fuselage. Joseph Gutheinz's attitude towards pilots' carrying guns while flying is _ . A positive B negative C angry D surprised Answer: B. negative Napoga is a 12-year-old girl in Ghana ,Africa.It is hard for her family to get clean water.Every morning,she leaves home at half past five to get clean water for her family from a village far away.It takes her six hours to get enough clean water for daily cooking and drinking.She has no time to go to school or to play with her friends.Millions of people in the world are like Napoga.They can't get enough clean water to keep healthy. Earth Day is April 22.But on all other days,we must also remember it.The water we use is the most important natural resource on the earth. Water covers 70% of the earth's surface .But most of that is sea water.We can't use it for many things.Fresh water covers only 1% of the earth's surface. You probably feel lucky that your life isn't as hard as Napoga's.But that doesn't mean you don't have to worry about water.We all face serious water problems.One of them is water pollution.All kinds of things from cars,factories,farms and homes make our rivers,lakes,and oceans dirty.Polluted water is very bad for people to drink.And dirty water is bad for fish,too.Now,34% of all kinds of fish are dying out. How do cars and factories make our water dirty?First,they pollute the air.Then,when it rains,the rain water comes down and makes our drinking water dirty.Dirty rain,called acid rain ,is also bad for plants,animals and buildings. Scientists say that in 30 years,more than half of the people in the world won't have enough clean water.We have to learn how to save more water for ourselves and our children.Here is some advice for saving water: * Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.You can save as much as 450 liters each month. * Leaky taps waste a lot of water.Fix them right away! * You can easily cut your 10-minute showers in half--and you'll be just as clean. * When you wash dishes,don't let the water run. * Only wash clothes when you have a lot to wash.If your washing machine isn't full,you're wasting water! What's the main idea of the passage? A Something must be done to prevent water from being polluted. B Clean water means much to human beings and living things around us. C It's time to take care of the water we use. D Water is the most important natural resource on the earth. Answer: C. It's time to take care of the water we use. I teach geography at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then asked me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. "I choose to be cheerful." I said. Then I told them a story. In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died and wouldn't start again. So I left my car there and marched down the road to the college. As soon as I got there I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the office asked me what had happened. "This is my lucky day." I replied, smiling. "Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?" She was puzzled. "What do you mean?" "My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway but it didn't." I replied, "Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance from here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class." The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class. So ended my story. I scanned the sixty faces in my class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe _ In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful. An Indian wise man once said, "Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say." I suppose it must be so. Why did the author tell his students the story? A To share his lucky experience. B To make his class more lively. C To draw all students' attention. D To encourage his students to be positive. Answer: D. To encourage his students to be positive. Malls are popular places for Americans to go to. Some people spend so much time at malls that they are called mall rats. Mall rats shop until they visit hundreds of stores. People like malls for many reasons. They feel safe because malls have police stations. Parking is usually free. And the weather inside is always fine. The newest malls have beautiful rest places with waterfalls and large green trees. The Mall of America in Minnesota is one of the most popular ones. It covers 4.2 million square feet. It has 350 stores, eight nightclubs, and a large park! There are parking spaces for 12,750 cars. About 750,000 people shop there every week. The first indoor mall in the United States was built in 1965 in Edina Minnesota. People love doing all their shopping in one place. More malls are built around the country. Now malls are town centers where people come to do many things. They shop, and of course, they also eat in food courts that have food from all over the world. They see films at theaters. Some people even get their exercise by doing the new sport of "mall walking". Others go to malls to meet friends. In some malls, people can see a doctor and even go to church. In other words, people can do almost everything in malls. Now people can live in their favorite shopping centers in fact. What is this passage mainly about? A The safety in American malls. B The functions of American malls. C The popularity of American malls. D The similarity of American malls. Answer: C. The popularity of American malls.
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were not willing to work on farms along the Atlantic because they worried about the terrible storms that destroy buildings and crops. The farmer received a steady stream of refusals at the interview for a farmhand Finally, a short, thin man approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows. " answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer ,the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm ,busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly from offshore. Jumping out of bed,the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, " Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they are blown away! " The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows. " Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot ,Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement,he discovered that all of the hay had been covered. The cows were in the bam,the chickens were in the coops,and the doors were barred The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down, Nothing could be blown away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he also returned to his bed to sleep while the wind was still blowing. Why did the farmer constantly advertise for hired hands? In a time when a dangerous number of people are overweight, many people seem to have forgotten the most important way to keep healthy and slim---exercise. And as a new study carried out on mice in the lab has shown, exercise done early in life can reward you in your adult years. A team of researchers at the University of California studied the effects of early exercise on adult physical activity, body mass and eating. They found that early-age exercise in mice has positive effects on adult levels of voluntary exercise in addition to reducing body mass. "These results may have an effect on the importance of regular physical education in elementary and middle schools," said Theodore Garland, a professor of biology, who led the research project. "If kids exercise regularly through their school years, then they may be more likely to exercise as adults, which could have far-reaching positive effects on human health and well-being." Although the positive effects of early-life exercise lasted for only one week, it is important to note that one week in the life of a mouse is the same as about nine months for humans. "Our results suggest that any positive effects of early-life exercise on adult exercise will need to be kept up if they are to be long-lasting." His team of researchers found, too, that all mice that had access to early exercise were lighter in weight than non-exercised mice. Garland explained that, in general, exercise will stimulate appetite sooner or later. However, it is possible that certain types of exercise, done for certain periods of time or at certain light levels, might not _ appetite much, if at all, at least in some individuals. "If we could understand what sorts of exercise these might be, then we might be able to tailor exercise recommendations in a way that would bring the benefits of exercise without increase in appetite, leading to a better chance of weight loss," he said. How long do the positive effects of early-life exercise last for a mouse? One determined student stepped off the traditional job for blind people in China, and now challenges a new life at university in Britain. Being a message therapist is a perfect job for many people with a visual disability, but for Zheng Jianwei, it was far from enough. The 30-year-old former massage therapist gave up his hospital job in 2009to prepare for admission to graduate school. He took IELTS , the language-fluency test necessary for university admission in the UK, in 2012 and scored 6.5 points. He was the first blind examinee to take the IELTS in the Southeast Chinese region. After about four year's struggles, Zheng successfully gain an offer from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and became a graduate student. However,Zheng's path to graduate school was not easy. "I can't take China's national entrance exam for graduate school, which doesn't provide study material for blind students," he says. He then turned to search for graduate school overseas. However, English became his nightmare. Zheng studied in special schools for visually challenged students since primary school, but foreign language was never a main subject. Before giving up his job and learning English again in 2009, Zheng only knew the alphabet, a few words and some basic expressions. "Learning English again in my late 20s is not easy," he says. It took him three years of intensive study to gain entrance to a graduate school overseas. Because of the lack of study material, Zheng needs to spend hours and days looking for textbooks for the visually disabled and copying them, while it may take only five minutes for a sighted person to order a plain English textbook from Amazon. In his parents' eyes, Zheng has been a sensible, independent and decisive man from a young age. Zheng made all the major decisions by himself, including studying abroad and choosing majors. "We just follow his decisions, " the mother says. It can be inferred from the passage that Zheng's _ . As part of the first International Hot Spring Culture and Tourism Festival in Xianning, Hubei Province, Miss Friendship International 2009 was held in Wuhan, Hubei, China from 20th October 2009 to 9th November 2009 with 70 gorgeous contestants gathering from across the world. The city is a popular travel spotlight, known for its hot springs and red tourism. Beginning in 2005 in New York, Miss Friendship International is an international beauty contest, with the theme "beauty promotes international friendship which leads to world peace." From 2:40pm to 3:42 pm on November 7th, 7 top hot spring hotels and scenic areas in Xianning, Hubei province began an activity called "Tens of thousands of people bath in the hot spring together". 450 female university students from Xianning College formed the shape of the Arabic number"10000"in the big bath. What's the purpose of Miss International beauty contest? It's flu season. What are you doing about it? David Oreck, Founder My Oreck Air Purifier captures and destroys viruses, bacteria and germs. 2005 ORECK HOLDINGS,LLC. All Rights Reserved. All word marks, logos, product configurations and registered trademarks are owned and used under the authority of Oreck Holdings, LLC. For the very young and the very old and virtually everyone in between, the flu is nothing to sneeze at. So here's what you can do. Check with your doctor to see if a flu shot is right for you. Wash your hands frequently. Maintain a healthy diet and regimen of exercise. And because you're spending most of your time indoors, it makes sense that the air in your home is as fresh, clean and pure as it can be. My Oreck XL(tm) Professional Air Purifier captures and destroys viruses, bacteria and germs. It removes mold spores, pollen, pet dander, household odors and other airborne particulates as small as 0.1 microns. (The flu virus measures 0.3 microns.) The Oreck Professional Air Purifier uses the same advanced technology as the prefix = st1 /U.S.submarine fleet where mariners are submerged for up to six months at a time. Because the permanent electronic filter never needs replacing, you can rinse it off as often as you like and it's as good as new. My Oreck Professional Air Purifier will literally pay for itself in what you pay for costly HEPA replacement filters that other manufacturers require. Besides HEPA filters don't destroy germs. They can only capture and hold them. So this flu season, take the Oreck Challenge and try my Oreck Professional Air Purifier risk-free for three full months. Then decide. CALL NOW AND RECEIVE A $100 GIFT-FREE. Just for trying an Oreck Air Purifier risk-free for 90 days, we'll send you our $100 Oreck Cord-Free Electric Broom ly free. It's a floor vac and a hand vac in one. If you don't feel the difference simply send the Air Purifier back--but keep the Electric Broom--there's no obligation. The shipping is free. Call 1-800-522-5961 ext. CR589 or visit www. oreck. com/decairNothing gets by an Oreck. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
Question: In a federal investigation of Defendant for tax fraud, the grand jury seeks to obtain a letter written January 15 by Defendant to her attorney in which she stated: "Please prepare a deed giving my ranch to University but, in order to get around the tax law, I want it back-dated to December 15." The attorney refuses to produce the letter on the ground of privilege. Production of the letter should be A. prohibited, because the statement is protected by the attorney-client privilege. B. prohibited, because the statement is protected by the client's privilege against self-incrimination. C. required, because the statement was in furtherance of crime or fraud. D. required, because the attorney-client privilege belongs to the client and can be claimed only by her. Answer: C Question: An official media outlet has, for the first time, published a cartoon of President Xi Jinping, with graphic details of his engagements over the past months. Cartoons can make politicians seem more friendly, says Tao Duanfang in an article for The Beijing News. Cartoons can leave a deep impression about a character in the minds of readers. Presidential campaign teams in countries like the US, Canada and Japan have a tradition of crafting products in the shape of politicians' caricatures. Tao points out that caricatures of politicians have become part of pop culture in many countries, with their purposes ranging from publicity to commercial use. Cartoons and caricatures can be used to criticize or ridicule political leaders, too. Besides, they can also help politicians introduce their political views. Tao says that cartoons and caricatures can bring politicians closer to the people and demonstrate the spirit of an inclusive and lively political climate, which is conducive to social progress. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Why political cartoons are useful B. How to make political cartoons C. Who reads political cartoons D. Where to make political cartoons Answer: A Question: Safety and Security Procedures Your safety and the security of your personal property are of the primary concern to those of us who welcome you as our guest. We urge you to take advantage of the following suggestions. YOUR VEHICLE Lock it and don't leave money or valuable items inside. We are not responsible for their loss. TRAVELING Be good at noticing things around you when sightseeing or traveling. Stay in well-lit and heavily traveled areas. Don't display large amounts of cash. GUEST ROOM SECURITY For additional security use the deadbolt provided on your door and make sure the windows are locked. As an additional precautious measure, please secure the secondary locks provided. Do not admit anyone to your room without first making identification . A one-way viewer is provided in your door to assist with identification. If there is any doubt about the person's identity, please contact the Front Desk. SAFETY BOXES Do not leave money or valuables in your room or vehicle. We provide free safety boxes for your use. Hotel is not responsible for items left in the room valued over $200. KEYS Safeguard your key. Please do not leave it in the door. Do not give your key to others or leave it unattended. Please leave your key at the Front Desk when you check out. REPORTING Please report any suspicious activity, or safety concerns to management. FIRE Please familiarize yourself with the nearest fire exits. Report fire or smoke to the hotel guard. In the unlikely event of a fire, please move quickly and calmly to the nearest safe exit and leave the building. Avoid the use of elevator. If you feel doubtful about a stranger who knocks at the door, you should _ . A. let the person in after you have got his/her name B. open the door to check the person's ID card C. call the Front Desk to make sure D. contact the local police for assistance Answer: C Question: When she moved the covering cloth to look upon his tiny face, she was shocked. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be full of heart- breaks for his imperfect appearance. He grew up, handsome for his misfortune and popular with his fellow students. He might have been class monitor,but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, "You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret." The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person turned up. His talents blossomed into genius, and his school and college became a series of success. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. One day ,he urged his father, "Who gave so much for me?I must know! I could never do enough for him." "I do not believe you could, " said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet." The years kept their secret, but the day did come--- one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother's casket . Slowly, tenderly, the father reached out a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to show that the mother had no outer ears. "Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut, " he whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?" Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance,but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen,but in what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done and not known. Which is the best title for the passage? A. A Misfortunate Boy B. Mother's Hair C. Mother's Secret Love D. A Successful Ear Operation Answer: C Question: The richest man in the world can now also claim a degree from the college he dropped out of three decades ago. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates delivered the commencement address at Harvard University on Thursday, and was awarded the L. L. D. honorary doctorate . "Our speaker is known as the most influential entrepreneur of the personal computer revolution. He was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004, 2005, 2006 and again in 2007, " said Harvard's president, Derek Bok. Then Bok spoke more directly to Gates: "Just think what you could have achieved if you had stayed another two years." Gates told the students, many of whom will soon be launching into full-time careers, that work isn't the only thing of importance. "Judge yourself not on the professional accomplishments but on how well you have addressed the world's inequities, how you have treated people who have nothing to do with you," he said. In recent months, Gates has been giving a larger part of his time and energy to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on issues including global health and education. In 2008, he plans to make the foundation his chief responsibility. But for the most part, the Microsoft co-founder stuck to the serious message about trying to make the world a better place. He urged the graduates not to get discouraged about seemingly intractable challenges of poverty and poor health. As many as 30,000 people were expected to attend the outdoor commencement ceremony. Gates wasn't the only high-profile speaker on the prefix = st1 /Cambridgecampus this week. On Wednesday, former President Bill Clinton delivered Harvard's Class Day speech. Gates and Clinton have collaborated on great efforts to fight the AIDS epidemic in developing countries. Recent past Harvard commencement speakers have included journalist Jim Lehrer in 2006, actor and writer John Lithgow in 2005 and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2004. What is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? A. it claims a degree from the college one dropped out of B. it delivers the commencement address at HarvardUniversity. C. it fixes its eyes on issues about health and education throughout the world. D. it collaborates on great efforts to attend the commencement ceremony Answer: C
Long ago, there was a little elephant. He left home and played in the forest alone. He stayed outside for many days and became dirty because he could not wash his back. All the other animals didn't play with him because he was dirty. The elephant sat under a tree. He started to cry. He cried for two days. But nobody could see him there. So he went back home and asked for help. His mother told him," You have a long trunk . It can help you wash your back." He and his mother went to the river and his mother taught him how to use the trunk to clean his back with water. All the other animals came over to him and said, "You are so clean now. Do you want to play with us?" The elephant was so happy and said, "Yes." Why didn't the other animals play with the little elephant at first? Because he was dirty. Wire was looped several times around an iron nail, and the wire's ends were connected to a battery. For which of these will this device most likely be used? to create a magnetic field New Zealand Education Compulsory Education Compulsory education starts at age 5 and ends at age 16. Class Size The number of students in a class is 30 students. Classrooms Students from Years 5-8 stay in the same classroom for most subjects and move to other classrooms only for specific subjects. In Year 9, students take some courses With their homeroom class and some _ classes with students from different classes. Starting from Year 10, students no longer stay in the same classroom most of the time. They go to different classes according to their own choices and abilities. Term Dates A school year starts in January and ends in December. There are four terms in a year. Each term is about 10 weeks. Class Schedule School starts at around 8:30 and ends at 15:15. There are only five periods a day and a period is about an hour long. In the morning, around 10:30, there will be a 20-minute break when students usually have some snacks during this time. There is a lunch period at around 12:40 for about an hour. Teachers Teachers have to teach students of different year level at the same time. Most teachers teach students from at least three to four different year levels. Besides, quite a number of teachers teach more than one subject. This is because the fact that many courses are optional. This passage is most probably taken from. an educational book BEIJING -- China's education authority will tighten the widely criticized policy of "extra credits" for the national college entrance examination to ensure a fairer chance for all exam-takers. Under the policy, high school students who win awards in national Olympic competitionscould get ''extra credits', up to 20 points for the national college entrance exam. Students with talentin sports and students who are from ethnic groups can also benefit from this policy. The extra creditshave increased these students' chances of being admitted by famous universities. Some parents werefound to have helped their children fabricate award experiences or falsify qualifications to getextra credits. "It has harmed education equality," the ministry said. Xiong Bingqi, vice-chief of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the policy isdesigned to help students who have special talents but may be weak in academic performance tohave a chance to receive higher education. It will still be needed but it is time to make the rulesfairer," he said. The ministry said it will reduce the range of competitions whose winners can get extra credits,and limit the winners, privileges. The new policy will apply to students who begin high school in 2011, it said. Chen Lei, a mother of a 10-year-old girl, said she welcomed the ministry's policy adjustmentas she does not want her daughter to become an Olympic competition _ . But not all the Chinese parents welcomed the new policy. "It is like a thunderbolt for me. My 13-year-old son has spent so much time studying Olympic math, and participated in so manytechnological competitions during vacations. It is useless now," said Dong Wen, a 43-year-oldmother. A student said, "Many students have changed the current study plan, and they can abandon thecompetition. I will be interested in learning the courses which can improve my abilities." Yuan Guiren, minister of education, told China Daily that the reform is an attempt to consider the overall quality of an applicant. "But the country will not stop the national college entrance examination as it is still the most objective way to evaluate talent in China," he said. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . the number of competitions whose winners can be awarded extra credits will be smaller I have a rule of travel: never carry a map. I prefer to ask for directions. Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don't have names. In Japan, people tell landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, " Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and pass a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop." In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks. There are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, " Go north two miles, turn west, and then go another mile." People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map. They measure distance by means of time, not miles. "How far away is the post office?" you ask. "Oh," they answer, "it's about five minutes from here." You say, " Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don' t know. People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because visitors seldom understand the Greek language. Instead of giving you the direction, a Greek often says, " Follow me." Then he will lead you through the streets of the city to the post office. Sometimes a person doesn't know the answer to your question. What happens then? A New Yorker might say, " Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yuchatan, Mexico, no one answers " I don't know." People in Yucatan think that " I don't know" is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A visitor can get very lost in Yucatan. However, one thing will help you everywhere---- in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, in Mexico, or in any other places. You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his body language. He or she will usually turn and then point in the correct direction. Go in that direction and you may find the post office. According to the text, visitors often get lost in Yucatan because _ . they can hardly get right answers of directions
Three astronauts returned to Earth safely on Wednesday after a successful 15-day mission , marking another step forward towards the country's goal of building a manned space station by 2020. Zhang Youxia, commander-in-chief of China's manned space program, said the Shenzhou X mission was a "complete success". The Shenzhou X landed safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at about 8:07 a.m. on June 26, 2013. All three astronauts were in good physical condition. Nie Haisheng, commander of the Shenzhou X crew and a second-time space traveler, was the first to get out of the bowl-like module , followed by Wang Yaping, the only female astronaut of the mission, and Zhang Xiaoguang. During a brief welcoming ceremony held at the landing area, the astronauts waved happily to a crowd consisting of officers, the search and recovery team, and health personnel. "It feels really good to be back home," said astronaut Nie Haisheng. "We are dreamers, and we have now realized our dream," said Zhang Xiaoguang. "Our space dream knows no limit, and our hard work will never stop," he said. Compared with its previous mission Shenzhou IX last year, the Shenzhou X is no longer experimental but considered an applicable shuttle system for sending astronauts and supplies to orbiting modules. The mission aims to further test technologies designed for docking and supporting astronauts' stay in space, as well as to use new technologies related to the construction of a space station. In its 15-day journey in space, Shenzhou X docked with the orbiting space lab Tiangong-1 twice, once through automatic operation and the other manual .The Tiangong-1 space lab has been in orbit for more than 600 days. It's designed to work for two years. The module is considered the first step in building a permanent space station in the future. And the astronauts spent 12 days in Tiangong-1, where they conducted space medical experiments, technical tests and gave a science lesson to students on Earth on June 19 about basic physics principles. The lecture was the second video class sent from space, with US astronaut Barbara Morgan's 25-minute class being the first in 2007. China is the third country after the United States and Russia to acquire the technologies and skills necessary for space rendezvous and docking procedures, as well as supply manpower and material for an orbiting module via different docking methods. Previous docking procedures conducted between Shenzhou-type spacecraft and the orbiting space lab included two automated dockings by the unmanned Shenzhou-8 in 2011 and both an automated and manual docking by the manned Shenzhou-9 in 2012. Since its first manned space space mission in 2003, China has sent ten astronauts and six spacecrafts into the space. According to the passage, the Shenzhou X _ . A was sent into space on June 11, 2013 B is still an experimental shuttle system C sent many supplies to the manned space station D returned to Earth safely on the afternoon of June 26 Answer: A. was sent into space on June 11, 2013 Military training has long been considered a ritual that freshmen must go through in order to officially start their college lives. While some question the necessity of such training. Many students see military training as a campus tradition that should be maintained. Early in February, the Ministry of Education issued a new regulation that colleges and universities should carry out a minimum of 14 days compulsory military training for freshmen. In a report by Beijing Evening News, Hou Zhengfang, a Beijing-based education PhD, questioned the benefits of military training. "The training routine does little to improve students' physical fitness over only two weeks' time. Maybe some disaster prevention training, such as earthquake survival or escaping from fires would be of greater benefit." Meng Yang, a 19-year-old freshman at Guangxi University, fainted during training. She said that many students, especially girls, are willing to train under direct sunshine. "For me, military training is physically challenging and even damages my health." According to Li Jian from the student affairs office of Guangzhou University, feeling dizzy happens frequently during military training and the school has received a lot of complaints from both students and parents: "But I still think military training is a good thing. Students are easier to manage after the military training. They became more positive about their new environment after the training." Although autumn is fast approaching Beijing, the noon heat burns 3300 freshmen on Tsinghua University's campus. Chu Jinjing, a freshman majoring in medicine, did feel some discomfort while training in sweaty clothes in the glaring heat, the 18-year-old still enjoyed being part of group going through strict exercises. "By going through this tough training, students bond faster and a sense of belonging to the school can be formed. I've made a lot of friends already." According to the Ministry of Education, the purpose of military training is to teach students discipline, the spirit of teamwork and endurance. But in reality, according to Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21stCentury Education Research Institute, the effect is not satisfying. "Such goals require long-term development. It is unrealistic to expect military training to make a difference in only 14 days." He thus suggests that it should be up to schools to conduct military training in a way that best suits their students. However, Wang Wenhui, an 18-year-old freshman from Xi'an Jiaotong University, sees military training as a tradition that reaches beyond character building. "From junior and senior high school to college, we join military training to start a new journey. I would feel a bit incomplete without it." What is the author's attitude towards military training? A Supportive B Subjective C Objective D Rejective Answer: C. Objective It is a hot summer day. A group of animals are waiting in line for the bus under the hot sun. They are all swearing . Then Elephant comes and stands in front of all the other animals. "Elephant please wait in line!" the animals tell him. Elephant still stands there and he doesn't say anything. The other animals are very angry, but they can do nothing to Elephant. "He is too big and we are too small," says Ant. "We have to _ to him," says Rabbit. "Hey, do you feel cool now?" asks Monkey. "Yes. We are standing Elephant's shadow ," Panda says happily. Suddenly, they all feel some wind. Oh, how cool! Elephant is fanning(......) the animals with his ears. At last, the bus comes. All the other animals get on, but Elephant still stands there. He doesn't want to get on the bus. "Elephant, the bus is here. Why don't you get on? " asks Monkey. "Oh, I'm just passing by and want to give you some shade ," says Elephant. Now, all the other animals know how friendly Elephant is. Where may we see the passage? A In a history book. B In a Chinese exercise book. C In a storybook for children. D In a newspaper about science Answer: C. In a storybook for children. Mayday is a rock band from Taiwan that was formed in the late 1990s with five members, namely ,Ashin (vocalist), Monster and Stone (guitars), Masa (bass) and Guan You (drums). Formerly making music under the name of So Band, they officially came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Mayday's songs are written mostly in Min Nan (Taiwanese dialect) and Mandarin . They are popular for capturing the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the 1990s which was an era of dreams, growing up, loneliness, love and disaffection. Mayday has made no secret of its admiration of the Beatles whom they cite(...)as influencing their ideals of rock music.The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World"and one day, to become better than them. Other diverse musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children, Sting as well as the Chinese rocker Wu Bai and China Blue. In lyrics on recent albums, Ashin has alluded( )to several cultural icons notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love"which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armour" which was influenced by a Chinese drama Crystal Boys and Haruki Murakami's novel, Kafka On the Shore. The whole passage tells us _ . A why Mayday has got popular B who and what influence Mayday C different roles played in Mayday D some things about Mayday Answer: D. some things about Mayday Five boys are suspected of starting a fire that destroyed their school on the eve of the new term. Police said yesterday that five boys -- one aged 11, two 12-year-olds, one aged 13 and one 15 -- arrested on suspicion of starting the fire had been released until later this month. Parents said the five pupils all attended St Mary's. Pupils witnessed their schoolwork being destroyed in the fire at Leyland St Mary's Catholic Technology College in Lancashire. The 1950s science block was reduced to the ground in Sunday's fire, which created clouds of smoke visible for miles. It is reported that the library and sports hall were also destroyed beyond repair. Strong winds and a shortage of water prevented 125 firemen trying to bring it under control. Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene until late this afternoon. Staffs were due to attend the school yesterday for an inset day, and pupils pupils were to return for lessons after the holidays today. St Mary's head teacher Kathy McNicholas fought back the tears as she watched her school go up in flames last night. She said, "This is so upsetting to watch. It's heartbreaking. It's very _ for the staff and the children. Everyone had been looking forward to coming back for the new school year." Finding somewhere around 730 children won't be easy. A few of the staff have turned up to see if there is anything they can do and they have all been shocked and saddened by what has happened. "It's tragic because we have only just had a lot of refreshment work done to the school during the summer break. It was a big investment. The community around here very much looks after its school." Plans were being drawn up to provide alternative classrooms for 730 children, with parents warned to keep them at home for at least the rest of the week. Which part of St Mary's Catholic Technology College was burned to the ground in the fire? A The library. B Sports hall. C The science block. D The passage doesn't tell us. Answer: C. The science block.
What's a good way to heat up inside after ice skating on a frozen lake? Answer: set fire to some natural gas We use both words and gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that these words and gestures can be understood in different ways. It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. There are also a number of striking similarities in the way different animals show the same feelings. Dogs, tigers and humans, for example, often show their teeth when they are angry. This is probably because they are born with those behavior patterns. Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like "he went pale and begin to tremble" suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. However, "he opened his eyes wide" is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese "surprise" can be described in a phrase like 'they stretched out their tongues!' Sticking out your tongue in English is an insulting gesture or expresses strong dislike. Even in the same culture, people differ in ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people's faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to recognize or understand body language than younger people do. From this passage, we can conclude _ . Answer: words and gestures are both used in expressing feelings One day, my friend Jimmy told me a story. Farmer Joe was in his cart when he was hit by a truck. He decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company (which caused the accident)to court. In court the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Farmer Joe. "Didn't you say, at the same scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?" said the lawyer. Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I will tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the..." "I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "Just answer the question.Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine? ' " Farmer Joe said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the cart and I was driving down the road..." The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to make clear the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the police on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to cover the fact. I believe he is telling lies. Please tell him to simply answer the question." By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie." Joe thanked the Judge and went on, "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the cart and was driving her down the road when this huge truck ran into the stop sign and pushed my cart right in the side. I was thrown into one side and Bessie was thrown into the other." "I was hurt so badly that I didn't want to move. However, I could hear old Bessie breathing loudly and groaning . I knew she was in great pain. Shortly after the accident a traffic policeman came to the scene. He could hear Bessie groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the patrolman came across the road with his gun and looked at me. He said, "Your mule was in such pain that I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?" _ , the patrolman shot the mule. Answer: Thinking it was the best way to stop the mule from suffering Students who work during term time to support themselves at university are far more likely to graduate with a poor degree, according to a government-funded study published yesterday. Undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or upper second-class degree than other students, harming their career chances. Students from the poorest backgrounds were most likely to take jobs during term because they could not depend on help from their parents. The report, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills, also found a clear relation between fear of debt and employment in non-graduate jobs. Students from poorer backgrounds are known to be more unwilling to be in debt than those from middle class families. The study of 8,600 people who graduated in 1999 was made by Peter Elias, of Warwick University, and Kate Purcell, from Bristol Business School. They found that twice as many first-class degrees were awarded to students who did not work during term compared with those who did. Between 35 and 38 percent who worked during term achieved a lower second, compared with about 28 percent of those who did not. Professor Elias said that the increase in school fees next year to PS3,000 would have to be monitored carefully for its effect on poorer students. "Higher education is going to be a harder struggle for those who do not come with all the advantages," he said. He suggested that universities could get in touch with employers to provide work experience on good salaries to choose students during holidays, so that they did not have to work during term. What's the main idea of the passage? Answer: Term-time jobs at university lead to poorer examination results. Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime "business hours" are now open late into the night. And on the Internet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant . A half century ago in the United States, most people experienced strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time. Today the boundaries still exist, but they seem not clear. The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep the schools open in all seasons except summer; in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal limits, or whether it should become more "flexible," is often debated. How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the boundaries of time until we live in a world in which every minute is much like every other? These are not easy questions even to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we rarely recognize the "law of time" even when we meet it face to face. We know as children that we have to attend school a certain number of hours, a certain number of days, a certain number of years--but unless we meet the truant officer , we may well think that we should go to school due to social custom and parents' demand rather than to the law. As adults we are familiar with "extra pay for overtime working," but less familiar with the fact that what constitutes "overtime" is a matter of legal definition. When we turn the clock forward to start daylight-saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves: "Here is the law in action"? As we shall see, there is a lot of law that has great influence on how we organize and use time: compulsory education law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law -- as well as law about Sunday closing, holidays, being late to work, time zones, and so on. Once we begin to look for it, we will have no trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess. By saying "Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be", the writer means that _ . Answer: the line between work time and rest time is unclear
That "Monday morning feeling" could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break. The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day. Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day. A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries. The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. "We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol but we don't know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can't give clear advice on how to prevent them," he said. Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work. "When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal changes in their bodies," Willich explained. "All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot in the arteries which will cause a heart attack." "When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity," said Willich. It can be learned from this passage that heart attack has nothing to do with _ . Answer: It's hardly surprising that weather is a favorite topic for so many people around the world--it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics.Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it difficult to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reaction, and hot,dry winds make many people badtempered. If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly,you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random.In fact the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe.In the UK the weather depends on depressions , often called lows,and anticyclones ,also known as highs.These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east.Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind.In modern times, human activities seem to be altering weather patterns.Gases produced by heavy industry change the temperature of the earth's surface,and affect cloud formation.Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s. The human race has always tried to guess the weather,especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes.Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns; popular poems include: Red sky at night, shepherd's delight;red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning. Flies will swarm before a storm. Rain before 7,clear by 11. While folk wisdom can provide a guide to help forecast weather, today's methods of prediction increasingly rely on technology.Satellites, balloons,ships, aircrafts and weather centers with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers.The data is then processed, and the weather is predicted.However,even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about a week. Which of the following statements is TRUE? Answer: The supermarket of the past is racing toward a high tech future. And clever marketers are starting with their youngest customers. Publix Supermarkets in the prefix = st1 /U.S.city of Atlanta,Georgiahave begun testing TV Karts for little kids. Moms can shop in peace while their kids ride along watching their favorite TV shows. Marketers say the TV Karts bring about income by keeping children entertained so parents can shop longer. If the TV screen is not enough to hold a child's attention, parents can drop them off at a play center at Wegman' s supermarket in Virginia. There is adult care so parents can scan the grocery aisles without having to rush. And there are high tech toys for grown - ups, too. This computerized tablet is called the "Shopping Buddy". The small computer keeps a running tab of every item in the shopping cart. Customers can e - mail their grocery list and the device will let them know if any of the items are on sale. It also shows the location of the products. Stop and shop marketing manager Mike Grimes says the device can even take a deli order from customers on the other side of the store and let them know when it's ready for pick up. "The shopping buddy has two primary benefits to shoppers. The first - saving money, extra savings. The other thing it saves is time." If you really want to save time, "Veggie Vision", a computerized scale and camera, identifies various fruits and vegetables and automatically prices them for you. And when it's time to pay, a finger may be all you need. It takes just a few seconds for a machine to identify your unique fingerprint and debit your account. Two thousand stores in the U.S. now have the "Pay by Touch" biometric technology. Customers sign up by providing a bank account number and a fingerprint. Some European stores are testing tiny radio transmitters on their goods. The wireless devices can tell if a product is nearing its expiration date or needs to be restocked. And someday, as an I. B. M. commercial shows us, those transmitters will mean you may not even need your fingerprint to make a purchase. With the help of the "shopping Buddy", costumers can_. Answer: The earth is about 4,600 million years old. Modern man has lived on the earth for only 35,000 years, but during that time, we have changed our planet in many ways. Many of the things that we have done are good, but more are not good for the earth. Water pollution A lot of people, birds and fish die each day because of water pollution. Factories have polluted the land and the water. As a result, many rivers and lakes are now dead. Air pollution In big cities, factories, as well as cars, trucks and buses are the main cause of air pollution. Many people in cities now have serious health problems. For example, Mexico city used to be a beautiful sunny capital, but today it is always covered by thick brown clouds. Soil pollution In order to have a good harvest, most of the farmers use chemicals too much in their fields. That's bad for the soil. But this kind of pollution is difficult to stop. Hope for the future These problems are very serious for our future, so all of us should do something to improve our environment. If we can stop pollution, our planet will become more and more beautiful and our health will be better. Let's be greener people! ,. Which sentence is NOT true according to the passage? Answer: A drink of water is just a matter of turning on a tap for most of us. However, water for those in drought-stricken northwestern China can't be taken for granted. Its present shortage is a matter of life and death to them. The tragedy is the direct result of the drought that has hit a large area of northwestern China, and is affecting more than 50 million people. The drought began last spring, ravaging Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi. Experts say the drought is a result of less rainfall, insufficient water reserves, high temperatures, dated irrigation projects, environmental damage and global climate change. More than 15 million people are having difficulties getting safe drinking water. The drought is also affecting schoolchildren's studies. "I am worried that my family will get no harvest this year. In that case, my family will not be able to afford my living costs," an unnamed boarding schoolgirl at Naqing Primary School in Shandan, Zhangye, told Dazhong Daily. But thanks to measures taken under the leadership of the central government, the drinking water problem has been greatly eased. Each person in the five worst-hit provinces is being supplied with drinking water and 20 liters of water for other purposes each day. Local authorities are digging deep wells and creating artificial rain. Military personnel are helping to transport water from others province to Gansu and Qinghai, according to CCTV. In Shaanxi, locals are turning to drought resistant crops. Other parts of China are helping by giving water and donating other resources. The damages the drought brought about are the following EXCEPT_. Answer:
What does a leaf need to do to absorb the most sunlight that it can? A Hide in shade B Remain small C Grow very large D Change colors Answer: C. Grow very large I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly died of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her views with a classroom of students. As the sunlight came in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there. She paused and said, "Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is important. Each of us comes to this world to learn, share, love, appreciate and give. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment." Her eyes beginning to water, she went on: "So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see. It could be a _ of freshly baked bread from someone's house, or it could be the sound of the wind slightly rustling the leaves in the trees..." The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and left the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school. Take notice of something special you see on your way home today. Go barefoot on the beach at sunset. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do. What is the purpose of the author's writing the passage? A To show his respect to his teacher B To ask us to appreciate every moment of our life C To ask us never to give in when facing difficulty D To show the influence that a teacher has on her students Answer: B. To ask us to appreciate every moment of our life It is 80 years since the Loch Ness monster was spotted for the first time. Mrs. Aldie Mackay, a local hotel manageress, might have thought that her eyes had deceived her when she reported seeing a "whale-like fish" in the waters of the Scottish lake. Or was it made up by people? Dr. Charles Paxton, a researcher from St Andrew's University, noted that many of the 1,000 eye-witness accounts of the elusive "monster" he has been analyzing come from hotel owners. This raises suspicion of an intention to increase tourism. Mrs. Mackay is widely regarded as the first "modern sighting" of the monster in the lake. And it has opened the floodgates. Police inspectors, lorry drivers, clergymen and fishermen were among the people who claimed to have seen the monster. It became so famous that it got a nickname: Nessie. Tourists and 'Nessie hunters' poured to the area. There were traffic jams around the lake. Certainly, there was much to be gained from the legend. According to Visit Scotland, Nessie tourism brings in more than PS1,000,000 to the area per year. Marine biologist Adrian Shine, who interviewed Mrs. Mackay years later, believes she was sincere. But there are plenty of people who have made a living from Nessie, including Mr. Shine himself. He now runs the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition out of Mrs. Mackay's old hotel. Dr. Paxton says, analyzing the eye-witness accounts may tell us more about ourselves than whether or not the monster exists. He is due to publish the results of his study later this year. As a scientist, he casts a disbelieving eye on all the evidence linked to Nessie. Highly respected British surgeon, Colonel Robert Wilson, claimed he photographed the beast in 1934. It was later proved to be a toy submarine with a sea-serpent head. Dr. Paxton says: "I suppose it is possible that people have an agenda . But I believe the vast majority of people are reporting the truth. They believe they have seen something strange." Some say you see what you expect. If this is true, in the land famous for whisky and Nessie, the beast will live long and prosper. Mrs. Aldie Mackay probably felt _ when she reported seeing something unusual in the lake. A excited B astonished C frightened D disappointed Answer: B. astonished Can you imagine exchanging the pleasure of city life for a quiet life in the countryside? Many people want to move from the country to the city because they think that life in the city is more exciting and better than that in countryside, especially young people who like new, modern things. People like popular things and feel that they can only find the latest styles in the city. However, it is possible to enjoy the higher quality of country life and still enjoy some of the advantages of living in the city. Nowadays, traveling is fast and easy, and information can be found on the Internet, so many people are able to do their work in home offices. Because they have e-mail and personal computers, they don't have to be in big cities to manage their businesses. It is not important where they actually work because the results of their work can be sent everywhere with e-mails. Therefore, there is no need to put up with all of the disadvantages of the city. Now they can escape busy city life to enjoy the quiet country life and still be able to have successful jobs. Other people are interested in technological things and high-tech jobs and think they can only find them in big cities. If they want to find a job, especially a good position in a company, they think that they have to live in a city. For these jobs, they are willing to put up with many of the disadvantages of city life, such as crime, heavy traffic, and pollution. With the development of _ ,people can enjoy life in the countryside as comfortably as they can in the city. A e-mail technology B personal computers C transportation and computers D business Answer: C. transportation and computers Imagine yourself on a boat looking out at the horizon and all you can see is the water meeting the sky with no land in sight and you are sailing straight ahead to meet the world. Jesse Martin does not have to imagine: he is living in it. On Dec. 7, 1998, at 17 years old, Jesse set sail from Melbourne, Australia on his boat, attempting to become the youngest person to sail alone and nonstop around the world. He sailed south of New Zealand, through the South Pacific, around South America, north on the Atlantic, back south past Africa, through the Indian Ocean and back to Melbourne. Even as a young child, Jesse had been an adventurer who traveled all over Europe and Asia with his parents. Born in Munich, Germany in 1981, he moved to Australia with his family when he was only two years old. They moved close to a rainforest in Cow Bay, about 3500kms north of Melbourne, where they built a small house with no electricity or running water. Jesse grew up at the beach enjoying the outdoors to its fullest. At 14, he sailed for the first time with his father and brother, Beau. It was after this trip that he began to dream about sailing around the world. Jesse's family played an important role. "I was made to believe I could do anything." he says. Although, he says, there were others that were not so encouraging or supportive, "People that I looked up to, respected and trusted told me I couldn't. Thankfully, I trusted myself. There were people that said that the boat couldn't be ready by the time I had to leave." However, through perseverance and belief in himself he was able to do what many told him was impossible. On Oct.31, 1999, more than 10 months after he set sail, Jesse Martin went down in history as the youngest person to sail around the world alone, nonstop and unassisted. What can we learn from Jesse Martin's story? A Interest leads to success. B A strong belief will make a person stronger. C Life is an unusual adventure we should enjoy. D Failure is the mother of success. Answer: B. A strong belief will make a person stronger.
The kids were playing outside. They were drawing with chalk. They drew many things with the chalk. One of those things was a star. There was nothing else for them to do because it was the weekend. Then they stopped drawing with the chalk a little later. They did not want to go on because they were tired. They walked a little then started to splash by the lake that was nearby instead. They thought it was a good idea because it was a hot day. They played for hours. They were making a lot of noise and laughing and talking. They went home. They did this because they were very tired. They all ate some bread. They were now quiet. They couldn't have anything else to eat until their mother called them for dinner. They waited and did not say a word. They were resting. Soon it would be time for the family meal. Why was there nothing for them to do? Answer: It was the weekend. Dear Dad , Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards . They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you . Yet as I selected and read , it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you. You'll soon be 84 years old , Dad , and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together . I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart. You know , Dad , there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap . You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other. The Father-Daughter Duel shifted into high gear when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the 54 Chevy whether you liked it or not . The police officer who sent me home after you reported the Chevy stolen didn't have much tolerance for a stubborn 16 year old , while you were so tolerant about it , Dad , and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life. Our relationship picked up when I married a man you liked , and things really _ when we began making babies right and left . Somewhere along the line , the generation gap disappeared . I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together , rather like a fine wine. But the strangest thing happened last week . I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car . It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car . It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day. I guess what I'm trying to say , Dad , is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today . Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking . It's about loving someone more than words can say , and it's wishing that it never had to end. I love you , Dad. Love, Jenny What can we learn from Para. 6 ? Answer: Jenny had never realized her father's being weak . "Everything happens for the best,"my mother said whenever I faced disappointment ."If you carry on,one day something good will happen." Mother was right,as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932,I had decided to try for a job in radio,then work my way up to a sports announcer.I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station and got _ every time.In one studio,a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring an inexperienced person."Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance,"she said.I thumbed home to Dixon,Illinois. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon,my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department .Since Dixon was where I had played high school football,I applied.The job sounded just right for me.But I wasn't hired.My mother noticed my disappointment."Everything happens for the best."Mom reminded me.Dad offered me the car to hunt a job.I tried WOC Radio in Davenport,Iowa.The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter Mac Arthur told me they had already hired an announcer. As I left his office,I asked aloud,"How can a guy get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"I was waiting for the lift when I heard Mac Arthur calling,"What did you mean about sports? Do you know anything about football?'' Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to cover an imaginary game.Last autumn,my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run.I did a 15-minute build-up to that play, and Peter told me I would cover Saturday's game! On my way home,I thought of my mother's words:"If you carry on,one day something good will happen." I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I had gotten the job at Montgomery Ward. Why did the writermention his mother's words over and again? Answer: Because his mother's words encouraged him. Rose has four cousins.They are Ann, Betty, Peter and Bill.Pose is the oldest of them.Betty is thirteen years old.She is two years younger than Pose and one year older than Peter.Bill is nine.Ann, the youngest is seven. Betty and Peter are good at running.But Peter runs faster.Pose and Ann like to play basketball.Rose plays better than Ann.Bill is the best singer of them five.Rose an Betty study in a middle school.Ann, Peter and Bill study in a primary school.These five children all work hard at their lessons.But Betty works the hardest. Who is the best singer? Answer: Bill We are so used to having a cup of tea before heading off to work, during work or after getting back from work. Tea breaks are more like a custom that takes place regularly several times a day. This tea break tradition has been happening during the past 200 years or so. Tea just happens to be a wonderful drink for most of us. The day simply feels incomplete without a hot cup of tea. However, is tea good for you? In 2006, the papers were flooded with the news of research showing that drinking 2-3 cups of tea a day is as beneficial as drinking water, with even some additional health benefits. Another report published in November 2009, stated that drinking up to eight cups of tea a day is good for you. The research conducted by nutrition expert Dr. Carrie Ruxton, debunked the popular stories about caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee and cocoa. According to Dr. Ruxton, the caffeine present in tea tends to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes. She says that drinking 8 cups of tea a day gives the drinkers "the best levels of health-giving substances" present in tea and other caffeinated drinks. Contrary to popular belief that tea does not contain more caffeine than coffee, it actually contains almost half the amount. Caffeine is a natural thing found in many types of food and drink. It's also something that can give you a much needed lift for a demanding and tiring afternoon ahead. Research shows that proper amounts of caffeine are safe for most people. So why not take full advantage of your tea breaks at work, or make time for afternoon tea while out shopping at the weekend? And remember that tea is not just a great drink, but it helps to keep you looking and feeling healthy. Reports in the newspapers show that _ . Answer: drinking tea is a healthy habit
Plumes of water vapor have been observed rising from the southern polar region of Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn. A team of scientists proposed an explanation for the plumes and developed a model. They also published calculations based on their model. These calculations would most likely be used for which purpose in future research? In ancient Japan, if you saved someone's life, they would make it their duty to spend the rest of their life serving you. Nowadays, if you rescue someone's story, he or she will feel the same kind of gratitude . It happens all the time. Someone in a group is telling a story and, just before their big point, BOOM! There's an interruption. Someone new joins the group, a waiter with a plate of biscuits comes over, or a baby starts crying. Suddenly everyone's attention turns to the new arrival, the food on the plate, or the "charming" little child. Nobody is aware of the interruption -- except the speaker. They forget all about the fact that the speaker hasn't made his or her point. Or you're all sitting around the living room and someone is telling a joke. Suddenly, just before his big punch line , little Johnny drops a dish or the phone rings. After the crash, everyone talks about little Johnny's carelessness. After the call, the subject turns to the upcoming marriage or medical operation of the caller. Nobody remembers the great punch line got unfinished -- except the joke teller. When it's you entertaining everyone at a restaurant, have you ever noticed how you can almost set your clock by the waiter coming to take everyone's order just before your funny punch line? Most joke and story tellers are too shy to say, after the interruption, "Now, as I was saying..." Instead, they'll spend the rest of the evening feeling bad they didn't get to finish. Here's where you come in. Rescue them with the technique I call "Lend a Helping Tongue." Watch the gratitude in the storyteller's eyes as he stabilizes where his story sunk and he sails off again toward the center of attention. His expression and the appreciation of your consideration by the rest of the group are often reward enough. You are even more fortunate if you can rescue the story of someone who can hire you, promote you, buy from you, or otherwise lift your life. Big winners have excellent memories. When you do them subtle favors like Lend a Helping Tongue, they find a way to pay you back. What is the text mainly about? The Green Magic Tree House, in India, is the perfect hotel for anybody who likes adventure . Guests must drive for miles through the jungle to find it in the middle of tea and coffeeplantation . There are two tree houses to choose from, one 30 meters and the other 35 meters above the ground. Both houses have two floors. The bedrooms are above the living area and there are bathrooms and showers. You can get up to rooms and move between floors byusing ladders . You can go from one tree house to the other on a rope bridge. The houses sometimes move about in the wind but the views are fantastic. Guests can enjoy moving through the jungle, climbing in the mountains, and watching wildlife. There are many unusual plants, birds, and insects in the area. The Ice Hotel is in Jukkasjarvi, a village in Sweden 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Every winter, a team of architects , designers and snow builders build the hotel. This year there are 80 rooms. Everything is made of ice. The walls, the floors, the ceilings , and even the furniture are made of ice. The beds are made of ice, too, but guests sleep on warm deer skins. Outside it can be -37degC, so inside it feels quite comfortable. The hotel has a bar, where guests can drink vodka from glasses made of ice. It's very popular -- because there isn't much else to do. To spend a night at Jules Underwater Lodge in Florida, guests need to scuba dive seven meters under the sea. They enter a small house through a door at the bottom of the building. Inside, the kitchen is stored with food and there is a fridge and a microwave oven . There is a hot shower and comfortable beds and lots of books, DVDs and video games. Most guests, however, spend their time at one of the large windows watching different fishes swimming by. Which of the following statements is True? The tendency of a stationary object to resist being put into motion is known as It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp. Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work, so a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry. "I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back." And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but..." Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!" "No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but their horses were !" The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because _ .
A simple food chain includes hawks, lizards, and insects. Which will most likely happen to the lizard and hawk populations if a pesticide is sprayed to kill the insects, and the lizard and hawk populations cannot find other food in this ecosystem? 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. Which of the followings best describes the writer's idea? Jean--Francois Millet (October 4,1814----January 20, 1875) was a French painter and one of the founder of the Barbizon School in rural France. Born of a peasant family, Millet was encouraged by his father to study art in Cherbourg, France. He can be categorized as part of the movement called "naturalism" . His understanding of the peasant' hard life was perfectly expressed in his choice of subject and natural preference for powerful but simple drawing and coloring. One of the most well--known of Millet's paintings, The Gleaners(<<>> ),first came in a vertical composition painted in 1854,and then there came the horizontal version in 1856, which is now preserved in the Musee d'Orsay. It depicts women bending over in the fields to collect the leftover's from the harvest, and it is a monumental composition devoted to the working class. Previously, servants were depicted in paintings as obedient to a noble or a king, and picking up what was left of the harvest was regarded as one of the lowest jobs in Millet;s times. However, Millet offered these women as the heroic focus of the picture. Besides, in the painting, light lights up the women's shoulders as they carry out their work. Behind them, the field that stretches into the distance is bathed in golden light, under a wide , magnificent sky. The forms of the three figures, standing against the lighter field, show balance and harmony. In the painting, the viewer can appreciate Millet's _ .. In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their people has increased rapidly in recent years. Sadly, not everyone in these countries is so fortunate and many people in rich countries are homeless. The reasons for homelessness are various, but poverty is undoubtedly one of the main causes. The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer have _ . Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents this from happening, but not always. Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them. Some are young people who, for one reason or another, have left home and have nowhere to live. Many of them have had a serious disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets. Sometimes they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a step-parent. Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the general public refuse to give anything to beggars. Often they are moved on by the police, being accused ,whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging . There are many who disrespect homeless people. Some cynics declare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead. But who would willingly choose to live in a shop doorway, under a bridge or in a cardboard box? According to the text, what causes some people to be homeless? There was once an octopus who lived under the ocean. His name was Fred. Fred had never seen the world above the ocean before. He had spent all of his life under water with his friends, a blow fish named Joey, a sponge named Pam, a star fish named Elaine, and another octopus, Stacey. So you can imagine his surprise when he found a treasure chest that had been lost by a ship that had sunk. Inside the chest were things that were completely new to him. Among these was a whole bunch of food items, such as a bottle of ketchup, a coffee mug, a cherry pie, a sandwich, and more. When Fred found these things, he wanted to keep them all for himself. So when he returned to his friends, he didn't tell them what he had found. When his best friend Stacey asked him where he had been, Fred lied and said that he had only gone for a swim. But Stacey didn't believe him. Later on, when Fred was sound asleep in his bed, Stacey visited his room to see what he had been up to. She went digging around in his room for something interesting. When she found the treasure chest, she was amazed at what was inside. But she was also upset at Fred for lying to her, so she woke up him in the middle of the night to yell at him. Fred understood his mistake and apologized to Stacey, and then they shared the food. What was the name of Fred's best friend?
A lot of people say math is not their strong suit. One New Jersey parent wants to help change that. Laura Overdeck grew up with numbers. She always helped measure ingredients when her mother baked, and she learned about angles from her father. She went on to major in astrophysics in college. Overdeck knew she wanted her own children to be good at math, too. "And when our first child was about two, we just started giving her a math problem every night," Overdeck said. The problem was usually a story, involving animals, cars or candies that let the kid count. "Our third child started, at age two, yelling that he wanted his own math problem because he saw his brother and sister doing it. And we thought, 'Wow, we have a household where math is the popular thing at bedtime,'" Overdeck said. In February, Overdeck launched Bedtime Math, an Internet website where she posts daily puzzles for children. Overdeck is particularly keen to hook children on numbers before they go to school. So why introduce little ones to math so early? Sain Beilock, an expert on performance anxiety, says the more fun and familiar math is early on, the less likely children will feel nervous when they start to learn math in school. "My lab has shown recently that kids as early as first grade report feeling anxious about doing math," Beilock said. "You can hear totally educated adults say, 'You know I'm just not that good at math.' or 'I'm kind of afraid of math.' And that's a totally acceptable thing for a well-educated person to say, but you never hear them say, 'Well, you know, I'm just not that good at reading,'" Overdeck said. She wants children and their parents to become as fluent in numbers as they are in Harry Potter. Overdeck majored in astrophysics because she _ . A was really fond of mathematics B hoped to change math education in the US C had an interest in physics D would like her children to be good at math Answer: A. was really fond of mathematics As jewelry designers,my sister Jodie and I are always traveling for work.We need to go to a lot of shows,so we can't pack lightly and usually bring about four suitcases filled with our work. Most of our stuff is made from heavy materials and metals.So part of the routine for us when we fly is getting stopped by security.Our jewelry sets off the alarms,and we've become accustomed to arriving early to go through private screenings.Most of the time,it's not troublesome. However,on our recent trip to a Paris trade show,we were stopped at security and asked to empty our bags. One of the agents walked over to another agent and they started whispering to each other.Both gentlemen came back,and one of them then told us that it seemed that we were carrying a very dangerous object. My sister and I just said,"Huh?"Of course,we were a little concerned,thinking that maybe someone put something dangerous in one of our bags when we weren't looking. One of the agents then started to unpack our bags.I kept asking what he was 1ooking for and then the object in question finally appeared.It was our Cosima necklace.It's a piece of jewelry,with large,metal triangular spikes. My sister and I 1ooked at each other and breathed a huge sigh of relief.We started laughing and explained to the two male agents that it was just a necklace from our collection.not a weapon of mass destruction.They thought we were lying,and one agent kept repeating that he believed it was a weapon. I tried to explain that we were jewelry designers going to a trade show,and this was simply a piece from our collection.But the agents didn't _ it.Then a few women guards came over to assist.One of the women guards was holding an earring up to her ear and another was trying on a ring.Apparently,they liked our stuff. It was only at this point that the male guards gave up.And I think they also got tired of listening to a bunch of women talk about jewelry.They let us through. We took the names of the women agents and sent them a piece of jewelry when we got back to say thanks. The writer and her sister were stopped by the agents because _ . A their suitcases were too heavy B the agents wanted to play a joke on them C they were suspected to carry dangerous objects D the agents wanted to admire the jewelry inside the suitcases Answer: C. they were suspected to carry dangerous objects Have you ever noticed that some people are able to effortlessly remember even the most boring details, and quickly understand new things, and wished that you too could be like that? To unlock the full potential of your brain, you need to keep it active and acute. But how? Check out these tips: * Exercise & get your body moving Exercising doesn't just exercise the body; it also helps to exercise your brain. Without regular exercise your blood vessels begin to lose the ability to effectively pump blood and it also reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that your blood carries to your brain. When the nutrients don't make it there, the brain's ability to function is compromised. To prevent this from happening, make sure you get moving every day. Walking, swimming and dancing are all excellent activities. * Get rid of stressors and seek help for depression Among the most brain-damaging stressors is severe depression, which is actually often mistaken for a memory problem since one of its primary symptoms is the inability to concentrate. If you can't concentrate, you might feel like you are constantly forgetting things. Depression increases the levels of cortisol in your brain, which affects your memory. Seek professional help to get rid of your depression -- your brain will thank you. * Feed your brain 50 to 60 percent of the brain's overall weight is pure fat, which is used to insulate its billions of nerve cells. The better insulated a cell is, the quicker you will be thinking. This is exactly why parents are advised to feed their young children whole milk. Thus, eating foods that contain a healthy mix of fats is vital for long-term memory. Some excellent food choices include fish and dark leafy green vegetables. Where does the text probably come from? A A science textbook. B A news report. C A health magazine. D A medicine introduction. Answer: C. A health magazine. What is a six-letter word that immediately comes to mind when you need some information on the Internet? You probably thought of Google. But Google wasn't always the name of the famous search engine. In fact, the original name was BackRub! BackRub was the name two graduate students gave to the new search engine they developed in 1996. They called it BackRub because the engine used backlinks to measure the popularity of Web sites. Later, they wanted a better name -- a name that suggests huge quantities of data. They thought of the word googol. (A googol is a number followed by 100 zeros.) When they checked the Internet registry of names to see if googol was already taken, one of the students misspelled the word by mistake, and that's how Google was born. Google is just one example of a name change in the business world. Many other companies have decided to change their names or the names of their products. Here are some more examples: Jerry Yang and David Filo, two young computer specialists, developed a guide to Internet content in 1994. They called it "Jerry and David's Guide to World Wide Web." But they soon realized that this wasn't a very catchy name, so they searched through a dictionary and found a better one: "Yahoo." Sometimes companies change their names because of the popularity of one of their products. In 1962, a young runner named Phil Knight started a company called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, Knight decided to design and manufacture his own brand of shoes. He named the shoes after the Greek goddess of victory -- Nike. Nike shoes became so well known that Knight changed the name of the whole company to Nike. Jerry and David changed the guide's name to Yahoo because the original name _ . A had been registered B had been forgotten C was not attractive D was too short Answer: C. was not attractive Walt Disney was born in 1901. He created the Mickey Mouse in 1927 . It made him very famous . He died in 1966, but his work and his dreams did not die. Now people all over the world enjoy his Mickey Mouse and other cartoons. Walt Disney was a man who did not _ easily. One summer, he wanted a job in a post office, but they told him that he was too young. He went home, drew some lines on his face. And put on his father's suit and hat. Then he went back to the same office and told them he was 18. He got the job finally. Later in his life, Mr. Disney had a dream . He wanted to build a new kind of amusement park. It would be clean and beautiful. The children could play happily there and the adults could live in nice hotels . It would be fun for people of all ages . It was called Disneyland. Engineers told him it was an impossible dream. His family and friends thought he was mad. But Mr. Disney did not give up his idea. In1955, Disneyland opened to the public and became the most successful amusement park in the USA. Walt Disney's dream came true. The first Disneyland opened to the public in _ in 1955 . A China B America C Japan D We don't know Answer: B. America
Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around but we can't detect them or sense them without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things. At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being outright by killing masses of cells in important organs. Even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be serious. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and when they are killed outright. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in an unusual way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years. This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the knowledge of the person at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated and feel fine, then die of cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. A child can be born weak or easy to get serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. What would be the best title of the text? A Radiation Can Hurt Us. B Radiation Is the Source of Cancer. C Radiation Is a Subject Scientists Work on. D Radiation Is a Mystery. Answer: A A student gives a red toy car a push on a wooden floor. The student then pushes the same red toy car on a cement floor. Which question is the student most likely investigating? A How fast does a toy car usually roll? B What is the best way to make a toy car roll? C Which surface allows a toy car to roll farther? D Does color have an effect on the distance a toy car rolls? Answer: C Camping is one of the most popular forms of outdoor activities. Now, most people are under too much pressure and like going outdoors to relax. Other activities like hunting and fishing, are often connected with camping trips. It's also a good idea to spend time camping with your family during a holiday. That will help you create some of the best memories with the family. Here are some things you have to consider while planning your camping trip. The first thing that you need to think about is deciding the camping destination. For most people who like camping, the best place to choose is the spot that they haven't visited before. As soon as you get to your destination, there will be a lot you will have to do, such as putting up your tent. Of course, food is another necessary factor to be considered. You'd better carry some convenient food like biscuits, nuts and boiled eggs. When all the things are done, fun activities should be planned. It's a good chance for you to spend time with your family. Lots of open space is perfect when you want to do something as simple as letting your kids ride their bicycles. If your kids are old enough, activities like fishing and horse-riding are also good to choose. These are a few ideas about having fun camping. Once you get ready for it, you don't need to worry about anything. Go ahead and be a happy camper. Where can you do outdoor activities according to the passage? A On the playground B In the forest C On the open space D By the sea. Answer: C Whether it is "women and children first" or "every man for himself" in a shipwreck may depend on how long it takes the ship to sink, researchers said recently. When the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German ship in 1915, it sank in 18 minutes and the majority of the survivors were young men and women who responded immediately to their powerful survival instincts . But when the Titanic struck an iceberg in 1912, it took "three hours to go down, allowing time for more civilize behavior to take control--and the majority of the survivors were women, children and people with young children. Economist Benno Torgler of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and his colleagues studied the two sinkings in order to explore the economic theory that people generally behave in a "rational" and selfish manner. The two tragedies provided a "natural experiment" for testing the idea, because the passengers on the two ships were quite similar in terms of gender and wealth. The major difference was how long it took the ships to sink. They suggested that when people have little time to react, instincts may rule. When more time is available, social influences play a bigger role. But psychologists noted that many factors other than following social norms could come into play in a disaster, including an evolutionary urge to save the species, attachments that are formed between individuals during the event and the leadership of authority figures. The extent of altruism and how it occurs "is a very controversial issue," said Anthony R. Mawson, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.He thinks the dominant response was attachment behavior. Psychologist Daniel Kruger of the University of Michigan, US thinks that the answer lies less in social norms and more in our evolutionary heritage. Human beings have a deep instinct to preserve our kind, he said, and that means "people are more likely to save those who have higher reproductive value, namely the young and women in child-bearing years". Kruger also stressed the importance of leadership during a disaster, noting that the Titanic's captain appeared to have greater control than the Lusitania's. Which of the follwing explanations for the two sinkings will be accepted by psychologists? A Human beings are born to be selfish. B The well-off will be likely to survive. C Social status will play a decisive role in survival. D Human survival is more significant than that of the individuals. Answer: D Why can steam be used to cook food? A Steam does work on objects. B Steam is a form of water. C Steam can transfer heat to cooler objects. D Steam is able to move through small spaces. Answer: C
(one day Alice runsafter a strange rabbit and falls into a deep hole.She becomes smaller after she drinks something.She finds herself in a wonderland with many amazing things inside.) Caterpillar and Alice look at each other in silence.Then they begin to talk. Caterpillar:(In a tired,sleepy voice)Who are you? Alice:(Rather shyly)I--hardly know,sir,just at present--at least I know who Iwas when I got up this morning.but l think I must have been changed several times since then. Caterpillar:What do you mean by that?Explain yourself! Alice:I can't explain myself, I'm afraid.sir,because I'm not myself,you see. Caterpillar:I don't see. Alice:(very politely)I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly,for I can't understand it myself.And being so many different sizes in a day is very puzzling . Caterpillar:It isn't. Alice:(Feeling uncomfortable)well,perhaps you haven't found it so yet.But when you have to turn into a chrysalis you will some day,you know--and then after that into a butterfly,I think you'11 feel it a little stranger,won't you? Caterpillar:Not a bit. Alice:Well,perhaps your feelings may be different.All l know is it would make me feel very strange. Caterpillar: (At the top of his voice)You!Who are you? Alice:(Angrily)I think you ought to tell me who you are first. Caterpillar:Why? (Here is another puzzling question.As Alice cannot think out any good reasons and Caterpillar seems to be very unpleasant,she turns away.) Caterpillar:Come back!I have something important to tell you! (Alice turns and comes back again) Where may their talk take place? A. In a wonderland. B. In the field. C. In the tree. D. Outside the hole. Answer: A Hiking can be a pleasant as well as a not so pleasant adventure. You will have to take a number of measures so that your hike is a pleasant experience. Hiking Tip 1 -- Start Early Most hiking experts hold the opinion that it is rather sensible to start hiking at 3 or 4 in the morning, even if it is a full-day hike. Since most hikes are conducted at high altitudes, starting off early will make sure that you are back down during the afternoon hours. Hiking Tip 2 -- Be Light Since we are anyway talking about the load you will carry, another important hiking tip is to carry fewer loads. If you are going on a hiking trail on a familiar path, you will need reduced survival items, as chance that you will get lost or hurt yourself on these hiking trails is little. Hiking Tip 3 -- Reduce the Number of Breaks Once you start your hike, you should make sure you do not take too many breaks. You will need to maintain a consistent speed and minimize the number of stops which you take. Speed and rest stops help distinguish an inexperienced hiker from an expert hiker. An inexperienced hiker will have bursts of speed and energy and it will be followed by rest stops. This results in slowing down the general speed. Hiking Tip 4 -- Tip for Children Do you plan to take your kids along with you on the hiking trail? Well, then you must be looking for hiking tips for kids! You will have to educate them about nature and also get them into an exercise routine before taking them on a hike. Kids have a tendency to run in the beginning. This exhausts them and they have to be carried, which is certainly not the best of ideas. According to the text, inexperienced hikers _ . [KS5UKS5UKS5U] A. don't keep a consistent speed B. will easily get lost C. choose well-established paths D. don't stop to rest Answer: A Body language shows all kinds of feelings and is sometimes more important than spoken language.A smile is a usual facial expression----it shows that you are friendly to others. However, it does not always mean that you are happy. A smile can hide other feelings, like anger, fear, or worry. In most countries, nodding the head up and down shows agreement, while shaking the head means that you do not agree, or that you would not like to do something. If you stand holding your arms across your chest, you may be protecting yourself---just from a conversation you do not want! If you sit looking at the person you are talking to and then turn toward to him, it shows that you are interested. If you roll your eyes and turn your head away, most likely you do not believe what you are hearing, or you do not like what you hear. When a person smiles, _ . A. it always shows he is very happy B. it always means he hides some feelings C. there may be some other feelings behind the smile. D. it shows he is angry, worried or frightened. Answer: C This is No. 2 Middle School. My friend, Wei Hua is in the school. She is fifteen. She is in Class Three, Grade Two. Wei Hua has two good friends. They are Kate and Lily. Kate is from England. She is fifteen, too. But She is in No. 3 Middle School. She is in Class One, Grade Two. Lily is an American girl. She is fifteen, too. She is in No. 2 Middle School, too. She is in Class Two, Grade Two. Lily's Chinese teacher is Miss Yang. Lily likes Chinese very much. She can speak Chinese very well. Wei Hua is in _ Middle School. A. No.1 B. No.3 C. No. 2 D. No. 4 Answer: C In every little girl's toy box. there might be a Barbie Doll. Barbie is 50 years old this, year. It was designed in 1959 by an American businesswoman named Ruth Handler. She and her husband Elliott started the toy company Mattel. She named the new doll after their daughter Barbara. The first Barbie Doll appeared at the toy fair New York on March 9th, 1959. This date is used as Barbie's birthday. Mattel sold three hundred thousand Barbie Dolls in the first year at a price of three dollars. Today, a fifty-year-old Barbie in good condition might cost more than twenty-seven thousand dollars. Mattel says 90% of the girls in the United States aged from three to ten own at least one Barbie Doll. And girls aged three to six own an average of about twelve. When Mattel created Barbie Dolls half a century ago, they never thought this doll would become a legend. Now Barbie Dolls are famous all over the world. They are sold in one hundred and fifty countries, and every second three Barbie Dolls are sold around the world. The writer doesn't tell us _ . A. Barbie Dolls are very popular with girls B. Barbie Dolls sell well around the world C. what the first Barbie Doll was based on D. the doll Barbie was named after Barbara Answer: C
There was once a beautiful nymph called Echo. But Echo had one failing; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. As she was good company, she and Zeus became good friends. However, Zeus' wife, Hera, became jealous. She followed Zeus to the earth to find out what he was doing and Zeus asked Echo to distract Hera until he could escape. Later when Hera discovered she had been tricked, she became very angry. She turned on Echo and said, "You shall lose the use of your tongue because you cheated me. You'll have the last word, bur no longer have the power to speak first." So from that moment on, Beautiful Echo was hardly able to hold a conversation because she could only repeat the last words of those around her. She became very embarrassed and hid herself deep in the woods. One day a handsome young man called Narcissus came into the woods. He had been hunting deer and lost his way. However, the moment Echo saw him, she fell in love with him. She followed him, wishing to tell him but unable to begin a conversation. Oh, how she wished she could speak first. Unfortunately, Narcissus was far too busy worrying about where his companions might be and how he could find his way home. Eventually Narcissus, with Echo following behind along, came to a pool of water in the middle of the woods. Feeling thirsty, Narcissus bent down to drink. As he did so, he saw a beautiful creature in the water staring up at him. He immediately bent over and said to him, "I love you!" Echo, nearby, and seeing her chance, immediately responded ".... I love you!" But it was too late. Narcissus was already in love, with himself. The stranger seemed to rise up closer to Narcissus who was so involved that he entirely failed to notice Echo. "I want to stay and look at this beautiful sight forever," he whispered dreamily to himself."... Forever," repeated Echo sadly. "Come here," called Narcissus to his reflection as he moved his head and the creature seemed to move away. "...Here." responded Echo. Narcissus bent back down to see his reflection more clearly. "So beautiful! I've never seen anything so beautiful!" "....So beautiful!" responded Echo truthfully. Narcissus remained by the water refusing all Echo's silent offers of food and drink until he died. Where he had been, a flower grew in his place, as beautiful as Narcissus himself. As for Echo, from that time forward, she also didn't eat or drink till she turned to rocks and all that was left was her voice. Even now you can still hear Echo trying to attract Narcissus' attention by repeating his words and still see Narcissus as a beautiful flower growing near a pool. Which of the following kinds of person can be described as a "Narcissus"? A person who loves and admires himself or herself. Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research--the mapping of all DNA in a human gene is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish. All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been a topic of argument,in terms of morality or religion. Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning. If the clone was free of genetic limitations. Then the other clone would be as well. The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term. Moreover,cloning would enable women, who can't get pregnant, to have children of their own. Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs. This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single(or more) organ(s).It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists. Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal "cycle"of life. There would be a large number of same genes., which reduce the chances of improvement,and, in turn, development-the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance. Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappea. Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as "objects" rather than people in the society. Scientists haven't 100 percent. guaranteed that the first cloned will be normal. Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human "gene-pool". Regarding such arguable topics in "black or white" approach seems very innocent to me personally. We should rather try to look at all "shades: of it. I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs, not humans. Then we could regard this as for "saving life" instead of "creating life". I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable. What's the author's opinion on cloning? Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs There are some easy things you can do to protect the environment and the earth. Choose ideas from the list or come up with a few of your own. * Plant flowers, grass or trees. *Whenever you visit a park or beach, take away what you bring there----keep rubbish in a bag until you can put it in a dustbin . *Turn off the lights, TV sets when you leave the room. This saves a lot of electricity. *Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup because this saves paper. *Keep the doors and windows closed in winter to keep warm air in. *Give your old books and magazines to a library instead of throwing them away. *Give your old clothes to poor children you know instead of throwing them away. *Use both sides of paper. *Stop pouring dirty water into the rivers or the lakes nearby . *Encourage all your friends to do the same things you do to help protect the earth. You don't have to wait until Earth Day to do these things. Make every day Earth Day. If everyone makes a contribution to protecting the environment, the world will become much more beautiful. We can _ to save paper. use both sides of paper Roger Rolls was the first black governor in the history of New York State, USA. He was born in one of New York's notorious slums. The children born here rarely did decent work after they grew up. However, Roger Rolls was an exception, for he was not only admitted to the university, but also he became a governor. At his inaugural press conference, a reporter asked him, "What made you become the governor?" Faced with more than 300 journalists, Rolls did not mention his struggle but only spoke of his primary school schoolmaster---Pierre Paul. In 1961, Pierre Paul was engaged as the director and principle of Nobita Primary School. When he entered this school, he found the children here didn't cooperate with the teachers. Pierre thought up many ways to guide them, but none was effective. Later, he found these children were very superstitious , so when he gave lectures, he added a program of palm reading as a means of fortune-telling, with which he encouraged the students. When Rolls Jumped from the hathpace and walked to the platform with his small hands stretched out, Pierre Paul said, "As soon as I see your slender little fingers, I know you will be the governor of New York State in future." At that moment, Rolls was shocked because only his grandmother inspired him once, saying that he could become the governor of New York State, so he remembered that remark and believed him. From that day on, the "New York State Governor" was like a banner that constantly inspired him to study energetically and make progress. Rolls no longer stained his clothes with mud, nor did he speak in foul language. He began to straighten his back when he was walking. In the next more than 40 years, he demanded himself according to the identity of a governor. At the age of 51, he finally became the governor of New York State. Put up a banner of faith for yourself and you will have the drive to struggle and the vitality of life. Which of the following is NOT true of Rolls after he heard Paul's remark? He ignored his stained clothes and only worked hard. Camilla Broomstick, a missing Camden -area woman, was reported found inside her damaged Chevrolet Malibu Sunday afternoon in a County near Camden New Jersey, at the bottom of an embankment off a highway, according to authorities. Her car, turned upside down, was spotted by a passer-by who had stopped to view scenery and noticed something shining and what looked like a body, authorities said. When emergency responders arrived, they found Broomstick alive inside her severely damaged car. The vehicle rested upside down after flying 120 feet off the highway and rolling an additional 200 feet into an aspen woods. "The crash alone would have killed her," New Jersey State Trooper Dean Enoch said. "It's surprising that she survived the crash at all, and then to be down there for that amount of days without food or water." Earlier Monday, the family released a statement at the hospital thanking emergency responders who rushed Broomstick to the hospital and to the man who found her and notified authorities. "We sincerely appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and kind gestures from the community during such a hard time for our family," the statement read. "While we're hopeful of her prognosis , Camilla was seriously injured and with multiple internal and external injuries. Later this afternoon Camilla will be undergoing surgery here to amputate both of her feet. Doctors were not able to save her feet due to the serious injuries. Camilla is in critical but stable condition at this time and has a very long road ahead." In the statement, family members mentioned reports that Broomstick wrote a request for help on an umbrella she pushed out the car window. "We cannot comment on that right now because we have not seen the umbrella," the statement said. Family members also asked that the public respect their privacy. Where was the damaged car when it was found? 320 feet from the high way.
Question: All students need to have good habits :When you have good study habits, you learn things quickly. You also remember them easily. Do you like to study in the living room? This is not a good place because it is usually too noisy. The telephone bell rings there; the TV is there, and sometimes it is a good place for your pet dog or cats to play and rest. You need to study in a quiet place, like your bedroom. A quiet place will help you only think about one thing, and you will learn better. Before you begin to study, do not forget to clean your desk. A good desk light is important, too. You'll feel tired easily if there is not enough light . So you should have a clean and bright lamp. To tell you the truth, the most important is that you should put your heart into your study. When you have good study habits, you will _ . A. learn things quickly B. remember things easily C. make some mistakes D. both A and B Answer: D. both A and B Question: Do you get enough sleep? With so much homework it's often difficult to get the rest you need. But you need to try, because sleep keeps you healthy and it stops you getting fat. Recently, a group of US scientists did a study of kids aged between 8 and 13. The study found that if kids sleep for just one extra hour each day, the chance of their getting fat is cut by about 30 percent . Why? When people don't get enough sleep, they become tired. When they are tired, they don't exercise enough. Also, kids like snacks: If they are awake an extra hour or two each day,they have more time to eat snacks or other unhealthy foods. So, how much sleep should you get? Scientists suggest 10 to 11 hours a night for kids aged 5 to 12. For older kids, _ . How many reasons are given why people might get fat without enough sleep? A. 3. B. 2. C. 1 D. None. Answer: B. 2. Question: The original Olympics took place nearly 3000 years ago in the year 776 BC. Many different sports were played, including boxing, running, throwing the discuss , though there were fewer sports involved than those in the modern Olympics. The Games were held every five years until they were forbidden by the Romans in AD 393. The first new Olympics were held in 1896 in Greece. From 1900, the Games were held every four years, only three Olympics were wiped out because of wars---1916, 1940 and 1944. Nowadays, different countries hold the Games in turns. The country which holds the Games provides vast facilities, including a stadium , swimming pools and accommodation , but competing countries pay their own players' expense. The Olympics start with the arrival in the stadium of a torch , lighted on Mount Olympus by the sun's rays. The well-known Olympic flag, however, is a modern conception : the five interlocking rings symbolize the uniting of all five continents that take part in the Games. How many Olympics were wiped out because of wars? A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five Answer: B. Three Question: Facebook is now used by 30 million people in the UK, around half the population. Joanna Shields, vice president of Facebook Europe, made the announcement this morning at a media conference in London. Globally, Facebook has more than 500 million registered users, a milestone it hit last summer. Last July it had 26 million registered UK users. In the last eight months, it has attracted four million extra UK users, bringing the UK total to 30 million. Facebook, the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg while he was still studying at Harvard University, was launched in February 2004. The pace of its global growth has sped rapidly - Facebook had only 150 million registered users in January 2009. One third of women aged between 18 to 34 check Facebook when they first wake up, before even going to the toilet, according to the research. 21% check Facebook in the middle of the night, while 42% of the same group think it is fine to post drunken photos of themselves onto the social network, a study by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research found. Shields was speaking this morning at the Financial Times Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference about the power Facebook's referrals can bring to media sites, such as newspapers and TV services. She explained that the average Facebook user has 130 friends who they share links to media sites with regularly. "Media companies which take advantage of that are really seeing the benefits," Shields said. Shields refused to be drawn on whether Facebook would develop its own mobile phone operating system and also said it was "silly" that Google had recently _ the feature which allowed Google users to refresh their contacts with Facebook friends. What is the best title of the text? A. Facebook's referrals bring benefits B. Facebook: the brainchild of Mark Zuckergerg C. Facebook: used by half the UK population D. Facebook: women's preference Answer: C. Facebook: used by half the UK population Question: Mary was a 911 operator in Los Angeles. One Thursday morning, she was surprised to get a call from a young child who said, "Mom is ill, Mom is ill", again and again. Mary hurried to find the address of the call. She called the police. In a minute, the policemen and doctors arrived at the house. They broke the door open, and they couldn't believe their eyes. The little child was so young that maybe she could not walk! She was sitting beside her mother and holding her mother's hand. Tears were running down her face. The doctor gave the woman some medicine and soon she woke up. Later, she told people , "Everyone was surprised that my daughter could call 911. One Monday I tried to teach her how to call 911." "It's the first time I've seen a two-year-old child call 911." How old was the little girl? _ - A. Only two. B. She was nine. C. She was five. D. She couldn't walk, so she must be less one. Answer: A. Only two.
I have a pen pal in Canada. His name is Simon. He lives in Ottawa, Canada. He is twelve years old. He also studies in a middle school. Simon lives in a happy family. His father is a policeman and his mother is a bank clerk . Simon and his parents like exercising. They almost exercise every day. Simon's father is tall. He is good at playing basketball. Simon's mother likes playing volleyball. Simon usually gets up at 6.30 am. He eats his breakfast at home. Then he goes to school. It's kind of far from the school to his home, so he usually has his lunch at school. Usually, Simon does his homework four times a week. Simon likes watching TV. He usually watches TV for about one hour every day. He goes to bed at nine. Where does Simon usually have lunch? "Who has more questions, a teacher or a student?"About this question a great learned man told his students that nobody does but a teacher. The students got puzzled. With a smile, the teacher drew the circles."Within the larger one is my knowledge of things and within the smaller one is yours. Out of the circles is still unknown to both of us. Since mine is larger, as you can see, the line that marks out the circle is longer. That makes it clear that who has more chances to face something still unknown." At the end of the story, the greatest learned man made a conclusion that _ . Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street. Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programmers are music. Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or a tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tape. Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star. There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is western or country music. This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the 1ove between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music. ,. Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage? On June 30, 2009, a Yemenia airplane from Paris to Comoros, Africa, crashed into the Indian Ocean. There were 153 people on the plane, including some French officials. Though people have been searching since the plane went down, the result looked unpleasant, for most of the passengers might be in bad luck. But a 13-year-old girl called Bahia Bakari was discovered in the water, where she had been staying afloat by holding a piece of wreckage( ) from the plane tightly for over 13 hours. When they found her, the girl was too weak to catch the lifebuoy( ) thrown to her, instead, a Comoran police officer jumped into the water to pull the child onto the boat. Bahia Bakari was injured, especially her collarbone( ).Her father was pleased to see his daughter although his wife had gone away in this _ . He said that his daughter could hardly swim. It was really a miracle for her to escape in this way. In her daddy's warm arms, the girl could soon remember what she had experienced. "I was thrown out of the plane and then I saw the plane fall into the water. Next I found myself in the water. I couldn't swim very well and I caught something but I didn't know what is was," said the girl. "She is really a lucky young girl," said Alain Joyandet, France's minister for International Cooperation. Bahia Bakari had been staying in the water for more than _ . "I don't want to buy a traditional yearbook. I can keep and share memories of my high school on the Internet."You may often hear this from many American high school students now. Instead of buying a book, more and more students choose to sign up at My Yearbook.com. My Yearbook.com was created by two teenagers, Catherine Cook and her brother, 18-year-old David Cook, in 2005. They built it up to about 950,000 members in a year. The site allows people to create a profile with separate sections for high school, college, graduate school and professional life. Students who sign up are linked to other people at their school. Acting as their own editors, they can select friends from their classmates. The site also connects students through clubs and spprts pages. Like other so-called social-networking sites, it allows members to show photos and post messages. Students can do lots of things that old-fashioned yearbooks can't offer, including hearing music and watching videos. Catherine and David developed the idea because they thought that their own yearbooks weren't good enough and were too expensive. "We just think yearbooks are obsolete," said Catherine Cook, 16."If you think about it, all you're going to do with it is put it on the shelf and never really look at it." Many American teenagers want different things out of their yearbooks than their parents did. They like the idea of creating an online yearbook. That is the reason why My Yearbook.com is becoming more and more popular. Some people, however, still wonder if this free website can ever truly replace the traditional printed book of high-school memories-even for the generation that have grown up with the Internet. Some students would like to be the users of the My Yearbook.com as well as buy a traditional yearbook. The"war" between the tradition and the new technology will never end. Everyone is free to choose what he prefers and even has both. My Yearbook.com is becoming popular because _ .
When I was young, I thought that boys and grown men shouldn't cry. The tears were signs of being weak. A man isn't supposed to be like that. This was even strengthened in my young mind with the popular song, Boys Don't Cry, in the early 1980s. But just last June, I discovered that courage wasn't all about trying to keep all the pain inside. Courage wasn't all about trying to hide the tears. It was the opposite -- the tears reinforced the heart's courage. And I saw this in my father. My 18-year-old sister eloped and with it, I saw how vulnerable my father's heart was. We were used to seeing him as a strong figure and an iron-willed father. For three days after my sister eloped, he wouldn't talk. He would just sit quietly outside our house in the dark. On the fourth night, I sat beside him and asked him to tell me what he felt about everything. It has been years since I have laid my hand on my father's shoulder as we have drifted farther while I am growing up. That night, I sensed my father trying to control his pain and I wanted him to be able to let it out. We all cried over what had happened except him. The simple touch and my words "Dad, it's not your fault" broke my father's dam. In the darkness, he began to cry. I felt his shoulders shaking as he whispered, "Where did I go wrong? All I ever wanted was for my children to grow up right. Why couldn't your sister wait? How can she go away with such a boy?" I understood then why he preferred to be in the dark. By being there, he hoped to spare his family's feelings. His tears, though we didn't see them before that night, were there all the same. I saw his courage that night when my father cried with my hand on his shoulder, and understood his pain. The author's father didn't cry at first because _ . A he felt sorry for what he had done before B he was very disappointed with his daughter C he should set an example to people around D he had been trying to control his great pain Answer: D Growers around the world are using new methods to grow grapes to make wine. They use natural and organic methods to control harmful insects and weeds instead of using chemicals. Now, a winery in Canada has adopted a natural way to control its grapevines .The Featherstone Winery is in southern Ontario. The grapevines, like other plants, need to be cut every year. Cutting grapevines must be done very carefully. Only a targeted area of leaves is removed from the lower part of the vines to help the grapes grow better. But at the Featherstone Winery, no man or machine does the cutting. Instead, the job is done by 40 little wooly lambs.www.zxxk.com David Johnson owns the vineyard. He says he learned about using lambs while visiting wineries in New Zealand. The young lambs are perfectly designed to do the job. They eat the grape leaves on the lower parts of the vine. But they are not tall enough to reach the grapes. They only weigh about 22 kilograms, so they do not beat down the soil. And their waste makes good organic fertilizer. In addition, using the lambs costs much less than hiring workers to cut the vines for seven weeks in summer. And when the cutting is done in August, the lambs become tasty dishes. Mr Johnson says he had a difficult time finding enough lambs to do the job. There are about 50 million lambs in New Zealand. But there are not nearly as many in Ontario. Also, some organic pesticides are harmful to lambs. And the lambs must be watched to make sure they do not eat too much of the grapevines. David Johnson says the lambs help him carry out his environmental ideas about farming. They are lovely and peaceful and he likes having them in his vineyard. People visiting the vineyard also enjoy watching the lambs do their job. Farmers who grow grapes with natural and organic methods _ . A don't cut grapevines every year B don't use chemicals to control harmful insects and weeds C don't need to control harmful insects and weeds D don't use organic fertilizer Answer: B A student is given three toys by his teacher and is asked to find out the differences. All the three toys seem to be the same in shape, size and material. After careful observation, the student finds out holes in the toys. The first toy has holes in the ears. The second toy has holes in one ear and the mouth. And the third toy has only one hole in one ear. Then the student puts a needle in the ear hole of the first toy. The needle comes out from the other ear. When the needle is put in the second toy's ear it comes out of the mouth. And when the needle is put in the third toy's ear, it does not come out. The first toy means those people around you who make you think that they are listening to you and caring for you. But they just pretend to do so. After listening, as the needle comes out from the other ear, the things you said to them are gone. So be careful while you are speaking to this type of person around you, who does not care for you. The second toy means those people who listen to you and make you think that they care for you. But as the needle comes out from its mouth, these people will use your things and the words you tell them against you by telling them to others for their own purpose. For the third toy, the needle does not come out from it. These kinds of people will keep the trust you have in them. They are the ones you can depend on. According to the passage, what should you do to win others' trust? A Share your things with others B Be willing to listen C Pretend to care D Keep the secret Answer: D Buying insurance is a way in which people can protect themselves against large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large numbers of people pay small sums of money to an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only a few will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes out of the small sums of money it has collected. The first modern fire insurance company was formed in London, England, in the 1760s. A great fire had just destroyed most of the city, and people wanted protection against further losses. The first company grew rapidly. Soon other companies were founded in other areas. Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752, and then a new kind of insurance for farmers was suggested. The new insurance would provide protection against the loss of crops from storms. Later on another new insurance company was started in America. This company, which offered life insurance, collected small sums of money regularly from many different men. If a man died, his family was given a large sum of money. Over the years, insurance companies have offered new kinds of insurance protection. The new kinds of insurance cover losses from such accidents as car and plane crashes. Today, most people have some kind of insurance. Who helped set up the first company in America? A Benjamin Franklin. B Businessmen. C The first insurance company in London. D Farmers. Answer: A My name is Sam. I joined a club called "Passing help" last month. Now let me tell you why I joined it. One evening this May, on my way home my old car broke down. It was 25 miles from my home. I wanted to _ in somebody else's car, but it was dark and there was no car. It was also hard to take a taxi. I decided to take a bus home. I went to a bus stop nearby. After a while, a bus came ,but it did not go to my town. The bus driver was a young woman. She was kind and she told me which bus I should take. I waited there for about thirty minutes, but no bus came . At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car. She was just the bus driver. " When I reached the bus station. I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come, so I returned here. I just can't leave you here," she said ."Get in my car and I will take you back to your home." "It is a long way," I said. "Come on, sir," she said."Let's go." On the way she told me a story. A few days ago. There wasn't gas in her car. An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car. When we got to my home ,I wanted to give her some money to thank her, but she didn't accept it. " I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along." She said. The young woman wanted Sam to _ A give her some money B get on her bus C take her to her house D help other just as she did Answer: D
While I was on my way to Walmart, I was greeted by an elder woman who was working at the door as a greeter, I had a return to make so she stopped me and asked to tag my bag. Usually I would have gotten annoyed because I know I don't steal, so why does my bag need to be tagged? I'd just witnessed someone ahead of me being not so nice, and treating the lady like she was a nobody. I could see this lady looked to be at retirement age, trying to make ends meet. The look on her face and the energy she gave was that of someone afraid and not knowing where they stood in life. Not to mention the person ahead of me who'd just snatched a bag back from her and stormed off without even saying thank you. I could tell this woman was hurt by that, and no one knows how many people had been treating her that way all day long. What if she was a grandmother who'd recently taken care of her grandchildren for whatever season? What if her husband she had to support recently fell sick and they couldn't afford the medical expenses, so she had to go back to work? What if she just lost everything she had in her retirement and now she had to go back to work? All she wants is to do her job and do it well. All she wants is to serve customers the way she was trained. All she needs is to be appreciated. Can I be that someone she needs, just for the moment? I looked her in her eyes as she scanned my bag, smiled and said, "Your hair is beautiful and fits you well!" Her face lit up and she smiled back and began to tell me how much easier it is to manage. It was salt-and-pepper hair and was cut in the prettiest style. She handed my bag back, smiled and told me the service desk was straight down to my left. I said "Thank you!" By saying "Your hair is beautiful and fits you well." the author wanted to _ . A make the old woman feel appreciated B please her so as not to let her bag tagged C praise her for her hair style and clothes D confirm her hard work and special beauty Answer: A. make the old woman feel appreciated Water and its importance to human life are the center of the world's attention. March 22 is World Water Day, which has the theme "Water and culture "this year. There are more than one billion people in the world who live without safe drinking water. The United Nations hopes to cut this number in half by 2015. Solving such a big problem seems like an unreal challenge. But everyone, even teenagers, can do something to help. A teenage girl in the U.S. has set an example to others of her age around the world. Rene Haggerty, 13, was awarded the 2004 Gloria Barron Prize for her work of collecting deserted batteries which pollute water. In 2003, Haggerty went on a field trip to the Great Lakes Science Centre in Ohio. There, she saw an exhibit about how chemicals in old batteries harm the water of Lake Erie. Haggerty learnt that recycling the batteries was an easy solution. "I think everybody can do it, because everyone uses batteries, and it can make a big difference." With these words, she began to increase awareness in her area. She talked to her county government and school board. She got permission to start a recycling programmed in schools as well as the public libraries, hospitals, and churches. With the help from her family, friends and local waste-management officials, she gathered containers, arranged transportation, and made an educational video. Over the past two years, she collected four tons of batteries and drew the attention of officials, who were in charge of a battery recycling programmed but had made little progress. When asked if she feels like a hero, Haggerty is quite modest . "Not really. Well, maybe for the fish I saved!" Every year the Gloria Barron Prize honors young Americans aged 8 to 18 who have shown leadership and courage in serving the public and the planet. Each year ten winners receive $2,000 each, to help with their education costs or their public service work. According to the passage, how many people probably can't drink safe drinking water in 2015? A About I billion. B About 2 billion. C About 500 million. D About 5 million. Answer: C. About 500 million. Before the law sits a gatekeeper.To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law.But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment.The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in sometime later on."It is possible," says the gatekeeper,"but not now." 1The gate to the law stands open,as always,and the gatekeeper walks to the side,so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside.When the gatekeeper notices that,he laughs and says: _ The man from the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone,he thinks,but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat,at his large pointed nose and his long,thin,black Tartar's beard,he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside.The gatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him to sit down at the side in front of the gate.There he sits for days and years.He makes many attempts to be let in,and he wears the gatekeeper out with his requests.The gatekeeper often interrogates him briefly,questioning him about his homeland and many other things,but they are indifferent questions,the kind great men put,and at the end he always tells him once more that he cannot let him inside yet.The man,who has equipped himself with many things for his journey,spends everything,no matter how valuable,to win over the gatekeeper.The latter takes it all but,as he does so,says,"I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do anything." 2 During the many years the man observes the gatekeeper almost continuously.He forgets the other gatekeepers,and this first one seems to him the only barrier for entry into the law.He curses the unlucky circumstance,in the first years thoughtlessly and out loud; later,as he grows old,he only mumbles to himself.He becomes childish and,since in the long years studying the gatekeeper he has also come to know the fleas in his fur collar,he even asks the fleas to help him persuade the gatekeeper.Finally his eyesight grows weak,and he does not know whether things are really darker around him or whether his eyes are merely deceiving him.But he recognizes now in the darkness a ray of light which breaks out of the gateway to the law.Now he no longer has much time to live. Before his death he gathers in his head all his experiences of the entire time up into one question which he has not yet put to the gatekeeper.He waves to him,since he can no longer lift up his stiffening body.The gatekeeper has to bend way down to him,for the great difference has changed things considerably to the disadvantage of the man.3 "You are insatiable ." "Everyone strives after the law," says the man,"so how is it that in these many years no one except me has requested entry?" The gatekeeper sees that the man is already dying and,in order to reach his diminishing sense of hearing,he shouts at him,"Here no one else can gain entry,since this entrance was assigned only to you.I'm going now to close it." 4 What may be the title of the novel? A Before the law B Above the law C A countryman's life D A gatekeeper's duty Answer: A. Before the law A man had two large pots. One of the pots had a crack in it, so while the other pot always delivered a full pot of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to his house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. This went on every day for years. One day a neighbor asked the man, "One of your pots has been broken for years. It can only deliver half its load, so you don't get full value from your efforts. Why don't you buy a new one?" The man smiled and said, "Please follow me to my house, and you may see some beautiful flowers." On the way to the man's house, the neighbor took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. The man said to the neighbor, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on one side of the path, but not on the other side? That's because I have always known about the flaw of my pot. I planted flower seeds on one side of the path. Every day when I walk back from the stream, the broken pot waters them. For years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my house. Without the broken pot, I would not have this beauty." What is the best title of the passage? A A man and his neighbor B A way of planting flowers C A story of a broken pot D A warm-hearted man Answer: C. A story of a broken pot Is losing weight as simple as doing a 15-minute writing exercise? In a new study, women who wrote about their most important values, like close relationships or religion, lost more weight over the next few months than women who didn't. "We have this need to feel self-integrity (,)," says Christine Logel of the University of Waterloo. "When something threatens your sense that you're a good person, like failing a test, we can buffer that self-integrity by reminding ourselves how much we love our children, for example". For this study, the researchers recruited 45 female undergraduates, of whom 58% were overweight. Each woman was weighed, and was then given a list ofimportant values, like creativity, music or relationships with friends and family members. Each woman ranked the values in order of how important they were to her. Then half the women were told to write for 15 minutes about the value that was most important to her. The other half, a control group, were told to write about why a value far down on their list might be important to someone else. The women came back months later to be weighed again. Women who had written about an important value lost an average of 3.41 pounds, while women in the control group gained an average of 2.76 pounds. "How we feel about ourselves can have a big effect," Logel says. Maybe when one of the women who wrote about an important value went home that night, she felt good about herself and didn't eat to make herself feel better. Over a few months, that could make a real difference in her life, How can a 15-minute writing exercise ofimportant values affect people? A They will feel proud of themselves and gain weight gradually. B They may feel good about themselves and then eat less than usual. C They may continue writing and decide to become a professional writer. D They will never have meals at night to make themselves lose weight. Answer: B. They may feel good about themselves and then eat less than usual.
With tourism developing fast, you'd expect greater understanding between the nations of the world. Not a bit of it! Superb systems of communication by air, sea and land make it possible for us to visit each other's countries at a reasonable cost. What was once the "grand tour", reserved for only the very rich, is now within everybody's grasp so that modern travelers enjoy a level of comfort. But what's the sense of this mass exchange of populations if the nations of the world keep ignoring each other? Many tourist organizations deliberately set out to protect their travelers from too much contact with the local population. The modern tourist leads a sheltered life, such as living at international hotels, eating food and sipping drink there. However, he stares at the natives from a distance. Guided tours to places of interest are carefully planned. The tourist is allowed to see only what the organizers want him to see and no more, and language also holds them back. So he is only too happy to be protected in this way. The sad thing about this situation is that it leads to the continuance of national stereotypes. That is, we don't see the people of other nations as they really are, but as we have been brought up to believe they are. So when you set out on your travels, the only characteristics you notice are those which confirm your previous knowledge. You leave with the highly unoriginal and inaccurate impression that, say, "Latin peoples shout a lot". You only have to make foreign friends to understand how absurd and harmful national stereotypes are. But how can you make foreign friends when the tourist trade does its best to prevent you? What is the author's attitude toward tourism? My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & 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 Net speak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cell phones. 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 can be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted . Everyone should just relax, say linguists . They believe Net speak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Net speak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nurnberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says, "Kids who are now doing text messages, e-mail, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents." Linguist James Milroy 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, Net speakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Net speak 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? On the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar , which is Wednesday this year, all Chinese celebrate one of their traditional festivals, the Dagon Boat Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival. Their celebrations include eating zongzi, rice wrapped in bamboo leaves in the shape of a pyramid, racing dragon boats and sticking _ on their doors. In 2007, the central government decided to add the Dragon Boat Festival, together with two other traditional festivals - Tomb Sweeping Day and Mid Autumn Festival - to the list of public holidays According to tradition, our ancestors believed the hot weather in midsummer might cause different kinds of diseases . So, to keep off diseases and drive out evil were the main purposes of the Dragon Boat Festival. Parents used colorful threads to make necklaces and bracelets for children, gave them beautiful embroidered bags , painted the Chinese character for "king" (wang) on their foreheads to drive away bad luck. The Dragon Boat Festival was also called "kids festival" in some places. Spending such happy hours with parents, young children began to understand the festival as well as the traditions and culture behind it. Repeating the customs year by year makes it possible for kids to learn the traditions, accept it and pass it on when they become adults. How do people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival? I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before. I had seen Mikey himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. If I were to deal with them, I'd be busy 24 hours a day. The _ excuse notes made a large pile , with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off." Isn't it remarkable, I thought, how the students complained and said it was hard to put 200 words together on any subject? But when they produced excuse notes, they were brilliant. So one day I typed out a dozen excuse notes and gave them to my classes. I said, "They're supposed to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Mikey?" The students looked at me nervously. "Now, this will be the first class to study the art of the excuse note--the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You're so lucky to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a subject worth studying." Everyone smiled as I went on, "You used your imaginations. So try more now. Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or 'An Excuse Note from Eve to God'. " Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. For the first time ever I saw students so careful in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends. The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said, "I'd like you to see me in my office." When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, "I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you." What did the author do with the students found dishonest? Waste Not: Energy from Garbage and Sewage A hundred years ago, gas was collected from rotting sewage and used to light street lamps. New technologies hope to update this concept-tapping garbage as well as human waste-for an energy-hungry world. One promising device is called a microbial fuel cell. It makes electricity much like a hydrogen fuel cell, but it runs off wastewater. Sewage-eating bacteria drive a chemical process that generates current and, as a bonus, helps purify the water. Bruce Logan of Pennsylvania State University and his colleagues have constructed small microbial fuel cells, no bigger than a can that can power various devices, including a small fan. "If you had 100,000 people and you treat their sewage, you could get up to 2.3 megawatts of continuous power, which is enough to supply electricity for 1,500 homes," Logan said. A megawatt is one million watts. A self-sufficient water-treatment device is also something that NASA is interested in. Bruce Rittman of Northwestern University is currently devising a microbial fuel cell that could be used on manned space missions. "You have to recycle everything up in space," Rittman said. "You want to capture food waste and human waste, as well as recycle water." A microbial fuel cell has some advantages over the more traditional method, called an anaerobic digester, which collects the methane, or "biogas," that bacteria belch out when they consume organic material in the absence of oxygen. The methane is later burned to turn a turbine generator. "Instead of going through the intermediate step of combustion, a cell makes the electricity directly," Rittman said. This direct route means that a microbial fuel cell could potentially extract more energy from a given amount of sewage. It also would avoid the pollution that burning methane produces. But both Rittman and Logan are quick to add that cells are still early in development, whereas digesters are in use, mostly in agriculture settings where the concentration of organic material is higher than from urban sewers. What type of energy do microbial fuel cells convert into electrical energy?
June and I were both poor when we were young. At that time, June always said, " If I got rich, I would buy a bigger apartment and a new wardrobe ." Of course, she said this just for fun and she never imagined that she would really become rich. A few years ago, June was surprised and excited when she came into a fortune from her uncle, who had been single. After receiving it, she made a shopping list. On it she wrote down all the ways she could use to spend the money. Every time I told her not to spend all of the money and to save some, she would always say impatiently , " I know, I know!" One day, when I was in June's home, she passed a piece of paper to me. "I thought over your suggestion for several nights. I've decided how to use the money. I hope my money will be helpful to those who need help," she said. I was pleased to hear what she said. Then I took the paper and only saw the two words written by her: Charity and Family. I smiled and played a joke on her, "Don't you want to move to a new apartment? That is what you have been dreaming of." "Actually, I have been looking forward to it, but now it doesn't seem so important to me anymore," she answered with a smile. When I was about to put the paper on the table, I found there were still a few words. June had written: and a new wardrobe. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage? Answer: Hello! I'm Tom. Here is a photo of my friend. His first name is Mark. His last name is Hand. He is English. His school ID card number is 19922.My school ID card number is 12299. That's interesting . Look at the photo! He is in a black and red jacket. His backpack is blue, and his watch is yellow. A baseball is in his hand .His telephone number is 235-3577. Tom is Mark's _ . Answer: A number of scientific studies have suggested that repeatedly heading a football could increase the risk of developing dementia in later life. In 2002, former England international footballer Jeff Astle died aged 59. A coroner said that Astle died from a brain disease likely to have been caused by "repeated small damages to the brain" related to heading a heavy leather football. Dr. Scott Delaney, research director of emergency medicine at McGill University Health Center in Montreal, Canada, has also researched soccer-related head injury and agrees that head-to-head or elbow-to-head blows are the real risk. In 2007, Delaney carried out a study on footballers aged between 12 and 17 that showed they were half as likely to be concussed wearing headgear than without. He said youngsters have a higher risk of head injury than adults because their heads are thinner and less able to absorb shock. To make matters worse, their neck muscles aren't as well developed and they often lack the correct heading technique that can help throw away the force of the ball. Delaney recommends that children wear headgear when playing football and says his two eldest children wear head protection playing the sport. But he admits that children can be unwilling to be the first to wear head protection--especially when their football heroes play without it. While headgear can protect footballers from being concussed during a match, no one knows the long-term effects of repeated "sub-concussive" blows to the head. Delaney says that while there is indirect evidence that a career in soccer can lead to dementia, no one has yet found a sure link between the two. He says proving a link would mean monitoring hundreds of footballers for three or four decades--and that would take a lot of funding. According to Delaney's research, what is the most risky injuries to head? Answer: Mr Brown is our English teacher at school. He is a popular teacher and I like him very much. There are many other foreign teachers in our school. Some are from English-speaking countries and some from Asian countries. I like Mr Brown best. He is a very interesting teacher and he teaches us very well. Mr Brown comes from Australia. Though he is the oldest teacher of our school. he is very strong. All the students like him very much. During his class, no one sleeps. After class, he often tells jokes to us or does sports with us. Mr Brown likes music very much. We learn a lot of English songs from him. He is also fond of sports. He takes exercises at least three times a week. He is good at swimming, so you know why he looks so strong. Where is Mr Brown from? Answer: Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known German composer , was far from being handsome. Along with a rather short stature , he had a hunchback . One day he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a lovely daughter named Frumtje. Moses fell hopelessly in love with her. But Moses was refused by his ugly appearance When it was time for him to leave, Moses picked up his courage and climbed the stairs to her room to take one last chance to speak with her. She was a heavenly beauty, but caused him deep sadness by her refusal to look at him. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked, "Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?" "Yes, "She answered, still looking at the floor. "And do you?" "Yes I do, "He replied. "You see, in heaven at the birth of each boy, the God announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the God added, 'But your wife will be humpbacked. '""Right then and there I called out, 'Oh God, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy . Please, God, give me the hump and let her be beautiful. '" Then Frumtje looked up into his eyes and was stirred by some deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand and later became his devoted wife. At first Moses was refused by Frumtje because _ . Answer:
In his 1930 essay "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren ", John Keynes, acconmist, ewrote that human needs fall into two classes: needs ,which are indupe what other have , and needs ,which make us feel superior to our fellows He thought alough needs may indeed be insatible this isnottrue of Keynes wans surely correct that only a small part of total spending id decided by the super iority He was gretly mistaken ,however ,in seeting this desive as the only source of demands Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influnce the den almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anm dinner,for example,the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. The goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals. There are no obvious limits to the _ of demand for quality.For example ,porsche famous car producer,has a model which was considered perhaps the best sport car on the mark Priced at over $120,000,it handles perfectly well and has great speen acceleration.But in 200 the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling acceleration.People who really care about cars find these small improvemenmts exciting.To them,however,they must pay almost four times the price. By placing the desire to be superior to other at the heart of his description of nisation demands,Keynes actually reduced such demands.However,the desire for higher quality has natural limits. The author of the passage that _ . For Iris Grace Halmshaw, the world was a lonely place. The autistic five-year-old girl tried to speak, and she was often thrown into pain by the world around her. She filled her days with painting, and nothing could quite change this situation. Until, that was, a cat called Thula came along. The pair are now inseparable . Iris' parents believe the gentle cat is helping their little girl communicate with others, as well as influencing her works of art. In the beginning, they thought it was just _ , but now they believe Iris is expressing her love for Thula through her painting. Mother said, "When Iris is painting, Thula is told by her to "sit down" if she jumps up onto the table. She stays there, watching Iris with great interest, sometimes wanting to play with the brushes, but mostly just patiently watching." And the pair's bond doesn't end there. Thula is at Iris' side for every part of her life. The pair's closeness is having an effect on Iris' relationships with others, and her parents find it easier to encourage her to talk to others. After researching the advantages of animal therapy for autistic children, the couple had tried introducing Iris to horses, dogs and even other cats with no success --- but things changed when Thula came to live with the family. During weeks, the cat was helping to comfort the little girl in times of stress. Mother said, "It was as if they were old friends from the day they met. Thanks to Thula, new doorways to communication and feelings are opening and Iris is happier than ever before."[:Zxxk.Com] According to the passage, Thula _ . A very new, young officer was at a station. He was on his way to visit his mother in another town, and he wanted to telephone her to tell her the time of this train , so that she could meet him at the station in her car.He look in all his pockets, but found that he did not have the right money for the telephone, so he went outside and looked around for someone to help him. At last an old soldier came by, and the young officer stopped him and said, "Have you got change for ten pence ?" "Wait a moment, " the old soldier answered. He began to put his hand in his pocket, "I'll see whether I can help you. " "Don't you know how to speak to an officer?" the young man said angrily. "Now let's start again. Have you got change for ten pence? " "No, sir," the old soldier answered quickly. He looked around for help because he _ . Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a Frenchman. At his time sports were not taught in French schools. De Coubertin believed that sports should go hand in hand with studies. He had an idea. His idea was to begin the Olympics all over again. Sports teachers of other countries liked de Coubertion's ideas. So in 1896, the modern Olympic Games were held in Athens , Greece. Since then the Olympics have been held once every four years, except three times, when there were wars. Before the start of the Olympic Games, runners carry lighted torch through many nations towards the stadium where the games will be held. These sportsmen are from different countries. Yet they work together to carry the Olympic torch. It is passed from runner to runner. When the last runner enters the stadium, he or she places the torch in a special basin filled with oil. It catches fire. It is then, only then, that the Olympic Games can begin. The Olympic flame burns throughout the games. It is the flame of peace. De Coubertin_. Bear Story Campers Gene and Marie Marsden took pride in being good citizens when in the wild.While driving miles to the Green River Lakes area,they instructed their children in the rules they'd learned in the bear safety handbook put out by the Bridger-Teton Forest Service.The number-one rule was"Don't feed the bears!"-whether intentionally or not.Warning the kids not to go anywhere near a bear,the Marsdens had no problem with the intentional part,but the unintentional part was not as easy to avoid as they thought. Mr.and Mrs.Marsden did their best to keep a tidy camp.While the handbook had said to hang all food at least ten feet off the ground,they did that and locked their food in their trailer at night.Afraid that the scent of the bait might attract a bear,they even locked up Marie's fishing pole.Being sure nothing was left out,they went to bed. Gene says he now regrets not having taken their dog Spike into the tent at night,but they liked having him on guard.On the night of the encounter ,Spike would not stop barking,and Marie knew he must be sounding the alarm on something more dangerous.When she unzipped the tent and shone her flashlight,she saw a young bear. They all piled into the car and drove quickly down the trail.They drove to a pay phone twenty miles away and called a Fish and Game Department ranger,who identified the bear by the white ruff the Marsdens had seen around his neck.The authorities informed the Marsdens that the bear was a young male that they'd been keeping an eye on. The next morning,the Marsdens heard helicopters circling over the mountain and wondered if it might have something to do with the bear.After spending the night in the public campground,they drove back to their site.Wandering the area in search of clues,Marie came to a stop below a tallest tree.She slapped her head and shouted,"Oh no!" "What is it?"Gene asked. Marie pointed at the ground where Spike's dog food bowl lay upside down. A week after their return home,the Marsdens read the headline in their local paper."Bear Euthanized in Wind Rivers."According to the article,the Fish and Game Department had shot the young bear because,having been rewarded for invading a human campsite,it would likely do so again. The Marsdens knew they had been lucky in the encounter,yet much to their shame and sadness,they also knew that the bear had not. The passage is written to show .
It is a very usual thing for a person to have a good friend. My good friend is Diana. She is a rich and proud girl. She often thinks that she is too good for anyone. One day after school, I was waiting for Diana when Vivien came up to me. She gave me a cake, I got it. We talked and joked. From then on, I began to spend more time with Vivien than Diana. However, I also began to feel a little uneasy. After a few days, I went to see Diana with some snacks and at that time Vivien came and sat with me. She gave me a sandwich. She also gave one to Diana, but Diana didn't get it. She walked away. I was angry with Diana for being so rude. "Never mind," Vivien said , " I'm used to it." After school, I tried to catch up with Diana. When we walked home, I tried to correct her attitude , but she would not listen to me. She said, "Go and join your 'dear' Vivien. I know you make new friends and forget the old ones." For the next few weeks, we did not talk to each other. Then, one day, Diana came to Vivien and me, saying, "I'm really sorry about what I did. I'm a spoiled girl, but I also need good friends just like you. Would you please forgive me? Vivien and I looked at each other and smiled. From then on, Diana, Vivien and I are best friends. Vivien's saying "I'm used to it." shows that _ . Answer: Most people know precious gemstones by their appearances. An emerald flashes deep green, a ruby seems to hold a red fire inside, and a diamond shines like a star. It's more difficult to tell where the gem was mined, since a diamond from Australia or Arkansas may appear the same to one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, recently, a team of scientists has found a way to identify a gemstone's origin. Beneath the surface of a gemstone, on the tiny level of atoms and molecules , lie clues to its origin. At this year's meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Catherine McManus reported on a technique that uses lasers to clarify these clues and identify a stone's homeland. McManus directs scientific research at Materialytics, in Killeen, Texas. The company is developing the technique. "With enough data, we could identify which country, which mining place, even the individual mine a gemstone comes from," McManus told Science News. Some gemstones, including many diamonds, come from war-torn countries. Sales of those "blood minerals" may encourage violent civil wars where innocent people are injured or killed. In an effort to reduce the trade in blood minerals, the U.S. government passed law in July 2010 that requires companies that sell gemstones to determine the origins of their stones. To figure out where gemstones come from, McManus and her team focus a powerful laser on a small sample of the gemstone. The technique is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Just as heat can turn ice into water or water into steam, energy from the laser changes the state of matter of the stone. The laser changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma, a gas state of matter in which tiny particles called electrons separate from atoms. The plasma, which is superhot, produces a light pattern. (The science of analyzing this kind of light pattern is called spectroscopy.) Different elements produce different patterns, but McManus and her team say that gemstones from the same area produce similar patterns. Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones, including more than 200 from diamonds. They can compare the light pattern from an unknown gemstone to patterns they do know and look for a match. The light pattern acts like a signature, telling the researchers the origin of the gemstone. In a small test, the laser technique correctly identified the origins of 95 out of every 100 diamonds. For gemstones like emeralds and rubies, the technique proved successful for 98 out of every 100 stones. The scientists need to collect and analyze more samples, including those from war-torn countries, before the tool is ready for commercial use. Scientists like Barbara Dutrow, a mineralogist from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, find the technique exciting. "This is a basic new tool that could provide a better fingerprint of a material from a particular locality," she told Science News. Why did the U.S. government pass law that requires companies selling gemstones to determine the origins of their stones? Answer: Vanilla is my best friend. She is a lovely girl with two big, beautiful eyes. But she always hides them behind a pair of black glasses. One day, though, I nearly ended our friendship. I remember that day clearly. We were sitting in class. The teacher was giving us our results for a Chinese test. I had done badly. I felt so sad that I wouldn't talk to anyone. At lunchtime, I even stayed in the classroom alone. Suddenly, I heard a voice. It was Vanilla. "You look very unhappy," she said. "What's wrong?" I looked up at her, but said nothing. I knew Vallina had got a good mark in the test. I thought she was making fun of me. I stayed silent , but Vallina didn't go away. She kept asking me questions: "Is it because of the exam? Do you want me to show you the right answers?" I looked away from her. When I looked up again, Vanilla had gone. And so had my exam paper! I didn't know what to do. I looked everywhere for me paper, but couldn't find it. In the afternoon, Vanilla came up to my desk and gave me my exam paper back. I looked at it and got a big surprise. Vanilla had written the right answer next to every one of my mistakes. My face went red. Vanilla had been trying to help me all along. How mean I had been to her when she was being so nice. I wanted to hug her, but all I did was to hold her hands and say, "Thank you." That afternoon, Vanilla and I walked home together. I felt so happy that I had to thank her again. We were still best friends. The writer felt sad because _ in the Chinese test. Answer: This site , all-birds. com, is about bird watching. Enjoy your browsing. There is much to learn and see. Bird Watching Equipment Some items that might make bird watching more enjoyable are binoculars ( ) , a camera, some kind of system for keeping notes, and maybe a back pack. Birders often keep lists of the birds they see along with notes about the habits. There is some great bird log software that will let you keep records on your computer. For more details on choosing binoculars see our Binocular -Optics page. Clothes If you are walking through a wooded area just wear clothes you would wear on any hike or field trip. You are best off wearing clothes with dull colors that mix into the background. Greens, browns, and grays are good. Avoid fabrics that rustle easily. Depending on the birds you are watching you may want to get rain gear, rubber boots and warm clothing. For birds such as owls that you might look for in the evening a strong flashlight is also handy. Choosing a Bird Field Guide Take a good field guide to identify birds. Look for clear color pictures that make it easy to recognize one bird from another. Next to each picture should be detailed descriptions of each bird's anatomy, habits, and what it eats. The guide should have information about what habitat each species uses. Many guides have maps showing the range of different birds along with their migration patterns. Where and When to see Birds Learning the habitats of birds in your area will increase the number of birds you see, and make your birding more enjoyable. If you know that Meadow larks are likely to be in open grassy areas, and dippers are forage along stream beds, you may be looking for them if you are in those types of habitats. Edge areas where different types of habitats meet will likely have more species in them. You are more likely to see specific birds at certain times of the day. For example songbirds are easier to see two to three hours after dawn, or just before sunset. This is when songbirds are most actively feeding. Many small birds will be silent or even hidden during the rest of the day. After sunup is the best time to see eagles and hawks. Visibility is best for hunting at this time, and they can soar on the thermal currents from the warmed air. Birds like owls are more likely to be seen in the evening. Many shorebirds and waders rest at high tide and feed when the water rises or falls. Photographing Birds Patience in Bird Photography Most birds are afraid of people, and all species have their own comfort zone. With a little time you can learn the comfort zone of the birds you are photographing. Once they know that you are not a threat you may be able to get closer. Type or Style Your reason for photographing birds may determine your style and the kind of equipment you use. If you are just recording the kinds of birds you see you don't need to get as close, and you can use less expensive equipment, then you need for high quality prints. Photographing Birds in Flight Photographing birds in flight can be fun. Many digital cameras have a tracking function. With these you focus on the bird, and then as you track it the lens will keep focus. Use Your Yard Choose an open area where the birds will get direct sunlight, showing off their magnificent colors. Try using props Birds will often land on a stick or post near a seed feeder before going to the feeder. The background was just an out of focus fence but you can use anything you want for a background, and then wait for a bird to perch. _ are likely to be seen at 7 in the morning. Answer: A good teacher is many things to many people. In my own experience, the people I respect the most and think about the most are the teachers who demanded the most discipline from their students. I miss one teacher in particular that I had in high school. I think she was a good teacher because she was a very strict person. I remember very vividly a sign over her classroom door. It was a simple sign that said, "Laboratory--in this room the first five letters of the word was emphasized , not the last seven." In other words, I guess, labor for her was more important than oratory, which means making speeches. She prepared her work very carefully and demanded us to do the same. We got lots of homework from her. Once she had broken her arm, and everybody in the class thought that maybe the homework load would be reduced, but it continued just the same. She checked our work by stamping her name at the bottom of the papers to show that she had read them. I think sometimes teachers who demand the most are liked the least. But as time goes by, this discipline really seems to benefit the students. What's the writer's opinion of discipline? Answer:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults. Since 2000, the CDC has made efforts with goals of getting 75% of Americans to eat two or more servings of fruit a day and 50% of Americans to eat three or more servings of vegetables a day. Unfortunately, Americans aren't meeting these modest targets. Although a diet high in fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk of many diseases, Americans just aren't getting enough. In fact, since 2000, the amount of vegetables Americans are eating has stayed the same and the amount of fruit Americans are eating has gone down. The CDC also finds that only about a third of adults are eating their expected servings of fruit, and just over a quarter of adults are eating their expected servings of vegetables. So why aren't Americans getting their expected servings of fruit and vegetables? It turns out that Americans might be spoiled when it comes to their produce. A national survey conducted by Fruit2day reveals that nearly half of Americans leave fruit in their fridges until it rots with people in Boston among the worst and those in New York and Los Angeles among the best. Sadly, most Americans admit to leaving fruit in the fridge for more than a week. There are many reasons why Americans don't eat their fruit or vegetables, including the inconvenience of having to wash or peel it. Fruit2day offers consumers a surprising and convenient way to enjoy the goodness of fruit. "With no added sugar, natural juices and two full servings of fruit, our Fruit2day line has really captured the imaginations of health-conscious consumers who are actively looking to get more fruit in their diets," said Hanno Holm, president and chief executive officer of Hero-White Wave. "Fruit2day makes getting more fruit in one's diet easier for any daily snack routine." Americans don't eat their fruit or vegetables because _ . Answer: they don't think it convenient to eat them It is a matter of common observation that although money income keeps going up over the years, we never seem to become richer. Prices are rising continuously. This condition is what we call inflation: the money supply is becoming inflated so that each unit of it becomes less valuable. We have got used to higher and higher rates of inflation in recent years. What could be bought twenty years ago for one pound now costs well over 2 pounds. And at present this rate of inflation seems to be rising rather than falling. If in the real world our money incomes go up at the same rate as prices do. One might think that inflation doesn't matter. _ When money is losing value it also loses one of the qualities of a good money--stability of value. It is no longer acceptable as a store of value; and it becomes an unsuitable means of delayed payment. Nobody wants to hold a wasting possession, so people try to get rid of money as quickly as possible. Inflation therefore simply stimulates our spending and discourages saving. .We can conclude according to the passage that _ . Answer: the writer is worried about inflation What makes a gift special? Is it the price you see on the gift cover? Or is it the look on the receiver's face when they receive it that determines the true value? What gift is worth the most? This Christmas I was thinking what to give my father. My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything. I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father. My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming, and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower, a lone dandelion standing against the bright blue sky, inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father. I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream-color1ed flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind. The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe; my dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was mainly about dreaming, and after searching I found the perfect picture. The picture was painted with blues and greens and purples, twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer, the white paper color1ing with words that shaped my childhood, I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly like. Christmas soon arrived. The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he opened those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame , I knew I had given the perfect gift. What is the main purpose of the passage? Answer: To suggest making gifts from one's heart. Now let's talk about doing well by doing good--many people who have ever been volunteers for the community find their place in relative jobs or even make their way to be corporate leaders. Consider the case of Kimberly Mulcahy. Throughout her career, Mulcahy has actively volunteered in her community, profession and industry. Though she put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company, she also found time to professional and community organizations. Then last year, the unexpected thing happened. The company where she'd worked for more than 20 years was bought out and she was laid off. On hearing the news, those who she served were quick not only to offer her support--but actual jobs! In the end, Mulcahy was hired by a PR agency--she used to work as a director of her industry association. And she brought with her several accounts based on relationships she had formed through volunteering. Volunteering was a godsend to Todd, who has been a mid-level manager at the same company for many years. After he was out of work, he felt old and disappointed. But Todd knew he needed a change. Todd became involved in community service. He joined his town's volunteer fire department and was soon appointed to the finance committee. Sometimes volunteering helps you bring passion to your work, other times it can turn your life's passion into your work. Cape Cod Baseball League President Judy Scarafile is a registered pharmacist whose love of the game led her to volunteered as league publicist , secretary and deputy commissioner woman to hold the top post. Whether you are to enter the workforce, build your resume, or follow your passion, volunteering is good for the soul and the career. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? Answer: Volunteer Work Can Boost Your Career. There are many cars over there. Five of them are brown. Twelve of them are red. Three of them are yellow. Four green cars, eight blue cars, two orange cars and one white car are there, too. They are new. They are nice. Look, these aren't cars, they are buses. They are in different colors: ten red, eleven green, seventy yellow and nine blue. They are all old. They are big. All the cars and buses belong to Mr. Smith. All of the cars over there are in _ colors. Answer: different
There's a time to get angry, and it's best for your child if you do. Let's say your child hits a playmate with a toy hard enough to make the other child cry. How can you teach your child to feel sorry so he or she won't do it again? Researchers say the best way for parents to react is to show their anger and to let the child know exactly why they are mad. Many parents believe that it is best to control their feelings and to wait until they're calm before scolding their children. But the mother or father who explains reasonably to a child , "Peter was crying because you hit him," is not likely to attract much attention. Young children need to be scolded immediately, and strongly, before they'll take criticism to heart. When your young child does something wrong, scold him or her seriously at once. At the same time be sure to tell the child clearly what he or she has done wrong. An angry reaction without an immediate explanation does little good. Forbidding a child to play outside or not allowing him to watch TV as a punishment works well-but only when taken together with an explanation. Make sure your child understands that although his or her wrongdoing has made you angry, you still love him or her. Use simple, direct words such as, "You hurt peter. How would you feel if he hit you? You must never, never hurt people." If your voice expresses strong feeling clearly, your message will carry enough weight. According to researchers, how should parents react when their child did something wrong? A Ask the child not to do it again any time. B Show the child how angry they are and tell him why. C Teach the child why and how to say sorry to others. D Let the child know you still love hime or her. Answer: B. Show the child how angry they are and tell him why. How many times a day do you check your email? When you wake up? Before bed? A dozen times in between? The technology that was supposed to simplify our lives has become the vital time-suck: the average teen spends more than seven hours a day using technological devices, plus an additional hour just text-messaging friends. The advantage of technological devices is connectedness: email lets us respond on the go, and we are in touch with more people during more hours of the day than at any other time in history. But is it possible we're more lonely than ever, too? That's what MIT professor Sherry Turkle observes in her new book, Alone Together, a fascinating portrait of our changing relationship with technology. Turkle details the ways technology has redefined our comprehension of closeness and loneliness--and warns us of the danger of accepting such virtual relationships in place of lasting emotional connections. For Turkle, the biggest worry is the effect all these shallow connections have on our development. Is technology offering us the lives we want to live? "We're texting people at a distance," says Turkle, "We're using lifeless objects to convince ourselves that even when we're alone, we feel together. And then when we're with each other, we put ourselves in situations where we are alone--constantly on our mobile devices. It's what I call a perfect storm of confusion about what's important in our human connections." What can't be denied is that technology, whatever its faults, makes life a whole lot easier. It allows us to communicate with more people in less time and makes conversation simple. But it can also be seductive , providing more stimulation than our natural lives. There are usually some unhealthy videos online which remove teenagers' attention from their schoolwork. Besides, some online activities make people addicted, which occupied their daily life and affected their ability to form real-world relationships."Technology can be more immediately satisfying than the labor of building an intimate relationship," said one highschool student, "Every time I text, I start to have some happy feelings." But are any of those feelings equal to the kind we feel when engaged in real, face-to-face communication? Online, you can neglect others' feelings. In a text message, you can avoid eye contact. A number of studies have found that this generation of teens is less sympathetic than ever. That doesn't spell disaster, says Turkle--but, What is the main purpose of the passage? A To instruct people how to do with emails. B To stress the importance of technology. C To promote a wider use of technological devices. D To lead us to consider what's important in human connections. Answer: D. To lead us to consider what's important in human connections. Research by the Institute of Education (IOE) in London found that men who went to single-sex schools were not only more likely to be separated from a partner or divorced, but also more likely to be depressed by middle age. The chances of women having successful marriages were not affected by whether they were educated in mixed or single-sex schools.Separate research by the IOE found that going without boys was beneficial for women in other ways since there was a " statistically significant positive association between single-sex schooling and wages for women". The study into marital success interviewed 17,000 adults who were taught in a range of schools including private boarding schools to state comprehensives.It found that single-sex education does not compromise the chances either of men or women of getting married. However, researchers found that boys educated on their own were more likely to divorce in later life.While for women, there was no significant link.The research also found men taught in boys' schools were more likely to suffer from depression by age 42--perhaps because of their increased chances of marital breakdown.But Professor Leonard's team was unable to identify why those men educated in a single-sex environment were more likely to divorce. The study asked married and _ g couples where men had attended both single-sex and mixed schools to rate how happy they were and found no marked difference in their happiness levels or willingness to share domestic chores. Mary Boust, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the IOE research confirmed what was always suspected."All the research shows single-sex schools are good for girls but bad for boys--both in terms of academic performance and socialization," she said."Boys learn better when they are with girls and they actually learn to get on better." The findings were presented at a conference on gender in education hosted by Perse School for Girls in Cambridge. The researches made by the IOE indicate that _ . A school model has little influence on women's marriage B education is the main cause of middle age depression C boys in single-sex schools are more likely not to get married D mixed schools arc ly better than single-sex schools Answer: A. school model has little influence on women's marriage Scientists think that many animals cannot see colours. The world is black and white to them. Scientists want to find out if dogs can see colours. When the scientists give the dogs food, they show them a certain colour every time. The dogs get ready to eat when they see this colour. The scientists then show the dogs another colour. Again the dogs get ready to eat. The colours are all the same to them. Colours are not all the same to monkeys. For example, if we put food in a red box, and do this every day, a monkey will always go to the red box to get food. If we put food in a blue box, the monkey won't go to it. Scientists show the dogs colours _ . A to tell them to eat B to find out if they can see black and white things C for fun D to find out if they can see colours Answer: D. to find out if they can see colours With its private hidden coves and pink beaches.Bermuda is a perfect place for relaxation and romance.Though this tiny string of Atlantic islands covers only 21 square miles. there's much to see and do.Spend tile days boating,golfing,shopping or swimming with dolphins.Explore secret caves,visit historical museums and churches.Bermuda's nightlife offers everything from fine dining to fast food,jazz clubs to Irish pubs. Even though a large number of people live 011 this small island , you should never feel crowded.There are no ad boards or signs,and ly few cars to spoil the beauty of the countryside.Most houses seem to fit quite naturally into the scenery. Bermuda consists of nine parishes .Pembroke,which surrounds the capital city of Hamilton.is the largest parish in population;St.George has the largest land area. Because of its small size.it's easy to get to know tile island.There's much to see.Whether you travel by bike. ferry,bus,or taxi.You'll need plenty of time.though,because the pace is slow.Cars and other motorized vehicles must observe tile top speed of 15 mph in Hamilton and St.George,20 mph in the countryside.The speed limits are strictly enforced.and there are severe punishments for breaking the rules. Once you've done all the must-sees, you'll want to walk around and make discoveries on your own . The best parishes for walking are Somerset , St. George , and Hamilton. But don't fill your days with too much structured sightseeing . You'll want time to lie on the beach and play in the water ,and to enjoy moments like sitting by the harbor in the late afternoon, enjoying the views as the sailing boats pass by . Absorbing Bermuda's beauty at your own pace, and stopping to chat with the occasional islander , is really the point. In the writer's opinion, _ . A Bermuda is a relaxing and natural place B people in Bermuda are living a lazy life C it's unreasonable to forbid ad boards and signs D everyone should finish the must-sees first Answer: A. Bermuda is a relaxing and natural place
Although man has known asbestos for hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers,was responsible for the opening of that first mine. Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves,which looked much like ordinary work gloves,he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increased business in asbestos roofing materials. However,because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein, in the province of Quebec in Canada. Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral,which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated,a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibers. Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads ,but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so- called "cloth of stone." The author's main purpose in writing the passage was to _ . More than half of the parents in the United States are helping, or have helped, support their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and poor wages , according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so-called boomerang kids, to return. "Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected," said Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they're helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially. Half are providing housing and nearly half are helping with living expenses. For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two-thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one-third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to find their financial feet than for their children. Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be careful about their own finances. "If you are taking on extra debt or delaying retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger," Beck warned. Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and seven percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning. What would be the best title for the text? Police Officer Tidwell left the station after 8 a.m. on Sunday. He was looking forward to his day of rest. By habit he took a short cut down the path behind prefix = st1 /Digby Hall Road. Suddenly he saw a man climbing down a drain-pipe from an open bedroom window of number 29. Quietly Tidwell walked into the garden. The man had just reached the ground when he felt his arm grasped. "It seems an unlikely adventure. Would you mind explaining? " said the officer. The man was frightened, saying, "I know what's on your mind, officer, but it is a mistake. " "It's part of my job to take an interest in unusual events. I think you've just left this house in a manner other than the customary one. " Tidwell took out his notebook and a pen. "Name, address and your job and then, please, tell me your story." "Charlie Crane, Lorry Driver, from Nottingham, 51 Brecon Street. My story..." "Yes, What were you doing, Mr. Crane?" "Well, I had a breakdown yesterday and had to stay here until it was fixed. Bed and breakfast. The landlady is Mrs. Fern. She gave me breakfast at seven, and I was out here in the right way and down at the lorry park. It was only when I felt for a cigarette that I realised I'd left 80 pounds under the pillow. It's my habit to put my money under the pillow at night." "I see. Have you paid Mrs. Fern?" "I'd paid her last night. So I came back, but it's Sunday, and she'd gone back to bed. Could I wake her? I rang the bell and knocked on the door for ten minutes before I came here and found my bedroom window still open. Up I went, then, up this pipe. The money was still there. I hope you believe it because..." "Mr. Crane, what are you doing here? I thought you'd gone an hour ago." It was Mrs. Fern, speaking from the kitchen window. When Crane returned to the house, _ . Want to find Bigfoot? Matt Moneymaker, president of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot, says the creatures have been seen in every state but Hawaii. Redwoods State Park, California With its towering redwoods and thick forest, it's hard to beat the atmosphere at this Northern California park.Moneymaker recommends taking a walk along the Smith River on Howland Hill Road."We heard of lots of different sightings and sounds in there,"he says."I've found tracks crossing that road."7074657335. SalmonHuckleberry Wilderness, Oregon You don't have to go far to find Bigfoot.This area 20 miles east of Portland in the Mount Hood National Forest is prime spotting territory.Bigfoot apparently has a sweet tooth and goes ape for huckleberries, which grow in the area.Scores of campers have been scared off by noises and have had rocks thrown at them.5036681700. Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico The high density of deer attracts Bigfoot to this place.The creatures may use the park's mountainous lookouts to watch over deer in spring.Even when there's no wind, dead trees often mysteriously, with their roots above the earth."They let you know that they're there."5056613333. Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Vermont This prominent mountain peak outside the town of Rutland has had its share of activity, including a trailcam picture famous in Bigfoot circles of what appears to be a female one carrying her offspring . Centuries ago,American Indians reported seeing an apelike creature and,more recently, hikers say that they have come upon a Bigfoot.8007568880. Fahnestock State Park, New York There's a long history of Bigfoot in this mountain park a mere 90 minutes from New York City. Moneymaker says investigators have found mysterious markings in the snow.8452257207. Ponca Wilderness Area, Arkansas Moneymaker says he had several good Bigfoot moments on a recent expedition in this area along the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas.Most of the Bigfoot action centered on the area near Steel Creek Campground.8704392502. Where did Moneymaker have several good Bigfoot moments? Developing healthy eating habits starts from childhood, therefore it is important for parents to teach and provide children with a healthy diet. DPHSS administrator of the Bureau of Nutrition Services, Charlie Morris told KUAM News, "A healthy diet for a child consists of a lot of fruits and vegetables in the diet limiting the amount of simple sugars in the diet and high fat food and highly processed food." This means staying away as much as possible from food such as chips, cookies, candies and sugary drinks, as all children need to have meals which involve a well-balanced diet. Community nutritionist Thelma Romoso said, "The fruit, the vegetable, the grain, the protein, and also the milk, the diary product, so for the fruits it's easy for a mother to go into the two plus three concept of fruits and vegetables or five a day." This concept means that there are at least two servings of fruits a day, three servings of vegetables a day which can be served for lunch and dinner. As for protein parents can make a variety of dishes from chicken, beef, fish or even dried beans to pledge the child gets three servings a day. Morris said that the child's hunger level controls how much is eaten and the parent controls what and when the meal is offered, saying, "Mom needs to ensure that the food offered is good food for the child to eat and throughout the day depending on how active they are, snacks are not a bad thing, so the mom should offer good kinds of snacks." When it comes to preparing your child's lunch and snacks for school, make sure to keep in mind that the food you provide should not only be a source of energy but also be nutritionally beneficial such as fresh fruits, and whole grain bread. But parents must be sure to remember that a good nutritional diet must be balanced with physical activity, namely it is important that children get outside and run around and play and get activity in addition to eating a good diet. It can be inferred from the passage that _ .
When I got up, Mom was already awake. I could hear her doing something in the kitchen. It's was my birthday, and I was afraid. What if my husband had neglected to take Mom shopping for a card? Once Mom found it was my birthday, she would be sad that she had forgotten and had nothing to give me. She even can't remember what we did two hours ago because of dementia . Birthdays are not a big deal to me. I hate growing older. I don't mind if Mom forgets my birthday as long as she still remembers me. That someday she might not recognize me has been my biggest fear ever since Mom got dementia. I can't imagine anything more devastating than being forgotten by my own mother. When Mom was diagnosed with vascular dementia seven years ago, I was told she did not have Alzheimer's disease . I hoped that meant she would never forget her family. But as Mom's dementia progressed, I realized that I had no idea whether vascular dementia could be as bad as Alzheimer's. I really didn't understand the difference. The sleeping house was quiet except for the sound of Mom washing the bowls left last night in the kitchen. Will Mom live long enough to forget me? Will the day come when she no longer worries about remembering my birthday because she no longer knows that I exist? In the kitchen, Mom heard me come near. She hurried to the door, face ringing with smiles. "Happy birthday to you," she sang. We laughed as I hugged her tightly, and both of us were very surprised that she had remembered. Moments later she said, "Oh, there seems to be something here for you." She brought me her card. My husband did, after all, take her shopping. The birthday-for-a-daughter card was filled with expressions of love in pink. What the writer has been worried about most is that _ . A. she will not get her birthday card B. she will not be recognized by her Mom C. Mom will suffer from dementia D. Mom's dementia will be Alzheimer's Answer: B. she will not be recognized by her Mom Many people like to eat out because they can eat quickly and the food is not expensive. Some families go to fast food restaurants. But in the past people went to diners. Do you want to know the story of the first American diner? In 1872, a man named Walter Scott had the first "diner". It was not really a diner. It was only a simple food cart . People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. The cart served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and a late night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Messer Jones built the first big enough diner to allow customers to come inside. However, they had no chairs to sit down. Three years later, people built diners with counters and stools and people sat down while they were eating. Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The earliest menu which only included sandwiches and coffee became bigger. Soup and dishes were added to the menu, and a breakfast menu appeared, too. In addition, diners were no longer carts on wheels. Diners today are usually buildings with large windows, shining counters and stools, tables and chairs, where people can eat all three meals. When could customers sit down and eat inside diners? A. In 1872. B. In 1877. C. In 1887. D. In 1890. Answer: D. In 1890. Charles Dickens was one of the most beloved storytellers in the English language. His novels made him famous in his own time, and continue as classics in ours. Dickens began his literary career with almost no formal education. He was born in Landport, on Feb. 7, 1812, the second of eight children. When he was 12, his father was sent to debtor's prison. Dickens was forced to quit school and work in a London blacking factory. He would rework that terrible experience into his fiction for the rest of his life. "He was a social reformer," says actor Simon Callow, author of a new biography called Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World. "He knew what poverty was. He knew what it was to be rejected, to be cast aside, to live in squalor ." And so Dickens wrote with great sympathy for the suffering of innocent and vulnerable children - characters like David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and the orphan, Oliver Twist: With his slice of bread in his hand, and his little brown parish cap on his head, Oliver was now led away from the wretched home, where one kind word or look never lighted the gloom of his infant days. Yet he burst into an agony of childish grief as the cottage gate closed after him. Wretched as were the little companions in,misery he was now leaving behind him, they were the only friends he had ever had. His first book Sketches by Boz came out in 1836. With the appearance of Oliver Twist in London periodicals in 1837, the 25-year-old Dickens became the most popular writer in England. But his first love was theater, and he considered becoming an actor. "When he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Peter Ackroyd, author of Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion. "He would get up from his desk, go over to the mirror and mouth the words - do the expressions, grimaces , whatever, and then laugh, chuckle to himself, then go back to his desk and write it down." Dickens created 989 named characters, which increased his popularity. Every one of his major works has been adapted for either stage or screen. A Christmas Carol inspired more than a dozen films, from Alistair Sims' Scrooge in 1951 to Jim Carrey's voicing of the same character in Disney's 2009, 3-D animated film. The original 1843 manuscript of A Christmas Carolis on display at the Morgan Library. Dickens wrote everything by hand, in tiny script, with a quill pen. Remarkably, the manuscript is both the first and the final draft, says Kiely, the curator. You can see where Dickens has changed the name of the first chapter from "Old Marley's Ghost" to "Marley's Ghost". Further down the page, he has canceled an entire section. "He realizes he's not writing a novel, and he only has a very short time in which to write this," Kiely explains. "He's got to keep it tight, in order for it to be published in time for Christmas." Dickens wrote all the time. He traveled with a portable inkwell and a supply of quill pens. He was working on his last novel, Our Mutual Friend, en route from France to London when the train he was on crashed. Dickens died five years later in 1870, after a stroke at age 58. As a comic talent and a social reformer, Dickens' achievement was extraordinary, says novelist T.C. Boyle, who eamed a doctorate in Victorian literature. "He achieved what any great artist achieves - a body of work that has entertained and delighted and instructed people down through the ages. That's what we all hope for," says Boyle. But Dickens' greatest fiction was his own character, says Callow, the biographer: "People think of him as a cheerful man ... but he was increasingly suffering from depression and a sense of hopelessness. And that's worth knowing. I think it's always good to know that great creative individuals have their struggle, their drama." What can probably be reflected in Dickens' works? A. His love for his family. B. His childhood sufferings. C. His desire for formal education. D. His reason to choose literary career. Answer: B. His childhood sufferings. Next time you're in a public place, take a look around you, and count how many people are using their phones. I can tell you that it is probably more than half, whether you're in a bus, in a cafe or simply walking down the street. I'm not saying that I am not an example of this, but I wonder how people can spend so much time on their phones without actually talking to anyone in particular. We can now do almost anything with a phone. But has it gone too far? We spend too much time on our mobiles but not enough time talking to people in real life. Last time I visited London, I traveled by subway. I noticed that almost everybody else was on their phones except those who were asleep. People were playing games, reading articles and listening to music. Recently, my smart phone broke and I had to use an old basic phone just to keep in touch with my family and friends. I could only send text messages, make calls and play one game with it. And I loved it. I loved being free from the Internet, and I really didn't mind what my friends were doing or what the latest news was. I could enjoy my time watching the people around me and seeing what was going on. However, I knew that as soon as I got my smart phone back, I would be one of those people once again. Which of the following cannot be done on a phone? A. Playing games. B. Sending text messages. C. Listening to music. D. Having meals. Answer: D. Having meals. Dear Malia and Sasha, I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this _ When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me--about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation. I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential--schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college--even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity. I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other. Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country--but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free--that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility. That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something. She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better--and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be. I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much--although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential. These are the things I want for you--to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure. I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House. Love, Dad From the letter we can learn that the writer was _ . A. kind and hesitant B. ambitious and considerate C. selfish but merciful D. successful but stubborn Answer: B. ambitious and considerate
For several days I saw little of Mr. Rochester. In the morning he seemed much occupied with business, and in the afternoon gentlemen from the neighborhood called and sometimes stayed to dine with him. When his foot was well enough, he rode out a great deal,and all my knowledge of him was limited to occasional meetings about the house, when he would sometimes pass me coldly, and sometimes bow and smile. His changes of manner did not offend me, because I saw that I had nothing to do with the cause of them. One evening, several days later, I was invited to talk to Mr. Rochester after dinner. There was a smile on his lips, and his eyes were bright, probably with wine. As I was looking at him, he suddenly turned, and asked me, "Do you think I'm handsome, Miss Eyre?" The answer somehow slipped from my tongue before I realized it: "No, sir." "Ah, you really are unusual! You are a quiet, serious little person, but you can be almost rude." "Sir, I'm sorry. I should have said that beauty doesn't matter, or something like that." "No, you shouldn't! I see, you criticize my appearance, and then you stab me in the back! You have honesty and feeling. There are not many girls like you." I thought to myself that he might have too. He seemed to read my mind, and said quickly, "Yes, you're right. I have plenty of faults. I went the wrong way when I was twenty-one, and have never found the right path again. I might have been as good as you, and perhaps wiser. I am not a bad man, take my word for it, but I have done wrong. It wasn't my character, but circumstances that were to blame. Why do I tell you all this? Because you're the sort of person people tell their problems and secrets to, and because you're sympathetic and give them hope." It seemed he had quite a lot to talk to me. He didn't seem to like to finish the talk quickly, as was the case for the first time. "Don't be afraid of me, Miss Eyre." He continued, "you don't relax or laugh very much, perhaps because of the effect Lowood school has had on you. But in time you will be more natural with me, and laugh, and speak freely. You're like a bird in a cage. When you get out of the cage, you'll fly very high." Why did Mr. Rochester say "......and then you stab me in the back!"? "Green" is more than just a color. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment--the water, the land, and the air we breathe. Why green? Plants are green, and without them the earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. Every day, people make choices that affect the amount of trash and pollution that gets produced in our world. What can you do? A whole lot, actually. Here's a four-step guide to being green: Reduce the amount of stuff you use and throw away. Reuse stuff when you can. Recycle cans, bottles, paper, books, and even toys, Sometimes water can be. For instance, some communities take used water - like from the washing machine and shower - and clean it up so it's safe to use for watering the grass and flowers. Enjoy the Earth - walk in the woods, plant a tree, and eat some of the delicious food it produces. Here's a list of other stuff you can reduce: Close the switches when you're not using lights. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth.. When you can, walk or ride your bike instead of driving in the car. You'll use less gas - and get some exercise! Turn off for your phone and MP3 player when you're not using them. Put your computer to "sleep" instead of leaving it on with the screensaver running. We can _ the paper and cans to being green. Experts have put forward detailed plans for a tunnel to join Taiwan with the Chinese mainland. The shortest proposed route would be 126 kilometers--more than twice the length of the English Channel Tunnel.And the longest proposed route would be 207 kilometers. A recent conference in xiamen,Fujian Province brought together more than 70 experts.The event was cosponsored by universities from Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.Fujian is the province where both proposed mutes would begin. There is no direct passenger access between the mainland and Taiwan by air or sea at the moment. Experts say that it is better to start research sooner rather than later,although there is a lack of government funding .There are no technical problems t0 build a Taiwan tunnel.But it will require an improved political relationship across the Straits. A professor of TsinghHa University said,"A special feature of huge projects is that the period of preparation is longer than the period of construction." For example,he said,the English channel Tunnel took 14 years of planning and had been discussed for two centuries.And preparations for the huge Three Corges dam on the Yangze River began in the 1950s. The xiamen conference focused on the longest southern route,which would use the Taiwan-controlled islands of Jinmen and Penghu as steppingstones. The first stage of the new project could be a bridge to cross the five kilometers between Xiamen and Jinmen.This would mean that traveling from Xiamen to Jinmen by car would only take five minutes. The longest tunnel now being planned anywhere in the world is the 54-kilometer land tunnel to link Lyon in France with Turin in Italy.The tunnel will not be completed until 2015-2020. Which of the following is NOT true? Ted Turner, achieved high goals and great success by the time he was 43. Best known for his CNN, Ted Turner launched a second nationwide all-news network, Headline News, purchased the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and became the world's best yachtsman at the America's Cup in 1977. In 1982 Ted Turner was named by Forbes one of the 400 richest people in the US. He was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1992. How did Ted Turner accomplish all of this at such a young age? Ted Turner's father, Ed, was a self-made millionaire who demanded that his only son try to achieve similar success. He instilled in the boy a strong belief that hard work was good. Besides reading a new book every two days, Ted Turner was also charged rent at home during summer vacations from boarding school. Ed Turner was a strong influence in his son's life. As a child, Ted Turner lived a very lonely life, often separated from his family. During World War II, his father served in the Navy. Ed Turner took his wife and daughter with him so they could live nearby but left his 6yearold son behind in a boarding school in Cincinnati, Ohio. When Ted Turner was in the fifth grade, his father enrolled him in a military academy. Even though Turner had friends at school, it didn't make up for the absence of his parents and sister. Eventually Ted Turner enrolled at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended college off and on, became involved in sailboat racing, and became a member of the U.S. Coast Guard for a while. In his early twenties, he became general manager of one of his father's branch offices -- the Turner Advertising Company in Macon, Georgia. Two years later after his father's suicide, Ted Turner took over the company. He soon discovered that he was more skilled than his father in managing the business. During the next twenty years, Ted Turner worked hard to accumulate enough power and money to fulfill his father's dream. Reflecting on his father's death, however, Ted Turner realized that it was dangerous to put too much emphasis on material possessions. He decided to use his hard-earned influence to serve the public. Concerned about the environment, Ted Turner established the Better World Society in 1985. The purpose of this organization was to produce documentaries to educate people about pollution, hunger, and the danger of building weapons of mass destruction. In 1986 Turner began sponsoring the Goodwill Games to promote world peace. The Turner Tomorrow Awards were created to encourage writers and thinkers to focus their attention on solving world problems. The Turner Family Foundation was established in 1992. As a student in a military academy, Turner _ . All over the world, the global diet includes fast food--prepared items from inexpensive restaurants, snack bars, or food stands. Some examples of American fast food are hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fried chicken, and so on. Some types of international fast foods might be German sausage and Schnitzel, Italian pizza, Japanese sushi and tempura, Chinese eggrolls and noodles and the like. The variety of fast foods all over the world is growing. Even so, this kind of style is becoming worldwide. Fast-food places usually prepare and serve the items quickly. Many are part of fast-food chains (eating places with the same name and company owner). For example, the biggest and most famous American fast-food chain serves hamburgers in nearly every part of the world. For several reasons, many people choose fast food. First, it is quick and convenient. Second, it is cheaper than special home-cooked meals or formal restaurant dinners. And third, it is easy to find every eating place with the same company name. The atmosphere and style of most fast-food places is casual, comfortable, and familiar. Why do other eaters stay away from this fast, easy kind of nourishment? The main reason is its low nutritional value. Fast food doesn't have large amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and the like-elements necessary for good nutrition and health. In contrast , most types of fast food have a lot of fat, sugar, or salt in them. Possibly, these things can cause or increase health disorders, like heart disease, and some kinds of cancer. Recently, these quick and easy kinds of world wide nourishment are generally getting better and more healthful. For example, many fast-food restaurants now have put vegetable items on their menus. Of course, human beings around the world don't always eat in fast-food places.The variety of food choices is large now and is probably going to increase. The number of food preparation methods is growing too. Cooking customs, eating habits, and food preferences all over the world are becoming more healthful. In these and other ways, the global diet is changing. The passage is mainly about _ .
Bowing is a very important custom in Japan. Unlike people in many other countries, they greet each other by bowing instead of shaking hands. It is impolite not to return a bow to whoever bows to you. Bowing has many functions in one. It expresses the feeling of respect, thanks, regret, and so on. You can bow when you say, "thank you", "sorry", "hello", "goodbye", "congratulations", "excuse me", "good morning", and more. Bowing seems simple, but there are different ways of bowing. Bowing techniques vary from a small nod of the head to a long, 90-degree bow. It depends on the social position or age of the person you bow to. If your opposite is of higher social position or older than yourself, you are supposed to bow deeper and longer than him or her. It is polite to bow from your waist. Men usually keep their hands at their sides, and women usually put their hands together on their legs with their fingers touching. If it is not a very formal situation, you can bow by nodding. The most common bow is a bow of about 15 degrees. You might feel strange doing it, but try to bow in Japan. You will be considered very polite! By saying "Bowing has many functions in one", the author means that _ . people can express different feelings by bowing Oprah Winfrey,born in 1954,is all American talk show host,best known for her multiawardwinning talk show. She is also,according to some assessments,the most influential woman in theworld. It's no surprise that her endorsement can bringovernight sales fortune that defeats most,if not all,marketingcampaigns .The star features about 20 products each year On her"Favorite Things" show.There's even a term for it: the Oprah Effect. Her television career began unexpectedly. When she was 16 year old,she had the idea of being a journalist to tell other people's stories in a way that made a difference in their lives and the world.She was on television by the time she was 19 years old. And in 1986 she started her own television show with a continuous determination to succeed at first TIME magazine wrote,"People would have doubted Oprah Winfrey's swift rise to host of The most popular talk show on TV .In a field ruled by white males,she is a black female of big size. As interviewers go,she is no match for,say,what she lacks in journalistic toughness.She makes up for in plainspoken curiosity,rich humor and,above all understanding Guests with sad stories to tell tend to bring out a tear in Oprah's eye .They,in turn,often find themselves exposing things they would not imagine telling anyone,much less a national TV audience." "I was nervous about the competition and then I became my own competition raising the bar every year,pushing,pushing,pushing myself as hard as I knew. It doesn't matter how far you might rise. At some point you are bound to fall if you're constantly doing what we do, raising the bar. If you're constantly pushing yourself higher,higher the law of averages,you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this,remember this:there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction"as Oprah addressed graduates at Harvard on May 30,2013. What can be inferred about Oprah's television career? She must have been challenged by white males. In tough economic times, school counselors don't just wait for students to come to their offices in search of college brochures, health pamphlets or other help. These days, they are looking for at-risk kids to prevent personal or academic troubles before they arise. Nowadays, students and families need the guidance more than ever. Counselors play a steadying role in schools as the economy weighs on families, college admission becomes even more competitive, immigration continues to reshape the population and state-testing pressures many students. They use computers to search through attendance data, grades and standardized test scores for kids who might need extra help. Schlatter, director of guidance and counseling at Prince William County's Woodbridge Senior High School, has checked attendance records against grades and test results to start peer groups for students who are failing classes but not skipping them. She said group counseling is another way to reach more students though it can be difficult. "Kids really do start helping and sharing with each other." At Fairfax High School, counselors found through surveys that students who transferred to the school after ninth grade enjoyed school significantly less than those who had been there all four years. The counseling staff set up a special program and group for new arrivals in response, said Marcy Miller, the school's director of student services. Counseling staff members also have started small study groups for students to prepare for state Standards of Learning exams, which Miller said have helped raise test scores. She said that some of the newest counselors have had some of the freshest ideas. The author uses the example of prefix = st1 /FairfaxHigh Schoolto show that _ . counseling work is obviously effective Ted Turner, achieved high goals and great success by the time he was 43. Best known for his CNN, Ted Turner launched a second nationwide all-news network, Headline News, purchased the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and became the world's best yachtsman at the America's Cup in 1977. In 1982 Ted Turner was named by Forbes one of the 400 richest people in the US. He was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1992. How did Ted Turner accomplish all of this at such a young age? Ted Turner's father, Ed, was a self-made millionaire who demanded that his only son try to achieve similar success. He instilled in the boy a strong belief that hard work was good. Besides reading a new book every two days, Ted Turner was also charged rent at home during summer vacations from boarding school. Ed Turner was a strong influence in his son's life. As a child, Ted Turner lived a very lonely life, often separated from his family. During World War II, his father served in the Navy. Ed Turner took his wife and daughter with him so they could live nearby but left his 6yearold son behind in a boarding school in Cincinnati, Ohio. When Ted Turner was in the fifth grade, his father enrolled him in a military academy. Even though Turner had friends at school, it didn't make up for the absence of his parents and sister. Eventually Ted Turner enrolled at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended college off and on, became involved in sailboat racing, and became a member of the U.S. Coast Guard for a while. In his early twenties, he became general manager of one of his father's branch offices -- the Turner Advertising Company in Macon, Georgia. Two years later after his father's suicide, Ted Turner took over the company. He soon discovered that he was more skilled than his father in managing the business. During the next twenty years, Ted Turner worked hard to accumulate enough power and money to fulfill his father's dream. Reflecting on his father's death, however, Ted Turner realized that it was dangerous to put too much emphasis on material possessions. He decided to use his hard-earned influence to serve the public. Concerned about the environment, Ted Turner established the Better World Society in 1985. The purpose of this organization was to produce documentaries to educate people about pollution, hunger, and the danger of building weapons of mass destruction. In 1986 Turner began sponsoring the Goodwill Games to promote world peace. The Turner Tomorrow Awards were created to encourage writers and thinkers to focus their attention on solving world problems. The Turner Family Foundation was established in 1992. What is CNN according to the passage? It's a broadcast-news company. Ogle owned Greenacre, a tract of land, in fee simple. Five years ago, he executed and delivered to Lilly an instrument in the proper form of a warranty deed that conveyed Greenacre to Lilly "for and during the term of her natural life." No other estate or interest or person taking an interest was mentioned. Lilly took possession of Greenacre and has remained in possession. Fifteen months ago, Ogle died, leaving a will that has been duly admitted to probate. The will, inter alia, had the following provision: "I devise Greenacre to Mina for her natural life and from and after Mina's death to Rex, his heirs and assigns, forever." Administration of Ogle's estate has been completed. Mina claims the immediate right to possession of Greenacre. Rex also asserts a right to immediate possession. In an appropriate lawsuit to which Lilly, Mina, and Rex are parties, who should be adjudged to have the right to immediate possession? Lilly, because no subsequent act of Ogle would affect her life estate.
Last summer Jenny and her friends had a bus trip to New York. She felt very relaxing on the way. They visited a museum. But it's really crowded there and the display were not interesting at all. They went to different restaurants to have dinner. Some food was quite delicious, but Jenny thought the fast food was terrible. When the weather was fine, they went to the beach to swim. The sea was beautiful and they had a good time. Jenny had a bus trip to _ . Answer: the U.S. A student prepares a report on gradual environmental changes. Which is the best topic for this report? Answer: succession that transforms grassland to forest Blood is composed of different cell types that transport nutrients and wastes throughout the body. Because of this, blood is classified as Answer: a tissue. Allow me to introduce you to Terry, a window salesman from England. If I could take you back about 20 years, you'd know Terry as a complete green hand, who was wet behind the ears in just about everything he attempted. _ You know, the kind who could sell snow to Eskimos. Terry's boss decided to send him out on a practical field trip on his first day. So off he went, but he was extremely nervous. With his hands and his knees shaking, he approached the front door and knocked at is. And old woman appeared. After dozens of cups of tea and pieces of biscuits, the woman signed a contract and purchased over $7,000 worth of windows. The woman had already talked with 6 excellent salesmen that week, all of whom offered her cheaper ones! That's right---Terry's price was the most expensive and he was also the most inexperienced salesman there ever was. So, what happened then? Here comes the secret. The woman said she liked the young lad more than the others. That's all there was to it. She didn't care about the extra expense. Even the other salesmen couldn't persuade her to pay less than this young lad was asking for. The truth is that the young lad left on the woman the first impression that shone brighter than any of the salesman's talk. First impressions count, not the sales techniques, not the low prices. The actual "personality" the kid honestly gave was all that was required. If you market your own products and services, consider what impression you are giving to others. If you appeal to them, then you've already done half of the work. If this means redesigning your presentation, then so be it. If this means going out of your way to be polite, helpful and giving the best possible shopping experience to your customers, the so be it. What made the young lad succeed in selling the window to the old woman? Answer: First impression of good personality. Everybody dreams. But only some people remember their dreams. Our dreams often include all the senses--smells, sounds, sights, tastes and things we touch. Early in the twentieth century, two famous scientists developed their personal ideas about dreams. Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud believed people often dream about things they want but can't have. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung worked closely with Freud for several years, but he believed dreams provide solutions to problems we face when we are awake. Other researchers are studying how dreaming helps our bodies work with problems and very sad emotions . Robert Stickgold is a professor of psychiatry . He says that when we dream, the brain is trying to make sense of the world. He does not agree with Sigmund Freud that dreaming is the way we express our hidden feelings and desires . Scientists believe it is important to keep researching dreams. Yet there is still no agreement on exactly how the brain works when we are dreaming or why we dream. In the passage, all the psychiatrists _ . Answer: study dream and dreaming and have their own different ideas
Comfort is comforting, but it might narrow our experience at work -- and beyond. In our modern world, discomfort is considered a terrible thing. If not terrible, at least a thing of the past. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, remote controls--yes, they add convenience, but also a level of comfort our forefathers did not enjoy. As pain of any kind discourages happiness, we tend to reason, anything that compromises our ability to feel good must be bad. And that's also particularly true for our careers. Success makes us feel great, not terrible. Such a view, however, is a matter of personal opinion. And it may blind us to hidden opportunities. Artists throughout history have tried to experience suffering, instinctively if not consciously, to produce works that explore the darker hidden sides of the human condition. This was done, in part, because pain is a reality of life for everybody in some form at some time. Pain is something everybody can relate to. And pain makes a person very present. For such artists, to relieve or to deny pain would be to block the creative thinking, which drives them to explore and express. In fact, Germans have a term for this melancholia, " _ ", which means "suffering from the world." Writers, from Lord Byron to Kurt Vonnegut, have used the term to describe the psychological pain encountered along life's roller-coaster journey. It was not to be avoided; it was to be understood, investigated and employed. So I propose that discomfort is good for us. Or, put another way, it tells us that something needs to be addressed. It stretches us by forcing us to view our circumstances through a wholly different lens. Because we're drawn to safety and security, we do our best to create pleasant comfort zones for ourselves and our loved ones through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the places we work. But by resisting discomfort, we deny ourselves an important opportunity: the chance to shake ourselves out of our predictable perspectives and allow ourselves to make knowledgeable observations we could not possibly have made before. Discomfort gives us fresh eyes. By writing this passage, the author tries to _ . Answer: explain why discomfort is good for us Beginning college is exciting: new ideas to explore, new challenges to meet and many decisions to make.Your future begins here. However, you will find college life is different from your previous school environment. Many of us can be easily overwhelmed by the details of running a well-balanced life.While some of us may have the _ , I guess there are more of us who can benefit from learning about the experiences of others who have walked the college halls before you. The following you may find of use about life on campus. * Plan well.There are so many new things to do at a new college or university.Give yourself time to make new friends and become familiar with the campus, but don't forget why you are there.Give some time for social activities and manage your time wisely. * If you don't have a "system" for planning your time now(like a day timer, a computer data book), get one.Most of all, don't depend on your memory. * Don't miss the guidelines.The restrictions, rules and regulations of all kinds can usually be found in your student handbook.Consider them well-balanced food for thought.What dates are important? What pieces of paper need to be handed in? What can/ can't you do in class? What can/ can't you do in your student residence? Who has right for what? What do you need to complete to graduate? * Write the word "STUDY" on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom, and maybe it will help to write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the telephone, TV and the kitchen table.Consider this--you are paying thousands of dollars for your courses. You pay every time you have to repeat or replace a course. * Build your identity.This is the time for you to decide what to do and what not to do.Take as much time as you need to explore new ideas.Do not be afraid of the beyond.This is learning to make good choices. According to the passage, why is it exciting to begin college life? Answer: Because you prepare for your future career and life there.. A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it "was too crowded." "I can't go to Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by. Seeing her shabby appearance, the pastor guessed the reason, and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday School class. The child was so touched that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus. Some years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor buildings and the parents called for the kindhearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little body was being moved, a worn purse was found which seemed to have been picked up from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note scribbled in childish handwriting which read, "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School." For two years she had saved for this offering of love. When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note, he told people the story of her unselfish love and devotion. A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a Realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands. When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered it for 57 cents. Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000, a huge sum for that time. When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300 and Temple University, where hundreds of students are trained. Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of Sunday scholars, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time. Why did the girl have a purse with 57 cents? Answer: To help build a church big enough for every child to go to. D It was about midday.I'd left work early in the morning to cash a check.I walked along to the bank and found there were only about ten or eleven customers in there, a pretty unusual number for those central banks. I waited until it was my turn, walked up to the desk and started talking to the bank clerk.He had a really strange expression on his face--just sort of a blank stare.I thought he was looking at me until I realized he was staring over my shoulder. I began to turn round to see what he was looking at and at the same moment, the outside bank guard, the one with the machine gun, came flying through the door and lay face down on the floor.Following him through the door were three absolutely frightening men wearing those horrible stocking masks.They were carrying guns; at least the one in front was carrying a pistol. Whether or not they said anything I can't remember to this day, or whether people just automatically put their hands up I don't know.I put my hands up but I just didn't know what to do.For a few moments there was just total silence, suddenly broken by the telephone ringing.I remember wondering who was on the other end of the line.Nobody answered the telephone, so it just kept on ringing and ringing, in this otherwise deathly quiet. Then two of the masked men went to the counter, jumped over it and got the cashiers and bank clerks to start filling their bags with cash.While the two were getting the money, the one at the door covering us with the gun obviously got a bit of an anxiety attack and started swearing at them, telling them to hurry up and get a move on. They jumped back over the counter.One of them lost his balance when he landed on the floor and fell over.The other two swore at him again.Then they left through the door, warning us, "Don't move.Stay like that with your hands up for ten minutes." Then they just disappeared and there was total silence. The man covering us with the gun at the door swore at the other two because _ . Answer: he was too anxious to leave the bank Old Fossils Scientists have found what they think is probably the oldest fossil on Earth, a remnant of life from 3.7 billion years ago when Earth's skies were orange and its oceans green. In a newly melted part of Greenland, Australian scientists found the leftover structure from a community of microbes that lived on an ancient seafloor. Based on their analysis of the fossils, the researchers determined that they are 220 million years older than those discovered in Western Australia, which were 3.48 billion years old. The discovery shows life may have formed quicker and more easily than once thought, about half a billion years after Earth formed. And that may also give hope for life forming elsewhere, such as Mars, said study co-author Martin VanKranendonk of the University of New South Wales and director of the Australian Center for Astrobiology. "It gives us an idea how our planet evolved and how life gained a foothold," VanKranendonk said. Scientists had thought it would take at least half a billion years for life to form after the molten Earth started to cool a bit, but this shows it could have happened quicker, he said. That's because the newly found fossil is far too complex to have developed soon after the planet's first life forms, he said. In an outcrop of rocks that used to be covered with ice and snow which melted after an exceptionally warm spring, the Australian team found stromatolites , which are layered structures that are often produced by a community of microbes. The stromatolites were about 1 to 4 centimeters high. "It is like the house left behind made by the microbes," VanKranendonk said. "Scientists used the layers of ash from volcanoes and tiny zircon with uranium and estimated that they date back to 3.7 billion years ago." The dating seems about right, said Abigail Allwood, a NASA astrobiologist who found the previous oldest fossil, from 3.48 billion years ago, in Australia. But Allwood said she is not completely convinced that what VanKranendonk's team found once was alive. She said the evidence wasn't conclusive enough that it was life and not a geologic quirk . "It would be nice to have more evidence, but in these rocks that's a lot to ask," Allwood said in an email. According to the passage, _ . Answer: the newly found fossils have a history of 3.7 billion years
Question: Which of these dissolve in water? A. Sand grains B. Sugar cubes C. Plastic straws D. Wooden spoons Answer: B. Sugar cubes Question: Advice to "sleep on it" could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night's sleep a problem that couldn't be solved the night before can often appear more manageable. Researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night's sleep can improve insight and problem-solving ability. "If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures them, so that after sleep the insight increases," said Dr Jan Born, a neuroscientist, at the University. To test the discovery, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake. Dr Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. "Sleep helped," Born said in a telephone interview . The important thing is that you have to have a memory description of the problem you want to solve in your brain and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem." But Born admitted that he and his team don't know how restructuring of memories occurs or what controls it. Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the suggestion that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reasons to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added. How did Jan Born and his team carry out the experiement ? A. Through comparison. B. Through interview. C. Trough talking D. Through imagination. Answer: A. Through comparison. Question: He had travelled thousands of miles in the hope of earning some money, but 18-year old Lin Kongming never knew danger was waiting for him. He and six other migrant workers from Fujian Province spent 36 hours in Iraq as international hostages . But luckily, they were set free last Tuesday morning, unharmed by the people who had taken them hostages. After hard work by Chinese diplomats in the region, the Iraqi kidnappers agreed to hand them over to a local religious group. "The friendly relations between the Chinese and Iraqi people have played a key role in the release of the hostages," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. China refused to join the US-led coalition in the Iraqi war. Since April 4, over 60 hostages from 12 countries, including America, Italy and Japan, have been taken in Iraq. Some have been released, others were killed. The Iraqi resistance groups have started taking foreigners hostages in an attempt to force the US-led troops out of their country. As a result, many foreigners have left, fearing the situation will get worse. Some nations are also considering removing their troops from Iraq. Thailand has ordered its forces not to leave their camp and may bring them home before September as originally planned. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is considering similar action. But Dan Senor, spokesman for the US-led coalition in Baghdad, said that it would not negotiate with "terrorists or kidnappers" to get hostages released. The passage mainly tells us _ . A. the hostage crisis in Iraq B. foreigners were not welcome in Iraq C. the Chinese hostages were set free D. keeping away from Iraq is a wise choice Answer: C. the Chinese hostages were set free Question: Hydrochloric acid is added to a beaker containing a piece of zinc. As a result, zinc chloride is formed and hydrogen gas is released. This is an example of A. a chemical reaction B. a physical change C. photosynthesis D. evaporation Answer: A. a chemical reaction Question: Mark Twain was my hero when I was nine because that was when I discovered Tom Sawyer. But even at the height of my admiration, I couldn't agree with him that Anne, the main character inAnne of Green Gables, was "the dearest and most loveable child in fiction since the best-known Alice". I had readAnne of Green Gables as well asTom Sawyer, and she had made me as sick as a dog. Another Mark Twain's quote will explain my problem. He said, "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant that I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." I gradually understood his words as growing up. When I picked up the book again a few years later, I too was astonished at how much it had improved--and shortly afterwards shocked by the fact that not only could I be a fool in all sporting, artistic and practical matters, I could also be so when it came to reading too. On rereading, then, I learned that Anne is indeed a dear and most lovable child. I couldn't help adoring the girl who insists that her name be spelled with the "e" instead of Ann as she believes that is "so much more distinguished." She is a brave and determined survivor of a severe upbringing who has refused to let her circumstances crush her spirit. She arrives at Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert's farm with everything unfavorable--orphaned, unwanted and her biggest trouble of red-hair and freckled face. However, she gets along well, through her strange way of seeing things, through her honest love of beauty and lovable attempts to master her unreasonable desires. She finally wins over the Cuthberts, their neighbors and millions of readers who have met her over the 101 years since the book was first published. When I settle down with it these days, I've come to see the truth in Mark Twain's praise for the book, and this reminds me of the great truth that you are never too young to start rereading. By referring to Mark Twain's remark on his father, the writer wants to prove that _ . A. people's attitude may change B. learning can change a person C. the relationships between people can improve D. young people never make correct judgments Answer: A. people's attitude may change
Have you ever gone to work to find that one of your coworkers is coughing and sneezing all day long? You do your best to keep a safe distance and wonder:Why did he or she come to work when they were ill? The reality for many Americans is that they do not have enough paid sick time each year to afford them the luxury of staying home because they don't feel well. This problem doesn't just affect the working employees who are sick,though.In an article by James Warren for Bloomberg Business Week, a second-grade school teacher, Stilli Klikizos shares about the sick children that must stay in school all day long because their parents can't get off work to come and get them.In the past school year, she had several children who were unable to be picked up at school who were later diagnosed with H1N1. There is a movement called the Healthy Families Act in Congress that would change rids situation for many Americans.The Healthy Family Act would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide 7 paid sick days a year for their workers, These days could be used not only for days when the worker is sick, but the time can also be used when caring for others,or going to routine doctor's appointments. Those who are against the Act argue that many businesses are struggling to make ends meet owing to recession ,and point out that this is the wrong time to force employers to add an additional expense. Those who support the Healthy Families Act say that our nation can't afford to not take these measures. When an individual goes to work sick, they are possibly infecting their coworkers,clients and customers. According to a report by Katie Couric on the CBS evening news,three fourths of low wage earners _ when they are on sick leave.Those individuals include daycare workers and restaurant workers,whose health can affect the health of many. In the article mentioned in this passage,James Warren intends to say _ . adults'not having enough paid sick time may be bad for children Now the game Angry Birds has become more and more popular with the young and the old. I'm sure you also enjoy it a lot. But is it too small to play the game on your mobile phone or on your computer? Do you want to visit a park where you can find some bigger birds and pigs? As this picture shows, Angry Birds has now become much bigger. Copying the action of the real computer game, players pull a real catapult and shoot Angry Birds toys at green piggy balloons. I think that must be very exciting to touch such big birds. Angry Birds Land recently opened inside Sarkanniemi Amusement Park in Tampere, Finland . It is the first Angry Birds theme park in the world. Finland is a country in northern Europe. And then other countries will copy Finland's example. The UK government says that they plan to build Angry Birds theme parks in the UK. What's more, you can see such theme parks not only in the UK, but also in other countries. The game, Angry Birds, is created by the Finnish company Rovio. _ agrees to help build the theme parks all over the world. What's the best title for this passage? Angry Birds Flying to Theme Parks. Advertising can be a service to the customer. This is true when advertisements give reliable information about the goods advertised. Such information is needed if the customer is to make a sensible choice when he buys. It is useful in that it lets him know of the kinds of goods in the shops. Printed advertisements do this job best. Customers can collect them and compare them. They can be taken along to shops and their claims can be checked against the actual goods in the shops. however, some advertisements are not very useful to the customer. Instead of helping him to satisfy his real needs, they set out to make him want things. They set out to create a need. These advertisements are cleverly done. The people who produce them understand our weaknesses. They set out to make us believe that what they advertise will make us cleverer, prettier and more handsome, if only we use it. Actually, it is our money they are after and we should be on guard. Some advertisements mislead customers by using part of the truth to suggest something false, and it is skillfully made to give that idea to the careless reader, listener or viewer. At its best advertising can be useful to the customer. At its worst it can mislead him. Many newspapers check on the goods for which the advertisements made claims. Most newspapers are very careful about the small advertisements, which try to sell goods directly to the readers by post. Many newspapers print information about this on their small advertisement pages. Advertising has become a very big business, and good firms in it do all they can to make sure it is conducted with some attention to truth. This is a help to the customer. But the best way is for customers to be on the lookout. It can be inferred from the passage that advertisements can be useful if they _ . give true information about goods The 115-year-old prestigious Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like "shanzhai" "youtiao" and "fangnu", as part of the modern Chinese language. As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever evolving, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet vibrant language. For instance, the word "shanzhai" is used to describe the countless knockoffs of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos. Another new term in the new edition is the word "fangnu", or a "mortgage slave" --a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities whereby well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage. All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week. The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month. This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation.Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China--the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press--worked together on the project.According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary's chief editor, most of the firm's editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers. "We don't want to make it florid(, we want it to be modern and conversational...many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use," said Kleeman. "The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago...Precise, native and practical--that is our core advantage," she said. Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace. The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide. The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready "as soon as possible", Kleeman said. According to the above passage, we learn that _ . well-educated youth in China's big cities have difficulty buying houses Dear Mr. Wang, Someone comes to the office to see you in the morning, but you and your wife are out. He comes here at 10am. Because he is very busy, he goes away half an hour later. He tells me that he is your classmate at college . Now he teaches Chinese in a high school in this city and he lives near the No. 6 Middle School. He is a very tall man with short hair. He wears a pair of glasses. He tells me his telephone number is 33426685. He is often at home at 7:00 pm. So you can call him in the evening. Mr. Wang's classmate is _ . a teacher
If you go to England, you may want to visit Big Ben. Big Ben is not the name of a man but a name of the clock in London. It has a long history of about 150 years. It is at the north end of the Palace of Westminster . The big clock has four faces. So you can read the face of the chock everywhere.The hands of it are about four meters long.When the new year comes, it _ to welcome the start of the new year. There are also many fireworks over the clock tower. The big clock makes a very loud sound "Ding dong.Ding dong"-the clock gives the sound every 15 minutes of an hour. Which of the following is True about Big Ben? It's in the UK. As a result of British colonial rule, English language is the second most widely spoken language in India after the Hindi. Though it appears to be a second language, there is no question about its immense growth over the years in Indian history. It is the main language accepted and spoken in the fields of business and education across all places in India. India is ranked the third largest English-speaking population in the world besides the US and the UK. English writing has blossomed in India and has reached a peak where Indian writers like Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie were able to distinguish themselves in the whole world. Many Indian authors bring out books on Indian culture and literature. Shobha De, a famous fashion and lifestyle columnist is one of the important writers to be mentioned who have paved the way for others to follow suit. Quite a few newspapers like The Hindu, Times of India and Indian Express have increased the popularity and acceptance of English in India greatly. They have played an important role in spreading English in all comers of the country. One of the major contributors in promoting English language development in India is the education system. Private schools and colleges play a major role in preparing students with spoken and written skills in English. The standard is so high that we can see young students actively taking part in group discussions and quiz competitions to show their talents all over the world. Indian movies don't lag behind . There are so many English movies that come out of India every year. The world's movie capital is not Hollywood but Bollywood, which is the nickname for the Indian film industry located in Mumbai. Movies like Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding have great international influence. The author shows the development of English language in India from many fields EXCEPT _ . the government As students and teachers returned to school on Monday after the publication of performance ratings for 18,000 teachers, many parents said they were giving the reports serious thought. Yet there was an equal measure of skepticism among parents that test scores have any relationship with teachers' competence. Some said they already knew how good a teacher was by walking into the classroom or by monitoring their children's progress. "I'm the kind of person who likes to see for themselves," a father in Queens said. Others worried about how their fellow parents, perhaps ones _ , might respond. Will they demand a new teacher? Move their children to a new school? Elizabeth Sane, the mother of a fourth grader at the Ella Baker School, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school on the Upper East Side, said that her daughter was switched to a different teacher's class over the summer, and that it was "like adding salt to the wound" when she saw the high ratings for her daughter's previous teacher. Her daughter's teacher this year did not receive a rating because he previously taught high school. Ms. Sane said that the rating was not the only factor that influenced how she assessed a teacher's performance, but that the data used for teacher evaluations mattered. But other parents dropping their children off at the Ella Baker School said they did not trust teacher ratings based on test scores any more than they wanted their children's learning measured only by the state exams. "Some people take it as the final word, but it doesn't change who they are as teachers. The ratings aren't accurate, and the whole student testing thing needs to be thrown out," said Lydia Delgado, whose child is in the second grade. Which of the following statements is true? The teacher ratings were decided by the test scores of the students. Very soon a computer will be able to teach you English. It will also be able to translate any language for you,too. It's just one more incredible result of the development of microprocessors - those tiny parts of a computer commonly known as "silicon chips". So give up going to classes, stop buying more textbooks and relax. In a couple of years you won't need the international language of English. Already Texas Instruments in the United States is developing an electronic translation machine. Imagine a Spanish secretary, for example, who wants to type a letter from the boss to a businessman in Sweden. All he or she will have to do is this: first type the letter in Spanish. The letter will appear on a television screen. After a few seconds the translated letter will appear on another television screen in Stockholm in perfect Swedish. And that's not all. Soon a computer will be able to teach you English, if you really want to learn the language. You'll sit in front of a television screen and practice endless structures. The computer will tell you when you are correct and when you are wrong. It will even talk to you because the silicon chips can change electrical impulses into sounds. And clever programmers can predict the responses you, the learner, are likely to make. So think of it.You will be able to teach yourself at your own pace.You will waste very little time,and you can work at home.And if after all that,you still can't speak English,you can always use the translating machine.In a few years,therefore,perhaps there will be no need for BBC Modern English,or BBC English by Radio programmes - no more textbooks or teachers of English.Instead of buying an exciting new textbook,the computer will ask you to replace it with a microprocessor.Fast,reliable and efficient language learning and translating facilities will be available to you.Think of that,no more tears or embarrassing moments.One little problem is that a computer can't laugh yet - but the scientists are working on it.Happy learning! According to the writer, "you won't need the international language of English" because _ . the computer will be able to translate any language for you Nick is a knight . But he doesn't like to ride and he doesn't like to fight. Nick likes to read and write, and he likes to knit . One night, there was a knock at the door. "I need you to fight a dragon !" cried King Kareen. "But I'm the wrong kind of knight!" said Nick. "I don't like to fight." "Never mind! Hurry up!" cried the King. "The dragon is in my bed!" said the King. Nick's knees were knocking. He lifted the blanket and saw a little dragon. "I'm freezing." The dragon said. Nick quickly started knitting. He knitted a coat, some long socks and some pants for the dragon. The dragon was glad. "Thank you!" he said and off he went. "I think you're the right kind of knight!" said the king. Why were Nick's knees knocking ? Because Nick was _ too frightened
Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom. "Notre Dame," it said. " _ !" Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big trouble. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are figuring out the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home. This year, money is the driving factor for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and house prices have changed family spending. "We're excited that Mike got into eight great schools," said Mike's father, an engineer at Microsoft. "But if you consider going to school out of state, you've got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You're looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel." As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased. Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York. "The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD," said Rachel, 17. "My mom doesn't want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don't want that either. I'd have to take out a loan of $15,000. I'll check and see if there's any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid." More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, 19.9 percent increase over last year. This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000. What can we learn from the passage? Answer: Children are missing an important part of their education because parents cannot afford their after-school activities. Half of parents in Wales are saying"no"to after-school activities because they cannot afford them according to a poll for Save the Children. The government said providing free or subsidized leisure activities for children from poorer background is essential to reducing child poverty in the UK. Of those who pay for activities, Save the Children said almost half of parents had to pay more than PS10 per child per week. Many parents were paying more than $20 per week, the survey found. "What happens after the school gates close at 3:30 pm is just as _ as what goes on in the school day,"said Sally Copley at Save the Children. "Children who do after-school activities have more confidence, see the world in different ways and have a stronger sense of identity . All this finally translates into doing better in exams and getting a better career." Half of parents in Wales of 4-to-18-year-olds said their child did some form of sporting activity, the most popular pastime . Other popular choices included drama/dance (26%), Brownies/Scouts (18%)and music lessons(13%). Almost a third of parents said activities they would like their child to take part in were located more than six miles from where they lived. Save the Children said its research highlighted that children from poorer backgrounds did not have the same chances as their better-off friends. Many local governments have offered a wide range of after-young people in their area. The Welsh Assembly Government's community-focused schools programme supports local education authorities to develop a range of out-of-school-hours learning opportunities and childcare for children and young people. The government should _ to reduce child poverty according to the passage. Answer: Neighbors rescued a woman from her burning home early Monday morning,and three firefighters were hurt putting out the flames in Green Bay. The fire was discovered around 4 o'clock at a three-story home in the South Quincy Street on the city's east side. Investigators say 68-year-old Mary Taylor lives there with her two dogs. "I got out of bed and went to the front window and could hear somebody was yelling ,'Fire!'" Curt Dworak said.When he realized what was happening, he threw on some clothes and ran to help. "I was just hoping Mary wasn't in there, ,so I just reacted," he said, "I just broke the glass and then went in through the window." Dworak yelled for Mary but got no response. As he searched,the fire grew and debris started falling around him. I didn't know what to do. I yelled for her a couple more times,and then I heard her. Disoriented and unable to move, Mary was sprawling on the floor in the back of her house,so Dworak picked her up and carried her to safety. Dworak, who has been as a hero by Green Bay Fire Department but shrugged of the praise,said,"They would have done the same thing. Mary is a nice lady,and how could you live with yourself if you didn't do something like that?" Mary was up and talking before she was taken to the hospital to be checked out. Dworak escaped without a thin cut. As soon as Dworak realized there was a big fire,he _ . Answer: As De Witt Wallace lay in bed recovering from injuries that he unfortunately came by in World War I, he found there was a wealth of interesting information to read. Realizing few people would have the time to get through all this information, he knew exactly what to do. In 1920, this young American submitted a sample magazine containing shortened articles to publishers across America. However, all turned him down. Undeterred, De Witt and his new bride Lila Bell Acheson published the first issue of Reader's Digest in February 1922. Working from home, the Wallaces printed 5,000 copies, which were sold by mail to 1,500 people and priced at 25 cents. From these humble beginnings grew the world's most widely-read magazine. The magazine became popular and, by 1935, sales topped one million. In 1938, the first international edition was published in the United Kingdom. During World War II, editions were published for the first time in Latin America and Sweden. After the war Reader's Digest moved into Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. In 1950, Reader's Digest published its shortened Books (now known as Select Editions in Australia). In 1959, music, the first non-print product line, was introduced. In 1962, Reader's Digest revolutionized direct mail by introducing easy-to-enter Sweepstakes and a year later the first Reader's Digest general book was published. In 1986, video was added to the Reader's Digest product line. In 1973, the Wallaces gave up active management of Reader's Digest. De Witt died in 1981, aged 91; Lila in 1984, aged 94. With no heirs to the Wallace empire to take control, Reader's Digest became a public company in the early 1990s and is now headed by a Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board. When did De Will make his first trial of the magazine? Answer: Every five minutes my children ask me for the "latest thing". They tell me that all their friends have it already and they can't live without it. Our house is full of Game Boys, Play Station CDs and a million other "latest things". But, the one "latest things" we have refused to buy is a mobile phone. Our twelve-year-old son wants one, and we've said "no". He says he'll only use it for texting and he really needs it for emergencies. We don't want him to have a mobile phone, because it may be bad for children's health. Unfortunately, when I say, "As your father, I don't want you to have a mobile phone, because you might get a brain tumour ," he tells me that he doesn't mind. Why do twelve-year-old boys only want things that are bad for them? We've already told him that he can't listen to rap music--the words are disgusting . And I've said no to beer with his meals. Right now I'm saying no to everything. Then a few weeks ago he asked for something called a BB gun. He says everybody's got one. Of course they have. He shows me a website full of them and tells me it only fires plastic pellets . Finally, I say yes. I can't believe I've said no to phones and yes to guns. In October our son becomes a teenager, and I pray that research will find that mobile phones are safe...even better, that young people may become less moody--and more interested in personal hygiene . Until _ , I'm saying no. Why do the children want "latest things" so much? Answer:
Baymax, a new Disney character, has made everyone like him and want to hug him. The big robot is from the Disney movie--- Big hero 6. He lives with a fourteen-year-old smart boy called Hiro Hamada. Baymax has helped Hiro get through hard times after Hiro's elder brother died in an accident. Soon Hiro finds that some bad people are behind his brother's death and want to take the city. To stop it , he uses his high-tech gadgets and turns Baymax and his four other friends into super heroes. The movie has received very good feedback . In February, the movie won the best animation feature of the 87thOscar Awards. Baymax has become popular thanks to his big soft body and his comforting voice. People say his love can be found on the screen. Mothers in Japan have started to make Baymax-sharped white rice balls for children. In China, fans warmly call him "the big white". The friendship between Baymax and Hiro makes many people cry in the cinema. As a nursing robot, Baymax is never designed to be a super hero. He dares to love you without expecting anything for himself. I think we all love him because of his love. What do Chinese people call Baymax? Answer: The big white. Why doesn't the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can't find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that's not the case. Not now and not ever. On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus. Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don't find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes . It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it. So what would today's Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians' lowering joblessness? Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as "a complete surprise" though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, "is very much based on our work," he said. "One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don't lose their feel for the labor force," Pissarides told reporters in London. "The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training - it could be as simple as providing work experience." According to Pissarides, _ is effrctive in dealing with unemployment. Answer: providing work experience 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. How do people look at messy environment according to the conventional wisdom? Answer: Messy environment can block one' s mind. I was late on my first day of high school. My next class, Spanish, scared me. As the second bell rang in the hallway, I ran to the door of the classroom. At the door, a hand reached out and shook mine firmly. I looked up. A man smiled and introduced himself as Profe, which means teacher or professor in Spanish. Right away, his warm smile and welcoming words eased my fears. I enjoyed his classes a great deal because I learned more than just Spanish. I admit I only speak a little Spanish. But I try to live out the life lessons I learned from Profe every day. "Everyone is worth your time. " Profe stood outside his classroom door every day before and after class. During lunch, his room was always filled with students. He would stay after school to listen to and chat with students. He taught me that every person is special. "Don't fear the difficulties." One time, I ran into his class crying. My friends had _ me, and I wasn't even sure why they always left me alone. Profe told me, "Linda, life gives you ashes . But learning its lessons will turn those ashes to jewels. The hard stuff will help you become a better person." I learned to look at my troubles differently because I know I'll grow in difficult times. A year ago. I visited my old high school hoping to see Profe. But he had retired. My high school helped me contact him. Now we stay in touch through e-mail. The author William Arthur Ward wrote: "The ordinary teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher shows. The great teacher inspires. " Thank you, Profe, for inspiring me. Profe was a teacher of _ . Answer: Spanish Japan's All Nippon Airways, which has asked passengers to visit the toilet before boarding to help the environment, said Tuesday it will fit its jets with a women-only lavatory . ANA will introduce one female-only toilet per aircraft on international flights next month after a survey of women fliers identified it was the second most attractive service they wished for after being offered desserts. The rest of the toilets onboard will be for men and women as usual. "We received many comments that having a women-only lavatory would be a factor in differentiating our airline from others," said an NAN spokesman. "Many women said that they feel uncomfortable taking their time in the lavatory knowing that a male is waiting just behind them in line," he said. The spokesman denied that the new service was introduced following complaints about men soiling the bathrooms, telling reporters: "Those opinions may exist, but we do not have that data on hand". Since 2006 ANA has pursued a one - month awareness campaign each year in which it asks fliers on 38 flights and four international flights to visit the bathroom before boarding to reduce their body weight and therefore cut he plane's carbon-dioxide emissions. The airline is also planning to install "washlets" in it's aircraft-electric toilet seats with water sprays for washing-a common sight in Japan and generally a source of amusement for first-time visitors and users. The "washlets" will be installed in the Boeing777-300ER,due to begin operating in April, and the Boeing 787 fleet set to start flying this year. According to the passage, which of the following statement is not true? Answer: The rest of the toilets on international flights will be for men only.
Ask a group of elderly people what it was about their lives that made them happiest overall, and they'll probably mention some warm relationships with family and friends. If you're satisfied with your social life, according to psychologists, you tend to be satisfied with life in general. From the point of my 50s, I'd say that sounds about right. Some of my happiest moments are the ones I spend with my husband, a few close relatives, and a handful of very good friends who know me well and like me anyway. But the more I read about how social media are interfering with good old-fashioned friendship, creating virtual bonds that can't quite take the place of real ones, the more I wonder just how today's 20-somethings will look back on their own lives when they're my age. After all, much crucial relationship building work is done in the 20s. According to research by the late Bernice Neugarten of the University of Chicago, who helped launch the academic study of human development, people choose most of their adult relationships, both friends and lovers, between the ages of 22 and 28. The friends we make in our 20s are not only best friends forever; they're also our first truly chosen friends. And choosing how to commit to these friendships is an essential psychological task of the 20s. But with so much of friendship in this age group now being developed online, an essential question is what the effect of that interaction is. A study, conducted in 2010 by Craig Watkins and Erin Lee of the University of Texas at Austin, investigated the Facebook habits of 776 young people between the ages of 18 and 35. "Whether it is a wall post, a comment, or a photo," they wrote, "young people's engagement with Facebook is driven, primarily, by a desire to stay connected to and involved in the lives of friends who live close by, far away, or have just entered into their lives." This kind of constant contact can be efficient, but it can also be upsetting. For one thing, it adds a new layer of concern to a young person's already-heightened awareness of social ranking, giving appearance-conscious young people yet another thing to worry about. "I see other 20-somethings feeling pressured to constantly keep up a public image, especially a public image online," wrote Ariana Allensworth on the group blog. "Folks are always keeping the world informed one way or another about what they're up to, where they're at, what projects they're working on. It can be a bit much at times." Not the most fertile ground for real-world friendship. According to the passage, the 20s is an age for people to _ . A. have a good public image B. keep themselves informed C. look back on their own lives D. develop critical relationships Answer: D. develop critical relationships Mr. Backer is a kind-hearted man. Once he gave some food to a poor woman . Mr White, the boss of the restaurant, found it and became angry. He often gave the leftovers to some poor workers. Mr. Backers lost his work for it. It was difficult for him to find work in the small country though he was an able cook. The war made all stop. Children couldn't go to school, most shops were closed, even some farmers were hungry. Some people were made to leave their houses and they had to find the safe places. It was an autumn night. Mr Backer hadn't any food to eat and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep, because he was very hungry . suddenly he heard a noise in his room. He saw a man looking for something useful there. He said nothing and watched it carefully. At last the man took a few old clothes out of a broken paper box and took them away. He got up from his bed quickly and followed him gently , with his _ on his back. The man didn't find him and went into a small and wet house. Mr. Backer also went in and saw there was nothing in the room. The thief saw him and was surprised. He asked, "What did you come here for?" "You have carried my things here," said Mr. Backer. "I have to move here, too!" _ , so the people in the small country got into trouble. A. The war broke out B. It didn't rain C. Children couldn't go to school D. Shops and factories were closed Answer: A. The war broke out When doctors urge overweight kids to pick up more activities,reading probably isn't what they have in mind. Yet a new study by fatness researchers at Duke University finds that the simple act of reading--depending on the choice of material--can cause weight loss in teenage girls. The study's experimental group included 31 fat girls aged 9 to 13,who took part in the Healthy Lifestyles Program at Duke Children's Hospital. The girls read a novel called Lake Rescue,whose protagonist is an overweight teenager who struggles with low selfesteem,feelings of loneliness and teasing because of her size. A group of 33 girls read a different book called Charlotte in Paris,which did not have an overweight character,and another group of 17 girls read neither book. At the end of the sixmonth experiment,all the girls who read books had lost weight,but the girls who read Lake Rescue lost more. They lowered their body mass index (BMI) by 0.71,compared with 0.33 in the Charlotte group,an average 0.05 increase among the nonreaders. The idea behind the study,says Dr Sarah Armstrong,director of Healthy Lifestyles,was to find a way to encourage the girls without adopting the restrictive and often authoritative voice of so many other nutrition and diet programs. Lake Rescue was the perfect instrument,says Armstrong;it presents a likable character to whom the girls could relate and whom they could learn from. As the book progresses,its protagonist learns to make healthier lifestyle choices and finds an adviser to help keep her on track. Armstrong says," _ learns that she can become healthier,and the 'I can do it' feeling resonates with the teenage girls." In which part of a newspaper can we read the above passage? A. Education. B. Entertainment. C. Health. D. Advertisement. Answer: C. Health. About five hundred years ago, an earthquake happened in a small village. Luckily for them, it didn't destroy anything and no one was hurt. But a large stone fell from a nearby mountain and stopped in the middle of the road. When the earthquake stopped, many people came to the road and saw the stone. Some of the strongest men wanted to move it away, they tried again and again but at last they failed. "Well," they said sadly ,"there's nothing we can do about it, we'll have to change the way." At this time a boy of 12 years old said , " I think I can move the stone away." "You?" all the strong men laughed at the boy, "What are you talking about ?" The next morning people were all surprised to see that the stone was gone. It wasn't on the road any longer and it wasn't even near the road. The boy smiled and said "I _ it." The people looked rather surprised. "You see," he said , "I dug a deep hole next to the stone and I dug a small incline up to the stone and the stone rolled down into the hole itself. Then I covered it with earth. "The villagers shouted "Clever boy! Clever boy!" and some of them said, " Why didn't we think out this good idea ?" From the story, we can see that _ . A. the boy was stronger than the villagers B. the villagers were not clever at all. C. the boy was very good at thinking D. the boy also laughed at the strong men Answer: C. the boy was very good at thinking Preparations are underway around the world for Chinese New Year (Feb 19) and celebrations in China will be mirrored across the planet wherever the Chinese Diaspora calls home. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to mark the day. London Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London's Chinatown is a perfectly formed little firework that knows how to see in the year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns , previous years have seen shows with acrobatics , martial arts , dance and opera nearby. San Francisco San Francisco's Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the United States. The city was the main entry-point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between the Grant Avenue and the Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge. Bangkok With a more than 100-year-old history, the Thai capital's Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty treats, clothes, toys and antiques. Sunday market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road. Mauritius Found in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation's rich multicultural diversity. Established in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During the Chinese Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the Dragon Dances on Rue Royale when Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional Lion dances through the streets. If you want to enjoy the Dragon Dances, you can go to _ . A. Rue Royale in Port Louis, Mauritius B. the Sunday market in Bangkok C. the Grant Avenue in San Francisco D. the Chinese community in London Answer: A. Rue Royale in Port Louis, Mauritius
With little rain, ancient Egyptians relied mostly on the Nile River to water their crops, so they could only grow certain kinds of food. They mainly grew wheat and barley . The Egyptians made the wheat into bread, soup and porridge, and they also added hops to make the barley into beer. In fact, some people think that the Egyptians would not have begun growing grain if they hadn't liked beer so much. Many Egyptian models of beer jars have been found, which the Egyptians put into graves of dead people so that they would have beer in the next world. The Egyptians also ate meat. They went to a butcher shop and bought meat there, just as people do today. But because it rarely rains in Egypt, they could have the meat outside in the yard of the store instead of inside. Click on the left and you will see a model of a butcher shop, which was also found in somebody's grave. Can you see the different cuts of meat all laid out? There is a whole leg of mutton at the very bottom. However, Egyptians thought pigs carried infectious disease. They ate beef, mutton, duck and goose. For dessert, the Egyptians had a great interest in dates. Here is a picture of some real Egyptian dates which were put into people's graves for them to eat in the next world, and which were kept in the dry climate for three thousand years until archaeologists dug them up. Archaeologists have also found seeds which show that the Egyptians grew watermelon and other kinds of melon. Where is this passage most probably taken from? Answer: Mr. Robinson had to travel somewhere on business and as he was in a hurry, he decided to go by air. He liked to sit beside a window when he was flying. So, when he got on to the plane, he looked for a window seat. He found all of them had already been taken except one. There was a soldier sitting in the seat beside this one and Mr. Robinson was happy that he had not taken the one by the window; but, anyhow, he at once went towards it. When he reached it, however, he saw there was a notice on it. It was written in ink and said "This seat is reserved for proper load balance. Thank you." Mr. Robinson had never seen such a notice in a plane before, but he thought that the plane must be carrying something heavy in its baggage room which made it necessary to have the passengers properly balanced, so he walked on and found another empty seat, not beside a window, to sit in. Then, when the plane was quite full, a very beautiful girl stepped into the plane. The soldier quickly took the notice off the seat beside him and in this way succeeded in having the girl beside him during the whole trip. In the end Mr. Robinson found out that _ . Answer: At a few minutes past five, Dave noted that the blanket of darkness was lifting. He was just able to make out the heavier masses that eventually appeared as the familiar trees that lined the road at the base of the hill. The upper reaches of the sky showed lighter shades of gray. Dave got out of bed quietly and dressed quickly. He mixed a spoonful of instant chocolate into a glass of cold water, and his impatience forced him to finish the drink in gulps. As he walked down toward the lake, Dave paused to reach for the fishing pole and gear box on the bench where he had left them the night before. By the time he reached the small boat, a thick white mist had spread over the surface of the water. He stepped into the boat, sat down, and rowed out of the weed beds that lined the edge of the shore. The outer fringe of the lake disappeared as the boat moved forward noiselessly. All he could see was the enveloping whiteness. He could not tell where the boat and the surrounding air met the surface of the lake. Dave rowed steadily ahead, relying on a mental picture of the surroundings. Then the mist began to rise, slowly. _ soon rested inches above the still surface of the lake. The heavy silence was now being broken by the fish breaking through the surface as they leaped out of the water for low-flying insects. The magic time had arrived. Dave raised his pole. Dawn was broken. He was excited with expectancy. Dave got up early in the morning to _ . Answer: Once upon a time,there were two good friends.One was called Jack and the other was called James.One day,the two friends were walking through the desert.During the journey they had a quarrel,and Jack couldn't control himself and hit James in the face.James felt hurt,but he didn't say anything.Instead,he wrote in the sand,"Today my best friend Jack hit me in the face." They kept on walking until they found an oasis .They decided to get some water there.Suddenly James had trouble in the water,he fell into the mire and was in danger.Jack saved him at once.When he felt all right,he wrote on a stone,"Today my best friend Jack saved my life."Jack was very surprised and asked James,"After I hurt you,you wrote in the sand and now you write on the stone.Why?"James replied,"When someone hurts us,we should write it down in the sand so that the wind of forgiveness can blow it away.But when someone does anything good for us,we must write it on the stone,so no wind can blow it away." Since then,the two good friends have never quarreled with each other again and they got on better with each other. Hatred can bring you nothing but unhappiness.If you don't forgive others,you are making trouble for yourself Keep a peaceful heart all the time and remember to be always thankful to others! Which of the statements is NOT true according to the passage? Answer: As China's influence grows, many students in the US are working hard to learn Chinese. Parents and education experts in the US think Chinese speakers may have greater chances. The number of schools that teach Chinese has grown. Ten years ago, only about 300 schools in the US had Chinese lessons. Today, about 1,600 schools teach Chinese. Lomond Elementary School in Ohio is one of them. Each week, all students in grades one through five have a one-hour Chinese class. They learn the language through songs, games and lots of talking. "We're trying to make students interested in the language," teacher James told Times for Kids. "We think it's really important that all children receive these lessons," he says. "We'd like to do even more." "Schools are looking to the future," says Nancy, a US education expert. "China is becoming a really powerful country. Young people should not only know the language but understand the culture." Students may not be thinking about the future, but they think learning Chinese language and culture is fun. "We wish we could go to China one day." said Karl and his classmate, Walt, from Miami. More than 40 million foreigners around the world are studying Chinese. About 50,000 people in the US are learning the language. Chinese has become the second most spoken foreign language in the US after Spanish. We can learn from the passage that _ . Answer:
When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P.T.Barmum. Mr Barmum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together. He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England. During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five. Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barmum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married. The ceremony and reception were _ They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests. Crowds filled the streets ofprefix = st1 /New Yorkto have a look at their tiny wedding carriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house inConnecticut. Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade , communities throughout the country sponsored "Tom Thumb"weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremonies for fun. Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because _ . A the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom were tap dancing B it made Tom feel taller C the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted D the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller Answer: D Miss Li is my English teacher. She is from Shanghai. She has one English class every day. Oh, no! She has two English classes on Tuesday. Miss Li has two daughters. One is in our class, Class Two. Sally likes sports. She plays soccer every day. Her favorite soccer player is Ronaldo from Brazil . Sally's twin sister Susan is in Class One. She doesn't like any subjects. She doesn't like to do her homework. She only likes playing with her friend, Jeff. Jeff is a white cat. Miss Li is from _ . A England B Brazil C America D China Answer: D What was the origin of the oil which now drives our motorcars and aircraft? Scientists are confident about the formation of coal, but they do not seem so sure when asked about oil. They think that the oil under the surface of the earth originated in the distant past, and was formed from living things in the sea. Countless billions of small sea creatures and plants lived and sank to the seabed. They were covered with huge deposits of mud and by process of chemistry, pressure and temperature were changed through long ages into what we know as oil. For these creatures to become oil, it was necessary that they should be imprisoned between layers of rock for a great length of time. The statement that oil originated in the sea is confirmed by a glance at a map showing the chief oilfields of the world. Very few of them are far distant from the oceans of today. In some places gas' and oil come up to the surface of the sea from its bed. The rocks in which oil is found are of the marine origin too. They are rocks which were laid down by the action of water on the' bed of the ocean. Almost always the remains of shells, and other proofs of sea life are found close to the oil. A very common sedimentary rock is called shale, which is a soft rock and was obviously formed by being deposited on the seabed. And when there is shale, there is likely to be oil. There is a lot of luck in drilling for oil The drill may just miss the oil although it is near; on the other hand, it may strike oil at a fairly high level When the drill goes down, it brings up soil. The soil from various depths are examined for. Traces of oil. If they are disappointed at one place, the drillers go to another. Great sums of money have been spent, for example, in the deserts of Egypt, in looking for oil. Sometimes little is found. When we buy a few gallons of petrol for our cars, we pay not only the cost of the petrol, but also part of the cost of the search that is always going on. There are four main areas of the world where deposits of oil appear. The first is that of the Middle East. Another is the area between North and South America, and a third, between Asia and Australia. The fourth area is the part near the North Pole. When there is no more oil in the present oilfields to bring up, it is possible that this cold region may become the scene of busy oil activity. From the passage, we can infer that _ . A the North Pole is the largest oil field in the world B the Middle East has the finest oil in the main oil areas C people haven't opened any oilfield in the North Pole D only in oceans can we find oil Answer: C Saturday, June 16th In the morning, we went camping along a path in Green Natural Park. We were happy because it was a sunny day. We were expecting an enjoyable two-day holiday. On the way, we kept singing and making jokes. However, in the afternoon, when we finished our picnic at one o'clock, it was dark and windy. Soon, there was a shower. Unluckily, none of us brought an umbrella. We ran about but we could find no place to hide. Twenty minutes passed and it was still raining, There were hours to go before we reached the campsite . It was even worse that our small compass showed that we went to the wrong way. We had lost our way! We had to make a quick decision as it was raining heavily. Chris said we could set up a tent to hide in, so Mary and Tom helped to set up the tent. Chris and I tried to make a fire to keep us warm. But we were unable to light the fire, as everything was wet. We dried ourselves, chatted and waited inside the tent. At about five o'clock, it stopped raining. We decided to give up the camping trip because all of us had been very tired. This camping trip may not be very successful but we know each other better. And the most important thing I've learned from this trip is the importance of team spirit. Chris suggested that they should _ in the rain. A set up a tent B reach the campsite C keep singing D find a place to hide Answer: A Laura and Graham were having a party for their good friend Judy. Judy had graduated high school and they wanted to show her how proud they were of her, and Judy would be moving far away at the end of the year. Judy was going to college to become a doctor. She thought about becoming a lawyer or an engineer. She even thought about being a scientist. Judy would be bringing her friend Mike. There wouldn't be many people at the party, since this was a celebration with close friends. Laura set out drinks and snacks for Judy and the other guests. The snacks she set out were salty pretzels. What was Judy going to College for? A to become a scientist B to become an engineer C to become a Lawyer D to become a doctor Answer: D
You may have heard some respectable elders say, "It's not what you want in this world, but what you get." Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things. You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to give a dinner for friends, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, and decide which food to cook first, and such planning is essential and necessary for any type of meal to be served. Similarly, you can make a blueprint for your could-be-job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your service. This account of yourself is actually a description of your working life and should include education, experience and references. Such an account is valuable. It can be referred to filling out standard application blanks and it is extremely helpful in personal interviews. While talking to you, your could-be employer is deciding whether your education, your experience and other qualifications will pay him to employ you, and your abilities must be displayed on an orderly and reasonably connected manner. When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something exact to sell. Then you are ready to hunt for a job. Get all the possible information about your could-be job. Make your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgment. Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking in the employment you wish for, and keep in mind: Obtaining a job is your job now! The blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used as _ . an example of how to plan important things ahead My name is Chelsea Chowderhead. A chowder is a kind of soup. I was laughed at because of my last name as soon as I started school. So when my family moved to South Carolina, I asked my dad if I could change my name. "You shouldn't change who you are. Let people get to know you first and your name later. When you meet someone new, ask them a good question, something you're really interested in. Once people start talking about themselves, they don't judge you." Two days later I headed to my new school for the first day of class. At lunch, I noticed that there were twin brothers who were talking to each other. I remembered my dad's advice, so I decided to try. I noticed that their lunchboxes were _ "What's it like being a twin?" I asked. They looked surprised. Then one said, "No one has ever asked us that!" "Most of the time it's good," the other said. "When you're a twin you always have someone to talk to and have lunch with." In no time we were laughing and talking. Then one of the brothers said, "I'm Nicholas, and this is my brother, Nathaniel. What's your name?" I took a deep breath and said, "I'm Chelsea Chowderhead." "Chowder? Like the soup?" asked Nathaniel. "Yes," I replied, looking down. "Hey, cool! Do you want to come over after school and play basketball with us?" Nathaniel asked. I nodded. And that is how I became friends with the twin brothers. When the twin brothers asked his name, the writer felt _ . nervous Santos agreed to sell and Perrine agreed to buy a described lot on which a single-family residence had been built. Under the contract, Santos agreed to convey marketable title subject only to conditions, covenants, and restrictions of record and all applicable zoning laws and ordinances. The lot was subject to a 10-foot sideline setback originally set forth in the developer's duly recorded subdivision plot. The applicable zoning ordinance zones the property for single-family units and requires an 8.5-foot sideline setback. Prior to closing, a survey of the property was made. It revealed that a portion of Santos's house was 8.4 feet from the sideline. Perrine refused to consummate the transaction on the ground that Santos's title is not marketable. In an appropriate action, Santos seeks specific performance. Who will prevail in such an action? Perrine, because the fact that Perrine may be exposed to litigation is sufficient to make the title unmarketable Many centuries ago, birthdays were considered a time when the bad spirits were able to harm you. It was believed that you should have your friends and family around you so that their good wishes and present-giving would keep the bad spirits away. People also believed that, by lighting candles, they were sending a signal or wishes to the gods. Later on, candles started to be used on birthday cakes. One story about the beginnings of the birthday cake is that it started with the Greeks, who made round cakes standing for the full moon for their moon goddess . They also placed candles on the cake to make it light, again like the moon. However, the Germans are said to have first used cakes and candles. They used a sweet cake and they put a large candle in the centre of the cake to mean "the light of life". The "Happy Birthday" song is more than a hundred years old. The music was written in 1893 by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, who were schoolteachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The music was first used as a morning greeting to their students with the title, "Good Morning To All". In 1935, the words legally belonged to the Hill sisters, and the copyright has been bought and sold for millions of dollars ever since. The present copyright is owned by Warner Communications. They bought it in 1989 for more than $22 million. Who is the present owner of the song "Happy Birthday"? Warner Communications. You've probably heard about sports coaches, fitness coaches, voice and music teachers, career counselors, psychiatrists and other specialists who teach skills and help us cope with daily life. But there's a rapidly growing kind of professional who does a little bit of everything. She or he is called a " _ ". People who are at crossroads in their lives, and corporations that want to give certain employees a career boost, are turning to them for help. The idea that one person's success story can change other people's lives for the better goes back at least to the 1930s. Dale Carnegie's famous self-improvement program "How to Win Friends and Influence People" came along soon thereafter. But this new style of life coaches includes more than enthusiastic speakers or writers. They use their own experiences in business, sports, military service, or psychotherapy to help others make critical life decisions. They often give their approach a slogan, such as "energy coaching" or "fearless living" or "working yourself happy". Dave Lakhani in Boise, Idaho, for instance, works with salespeople to develop what he calls a "road map". He says an ongoing relationship with a coach is like having a personal fitness trainer for one's career and life outside work. Lakhani's Bold Approach coaching firm also donates some of its time to help people who are anything but successful---including battered women and struggling single mothers. But others in the so-called "helping professions" are not thrilled about the life-coaching movement. They say that anyone, trained or untrained, can call himself or herself a life coach, and that slick promoters who mess with people's lives can do more harm than good. What is the author's attitude towards life coaches? Casual.
While a sailor was out fishing, he got lost at sea. Which object would help him direct the boat back to shore? A. Rope B. Magnetic compass C. Blanket D. Measuring tape Answer: B All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy, happy and help them to live longer. Sports change with the season. People play different games in winter and summer. Games and sports often grow out of people's work and everyday activities. The Arabs use horses or camels in much of their everyday life; they use them in their sports, too. Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them. Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese boxing, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game they often become good friends. Sports help to train a person's character . One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace . The writer didn't tell us in this passage that _ . A. basketball was invented in America B. sports change with the seasons C. games and sports often grow out of people's work and everyday activities D. football is played all over the world Answer: A Balzac was a great French writer. But he was very poor before he became famous. He lived in a dirty, wet room and was often worried about food. All his friends were very poor and they could not help him. One night it was very cold. The wind blew and it was snowing heavily. Balzac went to bed early but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't get any food before he went to bed. He thought and thought, but he couldn't have a good idea. At midnight he saw a man climb in through the broken window. The man began to steal something on his bookshelf. Balzac got up quietly and said, "Don't waste time, my friend! I couldn't find any money in the daytime. How can you find some in the dark?" Balzac was a _ . A. worker B. writer C. doctor D. cleaner Answer: B Statutes in the jurisdiction define criminal assault as "an attempt to commit a criminal battery" and criminal battery as "causing an offensive touching." As Edward was walking down the street, a gust of wind blew his hat off. Edward reached out, trying to grab his hat, and narrowly missed striking Margaret in the face with his hand. Margaret, fearful of being struck by Edward, pushed Edward away "If charged with criminal battery, Margaret should be found A. guilty, because she intentionally pushed Edward. B. guilty, because she caused the touching of Edward whether she meant to do so or not. C. not guilty, because a push is not an offensive touching. D. not guilty, because she was justified in pushing Edward Answer: D Many animals do strange things before an earthquake.This news may be important. Earthquakes can kill people and knock down houses.Animals may help to save lives. Some animals make a lot of noise before an earthquake.Farmers know about this.Dogs that are usually quiet start to bark.Horses on farms run around in circles.Mice leave their holes and run away.Cows give less milk. In a town in Italy, cats raced down the street in a group.That happened only a few hours before an earthquake.In San Francisco.a man kept tiny pet frogs.One Sunday, the frogs jumped around more than ever.They made loud noise.That night, an earthquake struck the city.People want to know when an earthquake is coming.Then they could get away safely.Right now, there is no sure way to know ahead of time.Maybe the best way is to watch the animals. Before an earthquake, the frogs _ . A. sing B. leave their homes C. jumped around a lot D. become quiet Answer: C
Even if we have an extremely healthy diet and lifestyle, the human body is programmed to wear out at a maximum of about 120 years, and usually less. We all have a biological clock inside us which determines the moment when our organs cease to function properly. This is because our cells have stopped renewing themselves and our body can no longer repair itself. This is also the moment when we are more likely to begin to suffer from the diseases of old age such as arthritis and Alzheimer's. However, rapid advances in DNA research are beginning to throw light on the secrets of the ageing process. By the end of this century we could literally have the power of life over death. Although it has long been accepted that humans have a fixed lifespan, it is also a fact that certain other organisms, such as reptiles and amphibians, appear to _ . The only reason we do not see 500-year-old alligators is because in the wild their lives are always in danger, from man, from pollution and from other animals. When they are kept in zoos they do not seem to age at all after they are fully grown. The same is true of some species of fish, which grow indefinitely and show no signs of ageing. The existence of animals with no fixed lifespan seems to indicate that an age gene really does exist. It is this gene which scientists are searching for, which may delay or repair damage to the body caused by ageing. Another new area of research involves the oxidation theory, which says that ageing is caused by the same process that makes iron rust. In controlled experiments, the lifespans of certain animals were shown to be lengthened with anti-oxidants; for example, the lifespan of mice can be increased by 30%. Antioxidants are already being used in face creams and other cosmetics, and they are likely to play an important part in keeping people physically young. Perhaps the most immediate advance we are likely to see in the battle to halt the ageing process will be organ replacement. By the year 2020 it is likely that we will be replacing injured bones or even organs like livers and kidneys with ones "grown" in laboratories. By 2050 perhaps every organ in the body, except the brain, will have become commercially available. Recent experiments also show that it may one day be possible to "grow" new organs inside our body to replace worn-out ones, something which lizards and alligators already do. Suddenly immortality(,) seems within reach. We can begin to imagine a future where we are born, we grow to maturity, but we never grow old and die. But do we really want to live forever? What is the main topic of this passage? Answer: In the 13th century, the Italian traveler, Marco polo , traveled a long way to China , During his stay in China , he saw many wonderful things . One of the things he discovered was that the Chinese used paper money . In western countries , people did not use paper money until the 15th century . However , people in China began to use paper money in the 7th century . A Chinese man called CaiLun invented paper almost 2000 years ago. He made it from wood . He took the wood from trees and made it into paper . He then put these pieces of paper together and made them into a book . Now paper still comes from trees . We use a lot of paper every day ! If we keep on wasting so much paper , there will not be any trees on the earth . If there are no trees , there will be no paper . Every day , people throw away about 2800 tons of paper in our city . It takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper . This means that we are cutting nearly 48000 trees every day . Since it takes more than 10 years for a tree to grow , we must start using less paper now . If we don't , we will not have enough time to grow more trees to take the place of those we use for paper . So how can we save paper ? We can use both sides of every piece of paper , especially when we are making notes .We can choose drinks in bottles instead of those in paper packets . We can also use cotton handkerchiefs and not paper ones . When we go shopping , we can use fewer paper bags . If the shop assistant does give us a paper bag, we can save it and reuse it later . Everyone can help to save paper . If we all think carefully , we can help protect trees . But we should do it now , before it is too late . Which of the following is NOT TRUE ? 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. How did the teacher think of the author's project? Answer: Wang Weiguo, an award-winning actor of the National Theatre Company of China, was wandering through Bejing's Panjiayuan Flea Market when he found a treasure, 20 exquisite picture frames . He bought them all. Inside the frames was a woman's life story. There were pictures of her as a baby and a growing child and pictures with her parents. Wang Weiguo was sure someone had lost them. He contacted the police and media. He showed them to friends and to people living outside China. No one recognized the people in the photographs. That was 1999. Wang never gave up the search. In 2010 he told the story to a TV host, Zhang Zequn, who suggested he contact China Radio International. Within three months of the story's being posted on CRI, someone recognized Julie Ege in one of the photographs. The wonderful Norwegian actress and model was the mother of the child whose growing years the photos traced. The child was Joanna Syson. She moved to Beijing in the 1990s to study Chinese. In 1999 she returned to Norway for six months, entrusting all her belongings, including the photographs, to a friend. When she returned, the friend was gone. So were her belongings. She was heartbroken. More than a decade passed. Then, thanks to the story posted on CRI and to a visitor to the website, the trail finally led to Joanna Syson. She traveled to Bejing to meet Wang Weiguo, who had searched for her for 12 years, and to recover her treasured photographs. What was Joanna Syson's mother? Answer: Carrie had had enough. She placed a note on the kitchen table, picked up her bags, and then made her way to the bus stop. "Hi, mum," she said after arriving at her house. "What have you done?" she asked, noticing Carrie's luggage in the hallway. "Oh, mum, I've left him. I couldn't bear any more." Shocked, her mum didn't know what to say, so she went to make some coffee. Next day, Carrie had a visitor. "Carrie, please don't do this to me. Come back home?" Tom begged. But was she listening? She ignored him and stepped back inside the house. The weeks went by and Tom became very depressed. There seemed little point in carrying on without her. Then one night he got into his car and drove to a nearby seaside town. After abandoning the car, he walked towards a big stone by the sea. Looking over the edge he saw the waves crashing into the bottom of the rock. His body was shaking -- then he jumped. Carrie was mad when she found out. She paced up and down smoking a cigarette. Her eyes were full of tears. It wasn't all his fault that he had become so bad tempered. He had been finding it difficult looking for another job. She then threw the cigarette to the ground, wiped away the tears and made her way up the long passage and into a room. "Don't you ever, ever do anything like that again,"she said in a temper to the person in the room. "I won't,"Tom said, looking up at her from his hospital bed. Luckily for him, someone had seen him jump and dived in to save him. Why did her Mum go to make some coffee? Answer:
How is it that siblings can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family. The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later. The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival. The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too. One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father. Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918. But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others' lives. Dr. Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings. The reason for this might be that the later children aren't getting the same one-on-one time with parents. But that doesn't mean that the younger children have problems with language development. Later-borns don't enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between "I" and "me". A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially. Love-hate relationships were common among the children. Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs. One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age. Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third. Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters. A 2003 research paper studied adolescents from 185 families over two years, finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents. The word "feminine" (in Para. 4) means " _ ". A. having qualities of parents B. having qualities of women C. having defensive qualities D. having extraordinary qualities Answer: B. having qualities of women At midnight Mr. King coughed again. He got up and took some medicine. Before he lay down again, he smoked. And he couldn't go to sleep any longer. He found the medicine book and began to read it. He was afraid he had lung cancer. He seemed to see death was waiting for him. Tears ran down his face. He didn't see his wife was standing by him. "What's wrong with you, dear?" asked the woman. "Nothing," the old man answered and covered his face with his hands. The old woman opened the book and understood at once. She said, "You must stop smoking right now." "I began to smoke when I was nine, you know. How can't I do that?" "But I think health is more important." Mr. King coughed again and his wife said, "Go to see a doctor tomorrow. He will be able to help you, I think." The doctor told Mr. King to have an Xray examination of his lungs. And then he looked at the Xray carefully for a long time. "Tell me the truth, doctor."said Mr.King, "Do you see any shadows in my lungs?" "No, I don't see anything." "Yes?" the old man said happily. "Really?" "Yes. Your lungs are turning black. How can I see any shadows?" Which of the following is true? A. There was nothing serious with Mr. King. B. Smoking too much caused Mr. King's lungs to turn black. C. The doctor found some shadows in Mr. King's lungs. D. Mr. King decided to stop smoking at once. Answer: B. Smoking too much caused Mr. King's lungs to turn black. American scientists say musical training seems to improve communication skills. They found that developing musical skills involves the same process in the brain as learning how to speak. The scientists say that could help children with learning disabilities. Nina Kraus is a neurobiologist at Northwestern University in Illinois. She says musical training involves putting together different kinds of information. She says the process involves hearing music, looking at musical notes, touching an instrument and watching other musicians. She says the process is not much different from learning how to speak. Both involve different senses. Professor Krauss says musical training and learning to speak make us think about what we are doing. She says speech and music pass through a structure of the nervous system called the brain stem . The brain stem controls our ability to hear. Until recently, experts have thought the brain stem could not be developed or changed. But Professor Krauss and her team find that musical training can improve a person's brain stem activity. The study involved people with different levels of musical ability. They were asked to wear an electrical _ that measures brain activity. The people wore the device while they watched a video of someone speaking and a person playing a musical instrument. The study found that the more years of training people had, the more sensitive they were to the sound and beat of the music. Professor Kraus says the study shows the importance of musical training to children with learning disabilities. The main idea of the passage is _ . A. learning how to speak B. that brain stem is important for speech C. that musical training is important for communication skills D. that musical training people are more sensitive Answer: C. that musical training is important for communication skills Parents might tell older children to "Act your age". But some researchers say that is what persons from thirteen to nineteen years old are doing. While teenagers can look all grown up, studies have shown that their brains are still developing. How much this explains their behavior, though, is a subject of debate. Jay Giedd of America's National Institutes of Health is a leader in this area of research. Doctor Giedd has been studying a group of young people since 1991. They visit him every two years for imaging tests of their brains. He says considerable development continues in young people from the teenage years into the twenties. A part of the brain called the dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears especially undeveloped in teenagers. Researchers believe that this area controls judgment and consideration of risk. So, its underdevelopment may explain why young people seem more willing to take risks like driving too fast. Laurence Steinberg is a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. He says stronger laws and stronger parental control are needed to protect teens from themselves. That includes raising the age for driving. He says research shows that teenage brains are not fully equipped to control behavior. Other researchers, however, say there is not enough evidence to make a strong case for such findings. Psychologist Robert Epstein is a visiting scholar at the University of California in San Diego. Mr. Epstein notes that teen behavior differs from culture to culture. He says behavior depends for the most part on socialization. He believes that teenagers will demonstrate better, safer behavior if they spend more time with adults, and are treated more like them. But is that always true? Mike Males works at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. He suggests that all of this talk lately about brainless teens could be an attempt to take away attention from the reality. Writing in the New York Times, he says it is middle-aged adults whose behavior has worsened. In his words, if grown-ups really have superior brains, why don't we act as if we do? Why do young people seem more willing to take adventures? A. Because they can all look grown up in that way. B. Because their dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears undeveloped. C. Because some researchers have been studying and encouraging them. D. Because stronger laws and stronger parental control protect them Answer: B. Because their dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears undeveloped. A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night's sleep. But now a study has found it really does help people nod off--if it is milked from a cow at night. Researchers have discovered that "night milk" contains more melatonin , which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety. The study, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea, involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night. Those given night milk, which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin, were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime, according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food. Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer. While the effect of cows milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now, taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night. Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content, which helps people to relax. Milk is also sugar-free and additive-free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening. The more fat you take in before bedtime, the greater burden you will put on your body at night. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. Night Milk and Sleep B. Fat Sugar and Health C. An Experiment on Mice D. Milk Drinking and Health Answer: A. Night Milk and Sleep
Question: Whether you're taking a trip alone or with your family, it's easier to get sick when you're in a new place because your body hasn't had a chance to _ to the food, water, and air in a new environment. Read the following tips on keeping your travel experience as healthy as possible. Safe foods and drinks What foods are safe to eat? Foods that have been boiled are generally safe, as well as fruits and vegetables that have to be peeled before eating. Avoid eating uncooked or undercooked meat. Stay away from foods that require a lot of handling before serving. Drink only bottled water when traveling. If you have to use the tap water, you should boil it first. You can take it with you When you're packing, taking some painkiller and diarrhea medicine is a good idea. It's also a good idea to pack some allergy medicine even if you don't take it at home, because people sometimes unexpectedly develop allergic reactions in a new environment. Write it all down Before you leave your sweet home, create a medical history form that includes the following information: your name, address, and home phone number as well as a parent's daytime phone number your blood type a list of any ongoing health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, or AIDS a list of current medicines you are taking a list of allergies to medicine, food, insects, and animals the name, address, and phone number of a relative other than your parent It also helps if you have some basic emergency medical knowledge, not only for yourself but also for helping others you may be traveling with. A great way to prepare for your trip is to take a first-aid or basic life support course before you go; if you're traveling with a group, you should know where the first-aid kit is and what's in it. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage? A. Taking a first-aid course. B. Writing down your blood type. C. Taking some necessary medicine. D. Telling your parents' your plan. Answer: D Question: For millions of people, the American dream of owning a home seems to be slipping out of reach. "Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,'' says 40-year-old building instructor Pat Hennin. "But they can still have a home. Like their pioneer ancestors, they can build it themselves, and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house." The owner-builders came from every occupational group, although surprisingly few are professional building workers. Many _ with little or no experience. "I learned how to build my house from reading books," says John Brown, who built a six-room home for $25, 000 in High Falls, New Jersey. "If you have patience and the carpentry skill to make a bookcase, you can build a house." An astonishing 50 percent of these owner-builders hammer every nail, lay every pipe, and wire every switch with their own hands. The rest contract for some parts of the task. But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent of what a ready-made home would cost. One survey revealed that 60 percent of owner-builders also design their homes. Many others buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to _ . A. build a house B. find a ready-made house C. have a good job D. buy a house Answer: D Question: On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with great force. Fifty cubic kilometers of magma flew from its peak and a blanket of ash as thick as one centimeter fell over more than 500,000 square kilometers of Indonesia and the Java Sea. The eruption destroyed Tambora's peak and formed a hole six by seven kilometers wide. The eruption and resulting tsunamis killed 10,000 people. The agricultural loss and disease brought about by the thick ash caused the deaths of 82,000 more. Indonesia was rocked again in 1883. On August 26, a small volcano on an uninhabited island between Sumatra and Java, erupted. The eruption produced an ash cloud 80 kilometers high and was heard in Australia--4,800 kilometers away. The eruption also caused a tsunami, which pounded the shores of Java and Sumatra--killing 36,000 people. In 1902, St. Pierre was a thriving community and the largest town on the French colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. Mont Pelee cast a shadow over the town from where it stood, eight kilometers to the north. The townspeople were used to the light continuous sounds of the mountain, but in May, 1902 Pelee started to get really unstable. Clouds of steam and ash poured from the volcano and on May 8, Pelee erupted. Superheated gas and steaming volcanic ash flew out, pouring down the mountain at high speed. Within seconds, the deadly gas cloud had destroyed the town of St. Pierre and incinerated everyone in it -- except one prisoner in a basement cell. It was the worst volcano disaster of the 20th century. How many people died because of the eruption on April 10, 1815 ? A. About 10,000. B. More than 82,000. C. About 36,000. D. More than 92,000. Answer: D Question: Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie has finished a 110-day solo voyage across the Pacific Ocean in a boat pushed by sea waves to win another world first. Weak waves and ocean water movements made his arrival late, which was going to be in late May. "When waves were weak, the boat slowed down. That's a problem that needs to be solved," the adventure told reporters from his boat in western Japan. His 9.5-meter-long boat can move like a dolphin's tail, and it rises or falls with the waves. Horie reached his destination in the channel between the main Japanese islands just before midnight after covering about 7,000 kilometers from Hawaii. Horie first made world record in 1962 when, at the age of 23, he became the first person to sail alone across the Pacific. He made the three-month voyage from his hometown in spite of breaking Japanese law, which did not allow his citizens to sail on their own out of the country, and without a passport or money. He was arrested upon arrival in San Francisco but the city mayor freed him, gave him a 30-day visa and made him an honorary citizen. News of his achievement made him a hero back home in Japan and his book of the voyage In the Pacific was made into a film. Since then, he has completed many sailing trips across the Pacific and around the world. After his latest adventure with an environmentally friendly theme, Horie planned to return to his hometown on Sunday. He said, "Throughout history, mankind has used wind for power, but no one has appeared to be serious about wave power." Horie told the reporter, "I think I'm a lucky boy as this wave power system has remained untouched in fact." The author wrote the article mainly to _ . A. start an ocean crossing movement B. tell us a piece of interesting news C. make Horie known to the world D. encourage people to learn from Horie Answer: B Question: "Homestay is a form of study abroad program. It allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better understand the local lifestyle. It also helps to improve the visitor's language ability,"said a teacher during a school meeting last term. "Students who wish to learn more about foreign cultures or to get foreign experience should join this kind of holiday. I am sure you won't be disappointed ." After this special meeting,I always thought about this kind of holiday. Last month,I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London,a place where I had wanted to go since years ago. As we were still young,we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us. After we got to London,we went to stay with different families. I was lucky that my host family was a white couple who had a daughter about my age. They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there. They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them,too. The holiday was filled with activities every day. After breakfast,a local teacher would come to take us in his car. Then we would have classes or go on a sightseeing trip to different places of interest like the Big Ben,the London Bridge,and the Buckingham Palace. We would go back to our own homes after the activities. The holiday was a valuable experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. Yet,time really flew fast. Three weeks later,we had to leave "home" for Hong Kong. From the passage,we know that the writer _ in London. A. spent three weeks in her home B. had classes in many interesting places C. wished to stay a little longer D. helped the teacher take the students in a car Answer: C
Building which of the following would cause an animal exodus from the region? An earthquake causes the ground to do what? The day after news broke of a possible revolution in physics ----particles moving faster than light ?a scientist leading the European experiment that made the discovery calmly explained it to a standing-room- only crowd at CERN. The physicist, Dario Auterio, did not try to explain what the results might mean for the laws of physics, let alone the broader world.After an hour of technical talk, he simply said, "Therefore, we present to you today this difference, this unusualness." But what unusualness it may be.From 2009 through 2011, the massive OPERA detector buried in a mountain in Gran Sasso, Italy, recorded subatomic particles called neutrinos ( ) arriving faster than light can move in an empty space.The neutrinos generated at CERN are hardly detectably early.If confirmed, the finding would throw more than a century of physics into disorder. "If it's correct, it's _ ." said Rob Plunkett, a scientist at Fermilab, the Department of Energy physics laboratory in Illinois."We'd be looking at a whole new set of rules" for how the universe works.Those rules would bend, or possibly break, Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905.Basical at the time, the theory tied together space and time, matter and energy, and set a hard limit for the speed of light, later measured to be about 186, 000 miles per second. No experiment in 106 years had broken that speed limit.Physicists expect strict study to follow, which OPERA and CERN scientists welcomed. Fermilab operates a similar experiment, called MINOS, that shoots neutrinos from Illinois to an underground detector in Minnesota.In 2007, MINOS discovered a just detectable amount of faster than-light neutrinos, but the permissible difference of error was too big to "mention" , Plunkett said. Fermilab scientists will reanalyze their data, which will take six to eight months.In 2013, the MINOS detector, now offline, will restart after an upgrade.It could then offer confirmation of the results. The best title for the passage may be _ . 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. How do the children get their Christmas presents? Which observation of a plant supports the inference that photosynthesis can take place?
When asked what they want for a gift, most teens would say a CD player, or maybe an iPod, but I want Lego. I received my first set for my fifth birthday, a tiny pizzeria with an umbrella and a delivery truck. Since then my collection has expanded rapidly and I have built skyscrapers, constructed spaceships and designed submarines. There is a small area in my house designated as The Lego Room. Beyond its door, I fantasize and govern my own small world of castles, modem cities, and thousands of Lego people. Each time I enter The Lego Room, a new story is created. Once, a friend asked to tour this room. Amazed by my Star Wars models, he reached for a ship and accidentally knocked over a restaurant, breaking it to pieces! This disaster became an opportunity to rebuild and I fashioned a two-story food court with a McDonald's, pizzeria, and drive-thru. It was better than the original! Ideas for new constructions fill my head and I write them down in a sketchbook. Lego represents a creative consistency in my life, much as an artist has his canvas and a musician, his violin. Lego has taught me to be an architect, engineer, governor, economist and so on. Lego has provided the building blocks of my future, developing my math skills and ability to follow complex directions. As I build new worlds, brick by brick, I imagine my own possibilities and opportunities. Through the "lives" of my Lego friends, I have been able to act out all kinds of experiences. They have served as a link between my childhood and manhood. My friends say I'm childlike and there is truth to that, but perhaps we should all find a way to keep in touch with our childhood. Lego is mine. What did the author receive for his fifth birthday? Answer: A kind of toy. Have you heard of the movie Benji off the Leashf This Benji story7 begins when his mother, a pretty black furry dog, escapes from the puppy mill with Colby, a boy who loves her.He tries to hide her in an abandoned house.The boy' s father discovers her there and takes mother and pups back home to the puppy mill, but leaves Benji behind because he doesn't look purebred enough to be sold for money.Colby comes back later to rescue the tiny puppy and keeps Benji in his wooden clubhouse, bringing Mom to come to visit him in secret. As Benji grows bigger, it becomes harder to keep him in the clubhouse, and eventually the boy' s father discovers him and Benji is forced to flee to the streets.But despite his fear of Colby' s father, Benji cannot forget about his mother, who is growing steadily weaker and sicker.He continues to sneak back to the puppy mill yard to spy on the goings-on there and plan a way to rescue her. Benji's doggie pal, Scrappy enters the story when he is pushed out of a car into a country lane.Once his paws hit the ground, Scrappy wags his tail once helplessly after the car as it drives away, and then is immediately up to his neck in hapless mischief . Scrappy is a lovably stupid little dog who barely manages to escape the animal control officers who are determined to catch him. One of the wonderful things about this movie is that the two stars are not highly trained purebred dogs.Both Benji and Scrappy were rescued mixed breed dogs found at local animal shelters.Adorable Benji and his stupid pal, Scrappy, demonstrate that mixed-breed rescue dogs are just as intelligent and trainable as any purebred dog. Benji Off the Leash clearly demonstrates the connection between people who abuse animals and people who abuse people.Colby' s father takes out his anger on those who are weaker than him, namely by frightening his wife and the dogs.He attempts to frighten Colby, but the boy bravely refuses to let him. Children who are used to fast-paced action films with catchy theme songs may not have the patience for the slower pace of this film.But for rescue volunteers, older children, and anyone who loves dogs, this is a heartwarming movie that shows how even in today' s world of deserted dogs and backyard puppy mills, there can still be happy endings for homeless dogs. What can be learned from the passage? Answer: Two dogs star the movie. It's a safe bet that a robot made your car and your computer.Pretty soon,they could be making your bed and breakfast,too. Increasingly,engineers are saying that robots are going to move out of research departments and into your home.Companies including Sony and General Electric are working on designs for small robots.Products like Roomba,a robot that can clean floors, are _ . What's behind this new robot revolution ? lt's partly a matter of technology.Devices that can recognize and answer human voice have been developed.There are now a few different ways for robots to move around.They can walk, crawl or ride on wheels.Robots are being made smaller and smaller.They are also becoming more and more able. A bigger part of the story is on the demand side.From the day the television remote control was invented,people around the world have searched for new ways to be lazy.Take into consideration that more and more people can afford robots, and the time secms ripe to introduce robots to the ordinary family. To be sure,robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still a long way off.However, robots that do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening are sure to come out soon.One thing is certain--when these robots do come into our homes,it will change things forever. Which plays a more important role in revolutionizing the robot? Answer: Great demand from the buyers. The wolves are very hungry. They go out to look for food. There are many sheep ( ) near the hill( ). There are also a few sheepdogs with them. The wolves think of an idea. They speak to the sheepdogs," You are like us and we are brothers. But we have a very different life. We do what we like, and you must work for man. They make you look after their sheep. They eat meat and give you the bones . If you listen to us and give us the sheep, we can eat them together. All of us will be happy,right?"The dogs are happy and do like this. The wolves ask the dogs to go to their house. The sheepdogs go to the wolves' home. But the wolves eat them and then eat the sheep. What do the sheepdogs do? Answer: Look after the sheep. Many Chinese parents think as long as the child is watched by people, there is no danger. But from the start, when the child is born, he needs to communicate with others, especially the communication with parents. Many children in our country are growing up in the environment which lacks a sense of security and love. They want to get back the love lost in childhood but never catch it. On the one hand, Chinese like saving faces; on the other hand, they want to encourage their children to be aspirants . They often say how hard somebody else is studying, how good their grades are, and what prize they get. This comparison is the worst thing especially when they say it before many people. Each time you compare your children to others, you will only bring them much disappointment and pain. Parents should knock at the door when they go into the room of their children. They should get permission before they move something of their children. Parents should first communicate with their children and consider their decisions. Parents should respect their children, and consider them as adults. This respect should begin from changing diapers. Before changing diapers for the children, parents should tell them. Children who do not be respected also do not know how to respect others. Many parents have high hopes for their children, and force them to the way that they think is right, even if the kids do not fit, or do not like, such as playing the piano or going abroad. Under this kind of pressure, children become unhappy and the quality time becomes a struggling period. When children recall their childhood, all memories are unhappy, which is indeed the failure of some parents. According to this passage we can know that Chinese children's childhood was_. Answer: unhappy
Question: Dear Peter, I know that you are coming to Hefei next week. Welcome to my home. Let me tell you the way to my house. You will live in Changjiang Hotel on Changjiang Street, won't you? OK! Changjiang Street is a famous and busy street in our city. You can start from your hotel and go straight along Tongcheng Street. You pass two small streets: Hongxing Street and Lujinag Street. When you see an overbridge ,please turn right and go along Huangcheng Street. It's an old street, but it's clean. There's a big park on the street. It's beautiful and clean. When you get to Jinzhai Street, please turn left and go along it. You will pass Wuhu Street and Tunxi Street. Then you can see a KFC on your right. There's a supermarket across from the KFC and my house is near the supermarket. There's a pay phone in front of the KFC. You can call me there and I will go to meet you. I hope you will have a good trip. Yours, Li Li How many streets are mentioned in this letter? A. 6. B. 7. C. 8 D. 9 Answer: C Question: Name: Julia Rosetti Email: n1950215@droid.fit.qut.edu.au Location: Brisbane, Australia Age: 18 Sex: Female Drugs: No Alcohol: No Sports/ Activities: I used to do a lot of ballet and stage work, my ambition was to be a professional dancer before I got sick. Nowadays I love to read, and other stuff like that, as well as spending a lot of time with my family and friends. Grades: I finished high school last year, and I haven't started college because I've been sick. But I got subject prizes in three subjects and high as in the rest. Favorite Subject: I loved Music, English, History and Biology. Hard to pick a favorite - they're all so different. Volunteer Work: It all depends on what you call "volunteer". Nothing really official, but I spend a lot of my time working and playing with really sick kids, and they come to me for advice a lot. What My Future Goals Are: I'd either like to go on to do stage work, or work with kids with serious illnesses. I haven't decided which, yet. What I do in My Spare Time: Talk to my friends and my family. Hang around with my hospital friends. Watch TV. Go to the movies when I can. I love going on picnics and other outdoorsy stuff. How I'd Change the World: No question. Cure cancer. _ it forever. Largest Problem: Sometimes, I think it's having too many choices, and having too many expectations and others having too many expectations of _ . And all the implications of this. Why Would I Make a Good Counselor : I really want to help other people. I've made that my life's ambition, to help as many people as I can. Qualifications: I spend a lot of time doing this sort of stuff "unofficially" - I am the Discussion Manager on a discussion list for seriously ill young people. People also write to me because of my homepage, often wanting advice, which I try to give them. What can we infer about Julia Rosetti? A. She is ill now with a cancer. B. She has had an operation. C. She is curing people of cancer. D. She is working in a hospital. Answer: B Question: Jeanne Calment, a French woman, become a record breaker on 17 October 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days. Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people's home in the south of France, her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes here as being "more like a 90-year-old in good health" than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on the 120thbirthday what she expected of the future, she replied, "A very short one." She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her. So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a say, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good _ from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86. A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying: "Sorry, I'm still alive!" Why did Jeanne Calment say "Sorry, I'm still alive!" to the local lawyer? A. She had an agreement with the lawyer when she was 80. B. The lawyer has not paid her enough rent yet. C. The lawyer has paid her more money than the value of the house. D. The house she sold to the lawyer was worth the money already paid. Answer: C Question: At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe race was the Unites States team. One member of that team was Bill Havens. As the time for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill's wife would give birth to their first child about the time that the US team would be competing in the Paris games. In 1924, there were no jet airliners from Paris to the Unites States, only slow ocean-going ships. Bill found himself in a _ . Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife's side when their baby was born? Or should he stay with his family? Bill's wife insisted that he go to Paris. But after much soul searching, Bill decided to stay at home, where he could support his wife when the child arrived. As it turned out , the Unites States four-man canoe team won the gold medal in Paris. And Bill's wife was late in giving birth to their child. In fact, Bill could have competed in the event and returned home in time to be with her when she gave birth. People said ," what a shame!" The child finally born to Bill and his wife was a boy, whom they named Frank. Twenty-eight years later, in 1952, Bill received a telegram from Frank. It was sent from Helsinki, Finland, where the 1952 Olympics were being held. The telegram read, "Dad, I won. I am bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born." Frank had just won the gold medal for the Unites States in a rowing event, a medal his father had dreamed of winning but never did. When people asked Bill about his decision he made twenty-eight years ago, he said he would make the same choice if he was in such a situation again. What happened twenty-eight years later after the baby's birth? A. Bill received a gold medal from Finland. B. Bill's son helped make his dream come true. C. Bill earned the respect of all the American people. D. Bill took part in the Olympic Games and won. Answer: B Question: Mineral graphite could be found in places such as A. happy kittens B. pink candles C. wild oats D. office supplies Answer: D
San Francisco, unofficially regarded as one of the homeless capitals of the US, counts nearly 6,500 homeless people, with 4,300 living on the street. Among the many problems that the homeless face is little or no access to showers. San Francisco only has about 16 to 20 shower stations to accommodate _ . But Doniece Sandoval has made it her task to change that. [:"Homelessness is something you can't really miss," the 51-year-old woman said. She started Lava Mae, a sort of showers on wheels, a new project that aims to turn old city buses into shower stations for the homeless. "One day I passed a woman in the street and she was very dirty and basically crying, and I heard her say that she would never be clean. But I was wondering what her opportunities were to actually get clean," Sandoval said. Sandoval was inspired to start Lava Mae. The project has already been welcomed with open arms in the city. The Transportation Agency has donated one bus for the cause and is willing to donate three more if the project succeeds. Sandoval hopes the first bus will be able to hit the road in May this year. The Public Commission has also agreed to let the buses plug into fire hydrants around the city if Lava Mae pays for the water. One of Lava Mae's biggest supporters is Bevan Dufty, the director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships & Engagement under the mayor of San Francisco. "For people who are unhoused, access to showers is very difficult. Shower buses are something that could potentially be deployed in response to an emergency, so it is relevant to all San Franciscans," Dufty said. "Doniece has done an incredible job as a citizen who cares about helping the poor. We are very excited to see Lava Mae become real soon. " Each bus will have two shower stations and Sandoval expects that by 2015, they'll be able to provide 2000 showers a week. What can be a suitable title for the text? Answer: Bacteria will build up on food if you leave it out, so if you make sure its protected from the air, you can Answer: 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." Why did the boy choose the last dog? Answer: On the day after Thanskgiving in the US, or Black Friday, lots of stores offer special discounts to mark the beginning of holiday shopping season. In China, a similar day falls on Nov. 11 when millions of Chinese shoppers go to Tmall.com and Taobao.com, two e-commerce websites operated by Alibaba. The 11.11 Shopping Festival, as the event is now called, is also known in China as Singles Day. The shopping festival first started in 2009 and Alibaba said it chose the date because it was easy to remember. Last year, Tmall and Taobao together produced 19.1 billion in sales on that day, according to Alibaba. This year's shopping festival kicked off with an even stronger start--sales hit 100 million yuan 55 seconds after midnight and reached 35 billion at the end of the day. The shopping spree drew the attention of China's leaders, as Premier Li Keqiang recently praised Alibaba's founder, Jack Ma, for creating a day for consumption. China is trying to lead the country's economy to a slower, more sustainable growth model based on domestic consumption instead of investment and exports. Online shopping is no doubt a growth point that will release spending potential. China had 564 million regular Internet users by the end of last year. It has surpassed the US to become the world's largest e-commerce market, with its online sales over 1 trillion US dollars (6 trillion yuan) by 2020. "The real-time nature of online consumption attracts millions of people to spend money and enjoy life. E-commerce opens a new channel for China to encourage domestic demand," Liu Yin, vice-president of the China International Electronic Commerce Center said. More importantly, it promotes employment and the logistics industry with its sales model of "online purchasing plus express delivery", he added. Convenience, choice and low prices have increased online shopping, but there are still some problems with the one-day shopping spree. Some online shops, driven by the huge profits, took this opportunity to play price tricks. They raised prices to twice those of the originals in the early October and then offered discounts on Nov 11. Many consumers, driven by the advantage they could take, just went along for the ride. "They spend lots of time online to check what to buy and are happy to get what they don't really need at a lower price," wrote Jia Ge, an Internet analyst, on his Sina weibo. In this year's 11.11 Shopping Festival, Tmall and Taobao produced _ in all. Answer: Miang My name is Miang,I come from Thailand. I would like to tell you about my favorite holiday,which is Chinese Spring Festival,taking place in January or February every year. My family is Chinese,and we celebrate this day all together,too. My aunt prepares some traditional Chinese dishes,such as duck ,chicken,fish,pork and so on. We will have a get-together to enjoy all these delicious food,especially a kind of food--"dumplings". Janine My favorite holiday is Christmas. On Christmas,we dance,play music and sing. We have great fun on that day. We eat Christmas sweets and many special foods. We decorate our house with colorful lights. I love Christmas mainly because it is Jesus' birthday! Zhenia My favorite holiday is New Year. We celebrate the New Year on the 31st of December. Father Frost comes with his granddaughter Snegoorochka on this night. He comes at night and puts his presents under the New Year Tree. We have a party and stay up until midnight to see the New Year in and the Old Year off. We cook tasty food for parties. Pat My name is Pat,and I am from Thailand. My favorite holiday is Songkran. It is a Thai New Year celebration. It takes place from the 13th to 15th of April. People pour water on each other on this holiday. It is a lot of fun. People also buy new clothes and they have big parties. Malena I am Malena,and I'm from Argentina. My favorite holiday is New Year. We celebrate with fireworks at midnight. I go to Punta del Este with my family. We usually eat Arabian food(kibbe,Lajmayin and so on). We can infer that Father Frost and Snegoorochka most probably are _ . Answer:
People People is America's No.1 magazine about fascinating people.It's a guide to who and what's hot in the arts,science,business,politics,television,movies,books,music and sports.It is published weekly. Publisher:The Time Inc.Magazine Company Cover Price:$211.47 Our Price:$117.00 Issues:53 issues/12 months Lucky Lucky is the shopping magazine with the best buys,and the fashion tips you'll need before you hit the stores.What makes Lucky really special is that it gets you the information you need before anyone else has it. Publisher:Conde Nast Publications Inc. Cover Price:$35.40 Our Price:$15.00 Issues:12 issues/12 months Parents The most trusted magazine for parents who want to raise smart,loving and self-confident children.Each issue has age-specific child-development guidance,advice on your child's health and safety,and the best ways to encourage your child's learning. Publisher:Meredith Corporation Cover Price:$42.00 Our Price:$9.97 Issues:12 issues/12 months Entertainment This magazine covers movies,television,music,Broadway stage productions,books,and popular culture.Unlike _ like People,its main concentration is on entertainment media and reviews.It's intended for a more general audience. Publisher:The Time Inc.Magazine Company Cover Price:$199.50 Our Price:$38.95 Issues:57 issues/12 months You're most likely to find the above information _ . A in an educational magazine B on a magazine club website C in a guide to magazines D in a magazine sales report Answer: B Developing healthy eating habits starts from childhood, therefore it is important for parents to teach and provide children with a healthy diet. DPHSS administrator of the Bureau of Nutrition Services, Charlie Morris told KUAM News, "A healthy diet for a child consists of a lot of fruits and vegetables in the diet limiting the amount of simple sugars in the diet and high fat food and highly processed food." This means staying away as much as possible from food such as chips, cookies, candies and sugary drinks, as all children need to have meals which involve a well-balanced diet. Community nutritionist Thelma Romoso said, "The fruit, the vegetable, the grain, the protein, and also the milk, the diary product, so for the fruits it's easy for a mother to go into the two plus three concept of fruits and vegetables or five a day." This concept means that there are at least two servings of fruits a day, three servings of vegetables a day which can be served for lunch and dinner. As for protein parents can make a variety of dishes from chicken, beef, fish or even dried beans to pledge the child gets three servings a day. Morris said that the child's hunger level controls how much is eaten and the parent controls what and when the meal is offered, saying, "Mom needs to ensure that the food offered is good food for the child to eat and throughout the day depending on how active they are, snacks are not a bad thing, so the mom should offer good kinds of snacks." When it comes to preparing your child's lunch and snacks for school, make sure to keep in mind that the food you provide should not only be a source of energy but also be nutritionally beneficial such as fresh fruits, and whole grain bread. But parents must be sure to remember that a good nutritional diet must be balanced with physical activity, namely it is important that children get outside and run around and play and get activity in addition to eating a good diet. According to Charlie Morris we can know that _ . A mothers should prepare delicious food by themselves B highly processed food should be reduced in daily life C sugars and high fat exist in few kinds of food D active children prefer more and more snacks Answer: B Tom and Fred are talking about the year 2020. "What will our world be like in the year 2020?" asks Tom. "I don't know," says Fred. "What do you think?" asks Tom. "Well, no one knows, but it's interesting to guess," says Fred. "In the year 2020 everyone will carry a pocket computer. The computer will give people the answer to all their problem. We will have telephones in our pockets, too, and we will be able to talk to our friends," says Tom. "A lot of people will live and work under the sea. Machines will do most of the work, and so people will have more holidays. They will be able to fly to the moon by spaceship and spend their holidays there," says Fred. "And I hope I will be able to live under the sea," says Tom. "Won't that be very interesting? Just like a fish." Machines will do _ of the work. A most B some C much D little Answer: A Most people watching Jeremy Lin these past two months saw Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks star; but I, watching him, saw someone else. That was my elder brother, Bob, who is athletic and energetic. He could never sit still when he was in second grade; he had to get up every now and then and run around the room. And sure enough, he grew up to be a starting player for an N.C.A.A. championship lacrosse team. He was a Nike-endorsed marathoner, too, and reached the top of Mt. Everest, unguided, in his 50s. And yet my family never watched his lacrosse games. We did watch some of his marathons, but that wasn't until he was in his 20s. When Bob was in his glory days, our Shanghainese-born parents were bent on getting him into medical school. There was a loving aspect to it: I can remember my father working through math books with him, lesson by lesson, at the big blackboard in the attic. Bob never did become a doctor, though; and neither did I. It wasn't until my younger sister came along that someone in the family finally wore a white coat. Bob today could be the fittest 58-year-old on the planet. His doctor estimates his biological age at 35; he's still climbing big mountains in the Himalayas. And, like Jeremy Lin, he's charming. No one sees Bob without leaving with a laugh. He sometimes jokes he could be mayor of his building, and it's true. To know him is to cheer for him. And yet my parents did not cheer for him. What if my mother had sat on the sidelines with her statistics, like Jeremy Lin's mother? What if my father had played videos of athletes for my brother to watch and imitate? It's hard not to wonder. And how did Jeremy Lin's parents manage to do these remarkable things? Amy Chua, the tiger mother, recalls her immigrant father beating the kids whenever they mispronounced a Chinese word. How is it that Jeremy Lin's immigrant father in particular, Gie-Ming Lin, encouraged his son to follow such an untraditional path? Which of the following statements is probably TRUE? A Bob was always ignored by his parents B Bob could also have been a sport star. C Bob's parents often watched his games. D Nobody in the author's family was a doctor. Answer: B There are three photos of my good friends on my desk. In the first photo you can see Jerry. He is a tall and cool boy with short and straight hair. He is the captain of our basketball team. He is very popular. All my classmates like him very much. In the second photo, you can see the boy with glasses. His name is Jack. He is short and a little bit heavy. But he is very smart and funny. He often tells us funny stories and makes us happy. In the third photo, you can see two girls. They are drinking water. The girl on the left is Lucy. She is a beautiful girl from London. She has long blond hair and big eyes. She can sing very well, and she can also speak a little Chinese. The girl on the right is Li Yun. She is a Chinese girl with beautiful black hair. She studies very hard. She says she wants to be a scientist when she grows up. Which is right? A Jack is tall and cool. B Li Yun has long blond hair and big eyes. C Lucy wants to be a scientist. D Jack is smart and funny. Answer: D
Many families survive the winter thanks to furnace I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. While others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids' too. But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did. My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, then we should be gone one hour or less -- not one hour and one minute. And she always insisted upon us telling the truth. Now you can see how mean she was. The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept - my mother actually had the courage to break the Child Labor Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook. We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. Our marks in school had to live up to expectations. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, being as different as she was, would be satisfied with nothing less than ugly black marks. As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out. My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested or divorced. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults. I am now trying to raise my three children. I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the whole world. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . The author worked hard and usually got good grades in studies. When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to grandma's generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday best. But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware and stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times. Last week _ , the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs -- one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4, 000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier. Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company "has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend" toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television. Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it's better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a "real" dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time? Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents (" Chew with your mouth closed." "Keep your elbows off the table. ") must be picked up else-where. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be able professionally but inexperienced socially. The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is _ . the change in people's way of life When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you're at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it. Cigarette? Cup of coffee? No, it's the third most addictive thing in modem life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to _ their longing to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships. The costs are becoming more and more evident, and I don't mean just the monthly bill. Dr. Chris Knippers, a counselor at the Betty ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality. Sounds extreme, but we' ve all witnessed the evidence: The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him. Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell - phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation. He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e - mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don't have as many friends as our parents. " Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends," he says. If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it's because it has become very widespread. Consider that in 1987, there were only l million cell phones in use. Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them. They far outnumber wired phones in the United States. The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea that _ . cell phones do not necessarily bring people together My students often tell me that they do not have "enough time" to do all their homework. My response often is "You have as much time as the president." I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that "not enough time" is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done. Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to my professor that I was working hard. His answer was "That's irrelevant .What's important is the quality of your work." That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work, which is perhaps best explained in a sign: "Don't work harder. Work smarter." If you can't get more time, as few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of your work. That means improving ways to get more out of the same time. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits, which for students should be read as "study habits". Then as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you can, it will pay off in all your subjects. As to improving reading, one suggestion is to take a quick nap when you feel reading puts you to sleep, which later helps you read better. The second solution is to speed up. But there are other issues. First, you need to find a place where you can work without unnecessary disturbances. Second, you need to take control. Success depends on realizing that you have to take active control over what you are doing. Third, you might as well get hold of a good book on reading and master the reading skills that pay off in all your classes. Talking about advice on good writing habits, you simply have to master the writing skills. Increasing your efficiency in both reading and writing will pay off immediately in terms of the quality of your work and in terms of the time spent doing it. Then you will be able to do better work in less time. And maybe you will find time to play golf with the president. The author believes a most important way for a student to improve work quality is to _ . improve reading and writing skills
Question: One day Frank was walking with his mother when they came to a pretty garden. Frank looked in, and saw that it had clean gravel walks and beautiful flowers. He called to his mother and said, "Mum, come and look at this pretty garden. I wish I might open the gate, and walk in." The gardener heard what Frank said, and kindly invited him and his mother to come into the garden. Frank's mother thanked the man. Then she said to her son, "Frank, if I take you to walk in this garden, you must take care not to meddle with anything in it." Frank walked along the tidy gravel walks, and looked at everything, but touched nothing that he saw. He did not step on any of the borders , and was careful that his clothes should not brush the tops of the flowers so that he might not break them. The gardener was much pleased with Frank, because he was so careful to behave well. He showed him the seeds, and told him the name of many of the flowers and plants. While Frank was admiring the beauty of a flower, a little boy came to the gate, and finding it locked. He shook it hard, but it would not open. Then he said, "Let me in. Let me in. Will you not let me in this garden?" "No," said the gardener, "1 will not let you in, Tom. When I let you in yesterday, you meddled with my flowers, and pulled some of my fruit. I do not choose to let a boy into my garden who meddles with the plants." Tom looked ashamed, and when he found that the gardener would not let him in, he went slowly away. Frank saw and felt how much happier a boy may be by not meddling with what does not belong to him. He and his mother then continued their walk in the garden, and enjoyed the day very much. Before they left, the gardener gave each of them some pretty flowers. The gardener didn't _ . A. show Frank any seeds B. let Tom in the garden a second time C. give Frank and his mother any flowers D. tell Frank the names of many of the flowers Answer: B Question: This is the twin's bedroom. The two beds looks the same . This bed is Wang Lei's. It is near the window. That one is Wang Fang's. It's behind the door. The twins have one desk and two chairs. Their clock, books and pencils are on the desk. Their schoolbags are on the chairs. Wang Lei's shirt is on his bed. On Wang Fang's bed there is her skirt. It's yellow. The room isn't big, but nice. The bed behind the door is _ . A. Wang Lei's B. Wang Fang's C. theirs D. different Answer: B Question: Charles went on a bike ride last week when he was on vacation. His father took him Saturday morning. It had rained Thursday and Friday. They got in his father's truck and put their bikes in the back. Father and son went to a bike path in a town near them. Trees were on both sides of the path. It was nice and warm outside, but Charles like riding on the road between the trees. There was a lot of shade. Charles saw several friends and people from school when they were riding. He got to ride with Harry and Peter. They also rode with Peter's sisters, Anne, Kelley, and Beth. His friend Paul also went by. They only said, "Hi," to each other. Charles fell once. He fell after seeing a girl he liked. Her name was Claire. She came over to see if he was okay. He had a small cut on his arm. His father put a bandage on his arm and they rode back to the truck. Charles and his father stopped for ice cream. They both got sundaes and ate them when they got home. They were glad they went for a ride because it also rained on Sunday. What day did Charles go on a bike ride with his father? A. Friday. B. Saturday C. Thursday. D. Sunday Answer: B Question: A bulldozer alters the area of A. skyscrapers B. the stock market C. air D. water Answer: A Question: An item placed on a balance will be A. broken B. measured C. sorted D. classified Answer: B
Researchers in the field of psychology have found that one of the best ways to make an important decision, such as choosing a university to attend or a business to invest in, involves the use of a decision worksheet. Psychologists who study optimization compare the actual decision made by people to theoretical ideal decisions to see how similar they are. Proponents of the worksheet procedure believe that it will yield optimal, that is, the best decisions. Although there are several variations on the exact format that worksheets can take, they are all similar in their essential aspects. Worksheets require defining the problem in a clear and concise way and then listing all possible solutions to the problem. Next, the relevant considerations that will be affected by each decision are listed, and the importance of each consideration or consequence is determined. Each consideration is assigned a numerical value to reflect its importance. A decision is mathematically calculated by adding these values together. The alternative with the highest number of points emerges as the best decision. Since most important problems are multifaceted ,there are several alternatives to choose from, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. One of the benefits of a pencil and paper decision-making procedure is that it permits people to deal with more variables than their minds can generally comprehend and remember. On the average, people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at once. A worksheet can be especially useful when the decision involves a large number of variables with complex relationships. A realistic example for many college students is the question "What will I do after graduation?" A graduate might seek a position that offers specialized training, pursue an advanced degree, or travel abroad for a year. A decision-making worksheet begins with a concise statement of the problem that will also help to narrow it. It is important to be clear about the distinction between long-range and immediate goals because long-range goals often involve a different decision than short-range ones. Focusing on long-range goals, a graduating student might revise the question above to "What will I do after graduation that lead to successful career?" Of the following steps, which occurs before the others in making a decision worksheet? Answer: Wang Yan, a 15-year-old Chinese girl, likes eating snacks very much. She prefers cream biscuits, McDonald's food, KFC chicken. As a result, she has become overweight. Today in China, there are many children like Wang Yan. Health experts say that children should have healthy eating habits. First, they must eat regular meals and begin with a healthy breakfast. Second, they should have different kinds of foods, such as fruit, vegetables, grain, eggs, milk and meat. Third, children shouldn't eat too much junk food. It's delicious, but eating it often is bad for their health. If children do as the experts say, they won't become overweight. They will be healthier. Students won't become tired at school, and they will have enough energy to study hard. What kind of food are good for our health according to the passage? Answer: Is your TV connected to the Internet? What about your chair,or your fridge? Probably they are not. But in the future, most things in your home may be connected, thanks to the so-called "Internet of things". The Internet of things may be coming sooner than you think. Earlier this year, A Samsung CEO spent a lot of time talking about the Internet things. He said that five years from now,every Samsung product will be part of the Internet of things,no matter whether it's a remote control or a washing machine. So, how do household objects that are part of the Internet of things work? Well,think of a common chair. When connected to the Internet, the chair warms up when it knows the user has just walked into the room and is feeling cold. An Internet-connected camera could help people feel safer in their homes. It can know people's faces and has an infrared sensor ,so even if it's dark it can see when someone passes by and send you a message on your smartphone to let you know who's there. If the person is someone you don't know,it can tell you that ,too. But according to MIT Technology Roview, whether companies are connecting dog food bowls or security systems to the Internet, there may be some problems. For example, many early connected-home objects don't have much built-in security, which means they could be hacked . Morever, it could be difficult to get these new machines to work together especially when they are made by different companies. To fight this ,many companies have joined the Open Interconnect Consortium, which had 45 menbers by late 2014. So, picture this: you enter your home.The temperature changes to make you feel comfortable. Your favorite music starts playing for you. Do you think that this would be a good thing? I t may happen sooner than you think. Which of the following words best describes the writer's tone in the article? Answer: Internet users can give websites a thumbs up or thumbs down in less than the blink of an eye, according to a recent study by Canadian researchers. Specifically, a positive or negative decision is made within one-twentieth of a second -- less than half the time it takes to blink.It is also about the time for users to read just one word on the website. In the study at the Carleton University in Ottawa, websites were flashed up on a screen for participants to view for 50 milliseconds, and then rated by the viewer. Later when the pages were viewed again for longer periods of time, the viewers' opinion were the same. The study was published in the March/April issue of the journal Behaviour & Information Technology. "It really is just a physiological response.If the first impression is negative, you'll probably drive people off," said Dr.Gitte Lindgard, the leading researcher, "So Web designers have to make sure they're not offending users visually." However, the results did not show how to win a positive reaction from users."When we looked at the websites that we tested, there is really nothing there that tells us what leads to dislike or to like," Dr.Lindgard said. Usually the appeal of a website is tied to color1, movement and interactivity .And while further research may offer more clues , personal taste would always be a limiting factor, according to Lindgard. "If the designs were _ to a set of principles, wouldn't we find an awful lot of similar houses, gardens, cars?" she said."We'd have no variety." What might be the factor that leads to a negative first impression on a website? Answer: Grade 9 Welcomes You to Parents'Night! Welcome to Parents' Night at Johnson School On Tuesday night. We will share some of our work with you. Please spend some time looking around our classroom. Here are some of the things you will find: A class book, the Bare Facts about Bears, that we just published. Each student wrote one page about a bear of his or her choice. Some of the bears you will about polar bears. Maps of the countries we are studying. Through our maps, you will learn about India, Mexico, and France. You will also know about the different countries and languages of these countries. Models of the planets in our solar system. We used small balls and colored paper to build a model of planets and the sun. Our classroom store. Here we buy and sell things. We learn about money and also practice math skills. What do students do at the classroom store? Answer:
The American humorist,Will Rogers,used to say,"All I kown is what I read in the newspapers".This was an exaggeration for humorous purposes,but it is true that newspapers are an important source of information.Many people begin their day by reading the paper.In this way they learn what is going on in the world.Sometimes,however,they don't have time to read the news carefully and must be satisfied with a quick look at the front page;at other times they may be in such a hurry that they have time only to glance at the headlines. There are newspapers to satisfy every reader.In the big cities there are many types of papers,with several different editions every day. In small towns there are fewer newspapers and perhaps only one edition each day.In some areas the paper is printed weekly. Most newspapers have several sections,especially on Sundays when the edition is larger than usual.There are,in addition to the front page with the most important news,the sports section,the society page,the comics,the amusement section,a business page,and the editorials. Another type of publication which helps keep the population informed is the magazine. Some magazines are published weekly,others are put out monthly.There are news magazines,literary magazines,and magazines for such special interests as photography,sports,art,and music,Some are primarily for men,others for women,and there is a selection of children's magazines,too. In the United States, there are publications for every taste and interest. The purpose of headlines is _ . A to show the main idea of an article or a passage B to tell its readers how to entitle an article or a passage C a piece of news for people to glance at D to be printed in large letters above a story in a newspaper Answer: A. to show the main idea of an article or a passage How many times have you gotten upset because someone wasn't doing their job, because your child isn't behaving?How many times have you been annoyed when you've planned something carefully and things didn't go as you'd hoped? This kind of anger and irritation happens to all of us -- it's part of the human experience. One thing that annoys me is when people talk during a movie. Or cut me off in traffic. Actually, I have a lot of these little annoyances -- don't we all? And it isn't always easy to find peace when you've become upset or annoyed. Let me tell you a little secret to finding peace of mind: _ See, the cause of our stress, anger and irritation is that things don't go the way we like, the way we expect them to. Think of how many times this has been true for you. And so the solution is simple: expect things to go wrong, expect things to be different than we hoped or planned, expect the unexpected to happen. And accept it. One quick example: on our recent trip to Japan, I told my kids to expect things to go wrong -- they always do on a trip. I told them, "See it as part of the adventure." And this worked like a charm. When we took the wrong train on a foreign-language subway system, or when it rained on the day we went to Disney Sea, or when we took three trains and walked 10 blocks only to find the National Children's Castle closed on Mondays ... they said, "It's part of the adventure!" And it was all OK -- we didn't get too bothered. So when the nice glass you bought inevitably falls and breaks, someday, you might get upset. But not if you see the glass as already broken, from the day you get it. You know it'll break someday, so from the beginning, see it as already broken. Be a time-traveler, or someone with time-traveling vision, and see the future of this glass, from this moment until it inevitably breaks. And when it breaks, you won't be upset or sad -- because it was already broken, from the day you got it. And you'll realize that every moment you have with it is precious. The purpose of the author is to _ . A tell us his own experience in life B give advice on how to find peace of mind C tell us a happy trip took with his children D advise us to see things from both sides Answer: B. give advice on how to find peace of mind Men are spending more and more time in the kitchen encouraged by celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, according to a report from Oxford University. The effect of the celebrity role models, who have given cooking a more manly picture, has combined with a more general drive towards sexual equality and men now spend more than twice the amount of time preparing meals than they did in 1961. According to the research by Prof. Jonatahn Gershuny, who runs the Centre for Time Research at Oxford, men now spend more than half an hour a day cooking, up from just 12 minutes a day in 1961. Prof. Gershuny said, "The man in the kitchen is part of a much wider social trend. There has been 40 years of sexual equality, but there is another 40 years probably to come." Women, who a generation ago spent nearly two hours a day cooking, now spend just one hour and seven minutes--a great fall, but they still spend far more time in the kitchen than men. Some experts have named these men in aprons as "Gastrosexuals (men using cooking skills to impress friends)", who have been inspired to pick up a kitchen knife by the success of Ramsay, Oliver as well as other male celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Marco Pierre White and Keith Floyd. "I was married in 1974. When my father came to visit me a few weeks later, I was wearing an apron when I opened the door. He laughed," said Prof. Gershuny. "That would never happen now." Two-thirds of adults say that they come together to share at least three times a week, even if it is not necessarily around a kitchen or dining room table. Prof. Gershuny pointed out that the family meal was now rarely eaten by all of its members around a table--with many "family meals" in fact taken on the sofa in the sitting room, and shared by family members. "The family meal has changed a lot, and few of us eat--as I did when I was a child--at least two meals a day together as a family. But it has survived in a different format." How did Prof. Gershuny see the family meal according to the passage? A It has become a thing of the past. B It is very different from what it used to be. C It shouldn't be advocated in modern times. D It is beneficial to the stability of the family. Answer: B. It is very different from what it used to be. While most travelers aim to stay out of the hospital while on vacation, a growing number of medical tourists-people who combine treatment with travel - are crossing international borders for the purpose of getting medical services, which can range from a hip replacement to a tummy tuck. Widespread air travel, increasing healthcare costs in developed countries, long waiting lists and an ageing world population have all contributed to a global increase in medical tourism in the past decade. And Asia takes the lead in terms of world market share. More than 89% of medical tourists travelled to Thailand, India or Singapore in 2010, with Bangkok and Singapore leading the pack. But the cost of hotel rooms and treatment are both far more expensive in Singapore than in the Thai capital, making Bangkok the most popular place for medical tourism in the world. Even after the serious floods of 2011, 19 million tourists visited Thailand in 2011, a 20% jump from 2010, with about 500,000 tourists travelling specifically for medical treatment. Given Thailand's reputation for outstanding service, it is not hard to see why Bangkok has quickly become the medical tourism centre of Asia. The Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT), which began medical tourism in 2004, has a detailed medical tourism website that lists many of the most popular treatments available, including dental work, dermatology and cosmetic surgery, as well as listing reputed hospitals, making it easy for potential visitors to decide on a procedure. TAT has also recently partnered with Krungthai Bank, the national bank of Thailand, to offer tourists a card called the Miracle Thailand Card, which offers some medical and life insurance coverage in case of an accident. "The hospitals in Bangkok are some of the highest quality in the world,meeting US standards,"said Steven Lash, CEO of a US-based medical travel company that sends tourists to Bangkok as well as to seven other countries, including Turkey and Mexico. "All of the tourists we have sent to these hospitals have given us excellent feedback on their procedures and their experiences at the hospitals." What is the text mainly about? A The background of medical tourism. B The rise of medical tourism in Bangkok. C The advantages of medical tourism in Bangkok. D The comparison of medical tourism in Asian countries. Answer: B. The rise of medical tourism in Bangkok. Recently, a scientist did some experiments. He left a group of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a candy. If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the candy. If, however, they didn't ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two candies. In videos of the experiment, he can see the children kicking, hiding their eyes--trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two candies. The results are different. Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute. Others lasted 15 minutes. The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores. They got into better colleges and had better adult success. The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to have received worse teacher and parental evaluations 10 years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32. The experiments are worth noting because people spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve education, how to become rich. But when the result is not good, they will come back to ask " how do we get people to get the sort of self-control that leads to success? " This is to enter the world of human nature. So these experiments along with everyday experience, tell us that self-control is most important. Young people who can sit through sometimes boring classes to get a degree can work hard in order to learn a language well. They can avoid drugs and alcohol. For people without self-control skills, however, school is a series of failed ordeals . No wonder they drop out and their later life is a group of foolish ideas, such as drug use, stealing and so on. How long did the scientist's experiments last according to the text? A Just 15 minutes. B Within 10 years. C Less than 14 years. D More than 28 years. Answer: D. More than 28 years.
Question: URBANA, ILL. (AP)--Mike dropped out of college to support his pregnant girlfriend and now works as a manager of a trucking company, Lynn graduated with honors from Harvard University and was hired as a lawyer with a top law firm in a major city. What do these two people have in common? Ten years ago they were both high school valedictorians . A University of Illinois study follows the lives of 81 valedictorians and salutatorians who graduated a decade ago from public and private high schools in the state. Tales of Success and Failure The study found tales of success and failure. The research on 46 women and 35 men found that some were doctors and scientists, one was a drug addict, another was a waitress with emotional problems. "There is a popular idea about people who do well in school doing well in life," said Terry Denny, professor of education. Denny conducted the study with Karen Arnold, a former graduate student of Denny' s who is now a professor at Boston College. Denny and Arnold contacted the 81 students before graduation, and then followed up with interviews nearly every other year. They also sent them questionnaires in the mail. Varied Careers One-third of the students are lawyers, or have a doctorate. Nineteen are in business and 15 are engineers or computer scientists. Others include a farmer, a stock broker, and an aerobics instructor. Arnold says many of the students have only average positions in the work world and that "most are not headed for greatness in their careers." Denny, however, says that it is too early to make such predictions. "Who expects someone to be on the Supreme Court at the age of 28 or to be the discoverer of an important scientific invention right after college?" he said. "These students are just getting started in life. They are just beginning to find out what life is all about." Who probably wrote this article? A. College graduates B. Reporters C. Professors and researchers D. Teachers Answer: B Question: Climate change,pollution,overuse of water and development are killing some of the world's most famous rivers including China's Yangtze.India's Ganges and Africa's Nile.WWF said on Tuesday.At the global launch of its report "World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk",the group said many rivers could dry out, affecting hundreds of millions of people and killing unique aquatic life. "If these rivers die,millions will lose their livelihoods,biodiversity will be destroyed on a massive scale,there will be less fresh water and agriculture,resulting in less food security,"said.Rayi Singh,secretary--general of WWF--India.The report launched ahead of "World Water Day" today,also cited the Rio Grande in the United States,the Mekong and Indus in Asia,Europe's Danube, La Plata in South America and Australia's Murray--Darling as in need of greater protection. Rivers are the world's main source of fresh water and WWF says about half of the available supply is already being used up.Dams have destroyed habitats and cut rivers off from their flood plains.while climate change could affect the seasonal water flows that feed them,the report said.Fish populations,the top source of protein and overall life support for hundreds of thousands of communities worldwide,are also being threatened, it found..The Yangtze basin is one of the most polluted rivers in the world because of decades of heavy industrialization,damming and huge influxes of sediment from land conversion. Climate change,including higher temperatures,also means serious consequences for fishery productivity,water supply and political security in Africa's arid Nile basin.Tributaries flowing into the Ganges are drying up because of irrigation,WWF said. WWF is probably a name of _ . A. an organization B. a newspaper C. a magazine D. a report Answer: A Question: What is one way plants and animals are different? A. Plants do not need minerals, and animals do. B. Plants produce their own food, and animals do not. C. Plants do not produce oxygen, and animals do. D. Plants need sunlight, and animals do not. Answer: B Question: Brazil has become one of the developing world's great successes in reducing population growth--but more by accident than design.While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates,Brazil has had better result without really trying,says George Martine at Harvard. Brazil's population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990,and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average.Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990,an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries. Martine _ ,among other things,soap operas and installment plans introduced in the 1970s.Both played an important,although indirect,role in lowering the birth rate.Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of soap operas.Globo,Brazil's most popular television network,shows three hours of soaps six nights a week,while three others show at least one hour a night.Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities. "Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction ,they describe middle and upper class values--not many children,different attitudes towards sex,women working,"says Martine."They sent this message to all parts of Brazil and made people realise other patterns of family life and other values,which were put into a very attractive package." Meanwhile,the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers."This led to change in consumption patterns and consumption did not get along well with unlimited reproduction,"says Martine. From the passage,we can conclude that _ . A. India have reduced birth rates by accident,too B. many other Third World countries are suffering a population growth rate now C. Brazil government's achieved a success reducing the birth rate purposely D. Brazil has successfully reduced population growth--but more by accident than design Answer: B Question: Smart approached Johnson and inquired about hiring someone to kill his girlfriend's parents. Unknown to Smart, Johnson was an undercover police officer who pretended to agree to handle the job and secretly taped subsequent conversations with Smart concerning plans and payment. A few days before the payment was due, Smart changed his mind and called the plan off. Nevertheless, Smart was charged with solicitation to commit murder. Smart should be A. acquitted, because he withdrew before payment and commission of the act. B. acquitted, because no substantial acts were performed. C. convicted, because the offense was completed before his attempt to withdraw. D. convicted, because Johnson agreed to commit the offense. Answer: C
Question: About influenza A(H7N9) virus What is the influenza A(H7N9) virus? Influenza A H7 viruses are a group of influenza viruses that normally spread among birds. The influenza A(H7N9) virus is one smaller group among the larger group of H7 viruses. Although some H7 viruses (H7N2, H7N3 and H7N7) have sometimes been found to infect humans, no human infections with H7N9 viruses have been reported until recent reports from China. What are the main signs of human infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus? So far, most patients with this infection have had severe pneumonia . Signs include fever, cough and shortness of breath. However, information is still limited about the full area of disease that infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus might cause. How did people become infected with the influenza A(H7N9) virus? Some of the confirmed cases had connections with animals or with an animal environment. The virus has been found in a pigeon in a market in Shanghai. It is not yet known how persons became infected. The possibility of animal-to-human spread is being looked into. Is it safe to eat meat like chicken and pork products? Influenza viruses are not spread through eating well-cooked food. Because influenza viruses are made inactive by normal temperatures used for cooking (so that food reaches 70degC in all parts), it is safe to eat properly prepared and cooked meat. Diseased animals and animals that have died of diseases should not be eaten. In areas experiencing outbreaks, meat products can be safely eaten only if they are properly cooked and properly handled during food preparation. The eating of raw meat and uncooked blood-based dishes is a high-risk practice and should be discouraged. Is it safe to travel to China? The number of confirmed cases in China is very low. WHO does not advise the application of any travel measures with respect to visitors to China, nor to persons leaving China. Are Chinese products safe? There is no evidence to link the present cases with any Chinese products. WHO advises that people should not fear to trade them at this time. According to this passage the way of spreading the influenza A(H7N9) virus is _ . A. animal-to-human transmission B. person-to-person transmission C. consuming badly-cooked food D. not determined yet Answer: D Question: Where can you go to listen to important people talk about important subjects? BigThink.com is a new website that allows Internet users to discuss certain topics with world experts . Subjects discussed on BigThink include the environment, music and questions about happiness and personal identity. The website has been called a YouTube for thinkers. Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins created BigThink.com. They said that people needed an international place to communicate with each other and discuss the important issues of our times. On the BigThink website, when you click on a subject, you will find a video of a person talking about his or her ideas. For example, you can listen to United States Senator Ted Kennedy talking about education and other things. Besides, you can read the comments and questions written by other visitors to the website. More than one hundred experts have expressed their ideas on the website. BigThink's creators started the website by first getting famous people to agree to be videoed. They began by interviewing several well-known professors from Harvard University. Then they used the names of these professors to gain the trust of others and get them to take part in the project. The website says BigThink belongs to everyone. Its motto is: "We are what you think." So, go online and start thinking big. What's the text mainly about? A. How to set up one's own website. B. A brief introduction to BigThink.com. C. What to do on BigThink.com. D. The importance of sharing ideas with others. Answer: B Question: Joker found one of the biggest diamonds in the world in his own back yard. He sold the stone to a diamond dealer for over three hundred thousand dollars. In New York, the diamond was resold. This time for almost eight hundred thousand dollars. The true value of a diamond is never known until it has been cut. Once cut successfully, its value can increase a thousand times. It's easy to understand why the owner of the Joker diamond went to the best diamond cutter he knew, Kaplan. The cutter studied the diamond for twelve whole months. When he felt he was ready to start work, he discovered a flaw . He had to begin with his calculations all over again, or he might have made the stone useless. Six more months passed, and Kaplan finally said to the owner, "I m ready to start my work. There will be one excellent diamond that be comparable to any in the world, plus eleven small diamonds of first-class quality." Kaplan waited a few more days until be felt he was in the best physical and mental condition possible. He picked up his tools and held his breath as he made the first blow. The diamond split exactly as he promised. Joker found one of the biggest diamonds in the world _ . A. in a minute B. at the foot of a big mountain C. in his own backyard D. in a garage Answer: C Question: In most parts of the world, many students help their schools make less pollution. They join "environment clubs ". In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean. Here are some things students often do. No-garbage lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school. No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car. Not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember: walk, jump, bike and run. Use your legs! It's lots of fun.. Turn off the water! Did you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic meters of water an hour? In a year, that would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets. We love our environment. Let's work together to make it clean. Environment clubs ask students _ . A. to run to school every day B. to take exercise every day C. not to forget to take cars D. to use lunch bags Answer: D Question: Once upon a time, a horse, a cow, a ox, and a donkey were playing outside when they got really hungry. So, they went to a drive-in to get some lunch. The horse ordered a cheeseburger. The cow ordered a chili dog. The ox ordered a chicken sandwich. And the donkey ordered a fish sandwich. The horse ordered fries. The cow ordered onion rings. The ox ordered a baked potato. The donkey ordered a side salad. The horse had ketchup on his cheeseburger. The cow had mayonnaise on his chili dog. The ox had mustard on his chicken sandwich. And the donkey had Miracle Whip on his fish sandwich. But the restaurant didn't get any of the orders right because they had their sauces mixed up. The ketchup got mixed up with the Miracle Whip. The mayonnaise got mixed up with the ketchup. The mustard got mixed up with the mayonnaise. And the Miracle Whip got mixed up with the mustard. The Miracle Whip was red. The ketchup was yellow. The mayonnaise was blue. And the mustard was green. Who ordered a side salad? A. the cow B. the donkey C. the horse D. the ox Answer: B
Even a child knows that nodding the head means "Yes". But some people will probably be puzzled when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, he often shakes his head. They might think that the Indian does not like what he said, but _ he is expressing agreement. The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody. It doesn't mean "No", but "Yes". If a person doesn't know this, it might cause misunderstanding. At one time a foreigner in Indian told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver shook his head. The foreigner repeated his request and the driver shook his head again. At last, the foreigner shouted angrily, "Drive me to my office at once!" The driver said in a low voice, "Yes, sir," smiling and shaking his head again at the same time. Why did the foreigner become angry? Because _ . A the Indian driver didn't want to send him to his office B he misunderstood the meaning of shaking the head in India C he asked the driver to send him to his office, but the Indian driver didn't say any words D the Indian driver asked him for a lot of money Answer: B Big ocean fish have almost disappeared from the world since the start of business fishing in the 1950's.The scientists found that the number of large fish has dropped by 90 percent in the past fifty years.The study took ten years.The researchers collected records from fishing business and governments around the world.The magazine Nature published the findings. The scientists say the common way called longline fishing is especially harmful to large fish.This way includes many fishing lines that are connected to one boat.If these lines are joined together,they can reach one hundred kilometers.They hold thousands of sharp metal hooks to catch fish.Longline fishing is especially common in the Japanese fishing industry.Records show that Japanese boats used to catch about ten fish for every hundred hooks.The study says longline fishing boats now might catch one fish per hundred hooks. The scientists say business fishing can destroy groups of fish much faster than in the past.The study suggests that large fish can disappear almost completely from new fishing areas within ten to fifteen years.Ocean life system could be destroyed. It's not the only worry that the number of large fish is becoming smaller and smaller.What's worse.they are smaller in size than their ancestors . Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? A Longline fishing B Japanese fishing industry C Modem fishing ways D Worrying situation of big ocean fish Answer: D 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 of the following can be the best title of the whole passage? A Fly light. B Fly safe. C Fly cheap. D Fly often. Answer: C During photosynthesis, plants absorb light energy from the Sun and convert it into chemical energy in the form of glucose. Which compounds combine in the presence of sunlight to form glucose? A carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) B oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) C carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) D oxygen (O2) and water (H2O) Answer: C Valentine's Day is on February 14th every year. On this day, people send valentines to their loved ones, Valentine's Day is a special time to tell how much you care about a person. Many people send candy in hearted shaped("")boxes to people they love. Flowers are also presents that people send on Valentine's Day. Valentine cards with words are often used by many people. Can you guess who gets the greatest number of Valentine cards in the United States each year? Is it mother or father, sister or brother? Is it uncle or aunt? Is it the special friend? No, it isn't! Mothers get a lot of cards, but school teachers get the most each year. Do you know who sends the most? Children do. Children send five times as many on February 14th as adults do. Valentines Day _ . A comes once a year B is on February 4th C comes twice a year D is on the first day of spring Answer: A
"Choo, Choo!" Here comes the Chunnel train. Get aboard if you want to learn more about this underground transportation system. This is an unusual form of transportation, because it is a tunnel that trains travel through and not an actual form of transportation. The Chunnel is actually the English nickname for the Channel Tunnel. In French, it is called le tunnel sous la Manche. It is a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Straits of Dover. It connects Cheriton in Kent, England with Sangatte in northern France. It is the second longest rail tunnel in the world. Did you know that the British and the French had a race whi1e they were building the Chunnel? The race was to see who could get to the middle of the tunnel first. The British won by a little bit. It took 15,000 workers over seven years to dig the tunnel. The tunnel was finished in 1994. The completed Chunnel cost about $ 21 billion. But it all paid off, because it became very popular, very quick. Millions of people use it. Now it is getting even more popular. There are three complete tunnels in the Chunnel. The two outside ones are the passenger trains. The small inner one is a guidance train. The guidance train is not used for transportation. Each track is exactly parallel to each other. There are four different train systems in the Chunnel. The Eurostar is a high speed passenger service that connects London, Paris, Brussels, and Lille. The Eurotunnel shuttle is a rail ferry service. These shuttles carry cars. These are railcars that allow drivers to drive their vehicles on and off. There are also two Eurotunnel goods service trains. Now you know more about the Chunnel. Everybody off, this is the last stop. The Eurotunnel shuttle is intended to carry _ . drivers and their vehicles Harry Houdini(1874--1926) was a world-famous magician and a performer of death-defying stunts . His world fame was based on a series of astonishing escapology tricks. He was able to free himself from obviously escape--proof devices, including leg irons, handcuffs (as many as ten pairs at the same time), locked prison cells and crates which had been nailed shut. His most striking skill was when he escaped from an airtight tank that was filled with water. Houdini was born in Budapapest, prefix = st1 /Hungary, and his family moved to theUSAwhen he was a child. For a time, they lived in a cheap boarding house inNew Yorkand they struggled to make a living. One of Harry's first jobs was an apprentice to a locksmith , which is where he mastered the art of opening locks without using a key. In 1891, Houdini became a professional magician, but at first he met with little success. When he began experimenting with escapology, however, he so impressed a theatre manager who saw him that he was strongly advised to concentrate on that part of his act. Within months, he was a huge success, performing at top theatres, not only in the USAbut also in Europe. He created a sensation inLondon, when he made an elephant disappear from the stage of the Hippodrome Theatre. What the audience didn't know was that below the stage was a swimming pool filled with water, where the somewhat terrified elephant finished up! Back in the USA, he produced the most dangerous act of his career--the Water Torture. He was suspended(,) upside down in a water tank which was full to overflowing. He had to hold his breath for more than three minutes to escape. In a fictionalised film of his life, he "died" doing this trick. This is not true. He actually died of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital. Which of the following statements is TRUE? Houdini was famous for his astonishing magic. Tom was ten years old and he was a very lazy boy. He didn't like doing any work. He had to go to school, of course , but he didn't study hard there and tried to do as little work as possible. His father and mother were both doctors and they hoped that their son would become one, too. But one day Tom said to his mother, " When I finish school, I want to be a dustman." "A dustman?" his mother asked, she was very surprised. " that's not a very pleasant job, why do you want to be a dustman?" "Because then I would only have to work one day a week." Tom answered at once. "Only one day a week?" his mother said, "What do you mean? And how do you know?" " Well," Tom replied, " I know that the dustmen who come to our house to work on Thursday, because I only see them on that day." ,,. What did his parents want him to be when he grew up? They wanted him to be a doctor. He is not just a classical music superstar. He is a global superstar. Only 27 years old, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang has become an inspiration to tens of millions around the world. Among his dazzling long list of titles, Lang considered UNICEF goodwill ambassador the most special one. "Being a UNICEF goodwill ambassador is the best decision I have made and will definitely be the best experience in my life," Lang said in a recent interview with Xinhua at the UN headquarters in New York. "I love children very much, and playing piano for them is my favorite," Lang said, beaming with delight. Named this year by Time magazine as one of the 100 World's Most Influential People, the pianist said he hoped music could "bring children happiness and enlighten their life." Three months after his nomination , Lang went to Tanzania with the UNICEF team to visit children threatened by malaria and AIDS. Although the southeastern African country's underdevelopment and harsh living conditions surprised Lang who landed the continent for the first time, he was touched by local children's passion for music. "Most of the kids had never seen a piano before," Lang said. "When I played Chopin's nocturne or waltz to them, those who were too shy to talk to me suddenly became active and began to share with me about their dreams. How amazing it is!" "Music can bring hopes to the kids and open their mind," he said. Following his visit to Africa, Lang began to organize fundraising concerts for children. Now it has become his routine to do 15 to 20 fundraising concerts every year. Except for his efforts on fundraising, Lang also established his own international music foundation last year to assist young talents to play piano. So far Lang has chosen five children from the United States and Germany, providing them with scholarships and opportunities to perform at world-class music halls, he said. In December, he will start the selection in China where he would like to "focus more on physically challenged kids, like blind kids." As a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Lang Lang's work is mainly to _ . help children who are in great need Have you ever been ill? When you are ill,you must be unhappy because your body becomes hot,and there are pains all over your body. You don't want to work,you stay in bed,feeling very sad. What makes us ill? It is germs . Germs are everywhere. They are very small and you can't find them with your eyes,but you can see them with a microscope. They are very small and there could be hundreds of them on a very small thing. Germs are always found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope,we shall see them in it. So your father and mother will not let you drink dirty water. Germs aren't found only in water. They are found in air and dust. If you cut your finger,if some of the dust from the floor goes into the cut ,some of the germs would go into your finger. Your finger would become big and red,and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs would go into all of your body,and you would have pain everywhere. Which of the following is TRUE? Germs are everywhere around us.
In the 18th century, New York was smaller than Philadelphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How can the change in its size and importance be explained? To answer this question we must consider certain facts about geography, history, and economics. Together these three will explain the huge growth of America's most famous city. The map of the Northeast shows that the four areas with the largest populations in this region are around seaports. At these points materials from across the sea enter the United States, and the products of the land are sent there for export across the sea. We know that places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials into finished goods. That is why seaports often have cities nearby. But cities like New York needed more than their geographical location in order to become great industrial centers. Their development did not happen simply by chance.www.zxxk.com About 1815, when many Americans from the east had already moved toward the west, transportation routes from the seaports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem. The slow wagons of that time, usually drawn by horses, were too expensive for moving heavy freight very far. In New York State a canal seemed the best answer to the transportation problem. From the eastern end of Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River there is a long strip of low land. Here the Erie Canal was built, and after several years of work it was completed in 1825. The canal produced an immediate effect. Freight costs were cut to about one tenth of what they had been. New York City, which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping system that started from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE? Answer: When you are in England, you must be more careful in the street because the traffic drives on the left. Before you cross the street, you must look to the right first and then left. In the morning and in the evening, when people go to or come from work, the streets are very busy. Traffic is the most dangerous then. When you go by bus in England, you have to be careful, too. Always remember the traffic moves on the left. So you must be more careful, have a look first or you will go wrong. In many English cities, there are big buses with two floors. You can sit on the second floor. From there you can see the city very well. When you cross the street, you must look to _ . Answer: Wind turbines are being used to generate electricity in many parts of the United States. One advantage of wind turbines is that no fossil fuels are burned. Which of the following is a disadvantage of wind turbines? Answer: In the days following the first anniversary of my dad 's death, I felt sad. I still missed him so much. I would walk over to his old house where my daughter now live and still expect to see him sitting out on his front porch . I would see him in my dreams, looking young and strong again. I felt bad too because I regretted not spending more time with him while he was here. I wished I had visited him more, talked with him more, and listened to him more. I wished I had asked the questions that I never did. I wished I had given him more hugs and told him I loved him more often. I wished I had cherished the time I had with him here. I was angry at the destiny because Dad and Mum had both passed away before I was 50, and I was angry with myself because I hadn't made the most of time I had with them. Today, I found myself walking under a cloudy sky, staring at the leafless trees. As I walked along, one of the last golden maple leaves fell from its tree and sailed in the wind until it landed in front of me. I picked it up and smiled. At the moment of peace I felt a sound in my heart and mind: "death is momentary , but love is eternal ." I knew at that moment that my relationships with Mum and Dad were not over. We would see each other again in a place of love, joy and light. We would spend our days in learning, laughter and love. In this passage the writer expressed his following emotions to his parents EXCEPT _ . 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 is TRUE according to the passage? Answer:
ECO-friendly technology was the hottest trend at the 39thTokyo Motor Show, which opened last Friday. About 240 car manufacturers from 13 countries presented new models. Most were powered by hybrid ,fuel cell and electrical systems. Carmakers are championing more environmentally models amid increasing oil prices and environmental concerns. "It's now carmakers' social responsibility to protect the environment," said Mazda president Hisakazu Imaki. Seventy-nine cars and motorcycles are being presented to the public for the first time, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. The organizing association said the biennial show, due to end on November6,was sure to have a large impact on the automobile industry. Manufacturers are currently competing in the shift from gasoline-run engines to hybrid, fuel cell or electricity-powered systems. Mazda has a new sports vehicle, which runs on a hybrid electric-petrol system. It is also showing a gasoline-hydrogen run sports car. A member of the Ford family, Mazda plans to market a hybrid version of the Tribute sport utility vehicle (SUV) next spring and enhance its co-operation with Ford in hybrid systems development. Honda's fuel cell sedan on show uses a hydrogen-oxygen fuel. The system only sends water out its exhaust ,a better solution for the environment and less polluting than hybrids. What would be the best title for the passage? A New Car Trend B Tokyo Motor Show C Eye-catching Cars on Show D prefix = st1 /TokyoShows Eco Cars Answer: D Language as a System of Symbols Of all systems of symbols , language is the most highly developed. It has been pointed out that human beings, by agreement, can make anything stand for anything. Human beings have agreed, in the course of centuries of mutual dependency, to let the various noises that they can produce with their lungs, throats, tongues, teeth, and lips systematically stand for certain happenings in their nervous systems. We call that system of agreements language. There is no necessary connection between the symbol and that which it stands for. Just as social positions can be symbolized by feathers worn on the head, by gold on the watch chain, or by a thousand other things according to the culture we live in, so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in. However obvious these facts may appear at first glance, they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we _ to think about the subject. Symbols and the things they stand for are independent of each other, yet we all have a way of feeling as if, and sometimes acting as if, there were necessary connections. For example, there are people who feel that foreign languages are unreasonable by nature: foreigners have such funny names for things, and why can't they call things by their right names? This feeling exhibits itself most strongly in those English and American tourists who seem to believe that they can make the natives of any country understand English if they shout loud enough. Like the little boy who is reported to have said: "Pigs are called pigs because they are such dirty animals," they feel the symbol is inherently connected in some way with the things symbolized. Language is a highly developed system of symbols because human beings _ . A have made use of language for centuries B use our nervous systems to support language C have made various noises stand for any events D can make anything stand for anything by agreement Answer: D Below is a web page from http:// www.tvguide.com/ Tonight's TV Hot List:Sunday January 27,2013 Grammy Awards Beyonce and Taylor Swift are ready to take home a lot of hardware tonight as they lead all artists with ten and eight nominations.The ladies also perform,along with fellow Album of the Year nominees the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and the Dave Matthews Band.In addition,Bon Jovi,Green Day,Lady Antebellum,Maxwell, Pink and Zac Brown Band will also take the stage.But perhaps the most expected moment is the Michael Jackson tribute ,which features the 3--D mini-movie "Earth Song" and will be highlighted by performers Celine Dion,Jennifer Hudson,Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher. Maurer A mysterious company named Sabre, headed by an attractive,stubborn CEO(Kathy Bates),appears out of nowhere and buys out Dunder Mifflin. As Michael is unwilling to follow Sabre's new policies, Andy and Erin write a welcome song to greet the company.Meanwhile,Pam and Jim hope to get accepted into a desired local day-care center. Surviving Survivor It's hard to believe it's been ten years since the first season of Survivor.But tonight ten of the game's most iconic players,including previous winners Richard Hatch,Parvati Shallow and Tom Westman,discuss the series in detail and provide insights into how the game is actually played and the impact it's had on their lives. Private Practice So Maya's pregnant and wants to have the baby. What to do now? Dink(Stephen Lunsford),the boy who did his part to get her into this mess,has a solution:he wants to marry her.You can imagine how Sam and Naomi will feel about that.And if that won't raise the histrionic level enough for you, how about this:a couple has two dying daughters,and only one can be saved.Their choice.And Brian Benben is back,so expect more Pete -Violet-Sheldon angst. The above programs _ . A are loved by all viewers B are on the top list for the week C are broadcast on the same channel D are accessible on the same night Answer: D reproduction is when an organism passes genetic information from itself to its what? A feet B child support C brain D younglings Answer: D We grow up, even if we don't want to. But hey, you're not the only one. Read this article. It can help you look at life the way you did as a kid. Read a lot of Chicken Soup for the Soul----they have so many good stories about kids and getting the right feeling. Also try reading children's books, it helps you keep _ When you feel sad, smile. If you can, jump up and down, or move around until you feel sick. Act like a kid! But whatever you do, SMILE! This can help cheer you up if you feel unhappy. Spend time with little kids. Although you won't be one again, spending time with them can make you smile more. If you have children of your own, great! Spend lots of time with them. Think back on a time when you were a kid. Then, try to remember how old your parents were. If you're not as old as they were when you were 8, you will get the feeling that you are 8 again. If you are a kid, take a piece of paper and write " In 15 years I am going to do." Then, put the letter in an envelope and read it once every five years. This will make you feel like a kid again. Chicken Soup for the Soul is a _ A storybook B math book C science book D newspaper Answer: A
Question: Botany, the study of plants, plays a strange role in the history of human knowledge. For many thousands of years it was one field about which humans had little knowledge. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age Ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of preindustrial societies that still exists, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be very ancient. This is reasonable. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even for other plants. They have always been greatly important to the good of peoples, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, medicines, housing, and a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the woods of the Amazon recognize hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany, as such, has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of knowledge at all. Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct relation with plants, and the less clear our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on a surprising amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose or an apple. When our New Stone Age ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10 000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer production the next season, the first great step in a new connection of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the _ of agriculture: planted crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild and the collected knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and close relations with plants in the wild would begin to disappear. Which of the following assumptions about early humans is expressed in the passage? A. They probably had wide knowledge of plants. B. They clearly divided knowledge into separate fields C. They did not enjoy the study of botany. D. They placed great importance on ownership of property. Answer: A Question: The longest day of the month is the day after my younger brother T.J gets his new issue of Just Joking , a magazine filled with all kinds of jokes. When the new issue arrives, T.J tells me every riddle in it . But a constant stream of riddles can get annoying . "Hey, Keith ! What did he hamburger name his daughter ?" "T.J !" I shout . "Enough riddles !" He is suddenly quiet. "Keith , be nice ,"Mom says. "T.J, honey, what did the hamburger name his daughter?" "Patty," he says. During dinner ,T.J doesn't say anything . Usually he brings Just Joking to the table with him and tells us some riddles in between bites of food .This evening, he does not .I'm relieved . At last --- some peace and quiet. After dinner, I go to my friend Brad's house to work on a project for science class . We're painting the planets when Brad's little sister, Nita, comes into the room. "Brad, can I help you with the project ?" Nita asks. "Nita !" He shouts at her . "Leave us alone!" Nita walks out of the room looking sad. I feel bad for her. I can tell that she just wants to be around her big brother. The look on Nita's face reminds me of the look on T.J's face earlier in the evening . Now I don't feel so good about T.J's silence at the dinner table. When Brad and I finish working on the project, I see Nita in the front of the room .She still looks sad. "Hey, Nita! Do you know what the hamburger named his daughter ?" I ask. "I don't know. What?" Nita says.www.ks5u.com "Patty!" Nita laughs and I laugh too . " I heard that from my brother, T.J," I say. "He's very funny. When I get home, T.J still looks unhappy. "T.J, guess what ?" I say. " I used one of your riddles tonight. Brad's little sister thought it was really funny. So let's find more riddles for the next time I go over there. And maybe you can come along with me sometime." "Really ?" T.J's eyes light up . "OK!" T.J runs upstairs, and then comes back, smiling and carrying Just Joking. Keith begins to feel ban for T.J when _ . A. he has dinner B. he shouts at T.J C. Nita come into the room D. Nita walks out of the room Answer: D Question: Made from the hide of bushy-haired animals, fur is known as the first material used for clothing.It was used by early humans like the hominoids to keep warm during the winter season or when they traveled to cooler regions.Traditionally, animals were hunted down to produce fur coats.At present though, some animals like the mink and the fox are bred and farmed for their fur.Now, wearing fur is considered a luxury because of its price and availability. Fur coats are produced and used all over the world especially in cooler countries like Russia and Northern Europe.These are usually made from the fur of bigger animals like bears, wolves and foxes which are hunted down for their meat and hide.Because of this, several of their species have become endangereD.Yet, until now, there has been no law passed to regulate the fur industry.That's why Animal rights groups, including stars, continue to campaign against fur clothing including fur coat manufacturing. Dennis Rodman is the first man, and the first sports star, to do a photo shoot for PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" series. During the Fashion Week of NYC in 2005, Rodman came not to sit in the front row at a show, but to unveil his provocative (, ) new PETA advertisement.In the very tents where designers were pushing fur.In PETA's advertisement, Rodman appears nude --- except for his tattoos --- alongside the caption ( ), " Think Ink, Not Mink," and urges :" Be comfortable in your own skin and let animals keep theirs." Rodman watched Pamela Anderson's three-minute video showing how animals live and die before being made into fur coats."If you actually look at the video firsthand, it gives you a different perspective on animals and how they're treateD.It's _ to see what they go through," he saiD. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true ? A. People raise minks and foxes to get their fur. B. Early humans used fur to keep warm. C. There are blanks in legal system to regulate the fur industry. D. Many species have been extinct because of the need for fur. Answer: D Question: Researchers claimed that waitresses who wear red get up to 26 percent extra in tips than they would wearing other colors. However, the team finds that the sexes tip very differently--with the bigger tips coming only from male customers. No matter what color they wear, female diners will give the same kind of amounts for service every time. Yet men, whether they realize it or not, add anything between 15 and 26 percent more to a waitress in red than they would if it was the same waitress wearing a different color. The test was simple. Take 11 waitresses in five restaurants over a six-week period and ask them to wear the same kind of T-shirt every day but change the colors. Previous research has suggested waitresses could earn more if they acted charmingly or wore more make-up than their colleagues. But this study, by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, only changed the color of the T-shirt. Every other aspect from make-up to behavior remained the same. When wearing either black, white, green, blue or yellow T-shirts, the size of the tips from both male and female customers was almost _ . But when they wore red, the size of the tips went up by between 15 and 26 percent from male customers, yet stayed the same from female ones. A total of 272 restaurant customers were studied by researchers Nicolas Gueguen and Celine Jacob for the international journal of the tourism industry. Even as a T-shirt, it shows just how much the color red is thought, by men, to increase the physical and sexual attractiveness of woman, said the researchers. The researchers wrote: As red color has no negative effect on women customers, it could be in their interest to wear clothes at work. According to the passage, in the research by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research waitresses could earn more by _ . A. wearing red T-shirts B. putting on attractive make-up C. changing the color of T-shirts D. behaving themselves Answer: A Question: For poets, bird song is a beautiful expression of nature in full bloom. But for scientists, the chirps of birds are far more meaningful than just pretty sounds. Latest studies show the way that young birds learn to sing is similar to that of a human baby learning to speak. "The question we're trying to answer is how a young bird learns its song," says Professor Michale Fee of MIT. Bird's creative, trial-and-error type of learning provides an ideal model for studying similar processes in humans. An example is how a baby's babble turns into the recognizable syllables of mama and papa. Also the part of the brain that is involved in bird song is very similar to that of a human. So birds may have something to teach us about our own brains, Fee said. The study shows that young birds like to create new and imperfect songs. Gradually, the youngsters' songs become less different and more similar to the sound of their parents. Scientists disabled part of a young finch's brain and stopped the learning in midstream. The bird still sings. But never learns the right songs. Fee's team found that the part of the brain involved is called the anterior forebrain pathway. Its neurons produce random bursts that make the young bird make new sounds and compared it with that of their parents. They also find out that once a bird is old enough that part of the brain will be less active. The study does not enable us to really understand the meaning of bird language. But Fee believes it will eventually be applied to human brain diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A. Birds learn to sing songs in a trial-and-error fashion. B. The study of bird song will enable us to understand bird language. C. The study of bird song might help find cure for human brain diseases. D. The chirps of young birds can be imperfect but creative. Answer: B
What is an example of wiring requiring an electrical conductor? A a light switch turning on lights because of steel inside the wiring B a toasting failing because it used aluminium C a lightbulb burning out because of a faulty connection D a power outage because of an electrical storm Answer: A In today's society , every day we may face some kinds of stress and difficulties from work, school or family. They can influence both our bodies and our minds. So learning how to deal with stress is very important for keeping healthy. Well, how do we reduce stress. In my opinion , the best ways are exercise and to make contact with nature . For example, we don't have to go to a gym or spend much money on exercise fact, walking or riding to work are all suitable for exercise. The second way of dealing with stress to make contact with nature. You can take many ways, including walking in the forests ,hiking in the mountains or walking in the garden is very great and if you can make contact with her, you can enjoy the smell and the sight of green plants and then let us feel _ Some of these activities can let you get exercise, but also you can enjoy the beauty of your garden every day. So, take my advice and start now, if you meet some kinds of pressure in your work or study. Good luck! Walking in your garden makes you _ . A get exercise B contact with nature C neither get exercise nor contact with nature D both get exercise and contact with nature Answer: D Safeburn Planning a home demands great care. The fireplace should be distinctive and elegant , with a fire that looks like a fire, giving your family the warmth and protection they need.Every year 7,000 people die in fires in Britain, and hundreds of them are little children. Thousands more are disfigured for life. When you choose a fire, choose Safeburn. It gives you the atmosphere of home comfort you are looking for, and sets your mind at rest. Caithness Pride Caithness Pride. The ninth Duke of Caithness would only drink the best whisky. So he built his own private still, in the heart of the Highlands, with the fresh water running in the stream nearby. When we came into possession of the still, we paid the Duke's heirs a lot of money for it. But it was worth it. After all, what was good for the Duke is too good to be kept a secret. Fire can provide people with all the following except _ . A great care B home comfort C heat D peace Answer: A There was once a land named Catatonia where cats ran things. Cats walked and talked much as you do except they walked on four legs. There were cat policemen, cat firemen, cat teachers, and even a cat bus driver. Most of the cats were very busy. The King of Catatonia was a small cat named Diggs. He had two brothers named Pouncer and Flash who helped him rule in Catatonia. Pouncer was head of the Milk, Cheese and Cream center and Flash's job was to blow things up. Together the three of them made sure all the cats were happy, had plenty to drink and got to enjoy bright fireworks shows in the distance. One day Pouncer's wife brought the kittens to see Pouncer at his office. There were white kittens and lots of black and white spotted kittens walking around in the Milk, Cheese and Cream center. Well that is all the time we have for now. I hope this short story of the Cats of Catatonia made at least one person in the room smile. What were the names of the ruling brothers? A Pouncer, Flash and Diggs B Diggs, Flash and Spot C Cream, Milk and Cheese D Pouncer, Kitten and King Answer: A Mental and health experts believe personality plays an important part in how we experience stress. Personality is the way a person acts, feels and thinks. Some people are aggressive and always in a hurry. They often become angry when things do not happen the way they planned. They are called "Type A" personalities. Studies suggest that these people often get stress-related disorders. The "Type B" personality is calmer. These people are able to deal with all kinds of situations more easily. As a result, they are less affected by stress. Studies have also shown that men and women deal with stress differently. Women seem to be better able to deal with stress than men are. However, experts say women are three times more likely to develop depression in reaction to the stress in their lives. American writer John Gray became famous for his book, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." He notes that men and women have opposite ways of dealing with stress. For a man, the best way is to rest and forget about daily problems. But a woman suffering from stress needs to talk about her problems. Experts say there are several ways to deal with stress, including deep breathing, exercise, eating healthy foods, getting enough rest and balancing the time spent working and playing. Exercise is one of the most effective stress-reduction measures, as physical changes from exercise make you feel better. In addition, exercise can also improve the body's defense system against disease. Keeping stress to yourself can make problems worse. Experts say that expressing emotions to friends or family members or writing down your feelings can help reduce stress. And they also suggest that people should attempt to accept or change stressful situations whenever possible. Compared with "Type A" personalities, "Type B" personalities _ . A cause more troubles B are less able to cope with different situations C are more easily affected by stress D tend to solve problems more peacefully Answer: D
LONDON, England(CNN)-- The youngest person to sail solo around the world returned home Thursday from his 30,000-mile, 282-day ocean journey. Mike Perham, 17, sailed into Lizard Point in Cornwall, the southernmost point in Britain, at 9:47 a.m., his race team said. "It feels ly brilliant," Mike told CNN by phone hours before crossing the finish line. "I'm really, really excited to be going across the line at last. It doesn't feel like long since I crossed it first." Mike set off on his round-the-world trip on November 18, 2008. He has been sailing his yacht, TotallyMoney.com, single-handedly, though a support team has been sailing next to him along the way. ks5u The teen has now achieved the title of Youngest Sailor to Circumnavigate the Globe Solo, according to the Guinness World Records. Mike learned how to sail when he was seven years old from his father, Peter and at age 14, he sailed across the Atlantic alone. The teenager's school -- which Mike describes as "highly supportive" of his trip -- has redesigned his coursework to fit in with his trip. It also gave him some coursework to do during "quiet moments," according to Mike's Website. There haven't been many of those quiet moments. Repeated autopilot failures forced him to stop for repairs in Portugal, the Canary Islands, South Africa, and twice in Australia, according to his Web site. Bad weather in the Southern Ocean -- between Australia and Antarctica -- forced Mike to battle 50ft waves and 57 mph winds. He said at one point, a "freak wave" picked up the boat and turned it on its side. "My feet were on the ceiling at the time," he told CNN. "That was a really hairy moment, and I was certainly thinking, 'Why am I here?' But we took the sails off and the day after I thought, 'This is brilliant!'" Mike describes his father as his biggest hero, always supportive of what he wanted to achieve. Peter Perham said he wasn't too worried about his son facing dangerous situations at sea, as long as he knew what to do and stayed safe. Mike Perham is _ to have gone on the round-the-world trip in the world up till now. Answer: It all started when I was two years old. My parents didn't get along and got divorced . I hated that I couldn't see both of my parents at the same time. So my dad, my younger sister, Alexis, and I went to live with my grandma and grandpa. We lived with them for almost six years. My mom, on the other hand, lived with her boyfriend Michael in Oklahoma. My life was really good, but when my mom called to check up on my sister and me, I cried myself to sleep. I missed her so much. My life at my grandparents' house was really nice. And then on Friday, May 15, 2002, my grandpa died of cancer. I cried for seven days straight. My dad and his new wife were worried about me. So they took me to the doctor and they said that I was too sad and that I needed to find something happy and healthy to do during the day. I prayed to God every night saying that I was sorry for getting myself sick and I also prayed for him to take care of my grandpa. I still pray to this day. And now, at my mom's house, she has a four-year-old girl, my half-sister, Macie. And I have my step-dad , Michael, there for me. I really like Michael. He's really good to me and my sister. And at my dad's house, I have two little brothers, Blake and Justin. Blake is two years old and Justin is ten months old. I have so much to be thankful for, but I'm still looking for more. How many brothers and sisters does the writer have? Answer: A few years ago, my younger sister and I were the first to board our flight for Norfolk, Virginia. Just as we were about to board the plane, a mechanic came out of the aircraft and blocked the door with his arms. He turned to the flight attendant and hurriedly stated, "We got problems!" I thought to myself, "Why did I have to be the one to hear that? Why couldn't I have been at the back of the line? I didn't need to know that!" Very soon we were back in the terminal, waiting, and then finally back on the plane. I waited for the pilot to give an explanation. Pilots take courses to ease passengers' mind, right? They know what to say to calm nerves. Unfortunately, I didn't think this pilot took that course. Soon his voice thundered throughout the plane, "Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. We had no power on the plane. We have a generator on the ground right now, and we're going to jump-start the engines. Once we get them going, we'll get up in the air and head to Norfolk, and see what happens." See what happens? We were going to get up in the air, and see what happens? Couldn't we have another plan, one that's been worked out just a little better? At this point, all I could do was to laugh nervously. One woman started yelling, "Oh no! We're going to crash!" There were sighs of desperation and anxiety spreading throughout the cabin. Finally, we got up in the air thirty minutes later, and what happened? Nothing ---other than thrust and lift. We arrived in Norfolk, and no sooner had the wheels touched the ground than a round of applause burst out, as everyone throughout the airplane simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Although, I did sincerely like to have a plan better than "see what happens" worked out when flying --- it really isn't such a bad life strategy. Success will never be guaranteed. The best thing you can do is just get up in the air, and see what happens. Sometimes adjustments would be made in the air, or shall we say, in the middle of the process. Which opinion would the author most probably hold? Answer: I recall my mother's voice which called me to order, and often ended with some strong proverb to express the gravity of the wrong done. It was common practice for my mother to send me off soul-searching with a proverb. Of the many interactions I had with my mother those many years ago, one stands out with clarity. I remember the occasion when Mother sent me to the main road, about twenty yards away from the farmhouse, to invite a passing group of seasonal work-seekers home for a meal. She instructed me to take a container along and collect dry cow dung for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work-seekers. The thought of making an open fire outside at midday, cooking in a large three-legged pot in that high heat, was enough to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother, and after serving the group, she called me to the balcony, where she usually sat to attend to her sewing . Looking straight into my eyes, she said, "Tsholofelo, why were you so unhappy when I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?" Despite my attempt to deny her allegation , and using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my alleged behavior, Mother, giving me a firm look, said, "A foot has no nose." It means, "You can't detect what trouble may lie ahead of you." Had I denied the group of people a meal, it may have happened that, in my travels some time in the future, I found myself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame me, Mother continued, "A person is a person because of another person." The atmosphere on the balcony was probably _ . Answer: What must you do when you receive a present for your birthday? You have to sit down and write a thank-you note. The word "thanks" is very important. We have to use them very often. We say them when someone gives us drink, helps us to pick up things, hands us a letter or lends us a book. It is rude to ask someone to do something without saying "please". We have to use it when we ask for something, too. It may be a book or a pencil, more rice or help. We have to use "please" to make request pleasant. We have to learn to say "sorry", too. When we have hurt someone, we'll have to go up and say we're sorry. When we have forgotten something, we will say "sorry". We can make people forget wrong by saying it. These three words are simple but important. Our children must learn to use them. They are pleasing words to use in any language. The three important words in any language are_. Answer:
Americans think much about time. From children they learn to value time. As children they are taught to be on time to go to school, to work and to do everything. When they are having a good time, they say that time goes easily. When a person is dying, they say he is living on a borrowed time. Time is money. Time is knowledge. Time is everything in America. A working American has to work hard for eight hours a day or forty hours a week. This is the working time. In his free time, he also works hard for more money. Even on Saturday and Sunday he also works hard as usual. In the street you can hardly see a man walking slowly. They walk very fast. In fact, they are running. They love time because time can bring them money and lots of things. But sometimes they also hate time , because they feel they have become servants of the clock. From this passage we can be sure that _ . A. Americans live in a quick rhythm B. Americans live a hard life C. Americans are good at saving time D. Americans always walk fast Answer: A To wash yourself, you take a bath or a shower. Animals need to keep clean, too. How do animals clean themselves? Cats themselves to keep their fur clean. Have you ever watched a pet cat clean itself? Elephants take baths much as you do. But instead of jumping into the , they walk into a river or lake. Pigs also like to roll around in water. This keeps them clean and cool. If there is no clean water, they will roll in on a hot day. They do this to cool off. Pigs do not really like mud. They are happier in a nice, clean pond . Bats have a funny way to keep clean. They lick their thumbs to clean their ears! Guess how polar bears clean themselves. They use snow, of course! Some animals take baths in dust instead of water! The wombat is an Australian animal with lots of fur. To get clean, it lies down. Then it covers itself with sand! Birds clean themselves in many ways. Sometimes they wash in water. That's why some people put birdbaths in their yard. At other times birds take dust baths, just like wombats. Birds also use their to keep their feathers clean. They use their beaks the way you use a comb. Sometimes a bird has in its feathers. Birds may use ants to help them clean off the bugs. A bird will lie down on an ant nest. Then the ants will crawl on the bird. The ants make a kind of bug on the feathers;. Then the itchy bugs die! Birds take baths in something else besides dust and ants! Some birds take "smoke baths" They sit on chimneys. They wave their wings in the smoke! This passage mainly tells us _ . A. why some people put birdbaths in their yard B. why birds allow ants to crawl on their body C. how animals cool off on hot days D. how some animals keep clean Answer: D The State Council declared Wednesday it would restart China's nuclear power program, ending the hiatus in nuclear construction since Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster last year. China has been the most courageous country in building nuclear power, with the largest number of plants currently under construction. Nuclear power is facing a tough time in developed countries. The Japanese public is demanding the closure of all the country's nuclear power plants. China is at the forefront of nuclear power development. But it has been forced into this position. Rapid economic development coupled with improvements in people's life both demand more electricity. It is impossible to exploit fossil resources forever as the supply of coal, oil and natural gas is limited. China has no choice but to develop nuclear power. China must be the safest user of nuclear power. It should become a leading country in developing nuclear power technologies and increasing the world's knowledge of nuclear power. It needs to do at least two things. First, it needs to promote safety in nuclear power plants, based on the technologies of the West. The former Soviet Union, the US and Japan all had severe nuclear accidents, proving there are risks. China should try to remove these risks. Second, China should establish effective communication mechanisms between the government, power plants and the public. It's wrong to think the government can control every aspect of nuclear power plant construction. The opposition to nuclear power program in developed countries has prevented them from building new plants, but they already have many. These governments are reluctant to close these plants despite strong opposition, because they cannot find better substitutes. Nuclear power only occupies 1.8 percent of China's current electricity grid , much lower than the proportion in many developed countries. China's nuclear power plan should introduce the advantages of the technologies of other countries and also be creative in providing security. Its space technology is not the most advanced, but its launch safety measures have proven to be among the best. China's high-profile high-speed railway development has drawn a lot of controversy, as will the active attitude towards developing nuclear power. But China cannot just copy what the developed countries have done. The development of nuclear power must be unique to China and it must be a ground-breaking success. But now, the real test lies ahead. What is the future of China's nuclear power program according to the text? A. It will be unique but can hardly pass too many tests. B. It will be full of controversy but carried out firmly. C. It will be on a smooth way to a ground-breaking success. D. It will receive much opposition from developed countries. Answer: B Many people like spring, because they can go out and do many kinds of activities. We made a survey about the activities that people like to do in spring. Here are the results. Scott: In spring, I often visit my uncle and I like fishing with him. I also like boating and enjoy the beach. Last spring my uncle and I went boating. The dolphins came so close to us. It was very amazing. I hope that I can go there again soon. Linda: My favorite spring activity is gardening . I think it is relaxing to work in the garden. I grow many flowers in my garden every year. They are so beautiful. Nancy: I love spring. I love going to the beach and spending a whole day there. It is so relaxing to lie on the beach. I also like surfing in the sea. James: I am twelve years old. My favorite spring activity is swimming. I started to learn swimming when I was seven years old. I always have a good time with my friends in the river. James has been swimming for _ years. A. five B. six C. seven D. eight Answer: A As a result of British colonial rule, English language is the second most widely spoken language in India after the Hindi. Though it appears to be a second language, there is no question about its immense growth over the years in Indian history. It is the main language accepted and spoken in the fields of business and education across all places in India. India is ranked the third largest English-speaking population in the world besides the US and the UK. English writing has blossomed in India and has reached a peak where Indian writers like Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie were able to distinguish themselves in the whole world. Many Indian authors bring out books on Indian culture and literature. Shobha De, a famous fashion and lifestyle columnist is one of the important writers to be mentioned who have paved the way for others to follow suit. Quite a few newspapers like The Hindu, Times of India and Indian Express have increased the popularity and acceptance of English in India greatly. They have played an important role in spreading English in all comers of the country. One of the major contributors in promoting English language development in India is the education system. Private schools and colleges play a major role in preparing students with spoken and written skills in English. The standard is so high that we can see young students actively taking part in group discussions and quiz competitions to show their talents all over the world. Indian movies don't lag behind . There are so many English movies that come out of India every year. The world's movie capital is not Hollywood but Bollywood, which is the nickname for the Indian film industry located in Mumbai. Movies like Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding have great international influence. In what areas is English language mostly used in India? A. Science and technology. B. Movie and entertainment. C. Business and education. D. Culture and art. Answer: C
Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English. Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need. Global English Centre l General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. l 3-month (700 yuan), 6-month (1,200 yuan) and one-year (2,000 yuan) courses. l Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day. Mon.~Fri. l Experienced college English teachers. l Close to city centre and bus stops. Tel: 67605272 Add: 105 Zhongshan Road, 100082 Modern Language School l Special courses in English for business, travel, banking, hotel management and office skills. l Small classes (12~16 students) on Sat. & Sun. from 2:00~5:00 p.m. l Native English teachers from Canada and USA. l Language lab and computers supplied. l 3-month course: 1,050 yuan; 6-month course: 1,850 yuan. Write or phone: Modern Language School, 675 Park Road, 100056 Tel: 67353019 The 21st Century English Training Centre l We specialize in effective teaching at all levels. l We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan. l We also have a six-week TOEFL preparation class during winter and summer holidays. l Entrance exams: June 1 and Dec. 1. l Only 15-minute walk from city centre. l Call 67801642 for more information. The International House of English l Three/Six-month English courses for students of all levels at a very low cost: 60 yuan for 12 hours per week, convenient class hours: 9:00~12:00 a.m. and 2:00~5:00 p.m. l A four-month evening programme for developing speaking skills (same cost as day classes). l Well-trained Chinese and foreign teachers with experience in teaching English as a second foreign language. l Free sightseeing and social activities. l Very close to the Central Park. For further information call 674322308. The 21st Century English Training Centre is different from the other three schools in that _ . A its teaching quality is better B it is near to the city centre C its courses are more advanced D it requires an entrance examination Answer: D Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts and they are eating everything in their path. And now in order to fight against this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 5 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts. "We think this idea will get more people to take part in the fight against the locusts," said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal's worst affected area. This is West Africa's biggest locust disaster in 15 years. Now it is moving east and it leads to the loss of crops. When they move, they have babies, so their number is getting bigger. and will soon threaten Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it may reach Asia. Experts say many people in the areas will go hungry because of this disaster. What's worse, governments in the areas don't have enough things to fight the locusts. Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not enough. 'We are now treating 6,000 hectares per day with pesticide , but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,' said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, leader of locust control in Mauritania. The story is mainly about _ . A Countries in West Africa worked together to fight a natural disaster B the difficulty in controlling locusts C how locusts caused great damage to West Africa D a fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa Answer: D I started to study English when I was a child because of Michael Jackson. He has been my idol since 1991. I really wanted to understand him and his music. I used to use a dictionary to learn the meanings of words of songs written by him. There was a lot of work to do to learn English, but I never felt tired. At first I learned about pronunciation, which was the hardest part for me. Because music was my only source of spoken English, sometimes I had to use a pronunciation dictionary. Then I made lists of words in order to remember them and their meanings. I would spend hours learning English grammar. What's more, I read a lot. I also tried to translate texts, dialogues and songs. Because of my hard work, my English improved a lot. In the end, I entered a college and had a great chance to further improve my English. Now I am an English teacher. And I am still making progress in English. What was the most difficult thing for the author when he was studying English? A Listening. B Pronunciation. C Reading. D Grammar. Answer: B prefix = st1 /Yao-less Rockets Keep Rising Houston Agencies(March 9,2008)--Tracy McGrady had 41 points and nine assists as the Houston Rockets won their 18th game continuously with a 106-96 win over New Orleans on Saturday. McGrady fell just six points short of his season high for points as the Rockets kept their winning record. The Rockets won their sixth in a row since Chinese All-Star Yao Ming went out for the season with his left foot hurt.Yao had an operation earlier in the week. Joining Hands China Daily(March 10.2008)--To celebrate International Women's Day on Saturday, March 8,Avon Products,Inc,a leading global beauty company with almost $10 billion in yearly income and the United Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM)have announced their partnership to ensure women's rights and end violence against women. Avon has offered $1 million to the UNIFEM.The partnership will enlarge the work of the UN to improve women's economic security and rights. Oil prices fall below the $105 mark Bloomberg News(March 11, 2008)--Oil prices dropped below $105 yesterday after last week's record highs and it reduced tension between oil producers Venezuela and Colombia over the weekend. Cold weather in the United States and the continuing weakening of the US dollars were set as main factors supporting prices. The rush to a new record was driven by a US Labour Department report saying that employers cut 63,000 jobs in February--the biggest drop in five years. How much did Avon Products,Inc. provide for UNIFEM? A $105. B $10 billion. C $63.000. D $1 million Answer: D Stepping into a pool of water is common enough ,but who could ever imagine ; stopping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp ,an Australian farmer,saw a rain of fish that covered his farm .How surprised he must have been when he heard many fish hitting against his roof! What caused this strange occurrence ?This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish .The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm. When it is spring in the northern part of the world ,it is fall in Australia, Throughout the autumn season ,terrible storms arise and rains flood the land .The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners, collecting seaweed ,pieces of wood ,and even schools of fish .Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses ,and stonishedpeople. Although they seem unusual ,fish-falls occur quite frequently in Australia.When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish ,he remarked, "They look like millions of dead birds falling down." His statement is not surprising .The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain .Nature ,with its infinite wonders ,can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky. What is this passage about? A A sad story. B The damage done by floods. C Australia's northern part . D A rain of fish. Answer: D
In ancient times, there was a painter. He was good at painting flowers and birds. But he never stopped practicing until he became very famous. An emperor of China also loved paintings,especially roosters . So he asked the famous painter to paint a rooster for him. He wanted the rooster to be the best among all his collections. The painter promised to do so. The emperor waited and waited for one year.,but he didn't get the picture. He couldn't waited to see the painter. He became angry and wanted to kill him. So the painter hurried into the palace with paper,paint and a brush. In five minutes, a perfect rooster was on the paper. After seeing this,the emperor became much angrier. "Since you can paint a rooster in five minutes, why did you keep me waiting for over a year?"he asked. "Your Majesty ,"said the artist. "I will let you know why.But you'll have to come with me. " he invited the emperor to his house. There, there were piles and piles of paper. On every piece of paper was a painting of a rooster. "Your Majesty ,"said the painter. "It took me more than one year to improve my painting skill in order to paint a perfect rooster for you. According to the writer, the emperor _ . loved beautiful paintings What would you think if you went back to school on Monday and there were no desks or chairs in your classroom? That's what some fourth-and-fifth-graders at a school in Minnesota discovered earlier this year when they took part in a research project to see if changing their classrooms would make them more active. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic were concerned about reports that as many as half of American kids could be seriously overweight - or obese - by the year 2014. So they set up a different kind of classroom, which you might see in the future. Instead of desks, the Elton Hills Elementary students had adjustable work stations where they could stand, kneel on mats or sit on big exercise balls. Students were given laptops and iPods that allowed them to move and learn at the same time. Sensors were attached to the kids' legs to calculate how many calories students burned in their new set-up. Their typical school day was probably not anything like yours. One group of students downloaded an audio file of their teacher reading a book; they listened to it while walking for exercise. Another group took a spelling test by listening to their iPods. Some students liked the freedom, but others missed the traditional classroom. "I don't like standing up," Mariah Matrious said. "My legs get tired, and I like sitting down. " So, did the experiment work? Researchers still are studying the data, but early results indicate that the kids did move around more in the new classroom. "It showed us that, given the opportunity to move, kids will move," said researcher Lorraine Lanningham-Foster. That's important because studies have shown that even simple movement - climbing stairs instead of taking an elevator , for example, or washing dishes by hand instead of loading the dishwasher - can be as important as formal exercise when it comes to controlling one's weight. What would be the best title for the text? School Takes a Stand Against Obesity A fish that lives in America can live out. of water for months at a time, similar to how animals got used to land millions of years ago, a new study shows. The Mangrove Rivulus, a kind of little fish, lives in small pools of water. When their living place dries up, they live. on the land, said Scott Taylor, a researcher in Florida. The fish can grow as large as three inches. They group together and breathe air through their skin before they can find water again. The new scientific discovery came during a trip. "We were travelling for fun. and one day I kicked over a log and the fish came out," Taylor told reporters by telephone. He said he would make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year. In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating. Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in a not active way. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and keep active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at a Canadian University. More studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time. "These animals live in conditions similar to those millions of years ago, when animals began to move from water onto land," Wright said. According to the passage, lungfish can _ . keep alive out of water Leo is thirteen years old. He has a brother and a sister. He has 10 tennis bats, 8 baseballs, 6 ping-pong balls, 12 soccer balls and 18 volleyballs, but he never plays sports. His brother, Neal likes soccer . He is a member of the city soccer club. He plays soccer every day with his friends. His sister, Nancy likes volleyball, but she doesn't play it. ,,. There are _ balls in their family. 44 In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by "small talk". Small talk means the little things we talk about at start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather: "Nice day, isn't it?" But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safer topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk in English. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching: "Great game, isn't it?" At bus stops, people may comment about the transport system: "The bus service is terrible, isn't it?" Greetings and small talk are important parts of conversation in any language. The way people greet each other and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another. This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language. We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it. Why do people need small talk? To let meeting people become easier and more comfortable.
Mr. Jones had a nice brown coat . He loved it very much, but his wife didn't like it. Because it was old. She often said. " Give it to a poor man . " But Mr. Jones always answered, " No, I like this coat. " Then a cigarette fell on it and made a hole in it. So Mrs Jones said, "Please don't wear it again. " Mr. Jones took it to a small tailor " Please make another coat like this one ." The tailor made the coat very carefully. Then he lit a cigarette, and made a hole in it in the same place. Mr. Jones always said, " _ ". A I like this coat B Give it to a poor man C No, I don't like this coat. D I don't give it to a poor man Answer: A In his lowest days when few people bought his records, Taiwan singer Steve Chou lived alone in Canada and did little. One day, he passed by a local CD store and accidentally heard a song that greatly enchanted him. His passion for music was suddenly rekindled . "My heart tells me that music is the thing I truly want to do, not for fame or money," Chou told Teens. "So I asked myself, 'why not start all over again?'" That's how we luckily regained this music genius, who has since then composed lots of _ for the pop music charts . His emotional voice is enthralling . "Sometimes we need to get close to nature to look deeply into our souls and see what we genuinely want to follow," he said. Following the success of Turkey in Blue, he has recently released his latest work Lovers Genesis. In this album he explores human relationships in the Internet age. This time, he takes the role of a calm observer rather than a struggling insider. " _ ," is Chou's advice to teenagers. Chou often gets his music ideas from trips. He has traveled to many places around the world and believes that learning a country's language is the fastest way of experiencing the culture behind it. How does Zhou get his music idea ? A From his work life B From his trips C From his friends D From musical books Answer: B Longman Dictionary with CD-ROM The dictionary is unique because it has been written using the Longman Defining Vocabulary. Only this dictionary uses a defining vocabulary comprised of the 2,000 words that make up the intermediate-level student's most frequent vocabulary. This new edition has been completely updated using Longman's unique, comprehensive database of spoken and written American English. A must for all ESL classrooms. Pronunciation Power New technology to improve your English quickly! Pronunciation Power is a range of user-friendly, interactive CD programs for ESL learners to improve your English pronunciation quickly. It is easy to use for all levels and ages. * New technology that improves your English quickly * User-friendly, interactive program on CD-ROM * All ESL levels: Beginner-intermediate / Intermediate-Advanced * Learn the 52 sounds you need to speak English correctly * See the moving pictures of front and side mouth-views * Hear the instructor speak and record your own voice * FREE delivery worldwide * FREE e-book with all orders Game for ESL Quiz style board game designed for ESL learners. The game contains thousands of questions graded into five levels--from beginner to advanced--with answers included. Level: Beginner to Advanced What does it test and develop? * speaking, listening and reading skills * vocabulary and spelling (British and American) * phrasal verbs and collocation * idioms and proverbs * grammar and usage * general knowledge--history, geography, science, the arts, sports, etc. Talk Now! CD-ROM Course for ESL The "Talk Now!" series is for any language beginner who wants an entertaining self study course to learn basic phrases, such as color1s, numbers, food, shopping, and time. We have been selling this European-produced CD-ROM for a few years and find that it is highly praised by people from all over the world. Designed by language experts, interactive and fun, it is ideal for beginners and travelers. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A The first column is about an American English dictionary. B Pronunciation Power and the "Talk Now!" are interactive programs. C The third column is about a game for ESL. D The four products, all with CD-ROM, can improve your English. Answer: D After the moon phase where you can see nothing of the moon, what comes next? A the full moon B the last quarter C the first quarter D the half moon Answer: C It was on the early afternoon of a mid-October day in 2012. Bismark Mensah, who came to America several months ago, was collecting carts outside a Walmart in Federal Way. It was a part-time job for him. He earned $9.05 an hour in charge of getting carts out of the parking lot. He was used to finding stuff in carts that customers had somehow forgotten -- keys, credit cards, wallets. And he turned them into a customer service. But a particular item stood out. It was a white envelope with a clear window in the middle, and there was a lot of cash in it, around $20,000. Mensah turned them into customer services. Because of what he did that afternoon, Mensah is now the winner of Walmart's national 2013 "Integrity in Action Award". Bismark Mensah says that since the story ran, he has become the model the youth in Ghana (his native country). He is now employed full-time at the Federal Way Walmart, earning $10.95 an hour, up from the $9.05 an hour he earned working part-time. Mensah, 33, no longer collects carts and such. He is in the backroom, dealing with inventory . "I want to learn everything about operating a store like Walmart store," he says. He plans to return to Ghana to run some shops owned by his family. He also plans to go to college and earn a degree in business administration. What can be inferred from the passage? A Mensah comes from a poor family in Ghana. B Mensah can hardly make himself understood in America. C Mensah will help set up some Walmart branches in Ghana. D Mensah has set an example for the youth in his own country. Answer: D
A thing may be changed on a chemical level after A. putting it in a tree B. making it pay rent C. setting it on fire D. looking at it through a mirror Answer: C. setting it on fire "Without the fog, London wouldn't be a beautiful city," the French painter Claude Monet wrote to his wife, Alice, during one of his long visits toprefix = st1 /EnglandfromFrance. Few Londoners would have agreed with his statement at the time, when the city was choked by the smog of the Industrial Revolution, but no one argues with the beauty of the color1ful skies he began painting there between 1899 and 1901. Pollution has never looked quite as attractive as when seen through Monet's eyes. Now there is evidence that Monet's images of London were not only Impressionist creations, but a result of highly accurate observation.According to a paper published by two environmental scientists, the paintings may "provide useful information in the analysis of the London fogs and air quality during this period"--a period before pollution levels were routinely recorded. In their study, Jacob Baker and John E. Thomas of the University of Birmingham analyzed the position of the sun in 9 of the 19 paintings in Monet's "House of Parliament" series.There was "a perfect correlation ", Thomas says, between the solar positions in the images, the actual solar positions from astronomical records and the dates on which Monet began the works. "We believe," Thomas says, "that we can basically work out how much smoke would have to be in the air to create that visibility and those color1s in, say, February 1900 through the images." Some art historians doubt the London paintings hold this much documentary evidence, pointing out the Monet continued to work on many of the images after he returned to his studio in Giverny, France.They also argue that there's no question that Monet was astonishingly realistic to what lay in front of him, but at the same time, for example, he had a _ for pinks.He always was trying to put pinks into pictures throughout his career. Thomas admits that "it's still just a hypothesis " but maintains that "we're fairly optimistic that we'll get something out of it" According to the passage, the study of Jacob Baker and John E.Thomas has_. A. been questioned by some art historians B. found the answer to what contributed to the foggy air in London C. provided enough evidence to carry out more research D. attracted great attention from many scientists Answer: A. been questioned by some art historians One of the keys to being successful is persistence .Once you have determined exactly what you want to achieve, you must take active action in order to succeed. One of the things you'll notice on your journey towards your goal are roadblocks. That is, you will come across obstacles to discourage your progress. Actually, they are a part of life. Everyone would have every success they ever wanted if there were no obstacles. Your job is to be persistent and work through those obstacles. If you find little or no obstacles along the way, chances are that you are not really challenging yourself. And when you do reach your goal, you won't experience the feeling of "sweet success". Make your goal a challenging one! If you take the time to study any successful person, you will learn that the vast majority of them have had more "failures" than they have had "successes". This is because successful people are persistent; the more they stumble and fall, the more they get right back up and get going again. On the other hand, people that don't get back up and try again, never reach success. For example, Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the "Happiest Place on Earth". Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared "the joy of Disney". Having known these facts, keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly! Sometimes you have to modify your approach along the way. Every time you do something you learn from it, and therefore find a better way to do it the next time. Today is the day to begin your journey, using consistency and persistency, towards tomorrow's successes! What must you reevaluate constantly? A. Attitudes and skills. B. Circumstances and ways. C. Roadblocks and challenges. D. Failures and successes. Answer: B. Circumstances and ways. Online English Web Sites * www.english-zone.com----A site teaching English grammar; vocabulary and reading skills. Also lots of jokes. * www.theenglishprofessor.com----ESL (="English" as a second language) links. "Learning English free" is its slogan. Very good at helping students improve their writing skills. * www.globalstudy .com/est----Directory of "English as a Second Language" web sites in the United States; Canada; Australia; New Zealand; Great Britain and Ireland. * www.netsurflearning.com----A free English course using materials from the web and catering for all levels. You can improve all kinds of language skills there. * www.rg-chonang.com----Hundreds of ESL links for you to go to. * www.wfi.fr/volterre/weblinklearners.html----A wide variety of English language resources links. Which web site mainly helps you to improve your writing skills? A. www.rg-chonang.com B. www.theenglishprofessor.com C. www.globalstudy .com/est D. www.wfi.fr/volterre/weblinklearners.html Answer: B. www.theenglishprofessor.com Several types of mechanisms in the body regulate the rate of chemical reactions in the digestive system. Among the most important are feedback systems, which control the release rate of A. lipids. B. enzymes. C. nucleic acids. D. carbohydrates. Answer: B. enzymes.
Tired of Working in Your Country! With over 500 instructors and 20 years of experience, we are the leader in the field of teaching foreign languages. We now have positions open in Osaka starting November / December 2016 for instructors of English, German, Spanish and French. *Teach many different kinds of classes using the latest technology in small classes of up to 3 students. *Accommodation , and other necessary documents will be ready before you leave. *Applicants will teach their first language only. * Excellent teacher training programs. If you are young with a university degree and are willing to experience different cultures, apply now. Experience in teaching is an advantage but not specially required. Knowledge of the Japanese language is not necessary but good English skills and practical computer knowledge are basic requirements. Apply with C. V. and send letters to: NOVA France, Mr. Sampy(IHT 3/2) 34, Bd. Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France Fax: 33148014804 Or visit our website: www. teachjp. com The manager expects to meet and talk with successful applicants in Paris in October. Before going to Japan, you need _ . A to see the manager of NOVA France B to take some computer courses C to write a letter to Japan D to find a place to live Answer: A. to see the manager of NOVA France Trying to recover from a devastating economic crisis, Spain is considering moving the country's clock back by one hour. Many people regard long afternoon naps and late dinners as perfect aspects of the Spanish way of life. Until the 1940s, Spain was on the same time as Britain and Portugal. In World War II, Spain and Portugal moved the clocks forward to align them with Nazi Germany. The same happened in Portugal. After the defeat of Hitler, Portugal returned to Greenwich Mean Time, but Spain did not. "The fact that for more than 71 years Spain has not been in its proper time zone means we sleep almost an hour less than the World Health Organization recommends," lawmakers in the Spanish Parliament wrote in a proposal."This has a negative effect on productivity, absenteeism, stress, accidents and school drop-out rates." Last September, a parliamentary commission recommended that the government turn back the clocks by one hour and introduce a regular eight-hour workday. For the time being, the Spanish government is treating the campaign seriously but it hasn't taken any action yet. Spain's time zone issue explains why everything in Spain happens later, from meal times to broadcast entertainment (primetime doesn't start until 10 pm). Many urban Spaniards complain of a never-ending workday that begins in the morning but is interrupted by a traditional late-morning break and then again by the midday siesta--a two-hour long lunch and nap that usually start at 2 pm. If workers return to their desks at 4 pm, they end up working late into the evening. Under the proposed new schedule, the lunchtime break would be cut to an hour or less. The interruption-filled Spanish workday would be replaced by something closer to a 9-to-5 schedule. Ignacio Buqueras, president of the Association for the Rationalization of Spanish Working Hours, told The New York Times that changing the Spanish schedule would be good news for working mothers. It would also allow families more free time together and boost Spain's economic recovery. Maria Angles Duran, a sociologist with the Spanish National Research Council, is skeptical that changing the time zone will reverse low productivity, which she attributes more to the structure of the service-oriented economy. But she agreed that a more normal work schedule would help women, who often complain that their husbands deliberately schedule meetings in the early evening. "For men, this is perfect," Duran said, "They arrive home and the children have already had their baths! Timetables can be used as a sort of weapon." According to the passage, Duran may agree with the following except that _ . A the new schedule will allow families more free time B women will probably benefit from the new schedule C economic structure influences economic performance D men can escape housework in the existing schedule Answer: A. the new schedule will allow families more free time It's always good to experience something new in life. Traveling gives plenty of such opportunities and when you choose a hotel to stay in next time, here, on this website, is a list of 4 most weird hotels in the world. Dog Bark Park Inn If you keep a dog and love animals, then you will definitely become a fan of this hotel. The shape of the hotel reminds you of a dog. Here visitors will find a microwave oven to prepare a simple meal, games, puzzles and books to entertain themselves, an air conditioner and of course a bath. There is no TV set or a phone though. Das Park Hotel You will love the place because it is perfectly adjusted to basic human needs. However, there is one disadvantage to all these. The matter is that bathroom facilities are not included in the price. Each room here is quite small, but has a bed, electricity and air conditioning. CasAnus Read the name of the hotel attentively and you will easily guess what place exactly you are going to spend your vacation in! The hotel is situated in Kemzeke, Belgium and was designed by Joep van Lieshout. Do not say no to this hotel since it is quite comfortable and nice inside. Hobbit Motel Deep inside we stay kids forever. This is what the creators of the Hobbit Motel kept in mind when they were creating this motel. The Hobbit Motel is located in Woodlyn Park, New Zealand. You will recognize the inn by its blocks it is made of and the green roof covered with a thick layer of grass. Which is the best choice for a person who most values comfort? A The Dog Bark Park Inn. B Das Park Hotel. C CasAnus. D The Hobbit Motel. Answer: C. CasAnus. Which of these would best be shown as a 3-D model? A color spectrum B magnetic field C skeletal system D water cycle Answer: C. skeletal system The people who built Stonehenge in southern England thousands of years ago had wild parties, eating barbecued pigs and breaking pottery. This is according to recent work by archaeologists--history experts who investigate how human beings lived in the past. Archaeologists digging near Stonehenge last year discovered the remains of a large prehistoric village where they think the builders of the mysterious stone circle used to live. The village is about 4600 years old, the same age as Stonehenge and as old as the pyramids in Egypt. It is less than two miles from the famous ancient landmark and lies inside a massive manmade circular dirt wall, or "henge", known as the Durrington Walls. Remains found at the site included jewellery, stone arrowheads, tools made of deer antlers, wooden spears and huge amounts of animal bones and broken pottery. "These finds suggest Stone Age people went to the village at special times of the year to feast and party", says Mike Parker Pearson from Sheffield University in England. He said many of the pig bones they found had been thrown away halfeaten. He also said the partygoers appeared to have shot some of the farm pigs with arrows, possibly as a kind of sport before barbecuing them. An ancient road which led from the village to the River Avon was also found. Here, the experts think, people came after their parties to throw dead relatives in the water so the bodies would be washed downstream to Stonehenge. Parker Pearson believes Stonehenge was like a cemetery where ancient Britons buried the dead and remembered their ancestors. "The theory is that Stonehenge is a kind of spirit home to the ancestors." The recent discovery of the village within the Durrington Walls shows that Stonehenge didn't stand alone but was part of a much bigger religious site, according to Parker Pearson. People still come to worship and celebrate at Stonehenge today. They meet there when the sun sets on the shortest day of winter and when it rises on the longest day of summer. But the days of barbecuing whole pigs there and throwing family members into the river are a thing of the past. When do people most often go to Stonehenge today? A When a new discovery is made. B At the beginning of summer and winter. C On the longest and shortest days of the year. D When they want to have a barbecue. Answer: C. On the longest and shortest days of the year.
Every year more people recognize that it is wrong to kill wildlife for "sport." Progress in this direction is slow because shooting is not a sport for watching, and only those few who take part realize the cruelty and destruction. The number of gunners, however, grows rapidly. Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led along way away by their gunning parents. They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and guncarrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins . They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill. In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate a desire to own a gun. Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wildland habitat . Habitat loss will continue with our increasing population, but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting? There doesn't seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved. Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone. Although most people do not shoot, they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it. The only answer, then, is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people. Now, it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures. The gunners like to describe what they do as character-building, but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of dying can make nobody happy. If, as they would have you believe, gun-carrying and killing improve human-character, then perhaps we should encourage war. According to the text, the films children watch at school actually _ . Answer: encourage them to have guns of their own I got your letter and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again in Tennessee, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again and see Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here in Ohio. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with food and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy, the folks call her Mrs. Anderson; and the children--Milly, Jane, and Grundy--go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. We are kindly treated. Now, if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again. We have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. I would rather stay here and starve--and die, if it should come to that--than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young Masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education and have them form virtuous habits. Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me. From the passage, we can see the writer is very _ . Answer: wise Many studies have been carried out to discover the benefits of listening to and playing music. The growing field of "music treatment" is presenting increasing amounts of proof that point to the great powers of music. Emotional benefits The right song can put anybody in a better state. Most people turn to certain songs to make them feel better. The main reason behind this is that music can express our feelings better than any other medium. In addition, we have favorite songs for particular situations because we turn to the music which has the best effect on us. Music and exercise Have you ever noticed how out of breath you get when listening to an exciting song while doing exercises at the gym? It has been suggested that exciting music can actually increase muscle tension , while light music does the opposite. It has also been proved that music can improve motor skills. An experiment done on a group of pupils proved that children learning basic motor skills such as throwing ,catching and jumping while listening to music did better than those with no music. Chronic pain relief Music also has the ability to reduce chronic pain. In fact, according to a paper published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, music can reduce chronic pain by 21%. The paper reports that 60 patients in an experiment were divided into two groups--one group listened to music, and the other did not. The results showed that people who listened to music for an hour each day for a week improved physically and psychologically while those who did not listen to music did not. The best title for the passage is Answer: The Benefits of Music Humanity uses a little less than half the water available worldwide. Yet occurrences of shortages and droughts are causing famine and distress in some areas, and industrial and agricultural by-products are polluting water supplies. Since the world's population is expected to double in the next 50 years, many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis. But that doesn't have to be the outcome. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world---if we start valuing water more than we did in the past. Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective. We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want. Instead, for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its actual value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs. Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound ways. For example, often the cheapest way to provide irrigation water in the dry tropics is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions and pumping it to nearby cropland. No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water use. Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local, regional, and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use, countries should set up central authorities to coordinate water policy. What is the real cause of the potentials water crisis. Answer: Humanity has not placed enough value on water resources. Prad entered Drug Store to make some purchases. As he was searching the aisles for various items, he noticed a display card containing automatic pencils. The display card was on a high shelf behind a cashier's counter. Prad saw a sign on the counter that read, "No Admittance, Employees Only." Seeing no clerks in the vicinity to help him, Prad went behind the counter to get a pencil. A clerk then appeared behind the counter and asked whether she could help him. He said he just wanted a pencil and that he could reach the display card himself. The clerk said nothing further. While reaching for the display card, Prad stepped sideways into an open shaft and fell to the basement, ten feet below. The clerk knew of the presence of the open shaft, but assumed incorrectly that Prad had noticed it. Prad sued Drug Store to recover damages for the injuries he sustained in the fall. The jurisdiction has adopted a rule of pure comparative negligence, and it follows traditional common-law rules governing the duties of a land possessor. Will Prad recover a judgment against Drug Store? Answer: Yes, if the clerk had reason to believe that Prad was unaware of the open shaft.
Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down,this kind of tourism stopped. In the early 17th century, the idea of the "Grand Tour" was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel .They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The "Grand Tour" was an important part of young people's education--but only for the rich. In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to" take the waters". They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns. In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel between towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier. Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to far away countries. The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them. Thus tourism grew. In 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything--plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food--and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born. The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949.But tourism did not take off until 1978.In 2002,the industry was worth 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China's social development. In the early times, the travelers _ . had lots of money Oceanography has been defined as "The application of all sciences to the study of the sea". Before the nineteenth century scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work. For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of the oceans?" had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineer had to know the depth profile of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured. It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in l853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea. The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea. Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition, which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in l895. It was _ that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies. the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable Here are two pictures. You can see a man and a boy in one picture. Who are they? The man is Mr. Brown, and the boy's name is Jack. They are father and son. They are in Jack's room. Now let's look at the other picture. You can see a woman and a little girl in it. The woman is Jack's mother and the girl is her daughter, Ann. They're in Ann's room. You can see a photo of the family on the white wall. A clock is on the table. It's eleven. What's that on the floor? Oh, it's Ann's hat, but it looks *like a white cat. Who is in Ann's room? Ann's mother. New findings suggest that brainy card games such as contract bridge may temporarily raise production of a key blood cell including in fighting off illness. After 90 minutes of play, bridge players had increased levels of immune cells, according to the research reported last week. A researcher, Diamond, studied bridge players from a women's bridge club. She chose bridge players because the game includes skills stimulating a part of the brain called the dorsolateral cortex. Earlier animal research suggests that this part of the brain may play a role in the immune system. The findings are based on blood samples drawn from 12 women players. Their blood samples showed a rise in levels of white blood cells called T cells after they played bridge for 90 minutes. T cells are produced by the thymus gland and used by the immune system against diseases. The T cell count jumped significantly in eight of the bridge players, and slightly in the other four. The findings contribute to the field of neuroimmunology , whose name reflects the fact that the nervous system and the immune system are not considered separate and isolated systems. What isn't clear is whether the help to the immune system from an activity like contract bridge is lasting or temporary. It is also not clear whether the increase in T cells could finally be targeted against special illnesses. Which of the following is true according to this article? The immune system and the brain system used to be considered separate and isolated systems. At noon the rush hour had passed. There were few guests in the snack bar. It was not crowded. When the boss was about to take a break to read a newspaper, in came an old lady and a little boy. "How much money is a bowl of beef soup?" the grandma sat down, counted the money in her purse and ordered a bowl of beef soup. The grandma pushed the bowl to the little boy, who swallowed his saliva , looking at his grandma and saying, "Grandma, did you really have lunch?" "Of course." His grandma chewed a piece of radish slowly. Very quickly, the little boy ate up the meal. Seeing this. the boss went over to them and said, "Old lady, congratulations, you are lucky to have the free food, for you are our 100th guest." Afterwards, over a month or more, one day, the small boy squatted across the snack bar, where he seemed to be counting something, which shocked the boss when he happened to look out office window. When the small boy saw a guest walk into the snack bar, he would put a small stone into the circle he drew, but the lunch time had almost passed, the small stones he put into the circle were hardly 50. The boss was quite worried and called up all his old guests. The guests started coming one after another. "81, 82, 83... " the small boy counted faster and faster. At last, when the 99th small stone was put into the circle, the little boy hurried to pull his grandma's hand and went into the snack bar. "Grandma, this time it's on me," the little boy said proudly. The grandma who had become the real 100th guest was served a bowl of beef soup by her grandson. As his grandma as before, the little boy chewed a piece of radish in his mouth. Why did the boy put the small stones into the circle he drew? He wanted to get the free beef soup for his grandma.
Reagan was walking down the street on his way to interview for a minimum wage job.He happened to cross paths with Bouvier, who was laying rock salt on the ground outside his restaurant, Papa Roux, after an ice storm had hit the area earlier in the morning. Bouvier said the 18-year-old approached him and asked how far it was to 10th and Sherman, Bouvier said the distance was at least seven miles, so he told Reagan that he would be better off taking a bus instead of walking, especially considering the freezing temperature.Reagan said "thank you" and kept on his way to the job interview. Later, Bouvier and his wife were driving to grab coffee, and they came across Reagan again -still walking.So they offered him a ride.Reagan shared with the couple that he was on his way to a shop to interview for a job, and he did not have money for bus fare.Reagan also shared that his mother had passed away and he was left to care for his two younger sisters.After his mom died a couple of years ago, he ended up dropping out of high school without obtaining a diploma. After hearing the teen's story, Bouvier told Reagan that even if he was offered the shop job, he would hire him and double his salary.Bouvier was impressed with the teen's ambition and work ethic .Reagan accepted the job.He cannot believe how everything turned out for him, saying, "I'm just too excited, just excited to start." Bouvier wanted to share the encounter with his friends, so he wrote about it on Facebook.The story is going around, with more than 15,000 likes so far.People are applauding the teen's work ethic and Bouvier's generosity. One person wrote, "You are a blessing from above, and some good will come to you." Another added, "So kindness does exist? Warms my heart!" In addition, IndyGo, the local public transportation system, gave Reagan a free one-year pass. Which of the following is true of Reagan? A. He finished high school and got his diploma. B. His mother had died and he lived alone. C. He had to do work to support his families. D. He was still a student with a part-time job. Answer: C. He had to do work to support his families. This Christmas, maybe different from previous years, a strong desire drives me to make my own Christmas gifts. Honestly speaking, I've promised myself this more than once. As a crafter , I've frequently thought I am supposed to turn it into action. However, this year I really plan to stick to it. It's partly because I run short of money. More importantly, I've recently returned from an inspiring trip around Britain, collecting some information about crafting for BBC's Newsnight. Actually I planned the trip couples of months ago. The idea of traveling the country -- making things as I went, meeting artists and craftspeople -- sounded perfect to spend the summer. I'd pack a tent and a sewing machine and I'd set off. But by the time I determined my plans and hit the road, leaves made a sighing sound under foot. It seemed crazy to camp with winter on the way; Luckily, Newsnight viewers offered me accommodations in return for help with a craft task. My tasks ranged from sewing worn-out clothes to making trousers. Textile students in Harpenden offered to pay for my petrol in return for a talk about hats. In Derby, Amy needed help to change an old pair of curtains. I was really struck by people's increasing enthusiasm for making things. When I asked some people if they could sew, only a few raised their hands. But when I asked who wanted to learn, nearly everyone responded positively, hoping to learn something practical. Craft is definitely popular at the moment. But besides fashion, we're learning to appreciate effort and quality again. Perhaps once people rediscover the pleasure to be gained from making something unique, it may stick. Sue is director of quilts at the V&A, where next spring she'll be putting on the museum's first major quilting exhibition. Sue believes the return to crafting is related to how we rethink ourselves. "People, especially women, are beginning to think about the way they live their lives. It's 40 years since the first women's liberation conference was held in Oxford. Since then we've been in the workplace, and we've had the opportunity of choice. Now we're carefully choosing to go back into the home." Whether you agree with that or not, there's something about Christmas that brings out the artistic flavor in everyone. Whether it's baking bread or pies or decorating the halls or rooms, we're all prepared to have a try at any time. So if you fancy having a different and joyful party or holiday and making a few presents, try these really simple ideas, each inspired by my recent journey there. They make small and interesting gifts, and take no longer than 30 minutes each. Enjoy Christmas songs and settle down with a cup of hot cocoa, and the cold is gone. You'll save yourself a small quantity of money and spread a little bit of love, too! What is the author's opinion on homemade Christmas presents? A. Making Christmas presents can only convey a bit of your love. B. People can find their artistic talent in making Christmas presents. C. A cup of hot cocoa can inspire you to make a creative present. D. It would take a long time to prepare a homemade Christmas present. Answer: B. People can find their artistic talent in making Christmas presents. Mr. White works in a park. He can't hear or speak. He looks after the chairs in the park. Some chairs in the park look very old. Mr. White wants to paint them. It is cloudy today. There are few people in the park,so Mr. White starts to paint a chair. After he paints it,he goes back to his office and brings a card with "WET PAINT" on it. He wants to put the card near the chair. He takes the card and walks to the chair. Dave is taking a walk in the park. He feels a little tired .He wants to sit on a chair. He sees the chair. He is walking to it,too. Mr. White finds someone behind him walking to the same chair. He walks quickly. When Dave sees this,he begins to run. Mr. White begins to run,too. Dave runs faster than (......)Mr. White and he sits on the chair. He does not know the paint is wet. Mr. White is not happy to see him sitting on the chair. He shows Dave the card. Dave feels very embarrassed . Mr.White's job is to _ . A. clean the park B. grow trees C. help people in the park D. look after the chairs in the park Answer: D. look after the chairs in the park Dear sir, Your shipment of twelve thousand 'Smart' watches was received by our company this morning.However we wish to make a number of complaints concerning the serious delay in delivery and your failure to carry out our specific instructions with regard to this order. It was stressed from the beginning that the delivery date had to be less than six weeks from the first order, in order to meet our own customers'requirements.While we understand that delays in production are occasionally unavoidable,we must point out that the major reason why, the order was placed with your company was because we were assured by you of its speed of delivery, and that your existing stocks were sufficiently high to ensure immediate shipment.Late delivery of the goods has caused us to disappoint several of our most valued customers,and _ have a negative effect on the potential future orders. The second complaint concerns the difference in colour between the watches we ordered and those delivered.It was stated clearly in the original order that watches in combinations of green/purple and orange/purple only were required.However only half the watches in the delivery received are of the colours specified.Our Hong Kong agent assures us that she stressed to you the importance of following our instructions precisely, since we consider there to be only a limited market in this country for watches of other colours at the present time.Any watches that are not of ate specified colours will,of course,be returned to you. We are also somewhat concerned about the rather poor quality of the goods received,since it is obvious that the watches that finally arrived have been produced from inferior materials and have been manufactured to a lower standard than those in the sample.We have also found that a number of the watches do not appear to be functioning.Whether the latter problem is due to poor manufacture,damage during transportation or bad batteries is not yet clear, but we should like to point out that we feel this matter to be only your responsibility. As a result of the above problem,therefore,we feel that the most suitable course of action is to return to you unpaid any of the goods considered unsatisfactory, and to subtract any resulting costs from our final settlement.We shall also, of course, be forced to reconsider whether any further orders should be placed with your company. We look forward to your prompt reply. Yours sincerely, John Smith Receiving watches in the wrong colours is a problem because . A. the Hong Kong agent stressed the need to fulfill the order exactly B. these watches will be difficult to sell C. these watches will not be limited to the Hong Kong market D. people will not buy the watches as presents Answer: B. these watches will be difficult to sell A new enemy is threatening Japanese traditions: leisure. A part of its attempt to increase imports, the government is trying to get people to work less and spend more. The workers are disgusted. The figures support the western prejudice that the Japanese are all working without play. Trying to force workers away from their desks and machines, the government said last April that the country should cut down from its 2,100 hours average work year to 1,899 hours and a five-day by 1992. Beginning in February, banks and offices two Saturdays a month. The government hopes that others will follow that practice. But some persuasion will be needed. Small companies are very angry about it and they fear competitions may not cut hour. The unions are no happier: they have even advertised in newspapers arguing their case against the foreign pressure that is forcing leisure upon them. They say shorter hours are a disguised pay cut. The industrialists, who have no objection to the government's plans, admit that shorter hours will help them cut costs. Younger Japanese who are supposed to be acting against their hard-working parents, show no sign of wanting time off either. But unlike older workers, they do spend money in their spare time. Not content with watching TV, they dance, dress up, sit in cafes, go to pop concerts and generally drive the leisure-industry boom. Now that they know how to consume, maybe the West can teach them to relax and enjoy themselves too. The passage mainly discusses _ . A. a new policy threatening Japanese tradition B. the balance between work and play C. different attitudes towards short working hours D. generation gap Answer: C. different attitudes towards short working hours
Question: I appreciate how biking to work allows me to be outside for at least a small part of my day. I'm a senior program director. If I didn't bike to work, I'd spend my weekdays almost entirely indoors--underground tunnel. On the bike, I get trees, air and a great way to get to know city neighborhoods. Of course, I also get bad weather and city traffic. But it's worth the trade-off. The weather's not often bad, and rain and snow have their charms. I've been cycling to work since the late 1990s. I started when the city was doing some construction in the subways and rerouting passengers, which would have lengthened my trip considerably. I tried riding my sister- in- law's bike to work one day and liked it, so I bought my own. Even though I hadn't biked since I was a child, I got back into it right away. I bike during all four seasons. In summer, I wear shorts and a T- shirt and carry a messenger bag over my shoulder for my lunch and anything else I need. Once at the office, I change into business- casual clothes. In winter, I wear layers and a thin hat under my helmet. A cold winter day can be the best time to be on a bicycle. When the air is clear, free of oppressive summer haze, the city can look beautiful. Biking to work also _ during the workday itself. I have a rack on the back of my bike that accommodates panniers that allow me to pick up groceries. During work hours, a colleague will occasionally need to send or retrieve documents by messenger. If I have the time, I volunteer. Pedaling 30 blocks and back is a nice way to take a break from work--and to save the office a few bucks on messenger fees. I'm sure that some people thinking my mode of transportation might be afraid of Midtown traffic. I'm no hero; I don't want to get hurt riding to work. It just takes time getting used to it. There's a risk, but all travel has risks. They're worth it to me. Which is the reason for the author cycling to work? A. To save money B. To lose weight C. To smell the roses outside D. To protect the environment Answer: C. To smell the roses outside Question: Many years ago,there was a very popular sport in America. Who invented the sport more than 3,000 years ago? We don't know . But everyone thinks it was the 01mecs made it popular. People don't have the same rules about the game all over the world . People in different parts of the world play the game in different places at different times. If we want to bring back the sport, we need to have two teams of players standing on each end of a court. When the game begins, the two teams need to pass a ball with their hands and feet. The players can't touch the ball with their hands and feet. But they can use their elbows and other parts of their bodies hit it. If a player does not pick up t he ball in time and lets it fall to the ground, that team loses a point. Or if a player makes the ball through a hoop ,that team scores a point. The team with the most points wins the game. Which one is wrong? A. Olmosmadethesportpopular. B. Playersmuststandattheendofacourt. C. Playersdon'tneedtopassballs. D. Playerswhomaketheballthroughahoopcanscoreapoint. Answer: C. Playersdon'tneedtopassballs. Question: Oxford is a city in the UK. It's in the west of the UK and it's famous for the University of Oxford. It's an old university -- about 900 years old. It has a longer history than Cambridge University. It's the oldest university in the English speaking world. There are about 20,000 students and they are from all over the world. Many students go to school by bike. There are 38 colleges in the University of Oxford, but Cambridge University has only 31 colleges. There are 104 libraries in the University of Oxford. Bodleian Library is the second largest library in the UK. Stephen Hawking was a student of the University of Oxford. He's a great scientist. Clinton , the 42nd American was also a student of the University. How old is the University of Oxford? A. About 800 years old. B. About 900 years old. C. About 700 years old. D. About 600 years old. Answer: B. About 900 years old. Question: It is reported that in the near future robots and humans will probably work together to create jazz. A singing robot is being taught to create jazz with human being in a project. Antonio Chella from Italy is working with a Telenoid robot. To start with, the Telenoid will be trained to _ the movements and simple sounds made by a human singer, and then connect music with different human emotions. Previous robots had the ability to find common connections between things. But Chella suggests that a conscious robot should be able to go a step further and find new connections. The Telenoid is of this kind. "This work raises interesting questions about the connection between consciousness and music creating." says Philippe Pasquier, a musician needs a physical body. Pasquer argues that the robot musician is faced with a big challenge. "Its software has already been developed and it can imitate The Beatles, a famous band. However, what made The Beatles famous were not only their songs but their wonderful performance of the songs," he says. It is not clear how a robot would perform music a new way. But by imitating humans, the Telenoid robot could provide some useful information. What is important is that human musicians often listen to and compare music made by others for a long time before creating music of their own. So the Telenoid robot had better listen to more jazz music first. In which part of a newspaper do we most probably read this passage? A. Arts B. Entertainment C. Medicine D. Science Answer: D. Science Question: Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes--khaki pants and sports shirt--to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday, but only on Friday. This became known as "dress-down Friday" or "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale . Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative effect on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes." David Smith wears casual clothes now, because _ . A. they make him feel at ease when working B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes C. he looks handsome in casual clothes D. he no longer works for any company Answer: A. they make him feel at ease when working
Question: When Christopher Columbus landed on a land without name in 1502, he saw many Indians wearing gold earrings. So he thought the land must be rich in gold. He named the place Costa Rica, which means "rich coast" in Spanish. Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas. Coffee is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported to other countries like America and West Germany. Bananas are the country's second most important export. Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use. Costa Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors. Education is very important to the Costa Ricans. Almost every village has a school and education is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Boys and girls go to separate schools. Classes begin in March and end in November. The other three months of the year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans. This passage is mainly about _ . A. Christopher Columbus B. Costa Rica C. some products from Costa Rica D. the education of Costa Rica Answer: B Question: In the United States, sixteen, eighteen, and twenty-one are important ages in a person's life. There are no special celebrations for these birthdays, but each is a time when a person can do new things to mark their transition into adulthood. After turning sixteen a person can work, get a driver's license and leave home. Many high school students learn to drive and get part-time jobs soon after celebrating their sixteenth birthday. At the age of eighteen a person in the United States can vote and smoke, but they are prohibited from going into nightclubs, buying wine or gambling until they are twenty-one. In many Latin cultures, a young woman's fifteenth birthday is important. At this age, she is regarded as an adult. To mark this special day, families with teenage daughters have a celebration called a Quinceanera. The day begins with the young woman and her family going to church. Later, there is a party and many guests are invited. In Japan, young people became adults at twenty. At this age, they can legally vote, drink wine and smoke. The second Monday in January is a national holiday called "Coming of Age Day". On this day, twenty-year-old celebrates by first going to church to pray with their families. Later, they listen to speeches given by city and school leaders. Afterward, they may celebrate with family or friends late into the night. In some countries, birthday celebrations continue through adulthood. Some people celebrate their fortieth and fiftieth birthdays, or their retirement year, with a huge party. In the United States, age sixteen marks the time when you can _ . A. vote and drive B. drive and get a job C. drink wine and smoke D. go into nightclubs Answer: B Question: A rocket began countdown . It was a common sound in the 1960s. But this was not just another countdown. It was the beginning of a historic event. It was the countdown of Apollo 11 -the space fligh that would carry men to the first landing on the moon. In the spaceship at the top of the rocket were three American astronauts whose names would soon be known around the world: Neil Armstrong. Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins. Neil Armstrong was the commander of the spaceship. Edwin Aldrin was the pilot of the moon lander. The astronauts gave it the name the Eagle. Michael Collins was the pilot of the command module , Columbia. He would wait in orbit around the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin landed and explored the surface. On Earth, all activity seemed to stop. President Richard Nixon gave federal government workers the day off to watch the moon landing on television. Around the world, 500 million people watched the television report. Countless millions more listened on their radios. Armstrong and Aldrin started the lander rocket engine. It slowed the spacecraft and sent it down toward the landing place. It was in an area known as the "Sea of Tranquility ". The moon lander, controlled by a computer, dropped toward the airless surface of the moon. 140 meters from the surface, the astronauts look control of the lander from the computer. They moved the Eagle forward, away from a very rocky area that might have caused a difficult landing. It took the astronauts more than three hours to complete the preparations for leaving the lander. It was difficult - in the Eagle's small space - to get into space suits that would protect them on the moon's surface. Finally, Armstrong and Aldrin were ready. They opened the door. Armstrong went out first and moved slowly down the ladder. At 2:56 on July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his foot on the moon. "That's one small step for man,"he said, "one giant leap for mankind." It took a long time for Armstrong and Aldrin to leave the Eagle because_. A. they had difficulty in putting on their space suits in the Eagle's small space. B. they had so many things to deal with before leaving C. they needed enough time to get used to the airless conditions on the moon D. the landing caused some troubles for the Eagle Answer: A Question: Do you know anything about the way of shopping in western countries? People there usually make shopping lists first and then go shopping. Most people like to go to supermarkets because they can get many things in one supermarket such as clothes, food, drinks. The things in supermarkets are cheaper. When they get into a supermarket, they get a basket. Then they buy things and put them in the basket. After they get everything they want, they pay the money. Most people go to the supermarket once a week. People like to go to the supermarket for _ reason(s) . A. three B. two C. one D. many Answer: B Question: I'm Evan Ducker. I'm just like every other 15-year-old boy, except I was born with a red birthmark . Some birthmarks are signs of serious medical conditions. I'm very fortunate--mine isn't. I pretty much live a regular life, except for people asking me about it all the time, which can get annoying sometimes. When I was about 4 years old, I asked my mom why there weren't any characters with birthmarks in the books she would read to me. When we went to the library, we realized there weren't any available for little kids. Worse than that, the books available to older kids and adults described characters with birthmarks as unattractive. So I decided to write my own. I based the story on all the real things that happened in my life. But instead of people, the characters in the book are real animals from the Galapagos Islands, including red-footed booby birds . I picked a booby bird as the main character because the birds have red feet due to a vascular condition, similar to a human birthmark! It was really tough to get my book published. It took a long time because a lot of publishers refused to publish it. They would say there wasn't a big enough market for a book about birthmarks. But my mom never gave up trying to help make my dream come true. And in 2005, she finally took her own money and self-published "Buddy Booby's Birthmark". After it was published, I got letters from readers all over the world. They all shared their stories and thanked me for sharing mine. Teachers wrote to tell me that my book changed the way classmates treated each other and that my book was helping kids to accept and appreciate their differences. Then, as more teachers started reading my book, I created a free global reading event, the "International Buddy Booby's Birthmark Read--Along for Tolerance and Awareness." The author's birthmark seems to _ . A. be easy to remove B. annoy him all the time C. cause serious health problems D. bring him some trouble Answer: D
You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth,it is really an eye-opening experience to study here. In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn't know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut. When I first studied English, I was told to say,"I am fine" when people say "How are you?" But in the US, I found that people say, "I am good" or "I'm tired". One day, someone greeted me with "What's up?" It made me _ . I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn't know what to say. Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures. To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan . However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or "whiter". I was also surprised by how hardworking US students are . In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that's it. But here, a "good" student gets good grades, does a lot of work for the public and plays sports or music. The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports. A good US student spends his / her time _ . A. only in doing homework B. only on sports or music C. only in working for the public D. on studies, sports or music and public work Answer: D Hello! I'm Tom. This is a pencil box. It's orange. It's my pencil box. What's in the pencil box? A ruler is in the pencil box. It's my ruler. The ruler is blue and red. That is a pencil in my pencil box. It's black and white. It is not my pencil. Look! That girl is Lucy. It is her pencil. I find a green pen in the pencil box, too. It's Tim's. I call Tim at 759-631. It is his telephone number. What color is Lucy's pencil? A. Orange B. Blue and red C. Red D. Black and white Answer: D Bushwick is a tough place to grow up. This part of Brooklyn, in New York City, has a lot of crime. More than half of its 100,000 residents rely on aid from the government. Only 50% of students at Bushwick High School graduate in four years. Some people might say, "We should help these poor kids who have so many challenges." But Malaak Compton-Rock looks at the teens in Bushwick and says, " Go to help kids who have even bigger challenges than you do." She believes that once young people see the power they have to make things better, they can handle their own problems more easily. So her service group, the Angel Rock Project, took 30 Bushwick kids to Soweto, in South Africa, to help poor families there. Soweto is a township outside the city of Johannesburg. The effort, called Journey for Change, aims to show that any kid can change the world. "Kids in Bushwick face pressure to drop out of school or become involved in gangs and drugs." Says Compton-Rock. "We want them to live a life of purpose and service." In Soweto, many parents have died of AIDS, a deadly disease. When that happens, a grandparent or a child must lead the family. The Bushwick volunteers helped such families. They tended vegetable gardens, cared for babies and bought groceries. "The saddest thing was when we visited an orphanage and I helped a little boy who had been abandoned because he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS," says Queen Clyde, 12. "It's been good to be on this trip. But what's also important is what we do when it's finished. That's what counts." " I never appreciated what I had until I saw some people who had nothing," says Sadara Lewis, 12 "It's really changed my attitude. I want to make a difference." The trip was two weeks long. But the kids, aged 12 to 15, will spend all year speaking about their experience, fund-raising and more. According to the passage, "Journey for Change" can be best seen as the saying " _ ". A. God helps those who help themselves B. saying and doing are two things C. one stone kills two birds D. a friend in need is a friend indeed Answer: C A major new development in system of work in Britain is taking place. Flexible working hours, or "Flextime", are catching on fast, and trend is continuing. In 1973, over 500 organizations had adopted the idea, and by 1974, this number had risen to over 200,000. Flexible working hours were invented in Germany in the late 1960's, but reached Britain only in 1972. The system allows workers to start and finish work whenever they want, with only two requirements. These are, firstly, that all workers must present for certain "key" times in the day, and secondly, that all workers must work an agreed total number of hours per week. The system had proved a total success wherever it has been tried. A survey of 700 workers on flexible hours showed three main advantages: a better balance between working and private life, avoidance of the need to travel during rush hours and the ability to finish a certain task before leaving. From the employer's point of view, the system tends to increase productivity, reduce labour turnover and give workers a greater sense of duty. At first, "Flexible" was mainly confined to white-collar workers, but it is now being applied to manual workers too. According to "Flextime" system, workers need not _ . A. work at the same time B. work all the weekdays C. work hard D. ask for leave when being absent Answer: A A battery operated vehicle requires everything but A. electricity B. ions C. petroleum D. charging Answer: C
In a prosecution of Doris for murder, the government seeks to introduce a properly authenticated note written by the victim that reads: "Doris did it." In laying the foundation for admitting the note as a dying declaration, the prosecution offered an affidavit from the attending physician that the victim knew she was about to die when she wrote the note. The admissibility of the note as a dying declaration is Which animal is preparing for a seasonal change in the environment? It was 8:35 am. My girls and I were rushing through the front door of the school as I yelled, "Hurry up! The bell was about to..." RIIIIIIIING! The girls froze and their eyes widened. My shoulders sagged . We were too late. We were often late for school last year, and every time we ran breathlessly into the attendance I heard myself making silly excuses to Beth, the long-suffering secretary: our alarm didn't go off; there was so much traffic; it was my husband's fault; the dog...I didn't know-something about the dog! As time passed by, my lying became a habit, and it raised a red flag for me. Lying - even in the form of "harmless" excuses - means we're ashamed. Shame is different from guilt. Healthy guilt is fair and helpful. But shame can be dangerous. Nothing ruins the connection between two people more quickly than shame and lies do. Anyone trying to live a healthy and honest life must avoid shame at any cost. I was trying to live a healthy and honest life, but my excuses were keeping me from reaching my goal. So I vowed to do something different . The next time we were late, I went to the attendance office. When Beth asked me to fill in a form with the reason for being late, I told the truth. "These days, we are very tired and disorganized," I wrote. Beth looked down at that form, and the slowly looked up at me. She gave us a warm and big smile and her blue eyes twinkled. She started laughing. So did my kids and I. We're all imperfect human beings. We make mistakes. Everyone does make mistakes. However, it's OK to tell the truth about them. It's OK to forgive ourselves and promise to try again. We learn that as time went by, the author _ . (2013*,C)One day,when I was working as a psychologist in England,an adolescent boy showed up in my office.It was David.He kept walking up and down restlessly,his face pale,and his hands shaking slightly.His head teacher had referred him to me."This boy has lost his family,"he wrote."He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others,and I'm very worried about him.Can you help?" I looked at David and showed him to a chair.How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn't have the answer to,and which no words can describe.Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically. The first two times we met,David didn't say a word.He sat there,only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me.I suggested we play a game of chess.He nodded.After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon--in complete silence and without looking at me.It's not easy to cheat in chess,but I admit I made sure David won once or twice. Usually,he arrived earlier than agreed,took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down.It seemed as if he enjoyed my company.But why did he never look at me? "Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with,"I thought."Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering."Some months later,when we were playing chess,he looked up at me suddenly. "It's your turn,"he said. After that day,David started talking.He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club.He wrote to me a few times,about his biking with some friends,and about his plan to get into university.Now he had really started to live his own life. Maybe I gave David something.But I also learned that one--without any words--can reach out to another person.All it takes is a hug,a shoulder to cry on,a friendly touch,and an ear that listens. As a psychologist,the author _ . Steve Jobs made technology fun.The co-founder of Apple died last Wednesday at the age of fifty-six He had fought for years against cancer.Mourners gathered outside his house in Palo Alto, California, and Apple stores around the world. Tim Bajarin, president of a high-tech research and consulting company, said "If you actually look at a tech leader, they're really happy if they have one hit in their life.Steve Jobs has the Apple II, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and Pixar." Steve Jobs was a college dropout.He was adopted by a machinist and his wife, an accountant.They supported his early interest in electronics. He and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer--now just called Apple--in nineteen seventy-six.They stayed at the company until nineteen eighty-five.That year, Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs left in a dispute with the chief executive. Mr.Jobs then formed his own company, called NeXT Computer.He rejoined Apple in nineteen ninety-seven after it bought NeXT.He helped remake Apple from a business that was in bad shape then to one of the most valuable companies in the world today. Steve Wozniak, speaking on CNN, remembered his longtime friend as a "great visionary and leader'' and a "marketing genius ". President Obama said in a statement: "By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, _ .By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun." David Carroll is a professor at Parsons School of Design in New York City.He says Steve Jobs not only revolutionized technology, he also revolutionized American business. "The fact that he was able to redesign American commerce top to bottom and across is really stunning .He probably will be considered an industrial giant on the scale of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, so one of the great[s] of all time." David Carroll said. Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's chief executive in August because of his health.He died a day after the company released a new iPhone version that met with limited excitement.Apple's new chief, Tim Cook, will also have to deal with the new Kindle Fire tablet computer from Amazon.com.It costs less than half as much as an iPad but also does less. Why did people all over the world mourn Steve Jobs?
A patch of thistle grows larger when this is increased: The snow has paralysed transport in China during the country's most important vacation period, the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Not only have transport delays hindered personal trips, but they have also slowed the delivery of fresh produce to markets. Consequently, in Zhengzhou, the capital city of the Henan province, tomato prices have doubled, and the cost of 47 other vegetables has increased by 36%, as reported by local media at the end of January. According to an inside PR source, "wholesalers in Beijing were quoted as saying that only about 20% of the usual fresh vegetable supplies were reaching the city." As an Asian country with a diet based on fresh produce, the shortage of vegetables and the rise in prices is not only affecting fresh food producers, but also the final consumers. In terms of production, this is the worst snow disaster to hit China in the last 50 years, affecting a total of 9.4 million hectares of farmland in the country, according to a report published on 4 February 2008 by Feng Tao of Xinhua News, at the Chinese government website. Most of the crops devastated by the frost are located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the traditional natural border between North and South China. Chen Xiwen, Director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Rural Work, pointed out at the end of last week that "the blizzard disaster in the south has had a severe impact on winter crops, and the impact on fresh vegetables could be catastrophic in certain areas", as stated in the Xinhua News report. The Chinese government has been quick to take extreme measures. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has sent 13 teams of experts to 8 of the areas most seriously affected by the harsh weather. The aim of this initiative is to provide farmers with technical assistance to minimize their losses. This passage mainly tells us _ . 1970 was "World Conservation Year". The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can't live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves. What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask "What must we do now?" The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called "No, One's Going to Change our World. " It was made by Scatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals. No,One's Going to Change our World. was _ . A person eats some berries in them while camping in one location. In another location, miles away, they defecate outdoors. A result of this is The kings of ancient Egypt planned strong tombs to keep their bodies safe after death and to hold their treasure.The Great Pyramids along the Nile are on its west bank.The ancient Egyptians compared the rising of the sun to the beginning of life and the setting of the sun to the end of life.This is why their dead bodies were buried on the west bank of the Nile. The people of Mexico also built pyramids.They did not build the pyramids for tombs.They used to build a pyramid and then a temple on top of it.The pyramids of Mexico are not as high as the pyramids of Egypt,but they are bigger.Each of the pyramids has a wide stairway that goes from the bottom to the top. The biggest pyramid in Mexico is almost 2,000 years old.Scientists think it took 10,000 men more than ten years to build it.On the top they built a temple of the sun.The temple is no longer there,but people still call it the Pyramid of the Sun.Near it is another huge pyramid,the Pyramid of the Moon. The pyramids in ancient Mexico were built _ .
In our home it was natural to fear our father . Even our mother was afraid of him. As children, my sister and I thought every family was like that. Every family had an unpredictable dad who was impossible to please and a praying mom who was there to protect the children. We were good children. Mom was always telling us we were, even if Daddy couldn't see it . part of this was because we didn't dare to do anything. Then came the day we found something new and fun to do. We worked at drawing with chalk on our wooden front door and making lots of pretty pictures all over it. We had a great time. We thought Mom would love it and praise us. The praise we expected did not come. Instead, Mom was mad. We did not understand why, but we knew we were in big trouble! Off we ran to find a place to hid. In our wooded yard it was not hard for two small children to find safety. Together, we hid behind a tree and did not move. Soon we heard the frightened voices of Mom and our neighbors calling out to us. The sun set and it began to get dark. Those around us became more anxious, and we became more frightened. However, we still didn't move. As we clung together in the dark, we became aware of yet another voice, one we recognized with great fear: our daddy. But there was something strangely different about it. In it we heard something we had never heard before: fear, agony and despair. Then came his prayers in tearful voice. Our daddy was promising God that he would give his life to him if he would safely return his girls. Nothing in our lives had prepared us for this kind of shock. Neither of us remembers making a decision to come out. We were drawn to him like a magnet , our fears disappearing into the forest. We didn't know yet if we actually took steps or if God somehow moved us out and into Daddy's arms. What we do remember were those strong, loving arms holding us and crying, hugging us like we were precious. Things were different after that. _ . Our whole family was changed by a piece of chalk. Which shows the children's emotional change when they heard their father's voice? A Anxious-content -miserable B Frightened-happy-depressed C Excited-fearful-desperate D Scared-shocked-moved Answer: D More than a decade ago, cognitive scientists John Bransfgord and Daniel Schwartz, both then at Vanderbilt University, found that knowledge was not the ability to retain facts or apply previous knowledge to a new situation but a quality they called "preparation for future learning." The researches asked fifth graders and college students to create a recovery plan to protect bald eagles from extinction. Shockingly, the two groups came up with plans of similar quality (though the college students had better spelling skills). From the standpoint of a traditional educator, this outcome indicated that schooling had failed to help students think about ecosystems and extinction, major scientific ideas. The researches decided to go deeper, however. They asked both groups to generate questions about important issues needed to create recovery plans. On this task, they found large differences. College students focused on critical issues. The college students had cultivated the ability to ask questions, the foundation of critical thinking. They had learned how to learn. Museums and other institutions of informal learning may be more suitable to teach this skill than elementary and secondly schools. At the Exploratorium in San Francisco, we recently studied how learning to ask good questions can affect the quality of people's scientific inquiry. We found that when we taught participants to ask "What if?" and "How can?" questions that nobody present would know the answer to and that would spark exploration, they engaged in better inquiry at the next exhibit--asking more questions, performing more experiments and making better interpretations of their results. Specially, their questions became more comprehensive at the new exhibit. This type of learning is not limited to museums of institutional settings. Informal learning environment tolerate failure better than schools. Perhaps many teachers have too little time to allow students to form and pursue their own questions and too much ground to cover in the curriculum. But people must acquire this skill somewhere. Our society depend on them being able to make critical decisions about their own medical treatment, says, or what we must do about global energy needs and demands. For that, we have a robust informal system that gives no grades, takes all comers, and is available even on holidays and weekends. What does the author seem to encourage educators to do at the end of the passage? A Train students to think about global issues. B Design more interactive classroom activities. C Make full use of informal learning resources. D Include collaborative inquiry in the curriculum. Answer: C It was the first snow of winter -- an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through brst snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one. I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled won my jacket because it didn't fit well. It was a hand-mc-down from my brother, and if made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes, At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots . In her calm, motherly voice she said, "By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots." I didn't realize at the at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence . I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too. I announced, "They're on the wrong feet." She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again. "They're my brother's boots, you know," I said. "I hate them". Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn't an annoying little girl, She struggle with me, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens ?" I looked into her eyes and said, "I didn't want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots. Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl's boots mainly because _ . A the girl got them from her brother B the girl put something in them C they were on the wrong feet D they did not fit the girl well Answer: B Qian Xuesen is one of the greatest scientists who devoted all their lives to China's science and technology. In 1911, he was born in Hangzhou, eastern China. Qian received a mechanical engineering degree in 1934 in Shanghai and went to the United States on a scholarship to study aeronautical engineering at MIT at the age of 23. As a student at MIT, and later as a scientist and teacher at the California Institute of Technology, Mr.Qian played a central role in early United States' efforts to develop jet aircraft and rocketry technology. Mr. Qian served on the United States government's Science Advisory Board during World War II. His teacher and colleague, the Caltech physicist Theodore von Karmon, praised him as "a brain whose work will change the world greatly". In the 1940s Qian wrote an article for a famous magazine on a winged space plane that led to develop NASA's new space shuttle. In 1955 he came back to his motherland from the US. Under his leadership, China produced its first missile called Long March, and in 1970, launched its first satellite. He was considered as the father of the country's first ballistic missiles, first satellite and the Silkworm anti-ship missile. In 2009, he died in Beijing. Qian Xuesen helped to produce China's first _ . A ballistic missiles B satellite C Silkworm anti-ship missile D All of above Answer: D People often say that the Englishman's home is his castle. They mean that the home is very important and personal to him. Most people in Britain live in houses rather than flats, and many people own their homes. This means that they can make them individual; they can paint them, and change them in any way they like. Most houses have a garden, even if it is a very small one, and the garden is usually loved. The house and the garden are the private space of the individual. People usually like to mark their space. Are you sitting now in your home or on a train? Have you marked the space around yourself as yours ? If you are on the train you may put your coat or small bag on the seat beside you. If you share a flat you may have one corner or chair which is your own. Once I was traveling on a train to London. I was in a section for four people and there was a table between us .The man on the space on my side of the table at all. I was angry. Maybe he thought that he owned the whole table .I had read a book about non-verbal communication, so I took various papers out of my bag and put them on his briefcase! When I did this he stiffened and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. I had invaded his space! A few minutes later I took my papers off his case in order to read them. He immediately moved his case to his side of the table. Of course, it is possible that he just wanted to be helpful to me! If you are visiting another country you may feel that you don't have any private space. Hotel rooms look much the same in every country in the world. All day long ,you share public spaces with other people. You see the local people in their private spaces and _ . Local people can create their private spaces by talking about things you don't know about .And you even feel that they like you to be outside _ so that they will enjoy being inside even more! This is one of the difficulties of being a traveler !But if you understand it then it helps you .Haven't you enjoyed being part of a group and "owning" a bit of space? Tha main purpose of the passage is to tell readers to _ . A own private spaces by living in houses B have one corner of their own in public places C realize the importance of "space" in communication D create their private spaces by talking with local people Answer: C
Every year, more than four million babies are born in the United States. Some parents named their children based on family, cultural or religious traditions. Girls are often named after a family member but rarely their mothers. Sons, though, are often named after their fathers. Every year the Social Security Administration releases a list of the most popular baby names in America. Last year, Jacob was the most popular boy name and Emma the number one name for girls. These days, the choice of a baby name seems to be guided as much by individual desires as by tradition. This is shown in the fact that the most popular baby names are not as popular as they used to be. Researchers at San Diego State University in California did a study. They found that thirty-two percent of boys received one of the ten most popular names in 1955. The same was true for twenty-two percent of girls. By 2007, however, the numbers were down to less than ten percent of boys and only eight percent of girls. "People are more and more interested in finding unusual names. And now since we have the information on the Internet of what the most popular names are, the percentage of kids who get them actually is going down because people are able to avoid them much more successfully than they did before," said Cleveland Evans, a professor of psychology at Bellevue University. Parents can find plenty of advice on the Web and in bookstores about choosing a baby name. A lot has also been written about the possible effects that a name might have on a child's future. There are studies that suggest children with unusual names are more likely to be teased. Other studies suggest that as adults, they might be less likely to get called for a job interview. Yet other research suggests that giving a child an unusual name might help build character. What all this adds up to is a big responsibility for parents to consider what's really in a name. Parents name their sons according to the following EXCEPT _ . A family tradition B cultural customs C a most popular baby name D their fathers' names Answer: C. a most popular baby name Chimps will cooperate in certain ways, like gathering in war parties to protect their territory. But beyond the minimum requirements as social beings, they have little instinct to help one another. Chimps in the wild seek food for themselves. Even chimp mothers regularly decline to share food with their children. Who are able from a young age to gather their own food. In the laboratory, chimps don't naturally share food either. If a chimp is put in a cage where he can pull in one plate of food for himself or, with no great effort, a plate that also provides food for a neighbor to the next cage, he will pull at random ---he just doesn't care whether his neighbor gets fed or not. Chimps are truly selfish. Human children, on the other hand are extremely corporative. From the earliest ages, they decide to help others, to share information and to participate a achieving common goals. The psychologist Michael Tomasello has studied this cooperativeness in a series of expensive with very young children. He finds that if babies aged 18 months see an worried adult with hands full trying to open a door, almost all will immediately try to help. There are several reasons to believe that the urges to help, inform and share are not taught .but naturally possessed in young children. One is that these instincts appear at a very young age before most parents have started to train children to behave socially. Another is that the helping behaviors are not improved if the children are rewarded. A third reason is that social intelligence. Develops in children before their general cognitive skills,at least when compared with chimps..In tests conducted by Tomtasell, the children did no better than the chimps on the physical world tests, but were considerably better at understanding the social world The cure of what children's minds have and chimps' don't in what Tomasello calls what. Part of this ability is that they can infer what others know or are thinking. But that, even very young children want to be part of a shared purpose. They actively seek to be part of a "we", a group that intends to work toward a shared goal. What can we learn from the experiment with chimps? A Chimps seldom care about others' interests. B Chimps tend to provide food for their children. C Chimps like to take in their neighbors' food. D Chimps naturally share food with each other. Answer: A. Chimps seldom care about others' interests. The Beijing International Marathon has acquired a new name among some disappointed participants: Smogathon. About 30,000 runners, many from other parts of China or abroad, awoke in the Chinese capital on Sunday to an orange sun glowing weakly through a dirty haze . _ . But no one cancelled on the advice of the organizers, the Chinese Athletic Association and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, because those organizations did not call it off. That has made participants call the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which has approved the 26-mile, or 42-kilometer race, to set air quality standards in the future to avoid damaging the runners' health. The association could not be reached by telephone on Sunday. "Does the IAAF have guidelines?" asked Chas Pope, a British engineer who took part in the marathon on Sunday. "If they don't, they should consider it," said Mr. Pope, who has lived in Beijing for 11 years and runs several long-distance races each year. "It's meant to be fun and good for your health," Mr. Pope said of the marathon. "But in such air, it's just ridiculous to be running," he said. He abandoned the course. "Most of my overseas friends pulled out," he said. "And quite a few of my Chinese friends too, but a lot didn't. I think they don't know as much about the health impact." Images on Twitter and Chinese social media showed Chinese runners wearing a variety of face protections, from light cloth masks to World War I-style gas masks. Still many completed the race without masks. "Today's race should definitely have been called off or rescheduled," said Zhang Kai, Beijing-based campaigner with Greenpeace East Asia. "What happened today to this sports even is just another reminder to the government that much remains to be done to China's energy and industrial structure to solve pollution," said Mr. Zhang. "If the battle against pollution is a marathon, it is now time to catch up on speed." In the end, the race was won by two Ethiopians: Girmay Birhanu Gebru won the men's race in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 42 seconds while Fatuma Sado Dergo won the women's in 2 hours, 30 minutes and 3 seconds, breaking Chinese women's advantage of the race for the last 22 years. The favored Chinese woman runner, Gong Lihua, told China News Net that the smog didn't affect her too much but it interfered with many people's ability to sweat, affecting their performance. Which of the following states does Chas Pope agree to? A A dirty haze is harmful to health. B Running in any air is good. C The marathon in China should be cancelled. D Friends should learn from each other. Answer: A. A dirty haze is harmful to health. A lot of people are afraid of spiders . One would even avoid walking in grass . And if he thought the spider was in the room or house, he would have to leave the house for days. In fact, fear of spiders is a type of disorder called specific phobia , one of the most common anxiety disorders, which annoys about 7% of the population, a study says. Common specific phobias also include fear of blood, needles, snakes, flying and enclosed spaces. The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine tried the "exposure Therapy ", which was small, done on 12 adults, but all of them held or petted the spider afterward. One participant celebrated by getting a spider tattoo after having been unable to even look at photos of spiders. This is the first study to document the immediate and long-term brain changes after treatment and to illustrate how the brain recognizes long-term to reduce fear as a result of the therapy. Every one would come in thinking: I am going to be the one who can't do this . There is no way ,"Haunter ,author of the study ,says "They were impressed by the end." In therapy lasting two or three hours, which is different for each person, the participants were taught that troublesome thoughts about spiders were untrue." "They thought the spiders might be capable of jumping out of the cage and on to them," Hauner says. Exposure therapy gets its name from exposing a patient to what he fears, says Todd, research assistant professor: "A lot of it about dispelling people's beliefs. You can get significant changes in a short period of time". According to Hauner , _ . A the therapy was completed ahead of time. B the therapy removed the participant' fear. C each participant doubted the therapy at first. D spiders sometimes attacked the participants. Answer: C. each participant doubted the therapy at first. There are no exact differences between physics and other natural sciences because all sciences overlap .In general,however,physics is the scientific study of forces and qualities such as heat,light,sound,pressure,gravity and electricity,and the ways they affect other objects. One major branch of physics deals with the states of matter--solids,liquids and gases and with their motions.The pioneer achievements of Galileo,Kepler and Newton dealt with solid masses of matter in motion.Such studies deal with forces acting on moving objects.It is the subject of mechanics and belongs to the branch of mechanics called dynamics,the study of matter in motion.This large topic includes not only the motions of stars and ping-pong balls but also the motions of the water pumped by a fire engine and those of the air passing through the jet engine of an airplane. A branch of mechanics is statics ,the study of matter at rest.The designs of buildings and bridges are examples of problems in statics.Other branches of physics are based on the different kinds of energy,which interact with matter.They deal with electricity and magnetism ,heat,light,and sound.From these branches of physics scientists find clues which have revealed the constructions of atoms and how the atoms react to various kinds of energy. _ is often called the basis of modern physics.Among the many subdivisions of modern physics are electronics and nuclear physics.Physics is closely related to engineering.A person who uses knowledge of physics in solving everyday problems is often called an engineer.For example,electricity is one of the branches of physics;and an electrical engineer is a man who uses the "natural laws" of electricity to help in designing and electric generator . The following statements are included in the study of dynamics except _ . A the design and construction of skyscrapers B the motions of heavenly bodies C the motions of water pumped by a fire engine D the motions of the air passing through the jet engine of an airplane Answer: A. the design and construction of skyscrapers
Emilio and Michi spread the colorful tablecloth on the table. They made room for Drew, who was carrying a dish. "Watch out," Drew warned. "This is pretty hot." A moment later, Kent and Alyssa added another hot dish to the table. "That smells so good!" said Michi. "Are most of the parents here yet? I'm hungry." Kent looked through the doors that led into the hallway. "I think Ms. Milano and Mr.Hasselbach just finished giving _ the garden touring. They should be heading into the cafeteria next." The students of Jefferson Middle School in Saint Louis, US had spent all afternoon preparing for the evening meal. They did their best to transform the lunchroom into a beautiful dining area for their families. As the families found their seats, Ms. Milano asked Drew, Emilio, and Michi to join her at the front of the room. She said, "I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Drew, Emilio and Michi for their wonderful idea. A year ago, they first came to me with the plan for starting a garden at Jefferson. I wondered whether it would work, but they had thought through everything. Any time I had a question about how we would make this work, they had an answer prepared. As you can see, they were absolutely correct. About three-quarters of the food you will be enjoying came from the school garden. The students prepared the entire meal themselves." Ms. Milano handed Drew, Michi and Emilio a box each. They opened their box as Ms. Milano continued. "As a thank-you to these students for their creative idea and hard work, they have each received a stepping stone for the garden. Their names and date appear on the stones." She turned to them. "Students for years to come will be enjoying the garden that you helped create," she said. "We thought it would be appropriate for them to have a reminder of our garden's founders." They held up their stepping stones and smiled as the crowd clapped. "And now," said Ms Milano, "please help yourself to some of the mouthwatering food our young chefs have prepared. Dinner is served!" What was Ms. Milano's original attitude toward starting a garden at school? A She was doubtful about it B She felt it was worth a try C she was strongly against it D She thought it a wonderful idea. Answer: A. She was doubtful about it This summer I will leave the junior high school where I have been for three years. I am generally considered to be a careful and polite boy now. However, five years ago, I was a little bit bossy . I often fought with other boys and sometimes I even fought with my elder sister. When I saw Superman on TV for the first time, I dreamed of being a superman one day. One P.E. class, I called up all of my friends to get together in our classroom. "Can anybody jump out of the window?" I asked them. After hearing this, all my friends kept silent. " _ ," I said. "Can you?" one of my friends asked me. "Sure!" I answered. "If I do it, I will get all the toys that you have. If I fail, you will get all of my toys, OK?" They said, "OK!" Then I went up to the window of the second floor. I took a deep breath and then jumped down, stretching out my arms just like Superman. Then I hit the ground. When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in the hospital. I was taken to the hospital because my arms were badly hurt. Later, I heard that my P.E. teacher nearly lost his job for this, but I never received the serious punishment I feared. What did the writer mean by "I know you are all chickens"? A The writer knew that his friends liked eating chicken. B The writer knew that his friends kept chickens at home. C The writer thought that his friends were afraid to do that. D The writer thought that his friends looked like chickens. Answer: C. The writer thought that his friends were afraid to do that. A scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of some four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it. Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait until the last moment. By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable. The children who gave in to temptation early were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible . Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn't show up on an IQ test. The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists' concerns. But brain theory can't explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain _ in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant soul. Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence: when it comes to predicting people's success, brain ability measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as "character". EQ is not the opposite of IQ. What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one's ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use. Among the ingredients for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ counts for about 20%; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck. While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse. Which of the following is TRUE of EQ and IQ according to the text? A There is no link between EQ and IQ. B The higher a person's IQ is, the higher his or her EQ is. C Some people can be blessed with lots of both, but some with little of either. D Scientists are trying to discover the way in which EQ and IQ work together. Answer: D. Scientists are trying to discover the way in which EQ and IQ work together. Earthquakes may happen anywhere on the earth. When some plates of the earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens. Many earthquakes begin under the sea. They often happen near the mountains , too. During an earthquake, the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack open. Houses fall, people are killed or hurt, and sometimes the whole villages or cities are destroyed . Can we do something to keep ourselves safe from earthquakes? Scientists have studied earthquakes and made maps that show the "earthquake belts". In areas in these belts, it's possible for earthquakes to happen. In these areas we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes. In the future, scientists will be able to tell when and where an earthquake will be before they happen. They can also tell people what to do and how to do it. Which of the following is True according to the passage? A During an earthquake few people are killed or hurt. B The scientists can tell when and where an earthquake is now. C We should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes. D Earthquakes all happen near the mountains. Answer: C. We should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes. There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is water between his feet and his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again . The boy puts his head down and prays, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! I'm dead meat ."He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and throws the bowl of water on the boy's legs. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of _ , the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants are dried out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his goes to someone else - Susie. She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!' Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.' How many people in the story know the truth about the wet pants? A None B Two C Three D Four Answer: C. Three
Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves. Decibels measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of 120 decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decible level of 195 would have the same effect. Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of 120 decibles in oceans. They have observed that noises above that level can frighten and confuse whales. A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises could seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing, which seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected . Many researches whose work depends on ocean sounds disagree with a limit of 120 decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research. Scientists do not know how many and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they previously believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean. As to the effects of noises on whales, which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? Noises at a certain level may hurt them. Over the holidays, I took my three young children into a fancy chocolate shop to buy gifts. Halfway home, I noticed my 7-year-old son playing with a plastic noisemaker. Long story short: He had stolen the toy. I kept my cool -- even when he said, "but it was only $1.50, Mom!" --and explained why it was unacceptable to take things we didn't buy. A few hours later, I marched my son back to the store with two dollars from his piggy bank. He walked embarrassedly to the counter and told the clerk that he had taken something without paying for it, that he was sorry to break it and that he would pay for it now. I know exactly how terrible he was feeling. Returning to the scene of the crime is the same shame-causing punishment I received when I was five and stole something from a store. 1 remember my dad sending me back to return the item. It remains one of my clearest child- hood memories. After that day, I never stole again. My dad taught me such an important lesson 30 years ago and I saw an opportunity to do the same for my son. But now I wonder if it was the fight thing to do. "Returning to the store is absolutely the right thing to do," Laura Markham, Ph.D., a child psychologist and author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, says. "Many children steal -- they' re not born knowing the rules so it' s our job to teach them." And stay calm when you set them. "If you overreact or yell, you might create a fascination with the behavior and a willful child will be more likely to fight against you," she says. Having a child physically return the stolen item helps him or her grasp the situation -- and the consequence. But don't talk about it for too long. "lf you continuously bring up the incident, the child will believe they' re a thief and that they' re bad," she says. Only time will tell if this experience will have the same powerful effect on my son as it had on me, but at the same time I can rest if I haven' t dealt with the situation badly. The author punished her son like that because _ . the same punishment had worked on her Washington D.C.is the capital of the United States. It's the center of the national government. It's a busy,working city with a large population. But what is more,Washington is also a city of history and culture. Washington was created in 1790,when Congress decided to place the nation's new capital in the east of the country. It was built halfway between the northern and the southern states of the America. And of course it was named after George Washington,the first President of the United States. There are many tourist sights in Washington. One of them is the White House. This is the home and office of the President of the United States. Most visitors are,however,surprised by how small the White House actually is. Washington is also a great culture city. The Library of Congress contains one of the largest library collections in the world. The Smithsonian Museum holds the nation's largest collection of cultural materials. And John F.Kennedy Center is a famous center of art and culture. It has many great musical and theatre performances throughout the year. From the passage we know that Washington is situated in _ . the east,on the middle point from north to south of the country Everyone has got two personalities-the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behavior, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their positions. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in. If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to displease people. So you never express your real feelings. You're quite shy and you aren't quite sure of yourself. If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you're always easily upset. You always stick to your own opinions or judgment, but you don't raise your hopes too much. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time. If you sleep curled up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive. You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You're easily hurt. If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well--balanced personality. You know your strengths and weakness. You're usually careful. You believe in yourself. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get sad. You always insist on what you think even if it makes people rather angry. If a person prefers to sleep curled up rather than on his back, he may be well content to _ . stay alone Your chair is your enemy. That is the conclusion of several recent studies. Among people who sit in front of the television for more than three hours each day, those who exercise are as fat as those who don't. So what's wrong with sitting? The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy. You may think you have no choice about how much you sit. But this isn't true. Suppose you sleep for eight hours each day, and exercise for one. That still leaves 15 hours of activities. Even if you exercise, most of the energy you burn will be burnt during these 15 hours, so weight gain is often the cumulative effect of a series of small decisions: Do you take the stairs or the elevator? Do you walk to the corner store, or drive? But it looks as though there's a more sinister aspect to sitting. Some evidence suggests that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you. Lipoprotein lipase is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being moved. The result is that when you sit, an important part of your metabolism slows down. You may also have a higher risk of suffering from diabetes . Some people have advanced radical solutions to the sitting syndrome : replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, or watch television in a rocking chair. But whatever you choose, know this. The data is clear; look out for your chair. The author mentions lipoprotein lipase mainly to _ . prove sitting for long is bad for our body
Divorce is bad for environment US researchers raised a new theory on Monday: divorce is bad for the environment. The global trend toward higher divorce rates has created more households with fewet People,scientists at Michigan State University reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More households means more houses,fuel and water are Heeded for them,the researchers wrote."Globally,the number of households is increasing much faster than the number of people,"said co-author "Jack" Liu in a telephone interview. "Even in regions with declining population, we see _ increase in the number of households. Divorce is the main reason for reducing the number of people in a household," he said. The average divorced person's household is about 40 to 50 percent smaller than the average married person's household, Liu said. But whether there are three or six people in a house ,the amount of fuel needed to heat them is about the same. In the prefix = st1 /United States, divorced households used 73 billion kilowatt--hours of electricity and 2.850 trillion litres of water in 2005 that could have been saved if households had stayed the same size as when they were married. I the United Statesand 11 other countries between 1998 and 2002, if divorced households had combined to have the same average household size as married households, there could have been 7.4 million fewer households. The number of divorced households in those countries ranged from 40,000 in Costa Ricato almost 16 million in theUnited Statesaround 2000. The number of rooms per person in divorced households was 33 percent to 95 percent greater than in married households. "If you really want to get divorced, maybe you can remarry with somebody else, or live together with somebody else you like", Liu said. How much electricity would have been saved without so many people to get divorced? A 7.4 million kilowatt-hours B 16 million kilowatt-hours C 73 billion kilowatt-hours D about 30 billion kilowatt-hours Answer: C Sports is not only physically challenging, but it can also mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches(trainers), parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create too much anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has showed that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable. The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware(realize), at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches' criticisms to heart and find a flaw in themselves. Coaches and parents should also be cautious(careful) that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today's youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on(pay more attention to) the outcome and find fault with youngsters' performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided in spite of the outcome. Research shows that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress(pressure), which can lead to burnout. According to the passage parents and coaches should A help children to win every game B pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports C enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports D train children to deal with stress Answer: B Economists have studied how markets work for a long time.Generally,they work well.But markets do not always perform as expected.Jean Tirole of France won the Nobel Prize in Economics for studying why markets are imperfect,or inefficient,and what governments can do to regulate them. The Nobel prize committee announced the $1.1 million prize in Stockholm to Jean Tirole.Itcalled Mr.Tirole"one of the most influential economists of our time".The organization said he had done important research in a number of areas.But it said,"most of all he has clarified how to understand and regulate industries with only a few powerful firms." Mr.Tiro1e works at the Toulouse School of Economics in Toulouse,France.He is 61 years old.For about 30 years,Mr.Tirole has researched periods when markets failed,that is,when they did not provide good results in price and competition.He looked at how a small number of large companies,or even a single company,can strongly influence industries. Banking and telecommunications were among the industries he studied. The Nobel committee said that unregulated markets often produce socially _ results. They can result in higher prices or companies that use their market position to block others* The committee said it chose Mr.Timle because he thought about how best to regulate markets.For example,Tore Ellingsen,Chairman of the committee that awards the economics prize,says Mr*Tirole showed the need to develop better rules for the banking industry.This became urgent after the world financial crisis of 2008--2009. The economics Drize is called the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alflred Nobel.Alfred Nobel did not establish the prize.It was first presented in 1969. What is the article mainly about? A The 1ife of Jean Tirole. B The research of Jean Tirole. C The history of Nobel Prize in Economics. D Jean Tirole Wins Nobel Economics Prize. Answer: D It was a painful 100 hours from the moment the earthquake struck until rescuers pulled Liu Deyun from the ruins of a factory yesterday. When he went to work on Monday morning, he had never thought that he would spend the next week in the ruins of his workplace. "It was a miracle , but that happened through our hard work," said Zhao Hongxing, an army doctor who joined in rescue. "His first words were 'The army is great. '" Chinese troops may have been the ones to physically free Mr Liu, 50, but it was his daughter who didn't give up looking for her father that saved his life at last. On Thursday night, running around the fallen factory, the family search party headed by his daughter, heard a low cry. "Father! Father!" Mr Liu answered in a low voice "Yes". Then, after more than three days buried under the fallen building, came two simple words: "I'm thirsty". The reply was probably not what he was wanting: "Father don't talk! You need your air! I will go and find somebody to rescue you!" The entire first floor of the building fell down, with the second floor completely damaged and pushing the building to one side. The 12-hour rescue operation to save Mr Liu was filled with danger. Mr Liu was freed yesterday at 6:28 p. m. His family had agreed to cut off one of his feet so that he could be pulled out. "I just want him to live," his daughter Yuan, 23, said in tears. Mr Liu, wrapped in a blanket, was welcomed by a large number of people who was concerned about him. And with the latest survivor taken to a waiting ambulance , the rescue workers went back to the ruins where two more factory workers were waiting for their turn to be dug out. What day was Mr Liu was saved from the ruins? A Monday. B Tuesday. C Thursday. D Friday. Answer: D Hello, everyone, I'm Xing Fei. I'm from China. My family name is Xing. I live in Bei Jing. My family is very large. In my family, my grandfather's father is the oldest one. He is now ninety-nine years old. My grandfather is eighty years old. And my grandma is eighty-two years old. They have four children, my uncle, my father, and my two aunts. I'm their grandson. My parents have two children, my sister and me. And I have four cousins. Now, I'm a student in No. 10 Middle school. And my sister is only five years old. My parents are both teachers. They love my family very much. So they work hard. We go to the park every morning. My mother says that it can help us keep healthy. Xing Fei has _ uncle _ aunts A one; two B two; one C three; one D one; three Answer: A
In the past, many people depended on horses for transportation , farming and other kinds of work. Nowadays a lot of people still like to ride horses. So it is not surprising that many expressions about _ are still used by Americans today. Long ago, people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall. Today, if a girl is too proud and looks down upon others, you might say she should "get off her high horse." Last night, I got a telephone call while I was watching my favorite television show. I decided not to answer it because "wild horses could not drag me away" from the television -- there was nothing that could stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Sometimes you get information "straight from the horse's mouth." It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source. Let us say your teacher tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow. You could say you got the information "straight from the horse's mouth." However, you would not want to call your teacher a horse! You may have heard this expression: "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink." That means you can give someone advice but you cannot force him to do something he does not want to do. In politics, a "dark-horse candidate" is someone who is not well known to the public. Sometimes, a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election . Another piece of advice is "do not change horses in midstream." You would not want to get off one horse and on to another in the middle of a river. Or make major changes in an activity that has already begun. What's the best title of the passage? I remember reading a story once about a man who found a bag with a lot of clay balls by the seashore. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued (......) the man so he took the bag with him. As he walked along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it broke open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone . Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach for a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have had tens of thousand, but he just threw it all away. You know sometimes, it's like that with people, we look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful, so we discount(,) it, we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or well-known or wealthy. There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees him, then _ The underline sentence means that _ . John Smith was a very handsome young man but he was lazy. He had finished his education and was happy to sit in his room and listen to the radio all day long. In fact, he had been doing nothing for almost six months, which worried his father a lot. One day Mr. Smith decided that he had to do something. "Johnny, When I was your age I was working and supporting my ten brothers and sisters. I want you to go out and get a job." So that was what he did. In fact, in the next three months, Johnny started ten jobs and was fired from ten jobs. He explained to his father. "They wanted me to be at work at 8:00 a. m. and told me to do all sorts of unpleasant things." "I don't care how you do it," Mr. Smith said. "Either you earn some money or move out of the house. I gave you one week's time." In the next few days Johnny began to change. He still stayed in his room all day, but spent his time writing letters and reading through the newspapers. More and more posts began to arrive for him. He bought a new suit for himself and invited his parents to the theatre and for dinner afterwards at the most expensive restaurant in town. When his proud parents arrived home after their evening hour, a policeman was waiting at the front door. "John Smith," he said as he handed him a piece of paper, "I'll see you in the court tomorrow." When he got outside, Johnny told his parents everything. "When you told me to earn some money, I decided to put an advertisement in the newspaper saying, 'New way to money fast! Send me $ 5 and I'll tell you my secret.' When I received the money I wrote back telling people to do as I do." Johnny was fined $250 by the court and was ordered to pay all the people back. As he left the court house feeling very ashamed, a newspaper man came up to him, "Young man, would you like to tell your story to my newspaper for $2,500?" What would probably happen at last? Do you want to go out of town for a bit of rest and relaxation? Before you start packing, visit these best travel sites for vacationers. In my opinion, they help people deal with common problems that pop up during a trip. Oyster.com Based on the advertised photos, the hotel you are considering appears to be clean and modern. Take a second look through the eyes of Oyster.com. Their representatives inspect resort areas and post the real images uncovering marketing lies. You see ACTUAL pictures of the rooms, attractions and beautiful beaches. Skyscanner.net Are you planning to travel on a budget? Discover the best deals for flights, hotels and car rentals at Skyscanner.net. They offer reasonable and comprehensive travel comparison. The best part is that their services are free. You don't have to sign up, provide personal information or go through a social network. Virtualtourist.com Chat with someone other than a travel agent about a location. At Virtualtourist.com, fellow travelers and locals talk about their experiences in specific areas. This site is set up like a forum , so you can ask questions and get answers in the comfort of your own home. Find out where to eat, play and get pleasure in a place without getting food poison or robbed by criminals. Travel.state.gov Unfortunately, Americans get into trouble abroad sometimes. Prepare for possible emergencies by visiting Travel.state.gov. There, the Bureau of Consular Affairs offers advice on how to handle the bad things that happen to good people in other countries. You learn what to do in the case of child abduction , a lost passport and illness. In addition, these officials post travel warnings regarding dangerous regions and why foreigners should avoid them. Are you ready to do your homework? Prepare for your departure by checking out these best travel sites for vacationers. Learn what you need to know now before walking out of the door. What is the characteristic of Oyster.com? This was the first day of Katie Daglish's new job as the new manager of the Glasgow Underground Lost Property Department. She was really nervous. There were already hundreds of items in the room, including umbrellas, coats, shopping bags, toys and bears. At 9:30 a.m., a worker came in with a box full of new lost property . Katie heard a mobile phone ring and jumped. She looked over to the box. There were over 20 phones there. She found the phone that was ringing but it stopped just when she picked it up. Ten seconds later, it rang again. " Hello." " Hello, who is this?" said a man. It wasn't easy to hear him. " This is Katie Daglish. I work for the Glasgow Underground Lost Property Department." " Do you have my bag?" " What does it look like?" " It has green and white stripes . It says'Celtic'on both sides." " Let me see. Yes! Yes! I've got it." ks5u " Great! My sister will come to your office in the afternoon to get it. Thanks." Katie gave the address to the man. She hoped it would always be this simple. At 2p.m., a lady came into her office. She described the green and white bag and said her cousin had lost it. " I thought it was your brother," said Katie. " No, it's my cousin." Katie thought that there couldn't be many bags like this and the man wasn't easy to hear. He probably said cousin. Katie gave the lady the bag. One hour later, another lady came in. " Hello. You spoke to my brother this morning. You have his Celtic bag. He's so happy because it has PS10,000 in it. He was worried because there are hundreds of Celtic bags in Glasgow." " Ten thousand pounds..." said Katie nervously. She quickly looked in the bag again. She found another Celtic bag with some clothes but nothing else. Katie told the lady what had happened. She was very angry and called the police. Katie thought she would only have this job for one day. A policeman came quickly. She told Katie, who didn't come from Glasgow, that, because Celtic is a popular football team in Glasgow, many people have green and white bags. Katie was just about to describe the first lady to the policeman when the first lady stepped in. she had looked in the bag and found the money. The second lady thanked the first lady and gave her PS500. The policeman told Katie to be more careful and keep the names of people who took lost property. The next day, the man came to thank Katie. He told her to find out more about Glasgow. He then gave her two tickets to the next Celtic football game. What's the main idea the writer intends to tell us in this passage?
Uncle Wang is fifty. He has two sons, Wang Lei and Wang Fei. They are twins. They are twenty -two. Wang Lei likes making things. He makes many different things. Today he's making a machine. He wants to ride the machine like a bike and fly it like a plane. Wang Fei doesn't like making things at all. He likes reading and watching TV very much. He plays table tennis on Saturdays and Sundays. Wang Lei and Wang Fei like playing football a lot. Uncle Wang likes his two sons very much. They love each other, too. The twin brothers like _ very much. Answer: playing football Since American students have been introduced into the era of the Massive Open Online Course, the opportunity for cheating appears greater than ever. The all-knowing Google search engine is within easy reach. So how can a teacher handle such a large number of examinees so far away, let alone searching out cheaters taking tests across the Internet? Using technology, of course. While special services via webcam and cheating detecting software have been developed now, Mettl, an online company, has developed advanced techniques for netting cheaters, which the company claims are even more reliable and easier to use. Whatever small attempt to cheat, he or she will be found out. Mettl has adopted a mass of technologies on its test-taking platform, creating a mini monitoring state in an exam. Here's how it works: A test-taker signs on to Mettl and selects his/her exam from the site's library of pre-loaded tests. Facial and keystroke recognition technology confirm the person that has signed in is the very person, and the system records both the test-taker (through the webcam) and the test-taker's screen throughout the test. Mettl's technology uses the test-taker's webcam to detect how many people are using the computer. Soon, it will track eye movement well enough to sense whether the test-taker is looking away from the screen, perhaps to consult a smart phone or a friend in secret. Mettl also monitors the test-taker's screen and can detect when the test-taker has changed a computer or moved from the test. The system will soon be able to record sound, detecting whether the test-taker is talking or being talked to. If any wrongdoings are detected, the system flags the incident and reports it back to the test's administrator. This can bring any number of things, depending on the test-giver's wishes: a complete shutdown of the exam, a warning message that appears on the test-taker's screen, even human instructions from the control center. Mettl is hoping its technology will help it break into the country's big MOOC markets. How can Mettl help to get rid of cheating online? Answer: By recording the test-takers' behaviors. Man-made nighttime lights have appeared everywhere in industrialized countries over the last century.What people are now asking is whether exposure to lightened darkness can affect the brain. To find out,Tracy Bedrosian,a doctoral student in neuroscience at Ohio State University,placed hamsters into two environments.In one,they were exposed to 16 hours of daylight and eight hours of complete darkness each day.In the other,the animals experienced 16 hours of daylight,but at nighttime,a dim light was kept on,at about the intensity of a TV screen lighting a dark room. After eight weeks,the researchers tested the hamsters for behavior that would suggest they were depressed.For example,they looked to see whether the hamsters still engaged in activities they normally enjoy,such as drinking sugar water. In people,loss of enjoyment is a major symptom of depression. Hamsters in both groups were given a choice between drinking tap water or sugar water.The hamsters exposed to light at night drank similar amounts of tap and sugar water----they'd lost their preference for the sweet treat. These changes in behavior were associated with changes in a brain region known as the hippocampus .The hamsters exposed to night light had a reduced number of so-called dendritic spines on the surface of cells in this region.These spines are hair-like things that stick out,and that brain cells use to communicate with one another. The findings match up with studies on humans that have d the hippocampus to be involved in depression. A patient with major depression has a smaller hippocampus. The brain changes in the hamsters might arise from fluctuations in the production of the hormone melatonin . Melatonin signals to the body that it's nighttime,but a light at night dampens its production. The hormone has been shown to affect mood,and so a decrease in melatonin might prompt depression,Bedrosian says. If the same mechanism is at work in people,then "people might want to try to avoid falling asleep with their TVs on at night,or to try to minimize light exposure during the night," she adds. the experiment was done to _ . Answer: see whether lightened darkness affects the brain Strange it may sound, this is a true story about a lesson of honesty happening between a lucky thief and a worthy professor. Once a thief won a lottery ticket but left it at his crime scene when he stole a suitcase from a professor. To his great surprise, his victim, who picked up the ticket and took the prize money of PS25 000, managed to get in touch with him in order to return him the case. The robbery took place when John Smith, a math professor was changing a tyre on the motorway. The thief happened to pass by. He appeared to be a warm-hearted guy and stopped "to help". When the professor found his suitcase in the car missing, the thief had driven off as fast as he could. The professor picked up the dropped ticket on the floor and put it in his pocket before driving home. John Smith didn't realize it was a winner until he knew the lottery results on TV. He got the prize money and _ . At last,he decided not to keep the money although he just had been robbed of his suitcase by the owner of the ticket. He set out to advertise in newspapers and on radio for finding the owner, " Don't be surprised that I'm trying to find the man who robbed me in order to returned him the PS25 000--a lottery win. Please meet me without telling me your real name if you don't want to. ". Later John received tens of hundreds of calls from people around the country trying to trick him into handing them the cash. But he didn't arrange to meet the right person in the park until he recognized the voice. The robber, was moved into tears when he returned the suitcase. "Why didn't you keep the money?"he asked, not believing what was happening. The honest professor replied simply, "Because it's not mine." With these words, he walked off, _ the thief's offer of a reward. Hundreds of people phoned the professor because they _ . Answer: hoped to take the money When I decided to get married, my father decided to share some wisdom. "Lori, it is just as easy to love a rich man as it is to love a poor man, " he said. My boyfriend didn't have much money, but I loved him. "What?" I cried. " How can you say that? I want to marry for love, NOT for money." " But why not marry someone you love who has money?" he asked. "Rich men are materialistic . I'd rather marry a poor man who loves me," I said and he gave in. And as we went on, with my family growing, I learned why my father put such importance on money. We had to cover the rent, car, electricity, food, and medical bills. We were under lot of pressure. The worries over whether we would be asked to move out or if we had the money to wash our clothes at the Laundromat this week made me question if I did the right thing by marrying a "poor" man. I realized that I had entered the ranks of the poor. Not that I'd ever been rich. Most of my life, I considered us in the lower middle-class rank. We had a house of our own, food on the table, cars, clothes, and money for college. But now, as I listened to an apartment neighbour talk about her monthly "Mother's Day" gift, I realized she was talking about her welfare check . And another young mother tried to "help" me out by connecting me with a friend who stole baby clothes from a department store. " For a small cut," she said, " I could return my 'purchase' for cash." It made me sick. How poor was I? I had a college education but wasn't using it. I insisted on not missing a minute of our children's childhood and it came at a price. My husband was working as hard as he could and it wasn't enough. But somehow we made it. The kids grew. Today, we look back and see the great values gained by going through those hard years. My children are not materialistic. They never thought they were poor growing up because we always managed to give a little bit of food, money, or clothes to the "poor". They were satisfied with the simple things in life that come free such as a beach day or a horse back ride from their dad. We had our worries, but we still treasured our very favorite part of the day when we'd nest under the covers and talked about our future, the kids and how much we loved each other. Sure our financial troubles caused a lot of fights, but we didn't leave each other. We began to live a better life. We moved to a better community with good schools for the kids. And soon, we'll face a new challenge with wealth. But we'll never give up. My father died three years ago. Before he died, he knew I made the right choice. I'm proud of my decision. .The writer argued with her father because _ . Answer: her father wanted her to marry a rich man while she didn't
Ann is my classmate. She comes from New York, and she lives in Shanghai with her parents now. Every morning, she goes to KFC to have breakfast. Sometimes she buys a hamburger for me. She can't speak Chinese well. In the evening, her father often helps her with it. He's a teacher in our school. He can speak Chinese very well. Ann thinks the school life in China is very interesting. Ann likes reading Chinese books because she wants to know more about China. She tries to talk with her Chinese friends in Chinese. She hopes to speak Chinese well. She is very happy to live in China. She loves people here. How is Ann's school life? Interesting. Henry Smith taught science at the City School. One day, he wen to a bookstore and bought some books. Most of them were expensive. He left them in his car in a quiet street. Then he went and bought some other things at other shops. At 6 o'clock he came back to the car. One window was open and the books were gone. Henry drove back to his home in Lake Street. That night he wrote a letter to a newspaper. The next day he went to the police station. On Friday people read an advertisement in the newspaper. BOOKS WANTED DO YOU HAVE ANY BOOKS THAT YOU NO LONGER WANTED? I BUY OLD AND MODERN BOOKS. OPEN ALL DAY ON SATURDAY. HENRY SMITH, 18 LAKE STREET. Henry stayed at home on Saturday. His first visitor came at 8 o'clock. Henry took him to the kitchen. At half past nine another man arrived. He had a bag under his arm. "Mr Smith?" the man asked. "That's right," Henry said, "Can I help you?" "I have some good books. You buy books, don't you?" "Yes, bring them in. I'll have a look at them." Soon the books were on the dining-table. "Come in now," Henry called out, "And bring the list." A policeman came into the dining-room. He read the titles on the books and those on the list in his hand. They were the same. "Come with me, Sir," the policeman said to the man. How did the man get the books? _ He stole them from the car. To protect you and your fellow passengers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA ) is required by law to inspect all checked baggage. As part of this process, some bags are opened and inspected. Your bag was among those selected for inspection. During the inspection, your bag and its contents may have been searched for items forbidden by law such as fireworks, fuels, gunpowder, etc. At the completion of the inspection, the contents were returned to your bag, which was resealed with a "special" lock. If the TSA screener was unable to open your bag for inspection because it was locked, the screener may have been forced to break the locks on your bag. TSA sincerely regrets having to do this, and has taken care to reseal your bag upon completion of inspection. However, TSA is not _ for damage to your locks resulting from this necessary security precaution. For packing tips and other suggestions that may assist you during your next trip, visit: We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact the Transportation Security Administration Consumer Response Center: Phone: toll-free at (866) 289-9673 Email: *Section 110(b)of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, 49, U. S. C.SS44901(c)-(e) This leaflet is trying to _ . inform people of baggage inspection Many children in foster care are being over medicated with antipsychotic drugs they may not really need, or the drugs are being given incorrectly, according to a government review obtained by CBS News. The report by an Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services looked at concerns surrounding the use of these powerful drugs in children on Medicaid. Many children on Medicaid are in the foster care system. "Psychotropic drugs are being used in these children, and we don't really know what the side effects are in these young children," said CBS News reporter Anna Werner. "There's not a lot of research because you can't really test these drugs on children." More than half the time, the review found children on these powerful drugs were not being monitored adequately. A quarter of them were given the wrong amount of drugs. Many were given too many drugs or took them for too long. "What the experts tell us is that not enough resources are needed to take care of these kids and give them the treatment that they need -- not drugs," Werner said. "It takes a lot of time and a lot of people to do that, and that of course all costs money." Therefore, states are choosing to just put kids on drugs instead. Dr. Fernando Siles, a child psychiatrist who treats children on Medicaid in Texas and has written thousands of prescriptions for such drugs, told Werner he doesn't have a lot of other options. He said children from troubled homes often have anger and aggression issues and he often prescribes drugs to "contain" their behavior so they won't get bounced from foster home to foster home. Werner's reporting also turned up the troubling case of a four-year-old boy who was put on four different psychiatric medications in the foster care system. When his grandmother gained custody a year later, she said the boy seemed like a completely different child since he has taken all the drugs. But he still has frightening dreams at the age of 10. Werner reports a number of states, including Texas, have taken steps to reduce the use of these drugs in foster children. But experts say more progress is needed, along with greater oversight of the system. The side effects of psychotropic drugs in children are unknown because _ . it's improper to test these drugs on children I learned my first lesson from my grandparents when I was young. They both grew up in very large families and lived through the Great Depression. Saving for a rainy day was their life philosophy. Rather than seeking fulfillment through material items, they chose to spend really simple life together with their family. Over the years my grandparents notice dramatic changes in their community. Every year more farmland was destroyed to build larger and larger homes. As real estate prices rose, many of their neighbors sold their little homes and land. Soon theirs was the only small house surrounded by a sea of mansions. My grandparents built and lived in a small 600-square-foot cottage for most of their adult lives. Lots of family members encouraged my grandparents to expand their little old house. But they didn't want a bigger one. They loved their little house and were content with what they had. My grandparents avoided a consumptive ( ) lifestyle by painting and repairing the house themselves. They lived in a small home, but had a huge garden. They loved gardening and planting because it reduced their grocery bill, improved their health, and gave them an excuse to be outside. They also reused and recycled many things. For in- stance. they had driven the same car for over 15 years and didn't buy a new one until the old Chevrolet was worn out. From my grandparents, I learned an important lesson: it is possible to live a simple life. My grandparents taught me that living a simple life isn't about self-deprivation . Instead ,it's about giving yourself the time, freedom, and money to pursue your dreams. Becoming debt free, downsizing to a smaller home, and going out on foot instead of by car are good ways to take control of your life and start pursuing your dreams. Which can be the best title of this passage? A Lesson from My Grandparents
The one-child policy in our country has made most families much smaller than before. That is to say, there are fewer children in a family. But the population of China is still growing faster. Why? In fact, it's a serious problem not only in China, but also in the whole world. It's reported that the world population is _ to reach 9,200,000,000 by 2050. There are two important reasons. First, there are still more and more babies born every year. Next, people in the world can live much longer than before. The earth is too tired, but it has to burden more in the future. Who can save her? ,. Which of the following is NOT true? The number of women keeps growing these years. It is reported by Chinese Xinhua News that students waste more food than the national average. So the campaign on school food waste is getting popular across the country. The move is part of a national campaign started by students at different schools. At East China University of Science, students who finish their food in the school dining hall get a special card when they return their plates after meals. Students can collect cards and exchange them for small gifts, such as books, schoolbags, magazines and umbrellas. "It's been such a surprise," said Liang Zhaoyun, 19, a student in Shanghai. "It has given us one more motivation to eat up our food." "The purpose of the campaign is not only to encourage students to finish their food. We hope it can also teach students to choose a more environment-friendly and healthy lifestyle," said Tao Siliang from University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Other schools also pay attention to the quantity of food. At Nanjing No.9 Middle School, rice is divided into three different-sized bowls that students can choose from according to their own need. "It's great because I can try different dishes at half price and don't waste so much food," said Fan Peng, 15, a student from this middle school. What if you really can't finish all your food? At Changchun Normal College, they provide a take-away service. "If you can't finish all your food, you can get a box to take the left food home. Even if you feed the cat, it's not wasted," said Zhou Zeyong, a student who learns Chinese education. "I'm happy that we've cut down waste since joining the school 'eat-up' meeting. But some food is poorly cooked, meaning that students are not willing to finish it all. Some schools have taken note of this. So if we hope students try to waste less food, we should also improve the service and keep an eye on the meal quality on weekdays at school. If not, you can't complain students for throwing away much food," said Wang Guangji, the head-teacher of Beijing No. 29 Middle School. What's Tao Siliang's idea in the passage? Students should take a healthy lifestyle. Little Robby, our neighbour's nephew, carefully drew some water into a bowl and started for the door. How I hated this water rationing . We were forced to bathe in the deep little pond we shared with Jessie, our cow. Wells were dry, and crops transformed to dust. I watched Robby sitting down onto the steps to my house. Bees buzzed circling his hair, and he buzzed with them. I remembered his aunt's words: I don't know what I was thinking when I took him in. The crash killed my sister, and he wasn't hurt, but he can't talk. He's in a world of all his own. Why couldn't she see _ this boy possessed? He was blessed with a loving nature and a deep admiration for all living things, and I knew he could talk to animals. My heart ached for Robby, who was to stay with us for the summer, and had already been the dearest part of our world, eagerly tending the garden with me and my husband, Tom. On a string around Robby's neck hung a whistle, in case he was ever lost or in danger. After all, he could not call out for help. But he knew perfectly well that the whistle was not a toy. Blowing on it would bring us both running. I had told him the story of the boy who cried wolf, and I knew he understood me. I sighed as I cleared up the last supper dish. Every ounce of recycled water was saved for a tiny vegetable garden Robby had planted. Tom turned to me. "You know, honey, I've been thinking about..." Before he could continue, a scream from the yard made us jump. My God! It's Robby's whistle! When we reached him, he was pointing excitedly to the sky. Looking up, we saw the most magnificent sight: Rain Clouds! "Robby! Quick! We need all the pots and pans!" Robby raced with me to the house. A drop of water fell on my pot and then another. Soon the yard was enveloped in soaking, glorious rain. We all stood with faces held upward to feel the comfort of it. Tom picked up Robby and danced about the pots, shouting and whooping, "Rain for Robby!" Tom swung about to show me Robby's face: he was laughing right out loud, "W-W-Wobby's!" "Wobby's ... wain ... Mom," giggling , and stretching out one tiny hand in the shape of a cup to catch the rain. I hugged them both, tears of joy mixing with the rain. What can we learn from the passage? Robby's aunt regretted bringing Robby home. John liked to wear his hair very long. Some of his friends thought it looked like a girl's hair, but they never made jokes about it, because John was a big strong man and he didn't think jokes about his hair funny. John always went to the barber's twice a month to have his hair cut and washed, and one day the barber said to him. "Now why don't you let me cut most of this hair off and make your head tidy? Nobody will recognize you if I do that. I'm sure." John said nothing for a few seconds and then he said, "perhaps you are right, but I am sure that nobody will recognize you, either, if you do that to my hair." John kept long hair because _ . John liked it to be long It is men's nature to live together in families and tribes , and cities and nations, and therefore men have learned to prize those qualities in each other which make social life the happiest and best. Of these qualities one of the most important is sympathy-fellow-feeling. If a man had no fellow-feeling, we should call him "inhuman"; he would be no true man. We think so much of this quality that we call a kind man "human"-that is, man-like in his conduct, first to other men, and afterwards to all living things. If you are cruel to animals, you are not likely to be kind or thoughtfull to men; and if you are thoughtful towards men, you are not likely to be cruel and thoughtful towards animals. This is why the wise man of old wrote, "The merciful man is merciful to his beast." What a pleasure it is also to be loved by our pets or domestic animals; and to feel that we are caring for them and are deserving of their love; or to watch the ways of wild creatures, and gradually to make friends with them! Treating animals kindly does not mean that we must never inflict any pain on them. We ourselves are trained by pains as well as by pleasures; so too, punishment is sometimes needed to train our dogs and horses to obey us. We endure pains at the hands of the surgeon, to cure some wound or to heal some disease; so too, animals must submit to being doctored. We send out our bravest men to face wounds, sickness and death, for the good of the nation; so too, we let our horses share the risk of battle. For similar reasons, we cannot hesitate to destroy dangerous creatures like wolves and show senseless ferocity . It is no excuse to say that these animals deserve to be treated cruelly on account of their own cruelty. They are not really cruel, for they tear and kill not from love of unkindness, but because they must do so in order to live. One of the most important qualities of men is fellow-feeling because_. a man would be inhuman without it
Do you know what Fear and Faith have in common? Fear believes in a negative future. Faith believes in a positive future. Both believe in something that has not yet happened. So I ask you, if neither the positive nor negative future has happened yet then why not choose to believe in the positive future? I believe during these challenging times we have a choice between two roads: the positive road and the negative road. And our bus can't be on two roads at the same time. So we have to make a choice and this choice determines our belief about the future and the attitude and actions we bring to the present. I'm not saying we shouldn't have any fear. There are times when fear is a gift. A healthy dose of fear causes us to examine our situation and plan for the future. It moves us to smell the cheese and expect change. When used wisely it allows us to manage risk and make better decisions. Some fear is good. However, what I have observed lately is a supersized, huge dose of fear that is spreading the hearts and minds of far too many people. This oversized fear is causing leaders and their organizations to either act unreasonably or to not act at all. They are either hurrying in a million different directions because of fear. In both cases, fear is leading them to take the negative road to failure. The answer is the positive road paved with faith and a belief that your best days are not behind you but ahead of you. With this belief you make the right choices and actions today that will create your positive future tomorrow. You stay calm, focused and committed to your purpose. You look for ways to save money and cut costs without making unreasonable fear-based decisions that sacrifice your future success. You identify opportunities in the midst of the challenges and you focus on solutions instead of problems. Your faith and belief in a positive future leads to powerful actions today. The future has not happened yet and you have a say in what it looks like by the way you think and act. Fear or Faith. The choice is yours. Which of the following about "Fear" is true? Answer: Reasonable fear helps to plan for future. Teddy Bears have been a very popular children's toy for many years. Most adults can remember their first stuffed bear, and over the decades these toys have become nearly a symbol of their childhood. However, children are not the only ones with whom these toys have become popular, as many adults make it a habit to collect these toys as well. The Teddy Bear first became popular during the early 20th century and was associated with then President Theodore Roosevelt. The story can date back to a hunting trip that President Roosevelt had taken where he was invited to be the one to shoot a black bear that had been tied to a tree. Being a crazy outdoors lover and hunter, Roosevelt refused to kill the animal because he believed that shooting the helpless bear was unsportsmanlike and wrong. This story quickly spread through newspapers across the country, and in the end inspired the introduction of a stuffed toy called "Teddy's bear". These toys became popular soon after first introduced, and within ten years, they were being produced by dozens of companies around the world. Within a generation, these stuffed bears were "the" toy to have, and have always been within children's toy boxes ever since. They are most often mass-produced in factories in order to keep up with the high demand. However, there are still companies that take great pride in their handmade designs; and while handmade teddy bears are often preferred, they are also generally more expensive than their mass-produced ones. Today, these bears and other similar toys generate well over a billion dollars a year in profits for the companies that make them. Walk through just about any toy store in America and you will find dozens of different teddy bears lining the shelves. According to the passage, we can know President Roosevelt _ . Answer: was fair and respectable The plane landed with a gentle stop at the airport in Paris. I looked out of the window and noticed the boiling hot sun was shinning down on the city. I stepped down the stairs into the luggage room, and my family were practically busy. I walked down to the convey belt and waited for my suitcase to come along. I must wait there for about ten minutes before it actually came, by then my family had signed forms so we could be let into the country properly. I met up with my dad by the main entrance. My extremely annoying sister Talia was waving at us from the exit of the airport. My dad and I walked over and left the airport. We walked around for an hour before we actually found our hotel. The French taxi driver had dropped us off at the wrong hotel, and we found out the hotel he had dropped us off about an hour away from where our hotel was. We walked around different streets. We walked into different shops, but they all had the same answer "sorry". My mom was so annoyed that she took about several mouthfuls of her vodka she'd bought at this alcohol shop before. When we finally made it to the hotel, we checked in and made our way to our rooms. We were on the 17th floor, so the elevator ride up was rather long. I also had to share a room with Talia, which didn't really make my day. Ks5u I got into my room and sat on my bed. I took my shoes and socks off and rubbed my hurt feet. Could this day get any worse? Well it could. "Let's go," my mom said excitedly. "Go where?" I said unwillingly. "Outside of course, we're in France! I want to taste the snails, the frogs' legs, the ... French wine!" she said. We stepped out of the hotel entrance and lights came from everywhere. It looked wonderful and a bit like New York, but the building weren't as high and everyone looked so kind. We walked down to the Eiffel Tower which was amazing, it was beautiful. I know I had to see this again, but maybe when I wasn't so tired. I sat down on the grass, and looked up at the sky, Paris looked wonderful at night, and the stars in the sky added to the effect. I looked back down and someone caught my eye, his face was not very familiar... Which of the following statements is correct? Answer: The author's mother likes drinking wine. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in Scotland in 1850. He had to end his college studies because his health was poor. He began to travel, looking for a place that was good for his health. And he wrote about his travels. Inland Voyage(1878) was about journeys by canoe on the rivers and canals of Belgium and France. Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes followed it in next year. People loved his travel books, and they also found his poems beautiful. In 1879 he travelled to California in a very uncomfortable ship and then by train across the United States to San Francisco. He married in California, but his poor health made him and his wife travel again. Readers of his travel books and poetry were surprised when Treasure Island came out in 1883. It was not at all like his earlier writing, but both children and grown-ups loved it. Treasure Island was finished in Switzerland. Stevenson then continued to travel. He loved the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean, and he found that his health was better there. In the end, he and his wife made their home in Samoa. It was there that he wrote Kidnapped(1886), the story of David Balfour and Alan Breck. It was followed (but not immediately) by Catriona, which continues the story of David Belfour and tells of other exciting adventures of David and Alan, and of David's love for Catriona Drummond. In between the two stories about David Belfour came another surprising book, the "thriller" called The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stevenson died in Samoa in 1894, and he is buried there. Which of the following about Stevenson is true? Answer: He was also a popular poet. Removing the sleeve , you will find a book that is entirely white, except for the names of its author and subject in elegant black type on the cover. It is the perfect design for the biography of a man who insisted that even the insides of his products be perfectly constructed, and that his factory wails flash in the whitest white. The cover was the only part of the book Steve Jobs wanted to control, writes Isaacson in his introduction. Though Mr. Jobs pushed the biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin to write in his own way, generously allowing the writer more than 40 interviews, this book offers quite a different view of Mr. Jobs, who won much praise from his fans after his death on October 5th at the age of 56. As a biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Isaacson knows how to celebrate long-dead genius, but he claimed that "Steve Jobs" would not be entirely praiseful words. The picture he paints, particularly in the first half of this book, is not nice. Mr. Jobs emerges as a controlling and often cold-blooded character. A child of the 1960s counter-culture , he hated, materialism and lived in simply furnished houses ( in part because he was too particular about furniture). But when Apple went public in 1980, he refused to give any share to Daniel Kottke, a Iongtime supporter and soul mate from college. "He has to abandon the people he is close to," observes Andy Hertzfeld, an early Apple engineer. Mr. Jobs was undoubtedly possessing an extraordinary ability to attract others and inspire a kind of faith that could not be questioned. But also he could be cold and cruel. If he disapproved of an employee's work, he often shamed him. "This is who I am," he once said after being challenged,"and you can't expect me to be someone I'm not. " This disgusting personality wasn't always helpful,but it served a purpose, writes Mr. Isaacson, many would "end their chain of horror stories by saying that he got them to do things they never dreamed possible. " Mr. Isaacson treats "Steve Jobs" as the biography of record, which means that it is a strange book to read so soon after its subject's death. It can be safely concluded that _ Answer: all descriptions of Jobs are not nice in the book
Sharks are the most frightening animals in the sea. Sometimes we can see sharks swimming in the sea around Hong Kong. People put nets around some beaches to protect swimmers. When there is a "shark's flag", people must slay on the beach. It will be too late if a shark can swim sixty kilometers an hour to you. There are 30 kinds of sharks and 25 kinds of them are dangerous. The whale sharks are very big. They can grow to 18 meters long, but they are not dangerous to people. The jaws and the tiger sharks are the most dangerous kinds of sharks. Do you know all sharks must keep swimming, or they will go down? All sharks can feel everything that happens around them. We must keep _ and don't make any noise when a shark is swimming near you. If a shark loses a tooth, a new one will grow out very quickly. So sharks always have many sharp teeth. _ of sharks are dangerous in all kinds of sharks. A Less than 80% B More than 80% C More than 90% D Less than 20% Answer: B. More than 80% If the only sports you do are dancing your fingers across your keyboard, you could be in serious danger of more than just becoming overweight and out of shape. Do you often feel sleepy, like something is weighing down on your head? Do you feel forgetful? Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable up and down your neck and lower back, and you can't explain why? Do you get sick often? It could be radiation from your computer causing it. If you spend three hours or more a day in front of a computer (and at this point, who doesn't?), you are more easily harmed by the _ . We have got so used to using computers that we often neglect to think of them as dangerous sources of harmful radiation. A safe amount of radiation is 25 V/m (Volts/meter). Do you want to guess how much our personal computers give off? Keyboard: 1000 V/m Mouse: 450 V/m Monitor: 218V/m CPU: 170V/m Notebook computers: 2,500 V/m Ways of Protect Yourself from Harmful Computer Radiation 1. Decorate your desk with cactus plants, they take in radiation. 2. Drink two to three cups of green tea a day and eat an orange daily. The vitamins in tea leaves and oranges protect us from radiation and keep our eyes healthy as well. 3. Use a screen filter for your monitor. 4. Avoid having metal objects nearby on your desk. 5. Put the back of the computer to the wall. Most of the radiation comes off the back. 6. Keep your monitor at least 50cm away from your face. 7. Keep your computer rooms ventilated . 8. Eat healthily-----especially fruits and vegetables. 9. Don't fall asleep on your computer. Turn it off if you have to rest nearby. The ways above are useful, why not have a try at once? How can you avoid the affects of radiation? A Spend less time at your computer. B Use plastic to cover your screen. C Type in a dark room. D Have your cat do your homework for you. Answer: A. Spend less time at your computer. During the day we work and play, and at night we sleep. Our bodies rest while we are sleeping. In the morning we are ready to work and play again. When we are asleep, our bodies grow most. When children feel tired and angry, they usually need more sleep. We can get our lessons better, and we feel better, too, when we have enough sleep. Boys and girls, eight or nine years old, need ten hours of sleep every night. Our bodies need plenty of air when we sleep. If we do not get enough fresh air we wake up feeling tired. While in bed we must not cover our heads. If we do, our lungs will not get enough fresh air. If we open our windows at night we can have plenty of fresh air. Cool air is better than warm air. Boys and girls must get plenty of sleep if they want to grow and be strong. Our bodies grow most while we are _ . A eating B playing C sleeping D exercising Answer: C. sleeping The Gunpowder Plot was conspiracy to kill King James I, as well as the members of the House of Lords and Commons at the re-opening of Parliament. It was designed by a group of Catholics in protest against the anti-Catholic laws that were being introduced by the king. Robert Catesby was the leader of the group. It was he and his cousin, Thomas Wintour, and two other friends, Thomas Percy and John Wright, who formed the center of the group. They were joined by nine more men; among them was Guy Fawkes, from the city of York in the north of England. Fawkes found a store room directly under the House of Lords and rented it out under the false name of John Johnson. The conspirators stored thirty-six barrels of gunpowder there, and Fawkes, who was an explosives expert, was to light the fuses on 5th November 1605. The plot failed because one of the conspirators, Francis Tresham, sent a letter to his relative, who was a member of the House of Lords. The letter warned him not to attend the opening ceremony of Parliament. The letter was passed on to the authorities, who took action. Guy Fawkes was found in the cellar on the night of 4th November with the thirty-six barrels and a number of fuses. He was imprisoned and ill-treated, eventually giving away the names of the conspirators. Soldiers of the king surrounded Holbeach House, in the Midlands, where they knew the conspirators to be hiding. In the fight that followed, four of them were shot dead, including Catesby and Percy, who were actually killed by the same bullet. The others were imprisoned and hanged along with Guy Fawkes on 31st January 1606. These days, on 5th November, children all over Britain celebrate Guy Fawkes Night by building huge bonfires and lighting fireworks. It's a family tradition and an occasion to eat potatoes baked by the flames. There is always a 'guy' on top of the fire, a model of Guy Fawkes, dressed in the clothes of the 17th century. Francis Tresham wrote the letter to his relative to _ . A warn him of the danger of being killed B reveal the names of the conspirators C protect the House of Lords D report the plot to the authorities Answer: A. warn him of the danger of being killed Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. "The railway should pay me backPS12, so you owe me the money," she said to Harry Jenks, the young man who was working at the office. "You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me PS12." Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. "Come into the office, Madam," he said politely, "I'll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd." The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn't have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. "You look sun burnt," he said to her, "Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?" "Yes," she answered, shyly, "The beach was lovely. And I can swim, too!" "That's fine," said Harry. "My little girl can't swim a bit yet. Of course, she's only three..." "I'm four," the child said proudly, "I'll be four and a half." Harry turned to the mother. "I remember your ticket, Madam," he said, "But you didn't get one for your daughter, did you?" "Er, well..."woman looked at the child, "I mean... she hasn't started school yet. She's only four." "A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs...let me see...PS13.50. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owePS1.50. The law is the law, but since the fault was mine..." According to the passage, we know that Harry was _ . A careful B hard-working C serious D smart Answer: D. smart
Jim was a farmer. He lived in a village far away from the town. One day he was very ill , and everyone thought he would die . But his family wouldn't give up. They decided to sent for a doctor in town . The doctor arrived the village two days later and looked over the man. The doctor wanted a pen and some paper , But there was no pen or paper in the village , because nobody could read or write . The doctor looked around and picked up a piece of burnt wood. Using the wood, he wrote the name of the medicine on the door of the house." Get the medicine for him right away, " he said, "and he will soon get well.' family and friends did not know what to do . They could not read the writing . Then the village baker had an idea . He took off the door of the house and took the door to the nearest town . He bought the medicine, and Jim was saved. After that Jim would not let anyone wash the magic words off the door . The doctor got to the village two days later because _ . the will age was far from the town The pilot knew that there was nothing he could do to keep the plane long in the air. So he rushed back to where his passengers sat and explained the dangerous situation. In the end he said, "I'm a married man with two small children. I'm sorry to tell you that there are only three parachutes in the plane." And with that he took up one and jumped out. One of the passengers reacted quickly. "I'm a great statesman !" he said. "I've a very bright brain and the world can't do without me!" And with that he jumped out too. The other two passengers, an old man and a young soldier, were quiet for a moment. "Son," the man said, "I'm old and have lived a full life. I'm ready to meet my God." "You'll have to give up that," the young man said, smiling. "The world's smartest man just jumped out with my backpack." According to the passage, who would be sure to lose his life? The great statesman. Billy and Sara are brother and sister. They went to the beach with their family last July for a week, and had the best time ever! On Monday, Billy and Sara wanted to build a giant sandcastle. They invited their new friends Jack and Jane to help build the sandcastle. Jack and Jane had a house on the beach, so they were really good when it came to building sandcastles. They hoped that they could make the sandcastle taller than themselves, but they soon found they needed more help. They asked their cousin Joey to help them build the biggest sandcastle in the world! Joey wasn't the friendliest cousin in the world, but to Billy and Sara's surprise, Joey was happy to help build the sandcastle. Billy, Sara, Jake, Jane and Joey had spent the whole day building the sandcastle, and finally, right before dinner time, they completed it. The sandcastle was huge! It had a river around the castle, and even a bridge to cross the river. It even had a flag at the top, and a wall that went around the castle too! They were so happy! \tab The rest of the week at the beach was a lot of fun for Billy and Sara. On Tuesday, they went for ice cream. Sara's ice cream fell and dripped all the way down to her tummy, but Billy gave her some of his. On Wednesday, they watched the fireworks at night. On Thursday, they went swimming all day long, moving like worms in the water. On Friday, they had to go back home. They were sad, so they started counting down the days until next year at the beach! what kids were brother and sister in the story? Billy and Sara Who is there among us who hasn't dreamed of having his or her own small (maybe , several years later , even big )business , and having wonderful freedom , both from a boss and from the time clock ; the freedom to make up our own rules for our work , and our own plans --arranging our own hours of work ? That way work would be both painless and fun. Or, so we imagine. Well, in fact it isn't quite as simple as that. Yes , it is true that being the boss has its satisfactions and that you can arrange your working hours freely if you own your own small business . But in those early years of starting your own business, you shouldn't think of a free day, not to mention flying off for a month's vacation. It is not unusual for new business owners to work seventy or eighty hours a week , and if there is a day off , that day might need to be devoted to accounting . But this negative picture doesn't destroy the beautiful hopes. The possibility of getting something wonderful in return--both material and mental--continues to drive that large number of people who start up small businesses each year in the United States. The expression "negative picture" most probably means " _ ". unpleasant situations Just five minutes of exercise a day outdoors can improve mental health, according to a study. Researchers from the University of Essex, UK have found that as little as five minutes of a "green activity" such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming could help to improve mood and increase self-esteem . Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but the new study, led by Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, was the first to determine how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show. Barton and Pretty looked at data from 1,252 people of different ages, genders and mental health status taken from 10 studies in Britain. They analyzed their different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail . They found that the mental health changes were seen after just five minutes. With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were more apparent. Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes were particularly strong in the young and the mentally ill. Green and blue A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river. "This is because historically we are drawn to water to survive and it is in our genetic make-up to be at one with nature," the researchers wrote in their report. Pretty said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from "green exercise". "Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health." He also said exercise programs outdoors could benefit youth offenders. According to Pretty, _ would probably benefit the most from "green exercise". stressed, inactive people
My name is Li Jing. Today let me show you around my community. In front of my apartment , there is a very small garden with a table, four chairs and some flowers. I love taking a walk in the garden in summer. After getting out of the garden, I can get to a big market soon. I walk past the market when I go to work every day. There are fresh vegetables, fruit and meat there. I often buy some fresh fruit there with my friends. After passing the market, I will be near the main road . There are a lot of shops on both sides of the road, like shoe shops, clothes shops ... After walking straight along the main road for fifteen minutes, I can see a bus stop. I only need to pay 0.5 yuan, and then I can go almost anywhere. That's very cheap. I feel very happy to live in a community like this. Li Jing lovesin the garden in summer. A playing the piano B riding a bike C walking her dog D taking a walk Answer: D. taking a walk Robots make me nervous--especially the ones which seem to think for themselves. I was embarrassed to admit this till I heard that Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, felt the same way. Gates said in an interview with the social networking and news website Reddit: "I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence. First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent.That should be positive if we manage well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern." Well, maybe I don't have to worry about my computer and kitchen equipment yet. After I use them I can always pull the plug. But in the future, machines might find a way to prevent us from switching them off. There's a terrible thought! Maybe the problem with computers too clever for us is not that they are evil like some we've seen in sci-fi movies. What could put us in danger is that they might be too efficient. That's what philosopher Nick Bostrom from Oxford University believes. He says that machines are indifferent to humans and in pursuit of their own goals,the destruction of people might be just additional damage. Bostrom gives us an example: A machine which might have as its only goal to produce as many paperclips as possible might look at human bodies as extra material for paperclips and go after you. Because it is, well, a machine, it would not take pity on you. It's a good thing that American writer Isaac Asimov thought about how far robots can go and left us his three rules of robotics. They state that a robot may not hurt a human being or allow the human being to come to harm. I'm glad my machines at home are "dumb". All my cleaner wants to take over is the carpet in my living room. Let's hope they don't create an appliance which wants to take over the world!. An intelligent paperclip machine would harm us because _ . A it is much cleverer than us B it would take over the world C it would see us just as material D it has the strong feeling of destroying us Answer: C. it would see us just as material There is an elephant and a monkey. They're friends. But one day they want to know who is stronger. One of them says, "Who can get apples over there, who is stronger." There is a river over there. The monkey says, "I can't swim." The elephant says, "I can swim. Please sit on my back." They go across the river. The apple trees are very tall. The elephant can't reach the apples. The monkey climbs up the tree and gets many apples. Now they know they should help each other. The elephant and the monkey want to know _ . A who is smarter B who is higher C who can swim D who is stronger Answer: D. who is stronger Mr. Robinson never went to see a dentist, because he was afraid , but then his teeth began aching a lot, and he had to see a dentist. The dentist did a lot of work in his mouth for a long time. On the last day Mr. Robinson asked the dentist, "How much is all the work going to cost ?" "Twenty-five dollars," said the dentist. But he didn't ask him for the money. After a month Mr. Robinson phoned the dentist and said, "You haven't asked me for any money for your work." "Oh," the dentist answered, "I never ask a gentleman for money." "Then how do you live?" Mr. Robinson asked. "Most gentlemen pay me quickly, the dentist said, "but some don't. I wait for my money for two months, and then I say, 'That man is not a gentleman,' and then I ask him for my money. When did Mr. Robinson phone the dentist? A After he paid him. B About thirty days later. C After two months. D About twenty days later. Answer: B. About thirty days later. Mahjong, that favorite pastime of "old folks" in Shanghai, is finding a new audience among younger players, and many university students are becoming mad about this traditional Chinese game. Students at Fudan University have even formed a Mahjong club. This resurgence of the game, however, is not without its critics. Some people still associate the game with gambling and for many years Mahjong was banned in China. One critic, surnamed Meng, was quoted as saying, "Mahjong is a bad custom that will distract students from studies." But Yu Guangyuan, former vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , says Mahjong is a "healthy, scientific, friendly mind game." Mr. Yu's opinion seems to be shared by the majority of Chinese. They see the game as an activity that requires great concentration and intellectual skill. They also see the game as an important part of Chinese culture and a pastime that brings family and friends closer together. This Spring Festival many families will no doubt spend hours around the Mahjong table getting reacquainted with each other. For them, playing Mahjong is a way of spending quality family time. No one knows who invented Mahjong. Some say it was Confucius, others say the current form of the game was developed right here in Shanghai in the late19th century. It is certainly because of Shanghai that the game enjoys its worldwide popularity. It was brought to America in the 1920s and has since spread throughout Europe and other parts of Asia. There is now a World Championship of Mahjong which is held every year. This year's championship was held in Chongqing and attracted players from America, Europe and Russia, as well as students from Peking University, Tshinghua University and Nankai University. There was no prize money, but the players delighted in using their wits and their understanding of statistics and probability theory to defeat their clever opponents. Of course, Mahjong doesn't have to always be that intense. For young people it can be a way to relax and to socialize, a chance to get away from their computers and talk to other people face to face. So, this Spring Festival, why not get out the "old folks" tiles: it's good to be mad about Mahjong! What is the best title of the passage? A Mad About Mahjong B World Championship of Mahjong C The History of Mahjong D The Favorite Pastime of "Old Folks" Answer: A. Mad About Mahjong
What sense is associated with an animal's ingestion? Imagine a stranger walking past you on a cold, rainy day. "Lovely weather, isn't it?" the stranger says. Do you laugh, or even smile? If not, you may not have a dry sense of humor. British people, and particularly the English, are well-known for our dry sense of humor. We often say the opposite of what we mean in order to be funny, and tell jokes in a tone of voice that makes it sound like we are being completely serious. As US writer Julian Tan put it on the HuffPost Students blog: "It is as if it is 'Opposite Day' every day in Britain." If the people of Britain are known for having a " _ " and not showing emotion, then our dry sense of humor shows this through jokes. Often it will take a long time or several beers, to get a British person to tell you what they actually think about something and get behind the wall of humorous sarcasm that they have in front of them. English comedian Ricky Gervais put it like this: "We play jokes on our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. We avoid being serious until it's absolutely necessary." It can be annoying and confusing if you haven't been raised with these types of jokes: "Why did he just say such a ridiculous thing? Is he making fun of me?" But it is also true that understanding this type of humor is a good way to make friends with people in the UK, even if you don't find it funny. It's important to remember that the person telling the joke may actually be making fun of himself or herself, not you. One of the characteristics of British humor is "its strong theme of self-deprecation" (making fun of oneself), according to Tan. So don't worry - often, English people, and British people in general, just want to make fun of themselves! It can be inferred from the passage that _ . Liu Xiang, a 21-year-old Chinese athlete, got the gold medal of the fascinating men's 110m hurdles before a crowd of 70,000 at the Olympic Stadium in the 28th Olympics in Athens late Friday local time. He clocked an excellent 12.91 seconds to equal the world record set by Britain's Collin Jackson in 1993. It is the first gold Chinese men's athlete has ever won from the track and field in the Olympics history. China has won over 100 gold medals from the summer Olympic Games since 1984 but its male athletes only got one medal from Olympics' most popular sport, the track and field. The Shanghai native, with his father a truck driver and mother an out-of-work housewife, loved sports when he was very little. Liu was selected to the Junior Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai to practice jumping as a fourth grader in the primary school. But after a bone test showing that he will not be able to become a tall man, Liu was asked to give up sports one year later, although he had won the national champion at that level. In 1998 when he attracted coach Sun Haiping's attention as a 15-year-old jumper, Sun was a well-known hurdle coach and he believed a star was born at the first sight of Liu. He visited Liu's parents several times and finally persuaded them to let Liu transfer to the 110m hurdles. After only three years, Liu launched his career in style in the IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne in 2001 by breaking the world youth and Asian record with a time of 13.12. But the first warning he sent to the world was his bronze-winning feat at the world indoor championships in Birmingham, England, last year. In 2004, Liu won the silver in the world indoor championships in Budapest in March. Two months later, he proved the winner in a race against American great Allen Johnson in the IAAF Grand Prix in Osaka, Japan, where he clocked a new Asian record and world's season best time of 13.06 seconds. He went on to win two Johnson-absent races in Lille, France, on June 26 and Zagreb, Croatia, three days later. He put up an exciting show at the Golden Gala meet in Rome on July 3, when he and Johnson clocked an identical time of 13.11. Race officials had to examine a photo finish to declare Johnson the winner. Liu did a better job of clearing the hurdles than Johnson, but Johnson's stronger start ended up making the difference. The race boosted Liu's optimism for the Olympics, although Johnson bettered his season best time by 0.01 second in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 6. The world has put the Olympics a Johnson-Liu but surprisingly Johnson crashed out of the Games after falling at the ninth hurdle at round 2. Johnson's early exit paved the way for Liu's win. He finally took the gold medal and put a Chinese man's name on the record book. (chinadaily.com.cn /Xinhua) Updated:2004-08-28 02:57 From the passage, we can conclude that _ . A businessman lost his wallet. There was plenty of money in it. So he made a promise, "If someone finds my wallet and returns it to me, I'll give half the money to him." A dustman found the wallet in a dustbin. He sent it back to the loser. But the businessman changed his mind. "There was still a diamond ring in my wallet," said the loser, "I won't give half the money in my wallet to you until you return it to me!" "I've never seen a diamond ring in the wallet," said the dustman. They began to quarrel. The businessman refused to do what he had said. The dustman became angry and took him before a judge. After the judge heard what had happened to them, he said to the businessman, "I'm sure you are an honest man. It's true that you have lost a wallet in which there was a diamond ring. But it's also clear that there is only a lot of money in this wallet. I don't think it's yours. Wait for some time. Perhaps someone will be able to return your wallet to you!" Then the judge turned to the dustman and said, "Take the wallet home. If the loser doesn't go to get it back in three days, it will belong to you!" The wallet the businessman lost _ . At least 3 people are dead in the Philippines now that Typhoon Hagupit has landed. The typhoon, which hit the eastern Philippines over the weekend, has blown down trees and sent more than 650thousand people into shelters before weakening. "There were very strong winds last night. The roof was beginning to move, and rain was getting inside the rooms," said a villager. The storm hit with gusts of over 100 miles per hour. And while the storm has slowed considerably from the super typhoon level it had last week, Hagupit still remains strong enough to create more damage. Christopher Perez is a local weather forecaster. He says, "We are continuing to expect bad weather and rough ocean waves. Threats of possible flash floods and landslides as well as possible storm waves are occurring in coastal areas." Hagupit is expected to roll into the South China Sea tomorrow. It's currently going westward toward the southern tip of Vietnam, meaning it's unlikely to affect China. Hagupit's strength in the Philippines is much less severe than Typhoon Haiyan, which rolled through the country in 2013. Haiyan's tsunamilike storm waves and killer winds left thousands of people dead and _ . The central Philippines is still trying to recover from last year's massive storm waves. What do we know about Typhoon Haiyan from the passage?
It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write-- which you can't do if you say sorry to someone in person. We all say or do something that we wish we hadn't said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn't come up to the standards that a client or customer expected. You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn't be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process. For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS--Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity. The timing of a letter of apology is essential--it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem. In this case "Better late than never" is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced into writing it. Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received. A letter of apology should be brief and the word "sorry" should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time--"once again, I am so sorry for..." or "as I said earlier, I am really sorry about...". Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect. And don't think that letters are out of date in the email--oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all! What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing? It's a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong. Ever since Grumpy Cat first appeared online, _ But attention is not the only thing that this cat is getting. Her fortune is estimated at $ 100 million, more than many famous actors and musicians earn. So how did it all start? Grumpy Cat's owner Tabatha Bundesen was working as a waitress when her brother Bryan decided to take a photo of her funny-looking cat and post it on Reddit, the social-news site. In a matter of hours, she became a sensation . It got 1 million views on Imgur in 48 hours. Grumpy Cat's real name is Tardar Sauce and she actually has a condition called dwarfism, which makes her constantly frowning. But that unique frown turned out to be worth millions of dollars. Tabatha, who lives in Arizona in US, isn't complaining. She still remembers that September 22, 2012, when her life turned upside down. Since her cat became a worldwide phenomenon, she was able to quit her job and devote her life to managing her cat's modeling career. Sounds unbelievable, but it's true. She says that her only job now is to book Tardar's photo shoots, commercials , and other appearances. What are the other benefits of owning a million-dollar cat? Apart from not having to work, Tabatha can travel all the time. She has time and money to visit her family more often and enjoy her life. She never could have imagined just how huge her cat would become, but she always knew Tardar was very special. And she is glad to see her cat bringing joy to so many people around the world. As for the millions of dollars Grumpy has earned, they come from all the products, commercials and a best-selling book. She even has her own movie--Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever. About Tabatha Bundesen, we know that _ . she only manages her can's modeling career. Some people like to get up early, but some do not. In fact, it is really good for us to get up early every day. Maybe those who don't like getting up early will not believe this, but it is true. Scientists made a survey in about one thousand people, and then they found that early rising people had less disease than late rising people, and early rising people also look healthier than late rising people, and so on. So we may know early rising is helpful in more than one way. First, it helps to keep us healthy. We all need fresh air. But air is never so fresh as early in the morning. Besides, it is useful to do morning exercises. Secondly, early rising helps us in our studies. In the morning we learn more quickly and find it easier to understand what we learn. Thirdly, early rising can give us a plan of our work for the day. We cannot work well without a good plan. Fourthly; early rising gives us enough time to get ready for our work, such as to wash our hands and faces and eat our breakfast. Late risers may find it difficult to form the habit of early rising. They have to make an effort to do so. As the English proverb says, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. " As the English proverb says, _ can make us healthy, wealthy and wise. both A and B How to avoid common life mistakes? 1. Don't do things you don't like Whenever you do things you don't like, you will start to hate yourself a bit more. You will hate yourself for not being consistent. For doing things you know that you don't want to do, another stress is right there. 2. Do less This is one of the hardest things, especially for me. I'm doing too many things at the same time. In itself, doing many different things to figure out what works and what doesn't isn't that had. It's actually quite good. But at some point you need to let go of the things that don't work and focus on the things that work. And that's the hardest part, at least for me. I always try to make everything work. And if you always try to make everything work, you'll usually end up with nothing working at all. 3. Get rid of complicated things There are many complicated things in life. Complicated relationships, complicated jobs, complicated whatever. What all of these things do is that they steal our focus. They add an additional stress layer to our lives and take over some of our brain's bandwidth(;). We desperately need to navigate bandwidth in this crazy and complex world. 4. Read books, not blogs Blogs consist of too much information for our brains to process. Blogs usually leave out the story our brains need. Our brains need a story to remember things. Don't believe me? Try it. What parts of this blog post do you remember? Probably none. All that blogs do is that they clutter our brains with useless information we forget immediately after we read them. A waste of time. There are a number of personal traits which all of us should develop in our earlier life. Young people will hate themselves when _ . their actions conflict with their ideas Dou Kou, a Chinese boy, is called "the youngest writer in the world" .He has written 3 books now. Dou Kou was born in Jiangsu Province in 1994. When he was 7 months old, his parents started working in over 30 different cities, such as Xi'an and Shenzhen .This kind of life gave him things to think and write about. When Dou Kou was 9 months old, he could speak and at the age of one he could say five to six hundred words. At 3, he could look up words in the dictionary. At 4, his father taught him to learn something. His parents like reading very much. So does he. At the age of 5, he began writing fairy tales . His fairy tales are all from his life. One day ,he found many mice in the house. They not only ate their food but also hurt his mother's hand. So he thought, "lf we give mice the stomachs of cows, they'll eat grass and it'll be helpful to people. " This was his first fairy tale Change, Stomach for Mice. At 6, he wrote a novel about his own life in different cities with his parents. Now, he studies well in a middle school. He has written his third book, the novel- called Eyes of Childhood . Which is the best title of this passage? Dou Kou, the Youngest Writer
Here is a photo of my family. These are my parents, Jack Ken and Mary Ken. My father is a teacher and my mother is a nurse . This is my brother David and this is my sister Jane. And the little girl is me .I have a happy family. I love my family. _ is a teacher. A. Jack B. David C. Mary D. Jane Answer: A. Jack Everyone has worries(,). How do you deal with(,) your worries? There is always something you can do to help yourself feel less worried. Sitting there worrying is no fun and it won't solve your problems. Grades(,) at school are often a top worry for children. If you worry most about grades, ask yourself these questions: * Why are grades important? What do grades mean to me? * How do I get ready for class? Do I go over my notes even when there isn't a test? * Do I have a good place to do my homework? * Have I tried different ways of studying? If your worry is about a fight you had with your friend, you might write down all the things you could do----write a note to him or her, invite him or her to watch a basketball game, say sorry to him or her and so on. Once you have a list of things you could do, you can choose one thing that could get your friend back. You can ask for help when you're worried. You can find someone to talk to, such as your parents, friends, and teachers. What does the passage mainly tell us? A. Who is often worried. B. When people are worried. C. How to deal with worries. D. What kinds of worries people have. Answer: C. How to deal with worries. The telephone rang when Mrs. Gates was cooking lunch. Her son Bruce went to answer the phone. His aunt said she was coming to see them with her daughter that afternoon. Mrs. Gates was happy because she hadn't seen her sister for several months. She knew the girl liked bananas very much, but she was busy in the kitchen and couldn't go to buy any for her. She gave some money to Bruce and said, "Go and buy two kilos of bananas in the shop. " Bruce liked bananas, too. He went out happily. Half an hour later he came back with a bag in his hand. Mrs. Gates weighed the bananas and found they were half a kilo short. She took the bag to the shopkeeper and said, "I sent my little son for two kilos of bananas, but you gave him only one and a half kilos!" "Have you weighed your little son yet, madam?" asked the shopkeeper, "My scales are all right." Mrs. Gates asked her son _ . A. to cook lunch B. to buy some bananas C. to sweep the floor D. to play with his sister Answer: B. to buy some bananas Each summer,you hear news that some sports players are sent to hospitals because it is too hot. Our bodies can't be outside in the sun for a long time. So in hot summers,be careful about playing sports outside. Firstly,to play sports safely in hot weather,you must drink water. Sports drinks are great for athletes,but they have so much sugar that they'll dehydrate you more. However,drinking a few bottles of sports drinks will be good for you. Secondly,be sure to take enough breaks to let your body rest. If your coach doesn't let you take enough breaks in the heat,don't wait until you feel uncomfortable. Just be honest with your coach when you need breaks. Thirdly,when you have a break,don't sit in the sun. With the sun beating down on you,you'll only heat up and sweat more. Take a seat under a tree,or even better,go indoors for a little while. Cooling yourself down can help you stay active longer. Fourthly,remember that the earlier in the day you start your exercise,the cooler it will be. If you can start practice before the sun comes up,you have a few good hours to practise in the cool hours of the morning. Also,the earlier you practise,the earlier you can finish the exercise. If you need more practice time,come back to the field later in the evening,when the sun is setting. Last but not least,you should watch what you eat. Eat food which is high in water,starch and carbonhydrate ,but be sure to get a good balance in your diet. As long as you pay attention to the above,playing sports safely in the heat isn't a difficult thing. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A. Sports drinks are good for you with no harm. B. You need to tell your coach when you feel tired. C. Sitting under a tree is better than staying indoors. D. Eating lots of sugar is necessary for sports safely. Answer: B. You need to tell your coach when you feel tired. Postmen wanted English teachers wanted No experience nec essary but you must be Warm and patient college students. Hard--working. Able to speak standard English, good with children. Free to choose working hours. Time: on weekends Write to No.38 Changehong Rd...Xiangyang E--mail address: Sunshine--School@163.com Taxi drivers wanted Tour guides wanted Full--time taxi drivers. Over five years Two years 'working experience. experience, good knowledge of the city. Good English and good at talking to people. Under 45 years old. Age:20--30 Fore more information, please come to Shunda Go to Friendship Traveling Company to ask the Taxi Company to visit the manager. manager for more information You can not get information by _ if you want to get a job above. A. making a call B. going to visit the manager C. sending an e-mail D. writing a letter. Answer: A. making a call
Question: Which event most changes an ecosystem in a single day? A. drought B. succession C. decomposition D. wildfire Answer: D Question: The First Hello The man from the telephone department got off the bus, and made his way to the tea stall, wiping the sweat off his head, face, then slipping his handkerchief under his shirt to wipe his neck and back. It was a year ago that the phone line had been installed, six months later men from the public works department had come to put up the phone booth -- a neat box-like structure, with a glass window, and wooden ledges, yellow in colour. And days after that, a painter had taken an entire day to colour in broad, black brushstrokes, the words: STD Booth, local and STD allowded. No one could tell that the last word had been misspelled. Besides, he had taken the entire day. After he had a cup of tea, he had left, waving cheerfully. And now months later, someone else was here again. Everyone watched the man as he sat on the bench. No one said a word, and soon the sound of him slurping his tea filled the hot afternoon. A few leaves fell, heavy in the heat, and sometimes a car passed, on its way to the main city farther away. When the man had finished, he made to pay but the tea shop owner who sat behind his steaming kettle and the washed upturned cups, waved him away. "You are our guest here." So the man took his handkerchief out again and wiped his face. They crowded around him as he shut himself up in the phone booth. When the children pressed their nose against the glass, he shooed them away, as he took out a shiny black instrument and placed it on the narrow shelf. A sigh of satisfaction passed through everyone that soon changed to an excited yell as they saw him dial a number, pressing a finger into the ringed dialer of the phone and letting it go all the way in a half-circle. A while later, they hear him say into the mouthpiece, "Hello." "Hello, " the children around the booth took up the cry, the teashop owner broke into a smile and the men waiting for a bus smiled and said hello to each other. The sadhu who sat under the banyan tree nodded wisely. As the sound carried, more hellos were heard. The women winnowing grain giggled as they tried the word tentatively, the shepherds feeding their flocks called out to their sheep, laughing as they used the word. "It's a big occasion," said the headman, in an awed voice. "It is, " agreed those around him. The telephone man emerged and handed over a small chit of paper to the headman. "This is the telephone number." The headman looked at it reverently as if it were a mantra . The others around him read out the numbers slowly, digit-by-digit. The telephone man was now too tired to notice the cheering around him. He knew he had to wait long before the bus to take him back arrived. As he sipped his second cup of tea, he remembered something else. "Oh, you can't start using the phone now. The minister will come next month and inaugurate it." No one said a word. No one was surprised. They had waited so long; a month more did not really matter. When the man from the telephone department arrived, _ . A. the hot afternoon was filled with quiet expectation B. there was a sudden rush of activity in the village C. he was greeted like a regular customer D. he learned about the village while having a nice drink Answer: A Question: There are many commonly held beliefs about eye glasses and eyesight that are not proven facts. For instance, some people believe that wearing glasses too soon weakens the eyes. But there is no evidence to show that the structure of eyes is changed by wearing glasses at a young age. Wearing the wrong glasses, however, can prove harmful. Studies show that for adults there is no danger, but children can develop loss of vision if they have glasses inappropriate for their eyes. We have all heard some of the common myths about how eyesight gets bad. Most people believe that reading in dim light causes poor eyesight, but that is untrue. Too little light makes the eyes work harder, so they do get tired and strained. Eyestrain also results from reading a lot, reading in bed, and watching too much television. However, although eyestrain may cause some pain or headaches, it does not permanently damage eyesight. Another myth about eyes is that they can be replaced, or transferred from one person to another. They are close to one million nerve fibers that connect the eyeball to the brain, so it is impossible to attach them all in a new person. Only certain parts of the eye can be replaced. But if we keep clearing up the myths and learning more about the eyes, some day a full transplant may be possible. If an adult wears inappropriate glasses, _ . A. his eyes will be weakened B. he will suffer a lot from the loss of vision C. it will make no difference to his eyes D. the structure of his eyes will be changed Answer: C Question: As for visiting Walt Disney World. People usually have trouble in arranging. The following will give you some practical suggestions on paying a valuable visit to the famous park. When to go? While it's always busy, Disney World is slightly slower between mid-January and March. It's summer when the visitors , combined with the heat and humidity , are crowded. Your best choice is either early in the morning or late in the day--- often you can enjoy more rides in the first or last two hours of the day than you can the entire rest of the day combined. Where to stay? The question: to stay on Disney World Resort property or not. Disney World offers three resort pricing: Deluxe , Moderate, and Value, with good facilities and in-hotel attractions. That said, they all offer "Extra Magic Hours"(early access to the theme parks), guaranteed entry when the parks are over-crowded, and frequent shuttle service to the many attractions. Off-property hotels will have shuttle transfers, but often at less regular intervals ,wasting more time in transport. You'll also need a rental car, which adds to the expense, making up for saving in the hotel rate. The "Magic Your Way Package" is a good value if you have a large family. What to do? Make use of the "Fast Pass" , which , for no extra cost, allow you to insert your entrance ticket into a particular machine at the attraction and receive a schedule ride time a little later on. For example, use your Fast Pass ticket at a ride just before getting lunch. Once you're done eating, you can return to the ride and jump right on during the busiest time of day. At the Animal Kingdom, the animals are most active either early or late in the day, so plan accordingly. Thankfully _ is fit for the least busy times of day in the park. Study the map of the park the night before to plan your visit. You'll save time by knowing where things are and where you're headed. It can be learned from Part 2 that _ A. every visitor will have a rental car for free B. all the shuttle transfers are convenient for visitors. C. three typed of resort pricing are offered by Disney World D. Young couples are advised to take the Magic Your Way Package Answer: C Question: It's not about how much money you make, and it's not about who your daddy is. We're talking about being attractive in general, whether it's on a job interview or just gaining the respect of your colleagues . . . Ask lots of questions If you come across as a know-it-all (even if you really do know it all!), it really pushes people away. Rather, asking lots and lots of questions makes people feel like you care, you can be trusted. Great body language Your body language says a lot about you - it says whether you have confidence, or simply if you really care. Talking physically, it is one of the most important physical characteristics you need! Stay busy Always have something to do. Have you ever seen someone just sitting around, doing nothing? How unattractive. Always be busy with something, even if for some reason you have to make something up. Show your pearly whites (or just smile) Smile more, no matter how ugly your teeth are. I'm not kidding about this one. It's not all about the teeth. If you are smiling genuinely, you can draw everyone for 100 meters around to you. Wear what fits Wear clothing that fits you. For women, wearing tight pants or shirts is not attractive. Things that just fit you and your shape are the best but not tight. Wear things that fit you nicely, please . . . And for goodness sake, both sexes, stay away from logos and printed shirts! Most people you may ask do not find this attractive. Stop being some company's billboard . Be interested in other man Be interested in the other person. Don't talk about. If you are truly interested in the person, it will come across. And if you want to talk about yourself, you'll find that putting the other person first actually opens him up to return the favor and ask you questions. See how fun this is? If you are going to a job interview, which of the following is a proper behavior? A. Wearing a shirt with printed logos B. Keeping talking about your own experiences and talents C. Staying still, not making any body language D. Smiling truly toward the people you will meet Answer: D
There are a lot of reasons why growing your own food is a good idea. GIY helps reduce carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions . Food in supermarkets travels a long way and that produces a lot of CO2. If you grow as many vegetables as you can at home, you can help save the earth. Vegetables you grow are also good for your health because they have more nutrients than supermarket vegetables and they don't have chemicals. How much money can you save? First of all, seeds are a lot of cheaper than vegetables, and secondly, you can save more by planting the most expensive and the most productive vegetables. You can give your vegetables to fiends and neighbors. It can make you very popular. Don't worry if you don't have much space. To GIY, you don't even need a garden. You can use pots on your balconies . And don't worry if your space doesn't get much sun. You can plant vegetables that don't need a lot of sun to grow. Grow your own vegetables now. You will have both a healthier body and a healthier social life. Where is the passage probably taken from? A. An advertisement. B. A science fiction. C. A story book. D. A newspaper. Answer: D Each year, we celebrate many holidays here in America. On January 1, we welcome the coming of a new year like many people in other countries. And we have another four holidays on the first day of a month: April Fool's Day, May Day, Friendship Day (Aug.1) and Grandparents Day (Sep. 1). The most important holiday for the young people comes in February. It is Valentine's Day. Lots of boys give red roses to girls as a present. People celebrate some holidays for their family members. We say thanks to our mother in May and celebrate Father's Day in the following month. In November many people return home for Thanksgiving Day, so the whole family can stay together. There are also some interesting holidays for children. For example, Halloween comes at the end of October. Children often play with pumpkin lanterns and put on all kinds of masks. Of course, the most important festival is Christmas. After a year of work and study, people can enjoy a long holiday, eat big meals, and visit family and friends. Many people return home in November because they want to _ . A. enjoy a long holiday B. stay with their family members C. eat big meals with friends D. spend Thanksgiving Day Answer: B John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew,but whose face he didn't,the girl with the rose.Thirteen months ago,in a Florida library he took a book off the shell and found himself interested in the notes in the margin .The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In front of the book,he discovered the name,Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he got her address.He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to keep in touch. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail.A romance started.John requested a photograph,but she refused.She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.Later they agreed on their first meeting--7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote,"by the red rose I'll be wearing my coat." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose. A girl in a green suit was coming toward him,her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers.Almost uncontrollably he came to her,and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell--a woman well past 40.The girl was walking quickly away. He did not hesitate ,saying,"I'm John,and you must be Miss Maynell.I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?" The woman smiled, "I don't know what this is about,son," she answered,"but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat.And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner,I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street.She said it was some kind of test!" It's not difficult to admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. John was attracted by Miss Hollis Maynell because _ . A. John believed her one of her old friends B. she took good notes with a soft handwriting C. John thought her a considerate and thinking lady D. she was beautiful with a slim figure and blue eyes Answer: C How time flies! One month has passed before I could take any notice of it. This is the start of my freshman year in Fudan University. At the very beginning, everything and everyone was strange to me. But now, I'm getting used to it. I'd like to tell you two important and interesting things in my university life. Freedom is what I am looking forward to since my primary school. Many people said to me, "Study hard, and you will get freedom when in university." But when I really entered university, I find the real situation is different. Freedom costs me a lot. If I refuse to wash my clothes, for example, they will just lie there, unclean. So I have to do everything and take care of myself. Well, I like this life style very much though it is hard at the beginning. It is really a challenge for me. I appreciate a famous saying from Albert Camus, "Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." That's right. Real freedom comes with responsibility. Some teenagers believe that freedom means doing whatever you like. But I think that is not real freedom at all. One can have his or her own freedom, while at the same time respect others'. It's not easy to think on behalf of others. And now I have the precious chance to practice it. Another thing I want to mention is love. Now, something interesting in Fudan is that love exists everywhere. For instance, the first lesson of my English class is about love. A small play at the Freshmen Welcome Party called "Turn Left and Turn Right" is about students' love in Fudan. Some of my roommates have boyfriends. At night, while lying in bed, we always share their love stories. What's more, even our instructor once said, "In our department, girls are more than boys. So we'll have a party with the Chemistry Department, in which the situation is just the opposite." I was surprised about the attitude towards love here. Is she encouraging us to find someone to fall in love with? I cannot understand it quite well. The above are the two things that impressed me most at the very beginning of my freshmen year, and surely I'll get more out of my university life in the future. Based on what the instructor said, we can learn that _ . A. love among students is still forbidden in Fudan University B. students are encouraged to find someone to fall in love with C. students are encouraged to communicate with the opposite sex D. there are more girls than boys in the Chemistry Department Answer: C Loma just had to get in touch with someone:"I had to tell my best friend something important. I tried calling her but I couldn't get through. So I sent her an e-mail and then I spoke to her on MSN. Without technology I would not have been able to tell her. " Staying connected with friends and family is important for us. That's why we asked our readers to tell us how cell-phones, e-mail, blogs, text messaging, and personal pages help them keep in touch. More than 1,500 responded. Most of them told us they couldn't live without technology:80%of teens said they need technology to stay in touch. Almost 30%said they'd be completely out of their friends without their cell-phones and other methods of communication. What do they do when they've got news they need to share now? Most teens say they try to reach their friends by phone. But if they don't reach them, they use QQ, e-mails, and text messaging to _ Lots of people use one way of communication--like text messaging--to get a friend's attention and then use another where they can talk more. "My friends and I always tell each other everything that happens. So I send them text messages to tell them to come online so we can talk about it," said Sabeiha. "When planning to get together with friends", Julian said, "the easiest and fastest way I know is to send a text message to my contact group." Jocelyn said. "If I want to go to see a movie with a few friends, I usually send text message to them. By telephone, you have to call every single friend one by one. But text messaging allows you to send the same message to as many as you'd like, which saves a lot of time. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? A. E-mails. B. Blogs. C. Personal pages. D. Personal letters. Answer: D
A unique thermo-solar power station Germasolar in southern Spain can work even on cloudy days:energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity even during the night. It is the first solar power station in the world that works 24 hours a day! This is how it works: the panels reflect the sun's rays onto the tower, transmitting energy 1,000 times stronger than that of the sun's rays reaching the earth. Energy is stored in tanks, and then steam is produced before finally turned into electricity. It is the station's capacity to store plenty of energy that makes Gemasolar so different because it allows the plant to transmit power during the night, relying on energy it has gained during the day. Helped by the generous state aid, renewable energies have enjoyed a boom in Spain, the world number two in solar energy and the biggest wind power producer in Europe, ahead of Germany. For the Gemasolar solar product, foreign investors helped too: Torresol Energy is a joint enterprise between the Spanish engineering group Sener, which holds 60 percent, and Abu Dhabi-financed renewable energy firm Masdar. This type of station is expensive, not because of the raw material we use, which is free solar energy, but because of the enormous investment these plants require. The investment cost is over 200 million euros ($ 260 million). But the day when the business has repaid that money to the banks (maybe, in 18 years, someone estimates), this station will become a 1,000-euro note printing machine! For now, the economic crisis has nevertheless cast a shadow over this kind of project: Spain is battling to cut its deficit as it slides into a difficult time and has cancelled aid to new renewable energy projects. What is NOT the reason for this power station being unique? Answer: It is the first solar power station which costs over 200 million euros. Normally a student must attend a certain number of courses in order to graduate, and each course that he attends gives him a credit, which he may count towards a degree. In many American universities the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six courses, each lasting for a term. A typical course consists of three classes per week for fifteen weeks; while attending a university a student will probably attend two terms a year. It is possible to spread a period of work for the degree over a longer period. It is also possible for a student to move between one university and another during his degree course, though this in fact is not done as a regular practice. For every course that he follows a student is given a grade, which is recorded and available for the student to show employers. All this imposes a constant pressure and strain of study, but in spite of this some students still find time for great activities in student affairs. Elections to positions in the student union arouse great interests. Students who are qualified usually perform the effective work of the student union. With the big numbers of students, the operation of the system does involve a certain number of activities. A student who has held one of these positions in the union is much respected and it willbe of benefitto him. Which of the following is unlikely to be inferred from the passage? Answer: A student can get two degrees from different universities at the same time. Joseph Goldberger was a doctor for the Unite States Public Health Service. In 1912, he began to study a disease that was killing thousands of people in the South. The disease was pellagra . Doctor Goldberger traveled to the state of Mississippi where many people had pellagra. He studied the patients and their families. Most of the people were poor. The doctor came to believe that the disease was not passed from one person to another, but instead had something to do with food. He received agreement from state officials to test this idea at a prison . Prisoners were offered pardons if they took part. One group of prisoners received their usual food, mostly corn. A second group ate meat, fresh vegetables and milk. Members of the first group developed pellagra. The second group did not. But some experts refused to accept that poor food caused pellagra. They thought there were other causes. So Doctor Goldberger put blood from a person with pellagra into his own body. He even took pills that had blood from pellagra patients. An assistant also took part in the experiments. So did Doctor Goldberger's wife. None of them got sick. Later, the doctor discovered that a bit of dried brewer's yeast each day could prevent pellagra. Joseph Goldberger died of cancer in 1929. He was 55 years old. Several years later, researchers discovered the true cause of pellagra: having little of the vitamin B. How old was Doctor Goldberger when he began to study pellagra? Answer: 38. When I was six years old, my mother started making me take piano lessons. Every morning, she would make sure I sat in front of the piano and practiced for at least one hour. After two years, I still didn't like it. When the time for my Grade I examination, I couldn't go through with it. I cried because I didn't want to play the piano anymore. In the end, I was spared from going for any more lessons. That was the end of my music career. When I look back at that time, I ask myself--why did I do that for two years? I didn't think abut it then but the answer seems obvious now--I didn't think I had a choice. Then for twelve years, I felt that my life had no meaning. I felt that I really couldn't go on. I kept waiting for something outside of me to happen to make me happy. But the universe intervened and sent me help disguised in the form of a sales call. One afternoon a lady called me about a Tony Robbins event called Unleash the Power Within. Part of me was curious; but when the time came, I still was considering if I should go in or go to the beach instead. I made a choice to give it a try. In that hall filled with 4,000 people, Tony gave me back something I never knew I had---the power of choice. I left there renewed and refreshed, excited about my new life, knowing from that point forward that in life there are no victims, only choices. To this day, I sometimes wonder how differently my life would have turned out if I had missed taking that sales call. Sometimes in life, we are stuck in certain situations and it may seem that there is nothing we can do about it. Just remember that everything in life is about choice. You can make a choice to remove yourself from any situation that is not serving you right now. The question is---will you? What is main idea of the passage? Answer: We aren't helpless; we can control our own lives. Online education is becoming a popular learning choice to traditional colleges. Most colleges offer online programs in various fields and levels, which allows students to go on with their education over the Internet. Students must keep in mind that the college they wish to apply to must be approved by a related recognized organization. So who can really benefit from an online program? Well, anybody, and everybody! Online programs can turn out to be a pocket-friendly choice to a traditional college for many people. Here's a list of people who usually consider joining in an online degree program; l Stay-at-home parents. Online education is perfect choice for stay-at-home parents and those who have very young kids. Online classes give them the flexibility to complete or further their education while looking after home and family and without worrying about childcare. l Working professionals who want to further their education but travel a lot or have extremely busy schedules, as well as those who want to make a career change but do not have the time to enroll in a full-time degree program. l People who cannot commute to a college campus. l Shy students who might feel embarrassed among a group of people and prefer to study by themselves and at their own pace. l People who want to save money. Online programs can turn out to be more cost-effective than attending a physical classroom. l People who do not get distracted easily -- something many people overlook when considering online education. If you are someone who can easily ignore the ringing of a phone, stay away from TV, and resist all other things that may draw your attention, online programs are for you. So do you think online education is for you? If you feel you belong to any of the above listed categories, then online education could work out very well for you. Which of the following is the best title for the text? Answer: Who Can Benefit from an Online Program
Question: A Bite of China Are you an eating-lover? Do you want to eat every delicious food in the world? Then do you watch the popular program A Bite of China? It's a TV program on Chinese delicious food which has been produced by CCTV. Is there any holiday that isn't celebrated with special festival food? Here are several traditional Chinese foods: Noodles are a symbol of long life in Chinese culture. They are as much a part of Chinese birthday celebration as a birthday cake with its candles lit in many western countries. Since noodles mean long life, it is considered very unlucky to cut it off. Although westerners sometimes may be very sorry to see fish lying on the plate, in China a whole fish is a symbol of richness. In fact, at a party it is a tradition to serve the whole fish last, pointed towards the most valued guest. Fish also has a special meaning because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for richness or plenty, and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the year to come. A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat Festival is Zongzi. This tasty dish is made of rice dumplings with meat, peanuts or other delicious food in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of a great man, Qu Yuan in Chinese history. According to the passage, in traditional Chinese culture, people will eat _ on their birthdays. A. eggs B. noodles C. fish D. cakes Answer: B. noodles Question: King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted "kings don't give up the throne , they die in their sleep." But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down. So does the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is seeing its last days? Does that mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyles? The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above mere politics and symbolize a spirit of national unity. It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs continuing popularity as heads of state. And so, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch- filled region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican City and Andorra). Most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure. Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside. Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history and sometimes the way they behave today symbolizes outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth, it is strange that wealthy noble families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states. The most successful monarchies try their best to abandon or hide their old noble ways. Princes and princesses have day-jobs and ride bicycles, not horses (or helicopters). Even so, these are wealthy families who party with the international 1%, and media interference makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image. Which of the following is the best title of the text? A. Carlos, a good example of All European Monarchs B. Europe, the most monarch-filled region in the world C. Carlos, a Lesson for All European Monarchs D. Europe, symbolic heart of modern democracy. Answer: C. Carlos, a Lesson for All European Monarchs Question: Careercast.com is out with its list of best and worst jobs of 2012. It's bad news for the writer of this story, but much brighter for the folks who program the code that keeps this website busy. Using a method that looked at physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook, career Website Careercast.com, ranked the top 200 jobs. They also ranked the jobs with the most stress. Not surprisingly, none of the most stressful jobs show up on the best jobs list. At the top is software engineer and at the bottom is the lumberjack. Cutting trees failed to skate above the bottom 10 percent in all ranking categories, except income. "Unemployment for lumberjacks is very high, and the demand for their services is expected to continue to fall through 2016. And while working outside all day may seem like a great job perk , being a lumberjack not only is considered the worst job, but also one of the world's most dangerous," according to Careercast.com. And, for that most dangerous job, a lumberjack earns a little more than $32,000 a year. That's about $56,000 less than the easy job of a software engineer, which has the average salary at $88,000 a year, according to Careercast. Here's a complete look at the best and worst jobs. And, take a look at the most stressful jobs. You may be surprised. Best Jobs Worst Jobs Most Stressful Jobs Software Engineer Lumberjack Enlisted Soldier Actuary Dairy Farmer Firefighter Human Resources Manager Enlisted Military Soldier Airline Pilot Dental Hygienist Oil Rig Worker Military General Financial Planner Reporter (Newspaper) Police Officer Audiologist Waiter/Waitress Event Coordinator Occupational Therapist Meter Reader Public Relations Executive Online Advertising Manager Dishwasher Corporate Executive Computer Systems Analyst Butcher Photojournalist Mathematician Broadcaster Taxi Driver What do we know about the lumberjack? A. Although the lumberjack has high unemployment, it isn't considered the worst job. B. On the best jobs list, the lumberjack isn't at the bottom. C. More lumberjacks' services will be needed after 2016. D. A lumberjack earns less than half of a software engineer's salary a year. Answer: D. A lumberjack earns less than half of a software engineer's salary a year. Question: A Russian legend has a story about the origins of cats. The cat's coat, it was said, was originally designed for the dog, but the dog became so impatient when coats were being handed out that he was told to wait at the back of the queue. The cat was given the fur instead of the dog. This, according to Russian folk storied, is the origin of why dogs dislike cats. A nameless cat with a taste for travel flew for three weeks between New York and Tel Aviv in 1984. It escaped from its owner's cat-box in the plane's luggage compartment on the first trip and all efforts to get it out with bowls of milk and food failed. After nearly 80,000 miles of flying the airline called in a vet who got it out. The Chinese attitude to the cat was not clear. Cats were welcome for their ability to kill mice and were considered suitable pets for women. On the other hand, they were suspected of bring bad luck into the home. In the days before the invention of the watch, it was said that they used their cats as clocks. The pupils of the cat's eyes were believed to gradually change shape with the position of the sun in the sky. At midday they were a narrow line and they gradually became rounder until sunset. Britain's cleanest cat is undoubtedly Harvey, a five-month-old Persian who climbed into his owner's washing machine. He went through a ten-minute wash cycle before someone noticed him through the glass door, and pressed the "stop" button. Harvey was soon back to his usual self. Cats seem to be able to sense earthquakes. Josie, who lives in California, warned her family of a quake in 1971. She wore her owners. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, at 5:50am by jumping onto the bed and running around. When the Miller followed her out of the house, Josie ran off. The earthquake was only a small one, but the cat raised the alarm every time there was a quake after that. From the Russian legend we know the dog _ . A. sees the cat his friend. B. received the fur coat. C. disliked the fur D. got punished by God Answer: D. got punished by God Question: In the age of reality television,success isn't the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame,just like William Hung,21,a native of Hong Kong. Hung recently has made an agreement with USbased entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They'll publish a record,titled TheTrueIdolon April 6. The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin's SheBangson the television showAmericanIdol3,on January 27.The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung,however,his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in midact. Hung's response?"I already did my best,so I have no regrets at all." That's good,because any common person would have found plenty to regret:the offkey singing,the blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high,the terrible dancing and the hips jerking to a beat that did not belong to the song,maybe not even to this planet. It was,by all accounts,bad. However,it was this very bad act that sold well. Mare Juris,president of Fuse,explained it this way:"Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom,completely offkey and completely unworried. That's what William did and immediately won the hearts of America." Whatever _ is,for the moment it's big.Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and technomusic and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station. So,what does Hung think of this? "There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show,but some didn't have much respect for me and some were kind of mean." Now he says he's not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour or to accept it.Returning to normal hasn't been easy. What is the main idea of this passage? A. How an unsuccessful person became famous. B. Success sometimes does not require hard work. C. Something an idol behaves quite foolishly. D. Hung's performance attracted the public eye. Answer: D. Hung's performance attracted the public eye.
There is no doubt that most of the readers will be students with little or no experience in reading poetry out loud, especially to such a large group. And we know that a poem will live or die depending on how it is read. The readers, by the way, should not read poems without getting any practice. They should be given their poems a few days in advance so that they have time to practice, maybe in the presence of a teacher. Read the poem slowly. Most young people speak quickly, and a nervous reader will tend to do the same in order to get the reading over with. Reading a poem slowly is the best way to make sure that the poem will be read clearly and understood by its listeners. Learning to read a poem slowly will not always make the poem easier to hear, however. A poem should not be read too slowly, and a good way for a reader to set an easy pace is to pause for a few seconds between the title and the poem's first line. Read in a normal, relaxed tone of voice. It is not necessary to give any of these poems a dramatic reading, as if from a stage. The poems selected are mostly written in a natural style and should be read in that way. Let the words of the poem do the work. Just speak clearly and slowly. Obviously, poems come in lines, but pausing at the end of every line will create a choppy effect and interrupt the flow of the poem. Readers should pause only where there is punctuation , just as you would when reading prose , only more slowly. How many suggestions did the author give us? A Two B Three C Four D Five Answer: B. Three Once a father was seated at the dinner table with his wife and children. A good friend who had come to visit was eating with them. While they were sitting there the clock struck twelve,and the stranger saw the door open and a very pale little child dressed in snow-white clothes come in. It neither looked around,nor did it speak,but went straight into the next room. Soon afterwards it came back,and just as silently went out of the door again. On the second and an the third day it came back in exactly the same manner. Then the stranger finally asked the father, whose beautiful child it was that went into the next room every day at noon. "I did not see it,"he said,adding that he did not know whose child it might be. The next day when it again came,the stranger pointed it out to the father, but the latter did not see it,nor did the mother and the children see anything. Then the stranger got up,went to the door of the room,opened it a little,and looked in. There he saw the child sitting on the floor, and busily digging and rooting about in the cracks in the floor. When it saw the stranger, it disappeared. He now told what he had seen and described the child exactly.Then the mother recog- nized it, and said,"Oh,it is my dear child who died four weeks ago." They ripped up the floor and found two farthings which the child had once received from its mother to give to a poor man. It,however, had thought,"with that money you can buy yourself a piece of zwieback,"and had kept the farthings,hiding them in the cracks in the floor.www.ks5u.com Therefore it had had no rest in its grave,and had come every day at noon to look for these farthings. Then the parents gave the money to a poor man,and after that the child was never seen again. In the passage the writer use"it" to refer to the child instead of "he",because _ . A the child is lovely B the child is so young that we can't know he is a boy or a girl C the child isn't. a person alive D the friend doesn't know who is the child Answer: C. the child isn't. a person alive It is said that people born on different dates have different characteristics. For example, people who were born between March 21 and April 20 are likely to be active and strong. They like power and enjoy adventures. People who were born between April 21 and May 21 are likely to learn more slowly, but they can remember what they learn well. They love children and usually have many friends. People who were born between May 22 and June 21 are bright and humorous. They like to talk and enjoy wearing fine clothes. People who were born between June 22 and July 22 think deeply. They would rather hide their feelings than express them. People who were born between July 23 and August 22 are interested in many subjects and it is interesting to hear them talk. People who were born between August 23 and September 22 are said to be calm and thoughtful. They like to read and often become successful scientists. If you have free time, you can read about star signs to see if your characteristics match your birth date. People who were born between June 22 and July 22 are not good at _ . A singing and dancing B earning money C doing with difficulties D expressing their feelings Answer: D. expressing their feelings Newspapers in Great Britain vary greatly in their ways of carrying the news. There are serious papers for those who want to know about important happenings everywhere, both at home and abroad. There are popular newspapers for those who prefer entertainment to information. The London newspaper that is best known outside Great Britain is probably the Times. It began in 1785, and is well accepted for believable news and serious opinions on the news. It calls itself an independent paper, which means that it does not give its support to a particular political party. Its leading articles give the opinions of the editors, not those of the owners of the paper. Letters to the editor are printed in the newspaper. These parts of the Times are always interesting. Most of the letters are serious subjects. But from time to time there will be long letters on the subject which is not at all serious, perhaps on a new fashion of dress, or the bad manners of the young people, compared with manners of thirty years ago. ks5u If you want to get pleasure, please buy yourself_. A a serious newspaper B foreign newspaper C any independent paper D a popular newspaper Answer: D. a popular newspaper Good evening,ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this of the Box Bill Tennis Club. It's good to see so many of you here this evening. I'm sure you're all enjoyed the fine food,and that you are ready to hear our guest speaker. Ladies and gentlemen,we're pleased to welcome our most famous club champion,Billy Rogers,to our meeting. Billy needs no introduction because he is one of the most well-known tennis players in our country. However,I must mention a few things about him. Billy has won the US Open three times,and Wimbledon twice. He has won more tennis tournaments than any player from this country. He has been ranked number one in the world in both singles and doubles. He has played in the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup for his country. His Wimbledon victory two years ago has been called one of the bravest in the modern time. Had he not been injured,he would undoubtedly have won a third Wimbledon Championship. Billy is regarded by many as perhaps the finest player ever in international tennis. But of course Billy is much more than a tennis champion. He is like an ambassador for the sport and for his country. He has done great work to help children around the world,and his generosity to children's charity funds is well known. And of course,Billy is the most successful graduate of our club. He won the club championships when he was twelve--yes,at only twelve. And Billy has not forgotten where it all started. That's why he accepted our invitation to speak to us tonight. We're proud to have played a small part in Billy's success. Won't you please give a big hand to our own Billy Rogers? Which of the following can't be inferred from the text? A Billy Rogers likes children very much. B Billy Rogers played tennis in prefix = st1 /America. C Billy Rogers is the most important guest of the party. D Billy Rogers began to play tennis in college. Answer: D. Billy Rogers began to play tennis in college.