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Question: A cast iron stove uses what as fuel A. lasers B. timber C. light D. sound Answer: B. timber Question: It was a rather hot day. Everybody seemed to be looking for some kind of relief, so an ice cream store was a natural place to stop at. A little girl, holding her money firmly, entered the store. Before she could say a word, the store clerk sharply told her to get outside and read the sign on the door, and stay out until she put on the shoes. She left slowly, and a big man followed her out of the store. The man watched as she stood in front of the store and read the sign. "No Bare Feet". Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she turned and walked away. Just then the big man called to her. After sitting down on the roadside, he took off his size-12 shoes, set them in front of the girl and saying, "Here, you won't be able to walk in these, but if you slide along, you can get your ice cream." Then he lifted the little girl up and set her feet into the shoes. "Take your time," he said, "I get tired of moving them around, and it's good to just sit here and eat my ice cream." The shining eyes of the little girl could not be missed as she ordered her ice cream. He was a big man, all right. Big body, big shoes, but most of all, he had a big heart. From the story we can conclude that the big man is _ . A. kind B. funny C. honest D. hard-working Answer: A. kind Question: What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse of the same as now? What do you hope about the future? Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields of activity, from entertainment to technology. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a menu and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us by computer. In what concerns the environment, water will have become one of our most serious problems. In many places, agriculture is changing and they are growing fruit and vegetables to export. This uses a lot of water. Demand for water will increase ten times between now and 2050 and there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists predict that water could be the cause of war if we don't act now. In transport, cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed of the car and there won't be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell the drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. On the other hand, space planes will take people half way around the world in two hours. Nowadays, the United States Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angels to Tokyo in just two hours. In the field of technology, robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots -- they do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere -- in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes. In particular, medicine technology will have conquered many diseases. Today, there are electronic devices that connect directly to the brain to help people hear. By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see again and hear again and scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things -- but should they? . What may happen in the field of entertainment in the future? A. The programme made by yourself may be sent to TV. B. A computer may choose TV programmes for you. C. You may choose the channels from the menu in a computer. D. What to broadcast on TV is decided by yourself. Answer: D. What to broadcast on TV is decided by yourself. Question: I wasn't surprised when I read that actress Helen Hunt recently stated that she would never allow her young daughter to become a child star. Ms Hunt is the daughter of a Hollywood technical director, and grew up in Hollywood. Now in her late 40s, she started acting and modeling when she was eight and has probably seen a lot over those years in show business. She has had a successful career. She earned four Golden Globes and four Emmys. She also attained the top honor of her profession when she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 1992 movie, As Good As It Gets. Given those _ , Ms Hunt is successful. There is no doubt that her early experiences as a child star prepared her for what has been an outstanding adult career. Given those achievements, why would this star declare she'll never allow her daughter, now at the age of six, to follow in her footsteps? Everyone familiar with the entertainment scene is aware of the reasons for her attitude. Recent tabloid news headlines featuring the troubles of former child stars, among them Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the late Gary Coleman, may answer the question. Although Ms Hunt managed to become a successful grown-up star, she apparently believes she's an exception. What Ms Hunt may be suggesting is that many very young stars go through unnatural childhoods on movie and TV sets. While they're earning big incomes, they're so pampered by directors and praised by fans; they may get false impressions that their lives will always be that way. Then, within a few years, when faced with reality, they're hurt and confused. After all the overwhelming affection, they find they can't deal with the problems. That's often when drugs and alcohol take over their lives. Helen Hunt has some other reasons why she doesn't want her daughter to be in the entertainment business. Many child stars can never make a successful transition to meaningful adulthood. However, as with many Hollywood movies, I believe there are both good and bad scenes about how it can be played out in real life. According to the passage, Ms Hunt _ . A. started acting and modeling when she was a little girl B. has been acting for about 30 years C. is the daughter of a famous actor D. started singing when she was eight Answer: A. started acting and modeling when she was a little girl Question: If you see a group of kids hitting and abusing an animal, would you stop them? Would you at least call the police? Again people would walk away. Some people do not believe that animal abuse is a big issue. Every day animals are abused in their homes or on the streets. It seems as if politicians do nothing to stop this issue. Everyone is worried about education and global warming. What about animals? We should not ignore them just because they cannot talk to us. Animals, like us humans, have rights. Every living being has the right to warm shelter and good food, but most importantly, they have the right to be wanted and loved. They have the right to be a special, much loved member of their own family. There are many organizations that deal with abused animals or animals that have no home like ASPCA, PETA, the Humane Society and many more. There are organizations that deal with this issue, but that does not mean that we still shouldn't help. The biggest saying that bothers me is, "I am only one person. I can't make a difference." If everyone thought like that, we wouldn't have the organizations and loving people who help the world every day. By helping one animal, you are making a difference. There are many things you can do right now to help animals around your neighborhood. You can volunteer at your local animal shelter, raise money for animal shelters, inform your community about animal abuse or you can write to your representatives and tell them that animal abuse needs to be taken seriously. As you walk down the street, try to help any animals you see walking around. You can easily buy a cheap box of dry cat or dog food to feed the animals. If we do not help our animals now, we may never have animals again. Always remember that with every step you take, you help save an animal's life and isn't that worth fighting for? The main purpose of the text is to _ . A. criticize those who abuse animals B. advise people to stop animal abuse C. show how animals are abused D. explain why people abuse animals Answer: B. advise people to stop animal abuse
Many American women are earning money outside their homes today. Among women who are eighteen to sixty-four years old, more than fifty per cent have jobs. In general, working women have had more education then those who stay at home. Of those who work, thirty-two per cent have attended college, compared with twenty per cent of those who do not have jobs. Among women with jobs, eight out of ten drive a car to work, and eight per cent took a vacation a way from home during the past year. Much of their traveling was by air. These figures come from a report which was written for advertisers. The report gives advertisers a new picture of women today. For instance, it tells advertisers that fifty-one per cent of all American women have traveled by air--along with fifty-nine per cent of all American men. The lesson for American business is that many women now have other interests in addition to their homes. They like advertisements which show women in office, planes, and cars. The selection offers the least practical help to _ . A personnel managers, who hire new employees B advertising agencies responsible for encouraging people to buy C travel agencies D accountants Answer: D Assume that Congress passed and the President signed the following statute: "The appellate jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court shall not extend to any case involving the constitutionality of any state statute limiting the circumstances in which a statute limiting the circumstances in which a woman may obtain an abortion, or involving the constitutionality of this statute." The strongest argument against the constitutionality of this statute is that A Congress may not exercise its authority over the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in a way that seriously interferes with the establishment of a supreme and uniform body of federal constitutional law. B Congress may only regulate the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over cases initially arising in federal courts. C the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may only be altered by constitutional amendment. D the statute violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Answer: A One night in February 1962, John H. Glenn. Jr., flew over Australia. The man in the Mercury capsule was alone, but friendly voices reached him by radio. On the dark land 100 miles below, he saw a sprinkling of light. They marked the city of Perth, where people had turned on their lights as a greeting to him. In Friendship7, Glenn radioed, " The lights show up very well. Thank for everybody for turning them on." His capsule raced on to the east. During his three orbits(......) of the earth, Glenn could always reach one of eighteen tracking stations. Some of them were on ship at sea. Others were in the United States. Many of the stations had been built with the help of other countries. These countries allowed Americans to bring in radio equipment and set it up. Without the help of such lands as Nigeria , Zanzibar(,), and Mexico, there would have been breaks in the worldwide radio network. John H. Glenn. Jr., was the first America to orbit the earth. For his flight, the tracking network covered 60,000 route miles. Five hundred men worked in the stations along the route. Since his flight, the network has grown. Today, it covers more than 100,000 route miles and has about one hundred stations. One-third of these stations are outside of the United States. This passage is mainly about _ . A talking to ships at sea around the world B breaks in the worldwide network C the first American to orbit the earth D a satellite which fell into the ocean Answer: C Angela Chang didn't know it would be so hard to turn singing into a career . She went to many different record companies. But she was always _ for looking too young and small. "I'd never had such difficulties before," Chang said. But Chang's talent was finally accepted in 2002. When she got a piece of work, she cried. She soon became a star. Her first albumOver the Rainbowsold very well. She won many awards. "You wouldn't believe such a beautiful voice could come from such a small body," said one musician after hearing Chang sing. "She has a special voice. You can't forget it." But the 25-year-old girl has other talents too. Chang is also an actress. She has played a role in the popular TV plays, My MVP ValentineandAt Dolphin Bay. Many people remember her common-girl parts in the plays. But acting is difficult. Chang once acted so badly that she was nearly fired . Another time it took her 27 tries to get a scene right. "I cried when I got back home," Chang said. "But I knew that I wouldn't always fail. You only fail when you give up." Now with four albums behind her -Over the Rainbow, Aurora, Pandoraand Flower in the Wonderland, it's clear that Chang and music were made for each other. As she sings in one song, "I have a pair of invisible wings . They fly me to the skies and give me hope." Many record companies refused to co-operate with her because _ . A she looks very common B she is too young C she doesn't sing very well D she looks young and small Answer: D A new study found that inner-city kids living in neighborhoods with more green space gained about 13% less weight over a two-year period than kids living among more concrete and fewer trees. Such findings tell a powerful story. The obesity epidemic began in the 1980s, and many people think it results from increased portion sizes and inactivity , but that can't be everything. Big Macs and TVs have been with us for a long time. "Most experts agree that the changes were related to something in the environment," says Thomas Glass of the Hopkins School of Public Health. That something could be a shrinking of the green. The new research, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, isn't the first to associate greenery with better health, but it does get us closer to identifying what works and why. At its most straightforward, a green neighborhood simply means more places for kids to play -- which is important since time spent outdoors is one of the strongest links to children's activity levels. Glass warns that most studies don't necessarily prove a link between greenness and health, but they're helping _ action. In September the U.S. government approved the No Child Left Inside Act to encourage public initiatives aimed at exposing kids to the outdoors. Finding green space is, of course, not always easy, and you may have to work a bit to get your family a little grass and trees. If you live in a suburb or a city with good parks, take advantage of what's there. Your children in particular will love it -- and their bodies will thank you. According to the passage, what might cause children's inactivity? A Less concrete and more trees B Increased portion sizes C A green neighborhood D A shrinking of the green Answer: D
Question: Women, as all research suggests, are far more critical of their appearance than men. Most of them are likely to feel dissatisfied with their reflection in the mirror. It is quite possible that men looking in the mirror are either pleased with what they see or indifferent. Research shows that men generally have a much more positive body-image than women---if anything, they may tend to over-estimate their attractiveness. Some men looking in the mirror may literally not see the flaws in their appearance. Why are women so much more self-critical than men? Because women are judged more on their appearance than men, and standards of female beauty are considerably higher and more inflexible. Women are continually bombarded with images of the "ideal" face. And constant exposure to idealized images of female beauty on TV, magazines and billboards makes exceptional good looks seem normal and anything short of perfection seem abnormal and ugly. It has been estimated that young women now see more images of outstandingly beautiful women in one day than our mothers saw throughout their entire adolescence. Also, most women trying to achieve the impossible standards of female beauty have in fact become progressively more unrealistic during the last century. In 1917, the physically perfect woman was about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed nearly 10 stone. Even 25 years ago, top models and beauty queens weighed only 8% less than the average women, now they weigh 23% less. The current media ideal for women is achievable by less than 5% of the female population---and that's just in terms of weight and size. If you want the ideal shape, face etc., it's probably more like 1%. Nowadays, if an average woman weighs 110 pounds, then a physically perfect woman should weigh about _ . A. 85 pounds B. 101 pounds C. 90 pounds D. 135 pounds Answer: A Question: Our village, Cinderland, was founded in 2000. It is a fully-sustainable eco-village on the Big Island of Hawaii located about 29 miles southeast of Hilo and 9 miles east of Pahoa. And it is within easy walking distance of the coastline--one mile north of Hwy 132, just off Hwy 137. Solar power supplies our electrical needs, and water catchment tanks hold enough rain water for our use. Fruit trees and vegetable gardens are located throughout our tropical landscape and can be harvested at any time by the residents for their own personal consumption . We accept all lifestyles and belief systems, and encourage individuality and diversity. A good attitude and an easy-going manner are most important to us; those qualities go a long, long way here! Tuesdays are a fun and big day here. In the morning, we all get together for a few hours for various work projects. In the afternoon, many will hop in the truck for a trip to the town of Pahoa. That evening, we then are all treated to what is well-known throughout this region as "Taco Tuesday". Anyone is welcome to join us from the surrounding areas, which makes for a large gathering each week. It's certain that drummers and other musicians will be playing around the fire pit each "Taco Tuesday". With the exception of the few hours of work on Tuesdays, residents are free to do whatever they please. Some just relax, while others may snorkel , surf, swim, shop, backpack, camp, go sightseeing, watch the lava flow, etc. It's rare that someone leaves this area without feeling it is a life-changing experience. There are also many who decide to make it their permanent home. We are very welcoming. Come to give us a visit! Mahalo! What do residents in Cinderland do on Tuesdays? A. They work most of the time. B. They have fun most of the time. C. They have various work projects most of the day. D. They spend the whole day in the town of Pahoa. Answer: B Question: One of the most popular American singers of the twentieth century was Elvis Presley. He made the rock & roll music popular all over the world. He sold millions of records and made many successful films, and he helped change the direction of popular music in the 1960 s. Elvis Presley was born in a poor family in 1935. His parents were simple country people who often took him to church, where he learned to sing, and he never forgot the kind of songs that he used to sing in church as a child. When he was young, Elvis moved from Toledo to Memphis in Tennessee, where he attended high school. But he was not a good student. His only real interest was singing. He began to sing in the style that is called "country and western". In 1955 he recorded some songs for his mother's birthday. The people at the recording studio liked his singing and his music. It was country and western music, but it also sounded a little like the music which black people used to sing in the American South. It was called "blues". Shortly after that, Elvis met Tom Parker, who became his manager and arranged concerts for him across the United States and new recordings as well. Soon Elvis became famous around the country. Later Elvis went to Hollywood and began to appear in films such as Love Me Tender and King Creole. But Elvis found it difficult to live with success. Like many other famous people, He began to take drugs and his health started to suffer. When he died at an early age of 42 in 1977,his many millions of fans were shocked. "The King Is Dead!" the newspaper said. But today his memory and his music live on and will always be remembered as the King of Rock & roll. From the passage, we can see _ . A. the church songs didn't help Elvis develop his own style B. Elvis forgot his church music at a later age C. Elvis didn't get any help from his parents D. the church songs helped Elvis' development in his singing Answer: D Question: England is the largest country in Britain. Its capital is London, which is on the Thames. The port of London is one of the greatest ports in the world. Ships from all countries go up and down the Thames. They bring food to the people of Britain. Then they take British machines and other things back to the ports from which they come. There are many scenic spots in the West of England. The lakes here are the most beautiful in England. There are trees, flowers and green grass round them. The water is almost always very still,and you can see the green hills ,the brown mountains and everything else round the lake upside-down in the water. There are boats on all the larger lakes, which take people from one side to the other. There are always a lot of boats on the lakes in summer. Travelers from many countries of the world go to the west of England in summer. There are boat races on the largest lakes, and people from many places in Great Britain and Europe come to see them. Young people travel from one place to another on their bicycles, or walk from one lake to another. The upside-down scenes can be seen in the lakes because _ . A. the water is very still B. you have a good sight C. there is a good light D. you stand near them Answer: A Question: There's a case to be made, from things like Google search figures, that Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken - you know, the one about two paths diverging in a wood - is the most popular in modern history. Yet people still can't agree what it means. On the surface, it's a fridge-magnet cliche on the importance of taking risks and choosing the road less travelled. But many argue it slyly mocks that American belief in the individual's power to determine his or her future. After all, the poet admits that both paths look roughly similarly well-travelled. And how could he be sure he took the right one? He'll never know where the other leads. Looking back at our life histories, we tell ourselves we faced important dilemmas and chose wisely. But maybe only because it's too awful to admit we're stumbling mapless among the trees, or that our choices don't make much difference. Two psychologists, Karalyn Enz and Jennifer Talarico, throw light on these matters in a new study with a title that nods to Frost: Forks In The Road. They sought to clarify how people think about "turning points" versus "transitions" in life. A turning point, by their definition, is a moment that changes your future - deciding to leave a job or marriage, say - but often isn't visible from the outside, at least at first. "Transitions" involve big external changes: going to university, marrying, emigrating . Sometimes the two go together, as when you move to a new place and realize it's where you belong. ("New Yorkers are born all over the country," Delia Ephron said, "and then they come to New York and it hits them: oh, that's who I am.") But it's turning points we remember as most significant, Enz and Talarico conclude, whether or not they also involve transitions. The distinction is useful: it underlines how the most outwardly obvious life changes aren't always those with the biggest impact. Hence the famous "focusing illusion", which describes how we exaggerate the importance of a single factor on happiness: you switch jobs, or spouses, only to discover you brought the same troublesome old you to the new situation. Before it became a joke, "midlife crisis" referred to a turning point that happens because your circumstances don't change, when your old life stops feeling meaningful. Turning points can be caused by mundane things - the offhand remark that makes you realize you're in the wrong life - or by nothing at all. What's the best title of the passage? A. Is our fate in our own hands? B. Must people make changes in life? C. Should we choose the road less travelled? D. Are turning points connected with transitions? Answer: A
Tulou, the special residential architecture of Fujian Province was included on the UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 32ndsession of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, Canada. In the fourth century, Han Chinese living in the Central Plains area began to migrate south, gradually gathering in Fujian and forming the Hakka communities. As a defence against enemies, the Hakkas chose to live in compact communities, and the tulou was their preferred houses. Tens of thousands of such earthen structures were constructed in Fujian Province. Most tulous are to be found in the valleys, surrounded by high mountains, and some are in the depths of the great mountains. Most are three to four stories high, and look like circular blockhouses . Rooms on the first floor are used as kitchens, rooms on the second floor are used as barns , and rooms on the third and fourth floors are for bedrooms and living rooms. For defensive purposes, the rooms on the first floor have no windows. Raw materials for the tulou were obtained locally. Their main building material was a mixture of clay, sand, lime and water, and egg whites, brown sugar and rice water were added as adhesive agents . It was then mixed to form the walls. Once they dried, the walls were so hard that driving a nail into them would have been difficult. Fir branches, which are extremely strong and do not rot, were used to strengthen them, and many centuries later they have remained their original look. Tulous are located in a region where earthquakes happen frequently, and their circular construction helps them resist the regular shocks. The proven design even inspired one famous Peruvian architect, who paid several visits to Yongding, to build a tulou back home. Not long after, an earthquake struck only 10 kilometers away, and while all the houses around the earthen building fell down, his tulou remained. What would be the best title for the passage? The special Earthen Architecture of Fujian As an English teacher, I've been lucky enough to travel to many countries all over the world. I've seen people celebrate everything from the arrival of new babies to the delivery of new cars. I've attended weddings, parties and religious celebrations in countries such as Argentina and Japan, and I've noticed that gold---the metal or the colour of it---is always part of cultural events, traditions and celebrations. It makes me wonder: Why do people love gold? For some people, gold seems to be a status symbol. Indian businessman Datta Phuge loves gold so much that he even bought a shirt made of gold at a cost of $250,000. I'm not sure I'd spend so much money on a shirt, would you? But Datta Phuge has his reason .He explains," Some people want to own an Audi or a Mercedes. I choose gold." For other people, gold is an investment . The price of gold generally increases over time and in European markets, it reached even $1,500 per ounce in 2011. And for many people, a family heirloom brings together status and investment. My mother has a gold bracelet that was given to her by her grandmother who, in turn, inherited it from her own grandmother. It's quite a heavy piece and probably worth quite a lot of money. But its mental value is greater than its value in dollars. It's a beautiful object that holds many family memories. When the time comes, my mum will give the bracelet to me, and one day, I'll pass it on to the younger generation. Therefore, status and investment are good reasons to value gold. However, I think that the real reason why people love gold is that it can be made into beautiful objects. Think about Tutankhamen's death mask. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? People love gold because it holds their minds, their imaginations and, above all, their hearts. Datta Phuge bought a shirt made of gold because _ . gold is a status symbol to him Giving Back Fair Way The Westborough High School golf team had taken the official photos with the state prize, The other teams, disappointed, were on the bus heading home. And then Westborough instructor Greg Rota noticed something wrong on one of the score cards. A 9 had been recorded as a 7. They were not the state prize winner; Wobum High had won. "None one have known, said Wobum's instructor, Bob Doran. For Rota, it wasn't a difficult decision: "The prize wasn't ours to take:? Coin Stars "College students are lazy. but they also want to help," says University of]Pennsyivania graduate. Dan Hork. So she made it easy, placing cups in rooms where students could leave their spare coins, and handing out cups to first-year students to keep in their rooms. Her "Change for Change" effort has collected$40,000 for charities, which were decided upon by students . Never Forgotten A school in Massachusetts received a $ 9. 5 million check from Jacques LeBermuth. But it took officials several days of digging to discover his connection to the school, Records showed the LeBermuth came from Belgium and studied in the school in the 1920s. When his family fell on hard times, he was offered free room and board. LeBermuth became a trader, owned shares of AT&T and lived off the earnings until he died at age 89. Greg Rota's decision shows that he was_. honest A girl walked for 30 minutes. She noticed that she traveled farther in the first 15 minutes of her walk than in the second 15 minutes. What can she conclude about her walk? Her average speed was faster during the first half of her walk. One day, my family took a vacation to the beach. We were in our car for over 10 hours but it felt like we were in the car for maybe 11, 12, or 13 hours! We thought it would only be 8 hours, but we got lost. My mom and dad were in the front seat, and my sister and I were in the back seat. My sister and I were very bored, but we had to sit still and stay quiet for a lot of the time because our dad needed to be a good driver. My sister and I played with our dolls, or we tried to play easy games. I could not read or eat in the car because I felt too sick. My sister spilled Coke on the car and my mom spanked her with a glove. The look of sadness on my sister's face almost made me cry, too! We got to the ocean so late at night, but we took a nice walk next to the ocean and then we went to bed. We were so tired from doing nothing all day! The next morning we woke up early and ran to the beach and we saw so many animals! We saw dolphins, turtles, and fish! We were hoping to see a shark, but I'm glad we did not. When it was lunch time we played with some chalk and mother made lunch. I was very happy and had a great vacation! What 3 animals did we see and what 1 animal did we not see? Dolphin, turtle, and fish. Did not see a shark.
While you are in trouble, what are you going to do? What? Cry? Or escape? Those are all the wrong way! Robinson Crusoe can tell you the right answer! It is an exciting story: Robinson Crusoe hated the comfortable life in his home town. So, he want to be a seaman and travelled around the world. But one day, a terrible thing happened. A great storm came and their boat crashed! No one was alive in this accident except Robinson. He was the luckiest man in the world--Because all his friends were dead but he was alive. However, at the same time he was the most _ man of all--He must face the fact .Alone on an island without food, water or gun!But, all roads lead to Rome!He just used his hands to work hard!Then, he made a cave, built a house, grew corn and kept goats. In the end, he could enjoy the life on the island. In his twenty-fourth year on the island, he saved a wild man, and gave him the name of "Friday". With Robinson's teaching, "Friday" became a good servant. Friday, they got a boat and escaped from the island. Surely, the writer of Robinson Crusoe is really a hero! It's too hard to describe Robinson with words. We could say that Robinson was very clever, and also he was brave,...Certainly, too many good words can describe him. But now, I think it isn't important. However, the most important thing is what we have learned from the story. That is, use our own hands to work hard with confidence! Robinson met "Friday" _ . A before he traveled around the world B when the accident happened C after he escaped from the island D when he was on the island Answer: D "Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to go along with it," Mrs. Brown said to her husband. "That sounds like a very good idea," he answered. "Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper?" "Let's go to the animal _ . Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go." she said. The next morning the Browns met Mr. Snow at the animal shelter. "We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes," Mr. Snow said, "So I need to ask you some questions." After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr. Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't examined her yet. So Mr. Snow told them to return on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, "Shadow has had all of her shots . She will be healthy." The Browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home. The Browns think that a small dog _ . A doesn't need any room to keep B can help them watch their house C eats less food than a bigger one D usually has a beautiful name Answer: B It was a rainy day and I was walking down the street feeling comfortable and happy. I wanted to do something kind for someone else without any reason and purpose, almost as if I was just trying to spread the abundance of love I was receiving. It was then that I saw a teenage girl dressed in _ clothes, getting soaked . She wasn't wearing any shoes or socks. The rain wet her skin through the holes in her clothes and she was making her way through the garbage, trying to find something that would be of use to her. I walked towards her and told her to wait for me there while I ran home to get her something. On getting home, I took off my shoes, which I really loved, wrapped them up in a plastic cover and ran to give them to the teenage girl on the street. The girl looked surprised as if she was not used to this kind of kindness. She thanked me in a trembling voice. A famous musician who lives down the street corner stopped his car and smiled when he saw what happened. The two watchmen who saw me do this talked and gave me friendly looks. Although I had to wear my dad's shoes, I was satisfied even if they were a bit large for my feet, because I knew the girl would walk comfortably wearing the shoes. That day I learned that letting go of the little things we own can be a big help to others. In the passage, we are told that _ . A the author liked going down streets on rainy days. B the author liked walking in her father's shoes. C nobody wanted to help the poor girl. D the author was very kind-hearted. Answer: D No one wants to look silly or do the wrong thing at a new job. It's important to make the right impression from the first day. You will face new people. You will be in a new place. It may be difficult to know what to do. Here are seven tips to help you make it through the first days at a new job: 1. First impression is important. Make sure you make a good one. Before your first day, find out if your new job has _ . If so, be sure to follow it. No matter what you wear, always be neat and clean. 2. Get to work on time. Employers value workers who come to work on time. Give yourself an extra 15 minutes to make sure you arrive on time. 3. Pay attention to introduction. One of the first things that your supervisor may do is to introduce you to co-workers. These co-workers will be important to you. They are the ones who will answer your questions when the boss isn't around. 4. Ask plenty of questions. Make sure that your supervisor has told you what your are expected to do. If he or she has not told you your job duties, ask for a list. Set daily and weekly goals for yourself. 5. Don't make personal phone calls. You should never make personal phone calls to your friends and family unless it's an emergency. 6. Don't take too long for lunch. What's the lunch-hour policy at your new job? You can find out from your supervisor or your company's personnel department . For example, do people eat at their desks or does everyone take a full hour outside the workplace? 7. Never be the first one to leave. Observe how your co-workers behave around quitting time. It does no good for you to be eager to leave. Which is the best title for the passage? A Tips On First Days At a New Job B How to Do a Job Well C Be the Last to Leave D Ways to Find a New Job Answer: A Learn a new language as quickly as possible. Learn like a spy! Be mistaken for a native. Pimsleur courses help people who need to speak another language quickly. Our courses took 40 years to develop and are now used by the FBI, CIA, and business professionals everywhere. They're so effective; you have nothing to lose! You will get: Language instruction that is proven to be effective No boring repetition, charts or meaningless formulas Eight fluency-focused lessons on four audio CDs Audio instruction with a 25-year history of success Full 30-day money-back guarantee (just in case) Special offers on our more advanced courses Reasons to learn using the Pimsleur Approach: Speak without an accent so that you sound like a native. Practice what's natural to you in English. Feel safe and confident. You'll know how to deal with any situation. Protect your busy life. 30-minute lessons are perfect for your daily commuting, lunch break, or workout. Remember without trying. Material is scientifically arranged so that you learn without pain. Join 25 million people who have graduated with success since 1980. The entire Pimsleur Approach is what language learning should be: quick, fun, and easy! Each lesson is the foundation for the next. You'll keep building on what you've learned. According to the text, which of the following is NOT a reason for choosing the Pimsleur Approach? A It will correct your accent. B It will build your confidence. C It will teach you how to control your balance. D It will help you remember things easily. Answer: C
Thousands of teenagers will be able to move to a new wave of "studio schools" at the age of 14 to improve their chances of finding a job in UK. Twelve new-style schools are open to act as a bridge to the workplace and cut the number of NEETs. Under plans, schools will operate longer days and work outside standard school terms. Each teenager will be expected to spend between four hours and two days a week on work placements with business related to the school and a personal coach will be sent to the teenagers to act as a school "line manager". The reforms are put forward because of the fears that too many teenagers are finishing full-time education at present but they are short of the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. According to a recent report, more than two thirds of employers believe school and college leavers have less important employability skills, while 55% say they are unable to manage their time or daily routine. And the number of NEETs who are not in education has hit a record high, with almost one-in-five young people being left without a job or a training place. The Department for Education will tell the public the building of 12 studio schools - providing for around 3,600 teenagers - in areas such as Liverpool, Stevenage, Stock-on-Trent and Fulham, west London. Each one will be connected to the local employers. Under plans, teenagers will be able to move out of ordinary schools to attend them between the ages of 14 and 19. The government said all subjects would be taught "through projects, often prepared with employers" - with rules such as science being connected directly to local engineering companies or hospitals. Schools will operate a longer day to give teenagers a better understanding of the needs of the workplace. Along with their studies, students will carry out work placements for four hours a week, rising to two days a week of paid work for those aged 16 to 19. They will also get the chance to take professional qualifications connected directly to the needs of local employers. What makes the government decide to build studio schools? Answer: Let's pay a visit to some of the most amazing and unusual places in the world, from icy hotels to temples on the side of cliffs . Hotel de Glace -- Canada If you don't mind the cold, this igloo style hotel is certainly for you. Nearly everything, including the bedding, is made of ice! This hotel is so well insulated that whatever the temperature outside is, the temperature inside never changes more than a few degrees. It's around 23 degrees to be exact. Since it is made of ice the hotel does have some dress requirements that can be found on their website. Arctic sleeping bags are provided for every guest, including children. For more information, visit the website: http://www.icehotelcanada.com. The Tigers Nest Monastery -- Bhutan Built directly onto a cliff side, this ancient temple has claimed its spot since 1692. Rich in history, Tigers Nest is constructed around eight attractive caves on the mountainside. Most of the caves are easy to reach through the natural rock stairways. However, some are more difficult, and can only be reached by shaky rope bridges. Visit the website http://www.bhutantouroperators.net/taktsang-monastery.php for more information. Dinosaur Provincial Park -- Canada Known to be one the greatest fossil locations in the world, Dinosaur Provincial Park has nearly 500 specimens in all shapes and sizes. The park itself has a vast collection of fossils and a unique natural ecosystem. For more information, please visit http://tpr.alberta.ca/parks/dinosaur/index.aspx. Leshan Giant Buddha -- Sichuan China The world's largest Buddha sits on the edge of two great rivers. Construction is believed to have started around the year 713, and at the time of this construction it was the tallest carved statue in the world. All 233 feet of the stature was carved from the surrounding cliffs and preserved in amazing condition. Even the 2008 earthquake was not enough to shake it. Its website http://yeschinatour.com/china-guides/china-attractions leshan-giant-buddha-leshan will provide you with more information. If John is interested in fossils, he can pay a visit to _ . Answer: Psychologist George Spilich and colleagues at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, decided to find out whether, as many smokers say, smoking helps them to "think and concentrate." Spilich put young non-smokers, active smokers and smokers deprived of cigarettes through a series of tests. In the first test, each subject sat before a computer screen and pressed a key as soon as he or she recognized a target letter among a grouping of 96. In this simple test, smokers, deprived smokers and nonsmokers performed equally well. The next test was more complex, requiring all to scan sequences of 20 identical letters and respond the instant one of the letters transformed into a different one. Non-smokers were faster, but under the stimulation of nicotine , active smokers were faster than deprived smokers. In the third test of short-term memory, non-smokers made the fewest errors, but deprived smokers committed fewer errors than active smokers. The fourth test required people to read a passage, then answer questions about it. Non-smokers remembered 19 percent more of the most important information than active smokers, and deprived smokers bested those who had smoked a cigarette just before testing. Active smokers tended not only to have poorer memories but also had trouble separating important information from insignificant details. "As our tests became more complex." Sums up Spilich, "non-smokers performed better than smokers by wider and wider margins" He predicts, "smokers might perform adequately at many jobs until they got complicated. A smoking airline pilot could fly adequately if no problems arose, but if something went wrong, smoking might damage his mental capacity." Which of the following statements is true? Answer: If standing on sparking wires, you feel nothing because Answer: What could a poem writer and a movie director share? More than you think! Langston Hughes began writing poems in high school and soon became one of America's greatest writers. Most of his writing is about his experiences as an African American. He wrote poems about people who worked hard through life but still found things to be happy about. He wrote plays and books about justice for all people, and he wrote kids' books, too. The Sweet and Sour Animal Book is a book of his animal poems. Pictures and photos were used in the book. "Hold fast to dreams" is a line in a famous Hughes poem. That's exactly what he did throughout his life. When Steven Spielberg was in middle school, he wanted to make a film. He had an idea for a movie, but no money. He started a tree-planting business and made his film with the money he earned. Spielberg never stopped making films, even after many film schools refused him. Today he is one of the most popular and important filmmakers in the world. His movies are about people who are adventurous , brave, kind. His characters often fight for what is good. Some of his films are about his Jewish background, such as Schindler's List. Spielberg once said, "I don't dream that much at night because I dream for a living." In different ways, both Hughes and Spielberg have encouraged people of all ages to reach for their dreams. Steven Spielberg's movies are about the following except _ . Answer:
Do you hear the name--Rain? Yes, he is a popular star of South Korea. Rain's music teacher gave him that name. His real name is Jung Ji Hoon. The 27-year-old singer is very good at dancing, too. His eyes are bright and his smiles are sunny. When he was a child. Rain was very quiet. But in Grade Six. Rain surprised all of his classmates. He danced for them. After the excellent dancing, everyone looked at him in a different way. Rain's Songs sell well. and he acts in a few TV shows. Rain doesn't want to sing forever ."When I stop singing, I'd like to design clothes.Being a designer is my childhood dream."he said. Why did Rain surprise his classmates? A Because he was good at singing. B Because he danced well. C Because he got a good mark. D Because he worked hard. Answer: B. Because he danced well. The car was invented just a century ago. You may know all kinds of cars' names, but many people don't know who was the inventor of the first car. The first car was invented not by an Englishman, but by an American. His name was Henry Ford. Henry was born in a poor family, He was the eldest of the six children. When he was a boy, he became interested in watches and machines. When he was twelve years old, his mother died. Soon he had to work in a machine shop for two dollars and fifty cents a week. In the evenings, he repaired watches for another hour for another dollar a week. The hard life made him strong and able. At that time, there was another interest in the life of the young boy. He hoped to make a machine. It could run without horses. He overcame a lot of difficulties and in April, 1893, the "horseless carriage" was invented at last. It was the first car. Later, Henry Ford set up the Ford Motor Company. He was the really first inventor of car in the world. This passage mainly tells us _ . A how the first car was made B who invented the first car C about Henry Ford's family D Henry Ford's interest in cars Answer: B. who invented the first car This is a tense time for students in America,with the exam season in full swing and the stress and anxiety being felt across the country.At some universities,students are reviewing their lessons,knowing that in a few weeks the stress will be over once they put pen to paper in that exam hall.For others,however,that stress and anxiety may well last a while longer as lecturers continue to refuse to set exams.No one knows when things will get back to normal. The reason behind this trouble is the ongoing argument in higher education between lecturers and employers over pay.The Association of University Teachers(AUT)are currently taking industrial action because of the fact that lecturers have been underpaid for years.Vice-presidents of the universities,who enjoy six-figure salaries,are not making any noises to suggest that this will change in the near future. The National Union of Students(NUS) ly believes that our lecturers should be better paid,and that the promises made to them during the top-up fees debate about extra income must be kept. It's shameful that 1ecturers have had to take industrial action to achieve better pay and conditions while vice-presidents'own salaries have risen 25%over the past three years.But the students who are suffering as a result of the argument must be put first.We do not agree with the attitude taken by the AUT,which is refusing to set exams.We admit that the decision to take this course of action was democratically reached.However,it is having the biggest effect on our members at this moment in time and we will continue to let the AUT know the results of this. We call on both sides to sort this mess out.Hopefully then our members can get the horrible exam season Out of the way and start planning,and enjoying,their upcoming summer holiday. What is the students'opinion about the argument? A They think it's wrong that the lecturers ask for the better pay. B They think what the vice-presidents have done is reasonable and understandable. C They totally agree with what the lecturers have done and support them. D They hope that the lecturers can set exams as soon as possible. Answer: D. They hope that the lecturers can set exams as soon as possible. I think it is safe to say that snakes are not popular among most people. It would be hard to find a person who is neutral ,or simply doesn't care one way or the other. What I wonder is why something even without legs causes such great fear. Snakes are quite useful, but that doesn't seem to matter. Snakes help control the population of mice. Without snakes, perhaps we would find mice everywhere. Most of us, however, would rather see a mouse than a snake. The poison argument is a strong one. Some snakes are poisonous, and this causes people's death. However, the poisonous snakes are only a small number. We can't say all the snakes are bad just because of a few dangerous ones. And what do we do with the people who really like snakes? They like snakes even more strongly than we dislike them. These people learn about them, find them out, and watch them carefully. Why? The only reason I can think of is that these people are open-minded. They are able to put aside differences and welcome the snake as a friend. Whatever the reason for our like or dislike, snakes do something good in the circle of life. They would prefer to be left alone, and that is what we should do. If you're lucky, you might not run across more than a few of them in a lifetime. That would be fine with most of us. Which of the following shows that most people dislike snakes? A They welcome snakes as their best friends. B They would rather see a mouse than a snake. C They wonder why snakes can cause great fear. D They learn about snakes and watch them carefully. Answer: B. They would rather see a mouse than a snake. When the earthquake hit Japan on March 11,workers in a supermarket in Japan didn't run away when they felt the shaking. Instead, they held on to the shelves and tried to stop the goods from falling down. Reporters from NHK, the country's largest TV station, stayed calm in front of cameras during the earthquake, even though some were facing real danger. The earthquake was the most powerful one to hit Japan in the country's history. But Japan's reaction to the accident has shown that it is the most earthquake-prepared country in the world. The calm the Japanese showed during and after the quake has impressed the world. This is because Japan has "an earthquake culture".Japanese people are taught how to prepare for and react to earthquakes from a young age. Schools in Japan organize earthquake practices every month. They make students become familiar with being in an earthquake. Japan also has a good earthquake warning system .Warnings were broadcast on television, radio and mobile phones nine seconds after experts first knew about the quake on March 11. The warning system is unable to predict earthquakes. But it can usually _ people about 15 seconds before they feel the effects. Even 15 or 20 seconds can be enough time to save people's lives. How did Japanese people react when the big earthquake hit Japan on March 11? A They felt angry. B They were scared. C They stayed calm. D They were frustrated. Answer: C. They stayed calm.
On August 4, while a young man in Hangzhou was caught because of killing another young man with his car, a 17-year-old girl died because of the same reason in the same city. It's reported that the driver was badly drunk. Cars are more and more popular for more Chinese these days. And the numbers of car accidents are increasing. From 1994 to 2008, deaths because of drunk-driving increased 7.3%. In 2009, a total of 18,371 people were killed in car accidents because of drunk driving. In the middle of August, there were some new rules to deal with the drunk drivers: 1. If a driver's alcohol content is 20mg per 100 ml of blood, he is regarded as a drunk driver. 2. If a driver's alcohol content is 80mg per 100ml or more, he will be held for 15 days and have their license revoked for six months, and are given a fine of 2,000 yuan. The first weekend, 3,167 drivers were held because of high levels of alcohol in their blood. So many people are calling for the law to deal with drunk drivers in order to make drivers understand that drunk drinking can make serious problems. The numbers of car accidents these years are _ before. Answer: bigger than Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently in TV situation comedies and in movies like Revenge of the _ . They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull laborers, their noses always stuck in a book. They are not good at social communication and look clumsy while doing sports. How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres? Roman is on the tennis team at Fairmont Senior High School. She also sings in the choral group, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society. For two years she has maintained A's in every subject. Melendres, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at Valley High School in Albuquerque. He played soccer and basketball well, exhibited at the science fair, and meanwhile worked as a reporter on a local television station. Being a speech giver at the graduation ceremony, he achieved straight A's in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A's in two college-level courses. How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren't the only answer. "Top grades don't always go to the brightest students, " declares Herbert Walberg, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies on super-achieving students. "Knowing how to make the most of your innate abilities counts for more. Much more." In fact, Walberg says, students with high IQ sometimes don't do as well as classmates with lower IQ. For them, learning comes too easily and they never find out how to get down. Hard work isn't the whole story, either. "It's not how long you sit there with the books open, " said one of the many-A students we interviewed. "It's what you do while you're sitting." Indeed, some of these students actually put in fewer hours of homework time than their lower-scoring classmates. The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can readily learn. Some students become super-achievers mainly because _ . Answer: they make full use of their abilities A child who has once been pleased with a tale likes, as a rule, to have it retold in almost the same words, but this should not lead parents to treat printed fairy stories as formal texts. It is always much better to tell a story than read it out of a book, and, if a parent can produce what , in the actual situation of the time and the child, is an improvement on the printed text, so much the better. A change made against fairy tales is that they harm the child by frightening him or making him sad thinking. To prove the latter, one would have to show in a controlled experiment that children who have read fairy stories were more often sorry for cruelty than those who had not. As to fears, there are, I think, some cases of children being dangerously terrified by some fairy story. Often, however, this arises from the child having heard the story once. Familiarity with the story by repetition turns the pain of fear into the pleasure of a fear faced and mastered. There also people who object to fairy stories on the grounds that they are not objectively true, that giants, witches, two-headed dragons, magic carpets, etc. do not exist; and that, instead of being fond of the strange side in fairy tales, the child should be taught to learn the reality by studying history. I find such people, I must say so peculiar that I don't know how to argue with them. If their case were sound, the world should be full of mad men attempting to fly from New York to Philadelphia on a stick or covering a telephone with kisses in the belief that it was their beloved girl-friend. No fairy story ever declared to be a description of the real world and no clever child has ever believed that it was. The author considers that a fairy story is more effective when it is _ . Answer: given some changes by the parent As long as you have broadband service in your home, you can turn on your desktop computer and connect to the Internet. If you have a wireless router , a device that spreads the broadband connection to other devices, you can set up a Wi-Fi network, which enables your cellphones and tablets go online too. And when you are outdoors where is no Wi-Fi, such as in the park or at the beach, having 3G service allows you to stay connected. It seems that lots of us have Internet coverage everywhere we go. So why have mobile companies around the world lately been so enthusiastic about a new term, "4G"? First, you need to know that the letter :G" stands for "generation". Even if you have no idea what 4G is, at least you can figure out that it is a step up from 3G since it's the latest generation of mobile internet service. Unlike broadband, mobile Internet uses the same signal towers that provide voice service to your cellphone, which means wherever you can make phone calls with your cellphone you also have an Internet connection. But mobile connections have their _ : they don't carry as much information as broadband does, making opening websites and downloading music slower than they are on a Wi-Fi connection. This is why mobile connections have been constantly upgraded since the first generation was launched back in the 1980s. According to BBC, 4G is five to seven times faster than current 3G network speeds, almost as fast as home broadband. Because of this, 4G is widely suited for services like video downloading, mapping, online shopping and even video conferencing. To achieve the high speeds, network companies have to spend a lot of money on building new signal towers, which will eventually lead to a higher phone bill if you switch to 4G, and you will also have to get a new phone with 4G capacity. What does the author think of 4G service? Answer: It provides good service at a higher price. Lisa is ten years old. She is disabled because she has brain damage. She could not do even the simplest thing until a year ago. She could not comb her hair or feed herself. Her parents loved her. And they treated her like a baby. Mr. Ching has a daughter and a son. They are both grown. They live far from their father. Mr. Cling felt lonely. He decided to become a foster grandfather to a handicapped child. And that was how he met Lisa. Foster grandparents are grandparents who are not related by birth but foster parents love the children they care for. They also help the handicapped children in special ways. They help to dress and feed the children. They read to them and tell them stories. They also help with handicapped children's therapy. Therapy is the treatment of a disease or disorder. It helps the children overcome their handicaps. Mr. Cling became a foster grandparent to Lisa when she was nine years old. At first, Lisa was shy. She was afraid because Mr. Cling was a stranger. But he came to see her every day, gradually she began to trust him. At last, Lisa let Mr. Cling do things for her. Cling speaks for most foster grandparents when he say, "We all benefit. The handicapped children benefit because we help them live more useful lives. And we benefit because we know the children need us and love us. For any person, there is no greater happiness than that." Why did Mr. Cling foster Lisa? Answer: Mr. Cling is too lonely.
Cheaters called "pirates" often use camcorders and cell phones to make illegal copies of blockbusters in the local theater. These pirates then sell those recordings on the street or over the Internet for very low prices. Some share them for free. "It's unfair for people to pirate movies, " says 15-year-old Hadaia Azad Ezzulddin. Movie piracy "takes money out of the pockets of thousands of people in the movie industry," she notes. Victims include famous actors and directors as well as local theater owners and their employees. Hadaia came up with an idea that could help stop movie piracy. Hadaia's idea uses infrared light. This range of light is invisible to the human eye. It is visible, however, to many types of cameras. Theater owners could place small infrared lights on their movie screens. The lights would not disturb people watching the movie. It would, however, distort the recordings made by many types of cameras. To test her idea, Hadaia built a box with a movie screen inside. Then, she projected images on that screen through a hole in the box. She took recordings of those images, using nine different types of cameras. These included the types found in cell phones as well as camcorders. During some tests, she also turned on light emitting diodes , or LEDs. The LEDs were embedded in a certain place behind the movie screen. They gave out infrared light. Sure enough, she showed, a pirated movie included odd stripes or spots if it had been recorded while the LEDs were on. It might be possible to use the LEDs to flash the date and time on the movie screen. The information would then appear in the illegal recordings. Theater owners or police might use the information to track down the pirates. Cutting down on piracy might get more people into theaters to watch the real movie instead of an illegal copy. Six out of every ten films now produced aren't profitable. They don't make enough money to recover how much was spent to make and market them. Such a poor payback can discourage filmmakers from producing anything but the types expected to become blockbuster hits. It might also keep smaller theaters from showing a wider variety of movie types. Infrared lights are put on the movie screens to _ . A. adjust the brightness of the movie screens B. make sure the images of movies are dark C. protect the eyesight of viewers in the darkness D. make illegal copies of movies unpleasant to see Answer: D Findings from a new study were presented at a recent meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society. Researchers in the United States studied 100,000 women during an eight-year period, beginning in 1994. All of the women were fifty or older. The study was part of the Women's Health Initiative organized by the National Institutes of Health. The women were asked questions measuring their beliefs or ideas about the future. The researchers attempted to identify each woman's personality eight years after gathering the information. The study found that hopeful individuals were 14% less likely than other woman to have died from any cause. The hopeful women were also 30 less likely to have died from heart disease after the eight years, Hilary Tinkle from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania was the lead author of the report. She said the study confirmed earlier research that linked optimistic feelings to longer life. The researchers also gathered information about people's education, financial earnings, physical activity and use of alcohol or cigarettes. Independent of those things, the findings still showed that optimists had less of a chance of dying during the eight-year period. Some women who answered the questions were found to be hostile , or highly untrusting of others. These women were 16% more likely to die than the others. They also were 23% more likely to die of cancer. The study also found women who were not optimistic were more likely to smoke and have high blood pressure or diabetes. They were also more likely mot to exercise. Tindle says the study did not confirm whether optimism leads to healthier choices, or if it actually affects a person's physical health. She also says the study does not prove that negative emotions or distrust lead to bad health effects and shorter life. Yet there does appear to be a link that calls for more research. In which part of a newspaper can you read the above passage? A. Nation. B. Opinion. C. Business. D. Science. Answer: D On July 1 at exactly 7:59:59, Bejing time, the world' s atomic clocks will pause for a single second, or, more precisely, change to the unusual time of 7:59:60. The addition of a leap second , is to keep our clocks in time with the slowing of Earth' s rotation and astronomical time as measured by the sun. Just one extra second could affect the way computers and websites work, however. When the last leap second was added back in 2012, the community website Reddit crashed. For Reddit, the problem was that a Linux system got confused when it checked the network time and found an extra second. Speaking to Wired about the problem back in 2012, Linux creator Linus Torvalds commented:"Almost every time we have a leap second, we find something. It' s really annoying, because it' s code that is almost never used, and thus not tested by users under their normal conditions. " Companies have thought of their own solutions, and Google' s"leap smear"may be the best- known example. As company engineer Christopher Pascoe explains in a blog post, companies usually try to turn back the clocks by one second at the end of the day so that they play that second again. However, Pascoe believes this creates problems. He asked:"Does email that comes in during that second get stored correctly?"Google has a solution: Cut the extra second into milliseconds and then put these tiny amounts of time into the system throughout the day."This means that when it became time to add an extra second at midnight."Says Pascoe."Our clocks have already taken this into account over the course of the day." For many companies without Google' s money, however, the leap second will likely still cause some crashes. What' s Pascoe' s attitude toward Google' s solution to the problem? A. Ambiguous. B. Approving. C. Doubtful. D. Cautious. Answer: B Last month, Justin Valdez, a college student, was shot in a subway station in San Francisco. The surveillance video showed that before Justin was killed, the killer pulled out his gun several times, and even wiped his nose with it. However, nobody noticed the killer. The surrounding passengers all focused on their cell phones. We may see the same scene everywhere in our life: in subway stations, restaurants, elevators and so on, people are watching their cell phones. From a family reunion to a date with a friend, people couldn't stop checking their twitter and facebook on the cell phones and ignoring the persons in front completely, Phubbing not only involves young people, but also the elderly and kids. "Phubbing" is a new term which comes from the words "phone'' and "snub ". It describes the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a cell phone. The word "phubbing" was included in the Australian National Dictionary in 2012. Obviously, the indifference) and rudeness of the information age are spreading globally. A Stop Phubbing campaign website has been set up. You can find the slogan of the website as follows: "stop twittering, stop posting photos...enjoy your food, enjoy the music and respect others." Phubbing appears harmless. However, it does influence our life. Jimmy, an epicure , wrote in his blog: "I can no longer focus on what I am eating since I started twittering. My skill of food photography has improved very fast, while my interest in food drops as a result." Let us put down our cell phones and re-enjoy the real taste of our food and the warmth of interpersonal communication. What will probably happen when you ask a phubbing person for help? A. He will give you an immediate reply. B. He will stop looking at his cell phone. C. He will pay no attention to you. D. He will be very angry with you. Answer: C Oliver, owner of Blackacre, needed money. Blackacre was fairly worth $100,000, so Oliver tried to borrow $60,000 from Len on the security of Blackacre. Len agreed, but only if Oliver would convey Blackacre to Len outright by warranty deed, with Len agreeing orally to reconvey to Oliver once the loan was paid according to its terms. Oliver agreed, conveyed Blackacre to Len by warranty deed, and Len paid Oliver $60,000 cash. Len promptly and properly recorded Oliver's deed. Now, Oliver has defaulted on repayment with $55,000 still due on the loan. Oliver is still in possession. Which of the following best states the parties' rights in Blackacre? A. Len's oral agreement to reconvey is invalid under the Statute of Frauds, so Len owns Blackacre outright. B. Oliver, having defaulted, has no further rights in Blackacre, so Len may obtain summary eviction. C. The attempted security arrangement is a creature unknown to the law, hence a nullity; Len has only a personal right to $55,000 from Oliver. D. Len may bring whatever foreclosure proceeding is appropriate under the laws of the jurisdiction. Answer: D
Miss Wang asks her students about their future jobs. Let's look at their answers. Bob: I'm going to be a cool spy like James Bond. I know it is difficult and dangerous. I will work hard and I look forward to studying in America one day. Mike: I'm going to be a mathematician , because maths is my favourite subject. I think it's very interesting. Meimei: I'm going to become a singer in the future. I love singing. I hope one day I can become famous. Lisa: I want to be a charitarian . I will make a lot of money and help the poor children in the future. What does Miss Wang do? Answer: There was a very friendly cow named Mary who loved to walk around the town and eat lots of grass. Mary loved grass so much, but she hated when she got a mouthful of weeds or dirt. One day when Mary was looking for some tasty grass, she spotted a pretty purple flower. Without thinking she ate the flower and got very sick. Mary walked home feeling very bad, and when she passed some green, orange, and red flowers, she didn't dare to eat them. When Mary got home her mom asked her why she was so sick. Mary could tell her mom, dad, and brothers Donny and Sam would be mad at her if she said she ate a flower so she lied. She told them that a bee stung her and she wasn't feeling good today. Then she lay down in her bed and took a long nap to feel better. What color was the flower that made Mary sick? Answer: Most people heard of Shakespeare and probably know something of his plays. However, not everybody knows much about the life of this world - famous man, except perhaps that he was born in the market town of Stratford - upon - Avon and that he married a woman called Anne Hathaway. We know nothing of his school life. Nothing certain is known of what he did between the time he left school and his leaving home for London. It is said that he was beaten and even put in prison for stealing rabbits and deer from a neighboring landowner, and because of this he was forced to leave his native place. Whatever caused him to leave his hometown, the world can be thankful about it. When he arrived in London, he set his foot on the road to farm. It is said that he was without money or friends there at first, but that he made a little money by taking care of the horses of the gentlemen who attended the plays at the theatre. In time, he came to know the doctors in the theatre, and they found him clever. Finally he was invited to join their company. By 1592, he had become one of the three members of a famous company. From what we know of his later life, it is clear that Shakespeare' s connection with theatre had made him a wealthy man since he wrote the plays, which attracted a good many people. Towards the end of the 16th century he bought a large property in Stratford. No less than eleven of his plays were produced after he went back there. These include the great tragedies Othello, Macbeth and King Lear. Shakespeare died in 1616. Some years earlier he chose it gravestone . He wrote on the stone that if anyone might remove his body from his grave, he would bring bad luck on him. It seems strange that he should have had this fear. He might have known how deeply he was respected for the genius he showed in his plays and poems. Which of the following is NOT true? Answer: If you have time, if you love sunshine and swimming, why not come to Australia to have a lovely holiday? You will enjoy every minute of being here. Of course, there is still some information that you have to know before you come. The sun In Australia, you can see many kinds of plants and animals and many beautiful views. However, you should be careful. Our sunlight is very strong and you may get sunburn, If you want to go out, you had better wear a hat and a shirt with collar and long sleeves and don't forget to take your sunglasses and sun cream, Don't look at the sun directly. Swimming We have so many beautiful places to swim, beaches, lakes, rivers and _ . Most of our public beaches have lifesaving service. Yellow and red flags tell you the area that you are advised to swim in. If there are no flags or lifeguards on the beach, you'd better ask the local people before you go into the water. Banks and money Banks are usually open between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Monday to Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Travellers can change money at all the banks and some of the larger hotels. . Who is this passage mainly written for? Answer: "The world has never been a better place to live in" says science writer Matt Ridley, "and it will keep on getting better." Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Right or wrong? You decide. Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, people now make nearly three times as much money, eat one third more food and expect to live one third longer. In fact, it's hard to find any areas of the world that's worse off now than it was then, even though the world population has more than doubled over that period. One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs--food, clothing, fuel and shelter--have grown much cheaper. Take one example: In 1800, a candle providing one hour's light cost six hours' work. In the 1880s, the same light from a lamp took 15 minutes' work to pay for. In 1950, it was eight seconds. Today, it's half a second. In these terms, we are 43,200 times better off than in1800. In the United States, rivers, lakes, seas and air are getting cleaner all the time. A car today produces less pollution traveling at full speed than a parked car did from leaks in 1970. Although the world population is growing, the rate of increase has been falling for 50 years. Across the world, national birth rates are lower now than in 1960, and in the less developed world, the birth rate has almost halved. According to a research report from the United Nations, population will start falling once it reaches 9.2 billion in 2075. After all, there are already seven billion people on earth, and they are eating better and better. In 1970s, there were 550 billion barrels of oil reserves in the world, and in the 20 years that followed the world used up 600 billion. So by 1990, reserves should have been overused by 50 billion barrels. Instead, it is reported there are 900 billion today. They will last for many years and people will find something in place of oil long before they run out. The more we develop, the more we can develop. The more we invent, the more inventions become possible. For 200 years, pessimists (people who believe that terrible things will happen in future) have had all the headlines--even though _ have far more often been right. There are some reasons for pessimists. No charity ever raised money by saying things are getting better. No journalist ever got the front page writing a story about how terrible things won't happen. Don't be a pessimist--dare to be an optimist! Today, providing one hour's light costs _ . Answer:
The longitude of a location determines which time zone it is in. Different time zones are the result of Answer: 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 Sunshine School needs _ . Answer: Tom Becker has won the 2007 Waterstone's children's book prize with his first novel, Darkside, receiving a cheque for PS1,000 and the promise of display in branches of the book store across the country. The 25-year-old author described winning as an "unbelievable feeling". "I didn't think my book would be on the shortlist and stood a chance of winning, and it's amazing to receive such an important award at the beginning of my writing career. Needless to say I am absolutely made up." he said. The novel, inspired by film noir , fantasy and a fascination with the dark side of the 19th century, is for children between the ages of nine and 12. It tells the story of a boy, Jonathan Stirling, who discovers a similar world filled with vampires and werewolves . This alternative reality has a clearly Victorian air, and is ruled by a descendant of Jack the Ripper. Soon hunters from the other side begin searching for Jonathan, who finds himself driven into their world. Waterstone's head children's buyer, Wayne Winstone, thought highly of Becker's "huge" achievement. He said: "Tom Becker's writing style attracts you in the same way that Darren Shan's does with his mix of adventure and the supernatural. "I have a feeling that Tom has real potential and could be one of the big names in children's writing in the future." This year's shortlist also included Michael Broad's Jake Cake, Philip Caveney's Sebastian Darke and Siobhan Dowd's A Swift Pure Cry. Last year's prize was won by Julia Golding with The Diamond of Drury Lane. The best title for the passage is probably _ . Answer: John and Bobby joined the same company together just after they completed their university studies the same year. Both of them worked very hard. Several years later, however, the boss promoted Bobby to manager but John was still a worker. John could not take it, and gave his resignation to the boss. He complained that the boss did not think much of those who were hard -working, but promoted only those who flattered him. The boss knew that John had worked very hard for the years. He thought a moment and said, "Thank you for what you said, but I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave" John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found a man selling watermelons. The boss asked how much they cost every kilogram. John shook his head and went back to the seller to ask and returned to tell the boss $1.2 every kilogram. The boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. Bobby went and returned, saying, "Boss, only one person is selling watermelons. $1.2 every kilogram, and $10 for 10 kilograms. The seller has 340 melons. On the table there are 58 melons, and each weighs about 2 kilograms. They were brought from the South two days ago. They are of good quality." Hearing what Bobby said, John realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided to stay and learn from Bobby. What can we learn from the passage? Answer: Competition is most likely to occur between which two organisms? Answer:
Once upon a time, there lived a rich man. He had a servant . He and the servant loved wine and good food very much. Each time the rich man left his home, the servant would drink the wine and eat up all the nice food in the house. The rich man knew what his servant did, but he had never caught his servant doing that. One morning, when he left home, he said to the servant, "Here are two bottles of poison and some nice food in the house. You must take good care of them." With these words, he went out. But the servant knew that the rich man had said was untrue. After the rich man was away from his home, he enjoyed a nice meal. Because he drank too much, he was drunk and fell to the ground. When the rich man came back, he couldn't find his food and his wine. He became very angry. He woke the servant up. But the servant told his story very well. He said a cat had eaten up everything. He was afraid to be punished , so he drank the poison to kill himself. The rich told the servant that there was poison in the two bottles, because _ . he did not want the servant to drink his wine You've see news reports about people who need help after a natural disaster or animals in need. Or perhaps you've watched TV programs about how lonely older people can get. So what can you do about any of those things? The answer: You can volunteer. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to change people's lives, including your own. Helping others in need is such an important part of the American way of life that many high schools require their students to spend a certain number of hours volunteering in order to graduate. Volunteering isn't like school: Instead of having the choices made for you about where to go and what subjects to learn,you can choose what really interests you and who (or what) is most deserving of your time. If you like animals, help out at a local animal shelter. Most shelters depend on volunteers to keep the cats and dogs happy and well exercised. If you have a friend or who has or had a medical problem(like cancer,HIV,for example), you might be inspired to donate your time to help an organization that raises money for research, delivers meals,or offers other help to people with the illness. If you like children,there are lots of volunteering opportunities--from being a Big Brother or Big Sister to helping out in an after-school sports program. You also can: serve food at a homeless shelter; take part in a park cleanup day. And if you have more than one thing you love,you can combine the two. For example,if you love kids and are great at arts and crafts , visit your local children's hospital and offer to lead art activities for young patients. If you want to finish your high school in America, you're required to _ . volunteer for some time Emilio lost his wallet at a bar .He looked for it everywhere.But he couldn't find it.The bartender didn't have it,either.Emilio went home.He was very angry. "Somebody stole my wallet."he told his wife."Are you sure?"She asked,"Maybe you just lost it.""I don't think so.You can't trust anybody in this city." Then,Emilio's phone rang. "Hello?"he said in an angry voice."Good evening.Is that Emilio Santos?""Yes,it is.Who is that?""My name is Pablo.I found your wallet at a bar." The next day,Emilio met Pablo at a coffee shop.Pablo returned the wallet.Everything was still inside.Emilio thanked Pablo for being so honest . Where did Emilio live? In the city. A drain cleaner consists of sodium hydroxide and aluminum. When the drain cleaner is added to water, bubbles of hydrogen are produced, and the solution becomes very hot. Which of these best describes what happens to form the bubbles when the cleaner is added to water? F chemical reaction Analysis of the composition of quicksand shows that there are four key ingredients--sand, obviously water, clay and salt. Together these materials form a structure resembling a house of cards, with large water-filled gaps between the sand particles, which are loosely glued in place by the clay. As long as it's left alone, the structure remains stable. But as soon as it's disturbed, by stepping on it, the clay changes from a jelly-like consistency to a runny liquid. The effect is the same as stirring a pot of yoghurt. Liquefying the clay makes the quicksand about one million times runnier, and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down, with you inside it. Very quickly, the sand sinks to the bottom and the water floats to the top. This is where the salt comes in. When there's enough salt present, as soon as the clay particles liquefy, electrical charges make them begin to stick together to form bigger particles and these also settle with the sand. Quicksand is a mixture which looks like solid, but behaves more like a liquid. Despite its murderous reputation, quicksand does not such people under and swallow them, although it can hold a person in firm grip. The human body is more buoyant in quicksand than in water, and sooner or later anyone trapped in it will float. Unlike most liquids, quicksand's viscosity, or "runniness" can suddenly change if it comes under pressure, for example under a human foot. The surface gives way and the victim quickly sinks in up to the knees, surrounded by an area of dirty things that turns semi-solid around its victim. Escaping from the quicksand's grip requires a large amount of force. Without something solid to pull at, people often find they are stuck fast. Pulling at one leg simply makes the other one sink further. So how do you escape from quicksand's control? Stay still and call for help. Staying still stops you sinking any further, until--with luck--help arrives on the scene. If no one appears and you need to draw yourself out, gently lie down on your back until your body is floating on the sand. Next, roll over onto your stomach and pull yourself forwards with your hands, so that you gradually "swim" towards firmer ground. It is a slow and dirty business, but it works. This technique has one barrier: it goes against a very powerful human nature. Faced with danger in the open, nine out of ten stay on their feet so that they can run away, in which case it can worsen the situation. What might be the best title of the passage? What to do if trapped in quicksand
Question: Down-to-earth means being honest, open, and easy to deal with. It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth. A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to. He or she accepts others as equals. A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society, of course, but they do not let their importance go to their heads, and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride, often without cause, is said to have his nose in the air. There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth. Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth. The expression is both feet on the ground. Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality. He has what is called common sense. He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real. The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds. A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world. Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality; sharp words from the teacher, for example, can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground. The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground. _ . Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth. When we have both our feet firmly on the ground, we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others, and our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong. If a person has his nose in the air, he _ . A. is down to the earth B. is easy to deal with C. always thinks he is more important than others D. is confident Answer: C. always thinks he is more important than others Question: It is now commonly known that AIDS is a deadly disease. It does great damage to human beings' immune system, weakening resistance to disease and leading to death due to utter weakness. To this day, there are no existing drugs that can kill AIDS virus. It is a deadly battle between science and AIDS. This is only one side of the story. Although it can not be cured, AIDS is preventable. For those who have not caught the disease, the knowledge of preventive measures seems to be the most powerful weapon at hand. Since the discovery of the first AIDS patient in 1985, the number of HIV carriers is on an alarming rise in China and statistics show that young people are the more likely victims of AIDS. Nationwide there are 214 million people between the ages of 13 and 22, most of whom are students. If no measures are taken to protect these young people, it is almost certain that the threat of AIDS will be very real to them. There has been a great deal of misinformation concerning the transmission of AIDS. One of the most misleading myths is that AIDS can be transmitted by casual physical contact such as kissing, shaking hands or sharing food container. Surveys and investigations conducted in some universities and colleges show that half of those people questioned are not clear about how AIDS is transmitted, not to mention how it is prevented. This is the driving force behind the State Education Department's decision to spread AIDS awareness information among college students and later to high school students and primary school students. Why does the passage say that AIDS is a deadly disease? A. Because it destroys the immune system of the human body. B. Because the AIDS patients cannot resist the disease and will die. C. Because the doctors now find no medicine to cure AIDS. D. All of the above. Answer: D. All of the above. Question: Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five, he gave PS 12,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children's play ground. As a result of his kindness, many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman, During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five, Johnson had a sense of humor . He liked whisky and drank some each day. "I have an injection in my neck each evening." He told the newspaperman, thinking of evening glass of whisky. The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and has a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection. Johnson became a rich man through _ . A. doing business B. making whisky C. cheating D. buying and selling land Answer: A. doing business Question: Cows that are named and treated with a "more personal touch" can increase milk production by up to 500 pints a year. The study, by the university's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, involved 516 farmers across the UK. The study found farmers who named their cows got a 54% higher production than those that did not give their cows names. Dairy farmer Dennis Gibb said he believed treating every cow as an individual was very important. "They aren't just our means of making money. They're part of the family," he said. "We love our cows here and every one of them has a name. All of us regard them as 'our ladies' but we know every one of them and each one has her own personality." Dr Catherine Douglas said, "What our study shows is what many good, caring farmers have long since believed. Our data suggests that UK dairy farmers regard their cows as intelligent beings . They are able to experience a range of emotions ." "Placing more importance on knowing the individual animals and calling them by name can, at no extra cost to the farmer, also increase milk production." ,. Why did the farms want their cows to increase milk? A. Because they wanted to drink more. B. Because their cows can be happy. C. Because the milk is more delicious. D. Because they made by money by selling milk. Answer: D. Because they made by money by selling milk. Question: A large book NBA star Yao Ming's English autography will come out in New York, US , this month. It is called "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds." It talks about his first year in the NBA. Yao wrote it with a US report. Alicia's Coming American singer Alicia Keys,23, will be in the "Wall of Hope" concert with other stars, on the Great Wall, in Beijing, on September 25. The R& B singer is a five-time Grammy winner. Top singing award Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, 25, won Best Male singer at the Fourth Chinese Music Billboard Awards , in Taipei, on Saturday. Football winners the Chinese under-17 football team is No. 1 in Asia. They won the Asian U-17 Championship in Japan on Saturday. They beat the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 1-0. After 85 minutes, Wang Weilong shot the only goal. They took the cup for the first time in 12 years. Wall of Hope concert _ . A. was given by Alicia B. was given in America C. was given by 23 stars D. was given by Alicia and other stars Answer: D. was given by Alicia and other stars
Once a group of 17-year-old schoolboys decided to break the world basketball marathon record . They wanted to play for ninety hours and that is to add six hours to the record. Each team had nine players, with five at a time. The boys decided each person would play 21. 5 hours and then rest for 2 hours. Then they started at 6 o'clock in the evening. The first night was very hard for the players. When it was their turn to rest, they were too excited to fall asleep at once. After sleeping for a short time, they had to play again. On the second night, they fell asleep as soon as they stopped. Some of them had trouble with their feet and hands, but the only serious problem was a psychological one. Each boy was thinking:why am I doing this?How can I play any longer?After the third night, the players knew they could finish the ninety hours. The basketball on the fourth night was very slow. But in the final hours, the players got better. For the last few minutes, the players looked as fresh as when they started. How happy everyone was! The first night was hard for the players to fall asleep because _ . A. they were too excited B. they only slept for a short time C. no one watched them play D. it was very long Answer: A. they were too excited When you see the girl for the first time, you may think she is a boy. She is very outgoing . Who is she? Wang Meng, the Chinese top skater. On the evening of February 26th, 2010, Wang Meng first got to the finishing line in 1 minute and 29.213 seconds in the women's 1000 meters short track speed skating final at the Vancouer Olympic Winter Games . After she succeeded in the 500-meter and 3000-meter races, she won her third gold medal this time. With this one China won four gold medals in the women's short track speed skating. That helped China first win the team gold medal in Winter Olympics history. Just before the final race Wang Meng caught a bad cold and coughed terribly. With the words of "You can, you can do!" she won at last. She said, "I really feel these three gold medals belong to my team, to China. It was with the help of my team that I won the prize." Though Wang Meng is only twenty-four, she has been the most successful Chinese skater. Chinese are proud of her and her team. We hope she will be faster in Sochi Olympics in 2014. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Wang Meng is very outgoing like a boy. B. Wang Meng is the most successful Chinese skater. C. Chinese people are proud of Wang Meng and her team. D. China has got the team gold medal twice in Winter Olympics history. Answer: D. China has got the team gold medal twice in Winter Olympics history. Speak, speak, speak! Practise speaking as often as you can. Speaking to yourself is good practice. Try recording yourself whenever you can. Compare your pronunciation with the master version to see how you can do better and _ . If you do this several times, you will find that each time is better than last. Why not learn with someone else? It helps if you can learn with someone else. If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working. Don't get stuck by a word you don't know. Practise improving ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously ,even if you don't know the exact words or phrases. Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time. Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to make yourself understood. Language learning is also about intuition . Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language. When listening to recorded material, you aren't expected to understand everything first time round. If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time. Build up your vocabulary. A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don't try to learn too much at once. It's best to study frequently, for short periods of time. Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them. Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, and then come back to them later. And above all, have fun! To learn English well, we shouldn't _ according to the passage. A. practice speaking as often as possible B. study frequently, for short periods of time to build up our vocabulary C. try to understand everything and stop when we meet a new word D. try to persuade a friend or family member to study with us Answer: C. try to understand everything and stop when we meet a new word Jack London is a famous American writer. His most widely known book is the Call of the Wild, the story of the adventure of a large dog in the frozen north. Jack London was born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California. His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked hard at many different jobs. Later, Jack returned to school, but he didn't stay. He wrote, "Life and pocket book were both too short." In 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold. Instead, he found ideas there for his book stories. He returned home and started to write. His writings were successful, and he became rich and famous in his twenties. Jack London was not a happy man, however. In poor health, he took his own life in 1916. He was then only 40 years old. What do we know about Jack London? A. He became famous but remained poor all his life. B. Though he was poor, he was always happy. C. He was not famous until he died in 1916. D. He killed himself because of poor health. Answer: D. He killed himself because of poor health. Most penguins died after a huge iceberg grounded near their habitat in Antarctica,forcing them to make a long way to find food, scientists say in a newly published study. The B09B iceberg, measuring about 100 square kilometers, grounded in Commonwealth Bay in East Antarctica in December 2010, the researchers from Australia and New Zealand wrote in the "Antarctic Science" journal. The Adelie penguin population at the bay's Cape Denison was measured to be about 160,000 in February 2011 but by December 2013 it had decreased to about 10,000, they said. The iceberg's grounding meant the penguins had to walk more than 60 kilometers to find food, preventing their breeding attempts, said the researchers from the University of New South Wales' ( UNSW) Climate Change Research Centre and New Zealand's West Penguin Trust. "The Cape Denison population could disappear completely within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the fast ice within the bay breaks out,"they wrote in the research published in. Fast ice is sea ice which forms and stays along the coast. During their survey in December 2013 , the researchers said "hundreds of abandoned eggs were noted, and the freeze-dried dead bodies of previous season's little penguins lay everywhere on the ground." "It's strangely silent,"UNSW's Chris Turney , who led the 2013 exploration , told the"Sydney Morning Herald Friday"."The ones that we saw at Cape Denison were terribly low-spirited , almost unaware of your existence . The ones that are surviving are clearly struggling. They can hardly survive themselves , let alone give birth to the next generation. We saw lots of dead birds on the ground." In contrast, penguins living on the eastern edge of the bay just 8 kilometers from the fast ice edge were full of _ , the scientists said. The researchers said the study had important influence on the wider East Antarctic if the current situation of increasing sea ice continued. Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing, in contrast to the Arctic where global warming is causing ice to melt and icebergs to decrease. Scientists believe the growth in Antarctic sea ice is likely to be driven by changes in wind and local conditions before long. Which statement is correct according to the passage ? A. The life of penguins in Cape Denison was very hard. B. Penguins in Cape Denison were afraid of humans . C. The sea ice in Antarctica is decreasing faster than before. D. Human activities caused much damage to Cape Denison. Answer: A. The life of penguins in Cape Denison was very hard.
If you have dinner with people in the west, I think you must pay more attention to the table manners. Here are some good table manners for you. When you eat something, try not to make a noise or burp at the table. Because people think that is not polite. People will say "Excuse me" when they want to burp. Talking with food in the mouth is very rude. So you must eat the food quietly and slowly. If you eat too fast, people think you are rude too. Do not talk with others when you have food in your mouth. It is good to eat all the food on your plate. This means you like the food very much. Remember to say the food is nice. And this can make the host very happy. When you finish eating, you can place your knife and fork together. According to the passage, which of the following is good? Answer: To say "Excuse me" when you want to burp. When I first entered high school, I knew no one at my school. All my friends in middle school went to other schools. I wanted to make some new friends. However, I was shy and wasn't good at making new friends. On my first day at school, I looked at others who were talking in groups happily. How I wish I were one of them! I guess I was very lucky then. At lunch in the dinning hall, when I was eating at a table alone, a girl came to me. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" she asked. I immediately shook my head. She smiled and sat down opposite to me. I felt a little _ and didn't know what to say at all, but I really wanted to communicate with her. It was a good opportunity to make friends with her. When I looked up, I found she was smiling at me. Her smile calmed me down. "I really like this school. It's beautiful, but I don't know anyone here. All my friends went to other schools," said the girl. Hearing her words, I immediately said, "my friends are not here either. Can we be friends?" I was surprised. I couldn't believe I would say something like that, and to my surprise, that girl immediately said "yes". We both smiled. We became very good friends. Now it's the beginning of a new term again. Many students may have no friends at their new schools. If you are also as shy as I used to be, please don't be afraid to talk to others. You may get a surprise and make a new friend. After all, others want to make new friends, too. After the girl sat down opposite to the author, the author _ . Answer: wanted to talk with her Now AIDS has become one of the most dangerous killers for human beings. The whole world is in danger of AIDS. But the situation in rich countries is not the same as that in poor countries. According to a research, the most serious area is Africa. Throughout Africa, whole communities are being _ by AIDS. Mothers, fathers, teachers and farmers are dying in thousands, day after day. Why is it that most people with HIV live in the world's poorest countries? Lack of education and health care makes people easy to be infected ; poverty and the constant search for work and food keep them on the move; casual work and casual sex leave women particularly easy to be infected. As a result, the disease spreads to even more people. Those who are already malnourished very soon become sick. Parents die, leaving children who are infected. It's a dangerous circle. When Pep Bonet visited Nchelenge in northern Zambia in 2003, he found one person in four was HIVpositive(HIV). There was a closed and fearful atmosphere. No one wanted to admit to their HIV identity, and women who were HIV positives were often beaten or driven out of their home. Mothers left home and children became orphans. People lost hope, and the light went out of their eyes. In rich countries, anti-HIV drug treatments can keep people with HIV healthy for many years; in poor countries where 95% of people with HIV live, only a few can afford to get these drugs. Do you think that's fair? Which of the following statements is NOT true? Answer: People with HIV in rich countries need not worry about anything. Many people think that the BBC news programs are better than those on other channels because the BBC is not a commercial company. It pays for its programs from the television license money which everyone must pay if they have a television. The BBC, which is often known as "Auntie", is the biggest news collecting operation in the world. It has the world's largest network of foreign correspondents (;). Ten percent of the BBC's annual budget is spent on news collecting, reporting and presenting. More than 1,700 people work for the BBC news service. The BBC produces more than 214 hours of news and current affairs programs for radio and television each week. Each television news program costs about PS78,000 per hour and each radio news program costs approximately PS4,800 per hour. In the UK, about 19 million people -- almost 35% of the total population, watch the BBC television news progams every day. Developments in technology are improving news collection and presentation every year. The BBC now uses special cameras in the TV news studios to film the news presenters, and captions-- the words and sentences at the bottom of the screen, are now produced automatically by computer. We can infer from the passage that the UK has a population of about _ . Answer: 54 million The following is the story of a SARS patient named Wang and his fight with the disease. I woke up around 6 : 30 this morning, on my ninth day in hospital since I caught SARS. Glancing over at my roommate, Xiao Huang, a 27-year-old employee of a Beijing software company, I saw he was also awake. After a light breakfast, a nurse came in and took my temperature. It was 36.6 centigrade. We're at Changxindian Hospital in southwestern Beijing, a newly named SARS patient hospital. It seems I am now recovering as my fever has gone down in recent days. When I first got the disease , I spent four days with a temperature above 39.5 centigrade--at one point it reached 40. 1 centigrade. At 8 : 30 am, a nurse took a blood sample and X-ray of my chest. Then my daily treatment began with the help of the experts from Guangdong and WHO. Before the first bottle finished, my wife rang me. I talked with her on my mobile phone. It has become a major connection with the outside world. Several friends also called me in the morning. I am feeling great these days--no fever, no headache and no pain in the chest, which are all symptoms of SARS. My slight cough is gone since I began taking a new round of medicines yesterday. The doctor told me that I may be set free from hospital in two weeks and a half. Where is the hospital the writer stays at? Answer: In the southwest of Beijing.
Last Thursday, a young woman saved an elderly man from a burning house on Garden Road. The young woman's name is Kitty and she works in a clothes shop. The elderly man, Daniel, lives just opposite the clothes shop. On Thursday afternoon, Kitty looked out of the window. She saw some smoke coming from Daniel's house and rushed over to see what was happening. The house was on fire and Daniel was inside. Kitty quickly called the fireman on 999. Then, she ran into the house to save Daniel. She found Daniel in his bedroom and he was frightened. Kitty helped Daniel out to a safe place. Five minutes later the fireman arrived and they put out the fire. No one was hurt. The next day, Daniel said,"I am so grateful to Kitty. She saved my life."Daniel also said,"In the future, I will be more careful. I don't want another fire in my house." The number to call the firemen in the story is _ . A. eight nine nine B. one one nine C. nine eight eight D. nine nine nine Answer: D They are the little sweeties who look pretty cute in a photo, or when sleeping--but a lot less appealing at 30, 000 ft, crying loudly in the seat right next to you. According to a new survey, almost seven in ten Britons dislike flying with babies so much that they would like to see child-free areas introduced on planes. As for long-distance flights where people want to sleep, almost one in four British travelers believes that no-kid-zones should be fixed as required sections. The survey was conducted by bookings website LateDeals.co.uk, with 1,108 UK consumers questioned as to what they hate most about air travel. And our dislike of noisy children and babies on planes runs deep, it seems. More than a third of us--35 percent--would pay extra to travel on a childless service. Long-distance passengers would be prepared to pay an additional PS63 to the cost of a return ticket if it meant adults only on board. And on short-distance flights, an extra PS28 on the price of a return fare would be considered good value if it guaranteed an absence of angry babies in the middle of the economy-class aisle . However, screaming babies are not the only source of annoyance for British travelers. In fact, according to the research on the most annoying types of airline passengers, a crying baby ranks as only the fourth. Over half of those surveyed--58 percent--selected "drunk travelers" as their _ . People with "bad personal hygiene " and travelers who kick the back of the seat in front were also near the top of the list, causing anger to 48 and 47 percent of us respectively . Crying babies came in at fourth on the list, a pet peeve for 43 percent of those surveyed. What type of writing is this text? A. A brochure. B. A tourist guide. C. An announcement. D. A news report. Answer: D Walk through the Amazon rainforest today and you will find it steamy, warm, damp and thick. But if you had been there around 15,000 years ago, during the last ice age, would it have been the same? For more than 30 years, scientists have been arguing about how rainforests might have reacted to the cold, dry climate of the ice ages, but till now, no one has reached a satisfying answer. Rainforests like the Amazon are important for mopping up CO2 from the atmosphere and helping to solve global warming. Currently the trees in the Amazon take in around 500 million tons of CO2 each year: equal to the total amount of CO2 given off in the UK each year. But how will the Amazon react to the future climate change? If it gets drier, will it survive and continue to draw down CO2? Scientists hope that they will be able to learn in advance how the rainforest will manage in the future by understanding how rainforests reacted to climate change in the past. Unfortunately, collecting information is incredibly difficult. To study the past climate, scientists need to look at fossilized pollen kept in lake mud, Going back to the last ice age means drilling down into lake sediments , which requires specialized equipment and heavy machinery. There are very few roads and paths, or places to land helicopters and aeroplanes. Rivers tend to be the easiest way to enter the forest, but this still leaves vast areas between the rivers completely unsampled . So far, only a handful of cores have been drilled that go back to the last ice age and none of them provide enough information to prove how the Amazon forest reacts to climate change. How do scientists study the past climate change? A. By predicting the climate change in the future. B. By drilling down deep into land sediments. C. By analyzing fossilized pollen in lake mud. D. By taking samples from rivers in the Amazon. Answer: C Americans use many expressions with the word dog.People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well.They take their dogs for walks,let them play outside and give them good food and medical care.However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of 1ife.The expression,to lead a dog's life,describes a person who has an unhappy existence. Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world.That means many people are competing for the same things,like good jobs.To be successful,a person has to work like a dog.Such hard work can make people dog-tired,or sick as a dog. Still,people say every dog has its day.This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life.To be successful, people often have to learn new skills.Yet.some people say that you can never teach all old dog new tricks.They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and wilt not change the way they do things. Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other.For example,a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary.She might tell him that he is in the doghouse.She may not treat him nicely until he apologizes.However,the husband may decide that it is best to 1eave things alone and not create more problems.He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie. Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather.The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year.A rainstorm may cool the weather.But we do not want it to rain too hard.We do not want it to rain cats and dogs. The author writes this passage mainly to _ . A. express his supporting at B. show that he is a super dog-lover and he likes these expressions C. describe the bad effect on the relationship between husband and wife D. introduce some expressions with dog used in American daily life Answer: D I am a single working mother and going to college for a better life for my three-year-old child and myself. I am taking a nurse course called "Urban Community ". We were asked to do a major project on problems in urban communities. I chose the topic "Homeless". Each day I would walk down the streets of the homeless and offer them something to drink and to eat. I know it's tough to survive on the streets. Last night I ran into a group of 30 kids who were living on the streets in New York. _ and I just wanted to cry. But I had to be strong. I asked about their families and if they contacted them to let them know they were alive. Most of them said, "NO!" They all looked like a happy family and they took care of one another. I tried to persuade them to get help and to contact their families but they did not want to. I did not want to make them to do it as they had their own reasons. All these kids were very respectful. None of them was high on drugs nor were they drinking. Some of them enjoyed reading and writing. Some of them enjoyed skateboarding, dancing and playing music. One girl asked me if I could give her a hug and I did so. She started to cry and said, "Thank you for not treating us as freaks like everyone else does. People don't realize that we all have our own problems and some are worse than others." She told me that her stepfather was extremely mean to her and her mother did not believe her. She ran away. Her street name was Little Mary. They were good kids just trying to make ends meet. I told them that I didn't have much to offer because I was a single mother just making ends meet. I had offered them sandwiches and drinks. They were so happy to have something to eat and told me that I couldn't change the world but at least there was someone who really cared. Little Mary left home and became a wanderer because _ . A. her stepfather didn't want to live with her B. her stepfather treated her so badly that she was injured C. her mother treated her so badly that she felt hurt D. her mother didn't believe her and her stepfather treated her badly. Answer: D
DoSomething.org is the country's largest non-profit organization for young people and social change. They provide some scholarships to reward teens who are social action leaders in their community. You may be interested in the following ones. 1. $2,000 Fight Climate Change like a Ninja Scholarship Ninjas release 86% less CO2 than the average person. Why? Because ninjas use a green form of transport ---- parkour . DoSomething.org wants to teach you their ways of going green---- and offer the chance for a $2,000 scholarship. Submit one of your friends' phone numbers. You'll both receive a text message with ways to protect the planet, and you'll be entered for the scholarship. Bonzail! 2. $3,000 Puppy Mills are Bad Scholarship Use your phone to fight for millions of puppies born in abusive factory farms. Share a text messaging game on puppy mills with 6 friends and you'll be entered to win a $3000 scholarship. Millions of puppies are born in horrible conditions each year, so puppy mills can make a profit. Invite your friends to step into the shoes of a pet store employee who discovers their store supports puppy mills. To enter for the $3,000 scholarship, visit www. Dosomething.org/puppy and submit six friends' phone numbers. 3. $5,000 Safe Driving Scholarship When you text while driving at 55 mph, your eyes go off the road for the length of an entire football field. Tell your friends about the danger of texting while driving to enter to win a $5000 scholarship. After entering, we'll send you a free pair of "thumb socks" ---- a physical reminder to stop texting while driving. Send us a picture of you with your thumb socks and you'll double your chance of winning the $5,000 scholarship. To win Puppy Mills are Bad Scholarship, you have to _ . Answer: Auto Company, a corporation, was a small dealer in big new cars and operated a service department. Peter wanted to ask Mike, the service manager, whether Auto Company would check the muffler on his small foreign car. Peter parked on the street near the service department with the intention of entering that part of the building by walking through one of the three large entrances designed for use by automobiles. There was no street entrance to the service department for individuals, and customers as well as company employees often used the automobile entrances. As Peter reached the building, he glanced behind him to be sure no vehicle was approaching that entrance. Seeing none, he walked through the entrance, but immediately he was struck on the back of the head and neck by the large overhead door which was descending. The blow knocked Peter unconscious and caused permanent damage. Peter did not know how the door was raised and lowered; however, the overhead door was operated by the use of either of two switches in the building. One switch was located in the office of the service manager and the other was located near the door in the service work area for the convenience of the mechanics. On this occasion, no one was in the service work area except three Auto Company mechanics. Mike, who had been in his office, and the three mechanics denied having touched a switch that would have lowered the door. Subsequent investigation showed, however, that the switches were working properly and that all of the mechanisms for moving the door were in good working order. If Peter asserts a claim based on negligence against Auto Company, Peter probably will Answer: The Greenbelt, a wide belt of open land around the cities and towns of the San Francisco Bay Area, includes about 3.75 million of the Bay Area's 4.5 million acres. The Bay Area Greenbelt is one of the largest areas of open land in any U.S. urban area. Open land is land that has few buildings and lots of natural areas. The Greenbelt's open land includes parks, forests, beaches, and more than 8,500 farms. What are the advantages of the Greenbelt? The Greenbelt has many advantages for people in the Bay Area, which include: l walking and biking areas close to the cities and towns; l places for wild plants and animals; l cleaner air and water; l income from farms. Is the Greenbelt in danger? Five hundred seventy thousand acres of the Greenbelt are in danger. There are builders who want to build suburbs on them. If those acres become suburbs, many things will change: l the urban and suburban area will almost double; l many farms will disappear; l traffic will become worse; l the air will become dirtier. What is Greenbelt Alliance ? Greenbelt Alliance, an organization that saves land in the San Francisco Bay Area, works alone and with other groups to save the Greenbelt in four ways: 1.Try to persuade people to build new buildings on land that is already urban, not on open land. 2.Make sure that the city and town governments are all making plans to save the Greenbelt. 3.Help Bay Area towns and cities to buy pieces of open land to make into natural areas. 4.Teach people in the Bay Area why the Greenbelt is important and what they can do to help save it. Which of the following is TRUE about Greenbelt Alliance? Answer: Many people in the world live in big cities, which are often dirty and difficult places to live. So, some cities will get bigger. They will also get higher, and lower, because people will begin to live under the ground as well as in tall buildings. Scientists also say that men can begin to live in cities under the sea, when there is not enough space on the land. Of course, these new cities will be very expensive, and difficult to build, but they are not impossible. Already, some countries are building places to live under the ground so their people can go there if there is a new war. There are underground cities in Switzerland and China, built by the government to help some of the people live during a great war. But will people change if they live under the ground for a long time?For example some fish go blind if they live in the dark sea for a long time. People will not go blind, because there will be light underground, but they may change in some way. Scientists say that people who live in cities today are losing their senses of smell, touch and taste. They can't smell the dirty air, they can't taste the chemicals in their food. These senses are not as strong as before, when people lived in the country and grew their own food. The city has changed that. What will the underground city change in everyone? _ , so people who will live there won't go blind. Answer: Philip is a school boy. On his twelfth birthday, he decided to give up eating meat. "I don't think it's right to eat animals," he said. "They live on the Earth just like us and they are our friends." Philip's parents were not happy about that. "You are a growing boy," his mother said. "You need meat. Do you want to stay short and be weak?" His mother put some beef, rice and carrots in front of him. "I want you to eat all your food now," she said. "Don't leave anything." Philip didn't want to make his mother sad. But he ate only the rice and the carrots. "You're a silly boy!" said his father. "I'm getting very angry at you." "I'm sorry, Mum and Dad," answered Philip. "I don't want you to be sad or angry. But I really don't want to eat any meat." "Then have some fish, dear," said his mother. "Oh no, I can't!" cried Philip. "Fish are living things too." "Well, you can't have anything to eat at all if you don't eat any meat or fish," said his father. The next morning Philip got up hungry. His father walked to the school with him and asked to see the teacher. "Is this what you teach the students at school?" he asked the teacher. "Philip refuses to eat meat at home. He doesn't listen to what I say." "I don't agree with Philip," replied the teacher. "But I think he's brave to do what he thinks is right. We teach the students to do that." Philip decided to give up eating meat on his _ birthday. Answer:
A Policeman and a Thief One day a policeman was taking a thief to the city . On the way , they saw a shop . The thief said . " Let me go into the shop to buy some bread . We can eat it in the train . " The policeman agreed . The thief went into the shop and ran out of the back door . When the policeman knew that , he began to look for the thief everywhere . At last the policeman caught thief again . They went on to the city . On the way they came to the same shop . The thief wanted to buy some bread again . "Oh , no . " said the policeman , "You did that before , and you ran away . This time I'll go into the shop and buy bread . You must wait here for me . " What was the policeman doing one day ? A. Catching a thief with others . B. Doing nothing. C. Taking a thief to the city . D. Walking go the city by himself . Answer: C. Taking a thief to the city . 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. From the story we should _ . A. learn from the elephant B. learn from the monkey C. A and B D. help each other Answer: D. help each other In terms of tourism .Ohio is a place full of natural beauty and many vacation spots worth Visiting . Coney island-Fun Unlimited ! Coney Island is an amusement park situated in the city of Cincinnati. It has the world's largest recirculating pool . several diving hoards .and an "in pool" slide. For basketball and vol- leyhall lovers . there are special courts available. Apart from this . the park is equipped with 22 classic family and kiddie rides .boating facilities . a golf course . etc Other amusement parks in Ohio include Erieview Park .The Beach Waterpark . Memphis Kiddie Park .etc. Columbus-The Headquarters! Anyhow, your journey would start from Columbus . the capital city of the state ! So spend some quality time roaming around in this beautiful city. Nightclubs . high quality restaurants .and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-For Music Lovers ! If you are a die-hard music lover. then certainly this place wouldn't disappoint you ! Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was opened somewhere around in 1995 .with an intention of celebrating the spirit of rock and roll music .and also studying it. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame offers exhibitions .music events . and also training programs on the subject. This is a perfect stop for every-thing on rock and roll music ! Cleveland-High Class Experience ! One of the oldest cities. Cleveland ranks among the top 20 metros of the United States .With Lake Erie serving as the most popular tourist attraction .Cleveland is also famous for land marks such as Cavaliers Gund Arena , Playhouse Square and Indians' Jacobs Field. Moreover. vibrant nightlife , clubs , restaurants ;large hotels and shopping festivals add co the touristic significance of this place. Lake Erie-The Perfect Holiday ! With nearly 900 miles of shoreline .Lake Erie is one place you have to visit. You can enjooy numerous activities like fishing. swimming. boating . etc. It is also perfect for having a family picnic outing. One can even take a ferry to Kelleys Island where things like cycling and miniature golf can be enjoyed. Besides .it is the perfect place for those who are looking for some quiet and relaxing time. What can we learn about Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? A. It was open to the public in 1990. B. It is an attraction for music lovers. C. It offers some shopping festivals. D. It provides a golf course for visitors Answer: B. It is an attraction for music lovers. Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband ,Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children. During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport. He reported the case to the police and then sat there,lost and lonely in strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one. Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband's name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can that had been left out on the footpath. My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend. That family not only _ the important documents to us that day but also restoredour faith and trust in people.We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way. The girl's parents got Rashid's phone number from _ . A. a friend of his family B. a Sydney policeman C. a letter in his papes D. a stranger in Sydney Answer: C. a letter in his papes India has a very vast history and heritage. The country has witnessed some of the most important events in the past and every event has an effect of its own on the culture, religion, lifestyle, and economy of the country. This is one of the leading reasons why tourists prefer India to travel and explore. Historical tours in India provide everything that a traveler expects from his/her journey. These historical tours give an opportunity to study and explore Indian history. Historical tours of India generally consisted of four phases: ancient, medieval , modern India and contemporary India. Some of the historical travel packages are: Forts and Palaces The rich cultural past of India is reflected in the countless forts and palaces across the country. Most of the forts were constructed as a defense device to keep the enemy away and palaces were made on the names of the kings and queens. Some of the famous forts and palaces are: Agra Fort (Agra), Fatehpur Sikri (Agra), Hawa Mahal (Jaipur), Amber Fort (Jaipur), City Palace (Jaipur), Gwalior Fort (Gwalior), Mysore Palace (Mysore), Red Fort (Delhi), etc. India Heritage Tours The main purpose of India Heritage tours is to make Indians as well as tourists familiar with the rich Indian legacy . The heritage of the country is at least 5000 years. Some of the heritage tours are: medieval heritage, Rajput heritage, Golden Triangle, splendid Gujarat, etc. South India Historical Tours The Southern India is known for its diversity and there are many places, which attract tourists, not only from the country but also from all around the world. The famous tourists' destinations in South India include Goa, Cochin, Kerala, Munnar, Periyar, Kottayam and the list goes on and on. The main purpose of this passage is A. to report some important events in the history of India B. to introduce some tours that they can explore the history of India C. to help study the culture and history of India D. to tell us how to explore the history of India Answer: B. to introduce some tours that they can explore the history of India
Question: "Can you take me golfing sometimes?" my 13-year-old son asked. I had a bathroom to remodel . I wanted to say no. "Sure," I said."What did you have in mind ?" "Well, maybe you could, like, pick up Jared and me after school on Friday and take us out to Oakway." "Sounds good." Friday came. In front of the school, Ryan and Jared piled in. Ryan looked confused. "What's with the golf hat, Dad ?" he asked It was, I thought, a silly question, like asking a diver: "What's with the swim fins ?" "Well, I thought we were going to play some golf." There was a strange pause. "Uh, you're going, too ?" He asked. Suddenly, it struck me that I hadn't been invited. Thirteen years of parenting flashed before my eyes. All these memories sped by in about two seconds, leaving me about three seconds to reply. I had to say something. I wanted to say this: "How could you do this to me? We have always been a team." But I said: "Me? Play? No. You know I'm up to my ears in the remodel project." We drove on in silence for a few moments. "So, how are you planning to play for this?" I asked, my wounnded ego reaching for the dagger "Uh, could you loan me $7?" Oh, I get it. He doesn't want me, but he'll gladly take my money. "No problem, " I said. I dropped him and Jared off, wished them luck, and headed for home. Life would never be the same. I walked in the door. "What are you doing home?" my wife asked. "I wasn't invited." I replied. Another one of those strange pauses came. Then my wife laughed. Out loud. At first, I was hurt. Then I, too, laughed. I went back to the bathroom remodel and realized that this is what life is all about: change. A few hours later, I heard Ryan walk in the front door. "Dad," he said, "My game stinks . Can you take me golfing sometime ? I need some help." I wanted to hug him and shout: "I'm still needed!" Instead, I got one of those serious-dad looks on my face and said: "Sure, Ry, anytime." When his son Ryan asked him for help playing golf, the author felt _ . A. confused B. excited C. peaceful D. disappointed Answer: B Question: In what way do transit systems, such as buses, benefit society? A. by reducing the amount of pollution B. by increasing the number of car sales C. by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air D. by eliminating the possibility of accidents Answer: A Question: 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. _ wears the glasses. A. Jerry B. Jack C. Li Yun D. Lucy Answer: B Question: Naturally occurring variations within a species are mainly the result of mutations and A. sexual reproduction B. dynamic equilibrium C. metabolism D. camouflage Answer: A Question: Do you want to be a basketball player like Kobe Bryant , Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming ? Come to join us ! We have many sports clubs : basketball , ping-pong , soccer , volleyball , and more . The price is 5 dollars for each lesson . Do you want to join our sports clubs ? Please call Mr. Green . He plays basketball very well . His telephone number is 371-1236 . His e-mail address is spcb@163.com . Or you can call Miss Jones at 371-1237 . She is our tennis coach . She is good with the students . Her e-mail address is jiayi@126.com . Mr. Green plays _ very well . A. tennis B. basketball C. volleyball D. ping-pong Answer: B
After a week-long vacation, U.S. President Barack Obama will focus on proposals to strengthen the still-recovering American economy. The agenda includes the reform of the nation's health care system. The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as some call it, expands federal health care programs for the needy and encourages Americans of all income groups to purchase private health care insurance. "If you do not have insurance, beginning on October 1st, private plans will actually compete for your business. You can comparison--shop in an online marketplace, just like you would for cell phone plans or plane tickets. You may be eligible for new tax credits to help you afford the plan that's right for you. And if you are in the up to half of all Americans who have been sick or have a preexisting condition, this law means that beginning January 1st, insurance companies have to cover you," Obama said. Health-care spending accounts for one-seventh of U.S. economic activity, and is projected to increase to one-fifth in coming years. The cost has a direct bearing on America's economic and financial well--being. Drawn up in 2010, the Affordable Care Act aims to control costs and expand access to health care. The effort is a big failure, according to Republican law makers like Tim Griffin and Todd Young. "Republicans will continue to do everything we can to protect all Americans from the president's top-down, one-size-fits-all, Washington-knows-best approach to health care that is driving up costs and hurting our economy," said Griffin. "The sooner we can delay, oppose and cancel the president's health-care law, the sooner we can get people back to work and focus on expanding opportunity for everyone." The president accuses Republicans of putting partisanship ahead of Americans' health-care needs. "A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they will somehow be sticking it to me. But they would just be sticking it to you. Your health insurance is not something to play politics with. Our economy is not something to play politics with," he said. As a matter of fact,the success or failure of Obamacare could shape the president's legacy long after he leaves office. What does Obama accuse Republicans of according to the passage? If you exhibit positive characteristics such as honesty and helpfulness, the chances are that you will be thought as a good-looking person, for a new study has found that the perception of physical attractiveness is influenced by a person's personality. The study, which was led by Gary W.Lewandowski, has found that people who exhibit negative characteristics, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers.In the study, the participants viewed photographs of opposite-sex individuals and rated them for attractiveness before and after being provided with information about their personalities. After personality information was received, participants also rated the probability of each individual' s becoming a friend and a dating partner.Information on personality was found to significantly change the probability, showing that cognitive processes modify judgments of attractiveness. "Thinking a person as having a desirable personality makes the person more suitable in general as a close relationship partner of any kind," said Lewandowski. The findings show that a positive personality leads to greater expectation of becoming friends, which leads to greater expectation of becoming romantic partners and, finally, to being viewed as more physically attractive.The findings remained consistent regardless of how "attractive" the individual was formerly thought to be or of the participants' current relationship status. "This research provides a positive outcome by reminding people that personality goes a long way toward determining your attractiveness; it can even change people's impressions of how good-looking you are," said Lewandowski. In the study the participants were required to _ . Software Trainer If you are aged 24-25 and have experience in teaching and training, you could be the person we are looking for. You should be good at the computer and have some experience in programme writing. You will be allowed to make your own decisions, and to design courses as well as present them. Pay upwards of PS15,000 for the right person. Please apply by sending your CV to Mrs. R. Oglivie, Palmlace Limited. Wanted, Someone for a Kiss We're looking for producers to join us on the sound of London Kiss 100 FM. You'll work on the station's music programmes. Music production experience in radio in necessary, along with rich knowledge of modern dance music. Please apply in writing to Producer Vacancies, Kiss 100. Father Christmas We're looking for a very special person, preferably over 40, to fill our Father Christmas suit. Working days: Every Saturday from November 24 to December 15 and every day from December 17 to December 24 except Sundays, 10:30-16:00. Excellent pay. Please contact the Enterprise Shopping Centre, Station Parade, Eastbourne. Accountants Assistant When you join the team in our Revenue Administration Unit, you will be providing assistance within all parts of the Revenue Division, dealing with post and other general duties. If you are educated to GCSE grade C level, we would like to talk to you. This position is equally suitable for a school leaver or for somebody who has office experience. Wealden District Council Which position is open to recent school graduates? The ecosystem is 1ike a chain.If any of the links are broken,the whole system is in danger.This is why wetland protection has been put high on the agenda in recent years.Zhao,vice--director of the State Forestry Administration,says nearly 60 percent of the country's natural wetlands are still not under effective protection.Most Chinese people are ignorant about the importance of protecting the wetlands. Ocean,forestry and wetlands are the three global ecological systems.Wetlands can conserve and purify water resources, prevent flooding and help protect the ecosystem. As well as ecological values, they can also offer economical returns. In recent years,many wetlands have become farmland.Drawing too much underground water,hunting and fishing also ruin their ecological system. Every year,the wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China provide habitat for birds.Local residents search the area for the birds' eggs. They consider the eggs to be a natural gift. rather than wildlife that should be protected. If they were educated,perhaps this is one activity that could be brought to an end. China is now ready to make a plan to save some of these areas.Some have been restored to raise awareness among the public.But these moves are not enough.There should be laws in place to provide legal support to the fight. Environment protection is a campaign which needs support from everyone in society.Education may be the first step. How do you understand the phrase "put....high on the agenda"? A 13-year-old Chinese girl, Fan Yi (Nancy), who had her primary education in US, recently published her first fairy tale, Swordbird. The English fairy tale was listed as the bestseller of children's fiction in theprefix = st1 /US, theShanghai Evening Postreported. Fan Yi was greatly interested in observing birds ever since she was a little girl. In Hanmilton,New York, where she lives, she often watches kingfishers and woodpeckers flying over her house from the small woods nearby. And the inspiration for writing the bookSwordbirdactually came from one of her dreams. At that time, she was studying American history in school and happened to read many articles in magazines about the 9*11 terrorist attacks. One day, she had a dream in which some _ and _ were controlled by some black birds and began to fight with each other. When she woke up, she decided to turn her dream into a story and to convey her message for peace to the public. In order to get her book published in China, Fan translated the entire English version into Chinese. "It is a learning process. Since I didn't know many Chinese idioms, I had to get help from my mom and dad from time to time. For another thing, a lot of poems in the original story are written in rhyme. So when I translated them into Chinese, I wanted to make sure that they were in rhyme, too," she said. Fan Yi was born in Beijingin 1993. She stayed inBeijinguntil she finished her first grade of primary school. Then she moved with her parents to theUnited Stateswhen she was seven. Two years later, she started to write her English story. In March, this year, the book was published by Harper Collins Publishers. It was selected as the week's bestseller of children's fiction by the New York Timessoon after it was published. In future, Fan Yi might write more series for her book. It is expected that her Swordbird Prelude might come off the press next year. Fan Yi spent _ years or so writing her book.
Some years went by. Then Father Boone called the family together. "Pack your things," he told them. "We are leaving here. Our farmland isn't good to live on. We can buy rich, cheap land in he southwest." Sixteen-year-old Daniel was happy. "I'm glad we are going," he said. "I feel crowded here. There are too many houses and too many people." Father Boone made ready for the journey. He pushed out the big wagon and tied two horses to it. Mother Boone packed clothes, dishes, pots and pans. She would make food for the family along the way. The family said goodbye to the neighbors and to their old home, and started. Mother, the girls, and the little children rode in the wagon. Father and the boys took turns riding the horses. Sometimes all of the Boones walked so that the horses could rest. Father and the boys had guns to kill birds and small animals for food along the way. The Boones traveled across Pennsylvania. At last the family came to the green Yadkin Valley in North Carolina. There were a few houses there already, but the farmland was much broader than that in Pennsylvania. Father Boone said, "This is good farmland. We will stop here." Why did sometimes all of the Boones walk? Answer: Because they wanted the horses to have a rest. The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi, girl! My name is Rose. I'm 87 years old. Can give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may! "and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age ?"I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel!" "No seriously "I said. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" "she told me. Over the course of the year, Rose because a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went .She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. "We do not stop playing because we are old"; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success/You have to laugh and find humor everyday. Your've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die!" she said. "The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change." Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Song of Rose". She challenged each of us study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. The best title for the passage can be _ . Answer: Growing Older or Growing Up China plans to make new rules to give more controls over the growing number of blogs and webcasts. Nowadays, advanced network technologies, such as blogging and webcasting, are being improved to challenge the government's ability to watch over the Internet. Chinese government is in the middle of making new rules over Internet publishing, and blogs and websites publishing webcasts will fall under these rules. Government officials hope the new rules will ensure a more healthy and active Internet environment and will fully respect and protect Chinese citizens' freedom of speech. Specific details on what kind of rules will be carried out are still unknown to the public. Despite the growing popularity, bloggers and webcasters have been unpopular with publication institutions. In 2006, a series of cases involving bloggers who had dived into other people's privacy and written materials ruining other's fame urged the government to consider whether to require bloggers to use their real names when they _ Webcasting without copyright and illegally "copying" products from copyrighted materials have also led government officials to consider starting a nationwide check of online video broadcasting, and allow only qualified websites to offer webcasts. Chinese government thinks current Internet environment is _ . Answer: less controlled A new Canada Prize for the Arts and Creativity could be in place by 2010,with large cash prizes for emerging artists in dance,music,theatre and visual arts. The prize is the idea of Tony Gagliano and David Pecaut,founders of the Luminato festival,wh0 were probably able to convince the federal government to back it.The federal budget has allocated$.25 million to support the awards open to emerging artists that have the prestige of a Nobel Prize. "When you think about the major prizes of the world--the Nobel Prize.in Sweden,the Kyoto prizes in Japan or the Booker Prize in the U.K.the bring great,honor and opportunity to the countries that award them,'' Pecaut said."The.idea here is that every year,the Canada prizes will be awarded to the very.best promising emerging artists around the world in those four fields." A jury of international experts would judge the 12 finalists,who would come to Canada and perform or show their work in public to win.the Canada prizes.The performances would be televised,allowing Canadians across the country.to see it. The federal government liked the idea of such an international prize that would advance Canada's brand,draw tourists and arts professionals from around the world.For the Canadian arts people.one of the greatest challenges is connecting to that international arts world to come up with CO--productions and foreign investment and touring chances. A group is working toward establishing the prize by 2010,with potential for semi-final rounds to take place:about the same time as the Vancouver Olympic Games."Thirty or forty years from now,the future outstanding dancers and performers will look back and say.'I broke out on the world scene in Toronto--that's where 1 was discovered'" According to David Pecaut , the new Canada Prize will Answer: be divided into four detailed parts One night I was at my friend's house where he threw a party. We were enjoying our dinner at night when all of a sudden we heard a knock on the door. I opened the door and saw this guy who had scar on his face. I asked my friend "who is that guy?", and he told me that it was his friend. I didn't trust that guy because he looked very strange. After we had dinner the strange guy asked my friend to come outside because he wanted to talk to him. A few seconds later I heard a noise from outside and when I ran outside I saw that the strange guy was trying to beat my friend. I ran towards him and asked him to leave our house. He left the house but after half an hour he came back and this time he was dressed up as superhero and he also had a sword. As soon as I saw him I ran inside the house and called the cops. The cops came and the guy ran away as soon as he heard the cop car coming. We never found out what happened to that guy after that day. What did they eat at the friend's house? Answer: dinner
It was 12:45 pm on January 2, 2007. 50-year-old Wesley Autrey was waiting for the train at a subway station in New York. His two daughters, aged four and six, were with him. Suddenly, a sick man fell down on the platform . The man, 20-year-old Cameron Hollopeter, got up, but then fell again--this time, onto the track between the two rails . A train was coming into the station. It was a frightening moment. But Mr Autrey wasn't frightened. He looked at the man and the space that the man was in. It was about half a meter deep. And he thought, "The train is going to travel over this man. If he tries to get up, the train will kill him. But if he lies on the ground and doesn't move, he'll be OK." So he got an idea. He jumped down and kept Mr Hollopeter down on the ground. The train driver saw them. He was terrified, but he couldn't stop in time. The train traveled over the two men before it stopped. The people on the platform were surprised. When Mr Autrey heard them screaming, he shouted, "We're OK down here, but I've got two daughters up there. Let them know their father is OK." In an interview on a TV show, Mr Autrey said, "The only thing that happened to me was my blue hat got dirty." What's the best title for the passage? A. A Sick Man B. Save One's Life C. Mr Autrey and Mr Hollopeter D. The Subway Hero Answer: D When I was a foreign teacher in China,every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China.One day the topic mined to saying "I love you".I was shocked to learn that not one of my students had said this to their mothers,nor had their mothers said it to them."Does your mom love you?" "Of course,"they answered. "How do you know?" was my logical question.They responded that their moms cooked and Always told them what they were doing wrong to show their earning.I was strummed. So mom's cooking and criticizing read our as "I love you"."Then how do you say 'I love you to her?" They agreed that getting good grades, followed by good jobs would be how they showed their love. I come from a culture where most people are expressive enough,so I repeated these queries in clauses over time.Gradually,I began to get different responses.Some of them had exchanged those sentiments with their moms. One of my favorite stories of change came from a girl.When she came home from university,her mother met her at the door and hugged her.This had never happened before,but her mom said,"Now that you have gone I have more time to myself.I noticed that in some places mothers and children hug each other and I decided it was a good idea and that I would begin hugging you." In my family we all say "I love you" a lot.While it is true that we often say the words without having great depth of feelings at that moment,it is almost like a blessing we give each other. Those three little words carry a world of meaning,even when said as a greeting, but most especially if they are the lax words we say to or hear from those we love. What's the main idea of the passage? A. Say "I love you" more to your family. B. Say "I love you" a lot to Chinese people. C. Say "I love you" as a greeting to others. D. Say "I love you" without great depth of feelings. Answer: A Tom and Mike are good friends. They are good with children. They want to find jobs in summer vacation. This Friday Tom tells Mike that Sunson School Trip needs teachers to help with sports, music and computer. Mike is glad to know that. Tom can play basketball, volleyball, and he can swim. Mike can play the violin, the trumpet, the drums and the guitar, and he can swim,too. Tom and Mike like computers very much. Can they join Sunson School Trip? Tom and Mike are good _ . A. teachers B. friends C. children D. musicians Answer: B Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it's cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit? If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant's trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant's side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal's tusk. The fourth, who got hold of the elephant's tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant's legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant's ears, said it was like a huge fan. Each man's idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a "simple fact", it's often because his experience in the matter is different from yours. To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a "simple fact", try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it's hot! The main idea of this passage is_. A. people often judge something according to his own experience B. people often agree about simple facts C. it's hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact D. don't care too much about simple facts Answer: A Andy was still traveling in Spain when he realized he had to confirm his flight home with the airline company . He was visiting Spain in order to improve his Spanish. When he was speaking to people face to face, he had no difficulty understanding what they said. However, when he was speaking on the phone, he still had a problem. Andy called the airline. And the clerk confirmed that his plane was leaving at nine o'clock three days from that day. She also told Andy to be at the airport two hours earlier in order to check in his luggage and get a seat. Since he was leaving in three days, Andy didn't lose any time. He visited as many places as he could. He thought that it would probably be a while before he had enough money again. He wished he could come back and spend a year in Spain. Too quickly, the final day arrived. Andy left early for the airport to arrive two hours before take-off. He hated to rush. He went to the clerk to show his ticket. The clerk looked at the ticket in surprise. "Why, sir, but your flight was at nine o'clock in the morning, and now it is eight in the evening." "But I confirmed my flight," insisted Andy. "Will I have to pay for another ticket?" "No, sir. However, the next flight out will be three days from now." Andy's look of shock turned to pleasure as he realized that now he could continue his vacation. What can we infer from the passage? A. Travelers always have to confirm the time of flight with airline companies by phone call. B. It's more difficult for Andy to understand others in Spanish face to face than on the phone. C. Andy was enjoying himself when visiting places in Spain. D. Andy would spend the next three days at the airport. Answer: C
Shi Fang spends more than 4,000 yuan a month shopping, but she rarely goes to the shopping mall."Why need a shopping mall if you have Taobao? I am a Taobaoer," says Shi, 28, a writer in Beijing. A growing number of Chinese Internet users like Shi have discovered the joys of online shopping.The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) announced in December that more than 87 million Chinese made purchases on the Internet in the first half year, which means one out of four Chinese netizens have online shopping experience. It is estimated that the consumption from online shopping will reach more than 250 billion yuan this year, and 80 percent of this is carried out through Taobao.com, China's fast-growing e-commerce hub set up in 2003. The biggest attraction for Shi Fang is the ly low price for online goods, compared with those in stores in bricks.Her favorite facial cream costs 1,680 yuan for a 30ml bottle in the local shop, but a 10ml sample of the same brand only costs 68 yuan online. The Taobao instant messenger, a communication channel for buyers and sellers, also makes onlrne shopping easier and ensures the overall experience for both parties Shi Fang regards it as a platform to promote trust and keep contact. "You can check the information easily.It is sweet that the owner will remember you once you have regular chat with him or her through the messenger.You may receive some personalized service such as getting more samples or certain discount," said Shi While some may question the security of online purchases, Yang Fei, another Taobaoer, gave a thumb-up for Alipay, the Taobao payment method started by Alibaba Group in 2004 in partnership with leading banks in China.It enabled her to make a lot of purchases online. "It's very safe and convenient.Unless you confirm the arrival and satisfaction about the purchase, the shop owner will not get the money.You can also get the refund if you want to return the purchase," she added. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . the consumption through Taobao.corn may be over 200 billion yuan this year Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree could find a good career quite easily.Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to select graduates.However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs. Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career:recognizing abilities, matching these to available jobs and presenting them well to possible employers. Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities.One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would include special skills within their subject area.Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes.An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought. The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop in the future.To do this, graduates can study job and position information in newspapers, or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession.After studying all the various options, they should be in a position to make informed comparisons between various careers. Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career.Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and correctly, without grammar or spelling errors.Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in more depth, with examples if possible.They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer's needs, explain why they are interested in a career with the particular company and try to show that they already know something about the company and its activities. When graduates go to an interview, they should prepare properly by finding out all they can about the possible employer.Dressing suitably and arriving for the interview on time are also important.Interviewees should try to give positive and helpful answers and should not be afraid to ask questions about anything they are unsure about.This is much better than pretending to understand a question and giving an unsuitable answer. It is implied in Paragraph 3 that graduates should _ . consider careers which suit their values, interests and abilities Tired of telling students to ask questions and to think about what they were doing, Damien Hynes, a high school geography teacher in Australia, decided to do an experiment to test what he had long been thinking.He wrote some well-organized nonsense (something untrue) on the blackboard.The students simply copied it but very few asked any questions.This shows that students are willing to believe anything given by teachers.The story is repeated in support of the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL). PEEL was carried out by some teachers and researchers in Melbourne who had concluded that normal teaching methods seldom achieve their intended goals; what the teachers think they are teaching is one thing and what the students actually learn is something else.Students' lack of an over-all view of learning goals and their concentration on test scores make them see each lesson as a separate activity. Researchers realized that many students do not come into class empty-headed but have their own explanations of how the world works.Their own ideas can remain important to them even when they differ from scientific explanations that are learned later.In fact such ideas are hardly affected by traditional teaching.Students accept the teacher's scientific explanation, but do not drop their own.They simply keep both and use them practically: in a class test, they copy the teacher's idea, but in real life they use their own. Clearly what was needed was to make students understand their learning process , and this is what the PEEL teachers set out to deal with.On the surface, a class being taught by PEEL methods only differs from an ordinary class in being a little noisier, because more people are talking.But there are some meaningful changes.Students are given much more time to express their views, and teachers don't make immediate judgment.The students are allowed to guide what is done in class and their own ideas are always respected.This draws their attention to the actual learning process, and they become responsible for their own progress. What is Damien Hynes? He is a teacher who teaches geography in a high school in Australia Which of these is most likely the cause of a father and son having almost identical-sounding voices? inherited characteristics The primary function of insulin in our bodies is to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood.
Question: The candidate longing for election to the highest office in the United States must be native-born American citizen who is at least 35 years old and who has lived in the United States for at least 14 years. The election course is complicated, and the road to the Oval Office is long. Potential candidates must present papers stating their intention to seek their party's recommendation; delegates then choose from among those running some months later at the national conferences. Before that, however, each state holds a primary election that determines how the state's voters want the party's delegates to vote. Methods of choosing the delegates vary from state to state. At the conferences, there are speeches and often heated discussions. It may take several rounds of voting before delegates can agree on a candidate. On the final day of the meeting, the presidential candidate announces his or her choice for vice president. Election Day, by law, is the Tuesday that follows the first Monday in November. On this day, registered voters may cast their votes for president, vice president, and candidates for other federal , state, and local offices. The popular vote, however, does not determine who will be president. The president is chosen by a vote of the Electoral College, a group of 538 citizens from the 50 states and the District of Columbia who are chosen to cast votes for the president and vice president. The rules for choosing electors, as with the delegates, vary. Each state also decides whether its electoral votes must reflect the popular vote. The number of electors in each state is determined by the number of representatives and senators that a state sends to Congress and, therefore, may change every 10 years, depending on the results of the United States census . The winner must get at least 270 of the electoral votes when the Electoral College meets in December of the election year. The election results are not official, however, until the following January, when Congress meets in a joint conference to count the electoral votes. At the end of the road to the Oval Office is the swearing-in ceremony, at which the new or reelected president takes the oath of office on January 20. We can conclude from the passage that _ . A. the candidate who wins the popular vote will be the winner of the election B. the electors don't have the right to vote against their registered voters' will C. the presidents of the United States are theoretically picked by the citizens directly D. the change of a state's population barely has effect on the presidential election Answer: C Question: Spring is coming, spring is coming, Birdies, build your nest; Weave together straw and feather, Doing each your best. Spring is coming, spring is coming, Flowers are coming too: Pansies, lilies, daffodillies Now are coming through. Spring is coming, spring is coming, All around is _ , Shimmer and quiver on the river, Joy is everywhere. ----William Blake The poet felt _ when he was writing the poem. A. surprised B. lonely C. happy D. sad Answer: C Question: Item 78431 The Video Camera Pen $129. 95 ;Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484 This is the pen that has a built-in video camera, capturing(,)videos or still images with a click of its button. Ideal for use while secured in a pocket, it can capture up to five hours of video. Its battery provides up to two hours of power before requiring a recharge. Item 78098 The Wristwatch Camcorder $149. 95; Available for 3-day Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484 This is the men's watch with an unnoticeable camera located at the two-o'clock position, yet the watch's hands never make it covered. So you'll be always ready to capture a famous person or a pet's ridiculous actions. The camera's rechargeable battery provides up to two hours of use from a four-hour charge. Item 77918 The only 55 Inch Widescreen Personal Movie Theater $ 249. 95 ;Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone:l-800-321-1484 This is the only personal media viewer that provides a private viewing experience just like watching a widescreen 55 inch television from 10 meters away. It connects to a video iPod, iPhone, portable DVD player with two AA batteries providing up to six hours of continuous operation. Item 77281 The Digital Phone Album Watch $ 99. 95 ;Available for Immediate Shipment; Order by Phone :1-800-321-1484 This is the watch that vividly displays 120 of your favorite digital photographs. You can download digital photographs to the watch. The watch can be viewed in the Photo Album mode or digital mode( time and date view). A six-hour charge provides up to 10 days of use. What do Item 7.8431 and Item 78098 have in common according to this passage? A. They both sell well. B. They both can take photos. C. They both have unusual appearances. D. They are both cheap. Answer: B Question: Edinburgh Mela Time: 25th - 31st August 2008 Tel / Fax: 0131 557 1400 E-mail: info@edinburgh-mela.co.uk Website: www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk Each year Edinburgh Mela is Scotland's biggest multicultural arts festival that celebrates in Scotland. Although Edinburgh Mela's roots are in South Asian cultures, this is a festival for everybody. Music, colour, dance, art, fashion, food, children's activities, the Mela bazaar and much more! Edinburgh International Book Festival Time: 9th - 25th August 2008 Tel: 0131 718 5666 Fax: 0131 226 5335 E-mail: admin@edbookfest.co.uk Website: www.edbookfest.co.uk Edinburgh International Book Festival is the world's biggest book festival. We present different programs for both adults and children including discussions, lectures, debates and workshops, all in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful spaces, Charlotte Square Gardens. Edinburgh International Festival Time: 8th - 31st August 2008 Tel: + 44 (0) 131 473 2000 Fax: +44 (0) 131 473 2002 E-mail: eif@eif.co.uk Website: www.eif@eif.co.uk Each year the Edinburgh International Festival stages one of the greatest celebrations of the arts, attracting audiences from around the world to the city's exciting atmosphere. The festivities offer a special opportunity to experience the excitement of live performance by internationally well-known artists as well as the joy of discovering new and unfamiliar works. Edinburgh International Science Festival Time: 25th March-5th April 2008 Tel: 0131 558 7666 Fax: 0131 557 9177 E-mail: esf@scifest.demon.co.uk Website: www.sciencefestival.co.uk The UK's largest Science Festival is back with one of the most exciting line-ups in the Festival's 16-year history. The Science Festival is an unbelievable place for everyone, with events at all levels, all ages and all purses. On offer are 10 days of non-stop shows workshops, presentations, hands-on activities, exhibitions and tours designed to amuse and entertain. Call our ticket hotline on 0131 557 5588. What do we know about Edinburgh Mela? A. It is deeply rooted in Edinburgh. B. It is a place to buy and sell things. C. It shows kinds of cultures in Scotland. D. It offers a chance for you to buy books. Answer: C Question: The moon looks bigger than the stars at night. But in fact, it is smaller than any of them. The moon looks big to us, because it is closer to us than any star. The moon goes around the earth. It makes one trip about four weeks. The moon is a round ball and looks beautiful. Don't you think so? Now people know quite a lot about the moon. There is no air or water on the moon so there are not any trees or animals, or people on the moon. The moon gets its light from the sun, but some places on the moon are quite dark. Then days on the moon get hotter than boiling water. The nights get colder than the North Pole on the earth. The sun _ to the moon. A. gets light B. gives light C. gives air D. gets air Answer: B
Question: In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches. In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates for the doctor's degree. Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines. One type of test is sometimes called an "objective" test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly. Modem industry must have developed _ . A. around the 19th century B. before the Middle Ages C. in Greece or Rome D. machines to take tests Answer: A. around the 19th century Question: Mr. And Mrs. Bell are very forgetful . For example , Mr. Bell sometimes goes to his office for work on Sunday morning, for he thinks it is Monday. And Mrs. Bell sometimes forget to cook supper for the family. One summer they planned to fly to New York for their holidays. They got to the airport only ten minutes before the plane took off. So time was short. But suddenly Mrs. Bell said she must tell Alice, their daughter, not to forget to lock the front door when she went to school. As Alice was then at school, they couldn't tell her about it by telephone. So they hurried to the post office. Mrs. Bell wrote a short note to Alice while Mr. Bell bought a stamp and an envelope . Soon the note was ready. They put the stamp on the envelope in a hurry and dropped it in the letter box, but suddenly Mrs. Bell began to cry. The short note was still in her hand. She had put the plane ticket in the envelope. When Mr. and Mrs. Bell got to the airport. _ A. the plane had taken off B. there was no ticket left C. they heard form their daughter D. the plane would take off in ten minutes Answer: D. the plane would take off in ten minutes Question: There is an apple tree, it loves a little boy, the boy also loves to come and play around it. One day, he needs a toy, but he has no money, so the tree asks him to sell all the apples. At last, the boy gets the toy happily. Then the boy grows up ,he becomes a man. But he doesn't go to see the tree for a long time. The tree is very sad. One summer day, the man returns and the tree is very happy "Come and play with me!" the tree says. "No, I have to work, because I must buy a big house. Can you help me?" the man asks." Sorry, I have no house, but you can cut all the brunches on me, you can _ the house with them ." the tree answers. So the man gets the house. After many years, the man becomes older, and he comes back again. "I only have the dying roots ,but you can have a remember to love your parents at any time! Which is NOT TRUE according to the passage? A. The apple tree is like his parent. B. The apple tree loves the boy. C. The apple tree is happy to see the man. D. The apple tree is unhappy to help the man. Answer: D. The apple tree is unhappy to help the man. Question: Researchers who study relationships have discovered that a big difference between those who make new friends easily, and those who don't, is that socially successful people tend to make eye contact with their conversation partners much more frequently than those who are less successful socially. In fact, you may be able to become much more socially successful by making this one simple change to your behavior. Most Americans prefer to have a lot of eye contact when they are talking with someone. When a person doesn't make eye contact with them, they tend to think that the person is hiding something or the person doesn't believe in himself/herself. When you are having a conversation and you want to leave a friendly impression, be sure to keep looking at that person frequently while you are talking. If it really bothers you to look directly into another person's eyes, you can gaze generally at, not above, the eyebrow area or the bridge of the nose; this is close enough to the eye region that you will appear to be looking at the person's eyes. But neither the hair or the shoulders have the same effect. Don't stare at other people too intensely, otherwise, you will look aggressive . Keep the majority of your focus on the other person. If you glance around the room too much, or look too frequently at other people, your conversation partner may guess that you are looking around for someone else you would rather talk with. You can lighten your nervousness by smiling more often, nodding, and by gazing at the entire face as well as the eyes. In addition, you can frequently look away for very short periods. When people get the sense that you are really paying attention to them, they will be much more likely to want to have conversations with you! Besides the eyes of the partner, during the talk, you can look at his/her _ . A. hair B. shoulders C. the bridge of the nose D. area above the eyebrows Answer: C. the bridge of the nose Question: It is good to keep animals in zoos. Zoos are places for people to see many different kinds of animals from all over the world. Without zoos, most people would never see a real tiger or bear. Secondly, zoos look after the animals very well. The animals are always given food and cleaned on time. In the wild, it is not always possible for an animal to find food, so sometimes it goes hungry. Thirdly, Zoos protect the animals. They give them safe place to live in. In the wild, some kinds of animals are in danger. If there is no zoos, there would be fewer kinds of animals in the world. However, some people think it is unnatural and unfair to keep wild animals in cages. Some cages are too small for many animals such as bears and tigers. They always look not happy in cages. Wild animals should look for their own food. Anyone would not feel happy if he isn't allowed to go outside his home and animals don't like it either. In the zoos, _ A. All animals are very happy. B. Animals don't eat enough food. C. Animals always died because they get ill more easily. D. Some cages are too small for many animals in the zoo. Answer: D. Some cages are too small for many animals in the zoo.
Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age.We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text.Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line.But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones.They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones. Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships. Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information.left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other. Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions. Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. "You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature," Kelly said. "Reach for your e-reader, if you like. Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you'll never lose your place." According to the passage, slow reading _ . To Whom It May Concern: My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work. My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business. After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends , "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for." But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job.I have received several _ and pay increases , and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing , but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy. We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end. I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior, but I also love my job.I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how .Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career? Please help. "Distressed" As her income increased, _ . Amy was looking for a gift for her little daughter.Suddenly she stopped before a store of dolls."Girls like dolls,"she thought as she stepped into it.Looking around,she saw a grandma doll...one with gray hair and a pair of glasses.In her mind appeared Joyce,her mother. When Amy was a little girl,she got her first doll from Joyce for her birthday.Then the second,the third...A doll a year never arrived late. " Why always a doll? " This question had been in Amy's mind until one day her father gave the answer. Little Joyce dreamed to have a doll.Her parents promised one for her fifth birthday.Sadly ,they both died in a traffic accident before it arrived.The never-received gift was the most precious in her eyes. Her mother's story being recalled,Amy got an idea. It was Joyce's birthday.A package was sent to her with a card that read: Dear Joyce , I forget to send you the package that you should have received on May 20,1 956,your fifth Birthday.The gift inside has aged ,but I thought that you might still wish to have it. Love ,Angel of Joy Joyce opened the package and saw a lovely grandma doll.She clasped the doll that she had waited so many years for ,crying softly.The doll given by "Angel of Joy",made her the happiest "child" in the world. Why did Joyce think dolls were the best birthday gifts for Amy? The Spring Festival is the biggest festival for Chinese people all around the world.. The celebration usually lasts for 15 days. There is a lot to do. On the eve of the Spring Festival, family members get together and have big meals. Their favourite dish on this day is dumplings. Days before the Spring Festival, families will clean their homes. People think cleaning sweeps away bad luck. It makes the house ready for good luck. The colour red is everywhere during the Spring Festival. People think red is a happy colour and will bring them a bright future. People wear red, too. They decorate their homes with pieces of red paper. Kids get a lot of "hong bao". It is a red paper bag with money in it. Usually, older people give younger ones hong bao. They think it brings good luck. The Spring Festival is the time to make everybody happy. So don't say any bad words or do anything that will bring unhappiness to other people. For instance, you'd better not say any bad words like "death". Don't break anything. People think that it means your luck is _ Also, don't borrow or lend money on these days. If you have borrowed money, return it before the Spring Festival. ,: Which of the following things is not supposed to happen during the Spring Festival? Air pollution is one of the hottest topics at present because poor air quality is an important factor in both the incidence and cause of respiratory diseases. Zhong Nanshan, a deputy to the NPC and a member of the CAE, said recently when the concentration of PM2.5 rises by 10 micrograms per cubic meter, hospitalization may rise by as much as 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, when the concentration of PM2.5 rises from 25 mgs per cubic meter to 200, the average daily death rate may rise to 11 percent. Zhi Xiuyi, a leading expert in lung cancer treatment and also vice-president of the CATS, said medical authorities used to focus on tobacco control as a primary means of preventing lung cancer. "But in fact, air pollution is no less harmful than smoking and our research team released a report earlier this year showing that the cancer rate in Beijing is closely related to industrialization," he said. The report, conducted by the Beijing Institute of Cancer Research, shows that the number of cancer patients in China has increased markedly during the past ten years. Chaoyang District, the city's main area of industrialization, has the highest incidence of cancer, almost double that of Yanqing, an area on the outskirts of the city. About four out of 1000 Chaoyang residents have some form of the disease, with lung cancer at the top of the list. "The risk of having cancer largely depends on the length of exposure and the concentration of noxious gases ," said Zhi. In response to the doubt whether seven years' exposure to poor air quality will almost result in cancer, Zhi said the time scale was taken from research overseas that suggested the rate of incidence generally peaked in the seventh year of exposure to a heavily polluted environment. If there were 3,000,000 people in Chaoyang District, how many would have respiratory diseases?
Joe lives in a big city with his mother and father. His father is called Tony, and his mother's name is Clarissa. He likes to go to all the stores and look at the things inside. Sometimes if Joe sees something he likes, his parents buy it for him. Last week, they were in a store and Joe saw a ball that he wanted. Joe's father bought it for him, and Joe was very happy. Joe's grandmother doesn't live in the city. She lives on a farm. Her name is Hazel. Sometimes Joe's parents take him to visit his grandmother. There are not many stores around where she lives. But Joe is always excited to see her, because there are many things there that are not found in cities. The first time he saw a cow, Joe was scared, because he had never seen a cow in the city. There are always a lot of animals near Joe's grandmother's house. Sometimes there are chickens and pigs and ducks. Joe's favorite animal is Max. Max is Hazel's dog. He is a friendly dog. He doesn't bark at the other animals. Sometimes Joe and Max play with a ball. Max likes to play with Joe. Sometimes Max doesn't like strangers, but Max has seen Joe a few times, so now they are friends. Hazel is a very good cook. She always makes Joe's favorite breakfast: eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Sometimes Joe's mother makes the same meals for him, but Hazel's food is always better. Joe is sometimes sad when he leaves Hazel's house. But he knows that he is going to return, so he is not sad for long. What is the name of Joe's grandmother's dog? Max An old problem is getting new attention in the United States--bullying.Recent cases included the tragic case of a fifteen-year-old girl whose family moved from Ireland.She hanged herself in Massachusetts in January following months of bullying.Her parents criticized her school for failing to protect her.Officials have brought criminal charges against several teenagers. Judy Kaczynski is president of an anti-bullying group called Bully Police USA.Her daughter Tina was the victim of severe bullying starting in middle school in the state of Minnesota.She said, "Our daughter was a very outgoing child.She was a bubbly personality, very involved in all kinds of things, had lots of friends.And over a period of time her grades fell completely.She started having health issues.She couldn't sleep.She wasn't eating.She had terrible stomach pains.She started clenching her jaw and grinding her teeth at night.She didn't want to go to school." Bullying is defined as negative behavior repeated over time against the same person. It can involve physical violence.Or it can be verbal -- for example, insults or threats.Spreading lies about someone or excluding a person from a group is known as social or relational bullying. And now there is cyberbullying, which uses the Internet, e-mail or text messages.It has easy appeal for the bully because it does not involve face-to-face contact and it can be done at any time. The first serious research studies into bullying were done in Norway in the late 1970s.The latest government study in the United States was released last year.It found that about one-third of students age twelve to eighteen were bullied at school. Susan Sweater is a psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and co-director of the Bullying Research Network.She says schools should treat bullying as a mental health problem to get bullies and victims the help they need.She says bullying is connected to depression, anxiety and anti-social behavior, and bullies are often victims themselves. Why is cyberbullying appealing to the bully? Because it is more convenient. How do scientists know that some mountains were once at the bottom of an ocean? Marine fossils have been found on the peaks of some mountains. We use an average of 158 liters of water a day in Britain, for which we pay a bargain price of 28p a liter, but much of this is just cash down the drain, according to water companies. Most are campaigning to cut the amount we use. And the frontline weapon in their campaign is the water meter . They want us all to have one and one company is seeking powers to make this compulsory. The Government is anxious for us to use less water, too. Elliot Morley, the Environment Minister, says he is impressed by the savings when a meter is installed. In most homes, consumption drops by 20 percent. He also thinks consumers get a good deal from meters. He said, "Most people would find that they would either be exactly the same or better off with water meters and it is a fairer way of paying for water." At present, only 25% of households have meters and most of those are in East Anglia. They are installed by water companies, and households then have about PS43 added to each bill to cover the cost of installing and reading the meter. Barrie Clarke, a spokesman for Water UK, said, "We want everyone to be more water wise--to think about the amount of water they use. But with our climate change and different weather patterns, over time it will make economic and environmental sense to think how we use water. This may mean meters." Mr. Clarke believes the easiest way to save water is to use less in the garden. In one hour, a sprinkler uses the same amount of water as the average family of four uses in a day--about 632 liters. He said that gardeners should water in the evening so that it dose not _ in the heat of the day and that every household should have a water butt to collect rainwater for use in the garden. How many liters of water does an average family of four use in a day after installing a meter in Britain? about 506 liters Historians say Harriet Tubman was born in the year 1820.Nobody really knows. But we do know that Harriet Tubman was one of the bravest women ever born in the United States. From a very early age,Harriet knew how slaves suffered. At six years old,she was sent to the fields. Working outside not only made her body strong but also made her learn about the Underground Railroad,on which she helped hundreds of people escape from slavery later. She also learned many things from the other slaves,which one day would help her lead her people to freedom. She became more of a rebel . In 1844,at about age 24,she married a free black man named John Tubman. By now,Harriet was sure she wanted to try to escape. Suddenly,the time came. Her owner died. Though opposed by her husband,she decided to escape. With the help of the Underground Railroad,and through a variety of suffering she finally crossed the border into Pennsylvania,where slavery was banned. Now that Harriet was free,she did not forget the hundreds of other slaves back in Maryland. Harriet traveled back and forth eighteen times,helping about 300 slaves escape into free territory. She became an expert at hiding from slave hunters. The people she helped called her Moses. At one time,anyone finding Harriet was promised $40,000 for catching her-dead or alive. During the Civil War,Harriet Tubman went into enemy territory to spy for the North. She also served as a nurse. After four years of bloody fighting,the North won the war. After the fighting ended,Harriet Tubman returned to Auburn,New York. She kept working. She traveled and gave speeches to raise money for better education for black children. She also worked for women's rights and housing. Harriet Tubman died in 1913.She was about 93 years old. By that time,she was recognized as an American hero. The United States government gave a funeral with military honors for the woman known as Moses. The sentence "Later,she told a friend,'I felt like I was in heaven.'" can be placed at the back of Paragragh _ . 3
It was a weeknight. We were a half dozen guys in our late teens, hanging around "the flat" -- as usual. The flat was poorly furnished, which, after some time, grew tiresome. We wanted action. We got in a car, big enough for all of us to crowd into -- and off we went, in search of adventure. We soon found ourselves at Blue Gum Corner, a place named after the huge old blue gum tree that stood by there, a well-known local landmark. It stands at a minor crossroad leading to our town. The trunk is tall and smooth with no handholds for climbing. About six metres from the ground the first branch sticks out over the road. We parked beneath the huge old tree and discussed what we might do. All of a sudden we hit upon an idea -- a hanging! I was chosen as "hangee". The plan was quite simple. As I stood upon the roof of the car, the rope was threaded down my jacket through my collar and down one leg of my jeans. I put my foot through the loop at the bottom. There I hung, still. The boys rolled about laughing until, a car, I hear a car! Before they ran to hide in the nearby field, they gave me a good push so that "the body" would swing as the car drove by. To our disappointment, the car simply turned off for town without even slowing. The boys came out of their hiding places and we discussed the situation. Surely they had seen me, hadn't they? Then we heard another car. The act was repeated, but still without any obvious reaction. We played the game about five or six times, but as no one seemed to notice, we abandoned the trick. What we did not know was that every car that had passed had unquestionably seen "the body" and each one, too scared to stop, had driven directly to the local Police Station. Now at that time of the night, the local policeman was sound asleep in his bed, so the first person sent to the scene was the traffic officer that happened to be on duty that particular night. He had been informed that some person had been killed, by hanging, at Blue Gum Corner. When he arrived, the body was gone! And he was hearing "unnatural sounds" from the surrounding area. As far as he knew, some fierce animal was hiding in the field before him, possibly dragging a body behind him -- and we thought we were scared! He went to his radio and made a call that really began to worry us. I lay so close that I could hear every word. He called for the "armed police" and a "dog team, better make it two" and he had a "serious situation" at Blue Gum Corner. Then the police officer arrived. After a briefing from the traffic officer he decided not to go into the field until armed police and dog teams arrived. Now two spotlights were on the field and none of us could move. As luck would have it, police cars cannot leave their spotlights on all night without charging their batteries. So, after a time, the two officers began lightening the field by turns, allowing us the opportunity to move on our fours for freedom. One by one, we all managed to steal away and make our way home. Behind us we left what must have looked like a small city of lights, police cars, roadblocks, barking dogs, armed officers and an old rope hanging from a tree. When I think back to that night, to that tree, to what the drivers of the cars think happened, to what police believe happened, and to what I know happened, I am reminded of a simple truth -- our eyes see darkness and light, color and movement, our ears hear only vibrations in the air. It is how we explain these vivid pictures that shapes our "reality". The boys made the "hanging" plan in order to _ . A make a fool of the police B draw public attention C seek fun and excitement D practise acting skills Answer: C. seek fun and excitement Attention to detail is something everyone can and should do-especially in tight job market. Bob Crossley,a human-resources expert notices this in the job applications that come across his desk every day."It's amazing how many candidates eliminate themselves,"he says."Resumes arrive with faults.Some candidates don't bother to spell the company's name correctly.Once I see a mistake,I refuse the candidates,"Crossley concludes,"If they cannot take care of these details,why should we trust them with a job?" Can we pay too much attention to details?Absolutely not. Perfectionists struggle over little things instead of something larger they work toward."To keep from losing the forest for the trees,"says Charles Garfield,the professor at the University of California,San Francisco,"We must constantly ask ourselves how the details we're working will influence the larger picture.If they don't,we should drop them and move to something else." Garfield compares this process to his work as a computer scientist at NASA."The Apollo II moon launch was slightly off-course 90percent of the time,"says Garfield."But a successful landing was still likely because we knew the exact position of our goal.This allowed us to make adjustments as necessary."Knowing where to go helps us judge the importance of every task we undertake. Again and again,we see that by doing little things within our grasp well,large rewards follow. According to the passage,some job applicants were refused because they are . A too limitedly educated to write a perfect resume B so careless that they make some spelling mistakes in their resume C so careless that they forget the company's name D too foolish to spell the company's name correctly Answer: B. so careless that they make some spelling mistakes in their resume When I lived in Spain,some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car,before they left,they asked me about how to find accommodation .I suggested that they should stay at "bed and breakfast" houses,because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family.My friends listened to my advice,but they came back with some funny stories. "We didn't stay at bed and breakfast houses,"they said."Because we found that most families were away on holiday." I thought this was strange.Finally I understood what had happened My friends spoke little English,and they thought "VACANCIES" meant "holidays" because Spanish word for "holiday" is "vacaciones".So they did not go to houses where the sign outside said "VACANCIES",which in English meant there are free rooms.Then my friends went to houses where the sign said "NO VACANCIES",because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday.But they found that these houses were all full.As a result,they stayed at hotels! We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs.In Spanish,a word very similar to "DIVERSION" means fun.In English it means that workman is repairing the road,and that you must take a different road when my friends saw the word "DIVERSION" on a road sign,they thought they were going to have fun.Instead, the road ended in a large hole. English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages.Once in Paris,when someone offered me some more coffee,I said "Thank you" in French.I meant that I would like some more.However,to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that "Thank you" in French means "No,thank you". I was surprised when the coffee pot was taken away because I _ . A hadn't finished drinking my coffee B was expecting another cup of coffee C meant that I didn't want any more D was never misunderstood Answer: B. was expecting another cup of coffee It was my first day of high school, and I was late. My next class, Spanish, scared me. I just could not speak that language. As the bell rang, I ran to the classroom. At the door, a hand reached out and shook mine firmly. I looked up. A man with large glasses smiled. He introduced himself as Profe, which means teacher in Spanish. Right away, his warm smile and welcoming words eased my fears. That year, 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 Profe stood outside his classroom before and after class to give his "hand hug". After school his room was always filled with students and he would talk to and chat with them--even those not in his class. He taught me that every person is worth your time. One time, I was rejected by my friends, Profe told me, "Linda, life gives you ashes. But learning its lessons will turn those ashes to jewels." Therefore, I learned to look at my troubles differently and not to fear any difficulty. In my senior year, I became president of one of the school's clubs, so I was very busy. Many times I didn't even have time to buy lunch. He served me by giving me his food as well as advice. He lived out what he taught us to do: serve others. The author William Arther Ward wrote: "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." Thank you , Profe, for inspiring me. How did Profe treat his class and his students? A He was very stict with his students. B He only talked with those students in his class. C He lived out what he taught in class. D He never inspired his students. Answer: C. He lived out what he taught in class. Face book, the world's biggest social networking site, is celebrating its sixth birthday. The site's founder, Mark Zuckergerg, states that Face book will continue to work as hard as it has worked in the last six years in order to stay the web's number one communication site. The company started in a dorm room in 2004. Today it has 150 million active users, more than the 130 million of its competitor MySpace. Face book set itself apart from other social networking sites because you can communicate with people you really know and trust. Before, most people didn't want to share their real identities online. Face book has given people a safe and trusted environment for people to interact online. It has changed the way people view the world. A friend from any country is only a few clicks away. It was back in February 2004 when Zuckerberg started "the Face book" from a Harvard student's room. The aim was to help students get in touch with each other over the Internet. Within 24 hours over a thousand students had signed up and soon after that the network spread out to other universities. By 2005 a research study showed that about 85% of the students in the network had a Face book account. Another survey showed that Face book was almost as important as an iPod. At the end of 2005 Face book came to the UK. And up to today the site has been translated into 35 languages. Six years after its start, Face book has escaped the universities and colleges. More than half of its users are not at college any more and the fastest growing group are the 30 to 40-year-olds. Every day 15 million users update their profiles to tell their friends and the world what's happening to them. They also share photos, upload videos, chat, make friends, join groups and simply have fun. Which of the following is NOT true about Face book? A It's the world's biggest social networking site. B The site of Face book has been translated into 35 languages. C The number of its active users is 20 million more than My Space today. D Face book is considered more important than iPod to the students of the UK. Answer: D. Face book is considered more important than iPod to the students of the UK.
We arranged that Kissinger would fly to Vietnam early in July and then stop in Pakistan on the way back. There he would develop a stomachache that would require him to stay in bed and not be seen by the press. Then, with President Yapha's help, he would be taken to the airport where a Pakistani jet would fly him over the mountains to China. Kissinger's trip was given the name Polo after Marco Polo, another Western traveler who made history by journey in China. Everything went quite smoothly. His slight illness in Islamabad received only small attention from reporters covering him. They accepted the story that he would be kept shut up for at least a few days and began making arrangements for their own activities. Because of the need for complete secrecy and the lack of any direct communication facilities between Beijing and Washington, I knew that we would have no word from Kissinger while he was in China. Even after he had returned to Pakistan, it would still be important to keep it secret, so before Kissinger left, we agreed on a single code word - Eureka - which he would use if his missions were successful and the presidential trip had been arranged. On July 11, Al Haig, who knew our code work, phoned to say that a cable from Kissinger had arrived. "What's the message?" I asked. "Eureka". he replied. Kissinger stopped in Pakistan because _ . Answer: Blogs are being used more and more by teachers. Many Internet services now offer free and easy ways to create personal Web pages. Through comments on blogs, or Web logs, teachers can share their classroom experiences. They can exchange ideas and discuss successes and failures. They can debate educational policies. Or they can just sympathize with each other. A teacher in the American state of North Carolina recently wrote on her blog: "Apparently the teachers at my school use too much paper. So my principal yelled at everyone at the last staff meeting for, like, ten minutes. Now, I've just been told, we are not getting anymore paper for the rest of the year." This unidentified blogger is now in her third year of teaching, but still calls her sitefirstyearteacher.blogspot.com. A blogger who calls himself Minister Lawrence works as a substitute teacher. In April he wrote about a disputed plan to split the Omaha, Nebraska, public schools into separate systems for black, Latino and white students. Supporters say minority parents do not have enough power over their children's education. But Minister Lawrence wrote at teachersparadise.blogspot.com: "I'm afraid that what this says' to a lot of people is that blacks, whites and Hispanics are not equal, and "reinforces" racist beliefs among people." Educators did not become involved with blogging right away. Many were concerned with privacy issues and security. But now, thousands of teacher blogs can be found on the Internet. Many teachers do not identify themselves, and they change the names of students and co-workers. Why some teachers do not identify themselves? Because _ Answer: Opened in 1971, the Magic Kingdom was the first theme park at Walt Disney World. All Disney World theme parks are open 365 days a year, although opening and closing times for each park are different from day to day. If you are traveling without kids, try to visit it on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit it during a school vacation, try at least to avoid the week between Christmas and New Year's Day and the Fourth of July. If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel, avoid visiting the Magic Kingdom on its Extra Magic Hours days. The hotel guests get into the park early on those days, increasing the waiting time for visitors who arrive at the normal opening time. Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World's website. There will be some advice on picking the right ticket. See the guide to Disney World tickets. You will also need to call in advance to make lunch or dinner reservations . Disney accepts reservations, through 1-407-WDW-DINE, up to 180 days in advance. Time does pass quickly, so you should call six months before your trip to get a lunch reservation in the castle. We suggest you should have your lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table for your tour. If you can't get the reservation, ask for the Liberty Tree Tavern instead. Keep in mind that to reach the Magic Kingdom, you must park at Disney World's Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) parking lot, take a tram , and then take a boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom. We learn from the passage that _ . Answer: Pat had been under the care of a cardiologist for three years prior to submitting to an elective operation that was performed by Surgeon. Two days thereafter, Pat suffered a stroke, resulting in a coma, caused by a blood clot that lodged in her brain. When it appeared that she had entered a permanent vegetative state, with no hope of recovery, the artificial life-support system that had been provided was withdrawn, and she died a few hours later. The withdrawal of artificial life support had been requested by her family, and duly approved by a court. Surgeon was not involved in that decision, or in its execution. The administrator of Pat's estate thereafter filed a wrongful death action against Surgeon, claiming that Surgeon was negligent in having failed to consult a cardiologist prior to the operation. At the trial the plaintiff offered evidence that accepted medical practice would require examination of the patient by a cardiologist prior to the type of operation that Surgeon performed. In this action, the plaintiff should Answer: I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft lip, and when I started to go to school, my classmates were constantly laughing at me. I couldn't even blow up a balloon. When my classmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them that I'd fallen as a baby and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. Then I entered the second grade, and Mrs. Leonard's class. She was round and pretty. Everyone loves her. But no one came to love her more than I did. And for a special reason. The time came for the yearly "hearing tests". I was nearly unable to hear anything out of one ear. So I cheated. I had learned to watch other children and raised my hand when they did during group testing. The "whisper test" required a different trick: each child would go to the door of the classroom, turn sideways and cover one ear with a finger. And the teacher would say something very quietly from her desk, which the child would repeat. Then the same thing was done for the other ear. Nobody checked to see how tightly the untested ear was being covered, so I pretended to cover mine. My turn came. I turned my bad ear to her, covering the other ear with my finger, and then gently backed my finger out enough to be able to hear. I waited, and then heard the words that God had surely put into her mouth; seven words that changed my life forever. Mrs. Leonard, the pretty teacher I loved, said softly, "I wish you were my little girl." When hearing Mrs. Leonard words, the author felt _ . Answer:
How do you remember the way to your house? Where do dreams come from? It is your brain that does these things. A British scientist showed that "sleep can improve one's memory." It's not a dream for students to study when they sleep. In fact, your brain is working day and night. If you learn words before bed, a certain part of the brain may help you to remember the words while you sleep. What's more, another scientist in the USA found that there was a "talent button " in the human brain. It might make a person more talented. There are more interesting things about the brain. Your brain uses less energy than a fridge light. Just two bananas can give the brain enough energy to work for a whole day. According to some scientists, yawning keeps our brains "cool", which makes us think quicker. Here are some pieces of advice to keep a good brain: Eat healthy food. Get a lot of playtime or exercise. Don't drink or smoke. Use your brain a lot. A British scientist found out that _ could improve our memories. Answer: Some types of trees are able to survive the heat of a forest fire. Which of the following characteristics would best help a tree survive a fire? Answer: The Student symphonic orchestra of Fairfax,Virginia recently celebrated its first anniversary.A young man named Matthew Martz(Matt) started the group in his last year of high school with twelve friends from the school orchestra.Michelle Bui was one of them. She said."Matt is one of my very good friends,so I did it as a friend,but also because I love playing the violin." Michelle,who is now in college.says she likes the idea that the students run the orchestra themselves. Orchestra member Lizzie Culbertson plays the French horn.She said,"It has a versatile sound,first of all.I can do so just strings . We don't have a complete orchestra or anything." Thirteen-year-old oboe player Kanika Sahi is the youngest member. He said, "They just show me how to be better. I am learning different techniques of playing." Matt Martz leads the orchestra as the conductor. Matt is now in college, studying music education. The orchestra's rehearsals bring him back to his hometown every weekend. The orchestra gives him the chance to improve his teaching skills. The orchestra performs for free but receives donations that help pay for necessities like sheet music.Matt Martz said."In our first concert.we made l,100 dollars,which helped pay for a lot of music that we had bought."Then this last concert in January,we made over l,500 dollars which is just incredible. What does Matt Martz think of the January concert? Answer: The 30th Olympics will be held in London soon. More and more people will travel there and watch the games. And it's necessary for the tourists to know the customs there. Here are some tips given by William Hanson, an English manner expert. * Afternoon tea. The traditional view that the British sit down for an afternoon tea is not popular any more. Few people keep the tradition nowadays. * Give tips -- but not in a clear way. The British would like to choose a quiet way of saying "thank you" when they get good service. In fact, many British waiters will not mind if you decide not to tip at all. * Greeting with a kiss. The British aren't like their neighbors in France. They do not greet others with a kiss very often. Many people prefer to shake hands or pat on the back to say " hello" . * Conversation tips. If you are not sure what you are talking about, end a sentence with the word "mate". * Don't talk about money. According to Hanson, British people don't like to talk about money and it is rude to do so. Especially, never ask anyone how much money he or she makes a month. If you decide not to tip, many British waiters _ . Answer: Many people have been talking about the way in which the world will come to an end in 2012. Everybody wants to find out if December 21, 2012 is the last day of the earth. The rumor has already been spreading for a very long time. The Mayan's predictions can account for the rumor. According to the rumor, the earth will experience dramatic changes in 2012 and the changes will be disastrous to all of the living creatures on earth .It is widely assumed that a Planet X will return to orbit the solar system. The return of Planet of Planet X will have a destructive effect on the solar system as well as on some planets including the Neptune , the Jupiter and the earth. Planet X will cross into their orbits. There's a possibility that Jupiter will change into a little sun at this time, so folks will be well placed to see two suns in the sky in 2012. The solar flares that occur in a l1-year cycle will reach their highest point in 2012. The powerful solar flares will affect the magnetic field of the earth and cause disasters. On December 21,2012,the sun and the earth will line up in the same line at the equator . The winter solstice only occurs once every 25,800 years.The events in the universe are signals that the world will come to an end.As a result of the solar flares, lots of disasters will happen that will destroy the face of the whole earth.Scientists are making the guess primarily based on the Mayan Long Court Calendar. Many films have been made about the end of the world including End Game by Alex Jones and End Clock:Nostradamus 2012.The former provides insights about the way the world will become one state.After the world government is in place,it's going to be easy to _ 80%of the people in the world.The rest will continue to live with assistance from advanced technology. No one knows whether the world will end on December 21,2012,There is no clear answer until the day arrives.Just as the Mayans claims,it will not be the time for the world to end.Instead.it will be the dawn of a flesh start. What is the author's attitude to the rumor that the world will end? Answer:
Foreigners are likely to acquire more investment opportunities in China since the central government has passed a fresh regulation on Tuesday to attract foreign capital . The regulation, which will take effect on April 1, outlines how prefix = st1 /Chinawill expand cooperation with foreign investors. Compared with the old foreign investment guideline, the government has given foreigners more investment opportunities. And the government also encourages foreigners to take part in the key state owned enterprises reform . According to the regulation, overseas investors are expected to become shareholders in the key state owned enterprises. Overseas investors will even be allowed to hold the controlling stake in the large state owned enterprises, except for those of key importance to national or economic security. "China's WTO membership has reduced the risks and costs for foreign investors, and more capital and advanced techniques and expert knowledge or skill are expected to flow in," an official said. In particular, the new regulation appeals ( makes an earnest request ) for capital for agricultural technology, transportation, energy and new material industry. The service industry, including banking, telecommunication, insurance, and tourism, will gradually become another focal point of cooperation. The country hopes foreign investors start businesses in the western regions, where they will enjoy more favorable taxation policies for the next 10 years. From the passage we can infer thatChina's service industry will _ in future. be developed rapidly Dear Michael, I'm very glad to be your pen-friend. My name is Li Tian, and my English name is Leo. I'm from Wuhan. It's in the middle of China. I'm in the Number 3 Middle School. There are 55 students in my class, and 28 are boys. From Monday to Friday, we have Chinese, math, physics and P.E. in the morning. I like Chinese and physics, because they're interesting. I don't like math. It's too boring. At noon, I have to have lunch at school because my home is far from my school. We usually have two classes in the afternoon. After school , I like watching TV and listening to the music. I also like playing football, but not the American football. Please write to me soon. Yours, Leo This letter is for _ . Leo An 11-year-old boy who has been compared to Spanish Impressionist , the great Pablo Picasso, is holding his first exhibition at Llangollen's Gardening Show this weekend. Hamad al-Humaidhan, who was born in Kuwait but now lives in Bath, Britain, had no previous knowledge of art history when he first picked up a brush. But he began to paint his favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, using Picasso's trademarks --bright colours and impressionistic forms. His father said, "I've got lots of books about Picasso and I showed them to Hamad but he didn't know anything about Picasso --it's just naturally the way he sees it and he just loves to paint." His first painting of Ronaldo, done when he was just nine, was sold at auction in Bath for PS650, which drew the attention of local art businessman Steve Turner. "A colleague sent me some pictures of Hamad's work and I just couldn't believe the size of it and how the colours blended together," he said. "He had talent and I thought Picasso had been reborn.""I've shown his work to private art collectors. They liked them very much and everyone was eager to buy, so the first six paintings have been _ . I bought two of them myself. The next set of his works will go on show for the first time at Llangollen, which will be the first opportunity for the public to see his amazing talent." Hamad enjoys maths at school but ranks painting higher. "I think I prefer painting! It makes me relaxed and when I feel tired I just pick up a paint brush," he said. "I just close my eyes and see how it's going to look and then I just paint it --I paint every day. I just love the colours and I want people to enjoy my paintings." Now Hamad is nervously waiting for the opening of his exhibition. What can we learn from the text? Steve Turner speaks very highly of Hamad. The HOPE IS A GAME--CHANGER PROJECT will deliver unbreakable soccer balls to kids who, all too often, see things horrible, broken and not survive the simplest of circumstances. The project started taking form well before anyone knew where it would lead -which is to test the power of like-minded people working together to turn inspiration into action. Four years ago Bobby was in Rwanda offering help to the people there and taking photos of a child soldier named Moise with his "soccer ball",which was a pile of rubbish tied together with a string. This "ball" was the only thing Moise could call his own --- no family, no home, no place to go. Forced to fight in the Congo and having killed three people at the unbearably young age of seven, the boy's spirit was broken. And Bobby knew, as he took one photo after the next, that he'd never forget him. In fact, he returned the following year to tell Moise he had stayed deep within his heart ---but he was gone. I recently helped Bobby launch his new bookThe Power of the Invisible Sunwhich features a photo of Moise, his ball, and kids from war-torn areas around the world. All of his earnings go towards the HOPE IS A GAME-CHANGER PROJECT for the kids he visited over the past decade. They caught the emotional landscape from heartbreak to joy, but share the undeniable longing for recovery and hope. Bobby and I share the unchangeable belief that delivering hope is really a game-changer, especially to a child. We believe that each indestructible ball will come to represent a lasting symbol of hope. A light no matter how small---The Power of the Invisible Sun. This holiday season, I ask you to think about whether you are doing enough to help someone else in the world. Or as Bobby likes to put it, consider _ , which added together, can create transformational change. It's my great hope that the HOPE IS A GAME-CHANGER PROJECT will change the lives of children the world over --- one book, one ball at a time. In the first sentence of the passage, the writer implies that _ . kids live an unsafe life in parts of the world I have two pets. They are Fly, a dog, and Huahua, a cat. Fly is brown and grey. He is naughty . He sometimes steals food in the kitchen.Once, when there was nobody at home, Fly pulled a piece of meat off the table. But he was not careful enough. The plate also fell to the floor. When I got home, I saw the broken plate all over the floor, so I became very angry. Fly was so afraid that he went back to his bed at once. Huahua is a white and yellow cat. She is not beautiful but she is very lovely. Every night at weekends, Huahua sleeps on my bed. When she sleeps, she always snores. It is very funny. Huahua is also naughty. Whenever she does something bad and my grandma tries to catch her, she runs away quickly and hides quietly under the bed. Fly and Huahua love to play games with me and I like them very much. How many pets does the writer have? Two.
You might think I'd have little in common with a camel, but we do share one useful skill: both of us can go for a very long time without water. Usually I start my day with a cup of tea, and then I might have a glass of water with my lunch and one with dinner, that's about a liter of liquid in 24 hours. It feels like plenty, but apparently it's not nearly enough. After years of suffering headaches and poor digestion I spoke to a neurologist about my regular headaches and a nutritionist about my poor digestion, and both told me I should be drinking up to three liters of liquid a day for my body to function at its best. I decided to conduct an experiment. What would happen if I drank the recommended amount every day for a month? The photograph of me taken the day I started this trial demonstrates perfectly and rather frighteningly what a lack of hydration does to a face. I am 42, but have to admit I look more like 52 in this picture, which is shocking. There are dark shadows under and around my eyes, which make me look exhausted, a profusion of wrinkles and strange reddish blotches, and my skin lacks any luster . It looks dead. Even my lips look shriveled . This is all classic evidence of poor hydration, apparently. Every system and function in our body depends on water. It flushes toxins from the vital organs, carries nutrients to cells, provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues, and eliminates waste. Not drinking enough means all these functions becomes damaged. So I decided to see how I would look and feel if I drank three liters of water every day for 28 days. The results were astonishing. Why did the author decide to drink the recommended amount of water? Answer: Because her doctors forced her to do it. If your body is hot, it will cool down if you put what on it Answer: an ice pack Each of us can live strong,healthy,energetic lives for a long time to come.The key?Actually,there are many of them. Eat fewer calories,but more food Slimming down can help prevent disease,and cutting way back on the amount you eat may even slow the aging process.When nutrition researchers invited themselves over for dinner in kitchens across the globe-from Greece to Japan to the state of Pennsylvania--they discovered a stomach-satisfying secret to good health:Pile your plate high with vegetables and fruits,add respectable parts of beans and whole grains,and ignore high-calorie food like cheeseburgers,cream sauces,and fatty meats. Use exercise as an anti-aging vaccine Exercise can help you gain a better quality of life as you age.It's no secret that physical activity strengthens muscles,burn calories,and puts a happy bounce in your step.But recently,researchers discovered a new,extra benefit:Exercise acts as a powerful way against the aging process itself. When exercise physiologists put healthy people aged 60 to 85 on Weight-training programs for six months then tested them for signs of free-radical damage,they were surprised by the results.By the end of the study,low-intensity exercisers had a drop in free-radical damage,while high-intensity exercisers had a slight increase. Find something interesting to do Life is always busy no matter what your age.But the truth is,when people are retired,time usually does become more available for adults after 60.With this time come choices.The easy one is merely to relax:watch more TV,eat out more often,talk on the phone as much as you want.The better choice? Discover something more meaningful to devote yourself to and do it wholeheartedly. The best title of this text should be " _ ". Answer: Keys to living Longer and Better Hawaii is famous for its beaches. Every year water sports, especially surfing and water skiing attract many tourists to the island. Hawaii has been a magical name to people who like to travel for many years. People on both sides of the Pacific Ocean in Japan and in America, dream of seeing these beautiful islands in the middle of the ocean. In the tropical lands, the sun drops like a ball of golden glow that light the sky in the quiet water. People often have a quiet, enjoyable time walking along the water. The scenery here is not very different from the exciting beauty that greeted the first tourists to these islands centuries ago. They came in canoes not much bigger than small boats. They found the beautiful white sand beaches and the waving palm trees , but there were no grand hotels like the ones we see today. The first people came to Hawaii nearly two thousand years ago, but skyscraper hotels were only built in the last 25 years. Now planes make it possible to fly to Hawaii for a weekend from Tokyo or San Francisco. No matter where people come from, they really want to see the earliest beauty of Hawaii. They want to see the lovely beaches and the mountains which are almost hidden by the tall hotels. When did the first people come to Hawaii? Answer: About two thousand years ago. Unlike chemists and physicists, who usually do their experiments using machines, biologists and medical researchers have to use living things like rats. But there are three Nobel prize-winning scientists who actually chose to experiment on themselves - all in the name of science, reported The Telegraph. 1. Werner Forssmann (Nobel prize winner in 1956) Forssmann was a German scientist. He studied how to put a pipe inside the heart to measure the pressure inside and decide whether a patient needs surgery. Experiments had been done on horses before, so he wanted to try with human patients. But it was not permitted because the experiment was considered too dangerous. Not giving up, Forssmann decided to experiment on himself. He anaesthetized his own arm and made a cut, putting the pipe 30 centimeters into his vein. He then climbed two floors to the X-ray room before pushing the pipe all the way into his heart. 2. Barry Marshall (Nobel prize winner in 2005) Most doctors in the mid-20th century believed that _ was down to stress, spicy food or an unusually large amount of stomach acid. But in 1979 an Australian scientist named Robin Warren found that the disease might be related to a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. So he teamed up with his colleague, Barry Marshall, to continue the study. When their request to experiment on patients was denied, Marshall bravely drank some of the bacteria. Five days later, he lost his appetite and soon was vomiting each morning - he indeed had gastritis. 3. Ralph Steinman (Nobel prize winner in 2011) This Canadian scientist discovered a new type of immune system cell called the dendritic cell. He believed that it had the ability to fight against cancer. Steinman knew he couldn't yet use his method to treat patients. So in 2007, when doctors told him that he had cancer and that it was unlikely for him to live longer than a year, he saw an opportunity. With the help of his colleagues, he gave himself three different vaccines based on his research and a total of eight experimental therapies. Even though Steinman eventually died from his cancer, he lived four and a half years, much longer than doctors had said he would. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article? Answer: Barry Marshall succeeded by drinking some Helicobacter pylori.
Bicycle tour and race A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27(Sat. & Sun. ). At 5:30am, the riders will leave Tian'anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometres as a training leg. Then the next 55 kilometre leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli. The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaibe, covering a distance of 20 kilometres. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing. Cost: 200 yuan Telephone: 4675027 Brazilian footballers The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo'an Team at the Workers Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario ho has promised to play for at least 45 minutes. Ticket prices: 60,100,150 yuan Time/Date: 4:30 pm, August 26(Sat. ) Telephone: 5012372 Rock climbing The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators . Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou. Time/Dates: 9-12 am, August 26 and 27 Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua If you want to find something to do for Saturday afternoon, which telephone number will you call? A 467502 B 7143177 C 5012372 D 7144850 Answer: C. 5012372 Do you ever fight with your little brother or sister? How would you like to travel around the world with them in a musical group? Sisters Johanna and Klara Soderburg are doing just that in their band, First Aid Kit! The two sisters are sweeping the world with a perfect mix of pop and folk music. The Soderburg sisters come from Sweden. Their music sounds like music from the 1960s. They both play several instruments. And, since they are sisters, their voices fit together perfectly! Like many other teen stars before them, the two girls got their start on the website, YouTube. Their singing caught the attention of a Swedish musician. It wasn't long before people all over the world discovered their music! The sisters don't just sing or play instruments; they also write their own music and design all of their album art!They have worked very hard, and they _ four new songs at the beginning of 2011! If you want to hear the songs, check out their music in YouTube for yourself! Listen to see why First Aid Kit is your new favorite band! What is the advantage of their group because they are sisters? A Their voices fit together perfectly. B They look more beautiful than other stars. C They both play several instruments. D They have more time to train together. Answer: A. Their voices fit together perfectly. Alan is in Class Two,Grade Seven.He is l2.His English teacher is Mr. Smith.He is English.His daughter is Helen.She is l3.Alan and Helen are good friends.They like English.This is Helen's school ID card.Its number is A-270789.Is that Alan's school ID card? No.He can't find his school ID card.If you find it,please call Alan at 346--2828.Thank you! Alan and Helen are _ . A in Class Seven B in Grade Two C teachers D friends Answer: D. friends SAN FRANCISCO--A phone app in San Francisco gives information about open parking spots. City officials in San Francisco introduced the app to try to reduce traffic jams in the city, but some say it raises safety concerns. In this city, drivers searching for parking spots lead to 30 percent of all downtown jams, city officials think. Now San Francisco has found a solution--a phone app for spot-seekers that displays information about areas with available spaces. The system, introduced last month, relies on wireless sensors fixed in streets and city garages that can tell within seconds if a spot has opened up. Monique Soltani, a TV reporter, said she and her sister spent 25 minutes on Friday trying to park. "We were praying to the parking god that we'd find a spot," she said. "If we had the app, we would not have to pray to the parking god." But the system could come with serious consequences. Some people say that drivers searching for parking could end up focusing on their phones, not the road. "It could be really distracting ," said Daniel Simons, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois. City officials acknowledge the potential problem. They are urging drivers to pull over before they use the city's iPhone app, or to do so before they leave home. Nathaniel Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said safety could actually improve if drivers quickly found a spot instead of circling and getting frustrated. San Francisco has put sensors into 7,000 parking spots and 12,250 spots in city garages. If spaces in an area open up, the sensors communicate wirelessly with computers that in turn make the information available to app users within a minute, said Mr. Ford, of the transportation agency. On the app, a map shows which blocks have lots of places (blue) and which are full (red). More than 12,000 people have downloaded San Francisco's app, which is available now only for the iPhone but which city officials say they hope to bring to all similar devices. When it is started up, the city's parking app warns drivers not to use the system while in motion. But safety advocates said that might not be sufficient. After all, they say, texting while driving is illegal in California and in many states, but a number of surveys, including one by the Pew Research Center, show that many Americans do it anyway. Elizabeth Stampe, executive director of Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian advocacy group, said she hoped the new parking app would lead to fewer accidents. "It's an innovative idea," she said. "The safe way for people to use the device is for them to pull over, which they know they should do. The question is whether they will." But Ms. Soltani, the TV reporter, said using the app would probably join the group of activities already performed by drivers. "We're already looking at Google Maps and Facebook on the phone while we drive," she said. "Aren't we always looking at something on our phone, or changing the radio, or drinking coffee? You're always slightly distracted when you're driving." How do drivers locate the parking spots? A Sensors"computers"app. B App"computers"sensors. C Sensors"app"computers. D Computers"app"sensors. Answer: A. Sensors"computers"app. A bean sprout will beautifully boom if given plenty of access to A salted dirt B H2O C sticky napkins D searing heat Answer: B. H2O
Companies can increase the money with which they run their business in a number of ways. One way is borrowing money, and another way is buying things with the agreement that payment would be made later. There are also other processes for providing money for use by a company. Two of these processes are described here. One process the company may use is to issue bonds . Bonds are a special kind of promissory note. They are issued in different values, in the forms of money used in different countries, such as the pound in prefix = st1 /Englandor the euro in Europe. These bonds can easily be sold again to other people or to other companies. The company that issues the bonds promises to pay a particular amount of money as interest regularly for a certain period of time. This continues until when the company has to pay back the principal of the bond. Payments of principal and interest must be made on time whether the company has been earning money or not. If these payments are not made on time, it means that the company has not done what it agreed to do and can be sued(,). Another process companies may use is to issue other forms of promissory notes called stocks . Bonds and stocks are opposite methods of providing money for a company. The people who buy stocks provide money that is earned and take part in deciding how the company will conduct its business. They must also take part in the losses. The people who own stocks receive dividends only after the company has paid all of its debts to the people who own bonds. On the other hand, the persons who own bonds have no right, according to the law, to help decide how the company will handle its business, unless it is bankrupt or in danger of becoming so. Which of the following statement is not the way for companies to increase their capital? Answer: Buying materials without paying. Students who want to study in the United States may find that their chances for financial aid are limited. They often have to pay for their education with their own savings or their family's money. A recent report from the Institute of International Education in New York looked at 2008-2009 school year. Colleges and universities in the United States had more than half a million foreign students. 63% of them paid for school mostly by themselves or with family help. 26% percent were supported by the school they attended. There are other sources of financial aid for international students. These include a student's home government or university, or the United States government. Private sponsors, international organizations and employers may also provide support. Yet during the last school year, not many students were able to depend on any of these other sources. Current employers provided the most help. Still, they represented the main support for just four percent of international students. Those at the graduate level, however, are more likely than undergraduates to receive financial aid in the United States. More than 80% percent of foreign undergraduates depended mostly on personal and family money to pay for school last year. The same was true of less than half of graduate students. Most of the others received financial aid from their college or university in the United States. A list of American schools that offer financial aid to foreign students can be found at a useful Web site. The address is edupass.org. This site also provides information about scholarship programs. But it warns foreign students not to pay if there is any charge for scholarship application forms. You could be cheated out of your money. The text mainly talks about _ . Answer: financial aid for foreign students in US We often see wind-horse flags in Tibetan areas. They are long cloths on which pictures of horses and scriptures are printed. People often put these flags on top of houses, or leave them where a vehicle accident happened. They prevent evil spirits from injuring people again. A wind-horse flag can be white, yellow, red, green or blue. These five colors symbolize the five elements that form the world; earth, water, fire, wind and sky. Another explanations that red is the sun, green is the grassland, yellow is the earth, blue is the sky, and white is the cloud. The wind-horse flag originated with a monk who obtained a scripture from India. When he crossed a river, he carelessly dropped the scripture into the water. He quickly saved the scripture and spread it out on a big rock to dry as he sat in meditation . Suddenly violent thunder sounded like drums. The monk felt liberated from all of his sadness, and when he opened his eyes he saw that the scripture had been blown into the sky by a strong wind. Finally, he went straight to heaven. In order to honor the spirit of the monk and the Buddhist scripture, people printed the scripture on a piece of cloth and hung it up between the sky and the earth as though the scripture was flying in the sky. We also know why people put the wind-horse flag on the top of mountains and houses. The Tibetan ancestors had a very great idea about chanting scripture. They thought people not only could chant scripture, but also the five elements. The wind-home flag is a good example of how they use the wind to blow the flag, which means that the wind also chants scripture. According to the passage, the origin of the wind-horse flag is based on _ . Answer: a religious tale On an elementary school playground, hundreds of children run and jump, smiling and laughing as they play. Watching sea otters playing in their own environment is like watching children at play. Sea otters, which are presently on the endangered species list, are experiencing an increase in population. Groups of sea otters live on the shores of the North Pacific Ocean. They are seldom found far from land but almost spend their entire lives at sea. The otter has been known to dive as deep as 180 feet and stay underwater as long as minutes. Each day the sea otter eats as much as one-fifth of its body weight in fish or shellfish. Not only are sea otters playful, they are also amazingly resourceful. Their favorite food, abalone , is protected by a thick shell that sea otters are unable to break with their teeth. Sea otters use stones from the ocean floor and break the abalone open on their bellies as they move slowly across the surface of the water on their backs, a behavior that makes them one of only a few animals on Earth, including human beings, to use tools! Their intelligence is also displayed while sleeping. In order not to move into dangerous waters, sea otters actually cover themselves with plants on the sea, which keep them in place before falling asleep. Because sea otters have a special means of keeping insulated , they can keep their body heat in their cold environment. They have unbelievably fine fur that traps tiny bubbles, and that keeps them comfortable when warmed by body heat. However, their fur loses this insulating quality if it becomes dirty. Sea otters have faced dangers from hunters in the past and from oil spills more recently. Fortunately, due to a 1911 agreement and to rescue and habitat protection efforts, the sea otter population has nearly recovered. What can be inferred about sea otters' fur? Answer: It keeps sea otters warm only when it's clean. What would cause a flood? Answer: lake erie getting too much rain water
Welcome to Franklin Hotel. To make your stay enjoyable, we hope you will use our facilities to the full. Dining Room: You can have three meals in the dining room. (breakfast 8-9 a.m.; lunch 12-2:30 p.m.; dinner 7:30-9 p.m.) Room Service: You can dial 0 for Reception to make a phone call while you are on bed. There are also pay telephones near the reception desk. Shop: You can buy presents, gifts and goods from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. here. _ We have a laundry in the building, and will wash and return your clothes within 24 hours. You can ask the room staff to collect them. Bar: The hotel bar is open from 12 to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 a.m. Banking: We can cash cheques & exchange any foreign money for you. There are _ kinds of service according to the notice. six There's a small town in the central part of England called Gotham. Some say it's a town of fools. Others say all the villagers are wise. Let me tell you about the people of Gotham so you can decide for yourself. Long ago, England was ruled by a cruel king named John. One day, the people of Gotham heard that King John and his men would soon be riding through their town.This worried the villagers, for they knew the greedy king would demand food and accommodation for his men. What's more, if he saw anything to his liking, he would surely take it. A town meeting was called. After much discussion, the townspeople decided to cut down a number of huge trees to block the roads leading into Gotham. When King John and his men reached the outskirts of the village, they could not pass. Angry, King John ordered his men to go into the town and punish the villagers. When the king's officers finally made their way over the trees, they found a village of fools. Some say that was because the people of Gotham had a plan--they had decided to act like fools since they had never heard of anyone being punished for being a noodlehead. Others say that's just the way they were. In the village, the king's men encountered a man riding a donkey. The man was bent over because he carried a huge bag of grain on his own shoulders. He looked exhausted. One of the king's men approached him and asked, "Why, in heaven's name, are you carrying that bag? Why don't you just put it behind you on your donkey's back?" "You see," replied the man from Gotham, "my donkey is feeling poor today. It's bad enough that she has to carry me, so I decided to lighten her burden by carrying the bag myself." The king's men said, "But sir, don't you see that if you're riding on top of the donkey, she's still carrying the weight of the bag?" The man didn't reply. He just looked at the king's men as if they were crazy and went on his way. The king's officers giggled at the foolishness of the man. Before long, they passed a pond where they found a number of villagers in the midst of a great argument. Two of them were holding a big eel. "Quiet down," commanded one of the king's men. "What's the problem here?" One of the villagers stepped forward and said, "Last year we took all the extra fish we [caught and put them in this pond so they would multiply. But this year when we came back, all we caught was this one huge eel. Obviously it has eaten all of our fish! Since then, we have argued long and hard over how to punish this bad eel. But we have finally agreed on the perfect punishment. We are just about to drown the eel in this very pond!" The king's officers couldn't believe their ears. Drown an eel whose home is in the water? These men were sillier than the first man they met! Before long, they reached the center of the village, where they were in for another surprise. There they found the rest of the townspeople building a towering stone wall. When the soldiers inquired what was going on, one of the villagers replied, "Every spring a cuckoo comes to live in our village. It always brings warm weather. When it leaves, the cold weather returns. Last year we decided that if we could get the cuckoo to stay here all year, we would always have warm weather. We built this stone wall, but it obviously wasn't high enough because the bird flew away. This year we're determined to build it so high that the cuckoo can't escape." The king's officers had heard enough. They couldn't bring themselves to punish such stupid people. They returned to King John and told him all about the fools of Gotham. Whether it's fair or not, the people of Gotham have been known as fools ever since. What do you think? Were the villagers of Gotham wise or foolish? The townspeople are worried about the king's visit because he will _ . take anything he wants Dear Kitty, Daddy, Mummy and Margot can't get used to the sound of the Westertoren clock, which tells us the time every quarter of an hour. I can. I loved it from the start, and especially in the night it's a faithful friend. I expect you will be interested to "disappear". Well,all I can say is that I don't know myself yet. I don't think I shall ever feel really at home in this house, but that does not mean that I hate it here. It is more like being on vacation in a very strange boarding house. Rather a mad idea, perhaps, but that is how it strikes me. The "Secret Annexe" is a good hiding place. Although it is not dry , you'd never find such a comfortable hiding place anywhere in the whole of Holland. Out little room looked very empty at first with nothing on the walls; but thanks to Daddy who had brought my film-star collection and picture postcard on beforehand, and with the help of paste pot( ) and brush, I have changed the walls into one big picture. Margot and mummy are a little bit better now. mummy felt well enough to cook some soup for the first time yesterday, but then forgot all about it, while she was downstairs talking .So the peas _ and refused to leave the pan. I went to the private office yesterday evening and turned on the radio. I was so frightened that someone might hear it that I simply begged Daddy to come upstairs with me. Mummy understood how I felt and come too. We are very nervous in other ways, too , that the neighbors might hear us or see something going on. We made curtains straight away on the first day. Someone is calling me. Yours, Anna We can infer from the text that Anne _ . stayed positive though in such a bad condition Ship tourism to Antarctica is on the rise: More than 35,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctic this summer. In 1992-1993, 6,750 visited Antarctica, according to the Antarctica Treaty. All of this tourism, however, is putting both tourists and the environment in great danger. Among the tourist ships that visit the continent, the Explorer, a Canadian ship, was one of the first. Put to use in 1969, it was built to carry tourists to Antarctica. Last week, however, it became the first commercial passenger ship to sink beneath the waters. Fortunately, all of the passengers and crew members were rescued from the ship. However, the sunken ship endangered the Antarctic's fragile environment. The ship was estimated to be holding 48,000 gallons of fuel. The accident was not unexpected. Both the US and UK had warned a conference of the Antarctic Treaty member countries in May that the tourism situation in this area was a potential disaster. The US said in a paper, people "should take a hard look at tourism issues now, especially those related to ship safety." Although the Antarctic seas are relatively calm, floating ice causes a potential threat to ships. The owner of the Explorer blamed the sinking on a fist-like hole in the ship created by ice. Many of the other large ships now visiting Antarctica are not designed especially against thick ice. Such ships generally can only come to the continent in summer. But the tourist rush is pushing ships into dangerous situations. "The increasing number of ships operating in Antarctic means that the ship are under great pressure to get there in time for the key visiting sites," the British government wrote in a paper at the meeting of member countries. As a natural frontier, Antarctica is in a messy legal situation. There are no obvious answers as to who is responsible for dealing with the threat that tourist may cause to human life and the environment. There is no coast guard for Antarctica. Do we want it to become Disneyland, or do we need some controls? What attitude does the writer hold towards Antarctic tourism? Anxious. A2 and AS Level Revision at Easter 2012 Course Dates Courses run from Monday to Friday each week. * One Week Courses Monday 6 April--Friday 10 April Monday 13 April-- Friday 17 April * Two Week Courses Monday 6 April--Friday 17 April Students may arrive a day earlier (Sunday) and/or depart a day later (Saturday) at extra cost. Number of Students per Class The average number of students is usually between 1 and 4 per class. As the numbers increase in a class, the number of "contact hours" is suitably increased to allow extra time. Many students will find themselves in privately tutored classes giving them ultimate flexibility and attention of the Revision Tutor. Fees One Week Boarding Fees: 1,495 GB Sterling (5 days/4 nights) Two Week Boarding Fees: 2,895 GB Sterling (12 days/11 nights) One Week Day Fees: 1,095 GB Sterling (5 days) Two Week Day Fees: 2,165 GB Sterling (10 days) Optional Extra Elements Extra Night's Accommodation : 70 GB Sterling (including meals) Additional Private Tutoring: 60 GB Sterling per hour How to Apply We provide you the majority of A2 and AS subjects. Before you apply, please contact us to tell us which subject areas you would like to cover. We will then be able to check whether a space is available. Once a space has been confirmed as available, you will need to apply online or via the PDF, and also compete the Additional Information PDF. After you apply, we will require you to fill in a detailed form explaining your requirements. If you have any question, don't hesitate to ask us. Which of the following is true according to the passage? If you need the tutor's extra help, you need to pay more money to them
Few people realize that there is a big difference between formal English and informal English. Formal English is used for most writing, and often in public speaking and formal meetings. It pays close attention to grammar rules, because if we use proper grammar, our meaning is often more _ . Also, on important occasions, we do not want to appear uneducated or to offend others, so we are very careful about how we speak. Informal English is used in speaking or writing to our friends and family. It often does not pay such close attention to grammar rules, because when we speak or write to them, we want our words to flow quickly. Also, with our friends and family, we are usually not so worried about appearing uneducated or about offending them by how we write or speak. A big difference between formal and informal English is the use of contractions. A contraction is where we make a word shorter or where we put two words together and take away some of the letters. For example, instead of saying "do not", many people say "don't". Using contractions in our speech is fine because it sounds natural, especially when we speak to our friends. In formal writing, however, contractions are usually avoided because people might think that you have made a mistake, or that you do not know proper grammar. In the same way we might make words shorter, in informal English we often make sentences shorter as well. For example, if someone asks you your name, you will likely answer with one word: your first name. However, in formal English we usually use complete sentences. For example, we might write "My name is John". In most speaking, we may not need to use every word in a sentence because the person we are speaking to will probably still understand us. In most writing, however, every word in a sentence must be written out in order to make sure that we can be understood. In speaking, we do not always use complete sentences because _ . A we do not care about grammar B we do not want to sound stupid C we can still be understood D we don't want to waste time Answer: C Most Americans believe that someone isn't grown-up until the age of 26 and they should complete their education, have a full-time job, have a family to support and be financially independent. They also believe that becoming a real grown-up is a process which begins at about the age of 20 and takes about five years, according to the report from the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. The findings are based on a representative sample of 1,398 people over the age of 18 who were surveyed in person. The survey found that people expect the transitions to grown-up _ to be completed at the following ages: age 20.9 self-supporting; age 21.1 no longer living with parents; age 21.2 having a full-time job; age 22.3 education completed; age 24.5 being able to support a family financially; age 25.7 getting married; and age 26.2 having a child. "There is a large degree of agreement across social groups on the relative importance of the seven transitions," said Tom Smith, director of the survey. The only obvious pattern of differences is on views about supporting a family, having children and getting married. Older adults consider these more important than younger adults do. This probably shows in large part a change in values across generations away from traditional family values. The most valued step toward reaching adulthood, the survey found, is completing education, followed by full-time employment, supporting a family, financial independence, living independently, and marriage. From the passage, we learn that _ . A being grown-up is just a matter of age B being grown-up is a process which takes some time C all people think completing education means being grown-up D the survey found everyone had a different view about being grown-up Answer: B I am a Chinese. I've always been making drams from time to time. Those dreams made by each average Chinese like me are certainly Chinese dreams. Dreams vary from person to person, an d also from time to time. But in a certain time, people share the similar dreams here I'd like to share my Chinese dreams with you. When I was a child in 1970s, poverty kept hovering over my family, just as it did with other average families in the countryside. The unfit second-hand clothes, rain leaking roof of old adobe house became part of my memory. However, the worse impression is that I was feeling hungry all the time. Sometimes hunger bit me so severely that I regarded dried sweet potato slices as a delicious snack. The sharp cracks of chewing are still echoing in my dream. At that time, my dram was getting enough to fill my cooing empty belly. In the early years of 1980s, as the reform and opening-up policy was carried out, the child dream came true. And then another dream became clearer and clearer in my mind. I must try my best to escape out of my poor and backward hometown. I worked harder at my study than most of my classmates, and, after luckily succeeding in the national college entrance examination, my dream became reality again: after graduation, I became a citizen working in a city. As the first college graduate out of a remote village, my success set an example for my folks. They came to realize that schooling is a good way to change one's fate . In the following years, there were less drop-outs and more college graduates in my village, of which I am proud even today. Afterwards, I got accustomed to the life of citizens and I began to dream the same things as other peers: a comfortable home, my own car and a big house. Based on my hard-work, more than ten years passed, all of these dreams have been fulfilled. Of course, new dreams will come true sooner or later only if my motherland keeps advancing with current(,)pace. My Chinese dreams are also ones of other Chinese people. If every individual's dreams come true, the dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be sure to come true. "The Chinese dream, after all, is the dream of the people," as the Chairman Xi Jingping said. What is it that made the author's child dream come true? A Selling the dried sweet potato slices. B The country's reform and opening-up policy. C Escaping from his poor hometown. D Working harder than any other classmates. Answer: B As the population of small fish in a lake decreases, the population of large fish that depend on the small fish for food will A reproduce faster B begin to produce their own food C decrease in number D increase in number Answer: C Researchers found that walking around with a forced smile and fake happiness simply leads to people feeling unhappier. So, putting a brave face on your sadness could be harmful. The research also found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy. Dr. Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can result in bad outcomes. He said, "Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional tiredness, and that's bad for the organization." He also said the research showed customer-service workers who had "fake smiles" throughout the day fell into a bad mood and didn't want to work, so their productivity dropped. The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional expressions over a period of time and compare the different effects on men and women. Dr. Scott's team examined the effects of "surface acting", or fake smiling, compared to "deep acting", or making people smile by thinking of peasant memories. Dr. Scott said, "Women were harmed more by surface acting, meaning their moods worsened even more than men's. However, they were helped more by deep acting, which means their moods improved more by thinking of pleasant memories. " According to Dr. Scott, women tend to suffer more when pretending to be happy because they are expected to be more emotionally expressive than men. Therefore, forcing a smile while feeling down is more likely to go against their normal behavior and cause more harmful feelings. Although deep acting can improve moods a little in the short term, Dr. Scott says, it's not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy. "There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period you start to feel unreal. You're trying to develop positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself any more." Women suffer more from fake happiness mainly because _ . A they usually turn up shy in public places B they should be more emotionally expressive C they are often treated in a terrible way D they like thinking of pleasant memories Answer: A
Trip1 The Green Mountain Bring your strong shoes for the hiking in a beautiful area of the Green Mountain. You can also find many kinds of wild animals living in this area. Time: May 8--May 14 Tel: 64639818 Adult: $110.00 Child: $55.00 Trip 2 The Heaven Garden This is a beautiful garden with different kinds of flowers. Take your camera and enjoy the wonderful sight here. It is also a good place for fishing. Time: May 20--May 22 Tel: 63986432 Adult: $ 50.00 Child: $ 25.00 Trip 3 The Dungog Valley Put on your warm clothes, and come for a night walk along the Dungog Valley. Many of the plants you will see on this trip can only be seen at night. Time: May 16--May 18 Tel: 63875629 Adult: $ 30.00 Not for children Trip 4 By the sea Wear your sun hat and enjoy wonderful sunshine all the time from morning to evening. You can also take a boat to different places for swimming. Time: May 23--May 27 Tel: 67538293 Adult: $ 80.00 Child: $ 40.00 David has no classes from May 7 to May 15. He can go _ . Answer: Once there was a girl named Ruth, who loved to play outside whenever she could. One day, she was running around outside with a friend, but she tripped and scraped her knee very badly. She doubled over in pain, screaming for her father "DADDY!!!" she yelled, until he ran outside to help. "Thank goodness that only the skin on your knee was hurt!" he said, as he picked her up to bring her inside. "We need to cover your cut, and it looks like it was about to start raining anyway," he said. He brought her into the restroom, so he could wash the cut, then put on medicine and a large bandage. "That medicine hurt..." Ruth said, but her cut was feeling better than it did before. "Well, at least now you don't have to worry about it getting worse," her father said. "Hopefully it won't take long for your cut to get better, then you can go back to playing outside again - be careful from now on!" What was Ruth doing when she got hurt? Answer: A girl complained to her father about her hard life. She didn't know what she had to do and wanted to give up. She felt tired of fighting and fighting. One problem had been finished but another came over. Her father, a cook, took her into the kitchen. He poured water into three pans and boiled them. After boiling, in the first pan was put some carrots, the second was put some eggs and the last was put with coffee. The girl waited impatiently, confused by what her father did. About 20 minutes later, her father took out the carrots and put them in a bowl. He took the eggs and put them in a bowl. After that the coffee was poured into a cup. "My sweet heart, what do you see?" he asked. "Carrots, eggs and coffee." she replied. Her father told her to close her eyes and asked her to touch the carrots. She did so and felt that the carrots were soft. After that he asked her to take the eggs and break them. After peeling them, she got the eggs, cooked and hard. The last, the father let her smell the coffee. She asked, "What did you do this for, father?" He explained that each had the same unlucky experience -- the boiling water, but each had a different result. The strong and hard carrots had become soft and weak. The _ eggs became hard after being cooked. The coffee was very special, it could change water. "Who are you?" asked her father. "When bad luck knocks at your door, what is your decision? Are you carrots, eggs or coffee?" The girl complained about her hard life because she didn't _ . Answer: So many of us hold on to little complaints that may have come from an argument ,a misunderstanding,the way we were raised,or some other painful events. Stubbornly,we wait for someone else to reach out to us -- believing this is the only way we can forgive or _ a friendship or family relationship. A friend of mine,recently told me that she hadn't spoken to her son in almost three years. She said that she and her son had had a disagreement about his wife and that she wouldn't speak to him again unless he called first. When I suggested that she be the one to reach out,she said," I can't do that. He's the one who should apologize. " After a little gentle encouragement,however,she did decide to be the first one to reach out. To her amazement,her son was grateful for her willingness to call and offered an apology of his own. As is usually the case,when someone takes the chance and reaches out,everyone wins. Whenever we hold on to our anger, we turn" small stuff")"into really" big stuff" in our minds. We start to believe that our positions are more important than our happiness. They are not. If you want to be a more peaceful person you must understand that being right is almost never more important than allowing yourself to be happy. The way to be happy is to let go,and reach out. Let other people be right. This doesn't mean that you're wrong. Everything will be fine. You'll experience the peace of letting go,as well as the joy of letting others be right. You'11 also notice that,as you reach out and let others be "right",they will become less defensive and more loving toward you. They might even reach back. But,if for some reason they don't, that's okay too. You '11 have the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part to create a more loving world,and certainly you'11 be more peaceful yourself. In the author's opinion, we hold on to our anger often because we think _ . Answer: BELJLNG-Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order "chicken without sex life" or "red burned lion head". Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing's restaurants will apparently soon be history. Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government's plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted. The municipal office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English, "an official with the city's Foreign Affairs office said ." Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory ." It's the city's latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China. Coming up with precise translations is a task, as some Chinese culinary techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent.The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as "beancurd made by woman with freckles"), baozi(steamed stuffed bun ) and jiaozi (dumplings) to "reflect the Chinese cuisine culture," according to the book. "The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don't have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers," said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year - old employe with a Beijing- based travel agency. "I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I'd like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends," said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics. It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo. com, China's most popular microblogging site. What measure has the municipal office taken? Answer:
The human body is a living machine, and, like all machines, it needs "fuel" to supply it with energy. This is provided by the food we eat. But how much do we need to stay healthy? The energy value of food is usually measured in calories . A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1degC. The number of calories people need per day is different, as the picture shows. Also, the number of calories you use at any one moment normally depends on the activity you are in. For example, you need more calories for standing than for sitting, more for running than for walking, and so on. The energy in food is in the form of three kinds of chemical materials--carbohydrate , protein and fat. Carbohydrate provides 3.8 Cal /gm of the energy, protein 4.0 Cal/gm, and fat 8.8 Cal/gm. Each food contains different amounts of these materials, as the round pictures show. (P= protein C= carbohydrate F=fat) How many calories are needed to raise the temperature of 5kg of water from 35degC to 90degC? Answer: 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. Who was the party for? Answer: Do you want to live a happier, less stressful life? Try laughing for no reason at all. That's how millions of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy. The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria."Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day," says Dr. Kataria. "Everyone is naturally good at laughing -- it's the common language. We want people to feel happy with their lives." There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 in the world. Many doctors are also interested in the effects of laughter on our health. According to a 5-year study at the UCLA School of Medicine in California, with laughing there is less stress in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%. So what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest, I wasn't interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking silly. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say "ho ho ho, ha ha ha" while looking at each other. However, our bodies can't tell the difference between real laughter and unreal laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects. Surprisingly, it works! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real and some people just couldn't stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you're under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results. When did the people in the club begin to laugh for real? Answer: The first time I went for a walk around my father-in-law's neighborhood was garbage day, and I was shocked to see what people were throwing out. It was back in 1981, and I saw many people gathered in someone's front yard. As I went nearer to see what was happening I got my first introduction to yard sales. For the few dollars I had in my wallet, I was able to buy a seven-inch black-and-white portable TV. I also bought a flashlight. The following weekend, at another yard sale, I saw a 14-inch color1 TV being sold for almost nothing. I felt I could not miss the offer and bought it. Now I had two sets and couldn't wait to see what else I could afford the next weekend. Spring ended, and by then I had accumulated almost every type of electronic equipment I had always wished to have back home. Then this new idea came to mind. I had heard about a man who traveled back home every few months. He drove a truck filled with boxes of new and used stuff that people were sending to s. So I told my father that I would send as many types of items as I could so that he could start his resale business. Every few months I would gather several boxes of American "junk" --- televisions, toasters, fans, hair dryers, etc. and send them home. As word got out about my father's "trash" market, people all came to buy these things. Three years later, when I visited my family for the first time since leaving home, I learned that many of the families in our neighborhood had a piece of "trash". It proved that I had the responsibility to keep people back home up to date with the latest technology you no longer need.(304words) From the passage we can infer that _ . Answer: HAVE FUN IN SPRING! Special four-week mini-session April -- May Acting Classes for Ages 4+ and Teens! Classes meet once a week for four weeks. All classes are led by highly experienced Dallas Children's Theater (DCT) artists. Since this is a mini-session, classes will not present a show. Pre-K (Pre-Kindergarten) students will explore stories and characters from the world of books and literature. For students in Act It Up (K-1st && 2nd-3rd) and Acting (4th-6th), the classes will explore characters, expression and creativity through creative dramatics activities. Full $80 payment per student is required for enrollment . Classes will be filled first-come-first-served. For questions or to enroll, contact Nancy Schaeffer at 214-978-0110 or nancy@dct.org. Tuesdays 4:00-5:30 April 22-May 13, 2008 Play Days -- Pre-K Explore the wonderful characters from your favorite books Act out the stories you know so well and maybe a few new ones too! Take turns being on the stage with your class as you become many fun and creative characters Act It Up! Grades K-1 & Grades 2-3 Explore the most important aspects of acting: Characters: Who are You? * Imagination: See where it takes you -- be creative! Wednesdays 4:30-6:00 April 23-May 14, 2008 Acting -- Grades 4-6 Explore the most important aspects of acting: * Characterization: Movement and Voice * Imagination: Listening, Learning and Taking a chance Auditions and Monologues -- Grade 7+ * Work on a monologue that you can use for any audition Learn the tricks for how to do your best at your next audition -- at school, church or local theater Get feedback from a professional and make improvements to your auditioning skills Those who attend Auditions and Monologues _ . Answer:
Dear Mr Zhu, I am writing to your magazine's "Teenagers Now" column to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son. At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do. He is our only child and we treat him very well. His grandparents buy him many things, and yet he is still rude to us. He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him. Sometimes he acts as if he doesn't even love us at all. Now he refuses to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music. I cannot understand this music, but I don't like it. He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online. He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life! What am I to do? At present, to prevent making his mother unhappy with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom. However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants, he may fail at school, or worse. How can I help my son without harming our relationship? Yours Liu Zhenhua What do you think is the possible answer for the father? A. The father should let the son alone. B. The father should give his son a beating. C. The father should allow his son his freedom. D. The father should be patient enough to have communication with the son. Answer: D. The father should be patient enough to have communication with the son. In America, most people don't get enough sleep. Children aged 5 to 12 are advised to sleep 10 to 11 hours every night, but most of them can't sleep that long. A study found that about 41 million American workers got less than six hours of sleep every night. Scientists worry that parents are passing their bad sleeping habits down to their children. In the study, Reut Gruber and some other scientists either added or reduced on hour of sleep for healthy children aged 7 to 11. They watched the children for five nights. They wanted to know if the amount of sleep can affect a child's behavior. Before the study began, students were asked to sleep the same amount of hours as usual. Their teachers were asked to record their behavior. After five nights of the records, scientists found that those who slept one hour less behaved worse than those who slept one hour more. Students with less sleep were more likely to feel sad and had more problems paying attention. The scientists chose to study children in their homes instead of in a laboratory, because they wanted to find out how everyday changes might affect children's behavior at school. "In the study, nobody became a talent, and nobody became crazy. But small changes in children can really make a big difference," says Gruber. Scientists worry that _ may cause children to sleep less. A. too much homework B. pressure from parents C. TV and computer games D. parents' bad sleeping habits Answer: D. parents' bad sleeping habits The following is a true story. It happened in a small village in Australia, where some dangerous animals live in the forest. Lisa, a 33-year-old mother, went to cook lunch in the kitchen, her 3-year-old son, Barney, playing by himself in the garden. Suddenly, a loud cry of Barney came into the mother's ears. Lisa rushed into the garden in a hurry and found a big snake entwining the little boy with its terrible body and trying to eat the boy. It was a boa . Lisa was _ and quite angry. She decided to save her son from the boa's mouth. It was great mother's love that made Lisa forget what she was facing. She took up a hoe from the ground and beat the boa as hard as she could. One...two...with the hoe, Lisa beat the boa time and time again, but useless. The little boy's voice and breath were getting weaker and weaker. Lisa's heart was broken and she got nearly mad. Suddenly Lisa put away the hoe and threw herself to the boa, opened her mouth and bit into the boa's back. The boa was so badly hurt that it let go of Barney and moved into the forest hurriedly. It had never known how a woman had such terrible sharp teeth. Soon the boa was found dead in the forest. It was great mother's love that saved the little boy. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Lisa was getting weaker and weaker. B. Lisa got mad when she saw her son in danger. C. Lisa opened her mouth and bit into the boa's back. D. Lisa beat the snake with the hoe as hard as she could. Answer: A. Lisa was getting weaker and weaker. If a neutral atom loses an electron, what is formed? A. A gas B. An ion C. An acid D. A molecule Answer: B. An ion Long ago, little attention was paid to a person's birthday. Even though everyone knew that people grew older, they had no way of correctly marking time. It wasn't until the early people learned more about how time passed that they made a note of time changes. Then they developed a calendar and began to celebrate special events such as birthdays. When birthdays first started to be celebrated during the early days, common people, especially children, hardly celebrated their birthdays. Today, birthdays are celebrated by the young and the old alike all around the world. Many countries have different customs from ours of celebrating birthdays. At the same time there are a lot of people that celebrate birthdays in quite similar ways as we do. Some of the countries are very similar to the United States, such as Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland. Customs within countries can be affected by things like language, religion, geographic location, and economic conditions. No matter what the customs are, however, they are always followed by the majority of the people in each country. For example, not all children in the US have birthday parties, candles or birthday cakes, but most of them do. However, the reasons why we celebrate birthdays and use different symbols are very much the same to everyone. The reason why we have birthday parties goes back to long time ago. At that time people believed that good and bad spirits appeared when a child was born and influenced that child through his / her life. The belief brought about the custom of having birthday parties. They believed that surrounding the birthday person with friends, family and good wishes would frighten the bad spirits away. Which of the following will NOT affect birthday customs according to the passage? A. Religion. B. Education. C. Economic conditions. D. Language. Answer: B. Education.
Mini Book Excerpts Biography When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it... The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor. J. D. Salinger:A Life by Kenneth Slawenski (Random House, $27) Mystery "You're a smart boy. Benny's death was no accident, and you're the only who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it? "The boy was starting stubbornly at his lap again. A thought suddenly occurred to Annika, "Did you ...You recognized the man in the car, didn't you?" The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers, "Maybe," he said quietly. Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Atria Books, $25. 99) Short Stories She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don't want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't. Some mothers love so their daughters won't. You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books,$15) Humor Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times!'s "amusement cycling" is the most fun you can have legally in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day's drive lf most cities? Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle (Ecco,$14. 99) After finishing the book Red Wolf, the readers would learn that _ . A magnifying glass makes objects China Science and Technology Museum was opened to the public in September 1988. But the second project was completed in May 2000. Its main task is to spread knowledge of science and technology among the public. The activities of China Science and Technology Museum include popular science exhibitions, Astro-vision film shows, training education programs and experiment exhibition programs. The museum has an area of 40,000 square metres, of which 16,000 square metres is for exhibition halls. The Astro-vision Theatre is one of the museum's major attractions and also one of the largest Astro-vision theatres in the world. It makes visitors feel they are in actual events rather than see a film. Many great science activities are often held at the museum, and the museum wants to be an important window to the world. What can you see in the museum? There were two McDonalds--Mac and Dick--and they were brothers. In 1948, they owned a restaurant in California, they liked working in the restaurant, but they got tired of the customers ordering so many different things to eat. "If we gave customers a smaller menu, we could make some of the food before they came, and they wouldn't have to wait so long for their meals," said one of the brothers. The other brother agreed and said, "And if we made the customers come to the counter, we wouldn't need any waiters or waitresses. We could also use plastic plates so there wouldn't be any washing-up." These were such good ideas that McDonald brothers used them, and the customers were very pleased. They got their meals very quickly--in less than a minute--and they paid only 15 cents for hamburgers and 10 cents for fries. The first McDonald's restaurant had no seats for customers to sit on. This meant that people had to take their food away, and that no one had to clean up any tables after them. Then a man called Ray Kroc came to the brothers and asked to buy their business. They agreed to sell it to him for$27 million. After that, people paid Ray Kroc to open their own restaurants using the McDonald's name and menu. Before long, there were McDonald's restaurants all over the United States, and nowadays, they are all over the world--even in China and Russia. The most successful McDonald's business is in Hong Kong of China. The Hong Kong McDonald's sells more hamburgers every day than any other McDonald's anywhere else in the world. McDonald's restaurants are so successful because children love going to them. They like the food, and they like the toys and games they can get at McDonald's. Nowadays, the owners of McDonald's restaurants pay for _ . It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing. I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said "I'll pencil it in my diary", and my friend said "You can ink it in", meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one! Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails. Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite--coming from "favorite pages", so the verb is derived from an adjective not a noun. Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven't heard that verb yet, but I'm sure I will soon. Perhaps I'll start using it myself! The best title for this passage is _ .
Peter King, 15, and Mary King, 13, went to see a doctor. Peter had a bad cold, so the doctor gave him some pills to take. Mary had a bad cough, so the doctor gave her some cough medicine. There are the words on the bottle of the medicine: Cough Medicine Shake well before use. Take three times daily after meals. At one time: adults --------- 2 teaspoonfuls Children 8 -- 14 1 teaspoonful Children 4 -- 7 1/2 teaspoonful Not suitable for children below the age of 4 Store in a cold place. Use before Oct.2007. Mary should take _ in a day. 1 teaspoonful Use your American Express Card to enjoy one-day privileges at four ofprefix = st1 /America's greatest museums. Note the participating museums, and their exciting special exhibitions that you will not want to miss, listed below. Boston Isabella StewartGardnerMuseum Chairs February 11-May 8, 2005 Italian furniture expert Fausto Calderai and Indian photographer Dayanita Singh present an exhibition of chairs from the museum's collection and "chair photographs" from around the world presented in a Venetian-style hall housing world-famous masterpieces. For more information: www.gardnermuseum.org New York The NoguchiMuseum Noguchi and Graham December 1, 2004--May 1, 2005 Noguchi's long-term collaboration with dancer Martha Graham is regarded by many as a high pointin the history of both modern dance and art. The exhibition highlights nine of the sets created through this collaboration. For more information: www.noguchi.org Philadelphia Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts In full View: American Painting(1720--2005) January 11--April 10, 2005 Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy has been home to America's artists for 200 years. The Academy collects and exhibits the works of famous American artists, and is well-known for training fine artists. 2005 at the Academy begins with the largest exhibition of Academy's distinguished American collection in the institution's history. For more information: www.pafa.org Seattle Seattle Museum of Glass Murano: Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection Through November 7, 2004 This exhibition includes over 200 pieces of beautiful glass from Murano, the island of glassblowers near Venice,Italy. Watch live glass-blowing shows in the How Shop and see other modern glass exhibitions. For more information: www.museumofglass.org If you want to know the history of American painting, you may visit _ Pennsylvania Academy of the fine Arts Traditional fairy tales are being abandoned by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study has found. A research has discovered one in five parents has given up old classics such as Snow Whiteandthe Seven Dwarves and Rapunzelin favour of more modern books. One third of parents say their children have been left in tears after hearing the horrible details ofLittle Red Riding Hood. And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to readRumplestiltskinto their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and killing. Similarly,Goldilocks and the Three Bearsis also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents feel it forgives stealing. The survey of 2,000 adults was completed to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM, which starts tonight at 9 p.m. on Watch, and sees six drama series based on traditional fairy tales. The survey has found a quarter of parents polled will not consider reading a fairy tale to their children until they have reached the age of five, as they have to face too many awkward questions from their children. Steve Hornsey, General Manager, Watch, said, "Bedtime stories are supposed to _ children and send them off to sleep soundly. But as we see inGRIMM, some fairy tales can be dark and dramatic tales so it' s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children. As adults, we can see the innocence in fairy tales, but a five-year-old child would take them too seriously. Despite the dark nature of some classic fairy tales, as we see inGRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story." The study also shows two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares. However, half of parents think traditional tales are more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, such as The Gruffalo, The Hungary Caterpillarand theMr. Menbooks. What's the author's attitude towards traditional fairy tales? Not mentioned. When Julio Diaz stepped off the subway after work one night, he was simply planning to go to his favorite local diner for a meal. But when a teenage boy approached him with a knife, Diaz knew the evening was about to take a more dramatic turn. The young man demanded Diaz's wallet, and Diaz passed it over without objection . But just as he turned to walk away, Diaz called, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something." The young man turned around, surprised. "If you're going to rob people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep warm." The teenager looked at Diaz in disbelief, and asked why he would do such a thing. Diaz replied, "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, I guess you must really need the money."He said he was heading out for dinner, and that he would be happy to take someone with him. The young man decided to _ his offer. As they were sitting at the table, the manager, dishwashers and waiters all stopped over to say hello to Diaz, and the young man was amazed at his popularity. "Haven't you been taught that you should be nice to everybody?"Diaz asked him. "Yeah, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teenager replied. Thanks to Diaz, he was beginning to see that kindness wasn't so strange, after all. When the bill came, Diaz told the teen that he'd have to get the check. After all, he still had Diaz's wallet. But the teenager put the wallet on the table without a moment's thought, and Diaz treated him to dinner. Diaz also gave the would-be robber a $20 bill -- in exchange for his knife. "I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right," Diaz said. Diaz possibly felt _ during the whole night. relaxed and happy What causes a chemical reaction? mixing and heating edible items
The malls were filled with people seeking gifts for their loved ones. Some of the malls remained open around the clock, partly to satisfy our needs to buy gifts. Behind the materialistic aspect of shopping for gifts lies the idea of caring, being attentive to the desires of special people in our lives. However, to use a well-worn play on words: it is our presence, not our presents, that truly counts. Many of us, unfortunately, can be so inattentive, even in the presence of our loved ones, that we might as well not be there at all. Attention is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other. Companies around the globe spend billions every year on advertising to catch our attention for just a short moment at a time. Whole industries - media, entertainment, education - rely on the precious gift of our attention for their continued existence. A baby lacking attention for a long time is likely to he psychologically unhealthy. In earlier times, both diet and attention could be left unregulated without major cause for concern. There were natural checks and balances: limited availability of food meant few got fat, for example. Similarly, in bygone times we might have spent a few hours communicating with the village storyteller, today, watching an entire TV series, while speaking to nobody, is common. In traditional societies, with smaller population, everyone would get a fair deal of attention. On many issues we might go to see Grandma or Grandpa; now we have Google and Wikipedia. "She just wants attention." people tend to think little of those doing things simply for attention. But the truth is that human beings need attention, and giving attention to each other is, to a large extent, what human civilization is based upon. This perhaps explains the runaway success of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. While we use such sites for "micro blogging", "idea voicing" and "status updates" - the reality is that we are often doing no more or less than fulfilling our basic human drive for attention exchange. I friend you, you friend me, I retweet you, you retweet me. The charming case with which we can now get and give attention is why many people appear overly attached to their smartphones. It is also a vicious circle. As ever more people are busy exchanging attention online, there is increasingly less attention to be paid in the real world, which forces more people to seek their attention exchange online, or else risk attention-starvation. The very nature of attention exchange is being rapidly transformed, and there is a danger that some of us will develop unhealthy practices. Just as eating red meat every day is a bad idea, so it is with too much attention exchange. The biological consequences of our technological advancement in food production are highly visible; heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The consequences of our transformed attention exchanges will be psychological and social, and so may take longer to identify, but they will be equally damaging. Face-to-face attention is becoming rarer, and therefore more valuable. In a sense it is priceless. And it is a gift that can be given all-year-round. People use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to _ . A. obtain information B. give attention to others C. voice their opinions D. notice and get noticed Answer: D Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture.This process begins with the "honeymoon stage".This is the period of time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting.We may be suffering from "jet lag" but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food.This stage can last for quite a long time because we feel we are involved in some kind of great adventure. Unfortunately, the second stage can be more difficult.After we have settled down into our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets.All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture.This period of cultural adjustment can be very difficult and lead to rejecting or pulling away from the new culture. The third stage is called the "adjustment stage".This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture.Your sense of humour usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place.Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor! The fourth stage can be called "at ease at last".Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings.You can cope(deal) with most problems that occur.You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them. According to the passage, people are most likely to return to their own culture at the _ stage. A. 1st B. 2nd C. third D. fourth Answer: B With all the responsibilities we face in our daily lives, it's often hard to get a good night's rest. The problem really lies in the stress that many of us experience. Stress robs you of the rest that you need by putting you in a state of pressure and worry. There are, of course, some methods that can help you relax, but only a few of them give you a good night's sleep. One of them is soothing music for sleep. Sleep music is not just for encouraging relaxation, it also can be used for various situations. Want to have a relaxing evening by yourself? Practice yoga in a comfortable environment? Think over something important? Then put on your favorite sleep music. Sleep music is not only fit for adults, but has also been known to be good for children. Soothing music helps your children go to sleep more easily. Massage therapists can also benefit from using soothing music for sleep in their clinics . This allows clients to benefit more from the session. For example, massage therapists can provide the relaxation of the body through their techniques, and the music helps clients relax their minds, helping them to relax deeper and feel more refreshed after the session. You'll never run out as there are some artists and companies that make sleep music. Choosing the right music is important as well. Like most music that you can find and buy in stores, sleep music has different styles, sounds, and subjects. There are those that are specifically for relaxation, while some are intended to help you go to sleep. The great thing about sleep music is that it will be something you'll be using for months, even years to come. If you want a deeper relaxation and better sleep, give some soothing music for sleep a try. We can learn from the text that _ . A. sleep music is first used in massage B. all the sleep music is intended to help people to go to sleep C. clients during massage use sleep music to help them go to sleep D. clients will feel more refreshed after the massage using sleep music Answer: D The growing popularity of digital reading has encouraged best-selling young Chinese author Han Han to release his new novel on the Internet. Ta De Guo (His Country), of which Han Han has finished only one tenth so far, will be available for paid reading from December 1ston Qidian.com, the online library has announced. Han Han will update the story every day and finish the book before the end of the year. A printed edition will only be produced after all of the content goes online, sources said. To read the entire book, readers will have to pay eight yuan, or 0.08yuanper 1,000 words. This is almost four times the price of an average writer on Qidian.com. Lu Jinbo, a well-known publisher, estimated that a popular writer like Han Han is likely to attract 20 million subscribers. That means this high-school-dropout-turned popular author could bring in 160 million yuan, nearly 40 times as much as he earned in copyright royalties last year. On the 2007 list of Chinese millionaire writers, Han Han ranked 13th with 3.8 million yuan. The richest, Guo Jingming, earned 11 millionyuan. Statistics from China Internet Network Information Center show that there are at least 253 million Internet users in prefix = st1 /China. Such a large-scale Internet population has developed a prosperous industry for online novel writing. Among the many success stories is Zhang Muye, an office worker whose fantasy novel Ghost Blows out the Lightmade him the 19th wealthiest author in 2007. Besides the potential to gain a large readership base, the Internet writers are being recognized professionally. The jury of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, the most prestigious honor for Chinese writers, is considering adding a category for online writers. According to the passage, online writing is becoming more and more popular mainly because _ . A. it's a good way to save paper B. it's convenient to write online C. all the online stories are interesting D. Internet users inChinaare increasing Answer: D Suppose you want to bring home a new cat and are looking for a way to really make it feel at home. Actually, all you need to do is buy some nice cat furniture and have it in place by the time you bring it into your home. The first thing that you should prepare is a cat house. Two to three feet off the ground is the best height. If you don't have enough room for a cat house, a cat bed is also a nice choice. Once you have a nice spot where your cat can go to feel safe, then it's time to get cat furniture that offers your pet a nice place to play. One nice choice is cat trees. Scratching posts are another great idea if you are short in space, but still want to give your cat a nice place where it can claw at instead of your own furniture. If you're looking for a great way to shop for cat furniture, simply turn on your computer and do some online shopping. In no time will you be able to skim all the offerings from many online stores. What's great is that you can easily compare products and their prices, so you can get what you want at the best possible price. And, probably the nicest thing about online shopping is that your purchases may be shipped right to you, so you don't have to waste time making a trip to the store. So, if you have brought a new cat into your home, make sure that home is an inviting one by buying some new cat furniture. Without it, your cat might feel lost and unsafe, which you definitely do not want to happen. According to the author, the first concern for a cat house is _ . A. its height B. its size C. its price D. safety Answer: D
Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature . He is the first Chinese who lives and works in China to win the prize. Mo Yan, the pen-name for Guan Moye, was bom in 1955 and grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China. His parents were farmers. He left school to work at the age of 12, first on the farm, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the PLA and during this time he began to study literature and writing. His first short story was published in 1981. He has written many famous books about his childhood and his hometown. The novel Honggaoliang jiazu is one of them. It tells five stories that took place in Gaomi during the 1930s and 1940s. The book was published in 1987 and translated into English in 1993. It was made into a popular movie in 1987 by the well-known director Zhang Yimou. Besides his novels, Mo Yan has published many short stories and essays . He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in China. Many of his books have been translated into English, French and many other languages. The Nobel Prizes were set up by Alfred Nobel, a great Swedish inventor, in 1895. The winner will win a medal, a diploma and a cash award of 8 million Swedish Kronor (about 7 million yuan). What is mainly talked about in the passage? Answer: A few months ago, millions of people in London heard alarms all over the town. The Emergency Services, the Fire Departments, the Police, hospitals, and ambulances stood by, ready to go into action. In railway underground stations, people read notices and maps that told them where to go and what to do in the emergency. This was Exercise Flood Call, to prepare people for a flood emergency. London wasn't flooded. In 1928, people living in Westminster, the heart of London, drowned in floods. And in 1953, one hundred people, living on the eastern edge of the London suburbs were killed, again, in the floods. At last, Greater London Council took actions to prevent this disaster from happening again. Though a flood wall was built in the 1960s, Londoners still must be prepared for the possible disaster. If it happens, 50 underground stations will be under water. Electricity, gas and phone services will be out of action. Roads will be drowned. It will be impossible to cross any of the bridges between north and south London. Imagine: London will look like the famous Italian city, Venice. But this Exercise Flood Call didn't cause panic among Londoners. Most people knew it was just a warning. One lady said, "It's a flood warning, isn't it. ? The water doesn't look high to me." The author quotes 3the woman to _ . Answer: Anthropologists are scientists that study people who often lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Items those men, women, and children left behind when they died --- everything from clothing to jewelry and tools --- tell anthropologists a lot. And sometimes even their words survive. Experts believe that a discovery in Mexico is the oldest example of writing ever found in the Americas. The people who created it probably lived 3,000 years ago, long before Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World. Workers digging in a rock mine happened to notice a stone block with marks carved onto its surface. They found the large piece of stone near the city of Cascajal, Mexico, which was once the capital of an ancient people called the Ohmec. "There are signs on the block that seem to show objects used by the Olmec during their religious ceremonies," says Dr. Stephen Houston, of Brown University in the USA. "There is a sign that looks very similar to a knife and another that looks like the chair of a King," he explains. Houston, an expert on the writing systems of ancient cultures, says the discovery is exciting because "it makes clear that the Olmec could read and write. It is like hearing voices from the past." But experts don't know exactly what the writing says. Finding other examples of Olmec writing could help decipher the puzzle. "We could have whole sets of ancient writing which will basically make ancient people speak to us directly," says Houston. "There are many puzzles to be solved, and this is just one of them." Which is probably the best title for the passage? Answer: After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. The other woman my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it impossible to visit her often. That Friday after work, when I arrived at her house, my mother waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and comfortable. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation, nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed. A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined. An attached note said "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates--one for you and the other for your wife. You w ill never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son." At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time 'I love YOU' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve because these things cannot be put off till some "other" time. What can we know about the author's mother according to the passage? Answer: There's nothing like having a child to remind you that you are no longer the center of your own universe. But every now and then, I need to relax with some"me"time. I booked an overnight trip to Dover, Delaware. We arrived in Delaware right after sunset. Mom and I settled into our hotel room and went downstairs to the restaurant, and then I ordered myself a drink. I had just taken two sips when my husband called me. "I'm so sorry to bother you,"Craig said."The baby is burning up and we are on the way to the hospital."I didn't know how to reply. I was so desperate to get away to take a break. My baby was sick but I couldn't do a thing for him. The situation made me feel so helpless."I don't know what to do,"I told him."I'm five hours from home!""I know,"my husband said."You can't help that. I'll call you when I know what's wrong."My husband and my father took the baby to the emergency room. Meanwhile, I searched the restaurant for my mom. Once I found her, we went to our hotel room and waited for a phone call. Over an hour later, Craig called to tell me that the baby had bronchitis . He seemed to be feeling better. The next morning, when I returned home, the baby was already back to his happy self. Ever since this incident, I have really struggled with the concept of"me"time. I try to figure out why I need a break from the child who I love very much. However, sometimes I need to feel like a person and not just a mommy machine. In recent months, I have taken some"me"time. My mom helped keep the baby so I could go shopping, take a nap, and clean my house. On a couple of occasions, Craig and I went to dinner with friends. And this summer, I even managed to read an entire novel while the baby rested. Now I've decided not to leave the baby overnight again or travel a long distance without him. I remember when I first announced my pregnancy , a friend told me there was no 'me' in mommy. Maybe there's not. But for me, I'm taking"me"time when I can. What's the author's attitude towards her friend's words? Answer:
Are the British people Europeans?This may seem a strange question to Africans and Asians,who tend to think of all white men as Europeans. But the British,when they are in Britain,do not regard themselves as Europeans. The Europeans,to them,are those rather excitable foreigners from the other side of English Channel,who have never learnt how to speak English. Europe is "the Continent":a place full of interests for English tourists,but also the source of almost all the wars in which Britain has ever been involved. Thus,although geographically speaking Britain is a part of Europe,yet the fact that it is a separate island has made its people feel very,very insular . They feel,in many ways,different from the rest of Europe,and they sometimes annoy continental nations by failing to support them,or even to understand them,in time of need. Where did the British people come from?This is quite interesting question,since they are a mixture of many different races ,and all these races invaded Britain at various times from Europe. Nobody knows very much about prefix = st1 /Britainbefore the Romans came during the first century B. C.,but there had been at least three invasions before that. The first of these was by a dark--haired Mediterranean race called Iberians. The other two were by Celtic tribes :first the Gaels,whose descendants are the modern Scots and Irish,some of whom still speak the Gaelic language;secondly the Britons,who gave their name to the whole island of Britain. These were the people whom the Romans conquered. The Romans gave the Britons a good deal of civilization,but they never settled in Britain in very large numbers,so the British race survived until the overthrow of the Roman Empire by the"barbarians"--the numerous Germanic tribes which overran the whole of Western Europe. The purpose of the passage is to_. Answer: Look to many of history's cultural symbols, and there you'll find an ancestor of Frosty, the snowman in the movie Frozen. It appeared on some of the first postcards, starred in some of the earliest silent movies, and was the subject of a couple of the earliest photos, dating all the way back to the 1800s. I discovered even more about one of humanity's earliest forms of life art during several years of research around the world. For example, snowmen were a phenomenon in the Middle Ages, built with great skill and thought. At a time of limited means of expression, snow was like free art supplies dropped from the sky. It was a popular activity for couples to leisurely walk through town to view the temporary works of chilly art. Some were created by famous artists, including a 19-year-old Michelangelo, who in 1494 was appointed by the ruler of Florence, Italy, to build a snowman in his mansion's courtyard. The Miracle of 1511 took place during six freezing works called the Winter of Death. The city of Brussels was covered in snowmen--an impressive scene that told stories on every street corner. Some were political in nature, criticizing the church and government. Some were a reflection of people's imagination. For the people of Brussels, this was a defining moment of defining freedom. At least until spring arrived, by which time they were dealing with damaging floods. If you fear the heyday of the snowman has passed, don't worry: I've learned that some explosive snowman history is still being made today. Every year since 1818, the people of Zurich, Switzerland, celebrate the beginning of spring by blowing up a snowman. On the third Monday of April, the holiday Sechselauten is kicked off when a cotton snowman called the Boogg is stuffed with explosive and paraded through town by bakers and other tradesmen who throw bread to the crowds. The parade ends with the Boogg being placed on a 40-foot pile of firewood. After the bells of the Church of St. Peter have rung six times, representing the passing of winter, the pile is lit. When the snowman explodes, winter is considered officially over--the quicker it is burnt down, the longer summer is said to be. In Zurich, the blowing up of the Boogg symbolizes _ . Answer: What is great art? On the one hand, we can all see that great art is old art which is called great. But how do we know which art of our own times is great, and which will be forgotten? And who decides? These are important questions, for the great art of the past often was not considered great during its own time. When Shakespeare and Charles Dickens were writing, for example, most critics considered them as hack writers with little or no literary ability. Similarly, Van Gogh and many of the other Impressionist painters of the late nineteenth century were not allowed to participate in events involving what were thought to be the "real" painters of the time, and often they were very poor. Yet today their paintings often sell for millions of dollars, while those so-called "real" painters are now barely remembered. So what makes great art? Can, for example, rock music be great art? Music videos? Cartoons and comics? Those who call themselves critics of the fine arts often have been the last to recognize great art in the past, and we can probably expect this to be the situation today. Critics often don't recognize great art because they tend to be prejudiced against what is popular. Popular works, whether they are novels, movies, or comics, are usually considered to be produced for the sake of money only, and not for the sake of art. But popularity, it seems to me, is one of the three signs that a present-day work of art may come to be thought of as great. The other two are that it is groundbreaking, and that it is inherently beautiful. Many works have one or even two of these qualities of being popular, unusual, and beautiful. But having all the three often will mean that a work of art will someday be seen to be great, though it may take a good spoonful of time, such as a century or two, to know for sure. The author used the examples of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Van Gogh to prove _ . Answer: Another food which is closely associated with Americans is apple pie.Apple pie is often served hot with a spoon of ice cream or a slice of cheese at the end of the biggest meal of the day--dinner, and it is a favorite dessert throughout the nation.If a person is typical of Americans, we can say, "He is as American as apple pie." It is true that the apple and apple pie do not originate in America, but the expression "as American as apple pie" is not the product of a pure imagination.As early as 1625, the English colonists, having brought orchards on this new land and in most of the colonial times, the apple was a main material of both plain and fancy cooking.The first Massachusetts governor, William Endicott, was one of many keen apple planters who helped to lay the foundations for today' s apple-growing industry in America. A major attraction of the apple for the colonists was that it could be made into cider . Like most Europeans, English colonists held a strong suspicion of drinking water, and since grape growing was _ by plant peats, cider became an alternative to wine.Cheap and easy to produce, it was the American drink of first choice well into the nineteenth century.Whether it was dried, raw or cooked, the apple also found its way into numerous colonial dishes, including apple sauces, pudding, stuffing and many desserts.Therefore, the conclusion to be drawn here is obvious.The apple pie became known as American, not because it was invented on this land (since it was proved that Europeans had been eating apple pies for centuries), but because, thanks to the huge orchards in the states of Washington and New York, America became the world's largest apple-producing nation. It can be concluded from the passage that _ . Answer: Rose and Lily were best friends. They had met when they were little and grew up together. Lily and Rose got a house to live in and painted the walls blue. Then they went to buy a couch. Jerry worked at the couch store. Lily found a green couch that she liked. But the couch was too hard. Rose found a soft red couch. She showed it to Lilly and they both thought it was very soft. Jerry said he would help them move it and let them buy the couch. Rose and Lily went to another store to buy extra cushions. Tom worked at the store that had a lot of pillows to buy. Rose and Lily did not think Tom was nice. Tom did not help them. Rose found red pillows but Tom would not give them to her. Lily found pretty green pillows but Tom said they cost a lot of money. Rose and Lily went to another store where they met Steve and Megan. Steve and Megan showed them a lot of pillows that were nice. Rose and Lily showed Megan and Steve the couch they had. Megan and Steve helped find pretty blue pillows for the red couch. Rose and Lily were so happy they threw a party. Megan and Steve went to the party. Jerry went too. Jerry went to the party and gave Megan and Lily a rug. It was blue. The rug matched the pillows. Who had pillows? Answer:
The predictability of our death rates is something that has long puzzled social scientists. After all, there is no natural reason why 2,500 people should accidentally shoot themselves each year or why 7,000 should drown or 55,000 die in their cars. No one establishes a quota for each type of death. It just happens that they follow a consistent pattern year after year. A few years ago a Canadian psychologist named Gerald Wilde became interested in this phenomenon. He noticed that mortality rates for violent and accidental deaths throughout the Western world have remained strangely static throughout the whole of the century, despite all the technological advances and increases in safety standards that have happened in that time. Wilde developed an interesting theory called "risk homeostasis". According to this theory, people naturally live with a certain level of risk. When something is made safer, people will get around the measure in some way to get back to the original level of danger. If, for instance, they are required to wear seat belts, they will feel safer and thus will drive a little faster and a little more recklessly, thereby statistically canceling out the benefits that the seat belt offers. Other studies have shown that where a crossing is made safer, the accident rate invariably falls there but rises elsewhere along the same stretch of road as if making up for the drop. It appears, then, that we have an inborn need for danger. In all events, it is becoming clearer and clearer to scientists that the factors influencing our lifespan are far more subtle and complex than had been previously thought. It now appears that if you wish to live a long life, it isn't simply a matter of paying attention to certain precautions such as eating the right foods, not smoking, and driving with care. You must also have the right attitude. Scientists at the Duke University Medical Center made a 15-year study of 500 persons personalities and found, somewhat to their surprise, that people with a suspicious or mistrustful nature die prematurely far more often than people with a sunny disposition. Looking on the bright side, it seems, can add years to your life span. In his research, Gerald Wilde finds that technological advances and increases in safety standards _ . Reading can provide lots of fun for children and teens during summer vacation. Children who read during the summer are better prepared for school when they return to classes in the fall. Public libraries throughout Wisconsin will host summer events to encourage children and young adults to include reading in their summer fun. All Star Readers The Milwaukee Public Library will host its 2007 Summer Reading Club for kids from 3 to 18. Signing up starts on June 1 at all Milwaukee public libraries and bookmobile sites. Children aged 6 to 12 are invited to become "All Star Readers" at the Milwaukee library when they sign up for the Summer Reading Club. Children can score a point by reading 10 books or 1,000 pages. When they reach the reading goal, they will win a bag full of prizes. Sparkey Spots the Ball Children up to 5 years old can join the read-to-me club, "Sparkey Spots the Ball". They will receive their own reading folders to record the books read to them by parents, brothers and sisters or relatives. Once they have listened to 20 books, they will win a baseball and a coupon for McDonald's ice cream. *X-treme Read Teens between the age of 13 and 18 can join in their own reading program called "X-treme Read". Teens can read to win movie passes, CDs and more. The library also plans extreme bike races by C4BMX at four libraries in June and July. Check with your local library or Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the exact dates, times, and places of the demonstrations . Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage? Social networking isn't only for the under 40s. More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research. "The latest data tells us that more and more social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus," said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report. Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 percent said they use it to stay in touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren. "They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them," said Jean Koppen, the author of the report. She added that older adults are also on Facebook to stay connected, not only with their family, but with their friends and those in the same age group. Almost 50 percent of older adults were introduced to the social networking sites by a family member, mainly a child or grandchild. "Just under one-fifth of adults aged 50 and older say they do not use the Internet," according to the report. The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,863 adults. In addition to keeping up on Facebook and Twitter older adults are aware of the latest technology. Eighty-three percent had heard about the Apple iPad and 11 percent intended to buy one. Despite the popularity of the Internet among the over 50s, they still mostly go to print newspapers and magazines for news. Only one percent said they followed blogs. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? How do you feel after you've stayed up late to finish schoolwork? Or the day after a slumber party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes. Genes are stretches of DNA that work like an instruction manual for our cells. Genes tell our bodies and brains what to do. People have about 40,000 genes, and each gene can have different forms. So, for example, certain forms of some genes make your eyes blue. Other versions of those genes make your eyes brown. In a similar way, new research suggests that a gene calledperiod3affects how well you function without sleep. The discovery adds to older evidence thatperiod3helps determine whether you like to stay up late or get up early. Theperiod3gene comes in two forms: short and long. Everyone has two copies of the gene. So, you may have two longs, two shorts, or one of each. Your particular combination depends on what your parents passed on to you. Scientists from the University of Surrey in England studied 24 people who had either two short or two long copies ofperiod3. Study participants had to stay awake for 40 hours straight. Then, they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when numbers flashed on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers. Results showed that the people with the short form ofperiod3performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did. In both groups, people performed worst in the early morning. That's the time when truck drivers and other night-shift workers say they have the most trouble concentrating. After the first round of experiments, participants were finally allowed to sleep. People in the group that performed well on the tests took about 18 minutes to nod off. People with the longperiod3gene, by contrast, fell asleep in just 8 minutes. They also spent more time in deep sleep. That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form. People with the short form of period3 _ . The digestion process begins in which of the following?
(By CCTV correspondent Vanessa Duffy 04/28/2013 08:36) It's been eight days since a 7.0-magnitude strong earthquake hit China's Lushan Ya'an Sichuan Province.How the earthquake has affected one of Sichuan Province's special residents --pandas.How are the animals living? And do they have enough food to eat? There are more than 80 pandas living here at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Base .The quake was felt strongly in Chengdu.Fortunately,all of the pandas here were out on the grounds when the earthquake hit,so they were very safe. Several days have passed and the earthquake seems to have made no negative impact on the pandas.These two baby pandas Chengshuang and Chengdui are playfighting with each other and climbing trees.When they climbed too high,the breeders have to _ them from the trees. The quake zone is not only the home of these pandas,it's also the source of their food.Fortunately,enough bamboo has been stored away in five bamboo storehouses for the pandas,so there are no worries about food supplies. Wu Kongju,Breeder,Chengdu Panda Breeding Base,said,"When the Wenchuan earthquake happened on May 12,2008,we were unprepared and had a shortage of bamboo.But we've been able to handle this earthquake event more smoothly.There are no problems with the food supply." When did the 7.0-magnitude earthquake happen in Lushan Sichuan Province? A. On April 28,2013 B. On May 12,2008 C. On April 20,2013 D. On May 20,2013 Answer: C. On April 20,2013 Liu Hui is very excited. The students in a school in Shanghai will go to the USA with his parents during the Spring Festival. "Overseas touring has always been a dream for me," he said happily. Nowadays, Chinese people enjoy longer holidays, such as the three "Golden Week Holidays"(the Spring Festival, May Day and National Day). They have more time to travel. Rising incomes also make travelling abroad realistic for ordinary Chinese people. Nearly 7 million Chinese travelled overseas in 2001, according to the National Tourism Administration . The most common problem travellers face is how to choose the best routes . By the end of 2002, Chinese citizens were allowed to travel to 19 foreign countries and regions at their own expense. The top 10 places included Hong Kong, Macao and Thailand. European countries are also becoming increasingly popular. "More and more Chinese people have shown interest in travelling to Europe, particularly France and Finland," said Tan Wen, a general manager of China Youth Travel Service. "Sooner or later, there will be a peak in European tours." Another consideration is choosing the right travel agencies and finding the best price. The China Consumers' Association(CCA,)offered tips to consumers on choosing the right travel agencies to help prevent a relaxing vacation from turning into a costly disaster. "Price should not be the single most important factor in choosing a travel agency," said Zhang Yuanchao, CCA vice-secretary general. Consumers are advised to choose large State travel agencies with good reputations and official approval to organize overseas tour groups. Zhang's association dealt with more than 5, 000 complaints about travel agencies last year. And the majority of the complaints were about _ in travel routes, bad tour guides, and forced shopping. Travellers were warned to look carefully at their contracts with agencies and to buy travel insurance . How many reasons are given in the article as to why ordinary Chinese people are traveling abroad more today? A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five. Answer: A. Two. Are you looking for something fun and would you like to help other people in your spare time? Then join us to be a volunteer . We are a non-profit organization . We have volunteer jobs for people of all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children to people in their 80s, can become a volunteer. You can help people in many ways. Schools need help with taking care of children when their parents are working. Hospitals need volunteers to look after children when their parents see a doctor. Animal lovers can help take care of those dogs and cats without homes. There is something for everyone. "As a volunteer, I don't want to get anything. Seeing the children's happy faces, I am happy, too."says Carlos Domingo, an old woman of 62. If everyone helps a bit, we'll have a better world to live in. Interested in?Call us on 1-800-555-5756, or visit our website:www. activol. com. ,. Carlos Domingo works as a volunteer to help _ . A. dogs B. cats C. old people D. children Answer: D. children ON a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain? Baymax, the plus-sized white robot, asks the question each time he detects his patient's pain. Considering that he is hardly like a typical Marvel superhero, how could this robotic caregiver from Big Hero 6 have stolen viewers' hearts and taken home this year's best animation Oscar? Set in fictional San Fransokyo, the film follows Hiro, a 14-year-old robotics genius . After his brother dies, he goes on a journey to save his city from an evil masked man with his brother's invention, Baymax. Baymax was named "Disney's most straightforwardly adorable character" in years by The Telegraph. He has a pure white pear-shaped body and stumpy elephant legs. And his eyes -just two black dots with a line through them - can blink quickly or slowly. Baymax's physical appearance "works with his personality because he's purely good and naive ," co-director Don Hall told The Hollywood Reporter. Sometimes Baymax is awkward. Moving in tight spaces gets challenging with his potbelly . And when his batteries run low, he behaves like an amusing drunk. "This means that he is not at all intimidating and is easy to like," commented The Straits Times in Singapore. Baymax is a comforting friend, the kind that perhaps everyone needs. After he diagnoses Hiro with feeling sorrow, he says: "Physical comfort helps too," and pulls Hiro into a hug. He pats his head, saying: "There, there." The team's car crashes into the water at one point, and they have to walk shivering back home. Baymax notices that everyone's body temperatures are low, so he turns on his internal heaters. Everyone cuddles up with him. "This is like spooning with a warm marshmallow ," says Fred, one of the characters. One minute, he is used as a bouncy castle , and the next he transforms into a superhero. To fight against the villain, Hiro upgrades Baymax so that the robot can attack and fly. The robot has a hard time figuring out these new skills, but after he realizes that Hiro is happy with his improvement, he immediately becomes an expert. "The treatment is working,"he says. Tencent Entertainment calls the amazing Baymax a "perfect companion"."He is quiet, clumsy, and adorable. But at important times, he steps up and stops at nothing to protect his friends from harm, even if it means that he has to sacrifice his life. This is an idealized relationship in harsh reality," the site commented. What is the article mainly about? A. The plot and background of the movie Big Hero 6. B. The friendship between Hiro and Baymax in Big Hero 6. C. The reasons for the popularity of Baymax from Big Hero 6. D. What sets Big Hero 6 apart from other animation movies. Answer: C. The reasons for the popularity of Baymax from Big Hero 6. Residence Inn Milford Within 15 minutes from historic Yale University and New Haven, the Residence Inn Milford offers great facilities and first-class service for business or leisure travel. Our all-suites hotel near New Haven is 1 hour from Bradley International Airport and 10 minutes from a Metro North train station that can get you to NYC in under an hour and a half. At our Milford, CT hotel, enjoy spacious studio, suites that are 50 percent larger than traditional hotel rooms. Our suites offer hot breakfast buffet and a nightly social hour (Monday - Wednesday), on-site exercise room and outdoor swimming pool. Price: $ 119 per night Pet Policy: Pets allowed Check in time: 3 pm Marriott Detroit Southfield Newly renovated , the Marriott Detroit Southfield Hotel is one of Detroit's most desirable hotel destinations. With excellent public areas, enhanced meeting spaces and carefully redesigned guest rooms, the Marriott Detroit Southfield Hotel meets the needs of business, leisure and group guests travelling to the Detroit area. This suburban Detroit hotel has a prime location that allows for easy access to the Detroit Zoo, Henry Ford Museum, Comerica Park, Ford Field and many of the other local activities in the area. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Price :$ 75 per nightCheck in time : 4 pm Comfort Suites Kodak 100 percent smoke free and pet free hotel conveniently located at the main gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains off Interstate 40 at exit 407, close to all the fun and excitement in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Knoxville, including Dollywood, Dixie Stampede, Smokies Park, Sevierville Events Center, Tanger Outlet Mall, University of Tennessee and more. Guests enjoy waking up in our well-appointed guest suites featuring contemporary furnishings and LCD flat screen televisions, starting their day with our free breakfast, and relaxing in our indoor pool and exercise room. Price: $55 per night Check in time: 3 pm The Swinton Hotel Located in the very heart of the centre of London, the Swinton Hotel is one of the leading Kings Cross hotels offering free breakfast. It allows easy access to all tourist attractions, shopping areas and transport connections; you have come to the right place if you are looking for brilliant Kings Cross Hotels. Whatever reason you are looking for cheap hotels in London and whether you are visiting on business, as a tourist or to enjoy the vast varieties of entertainment and nightlife, we will be more than happy to provide you with a safe and comfortable environment. The Swinton Hotel is situated in an ideal location for those travelling to or from London by rail. Price :$45 per night Check in time: 3 pm Which of the following is TRUE according to the four advertisements? A. Smoking is allowed in Comfort Suites Kodak. B. The Swinton Hotel is located in south of London. C. Marriott Detroit Southfield is built inside a park. D. You may bring pets into Residence Inn Milford. Answer: D. You may bring pets into Residence Inn Milford.
While car sharing is a concept that's catching on, old-fashioned carpooling where a group of people take turns driving each other to work has always faced a resistance . In a study on traffic problems by ABC News, 84% of those who drive to work say that they still do it alone. More than half those lone riders insist that carpooling is just too inconvenient, and 18% say they simple don't know anyone to share a ride with. Now technology makes carpooling easier and more fun. NuRide, a company provided an online carpooling service last year, offers daily travelers in the Washington area not just a web-based list of would-be carpoolers but also a way to arrange a trip online. Here's how it works: rider seekers enter the positions where their trip will begin and end, the time they want to leave and if they're willing to drive or just ride in someone else's car. The website's search engine then looks for matches and makes lists of the names of traveling companions, along with the car model and the exact time and place to meet for each trip. People who want to share the ride can show their interest in joining in online and then meet their car mates when it's time to go. NuRide users aren't riding with total strangers. They are required to provide the name of their employer and a work e-mail address, both of which need to be checked before being listed on the website. To attract users, NuRide offers a frequent rider prize: anyone who shares a ride gets a $1 credit. So far, 2,300 people have signed up. NuRide CEO Rick Steele said that more than 50,000 rides have been arranged on the website, resulting in 1.4 million fewer miles driven and 650 fewer tons of automobile emissions . We may infer that NuRide has helped in _ . Answer: Bob has a good friend, Caesar. He is a brown dog. He is not very old. Bob gets him from Mr. Mason. One day Bob's father, mother and Bob go to the Mason's farm for lunch. After lunch, Mr. Mason says, "I'm going to a big city. So I can't take him there. You can't have a young dog in a big city." " Let me have him, Mr. Mason. He knows me well and we have no dog, " Mr. Mason looks at Bob's mother and father. "Please , Mother, let me have him," says Bob. "Ask your father," says she. "Please, Dad?" "Yes, you can have him." "Thank you, dear dad. Thanks, Mr. Mason. Come here, Caesar." "See! The dog is his now," says Mr. Mason. Caesar is Bob's _ . Answer: Medical drugs sometimes cause more damage than they cure. One solution to this problem is to put the drugs inside a capsule, protecting them from the body--and the body from them--until they can be released at just the right spot. There are lots of ways to trigger this release, including changing temperature, acidity, and so on. But triggers can come with their own risks--burns, for example. Now, researchers in California have designed what could be a harmless trigger to date: shining near-infrared light (NIR, ) on the drug in the capsule. The idea of using light to liberate the drug in the capsule isn't new. Researchers around the globe have developed polymers and other materials that begin to break down when they absorb either ultraviolet (UV, ) or visible light. But tissues also readily absorb UV and visible light, which means the drug release can be triggered only near the skin, where the light can reach the capsule. NIR light largely passes through tissues, so researchers have tried to use it as a trigger. But few compounds absorb NIR well and go through chemical changes. That changed last year when Adah Almutairi, a chemist at the University of California, San Diego, reported that she and her colleagues had designed a polymer that breaks down when it absorbs NIR light. Their polymer used a commercially available NIR-absorbing group called o-nitrobenzyl (ONB). When they catch the light, ONB groups fall off the polymer, leading to its breakdown. But ONB is only a so-so NIR absorber, and it could be poisonous to cells when it separates from the polymer. So Almutairi and her colleagues reported creating a new material for capsules that's even better.This one consists of a long chain of compounds called cresol groups linked in a polymer. Cresol contains reactive components that make it highly unstable in its polymeric form, a feature Almutairi and her colleagues use to their advantage. After polymerizing the cresols, they cap each reactive component with a light-absorbing compound called Bhc. When the Bhcs absorb NIR light, the reactive groups are exposed and break the long polymer into two short chains. Shining additional light continues this breakdown, potentially releasing any drugs in the capsule. What's more, Almutairi says, Bhc is 10 times better at absorbing NIR than is ONB and is not poisonous to cells. Which word can be used to complete the following process of changes? Answer: When I was nine years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn't very fun about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn't catch anything. I usually got pretty upset and kept asking him why. He always answered, "Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish", I remember being even more upset then because, "I'm not a fish!" I didn't know how to think like a fish. Besides, I reasoned, how could what I think influence what a fish does? As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really meant. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the monthly meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water temperature. That is why fish prefer shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don't have any eyelids and the sun huts their eyes... The more I understood fish, the more I became effective at finding and catching them.. When I grew up and entered the business world, I remember hearing my first boss say, "We all need to think like sales people." But it didn't completely make sense. My dad never once said, "If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman." What he said was, "You need to think like a fish." Years later, with great efforts to promote long-term services to people much older and richer than me, I gradually learned what we all need is to think more like customers. It is not an easy job. I will show you how in the following chapters. After entering the business world, the author found _ . Answer: Maricel Apatan, 22, stands in the kitchen of the Edsa Shangi-La Hotel in Manila, preparing to decorate a cheesecake. It would seem to be a routine task for a cake chef, but Maricel is no ordinary chef -- she has no hands. Maricel has come a long way since the day in September 2000 when she and her uncle were attacked near their farm. Fortunately, both of them survived, but the 11-year-old girl lost her hands. In 2004, she entered a Manila training centre for people with disabilities. She learned how to write and do housework and, more importantly, came to terms with her disability. After graduation from high school, she took a two-year Hotel and Restaurant course and _ even though she was the only disabled student in the course. After she moved back to Manila to continue her studies, the media started reporting on this determined young woman. She didn't shy away from the attention. "I wanted others living with disabilities to believe it's possible to live a normal life," Maricel says. After managers at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel saw Maricel on television, they hired her as part of the hotel's Care for People project. She has also accomplished her goal of inspiring others. One of them is Ronelyn Calumpiano, a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy . She saw Maricel on television and was moved by her confidence. Ronelyn will soon start classes and is already planning a career in IT. Maricel's three younger sisters have moved to Manila. She pays for the rent of their small apartment, while their parents look after their family farm in Mindanao. "It is difficult to make ends meet but I don't lose hope. I believe anything is possible if you dream, work hard and pray." What does the author want to tell us in the text? Answer:
The meal you eat after exercising matters! No matter what time of day you exercise, the key is to follow the exercise up with meals that supply enough nutrition . For the best results, eat within 30 to 60 minutes after exercising, when the muscles are at the best time to take in nutrients. Here are some ideas for meals after exercising. Home-made sports-recovery drink Mix banana, milk, and yogurt to make a fresh and satisfying sports-recovery drink. Dairy products like milk and yogurt work double duty, providing both protein and carbohydrates . A cup of coffee, on the other hand, is a poor choice. Protein-packed sandwich You can't go wrong with a sandwich after exercising --it's got everything in a hand-held package. Sandwiches provide the salt you need to replace what you lost by sweating , while the tomatoes in them supply plenty of Vitamin C. Try using whole-wheat bread to give yourself more fiber. The cheese and fresh vegetables in sandwiches are also great for helping tired muscles recover. Power breakfast An egg sandwich is a perfect post-exercise breakfast. There's protein in both the yolk and the white of the egg. This recipe increases your protein intake while keeping calories and fat under control. Eggs also contain zinc , which helps protect against disease. Plant-based protein Beans are an amazing source of plant-based protein and carbohydrates. Make a large bowl of bean salad in the beginning of a week, and you'll have a great post-exercise meal that's ready whenever you need it. Which of the following helps increase protein intake and keep calories and fat under control? A. Fruit salad. B. Egg sandwiches. C. Yogurt. D. Bean salad. Answer: B. Egg sandwiches. Chen Guangbiao was born in Jiangsu in July,1968. He is the chairperson of a company in Jiangsu. Now he is one of China's richest men and he has donated a great amount of money to charity projects. He says he will donate everything he has to charity after he dies. When people are in need of help, he will appear at once. He helped people during the Wenchuan earthquake, the Yunnan earthquake and the Taiwan earthquake. He also gave a helping hand in Japan's earthquake. He has built many Hope Primary Schools to support the education in poor areas. He doesn't do charity for honour. He wants to encourage more people to make contributions to charity. After announcing he would donate everything to charity after his death, many businesses, overseas Chinese people and common people encouraged by him have also promised to do something for charity. As a philanthropist , he is asked for help every day. Sometimes he gets very tired, but he has never stopped caring. So far, he has received a lot of awards, including Pioneer of the Year, and National May Day Labour Medal. He is considered as one of China's top philanthropists. Which do you think is the best title for the passage? A. Earthquakes B. Hope Primary Schools C. Pioneer of the Year D. Philanthropist Chen Guangbiao Answer: D. Philanthropist Chen Guangbiao The card using a built-in voice-recognition chip requires users to give a spoken password that it recognizes. The idea is to prevent thieves from using a stolen card to buy goods online. A model built by engineers in California packs a microphone, a loudspeaker, a battery and a voice-recognition chip into a standard-sized credit card. The card is the length and width of an ordinary credit card but about three times as thick. The company now plans to make it thinner. The voice card is based on an earlier Beep card technology designed to prevent fraud in online deals. The Beep card has no microphone, but has a built-in loudspeaker to utter an audible ID signal by a computer's microphone to an online server . By confirming that signal matches the information in the card, the server can make sure that the user is not simply keying in a credit card number but actually has the card in his hand. The ID code, which only the server knows, changes each time the card is used. This prevents fraudsters recording the beeps, noting the card details and then playing back the audible ID when they key in the details later. But this earlier Beep card technology cannot prevent illegal use of stolen cards. The new voice card can. The new voice card doesn't identify itself by its ID until it has confirmed the real user's spoken password. Thieves will be unable to use the card because even if they knew the password they would have to be able to copy the owner's voice with a high degree of accuracy. The challenge for Beep card has been to develop voice-recognition and audio circuitry . The voice-recognition credit is powered by a mini battery. To extend batter life, the electronics have only to be switched on when the card is being used. Pressing a button on the card's surface allows one to hear a female voice saying, "Say your password." If the voice-recognition software proves that the password is real, it sends its ID, which the server then identifies, allowing the deal to continue. Which of the following about the earlier card is TRUE? A. Its owner can change the ID code at will. B. Its user needn't key in the credit card number. C. It can record its user's spoken password. D. It can be used by someone who has stolen it. Answer: D. It can be used by someone who has stolen it. Carbonic acid dissolves what to form caverns? A. air B. water C. grass D. sediment Answer: D. sediment The atoms that make up oxygen gas A. share two covalent bonds. B. have a definite shape. C. share a pair of neutrons. D. have two free electrons. Answer: A. share two covalent bonds.
To make Chinese students healthier and stronger, China's Ministry of Education has started a campaign. The campaign asks students to run every school day. Te campaign has started since October last year and will last until April this year. Kids at primary schools have to run 1km per day. It's 1.5kms for middle school students and 2 kms for high school and university students. And records will be set for every student. By the end of April 2009, a primary school student has to run 120kms in total/ A middle school students have to run 240kms by that time. Since the campaign started, people have had different ideas about it. Some people think it is good for students. They think the campaign can make students healthier. Some students have little exercise and the campaign can make them run. But some people don't think so. They think some schools don't have enough place for students to do running. If students have to run on the road, maybe it is not safe. They also think there are many ways to become healthier; running is not the only way. So they think the campaign is not a right decision. Which is NOT right according to the passage? A. The campaign started from April last year. B. The campaign asks Chinese students to do exercise. C. The campaign will set running records for each student D. The campaign cares about the health problem of Chinese students Answer: A. The campaign started from April last year. Look at this picture! It's a picture of a room. What can you see in the picture? I can see an apple on the table. Can you see an English book on the table? No, I can't. Where is it? It's in the schoolbag! The schoolbag is on the chair next to the bed. What is next to the table? Oh, it's a bookcase. Some books are in it. Look! What's that under the chair? It's a cat. A ball is beside the cat. The ball is mine. It is a volleyball. I like playing volleyball very much. _ is next to the table. A. A bookcase B. A chair C. A bed D. An orange Answer: A. A bookcase Australia's koalas could be dying out within 30 years, unless urgent measures is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all related to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply. The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. Previous estimates put the number of koalas at more than 100,000, but the latest figures suggest there could now be as few as 43,000. The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching. The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them. Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia's east and south, are very particular about what types of the leaves they eat. Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: "The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It's really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don't have any koalas."She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government's Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala's status as one of the country's favorite animals would not be a factor. "There's a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don't consider that," Mr. Beeton was reported as saying by the AFP agency. According to Bob Beeton, _ . A. they needn't pay special attention to koalas B. a decision will be made to protect koalas C. koalas are his favorite animals D. koalas needn't be protected at all Answer: A. they needn't pay special attention to koalas A student is investigating a light bulb that saves energy and can last up to 10 times longer than other bulbs. Other than saving energy, which is another benefit of using these light bulbs? A. Drinking water stays clean. B. Less trash is put in landfills. C. More nutrients are added to the soil. D. Fewer chemicals get into the food supply. Answer: B. Less trash is put in landfills. My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in the Cub Scouts only a short time. Once he was handed a sheet of paper, a block of wood and four tires and told to return home and give them all to his father. That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. The piece of paper was a set of instructions about how to build a wooden racing car. Gilbert's father laughed when he read the instructions. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed. Finally, I stepped in to see if I could figure it all out. Having no skills, I decided it would be best if I simply read the instructions and let Gilbert do the work. And he did. Within days, his block of wood was turning into a pinewood racing car. Then the big night came. With his pinewood racing car in his hand and pride in his heart we headed to the big race. As the race was done in elimination fashion , you could keep racing as long as you were the winner. Finally, it was between Gilbert and the fastestlooking car there. As the race was about to begin, Gilbert asked if they could stop for a minute, because he wanted to pray. Then the race stopped. Gilbert prayed in earnest for a very long minute. The Master came up to Gilbert and asked the obvious question, "So you prayed to win, Gilbert?" My young son answered, "Oh, no Sir. It wouldn't be fair to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked him to make it so I don't cry when I lose." Children seem to have wisdom far beyond us. Perhaps we spend too much of our prayer time asking God to control the race, make us the champion, or remove us from the struggle, when we should be seeking God's strength to get through what lies in our way. The author writes this passage to tell us that _ . A. adults should communicate more with children B. we should have faith in our ability to win C. victory is the power to overcome difficulties D. friendship is more important than winning Answer: C. victory is the power to overcome difficulties
Below is some advice on how to prevent cancer: 8 Ways to Avoid Cancer in Your Life 1. Eat Blueberries Aside from being a healthy and delicious snack, blueberries contain pterostilbene, which has important colon cancer-fighting prosperities. But wait, it gets better. Blueberries also offer a large dose of vitamins C (14 milligrams per cup). So at breakfast, try to take in a cup and a half of blueberries in your cereal or yogurt, or mixed with other berries. 2. Drink Pomegranate Juice The deep red juice of the pomegranate contains polyphenols, isoflavones and ellagic acid, which together create a powerful anticancer mixture. Most recently, researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison has discovered that 16 ounces of pomegranate juice per day also may inhibit the growth of lung cancer. 3. Relax Feeling stressed or worried? Find ways to relax and you may reduce your chances of developing cancer. Purdue University researchers tracked 1,600 men over 12 years and found that half of those with high levels of worry died during the study period. Only 20 percent of the optimists died before the study were completed, while 34 percent of the extremely anxious men died of some type of cancer. Instead of stressing about the past or future, focus on the present and relax! 4. Take Selenium Selenium is well known for its cancer-fighting properties. In a study of almost 1,000 men, researchers from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that when men with the lowest initial levels of selenium in their bodies received a daily supplement over a 4 year period, they cut their prostate cancer risk by a remarkable 92 percent. However, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, so monitor your intake of selenium-containing supplements, Brazil nuts, tuna, meats and grains carefully. 5. Eat Sushi Seaweed may not be your idea of a great snack, but it is high in fiber, calcium and iron, and dry, roasted seaweed sheets used in sushi provide the additional benefits of vitamins A and C. Sushi rolls are also high in protein-- a typical spicy tuna roll has only 290 calories but packs 24 grams of protein. So don't skimp on the Sushi! 6. Enjoy the Outdoors Vitamin D causes early death of cancer cells. A study published in the American Journey of Clinical Nutrition reported that women who supplemented their diets with 1,000 international. Units of vitamin D every day had a 60 percent to 77 percent lower incidence of cancer ever a four-year period that did women taking a placebo . Experts recommend supplementing your fun in the sun with 1,100 to 2,000IU of vitamin D each day. 7. Breathe Clean Air There's no question that secondhand smoke kills. A recent American Journal of Public Health study showed that nonsmokers working in smoky places had three times the amount of carcinogen in their urine than nonsmokers working in smoke-free locations. What's worse, their levels of the carcinogen rose 6 percent for every hour worked. Nine states have banned smoking in all workplaces, bars and restaurants. The message is clear: Do whatever you can to avoid the cloud of smoke. 8. Break a Sweat Even a small amount of exercise can offer major cancer-fighting benefits. In a study of 29,110 men published in the International Journal of Cancer, men who exercised just once a week had a percent lower risk of metastasis prostate cancer than men who didn't work out at all. The better the frequency, duration and intensity of the exercise, the bigger the reduction in risk, according to the study. If you want to keep cancer away, it is particularly important to _ . Answer: having exercise as often as possible If you are looking for an animal to take the title of "most violent fish in the sea", then the tiger puffer fish would have to be a strong contestant. Not only is it deadly poisonous --- though that doesn't stop people trying to eat it --- but it is also able to scare off enemies by inflating itself to become much larger than normal, when it is young it even chews on its own brothers and sisters. Tiger puffer fish attach their eggs to rocks near the bottom of the sea, often at the mouths of bays. Then the larvae move to the entries of rivers and lakes once they have grown a little. Then, having put on a lot of weight, they head out to sea. There's no innocent childhood for the puffer fish, as Shin Oikawa of Kyushu University in Japan and his colleagues found out when they put the larvae of tiger puffer fish in the lab and monitored them for two months. They found that the larvae went through three steps in which their metabolic rates increased dramatically when they reached body weights of 0.002g, 0.01g, and 0.1g. When a larva went through one of these steps, its behavior also changed. For instance, once a larva had passed the first level it would have grown its first tooth and could start attacking larvae that had not yet reached that stage. Similarly, any larva that had reached the 0.01g or 0.1g levels would start attacking lighter larvae. The researchers noted that the baby fish had a "relatively small mouth", so rather than swallowing their brothers and sisters whole, they would bite pieces out of them. Despite this limitation, the fish caused plenty of deaths --- up to 12 per cent of the deaths that happened in the lab each day. Those fish that grew fast enough to be able to chew on their fellows had an advantage. The extra food accelerated their growth and development. Tiger puffer fish are likely to be faster and swifter, so they can deal better with enemies. As the name suggests, puffer fish can inflate to make themselves seem much larger than they really are, thus scaring off enemies. They do this by filling their stomachs, which are extremely elastic , with water. If that's not enough of a threat, the tiger puffer fish --- like most of the other puffer fish in the family --- carries a deadly toxin . Eat one puffer fish and the poison will paralyze your muscles, including the muscles responsible for breathing, so death is usually caused by a lack of oxygen. Famously, the fish is a delicacy in Japan, where highly qualified chefs produce dishes that contain the safe level of the poison. Interestingly, the puffer fish does not go to the trouble of producing the poison itself. Instead, it hosts bacteria that produce the stuff. It obtains these bacteria from its diet, so the youngest adult fish are not poisonous. All of the following statements account for the violence of puffer fish except that _ . Answer: they are very difficult to catch My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening near my parents' tomb in the churchyard. "Hold your noise!" came a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the tombs at the side of the church. "Keep still, you little devil , or I'll cut your throat!" A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. He seized me by the chin . "Tell us your name!" said the man. "Quick!" "Pip, sir." "Show us where you live," said the man. "Point out the place!" I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church. The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of bread. "You young dog," said the man, licking his lips, "what fat cheeks you ha' got. Darn me if I couldn't eat em, and if I han't half a mind to't!" I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn't, and held tighter to the tombstone on which he had put me; partly, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from crying. "Now then lookee here!" said the man. "Where's your mother?" "There, sir!" said I. He started, made a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder. "There, sir!" I timidly explained, pointed to the tombstone. "That's my mother." "Oh!" said he, coming back. "And is that your father alonger your mother?" "Yes, sir," said I; "him too; late of this parish ." The boy probably lived _ . Answer: in the country A bear that has great strength, when compared to a bear with little strength, will likely be Answer: objectively fit External bleeding Apply direct pressure. Place a clean, folded cloth over the injured area and firmly apply pressure. If blood soaks through, do not remove it. Instead, cover that cloth with another one and continue to apply pressure to the wound for 7~10 minutes. If the bleeding is from the ear, place a clean bandage over the ear, lay the victim on his side, and allow the blood to drain out through the bandage. Elevate the injury. Position the wounded part of the body above the level of the heart if possible while you apply direct pressure. Know the pressure points. If direct pressure and elevation don't sufficiently slow the blood-flow, find a pressure point. Large arteries found close to the skin's surface supply blood to the head and to each arm and leg. The most common pressure points used during the first aid are located in the upper arms and in the creases above the upper legs. Apply pressure to the closest pressure point to the wound so that the artery is pressed between your fingers and the bone directly behind the artery. If using the pressure point on a leg, you may need to use the heel of your hand instead of your finger. Resort to a tourniquet (,). On very rare occasions everything listed above may fail. To prevent the victim from dying, you should apply a tourniquet. Once a tourniquet is applied, it should not be loosened or removed until the victim has reached medical help. Use a tourniquet ONLY if everything listed above has failed. If you use a tourniquet, write down somewhere on the victim the time when it was applied, so medical personal will know how long it has been in place. According to the passage, if a person is wounded and bleeding, you should _ . Answer: cover the wound with a clean, folded cloth and press it
We know the famous ones--the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells --but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper ? Shouldn' t we know who they are? Joan Mclean thinks so. In fact, Mclean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she' s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning "who" invented "what" , however, Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the "why" and "how" questions. According to Mclean, "When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try. " Her students agree. One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean's statement. "If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper' s invention," said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major. "I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rain storm into something so constructive. " Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer. So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn' t be a built - in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper. Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It' s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan' s traffic light. It' s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett' s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses? Tommy Lee' s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was _ inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth. Until now,it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience--what psychologists call fluid intelligence--is innate and cannot be taught(though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing). But in the new study,researchers describe a method for improving this skill,along with experiments to prove it works. The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory--the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it.This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence,so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence. First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests.Then they trained each in a complicated memory task--the child's card game,in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard.During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance,manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time. The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively.To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills,the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training. The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,were striking.Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater.Moreover,the longer they trained, the higher their scores were.All performers,from the weakest to the strongest,showed significant improvement. "Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training." said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper."No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops," he added, "and the experiment's design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains." .The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was _ . improving working memory People are overweight for many reasons, the most important one of which is that they eat the wrong foods, get the wrong types of calories per meal, and they also eat meals at the wrong time each day. Food is more powerful than any weight loss pill, because the food that you eat can either make you thin or fat. This is true because your body is like an engine, and it only needs certain foods at certain intervals each day. Low-calorie Diets Do Not Work The reason people cannot lose weight by starving themselves is that their metabolism will detect any major drop in calories and it will then adjust itself by burning fewer calories each day. That is the reason why you can eat 1,000 calories per day and not lose any weight, while your friends can eat 2, 500 calories per day and not gain any weight. Low-fat Diets Do Not Work Many people in today's society are buying mostly low- fat or non-fat food at the grocery store. Everybody knows how much fat is inside the food they buy. However, people are getting fatter than ever before by doing this. They are not losing weight by changing to this low-fat lifestyle. Losing weight has nothing to do with these things. One of the most important things you can do to control your weight is to eat the proper foods, such as fruit and vegetables, eat them at the right time, and exercise every day. If people make this a habit, they will lose weight. What is the main reason why people are overweight according to the author? They eat the wrong foods at the wrong time. The Kernel Corporation, through its president, Demeter Gritz, requested from Vault Finance, Inc., a short-term loan of $100,000. On April 1, Gritz and Vault's loan officer agreed orally that Vault would make the loan on the following terms: (1) The loan would be repaid in full on or before the following July 1 and would carry interest at an annual rate of 15 percent (a lawful rate under the applicable usury law); and (2) Gritz would personally guarantee repayment. The loan was approved and made on April 5. The only document evidencing the loan was a memorandum, written and supplied by Vault and signed by Gritz for Kernel, that read in its entirety: "April 5 In consideration of a loan advanced on this date, Kernel Corporation hereby promises to pay Vault Finance, Inc., $100,000 on September 1. Kernel Corporation By /s/ Demeter Gritz Demeter Gritz, President" Kernel Corporation did not repay the loan on or before July 1, although it had sufficient funds to do so. On July 10, Vault sued Kernel as principal debtor and Gritz individually as guarantor for $100,000, plus 15 percent interest from April 5. "At the trial, can Vault prove Gritz's oral promise to guarantee the loan? No, because such proof is barred by the Statute of Frauds Dear Jenny, How are you? Thanks for your last letter. I like English and Maths, too. I think they're interesting and useful . Our school is over at 3:40 p. m. every day and I can get home at 4 o'clock, but I don't go home at once . On Monday afternoon, I have a violin lesson from 4:00 to 5:00. I like sports, and I'm in the school basketball team with our P. E. teacher on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon, I go shopping with my parents. We buy a lot of food and fruits, and I like eating them very much. On Thursday, I often watch TV at home after school. I like Sports World very much On Saturday we don't have classes. I often sing in an art school. I like singing and I can sing better now. I usually go to the park or have a rest at home on Sunday. I'm busy every day, but I'm very happy because I have fun in my life. Yours, Alice What does Alice do on Tuesday afternoon? She plays basketball at school.
I went home one Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 1993 to get some work done in the garden. While sweeping leaves on the ground, my five-year-old son Nick came over and asked me to write something on a piece of paper to make a sign for him. "What for?" I asked. "I'm going to sell some of my stones, " he answered. Nick _ stones and had collected many stones from all over. "I'm busy to do that for you. Go and ask your mum for help." I said. A short time later, Nick returned with a sign, reading. " Stones. One Dollar Each". He took the sign, a small chair and 4 of his best stones and walked to the road in front of our garden. There he put the stones in a line and sat down on the chair. After half an hour, nobody passed by. I walked to him and asked him to go back, but he didn't. Another half hour later, a small car came down the road. I watched as Nick stood up, holding his sign up. A woman rolled down a window and read the sign. I couldn't hear their talk, but I saw the woman turn to the driver and the man reach for his pocket. I sat in the yard, as Nick ran to me. Waving the dollar, he shouted. "I told you I could sell one stone for a dollar -- if you believe in yourself, you can do anything." Why didn't the writer help his son? "I don't believe in Santa Claus!" Trogmire announced. Tremor looked shocked. "Why not?" he asked. "Because he never leaves me any gifts at all," Trogmire growled. Tremor thought about the evidence for a few seconds. "Maybe," he suggested, "it's because when Santa checked his list, your name wasn't in the 'nice' column." "So, he could at least bring me a lump of coal!" Trogmire replied. "And," he went on, "Troubled doesn't believe in Santa, either." "Right," Tremor said, "because he saw his parents putting the 'From Santa' presents under the tree. But I know the truth about that. My mother found out from Troubled's mother. When Troubled's parents got an e-mail from Santa, saying that he would never bring Troubled another gift, they didn't want to tell him the truth. So now they buy presents and pretend they're from Santa." "What did Troubled do to get Santa so mad?" Trogmire questioned. "I think it had something to do with the time he put glue paper all over the living room floor on Christmas Eve, and left a sign that said, 'Trapped like a rat!' hanging over the fireplace." said Tremor. "I guess Santa doesn't have a sense of humour," sighed Trogmire. "Well, at least I'm not the only one who Santa scratched off his name list." Trogmire and Troubled don't believe in Santa because _ . How many times have you heard the expression that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their lives. I would explain that expression by adding that most people spend more time "thinking" about their vacation than they do thinking about what's important in their life. While rest and relaxation are a must in living a balanced life, it's not what we were created to do. After all, the Master Creator took his R&R (Rest and Recreation) on the seventh day, only after six days of "definitely directed thought." 1 My friend Mike Litman wrote an article this week. 2It's called "The Millionaire Composite" and it analyzes one of the big differences between super-successful people and everyone else. He wrote "I recently visited a Real Estate Multi Millionaire Mogul. What did I see next to his desk? His vision statement, along with a list of what he values in life-handwritten." "A few months back, I interviewed an individual Marco Dorigo who sold over a billion dollars worth of products on television. He told me that he read his life and business vision and goals daily, and that he took time to imagine exactly what he wanted to create each night before falling asleep." What is your life's purpose or your personal task statement? Is it written down? Do you review it and think about it often? 3Is your life organized around your purpose and a set of goals that support that purpose? Without purpose and goals - certainly directed thought-you are like "ship without a rudder. " There is power in your purpose and in your goals.4 One of my favorite passages of James Allen is one he wrote in The Mastery of Destiny: "All successful people are people of purpose. They hold fast to an idea, a project, a plan, and will not let it go; they treasure it and develop it; and when upset by difficulties, they refuse to give in; the greater the difficulties are, the stronger the purpose is. " And that's worth thinking about. Who spent time imagining what he planned to do every night before going to bed? I used to live in a small town with trees all around. It is about thirty years since I left my hometown. But I still remember what it was exactly like. And I often "see" it in many of my dreams. My hometown is a beautiful place. It stands beside a wide river and is rich in fish and rice. But in the old days it was a poor and backward little town. Many people had no work. They lived a hard life. There was no tall building and the only street was narrow. But trees and flowers made the town beautiful. Just outside the town, there was a river. You could see different kinds of fish swimming in the clear water. People here lived a simple life. Since a new policy was taken by the government, great changes have taken place there. The streets have been widened. Factories, schools, hospitals, cinemas and theatres have been built one after another. People's life is greatly improved. You can see tall buildings, big department stores and factories everywhere. Different kinds of cars and buses are running in the wide streets. But with the development of the industry , we have fewer trees. Air and water pollution is becoming more and more serious. And there are also other problems. We should try our best to make it richer. At the same time, we must do something to stop pollution and make our town even more beautiful. When did the writer leave his hometown? Everyone takes drugs.Sometimes a drug might be called a herb but the effect is the same.Drugs and herbs can make life better for they are used to improve health.From the simplest headache to a cure for cancer, people believe that certain drugs can help them.But there is danger if the drugs are not used in a proper way. American teenagers sometimes use certain drugs to feel good.They call this "getting high".The problem is that once a young man or a young woman has the feeling of"getting high",they want to do it often.If school is boring or too hard,students might get depressed and a drug or herb might help them feel better.If the student takes too much of a drug,the body may change in a wrong way such as a confused mind,poor sight,a headache,and an uncomfortable stomach. Schools now have D.A.R.E.program which means Drug Abuse Resistance Education.This program was started so that young students from age 10 to 18 might understand how a drug affects their bodies.The main point of the program is education.Once a student understands certain drugs can cause ill health,he will know he should not use them. Education is the key to good nutrition as well.If a student eats correctly,he or she will be full of energy which leads to good study habits and good grades.Poor nutrition may cause the need for more sleep and poor concentration.Proper food is similar to the proper use of drugs.Both allow a healthy body to grow while misuse of them prevents a person from developing normally. The main aim of D.A.R.E.program is to_.
Are you a compulsive spender,or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay in cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality.According to psychologists,our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values,but can also stem from past problems. Experts in psychology believe that for many people,money is an important symbol of strength and influence.Husbands who complain about their wives' spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage.Wives,on the other hand,may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands.In addition,many people consider money a symbol of love.They spend it on their family and friends to express love,or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love. People can be addicted to different things --for example,alcohol,drugs,certain foods,or even television.They are compulsive in their addictions,i.e.they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable.In the same way,according to psychologists,compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit,furthermore,charge accounts are even more exciting than money:in other words,they feel that with credit,they can do anything.Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than _ they get from the things they buy. There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting.To save money,of course,most people look for sales,low prices,and discounts.Compulsive bargain hunters,however,often buy things that they don't need just because they are cheap.They want to believe that they are helping their budgets,but they are really playing an exciting game:when they can buy something for less than other people,they feel that they are winning.Most people,experts claim,have two reasons for their behavior:a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason. It is not only scientists,of course,who understand the psychology of spending habits,but also business people.Stores,companies,and advertisers use psychology to increase business:they consider people's needs for love,power,or influence,their basic values,their beliefs and opinions, etc.in their advertising and sales methods. Psychologists often use a method called "behavior therapy "to help individuals solve their personality problems.In the same way,they can help people who feel that they have problems with money:they give them "assignments" If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance,a therapist might teach him self discipline in this way:on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store,stay five minutes,and then leave.On the second day,he should stay for ten minutes and try something on.On the third day,he stays for fifteen minutes,asks the salesclerk a question,but does not buy anything.Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn't buy anything,and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying. From the passage we can conclude that _ . Answer: For every cup of coffee you made, about two spoons of grounds end up in the waste. That doesn't seem like a lot, but just think about the millions of coffees consumed around the world every single day, and you'll see the problem. Sure, some of those coffee grounds are recycled as fertilizer to enrich the soil or beauty products like face masks, but most will be buried into the ground. It was while considering this issue that German product designer Julian Lechner came up with a new way of recycling coffee grounds -- turning them into tableware. "We were always drinking coffee at university," Lechner remembers. "And that's how I started to wonder. What happens to all that coffee? It was all just getting thrown away." He began consulting with his professors about ways of using coffee grounds to create a solid material. "We tried combining with a lot of different things," Lechner said, "We even tried sugar. That was close, but basically it was a candy cup. It just kept melting after being used three times." The whole point was to make it last long, so Lechner and his partners went back to the institute to continue their research. Finally, after many failed experiments, they came up with a mix of coffee grounds and a biopolymer that seemed to behave the way Lechner had expected it. "The moment of knowing the cup would actually stand was super-exciting," he recalls. "It was wonderful to drink that first coffee out of the cup. It proved to be totally worth the wait." And his creation has proven commercially successful, which is just _ . The coffee cups are now present in ten shops across Europe, and the company can hardly keep up with demand, regularly selling out of its stock online. Lechner will soon launch a larger line of coffee grounds cups and also work on a travel mug. But those are just short-term plans, as Lechner hopes to one day use recycled coffee grounds to create all sort of useful stuff--like sheets and furniture in cafes and restaurants. What do people do with coffee grounds before Lechner? Answer: Eric is pushing a box up a ramp. He notices that it is much more difficult than it was a couple of hours earlier. This could be due to Answer: Once upon a time, a man was walking on a mountain when he found an incredible cave with all kinds of treasure inside it. So he gave up his job, his home, and his friends, and spent all his time guarding the cave. He was so dedicated to it that he hardly ate or drank, and before long he fell ill. One day, when he could hardly move at all, he decided to share the treasure. He crawled into the cave to get a handful of jewels, but discovered, to his horror, that it was empty except for a small emerald . The man took it, and gave it to the first person he came by, a woman. Then an old man came by. "What bad luck!" the man said. "Just a moment ago I gave a woman the last of the treasure I was guarding." "Are you sure there is nothing left?" the old man asked. The man took him into the cave, where they found a chest with jewels and some bags of gold. The man was shocked, and the old man explained to him, "At last! At last someone has broken the spell of this cave. This is the Cave of Treasure, and you're the first to have passed its great test. Many have dedicated their lives to this cave, only to end up realizing there was nothing here..." "And why does this happen?" the man asked. "This magic cave has only as many riches as your own heart. When someone discovers it, the cave is filled with treasure, but later, when they have devoted themselves to guarding the treasure, their hearts empty, as does the cave. The only way to fill it is by filling your heart with all that is good, as you did by giving the woman that last jewel." From that day on, the man understood that it was better to share than to keep. Thanks to the cave and the old man, he became noble and generous. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage? Answer: One sunny day last September, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea. Two 12-year-old boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search for a football. Once they'd rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water. The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore. But they were no match for _ and the boat was out of control. Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves. "Everything went quiet in my head," Tim recalls . "I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line." Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water. Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress. "At one point, I considered turning back," he says. "I wondered if I was putting my life at risk." After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to yell to the boys, "Take down the umbrella!" Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella. Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat. He took over rowing, but the waves were almost too strong for him. "Let's aim for the pier ," Jack said. Tim turned the boat toward it. Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink. "Can you guys swim?" he cried. "A little bit," the boys said. Once the were in the water, Tim decided it would he safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier. Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs. Tim swan toward land as water washed over the boys' faces. "Are we almost there?" they asked again and again. "Yes," Tim told them each time. After 30minutes, they reached the pier. why did Tim raise his head regularly? Answer:
Tuesdays during the summer tickets are buy one get one free at the city zoo. Jason loves animals, so his dad takes him to the zoo every Tuesday in the summer. This Tuesday Jason's dad is feeling sick so his mommy has to take him to the zoo. There is also a new animal that Jason can't wait to see; a rattle snake. Tuesday morning Jason's mommy wakes him up, and they get in the car to drive to the zoo. On the car ride Jason's favorite song "The Wheels on the Bus" plays on the radio. Jason's mommy turns the radio louder and they sing the song together. When they get to the zoo they go straight to the rattle snake cage, but when they get there they don't see any rattle snakes. They look around for a little bit, and all they see are some eggs. A man who works at the zoo tells them that the rattle snake must be sleeping and that it hides when it sleeps. Jason is sad because he might not get to see the rattle snake today. They walk away from the rattle snake cage and Jason's mommy buys Jason an ice cream cone to cheer him up. After walking around the zoo and seeing other animals like a bear and a monkey, Jason wants to check the rattle snake cage one more time. They get to the cage and to Jason's surprise the rattle snake is awake and moving around. Not only does he get to see the snake, but a baby is being born from one of the eggs too. Jason is very happy and excited about what he saw in the rattle snake cage and can't wait to get home and tell his dad. What is the new animal that Jason can't wait to see at the zoo? A a bear B a monkey C a rattle snake D an alligator Answer: C. a rattle snake David is eight. One day his friend Rose says to him, "This Sunday is my birthday. Can you come to my birthday party?" David says, "Yes". On Sunday, David asks his mother if he can go to the party. His mother says, "Yes, you can go, but you must be polite. Don't ask for any food. They will give you some." "All right, Mum." David answers and he goes to Rose's house on his bike. There are lots of kids at the party. They play together for some time, and then Rose's mother gives them some food, but she forgets David. He waits and waits and then he takes his plate up and asks, "Do you want a nice clean plate?" David is Rose's _ . A mother B classmate C brother D friend Answer: D. friend Humans have the ability to change how much they weigh, but we cannot change how tall we are because that is A expensive B impossible C hereditary D Too hard Answer: C. hereditary On June 5, 1981 the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, U.S. announced the presence of a rare, infectious disease in five American homosexuals . Soon doctors were finding similar cases all over the country and the world. The AIDS epidemic had officially begun. By 1983 it was clear that AIDS had spread around the world. More than twenty years later, AIDS has left twenty-six million dead and another forty million infected. AIDS has become the worst medical disaster ever experienced by mankind. Hundreds of young people between the ages of 20 and 45 died each week during the early years of the U.S. AIDS. More than 600,000 cases of AIDS have been reported since 1981 in the United States, and it is estimated that there may be as many as 900,000 Americans infected with HIV. Though the rate of HIV infections continues to increase in the United States, the number of AIDS cases has fallen sharply since 1996, when antiretroviral drugs came onto the market. Unfortunately, the AIDS epidemic continues today in Africa and much of Asia, where antiretroviral treatment is not available and health care is far from enough. AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, and the No. 1 cause of death due to infectious disease. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was first separated in 1983 by a team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. That discovery made it possible to develop a test for AIDS and trace back to victims who may have died before doctors were aware of the disease. However, scientists still don't know exactly how and where AIDS started. Finding the source of AIDS could be important in developing a vaccine and be important in mapping the future course of the epidemic. Which areas are the most worrying places where AIDS spreads quickly? A Africa. B Asia. C The United States. D France. Answer: A. Africa. Scientists have transformed men's minds into avirtual woman's body in an experiment that could throw light upon how humans distinguish themselves form others. In a study at Barcelona University, men wore a virtual reality headset that allowed them to see and hear the world as a female character. When they looked down, they could even see their new body and clothes. The "body-swapping" effect was so convincing that the men's sense of self was transferred into the virtual woman, causing them to react to events in the virtual world they wereimmersed . "This work opens up another avenue for virtual reality, which is not just to transform your sense of place, but also your sense of self," said Mel Slater, "If you can temporarily give people the illusion that their bodies are different, then the evidence suggests it also affects their behavior and the way they think. They can have new experiences: a person who is thin can know what it is like to be fat. A man can have an experience of what it's like to be a woman." During the experiment, a "female" approached and hit the face of the character another man was playing. "Their reaction was immediate," said Slate. "They would take in a quick breath and maybeflinch . The more people reported being in the girl's body, the stronger physical reaction they had." But in all cases, the feeling was temporary and lasted only as long as the study. The study shows that our minds have a very fluid picture of our bodies. The research is expected to shed light on the puzzle of how our brain tells the difference between a part of our own body and something else in the wider world. Thus the work might improve the conditions for those who have experienced strokes by placing them in a world that helps them to use their bodies to the full again. How can a man's mind get into a woman's body? A by distinguishing themselves from women B by taking part in an activity actively C by wearing a special device D by transforming his sense of place Answer: C. by wearing a special device
Question: We all know that food gives us energy, but sometimes it can make us much happier when we feel bad. Studies show that foods such as sea fish, bananas, pumpkins and chicken can help fight against bad moods. How can they affect our moods? Studies show that people living by the sea appear much happier than other people, because the fresh sea air helps them clear their minds and they eat a lot of sea fish. Bananas have something that is full of Vitamin B6. Having more bananas can help us make a quick decision, and become more confident. Eating pumpkins can also help people get into a good mood because it's rich in Vitamin B6 and iron and it will make us happier. Are you in a bad mood? If you are , don't sit alone. Go to eat such happy food with your friends. Maybe you'll be better. What food can make us more confident? A. Sea fish. B. Chicken. C. Pumpkins. D. Bananas. Answer: D. Bananas. Question: Few, if any, instruments shape national culture more powerfully than the materials used in schools. Textbooks are not only among the first books most people meet; in many places they are, along with religious texts, almost the only books they have. A study in South Africa showed that fewer than half of pupils had access to more than ten books at home. In 2010 a study by Egypt's government found that, apart from school textbooks, 88% of Egyptian households read no books. The degree to which a government keeps control of the textbooks used in classrooms is a good guide to its commitment to ideological control. Where that desire is strong, governments are likely to produce the textbooks themselves or define carefully what goes into them. America's State Department employs people to keep an eye on other countries' textbooks, in an effort to understand better how their people think and what their governments want them to think. Other countries probably do the same. Textbooks have long been a source of worry. After the attacks on America on September 11th 2001, some in both America and Saudi Arabia, including officials, supposed that Saudi Arabia's curriculum of intolerance was responsible, at least in part, for the emergence of al-Qaeda . Sometimes the requirements of the state are more clearly seen in what textbooks leave out. The world has long criticized Japan for the way its textbooks whitewash the country's history, in particular dressing up Japanese war crimes. The "New History Textbook", for example, which was submitted for government approval in 2000, played down Japan's aggression in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95 and the occupation of China in the 1930s and 1940s, and avoided mention of the use of sex slaves by its armies or the rape of Nanjing. In America most of the disputes about textbooks are home-grown. Liberals worry that their children are being taught a nationalistic version of history that emphasizes the wonders of industrialization and plays down slavery and the killing of Indian tribes. By contrast, Conservatives complain about inadequate education of love for their country and too much secularism . In 2010 the Texas board of education managed to remove Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, from the state's list of important revolutionary figures, apparently because of Jefferson's insistence on the separation of church and state. He was, however, swiftly restored. As long as textbooks are issued or approved by the state, they will remain a political issue. But as access to other textbooks is enjoyed more widely, some of the dominance they now enjoy will weaken. Which of the following is not included in the textbooks of relevant countries? A. Curriculum of intolerance in Saudi Arabia. B. Japanese war crimes in Japanese textbooks. C. Wonders of industrialization in American textbooks D. Thomas Jefferson in Texas' present textbooks. Answer: B. Japanese war crimes in Japanese textbooks. Question: "Let's go down one more, push your enter key..." says a volunteer helping senior citizens work a web session on the Inter-net. David Lansdale has found a way to light up the lives of the elderly. He gets them wired to the Internet. " If you hit your enter key, it will bring up this particular e-mail..." Pauline Allen is one of those who has started using the Internet," I thought I was through with life, I was ready for a rocking chair, because I was 86 years old. And I haven't found the rocking chair yet. " " You found the keyboard?" asks the reporter. " That's right, I found the keyboard. " The average age of Lansdale's students is around 68. All are in nursing or assisted care homes. He used family relationships to introduce them to the World Wide Web. David Lansdale says," Here they are in California, the family was back in New York, the opportunity to connect, to cross the time and space, was incredibly precious (valuable) to them. " "I hear you are so beautiful. " Lillian Sherly writes an e-mail to a newborn great granddaughter. Working with one another, the senior learn as a group. They learn to master the Internet and to overcome what Lansdale calls the maladies of the institutionalized :loneliness, helplessness, boredom, and loss of memory. Mary Harvey says," Bingo just doesn't interest me. But this does, believe me, this does. " Ninety-four-year-old Ruth Hyman is a star pupil and instructor. She says," When I send a letter to my grandchildren, and great grandchildren, they hang it up in their offices, just like I used to hang their drawings on my refrigerator. Ha, ha. " David Lansdale says," There's a collective benefit. There is an element of treatment. Remember we started as a support group. " Dixon Moorehouse says,"I just wish I was 15 years old and getting to learn all this. " The senior calls their weekly meetings Monday Night Live. And many say the meetings have given them new life. Ruth Hyman says," Three years ago, they told me I wasn't going to live. But I showed them, and got work, and I've worked ever since. The words "the maladies of the institutionalized" used in the text refer to _ . A. the difficulties in learning B. the problems caused by getting old C. some kinds of treatments D. the worries about the Internet Answer: B. the problems caused by getting old Question: Alexandra Scott was born to Liz and Jay Scott in Manchester, Connecticut on January 18, 1996, the second of four children. Shortly before her first birthday, Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. On her first birthday, the doctors informed Alex's parents that if she beat her cancer it was doubtful that she would ever walk again. Just two weeks later, Alex slightly moved her leg at her parents' request to kick. This was the first indication that she would turn out to be a courageous and confident child with big dreams and big accomplishments. By her second birthday, Alex was able to stand up with leg braces . She worked hard to gain strength and to learn how to walk. She appeared to be overcoming the difficul-ties, until the shocking discovery within the next year that her tumors had started growing again. In the year 2000, the day after her fourth birthday, Alex received a stem cell transplant and informed her mother, "When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand. " She said she wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to help other kids, like they helped me. True to her word, she held her first lemonade stand later that year with the help of her older brother and raised an amazing $ 2,000 for her hospital. People from all over the world, moved by her story, held their own lemonade stands and donated the earnings to Alex and her cause. In August of 2004, Alex passed away at the age of 8, knowing that, with the help of others, she had raised more than $ 1 million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex's family--including brothers Patrick, Eddie, and Joey--and supporters around the world are committed to continuing her inspiring cause through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. It can be learned from the text that Alex . A. couldn't walk until she was four B. held her first lemonade stand in 2001 C. was the only daughter of the Scotts D. was born with cancer Answer: B. held her first lemonade stand in 2001 Question: Online Voting --The Most Beautiful Places in China What are the most beautiful places in China in your eyes? Please take part in our activity and vote online. We are looking forward to your choice and voice! Everyone is welcome! Rules: 1) Voting period: October 1 to November 30. 2) The results and the winners list will be released in December. 3) 10 votes are allowed. 4) Please leave your contact information when sending your votes. CRIENGLISH takes no responsibility if a winner fails to receive the award because of incorrect contact information. 5) Your comments will be important in choosing the winners. 6) CRIENGLISH reserves the right to decide the final winners. 7) CRIENGLISH reserves the right for final explanation of the rules. Awards: The three top winners will each receive an award worth 300 Yuan (about 48 US dollars); The five second place winners will each receive an award worth 200 Yuan (about 32 US dollars); The ten third place winners will each receive an award worth 100 Yuan (about 16 US dollars). You need to leave your contact information when sending your votes so that _ . A. CRIENGLISH can post it online B. everybody online can contact you C. CRIENGLISH can reach you if you win a prize D. CRIENGLISH can use it for some other purposes Answer: C. CRIENGLISH can reach you if you win a prize
More Americans are Googling themselves ------ and many are checking out their friends, co-workers and romantic interests, too. In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47 percent of U.S. adult Internet users have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine. That is more than twice the 22 percent of users who did in 2002, but Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden was surprised the growth wasn't higher. "Yes it's doubled, but many Internet users have never done this simple act of plugging their name with search engines," she said. Americans under 50 and those with more education and income were more likely to self-Google because their jobs demand a certain online persona. Meanwhile, Pew found that 53 percent of adult Internet users admit looking up information about someone else, not including celebrities. Often, it's to find someone _ have lost touch with. But looking up information about friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbors also was common. Although men and women equally searched for online information about themselves, women were slightly more likely to look up information about someone they are dating. In many cases, the search is done to find someone's contact information. But a third of those who have conducted searches on others have looked for public records, such as bankruptcies and divorce proceedings. A similar number have searched for someone else's photo. Few Internet users say they Google themselves regularly ---- about three-quarters of self-searchers say they have done so only once or twice. And most who have done so consider what they find accurate. Pew also found that teens were more likely than adults to restrict who can see their information at an online hangout like Facebook or News Corp's MySpace. The number of American adult Internet users _ Mary Madden. One of the world's richest men has taken a close interest in one of man's most basic functions: visiting the toilet.Bill Gates's charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future, which, they hope, would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world. So, what's wrong with the traditional flush toilet? Firstly, it wastes a huge amount, of potential drinking water.Secondly, they are more likely to cause pollution.This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world, where, according to United Nations estimates, unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations.Younger people are particularly at risk.Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1.5 million children a year.Finally, standard lavatories simply aren't practical in remote areas. The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a _ which works without running water, electricity or aseptic tank.It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents.28 designs were displayed at the recent Reinvent the Toilet Fair.in Seattle, USA.Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves, another which converted human waste into charcoal, and yet another which used urine for flushing. But the winner was a solar-powered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity.The team from the California Institute of Technology(CIT)picked up a prize of $ 100,000. But clearly Bill Gates doesn't feel he's _ .After the Seattle event he said, "We, couldn't be happier with the response we've gotten," Gates has even pledged $370 million more to the future toilet project.They hope to field test more, prototypes over the next three years. Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet? Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch offers a unique outdoor adventure camp for inter- national students. Students who come to Skinner Creek have the opportunity to learn English in an environment entirely different from a regular school setting. English classes are designed to meet the academic and spoken levels of each student. All English classes will be taught by instructors qualified in Teaching English as a Second Language. All levels of English are available. After class, students can enjoy many outdoor activities in a controlled safe environment. Experienced managers and camp teachers will prepare each activity to the level appropriate for each student. Students' safety is a priority for the staff of Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch. Students are monitored at all times and supervisors are in the cabins with the students at night. An emergency clinic is nearby and accessible 24 hours. English Classes: Class hours are from Monday to Friday, 9:00 a. m.-- 2:00 p.m. with a one-hour break for lunch. Students are challenged in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary building and conversational English. Vocabulary is specific to related outdoor activities in some classes. Fun after-class outdoor and evening activities: Great after-class activities on site include: horseback riding lesson, hiking, base ball, volleyball, badminton, mountain hiking, bonfires and much more. Time to watch videos and TV and play games. Experience Canadian family life. Weekends: Special all-day and overnight weekend activities include: camping, days at the lake (fishing, swimming, boating), church and more. Travel Information: Students will be picked up in cars at Vancouver airport and dropped off again for their individual flights. Transportation to and from the ranch will be provided as well as overnight stays in Vancouver. Please contact the ranch directly for prices: skinnercreek@telus, net. How will most students travel to Skinner Creek if they want to attend the camp? Being green is everywhere these days, whether it is in the school, factory or anywhere on the Internet. This is because our planet is in danger, losing resources, polluting resources and destroying ecosystems . Different species are dying because we can't take care of our home. Now ask yourself why you don't want a green healthier lifestyle and to save animals. Keep _ in mind as you read on. There are many ways to be green, first of all, everyone should recycle; it's something easy and helps our planet in many ways. All you'd have to do is put recycling in recycling and garbage in garbage. Another popular thing is to try your best not to drive a car. Sometimes you can just walk, bike, or take a subway. This ensures that our air won't be polluted, which in turn helps our lungs and everything else on our planet. Next thing is saving energy. We can do this by not using too much heat or air conditioning in summer or winter. It's not preferable because it's hard, but you can try and put your washing machine on cold whenever possible and try to keep electronics out of the rubbish. What's more, remember to stop drinking from plastic bottles because plastic can only be used once and if used many times, it will become unhealthy. So you'd better use a glass or buy a reusable water bottle. The last and most important thing is, spread this news to the world and tell them what's happening in our world. I've only listed a small part of the endless possibilities to save this world. The least you can do is do the simple ones. The passage is intended to _ . During your stay outside Hong Kong, you may have been exposed to certain infectious diseases without your knowledge. In case you develop any symptom such as fever, chills, skin troubles or vomiting within 14 days of your arrival in Hong Kong, you should consult a doctor or attend an accident & emergency department/general out-patient clinic. Please bring along this card. CHIEF PORT HEALTH OFFICER The Port Health Office Their staff(clerks) are glad to answer your questions about travel health. Please enquire at : --prefix = st1 /Hong KongIsland18/F Wuchung House,213 Queen's Rd. East, Wanchai. Tel :2938840Fax: 29318848 -- Kowloon Room 905, Government Offices, Canton Road Tel :23683361 Fax :23683363 The notice is to _ .
Almost five years ago, I announce to my loved ones I was to become a Mrs Naturally. I then began to wonder about the perfect wedding dress, hoping that it would fit me. Even at the age of 22, I had gone through my share of dieting. I am an emotional eater and I knew that at 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, I wasn't at my healthiest. My mother had been doing Weight Watchers for some time and was rapidly seeing results. I took my mother's advice about Weight Watchers. She shared her books with me and explained the program: estimate your daily point target based on your weight and other factors, write down everything you eat and move! The longer I stuck to it, the more I noticed a difference in the way I enjoyed food. I soon began to like eating fruit and vegetables for snacks instead of chocolate bars and chips. My mother and I went on walks together and kept each other in check. Unsurprisingly, I lost twenty pounds soon and looked amazing in my wedding dress. I bought healthy food instead of ice creams and faithfully kept a food journal. I exercised on my Wii Fit and took evening walks. Since I had a hard time finding something healthy to eat, I bought a Weight Watchers cookbook and used it to prepare our meals. I used small plates and bowls to trick myself into believing there was more food than the serving size. Now I'm 28 and weigh 120 pounds, but I still need to lose some weight. I know the challenge is worthwhile. I must insist on it and tomorrow is another day. What's the writer's purpose in writing this passage? A. To tell us about Wii Fit. B. To advise us to keep healthy. C. To tell us how she lost weight. D. To advertise Weight Watchers. Answer: C I was a newcomer of Miss Burn's seventh grade. Past"newcomer"experiences had been difficult, so I was very anxious to fit in. Lunchtime was a pleasant surprise when the girls all crowded around my table. Their chat was friendly, so I began to relax. My new classmates filled me in on the school, the teachers and the other kids. it wasn't long before the class herd was pointed out to me: Mary Lou. Actually she called herself Mary Louise. A formal, overmodest young girl with old-fashioned clothes, she wasn't ugly--not even funny looking. Practical shoes, long wool skirt and a blouse completed the image of a complete herd. The girls' whispers got louder and louder. Mary Lou didn't notice this. After school, the girls invited me to join them in front of the school. Arms wrapped around her backpack, Mary Lou came down the school steps. The _ began--rude, biting comments and disrespectful words from the girls. I paused, then joined right in. My force began to pick up as I approached her, mean remarks falling from my lips. I even pulled the belt of her backpack and then pushed her. The belt broke, Mary Lou fell. Everyone was laughing and patting me. I fit in. But I was not proud. Something inside me hurt. Mary Lou got up, gathered her books and--without a tear shed--off, she went. She held her head high as a small trickle of blood ran down from her injured knee. I turned to leave with my laughing friends and noticed a man standing beside his car. His skin, dark hair and handsome features told me this was her father. Respectful of Mary Lou's proud spirit, he remained still and watched the lonely girl walk toward him. Only his eyes--shining with both grief and pride--followed. As I passed, he looked at me in silence with burning tears that spoke to my shame and scolded my heart. He didn't speak a word. No scolding from a teacher or a parent could linger as much as that hurt in my heart from the day a father's eyes taught me kindness and strength and dignity. I never again joined the cruel herds. I never again hurt someone for my own gain. The writer would never hurt someone for her own gain because she _ . A. was impressed by Mary's calmness B. was afraid to be scolded by Mary's father C. was sorry she hurt Mary's knee D. was aware that it was a shame to make fun of Mary Answer: D Recently, a painting of actress Elizabeth Taylor, which was drawn by American artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol, sold for US $63 million. Another simple black-and-white image of a Coca-Cola bottle sold for US $35 million. But the all-time record for a Warhol painting is $100 million for a piece titled "Eight Elvises". What's amazing is not that the pieces sold for so much, but the fact that they are not what you would call traditional art. They are "pop art", art based on simple images of things and people from advertising, movies, music and day-to-day life. Born in the 1920s, Warhol grew up mostly separated from other children due to health problems. He spent a lot of his time alone drawing and then went on to study art in college. He began his career as a commercial artist, creating pictures for magazine articles and newspaper ads. That inspired him to experiment with pop art and he hosted America's first pop art exhibition in the 1960s. The show met with a lot of discussion with some people saying that what he was doing was not art. Warhol followed his first works with a series we are all familiar with -- paintings of Coca-Cola bottles, Brillo soap pad boxes, and portraits of famous people. Soon after, Warhol stopped creating his own artwork. Instead, he had assistants and other artists create them at his studio called "The Factory". Warhol wanted to show the world that art doesn't have to be complex or original; it can be created by anyone using ordinary things. Today, Warhol's work is unmistakable in its uniqueness. No matter how you may feel about his work, one thing cannot be argued. He introduced the world to a whole new art form, inspiring future generations of artists, and eventually becoming one of the most famous and successful pop art artists in the world. Calling his studio "The Factory", Warhol tried to show _ . A. his studio was as big as a factory B. pop art is different from traditional art C. artists prefer to work in a factory D. art should be simple and easy to produce Answer: D One evening in November, Berlin received a telephone call from Mrs. Green. "Please, Dr Berlin, come to my house. I had 50,000 dollars on my desk and now it is gone." Dr Berlin arrived at Mrs. Green's house at eight o'clock. First he asked Mrs. Green, "When did you see the money last?" "At seven o'clock. I put it on my desk in my living room. Then I went to wash my hair. I came back at seven thirty and the money was gone." "I see." Dr Berlin said. "Were you alone in the house?" "No. My sister's son Jack is here, too." Then Dr Berlin and Mrs. Green went to Jack's room. "Please, sit down," Jack said. Dr Berlin sat on the only chair in the room, and the chair was cold. He also saw some books on the ground near his feet. "What have you been doing this evening?" Dr Berlin asked. "I came home at six-thirty, and went right to my room. I've been sitting in that chair and reading all the evening. I never got up and I never left the room. Maybe somebody came into the house and took my aunt's money." After hearing that, Dr Berlin was clear about who had taken the money. When did the thief take Mrs. Green's money? A. Before Mrs. Green came back home. B. When Jack was reading. C. After Mrs. Green went to wash her hair. D. When Dr Berlin was answering the phone. Answer: C A small dish that is in space will do this as it nears an enormous mass. A. be blown up B. be yanked in C. be pushed away D. be evaporated Answer: B
Question: Some people would say that the Englishman's home is no longer his castle; that it has become his workshop. This is partly because the average Englishman is keen on working with his own hands and partly because he feels, for one reason or another, that he must do for himself many households for which, some years ago, he would have hired professional help. The main reason for this is a financial one. The high cost of labor has meant that builders' and decorators' cost have reached a level which makes them prohibitive for house-proud English-people of modest means. So, if they wish to keep their houses looking bright and smart, they have to tackle some of the repairs and decorating themselves. As a result, there has grown up in the post-war years what is sometimes referred to as the "do-it-yourself movement". The "do-it-yourself movement" began with home decorating but has spread into a much wider field. Nowadays there seem to be very few things that can't be made by the "do-it-yourself movement" method. A number of magazines and handbooks exist to show hopeful handymen of all ages just how easy it is to build anything from a coffee table to a fifteen-foot sailing boat. All you need, it seems, is a hammer and a few nails. You follow the simple instructions step by step and, before you know where you are, the finished article stands before you, completely in every detail. Unfortunately, alas, it is not always quite as simple as it sounds! Many a budding "do-it-yourself" has found to his cost that one can not learn a skilled craftsman's job overnight. How quickly one realizes, when doing it oneself, that a job which takes a skilled man an hour or so to complete takes an amateur handyman five or six at least. And then there is the question of tools. The first thing the amateur learns is that he must have the right tools for the job. But tools cost money. _ It is not surprising then that many people have come to the conclusion that the expense of the paying professional to do the work is, in the long run, more economical than "do-it-yourself". Many Englishmen join in the movement of "do-it-yourself", because _ . A. they are skilled handymen B. they are proud of their houses C. they can't afford professional help D. they are mean enough Answer: C. they can't afford professional help Question: A federally owned and operated office building in the state of West Dakota is heated with a new pollution-free heating system. However, in the coldest season of the year, this new system is sometimes insufficient to supply adequate heat to the building. The appropriation statute providing the money for construction of the new heating system permitted use of the old pollution-generating system when necessary to supply additional heat. When the old heating system operates (only about two days in any year), the smokestack of the building emits smoke that exceeds the state of West Dakota's pollution-control standards. May the operators of the federal office building be prosecuted successfully by West Dakota authorities for violating that state's pollutioncontrol standards? A. Yes, because the regulation of pollution is a legitimate state police power concern. B. Yes, because the regulation of pollution is a joint concern of the federal government and the state and, therefore, both of them may regulate conduct causing pollution. C. No, because the operations of the federal government are immune from state regulation in the absence of federal consent. D. No, because the violations of the state pollution-control standards involved here are so deminimized that they are beyond the legitimate reach of state law. Answer: C. No, because the operations of the federal government are immune from state regulation in the absence of federal consent. Question: This story breaks my heart every time. Just two years after the discovery of tanzanite in 1967, a Maasai tribesman knocked on the door of a gem cutter's office in Nairobi. The Maasai had brought along an enormous block of tanzanite and he was looking to sell. His asking price? Fifty dollars. But the gem cutter assumed that a stone so large could only be glass and refused. It turned out that the gem was genuine and could have been worth close to $3,000,000! The gem cutter missed his chance to hit the jeweler's jackpot and make history. Would you have made the same mistake then? Will you make it today? In the decades since its discovery, tanzanite has become one of the world's most precious gemstones. Found in only one remote place on the Earth (in Tanzania's Merelani Hills), the precious purple stone is 1,000 times rarer than diamonds. Luxury retailers have been warning that supplies of tanzanite will not last forever. And in this case, they're right. Once the last purple gem is pulled from the Earth, that's it. No more tanzanite. Most believe that we only have a few years' supply left, which is why it's so amazing for us to offer this incredible price break. Our 2-carat Tanzanite Ring is a real bargain! This is a ring designed to impress and it does not disappoint. Now is the point where opportunity knocks, much like a Maasai tribesman on your office door. If you open that door today, you can own this excellent ring for less than $100. If you wait? We can't say for sure. Because when it comes to Africa's most prized purple stone, only one thing is certain: _ . Call now to take advantage of this limited offer. 1-888 201-7112 The story at the beginning is mainly used to show that _ . A. large tanzanite is rare B. tanzanite is of great value C. gem cutters might make mistakes D. the price of tanzanite was once quite low Answer: B. tanzanite is of great value Question: Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth's surface, but earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set , it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir was not strong, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result. There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis . These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrect. They had nothing to do with tides. In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis" meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors. Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An earthquake warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground: There is no way to stop the oncoming wave. Which of the following can NOT be concluded from the passage? A. The number of earthquakes is closely related to the depth. B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year. C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles. D. Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surface. Answer: C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles. Question: Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China's suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research. Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country's Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world. According to Jing's calculation, China's suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the "missing" suicides were added, China's suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.[:Zxxk.Com] Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men. As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people's lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to social environment for the better, he concludes. The data in Para. 2 is mainly to prove that _ . A. the result from Jing's research is believable B. Jing's research is more complicated than Michael R. Phillip's C. Jing has made great efforts to make the research D. China's suicide rate was comparatively low all the time Answer: A. the result from Jing's research is believable
Redirect examination of a witness must be permitted in which of the following circumstances? Answer: Only to reply to significant new matter raised in cross-examination. According to a new survey, student safety has become a big problem. Nearly 50% of students say they are worried about robbery on the way to and from school. Now in many big cities in China, some schools have taught an unusual lesson: self-protection . Students like this lesson because there are no exams or boring classes. And they can learn how to save lives and know how to stop danger before it really happens. Chen Haoyu, a teacher at Beijing No.25 Middle School and a self-protection expert , gives young students advice on how to deal with danger. If you are robbed Keep calm. If you can not cry for help or run away, give the robber your money. Try to remember what the robber looks like and tell the police later. If you are in a traffic accident If a car hurts you, you should remember the car number; if it is a bicycle, try to call your parents before you let the rider go. This is because you don't know how badly you are hurt. If it is raining hard and there is lightning Don't stay in high places and keep away from trees. When there is a fire Get away as fast as you can. Put wet things on your body and try to find an exit . Do not take the lift! If someone is drowning If you can't swim, don't get into the water. Cry out for help. Remember that danger is never as far away as you think. Take care of yourself at all times! The best title for the passage is _ . Answer: Self-protection When an animal gets any kind of illness, his physical health will Answer: inevitably be worse Which change increases the rate of a chemical reaction? Answer: increasing the reaction temperature The news that China bans time-travel TV dramas and movies got a lot of attention on the internet. Yet, time travel in China is a bit different from time travel in common sense.It is anything but science fiction and always goes backwards in time.There is minimum imagination involved--no ever-ending circles that mess up present and future, no advanced technology, no new social orders or new human forms from the twenty--whatever century, everything is a known historical fact when you travel through in China. It is not even called time travel; rather the Chinese people refer it as time crossover.Time crossover has been an extremely popular theme for online novels for years(in fact , it is an indispensible part of China's online culture), and didn't get picked up by TV and the big screen until recent two years.Most of time-travel dramas and movies are adapted from popular online novels and like in other cases adaptations are never better than the original books. The main plot of time-travel novels or TV dramas can be very well summarized in one sentence: from nobody to somebody.Time travel in China is more about escaping from the reality than about realizing wild dreams. In China , there is no need of time machine either.People travel backwards in time via the possession of antiques presence at historical places of interest encounter of life-threatening accidents or simple a look into the mirror.Some time-travel novels even start with "I wanted to go back to history so much that one morning when I opened my eyes I was back." Technology is not relevant at all. Though China is not short of histories to go back to, people have their own preferences and it is pretty much a gender thing.If the main character is male then he usually goes back to special times in history when he is able to help build up or tear up a dynasty.A typical example is A Step Into the Past , the first time-travel TV drama in China, which tells the story of how a SWAT member helps to unite China and build up Qin Dynasty . On the other hand , female characters primarily go back to Qing Dynasty partly because Qing Dynasty has the most number of princes to fall in love with.Yongzheng Emperor is the favorite.As can be seen in Startling by Each Step , a Qing time crossover classic, a girl goes back to Qing Dynasty and falls in love with Yongzheng Emperor and his brothers. The writing purpose of this passage is to _ . Answer: introduce the characteristics of the time-travel TV dramas in China
One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to the singing of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their original position after the wind had died down. When I think about the bamboo trees' ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word " _ " comes to my mind. When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other negative situation that stretches the limits of a person's emotions. Have you ever felt like you are about to lose control of your emotions? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it. During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health.You felt emotionally tired, mentally exhausted and you most likely bored unpleasant physical symptoms. Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend, but don't break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you. A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant moments. Will hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant moment may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having. If the situation gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo trees, bend, but don't break! Which of the following would be the best title of the passage? Answer: Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons in our brains. Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate it,whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people. Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to (for example: "The hand took hold of the ball"), the same mirror neurons were as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball). Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders. Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact .Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does---well, perhaps you'll understand why. Mirror neurons can explain _ . Answer: Surrounded by the towns of Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius, Lake Norman is a man-made lake. It is also the largest lake in the state covering a shoreline of more than 500 miles. State Park on the lake gives a chance for different water activities. People, both tourists and locals, come to the area on weekends, where during the peak season a large crowd arrives to relax and have fun. A great activity for kids is education except fun. The tour coversaquatic life, especially that seen at Lake Norman. Since it is more of an educational one it also covers other important knowledge about water. Those wanting to go boating are seen off into the lake on canoes and pedal boats which are rented on hourly basis. The charges are $5 per hour increased by $3 for everyadditional hour. The boats can be kept on the lake all day from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening during the summers. Both canoes and pedal boats can seat 2 to 4 people. The park also set up a group tent camp, where a site can hold about 25 people. People from all over the country come here to catch some fishing action, obviously hoping to catch some fish as well. The inner park lake is also great for fishing, though it offers a smaller area compared to Lake Norman. Those here for adventure like to go for biking and hiking on the trails inside the park. Lake Norman is a great place to spend time with family and friends. People come here on vacation or simply to kick back after a week's work and relax. From the passage we learn that Lake Norman is _ . Answer: Diggers Construction Company was engaged in blasting operations to clear the way for a new road. Diggers had erected adequate barriers and posted adequate warning signs in the vicinity of the blasting. Although Paul read and understood the signs, he entered the area to walk his dog. As a result of the blasting, Paul was hit by a piece of rock and sustained Paul was hit by a piece of rock and sustained head injuries. The jurisdiction follows the traditional common-law rules governing the defenses of contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and last clear chance. In an action by Paul against Diggers to recover damages for his injuries, Paul will Answer: The largest organ of the human body is what? Answer:
When I was 16 years old,I made my first visit to the United States.It wasn't the first time I had been abroad.Like most English children I also learned French at school.And I had often been to France,so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn't understand English.But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language problems. How wrong I was! The misunderstanding began at the airport.I was looking for a public telephone to give my friend Danny a call and tell her that I had arrived.A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me. "Yes,"I said."I want to give my friend a ring." "Well,that's nice,"he said."Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit young?" "Who is talking about marriage?"I replied."I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived.Can you tell me where there's a phone box?" "Oh!"he said,"there's a phone downstairs." When at last we met,Danny explained the misunderstanding to me. "Don't worry,"she said to me,"I had so many difficulties at first.There are lots of words Which the Americans use differently in meaning from British.You will soon get used to all! How funny things they say.Most of the time British and American people understand each other!'' Where was the writer from? A. He was from America. B. He was from France. C. He was from England. D. He was from China. Answer: C Everyone gathered around and Paddy read out loud, slowly, his tone growing sadder and sadder. The little headline said: BOXER RECEIVES LIFF SENTENCE. Frank Cleary, aged 26, professional boxer, was today found guilty of the murder of Albert Gumming, aged 32, laborer, last July. The jury reached its decision after only ten minutes, recommending the most severe punishment to the court. It was, said the Judge, a simple case. Cumming and Cleary had quarreled violently at the Harbour Hotel on July 23rd and police saw Cleary kicking at the head of the unconscious Gumming. When arrested, Cleary was drunk but clear-thinking. Cleary was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Asked if he had anything to say, Cleary answered, "Just don't tell my mother." "It happened over three years ago," Paddy said helplessly. No one answered him or moved, for no one knew what to do. "Just don't tell my mother," said Fee numbly . "And no one did! Oh, God! My poor, poor Frank!" Paddy wiped the tears from his face and said. "Fee, pack your things. We'll go to see him." _ "I can't go," she said without a hint of pain, yet making everyone feel that the pain was there. "It would kill him to see me. I know him so well--his pride, his ambition. Let him bear the shame alone, it's what he wants. We've got to help him keep his secret. What good will it do him to see us?" Paddy was still weeping, not for Frank, but for the life which had gone from Fee's face, for the dying in her eyes. Frank had always brought bitterness and misfortune, always stood between Fee and himself. He was the cause of her withdrawal from his heart and the hearts of his children. Every time it looked as if there might be happiness for Fee, Frank took it away. But Paddy's love for her was as deep and impossible to wipe out as hers was for Frank. So he said, "Well, Fee, we won't go. But we must make sure he is taken care of. How about if I write to Father Jones and ask him to look out for Frank?" There was no excitement in the eyes, but a faint pink stole into her cheeks. "Yes, Paddy, do that. Only make sure he knows not to tell Frank we found out. Perhaps it would ease Frank to think for certain that we don't know." Paddy cried because he thought _ . A. Frank did kill someone and deserved the punishment B. Frank should have told Fee what had happened C. what had happened to Frank was killing Fee D. Frank had always been a man of bad moral character Answer: C When he was a boy, Tim was much influenced by the books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result, Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to help to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room. During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon . "That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it." In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus, while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was saving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside, working under an old doctor who was popular in the area, but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the young man many opportunities to go on working as a life-saver. Tim decided to become a doctor mainly because _ A. his father wanted him to be so. B. his father was a surgeon. C. he had read many books about medicine. D. he had chances to know many doctors and know about what doctors did. Answer: D People live all over world. They live on land that is low. They live on land that is high. Some live near the oceans. Others live far from the oceans. Earth has many different kinds of lands. In some places, the land is flat . Flat lands are called plains . Some parts of Earth have hills. Hills are higher than the land around them. But hills are lower than mountains. Did you ever try to ride your bicycle up a hill? Some parts of Earth touch oceans. These parts are called _ . Some lands have water all around them. These lands are called islands. Earth has many different bodies of water, too. You know about the oceans. There are very large bodies of water. The water in the oceans is salty. There are also smaller bodies of water called lakes. Lakes have land all around them. Rivers carry water from the land. They are long bodies of running water. The water in rivers is not salty. Most lakes do not have salty water, either. Some lands with water around them are called _ . A. hills B. mountains C. flats D. islands Answer: D Say you're in the supermarket parking lot, holding your baby, bags of goods, and trying to open your car. A stranger walks up and says,"Here, let me hold your baby."Should you let him? According to a new New York University study, knowing whether or not to trust someone is so important that we can tell whether a face is trustworthy before we even consciously know it's there. The researchers knew from previous studies that people are fairly similar when it comes to how they judge a face's trustworthiness. They wanted to find out whether that would be true if people only saw a face for a quick moment -- an amount of time so short that it would prevent making a conscious judgment. To carry out their study, the researchers monitored the amygdala of 37 volunteers while showing them 300 faces for 33 milliseconds each. Those faces had already been tested with a different set of 10 subjects, who saw them for much longer. In those earlier tests, people agreed about whether to trust each face. In this new study, fascinatingly, different parts of the amygdala lit up when a subject saw an untrustworthy face and a trustworthy one -- and it lit up more when the face in question was suspicious . "Faces that appear likely to cause harm are suddenly tracked by the amygdala, so it could then quickly change other brain processes and make fast responses to people -- approach or avoid,"says Jon Freeman, the study's senior author."Our talents for making instant judgments could either come from birth or be learned from the social environment." So should you trust the guy in the parking lot? Your brain already knows. What would be the best title for the passage? A. Is facial trustworthiness reliable? B. You can judge a person even without being aware of it C. Your brain decides whether to trust people in milliseconds D. Can the amygdala reveal how people make automatic judgments? Answer: C
One day, Annette wanted to make a birthday cake for her brother, Todd. She dug around in their white refrigerator and found she would need to go and buy eggs. She also needed to buy icing. Annette got on her pink bike and went to the grocery store. She asked the cashier to tell her what aisle the icing was on. Annette went to the aisle 14 and picked out blue, Todd's favorite color. She then went to get the eggs. Annette worked for 2 hours making the cake. She decorated it in the blue icing, and even wrote "Happy Birthday Todd" in neat letters. Annette's parents made a nice dinner of chicken, red potatoes, and macaroni. After dinner, Annette and her mom and dad sang to Todd. He was excited for the cake and to turn 11, and said Annette was the best sister ever. What aisle was the icing on? A 2 B 11 C 14 D one Answer: C. 14 Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill, new study findings suggest. In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus, researchers found that people with a generally sunny character were less likely to fall ill. The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a "positive emotional style" can help to protect us from suffering the common cold and other illnesses. Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective -- as in happiness improving immune function -- and subjective -- as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or runny nose. "People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus," explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. "And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe." Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional style itself had the effect. For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality characteristics, self-felt health and emotional style. Those who had a tendency to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy, tense and aggressive had a negative style. The researchers gave them nasal drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days, the volunteers reported on any aches, pains or sneezing they had, while the researchers collected objective data. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal troubles, happy people were less likely to develop a cold. Which is the best title for the passage? _ A Stay Away from Being Negative B Positive or Negative?It's Up to You. C Emotional Style and Flu. D Optimistic People Likely to Keep Diseases Away. Answer: D. Optimistic People Likely to Keep Diseases Away. As Amy Hagadorn rounded the corner across the hall from her classroom, she crashed with a tall boy from the fifth grade running in the opposite direction. "Watch it, Squirt," the boy yelled, as he dodged around the little third grader. Then, with an unfriendly smile on his face, the boy took hold of his right leg and mimicked the way Amy limped when she walked. Amy closed her eyes for a moment. --Ignore him, she told herself as she headed for her classroom. But at the end of the day, Amy was still thinking about the tall boy's mean teasing. It wasn't as if he were the only one. Amy was tired of it. Sometimes, even in a classroom full of other students, the teasing about her speech or her limping made her feel all alone. Back home at the dinner table that evening Amy was quiet. That's why Patti Hagdorn was happy to havesome exciting news to share with her daughter. "There's a Christmas Wish Contest on the radio station," she announced. "Write a letter to Santa and you might win a prize. I think someone at this table with blond curly hair should enter." Amy giggled. The contest sounded like fun. She started thinking about what she wanted most for Christmas. A smile took hold of Amy when the idea first came to her. Out came pencil and paper and Amy went to work on her letter. --Dear Santa Claus, she began. While Amy worked away at her best printing, the rest of the family tried to guess what she might ask from Santa. Amy's sister, Jamie, and Amy's mom both thought a 3-foot Barbie Doll would top Amy's wish list. Amy's dad guessed a picture book. But Amy wasn't ready to reveal her secret Christmas wish just then. Here is Amy's letter to Santa, just as she wrote it that night: Dear Santa Clause, My name is Amy. I am 9 years old. I have a problem at school. Can you help me, Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy . I just want one day where no one laughs at me or makes fun of me. Love, Amy At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters poured in for the Christmas Wish Contest. The workers had fun reading about all the different presents that boys and girls from across the city wanted for Christmas. When Amy's letter arrived at the radio station, manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He knew cerebral palsy was a muscle disorder that might confuse the schoolmates of Amy who didn't understand her disability. He thought it would be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special third grader and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called up the local newspaper. The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the News Sentinel. The story spread quickly. All across the country, newspapers and radio and television station reported the story of the little girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet remarkable Christmas gift - just one day without teasing. Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation. They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement. During that unforgettable Christmas season, over two thousand people from all over the world sent Amy letters of friendship and support. Amy and her family read every single one. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to carry her head high. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy glimpsed a world full of people who truly cared about each other. She realized that no amount or form of teasing could ever make her feel lonely again. Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne Elementary School. Additionally, everyone at school got an added bonus. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel. That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially proclaimed December 21st as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city. The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson. "Everyone," said the mayor, "wants and deserves to be treated with respect, dignity and warmth." Amy's mother shared the news of a Christmas Wish Contest that day because she knew _ . A her daughter was teased by a fifth grader B Amy's disease went much worse than before C the contest would change Amy's life D things weren't going well with Amy at school Answer: D. things weren't going well with Amy at school When I was born, my parents immediately noticed something wrong. My feet were deformed , pointing inward and curling under. I wore casts and foot braces in my first two years to correct the problem. Yet I learned to balance and walk in casts. Soon after the last set of casts came off,Mom enrolled me in dance classes as therapy for my feet. I, however,quickly decided to try something else. Not far from my house was an ice rink in the mall. There,local skaters would perform ice shows. I wanted to try skating. I started taking group skating lessons. Performing on ice came naturally. For me,skating has never been about beating others. It's been about being my personal best. I progressed through various levels rapidly and gave my first ice performance at age seven. Soon I started winning local and regional competitions. That's because being on the ice has always been the one place I can truly express my emotions. _ I began seriously training when I was nine years old. After graduating from girls' high school,I moved to Canada. Saying goodbye to my family and friends made me homesick,but I knew deep down that I had to leave and train full-time to give my dreams a chance at reality. I went to compete in the Olympic Games in 1992.I was the first of the final six skaters on the ice. My long performance started well,but I slipped while landing one of my easiest triple jumps,and my hand touched the ice. I didn't want to make two mistakes in a row,so next I did a jump with just two spins to play it safe. As I neared the end,I had one more jump. I landed it perfectly. When medals were awarded,I found myself on the top step,the gold hanging around my neck and America's national anthem playing. Words can't describe the overwhelming mixture of emotions I felt. The author was enrolled in dance classes to _ . A meet her interest B improve her dancing skills C help treat her feet D prepare her for skating Answer: C. help treat her feet A light drizzle was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the Methodist Church, eager to get home and play with the presents that Santa had left for us and our baby sister, Sharon. Across the street from the church was a Pan American gas station where the Greyhound bus stopped.It was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door, huddled under the narrow overhang in an attempt to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I raced to keep up with Jill. Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents' house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town,I noticed that the family were still there, standing outside the closed gas station. My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents' house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, ''I can't stand it!" ''What?" asked my mother. ''They've got children. It's Christmas. I can't stand _ ." When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children--two girls and a small boy. My father rolled down his window. "Merry Christmas," he said. "Howdy ,''the man replied. ''You are waiting for the bus?'' my father asked. The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and prospects of a job. "Well, that bus isn't going to come along for several hours, and you're getting wet standing here. Winborn is just a couple miles up the road. They've got a shed with a cover there and some benches". My father said. ''Why don't you all get in the car and I'll run you up there." The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing. Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three gloomy faces gave him his answer. "Well I didn't think so," my father said, winking at my mother,"because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We'll just go to get them before I take you to the bus stop." All at once, the three children's faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering. When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jill's doll and immediately hugged it to her breast. I remember that the little boy grabbed Sharon's ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine. All this happened a long time ago, but the memory of it remains clear. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy. The three children of the family were gloomy probably because _ . A they didn't have new clothes to wear B they hadn't got any present for Christmas C they were unwilling to move to another city D they worried about the friends they had made Answer: B. they hadn't got any present for Christmas
If a new moon occurred on June 2, when will the next new moon occur? Answer: The complete removal of decomposers from an ecosystem will have the greatest effect on which of the following? Answer: You are careful with your money: you collect all kinds of coupons; look for group-buy deals if you eat out; you don't buy clothes unless in a sale. Does all this make you a wise consumer? Let's do the math first: you walk into a coffee shop and see two deals for a cup of coffee. The first deal offers 33 percent extra coffee. The second takes 33 percent off the regular price. What's the better deal? Well, they are about the same, you'd think. And you'd be wrong. The deals appear to be equal, but in fact, they are different. Here's the math: Let's say the standard coffee is 10 yuan and let's divide the amount of coffee into three portions . That makes about 3.3 yuan per portion, The first deal gets you 4 portions for 10 yuan (2.5 yuan per portion) and the second gets you 3 portions of coffee for 6.6 yuan (2.2 yuan per portion) and is therefore a better deal. In a new study published by the Journal of Marketing, participants were asked the same question, and most of them chose the first deal, the Atlantic website reported. Why? Because getting something extra for free feels better than getting the same for less. The applications of this view into consumer psychology are huge. Instead of offering direct discounts, shops offer larger sizes or free samples. According to the study, the reason why these marketing tricks work is that consumers don't really know how much anything should cost, so we rely on parts of our brains that aren't strictly quantitative. There are some traps we should be aware of when shopping. First of all, we are heavily influenced by the first number. Suppose you are shopping in Hong Kong. You walk into Hermes, and you see a 100,000 yuan bag. "That's crazy." You shake your head and leave. The next shop is Gucci, a handbag here costs 25,000 yuan. The price is still high, but compared to the 100,000 yuan price tag you just committed to your memory, this is a steal. Stores often use the price difference to set consumers' expectation. zxxk Another trap we often fall to Is that we are not really sure what things are worth. And so we use clues to tell us what we ought to pay for them. US economist Dan Ariely has done an experiment to prove this. According to the Atlantic, Ariely pretended he was giving a lecture on poetry. He told one group of students that the tickets cost money and another group that they would be paid to attend. Then he informed both groups that thelecture was free. The first group was anxious to attend, believing they were getting something of value for free. The second group mostly declined, believing they were being forced to volunteer for the same event without reward. What's a lecture on poetry by an economist worth? The students had no idea. That's the point. Do we really know what a shirt is worth ? What about a cup of coffee? What's the worth of a life insurance.policy? Who knows? Most of us don't. As a result, our shopping brain uses only what is knowable: visual clues, invited emotions, comparisons, and a sense of bargain. We are not stupid. We are just easily influenced. What can we know from US economist Dan Ariely's experiment? Answer: Are people less happy or more happy the older they get ? A study found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age 50. In fact, it found that by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18. The finding came from a Gallup survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States in 2008. At that time, the people were between the age of 18 an 85. Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 22 and 25. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties. The survey also found that men and women had similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did. The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age. So why would happiness increase with age ? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences. The original goal of the study was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. But except for that , people reported that they felt their sleep quality improved as they got older. According to the survey, when will adults feel most stressful? Answer: Which of the following items of evidence is LEAST likely to be admitted without a supporting witness? Answer:
Two-year-old hero Ye Chengfeng saved most of his family from a deadly gas leak . As his grandfather lay dead, the child woke up his grandmother and saved five other family members from deaths. More and more British school kids use their mobile phones to cheat in exams. They use them to send messages to get the answers. So far this year, 1,013 students were caught cheating with mobile phones. Teachers are now teaching themselves so they can find the cheats. They also ask the students to hand the phones in before exams. A new study shows that girl chimps are faster to use tools than boys! Experts found that girl chimps in East Africa use sticks to dig in the soil two years earlier than boys do. But they don't know why. Girls watched their moms work, but boys climbed trees. Yes, human girls always learn to write and draw first, but boys often run and play balls earlier than girls. In Germany, doctors have three ways to help kids who are addicted to the Internet. First, learning art -- Kids learn painting or singing; second, doing sports -- Kids do swimming or horse riding. The last one is to go into nature -- Kids plant flowers and grow vegetables. Doctors want kids to find other ways to have fun rather than surf the Internet. The British teachers are teaching themselves to _ . Answer: In the history of Hawaii, surfing is a serious thing. Ancient leaders used the sport as a training exercise to keep themselves strong. They also used surfing competitions instead of wars to solve conflicts between people. For a long time ,this tradition of surfing was known mainly to the people of Hawaii. Then Duke Kahanamoku came along and changed the world. When he was 21years old, Duke broke two world swimming records. Not surprisingly, Duke easily made the Olympic swimming team in 1912.During his Olympic career, Duke won three gold medals and two silver medals in swimming. When Duke finished winning medals at the Olympics, he toured the world. He also brought along his surfboard. Duke had been surfing ever since he was a little boy. In 1917,he rode a single wave for more than a mile! Duke amazed people by riding his 16-foot-long board. He is considered the father of modern surfing. Since Duke was handsome and strong, people loved to watch him. His next career move was clear. Duke headed for Hollywood. From 1925 to 1955,he made more than 30 movies. One day in 1925, Duke and a few other surfers were hanging out on the beach when a boat turned over not far from them. The surfers hit the waves with their big boards and saved 12 of the passengers. Duke alone saved eight of them! After that, lifeguards at beaches started using surfboards to save swimmers. Helping others was a big thing in Duke's life. In 1932,Duke became sheriff of Honolulu, Hawaii, holding the position for almost 30 years. As sheriff, in fact, his job was to greet visitors who came to the city .From the Olympics to Hollywood, Duke Kahanamoku had put Hawaii on the map when it was still a little known island. When he was 75 years old, Dukes name was added to both the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame. He died in 1968 at the age of 78. What is the text mainly about? Answer: For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year _ that their sick daughter survives until December 25. Fifteen -year-old Paige suffers from a rare brain condition. The disease affects as few as 12 people in the world, and can kill her any day without warning. And her condition has _ in recent months. Each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up. Rachael and Leigh Badman are worried that she couldn't live through Christmas. They filled their house with Christmas decorations on November1, so she could enjoy her favorite day of the year in advance. Paige was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. Mrs. Badman described the condition as "being on death row" as she never knows if she will wake up and still have a daughter. She said, " Paige always loves Christmas and it's heartbreaking to see her suffering like this." In the last months, Paige has been unable to eat and has never walked or spoken. But she loves music, and enjoys watching pop stars' DVDs. And in May she also went on holiday to Florida with her parents and little brother, Kefton. The family , who have already organized parts of Paige's funeral, also saw the teenager swimming with dolphins during the trip. Since then, however, her condition has worsened. Mrs Badman, who is separated from her husband and works as Paige's full-time carer, said, "Now she can't eat or drink anymore, and her brain is shrinking. With all her problems, we just thought, 'Let's get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible.' We're praying she lives to see Christmas Day." Paige's parents got the Christmas tree up on November 1 to _ . Answer: Carr ran into and injured Pedersen, a pedestrian. With Carr in his car were Wanda and Walter Passenger. Passerby saw the accident and called the police department, which sent Sheriff to investigate. All of these people were available as potential witnesses in the case of Pedersen v. Carr. Pedersen alleges that Carr, while drunk, struck Pedersen, who was in a duly marked crosswalk.On the evening of the day of the accident, Walter Passenger wrote a letter to his sister in which he described the accident. When Walter is later testifying on direct examination and says he cannot remember some details of the accident, Pedersen's counsel seeks to show him the letter to assist him. The trial judge should rule this Answer: What sort of habitat would living things live in? Answer:
China has now mapped out plans for its next four launches in the Shenzhou program on the next flight. But one conclusion seems to have escaped most reports in the aerospace media. The flight of Shenzhou 7 could be timed to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. Plans for the 2008 Summer Olympics call for the events to be held between the 8th and 24th of August. It's reasonable to expect that China will use the event to promote its achievements before the world, and human spaceflight is China's most significant recent breakthrough. Shenzhou 7, China's next manned space mission, was originally advertised for 2007. This fit into the pattern of staging a two-year gap between crewed Shenzhou missions, which have previously launched in 2003 and 2005. But Chinese media statements have recently _ this to 2008. Chinese media have reported that while the overall program is going well, more time is needed to work on the spacesuit that will be used on this flight to stage China's first spacewalk. It's possible that Chinese engineers want to make best preparations for this complex mission. China could intend to carry out the mission of Shenzhou 7 just as media attention is focused on the lead-up to the Olympics. The crew of the flight, and possibly China's other flown astronauts, could then take part in the opening ceremony. China has previously feted her space travellers in great celebrations, such as the Hong Kong event that saw Yang Liwei singing with actor Jacky Chan. China has also suggested that the activity will be carried out by a single astronaut, and has indicated that half an hour is a rough estimate of the planned time for the spacewalk. China is apparently following suit, probably for the same reasons of conservative mission planning and safety. China has decided to carry out its human spaceflight in 2008 in order to _ . Answer: show its great achievements to the world. For centuries ,the only form of written correspondence was the letter .Letters were ,and are ,sent by some form of postal service ,the history of which goes back a long way. Indeed ,the Egyptians began sending letters from about 2000 BC, as did the Chinese a thousand years later. Of course ,modern postal services now are much more developed and faster ,depending as they do on cars and planes for delivery .Yet they are still too slow for some people to send urgent documents and letters. The invention of the fax machine increased the speed of delivering documents even more .When you send a fax ,you are sending a copy of a piece of correspondence to someone by telephone service .It was not until the early 1980s that such a service was developed enough for businesses to be able to fax documents to each other. The fax service is still very much in use when copies of documents require to be sent ,but ,as a way of fast correspondence, it has been largely taken the place of by email. Email is used to describe messages sent from one computer user to another. There are advantages and disadvantages with emails. If you send someone and email, then he will receive it extremely quickly. Normal postal services are rather slow as far as speed of delivery is concerned. However ,if you write something by email ,which you might later regret ,and send it immediately ,there is no chance for second thoughts. At least ,if you are posting a letter you have to address and seal the envelope and take it to the post box .There is plenty of time to change your mind. The message is think before you email! It can be inferred from the text that_. Answer: the fax machine was invented after the 1980s South Asia heatwave kills nearly 100 DHAKA - A heat wave sweeping India, Bangladesh and Nepal has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks, officials said on June 3, 2005. A third of the people died in northern Bangladesh, mostly women and children from dehydration , heat stroke and diarrhoea . "We are getting reports of several deaths due to heat wave and related diseases almost every day," an official said, as temperatures touched 43degC . The weather office in Dhaka said the hot weather will persist for another week until the monsoon rains which are normally due by the middle of June. Severe heat conditions in the southern Indian have killed at least 55 people, officials in the two states said. While temperatures have fallen from a high of 45degC in Andhra Pradesh to around 40degC, giving a respite to people, they are still on the rise in Orissa with Talcher town registering 48.5deg C, a weather official said. At least five people have died in prefix = st1 /Nepalfrom extreme heat, the government said. When the monsoon rains come, the temperature will _ . Answer: begin to drop obviously Here are some world-famous cultural sites that you may be interested in: Old City of Jerusalem The Old City was given a World Heritage Status in 1981 and placed on the "World Heritage in Danger List" the following year. The city has had a history of three different religions fighting over their holy sites and yet also living together in the same city. Jerusalem has always been of great symbolic importance. Visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/148for more information. Khami Ruins National Monument The City of Khami, which developed after the capital of Great Zimbabwe had been given up in the mid-16th century, is of great archaeological value. The discovery of objects from Europe and China shows that Khami was a major centre for business over a long period of time. Visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/365for more information. Ancient City of Pingyao Pingyao is a typically well-kept example of an ancient Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. It is most famous for its ancient buildings which were in connection with the ancient Chinese banks --Qianzhuang or Piaohao. It provides a complete picture of cultural, social, economic and political development during one of the most important periods of Chinese history. Visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/812for more information. Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape Mapungubwe is set against the northern border of South Africa that joins Zimbabwe and Botswana. Mapungubwe had developed into the largest kingdom in South Africa before it was given up in the 14th century. What survive now are the almost _ remains of the palace sites and also the entire settlement area, as well as two earlier capital sites. It shows a perfect picture of the development of social and political structures over 400 years. Visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1099for more information. What can we learn about Mapungubwe? Answer: It once was the largest kingdom in South Africa. Have you ever asked yourself why you have two eyes instead of one, three, or even hundreds as some insects have? Have you wondered why your eyes are set close together on the front of your face rather than on the sides of your head, as on animals like rabbits, antelopes, and horses? The reasons are simple -- and important to the way you see the rest of your world. Your eyes are like two small cameras. A camera catches an image of an object and records this image in miniature on a small piece of film. Similarly, when you look at something, each eye takes in what it sees and sends this image to the back of the eyeball. From each eye, an optic nerve then sends the image to the brain. Because your eyes are set close together, they view the world from about the same height but from slightly different angles. While your right eye sees an object a little to the right, your left eye sees the same object slightly to the left. Working as a team, the eyes send the images to the part of your brain called the cerebral cortex, which combines them into a single, centered image. Seeing with two eyes working together is called stereoscopic vision. This allows you to view the world in three dimensions, or 3-D. These dimensions are height, width, and depth. Sensing depth allows you to judge the distance between you and the objects you see. It also helps you to adjust to the changing angle at which you see something as you move closer to or farther away from it. As you walk along a sidewalk, for example, seeing in stereo helps you to know how close you are to the street, how far you need to walk to arrive at a certain building, and how close you are to stepping on a rock or a piece of glass. As your body moves, your eyes give you a continual flow of information about where things are in relation to where you are. If images are coming from only one eye, however, only two of these dimensions - height and width - can be sensed. A world seen with one eye is thus two-dimensional, as in a photograph. The sense of depth is lacking, making it more difficult to move around safely. Now consider why your two eyes are located on the front of your face. Think of other animals with this same arrangement. Some examples are lions, wolves, and owls. What do these creatures have in common? They are all animals that hunt. These animals have eyes facing directly in front of them. This provides a field of vision that is about 180 degrees wide, like a half-circle. This kind of sight is called binocular vision. On the other hand, animals that are hunted have eyes on the sides of the head. This provides nearly a 360-degree field of vision. Because these animals need to de ready to run at any moment in order to stay alive, they need to see things coming from the sides and from behind. However, without stereoscopic vision, these animals have a more difficult time determining how far away a threat is. This article would most likely be found in a _ . Answer: professional magazine for doctors
As far back as he could remember,Larry had longed to go to Hollywood and become a film star. The young man's hopes for success were broken again and again, however. Hollywood just did not seem interesting. When he first came to California, Larry had decided never to give up and return home without success. Therefore, he kept on trying. Someday, he told himself, his big opportunity would come. Larry found a job parking cars for one of Hollywood's big restaurants. His pay was basic, but since the guests were kind enough to give him more money, he managed to make a living. One day he recognized an important film director driving into the parking lot and getting out of his car. Larry had recently heard that the man was ready to make a new picture. Larry got into the car and prepared to drive it on into the lot and park it. Then he stopped, jumped out, and ran over to the director. "Excuse me, sir, but I think it is only fair to tell you that it is now or never if you want me in your next picture. A lot of big companies are after me." Instead of pushing away the boy,the director laughed,then wrote something on a card and handed it to the young man." Come and see me tomorrow." Larry got a small part in the director's next film. He was on his wayrefers to the fact that _ . Is bicycling hard to learn? Different people have many different answers. It is strange enough that the same person may also have a different answer as time goes by. Five years ago when I was in Junior Grade One, I got interested in bicycling because I thought my uncle was very cool when he rode his bike. He could ride a bike with only one wheel. He could also sit on the bike and keep it standing straight, without moving for a long time. I thought it was easy to learn to ride a bike, so I decided to learn from my uncle. He told me how to ride. When I fell off the bike the first time, I was afraid to try again. It was too hard for me to learn. Then my uncle helped me by holding the bike for me and not to let go. With his help, I was able to ride longer and longer. "You can do it by yourself now, young boy!" I heard his voice far behind me. Five years ago when the writer was in _ , he got interested in bicycling. If you are looking for a day trip with the family, here's a list of festivals and fairs happening within a reasonable drive from Charlotte. Hopscotch Music Festival Where: Downtown Raleigh(various places) When: Today---Saturday Highlights: This music festival features performances by more than 175 national and international bands playing in 15 different places, all within walking distance. Music _ will include rock, hip-hop, heavy metal, dance, classical, folk and everything in between. Admission: $10--$30 Details: www.hopscotchmusicfest.com Flatwoods festival Where: 451 Peach Tree Toad, Bennett When: 10 am. Saturday--5 pm Sunday Highlights: This annual festival, which is in its 15thyear, features family fun, food and horse rides. There will also be musical entertainment and a grand parade with cars, trucks, tractors, horse-drawn vehicles, floats, farm equipment and more. Admission: On Saturday, free; on Sunday, $5 for ages 13 and under. Details: 919-548-5192; www.visitpittsboro.com NC Mountain State Fair Where: 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher When: Various times, today---Sept.16 Highlights: In celebration of the people, agriculture, art and traditions that make our region great, the fair offers performances and even a man who carves artwork with a saw. Admission:$7; $3 for kids 6---12 and seniors Details: 828-687-1414; www.mountainfair.org How can you know the details about Flatwoods Festival? 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. If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be? Typhoons in the northern part of the world have girls' names.Sometimes they have very beautiful names.Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose.It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in ten years. It began to rain in the morning of Monday, August 16th, 1971.At ten o'clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but already the wind was blowing people's umbrella away.The wind became stronger and stronger.The typhoon shelters were soon full of boats.Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors .Some very big ships went out to sea.It is safer for a big ship to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks.Kai Tak Airport closed.No planes were able to take off or land.At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out. No one slept well that night.It is difficult to sleep in such bad weather. In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died.229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital.1500 lost their homes.The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose! Some big ships didn't go inside the shelters because _ .
New software is able to analyze exactly how many hairs there are in a patch of skin and could help in testing the effectiveness of baldness treatments and depilatory creams, say Australian researchers. Researchers from CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences in prefix = st1 /Sydneyreport their findings in the November issue of the journalSkin Research and Technology. The software, developed with a UKcompany, will make it easier for researchers developing hair removal creams to accurately assess how well they work, says Dr Pascal Vallotton. "Up to now they were counting the number of hairs that survived after treatment by hand. That's hard work and it's difficult because you may count a hair twice or you may miss it." he said. The software relies on images captured by a small flatbed scanner pressed onto the skin. Using a mathematical algorithm , the software then identifies and traces each individual hair based on an understanding of a hair's unique features, such as its straightness. The software is able to distinguish between hairs and other features on the skin such as wounds or moles . "Our skin irregularities make it difficult to say this is a hair or this is a mole," Dr Vallotton said. Comparison between earlier and later images can also determine if hair is growing quickly or slowly, he says. Unfortunately, to check the accuracy of the software, the researchers still had to adopt the old-fashioned method of counting hairs, helped by volunteers from neighboring labs who put their skins on the line for science. "We had 12 volunteers, mostly from neighboring labs, and we acquired images of hair before and after treatment," Dr Vallotton said. To ensure an accurate count, the individual hairs had to be marked off as they were counted, but after such a laborious process, the researchers were pleased to discover the software results were comparable to the manual count. Dr Vallotton says the software could also be useful in testing the effectiveness of balding treatments and counting or tracing substances other than hairs, that are long and thin and otherwise difficult to image. What did the 12 volunteers do in the experiment? Answer: They offered their hair for experiment. Do you love hamburgers? Do you how they were created? The first hamburgers in U.S. history were served in New Haven, Connecticut, at Louis' Lunch sandwich shop in 1895. Louis Lassen, founder of Louis' Lunch, ran a small lunch wagon selling steak sandwiches to local factory workers. Because he didn't like to waste the excess beef from his daily lunch rush, he ground it up, grilled it, and served it between two slice of bread--and thus America's first hamburger was created. The small _ is still owned and operated by the third and fourth generations of the Lassen family. Hamburgers are still the specialty of the house, where steak is ground fresh each day and hand molded, slow cooked, broiled vertically, and served between two slices of toast with your choice of only three "acceptable" garnishes: cheese, tomato, and onion. Want ketchup or mustard? Forget it. You will be told "no" in no uncertain terms. This is the home of the greatest hamburger in the world, claim the owners, who are perhaps best known for allowing their customers to have a burger the Lassen way or not at all. Which of the following is not available for customers to choose from at Louis Lunch? Answer: Mustard. What is the smallest particle of the element gold (Au) that can still be classified as gold? Answer: atom A child sits at his desk waiting for the teacher to hand back his test and praying that it is not sprayed with red marks. Fellow students in the classroom know a paper that has several red markings on it will usually receive a lower grade. The child with many red markings on his test will quickly fold the paper and stuff it into his desk in the hope that no one will see his test. There is an education movement to retire the reds for softer color1s of purple, green, and blue pens to mark students' work. Many educators understand the psychological harm the constant red markings on the paper do to a child's self-esteem. After a child receives his test back with countless red markings there is a rare chance that he will bother to find out his errors. It is too embarrassing in the classroom to examine his errors and also many children do not want to show their parents their red stained test. The purpose of grading a paper or test is to identify the child's weakness and offer suggestions to improve their ability in a specific subject. Red markings are too for the student to calmly understand their errors ; instead they become upset and begin their self-critical dialogue. No student wants to fail; they just do not know how to excel. All color1s have an influence on our state of mind. Red is a powerful color1 that gives us energy. Colors such as blues and greens are calming color1s to the body. Hospitals often have doctors wear blue or green scrubs because it relaxes the patient on a subconscious level. I have never seen a doctor wear red scrubs because it will stress the patient. Remember this when you decide to mark a child' paper with red, the color1 of blood. What is the text mainly about? Answer: The harm of using red color1 in grading students' papers. One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread. The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while. Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner's ear, and shook them, so that they made a dingling noise. "What was that?" asked the restaurant owner. "That was payment for you," answered Nasreddin. "What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!" protested the restaurant owner. "The sound of the coin is payment for the smell of the soup," answered Nasreddin. "Now go back to your restaurant." The poor man held his bread over the soup to _ . Answer: make it smell and taste a little better
Bill has a sister, Amy. Next Friday is Amy's birthday. Bill wants to buy a present for her. However, he doesn't have much money. Now he is in shopping mall. He spends a lot of time choosing a good and cheap present in a toy shop, but he can't find anything. He goes to the next shop. There are some beautiful hair clips in it. Bill likes them very much. He knows Amy wants to have one all the time. He chooses a blue one. It's not expensive. It costs 7 yuan. He goes back home happily. How much does Bill pay for the hair clip? A. 1 yuan B. 7 yuan C. 9 yuan D. 11 yuan Answer: B What a great Paralympic Games this has been. An outstanding Opening Ceremony, splendid athletic performances in perfect stadiums, the best-ever Paralympic Villages, amazing high definition television coverage, a never ending and self-generating supply of passion and emotion, superb organization, wonderful volunteers, millions of new Paralympic sports lovers both here in China and around the world. These are the greatest Paralympic Games ever. --Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee It was another spectacular show. Perhaps it's not quite as sublimely beautiful as the opening, but a fitting end to what has been a memorable 12 days in the Chinese capital. The Paralympics were inspiring. Not only the Paralympians themselves, but also the warmth of people in Beijing and the sense of self-respect among the disabled in China that these Games seem to have inspired, as well as a new attitude in general from the government and form Chinese society as a whole. -- Jeff Z. prefix = st1 /Klein,New YorkTimes It doesn't get any better for disabled persons living in Beijingthan September 2008, with increased access for them in public areas. But there are still problems. Some taxi drivers are not willing to pick up wheelchair users. Some companies deliberately break employment laws that ask them to employ a percentage of disabled persons. Many schools haven't opened their door to disabled students. During the past Paralympics, Chinese society has witnessed firsthand the abilities of disabled persons in sporting. And the next step will be for the abilities of disabled people on the Paralympics to be translated into a realization of their abilities to study, work and go about daily life in a barrier-free society. -- Eric Roeder, China Daily The passage is probably taken from a(n) _ . A. newspaper B. advertisement C. story D. research report Answer: A Mrs Weeks was reading a newspaper story to her class. The story said: Were you ever in a hospital when you were small? How did you feel? The doctors in Children's Hospital are asking for money for children's toys. Some children in the hospital must stay in bed for many weeks. Toys are needed to keep these sick children happy and quiet. Money for them can be sent to the hospital. After Mrs. Weeks read the story, she said,"This story gave me an idea." "You want us to bring some money for the toys.""We could bring some of our own toys for the children in the hospital, "said the boys and girls one after another. "Well, your ideas would be nice, "Mrs. Weeks said,"but mine is different." Mrs. Weeks smiled. "Do you think you could make toys?" she asked. "Yes, yes," the whole class answered. "Great! Let's begin to make toys tomorrow," said Mrs. Weeks. On Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Weeks took the children to the hospital with the toys made by her students. The children in the hospital felt very happy to see the toys. The children in the class felt happy, too. A few days later, Mrs. Weeks read another newspaper story to the class: Some school pupils brought toys to Children's Hospital last week. The toys were made by the pupils of Grade Three in Green Street School. The doctors said, "We have never had so many wonderful toys. Our children are very happy with them. They say, 'THANK YOU, GRADE THREE'" What was the first newspaper story mainly about? A. Sick children in Children's Hospital B. Doctors in Children's Hospital C. Mrs. Weeks and her students D. Toys made by the boys and girls Answer: A As a newspaper reporter, Inez' s father traveled around the world. He wrote stories about the interesting people he met. On her fifteenth birthday, Inez could hardly believe it when her father announced that she was old enough to go with him on one of his trips! He said his next story would be about salt mining in Europe. Inez had never thought much about salt,she didn' t know what to expect,but she knew she would love being with her father. Months later, when Inez and her father arrived at the salt mine ,they found themselves walking into the middle of a busy workday. Mrs. Walker, the owner, said she would not be available to talk until the workday was over. She suggested that Inez and her father should help out so Inez ' s father would have first-hand experience for his story. Before Inez realized what was happening, she was in the factory. This was not what she had imagined her trip would be like. People rushed past her carrying hammers, nails, and wood to make boxes for the salt. Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry. As another newly constructed box was pushed at her, Inez spread a label with glue and stuck it on the side of the box. When she had agreed to go with her father on his newspaper assignment, she had pictured an adventure, not hard labor. Inez looked at the salt covering her father' s once-blue pants and sighed. She could taste the salt in her mouth and smell it in the air. Inez had been using salt all her life, but she had never imagined that it existed in such quantities or that it was so hard to package. Inez' s father rubbed his hands together and grinned at her. ''I know this probably isn't what you had in mind," he said, "but sometimes the best days are the ones that don' t go as planned. Best? she wondered. She had learned two lessons today. One was to value every grain of salt to fall from a shaker. The other was to hear the details before agreeing to go on a job with her father! Why does the author most likely write this story? A. To discuss what it is like when a child travels with a parent. B. To describe how places around the world are different. C. To explain which tools are used when packaging salt. D. To show that sometimes events turn out differently than expected. Answer: D All students need to have good study habits . When you have good study habits, you can 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. 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 are feeling tired easily if there is not enough light. The living-room is not a good place for study because it is too _ . A. quiet B. noisy C. clean D. big Answer: B
Which form of energy is needed to change water from a liquid to a gas? A heat B mechanical C chemical D sound Answer: A. heat China Merchants Bank Co Ltd has teamed up with ride-hailing major Didi Kuaidi to provide automobile financing and expand its reach in China's booming mobile payment industry. The two have inked a comprehensive partnership, which includes a strategic investment by the former in the latter. Under the partnership, CMB will become the first bricks-and-mortar bank that can offer in-app credit card payments to Didi users. At present, users of Didi can only choose third-party payment solutions like WeChat Payment and Alipay to pay cab fares. Zhao Ju, vice-president of CMB, said the cooperation with Didi was an important step in its mobile Internet finance strategy. "CMB's mobile payment is going to enter a new chapter by leveraging Didi Kuaidi's vast user base," he said. According to a report by China Internet Network Information Center earlier this month, Didi holds 87.2 percent of China's private car hailing market. The company said it has received 1.43 billion car-hailing requests on its platforms in 2015, which means 1.43 billion payments were made via smartphones. CMB is expected to use Didi to reach the core users of China's mobile payment market. Jean Liu, president of Didi, said many of the expats prefer payment by credit card rather than Alipay or WeChat. "The new partnership will help improve service quality and customer loyalty," she said. The investment makes CMB part of Didi's existing investors, including Tencent Holdings Ltd, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and China Investment Corporation. Both of the companies declined to reveal the actual amount of the investment. Liu, who showed up on Tuesday for the first time in public after her treatment for breast cancer, said the cooperation with CMB is for the long run and "the capital investment is only part of it". Under the partnership, CMB and Didi will cooperate on a wide range of initiatives on financial services and online-to-offline cooperation. Apart from the in-app credit card payments, the two companies are going to launch joint credit cards in late February and automobile financing services for Didi's car owners. CMB's branches across China are expected to help Didi recruit more drivers. "There is a lot of room for imagination in our partnership," Li said, adding in future people may use their CMB credit card reward points to pay for the ride on Didi. Li Chao, an analyst with iResearch Consulting Group, said the partnership may not significantly boost CMB's mobile payment business. "Didi has educated the market for three years and its customers have formed the habit of paying by WeChat or Alipay. So I think CMB can only turn a very smart proportion of Didi users into its payment customer," he said. "But the move shows that China's traditional banking industry is finally thinking out of the box and looking for outside partners in Internet finance competition," he said. Statistics from Big-Data Research showed that more than 90 percent of China's 9.3 trillion yuan ($1.41 trillion) worth of third party mobile payment market is donated by Alibaba and Tencent. The main idea of this passage is that _ .? A CMB develops partnership with Didi Kuaidi. B CMB is looking for outside partners in Internet finance competition. C Didi Kuaidi is going to enter a new chapter. D Alibaba and Tencent dominate the mobile payment market. Answer: A. CMB develops partnership with Didi Kuaidi. Liu Yun, 13, pretty and smart. She is a good student. But many students try to stay from her because Liu Yun's mum has AIDS and her father has died of AIDS. Luckily, Liu Yun didn't get it. AIDS means fear for most people. Nobody wants to play games with her. Even a teacher who used to like her turns his back on her now. The biggest problem is how other people look at her. She sometimes wants todrop out of schoolbecause she can no longer face others' indifference . It is said if a person has AIDS, it's still safe to eat and play with him. So I think Liu Yun's classmates and teachers are afraid of AIDS because they don't know much about AIDS. And Liu Yun needs their love and understanding. Even a friendly smile means a lot to her. What will you do when you best friend has AIDS? A I'll stay away from him. B I won't have meals with him. C I won't talk with him. D I should be more friendly to him than before. Answer: D. I should be more friendly to him than before. Which of the following would slow the flow of electricity? A a metal fork B a pencil eraser C a paper clip D aluminum foil Answer: B. a pencil eraser The earth is the only planet that scientists are certain has life .What does the earth have that the other planets don't ? For one thing , the earth has just the right temperature . As _ from the sun , the earth seems to be just the right distance away . The planets that are closer to the sun are so hot that their surfaces bake in the sun . The farthest planets are cold balls . When the earth developed-- which scientists believe may have happened about billions of years ago , many gases covered the earth . The gases caused the earth to be hot . But something wonderful happened . The temperature was just right for thick clouds to form . It rained very hard for a very long time . This gave the earth its oceans . Water made it possible for plants to grow . The plants created oxygen in the atmosphere . Oxygen is the gas that humans and animals breathe . Only one other planet in the solar system seems to be something like the earth . That planet is Mars . Mars is smaller than the earth , and it is quite a bit cooler . But it is not too cold for humans . On some days , the temperatures are as cold as a winter day in the northern United States . If you wore a special spacesuit , you could walk around on Mars . You would have to bring your own air to breathe , though . The air on Mars is too thin to breathe . Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system . It is sixteen miles high . The highest volcano on the earth is five miles high . The most unexpected sight on Mars is dried-up river beds . Scientists believe that Mars was once much wetter that it is now . Does this mean there could have been living things on Mars ? Scientists are not sure , but there has been no sign so far . The best title for the passage should be _ . A Living Things on Our Earth B The Moon C Living Things on the Moon D Mars Is Most Like the Earth Answer: D. Mars Is Most Like the Earth
An ordinance of City makes it unlawful to park a motor vehicle on a City street within 10 feet of a fire hydrant. At 1:55 p.m., Parker, realizing that he must be in Bank before it closed at 2:00 p.m., and finding no other space available, parked his automobile in front of a fire hydrant on a City street. Parker then hurried into the bank, leaving his aged neighbor, Ned, as a passenger in the rear seat of the car. About five minutes later, and while Parker was still in Bank, Driver was driving down the street. Driver swerved to avoid what he mistakenly thought was a hole in the street and sideswiped Parker's car. Parker's car was turned over on top of the hydrant, breaking the hydrant and causing a small flood of water. Parker's car was severely damaged and Ned was badly injured. There is no applicable guest statute."If City asserts a claim against Driver for the damage to the fire hydrant and Driver was negligent in swerving his car, his negligence is a cause in fact and a legal cause of City's harm. Last Sunday, Aron Ralston, an experienced hiker and mountaineer, set off to walk alone through the Bluejohn desert canyon in Utah. He was planning an eight-hour, 21-kilometer hike. While he was climbing through a narrow part of the canyon, a big stone weighing about 400 kilos fell and trapped his right arm. When he failed to return to the mountain camp where he was staying that night, people simply thought he had decided to camp out somewhere in the canyon. When he still had not returned by Tuesday, the alarm was raised, A search party set out on Wednesday evening, but there we no sign and his family began to fear the worst. In fact, Ralston, 27, was lying trapped in the canyon. By Tuesday, he had run out of water. By Thursday, he realized that he would not survive unless he took unusual action, so he used his pocket knife to cut his arm below the elbow . He then climbed down to the bottom of the canyon. There he met two other hikers, who helped him back to safety. He received some help at a local hospital before being carried to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado for surgery. Ralston's astonishing survival brought equal amounts of praise and criticism. While praising the climber for his bravery and calm, experts also pointed out he had broken the first rule of outdoor pursuits. He had failed to leave words with anyone of where he was going that day. This was in fact Ralston's second near-death experience. In February, he was buried up to the neck in snow by an avalanche while skiing in the Colorado Rockies. Ralston not only managed to dig himself out but he also rescued his skiing companion, who had been completely buried in the snow. Ralton rescued himself and his friend in less than 15 minutes. According to the passage, a "hiker" is probably someone who _ . enjoys walking long distances High-quality customer service is preached by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done. Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store, but instead will alert their friends, s, co-workers, strangers--and anyone who will listen. Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde Group and Wharton School. "Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers," said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde Group. "The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement." On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four others, and will no longer visit the specific store. For every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative review. The resulting "snowball effect" can be disastrous to retailers. According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers. The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople. During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces. This guidance eliminated the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space. Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers. "Retailers who're responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren't so friendly," said Professor Stephen Hoch. "Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help." Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.ks5u What does Paula Courtney imply by saying "...the shopper must also find a replacement" (Line 2, Para. 4) Not complaining to manager causes the shopper some trouble too. Delia was a young pianist. Her husband, Joe, was a young artist. Each of them was taking lessons: Joe with a famous art teacher, and Delia with a great pianist from Germany. Their teachers were the very best, so lessons were expensive, more than they could really afford, but...when you love your art, nothing is too much. But soon the money began to run out, and they couldn't afford the lessons any more. Then one day Delia came back home and told Joe that she had met a man whose daughter, Sally, wanted to learn the piano, and he was going to pay her $ 50 an hour. "Delia," Joe said, "I'll be much happier if you keep up your lessons," Delia said it didn't matter. "When I've had some money, I'll continue." But Joe also decided to stop his lessons, to draw pictures and sell them. A few days later, Joe came home and proudly took $ 200 from his pocket. "I met a man from Vermont," he said, "who bought one of my pictures. And he wants to buy more!" _ .They didn't have to worry any more about money. Then, one day, Joe came home and saw that Delia's hand was wrapped in a bandage . He asked her what had happened. "Oh," said Delia. "My student, Sally, asked me to make some coffee for her. I dropped the coffee and burned my hand. Sally went straight to the drugstore and got this bandage for me. " "Delia, what have you been doing the last two weeks?" Joe asked. She tried not to tell him, but the tears came. "Oh Joe, I couldn't get any students, so I worked as a waitress in a restaurant. Today, I burned my hand with hot water. So I can't work any more. But we'll still have money from the man in Vermont, won't we?" Joe looked at her. "There's no man in Vermont, " he said. "I've been working in a drugstore, and today someone came in to buy bandages for a woman who's burned her hand. So when I saw you, well, I guessed." They both laughed. [A story by O. Henry--adapted ] The writer of the story is _ . O. Henry One day in 1924, five men who were camping in the Cascade Mountains saw a group of huge apelike creatures coming out of the woods. They hurried back to their wooden house and locked themselves inside. While they were in, the creatures threw rocks against the house. Several hours later these strange hairy giants went back into the woods. After the men returned to the town and told the people about their adventure, _ . These were the people who remembered hearing tales about footprints of an animal that walked like a human being. The five men, however, were not the first to have seen these creatures called Bigfoot. Long before their experience, the local Native Americans were certain that a group of apelike animals had been living in the _ mountain for centuries. In 1958, some workers, who were building a road through the jungles of Northern California, often found huge footprints in the earth around their camp. Then in 1967, Roger Patterson, a man who was interested in finding Bigfoot, went into the same jungles with a friend. While riding, they were suddenly thrown off from their horses. Patterson saw a tall apelike animal standing not far away. He managed to take photos of the hairy creature before it disappeared in the jungles. When Patterson's photos were shown to the public, not many people believed his story. Richard Brown, an experienced hunter, discovered a similar creature. He saw the animal clearly through the telescopic lens of his rifle . He said the creature looked more like a human being than an animal. Later many other people also found deep footprints in the same area. In spite of regular reports of sightings and footprints, most experts still do not believe that Bigfoot really exists . The BEST title for this passage would be " _ ". The creatures called Bigfoot
There is some unwelcome news for students preparing for exams and officers putting in long hours-----you don't need the break as much as you may think that makes you feel less tired. Scientists have long assumed that willpower is a limited resource, which is why you feel the need to have a rest, have a snack and come back to a task when you're feeling better. They argued that the only way to restore willpower was by rest, food or entertainment. But psychologists have challenged this theory, saying weak willpower is all in your head. They found that people's beliefs in willpower determine how long and how well they'll be able to work on a tough mental exercise. "If you think of willpower as something that's limited, you're more likely to be tired when you perform a difficult task," said Prof.Veronika Job. "'But if you think of willpower as something that is not easily used up, you can go on and on." The researchers designed four experiments to test students'-beliefs in willpower. After a tiring task, those, who believed or were led to believe that willpower is a limited resource, performed worse on standard concentration tests than those who thought of willpower as something they had more control over. They also found that leading up to final exam week, students who believed the limited resource theory ate junk food 24 percent more often than those who believed they had more control in resisting temptation . Mr. Job said. "The theory that willpower is a limited resource is interesting, but it has had unintended consequences. Students who may already have trouble studying are being told that their power of concentration is limited, and they need to take frequent breaks. But a belief in willpower as a non-limited resource makes people stronger in their ability to work through challenges.'" The findings could help people who are" battling temptation. Willpower isn't driven by a biologically based process as much as we used to think. The belief in it is what influences your behavior. The theory that willpower is limited supports that _ . Answer: people do need a break to restore their willpower Sydney is one of the world's biggest cities and has something for everyone when he comes to shopping.You will find excellent Australian products alongside the best that the world has to offer.At the bottom of Sydney Tower, you can shop in 160 of Sydney's favorite stores including 16 jewellery stores and many gift and fashion shops.They're all at Westfield Centrepoint. Tel:9231 9300 SOVEREIGN HILL This prizewinning living museum is where Australia's history comes alive!Visit daily or stay for the night and experience life of the Gold Rush days.A wonderful nightly sound and light show,"Blood on the Southern Cross"tells the story of the famous Eureka Uprising.Enjoy shopping along with real life character and entertainment,4star hotel and breakfast. Tel:5331 1944 ANCHORAGE RESTAURANT Come and enjoy our delicious Cantonese seafood right on the water's edge in the historic fishing port of Williamstown with views of the city centre across Port Phillip Bay. Open 7 days a week Lunch:Sunday to Friday 11:00 a.m.2:00 p.m. Dinner:Monday to Saturday 5:00 p.m.10:00 p.m. Tel:9397 6270 or 9397 7799 COOK'S COTTAGE Built by James and Grace Cook,parents of Captain James Cook,Cook's Cottage stands proudly in the Fitzroy Gardens as a reminder of life in the eighteenth century,and as a celebration and commemoration of the life and travels of Captain James Cook. Open 9:00 a.m.5:00 p.m. daily, and until 5:30 pm during the summer. Tel:9419 4677 Where can you spend the night in a tour? Answer: Sovereign Hill. Why are some rocks smoother and rounder than others? Answer: They were smoothed by the action of wind and water. Typhoons in the northern part of the world have girls' names.Sometimes they have very beautiful names.Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose.It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in ten years. It began to rain in the morning of Monday, August 16th, 1971.At ten o'clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but already the wind was blowing people's umbrella away.The wind became stronger and stronger.The typhoon shelters were soon full of boats.Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors .Some very big ships went out to sea.It is safer for a big ship to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks.Kai Tak Airport closed.No planes were able to take off or land.At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out. No one slept well that night.It is difficult to sleep in such bad weather. In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died.229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital.1500 lost their homes.The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose! This passage is mainly about _ . Answer: Typhoon Rose Although American children still spend part of their days reading, they are spending less time doing it for pleasure than years ago, with large gaps in proficiency ,according to a recent report. "It raises an alarm," said Vicky Rideout, the lead author of the report. "We're witnessing a really large drop in reading among teenagers and the speed of that drop is getting faster and faster." The report found that the percentage of nine-year-old children reading for pleasure once or more per week had dropped from 81 percent in 1984 to 76 percent in 2013, based on government studies. About a third of 13-year-olds and almost half of 17-year-olds reported in one study that they read for pleasure less than twice a year. Of those who read or are read to, children often spend on average between 30 minutes and an hour daily with that activity, the report found. Older children and teenagers tend to read for pleasure for an equally long time each day. Rideout warned that there may be differences in how people come across texts and the included studies may not take into account stories read on line or on social media. The report also found that many young children are struggling with literacy . Only about one-third of fourth grade students are "proficient" in reading and another one-third scored below "basic" in reading skills. Despite the large percentage of children with below-basic reading skills, reading scores among young children have improved since the 1970s, according to one test that measures reading ability. The reading scores among 17-year-olds, however, reminded relatively unchanged since the 1790s. About 46 percent of white children are considered "proficient" in reading, compared with 18 percent of black children and 20 percent of Hispanic kids. Those gap remained relatively unchanged over the past 20 years, according to the report. "To go 20 years with no progress in that area is shameful", Rideout said. The report stresses some behaviors that have been tied to children being more frequent readers. Those behaviors include parents setting aside time to read with their children and parents reading themselves to model good behavior. Which of the following is TRUE about the report findings? Answer: Black children have lower proficiency in reading than white children.
Special trees that grow faster, fight pollution, produce better wood, and even sense chemical attacks are being planted by scientists in the US. When 40 per cent of Hawaii's US$14 million-a-year papaya industry was destroyed by a virus five years ago, work began on creating genetically engineered trees. Researchers successfully introduced seeds that were designed to resist the virus.Since then, more and more people have been testing genetically engineered trees.Some researchers put special bacteria into trees to help them grow faster and produce better wood.Others are trying to create trees that can clean polluted soil.Meanwhile fruit farmers are looking for trees that are strong enough to resist worms, and paper companies want trees that produce more wood and therefore more paper. The Pentagon even gave the researchers US$500,000 this year after they developed a pine tree that changes its colours if it senses a chemical attack.So far, the poplar, eucalyptus , apple and coffee trees are among those being engineered.All this can be done today because we have a better understanding of tree genomes . However, some people fear that the genetically engineered trees will cause dangerous results.They are worried that the new trees will breed with natural species and change the balance of the forest environment. "It could be destructive," said Jim Diamond, an environmentalist. "Trees are what is left of our natural environment and home to many endangered species." But researchers insist that science could give nature a fighting chance against both natural and man-made dangers.They hope to answer the critics by stopping the new trees from breeding, so their effect on the environment can be controlled. Which of the following was probably the first kind of trees being engineered? A Papaya. B Pine. C Apple. D Poplar. Answer: A Despite organized anti-bottled-water campaigns across the country and a noisy debate about bottled water's environmental effect, Americans are buying more bottled water than ever. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why do so many people seem to think they should have any input on what other Americans choose to buy or do? If they want to buy bottled water, let them. If they want to eat fast food, let them. If they want to smoke pot, let them. ----Barackalypse People just get tired of paying for others' bad behavior. If many people eat too much fast food, you pay higher insurance bill. If many people frequently buy bottled water, your trash bills go up and landfills fill up quickly. It's about personal responsibility, which really should be a basis of our society. ----Bdbr So? This is the price you pay to live in a free society. You want to control the life of another just so you can save a little money? What would you say when someone do the same to you? ----Norman619 I'm just glad there are still people who still believe personal responsibility is a good thing. We make your life cheaper and less bothersome. ----Yoyo What a waste of money. It's fine when you're on the road and you need a cold drink, but people who buy cases of bottled water for home are completely crazy. ----Agmlauncher I wish we all can find a way to improve things and benefit from this. The environment needs a lot of help but businesses will always work on what people would need and demand. Is this part of the trade-off? Hope we can find better ways. ----Skipweis Which of the following statements will go with Skipweis' opinion? A People's demand for bottled water is to blame. B Environment is more important than business. C At present we can't benefit form bottled water at all. D It's necessary to figure out solutions to the conflict. Answer: D Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides. Following the rules...planning your next move...acting as a team member...these are all "game" ideas that you will come across throughout your life. Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate _ that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating . Many children's games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones. Which sharpens the hand-eye coordination needed in hunting. Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much. Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it--some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to give people hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future. Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life. What can be learned from the passage? A Games benefit people all their lives. B Sports can get all athletes together. C People are advised to play games for fun. D Sports increase a country's competitiveness. Answer: A When I first saw the bookAlice in Lace, I thought I was going to like it. And as it turned out, I love it! I love books about life and being a kid. And Alice in Laceis just that kind. It's a humorous book about being thirteen and the problems kids might face. Alice and her friends get a strange assignment from their totally cool teacher, Mr. Everett. It was like playing the game of "Life," but you had to act it out. So Pamela is pregnant, Elizabeth buys a car and Alice gets married. Well, of course, Pamela wasn't really pregnant, but she walked around with a pillow under her shirt to get people's reactions. Elizabeth didn't really buy a car, but she went to the car lot and made the sales guy think she was. The whole class got assignments like these! I would love to do something like that for school. In the book Alice has a lot to think about. "Getting married is hard!" Alice says. She has to plan the ceremony, the honeymoon, find a place to live, pay for furniture and two months' rent and food. Maybe she and her "husband" could work it out -- if they were getting on fine! Although this book was funny, it really made me think about how problems like these could really mess up your life. Take teenage pregnancy for example. How could you have a baby and stay in school? You couldn't find a babysitter every day to stay with your kid. A child really consumes your life. I understand what the teacher was trying to do. He was trying to discourage the class from getting into these problems by giving them a glimpse of life. As someone about to become a teenager myself, I can say sometimes a story makes you think about what's up ahead. Overall, I would say this book is wonderful. My favorite part of the book is discovering that if I like it, there are seven other Alice books I can check out at my local library. I love this book, and I hope you will too. We can infer from the passage that Pamela, Elizabeth and Alice _ . A turn out to be the author's classmates B are characters in Alice in Lace C get along quite well D become dismissed from school Answer: B A 50-year-old American officer came back to his school. The teacher asked him to give a talk to the small boys and girls there. The talk was about the love of their great country. All the little ones were sitting in a large meeting-room. The old officer went up and began speaking. He said , " Boys and girls . I studied in this school forty years ago. When I was your age, we were not as happy as you are today. Think about it and answer me, why are you so happy now?" No sound came from the children. The old man waited for a long time. Then a short boy in the front put up his small dirty hand. "Good boy! Please answer me, dear." said the officer. With a big smile on his face, the boy stood up and said, "If you speak long enough, we won't have Maths and biology lessons this morning." The children were thought to be _ before. A as good as B as well as C as happy as D much happier than Answer: D
Officials in the Midwestern U. S. town of Joplin, Missouri, say the death from Sundays' big tornado reaches 116 and that search efforts continue for possible survivors trapped in rubble . Search and rescue teams are conducting their third sweep through the nearly 10 kilometer - long and one - kilometer wide area of destruction left by the tornado. They are working as quickly as possible while weather conditions remain relatively stable. More storms are forecast for the area. Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said there are areas with large piles of rubble that might hold survivors. "We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath rubble yesterday and, of course, we are also finding dead folks as well." Said more folks and that is why we are doing these searches. We want to make every opportunity that we can to find everybody that is in the rubble and that has survived to this point." Randles said the current sweep involves a slower pace that previous searches and that he plans a fourth search, possibly on Wednesday, using specially trained dogs. "We are searching every structure that has been damaged or destroyed in a more in-depth manner, "he said." I have dogs and dog handlers coming from all over the country do help us in that effort." Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations are helping people who were left homeless by the tornado and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand to help. "Joplin is a great city. We have suffered a great loss, "said Rohr." We will recover and we will recover strongly and we have a lot of help and a lot of volunteers to make that easier." The tornado that struck Joplin was classified by the Natioonal Weather Service as an F - 4, with winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It lasted only 20 minutes, but it killed more that 100 people, injured more than 400 others, and destroyed or heavily damaged some 2,000 homes, businesses, churches and a hospital. Authorities have registered more than 1,700 calls about missing people and they hope to _ most of those cases soon, as victims are identified and survivors come forth and reunite with loved ones. This was the worst tornado to strike the United States in 60 years. It was the latest in a wave of violent storms that have swept Midwestern and southern states in recent weeks, leaving more than 300 people dead an causing more than $2 billion dollars in damage. The number of death caused by the tornado that struck Joplin reached more than _ . Answer: 100 I am Bill.I am an English teacher.My wife is Linda.She is a nurse. We have a daughter and a son. Look! These are my friends.This is Mr Black.He's a worker.He works in a shoe factory .He makes shoes.That's Mrs Black.She works in a supermarket .The girl is their daughter.She's a student.She's thirteen.The boy is their son.He is only seven years old.His name is Carl. We are good friends. Where does Mr Black work? Answer: He works in a shoe factory. Jim is my good friend. We are in the same school. He is an American. We are good friends. This is Jim's bedroom. It's not big, but new. A black desk is in the room. Some English books are on the desk. Jim's backpack is on it. The backpack is yellow, but old. What's under the red chair? It's a white cat. It's a Chinese cat. Its name is Mimi. Jim's father is in the living room. He is about fifty years old. Where is his mother? She is in the bedroom. She is a teacher. Jim's backpack is _ . Answer: old Look at these things. This is Mr. Wang's ID card. And this is Jim's watch, that's Mary's key. Gina's notebook is over there. Look! What's that on the floor? Oh, it's gold ring. It's Jenny's ring. It's very nice. . Is Jenny's ring very nice? _ Answer: Yes, it is. No matter who you are or where you come from, one thing is certain: you are familiar to the mosquito, although you probably wish you weren't. Mosquitoes are everywhere. They can be found all over the world, and they come in more than 2,500 species . Somewhere, at some time, you have surely met at least one. No one loves the mosquito. But unfortunately, the mosquito may decide who she loves. She? Yes, she. Do you know that only the female mosquito bites? Well, it's true. And it's not because she is unfriendly; she needs blood to reproduce. Do you know how the female mosquito decides whom to bite? She is quite selective, and she chooses her victims carefully. First, she uses sensors to find her victim. These sensors are located on her two antennae and her three pairs of legs. With these sensors, she tests your body moisture, body warmth, and chemical substances in your sweat. If she likes what she finds, she bites. But if you are not attractive, she'll reject you for another one. The next time a mosquito bites you, just remember that you are chosen. You are special. If the mosquito likes you, she settles onto your flesh very gently, and she breaks your skin with her long nose tip. Long nose tip? What's that? It's a kind of mouth and it sticks out just below the mosquito's eyes. It contains six sharp instruments called styles. She thrusts all six styles into your skin at once, and if she hits a blood pipe, she'll get a full dinner in about a minute. All this usually takes place so quickly and quietly that you may not have doubted anything is happening. Why does a mosquito bite itch ? The itch is not really from the bite. lt's from the saliva the mosquito mixes with your blood to keep it from being blocked as she sucks up her long nose tip. By the time the itch begins, she has gone. And then what happens? Well after her delicious dinner, the mosquito is tired. She just wants to find a place to rest. Heavy with your blood, she picks a spot on a leaf, a wall or a stone to quietly lay her eggs. Just one drop of blood will produce hundreds of eggs. It is _ that makes you itch. Answer: her saliva
The Loss of Innocence Innocence is such a precious gift. It's explained as freedom from guilt or wrong doing. Just imagine never having to worry about anything and having a guilt-free mind. Some people wish to save this kind of innocence from being lost from childhood to adulthood. What would the world be like if innocence were never lost? One way it would benefit humanity is the lack of hatred among the world. During youth, there may be an occasional argument, even a little physical fight, but nothing like firing a handgun at a fellow human being. And children are blind towards the racial differences of others. A kid will hang out with any other kid. It is the lack of innocence and the ignorance we learn from adults that influence children otherwise. Another benefit is the constant desire for fun and adventure. With very little if any time at all for fun, the adventurous mind is lost in time with the responsibilities placed upon adults. If innocence were kept alive, these ambitions would never depart from our lives. However, other people actually hate the idea of innocence lasting for ever. They feel that the lack of organization and mental power of those with innocence would cause extremely destructive consequences to society in general. A large number of individuals would never have the urge to learn, work, and act upon the necessary needs for humanity to survive. Without a proper education which is usually provided by those who no longer live in a world of innocence, people would not have the desire to succeed, get a good job in life, or provide income for their families, which would hurt the lives of children. The lack of a good education and career would also harm the economy. As long as innocence is kept alive, no one would be terribly angry at the lack of effort people put out in the workplace, resulting in a strong decline in production and quality of needed goods. Maybe it is wrong in wanting to save innocence. It sure is a nice thought, though. Perhaps innocence was meant to be lost. It was god's will to make things the way they are, and there is a good purpose for everything. All that remains to be said about innocence is to enjoy it while it lasts. According to the author, people with innocence can hurt the economy with their lack of _ . A motivational will B mental ability C adventurous ambitions D needed goods Answer: A Statue of Liberty Basics: Statue of Liberty Phone:212-363-3200 Statue cruise phone:877-LADY-TIX Nearest subways to Statue of Liberty :4/5 to Bowling Green; N/R to Whitehall Street;1 to South Ferry (you must be in the first 5 cars of the train to exit at South Ferry). Follow the signs to Castle Clinton to buy tickets for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. There is plenty of room for running around and relaxing on Liberty Island. For children 7-12 there is a Junior Ranger Program available. Pick up a free booklet on Liberty Island. Admission to Liberty State Park is free, but you must buy a ferry ticket to get there. Statue Cruises Ferry Ticket Prices: Adult:$13; Senior Citizens (62+) $10; children (4-12)$5; Children 3 and under free. You can buy your tickets for the ferry online at http//:www.statuecruises.come/ferry-service/welcome.aspx. Ferry ticket included with the New York Pass----- present New York Pass in Castle Clinton bookstore for ticket. Statue of Liberty Tour Hours Ferries to the island leave from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Liberty Island closes at 6 pm and the last ferry returns to Battery Park by 6:30. Schedules are updated and revised frequently, so please check the official ferry schedule. Statue of Liberty Tour Reservation Climb the Crown of the Statue of Liberty with a Crown Ticket, which costs an additional $3 and includes access to the Museum and Pedestal as well. Museum/ Pedestrian Tickets are free (with ferry ticket purchase). Order your tickets in advance: 877-LADY-TIX or online when you purchase your ferry ticket. Tour tickets are time specific. If you want to buy a tour ticket in advance, you should _ A call 212-363-3200 B call 877-LADY-TIX C go to Castle Clinton ` D get a booklet on Liberty Island Answer: B Dad had a green comb .He bought it when he married Mum. Every night,he would hand me his comb and say. "Good girl, help Daddy clean it, OK?" I was pleased to do it. At age five, this dull task brought me such joy. I would excitedly turn the tap on and brush the comb carefully. Satisfied that I'd done a good job. I would happily return the comb to Dad. He would smile affectionately at me and place the comb on his wallet. Two years later. Dad started his own business, which wasn't doing so well. That was when things started to change. Dad didn't come home as early and as much as he used to. Mum and I became mad with him for placing our family in trouble. With time, an uncomfortable silence grew between us. After my graduation, Dad's business was getting back on track. On my 28th birthday. Dad came home early. As usual I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said," Hey, would you help me clean my comb?" I looked at him a while,then took the comb and headed to the sink. It hit me then: why, as a child, helping Dad clean his comb was such a pleasure. That routine meant Dad was home early to spend the evening with Mum and me. It meant a happy and loving family. I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He smiled at me and carefully placed his comb on his wallet. But this time, I noticed something different. Dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, yet his smile was still as heartwarming as before, the smile of a father who just wanted a good life for his family. It occurred to the author that helping Dad cleaning the comb meant _ . A she could play with water B she could spend more time with her father C she could have the chance to see the comb D she could take the responsibility for the family Answer: B Mr. Brad wants to see a film. After lunch, he goes to a cinema, buys a ticket and goes in. But after two or three minutes he comes out again and buys a second ticket and then walks in again. After a few minutes he comes out again and buys a third ticket. Two or three minutes after that, he comes out a third time and asks for another ticket. But the girl says to him, "Why are you buying all these tickets? Are you meeting your friends in the cinema all the time?" "No, I'm not doing that." Mr. Brad says, "But a big woman always stops me at the gate of the cinema and she tears all my tickets." The girl has a good laugh and says, "One ticket is enough. She is on duty." Mr. Brad buys _ tickets altogether . A two B three C four D five Answer: B Targeting teens Using the web makes teens a target. Posting too much personal information for those millions of cyber eyes to see can cause some big problems and can even invite a threat to your life. As Mary learned, not everyone on the Internet is who he or she says they are. Adults will sometimes pose as other teens, posting fake photos and nice messages to gain trust. They use their fake identity to access the personal information of others, such as home address, phone number, or school name. "That's not the most common scenario ," says David Finkelhor, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire. "Only 3 percent of teens aged 10 to 18 who use the Internet report being asked to meet offline. But the danger is real." Safety measures Mary's Myspace profile is set to "private", which means that only the people she adds under the "friend" category can access her page. She also doesn't have any pictures of herself on her site. The only self-identifying material she has posted is her name, grade, and a list of hobbies. Stay safe and have fun online Experts say almost 90 percent of U.S. teens are online. But not everyone knows how to surf the web in a smart way. With these tips, you can have fun, stay safe, and avoid embarrassment! Pick a safe password. Make sure your password is something that other people won't be able to guess. Pick a safe username. Make sure yours doesn't say too much about you, "Happy girl 13" is better than "Alice Waters 13". Don't include your name, age, or where you are from. Never tell a stranger your name, school, address, age, birthday, phone number, or friends' name. In Mary's opinion, _ . A one shouldn't trust everyone online B one shouldn't trust anyone online C there are many liars online D all people online pretend to be others Answer: A
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by sending newspapers door to door, was so hungry that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart." With these words, Howard Kelly left that house. Years later the woman became badly ill and was finally sent to the hospital in a big city. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Dressed in his doctor's clothes, Dr. Kelly went into her room and recognized her at once. From that day on, he gave special attention to her, and decided to do his best to save her life. At last the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to the woman's room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words: "Paid in full with a glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly." Tear of joy flooded her eyes. The best title for this passage is _ . Answer: One of the strongest arguments for the raising of the school leaving age(ROSLA)has been that it will bring us some way nearer to "equality of opportunity". Many people like to think of our present system of schooling as providing plenty of steps up the ladder of success for clever children. It would be good to think that no one who is really bright can be missed out when the state system is obviously so complete. It is obvious, for instance, that many children from less wealthy homes reach university or do well in other ways. Unfortunately we now have plenty of proofs that many children of every level of ability do much less well than they could. For instance, during the years of national military service it was possible to test the intelligence of all males 18 to 20 year old. Half of those soldiers who were placed in the two highest ability groups had left school at 15. It has also been shown that the percentage of working class children going to university is almost the same now as it was in 1939. One study of 5,000 children from birth to 21 years old shows that up to half the bright pupils from working class homes left school when they reached 16 years old. Moreover, there is no difference in intelligence between the sexes, but far more boys than girls stay in education after 16. It is clear from this and many other proofs that many children are still leaving school too early to benefit from the prizes--money, social respectability, and interesting jobs--which higher education gives. It is clear too that the reasons why such children leave have much to do with their social background. Their parents often need the extra money another money-earner would bring in; they don't value education for itself because their own was probably dull and unhappy. It is not so much that they force their sons and daughters to leave school, rather that they tend to say, "it's up to you". This article shows that equal opportunity in education Answer: Every four years athletes from the world take part in the Olympic Games. Both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games are held every four years. The Winter Olympic Games are usually held two years before the Summer Olympic Games. The ancient Olympic Games began around the year 776 BC in Greece. Many of the sports were the same as they are now. Some of the games in which the young men competed were: running, jumping, and wrestling. Women were not allowed to take part in the games. After about the year 393 AD the Olympic Games stopped. For centuries there were no Olympic Games. But they were not forgotten. The first Olympic Games in modern times happened in 1896. They were held in Greece--the country in which the Games were born. in the Games there were 311 competitors from 13 countries. After that more and more countries joined in the Games. In 2000, over 10,000 athletes from 227 countries went to Sydney; Australia, for the 27th Olympic Games! There are 300 different events in the Games. Horse riding, hammer throw and shooting are some of the more unusual events. The best title for the passage might be. Answer: Herta Muller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.The award was announced in Stockholm on Thursday. Ms.Muller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987.She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Gunter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901.She is the 12th woman to win the literature prize.But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V.S.Naipaul, Ms.Muller is ly unknown outside of literary circles in Germany. "I am very surprised and still cannot believe it," Ms.Muller said in a statement delivered by her publisher in Germany."I can't say anything more at the moment." She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels "The Land of Green Plums" and "The Appointment." At the news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms.Muller, wearing all black and sitting on a leopard-print chair, appeared nervous with all the cameras flashing on her. When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Boll, Ms.Muller remained philosophical."I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse," she said, adding: "My inner thing is writing.That's what I can hold on to." Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter England, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms.Muller was honored for her "very, very distinct special language" and because "she has really a story to tell about cruelty and repression in a village much like the one Muller grew up in." The awards ceremony is planned for Dec.10 in Stockholm.As the winner, Ms.Muller will receive about $1.4 million. According to the passage, all of the following statements are wrong EXCEPT that _ . Answer: Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up.The sense of humour ismysteriously connected with national characteristics.A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke.In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears. Most funny stories are based on comic situations.In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request.No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin's early films.However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion.It is called "sick humour".Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents.Many people find this sort of joke distasteful.The following example of "sick humour" will enable you to judge for yourself. A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas.From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home.He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital .Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery was slow.On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good.The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble along to a party.To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him.In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because _ . Answer:
Are you good with money?I learnt to be careful with it during my childhood. My father would give me some pocket money and tell me it should last for a whole week. So,I learnt I had to save some if I didn't want to run out of cash quickly. No surprise there:my dad was an accountant! It's never too early to become money savvy .That's what British personal finances expert Martin Lewis thinks. He was part of a successful campaign to include financial education on the school curriculum in England. It will be embedded in maths and citizenship education. This includes children from 5 to 16 years old. Lewis says:"We desperately need to break the cycle of financial illiteracy in the UK--one of the causes of our current economic crisis and a huge contributor to continued mis-selling epidemics ." Being careful with money pays off. Banks in Britain recently found themselves having to pay a large number of people who were persuaded to spend money and buy insurance policies they didn't need. Many wasted their money on investments which were not for them. Few have the patience to read the small print. The British say'take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves'.It means you have to watch your daily expenses and not just the big purchases in your life such as houses. Martin Lewis has made millions from his website which advises people to be thrifty and refuses any suggestion that he is mean. The expert says in an interview with the English newspaper the Daily Express:"the better you are with your cash,the better your life can be. People think I am telling them to stop spending money but I am simply telling them to spend it wisely." The financial education in England aims to _ . A. educate children to become money savvy B. avoid continued mis-selling epidemics C. help children make money D. deal with the current economic crisis Answer: A. educate children to become money savvy Cause and effect is one way to explain things that happen around us. Many things happen because something caused or influenced them to happen. Sometimes it is hard to look at a cause and find out what caused or influenced them to happen. Sometimes it is hard to look at a cause and find out what causes the effect. It may help you to start with the effect and use your reasoning skills. Think about all the things you know that could be reasons for the effect you can see. For example, you may see someone putting on a heavy jacket. This is the effect. To look for a cause, think to yourself, "What would take someone put on a heavy jacket?" Maybe the person is going outside into very cold weather. Maybe the person works in the penguin pen at Sea World. Maybe the person is going to visit an ice skating rink where the air is kept very cold. All of these things could be a cause for putting on a heavy jacket. Now, think about a second example. The effect is a boy named Abi has to go to the head teacher's office. What are the possible causes? Maybe he bullied another student. Maybe he is just being picked up early. Maybe he is being given a prize! Here is another example for you to think about its cause and effect. Cait, 13, was trying to fall asleep when her 8-year-old brother, Doug, came into her room. He looked around a bit, but seemed really out of it. Then Doug went back into the hallway and stood there looking straight up at the hall light for quite a while. Little brothers can be very strange, but this was really much too strange. Cait's father appeared and explained that Doug was sleepwalking. What's the cause end effect, could you tell? ,. What was Doug doing when his sister Cait tried to fall asleep? A. He was going outside. B. He was reading a story. C. He was sleepwalking. D. He was looking for his dad. Answer: C. He was sleepwalking. Singapore's public transport system is one of the best in the world, so you should have no problem finding your way around like a local. There are three main forms of public transport that you would find in any other major city--trains, buses and taxis. TRAINS Trains run from 6:00 am to midnight. Single trip tickets start at 80 cents. If you buy an EZ-Link cars for $15, you can ride the trains and buses as you like. If you need more information, just call Transit Link on 1800 767 4333. BUSES There are several bus services in Singapore and fares start at 80 cents. Be sure always to ask the driver the cost of your ticket as he can not give change. If you need help, just call Transit Link on 1800 767 4333. TAXIS There are three main taxi companies--City Cab (6552 2222), Comfor (6552 1111) and Tibs (6552 8888). Booking can also be easily by calling the numbers listed above. RENABLE CARS Driving in Singapore is a pleasure and if you like to travel at your own pace, renting a car is a good choice. Renting takes away the _ of getting to places around Singapore. Just sit back and enjoy the city. It also means you'll get to see a lot more that a train or a bus won't let you see. For car rental, call Avis on + 65 6737 1668. By an EZ-Link care, you can take _ . A. both buses and trains B. only trains C. both buses and taxis D. only rental cars Answer: A. both buses and trains New changes have taken place in Paris in recent years. Paris used to be among Europe's busiest cities. Traffic jams could be seen all the time. But now there is a new 2.5 kilometre-long car-free area inside the city. The Louvre attracts world tourists. People visit there not just for the art works, but also enjoy the roof of the building which is like a flying carpet. The world's most beautiful city is now even more beautiful. Lijiang River National Park, China. Lijiang River is in Guilin. It is well-known for its clear water, limestone and green hills. The hills have beautiful names depending on different shapes, such as "Elephant Trunk". These attract many Chinese poets and artists. The best way to enjoy Lijing River is to take an 83 km boat trip from Guilin to Yangshuo in summer. Zurich, Switzerland What do you think Zurich is famous for? Great banks? Yes. People can find many Swiss banks and foreign banks here. But the city is of great interest to many people for another reason. Zurich hosts Europe's largest street party each year. Its Street Parade has overtaken London's Notting Hill Carival. What's hot in the city in 2014? In August, Zurich will host the European Athletic Championships. This gives tourists a chance to see the world's top athletes making new records. Adelaide, Australia Many people may know Sydney or Melbourne. They are big cities in Australia. But Adelaide wins people's hearts with great festivals and tasty food. Adelaide Fringe Festival is the largest art festival in Australia. Every February and March, people celebrate with outdoor art works, dance performances and live music. Adelaide has many kinds of foreign foods. British fish and chips, Italian pizza and German pork can be found in most restaurants. Compared with London's Notting Hill Carnival, the Street Parade in Zurich is _ . A. even worse B. exactly the same C. much better D. less popular Answer: C. much better Ricky and Carmen were friends. Ricky was an inchworm. He had a skinny body and was bright green. Carmen was a ladybug. She had a round body and was red with black spots. They liked to play together in the grass. One day Ricky and Carmen were playing in the grass. Carmen saw something new. She asked Ricky, "What is that yellow thing?" Ricky did not know. They went over to the yellow thing. It was not grass. It was not alive. It was big and flat and looked like it might be fun for jumping. Carmen said, "Let's jump on it." Ricky said, "Okay, but I hope we don't get in trouble." They jumped on the big yellow thing. It was fun! They were happy jumping together! All of a sudden, the big yellow thing moved. It went up in the air. Ricky and Carmen held on. It went up and up. It went into the sky. Ricky and Carmen were scared. They wanted to get down. They shouted, "Help, help!" A bird heard them and flew over. His name was George. George said, "What's wrong? Don't you like it up here on your kite?" "No, we don't!" said Ricky. "What's a kite?" said Carmen. George told them they were on a kite. He showed them the string. He said, "You can follow that string all the way to the ground." It looked like a long way down. But they thanked George for his help and slowly crawled down the string to the ground. They were safe. How did Ricky and Carmen feel on the kite? A. Only happy. B. First scared, then happy. C. Only scared. D. First happy, then scared. Answer: D. First happy, then scared.
When most people think of the Olympics, they don't think of science. But in the USA, each year, students take part in a kind of competition called the Science Olympiad. It has a lot of different events. Students go there to show how much they know about the science of music, biology, chemistry and others. My best event is forestry . This time, I went to the Olympiad with my school's team. We had worked hard, but this was the state competition. It would be hard to win. The Olympiad was out of town, so we got to ride on a bus and stay in a hotel for a night. The Olympiad was in three big rooms. When we got there, we set up our team's "camp" off to one side. The big day had come at last! First, I went to watch the tower building competition. That's when students build small towers and put heavy things on top of it. They hope they can hold them up. One of my schoolmates was putting things on her tower. She was nervous, and in the end it was too heavy for her tower to hold it--it broke! I felt bad for her. After lunch, I helped some teammates with their events. One was geography, and the other was history. I don't know much about those things, so I just watched my teammates do most of the work. At last, it was time for my favorite event--forestry. Another student was also in the forestry event. The rules were easy. We had to look at more than 40 different kinds of leaves and find out which plants they were from. We also had to answer some questions about the uses of each leaf. I knew almost all of the leaves and could answer most of the questions. I had spent more than a month studying on the Internet to get ready. At the end, it was time for the awards , I was nervous, because the forestry awards were last. We won second place in the whole state! A nice man gave me a medal and smiled at me. I had a great time at the Science Olympiad. I can't wait for next year! Choose the best answer according to the passage. The writer took part in the competition _ . A in the morning B at noon C in the afternoon D at night Answer: C. in the afternoon Food or friends? Lip salve or iPod? What is the most important thing in the US teenagers' lives today? Let's take a look. Some find that they can't do without people. "My biggest need is my friends. Without them, I wouldn't do much," said Adrian Fernandez, a 14-year-old boy. With others, food always comes first. "I do not think that I could live without chili con carne . I eat it every day. And if I didn't have it, it's all I would think about," said Max Wu, an 8th-grade boy. Sometimes, the things teenagers can't do without are strange. Take 14-year-old girl Hannah Sacchini for example. "I cannot live without lip salve, especially in winter," said Hannah Sacchini. "I go mad if my lips get dry." Of course, today everybody uses mobile phones and computers. Some teens can't live without these high-tech things. Justin Beck, a 15-year-old boy, feels like this: "I would not be able to live without my iPod. I use it for so many different things. I always have it with me," he said. So, now we know the things US kids really must have. What about you and your classmates? What can't you live without? ,. (10) Hannah Sacchini will become _ if her lips get dry. A fat B excited C shy D annoyed Answer: D. annoyed Library Special Needs Service Shellharbour City Library provides a rang of Library Special Needs Service for people who are unable to access our library service in the usual way. As long as you live in Shellharbour City, we'll provide a full rang of library services and resources including: * Large printed and ordinary printed books * Talking books on tape and CD * DVDs and music CDs * Magazines * Reference and information requests You will be asked to complete a 'Statement of Need' application form which must be signed by a medical professional. Home delivery service Let us know what you like to read and we will choose the resources for you.Our staff will deliver the resources to your home for free. We also provide a service where we can choose the resources for you or someone instead of you choose the things from the library .You can also choose the resources you need personally. Talking books and captioned videos The library can provide talking books for people who are unable to use printed books because of eye diseases. You don't have to miss out on reading any more when you can borrow talking books from the library. If you have limited hearing which prevents you from enjoying movies, we can provide captioned videos for you at no charge. Languages besides English We can provide books in a rang of languages besides English. If possible, we will request these items from the State Library of NSW, Australia. How to join? Contact the Library Special Needs Coordinator to register or discuss if you are eligible for any of the services we provide ---Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9am ---5pm on 4297 2522 for more information. How can you learn more about the special service information? A By emailing the library. B By visiting the library personally. C By contacting the library on weekends. D By phoning the library at the required time. Answer: D. By phoning the library at the required time. Have your parents ever inspected your room to see if you cleaned it properly? Imagine having your entire houses, garage, and yard inspected at any time -- with no warning. Inspections were a regular part of lighthouse living, and a keeper's reputation depended on results. A few times each year, an inspector arrived to look over the entire light station. The inspections were supposed to be a surprise, but keeper sometimes had advance notice. Once lighthouses had telephones, keepers would call each other to warn that the inspector was approaching. After boats began flying special flags noting the inspector aboard, the keeper's family made it a game to see who could notice the boat first. As soon as someone spotted the boat, everyone would do last-minute tidying and change into fancy clothes. The keeper then scurried to put on his dress uniform and cap. Children of keepers remember inspectors wearing white gloves to run their fingers over door frames and windowsills looking for dust. Despite the serious nature of inspections, they resulted in some funny moments. Betty Byrnes remembered when her mother did not have time to wash all the dishes before an inspection. At the time, people did not have dishwashers in their homes. In an effort to clean up quickly, Mrs. Byrnes tossed all the dishes into a big bread pan, covered them with a cloth and stuck them in the oven. If the inspector opened the oven door, it would look like bread was baking. he never did. One day, Glenn Furst's mother put oil on the kitchen floor just before the inspector entered their house. Like floor wax, the oil made the floors shiny and helped protect the wood. This time, though, she used a little too much oil. When the inspector extended his hand to greet Glenn's mother, he slipped on the freshly oiled surface. "He came across that floor waving his arms like a young bird attempting its first flight," Glenn late wrote. After he steadied himself, he shook Glenn's mother's hand, and the inspection continued as though nothing had happened. The family began making preparations immediately after _ . A one of the members saw the boat B a warning call reached the lighthouse C the keeper put on the dress uniform and cap D the inspector flew special flags in the distance Answer: A. one of the members saw the boat Civil Affairs and Public Security Departments have been urged to take comprehensive steps to help children who are begging on the nation's streets and are often abused. Premier Wen Jiabao said during his online chat with netizens, China Daily reported. Wen said he has paid close attention to the ongoing micro blog campaign that calls on concerned netizens to post photos of children begging on the streets in the hope that police will rescue them and return them to their families. There are many reasons why children turn to begging, including poverty and family problems. Joint efforts will help end the problem. His remarks were welcomed by Yu Jianrong, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who starts the online campaign to on child begging. The All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) also released a statement encouraging people to contact the police if they find any suspect who abuses, or forces juveniles to beg on the streets. People can either call 110 and or dial 12338 and connect with a hotline set up by the ACWF. The statement was reported by Xinhua News Agency. The micro blog campaign has gained support from charities, and other social institutions since it was launched in January. One Foundation, a Shenzhen-based charity, set up a fund on Feb 19 for a database for sharing information about missing children So far, One Foundation has raised 720,000 yuan ($109,500). Meanwhile, Shanghai Time Plastic Surgery Hospital has offered free plastic surgery to Ren Fangfang, an 8-year-old girl who suffered physical abuse at the hands of a man who used her to beg for him. What's the main purpose of the online blog campaign started by Yu Jianrong? A To draw the top leader's attention to the child beggars. B To call for comprehensive steps from the government. C To gain support from charities and other social institutions. D To post photos of child beggars and help them go back home. Answer: C. To gain support from charities and other social institutions.
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. When we receive a birthday present, we have to_. Answer: Please excuse me if I'm a little quiet today. Mark is leaving, and I'm kind of sad. You probably don't know Mark, but you might know someone like him. He has been the heart and soul of the office for years. He has never been interested in getting praise for the wonderful work he does. He just does his job - very well. We're pleased that he is moving on to new, better things. But this doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye. Life has a way of throwing curve balls at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation, something comes along to change things. A nice neighbor moves away. Someone in the family graduates. A child finds new love through marriage. Our ability to deal with change and disruption decides to a great degree, our peace, happiness and satisfaction in life. But how do we do that? Chris the California surfer, once told me that the answer to life's problems can be summed up in four words: "Go with the flow." "It's like surfing," Chris explained. "You can't organize the ocean. Waves just happen. You ride them where they take you, then you paddle back out there and catch the next one. You're always hoping for the perfect wave where you can get it. But mostly you just take them the way they come." I think Chris was saying that life is a series of events -- both good and bad. There will always be things over which you have no control. The truly successful person expects the unexpected and is prepared to make adjustments . Don't stop trying to make all your dreams come true. But when things come up that aren't exactly in your plan, work around them -- and then move on. We're going to miss Mark. But rather than dwell on the sadness of our parting , we'll focus on our hopes for a brighter future -- for him, and for us. We'll go out and do everything that we can to make that future happen. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article? Answer: In late March,Southwest University became the first school in China to open a 24-hour hotline providing suicide-prevention counseling. College suicide is a heart-breaking and argumentative topic.Chinese college students have long been the focus of public attention:their youth,education and,most importantly, bright futures make them the envy of society. However, in recent years,we've read more reports of student suicides.Perhaps that's simply because of society's attention with youth.But it could also signify the increasing troubled mental state of college students. Many studies have sought to find out the causes of student suicides.Not surprisingly, the top factors usually include psychological and physical sickness,emotional trouble and peer pressure. Despair about their futures is also quickly becoming a leading factor:Many students say they feel hopeless and confused about the direction of their careers in a crowded job market. Thankfully, more and more universities and colleges are providing counseling services to address students'mental and psychological problems.These at least offer some comfort to students facing tough job prospects and personal difficulties. From appointing in-house student counselors to setting up hotlines and recruiting students to help their troubled peers.many universities are making efforts to fight student depression.There is no denying that much remains to be done,but such efforts are already working,helping students and saving lives. However, the most important front in this battle lies with the students themselves.Whatever efforts school officials make,it is up to students to realize their problems and ask help.Unfortunately, many students considering suicide refuse to seek help.By shutting themselves away, they can easily fall into vicious cycles ,becoming ever more vulnerable to.personal difficulties and the pressures of the outside world. While establishing better on-campus psychological education and outreach programs are a step forward,students themselves must actively reach out for help.These dangers are a reality for every student not only those who feel confused and depressed. What is the key to avoid student suicides? Answer: From 2008 to 2018, the concentration of single carbon molecules bonded with two oxygen molecules present in the air has dramatically Answer: About a year ago, if you had asked who Dinara Safina was the answer would have been: "She is Marat. Safin's younger sister." Back then she was overshadowed by her wonder brother. But now she has made a name for herself: the world No. 1 player in women's tennis. The 22-year-old Russian. will overtake Serena Williams of the prefix = st1 /USfor top ranking on April 20. "Before, every place I go, I am Marat's sister. Nothing else," she told New York Times. "I always wanted to be myself, and now finally the results are coming, and people can know me as Dinara Satina." Safina has made it to two great event finals, in the 2008 French and in this year's Australian Open, and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympic Games. Clearly; family isn't the only connection Safina's and her brother share. Both of their DNA burns with competitive fire. Satin has held the distinction for years of being a hot tempered player on Court. When he lost his temper, he would break a racket . Safina is as emotionally explosive as her brother. A headline in the newspaper The Australian once described her as "mad as a snake". The Sydney Morning Herald, during the Australian Open, summed up Safina's volatile emotional state with the headline: "Satina goes from basket case to top of the world." It's not rare for a family to have two top tennis players. Safina's father owns a tennis academy and her mother worked as a coach. "I had no choice but to become a tennis player, but I don't mind being a tennis player," Safina said. From this talented family she is also given one of her best weapons on court, her size. She is 1.82 meters tall and Weighs 70 kg. But it is hard work that led her to her recent Success. "I hope to prove to everyone over the coming months that I deserve the honor of being world No. 1," she said. What can we learn from this passage? Answer:
It's well known that our human memory can fail us. People can be forgetful, and they can sometimes also "remember" things incorrectly, with damaging consequences in the classroom, courtroom, and other areas of life. Now, researchers show for the first time that bumblebees can be unreliable witnesses too. Bumblebees are rather clever animals, which explains why Chittka has been studying learning and memory in the insects for the last 20 years. Most times when people have studied memory in animals, errors in performance have been taken to mean that the animals failed to learn the task or perhaps learned it and then forgot. But what if animals can experience a more interesting type of memory failure? To find out, Chittka first trained bumblebees to expect a reward when visiting a yellow artificial flower followed by one with black-and-white rings. During subsequent tests, bees were given a choice between three types of flowers. Two were the types they'd seen in the training before. The third had yellow-and-white rings, representing a mixed-up version of the other two. Minutes after the training, the bees showed a clear preference for the flower that recently rewarded them. One or three days later, however, something very different happened when the bumblebees' memory was put to the test. At first, the bees showed the same preference displayed in the earlier tests, but as the time went on, they began selecting the flower with yellow rings, even though they'd never actually seen that one in training before. Chittka says that insects make similar errors in the conjunction of long-term memories as humans do. The ability to extract common features between different events in the environment might come at the expense of remembering every detail correctly. In bees, with their limited brain capacity , the pressure to store main features of several objects rather than each individual object might be much greater, compared with humans. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? Answer: Grandmother's Favourite Doll A little girl had a doll. She loved it so much that she would treat it with great care, even though her friends would laugh at her for being so careful. As time passed, the girl grew up, moved houses, became an adult, married, had children, and finally became a lovely little old woman with many grandchildren. One day, she returned to her hometown, found her _ house, and went in. Among hundreds of old things, the now-old little girl found her doll. It was as well looked after as before. She took it home with her and gave it to her granddaughter. Her granddaughter loved it. Each time the old woman saw her granddaughter playing with the doll, tears of joy would roll down her cheeks . She was so glad to see now it was in the hands of her granddaughter. Whenever she saw her granddaughter playing with the doll, she would _ . Answer: 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. We can know from the passage that the Typhoon Hagupit is _ . Answer: The Greens are English. Now they are in Beijing. This is their first visit to China. They are going to stay in China for three weeks. They want to visit some big cities and villages. They want to learn some Chinese. Mr Green is driver. He likes driving in Beijing very much. Mrs Green is a teacher. She is visiting a middle school near Beijing. Their son Jim is a middle school student. He meets some Chinese students, and he likes to speak English with them. They take a lot of photos in China. When they are back in English, they are going to show the photos to their friends. They want the English people to know more about China. Mrs Green's _ is a middle school student. Answer: Michael's birthday was coming soon, so he asked his dad for a bicycle so that he would not need to walk to school anymore. However, Michael's dad had lost his job and did not have much money. Michael got a book instead. One bright and sunny day while Michael was walking past a store on his way to school, he saw a big boy on a bike. The bike was too small for the boy. As the boy was turning around a corner, the bike skidded on a small pool of water and he fell off the bike. The boy was also in Michael's school. The boy's name was William. William seemed to have broken his leg. Michael picked up William's bike and rode to the nearby hospital to get help. A few minutes later, an ambulance came and brought William to the hospital. Michael rode William's bike to school so he would not be late for class. After school, Michael quickly rode the bicycle to William's house with a book and a magazine. William was not too seriously hurt. He went home after his leg was put in a cast . To Michael's surprise, William was getting a new bike on his birthday in two months' time and Michael could have William's old bike. Michael was very happy. From then on, Michael and William became good friends. Michael visited William every day till William's leg got well again. Which of the following is true? Answer:
On New Year's Day, many people eat special food for good luck. In Spain and some Latin American countries ,people eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve--One grape for good luck in each month of the new year. Chinese people eat dumplings. Some are made with a coin inside. Everyone tries to find the coin for good luck and money in the new year. Of course they don't eat the coin . In the south of China, people make rice cakes for New Year. The Chinese pronunciation for rice cake is "Nian Gao", which means "get better year after year". Japanese people eat noodles on New Year's Eve and on their birthdays. They think it may bring them good luck and long life. The food may be different in each country, but the meaning is the same---people hope the food will bring them luck and happiness(,) in the coming year. What's the meaning for Japanese noodles on New Year's Eve? Answer: Dear Annie, Thank you for your letter. I'm glad you like your school. I go to school from Monday to Friday. We have four classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. We have many things to do after class. On Monday and Wednesday afternoon we do sports. On Tuesday afternoon some of us have a singing class and on Thursday afternoon some have a drawing class. On Friday afternoon, we practice speaking English. My Chinese friends like to talk with me in English. They think I am like an English teacher. Isn't it great? On Saturdays and Sundays I don't go to school. Very often I go to the parks and have a good time with my family there. Yours, Henry How many classes does Henry have on Thursday? Answer: American beekeeping operations have been hit hard by what scientists call colony collapse disorder(C.C.D.). Almost half of their worker bees have disappeared during the past season. C.C.D. has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America. Bees fly away from the hive and never return. Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found. Many crops and trees depend on pollination by bees to help them grow. A new report says virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States. This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus. It was first identified in Israel in 2004. Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science magazine. Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause. He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder. The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year. They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder. They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony. The next step is further testing of healthy hives. The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia. They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected. The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite . This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive. Australian bee producers reject these suspicions. And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather. Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees. The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey. But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers. Many bees may have starved. Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing a part. Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time. He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country. How many possibilities may be involved in the bee disorder according to the passage? Answer: Why do plants grow in some places and not in others? Why does some land have so much growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all? To grow, plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That's why dry deserts everywhere are almost not covered by trees or grass. Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built on hard land. The plants here have only the soil found between the _ cracks of the stones to grow in. Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food. What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won't. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day, many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants. The passage can most probably be found in a_book. Answer: Birds that do not receive adequate nutrition during development sing less often and for shorter periods of time as adult birds. Which best describes the outcome of nutritional stress in these songbirds? Answer:
Question: Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of it is nearly as large as that of Shanghai. We cannot believe it is such a big country with so small population! Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well. Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers. Exhibition In spring every year Perth has the wild flower exhibition. After visting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of the hill. But what we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could--there were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path! Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep ,sheep, everwhere are sheep. Australia is _ w A. the largest country in the world B. larger than China C. as large as Shanghai D. not so large as China Answer: D Question: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That saying holds true not only for you and me, but also for some of the most powerful and influential people in the world, such as the presidents of the United States. But how do American presidents spend their vacation time? Let's take a look! Franklin D. Roosevelt, considered one of the greatest presidents in American history, had limited vacation options because of his polio . He began visiting Warm Springs, Georgia in 1924 for its curative waters and later built a 2,000 acre polio treatment center nearby. He liked to cruise the Potomacon his yacht and three times as president returned to his beloved Canadian island of Campobello, with which he fell in love as a kid. Former President Bill Clinton, however, was never much good at vacationing. His staff had to practically force him to go on vacation his first year in office; his idea of relaxing was reading four good books simultaneously while enjoying a cigar (chewed, not smoked). He could also lose himself in a game of golf, where his somewhat flexible interpretation of the rules could at times drive his partners crazy. Obama's predecessor also knows how to relax. Fishing is in the Bush family DNA: for blue sharks off the coast of Maine or anything with fins, almost anywhere else. George W. Bush also relaxed as president by jogging and clearing brush on his Texas ranch. Since leaving office, he has become an active mountain biker and, more recently, has taken up painting. Obama tends to take a winter break in Hawaii, where he was born and raised, and a summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard, off the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In between, he plays basketball every couple of weeks and has been known to do some skeet shooting at Camp David. Obama's favorite pastime, no matter the location, has become easy to spot: golf. What's the passage mainly about? A. US presidents on holiday. B. Relationship between work and play. C. Famous US presidents. D. Suggestions on spending holidays. Answer: A Question: Water is a recyclable A. commodity B. lubricant C. revenue D. treasure Answer: A Question: Many of us have had this annoying experience: You are waiting at a bus station when someone nearby begins to smoke. You move away, but there isn't much you can do about it. In Beijing, a new law is set to fight against smoking. It is regarded as China's toughest ever tobacco control rule . Smoking is not allowed in all indoor or public places. If people break the rules, they will have to pay up to 200 yuan. Smoking in schools is specially mentioned in this law. Teachers can not smoke in front of students in schools. Schools should also help students give up smoking and teach them about the danger of smoking. To get everybody to take part in the activity, Beijing has set up a report hotline and WeChat account . The public is invited to _ on no-smoking signs on WeChat The most popular sign is a picture of a gir1. It has got more than 1 million votes unti1 now. China is not the only country fighting smoking. In March 2004 Ireland became the first country to introduce a law on smoking in workplaces and public places. Many countries, including England and the US, then fo1lowed. In order to make people give up smoking, a new _ is passed in Beijing. A. law B. plan C. sign D. topic Answer: A Question: "Find a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." Do you agree with this old saying? Joanne Gordon does. She is the author of Be Happy at work and other books about careers . Gordon believes that about 30% of employees in North America do not like their jobs, and she thinks that is terrible. She wants to help people who do not feel satisfied with their jobs find work that is good for them. Joanne says, "There are no happy jobs, only happy workers." She believes that happy workers share three main characteristics. First, happy workers enjoy the daily activities of their jobs, and they look forward to the workday. Take Tony Hawk, for example. At age 14, he became a professional skateboarder. Now he is a businessman working on projects related to skateboarding--films and video games, but he still skates every day. He once said, "My youngest son's pre-school was recently asked what their dads do for work. My son said, 'I've never seen my dad do work.'" Tony agrees that his job doesn't look like work. He has found a way to spend each day doing a job he enjoys. Second, happy workers like the people they work with. Sally Ayote says, "I work with the coolest people in the world." She and her group cook for almost 1,200 people in Antarctica. Most of these people are scientists who are doing research. Sally loves to sit and talk with them. She says, "There is no television here, no radio, so I get to know the scientists and what they're studying." Sally thinks she has a great job, and the best part about it is the people. Third, happy workers know that their work helps others. Caroline Baron's work helps people who have had to leave their home countries because of war or other dangers. She is a filmmaker who started an organization called FilmAid, which shows movies in refugee camps around the world. Caroline believes that movies can be very helpful in these camps. For one thing, entertaining movies let refugees forget their troubles for a little while. Movies can also teach important subjects like health and safety. For example, in one camp, thousands of refugees saw a movie about how to get clean water. Caroline knows that is helping other people, and this makes her feel proud and happy about her work. Tony Hawk, Sally Ayote, and Caroline Baron all get great satisfaction from their work. Tony Hawk says, "Find the thing you love. If you are doing what you love, there is much more happiness there than being rich or famous." Joanne Gordon would agree. She encourages people to find something they enjoy doing, find people they like to work with, and find ways to help others. Then they can be proud of what they do, and they will probably be happy at work. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Some people believe that only a few kinds of jobs can really make people feel happy. B. The writer of the passage tells us that many different kinds of work can be enjoyable. C. The author of Be Happy at Work thinks that happiness at work is really important. D. Joanne Gordon believes that people will probably be happy at work when they are proud of what they do. Answer: A
Chinese netizens who like to create and use cyber words such as "geilivable" might find a new regulation very "ungeilivable". The new regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication last week banned the use of Chinglish words created by netizens for publishing in the Chinese language. "Geilivable", combining the pinyin geili(giving strength) with the English suffix for adjectives, literally means "giving power" or "cool". Different suffixes( ) and prefixes were then added to the word. "Hengeilivable" means "very cool", and "ungeilivable" means "dull, not cool at all". Cyber language is popular among Chinese netizens, who create Chinglish words to reflect phenomenon in society. One example is "antizen", which refers to college graduates who earn a _ salary and live in small rented apartments, like tiny and laborious ants. David Tool, a professor with the Beijing International Studies University, said it's very interesting to combine Chinese with English to create new words. "English is no longer mysterious to the Chinese people. They can use the language in a flexible way according to their own experiences," Tool said. At the announcement of the regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication, netizens expressed their concern. "The administration is totally 'ungeilivable'," said a netizen named laoda1713. "I know other netizens will shed tears with me... it is a good chance to enrich our language". "Language is always developing," said a columnist, Wang Pei. "It needs to be updated to absorb foreign culture and folk wisdom." But an unnamed official with the administration said that, in fact, many senior staff from news media who supported the regulation were worried that years later, the younger generation would forget how to use formal Chinese expressions. The official also pointed out that the regulation was only for formal publications in Chinese language, and it only banned Chinglish words in the publication. The new regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication may be aimed at _ . A. simplifying the Chinese language B. limiting the development of language C. banning the use of Chinglish D. making the netizens more serious Answer: C It's generally thought to be impolite not to give waiters some money as a tip after getting good services in western countries. However, hard economic times mean tourists are giving fewer tips, according to a survey . As many as one third of holidaymakers are giving smaller tips or have stopped tipping entirely, the survey by TripAdvisor found. Also, only 46% of British always know what is expected in the way of tips in other countries. The survey of 5,595 travellers, including 1,197 from the UK, showed that 41% of European travellers were tipping less or not at all this year. A total of 63% of European travellers knew how to tip in other countries, with Italians coming first. The survey also showed that 29% of British tended to give the same amount in tips whatever country they were in. As many as 8% of British said they had had a holiday ruined by a bad tipping experience, while 16% said they they had been once in a situaiton where the waiter complained about the amount of the tip. Also, 12% of British said tipping on holiday made them nervous, while 22% said _ . TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw said: "It's been a challenging year for the British economy and Brits are spending very carefully. While the majority are still rewarding good service on holidays with tips, many Brits are giving smaller tips as cost-saving continues to be important." What can we learn from the survey? A. More than 50% of British knew well about how to tip in a foreign country. B. 41% of British travelers tipped less or not at all in the year. C. 12% of British often gave the same amount in tips. D. 8% of British experienced unhappy holidays because of improper tipping. Answer: D 1Forests help to keep water from running away, so drought does not often happen. The trees in the forests can keep raindrops from hitting the soil directly, and the dead leaves on the ground can also keep the water from running away.2 Chinese people don't want to see more floods and droughts. We have built the " Great Green Wall" of trees across the northern part of our country.3 Thanks to the " Great Green Wall", we can prevent the wind from blowing the earth away. It will stop the sand from moving towards the rich farmland. That's why more " Great Green Walls" are needed. Trees must be planted all over the world.4 ,A, B, C, D,. (10) Great Green Wall will make the world better. This sentence should be put in _ . A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 Answer: D Thank you for choosing Yale University housing. The following information should answer questions you may have about housing services. Housing office There is a housing office in the New Residence Hall and is open seven days a week, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., for check-in and check-out. You can call the assistants there for any questions about housing. Telephone: 436-4119. Or if you are moving in, you can call Housekeeping at 436-4108 and ask to have your rooms cleaned. Common Room and Meeting Rooms The building has a common room (BO77) for the use of guests for studying and gathering. Do not leave personal things in the common room. Close any windows you open when you leave the room. The meeting rooms 223 (for 10 people) and 323 (for 18 people) each have a television and a VCR. You don't need to reserve the common room and for reservation of meeting rooms, please call the Housing Office. Computer Rooms There are two computer rooms (221 &421) in the building. They offer Macintoshes, Windows computers, and printing to guests. These computers are maintained by Yale University's Computing Assistants (www.yale.edu/cas Tel:436-5990). If you have any problems, for example, if there's no printer paper, please report it to the housing office. Telephone Service Each room is equipped with a telephone. Your telephone number is 436-4 followed by your room number (for example, Room 112, tel.436-4112). To call a university number, press the last five numbers only. To make a call outside the university, press 9 first and then the number. You should go to Room _ when you're giving a birthday party for 11 people. A. BO77 B. 323 C. 221 D. 119 Answer: B Dear Nancy, How are you? Now I want to tell something interesting. Last week we had a trip to Mount Tai. On Tuesday we went to Taian by bus, a city at the foot of the mountain. We had a good rest at a hotel. At about one o'clock early the next morning, we began to climb the mountain. It took us about four hours and a half to get to the top. The mountain is covered with trees. I didn't see such a beautiful place before. "Look! The sun is going to rise!" my friend Lim shouted. We all turned to the east and watched. Soon half of the sky because white, and a big, red ball was rising slowly. A few minutes later, the sky became bright . We stayed on the top and had a good time. After lunch we started going down. We got to the tour hotel at about four in the afternoon. Though we were tired, we were very happy. We came back to school the next day. Thank you very much for your last letter and the beautiful postcards. Hope to hear from you soon. Yours Wu Tong How did Wu Tong go to Taian? A. On foot. B. By bus. C. By taxi. D. By bike. Answer: B
Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones , U.S.researchers reported on Thursday. Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer's .University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans."Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy are protecting the brain, including estrogen , which we know has many neuroprotective effects," Kinsley said. "It's rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals," he added in a telephone interview."They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes." Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer's and other forms of age-related brain decline. "When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down," said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida. "They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain.If you look at female animals that have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young.But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant--that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations to the brain." It's rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals. What does the sentence suggest? A. The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans. B. The experiments on the rats are very important for animals. C. The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans. D. The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals. Answer: C Are you a foreigner in Shanghai, China, wanting to find a job? Here's some information for you. Teaching Job in High School Description: High school(students aged 14-18) 12 classes/week Benefits and Compensation : Salary: 7,000-8,000 RMB/month Paid public holidays and winter holidays Free accommodation with full furniture Medical insurance Requirements: English native speaker Bachelor's degree or above New graduates are welcome To apply, please send your resume, and one recent photo copy to: _ Coffee & Bar Manage Needed Description: A big Coffee & Bar in Ganghui Plaza, Xujiahui, Shanghai, is looking for a manager. The Coffee & Bar has about 300 seats; main service is western food and coffee. Benefits and Compensation: Salary: 12,000 RMB/month Requirements: Male, about or above 30 Speak fluent Chinese 5 years' experience in restaurant management If you're qualified and interested, please send me your resume with picture: swd3rfv@gmail.com. Office receptionist &Sales Assistant Description: We are a well-known tourism company in Shanghai, and started our business at the beginning of 2000. Responsibility: Assist the sales manager and sales representatives Welcome the visitors Requirements: Female, 20 to 30 years old Sales experience will be an advantage, but not a must If you're interested, please send me your resume with picture(we won't accept without it): david@jobsitechina.com What is a must for a person in applying for the "Office Receptionist & Sales Assistant"? A. Sending the resume with picture. B. Speaking fluent Chinese. C. Having sales experience. D. To be above 30 years old. Answer: A Are you thinking of writhing someone a letter? Call instead. It isn't that expensive, especially when you call during the evening, night, or weekend hours. In fact, you can made a ten-minute call anywhere in the continental United States for just $2.60. For even greater saving, always dial direct ,that is ,without an operator's help .Rates on direct, that is ,without an operator's help. Rates on direct calls are lower after five o' clock in the evening and lowest after, and pay phone calls than direct calls. Need to call out of the country? Now calls to many overseas places may be dialed direct. Check your telephone direction for overseas area codes. Next time you have good news, or you just want to stay in touch, remember, a phone call means so much more than a letter. This has been a message from Southern Bell Telephone Company. This passage is _ A. an article B. a letter C. a talk D. a dialogue Answer: C It's not just great minds that think alike. Dozens of the genes involved in the vocal learning that _ human speech are also active in some songbirds . And knowing this suggests that birds could become a standard model for investigating the genetics of speech production and speech disorders. Complex language is a uniquely human trait, but vocal learning -- the ability to pick up new sounds by imitating others -- is not. Some mammals, including whales, dolphins and elephants, share our ability to learn new vocalizations . So do three groups of birds: the songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds. The similarities between vocal learning in humans and birds are not just superficial. We know, for instance, that songbirds have specialised vocal learning brain circuits that are similar to those that mediate human speech. What's more, a decade ago we learned that FOXP2, a gene known to be involved in human language, is also active in "area X" of the songbird brain -- one of the brain regions involved in those specialised vocal learning circuits. Andreas Pfenning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues have now built on these discoveries. They compared maps of genetic activity in brain tissue taken from the zebra finch, budgerigar and Anna's hummingbird, representing the three groups of vocal-learning birds. They then compared these genetic maps with others taken from birds and primates that can't learn new vocalisations, and with maps taken from the brains of six people who donated tissue to the Allen Brain Institute in Seattle. Their results showed that FOXP2 is just one of 55 genes that show a similar pattern of activity in the brains of humans and the vocal-learning birds. Those same genes show different patterns of activity in the brains of animals incapable of vocal learning. "The similarities are beyond one or a handful of genes," says Pfenning. "There are just systematic molecular similarities between song-learning birds and humans." "There's potential for songbirds to be used to study neurodegeneration -- especially conditions like Huntington's," says Pfenning. Huntington's disease affects the ability to produce complex motor behaviour, such as singing and talking, so experiments with birds might implicate particular genes in the disease. Constance Scharff at the Free University of Berlin in Germany, who helped identify the importance of FOXP2 for vocal learning in birds agrees that songbirds can make great models for human speech and its pathologies . "My lab's research during the past 10 years has shown that FOXP2 is as relevant for birds' song learning as it is for human speech learning," she says. What is the passage mainly about? A. Birds have different genes from humans. B. Humans and birds share the same singing genes. C. How FOXP2 affects the brains of humans and birds. D. Experiments with birds can cure the disease of humans. Answer: B After ten years, the world' s largest music festival, Rock in Rio, returned to its hometown Rio de Janeiro for seven days of concerts from Friday, September 23rd, attracting 700,000 people over the whole week. It is the 10th edition of the Rock in Rio festival, but only the 4th to be held in Rio as the organizers exported the festival to Lisbon and Madrid ten years ago.The first edition of the festival was in 1985 and the most recent edition in Rio was held in January, 2001.A total of 700,000 tickets were sold out for this year' s festival. The festival consists of four stages with the participation of International stars including Elton John, Katy Perry, and bands Metallica, Evanescence and System of a Down.Several stars which performed in previous editions are also on the list this year..In addition, a number of local singers and bands will also join this year. The performance site, named as Rock City, is a 150,000-square-meter area.Besides the concert area, the site also has a giant Ferns wheel, a roller coaster, and a small shopping mall.After the festival, the Rock City area will be converted into a leisure area to athletes in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro According to Rio' s tourism company Riotur, out of the 700,000 people expected in the festival, some 315,000 will be tourists, who raised the hotels' occupation rate to 98 percent.Riotur estimated that the Rock in Rio festival will bring 419 million U.S.dollars for the city and create 10,000 jobs. The creator of the festival, Brazilian businessmen Roberto Medina, insisted on opening the Rock City gates himself, in the early afternoon, and greeted the first fans to enter the site."We come to the gate because the Brazilian audience is even more important than the bands.We applaud them.They make the greatest show," he said. From the passage, we can know _ . A. Rock City is a great theatre B. Only rock bands are invited to the festival? C. the festival will improve the employment of Rio D. The gate of Rock City was opened by the Brazilian audience Answer: C
British men are encouraged to cry. There are certain things British men like to believe about themselves. The first is that one day they will again win the World Cup. They also believe they do not cry. Over the centuries, Britons are believed to have a "stiff upper lip". But is this true? Yes, it is. A recent study arranged by Kleenex on how the British express their emotions reveals that 95 percent of them still _ their emotions. Moreover, while 72 percent think this is unhealthy, 19 percent can't remember the last time they "let it out". As a result, Kleenex is launching the "Let It Out" campaign that encourages Britons to grab a tissue and have a good cry. These days, however, the male Briton's attitude toward crying is changing. Though the majority still struggles to open up emotionally, a 2004 study by Oxford's Social Issues Research Center found that 77 percent of British men considered crying in public increasingly acceptable. Half of London males admitted crying in front of their mothers. Scotsmen are the least emotional, although they are the most likely to cry at weddings. Peter Marsh, director of the center, said, "Crying can now indicate sensitivity rather than weakness. Like with David Beckham, crying because you're dropping off your boy at nursery isn't seen as weak." Winston Churchill was said to be a frequent crier, shedding tears at seeing a survivor in an air raid shelter , and when he saw his wife after a long absence. Psychologists say that while society has accepted that men can cry, there are limits. Ronald Bracey, a consulting psychologist, said, "If a man began to cry when he was having stitches in hospital, he would be considered as a wimp . Men still need to be seen as strong when it comes to physical pain. " Which of the following concerning the British men is NOT true according to the passage? A. They are supposed to easily control emotions over the centuries. B. They are confident that they will again get successful in the World Cup. C. Nowadays, the male Briton's attitude toward crying is changing. D. About 50% of Britons admitted crying before their mothers. Answer: D. About 50% of Britons admitted crying before their mothers. Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday.The win makes Mo Yan the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel in its III-year history.Informed of his win today, the author, who was having dinner at home, was "overjoyed and scared". Born in 1955 to parents who were farmers, Mo Yan-a pen name for Guan Moye,grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China. At the age of 12, he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the army and during this time began to study literature and writing. He published his first book in 1981, but found literary success in 1987 with Hong Gaoliang Jiazu, which was successfully filmed in the same year, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth and his works show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Mo Yan is known as a prolific writer. In addition to his novels, he has published many short stories and essays on various topics. Despite his social criticism, he is seen in his homeland as one of the most famous contemporary authors. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French, Japanese and many other languages. The awarding ceremony will be held on December 10.The winner will win a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of about $l million. What's the best title for this passage? A. How Mo Yan Gets Nobel Prize B. An Introduction to Nobel Prize C. Mo Yan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature D. A World Famous Writer, Mo Yan Answer: C. Mo Yan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature An American writer, Mr Green once said, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." It is true that everybody talks about the weather. Many people begin their talks by saying, "Isn't it a nice day?" "Do you think it will rain?" "I think it's going to snow." Many people think they can tell what the weather is going to be like. But sometimes they don't agree with each other. One man may say, "Do you see how cloudy it is in the east? It's going to rain tomorrow." Another man will say, "No, it's going to be fine tomorrow." People often look for the weather they want. When a farmer needs water, he looks for something to tell him it's going to rain, and he doesn't look for anything else. When friends have a picnic, they hope the weather is going to be fine and they can sit eating their lunch under the blue sky. Almost everyone listens to what the weatherman says. But he doesn't always tell us what we want, and sometimes he makes a mistake. Still, he is right most of the time. _ , they always hope the weather is going to be fine. A. When people talk about weather B. When people stay at home C. When the farmers need water D. When people have a picnic Answer: D. When people have a picnic Three armed robbers stole two Pablo Picasso prints from an art museum in downtown Sao Paulo on Thursday, which was the city's second high-profile art theft in less than a year. The bandits also took two oil paintings by well-know Brazilian artists Emiliano Di Cavalcanti and Lasar Segall, said Carla Regina, a spokeswoman for the Pinacoteca do Estado museum. The Picasso prints stolen were "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, according to a statement from the Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Culture, which oversees the museum. The prints and paintings have a combined value of $612,000, the statement and a museum official said. About noon, three armed men paid the $2.45 entrance fee and immediately went to the second-floor gallery where the works were being exhibited, bypassing more valuable pieces, authorities said. "This indicates to us that they probably received an order" to take those specific works, Youssef Abou Chain, head of Sao Paulo's organized crime unit, told reporters at a news conference. The assailants overpowered three unarmed museum guards and grabbed the works, officials said. The robbery took about 10 minutes and the museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces -- frames and all -- out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors. In December, Picasso's "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" by Candido Portinari, an influential Brazilian artist, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art by three men who used a crowbar and car jack to force open one of the museum's steel doors. The framed paintings were found Jan. 8, covered in plastic and leaning against a wall in a house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. One of the suspects in that robbery -- a former TV chef -- turned himself over to police in January, who already had two suspects in custody . What did the armed men steal on Thursday? A. Two prints by Pablo Picasso B. Two oil painting by Brazilian artists C. Two prints by Pablo Picasso and two oil paintings by two Brazilian artists. D. Two prints by two Brazilian artists and two oil paintings by Picasso Pablo. Answer: C. Two prints by Pablo Picasso and two oil paintings by two Brazilian artists. Welcome to the Ambassador Hotel. To make your stay as enjoyable as possible, we hope you can make full use of our facilities . Dining Room Breakfast is served in the dining room from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The room staff will bring a breakfast tray to your room at any time after 7 a.m. Please fill out a card and hang it outside your door when you go to bed. Lunch: 12:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Room Service This operates 24 hours a day; phone the Reception Desk, and your message will be passed on to the room staff. Telephones To make a phone call, dial 0 for Reception and ask to be connected. We apologize for delays in putting calls through when the staffs are very busy. There are also public telephone boxes near the Reception Desk. Early calls should be booked with Reception. Laundry We have a laundry in the hotel, and will wash, iron and return your clothes within 24 hours. Ask the room staff to collect them. Bar The hotel bar is open from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. What should you do if you want to have your trousers washed? A. Ask the room staff to collect them to the laundry. B. Go to the hotel bar. C. Hang a message outside your door. D. Ask the room staff to clean them for you. Answer: A. Ask the room staff to collect them to the laundry.
On Friday night, after a three-hour weather delay, passengers boarded a Beijing-bound flight in Dhaka, Bangladesh that had a stopover in Kunming, a provincial capital in southwest China. Scheduled to leave Kunming at 8:45 p.m., the connecting flight was delayed until 11 p.m. by additional poor weather. This did not make the passengers happy. Several refused to board and demanded compensation, but by 1:45 a.m. the airline had persuaded everyone to board. But that wasn't the end of the passengers' problems. After they boarded, the airport staff had to clear snow from the runway, which took over an hour. Finally, the plane began to taxi at 3:15 p.m.--15 minutes after the pilot inexplicably shut off the air conditioning. When passengers complained, the pilot reportedly asked: "Are you going to die soon? If not, just wait." Two passengers then burst open the emergency exits, which resulted in their arrests. The journalist Matt Sheehan, who in 2013 described a Chinese airport melee in hugely entertaining fashion, told MSNBC that "Chinese people have just begun waking up to this idea that as a consumer you're entitled(...) to certain protections, but they don't have any of the institutions like consumer rights groups that do this professionally." Airlines--and the airline industry--are a useful lens for viewing China's development as a whole. In his excellent book China Airborne, Atlantic national correspondent and aviation buff James Fallows described how China is attempting to condense a century's worth of developments in aviation into a few decades. This breakneck pace has resulted in a dazzling array of new airports scattered across the country, but has included some serious growing pains. According to the passage, what has this too fast development in Chinese aviation brought about ? Answer: Many new airports have been built across the country, and some serious growing problems have arisen as well. It was the last day of the final exam in a college. Outside the classroom, a group of students were waiting for the last exam. On their faces was confidence. They knew the exam would be easy. The teacher said they could bring any books or notes during the test. Right after they came into the classroom. The teacher handed out the papers. There were only five questions on it. Three hours passed. Then the teacher began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked _ but they looked very nervous. The teacher watched these worried faces, and then asked. "How many of you finished all five questions?" No one answered. "How many of you answered four?" Still no one put up the hand. "Three? Two?" The students moved restlessly in their seats. "One, then? Certainly somebody finished one." But the class kept silent . The teacher said, "That is what I thought. I just want to make you know clearly that you finished four years of study, but there are still many things about the subject you don't know. These questions you could not answer are common in everyday life." Then, he smiled and said "You will all pass this exam, but it doesn't mean that you learned the subject well. There are still more things for you to learn in your later life." Now we can't remember the name of this teacher clearly, but we can't forget the lesson he taught us. What's the best title for the article? Answer: An unforgettable lesson. Before 1900, many theories existed as to the cause of yellow fever . Some doctors were sure the disease was air-borne; others felt that it was spread from person to person. Dr. Carlos Finlay, a well-known Cuban doctor of that time, had long held the theory that it was caused by the bite of mosquitoes. But neither the public nor the doctors then accepted his idea. Walter Reed,all American doctor sent to study yellow fever in Cuba,went to talk with Finlay.Reed,after reading a lot on the subject,had begun to think that Dr.Finlay might be fight.Then Reed and his comrades set to work at once.Outside Havana,they set up a laboratory and began experiments to test the theory.The experiments were successful.Now we know:A period of about two weeks must pass before a mosquito,after feeding on a sick person,could infect another person.The sick person had to have yellow fever a certain number of days before the mosquito biting him was able to carry the disease. Before 1900,many people didn't think yellow fever was spread _ . Answer: by the bite of certain mosquitoes Great grandmother Lillian Lowe today claimed she is the world's oldest Facebook user at 103 -- and she updates her status from her iPad. Just two months away from her 104thbirthday, the family of young-at-heart Lillian believe she is the oldest of the social networking website's 500 million users around the world. Lillian Lowe is thought to have taken the crown of oldest Facebook user from 104-year-old Ivy Bean who died in her sleep in July. Lillian said today that she is a big fan of the social networking site. "I love it. It is very exciting. It's a wonderful way of exploring something new. But I must say it's really a waste of time. I'm sure there are lots of other things I should be doing rather than playing on a computer." She has 34 Facebook "friends" -- and her most active one is her great grand-daughter Kaylee Lowe, 10. She said, "I can recommend it to any grandparents who keep in touch with their family by telephone all the time." Lillian was born in 1907 and she can still remember the news of the Titanicsinking in 1912. Lillian said, "I think almost everything has been invented during my time. What I particularly like now is this Google Earth. "When I was 84, I visited Australia with my younger sister Mary, who will be 100 next year. "We had a lovely trip, so yesterday I looked at Australia again on the Internet. "I've always read a lot during my life, and this computer has just taken the place of a book." Her grandson Steve set Lillian up with her Facebook account -- and gave her his iPad to use. Steve said, "Now and again, she might be surprised at a few of the funny teenage behaviors she sees on Facebook. "But she's pretty tolerant and it doesn't annoy her. What's great about Grandma is that she's not afraid to take on new things and is always willing to learn -- she's a great inspiration to us all." What would be the best title for the passage? Answer: The world's oldest Facebooker There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm. On their way home, the father asked the son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad," the son answered. "Did you notice how poor people were there?" asked his father. "Oh, yes," said the son. "So, tell me," said his father. The son said, "Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns , but they have stars above their heads at night. We have only a small piece of land to live on, while they have the endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don't need walls, because their friends will protect them." The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, "Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are." According to the boy, people on the farm can see _ at night. Answer: stars above their heads
"I'm here to give you the letter, Sir." Anna Pavlova said. "Thank you," replied the headmaster. She walked over to his desk. Looking up, he found her quite nervous, "Oh, little Pavlova , you aren't a new students , are you ? " he asked . Anna held her head high, which still made her look far younger than her fifteen years. "I've been at this ballet school for almost five years," she said proudly. The headmaster liked the way she talked. A pair of red ballet shoes set all alone on the table caught her eye. "That is Taglioni's shoes, I'm very sorry that there's nobody who can wear it today. Her feet were small and perfect," he said. Toglioni ! The greatest dancer of all the time! The name sent an unusual feeling through her. He looked at her shining eyes, and then he asked, "How would you like to try it on?" As in a dream, she pulled on the red shoes. "Why? They fit perfectly! " He said happily. " Little Pavlova , I've seen your dance . You are very good. " And she had won Toglioni's shoes. She, little Anna Pavloa , was going to be a great dancer . She had known this in her heart since she was a little girl, dancing as soon as she could walk, always dancing. Dancing was Anna's life. One day, she would show the beauty of ballet to all the world. And this was the dream for which she worked so hard and lived her life. After graduation from the ballet school, she soon became the best dancer in Russia. But her greatest contribution to ballet came later, when she began to dance outside of Russia. Her great dancing took her all over the world and produced a love of ballet everywhere she went. Which of the following is TRUE? A. Anna's dancing produced a love for beauty of ballet only in Russia. B. Anna devoted all her life to ballet education C. Anna decided to be a great dancer when she was quite small. D. Anna danced around the world when she was still in ballet school. Answer: C Coca-Cola has created a publicity stunt in Singapore -- a vending machine which gives out free cans of Coke in return for hugs. The _ idea is part of the company's Open Happiness campaign designed to attract young people in Singapore. Students at the National University of Singapore were surprised to find that the soft drinks company had placed the machine in the schoolyard. But instead of the drinks brand's logo , the words "Hug Me" are written across its red-and-white logo. Instead of paying money, customers have to hug the drinks machine to receive a free can of Coke. Public displays of affection are uncommon and have long been discouraged in Singapore, but are on the rise among young people. The move is part of a campaign created by the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, intended to let the youth to see the brand as a non-threatening friend. Leonardo O'Grady, leader of the campaign, said, "Happiness is contagious . The Coca-Cola Hug Machine is a simple idea to spread some happiness. We want to spread happiness in an unexpected, creative way to attract not only the people present, but the audience at large." He hopes that it will encourage consumers to bring positivity, optimism and fun into their lives and to open a Coke, sharing a little happiness. The machines have been such a success that there are plans to roll them out across Asia. Mr. O'Grady added, "The reaction was amazing -- at one point we had four to five people hugging the machine at the same time as well as each other! In fact, there was a long line of people looking to give hugs." Leonardo O'Grady thinks that _ . A. the Coca-Cola Hug Machine is the best advertisement B. the Coca-Cola Hug Machine can spread happiness C. the Coca-Cola Hug Machine should be open only to the students D. people who enjoy the campaign would buy more Coca-Cola drinks Answer: B A peer is a person who is about the same age as you. Peers affect your life, whether you know it or not, just by spending time with you. Peers can have a good effect on one another. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book and now everyone's reading it. However, sometimes peers affect one another in another way. For example, one kid in school might try to get another to cut class with him, your soccer friend might try to persuade you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball, or a kid in the neighborhood might want you to with him. Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don't go along with the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that " everyone's doing it" may influence some kids to leave their better judgments or their common senses behind. Peer pressure can be extremely strong and hard to get rid of. Experiments have shown how peer pressure can influence someone to change her/ his mind from what she/ he knows for sure is a correct answer to the incorrect answer----just because everyone else gives the incorrect answer! That holds true for people of any age in peer pressure situations. It can be hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self- confidence can help you stand firm, walk away and resist doing something when you know better. The writer intends to _ by writing the passage. A. tell people to follow other's opinions B. warn people to stay away from their peers. C. tell it is hard to walk away form per pressure. D. persuade people to do the right thing regardless of peer pressure. Answer: D War Horse author Michael Morpurgo is being interviewed: Reporter:How did War Horse become so successful? Michael:War Horse was published in 1982,and it did not sell very well.But my publishers kept it in print,along with all my books.I am very grateful to Egmont and I'm sure now they are very grateful to themselves. The book was discovered 21 years later,by accident.I was on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 in 2003 when my work was becoming better known.One of the listeners was the mother of a director called Tom Morris,and after reading War Horse herself she told her son to read it.Two years later the play came out,and it was a huge hit that went to the West End,Broadway and now Canada and Australia,then a nationwide American tour in June this year. In 2009 kathy kennedy,the producer who worked with Steven Spielberg,walked into the New London Theatre to see the play because her daughter liked it very much.She then phoned Spielberg and told him this would be his next film!The way it all happened is better than any of my stories.War Horse has now sold over 1 million copies. Reporter:Has War Horse changed your life? Michael:It has made all the difference in the world.The most important gift it has given us is not to have to worry about money,because there has always been a slight anxiety.It has allowed us to ensure our grandchildren's education.There is a disadvantage to it as well,which is an assumption that I am super rich.I'm not,actually.It is very nice and completely unexpected but I have got to go on writing.If I were younger,I think,it would go to my head.Now I am too old for anything to go to my head.It is not the same as winning the lottery . War Horse got the first huge success thanks to _ . A. Steven Spielberg and his daughter B. Tom Morris and his listeners C. Kathy Kennedy's daughter D. Tom Morris' mother Answer: D You don't know what you've got until it's gone. I've learned that through my personal experiences. A few months ago, I woke up deaf in one ear. I did not pay much attention to it at first. It felt that I had water in my ear. However, I began to hear less and less out of that ear. I even had to ask people to talk into my other ear so that I could hear them. I didn't realize how serious it was until late in the day . One evening, when I was sitting on my bed doing chemistry homework, I fell off my bed. When trying to get up, I was incredibly dizzy . I went to see a doctor and he told me that hearing loss was common. However, hearing loss is usually bilatera _ or occurs in both ears. He said that my hearing should come back within a week. After about a week the dizziness eventually went away, but the hearing loss did not. The medicine helped and I gained some of my hearing back. After many hearing tests, the doctor diagnosed that I had permanent hearing loss in that ear. School became harder for me because I couldn't hear my teachers. I was very depressed. Finally, I bought a hearing aid. With the hearing aid, my hearing is almost back to normal. It makes school and group conversations easier. My friends, teachers and even complete strangers always ask me questions about hearing loss. I answer them patiently. I never get offended because I know this is new to them. I am delighted that I can teach them something new. What I have learned from this particular situation is that when things are desperate(;), there is always something good that can come out of it. My experiences have given me an opportunity to teach people about hearing loss and also taught me about the value of hearing. What happened to the author? A. He is born deaf. B. He becomes deaf in a traffic accident. C. He woke up deaf in one ear one day. D. He becomes deaf due to taking some medicine. Answer: C
Nearly all our food comes from the soil. Some of us eat meat, of course, but animals live on plants. If there were no plants, we would have no animals and no meat. So the soil is very necessary for life. The top of the ground is usually covered with grass or other plants. There may be dead leaves and dead plants on the grass. The waste matter from animals also falls on it. All soil needs food. If we do not give it any, the plants will be weak. Farmers found that animals' waste is the best food for the soil, but chemical fertilizers are also very useful. The same crop should not be grown in the same place every year; it's better to have a different crop. A change of crop and the use of a good fertilizer will keep the land good. Why do we often grow a different crop in the same place every year? Answer: LOS ANGELES ----Disney's "The Lion King", one of the most successful animated films ever, will roar again this weekend with a 3D version that could put it back at the top of the box office with a very proud $12million. The 1994 version was the second highest box-office earning film of that year and ranks fourth on the all-time animated list with over $784 million. Hot on the heels of the box office success of "The Lion King 3D", Disney and Pixar are remaking four of their classic animated films in 3D versions for movie theaters. Encouraged by the success of "The Lion King 3D", the movie studio said it would release a 3D version of 1991 animated film. "Beauty and the Beast"in January 2012 for a limited run in movie theaters. It will be followed by Pixar's sea-adventure "Finding Nemo" in September 2012, the classic 1989 Disney romance "The Little Mermaid" in September 2013, following"Monsters, Inc." In January 2013. "Great stories and great characters are timeless, and at Disney we're lucky to have a treasure of both," said Alan Bergman, president of the Walt Disney Studios. "We're excited to give audiences of all ages the chance to experience these beloved stories in an exciting new way with 3D----and in the case of younger people, for the first time on the big screen," Bergman said in a statement. Since 1994, "The Lion King " has earned some $883 million at the worldwide box office, including recent sales from the 3D version of the beloved story of the African animal kingdom. Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" have so far earned $380 million and $228 million worldwide. Pixar's 2001 hit"Monsters, Inc." made $526 million worldwide and the 2003 Oscar winning film "Finding Nemo" made more than $867million. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? Answer: He is quiet and shy. He likes to hide his eyes behind his hair. He doesn't smile very often. However, if you talk to him about music, he'll have a lot to say. This is Jay Chou,the 24-year-old Taiwanese pop king . His fans are so excited because he will sing songs in Beijing on September 12. Those songs are from his new album , "Ye Huimei", and the album was released in July and was named after his mother. Chou grew up just with his mother. He did not talk much and did badly in many school subjects. His mother noticed the boy's special interest in music and sent him to learn piano when he was only three years old. He loved it and kept on practicing. Chou is not very handsome. He does not speak clearly when he sings or talks. But the singer has huge crowds of fans. "He is really good at music. It makes him attractive to me," said Liu Jiajun, a Junior 2 student in No.101 Middle School in Beijing. "He is true to himself. He never follows others," said Zhang Yujie, a Junior 1 girl at Huaibei Middle School in Sihong,Jiangsu Province. ,. His fans are so excited because _ . Answer: Dogs already guide blind and disabled people and now they are to be trained to help people with dementia. The idea developed by some university students will now be put into practice by Scotland Medical Centre. The research is meaningful, for there are 670, 000 people in Britain who have dementia and by 2021 this is expected to rise to one million. Dementia can make people confuse day and night or forget basic things such as washing or drinking enough water. The dogs would be trained to help to guide them through the day. Joyce Gray from Scotland Medical Centre said, "People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a ly normal life, and dogs help them to maintain routine. For example, people with memory loss will tend to forget to take medicine,but if a dog presents them with a bag with pills in it, there's a greater chance of them taking it." Ms. Gray also said dogs were perfectly suited to remind their owners to eat. "Dogs have an ability to say 'it's my feeding time', so there would be a note in the cupboard next to the dog's food reminding the dog's owner to eat too." Dogs would also encourage their owners to take them out for walks. "It gives a reason for the owner to go out into the community," Ms. Gray said. "We did a test with an elderly person walking down the high street on his own. Then we gave him a dog on a lead and he did the exact same walk. That time people would come up to him, chatting, smiling or making eye contact. We hope we'd see this with people with dementia too." There is one more advantage of using the pets as companions. Since conversations can be increasingly confusing for people with dementia, dogs can give them a sense of silent support and companionship. Ms. Gray said, "We have found that people may forget familiar faces but not pets. People light up when they see animals. There is a speechless bond between the dog and its owner." According to Ms. Gray, after feeding the pet, the owner may _ . Answer: Edinburgh Mela Time: 25th - 31st August 2008 Tel / Fax: 0131 557 1400 E-mail: info@edinburgh-mela.co.uk Website: www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk Each year Edinburgh Mela is Scotland's biggest multicultural arts festival that celebrates in Scotland. Although Edinburgh Mela's roots are in South Asian cultures, this is a festival for everybody. Music, colour, dance, art, fashion, food, children's activities, the Mela bazaar and much more! Edinburgh International Book Festival Time: 9th - 25th August 2008 Tel: 0131 718 5666 Fax: 0131 226 5335 E-mail: admin@edbookfest.co.uk Website: www.edbookfest.co.uk Edinburgh International Book Festival is the world's biggest book festival. We present different programs for both adults and children including discussions, lectures, debates and workshops, all in one of Edinburgh's most beautiful spaces, Charlotte Square Gardens. Edinburgh International Festival Time: 8th - 31st August 2008 Tel: + 44 (0) 131 473 2000 Fax: +44 (0) 131 473 2002 E-mail: eif@eif.co.uk Website: www.eif@eif.co.uk Each year the Edinburgh International Festival stages one of the greatest celebrations of the arts, attracting audiences from around the world to the city's exciting atmosphere. The festivities offer a special opportunity to experience the excitement of live performance by internationally well-known artists as well as the joy of discovering new and unfamiliar works. Edinburgh International Science Festival Time: 25th March-5th April 2008 Tel: 0131 558 7666 Fax: 0131 557 9177 E-mail: esf@scifest.demon.co.uk Website: www.sciencefestival.co.uk The UK's largest Science Festival is back with one of the most exciting line-ups in the Festival's 16-year history. The Science Festival is an unbelievable place for everyone, with events at all levels, all ages and all purses. On offer are 10 days of non-stop shows workshops, presentations, hands-on activities, exhibitions and tours designed to amuse and entertain. Call our ticket hotline on 0131 557 5588. If you want to book tickets to Edinburgh International Science Festival, you'd better dial_. Answer:
Question: My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to rain heavily. When it became lighter, I decided to get my car which was parked at my office three streets away. My friends argued that I shouldn't go, mainly because I was seven months pregnant then. I promised that I'd be very careful. One of them wanted to come with me but I asked her to stay with another friend who needed help with her baby. I walked out of the hotel and started making my way to the car. At the crossing, a black car stopped and a man came out with an umbrella. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right through me and told me he'd escort me. Although I refused, he insisted that he would. During our walk, he kept telling me to walk slower, as the ground was wet. When we got to the car-park, I thanked him and he went away. I did not get his name and can hardly recognize him now. Did he stop for me? I'll never know. So how did I pay it forward? I was at home when I noticed two Indian workers walking in the heavy rain. They were probably on their way to the working place near my home. _ They were surprised by my action. They were very grateful to me, probably wondered why a stranger was offering such kindness. I was so relaxed and happy that day. What's the best title for the passage? A. Unforgettable rainy days B. An unknown man C. Good turns worth another D. A beautiful umbrella Answer: C. Good turns worth another Question: When you are next in Hawaii,be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel.Whether you come on business or on holiday,you will find everything as comfortable and as convenient as you would expect in a first-class international hotel.Every bedroom has its own private bathroom,telephone,wall-to-wall carpeting and colorful,modern materials and furniture in the local style. In the Mitsui Restaurant,you can choose your meals from as wide a variety of dishes,both Eastern and European,as you will find anywhere in the country.In the Beach Bar,you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort,to the music of internationally known musicians.Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name,or to the tables that surround the swimming pool.Throughout the hotel,you will find the service is both friendly and efficient. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach,only five minutes' walk from Hawaii's modern shopping center.Here you will find all that money can buy,at prices you can afford. You will _ at the Garden Hotel. A. sleep well B. eat well C. have fun D. all of the above Answer: D. all of the above Question: Marriages improve after children grow up and move out,according to an academic study,which suggests an" empty nest" is not always a bad thing. Popular wisdom has it that parents' relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop,because they feel they have lost their purpose in life.However, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley,has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together. In total,123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying, when they were bringing up babies,once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61,when almost all had" empty nests". Although not all said they were happier in general,most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home.Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together, but because they were able to enjoy each other's company more. One of the participants in the study, which is published in the journal Psychological Science,said:"Once the kids grow up...there's some of that stress removed...that responsibility removed,so things are a little more relaxed.'' Psychologist Sara Gorchoff, who carried out the investigation,said:"The take-home message for couples with young children is' hang in there'."Her co-author Oliver John added:"Don't wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner." However, Dr Dorothy Rowe,from the British Psychological Society,said the effects of living in an "empty nest'" will depend on the parents'relationship with their children."If yod're just waiting for them to leave home so you Can get on with your life,then of course you'11 be pleased to see them go,"she said,''But if you've built your life around your children you'11 be terribly lonely."For some parents,their world falls apart when their Children leave.'' Marriages improve after children fly the coop not because A. many couples are able to spend time together B. many couples arc able to enjoy each other's company C. things are a little more relaxed D. many couples needn't work at all Answer: D. many couples needn't work at all Question: Which only needs sparse water? A. fish B. frogs C. whales D. chuckwallas Answer: D. chuckwallas Question: The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's greatest art museums. Millions of people have entered its doors to see paintings by the world's fine artists. But if these priceless masterpieces are to be preserved, the Gallery must protect them carefully. The Gallery's 135-man guard force has successfully prevented them from being stolen, but protecting the paintings from nature is a greater problem. In past times, the owners of paintings did not protect them from damaging changes in humidity and temperature. As a result, the life of these paintings were shortened. In the National Gallery, however, humidity and temperature are carefully controlled. The building is air-conditioned in summer and heated in winter. The air-conditioning and heating system are so important to the life of the painting that the Gallery has two of each system. If one should fail, the extra one can take over. Light is another enemy of paintings. Ultraviolet rays in light cause paintings to fade . Long ago, paintings often hung in dark churches and palaces. A coat of varnish was a protection from the weak light. But when museums took over the care of many paintings, they were often hung in brighter light than before. Soon they were in danger of fading. The damaging effects of light were increased when the museums removed the varnish coating, yellowed with age. To protect its paintings, the National Gallery put a special kind of glass in its skylights. This glass allows visible lights to enter the building but it keeps out harmful ultraviolet rays. The Gallery has also developed new and better varnishes which help to keep paintings from fading. Thanks to these new _ , many of the world's greatest paintings are being well protected for future generations to enjoy. From the text we can infer that _ . A. great artists painted in dark churches and palaces B. you can touch these paintings while you are in the National Gallery C. the care of the world's greatest paintings is both a big responsibility and a great challenge D. the guard force in the Gallery has not done a good job Answer: C. the care of the world's greatest paintings is both a big responsibility and a great challenge
Question: Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida and has a large number of shopping malls to suit different tastes for tourists and guests to shop. Here are some great places where you can shop in Jacksonville. Gateway Town Center The venerable Gateway Town Center is one of Jacksonville's oldest shopping malls, providing an eclectic mix of exciting stores and fun amusements! Gateway Town Center is located at 5184 Norwood Avenue and owns a mixture of retail boutiques , like Footlocker and Ashley Stewart. You can visit Gateway Town Center Mondays through Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 6:00. St. Johns Town Center The newest and trendiest shopping destination in the city is St. Johns Town Center. This center has all your national favorites like Dillard's, Barnes & Noble and Target as well as a great restaurant selection. St. Johns Towns Center is open from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. Regency Square Shopping Center On 9501 Arlington Expressway stands the Regency Square Mall. Children like riding on the mall's mini train while adults like to shop and socialize. Movie fans will like knowing that the Regency Square Mall has a 24 screen AMC theater. You can visit this mall from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. River City Marketplace River City Marketplace located in Jacksonville is the largest shopping mall in the city with 70 shops including such stores as Lowes, Wal-Mart Super Center, Pet Smart and Old Navy. All these shops can be found at the open-air plaza. The mall's 14 screen Hollywood theaters are a great attraction for movie buffs. River City Marketplace's hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sundays. This passage is probably taken from _ . A. a textbook B. a science magazine C. an advertisement D. an announcement Answer: C Question: Solids that are combined together and maintain their physical properties are best labeled as a A. solute. B. mixture. C. solvent. D. compound. Answer: B Question: Years ago, the American writer Kurt Vonnegut often said there was one story that would always make a million dollars: Cinderella. In Hollywood and in today's economy, it is more like $70 million and that is just a start. "Cinderella" made that amount in ticket sales when it opened last weekend. But the merchandising deals linked to the movie are also hugely valuable. So the artistic success of the film is open to debate. What is clear, however, is the movie's business success. It is a hit in the theaters but it is also a hit in retail . And Disney widened its usual market for "Cinderella" products. There are products connected to the Disney film targeted not only at little girls, but women, too. For example, the famous shoe designer Jimmy Choo partnered with Disney to create a version of Cinderella's "glass slippers" or shoes. You can buy them for about $5,000. At that price, you would not want to lose one at the ball, even if that is the way you get your prince. Several other shoemakers also accepted Disney deals to design versions of the famous footwear. The makeup company MAC quickly sold all its products with official links to "Cinderella." But lucky buyers were soon selling the products on the online marketplace eBay for many times the original price. HSN is a popular television and online retailer of jewelry, clothing and objects for the home. The marketer is now an exclusive seller of "Cinderella" products. So, is there anything left for the children, those people we think of as the traditional audience for the age-old fairy tale? Yes, you can find toys and other children's products at the American retailer JC Penney. Of course, you can also visit a Disney store. Disney also produced an animated version of "Cinderella." It came out in 1950 and is considered a classic. Which do you think the Disney company does better: live action or animated films? Post your thoughts in the comments section. Products connected to the film "Cinderella" are generally aimed at _ . A. toy retailers B. shoe designers C. female consumers D. make-up producers Answer: C Question: The other day Mitch went to the store to buy his mother a big turkey. Inside the store there was food all over! Mitch could not believe his own little eyes. From the first time Mitch woke up this morning he knew that he'd be a big man someday, and getting a big turkey for his mother was the way in which he could show that he is a big man. The store had all kinds of food from chocolate bars to yummy radish. Mitch ran for the turkey section of the store with much force. "Turkeys are good, yummy yummy in my tummy, I want to eat a big old turkey and then go to the bathroom several times!" Mitch would cry out to strangers he met in the turkey section of the store. Then, four and a half seconds later, Mitch turned into a giant Walrus named Ted! No one knew how this could have happened, but the Walrus knew. A few years later, Mitch the now giant Walrus named Ted joined the circus and became a rich man with green in his heart. He could not think of anything else but making more money at his circus. One day Ted the giant Walrus, also known as Mitch the happy boy, remembered that his mother still wanted a big turkey for her late night breakfast. Now that Ted was a giant walrus making money hand over fist, he could buy his mommy a big old turkey for their night time breakfast. Ted the walrus also remembered that he had earlier built a time machine. Ted the giant walrus used his time machine to go back in time to buy his mother who was now a dog named Herbert. Ted's mother, Herbert loved the big turkey, but there was a small problem. Herbert the dog didn't have any teeth! What did Mitch need to get for his mother at the store? A. Toys. B. A fish soup. C. A big turkey. D. A lion. Answer: C Question: High-tech machines have made life easier for millions around the world. However, some people still prefer low-tech ways of doing things. Here's an example of why this is happening. You can microwave a frozen hamburger in 60 seconds. However, it won't taste as good as one you cook on the stove. And if you're in that much of a hurry, you probably won't take time to toast the bun. High-tech cooking saves time, but it doesn't make for better-tasting meals. Most people get their news from high-tech sources like television or the Internet. This has many advantages. For example, electronic news is more up to date than newspapers or magazines. It's also more exciting to see live and videotaped news events than photographs. However, newspapers and magazines have some important advantages. They give more background and details. They also let you read the parts that are important to you and skip the rest. Other high-tech timesavers have similar disadvantages. For examples, most people use the phone or e-mail to stay in touch with friends and family members who live in other places. But when you use the Internet or the phone, you don't always think carefully about what you are saying, and sometimes you forget the important things you want to communicate. Similarly, when you word-process a homework assignment instead of handwriting it, you can check your spelling electronically and put in fancy headings. However, some students are so busy with the computer that they don't pay enough attention to the actual words they are writing. What is the main subject discussed in the text? A. High-tech vs. low-tech B. Advantages vs. disadvantages. C. Newspapers and magazines vs. television and the Internet. D. Word-processing vs. handwriting. Answer: A
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, college students _ . Answer: One afternoon Peter and Jim went out for a bicycle ride. When they passed a place they saw a large area of grass and bushes on fire and a strong wind was blowing the flames towards a village. The firemen had already arrived and were trying to put out the fire. The boys left their bicycles and ran towards the village to see if they could help to fight the fire. On the way they met two firemen. "Quick, you boys," said one of the firemen. "Come and help us to pull a pump to the stream. We can't beat out the fire. The wind is too strong. The pump is our only hope." The two boys ran further until they came to a heavy pump. They helped to pull it to a stream not far from the village. Soon the pump was working well so the boys went to watch the fire. It had already reached the edge of the village. The boys saw that two houses were on fire, and the flames were attacking a third building. Suddenly there was a shout from one of the villagers. "Keep away!" a voice shouted. "There's paint stored in that building." The boys and villagers moved away quickly. With a loud explosion , the whole building burst into flames, sending clouds of thick black smoke into the sky. At this time Peter and Jim began to think that the whole village would be burnt to the ground. The firemen had left the burning buildings and were pouring water onto the neighboring houses, trying to stop the fire from spreading. Then the wind died down. A second pump was brought up to help, and the fire was gradually put out. "It's soon finished," Peter said to his friend. "We must go or we shall get home late." "Yes, come on," agreed Jim, and with a last look at the ruins, they walked back to their bicycles. The firemen tried to stop the fire from spreading by _ . Answer: If you look at the sky one night and see something moving and shining that you have never seen before, it might be a comet . A comet sometimes looks like a star. Like a planet, a comet has no light of its own. It shines from the sunlight it reflects . Like the earth a comet goes around the sun, but on a much longer path than the earth travels. If a comet isn't a star, what is it then? Some scientists think that a large part of a comet is water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron and rock dust and perhaps a few big pieces of rock. When sunshine melts the ice in the comet, great clouds of gas go trailing after it. These clouds, together with the dust, form a long tail. Many people have seen a comet. However, no one knows how many comets there are. There may be millions of comets, but only a few come close enough for us to see. An Englishman named Edmund Halley, who lived from 1656 to 1742, found out a lot about the paths that comets take through the sky. Some comets move out of our sight and never come back. Others keep coming back at regular times. A big comet that keeps coming back was named after Halley comet, because the last time it came close to the sun and the earth was in the year 1986. Then people all over the world were outside at night to look at it. You will probably be able to see Halley's comet when it comes near the earth again. ,A, B, C, D,. A large part of a comet is. Answer: There were quite a lot of things that the philosophers of the old times got right and one of those things was that there is a very strong need for lawyers and government in a society. The government looks to protect and help you in times of need and the lawyers are there to fight for your case if you are treated unfairly, Just like then ,there is still a need for government to help people when they need help now in today's world. This sort of help can come from when people need social security benefits because they become disabled after some sort of accident. If you have become disabled in recent days. Then you certainly have rights go find out whether you are qualified to receive the social security disability benefits. The social security disability is for those who have become disabled or are disabled due to some sort of accident that may have happened that forces you to be out of work. This can be very frustrating because being out of work means that you cannot make money that you need in order to provide for yourself and those you are possible taking care of. This is where the government comes into play. The government will help you out with this and possibly give you money in order to _ They understand that accidents do happen and that there needs to be some sort of help for those who get into accidents and cannot provide for themselves. If you are sure that you have a disability, get in touch with the social security department for more information. Meyers Law Firm can help you get the social security disability benefits you have rights to gain. When having an accident and become disabled people need to _ . Answer: Jill Jones got a new job in a different part of the city. She had to go to work every day by train. There was only one other person on the train with her. He was a well-dressed man reading a newspaper. Suddenly, about halfway through the journey, the man began tearing his newspaper into hundreds of small pieces. Then he picked them up, opened the window and threw them all out. Then he sat down, closed his eyes, and slept for the rest of the journey again. The next day, Jill got on the same train. The same well-dressed man was there, reading a newspaper. As before, about halfway through the journey, the man began tearing his newspaper into hundreds of small pieces. Then he picked the pieces up, opened the window and threw them all out. This done, he sat down, closed his eyes, and slept for the rest of the journey. This happened every day for a week. At last, on Friday, Jill spoke to the man. "Excuse me, sir," she said, "I don't want to be rude, but I must ask you a question. When we are halfway through our journey, you tear your newspaper into hundreds of pieces and then throw them all out of the window. Please tell me, sir. Why do you do this?" The well-dressed man smiled. "There is a simple reason," he said. "I like to sleep for part of the journey, but I cannot sleep if the train is full of elephants. So I throw the pieces of paper out to the elephants. It stops them from coming into the train." "But there aren't any elephants on the train, "Jill said."I know," the man said. "It works well, doesn't it? Who was on the train with Jill Jones? Answer:
There is one language, and people, young and old , men and women, use it very often, in every country in the world. It is everyone's second language . You can't hear it, but it is very easy to understand . It is sign ( )language. When you wave to a friend in the street, you are using sign language. When you put up your hand in class, you are saying "Please ask me, I think I know the right answer". When a police officer wants to stop cars or buses, he puts up his hand. He's using sign language. Churchill's famous "V for Victory "is also sign language. Sign language is useful in quite places full of noise . Even when you are swimming with your friends , you can have a talk under water. _ in the world use sign language. A Many people B Police officers C All people D Students and teachers Answer: C. All people Everybody needs blood Have you ever seen buses on the street for donating blood? Medical workers on board collect blood from volunteers. The blood is then stored up and given to people who have lost a large amount of it due to accidents or diseases. Blood is one of the most important substances supporting our lives. But for now, the only way we can get more of it is through donation. And donated blood has its own problems. First of all, certain blood types are extremely rare. Type O negative blood (O-), for example, only exists in 7 percent of people, according to Sunday Times. There are fewer donors and therefore there isn't enough of this type of blood for everybody who needs it. In addition, donated blood comes from various people, which means that it has to be examined carefully for disease such as hepatitis and HIV to make sure that it's safe for transfusion. This is why scientists all over the world have been trying to make blood in labs. And now, someone finally succeeded--Marc Turner at the Scottish National BloodTransfusion Service has produced blood fit for transfusion, reported Forbes. Unlike many other scientists, who have tried to make blood substitutes by mixing up different ingredients together, Turner chose to grow blood directly from human stem cells . He developed a special technique to create a chemical environment similar to that in our bone marrow . This environment encourages stem cells to develop fully into red blood cell. According to Turner, his version of artificial blood is unlikely to contain disease viruses or produce side effects. And the best part is that what he managed to produce was type O- blood. Not only is it a rare blood type, it's also a universal type, which means it can be transfused into any patient. The new blood is scheduled for human tests in 2016. However, Turner stressed that the new study should not be taken as a signal for people to stop donating blood because it could be another 20 years before the artificial blood can be manufactured on a large scale. "It is one thing to bake a cake and another thing to bake a cake 100 times the size," said Turner. "It's not just a matter of putting in 100 times the ingredients." According to the text, a potential danger of blood transfusion is that _ . A it is impossible to store up large amounts of blood B blood transfusion may lead to some terrible infections C it is very hard to find matches for certain blood types D blood transfusion often leads to serious side effects Answer: B. blood transfusion may lead to some terrible infections If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago,we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day,we should be able to give an answer to the question. It is the same in history .Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them .Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country,but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war.Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write.For example,we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them.But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned to write. Sometimes, of course,even if the people cannot write,they may know something of the past.They have heard about it from older people,and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings,and these have been sung and acted and told for many generations, for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past.This we may call "remembered history".Some of it has now been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is,because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing.But where there are no written records,such spoken stories are often very helpful. Remembered historyis regarded as valuable only when _ . A it is written down B no written account is available C it proves to be time D people are interested in it Answer: B. no written account is available It is important to know another language and how to communicate without words when you are in another country. Before saying anything, people communicate with each other by using gestures . However, many gestures have different meanings, or no meaning at all, in different parts of the world. In the United States, nodding your head up and down means "yes", while in some pats of Greece and Turkey, it means "no". In the southeast of Asia, it is a polite way of saying "I heard you". Today in the USA, when someone puts his thumb up, it means "Everything is all right." However, in Greece it is bad. Also putting your clasped hands up above your head means "I am the winner." It is the sign which players often make. In Russia it is the sign of friendship. In the USA, holding your hand up with the thumb and index finger , and the other three straight means "Everything is OK." In France, it means "You are worth nothing." It is also important to make eye communication. If you look down when talking to an American, he or she may feel that you are shy, or you are trying to hide something. Besides these, you should also know there are some topics that can not be talked about, such as age, weight and marriage. You can talk about the weather, work, sports, food, where one lives and news of the day. Putting the thumb up should not be used in _ . A Greece B the USA C England D China Answer: A. Greece "Tear' em apart!" "Kill the fool!" "Murder the referee !" These are common remarks one may hear at various sporting events. At the time they are made, they may seem innocent enough. But let's not kid ourselves. They have been known to influence behavior in such a way as to lead to real bloodshed. Volumes have been written about the way words affect us. It has been shown that words having certain connotations may cause us to react in ways quite foreign to what we consider to be our usual humanistic behavior. I see the term "opponent" as one of those words. Perhaps the time has come to delete it from sports terms. The dictionary meaning of the term "opponent" is "adversary" "enemy"; "one who opposes your interests." Thus, when a player meets an opponent, he or she may tend to treat that opponent as an enemy. At such times, winning may dominate one's intellect, and every action, no matter how gross, may be considered justifiable. I recall an incident in a handball game when a referee refused a player's request for a time out for a glove change because he did not consider them wet enough. The player proceeded to rub his gloves across his wet T-shirt and then exclaimed. "Are they wet enough now?" In the heat of battle, players have been observed to throw themselves across the court without considering the consequences that such a move might have on anyone in their way. I have also witnessed a player reacting to his opponent's international and illegal blocking by deliberately hitting him with the ball as hard as he could during the course of play. Off the court, they are good friends. Does that make any sense? It certainly gives proof of a court attitude which departs from normal behavior. Therefore, I believe it is time we elevated the game to the level where it belongs there by setting an example to the rest of the sporting world. Replacing the term "opponent" with "associate" could be an ideal way to start. The dictionary meaning of the term "associate" is "colleague"; "friend"; "companion." Reflect a moment! You may soon see and possibly feel the difference in your reaction to the term "associate" rather than "opponent." What did the handball player do when he was not allowed a time out to change his gloves? A He refused to continue the game. B He angrily hit the referee with a ball. C He claimed that the referee was unfair. D He wet his gloves by rubbing them across his T-shirt. Answer: D. He wet his gloves by rubbing them across his T-shirt.
This is No. 12 High School. My friend Dongdong is in this school. Dongdong has short hair, a big nose, a small mouth and big eyes. He is thirteen. He is in Class Two, Grade Seven. He's a good student. He has two good friends in his school. They are Jim and Jack. They're brothers . They are fourteen. They have small noses, small eyes, but they're very tall . Jim, Jack and Dongdong are in the same class. Mr. Lee is their teacher. They are good friends. ,. (10) Mr. Lee is _ . Answer: Tess still stood hesitating like a swimmer about to make his dive, hardly knowing whether to return or move forward, when a figure came out from the dark door of the tent. It was a tall young man, smoking. He had an almost black face, though red and smooth. His moustache was black with curled points, though he could not be more than twenty three or--four. There was an unusual force in his face, and in his daring rolling eyes. "Well, my beauty, what can I do for you?" said he, coming forward. And seeing that she was quite at a loss, "Never mind me. I am Mr. d'Urberville. Have you come to see me or my mother?" This differed greatly from what Tess had expected. She had dreamed of an aged and dignified face. She tried to keep calm and answered-- "I came to see your mother, sir." "I am afraid you cannot see her--she is ill in bed," replied the representative of the house; for this was Mr. Alee, the only son of the noble family. "What is the business you wish to see her about?" "It isn't business--it is--I can hardly say what!" "Pleasure?" "Oh no. Why, sir, if I tell you, it will seem..." Tess's sense of a certain ridicule was now so strong that, despite her general discomfort at being here, her rosy lips curved towards a smile, much to the attraction of the young man. "It is so foolish", she stammered . "I fear I can't tell you!" "Never mind; I like foolish things. Try again, my dear," said he kindly. "Mother asked me to come," Tess continued; "and, indeed, I was in the mind to do so myself. But I did not think it would be like this. I came, sir, to tell you that we are of the same family as you." "Ho! Poor relations?" "Yes." "Stokes?" "No; d'Urbervilles." "Ay, ay; I mean d'Urbervilles." "Our names are worn away to Durbeyfield; but we have several proofs that we are d'Urbervilles. The local scholars hold the view that we are, and...and we have an old seal and a silver spoon marked with the same castle as yours. So mother said we ought to make ourselves known to you, as we've lost our horse by a bad accident; we can hardly make a living." "Very kind of your mother, I'm sure." Alec looked at Tess as he spoke, in a way that made her uneasy. "And so, my pretty girl, you've come on a friendly visit to us, as relations?" "I suppose I have," looking less confident and uncomfortable again. "Well--there's no harm in it. Where do you live? What are you?" ---Tess of the d'Urbervilles By Thomas Hardy Why does Tess pay the visit to the d'Urbervilles? Answer: A young girl decided to study judo despite the fact that she had lost her left arm in a car accident. The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor. The girl was doing well. So she couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move. "Instructor," the girl finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" "This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the instructor replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training. Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament . Surprising herself, the girl easily won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, her opponent became impatient. The girl used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her success, the girl was now in the finals. This time, her opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee called a time-out . She was about to stop the match when the instructor intervened . "No," the instructor insisted, "Let her continue." Soon after the match restarted, her opponent made an important mistake: she dropped her guard. Instantly, the girl used her move to defeat her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion. On the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each match. Then the girl asked what was really on her mind. "Instructor, how did I win the tournament with only one move?" "You won for two reasons," the teacher answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm." According to the text, the girl is _ . Answer: Who says that skirts are only for girls? Men can also wear them. Scotchmen have worn them for many years. They call their skirts kilts. A kilt is a colored skirt. It reaches down to the knee . It has different colored checks on it, like red or blue. Some families in Scotland have their own colors and designs. From the kind of kilt they wear you can tell which group they come from. The kilt goes back to the 1720s. Scottish soldiers used to wear them. Later, many Scottish men wore them. Today the kilt is not much seen in Scotland. However, in some parts of the country you can still see some older men wearing kilts. Most Scotchman see the kilt as formal dress for national celebrations, marriages or big dinners. Even kilt makers have moved with the times. Some modern designs have a pocket for a mobile phone. , . A kilt is _ . Answer: The Ring of Fire covers 4,000 km around the edge of the Pacific Ocean.It includes the countries of Japan,Indonesia and the Philippines.More earthquakes and volcanoes occur in this area than anywhere else in the world.The name Ring of Fire refers to areas below the earth's surface.These areas move suddenly and often cause earthquakes and create volcanoes. Many areas of Asia,such as the Philippines,Japan,and Indonesia, sometime experience earthquakes and volcanoes.There are occasionally landslides ,mudslides,and tidal waves as a result.Fortunately, these natural disasters do not happen very often. Southern China is about 600 km away from the Ring of Fire.Sometimes, people in this region feel earthquakes too.The worst earthquake felt in southern China was in 1918 in Shantou.It measured 7.3 on the Richter scale.Any earthquake of 6 or more on the Richter scale is very dangerous to people. People in Hong Kong sometimes experience the effects of earthquakes and volcanoes.In September 1994,for example,the strongest earthquake to hit Hong Kong for 76 years shook buildings and scared thousands of residents.Frightened workers and families ran out of their offices and homes.The earthquake measured 6.5 on the Richter seal. It is difficult to predict when an earthquake will occur In countries within the Ring of Fire, buildings must be very strong because the effects of earthquakes on buildings are terrible. In June 1991, Mt Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted.Many people were killed and the area surrounding the volcano was badly damaged.Hot ash and liquid rock from the volcano forced people to leave the area.They only returned many months later.The ash spread over a large area.Even people in the Guangdong region of southern China saw ash in the air. Hong Kong_. Answer:
While car sharing is a concept that's catching on, old-fashioned carpooling where a group of people take turns driving each other to work has always faced a resistance . In a study on traffic problems by ABC News, 84% of those who drive to work say that they still do it alone. More than half those lone riders insist that carpooling is just too inconvenient, and 18% say they simple don't know anyone to share a ride with. Now technology makes carpooling easier and more fun. NuRide, a company provided an online carpooling service last year, offers daily travelers in the Washington area not just a web-based list of would-be carpoolers but also a way to arrange a trip online. Here's how it works: rider seekers enter the positions where their trip will begin and end, the time they want to leave and if they're willing to drive or just ride in someone else's car. The website's search engine then looks for matches and makes lists of the names of traveling companions, along with the car model and the exact time and place to meet for each trip. People who want to share the ride can show their interest in joining in online and then meet their car mates when it's time to go. NuRide users aren't riding with total strangers. They are required to provide the name of their employer and a work e-mail address, both of which need to be checked before being listed on the website. To attract users, NuRide offers a frequent rider prize: anyone who shares a ride gets a $1 credit. So far, 2,300 people have signed up. NuRide CEO Rick Steele said that more than 50,000 rides have been arranged on the website, resulting in 1.4 million fewer miles driven and 650 fewer tons of automobile emissions . What has the study found about people's opinion on carpooling? A Most people think it is inconvenient. B Only 18% can find their road mates. C Some people consider it dangerous. D Half of the people accept the idea.. Answer: A. Most people think it is inconvenient. Japanese students work very hard but many are very unhappy. They feel great pressure from their parents to do well in school and in college. Most students are always being told by their parents to study harder so that they can have successful future. Although this may be good advice for those who are very bright, it can have very bad results for many students who are not quick enough at learning. Unfortunately, a number of students actually kill themselves. Others are after comfort in using drugs. Some students, however, do bad things with groups of bad people and turn to crime. Many of them have tried very hard at school but, in spite of all their tries, have failed in certain examinations and have disappointed their parents. Such students feel that they are less important than everyone else they meet and leave school before they finish their study. It is surprising that although most Japanese parents are anxious for their children to do well at school, they do not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are unable to help their children with their lessons and that it is the teachers' job to help their children. To make matter worse, a lot of parents send their children to special schools called juku-cram schools. These schools are open during the evenings and on weekends, and their only purpose is to prepare students to pass exams; they do not try to educate students in any real sense of the world. Thus comes a shock to realize that almost three quarters of the junior high school students attend these cram schools. Ordinary Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the length of students' hair to their clothes and things in their school bags. Child psychologists now think that such strict rules often lead to a feeling of being unsafe and being unable to fit into society. They believe that no sense of moral values is developed and that students are given neither guidance nor training in becoming good citizens. Many Japanese students are unhappy at school because_. A the school work is too much B their teachers are too strict with them C their parents put much pressure on them D they can't get on well with their friends Answer: C. their parents put much pressure on them The booking notes of the play "the Age of Innocence": Price: $10 BOOKING There are four easy ways to book seats for performance: ------ in person The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a. m. -8 p. m. ------ by telephone Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card(Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted) ------ by post Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office. ------ on line Complete the on-line booking form at www. Satanfiedtheatre. com DISCOUNTS: Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students. Supersaver: half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion . It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show. Standby: best available seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible(suitable)for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers. Group Bookings: there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more. School: school parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free. ks5u Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen cases. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A There are only 8 wheelchair spaces in the theatre. B A school party of 15 students should pay 90 for the standby tickets. C A group of 12 persons can get 10 per cent discount. D The audience can't refund money if the performance is on show. Answer: B. A school party of 15 students should pay 90 for the standby tickets. Who are the elders in your family? The most common answer is that they are your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and elder cousins ------in a word, any who is older than you. But that doesn't really answer the question, does it? In a normal family, there is a big difference between being elderly and being an elder. Elders are the storytellers, the cooks, the historians, the authorities, the knitters, and the workhorses. They are the people we respect and turn to for answers or help when we are in trouble, because of their many years of life experience. Most of all, they are the people who raised you and your loved ones and helped you growing into the people you are. For many years, they carried the burden of caring for your family and leading it to better times. Now it's your turn to dote on them. Ensuring the welfare of your elders should come as naturally to us as raising our children. Unfortunately, too many people take their parents' and grandparents' ability to care for them for granted. And in a country where so many of us live hundreds of miles from our families, looking after loved ones can be difficult. Even so, you should make sure your loved ones are taken care of no matter where they live, and try to look after the seniors living alone in your neighbor, too. Taking responsibility for the elders in our society in an important thing that all citizens should do. In which of the following columns would you most probably read this passage? A Education B Parenting C Society D Family Answer: D. Family Sydney--A shark _ a schoolboy's leg while he was surfing with his father at a beach in Sydney on February 23. It was the third shark attack along the coast of Australia's largest city in a month. The 15yearold boy and his father were in the water off Avalon, on Sydney's northern beaches, around dawn when he was attacked. The city's beaches are packed with locals and tourists during the summer months. "The father heard a scream and turned to see his son thrashing about in the water," police said. "Fortunately, the shark swam away and the boy was helped to the shore by his father." Lifesaving Club spokesman Nick Miller said, "It got him around the top of his left leg and the father came and dragged him out of water." He said the boy was bleeding heavily when he was brought to the shore. "There was a lot of pain, as you can imagine." The teenager was airlifted to hospital for treatment for leg injuries. Police said the bites "cut through to the bone", but the boy did not appear to have sustained any fractures . He was in a stable condition now. Several beaches were closed after the attack. Water police and lifeguards were searching for the shark, while police hoped to identify its species by the shape of the bite marks. But they said it was too early to say what type of shark attacked the boy. "I don't even know if he saw it," Miller said. Many shark species live in the waters off Sydney's beaches, but attacks on humans are still relatively rare. However, there were two attacks on successive days earlier this month, one on a navy diver in Sydney harbor,not far from the famous Opera House, and the other on a surfer at the city's worldfamous Bondi beach. Fishermen say shark numbers are on the rise. There is a ban on commercial fishing in the harbor, which has increased fish stocks. Marine experts also claim environmental protection has created a cleaner environment, attracting sharks closer to the shore as they chase fish. Many shark species, including the Great White--the maneaters made famous in Steven Spielberg's Jaws--are protected in Australian waters. All the following are the causes of Australia's sharks' increasing except that _ . A environmental protection has created a cleaner environment B a ban on commercial fishing has increased fish numbers C many shark species are protected in Australian waters D the film Jaws has made the Great White famous Answer: D. the film Jaws has made the Great White famous
"If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you're a woman." Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster. The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male. Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice was the most "inspiring" for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener. Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch and tone which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. " _ ,"said Mr Grosbie. The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species.[:Z,xx,k.Com] Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that "listened" to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices. Miss Darwin said, "I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London." What can we learn from the passage? A The experiment ended in May. B Scientist can explain the findings clearly. C Plants enjoy listening to the passages from masterpieces. D The findings are of great importance to human beings. Answer: A. The experiment ended in May. Not everyonewhoteaches in acollegeor university is a professor. Many are instructors or lecturers. In fact, not even all professors are full professors. Many of them are assistant or associate professors or adjunct professors. So what do all of these different academic titles mean at American colleges and universities? Get ready for a short lecture, especially if you are thinking of a career in higher education. Professors usually need a doctoral degree. But sometimes a school will offer positions to people who have not yet received their doctorate. This person would be called an instructor until the degree has been completed. After that, the instructor could become an assistant professor. Assistant professors do not have tenure. Tenure means a permanent appointment. This goal of greater job security is harder to reach these days. Fewer teaching positions offer the chance for tenure. Teachers and researchers who are hired into positions that do offer it are said to be "on the tenure track." Assistant professor is the first job on this path. Assistant professors generally have five to seven years to gain tenure. During this time, other faculty members study the person's work. If tenure is denied, then the assistant professor usually has a year to find another job. Candidates for tenure may feel great pressure to get research published. "Publish or perish" is the traditional saying. An assistant professor who receives tenure becomes an associate professor. An associate professor may later be appointed a full professor. Assistant, associate and full professors perform many duties. They teach classes. They advise students. And they carry out research. They also serve on committees and take part in other activities. Other faculty members are not expected to do all these jobs. They are not on a tenure track. Instead, they might be in adjunct or visiting positions. A visiting professor has a job at one school but works at another for a period of time. An adjunct professor is also a limited or part-time position, to do research or teach classes. Adjunct professors have a doctorate. Another position is that of lecturer. Lecturers teach classes, but they may or may not have a doctorate. In which column of a newspaper can the passage probably appear? A Education B Entertainment C Politics D Sports Answer: A. Education Most young people enjoy some form of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, swimming or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some forms - football, basketball, hockey, golf of tennis. It may be mountaineering. Those who have a _ for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked up with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks in high mountains? This astonishment is caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure . Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man - made rules, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of different kind which it would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man - made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to any people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods, but the sport requires high mental and physical qualities. A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty, and most international tennis champions are in their early twenties. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they certainly experience equal enjoyment. Mountaineering is a sport, not a game because _ . A it has man-made rules B it is too dangerous for climbers C it can't bring people joy and leisure D it is free for climbers to use their own methods. Answer: D. it is free for climbers to use their own methods. Dr.Michael Prager, a leading Botox expert, said that a growing number of women are developing something called "computer face".He also mentioned that professionals who worked long hours in front of a screen were ending up with saggy jowls , "turkey neck" and deep-set wrinkles on their forehead and around their eyes. The Botox expert said that, of all his clients, office workers were most likely to show premature signs of ageing."If you are one of the unfortunate people who frown while you are concentrating on the screen then, over time, you will inevitably end up with frown lines," Dr.Prager said."What is perhaps more surprising is the number of women with saggy jowls because they are sitting in one position for so long.If you spend most of the time looking down then the neck muscles shorten and go saggy, eventually giving you a second neck." Dr.Prager, who has a practice near Harley Street in London, said he encourages his clients to put a mirror next to their computer so they can see if they are frowning at the screen."When people are stressed or thinking hard about something, then they will often put on a 'grumpy face' without even knowing what they are doing.When my clients put a mirror next to their desk, they are often shocked by the angry, frowning face which stares back at them." He said, "The women I am seeing at the moment have only been using computers at work for the last decade or so.But women in their 20s have grown up with them and use them for every single task.I think the problem is going to become much, much worse.In another ten years, they could be looking quite awful." Dr.Prager said there were several simple steps which could avoid "computer face" such as regular screen breaks and stretching the neck muscles.And, of course, there was always Botox.He said that, after a couple of sessions of Botox, the habit of "grumpy face" could be broken. According to the passage, which of the following are signs of ageing? A Saggy jowls and short necks. B Turkey neck and frown lines. C Deep-set wrinkles and angry faces. D Second neck and stressed muscles. Answer: B. Turkey neck and frown lines. Australian researchers have studied records of 105 plane crashes and interviews with more than 2,000 survivors of traffic accidents, and outlined the following self-help tips. First, sit with your family but escape separately. About 50 percent of passengers travel with at least one companion. If you are traveling with your family, try not to sit separately because in an emergency, families who are separated will try to reunite before they escape, thereby missing the best time to escape and causing tragedy. However, it is best to escape separately because it will improve your chances of survival. Second, have your seat belts securely fastened. The shoulder belt should be worn closely against the body, over the shoulder, cross the chest, and never under the arms. It should not be too close to your head, or it may get you hurt in an accident, or too close to your shoulder joint, which may cause the belt easily to slip off. It is best to wear the belt two fingers away from your shoulder joint. The lap belt should be firm against the body and low across the hips in order to prevent collision forces from hurting your viscera . Make sure both belts are fastened closely against the body. Third, find the nearest exit on board. A study found that the average distance a survivor will take in an escape is seven seat rows, so choose a passage seat within this range. If not available, count exactly how many rows you are from the nearest exit in advance, so that you can find your exit in the dark or in smoke. Fourth, sit backwards on trains. Seats on military aircrafts normally face backwards so that soldiers are less likely to be bumped and injured in the head in the event of a crash. The same theory applies to trains. Which of the following is the right step to fastening your seat belts? A The shoulder belt should never be under the arms. B The shoulder belt should be close to your shoulder joint. C The lap belt should be low across the waist. D All belts are fastened closely against the body. Answer: A. The shoulder belt should never be under the arms.
There is a supermarket called Shopping Center near my house. It's open from 8:00am to10:00pm.The supermarket is very new and big with four floors. If you want to go shopping, please come to this supermarket. You can buy all kinds of things. Look! On the first floor, you can buy vegetables, meat, eggs, juice, and so on. If you want to buy gloves, scarves , T-shirts, shoes and all kinds of clothes, you can come to the second floor. There are all kinds of TV sets and fridges on the third floor. Children like the fourth floor a lot, they can buy their favourite books, CDs and beautiful toys. The things in the supermarket are not expensive , sometimes the things are on sale, so there are always a lot of people. The workers in it work hard. They are very friendly and helpful. If you want to buy something to eat and drink, you may go to _ . A the first floor B the second floor C the third floor D the fourth floor Answer: A. the first floor Like most people, I have grown up hearing the story Cinderella, in which a young girl lived with her cruel stepmother and suddenly had her life changed by a kind fairy and a smart prince. So when to see Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella, which is now playing on Broadway, I was very excited, As soon as I sat down, I noticed the trees lining the stage ,which gave it a magical appearance. The orchestra started to play and the lights became dark as the show began. I loved the entire performance. Everything and everyone on stage seemed like they had just jumped off the pages of the beloved story. It turns out that the Broadway experts agree with me. The show has received nine Tony nominations . Tony awards are the top prizes for Broadway shows. Laura Osnes, who plays the role of Cinderella, has been nominated for the Tony for best actress in a musical. How similar is the show to the story of Cinderella you know? The answer, of course, depends on which version of the story you've seen or read. In an interview with TIME FOR Kids, Osnes pointed out that many people are familiar with the Disney movie version. There are some differences between that movie and the Broadway show. For one thing, the stepmother and the sisters are not as cruel in the show as in the movie. Also, in the Broadway version, when Cinderella escapes from the dancing party, she picks up her shoe after dropping it. So how does the prince find Cinderella again? You'll have to see the show to find out! I just think anyone would enjoy this play, including both kids and adults. The attention to detail is amazing. In my opinion, this play deserves a double thumbs-up! According to the author, this show is suitable _ A only for grown-up B only for children. C for both grown-ups and children D for either grown-ups or children Answer: C. for both grown-ups and children There is one foreign product the Japanese are buying faster than others and its popularity has caused an uneasy feeling among many Japanese. That product is foreign words. that come from outside - have been part of the Japanese language for centuries. Mostly borrowed from English and Chinese, these terms are often changed into forms no longer understood by native speakers. But in the last few years the trickle of foreign words has become a flood, and people fear the increasing use of foreign words is making it hard for the Japanese to understand each other and could lead to many people forgetting the good qualities of traditional Japanese. "The popularity of foreign words is part of the Japanese interest in anything new,"says University Lecturer and Writer Takashi Saito."By using a foreign word you can make a subject seem new, which makes it easier for the media to pick up." "Experts often study abroad and use English terms when they speak with people in their own fields. Those terms are then included in government white papers," said Muturo Kai, president of the National Language Research Institute."Foreign words find their way easily into announcements made to the general public, when they should really be explained in Japanese." Against the flow of new words, many Japanese are turning back to the study of their own language. Saito's is one of many language books that are now flying off booksellers' shelves. "We were expecting to sell the books to young people," said the writer, "but it turns out they are more popular with the older generation, who seem uneasy about the future of Japanese." Which of the following plays an important part in the spread of foreign words? A The media and government papers. B Best-selling Japanese textbooks. C The interest of young Japanese. D Foreign products and experts. Answer: A. The media and government papers. Sandra usually gets up at six in the morning. She usually has breakfast at six thirty. She goes to school at around seven o'clock. School starts at seven thirty. Sandra learns many subjects at school: math, English, science, history, art, music and PE. Her favorite subject is music. It's relaxing, and the music teacher is fun. Sandra has four classes in the morning. At eleven forty she comes home for lunch. She has lunch with her grandmother. In the afternoon, she isn't very busy. She has only two classes. After school she does her homework and plays with other kids. In the evening, Sandra's parents come home from work at five o'clock. The family have dinner at six. After that they usually listen to music or watch TV. Sandra goes to bed at nine thirty. Her grandmother goes to bed at nine, and her parents go to bed at around ten o'clock. Sandra has _ classes every day. A four B six C seven D eight Answer: B. six For many in the United States,Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population.Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine,many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds. Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800's when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as"Amreeka". Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves.The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924.The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian,and some Egyptian immigrants.These new immigrants,who were mostly Christian,came to America in search of better opportunities.Even the doomed Titanic,which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard.The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants;they are the third or more generation Americans. The second wave of immigrants followed after World War II,caused by political unrest in the Middle East.This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims and continues to this day. Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States,according to demographers.And quite different from popular belief,64 percent of them are American-born.Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens. Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income.Education is important among Arab-Americans;82 percent have high school diplomas,36 percent have bachelor's degrees or higher,and 15 percent have graduate degrees.The-median average income among Arab-Americans is $39 580,which is higher than the US average. The writer of this passage mentioned Titanic _ . A to tell us that taking ship at that time was dangerous B because Titanic became a well-known disaster C to show us there were many Arabs flocking into America at that time D to inform us that Arabs are brave enough Answer: C. to show us there were many Arabs flocking into America at that time
A language holiday is a combination of "holiday" and study abroad to learn or improve a foreign language. English language holidays are taken in English-speaking countries like England, the USA or Australia. While there, you study in a language school with students from many different countries. You live with local people, often staying with a host family. A language holiday can be of any length - from one week to one year - but most are two or three weeks. What are the Benefits of a Language Holiday? Language holidays have become a very popular method of learning English because they have many advantages: Total Exposure Because you are in an English-speaking country, you are constantly exposed to English from the time you wake up and have breakfast with your host family until late evening and your last drink in a local pub. You have little or no opportunity to escape the English language. This is how you learn your own language - constant exposure. Mixed Classes When you study in your own country, all the other students in your class speak your language, so you are not forced to use English. On a language holiday, students come from countries all over the world. It is possible that nobody in your class will speak your language, so you will just have to speak English! Freedom From Pressure On a language holiday you are away from home and can forget the everyday pressures of school or business. Your mind is more relaxed and you can learn more easily. Cultural Understanding Learning a language is not only about learning words. Different nations have different cultures. People think and behave differently. Their language is closely associated with their culture. By visiting and living in a foreign country, you learn to understand the culture and the people - and so better understand the language. You'll find schools offering language holidays at EnglishClub.com ESL World. Where can you probably find the passage? A. On the Internet. B. In a science textbook. C. In a travel guide. D. In a medical newspaper Answer: A When a frog is born, it has tiny gills so that it can breathe underwater, even though in adulthood it will A. relocate to land B. find lungs useless C. make lung soup D. burn air Answer: A An example of adapting to survive is A. Putting on sunscreen in a sunny place B. Growing grass in a field C. Having a drink of water on a warm day D. Going for a walk outside Answer: A For some reason Dodger did not want to enter London during daylight, so it was nearly eleven o'clock at night when they got near the centre. Oliver had never seen a dirtier or more miserable place. The streets in this district were narrow and muddy, and there were terrible smells everywhere. Children wandered around even at this time of night, in and out of the many shops, playing and screaming. The pubs were full of people fighting, and big, evil-looking men stood in the doorways or at dark corners. Oliver almost wanted to run away, but just then Dodger pushed open a door and pulled Oliver into a dark hall. "Who's there?" a voice cried out. "It's me," said Dodger. The faint light of a candle appeared in the hall. "Who's the other one?" "A new friend." They went up some dark and broken stairs. Oliver could hardly see where he was going, but Dodger seemed to know the way, and helped Oliver up. They entered a room with walls that were black with age and dirt. In front of the fire was a table with a candle stuck into a bottle of beer, and an old man, with a horribly ugly face and red hair, stood next to the fire cooking. He was wearing a dirty old coat and seemed to divide his attention between his cooking and a number of silk handkerchiefs, which were hanging near the fire. There were several rough beds in the room. Four or five boys, about the same age as Dodger, sat round the table, smoking and drinking like middle-aged men. They all looked up when Dodger and Oliver entered. "This is him, Fagin," Dodger said to the old man. "My friend Oliver Twist." Fagin smiled and shook Oliver's hand. Then all the young gentlemen came up to him and shook both his hands very hard, especially the hand which held his few possessions. One of the boys was particularly kind. He even put his hands in Oliver's pockets so that Oliver would not have to empty them himself when he went to bed. The boys would probably have been even more helpful, but Fagin hit them on their heads and shoulders until they left Oliver alone. "We're very glad to see you, Oliver," said Fagin. "I see you're staring at the handkerchiefs, my dear. Aren't there a lot? We've just taken them all out to wash them, that's all! Ha! Ha! Ha!" This seemed to be a joke, as the old gentleman and all his young friends gave loud shouts of laughter. Then supper began. Oliver ate his share of the food and was then given a glass of gin-and-water. Fagin told him to drink it fast. Immediately afterwards, Oliver felt himself lifted onto one of the beds and he sank into a deep sleep. Why did all the young gentlemen come up to Oliver and shake his hands very hard? A. Because they were of the same age. B. Because they liked Oliver at the first sight. C. Because they were required to do so. D. Because they wanted to steal something from Oliver. Answer: D Siri is an artificial intelligence (AI) that you can carry around in the pocket, where it waits patiently to be told what to do. In the week we spent together, my AI assistant has performed admirably in finding me restaurants, or the location of the nearest coffee shop. A typical command might be: "Reserve a table for two at a good French restaurant in San Francisco." Siri responds by presenting a list of top-rated restaurants that can be booked on OpenTable.com. If you say which time you want, it can book you a table without your lifting a finger. In some ways Siri is just a fancy front-end to the 35 sites it can connect to, from taxi booking sites to movie review databases. But what's new is the way it can analyze the intentions of its master or mistress and use those sites to put them into action. Siri attaches probabilities to the explanation of each word and cross-references with your location and other data, some of which you must provide yourself. To send email reminders, Siri obviously needs to know your email address. To "find me the flower shop closest to work", it needs to know where you work. To pay bills or buy airline tickets, it would need access to your credit card. That raises the question of how far we are willing to trust a piece of software that can go and do things for us based on what it "thinks" we mean, a topic that occupies some engineers working on artificial intelligence. The more data, and power, you give your virtual assistant, the more damage it could do. Siri may be simple, and always shows its explanation of a command before carrying it out. But it gives users a preview of a new balance between privacy, trust and convenience that the expansion of AI into everyday life is likely to develop. When asked "do I need my umbrella today?", what will Siri probably respond with? A. The list of umbrella makers. B. The list of umbrella shops. C. The local weather forecast. D. The local climate conditions. Answer: C
Here are some easy tips for getting to sleep. They can help you deal with tension, stress and anxiety, and enjoy a good night sleep. Not every one of these tips alone will get you to sleep, but a few of them at least should be useful. Get some physical exercise during the day. Even 15 minutes a day of exercise (at least half an hour before going to bed, so your body will have a chance to slow down) will give your body the activity and oxygen it needs to help you relax more and sleep better. Listen to the light music. Play some soft, smooth music that help you sleep. Of course you must have a recorder or CD player that will automatically turn off because if you get up and turn it off in the end, it'll lose its effect. Drink warm milk. A glass of warm milk 15 minutes before going to bed will keep you calm. Keep regular bedtime hours. Your body likes regular routines ,.It likes to know that it's going to get up at the same time each day, eat at the same time, and go to bed at the same time. Keep far away from caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Before you go to sleep, you'd better not drink coffee or cola which has caffeine. Don't drink wine, beer or champagne which has alcohol and don't smoke. Don't watch TV or read before going to bed. Wait at least half an hour before going to bed after reading or watching TV. According to the passage, which of the following is good before going to bed? Drinking warm milk. This morning, a Virgin Atantin 747 Jumbo Jet became the first commercial airplane to fly on biofuel. The short flight from London to Amsterdam used a blend of 20% babassu oil mixed with 80% conventional jet fuel. What was really exciting about the flight was the fact that the engine did not have to be altered in any way for the biofuel to work While this is a great initial step in trying to reduce CO2(carbon-dioxide)emissions from airplanes. there are a lot of hurdles that still need to be overcome. First and foremost, unlike the normal fuel used to run airplanes (known as Jet A),biofuel freezes at high altitudes. Also, Jet'A'fuel burns consistently (at the same pace),which means it provides a safe and reliable fuel for long flights--engineers are not sure if biofuel will be able to do the same. The biggest hurdle to a full biofuel switch is our ability to be able to grow enough crops that can be converted to biofuel. There are two concerns that scientists have in this matter - the first is that the land to grow the extra crops will come from clearing more of our forests and the second is that since it competes with what we eat, the price of food will go up. However, Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines, envisions that if biofuel starts to replace oil on a greater basis, it will be manufactured from algae produced in sewage treatment plants, not from food sources. Birgin Airlines is not the only one trying to look for alternative fuel sources. Earlier this year, an Airbus A380 used another alternative fuel-a man-made mix of gas-to-liquid, in one of its four engines. The flight was tested by Rolls Royce (manufacturer of jet engines), in partnership with Shell (an oil company). Rolls Royce is also working with Air New Zealand on a similar project. While a complete switch to alternative fuel may take years, it is very encouraging to see airlines, oil companies and airplane manufacturers all coming together to try to make it happen! .Which of the following can best serves as the title of this passage? The First Commercial Flight Powered by Biofuel. Tom comes from Australia. He is now staying in Beijing with his family. Every day he gets up at about six thirty and has breakfast at seven o'clock. Then he leaves home at seven fifteen. He gets to school at seven forty- five. His first class begins at eight. There are four lessons in the morning. Morning classes are over at eleven fifty, and he has lunch ten minutes later. Afternoon classes begin at one thirty. There are two lessons in the afternoon. They are over at three ten. Tom stays at school for another hour to play games, and he gets home at about four thirty. Tom usually has supper at six. In the evening he does his homework. Sometimes he watches TV. He goes to bed at about ten. It takes Tom _ to get to school every day. half an hour Sandy and Keith plan to move a 6-kilogram block. If they wanted to calculate the mechanical energy required to move the block, what units would they use to report their answer? joules Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands, which consist of(...)Diaoyu Dao, Huangwei Yu, Chiwei Yu, Nanxiao Dao, Beixiao Dao, Nan Yu, Bei Yu, Fei Yu and other islands, are in the northeast of China's Taiwan Island, in the waters between 123deg20'-124deg40'E and 25deg40'-26deg00'N . They belong to the Taiwan Island. The total area of these islands is about 5.69 square kilometers. Diaoyu Dao, in the western tip of the area, covers an area of about 3.91 square kilometers and is the largest island in the area. The highest part on the island stands 362 meters above the sea level. Huangwei Yu, which is about 27 kilometers to the northeast of Diaoyu Dao, is the second largest island in the area, with a total area of about 0.91 square kilometers and a highest height of 117 meters. Chiwei Yu, about 110 kilometers to the northeast of Diaoyu Dao, is the easternmost island in the area. It covers an area of about 0.065 square kilometers and stands 75 meters above the sea level. Ancient ancestors in China first discovered and named Diaoyu Dao through their fishing activities on the sea. In China's historical books, Diaoyu Dao is also called Diaoyu Yu or Diaoyu Tai. The earliest historical record of the names of Diaoyu Dao, Chiwei Yu and other places can be found in the book Voyage with a Tail Wind published in 1403. It shows that China had already discovered and named Diaoyu Dao by the 14th and 15th centuries. These historical reports clearly show that Diaoyu Dao and Chiwei Yu belong to China. The sea waters around Diaoyu Dao is traditionally Chinese fishing ground. Chinese fishermen have been involved in fishing activities in these waters for generations . Where is Diaoyu Dao? 123deg20'-124deg40'E .
"Oh,you must have been a spoiled kid.You must be really bossy.I wonder what you're going to be like to deal with?" That's often the response Angela Hult gets when people find out she's an only child,she told ABC News.Despite such negative remarks,Hult has decided to have only one child herself.And she's not alone. According to the US' Office for National Statistics,women approaching the end of their childbearing years had an average of 1.9 children in 2004,compared with 3.1 for their counterparts in 1976.The percentage of onechild families in Britain had risen from 18 percent in 1972 to 26 percent in 2007. But even though only children are becoming increasingly common,the traditional view that they're selfish,spoiled and lack social skills holds strong.Even parents of only children,like Hult,are made to feel guilty about having only one child.Worried that they're being selfish and endangering their child's future,they flock to online discussion forums seeking advice.Soon,however,they ask themselves:is this social prejudice really reasonable? "There have been hundreds and hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers ," Susan Newman,a social psychologist at Rutgers University in the US,told ABC News. This raises another question:why are only children still viewed with such suspicion? "There is a belief that's been around probably since humans first existed that to have just one child is somehow dangerous,both for you and for the continuation of your race," Toni Falbo,a professor of educational psychology,told the Guardian."In the past a lot of children died.You'd have had to be crazy to only have one." Times,of course,have changed and infant mortality has largely reduced.So what do only children themselves say? Kayley Kravitz,a blogger for The Huffington Post,grew up as an only child and highly recommends the experience."Being an only child taught me the most valuable skill of all:the ability to be alone," she said. Which of the following could be the best title for the text? Are only children different? Parents have widely different views on the problem of pocket money. Four new fathers were asked this question and this is how they answered. Ashish Khanna: Although many argue that pocket money helps develop children's sense of value, I don't agree. I wouldn't give my child any pocket money. First of all, I never got pocket money and I seem to have a good value for money. If my child ever needed something and I felt it was a reasonable request, I would buy it for him. Sharad Sanghi: No, I wouldn't give my child pocket money because I don't want to create the perception of "her" money and "my" money. Besides, if I refuse to buy her something that I think is bad for her, she may buy it with her pocket money _ In this way, I would lose control over my child's requests. I feel it also encourages children to care more about money than anything else. I don't want my child to start judging other children by the amount of money or pocket money they have. Rakesh Shah: Yes, I would give my child pocket money because I feel that children should learn to spend money properly. I will give him a fixed amount every month and if he spends the money before the month is over, he will learn a lesson and not spend money so freely. He will learn what his limitations are and feel the difficulty when he has to pay for something that is over his own pocket. Rajiv Patel: Yes, I would give my child pocket money because it is important that he learns to manage money. But I would not give it to him on a weekly or monthly basis. He would have to earn it. If he helped me finish some of my jobs or helped his mother with housework, I would reward him. This helps him realize that "money does not grow on trees" and it requires hard work to earn money. What do Rakesh Shah and Rajiv Patel have in common? They want their children to learn to manage money from an early age. Some parents say their kids don't like sports. Why? Some kids don't like sports because they don't know how to play them. If the kids know how to play a new sport, maybe they will like it. Taking P.E. classes at school is a good way to learn new sports. Another way is to watch videos about sports. Kids can also read some books to learn new sports. Some kids don't like playing sports because they were once on a team and didn't have fun. For those kids, it's a good idea to talk with their teachers or parents. With their help, maybe the kids will like playing sports again. There are many kinds of sports, so a kid should find the sports that _ him or her. If a kid doesn't like team sports, parents can ask him or her to try individual sports, such as swimming and running. Playing sports is a good form of exercise, and it can help kids keep active and healthy. Of course, non-sport activities can also keep kids fit, such as walking a dog, cleaning the room and watering the garden. The passage tells us _ ways to learn new sports. three If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that one's memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong. If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is really his own fault. Not all of us can become very strong or very clever, but all of us can improve our memory by the same means -- practice. Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have a better memory than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because people who can't read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, prices, names, songs and stories, so their memory is exercised all the time. So if you want a good memory, learn from those who cannot read or write: practise remembering. The author thinks that if a person has a poor memory, _ . it is his own fault The Goldman Environmental Foundation recently recognized a group of individuals for their efforts to protect the environment. Each year, the American-based group honors environmental activists from six different areas. The first three winners of the 2012 Goldman Prize are from Kenya, the Philippines and China. The Goldman Environmental Foundation says Ikal Angelei is a hero to those who live around Lake Turkana. The Kenyan woman received the award because of her efforts to stop a dam project on a river in Ethiopia. Critics say the dam will harm the lake and restrict the flow of water for people who live nearby. The Philippine island of Mindoro is home to those who depend on the area's natural resources for food and jobs. Edwin Gariguez became concerned when a European company announced plans to mine for nickel on the island. The Roman Catholic minister said waste materials from the mining project would pollute the water and destroy the forests. So he started a campaign to stop the project. In China, Ma June is working with businesses to clean up their pollution. He formed a group that collects information about pollution, and publishes it on the Internet. The Goldman Prize was also awarded to activists from Argentina, Russia and the United States. Sofia Gatica of Argentina is from a town where farmers commonly use pesticide products to protect soybean crops from insects. The town also has a high rate of cancer. Miz Gatica believed that pesticide use was responsible for the death of her baby. She worked with other mothers to get government officials to ban the use of chemicals near populated areas. Evgenia Chirikova objects to the plans to build a road through a protected forest just outside Moscow. She has demanded that Russian officials redirect the road away from the forest. She and her followers have been arrested for their activities. However, their campaign has gained widespread public support. The sixth winner is American Caroline Cannon -- a community leader in Point Hope, Alaska. Miz Cannon is fighting to keep Arctic waters safe from oil and gas exploration. We can know from the passage that _ . a European company is going to dig for nickel
Mrs Turner's telephone number was 3463, and the number of he cinema in town was 3464. People often made mistakes and telephoned her when they actually wanted the cinema. One evening the telephone rang and Mrs Turner answered it. A tired man's voice came over the phone, "At what time does your last film begin?""I'm sorry," said Mrs Turner, "but you have the wrong number. This is not the cinema." "Oh, it began twenty minutes ago?" said the man. "I'm sorry about that. Well, good-bye." Mrs Turner was very surprised, so she told her husband. He laughed and said, "No, that wasn't a mistake. The man's wife wanted to go to the cinema, but he was feeling tired, so he telephoned the cinema. His wife heard him, but she didn't hear you. Now they will stay at home this evening, and the husband will be happy." The husband would be happy because he _ . A. made fun of his wife B. could enjoy himself alone that night C. could relax himself at home D. could have a good time at home with his wife Answer: C. could relax himself at home My parents divorced when I was 8 years old. Their marriage was a mistake of World War II. And about 50 years ago, I was the only child I knew who didn't have a father at home on Father's Day. Divorce was very uncommon back then. So when my friends were in town shopping for presents for their fathers, I decided since my mother was both Mother and Father, no one else was like her, who better deserved(be worth) a present on Father's Day than her? I bought her a little set of tools, just a few things, hammer, pliers and screwdriver and a box to put all these things in. I got some ideas from my grandfather and named it Mother's Tool Box. She was excited, more at the thought of being cared for on Father's Day than of the present. She always said she liked her Father's Day memories better than the Mother's Day ones. It made her feel special -- and she was. I have noticed in the past few years, greeting cards are even made for "Mother on Father's Day". Ever since then, my mother has got cards on Father's Day. By the way, she knew just how to use those tools and others she had ever used over the years. Why did Mother feel special? A. She had more Father's Day memories. B. She had only one child. C. She was both Mother and Father. D. She was the happiest one on Father's Day Answer: A. She had more Father's Day memories. London's Chinese community dates back to the 18thcentury, when a small number of Chinese sailors moved to the city to work in Limhouse, east London. As time went on, other Chinese people came to this area and Limhouse began to be known as "Chinatown". However London's Chinese community remained very small for many years: at the start of the 20thcentury, there were just 545 Chinese people in Britain. After the Second World War, many farmers in Hong Kong lost their jobs and came to London. As Limhouse had been almost destroyed during the war, they settled in different area--a part of central London near Leicester Square. This area is now what Londoners call Chinatown. At first, the new immigrants found it difficult to get jobs. In the 1950s, however, a small Chinese restaurant opened in London. Many British people visited it and said that Chinese food was wonderful! Suddenly, Chinese restaurants and take-aways started opening in every part of the city. Instead of too little work, the new Chinese immigrants now found that they had too much! They worked as cooks, managers or waiters. Most of them enjoyed their lives and arranged their friends and relatives to join them from overseas. As time went by, London's Chinese community became more and more successful. The sons and daughters of the original restaurant workers studied and worked very hard. And most went on to get highly paid jobs. Many Chinese families left Chinatown and moved to the more expensive _ . Chinatown, however, is still as lively as ever. Why did many Chinese immigrants come to London in 1950s? A. Because it was easy for them to get jobs there. B. Because Limhouse had been almost destroyed during the war. C. Because many British people enjoyed Chinese food. D. Because their children could study there and get well-paid jobs. Answer: A. Because it was easy for them to get jobs there. When you were young, ginger ale may have been a popular choice for reducing the unpleasant feelings caused by your upset stomach on the road to get to school. For years, ginger has been used to reduce the effects of nausea . But do you know it's now also being looked at to fight cancer? Scientists have discovered that ginger can kill cancerous cells in two different ways. On the one hand, ginger causes the cancer cells to "commit suicide" by destroying themselves while leaving the surrounding healthy cells untouched. Ginger can prevent the growth of diseased cells by destroying the environment they grow in. On the other hand, ginger tricks the diseased cells and causes them to fight among themselves. Researchers are now looking into one of the toughest cancers to fight. However, scientists find repeated treatment of disease by drugs can actually lose its effectiveness over time as the cancer builds up resistance to the same treatment. This raises researchers' confidence that ginger would help stop resistance from the cancer. In a study, the cancer clearly stopped growing in the body of the mice that had been given ginger. The bad news is that such encouraging research has only been conducted on mice. The good news, however, is that it seems humans might be able to get the same benefit just by eating products with ginger and ginger root in them. Cancer prevention and fighting abilities aren't the only potential benefits you may get from adding a bit more ginger to your diet. Drinking ginger ale when your stomach was upset as a child wasn't just a placebo .Numerous studies and research, including the Mayo Clinic's strict grading system, agree that ginger has some sort of anti-nausea characteristics. Some believe that ginger works well against nausea after operations, while others use it to reduce motion sickness such as seasickness and car sickness. The Mayo Clinic, however, advises the use of ginger only to reduce nausea during pregnancy. While more research needs to be done, early studies are very promising, especially in that small amounts of ginger don't seem to do any harm to the mother or baby. Other health benefits from ginger exist as well. Since ginger is often considered to be useful in warming bodies, it can improve the condition of people's joints including knees and ankle joints. Some suggest that ginger can help cure a cough associated with the common cold. Another benefit of ginger is that it seems to have no real side effects, which is one of the main reasons it appears to be safe during pregnancy. But for safety, you should always consult a doctor for instructions on daily use before starting, even with something like ginger that seems to have little to no side effects. What is the text mainly about? A. Ginger's medicinal effects. B. The benefits of ginger ale. C. A new discovery about ginger. D. Detailed research on ginger. Answer: A. Ginger's medicinal effects. Many people think a telephone is essential. But I think it is a pest and a time waster. Very often you find it impossible to escape from some idle or curious chatter-box, or from somebody who wants something for nothing. If you have a telephone in your own house, you will admit that it tends to ring when you are asleep, or in the middle of a meal or a conversation, or when you are just going out, or when you are taking your bath. Are you strong minded enough to ignore it, to say to yourself,"Ah, well, it will all be the same in a hundred years' time" You are not. You think there may be some important news or messages for you. I can assure you that if a message is really important it will reach you sooner or later. Have you never rushed dripping from the bath, or chewing from the table, or dazed from the bed, only to be told that you are a wrong number? But you will say, you need not have your name printed in the telephone directory, and you can have a telephone which is only usable for outgoing calls. Besides, you will say, isn't it important to have a telephone in case of emergency--illness, an accident, or fire? Of course, you are right, but here in a thickly populated country like England one is seldom far from a telephone in case of dreadful necessity. I think perhaps I had better try to justify myself by trying to prove that what I like is good. I admit that in different circumstances--if I were a tycoon(business VIP),for instance, or bed ridden I might find a telephone essential. But then if I were a taxi-driver I should find a car essential. Let me put it another way: there are two things for which the English seem to show particular talent; one is mechanical invention, the other is literature. My own business happens to be with the use of words but I see I must now stop using them. For I have just been handed a slip of paper to say that somebody is waiting to speak to me on the telephone. I think I had better answer it. After all, one never knows, it may be something important. According to the passage, the author _ . A. thinks the telephone should go out of our life B. likes to be different from other people C. thinks the telephone is annoying D. speaks favourably of a telephone Answer: C. thinks the telephone is annoying
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. " The very reason that Mr. Evans didn't go to see the world is that _ . Answer: he couldn't afford both the time and the money Student Membership-----Cambridge Arts Cinema Cambridge Arts Cinema is one of the art houses in Britain and home of the internationally celebrated Cambridge Film Festival. Since 1947 generations of students have discovered the wealth of world cinema. Now you too can make most of it and save money. At the Arts you can... * choose from up to 40 films a month * see up to 8 premieres each month * catch screenings when you like--we open early and close late * increase your knowledge of film with our special events--each year we run seasons on various types of films and directors * meet the filmmakers What _ you _ get _ as _ a _ member: * invitation to a preview screening * PS1 off the standard prices(PS4.50/PS3.50)for any screening including special events * your own copy of each cinema programme mailed free of charge * a card with your own membership number * 50% off membership to the Cambridge Darkroom Gallery So what are you waiting for?Just fill in the form and return it either in person or by post to: Box Office Cambridge Arts Cinema 8 Market Passage Cambridge CN2 3PF It costs PS15 to join and your card can be used from 1st October 2011 to 30th June 2012. Cinema Information:01223 572929 (24hr) Box Office:01223 50444448. For what purpose is the text written? Answer: Increasing the cinema's membership. Cold weather can be hard on pets,just like it can be hard on people.Sometimes owners forget that their pets are just as used to the warm shelter as they are.Some owners will leave their animals outside for a long period of time,thinking that all animals are used to living outdoors.This can put their pets in danger of serious illness.There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe. Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the weather is bad.If you have to take them out,stay outside with them.When you're cold enough to go inside,they probably are too.If you must leave them outside for a long time,make sure they have a warm,solid shelter against the wind,thick bedding,and plenty of non-frozen water. If left alone outside,dogs and cats can be very smart in their search for warm shelter.They can dig into snow banks or hide somewhere.Watch them closely when they are left outdoors,and provide them with shelter of good quality.Keep an eye on your pet's water.Sometimes owners don't realise that a water bowl has frozen and their pet can't get anything to drink.Animals that don't have clean and unfrozen water may drink dirty water outside,which may contain something unhealthy for them. Why are pet owners asked to stay with their pets when they are out in cold weather? Answer: To know when to bring them inside. I am wearing a small red ribbon this morning to remind myself and others around me that today is World AIDS Day. The red ribbon, an international symbol of AIDS awareness, is gaining increasing public recognition as more Chinese, from top leaders to movie stars, wear it today. Gone were the days when the topic of HIV/AIDS was a public and media taboo . Over the past few years, we have watched, read and heard many stories from doctors, volunteers and public health officials at the forefront of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Quite a few people with HIV/AIDS have come forward to share their experiences on TV or in the media. The local and central governments have become more forthcoming (be helpful) with their new prevention and treatment programmes, and financial input. The _ rose from less than 1 million yuan (US$ 121,000) in 1986 to a pledge of 800 million yuan (US$98.8 million) in the year of 2006. The change from silence to public and media campaigns with official promises has been remarkable, especially since China battled through the SARS crisis. But have we got a full understanding on HIV/AIDS? What do we know about the extent of HIV/AIDS in China? The figures, ranging from confirmed cases to estimates, remain debated. After all, no more than a year has passed since the policy of free medical tests was make public. Unknown numbers from the high-risk groups drug addicts and people working in sex- related place as well as farmers who once sold blood could still be reluctant to come forward. What does the red ribbon stand for? Answer: AIDS awareness Mrs. Brown lived in a small town near a big farm. One Friday afternoon, after she finished doing housework, she went to her small shop. She opened the window of the shop and looked outside. She liked to see the green farm. There were many cows, horses, and small animals on the farm. Suddenly she saw a kangaroo under her window. It was interesting to see that the kangaroo was wearing an old jacket. It stood there and looked hungry. Mrs. Brown gave some bread and waterto it. The kangaroo had them all. Then it became happy and jumped away. Suddenly something dropped on the ground there was $300 and a photo in it. That was a man's photo with his name "John" on it. John? She looked more carefully and remembered she had a brother many years ago. His name was also John. "Is this man my lost brother?" She thought. She took the wallet with her and began to look for the man. She asked many people in the town, and then she came to the farm and asked the farmer. To her great surprise, it was John, her lost brother. They were very excited and happy to see each other. Mrs. Brown took _ to look for her brother. Answer: the wallet

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